CAROLINA HURRICANESdownloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips041015.pdfGerbe, a Carolina Hurricanes winger, was playing for the Buffalo Sabres when cut by the skate of teammate Paul

CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS • April 10, 2015

Bellemore and Murphy lead Hurricanes past Flyers 3-1

Posted 11:14 p.m. yesterday

By AARON BRACY, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Carolina has one of the worst records in the NHL, but the Hurricanes have had no trouble against Philadelphia this season.

Brent Bellemore and Ryan Murphy each scored a goal to lead Carolina to a 3-1 victory over the Flyers on Thursday night.

"We seem to match up with them pretty well," Carolina captain Eric Staal said.

Jordan Staal added an empty-netter for the Hurricanes, who snapped a five-game road losing streak while taking their fourth victory in five games against Philadelphia this season.

Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers, while Jakub Voracek went without a point for Philadelphia. Voracek entered Thursday fourth in the league with 81 points, two behind the NHL-leading trio of John Tavares, Jamie Benn and Sidney Crosby.

Philadelphia continued its baffling trend of struggling against non-playoff teams while playing well against postseason contenders. The Flyers lost their 12th straight (0-7-5) to non-playoff teams; they are 9-1-3 over that stretch against playoff clubs.

"I'm mystified, for sure," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "You have to prepare yourself, compete and skate and work that same way. You have to bring it. You may not have the hatred you have against Pittsburgh, but you have to dig down and find the intensity."

This one was missing that intensity.

The game pitted a pair of teams not headed for the postseason, and it had a listless feel. The Hurricanes entered with the fifth-worst record in the league while the Flyers had the seventh-worst mark. The biggest rise from the crowd came when Vincent Lecavalier dropped his gloves for the second time in the game during the second period.

Lecavalier, who has suffered through a disappointing season, entered with 14 penalty minutes for the season but had 22 minutes through 1 ½ periods after a pair of duels with Keegan Lowe, who was making his NHL debut.

Lowe got the better of Lecavalier during a first-period fight before Lecavalier ambushed the rookie while winning their second-period bout. For that one, Lecavalier got an instigation

penalty and 10-minute misconduct in addition to a fighting major. Lecavalier didn't play in the third period after suffering an upper-body injury, presumably in the second fight.

There probably was some frustration released for the veteran forward, who has scored just eight of his 411 career goals this season.

"The first time it was just a battle and it ended up happening," Lowe said. "It's hockey, right? If he wanted his lick, he got it (in the second fight). Game's over, we got the win, so I'm happy."

Lecavalier wasn't available for comment.

Bellmore tallied his second goal of the season when he tipped Eric Staal's pass from the point past Flyers backup goalie Ray Emery with 7:12 left in the first period to put Carolina on the board.

"Coach has been harping all year for the 'D' to join the rush," Bellmore said. "Honestly, it's a great play by Eric and I was able to get a stick on it."

Murphy beat Emery with a one-timer from the point on a power play with 7:09 remaining in the third period.

Couturier tipped home Mark Streit's shot from the point with 3:41 left to pull Philadelphia within a goal.

Cam Ward made 27 saves, improving to 4-0 against Philadelphia this season.

Philadelphia failed to score on the power play, going 0 for 2, to snap a seven-game streak with a goal on the man advantage.

"That's a dangerous team that can cause you sleepless nights watching their power play," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "I thought our (penalty kill) was real good."

Notes: Lowe is the son of Kevin Lowe, the Oilers' team president. ... Philadelphia closes its season by hosting Ottawa on Saturday afternoon, while the Hurricanes end at home against Detroit on Saturday night. ... Dating back to last season, the Flyers have lost four straight and eight of nine to Carolina. ... Flyers C Claude Giroux had an assist, giving him seven goals and five assists in his last 12 games. ... Lecavalier will be evaluated further on Friday.


Sharp skate blades pose injury risk to hockey players

By Chip Alexander

[email protected]

04/09/2015 1:29 PM

For Nathan Gerbe, it all happened in a flash.

The puck was dropped for a faceoff. A player was knocked down, his leg flying up and suddenly Gerbe’s face was flush with blood.

Gerbe had been cut by a skate blade. It’s an occupational hazard in hockey, an ever present danger that the players try to more or less ignore while fully understanding the potential risks in a sport based on speed and quick movements.

What other sport is played with a deadly weapon attached to their equipment? Skate blades may not have the fine edge of a chef’s knife but are sharp enough to easily cut through muscles and tendons, or slice through arteries.

Gerbe, a Carolina Hurricanes winger, was playing for the Buffalo Sabres when cut by the skate of teammate Paul Gaustad.

“I split my lip and my nose open,” Gerbe said. “It’s scary. You’re not prepared for it, obviously. Luckily it wasn’t much worse. There have been guys who had it more severe than me.”

Forward Drew Miller of the Detroit Red Wings recently was slashed when he was caught in the face by the skate of Mark Stone of the Ottawa Senators. Cut on both sides of his right eye, Miller needed almost 60 stitches.

“Something like that can happen and you can lose an eye, lose a finger,” said Columbus forward Cam Atkinson, another who took a skate to the face this season. “People don’t realize how you’re skating on a very sharp blade. It can cut right through your equipment. It can leave a pretty big gash.”

Earlier this season defenseman Michael Del Zotto of the Philadelphia Flyers was playing the puck in a corner, fell and was clipped in the neck by the skate of Colorado Avalanche forward Daniel Briere.

Del Zotto was lucky. He was quickly stitched up and returned to the game, but some gruesome photos of his neck and the cut – close to the carotid artery – quickly went viral on social media.

“I kind of felt for blood and there wasn’t too much, so I wasn’t that scared at the time,” Del Zotto said. “But when it’s that close to a major artery in the neck it’s a scary situation.

“I’m pretty fortunate. I took one on the side of my face before, had 50 stitches. It’s nothing new for me.”

Life threatening

Defenseman Zach Redmond of the Avalanche wasn’t so fortunate. His cut was almost fatal, with only the quick reactions of teammates, trainers, then the medical staff at Raleigh’s Rex Hospital perhaps saving his life.

Redmond was playing for the Winnipeg Jets in February 2013 and at PNC Arena for the Jets’ morning skate. He was getting in extra work after the skate when teammate Antti Miettinen fell off-balance and cut Redmond on the inside of his right leg at mid-thigh, severing the femoral artery and vein.

The Jets’ trainers soon rushed onto the ice. So did Pete Friesen, the Canes head trainer.

“I don’t think it gets more serious than that,” Friesen said. “It was the worst bleed I’ve ever seen. A man was about to lose his life.”

Another teammate, Anthony Peluso, and assistant coach Perry Pearn quickly jumped in. Peluso used a towel to try and close the gash while Pearn tied his jacket around Redmond’s leg as tourniquet.

Redmond was taken to the hospital for three hours of emergency surgery to reattach the artery, was hospitalized for a week and needed six weeks of recovery time.

Another close call was the horrendous injury suffered by forward Richard Zednik in February 2008. Then with the Florida Panthers, he was sliced on the neck by the skate of teammate Olli Jokinen during a game in Buffalo, hitting the external carotid artery.

Zednik lost five units of blood. While the surgery was successful, he missed the rest of the season.

“I panicked”

The Hurricanes have had their share of skate scares.

Playing against the Columbus Blue Jackets in November 2009, goalie Cam Ward was cut just above the left knee by the skate of forward Rick Nash, then with the Blue Jackets, when Nash was upended in front of the crease.

“He cut the quadriceps tendon,” Friesen said of Ward. “It didn’t lacerate the tendon. If it did it would have been very detrimental to his career.”

Ward missed 29 games but did return that season.

The Achilles tendon is particularly vulnerable in a sport where skates come in close contact along the walls, in the corners. Former Canes defenseman Joe Corvo cut his Achilles tendon just a few weeks after Ward’s injury in 2009.


Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner cut through two pairs of Corvo’s socks, into the calf, hitting a nerve and then the Achilles tendon. Corvo needed more than 100 stitches.

Many players now wear Kevlar cut-resistant socks, which protect the calf and Achilles tendon. Some players don’t like them, saying the socks create more body heat inside the skates. Others are believers.

Forward Devante Smith-Pelly of the Montreal Canadiens said he escaped a serious injury this season when he caught a blade to back of his calf and foot.

“I panicked for a second,” he said. “But there was no cut. I was wearing the skate-resistant socks and they definitely saved me. It saved my season.”

Players wear protective shields on their helmets. But as Gerbe, Miller and others can attest, it’s not fully protective.

“With skates and sticks flying around, it can be pretty dangerous,” Smith-Pelly said.

Alexander: 919-829-8945;

Twitter: @ice_chip

In case of emergency, Canes' Alves ready to gear-up

Posted 6:30 p.m. yesterday

Raleigh, N.C. — Only two games remain for the Carolina Hurricanes this season and so far, their goalie situation has worked out with Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin. But in case of an emergency, what is the back-up to the back-up plan?

Jorge Alves is not known to many Canes fans. He is usually behind the scenes cleaning skates and picking up laundry after Carolina practices and games as part of the team’s equipment staff. But he has a second role with the team – emergency goaltender.

“He’s awesome. He’s the best No. 3 goalie in the National Hockey League,” said head coach Bill Peters.

"Back during the lockout (in 2004-05), they needed a goalie and I had a friend that knew a friend,” Alves said. “He said, ’hey, you want to skate with us?’”

It wasn’t totally off the wall. Alves played youth hockey and goalie in high school. He later starred in net for NC State’s club team in the late 1990s and played a little bit in the minors.

“I’ve had my fair share of maintenance days and he’s always quick to get the gear on and get on the ice,” Cam Ward said.

That is usually what Alves is good for – being the spare guy that put on the pads and take some practice shots.

“You see them lined up and just go,”okay, get in front of it and hope it hits you,’” Alves said. “But at the same time, everything is telling you, don’t get in front of it, don’t let it hit you.”

“When I think about Jeorge, I always think of Rudy in the football movie,” Ward said. “You kind of want to start chanting, ‘Rudy, Rudy.’”

Alves' chances of actually dressing for the Canes for a game are slim, but not impossible. Buffalo and Anaheim each had to turn to emergency goaltenders this season.

When asked if he would like to see Alves on the game ice, Peters replied, “never,” noting that would mean injuries to Ward and Khudobin.

Should he actually get the call, Alves would earn $500 and get to keep the jersey. Although it is safe to say the story would be worth well more than that.


Ward, Canes Defeat Flyers Again

Thursday, 04.09.2015 / 10:21 PM

Michael Smith

Tracking the Storm: Analysis from Philadelphia

-- The Carolina Hurricanes posted their fourth straight victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday at Wells Fargo Center in a 2-0 shutout victory. Brett Bellemore, Ryan Murphy and Jordan Staal scored for the Canes, while Cam Ward made 27 saves.

"It was a bit of a gritty game. That kind of got everyone into the game," Bellemore said. "Especially Keegan, he stepped up with a couple big fights and got us going."

-- Cam Ward has been the Flyers’ worst nightmare in the five-game season series between these two Metropolitan Division opponents. He didn’t start in the first meeting, a 5-1 loss, but he’s backstopped the Canes to victory in four straight games now against Philadelphia.

Tonight, he made 27 saves en route to his 22nd victory of the season, his only blemish being a goal late in the third period via a redirect by Sean Couturier. He was especially impressive late, as the Flyers desperately attempted to even the score.

"Wardo has been good all year," head coach Bill Peters said. "He's had a good year."

-- Keegan Lowe made quite the impression in his NHL debut. He fought Vincent Lecavalier twice in the first two periods and played with an edge to his defensive game.

"My thoughts were just to go out there, play hard and play simple," said Lowe, who wore the fireman's helmet after the game. "I was by no means out there looking for that (fights), but it is what it is, and it leads to good memories, I guess."

"He did a good job. He competes. We knew he was a competitive player, and he was competitive here tonight," Peters said. "I thought he managed the puck well. I thought he was good defensively and solid."

Nerves? Not too noticeable.

"Warm-ups, a little bit, but once I got out there in my first shift, I actually had a chance up in the play. That got the legs moving and helped a lot," Lowe said. "After that it was all pretty good. There were a few shifts, obviously, with little mistakes that I’d like back. I could attribute that to nerves, but I’m not going to do that. Other than that, it was a happy experience."

Lowe’s first bout with Lecavalier, which arose after the two exchanged cross-checks in the slot, was a rousing success for the rookie. He connected with a handful of shots in a rather prolonged tussle before the officials stepped in.

"The first time it was just a battle and it ended up – by no means was I like, ‘Oh, this is Lecavalier,'" Lowe said. "It ended up happening."

