Image courtesy of O.Canada.com
As the season is winding down, the playoff picture is becoming a little more clear, as teams are finding ways to gain ground in the standings, while others are slipping at the wrong point of the season. The Boston Bruins are enduring a lengthy winning streak, James Reimer’s agent might be causing problems in Toronto, and Matt Stajan may have had the most memorable moment in a seven-goal win, as there are plenty of performances and topics to talk about this week when looking at the league.
Atlantic Division
The argument for the Boston Bruins being the strongest team in the Eastern Conference is growing every day. Not only are the Bruins on a 12-game winning streak, which is the longest in the NHL this season, but Boston improved to 17-4-4 against the Western Conference this season with their 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. With their 2-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, Boston was the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff spot. If Tuukka Rask wasn’t enough for the opposition, Chad Johnson earned his fifth straight win on Saturday against Phoenix, as he is 10-0-1 in his last 11 decisions. Jarome Iginla, who took part in his 1,300th NHL game on Monday, scored two goals against Phoenix on Saturday and now sits 24th on the all-time goals list with 558 in his career. Iginla also has three two-goal games in his last five games overall. Corey Potter made his Bruins’ debut on Thursday in the team’s 4-2 decision over the New Jersey Devils, as he was plus-1 with a shot on goal in 15:09 of action. Boston also signed Ben Sexton to an entry-level contract. Sexton, a seventh-round pick of Boston’s in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, is a 22-year-old center who had 28 points and 88 PIMs in 35 games for Clarkson University this year.
Riding an eight-game point streak, the Tampa Bay Lightning now sit second in the division. In a week where they handed out replica Stanley Cup rings to their fans to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the 2004 Stanley Cup winning Lightning team, the Bolts gained ground in the standings thanks to a streaking Steven Stamkos. With a natural hat trick in the team’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, Stamkos has seven points in his last four games. The win over Toronto came despite Alex Killorn earning a game misconduct for boarding Paul Ranger, which resulted in the defenseman leaving the ice on a stretcher. Valtteri Filppula is also on fire for the Lightning, as he recorded his 300th NHL point on Monday against the Vancouver Canucks. Filppula is currently on an eight-game point streak where he has 12 points. The Lightning also made news this week with a signing, as they inked undrafted 23-year-old center Cody Kunyk, who had 43 points in 37 games with the University of Alaska-Fairbranks this season. As for their prospects, Jonathan Drouin, the team’s first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, is one of three finalists for the QMJHL’s MVP award. Also, goaltender Adam Wilcox, the team’s sixth-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, is one of 10 Hobey Baker finalists.
The Montreal Canadiens sit third in the division, but the biggest news of the week might be related to one of the team’s prospects. Tim Bozon, Montreal’s third-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, has been battling meningitis over the last few weeks and was placed in a medically-induced coma due to the situation. Fortunately for Bozon, he awoke from the coma this week and is now attempting to speak. On the ice, Thomas Vanek scored his first few goals as a Canadien in the team’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, as the former Buffalo Sabre and New York Islander recorded a hat trick. Unfortunately, Brandon Prust suffered an upper-body injury in the win and has been declared out for the rest of the regular season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are holding on to a wild card spot, but it isn’t certain how much longer that will be true. The scariest news of the week for the Leafs was the injury to Ranger, who was hospitalized after the hit he took from Killorn in Toronto’s loss on Monday to the Lightning. Fortunately for Ranger, the trip to the hospital was only a precautionary assessment, as he is now only day-to-day with a stiff neck. It’s also worth noting from the loss on Wednesday that a fan at the Air Canada Centre decided to jump on the ice during a timeout. As for the other entertaining news of the week, Reimer’s agent, Ray Petkau, decided to tweet the following after his client made 28 saves in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday: “As is customary in Toronto, when your team plays poor defensively game you blame your goalie.” Reimer proceeded to allow nine goals against on a total of 66 shots against in the two games following the tweet, as he was also pulled against the Devils yesterday after he allowed three goals on 10 shots. Luckily for Toronto, Jonathan Bernier started skating again this week and, according to head coach Randy Carlyle, is “coming along.” Dave Bolland also returned to action after missing 56 games with an ankle injury, as he was minus-1 with a shot on goal in 9:01 TOI in the team’s 4-3 loss to Montreal on Saturday. Joffrey Lupul recorded his 200th NHL assist on Tuesday in the team’s loss to Detroit, as the Leafs have lost four straight and five of their last six. David Clarkson also made his return to New Jersey, as he was minus-2 with a shot on goal and a hit in exactly 10 minutes of ice time on Sunday in his first game against the Devils since signing in Toronto.
