Sports
NHL Buzz: Senators have eight players in COVID-19 protocol – NHL.com
Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2021-22 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news
Ottawa Senators
Matt Murray and Alex Formenton were the seventh and eighth players placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol by the Senators on Thursday.
Murray, a goalie, and Formenton, a forward, join defenseman Josh Brown, Victor Mete and Nick Holden, and forwards Austin Watson, Connor Brown and Dylan Gambrell.
The Senators host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, BSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
“All you can do is just keep playing,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “We want to get a win to get everyone feeling good. It’s not the ideal situation, but no one feels bad for you in this League. We’re privileged to play and be in the NHL and we’re going to go out there and give it all we’ve got.”
Ottawa, which lost to the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Tuesday, did not practice Wednesday for precautionary reasons. The Senators also canceled practice Monday.
Forward Andrew Agozzino and defensemen Dillon Heatherington and Lassi Thompson were recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
Forwards Scott Sabourin and Egor Sokolov were recalled from Belleville on Monday; Sokolov made his NHL debut against the Bruins. Defenseman Erik Brannstrom was recalled from Belleville on Sunday.
“We just want to get through this as a group and get back to playing hockey every day with a full lineup and a healthy group,” Smith said. “I think everyone’s stressed. You want to win hockey games, you want to be healthy, you’re worrying about a lot of things, but like everything else, it’ll pass and we’ll be better for it.” — Calum Fraser
New Jersey Devils
Dougie Hamilton could return to the lineup against the New York Islanders on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, MSG+, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The defenseman has missed the past three games since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 2.
“Dougie has been day to day, and he had a good morning [skate],” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “I’m going to say I anticipate him playing. We want Dougie back in the lineup and we’re at the point where we thought he may play the other night (a 7-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday) and he wasn’t quite ready; tonight looks like it could be the night.”
Hamilton has scored six points (two goals, four assists) in eight games this season. — Mike G. Morreale
Edmonton Oilers
Mike Smith had a setback in his return from a lower-body injury and was sent back to Edmonton on Wednesday.
The goalie has not played since allowing four goals on 15 shots in a 6-5 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 19.
“He had a setback in practice, so he’s gone back to get some further evaluation in Edmonton,” Oilers coach Dave Tippett said Thursday. “It’ll be (Mikko) Koskinen and (Stuart) Skinner for the time being.”
The Oilers, who visit the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, NESN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE), were hoping Smith would return last week.
“It’s a concern [that he’s been out this long] for sure because he looks like he takes some steps ahead, then goes out, works a little bit and has taken another step back,” Tippett said. “It’s certainly a concern. He went through the last couple days and near the end of practice, kind of tweaked something. So he decided he wanted to go back. I think they’re going to do some more imaging of it today, and we’ll get a better read on it at home.” — Patrick Donnelly
San Jose Sharks
Coach Bob Bougner and seven Sharks players who were in NHL COVID-19 protocol are expected to join the team prior to their game against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Forwards Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc and Matt Nieto and defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jacob Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic skated the past two days and are expected to do so again Thursday.
“It’s been a heck of a long time, ” Boughner said Wednesday, speaking for the first time since being placed in protocol on Oct. 30. “Watching the team it’s tough obviously but feeling good. … I dealt with basically a head conjestion and a headache for 4-5 days and then I was fine.”
San Jose plays at the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSCA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE) before playing the Avalanche.
“The whole list of guys were on the ice for the past two days, will be on again tomorrow and we are going to fly [Thursday] afternoon and meet the team in Denver and were going to plan on having a full team practice on Friday.”
Sports
Raptors reserve Jontay Porter might have thought he was smarter than the system. The NBA says he wasn't – Toronto Star
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Jontay Porter had potential, but then, a lot of people have potential, don’t they? Porter’s particular potential was his ability to play a sport where being halfway competent can easily net you $10 million (U.S.) per year, which is a gift, if you treat it carefully. Porter apparently did not.
Porter was given a lifetime suspension from the NBA on Wednesday, with the league concluding he had bet on basketball, influenced insider bets on basketball, and intentionally underperformed to influence betting.
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Sports
‘I wanted it’: Matthews’ great chase for 70 masks Maple Leafs’ concerns – Sportsnet.ca
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Sports
Canucks will face the Predators in first round of the playoffs – Vancouver Is Awesome
The winner of the Western Conference was decided on Wednesday night and, with it, the Vancouver Canucks’ opponent in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Dallas Stars needed just a single point to secure first in the West, preventing the Canucks from potentially tying them in points in their final game of the regular season. A tie would have seen the Canucks move into first as they have the edge in regulation wins, which is the first tie-breaker.
The Stars were facing the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention. The Blues still had pride on the line, however, and put up a stalwart effort. The Blues took a 1-0 lead in the second period on a goal from Robert Thomas, but the Stars responded in the third with a goal from Mason Marchment.
With no further scoring in regulation, the Stars ensured at least one point by taking the game to overtime. The Stars then added another superfluous point by winning the game in the shootout.
That means the Canucks will finish second in the Western Conference behind the Stars no matter the result of their game on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. Accordingly, they’ll face the team in the first Wild Card spot in the first round of the playoffs: the Nashville Predators.
On paper, it seems like the ideal match-up for the Canucks, as they swept their three-game series against the Predators this season, out-scoring them 13-to-6. They certainly seem like a better match-up than the Los Angeles Kings, who won three of their four meetings with the Canucks, or the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, who split their four games with the Canucks and will be getting Mark Stone back for the playoffs.
The Predators won’t be an easy out, however. Since their last meeting with the Canucks in December, the Predators have caught fire. They went on an 18-game point streak from mid-February to late March, going 15-0-3 in that span. They’re a dangerous team with a Norris-candidate defenceman in Roman Josi, great forward depth, strong goaltending, and solid underlying numbers.
Of course, so are the Canucks, only more so.
They don’t just have a Norris-candidate defenceman; they have the likely Norris winner in Quinn Hughes. They don’t just have great forward depth; they have better top-end talent than the Predators as well as the likes of Conor Garland, Elias Lindholm, and Dakota Joshua on the third line. They don’t just have strong goaltending; they have Thatcher Demko.
As for underlying numbers, well…
Okay, the Canucks and Predators are nearly identical by the underlying numbers. Eerily similar, really.
The one thing the Canucks have done distinctly better than the Predators is actually score on the chances they create. And prevent the opposing team from scoring on the chances they create. So, two things, really. Pretty important things, as things go.
The schedule for the Canucks’ first round has yet to be released, though it’s expected to begin on Sunday, April 21 as opposed to Tuesday, April 23, as was initially expected.
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