The Bulletin Board keeps you abreast of the latest news
around the NHL Monday-Friday.
- The NHL has reached the quarter mark and the honeymoon
period for struggling coaches is officially over. Washington axed Coach Bruce Boudreau this morning and replaced him with former NHLer Dale Hunter while Carolina fired Paul Maurice and replaced him with Kirk Muller. Washington has been a notorious playoff
underachiever in recent years but typically runs away with the regular season Eastern
Conference crown. But the Capitals currently sit in eighth place
and have lost six of eight games, sparking the move. Hunter had been the coach of the OHL’s London
Knights and turned them into one of the league’s model franchises with a
451-189-23-24 mark across 11 seasons.
Maurice was originally the coach of the Hurricanes from 1995-2003 and
led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002.
He also coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for two seasons before returning
to Carolina in 2008. The Hurricanes were
expected to be a borderline playoff team, but currently sit in 14th place in
the Eastern Conference. Maurice went 384-391-145
in 920 games with Carolina. Muller
began coaching the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals - an affiliate of the Nashville
Predators – in June and had led them to a 10-6-0-1 mark. Both Hunter and Muller are highly regarded,
but you have to think Hunter has a more realistic chance of turning his club
around.
- Detroit snapped Boston’s 10-game winning streak with a 3-2
shootout victory on Black Friday.
- Boston got right back in the win column on Saturday with a
4-2 victory over Winnipeg. The Bruins
have picked
up 23 of a possible 24 points in their last 12 games.
- Detroit beat Nashville 5-1 on Saturday for its fifth
consecutive win.
- Pittsburgh beat Ottawa and Montreal on Friday and Saturday
and is now 3-0-1 since Sidney Crosby’s return.
The Kid has two goals and six assists in four games. Ottawa’s Nick Foligno voiced his displeasure with
Crosby’s free-swinging elbows after Friday’s game.
- Rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on Friday
to help Edmonton beat Minnesota 5-2.
- Patrick Sharp recorded a hat trick and Jonathan Toews added
five points to help Chicago slide by Anaheim 6-5 on Friday.
- In Vancouver Cory Schneider continues to start in place of a
healthy Roberto Luongo. Schneider picked
up his second shutout in a row on Friday, making 22 saves against Phoenix, and
led the Canucks to a 3-2 win over San Jose on Saturday with 43 saves. Schneider has picked up four
straight wins.
- St. Louis beat Columbus 2-1 in Ken Hitchcock’s return
yesterday. The Blues are now 7-1-2
under Hitch and have given up just 12 goals since he took control of the
team.
- On Friday night the Islanders became the second
team since expansion to be shutout six times in their first 20 games as the New Jersey Devils beat them 1-0. The loss also dropped the Islanders under
.500 all-time for the first time since
Mike Bossy’s rookie year. The Devils
faced the Islanders again on Saturday and this time the Islanders won 3-2. Zach Parise’s apparent tying goal with two seconds
left was disallowed, to
his disbelief. The Devils ceded
their fourth
shorthanded goal in nine games in the contest. It was the Islanders’ first road
win of the season. Inexplicably,
Islanders’ rookie Nino Niederreiter has been scratched
for four consecutive games.
- On Saturday the Colorado Avalanche recalled top
defensive prospect Stefan Elliot, who proceeded to score in his first NHL
game. Colorado made the move after
putting Erik Johnson on injured reserve.
- Detroit forward Patrick Eaves is out for six-to-eight weeks
after he took a Roman Josi slap
shot to the face on Saturday.
- Edmonton lost Taylor Hall to
a shoulder injury yesterday.
- Philadelphia will be without forward James van Riemsdyk for
one-to-two weeks as he
sits out with an upper-body injury.
- Goalie Kari Lehtonen exited Saturday’s game against Phoenix with
a lower-body injury. That’s a big
blow to the surprising Stars.
- Buffalo was without nine regular players on Saturday because
of a
rash of injuries.
- Max Pacioretty broke Kris Letang’s nose with
this hit on Saturday night and he will likely be hearing from NHL
disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.