The second fight was quicker and its origins more suspect. Lecavalier bear hugged Lowe and began punching him before he had a chance to respond properly, a questionable tactic from the veteran forward, who was penalized with the extra instigator.

"Well obviously I was surprised, but there’s no love lost there," Lowe said. "It’s hockey, right? No love lost for him. He’s a great player and always has been. He wanted his lick, and he got it. Game’s over and we got the win, so I’m happy."

Per HockeyFights.com, Keegan’s father, Kevin, also fought in his NHL debut on Oct. 10, 1979 against Grant Mulvey of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Like father, like son.

"Pretty good, impressive debut," Peters said of Keegan. "And to get a win in your debut, he did a good job and should be proud."

"There’s a ton of good leaders on this team, and they were all helping me out. Playing with Murph helped me out," Lowe said. "It was a learning experience, and that’s what hockey is: you’re learning every day."

-- Contributions from the blue line spurred the Canes’ offense tonight, as Brett Bellemore and Ryan Murphy tallied for Carolina.

"Any time you can get two goals from D-men, you’re doing well," Peters said. "We’ve wanted our D to be active, and it’s nice to get offensive contributions from them tonight."

Of all situations, it was Bellemore crashing the net that opened the scoring at 12:48 of the first period. Jordan Staal laid the puck off to Eric at the point. Eric then tossed the puck in front, as Bellemore was barreling to the crease with speed. Bellemore flattened his blade and redirected the slap pass into past Ray Emery for his second-goal of the season.

"Long way from home, wasn’t he?" Peters quipped. "Green light for all of them. Belly is going to be smart enough to pick his spots. He knows his bread and butter is probably not jumping all the time, but it was a good read. We want to play quick."

"I thought the goal helped us get going," Bellemore said of his tally. "The coach has been harping all year for the D to join the rush and be proactive back there. Honestly, it was just a great play by Eric to put it in a good area, and I was able to get a stick on it."

Murphy netted what proved to be the game-winning goal on the front half of a four-minute power play, rifling a one-timer past Emery for his fourth goal of the season.


Jordan Staal added an empty-net tally late in the game to seal the victory.

-- Just one game remains for the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2014-15 season, and it’s a rematch against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Lowe to Make Late-Season NHL Debut

Thursday, 04.9.2015 / 3:45 PM ET / Tracking the Storm

By Michael Smith

PHILADELPHIA – Game No. 81 might not be meaningful in the standings for the Carolina Hurricanes, but it will certainly be meaningful to Keegan Lowe, who will make his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“It feels pretty surreal right now,” a wide-eyed and smiling Lowe said after his first morning skate. “It’s something you think about and dream about for a long time. When it becomes real, it’s a pretty cool moment.”

“It’s exciting to get a young guy in,” head coach Bill Peters said. “I know he’s excited to be up with us, and we’ll get a good look at him.”

Lowe, a third-round (73rd overall) draft pick of the Canes in 2011, said he received news of his first NHL call-up after practice in Charlotte on Wednesday.

“Got a call into the office, and our coach Jeff Daniels had a smile on his face,” Lowe recalled. “I kind of hoped for good news, and it was good news.”

With that, he was on a plane bound for Philadelphia. There to greet him at the airport was his father Kevin, who played in 1,254 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers.

“It’s definitely awesome to have him here,” Lowe said, adding that his mom would be in attendance for his first NHL game, as well. “Everybody [else] is too far away. … I wish my dad’s mom was here, but it was just too last-minute for her to get here. Hopefully I get the chance to have another one for her to be in the house.”

Awaiting Lowe in the Hurricanes locker room was a collection of familiar faces, especially among the defense corps. The second-year pro bunked with Ryan Murphy last night (“I know

him pretty well,” Lowe said) and gestured to Victor Rask’s stall in noting that he and the Canes’ rookie center were roommates in Charlotte last year.

“Everyone else who I don’t know too well are really good guys and easily approachable,” Lowe said. “Makes it easier, for sure.”

Lowe, who has appeared in 118 AHL games with Charlotte, will be the third defenseman and eighth player to play in his first NHL game with the Canes this season.

“It seems like it’s been two extremes. Lots at the beginning with young guys due to forwards injuries, and now we have some D injuries and some D-men we want to look at,” Peters said. “In the beginning, it was kind of force-fed, but now it’s that these guys have earned the opportunity for a look. We want to make sure we know what we have moving forward in our system with our depth that we have.”

Peters had the opportunity to see Lowe in action in person when he recently took a trip down to Charlotte to see the organization’s AHL affiliate.

“He played real well,” Peters said. “He had good gaps, he competed and he made a good first pass.”

All of which he’ll be counted on to do tonight. As Hurricanes assistant coach Steve Smith – who was also teammates with Kevin Lowe in the late 1980s in Edmonton – told Keegan today, hockey is hockey.

Tonight against Philadelphia, Lowe will play the left side with Murphy to his right, and Peters said he plans on giving the 22-year-old defenseman plenty of five-on-five ice time.

“We want to set him up to be successful, and I know he’ll be a good player here tonight,” Peters said.


Hurricanes hold off Flyers for 3-1 road win

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Peter Koutroumpis

PHILADELPHIA, PA. – The Carolina Hurricanes earned their final road win of the season, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.

Brett Bellemore, Ryan Murphy, and Jordan Staal all scored for Carolina while goaltender Cam Ward made 27 saves to earn the win.

“Any time you can get two goals from D-men, you’re doin’ well,” Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters said.

“We want our D-men to be active and it’s nice to get some offensive contribution from them tonight.”

Sean Couturier scored Philadelphia’s lone goal as Ray Emery’s 24-save effort couldn’t deny a second consecutive loss to the Hurricanes in less than a week.

Following back-to-back losses at Buffalo and Detroit to start the week, Carolina (30-40-11) redeemed itself with another win over the Flyers (33-30-18), the fourth in a row of the two team’s five total meetings this season.

Bellemore tallied his second goal of the season on a tip-in after breaking towards the net on the rush to put the Hurricanes ahead 1-0 at the 12:48 mark of the first period.

Though not posting any points, Hurricanes rookie defenseman Keegan Lowe fought veteran Vincent LeCavalier on two different occasions during the first two periods of play to make a notable presence while making his NHL debut.

“He did a good job,” Peters said of the young blueliner.

“He competes. We knew he was a competitive player and he was competitive here tonight. I thought he managed the puck well. I thought he was good defensively. He was solid. He was good in box-out situations. Pretty good, impressive debut, and to get a win in his debut…he did a good job. He should be proud.”

Both teams remained scoreless until 12:51 of the third period when Murphy’s blast from the point on the power play beat Emery to extend Carolina’s lead to 2-0.

The defenseman’s fourth goal of the year became the eventual game-winner, the first of his NHL career.

Couturier’s 15th goal of the season gave Philadelphia hope,

trailing 2-1 with 3:41 to play.

Claude Giroux’s shot from the left circle made it past a sliding Ward, but the puck hit the right post and kept Carolina’s lead intact.

As the play continued, Staal finalized the 3-1 win for the Hurricanes, snapping a shot successfully into the Flyers’ net with 39 seconds left.

Carolina will play its final game of the season when it hosts the Red Wings at PNC Arena on Saturday.

Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes to face off at Mile One Sept. 27

CBC News Posted: Apr 10, 2015 5:06 AM NT

IceCaps Entertainment announced Thursday that they will host an NHL exhibition game between the Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes on Sept. 27 at Mile One Centre in St. John's.

The Senators feature stars such as Erik Karlsson; while the Hurricanes are led by the Staal brothers, Eric and Jordan.

The game will mark the second year in a row that IceCaps Entertainment has hosted an NHL exhibition contest, as the Senators and New York Islanders played a pair of pre-season matches in September 2014 at Mile One.

"Once again, IceCaps Entertainment is proud to be providing an opportunity for fans right here to watch live NHL action without having to travel outside the province," said IceCaps Governor and COO Glenn Stanford in a media release.

Tickets for the game start at $99 plus taxes and surcharges, and will be available to IceCaps season ticket holders (or new season ticket holders) during the renewal process, which is slated to begin next week.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon on May 2. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Mile One Centre


box office, by phone at 709-576-7657, or online at www.mileonecentre.com.

First-Round Pick Fleury Joins Checkers

Created: April 9, 2015 - 1:44 pm

Written by Nicholas Niedzielski

As the Checkers continue to stockpile young prospects here at the tail end of the season, their newest addition is arguably the most recognizable name. 2014 first-round pick Haydn Fleury joined the team at practice for the first time Thursday morning. His junior team, the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, was recently eliminated from the playoffs. With his season over, Fleury got a call from the man that drafted him. “Ron [Francis, Carolina Hurricanes General Manager ] called me briefly and just asked if I wanted to play more hockey and I said I’d love to,” said Fleury. With just one practice under his belt, the differences between the junior and pro levels were readily evident to the young blue liner. “It was good,” said Fleury. “The pace was a bit higher than it was in junior and I haven’t been on the ice for very long, so it was just getting my legs under me at first, but I got better as practice went on.” The 6-foot-3 defenseman has been a force on the Red Deer blue line for the last three seasons, totaling 93 points (18g, 75a) in 199 games during that span. Fleury led all Rebels defensemen in scoring during the 2013-14 campaign as a 17-year-old and ranked second this season. The promise he has shown was enticing enough for the Hurricanes to pick him seventh overall, and it also gives the coaches confidence in his ability to navigate the pitfalls of this transition and make the leap to the pro game. “You’ve got to adapt to the speed and going up against bigger and stronger guys than you were in junior,” said Daniels. “He’s a talented guy who should be able to adjust fairly quickly.” Here at the tail-end of the season, Fleury won’t have a ton of time to spend at the AHL level, but he seems determined to

take in as much as he can to head into the offseason. “I can watch how these guys prepare for games and how they do everyday things,” said Fleury. “You can always take something away from watching older guys like [Chad] LaRose or [Ben] Holmstrom . Just seeing how they prepare.” He also is armed with feedback from rookie camp on what specific things the organization wants him to focus on with his ongoing development. “Keep working on my defensive game and keep working on getting shots through from the blueline,” said Fleury, before adding what his biggest takeaway would be. “Just to see where I am compared to the guys at the next level. If I do get into a game it will be a big stepping stone to see where I’m at.” Fleury is now the fourth defenseman to come aboard here late in the season, alongside Brett Pesce, Roland McKeown and Josh Wesley. While Fleury is the lone first-round pick of the group, that doesn’t come with any caveats as far as playing time. “We’ll just take it each day,” said Daniels. “We’ll see if we can get him into the lineup. But it’s no different than Josh or Roland or Pesce. They’re down here to get the experience. No matter what round you’re drafted in, these are guys that Carolina thinks highly of and that’s why they’re here.” If he were to make it into a game this weekend, Fleury would be the youngest player to ever don a Checkers sweater. At 18 years and 277 days, he just edges out Elias Lindholm, who appeared in six games for the Checkers last season at 18 years and 340 days. Should they play, Fleury and fellow newcomer McKeown would join a group of seven other prospects under the age of 20 to have suited up for Charlotte.


TODAY’S LINKS http://www.wralsportsfan.com/bellemore-and-murphy-lead-hurricanes-past-flyers-3-1/14572024/

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article17954633.html http://www.wralsportsfan.com/in-case-of-emergency-canes-alves-ready-to-gear-up/14571644/

http://hurricanes.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2014021204&navid=DL|CAR|home http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=762300&navid=DL|CAR|home

http://trianglesportsnet.com/archives/7267 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ottawa-senators-carolina-hurricanes-to-face-off-at-mile-one-sept-27-1.3026623

http://gocheckers.com/articles/1178-first-round-pick-fleury-joins-checkers

765818 Detroit Red Wings

Montreal 4, Detroit 3 (OT): Why the Red Wings lost

By Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press 1:12 a.m. EDT April 10, 2015

At Bell Centre, Montreal

First period: Jimmy Howard made a big stop on Brian Flynn in the opening minutes, which otherwise saw the Wings run up a 6-1 edge in shots. Riley Sheahan drew a holding penalty against David Desharnais at 6:21. The Wings got one shot on net, by Sheahan. Tomas Tatar scored at 10:19 when he fired a wrist shot behind Carey Price after a pass from Pavel Datsyuk. Andrei Markov scored on a slap shot at 17:36.

Second period: Danny DeKeyser was called for interference at 3:50 of the second period. Devante Smith-Pelly led a drive on net that Howard deflected. The Canadiens got one shot on net. Jeff Petry scored at 6:24 when he took a short pass from Torrey Mitchell and beat Howard from the slot. Datsyuk scored at 8:07 when he strode through Montreal's zone and snapped the puck behind Price. Landon Ferraro drew a holding penalty against Brandon Prust at 11:57. Gustav Nyquist drew a hooking penalty against Alexei Emelin at 15:34. The Wings got one shot on their third power play.

