Latest news with #Winnipeg-St.Louis
Edmonton Journal
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
RICK VAIVE: To win in playoffs, the best teams can't lose their heads
Article content I can see where people who grew up watching a different National Hockey League — and those playing in it now — can sometimes get frustrated. Article content Article content On one hand, there was Anthony Stolarz of the Leafs getting hurt without a penalty called on Sam Bennett. One the other, it seems you can't get away with anything, including justifiable retaliation. There weren't two referees when I played, so a lot less was penalized. Yet today, the silliest things get called, such as a stick if it's up in the wrong place, a quick hold-and-release or a tap on the gloves that's ruled a slash. Article content That's what makes a few guys on the Florida Panthers so effective at sucking you into penalties or getting away with one themselves. For Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand, that's such a big part of their game. When I played, you could count five or six guys on every team who could do what they do and get away with it. Which is why it was so important for the Leafs to skate through all that bull in Game 1. It looked like Craig Berube had his guys well prepared for what Florida was going to bring. It's a big part of the Panthers' plan that won them a Stanley Cup and they're certainly not about to hide it now. A smart team knows the way the game is called, learns to deal with it and, above all, stays away from payback — at least until the timing is right — and one that's never too caught up with guys on the other team who chirp. Man, there were some you really hated putting up with through the years, but it's an art form in a way. They know how to push your buttons with words. Article content I saw the Schenn brothers gabbing at each other in Game 7 of the Winnipeg-St. Louis series. You know their parents are in the crowd, yet they can't help themselves in the heat of the deciding battle. My view of the Stolarz injury, after seeing it a few times, was maybe not as bad as first looked. I thought Bennett was trying to go around Stolarz, though he did raise his elbow to dot it and glanced it off the side of his head. There was that hard shot Stolarz took on his mask earlier that might have contributed to him throwing up at the bench — which is another thing I don't recall being broadcast on national TV before, somebody shown getting a barf bucket. Thankfully, the Leafs now have something they've lacked in playoffs — a second goalie. Woll did really well for someone off the bench and the rest of the team bent but didn't break. Both teams had physicality, but there was a big difference in the hits total, 51-24 for Florida. That speaks to the Leafs being able to that that punishment — and stay out of the box. The Toronto Sun welcomes former Leafs captain and three-time 50-goal scorer Rick Vaive to our 2025 playoff coverage. He played 16 NHL and WHA seasons and is the author of Catch 22: My Battles in Hockey and Life. He can be heard on Squid and The Ultimate Leafs Fan podcast with Mike Wilson and special guests. Article content Latest National Stories
Toronto Star
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Blues hoping to defend home ice once again as Jets look to fight their way into NHL's second round
The first five games of the Winnipeg-St. Louis series have all had the same result. The home team won. The Blues need that trend to continue Friday — or else. Game 6 of the Jets-Blues matchup awaits in St. Louis, with Winnipeg — the NHL's best team in the regular season — holding a 3-2 series lead. The Blues rolled to wins on their home ice in Games 3 and 4, taking those games by scores of 7-2 and 5-1 to extend a run of invincibility there that has lasted for more than two months. 'It's a tough building to play in,' Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov said. 'But I know we can get the win there.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW If they do, they will be doing so without star Mark Scheifele, the team's second-leading scorer and leader in game-winning goals this season. Scheifele was hurt in Game 5 and wasn't flying with Winnipeg to St. Louis on Thursday for Game 6. The teams had different opinions about when Scheifele got hurt, but the bottom line is the Jets will be missing a big part of their team for a potential closeout game. 'Certainly, not having him is going to be huge,' Jets coach Scott Arniel said Thursday. 'But at the end of the day, last night, our three centermen had to step up and play big minutes and did a great job. ... So proud of the group, how everybody stepped up. It's kind of what our team has done all year. Guys go down, other guys step in.' Winnipeg was the most recent visiting team to win in St. Louis — but that was more than two months ago. The Blues have put together the longest home winning streak in the NHL this season, a 14-game run that started on Feb. 23 and hasn't stopped. St. Louis has outscored opponents 69-25 in that span at home, winning by an average of a whopping 3.14 goals per game. 'We've played some good hockey at home for a couple months now,' St. Louis' Brayden Schenn said. 'We're comfortable there.