Minnesota Wild
Wild.com
Publication
12/22/15
Date
Five Takeaways From Wild Vs. Canadiens
By Evan Sporer - Digital Content Coordinator
Following Wild games, Content Coordinator Evan Sporer will give the Five Takeaways that he remembers from the
contest. Tonight, he looks back at the Wild's 2-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Xcel Energy Center.
FIRST TAKEAWAY
In the Wild's past two games, each a loss, which snapped a season-high nine-game point streak, the organized defensive
structure that buoyed Minnesota over said streak was amiss.
It was back on Tuesday.
"Lately we’ve been scoring a lot of goals and sometimes you think it’s going to be that way once you get one or two early,
and you kind of slip away from what we do best," Jason Pominville said. "When we defend hard, we’re a tough team to
play against, and I think we showed that tonight."
Just in time to see the Wild off into the holiday break, Minnesota turned in another stubborn defensive effort that led to two
more points in the standings.
The Wild conceded 25 shots on goal, on par with the kind of games it was playing as recently as a week ago. The lapses
were on singular plays — not sequences — and were few and far between.
"They've been struggling a little bit so they came out with a real tight effort, and we wanted to get back to playing tight,"
Darcy Kuemper said. "There wasn't a lot of room for either team out there, and we kind of expected that kind of game. We
stuck with our game all 60 minutes, and we were rewarded for it."
After morning skate, Kuemper said during his recent successful stretch, the way his teammates played in front of him
made his life much easier, and that was the case again on Tuesday. There were shots from the outside, blocked attempts,
and a reclamation of the neutral zone that made it difficult for the Canadiens to enter the zone with control.
Much of what the Wild does so well defensively involves things that occur before defined defensive plays would need to
be made. They're still influential defensively — puck possession and management, gap control, spacing, et al — and
those were all back in the Wild's latest victory.
SECOND TAKEAWAY
Speaking of Kuemper, he'll be the first to defer credit to his teammates (who have done a good job in front of him of late),
but he is deserving of praise as well.
Kuemper is still without a regulation loss this season (now 4-0-4), and has improved in areas that aren't flashy, but go a
long way in changing the outcome of plays.
"I think he's got points in his last however many games, and at the start of that we weren't even helping him that much,"
Charlie Coyle said. "He was shutting the door and we weren't playing to our capabilities. Now we're starting to help out
more and more, and he's still shutting the door for us, and that's huge."
Kuemper has gotten better at managing the puck, be that playing it along the wall, or making an outlet pass to a
teammate. He's doing a good job of tracking through traffic, and getting stoppages with coverages that afford the Wild a
line change, and a chance to reset.
Of course, Kuemper did his fair share of goalie-ing as well on Tuesday. In the second period, he flashed the pad on a Max
Pacioretty shot from the low slot. Pacioretty is one of the most dangerous scorers in the NHL, but Kuemper read the shot
off his blade, got a good push, and watched the rebound into the corner.
"He looked really confident right from the start of the game," Yeo said. "I wouldn’t be surprised if they out-chanced us in
the game."
That all ties into puck-tracking: Kuemper doesn't look like he's making overly acrobatic or high-end saves because his
positioning is grounded, and he's putting himself in the right spots to stop pucks.
"Not playing for a while, since the Vancouver game was my last one, I'm just working hard in practice, and focusing on
tracking the puck, and keeping my eye on it, and playing out rebounds," Kuemper said. "That keeps translating into
games, so I'm trying to stay on top of that."
Kuemper has a pregame ritual he goes through every warmup. He is one of the final three Wild players who stays out on
the ice along with Jonas Brodin and Nino Niederreiter. Brodin and Kuemper pass the puck around, as Brodin takes a few
shots, and then Kuemper takes a shot of his own toward goal from the blue line.
The attempt Tuesday was a bit high, one of the only blemishes on Kuemper's resume for the night.
"He’s been real solid and he’s kept himself sharp in practice," Pominville said. "He’s looked good. He’s working hard, and
it’s nice to see him step in and get rewarded with some wins the way he has for us."
THIRD TAKEAWAY
Confidence in a hockey player is like a physical, palpable thing one can observe in how someone is playing. It's evident in
how he skates, it's evident in his movements, and it's a thing you can physically see.
Watching Coyle and Niederreiter play right now, it's evident two confident players are out there.
Coyle's goal in the third period against the Canadiens is something he doesn't attempt if he's not playing with confidence.
He attacked Nathan Beaulieu off the rush, forcing the issue. He didn't passively try to gain the zone, hoping something
would make itself available: he aggressively, angrily went about his business.
"He’s had a lot of real strong moves where he has been close to finishing and this time he finished it off," Yeo said. "He's
just playing with a ton of confidence."
And the finish was all-world. The little outside, inside move in that pocket of space requires a lot of skill, and a lot of
strength to lift the puck under the crossbar like that.
"It definitely adds some confidence to my game," Coyle said. "That's what allows me to move my feet, and try to get into
scoring positions like that, and get the puck off and on net. I'm going to do that more and more if I keep playing that way,
and our line plays that way."
The line with Niederreiter and Fontaine has been doing a lot of things well the past two games, including getting pucks
deep. There are different ways to establish possession and zone time. With two big bodies in Coyle and Niederreiter, the
line is having success dumping the puck in and retrieving it.
It's a derisive concept in some hockey circles, but putting the puck in an area that allows Coyle or Niederreiter to go hunt
it down has been a successful proposition.
Niederreiter also continues to go to the net, which is a good sign. When Coyle does it his game is going well, and likewise,
for Niederreiter, it's a good indication that he's being effective.
"That line was very good again tonight," Yeo said. "Nino, his last couple games, two of the best of the games that he’s
played this year."
When you watch that creativity from Coyle, you almost wonder how he comes up with that kind of move.
"I don't know where I've seen it," Coyle said. "Henrik Zetterberg I think used to do it a lot; just growing up and watching
those guys, and those little moves.
"I used to watch his YouTube videos, and so you try them when you're younger. Just little things you have in the back of
your mind."
FOURTH TAKEAWAY
A nice return to the lineup for Erik Haula after being a healthy scratch for three games.
Haula was back on his line, albeit in a different spot playing on the left wing. The differences sliding over into that position
include how you break out of the defensive zone, and where you position yourself on defensive sequences.
Playing on a line tasked with being defense-first, those are things that directly correlate to how successful the line can be.
And Haula did not skip a beat. In the second period, under duress in his own zone, he slipped a pass through his own
legs, hitting Ryan Carter in stride, and not only clearing the danger, but also jump-starting the Wild the other way.
Later in the period, Haula nearly set up Jarret Stoll for a goal, when the former pinched and kept the puck in at his
offensive blue line, and then had a shot turn into a perfect pass to Stoll. With only Mike Condon to beat, Stoll couldn't
quite get a handle on the shot.
Yeo had said taking Haula out of the lineup came in part due to a numbers game. Getting a chance to get back in, Haula
put forth a solid performance.
FIFTH TAKEAWAY
Good teams don't allow slides to last long. The Wild talked about cleaning up its game, and going into the holiday break
on a high note, and that's exactly what it did.
"It's going to be nice to kind of regroup, and some guys going home, and enjoying the holidays, but right back at it on the
26th, and we have to come back with the same attitude," Coyle said. "It's not just going to come for us."
It's been a trend for the Wild this season: Minnesota hasn't gone three consecutive games without earning at least a point.
That's important in a division where, as Kuemper said this morning, it seems like every night you lose, you drop in the
standings. The Wild wants to be a top team in the NHL, and talks about building toward a product that will be effective
come playoff time.
And being able to make adjustments on the fly is key to that script. The Wild knows its identity, which it got back to
Tuesday night.
Minnesota Wild
Wild.com
Publication
12/22/15
Date
Belpedio Named Alternate Captain For World Juniors
By Evan Sporer - Digital Content Coordinator / View From the Lighthouse
Minnesota Wild prospect Louis Belpedio was named an alternate captain for the 2016 United States Junior National Team
for the upcoming 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.
A sophomore defenseman currently playing at the University of Miami Ohio, Belpedio also was a captain for the 2014
United States National Under-18 team that won a goal medal in Lappeenranta, Finland at the IIHF Under-18 Men's World
Championship.
"We're excited about our leadership group here in Finland," said Ron Wilson, head coach of the team, according to a
release from USA Hockey. "Zach (Werenski), Louie, Auston (Matthews) and Colin (White) have led by example since day
one in Lake Placid this August and have the respect of everybody in the room."
Belpedio is one of five Wild prospects who will be competing in the 2016 tournament, which begins on December 26, and
ends January 5.
Forward Joel Eriksson Ek (Sweden); goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (Finland); goaltender Ales Stezka (Czech Republic);
and forward Kirill Kaprizov (Russia) will also each be representing their respective countries.
The tournament begins this Saturday with all five Wild prospects' countries scheduled to play. Czech Republic and Russia
open play in Group B at 6 a.m. CT; Sweden plays Switzerland at 8 a.m. CT; Finland plays Belarus at 10 a.m. CT; and the
United States plays Canada at 12 p.m. CT. All four of those games will be broadcast on TSN networks.
Minnesota Wild
NHL.com
Publication
12/23/15
Date
Wild hand Canadiens fifth consecutive loss
By Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's amazing what some free time and a little YouTube can do for a teenage hockey player.
Charlie Coyle scored the game-winner and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves to help the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 victory
against the Montreal Canadiens at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday.
