
Hurricanes move closer to playoffs, hand Isles fifth straight loss
March 30 - Dmitry Orlov's goal with 10:41 remaining broke a tie and teammate Seth Jarvis finished with two goals as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 6-4 on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes (45-24-4, 94 points) are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal's victory earlier in the day at Florida prevented that from becoming a possibility Sunday, but Carolina inched a little closer.
Mark Jankowski, Logan Stankoven and Sebastian Aho also scored for the Hurricanes, who won for the 11th time in their last 13 games. Aho and Tyson Jost also supplied two assists. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 27 shots, with 12 of his saves coming in the third period.
Jarvis tied the franchise record with his fifth short-handed goal of the season to put Carolina ahead 4-3 late in the second period. His second goal of the day and 29th of the season came with 2:46 to play.
Pierre Engvall scored two goals for the Islanders (32-31-10, 74 points), who've lost five consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee had the other goals, while Bo Horvat provided two assists and Palmieri posted an assist. Goalie Marcus Hogberg made 24 saves.
Lee's goal on a backdoor delivery 4:05 into the third period pulled Islanders even at 4-4.
Then Orlov, a defenseman, scored when Carolina won a faceoff.
Carolina led 2-0 on goals 13 seconds apart from Jankowski and Stankoven in the game's opening five minutes.
But the Islanders wasted little with a response. Engvall's first goal came 6:10 into the game. With 8:33 left in the first period, Palmieri converted on a power play.
Engvall's second goal came 1:37 into the second period when the Hurricanes had a sloppy stretch handling the puck. The go-ahead goal came shortly after the Islanders' power play expired.
Engvall increased his goal total to eight for the season.
The Hurricanes played without captain Jordan Staal because of a lower-body injury.

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Reuters
16 hours ago
- Reuters
Jets D Haydn Fleury inks 2-year, $1.9M extension
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NBC News
16 hours ago
- NBC News
Islanders' No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer pays tribute to late mother with a kiss and a promise
LOS ANGELES — After Matthew Schaefer pulled the blue-and-orange sweater over his head at the NHL draft, his eyes already glistening with tears, he glanced down at his left shoulder and saw a pink ribbon. The symbol of breast cancer awareness was the New York Islanders' tribute to his mother, Jennifer, who died of the disease just 16 months ago. The No. 1 pick kissed the ribbon and modestly pointed to the sky, paying a poignant tribute to the woman who raised this boy into the man he'll soon become — and who will accompany him on every step of his bright hockey future. The Islanders selected the gifted 17-year-old defenseman first overall Friday night, kicking off an NHL draft with a beautiful moment felt across the breadth of the sport. 'I appreciate you taking a chance on me,' Schaefer said in a video conference call with the Islanders' front office. 'I promise I won't disappoint, but especially I just want to say to my mom and all my family and friends, thanks for everything.' High-scoring forward Michael Misa went second overall to the San Jose Sharks, and the Chicago Blackhawks took Swedish forward Anton Frondell third at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The Islanders maneuvered their way into three picks in the top 17, but they surprised nobody by using their first No. 1 selection since 2009 on Schaefer. The 6-foot-2 blueliner from Hamilton, Ontario, with exceptional puck-moving ability and strong defensive skills spent the past two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters, growing into an irresistible choice for the top pick. Schaefer persevered through tragedy to reach this moment. Along with the loss of his mother, he also endured the recent deaths of the Otters' owner, Jim Waters, and the mother of his billet family. The Islanders added the ribbon patch to the ceremonial jersey specifically for Schaefer, along with his mother's initials on the sweater collar. 'Seeing the ribbon on my jersey, and I saw a picture, it has J.S. on my back here,' Schaefer said. 'You can see just how high-class the organization is. It really means a lot. I wish my mom could be here today. Obviously, she's with me here in spirit. ... Cancer sucks, and it's not fun. She didn't feel the best, but she was always the happiest in the family. She would do anything for us.' Schaefer scored 22 points while playing in only 17 games last season before breaking his collarbone in December. His acumen on both ends of the ice still propelled him to the top of nearly all draft boards. Schaefer is just the fifth defenseman picked No. 1 overall in the NHL draft since 2000, and the first since Owen Power went to Buffalo in 2021. Schaefer also is the second Erie product to go No. 1, joining Connor McDavid in 2015. 'First and foremost, we drafted him because he's an unbelievable hockey player,' Isles general manager Mathieu Darche said. 