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Hurricanes To Play As Scheduled Despite Winter Storm

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Whenever it snows below the Mason-Dixon line, panic is generally expected. Without the same means of clean-up as most areas in the North, as well as citizens unfamiliar with freezing temperatures and non-rain precipitation, Southern states seemingly shut down as a result of the rarely-seen snowstorm. So when Winter Storm Helena hit the South East over the past two days, dumping up to a foot of snow in some parts of North Carolina, there was naturally some doubt about whether or not the Carolina Hurricanes game, among many sporting events, would go on as scheduled today.

While the visiting Boston Bruins are likely laughing to themselves over the extreme response to the type of snowstorm that hits New England multiple times every year, they’ll be happy to hear that they didn’t rush to North Carolina after their game last night in Sunrise, Florida for nothing. The NHL has decided that it will not be necessary to move tonight’s Bruins-Hurricanes game, scheduled for a 5pm ET puck-drop. Although the state of North Carolina is in a State of Emergency as a result of the snow, both teams and officials are already in Raleigh and there is no extreme safety risk to those traveling to the game, now that the storm is over and clean-up has begun. For those who choose not to attend, the Hurricanes will allow them to swap tickets with another remaining home game.

While the Bruins wouldn’t have minded an extra day of rest on their current four-game road trip, as they are scheduled to play tonight just 19 hours after their game against the Florida Panthers last night ended, re-scheduling a game can be a difficult task, as the Hurricanes have already experienced this season when ice conditions caused a prior home game to be postponed. The Bruins may also want to keep their momentum going, as they played well in a 4-0 shutout of the Panthers last night following tough losses to the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers. A win over the Hurricanes tonight in front of rookie goalie Zane McIntyre may be the boost they need to take home wins against the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators before heading home to Boston, which also fell victim to Winter Storm Helena yesterday. Meanwhile, Carolina will look to reward their fans willing to brave the snow with a win tonight. The Hurricanes beat the Bruins 3-2 in overtime when these teams met in Boston on December 23rd, and since then Carolina has had quite a stretch of tough games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, and twice against the Chicago Blackhawks. It doesn’t get any easier after tonight, as the ’Canes face the Columbus Blue Jackets three times in their next six games, so they need a win wherever they can get one.

Atlantic Notes: Carlo, Lightning Draft, Nyquist, Eisenschmid

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Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo has been a revelation on their back end this season but CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that in recent games, he’s showing signs of hitting the proverbial rookie wall.

Over the last six games, Carlo’s ice time has been below his season average (21:50) while he was down to just 16 minutes in his last outing against Edmonton, a career low.  He also has posted a -10 rating in his last 15 games and while plus/minus doesn’t quite carry the same level of importance nowadays, that’s still far from a good thing.

Rookie struggles, especially for blueliners, is hardly an uncommon thing but considering the fact that Carlo has often been a top pairing player for the Bruins, the pressure on him to turn this rough patch around is that much higher.  For his part, Carlo isn’t getting down on himself too much:

“I feel like pucks definitely aren’t bouncing my way as much as they were in the beginning of the year. But that’s something that I just need to continue with, keeping it simple and moving the puck. I’m just trying to keep my gaps up and go through every game and know that I worked my hardest out there.”

The Bruins have been looking for help on the back end dating back to the summer.  While Carlo’s emergence as a regular player lessened the need to add someone from outside the organization, GM Don Sweeney could be forced to again join the mass of teams looking to add a defenseman if the 20 year old continues to scuffle.

