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Building off a breakthrough: Brock Boeser

By Joey AlfieriAug 28, 2018, 2:13 PM EDT

Each day in the month of August we’ll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to focusing on a player coming off a breakthrough year to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the Vancouver Canucks.

There weren’t too many positive storylines surrounding the 2017-18 edition of the Vancouver Canucks, but rookie forward Brock Boeser was definitely one of them.

The 21-year-old burst onto the scene by scoring an impressive 29 goals and 55 points in just 62 contests. Despite missing 20 games, he still managed to lead the Canucks in scoring (Daniel Sedin also had 55 points but he hit that number over 81 games). Only Pavel Bure (34) and Trevor Linden (30) have scored more goals during their rookie season in franchise history. That’s some pretty good company for Boeser to be in after his first season.

Boeser and Islanders center Mathew Barzal were in a tight race for the Calder Trophy until the Canucks forward suffered a season-ending back injury when he crashed into the boards awkwardly against the Isles back on Mar. 5. Thankfully for the entire organization, it sounds like he’s going to be 100 percent healthy for the start of training camp.

Asking him to carry this Canucks team to the playoffs might be a little much. After all, Vancouver has been near the basement of the NHL standings for the last three seasons. But for them to take a positive step forward they’ll need their talented youngster to build on his rookie season.

[Canucks Day: 2017-18 Review | Under Pressure: Benning| 3 Questions]

“There’s always pressure, at least you think there’s pressure, but I try not to let pressure situations get the most of me,” Boeser said, per NHL.com. “I definitely exceeded my expectations [last season], so I think I can take that into [this season].

“I really can’t get away from the style play that I play. I think I just need to go in there and hopefully be a better player than I was last year, make sure I come to the rink every day working hard and help make the team better.”

Boeser spent most of last season playing with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. All three players will be back this season, so you’d have to think that they’ll be even more comfortable suiting up together as a line now that they have that experience under their belt.

Even though Boeser and the Canucks probably won’t be competitive this season, they have to be thrilled that help appears to be on the way. Elias Pettersson is one of the better prospects in hockey, Quinton Hughes, who is going back to the University of Michigan this season, probably isn’t too far away from the NHL, either, and Thatcher Demko appears to be the future in goal. So, yeah, Boeser will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting this year, but there’s some talent coming to help out in the near future.
As of right now, all he has to do is worry about not falling into a sophomore slump.
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Oshie, Carlson lift Capitals over Bruins in mid-season test

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By Scott CharlesDec 11, 2019, 10:30 PM EST
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The 82-game regular season is a marathon for NHL teams, but at various points of the season you want to measure yourself up against a top team in your conference.

On Wednesday Night Hockey, the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals defeated the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins 3-2 at Capital One Arena.

John Carlson scored the go-ahead goal 4:42 into the third period to help propel the Capitals. T.J. Oshie scored twice and Braden Holtby made 30 saves as the Capitals collected their seventh win in the previous eight games.

David Pastrnak scored his NHL-leading 26th goal for Boston but the Bruins have dropped four consecutive games (0-3-1).

Oshie often overlooked

Whether it’s Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Carlson or Holtby, Oshie is often neglected when listing the Capitals’ star power.

Since being acquired in July of 2015, Oshie has been a consistent offensive threat for the Capitals in the previous four-plus seasons. He has averaged 25.5 goals and added his 12th and 13th of this season in stellar fashion on Wednesday.

Oshie made a quick deke to his forehand before ringing a shot off the crossbar, but then finished his own rebound to even the score early in the second period.

Oshie gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead with a highlight-reel goal. The American forward danced around Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton before converting a nifty deke 3:30 after his first of the game.

While other players in Washington’s lineup receive credit for the Capitals’ strong play in recent years, Oshie should not be forgotten about as he has proven to be a key piece to the puzzle in Washington.

Pastrnak remains red-hot

The Czech winger has solidified himself as one the best pure goal scorers in the NHL today and recorded his 26th goal of the season on Wednesday. No. 88 is on pace for 67 goals this season and has helped the Boston Bruins secure a 10-point lead in the Atlantic Division.

Pastrnak tallied a short-side snipe to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead against the Capitals Wednesday. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy was able to complete a cross-ice pass because centerman Patrice Bergeron skated hard to the net in order to create an open passing lane.

If Pastrnak is able to continue this torrid pace, he could be in line to collect a lot of hardware at the NHL Awards show and help the Bruins collect a trophy they fell just short of last season.

Ovechkin’s office

The sign of dominance in any competitive sport is if you can continue to repeat an action while your opponent is aware of what is coming.

For Alex Ovechkin, his presence from the left circle throughout the course of his career has been spectacular. The captain of the Washington Capitals has recorded 299 of his 679 goals (44%) from the left circle or above. And since the 2012-13 season, 54% of his goals have come from that spot on the ice.

NHL teams will continue to game plan and know exactly where No. 8 will be on the ice, especially when Washington is on a power play, but his excellence from that area should be viewed in the same breath as Wayne Gretzky’s operation from behind the net.

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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.

Flyers vs. Avalanche livestream: How to watch Wednesday Night Hockey

By Sean LeahyDec 11, 2019, 9:30 PM EST
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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche. Coverage begins at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The Flyers and Avalanche have both won six of their last seven games and each enter this matchup in playoff position in their respective conferences. This is the first of two meetings this season as these two will play at Philadelphia on Feb. 1.

