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The Los Angeles Kings are not going down without a fight.
And who knows, they might not be going down at all.
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Bergevin’s best opportunity to improve Canadiens is in front of him – Sportsnet.ca
MONTREAL — It feels like years ago, but it’s only been eight months.
Surely you remember when Marc Bergevin held court with reporters in December, just two weeks after the Montreal Canadiens dropped eight consecutive games, when he repeated for what seemed like the 1000th time over the last three years that he wouldn’t mortgage the future for a quick fix. Boy, was he ever right at the time, as his team was bulldozing its way towards the bottom of the NHL standings.
But if Bergevin is still thinking that way after what he just saw from this team in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Canadiens are never getting out of neutral under his watch.
To witness young centres Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki take massive leaps in their development in just over three weeks, to see Carey Price and Shea Weber play as well as they ever have over their illustrious careers, and to be right there to feel the Canadiens gelling together in a way that allows for the future-is-bright narrative to actually ring true, is to know the time to strike is right now.
Because for as good as the Canadiens were—and they were full value in knocking off the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round and giving the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers all they could handle and then some in the first round—it still took everything they had to go as far as they did, which was nowhere near as far as they’d like to go.
They need more, and they need it immediately while the mojo is as positive as it is. Because the fact is, the Canadiens aren’t the only young team on the rise in National Parity League.
If they want an edge on some of the other ones, Bergevin is going to have to do the best work of his eight-year tenure before the puck drops next season.
The good news is he’ll never be in a better position to do it than the one he finds himself in right now.
General managers dream of having the kind of leverage Bergevin currently possesses. He has a desperate need for elite-level scoring — and some depth on defence and in net — and he has 14 picks in the upcoming draft, a loaded prospect pool, good non-core roster players he could part with, and an abundance of cap space to make the necessary acquisitions to fill those needs.
“As far as assets, yes, we have I believe 10 picks in the top three rounds in the next couple of years, [and] we have 25 overall. So we’re set that way,” Bergevin said during his 30-minute, season-ending press conference Saturday. “We’ve put ourselves in a good position to look around. If anything becomes available, we should be looking into that… If we can make our team better by moving a pick or players that we feel can make us better for a long period of time, we’ll do that.”
If not now, then when?
Here’s what else is in Bergevin’s favour: the NHL’s salary cap is going to be stagnant at $81.5 million for at least one more season and several of his competitors will have to shed salary (and some pretty good players) to comply with it.
And Bergevin can downplay it as much as wants — and he did in saying several times during Saturday’s availability that he has to be cautious and careful about how he spends Canadiens owner Geoff Molson’s money — but he’s got just over $63 million committed to a near-complete roster for next season and roughly $18 million to play with to make the team better.
This is the part where you retort with: Bergevin has had loads of cap space over the last two seasons and done little with it from that advantageous position.
But you know what the GM hasn’t had over that time? The evidence he needed to see in order to believe just a couple of sacrifices made to improve the Canadiens in the short run would go a long way towards cementing their place as perennial playoff participants moving forward.
“Today we see a team going in the right direction, a team fans should be proud of,” Bergevin said before exalting the virtues of his fresh-faced and talented Suzuki-Kotkaniemi punch up the middle.
Bergevin also talked about his unwavering faith in Price and Weber, saying both players, aged 33 and 35, respectively, proved they’re still on top of their game.
So how can he not look to bridge the gap between those four parts as quickly as possible?
A lot has changed here in a short span. So much so that what was best for the Canadiens in March is no longer what’s best for them now, which is a reality Bergevin acknowledged when he said he wouldn’t trade the experience his players just gained for a top-10 pick in this year’s draft.
“The experience of our young players and the way they showed their progression has no price,” Bergevin said. “So to move back seven picks (from ninth to 16th), that’s a very small price to pay. What we experienced the last month will really help the organization to move forward … The trade-off was worth it, to have lived this experience with our kids, how they showed their character and also the evolution of our organization.”
It won’t be worth as much if Bergevin doesn’t cash in on the opportunity at his feet.
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After trouncing the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 in a one-sided Game 1 romp and then wiping out every sniff of momentum the visitors had in Game 2, the Edmonton Oilers looked like they were fully in charge of a potentially short series.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the sweep.
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The Kings delivered a rousing, spirited response Monday night at Rogers Place, never trailing in a 5-4 overtime victory that evens the series and steals away home ice advantage.
How’s that for a plot twist?
“In the first period we dug ourselves a big hole being down 2-0 and 3-1, but after that I thought we played a lot better, especially in the second period,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “I felt like if we ever able to get the lead we could have finished the game but we were never quite able to do that.”
