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What the Capitals’ goalie options are without Henrik Lundqvist – Sportsnet.ca

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Thursday brought the surprising and sad news that future Hall of Fame goalie Henrik Lundqvist will not be able to play in the forthcoming 2020-21 season due to a heart condition.

Lundqvist, 38, is sixth on the NHL’s all-time wins list and we ranked him as the No. 1 goalie of the 2010s in our decade-closing list last year. After spending 15 years with the New York Rangers organization, Lundqvist was bought out of the final season of his contract this September, and then signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal with the Washington Capitals.

In Washington, he figured to be part of a tandem with 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov, who played 26 games as a rookie, posted a .913 save percentage, but then couldn’t join the Caps in the playoff bubble after sustaining an injury. After Braden Holtby left for Vancouver via free agency, the Caps added Lundqvist to support Samsonov with a veteran they could feel confident starting.

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Samsonov was always going to have the inside track on the starter’s job, but Lundqvist could have earned more playing time if he was the better performer. And, in what’s expected to be a condensed schedule, teams with the best tandems might be in a better situation to deal with it. Lundqvist was more than just a backup.

“I see it as we have a good young goalie and we have a great experienced goalie,” Caps GM Brian MacLellan said of Lundqvist’s role after the signing. “Our goal as a team and as an organization is to win games this year and compete for a championship. I would expect him to come in and compete as hard as he can. Coaches will make decisions based on how guys are playing, us winning games, and what’s best for our team.”

Now that Lundqvist is not available, the Caps are left with Samsonov and uncertainty. The free-agent pool is largely picked through, though there are still some veterans out there if experience is desired. Trading for a proven replacement will be difficult at this time, especially considering Washington has so little cap room. So what options are now on the table for the Caps, in their system or in free agency? Here’s a brief overview.

WHAT’S IN THE ORGANIZATION?

Pheonix Copley: From North Pole, Alaska, ’tis the season for Copley? He’s not a prospect at 28 years old, but he’s also not tremendously experienced in the NHL with 29 career games played, 27 of which came in 2018-19. In that season, Copley posted a .905 save percentage and 2.90 GAA. When Samsonov was ready to go in 2019-20, Copley was put on waivers and sent to the AHL, where he posted a .905 save percentage in 31 games last season.

Vitek Vanecek: He doesn’t check off the veteran box, but 24-year-old Vanecek is maybe the best internal option to replace Lundqvist. Washington’s second-round pick in 2014, Vanecek has spent the past four years in the AHL, splitting time with both Samsonov (in 2018-19) and Copley (in 2019-20). In the most recent season, Vanecek had .917 and 2.26 numbers, both better than Copley. Vanecek has yet to play in a single meaningful NHL game, though he did get a taste in this summer’s Return To Play exhibition, stopping 13 of 14 shots he faced in 20 minutes of action against the Carolina Hurricanes. If Washington doesn’t prefer another veteran signing off the remaining list of UFAs, Vanecek may be the best bet to backup Samsonov.

WHAT’S LEFT IN FREE AGENCY?

Craig Anderson: At 39 years old, Anderson may very well be finished in the NHL after the Senators let him go this off-season. Behind that rebuilding team, Anderson had a .902 save percentage and 3.25 GAA last season, and he posted similar numbers in the two preceding seasons as well. Could he perform better behind a better team? It is worth noting that Anderson’s .918 save percentage at 5-on-5 last season was 35th among all goalies with 700 minutes played, and better than Lundqvist, David Rittich, Marc-Andre Fleury, Frederik Andersen, Sergei Bobrovsky, among others. His .827 high-danger save percentage at 5-on-5 ranked 29th.

Ryan Miller: The 40-year-old may be the best mixture of veteran experience and on-ice performance in the UFA market. And he’s played the backup role to a younger goalie (John Gibson) in Anaheim for the past three years. Miller ended 2019-20 with a .907 save percentage and 3.10 GAA on a Ducks team that finished only five points ahead of Ottawa. His 5-on-5 save percentage (.924) and his high-danger save rate (.836) were both top 20 in the league, and better than Anderson’s. But how motivated is he to return right now, and move back to the East coast?

Cory Schneider: This one would seem unlikely because injuries have severely hampered his performance in recent seasons. He ended up playing most of his 2019-20 games in the AHL, and then his contract was bought out by the Devils in October. The 34-year-old does have plenty of experience and was once a high-end player at the position, though it’s been four years since that’s been the case. His recent injury history just might make this move too risky for the Caps.

Jimmy Howard: At 36, Howard is coming off a disastrous season behind the NHL’s worst team, finishing with a 2-23-2 record, .882 save percentage and 4.20 GAA with the Detroit Red Wings. His 5-on-5 save percentage and 5-on-5 high-danger save percentage were both 58th of 59 qualifying goalies.

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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