Author: Hockey Feed

Categories
Hockey Feed

Andrei Vasilevskiy admits he’s out of solutions to stop the Maple Leafs

NHL.com

On Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied for a 5-4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of their first-round series. This means that on Thursday for Game 5, Toronto could move up and access Round 2 for the first time since 2004.

However, fans have learned from past mistakes and know all too well how the Maple Leafs lost more than once the first round despite leafing the series 3-1. And so, they are being careful. But Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy’s comments on Wednesday might sound like the last nail in the coffin for the Bolts.

After practice on Wednesday, Vasilevskiy admitted that the Maple Leafs aren’t the same teams as past seasons and how he struggled to stop them, per Eduardo A. Encina.

“Last year they they were trying to play more of a skill game. I’m not sure done something different or we just aren’t doing as good job as last year as a team in front, but I think last year they played more skill hockey.”

Vasilevskiy even mentioned how he’s running out of options to fight through the Maple Leafs’ screens:

“Buy myself like (expletive) x-ray glasses.”

While Game 5 isn’t in the bag for the Maple Leafs, it sure sounds like Vasilevskiy isn’t confident he can get another win to bring the series back to Tampa.

Let’s see if the curse is out of Toronto and the Maple Leafs will be Vasilevskiy or if the goalie will have indeed found some magic to stop Toronto’s offense to extend the series.

Recommended articles:

Categories
Hockey Feed

Bunting odd man out at practice, huge promotion for Knies!

NHL

All eyes were on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ practice on Wednesday morning as fans wonder if forward Michael Bunting will be inserted back into the lineup is eligible to return from his three-game suspension on Thursday.

It didn’t long to notice that Bunting was the odd man odd during practice, despite wearing the regular white jersey. On top of that, rookie Matthew Knies, who we knew was not coming out of the lineup for Game 5, got a huge promotion.

The game is tomorrow and so head coach Sheldon Keefe still has time to make a decision on Bunting.

The stats are undeniable in Games 2, 3 and 4 for the Maple Leafs in their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They average 5.33 goals without him in the series. And in Bunting’s absence, the Maple Leafs shown some rare composure, which has benefited them and could finally lead them to Round 2 of the postseason.

After practice, Keefe confirmed that Bunting could not be back for Game 5, but told fans not to worry about the rest of the postseason. 

“He will get back in. It’s just not going to be tomorrow.”

Recommended articles:

Categories
Hockey Feed

More uncertainty added to Patrice Bergeron’s situation ahead of Game 5

NHL.com

Fans still have to wait. Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron did participate in an optional morning skate on Wednesday, but he is still considered a game-time decision for Game 5 in the first round series against the Florida Panthers.

Bergeron has yet to play in the Bruins’ opening series, which they currently lead 3-1. Boston could move on to the second round tonight with a victory over Florida. He missed Game 1 with an illness, and an unspecified upper-body injury kept him out of Games 2, 3 and 4. 

If Bergeron gets the green light for Game 5 after pregame warmups, insider Fluto Shinzawa expects Trent Frederic to be the odd man out for the contest.

As for Bruins forward David Krejci, he skated on his own on Wednesday, but is still listed as out for Game 5. Krejci has an assist in two games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so far.

Stay tuned to see if Bergeron finally gets into the lineup in this series.

Recommended articles:

Categories
Hockey Feed

Kirill Kaprizov under fire amidst Wild playoff series

NHL.com

Minnesota Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov may have been the team’s regular-season leading goal scorer, he’s been quiet in the first round series against the Dallas Stars.

Too quiet.

Team insider Michael Russo of The Athletic posted this on social media following the Wild’s Game 5 loss to Dallas, in which no one from Minnesota managed to get a goal.

“Kaprizov has no even-strength points in the series. His lone point was with 48 seconds left in the 1st period of Game 1. He has gone 293 minutes, 8 seconds without a point. That’s 14 consecutive periods without a point, plus 12:20 of the second overtime of Game 1.”

