Oilers Lose Sekera For Rest Of Series Against Ducks
The Edmonton Oilers not only lost a heartbreaker Friday night when the Anaheim Ducks came back from a three-goal deficit with 3:16 seconds remaining to tie the game and later win it in overtime and take Game 5 and a 3-2 lead. Now the team lost veteran defenseman Andrej Sekera for the rest of the series, according to head coach Todd McLellan.
The 30-year-old defenseman is a key piece to the Oilers’ defense as he is third on the team in blocked shots. The team now must win two straight games without him in order to advance to the next round of the playoffs. He left Game 5 during the first period after being hit in the boards. His absence was definitely a factor in Game 5.
The veteran scored eight goals and 27 assists this past year for 35 points, his second-best output in his career. Veteran Eric Gryba will move into the lineup to fill in the gap for the Oilers. The 29-year-old played in 40 games this season and had six points.
Snapshots: Bruins, World Championships, Oilers – Ducks
CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty cautions the Boston Bruins brass to stay away from free agency this offseason. He reports that Cam Neely doesn’t plan to make any signings, as he indicates that he doesn’t foresee the Bruins making any significant splashes in free agency. Haggerty sees this as a good thing, recalling the signings of both David Backes and Matt Beleskey, who he writes have struggled to live up to the pricey expectations. Though Neely defends both signings, he admits that both players have not played as the Bruins envisioned they would. Backes, according to Neely, struggled to acclimate at first in Boston while Beleskey has struggled to stay healthy. Both signings, Haggerty reports, should be reminders to approach the offseason with caution.
- It was a rough day for the American squad in the World Championship as they dropped their opener 2-1 to Germany. USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes that Thomas Greiss bacstopped the German victory, and only Connor Murphy managed to get a puck past him. Head coach Jeff Blashill didn’t seem too concerned, believing that a lack of familiarity with one another also played a role in the Americans’ struggles.
- TSN’s Frank Seravalli previews the Oilers-Ducks matchup tonight, reporting that Oilers forward Milan Lucic believes that it’s about “taking the play” to the Ducks. After dropping the first two games at home, Anaheim rallied back from a 2-0 series deficit to force the series into a best of three. Seravalli writes that Ryan Getzlaf has been the series’ most dominant “force,” notching 13 points in eight playoff games, including four points in the Ducks’ series tying victory on Wednesday. Also playing a role in the shift in series momentum? The Ducks’ smooth, puck moving defensemen. Oilers head coach Todd McLellan had this to say: I don’t think there’s a team that throws six skaters out there like that. It’s as good as there is in the [NHL] in my opinion. It’s not like you’re running up against somebody that’s a little slow in the retrieval or doesn’t have the ability to maneuver. All six do. Our work is cut out for us.
Ted Lindsay Finalists Released
The NHL has revealed the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award: Brent Burns, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid.
The award goes to the player judged to be the most outstanding player in the league. The biggest difference between the Hart and the Lindsay is who votes; the Hart is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) and the Lindsay is voted on by NHL players. It’s for this reason that players often seen the Lindsay as a more prestigious award to win, as it’s voted on by their peers.
Burns had a fantastic season, finishing ninth in NHL scoring. His 29 goals and 76 points were the highest by a defenseman, six more than Senators captain Erik Karlsson. Burns lead the Sharks in scoring by eight points (Joe Pavelski had 68), and was the most dangerous player on the ice for the Sharks on most nights. Going against Burns, however, is his 16-game goalless drought towards the end of the season. After scoring 27 goals in 59 games, Burns didn’t score between February 19 and March 28. However, that also illustrates the sheer dominance of Burns prior to the drought. Also, Karlsson had 82 points in 82 games in 2015-16 and failed to even be nominated for Lindsay or Hart. The last time a defenseman won the Award was 1974-75 when some guy named Bobby Orr won it.
Crosby is the only finalist who has won the award before, having won it three times in 2006-07, 2012-13, and 2013-14. Crosby had 44 goals and 89 points in 75 games this season. His 44 goals were good to win the Rocket Richard Trophy for the NHL’s leading goal scorer. Crosby scored 17 more points than his Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin. Crosby is three-for-three when nominated for the Award.
