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Andrei Vasilevskiy

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Dylan Larkin lifts U.S. to 3-2 OT win over Finland at worlds

Associated PressMay 13, 2019, 1:49 PM EDT

KOSICE, Slovakia (AP) — Dylan Larkin scored with 1:13 left in overtime and Cory Schneider stopped 24 shots, lifting the United States to a 3-2 win over Finland on Monday at the world hockey championship.

Larkin ended the 3-on-3 overtime, carrying the puck inside the right circle and scoring on a wrist shot that got past Veini Vehvilainen’s blocker. The Finns complained about an open-ice hit that wasn’t ruled a penalty against the U.S. shortly before Larkin scored the game-winning goal.

Brady Skjei scored in the opening minute and Johnny Gaudreau put the Americans up 2-0 midway through the third period. The Finns rallied to tie the game 2-all with Harri Pesonen’s goal in the last minute of the opening period and Niko Ojamaki’s goal midway through the second.

The matchup in Group A featured American center Jack Hughes and Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko, who are expected to be picked No. 1 and 2 overall, respectively, in the NHL draft next month.

Russia stayed undefeated in Group B and handed the Czech Republic its first loss, winning 3-0 in Bratislava.

Sergei Andronov scored midway through the first period and Nikita Gusev gave the Russians a 2-0 lead in the middle of the second. Nikita Zaitsev added an empty-net goal late in the game and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with a 23-save shutout.

The Russians are 3-0, outscoring opponents 13-2.

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Bishop, Lehner, Vasilevskiy are 2019 Vezina Trophy finalists

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By Scott BilleckApr 20, 2019, 4:39 PM EDT
15 Comments

Awards season shifts to the crease as the three finalists for the NHL’s top netminder were unveiled on Saturday.

The nominees, voted by the league’s 31 general managers, including Ben Bishop of the Dallas Stars, Robin Lehner of the New York Islanders and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The award was first presented by Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich, former owners of the Montreal Canadiens,1926-27 in memory Georges Vezina, who died in 1925 from tuberculosis. Prior to the 1981-82 season, the goaltender(s) of a team with the fewest number of goals allowed during the regular season was awarded the trophy.

The winner will be announced on June 19 (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN) at the 2019 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

The case for Ben Bishop: Bishop was superb all season, leading all goalies with a .934 save percentage, finishing second in goals-against average with a 1.98 and third in shutouts with seven. Bishop came to life down the stretch, going 8-0-1 in his final 10 appearances as the Stars grabbed the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference. He had three straight shutouts during that span, setting a franchise record for longest shutout streak at 233:04. His .934 save percentage was also a franchise record and the eighth-best by any goalie in league history. Bishop was 27-15-2 in 46 games.

The case for Robin Lehner: Lehner had a turnaround season for the ages, overcoming some personal demons and switching teams from Buffalo to the New York Islanders. Lehner thrived in his move across state, posting the second-best save percentage in the league at .930, third in goals-against at 2.13 and tied for fourth with six shutouts. Lehner’s season play really shined between Dec. 18 and Jan. 10 where he won eight straight games. He, along with Thomas Greiss, formed a formidable one-two punch in the Islanders’ crease, one that ultimately helped the Isles into the postseason after losing John Tavares to free agency last summer. The Islanders went from worst in goals-against to first, a feat only done once before in NHL history. Lehner was 25-13-5 in 46 games.

The case for Andrei Vasilevskiy: Vasilevskiy posted 39 wins in 53 games and was a big reason why the Tampa Bay Lightning tied an NHL record for most wins in a season with 62. Vasilevskiy won 18 of the first 21 games he appeared in to get Tampa to the feat, including a 10-game winning streak between Feb. 9 and March 5. Vasilevskiy’s best play came after a loss. In fact, he only lost consecutive outings once all season, posting a 13-0-1 record following a defeat. He finished third last season and has a good chance to take home the hardware this year.

