Nice!  

OFFICIALS UPDATE: Linesman Michel Cormier left the @penguins / @Avalanche game in the second period due to injury and will be kept out the remainder of the contest for precautionary reasons. The game will continue with two Referees and one Linesman. — NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 17, 2019

from Jabari Young of CNBC, The National Hockey League is relying on the “good judgment” of its players as it expands overseas, particularly in China, and positions itself in the U.S. to profit from the newly legalized gambling here,  Commissioner Gary Bettman said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Wednesday. The feud between the NBA and China hasn’t had any blow back on the NHL so far. NBA players can’t seem to avoid offending fans or politicians, no matter what they say... Bettman was asked if it was a good idea to continue expanding in China, given the fragile relationship with the U.S. right now. Selecting his words carefully, the commissioner responded: “When you’re dealing in foreign countries, geopolitical issues can impact your business, and you have to be mindful of that. “We probably have the most international player base of any of the sports,” Bettman added. “And to the extent we can do business internationally, we do it, and when there are impediments to it, we either pivot or choose another course. There are no hard and fast rules in terms of how you do it.” He said the NHL hasn’t has adopted a social media policy for its executives and players in light of the NBA’s plight in China, saying the NHL hasn’t issued a “memoranda” on the matter. “We rely on the good judgment of all of our on-ice and off-ice personnel to do what they think is sensible and responsible,” Bettman said, adding the league is “overwhelmingly proud” of the way players conduct themselves. more Watch the interview below.

Anthony Mantha up first, followed by Taro Hirose and Jeff Blashill below.   "You won't necessarily score on the first chance, it's going to be the second or third rebound that's going to go in and I think that's what we need to focus on." - Mantha x practice day. pic.twitter.com/lyq8WxSuXK — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 16, 2019

via TSN's YouTube page, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli explains how hitting rock bottom in 2015 in Montreal triggered Zack Kassian to turn his life around, and paved the way to Kassian getting off to the best start of his NHL career this season. Seravalli also discusses how important Kassian is to the Oilers' success.  

Strange night in the NHL. Four of the five Canadian teams that played at home failed to sell out. Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal below capacity. Toronto sold out. Huge attendance problems in Ottawa. Not good for the NHL when Canadian teams struggle at the gate. — Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) October 16, 2019

Dana Wakiji tweets, full llist of players not practicing today: DeKeyser, Nemeth and Erne Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha Glendening-Nielsen-Athanasiou Hirose-Filppula-Ehn Helm-de la Rose-Abdelkader Daley-Hronek Ericsson-Green Cholowski-Biega Bowey

@DetroitRedWings - One last center ice face off at The Joe! Gonna miss it, but the memories will last a lifetime!?? pic.twitter.com/glUDYUQR8M — Joe Kocur (@kocurfoundation) October 16, 2019

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League and NHL Network today announced a schedule of 20 live AHL broadcasts on NHL Network during the 2019-20 season, marking the most live AHL regular-season game telecasts ever in a single season on NHL Network.

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, - Jinx alert: Heading into Wednesday’s games, there is only one player in the NHL who has been on ice for at least 80 minutes in all situations and not suffered through a goal against. That is Anaheim’s Rickard Rakell (107:48, 4-0 Ducks). He does kill penalties, and Buffalo’s lethal man-advantage is in town. There are only two players who have played 100 five-on-five minutes and not been scored upon. They are Anaheim’s Cam Fowler (101:57, 6-0 Ducks) and Tampa Bay’s Ryan McDonagh (100:46, 4-0 Lightning). Jordan Staal was in the conversation, but that ended with Pierre-Luc DuBois’ game-winner for Columbus last Saturday. (Source: Natural Stat Trick.) - One thing I’m hearing a lot: the bottom of the Eastern Conference is much, much better than a year ago. “Those teams are improved,” one scout said. “There won’t be as many (higher-seeded clubs) coasting to the playoffs, like a few of them were used to.” - Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk halted the search for a President of Hockey Operations until at least the end of the season. What is uncertain is if the search will continue, or if GM Pierre Dorion’s work convinces Melnyk that no new hire is necessary. It is believed Melnyk was asking an experienced executive for suggestions (I’d heard Glen Sather), but we can’t be sure if that will continue, either. more

