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Atlantic Notes: Pastrnak, Lightning, Hicketts, Krejci

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It wasn’t the best matchup for the Boston Bruins Saturday, but the team allowed right wing David Pastrnak to take the faceoff with 0.9 seconds remaining in their overtime game with the Los Angeles Kings. According to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe, had Pastrnak just got a stick on the puck, things wouldn’t have spiraled out of control in that short amount of time. Instead, the Kings’ Anze Kopitar won a clean faceoff and passed it to Tyler Toffoli, who blasted it past Boston goaltender Tuuka Rask with 0.4 seconds left, allowing the Kings to walk away with a shocking victory. If you haven’t seen it, catch the video here.

According to Shinzawa, Pastrnak still was the best option for who was out there between Anders Bjork and Torey Krug, but he should have done anything, even illegal, to keep the Bruins from allowing a clean faceoff. A penalty would have only given the Kings an extra attacker, which would have made little difference with 0.9 seconds remaining, but it could have allowed Boston to substitute with a better face-off specialist like Patrice Bergeron.

“All we’re asking him to do is basically affect the puck there,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Not even win it. We don’t need to win it. We just need some sort of stick on it so it bounces toward the boards. I think that’s what David was thinking. If he could push it toward the boards, it has no chance of going backwards. Didn’t happen.”

  • Brandon Burns of NHL.com writes that special teams is what let the Tampa Bay Lightning down in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The scribe writes that it has been the team’s special teams that has made the difference in the team’s success this season. While the team only found itself in two penalty killing situations all game, Tampa Bay allowed goals both times, while the power play had four power play chances and couldn’t convert, something the team has done in 10 of 11 games. Neither Steven Stamkos or Nikita Kucherov were able to get on the scoreboard, breaking both of their scoring streaks at 11 games.
  • Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Detroit Red Wings should be taking a long look at Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Joe Hicketts as a potential callup to fix the team’s defensive struggles. The 21-year-old undrafted free agent has impressed the organization and almost made the team out of training camp with his physical play, despite his 5-foot-8, 177-pound frame. The scribe breaks down Hicketts’ play and points out that he is the perfect player to shake up the team’s failing blueline.
  • The Boston Bruins tweeted that veterean center David Krejci will miss Monday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with what’s believed to be a back injury. Krejci, who missed Saturday’s game against the Kings, has one goal and five assists in six games, centering the Bruins top line. David Backes will likely fill in for him in that spot again.

Minor Transactions: 10/29/17

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Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on the minor news and notes throughout the day with the most recent moves at the top:

  • After a fleury of goaltending moves in the last few days that saw the team trade for New Jersey goalie Scott Wedgewood and place backup Louis Domingue on waivers, Elite Prospects tweeted that the Arizona Coyotes have called up goaltending prospect Hunter Miska today. Miska, who signed in April this year after dominating year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in which he took the team to the Frozen Four finals, wasn’t fairing as well with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he had a 4.02 GAA and a .884 save percentage in four games. The call-up suggests that starting goaltender Antti Raanta may not be as healthy as the team thought.
  • Mark Divver of the Providence Journal tweets that the Boston Bruins will recall Providence Bruins’ goaltender Zane McIntyre today as an emergency backup. The 25-year-old AHL goalie has been called up for this reason before, but has not made it into a game yet for the Bruins. He is currently 4-1 with Providence and has played well, with a 1.81 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Divvers adds that he believes it’s due to the fact that Bruins’ starting goalie Tuukka Rask kept getting run into during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have also sent three players down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL, including two former first-round picks, including 2015 first-round pick Joel Eriksson Ek and 2016 first-round pick Luke Kunin as well as Zack Mitchell. No corresponding moves have been made yet. Eriksson-Ek who many believed might have a breakout year has struggled in nine games with the Wild. The 20-year-old center has had just one goal and two assists in that span after putting up better numbers in a 15-games stint with the team last year when he put up three goals and four assists. Eriksson-Ek struggled in the preseason and was a candidate to not make the team at one point, but the team instead sent down Kunin instead. Kunin has been going back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota all year. However, Kunin has been more successful lately as his minutes and numbers have started to increase. The 19-year-old has a goal and two assists that all have come recently, as his short-handed goal against the Islanders Thursday makes him the first player in team history to score his first goal short-handed. Mitchell has also been up and down quite a bit this year, helping out the team’s fourth line while the team deals with multiple injuries. Mitchell has a goal and an assist in five games.
  • Vancouver Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning announced the team has recalled center Jayson Megna today. The 27-year-old returns to the team after having played in 54 games for Vancouver a year ago, tallying four goals and four assists. He has been with the Utica Comets since the start of the season, putting up an assist in four games this year. The move was expected after the team sent Michael Chaput down to Utica on Friday, leaving the team with only 12 healthy forwards.
  • The Colorado Avalanche tweeted that they have assigned forward Andrew Agozzino to the San Antonio Rampage today. He was recalled yesterday for their evening game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but was a healthy scratch. Agozzino has been an offensive force for the Rampage, putting up two goals and six assists in seven games so far this year. He was called up as an emergency forward after the team placed Gabriel Bourque on injured reserve due to an upper body injury.

