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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
McElhinney making the most of a dream delayed, but not
deferred
By Luke DeCock
Edmonton Oilers’ Colby Cave (12) and Carolina Hurricanes’ Jaccob
Slavin (74) battle in front of goaltender Curtis McElhinney (35)
during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Feb. 15,
2019, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) Associated
Press
Raleigh
Setting aside for the moment the one-sided trade that brought
Nino Niederreiter and his eight goals in 12 games to town, no
contributor to the Carolina Hurricanes’ current run is more
unlikely than Curtis McElhinney, who waited 14 years and 11 NHL
seasons on seven different teams for this chance.
His time has finally come, the 35-year-old career backup nearing
the inevitable end of his career, establishing himself as every bit
the option as Petr Mrazek in net in a partnership of equals. And
not where he expected to be, either: Caught in a roster crunch in
Toronto, McElhinney ended up on waivers at the same time Scott
Darling’s injury at the end of the preseason left the Hurricanes
searching for help.
Over the next five months, the stopgap option became the first
option. McElhinney arrived at the last minute, and now it’s hard to
imagine the Hurricanes without him – or where they would be without
him.
“He’s been our brick, our wall back there,” Hurricanes
defenseman Brett Pesce said. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for
him and Mrazek. They’ve both been phenomenal, both of them. They’ve
really led the way for us. Carried us even, in some games.”
That’s been true for months now, but sometimes it takes a game
like Friday’s 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, the Hurricanes’
15th win in the past 21 games, to really drive the point home.
There haven’t been many nights this season when the Hurricanes have
needed their goalie to flat-out save them on a night where they
were just plain flat, but this was one. And at a dangerous time,
with no margin for error in the playoff chase and, hey, it’s just
Connor McDavid on the other side of the ice.
McElhinney allowed a goal on the first shot he faced – one of
three in the first 136 seconds – then stopped the next 40 on
a night where McDavid and Leon Draisatl were dynamic and the
Hurricanes … were not.
“It’s been nice to get this opportunity here,” McElhinney said.
“You don’t always pick the places you end up going to. You just
land somewhere. I’ve done it a few times. The last two times it’s
worked out pretty good, in Toronto and now here to get the
opportunity to play some games.”
The Hurricanes have somehow held McDavid to one goal and five
points in six career meetings, and he was scoreless on Friday but
certainly not quiet. Pesce and Justin Faulk drew most of the
assignment, and Pesce finished the job with a breakup of a Zack
Kassian-to-McDavid two-on-one late that indirectly led to
Niederreiter’s empty-netter at the other end.
“A guy like that, he’s going to get chances no matter what you
do,” Pesce said. “If you can just limit him to a few, it’s a job
well done in my eyes.”
As for jobs well done, it’s hard to look past the trade that
brought Niederreiter from the Wild in exchange for the useless
Victor Rask, who had one goal in 10 games for Minnesota before he
got hurt stepping on a puck. Sounds about right.
But the waiver claim of McElhinney was equally larcenous, and
potentially even more critical given Darling’s eventual demotion
and the month Mrazek missed to injury. Mrazek’s numbers aren’t
quite as good as McElhinney’s, but he’s been every bit as reliable,
and it’s actually not hard to imagine where the Hurricanes would be
without them: This is the kind of game-in, game-out,
first-do-no-harm goaltending the Hurricanes have lacked since Cam
Ward was in his prime.
McElhinney’s body is has some hard miles on it and only has so
many games left in it, but he’s leaving it all on the ice. There’s
no reason to hold anything back now.
“The last couple of years, I’ve been feeling successful, there’s
just never been an opportunity to play a whole lot of games,”
McElhinney said. “Here, it’s been a good chance for me. It’s been
fun. It’s tough to put into words. I guess sometimes, you wait a
while for things.”
He always envisioned a role like this. He never envisioned
waiting this long for it, or it being this rewarding. And as
rewarding as it has been for McElhinney, it has been doubly so for
the Hurricanes.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
Canes return home, turn back McDavid, Oilers
By Chip Alexander
Raleigh
As the games begin to count down in the NHL season, there will
be times when a team’s mental and physical toughness will be
tested. Games become a test of wills.
So it was Friday as the Carolina Hurricanes faced off against
the Edmonton Oilers at PNC Arena. The Canes won 3-1, getting two
goals from Nino Niederreiter and another sparkling game from goalie
Curtis McElhinney, who had 40 saves.
The Canes (30-22-6), returning from a 4-1 road trip that was
their best since 1998, began the game three points out of playoff
position in the Eastern Conference. They’re now 15-5-1 since New
Year’s Eve -- the most wins and points in the NHL in that 21-game
stretch -- but still chasing the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus
Blue Jackets, with no room for slippage. “I think everybody knows
exactly what kind of position we’re in,” Niederreiter said.
“Everybody needs to get points to make the playoffs and I feel like
we’re right there. We need a big push to get there and every game
matters a lot, so we’ve got to make sure we win the close ones.
“It’s coming down to playoff hockey and who wants it more, and
we need to make sure we find ways to battle out games like tonight.
It definitely wasn’t our best hockey we’ve played, but we found a
way to win and that’s what matters.”
McElhinney was the Canes’ best player much of the game. He
allowed an early goal to Leon Draisaitl as the Oilers converted on
a two-on-one rush but was calm and steady after it on a night when
the Canes were outshot 41-27, when the Oilers’ Connor McDavid again
demonstrated why he’s the league’s most explosive player.
“He’s not hard to spot out there,” McElhinney said. “He’s flying
100 miles an hour and you can see him coming from 200 feet away.
He’s special, just a combination of skills and speed. He’s a treat
to watch.”
The game’s start was blistering, exciting. Niederreiter scored
his first just 37 seconds into the game. Less than a minute later,
Draisaitl tied the score for the Oilers (24-28-5) with his 34th of
the season, but Lucas Wallmark quickly gave the Canes the lead
again off a Teuvo Teravainen pass.
After three goals in the first 2:16, both goalies settled in and
the game settled down.
McElhinney had to be sharp, especially with McDavid on the move
and active. The Oilers’ Mikko Koskinen, a giant in net at 6-7,
didn’t face as much work as McElhinney but made
some timely saves before Neiderreiter scored his second at 16:23
of the third, again off a Sebastian Aho assist.
Neiderreiter now has eight goals in 12 games since the Jan. 17
trade from the Minnesota Wild -- four against the Oilers. The
transition has been seamless and the Swiss-born winger has fit in
well on Aho’s line with captain Justin Williams.
“Nino has been lights-out since he arrived,” Canes coach Rod
Brind’Amour said.
Why so good, so soon?
“At the end of the day you always want to be the best player you
can be and sometimes a change helps and sometimes it doesn’t,”
Niederreiter said. “In my case it definitely helped a lot.”
McDavid was not much of a factor in the Jan. 20 game in
Edmonton, when the Canes won 7-4 and Niederreiter and Wallmark each
scored twice. No. 97 was a handful Friday, although the Canes’
defensive pairing of Calvin de Haan and Trevor van Riemsdyk did
their best in containing him and held him without a point.
“I think we did a pretty good job, especially the penalty kill,”
said McElhinney, who has won his last four starts and eight of his
last nine. “We were able to slow him down coming through the
neutral zone and across our blue line, which I thought was huge.
You try to control him as best you can but he’s still going to
create opportunities.”
Things turned chippy late in the second. The Oilers’ Kris
Russell flattened Niederreiter with a cross-check behind the
Edmonton net, but there was no call. An angry Niederreiter jumped
back up and slammed into the Oilers’ Oscar Klefbom along the
boards. After all the bodies were separated, Niederreiter was
headed to the penalty box for a boarding penalty.
McElhinney and the Canes got the job done on the ensuing penalty
kill -- Edmonton was 0-3 on the power play in the game -- although
there was another skirmish, this one in front of the Canes’ net.
Roughing penalties were called on Carolina’s Jordan Martinook and
the Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
McElhinney snuffed out one late chance on that Oilers’ power
play, stopping a shot in tight by forward Ty Rattie, who once spent
time with the Canes. McElhinney’s sharp play continued in the third
as he stopped a point-blank shot by Colby Cave with about 14
minutes left in regulation, then denied McDavid from the slot with
5:25 left.
“We just battled, hung in there and our goaltender was great
tonight,” Brind’Amour said.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
McElhinney, Niederreiter lead Hurricanes to 3-1 win over
Oilers
Carolina's goaltender had 40 saves and the Swiss forward had his
third multigoal game since being acquired
Cory Lavalette
RALEIGH — The opening minutes of the Carolina Hurricanes’ game
against the Edmonton Oilers seemed to indicate the 14,340 fans at
PNC Arena were in for a track meet.
But after the two teams exchanged three goals in the first 2:16,
the rest of the way was a goaltenders’ duel.
Curtis McElhinney bested Mikko Koskinen, stopping 40 shots, and
Nino Niederreiter had his third two-goal game since coming to
Carolina to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 win and two crucial points in
the standings.
“We just battled. We hung in there, and our goaltender was great
tonight and that was probably the difference in the game,”
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
The start was frantic.
First, Niederreiter jumped in the slot and buried a shot past
Koskinen (24 saves) to make it 1-0 just 37 seconds in.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl answered less than a minute later,
tapping in a Zach Kassian pass on a 2-on-1 rush to tie the game at
1:32
But Carolina wasn’t done, and Lucas Wallmark one-timed a Teuvo
Teravainen pass from the wing for his seventh goal of the season
and a 2-1 lead in a frantic handful of shifts.