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet with a few Thoughts on the Wings, - Blashill felt a late-season winning streak last March gave his players some confidence. The Red Wings won eight of nine, including five over playoff-bound clubs: the Islanders, Vegas, San Jose, Boston and Pittsburgh. “Against real teams, we played really good hockey,” he said. “Confidence matters. The margin of victory in this league is razor thin. You better believe … it matters to an individual and a team.” Blashill praised the likes of Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek and current AHLer Joe Veleno for how they prepared during the summer, but we spent the majority of our conversation on the top line. “They have learned a shared responsibility. It’s not one of them looking at the other two (to do something). I don’t like the phrase, ‘two-way players.’ I prefer ‘winning players.’” What does that mean? “It means they are not cheaters. They have developed into that.” What percentage would you put on them to indicate how close they are to where they need to be? “I won’t answer that. It puts a ceiling on them and I won’t do that. This league is relentless and ongoing night after night. They are all better today than they were a year ago, three years ago, five years ago. Credit to them.” - Blashill on working with Ken Holland and Steve Yzerman: “They are not a whole lot different. Two of the most respected men in the NHL. (Holland) should be a Hall of Famer, his success speaks for itself. Great man. Yzerman is there, extremely respected. Both men believe in reality. No short-cuts. Build through the draft. And they both believe young players have to go through a process. Steve could have forced young players on our team, but would only allow it if they were 100 per cent ready.” a bit more which is on Mantha's 4th goal against Dallas...

A little over 5 minutes to watch.  

from Chris Ryan of NJ.com, The Devils added assistant general manager Tom Fitzgerald to the team’s coaching staff, where he’ll serve as an assistant coach under John Hynes. The move isn’t meant to be permanent. He likely won’t spend the entire season as an assistant coach, but he will be with the team at daily practices and meetings for the time being, whether that be a few weeks or months.... Fitzgerald isn’t replacing anyone on the current staff. Instead, he’ll join the current group to add an extra set of eyes and another voice to the room. Fitzgerald has served as an assistant coach in the past with the Pittsburgh Penguins. read on

from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The afternoon included a tour of the White House, including the East, Blue, Green and State rooms and Library. The team also spent some time in the Oval Office with the President, but there was no meal. Binnington noted that he had previously visited the Vatican. “Really didn’t like it,” he said. “This tour. A thousand times better. Smooth. I understood everything. It was just really cool to see what it’s like over here, have an idea where they live in the White House.” During the actual ceremony, Binnington said he had an idea he might be called upon when he saw his name among several listed in a binder brought by Trump to the podium. “So I had a second to get myself together,” he said. “I was going to make a shout out to the media, to tell them to take it easy on (Trump). He’s just a human. “It was really cool. Being part of that whole process and actually (Trump) talking politics up there. . . . He was talking about the stuff that was going on. It was cool to be up there to experience what it’s like for him. “He was pretty smooth. And he’s funny. He did a great job. And he’s a really nice guy so it was a great visit.” more

Six games into a miserable start to their season, the Wild are proving to be an aging, plodding, aggravating-to-watch team and one that’s finding itself outmatched just long enough in games against younger, faster, more skilled teams that they’re unable to overcome the spurts of ineptitude that have occurred in every game except versus bottom-dwelling Ottawa. -Michael Russo of The Athletic after the Minnesota Wild lost 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Russo has more (paid) on the state of the Wild.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, The Red Wings road trip didn’t start the way they wanted it to, by any stretch. Vancouver defeated the Wings 5-1  Tuesday as the Wings opened a quick three-games-in-four-days trip through western Canada. The loss dropped the Wings to 3-3 on the season. hrough the opening five games, there were stretches where the Red Wings’ didn’t play well, but not for lengthy periods of game. But Tuesday, many facets of the Wings’ game simply weren’t good enough, despite Dylan Larkin opening the scoring 30 seconds into the game and getting the Wings going quickly. continued from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Not even a week has passed since Dylan Larkin stood in a visitors locker room and talked after a victory about how the Detroit Red Wings are building an identity, how they won’t go away. The past two games, that team has not shown up. The 3-1 start has segued into a 3-3 record after two straight losses where the Wings can fault their work ethic. A 5-1 loss at Vancouver Tuesday came three days after a 5-2 loss at home to Toronto, and both nights the score reflected that the Wings did not show enough hustle. “It wasn’t enough for our team to come in and start a road trip and not have compete level anywhere near to where theirs was, to what it should be in an NHL game,” Dylan Larkin said after the stinker at Rogers Arena. “It was unacceptable. Frustrating, I think — if we play like that every night, it’s going to be the same result. We’re not good enough to come out and just throw our sticks out there and play hockey. We need to battle, we need to block shots, and the PK needs to be good. We need to win battles in front of our net. We didn’t do any of that and it’s frustrating.” continued Below, catch the game highlights and post-game talk.

from Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News, It’s not fair (or even a good idea) for a city to have dueling hot seats for coaches, so there is no place for the Stars’ Jim Montgomery on one right now. Besides, we are talking about seven games out of 82 after a rather special rookie campaign for the Dallas coach. So even with the Stars having won just one of their first seven games, no one here is suggesting change or even thoughts about the next coach in a sport where change is always right around the corner. Montgomery did two things well last year in leading the Stars to the seventh game of the second round against St. Louis. He wasn’t Ken Hitchcock, and that was an important step one. Players always need a breath of fresh air after a run with Hitch, and that’s not to suggest Monty was some sort of pushover for this team, coming out of the college ranks as he did. But he was different, and he explained things and they worked pretty well. On top of that, the Stars had Ben Bishop in net where he finished second in Vezina Trophy balloting behind his former Tampa Bay backup Andrei Vasilevskiy. This year Bishop has struggled, the power play (1 for 22) has been invisible and the Stars have positioned themselves along the bottom of the West with a 1-5-1 record. continued

Rielly ties Vaive with four assists in second period; Kuemper maintains NHL’s best goals-against average since late March; Hurricanes off to best seven-game start in franchise history  

If you watched the first 30 seconds of the game (Larkin goal), you saw the best of the Wings tonight. Vancouver scored the next 5 with the Wings looking a bit flat including the PK, which allowed 3 goals. Vancouver wins 5-1 and the goals are below.

Tonight's game is the first of a few late night games. Vancouver seems like a good place to reboot after the last game, so, let's forget about it just like the Wings will, and carry on with the rest of the season. It"s a late night Live Blog!

The Jets could be getting a big boost on the blueline in the future as there's now a 'growing sense of optimism' surrounding the return of Dustin Byfuglien. Suffering through rough starts to the year, the heat in Minnesota, Dallas and New Jersey is starting to ratchet up. The TSN Hockey Insiders discuss this and more in Insider Trading. Watch at TSN.

via the YouTube page of the NHL, Marc-Andre Fleury doing Marc-Andre Fleury things, skate blade bloopers, unlucky bounces and mustard packets make for a fantastic season debut of Weird NHL! Almost 17 minutes to watch.  

from Steven Ellis of The Hockey News, That the Neal-Lucic swap happened, though, offers another rival fanbase hope that they, too, can rid themselves of what is quickly becoming an albatross of a contract. We’re speaking of the Los Angeles Kings, of course, who might want to start thinking about how they’re going to rid themselves of the final four seasons of Jonathan Quick’s 10-year, $58-million deal. While Quick’s goals-against average and save percentage improved after his third game of the season, a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the bad news it that as we enter into the third week of the NHL campaign, the 33-year-old netminder possesses a 6.43 GAA and .793 SP. Even though that’s a small sample size, it’s one of the worst starts by a supposed No. 1 netminder in some time. And those are just the simple surface numbers. His .818 SP at 5-on-5 ranks last among the 37 goaltenders with at least three games played, his .632 high-danger SP at five-a-side is third-last among the same group of netminders and Quick’s minus-6.25 goals-saved above average is the worst among all goalies.  more

Blashill first, Cholowski below.   "We know we gotta play great hockey to give ourselves an opportunity to win. You gotta do that every night in this league and certainly this is a good Vancouver team, we're going to have to do that for sure." pic.twitter.com/u5IB300uXa — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 15, 2019

Dana Wakiji tweets, DeKeyser left the morning skate a little early. Bernier first goalie off the ice.

Everyone that I've talked to is excited to see it. Not many people in the world get to go in and actually take a tour, be by the Oval Office. I know we have a lot of Canadians, but most of the Canadians are converted Americans by now. "So political views aside, that's everyone's own opinion, it doesn't matter. I think it's a great opportunity for us. I'm not really sure what's in store for the exact tour, but it still should be pretty cool." -Jake Allen, goaltender for the St. Louis Blues, via Jeremy Rutherford tweets.

from Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, It was a holiday festival at the Garden Monday. It’s not every day the home team wins and you see a guy score four goals in one game. With lots of families on hand for the Columbus Day matinee, David Pastrnak found the back of the net four times and the Bruins improved to 5-1-0 with a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Brad Marchand, the goat of Game 7 in June, had assists on two of the goals and seems to be on a mission to get back to the Cup Finals. Marchand has five assists and four goals in the last five games.... “I think the best thing to happen to our group was pretty much staying together,’’ Marchand said. “It allowed us to continue our chemistry and kind of roll in from last year and feel confident and comfortable with one another. “It’s easy to get on our game quickly when you already have the chemistry and already feel comfortable with one another, and that’s what’s going on here.’’ Keeping things the same seems to have been the offseason goal for Bruins hockey bosses Cam Neely and Don Sweeney. This is the same team that got to Game 7. Playing at the same level so far. read on

