Sidney Crosby's fractured jaw could cost him the scoring title and MVP award and his team the Presidents' Trophy.
The Pittsburgh Penguins say it's too soon after surgery to say how long he will be out, but medical protocol suggests he might need three or four weeks before he returns to the ice. That means that Crosby might not be back until the playoffs.
As Crosby starts to recuperate, his team has won 15 consecutive games and has a one-point edge on the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks for the Presidents' Trophy, which guarantees home-ice advantage through the playoffs. They are seven points ahead of the second-place Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference.
Even without Crosby, the Penguins should be able to hold their lead in the East. But if Crosby's talent is worth an extra win or two every dozen games, that could make a difference in the race with Chicago.
In the scoring race, Crosby leads Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, but if Crosby misses the final 12 games, Stamkos likely would pass him. Crosby was a front-runner for the Hart Trophy because he had taken his game to another level this season after missing the better part of two seasons with concussion issues.
If Crosby is gone until the playoffs, he will have played only 75% of his team's regular-season games. Would that be enough for members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to say he deserves the MVP? It's a borderline call, but Crosby probably will be helped by the fact that he's the captain of the league's hottest team.
In addition to Crosby being out, the Penguins announced Sunday that Paul Martin would be out up to six weeks after surgery for a broken bone in his hand. Martin is the team's No. 2 offensive defenseman, and the Penguins' top defenseman, Kris Letang, has been out with a broken toe.
The positive news for the Penguins is that Letang is expected back soon, and Evgeni Malkin recently returned after recovering from an upper-body injury. He historically has risen up to carry the team when Crosby has been injured.
The Penguins learned how to survive without Crosby when he was out with his concussion problems. And this season, they have clamped down on their defensive play, giving up nine goals over their past 11 games.
They will face the Buffalo Sabres at home on Tuesday. If they win, they will look to tie the NHL record of 17 consecutive wins Wednesday night against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The 1992-93 Penguins, led by current owner Mario Lemieux, hold the record.
A great individual effort by captain Ryan Callahan helped the New York Rangers snap a two-game losing streak, and keep pace in the chase for a playoff spot.
Derek Stepan scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, as Rangers beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 on Monday night.
The momentum shifted in the Rangers favor long before Stepan put them ahead to stay. It turned when Callahan scored short-handed to tie the game at 2 early in the second period.
``It was a huge play in the game,'' said Rangers coach John Tortorella. ``Not only to kill the penalties, but to have the wherewithal to keep the puck and score a big goal like that, I think we took off from there. We took over the game from there.''
Callahan sped into the Winnipeg zone as Mats Zuccarello returned to the ice after New York killed off the first half a Jets 5-on-3 power play. Showing great patience, Callahan first deked a Winnipeg defender, and then goalie Ondrej Pavelec, to the ice before depositing a backhander at 3:11.
``I think anytime you get a short-handed goal, it lifts a team up,'' said Callahan who also equaled his single game high with three assists. ``Getting that one, we started to get going.''
The win was crucial as it kept the Rangers in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers also kept pace with the New York Islanders, who beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1. Both New York clubs have 37 points, though the Rangers hold the higher seed having played one less game than their metropolitan area rivals.
Rick Nash also scored for New York and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves.
While the Rangers could breathe a little easier, the pressure is mounting on the Southeast Division-leading Jets following a third straight loss.
Winnipeg got goals from Nik Antropov and Zach Bogosian, while Pavelec stopped 31 shots.
``We have to stop it,'' Pavelec said. ``We've lost three in a row. We could be in trouble. It's not going to be easy but we have to find a way.''
The Rangers found their way, thanks to Callahan.
``He made a great play and it changes the dynamic of the game,'' said Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey. ``You have an opportunity to go up 3-1. Instead it's 2-2 off a great individual play. We did a great job at the start, but from that point on, it was the opposite.''
It's what the Rangers have come to expect from their captain.
``That's why he wears the `C' on his chest,'' Stepan said. ``He just seems to get the job done when we need it most.''
Stepan broke the 2-2 deadlock in the third as he pounced on the rebound of Anton Stralman's shot from the left point and knocked the puck past Pavelec at 5:46.
Nash gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead at 13:07.
The Jets led 2-1 after dominating the opening period.
The Rangers struck first as Stepan slipped behind the Winnipeg defense to beat Pavelec 19 seconds in, New York's first goal in three games. The Rangers were blanked by identical 3-0 scores in their prior two games in Ottawa and Montreal.
The lead soon evaporated as Antropov, left all alone in the slot, swept Kyle Wellwood's centering pass between Lundqvist's pads at 1:15.
Winnipeg took the lead at 12:54 as Bogosian fired a point shot that appeared to deflect of someone before it flew past Lundqvist.
The Jets outshot the Rangers 11-7 in a period where they spent long stretches in the New York zone.
The Rangers were much better in the second period, outshooting the Jets 15-7 after the spark from Callahan's brilliant short-handed tally.
NOTES: Rangers D Stralman played in his 300th game while Jets LW Evander Kane appeared in his 250th game. ... The game was the start of a three-game road trip for the Jets that includes stops in Long Island and Montreal. ... The Rangers signed 20-year-old free agent D Tommy Hughes to a contract. He played four seasons with London of the Ontario Hockey League. ... With Kris Newbury sent to the minors on Sunday, Rangers C Darroll Powe returned to the lineup after sitting out three games. ... Jets D Grant Clitsome suffered a facial cut in the first period when clipped by a stick and did not return.
Winnipeg vs New York - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
Carolina's Jiri Tlusty scored three goals early. The Washington Capitals scored even more late.
Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist, and the Capitals rallied to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 Tuesday night despite giving up a hat trick to Tlusty. Mike Green scored two goals, Joel Ward added a goal, Nicklas Backstrom matched a career high with four assists and Braden Holtby made 31 saves.
Washington trailed 2-0 early -- Tlusty alone outscored the Capitals 3-2 before the second period was 2 minutes old -- but needed just 11 shots over the first two periods to score all five goals.
"When you play with confidence, every chance, whether you're going to score or not, is going to be a hard time for them," Ovechkin said.
In leapfrogging Carolina for second place in the Southeast Division, the Capitals won their seventh in 11 games and won for the first time since 2007 when allowing a hat trick to an opposing player, according to STATS LLC.
"We knew where we were and where we stand, and what games are most important here," Green said, "and tonight was the biggest one for us yet."
Eric Staal and Alexander Semin each had two assists for the Hurricanes, who lost defenseman Joni Pitkanen to an apparent leg injury late in the second.
They've plunged from the division lead during an injury-riddled stretch in which they have dropped nine of 10, and for the first time since moving from Hartford in 1997, they lost a game when one of their players scored three goals. "You're still in there. We have to just stay focused," Tlusty said. "Focus is going to be a big key. We still have plenty of games left and we still have a big chance. We played a solid game tonight. It just didn't end up with the W."
Carolina's Dan Ellis stopped four of the seven shots he faced but left after Green's second goal tied it at 3 with 15:34 left in the second. He was replaced by Justin Peters, who stopped nine of 11 shots.
"We sensed their goalie was a little bit hesitant," Green said, "so we threw everything at him."
Ovechkin gave the Capitals the lead for good with 8:54 left in the second when a poor clearing pass led to a 2-on-1 rush that he capped with a goal that made it 4-3 and a celebratory leap into the boards.
Ward then stretched the lead to 5-3 with a short-handed goal with 44.9 seconds left in the second.
"I think we outplayed them, but we gave up too many odd-man rushes, and they always score on them," Tlusty said.