More from the Atlantic:

  • When the Lightning recalled goaltender Adam Wilcox to serve as Andrei Vasilevskiy’s backup, he became the sixth and final player from Tampa Bay’s 2011 draft class to suit up in an NHL game, notes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. In fact, all six players were in a Tampa uniform for their last game – forwards Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, and Matthew Peca as well as defenseman Nikita Nesterov.  Wilcox’s stint with the Lightning isn’t likely to last too long though.  He was brought up in part to allow Kristers Gudlevskis to get some playing time in while Ben Bishop is hoping to be back in the lineup during their six game road trip that kicks off January 16th in Los Angeles.
  • Red Wings right winger Gustav Nyquist is at a loss to explain his scoring drought, writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Despite averaging more ice time and more shots on goal per game, Nyquist is stuck at just four goals on the season with just one of those coming in his last 33 outings.  While head coach Jeff Blashill is pleased with his effort level on a night-to-night basis, he’d like to see the 27 year old play less on the perimeter and more around the net.
  • The Canadiens announced the signing of German center Markus Eisenschmid to a two year, entry level contract. The 21 year old is in his second season with their AHL affiliate in St. John’s.  Through 32 games so far this year, he has six goals and four assists.

Snapshots: Vegas Golden Knights, Fort Lauderdale Shooting

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After the deadly shooting at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport today, there were discussions as to whether or not the nearby Florida Panthers would postpone tonight’s game against the Nashville Predators. Although the Predators were already safely in Sunrise, concerns over safety and the welfare of players, personnel, and fans after the scary incident were taken into account. The airport was just 20 miles from the BB&T Center, so the ongoing events were obviously going to impact the participants and spectators of tonight’s game. However, the NHL and the Broward County Sheriff came together and agreed to play the game tonight. Security has been increased for the match-up, which dropped the puck at 7:30 ET.

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins, flying into Fort Lauderdale for their game against the Panthers tomorrow night, were instead diverted to Miami International Airport. The shooting occurred around 1:00 PM ET, but events were still unfolding into the evening and no official updates were made until after the Bruins had been scheduled to land. The team arrived safely in Miami and will simply travel a little farther to Sunrise tomorrow.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are getting closer and closer to the realization of their NHL dreams, as the team released an update on the ongoing activities of their hockey operations staff. After scouting the World Juniors this past week, the team is re-focused on meetings to put together their plan for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft (June 18th-20th) and Entry Draft (June 23rd-24th), as well as their special pre-free agency negotiating window. General Manager George McPhee was excited to have his first real team outing at the World Juniors, an invaluable experience in preparing for the rookie draft, and now has his sights set on running some more mock drafts in preparation for the Expansion Draft. On top of all of this scouting and strategy, McPhee is also finishing up the hiring of his medical staff and is close to an agreement on an AHL franchise arrangement. McPhee believes that the team will have a greater understanding of their AHL status in the coming weeks. The teams has also said that their pre-season schedule is nearly complete. The NHL’s newest team is keeping busy as they prepare to be the first addition to the world’s best hockey league since 2000.

Latest Colorado Trade Talk

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The Colorado Avalanche have been in discussions with the Boston Bruins regarding left winger and captain Gabriel Landeskog, reports longtime Colorado writer Adrian Dater, currently with Bleacher Report (all links to Twitter).

The Avs are in need of quality young defensemen and asked for rookie Brandon Carlo but the Bruins aren’t willing to move him at this time.  Dater suggests that young blueliners Jakub Zboril and Joe Morrow, as well as left wing prospect Jake DeBrusk could be part of a potential package for Landeskog along with their first round pick.  Making a trade like that, one where a top forward is going for predominantly a collection of futures, could constitute the beginning of a larger-scale rebuild and there’s no evidence to suggest that GM Joe Sakic is willing to consider that route at this time.

Earlier this week, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the Avs had trade discussions regarding Landeskog around the Draft Lottery in April that would have seen them land an established defenseman in return.  The belief was that the blueliner in question was Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba but talks regarding him never rematerialized.  Dreger also noted that Sakic is more inclined to move center Matt Duchene and that his preference is to keep Landeskog.

The 24 year old winger is in his sixth NHL season, all with Colorado and has struggled this season, collecting just 12 points (6-6-12) in 28 games.  He also carries a cap hit of just over $5.57MM, which most teams wouldn’t be able to absorb without sending some money back.  It’s worth noting that Boston is one of the few teams who could as they sit comfortably under the salary cap.

In a reader mailbag, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post suggests that Duchene is likely to fetch the biggest return but isn’t sure Sakic will move one of his top forwards now.  He wonders if the GM may wait until the offseason before deciding whether or not to change the core or to try and build around it.

