NHL Power Rankings: Stanley Cup-less veterans to root for

By Sean LeahyJul 27, 2020, 10:00 AM EDT

We’re less than a week away from hockey returning. The NHL’s journey towards the 2020 Stanley Cup Final begins Saturday.

Every postseason features those players who have spent their entire careers chasing the Cup, but fallen short. Time is running out for many and this could be their last best chance at glory. Moments provided by Ray Bourque, Dave Andreychuk, and Rod Brind’Amour are among those that stand out.

Today’s NHL Power Rankings feature 10 Cup-less players we’ll be rooting for during these playoffs.

NHL Power Rankings: Stanley Cup-less veterans to root for in Return to Play

1. Patrick Marleau, 40 – Penguins: The second-oldest player in the Return to Play, behind Zdeno Chara, the forward has played 1,723 regular-season games (fifth in NHL history) and 191 playoff games without lifting the trophy. That combined 1,914 games played is an NHL record for players who’ve yet to win the Cup. His only Cup Final appearance came in 2016, a losing effort in 2016 versus Pittsburgh.. He’ll be 41 in September and free agent this off-season. How many more opportunities will he get?

2. Henrik Lundqvist, 38 – Rangers: When the games begin this weekend, Lundqvist may be sporting a baseball hat and watching from the bench. But given Igor Shesterkin‘s inexperience, there is always the chance David Quinn’s leash on the rookie is short and he goes with the veteran. The Rangers have reached three conference finals and one Cup Final since Lundqvist joined the team in 2005-06. He has one more year left on his contract, but signs point to this being The King’s final run in New York.

3. Jason Spezza, 37 – Maple Leafs: There’s no guarantee Spezza, a pending unrestricted free agent, will hook up with a team for the 2020-21 season. With 80 career playoff games under his belt, the forward has only reached the Cup Final once, and that ended in a five-game defeat to the Ducks.

4. Pekka Rinne, 37 – Predators: The Finn’s lone chance at a Cup came in 2017 when Nashville fell to the Penguins. It remains to be seen if John Hynes will start their Qualifying Round series against the Coyotes with Rinne or go with Juuse Saros. He’s the third-oldest goaltender in the Return to Play and has the third-most playoff appearances among active goaltenders (89).

[Stanley Cup 2020 Qualifiers TV schedule]

5. Mikko Koivu, 37 – Wild: Is this it for the Minnesota captain? Koivu hasn’t divulged what he plans to do next season. His contract is expiring and there’s the chance he decides to return home to finish his career in Finland. The Wild have not advanced beyond the second round in his career, and six of his eight appearances ended in a first-round exit. A Cup win would also be a nice “back nine of the career” achievement for fellow old guys Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who are both 35.

6. Ilya Kovalchuk, 37 – Capitals: It’s been quite a ride the last few seasons for the Russian star. He returned to the NHL in 2018 after five seasons in the KHL. But his time in LA was forgettable. A trade sent him to Montreal where he was rejuvenated. The Canadiens later dealt him to Washington where he reunited with old friend Alex Ovechkin. Kovy has won a Gagarin Cup and Olympic gold medal, but fell short in his only Cup Final appearance. Would a Cup ring cement his status as a future Hall of Famer?

7. Mark Giordano, 36 – Flames: The defenseman broke into the NHL the season after Calgary last made the Cup Final (2003-04). Since then, however, the Flames have not had much playoff success. In fact, Giordano has skated in only 13 career playoff games with injuries costing him the opportunity to play in three other postseasons.

8. Joe Pavelski, 36 – Stars: Like his former Sharks teammate Patrick Marleau, Pavelski is up there in postseason games played without a Cup. His 134 puts him 11th among active players. Now he gets another shot in Dallas following 13 seasons in San Jose. He has four conference finals and one Cup Final appearance on his resume, and now gets a chance with a blossoming Stars team.

9. Shea Weber, 34 – Canadiens: Nine playoff appearances and zero experiences in the conference final or Cup Final. His massive contract doesn’t end for another six years, so maybe there will be a few more opportunities down the line. Maybe, just maybe, it will be with Alexis Lafreniere in the Canadiens’ lineup should they lose to Pittsburgh and succeed in Part 2 of the draft lottery.

10. Brian Boyle, 35 – Panthers: There was plenty of heartbreak in successful seasons for Boyle a few years ago. After dropping the 2014 Cup Final as a Ranger, he lost the 2015 Cup Final with the Lightning. The next season Tampa lost in the Eastern Conference Final to the eventual champion Penguins. Since then? Three first-round exits. After beating chronic myeloid leukemia two years ago while dealing with health issues regarding his son, a Boyle Cup lift would be a wonderful sight to see.