Tlusty scored twice for a Carolina power-play unit that entered as the NHL's worst and was a big reason why the Hurricanes picked up power-play specialist Marc-Andre Bergeron earlier in the day in a trade with Tampa Bay.
That defensive depth may be tested after Pitkanen was hurt with 1:57 left in the second. He was racing to beat an icing call when he went into the boards and was taken off the ice on a stretcher.
Coach Kirk Muller didn't know the extent of the injury and said he thought it was either an ankle or a heel.
Tlusty took care of his hat trick just 1:52 into the second period and just 70 seconds after Green tied it at 2, taking a pretty cross-ice pass from Staal and pushing it past Holtby.
"I was just in the right spot in the right time, and he made a pass right on my stick," Tlusty said.
Tlusty put the Hurricanes up 1-0 midway through the first by stuffing in a rebound, then made it 2-0 roughly 2½ minutes later on the power play with a wrist shot from the circle.
But ultimately, he became the answer to a trivia question: He's the club's first player to record a hat trick in a loss since Jeff O'Neill did it for the Hartford Whalers on Jan. 31, 1997, in a loss to Anaheim, according to STATS.
The Capitals needed just 81 seconds to wipe out that two-goal deficit.
Ovechkin started the rally by beating Ellis with a rising slap shot with 39 seconds left in the first period, and Green made it 2-all with a power-play goal just 42 seconds into the second.
"Green's goal right away in the second was huge," Ovechkin said, "and we just kept going."
Notes
Ovechkin extended his points streak to nine games.
Washington C Marcus Johansson had two assists.
Carolina D Jamie McBain was a healthy scratch.
The Hurricanes were busy before the game, activating D Bobby Sanguinetti from injured reserve in addition to picking up Bergeron.
Washington activated D John Erskine from injured reserve and had him in the lineup.
NHL Recap - Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes - Apr 02, 2013 - CBSSports-com
After a very quiet morning, the action picked up significantly in the final hours leading up to the deadline on Wednesday with 17 trades being made including a deal that sent Marian Gaborik from the New York Rangers to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
With the deadline less than an hour away, the Rangers and Blue Jackets swung arguably the biggest deal of the day when New York sent Gaborik along with Steven Delisle and Blake Parlett to Columbus in exchange for Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, John Moore and a sixth-round draft pick.
"I was surprised. I heard little rumours here and there. I didn't try to focus on it, I can't control it," Gaborik told TSN. "I was surprised, but it's a challenge and I'm looking forward to it."
Gaborik waived his no movement clause to allow the deal to go through.
"I had some time to think about and I talked to some guys who played there and I talked to John Davidson. I decided that they are a young team going in the right direction."
Another major move saw Jason Pominville and a fourth-round draft pick in 2014 traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Johan Larsson, Matt Hackett, a first-round pick in 2013 and a second-round in 2014.
Despite the flurry of activity near the deadline, the biggest story of the day might be the players who were not moved. Two of the most talked about names in the days leading up to the deadline were Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo and Calgary Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff but neither was moved Wednesday.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported earlier in the day that, despite discussions with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kiprusoff elected to stay in Calgary and will likely retire after the season.
"I met with Kipper this morning and Kipper indicated that he really would like to remain with the Calgary Flames," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said at a post-deadline news conference. "From his perspective given the family situation and the new baby, he just doesn't feel that he's ready to move on, that he didn't want to go to another organization (and) that he would like to finish things here,"
The Maple Leafs also had discussions with the Canucks about Luongo but a deal never materialized.
"My contract sucks," Luongo said at a post-deadline news conference. "It's a big factor in trading me and why I'm probably still here. I'd scrap it if I could right now." Luongo also said that despite not being traded as he had hoped, he was happy to have the deadline behind him.
"It's nice to get past this point," Luongo said. "I've been pretty calm about the situation until yesterday, late evening, for some reason I started getting weird feelings in my stomach. I was getting nervous. It was the first time I've had that type of feeling in my gut," he said.
While Corey Schneider and Luongo both remain on the Canucks roster for the remainder of the season, the team will likely shop Luongo once more this summer.
The Maple Leafs in turn will continue to ride their current goaltending tandem of James Reimer and Ben Scrivens for the remainder of the season.
"We weren't crushed today to learn we couldn't get Kipper to come because we felt that we had two quality guys here," general manager Dave Nonis said.
Toronto did, however, make a trade to bolster their defensive depth acquiring defenceman Ryan O'Byrne from the Colorado Avalanche for a fourth-round draft pick.
"He's not going to come in here and take over the defensive corps. He's a defensive defenceman. We feel he can play with good players," general manager Dave Nonis said. "We have 12 games left and we wanted to make sure that we weren't in a position where we were short on defence. We were very comfortable with him as a player and as a person."
"I kind of had a feeling that something might happen but you're always surprised when you're dealt," O'Byrne said. "Toronto's a team that's right in the mix and I'm really excited to be joining them. From my days in Montreal I always enjoyed playing in Toronto and I'm looking forward to getting there."
The Ottawa Senators traded goaltender Ben Bishop to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In return, the Senators get rookie forward Cory Conacher and a fourth round draft pick.
"It's going to be a good opportunity," said Bishop. "Obviously, it's bittersweet. I made a lot of friends and they have a good playoff team here in Ottawa, so that's the sad part."
Bishop appeared in 13 games with the Senators this season, posting an 8-5 record, a .922 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average. Conacher scored nine goals and 15 assists in 35 games with the Lightning this season.
The Philadelphia Flyers were also interested in Bishop but thought the price was too high. Instead, they made a deal with the Blue Jackets to acquire veteran goaltender Steve Mason. The Flyers sent goaltender Michael Leighton and a third round draft pick in 2015 to Columbus.
The Blue Jackets were the most active team on deadline day as they also acquired Blake Comeau from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick and Patrick Killeen from Pittsburgh in a pair of separate moves.
The Edmonton Oilers, meanwhile, acquired forward Jerred Smithson from the Florida Panthers. In exchange, the Panthers receive a fourth-round draft pick. Smithson has scored 38 goals and 57 assists in 578 career NHL games with the Panthers, Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators.
Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini said he did not want to trade any of the Oilers core players before the deadline as he felt it would send the wrong message to his young team that has fought its way back into playoff contention.
"The last thing I wanted to do was take away something, where they thought maybe they didn't have as good a chance to win as they did the day before," said Tambellini. "Yes, there were a lot of different scenarios where I could have moved people for mid-round picks, maybe a little
Taylor Hall had a goal and four assists Wednesday night as the Edmonton Oilers made it five straight wins with a 8-2 rout of the reeling Calgary Flames.
It wasn't that long ago when the Flames dominated the provincial rivalry having won 16-of-17 games.
But Edmonton has been the better team lately, winning four of the last five including both ends of the recent home-and-home series to move them past the St. Louis Blues for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
With 12 games to go, Edmonton sits eighth in the West, one point up on the Blues and the Nashville Predators. The Columbus Blue Jackets are two points back.
The Oilers are looking to make their first post-season appearance since going all the way to the Stanley Cup final in 2006, before losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov with two goals each, Sam Gagner, Ryan Whitney and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton (16-13-7).
The Oilers, enjoying their longest winning streak since winning six in a row Oct. 22-Nov. 3, 2011, kicked off a four-game road trip that continues Thursday night in Vancouver.
Matt Stajan had both goals for Calgary (13-18-4). The Flames have lost seven of their last nine to remain second from the bottom in the West and 28th overall. Winless in its last 11 road games, Calgary begins a three-game road trip Friday in San Jose.