Coyle's goal early in the third period gave the Wild a 2-0 lead and was linked to time spent on the Internet watching
highlights of Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg.
At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Coyle isn't built like the skilled Red Wings captain, but his move to get around Canadiens
defenseman Nathan Beaulieu was certainly reminiscent.
After a turnover at the far blue line, Nino Niederreiter chipped the puck forward to Coyle flying down the left wing. The
power forward went strong to his backhand, got around Beaulieu and had room to get it back to his forehand with enough
strength to beat Mike Condon blocker side under the crossbar for his eighth goal at 4:55.
"Growing up, watching those guys and those little moves," Coyle, 23, said. "That's what you try when you're younger and
the little things you have in the back of your mind."
Kuemper made sure the two-goal lead stood up, surrendering a goal to Daniel Carr with 7:14 remaining but making nine
saves in the third. Kuemper has won his past three starts and is 4-0-4.
"I think it's been a week since my last start, so it was nice to get back in there and keep the good things going and keep
the momentum going forward," Kuemper said. "It's nice when you get to play and get into a rhythm. I'm just trying to keep
it right now."
Wild coach Mike Yeo said after the morning skate that this was a game Devan Dubnyk may have started earlier this
season. But with the way Kuemper has played of late, keeping him out of the crease has proven difficult.
Kuemper is 3-0-2 over his past five starts and has allowed a total of five goals in regulation during that stretch.
Yeo said he may have no choice but to find starts for Kuemper when the Wild resume play Saturday against the
Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I have Christmas break to think about that stuff," Yeo said.
Minnesota (18-9-6) avoided a three-game losing streak and begins the break alone in fourth place in the Central Division
with 42 points.
Condon made 20 saves for Montreal (20-13-3), which has lost five consecutive games and dropped to 2-9-0 in December.
Despite the rough stretch, the Canadiens are atop the Atlantic Division standings with 43 points, one ahead of the Boston
Bruins and Florida Panthers.
"That was a really tight game for both teams," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "Both teams stuck to their structure.
They capitalized on the mistakes and we had two big ones."
The Wild led 1-0 after one period, taking advantage of a turnover by Montreal's Alexei Emelin in his own zone, who
attempted a pass that landed on Mikael Granlund's stick. Granlund's shot was denied by Condon, but Jason Pominville
got the rebound in the slot and scored on a backhand shot at 12:38 for his fifth goal.
Montreal outshot Minnesota 8-7 in the second period, which was played predominantly in the neutral zone. But the
Canadiens fell behind by two when Coyle scored 4:55 into the third.
"We deserve better," Beaulieu said. "We've had some bad games along this stretch but we've played some good hockey,
especially tonight. Good goaltender, [defense] played well, forwards were playing our system. I know we keep saying, 'It
was just one of those nights,' but we played a good hockey game tonight."
Minnesota had two potential goals reviewed, including one by Zach Parise at 10:15 of the third period, but on each
occasion, the no-goal call on the ice was confirmed. Parise's wraparound was nearly stuffed in between Condon's pad
and the post and would have made it a 3-0 game.
Instead, Carr's backhand shot less than three minutes later brought the Canadiens back within one goal and provided
them with some jump.
"It was huge," Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban said. "Obviously we needed to get two, but it was a big goal and we
pushed back after that. It's unfortunate we weren't able to get the second one."
Montreal got Condon to the bench with 1:24 remaining but did not get the tying goal.
Tom Gilbert left early in the game because of a lower-body injury and did not return, leaving Montreal with five
defensemen.
"[It's tough] especially on a back-to-back, especially on the road," Therrien said. "But I thought our defense did a good
job."
Minnesota Wild
NHL.com
Publication
12/23/15
Date
U.S. finalizes roster for World Junior Championship
By Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer
Forward Clayton Keller and defenseman Ryan Collins were the final two players released from the United States National
Junior Team that will compete in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.
The final roster features two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 13 forwards.
Keller, an A-rated prospect on NHL Central Scouting's November players to watch list for the 2016 NHL Draft, will return
to USA Hockey's Under-18 National Team Development Program in the United States Hockey League. He is committed
to attend Boston University in Hockey East in 2016-17.
Collins, who was selected in the second round (No. 47) of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets,
represented the United States at the 2015 WJC in Montreal and Toronto. He will return to the University of Minnesota in
the Big Ten.
The 2016 WJC will be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The U.S. opens play Dec. 26 against Canada in a Group A preliminaryround game. Also in Group A are Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. Group B includes Russia, Slovakia, the Czech
Republic, Finland and Belarus.
FINAL USA WJC ROSTER
GOALTENDERS: *Brandon Halverson, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL (New York Rangers); *Alex Nedeljkovic, Niagara, OHL
(Carolina Hurricanes)
DEFENSEMEN: Louis Belpedio, Miami University, NCHC (Minnesota Wild); *Brandon Carlo, Tri-City, WHL (Boston
Bruins); William Borgen, St. Cloud State University (Buffalo Sabres); Brandon Fortunato, Boston University, H-EAST
(2016 draft eligible); Chad Krys, USNTDP, USHL (2016 draft eligible); Charles McAvoy, Boston University, H-EAST (2016
draft eligible); *Zachary Werenski, University of Michigan, BIG 10 (Columbus Blue Jackets).
FORWARDS: Anders Bjork, University of Notre Dame, H-EAST (Boston Bruins); Brock Boeser, University of North
Dakota, NCHC (Vancouver Canucks); Alexander DeBrincat, Erie, OHL (2016 draft eligible); Ryan Donato, Harvard
University, ECAC (Boston Bruins); Christian Dvorak, London, OHL (Arizona Coyotes); Scott Eansor, Seattle, WHL (2016
draft eligible); Ryan Hitchcock, Yale University, ECAC (2016 draft eligible); *Auston Matthews, Zurich, SUI (2016 draft
eligible); Ryan MacInnis, Kitchener, OHL (Arizona Coyotes); *Sonny Milano, Lake Erie, AHL (Columbus Blue Jackets);
*Nick Schmaltz, University of North Dakota, NCHC (Chicago Blackhawks); Matthew Tkachuk, London, OHL (2016 draft
eligible); Colin White, Boston College, H-EAST (Ottawa Senators).
* - returning player
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Minnesota Wild
on the bench,” Yeo said. “This is what we talked about last game, there
was some adversity that struck in the game. I think we were in a better
place tonight, we were ready to handle it and that didn’t break us.”
Postgame: Disallowed goals, tired, stingy teams result in little offense in
Wild victory
In other words, the Wild didn’t handle the adversity against Dallas but did
tonight.
By Michael Russo
Yeo loved Coyle’s goal and Coyle said the “finish” the last two games
adds some confidence in his game. Check out the last quote in the gamer
from Coyle on where he learned the move he pulled off tonight.
December 22, 2015 — 11:37pm
Not a shock that tonight was a tight-checking, fight-for-every-inch,
unenergetic affair at times.
First, both teams played the night before and the Wild had played three in
four with travel, so fatigue was going to be likely. Plus, defensive-minded
Montreal coach Michel Therrien is a disciple of Jacques Lemaire and
defensive-minded Minnesota coach Mike Yeo is, well, a disciple of Michel
Therrien.
Well, that might be a little hyperbole on the latter, but Yeo, Dave Tippett’s
old captain in Houston, coached alongside Therrien in Wilkes Barre and
Pittsburgh and has a ton of respect for the coach. Yeo praised Therrien,
one of the candidates Yeo got the Wild gig over in 2011, after tonight’s 2-1
victory over the Habs to usher in the NHL’s three-day holiday hiatus.
“Well, they gave us what we expected, that’s for sure. They played hard,”
Yeo said. “They’re playing tight, they’re defending well, they always play
with good structure. He’s a great coach, and [they’re] tough to come
through and even when you did get in the offensive zone, tough to set up
your offensive zone. We had a few shifts, but not a lot of them. They get
on you quickly and they do it in structure.”
But the Wild stayed disciplined in its structure, got solid goaltending once
again from Darcy Kuemper (he improved to 4-0-2 in his past six games
with a 1.26 goals-against average and .947 save percentage) and a
couple goals from Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle (a beautiful move
with a beautiful finish, which if you read by Coyle piece Monday, you know
why I’m using those words) to snap a two-game losing streak.
AS ALWAYS, please read the game and notebook on
startribune.com/wild, but I’ll probably write more about Kuemper and
Coyle in my follow for Thursday’s paper and have an advance planned for
Saturday’s paper as well.
So, I’m holding some stuff back from this blog, BUT one interesting story
line of this game was the disallowed goals by Mikael Granlund and Zach
Parise. Referee Justin St. Pierre waved them both off. Both times, the
NHL Situation Room agreed, saying video evidence supported the
zebra’s call.
I never saw any video evidence that supported the call. I saw no video
evidence that said either way.
In the first instance, even former Wild minor-league goalie Mike Condon
thought Granlund scored on Nino Niederreiter’s shot. Just when the
overhead replay would have shown if the puck completely crossed the
goal line, Condon’s pad blocked the view. Frankly, if the league
overturned St. Pierre’s no-goal, I bet Therrien would have challenged
goalie interference on Granlund and I bet St. Pierre may have had enough
video evidence to overturn the, uh, overturned call back to his original
no-goal (confused or does that make sense?) call.
In Parise’s care, it certainly looked like Parise stuffed the puck inside the
post. The crowd of 19,105 certainly thought so.
