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Bill Peters Named Head Coach Of Team Canada At World Championships

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Bill Peters may not be secure in his NHL coaching position with the Carolina Hurricanes, but that hasn’t stopped him from adding another coaching job to his resume. Sportsnet reported this evening that Hockey Canada has named Peters the head coach of the Canadian team at the upcoming IIHF World Championship. The tournament runs from May 4th – 20th in the cities of Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark.

This won’t be Peters’ first go-round at the World Championships, as he has previously coached for Team Canada on two other occasions, including leading the team as head coach to a 2016 title. The Alberta native was also an assistant coach for Canada’s World Cup team during the summer of 2017.

Peters won’t be without an impressive support staff in Denmark, as Florida Panthers head coach Bob Boughner and St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Yeo were named his assistants. Yeo has previously served as an assistant for the World Championships team, while Boughner will make his coaching debut at the tournament. In Yeo and Boughner, Peters and Team Canada not only add extensive experience, but also the two coaches who came closest to earning an NHL playoff spot this season, each missing out by only one point.

NHL Releases Playoff Schedule

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A snow storm and significant flooding in Boston back in early January led to tonight’s rescheduled regular season finale between the Bruins and Florida Panthers. While the Philadelphia Flyers put an end to Florida’s impressive late-season playoff push with their win yesterday, the Bruins are still playing for something this evening, with the top seed in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference on the line. That could have potentially caused some delays in scheduling for the postseason, but the NHL has come armed and ready with two different schedules, depending on the result of tonight’s game.

If the Bruins can pull off a win, in any fashion, to finish their impressive regular season, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that this is how the first round schedule will shake out for both conferences:

If instead the Panthers play spoiler and the Bruins can’t land two points, the Tampa Bay Lightning will retain the top spot in the East and the schedule will look like this:

Keep an eye on the final score of tonight’s regular season culmination before beginning to schedule your postseason watching. In either scenario, the puck drops on the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Boucher, Ristolainen, Zetterberg, Bertuzzi

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There is just one game remaining on the NHL regular season schedule and the league schedulers picked a good one as the Boston Bruins will host the Florida Panthers today in the lone game. While many people thought the game would have significant meaning for the Panthers (Philadelphia’s victory Saturday officially eliminated Florida from the playoffs), it instead has an effect on Boston.

If the Bruins win, they will jump over the Tampa Bay Lightning as the top seed of the Eastern Conference and get home ice advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs. A win of any kind would give them a matchup with the New Jersey Devils. A loss will pit the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team they have struggled with this year. The only known matchup in the Eastern Conference are the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“Let’s face it, we were trying to find our own game and get to where we thought we were at the start of the year, which was definitely a playoff team,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy via NBC Sports Joe Haggerty. “We just didn’t know where we would fit, and the way Tampa got out of the gate, and Toronto for that matter, it was going to be an uphill battle. But here we are. We’re in a position to take it, and that’s a credit to the guys. We’ve worked hard to get here. This wasn’t by accident. We didn’t back in.”

  • The Ottawa Senators, who ended up finishing in 30th place this season, must make a decision on their coaching situation. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes that Guy Boucher is in a strange situation as he did everything right a year ago at this time and has done little right since. The team’s defense and special teams were atrocious this year and need to get fixed. The question is, will it be Boucher or another coach? Garrioch says that even if Boucher survives, expect changes to the staff as last year is considered unacceptable.
  • Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that the Buffalo Sabres need to make sweeping changes to avoid another dismal season next year, but unfortunately, the team has a lot of contracts with term which will be hard to move, so the team will need to be creative in trades. The defense has six players already under contract and few top-four players, citing that Rasmus Ristolainen is considered their No. 1 defenseman and he is no where even close to that. He will have four more years on his contract at $5.4MM AAV and has shown little improvement and isn’t the leader they hoped he would be.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that Detroit Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg must decide whether he wants to keep playing. The 38-year-old still has three years left of the 12-year contract he signed in 2009 at $6.083MM AAV, but back then it was assumed players wouldn’t play the entire contract out. He’s logged over 1,000 and if he chooses to retire, the Red Wings would save $6MM in cap space if the team is able to place him on long-term injured reserve. St. James adds, however, that the veteran might want to come back for one more year as he is just 42 points away from reaching 1,000 points.
  • St. James also tweets that the Red Wings have decided not to send forward Tyler Bertuzzi to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL for their playoff run. They believe Bertuzzi has done enough at the AHL level and want him to hit the gym and get stronger with a full offseason of workouts.

Florida Panthers’ Radim Vrbata To Retire After Season

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The Florida Panthers honored veteran Radim Vrbata during tonight’s game and announced that tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres will be his final appearance in an NHL uniform. He is not expected to play tomorrow and will retire at the end of the season, confirms Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington.