After that, PNC Arena Wade Minter traded in his trademark goal
calls for the dulcet tones of his penalty announcements. Four
penalties were called in the second period, including matching
minors on Carolina’s Jordan Martinook and Edmonton’s Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins following a post-whistle scrum late in an
increasingly chippy the middle frame.
Most of the puck action was in front of McElhinney, who — after
allowing the Draisaitl goal on the first shot he faced — made
several tough saves in tight to keep Carolina ahead.
“I think we’re just kind of getting critical plays at critical
times right now,” McElhinney said of the Hurricanes’ 7-2-1 run in
the last 10 games. “Obviously, we know what the situation is, and
it’s going to take a lot for us to get in the playoffs. But the
guys have been rolling since before the break, and we came out
of it pretty hot. It’s just a matter of gas pedal to the
floor.”
That hot streak coincides almost perfectly with Niederreiter’s
arrival. The Swiss power forward, acquired straight up from
Minnesota for Victor Rask on Jan. 17, has scored nearly as many
times (eight) in his 12 games with the Hurricanes as he did in his
first 46 games with the Wild (nine).
His latest came with less than four minutes left in the game,
when he took a perfectly feathered pass from Sebastian Aho on a
2-on-1 rush and fainted a backhand only to go back to his forehand
and ride the puck up Koskinen’s stick and in for the final nail in
the coffin.
After taking two penalties in the second period — including a
boarding infraction when he drove Oilers defenseman Oskar Klembom
head-first into the boards out of frustration after being on the
receiving end of a similar hit moments earlier and not getting a
call — Niederreiter was glad to be able to finish off the team’s
win.
“That happens sometimes in hockey,” Niederreiter said of his hit
on Klembof. “At the end of the day, you don’t want to hurt anyone
on the ice. It happens sometimes, but I’m glad I had a chance to
get it back and put a goal in.”
The win puts Carolina at 30-22-6 for 66 points — one behind
Columbus and Pittsburgh, who hold the third-place spot in the
Metropolitan Division and final wild-card spot, respectively, in
the Eastern Conference.
“I feel like everybody knows exactly what kind of position we’re
in,” Niederreiter said. “Everybody needs to get points to make the
playoffs, and I feel like we’re right there. We need a big push to
get there, and I think every single game matters a lot. So we gotta
make sure we win the close wins.”
Notes: The Hurricanes won the faceoff battle 41-28 Friday,
something that has happened rarely since Jordan Staal went down
with a concussion. Wallmark led the way by winning 14 of 18. … Aho
and Justin Williams each had two assists. … While he was a threat
all night, Connor McDavid was kept off the scoresheet. He now has
one goal and four assists in six career games against the
Hurricanes. Carolina is one of only three teams to have held
McDavid to less than a point per game average against them thus far
in his career. Nashville (nine points in 10 games) and the
Islanders (four points in six games) are the others.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
Preview: Stars vs. Hurricanes
Canes, Stars to meet twice in the span of a week
by Michael Smith
Winners of five of their last six games, the Carolina Hurricanes
host the Dallas Stars in the tail end of a back-to-back at
home.
Led by Nino Niederreiter's two goals and Curtis McElhinney's 40
saves, the Hurricanes topped the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1, on Friday
night.
Finding a Way
The Hurricanes didn't play their best hockey on Friday night.
They weren't even the better team. But, they found a way to get the
win.
And that's what matters most.
"Every single game matters a lot, so we've got to make sure we
even win the close ones," Niederreiter said. "They had a great
push. They have some phenomenal players on their roster, but at the
end of the day, we got the win."
"It just didn't feel like we quite could get to what we needed
to do. I give them a lot of credit. The other team played really
hard. They were kind of dictating more of the play for most of the
night," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We just battled and hung
in there. Our goaltender was great tonight, and that was probably
the difference in the game."
Niederreiter scored the first goal of the game just 37 seconds
in. He then scored the last goal of the game with 3:37 to play in
regulation. Those goals - his seventh and eighth in 12 games with
the Canes - bookended a stellar performance in net from McElhinney,
who earned his fourth consecutive win.
"We're just getting critical plays at critical times right now,"
McElhinney said. "We know what the situation is. It's going to take
a lot for us to get in the playoffs, but the guys have been rolling
since before the break, and we came out of it pretty hot, so it's
just a matter of gas pedal to the floor."
Climbing the Ranks
With 24 games remaining in the regular season, the Hurricanes
find themselves a point below the playoff cut line in the Eastern
Conference.
It's an ever-changing, oft-sifting target, but if the Hurricanes
keep winning, they'll find themselves on the right side of it in
the end.
"It's coming down to playoff hockey and who wants it more,"
Niederreiter said. "We've got to make sure we find a way to
battle out games like tonight. It definitely wasn't our best
hockey we've played, but we found a way to win. That's what
matters."
"They're hard-working, honest guys who play for each other,"
Brind'Amour said. "That's special."
The Opposition
Saturday's tilt marks the fifth straight game the Stars have
played away from Dallas, a stretch in which they've recorded a
1-2-1 record. After shutting out the Florida Panthers, 3-0, on
Tuesday, the Stars were whipped, 6-0, by the Tampa Bay Lightning on
Thursday. With a 29-23-5 record and 63 points, the Stars occupy the
first wild card position in the Western Conference.
AT THE RINK
Last night was fun. Let's do it again, shall we?
The College Colors spotlight is on East Carolina University
tonight, and there's still time to take advantage of this special
offer, which includes a discounted ticket and a beanie.
WORTH A CLICK
News
Recap:Canes Hang On to Top Oilers
Jordan Staal Searches for Normalcy
Videos
Highlights: CAR 3, EDM 1
Storm Surge: Feb. 15 vs. EDM
Brind'Amour's Postgame Speech: Feb. 15 vs. EDM
Postgame Quotes: Feb. 15 vs. EDM
Gameday Links
Buy Tickets
College Colors: East Carolina
Auction Items
First Goal Contest presented by Kayem
WATCH, LISTEN & STREAM
Watch: FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports app
Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes app, Hurricanes.com/Listen
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
Recap: Canes Hang On to Top Oilers
Niederreiter scores twice, McElhinney makes 40 saves
by Michael Smith
Backed by Curtis McElhinney in net, the Carolina Hurricanes held
on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1, on Friday night at PNC
Arena.
Nino Niederreiter netted two goals for the second time against
Edmonton this season, and McElhinney made 40 saves in his fourth
consecutive win.
Here are five takeaways from tonight's game.
One
The Hurricanes were not the better team on the ice tonight. Head
coach Rod Brind'Amour even said so.
"We were not the better team," he said.
See?
But the important part is the result, and the Canes found a way
to come away with their fifth win in their last six games.
"Every single game matters a lot, so we've got to make sure we
even win the close ones," Niederreiter said. "They had a great
push. They have some phenomenal players on their roster, but at the
end of the day, we got the win."
"It just didn't feel like we quite could get to what we needed
to do. I give them a lot of credit. The other team played really
hard. They were kind of dictating more of the play for most of the
night," Brind'Amour said. "We just battled and hung in there. Our
goaltender was great tonight, and that was probably the difference
in the game."
Two
McElhinney was indeed great tonight, and his first-star effort
stole the Canes two points.
His collection of 40 saves didn't feature any particular
showstoppers, but there were plenty of timely stops and the usual
batch of cool, calm and collected saves. In the second period,
Connor McDavid motored around Brett Pesce, but McElhinney's blocker
turned away McDavid's scoring opportunity.
McElhinney was also the Canes' best penalty killer, as he turned
away all six shots he saw while his team was a man down. He even
tossed in a pair of shorthanded saves on McDavid and Alex Chiasson
in the first period.
"You need goaltending in this league. Everybody knows it,"
Brind'Amour said. "Especially on nights like tonight when we
weren't at our best."
For his part, the Canes' 35-year-old netminder relishes the
opportunity to play in meaningful games down the stretch of the
regular season.
"I don't think there's anything better," McElhinney said. "It
feels awesome.
Three
If you were late getting in your seat or late flipping to the
game on television, first of all, shame. Second of all, you might
have missed 75 percent of the offense in the game.
The first 136 seconds of the game featured three goals, and it
felt like we might be in store for another 11-goal, high-scoring
affair, as was the case in Edmonton on Jan. 20.
Niederreiter, who scored two goals in his second game with the
Canes in Edmonton, opened the scoring just 37 seconds into the
game. From behind the net, Justin Williams centered the puck to
Sebastian Aho, who one-touched it over to Niederreiter for the
finish.
"Nino has been lights out since he arrived," Brind'Amour said.
"It's been a big, big boost for our group."
The Oilers answered quickly to even the score with the game just
92 seconds old. On a 2-on-1 rush, Leon Draisaitl executed a
give-and-go with Zack Kassian to make it a 1-1 game.
The Hurricanes weren't done, though. Just 44 seconds later, the
Canes had numbers up the ice. Skating down the left wing, Micheal
Ferland dished to Teuvo Teravainen in the middle, and he found
Lucas Wallmark, who banged in a top-shelf one-timer.
Four
After that offensive explosion in the game's opening minutes,
the following 3,247 seconds featured exactly zero goals.
While Edmonton pushed and controlled the pace of play,
McElhinney was the difference for the Hurricanes until they could
stretch their lead to two goals late in the third period.
With the help of Aho, Williams won a board battle high in the
defensive zone. Aho then raced down the ice on a 2-on-1 rush with
Niederreiter to his left. Aho backhanded a perfect pass through a
defending Adam Larsson and the reaching stick of McDavid, and
Niederreiter got just enough of his shot to tap it through Mikko
Koskinen.
"That's a great play by Willy to get the puck out and a terrific
pass by Aho," Niederreiter said. "I had a chance to bury that."
"That was a huge goal at that point in the game," McElhinney
said. "We're just getting critical plays at critical times right
now."
The goal was Niederreiter's eighth in 12 games with the
Hurricanes. Prior to being traded from Minnesota on Jan. 17,
Niederreiter had nine goals in 46 games with the Wild.
"You want to be the best player you can be. Sometimes a change
helps. Sometimes it doesn't," Niederreiter said. "In my case, it
definitely helped a lot."
"I think everybody knew he was a talented player. For whatever
reason, sometimes you get stuck in ruts in organizations. It
happens to everybody. We've all been through it," Brind'Amour said.
"He just needed a little change of scenery, I think, and we've got
a good mix with him playing with Seabass and Willy."
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
Five
The win improves the Hurricanes to 15-5-1 (31 points) since New
Year's Eve, and the team is now within a point of a playoff spot in
the Eastern Conference with 24 games remaining.
"It's coming down to playoff hockey and who wants it more,"
Niederreiter said. "We've got to make sure we find a way to battle
out games like tonight. It definitely wasn't our best hockey we've
played, but we found a way to win. That's what matters."
"We know what the situation is," McElhinney said. "It's going to
take a lot for us to get in the playoffs, but the guys have been
rolling since before the break, and we came out of it pretty hot,
so it's just a matter of gas pedal to the floor."
Up Next
The Hurricanes host the Dallas Stars in a later-than-usual 8
p.m. faceoff on Saturday.
McElhinney makes 40 saves for Hurricanes, stays perfect against
Oilers
Goalie is 7-0-0 vs. Edmonton in NHL career; Niederreiter scores
twice for Carolina
by Kurt Dusterberg
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Nino Niederreiter scored two goals to lift the
Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at PNC
Arena on Friday.
Curtis McElhinney made 40 saves for the Hurricanes (30-22-6),
who moved within one point of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the
second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern
Conference with their seventh win in nine games.
McElhinney improved to 7-0-0 against Edmonton in his NHL
career.
"You need goaltending, especially on nights like tonight where
we weren't at our best," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It
was one of those games where we didn't get to our game at all."
Leon Draisaitl scored his 10th goal in the past nine games for
the Oilers (24-28-5), who have lost three in a row and are 1-7-2 in
the past 10. Mikko Koskinen made 24 saves.
"We come and we play the right way, and we're doing the right
things," Oilers center Connor McDavid said. "We just can't seem to
find a bounce. We're having a lot of shots and creating chances,
but that only gets you so far."
Carolina took a 1-0 lead 37 seconds into the first period when
Sebastian Aho set up Niederreiter in the slot with a touch pass.
Aho had two assists to set an NHL career high with 66 points.
Draisaitl tied it 1-1 at 1:32 with his 34th goal of the season
on a give-and-go off a 2-on-1 with Zack Kassian.
"We needed to calm it down a bit," Niederreiter said. "We knew
we had to get pucks in deep and outwork Edmonton. They had a great
push, but at the end of the day we got the win."
Teuvo Teravainen set up Lucas Wallmark for a one-timer in the
right circle for a 2-1 Carolina lead at 2:16.
"We're getting down early in games, or we're chasing the game
halfway through, and that takes a lot of energy out of you," Oilers
coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I think if we got a lead we might be
able to be even better."
Niederreiter scored from the slot to make it 3-1 at 16:23 of the
third period. He has eight goals in 12 games with the Hurricanes,
who acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 17 for
center Victor Rask.
"I think everyone knew [Niederreiter] was a talented player,"
Brind'Amour said. "For whatever reason, sometimes you get stuck in
ruts. He just needed a little change of scenery. Obviously we've
got a good mix with him playing with [Aho and Justin
Williams]."
They said it
"They're usually the team outshooting [opponents] by 10 or 15
shots. It just goes to show that we were a desperate hockey club
today, but you don't get the result. That's the unfortunate part."
-- Oilers forward Milan Lucic on Edmonton outshooting Carolina
41-27
"Personally, I think we've been in every game and really been
the better team a lot of nights. I like our group. I've said it
since Day 1, they're hard-working, honest guys. They play for each
other, so that's special." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour
Need to know
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
McDavid had his eight-game point streak end. … Oilers forward
Alex Chiasson had a game-high eight shots. … Brind'Amour became the
fastest coach in franchise history to reach 30 wins (58 games),
surpassing Peter Laviolette (65 games in 2005-06). … McElhinney is
8-1-0 in his past nine starts. … Carolina has scored in the opening
minute of the game six times this season (5-0-1). … Aho has 21
points (eight goals, 13 assists) in his past 15 games. …
Teravainen
has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 11
games.
What's next
Oilers: At the New York Islanders (Barclays Center) on Saturday
(7 p.m. ET; SNW, SNP, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-CR,
FS-SW, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes hit home run with latest victory celebration
Foegele digs in, goes deep off Hamilton in nod to MLB
by Dan O'Leary
Warren Foegele smacks the ball out of the park as the
Hurricanes' Storm Surge turns to the diamond after their 3-1
victory against the Oilers
Let's play ball!
With Major League Baseball teams beginning to report for spring
training, the Carolina Hurricanes went with an homage to the game
in their latest postgame celebration.
It began, as always with the Skol Clap, but then Hurricanes
forward Warren Foegele dug in against defenseman Dougie
Hamilton.
Stormy, the mascot, was catching. And whatever ptich he called
for was hit a long, long way for a walk-off home run.
Foegele then skated around the "bases" and popped off his helmet
and was mobbed by his teammates, complete with water bottle
shower.
Niederreiter leads Carolina past Edmonton, 3-1
By JOEDY McCREARY
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nino Niederreiter kept scoring goals for
his new team. Curtis McElhinney kept up his mastery of the Edmonton
Oilers.
They pushed the Carolina Hurricanes closer to playoff
position.
Niederreiter scored two goals, McElhinney stopped the final 40
shots he faced, and the Hurricanes beat the Oilers 3-1 on Friday
night.
“Every single game matters a lot,” Niederreiter said, “so we’ve
got to make sure we even win the close ones.”
Lucas Wallmark also scored and Sebastian Aho had two assists for
the Hurricanes, who have won 15 of 21 since Dec. 31 for the best
record in the NHL in that span. Carolina, which has not made the
postseason in a decade, moved a point behind idle Pittsburgh for
the final wild-card playoff spot in the East.
“I think we’re just getting critical plays at critical times
right now,” McElhinney said. “We know what the situation is, and
it’s going to take a lot for us to get into the playoffs, but the
guys have been rolling since before the break, and we came out of
it pretty hot. So it’s just a matter of gas pedal to the
floor.”
Leon Draisaitl scored his team-leading 34th goal on the Oilers’
first shot, and Mikko Koskinen made 24 saves while losing his sixth
straight decision. Edmonton is 1-7-2 in its last 10 and was held to
two or fewer goals in six of those games, all regulation
losses.
“We’re generating chances. We’re making plays,” captain Connor
McDavid said. “We’re just not finding a way to score.”
The well-traveled McElhinney improved to 7-0-0 against Edmonton
— his best career record against any opponent.
With the Hurricanes largely unable to dictate play — Edmonton
was outshooting them 29-14 after two periods — he single-handedly
kept them in this one, with his best saves coming on a point-blank
attempt by Colby Cave with about 13 1/2 minutes left and a stop on
McDavid with about 5 minutes remaining to keep it a one-goal
game.
Niederreiter then gave Carolina a two-goal lead with 3:37 left
by taking a feed from Aho and slipping a knuckler past Koskinen.
Since he was acquired from Minnesota on Jan. 17, he has eight goals
in 12 games after scoring nine in 46 games with the Wild.
“At the end of the day, you want to be the best player you can
be, and sometimes a change helps,” Niederreiter said. “Sometimes it
doesn’t, and in my case, it definitely helped a lot.”
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
It was a successful start to what could be a pivotal stretch for
the Hurricanes. They played themselves back into the playoff
conversation while polishing off the club’s best five-game road
trip since 1998, and of their next seven opponents, six began
Friday night’s games behind them in the standings.
Defense was optional early in this one, with the teams combining
for three goals in the first 2 minutes, 16 seconds of the game.
Goals from Niederreiter and Wallmark sandwiched Draisaitl’s slick
goal on a give-and-go, before things tightened up the rest of the
way.
“They get the second one, and that’s the way the game goes the
rest of the night,” McDavid said. “It’s funny how it works
sometimes.”
NOTES: Draisaitl and McDavid have combined to score 65 of the
Oilers’ 158 goals. ... Aho, who assisted on both of Neiderreiter’s
goals, has a career-high 66 points.... Tempers flared late in the
second when Niederreiter, after being hit by Kris Russell, took a
run at Oscar Klefbom that sparked a brief melee. Niederreiter
received a 2-minute boarding penalty.
UP NEXT
Oilers: Complete a three-game road trip Saturday night by
visiting the New York Islanders.
Hurricanes: Wrap up a back-to-back set of home games Saturday
night against Dallas.
Hurricanes set a new standard with post-game 'bat flip'
celebration
Stan Temming
Whether you’re a fan of the elaborate choreography that goes
into the Carolina Hurricanes’ win celebrations or you hate them as
much as Brian Burke, we can probably agree that the team’s latest
post-game performance was their best yet.
The Hurricanes have made it worthwhile to stick around following
wins at home this season with their awesome “Storm Surges” for the
crowd to enjoy. While the slow, “viking clap” has been a staple
during these spectacles, each ending has been pleasantly
different.
Following a convincing 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at PNC
Arena to put themselves within one point of the final wildcard
berth in the Eastern Conference, Hurricanes
forward Warren Foegele was the centre of attention following the
clap led by Dougie Hamilton.
With all eyes on him, the 22-year-old’s performance definitely
wasn’t a swing and a miss.
Stormy, Carolina’s mascot that was playing catcher, clearly
called a bad pitch for Hamilton to throw as that imaginary ball
came straight down the pipe.
Foegele got all of it, did a fantastic impression of Jose
Bautista’s famous bat flip and touched all the imaginary bases
before celebrating his walk-off home run with the rest of his
team.
We can only hope that the Hurricanes, who are now 15-5-1 in
2019, can find a way to sneak into the postseason. Who knows what
they’d have planned following a victory once the stakes are raised
a little higher.
Niederreiter scores twice, sparks controversy in Hurricanes’ win
over Oilers
The Swiss winger put together another huge game and ruffled some
feather in the process.
By Brett Finger
A wild opening led to a bit of a grind-fest in the Hurricanes’
return to PNC Arena on Friday night, but an unbelievable outing
from veteran backstop Curtis McElhinney rose above the chaos and
played the primary role in a big win for the Canes over the
Edmonton Oilers.
Hopefully, you got to your seats in time for the opening puck
drop.
All of 37 seconds into the first period, it was Nino
Niederreiter who netted the icebreaker and his seventh in 11
games.
It was yet another highly-cerebral series of plays from Justin
Williams and Sebastian Aho that led to the goal. The first line
kept chugging along against the Oilers.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
Less than a minute later, though, Leon Draisaitl got the road
team on the board. Edmonton capitalized with a mental lapse from
Justin Faulk and the ensuing two-on-one ended up behind
McElhinney.
That’s all they would get, though.
Less than a minutes later (again), the Hurricanes reclaimed
their lead. Micheal Ferland carried the puck into the zone, got the
puck to Teuvo Teravainen in the slot, and the Finn made a slick
move and found Lucas Wallmark, who slammed home his seventh of the
year to make it 2-1.
From there, things slowed down dramatically, especially for the
Canes’ offense. The Oilers started pushing back in a big way, and a
long breakaway for Alex Chiasson could’ve took the wind out of
Carolina’s sails, but McElhinney made a huge save and the Canes
eventually took their 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Edmonton ran away with the scoring chances in the second period,
and a spree of power plays certainly didn’t hurt their cause.
Niederreiter took a pair of penalties - the first one was a bit
of a phantom hold on Connor McDavid. The Canes killed it off, but
then the fireworks went off when the former Wild took a borderline
cross-check and a painful fall into the boards and then decided to
retaliate in a way that he should be pretty embarrassed of. He took
a clear, retaliatory run at Oscar Klefbom (who wasn’t the player
that even hit him in the first place) and got sent to the box for
boarding.
A few moments later, overflowing emotions got Jordan Martinook
and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in trouble. They went at each other a bit
after the whistle and got matching roughing penalties for their
rambunctious behavior.
After all of that, though, no goals were scored in the middle
frame despite Edmonton having a staggering 17-5 shot
advantage in the second period and 29-14 through 40 minutes.
The Hurricanes showed a bit more pushback in the third period,
but the Oilers kept getting grade-a’s. McElhinney just had an
absurdly great effort, though. Highlight reel saves galore and a
calm and collected presence the entire way. It never felt like he
was about to let up the game-tying goal. His play has been one of
the biggest revelations in all of hockey, let alone for just the
Canes.
A huge goal from Niederreiter late in the third period put
everyone at ease and the Canes secured a huge 3-1 win on home
ice.
With the win, the Hurricanes are winners of five of their last
six games, seven of their last nine, and own an NHL-best 15-4-1
record since New Year’s Eve. McElhinney was the first star and
stopped 40 of 41 shots in the win, Aho’s two assists got him to a
career-high 66 points on the year (and it’s only game 58...), and
Niederreiter kept his unreal scoring tear going.
By and large, the Canes did a great job of containing Connor
McDavid. Surprisingly, we saw a lot of Calvin de Haan and Trevor
van Riemsdyk on the ice against Edmonton’s generational superstar,
and they did an extremely impressive job in the shutdown role.
Carolina is now 30-22-6 (66 points) this season and are, again,
just one point out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern
Conference. A Canes win tomorrow over the Stars coupled by a
Penguins loss against the Flames would propel Carolina into the
eighth seed.
As important as Friday’s game was, Saturday’s game two of the
back-to-back is just as important.
We’ll see if they can put together a winning effort at PNC
Arena. Friday was a great start to their big weekend.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Edmonton Oilers: Lineups and Game
Discussion
The Canes kick off a homestand with a matchup against McDavid
and the Oilers.
By Andy House
The Carolina Hurricanes will welcome Connor McDavid and the
Edmonton Oilers for their annual visit to PNC Arena on Friday
night. The Canes look to creep closer to a playoff position in the
Eastern Conference as they begin a stretch of eight consecutive
games against teams behind them in the NHL standings, including
five at home.
Carolina Hurricanes (29-22-6) vs. Edmonton Oilers (24-27-5)
Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 - 7:30 PM ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV: Fox Sports Carolinas Radio: 99.9 The Fan
SBN Opponent: The Copper & Blue
The Canes received some good news yesterday as Jordan Staal
returned to the practice ice for the first time in 2019, however it
is unclear when he will be able to return to the
lineup. For the tilt on Friday (the first of a back-to-back),
the Canes will roll out a familiar lineup with Curtis McElhinney
remaining in net following his win on Tuesday, with McElhinney
sporting a piece of headwear.
The lineup should look like this:
Nino Niederreiter - Sebastian Aho - Justin Williams
Micheal Ferland - Lucas Wallmark - Teuvo Teravainen
Andrei Svechnikov - Jordan Martinook - Brock McGinn
Warren Foegele - Greg McKegg - Saku Maenalanen
Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Brett Pesce - Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Curtis McElhinney
Petr Mrazek
Expected Scratch: Jordan Staal (IR upper-body)
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
The Edmonton Oilers enter PNC Arena still on the outskirts of
the Western Conference wildcard picture, despite a record below
.500. At 1-6-2 in their last nine games, their hopes appear to be
fading as the deadline approaches. But with a roster that contains
perhaps the most explosive player in the league in Connor McDavid,
they remain a team that cannot be counted out in the watered down
Western Conference wildcard race.
Coach Ken Hitchcock talked after the team’s morning skate on
Friday and discussed what he sees in the Canes this season,
particularly on their blueline and the necessity for the Oilers to
get pucks behind the Carolina defense:
The Oilers are expected to come out with the following
lines:
Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jesse Puljujarvi
Milan Lucic - Brad Malone - Alex Chiasson
Tobias Rieder - Colby Cave - Ty Rattie
Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse - Kris Russell
Alex Petrovic - Kevin Gravel
Mikko Koskinen
Cam Talbot
McElhinney, Niederreiter lead Hurricanes over Oilers
Andrew Schnittker
Sometimes, you have to get one from your goalie. That was
certainly the case for the Carolina Hurricanes Friday night, who
was not the better team on the PNC Arena ice but defeated the
Edmonton Oilers 3-1, largely thanks to 40 saves from Curtis
McElhinney, for their fifth win in six games.
Forward Nino Niederreiter scored two goals for the Hurricanes
(30-22-6) and is now at eight goals and 12 points in 12 games since
joining the team in a trade for forward Victor Rask. Forward
Sebastian Aho assisted on both of Niederreiter’s goals to set a new
single-season career high in points with 66, and forward Lucas
Wallmark also scored against the Oilers (24-28-5).
“I haven’t felt like that all year,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour
said. “It didn’t feel like we could quite get to what we wanted to
do. I give the other team credit; they were playing really well and
dictating most of the play. We hung in there and our goaltender was
great.”
McElhinney, who has had a stellar season with Carolina since
joining the team via waivers late in training camp, put up his best
game of the season, stopping 40 of 41 shots and stealing a win for
his team. Every time the Canes needed a big stop, McElhinney was
there to make it. His .920 save percentage on the season is tied
for eighth in the NHL and he continues to answer the call as the
games get bigger and bigger.
“It’s great,” McElhinney said. “Obviously I got the opportunity
to be in a playoff atmosphere the last couple years in Toronto. I
played some critical games down the stretch. I don’t think there’s
anything better. For me to be given the reins right now to kind of
run with it and play some games, it feels awesome.”
It was a hectic start to this game, as both teams combined for
three goals in the first 2:16 of the first period.
The Canes wasted little time jumping in front; forward Aho made
a perfect cross-ice feed to Niederreiter, who snapped a shot home
from the left circle to make it 1-0 37 seconds in.
“At the end of the day, you want to be the best player you can
be,” Niederreiter said. “Sometimes a change helps and sometimes it
doesn’t. In my case, it definitely helped a lot.”
The lead was short-lived, however, as Oilers forward Leon
Draisaitl finished off a give-and-go with forward Zack Kassian on a
two-on-one rush just 55 seconds later.
The wild start continued from there; Wallmark one-timed home a
slick feed from forward Teuvo Teravainen to put Carolina up 2-1
just 44 seconds after Draisaitl’s goal.
With the Canes on an early power play shortly after the scoring
barrage, it was the Oilers who got the best scoring chances, but
McElhinney came up with two shorthanded stops to keep his team in
front.
McElhinney again came up big with six minutes and change left in
the second period with a point-blank stop on Oilers forward Alex
Chiasson, who was left all alone in front of the net.
Following the early scoring burst, the Oilers were the clear
better team, but McElhinney kept the Canes in front with big save
after big save.
“You need goaltending,” Brind’Amour said. “Especially on nights
like tonight where we weren’t at our best. It was one of those
games where I feel like we didn’t get to our game at all, which is
why goaltending is so important.”
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
The Aho-Niederreiter connection gave the Canes some insurance
with 3:37 to play; Niedrreiter finished off a two-on-one rush for
the pair with a double-tap goal to make it 3-1.
“[My linemates] make terrific plays,” Niederreiter said. “On the
second goal, it was a great play by [forward Justin Williams] to
get the puck out and then a terrific pass by Aho, and I had a
chance to bury it.”
The win moves the Canes, who are the hottest team in the league
since the calendar flipped to 2019, within one point of both the
Pittsburgh Penguins for the Eastern Conference’s
final wild-card spot and the Columbus Blue Jackets for third
place in the Metropolitan Division. All three teams will be in
action Saturday, with the Canes hosting the Dallas Stars.
“I think we’re just getting critical plays at critical times
right now,” McElhinney said. “We know what the situation is. It’s
going to take a lot for us to get into the playoffs, but the guys
have been rolling since before the break and we came out of it
pretty hot. It’s just a matter of gas pedal to the floor.”
Hurricanes jump out of gate early, ride out 3-1 win over
Oilers
Carolina outshot, but not outscored by Edmonton
Peter Koutroumpis
RALEIGH, N.C. – The game was more or less over in two minutes
and 16 seconds.
Goaltender Curtis McElhinney was the first star with his 40-save
performance that led the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-1 win over the
Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.
Forward Nino Niederreiter provided the offense, scoring twice –
in the first and third periods – while Lucas Wallmark tallied his
seventh goal of the season as the Hurricanes generated 27 shots
throughout.
“It’s one of the only games I can remember when we never really
got to our game at all,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
“There were spurts, but that’s why goaltending is so
important.”
Jumping out early
Carolina got out to a 2-1 lead following the opening puck drop,
and that’s all they eventually needed to earn another win, their
fifth in their last six games.
Niederreiter scored 37 seconds in.
Leon Draisaitl was the only one who answered for the Oilers at
the 1:32 mark.
Wallmark then scored 44 seconds later.
Game over despite Edmonton outshooting Carolina by a 14-shot
differential.
Making stops
McElhinney made exceptional saves at even strength and during
three Oiler power plays.
At the other end, Edmonton netminder Mikko Koskinen regrouped
after his weak start, but didn’t get any more offensive support in
the losing cause.
After such an explosive start it became a waning puck battle of
attrition.
“Pucks didn’t go in, I think we stopped getting to the net,”
Brind’Amour pointed out while trying to explain the sudden halt of
explosive scoring from both sides.
“We didn’t get a shot until after the 11-minute mark on into the
second (period). Now we were in the penalty box. That, to me, was
also a big part of the game. Some good kills. We got fortunate with
some good saves. That was probably the difference in the game.”
Keeping ‘him’ in check
Keeping the NHL’s third-leading scorer, Connor McDavid, off the
score sheet was a key factor not to be overlooked.
Logging just over 25 minutes of playing time, McDavid couldn’t
get any of his four shot attempts past McElhinney.
“They brought a lot of speed there in the first period,” the
goalkeeper said following his fourth consecutive win in as many
starts.
“It was a little overwhelming for the first little bit, but as
the game wore on, we started to do a better job mitigating
that.”
Stormin’, surgin’
With a baseball-themed Storm Surge celebration, the Hurricanes
faithful comprising the majority of the 14,340 in attendance
witnessed another win for their team.
It was number 30 on the season, a bench mark that made
Brind’Amour the fastest head coach in franchise history to reach
it.
The Hurricanes currently sit at 30-22-6 overall and pushed
closer to a wildcard playoff spot, sitting one point behind the
Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I think everyone knows what kind of position we’re in,”
Niederreiter said.
“Everybody needs to get points and make the playoffs. We’re
right there and we need a big push to get there. Every game matters
a lot, so we gotta make sure we win the close ones.”
“I think we’re getting critical plays at critical times right
now,” McElhinney added.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
“Obviously we know what the situation is, and its gonna take a
lot for us to get into the playoffs. But the guys have been
rollin’ since before the (All-Star) break, and we came out of it
pretty hot, so it’s just a matter of gas pedal to the floor.”
Ferland Fatigue Fading Among Hurricanes Fans
By Mark Shiver
The Carolina Hurricanes have been in the media spotlight for
some time. The focus for a while had been on the trade of Micheal
Ferland. The assumption and speculation were rampant, with each new
day bringing with it the expectation of an announcement that he has
been shipped out.
A Hurricanes fan texted me a while back and said, “I have
Ferland fatigue.” I understood exactly what he meant: “Enough
already. Either trade him or sign him, but please stop talking
about the impending trade that is not materializing.”
But lately, the “any day now” talk about trading him has cooled
a bit in the past few days, and Ferland fatigue is fading.
The Ferland Chronicles
Of course one had to have been totally devoid of any hockey news
to know that the past few months have been a lot about Ferland for
the Hurricanes. Part of the big trade in the offseason with the
Calgary Flames, Ferland came to the ‘Canes in the shadow of
defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Ferland was essentially a nice piece of
the overall trade puzzle, but not by any means the marquis
name.
That has changed. He has risen through the ranks of Hurricanes
player popularity like a rocket. He is well-loved by the fans and
is making a real difference. The success the team has had –
especially during times that were particularly difficult this
season – can largely be attributed to his tough, physical style of
play and his determined attitude.
Ferland has 15 goals and 16 assists so far this season. He is
fourth on the team in points behind Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen
and team captain Justin Williams.
Ferland Talk
In late January, the talk of moving Ferland reached a crescendo.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell addressed the situation with
WTVD television in Raleigh.
Waddell said the team definitely wants to sign Ferland but has
to do what makes sense for the team financially based on where they
are in the development process. The word was that he and his agent
were seeking a significant amount in a new deal.
Brett Finger at Canes Country wrote a piece a few weeks ago that
detailed the upcoming salaries that the team is
projected to sign and the resulting cap space they would have to
deal with and asked, “Are the Hurricanes really going to commit
upwards of $6 million annually to Micheal Ferland (some reports
suggest he wants even more than that) over a long term deal? Will
they feel comfortable spending half of their cap space for next
season on him?”
Since the team has already signed Teravainen and traded for Nino
Niederreiter, accounting for nearly $11 million per season in
salary, the ceiling for huge deals is not very high. After all, if
anyone on the team is going to get a whopper of a deal it will be
Aho. This leaves Ferland looking like he will have to go elsewhere
to get paid what he thinks he is worth.
Ferland Fatigue Dies Down
Since Austin Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs signed his huge
deal on Feb. 5 – five years for $58.17 million, it seems that the
rabid talk that Ferland was about to be traded has died down. It
may be as Greg Wyshynski wrote at ESPN.com that there is a ripple
effect that will naturally come from Matthews’ deal. Could it be
that Ferland’s group has had to regroup a bit, knowing that they
are not going to get anywhere near that kind of money? Is it
possible that they are looking now at staying with the
Hurricanes?
There are those in the hockey media who do not think so and are
convinced that Ferland is gone from the Hurricanes.
This week, Scott Burnside wrote on The Athletic, “How about
this? GM Don Waddell gets a package that includes a first-round
pick for Micheal Ferland and then turns that into a top-six scoring
forward (like Mark Stone or Matt Duchene or Mats Zuccarello) and
the team makes the playoffs for the first time since 2009. OK,
probably not going to happen, at least the addition part, although
Ferland is clearly on the way out, and Waddell needs to get a good
return given how well the players he sent to Calgary in that deal
are performing.” (From “NHL Trade Deadline: What to expect from all
31 teams” – Scott Burnside” – The Athletic – 2/13/19).
The assumption continues that Ferland is out the door. An
assumption that fans have grown tired of hearing. I still hope that
the Hurricanes can come to terms with him. It can be argued that he
is a huge part why they are within legitimate striking distance of
the playoffs. They have had great success of late, and are fighting
for a spot. If there is any way to keep him in a Hurricanes
sweater, the team would be well-served to make it happen.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
Checkers Stomp Springfield 4-1
Written by Kate Swartwout The first period proved to be a
high-energy frame with several strong offensive chances for the
Checkers, including one by defenseman Haydn Fleury as he broke up a
zone entry attempt by Springfield’s power-play unit and sprung
himself on a shorthanded breakaway that was deftly handled by
Thunderbird goaltender Samuel Montembeault. Shortly after, a
beautiful passing sequence between the top line of Aleksi Saarela,
Martin Necas and Andrew Poturalski hit off the post and appeared to
cross the goal line, but after a video review it was determined to
be a no-goal.
With just over 10 minutes remaining in the first period the
Checkers broke through with a power-play goal by Nick Schilkey to
take a 1-0 lead and give the forward his tenth tally of the season.
Charlotte goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic continued to stand tall,
saving all seven shots he faced to maintain the clean sheet going
into the second period. The Checkers continued their offensive
momentum with back-to-back goals in the middle frame. Zach
Nastasiuk fired a bullet into the top corner on a late-developing
2-on-1 chance for his third goal of the season, and then just 41
seconds later Julien Gauthier used his big, net-front presence to
bury a rebound following a no-look pass from Schilkey in the slot.
The third period provided a fitting end to a competitive division
rivalry with a heavyweight fight between Dan Renouf
and Thunderbirds’ forward Bobby Farnham. With less than three
minutes remaining in the game Dryden Hunt tapped in Springfield’s
only goal after a save by Nedeljkovic and a fortunate bounce off
the post. To provide the proverbial dagger, though, Steven Lorentz
buried an empty-netter to lift the Checkers to a 4-1 win.
NOTES
Tonight snapped a three-game winless streak for the Checkers,
tied for their longest of the season … Tonight was the second time
the Checkers have scored at least three goals in their seven games
… With a goal and an assist Nick Schilkey now has five points (3g,
2a) in two games this season against Springfield … Tonight was
Patrick Brown’s fifth multi-point game of the season and his first
multi-assist game … Alex Nedeljkovic extended his AHL wins lead and
has now allowed two or fewer goals in each of his last six starts …
Dan Renouf dropped the gloves with Bobby Farnham for his seventh
fighting major of the year and now ranks third in the AHL in both
penalty minutes and major penalties … The Checkers have now won
five straight three-in-three games … Spencer Smallman missed the
game due to injury … Zack Stortini, Dennis Robertson and Bobby
Sanguinetti were healthy extras
UP NEXT
The Checkers will be back in action tomorrow in Providence to
take on the third-place Bruins.
TODAY’S LINKS
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article226370830.html
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article226363625.html
http://nsjonline.com/article/2019/02/mcelhinney-niederreiter-lead-hurricanes-to-3-1-win-over-oilers/
https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/gameday-preview-dallas-stars-carolina-hurricanes/c-304866124
https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-canes-hang-on-to-top-oilers/c-304866120
https://www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-304870966
https://www.nhl.com/news/hurricanes-hit-home-run-with-latest-victory-celebration/c-304880918
https://apnews.com/89a2f85d2f4843ada425a7d475dc5aab
https://sports.yahoo.com/hurricanes-set-new-standard-post-game-bat-flip-celebration-043623475.html
https://www.canescountry.com/2019/2/15/18226991/nino-niederreiter-scores-twice-sparks-controversy-carolina-hurricanes-win-edmonton-oilers-aho
http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/article_511e4074-31a1-11e9-8fad-03250997bb26.html
http://trianglesportsnet.com/carolina-hockey-network/hurricanes-jump-out-of-gate-early-ride-out-3-1-win-over-oilers/
https://thehockeywriters.com/carolina-hurricanes-ferland-contract-deadline/
http://gocheckers.com/game-recaps/checkers-stomp-springfield-4-1
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
1131000 Carolina Hurricanes
McElhinney making the most of a dream delayed, but not
deferred
BY LUKE DECOCK FEBRUARY 15, 2019 11:27 PM
RALEIGH-Setting aside for the moment the one-sided trade that
brought Nino Niederreiter and his eight goals in 12 games to town,
no contributor to the Carolina Hurricanes’ current run is more
unlikely than Curtis McElhinney, who waited 14 years and 11 NHL
seasons on seven different teams for this chance.
His time has finally come, the 35-year-old career backup nearing
the inevitable end of his career, establishing himself as every bit
the option as Petr Mrazek in net in a partnership of equals. And
not where he expected to be, either: Caught in a roster crunch in
Toronto, McElhinney ended up on waivers at the same time Scott
Darling’s injury at the end of the preseason left the Hurricanes
searching for help.
Over the next five months, the stopgap option became the first
option. McElhinney arrived at the last minute, and now it’s hard to
imagine the Hurricanes without him – or where they would be without
him.
“He’s been our brick, our wall back there,” Hurricanes
defenseman Brett Pesce said. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for
him and Mrazek. They’ve both been phenomenal, both of them. They’ve
really led the way for us. Carried us even, in some games.”
That’s been true for months now, but sometimes it takes a game
like Friday’s 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, the Hurricanes’
15th win in the past 21 games, to really drive the point home.
There haven’t been many nights this season when the Hurricanes have
needed their goalie to flat-out save them on a night where they
were just plain flat, but this was one. And at a dangerous time,
with no margin for error in the playoff chase and, hey, it’s just
Connor McDavid on the other side of the ice.
McElhinney allowed a goal on the first shot he faced – one of
three in the first 136 seconds – then stopped the next 40 on a
night where McDavid and Leon Draisatl were dynamic and the
Hurricanes … were not.
“It’s been nice to get this opportunity here,” McElhinney said.
“You don’t always pick the places you end up going to. You just
land somewhere. I’ve done it a few times. The last two times it’s
worked out pretty good, in Toronto and now here to get the
opportunity to play some games.”
The Hurricanes have somehow held McDavid to one goal and five
points in six career meetings, and he was scoreless on Friday but
certainly not quiet. Pesce and Justin Faulk drew most of the
assignment, and Pesce finished the job with a breakup of a Zack
Kassian-to-McDavid two-on-one late that indirectly led to
Niederreiter’s empty-netter at the other end.
“A guy like that, he’s going to get chances no matter what you
do,” Pesce said. “If you can just limit him to a few, it’s a job
well done in my eyes.”
As for jobs well done, it’s hard to look past the trade that
brought Niederreiter from the Wild in exchange for the useless
Victor Rask, who had one goal in 10 games for Minnesota before he
got hurt stepping on a puck. Sounds about right.
But the waiver claim of McElhinney was equally larcenous, and
potentially even more critical given Darling’s eventual demotion
and the month Mrazek missed to injury. Mrazek’s numbers aren’t
quite as good as McElhinney’s, but he’s been every bit as reliable,
and it’s actually not hard to imagine where the Hurricanes would be
without them: This is the kind of game-in, game-out,
first-do-no-harm goaltending the Hurricanes have lacked since Cam
Ward was in his prime.
McElhinney’s body is has some hard miles on it and only has so
many games left in it, but he’s leaving it all on the ice. There’s
no reason to hold anything back now.
“The last couple of years, I’ve been feeling successful, there’s
just never been an opportunity to play a whole lot of games,”
McElhinney said. “Here, it’s been a good chance for me. It’s been
fun. It’s tough to put into words. I guess sometimes, you wait a
while for things.”
He always envisioned a role like this. He never envisioned
waiting this long for it, or it being this rewarding. And as
rewarding as it has been for McElhinney, it has been doubly so for
the Hurricanes.
News Observer LOADED: 02.16.2019
1131001 Carolina Hurricanes
Canes return home, turn back McDavid, Oilers
BY CHIP ALEXANDER
RALEIGH- As the games begin to count down in the NHL season,
there will be times when a team’s mental and physical toughness
will be tested. Games become a test of wills.
So it was Friday as the Carolina Hurricanes faced off against
the Edmonton Oilers at PNC Arena. The Canes won 3-1, getting two
goals from Nino Niederreiter and another sparkling game from goalie
Curtis McElhinney, who had 40 saves.
The Canes (30-22-6), returning from a 4-1 road trip that was
their best since 1998, began the game three points out of playoff
position in the Eastern Conference. They’re now 15-5-1 since New
Year’s Eve -- the most wins and points in the NHL in that 21-game
stretch -- but still chasing the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus
Blue Jackets, with no room for slippage.
“I think everybody knows exactly what kind of position we’re
in,” Niederreiter said. “Everybody needs to get points to make the
playoffs and I feel like we’re right there. We need a big push to
get
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
there and every game matters a lot, so we’ve got to make sure we
win the close ones.
“It’s coming down to playoff hockey and who wants it more, and
we need to make sure we find ways to battle out games like tonight.
It definitely wasn’t our best hockey we’ve played, but we found a
way to win and that’s what matters.”
McElhinney was the Canes’ best player much of the game. He
allowed an early goal to Leon Draisaitl as the Oilers converted on
a two-on-one rush but was calm and steady after it on a night when
the Canes were outshot 41-27, when the Oilers’ Connor McDavid again
demonstrated why he’s the league’s most explosive player.
“He’s not hard to spot out there,” McElhinney said. “He’s flying
100 miles an hour and you can see him coming from 200 feet away.
He’s special, just a combination of skills and speed. He’s a treat
to watch.”
The game’s start was blistering, exciting. Niederreiter scored
his first just 37 seconds into the game. Less than a minute later,
Draisaitl tied the score for the Oilers (24-28-5) with his 34th of
the season, but Lucas Wallmark quickly gave the Canes the lead
again off a Teuvo Teravainen pass.
After three goals in the first 2:16, both goalies settled in and
the game settled down.
McElhinney had to be sharp, especially with McDavid on the move
and active. The Oilers’ Mikko Koskinen, a giant in net at 6-7,
didn’t face as much work as McElhinney but made some timely saves
before Neiderreiter scored his second at 16:23 of the third, again
off a Sebastian Aho assist.
Neiderreiter now has eight goals in 12 games since the Jan. 17
trade from the Minnesota Wild -- four against the Oilers. The
transition has been seamless and the Swiss-born winger has fit in
well on Aho’s line with captain Justin Williams.
“Nino has been lights-out since he arrived,” Canes coach Rod
Brind’Amour said.
Why so good, so soon?
“At the end of the day you always want to be the best player you
can be and sometimes a change helps and sometimes it doesn’t,”
Niederreiter said. “In my case it definitely helped a lot.”
