NHL Capsules: League boss reiterates support for shootout
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The NHL emerged from the lockout with a new look, including a bold new way to determine a winner for each regular-season game.
Plenty of skepticism from the purist wing of the sport surrounded the introduction of the shootout. Grumbling about using a skills competition — akin to a home run derby after 10 innings of a tied baseball game — to settle the score after 65 minutes probably will never go away.
The shootout, though, has won over some of the initial doubters. With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire this summer, the opportunity exists to make another round of significant rule changes, but Commissioner Gary Bettman made it sound as if this tiebreaker is here to stay.
"All the research that we do on a regular basis tells us overwhelmingly our fans like the shootout," Bettman said glowingly during All-Star weekend in Ottawa. "We're looking at numbers in the 70 and 80 percent approval range, which on any question is an extraordinarily high number. Anecdotally, I try to go to a game at least once in every building, and when you see an overtime game that goes to the shootout, the reaction in the building is sensational. Everybody's on their feet."
The seeds for the shootout were sewn eight years ago, when the general managers gathered at a resort just outside Las Vegas and, well, rolled the dice on some radical alterations. After the entire 2004-05 season was canceled during the labor dispute, the fans needed to be won back. The tiebreaker was one of those spices the NHL added to the recipe for regular-season intrigue to make the game exciting enough for casual or bitter fans to come to the arena again.
Putting aside the concern about cheapening the outcome with a few fancy one-on-one drills, the dislike for draws is about unanimous.
"People want to see somebody win. They want to walk away without an empty feeling like, 'Wow, that was a really good tie tonight,'" said Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, whose team has played in 10 shootouts this season, tied for most in the NHL. "You want to win and you don't want to lose, but when you lose it makes the wins that much better. That's what we're here for: to win hockey games."
One potential downside is the creation of artificial parity, since one point is awarded to the loser in either an overtime or shootout game.
According to research by STATS LLC, 164 of 735 games this season have been tied after three periods. That means 22.3 percent of the time there are three points awarded in a game instead of two. The chase for playoff spots gets thickened this way, but teams with essentially losing records can wind up looking better in the standings than they are.
Of those 164 tie games, 95 of them have been decided by a shootout. That's nearly 58 percent, a slight uptick from the 56 percent over the lifespan of the tiebreaker.
Wild season-ticket holder Greg Hoban called himself one of the converts.
Raised in Chicago as a Blackhawks fan, he carries a strong sense of the game's traditions. But he has warmed to the concept after experiencing the excitement in the building when two teams trade breakaway shots and the goalies try to stop them. There's a score on roughly one-third of the attempts.
"Initially I thought it was just kind of a gimmick," Hoban said. "I thought, 'Boy, for the purity of the game this is probably not a good thing.' But I think having watched it for a number of years now it's turned out to what they thought it would. It's part of the game now."
Elite professional athletes thrive on competition, so any piece of the game that drives up the adrenaline is going to be appreciated at least on one level.
"It's exciting, and people want to see that. They want to see one-on-one action," Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry said. "I don't mind it. You've got your best players out there taking shots and trying to win for your team. Guys like that in this game. They want that pressure."
Hoban said he senses the anticipating building midway through the third period when the possibility of overtime is clear. As a bonus for the diehards truly fixated on the action with full understanding of every shift change and every offside call, the distractions are reduced.
"Our seats are right on the aisle, and when people don't have the gumption to stick around they all jump up and go to the aisles. It's hard to see half the ice," Hoban said. "If you look around in a tie situation or when people are hoping the home team gets to a tie, you see people glued to their seats."
They sure like the shootout in Colorado. The Avalanche are 7-0 this season in those situations and have won 10 straight tiebreakers, one short of the NHL record for consecutive shootout wins set by the Dallas Stars during the 2005-06 season.
"A lot of fans probably appreciate it," Colorado right wing Milan Hejduk said. "Somebody's a winner. You don't have a tie like in soccer. I think it's a nice way."