Fans and pundits have been waiting for Kaprizov to have a breakout game and now he has no other choice but to have it in do or die Game 6 on Friday. Some are worried that the Russian sniper might not be fully healthy, he who returned at the end of the regular season after missing some time with a lower-body injury after he was tackled to the ice by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley on March 8.

Kaprizov has been trying and recorded a shot on goal on a flawlessJake Oettinger on Tuesday. In Game 4 as Russo put it, Kaprizov had four shots on goal, “including a breakaway Oettinger stopped that would have tied the score. He had seven other shots that were either blocked or missed the mark.”

However with Minnesota on the brink of elimination ahead of Friday’s action, the Wild need Kaprizov to lead the way. Maybe being under fire with fans calling for him to get back to his usual ways and authentic self with motivate Kaprizov to start scoring!

Recommended articles:

Categories
Hockey Feed

Steven Stamkos sounds off on fight with Auston Matthews

The New York Post

It was a scene of true old time hockey on Saturday night between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning in the 3rd period, as Steven Stamkos jumped Auston Matthews following a brutal hit from eventual OT hero Morgan Rielly on Brayden Point. 

Stamkos shared his side of the story of what transpired on Saturday, saying that he would expect the same thing from Toronto had the roles been reversed and a Leafs player had been driven into the boards in brutal fashion. 

“Well – I mean, listen, it’s such a bang-bang play. You see one of the best players in the world go headfirst into the boards. There’s got to be a response. I’d expect the same thing from their group if Marner or Matthews was in that same position.”

“It’s playoff hockey; that’s just the way it is. We had a huge kill there, and I thought we gained some momentum off that, played a really good third period; it just didn’t work out.”

Can we expect to see more fireworks tonight between the two teams as they get back together for the critical Game 4?

Categories
Hockey Feed

Bruins release crucial updates on Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci

Mass Live

Here’s the good news for the Boston Bruins – they’re in firm control of their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Florida Panthers, taking a 3-1 lead back to the friendly confines of TD Garden in Boston after a convincing 6-2 victory in Game 4 Sunday afternoon. 

The bad news is that they’ve been without their veteran duo of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. The longtime Bruins forwards are both banged up; Krejci missed the final six regular season games but was able to play in the first two games of the postseason, he’s missed the past pair of games. Meanwhile, Bergeron has missed the entire postseason thanks to a late season injury. 

The Bruins and Panthers are back in action on Wednesday night, and if they’re to do as expected and punch their ticket to the second round, they could potentially do so with the veteran duo back in action, according to head coach Jim Montgomery.

“If they and the doctors say they’re able to play, they’re playing,” Montgomery said of Bergeron (and the injured David Krejci) when asked about their availability for Game 5 at TD Garden. “You don’t take chances in the playoffs. You don’t wait to know if he’s going to get another eight days of rest.

“If he’s healthy, and we know what the situation is, if he gets the green light, he’s playing on Wednesday night.”

Game 5 between the Bruins and Panthers is Wednesday night starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

Categories
Hockey Feed

NHL Insider does complete 180 on Ryan O’Reilly trade

Buffalo Hockey Beat

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas elected to go all-in at last month’s NHL Trade Deadline, bringing aboard former 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly from the St. Louis Blues (along with Noel Acciari) while also bringing back former 2008 1st round Draft selection Luke Schenn. 

O’Reilly has been extremely valuable so far in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Leafs in their Round 1 series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, having racked up five points (none bigger than his late game-tying goal in Game 3) while also performing well in the face-off circle. 

Initially, Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff wasn’t exactly keen on the acquisition. Take a look at what he initially had to say following the move: 

“This is either going to be Kyle Dubas’ signature move or it’s going to be the signature on his death warrant as GM of the Maple Leafs. I’m a Ryan O’Reilly fan… my question is, when you watch this season, how far removed his he from that 2019 player and Selke win. I think watching this year, I would say pretty far away from that player. Does this trade, in your opinion, shift the balance of power in the East?… So you’re able to get through Tampa… I don’t look at this trade and say ‘this helps them vastly change this power structure that’s in place. Do you think the Tampa Bay Lightning are sitting there saying today ‘oh man, I’m shaking in my boots that they got Ryan O’Reilly now?’

