The USA beat Canada in a shootout win to take the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Congrats to all involved and Silver is not Gold but better than Bronze if that is any consolation for Canada.

Russia beat Sweden 2-1 in overtime to take the Bronze.

 

The 2018 WJHC will be held outdoor in Buffalo NY ...

 

Ovechkin ties Rocket in goals, lifts Capitals over Habs


Alex Ovechkin , The Canadian Press

Alexander Ovechkin tied Canadiens legend Maurice (Rocket) Richard for 29th on the all-time scoring list with his 544th career goal as the Washington Capitals extended it's wining streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over Montreal on Monday night.

 

Hellebuyck perfect in Jets' win over Flames


Connor Hellebuyck , The Canadian Press

Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Winnipeg Jets blanked the Calgary Flames 2-0 on Monday.

 

Oilers send top pick Puljujarvi to AHL


Jesse Puljujarvi and Todd McLellan , Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Edmonton Oilers assigned fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Monday, ending his rookie season in the NHL game after 28 games.

 

Blue Jackets winning streak ends at 16 games
Capitals shut out Columbus to deny record-tying victory



WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals ended the Columbus Blue Jackets' 16-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory at Verizon Center on Thursday.

The streak was the second-longest in NHL history, one behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won 17 in a row during the 1992-93 season.

"You can't win 'em all," Columbus forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "We had a heck of a run there and I'm proud of each and every guy. Guys have stepped up different nights. It's a tough feeling right now because it's a big game and I thought we had some guys that really played well tonight."

Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves for Columbus (27-6-4). His 14-game winning streak ended when he was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 23 shots. Curtis McElhinney made four saves in relief.

"Quite honestly I thought the first 30 minutes we were a good hockey club," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "We played well. We couldn't find a way on [Braden] Holtby, he made some great saves at key times, and then we kind of lost ourselves. ... I'm proud of the team. We're a good hockey team. They'll get a day off tomorrow and we'll get whacking at it again …"

Holtby made 29 saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Daniel Winnik, John Carlson, Nate Schmidt, Andre Burakovsky and Justin Williams scored for the Capitals (24-9-5), who are 7-2-2 in their past 11 home games.

"I wanted to stop the streak," Williams said. "Who wouldn't want to stop a streak? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it, for sure. We got some big goals and some big saves. Was it a 5-0 game? No, I don't think so, but we turned it into that with some timely goaltending and some timely goals."

 

Many fun possibilities in NHL’s All-Star 3-on-3 tournament

When you have an event called the All-Star Game and you’re bringing it to Los Angeles, it’s vital not to leave the most important thing at home.

The stars.

That shouldn’t be a problem for the NHL later this month based on the list of 44 selections unveiled Tuesday.

It amounts to a fine mix of young phenoms – Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine – and the mainstays who have soaked up most of the league’s national attention for a decade: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin.

The 3-on-3 tournament offers some intriguing possibilities, with Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin joined on the same Metropolitan Division team along with fellow former first overall picks John Tavares and Taylor Hall.

Pity the goalies.

The biggest plague on the all-star festivities in recent years has been no-shows. Toews and Ovechkin each accepted a one-game suspension last year rather than spending the weekend in Nashville, joining a list of players previously punished for skipping out that includes Crosby, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.

However, a recent change to the NHL’s schedule should further disincentivize it from happening during this Jan. 27-29 all-star weekend. With every team now being granted a five-day winter break – a concession from the league to the NHLPA for switching all-star formats – marquee players have been a given a chance to vacation or rest that had previously been unavailable to them.

While some legitimate injuries are bound to come up in the weeks ahead – Laine, the Winnipeg Jets super rookie, is questionable because of the concussion he suffered last weekend – the phantom ones should be much less of an issue.

Giving the players a chance to spend a couple days in California rather than a more wintery locale won’t hurt, either.

It promises to be a special weekend with the league tying in its centennial celebrations. The 66 members of the NHL’s greatest 100 players list who played in the modern era are all expected to be in attendance.

Then there is a skills competition and 3-on-3 tournament at Staples Center with the stars of today.

The captains for each divisional team – Crosby, McDavid, Carey Price and P.K. Subban – were selected by fan balloting. The remaining 40 players were filled out by the NHL’s hockey operations department.

