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Pittsburgh Notes: Cullen, Rust, Jarry, Guentzel

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Penguins center Matt Cullen is the third oldest player in the NHL this season behind Florida’s Jaromir Jagr and Arizona’s Shane Doan.  Despite recently turning 40, Cullen isn’t ruling out playing another season beyond this one, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The decision on whether or not to retire won’t be coming any time soon either, noted Cullen:

“Once I decided to come back this year, that was the only thing on my mind. I know some people can do it, but I’m just not a guy who can have all that stuff in his head. I just want to focus on one goal. Then I’ll deal with that later.”

Through 38 games this season, Cullen has seven goals and seven assists which puts him at a 30 point pace, comparable to the 32 he put up last season.  It’s also pretty good production for a player who predominantly plays a bottom six role who also continues to bring an above average success rate at the faceoff dot to the table.  Cullen admits he’s pleasantly surprised with how he has held up so far:

“I feel really good. I was tired. Of course, everyone’s tired and banged up after the playoffs. I was a little bit. I’ve been really happy with how I feel. My legs feel great. I feel good on the ice. I feel strong. The body feels like it’s holding up really well. I consider myself pretty blessed in that regard. It’s not fun if your body doesn’t feel good.”

With a cap hit and salary of only $1MM, Cullen has been one of the better bargains from this past offseason.  If he holds up over the second half of the season and what he hopes is another lengthy postseason run, he should have several suitors for his services in July if he decides to keep playing.

More from Pittsburgh:

  • When he first came up to the NHL back in 2014, right winger Bryan Rust was so concerned about turning the puck over that he would frequently just bank the puck off the boards and chase it. Two years later, it’s a big reason for his success, writes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  As analytics suggest dumping the puck in isn’t ideal, Rust’s compromise of banking it ahead and chasing it down has resulted in several scoring chances or drawn penalties.  Through 35 games, the 24 year old is having a career season with ten goals and six assists while spending time on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby; it’s safe to say his approach is paying off.
  • The Penguins will have a pair of prospects representing them at the AHL All-Star Game as netminder Tristan Jarry and left winger Jake Guentzel were named to the game yesterday. Jarry was just recalled to the big club earlier today while Guentzel leads the AHL in goals with 18 and had quite the NHL debut back in November, scoring on his very first shift while adding a second goal later on in the opening period of that game.

Rangers Injury Updates: Buchnevich, Nash, Zibanejad, Staal

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The New York Rangers announced that they have assigned left winger Pavel Buchnevich to Hartford of the AHL.  Buchnevich has been out of the lineup for nearly two months due to back spasms.

The 21 year old rookie made a sizable impact early on this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before getting injured.  While this technically isn’t an injury conditioning stint as he is waiver exempt, it effectively will work as one as he’s going down to play his way back into game shape.

Buchnevich is expected to play tonight for the Wolf Pack and head coach Alain Vigneault said they will monitor his progress on a game-by-game basis and go from there, per the teams’ Twitter account.

Vigneault also provided some updates on several other injured Rangers (all Twitter links):

  • Left winger Rick Nash is close but will not suit up tomorrow. He has been out since December 19th with another groin injury.  Vigneault hopes that the ‘bye week’ which for the Rangers runs from January 7th to the 12th will be enough to get him back to 100%.
  • Center Mika Zibanejad skated this morning and felt really good afterwards. He has been out of the lineup since late November due to a broken fibula.  There’s still no timetable for his return.
  • Defenseman Marc Staal remains day-to-day with an upper body sustained on Tuesday against Buffalo. He’s not expected to play tomorrow in Columbus.

Brendan Gallagher To Miss Eight Weeks

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without one of their top forwards for at least the next two months.

Feisty winger Brendan Gallagher underwent surgery in Montreal last night to repair a fracture in his left hand. The Canadiens announced that Gallagher will miss a minimum of eight weeks. The injury occurred when Gallagher was hit by a Shea Weber slapshot during Wednesday night’s game in Dallas (GIF of the injury). Gallagher left the ice quickly.

It’s the same hand that Gallagher broke last year, missing 17 games after being hit by a Johnny Boychuk slapshot. Unfortunately for Gallagher, Weber can shoot the puck a little harder than Boychuk. As one Twitter user dryly observed, being hit in the hand by a Weber slapshot is “like trying to catch a meteor with a baseball mitt.”

