The Boston Bruins are set to face off against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon and based on the decision made by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery it seems safe to suggest that he is hoping to see his team take a stranglehold on this series.
On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at the possibility that we could see backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman make an appearance in Game 4 but that will not be the case after all. Montgomery confirmed on Sunday that it will be Linus Ullmark who once again gets the start for the Bruins.
Here is the rest of your Boston Bruins lineup for Game 4: Forwards:
Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak Nick Foligno-Trent Frederic-Taylor Hall Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway Defensemen:
Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov
Things got pretty rough between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs during Saturday night’s Game 3, but I doubt that many of you expected that it would be Maple Leafs forward Sam Lafferty that would be getting the call from the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) on Sunday.
There was plenty of physicality on both sides last night but the DOPS has chosen to single out Lafferty for a crosscheck that he delivered to the mouth and face of Lightning forward Ross Colton. As a result of his infraction, Lafferty will now be forced to forfeit $3,108.11, in salary which is the maximum allowable amount under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.
Although Colton may have done a little selling on the play in the hopes of drawing a penalty, there’s no question that Lafferty got too loose with his stick and did in fact strike Colton in face. With that in mind the fine is perfectly warranted, but it is still somewhat surprising to see this particular infraction singled out given the number of dangerous plays that occurred on Saturday night.
On Saturday, following the conclusion of Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe made some highly publicized comments regarding the way the Lightning conducted themselves during a scrum that occurred off the back of a big hit. That hit, one that came courtesy of Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, would send Lightning forward Brayden Point crashing awkwardly into the end boards with his head and shoulder absorbing the brunt of the impact.
Keefe accused the Lightning of “manipulating the officials” during the scrum, suggesting that the Lightning took liberties knowing full well that the officials would not put them in a 5 on 3 situation. The Maple Leafs head coach also accused the Lightning of “taking advantage of a situation” adding that “they just know… they’re not going to get another penalty.”
On Sunday, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was asked to respond to the comments made by his counterpart in this series, and Cooper flat out denied any knowledge of Keefe’s accusations. Not only did Cooper deny any manipulation, but he also suggested that it was his squad that should have had the man advantage.
“Manipulated the referees. Alright, I’m not sure what that means, but I would say this. When that hit happened, I think everybody watching at home and everybody in the building, including us, thought we were going on the power play,” argued Cooper.
The Lightning head coach would go a step further by suggesting that none of his players did anything, or would do anything, that would have jeopardized that potential power play for the Lightning.
“Our two best power-play players, I don’t think they would ever sit there and take themselves off a power play unless they thought something unjust happened. Auston Matthews doesn’t kill penalties. That actually worked against us, to be honest. Now, we ended up being shorthanded after that, but I don’t think anybody thought that was going to happen at the time, so I don’t know, that one’s a little different for me.”
It seems clear both coaches have drastically different perspectives regarding what transpired last night.
The Stanley Cup playoffs were marred by controversy on Friday night, and although the final decision has already been made and there will be no changing the past now, we probably aren’t done hearing about this particular call for a while.
On Friday night, the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings clashed in Game 3 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series and the game would end in controversy after an overtime goal courtesy of the Kings’ Trevor Moore. There was no doubt that Moore scored the goal, but several slow motion and close up replays appear to indicate that a stoppage in play had been warranted prior to him scoring the goal.
The end result though was the NHL ruling this a good goal, something the Oilers obviously do not agree with. Following the conclusion of the game, Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft was asked to share his thoughts on the controversy and he made it pretty clear how he felt. Although not one to ever stir the pot, Woodcroft made it clear that he felt the league had made the wrong call.
“It’s a play where the greatest player in the world is two feet away,” said Woodcroft. “His arm comes straight up in the air because he knows it hit the stick, otherwise he wouldn’t put his arm up in the air… he would keep playing.”
Woodcroft also pointed to the slow motion replays that appear to indicate that there was indeed a high stick that should have stopped the play.
“It appears to me in the video that the puck is going straight up in a trajectory and deadens, in the end I’m going to go with the greatest player in the world who was three feet away,” concluded Woodcroft
The player being referenced here is of course Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and judging by Woodcroft’s comments it would stand to reason that McDavid himself, and likely the rest of the Oilers lock room. isn’t too happy about this call either.
The National Hockey League has a major controversy on their hands stemming from a call made during Friday night’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, and it is one that could potentially play a pivotal role in determining who advances in the first round of that series.
