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Matvei Michkov’s father found dead at 51 in suspicious case

HabsFanatics.com

This just in, SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL has announced that Andrei Michkov, 51 year old father of superstar forward Matvei Michkov, has been found after missing for two days. 

On April 4, it became known about the death of Andrei Michkov, the father of SKA striker Matvey Michkov.

Hockey Club SKA expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Andrey Michkov. The club is ready to provide all necessary assistance and support to the family of the deceased

– SKA St. Petersburg

To say that details around the elder Michkov’s death are suspicious is the understatement of the century. He had been living with his son Matvey in Sochi, Russia while on loan to HC Sochi for the playoffs. 

More from Sport-Express (translated from Russian):

Police officers removed and identified the body of 51-year-old Andrei Michkov. The father of hockey player HC Sochi and the Russian national team Matvey Michkov was found dead in a pond on Old Believer Street in the urban-type settlement of Sirius.

On the evening of April 2, he left the house at the same address, after which communication with him was lost.

The nature of death will be reported after investigation of all circumstances.

On April 4, it became known that Andrey, the father of hockey player Matvey Michkov, disappeared in Sochi. Since April 2, 2023, the whereabouts of the 51-year-old man is unknown.

– Sport-Express

So… he was missing for two days, but no one knew about that until he was found dead in the bottom of a pond? Again, we’ll wait for the investigation to conclude before making any assertions. 

As for Matvei Michkov, it’s unclear what happens with his season now. He’s been excellent with Sochi this season, putting up nine goals and 20 points in 27 games at just 17 years old. Two years ago he became the youngest goal scorer in Russian national team history, surpassing Alex Ovechkin. In fact, he has surpassed Ovechkin’s statistics at every level so far and at a younger age. He is considered the consensus #2 pick for the upcoming 2023 NHL Entry Draft, ranking just behind North Vancouver product Connor Bedard.

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Torey Krug roasts former teammate Brad Marchand on Sunday.

Daniel Lea/CSM/Zuma

The Boston Bruins faced off against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday and that meant that Blues defenseman Torey Krug would be getting a reunion of sorts with his longtime former teammates in Boston.

Krug was of course signed as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State University by the Bruins and spent the first 9 seasons of his career in the National Hockey League with that organization. That being said it would come as a surprise to no one to learn that Krug has forged lifelong friendships with members of the Bruins roster, something that no doubt makes these games against the Bruins both challenging and exhilarating for the veteran defenseman.

Prior to the game on Sunday, Krug was asked if he was forced to temporarily suspend those friendships when facing off against the Bruins, and he took the opportunity to take a hilarious shot at former teammate Brad Marchand.

“That’s right, especially the guy with a big nose,” said Krug of his unfortunate looking friend.

Marchand has of course been ripped throughout his career by fans, opponents and just about everyone else regarding the size of his schnoz, but it’s particularly amusing to hear it from a former teammate that spent nearly a decade playing alongside him.

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Matt Duchene loses part of his finger in horrific hockey injury.

Mark Humphrey/AP

We now have more details about just how bad the injury to Nashville Predators forward Matt Duchene truly is, but be forewarned this is not for the faint of heart.

On Sunday, National Hockey League analyst Darren Peng revealed that Duchene had quite literally lost a part of his finger after he was struck by a blistering slap shot. That slap shot came courtesy of Predators teammate Dante Fabbro, who fired the shot off during the second period of last Sunday’s game between the Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs. Duchene immediately jumped up in pain and rushed off the ice holding his hand up in a bizarre fashion,  of course we now know the reason was that the tip of his finger was quite literally missing.

Here’s a look at the shot striking his hand:

And a look at Duchene leaving the ice holding his hand out:

According to Peng’s comments on Sunday, Duchene was heard saying that the tip of his finger was still inside of his glove when he removed his hand from the glove, something that must have been truly horrific for Duchene to experience.

I can only hope that Duchene will make a full and speedy recovery.

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Biznasty and Brad Marchand sound off on Jordan Binnington.

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has stirred up quite a bit of controversy this season, and on Sunday night the NHL on TNT crew had a controversial guest on their broadcast and decided to bring up the topic of Binnington.

That guest was none other than notorious Bruins agitator Brad Marchand, who was set to faceoff against Binnington and the Blues just moments after the conclusion of this interview.

It was former National Hockey League player Paul “Biznasty” Bissonnette who brought up the topic of Binnington, taking shots of his own at the Blues netminder.

“Jordan Binnington is getting the start tonight, he’s a bit of a loose cannon like you,” began Biznasty. “Does it make you a little hesitant to go to the crease area when a goalie like that, who is fit for a straight jacket, is playing?”

Rather than attack Binnington though, Marchand appeared to indicate that he appreciated the antics of the Blues goaltender from a pure entertainment perspective.

“It’s always entertaining,” admitted Marchand. “I think we can all agree that it’s fun to put some TNT or whatever on every morning and see what he gets up to.”

No stranger to players with a bad reputation in the NHL, Marchand even joked that Binnington could potentially be in the process of stealing his crown.

“He makes me look like a good guy though so I love it,” joked Marchand. “I used to be the most hated I think he’s kind of taken that over now.”

Biz on the other hand wasn’t so convinced, believing that the title of most hated player still belongs to Marchand himself, and he told Marchand as much by letting him know to “pump the breaks” on that topic.

You can check out the hilarious segment in the short clip below.

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Chicago Blackhawks active on waivers Sunday.

The Chicago Blackhawks are the only team active on waivers Sunday, leaving one of their players vulnerable to a potential late-season claim.