But now that O’Reilly has reverted back into his MVP style of play from the Blues Cup run of 2019, Seravalli is changing his tune, having this to say during an appearance on “The FAN 590 Morning Show”: 

“The Leafs, they need a killer and Ryan O’Reilly is a killer. It’s so important to have someone they can rely on to step up.”

Thanks to O’Reilly, the Leafs are now two wins away from their first playoff series victory since 2004. Game 4 between the Leafs and Lightning is tonight from Amalie Arena starting at 7:30 PM EST. 

Categories
Hockey Feed

Maple Leafs Game 4 line combinations released

CBC

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning renew acquaintances tonight in what will be a critical Game 4 of their opening round Stanley Cup Playoffs series. Toronto will either be taking a 3-1 stranglehold back to Scotiabank Arena for Thursday night, or the Lightning will punch back and even up the series at 2-2 and guarantee at least a 6th game. 

It was speculated before tonight’s game that the Maple Leafs could be sporting a different look on the ice, as it was revealed by head coach Sheldon Keefe that there would be a handful of unspecified players who would be game time decisions. 

But for now, the Leafs are warming up with the exact same lineup and line combinations that they started Game 3 with. 

Per Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: 

Järnkrok — Matthews — Marner
Kerfoot — Tavares — Nylander
Knies — O’Reilly — Acciari
Aston-Reese — Kämpf — Lafferty

Brodie — McCabe
Rielly — Schenn
Giordano — Holl

Ilya Samsonov once again gets the nod in net.

Categories
Hockey Feed

Hockey Insider: NHL is filled with crybabies

RMNB

We’ve seen just about everything so far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and we’re still just in the middle of the opening round of what truly is the most exciting annual tournament in professional sports. 

The nastiness has increased with each passing game, with not only players getting into it on the ice but multiple coaches squaring off in back and forth wars of words. Simply put, it’s been tremendous entertainment for the fans. 

However, there have also been multiple players (and coaches) who have voiced their beef with the quality of officiating, which has been at absolute best, very inconsistent so far in the postseason. The way that penalties are (and aren’t) called, goals being allowed in controversial fashion on one night but being disallowed on the next, and so on. 

But there’s one particular hockey insider who is getting tired of seeing players and coaches immediately fall back on blaming the on-ice officials for the outcome of a game. According to Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic, these teams need to simply go back to focusing on coming back with a better effort in their next outing. 

“In practically every game, somebody is getting cheated by the officials and somebody — player or coach — is complaining afterward about how unjustly they’re being treated.

Whatever happened to the old idea that when you lost a game in the playoffs, you needed to look in the mirror and try to be better next time out? That’s an old-timey sports euphemism for the act of taking personal responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions. But it doesn’t happen nearly enough anymore.

Nowadays, you mostly get coaches and players trying to deflect the responsibility elsewhere. The underlying message is the fault isn’t internal. It’s external. It’s the missed calls and illegal actions by the other team that are ultimately preventing our squad from being at its best.”

Are you with Duatschek on this one? 

Categories
Hockey Feed

Avalanche release discouraging update for Game 4

Denver Sports.com

The good news for the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche is that they’re in control of their opening round postseason series against the Seattle Kraken, having rebounded from a stunning Game 1 loss to rattle off two straight wins and grab the series advantage. 

The bad news is that they’re going to be shorthanded once again for tonight’s critical Game 4, as news was released yesterday that forward Valeri Nichushkin has left the team due to, as they put it, “personal reasons”. Nichushkin didn’t play in Game 3, having been designated a late scratch, and was reported to have gone to the airpot and departed Seattle. 

“That’s the information I had at the time,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. “It was a maintenance day, and then he left for personal reasons. If he was around or could be around, then he would be available to play.”

During the team morning skate earlier today at Climate Pledge Arena, Nichushkin was absent. 

It appears as though if the Avalanche are to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Kraken, they’ll have to do so once again without their valuable Russian forward. 

Game 4 between the two teams is tonight starting at 10:00 PM EST.