NHL Horoscopes Week 12: Gemini Mars continues to make an impact

By Marisa IngemiMar 30, 2021, 12:20 PM EDT

There’s a lot of chaos between it just being Aries season in general, a Gemini Mars cycle that has knocked around two of the best teams in the league, and a potentially dramatic Pisces Mercury.

It’s another week of the NHL and horoscopes where anything can happen, including Leo teams going on a hot streak out of nowhere.

Stat Leaders

Connor McDavid: 63 points, 42 assists (Capricorn)
Auston Matthews: 31 goals (Virgo)
Brendan Lemiuex: 59 PIM (Pisces)
Andrei Vasilevskiy: .930 Save % (Cancer)

EAST DIVISION

• Boston Bruins: Highest concentration in Taurus

Several Bruins players remain on the Covid protocol list.

Horoscope: They need a cosmic intervention to get some scoring.

Do: Score a five on five goal Don’t: Spread Covid

• Buffalo Sabres: Highest concentration in Sagittarius

Woof.

Horoscope: I remain speechless.

Do: Win a game maybe Don’t: :/

• Washington Capitals: Highest concentration in Taurus

Virgo Alex Ovechkin is still producing.

Horoscope: We’re a couple of weeks away from a Taurus Venus, but the Caps have had things together for a while anyways.

Do: Best players Don’t: Suspensions

[Your 2020-21 NHL on NBC TV schedule]

• New York Rangers: Highest concentration in Aquarius

Aries Mika Zibanejad is on a roll.

Horoscope: The further away we get from Aquarius season, the better the Rangers seem to play?

Do: Get it together David Quinn Don’t: Get away from best players

• New York Islanders: Highest concentration in Aquarius

The Isles might need to add a scorer to keep their roll going.

Horoscope: Suddenly they’ve lost two in a row. Aries season has not been kind to the Islanders scoring.

Do: Offense Don’t: Complacency

• New Jersey Devils: Highest concentration in Scorpio

Sagittarius Mackenzie Blackwood is playing at another level.

Horoscope: This has felt like a big week for Scorpios already so it’s no surprise a Scorpio moon on Tuesday is fueling that.

Do: Mackenzie Blackwood x3 Don’t: Lose to the Bruins, apparently

• Philadelphia Flyers: Highest concentration in Taurus

It’s getting ugly for Gemini goalie Carter Hart.

Horoscope: Something isn’t working, and panicking isn’t the answer but it’s really not going well.

Do: Beat the Sabres at least Don’t: Negative scoring margin

• Pittsburgh Penguins: Highest concentration in Leo/Taurus

Taurus goalie Tristan Jarry being out would not be good.

Horoscope: They’re on a hot streak, the stars be damned.

Do: Top offense Don’t: Panic in net

CENTRAL DIVISION

• Detroit Red Wings: Highest concentration in Aquarius

Scorpio Filip Hronek has been their best player.

Horoscope: The Blue Jackets wins were nice!

Do: Power play Don’t: Let a defenseman be your best scorer

• Tampa Bay Lightning: Highest concentration in Gemini

Is this another Norris run for Scorpio Victor Hedman?

Horoscope: Suddenly they have just a one point lead on the Hurricanes. Gemini Mars can be a fickle time.

Do: Win some key games Don’t: Fall behind out of nowhere

[NHL Power Rankings: Avalanche starting to hit their stride]

• Florida Panthers: Highest concentration in Virgo

Aquarius Aaron Ekblad missing the rest of the season is rough luck.

Horoscope: Last week’s Virgo moon kept the Panthers playing the way they have all season.

Do: Selke watch Don’t: Drop off

• Carolina Hurricanes: Highest concentration in Cancer

Gemini Dougie Hamilton has points in 14 straight games.

Horoscope: The Libra full moon was supposed to have a big effect on Cancers, and the Hurricanes are playing like one of the best teams in hockey.

Do: Goalies Don’t: Lose focus

• Nashville Predators: Highest concentration in Gemini

Suddenly the Predators are in it?