Gallagher’s injury is a tough loss for the Canadiens, as he’s one of their better forwards. He has 18 points in 39 games so far this year, which represents a down year for him. His 37-point-pace is the lowest of his NHL career, and would be his lowest point total since his rookie year, which was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

Gallagher’s injury is the latest in a long list of injured Canadiens. Forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Andrew Shaw, David Desharnais, and Paul Byron are all injured. On defense, the club is missing Andrei Markov and Greg Pateryn. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s five top-nine forwards and a top-four defenseman missing. Despite all the injuries, the Canadiens are in first place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division with 54 points, which is 10 points above the second-place Boston Bruins and third-place Ottawa Senators.

 

Minor Transactions: 1/6/17

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Here are the minor transactions from around the hockey world for January 6, 2017.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have called up goaltender Tristian Jarry and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Wilkes-Barrie/ Scranton Penguins. Jarry has 14 wins this season, which puts him in a four-way tie to lead the AHL. Jarry returns to the NHL club to cover for Matt Murray’s recent injury. The Penguins had their CBA-mandated bye-week, so Jarry was sent down to play games instead of getting a week off. He has yet to make his NHL debut. Ruhwedel has 15 points in 27 games with the AHL club this year, and two points in five NHL games.
  • The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Liam O’Brien from the Hershey Bears of the AHL. O’Brien has 18 points in 28 games with the Bears, and could play his first NHL game since 2014-15. He had two points in 13 games with the Capitals in his first year of professional hockey. O’Brien has 42 points in 132 AHL games in his career, and is in the final year of his entry-level contract.
  • A day after clearing waivers, Anton Khudobin is on his way to the AHL as the Bruins call up Zane McIntyre in a swap of backup goaltenders. McIntyre is unbeaten in the AHL this season with a spectacular 10-0-0 record and an AHL-leading 0.951 SV% and a 1.41 GAA. He hasn’t had the same success at the NHL level, though. He’s 0-2-0 in three appearances with a 0.859 SV% and a 4.04 GAA. Meanwhile, Khudobin has struggled in his second stint in Boston, with just one win in seven games and a GAA of 3.06. He’s in the first season of a two-year contract which pays him $1.2MM per season. Khudobin will still account for $250K against the Bruins cap while he plies his trade in the AHL.
  • The Bruins have also returned energy forward Noel Acciari to the Providence Bruins. Acciari has struggled to earn regular play time in Boston since returning from injury two weeks ago.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Gustav Forsling to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL. Forsling was a pleasant surprise who made the Blackhawks out of training camp, but has seen his ice-time decrease throughout the season. He has four points in 32 games in the NHL this season. The Blackhawks likely wanted to stop carrying eight defensemen, as veterans Brian Campbell and Michal Rozsival were healthy scratches for last night’s game. Forsling did not need to clear waivers to be sent down, so he was the odd-man out.
  • Staying with the Blackhawks organization, Spencer Abbott was recalled by Chicago on January 3. Three days and one game later, he’s heading back to the Rockford. Abbott was held pointless in just over eight minutes of ice on Thursday night. He has 21 points in 30 AHL games in his first full year in the Blackhawks organization since being acquired at the 2015 NHL trade deadline. Abbott played last season in Sweden before returning to North America. It’s likely that Jordin Tootoo will draw back into the lineup in his place.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent Patrik Nemeth to the AHL on a conditioning stint. The 6’3, 215 lbs defenseman has played in just 16 games with the Stars this season, with no points.
  • Oilers prospect Jordan Oesterle is heading back to Bakersfield. He has yet to appear in any NHL games this season, having been recalled to serve as the seventh defenseman twice. The speedy defenseman has eight points in 14 AHL games this year after scoring five points in 17 games with the Oilers last season.

Blue Jackets’ Streak Ends One Win Shy Of NHL Record

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“It’s going to be a really good, fun moment for us to end it.”

That’s what Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky told the Washington Times when asked about facing the Blue Jackets prior to Thursday night’s game. The Blue Jackets were on the verge of tying an incredible NHL record, going for their 17th-straight win. Their last loss was a distant memory, back on November 29, 2016.

Unfortunately for Columbus, the streak ended with a thud, as Washington beat them soundly, 5-0.