Teddy Purcell, Lauri Korpikoski Sign Overseas

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Two of the more notable names left without an NHL contract when the 2017-18 season began have come to terms on new deals elsewhere. Teddy Purcell, a former 65-point scorer who of late was on a PTO with the Boston Bruins, signed with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk today, the team announced. Lauri Korpikoski, fresh off a strong campaign with the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets, somewhat surprisingly drew little attention this off-season and has now signed with the ZSC Lions of the NLA, according to a team release. The former Edmonton teammates will each look to rejuvenate their careers overseas this season.

Purcell, 32, was had a roller coaster career. The undrafted University of Maine product made a surprise jump to the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings in 2007-08 after just one year of college and made an immediate impact. After being swapped for Jeff Halpern early in his career, Purcell took off with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring 51 points his first season and 65 the next. His scoring continued, but that didn’t stop the Bolts from trading him to the Edmonton Oilers, who in turn traded him to the Florida Panthers less than two years later. During this time, Purcell had continued to be a consistent scorer no matter where he landed. So, when Purcell given nearly no attention in the free agent market last year and ended up back in L.A. and soon after buried in the minors, it came as a shock to many. This time around, no one was surprised when Purcell was unable to turn his tryout in Boston into a contract, but the fact remains that there is still no evidence that Purcell ever stopped being a solid play-making forward. Now in Russia, Purcell has the potential to light it up with Avangard. Don’t be surprised if the swift winger scores early and often in the KHL and catches the eye of the Canadian Olympic team.

As for Korpikoski, his off-season went much like Purcell’s last year. 20 points in 60 games aren’t eye-popping numbers, but it was a pleasantly surprising season for Korpikoski in Dallas. The two-way forward had never been a big producer – his career high 40 points came back in 2010-11 with the Phoenix Coyotes, a team on which he was pressed into a top-six role due to a lack of talent – but Korpikoski had made a career out of his well-rounded game. A 2004 first-round pick of the New York Rangers, the now-31-year-old was a hard-working and reliable player for long stretches in New York and Arizona, but a drop-off in production in the desert and a subsequent trade to the Edmonton Oilers in 2015 looked like the beginning of the end. Yet, the Stars took a gamble last summer and it paid off with a sold effort from Korpikoski and a trade return of young defenseman Dillon Heatherington from Columbus at the deadline. However, the renewed interest never came and Korpikoski has had to settle for Switzerland. With ZSC, Korpikoski will join a talented NLA team and will get a chance to skate alongside NHL veterans like Robert Nilsson and Drew Shore. While Finland is in better shape for the upcoming Winter Games than the U.S. or Canada, don’t count out the possibility of the veteran Finn winger from getting the call to go to Pyeongchang as well.

Danton Heinen Recalled By Boston Bruins

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  • The Boston Bruins have brought Danton Heinen back from the minor leagues ahead of their matchup with the San Jose Sharks tonight, rewarding the young playmaker for his excellent early play. Heinen has eight points in four games for the Providence Bruins, including seven assists. That isn’t just a minor league trend, as prior to his assignment he recorded three points in three games for Boston as well. The 22-year old fourth-round pick is showing considerable upside and could get into the lineup on a more full-time basis going forward.

