Injury Update: Bonino, Colin Wilson Out
Nick Bonino could be facing a longer-term injury, as he has been spotted donning a suit, opting out of normal pre-game activities according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. He has been utilizing a walking boot on his left foot and needs crutches to remain mobile. His position as 3rd line center will most likely be filled by the winger/center hybrid Carter Rowney, while the greybeard Matt Cullen will shift to center the 4th. Carl Hagelin found his way into the lineup as the replacement 12th forward at the last minute, in favor of the speedy Josh Archibald. Hagelin has a lot to prove to management following a down year. GM Jim Rutherford may be looking to shed a bit of salary this summer, as RFAs Brian Dumoulin and Conor Sheary will be looking for hefty raises.
Bonino has displayed his talents this post-season most obviously on the penalty kill. Although his even-strength production has picked up, especially in a game against where he centered Bryan Rust and the aforementioned Rowney, his shot-blocking prowess has been universally lauded. The forward has 4 goals and 3 assists through 21 playoff games after an up-and-down regular season performance where he posted 37 points. His 99 blocks during the season led all forwards, and his 15 this post-season have been instrumental in series where the Penguins have been drastically outshot.
As mentioned yesterday, this issue could affect Bonino’s future with the organization, as he was already facing an uncertain summer. The team will need to rely on the rest of the forward corps to up their defensive play if they hope to replace his presence tonight.
- Colin Wilson doesn’t look as though he will be fit to play this evening, according to Tomas Willis. Vernon Fiddler also remains sidelined, while Cody McLeod is expected to be a scratch. P.A. Parenteau and Harry Zolniercyzk look to take their forward spots in the lineup. Parenteau had a decent season before being traded from New Jersey, but only potted one assist in 8 games in Nashville. Zolniercyzk, himself an ex-Penguin, is a feisty physical presence who will be inserted to provide energy. Although Wilson has regressed offensively the last two seasons, he was a pivotal player for the Predators early in this playoff run, potting 4 points in 12 games on an offense that has performed largely by committee. His solid defensive play will also be need to be recouped, as his 53.1 Corsi For % was one of the team’s best during the season.
- Pekka Rinne finds the net this evening, despite his poor play in Games 1 and 2. Juuse Saros will not see his first start as head coach Peter Laviolette has chosen to place his confidence in the veteran tender. Rinne has posted a .778 save percentage in the Finals thus far, but will hope to turn it around in front of the home crowd.
Morning Notes: Krueger, Penguins, Leafs
Though Ralph Krueger had been linked as recently as this week to the vacant Buffalo Sabres head coaching job, it seems as though he’s doing just fine in his role as the chairman of the Southampton Football Club, and has no plans to leave. Talking to NBC’s ProSoccerTalk, Krueger revealed that he’d already been offered two jobs in the NHL but that he’d turned down both.
It was nice and honorable that I was offered two NHL jobs post-season and I was happy they didn’t forget about me but I turned them down. It just feels like we’ve only just got started here and especially with the management re-organization we just did, there is kind of like there’s something here where we are going to take it to another level.
Krueger doesn’t actually say that the jobs were head coaching positions, but many believe that he was on the short-list for the Vancouver Canucks vacancy before it was filled by Travis Green, and Vegas may have reached out to him before hiring Gerard Gallant.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins had Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist skating this morning, but unfortunately it was without the rest of the team. The pair took the ice to work before the practice began, and will likely not be available tonight when the team takes on the Ottawa Senators. Trevor Daley, however, did participate with the main group meaning there is a possibility he returns tonight.
- The Maple Leafs’ addition of Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman yesterday were the fourth and fifth entry-level deals the team has given out this spring. Miro Aaltonen, Jeremy Bracco and Carl Grundstrom also all inked contracts, adding to the impressive young pipeline the Maple Leafs are building. The influx of another group of 19-23 year-olds should continue to build the long-term success that President Brendan Shanahan and head coach Mike Babcock have spoken often of. Mining the European ranks for talent seems to be a growing trend in the NHL as teams look for every advantage.