With every NHL team needing to be represented it made for some tough choices. Artemi Panarin, the league’s sixth-leading scorer, didn’t make the cut in the Central Division because four of his Blackhawks teammates did.

Cam Atkinson, Jakub Voracek and Phil Kessel are among the other top point-getters who weren’t chosen, but it’s hard to quibble with the guys picked ahead of them.

Yes, this promises to be an all-star weekend overrun with stars. And there’s every reason to believe they’re going to show up.

---

Here’s a complete list of the NHL’s 2017 all-star selections:

Metropolitan (Captain Crosby)
G-Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus
G-Braden Holtby, Washington
D-Justin Faulk, Carolina
D-Ryan McDonagh, N.Y. Rangers
D-Seth Jones, Columbus
F-Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
F-Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
F-Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
F-John Tavares, N.Y. Islanders
F-Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia
F-Taylor Hall, New Jersey

Atlantic (Captain Price)
G-Carey Price, Montreal
G-Tuukka Rask, Boston
D-Victor Hedman, Tampa
D-Shea Weber, Montreal
D-Erik Karlsson, Ottawa
F-Frans Nielsen, Detroit
F-Nikita Kucherov, Tampa
F-Vincent Trocheck, Florida
F-Auston Matthews, Toronto
F-Kyle Okposo, Buffalo
F-Brad Marchand, Boston

Pacific (Captain McDavid)
G-Martin Jones, San Jose
G-Mike Smith, Arizona
D-Cam Fowler, Anaheim
D-Brent Burns, San Jose
D-Drew Doughty, Los Angeles
F-Ryan Kesler, Anaheim
F-Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary
F-Connor McDavid, Edmonton
F-Jeff Carter, Los Angeles
F-Bo Horvat, Vancouver
F-Joe Pavelski, San Jose

Central (Captain Subban)
G-Devan Dubynk, Minnesota
G-Corey Crawford, Chicago
D-Ryan Suter, Minnesota
D-Duncan Keith, Chicago
D-P.K. Subban, Nashville
F-Patrick Kane, Chicago
F-Jonathan Toews, Chicago
F-Tyler Seguin, Dallas
F-Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis
F-Patrik Laine, Winnipeg
F-Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado

 

McDavid: Can’t picture Olympics without NHL players

Connor McDavid doesn’t want his next crack at best-on-best international competition to wait until the 2020 World Cup of Hockey.

He wants to be in South Korea next January helping lead Canada’s quest for a third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

“One hundred per cent. NHL players should be there,” McDavid said Sunday. “I certainly hope they are there. One hundred per cent they should go. I can’t picture the Olympics without it.”

Normally reserved and deferential to the league’s more tenured spokesmen, McDavid took a clear position and lent his voice to a seemingly concerted vocal campaign by players to participate in a sixth straight Winter Olympics.

The spin cycle is humming at full speed with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman saying over the weekend that his update to the league’s board of governors on the Olympics lasted “approximately 10 seconds.” The puck drops in PyeongChang in 375 days, one year from Feb. 9.

For months,

has stood by his claim to leave the Washington Capitals midseason to play for Russia if the NHL decides against participating.

• 
  More on 2018 Olympic Participation
  
• No Olympics in 2018 if status quo remains
• Players still hoping for 2018 Olympics
• NHL owners remain cool on Olympic participation

Blackhawks captain

went as far as saying the NHL “would be misrepresenting our sport on a pretty huge scale” if they stay home. Toews’ strong comments after Sunday’s all-star game followed his agent, CAA Sports’ Pat Brisson, voiced his frustration over a lack of Olympic cooperation in December.

“Quite frankly, I think to turn on the Olympics next year and watch hockey teams or the players representing their countries, if it’s not the best in the world, I don’t know,” Toews said. “I don’t think you can really compare it to the World Cup or the world championships. The Olympics are a whole other thing … I think the NHL should be in the Olympics.”

McDavid played for Team North America, the under-24 entry, at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He said having a shot to play for Team Canada at the Olympics “would be everything.”

“Just to get a chance to chase down a spot on the team and have that opportunity, it would be very special,” McDavid said. “But we’re very fortunate in Canada to have a long list of great Canadian players. It’d be a tough team to make.”