McDavid was not much of a factor in the Jan. 20 game in
Edmonton, when the Canes won 7-4 and Niederreiter and Wallmark each
scored twice. No. 97 was a handful Friday, although the Canes’
defensive pairing of Calvin de Haan and Trevor van Riemsdyk did
their best in containing him and held him without a point.
“I think we did a pretty good job, especially the penalty kill,”
said McElhinney, who has won his last four starts and eight of his
last nine. “We were able to slow him down coming through the
neutral zone and across our blue line, which I thought was huge.
You try to control him as best you can but he’s still going to
create opportunities.”
Things turned chippy late in the second. The Oilers’ Kris
Russell flattened Niederreiter with a cross-check behind the
Edmonton net, but there was no call. An angry Niederreiter jumped
back up and slammed into the Oilers’ Oscar Klefbom along the
boards. After all the bodies were separated, Niederreiter was
headed to the penalty box for a boarding penalty.
McElhinney and the Canes got the job done on the ensuing penalty
kill -- Edmonton was 0-3 on the power play in the game -- although
there was another skirmish, this one in front of the Canes’ net.
Roughing penalties were called on Carolina’s Jordan Martinook and
the Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
McElhinney snuffed out one late chance on that Oilers’ power
play, stopping a shot in tight by forward Ty Rattie, who once spent
time
with the Canes. McElhinney’s sharp play continued in the third
as he stopped a point-blank shot by Colby Cave with about 14
minutes left in regulation, then denied McDavid from the slot with
5:25 left.
“We just battled, hung in there and our goaltender was great
tonight,” Brind’Amour said.
News Observer LOADED: 02.16.2019
1131002 Carolina Hurricanes
Ferland Fatigue Fading Among Hurricanes Fans
By Mark Shiver February 15th, 2019
The Carolina Hurricanes have been in the media spotlight for
some time. The focus for a while had been on the trade of Micheal
Ferland. The assumption and speculation were rampant, with each new
day bringing with it the expectation of an announcement that he has
been shipped out.
A Hurricanes fan texted me a while back and said, “I have
Ferland fatigue.” I understood exactly what he meant: “Enough
already. Either trade him or sign him, but please stop talking
about the impending trade that is not materializing.”
Micheal Ferland Carolina Hurricanes
But lately, the “any day now” talk about trading him has cooled
a bit in the past few days, and Ferland fatigue is fading.
The Ferland Chronicles
Of course one had to have been totally devoid of any hockey news
to know that the past few months have been a lot about Ferland for
the Hurricanes. Part of the big trade in the offseason with the
Calgary Flames, Ferland came to the ‘Canes in the shadow of
defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Ferland was essentially a nice piece of
the overall trade puzzle, but not by any means the marquis
name.
That has changed. He has risen through the ranks of Hurricanes
player popularity like a rocket. He is well-loved by the fans and
is making a real difference. The success the team has had –
especially during times that were particularly difficult this
season – can largely be attributed to his tough, physical style of
play and his determined attitude.
Ferland has 15 goals and 16 assists so far this season. He is
fourth on the team in points behind Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen
and team captain Justin Williams.
Ferland Talk
In late January, the talk of moving Ferland reached a crescendo.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell addressed the situation with
WTVD television in Raleigh.
With the #NHL trade deadline just over a month away @NHLCanes
fans are clinging to hope that Micheal Ferland will stay. Hear what
Don Waddell had to say about @ferdaddy27 #ABC11 @ABC11_WTVD
pic.twitter.com/a4ygchKnzE
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetABC11) January 17, 2019
Waddell said the team definitely wants to sign Ferland but has
to do what makes sense for the team financially based on where they
are in the development process. The word was that he and his agent
were seeking a significant amount in a new deal.
Brett Finger at Canes Country wrote a piece a few weeks ago that
detailed the upcoming salaries that the team is projected to sign
and
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
the resulting cap space they would have to deal with and asked,
“Are the Hurricanes really going to commit upwards of $6 million
annually to Micheal Ferland (some reports suggest he wants even
more than that) over a long term deal? Will they feel comfortable
spending half of their cap space for next season on him?”
Since the team has already signed Teravainen and traded for Nino
Niederreiter, accounting for nearly $11 million per season in
salary, the ceiling for huge deals is not very high. After all, if
anyone on the team is going to get a whopper of a deal it will be
Aho. This leaves Ferland looking like he will have to go elsewhere
to get paid what he thinks he is worth.
Ferland Fatigue Dies Down
Since Austin Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs signed his huge
deal on Feb. 5 – five years for $58.17 million, it seems that the
rabid talk that Ferland was about to be traded has died down. It
may be as Greg Wyshynski wrote at ESPN.com that there is a ripple
effect that will naturally come from Matthews’ deal. Could it be
that Ferland’s group has had to regroup a bit, knowing that they
are not going to get anywhere near that kind of money? Is it
possible that they are looking now at staying with the
Hurricanes?
How likely is it the #Canes make the playoffs? What to make of
the Micheal Ferland contract situation? Kicking a puck? And how's
Ridge Rock?
All of this and more in this week's edition of #Tweetmail.
�https://t.co/wk9j5KZbuf
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) February 13, 2019
There are those in the hockey media who do not think so and are
convinced that Ferland is gone from the Hurricanes.
This week, Scott Burnside wrote on The Athletic, “How about
this? GM Don Waddell gets a package that includes a first-round
pick for Micheal Ferland and then turns that into a top-six scoring
forward (like Mark Stone or Matt Duchene or Mats Zuccarello) and
the team makes the playoffs for the first time since 2009. OK,
probably not going to happen, at least the addition part, although
Ferland is clearly on the way out, and Waddell needs to get a good
return given how well the players he sent to Calgary in that deal
are performing.” (From “NHL Trade Deadline: What to expect from all
31 teams” – Scott Burnside” – The Athletic – 2/13/19).
The assumption continues that Ferland is out the door. An
assumption that fans have grown tired of hearing. I still hope that
the Hurricanes can come to terms with him. It can be argued that he
is a huge part why they are within legitimate striking distance of
the playoffs. They have had great success of late, and are fighting
for a spot. If there is any way to keep him in a Hurricanes
sweater, the team would be well-served to make it happen.
The Hockey Writers LOADED: 02.16.2019
1131070 NHL
Cardboard come to life: Tracking down the colorful stories of
hockey players long-forgotten
Geoff Baker
A hockey-card collection quickly becomes a cherished family you
can’t speak to; faces frozen in time and memory as they stare
wordlessly back from childhood through middle age.
Delving back into my 40-plus years collection after Seattle was
awarded an NHL franchise, the familiar names and faces again jumped
out and begged the question of who these men were. Not
Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr or Gordie Howe, whose stories are
known. More the obscure journeymen, who, through collecting their
cards, became as familiar as those superstars.
It was time to seek out their stories.
My search, for time purposes and regardless of outcome, was
limited to four cards culled from hundreds. They best depicted
long-forgotten players I knew nothing about, yet are as instantly
recognizable to me now as when first viewing them decades ago.
1954-55 Parkhurst card of New York Rangers center Nick Mickoski
(Courtesy of Geoff Baker)
One was the collection’s oldest: a Parkhurst card from 1954-55
of New York Rangers center Nick Mickoski. Also, a 1970-71
O-Pee-Chee (OPC) card of California Golden Seals defenseman Dick
Mattiussi, whose smile always seemed somewhat fatherly. There’s a
1973-74 OPC of Kansas City Scouts winger Doug Horbul, his flowing
locks, receding hairline and purple uniform standing out.
Finally, a 1977-78 OPC of forward Mike Lampman of the Washington
Capitals, whose mustached headshot still resonates. But it was the
back of Lampman’s card that launched our conversation: showing his
30 games with the minor league Seattle Totems in 1973-74.
“I loved playing there,’’ Lampman, 67, said from Hawaii, where
he’s now a bank loans officer. “The city was great, and the fans
were really into hockey. I can’t wait to see how they do with the
NHL.’’
Lampman lived downtown and rode the monorail to what’s now
KeyArena before the Totems’ parent Vancouver Canucks traded him to
D.C. His brother later moved here and lives in Kirkland, so Lampman
still visits.
He’d followed a girlfriend to Hawaii after his 92-game career
ended Dec. 3, 1976, while playing for the Capitals against
Philadelphia.
A 1977-78 OPC card of Washington Capitals forward Mike Lampman,
formerly of the Seattle Totems. (Courtesy of Geoff Baker)
“Icing rules were different then and we were racing after the
puck to try to touch it and (Andre) Moose Dupont sent me flying
into the boards,’’ Lampman said. “My neck was very sore. I knew it
was bad. It’s funny, but the way the game was back then, the team
doctor was going to clear me to play against Boston two nights
later. But my chiropractor said ‘No way!’ until he had a
look.’’
The diagnosis: A career-ending broken neck.
Lampman was only 26. But the injury would heal, and he’d earned
his economics degree playing for the University of Denver.
“It was hard,’’ he said. “But I’ve made my peace with it. I was
fortunate and wound up doing OK for myself.’’
Lampman cherishes his NHL tenure, including two final Capitals
seasons under coach and current Camas, Wash., resident Tom McVie —
“Please say hi to him for me’’ — and rooming at training camp with
veteran Garnett “Ace” Bailey. Years later, while an NHL scout,
Bailey died in the 9/11 terror attacks when he was a passenger on a
plane that struck the World Trade Center.