However, the odds-on favorite is likely Oilers captain McDavid, who was the only 100-point scorer in the NHL this season. The 20-year-old McDavid scored 30 goals and 100 points in 82 games, winning the Art Ross trophy by 11 points over Crosby and Patrick Kane, both of whom had 89 points. While the other two finalists play for perennial contenders, McDavid was a huge part of the Oilers’ jump up the standings from 29th to 8th in the league.
The winner will be revealed at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 21.
Nail Yakupov And The Russian Option
Earlier today it was announced that the rights of Nail Yakupov and Nikita Kucherov were dealt to reigning KHL Gagarin Cup Champions SKA St. Petersburg. While Kucherov sounds like the big name in the deal he—along with Marcus Johansson who went the other way—is under contract in the NHL and unable to return to Russia for several years. In actuality, the biggest name may be that of Yakupov who as of July 1st will not be under contract with any team in the NHL. 
While St. Louis will still hold his rights as a restricted free agent (as long as he’s not selected by the Vegas Golden Knights or traded before then), there will certainly be an effort from St. Petersburg to entice him to return to Russia. Especially as SKA prepares to possibly lose Ilya Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeni Dadonov all in one summer to the NHL, the money waived in front of Yakupov will be substantial. When looking at his career up to this point, and the deal he would likely have to settle for in the NHL—should he even be tendered a contract at all—returning to Russia may be his best option.
Hart Trophy Finalists Announced
The NHL’s Hart Trophy finalists were released today and include Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.
The names surprise no one as all three were expected finalists. Crosby and McDavid were one and two in NHL scoring, and Bobrovsky led the league in GAA and SV% amongst starting NHL goaltenders.
Bobrovsky, as noted by the Blue Jackets’ Public Relations team, is the first MVP finalist in Blue Jackers history. He posted a .931 SV% and a 2.06 GAA in 63 games. He was considered Columbus’s best player in a surprising season for the Metropolitan Division team. He’s also a finalist for the NHL’s Vezina Trophy awarded to the league’s best goaltender.
Sidney Crosby finished tied for 2nd in league scoring with 44G and 45A in 75 games. He tied Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane in points with 89, but did it in seven fewer games. Crosby has already locked up the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy for most goals this season. Crosby has been a Hart Trophy finalist six times, and won the award in 2007 and 2014
Connor McDavid led the NHL in scoring with 30G and 70A in 82 games. He led a Edmonton Oilers squad to its first playoff birth since 2006 in only his second pro season. This season he won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the NHL.
Notable absences—thought to have finished fourth and lower—include Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Nikita Kucherov, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, and Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand.
Ducks Recall Kase And Kerdiles
Down 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Edmonton Oilers, the Anaheim Ducks are bringing in some reinforcements. The team announced that they have recalled forwards Ondrej Kase and Nicolas Kerdiles from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Both young forwards have been playing well in the AHL playoffs and will look to help out the NHL club in their efforts to stay alive through their trip to Edmonton.
Both Kase and Kerdiles were rookies for the Ducks in 2016-17, but played very different roles. Kase, 21, suited up for 53 games with Anaheim this season and recorded five goals and ten assists. The Czech winger saw only limited ice time, but showed an effectiveness in many facets of the game. Meanwhile, Kerdiles, a 2012 second-round selection, made his NHL debut on February 22nd against the Boston Bruins, but it would be the only game he skated in for the Ducks this season. The French-American forward missed most of the regular season due to injury, playing in just 27 games with the Gulls as well. However, through three playoff games, Kerdiles has looked like the best player on the ice for the AHL affiliate.
Experienced or not, the Ducks are hoping that an injection of young energy and offensive talent will help them get back into the series. Anaheim has been outscored 7-4 by the Oilers thus far, including a one-goal effort in their Game 2 loss. The team has not yet stated whether Kase or Kerdiles will start Game 3 tomorrow, but look for at least one of them to get the call as the Ducks begin to scramble for a way to change the status quo of the series.
Playoff Notes: Rangers, Ducks, Oilers
The Rangers could find themselves in a 2-0 hole tonight if they don’t make some adjustments writes the New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis. The Rangers lost game one by the “thinnest of margins” after a fluke from Erik Karlsson sealed a 2-1 Senators victory. Cyrgalis reports that as the playoffs march on and the Rangers continue to compete, the possibility of hoisting the Stanley Cup becomes less and less far fetched. It’s why they have to play with intensity, while the Senators, according to Cyrgalis, are playing a great game of psychological warfare–using positive comments. He notes that Sens head coach Guy Boucher has a degree in sports psychology, and it feels as if they’re trying to lull the Rangers into a sense of security with compliments and by using words like “fear” to describe them. While it remains to be seen how the series goes, the Rangers must continue to build upon the strong play they exhibited against Montreal in order to continue playing into June.