Tied 2-2 after one period, Edmonton seized control of the game in the second scoring three power-play goals in a span of just over six minutes.
Yakupov gave the Oilers the lead at 3:34, finding open space in the slot and one-timing Gagner's pass behind Joey MacDonald. It was his eighth goal of the season and second in as many games after going 16 games without a goal.
Hall followed at 7:39 with his fifth goal in his last three games and Nugent-Hopkins capped off the barrage at 9:51, converting Hall's setup for his third goal of the season.
Edmonton's fifth ranked power play finished 3-for-5 on the night while Calgary was 0-for-1.
The Oilers' high flying trio of Eberle, Hall and Nugent-Hopkins have combined for 32 points during Edmonton's winning streak.
Winners of eight of its last nine games at home, Calgary got off to a fast start grabbing a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game on Stajan's first goals in 19 games.
However, boosted by a strong turnout of boisterous Oiler jersey-wearing supporters, Edmonton quickly tied it.
Gagner got the Oilers on the board at 9:27 when Dan Petry's shot deflected in off his skate. At 12:59, Whitney pinched in from the blue-line and buried Hall's pass behind MacDonald.
MacDonald finished with 31 saves for the Flames, who gave Miikka Kiprusoff the night off after several days of having his name mentioned in trade rumours. Earlier in the day, he said he opted to stay in Calgary rather than accept a trade.
After getting beaten on two of the first three shots he faced, Devan Dubynk settled in for the Oilers, finishing the night with 19 saves
Edmonton vs Calgary - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
Michael Ryder scored two goals and set up another, and the Montreal Canadiens downed Winnipeg 4-1 on Thursday night to hand the Jets their fifth straight loss.
Brian Gionta and Alex Galchenyuk also scored for Montreal (24-8-5), which has won four of five but was coming off a 5-3 loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Winnipeg outshot Montreal 35-24, but Canadiens backup goalie Peter Budaj improved to 6-1-1.
Alexander Burmistrov got his first goal in 18 games for the Jets (18-19-2), who fell out of first place in the Southeast Division to 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Washington and Winnipeg both have 38 points, but the Capitals own the top spot in the division on a tiebreaker.
The Jets, who were swept on a three-game road trip, have scored only six goals during their losing streak. They will begin a six-game homestand Saturday against Philadelphia.
Winnipeg struck first when Burmistrov was left unguarded on the left side, and put Grant Clitsome's pass into an open net 8:16 into the game.
Montreal got the goal back on a power play at 10:47 as Ryder was alone at the edge of the crease to push Gionta's rebound past Ondrej Pavelec.
Ryder got his second of the night when he fired the rebound of Subban's shot past a screened Pavelec 2:03 into the second period.
The veteran forward has nine goals in 17 games since he was acquired from Dallas on Feb. 26, including five in the last five. Subban has eight points in his last five games.
Gionta was at the net to deflect in Lars Eller's shot on a power play at 5:51.
The Jets felt as though they had a power-play goal early in the third, but Tobias Enstrom's tally was called back because Blake Wheeler bumped Budaj in the crease.
Galchenyuk sealed the victory when he was at the doorstep to lift in a puck flipped into the crease area by Ryder 7:43 into the third.
A team called the Winnipeg Jets has not won in Montreal since the former franchise - that relocated to become the Phoenix Coyotes - did it on March 14, 1985.
NOTES: Enstrom played in his 400th NHL game. ... Mike Santorelli, claimed on waivers from Florida, played his first game with the Jets. Nik Antropov sat out because of a lower body injury sustained Tuesday against the Islanders. ... Clitsome returned from a one-game absence caused by an eye injury. ... Montreal was without injured forward Tomas Plekanec. Gabriel Dumont was recalled from Hamilton of the AHL, but he didn't play because Ryan White returned from a six-game injury layoff.
Read more here: MONTREAL: Canadiens hand sliding Jets 5th straight loss | NHL Hockey | The Bellingham Herald
The Dallas Stars showed off all the talent they have been developing in the minors during three games against the Anaheim Ducks.
Alex Chiasson scored his first NHL goal, Lane MacDermid netted his second in two games since being promoted, and Eric Nystrom had a short-handed goal in the Stars' 3-1 victory on Friday night.
"It's incredible. I don't think I realize it yet," Chiasson said. "You work so hard when you're young, and you don't realize that one day this could happen. I was a Montreal Canadiens fan growing up and watching Saku Koivu — and now I'm playing against him.
"These last couple of days have been really memorable for me."
About a half-minute after the Ducks killed an interference penalty against Matt Beleskey, Chiasson converted a centring pass from Vernon Fiddler to complete the scoring.
Chiasson had 13 goals this season for the Stars' AHL affiliate.
"The reason you play in the American Hockey League is to make it up to the NHL," Chiasson said. "Luckily I've made it up here, and now I've got to work to stay here."
Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves to help end Dallas' three-game skid. The Stars, whose four-year playoff drought is the longest in franchise history, are five points behind eighth-place St. Louis in the Western Conference. But Dallas would have to overtake four other teams that are separated by one point.
Andrew Cogliano scored for Anaheim, and Viktor Fasth stopped 22 shots in his third straight start, thwarting all six Minnesota power plays.
The Pacific Division-leading Ducks beat the Stars 4-0 on Monday at Dallas and 5-2 on Wednesday at home. But they had to play this one without captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf, who sustained a lower body injury during the third period on Wednesday.
Matthew Lombardi played his first game with Anaheim following Wednesday's trade with Phoenix.
"We missed some Grade A chances," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I mean, Saku missed two or three in the first period, Teemu (Selanne) missed an open net on the power play, and Matthew Lombardi had a breakaway and didn't score. So there were a lot of plays we missed that were uncharacteristic misses.
"When you don't take advantage of your chances, it usually ends up biting you in the butt."
Nystrom and Chiasson scored less than 5 1-2 minutes apart to give Dallas a 3-1 lead with 48 seconds left in the first period.
Fiddler lifted the puck out of the Dallas zone, while the Stars were short-handed, and Fasth came far out of his net in an attempt to poke it away from the oncoming Nystrom. But the six-year veteran got position on Corey Perry and flipped it over the goalie's outstretched stick and into a wide-open net at 13:54 of the first.
"I think he guessed wrong. It was just bad timing," Boudreau said. "But he made an awful lot of saves to keep us in the game. That's the first time he's done that this year, so we'll give him a mulligan on that one."
The 30-year-old goalie took the blame for his gaffe.
"I misread the speed of the puck or maybe I overestimated my skating ability," Fasth said. "But we all know it was a bad decision by me.
"Those things happen, and unfortunately it happened tonight in a tight game and ended up being the game-winning goal."
MacDermid opened the scoring at 9:03 with a short backhander after Antoine Roussel found him cruising down the slot. The lead lasted just 18 seconds as Cogliano converted a centring pass from behind the net by David Steckel after the puck took a strange bounce off the end boards on a dump-in by Bryan Allen.
"We didn't help ourselves, but that was (Dallas') best effort," Boudreau said. "We knew if they scored the first goal and had a lead coming out of the first period, they were going to be very tough. It seemed like after we tied it up, for about 10 minutes we fell apart and started watching them pass the puck.
"Once they got the 3-1 lead, they played pretty solid the second and third periods."
MacDermid sustained an upper body injury on his first shift of the second period and didn't return.
The Stars and Ducks played their final game as division rivals, due to the realignment of the NHL in 2013-14.