McDavid acknowledged “it isn’t up to him” to make a decision on the Olympics. Yet, with the power and influence that he already wields within the sport at age 20, his voice - and the voice of other superstars like

- can only help exert pressure on the NHL to attend. That seemingly isn’t lost on McDavid and the NHL’s Players’ Association.

But this isn’t as simple as a negotiation between the NHLPA and the NHL. The IIHF, whose president Rene Fasel is stuck in the middle, is responsible for bartering on behalf of the two parties with the International Olympic Committee.

Fasel has secured the funding, he said, to cover travel costs, accommodations, player contract insurance and hospitality for the tournament - which the IOC has otherwise refused to pay - as they did in 2014 in Sochi.

The lack of funding made the Olympics a non-starter with Bettman and the NHL previously. But Bettman has kept the target moving, saying now the next step is contingent on a breakdown of the source of the funds.

“So whether or not it gets paid, and we haven't been assured that it's being paid, we haven't been told where the money is coming from,” Bettman said Saturday. “And frankly, I have on some level, perhaps it's emotional, a real problem if money that would otherwise go to hockey development is being diverted for this purpose.”

 

Oh btw the All Star game went this weekend and was quite entertaining but back to reality on Tuesday as the NHL resumes and things are heating up ...

 

Just for argument sake if the playofs were to start today in the East, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Washington, Columbus and Pittsburgh would be in with the Rangers and Flyers getting WC spots.

In the West, Minnesota, Chicago, Nashville, SJ, Anaheim and Edmonton would be in with LAK and Calgary getting the WC spots.

But there are still between 25 and 30 games left for most clubs so a lot will change by then

 

Blue denotes a win, red a loss and white an overtime loss(still resulting in one point)
Eastern Conference

Western Conference

 

Currently the NY Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs are in the WC spots in the East.

The Nashville Predators and LA Kings in the West.

 

Crosby gets 1,000th point, then leads Penguins by Jets in OT

He notched his 1000th point with 21 seconds left in overtime to win 4-3 and in doing so became the 86th player in NHL history to reach that milestone.

The two-time MVP and Stanley Cup winner reached 1,000 points in 757 games. Only 11 players got there faster. None of them are playing anymore.

 

The Trade Deadline is March 1st, 2017 ...

 

Fucking Oilers kicked my Flyers asses 6-3 last night at Rogers Place.

Vermette suspended 10 games, will appeal
The NHL announced Thursday Anaheim Ducks centre Antoine Vermette is suspended 10 games for slashing a linesman. Vermette will appeal the suspension.

 

The NHL’s Looming Expansion Draft is a Consistent Thorn in Every Team’s Side This Trade Deadline. The Expansion Draft Has Been Impacting Every Team’s Trade Intentions This Season.
NHL trades are being heavily influenced by the expansion draft coming this June as the Vegas Golden Knights officially join the NHL.

The expansion draft has very specific requirements regarding how many players a team can protect and expose in face of the draft. These rules and regulations are causing teams to examine their rosters closely to assure they can protect the right layers and have just the right players to expose.

The Rules
* Clubs will have two options for players they wish to protect in the Expansion Draft:

a) Seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender

b) Eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender

* All players who have currently effective and continuing “No Movement” clauses at the time of the Expansion Draft (and who to decline to waive such clauses) must be protected (and will be counted toward their club’s applicable protection limits).

* All first- and second-year professionals, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club’s applicable protection limits).

(Full Expansion Draft Rules via NHL)

The Impact on NHL Trades
The rules of the expansion draft are impacting every move that these teams are making because they need to fit the specific criteria for expansion.

Teams who have a high number of players with no movement clauses are going to face a difficulty as they head towards the end of the season.

Having to protect certain players then lowers a team’s opportunity to keep necessary players that they need. Players with no movement causes are automatically protected and if they amount to more or equal to the limit, the team has some work to do.

These NHL teams are going to be looking to find players to fit the criteria for exposure, as hard as it sounds. These teams with players approaching expiring contracts are also going to be looking to get as much out of any moves they can do.

Most teams who will be looking to make trades will either be in search of draft picks, prospects, first and second-year NHL-ers, or players rooted in a no movement clause. The problem this creates is a trade market mostly filled with players exempt from expansion draft exposure.