According to a report from Cap Friendly, the Blackhawks have placed forward Joey Anderson on waivers, with the intent likely being to send him back down to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. Anderson has appeared in 18 games for the Blackhawks this season and has been relatively productive with 3 goals and 2 assists for a total of 5 points over that stretch, and prior to that he also appeared in 14 games for the Maple Leafs this season, scoring twice and adding an assist for a total of 3 points with that team.

The Blackhawks acquired Anderson when the Leafs made him available via waivers earlier in the season and you have to wonder if the Blackhawks may effectively be setting themselves up to lose Anderson to another team with this move.

Anderson was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and has a total of 90 games of NHL experience under his belt.

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Red Wings rookie set to make his NHL debut.

Akash Pamarthy/Detroit Free Press

Detroit Red Wings fans who have been eagerly anticipating their chance to see the team’s most recent first round draft pick hit the ice in the National Hockey League will be in for a treat tonight.

On Sunday, the Red Wings’ own Ken Kal confirmed the big news when he revealed that Red Wings first round pick Marco Kasper had his jersey hanging in a stall. Along with a short video came confirmation that Kasper would in fact be suiting up for the Red Wings this evening when they face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kasper was selected 8th overall by the Red Wings at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has thus far spent his time developing over in Sweden. This will give the 18 year old Austrian forward a big step up in competition but, given the relative lack of importance surrounding the remaining games on the Red Wings’ schedule, it seems like a good time to give the youngster a chance against the highest level competition in the world.

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Two NHL teams can clinch a playoff spot today, here’s how.

David Kirouac/CSM/Zuma

The Stanley Cup playoffs are right around the corner and as we draw closer and closer to the end of the 2022-23 regular season, more and more teams are starting to secure their spot in those very same playoffs.

On Monday, two teams in the National Hockey League will have the chance to officially punch their ticket into the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs with both the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild having the opportunity to lock themselves in for this season’s big tournament.

For the Stars, locking their spot in the playoffs will be relatively simple. All they have to do to officially advance tonight is pick up a win over their opponent, the Nashville Predators. Whether that win comes in regulation, overtime, or the shootout will make no difference, a win and the Stars will be in.

The other team that can secure their spot today is the Minnesota Wild, and in the case of the Wild there is an extra path to success. Like the Stars, the Wild will advance if they pick up a win in any fashion over their opponents tonight, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. However if they fail to do so they still have a way forward, thanks in large part to the aforementioned Dallas Stars.

Should the Wild fail to win but manage to force overtime, a single point combined with a win from the Stars over the Predators would also be enough to push them over the edge.

Will either of these teams advance tonight? Let us know your predictions in the comments.

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Sheldon Keefe slams NHL officials for their treatment of Michael Bunting.

John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs are very unhappy with how one of their player’s in particular has been treated by National Hockey League officials on the ice, and it seems they are finally speaking out about it.

After falling to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, in what was a meaningless game for a Maple Leafs team that has already locked in their first round Stanley Cup playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it would be after the game that the real drama would unfold.

During the course of the game, the Maple Leafs clearly felt that Michael Bunting was targeted by the officials, including being called for a penalty after he was on the receiving end of multiple cross-checks to the back.

That wouldn’t be the only incident that the Maple Leafs took issue with during the night, with head coach Sheldon Keefe also clearly disagreeing with a 10 minute misconduct that was awarded to Bunting later during the same game.

Following the game the Maple Leafs head coach spoke to the media and made it crystal clear how he felt about the officiating towards Bunting.

“Surprised? Based on the way that he’s been officiated of late, no not surprised at all,” said an unhappy Sheldon Keefe.

In fact the head coach went one step further and made it clear that the team would be raising the issue with the National Hockey League immediately following the game.

“Kyle [Dubas] will talk to the league,” confirmed Keefe following the game.

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Dylan Larkin hits new career high with hat trick vs. Leafs

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Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who was recently re-signed by the team to an eight year contract extension, reached a new career high in points on Sunday night against his team’s Original 6 rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

His three goals on the night were good for his second career hat trick, giving him a total of 31 on the season. He’s equaled his goal total of last season, and needs one more to tie his previous high of 32 set in 2018-19. It’s also the third 30-goal season of his NHL career. 

It certainly was a nice gesture for veteran forward David Perron, who scored a hat trick earlier in the week of his own against the Pittsburgh Penguins, to retrieve the puck for Larkin after he hit the open net late in the 3rd period, sealing Detroit’s win. 

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Malkin earns 28 penalty minutes and gets ejected on Sunday!

Daniel Lea/CSM/Zuma

Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin is on the receiving end of some pretty harsh criticism tonight, and considering the circumstances you can certainly see where his critics are coming from.

Malkin and the Penguins faced off against intrastate rivals the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night, and it was an absolutely must win game for the Penguins. The Flyers are already eliminated from playoff contention but the Penguins still have some hope of making it in, something that gave this rivalry game considerably more meaning.

In spite of the must win stakes for the Penguin, Malkin would rack up a staggering 28 minutes of penalties on the night, thanks in large part to his insistence on arguing with the officials on the ice, and would even get himself tossed from the game for the same reason.

Many fans and pundits were quick to slam Malkin for his behavior in such an important game, including Pittsburgh radio host Mark Madden.

It wasn’t just Madden and disgruntled fans who criticized Malkin’s behavior however, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan publicly admonished his player following the game and apparently did so privately in the locker room as well.

Malkin’s 28 penalty minutes were the most for a player in a single game this season.