NOTES: MacDermid's first NHL goal on Wednesday came on the 31st anniversary of his father Paul's first NHL goal. They are the second father-son duo to score their first goals on the same date. The other was John "Peanuts" O'Flaherty and son Gerry, who accomplished the feat on Nov. 3 in 1940 and 1972. ... With Jonas Hiller sitting out the game because of illness, the Ducks shifted their backup goalie. Jeff Deslauriers was at the end of the bench for the first 3:57, and Igor Bobkov replaced him. ... The Ducks are Lombardi's fifth team in five seasons. He had about 12 1-2 minutes of ice time, had only one shot, and was a minus-1. ... The Ducks, who came in with the league's third-best power play, were 0 for 4. ... The Ducks outshot the Stars 28-25. Dallas hasn't outshot an opponent in nine games.
Chiasson scores 1st NHL goal, Stars beat Ducks 3-1
The opinion among the group at NHL Central Scouting involving the finalization of the rankings of the top draft-eligible prospects in North America this past weekend was unanimous.
In the end, that general manager of the team owning a high pick at the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J., on June 30 is going to be one happy camper.
"I think what everyone recognizes, and what they accept, is that there are no mistakes that are going to be made," NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr told NHL-com. "There are no wrong choices at the top end of this draft. The top three or four players are all bona fide NHL candidates, and this year there is a variance on it because a team is going to take who they want (based on position of need). This is a nice luxury to have, where that caliber of a player you need to service your team for years to come will be available among those first three or four picks."
The team holding a later pick in the opening round also will have plenty to get excited about when all is said and done. "I think the first round makes this year a deep draft," Marr said. "Every team should get a good player. But as you drift down into our top 60, a lot of those names will be selected among the top 100 of the draft. So there are a lot of players in the top 100 that could ultimately become solid NHL players."
The names have already become a who's who among hockey prospects around the globe, featuring defenseman Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks, forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads, center Aleksander Barkov of Tappara in Finland, and goalie Zachary Fucale of Halifax.
"There's so much talent in that first round, that there's only a little bit of separation from the guys that are 1-2-3 and then 4-5-6," Central Scouting's David Gregory said. "I feel strongly that we got the order right. There was a lot of discussion and a lot of debate over some guys and the years those players had, but I think we had it right."
As you might expect, there was plenty of discussion regarding the top three prospects on Central Scouting's midterm list: Jones, MacKinnon and Drouin. There were strong arguments for each player and each scout had personal views and observations to share with their colleagues.
But, as Central Scouting's Chris Edwards would admit in the end, somebody had to be first, second and third. There's no question the arguments presented provided the most intriguing dialogue at the final meetings since the Taylor Hall-Tyler Seguin debate in 2010.
The official release of Central Scouting's top 210 skaters and 30 goalies is expected later this month.
"You put a lot of work into the midseason list and you go back and watch the players and it's always interesting to see those that improve based on the expectations you have and those who stalled a little bit and didn't come along as much as you'd like," Marr said. "You always like to find the surprises … guys that pop up that weren't in the mix before, and now you have some new names there."
Overall, the second-year director was satisfied and thankful for all the hard work put in by the scouts. "It takes some time to craft the list, so I was glad to see that, with the entire staff, there weren't any players coming out of left field," Marr said. "The work we did [Saturday] was very productive because, the bottom line is you want to have an order that you can feel proud about. Crafting the list takes time, but the guys were prepared. In this first round, you're talking about good players, so while it's fun, it only gets tougher the deeper you go into the draft."
Central Scouting's newest member, Greg Rajanen, who was hired in September, said he appreciated the businesslike approach all the scouts took at the final meeting.
"I've been in team scouting meetings (as a part-time scout with the Calgary Flames) but this was a little different," Rajanen told NHL-com. "Still, you're trying to get guys in the right order so you push for the guys you believe in. You want to make sure they're in the right spot, as well on our overall list."
Next up is the NHL Draft Lottery on April 29, followed by the NHL Combine in Toronto, May 27 through June 1; prospects will be interviewed by team scouts and general managers May 27-30 and the testing portion will be held May 31 and June 1.
Scouts satisfied with final 2014 NHL Draft ranks - 2013 NHL Draft
The NHL's goal is the keep the Coyotes in Phoenix.
Whether it will happen is still in doubt.
Speaking at the league's announcement of the 2014 Winter Classic on Sunday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league's focus is to leave the Coyotes in the desert.
"We're not planning on moving Phoenix as we stand here today," he said.
The Coyotes have been run by the NHL since 2009, when former owner Jerry Moyes took the team into bankruptcy in a bid to sell to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who would move the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario. The NHL vehemently opposed that plan, and a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge later refused to allow the sale to go through.
The Coyotes have had several suitors since then, but haven't been able to complete a deal.
The latest, with former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison, fell through when his group couldn't come through with its finances in time to meet a deadline on a 20-year, $308 million lease agreement with the City Glendale for Jobing-com Arena.
Despite reports that the league has looked at relocating the franchise, Bettman said it hasn't looked at that option yet.
"We haven't been exploring the alternatives," Bettman said. "We are exploring everything we can do to work this out, and there seems to be considerable interest. If you go through the history of this, there have been lots of reasons -- not excuses, but lots of reasons -- this has taken a lot of time. There seems to be now, in the calm of the moment, a lot more interest than we've ever seen."
Canadian businessmen George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc submitted a purchase bid last week, and a group led by Buffalo, N.Y. businessman Darin Pastor also put in a proposal.
Jamison is still working on a deal, and former suitor Matthew Hulsizer is reportedly interested.
Bettman said the league would select an ownership bid before talking with Glendale about a lease agreement for Jobing-com Arena. The city recently hired a company to find a manager to run the arena and handle negotiations with prospective owners.
"I've been in regular touch with the mayor and we agreed that when we get a framework lined up, then we would come see the city," Bettman told reporters. "We don't want the city to have to expend resources and time getting involved until there's something concrete to present to them."
NHL committed to keeping Coyotes in Phoenix - ESPN
Phil Kessel scored twice to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers on Monday night to open an important home-and-home series between the Eastern Conference rivals.
Toronto (22-13-4) remained fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, moving four points ahead of idle Ottawa with its fifth win in six games.
Derek Stepan pulled New York into a 3-3 tie at 9:00 of the third period, but Kessel put Toronto back ahead 39 seconds later.
The Rangers (19-16-4) remain tied with the idle New York Islanders for seventh in the Eastern Conference with 42 points.
James van Riemsdyk and Ryan O'Byrne also scored for Toronto.
Rick Nash had the other two goals for New York.
BRUINS 6, HURRICANES 2
BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand scored two goals, Tuukka Rask stopped 40 shots, and Boston scored a season-high in goals while winning for the fourth time in five games.
Rich Peverley, Andrew Ference, Jordan Caron and Nathan Horton each added a goal, and defenceman Dennis Seidenberg established a career-high with three assists for Boston, which moved a point behind Montreal in the Northeast Division.
Patrick Dwyer and Drayson Bowman scored for the Hurricanes, who lost for the 12th time in 13 games, 11 of them coming in regulation.
Carolina has allowed four or more goals in 10 of its last 14.
DUCKS 2, OILERS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Radek Dvorak scored two goals, Jonas Hiller made 27 saves after missing four games because of an illness, and Anaheim moved closer to the second Pacific Division title in franchise history and first since its 2006-07 Stanley Cup championship season.
The Ducks lead Pittsburgh by one point for the NHL's second-best overall record and trail Chicago by three with eight games remaining. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim's captain and leading scorer, missed his third straight game because of a leg injury.
Defenceman Nick Schultz ended a 58-game goal drought and Devan Dubnyk stopped 36 shots for the Oilers, who have lost three straight after a season-best five-game winning streak.