Third period: Kyle Quincey was called for interference at 2:21 of the third period. Darren Helm scored at 3:34 when he stole the puck off P.K. Subban and rushed in to stuff a forehand on Price for a 3-2 lead. Helm drew a tripping penalty against David Desharnais at 7:42. DeKeyser went back to the box at 9:59, for tripping. Sheahan served an interference call at 11:07, the result of Brendan Smith touching the puck as he sat on the bench. Tomas Plekanec scored at 11:39 on a bank-shot. DeKeyser drew a tripping penalty against Smith-Pelly at 12:43, Detroit's fifth power play.

Overtime: Lars Eller scored 1:21 into overtime on a hard-angled shot from the right boards.

Game reaction: Mike Babcock said, "I thought our team played real well tonight. We should have won that game. The puck went in and it shouldn't have went in. We're going to have to deal with that in the next few days to get that straightened out, but I thought our team played real hard."... Henrik Zetterberg said, "Two points would have been better, but we'll take that one point and move on." ... Tatar said, "It just shows our character. We clinched again and we will try to clean it up and be the best we can in the playoffs."

Special-teams report: The power play was 0-for-5 and the penalty kill was 3-for-4.

Shot report: The Wings had 27 (9-10-8-0) and the Canadiens had 26 (9-11-4-2).

Next game: Closing the regular season Saturday at Carolina.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 04.10.2015


Montreal 4, Detroit 3 (OT): Wings clinch playoff spot


MONTREAL -- Mike Babcock didn't think his Detroit Red Wings were good enough to make the playoffs.

That was his feeling July 5. Thursday, he celebrated their 24th straight trip there despite losing, 4-3 in overtime, to the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. The Wings were helped by the Boston Bruins, who lost in regulation to Florida. Who the Wings play remains to be determined, but play next week they will.

"It's probably the first game I was scoreboard watching in the end," Henrik Zetterberg said. "It was a good feeling.

"We'll take it."

Niklas Kronwall admitted "it's definitely a weird scenario. But we found a way to get a point, and that got us in."

Babcock spoke of the history of the streak, especially in his decade behind the bench. He said he didn't think it'd be continued back in July. "I thought we had no chance," he said, because he wasn't sure the young guys would be good enough.

"I'm proud of the guys," Babcock said. "People talk about 24 years, but for me, the 10 years since the lockout, we're the only team in the NHL to make it all 10 times. The last three years, we've been grinding to get in. We've changed our group totally, and to find a way, I think has been incredible."

Not the whole group has changed. Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall -- the latter two alternate captains -- have been there all along. Zetterberg and Datsyuk each have four points the last two games.

"If you're Kronwall, and those two guys, Datsyuk and Zetterberg, they feel like I do," Babcock said. "You feel like you've got an obligation to the city."

Zetterberg had two assists and Datsyuk a goal and an assist. Tomas Tatar and Darren Helm also scored.

Clinching will give the Wings the ability to rest Datsyuk and Zetterberg, among others, for Saturday's closer at Carolina. Babcock said Datsyuk has


been playing hurt, and guessed players would be called up from the minors to flesh out the roster for the last game.

His bigger decision centers on goaltending. Babcock didn't like Jeff Petry scoring on a clear shot, Tomas Plekenac banking a shot in off Jimmy Howard, or Lars Eller angling the puck in overtime. "They can't go in," Babcock said. "It's the National Hockey League. They can't go in."

Asked if he has a No. 1 guy, Babcock hesitated, then said, "I'm going to have a beer and think about that."

Howard admitted he was at fault on the last goal. "I started to cheat in overtime," he said. "I saw the Montreal guy coming down hard on the outside. I was thinking he was going to throw it across. In that case, you've just got to stick with the shooter, never mind the guy on the outside."

Brendan Smith was behind another egregious moment, one that created the situation for the Habs to make it 3-3 after Helm had burned them for a shorthanded goal early in the third period. Smith used his hand to knock at the puck as it passed him while sitting on Detroit's bench, an absolute no-no that resulted in a 52-second 5-on-3 power play for the Habs. Plekanec scored 30 seconds later.

Smith refused to talk to reporters. Asked why the Wings argued with the officials over the interference call (served by Riley Sheahan), Zetterberg said, "I think we were just arguing. We weren't sure if anyone saw it. Then you see replay. He reached out and touched the puck. It is 2 minutes."

Babcock called it "crazy. I watched the whole thing. We should have went to the box. It should have been 5-on-3."

An energetic start saw the Wings get a handful of shots on Carey Price within 6 minutes, but their first power play was as bad as all the rest of them, as the Wings got just four shots on net during five total man advantages.

"We had a lot of opportunities on power play and couldn't get it going at all," Zetterberg said. "Couldn't get into their zone. If we would have capitalized a little better there, it would have been a different outcome."

Datsyuk stole the puck off Brendan Gallagher for a give-and-go with Zetterberg that ended with Tatar scoring midway through the first period. Andrei Markov tied it up when he one-timed a pass from P.K. Subban from the blue line seconds after a faceoff in Detroit's zone. Petry, from Ann Arbor, made it 2-1 just 6 minutes into the second period, on a short shot from the left side. It was Datsyuk to the rescue 2 minutes later, when he weaved up the middle and made a quick move to beat Price for a tie score headed into the third period.

That period began well enough when Helm took off on a shorthanded breakaway and went backhand to forehand to beat Price, as the Wings scored more goals on him this night than the first three games combined. Another Detroit power play was squandered, and then Habs used Smith's brain freeze and Howard's bad read to rally.

"Plekanec did a good job of disguising it," Howard said. "I thought he was going to whip it across. He turned his wrist over at the last second. Stay with the puck."

That's one of the things the Wings have to get sorted out before the playoffs start. But for the Wings, for one night, they took satisfaction in that they will, again, start the playoffs.

Contact Helene St. James: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

Chasing the playoffs

The top-three teams in each division make the playoffs, with the top-two wild-card teams also making the postseason. The top team in each division faces a wild-card team, with the best overall record facing the wild card with the worst record; the second- and third-place teams in each division play in the first round as well. How it looks in the Eastern Conference after Thursday's games:

x-clinched playoffs, y-already eliminated.

Atlantic

GR

PTS

1. x-Montreal

1

108

2. x-Tampa Bay

1

106

3. x-Detroit

1

98

4. Ottawa

1

97

5. Boston

1

95

Metropolitan

GR

PTS

1. x-Rangers

1

111

2. x-Wash.

1

101

3. x-Islanders


2

98

4. Pittsburgh

2

96

5. y-Columbus

2

85

Wild-card race

GR

PTS

1. Ottawa

1

97

2. Pittsburgh

2

96

3. Boston

1

95

4. y-Florida

1

89

5. y-Columbus

2

85



Nyquist, Tatar needed to deliver for Wings in playoffs


MONTREAL -- Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist know they will be counted on next week to deliver as they have all season.

As the Detroit Red Wings set sights on the NHL playoffs, the performances of two of their young stars are under scrutiny. Tomas Tatar came through Thursday at Bell Centre with his first goal in six games in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Wings clinched a playoff berth because they got one point and Boston got none after losing outright to Florida.

Where Tatar had been running cold, Nyquist has three goals in his last six games and five in his last 10.

Earlier in the day, Babcock had assessed the twosome.

"I think Nyquist has got his game back," Mike Babcock said. "I don't think Tats has been as good lately, but I think there is also ebbs and flow in a season. Tats has to simplify now. When you're a guy who perceives yourself as a scorer and you don't score, then don't overthink things, don't over handle the puck, shoot the puck, get it in and get on the forecheck, get to the net. I think Nyquie's done a better job of winning his battles and getting pucks back and setting himself up to have the puck.

"As a scorer, it's great if everyone else gets it to you, but it's better if you go get it yourself. Then you have the puck twice as often. That's the priority for those kids."

Those "kids" played a huge role in getting the Wings into the playoffs last year, only to turn invisible in the Bruins series. They've each topped 25 goals this season. Tatar's longest drought has been eight games, while Nyquist went seven games without a goal in his coldest spell.

They've done well in the regular season, with Tatar reaching 29 goals and Nyquist, 27.

They know how huge the next test is.

"We weren't good enough last year in that series, any of us, and didn't produce," Nyquist said. "That's not good come playoff time. That's when you want to play your best hockey. So hopefully another year under our belt gives us some more confidence going in."

Nyquist, 25, spoke of how at playoff time,"it's mostly going to be dirty goals, and you've got to fight for them." Babcock made that point to Tatar after Tuesday's game, when Tatar went to the net on the play that saw Nyquist score.

"The reason Tats drove the middle, I was bugging him the other day, is their guy bumped him so he couldn't get out and open up for a one-timer," Babcock said. "He had to go through because their guy bumped him, so that's why we scored the goal. He wouldn't have gone there normally, but, good things happen when you go to the net."

Tatar, 24, has hit a few posts of late, but said he still needs to "shoot more. For me, every experience from last year was helpful for this year, I feel the playoffs as well."



Red Wings could clinch vs. Habs, find out playoff foe


By Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press 1:09 p.m. EDT April 9, 2015

MONTREAL -- By the time this day is over, the Detroit Red Wings could be in the playoffs - and could even know their first-round opponent.

The Wings take on the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., FSD). Coach Mike Babcock said he'll have the same lineup as Tuesday's game, so that means Pavel Datsyuk is in.

Datsyuk hasn't been taking part in practices or morning skates, but that doesn't matter so long as the Wings have him for games. The only changes Babcock planned as of the morning skate was to switch around some of the right wingers, such as swapping Teemu Pulkkinen and Landon Ferraro.

Jimmy Howard is starting in net, opposite Carey Price. The Habs are without their leading scorer, as Max Pacioretty (37 goals) is injured.

The Wings can clinch a playoff spot if they win or the Ottawa Senators lose to the New York Rangers in regulation.

Fear may be good for Wings, but playoffs better

If the Wings gain one more point than Boston (the Bruins are at Florida), and Ottawa loses, then the Wings will lock up third place in the Atlantic Division. If Tampa Bay (playing New Jersey) gets zero points, and Montreal gets at least one point, the Lightning lock into second place in the Atlantic.

The Wings are doing the only thing they can do, which is control what they can control.

"What we try to do is get organized like always," coach Mike Babcock said after the morning skate. "We're going to try to make sure we've got good early energy, we're going to box out well at our net, get to their net hard, be organized on the power play and penalty kill and work hard. When you're focused on process, usually good things happen. So that's what we're going to think about."

The Wings have scored just twice this season on Montreal, going 0-2-1 in the series. The Habs have won 2-1 (overtime), 4-1 and 2-0, respectively.

If the Wings win tonight, it will be the first time since Feb. 28-March 4 they will have two straight victories. The Habs are 1-1-2 in their last four games.



Babcock says Wings' goalie situation remains clouded

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News 12:29 a.m. EDT April 10, 2015

Montreal — The Red Wings are headed into the playoffs but who the starting goaltending will be is anyone's guess.

Coach Mike Babcock couldn't name the starter after Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal after Jimmy Howard allowed three poor goals in Babcock's mind.

"They can't go in, period," said Babcock, who felt his team otherwise played a strong game against the Canadiens. "It's the National Hockey League. They can't go in."

Howard and Petr Mrazek have both had opportunities to take a firm hold of the starting job in the last several weeks, but neither has been able to grasp it.

Howard had won starts against Minnesota on Saturday and Carolina on Tuesday, but took a step back with the loss to the Canadiens, while stopping 22 of 26 shots.

Mrazek is winless in his last three decisions (0-2-1) and been pulled in the other.

Babcock would like to see stability in the position, and soon.

"No question," said Babcock, who added he'll think about who will start Saturday in Carolina, and go from there. "I'm going to have a beer and think about that.

"How about that?"

On the tying goal, Montreal forward Tomas Plekanec's shot from a sharp angle eluded Howard.

"I saw the Montreal guy coming hard on the outside and I was thinking he was going to throw it across," Howard said. "In that case, you have to stick with the shooter."

Strange mood

Admittedly it was a strange scene in the Red Wings locker room, with plenty of smiles and relief, despite a tough overtime loss to the division leaders.

But having made the playoffs despite losing, the Red Wings will more than thrilled securing a 24th consecutive playoff berth.

"Ultimately we got in," Howard said. "Everyone is real happy and proud. Now we just play for seeding and it takes a little bit of pressure off."

Captain Henrik Zetterberg admitted he took a glance at the scoreboard at Bell Centre to see how Ottawa (the Senators won) and Boston (the Bruins' 4-2 loss in Florida clinched the playoffs for the Red Wings) were doing.