from Bryan Bastin of On The Forecheck, With the 2019-2020 NHL season nearly three weeks old, amateur and professional statisticians, armchair analysts, and visualization creators have been hard at work providing deeper insight intothe hockey games we watch each night. The large majority of the publicly-available data and statistics all are derived from the NHL’s own Application Programming Interface (API). Before you yawn and dismiss it for techno-babble, the NHL API is also used to feed websites like NHL.com, ESPN, TSN, and most fantasy hockey sites. It contains a massive amount of information, that, once sorted through, can give you anything from number of hits for a player to the framework for advanced statistics like Goals Above Replacement (GAR). Two of the most widely-known and respected people in the analytics community are Josh and Luke Younggren, who are on Twitter as @EvolvingWild and known for their website Evolving Hockey. They host a treasure trove of stats on their website, as well as being one of the few publicly-available sources for statistics like Expected Goals (xG)—a measure of the probability that any missed shot, shot on goal or goal had of scoring. Calculating xG takes in many, many factors (those interested can read more here), but one of the most important is shot location. The NHL provides this information in its play-by-play data in the form of X and Y coordinates—making it simple to calculate shot distance and angle, among other things. However, Monday evening Josh and Luke posted to Twitter a peculiar finding: continued

from Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail, On Tuesday, the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues will visit the White House. Per tradition, they will in all likelihood give U.S. President Donald Trump a monogrammed sweater. They’ll shake hands, take photos and Trump will start off saying something about hockey and probably end up starting a war in Greenland. A lot of people are angry at the Blues for agreeing to this long-standing U.S. sports tradition because it involves Trump. Apparently, the players ought either to decline the invitation or show up wearing black masks. Any exposure to Trump makes them suspect as possible enemies of the resistance. Time to start taking down names, comrades. Famously, NBA players are no longer expected to go to the White House. They are free to refuse because their league commissioner hates Trump, their executives hate Trump, their coaches hate Trump and their owners (pretend to) hate Trump. This isn’t exactly a bold stand. It’s a business posture. The NBA has discovered that opposition to the sitting U.S. executive tends to burnish their standing with paying customers. Also, Trump – unlike, say, China – isn’t showering the NBA with hundred-dollar bills from a leaf blower. Hence, the notable difference in tone when it comes to one strong man versus another. continued

THREE HARD LAPS * David Pastrnak produced the NHL’s third four-goal outing in 13 days to propel the Bruins to victory. Only one season in League history has seen more such performances through that same span – the NHL’s inaugural campaign (6 in 1917-18).  * Twenty-year old Cale Makar and 24-four-year old Victor Olofsson continued their impressive starts to 2019-20 as the Avalanche and Sabres extended their season-opening streaks. * The Panthers and Islanders notched the NHL’s 13th and 14th multi-goal comeback wins of the season. PASTRNAK RECORDS NHL’S THIRD FOUR-GOAL OUTING IN 13 DAYS David Pastrnak (4-0—4) netted the NHL’s third four-goal performance through the opening 13 days of the 2019-20 season to help the Bruins (5-1-0) win five of their opening six games in a season for the first time since 2012-13 (5-0-1). * Pastrnak joined Anthony Mantha (Oct. 6) and James Neal (Oct. 8) as the third player to score four goals in a game this season. The 2019-20 campaign, already one four-goal outing shy of tying the League total from 2018-19, is just the third in NHL history to feature three such performances through the first 13 days of a season.

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Quinn Hughes has shown enough dominance that one former teammate thinks he’ll be a star right away in the NHL. The Detroit Red Wings could have had Hughes in their lineup, but instead they'll get their first look at Hughes at the NHL level Tuesday when they take on the Vancouver Canucks. Hughes celebrated his 20th birthday Monday, but he already plays with a savvy beyond the nine NHL games he has played in his career.  He had an assist in his debut, already has his first goal and has two multi-point games among his six points. “He’s been impressing people with his vision, and his offensive ability is up there,” Wings defenseman Alex Biega said. “I think he is going to bode well with a full season under his belt after this year. And who knows — he might surprise people and keep his pace and be the defenseman that they’re hoping for five years from now, he might do it right now.” continued

from Travis Yost of TSN, Perhaps the biggest question surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the 2019-20 season was whether or not they could improve their defensive play – the most glaring area of weakness for one of the league’s Stanley Cup contenders. With six games in the books, Toronto still looks to be one of the league’s better teams. But the defensive concerns persist. There are, largely, two ways to improve a team’s presence in the defensive third. The first concerns structure and tactics. The Maple Leafs play hyper-aggressively in the offensive zone, regularly taking gambles to create scoring opportunities for their army of skilled forwards. There is a lot less attention to a dump-and-chase style of hockey, with most Leafs forwards preferring to carry the puck in with control. With the offensive weaponry in Toronto’s stable, Mike Babcock and the rest of the coaching staff don’t have much of a choice. It’s worth noting that the results are there – Toronto finished last season second in even-strength scoring (3.1 goals per 60) and third in expected even-strength scoring (2.8 goals per 60), and that’s been a consistent theme since the rebuild concluded. continued

from Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com, Jack Hughes couldn't help but show his frustration during another loss for the winless New Jersey Devils on Monday. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The Devils (0-4-2) were among the most aggressive teams during the offseason, when they added high-profile players including Hughes, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and defenseman P.K. Subban. But with their 6-4 loss to the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center, they have lost their first six games for the first time since starting 0-4-3 in 2013-14. The Devils, who have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs six of the past seven seasons, are tied with the Ottawa Senators (1-4-0) for last place in the Eastern Conference. The frustration boiled over a bit Monday when New Jersey failed to hold a 4-1 lead for the second time this season. The Devils led 4-0 in a 5-4 shootout loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 4. Hughes slammed his stick on the ice after his deflection in front hit both goal posts with the Devils leading 4-2 at 7:36 of the second period Monday. The 18-year-old center has no points and is minus-4 in six games. continued

First up is Anthony Mantha and below is Alex Biega.  I will post any additional videos if they become available.   "We want to be an o-zone team and we want to create turnovers and I think that's exactly what we're doing right now." pic.twitter.com/2dRG16wouI — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 15, 2019

Andthony Mantha, James Neal and today David Pastrnak with 4 goal games this season.  Who's next? The Bruins beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2.  

#RedWings in practice: Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha Hirose-Athanasiou-Glendening Filppula-Nielsen-Erne Helm-de la Rose-Abdelkader DeKeyser-Hronek Nemeth-Green Cholowski-Biega Ericsson-Daley/Bowey — Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 14, 2019

Jack Edwards with the call.  

Thanks to all for the well wishes we’ve received for Red Wings senior VP Jim Devellano over the past few days. Happy to update you that Jimmy D underwent successful surgery today to remove the benign brain tumor. He is resting comfortably & is expected to have a full recovery. pic.twitter.com/WKj6MYUpOx — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 14, 2019

NEW YORK (Oct. 14, 2019) – Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Winnipeg Jets right wing Patrik Laine and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Oct. 13.

Five minutes to watch.  

from Ansar Khan of Mlive, ...The rookie defenseman had been struggling in his own zone but was shocked when coach Jeff Blashill scratched him against the Canucks, knowing it was a special game for Cholowski and his family. “The past few games I had made a few mistakes and I was like, ‘I got to pick my game up a little bit,’ but I didn’t expect it,” Cholowski said. “Big wake-up call, eye-opener, however you want to call it. It was tough, but I think it only made me better and stronger. I came back this year with a good attitude and a positive mindset.” Cholowski’s much-anticipated homecoming will happen Tuesday when the Red Wings face the Canucks at Rogers Arena (10 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit) in the start of a three-game Western Canada trip. His parents, brother, other family and friends will attend. “It’s huge,” Cholowski said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun; it’s going to be a big game. Being able to skate on that ice against the team I grew up watching will be pretty cool for sure.” more

from Jack Todd at the Montreal Gazette, Obviously, the column on Hockey Night in Canada and its slavish devotion to the Toronto Maple Leafs had struck a nerve. And while at least half the letters were from fans of the Canadiens, there were substantial responses from another Canadian NHL cities, especially Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver. The verdict? People outside Toronto are mad as hell. They have no choice but to go on taking it from Rogers, Sportsnet, Hockey Night in Canada and (to a lesser extent) TSN — but they aren’t happy about it. Hockey Night in Canada, it’s clear, has become one of the things that divide us. Of the letters I received, 95 per cent were positive. Without exception, the negative letters came from Leaf fans, divided equally between attempts at an articulate defence of the HNIC approach and the inevitable “your a idiot” letters from charter members of Ford Nation. The conclusion? Fans across the country are very angry with HNIC and they have three main complaints: First, viewers across the country hate the Maple Leafs 24/7 approach in which the Leafs can do no wrong, even when (see Auston Matthews) they pretty clearly have done wrong. It’s not only Montreal — if anything, fans in Edmonton and Vancouver seem even more disenchanted with HNIC. more

Franchise icon Marleau welcomed back to SAP Center; Penguins score seven goals in consecutive days for first time since the 1980s; Oilers, Avalanche put unbeaten records on the line today.October 14, 2019  

It's also Native Americans' Day and Indigenous People's Day in certain areas of the US. Celebrate, reflect and whatever else you do on days like this. Four games today in the NHL start at 1:00pm ET, another at 3pm and one at 5pm.  Also a late game at 8:30pm.

