The three finalists for the NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy are Shayne Gostisbehere of the Philadelphia Flyers, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The award goes to the top rookie in the NHL. The finalists are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The winner will be announced at the 2016 NHL Awards on June 22, which will take place in Las Vegas.
Gostisbehere was recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on November 14, when Mark Streit got hurt. The Flyers were 5-8-3 through 16 games before the dyamic defenseman entered the lineup. From November 15 to the end of the season, the Flyers were 34-19-11 in 64 games played. The puck-moving defenseman had a huge impact on the Flyers and helped them to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 64 regular season games, Gostisbehere had 17 goals, 29 assists, 46 points and averaged 20:05 of ice time per game.
Gostisbehere’s 17 goals were the most by a rookie defenseman since Dion Phaneuf had 20 during the 2005-06 season. He led all rookie defensemen in goals (17), assists (29), points (46), power play goals (8) and power play points (22). His four game-winning goals in overtime set a NHL rookie record and tied the record for the most ever in a season by a defenseman. Gostisbehere had a 15-game point streak which was a league record for rookie defenseman and was a Flyers record for rookies. Chris Chelios was the last defenseman to have a 15-game point streak in the 1995-96 season. Gostisbehere is the first Calder Finalist for the Flyers since Mikael Renberg in 1994. The Flyers have never had a Calder Memorial Trophy Winner.
McDavid was the best rookie despite only playing in 45 games due to injury. He missed three months with a fractured clavicle. In 45 games, McDavid had 16 goals, 32 assists, 48 points, five game-winning goals and averaged 18:03 of ice time per game. His 1.07 points per game was third among all players to skate in at least 40 games, just behind Patrick Kane and Jamie Benn. He won the NHL Rookie of the Month three times in October, February, and March.
McDavid had 12 multipoint games included a five point game on February 11 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He finished fourth among rookies in goals (16) and assists (32) despite missing three months of the season. This is the first time the Oilers have had a Calder Finalist since Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2012. The Oilers have never had a Calder Trophy winner.
Panarin was the most consistent rookie and played in the most games among the finalists. In 80 games, Panarin had 30 goals, 47 assists, 77 points, eight power play goals, and averaged 18:31 of ice time per game. His 77 points led all rookies and he finished ninth in NHL scoring overall. The forward led all rookies in goals (30), assists (47), points (77), power play points (24) and game-winning goals (7).
The one thing that may have deterred voters from picking Panarin as the winner is that he had the benefit of playing with the NHL’s leading scorer, Patrick Kane all season. He played at even strength and on the power play with Kane. Panarin is the fourth Blackhawks rookie to score 30 goals. The 77 points scored is the most by a rookie since the 72 points that Kane had in the 2007-08 season. Panarin is looking to become the Blackhawks’ first rookie to win the Calder Trophy since Kane did so in 2008.
Dallas Stars Head Coach, Lindy Ruff, faces a tough goaltending decision for Game 3 in St. Louis against the Blues. Does he start Kari Lehtonen or Antti Niemi?
Lehtonen struggled in Game 2 against the Blues, allowing three goals on five shots in the first period. The Stars weren’t playing the best defense in front of Lehtonen so Ruff decided to make the goalie switch to start the second period. Niemi stopped all 19 shots he faced the rest of regulation, and the Stars mounted a comeback to force overtime. On the 20th shot Niemi faced, Blues captain, David Backes found the back of the net for the overtime winner.
In six starts this postseason, Lehtonen is 4-1 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. He has only allowed 13 goals against including one shutout. Lehtonen has allowed three or more goals three times this postseason — once in the series against St. Louis and twice in the first round series against the Minnesota Wild. Conversely, he has allowed one goal or less three times — once against the Blues and twice against the Wild.
In three postseason games, Niemi is 1-2 with a 2.73 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. He has allowed eight goals against and has no shutouts. Niemi allowed five goals in a first round game against the Wild, which went into overtime. The only goal he allowed while in relief for Lehtonen in Game 2 against the Blues just happened to be the overtime game-winning goal. He allowed two goals in Game 4 against the Wild in round one.