“He was a serious player but knew how to have fun,’’ Lampman
said. “I remember training camp under Tommy (McVie) was brutally
hard. Every night, Ace would smuggle beer in to the hotel room and
hide it in the back of the toilet tank. When camp ended we had a
huge blowout party.’’
The back of Lampman’s hockey card. (Courtesy of Geoff Baker)
Lampman sports the same mustache — albeit grayer — as on his
final hockey card, which erroneously lists him born in Lakewood,
Calif., despite only moving there from Hamilton, Ont., at age 12.
The mistake got Lampman invited to U.S. Olympic team tryouts before
he informed officials he was Canadian.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
But card mistakes happen.
Scouts winger Horbul’s card correctly spells his name in front
but has “Horbol’’ on the back. Hailing from the same Saskatchewan
town as Hall of Famer Elmer Lach, Horbul’s NHL career lasted just
four games that season.
The back of Doug Horbul’s hockey card, which misspells his last
name as “Horbol.” (Courtesy of Geoff Baker)
But Horbul proved a solid minor-leaguer and even shared an agent
with Lampman. That agent, Richard Sorkin, was later imprisoned for
bilking $600,000 from hockey clients. Lampman said he “got off
lucky’’ losing $5,000, but it’s unclear whether Horbul lost money.
After his pro career, Horbul, now 66, played with the senior league
Trail Smoke Eaters in B.C. and lives nearby, though voicemails went
unreturned.
The other un-interviewed card subject was ex-Rangers center
Mickoski, who died at 74 in 2002 in his native Winnipeg. But his
son, Robert, 53, happily discussed his father’s 1948 playoff debut
with the Rangers at age 18 and subsequent “Broadway Nick’’ dubbing
by teammates.
“They’d offered him $200 per game,’’ Mickoski’s son said. “The
first thing he did was he went down Broadway and bought the best
suits and some Stetsons and Cuban cigars. He really loved the
scene.’’
After 705 games with the Rangers, Chicago, Detroit and Boston,
“Broadway Nick” finished with the minor pro Western Hockey League’s
San Francisco Seals — losing the 1962-63 scoring title by two
points to Seattle Totems legend Guyle Fielder. But Mickoski’s Seals
downed the Totems in that year’s seven-game final.
Mickoski returned to Winnipeg to coach a junior squad. Its
owner, Ben Hatskin, planned a Winnipeg franchise for the World
Hockey Association (WHA) launch in 1972 but needed a marquee
player.
“My dad tells him ‘It’s got to be Bobby Hull,’ ’’ Mickoski’s son
said. “Hatskin goes ‘Do you really think he’d come here?’ “
“Broadway Nick” had played with Blackhawks star Hull in Chicago.
They secretly met up, and Mickoski relayed that Hatskin would pay
Hull a record $1 million signing bonus. Hull would later agree and
became player-coach of the new Winnipeg Jets, with Mickoski his
assistant coach their first two WHA seasons.
A 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee (OPC) card of California Golden Seals
defenseman Dick Mattiussi. (Courtesy of Geoff Baker)
The final card researched was of Golden Seals defenseman
Mattiussi, nicknamed “Blackie Carbon” during a 200-game career with
Pittsburgh and California.
“It’s because I had jet black hair,’’ said Mattiussi, 80, whose
card confirms it. “I guess now, I’d be ‘Whitey Carbon.’’’
He’d played in the minors in Cleveland with Bill Masterton in
1962-63 and they and their wives became friends. Later, with the
NHL expansion Minnesota North Stars in 1968, Masterton died after
hitting his head during a game.
“It was just a fluke thing and so, so sad,’’ Mattiussi said of
Masterton, for whom an annual NHL sportsmanship trophy is named.
“He was a very nice guy, and we were pretty close.’’
Mattiussi, post-NHL, played for the Boston Bruins’ minor league
Rochester affiliate where he and coach Don Cherry were neighbors.
They drove to games and dined out together.
Cherry was named Bruins coach in 1974-75. Mattiussi became
Rochester’s coach and lived two years in Cherry’s vacant house.
“He was a bit of a patriot,’’ Mattiussi recalled. “He had
pictures of all these old generals.’’
The irascible, opinionated Cherry — sporting colorful suit
jackets — later became a famed Hockey Night in Canada television
commentator still going today at age 85. But Mattiussi lost touch
after leaving Rochester over “philosophical differences’’ following
two coaching seasons.
Now retired from a security supervisor’s job at a paper mill and
living in Gretzky’s hometown of Brampton, Ont., Mattiussi long
doubted anyone remembered his NHL career. Then, he began receiving
phone calls about — of all things — his hockey cards.
“People — maybe collectors — were calling from as far away as
Russia asking if I could sign my card for them,’’ he said,
laughing. “I guess that’s one way to be remembered.’’
Onetime Capitals and Totems forward Lampman agrees. He collected
cards in his youth and still has a full Topps NHL set from
1961-62.
“It brings the past back to life,’’ he said.
And sometimes, can help long dormant stories finally be
told.
Seattle Times LOADED: 02.16.2019
1131018 Dallas Stars
Stars forward Joel L'Esperance earns first NHL call-up as Denis
Gurianov is sent to AHL
Matthew DeFranks
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Stars swapped young forwards on their NHL
roster, sending Denis Gurianov to AHL affiliate Texas before
recalling Joel L'Esperance for the first time in his career.
L'Esperance leads the AHL with 27 goals in 49 games this
season.
L'Esperance is in his first full season of professional hockey
after spending four seasons in college at Michigan Tech. The
23-year-old center was an AHL All-Star who brings a physical game
that pairs well with his 6-foot-2, 201-pound frame. His 11
power-play goals are tied for second in the AHL.
He was an undrafted free agent whose addition was helped since
he attended the same college as assistant general manager Scott
White. L'Esperance figures to make his NHL debut Saturday against
Carolina.
Gurianov goes back to Cedar Park after an eight-game stint in
which he registered just one assist and 12 shots on goal. He
displayed his speed at times, but lacked finish. Gurianov, 21, has
one goal in 19 NHL games this season.
Dallas Morning News LOADED: 02.16.2019
1131019 Dallas Stars
Wine, hotel rooms, and 'a zebra': How in-season trades impact
Dallas Stars and NHL players lives
Matthew DeFranks
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Connor Carrick gave away a lot of wine.
When the Stars acquired the defenseman just before the season
from Toronto, Carrick and his wife, Lexi, had to do what so
many
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 16, 2019
NHL players will have to do in the next 10 days before the
league's trade deadline: Move, and move quickly. For Carrick, it
was the second trade of his career but also a reminder of how
quickly things can change in the world's best hockey league.
Like how your wine supply can evaporate because of customs
regulations on alcohol crossing the border from Canada to the
United States. Or how apartment-hunting for the correct term lease
becomes more difficult in a new city. Or simply how a new franchise
operates days before you have to play your first game for it.
It's a dance a bevy of players will have to navigate before the
end of the month, with sellers dumping tradeable assets and buyers
picking up pieces for playoff pushes and postseason runs. But with
every on-ice transaction, a family is uprooted, a lifestyle
disrupted, and a career path altered. Sometimes, a change of
scenery is needed. Sometimes, it's a worthwhile learning
experience.
"Sometimes you have to go through the dark times to get to the
white times," goaltender Anton Khudobin said. "It's like a
zebra."
The Stars have traded for four players this season: Carrick,
Taylor Fedun (from Buffalo), Andrew Cogliano (from Anaheim) and
Jamie Oleksiak (from Pittsburgh).
A handful of other Stars have been traded during seasons,
including Khudobin (from Minnesota to Boston in 2011), defenseman
Roman Polak (from Toronto to San Jose in 2016), goalie Ben Bishop
(twice at the trade deadline), and Martin Hanzal (from Arizona to
Minnesota in 2017).
How players react, and how they go about adjusting to their new
city and team largely depends on what stage of life they are in.
Typically, the team is split into two sections: the young guys
looking for apartments (in Dallas, the Uptown area is popular), and
the veterans with families looking for houses (University Park and
Highland Park are go-tos).
In November, Fedun had to leave his wife in Rochester, N.Y.,
where she was a nursing student and Fedun was an AHL defenseman.
Oleksiak, while familiar with the Dallas area from his previous
playing days with the Stars, has to solve the puzzle of apartment
lease length with just a couple of months left in the season, plus
the possibility of playoffs.
Cogliano had a pair of extenuating circumstances when the Stars
traded Devin Shore to Anaheim for him in January. One, the All-Star
break was coming up, allowing him some time to get settled in
Dallas. Two, his wife is pregnant and should give birth to the
couple's first daughter next week.
"My wife's having a baby, so I want her to bring the baby home
and feel comfortable and have a nice place," Cogliano said. "I
think that was just the first step. It's not ideal finding a
four-month rental."
In the NHL, some players involved with trades actually live in
the same place as the player for whom they were traded. Last year,
Florida's Jamie McGinn lived in Jason Demers' place in Fort
Lauderdale after a training camp trade. But that requires similar
lifestyles and salaries.
Cogliano said he never discussed the possibility with Shore.
Instead, he, like many Stars, used real estate agent Julie
Provenzano to find a home outside Highland Park. But the Carricks
did their work on their own to land a place in Uptown, with Connor
saying Lexi "did 99.999 percent of it."
The Carricks didn't have any furniture when they moved to Dallas
and previously rented furnished places in Toronto and Washington.
In the past, he's looked for individual condo owners that have
flexible and dog-friendly leases, but only after checking on his
teammates' whereabouts and their salaries.
"It's like, 'Hey, I need an eight-month lease with the
possibility