MORE:
• Seattle Kraken announced as NHL expansion team name
• NHL shows off plans for Edmonton, Toronto Return to Play bubbles

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

Malkin’s late goal lifts Penguins past Ovechkin, Caps 4-3

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 1:56 AM EDT

Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin remains a live wire. Even now, 17 seasons into a career that is likely destined for the Hall of Fame, there’s an unpredictability the Pittsburgh Penguins star plays with that can be both endearing and exasperating to teammates and coaches alike.

The latest proof came against Washington on Saturday.

An untimely roughing penalty in the third period helped spark a Capitals’ rally from a three-goal deficit. Malkin made up for it by burying a breakaway with 1:20 left in regulation that lifted the Penguins to a 4-3 victory.

“His care factor and his compete level for me is off the charts and that’s what I love about him and usually when the stakes are high that’s when he’s at his best,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “He gets a huge goal for us tonight at a key time.”

Malkin’s 25th goal of the season – a low wrist shot to the far post – helped the Penguins avoid a potentially messy collapse. Pittsburgh appeared to be ready to cruise to victory after Jake Guentzel‘s power-play goal 27 seconds into the third period made it 3-0.

Washington instead stormed back, with Alex Ovechkin right in the middle of it. Ovechkin scored his 42nd goal of the season and 822nd of his career from his favorite spot in the left circle with 6:42 to go in regulation. Washington drew even when Dylan Strome flipped the puck into an open net with 2:44 to go in regulation.

Yet instead of sagging, the Penguins surged. Malkin stripped Washington’s Anthony Mantha near center ice and broke in alone on Kuemper. Seconds later, the puck was in the net and Malkin was on one knee celebrating while pumping his fists, the kind of display of raw emotion that’s become one of his trademarks.

“It’s a huge goal for me, and two points for the team,” Malkin said.

Pittsburgh moved three points clear of Florida after the Panthers lost to the earlier Saturday. Both teams have nine regular-season games left.

Ryan Poehling and Chad Ruhwedel scored a little over two minutes apart in the second period for Pittsburgh. Jake Guentzel added his team-high 32nd goal early in the third before Washington scrambled back. Casey DeSmith played spectacularly at times while finishing with 31 saves.

Tom Wilson started the Capitals’ comeback with his ninth goal of the season 5:19 into the third. Kuemper stopped 36 shots, but was outplayed by DeSmith as Washington’s hopes of making a late push for a playoff berth took a serious hit. The Capitals are six points behind Pittsburgh with only eight games remaining.

“It’s a tough one,” Washington center T.J. Oshie said. “I don’t think that last play was the only thing that lost the game for us. I know that (Mantha) feels terrible about it, but we trust him with the puck. It just wasn’t a good enough 60 minutes against a good hockey team over there.”

It felt like old times for much of the night for teams that usually enter late March battling for a spot near the top of the Metropolitan Division.

Not this season.

While the 35-year-old Crosby is averaging over a point a game as usual and the 37-year-old Ovechkin is steadily making inroads on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record, their teams have spent most of the year skating in place.

Pittsburgh has been wildly uneven thanks in part to goaltending that has fluctuated between solid and shaky, the main reason a 17th straight playoff appearance is hardly assured. Washington, meanwhile, appears to be pointing toward the future after injuries and a small sell-off at the trade deadline.

Pittsburgh put itself on slightly firmer footing with DeSmith making a compelling case that he should supplant Tristan Jarry as Pittsburgh’s top goaltender down the stretch.

DeSmith was spectacular at times, including stoning Ovechkin on a breakaway near the end of the second period in which Ovechkin deked DeSmith to his knees, only to see DeSmith extend his left leg just enough to knock the puck out of harm’s way.

“I’m not very tall,” the 6-foot DeSmith said. “But I had that one inch that I needed.”

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

Penguins: Visit Detroit on Tuesday.

Devils defeat Senators 5-3, clinch playoff berth

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 12:09 AM EDT

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

NEWARK, N.J. — Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood had 25 saves and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 and clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night.

“It means everything to the group. I went into the dressing room after the game and just said that I was proud of the work that was put in, proud of where we got to clinch tonight to be one of three teams that have an X next to their name,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “All the work that’s been put in, the adversity they face during the year. The adversity they face right at the start of the season to where we’ve got to now.”

New Jersey could have clinched its first postseason berth since 2018 with a win, but it happened before their first intermission when the Florida Panthers lost to the New York Rangers in regulation.