Lehtonen has gotten most of the playing time this season, but Ruff has been treating his goaltending situation like most coaches do in the regular season. Both goalies have had playing time so both are ready to go at a moment’s notice, if needed. Ruff started Lehtonen in the series against the Wild, but when he struggled in Game 3, Niemi was put in for the next two games. Then Niemi struggled in Game 5 so Lehtonen was put back into the lineup for Game 6, which was the clinching game.
The goalies pretty much split the play during the regular season and ended up with similar numbers. In 43 games played, Lehtonen was 25-10-2 with a 2.76 goals against average and a .906 save percentage to go with two shutouts. Niemi was 25-13-7 in 48 regular season games with a 2.67 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. He also had three shutouts.
Will Ruff and the Stars decide to stick with Lehtonen and hope that he and the team can bounce back, or does he goes with Niemi, who played solid after coming off the bench in Game 2?
The Stars and Blues will play Game 3 on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
SAN JOSE, CA – It turns out, the San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) good luck charm not only came in the form of a black cat, but it’s also a girl. The cat, known affectionately by fans of the team and throughout social media as “Jo PAW-velski” (renamed from “Joe”), is doing well and has been in the care of Humane Society Silicon Valley (@hssv) for more than 24 hours.
“Jo” became a social media sensation this past Friday night when she appeared on the ice during warm-ups of the Sharks first playoff game against the Nashville Predators. She surfaced from the Nashville Predators bench, ran along the boards down the ice, and then disappeared back beneath the stands. The cat was safely retrieved by SAP Center’s engineering staff after the game.
The Sharks safely transported “Jo” to Humane Society Silicon Valley on Sunday morning where she has undergone health and wellness examinations and has been scanned for a microchip. All reports to date are that she is healthy and doing well in her temporary home.
San Jose Sharks Chief Operating Officer John Tortora issued the following statement:
“We are pleased to hear that ‘Jo’ is doing well at the Humane Society Silicon Valley. They have a fantastic facility for animals with an amazing staff. We are confident that ‘Jo’ is receiving the best care possible and look forward to a happy resolution of the story when ‘Jo’ is placed in a loving home.”
Fans interested in inquiring about “Jo” and potential adoption opportunities may contact Humane Society Silicon Valley. They are located at 901 Ames Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035. Phone inquiries can be made at (408) 262-2133, ext. 150. To check out the HSSV website, visit www.hssv.org.
Stars’ forward
Antoine Roussel interfered with Blues’ forward
Vladimir Taraksenko and went to the penalty box for the third time in the game. The Blues power play then went to work.
Alex Steen got the puck over to
Kevin Shattenkirk, who took the point shot and
Antti Niemi made the save. The rebound went right to Backes, who put the puck into the empty net while Niemi was still down from the original save. The goal was Backes’ second overtime winner this postseason and came at 10:58 of the extra session.
Jamie Benn tied the game at three with 2:36 left in regulation to force the extra session.
Cody Eakin won an offensive zone face-off back to defenseman
Kris Russell, who flung the puck to the net, where it hit Eakin. It went off Eakin and right to Benn, who made no mistake and put the puck into the net.
Mattias Janmark pulled the Stars within one goal at 3-2 when he took a nice pass from Eakin in the neutral zone, and then he used his speed to get by the Blues’ defense, and then he beat
Brian Elliott five-hole.
The Blues came out much more physical to start the game than they were in game one of the series. Ken Hitchcock inserted tough guy,
Ryan Reaves in to the lineup and Reaves had a few big hits early to set the tone of the game for the Blues.
It was the Stars who took the early lead on
Alex Goligoski’s third of the postseason. Eakin got the puck to Jamie Benn, behind the Blues’ net, and he found a wide open Goligoski, who fired the puck past Elliott for the 1-0 Stars lead. It didn’t take St. Louis long to tie the game at one. The Blues got the puck in its own zone, Backes got the puck to
Patrik Berglund, who passed it to
Robby Fabbri. Fabbri then got the puck back to Berglund, who ripped one past
Kari Lehtonen.The Blues would add two more goals from
Joel Edmundson, his first of the 2016 NHL Playoffs, and
Troy Brouwer on the power play. Lehtonen allowed three goals on the first five shots that he faced. The goals weren’t really his fault and he could do nothing to make the saves. The team in front of him wasn’t doing a great job of defending.