"Probably for the first time I was scoreboard watching," Zetterberg said. "We came into the room and we put on the television. There were 30 seconds left (in the Boston game). It was a good feeling (when the Bruins lost)."

Said Niklas Kronwall: "It was definitely a weird scenario but we battled hard in our game. We found a way to get a big point and eventually that got us in."

Resting people?

Babcock wasn't sure what he'd do, yet, for Saturday's game in Carolina.

The Red Wings need one point — at least a regulation tie — to clinch third place and avoid a wild-card position (and a possible match-up with the No. 1 seed New York Rangers).

Babcock said Pavel Datsyuk has been playing hurt, and Justin Abdelkader (hand) missed his third consecutive game Thursday. Tomas Jurco (upper body) missed his fifth consecutive game, although Jurco did participate in the morning skate.

Babcock ruled out Johan Franzen (concussion), who hasn't played since Jan. 6, and Erik Cole (spinal cord contusion) was ruled out for the season earlier in the week.

"I'm hoping a couple of days off for Pavel, he'll feel like himself and we get Abby back, that would really help," Babcock said. "Obviously we're not getting the Mule (Franzen) back or Cole, but even with Jurco back, we're a better team.

"We'll figure that out (who'll play and who'll Babcock rest), maybe we'll bring up some kids. But we need some points. I don't know what the draw is, obviously there's so much left out there."

If the Red Wings lose in regulation and Ottawa wins in regulation, Ottawa would jump into third place.

Detroit News LOADED: 04.10.2015


Thursday's roundup: Panthers cripple Bruins, lift Wings


Associated Press 11:36 p.m. EDT April 9, 2015

Sunrise, Fla. — Roberto Luongo earned his 401st career win and Jaromir Jagr got his 1,800th career point Thursday night, helping the Florida Panthers beat Boston 4-2, damaging the Bruins' playoff hopes.

The Bruins have lost two straight after winning their previous five. They trail Ottawa by two points and Pittsburgh by one for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bruins have the tie-breaker over the Senators and finish Saturday at Tampa Bay.

Ottawa finishes at Philadelphia.

Boston's loss also secured playoff spots for the Islanders and Red Wings.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored the go-ahead goal, while Jimmy Hayes, Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. Luongo stopped 34 shots and is tied with Chris Osgood for 10th in career wins.

Jagr had two assists. The first gave him 1,799 career points and moved him past Ron Francis for sole possession of fourth place. Jagr's second assist gave him 1,800 points and he tied Adam Oates for sixth in assists with 1,079.

Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron scored for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask made 26 saves.

Florida won for the first time in three games.

Huberdeau put the Panthers ahead 2-1 with his third-period goal. Huberdeau took a shot from the far left of the net and the puck bounced past Rask. Huberdeau tied his career high with 14 goals.

Boyes stretched the Panthers' lead to 3-1. He took a pass from Dave Bolland from behind the net in the slot and poked the puck past Rask.

Marchand closed the Bruins to 3-2 when he brought the puck out from behind the net and shot behind Luongo with 6:45 to go in regulation.

But Hayes made the score 4-2 when he wristed the puck past Rask from the slot with 4:46 left.

Bergeron put the Bruins ahead 1-0 on a power play. Torey Krug took a shot that was blocked by Luongo. The puck went off the stick of Loui Eriksson and Bergeron swept in the rebound from the left side early in the second period.

Barkov tied the score at 1 on his power-play goal late in the second. Barkov got a pass from Jagr in the right circle and took a slap shot that went between the legs of Rask. Barkov has nine points in his past nine games.

Ottawa 3, (at) N.Y. Rangers 0: Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris scored in a 1:04 span late in the second period and the Senators continued their dazzling playoff push behind goaltender Andrew Hammond.

Hammond had 26 saves in collecting his third shutout as the Senators improved to 22-4-4 since Feb. 10, giving them 97 points in the wild five-team race for the final four playoff spots in the East.

He has been the difference for Ottawa. The 27-year-old is 19-1-2 since taking over as the starting goaltender on Feb. 8, and this win over the Presidents' Cup winners avenged his only loss.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored into an empty net with 1:39 remaining.

The Rangers tested him, particularly in the third period but he stood tall.

Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves in seeing his four-game winning streak and the Rangers' five-game run stopped.

The loss in their regular-season home finale prevented the Rangers (52-21-7) from breaking their franchise record for wins (52) and points (112), both set in 1993-94, the last time they won the Stanley Cup. New York closes its season at Washington on Saturday.

The Senators took the lead in the final three minutes of the second period, less than a minute after Hammond slid across the crease to make a pad stop on Kevin Hayes with the net wide open.

All Hayes had to do was lift the puck and he slid it into the goaltender.

(At) Tampa Bay 4, New Jersey 3 (OT): Tyler Johnson scored his second goal, an overtime power-play effort, and the Lightning beat the Devils. Johnson scored from along the goal line 1:22 into the extra session.

Nikita Nesterov and Steven Stamkos also scored for playoff-bound Tampa Bay, which is battling Montreal for the Atlantic Division title. Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat had three assists apiece.

Carolina 3, (at) Philadelphia 1: Brent Bellemore and Ryan Murphy each scored a goal to lead the Hurricanes. They snapped a five-game road losing streak while taking their fourth victory in five games against Philadelphia this season. The game pitted a pair of teams not headed for the postseason, and it had a listless feel.

(At) St. Louis 2, Chicago 1: Paul Stastny scored the winner, Dmitrij Jaskin broke a 16-game scoreless string, and Jake Allen made 21 saves to lead the Blues, who clinched the Western Conference Central Division.

Minnesota 4, (at) Nashville 2: Jason Pominville scored with 2:03 remaining in regulation to as the Wild extended its franchise-record road winning streak to 12 games. Jason Zucker scored twice and Marco Scandella had the other goal for Minnesota.

Dallas 4, (at) Anaheim 0: Patrick Eaves scored two goals and Jordie Benn added his first goal in three months, leading the Stars over the playoff-bound Ducks. Jamie Benn had three assists to pull even with Sidney Crosby and John Tavares atop the NHL scoring race for Dallas.

Ice chips

The Predators signed free-agent forward Steve Moses to a one-year, $1 million contract for the 2015-16 season.



Wings fall in OT, clinch 24th straight playoff bid

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News 11:52 p.m. EDT April 9, 2015

Montreal — The Red Wings are heading to the NHL playoffs for the 24th consecutive season.

They don't know whom they will play, or whether they'll wind up in third place in the Atlantic Division or as a wild card.

But they're in.

They'll worry about the particulars later after securing a playoff berth in dramatic fashion Thursday, although losing to Montreal, 4-3 in overtime.

After not signing any unrestricted free agents in July, coach Mike Babcock wasn't sure this was a playoff team.

"I just didn't think we were good enough," Babcock said. "I didn't know some of the kids were as good as they were and obviously we have a ton (of them) in our lineup. I'm proud of the guys.

"For us to make the playoffs, to have an opportunity here, we're thrilled. Our young guys have come a long way."

Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and assist, Henrik Zetterberg had two assists, and Niklas Kronwall had an assist and played a valiant 25 minutes, 41 seconds in leading the Red Wings.

"They were outstanding and Darren Helm was a machine," Babcock said. "They feel like I do, you feel like you have an obligation to the city. You've had this run for a long time and you feel like it's your duty to keep finding a way to get in."

Even if they earned a spot this time with a somewhat spotty loss.


Montreal's Lars Eller scored at 1:21 of overtime, a bad goal allowed by Jimmy Howard from a sharp angle, completing the season sweep over the Red Wings.

It was actually, in Babcock's estimation, the third bad goal allowed by Howard in the game, keeping the goaltending problems highlighted heading into the playoffs.

"Our team played well tonight and we should have won that game," Babcock said. "The puck went in and it shouldn't have gone in."

Babcock wouldn't commit to either Howard or Petr Mrazek as the starter heading into the playoffs.

With Boston losing in Florida, 4-2, in regulation time, the Red Wings secured a playoff berth.

And with Ottawa winning, the Red Wings own a one-point lead over the Senators for third place.

The Red Wings will play in Carolina Saturday while Ottawa is in Philadelphia.

"We'll take it," Zetterberg said. "We've been talking lately about getting points and that it doesn't really matter how it looks, just get points, and we've been doing that.

"Ottawa keeps winning, there's a lot of teams in the mix, so that point was huge. Two points would have been better, but we're in and now we can move on."

Montreal tied it, 3-3, on Tomas Plekanec's power-play goal.

A Red Wings bench penalty — Brendan Smith batted the puck onto the ice while on the bench — gave Montreal a two-man advantage for 44 seconds (Danny DeKeyser was already in the box for tripping).

On the resulting two-man advantage, Plekanec's shot from a bad angle beat Howard at 11:39.

Babcock wasn't happy with Smith's penalty.

"It's crazy," Babcock said. "I knew what happened, I watched the whole thing. We should have gone to the box and it should have been a 5-on-3. Done."

Helm's shorthanded goal at 3:34 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie.

Helm intercepted a Andrei Markov pass at the blue line and broke free down the middle of the ice, then went forehand-backhand to beat goalie Carey Price.

Tomas Tatar had the Red Wings' first goal.

Andrei Markov and Jeff Petry (Ann Arbor/Orchard Lake St. Mary's) added goals for the Canadiens.

Tatar opened the scoring with his 29th goal at 10:19 of the first period.

The Red Wings went 0-for-5 on the power play, another disappointing aspect of the loss, along with the fact they will not have won two consecutive games since Feb. 28 and March 4, 19 games ago.

"There's no doubt we haven't been good enough," Kronwall said. "We haven't found that groove again that we want to get back to playing and the way we want to be playing."

The Red Wings can still play either the New York Rangers, Montreal or Tampa Bay in the playoffs.

Against Tampa Bay, the Red Wings were 1-2-1 (one overtime loss), losing both games in Tampa Bay in regulation.

Heading into Thursday's game, the Red Wings were 0-2-2 against the Canadiens, being outscored 14-5 in the process.

The Red Wings went 2-1-0 against the Rangers with two of the games going into overtime (one a victory, the other a loss).



In Carey Price, Wings face goalie at top of game


Montreal — Jimmy Howard enjoys challenges.

And on Thursday, he faced a doozy: Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

Several analysts see Price as a potential Vezina (best goaltender) and Hart (MVP) trophies winner, enjoying an almost historic season.

Price entered Thursday's game against the Red Wings leading the NHL in victories (42), goals-against average (1.93) and save percentage (.935).

"Every team in the league, to have success, needs good goaltending," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "There's no team that relies on it more than (Montreal).

"But they have a guy (Price) they can rely on. He doesn't give you freebies. He is there, and square, and he's big."

Howard has been big lately.

He won his last two starts heading into Thursday's game, and appeared more comfortable and confident than the last several weeks.

"When you're not keeping your eye on the puck and you're worried about other things out there, you lose it for a second, and it's in the back of your net," Howard said. "So, you've just got to do your best to keep your eye on the puck, and keeping your rebounds at bay."

Scoreboards out

Babcock and plenty of the players were asked whether they'd be watching the scoreboard.

With all the teams around the Red Wings in the standings playing at the same time, they could see where they stand at any given moment.

"I'm not going to do that, you guys do that," Babcock said. "We're going to get ready for the game and focus on the process and play good."

Said Howard: "No, I never watch the scoreboard."

Ice chips

Forwards Teemu Pulkkinen and Andy Miele were named American League first-team All-Stars, the first time two Griffins have been so since 2001-02.

Pulkkinen, currently with the Red Wings, still leads the AHL with 34 goals and is fourth with 61 points. With the Red Wings, Pulkkinen has five goals and three assists.

Miele (Grosse Pointe Woods) is second in scoring with 67 points (24 goals).

… Despite missing leading goal scorer Max Pacioretty (Michigan), out the next two games with an upper body injury, the Canadiens have a formidable team.

"They play together as a five-man unit," Howard said. "They are probably one of the best in the NHL in doing that."



Tigers' rain delay could force Wings to new TV station

Tony Paul, The Detroit News 6:51 p.m. EDT April 9, 2015


Detroit — Because of the Tigers' long rain delay, the Red Wings game against the Canadiens likely will start on Fox Sports Detroit-Plus.

The Tigers' series finale against the Twins was delayed for more than 31/2 hours.

That game is being shown in its entirety on FSD.

Once the Tigers ends, FSD will switch to the Wings.

Check with your cable provider for details on how to find the FSD-Plus channel.

If the Tigers game concludes before 7:30 p.m. — not likely — there will no change in stations.