Sabres Notes: Botterill, Head Coach Options
With Jason Botterill officially leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins organization to assume the GM duties in Buffalo, the rookie manager faces the tall task of turning a Sabres team that has failed to qualify for the postseason since 2010-11 into a legitimate Stanley Cup threat. His job is a little easier given the presence of franchise center Jack Eichel and a talented blue liner in Rasmus Ristolainen, who has the potential to be a top-pair defender for many years. However, the challenge that confronts Botterill is still daunting. Along those lines, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox identifies six high priority items he believes the new GM must tackle in his quest to build a winning organization.
First, and perhaps most obvious, the Sabres will have to hire a coach and given the reportedly tumultuous relationship former head coach Dan Bylsma had with many of his charges, getting the right guy behind the bench is critical to Buffalo’s future. Fox lists several names that have been floated in the media, with current Pittsburgh assistants Rich Tocchet and Jacques Martin standing out due to their prior working relationship with Botterill. Both men have prior head coaching experience and given the recent success each has enjoyed as members of the Penguins staff, either would be able to bring a winning mentality to Buffalo.
Additionally, Fox points out that Botterill will have to fix a defense corps that was a glaring weakness last season and is slated to see two regulars, Cody Franson and Dmitry Kulikov, depart as free agents. There will be options available this summer in free agency, Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Trevor Daley are among those specifically mentioned by the scribe, but likely won’t come cheap. Given the team’s salary cap situation – less than $23MM in projected space – and with Eichel and Sam Reinhart each needing new deals ahead of 2018-19, Botterill will have to be judicious with his cap dollars in the offseason.
All told, it’s an interesting take on Botterill’s situation with the Sabres, and well worth a full read.
In other Sabres news:
- Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News also has a suggestion for Botterill’s head coaching search, identifying Washington assistant coach Todd Reirden as “the perfect fit,” for the Sabres. Kennedy references that prior to joining the Capitals, Reirden served on Dan Bylsma‘s coaching staff in Pittsburgh where Botterill would have had a chance to get to know the former NHL defenseman. Additionally, the first-time GM is on record as saying he wants Buffalo to play an up-tempo brand of hockey that focuses on puck possession. As Kennedy points out, Reirden’s former employer, Washington, has been one of the league’s top teams in terms of possession in recent seasons. Reirden also guided one of the NHL’s top defense corps, with the Capitals allowing the fewest goals in the league in 2016-17. Botterill also said he is looking for a teacher and as Kennedy points out, Reirden has earned rave reviews in Washington with his help developing Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov into quality defenseman. It’s also worth noting that with Buffalo believed to be in the market for blue liners, hiring Reirden might give them a leg up on the competition should they pursue pending Washington UFA defenders Karl Alzner and/or Kevin Shattenkirk.
- Lastly, Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat writes that Botterill intends to prioritize icing a competitive team in Rochester, believing that success in the AHL is a great tool in developing young talent. Botterill was a key figure for three seasons with Rochester and played with future Sabres Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy and Paul Gaustad with the Amerks. Those players would help guide the Sabres to back-to-back appearances in the Conference Final after the 2006-07 and 2007-08 campaigns. That was the last time Buffalo won even a playoff round, and they’ve made the postseason just twice in the 10 years since. Botterill also saw a strong feeder team payoff while in Pittsburgh, with young players like Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, just to name a few, coming up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and making an immediate impact with the big club. Sheary and Rust won a Stanley Cup last season with Pittsburgh and the Penguins have a chance to repeat that feat as they begin their Eastern Conference final match against Ottawa later today.
Saturday Snapshots: Final Saturday Of The Regular Season
8:48pm: The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. Despite losing goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Leafs rallied for three goals in the third to punch their ticket to the playoffs. TSN’s Bob McKenzie sums up the seedings with tomorrow’s results. If Toronto gets one point tomorrow, they will take on Ottawa in the first round while Boston faces off against Washington. Should they lose, they draw Washington and the Bruins get Ottawa.