With all the significant injuries to their roster, the Detroit Red Wings are still holding on to a wild card spot. Despite adding Justin Abdelkader and Jonathan Ericsson to an injury list that already features Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Stephen Weiss among others, the Wings have won four of their last six. The surplus of injuries even forced blue liner Brendan Smith to play forward in the team’s win over the Leafs on Tuesday, but even he was hurt in his performance. In one of the more talked about games of the week, the Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in overtime on Thursday when Daniel Alfredsson’s second goal of the game found the back of the net with 0.4 seconds left. Stemming from the game was a James Neal cross check to Luke Glendening’s head and David Legwand butt-ending Evgeni Malkin, both actions that resulted in $5,000 fines for the aggressors. Landon Ferraro made his NHL debut on Tuesday against Toronto, as he had a shot on goal, two hits, and a blocked shot in 9:45 of action. In prospect news, Anthony Mantha, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, is one of three finalists in the running for the MVP of the QMJHL. Also, Detroit signed undrafted 22-year-old left winger Colin Campbell to a two-year deal. Campbell has spent the last four seasons with Lake Superior State University and will play for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL.
On a six-game losing streak and dropping eight of their last nine games, the Ottawa Senators don’t seem likely to make the postseason. After Jason Spezza stated to The Ottawa Citizen “the picture is not looking good right now” when talking about the postseason, the Sens went out and lost all three of their games this week by a combined score of 16-9. With Craig Anderson still out of the lineup with, Nathan Lawson made his season debut in the team’s 8-4 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, as he stopped eight of the 10 shots he saw in 11:52 of relief. Two positives for Ottawa is Erik Karlsson is currently on a six-game point streak where he has accrued eight points, while Ryan Dzingel, the team’s seventh-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
It was a week of off-ice action for the Florida Panthers, as a few former members of the organization made news. Aside for the unfortunate but unusual talk about the team having to relocate, head coach Peter Horachek took a shot at former Panther and current Vancouver Canuck Shawn Matthias. Horachek stated that for Matthias there is an accountability to “get out of the victim role” according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel. The Panthers’ head coach before Horachek, Kevin Dineen, was named head coach of Canada’s U-18 national team. In news relating to former players, Pavel Bure will be the GM of one of the three new expansion KHL teams, as he will lead the team that will be located in Sochi, Russia. Dmitry Kulikov played in his 300th NHL game on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks, as Roberto Luongo made 52 saves in the 3-2 win. Garrett Wilson also made his NHL debut in the win, as he had three hits in 8:07 of time on the ice.
Looking forward to next season, the Buffalo Sabres are hoping to keep their head coach around, as well as a few key players. In addition to the anticipated three-year deal head coach Ted Nolan will receive soon, GM Tim Murray is also attempting to re-sign forwards Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis. With Jhonas Enroth out of the lineup, Matt Hackett made his Sabres’ debut this week, as he stopped 35 shots in the team’s 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Also in the decision over Edmonton, Cory Conacher scored his first goal for Buffalo, as he had a pair of markers and a helper in the victory.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
The Pittsburgh Penguins still sit at the top of the division, as the team signed a few of their draft picks to deals this week. Although Joe Vitale was out this weekend with an upper-body injury, Beau Bennett will play a few games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before rejoining the team, according to head coach Dan Bylsma. Disco Dan also said there is a chance that goaltender Tomas Vokoun could play by the end of the regular season, but it isn’t definite. In addition to his cross check to Glendening’s head, Neal had two assists in his 400th NHL game on Thursday against the Red Wings. In terms of the signings, Pittsburgh signed Matia Marcantuoni and Josh Archibald to amateur tryout contracts. Marcantuoni, a fourth-round pick of the Pens in 2012, had 32 points in 54 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL this season. Archibald, a sixth-round pick of the team in 2011, had 43 points and 62 PIMs in 37 games for the University of Nebraska-Omaha this season.