As I wrote Monday, it’s all confidence with ChAHlie.
“He’s had a lot of real strong moves where he has been close to finishing
and this time he finished it off,” Yeo said. “Just playing with a ton of
confidence. I thought that line was very good again tonight. Nino, his last
couple games, two of the best of the games that he’s played this year.”
As I wrote in Wednesday’s paper, Niederreiter said the break was coming
at a good time for him to just relax and “not think” for awhile. Asked if this
actually would be a good time not to have the break for Niederreiter
because he’s suddenly heating up, Yeo said, “No. Enjoy it and feel good
about it. I just grabbed him right now [and told him], ‘let’s just keep
building off it,’ but good opportunity for him to have a few days and reflect
on that and turn the brain off and get ready to come back and do the same
thing.”
On the team, Yeo said, “I think we can still get better as a team. It’s
always up and down through the course of the year with your team, with
individuals. Some nights some guys are going, some nights other guys
aren’t quite on top of their game, so we’ll use the break. It’s a good
opportunity for them to get some rest and turn the brains off and hopefully
have a great time with their families. And then when we come back, we’ll
have to make sure we get refocused quickly. That game the 26th is
always a tough one without a few practices, you don’t always know what
you’re going to get, but we’ve got to find a way to make sure we’re ready
to play a real smart game that game and then we’ve got to take some
advantage of practice time coming out of Christmas break.”
Added Parise, “We’ve had a lot of games in the last little while, so we’ll
take advantage of the rest a little bit and hopefully come back and have a
good game against Pittsburgh. But everyone’s got the break, so just take
advantage of the three days that we’re going to have off and start the
schedule after Christmas and be excited about it.”
Added Coyle, “It's going to be nice to kind of regroup, and some guys
going home, and enjoying the holidays, but right back at it on the 26th,
and we have to come back with the same attitude. It's not just going to
come for us. We have to forget about this game and just come back, and
get to our game as soon as possible. We'll focus on that when the time
comes.”
That’s it for moi. I’m filling in for Paul Allen on Thursday from 9-noon on
KFAN. My guests include actor/comedian Erik Stolhanske, Trampled by
Turtles lead singer Dave Simonett and Fox Sports North’s Anthony
LaPanta. All three will be in-studio throughout the show, so it’ll be cool
conversations on all sorts of subjects.
Barring news, talk Saturday on here, on Twitter at @russostrib and in the
paper all week. Have a merry holiday!
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.23.2015
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Minnesota Wild
Parise celebrated like it was in … because he says it was in.
“I mean, come on. It’s 2015. Get some cameras,” Parise said. “There
shouldn’t be inconclusive goals anymore. … It’s hard enough to score in
the league. You work hard to get chances and score goals and you feel
like you earn one or we earn a couple and it goes against you. That’s
frustrating.”
Like I said above, the NHL PR emails both said the video evidence
supported the calls, so I don't know if that means inconclusive because
there was no angle shown to us that showed the video evidence
supported or didn't support the calls. The league has put cameras in the
posts, but we don't get access to those views. I'd love to see them to see
if they definitively showed either puck NOT over the goal line or if those,
too, were inconclusive.
Of course, Daniel Carr made it 2-1 shortly after to cause to vicious boo
birds.
“You almost know, it’s almost automatic that we get that disallowed goal
that they’re going to score shortly after that, but you know what, good talk
The key players and stats from Tuesday's game:
MICHAEL RUSSO
December 22, 2015 — 9:55pm
STAR TRIBUNE’S THREE STARS
1. Darcy Kuemper, Wild: Improved to 4-0-2 in his past six games (five
starts) by making 24 saves.
2. Jason Pominville, Wild: Scored a goal and had six shots.
3. Charlie Coyle, Wild: Scored his second goal in two games after scoring
two in the previous 21.
BY THE NUMBERS
7: Goals allowed in the past six games for Kuemper
5: Goals, nine points in the past 12 games for Pominville
9: Blocked shots by Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.23.2015
But the Wild and Kuemper held on to make Coyle’s second goal in two
games, after scoring two in the previous 21, stand up as the winner. He
came with speed, took the puck to the outside, stickhandled past Nathan
Beaulieu and roofed a beauty over Condon’s blocker and under the bar.
“[Red Wings captain] Henrik Zetterberg I think used to do it a lot,” Coyle
said. “I used to watch his YouTube videos, and so you try them when
you’re younger. Just little things you have in the back of your mind.”
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.23.2015
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Minnesota Wild
Kuemper sharp in Wild's 2-1 win over Canadiens
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Minnesota Wild
By Michael Russo Star Tribune
Wild notes: Niederreiter puts Yeo's advice to quick use
December 22, 2015 — 11:46pm
By Michael Russo Star Tribune
A month ago, Devan Dubnyk probably would have started both
back-to-back home games this week.
But during those five games the Wild No. 1 goaltender recently missed
because of a groin injury, Darcy Kuemper won games and earned coach
Mike Yeo’s confidence back.
Tuesday night in the Wild’s final game before the NHL turns the lights out
for three days to enjoy the holiday season, last year’s out-of-sight,
out-of-mind backup got the nod and came through yet again during a 2-1
victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Ten days after shutting out the San Jose Sharks, Kuemper handed the
Habs their ninth loss in the past 10 games by stopping 24 shots. He
improved to 4-0-2 in his past six games (five starts) with a 1.26
goals-against average and .947 save percentage.
“It was a week since my last start, so it was nice to get in there and keep
the good things going and keep the momentum going forward,” Kuemper
said. “You can get into a rhythm, and I’m just trying to keep it right now.”
Jason Pominville scored a first-period goal and Charlie Coyle scored a
highlight-reel third-period goal as the Wild avoided its first three-game
losing streak of the season. Wild players will head in different directions
before resuming the season at home Saturday night against the
Pittsburgh Penguins.
December 22, 2015 — 11:27pm
Whatever coach Mike Yeo said to Nino Niederreiter during a brief
conversation on Monday morning — or how he said it — appears to have
worked. After going 15 consecutive games without a goal, the Wild power
winger had his best game in weeks later against the Dallas Stars, scoring
his first goal since Nov. 14, adding an assist and was plus-3.
Niederreiter built on that Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens by
assisting on Charlie Coyle’s winning goal.
“He knows the game, he knows our game,” Yeo said of the chat he had
with Niederreiter. “It’s not a matter of care, it’s not a matter of effort. It’s
just he’s heavy between the ears right now. Pretty simple conversation —
just trust your instincts, play the game and have fun doing it.”
Yeo said when you close your eyes and envision Niederreiter’s best
game, it’s when he’s moving his feet, flying in on the forecheck, playing
physically and crashing the net.
“But what happens when you’re thinking too much — you play a little bit
slower, and you start second guessing yourself,” Yeo said. “He knows
what his best game looks like. He knows what he’s doing when he’s
playing well and being effective.”
One night after letting frustration alter its play against the Dallas Stars, the
Wild didn’t break against the Canadiens. That was the case despite two
disallowed goals and a stingy opponent that made the Wild fight for every
inch.
Niederreiter says the three-day holiday break Wednesday through Friday
probably comes at a good time for him. His sister is about to give birth, so
unfortunately none of his family is coming to Minnesota. But he said it’s a
good time to lay low, relax and “stop thinking for a while. I think that’s the
biggest thing. I’m just thinking too much lately. I think that’s the problem at
the moment for me.
Both teams played the night before, which made for a mind-numbing
game at times.
“The biggest thing is learning that you shouldn’t think about it [when
you’re in a slump]. But that’s the toughest part.”
“It’s not easy. Teams are tired,” Pominville said, “so energy might’ve been
low on both sides. But it was one of those nights that whoever was better
in the neutral zone was probably going to win, and we did a pretty good
job.”
Haula back in
Wild 2, Montreal 1 Saturday: vs. Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. (FSN)
As for the disallowed goals, Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise both had
goals in the first and third periods that referee Justin St. Pierre waved off.
Both times, the NHL Situation Room agreed, saying video evidence
supported the zebra’s call.
In the first instance, even former Wild minor league goalie Mike Condon
thought Granlund scored on Nino Niederreiter’s shot. Just when the
overhead replay would have shown if the puck completely crossed the
goal line, Condon’s pad blocked the view. In Parise’s case, it certainly
looked as if he stuffed the puck inside the post.
Parise celebrated like it was in … because he says it was in.
“I mean, come on. It’s 2015. Get some cameras,” Parise said. “There
shouldn’t be inconclusive goals anymore. … It’s hard enough to score in
the league. You work hard to get chances and score goals, and you feel
like you earn one or we earn a couple and it goes against you. That’s
frustrating.”
Daniel Carr made it a game soon after by trimming the deficit in half with
7:14 left.
“It’s almost automatic that … they’re going to score shortly after that,” Yeo
said.
Chris Porter could have played through his lower-body injury Tuesday,
but his not being 100 percent gave Yeo the ability to play Erik Haula, who
had been scratched in three straight games.
“He’s defended well, his penalty killing has been stronger here the last
little bit, I think he had a pretty good series of plays in the San Jose game
and even the game before he came out,” Yeo said of Haula. “But the
message to him was just, ‘You haven’t done quite enough to ensure you
don’t come out of the lineup.’ I’d like to see him play at the level he was
playing at and doing the things he was doing, and then maybe add on a
little more.”
Center stage
The Wild has shown hefty interest in Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan
Johansen, and one reason is because Mikael Granlund continues to
aggravate the Wild braintrust at times.