from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, Teddy Green might have been the toughest S.O.B in NHL history, a guy who not only fought for his life 50 years ago after that awful stick-swinging incident with Wayne Maki sent him to hospital with a fractured skull and later a plate in his head, but later coached an Edmonton Oilers’ game hours after having kidney stones removed. The five-time Oilers Stanley Cup winner — four as Glen Sather’s assistant and once as John Muckler’s right-hand man before he became the head coach for two plus seasons in the early ’90s — leaves a rich, multi-faceted legacy after he passed away here Oct. 8 after a long illness. The Oilers will honour the 79-year-old Wednesday at their home game with Philadelphia. Green played with the best defenceman of all-time, Bobby Orr in Boston, and was in on the ground floor as a coach here with the wondrous Wayne Gretzky. As Postmedia’s Steve Simmons eloquently said “he had the best seat in hockey … witness to the two greatest players ever.” continued

“We make mistakes and they cost us, we’ve been in every game. It’s just a matter of finding more confidence. These guys have done everything that we’ve asked them to do, and there’s a lot of hockey to be played still. Honestly, I think it’s a confidence thing and I really think it’s a matter of getting over the hump and getting our first win. We’ve done some really good things during the course of the games. It’s just a matter of putting a full 60 together and just getting our first win.” -Bill Guerin, GM of the Minnesota Wild.  Michael Russo of The Athletic ($$$) has more from Guerin who are 0-4-0 this season.

from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, ‘Beyond Headlines’ is a deeper dive into some of the stories — and even some that weren’t — discussed each week on Hockey Night in Canada’s ‘Headlines’ segment. You could have lost a lot of money over the years betting against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. But after seeing Evgeni Malkin knocked out for an unspecified, but not insignificant period of time with a lower-body soft-tissue injury, it’s hard not to view this as one of the biggest challenges the Penguins have faced in the Crosby/Malkin Era. They are a remarkable 13-for-13 in playoff appearances with that generationally-great pair as teammates, but the salary cap exists as a force meant to drag against any run of sustained success like the one Pittsburgh has enjoyed. It doesn’t help that the Penguins were capped out to start the season and then saw Malkin, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust all injured. continued with more topics...

via Sportsnet, During To the Point, duo discussed whether the Edmonton Oilers are going to be the playoff hunt later on in the season. They also spoke about assessing trades in the NHL.  

from Dan Rsoen of NHL.com, The Edmonton Oilers are winning games they almost certainly would have lost the past two seasons. "There's a culture change within the room where all everyone cares about is winning," defenseman Darnell Nurse said, "and that's all that really matters." The Oilers set an NHL record with their fifth straight come-from-behind win to start a season on Saturday, a 4-1 victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, and are 5-0-0 for the first time since 1985-86. It's a stark contrast from the past two seasons when they were a combined 26-54-7 in games where the opponent scored first.  Their success is a testament to the confidence and discipline they're playing with, the belief in the system and structure being stressed by first-year coach Dave Tippett, and the feeling that their offense is good enough to strike when a goal is needed. "I know in years past we've been down a goal and we've tried to just stretch the game out and open it up," center Connor McDavid said. "When you do that, that's when you find yourself down two or three and the game is over. You've got to keep it within one and take your chance when you've got it. I think we've done a good job." continued

Game highlights below... ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Grand Rapids Griffins picked up their second road win of the season after defeating the Rockford IceHogs 4-2 on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Filip Larsson earned his first professional victory in his debut, saving 24 shots.

from Michael Russo of The Athletic, Poor Billy Guerin, but he has got to know by now he has quite the chore in front of him with a flawed, disjointed roster off to the worst start in Wild history. That “all-in” poker chip each player received during the Beaver Creek bonding trip late last month hasn’t brought much luck yet considering the Wild are the only team without a single point. After winning a league-worst 16 home games last season, the Wild finally opened the gates to Xcel Energy Center nine days into the new season. After talking all training camp about reestablishing their home-ice dominance, after trying to persuade everyone and anyone that last season’s home-barn ugliness was just an anomaly, the Wild tripped all over themselves during a 7-4 loss in front of a bunch of disenchanted fans. It was the first time in their 19-year history they had lost an Xcel Energy Center opener in regulation (14-1-4). The seats were all full. But it’s no secret many Wild fans didn’t love the way last season ended and weren’t exactly booming with confidence over the squad heading into the season, even after July’s firing of the old GM, Paul Fenton. more (paid)

from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, The Blackhawks changed everything they could Saturday: forward lines, defensive pairings, the goalie. But they still squandered an energetic start, still spent too long on the ice each shift, still had a brutal defensive breakdown at a crucial time and still finished winless on the season after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets. “As a group, we have to have that character to close out games and step on their throat when they’re down,” winger Brandon Saad said. Clearly, through three games — each a painful defeat in its own way — the Hawks don’t have that down yet. continued (Chicago is 0-2-1)

