Game recaps, updates on Jakub Voracek, Dan Girardi, Antoine Vermette, Tom Wilson and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.
Game Recaps and Playoff Headlines.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TRIBLIVE.COM: Derick Brassard and Ryan McDonagh scored to lead the New York Ranger to a 2-1 victory and a 1-0 series lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a costly win for the Rangers, as defenseman Dan Girardi left the game after being struck in the face by a puck. The only update thus far is the dentist was examining Girardi. Penalties proved costly for the Penguins, who were shorthanded five times, setting the stage for McDonagh’s game-winning goal.
Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk celebrates one of his two goals against the Lightning.
THE DETROIT NEWS/THE TAMPA TRIBUNE: Petr Mrazek made 44 saves backstopping the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 series-opening win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pavel Datsyuk scored twice and Luke Glendening tallied shorthanded. Ben Bishop made only 11 saves while Brian Boyle and Nikita Nestorov scored for the Wings.
TWINCITIES.COM/STLTODAY.COM: Two late empty-net goals sealed a 4-2 victory for the Minnesota Wild in Game One of their opening-round series against the St. Louis Blues. Zach Parise and Jason Pominville enjoyed two-point performances for the Wild, while Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk collected two assists.
Note: Games involving Canadian NHL teams are recapped in “Canadian Corner.”
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES/THE TENNESSEAN: The Chicago Blackhawks will return with starter Corey Crawford for Game Two of their series against the Nashville Predators, whose younger players gained some valuable experience from their series-opening double-overtime loss in Game One. Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette is expected to once again be a healthy.
NEWSDAY/CSNWASHINGTON.COM: The New York Islanders aren’t taking their dominant series-opening win over the Washington Capitals lightly. Capitals winger Tom Wilson (concussion) hopes to return to the lineup for Game Two against the Isles.
Other Notable Headlines.
PHILLY.COM: Jakub Voracek’s stellar performance this season could make for an intriguing financial situation for the Flyers. Do they re-sign Voracek to a long-term extension now, or will Voracek and his agent wait until later next season to net a bigger contract?
THE BUFFALO NEWS: Erie Otters superstar and projected 2015 NHL first-overall draft pick Connor McDavid will be on hand at Sportsnet studios for the result of the NHL draft lottery on April 18. The lottery winner is expected to be announced shortly after 8 pm ET on Saturday.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC: If the Arizona Coyotes win the draft lottery it could save the club’s future in Arizona.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s what I suggested a month ago.
NBC SPORTS: Former NHL forward Samuel Pahlsson has announced his retirement. He played in 798 NHL games with the Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks (winning a Stanley Cup with them in 2007), Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks from 2000-01 to 2011-12. He spent the past three seasons playing for MODO in Sweden.
If there was even a remote chance the draft was going to be rigged, McDavid to Arizona to save the franchise would be the reason.
Despite all the tinfoil hat comments, I still think that Buffalo is not lucky enough to win the lottery. Even the media is talking about when Jack E comes to town.
I will gladly take Jack E and even buy his jersey.
I forget where I read it but there is an artcle out there about the talent level and the competition the 2 face, basically Eichles team is a one man show, and its generally an easier thing to do to shut that down compared to the talent that Erie has, this and the level of cmpetition in college hockey may not have pushed his development as hard as it could have if he played 7n the CHL…basically it was saying with in a year or 2 in the NHL there will likely be an even smaller, margin between Eichle and McDavid…The Sabres are sitting pretty OSS enjoy having one of the next generational stars in the the game.
I have tried the NHL Draft Lottery Predictor several times in the lead-up to Saturday night and, believe it or not, on my first try yesterday, the Boston Bruins, with a 1% chance of winning the lottery, came up. I tried again nine more times and it wasn’t until the seventh try that the Sabres name appeared. Edmonton and Toronto did not appear once.
Do not be surprised at any result on Saturday – anything is possible.
Another reason for Arizona to win the lottery is that it will give them the gold medal winning line from the World Juniors of Domi-McDavid-Duclair. While I hope Buffalo gets that number one pick since a dear friend is a fan, I can’t deny the potential outcome of the lottery being rigged to put this generational talent in a city that may potentially lose their franchise in two years time
Ive now watched atleast a half dozen Rangers games maybe a couple more since they picked up Yandle at the deadline and I must say that deal is looking worse and worse, I get that its all about the run for a cup this year but I feel like down the road especially if they dont win or atleast make a real strong run there is going to be some regret there..buttery soft turnover machine.
Agree to a degree on Yandle. As a Ranger die hard, he actually got better as he got games under his belt and they did give up a lot to get him but it is totally about winning now.
Sather realizes the window is closing quickly (see Bruins) and will basically accept a mediocre to poor team 3 years hence in order to take his best shot now. His real mistake was signing Dan Boyle who is a first grade turnover machine and is soft to boot.
No way Yandle resigns with the Rangers after next year anyway..
Keith Yandle will be targeted for a re-sign as soon as next season rolls around. Dan Boyle will not be resigned after next season and if the rangers win this year, possibly shipped out. The Yandle move was quite intelligent by Sather, yes he gave up a lot to get him, but defense and puck transition is what the Rangers are and will be, that all starts from the back ens and few do it better than Yandle (also don’t forget Yandle had 11 points in 21 games this year and was a +6 with rangers) So next year and in 3 years from now, the rangers should still be in very good shape with Glass, Boyle gone, MSL takes a pay cut and all RFA are signed along with Yandle. Also the best part of having Yandle for next year is that after 2015-16 season, Skeji will have 1 full year of professional hockey as well as Buchenevich and BOTH are projected to make the starting lineup making their defense as good if not better than this years and possibly improving their offense.