2:54 pm: Today is the second last day of the regular season, and as such, there’s a lot going on around the National Hockey League. The entire playoff bracket can be finalized this evening, stars will be healthy scratched, and milestones hit.
Playoff Matchups:
- Two Eastern Conference matchups have already been set: Canadiens vs Rangers and Penguins vs Blue Jackets. Another could be set tonight, if Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston all win. That would mean Capitals vs Maple Leafs. Should the Maple Leafs lose while the other two win, then that would guarantee Senators vs Bruins.
- Wild vs Blues is clinched by a St. Louis win or a Nashville loss.
- Oilers vs Sharks would be clinched by:
- An Oilers extra-time loss vs the Canucks tonight, OR
- An Oilers regulation loss and a Sharks loss in any fashion.
- Blackhawks vs Predators happens if:
- The Predators lose in regulation, OR
- The Flames win and the Blues get a single point, OR
- The Flames and Predators both lose in OT.
- The Flames would take on the Ducks if:
- The Oilers lose, the Blues get a point, and the Flames win, OR
- The Oilers lose, and both the Flames and Predators lose in OT, OR
- The Oilers lose, and the Predators lose in regulation.
- The Flames would take on the Blackhawks if Calgary loses and the Predators win.
- The Ducks would take on the Predators if:
- Both Edmonton and Calgary lose, and the Predators win, OR
- Nashville gets a point, while Edmonton loses and Calgary loses in regulation.
Other clinching scenarios:
- The Oilers clinch home-ice with a single point. They visit Vancouver tonight, and host them tomorrow.
- The Ducks clinch the Pacific Division with an Oilers loss of any kind.
- To pass Anaheim and win the Pacific, the Oilers would need to sweep the Canucks this weekend and have Anaheim lose to Los Angeles tomorrow.
- Should the Toronto Maple Leafs win tonight against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto will clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. That would eliminate the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The Islanders could also be eliminated with a regulation loss or any kind of loss if the Maple Leafs get a single point.
- UPDATE: Ottawa clinched home ice by defeating the Rangers, 3-1.
- They defeat the Rangers today, OR
- Boston and Toronto lose in regulation, OR
- The Bruins and Senators each get a single point combined with a Maple Leafs OT loss.
Scratches:
- The Penguins are resting a handful of players, but not their captain. Regulars Nick Bonino, Brian Dumoulin, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, and Bryan Rust will all be healthy scratches, however Sidney Crosby will dress. Forward Kevin Porter and goaltender Tristan Jarry have been called up to fill out the lineup; Jarry will back up Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, told TSN that he’s aware of what’s on the line for the Maple Leafs, but re-iterated that his priority is to do what’s best for the team “in the short-term and the long-term. Having said that the lineup we put in will be competitive.”
- The Canucks will be without the services of Sven Baertschi for this weekend’s home-and-home with the Oilers. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that Baertschi may have hurt his shoulder or neck on Thursday vs the Coyotes.
- The Senators will be resting several players. Their lineup isn’t known yet, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggested Craig Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Dion Phaneuf, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Stalberg as possibilities.
Milestones:
- Oilers captain Connor McDavid could become just the fifth player to score 100 points since 2010. He’s sitting at 97 points in 80 games, the seventh-most points in a season during in that time frame. Only Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, Crosby, and Patrick Kane have cracked the century-mark this decade. McDavid is nine points ahead of Crosby and Kane for the NHL scoring lead, and looks poised to take home the Art Ross in his first full season at age 20.
- With one more goal this season, Auston Matthews can become the fifteenth rookie in NHL history to score 40 goals. Currently, he’s tied with Crosby, Steve Yzerman, and Peter and Anton Stastny at 39. Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter, Sylvain Turgeon, and Warren Young all scored 40 goals in their rookie seasons.