Antti Niemi came out to start the second period for Dallas in goal. Lindy Ruff hasn’t been afraid to switch his goalies mid-game nor has he been afraid to make a goalie switch midseries. After winning the first two games of the Minnesota Wild series with Lehtonen in net, he went to Niemi for the next two and then back to Lehtonen for the last two. Niemi made 19/20 saves after coming into the game in relief of Lehtonen and he made some really nice saves to keep the Stars in the game.
There were various players who had multipoint games. Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist while Eakin assisted on all three Stars goals. Brouwer and Backes each had a goal and an assist for the Blues. Shattenkirk and Fabbri each had two assists for St. Louis.
The series is heading to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4. The puck will drop for Game 3 at 9:30 on Tuesday night and it can been seen on NBCSN. Game 4 will on NBCSN on Thursday, May 5 with an 8:00p.m. puck drop.
The Lottery assigned the top three slots in the first round of the NHL draft, which was a change from years prior when the Draft Lottery was only used to determine the winner of the first overall selection only.
The Maple Leafs finished the season with a 29-42-11 record and a league worst 69 points. Since Toronto finished last place, they had the best chance to win the Draft Lottery, at 20 percent. The Leafs were the ninth team to retain the first overall selection in the lottery, according to the NHL’s PR Twitter account. This is also the first time in team history that they have won the Draft Lottery. Toronto has selected first once in their history and that was in 1985 when they chose Wendell Clark with the pick.
The Leafs will have a chance to pick one of the “Big Three” prospects. The prospects are center
Auston Matthews, left wing
Patrik Laine and right wing
Jesse Puljujarv. Matthews is ranked number one on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking. Toronto is the first Original Six team to pick first overall since the
Chicago Blackhawks did so in the 2007 Draft.
The Jets had the biggest jump in the Lottery going from sixth to second, while the Blue Jackets moved up one from fourth to third. The
Edmonton Oilers fell back two spots to the four and the
Vancouver Canucks fell two spots to the fifth spot in the draft.
The rest of the draft order will be based on how the teams finish in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Draft will be held on June 24-25 at Niagara Center in Buffalo.
Here is the rest of the 2016 Draft Order:
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Winnipeg Jets
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Edmonton Oilers
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Calgary Flames
7. Arizona Coyotes
8. Buffalo Sabres
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Ottawa Senators
13. Carolina Hurricanes
14. Boston Bruins (second consecutive year that BOS will pick 14th)
The New York Islanders have been finding ways to win. Many argue that the Florida Panthers were the better team in round 1 – but with timely plays, the Islanders moved on. They got timely saves from goaltender Thomas Greiss and three overtime goals were the obvious difference. In Game 1 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they took advantage of a rusty Lightning team who had trouble finding their game after 6 days off between rounds. However, game 2 of the series may have finally shown the side of the Islanders that many had expected. The waning minutes of Game 1 should have been a warning for New York as the Lightning scored twice and furiously chasing the tying goal before the Islanders were able to seal it with an empty netter.
The Lightning came out flying in Game 2, showing confidence and speed as they took another early lead. They were able to tack on a second before the Islanders finally broke through. But this time, it never felt close. The goals that Greiss gave up were leaky and momentum killers. When Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman scored off a shot that was well wide but deflected off the Islanders Calvin deHaan, it really didn’t feel like it was New York’s night. After only taking two penalties Game 1, the Islanders took 5 in Game 2. And while the Lightning only capitalized once, the possession, momentum and shots garnered from each Power Play continued to shift the momentum. The Islanders had five power plays of their own, but looked disjointed and were unable to use the man-advantage to stay in the game.
