With their season, and survival in their quest for a second Stanley Cup in the Sidney Crosby era, in the balance, the Pittsburgh Penguins are turning back to rookie goaltender Matt Murray.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed after the team's morning workout that after being unseated by Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 5, Murray would get the start Tuesday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Sullivan said this about his decision, via NHL.com's Dan Rosen: "At this particular point in the season, we don't have the luxury of allowing players to play through things.
"We have to win."
Murray's performance has tailed off in the Eastern Conference Final after he spearheaded series wins over the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals in the first and second rounds. He has an .888 save percentage and has looked fatigued against the Bolts, dragging his overall postseason clip down to .923.
Meanwhile, Fleury played well enough to give Pittsburgh a chance in Game 5, but at the same time showed he went more than 50 days between starts because of a concussion suffered late in the season.
Murray's start will be his 14th of the postseason, which would give him one more than his career regular-season total.
The 21-year-old has a career 18-6-2 record with a .926 save rate in the regular season and playoffs combined.
With Chicago Blackhawks uncharacteristically idle in May after their seven-game series defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues last month, some of their stars are able to enjoy the finer things reserved for those of a certain celebrity.
Like shot-gunning beers on stage with country singers.
Duncan Keith and Dierks Bentley, a noted Nashville Predators fan, cracked open a couple cans and shared a fast-moving cold one on stage at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park over the weekend.
Hours and hours spent planted in front tipping rubber is paying dividends for Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks.
Pavelski's league-leading 12th postseason goal, scored on a masterful tip, stood as the eventual game winner Monday night in Game 5, as San Jose moved to within one victory of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time ever.
It's obviously plenty more complex, but the difference in the contest, and in turn so far in the Western Conference Final, is ascribed in part to the captain's dedication to his craft.
"It's incredible," remarked head coach Pete DeBoer. "You think back to some of the best scorers ever. His ability to get his stick on pucks in the offensive zone, in front on the net, different angles, is as good as anybody I've ever seen."
"But it's a great lesson. He works at it. He works at it every day. He gets (Brent Burns) or one of the other (defensemen), gets them to fire 100, 200 pucks. I'll watch him from the boards with the other coaches. He'll get a piece of every single one."
DeBoer added, "His biggest asset is he works at it."
Pavelski's persistence is really part of a overarching theme in these playoffs for the Sharks, who can close out the series on home ice Wednesday.
Claude Julien will share his bench with some new faces next season.
Former NHLers Jay Pandolfo and Bruce Cassidy joined the Boston Bruins' coaching staff as assistants, the team announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, Joe Sacco and Bob Essensa will remain as assistants.
Doug Houda (now with the Detroit Red Wings) and Doug Jarvis will not be retained.
Pandolfo, 41, played the first 13 seasons of his 15-year NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, winning Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003.
Since finishing his playing career with Julien's Bruins in 2013, Pandolfo has been a member of the team's front office - serving as Director of Player Development last season.
Cassidy, 51, has coached with the Bruins' AHL affiliate in Providence since 2008, serving as head coach since the start of the 2011-12 season. His last stint in the NHL came as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2004-2006.
Win or go home. It's that time of year for the St. Louis Blues.
The San Jose Sharks won a massive Game 5 on the road Monday to push the Blues to the brink, and the biggest question heading into Game 6 is: who will be in the Blues' crease?
"I don't know," Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock said after Game 5.
The answer should be Brian Elliott, even though he's watched the last two games from the bench. Here's why:
Average Allen
Jake Allen did his job in Game 4. He played well, stopping 31 of 34 shots, and deserves full credit for helping bring the Blues back home in a series tied 2-2. But he wasn't good Monday.
While Blues head coach Ken Hitchock said Allen was "fine," the goalie stopped only 21 of 25 shots in Game 5, and has now allowed seven goals in two games on 59 shots. It's the smallest of small sample sizes, but a .881 save percentage in two games simply isn't good enough.
Elliott got the Blues to the third round, winning two Game 7s to do so. If the Blues go down, he deserves to be out there when it happens.
Elliott can't score
Elliott went 1-2 through the first three games of the Western Conference Final. He was stellar in Game 1, stopping 31 of 32 shots, but struggled in Games 2 and 3. Elliott stopped only 20 of 23 shots in Game 2, and was pulled from Game 3 after 46 minutes after allowing three goals on just 14 shots.
Here's the thing, though: the Blues didn't score in Games 2 and 3. They were shut out twice in a row before scoring six in Game 4, so Elliott's play wasn't really the problem. You can't win if you can't score, and the Blues' offense left them in two crucial games.
The Blues have nine goals in their past two games. They'll get their goals. And they owe Elliott some.
Play the percentages
Elliott's the better goalie. He was all season. Facing elimination, the Blues must play the numbers.
Make no mistake, the Blues have two very good goalies in Allen and Elliott. Both had excellent regular seasons, and both played an integral role in the Blues' 107-point season. But Elliott had the better save percentage (.930 compared to Allen's .920), and started three regular-season games against San Jose, posting a .929 save percentage and one shutout (although he was pulled in one of those games after allowing three goals in only 13 minutes).
Allen's only appearance against the Sharks in the regular season was a relief effort, and while he's 1-1 in this series, Elliott's proved to be the better 'tender in 2015-16. With potentially only one game left in the Blues' season, Hitchock and Co. must go with the guy who got them into late May.
For the third consecutive playoff series, the St. Louis Blues have lost a pair of games on home ice after Monday's Game 5 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Now one game away from elimination, the team is trying to figure out why it's struggling at Scottrade Center.
"I said we're a little cuter at home than we are on the road," captain David Backes said, according to NHL.com's Lou Korac. "We've just got to stay simple and stay on the page and get a task done. I don't know if that's a trend in Game 5s; I don't keep track of that."