The team does have several pending unrestricted free agents that could move as rental players.  Those are forwards Jarome Iginla, John Mitchell, Rene Bourque, and Andreas Martinsen plus defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Cody Goloubef although the Avalanche shouldn’t expect significant returns on any of those players.

With Colorado sitting at the bottom of the league standings with a 12-25-1 record and being 17 points out of a playoff spot, they’re a clear seller come trade deadline time.  There’s sure to be plenty of discussion regarding the likes of Landeskog and Duchene between now and then.   With so few guaranteed sellers, they’re certainly a team to watch in the weeks ahead.

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.

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.

 

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.

Colorado Claims Matt Nieto Off Waivers From San Jose

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The Colorado Avalanche have added to their forward depth, announcing (via Twitter) that they have claimed left winger Matt Nieto off waivers from San Jose.

The 24 year old Nieto is in his fourth NHL season, all with the Sharks before today.  After being a regular for most of the last three years, he has found himself in a reserve role much more frequently this season, seeing action in just 16 games, recording just two assists in that time.

Coming into this season though, Nieto had been a decent bottom six contributor, scoring 28 goals while adding 40 assists in 205 games while averaging over 14 minutes a night in ice time.  He has a cap hit of $735K this year and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season with salary arbitration rights.

With Colorado being at the bottom of the NHL standings, they had top waiver priority to add Nieto to their roster.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston suggests (Twitter link) that other teams also submitted a claim though there’s no word on who those other teams were.  Nieto will likely push for a bottom six role in Denver, battling with the likes of Cody McLeod and Andreas Martinsen for ice time.

As for the other player waived on Wednesday, Boston goaltender Anton Khudobin went unclaimed, notes The Athletic’s James Mirtle on Twitter.  The Bruins have not yet assigned him to their farm team and may not do so until youngster Zane MacIntyre is set to get a start.  That way, MacIntyre can play regularly at the AHL level instead of sitting most nights on the bench as Tuukka Rask’s backup.

TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie was first to report Nieto’s claim (Twitter link).

David Backes Cleared To Return

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So much for David Backes’ concussion history, potential lasting effects, and a need to ease him back into the lineup. Less than a week after leaving the Boston Bruins’ win against the Buffalo Sabres last Thursday with a concussion and being deemed “out indefinitely“, the big forward was back at practice today. Coach Claude Julien announced that he had been medically cleared for full contact and Backes was back skating with his usual line of David Krejci and Ryan Spooner. Backes left the possibility open that he could return to the lineup as early as tomorrow night, when the Bruins face the Edmonton Oilers. Throughout his career, Backes has returned quickly from head injuries, and that appears to be the case again for the veteran.

While Backes would have liked to have played against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and gotten some retribution (he said so himself), the Bruins played it cautiously sitting him out the past two games. Unfortunately, after sweeping the season series with Buffalo, Backes (as well as Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller) will have to wait until next year for another shot at the Sabres. However, after an embarrassing shutout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday, Backes’ return has become of vital importance to Boston. Nearly halfway through the 2016-17 season, the Bruins sit tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Ottawa Senators, with a lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, but having played more games than all three teams. At 20-16-4, Boston is not having a bad year, but has struggled to beat playoff-caliber teams and recently has lost bad games against the Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, and Colorado Avalanche. Still on the search for consistent scoring, the Bruins need all the help they can get up front, and that includes their free agent splurge, Backes. So far in 2016-17, Backes has nine goals and ten assists in 33 games, which is on pace for the worst full season of his career. They were lucky to avoid a long absence from the power forward, but they need Backes to step up his play when he returns to the ice.

Julien also indicated today that Matt Beleskey is on the mend and has begun skating again. Beleskey has been out since mid-December with a knee injury and was given a six-week prognosis for recovery. While it sounds like his return is still a ways off, perhaps close to the projected early February date, it’s good news that another top forward is getting healthy. Once Beleksey, who enjoyed a career-high 37-point season last year, returns it will be the first time that the Bruins have he and Frank Vatrano healthy at the same time this season. They young winger just returned from injury and is already making a difference. Adding Backes and Beleskey back into the mix will give the Bruins the complete top nine that they expected to begin the season with and could help them rediscover their scoring. Julien has always tried to roll four lines deep on offense, and that task has proved to be a struggle so far this season. The Bruins’ growing health may finally solve that problem.