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW That's a bit of an understatement. The Blues have simply looked like a different team in their own building; St. Louis has had stretches of three goals in five minutes, three goals in eight minutes and three goals in 15 minutes so far in this series on its own ice. They looked nothing like that club in Game 5, a 5-3 Winnipeg win that probably wasn't as close as that score would make it seem. Blues coach Jim Montgomery didn't waste any time thinking about that game once the final horn sounded. 'We can analyze every part of it. They were better,' Montgomery said. 'So, we're on to the next one.' It took St. Louis a long — long — time to get home on Thursday, after their travel plans were seriously delayed. The Blues had plane issues trying to leave Winnipeg and, after a replacement jet was sent to Manitoba, they finally took off about eight hours behind schedule. The Jets landed in St. Louis around 3 p.m. Central time on Thursday, actually a tiny bit ahead of schedule, while the Blues didn't get there until about 9 p.m. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday. 8 p.m. (TNT/truTV/Max) Series: Jets lead 3-2 Winnipeg hasn't closed out a series with a road win since 2018, and getting it done Friday will be difficult. Forget St. Louis' 14-game home winning streak, which is impressive enough. The Blues simply don't give up scoring chances in their building; they have allowed two goals or less in 11 of those 14 wins, and that level of stinginess puts enormous pressure on the other team's netminder. That said, Winnipeg goalie and MVP hopeful Connor Hellebuyck has reveled in big moments like this all season. The newly announced Hart Trophy finalist — alongside Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov — led the NHL with 47 wins, a 2.00 GAA, and a .925 save percentage this season, had eight shutouts, steered Winnipeg to its first Presidents' Trophy, won the William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) for the second straight year and seems like a lock for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) for the second straight year and third time in six seasons. If Hellebuyck does win the Hart as MVP, he'd be the fourth goalie in the league's expansion era to do it alongside Dominik Hasek, José Théodore and Carey Price. He was pulled twice in St. Louis and has a gaudy 3.96 goals-against average and .822 save percentage in this series — including all three wins. 'He's our best player,' Namestnikov said. ___ AP NHL:
Hamilton Spectator
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Blues hoping to defend home ice once again as Jets look to fight their way into NHL's second round
The first five games of the Winnipeg-St. Louis series have all had the same result. The home team won. The Blues need that trend to continue Friday — or else. Game 6 of the Jets-Blues matchup awaits in St. Louis, with Winnipeg — the NHL's best team in the regular season — holding a 3-2 series lead. The Blues rolled to wins on their home ice in Games 3 and 4, taking those games by scores of 7-2 and 5-1 to extend a run of invincibility there that has lasted for more than two months. 'It's a tough building to play in,' Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov said. 'But I know we can get the win there.' If they do, they will be doing so without star Mark Scheifele , the team's second-leading scorer and leader in game-winning goals this season. Scheifele was hurt in Game 5 and wasn't flying with Winnipeg to St. Louis on Thursday for Game 6. The teams had different opinions about when Scheifele got hurt, but the bottom line is the Jets will be missing a big part of their team for a potential closeout game. 'Certainly, not having him is going to be huge,' Jets coach Scott Arniel said Thursday. 'But at the end of the day, last night, our three centermen had to step up and play big minutes and did a great job. ... So proud of the group, how everybody stepped up. It's kind of what our team has done all year. Guys go down, other guys step in.' Winnipeg was the most recent visiting team to win in St. Louis — but that was more than two months ago. The Blues have put together the longest home winning streak in the NHL this season, a 14-game run that started on Feb. 23 and hasn't stopped. St. Louis has outscored opponents 69-25 in that span at home, winning by an average of a whopping 3.14 goals per game. 'We've played some good hockey at home for a couple months now,' St. Louis' Brayden Schenn said. 'We're comfortable there.' That's a bit of an understatement. The Blues have simply looked like a different team in their own building; St. Louis has had stretches of three goals in five minutes, three goals in eight minutes and three goals in 15 minutes so far in this series on its own ice. They looked nothing like that club in Game 5, a 5-3 Winnipeg win that probably wasn't as close as that score would make it seem. Blues coach Jim Montgomery didn't waste any time thinking about that game once the final horn sounded. 'We can analyze every part of it. They were better,' Montgomery said. 'So, we're on to the next one.' It took St. Louis a long — long — time to get home on Thursday, after their travel plans were seriously delayed. The Blues had plane issues trying to leave Winnipeg and, after a replacement jet was sent to Manitoba, they finally took off about eight hours behind schedule. The Jets landed in St. Louis around 3 p.m. Central time on Thursday, actually a tiny bit ahead of schedule, while the Blues didn't get there until about 9 p.m. Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday. 8 p.m. (TNT/truTV/Max) Series: Jets lead 3-2 Winnipeg hasn't closed out a series with a road win since 2018, and getting it done Friday will be difficult. Forget St. Louis' 14-game home winning streak, which is impressive enough. The Blues simply don't give up scoring chances in their building; they have allowed two goals or less in 11 of those 14 wins, and that level of stinginess puts enormous pressure on the other team's netminder. That said, Winnipeg goalie and MVP hopeful Connor Hellebuyck has reveled in big moments like this all season. The newly announced Hart Trophy finalist — alongside Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov — led the NHL with 47 wins, a 2.00 GAA, and a .925 save percentage this season, had eight shutouts, steered Winnipeg to its first Presidents' Trophy, won the William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) for the second straight year and seems like a lock for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) for the second straight year and third time in six seasons. If Hellebuyck does win the Hart as MVP, he'd be the fourth goalie in the league's expansion era to do it alongside Dominik Hasek, José Théodore and Carey Price. He was pulled twice in St. Louis and has a gaudy 3.96 goals-against average and .822 save percentage in this series — including all three wins. 'He's our best player,' Namestnikov said. ___ AP NHL:
NBC Sports
01-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Blues hoping to defend home ice once again as Jets look to fight their way into NHL's second round
The first five games of the Winnipeg-St. Louis series have all had the same result. The home team won. The Blues need that trend to continue — or else. Game 6 of the Jets-Blues matchup awaits in St. Louis, with Winnipeg — the NHL's best team in the regular season — holding a 3-2 series lead. The Blues rolled to wins on their home ice in Games 3 and 4, taking those games by scores of 7-2 and 5-1 to extend a run of invincibility there that has lasted for more than two months. 'It's a tough building to play in,' Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov said. 'But I know we can get the win there.' If they do, they will be doing so without star Mark Scheifele, the team's second-leading scorer and leader in game-winning goals this season. Scheifele was hurt in Game 5 and wasn't flying with Winnipeg to St. Louis for Game 6. The teams had different opinions about when Scheifele got hurt, but the bottom line is the Jets will be missing a big part of their team for a potential closeout game. 'Certainly, not having him is going to be huge,' Jets coach Scott Arniel said. 'But at the end of the day, last night, our three centermen had to step up and play big minutes and did a great job. ... So proud of the group, how everybody stepped up. It's kind of what our team has done all year. Guys go down, other guys step in.' Winnipeg was the most recent visiting team to win in St. Louis — but that was more than two months ago. The Blues have put together the longest home winning streak in the NHL this season, a 14-game run that started on Feb. 23 and hasn't stopped. St. Louis has outscored opponents 69-25 in that span at home, winning by an average of a whopping 3.14 goals per game. 'We've played some good hockey at home for a couple months now,' St. Louis' Brayden Schenn said. 'We're comfortable there.' That's a bit of an understatement. The Blues have simply looked like a different team in their own building; St. Louis has had stretches of three goals in five minutes, three goals in eight minutes and three goals in 15 minutes so far in this series on its own ice. They looked nothing like that club in Game 5, a 5-3 Winnipeg win that probably wasn't as close as that score would make it seem. Blues coach Jim Montgomery didn't waste any time thinking about that game once the final horn sounded. 'We can analyze every part of it. They were better,' Montgomery said. 'So, we're on to the next one.' Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues Series: Jets lead 3-2 Winnipeg hasn't closed out a series with a road win since 2018, and getting it done will be difficult. Forget St. Louis' 14-game home winning streak, which is impressive enough. The Blues simply don't give up scoring chances in their building; they have allowed two goals or less in 11 of those 14 wins, and that level of stinginess puts enormous pressure on the other team's netminder. That said, Winnipeg goalie and MVP hopeful Connor Hellebuyck has reveled in big moments like this all season. The newly announced Hart Trophy finalist — alongside Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov — led the NHL with 47 wins, a 2.00 GAA, and a .925 save percentage this season, had eight shutouts, steered Winnipeg to its first Presidents' Trophy, won the William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) for the second straight year and seems like a lock for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) for the second straight year and third time in six seasons. If Hellebuyck does win the Hart as MVP, he'd be the fourth goalie in the league's expansion era to do it alongside Dominik Hasek, José Théodore and Carey Price. He was pulled twice in St. Louis and has a gaudy 3.96 goals-against average and .822 save percentage in this series — including all three wins. 'He's our best player,' Namestnikov said.