The Blues hold a 4-6 record at home during this postseason, but their 6-3 record on the road has kept them alive. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo wishes he knew what was ailing his team in its own arena.
"If I had the magic answer, I'd give it to you," he said. "I'm not too sure. It's something that we really need to take a hard look at and figure out why we're doing that. That's on us players."
Meanwhile, head coach Ken Hitchcock, who has said home ice doesn't mean what it used to, suggested the pressure of playing in front of your own fans can be dangerous.
"It's hard to describe," he said after the game. "The pressure to win at home is greater, and so is the discouragement if you're not doing well. Winning at home right now in the playoffs is either feast or famine. You either look like you're a million dollars, or you get frustrated at times.
"I think from that standpoint there's a few times we've been frustrated. Our expectations are high and we want to do well for the fans. Sometimes that cocktail doesn't mix very well."
If the Blues hope to end their home struggles in a Game 7, they'll need to continue their dominance on the road with another road win in San Jose on Wednesday.
On one hand, he clearly desires a return to his native Russia to play out the twilight of his professional career close to home. But at the same time, Datsyuk's contrite, not wanting the Detroit Red Wings - the club he helped win two Stanley Cup titles - to be severely impaired by the salary penalty that comes with his exit.
"He wants to make sure the Wings have options," his agent, Dan Milstein, told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. "He wants to help the team any way he can with the salary cap issue."
Datsyuk's expected to return to Detroit in the coming weeks to sit down with GM Ken Holland and the Red Wings' brain trust. The dialogue isn't expected to center around his staying; more of a brainstorming session focused on how the two sides can draw up a harmonious split.
As of now, Datsyuk's departure means the Red Wings will be on the hook for his entire $7.5-million salary, because the contract was signed after he turned 35.
The only obvious way to circumvent the problem is trade Datsyuk's rights to a team with sufficient cap space.
A trade will require Datsyuk's blessing, but it appears as though he's more than willing to provide it.
With seven vacant slots remaining on Canada's World Cup roster, an eager group of first-rate talents considered to be in the conversation to wear the red and white again descended on Russia for the worlds with a different international showcase - one set to directly precede the NHL's 2016-17 season - in mind.
So, after more than a month overseas and gold now draped around their necks, who was able to improve their standing with Hockey Canada before the final rosters for the World Cup are cemented this week?
Corey Perry-- Widely considered a lock for preliminary selection, a trying postseason motivated the Ducks' scoring pest to go overseas and captain his country. Perry did his job, scoring four times, finishing two points off the team lead, and becoming the 27th member of the Triple Gold Club. But at the same time, he was fairly silent in the knockout round, registering only an assist and three shots. Perry didn't hurt his chances per se, but failed to drive home presumed participation at a tournament that's essentially the only thing he hasn't won in hockey.
Taylor Hall-- Hall was certainly one of the tournament's more threatening players, finishing a goal off the tournament lead and firing more shots on target than any Canadian. Hall's efficiency, too, dipped in the knockout round, having collected seven of his nine points versus the tournament's clearly inferior opponents. That said, Hall proved something perhaps more important to Canada's brass, emerging as a reliable defender in key spots - even finding himself guarding the middle of the ice in the waning moments of the gold medal final.
Matt Duchene -- Five goals, five assists, and a team-best plus-10 rating among forwards, Duchene was a force up front, exceedingly threatening on the attack, and also a contributor when it mattered most. The Olympian in 2014 continues to be a willing participant, and provided no reason for him not to be included again.
Brad Marchand -- After the season of his life, in which he scored more goals than any Canadian winger aside from Jamie Benn, Marchand lent his two-way talent to the national team, and to great effect. He scored four times, including once shorthanded, to go along with three assists, and showed just how dangerous he is in open ice while still anchoring his top-six unit defensively. He didn't eradicate disciplinary concerns, having taken the second-most penalty minutes, but was never a liability.
Ryan O'Reilly -- He did all the little things, like winning defensive-zone faceoffs, and spearheading a near-flawless penalty kill as he carved out a top-nine role with Mark Scheifele and Mark Stone. O'Reilly's versatility, which includes playing the wing, is important considering Canada's surplus of centers, but it behoves Doug Armstrong to fill in the gaps with natural wingers.
Mark Stone -- Stone enjoyed an excellent tournament, capitalizing on the opportunistic offense that's made him the Senators' leading point producer among forwards over the last two seasons. He finished near the top of every major statistical category, and scored on almost every fourth shot he put on target. A World Cup selection, though, would remain a surprise.
Brendan Gallagher -- Gallagher tumbled into the fourth-line rotation, but still found a way to contribute. His quintessential goal to open the scoring in the semifinal versus the United States was a significant moment for the team. He'll likely have to beat out Marchand and O'Reilly to make the squad, which will be difficult considering the need for reliable penalty killing.
Bonus: Auston Matthews -- Not Canadian, nor eligible for his country's entry, but few players made a stronger World Cup statement. In Russia, he clearly showed he was polished enough, and will likely carve out a role on the young guns. But it should be noted that the North American roster has few center-ice positions available, and two pivots in Scheifele and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who are certainly qualified.
It’s a light day for actual trade & free-agent rumors and speculation, so here’s the latest ranking of this summer’s top UFAs and a preview of next summer’s top free agents. TSN’s Top-30 NHL 2016 Unrestricted Free Agents. TSN.CA: Frank Seravalli recently unveiled his network’s Top-30 UFA rankings. Steven Stamkos Loui Eriksson Milan […]
Sharks on verge of reaching the Stanley Cup Final, plus updates on the Penguins, Lightning & more in this morning’s collection of NHL headlines. CSN BAY AREA/STLTODAY.COM: Joe Pavelski scored the game-tying and winning goals to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks hold […]