Nathan MacKinnon, the first overall pick in 2013, is having another standout season. After MacKinnon’s breakout season in 2017-18 (39 goals, 97 points), he upped those totals last season with two more goals and this season he’s tracking towards another career-best year. MacKinnon ranks third in the NHL in points (47) and is tied for fourth in goals (19) this season.

Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia with 28 points this season and is tied with Oskar Lindblom for the team lead in goals (11). Konecny took a hard, open-ice hit from Mark Borowiecki late in the first period on Saturday and did not return – he’s out indefinitely with a concussion. The 22-year-old Konecny was having a career season, on pace for 30 goals and 76 points.

Sean Couturier (22 points), Claude Giroux (21) and Jakub Voracek (21) are next on the team in scoring. Couturier has scored 30-plus goals each of the last two seasons as he’s totaled 76 points both years (his career high). Giroux already has four game-winning goals this season (as many as he had all of last year). Voracek has five points in the last five games (all assists).

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 9:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]

WHAT: Philadelphia Flyers at Colorado Avalanche
WHERE: Pepsi Center
WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Flyers-Avalanche stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

FLYERS
Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk – Morgan Frost – Tyler Pitlick
Scott Laughton – Kevin Hayes – Joel Farabee
Chris Stewart – Mikhail Vorobyev – David Kase

Ivan Provorov – Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Shayne Gostisbehere – Robert Hagg

Starting goalie: Carter Hart

AVALANCHE
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Andre Burakovsky – Nazem Kadri – Joonas Donskoi
Matt Calvert – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Valeri Nichushkin
Matt Nieto – J.T. Compher – Tyson Jost

Nikita Zadorov – Samuel Girard
Ryan Graves – Ian Cole
Calle Rosen – Mark Barberio

Starting goalie: Pavel Francouz

Kathryn Tappen will host Wednesday’s coverage on NHL Live alongside analysts Patrick Sharp and Keith Jones and NHL insider Darren Dreger. Chris Cuthbert will handle play-by-play duties alongside Pierre McGuire at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.

Peter DeBoer out as San Jose Sharks head coach

By Scott CharlesDec 11, 2019, 8:12 PM EST
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The San Jose Sharks cut ties with head coach Peter DeBoer Wednesday evening. Bob Boughner will take over behind the Sharks bench on an interim basis.

San Jose has lost its last five games and currently sits in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 15-16-2 record. The Sharks have been outscored 15-3 in the previous three games.

“When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. “As a team and as individuals, our play has not met expectations this year and our level of consistency has not been where it needs to be. This group of individuals who will lead our team moving forward are very familiar with our players, and we think this change can provide our group with a fresh start.

“Under the leadership of Pete, along with Steve, Dave and Johan, our franchise accomplished some great things, culminating in reaching the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. We want to thank them for their contributions to our organization’s success over the last four years.”

DeBoer was not the only coaching change. Assistant coaches Steve Spott, Dave Barr and goaltending coach Johan Hedberg were also relieved of their duties.

Boughner will be the boss behind the bench and will be joined by associate coach Roy Sommer, assistant coach Mike Ricci and goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov. Dan Darrow will remain in his current role of assistant coach, video.

The Sharks are the fifth team to make a coaching change this season along with the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs.

San Jose will host the New York Rangers Thursday.

Bruins vs. Capitals livestream: How to watch Wednesday Night Hockey

By Sean LeahyDec 11, 2019, 6:00 PM EST
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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The top two teams in the NHL meet for the second of three matchups this regular season (Washington won 3-2 in a shootout on Nov. 16 at Boston). Both clubs have been on recent hot streaks, but each is coming off a loss in its most recent game on Monday night

Each of these teams has won the regular-season points crown in recent years – Boston 2013-14, Washington 2015-16 and 2016-17 – but in each case lost in Round 2 of the playoffs. A Presidents’ Trophy winner has not won the Stanley Cup since Chicago did it in 2012-13 and the last team to do it in a full season was Detroit in 2007-08. The Presidents’ Trophy winner has not made the Conference Finals since 2014-15 (New York Rangers).

Patrice Bergeron missed seven games with a lower-body injury and returned on Monday, scoring his first goal since Nov. 8 – Pastrnak and Marchand assisted on the goal. The B’s top-line center picked up right where he left off as he had seven points (all assists) in the final four games before his injury. Bergeron now has 25 points in 22 games this season.

Nicklas Backstrom returned on Monday after missing eight games with an upper- body injury. Like Bergeron, he also scored in his return (had an assist as well), and also like Bergeron, he had a point streak going before his injury, with an assist in the final three games before missing time.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]

WHAT: Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals
WHERE: Capital One Arena
WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Bruins-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

BRUINS
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk – David Krejci – Anders Bjork
Danton Heinen – Charlie Coyle – Brett Ritchie
Joakim Nordstrom – Sean Kuraly – Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara – Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug – Brandon Carlo
John Moore – Matt Grzelcyk

Starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak

CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin – Lars Eller – Richard Panik
Brendan Leipsic – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway

Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Nick Jensen
Jonas Siegenthaler – Radko Gudas

Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

MORE: Stunning Numbers: John Carlson edition

Kathryn Tappen will host Wednesday’s coverage on NHL Live alongside analysts Patrick Sharp and Keith Jones and NHL insider Darren Dreger. Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will call Bruins-Capitals from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.