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Evening Notes: Tavares, Haula, Boston Rookies

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With the hopes of avoiding a full-on rebuild, the San Jose Sharks and general manager Doug Wilson are attempting to figure out how to revitalize their team after suffering the loss of free agent Patrick Marleau and the realization that they might be moving on from 38-year-old Joe Thornton. The team still made the playoffs last year and have quite a few solid veterans still on the team, but the team suddenly is lacking in superstars not named Brent Burns.

Paul Gackle of the Mercury News writes that as the San Jose Sharks are set to focus on tonight’s home game against the New York Islanders, don’t be surprised if the Sharks make a run at their star forward John Tavares, either at the trade deadline or free agency itself if it gets very far. Tavares, who is in the last year of a six-year, $33MM deal, has not signed an extension and has made it clear that he is waiting to make sure the Islanders find themselves a permanent home before signing. However, there are some who feel that he will not re-sign with the team and the Islanders will be forced to trade him at the trade deadline or lose the 27-year-old center for nothing.

Gackle writes that San Jose would be a perfect fit for Tavares, who could come in and supply the team with a superstar that can replace Marleau and Thornton. However, despite the great fit and the fact the team should have the cap room to make a deal for Tavares work, the team could struggle at the cap like the Chicago Blackhawks as they already are committed to Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and will have to pay up for Logan Couture in two years. It might still be worth the effort to make a deal like that happen, because the Sharks would like to be a team that could make the necessary changes and stay in the playoffs like the Detroit Red Wings once did when they switched from Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights issued an update on injured wing Erik Haula, who was placed on injured reserve today with a lower body injury. According to the Golden Knights’ website, Haula is expected to miss at least a week with his injury. That will give general manager George McPhee more time to manipulate his roster before he must make a cut to activate Haula.
  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that the Boston Bruins struggles on offense can easily be looked at the rookies as the team has handed major roles to Anders Bjork, Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Charlie McAvoy this year. And while the scribe points out that there are plenty of veterans who are fighting with their consistency as well, the rookies struggles to consistently play their game could be what holds up early success for the Bruins until they can figure things out. “It’s up to them to do what they do best, which is attack, play inside and get to the net,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Hopefully, they do a little bit more of that as a line. Some guys catch on quicker than others. We knew there would be consistency issues as every young kid goes through them. So we saw highs in the first game and some lows in the second game, and we saw them starting to come out of it in the third period [in Colorado]. We’re going to try to keep them confident, but also on their toes and aware of what needs to be better.”

Eastern Notes: Fast, Bruins, Koekkoek, Morin

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The New York Rangers tweeted that head coach Alain Vigneault announced injured forward Jesper Fast will play tonight vs. the New Jersey Devils. Fast, who had hip surgery on June 5, missed all of training camp and the first five games of the season so far this year. He was cleared for contact last week, and completed on-ice skills testing before practice and had the fourth-highest score. The 25-year-old wing scored six goals and 15 assists in 68 games last year, which was disappointing after a promising second-season in which he put up a 30-point campaign. Regardless, his work as a bottom-six player has been missed. The Rangers have come out of the gate slowly this year, as the team has started with a 1-4 record and have lost two straight.

  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that the Bruins, who have struggled both offensively and defensively to start the year and find themselves as 1-2, are attempting to simplify their offense for their game tonight against the Arizona Coyotes. Haggerty writes the team had the most success recently in the third period against Colorado when they posted two goals in that period. “The third period [in Colorado] we scored two goals and I don’t think we did anything spectacular other than win pucks, go to the net and be belligerent there. If that’s what it takes to get going, that’s what it takes sometimes to score goals in this league,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy.
  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that despite the Lightning’s logjam of eight defenders on the roster, the team is slowly giving more playing time to Slater Koekkoek. After he received two healthy scratches and playing in only 3:09 in his season debut Monday, Koekkoek got 9:44 in playing time on Thursday’s game, rewarding Tampa Bay with two goals. Despite playing under 10 minutes, Koekkoek still got more playing time than Mikhail Sergachev (5:22) and is starting to earn the coaching staff’s trust and could see another increase in time tonight when they play the St. Louis Blues.
  • The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor breaks down (subscription required), why Philadelphia Flyers rookie Samuel Morin was sent down to Lehigh Valley. Many people were upset that Morin was sent down, because they feel he is NHL-ready now. The scribe breaks down some of the criteria of whether he belongs in the NHL, pointing out that he is physically ready for the NHL at 6-foot-6, 202 pounds and he has had success in the AHL so far with two solid seasons there. He then looks whether Morin showed off enough skill in training camp to deserve a spot before finally analyzing whether he is better than another defenseman on the roster, which is where O’Connor points out the problem. He writes that while Morin is right there, he didn’t prove to be better than the other two rookies in Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim and is not ready to beat out veterans like Radko Gudas or Andrew MacDonald.