The Avalanche are 44-23 all-time in shootouts, the best winning percentage in the NHL. The New Jersey Devils (50-27) are next. At the bottom of the list are the Philadelphia Flyers (20-37) and Florida Panthers (27-50). Jussi Jokinen's 30 goals are the most over a career, with Radim Vrbata and Pavel Datsyuk next at 28.
If polled, coaches and players likely wouldn't approve the shootout at a rate as high as the fans.
"I have mixed feelings about it," Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price said. "The shootout is very random, because it's not really involving the whole team. I think that's probably the most difficult thing, so if you have a core group of guys that aren't doing well in the shootout, then there's a lot of blame on certain people. But it is better than having nobody win the game. I think at the end of the day you're trying to sell tickets and being able to give a result to somebody is probably pretty good."
"I think for the fans it's pretty interesting and they enjoy it, but I think the overtime, 4-on-4, it's better to end that way. I'm not a big fan of the shootout, but it is what it is," New York Rangers star Marian Gaborik said.
Gaborik doesn't mind it when the Rangers win, though. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist is 39-27 in his career, the most shootout victories in the league. His winning percentage among those who've seen 100 or more shots in the shootout is fourth all-time.
The feeling, ultimately, is like that of any other sport or game: fun when you win and not so much when you lose.
"I don't want to jinx it, but overall I think when Hank is in the net we have a better chance to win the game than the opposition," Gaborik said.
Not every player buys the injustice argument, either.
"You know what? That's part of the game, too. Goaltenders have stolen games since the game began. So it's just the way it is," said Minnesota center Matt Cullen, who is tied for third in the NHL this season with five shootout goals.
Streaking Penguins surging into second half
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins milled quietly about their dressing room deep inside Consol Energy Center on Monday, slowly getting back to work following a welcomed few days off for the All-Star break.
As the players chatted about their current seven-game winning streak, the spectacular play of center Evgeni Malkin and the prospects of catching the New York Rangers for the Eastern Conference lead, a familiar image flickered on a nearby TV. More than one player stopped to watch.
There was Sidney Crosby, streaking down the ice against the New York Islanders on Nov. 21, scoring in spectacular fashion.
As solid as the NHL's hottest team has looked over the last two weeks, the main question heading into the stretch remains the same now as it did when the season began in October.
When is Sid the Kid coming back? And while coach Dan Bylsma refuses to put a timetable on Crosby's return, there at least appears to be a sense of optimism despite news over the weekend the 24-year-old superstar suffered a neck injury last January that perhaps complicated his nearly 11-month recovery from a concussion.
Crosby skated on the Consol ice for the first time in more than six weeks on Monday, joining fellow injured teammates Simon Despres and Jordan Staal for a brief workout.
Bylsma said Crosby worked at a "pretty good clip" during his session, adding Pittsburgh's captain was "pretty excited" to be back at work, even in a limited capacity.
At least it gave Crosby a respite from the latest round of drama surrounding his comeback. The team acknowledged on Saturday that neurological spine specialist Dr. Robert S. Bray in Los Angeles discovered an unspecified neck injury that was "fully healed."
An independent physician is studying the findings before the team makes any sort of determination on Crosby's next step.
Though the revelation about the game's most famous player seemed to overshadow the All-Star festivities, Crosby's teammates took it in stride.
"Anything that's progressing for him to get healthy and getting back to 100 percent and feeling like Sidney Crosby does is a positive," Pittsburgh forward Chris Kunitz said. "If he's skating and doing things, that's good for him as a person and that's what counts."
Bylsma declined to get into specifics about Crosby's condition and prognosis pending a report from the independent physician, saying only Crosby was "nowhere" close to being cleared for contact.
Crosby hasn't played since the concussion-like symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. He skated with his teammates during a swing through Florida earlier this month but hadn't been on his home ice in 54 days.
He's spent the last couple weeks visiting several specialists hoping for answers, and though Bray's findings were a surprise, Crosby's teammates don't believe it's a sign Crosby has no faith in the team's medical staff.
"I think that in any situation or any injury or any NHL player, if you look long enough, hard enough you'd find something too," forward Matt Cooke said. "No one doubted there was something bugging Sid and if this was it, maybe they can move on with it."