Red Wings' Nyquist, Tatar on opposite ends of streaks


Montreal — Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar have had that sort of up-and-down feeling when it comes to scoring goals for the Red Wings.

Nyquist, for example, rebounded from a cold stretch (no goals in seven games) and is on a hot streak (five goals the past nine games).

His 27 goals trail only Tatar's 28.

Tatar's pace lately has slowed. He hasn't scored in the last five games, and has three goals his past 19 games.

In coach Mike Babcock's estimation, Nyquist has been doing the little things that lead to more scoring chances. It's something Tatar hasn't had.

"Nyquist has kind of gotten his game back," Babcock said. "Nyquist has done a better job of winning his battles and getting pucks back, and setting himself to have the puck.

"I don't think Tats has been as good lately. Tats has to simplify things. When you're perceived as a scorer and you're not scoring, don't overthink things and don't overhandle the puck."

Tatar believes he's had chances, but isn't getting the luck goal scorers occasionally need.

"The last four games, I've hit about three posts," Tatar said. "The puck's just not going in."

Going to the net, something Babcock is preaching, is something Tatar feels he needs to do.

"You get to the net, you can get a lucky bounce," Tatar said. "You don't think about (things), and hopefully bounce back.

"Every player goes through these stretches. Obviously, it's nice to see the puck starting to go in again."



Here's how Wings can clinch playoffs tonight


Montreal – The Red Wings could be on their way to a 24th consecutive playoff berth tonight while playing the Montreal Canadiens.

There are a number of ways the team can clinch.

* The Wings make the playoffs with a win, or if Ottawa loses in regulation against the New York Rangers.

* They also can make it if they get one point tonight and Ottawa only earns only one point tonight.

* The Wings could even clinch third place in the Atlantic Division, and an automatic playoff berth, if they earn one more point than Boston does tonight. The Bruins play in Florida.

If the Red Wings solidify third place, they would play either Montreal or Tampa Bay, whichever team finishes second in the division.

That team would also have home-ice advantage.

You can bet, though, that coach Mike Babcock will not be scoreboard watching.

"I'm not going to do that; you guys do that," said Babcock after Thursday's morning skate. "We're going to get ready for the game and focus on the process and play good."

The Canadiens have defeated the Red Wings all three games they've played this season, with one of those games going into overtime.

The Red Wings have scored only two goals in the three games.

Montreal goaltender Carey Price has been outstanding all season, with a 42-16-7 record, 1.93 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. He leads the NHL in wins and GAA.

"He doesn't give you freebies," Babcock said.



Red Wings' Mike Babcock proud that team he thought wasn't good enough in July found a way

Ansar Khan | [email protected] By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

on April 10, 2015 at 12:07 AM, updated April 10, 2015 at 12:56 AM

MONTREAL - They continually stumbled on their way to the finish line, but they made it. It wasn't pretty in the end, but they'll take it.

The Detroit Red Wings clinched their 24th consecutive playoff appearance Thursday in bizarre fashion. They lost 4-3 to the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on a goal by Lars Eller at 1:21. Then a couple of minutes later they learned the Boston Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers 4-2, assuring Detroit of a spot in the Eastern Conference playoff field.

"I'm proud of the guys," coach Mike Babcock said. "I'm thrilled, and you know, people talk about 24 years, but for me 10 years since the lockout, we're the only team in the National Hockey League to make it all 10 times.

"The last three years we've been grinding to get in. We changed our group totally and to find a way has been incredible."

The Red Wings (42-25-14, 98 points) wrap up the season Saturday in Carolina. If they gain at least one point they will finish third in the Atlantic Division and face the second-place team, either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Montreal, in the first round. If the Red Wings slip behind the Ottawa Senators and finish fourth, they will claim one of the two wild-card spots and will play either Montreal, Tampa Bay or the New York Rangers, depending on the results of several other games.

The Red Wings haven't won back-to-back games since winning three in a row from Feb. 26-March 4 and they are 6-10-3 in their past 19. Many will


say they backed into the playoffs, but many teams would love to be in their position.

"Ultimately, we got in," goaltender Jimmy Howard said. "I think everyone is very happy and proud to be in the playoffs now for 24 straight years. Now we're just playing for seeding on Saturday. It takes a little bit of the pressure off the guys."

The Red Wings own the longest current playoff streak in the four major pro sports. The next-longest streak in the NHL is eight seasons by Pittsburgh, which hasn't clinched a berth yet.

"If you're (Niklas) Kronwall and those two guys, (Pavel) Datsyuk and (Henrik) Zetterberg, they feel like I do, you feel like you've got an obligation to the city," Babcock said. "You've had this run going for a long time and you feel that. Those guys have been around for a long time, almost part of the management team or coaching staff that they feel it's your duty. As part of the Red Wings you just keep finding a way to get in."

When the Red Wings failed to land any impact players in free agency and returned essentially the same team, Babcock said he didn't think they could succeed.

"To be honest with you, July 5th last year I thought we had no chance to get in the playoffs," Babcock said. "So for us to be in the playoffs and have an opportunity here, we're thrilled and our young guys have come a long way."

He said he didn't think this team was talented enough.

"I didn't know some of the kids could be as good as they were," Babcock said. "Obviously we've got a ton out of our lineup right now (Johan Franzen and Erik Cole, both of whom won't return for the playoffs, and Tomas Jurco) and the size really affects us, but maybe we can get some guys back here."

Babcock liked how his team played on this night but wasn't happy with a couple of the goals Howard allowed - the winner and the game-tying goal by Tomas Plekanec at 11:39 of the third period. That came during a five-on-three power play, after Brendan Smith was penalized for batting the puck back on the ice while sitting on the bench.

Darren Helm's shorthanded breakaway goal against Carey Price at 3:34 of the third period snapped a 2-2 tie.

Pavel Datsyuk had a strong game, setting up Tomas Tatar's goal at 10:19 of the first period and scoring his 26th goal at 8:07 of the second to tie it. In between, Andre Markov (17:36 of the first) and Jeff Petry (6:24 of the second) scored for Montreal.

"Probably the first game I was scoreboard watching in the end," Zetterberg said. "It (Boston game) was 3-1 and then 3-2 and then 4-2. Didn't know how long was left but when we got in here (dressing room), we put the TV on there was 30 seconds left. So it was good."

Kronwall called it a "weird scenario."

"We set ourselves up with our West Coast trip (in February)," Kronwall said. "I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. We haven't played great as of late but the way we battled tonight, that's the way we have to play every night."

Michigan Live LOADED: 04.10.2015


Canadiens 4, Red Wings 3 (OT): Detroit loses game but clinches playoff spot for 24th consecutive season


on April 09, 2015 at 10:19 PM, updated April 10, 2015 at 1:23 AM

MONTREAL -- It took longer than they expected because they made it harder than it had to be.

But the Detroit Red Wings finally clinched a playoff berth Thursday, in their second-to-last game of the season.

And they backed their way in.

Lars Eller scored at 1:21 of overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 victory over the Red Wings at the Bell Centre. However, with the Boston Bruins' 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers, the Red Wings clinched a playoff berth.

The Red Wings extended their playoff streak to 24 seasons, the longest current run in the four major professional sports. It is by far the longest active streak in the NHL (Pittsburgh, at eight seasons, has the second-longest run).

The Red Wings won't know where they'll finish in the Atlantic Division (third or fourth) or who they'll play (Montreal, Tampa Bay or the New York Rangers) until after Saturday's season finale at Carolina.

Tomas Tatar, Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg had a pair of assists.

Trailing 3-2 and already on a power play, the Canadiens got a huge break when Brendan Smith was penalized for interference on a bizarre play. He was cited for batting the puck back onto the ice while sitting on the bench.

The Canadiens had a five-on-three advantage and Tomas Plekanec scored on a bad-angle shot against Jimmy Howard at 11:39 to tie it.

Helm scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway at 3:34 of the third period to put the Red Wings ahead 3-2. He intercepted a pass from Andrei Markov that was intended for P.K. Subban, raced down the ice and beat Carey Price for his 15th goal.

Datsyuk scored on a wicked wrist shot at 8:07 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2. He snapped a shot from the slot that beat Price low on the far side. It was his 26th goal.

The Canadiens were quicker and dominated play earlier in the period. They took a 2-1 lead when defenseman Jeff Petry split the defense of Jonathan Ericsson and Marek Zidlicky and fired a shot through Jimmy Howard's five-home at 6:24.

The Red Wings couldn't capitalize on a pair of power plays in the latter half of the period.

The Red Wings started strong, controlling the first half of the opening period. But the Canadiens finished stronger.

They were tied 1-1 at the intermission, with each club registering nine shots.

Tatar opened the scoring at 10:19 with his team-leading 29th goal, just his fourth in the past 20 games. Datsyuk made it happen by stealing the puck in the offensive zone and passing to an on-rushing Tatar.

The Canadiens tied it at 17:36 as Andrei Markov blasted in a one-timer from the blue line on a pass from P.K. Subban. David Desharnais won the offensive-zone faceoff from Riley Sheahan to set up the play.



Second-period analysis: Red Wings 2, Canadiens 2


on April 09, 2015 at 9:14 PM

MONTREAL - Thanks to Pavel Datsyuk, the Detroit Red Wings are tied with the Montreal Canadiens 2-2 after two periods Thursday at the Bell Centre.


Datsyuk, who stripped the puck to set up Tomas Tatar's goal in the first period, scored on a wicked wrist shot at 8:07 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2. It was his 26th goal.

The Canadiens were quicker and dominated play earlier in the period. They took a 2-1 lead when defenseman Jeff Petry split the defense of Jonathan Ericsson and Marek Zidlicky and fired a shot through Jimmy Howard's five-home at 6:24.

The Red Wings couldn't capitalize on a pair of power plays in the latter half of the period and are 0-for3 in the game.



First-period analysis: Red Wings 1, Canadiens 1


on April 09, 2015 at 8:19 PM, updated April 09, 2015 at 8:23 PM

MONTREAL - The Detroit Red Wings started strong on Thursday, controlling the first half of the opening period. But the Montreal Canadiens finished stronger.

They are tied 1-1 at the intermission, with each club registering nine shots.

Tomas Tatar opened the scoring at 10:19 with his team-leading 29th goal, just his fourth in the past 20 games. Pavel Datsyuk made it happen by stealing the puck in the offensive zone and passing to an on-rushing Tatar.

The Canadiens tied it at 17:36 as Andrei Markov blasted in a one-timer from the blue line on a pass from P.K. Subban. David Desharnais won the offensive-zone faceoff from Riley Sheahan to set up the play.



Detroit Red Wings Gameday: Numerous playoff clinching scenarios possible with two games left


on April 09, 2015 at 3:01 PM

GAME INFORMATION

Who: Detroit Red Wings (42-25-13) at Montreal Canadiens (48-22-10)

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Bell Centre, Montreal

TV: Fox Sports Detroit

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1), WXYT-AM (1270) and Red Wings radio network

Facebook: Like our Detroit Red Wings Facebook page

Twitter: Follow Ansar Khan and Brendan Savage

Live coverage: Join the MLive open thread/live updates at 6:30 p.m. ET.

GAME NOTES

• For the Red Wings, it's pretty simple: Win tonight in any fashion (regulation, overtime or a shootout) and they're in the playoffs for the 24th consecutive season, regardless of what happens in any other game.

• There are other clinching scenarios tonight for the Red Wings: If Detroit and Ottawa both lose in regulation, the Red Wings clinch. The Senators visit the New York Rangers at 7 p.m. The Rangers have nothing to play for, having wrapped up the Presidents' Trophy for the top overall record.

• If the Red Wings lose in overtime or a shootout and Ottawa does likewise, the Red Wings clinch.

• If the Boston Bruins lose in regulation tonight at the Florida Panthers, the Red Wings will clinch a playoff spot if they gain one point against the Canadiens, regardless of what Ottawa does.

• The Red Wings will clinch third place in the Atlantic Division with a regulation win tonight. Detroit can also clinch third place by gaining one point tonight as long as Boston loses in regulation and Ottawa loses in any fashion.

• There are multiple scenarios in which a Red Wings-Tampa Bay Lightning first-round playoff series can be set tonight, but each would require a Detroit loss in OT or a shootout. If that happens, Boston would need to lose in regulation, Ottawa would need to gain no more than one point vs. the Rangers and Tampa Bay would need to lose in regulation at home to New Jersey.



Red Wings' lineup vs. Canadiens: Jimmy Howard seeking third win in a row, team eyes playoff spot


on April 09, 2015 at 1:22 PM, updated April 09, 2015 at 1:32 PM

MONTREAL - Jimmy Howard is seeking his third win a row tonight against when the Detroit Red Wings visit the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit).