Milt Schmidt Passes Away At 98

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Boston Bruins legend Milt Schmidt has passed away today at the age of 98. He was the oldest surviving NHL veteran. A true icon of the game, his memory will live on in the hearts and minds of hockey fans, especially those fortunate enough to know him and see him play, coach, and manage the Bruins for many years.

Milton Conrad Schmidt was born on March 5th, 1918 in Kitchener, Ontario. After playing junior hockey in his hometown alongside good friends and fellow Hall of Famers Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer, an 18-year-old Schmidt joined the Original Six Boston Bruins for the 1936-37 season and brought his friends along with him. As they say, the rest is history. Schmidt played in Boston for 18 seasons, calling it a career during the 1954-55 season. During that time, the trio formed the famous “Kraut Line”, considered by many to be one of the best lines in NHL history. They played a key role in Stanley Cup championships in 1938-39 and 1940-41. Dumart was a three-time All-Star, and played with Schmidt right up until the very end of their careers. Bauer was four-time All-Star and two-time recipient of the Lady Byng Award; the sleak scorer of the group. But it was Schmidt who was the leader and play-maker down the middle. A four-time All-Star and the Hart Trophy winner as league MVP in 1950-51, Schmidt established himself as one of the best players in the NHL during the 40’s and 50’s. His breakout year came in 1939-4o, when he led the league with 30 assists and 52 points. He set a career high four years later, with 62 points in 1646-47 and nearly matched it again in 1950-51 with 61 points. Schmidt also wasn’t afraid to play physical and never backed away from conflict. Hard-working and consistent throughout his lengthy career, Schmidt ended his career with 575 points in 776 games.

However, Schmidt’s hockey career was far from over when he finally left the ice. 16 years of NHL experience and four years of military service during World War II were the perfect formula for a great coach. This realization came during the 1954-55, when mid-season Schmidt retired as a player and took over as the bench boss. Schmidt remained the head coach of the Bruins for 11 years, during which he also served as the team’s assistant general manager. Schmidt took the team to two Stanley Cups during this stretch, back-to-back heartbreaking losses to the rival Montreal Canadiens in 1956-57 and 1957-58. During his time as coach, Schmidt was also inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1961, cementing his legacy.

Even when Schmidt was done coaching in 1965-66, he wasn’t done. Instead, he was promoted to the team’s general manager in 1967. Despite his accolades as a player for 16 years and his ability to jump right into coaching for more than a decade after, Schmidt’s managerial prowess may have really been his greatest achievement. Just two years after taking the job, he had put together one of the best teams in NHL history, which won the 1969-70 Stanley Cup and then won it again in 1971-72. He hired Harry Sinden, developed Bobby Orr (who scored 120 points that year), Derek Sanderson, Wayne Cashman, and Gerry Cheevers and traded for Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield. Schmidt served as the GM until only 1975, but in that time transcended his hero player turned head coach role and became a true Boston legend.

Just how Schmidt’s career seemingly never ended, his connection with the Bruins lived on as well. Even after retirement, Schmidt remained close with the team, serving in various positions and continuing to mentor some of Boston’s finest players. The Bruins retired Schmidt’s #15 in 1980 and have honored his life-long commitment to the team on nearly an annual basis. Bruins team president Cam Neely said today that “(Milt Schmidt) epitomized what it meant to be a Bruin” and was an “outstanding ambassador for the game of hockey” and “a true gentleman”. Jeremy Jacobs added that “Milt’s impact in Boston… will forever be felt amongst hockey fans”. Finally, captain Zdeno Chara summed it up by saying that Schmidt will be “greatly missed, but never forgotten”. Though Schmidt has passed away, his legacy in Boston and around the NHL will live on. A player, a coach, a GM, a four-time Stanley Cup champ, an All-Star, an MVP, a legend, a great man.

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