“I had a lesser role then,” said Jesper Bratt, who was a rookie for the Devils in 2017-18. “I would say at a younger age, it’s kind of like you think that just because it happened your first year that it might happen every year. And then it goes pretty fast with reality that was not the case and you got to work extremely hard for it.

“It’s a really tough league. So this feels really good. It’s been a lot of years with struggle, not winning, and it’s just awesome coming out now playing these kinds of games and getting that.”

Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton scored for the Devils and Tomas Tatar scored an empty netter with 42.3 seconds left to put things away.

Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Mark Kastelic scored for the Senators and Dylan Ferguson had 30 saves.

Tkachuk scored his 33rd goal of the season to give the Senators the 1-0 lead 3:14 into the first period. The Devils responded midway through the first period with Hughes’ 40th goal of the season on a breakaway, going five-hole to tie it.

Nick Holden gave the puck away and Bratt scored his 31st goal of the season on the breakaway 2:24 into the second period to give New Jersey the 2-1 lead. Mercer’s 23rd of the season came just over a minute later.

The Senators answered midway through the second period when Thomas Chabot scored his 11th goal of the year to cut the deficit to 3-2. They knotted things up 16:03 into the second when Kastelic scored his fifth of the season.

“We were confident going into the third period. We felt like the game was there for our taking,” Travis Hamonic said. “They score on their chance, and that’s game.”

Hamilton scored 3:34 into the third period to give the Devils the lead. His 19th goal breaks the franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman, surpassing Scott Stevens – the Devils great whose number is hanging in the rafters – record of 18 in 1993-94.

NOTES: This was the first game for the Devils backup Blackwood since Feb. 19. … Nico Hischier has a six-game point streak after recording two assists.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Devils: Play at New York Islanders on Monday night. —

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Kings tie franchise mark with point in 11th straight game

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 11:36 PM EDT

Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — Viktor Arvidsson had two goals and the Los Angeles Kings matched their longest point streak in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon.

Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist and Alex Iafallo netted a power-play goal for Los Angeles, which has earned points in 11 straight games for the fourth time. The last occurrence was 2013-14, when the Kings won their second Stanley Cup championship.

Joonas Korpisalo stopped 25 shots for Los Angeles.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for Winnipeg and Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves.

Arvidsson – who has 22 goals on the season – has four in the last four games while Doughty has found the net four times in the last five games.

Arvidsson’s first goal came 82 seconds into the game. Trevor Moore won the faceoff in the offensive zone and made a backhand pass to Arvidsson, who snapped it into the net from the back of the left faceoff circle.

He also had an empty-net goal late in the third period.

The Kings extended their lead to 2-0 five minutes into the second period on the power play. Phillip Danault made a great pass between Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon and Hellebuyck as Iafallo buried it into the short side of the net.

Doughty extended the lead to 3-1 27 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from outside the right faceoff circle near the boards after Anze Kopitar won the faceoff.

POWERING UP

Winnipeg got its first power-play goal in seven games with 1:23 remaining in the second period when Dubois took a cross-ice pass from Kyle Connor and scored from the left faceoff circle to get the Jets within 2-1.

The Jets got a five-minute power play after Los Angeles’ Blake Lizotte received a five-minute match penalty for a vicious cross-check to Josh Morrissey’s face. The goal came with 33 seconds left in the man advantage.

NOTES: Danault picked up his 300th career point and 200th assist. … Winnipeg’s Connor set a career high for most assists in a season when he got his 47th on Dubois’ goal.

UP NEXT

Jets: Travel to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Kings: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Coyotes minority owner suspended by NHL following arrest

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 1:45 AM EDT

Donald Page/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Arizona Coyotes minority owner Andrew Barroway was suspended indefinitely by the NHL on Friday following his arrest for domestic violence in Colorado.

Online court records show Barroway was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of second-degree assault strangulation, a felony, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He appeared in court Friday to be advised of the possible charges he is facing and is scheduled to back in court on April 3.

Barroway spent Thursday night in Pitkin County Jail after police arrested him at an Aspen hotel, according to a police report obtained by the Aspen Daily News.

“The National Hockey League is aware of the arrest of Arizona Coyotes’ minority owner Andrew Barroway,” the NHL said in a statement. “Pending further information, he has been suspended indefinitely.”

The 57-year-old Barroway was arrested after a verbal altercation with his wife turned physical, according to the police report. He is prohibited from having contact with his wife, except when it involves their children, and can’t consume alcohol under a court order.

A prominent hedge fund manager, Barroway owns 5% of the Coyotes.

“We are aware of the allegation regarding Mr. Barroway and we are working with the League to gather more information,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “When we have enough information, we will have an appropriate response. Until the investigation is complete, we will have no further comment.”