adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Sports

Adams Award finalists announced – NHL.com

Published

 on


Bruce Cassidy, John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault were named finalists for the Jack Adams Award on Wednesday.

The award, voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, is given annually to the coach voted as best in the NHL. The winner will be announced during the conference finals. 

Cassidy coached the Boston Bruins to the best record in the NHL (44-14-12, .714 points percentage) and the Presidents’ Trophy as the top regular-season team. Boston was eight points ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division, the largest amount for any division leader, when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The Bruins won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL (167, 2.39 per game) and tied the Philadelphia Flyers for the seventh-most goals (227, 3.24 per game). They were second to the Edmonton Oilers in power-play percentage (25.2) and third in penalty-killing percentage (84.3). Cassidy was a finalist for the award in 2017-18.

300x250x1

Boston will play the Lightning (.657), Washignton Capitals (.652) and Flyers (.645) in the round-robin of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to determine the top four seeds into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East.

[RELATED: Complete list of Jack Adams Award winners]

Tortorella guided the Columbus Blue Jackets (33-22-15, .579 points percentage) to a berth in the Qualifiers. Columbus overcame injuries to numerous players throughout the season, including forwards Josh Anderson, Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand, defensemen Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. The Blue Jackets were fourth in goals-against per game (2.61) and twice had point streaks of at least 10 games (8-0-4 from Dec. 9-Jan. 2; 9-0-1 from Jan. 11- Feb. 7). Tortorella, a two-time Jack Adams Award winner (2017-18 Blue Jackets; 2003-04 Lightning) and a finalist for the award for the fifth time, could join Pat Burns (1988-89 Montreal Canadiens; 1992-93 Toronto Maple Leafs; 1997-98 Bruins) as the only coaches to win it three times.

The Blue Jackets, the No. 9 seed, will play the Maple Leafs (36-25-9, .579), the No. 8 seed in one of eight best-of-5 Qualifier series with the winner advancing to the playoffs.

Vigneault coached the Flyers to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-21-7) and a berth in the playoffs in his first season. Philadelphia tied Tampa Bay for seventh in goals-against per game (2.77) after ranking 29th in 2018-19 (3.41) and was seventh in goals-scored per game (3.29) after finishing 18th in 2018-19 (2.94). The Flyers had four winning streaks of at least four games and won nine straight from Feb. 18-March 7). A five-time finalist, Vigneault won the award with the Vancouver Canucks in 2006-07.

Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk praised Vigneault’s approach to the qualifiers after a four-month pause in the season.  

“I think the biggest thing with him as far as any coach I’ve played for at any level, he lets other people do their job. For this we’re coming back and want to be in a position where we’re peaking at the right time so he’s leaning on the sports science staff as far how long we practice, how hard we practice, when to push a little bit harder, when to pull back and give us some time to recover,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think because of all that he uses all the tools that are available to him He’s been really smart about that stuff. As players we have ton of confidence in what he wants us to do and it’ll help us be prepared and ready to play as we go thought this process and get to Toronto and start playing games.”

Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders won it last season.

The 2020 NHL Awards were scheduled for June 18 in Las Vegas but were postponed March 25.

Deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report 

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

Published

 on


Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

300x250x1

With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

Published

 on


TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

300x250x1

Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

Published

 on

The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

300x250x1

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending