In all your travels, you will meet few people more sour than a National Hockey League general manager who just lost his No. 1 defenceman a week before the playoffs are to begin. Worse yet, on a play he considers sketchy.
Hockey world, meet Anaheim GM Bob Murray. He is ticked off after Calgary’s Mark Giordano locked knees with Ducks defenceman Cam Fowler Tuesday night in Anaheim.
The Ducks say that Fowler, who has emerged as their best defenceman this season, will be gone from “two to six weeks.” He’ll miss the first round for sure, which, as luck would have it, could well be against Calgary (more on that later).
“It was dismissed very quickly by the people in charge. That’s their job, so I guess that’s the standard,” said Murray, referring to the good folks at the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. “The big thing in hockey is concussions. But as an old player, I have no use for knee-on-knee hits. Especially if I think they are somewhat intentional.”
Those are Murray’s heat-of-the-moment words. I can’t imagine anyone looking at the hit — who doesn’t have a vested interest — and describing it with the words “somewhat intentional.”
“I hear how Gio is a good guy, and he’s this and he’s that,” spat Murray, his face reddening. “Well, he’s done this before. I have no respect for people who go after knees. I’m sorry, but knees, they wreck your career real quick.”
Here’s a video of the hit.
As an objective observer, I see a hit that is a tad late, but no signs of intent to injure. Giordano’s legs are close together. There is no knee sticking out to stop a player from walking around the Flames defenceman.
“I did not like the hit,” Murray said. “I know I’ve said too much but I don’t care.”
Set Your Clocks
This is the time of year when playoff implications come down to the hour. So here goes:
5 pm MT on Saturday — Nashville at Winnipeg.
8 pm MT on Saturday — Calgary at San Jose.
Calgary and Nashville each have 94 points, but the Flames have two more ROWs (regulation and OT wins). So they’ll likely know by puck drop Saturday what is required to remain in the first wildcard position and play Anaheim, or fall to the second wildcard spot and get the Chicago Blackhawks.
8 pm MT Saturday — Edmonton at Vancouver
An Oilers win clinches second place in the Pacific. A loss and a San Jose win on Sunday means the Oilers would need a point at home Sunday against the Canucks.
6:30 pm MT Sunday — Los Angeles at Anaheim
7 pm MT Sunday — Vancouver at Edmonton.
If Edmonton sweeps the Canucks without going to a shootout, and Anaheim loses to the Kings in regulation, the Oilers win the Division. That could mean a Battle of Alberta. Sportsclubstats.com gives Edmonton a 14 per cent chance of winning the Pacific.
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Staying Home
When we talked to the Sedin brothers during the World Cup of Hockey in September, they both left the door open to the slim possibility that they might don another NHL sweater other than the Vancouver Canucks’ when their contracts expire after next season.
“If we’re going to win we’re going to win in Vancouver,” Henrik said back in September. “But who knows? We’re not going to stay if we can’t help the team, or if they don’t want us. Who knows what happens?
“We’re not going to retire because we don’t want to play for another team.”
Here’s the link to that piece.
But Thursday in Glendale, in a conversation with Arizona writer Craig Morgan, Henrik changed his tune somewhat.
“If (Canucks management) sees a future for us then we might have another year in us here after next year,” Henrik Sedin said. “If not, I don’t think we’re prepared to go anywhere else.”
I’ll say this: I don’t really want to see the Sedins in anything other than Canucks blue, white and green. And really, assuming the twins are ready to take a pay cut, there will be room for them in the Canucks’ Top 9 when the 2018-19 season begins, no?
“All we know is we’re going to play next year,” said Henrik, who has 15 goals and 48 points this season. Daniel, the goal scorer of the two, has just nine even strength goals and only 15 in total this season.
“This has been an off year for us. We have to produce more and we know we can do it,” Henrik said. “We’re not going to be 100-point guys anymore but we think we can get back to putting up 60, 65 points and that’s something we’re aiming for.”
“For us, it’s all about if the team is going in the right direction and if you see there’s a place for us on the team,” Daniel said. “If we’re healthy and if management wants us to be a part of the future, we can see ourselves playing more years. But for us, it’s Vancouver or nothing. We’re not going to go anywhere else to play.”
As it should be.
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Big Brother No More?
When Milan Lucic scored a third-period natural hat trick in San Jose Thursday night, it not only turned that decisive game around for Edmonton, there is reason to believe it went a long way in turning this sibling relationship as well.
Edmonton went 3-1-1 vs. San Jose in the season series, and walked into the SAP Center in a huge game, trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes, and danced away with a decisive victory.
Veteran San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy laid it down better than most, as he often does:
“Those three goals and that one period may have obliterated the Sharks’ sole remaining important edge over Edmonton entering the post-season — especially given the iffy status of injured San Jose centermen Joe Thornton and Logan Couture.
“What was that edge? Experience. Post-season fearlessness. Savvy maturity. Whatever you want to call it.”
https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/850434603844341760
In Round 1 last year, the Sharks limited Lucic — who was playing for the L.A. Kings — to zero goals and three assists in the five games. What did Los Tiburones do then that they could not do Thursday?
“It’s not the playoffs,” said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. “And we’ll come up with a plan for the playoffs when we play them.”
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