The Islanders are in a precarious position entering Game 3. They should have a great crowd behind them at the Barclay’s Center – which is quickly making it’s own playoff memories – so there is no excuse for the team to come out slow. The Islanders vaunted fourth line was very quiet and Game 2 and will need to provide the on-ice energy that they are known for. If Greiss can reclaim his form, the Islanders should be much more competitive, not allowing the Lightning to start running away with the series. If they don’t, it will be very difficult for them to take momentum back from a very good Tampa Bay team and they could be home a lot sooner than they would like.
The Islanders could get young defenseman Ryan Pulock back from injury who hasn’t played since in this series. Pulock may not be a great improvement on defense over veteran Marek Zidlicky, but he should fair better against the speed of the Lightning and can provide a huge boost to the power play with his ability to shoot from the point. Josh Bailey, who has also been out injured is skating on his own, but most likely will not be ready for a Game 3 return.
The new contract has a cap hit of $950,000, which is a $150,000 raise over last season. Larsson also avoids becoming a restricted free agent this summer. Once the new deal expires in the summer of 2017, he will again be a restricted free agent. The one year deal makes sense for both sides,
Larsson get a nice raise and the Sabres have another year to see what he can do on the ice. Another reason this was a good deal for both sides was because this was Larsson’s first full NHL season, and Buffalo can see what kind of player he will develop into with more experience.
Johan Larsson
In 74 games played last season, the forward has 10 goals, seven assists, 17 points and was a minus four. Five of the 10 goals he scored were game-winning goals, which tied Jack Eichel for the team lead. Larsson averaged 14:49 of ice time per game last year and won 51.1% of the face offs that he took, which was second best on the Sabres. He had 113 hits, 33 blocks, 21 takeaways and 16 giveaways.
He was used at even strength, on the power play and did some penalty killing last season. He had one power play goal to go with four power play points.
Larsson was used as a third-line center and only had three multiple point games all season. The center has the ability to play a solid two-way game in a shutdown role. He can play at either the center position or the wing. His overall game needs improvement since he lacks consistency in his game.
The
NHL announced the finalists for the
Norris Trophy, which is given to the defenseman that demonstrates the greatest all-around ability throughout the season.
Erik Karlsson
In 82 games played this year, Karlsson had 16 goals, 66 assists, 82 points, three game-winning goals, 175 blocks and averaged 28:58 of ice time per game. He led the league in assists (66) and was ranked first among defensemen in points (82). The 66 assists and 82 points were also a career high. Karlsson was the first defenseman to score 82 points since Brian Leetch (85) of the New York Rangers and Ray Bourque (82) of the Boston Bruins did it during the 1995-96 season. The defenseman played all 82 games for the third consecutive season while leading the NHL in ice time (2,375:55) and average ice time (28:58). This is the third time that he has been named a finalist for the award and he previously won the award for his performance during the 2011-12 and 2014-15 seasons.
Brent Burns
In 82 games played, Burns had 27 goals, 48 assists, 75 points, had 353 shots and averaged 25:52 of ice time per game. He set career highs in goals, assists, points, shots and ice time per game. The forward-turned-defenseman also set San Jose records for defensemen in goals (27), assists (48), points (75) and shots (353). This is the second straight season that he has played in all 82 games and his 25:52 of ice time per game led the Sharks. This is the first time that Burns has been named a finalist for the award.
Drew Doughty
Doughty is the most defensive defenseman of the group, but he joins the rush just as well as the other two. He helped the Kings to the third best defense in the League. In 82 games played, he had 14 goals, 37 assists, 51 points and averaged a career best 28:01 of ice time per game. The plus 24 was also an NHL career high. Doughty ranked third in the League in time on ice (28:01). His 14 goals and 51 points were the most since the 2009-10 season when he had 16 goals and 59 points.
Coming into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the one goal for the New York Islanders had to be getting off to a quick start. They had the momentum coming off their dramatic double OT win against the Florida Panthers in round one while the Tampa Bay Lightning had been off since last Thursday. The last thing they could afford was to let the Bolts find their game early and unfortunately for New York, that’s exactly what happened. Ondrej Palat scored just 3 minutes into the first period – continuing a trend that plagued the Islanders against the Panthers as well.
