NHL Canadian Corner – January 30, 2015

Game recaps and more in your NHL Canadian Corner.

Henrik Lundqvist watches Max Pacoretty’s shot get past him.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Max Pacioretty’s 50-foot wrister fooled New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (left), lifting the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 win. Canadiens goalie Carey Price made 24 saves for the shutout.

EDMONTON SUN: Anton Lander enjoyed the first three-point performance of his NHL career to lead the Oilers to a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

WINNIPEG SUN: Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn enjoyed two-point performances to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Mathieu Perreault scored the Jets only goals.

OTTAWA SUN: The Ottawa Senators held former Senators captain Jason Spezza scoreless in his return to Ottawa since his trade to the Dallas Stars last summer. However, the Sens ultimately lost the game 6-3.

CALGARY HERALD: Thanks to Devan Dubnyk’s 30-save performance the Minnesota Wild blanked the Calgary Flames 4-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: In his six games since joining the Wild in a trade earlier this month from Arizona, Dubnyk’s won four of them and has the once-fading Wild back in the Western Conference playoff chase.

TORONTO STAR: The Maple Leafs free fall continues, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Arizona Coyotes. The lowlight of the night was Jonathan Bernier giving up a 114-foot goal from Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larssen.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That goal was the back breaker. The Leafs had a 1-0 lead early in the third period but after giving up that softie you could see them visibly sag. The Coyotes scored twice more to win the game. Watching the dead-eyed, lifeless post-game Leafs interviews, it’s obvious the their season is over. Barring a miraculous finish, the Leafs haven’t got a prayer of reaching the playoffs.

THE PROVINCE: Despite his struggles this season, Zack Kassian hasn’t asked for a trade and hopes to remain with the Canucks.

5 Comments

Shticky on January 30, 2015 at 1:35 pm

Another great performance by Bernier, that once again killed any kind of momentum, look back over the streak how many games are they out of early 3-0 in the first or in u til the evy breaks with a soft goal? listen to all the stuff floating around about the usual suspects yet still hear “gotta make room for Bernier!” He is not played well enough to earn a big raise or especially a long term deal. This is going to be a tough contract to figure out, I am not sure if you cant find another cheap young goalie with some promise, that you dont deal Bernier Keep Reimer and move on…just based on the point of time with Bernier and his cocontract. I am not saying he may not be very good, just that I wouldnt rosk giving up 4 or 5 mill over 5 years to a goalie that really has not showed himself to be all that muchbetter than Reimer.

Sean on January 30, 2015 at 2:04 pm

That first goal was awful yes. It was a knuckleballer and sunk like a stone at the end, but the second one from on the goal line? UGH. I agree Shticky perhaps dump Bernier, get the picks/prospects for the rebuild and go with Reimer. Sure Reimer can let in the soft ones as well, but with Bernier you know he’s good for at least one soft one each game. Bring in someone who will push Reimer and keep him engaged enough to continue to play hungry like he has been of late in hopes of developing Reimer into a top goaltender or developing someone from within.
tml_gm on January 30, 2015 at 2:12 pm

I’m usually very optimistic about the Leafs but not much positive happening these days. Good article in the Star today analyzing Gardiner’s stats. All of his advanced stats are better than I would have expected from watching him. This team is a mess. Firing Carlyle was the right move, but despite all the talk about them playing the right way and keeping shots down, etc. it obviously isn’t working. Be a new coach next year and this one will probably end up living next to Ron Wilson…I think he’s probably a good assistant, but this isn’t working.
- The Man__Oss on January 30, 2015 at 9:33 pm
  
  Hold On.
  Here is the problem. Last night the Leafs allowed 45 shots. Doing so at the expense of the offence.
  
  I’m a Sabres fan, but WTF? They are not playing better defense, they just stopped the offense.
  
  No wonder they can’t win. Being out shot by 20 shots is Sabres territory, not the Leafs. This coach is ruining any chance they had at winning games with his approach.
  
  At least they would score while being out shot. It seems like another poor management decision to me.
- Shticky on January 30, 2015 at 10:02 pm
  
  45 shots against…right back to the old line combos in search of some offense. I’m pretty sure there might be a connection between the 2,
  Who knows. I’m a fan of Phil and JVR but I am not sure you can keep both, and I am 100% certain Bozak needs to go, so if Phil is going to kind of drag himself around because he is not on a line with Bozak (if that has been the case over this skid, but if it is…) maybe you do move him, and keep JVR, the top 6 just needs so much work. I dont see anyway you keep those 3 together.

Shticky on January 30, 2015 at 1:35 pm

Another great performance by Bernier, that once again killed any kind of momentum, look back over the streak how many games are they out of early 3-0 in the first or in u til the evy breaks with a soft goal? listen to all the stuff floating around about the usual suspects yet still hear “gotta make room for Bernier!” He is not played well enough to earn a big raise or especially a long term deal. This is going to be a tough contract to figure out, I am not sure if you cant find another cheap young goalie with some promise, that you dont deal Bernier Keep Reimer and move on…just based on the point of time with Bernier and his cocontract. I am not saying he may not be very good, just that I wouldnt rosk giving up 4 or 5 mill over 5 years to a goalie that really has not showed himself to be all that muchbetter than Reimer.
- Sean on January 30, 2015 at 2:04 pm
  
  That first goal was awful yes. It was a knuckleballer and sunk like a stone at the end, but the second one from on the goal line? UGH. I agree Shticky perhaps dump Bernier, get the picks/prospects for the rebuild and go with Reimer. Sure Reimer can let in the soft ones as well, but with Bernier you know he’s good for at least one soft one each game. Bring in someone who will push Reimer and keep him engaged enough to continue to play hungry like he has been of late in hopes of developing Reimer into a top goaltender or developing someone from within.
- tml_gm on January 30, 2015 at 2:12 pm
  
  I’m usually very optimistic about the Leafs but not much positive happening these days. Good article in the Star today analyzing Gardiner’s stats. All of his advanced stats are better than I would have expected from watching him. This team is a mess. Firing Carlyle was the right move, but despite all the talk about them playing the right way and keeping shots down, etc. it obviously isn’t working. Be a new coach next year and this one will probably end up living next to Ron Wilson…I think he’s probably a good assistant, but this isn’t working.
  - The Man__Oss on January 30, 2015 at 9:33 pm
    
    Hold On.
    Here is the problem. Last night the Leafs allowed 45 shots. Doing so at the expense of the offence.
    
    I’m a Sabres fan, but WTF? They are not playing better defense, they just stopped the offense.
    
    No wonder they can’t win. Being out shot by 20 shots is Sabres territory, not the Leafs. This coach is ruining any chance they had at winning games with his approach.
    
    At least they would score while being out shot. It seems like another poor management decision to me.
  - Shticky on January 30, 2015 at 10:02 pm
    
    45 shots against…right back to the old line combos in search of some offense. I’m pretty sure there might be a connection between the 2,
    Who knows. I’m a fan of Phil and JVR but I am not sure you can keep both, and I am 100% certain Bozak needs to go, so if Phil is going to kind of drag himself around because he is not on a line with Bozak (if that has been the case over this skid, but if it is…) maybe you do move him, and keep JVR, the top 6 just needs so much work. I dont see anyway you keep those 3 together.