Snapshots: Agents, O’Regan, Penguins
In the newest column from Rick Westhead of TSN, he dives into the idea that the NHLPA is considering a regulation that would ban agents from contacting players under the age of 16. Westhead reveals the information that agents have been using former professional players as “bird-dog” scouts to contact young kids and establish relationships before anyone else can contact them—at ages of nine or ten years old.
As Westhead writes, this comes in conjunction with a study former Buffalo Sabres star Pat LaFontaine is conducting on the future of player development and drafting. We wrote in December about LaFontaine’s suggestion that the league change the draft age from 18 to 19. The idea that nine-year old kids would be recruited is hard to imagine, but for those who’ve ever been to a high-level tournament at that age easy to believe.
- The San Jose Sharks have sent Daniel O’Regan to the AHL after playing his second NHL game on Monday. The 23-year old was the Sharks’ fifth-round draft pick in 2012 before heading to Boston University. He’s easily the Barracuda’s top scorer this year, with 52 points in 56 AHL games.
- The Penguins will be without Evgeni Malkin again tonight as they “take a cautious approach”. The superstar center hasn’t played since March 15th, but is getting closer to a return. The Penguins need him if they’re to catch the Capitals for first place in the NHL and a better matchup in the first round.
- Those Penguins may get Bryan Rust back though, as the winger is a game-time decision for them tonight. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did see Rust playing soccer in the hallway, for what it’s worth.
- The Buffalo Sabres have signed Jonas Johansson, Justin Danforth and Ian Brady to amateur tryouts with their AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. Johansson—who should not be confused with the former Colorado Avalanche prospect—was the Sabres’ third-round pick in 2014 and has played quite well in the Swedish second league, even making his Elite League debut this season. The goaltender shows exceptional potential, and could develop into an NHL netminder one day.
Injury Notes: Ferland, Stone, Leivo, Rust
Calgary Flames winger Micheal Ferland has rejoined his teammates in Nashville today after being quarantined for almost a week. The 24-year old had showed signs of the mumps outbreak that had swept through the NHL briefly, but is now symptom free. He’ll be back in on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan tonight, according to Kristen Odland of Postmedia.
Here are some other injury notes from around the league:
- Josh Leivo will take the spot of the injured Eric Fehr in tonight’s Maple Leafs lineup according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. With Nikita Soshnikov still on the mend following a big hit from Zdeno Chara, Leivo will look to get back to his scoring ways tonight. The young winger had nine points in a ten game stretch last month when Mitch Marner was dealing with an injury, and has considerable offensive upside. He’ll slot in on the fourth line tonight beside Brian Boyle and Matt Martin.
- Despite skating with the team in a regular jersey this morning, Cedric Paquette will not return to the lineup for Tampa Bay according to Caley Chelios of FOX Sports. The Lightning center will remain out alongside Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson for the time being.
- On Stamkos, he was seen skating again before practice, but admitted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that “time is running out” for him to return this season. Stamkos has been skating for weeks as he tries to come back from a meniscus tear in his right knee. The Lightning are currently sitting five points back with ten games to play.
- Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone was back skating this morning, though he won’t play tonight. Stone was out early and stayed late at practice as he works hard to get back into the Senators lineup. The team can smell first place in the Atlantic Division, and getting Stone—arguably their best forward—back before the end of the season could help them wrestle the crown away from the Montreal Canadiens. With a matchup against the fourth Metropolitan team looming in the first round, whether they should really want it is a different story.
- Penguins’ forward Bryan Rust is almost back in the lineup reports Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after taking part in just about everything at today’s Pittsburgh practice. Though he won’t play tonight, the 24-year old forward will likely be back in a game before the end of the week; the Penguins take on Ottawa tonight, New York (Islanders) tomorrow and Philadelphia on Sunday.