Besides the fatigue factor, the Islanders were also dealing with criticism that their stellar fourth line had under-performed in the opening round and they were getting very little scoring outside of superstar captain John Tavares. All of these things righted themselves very quickly as the Islanders took a 1-0 series lead in Tampa Bay.
Fourth line center Casey Cizikas laid a massive hit on the Lightning’s Erik Condra at 4:45 of the first period and the Islanders were off. It started with defenseman Travis Hamonic getting a puck through traffic and squeezing through Ben Bishop to tie the score at 1. Shortly thereafter, Shane Prince made it 2-1 and then 3-1 as the first period came to a close. Embattled forward Ryan Strome, who was a healthy scratch for most of the first round due to his ineffectiveness, registered 2 assists in his return filling in for the injured Josh Bailey.
The Lightning had their chances, but another storyline that continued from the opening round was the play of Isles netminder Thomas Greiss. As Greiss stymied the Lightning attack, the aforementioned John Tavares made the score 4-1 as he rifled a shot over the shoulder of Bishop. Just two hours after Bishop was named one of three Vezina Trophy finalists, he was pulled from his net, giving up 4 goals on 13 shots.
The Lightning made it interesting scoring twice midway through the third period to cut the lead to 4-3; it seemed playing almost 10 periods of hockey in the last 5 days was finally catching up with New York. Greiss continued to stand on his head, robbing Jonathan Drouin on the doorstep with 9 minutes left in the third, and Nikita Kucherov on a wraparound attempt minutes later. With Andrei Vasilevskiy pulled, the Lightning nearly tied it but the Islanders fourth line struck again. Cal Clutterbuck blocked Valtteri Filppula‘s shot towards an open net – then on the ensuing clear it was Clutterbuck who raced down the ice to get the empty net goal to seal it, 5-3. The Islanders take the 1-0 series lead into Game 2 on Saturday in Tampa Bay.
The general managers of all 30 clubs vote on who should receive the award at the end of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters being the finalists. The winner will be announced during the NHL Award Show, which takes place on Wednesday, June 22 in Las Vegas.
Braden Holtby played in 66 games for the Capitals this season and finished with a 48-9-7 record. The 48 wins tied the single-season NHL record set by Martin Brodeur in the 2006-07 season.
Holtby became the seventh goalie in NHL history to record consecutive 40-win seasons. His 2.20 goals against average was good for fifth in the league, while his .922 save percentage was eighth among goalies, and he faced the sixth most shots (1802). This is the first time that the goaltender has been a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.
He was a big part of the reason why the Capitals were as good as they were this season. He made crucial saves while making the hard ones look easy.
Holtby never panicked while in the crease, no matter the situation. He only allowed three or more goals 23 times this season.
Ben Bishop played in 61 games for the Lightning this season and finished with a 35-21-4 record, after Tampa Bay got off to a slow start. His 2.06 goals against average led all goalies and the .926 save percentage was second in the league.
Bishop added six shutouts this season, which was second in the NHL. He is now the winningest goalie in Tampa Bay history with 115 career wins after surpassing Nikolai Khabibulin, who had 83. Bishop finished in third place after being a Vezina finalist for his 2013-14 season.
Bishop was a reason why the Lightning managed to turn their season around after a bleak start. His 35 wins ranked him fourth among all goaltenders. The goalie played well when he needed to and his six shutouts were a career-high. He only allowed three or more goals 19 times this season, and deserved to be one of the finalists.
Jonathan Quick played in 68 games for the Kings this season and finished with a 40-23-5 record. The 68 games were the most played by any goalie this year. His 40 wins ranked second, his 2.22 goals against average ranked sixth, and he finished the season with a .918 save percentage. He allowed three or more goals 29 times this season, which is the most among the finalists. This is the second time that
Quick has been a finalist for the Award. He finished in second place in 2011-12.
Some people feel as though Chicago’s
Corey Crawford should have been a finalist for the Award over
Quick. Crawford was 35-18-5 with a 2.37 goals against average and .924 save percentage in 58 games played this season. Crawford was also injured in the final weeks of the season and didn’t play so that could have cost him.
Holtby is the favorite to win the Award since he led the Capitals to the Presidents Trophy and had great season overall.
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