CANUCKS 2, COYOTES 0
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ryan Kesler scored in his return to the lineup after a 20-game absence, Cory Schneider made 19 saves, and Vancouver moved four points up on idle Minnesota in the Northwest Division standings.
Kesler returned from a foot fracture he sustained in his first game back after shoulder and wrist surgeries last summer.
Schneider picked up his fifth shutout of the season, tying Phoenix's Mike Smith and Nashville's Pekka Rinne for first in the NHL.
Schneider and the Canucks had to kill off a penalty with just over a minute left in regulation when Kesler took a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. But Keith Yandle missed a pass from Antoine Vermette and the puck went the distance for a short-handed empty-net goal credited to defenceman Dan Hamhuis.
FLAMES 3, AVALANCHE 1
DENVER (AP) — Mike Cammalleri broke a second-period tie and Joey MacDonald stopped 39 shots, helping Calgary snap a 13-game road winless streak.
Roman Cervenka also scored and Alex Tanguay added a short-handed goal to wrap up the win for the Flames in a game that featured the bottom two teams in the NHL. Before Monday, Calgary's last victory away from home was Feb. 17 at Dallas.
Brad Malone scored his first NHL goal for the last-place Avalanche, who have dropped five straight games.
NHL Capsules: Maple Leafs beat Rangers to open home-and-home series - NHL-com - News
The Ottawa Senators' hold on a playoff spot could be slipping away.
Steven Stamkos scored his 26th goal of the season in the third period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Senators 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Daniel Alfredsson and Guillaume Latendresse scored for the Senators, who have lost five in a row. Kyle Turris had two assists. Latendresse tied it at 2 from near the crease on a power play 21 seconds into the third.
``There's nothing real positive about it at all,'' Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. ``We haven't won a game in it seems like forever. The league is hard, winning is hard to do. And we haven't played hard enough in the last five games to produce more than what we say is good opportunities.
``We need to do more. Not a whole lot more, but we need to do a little bit more.''
Ottawa is sixth overall in the Eastern Conference, however, ninth-place Winnipeg is just two points behind the slumping Senators.
Stamkos snapped a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal from the near post off a pass through the slot by Vincent Lecavalier with 5:04 to play.
Ottawa, which entered with the NHL's second-best penalty-killing unit, gave up two power-play goals in seven short-handed situations.
``We're not concerned about playoff spots,'' Senators goalie Craig Anderson said. ``We're concerned about doing things right and coming to the rink, getting better. At the end of the day, we control what we can control, and that's how we play and how we come to work. The standings, wins, they'll all take care of themselves.''
Ben Bishop made 31 saves for Tampa Bay. He was traded to the Lightning from Ottawa for center Cory Conacher on April 3.
Tampa Bay also got goals from Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Lecavalier. Martin St. Louis assisted on Lecavalier's goal for his 900th point. The right wing, the 98th NHL player to reach the milestone, also assisted on Stamkos' goal.
The Lightning, 13th in the Eastern conference, trail Southeast Division-leading Washington by eight points.
``The odds are against us, and they know what's going on,'' Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. ``They have every reason to sit here and say, this isn't going to work. I don't have to go down and block a shot. I don't have to go to the net. But, they're not doing that.''
Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead early in the second on goals by Labrie and Lecavalier. After Labrie beat Anderson from in-close at 2:35 for his first NHL goal, Lecavalier gave the Lightning a one-goal advantage during a 5-on-3 power play 1:53 later.
``We're not going to quit here until you see that line across the Tampa Bay Lightning, that they're officially eliminated,'' Stamkos said.
Alfredsson put the Senators up 1-0 at 14:29 of the first. He swatted a waist-high puck into the net after Bishop got a piece of Turris' shot with his glove.
Turris hit the post shortly after Alfredsson scored and had a potential goal with 2:08 left in the second disallowed when it was ruled he knocked the puck into the net with a high stick. The call was upheld after a video review.
Alfredsson has 425 goals, tying him for 70th place on the NHL career list with Brian Propp. The right wing also tied Frank Mahovlich for 56th place with 1,103 points.
NOTES: Tampa Bay LW Ryan Malone played after missing eight games with a left shoulder injury. ... Anderson has played in consecutive games. He missed 19 games after hurting his ankle in late February. ... Lightning D Victor Hedman missed his third straight game because of a lower body injury. ... Tampa Bay G Anders Lindback, sidelined the past eight games with an ankle injury, has resumed working out with the team. ... Ottawa D Erik Karlsson (Achilles tendon surgery) has resumed skating. ... Labrie sat out the previous six games with an upper body injury.
Ottawa vs Tampa Bay - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
Jean-Sebastien Giguere says he didn't rip into his Colorado teammates out of frustration or malice. The veteran goalie simply wants the Avalanche to take their jobs seriously, even in the final days of a lost season.
And two days after Giguere publicly trashed the Avs, the NHL's worst team showed it was listening.
Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist, and Colorado snapped a 14-game road winless streak while preventing Anaheim from clinching a playoff spot with a 4-1 victory over the Ducks on Wednesday night.
Giguere made 21 saves in his first win in nearly two months for Colorado, which snapped a five-game skid overall. The Stanley Cup-winning goalie blasted his teammates' work ethic and focus after the Avalanche's listless 3-1 home loss to Calgary on Monday, saying some players were thinking too much about their postseason vacations in Las Vegas.
Giguere's own roll of the dice paid off: The Avalanche responded to his criticism with their most impressive victory in a month, scoring three goals in the second period of just their third road win all season.
''We beat an excellent team and played the best game I've seen us play in a long time,'' Giguere said. ''It's a good start for us. ... Whenever you speak up, you expose yourself to criticism. You have to respond yourself. You can't just say stuff and not show up the next day. I'm just as (much a) part of the problem as the other guys, and I have to be part of the solution.''
Giguere, who backstopped Anaheim to the NHL title in 2007, shut down the high-scoring Ducks for his first win in nine appearances since Feb. 14 - also the date of Colorado's last win outside Denver.
''I'm pleased,'' Giguere said. ''Obviously I was worried a little bit how they were going to take it. You hope they're going to take it professionally and find a way to respond, and truthfully, I'm looking for a response in the last nine games of the season, not one game. That's what we're looking for, and this was a good start for us.''
John Mitchell scored 64 seconds into the first period and captain Gabriel Landeskog added a short-handed goal for the Avalanche, who hadn't scored more than two goals in any of their last seven games. Jamie McGinn also scored.
''We came out as a completely new team and had a great game,'' Landeskog said. ''It's one thing to go out and say what (Giguere) did, but to back it up with his play says a lot about who he is.''
Teemu Selanne scored his 674th career goal for the weary Pacific Division leaders, who had won five of seven. Anaheim could have finalized its postseason plans, but Jonas Hiller stopped just 12 of 16 shots behind a porous Ducks defense.
Viktor Fasth replaced Hiller for the scoreless third period for Anaheim (27-9-5), which still is in a prime position to claim the second seed in the Western Conference and its second Pacific Division title in 20 years of existence. The Ducks have a double-digit lead on Los Angeles and San Jose, although both have games in hand.
Anaheim was mostly lethargic in the finale of a five-game homestand despite the return of captain Ryan Getzlaf, who missed the last three games with an apparent injury to his right leg. Defenseman Cam Fowler then left in the first period with an upper-body injury.
''When we stink, we stink,'' Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. ''That team was ready to play, and we just had no push-back at all. I don't know why, after a couple of really strong outings, we come out with a game like that. ... It's a fragile team that we were playing, and if we could come out with a lead after the first period, we'd have them. It just seemed like our guys weren't ready to play.''