- Three goaltenders were at practice today for the Anaheim Ducks, including John Gibson as he continues to rehab his latest injury. Head coach Randy Carlyle said today that Gibson will definitely play before the end of the regular season, though that still leaves the question of whether he’ll be tested enough to start game one of the playoffs. We’ll see how many games the young netminder gets in before Anaheim has to take on a team like the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames in the first round.
Penguins Notes: Crosby, Malkin, Rust
Sidney Crosby is this week’s second star in the NHL, after his sizzling hat trick on Sunday night. The Penguins captain broke 40 goals for just the second time in his illustrious career, while retaking the lead in the Rocket Richard race and tying Connor McDavid for the league-lead in point.
The 29-year old Crosby is doing most of his damage 5-on-5, leading the league in even strength goals with 28. His dominance comes in just the fourth year of his twelve-year, $104.4MM deal he signed in 2012. The contract sees him cause just an $8.7MM annual cap-hit, mostly because of the three extremely cheap seasons tacked on at the end. That means Pittsburgh will only have to pay a 35-year old Crosby $3MM in 2022-23, likely still an unbelievable bargain.
- Olli Maatta and Kris Letang were both spotted out early today in Pittsburgh by Will Graves of the Associated Press. It’s still unclear when the two will return to the lineup, but it is an encouraging sign to see them back on the ice after lengthy absences.
- The team will not bring Evgeni Malkin with them on their road trip to Buffalo and Ottawa as he continues to rehab an upper-body injury that he’s been dealing with. The star center hasn’t played in the last two contests since leaving practice early last week.
- Bryan Rust was not just on the ice, but returned for the practice in full this morning, skating in a regular jersey. He hasn’t been confirmed for the game tomorrow but did say that “there’s a game [he’s] shooting for.” Rust hasn’t played since leaving a game earlier this month against Colorado.
Metro Notes: Blue Jackets, Penguins, Rowney
The Columbus Blue Jackets surprisingly strong season put them in the rare position of deadline buyer earlier this month as the team added forward Lauri Korpikoski and blue liner Kyle Quincey, shoring up the club’s depth down the stretch. This newfound depth, while a good thing, has nonetheless forced head coach John Tortorella into making some tough lineup decisions now that the Jackets are again healthy, writes Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch. Korpikoski, acquired from Dallas for young defenseman Dillon Heatherington, was a recent casualty of that depth, as he was made a healthy scratch for the team’s 2 – 1 win over Florida Thursday night.
“I’ll continue to make my call during the game as far as who’s going and who’s not,” Tortorella said. “That will determine ice time. And then from game to game we will make a determination as to who will play. I don’t know what else to say about it, except it’s a good problem to have when you starting getting your players back healthy.”
Given the situation, it might make sense for Tortorella to take the opportunity to rest some of his veterans down the stretch but according to Portzline, that isn’t something the veteran bench boss has “even considered.” Instead, Torts will let it ride with 14 healthy forwards and use individual player performances dictate who plays and who doesn’t.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- Five teams – Boston, Montreal, Florida, the New York Islanders and St. Louis – have made changes behind the bench at some point during the 2016-17 season and several Penguins players feel it’s in direct correlation to the success Pittsburgh experienced last year after replacing Mike Johnston with Mike Sullivan. But as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, in-season coaching changes are nothing new in the NHL. As Mackey adds, there have been 39 bench bosses replaced during the season since the 2006-07 campaign; a figure which is tops among the four major North American sports. While firing the head coach is not a recent trend in the league, it should be noted that four of the five clubs who have done so in 2016-17 are currently in contention for a playoff spot, suggesting the changes have in fact benefited the teams that made them.