At the moment, the Penguins are getting by just fine without the 2009 league MVP. Their seven-game run is the franchise's longest winning streak in 14 months and Malkin has stormed to the top of the scoring race by playing arguably the best hockey of his career.
Not bad for a team that looked on the brink of panic during a six-game slide earlier this month.
"That's how seasons go," Kunitz said. "Everybody goes through injuries, highs and lows. I think it builds character in the locker room."
Though Crosby's status remains a focal point, the Penguins believe they can make a deep playoff run even if Crosby remains sidelined.
Having the hottest player in hockey helps. Malkin leads the NHL with 58 points, scoring nine goals during the winning streak. Linemate James Neal has been nearly as hot, scoring six times to move into second-place in the NHL in goals scored.
Their production has overshadowed a power outage on the other three lines. Cooke hasn't scored since Dec. 10, while Dupuis hasn't found the back of the net in more than a month.
"If (Malkin and Neal) want to keep scoring, I'm not going to stop them," Dupuis said. "Everybody is chipping in when you're winning. But down the stretch some other guys than Evgeni Malkin and James Neal need to score goals."
Yet with Malkin and Neal healthy and playing well, the Penguins are in much better position than they were a season ago, when they struggled to score goals while Malkin and Crosby watched the season fizzle out from the press box.
Crosby may remain there for awhile, but the Penguins are optimistic they can avoid an early playoff exit.
"All of the things we want to get are fully in reach and we've got to make sure we don't look too far ahead and stay what's at task," Cooke said. "Guys are going to get healthy and that's going to help us out big time."
-- Will Graves
Predators set sights on strong finish to season
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Coach Barry Trotz feels he has a special team. Now it's up to his Predators to show him just how good they can be this season.
The Predators come out of the All Star break with the NHL's best record since Dec. 28 at 12-2-0. Fifth in the Western Conference, only the Rangers and Boston (31) and Detroit (33) have more wins than Nashville (30). It's been impressive with a group that started the season as the NHL's youngest and now is tied for the league's second-youngest.
"This group is a very easy group to work with, good focus, good energy, high commitment level," Trotz said Monday after a short practice. "And they're actually playing with a lot of joy, and that's key."
Expectations are pretty high for a franchise that lost the Western Conference semifinals in six games last season even with the youth. Playing in the Central Division has helped push the Predators to playing their best. Even though they trail Detroit and St. Louis in the division, the Predators are 11-2-2 with the best divisional record for any NHL team.
"It's making us play some good hockey," forward Mike Fisher said. "It's so close, and we're not far out of first place. We really want to set our sights on that, and we've got a lot of division games coming up, a lot of tough games, and we feel like we can do it."
Giving the Predators so much confidence as usual is the play of goaltender Pekka Rinne. He was named the NHL's second star of the week Monday after two more wins pushed him to a career-best nine-game winning streak. He has allowed two goals or less in each of his last nine starts.
Trotz said he had hoped Rinne would play in the All Star game to attract some attention for his play after being a Vezina Trophy finalist last season. The coach selfishly is glad his goalie got to rest during the break because he said Rinne is the player who needs to be rested the most before helping carry Nashville down the stretch.
"He's got a well-earned rest," Trotz said. "He looks sharp."
Rinne said the Predators needed a break after pushing hard to finish strong going into the All Star break. The Predators won four straight, including a 3-1 win in Chicago that pushed them past the Blackhawks in the West. But he believes they can pick up where they left off having recharged the batteries.
"I'm really excited," Rinne said. "I'm really looking forward to going to these last 32 games."
Trotz gave All Star defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter along with rookie Craig Smith the day off Monday, allowing them to fly directly from Ottawa to Minnesota for Tuesday night's game. Trotz said they will talk about their new goals with Weber, the team captain, and Suter their top leaders.
The biggest questions around Nashville is whether Suter will be signed to a long-term deal before reaching free agency July 1. Suter talked about pending free agency in Ottawa, and Trotz said he was not concerned at all over the comments because he knows Suter wants to be in Nashville.