The 36-year-old winger has only appeared in 41 games this season and hasn’t played since March 8. He has just five goals and 19 points this season, a far cry from a season ago, when he scored 20 goals and tallied 55 points with the Arizona Coyotes.

In his 17-year career, Vrbata has played for multiple teams, including the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and the Panthers. He has played in 1,056 games, putting up 284 goals and 339 assists for 623 points and had two 30-goal seasons.

Minor Transactions: 4/7/2018

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With a full-slate of 15 games today on the final weekend of the regular season, most teams will wrap up their regular season today and the playoff order should be more clarified by the end of the night. Most prominent will be which team clinches the final playoff spots. A Philadelphia point will give them the Eastern Conference’s final spot over the Florida Panthers, while the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues will play for the right for the final spot in the West. Colorado needs a regulation victory tonight to vault themselves into the playoffs. In the meantime, several teams are making minor changes for the final weekend of the regular season.

  • The Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled defenseman Joel Hanley on an emergency basis. The 26-year-old has played four games with the Coyotes this year, having spent most of his season with the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, putting up two goals and 17 assists in 50 games. ArizonaSports Craig Morgan adds the move was made as defenseman Kevin Connaugton is a little banged up.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have recalled defenseman Andreas Englund from the Belleville Senators of the AHL and is expected to play today as Ben Harpur is injured. Englund was recalled back in December, but didn’t play in a game. The 22-year-old former second-round pick had one goal and nine assists in 66 games for Belleville.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have recalled defenseman Steven Santini and goaltender Eddie Lack. Both were recalled as the Devils are expected to rest numerous players today, including Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac and Sami Vatanen. With Cory Schneider getting the call to start in goal today, it’s likely the team also intends to rest starter Keith Kinkaid. The 23-year-old Santini has played in 36 games for New Jersey and 27 for Binghampton. Lack will likely serve as backup tonight. He has appeared in eight games this year, four with New Jersey.
  • With the New York Rangers’ season over after Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers announced they have assigned forwards Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson and Steven Fogarty to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL for their upcoming playoff run. Chytil and Andersson were both recalled on Mar. 26 with Chytil picking up a goal and two assists in six games. Andersson had a goal and an assist in those six games. Fogarty was recalled last night and didn’t get into a game.

Florida’s Barkov Will Miss Final Two Regular Season Games

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If the Florida Panthers have any hopes of reaching the playoffs, the first thing they have to do is win out. Being four points behind the Philadelphia Flyers, the Panthers have to win their final two games of the season and then get some help on top of that. However, the team’s chances of accomplishing this feat took a hit Saturday when the team announced that top center Aleksander Barkov will miss both games this weekend with a shoulder injury, according to Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel. He sustained the injury during the third period against the Bruins on Thursday.

Barkov has been a key piece to the Panthers improbable late run this season as the 22-year-old center has had a breakout year for Florida with 27 goals and 78 points. His absence won’t help the team’s chances of a much needed back-to-back wins over Buffalo tonight at home, followed with a challenging road trip to the Boston Bruins tomorrow. Barkov was just starting to put some points up as well for the team after a minor slump as he scored a goal in Thursday’s win over Boston and had two assists on Monday in their win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Del Franks added that Barkov could return for a potential playoff series if the team is able to clinch a playoff berth.

 

NHL Announces Potential Tie-Breaker Game For Eastern Playoff Spot

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Amazingly, there is a scenario in which over the next few days the Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers could end the season tied in every category the NHL uses to determine standings. That’s exactly what the league addressed today when they released the tie-breaker procedures for such a scenario.

For the purposes of the 2017-18 season, the tiebreaking game would be played Tuesday, April 10.

The Philadelphia Flyers (41-26-14, 96 points) currently occupy the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, with the Florida Panthers (42-30-8, 92 points) the only team capable of catching them.

* The Flyers (81 GP) and Panthers (80 GP) are tied in ROW (39). The teams split their season series (after eliminating the odd home game between them). Philadelphia currently is +3 in goal differential for the season, while Florida is -1.

* Therefore, the teams would play a tiebreaking game if Philadelphia loses its final game of the season by two goals exactly (Saturday vs. NYR) and Florida wins its final two contests, both in shootouts (Saturday vs. BUF, Sunday at BOS).

For the potential game, home ice would be determined by an equal odds draw and overtime would be played like it is in the playoffs—that is, 20-minute 5-on-5 sudden death periods until a winner is determined.

Obviously this is an extremely unlikely scenario, but it is definitely one most fans would love to see happen.

Owen Tippett Assigned To Springfield Thunderbirds

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Like his teammates Nic Hague and Micheal McLeod yesterday, Mississauga Steelheads forward Owen Tippett has been assigned to the AHL after his OHL playoff run came to an end. Tippett, who spent the start of the season playing seven games for the Florida Panthers, will ply his trade at the minor league level for the time being.