He entered Tuesday’s game with 16 points in his past 20 games, but he
passes up shots and doesn’t score at the rate of a top centerman.
“When [Granlund’s] on top of his game, you can see a guy that’s playing
very fast, he’s playing confident, he’s making plays,” Yeo said.
“I think he’s still a young player who’s … he faces the toughest matchups
night after night, which is not easy for any player, especially when you’re
trying to create.
“He’s kind of on the bubble right now of showing that he can be a full-time
producer, but he’s still struggling to learn how to do it a little bit.”
Etc.
• Wild prospect Louis Belpedio, a defenseman at Miami (Ohio), was
named an alternate captain on the United States national team for the
upcoming world junior championships in Helsinki, Finland. Michigan
defenseman Zach Werensk is the team’s captain.
• Defenseman Mike Reilly, who still hasn’t made his NHL debut, was sent
back to Iowa of the AHL.
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.23.2015
is one big reason why I keep writing in my Sunday column and saying on
radio, TV and podcasts that the Wild has shown hefty interest in
Columbus' Ryan Johansen.
Yeo was asked about Granlund this morning: "With Granny, he's a guy
who's underrated defensively, he's a guy you can put on against top lines.
When he's on top of his game, you can see a guy that's playing very fast,
he's playing confident, he's making plays. I think he's still a young player
who's, ... he faces the toughest matchups night after night, which is not
easy for any player, especially when you're trying to create. He's kind of
on the bubble right now of showing that he can be a full-time producer, but
he's still struggling to learn how to do it a little bit."
It looked like Mike Reilly was reassigned. He’s in the area because of the
holiday break if the Wild needs him anyway.
Talk to you tonight.
989852
Minnesota Wild
Star Tribune LOADED: 12.23.2015
Kuemper to start, Haula to return for the Wild tonight vs. Montreal
989853
Minnesota Wild
By Michael Russo
December 22, 2015 — 11:40am
Brian Murphy: Charlie Coyle goal helps spark Wild to getaway win over
Montreal
The Wild will be looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the
season tonight when it takes on the struggling Montreal Canadiens, who
have eight regulation losses in their past nine games.
By Brian Murphy
Darcy Kuemper vs. likely Mike Condon tonight.
Erik Haula, scratched in three straight, will draw back into the lineup for
Chris Porter, who has a lower-body injury and is not quite 100 percent.
This gives the Wild some fresh, motivated legs tonight. Coach Mike Yeo
said the decision was made yesterday to play Haula regardless, but
Porter’s injury gives him the chance to get Haula back in.
With the Christmas break coming up and the Wild not able to practice the
next three days, Porter can rest up.
Haula will likely start at left wing on the fourth line with Jarret Stoll and
Ryan Carter, but Haula will certainly see shifts at center, too. So we’ll see
what that does to the rest of the Wild’s lines.
After last night’s 6-3 loss to Dallas, Yeo said, “For everybody, I want to
make sure that we take out of this what we need to take out of it. The last
couple games haven’t been good enough by our standards. This is what
you worry about when you get on a bit of a streak and things are going
well and then we scored a bunch of goals at home. You worry about what
that’s going to do to the group. We’re playing in tight games and we knew
we had to defend and we were focused on that. We weren’t scoring a lot
of goals, so we had to do it. And next thing you know you score a bunch of
goals and we’d forgotten about some of the things that created those
situations for us.”
So I’d assume tonight the Wild tries to re-focusing on defending hard and
well. Both teams played last night, so we’ll see if fatigue is a factor tonight
on national TV. The game is on NBC Sports Network with John Forslund
and Brian Boucher at the mics.
On the Porter-Haula swap, Yeo said, “Very happy with Porter’s game.
Last night, he had four hits. He was involved, he’s doing a good job killing
penalties.”
On Haula, Yeo said, “He’s defended well, his penalty killing has been
stronger here the last little bit, I think he had a pretty good series of plays
in the San Jose game and even the game before he came out. … But the
message to him was just, ‘You haven’t done quite enough to ensure you
don’t come out of the lineup.’ I’d like to see him play at the level he was
playing at and doing the things he was doing, and then maybe add on a
little more.”
On Kuemper, Yeo said, “Maybe at the start of the year and probably last
year, we would have looked at this as an opportunity to [play Devan
Dubnyk] given the fact we have a nice little break after this, but the way
Kuemps has been playing has provided us this opportunity to give him the
ice.”
brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com
Posted:
12/23/2015 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated:
12/23/2015 12:07:48 AM CST
Yoko Ono appeared on the videoboard screaming like a banshee late the
third period Tuesday night in another manufactured ploy to energize a
sedate Xcel Energy Center as the Wild scrambled to secure a one-goal
win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Sacre bleu!
Minnesota fans had endured two periods of swampy neutral-zone
stalemate. Hadn't their eyeballs bled enough?
The primal screams eventually were drowned out by triumphant cheers as
the Wild skated into their Christmas break with a 2-1 victory over the
hapless Habs.
Charlie Coyle ensured three days of peace and harmony in the kingdom
when he bagged the winner early in the third period, providing the
finishing touch on a masterful drive to the net.
Coyle had the puck on his backhand and speed to burn when he angled
wide on flat-footed defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, quickly twisted to his
forehand and flicked a souvenir over goalie Mike Condon to the Elf on the
Shelf.
"Just a little move I've worked on before and that I've seen, so I just tried
to get it off," Coyle said. "Luckily, it didn't get the shoulder and it went in."
It was Coyle's second goal in as many nights after grinding through nine
without one. The center has four points in his past four games and is
catching fire along with linemate Nino Niederreiter, who has five points in
his past five games.
"Just playing with a ton of confidence," coach Mike Yeo said of Coyle. "I
thought that line played really well again tonight.
Nino, those were two of his best games of the season."
Secondary scoring is at a premium in the NHL, and the Wild have been
waiting patiently for these twin towers to get it in gear.
"Yeah, definitely adds some confidence to my game," Coyle added. "You
always want to help contribute. I know I haven't been putting a lot of pucks
in the net previously. It's always nice to help out. Getting a win heading
into the break is the best part."
Kuemper is 3-0-2 in his past five games (four starts) with a 1.31
goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
The Wild scattered for home ports and domestic cheer as the NHL closes
shop until Dec. 26.
Mikael Granlund has been a hot topic lately. He's getting points (15 points
in the past 19 games), but the Wild wants much more from him offensively
and he continues to aggravate with the passing up of shots. Frankly, this
No games. No practices. No national television cash grabs. Certainly not
after the NBA has vacuumed up every molecule of television airtime and
ad revenue to replace the televised Yule Log.
Not that there is not a little bit of Grinch in the NHL's compressed
schedule.
95 percent of the shots he's seen this month while allowing a total of
seven goals.
The collective bargaining agreement mandates Dec. 24-25 as off days,
but there is flexibility for the third day.
"I think his confidence is sky high right now," Wild center Charlie Coyle
said.
Typically, teams resume play Dec. 27, allowing at least one practice day
to knock off the rust.
That's where Kuemper said it has always been, despite last year's
struggles, which leaked into this season, when he allowed 10 goals in his
first three appearances.
Because Dec. 26 this year falls on a Saturday, a prime
revenue-generating gate for most teams, the cutoff was Tuesday.
So the Wild played their third game in four nights against Montreal. Both
teams played Monday, having lost by wide margins. The Wild stewed at
home after getting humbled by Dallas, while the Canadiens flew in late
from Nashville.
With weary legs and visions of presents and turkey dancing in their
heads, the boys produced a lump of coal for the sellout crowd and NBC's
audience.
"It was another one of those, flip the puck out and chase it down," said left
wing Zach Parise. "Not a lot of flow. It was a tough one to play."
Not as miserable as Monday night's meltdown against Dallas, when the
Wild blew a 2-0 lead at home and lost 6-3 to drop another game to the
Central Division and Western Conference leaders.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens -- who blazed to a 9-0 start -- are in freefall in
the Eastern Conference. They have lost nine of 10 and are mired in their
first five-game losing streak since February 2012.
They have scored three goals or less in their last 12 games, getting
outscored 19-5 during their five-game skid.
Scoring droughts are all too familiar for Coyle. His roller-coaster
production has inspired and confounded over four seasons in Minnesota,
which acquired his rights from San Jose in the 2011 multi-player trade
that ultimately jettisoned popular defenseman Brent Burns.
"When I talked to him, he seemed more confident than anyone else that
he was capable of (this play)," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "That's not to
say that we doubted him, it's just that he was up and down last year, he
was even up and down to start (this) year. ...
But his actions tell us that he was telling the truth.
"He really did believe, he had that confidence in himself and he looked
really confident right from the start of the game."
Montreal (20-13-3), which still leads the Atlantic Division despite having
lost nine of its past 10 games, generated numerous quality chances,
including a flurry early in the second period. Yeo said he wouldn't be
surprised if the Canadiens out-chanced Minnesota, but they couldn't solve
the riddle that was Kuemper.
Kuemper's only letdown came on a backhand goal from Daniel Carr with
seven minutes to play. But Minnesota (18-9-6), behind a first-period
rebound goal from Jason Pominville and a nifty finish from Coyle in the
third, was able to hold the Canadiens at bay despite having two goals
disallowed.
Kuemper's performance helped Minnesota snap a two-game losing streak
and sends the Wild into their holiday break on a high note before they
return to the ice Saturday to host Pittsburgh.