If gets it, the Red Wings will clinch a playoff spot for the 24th consecutive season.

Howard doesn't have much margin for error. The Canadiens have allowed the fewest goals in the NHL, due mainly to goaltender Carey Price, who leads the league in wins (42), goals-against average (1.93), save percentage (.935) and shutouts (nine, tied with Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury).

"He's got to be good. He's got to play well and do his job," Red Wings coach Babcock said after the morning skate. "Every team in the league, to have success, needs good goaltending. There's no team that relies on it more than this team here (Montreal).

"They got a guy (Price) they can rely on. He doesn't give you freebies. He's there and square and he's big. Our goaltender tonight has to give us a good opportunity. There's no scoring in this series, you know there's not many going in. You got to bear down."

The Canadiens have won five in a row from the Red Wings, including all three meetings this season (outscoring Detroit 8-2).

Howard has allowed two goals in each of his past two starts. He's won three in a row on two previous occasions this season (Nov. 24-30 and Oct. 23-31).

Montreal, which doesn't score a lot of goals, will be missing leading goal-scorer Max Pacioretty (concussion). He's scored 37 goals.

"Having Max out probably means a couple less breakaways. It seems like he always gets two a game," Howard said. "For us it's no different. You still got to earn it. They play together as a five-man unit out there. They're probably one of the best in the NHL doing that."


The Red Wings can still clinch tonight even if they lose in regulation, as long as Ottawa loses in regulation to the New York Rangers.

Babcock said he's not going to be scoreboard watching. He's accustomed to having to battle until the end to get in.

"Since '09 every single year we're in the mix with a whole bunch of other teams," Babcock said. "If you'd have told me July 1 we'd be in this situation I would have done cartwheels and I don't know even how to do them."

Babcock said there will be no lineup changes tonight. Pavel Datsyuk (ankle) did not skate but will play.

Here are the Red Wings' lines:

Darren Helm-Pavel Datsyuk-Henrik Zetterberg

Tomas Tatar-Riley Sheahan-Gustav Nyquist

Stephen Weiss-Joakim Andersson-Landon Ferraro

Drew Miller-Luke Glendening-Teemu Pulkkinen

Daniel Cleary and Tomas Jurco are healthy scratches.

Justin Abdelkader (hand) is out.

On defense:

Niklas Kronwall-Jonathan Ericsson

Danny DeKeyser-Kyle Quincey

Brendan Smith-Marek Zidlicky

Jakub Kindl is a healthy scratch

In goal:

Jimmy Howard (starting)

Petr Mrazek



Red Wings touted prospect Anthony Mantha shows signs of heating up in Grand Rapids

Peter J. Wallner | [email protected] By Peter J. Wallner | [email protected]

on April 08, 2015 at 10:31 PM, updated April 09, 2015 at 9:19 AM

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Anthony Mantha's up and down first season as a pro may be on the upswing at the right time for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The touted first pick of the Red Wings in 2013 (20th overall) scored on a power play and added a nice assist in the Griffins 6-2 win Wednesday against Milwaukee.

The two-point game came after he had a goal and assist at Toronto on Saturday. The back-to-back games with a goal ended a 10-game drought that dated back to March 7.

But the 6-foot-4, 214-pound left wing has liked the way he has played of late.

"I'm playing really good compared to the beginning of the season," Mantha said. "And I want to step up even more for the playoffs and that's what I'm trying to do at the end of the season here."

Mantha opened the scoring five minutes in when he blasted a shot just above the right circle that went over the left shoulder of Magnus Hellberg.

With seven minutes left in the second, Mantha stole the puck from defenseman Johan Alm behind the net and neatly shoveled a passed in front on the net, directly to Andreas Athanasiou to make it 3-1.

Mantha has had his moments in 60 games this season after a late start with a fractured right tibia. After 57 goals in 57 games last season in the QMJHL, he hasn't scored anywhere close to that as a pro with 15 goals and 32 points. He has a rating of plus-9.

"Points and goals lead to confidence for offensive players," coach Jeff Blashill said. "But from where I sit, I don't necessarily judge him on that. That's part of it. But, how does he skate with the puck? How does he skate without the puck? He is creating chances for and not creating chances against?

So, a quick evaluation?

"He's gotten way better," Blashill added. "The past three weeks he has consistently played at a real good level."

Mantha is careful not to judge himself just on goals, even though he knows that has been his forte.

"I think it is being overall on the plus side of my game," Mantha said. "Getting good defensively and making the little details that me and Blash have gone over and over since the start of the year. And, obviously, the goals and points are just a plus right now."

In evaluating his season, Mantha said: "Right now, it is above. I'm playing really good and want to keep going that way, for sure."

Being reunited on a line with Athanasiou has helped, Mantha said of the fellow first-year pro. The two are paired with captain Jeff Hoggan. Mantha was previously on a line with Andy Miele.

"He is such a good skater," Mantha said of Athanasiou. "Just get it near his stick and he's gone."

"We feed off each other pretty well," Athanasiou said. "He's a little bit deceptive with how big he is, but he has explosive speed and one of the best sticks in the league as you saw when he shoveled that puck out to me. I know where he is and he knows where I am on the ice."



Detroit Red Wings Q&A: Luke Glendening on the hurdles he's overcome at Michigan and in NHL

Brendan Savage | [email protected] By Brendan Savage | [email protected]

on April 09, 2015 at 6:05 AM, updated April 09, 2015 at 8:00 AM

DETROIT - Luke Glendening is a genuine American success story.

A three-sport star in high school who helped East Grand Rapids win a state football title, he walked on as a hockey player at the University of Michigan before signing as a free agent with the Grand Rapids Griffins when he went undrafted out of college.

After impressing the Red Wings, Glendening played well enough not only to earn a promotion to Detroit but to earn a contract extension last April on the same day he scored his first goal, ending a 51-game drought to start his career.

Glendening has played in five outdoor games - including two at Michigan Stadium last season with the Red Wings and Griffins - and he discussed all of that and more in a Q&A with MLive.

MLive: You walked on at Michigan and were undrafted. Did you see yourself being in this spot all along or is this a bit surreal at times to see how far you've come and what you've overcome?


Glendening: Obviously, it was always a dream of mine to be here but it didn't become a reality until the day they called me up.

MLive: Why did you pick Michigan to try and walk on? Was that always a school you liked?

Glendening: It wasn't. I didn't really follow them closely when I was young but it was the only school that gave me a chance. They said 'We'll offer you a chance to walk on' and no one else did that so I took it.

MLive: Ann Arbor is a very cool city. What was the best part about going to Michigan other than hockey?

Glendening: Obviously the football Saturdays were unbelievable. I love the food there as well.

MLive: How many outdoor games have you played in now?

Glendening: Five, I believe.

MLive: You're like the king of the outdoor games.

Glendening: (Laughs.) I don't know if I feel like the king but they're fun. Each one is unique. I've enjoyed every one.

MLive: Was there one that stood out more than the others?

Glendening: Obviously the Winter Classic was cool just to be back in Ann Arbor. The Big Chill set a record for attendance. Both of those were spectacular events to be part of.

MLive: You played high school hockey rather than going away and playing travel hockey. How did that help in your development?

Glendening: I think it allowed me the opportunity to play other sports. I played football and baseball as well in high school. I enjoyed my time with those as well and they helped me become a well-rounded athlete. I think I rely a lot more on my athletic ability than my hockey skills sometimes.

MLive: You won a state title in football, right? What kind of football player were you and what position did you play?

Glendening: I was a fullback and a cornerback. What kind of player was I? I wasn't very big but I was a blocking back.

MLive: What was that whole experience like helping Grand Rapids win the AHL championship in your hometown?

Glendening: It was awesome. The support we got from the city, to see games were selling out five minutes after they ended. In the Finals, we lost two in Grand Rapids and the third one was sold out before we left the rink. To be part of that was amazing.

MLive: That game in Montreal last year had to be pretty amazing for you, to get the contract extension before you scored your first goal. What was that whole experience like?

Glendening: It was more of a monkey off my back than anything, to get that goal after setting the record for a rookie forward in the Red Wings organization for not scoring. I just wanted to get it over with and I was fortunate enough to do it there.

MLive: What's your favorite arena to play in other than Joe Louis Arena?

Glendening: I love Chicago. Any loud building with fans like that is exciting to play in.

MLive: What is your favorite city to visit?

Glendening: Probably Vancouver. I like the mountains and the ocean is right there. It's kind of all there at once.

MLive: What do you see yourself doing in 20 years?

Glendening: Twenty years? That's a long time ... 45 (years old)? I don't know.

MLive: Ten years?

Glendening: Ten years? I don't know either.

MLive: Still playing here?

Glendening: That would be ideal but you never know how that's going to work out. I just take my life one day at a time and enjoy every minute of it.



Red Wings clinch 24th straight playoff appearance with overtime loss

Associated Press

Posted: 04/09/15, 10:59 PM EDT | Updated: 18 secs ago

MONTREAL (AP) >> Move over Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden. Make room for Carey Price at the top.

A brilliant season that has made the Montreal Canadiens goalie a candidate for the Hart Trophy also has put him into the team record book. Price notched his team-record 43rd victory of the season on Thursday night as the Canadiens beat the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Lars Eller.

Price surpassed the mark of 42 wins by Plante (1955-56 and 1961-62) and Dryden (1975-76).

“I definitely have lot of respect for what they accomplished in their careers,” said Price, the NHL leader in every key goaltending statistic this season, including wins. “They went on to win Stanley Cups and that’s my ultimate goal.

“(The record) crossed my mind, but at the same time, I focused on what I needed to do. That’s what got me where I am.”

Andrei Markov, Jeff Petry and Tomas Plekanec also scored for Montreal (49-22-10), which played its final home game.

Tomas Tatar, Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm scored in regulation for the Red Wings (42-25-14), who reached the post-season for a 24th consecutive season despite the defeat. Detroit qualified by earning a point while Boston lost to Florida.

“It’s a weird scenario,” said Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall. “We battled hard, but there wasn’t a lot of room out there.

“We found way to get a point and that was big for us. That got us in (the playoffs).”

When Eller’s shot from the left side trickled through Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard’s equipment and into the net at 1:21 of extra time, the Canadiens mobbed Price.

Fans stood and cheered, some chanting “MVP,” as he was interviewed on the ice after the game. Then rearguard Alexei Emelin sneaked up and gave him a cream pie in the face.

“He got him pretty good. Pricey’s usually sharp in seeing those things coming,” said teammate P.K. Subban.

“It was shaving cream, it didn’t taste too good,” said Price, who made 24 saves while a shaky Howard stopped 22.

Now coach Michel Therrien must decide whether Price or backup Dustin Tokarski will play when Montreal ends its regular season Saturday night in Toronto. The Canadiens need a point to clinch first place in the Atlantic Division ahead of Tampa Bay.

“I’m very proud of Carey,” said Therrien. “To set a Canadiens record is phenomenal. We’re talking about a team that has been around for more than 100 years.”

The Red Wings started strong and got the opening goal when Datysuk stripped the puck from Brendan Gallagher and fed Tatar streaking to the net for a high shot past Price at 10:19.

Markov got it back when David Desharnais won a faceoff and the Russian defenseman scored on a one-timer from the point at 17:36.


The teams traded goals again in the second, as Petry joined a rush and flipped Torrey Mitchell’s pass between Howard’s pads at 6:24.

Datsyuk quickly countered for Detroit, skating into the slot and scoring on a low shot at 8:07.

Helm picked off a cross-ice pass by Markov and scored on a short-handed breakaway 3:34 into the third to give Detroit a 3-2 lead.

Brendan Smith played a puck with his hand while seated on the bench, giving Montreal a two-man advantage midway through the period, and the Canadiens capitalized as Plekanec scored his 25th goal from a bad angle to tie it at 11:39.

Notes: A moment of silence was held for Montreal scoring star Elmer Lach from the 1940s and 1950s defenseman Dollard St. Laurent, who both died this week. . . Montreal was without scoring leader Max Pacioretty, who will miss the final two games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. ... Detroit was without Erik Cole, Justin Abdelkader and Tomas Jurco.

Macomb Daily LOADED: 04.10.2015


Wings clinch 24th straight playoff berth with bittersweet point at Montreal

KEITH GAVE

FOX Sports Detroit

APR 09, 2015 10:39p ET

Jean-Yves Ahern

Pavel Datsyuk celebrates his goal against Canadiens with teammates during the second period.

Steve Yzerman was a young captain enjoying another 50 goal, 100-point season, Bob Probert and Joey Kocur -- the Bruise Brothers -- ruled the league as the most feared enforcer tandem in NHL history, and Bryan Murray was in his first year as coach and general manager way back in the 1991, when something very special was just beginning.