Daniel Winnik, John Carlson, Nate Schmidt, Burakovsky, and Justin Williams scored for Washington, who won their fourth game in a row. Braden Holtby made 29 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been a major part of the Blue Jackets’ win streak, allowed five goals on 23 shots before being pulled in the third period. Bobrovsky was 14-0-0 during the winning streak, with just 23 goals allowed and a 0.941 SV%. One of the other key facets of the Blue Jackets’ streak that failed them was their deadly power-play (15/53, or 28%). They went 0/5 versus the Capitals.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the Blue Jackets recover from the end of their winning streak, which featured more wins than four teams (Arizona, Colorado, Buffalo, and the Islanders) have all season, and as many wins as three teams (Dallas, New Jersey, and Florida) have so far this season. Damien Cox of Sportsnet writes that the next challenge for coach John Tortorella is to “convince his group that the streak wasn’t a fluke but a demonstration of capability.”

The Blue Jackets play 11 games in the next 20 days before the NHL All-Star break. They’re going to have a big target on their backs, as teams try to prove that they can beat the team who went more than five weeks without a loss.

Despite the incredible run, nothing is guaranteed for Tortorella and his team. The team they were trying to catch, the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins, won 17 straight but were upset in the second-round of the playoffs. As Cox wrote in his article:

The 16-game streak was nice and all, but it doesn’t change the fact that this hockey club has never won much of anything. Tortorella, an experienced, hardnosed coach, will be reminding them of that, you can bet.

The Blue Jackets are first in the NHL, but only by three points. And the next two teams, Pittsburgh and the Rangers, are both division rivals in the Metropolitan Division. Washington has 53 points, which would be tops in both Western Conference Divisions, but remains in fourth in the Metropolitan. Columbus will need to continue winning consistently if they hope to improve their franchise’s 2-8 all-time playoff record.

NHL Teams With Prospects On Both USA and Canada

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The United States and Canada face off in the World Junior Championships gold medal game tonight. Each team is loaded with NHL draft picks, and it is inevitable that some teams have players from both teams. While these players may be part of the same organization, there is no love lost when the two countries play each other. Below are all the NHL teams who have prospects on both Canada and USA tonight:

Arizona Coyotes
F Dylan Strome (CAN) vs. F Clayton Keller (USA)

Boston Bruins
D Jeremy Lauzon (CAN) vs. D Ryan Lingren* and D Charlie McAvoy (USA)
*Lingren was a late scratch before the gold-medal game

Calgary Flames
F Dillon Dube (CAN) vs. G Tyler Parsons and D Adam Fox (USA)

Nashville Predators
D Dante Fabbro (CAN) vs. F Patrick Harper (USA)

New Jersey Devils
F Michael McLeod and F Blake Speers (CAN) vs. F Joey Anderson (USA)

New York Islanders
F Matthew Barzal (CAN) vs. F Kieffer Bellows (USA)

Ottawa Senators
D Thomas Chabot (CAN) vs. F Colin White (USA)

Philadelphia Flyers
G Carter Hart and D Phillipe Myers* (CAN) vs. F Tanner Laczynski (USA)
*Myers was injured in the CAN vs. USA preliminary game and was unable to play in the gold-medal game.

 

Snapshots: Panthers, Stars, Lightning

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Florida Panthers have called up Jared McCann from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, reports Harvey Fialkov. The Panthers acquired McCann from the Vancouver Canucks—alongside a 2016 2nd and 4th round pick—for defenseman Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 5th round pick. Initially drafted by Vancouver in the first round in 2014, McCann now has 1G and 2A in 17 games for the Panthers. He has also scored 4G and 2A in 15 games for Springfield.
  • Dallas Stars prospect Denis Guryanov scored the overtime game-winning goal for Russia—against Sweden—to win the bronze medal in the World Junior Championships. The Russian forward scored 4G and 3A this tournament, good for 11th overall in scoring. Stars color commentator Daryl Reaugh tweeted that the team’s veterans liked Guryanov’s attitude, work-ethic, and talent. Guryanov currently plays for Dallas’s AHL affiliate the Texas Stars, and has scored 4G and 9A in 23 games. The team hopes his tournament performance carries over to the second half of his AHL season.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette returns to the lineup tonight against the Nashville Predators. Paquette missed the last six games with a lower-body injury suffered on December 20th against the Detroit Red Wings. Paquette has struggled so far this season, scoring only 3G and 4A in 31 games. Tampa is currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in, but could make a late season push when both Ben Bishop and Steven Stamkos return.

