Sports
Canadiens locking down in Montreal after COVID-plagued road trip – Sportsnet.ca
Less than two hours before the puck dropped in a game practically no one outside his room thought should be played, Montreal Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme was asked what he was hoping his decimated team could achieve.
“I’m hoping we’ll compete hard for 60 minutes and leave with our players healthy,” he said.
Forget about a win against the NHL’s best home team; the goal was simply to compete and survive against the Florida Panthers.
Its accomplishment was in serious doubt when Cedric Paquette took a hit to the head a minute into his first shift and missed the remainder of the first period.
With Paquette in the room – he eventually returned for the second but finished the game there due to a reported neck injury – Michael Pezzetta elected to fight Radko Gudas, leaving the Canadiens with nine forwards for more than five minutes. And with Brendan Gallagher hurt halfway through the previous game and Jake Evans joining the long list of Montreal players in COVID protocol just an hour before Ducharme spoke, this team was already redefining “playing shorthanded.”
Alex Romanov, who led the first two games of road trip in total ice time, joined Evans in protocol, leaving the Canadiens with five defencemen available. Put it down as a win that all five of them finished the game.
As for the outcome, the Canadiens lost 5-2 despite pulling ahead 2-1 in the 10th minute of the second period on a goal from Nick Suzuki.
He was the only player dressed who had played every game of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Montreal, and he played 24:41 after previously skating a career-high 25:24 in the loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning that started this road trip.
Suzuki said he was happy to do it.
“I take it as a challenge,” the 22-year-old said. “I like being out on the ice, so I’m good with more minutes. Just trying to do my best and help the team.”
Suzuki wanted to play.
According to Kale Clague, the recent waiver-wire pickup who led the Canadiens with 27:34 against the Panthers, so did every player in a Canadiens uniform.
When Canadiens management discussed a potential postponement with the NHL, they reportedly expressed a desire to see this one through. Already in Florida, already facing a demanding schedule that will become frenetic once the Canadiens come off an upcoming 10-day break due postponements of home games, they were able to scratch this one off the list with the approval of NHL doctors and the league’s brass.
Ducharme wasn’t willing to say he was in favour of playing before it started, but no one would blame the coach for not wanting to go through the motions of an unwinnable game. He simply said he wasn’t a part of the discussion and was prepared to do what was required.
Meanwhile, his young players continued to get opportunities they’d have otherwise never gotten.
Former seventh-round pick Rafael Harvey-Pinard made the most of his, scoring in his first NHL game against the Lightning before leaving this impression on veteran teammate Jonathan Drouin against the Panthers:
“For me, he’s a little guy who has talent but one who works so hard,” Drouin said. “You look at the end of the game, we’re down 5-2 and he’s blocking two big shots. That’s the attitude we want within the Canadiens. He’s had success in the American League. but I think he’s going to be an NHLer one day. He works so hard and has a good attitude.”
Harvey-Pinard isn’t alone.
Lukas Vejdemo, 25, has shown a maturity in his game that lends to the idea he can play full-time in this league and be effective. He’s been dynamic offensively, reliable defensively, and his coach has taken note.
“I think for him, you talk about a quicker league, but he’s a really good skater,” said Ducharme. “For him, it forces him to maybe be using that speed even more maybe at that level because he understands that it’s the best league in the world and it’s quicker. But he’s a great skater. He’s focusing on his strength, which is skating well, and it generates some chances.
“So, that’s something that any player, when you move up to another level, focusing on your strengths and playing within that is really important. As you grow as a player, you get to understand how you’re going to have success. He’s using those tools … he did that for three games.”
We’d suggest Jesse Ylonen, the 22-year-old taken in the second round of the 2018 Draft, is doing the same.
He was rewarded with his first NHL assist on Suzuki’s second-period goal.
Drouin, who scored Montreal’s first goal, also played a good one after missing Thursday’s loss to the Carolina Hurricanes with a non-COVID-related illness. He said he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent but, given the situation, knew he needed to help.
Drouin tipped Sami Niku’s shot in the first period to get the Canadiens on the board, and he played a career-high 5:05 on the penalty kill, where he’d previously played less than 28 minutes total over his 419 NHL games.
Now he’ll rest, and so will his teammates.
Like Romanov, Evans will do it in Florida after expressing his concern about that very scenario just two days ahead of his positive test.