- In a separate piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mackey writes about how the Penguins depth has helped the team survive a bevy of injuries to key regulars. At some point this season, Pittsburgh has been without the services of Kris Letang, Trevor Daley, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin, among others for significant stretches but the Penguins have kept right on rolling. But GM Jim Rutherford, never one to shy away from making a deal to help his club, added blue liners Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit to bolster the defense corps while the club has relied primarily on AHL call-ups to fortify the forward ranks. One veteran minor leaguer, 27-year-old Carter Rowney, has filled in admirably when called upon this season. He tallied his first NHL goal and multi-point game in Pittsburgh’s victory over New Jersey last night. Last season, the Penguins received strong efforts from Tom Kuhnhackl, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary, all of whom began the year in the minors, on their way to a Stanley Cup championship. It’s questionable whether Rowney will have that same level of impact on Pittsburgh’s fortunes this postseason but in a short sample he has proven he can at least serve as much needed depth.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Josh Archibald From AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins may have another young winger ready to make an impact for them down the stretch. Today they called up Josh Archibald from the AHL prior to their game against the Calgary Flames tonight. The Penguins are on a five game winning streak and just a point behind the Metropolitan-leading Washington Capitals for first place in the entire NHL.
Archibald is a 24-year old winger who was selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. After completing—and dominating in—three seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Archibald has steadily climbed through the ranks of the Penguins’ minor league system. Earlier this year he played two games for Pittsburgh, scoring two goals in a February 11th overtime loss against Arizona. Amazingly, he has scored on each of the only two shots he’s taken during his three game NHL career.
As Pittsburgh has shown over the years with the emergence of Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary, the team isn’t afraid to put young players into key roles during a playoff stretch. After seasoning them at the AHL level, they can find ways to let them impact the game without exposing their inexperience. While Archibald isn’t guaranteed to play that role for the Penguins this season, his ability to penalty kill and play a solid defensive game may lend itself to some fourth-line minutes down the stretch and into the postseason.
Carl Hagelin Out At Least Four Weeks
The Pittsburgh Penguins were without Carl Hagelin when they squared off with the Vancouver Canucks last night – a 3-0 shutout for the Pens – and we now know why. Coach Mike Sullivan confirmed after the game that Hagelin had suffered a lower body injury the previous night -(likely a broken foot), versus the Edmonton Oilers, and the preliminary estimation is that he will be out for a minimum of four weeks. There is nothing on the specifics or extent of the injury just yet, but this timeline already puts Hagelin’s playoff availability in doubt.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh, though Hagelin is a good player, he is putting up only replacement-level numbers in 2016-17. Through 61 games, Hagelin has just six goals and sixteen assists for 22 points. Last season, Hagelin scored 27 points for the Penguins, but that was in only 37 regular season games following a January trade from the Anaheim Ducks. Sullivan has somewhat moved away from the “HBK Line”, which helped to fuel the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run last year, but individually Phil Kessell and Nick Bonino are both having strong seasons, having already matched their 2015-16 production. It seems as though Hagelin is the only one who has struggled, but this could make his absence easier to cope with. Veterans Tom Kostopoulos or Kevin Porter may be replacement options, as could first-year pro Thomas Di Pauli, who just recently returned from injury.
The problem in Pittsburgh is not Hagelin’s individual issue, but rather the sheer amount of players who are sidelined right now. Hagelin joins defensemen Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, and Trevor Daley and forwards Patric Hornqvist, Matt Cullen, and Bryan Rust as Penguins that currently have clipped wings. That makes for a total of seven opening day starters who are out of the lineup with injury, with only so many options to replace them. However, the Penguins have been able to deal with the problem so far; they’re 7-3 in their last ten. Yet, in that stretch Pittsburgh has only beaten one team who is currently in playoff position. In their next ten games, they face three such teams: the red-hot Calgary Flames, the Chicago Blackhawks, who they just recently lost to, and the division-rival New York Rangers, so they will truly be tested in the next few weeks.
Perhaps fortunately for Pittsburgh, Hagelin is the latest (and least important) in a recent rash of Metropolitan injuries, with the Rangers losing Henrik Lundqvist and the Columbus Blue Jackets losing Ryan Murray over the past few days, as both teams try to close gap with the Penguins in the division.