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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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COVID-19 isolation means dog days for Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Sun
Every dog has its day, especially Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ golden retriever Sophie, who wouldn’t know COVID-19 from a milk bone.
But her tail has been wagging with all the times the Edmonton Oilers centre has gotten out her leash lately.
“I think she’s the only one that’s happy with the whole quarantine thing that is going on. She gets lots of attention, lots of walks right now,” said the longest-serving Oilers player at 604 games, who is currently camped out with wife Breanne at their house in Edmonton during the stoppage, rather than return to their off-season home in Vancouver.
Like pretty much everybody staying inside and practising social distancing during the coronavirus threat, he’s safe but bored, sleeping in later than usual, trying to get some exercise, watching Netflix.
Yeah, he’s seen Tiger King.
“Pretty bizarre, the whole thing,” he said, not stick-handling around the question on whether Carole Baskin’s departed husband had been fed to the tigers.
“Sure seemed that way to me,” said Nugent-Hopkins on SportsNet’s Hockey Central.
He’s spending more time in the kitchen than usual. Not as big on take-out with Skip the Dishes or Uber Eats.
“I’ve been cooking a lot, something I don’t usually do during the season, lunches and dinner, a little unusual for me but cooking is something I’ve wanted to get more into and my wife and I are trying to come up with creative dishes to try out,” said Nugent-Hopkins.
Getting creative is what he’s done with his playing too, moving to left-wing from centre. This may be his true NHL calling if McDavid and Draisaitl are the NHL’s best tag-team at centre. Just as Joe Pavelski moved to wing with Joe Thornton in San Jose with Logan Couture as the other Sharks’ centre.
Nugent-Hopkins had 61 points in 65 games at the stoppage, 41 of those in 30 games since New Year’s Eve, when he and Draisaitl found themselves with Kailer Yamamoto.
This may be the start of Nugent-Hopkins’ second chapter, the first player taken in the 2011 draft, now a winger like so many other centres in the NHL because all those Canadian Olympic teams are populated with centres who have to move over.
Either Nugent-Hopkins stays with Draisaitl, the NHL’s scoring leader, or shifts to left-wing with McDavid because the Oilers third-best forward can’t be a No. 3 centre; not nearly enough ice-time for a guy who was on pace for a career high 70-plus points before the stoppage.
“Playing the wing changes your game a little bit, it does open up a little more offensively for you,” said Nugent-Hopkins on a video conference call. “When you’re centre, you’ve always got to make sure you’re coming back and playing deep in your own zone. You’re kind of catching up to the rush more so coming out of the defensive zone, transitioning to offence.”
“Whereas as a winger, you’re usually the one leading with the puck or at least supporting the guy who’s leading with the puck. So it’s kind of, as soon as we get it, we have that offensive mindset. At least, that’s how I saw it once I went onto the wing. I got to play with obviously Leo and Yamo and we got some chemistry going right away. Definitely a lot of fun,” said Nugent-Hopkins.
Yamamoto’s arrival from Bakersfield saved the season for the Oilers, gave them a second-line, taking the heat off McDavid on the first unit. Yamamoto has 25 points in 26 games, and nobody’s looking at the 150-pound winger like he’s a work in progress any longer.
“What do I like about Yamo? The way he goes and gets pucks, he’s not afraid to go into the corner with anybody. He battled with (Zdeno) Chara — a little height difference there, but he’s not afraid,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “He wants to win the puck battle and get pucks back for us.”
It’s a strong scouting report, just like the one he’s got on 14-year-old forward Connor Bedard, who was just granted exceptional-player status by the Western Hockey League, who will welcome him as a 15-year-old.
Nugent-Hopkins can relate because he was the first-overall pick in the bantam draft by Red Deer Rebels in 2008, just as Bedard will be when the Regina Pats call out his name.
“I’ve skated with Connor with Power Edge Pro in Burnaby. I think we started skating with him when he was 12 and when we found out how old he was, we were pretty shocked. He’s a bigger kid for his age (165 pounds), I definitely wasn’t that big at that age, but everything he does is so advanced,” said Nugent-Hopkins.
“His shot is already very good, hard and so accurate and a great skater. Pretty special player for sure and for him to become the first guy to be granted exceptional-player status in the WHL is pretty impressive.”
Nugent-Hopkins would rather be talking about the other Connor, and Saturday’s game in Calgary to end the regular-season, bringing back the fire on ice in the Battle of Alberta. But, we won’t be getting that now.
“I’ve thought about all the games we’ve missed. We had that one eastern road trip left and then a lot of home games left,” he said.
“It’s hard not to think about that when you’re going over those days we should have been playing. Everybody’s kind of just taking it one day at a time now, waiting for updates. It’s definitely strange, knowing we would have been playing our last regular-season game on Saturday.”
E-mail: jmatheson@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @NHLbyMatty
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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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