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The Buzzer: Pastrnak leads Bruins comeback, Smith blanks McDavid, Oilers

By Scott BilleckMar 14, 2018, 1:04 AM EDT
10 Comments

Players of the Night:

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins: The Bruins trailed 4-1 in the third period. They then proceeded to score five in a row, including a hat trick by Pastrnak, who now has 27 goals on the season. The Bruins simply won’t die when they’re down.

J.T. Miller, Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning got shelled by the Ottawa Senators, of all teams. Still, Miller, who was traded at the deadline to the playoff-bound lightning notched Tampa’s first three goals in the loss.

Mike Smith, Calgary Flames: He didn’t have much run support, but you only need one when you turn aside each and every shot you face. Smith did just that, stopping 28 shots and Johnny Gaudreau provided the game’s only goal to put the Flames within a point of third place in the Pacific Division in a 1-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Adin Hill, Arizona Coyotes: He allowed three goals on the night — with two in the third period to allow the Kings to erase a 3-1 deficit. But Hill also stopped Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar in the shootout and he did all of this to record his first NHL win. Kudos to the kid.

Highlights of the Night:

Factoids of the Night:

Predators are good:

The Bruins, also pretty good:

News of the Night:

Scores:

Bruins 6, Hurricanes 4

Senators 7, Lightning 4

Canadiens 4, Stars 2

Predators 3, Jets 1

Avalanche 5, Wild 1

Flames 1, Oilers 0

Coyotes 4, Kings 3 (SO)

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

Andrew Shaw helped off the ice after head-to-head collision (video)

Fox Sports
By Scott BilleckMar 13, 2018, 11:52 PM EDT
9 Comments

A head-to-head collision between Andrew Shaw and Greg Pateryn resulted in the former having to be helped off ice in Montreal on Tuesday night.

Shaw initiated the contact, appearing to try and catch Pateryn with his head down. Shaw managed to lay the big hit, but replays showed Shaw’s head bouncing off Pateryn’s, forcing the Montreal Canadiens forward out of the game.

Here’s the footage:

“He was knocked out as soon as he hit me,” Pateryn told The Atheltic’s Arpon Basu after the game. “He knocked himself out when he hit me. I didn’t realize he was knocked out until he was on the ice and his eyes were in the back of his head. I mean, you play like that, that’s what happens sometimes.

Pateryn continued: “I’m fine, but that speaks for itself, the way he plays. That’s why he has four or five concussions a year.”

Here’s another angle of the hit, which shows the clashing of skulls:

Per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said Shaw hadn’t been transported to hospital, but the team’s training staff were keeping a close eye on him. Julien said he wasn’t sure if Shaw was concussed on the play.

Given Shaw’s lengthy history of concussions, it’s hard to believe he wasn’t, and that’s bad news no matter how you look at it.

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

The Buzzer: Price, Canadiens continue to roll

Associated Press
By Scott BilleckNov 30, 2017, 12:55 AM EDT
1 Comment

Players of the Night:

Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens: Price made like a brick wall for the third straight game, stopping 27 of 28 shots he faced for his third straight win since returning from injury. Montreal had been a tire fire prior to Price’s return, and Price had been a tire fire before he went down with the mysterious lower-body injury. Price’s revival looks very, very good over the past three games with a 0.67 goals-against average and a .980 save percentage. The Canadiens have won three-straight.

Antoine Vermette, Anaheim Ducks: Vermette picked a good night to end his 11-game goal-scoring drought, netting twice, including the game-winner, as the Ducks beat the St. Louis Blues. Anaheim had lost their previous four games before Wednesday’s win.

Highlights of the Night:

This is just one filthy, filthy pass by Andrew Shaw:

Riley Nash made Andrei Vasilevskiy look pedestrian with this slick wrister:

Steven Stamkos ended a five-game goal-less slump when he finished off this tic-tac-toe play on the power play:

The Mighty Stumble:

The NHL’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams coming into Wednesday night’s action both fell to lesser teams (going by standings, of course).

On Wednesday Night Rivalry on NBSCN, the Boston Bruins topped the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist and played over 28 minutes for the Bruins.

Kyle Brodziak scored twice in the final four minutes for St. Louis, but it wasn’t enough to claw his team back from a 3-0 deficit.

The Winnipeg Jets took a too many men penalty with seven seconds left in regulation in a 2-2 game and paid for it when the game shifted into overtime as Nathan MacKinnon scored 59 seconds into extra time.

The Jets had a chance to move into a tie for the top spot in the Western Conference with St. Louis losing. Alas, it was not to be.