Alex Edler Expected to Miss 4-6 Weeks

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The Vancouver Canucks tweeted that head coach Travis Green announced defenseman Alexander Edler will miss four to six weeks with an MCL strain. He had suffered what then was referred to a “lower body injury” after Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets when he attempted to hit Jets’ forward Mark Scheifele against the boards, but injured himself instead.

Edler is no stranger to injuries. He missed time in November of last season when he fractured his index finger and then missed more time when he fractured his leg in February. He only managed to get into 68 games last year and 52 games in 2015-16 due to a fractured fibula. The blueliner has only managed to play in a full 82-game season once in his career, back in 2011-12.

The 31-year-old defenseman has played in three games, picking up one assist so far this year. He was averaging more than 24 minutes of ice time in each of the first two games before getting injured in Thursday’s game.

Green also said that defenseman Derrick Pouliot will be making his Vancouver debut today to fill in for Edler. Pouliot, acquired at the beginning of the season from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Andrey Pedan and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, has not played a game yet for Vancouver. The team decided to roll the dice with Pouliot when they traded for him as the former eighth overall pick in 2012 has potential, but hasn’t been able to carve out a regular role in the NHL yet. He had seven goals and 23 points in 46 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last year, while putting up no points in 11 games for Pittsburgh.

 

 

Minnesota Wild Overwhelmed With Injuries

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UPDATE: The team has confirmed the speculation, but things are in fact worse than anticipated. Coyle suffered a right fibula fracture, for which he underwent surgery today. His time frame is actually six-to-eight weeks, longer than estimated by Russo, and he has been placed on long-term injured reserve. The Wild needed that space, but it’s not quite over yet. Niederreiter too has been placed on IR, as he in fact did suffer a high ankle sprain, which was not expected, and will be out a minimum of three weeks. High ankle sprains can often be month-to-month injuries depending on the severity, so Niederreiter’s status will be worth constant monitoring. With now two roster spots freed up, Minnesota will be able to field a nearly-normal lineup tomorrow and in the near future, but at a steep cost. Finally, Foligno’s facial fracture is confirmed and he will miss a minimum of a week after undergoing facial reconstructive surgery tomorrow. It’s a dark day for Wild fans…

3:00PM: When the Minnesota Wild recalled first-year pro Luke Kunin from their AHL affiliate in Iowa today, it was clear that the injuries suffered in last night’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks were potentially more serious than originally believed. The Wild were already without Mikael Granlund (ankle) and Zach Parise (back) heading into the contest, but had been making due with their deep veteran lineup. That was before disaster struck on Thursday, as Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, and Marcus Foligno joined their teammates on the injury report by the end of the night.

Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) was given some early injury updates that range in their severity. It is believed that Niederreiter only sustained a sprained ankle, which Russo specifically differentiated from the feared high ankle sprain, and may even be ready to go for Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Foligno suffered what looked to be a broken cheekbone courtesy of a haymaker from John Hayden after the pair dropped the gloves. A facial injury, while painful, does not limit Foligno’s playing ability, but will almost certainly keep him out of the lineup for a week or so. Coyle is likely the worst case of the three; early indications are that a Jared Spurgeon slap shot may have fractured his fibula or tibia a.k.a a broken leg. If that is the case, Russo states that it is a four-to-six week recovery and Coyle will land on the injured reserve.

