Trevor van Riemsdyk

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The Buzzer: Draisaitl carries Oilers again; Rinne shines for Predators

By Adam GretzFeb 17, 2020, 12:07 AM EST

Three Stars

1. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers. If the Draisaitl MVP train wasn’t already rolling along, it certainly is now. He scored a goal, assisted on the overtime game-winner on Sunday, and had another three-point game for the Oilers as he opened up a 13-point lead in the NHL scoring race. He is now on a 132-point pace for the season and is showing that he can absolutely drive the Oilers offense without Connor McDavid next to him.

2. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators. The goaltending has not always been there for the Predators this season. It was there for them on Sunday afternoon in a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Rinne stopped 38 out of 39 shots for the Predators to help them climb to within a single point of a playoff spot in the Western Conference with still several games in hand. Improved play from Rinne down the stretch could be a season-changer for the Predators. Read more about the Predators’ win on Sunday right here.

3. Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins. He thought he had a hat trick in the Penguins’ 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, but his first goal was later awarded to Sam Lafferty. So he has to settle for a two-goal, three-point, plus-three day for the Penguins. He has not always looked his sharpest this season — he still brings the energy and physical play — but he is still on close to a 30-goal pace this season. With Sunday’s win the Penguins are now just one point behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division with still one game in hand. Read more about the Penguins’ win here.

Other notable performances from Sunday

Charlie McAvoy could not find the back of the net for the first few months of the season, and now he has three goals over his past few games. He opened the scoring in the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Rangers on Sunday. Read more about the Bruins’ win right here.
On a day where the Devils traded away two key veterans (read about that here and here) Mackenzie Blackwood shined in net, turning aside 52 out of 55 shots in a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Highlights of the Day

The Anaheim Ducks are playing spoiler roll right now and handed the Vancouver Canucks a tough 5-1 loss on Sunday. It was highlighted by this play by Ryan Getzlaf to set up Derek Grant.

Turris scores the winner with just under three minutes to play in regulation.

Artem Anisimov helps the Ottawa Senators pull off the upset win over the Dallas Stars with an overtime goal.

Celebration of the day

Jack Eichel tells the Toronto fans in Buffalo to take a seat. The Sabres scored three goals in 1:31 (including one from Eichel) to get a 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs. Kyle Okposo also scored a goal during that stretch to record his 500th career NHL point.

Jack Eichel tells Leaf fans to stay seated pic.twitter.com/uYGU2oege9

— Ben Mathewson (@Ben_Mathewson) February 17, 2020

Factoids

Connor Hellebucyk stopped 31 shots to help the Winnipeg Jets get a huge win over the Chicago Blackhawks. It is his 25th win of the season, putting him in second place in the NHL. [NHL PR]
Rasmus Dahlin now has the second most points in NHL history for a defenseman before their 20th birthday. [Sabres PR]
Trevor van Riemsdyk‘s goal just 12 seconds into Saturday’s game is the third fastest goal to start a game in Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes franchise history. [NHL PR]

Scores

Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Detroit Red Wings 1
Boston Bruins 3, New York Rangers 1
Edmonton Oilers 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 (OT)
Anaheim Ducks 5, Vancouver Canucks 1
Nashville Predators 2, St. Louis Blues 1
Ottawa Senators 4, Dallas Stars 3 (OT)
New Jersey Devils 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 (SO)
Buffalo Sabres 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Winnipeg Jets 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2

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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.

Canes’ van Riemsdyk out 4-6 months after shoulder surgery

Associated PressMay 5, 2019, 7:00 AM EDT

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs after having shoulder surgery.

General manager Don Waddell said Saturday that the 27-year-old van Riemsdyk underwent surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to miss four to six months.

The Hurricanes recalled defenseman Jake Bean from their AHL affiliate in Charlotte on an emergency basis.

Van Riemsdyk was hurt in the first period of Game 2 of the second-round sweep of the New York Islanders last Sunday. He played in the first nine games of the postseason for Carolina, which has advanced to the Eastern Conference final in its first playoff appearance since 2009.

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

Injury bug hits Hurricanes again as Mrazek, van Riemsdyk exit Game 2

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By Scott BilleckApr 28, 2019, 4:51 PM EDT

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The Carolina Hurricanes needed another injury like they needed a hole in the head.

Already without the services of important pieces in Andrei Svechnikov, Micheal Ferland and Jordan Martinook, the Hurricanes added a couple more names to the infirmary on Sunday afternoon.

The puck barely dropped in Game 2 of the Round 2 series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders (NBC; Live stream) when the first casualty took place.