The Philadelphia Flyers are on a five-game winning streak, and the NHL has taken notice. After a weekend sweep of the Pens last weekend, the Orange and Black beat the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and St. Louis Blues this week. Claude Giroux has 10 points on his current six-game point streak, while Wayne Simmonds has eight points in his last five games. Elliotte Friedman mentioned this week that Paul Holmgren made two wise decisions recently, as he declined a deal with the Florida Panthers in 2009 that would have put Jay Bouwmeester in Philadelphia in exchange for Claude Giroux and when he declined moving Sean Couturier this summer when the Leafs were looking to trade Jonathan Bernier. When it comes to contracts, the Flyers signed Robert Hagg, their second-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, to a three-year entry-level deal that begins next season. Hagg will play for the Adirondack Phantoms for the remainder of this season. The team also signed Michael Raffl to a two-year contract extension for a total of $2.2 million. With Steve Downie most likely suffering a concussion on Saturday against the Blues, Tye McGinn has been called up from Adirondack. On the prospect front, Shayne Gostisbehere, a third-round pick of the team in 2012, is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
The New York Rangers sit third in the division, as they have one less point than the Flyers. There are a pair of headlines regarding the team’s big deal at the trade deadline, as Martin St. Louis stated early in the week “no, I’ve played way worse than this” when talking about his play recently, while Owner James Dolan told ESPN Radio that Ryan Callahan “essentially, was asking too much for his services and was going to hamstring the team.” Something positive for the Blueshirts was the week Henrik Lundqvist had, as he now has 50 career shutouts and now has the most wins in Rangers’ history with 304. With John Moore sidelined indefinitely with a concussion, Raphael Diaz made his Rangers’ debut against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The blue liner was plus-1 with a shot on goal in 16:20 time on the ice in the win. In prospect news, Anthony Duclair, New York’s third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, is one of three MVP finalists in the QMJHL. The Rangers also signed d-man Ryan Graves to an entry-level contract. A fourth-round pick of the Rangers’ in the 2013 Entry Draft, Graves had 22 points in 65 games between the Charlottetown Islanders and Val-d’Or Foreurs in the QMJHL this year.
One point out of a playoff spot, the Washington Capitals were able to grab a win in San Jose for the first time since October 30th, 1993 with their 3-2 shootout win over the Sharks on Saturday. Although Brooks Laich will be out four-to-six weeks after he endured a procedure to release a tight adductor, the Caps are enjoying a five-game point streak. Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded another NHL first this week, as he beat Jonathan Quick in his first NHL shootout attempt in Washington’s 2-1 loss on Thursday to the Los Angeles Kings. The Capitals also signed a pair of players to entry-level contracts, as goaltender Pheonix Copley and forward Caleb Herbert joined the organization. Copley was 10-13-6 record with .911 save percentage this season with Michigan Tech. Herbert, a fifth-round pick of the Caps in 2010, had 31 pts and 85 PIMs in 36 games with University of Minnesota-Duluth this season.
Just outside the playoff picture, the Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a couple of frustrating losses this week. After they posted a season-high 47 shots on goal in a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the Blue Jackets were blanked 2-0 yesterday against the New York Islanders thanks to Evgeni Nabokov’s 41-save performance. Even in the team’s lone win of the week, a 3-2 decision over Montreal on Thursday, R.J. Umberger was a healthy scratch in favor of Cam Atkinson, who had five shots on goal in 15:01 of action. One positive for Columbus this week was the signing of goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who they drafted in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Korpisalo has taken part in games for Jokerit and Ilves in the Liiga this season, as well as a few games in Mestis, Finland’s second-highest level of ice hockey.
The New Jersey Devils look as though they won’t be making the postseason, but Jaromir Jagr might make his way past Gordie Howe in the record books. With an assist against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, Jagr registered his 1,044th assist in the NHL and is now just five behind Howe in that category. Andy Greene also helped the Devils pull out a win in a five-game stretch where New Jersey failed to record a regulation victory, as he scored in overtime to hand the Devils a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. With a lot intrigue surrounding Martin Brodeur’s return, or departure, from the Devils in this upcoming offseason, Randy Miller states that Brodeur signed his last deal thinking Zach Parise would re-sign with the Devils and was going to lure Ryan Suter to join the Devils as well. What happened was Brodeur signed his deal with the Devils, while both Parise and Suter went to the Wild.