On Friday night, the Oilers and Kings, who were already tied up at 1-1 on the series coming into this one, battled it out in a hard fought game that needed overtime to determine a winner. The game winning goal would come on a Kings powerplay just minutes into the overtime frame when Trevor Moore managed to beat Jeff Skinner to give the Kings a 2-1 lead in the series.
Here’s a replay of Moore’s game winning goal:
If you’re thinking that Moore’s goal doesn’t look all that controversial you would be right, there’s no doubt that the puck crossed the goal line and there’s not much of a case to be made for goaltender interference. The issue isn’t with the goal itself but with a high stick that occurred only moments before, one that the Oilers feel should have resulted in a stoppage of play.
The alleged high stick in question came from the Kings’ Gabe Vilardi, and here’s a look at the replay as shown on the broadcast last night:
The NHL’s situation room in Toronto would take several looks at the play but, according to several NHL insiders, the league would determine that there were no camera angles that showed Vilardi had conclusively touched the puck.
The league’s ruling has been called into question with some arguing that the replay does show conclusive contact between stick and puck, arguing that the momentum of both shifted at the moment of contact. When viewed in slow motion, Vilardi does appear to look up after the puck makes contact with his stick. If the player felt that contact and reacted by looking up, it would lend credence to the argument that contact was made.
A close up of this same replay also appears to show the shift in momentum from both puck and stick.
Whether the NHL got this one right or wrong won’t change anything now for either the Kings or the Oilers, but it will certainly be discussed at great length should the Kings emerge victorious in this series.
Did the NHL make the right call on Friday night? Or could this prove to be a series defining mistake from the league?
The New Jersey Devils aren’t out of the Stanley Cup playoffs just yet, but they have dug themselves into a major hole by allowing the New York Rangers to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their first round playoff series.
It isn’t just that the Rangers took the first two games of the series though, it’s also the manner in which they claimed those victories that have the Devils reeling and on the ropes. The Rangers won both Game 1 and Game 2 by a score of 5-1, prompting what appears to be a desperation move from Devils head coach Lindy Ruff.
Although it has not as of yet officially been confirmed, it appears as though Ruff will be injecting rookie goaltender Akira Schmid in the hopes that Schmid can be the difference maker and claw his team back into this series. Our first sign that Schmid would be getting the start came this morning when Schmid was in his own net during the Devils’ morning skate, while both Mackenzie Blackwood and Game 1 and Game 2 starter Vitek Vanacek shared a net.
Schmid would also be the last goaltender to leave the ice on Saturday which further led many to believe that he would be getting the start tonight, and National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli has now confirmed his belief that Schmid will start while Vanecek will play the backup role.
You can hardly blame Ruff for trying to find an answer here, and given the lackluster performances the Devils received from Blackwood during the regular season he likely isn’t a realistic option here. Furthermore Vanecek has struggled in this series allowing 4 goals on just 22 shots in Game 1 for an .818 save percentage and 5 goals on just 30 shots in Game 2 for an .833 save percentage.
Schmid is a rookie and one with only 24 games of NHL experience under his belt, but to his credit he did have a solid showing in the regular season for the Devils. In his 18 appearances during the 2022-23 season. Schmid would record a 2.13 goals against average and a .922 save percentage, so you can start to see why Ruff is turning to him at such a pivotal moment in the series.
They call #99 “The Great One” for his outstanding play out on the ice, but we may soon have to change that name to “The Greatest One” thanks not to Wayne Gretzky the player, but Wayne Gretzky the man.
Over the weekend Gretzky joined the Spittin Chiclets crew during their broadcast of the FDNY vs NYPD hockey game, no doubt in an effort to help promote an event that puts the spotlight right on first responders. Being that the event was between a pair of teams based out of New York, Wayne Gretzky was asked to retell a famous story related to a family that lost their son during the tragic events of 9/11.
Gretzky would go on to share a story about how he met a family one day by the pool, a chance meeting that would forever change the contents of his wallet.
“Janet and I happened to be in Vegas for a charity event and they were sitting by the pool… sort of a family get together,” revealed Gretzky over the weekend. “I kinda walked by and they said ‘Are you Wayne?’ and I said yeah and they said ‘We had a son that tragically passed in 9/11 and here’s his picture,’ and they gave me his card and I said I’ll keep it in my wallet for life.”
It was a very nice thing for Gretzky to do and say, but surely no one would hold him to the impossible standard of keeping a photograph of a man he had never met, and would never meet, in his wallet forever?
Well according to Gretzky, a full decade later, he ran into friends of that very same family when he was once again in Las Vegas and what happened when they met will leave you in awe of Wayne Gretzky the man.