After playing 26 games in the past 46 days without any consecutive days off, the Ducks appeared more than ready for a little relief in their brutal lockout-shortened schedule. At least they'll have just one game in the next six days, driving up the I-5 on Saturday night to face the Stanley Cup champion Kings.
''That's just an excuse,'' Getzlaf said of the Ducks' schedule. ''We're plenty rested. We've only played half a season, too. We got outworked, and we can't have that happen again in our building. You're facing a team that has nothing to lose. They're just coming out and going after it.''
The sparse crowd at the Ducks' fifth home game in eight days hadn't even settled in its seats before Mitchell scored his 10th goal from close range, ending a nine-game drought.
Landeskog caught Getzlaf napping during an Anaheim power play in the second period, turning the corner on the Ducks captain and pushing a shot past Hiller. Less than four minutes later, Duchene added his 16th goal late in a power play.
NOTES: With Getzlaf's return, the Ducks scratched new RW Radek Dvorak, who scored two goals in Monday's win over Edmonton. ... Colorado C Paul Stastny returned from an eight-game absence with a persistent foot injury. ... New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez, who grew up in Orange County, attended the game in a Ducks jersey.
THE NHL and its players' union are partnering with an advocacy organization fighting homophobia in sports.
The You Can Play Project will conduct seminars at the NHL rookie symposium and make its resources and personnel available to teams. Players will be able to seek counseling or ask questions regarding sexual orientation.
Commissioner Gary Bettman says the venture underlines that "the official policy of the NHL is one of inclusion on the ice, in our locker rooms and in the stands." Union head Donald Fehr says the project "will foster an inclusive hockey environment from the grassroots level to the professional ranks."
Former NHL general manager Brian Burke and NHL players Tommy Wingels and Andy Miele serve on You Can Play's advisory board.
You Can Play was founded by Flyers scout Patrick Burke last month in memory of Brendan Burke, his brother and the son of Brian Burke. Brendan Burke revealed he was gay to his family in 2007. He died in a car accident in 2010.
Although future-focused Flames fans hoping for a last place finish and a first pick in the NHL Entry Draft might not be happy, Calgary defenceman Mark Giordano sure was.
Giordano scored the winning goal with 24 seconds remaining in overtime Friday as the Calgary Flames snapped a three-game home losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.
"It always feels great to score, no matter what," said Giordano. "But obviously an OT winner, you don't get those too often so it feels great."
Curtis Glencross and Mikael Backlund combined to set up Giordano just inside the blue-line, putting a shot past a screened Mike Smith. Afterwards, Smith just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't see the puck at all.
"I knew there was under a minute left so you're just trying to get a good quality chance. I don't think it was a great chance but I think there was a lot of time for me and there was a lot of people in front so I just tried to wrist it through," Giordano said.
Calgary pulls even with the reeling Carolina Hurricanes, two points ahead of the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche, who are tied for last in the overall standings.
"As players, we want to win, we're not worried about anything else," said Giordano. "It sucks going home after a game and thinking about all the mistakes you made in a loss."
Tough battle for a playoff spot
By only getting one point, Phoenix finds itself in a three-way tie for ninth in the Western Conference, joined by Dallas and Columbus who both won on Friday. They are two points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who occupy the eighth and final playoff spot.
"Obviously it's good to get one point versus no points," said Keith Yandle, who tied the game with just over five minutes left in the third. "We've got seven games left and we've got to take care of what we can take care of and get two points in as many games as we can."
Jiri Hudler and Lee Stempniak also scored for Calgary (15-21-4). The Flames, who had lost six of their last seven, snap a three-game losing streak at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Antoine Vermette and Keith Yandle scored for Phoenix (18-16-7). The Coyotes pick up three out of six points on their three-game road trip.
Although Phoenix outshot Calgary 11-2 in the third period, they hadn't had a dangerous scoring chance until Yandle took a diagonal pass from former Flame Derek Morris and one-timed a rocket from the face-off circle that beat Joey MacDonald over his glove to tie the game 2-2.
Tanguay injured
Calgary lost veteran left-winger Alex Tanguay 6:42 into the second period when his knee buckled under him while battling for puck in the Coyotes end. He was helped off the ice and was not putting weight on his left leg.
"It doesn't look good, the doctors were around him when I got in [the dressing room]," said Flames coach Bob Hartley. "I didn't see it but [assistant coach] Marty Gelinas saw a replay somewhere and said it's ugly."
Phoenix opened the scoring 1:29 into the game, before many in the announced sell-out crowd of 19,289 had settled into their seats. Vermette got his own rebound and from the top of the crease, put his 10th of the season past MacDonald.
But Shane Doan thought his team let up after that fast start.
"We were trying to be a little too lackadaisical, too relaxed with the puck, trying to be cute," said the Coyotes captain. "Scoring a goal early was big but it almost put you back into the kind of relaxed state instead of being aggressive and we can't have that happen."
Calgary tied it 1-1 in the final minute of the first. From behind the net, Mikael Backlund centred the puck and it caromed off the skate of Hudler and behind Smith.
Sven Baertschi is one of many young Flames trying to make an impression for next year.
"For us young guys, there is more pressure now than before," said Baertschi, 20, who had three shots in nearly 17 minutes of ice time. "We have to step up and be really good players out there. If you look into the future , we want to be here for a long time so you want to make their decision for next training camp as easy possible, that there's not going to be talks about Abbotsford. For sure. I'm not going back there. I did it twice this year. My goal is to show that I can play on this level and I want to stay up here."
MacDonald finished with 29 saves and Smith had 22 stops.
Smith made his fourth start in a row after returning from an upper body injury. He entered the night having stopped 93 of 95 shots in his previous three appearances.
"That was obviously big to get a point but not good enough, we need to get two," said Doan. "You have to try and stay within striking distance."
Phoenix vs Calgary - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
Teemu Selanne was in a deep recess of Honda Center, talking about life as a 42-year-old N.H.L. star and as the chiseled, aging face of a franchise filled with hope and Stanley Cup aspirations. Down a hall, seven 20-something men from Helsinki, Finland, waited nervously. They were on a pilgrimage, their first trip to the United States, to watch Selanne play two games for the Anaheim Ducks. One anxiously held Selanne’s No. 8 jersey from Jokerit, the top team in Helsinki, where Selanne starred before scoring the first of 674 N.H.L. goals more than 20 years ago.
Selanne is the most popular player in two lands — Finland and the vast suburban one surrounding Disneyland, about three miles west of the Ducks’ arena down Katella Avenue. He is used to the attention. And, as usual, he handled it with a deft touch and an easy smile.
“He loves life,” said his former teammate Scott Niedermayer, now an Anaheim assistant, watching from a few feet away. “He loves it, like we all hope we could.”
Selanne is the oldest player in the league, though he does not look or play like it, his full head of hair flowing in the breeze generated by skating speed that still surprises defensemen. And while he no longer leads the Ducks in scoring — responsibility is shared among Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan, all about 15 years younger — he still leads them in charisma and popularity.
Selanne, perhaps weeks away from the end of his career, finds himself playing for what may be the best Ducks team in the franchise’s 20 years. He would know, having been part of most of those teams. The Ducks are second only to the blistering Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings, and are 3-0 against Chicago this season. They, too, have noticed that few seem to be paying attention beyond Southern California.
“That has been good for us,” Selanne said.