Krejci Listed As Week-To-Week

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Bruins center David Krejci has been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week and has been ruled out of action for the rest of this week, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).  The upper-body injury occurred last Thursday against Vancouver after awkwardly hitting the boards.  Although he played in all 82 games last season, staying healthy has been an issue at times for the 31-year old who missed 45 games due to injuries between 2014-15 and 2015-16.  For the time being, Boston will likely shift David Backes to play down the middle, a position he has plenty of experience with from his time in St. Louis.

McIntyre, O'Gara Assigned To Providence

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  • The Boston Bruins have assigned goaltender Zane McIntyre and defenseman Rob O’Gara to Providence of the AHL, the team announced. Both were recent call-ups to fill in for injured players and now, with the Bruins not playing until Thursday, the team sent them down. McIntyre was called up after Tuukka Rask reportedly was injured during practice Thursday. The 25-year-old did not get into a game with Boston. He has performed well in Providence, having accrued a 2.35 GAA and a .914 save percentage in three games. O’Gara was recalled yesterday and filled in for injured defenseman Kevan Miller. NBC Sports Joe Haggerty tweeted that O’Gara played a solid games for Boston. O’Gara had an assist in three games with Providence before his call up. CapFriendly tweets that with the two demotions, the team is $863,333 under the ACSL (the new upper limit), which allows them to accrue valuable cap space against that amount.

Bruins Recall Rob O'Gara On Emergency Basis

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  • The Bruins announced that they have recalled defenseman Rob O’Gara from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. He will play tonight if blueliner Kevan Miller, who left practice early yesterday after taking a puck off his knee and is listed as a game-time decision, can’t go.  O’Gara has played in three games at the minor league level this season, picking up an assist and also got into three contests with Boston last year.

Erik Gudbranson Suspended One Game

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The Department of Player Safety has handed out another suspension, this time to Erik Gudbranson of the Vancouver Canucks. Gudbranson has been given a one-game ban for hitting Frank Vatrano from behind last night. The Boston Bruins’ forward would initially leave the game, but would find his way back to the bench later on. Gudbranson was immediately confronted by Tim Schaller in a fight, but would also be given a five minute major for boarding. Boston would get some measure of revenge by scoring three times during the ensuing powerplay, but the league has issued even more punishment.

As the video explanation states:

From the moment Vatrano gains possession of the puck behind the net, Gudbranson sees nothing but Vatrano’s numbers. While Vatrano shifts slightly as he attempts to move the puck to his teammate, he makes no sudden movements just prior to contact that turn this from a legal hit into an illegal one.

Gudbranson has never been suspended by the DoPS before, but has toed the line of legality quite a few times. He’s previously been involved in borderline hits, and was reported to have yelled threats towards Matt Martin after an incident in Toronto last year. Still, having no recorded history of discipline helped him keep the suspension to just one game. Going forward he’ll have to exercise a bit more caution, or else face stiffer penalties.

Adam McQuaid To Undergo Surgery On Broken Fibula

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The Boston Bruins announced some bad injury news today, as Adam McQuaid has suffered a broken right fibula and will require surgery. The defenseman will have the surgery on Monday, and is out for approximately eight weeks. McQuaid broke the lower leg bone on Thursday night against Vancouver.

Losing McQuaid will put even more strain on a defense corps that is already relying on youngsters Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy. While he’s by no means an offensive dynamo, McQuaid has provided reasonably effective minutes for the team since entering the league in 2009-10. Without him, the team will likely have to turn to Paul Postma, who was signed this summer as a depth piece.

The team does have other young defensive prospects in Jakub Zboril, Matt Grzelcyk and Jeremy Lauzon, but inserting another rookie into the lineup on a full-time basis would be a tough ask. That said, Postma himself has a spotty record in the NHL during his career, and only really became a full-time option last season when he played 65 games for the Winnipeg Jets. The 28-year old has 191 games under his belt, but likely couldn’t take on big minutes on a nightly basis.

The Bruins evened up their record at 3-3 yesterday with a win over the Canucks, welcoming both Patrice Bergeron and David Backes back into the lineup. Bergeron made an immediate impact with four points, but the team is still dealing with injuries throughout their lineup. Ryan Spooner and Tuukka Rask are both out, and with McQuaid joining them the team’s depth at important positions will be tested.

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