Washington Post
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Blues hoping to defend home ice once again as Jets look to fight their way into NHL's second round
The first five games of the Winnipeg-St. Louis series have all had the same result. The home team won. The Blues need that trend to continue Friday — or else. Game 6 of the Jets-Blues matchup awaits in St. Louis, with Winnipeg — the NHL's best team in the regular season — holding a 3-2 series lead. The Blues rolled to wins on their home ice in Games 3 and 4, taking those games by scores of 7-2 and 5-1 to extend a run of invincibility there that has lasted for more than two months. 'It's a tough building to play in,' Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov said. 'But I know we can get the win there.' If they do, they will be doing so without star Mark Scheifele , the team's second-leading scorer and leader in game-winning goals this season. Scheifele was hurt in Game 5 and wasn't flying with Winnipeg to St. Louis on Thursday for Game 6. The teams had different opinions about when Scheifele got hurt, but the bottom line is the Jets will be missing a big part of their team for a potential closeout game. 'Certainly, not having him is going to be huge,' Jets coach Scott Arniel said Thursday. 'But at the end of the day, last night, our three centermen had to step up and play big minutes and did a great job. ... So proud of the group, how everybody stepped up. It's kind of what our team has done all year. Guys go down, other guys step in.' Winnipeg was the most recent visiting team to win in St. Louis — but that was more than two months ago. The Blues have put together the longest home winning streak in the NHL this season, a 14-game run that started on Feb. 23 and hasn't stopped. St. Louis has outscored opponents 69-25 in that span at home, winning by an average of a whopping 3.14 goals per game. 'We've played some good hockey at home for a couple months now,' St. Louis' Brayden Schenn said. 'We're comfortable there.' That's a bit of an understatement. The Blues have simply looked like a different team in their own building; St. Louis has had stretches of three goals in five minutes, three goals in eight minutes and three goals in 15 minutes so far in this series on its own ice. They looked nothing like that club in Game 5, a 5-3 Winnipeg win that probably wasn't as close as that score would make it seem. Blues coach Jim Montgomery didn't waste any time thinking about that game once the final horn sounded. 'We can analyze every part of it. They were better,' Montgomery said. 'So, we're on to the next one.' When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Friday. 8 p.m. (TNT/truTV/Max) Series: Jets lead 3-2 Winnipeg hasn't closed out a series with a road win since 2018, and getting it done Friday will be difficult. Forget St. Louis' 14-game home winning streak, which is impressive enough. The Blues simply don't give up scoring chances in their building; they have allowed two goals or less in 11 of those 14 wins, and that level of stinginess puts enormous pressure on the other team's netminder. That said, Winnipeg goalie and MVP hopeful Connor Hellebuyck has reveled in big moments like this all season. The newly announced Hart Trophy finalist — alongside Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov — led the NHL with 47 wins, a 2.00 GAA, and a .925 save percentage this season, had eight shutouts, steered Winnipeg to its first Presidents' Trophy, won the William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) for the second straight year and seems like a lock for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) for the second straight year and third time in six seasons. If Hellebuyck does win the Hart as MVP, he'd be the fourth goalie in the league's expansion era to do it alongside Dominik Hasek, José Théodore and Carey Price. He was pulled twice in St. Louis and has a gaudy 3.96 goals-against average and .822 save percentage in this series — including all three wins. 'He's our best player,' Namestnikov said. ___ AP NHL:
