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Jack Jablonski / Twitter

Jack Jablonski hired by Los Angeles Kings

Associated PressJan 24, 2020, 11:46 AM EST
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ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A former Minnesota high school hockey player paralyzed during a game in 2011 says he has achieved a dream of working in the NHL.

Jack Jablonski tweeted Thursday that he has a job as a content coordinator with the Los Angeles Kings working in podcasting, radio and TV.

Jablonski recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in communications and interned with the Kings before he was hired full time.

“Thank u to all who have helped me,” Jablonski tweeted.

Jablonski was a student at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, when he injured his spinal cord injury in a game on Dec. 30, 2011. He was hit from behind and sent head-first into the boards.

Canada beats US in OT, pulls within 2-1 in Rivalry Series

Associated PressFeb 4, 2020, 8:04 AM EST
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VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) — Victoria Bach scored 3:22 into overtime to lift Canada over the United States on Monday night in the third game of the Rivalry Series.

Bach’s backhander off a 2-on-1 pass from Blayre Turnbull beat goalie Nicole Hensley, who faced a Canadian onslaught in the extra frame.

The Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series was at full intensity. Canada’s Brigette Lacquette tied it for Canada with just under seven minutes left in the third period with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line during an intense scramble for the puck.

Canada had a two-player power-play advantage for more than a minute and Lacquette’s goal came with the Americans down one player but facing fierce pressure from the Canadians, who held possession for much of the penalties.

The teams traded goals in the second, with Brianne Jenner scoring short-handed for Canada early in the period. Jenner had a clear breakaway and scored when she bobbled the puck and it squeezed through Hensley’s pads.

Hilary Knight scored on the power play for the Americans with a blast from the right face-off circle the 12:01. It was her 200th career point with the U.S. team.

This was coach Troy Ryan’s first game behind the bench after replacing former coach Perry Pearn last month.

The Americans won the first two games last December in Hartford, Connecticut and Moncton, New Brunswick.

The teams play next in Vancouver on Wednesday, and the series wraps up Saturday in Anaheim, California.

PHT Morning Skate: McCrimmon dispels theories on Gallant firing

By Adam GretzFeb 4, 2020, 8:00 AM EST
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Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon dispels two theories on Gerard Gallant firing. (Sin Bin Vegas)

• Members of the NHL’s 700-goal club expect Alex Ovechkin to get to 800 goals. (NHL.com)

• Taylor Hall has been a bright spot during the Arizona Coyotes’ recent dry spell. (The Hockey News)

• Playoff vibes are real for the Chicago Blackhawks. (NBC Chicago)

• Kasperi Kapanen was scratched by the Toronto Maple Leafs this weekend because he was late for a team meeting. (TSN)

• How to watch Games 3-5 of the USA-Canada rivalry series (The Ice Garden)

• How Tomas Hertl‘s season-ending injury has changed the San Jose Sharks’ mindset and approach. (NBC Bay Area)

• Canadiens’ need for size boosts case to keep Ilya Kovalchuk at trade deadline. (Sportsnet)

• The New York Islanders start the second half of the season know it is crunch time. (Islanders Insight)

• The Calgary Flames are worse than they were a year ago, but have been better under Geoff Ward. (Flames Nation)

• Blues hoping home ice cures what ails them. (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

• Brian Dumoulin can not get back soon enough for the Pittsburgh Penguins (Pensburgh)

• Kailer Yamamoto looks right at home on the Edmonton Oilers’ second line. (Copper and Blue)

• Joel Farabee is growing up for the Philadelphia Flyers. (NBC Philadelphia)

• The Los Angeles Kings need to find out who is in and who is out. (Los Angeles Times)

• Nathan Gerbe signed a new two-year, two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets (1st Ohio Battery)

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

The Buzzer: A very bad night for the Maple Leafs

Bad night for Maple Leafs The Buzzer
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By James O'BrienFeb 3, 2020, 11:14 PM EST
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Three Stars

1. Mark Pysyk, Florida Panthers

Pysyk played a big role in the Panthers’ toppling the Maple Leafs on Monday, including icing the game. Pysyk managed a hat trick in the win, hustling for an empty-netter.

Scanning Pysyk’s Hockey Reference page makes it clear that this is his first hat trick. While the blueliner sports a pretty modest point total this season (13 in 40 games), seven of those points are goals. Pysyk’s seven goals easily rank as a career-high.

2. Mike Matheson, Florida Panthers

While Pysyk racked up three goals, Matheson generated three assists. Matheson produced primary assists on two of those three helpers.

Matheson also fired three shots on goal, enjoyed a +3 rating, and delivered a hit and blocked shot.