Edmonton spent the entire night in chase mode — trailing 2-0 in the first, 3-1 in the second and 4-3 in the third before Anze Kopitar stuck the knife in at 2:07 of the extra period to spoil the party and flip the series on its head going back to Los Angeles.
The winning goal started with a freaky bounce off of L.A.’s Quinton Byfield along the boards, right to Kopitar for the breakaway. This, after two Kings goals went in off of skates and another as the result of a broken stick in Game 1.
If you’re scoring breaks, L.A. leads the series 2-0.
“You saw some of the goals that they scored last game, you saw some goals that they scored tonight, not to take anything away, but they seem to be fluky goals somehow,” sighed Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm, wondering when the Kings run of luck is going to dry up.
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“Whether it’s a bat out of the air or a shot from the outside of the hashmarks on the ice. They just seem to find its ways through. That’s the playoffs.”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner has been on the receiving end of it for two games now. He’s been a victim as time, but the bottom line is nine goals against in two games. He needs to get back to his regular season level.
“Games like this where you feel like the universe is against you, the pucks just not working well for you, it’s part of life,” he said in the post-game dressing room. “It’s part of playoffs too.
“The takeaway for tonight is just kind of, wash it out. I know who I am. I know my game and I’m going to get back to work.”
The Oilers knew exactly what to expect from a desperate Los Angeles team that knew falling behind 2-0 is as close to a death sentence as you can get without actually being dead, and that’s what they got.
The prospect of having to win four of the next five games against a team that’s beaten them 11 of the last 14 provided all of the adrenaline the Kings needed and they rode it to the win.
The outcome wasted a great night from Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, who scored the first two playoff goals of his career in the loss.
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So suddenly it’s the Oilers who are in peril, having to play Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles against a team that has come to life in a big way. The Kings have finally broken through against a team that’s owned them for a long time and who knows where it goes from here.
“I thought we played a good game and had the puck most of the night,” said Ekholm, adding the Oilers still feel very good about who they are. “They (Kings) are going to have their looks and their bounces, but I still liked the way we played and hopefully we can build off of that.”
THE CALIFORNIA STORM
If Game 1 was played on the Oilers terms, Game 2 was played on L.A.’s.
At the start, anyway.
The Kings scored first (courtesy of an Oilers breakdown that went about four players deep), choked things up (the shots were 4-3 through 14 minutes) and took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Everything was going their way. Even when it wasn’t.
When Brett Kulak got the crowd into it with a rocket of a one-timer to make it 2-1, Drew Doughty took them out of it 29 seconds later when he and Skinner both whiffed on a breakaway shot that trickled in through the five-hole
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Skinner allowed three goals on seven shots in the opening 20 minutes and while you couldn’t lay the deficit at his feet, the Oilers needed a save.
CUE THE COMEBACK
The second period was all Oilers. The same team that ran away with Game 1 showed up in the second period, washing away L.A.s lead in less than 11 minutes and turning the volume in Rogers Place as loud as it’s been in years.
Their relentless forecheck had the Kings on their heels all period, breaking them on Holloway’s first goal of the playoffs at 7:51 and Zach Hyman’s power play marker at 10:33.
In addition to scoring, Hyman also delivered the hit of the playoffs, crushing Phillip Danault with a violent open-ice check in the third period that sent the Kings centre straight to the dressing room. He returned a few minutes later after gathering himself in the room.
GRAND FINALE
The Kings refused to go away, tying it 1:46 into the third period on Kevin Fiala’s goal, but this time it was Edmonton’s turn to answer with a quick strike — Holloway at 3:23.
From there, it was next shot wins territory.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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Familiar Territory
James van Riemsdyk has played his fair share of playoff contests here in Toronto – but all of them have come in blue and white. On Wednesday night, he would be on the other side for the first time if he indeed makes his Bruins postseason debut, which appeared to be a strong possibility based on the Black & Gold’s morning skate.
“It’s always special to play in this building,” said van Riemsdyk, who played in 20 postseason games with Toronto, including nine at Scotiabank Arena. “In this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun. This time of year is always amazing, no matter where you’re at – if you’re at a 500-seat arena or a rink with all the tradition and history like this. It’s always fun and always a great opportunity to get in there.”
van Riemsdyk was a healthy scratch for the first two games of this series, following a trend across the second half of the regular season, during which he sat out several games.
“Playoff time of year is always the best time of year,” said van Riemsdyk, who has 20 goals and 31 points in 71 career playoff games between Philadelphia and Toronto. “Obviously, in this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun – two fun buildings to play in. You cherish every opportunity you get.
“This time of year, you learn that along the way, it’s all about the team. Whatever the team’s asking you to do, that’s always got to be your mindset and approach…you stay at it every day and just take it one day at a time.”