“I think with all these quarantine rules, and just with COVID, you don’t want to get it and you know you’re in a, I guess you can say, kind of a hot spot with how many guys are getting it,” Evans said. “You don’t want to be stuck in a city you’re not familiar with, too.”
Provided he’s asymptomatic, Evans will be in isolation for five days in a Florida hotel room, and then he’ll likely fly to Plattsburgh, N.Y., before being driven over the border to Montreal. Same goes for Romanov and Brandon Baddock, while Cayden Primeau will come out of his isolation and head to New Jersey for the remaining nine days it takes to be permitted to fly back to Montreal.
As for everyone else boarding the Canadiens’ charter home, they’re being asked to lay low through Jan. 6.
The hope is that the Canadiens will emerge for their next game on Jan. 12, in Boston, with a much healthier roster than the one they iced in Florida. And, with any luck, no one will be wondering if they should even be playing.
When we asked Ducharme after the game about that, he said didn’t discount the possibility.
Sports
Marchand says Maple Leafs are Bruins’ ‘biggest rival’ ahead of 1st-round series – NHL.com
BOSTON – Forget Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens.
For Brad Marchand, right now, it’s all about Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You see the excitement they have all throughout Canada when they’re in playoffs,” Marchand said Thursday. “Makes it a lot of fun to play them. And I think, just with the history we’ve had with them recently, they’re probably our biggest rival right now over the last decade.
“They’ve probably surpassed Montreal and any other team with kind of where our rivalry’s gone, just because we’ve both been so competitive with each other, and we’ve had a few playoff series. It definitely brings the emotion, the intensity, up in the games and the excitement for the fans.
“It’s a lot of fun to play them.”
The Bruins and Maple Leafs will renew their rivalry in their first round series, which starts Saturday at TD Garden (8 p.m. ET; TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS). They’ll be familiar opponents.
Over the past 11 seasons, the Bruins have faced the Maple Leafs four times in the postseason, starting with the epic 2013 matchup in the first round. That resulted in an all-time instant classic, the Game 7 in which the Bruins were down 4-1 in the third period and came roaring back for an overtime win that helped propel them to the Stanely Cup Final.
That would prove to be the model and, in the intervening years, the Bruins have beaten them in each of the three subsequent series, including going to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2018 and 2019.
Which could easily be where this series is going.
“Offensively they’re a gifted hockey club,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Thursday. “They present a lot of challenges down around the netfront area. We’re going to have to be really sharp there. We’re a pretty good team defensively when we stick to what our principles are. So I expect it to be a tight series overall.”
But if anyone knows the Maple Leafs — and what to expect — it’s Marchand. In his career, he’s played 146 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 11th most of any active player. Twenty-one of those games have come against the Maple Leafs, games in which Marchand has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists).
“They’re always extremely competitive,” Marchand said. “You never know which way the series is going to go. But that’s what you want. That’s what you love about hockey is the competition aspect. They’re real competitors over there, especially the way they’re built right now. So it’s going to be a lot of fun, and that’s what playoffs is about. It’s about the best teams going head-to-head.”
But even though the history favors the Bruins — including having won each of the past six playoff matchups, dating back to the NHL’s expansion era in 1967-68 and each of the four regular-season games in 2023-24 — Marchand is throwing that out the window.
“That means nothing,” he said.
The Maple Leafs bring the No. 2 offense in the NHL into their series, having scored 3.63 goals per game. They were led by Auston Matthews and his 69 goals this season, a new record for him and for the franchise.
“You have to be hard on a guy like that and limit his time and space with the puck,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “He’s really good at getting in position to receive the puck and he’s got linemates who can put it right on his tape for him. You’ve just got to know where he is, especially in our D zone. He likes to loop away after cycling it and kind of find that sweet spot coming down Broadway there in the middle. It’s not just a one-person job.”
Nor is Matthews their only threat.
“They have a lot of great players, skill players, who play hard and can be very dangerous around the net and create scoring opportunities,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “You’ve just got to be aware of who’s out there and who you’re against, who you’re matched up against, and play hard. Also, too, we’ve got to focus on our game and what we do well and when we do that, we trust each other and have that belief in each other, we’re a pretty good hockey team.”
Especially against the Maple Leafs.
Marchand, who grew up in Halifax loving the Maple Leafs, still gets a thrill to see their alumni walking around Scotiabank Arena in the playoffs. And it’s even more special to be on the ice with them, to be competing against them — even more so when the Bruins keep winning.