Both Suter and Weber, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, want to see the Predators make a move to add more offense to help them compete for a Stanley Cup. Trotz said they could use some veteran experience for depth. Even with so many teams looking for help before the Feb. 27 trade deadline, Trotz is trusting general manager David Poile to do whatever he can.
The Predators are getting balanced scoring averaging 3.14 goals per game during this winning stretch, and they now are 12th in the NHL currently averaging 2.74 goals per game. Nine different Predators have scored at least 10 goals.
That leaves Trotz focusing on the ice and trying to get the Predators back to the playoffs where they can do some damage.
"I don't know how it's going to play out, but this group has that special feel to it and a really, really good, focused group, and they're young and they're getting better. Where we are today based on where we were after about five games into the start of the season, I was quite concerned that we might not get our feet on the ground," Trotz said.
"But Peks allowed us to get our feet on the ground, and we've gotten better and better. And I think we're a really good hockey team right now."
-- Teresa M. Walker
Wild call up trio of forwards; Latendresse returns
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild started the unofficial second half of the NHL season by summoning three forwards from their minor league affiliate, one sign that their absent veterans aren't yet ready for action. But two of them were on the ice Monday, raising the possibility they could return in a week or so.
The Wild recalled Matt Kassian, Jed Ortmeyer and Chad Rau from the Houston Aeros of the AHL, but left wing Guillaume Latendresse, who has played in only two games since Nov. 10 because of a concussion, participated in practice. Center Mikko Koivu, out for the last four games with a left shoulder injury, skated on his own before the workout.
Coach Mike Yeo said he believes Koivu is "much closer" to coming back than Latendresse and could accompany the team on the three-game road swing that starts Thursday at Colorado. Minnesota hosts Nashville on Tuesday.
Latendresse spoke with a big smile and a few deep breaths after his first practice in more than a month. He said he has been symptom-free — "no headaches," he said — for the last 10 or 12 days.
"I feel good, I eat good, I sleep good," he said. "So whatever. Whenever I get free and clear for contact, after that, why not? Even if I wait, if my head is fragile and is not ready I'm going to get hurt again, so why wait?"
The other top-six forward still on injured reserve, right wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard, remains out with a concussion. Yeo said there's no update on his condition.
Hurricanes sign D Gleason to $16M extension
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Tim Gleason to a four-year contract extension worth $16 million.
The team said Monday that the deal keeps Gleason under contract through the 2015-16 season. He could have become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He will make $3.5 million in the first and last years of the deal, and $4.5 million in both 2013-14 and 2014-15.
General manager Jim Rutherford says Gleason is "one of our core players" both on and off the ice.
The 29-year-old leads the team's defensemen with 87 hits and a plus-minus rating of plus-2. He is making $3.5 million this year.
Columbus calls up Joudrey, Savard from AHL
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled center Andrew Joudrey and defenseman David Savard from the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield, Mass.
The 27-year-old Joudrey, signed as a free agent last summer after spending the previous five years in the Washington organization, has seven goals and eight assists in 42 games with Springfield this season. He was the Capitals' fifth pick and 249th overall in the 2003 draft.
Savard has five assists and 10 penalty minutes in 15 games with the Blue Jackets this season. Columbus' third pick and 94th overall in the 2009 draft, he also has three goals and 11 assists with Springfield.
Other Hockey News
Bishop stellar as West edges East in AHL ASG
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Ben Bishop stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the third period and all four in the shootout as the Western Conference rallied for an 8-7 win over the East in the AHL All-Star game Monday night. Bishop, who is 18-12-0 with a league-best six shutouts for Peoria, earned the game's MVP honors.
Peoria's T.J. Hensick and Chicago's Kevin Connauton scored late in the third period to tie the score for the West, which trailed by four after the first period.
Charlotte's Chris Terry led the West with two goals and an assist, and Chicago's Darren Haydar, Lake Erie's Tyson Barrie, and Toronto's Ryan Hamilton also scored.
Norfolk's Cory Conacher had two goals and an assist for the East, and Connecticut's Mats Zuccarello and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Syracuse's Kyle Palmieri, Bridgeport's Casey Cizikas, and Portland's Andy Miele also scored for the East.