As bad as that sounds, an IR-worthy injury may be exactly what the Wild need right now. If all five of Coyle, Niederreiter, Foligno, Parise, and Granlund cannot play tomorrow – a distinct possibility – the Wild will be left with just nine forwards for the game. And that is including Kunin. Defenseman Mike Reilly, who was sent down today for Kunin, is one of only two waiver-exempt players on the team, the other being forward Joel Eriksson Ek, which of course is no help. Even if the Wild could move another defenseman or goalie to the minors for a forward, they wouldn’t; they have only two goalies and six defenseman on the roster too. So, if Coyle could be placed on IR, that would at least open up another roster spot to bring the healthy forward count to ten.

No official word has come in on the statuses of the three players injured last night, with only Niederreiter lookly like a remotely possible player for tomorrow night, while last word on Parise and Granlund were expectations they would return late next week. While awaiting more information, coach Bruce Boudreau and his staff must begin preparing to square off with the Blue Jackets with maybe only nine forwards and, given their luck, maybe even less by the end of the game.

Raanta Out, Langhamer Recalled On Emergency Basis

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It’s been a bumpy start to Antti Raanta’s tenure in Arizona. The performance of the former New York Rangers backup hasn’t been bad, but after missing the season opener and failing to pick up a win in his three starts since, Raanta is sidelined once again. The new Coyotes starter did not return to last night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings after the first period and after the game, coach Rick Tocchet told AZ Central’s Sarah McLellan that Raanta was not struggling with the same issues that plagued him in the preseason and kept him out of Game 1, but instead has suffered a new injury.

In response, the Coyotes today have made an emergency recall of Marek Langhamer from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. Arizona has to be ready to host the Boston Bruins tomorrow night and it seems that time table was too soon for Raanta. Louis Domingue is expected to start, as he did the season opening 5-4 loss, with Langhamer as the backup. Raanta’s absence is indefinite as of now, so the Coyotes will have to roll with that duo for the time being. Domingue, who struggled most of last season and has been worse in a small sample size thus far in 2017-18, and Langhamer, who has just 16 minutes of NHL experience, do not make the most threatening duo.

Meanwhile, the team also demoted forward Emerson Etem as they continue to look for the right mix on the roster. If Raanta is in net and performing to his potential, the Coyotes have more wiggle room in their pace of play. However, Raanta has either been absent or dealing with lingering injuries so far and nine goals in four games is not going to cut it while Raanta remains off the ice or off his game. Arizona needs more from a revamped defense that has combined for one goal and six points thus far and needs to find secondary scoring up front beyond Max Domi and rookie Clayton Keller. If the ’Yotes can’t pick up their scoring, the current goaltending woes could extend their winless streak further and further into the new season.

Alex Galchenyuk’s Struggles Continue In Montreal

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It’s been clear for some time now that the coaching staff in Montreal—whether it be led by Michel Therrien or Claude Julien—are not fond of Alex Galchenyuk’s all-around game. Galchenyuk has repeatedly been moved away from the center position he once was expected to hold, moved up and down the lineup seemingly at random. After the Candiens went out this summer and acquired Jonathan Drouin, trade speculation spiked around Galchenyuk as the team seemed to have moved on.

Alex GalchenyukStill, they did reach a three-year deal that will pay Galchenyuk $4.9MM per season, and all seemed to settle for a while during training camp. Now though, Galchenyuk has been dropped to the fourth line as part of a shakeup by Julien following the team’s early season struggles. The young forward doesn’t seem thrown off by it, telling Matt Cudzinowski of NHL.com that he just wants to help the team.

We’re just trying to get a win. You don’t take things personally. You try to go out there and improve your game individually and as a team. My job is to go out there and make myself better and try and help the team win. That’s what I’m focused on.

Whether he’s complaining or not, it has still been a disappointing fall from grace to see Galchenyuk go from a burgeoning superstar in 2015-16, scoring 30 goals and 56 points to skating with Torrey Mitchell and Ales Hemsky as an afterthought in practice. While it’s clear that Galchenyuk has the support of his teammates, his ice-time has dropped to under 15 minutes the past two games.