With the Carolina Hurricanes well out of the playoff race, Darren Dreger stated earlier this week that “major changes” could be coming to the franchise. Dreger stated Ward is likely gone, while Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal could also be moved as well this summer. Along with the trio of aforementioned players, Dreger believes coaching and management changes are coming as well. After head coach Kirk Muller gathered the players at practice on Monday and said “losing is for losers” and told his player that too many of them are playing for the score sheet, the Canes came out and won two of their three games this week. In terms of transactions, the Hurricanes signed 22-year-old d-man Dennis Robertson to a 2-year entry-level contract with an AAV of $550,000 at the NHL level. Robertson had 17 points and 78 PIMs in 30 games as the captain of Brown University this season.
The New York Islanders suffered an embarrassing loss early in the week only to respond with a shutout win that did nothing but help the Flyers in their hunt for the playoffs. The Isles were dominated 6-0 by the Wild on Tuesday, as former Islander Matt Moulson had two goals and an assist in the win and Ilya Bryzgalov posted a 36-save shutout. To make matters worse, defenseman Brian Strait broke his hand in the blowout loss and Lubomir Visnovsky is now out with a concussion. Recently signed d-man Kevin Czuczman made his NHL debut in the 6-0 loss, as he was minus-2 with two PIMs, a shot on goal, and three blocked shots in 20:06 time on the ice. The Islanders’ only transaction this week was signing Eric Boulton to a one-year contract extension.
Central Division
Just like the Boston Bruins, the St. Louis Blues were able to clinch a playoff spot this week. However, it wasn’t the easiest week for St. Louis, as they suffered two straight regulation losses by a combined score of 8-1 and were involved in a last-second line brawl with the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. In addition to the line brawl on Monday, a game which T.J. Oshie missed due to the birth of his baby, Ken Hitchcock moved into sole possession of third place on the team’s career win list as a head coach with 119 in the team’s 3-1 decision. Ryan Miller allowed seven goals on 45 shots against in his two starts against the Chicago Blackhawks and Flyers, as it was his toughest stretch yet in his time with the Blues. In terms of transactions, the Blues signed a trio of their prospects, as Tommy Vannelli, Zach Pochiro, and Petteri Lindbohm inked deals with St. Louis. Vannelli, a second-round pick of the team in 2013, had 41 points in 60 games on the Medicine Hat Tigers’ blue line this season. Pochiro, a fourth-round pick of the Blues in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, had 66 points and 123 PIMs in 63 games with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars this year. Lindbohm, a sixth-round pick of St. Louis in the 2012 Entry Draft, had six points in 37 games between Jokerit and Assat in the Liiga this season.
The Chicago Blackhawks endured one of their most memorable nights in awhile on Wednesday, as their 4-0 win over the St. Louis Blues had several positives and one negative. The victory was Joel Quenneville’s 700th win as an NHL coach, while it was also Michal Handzus’ 1,000th game in the NHL and Kris Versteeg’s 400th game in the NHL. Unfortunately, Patrick Kane suffered a knee injury that required the team to put him on injured reserve, as Quenneville said he will be out “about three weeks.” Named one of the six nominees for Sports Team of the Year in the seventh annual Sports Business Awards, the Blackhawks showed why they are one of the best in the league, as the skill of their prospects were on full display this week. In addition to the anticipated NHL debut of the highly-touted Teuvo Teravainen, Kevin Hayes, Chicago’s first-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, is one of the favorites to win the Hobey Baker Award this year. The Blackhawks also signed forward Matt Carey to a two-year contract. Carey had 37 points in 38 games with St. Lawrence University this season. Chicago also signed Brandon Mashinter to a two-year contract extension through 2015-2016.
Just behind the Blackhawks in the standings, the Colorado Avalanche are still looking for home-ice advantage in the opening round of the postseason. The Avs didn’t help their case this week, as they earned one point in three straight losses. After they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Canadiens on Tuesday in Patrick Roy’s return to Montreal, Colorado lost 5-4 to the Winnipeg Jets the following night in a 5-4 overtime decision. Reto Berra allowed five goals on 27 shots against in his Avalanche debut on Wednesday. On top of the games they lost, the Avs also lost John Mitchell, who is day-to-day with a back injury. In the AHL, the Lake Erie Monsters signed Max Iafrate, Al’s son, to an amateur tryout deal.