“10 years later I was in Vegas again for another event,” continued Gretzky “and friend’s of their family said ‘Can we ask you a question, do you still have that picture of our friend? Their family told us you were gonna have it in your wallet.’ I said yeah, and I pulled my wallet out and I still had the picture. I said I promised the family I would never lose it, I would keep it forever.”
Perhaps even more impressive than Gretzky’s unbelievable act of kindness was the completely humble and matter-of-fact matter in which he repeated the story. It was clear that Wayne did not want any kind of recognition for the gesture, although he certainly deserves it.
“You know what? Everyone went through a hard time,” said Gretzky. “For me to keep a little keepsake like that is special to me.”
If you have paid any attention to the chatter regarding the Boston Bruins on social media over the last few days, you’ve probably seen quite a bit of concern and criticism surrounding the status of Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron.
After being out for a while and dealing with some injuries, Bergeron would make his return to the ice on the 13th of April for a meaningless game against the Montreal Canadiens. Bergeron accumulate just 5 minutes and 36 seconds of ice time before leaving the game early, and since exiting that game he has been notably absent from all of the Bruins’ skates.
On Sunday, Don Sweeney addressed Bergeron’s status ahead of the Bruins’ first game in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, and his comments were not at all reassuring.
“He’s taken another extra day today again obviously,” began Sweeney on Sunday. “It’s to be decided tomorrow if he feels well enough he’ll play.”
It sounds like Bergeron is dealing with both nagging injuries as well as an illness, so there will be quite a bit up in the air as the Bruins set to face off against the Florida Panthers on Monday night. The good news here is, as Sweeney pointed out, it’s not like missing a few practices is going to somehow diminish the quality of player that Bergeron is on a nightly basis.
“Patrice doesn’t need extra days of practice,” said Sweeney. “If he feels better he’ll play.”
Somewhat concerning was the fact that Sweeney confirmed Jeremy Swayman is also dealing with an illness of his own, and you have to hope that there isn’t some kind of bug going around the Bruins locker room just before the Stanley Cup playoffs.
For Sweeney’s full comments, check out the video below:
The Toronto Maple Leafs made an interesting decision before the start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season when they allowed general manager Kyle Dubas to enter the season in the final year of his contract with the team.
From the outside looking in the move appeared designed to put more pressure on Dubas to produce results on the ice, notably advancing beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it may have been a move with some unintended consequences.
Since the conclusion of the regular season there have been rumblings that Dubas may be drawing interest from rival teams around the league, potentially even teams within the Eastern Conference. On Friday, Mike Stephens of The Hockey News revealed that at least one team is prepared to put the “full court press” on Dubas should he become available, with that team being none other than the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“The rumblings that I’ve heard at least are that Fenway Sports Group is ready to put the full court press on Kyle Dubas if he leaves Toronto,” wrote Stephens.
It’s not hard to see how this could cause problems for the Maple Leafs, especially if Dubas were to take his talents to another team and find success there. Even in the event that Dubas doesn’t leave the Leafs though this could still have a negative impact on the team, with this likely greatly increasing Dubas’ negotiating leverage in any contract talks.
If we’re hearing rumblings that other teams are interested in Dubas, you can bet his representatives have already heard them as well. The decision to not re-sign Dubas sooner could end up costing the Leafs significantly more money later down the line.
Although the National Hockey League has only just recently added the Seattle Kraken to their ever growing number of member teams and although the NHL finally finds itself balanced with 32 teams across the league, the rumors of NHL expansion continue to persist.
The latest on that front comes to us courtesy of former NHL goaltender turned NHL insider Kevin Weekes, and his report is a spicy one. Weekes is reporting that an arena development project, one large enough to house a hockey team, is set to be announced on Monday.
What makes this report from Weekes even more interesting though is the market involved in this rumor, one that has repeatedly been one of two markets in the United States heavily rumored to be potential NHL destinations. According to Weekes the market in question is that of the state of Georgia, with the city of Atlanta having been a rumored destination for the NHL almost since the moment the Atlanta Thrashers were relocated to Winnipeg.
Weekes even goes to ask “If you build it, will they come ?” clearly hinting at the possibility of NHL expansion here in the future. It’s still too early to say anything definitive about this as-of-yet to be announced project, but there’s a little smoke here at the very least.
Could this be the location of the next NHL franchise? Hockey fans in Quebec City, Quebec or Houston, Texas might not be too happy at the thought of that possibility.