Horoscope: Scorpio Pekka Rinne remembered how to goalie and the Gemini Preds are on a role.

Do: Goalies Don’t: Listen to me apparently.

• Dallas Stars: Highest concentration in Gemini and Cancer

They are lucky to have so many games in hand.

Horoscope: The games in hand are going to be huge for this utterly confusing team.

Do: Young players Don’t: Miss this opportunity

• Chicago Blackhawks: Heaviest concentration in Aries

They have a favorable schedule during Aries season.

Horoscope: Aries season is not helping the Blackhawks at all it turns out.

Do: Goalies Don’t: Spiral

• Columbus Blue Jackets: Heaviest concentration in Cancer

Scorpio David Savard could be the first guy gone at the deadline.

Horoscope: Like any good Cancer, the Blue Jackets are emotional and don’t know what to do.

Do: Trades Don’t: Lose to the Red Wings imo

WEST DIVISION

• Minnesota Wild: Highest concentration in Virgo and Cancer

Taurus Kirill Kaprizov is a legitimate star.

Horoscope: The Minnesota Wild vibe train is not stopping any time soon.

Do: Home success Don’t: Falter with late schedule

• St. Louis Blues: Highest concentration in Cancer and Aries

Things aren’t going to get easier for the Blues with their schedule.

Horoscope: The Blues have slumped here at the end as they are finally getting a bit healthier. Not very Aries of them.

Do: Health Don’t: Fall out of playoff positioning.

• Arizona Coyotes: Highest concentration in Leo

Capricorn Conor Garland would be a great get at the trade deadline.

Horoscope: The Coyotes have won some nice games here, keep creating that momentum.

Do: Goals Don’t: Inconsistency

• San Jose Sharks: Highest concentration in Aries

Capricorn Brent Burns is not having a good year.

Horoscope: Not great, Bob!

Do: Next season Don’t: Sharks

• Vegas Golden Knights: Highest concentration in Leo

Taurus Mark Stone is not slowing down.

Horoscope: There really isn’t too much to say about a team that’s dominated on the ice despite a really quiet time period for Leos.

Do: Good goalies Don’t: Lose on the road

• Anaheim Ducks: Heaviest concentration in Aquarius

They should probably see what they can get for Taurus Rickard Rickell.

Horoscope: They do a lot of weird personnel things but that’s being an Aquarius for you.

Do: Play Danton Heinen Don’t: Be reluctant to make moves

• Los Angeles Kings: Highest concentration in Libra

Scorpio Dustin Brown might be on the move if this keeps out.

Horoscope: The Libra full moon didn’t help a Kings team that’s now lost three in a row.

Do: Good trade deadline Don’t: Slump

• Colorado Avalanche: Highest concentration in Scorpio

Scorpio Cale Makar, still ridiculous.

Horoscope: No regulation losses in 10 games during a peak time of year for Scorpios.

Do: Keep rolling Don’t: Forget to tell everyone Cale Makar should win the Norris

NORTH DIVISION

• Vancouver Canucks: Heaviest concentration in Cancer and Libra

Doesn’t look great folks.

Horoscope: They’ve actually played well lately but it still feels impossible for them to climb back

Do: Keep fighting for it Don’t: Have a -20 scoring margin

• Calgary Flames: Heaviest concentration in Pisces

This season is slipping away real fast.

Horoscope: Pisces Mercury is a lot about the vibe, how you feel mentally about what’s ahead, and the Calgary vibe isn’t great.

Do: Trade deadline? Don’t: Keep falling

• Edmonton Oilers: Heaviest concentration in Cancer and Libra

Capricorn Connor McDavid something something.

Horoscope: Pretty good run for the Oilers in the middle of a Libra moon cycle.

Do: Keep rolling Don’t: Rely only on stars

• Winnipeg Jets: Heaviest concentration in Aries

Here come the Jets?

Horoscope: Aries season has been real good to the Jets. Have to enjoy what they’ve been doing the second half of the season.

Do: Keep offensive pace Don’t: Drop off

• Ottawa Senators: Heaviest concentration in Pisces

Capricorn Tim Stützle continues to have an impressive season.

Horoscope: Pisces Mercury could be nice to the Senators, in the sense they can keep causing trouble.

Do: More than 94 goals Don’t: Awful scoring margin

• Montreal Canadiens: Heaviest concentration in Leo and Taurus

Scorpio Eric Staal really adds to a Habs team that succeeds with its fixed signs.

Horoscope: The Habs are making moves and creating their own vibe, Leo style.

Do: Cole Caufield soon Don’t: Drop off

• Toronto Maple Leafs: Heaviest concentration in Gemini

Taurus Mitch Marner is on a tear.

Horoscope: A bit of a rough run during a Gemini Mars cycle that’s hit every Gemini pretty hard, but they seem to be a bit back on track.

Do: One game at a time Don’t: Leafs being Leafs

—

Marisa Ingemi is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop her a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Ingemi.

Ducks hire former Leafs, Islanders assistant Greg Cronin as head coach

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 2:18 PM EDT

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Anaheim Ducks have hired veteran NHL assistant and AHL head coach Greg Cronin to be their new head coach.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek announced the decision to hire the 60-year-old Cronin, who will be a first-time NHL head coach.

Cronin has 12 years of experience as an NHL assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs and in two stints with the New York Islanders. The Massachusetts native has been the head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles since 2018, and he spent six years as a collegiate head coach at Northeastern.

Verbeek called Cronin “the ideal fit” to take over a young, rebuilding team.

“I felt we needed a teacher of the finer points of the game, and someone who has worked extensively over time with talented young players, helping them develop into successful NHL players,” Verbeek said. “Greg has done all that and more.”

Cronin replaces Dallas Eakins, whose contract wasn’t renewed in April after the Ducks finished their fourth consecutive losing season of his tenure. Anaheim finished in last place in the overall NHL standings at 23-47-12.

The Ducks never finished higher than sixth in the Pacific Division during Eakins’ four years in charge. They’ve missed the playoffs in a franchise-record five straight seasons, and Anaheim was the NHL’s worst defensive team of the 21st century by several measures during the just-completed season.

Cronin takes over a struggling team that is still loaded with young talent, including the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft and a wealth of farm prospects seemingly ready to break into the NHL. Anaheim has a solid long-term base with playmaking center Trevor Zegras, two-time All-Star Troy Terry and promising forward Mason McTavish.

Cronin has never led an NHL bench, but he interviewed for the Boston Bruins’ vacancy a year ago.

He becomes only the Ducks’ fourth permanent head coach since Henry and Susan Samueli bought the franchise from Disney in 2005, joining Randy Carlyle, Bruce Boudreau and Eakins.

Canadiens sign Cole Caufield to 8-year, $62.8 million extension

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 2:05 PM EDT

David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens signed Cole Caufield to an eight-year, $62.8 million contract extension.

The deal, which will pay the 22-year-old winger an average annual salary of $7.85 million, runs through the 2030-31 season.

Caufield scored 26 goals and added 10 assists in 46 games in 2022-23 before he underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in February.

Despite missing nearly half the season, Caufield led the Canadiens in goals for the second consecutive season, tied with Nick Suzuki.

Montreal selected Caufield in the first round (15th overall) of the 2019 draft.

Since making his NHL debut in 2020-21, the forward has 84 points (53 goals, 31 assists) in 123 NHL games.

Vegas Golden Knights come back to beat Florida Panthers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 12:40 AM EDT

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS – Back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in five years and trailing the Florida Panthers less than 10 minutes into Game 1, the Vegas Golden Knights sent a very clear message.

“We were ready,” Jonathan Marchessault said.

Ready and dominant. Vegas rallied from an early deficit, got the go-ahead goal from Zach Whitecloud with just over 13 minutes left and arguably the best save of the playoffs from Adin Hill and beat Florida 5-2 Saturday night to take the lead in the best-of-seven series.

“We kept out composure, and it was good,” said Marchessault, one of six original Knights players left from the start of the franchise in 2017 who scored the tying goal in the first period. “We just wanted to play the right way and be disciplined, and tonight we were able to be the better team.”