"It was nice to get back in there and keep the good things going, keep the
momentum going," Kuemper said. "It's nice when you get to play, you can
kind of get in a rhythm, and I'm just trying to keep it right now."
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Boston University product is only nipping at his
prime. Every player endures scoring droughts. Emerging from them
distinguishes the greats.
That will be easier to do if Kuemper, who is still the backup behind
Dubnyk, earns a few more starts.
"Going through that experience the last couple of years, when you're not
scoring, you get away from things," Coyle said. "(Now) you find quicker
ways to fix it. It doesn't last as long."
Dubnyk has played well this season, stopping 92 percent of the shots he's
seen, but Kuemper has been statistically superior. Still, Yeo, who has a
flexibility in net he couldn't have imagined a year ago, said he's not sure if
Kuemper will be more regularly featured in net.
He certainly made quick work of Montreal.
"I've got Christmas break to think about that stuff," Yeo said.
Pioneer Press LOADED: 12.23.2015
Kuemper said that isn't in his mind when he's in net.
"But hopefully I'll keep getting opportunities to go in there and play," he
said. "The important thing is just helping the team however they need
me."
989854
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild edge Canadiens behind Darcy Kuemper
By Jace Frederick
jfrederick@pioneerpress.com
Posted:
Updated:
12/22/2015 12:01:00 AM CST
12/22/2015 11:08:32 PM CST
A year ago at this time, Minnesota had no reliable options in net.
Goaltending was the Wild's primary weakness until the trade for Devan
Dubnyk, who led them into the playoffs.
Part of the early goaltending problem was Darcy Kuemper, who went
14-12-2 last season while allowing 2.6 goals per game.
"I look back at last year and it was just a tough stretch of games,"
Kuemper said. "Everyone goes through slumps, but unfortunately just the
way the season went I never got a chance to get back out there and get
out of it."
He's had that chance this season, and the 25-year-old netminder has
taken advantage. He continued his December dominance Tuesday night,
turning in a 24-save performance to lead Minnesota to a 2-1 win over
Montreal at Xcel Energy Center.
Kuemper is 4-0-2 in six December appearances this season, the first five
of which came with Dubnyk out because of a groin injury. He has stopped
Pioneer Press LOADED: 12.23.2015
989855
Montreal Canadiens
Pominville, Coyle score for Wild in 2-1 win over Canadiens
Dave Campbell
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Associated Press
Published Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015 10:59PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015 11:09PM EST
Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle scored for Minnesota, and the Wild
beat teetering Montreal 2-1 Tuesday night to stick the Canadiens with
their fifth straight loss.
Daniel Carr spoiled the shutout bid by Darcy Kuemper by scoring between
the pads with 7:14 remaining, giving the Canadiens some life. Kuemper
and the Wild clamped down from there, dropping the Canadiens to 1-9 in
their last 10 games.
Kuemper made 24 saves, giving regular goalie Devan Dubnyk a rest after
the Wild lost 6-3 to Dallas the night before.
Mike Condon stopped 20 shots for the Canadiens, who have been
outscored 19-5 during their losing streak. They have 15 goals in the last
10 games. For fans of the iconic franchise, and for the players, too,
remembering that 19-4-3 record they had Dec. 1 is difficult to do
considering this nasty skid.
The lower-body injury to star goalie Carey Price was a big blow, and
coach Michel Therrien put the pressure this week on his goalies, Condon
and Dustin Tokarski, to raise their play in light of all the losing. But the
Canadiens just couldn’t generate any kind of an attack in their third of
eight straight road games.
The Wild took the lead midway through the first period, when Mikael
Granlund’s shot bounced high off Condon’s shoulder area and into the
crease. Pominville whirled around and took a backhanded whack at the
puck to knock it in.
Granlund nearly got one himself in the final minute before the first
intermission when he crashed the far side of the net on Nino
Niederreiter’s shot from the left wing. Condon was knocked backward as
the puck slid onto the goal line, but he appeared to sweep it out from
underneath him before it completely crossed. The call by the officials on
the ice was no goal, a decision upheld by a replay review.
The Wild essentially sleepwalked through the second period, but Coyle
scored his second goal in as many nights early in the final frame.
Zach Parise almost punched one in with a wraparound move a little later,
another no-goal call that stayed the same after a replay review from
league headquarters. The puck looked as if it went further in than
Granlund’s earlier, and the crowd really got riled up after the no-goal
announcement. The boos continued after Carr’s goal made it a one-score
game.
The Wild improved to 13-4-1 at home this season. They’ve allowed only
15 non-empty-net goals in their last 33 regulation periods.
Globe And Mail LOADED: 12.23.2015
989856
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are heading into a three-day Christmas break in first place
in the Atlantic Division despite going through one of their worst stretches
in the past decade.
The Canadiens dropped their fifth consecutive game Tuesday night,
losing 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild, but they kept their tenuous hold on first
place because the two teams that had a chance to overtake them — the
Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings — both lost.
“It was a tight game,” said coach Michel Therrien. “You had two very
structured teams and the difference was a couple of mistakes. We had a
bad pass on the first goal and the second one came after a turnover at the
blue line.”
Alexei Emelin was the culprit on the first play as he put the puck on Mikael
Granlund’s stick and Jason Pominville scored after Mike Condon made
the save on Granlund.
The winning goal featured an outstanding play by Charlie Coyle after the
puck was turned over. He put the puck through Nathan Beaulieu’s legs
and then beat Condon.
“I was just coming on the ice and he made a good play to shoot it through
my legs,” said Beaulieu.
You could debate whether Carey Price would have stopped the shot, but
Therrien said he was pleased with Condon’s play. The rookie goaltender
made several big saves in the latter stages of the third period to give the
Canadiens a chance to come back, but the offence again failed to
produce.
Condon made 20 saves and was the beneficiary of two calls from the
situation room in Toronto that confirmed two pucks failed to completely
cross the goal line.
“On the first one, I thought the puck had gone in, but I just tried to whip my
leg around and I stopped it,” said Condon.
“The break will give us a chance to restore some of our confidence,” said
captain Max Pacioretty. “It will be good to get away from the rink for a few
days, but we have to take care of our bodies and be ready to get back at
it.”
Pacioretty was active as he fired a team-high five shots on goals and had
another six blocked.
“Max had some scoring chances in the second period, but we’re just not
burying our chances,” said Therrien.
Jeff Petry missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury
and the Canadiens were down to five defencemen when Tom Gilbert left
the game in the first period with a lower-body injury. Petry is expected
back for the Canadiens’ Boxing Day game in Washington, but Therrien
said it was too early to speculate on Gilbert’s availability.
Jarred Tinordi, who has spent most of this season on the sidelines, made
his second consecutive start. He played 17:28 and did what he does best,
collecting two hits and three blocked shots.
P.K. Subban took up some of the slack and he was on the ice for 29:02.
Daniel Carr scored the Canadiens’ only goal as he continues to play in the
style of the injured Brendan Gallagher.
“We have to get shots in the dirty areas,” said Carr, who was in one of
those dirty areas when he ended Darcy Kuemper’s shutout bid.
But Carr was quick to share the credit with linemates Lars Eller and Alex
Galchenyuk.
Said Carr: “Lars made a great pass to find me in front and Chucky did a
good job before that along the boards.”
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
In the Habs' Room: 'We're just not burying our chances,' Therrien says
Pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette
More from Pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette
989857
Montreal Canadiens
Published on: December 22, 2015 | Last Updated: December 22, 2015
11:49 PM EST
Free-falling Canadiens drop fifth straight game
ST. PAUL — First, the good news.
Pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette
More from Pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette
Published on: December 22, 2015 | Last Updated: December 22, 2015
10:53 PM EST
ST. PAUL, MINN. — There was very little that could be described as
merry for the Canadiens after they dropped a 2-1 decision to the
Minnesota Wild Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center. The Canadiens
received decent goaltending from Mike Condon, but the offence
continued to struggle. Montreal managed 25 shots at Darcy Kuemper,
who improved his record to 4-0-4. He had a shutout until Daniel Carr
scored on a backhander at 12:46 of the third period. It was the fifth
consecutive loss for the Canadiens. They are 2-9-1 in their last 12 games
and have scored only 19 goals in that stretch.
Emelin opens the door; The Wild opened the scoring at 12:38 of the first
period after Alexei Emelin coughed up the puck. Emelin’s cross-ice pass
was intended for Jarred Tinordi, but was well off the mark and went to
Mikael Granlund in the faceoff circle to the left of Condon. Granlund’s shot
bounced off Condon’s chest and Repentigny native Jason Pominville
potted the rebound for his fifth goal of the season.
Saved by the replay: The Wild thought it had a power-play goal at 19:24
when Granlund jammed Nino Niederreiter’s centring pass through
Condon’s pads. Condon managed to get his leg back to push the puck as
it reached the goal line. The initial call on the ice was no goal and it was
upheld when the video replay in Toronto failed to show the entire puck
crossing the goal line. The Wild had a second goal waved off in the third
period when the replay again failed to show the puck across the goalline
on a Zach Parise wraparound.