Anaheim is loaded with depth at forward (the veteran Radek Dvorak scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over Edmonton last Monday and was a healthy scratch Wednesday against Colorado) and has a healthy goalie competition between Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth. Coach Bruce Boudreau, chased out of Washington last season and immediately hired in Anaheim, amicably steers a steady franchise that long ago shed its cartoonish mascot (and Disney ownership) for a more serious, championship-or-bust approach.
“If you don’t want the whole enchilada, I don’t want you on the team,” Boudreau told reporters last week.
Some of Selanne’s teammates are young enough to be his children — a fact that hit home last season when one mentioned that Selanne was the same age as his mother. Forward Emerson Etem, from nearby Long Beach, was less than a year old when Selanne, as a 22-year-old, catapulted past Mike Bossy’s record for goals by a rookie, with 76 in 1992-93.
Since then, the N.H.L. has added six franchises, moved and replaced teams in Winnipeg and Minnesota, shifted a team to Colorado from Quebec and had three lockouts.
Selanne, for a majority of his 20-year N.H.L. career, has mostly just watched the Ducks lose the Mighty in their nickname and the teal of their uniforms. In this area, for most of two decades, he has been as dependably routine and fruitful as a citrus tree.
“You have to be proud that you’ve been able to play all this time,” Selanne said. “It is funny that some teammates could be my sons. But you know what? I have a young mind, and those guys help me stay young.”
The persistent question, as it has been for many years now, is how long Selanne will play. He leaned heavily toward retiring after the Stanley Cup season of 2006-7, then returned the next January, and he still adheres to the Brett Favre school of uncertainty. Subsequent indecision has sometimes kept the Ducks waiting until September.
Teammates think he can play for years more. But Selanne does not want to put the Ducks in the uncomfortable position of not signing him (he has a one-year contract, paying him $4.5 million). He wants to leave on his own terms. Another title offers an enticing exit.
“Oh, for sure,” Selanne said. “I had a chance to go out as a champion once. And I thought I did.”
The issue for Selanne is that he is having too much fun. Besides, he has planted deep roots. Even when he retires, he will not move, having decided to spend his summers in his native Finland and the rest of his year in Southern California.
He has plenty to keep him busy. Selanne and his wife, Sirpa, have a 5-year-old daughter and three teenage hockey-playing sons with unenviable skates to fill. On Wednesday, Selanne examined their newly arrived sticks, none patterned after his. One son, for example, plays with the Henrik Zetterberg model.
“They don’t like my curve,” Selanne said.
He could spend more time playing golf; he usually shoots in the 70s, and he wants to play each of the top 100 courses in the United States. In a couple of months, he is opening a restaurant, Selanne’s, in Laguna Beach. In September, he will be the subject of a well-publicized Finnish documentary.
He could tend to his car collection, which once grew to 42 and is now about 25, including 1960s-era American muscle cars and several Ferraris. It started with a 1961 Lincoln convertible with suicide doors that Selanne bought when he was 18. It remains his favorite.
“They are made for driving,” Selanne said, explaining why the collection has shrunk. “They start leaking oil, and I almost feel sorry for them that no one is driving them.”
All that tugs him toward retirement.
“The toughest part for me playing a long time is stealing so much away from home,” Selanne said. “The boys are growing fast. In a couple of years, my boys will start going to college. But what can you do? You have a job to do, and you enjoy that, too.”
So Selanne could continue to play hockey for millions of dollars. Freed of the burden of stamping his career with a championship and carrying a franchise’s load in scoring — he is
The National Hockey League has postponed today's game between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators due to the deadly explosions that hit the Boston Marathon earlier in the day, while the NBA has called off a Boston Celtics game.
The Bruins were to host the Ottawa Senators at Boston's TD Garden tonight, but the National Hockey League (NHL) said the game would be played at a later date to be determined.
"The National Hockey League wishes to express its sympathy to all affected by the tragic events that took place in Boston earlier this afternoon," the league said.
The National Basketball Association's (NBA) Celtics were to host the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden tomorrow, but the game had been cancelled and would not be rescheduled, the league said.
"The NBA expresses its sympathy to all those affected by the tragedy in Boston earlier today," the NBA said in a statement.
Earlier on Monday, two explosions hit the Boston Marathon as runners crossed the finish line, killing at least two people and injuring dozens.
The National Football League's New England Patriots also postponed a media conference to be held tomorrow at their home Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 32km outside Boston.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and all who were injured by the bombings in Boston during today's Boston Marathon," the Patriots said.
The media conference, ahead of the NFL Draft next week, would be re-scheduled for later this week, the team said.
NHL, NBA hold play after Boston Marathon tragedy - Other Sports News | TVNZ
If you had told Flyers fans at the beginning of the season that they would have Steve Mason as their backup while Sergei Bobrovsky contended for the Vezina Trophy, would they have laughed at you? Or cried?
The latter could very possibly be true. Somehow, some way Sergei Bobrovsky is leading the Columbus Blue Jackets on an unstoppable charge toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Columbus held on for a 4-3 shootout win in Colorado on Monday, extending its win streak to four games and leapfrogging the Dallas Stars for ninth. Should Bob win the Vezina?
Here's a more important question: Should he win the Hart?
All The NHL Scores
Get caught up on Monday's NHL scores with recaps from our network of SB Nation team blogs. Here's a quick glance at the full day of action:
Maple Leafs 2, Devils 0
Flyers 7, Canadiens 3
Blackhawks 5, Stars 2
Canucks 5, Predators 2
Blue Jackets 4, Avalanche 3 (OT)
Wild 4, Flames 3
Sharks 4, Coyotes 0
Five Answers
Prior to Monday's games, we presented five burning questions regarding the day's action. Here are your cool, soothing answers.
1. Will the Boston Bruins clinch a playoff spot?
The Bruins' game against the Senators was postponed due to the Boston Marathon tragedy.
2. Will Patrice Bergeron have any impact in Monday night's game?
See above.
3. Will Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi re-kindle their chemistry?
Cullen has missed six games due to a lower-body injury. In the 16 games before the injury, Setoguchi recorded nine goals and six assists. In the six games since, Setoguchi has recorded a single assist. Will the return of his linemate boost his production?
4. Will Joffrey Lupul extended his point-streak?
The Leafs are clearly trying to protect Lupul for the playoffs, as they didn't dress him for the game on Monday. It was just one game, so the sample size is small, but the way the Leafs struggled to score against a struggling Devils squad has to make you wonder how far they can make it this spring if Lupul misses any more time. Leafs can attest that the chemistry between Lupul and Nazem Kadri is something Toronto needs to feed off in the playoffs.
5. How will the Edmonton Oilers respond to Steve Tambellini's firing?
Well, Edmonton didn't play. But I can show you how Oilers fans responded.
Impact Moment
What moment from Monday's games will be making headlines in the coming days?
It might not have affected hockey directly, but the tragic events in Boston are going to be talked about for days. The NHL held a moment of silence before each of Monday's games to remember those affected.
The NHL is planning to hold six outdoor games next year, beginning with the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium, according to TSN.
TSN is reporting that there are five other outdoor games scheduled following the Winter Classic, with games being played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Yankee Stadium in New York, Soldier Field in Chicago and BC Place in Vancouver.
Below is the schedule, as reported by TSN:
Toronto vs. Detroit at Michigan Stadium (Jan. 1)
Anaheim vs. Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium (Jan. 25)
New Jersey vs. N.Y. Rangers at Yankee Stadium (Jan. 26)
N.Y. Islanders vs. N.Y. Rangers at Yankee Stadium (Jan. 29)
Pittsburgh vs. Chicago at Soldier Field (March 1)
Ottawa vs. Vancouver at BC Place (March 2)
Report: NHL preparing for six outdoor games in 2013-2014 season, including Winter Classic - NHL News | FOX Sports on MSN
Getting upset at the fact there will reportedly be six outdoor games next NHL season is kind of like "Old Man Yells at Cloud" from The Simpsons. Yes, it's a cash grab by everyone involved, but what do you expect?