'Obviously, the human being is exceptional. (For) a 17-year-old to have that resilience, maturity with everything that he's gone through is beyond impressive, honestly. I haven't met many 17-year-old kids that act like him. But at the end of the day, we're drafting him because he's a hell of a hockey player.' Schaefer got two new teammates when the Islanders used the 16th pick on Swedish forward Victor Eklund and nabbed defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson with the 17th selection. Both Pennsylvania teams also were busy in Los Angeles. The Philadelphia Flyers grabbed forward Porter Martone sixth overall before trading up for the 12th selection to get forward Jack Nesbitt, while the Pittsburgh Penguins maneuvered up and down the draft to control three picks in the top 24, swinging two trades while drafting forwards Benjamin Kindel, Bill Zonnon and William Horcoff. Misa tore up the OHL last season as the captain of the Saginaw Spirit, scoring 62 goals and 134 points in just 65 games. While wearing a teal jersey for the first time, he repeated his desire to play in the NHL next season if he can crack the roster of a struggling Sharks organization that chose Will Smith fourth overall in 2023 and got center Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick a year ago. 'He's an ultra-competitive kid who's been playing up a level, up a birth year his whole life,' Sharks general manager Mike Grier said about Misa. 'He wants to be the best. He wants to play against the best, so I'm sure this is what he wants to do, but you know we're not going to hand him anything. He's got to come into training camp and try and take a job.' Frondell excelled as a 17-year-old forward last season with Djurgården in Sweden's second division, showing off a two-way game that allowed him to push Misa on some draft boards. At 6-2, he could provide a large complement to Connor Bedard. Frondell is the eighth Swedish player to be a top-three selection, joining elite company including Victor Hedman, Mats Sundin and the Sedin twins. Center Caleb Desnoyers went fourth to the Utah Mammoth, who moved up 10 spots in the draft lottery. The Nashville Predators chose physical forward Brady Martin with the fifth pick before trading up for the 21st selection to get Kitchener defenseman Cameron Reid. Martin skipped the draft, staying home on his family farm in Ontario. Fans of the host Los Angeles Kings inside the theater got fired up for their club to make the 24th selection — which the Kings promptly traded to Pittsburgh for the 31st and 59th selections, prompting groans from the crowd. Los Angeles eventually chose defenseman Henry Brzustewicz from the Memorial Cup champion London Knights in general manager Ken Holland's first selection for his new team. The Penguins created the majority of the surprises in the first round, first by choosing Calgary Hitmen center Kindel with the 11th pick — much higher than many prognosticators expected. Pittsburgh then traded the 12th pick, which originally belonged to the New York Rangers, to Philadelphia for the 22nd and 31st picks. The Flyers wanted the 6-foot-4 Nesbitt, a fast-rising center from the OHL's Windsor Spitfires last season. The Penguins also gave a second-round pick to the Kings and swapped first-rounders so they could move up for Horcoff — the son of NHL veteran Shawn Horcoff — with the 24th pick. The Anaheim Ducks took a chance on forward Roger McQueen with the 10th selection. The 6-foot-5 McQueen is widely thought to have enough talent to become an elite center, but the Saskatchewan native has been slowed by a back injury that scared off some teams. Two goalies were chosen in the first round for the first time since 2021 and only the third time in 13 years. Columbus grabbed Russia's Pyotr Andreyanov with the 20th pick, making him the highest-picked European goalie in fourth years, while San Jose added goalie Joshua Ravensbergen with the 30th selection. The Boston Bruins used the seventh overall pick on Boston College center James Hagens, the consensus top prospect for this draft a year ago. Hagens, a Long Island native coveted by many Islanders fans, slid down the board just enough to reach the Bruins, whose pick was announced by a video of Adam Sandler in character as Happy Gilmore, complete with his signature Bruins jersey. 'I'm so excited to be back in Boston, and to have Adam Sandler make the pick, that was special,' said Hagens, who cites 'Happy Gilmore' as his favorite movie. 'I love to win, and I'm really glad that I'm in Boston.' The Islanders won the lottery to pick first in a draft that is packed with talent — while missing a few staples of recent drafts. There was no prohibitive lock of a No. 1 pick in this field, unlike the past two drafts, although Schaefer clearly came out on top. The draft also lacked the centralized structure that has long been a staple of this annual exercise. The 32 teams' various executives are mostly at home, not strewn across the draft floor. The majority of the picks were taken to a video room just behind the stage to exchange televised pleasantries with their new front offices through video conferencing. While reviews of the new format seemed largely negative from television viewers and fans, many hockey executives praised the format afterward.