The Minnesota Wild won’t grab the third spot in the Central Division, but they will most likely finish in one of the two wild card spots. After their 6-0 win over New York on Tuesday and a 4-3 overtime loss to the Devils on Thursday, a game where Jason Pominville extended his point streak to seven games with his 300th NHL assist, the Wild split a home-and-home on Saturday and Sunday with Detroit. Although Minnesota was fortunate that Nate Prosser wasn’t suspended for his elbowing major on Tim Sestito in the team’s loss on Thursday, the Wild are now without the services of Keith Ballard, who is day-to-day with a tweaked groin. According to GM Chuck Fletcher, it sounds like the Wild will also be without forward Jason Zucker, who is most likely done for the season after undergoing a minor knee procedure. Despite his team going 3-3-4 in their last 10 games while looking for a playoff spot, Jared Spurgeon has one goal and three assists in his last four games.
Although they beat the Senators 3-1 on Saturday, the Dallas Stars endured a four-game losing streak to push them out of a wild card spot. Despite their team’s rough stretch, Tyler Seguin is on an eight-game point streak with six goals and nine assists, while Jamie Benn has 17 points in his last 13 games. The Stars won on Saturday without the services of Erik Cole, who saw his consecutive games played streak snapped at 269 games, as he is now day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Some great news out of Dallas is Rich Peverley is fine after he underwent successful heart surgery in Cleveland on Tuesday.
The Winnipeg Jets are running out of time to reach the postseason, as they are now six points out of the second wild card spot and have less games remaining than the Stars and Phoenix Coyotes, two teams they are chasing. Regardless of whether or not they make the postseason, the Jets may have gone a long way in enhancing their rivalry with the St. Louis Blues, as the teams engaged in a spirited line brawl in Winnipeg’s 3-1 loss last Monday. The Jets responded with a 5-4 overtime decision over the Avalanche on Wednesday where Blake Wheeler scored in overtime and had two assists, Andrew Ladd had two goals, and both Tobias Enstrom and Paul Postma had a pair of helpers. With his first assist in Wednesday’s win, Enstrom reached 200 assists in the NHL.
Last in the Central Division, the Nashville Predators saw Seth Jones nailed by Andrew Shaw in their 2-0 win over the Blackhawks last night, as the blue liner is now dealing with concussion-like symptoms. Pekka Rinne stopped 29 shots last night in his first shutout of his injury-riddled season. Patric Hornqvist missed Sunday’s win to be in person for the birth of his first child. With Jones’ injury, it looks as though Michael Del Zotto will return to the lineup after Barry Trotz said “his game has slipped” when making him a healthy scratch this week. Thanks to day-to-day injuries to Paul Gaustad, Nick Spaling, and Patrick Eaves, Calle Jarnkrok made his NHL debut in the Predators’ 6-5 win over the Calgary Flames on Friday, where he was plus-2 with an assist and a shot on goal in 16:20 time on the ice. As for former players, Darcy Hodrichuk announced his retirement this week.
PACIFIC DIVISION
Thanks to their surge and a slump by the Anaheim Ducks, the San Jose Sharks are currently at the top of the division. With Raffi Torres and Tomas Hertl still out with no timetable to return, the Sharks are 8-3-2 since the Olympic Break and have jumped into first in their division. One of the team’s best players this season, and for many of their seasons in recent history, is Patrick Marleau who reached 30 goals in a season for the seventh time in his career with a goal against the Caps on Saturday. In a touching story, the Sharks and the Make-A-Wish Foundation teamed up to present Sam Tageson, a teenager with a life-threatening heart condition, with a one-day contract on Tuesday. In addition to practicing with the Sharks, Tageson skated through the shark head before the game and was introduced to a loud ovation.
Now second in the division, the Anaheim Ducks are starting to slip at a bad point in the season. With Cam Fowler out for three-to-five weeks thanks to a sprained knee ligament, the Ducks have called up Sami Vatanen, who recorded a helper in his first game back with Anaheim in the team’s 6-2 win over the Panthers yesterday. Another blue liner on the team took part in their 700th NHL game yesterday, as Bryan Allen had an assist and a plus-2 rating in the victory. Including the blowout win yesterday, however, the Ducks are 3-4-2 in their last nine games. In terms of transactions, the Ducks have signed Radoslav Illo, a fifth-round pick of the organization in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, to an amateur tryout contract. Illo, a 24-year-old center, had 17 points and 20 PIMs in 37 games with Bemidji State University this season.