This was inevitable since former St. Louis owner Dave Checketts stood up at one Board of Governors meeting and suggested the idea so his Blues could be involved.
I've covered every NHL version and think every fan base should get a chance to participate in at least one. The venues are terrific. Players love it. Organizations love it. Fans who go love it.
There were times the date approached and I thought, "What are we going to do to make this one interesting?" But you walk into Wrigley Field or Fenway Park and feel the energy and that goes away. Every time.
If you go to an outdoor game and don't get caught up in the excitement, you're kind of soulless.
All of that said, there's one bad thing about next year's schedule, as reported by TSN's Darren Dreger: the last two games. They are Pittsburgh at Chicago on March 1 and Ottawa at Vancouver the next day.
That's six and seven days, respectively, after the conclusion of the Sochi Olympics. Look at the rosters of those four teams. Things can change, but how many players are going to Russia? You could make a good argument for at least 30.
It seems overly risky to send those players halfway across the world, bring them back and thrust them into unfamiliar surroundings. Every single one of them will want to play in both the Olympics and the outdoor game. I get that. But someone should be asking, "Is this really a good idea?"
Financially, it's a windfall. Estimate approximately $30 million US in hockey-related revenue per game. So we're talking $180 million for 2013-14, half of which goes to the players. There is added incentive for them: the cap drops to $64.3 million next season. That could create an increase in the players' escrow payments. Nothing aggravates them more. This "Outdoor Game Cash Extravaganza" decreases the likelihood of a stiffer escrow. That is powerful motivation to agree.
I understand all that. Money rules the world, everybody profits from this. When you step on the ice, there is risk. For those two games, though, is there too much risk?
6 outdoor NHL games too taxing for players? | Hockey | CBC Sports
Carey Price knew the barrage of goals had to end some time.
And with a little help from his goalposts, the Montreal Canadiens goalie put a stop to it Thursday night with a solid, 32-save performance in a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I feel pretty good," said Price, whose team was coming off a season-high three straight regulation time defeats in which they gave up 18 total goals.
Price, who has been stellar for most of the season, had been pulled from consecutive starts for the first time in his career while letting in 12 goals on only 53 shots, while backup Peter Budaj let in the other six.
"It was a bit of a tough week, obviously, when you get 18 goals scored on you in three games," Price said. "It's tough, but as a professional, you have to keep battling through it.
"I spoke to my dad about it and he said there's no short cut. If there was, someone would have figured it out by now. The only way is to keep working."
Brian Gionta's second goal of the game with 47 seconds left to play was the game-winner for Montreal (27-12-5). Alex Galchenyuk also scored as the Canadiens swept their three-game season series with the Lightning.
Richard Panik and Vincent Lecavalier had goals for Tampa Bay (17-22-4), who are winless in five and have only one victory in eight games. The Lightning ended a four-game road trip.
Back in 1st place
Thursday was Montreal's first win since clinching a playoff spot last week and it put them back into first place in the Northeast Division, two points ahead of Boston which has two games in hand.
The lack of energy the Habs had shown of late was still there at times, but at least they managed to stop the bleeding.
The Canadiens had given up nine goals in the first period of their three previous games, but Price's posts came to his rescue this time as Teddy Purcell, Sami Salo and Lacavalier all hit the iron in a scoreless opening 20 minutes.
Price then made some brilliant saves, including one in the second when he managed thwarted Martin St. Louis from in close.
That got the 21,273 at the Bell Centre, who had been on his back, chanting his name.
"It's tough as a goaltender here," Price said. "It can be nerve-wracking, but I've got a lot of experience dealing with this type of situation.
"You just have to take a step back, relax, put in some honest work. Usually bad times don't hang around too long."
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien looked almost as relieved as his goaltender.
"I'm really satisfied and proud of Carey Price," he said. "He bounced back.
"It was lucky at times, but you need some breaks to win."
Shots were 35-34 in Montreal's favour and Ben Bishop was also solid in goal for the Lightning.
The loss left them 3-5-3 since Jon Cooper replaced Guy Boucher as head coach.
"I haven't been here that long, but that was the best game we've played from start to finish," said Cooper. "I though we controlled a lot of the play.
"I don't know what the scoring chances were, but I'd have to say we were on the positive end of that. But unfortunately, we're on the negative end of the score. But if you can play consistently the way we did, we're going to win more games than we lose."
Montreal took the lead 4:04 into the second when Galchenyuk was parked at the edge of the crease to slip in a bouncing pass from Brendan Gallagher. It was the rookie's sixth goal in his last eight games.
Gionta then redirected a Tomas Plekanec pass behind Bishop after a turnover at the Tampa Bay blue-line at 15:05.
The Lightning took advantage of their first power play as Panik made a deft move to take in a Victor Hedman pass and lift it over Price at 17:36.
Lecavalier tied it 5:07 into the third when a Hedman shot deflected off some skates in front and left a wide opening for the Bolts' captain to score his 10th of the season.
The Lightning took a string of penalties in the third period and the last one coast them as Gionta banged in the rebound off the end boards of a Yannick Weber shot for the game-winner.
"It was a scrambly play and it's nice to capitalize on that, but the best thing is we're getting back to winning ways and getting more confidence," said Gionta. "It's big for our confidence.
"When you lose a few tough games, you lose that little edge, so it's nice to get that back."
Salo left early in the second period with an upper body injury and did not return. Cooper said it did not appear to be serious.
Tampa Bay vs Montreal - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
The Pittsburgh Penguins say it's too soon after surgery to say how long he will be out, but medical protocol suggests he might need three or four weeks before he returns to the ice. That means that Crosby might not be back until the playoffs.
As Crosby starts to recuperate, his team has won 15 consecutive games and has a one-point edge on the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks for the Presidents' Trophy, which guarantees home-ice advantage through the playoffs. They are seven points ahead of the second-place Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference.
Even without Crosby, the Penguins should be able to hold their lead in the East. But if Crosby's talent is worth an extra win or two every dozen games, that could make a difference in the race with Chicago.
In the scoring race, Crosby leads Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, but if Crosby misses the final 12 games, Stamkos likely would pass him. Crosby was a front-runner for the Hart Trophy because he had taken his game to another level this season after missing the better part of two seasons with concussion issues.
If Crosby is gone until the playoffs, he will have played only 75% of his team's regular-season games. Would that be enough for members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to say he deserves the MVP? It's a borderline call, but Crosby probably will be helped by the fact that he's the captain of the league's hottest team.
In addition to Crosby being out, the Penguins announced Sunday that Paul Martin would be out up to six weeks after surgery for a broken bone in his hand. Martin is the team's No. 2 offensive defenseman, and the Penguins' top defenseman, Kris Letang, has been out with a broken toe.
The positive news for the Penguins is that Letang is expected back soon, and Evgeni Malkin recently returned after recovering from an upper-body injury. He historically has risen up to carry the team when Crosby has been injured.
The Penguins learned how to survive without Crosby when he was out with his concussion problems. And this season, they have clamped down on their defensive play, giving up nine goals over their past 11 games.
They will face the Buffalo Sabres at home on Tuesday. If they win, they will look to tie the NHL record of 17 consecutive wins Wednesday night against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The 1992-93 Penguins, led by current owner Mario Lemieux, hold the record.
How Crosby's injury could affect NHL races