There will be much criticism in Montreal and across the NHL landscape for how Julien is handling his 23-year old sniper, but it doesn’t come without fault from Galchenyuk himself. There are times he is caught drifting on back checks, and he can float to the perimeter at times in the offensive zone. Still, for a team that is struggling to score goals, reducing the playing time of one of your most dynamic forwards seems counter-productive. If Montreal is going to find success this season, a lot of it will have to come from an improved offensive game. A lot of that comes down to having a weapon other than Drouin and captain Max Pacioretty to roll out against teams. Galchenyuk is that weapon, if he—or the coaching staff—can find his trigger.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Morning Notes: Bergeron, Girard, Honka

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The Boston Bruins will be without top center Patrice Bergeron for at least one more game, according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. Bergeron hasn’t played yet this season, but is “aiming for the weekend” to return to a struggling Boston lineup. The team could use him, as they looked sluggish in their 4-0 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche yesterday.

Danton Heinen, recalled today to help out the offense was practicing on the wing of Sean Kuraly today, while Riley Nash moved up to Bergeron’s spot on the first line. That also meant the much maligned trio of Matt Beleskey, Ryan Spooner and Frank Vatrano were back together as the team’s third line. While things aren’t set in stone, the team could use Bergeron back as quickly as possible to help push some depth options back into the positions that suit them best.

  • The Nashville Predators, dealing with injuries of their own will have game-time decisions on captain Roman Josi and Colton Sissons. That means youngster Samuel Girard is expected to make his debut according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean. The 19-year old defenseman dominated the QMJHL to the tune of 75 points in 59 games last season, before jumping to the AHL for the stretch run. He is a dynamic skater and playmaker, but comes in at just 162-lbs. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact he can have right away, especially if the team is without Josi’s minute-munching presence.
  • Another debut—this time of the seasonal variety—is here in Dallas, as Julius Honka will get his campaign underway. Not only was Honka expected to have a full-time role on this team, but some even considered him a potential Calder Trophy contender as one of the league’s best rookies. Honka possesses an excellent two-way game, and will be in the lineup in Dan Hamhuis’ stead tonight. Hamhuis is dealing with a groin injury.

Pacific Notes: McDavid, Sutter, Boeser, Kempe

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Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid rejected the idea outright. Without blinking, the young superstar made it very clear that scoring 100 goals is impossible. Just days ago, Jaromir Jagr predicted that McDavid could score 100 goals someday, but McDavid would have none of that., according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.

“It’s not possible at all … no one’s ever done it,” said the 20-year-old McDavid, who scored 30 goals a year ago. “Not going to happen.”

The closest anyone has ever come was by Wayne Gretzky, who scored 92 goals in the 1981-82 season. Gretzky also had 87 goals in 1983-84. Alex Ovechkin, who has seven goals in the Capitals first two games might have a better shot at it than McDavid. However, the 32-year-old’s best season was 65 goals in 2007-08.

  • In the same article, Matheson pointed out that McDavid played his first game without taking a faceoff in Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. The center yielded to linemate Leon Draisaitl, who is a better faceoff specialist, having won 49 percent of his faceoffs (out of 972 attempts) in the 2016-17 season, while McDavid won just 43 percent (806 attempts). “People know that I’m not that good on faceoffs,” McDavid said. “It’s one of the perks of having Leon on the line.”
  • Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun writes that a lot of the credit that goes towards the Canucks 3-2 victory Saturday was the play of Brandon Sutter. The 28-year-old center and his line of Markus Granlund and Derek Dorsett shutdown McDavid, who didn’t register a point in the game and finished with a plus/minus of -1 in 24:38 of ice time.
  • In the same article, Botchford writes that the public outcry that top prospect Brock Boeser was scratched due to the team focusing more on shutting down Edmonton’s offense. “I know it’s a hot topic,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “He’s going to play. He’s going to get his chance. We set our lineup against a very strong Edmonton team. He’s not going to sit here for a month.”
  • Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times writes that Los Angeles Kings’ Adrian Kempe’s role on the forward line is already beginning to diminish. The former 2014 first-round pick only played two shifts in the third period for the second straight game and it looks like Alex Iafallo has taken his place on the second line of the power play. Kempe has struggled to break through as a wing on the professional level. He scored 12 goals in 46 games for the Ontario Reign of the AHL last year and scored just two goals for the Kings in 25 games.