from Arash Markazi of the LA Times, Taylor Swift’s banner at Staples Center isn’t coming down but it will no longer be seen during Kings home games. Before their home opener against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the Kings covered Swift’s “most sold out performances” banner and will continue to do so. Staples Center president Lee Zeidman said there are no plans to remove the banner and the decision to cover it during Kings games was made solely by the team. The banner, which was raised Aug. 21, 2015, after her record 16th sold-out concert at Staples Center, has been an eyesore for many Kings fans. They don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Kings have failed to win a playoff series since the banner went up. The Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 as well as advanced to the conference finals in 2013. They finished with the worst record in the Western Conference and second worst in the league last season. “The connection to our fans is our highest priority and through our engagement they have made it clear that the banner shouldn’t be part of their Kings game experience,” said Michael Altieri... continued

from Ansar Khan of Mlive, The Detroit Red Wings don’t expect steady offensive contribution from their fourth line, like they have had the past two games. They will be satisfied with consistent energy from Jacob de la Rose, Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader, strong forechecking, physical play and offensive zone time without sacrificing defense. That is what the line provided Saturday, but it wasn’t nearly enough in a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena, because other lines weren’t clicking. “They understand how they’re going to be successful,” coach Blashill said. “They’re a group that wants to put pucks behind people, they want to forecheck hard and they want to be physical and get to the net. I think it’s easily repeatable and that line can be a successful line for us.” Said Dylan Larkin: “They kept it simple. They got pucks to the net and used each other as support. They were our best line tonight by far.” Blashill said the fourth line has been “big, strong, heavy” and created scoring chances the past three games. continued

THREE HARD LAPS   * The Kings erupted for seven goals to win their home opener and achieved a feat they last accomplished more than 24 years ago.   * Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continued to lead their team offensively as the Oilers accomplished an NHL-first with their fifth rally in as many games.   * Twenty-year-old defenseman Cale Makar continued his impressive start to 2019-20 as the Avalanche improved to 4-0-0 to begin the season. KINGS ERUPT FOR SEVEN GOALS, INCLUDING THREE IN 30 SECONDS The Predators scored three straight goals in the third period to erase a 4-1 deficit, but Alex Iafallo, Dustin Brown (1-2—3) and Drew Doughty each scored within a 30-second span during the final minute of regulation to lift Los Angeles to victory in its home opener.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, The numerous Toronto Maple Leafs fans had more fun Saturday than the numerous Red Wings fans. The Leafs used a three-goal third period to defeat the Wings, 5-2, and send the Toronto faithful at Little Caesars Arena home happy. But it was more than simply the goals, said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who felt the Leafs did something the Wings need to do consistently to have a chance of being successful. “They were really competitive tonight, they outworked us,” Blashill said. “We have to make sure we outcompete and outwork teams. We didn’t outcompete and outwork them tonight.” continued

Jeff Blashill up first, below group talk and Mickey Redmond. added 10:48pm, game highlights below.

Final- Toronto 5 Detroit 2 It was billed as the battle of the top lines, but it turned into a secondary scoring batlle which Toronto won. Goals are below and Detroit stats too.

via Sportsnet, During Headlines the panel discussed how patient the New Jersey Devils are with Taylor Hall. They also spoke on Evgeni Malkin’s injury and that there is not a set timeline for his return to the Penguins.  

via Sportsnet's YouTube page, During Coach’s Corner, Ron & Don spoke about how Mike Smith is a key reason to the early success of the Edmonton Oilers. They also spoke touched on Bo Horvat’s parents and how his father remembered hearing his son’s name for the first time on the show.  

per Mickey Redmond on Wings broadcast, Jim Devellano has a brain tumor with surgery on Monday. The tumor is non-cancerous. All the best Jimmy D.

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun at Canoe, - I’m not buying the early season Carolina Hurricanes. I can’t believe in a team that has Petr Mrazek and James Reimer in goal. - With Evgeny Malkin out, with Phil Kessel in Arizona and Alexander Galchenyuk banged up, the Pittsburgh Penguins second line has Jared McCann centring Dominik Kahun and Patric Hornqvist. Sidney Crosby will deserve the Hart Trophy if this team makes the playoffs. - After all these years, why can’t nhl.com get positions right on their website: Every year they list players who don’t play centre, as centres. Among them this year: William Nylander, Jake Guentzel, Jonathan Huberdeau, Brad Marchand, Mike Hoffman and Artemi Panarin are all listed as centres when you go looking for stats. Can’t somebody get this right? a few more...

via Sportsnet, In the spring of 2018, Ryan O'Reilly had come off the most disappointing season of his career. One years, two months, and three days later, he won the Stanley Cup. This story looks at how O'Reilly rediscovered his love of the game.  