Whitecloud put Vegas ahead, a crucial penalty kill followed and captain Mark Stone scored an insurance goal that was reviewed for a high stick and confirmed. Reilly Smith sealed it with an empty-netter to make the score look more lopsided than the game.

The combination of that offense and Hill’s 33 saves put Vegas up after a feisty opener between Sun Belt teams who wasted little time getting acquainted with big hits during play and plenty of post-whistle pushing and shoving.

“It’s exactly what we expected,” said Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore, who scored his first goal of the playoffs and ended a 27-game drought dating to March 7. “That’s how they wanted to play. We were just trying not to play into it.”

That stuff is just beginning. Game 2 is Monday in Las Vegas.

Before the Panthers even get a chance to respond, they ratcheted up the physical play late after falling behind by two. A handful of penalties resulting from a fracas with 4:24 remaining left the Florida bench well short.

The outcome was determined long before that.

After falling behind on a short-handed goal by Eric Staal that sucked the life out of the crowd of 18,432, the Golden Knights rallied for their ninth comeback win this playoffs. Marchessault – known since arriving in Las Vegas for scoring big goals – answered before the end of the first period.

Early in the second, Hill made a desperation stick save to rob Nick Cousins of what would have been a sure goal. The save was reminiscent of the one Washington’s Braden Holtby made against Vegas – in the same crease – five years ago.

“That’s an unreal save – it’s a game-changer,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You need those saves at key moments.”

Giving up a tying goal to Anthony Duclair with 10.2 seconds left in the second did not slow the Golden Knights’ momentum much. Whitecloud’s goal, with two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky screened and unable to see, fired up fans once again.

Bobrovsky, in the final for the first time, downplayed any reason for concern after stopping 29 of 34 shots and losing for just the second time in 12 games this postseason.

“I played a good game,” Bobrovsky said. “I played a solid game. They created some good chances other than goals. They had lots of good scoring chances, and that was fun.”

Part of the fun came when play was stopped.

Less than 10 minutes in, Hill was none too happy about Nick Cousins crashing into his crease and gave the agitating Panthers winger a jab that incited a handful of scrums. During the second period, Matthew Tkachuk let Vegas’ Nic Hague know he wasn’t thrilled about a hit in the corner on Cousins and a collision with Brandon Montour after the whistle.

“If guys are going to come in my crease and try to push me around, I’m going to stand my own ground,” Hill said. “I’m not going to do anything too crazy or get too wild, but, yeah, I’ve got to stand up for myself.”

Florida coach Paul Maurice, back in the final for the first time since 2001, displayed a similarly calm demeanor as he did all the way back in the first round, when his team fell behind 1-0 then 3-1 to NHL-best Boston before winning in seven.

“It’s going to be tight,” Maurice said. “Everybody breathe.”

The Golden Knights are in the final for the second time in six years of existence, five years after making it in their inaugural season. Vegas won the opener in 2018 and lost the series to Washington in five games.

The Panthers are back playing for the Cup for the first time since 1996. Florida got swept by Colorado in that final 27 years ago, 18 months before Tkachuk, the team’s leading scorer this playoffs, was born.

It’s the 66th different matchup of teams in the Cup final in NHL history and the 46th since the expansion era began in 1967-68. This is the first time since Washington-Vegas and just the third time since the turn of the century in which the final features two teams who have never won the league’s championship.

Penguins name former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas as director of hockey operations

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 2:21 PM EDT

Getty Images

PITTSBURGH (AP) Kyle Dubas wanted to take a breath and take a break after being fired as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Then the Pittsburgh Penguins called.

The break ended shortly thereafter.

Dubas joined the Penguins as the team’s president of hockey operations, less than two weeks after a somewhat ugly exit from Toronto following a second-round playoff loss to Florida.

The 37-year-old Dubas goes from one type of hockey crucible to another. In Toronto, he was tasked with helping the Maple Leafs emerge from two decades of postseason futility. In Pittsburgh, his mission will be to prop open the Stanley Cup window for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang a little longer.