 

Central Notes: Crawford, Steen, Bouwmeester, Rinne

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The Chicago Blackhawks have started the new season on a high note after bowing out early in the playoffs a year ago. The team has shown off its offense with 15 goals in two games, showing they have no intention of slowly fading away into obscurity. However, despite the success of the team’s offense, there is little attention focused on another key player, that of goaltender Corey Crawford, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Tracey Myers.

The veteran netminder has allowed just one goal in each of his first two starts, but has made many tough saves to keep the team’s lopsided scores as impressive as they were. Crawford’s .968 save percentage has been critical and has gotten the team off to another impressive start to start the season as he has stopped a few breakaway and second chances against him. While no one thinks those numbers are sustainable after just two games, Crawford spent much of the offseason working with former goaltender Jimmy Waite on the little parts of his game.

“I mean, he made several key saves,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I like him around the net. He’s cutting off plays that they’re trying to make that could generate even more chances. His anticipation in that area has been outstanding, he’s been moving the puck well, he’s square and seems like he’s very involved. A lot of good things have happened in a couple of games, but Crow’s been rock solid.”

  • Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that St. Louis Blues forward Alex Steen is closing in on returning to practice with the team during their four-game road trip that starts on Monday. Steen, who broke his hand on Sept. 19 when he was slashed by the Stars’ Antoine Roussel, has been skating on his own prior to some practices, but is closer to rejoining the team than defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who is recovering from a fractured ankle he suffered in a preseason game on Sept. 17. However, Thomas writes that even Bouwmeester is inching towards a return, but Steen has the advantage.
  • Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes that the Nashville Predators went with Juuse Saros Saturday due to Pekka Rinne’s lack of success when it comes to playing in PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Rinne, who lost all three of his starts there in the Stanley Cup finals (to go with a .755 save percentage there) and has never won there in six career starts. Saros, making his first start, allowed the first goal after 66 seconds of play, but played better once he settled down. He still allowed four goals, while Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray picked up his third shutout in a row against Nashville, including two shutouts in the Stanley Cup finals.

Eastern Notes: Bozak Line, Bergeron, Anderson

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have scored 15 goals in just two games so far this season. It can be assumed that offense will not be an issue for this team with so much talent on the offensive end. And while that’s an incredible accomplishment and should not be overlooked, there are other things the team should worry about if they want to be a Stanley Cup favorite this year. The Athletic’s James Mirtle writes (subscription required) that what looks worrisome is how the team’s defense allowed the New York Rangers to come back from a 5-1 deficit and tie the game up in the second period, turning the game, albeit briefly, into a close game.

The scribe writes that the culprit seems to fall upon the Maple Leafs’ line of Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. The line, while a solid offensive force, struggles defending and is not a great two-way line. They were on the ice for all three second-period goals that allowed the Rangers to come back. In fact, what’s surprising is that line gets quite a bit of even-strength ice time, according to Mirtle as Bozak received more even-strength minutes than Nazem Kadri, who plays on a more balanced line.

The problem is that the Marner, Bozak and van Riemsdyk line needs a better defensive presence, but considering how well the offense is running, there are very few players who would make a better fit into that line besides, maybe Connor Brown and moving the young and talented Marner to the fourth line doesn’t make any sense either. Therefore, Mirtle suggests the team cut the even strength minutes to that line and emphasize them more during special teams play. We’ll see if that situation improves over the next few games.

  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that Patrice Bergeron is not likely to be ready for Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. The 32-year-old center wore a non-contact practice jersey at practice on Sunday and didn’t finish practice either. “He didn’t finish practice. He started it and took some line rushes, so he’s progressing,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “How far he’s progressed is something we’ll determine in the morning. We’ll make a decision then as well. We’ve got three of [the game-time decisions], but Torey Krug and Austin Czarnik look a little closer [to playing] than Bergeron. But I wouldn’t rule any of them in or out until [Monday].”
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have recalled Josh Anderson from his conditioning loan from the Cleveland Monsters where he played one game with no points. The 23-year-old wing just signed a three-year, $5.5MM extension with Columbus last week and was just getting back into shape. He will join the team for their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Anderson scored 17 goals in a breakout season a year ago.

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