Still destined to finish third in the division, the Los Angeles Kings saw a few of their stars reach career milestones this week. With a 24-save shutout over the Florida Panthers on Saturday, Jonathan Quick registered his 172nd win, as he now holds the most wins as a netminder for the Kings. Also in the 4-0 win over the Panthers on Saturday, Los Angeles improved to 15-0-0 when scoring three goals or more in a game this season. In addition to Quick, Justin Williams made news by taking part in his 200th consecutive game in Thursday’s 2-1 shootout win over Washington, as he became the 13th different player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. Williams’ teammate, Anze Kopitar, holds the franchise record for most consecutive games played with 330. The Kings also have one of the 10 Hobey Baker Award finalists, as Nic Dowd, a seventh-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, had 39 points in 36 games this season with St. Cloud State this season.
Thanks to a recent surge, the Phoenix Coyotes find themselves clinging to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Winning seven of their last 10 games, the Coyotes will endure a difficult back-to-back today and tonight, as they are on the road for tilts against the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the midst of their hot streak, Phoenix has had a few of their players reach career milestones, one of which is Derek Morris taking part in his 1,100th NHL game on Saturday in a loss to the Bruins. In another significant career milestone, Shane Doan potted his 20th goal of the season in the loss to Boston, as he recorded 20 goals in a season for the 12th time in his career. Before Saturday’s game, Mike Smith endured a three-game winning streak where he posted a .935 save percentage. The Coyotes also signed undrafted 23-year-old forward Greg Carey to a one-year entry-level contract. One of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, Carey had 57 points in 38 games this season for St. Lawrence University.
Still technically having a shot at the postseason, the Vancouver Canucks are realistically out of the playoff race. After he posted eight points in his last five games, Alexandre Burrows suffered yet another injury this season, as he is now day-to-day with a hand injury and missed Vancouver’s win over the Buffalo Sabres yesterday. According to Ben Kuzma of The Province, the Canucks will also be without Christopher Tanev for three-to-four weeks, as the blue liner has a broken finger. Taking part in his 1,000th NHL game yesterday, Henrik Sedin suffered a leg injury and had to leave the game early. Aside from the drop in the standings and all the injuries his squad has suffered, Canucks’ GM Mike Gillis provided a nice gesture this week by teaming up with a local radio station to donate $55,000 to the team’s charitable children’s foundation.
The Calgary Flames may be far out of reach of a playoff spot, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t interesting news surrounding the club. In their 8-1 blowout win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, Matt Stajan converted on a penalty shot and emphatically pointed to the sky, a gesture towards his newborn son who passed away shortly after childbirth a few weeks ago. Aside from Stajan’s emotionally incredible goal, Mike Cammalleri had a week to remember, as he had seven points in three games, including back-to-back three-point performances on Friday and Saturday. Cammalleri is currently on a seven-game point streak where he has eight goals and five assists. The future does seem to be bright for the Flames, as Johnny Gaudreau, a fourth-round pick of the team in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, is the favorite to win the Hobey Baker Award. Gaudreau had 69 points in 37 games with Boston College this season and was named Hockey East’s Player of the Year. Calgary also signed Ken Agostino to a two-year entry-level contract this week. After he recorded 132 points in 134 games with Yale University, Agostino made his NHL debut on Friday against the Predators and finished minus-1 in 12:40 time on the ice. The Flames also signed d-man Brett Kulak to a three-year entry-level deal. A fourth-round pick of the Flames in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Kulak had 60 points and 51 PIMs in 69 games this season for the Vancouver Giants in the WHL.
The Edmonton Oilers can’t catch a break this season, as a handful of injuries came before a monstrous 8-1 loss to the Flames on Saturday. Viktor Fasth was pulled after he allowed five goals against on 16 shots on Saturday, while Ben Scrivens didn’t do much better by stopping 12 of the 15 shots he saw in the loss. With both Anton Belov and Jesse Joensuu most likely done for the season, Nail Yakupov is day-to-day with an ankle injury. Due to the injuries, the Oilers recalled both Tyler Pitlick and Steve MacIntyre from the Oklahoma City Barons. Pitlick was minus-2 over his first two games since being called up, while MacIntyre has yet to suit up. The most interesting incident of the week surrounding the Oilers might be the injury to Jordan Eberle. Nick Kypreos said Eberle would need an MRI on his knee, to which head coach Dallas Eakins denied and said “the misinformation in the Twitter world is always quite amazing.” Eberle was in the lineup for Edmonton’s seven-goal loss on Saturday.