While some teams are looking to make substantial deals this deadline, especially Cup contending teams who need a few more pieces, each move will be done with a lot of thought behind it. Teams need to prioritize players they need to protect, especially since they can protect a certain amount.

Trading for a top player seems like a great move for any team but when that player is risking exposure, say a team has too many no movement clauses on the roster, it becomes an extremely risky move.

Awaiting Moves
The trade deadline is coming up fast on March 1st and there isn’t much telling what kind of moves are yet to be made.

Sure, the Avalanche are confidently shopping Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene and the Blues are still pretty positive they’ll move Kevin Shattenkirk before losing him for nothing, but nothing is positive until it happens.

The only thing for sure is that the Vegas Golden Knights have the biggest upper hand this trade deadline. The team has been consistently scouting their future NHL family and are probably pretty positive which players might be available to them.

These NHL teams will do their best to make the best moves possible around this looming expansion draft but no matter how badly a team wants to stay worry-free about the draft, it is still will have a big impact on the moves the team makes.

At the bare minimum, these teams need to assure they can expose the minimum one d-man, two forwards and one goaltender to the draft. And from there the team needs to assure the player has played the necessary amount of games and is signed for the coming season.

This looming draft is bound to have a big effect on trades and re-signings as the league heads into the second-half of the season. Even the teams with the most flexibility will be considering the coming draft in the moves they might plan to make.

 

Habs all smiles and optimism as Julien takes over Canadiens
1st game behind Montreal bench comes Saturday against Winnipeg
Carey Price says it feels like a brand new season is starting for the Montreal Canadiens with Claude Julien now at the helm.

Julien ran his first practice with his new team on Friday, three days after replacing Michel Therrien as Montreal's head coach. Julien's first game behind the bench will be Saturday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets.

For Price, Julien's arrival feels like a fresh start.

"He has a positive vibe to him," said Price, who was on Team Canada with Julien at the World Cup of Hockey in September. "Every time I've worked with him he's been easy to talk to. He was very positive, very upbeat.

"(Today) kind of felt like a new season."

The goaltender's comments were echoed throughout Montreal's dressing room after their hour-long practice on Friday, which capped off the team's bye week.

'Clean start'
"Guys are getting a bit of a clean start," said captain Max Pacioretty. "We got a boost of energy and came into this practice feeling refreshed from the break."

Added defenceman Nathan Beaulieu: "He (Julien) is enthusiastic and excited to be here. He seems like a guy who accepts challenges and wants to win under all circumstances."

Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin fired Therrien on Tuesday, hoping to breathe new life into his team and put an end to a prolonged slump.

Montreal, though still leading the Atlantic Division, has one win in its last seven games and is 6-10-2 since the first week of January.

The Habs started the season 13-1-1 but have been playing .500 hockey ever since (18-18-7). Montreal has only scored 10 goals in seven games this month, with half of those coming in the team's only win in February — 5-4 against Arizona.

Price says the players were simply no longer responding to Therrien's message.

"We weren't playing with as much enthusiasm as maybe we should have been," he said. "The guys weren't playing with a lot of confidence either. (Therrien's firing) woke everybody up."

Friday's practice — under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Canadiens fans at the team's training facility — was the team's first skate since a 4-0 loss against Boston on Sunday.

Julien shuffles lines
In one of his first moves as head coach, Julien shuffled the lines and put centre Alex Galchenyuk on the first trio with Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov.

Galchenyuk frequently played with wingers Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen under Therrien instead of with Montreal's top goal scorers.

The 56-year-old Julien, now in his second stint with the Habs after coaching the team from 2003 to 2006, says any changes made now are simply tentative. The veteran coach, who spent a decade with the Boston Bruins before he was fired on Feb. 7, warned that he is still figuring things out with his new team.

"I don't want to change everything," said Julien, who won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. "I'm just making slight adjustments. These guys have a brand new opportunity here. The players will appreciate that.

"I'll try some things, and if it doesn't work, then we'll adjust accordingly."

Julien's first big test will be a Jets side that has lost five of their last six games.

"I want us to be a hard team to play against," said Julien, who signed a five-year deal with the Canadiens. "And that doesn't mean that we're running everyone through the boards. I want to make it hard for other teams to have success. And if they're going to score goals, they're going to have to earn them.

"That's what hard to play is."