- LA Daily News writer Elliott Teaford tweets that the Ducks may be without Sami Vatanen, while Kevin Bieksa could be out for the series. The Ducks found themselves on the wrong side of a 2-1 game yesterday, and now trail the series to the Edmonton Oilers 2-0. Teaford also tweets that the Ducks talked a lot about regaining the puck luck they had against Calgary.
- Meanwhile, Tim Campbell of NHL.com reports that the Oilers feel they still haven’t played their best hockey of the series yet. In an opinion shared by many, the Ducks have outplayed the Oilers but haven’t been rewarded for their efforts. Edmonton stole the first two games in Anaheim, and have a chance to close things out on home ice, thanks to the heroics of Cam Talbot. Connor McDavid, who has an assist in the series, is “adapting” and “adjusting” to the playoffs Campbell writes. McDavid has been shadowed by Ryan Kesler, and while many feel he’s been phased out as a result, head coach Todd McLellan believes his star player has been just fine, drawing penalties and opening up the ice for his teammates.
Scott Darling Trade Reactions
The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes hooked up yesterday for a rare April trade, with pending UFA goaltender Scott Darling departing the Windy City in return for a third-round draft pick in the 2017 entry draft. The Hawks get the third-rounder originally acquired by Carolina at the trade deadline from Ottawa in exchange for veteran winger Viktor Stalberg. The Canes, meanwhile, bring in Darling, who played well as Corey Crawford‘s understudy and was likely going to depart Chicago as a free agent to pursue a starting job elsewhere. Now it appears he’ll have that opportunity in Carolina, presuming he agrees to sign with the team rather than test the open market, of course.
On the surface this deal certainly wouldn’t qualify as a blockbuster, but all one has to do is look north to Edmonton to see what can happen when a quality backup goalie is given a chance to be a #1. Cam Talbot, previously Henrik Lundqvist‘s #2 in New York, has developed into a quality starter for the Oilers and has so far guided his team to a surprising 2 – 0 lead over Anaheim in their Western Conference semifinal match. Talbot also led NHL netminders this season in several categories, including games played, wins and shots against. While there is no guarantee Darling will follow Talbot’s career trajectory, the latter’s success is evidence that deals like this can sometimes pay off.
Here’s a rundown of reactions from around the league:
- Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times likes the deal from both perspectives, arguing that the Hawks got solid value for a player they had no room to re-sign while the Hurricanes add a potential long term starter between the pipes. Lazerus does, however, opine that the move, albeit inevitable, leaves the club perilously thin in goal. Beyond Crawford, Chicago has no goaltender in the organization with NHL experience, though Jeff Glass is around to meet the team’s expansion draft requirement of exposing one goalie under contract for 2017-18. The scribe also adds that Chicago gave no thought to extending Darling while attempting to move Crawford. Lazerus suspects Darling could get close to $4MM on the open market but the potential cap savings evidently wasn’t compelling enough to cause Chicago to reconsider their goaltending situation.
- Adam Gretz of NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk writes that Carolina’s acquisition of Darling is “worth the risk,” borrowing a quote from Hurricanes GM Ron Francis. As Gretz notes, Carolina has long received substandard play between the pipes and it was more of the same in 2016-17. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack combined for a S% of just 0.901, good for just 26th in the league. In fact, Carolina has fared no better than 25th in that category in any of the previous five seasons. For a team looking to break an eight year playoff drought, improved play in net would go a long way to improve their postseason chances in 2017-18. Gretz also points out that the Hurricanes boast an impressive amount of 2017 draft capital, with their own first-rounder, three seconds and two thirds even after acquiring Darling’s rights. As a result, the team can afford to take this gamble given their enviable entry draft wealth.