Montgomery said that if van Riemsdyk does re-enter the lineup, he’ll be looking for the veteran winger to help the Bruins’ offensive game. He also complimented van Riemsdyk’s professionalism throughout a trying second half.
“I guess getting his stick on more pucks,” Montgomery said on what he wants to see from van Riemsdyk. “We’ve talked about it a lot of times internally. Him and [Kevin] Shattenkirk have been great. They’re true pros. Every day come to work, come to get better. It’s not an easy situation, but he’s been great.”
van Riemsdyk concurred with his coach’s sentiments about helping Boston’s offensive attack, saying that he’ll be aiming to be around the net as much as possible.
“I think you’ve got to stay true to who you are as a player and play with good details and manage the game well and play to your strengths as a player,” he said. “This time of year, being around the net is always an important trait. You see all the goals being scored, it’s all within 5-10 feet of the net. That’s an area that I pride myself on, so going to be doing my best to get there and have an impact there.”
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It’s hard to say when, exactly, Alexandar Georgiev truly began to win some hearts and change some minds on Tuesday night.
Maybe it was in the back half of the second period; that was when the Colorado Avalanche, for the first time in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets, actually managed to hold a lead for more than, oh, two minutes or thereabouts. Maybe it was when the Avs walked into the locker room up 4-2 with 20 minutes to play.
Maybe it was midway through the third, when a series of saves by the Avalanche’s beleaguered starting goaltender helped preserve their two-goal buffer. Maybe it was when the buzzer sounded after their 5-2 win. Maybe it didn’t happen until the Avs made it into their locker room at Canada Life Centre, tied 1-1 with the Jets and headed for Denver.
At some point, though, it should’ve happened. If you were watching, you should’ve realized that Colorado — after a 7-6 Game 1 loss that had us all talking not just about all those goals, but at least one of the guys who’d allowed them — had squared things up, thanks in part to … well, that same guy.
Georgiev, indeed, was the story of Game 2, stopping 28 of 30 shots, improving as the game progressed and providing a lesson on how quickly things can change in the playoffs — series to series, game to game, period to period, moment to moment. The narrative doesn’t always hold. Facts don’t always cooperate. Alexandar Georgiev, for one night and counting, was not a problem for the Colorado Avalanche. He was, in direct opposition to the way he played in Game 1, a solution. How could we view him as anything else?
He had a few big-moment saves, and most of them came midway through the third period with his team up 4-2. There he was with 12:44 remaining, stopping a puck that had awkwardly rolled off Nino Niederreiter’s stick; two missed posts by the Avs at the other end had helped spring Niederreiter for a breakaway. Game 1 Georgiev doesn’t make that save.
There he was, stopping Nikolaj Ehlers from the circle a few minutes later. There wasn’t an Avs defender within five feet, and there was nothing awkward about the puck Ehlers fired at his shoulder. Game 1 Georgiev gets scored on twice.
(That one might’ve been poetic justice. It was Ehlers who’d put the first puck of the night on Georgiev — a chip from center ice that he stopped, and that the crowd in Winnipeg greeted with the ol’ mock cheer. Whoops.)
By the end of it all, Georgiev had stared down Connor Hellebuyck and won, saving nearly 0.5 goals more than expected according to Natural Stat Trick, giving the Avalanche precisely what they needed and looking almost nothing like the guy we’d seen a couple days before. Conventional wisdom coming into this series was twofold: That the Avs have firepower, high-end talent and an overall edge — slight as it may be — on Winnipeg, and that Georgiev is shaky enough to nuke the whole thing.
That wasn’t without merit, either. Georgiev’s .897 save percentage in the regular season was six percentage points below the league average, and he hadn’t broken even in expected goals allowed (minus-0.21). He’d been even worse down the stretch, putting up an .856 save percentage in his final eight appearances, and worse still in Game 1, allowing seven goals on 23 shots and more than five goals more than expected. That’s not bad; that’s an oil spill. Writing him off would’ve been understandable. Writing off Jared Bednar for rolling him out there in Game 2 would’ve been understandable. Writing the Avs off — for all of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar’s greatness — would’ve been understandable.
It just wouldn’t have been correct.
The fact that this all went down now, four days into a two-month ordeal, is a gift — because the postseason thus far has been short on surprises, almost as a rule. The Rangers and Oilers are overwhelming the Capitals and Kings. The Hurricanes are halfway done with the Islanders. The Canucks are struggling with the Predators. Panthers–Lightning is tight, but one team is clearly better than the other. Bruins–Maple Leafs is a close matchup featuring psychic baggage that we don’t have time to unpack. In Golden Knights–Stars, Mark Stone came back and scored a huge goal.
None of that should shock you. None of that should make you blink.
Georgiev being good enough for Colorado, though? After what we saw in Game 1? Strange, surprising and completely true. For now.
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