That Red Wings team advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and they have every year since -- and counting after a wild sequence of events Thursday night. Detroit earned a point, but deserved two; goaltender Jimmy Howard allowed three bad goals, including the game-winner in overtime in a 4-3 loss at Montreal.

But just a few minutes later, Boston -- last season's President's Trophy winner as the team with the best record in the NHL -- lost to Florida and dropped out of the playoff standings while Ottawa continued its remarkable run with a 3-0 win over the Rangers in New York to leapfrog Pittsburgh, which holds the second wildcard spot.

So with one game remaining -- Saturday at Carolina -- Detroit finally puts the 'x' next to its name in the NHL standings.

Playoffs clinched -- 24 straight years.

"It's great to be in the playoffs," a relieved coach Mike Babcock said. "I can't tell you how thrilled I am for our guys and for our city. When you've been in as long as we have, you feel like you've got a real obligation to the city. You don't want to let the people down. We have such great fans and such great support. You want to be in there for them."

For the second critically important game in a row, the Pavel Datsyuk-Henrik Zetterberg tandem did most of the heavy lifting.

Datsyuk had a goal, his 26th, and an assist, and Tomas Tatar added his 29th. Zetterberg assisted on both those goals and Darren Helm scored a tiebreaking, unassisted shorthanded goal, his 15th.

But Howard, though he made some great saves at other times, couldn't preserve the lead. With his team two men down but doing a good job on the

penalty kill, Howard appeared to get caught cheating a bit when he allowed a bad-angle goal that tied the game midway through the third. And he pleaded guilty on the game-winner, which also came on a horrible angle.

"I started to cheat there on the overtime one," he said. "I've got to stay with the puck there. That's very uncharacteristic."

So, too, was Montreal another by Jeff Petry that broke a 1-1 tie early in the second period. Petry, the Ann Arbor native and son of former Tigers pitcher Dan Petry, split the defense and shot the puck through a wide opening between Howard's pads for his seventh goal.

Details, details. The only one that matters, at least for a day or so, is that the Red Wings are in the Stanley Cup tournament.


That's the longest streak in professional sports, and the longest by far in the NHL. San Jose had the second longest, at 10 years, but the Sharks failed to qualify this spring.

"For me, in the 10 years since the lockout we've been the only team that's made the playoffs every single year -- and that tells you something," said Babcock, who coincidentally has been Detroit's coach for each of those 10 seasons. "We've had obviously a ton of roster changes, and now we've got a bunch of kids and they're getting better."

A few more pertinent footnotes from that 1990-91 squad:

- Gerard Gallant, an alternate captain and Yzerman's gritty left wing, is now the coach in Florida. His team, playing an honest game as he did for a lot of years in a Red Wings uniform, put the hurt on Boston with a 4-2 victory Thursday in a game that, for the Panthers at least, was meaningless.

- And Murray? He's the GM in Ottawa facing a much bigger battle than a team trying to make the playoffs. He was diagnosed not long ago with stage four colon cancer, and a couple of huge wins this week that extended a 26-4-4 streak has lifted his spirits immensely.

"My sister actually texted me and she was talking about the game (Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over Pittsburgh) and asked me how I was feeling because she knows I had chemo yesterday," Murray told the Ottawa Citizen. "Well, you don't sleep the night after you have chemo, but I feel pretty good today because of the team."

Murray's Senators remain the only team that can overtake Detroit for third in the Atlantic Division. But if the Wings can manage just a point in the regular-season finale Saturday at Carolina, they'll secure third and play either Tampa Bay or Montreal in the opening round.

If the Wings come up empty, Ottawa can jump into third with a win at Philadelphia and knock Detroit as far down as eighth, meaning the Wings would face the President's Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the first round.

Which might explain why Babcock wasn't in the mood right after the game to talk about resting some of his players Saturday in preparation for the postseason.

"The first thing I'm going to do is have a beer," he said, "and we'll figure those things out tomorrow."


And counting.

foxsports.com LOADED: 04.10.2015


Wings could punch playoff ticket at Montreal tonight

KEITH GAVE

FOX Sports Detroit

APR 09, 2015 10:47a ET


Brace Hemmelgarn

With four straight decent outings, the Wings seem to have ended their late-season swoon that put their 23-year postseason streak in jeopardy.

The Red Wings may not have cared so much for the way Ottawa overcame a three-goal deficit to beat Pittsburgh in overtime the other night and prevent them from clinching a playoff spot -- but they couldn't help but admire it.

The Senators (41-26-13, 95 points) are on a 25-4-4 run to come from far back in the standings to overtake Boston in the wildcard race. In a span of 24 hours, the Bruins fell from third place to a wildcard team to out of the playoff picture after being shut out, 3-0, at Washington on Wednesday night.

That created a jam of five teams separated by three points for the final four playoff spots in the Eastern Conference: the New York Islanders (98), Detroit (97 points), Pittsburgh (96), and Ottawa and Boston (95). All have two games remaining in the regular season.

With four straight decent outings, the Wings (42-25-13) seem to have ended their late-season swoon that put their 23-year postseason streak in jeopardy. They could punch their playoff ticket and make it 24 straight with a win tonight at Montreal.

And while they feign disinterest in games elsewhere around the league because they own their destiny in this race, it was obvious they were glued to the TV screens in their locker room in the moments following their 3-2 comeback win over Carolina. They watched the closing minutes of the Pittsburgh-Ottawa game, and didn't open up the room to reporters until the Senators completed their comeback from a 3-0 first-period deficit to win in overtime.

The Wings have had their share of late-season runs that put them in the playoffs, but none more memorable -- at least for coach Mike Babcock -- than the 2010 season.

"We came back from the Olympic break and had to win like 16 games or something to make the playoffs, and that's what we did," Babcock said. "So I know what it's like you got some momentum going like that. You feel like you're going to win every night. They (Ottawa) have got good young players, and they're skating good."

So is Montreal, and the Wings know they're going to have to be very good to find a way to beat the Canadiens, a stingy defensive team with the league's best goaltender -- and leading contender for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player -- in Carey Price.

"They're a good team," Babcock said. "There's been six goals in the three games we played them. We got two, they got four. No one scores, but they find a way to have one more than us at the end of each game. So we've got to find a way to have one more than them at the end of this game."

In other words, playoff hockey. Just don't try and draw Babcock into a discussion about how the Habs as a potential first-round playoff opponent.

"That doesn't even rate on the scale of what we've got going on," he said. "We've got to get in first, that's the biggest thing. We want to control our own situation, and in order to do that, we have to win."

And that his team is in a position to have to win after sitting so comfortably in a playoff spot for most of the season isn't the worst thing imaginable, Babcock said, when asked about his team's current 7-9-2 streak.

"You might find this hard to believe," he said, "but 7-9-2 is not the end of the world. It really isn't. In that time, we've struggled in certain areas and had to fight our way through it. But the way I look at it is we won (Tuesday) and we've got to find a way to win another game.

"All this stuff goes away if you can find a way to win another game. You can pick everything apart if you don't win games. That's how this business is. It's honest that way, and that's why you love it.

"You love to be in a situation that matters, and this matters."

foxsports.com LOADED: 04.10.2015

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ESPN / Ottawa Senators' magical run faces a big obstacle in New York

Staff report

The team of destiny faces one tough challenge to keep its dream alive.

See, it’s not just that the New York Rangers are the Presidents' Trophy winners as the No. 1 team in the regular season. Perhaps more importantly, they are also the outfit that handed the Ottawa Senators one of the few low points during the Sens' mind-boggling 19-3-3 run.

It was a crushing 5-1 defeat for the Senators on March 26 in Ottawa, which also happens to be the only regulation loss on rookie goalie Andrew Hammond’s ridiculous 18-1-2 record since he was rescued from the AHL and became the Senators’ savior.

Thursday night’s date at MSG is a tall test indeed.

"They [the Rangers] seem to be a fairly prolific scoring team, they've got a lot of skill, arguably the best defense corps in the league, and they've got a decent goaltender back there too," smiled Senators defenseman Marc Methot before boarding his team’s flight to New York on Wednesday.

"It's one of those situations where we got to make sure we're real responsible on our rushes, they're a very good transition team, so if you turn the puck over in the neutral zone they will burn you. Little things like having a good third man high to protect the D when we're pinching, all that stuff is huge; you’ll create your best chance to win this game if we can try to outwork them and stay disciplined."

Added red-hot rookie winger Mark Stone: "They're a fast team, up and down the lineup they've got guys that can score, they use their speed to their advantage. We need to get some bumps and continue to play that five tight-style game that we've been playing."

Ottawa's task might have gotten a little easier, though, with the Rangers' deciding to rest Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Marc Staal. Coach Alain Vigneault said all three are banged-up -- "day-to-day" -- and need some rest.

Are the Senators catching the Rangers at just the right time, then, with the Blueshirts clinching the top overall spot on Tuesday night and perhaps in relax mode for this game? That's one theory the Senators can hope plays out.

On the other hand, just like they did March 26 against a possible first-round opponent, the Rangers may also want to go into soul-crushing mode in case the teams get a return engagement next week when the playoffs open.

At which point Ottawa will have to muster up more magic, if that's at all possible after the Sens erased a 3-0 deficit Tuesday and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime in an instant classic.

Stone led the way with a pair of goals against the Penguins (including the game winner), and he’s being doing a lot of that, leading all NHL rookies with 44 points since Jan. 1, way ahead of fellow Calder Trophy candidates Johnny Gaudreau (31 points) and Filip Forsberg (26 points) during that stretch. Even more telling, Stone has 30 five-on-five points in that span, compared to 17 for Forsberg and 13 for Gaudreau.

All of which has rocketed Stone up the Calder contention list, or should have. I still like Aaron Ekblad because what he’s done as a teenage defenseman playing top minutes against top opposing forwards is simply unreal, but I am leaning toward putting Stone as my No. 2 vote on the official ballot, ahead of Gaudreau and Forsberg.

"I’m just trying to continue to push and trying to get better," said Stone of his stellar play. "Playing with Kyle [Turris] the last three months and Clarke [MacArthur] for different stints, it’s been awesome."

The reason for the second-half surge?

"I don’t know if much has changed, but I've been to capitalize on a lot of my chances," said Stone, 22, a sixth-round pick (178th overall) by the Sens in


2010. "Earlier in the season maybe I wasn't taking the shot and now I'm getting the opportunities in some pretty prime real estate."

Stone is just one of several youngsters in Ottawa's core group, and even if this playoff push falls short the future is oh so bright for the Sens. That the kids have been at the forefront of this stretch run is what's key.

"Our young guys are mentally strong, at least it seems that way right now, the way they've been handling all this pressure," said the veteran Methot. "A lot of that is credited to the mood we have in the room. We have a very relaxed mood, I don’t want to say too relaxed, but we try to keep it light between periods, we try not to get guys too uptight.

"When you have a young group like that, it’s important to really maintain that loose kind of feeling where you're confident and feel good about yourself. When you get tight, as we saw in the first period Tuesday night, you tend not to play well. Right now the young guys are handling it great."

Thanks to the Washington Capitals' 3-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night, Ottawa began Thursday still tied with Boston at 95 points, one back of Pittsburgh, two behind the Detroit Red Wings and three behind the New York Islanders.

There are a few ways the Senators can get in, but the simplest scenario is to win Thursday at MSG and Saturday at Philadelphia and hope that one of the four teams ahead of them slips up just a bit.

Either way, the seven-week blitz that has taken the NHL by storm has made memories to last a lifetime.

"It's been an unbelievable streak," said Turris. "I don't know if I've seen anything like it in my time in pro hockey, with the streak we've been on and comebacks and Hammond playing just completely out of his mind and everybody stepping up at different times.

"It's been an unbelievable story. Now we've just got to make it our own destiny, to make the playoffs, and there's still two important games left."

ESPN LOADED: 04.10.2015

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NBCSports.com / Kings launch L.A. high school hockey league

Mike Halford

Apr 9, 2015, 2:22 PM EDT

Pretty cool initiative out of Los Angeles — the Kings have announced the creation of a high school hockey league, which will play its inaugural season in 2015-16.

“This is a significant step in our efforts to continue elevating the profile of our sport in and around our community,” Kings president of business operations Luc Robitaille said in a statement. “The response from the hockey community here so far has been tremendous as we slowly roll-out the program, and the high school league is the logical ‘next-step’ for us as we keep growing hockey throughout our city and our state.”

More, from the club:

District teams forming at the following ice rinks in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern counties include: Ice In Paradise (Goleta); Channel Islands Ice Center (Oxnard); Iceoplex Simi Valley; Ice Station Valencia; San Joaquin Community Hospital Ice Center (Bakersfield); Pickwick Ice (Burbank); Pasadena Ice and Toyota Sports Center (El Segundo).