Tippett was selected 10th-overall last June after he had exploded for a 44-goal season and was routinely showing off his elite shot in the junior ranks. While that shot hasn’t deteriorated, the rest of Tippett’s game hasn’t taken the step forward many had hoped. He did reach 75 points in just 51 games this season, finding teammates more often in the offensive zone, but there were times that he looked uninterested or lacking the same desperation that he showed in his draft year.

While this wasn’t an outstanding development year for Tippett, he still should bring some huge excitement to Florida fans. In a league where goal scoring is extremely difficult, he has all the tools to be a dangerous offensive weapon. The 19-year old forward can skate well, has enough size to protect the puck and can seemingly beat goaltenders from anywhere in the zone. His release is noticeably quicker than his contemporaries, and he can create room for himself to use it.

Interestingly, the Panthers are still not eliminated from playoff contention after winning again last night. The team sits four points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the final wild card spot, but has a game in hand and three total remaining. Technically they could even still catch the Blue Jackets and Devils, who sit at 96 and 95 points respectively.

Though it doesn’t seem like Tippett is on his way to Florida right now, there’s no telling what a long playoff run could bring. Regardless, look for him to try and make the team next fall.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Panthers, DeBrusk, Trouba, Tolvanen

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Despite an impressive second-half run – 19-7-2 since February 1st – the Florida Panthers are still fighting for their playoff lives in each and every game. They face a major test this afternoon against the Boston Bruins and will do so without two offensive weapons. According to Panthers play-by-play man Steve Goldstein, both Denis Malgin and trade deadline acquisition and former Bruin Frank Vatrano are too “banged up” to go today. Vatrano has four points in eleven games since joining Florida, while Malgin has 11 goals and 20 points in 49 games for the Cats thus far. Their replacements, unproven Maxim Mamin and grinder Micheal Haley, have been far less productive in 2017-18. Given the importance of the match-up and the fact that Boston is getting Jake DeBrusk back in the lineup makes the absences of Malgin and Vatrano a stroke of bad luck for the playoff-hungry Panthers.

  • A postseason-bound club getting healthier is the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets will welcome defenseman Jacob Trouba back into the lineup tonight, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Trouba has missed the past two weeks while battling concussions symptoms. He suffered that head injury in just his second game back after missing 20 games due to a lower-body injury. If Trouba is really back at 100% and ready to return to his major role on the Winnipeg blue line, it will be a major boost for the Jets.
  • Making his long-awaited debut for the Nashville Predators today is 2017 first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen. Tolvanen finished up his KHL season last week and joined the Preds on Wednesday, but head coach Peter Laviolette confirmed that he will be in the lineup today against the Buffalo Sabres. While Tolvanen found instant success in Europe and looks poised to be a big-time player for a long time in Nashville, it’s no surprise that he makes his debut in a relatively meaningless game against the lowly Sabres. Tolvanen may need an adjustment period to get used to the North American game and it remains to be seen how he will be used down the stretch and in the postseason.

Henrik Borgstrom Signs Entry-Level Contract With Florida Panthers

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Another University of Denver forward has decided to turn pro, as Henrik Borgstrom has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers. DU was eliminated from the NCAA tournament this weekend, meaning Borgstrom is free to start his professional career.

Borgstrom, 20, was selected 23rd-overall by the Panthers in 2016 after starring in the Finnish junior leagues, and immediately became a dominant presence in the collegiate ranks. Able to stickhandle his way out of trouble, Borgstrom is an elite offensive talent that can protect the puck and find his way through traffic to generate scoring opportunities. He’d be successful even as an undersized player, but stands 6’3″ 195-lbs and has improved his physicality over the last year. He’ll likely be a full-time player for the Panthers in short order, but could really become a key member of their forward group if he continues to round out his game and compete in the defensive end.

After just two seasons in the NCAA, Borgstrom was named NCHC Player of the Year and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker award. He was also one of the most asked about prospects at the trade deadline, as GM Dale Tallon explained earlier this month. In the release announcing the signing Tallon spoke again about his prize prospect:

Henrik is a highly-talented, exciting and dynamic young forward who has been a dominant player over his last two seasons in Denver. In a short time he has put together an accomplished career in the college game, including a national championship. We are thrilled to have him take the next step in his development with the Panthers. Henrik’s addition to our skilled, young core of players further strengthens our foundation for success for years to come.

The young core that Tallon mentions is getting more impressive every day. Led by 22-year old Aleksander Barkov, who has morphed into a legitimate MVP candidate, and supported by others like Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck, the Panthers have a group that seems destined for some playoff appearances even if they miss out again this season. With Borgstrom, Owen Tippett and Aleksi Heponiemi ready to make an impact before long, that group could be one of the most dangerous in the NHL in the offensive zone.

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