The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Why Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales is an NFL anomaly
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His hiring came just 17 days after the Commanders fired Ron Rivera, the fourth Latino head coach in NFL history. Moreover, Canales rode a path observed almost exclusively in the career arcs of white coaches; before getting the Panthers gig, he had spent just one season as an offensive coordinator. But from the moment he was hired, Canales also became a more uncomfortable marker, an acknowledgement of acute scarcity. He remains the only Latino head coach in the NFL. His appointment in Carolina came during a record NFL hiring cycle in which four men of color were named head coaches, signaling further progress. But a harsh reality remains: given the extremely low number of Latino coordinators and assistants, it might be several years -- perhaps even much longer -- before we see the NFL's sixth Latino head coach. "My grandfather came from Mexico," Canales told the Panthers' official website. 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From 2006-08, he was coaching at El Camino College, which is more or less a straight shot down I-110 from the University of Southern California. At the time Canales was at El Camino, Pete Carroll was coaching the Trojans, and Carroll ran summer camps for high school and elementary school players on USC's campus. Carroll hired Canales to be a coach at these camps and it was then that Carroll became his mentor. In 2009, Carroll hired Canales to be USC's assistant strength coach, and when Carroll bolted for the Seattle Seahawks the following year, he once again brought Canales. Canales spent 13 seasons in Seattle, grinding from offensive quality control assistant all the way to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Before the 2023 season, he broke away from Carroll's mentorship when the Buccaneers hired him as offensive coordinator. He starred in the role, resurrecting the career of Baker Mayfield. Then he got the Panthers job. What the recent history of Latino coaches shows is that Canales is a distinct anomaly. 'Does it feel good to be a trailblazer?' There have been few Latino assistants in the NFL with coordinator-level titles. What happened to two of them in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and former Commanders run game coordinator Juan Castillo shows how difficult it is for Latino coaches. Flores, 44, was already a head coach, for the Miami Dolphins, for three seasons. He went 24-25 in Miami before he was fired in 2021. He has an open class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three of its franchises, alleging the league is "rife with racism," particularly in the hiring and promotion of Black assistants. Rivera, 63, wasn't hired as a head coach in the NFL after his last head coaching stint. He's currently with the University of California as the football program's general manager. That leaves Castillo, 65, a veteran assistant with over 30 years in the NFL, and one who has extensive experience on both offense and defense. He has worked under three different NFL head coaches, and some of the game's brightest minds: Andy Reid (Chiefs), John Harbaugh (Ravens) and Sean McDermott (Bills). Castillo told the Philadelphia Inquirer back in 2011 that he dreamed of becoming a head coach. At the NFL scouting combine later that year, Harbaugh said he was "a supporter of Juan" and that he thought "he'll be a head coach in this league someday." MORE: NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator Castillo told USA TODAY Sports that he was never asked to do a single head coaching interview. When the Commanders fired Rivera in January 2024, they also released Castillo, and many others, too. After spending last season with UCLA, Castillo is now an offensive analyst for the University of Michigan. In 2024, the NFL, for the first time since the Rooney Rule was implemented in 2003, did not feature a single non-white offensive coordinator. Currently, there are only two coordinators who identify as Latino or Hispanic. Flores identifies as Latino and Mike Kafka, from the Giants, has previously told USA TODAY Sports through a team spokesman he identifies as Hispanic. While Latino and Hispanic are often colloquially used interchangeably they can have different meanings. An increasing Latino fan base In 2023, only 23 of the 844 NFL assistants (2.73%) for which there were data identified specifically as Hispanic or Latino(a). That's according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), which publishes annual report cards on racial and gender hiring in the major U.S. sports leagues. (The most recent year for the report is 2023.) That figure was three more than the year prior, a 0.2% increase. For NFL players, the number is even lower. Only seven of 1,536 (0.5%) for which there were data in 2023 identified specifically as Hispanic or Latino(a), according to TIDES. "I don't think the public thinks of Latinos when they think of head coaching jobs," Dr. Richard Lapchick, the director of TIDES, told USA TODAY Sports. "I don't even think most people know this topic as a point of discussion in their fandom, whereas they might have a passing knowledge of people pushing for more Black head coaches. It's just not on the radar." Playing is arguably the quickest pathway into coaching, and the consistently low total of Latino players explains in part the lagging number of Latino coaches. But this is where everything becomes further complicated. OPINION: Is NFL caving to anti-DEI movement? The optics don't look good. Per the SSRS/Luker on Trends Sports Poll, there were 34.6 million Hispanic NFL fans in the U.S. in 2023, the most ever recorded. That was up 13.4% from last year's total of 30.5 million. In fact, compared with a decade ago, when there were 26.3 million Hispanic fans, today's figure represents a colossal 31.6% increase. Chad Menefee, the executive vice president of strategic intelligence at SSRS, told USA TODAY Sports in an email that Hispanic NFL fandom is outperforming all other demographics the company tracks. Since 2014, there were 8.2 million new Hispanic NFL fans recorded, while there were 1.9 million new non-Hispanic Black fans. Non-Hispanic white fandom has remained essentially flat. These millions of new Hispanic fans are flocking to a league where they increasingly will not see themselves represented on the sideline. For the moment, Hispanic fandom is a booming market for the NFL, one the league has tried to monetize with International Series games, targeted commercials and other initiatives. But there might come a time when these new fans abandon the sport, perhaps in search of something where they are more robustly represented, something with stronger cultural ties to their heritage. That also might never happen. But as these new Hispanic fans converge in this space, they might encounter something all too familiar, for the obstacles facing Latino assistants in the NFL are precisely the same forces that often keep Latino people in the domestic workforce from also ascending in their chosen industry. All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.