All three are 35 or older and haven’t won a playoff series since 2018. Yet Dubas believes strongly the issue isn’t the age of the franchise’s core but deficiencies elsewhere on the roster. Dubas replaces Brian Burke, who was fired along with general manager Ron Hextall in April after the Penguins failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

“I heard a lot of people that were highly skeptical of the team’s ability to contend here and the way I view it, if the people want to bet against (Crosby, Letang and Malkin) they can go ahead and do so,” Dubas said. “But I’m going to bet on them and go with them here. I think it is a group that’s capable of contending to win a championship.”

Crosby and Malkin were excellent for much of last season and Letang showed remarkable resiliency while dealing with multiple setbacks, including a stroke and the death of his father. Yet save for a 14-2-2 stretch in November and December, the Penguins struggled to find consistency and ultimately stumbled down the stretch to snap the longest active playoff streak in major North American Sports.

While the Penguins do have $20 million in cap space and the 14th overall pick in this month’s NHL draft, significant changes or upgrades could be difficult in the short term.

Dubas inherits a team that was the oldest in the NHL last season and is littered with question marks, particularly in goal and the forward group outside of Crosby, Malkin and Jake Guentzel.

Two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry will become a free agent this summer and was beset by injuries over the second half of the season. Forward Jason Zucker, who served as the emotional sparkplug for long stretches, is also scheduled to hit the open market and may have priced himself out of town.

Pittsburgh also has several aging players with full or partial no-movement clauses, including 38-year-old forward Jeff Carter, 30-year-old Bryan Rust and 35-year-old defenseman Jeff Petry.

“I think that those are obviously very real situations, everyone knows that they exist,” Dubas said. “To me the effect on it … is what we can add in terms of depth pieces? What we can add in terms of younger players? That’ll be the real key.”

Dubas does plan to hire a general manager to fill the vacancy created when Hextall was let go after a short but largely unfruitful tenure. Dubas will serve as the GM on an interim basis until early July.

Dubas comes to Pittsburgh after nine seasons with the Maple Leafs, including the last five as general manager. Toronto won a postseason series for the first time since 2004 this spring before falling to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference semifinals in five games.

Shortly after the Maple Leafs’ playoff exit, Dubas said that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to remain in Toronto. His contract was set to expire on June 30, but team president Kyle Shanahan opted to pre-emptively fire Dubas instead. Toronto hired former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving as Dubas’ replacement.

Dubas helped build the Maple Leafs into a regular-season power during his tenure. Toronto set single-season records for wins and points, and went 221-109-42 in his tenure. Dubas also didn’t shy away from big moves – he fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Mike Babcock in November 2019 and replaced him with Sheldon Keefe – but struggled to find the right mix in the playoffs until this spring.

In the end, advancing beyond the first round for the first time since 2004 wasn’t enough for Dubas to remain in Toronto.

He joked he was maybe a little “too honest” during his season-ending press conference with the Maple Leafs when he expressed reservations about returning. Shanahan’s abrupt decision to move on came as a bit of a surprise, and Dubas planned to take some time to hit the reset button before looking for another job.

Yet the Penguins – who’d already been given clearance by the Maple Leafs to interview Dubas – provided a compelling reason to speed up the timetable. Dubas’ due diligence included speaking to Crosby and longtime coach Mike Sullivan to take the pulse of a leadership group that remains firmly in place.

Dubas called them “some of the best competitors” in hockey. Competitors that have – for one reason or another – been unable to recapture the magic of their runs to back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017.

Time is running out for Crosby to put his name on the Cup for a fourth time in a career that will almost certainly end in the Hall of Fame. Dubas knows he’ll be judged in part on whether he can make that happen. After taking more than six weeks of searching before landing on Dubas, Fenway Sports Group Chairman Tom Werner believes Dubas is up to the challenge.

“Our philosophy is giving Kyle and his associates the best possible resources to win,” Werner said. “Kyle’s been very articulate today about his path to success … we’re very confident that Kyle will execute the plan he’s articulated to us.”