Coyle provides insurance: Charlie Coyle scored what proved to be the
game-winner when he scored at 4:55 of the third period to give Minnesota
a 2-0 lead. Neither team managed a shot in the third period until Coyle
stickhandled around Nathan Beaulieu and then put the puck between
Condon’s pads. It was Coyle’s eighth goal of the season,
McCarron sent down: Rookie forward Michael McCarron was reassigned
to the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League after playing
two games with the Canadiens. McCarron had no points, four shots on
goal and four penalty minutes in his first taste of NHL action. He was sent
down to make room for Devante Smith-Pelly, who returned after missing
eight games with a lower-body injury.
That fifth straight loss was a tight one: 2-1 against the Lightning in Tampa
Bay on Feb. 28.
The lineup that night included Scott Gomez, Chris Campori, Tomas
Kaberle, Brad Staubitz, Rene Bourque, Ryan White, Blake Geoffrion,
Aaron Palushaj, Raphael Diaz, Yannick Weber and Erik Cole.
Those were the bad old days. Cunneyworth was sacked when the season
ended, as was general manager Pierre Gauthier.
This season’s L streak will not cost Michel Therrien his job.
(Pause while at least half the HIO Commentariat gnash their teeth.)
The coach is on a new four-year contract that Therrien got from general
manager Marc Bergevin, who’s also safe.
That 2012 roster was crap.
The only holdovers are Tomas Plekanec, David Desharnais, Max
Pacioretty, Alexei Emelin, P.K. Suburban, Lars Eller, Andrei Markov and
that goaltender who can’t get healthy fast enough.
The current edition of the Montreal Canadiens is not crap.
Crap teams do not win the first nine games of their seasons.
Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher are injured, and their absence is
keenly felt.
Mike Condon and Dustin Tokarski are not top-calibre goaltenders.
But the greater problem is the team’s scoring drought.
Daniel Carr, whom no one had ever heard of when the season began, has
three goals in December. That’s tops on the team this woebegotten
month.
Carr is an honest, hustling hockey player – Gallagher Lite (even though
he’s bigger than the missing mighty mite). Therrien has bounced him
around, but Carr seems to have found a home on a line with Eller and
Alex Galchenyuk (who was good again in Minny after being one of the
Canadiens’ few bright spots in Nashville).
Of course, Sven Andrighetto looked good on that line … and hasn’t been
seen since. Perhaps a similar fate awaits Carr.
Looking ahead: The Canadiens will have three days to enjoy Christmas
before travelling to Washington to face the Capitals on Boxing Day. Their
road odyssey continues with games in Tampa on Dec. 28, Florida on Dec.
29 and the Winter Classic outdoor game against the Bruins on New
Year’s Day. The Canadiens will play in Philadelphia on Jan. 5 before
returning to the Bell Centre to play the Devils on Jan. 6
The Canadiens whose faces should be on milk cartons are the team’s
veterans.
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
As was puzzlingly the case in Nashville, Plekanec and Desharnais each
had more ice time than Galchenyuk against the Wild.
P.K. hasn’t scored in 27 games.
Tomas Plekanec is on a 20-game drought. DD has one goal in his last 17.
If there’s a logical explanation for this, it eludes me.
989858
Montreal Canadiens
About last night …
Posted by Mike Boone
Two mistakes by Canadiens defencemen = two goals for the Minnesota
Wild.
It’s been that kind of December.
Alexei Emelin’s cross-ice pass was gobbled up by Mikael Granlund, who
fed Jason Pominville for the game’s first goal.
Charlie Coyle took the puck away from Lars Eller and wheeled past
Nathan Beaulieu for what would prove to be the winner.
It could have been worse.
Two pucks that seemed to elude Mike Condon were ruled No Goal.
The Canadiens enter their Christmas break riding a five-game losing
streak – their longest futility streak since February, 2012.
Fans may have erased that month from their memory … along with the
rest of that season. Under Jacques Martin and Randy Cunneyworth, the
2011-’12 team wet 31-35-16 and finished last in the Eastern Conference.
“It’ll come back quickly when it does come back, but it’s hard to get it
back,” Pacioretty said of the Canadiens’ MIA mojo.
The team travelled back to Montreal Tuesday night. They are off until a
Boxing Day, when the Canadiens will face the red-hot Capitals in
Washington.
Despite the worst December record since the 1940s, the Canadiens
remain atop the Atlantic Division. St. Louis did them a favour by beating
Boston.
Perhaps solutions to the team’s problems are being assembled in Santa’s
workshop and will show up under the tree on Friday morning.
Ryan Johansen with a bright red bow?
Wayne Simmonds?
The likelier scenario, on Christmas morning and beyond, is the
instinctively cautious Bergen will stand pat hoping his team can keep their
heads above water until Gallagher and Price return in January.
The HIO Commentariat may disagree.
Have at it, but play nice.
And Merry Christmas, y’all.
•
•
•
Les Canadiens sont la has some thoughts on the D:
As for the defense…seriously not sure what’s wrong with Markov & PK.
They pretty much get a D grade for their December play when compared
to other top pairing D around the league. But I’d say in general it’s the
forwards who are more often botching their defensive assignments so I’d
place more blame on the forwards.
Emelin is kinda like Eller but on D. Sometimes good but sometimes bad.
He’s actually looked more consistently good this season but that almost
tricks one into thinking he’s a legit Top 3 Dman but he’s a marginal top 4
Dman. Habs need to keep him because nobody else hits like him.
Beaulieu has at least stepped up. Not convinced he’s a top 2 Dman
(particularly offensively) but looks to be a legit top 4.
Tinordi actually looked okay in his second game. He shouldn’t be traded
unless the Habs have a Markov level left handed D prospect in the
pipeline.
Too bad for the injury to Gilbert but at least that means Pateryn will get to
play. Gilbert should be the 7th Dman anyway.
the past two days, but coach Michel Therrien said the team didn’t want to
take any chances and Petry will miss the Minnesota game. There was no
word early in the day on who would fill Petry’s spot. Price (right knee) and
Brendan Gallagher (broken fingers) are out until the new year. Minnesota
doesn’t have any significant injuries.
What’s next: This game wraps up the pre-Christmas portion of an
eight-game road swing for the Canadiens. They are back in action on
Boxing Day in Washington and the trip continues on Dec. 28 in Tampa,
Dec. 29 in Florida and New Year’s Day in Foxborough, Mass., where the
Canadiens will meet the Boston Bruins in the Winter Classic outdoor
game. The Canadiens also travel to Philadelphia on Jan. 5 before
returning to the Bell Centre the following day to play New Jersey.
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
And some yuletide good cheer from The Jackal:
Yeah it really sucks to be mired in this slump, but the team is nowhere
near as bad as the frustration and current stretch makes it out to be.
989860
I think this is one of those games in which they just didn’t get any puck
luck. I think most of the stretch has been due to that and below average
goaltending.
This Date in Habs History: Dec. 22
That being said, MT’s lines still baffle me, it’s like when the team is having
trouble scoring he makes it even harder to score… And the PP is a
disgrace.
PUBLISHED ON JAN. 26, 2005
I trust MB to set things right but this is the 4th year we’ve been saying that
MB is looking to make a big move. I wonder if this time he will take a
bigger risk and go for someone who is not a low-cost boom or bust. Hope
so, though we’ll see, as Dreger says – anything could happen!
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
989859
Montreal Canadiens
Canadiens preview: Fading Habs look to end free fall vs. Wild; McCarron
returned to AHL
PAT HICKEY
MONTREAL GAZETTE
The matchup: The Canadiens are in free fall after losing 5-1 in Nashville
Monday night. They have lost four in a row and are 2-8-1 in their last 11
games. Despite the losing streak, the Canadiens are still in first place in
the Atlantic Division with a 20-12-3 record, but four teams are within four
points and they all have games in hand. The Wild is 6-2-2 in its last 10
games, but has lost two in a row after falling 6-3 at home to Dallas
Monday night.
McCarron returned to IceCaps: The Canadiens didn’t hold a morning
skate Tuesday in Minnesota but did announce that forward Michael
McCarron has been returned to the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps. The
Canadiens’ first-round draft pick in 2013 was pointless in two games with
the Canadiens after getting called up, picking up four penalty minutes and
was minus-1. Devante Smith-Pelly, who has recovered from a lower-body
injury, will take McCarron’s spot in the lineup.
Montreal Canadiens
RED FISHER
MONTREAL GAZETTE
Most of today’s players locked in the vise of a season-long lockout might
not remember Doug Harvey, seeing how almost all of them weren’t born
when he was the NHL’s premier defenceman. There was no union during
most of his career, but he was his own man, as many among them now
think they are. He feared neither constituted authority nor opposing
teams.
Win or lose, he refused to shake hands with opponents. He didn’t
socialize with them during the offseason, but he was one of them, so
hardly anybody was surprised when Harvey’s name was among the
half-dozen players mentioned in the startling news chattering from my
newspaper’s telex machine in the late 1950s.
National Hockey League players, the story reported, had formed their
first-ever association. Detroit left-winger Ted Lindsay was its president,
Harvey the first vice-president. The aim was “to promote, foster and
protect the best interest of NHL players.” (Nope, no mention of a salary
cap.)
Lindsay explained: “Actually, we don’t have many grievances, but we felt
we should have an organization of this kind.”
The association, Lindsay said, needed a better pension plan than the one
in force at the time, calling for a player to receive $15 a month starting at
age 45. Increased payments would be made on a graduating scale based
on experience.
“I don’t know any more about it than you do,” Canadiens GM Frank Selke
Sr. was saying on the telephone a few minutes later. “I have no
comment.”
“Did you know it was coming?”