MORE 2019 NHL AWARD FINALISTS:
• Selke Trophy
• Lady Bing Trophy
• Masteron Trophy

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

Blue Jackets cap off all-time upset, sweep Lightning

By Scott BilleckApr 16, 2019, 9:50 PM EDT
36 Comments

Let this be a lesson.

A lesson that anything is possible, no matter the odds. A lesson in never writing off a team, no matter the circumstances. And a lesson that, no matter how good a team is in the regular season, it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference come playoff time.

Yes, the Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off what many thought impossible, an upset for the ages after a 7-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in Game 4 of their best-of-7 series.

Swept.

The Lightning certainly crashed (the first Presidents’ Trophy-winning team to be swept in the first round), and the Blue Jackets won their first playoff series in franchise history.

Gone are the horrors of that crossbar in overtime of Game 3 against Washington last year. So, too, with it, the agony of losing four straight after beating the Capitals twice in their own barn.

Columbus returned to the postseason this year with a vengeance, and my, oh my, did it ever show.

The formula for Tampa seemed simple enough. Do what you did all regular season: score at will, steal souls on the power play and suck the will out of teams with superb goaltending.

It’s a recipe that cooked up 62 wins, tying the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most ever in a season. But when the Lightning checked the cupboards for ingredients in Game 1, the cupboard was bare.

[2019 NBC STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS HUB]

Sure, the Lightning exploded to a 3-0 first-period lead in Game 1. They then gave up four straight and lost in spectacular fashion.

Why you ask? The Blue Jackets implemented a near-perfect game plan from the second period of Game 1, onward. A relentless forecheck stifled the Lightning. A commitment to blocked shots took away scoring chances. Providing great screens in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy made a great goalie seem mediocre. And finding scoring from the up and down the lineup, both on forward and defense, added a layer of guesswork that Jon Cooper and his troops had no answer for.

Since the 17:50 mark of the first period in Game 1, Columbus outscored 19-5.

The stat actually looks better given that the Lightning scored twice to tie the game 3-3 in the second period. But as things went all series, the Blue Jackets had an answer, scoring on a delayed penalty to regain the lead.

Tampa poured it on for nearly 18 minutes in the third before pulling Andrei Vasilevskiy. That last gasp effort resulted in three empty net goals against. The clouds cleared and the Blue Jackets emerged standing, virtually unblemished.

Vasilevskiy came into the game with a .866 save percentage and a 3.73 goals-against average, numbers that look nothing like his stellar regular-season statistics that may win him a Vezina in June.

He was at his worst in this series, allowing four more on 22 shots in this game, and had just one game above a .900 save percentage in the series.

Two-hundred feet the other way, Sergei Bobrovsky was sensational, especially in the second and third games of the series, and masterful in the third period in Game 4, turning aside all 13 shots the Lightning could muster.

It certainly didn’t help that Tampa’s best scorers only showed up in the final game. Steven Stamkos finally scored. So did Brayden Point. Nikita Kucherov got two assists after being suspended for Game 3. The team was also without Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman due to injury. It’s unlikely they would have mattered. They didn’t when they were healthy.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets’ best came to play. Matt Duchene finished the series with three goals and seven points. Artemi Panarin added two goals and five assists. Seth Jones contributed two goals and four points. Pierre-Luc Dubois picked a great time to find the score sheet, picking up three points in the final game.

John Tortorella said his team was ready for the challenge a week ago. Man, was he ever right.

Columbus proved us all wrong, and it was incredible theatre.

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

Shocker: Blue Jackets blow out Lightning 5-1 to take 2-0 series lead

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By Ryan DadounApr 12, 2019, 9:44 PM EDT
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The Columbus Blue Jackets needed to pull off a stunning comeback to capture Game 1. Going up 2-0 in the series against Tampa Bay was a far cleaner affair as the Blue Jackets cruised to a 5-1 victory Friday night.

After winning a record-tying 62 games in the regular season, Tampa Bay came into this game with something to prove, but the Lightning didn’t play like a team that just got a rude wake-up call. Instead, Columbus carried its momentum from Game 1.

