2015 NHL Draft
SHARE
Share with your Friends


Posted On Friday, 02.17.2012 / 11:40 AM

By Adam Kimelman -  NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor /NHL.com - At the Rink blog

Report: Bruins talking contract with four forwards

TSN is reporting the Boston Bruins, who recently signed defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a contract extension, are working on new deals for four forwards to keep them off the free-agent market.

According to the report, the team has approached centers Chris Kelly and Gregory Campbell, left wing Daniel Paille and right wing Shawn Thornton with offers that would keep them from becoming unrestricted free agents July 1.

All four played major roles in the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup championship.

Kelly, acquired from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline last season, has 14 goals, 12 assists, a plus-25 rating and in 55 games this season, and has won 55.2-percent of his faceoffs.

Campbell, Thornton and Paille make up the Bruins' fourth line -- nicknamed the "Merlot Line" by Thornton due to the maroon-colored practice jerseys they wear.

Campbell has six goals and seven assists in 52 games, Thornton has four goals, seven assists and a team-high 117 penalty minutes in 55 games, and Paille has nine goals and five assists in 51 games.

Earlier this week, the Bruins signed Boychuk to a three-year, $10.1 million deal that prevented him from becoming a free agent.

Along with the four forwards, the Bruins' only other prospective unrestricted free agent is defenseman Joe Corvo.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK
Posted On Friday, 02.17.2012 / 10:04 AM

By Barry Melrose -  NHL Network Analyst /NHL.com - Melrose Minute

Barry's Best: Halak, Campbell and Filppula

Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 9:23 PM

NHL.com - 2011-2012 Situation Room blog

CHI @ NYR - 15:15 of the Third Period

At 15:15 of the third period in the Blackhawks/Rangers game, video review upheld the referee's call on the ice that Ryan McDonagh's pass deflected off Carl Hagelin's skate and into the net.  According to rule 49.2 "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal."  Good Goal New York
Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 9:03 PM

NHL.com - 2011-2012 Situation Room blog

SJS @ TB - 1:44 of the Second Period

At 1:44 of the second period in the Lightning/Sharks game, video review was initiated because Michal Handzus shot entered the net after the post was dislodged.

The referee, however, awarded the goal on the basis of rule 63.6 "In the event that the goalpost is displaced, either deliberately or accidentally, by a defending player, prior to the puck crossing the goal line between the normal position of the goalposts, the Referee may award a goal."  Good Goal San Jose.
Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 8:47 PM

NHL.com - 2011-2012 Situation Room blog

CHI @ NYR - 14:48 of the Second Period

At 14:48 of the second period in the Blackhawks/Rangers game, the situation room in Toronto initiated a review of a play. Brad Richards' shot was stopped by Corey Crawford before completely crossing the goal line. The referee then blew the whistle ending the play with the puck still not completely over the goal line. No Goal New York.

Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 7:45 PM

NHL.com - 2011-2012 Situation Room blog

Rule Clarification - CHI/NYR

At 5:18 of the first period in the Blackhawks/Rangers game, the Blackhawks were assessed 2 minor penalties, 1 to Andrew Shaw for holding and 1 to John Scott for boarding. In this case Rule 19 (Table 17) applied and  Chicago's captain has the choice to play one player short-handed for four minutes or two players shorthanded for two minutes.
Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 4:44 PM

By Brian Hedger -  NHL.com Correspondent /NHL.com - At the Rink blog

Eaves may not return to Wings' lineup this season

DETROIT -- Patrick Eaves' fractured jaw is healed, but he still has lingering concussion symptoms from getting hit in the right side of the head by a slap shot in late November that might keep the Detroit Red Wings forward out the rest of the season.

Eaves needed surgery to repair the broken jaw that he suffered on Nov. 26 at Joe Louis Arena late in a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators. He was struck while blocking a slap shot at close range by Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi. It appeared to hit Eaves square in the ear hole of his helmet as he positioned his body to block the blast.

Eaves, who skated on his own without equipment on Thursday and does light conditioning work off the ice, immediately went down. He was carried off by a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for further treatment. The good news is the bone has healed after surgery to fix the jaw, but the bad news is that painful headaches and other concussion-like symptoms remain.

"I'm dealing with a lot of headaches right now, but yeah, it's getting better, slowly," Eaves told Bill Roose, managing editor of DetroitRedwings.com, on Thursday morning. "I have [a headache] pretty much all of the time."

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said on Thursday that he's going ahead with plans for the rest of this season thinking Eaves won't be in the playing group until next season.

"He's had concussion-like symptoms, probably had a concussion," Holland said. "He's feeling better every day. He doesn't want to push it. He'll wake up [Friday] and see how he feels. I'm going to plan that he's not going to be ready to play this year, but I'm hoping he does play this year."

Detroit hosts Nashville on Friday night in the midst of an NHL record 21-game home winning streak and the Preds haven't been back since the game Eaves got injured.
Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 4:27 PM

By NHL.com Staff -  /NHL.com - NHL.com Countdown to the Trade Deadline blog

Ducks, Oilers make minor deal

The Anaheim Ducks acquired Ryan O’Marra from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Bryan Rodney, both teams announced Thursday.

O’Marra played seven games for the Oilers this season, and has one goal and seven points in 31 career NHL games. He was a first-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 2005 Entry Draft.

Rodney has spent the entire 2011-12 season with Syracuse in the American Hockey League. He has five goals and 20 points in 41 games for the Crunch this season. Rodney has one goal and 13 points in 33 career NHL games – all with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 3:36 PM

By Louie Korac -  NHL.com Correspondent /NHL.com - At the Rink blog

Blues look to get back to basics against Islanders

ST. LOUIS -- It's been more than three months since Ken Hitchcock took over the reigns of the St. Louis Blues, but winger T.J. Oshie remembers a specific point of emphasis.