Mike Hoffman deserves a mention, too. He generated a goal and an assist, helping Florida storm back from a 3-1 deficit to win 5-3 as much as the two defensemen listed.

3. Joe Pavelski, Dallas Stars

Could this be the sign of a breakthrough? Joe Pavelski scored two power-play goals in 16 seconds as the Stars beat the Rangers on Monday. With that, he now has a two-game goal streak (3G).

In the past, that would just be a hot streak during a strong season. Instead, those three goals represent a significant portion of his 2019-20 totals (11G, 22 points in 52 games).

Pavelski languished with just seven points in 23 games between December and January. The Stars likely thought that Pavelski might hit a wall at some point during his three-year contract, but they have to hope that he looks more worthy of his $7M AAV down the stretch.

Of course, the Stars could help matters by opening things up a bit, though.

Highlights from Monday’s three games

The light schedule opens the door for clips from all of the games. To begin, we have the Maple Leafs’ meltdown against the Panthers, which began with a troubling injury to Frederik Andersen.

The Stars beat the Rangers 5-3, with some controversy surrounding the circumstances leading to Pavelski’s two goals.

Finally, the Flyers smothered the Red Wings 3-0. Brian Elliott only needed to make 16 saves for the shutout.

Factoids

  • The Red Wings remain winless (0-14-1) against Metropolitan Division teams. It’s no secret they’re bad, but … sheesh.
  • The Panthers generated their fifth hat trick as a team. That leads the NHL this season, and also ties their franchise record, according to NHL PR. That same NHL PR feed notes that the Panthers tied the Capitals for the league lead with four multi-goal, third period comeback wins.
  • Kaapo Kakko reached 17 points on Monday. With that, Kakko passes Manny Malhotra’s 16 points for the most by any Rangers player at age 18, according to the Rangers. If you’re like me, you’re still surprised Malhotra was drafted so high (seventh overall in 1998), considering how much of a specialist Malhotra would become.

Monday’s NHL scores

FLA 5 – TOR 3
DAL 5 – NYR 3
PHI 3 – DET 0

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Flyers take care of business vs. Red Wings, approach key stretch

By James O'BrienFeb 3, 2020, 10:08 PM EST
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If the Flyers want to make the playoffs, they basically have to win vs. teams like the Red Wings. Philly did what was necessary to make that happen, beating Detroit 3-0 on Monday.

To hammer home the “can’t lose to a team like Detroit” point, consider that the Red Wings still haven’t beaten a Metro team this season (0-14-1). Let’s talk about the game, and then look at a crucial stretch in the near future.

Flyers dominate vs. Red Wings, Elliott stays hot

Brian Elliott‘s 2019-20 stats aren’t anything to write home about. Elliott came into Monday with an exceedingly mediocre .901 save percentage, for example.

Elliott has, however, been heating up when the Flyers needed him the most. Things seemed grim when news surfaced that Carter Hart suffered a substantial injury, yet Elliott has delivered. Elliott is now 4-0-1 in five games since Hart went down with that injury.

Elliott earned his 40th career shutout, and his second in three games. His only recent loss came against the Penguins.

Kevin Hayes also continued a recent hot streak. One could understand some nerves when the Red Wings went on a power play with Philly’s lead being at a slim 1-0. Hayes relieved such concerns with a key insurance shorthanded goal.

Hayes is now on a two-game streak of shorthanded goals, also extending his overall point streak to three games.

Scott Laughton scored the Flyers’ opening goal, while Matt Niskanen scored a long-distance empty-netter to wrap things up.

The Flyers didn’t run the Red Wings out of their own building on Monday, but it was a complete effort. They easily disassembled a potential “trap” game.

Flyers getting ready for key stretch

Much like with the Red Wings on Monday, the Flyers host the Devils on Thursday in a game they should win. After that, things become more interesting — and challenging.

Feb. 8: at Washington
Feb. 10: vs. Florida
Feb. 11: at Islanders
Feb. 13: at Florida
Feb. 15: at Tampa Bay
Feb. 18: vs. Columbus
Feb. 20: at Columbus

As you can see, the Flyers play a home and road game apiece against the Blue Jackets and Panthers. If the Islanders continue to stumble, they represent another immediately relevant matchup. The Capitals and Lightning round out that stretch as one where there really isn’t a “night off.” Facing five of seven games on the road amps up the difficulty a notch or two, as well.

So, you can see why it’s important to win games like Monday’s against the Red Wings. You either provide yourself more room for error, or head into a tough stretch with less confidence and little margin for error.

If the Flyers takes care of business against New Jersey like they did against Detroit, they could enter the weekend with their heads held high.

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.