Cam Atkinson managed to squeak one through Andrei Vasilevskiy just 5:05 minutes into the game. Rather than answer back, Ondrej Palat took a hooking call at 11:40 of the first that led to Zach Werenski almost immediately scoring on a rocket.

Trying to spark his team, Lightning forward Brayden Point fought with Werenski. It certainly wasn’t a likely matchup, but it didn’t end up being a turning point in the game.

Matt Duchene scored his first career playoff goal early in the second period to put the Blue Jackets up 3-0. Werenski got an assist on that marker to earn the Gordie Howe hat trick. Mikhail Sergachev gave Tampa Bay a sign of life 5:00 into the third when he made it 3-1 and soon after that, Nick Foligno took a tripping penalty to give the Lightning the man advantage.

Tampa Bay had the best power play in the league during the regular season, but the Blue Jackets managed an impressive kill to drain whatever momentum the Lightning had built. From there it was just adding insult to injury as Riley Nash and Artemi Panarin each scored to turn what was already looking like a decisive win into a blowout.

The Blue Jackets spent the final 4:26 minutes on the power play because of Nikita Kucherov‘s boarding major. We’ll have to see if the league feels that one warrants further discipline.

“This is a five-alarm fire. We are facing adversity. Sometimes that’s good to face adversity,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game, per Pierre LeBrun.

What you’ll be hearing a lot about now is the fact that Columbus also started its Round 1 series against the Capitals with back-to-back wins in Washington last year. Of course, the Capitals won the next four games and went on to win the Stanley Cup. For Lightning fans, that’s a reason to remain hopeful. For the Blue Jackets, it’s a reminder that nothing has been decided yet.

Lightning-Blue Jackets Game 3 from Nationwide Arena will be Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN

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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.

Blue Jackets shock Lightning with stunning Game 1 comeback

By James O'BrienApr 10, 2019, 9:59 PM EDT
6 Comments

After the first period of Game 1, it seemed like the Blue Jackets would be lucky just to protect their dignity. Instead, they’ll leave Amalie Arena with an absolutely shocking 1-0 series lead against the mighty, historically-great Tampa Bay Lightning after Columbus won 4-3.

Tampa Bay took a commanding 3-0 lead during the opening frame, and considering some posts hit and jittery moments for Sergei Bobrovsky, the margin could have been even larger. This contest provided the first goal and fight of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it seemed like Bobrovsky might be the first goalie replacement.

Instead, Bobrovsky helped the Blue Jackets pull off the first borderline-unthinkable upset of this young postseason.

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

The Blue Jackets bounced back slightly during the second period, but they only managed to cut the Lightning’s lead to 3-1 going into the third. For a while, it seemed like the Lightning would cruise through this one.

Then things started to get strange. All due respect to a solid-enough defenseman in David Savard, but few would imagine him to pull off these moves and this goal, particularly in totally faking out Norris-winner Victor Hedman:

That goal gave the Blue Jackets some daylight for the first time in quite a while, but it seemed like a rally would be cut short by a stick that created a cut. Cedric Paquette was bloodied by Brandon Dubinsky‘s stick, prompting a four-minute minor. Perfect opportunity for easily the best power play in the NHL this season, right?

Uh, about that …

To start the metaphorical bleeding for the Bolts, Josh Anderson showed tremendous patience on a shorthanded breakaway, eventually waiting long enough for Steven Stamkos to slightly bump his own goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and scored a stunning 3-3 goal.

Alex Killorn then committed a high-sticking penalty himself, short-circuiting the remainder of the Lightning’s power play, and opening the door for an abbreviated Columbus power play. Despite not having a ton of time, Artemi Panarin found Seth Jones, who scored a tremendous power-play goal. It was then 4-3 for Columbus with less than six minutes remaining, and Tampa Bay failed to shake off the shock of this comeback.

The Blue Jackets fought for their playoff lives during this stretch, making people wonder if management made a huge mistake in going all-in at the trade deadline. It wasn’t always pretty, but Columbus hung in there, and now they lead an absolute Goliath of a team 1-0 in this Round 1 series.

Blue Jackets-Lightning Game 2 from Amalie Arena will be Friday night at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC

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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.