After Lengthy Recovery from Hip Surgery, Duck’s Kesler Set to Make Season Debut

ANAHEIM, CA – After months of rehabilitation, countless hours of skating and pushing his body to the limit, Ryan Kesler is ready.

Anaheim’s perennial shutdown center is expected to make his season debut tonight after undergoing hip surgery in June. This morning he skated alongside Andrew Cogliano and Chris Wagner at Honda Center as the Ducks prepare for the Vegas Golden Knights.

It has been a long road back for the 33-year-old Livonia, Michigan native, who says he had to re-learn how to walk at one point during his recovery process. “There have been a lot of challenges,” he said today. “Being on crutches for 14 weeks was one of them. Guys tell me I walked with a limp for three years. Just skating and getting my stride back. I feel better out there now than I did five years ago. It was a much-needed surgery and I’m glad I did it.”

 

Elliott Named NHL’s Second Star of the Week for Back to Back NHL Honors

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The National Hockey League announced today that Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott has been named the Second Star of the Week.

Elliott posted another perfect 3-0-0 week from Dec. 11-17 and recorded a 1.31 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in the process. He allowed just four total goals in wins over Toronto, Buffalo and Dallas stopping 66 of 70 shots he faced, which includes stopping all 27 shots he faced in third periods and one overtime session during the week.

He began the week by stopping 20 of 22 shots against the visiting Maple Leafs and followed that up two days later with 19 saves vs. Buffalo which included no goals in the second and third period to hang onto a 2-1 victory against the Sabres.

He capped the week off by shutting down the high-powered Dallas Stars offense, stopping all 17 shots he faced after the first period, including all four in the overtime for another 2-1 Flyers win.

Predators Still On Fire After Addition of Kyle Turris

NASHVILLE, TN – In hockey, a great idea on paper doesn’t always work out on the ice.

Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky didn’t set the NHL on fire during their brief run together with the Blues. The days of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne in Colorado are best forgotten (and many people have done just that). Peter Forsberg and the Predators mixed like water and oil.

So, there was always the risk that the Kyle Turris trade wouldn’t work out for Nashville. Instead, it’s been a smash success beyond just about anyone’s expectations. Even GM David Poile would probably admit that he didn’t expect this sort of boost.

Predators: Why Craig Smith is best story of team’s season so far

NASHVILLE, TN – When they’re all gathered together in a small area, as they were at Tuesday’s practice at Centennial Sportsplex, the Nashville Predators are a frightening bunch.

Not like Halloween frightening or bar brawl frightening, but worth a shiver or two if you have any empathy for teams that must play them. And if you’re projecting what the Predators could become before this season’s over … scary. Good scary if you live in Nashville.

There was Filip Forsberg, who’s on his way to another level of NHL stardom, working a drill with Bobby Orr impersonator Viktor Arvidsson. There was P.K. Subban getting a shot past Pekka Rinne. There was recent addition Kyle Turris, showing no ill effects from a puck that smashed him in the cheek a day earlier.

Dylan Larkin Growing with Detroit Red Wings

DETROIT, MI – Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill was hurting the confidence of forward Dylan Larkin, and he knew it.

He knew he needed to do it.

Larkin had excelled in his first 50 games as a rookie in 2015-16, scoring 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists). He had shown holes in his game after that — not stopping on pucks, not managing the puck well — but the stretch run wasn’t the time to teach.

So after the season, Blashill told Larkin it was his job to make him a complete player. When Larkin didn’t do what he was supposed to do early in 2016-17, he got his ice time cut, or got an earful on the bench, or got a video session.

Elliott Named NHL’s Third Star of the Week

Philadelphia, PA – The National Hockey League announced today that Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott has been named the Third Star of the Week.

Elliott recorded a perfect 3-0-0 mark as the team faced a tough, Western Canadian road trip that saw them play three games in four nights. He posted a .954 save percentage and 1.66 goals-against average on the week after stopping 103 out of 108 shots, including 28 saves on 29 shots he saw in third periods.

“It’s great to be recognized, but whenever you get those recognitions as a goalie it shows how the group has been playing, especially this last week,” said Elliott. “It’s my name up there, but definitely the Philadelphia Flyers whole team deserves that.”

Kyle Turris and Predators Playing Well After Big Trade

Nashville, TN – It would be hard to imagine a much better start with a team than the one forward Kyle Turris has had since he was traded to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 5.

Turris, who came to Nashville as part of the three-team trade that hadMatt Duchene go from the Colorado Avalanche to the Ottawa Senators, has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 14 games since joining the Predators.

The Predators traded defenseman Samuel Girard, forward Vladislav Kamenev and a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft to the Avalanche to acquire Turris.

Mike Smith to Play in 500th NHL Game

CALGARY, AB – Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Smith has redrawn the map of his comfort zone.

Before the 35-year-old from Kingston, Ontario, was traded to the Flames by the Arizona Coyotes for goalie Chad Johnson, defenseman prospect Brandon Hickey and a conditional third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft on June 17, he had played 11 seasons for NHL teams based in the southern United States.

From 2006-08, Smith played 44 games for the Dallas Stars, who selected him in the fifth round (No. 161) of the 2001 NHL Draft. He then played four seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and six seasons as the No. 1 goalie for the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes.

Despite growing up in Canada, Smith, whose next game will be his 500th in the NHL, has seen a whole new side of being an NHL player in Calgary.