- Luke DeCock of The News & Observer is satisfied to at least see Carolina attempt to make changes in goal, even if the team fails to extend Darling, after what he describes as “two unsatisfying years of the Cam Ward/Eddie Lack tandem.” According to DeCock, a third-round pick may be a substantial price to pay for just two months of exclusive negotiating rights but considering Carolina still has six choices in the first three rounds and 10 overall in 2017, it’s a reasonable cost assuming the Hurricanes can lock the 28-year-old goalie to a long term deal. The scribe feels Darling is just entering his prime and has the potential to solve the team’s longstanding issues between the pipes. DeCock believes the deal also means Carolina already has an agreement in place or feels confident in their ability to consummate one with the Vegas Golden Knights that would result in one of Ward or Lack being selected in the expansion draft. The duo accounts for a combined $6MM cap charge and with Darling expected to command around $4MM annually, a budget team like Carolina simply cannot afford to keep all three in the organization. Ultimately, DeCock feels entering the 2017-18 campaign with the Ward/Lack duo would have been “utter folly,” and considers any change “an improvement.”
Babcock, Tortorella, McLellan Finalists For Jack Adams Award
The Score’s Josh Gold-Smith is one of many to report that the finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy are Mike Babcock, Todd McLellan, and John Tortorella. The award is given to the league’s best coach. All three choices are hardly a surprise.
After a vicious performance in the World Cup of Hockey, Tortorella was expected to be one of the first
coaches on the hot seat, especially with a Columbus club few expected to be anywhere out of last place. Instead, Torts and the Jackets responded with a 50-24-8 record, good for third in the Metropolitan Division and 108 points. The Jackets also went on a tear in December, stringing together sixteen consecutive victories and putting the NHL on notice that they were for real. Though they ended up losing to Pittsburgh in five games during the first round of the playoffs, the Blue Jackets certainly made a case for being a threat in the Met and the Eastern Conference.
Babcock left the Detroit Red Wings after the 2014-15 season and joined the Toronto Maple Leafs, an original six team searching for its first Stanley Cup since 1967 and trying to make its way out of the hockey wilderness. Though he said the rebuild would be “painful,” it was a lot shorter than anyone expected. Paced by Calder Award candidate Auston Matthews, Babcock showed why so many teams sought his services, guiding the Leafs to their first playoff appearance since 2012-13, and taking an enormous step in the rebirth of a once dominant franchise. The Leafs were recently knocked out by Washington, but they proved to be a “tough out” and will certainly be a force to reckon with in the coming seasons.
McLellan has been a consistently good coach since taking the reins in San Jose,
and after moving to Edmonton, it was expected that he would turn around a franchise seeking a playoff run after being absent for nearly a decade. After missing last season, McLellan steered the Oil into the playoffs, posting a 47-26-9 record, 103 points, and a second place finish in the Pacific Division.
It was the Oilers highest point total since 1986-87, when they had 106 points and won the Stanley Cup. He turned around a franchise annually criticized for not capitalizing on its success despite netting numerous number one draft picks. Though it won’t factor into voting, McLellan has the Oilers in the second round of the playoffs as well.
Photos Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Playoff Preview: Ducks-Oilers
It didn’t take long for the yapping to begin between teams as Yahoo’s Josh Cooper reports that Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle believes the Oilers will “whine” about faceoffs as their second round matchup gets underway tonight. Cooper calls it mind games, saying that Carlyle notes that the Ducks had the best faceoff percentage in the league while the Oilers had the worst. Oilers bench boss Todd McLellan “chuckled” at the comment and responded with this:
“Already? Already? I’ve been whining about or faceoffs all year because we’re in 30th place. I don’t think that’s a brilliant comment by any means. When you’re in 30th you’re not happy where your team’s at,” McLellan said. “Sometimes these games are played and sometimes some of those comments are almost an admission of guilt at times because they’re very effective in the faceoff circle and they do do some things, so that’s always nice to distract.”
Cooper points out that the lack of winning faceoffs didn’t stop the Oilers from beating San Jose in the first round while five others teams that advanced to the second round had faceoff percentages lower than 50 percent.
- The Oilers took the season series 3-2 but three of the five games were one goal affairs. Both teams are pretty even when you stack them up, and a number of sources have a long fought out series. The OC Register’s Eric Stephens takes the Ducks in seven, and goes as far to write that the winner of the series will most likely take the Conference crown as well. The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy crunches the numbers and believes that the Ducks win in six. The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples takes the Ducks in a very close seven games while his “Cult of Hockey” podcast partner Bruce McCurdy has the Oilers winning in seven games, thinking that the Oilers will “get into the heads of the Ducks” should a series reach a seventh and final game.