Current Kings broadcaster and former player Jim Fox will serve as the league’s commissioner and, per LA Kings Insider, the league will allow players to “double-roster” so they can play on both club/in-house teams, along with their respective high schools.

The Kings will also subsidize helmets, jerseys and practice jerseys free of charge.

This move follows in the footsteps of what the Anaheim Ducks launched last decade. This year, the ADHSHL increased to 41 teams across five divisions.

NBCSports.com / LOADED: 04.10.2015

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Sportsnet.ca / It’s not a dream: the Flames are playoff-bound

MARK SPECTOR

APRIL 10, 2015, 1:26 AM

CALGARY — It’s not a dream, Calgary. Or a nightmare, Edmonton.

It’s reality. The Calgary Flames are a playoff team, and you’re up next, Vancouver.

The Flames knocked out the champs on Thursday, taking everything the Los Angeles Kings had to offer and giving back even more in a 3-1 victory that clinched Calgary’s first playoff berth since 2009. Calgary was the better team in this game, and nobody deserves a post-season spot more than this Cinderella story.

Today, the Flames are the toast of Calgary. And the Kings? They’re simply toast.

"After the pre-game skate today, I saw a guy walking down the street with a Flames jersey over his suit. I knew it was going to be a crazy atmosphere in here tonight," said defenceman Dennis Wideman, just another in a long line of Flames who enjoyed career seasons this year. "All year long, I don’t think people expected us to make the playoffs. Coming into tonight, I don’t even think people expected us to win this game.

"We wanted to beat L.A. We wanted to get in tonight."

The win sets the first all-Western Canadian matchup since the same teams met in 2004, a series decided by Martin Gelinas’ Game 7 overtime winner. Gelinas is now an assistant coach in Calgary.

The Flames have not won a round since the Jarome Iginla-led foray to the 2004 Stanley Cup final. But all of that is ancient history around here, with Bob Hartley’s precocious Flames having rekindled the love affair between a Western Canadian city and its hockey team.

"We believed in training camp. We really believed, because the way we finished last year gave us hope. It gave us belief," said head coach Bob Hartley. "We’ve only made the playoffs. There’s much more to come. Of all the goals we wanted to accomplish, making the playoffs was only goal number one."

In a game that most right-thinking people expected L.A. to dominate early, of course Calgary proved everyone wrong.

"We’re going to play a big, hard, rough road game and get a win (at Calgary)," L.A. defenceman Drew Doughty had promised, but alas, his 29:53 of ice time produced not a single point on this night.

"It just shows how we work," said Johnny Gaudreau. "They’re a hard-working team. It’s a privilege to get to beat them."

Gaudreau got a puck to the net that rolled barely over the line off of Jonathan Quick at the 12:15 mark of the game, and it proved valid after video review. Then Jiri Hudler — who was heroic, with two goals and an assist — walked in over the blue-line and wired home his 30th of the season.

That the Flames’ top line provided on this night is no surprise. The Hudler, Gaudreau, Sean Monahan unit has been the best No. 1 line in the NHL for


the past couple of months. For the final 40 minutes, L.A. pressed more than Calgary, but could dent Jonas Hiller’s goal but once.

By the time it was over, Hiller walked off to a bear hug from first-year general manager Brad Treliving. Like Hartley, there isn’t a button that Treliving has pushed in error all season long here.

"Yes, I guess I’ve proven him right, that he brought me here," laughed Hiller, who had no idea he was joining a playoff team when he signed with Calgary was a UFA last summer.

"I was hoping I could bring something that would help them to be a playoff team. I didn’t know if it would work out right away," he said. "Last year I was one of the middle-aged guys (on Anaheim). Here, I’m one of the oldest guys. I knew if the goaltending was solid, if I could give the team some confidence. We could win our share of games.

"That it would go this far? It was probably more dreaming than realistic."

As for L.A., perhaps for old time’s sake, head coach Darryl Sutter wrote Mike Richards’ name on his lineup sheet — after healthy-scratching the veteran centreman for the past four games. Alas, Richards is a bit of a microcosm for this Kings team: ageing, overpaid and clearly unable to skate with a quick club like Calgary.

There are still many good players here, but the ones who have led Los Angeles to Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014 are showing some wear and tear, to be sure. The Kings become only the eighth team in NHL history, and the first since Carolina in 2006-07, to follow up a Stanley Cup winning season by missing the playoffs.

The Flames went 2-1-1 against the Canucks this season. It has yet to be determined whether the series will start in Vancouver or Calgary.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.10.2015

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Sportsnet.ca / Babcock needs ‘a beer’ to decide on goalies

EVAN PEASLEE

APRIL 9, 2015, 11:45 PM

The Detroit Red Wings may have clinched their 24th straight playoff spot Thursday after losing 4-3 in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens, but head coach Mike Babcock needs a beer to think about his current predicament regarding his goaltenders.

After another shaky night by the Detroit netminders — this time by Jimmy Howard — Babcock was asked whether he needed more stability between the pipes.

“No question,” Babcock said to reporters. “I’m going to have a beer and I’m going to think about (who starts Saturday.)”

It seems the biggest issue troubling the 51-year-old is all the soft goals that Howard and Petr Mrázek are letting in lately.

“They can’t go in, period,” Babcock said. “It’s the National Hockey League. They can’t go in.”

Babcock’s unhappiness has led to him switching back and forth between the netminders as the Red Wings struggled with a 5-10-3 record since March 6, with neither of them able to claim the starter role. As a result the club needed Game 81 to finally clinch a playoff spot that seemed assured not that long ago.


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Sportsnet.ca / Red Wings clinch 24th straight playoff berth

SCOTT LEWIS

APRIL 9, 2015, 10:50 PM

The Detroit Red Wings picked up a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens Thursday, which allowed them to secure a playoff berth for the 24th consecutive season.

The Red Wings’ string of post-season appearances is not only the longest active streak in the NHL, but the longest run in any of the four major North American professional leagues.

With 24 straight trips to the playoffs, the Red Wings move into a tie with the Montreal Candadiens (1971-94) for the fourth-longest streak in NHL history. The Boston Bruins lay claim to the longest streak at 29 (1968-96), while the Chicago Blackhawks sit second with 28 (1970-97), and the St. Louis Blues hold the third-longest streak with 25 appearances (1980-2004).

WHEN THE #REDWINGS CLINCHED THEIR 1ST OF 24 STRAIGHT PLAYOFF BERTHS IN 1991, THE # 1 MOVIE WAS "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS"

The longest active streaks by sport, courtesy of Sportsnet’s stats department, are as follows:

NHL – 24 Detroit Red Wings, 1991-present

NBA – 18 San Antonio Spurs, 1998-present

NFL – 6 Green Bay Packers & New England Patriots, 2009-present

MLB – 4 St. Louis Cardinals & Detroit Tigers, 2011-present

As for some perspective on how long the Red Wings have been making post-season appearances, five players on the current had not yet been born when the club started its run in 1991.


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Sportsnet.ca / Burke has funny tweet after Lecavalier-Lowe fight

JEFF SIMMONS

APRIL 9, 2015, 8:46 PM

It didn’t take long for Keegan Lowe to stir it up in his NHL debut.

The 22-year-old Carolina Hurricanes forward — and son of Edmonton Oilers president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe — dropped the gloves with Vincent Lecavlier of the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period of Thursday night’s game.

Update (8:25): Lecavalier and Lowe fought again (!) in the second period.

— CAROLINA HURRICANES (@NHLCANES) APRIL 10, 2015

However, the best part wasn’t the fight itself (which you can see in the video above), it was the clever Twitter response from Patrick Burke, the son of Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke.

KEEGAN LOWE AND I WILL NOT BE RENTING A BARN.

— PATRICK BURKE (@BURKIEYCP) APRIL 9, 2015


In case you didn’t get the reference, Burke was referring to an old feud between his father and Kevin Lowe in the summer of 2007.

That year, Burke was general manager of the Anaheim Ducks and he was displeased with Lowe and the Oilers for signing restricted free agent Dustin Penner to five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet.

The two executives exchanged words and Burke went as far as suggesting that he and Lowe should “rent a barn” and have a fistfight, and even called the move “gutless.”

“Edmonton has offered a mostly inflated salary for a player,” Burke said. “And I think it’s an act of desperation for a general manager who is fighting to keep his job.”


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Sportsnet.ca / Islanders clinch playoff spot after Bruins loss

JEFF SIMMONS

APRIL 9, 2015, 10:28 PM

The New York Islanders are playoff bound.

Despite having the night off Thursday, the Islanders officially clinched a playoff spot after the Boston Bruins dropped a 4-2 contest to the Florida Panthers.

New York Islanders on Twitter

The Islanders last appeared in the post-season during the 2012-13 season, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals.

New York currently sits in third place (98 points) in the Metropolitan Division. They remain three points behind the Washington Capitals in the standings, but have a game in hand. As of Thursday night, the Islanders would take on the Capitals in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Islanders face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.


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Sportsnet.ca / Sportsnet NHL Awards: Most underrated player

MIKE JOHNSTON

APRIL 8, 2015, 4:10 PM

While the NHL will hand out its share of awards at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Sportsnet’s NHL web team decided to hand out some awards of our own.

Most Underrated Player of the Year

Winner: Nicklas Backstrom, centre, Washington Capitals

No matter what he seems to do, Nicklas Backstrom doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

Sure, Alex Ovechkin overshadows him in Washington. Heck, Ovi overshadows every player in the NHL save for Sidney Crosby, but this

shouldn’t diminish Backstrom’s stock. He doesn’t get the acclaim of a Crosby, Toews, Getzlaf, Malkin, Kopitar or Datsyuk despite the fact he is on the same level as these players. Granted those centres have helped lead their teams to one or multiple Stanley Cups, but it seems Backstrom doesn’t even get the same level of respect as fellow elite No. 1 centre like Tavares, Seguin, Giroux or Stamkos when he absolutely should.

Part of being a great player is having an ability to make those around you better and truth be told the Great 8 wouldn’t be the player he is without Backstrom by his side. Through 81 games this season Backstrom has 77 points, good for seventh-best in the league, and many of those were setting up Ovechkin goals.

“We’ve played together since he got here and of course we have great chemistry,” Ovechkin told NHL.com in February. “Sometimes he just knows where I am, sometimes I know where he is. It’s a situation where you feel each other well. It’s been working all the time, and I hope it’s going to work like this more.”

A perfect symbol of Backstrom being perennially overlooked is the fact he has never been selected to play in an All-Star Game, including this year despite the fact he was leading his team in points at the time.

The fourth-overall pick from the 2006 draft has more points than anyone in his draft class, one that included Jonathan Toews, Phil Kessel and Claude Giroux.

Looking at his skill set, he has some of the softest hands in the league. We’re talking Datsyuk/Kane/Getzlaf/Giroux softness. He possesses savant-level hockey IQ and of all the Swedish centres to break into the league since Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg in the ’90s, Backstrom is right up there with Henrik Sedin as the very best. In fact, only Joe Thornton and Henrik Sedin have more assists than Backstrom since he made his NHL debut in 2007.

Still, he’s more than merely a set-up man.

The Capitals are a dark horse to come out of the East and Backstrom’s play is a major reason why. In February, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz even said Backstrom should warrant Hart Trophy consideration. The 27-year-old leads his team in takeaways, faceoffs, and is at or near the top in all the advanced-stat categories for the Caps, plus he leads the league in power-play assists.

For these reasons, Nicklas Backstrom is our Most Underrated Player for the 2014-15 NHL season.

Most Underrated Player of the Year Runners-up

Roman Josi, defenceman, Nashville Predators

Clearly he benefits from having an elite partner like Shea Weber, but Josi is a tremendous blueliner in his own right. He’s fourth in the league in ice-time and fourth in points among defencemen. When the Preds signed him to a seven-year, $28-million contract in 2013 it seemed a bit lofty. Now it seems like a bargain.

Jaden Schwartz, left wing, St. Louis Blues

The argument can be made that Schwartz is the best all-around player on the best all-around team in the NHL. He’s often overshadowed by Olympian teammates David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester and fellow standout youngster Vladimir Tarasenko, but Schwartz could end up having the best career of all of them.

Jiri Hudler, centre, Calgary Flames

The Flames veteran set career highs in goals and assists and was stellar playing on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Hudler has more points than Stamkos, Malkin, Getzlaf, Giroux, Nash and Toews to name a few.

Sportsnt.ca LOADED: 04.10.2015

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CAROLINA HURRICANESdownloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips041015.pdfGerbe, a Carolina Hurricanes winger, was playing for the Buffalo Sabres when cut by the skate of teammate Paul