But that certainly doesn’t mean this series will be easy.
“They’ll be a [heck] of a challenge,” Marchand said.
Sports
NHL sets Round 1 schedule for 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Daily Faceoff
The chase for Lord Stanley’s silver chalice will begin on Saturday.
After what could be described as the most exciting season in NHL history that saw heartbreaks and last-ditch efforts to clinch playoff spots, players and staff now get ready as 16 teams go to battle.
We saw the Vancouver Canucks have a massive year and finish first in the Pacific Division with captain Quinn Hughes leading all defensemen in points. The Winnipeg Jets set a franchise record for most points. The Nashville Predators went on a franchise-record winning streak in order to lock themselves into a Wild Card spot, and the Washington Capitals clinched the last Wild Card spot in the East after a wild finish that saw the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers see their playoff hopes crumble in front of them.
While Auston Matthews missed out on scoring 70 goals, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning standout Nikita Kucherov became the first players since 1990-91 to record 100 assists in a single season. They joined Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr as the only players to do so.
With the bracket set, it’s time to expect the unexpected.
Here is the schedule for Round 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Eastern Conference
#A1 Florida Panthers vs. #WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Tampa at Florida | 12:30 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Tampa at Florida | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Thursday, April 25 | 3. Florida at Tampa | 7 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 4. Florida at Tampa | 5 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 29 | 5. Tampa at Florida | TBD |
Wednesday, May 1 | 6. Florida at Tampa | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. Tampa at Florida | TBD |
#A2 Boston Bruins vs. #A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
Date | Game | Time |
Saturday, April 20 | 1. Toronto at Boston | 8 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 22 | 2. Toronto at Boston | 7 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, April 24 | 3. Boston at Toronto | 7 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 4. Boston at Toronto | 8 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. Toronto at Boston | TBD |
Thursday, May 2 | 6. Boston at Toronto | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. Toronto at Boston | TBD |
#M1 New York Rangers vs. #WC2 Washington Capitals
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Washington at New York | 3 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Washington at New York | 7 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 2. New York at Washington | 7 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 2. New York at Washington | 8 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, May 1 | 2. Washington at New York | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 2. New York at Washington | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 2. Washington at New York | TBD |
#M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #M3 New York Islanders
Date | Game | Time |
Saturday, April 20 | 1. New York at Carolina | 5 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 22 | 2. New York at Carolina | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Thursday, April 25 | 3. Carolina at New York | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 4. Carolina at New York | 2 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. New York at Carolina | TBD |
Thursday, May 2 | 6. Carolina at New York | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. New York at Carolina | TBD |
Western Conference
#C1 Dallas Stars vs. #WC2 Vegas Golden Knights
Date | Game | Time |
Monday, April 22 | 1. Vegas at Dallas | 9:30 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, April 24 | 2. Vegas at Dallas | 9:30 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 3. Dallas at Vegas | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 29 | 4. Dallas at Vegas | TBD |
Wednesday, May 1 | 5. Vegas at Dallas | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 6. Dallas at Vegas | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 7. Vegas at Dallas | TBD |
#C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. #C3 Colorado Avalanche
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Colorado at Winnipeg | 7 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Colorado at Winnipeg | 9:30 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 3. Winnipeg at Colorado | 10 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 4. Winnipeg at Colorado | 2:30 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. Colorado at Winnipeg | TBD |
Thursday, May 2 | 6. Winnipeg at Colorado | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. Colorado at Winnipeg | TBD |
#P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #WC1 Nashville Predators
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Nashville at Vancouver | 10 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Nashville at Vancouver | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 3. Vancouver at Nashville | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 4. Vancouver at Nashville | 5 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. Nashville at Vancouver | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 6. Vancouver at Nashville | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 7. Nashville at Vancouver | TBD |
#P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. #P3 Los Angeles Kings
Date | Game | Time |
Monday, April 22 | 1. Los Angeles at Edmonton | 10 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, April 24 | 2. Los Angeles at Edmonton | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 3. Edmonton at Los Angeles | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 4. Edmonton at Los Angeles | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, May 1 | 5. Los Angeles at Edmonton | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 6. Edmonton at Los Angeles | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 7. Los Angeles at Edmonton | TBD |
Sports
With matchup vs. Kings decided, Oilers should be confident facing familiar foe – Sportsnet.ca
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