A hard, stiff hit by Cal Clutterbuck on Trevor van Riemsdyk forced the Carolina defenseman immediately out of the game just 36 seconds after the puck dropped. Van Riemsdyk was in all sorts of discomfort as he held his arm tenderly as he skated off the ice. By the first intermission, he had been ruled out of the game by the Hurricanes.

It would get worse, too.

The Hurricanes couldn’t convert on a 5-on-3 power play, couldn’t convert with the remainder of the 5-on-4, and then watched the play go in the other direction, forcing a save out of Peter Mrazek that injured him as he slid across his crease (he’d make another save while injured, too).

Mrazek got the attention of his bench and slammed his stick, presumably in anger, before making his way down the tunnel.

Mrazek has been a godsend in the playoffs for the Hurricanes. In his past six games entering Sunday, he had gone 5-1 with a .927 save percentage and two shutouts, one of which occurred in Game 1 of their current best-of-seven series as he blanked the Islanders 31 times in the game en route to an overtime win.

His fate was the same as van Riemsdyk’s — out for the rest of the game, only with a lower-body injury

Curtis McElhinney came in cold to replace Mrazek and was forced into action immediately, making a couple of quality saves. McElhinney had just 82 minutes of playoff action in his career coming into this one. His stats aren’t great, but then again, there’s no adequate sample size to draw from.

McElhinney was solid during the regular season, winning 20 games in 33 starts with a .912 save percentage and two shutouts.

Adversity hits every team in the playoffs, it just doesn’t always decimate a roster.

For the rest of the game, a guy named Todd Scarola will back up McElhinney.

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

Blackhawks ’15-16 Outlook

By Dhiren MahibanAug 31, 2015, 10:04 AM EDT

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Despite the plethora of changes made to their roster this summer, the Chicago Blackhawks should once again be contenders in this season. Immediately following their third Stanley Cup victory in six years, oddsmakers chose Chicago as the favorite to win the cup again.

Chicago’s success this season will depend on how newcomers fair. The Blackhawks lost four key pieces of their team in the offseason with Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya and Brad Richards all finding new homes.

Salary cap constraints will force the Blackhawks to rely on younger players such as Teuvo Teravainen this season. The 20-year-old appeared in 34 games with the ‘Hawks last season, scoring four goals and nine points.

Artem Anisimov, acquired in the Saad deal, will likely slot in behind Jonathan Toews as the ‘Hawks second line center. Newcomers Ryan Garbutt and Marko Dano will also fill holes in the Blackhawks roster this season.

Rookies Kyle Baun, Ryan Hartman and Artemi Panarin could also challenge for roster spots.

“I think change is good, and I think we’ve embraced that in the past and been able to bring in some players that now are household names … but at one point they were new,” GM Stan Bowman told NHL.com. “It’s going to be the same thing for some of the new guys that are part of this group next year. They might be new to the fans and media, but as you’ll see in time, I think we’re really going to fall in love with some of these guys.”

Chicago will also have new regulars on the blue line with the likes of Trevor van Riemsdyk and David Rundblad vying for roster spots behind Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Trevor Daley. Erik Gustafsson and Ville Pokka will also battle for spots on the back end.

In goal, Corey Crawford is the clear cut No. 1 while Scott Darling beat out Antti Raanta for the backup role. Raanta was dealt to the New York Rangers during the offseason.

One wild card for the Blackhawks is, of course, Patrick Kane. The 26-year-old is currently the subject of a police investigation. Kane would’ve challenged for the scoring title last season, if a shoulder injury hadn’t forced him to miss the final 21 games of the regular season.

Chicago will once again be a threat in the Western Conference, but how deep they go will depend on how well the newcomers fit.

Follow @dcmahiban

Blackhawks extend TVR through 2017-18

By Jason BroughJul 7, 2015, 11:59 AM EDT

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The Chicago Blackhawks have come to terms with Trevor van Riemsdyk on a two-year contract extension, the club announced today.

The new deal locks van Riemsdyk up through 2017-18, after which he can become a restricted free agent. The reported cap hit for the extension is $825,000. (Which is actually less than his current NHL cap hit of $925,000 that runs through next season, though unlike his current contract, his extension is a one-way deal.)

A 23-year-old defenseman, van Riemsdyk was a pleasant surprise for the ‘Hawks at the start of the 2014-15 campaign. However, injuries to both his leg and wrist meant missing a significant chunk of the season. He only returned in time to play the final four games of the Stanley Cup Final.

“We saw firsthand what he was able to do when he came into training camp. Surprised us all how well he played, how effective and efficient he is,” coach Joel Quenneville said prior to the final.

“One of his strengths is his reads, positionally aware, decision-making with the puck. He’s got a lot of attributes that can help our team. I think he came onto the scene rather fast for us. I think we have a lot of confidence and trust in him.”