 

Boedker A Healthy Scratch Tonight For Sharks

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Mikkel Boedker, San Jose’s key offseason addition, will be a healthy scratch tonight for the second time on the season, writes Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area. The 27-year-old winger will be replaced in the lineup by Tommy Wingels.

Boedker inked a four-year deal with the Sharks worth $16MM after registering a 51-point campaign last season, splitting the campaign with Arizona and Colorado. The belief at the time was that the Danish winger would benefit playing with San Jose’s talented centers as Boedker never had anyone as good as Joe Thornton or Logan Couture to play with while in Arizona. Instead, Boedker has scuffled through the first half of 2016-17, registering just two goals and six assists in 38 games despite spending roughly half of his time skating either with Thornton or Couture, according to the website Left Wing Lock.

Consistency, or the lack thereof, appears to be Boedker’s biggest issue in the opinion of his head coach, Peter DeBoer, who knows Boedker from their days together in junior hockey.

“I know this kid and I know his character. My conversation with him was, heading into Christmas, he probably played eight or 10 of the best games he’s played here. Might have been our best player six or seven of those nights. 

“He’s 40 games in, he knows our systems. He knows how we want to play. He’s been able to play that way and been effective for more than a game or two. He’s done it for a stretch. Now, it’s just consistently bringing that. 

“This is a tough division we’re in. You can’t take your foot off the gas. We’ve got tough decisions to make every night, and we’ve got good players sitting out. I think that’s the message, and he gets it. I’m sure we’ll get a good response when he’s back in.”

It’s clear that DeBoer is still willing to give Boedker another opportunity to prove himself but his patience must be wearing thin. With three years remaining on his contract after the conclusion of the 2016-17 campaign, it will be interesting to see what the Sharks will do with the skilled winger moving forward. If he fails to turn his season around the team could look to move on but trading him with that much money left on his deal won’t be easy. The Sharks could choose not to protect Boedker and hope the Vegas Golden Knights take a chance on the gifted offensive player. Expansion clubs typically struggle in the goal-scoring department and they might be willing to assume some risk in the hopes Boedker returns to his 50-point ways.

Galchenyuk, Markov Nearing Return For Habs

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The Canadiens got some good news today with word that center Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Andrei Markov are rejoining the club tonight and will practice with the team tomorrow. Montreal reported the news this afternoon via their official Twitter account.

Galchenyuk was in the midst of a breakout campaign as Montreal’s #1 center with 23 points in 25 appearances before suffering a knee injury which caused the talented 22-year-old pivot to miss the last month. To be fair, Galchenyuk had a pretty good 2015-16, netting 30 goals and tying Max Pacioretty for the team lead. While the Canadiens managed to post a 7 – 3 – 4 record in his absence, they undoubtedly are better with Galchenyuk on the ice.

Meanwhile, Markov also appears poised to rejoin the team after an eight-game absence due to a lower-body injury. The 38-year-old Russian may no longer be an elite top-pair blue liner but he is still a productive player who posted 21 points in 31 games to start this season. Last year, Markov registered 44 points in 82 games while averaging nearly 24 minutes a game.

O’Reilly Returns To Lineup For Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres will welcome center Ryan O’Reilly back to the lineup tonight with the team in Chicago to face the Blackhawks, according to Mike Harrington of  The Buffalo News. O’Reilly last played on December 23rd and has missed the last four games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on December 27th. He was expected at the time to need 10 – 14 days to recover and it appears as if O’Reilly’s return comes slightly ahead of schedule.

O’Reilly currently ranks fourth on the Sabres in scoring with 17 points and his return couldn’t have come at a better time given the recent loss of Johan Larsson for the season. Head coach Dan Bylsma can use O’Reilly against the opposition’s top lines, thus freeing Jack Eichel to match-up against lesser competition.

Buffalo acquired O’Reilly from Colorado prior to the start of the 2015-16 season in a blockbuster deal that also brought forward Jamie McGinn to the Sabres. The Avalanche received Mikhail Grigorenko and defenseman Nikita Zadorov along with prospect J.T. Compher and a 2015 second-round pick in return. O’Reilly led the team in scoring last season with 60 points and posted the second 20-goal season of his seven-year career.

The Sabres went 2 – 2 – 0 in O’Reilly’s absence, sandwiching back-to-back, home-and-home losses to Boston with road wins over Detroit and the New York Rangers. They are tied for last in the Eastern Conference with the New York Islanders and trail the Bruins by eight points for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic.

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