“No. I knew there was a meeting of some kind taking place in New York
because Harvey asked permission to remain there after our game in
Madison Square Garden, but that’s all I know about it. Nothing more.”
Double trouble: It’s difficult to say which is the bigger problem for Montreal
— the sputtering offence or the goaltending. The Canadiens have scored
only 18 goals in their last 11 games despite outshooting the opposition in
eight of those games. They had a 36-19 edge in Nashville. Carey Price
could be counted on to keep the Canadiens in games when they weren’t
scoring, but Dustin Tokarski and Mike Condon are struggling and the
starting goaltender has been pulled in three of the last four games.
Condon will get the start against the Wild.
“Are you angry about it?” Selke was asked.
The other guys: There are some familiar names atop the Minnesota
scoring list. Saku Koivu’s kid brother Mikko leads the Wild with 29 points,
while Thomas Vanek — who was a Canadiens rental two seasons back
— has 11 goals to share the team lead with Zach Parise. Devan Dubnyk,
who was in the Canadiens’ organization for half a cup of coffee, handles
most of the goaltending, but he played Monday night and that means
Darcy Kuemper will start.
Selke was the most powerful general manager of his time: short, steely
eyed, grey spikes for hair and carrying a big stick. He and other GMs
made the rules, the players followed them — or else.
Injury update: Jeff Petry missed Monday’s game in Nashville with an
upper-body injury suffered two nights earlier in Dallas. He has practised
“I have no comment,” he repeated.
The reality is that Selke and others at the executive level were stunned by
the report. Hockey players didn’t do things on their own in the late ’50s.
What they did was do as they were told. What they surely didn’t do was
form a union.
“I have nothing to say,” he said.
As you’d expect, Harvey couldn’t stop talking about the group, which only
one player in the six-team league had refused to join. Much of what he
said appeared in the Montreal Star the next day. GM Selke was not
amused.
“Why don’t you run down the street and ask your friend Harvey about it?”
Selke said when I telephoned him on another matter a few days later.
“That was a pack of lies you had in your column. Harvey told you a bunch
of lies.”
“You’re what?”
“I don’t want to coach anymore,” he said.
“If they were lies, they’re Harvey’s, not mine,” Selke was told. “You may
remember that I called you first and asked if you had any comment. You
said no. That’s when I called Harvey. He had lots to say.”
“Whoa! Hold it right there! Am I hearing right? Your team made the
playoffs for the first time in four years. They’ve got banners hanging from
the roof at the Garden saying: ‘Doug, We Love You.’ You’re probably
going to win the Norris again — and you’re telling me you want to quit as
coach. Are you nuts?”
“Lies,” Selke said. “My office door always has been open to you. I want
people in my office I can trust,” he stormed.
“I’d rather be with the boys,” he said.
Click!
“Listen, in three years you could be general manager of that team. If you
quit now, you’re dead.”
It was impossible not to like Harvey, the player, who was the NHL’s best
defenceman of his time and ranks behind only Bobby Orr. He was an
integral part of six Stanley Cup-winning Canadiens teams, blessed as he
was with the uncanny talent of either speeding up a game or putting the
brakes on it. He controlled its pace more than any of the great stars who
were part of the record five consecutive Cups the Canadiens won in the
late ’50s. He was the quarterback on the team’s feared power play.
Harvey was this good: He was a runaway winner of the Norris Trophy as
the league’s top defenceman the first four years it was placed in
competition, and then three times in the following four years — the last
one after he was traded to the New York Rangers following the 1960-61
season.
Selke, on the other hand, had no trouble disliking the off-ice Harvey.
He danced to his own tune. In his time, players always promptly signed
their contracts. Take it or leave it, pal. Not Harvey. Often, he would wait
until the last day of training camp before signing — and only if he was
satisfied with the money offered to him.
Night in, night out, he would bring the complete package to the arena —
including those nights when he was hobbled with pain.
The Canadiens were in New York for a game against the Rangers, a city
in which they won a lot more than they lost. On this night, though, injuries
and illness had left the defence corps with only three bodies if you
included Murray Balfour, a forward. Harvey, limping slightly, was among
the walking wounded.
“Anything wrong with your foot?” I asked him shortly before the game.
“Naw, just a little stiff,” he said.
“Have you had an X-ray?”
“Yup, nothing there,” he replied.
“You’ve got only three defencemen,” he was told. “What are you guys
going to do?”
“I guess we’ll play,” he said with a shrug.
Harvey was on the ice for 51 minutes that night. He was in the penalty box
for four minutes. The Canadiens won 3-1.
Ten days later, X-rays revealed Harvey had been playing with a cracked
ankle all that time.
“You mean you played 51 minutes with a cracked ankle?” I asked.
“Aw, it was nothing,” he shrugged. “Nothing at all.”
Harvey spent 13 seasons and part of a 14th (his first in 1947-48) with the
Canadiens before he was shipped to the Rangers for tough-guy Lou
Fontinato — a trade that made no sense whatsoever, even though small
cracks were starting to show in the dynasty. Harvey still was on top of his
game, winning his sixth Norris even though the Canadiens had lost their
bid for a sixth consecutive Cup. The point is: Not only was he the NHL’s
best defenceman, he may have been hockey’s brightest mind, as well.
Playing-coach Harvey won a seventh Norris when he led the Rangers into
the playoffs for the first time in four years. They fell to the Maple Leafs in
six games, but the biggest reason for that was all of the games were
played in Maple Leaf Gardens because Madison Square Garden had
been taken over by a circus.
Several nights after the Rangers were eliminated, my doorbell rang early
one morning. It was Harvey.
“What are you doing here, Doug? Do you know what time it is?” I asked
him.
“Aw, gee … 1 o’clock, I guess. Can I come in?”
“What brings you here?”
“Aw, I just wanted to let you know I’m quitting as coach.”
“Aw, Muzz (general manager Muzz Patrick) needs the job. He’s got that
big house in Connecticut …”
“If you don’t get the job, somebody else will,” Harvey was told.
“Naw … I don’t think so,” he said.
We argued for the next couple of hours and, looking back on it, my
biggest mistake was trying to convince Harvey he was making a mistake.
Anyone who knew him well understood if you said black, he argued white.
If you said white, Harvey held out for black.
Two days later, the Rangers announced that Harvey had quit as coach
and would stay with the team as a player. He was with the Rangers for
1962-63, but 14 games into the 1963-64 season he was in the minors.
Three seasons after Harvey quit as coach, Emile Francis replaced Patrick
as general manager.
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
989900
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins' Kessel trying to find right fit
“No matter who I've been with,” Bonino said, “I think my line has been
really good down low all season. We've just got to start getting a little bit of
luck and converting our chances because we get a lot of them.”
Tribune Review LOADED: 12.23.2015
By Bill West
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, 9:27 p.m.
989901
Pittsburgh Penguins
Updated 6 hours ago
Penguins' farm system not barren
Phil Kessel spent much of this past week in search of that which fit him
best.
Namely, skates, but also linemates.
After a Dec. 15 practice in which Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
experimented with line combinations for the first time, Kessel sat down on
a bench in the locker room and grimaced.
His presence on the third line at practice, alongside Nick Bonino and Eric
Fehr and away from star centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin,
hadn't bothered him. It was the soreness on the inner part of his foot. He
removed two gel discs from the inside of his skate, tossed them in his
stall, and discussed possible solutions with an equipment technician.
Then Kessel, turning his attention to the reporters around him, did little to
define where he thought he fit in the Penguins' lineup.
“I don't think it matters who you play with,” he said. “You've just got to find
a way to get things done.
“I think we're (near the) bottom of the league in goals scored this year.
This team, I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be.”
Things finally fell into place for the Penguins and Kessel, the forward
acquired from Toronto in July to bolster the team's scoring, Monday
against Columbus. The team tied a season high with five goals. Two of
those goals came from Kessel, whose breakout happened with him
skating on a line that included Bonino at center and Chris Kunitz on the
left wing.
Bonino assisted Kessel's second goal with a perfect saucer pass during a
two-on-one rush. Earlier, Scott Wilson, a third-line winger called up from
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday and sent back down Tuesday,
whacked a puck out of the air and up ice to Kessel, who scored on a
breakaway to stop his goal-less streak at eight games.
No one would mistake Bonino, who moved up a line with Sidney Crosby
absent, for one of the Penguins' star centers. Sullivan believes maybe
that's for the best.
“Nick is a real cerebral center,” Sullivan said. “I've been thinking about
that pair for a while.
“If (Kessel) was to play with Nick, and when Sid comes back, we end up
with (Kessel, Crosby and Malkin) on three separate lines. That's going to
be hard to check all three of them. I think maybe that balance might
present a bigger challenge for our opponents.”
Kessel opened the season on a line with Crosby, and the combination
underwhelmed. In seven games together, Kessel had two goals and one
assist, while Crosby had a goal and two assists. Equally worrisome,
opponents attempted more shots than the Penguins when Crosby and
Kessel were on the ice together, according to Puckalytics.com.
Kessel's possession and scoring numbers improved when he moved onto
a line with Malkin and David Perron. The Penguins won six straight with
reshuffled lines. But their goal production remained subpar, and their slide
toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference began as December
arrived. Replacing Perron with Patric Hornqvist last week failed to restore
any scoring magic.
As early as the day of his introductory press conference, Sullivan signaled
a willingness to mix scorers with scrappier skaters rather than stockpile
his stars on the top two lines.