"When Hitch came in, step one was getting pucks to the net and funneling pucks to the net," Oshie said. "That's the very first thing he said, 'We're shooting pucks every chance we get.' And we've gotten away from that. I think that's the biggest part, getting back to that ... then after that, guys are going to be getting more scoring opportunities."

Following a disturbing 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, owners of the worst record in the NHL, on Tuesday night, the Blues (34-15-7), who entertain the rising New York Islanders (24-24-8) tonight, have gotten back to it the last couple days. And the message is funnel pucks to the net, specifically off the goalie's pads.

"It was nothing that was too technical out there," defenseman Barret Jackman said of practice. "It was a lot of straightforward 3-on-2 rushes, 5-on-5 play, getting the pucks on net, battling in front of the net. That's the way our team should play ... very simple, very direct. Getting that work ethic back mentally is a good sign."

And why did things need to be reiterated?

"I think we were trying to move a lot of pucks sideways (Tuesday) instead of just putting the puck on net and letting those guys drive the net and getting rebounds and getting the dirty goals," Jackman said. "I think we were trying to maybe make plays above the d-men where they can get sticks on it or their trackers could come back and be effective. I think it's tough for a d-man when a shot goes in behind you off the pads, you've got to turn around, find it and box a guy out. That's what you need to do.

"Collectively, I think it's the worst game we've played all year. I don't think we played a strong team game, I don't think we won many battles and won clean draws that turned into scoring chances. Our defensive play was not there."

The loss Tuesday thwarted the the Blues' fifth chance at a five-game winning streak this season. They've had a handful of four-game winning streaks and been good at nipping prolonged losing skids in the bud.

The Blues have a neighbor roughly 300 miles north in Chicago that is currently living a nightmarish 0-8-1 skid. Things can snowball on you quickly, and the Blues have gone no more than three straight games with a loss (only once, when they were 0-2-1).

"I think they realize that good teams can go through bad stretches, and you have to recognize it right away," Hitchcock said. "First, know that there's a problem and you're willing to look at the problem right square in the eye and then deal with it.

"I was impressed with the way guys dealt with it (Wednesday). The response at practice was good. It was competitive, guys had fun competing against each other, it was a lot like game-like situations. A lot of competitive scoring and guys really dug in and did a good job. I'm impressed by that. Now it's all about the response. We want to get back on the bike (tonight) and start to play well again."

Added Oshie: "It's been tough on (Chicago) and we talked about that. That's not where we want to be. This could be a step in that direction but hopefully we save it, hopefully everyone bears down. ... (Tonight) is a huge game for us ... character-wise as a team, if we can bounce back from a tough loss."


Posted On Thursday, 02.16.2012 / 3:31 PM

By Louie Korac -  NHL.com Correspondent /NHL.com - At the Rink blog

Blues need to get more out of Stewart

ST. LOUIS -- What seems like an ever-lasting time zone in which St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock is trying to light a candle under underachieving power forward Chris Stewart was on full display Wednesday at practice.

Stewart, a top-six forward by nature, was skating on the Blues' fourth line with Scott Nichol, Chris Porter and Ryan Reaves, in an effort to find that spark plug that has mysteriously been hidden from a player coming off back-to-back 28-goal seasons.

"It's a working foundation," Hitchcock said. "You couldn't get a better worker than Scott Nichol. Before you can think about scoring goals, you've got to start to work. So we need a working foundation so we can get to the next end. Whether it's for one period, one shift, one game, 10 games ... who knows. We need the working foundation here.

"We need a working foundation. When the work is there, the reward will be there.

Is this something Hitchcock has considered for a while?

"Yes," he quickly replied.

Stewart, who has 11 goals and 22 points in 53 games this season, was one of the Blues' best skaters and performers in a full-scale practice Wednesday following a bad 2-1 loss at NHL-worst Columbus on Tuesday night.

"It's obviously a message ... message loud and clear," Stewart said. "I've been in this position before ... just got to get back to work. Obviously not contributing offensively and something had to be done. They feel like that's the right approach and I'll just go from there.

"It is what it is. I can't really do anything about it now. Come out tomorrow and put together a good first period and hopefully get back up there. Just take it one game at a time."

There have been rumblings as to whether Hitchcock would consider sitting Stewart a game or two to get the message across.

"No, but we need to see more," Hitchcock said. "We need to see more work, more second and third effort so his skill can take over.

"He's got elite skill. We just need to see more. Your skill can't come out until the work foundation's in place."

Stewart said it's not from a lack of trying.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm obviously out there trying, giving it my all every night," he said. "But at the end of the day, if they don't feel that's good enough, then I've got to show more. It's up to them to give me the job description and up to me to do it. The good thing about this game is we've got another game tomorrow, come out and give it my best."
First | Prev | 1382 | 1383 | 1384 | 1385 | 1386 | 1387 | 1388-1393 | Next | Last

NHL.TV™

NHL GameCenter LIVE™ is now NHL.TV™.
Watch out-of-market games and replays with an all new redesigned media player, mobile and connected device apps.

LEARN MORE

NHL Mobile App

Introducing the new official NHL App, available for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones and tablets. A host of new features and improved functionality are available across all platforms, including a redesigned league-wide scoreboard, expanded news coverage, searchable video highlights, individual team experiences* and more. The new NHL App on your tablet also introduces new offerings such as 60fps video, Multitasking** and Picture-in-Picture.

*Available only for smartphones
** Available only for suported iPads