NHL Daily: Agent Allan Walsh blasted GM Garth Snow for his insistence on carry three goalies, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan nearing return from offseason surgery, and more! (Morning Coffee Headlines)
Grab your morning cup of coffee and join us here at Puck Prose for a compilation of NHL daily links that will help keep you updated with everything going on in the hockey world.
There were 10 games on the NHL schedule Saturday night. Four teams collected shutout, including Minnesota‘s Devan Dubnyk who recorded his third straight. Anders Nilsson shut the door versus Florida, Tuukka Rask returned from injury to blank the Red Wings 1-0, and Jake Allen and Peter Budaj were immersed in a goalie battle that ended with a 1-0 win for the Blues.
As per usual, we highlight the top performers of the previous night:
Marcus Johansson, WSH (2 goals, 1 assist)
Sidney Crosby, PIT (2 goals)
Evgeni Malkin, PIT (2 goals)
Jakub Voracek, PHI (2 goals)
Matt Duchene, COL (2 goals)
Sam Reinhart, BUF (1 goal, 1 assist)
Alex Galchenyuk, MTL (1 goal, 1 assist)
Adam Henrique, NJ (1 goal, 1 assist)
Damon Severson (D), NJ (1 goal, 1 assist)
Wayne Simmonds, PHI (1 goal, 1 assist)
Mikael Granlund, MIN (1 goal, 1 assist)
T.J. Oshie, WSH (1 goal, 1 assist)
Joe Pavelski, SJ (1 goal, 1 assist)
Alex Radulov, MTL (2 assists)
Patric Hornqvist, PIT (2 assists)
Phil Kessel, PIT (2 assists)
Radko Gudas (D), PHI (2 assists)
Anders Nilsson, BUF (33 save shutout)
Devan Dubnyk, MIN (29 save shutout)
Jake Allen, STL (27 save shutout)
Tuukka Rask, BOS (24 save shutout)
Cory Schneider, NJ (Stopped 32 of 33 shots for win)
Martin Jones, SJ (Stopped 27 of 28 shots for win)
NHL Daily: Morning Coffee Headlines
Agent Calls Out Garth Snow
Agent Allan Walsh blasted Islanders GM Garth Snow on twitter following Saturday’s game. Apparently, Jean-Francois Berube was going off one practice in the previous five days before being asked to start in goal. [Yahoo Sports]
Callahan Nearing Return
Union and Blue
Back in the offseason, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan discovered he had a labral tear in his right hip. He was forced to undergo surgery to repair the issue, but was expected to miss roughly five months. It sounds as though Callahan is finally nearing a return. [Bolts by the Bay]
All-Star Game Voting Process
According to Hockey Night in Canada/Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL has no significant plans to change the voting process after last year’s John Scott debacle. That sets a dangerous precedent. Leave it to Reddit again and we’ll have Steve Ott spearing Zdeno Chara at the All-Star game. [Sportsnet]
Bruins Defensive Woes
As Brandon Share-Cohen of Causeway Crowd explains, the Boston Bruins offensive woes in 2016-17 are being well masked by even greater defensive issues. Gotta wonder how long before GM Don Sweeney makes a significant move. [Causeway Crowd]
U of Denver Dominating
After a two-game sweep of Western Michigan in NCAA hockey, the undefeated University of Denver squad are likely to sit atop the National standings once they’re updated. Will Butcher (Avs prospect) and Henrik Borgstrom (Panthers prospect) led the way with three-point nights, while Dylan Gambrell (Sharks prospect) scored and assisted. [Denver Post]
Rangers Offense Key to Hot Start
Timothy Haggerty over at Blue Line Station discusses how the Rangers offense is key to their hot start. In past years, this team struggled to find secondary scoring, but in 2016-17, it seems the production is coming from up-and-down the entire lineup. [Blue Line Station]
Next: Top 5 Players in the Western Conference So Far
NHL Daily Morning Rant
I commend the NHL for wanting to keep the fans involved in the voting process for the All-Star game, even following last year’s debacle. For their sake, I hope Elliotte Friedman is wrong when he suggests we could see little or no change to how things work.
At the very least, the NHL must ensure there is no write-in vote. At the same time, there’s no reason to make virtually every player available. It’s the league’s responsibility to limit those selections to worthy candidates – let fans pick from that. You can’t make a mockery out of something if everyone is a deserving nominee.
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