He experimented at practice Dec. 15 but didn't follow through with his idea
of separating Kessel and Malkin in a game until Crosby's upper-body
injury Saturday necessitated line restructuring.
Kessel, who had his worst shot attempt-rate performance of the season
Nov. 27 in Columbus, finished with one of his best rates in the rematch
Monday, according to war-on-ice.com.
Like Kessel, Bonino isn't sure how to fix the Penguins' scoring troubles.
And he's just as open-minded about who belongs where in the lineup.
By Jonathan Bombulie
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, 9:06 p.m.
Updated 7 hours ago
General manager Jim Rutherford dug deep into the pile of gut-wrenching
losses and failed scoring chances the Penguins have built over the last
few weeks and found a sliver of a silver lining.
After talking about it for more than a season, the Penguins finally have
been able to find some ice time for young players.
“We've got this group of guys here now, (Conor) Sheary, (Scott) Wilson,
(Bryan) Rust, and now they're getting their feet wet,” Rutherford said. “It's
a good time to do it. We may find out that one or two of these guys are
ready to go, and they'll stay here the rest of the year. We have to take the
few positives out of what has been a really bad run for us.”
At the time they were called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Sheary was
tied for the AHL lead with 19 assists, and Wilson was tied for the league
lead with 15 goals, so there's some obvious potential there. But both have
already turned 23, so they're not likely to make many top-prospect lists.
That type of honor would be reserved for 18-year-old winger Daniel
Sprong, 21-year-old defenseman Derrick Pouliot or 21-year-old goalie
Matt Murray.
Sprong has returned to Charlottetown of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey
League after an 18-game trial with the Penguins early in the season.
Murray made his NHL debut Saturday after a season-plus of all-star-level
play in the AHL. Pouliot is among the top 20 highest-scoring defensemen
in the AHL with 17 points in 28 games.
“A lot of people talk about how we don't have any prospects, this and that.
Well, we do,” Rutherford said defiantly. “Murray, Pouliot and Sprong are
Grade-A prospects.”
Before he was promoted to Pittsburgh, coach Mike Sullivan's most
important task while with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton might have been
overseeing the development of Pouliot.
Sullivan said he worked with Pouliot on many aspects of his game,
including positioning, making reads inside the dots, gap control,
defending the rush, stick detail and using his stick to influence and steer
opponents in the defensive zone.
“We're not looking to turn him into something different,” Sullivan said.
“We're looking to make incremental improvements on a day-to-day basis
in certain areas of his game.”
Up front, there are a couple of prospects with top-six potential.
Dominik Simon, 20, is the AHL's leading rookie scorer with 11 goals and
27 points in 27 games. His hands are the strong point of his game.
Jake Guentzel, a junior at Nebraska-Omaha, is also a top forward
prospect. He's been battling a knee injury, but he's among NCAA scoring
leaders with 10 goals and 26 points in 17 games.
Beyond that, though, the organization's best forward prospects project in
the bottom six. Wingers Dominik Uher and Tom Kuhnhackl have shown
checking-line prowess, but 21-year-old center Oskar Sundqvist has the
highest ceiling of the group.
While he was in Wilkes-Barre, Sullivan used the 6-foot-3 Sundqvist
almost exclusively in a shutdown role, matching up with opponents' top
lines and killing penalties.
“He has the ability to make plays and to finish, but I really believe his
strength is his two-way game,” Sullivan said. “He's hard to play against.
He's got a long reach, and he covers a lot of ground. He's more mobile
than he looks because he's got long levers. He covers a lot of territory
with his reach and his stride length.”
Tribune Review LOADED: 12.23.2015
He was named the AHL’s top goaltender in 2014-15 and was 12-4, with a
1.84 goals-against average and .938 save percentage, in 17 games with
the Baby Penguins before being recalled when Marc-Andre Fleury was
diagnosed with a concussion a week ago.
“What Matt Murray has accomplished over the last year-and-a-half in the
American Hockey League has just been outstanding,” Botterill said.
989902
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins reassign Wilson, Rust to AHL
By Bill West
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, 3:06 p.m.
Updated 6 hours ago
Less than 24 hours after Scott Wilson earned his first NHL point with an
assist in the Penguins' 5-2 win over Columbus on Monday, the winger
was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Wilson and forward Bryan Rust headed back to the Baby Pens on
Tuesday, the Penguins announced. Wilson, who had a team-high 15
goals with the Baby Penguins, moved up to the NHL club on Saturday to
replace Daniel Sprong, who returned to his junior team. Rust came up
after Sidney Crosby was ruled out for Monday's game with an upper-body
injury, but he did not play.
Both return to the AHL as Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang recover at
encouraging rates from injuries. Coach Mike Sullivan said he hopes to
have Crosby and Letang back for the Penguins' game Saturday in
Minnesota.
In addition to regaining Wilson and Rust, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also
named Clark Donatelli as its new coach Tuesday. Donatelli spent the past
four seasons with the Wheeling Nailers. Jay Leach, who served as
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's interim coach after Sullivan joined the Penguins,
will stay on the Baby Pens' staff as the associate coach.
Tribune Review LOADED: 12.23.2015
The Penguins acquired Murray in Round 3 of the 2012 draft and the rights
to Sean Maguire, in his third year at Boston University, one round later,
then traded up to claim Tristan Jarry in the second a year later. Those are
looking like shrewd investments.
Jarry, Murray’s backup in Wilkes-Barre this season, is 8-1, with a 1.50
goals-against average and .940 save percentage in 13 appearances.
For several years before Murray graduated from junior hockey, the
Penguins had relied on free agents like John Curry, Brad Thiessen and
Jeff Zatkoff to be the Baby Penguins’ go-to goalie.
“We utilized some draft picks in back-to-back years on goaltending
because we felt we needed more goalies in our system,” Botterill said.
“And now, we view it as a strength.”
He also likes how many forwards with NHL potential the Penguins have
assembled below the major-league level, while conceding that they don’t
appear to have any potential game-breakers on the way.
“We may not have the high-, high-end sort of prospects, but, when you
look at the depth there, we’re very excited about it,” Botterill said. “There
are a lot of players on the cusp of playing National Hockey League
games.”
Injuries to Sidney Crosby and Beau Bennett prompted the Penguins to
recall some of those forward prospects — Conor Sheary, Scott Wilson
and Bryan Rust — from Wilkes-Barre recently, although Wilson and Rust
were returned to the Baby Penguins Tuesday.
Sheary fit nicely with Crosby during their brief time together, reinforcing
Botterill’s belief that some of the Penguins’ young centers and wingers
eventually could fill spots on the first or second line in the NHL.
“I clearly believe a guy like Jake Guentzel or Dominik Simon or Conor
Sheary has the hockey sense and ability to play top-six roles,” Botterill
said. “I’m not going to limit a guy like Scott Wilson, too, because of what
he has accomplished in the American Hockey League in a top-line role.”
Too bad for the Penguins that he doesn’t play defense.
989903
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins' system stocked with goalies, lacking defensemen
NOTE — Clark Donatelli has been named coach in Wilkes-Barre. He had
been coaching the Penguins' ECHL affiliate in Wheeling, W.Va., where he
was the Nailers' all-time leader in victories and compiled a record of
133-109-9-20.
Post Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
December 23, 2015 12:00 AM
By Dave Molinari / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A few years ago, the Penguins’ talent pipeline was all but clogged with
promising young defensemen.
Olli Maatta. Derrick Pouliot. Simon Despres. Joe Morrow. Scott
Harrington. Philip Samuelsson.
It seemed a shame that none of them could play goal, for there was
precious little talent in that area of the organizational depth chart.
That all has changed, however. Maatta is a fixture in the NHL and Pouliot
still projects as an impact player, but Despres, Morrow, Harrington and
Samuelsson have been traded, and there are no other defensive
prospects of real note in the Penguins’ system.
989904
Pittsburgh Penguins
Clark Donatelli named Baby Penguins' head coach
December 22, 2015 2:51 PM
By Dave Molinari / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Clark Donatelli has been named coach of the Penguins' farm team in
Wilkes-Barre, filling the void created when Mike Sullivan was promoted to
the parent club Dec. 12.
Conversely, they have accumulated a bounty of good young goalies.
Donatelli, 50, had been coach of the Penguins' ECHL affiliate in
Wheeling.
So many that associate general manager Jason Botterill calls goaltending
“our biggest strength,” on an organizational basis.
Jay Leach, named interim coach of the Baby Penguins when Sullivan
moved to the NHL club, will be associate coach in Wilkes-Barre.
He also volunteered that “we’d like to have a few more defensemen
coming through our organization,” underscoring how a club’s strengths
and weaknesses can vary from year to year.
Donatelli is the Nailers' all-time leader in coaching victories and had a
record of 133-109-9-20 in Wheeling.
“It’s the cycle of things,” Botterill said. “You can’t overreact to anything
because things can change very quickly.”
Matt Murray, who earned his first NHL victory when the Penguins beat
Columbus, 5-2, Monday, is their top goaltending prospect.
Post Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015
989905
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins' Wilson, Rust head back to Wilkes-Barre
December 22, 2015 9:18 AM
By Dave Molinari / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Penguins returned forwards Scott Wilson and Bryan Rust to their
American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre today.
Wilson earned his first NHL point, an assist, during the Penguins' 5-2
victory against Columbus at Consol Energy Center Monday night.
It is not known if either will be recalled for the Penguins' next game,
Saturday at Minnesota.
Post Gazette LOADED: 12.23.2015