Pacioretty, if you recall, was the victim of a gruesome hit by Zdeno
Chara last spring.
- Carolina made defenseman Tomas Kaberle a healthy
scratch for yesterday’s game.
- On Friday Calgary claimed
forward Blake Comeau off waivers from the New York Islanders.
- Niclas Bergfors signed
with AK Bars of the KHL.
- Jaromir Jagr plans
to play more than just one more season in the NHL.
- There are four games on the schedule
tonight. Tampa Bay @ Minnesota will
be on Versus at 7:30 p.m.
Past editions of the Bulletin Board:
9/21/11
- 2011 First-Round Draft Picks Shine In Preseason Action >
9/22/11
- Jody Shelley Delivers First Controversial Hit of 2011 Season >
9/23/11
- Shanahan Impresses As New NHL Disciplinarian >
9/26/11
– Sidney Crosby Participates In “Controlled Scrimmage” >
9/27/11
– Montreal Signs Chris Campoli >
9/28/11
– Top 2011 Draft Picks Shine In Preseason Action >
9/29/11
– Sestito Suspended Four Games For Hit On Deveaux >
9/30/11
– Kings Lock Doughty Up With Huge Deal >
10/3/11
– Former Rangers’ Prospects Grachev And Horak Make NHL Clubs >
10/4/11
– Steve Valiquette Is The New Goalie Coach At Quinnipiac University >
10/5/11
– Waiving Of Avery Could Wreak Havoc On The Stars’ Salary Cap Situation >
10/6/11
– Hockey Is Back >
10/7/11
– Jagr Picks Up Point #1,600 In Flyers’ Season-Opening Victory >
10/10/11
– Early Goalie Controversy In Washington? >
10/11/11
Prospal Scores Again For Columbus >
10/12/11
– Pittsburgh Rolling Without Crosby And Malkin >
10/13/11
– Sidney Crosby Cleared For Contact >
10/14/11
– Aaron Asham Is The Talk Of The League >
10/17/11
– Mark Messier Will Run The New York City Marathon >
10/18/11
– Colorado Wins Fifth-Straight Road Game, Leads Western Conference >
10/19/11
– New-look Flyers Off To Fast Start >
10/20/11
- Kessel Carrying The Leafs >
10/21/11
- Dale Weise Scores First NHL Goal >
10/24/11
– Vancouver Acquires David Booth >
10/25/11
- Jagr Scores First Two Goals Of The Season >
10/26/11
- Columbus Finally Wins >
10/27/11
– Montreal Fires Former Rangers’ Assistant Coach Perry Pearn >
10/28/11
– Philadelphia And Winnipeg Combine For 17 Goals!? >
10/31/11
- Edmonton And Ottawa Riding Surprising Hot Streaks >
11/1/11
– Chicago’s Stanley Cup Hangover Is In The Past >
11/2/11
- Ovechkin Benched >
11/3/11
– Brodeur Now Tied For Most Losses In NHL History >
11/4/11
- Predators Lock Up Pekka Rinne >
11/7/11
– Blues Fire Payne, Bring In Hitchcock >
11/8/11
– Boston Is Back >
11/9/11
– Blues Cruise In Hitchcock’s Return >
11/10/11
– Bizarre Scene In Tampa Bay >
11/11/11
– The Blue Jackets Are Awful >
11/14/11
– Milan Lucic Gives Ryan Miller A Concussion >
11/15/11
– Lucic Avoids Suspension For Hit On Miller >
11/16/11
– Malkin And Duchene Trade Beautiful Goals >
11/17/11
– Jhonas Enroth Finally Sputters >
11/18/11
– The Blues Are 4-0-1 Under Ken Hitchcock >
11/21/11
– Crosby Returns >
11/22/11
– The Sidney Crosby Show >
11/23/11
– Will Buffalo Seek Revenge On Milan Lucic? >
11/25/11
– Blake Comeau On Waivers >
11/28/11 – Washington Fires Boudreau, Carolina Axes Maurice
>
Click
here for our full 2011-2012 Season Archive >
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