MISC:

  • Tuukka Rask hasn’t had a good start to the year — he has just four wins in 14 starts — but he stopped 19 shots on Wednesday against the league’s top team to end a four-game skid, including this fine save:

  • Bryan Little has eight points in nine games since ending an 11-game goal-scoring drought on Nov. 14.
  • Erik Karlsson continues to starve the scoresheet of his name. He is now seven games without a goal or an assist, this after recording 17 in his previous 10 games.

Factoid of the Night:

And it was a pretty nice goal to boot.

So majestic.

Scores: 

Bruins 3, Lightning 2

Canadiens 2, Senators 1

Ducks 3, Blues 2

Avalanche 3, Jets 2 (OT)

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

Poll: Will Seabrook re-sign?

By Mike HalfordAug 31, 2015, 2:12 PM EDT
20 Comments

In Chicago, conversation about the cost of keeping the team together never really ends.

Having just come off a summer in which Brandon Saad, Brad Richards, Johnny Oduya and Patrick Sharp all exited due to financial constraints, the ‘Hawks can now begin looking ahead to next July, when another prized player could go unrestricted:

Brent Seabrook.

Seabrook, 30, is heading into the last of a five-year, $29 million deal with a $5.8M cap hit. His resume is loaded — three Stanley Cups, Olympic gold, a ’15 All-Star Game appearance — and he’s coming off a postseason in which he led all defensemen in goals (seven), the same number that Tampa Bay captain Steve Stamkos potted.

So needless to say, he’d be coveted on the open market.

There are two sides to this discussion. The first is why Seabrook would want to stay in Chicago, and it’s a fairly easy sell — it’s the only team he’s ever known, having been drafted by the ‘Hawks in the first round in ’03. He’s since appeared in over 800 games in a ‘Hawks sweater during his 10-year career, and developed a dynamic pairing with fellow blueliner (and one of his best friends) Duncan Keith.

Seabrook also has, as mentioned above, achieved a boatload of success with the ‘Hawks.

But there are reasons why he’d leave.

Well, one big reason — the money.

Per war-on-ice.com, the ‘Hawks already have close to $60 million committed to 16 players after this season. While there aren’t many other noteworthy contracts on the horizon — Andrew Shaw will require a new deal in ’16-17, Teuvo Teravainen and Marko Dano the year after — there is a question of how much Chicago can pay Seabrook.

Do consider that, a few weeks ago, Calgary gave Mark Giordano — who’s a year older than Seabrook — a six year, $40.5 million extension that carries a $6.75M cap hit. Earlier this summer, TSN speculated that Seabrook “is due to earn at least Dion Phaneuf-type money, in the neighborhood of seven years and $49 million.”

Those are both pretty steep AAVs but, given the dearth of quality UFA defensemen that usually hit the market, they could be in Seabrook’s wheelhouse. Remember that Mike Green got $6M per from Detroit this summer, while Andrej Sekera got $33 million over five years from the Oilers.

If Seabrook doesn’t sign an extension prior to the season starting, you can expect this conversation to pick up steam as the year progresses.

But why wait for that? Let’s vote and discuss now.

Get to know a draft pick — Travis Konecny

By Mike HalfordJun 22, 2015, 2:10 PM EDT
1 Comment

Like we’ve done in the past, we’re profiling top prospects who may hear their names called Friday in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. But this year, something new — we’re featuring special guest analysis from former Minnesota Wild scout Mark Seidel, who currently serves as the president of North American Central Scouting.

Travis Konecny (C)

Height: 5’10 Weight: 175 Shoots: Right

Team: Ottawa 67’s (OHL)

Country: Canada

NHL Central Scouting ranking: No. 14 among North American Skaters

What kind of player is he?

A skill guy, but one with bite.

Konecny is a tenacious individual that likes to throw his body around, setting him apart from fellow prospects boasting similar size and skills. Those traits have often thrust him into leadership roles; he captained Canada at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and, this past season, wore the “C” for Ottawa in just his second year with the club.

Though his sophomore OHL campaign was a bit of a letdown statistically — dropping to 68 points after scoring 70 as a rookie — Konecny, who dealt with an undisclosed injury over the first part of the season, enjoyed a solid second half and saw his draft stock improve accordingly. At the combine, he further endeared himself to scouts by finishing in the top ten in pull-ups, bench press and standing long jump.

Seidel says:

“The former No. 1 pick in the Ontario Hockey League didn’t contribute as much offensively as some expected this year, but his game took great strides under 67’s head coach Jeff Brown. His calling cards have always been intensity and ferocity, which he combines with a high skill level that can bring fans out of their seats.

“The young Ottawa captain embraced the leadership mantle with his team this year, and propelled a tremendous showing at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects game — where he won MVP — into a big finish to the season. It should translate into a top-15 selection for the fiery forward.”

NHL comparable: Andrew Shaw

For more 2015 NHL Draft profiles, click here.