MONTREAL, QUE – A customary post of the lines ahead of Montreal’s matchup with the NHL’s lowest-rank team generated 10 responses — four of them begging to break up the trio that ended up being most responsible for a come-from-behind win.
Category: Breaking News
Fully healthy now, Sean Walker is thriving in Philadelphia with Flyers
PHILADELPHIA, PA – It was just a few days before the start of the Philadelphia Flyers’ season. After facing weeks worth of questions about almost every single player at training camp, head coach John Tortorella sat up at the podium in Voorhees, and faced an unfamiliar query.
What were his thoughts on Sean Walker, unheralded offseason acquisition on defense who — based on practice combinations — appeared to be a lineup lock for Game 1?
“Steady,” Tortorella tersely responded. “You guys don’t talk about him, but you should.”
Why Ryan Johansen was beloved in Nashville is already apparent in Denver
DENVER, CO – There will be an emotional moment Monday night at Bridgestone Arena, both for the yellow-clad patrons and the guy whose memories of an eight-year run as one of their own will flash before him on the scoreboard.
Ryan Johansen will return to Smashville with the Colorado Avalanche, and the tribute video will likely be as meaningful to him as it will to the fans who adored him.
“During my time there, the fans were just incredible,” Johansen said. “They showed so much love toward the team, the players and the organization. It’s just a first-class organization that does a lot of tremendous things, not only within the rink but outside of that as well.”
Boston rookie Beecher score 1st NHL goal in Bruins’ 3-2 victory over Stars
BOSTON, MA – Boston rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei pulled the puck out of his pocket, the keepsake from his first NHL goal. John Beecher had one, too.
Beecher and Lohrei became the first Boston rookies in more than six years to score their first goals in the same game, doing so less than four minutes apart in the first period to put the Bruins ahead to stay in a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night.
“Had to steal my thunder a little bit I guess,” Beecher, who scored first, said with a smile.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare embraces fresh start with Kraken
TAMPA BAY – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare made his mark with the Lightning as the consummate locker room guy, a player who could lift his teammates with his ever-positive demeanor and genuine appreciation for playing the game.
But in finding a new home with the Seattle Kraken this season at age 38, Bellemare wants to show he still has more hockey left in him on the ice.
“It was not that something was wrong here in Tampa,” Bellemare said. “It was more like, ‘OK, how can I challenge myself to be more like I was a few years ago and instead of being maybe set back a little bit.”
In the first period of his first game back in Tampa with the Kraken, Bellemare was honored with a video tribute, and given a standing ovation by the Amalie Arena crowd. The Kraken ultimately escaped with a 4-3 overtime triumph.
Ekholm set for ‘special’ return to Nashville with Oilers
EDMONTON, AB – Mattias Ekholm discussed with his family whether they should attend his first game back to play against the Nashville Predators.
The Edmonton Oilers defenseman has a strong connection to Nashville, selected by the Predators in the fourth round (No. 102) of the 2009 NHL Draft and spending nine-and-a-half seasons playing home games at Bridgestone Arena before he was traded Feb. 28.
“My wife and I, we debated back and forth,” Ekholm said Monday prior to departing with the Oilers for Nashville. “We’re arriving around 6 p.m., and leaving right after the game, so we decided for them to stay back. We have three kids, and one is only three months old, so to jump on a plane, four hours there, four hours back, my wife was probably making the right decision to say, ‘we’ll watch it on TV and support you.’”
After 7 Year Wait, Lucas Johansen Has Made The Capitals Opening Night Roster
WASHINGTON, DC – Lucas Johansen was on the ice for practice when Spencer Carbery called him out in front of the rest of the team. And then, yelling and stick taps from his teammates took over as he got the news he’d been waiting seven years to hear: he made the Washington Capitals.
Johansen, who was originally taken in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, has been through ups and downs over the course of his tenure in D.C., from injuries to setbacks to camps where he almost broke through but didn’t do enough to remain up at the NHL level. This time, though, things are different, as he did everything right to impress the coaching staff and stick with the big club.
Jansen Harkins Trying to Quickly Make a Good Impression
PITTSBURGH, PA – Despite having less time than his new teammates to make an impression at Penguins training camp, Jansen Harkins is doing his best to quickly make a big impact.
The Penguins claimed Harkins off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on Monday afternoon, as President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas felt he was someone who could contribute to Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forward group, and the 26-year-old winger feels excited for the opportunity.
“I tried not to do much thinking when I was on waivers or the day before. I just tried to relax and try not to get too ahead of myself,” Harkins said after practice on Tuesday, his first day with the team. “My goal is to play in the NHL, and I definitely think I’m a good enough player to be here.
“Just trying to come in here and prove what I can do. Obviously don’t know many guys and many coaches, so I think it will be a good test for me the next few days, just to show what I can do on the ice and chip in.”
NHL, MEET MIKEY EYSSIMONT: THE LIGHTNING’S LATEST GEM NOBODY WANTS TO FACE
TAMPA BAY, FL – Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois often surveys his pro scouting department and analytics staff separately when assembling his NHL trade deadline targets.
During the midway point of last season, BriseBois sought upgrades to his bottom six.
“We were trying to find good forecheckers that had low cap hits,” BriseBois told The Hockey News.
One name that both Tampa Bay’s eye-test evaluators and number crunchers coveted was Mikey Eyssimont. He checked off every box. A virtual unknown before becoming an NHL regular at 26 last season, Eyssimont is a speedy winger who excelled on the forecheck, played with an edge and had a knack for getting under the skin of his opponents.