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The Vancouver Canucks, eager to return to the ice and get at least one game under their belts before a daunting five-game road trip against some of the National Hockey League’s best teams, had those hopes dashed Friday.
Saturday’s game at Rogers Arena was supposed to be played before a 50-per-cent capacity crowd, in line with current B.C. restrictions
The Vancouver Canucks, eager to return to the ice and get at least one game under their belts before a daunting five-game road trip against some of the National Hockey League’s best teams, had those hopes dashed Friday.
Saturday’s game against the 30th-overall place Ottawa Senators has been called off.
For the Canucks, on a nine-game unbeaten-in-regulation-time streak under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, it means they will have gone 10 days without playing a game when they open that trip in Sunrise, Fla., on Tuesday against the high-flying Florida Panthers, a top-three overall club.
Both the Canucks and Senators are healthy enough to play but the league is citing financial reasons — public health officials have restricted capacity at Rogers Arena to 50 per cent — as the reason why yet another game is being postponed.
Canucks winger Tanner Pearson said the decision to postpone another game was frustrating. A game against the New York Islanders scheduled for Wednesday was previously postponed, meaning the club’s last game came last Saturday in a 5-2 win over the host Seattle Kraken.
“It sucks, to be honest. Practise all week and then try to gear up for a game again and then that one gets postponed. And now … another five days until the next one,” he said.
“It’s a business, I think we all get that part. But yeah, when you’ve got a full, healthy squad here, it gets frustrating.”
Captain Bo Horvat agreed with Pearson, but said the players weren’t angry, just frustrated.
“At the end of the day, we just want to play games,” Horvat said. “Obviously, we want to make sure everyone is healthy and safe and is feeling well enough to come and play. We’re just coming to the rink and doing our job. Trying to get better every day. It’s not up to us whether we play or not.”
Saturday’s game at Rogers Arena was supposed to be played before a 50-per-cent capacity crowd, in line with current B.C. restrictions
“COVID-19 cases continue to increase at a rapid rate, and we all need to adjust and be flexible as the pandemic evolves,” Michael Doyle, president of business operations for Canucks Sports and Entertainment, said in a statement.
“We hoped to play (Saturday), but we are at an important point of the pandemic, and given the size of the event everyone involved believe this is the right decision. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”
Tuesday
Vancouver Canucks at Florida Panthers
4 p.m., PT. FLA Live Arena. TV: Sportsnet Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650.
A Canucks spokesperson told Postmedia the team consulted with the league and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on the state of the pandemic in the province as part of the decision to postpone Saturday’s game: “We originally explored rescheduling this game back when the Jan. 5 game (vs. the Islanders) was postponed, but it wasn’t possible at the time due to complexity with the NHL’s schedule,” he said. “Ultimately everyone felt it was the right decision for the NHL to postpone (Saturday’s) game.”
The Vancouver Warriors, the National Lacrosse League team owned by Canucks Sports and Entertainment, are still playing a home game Friday night.
Boudreau said he shared his players’ frustrations.
“We’re not happy with it,” he said. “It is what it is, but we want to play.”
This is the seventh postponement since Dec. 18 for the Canucks, who have played just three games in the last 21 days.
NHL players are no longer taking part in next month’s Winter Olympics, so the 15-day break in the schedule that was originally set to allow selected players to go to Beijing will now be used to reschedule the bulk of games that have been postponed for COVID-19 protocol pressures and crowd capacity restrictions.
“Somewhere, somehow, it’s all going to catch up with you,” Boudreau said, referring to the schedule pressure his team is likely to come under.
“We’re always concerned. We’re all impatient and we’d sure like to know what the schedule’s going to look like in February and beyond. Hopefully it’s not too difficult. A lot of the games we’re going to be missing are home games, so at least we’ll be home for them.”
The Senators were also scheduled to play in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg in the next week, but the NHL also postponed next week’s game in Winnipeg, citing crowd-capacity restrictions. The Manitoba government isn’t allowing any fans in the stands at the Canada Life Centre, the Jets’ home arena.
Both Alberta games are being played with capacity restricted to 50 per cent.
The NHL said the games will be rescheduled to a future day “when such restrictions may be eased or lifted.”
The Senators were meant to open their road trip Thursday in Seattle, but that game was postponed earlier this week because Ottawa suddenly had nine players on the COVID-19 protocol list. Most of those players have since been cleared from the list.
From a scheduling perspective, having games in Vancouver and Seattle both postponed makes the logistics around another western road trip for the Senators easier to swallow.
The Canucks are scheduled to head to the U.S. for their five-game road trip that features games against the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators.
The Senators have already had 11 games postponed this season, making Saturday’s the 12th. Only one of their games so far has been rescheduled.
Before the rash of postponements, Saturday’s game was meant to be the 40th of the season for Ottawa, the 41st of the year for the Canucks.
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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.
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:
#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 |
#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 |
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