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post, When ownership becomes involved in hockey personnel decisions and its prime acquisition is presented as a social-media marketing vehicle, there is little time and little patience for slow starts. This is the case in New Jersey, where the Josh Harris-David Blitzer combination at the top of the directory enthusiastically encouraged — how’s that for a euphemism? — general manager Ray Shero to pull off the deal for the Spirit of 76, who arrived with a boatload of charisma and as one half of a sports celebrity power couple with fiancée Lindsey Vonn. There is PK Subban, there is first-overall draft selection Jack Hughes, and there is Taylor Hall, one of the league’s elite players who is a pending free agent and who certainly isn’t going to sign up for a program that doesn’t produce results. Hall has been in the playoffs once since entering the NHL with the Oilers in 2010. The Devils have been to the playoffs once since 2012. Coach John Hynes has taken the team to the postseason once since taking over to start the 2015-16 season. continued plus more notes...

The Wings are five games into the season, and have provided fans with some very entertaining hockey. Tonight should be no different. The odds aren't exactly in our favor when you compare rosters. The Leafs are stacked with some very good goal scorers, good D, solid goaltending, and, they are a few years ahead of the Wings in the rebuild department. That doesn't mean we should give up the ghost. We have some pretty good up and coming players ourselves, and, a coach that doesn't have half of the pressure on him that a coach in Toronto has. Behind the benches are Babcock and Blashill. Mentor and protege. Two coaches with something to prove. One more than the other, with the weight of the Hockey Universe to deal with. So, let's hope for the best...... It's a Live Blog!

from Helene Elliott of the LA Times, While the NBA grapples with its newly tense relations with its Chinese sports and business partners, the NHL remains on track with its strategy of strengthening its presence in China and encouraging the development of hockey there. “Nothing about the current situation has changed our views on the importance of continuing efforts to grow the sport of hockey in China, or on any of the plans that we have in process,” the NHL’s deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, said via email. Like the NBA, the NHL salivates over the potentially vast market of fans, viewers and merchandise sales in China. But unlike the NBA, the NHL hasn’t been put in the position of weighing money against morals. continued plus more topics...

via TSN, The Red Wings top line of Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi has combined for 20 points over their first four games and the Maple Leafs say their speed and grit make them difficult to contain at both ends of the ice. Watch the video at TSN, no geo-blocking.

A beauty from the #2 pick in this year's NHL Draft.  

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, We’re a long way from the vote tallying, but Ken Holland is the early leader for NHL executive of the year on the strength of his July 19 deal that brought James Neal to Edmonton — a swap for Milan Lucic that looks like it may have triggered a turnaround for the moribund Oilers franchise. Holland was named Oilers general manager in May, successor to the fired Peter Chiarelli, after the Red Wings finalized the coronation of Steve Yzerman as the new mayor of Hockeytown. Two months later, Holland swapped ex-Bruin Lucic for Neal, whose hands inexplicably turned to stone during his one-season stay in Calgary after signing there following his year in Vegas (acquired there in the expansion draft). Not an easy deal to make, for either side. Both veteran forwards carried pricey, long-term tickets. Worse was the accompanying stigma that their careers were somewhere between a standstill and a dead end. With Lucic appearing to be the greater liability of the two 30-somethings, Holland was forced to retain $3 million of the big winger’s deal (a $750,000 charge for each of the remaining four years on his $6 million-a-year contract). continued plus more topics...

"Certainly discipline is huge." Coach Blashill speaks ahead of #TORvsDET | #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Ysr0W6LoH7 — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 12, 2019

Both the Bruins’ and Avs’ goals were erased because of a coach’s challenge for offside. But why are we worrying about what happens an inch on both sides of the blue line when it has nothing to do with what happens 70-feet away at the net? In a game that has never been so fast, linesmen should be forgiven for missing a close call and the game should go on. The coach’s challenge for offside is a waste of time because, again, it’s not a direct result of what ultimately happens. In basketball, sure, take away a 3-point shot if the shooter’s foot is on the line. And take away that touchdown if an NFL receiver doesn’t have both feet inbounds. -Mike Chambers of the Denver Post where you can read more on this topic.

from Dugan Arnett of the Boston Globe, An avid fan, the 25-year-old Brighton resident has sat through plenty of games, but this time something felt . . . different. He shifted in his seat. He shifted again. He tried — unsuccessfully — to get comfortable. “I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it,” said Russo, who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall “on a good day.” “And then my buddy next to me goes, ‘These seats are way tighter, don’t you think?’ ” As the 3-1 Bruins return to TD Garden for Saturday night’s home opener against the New Jersey Devils — the team’s first regular season game in the venue since last year’s Stanley Cup Finals — a normally joyous occasion has been overshadowed by a roiling controversy concerning fans and their fannies. The replacement earlier this year of seats throughout the arena — as well as the addition of 500 new spots — has left many fuming over the suddenly cramped quarters. In recent days, countless fans have voiced their seat-size-related frustrations, filling social media with complaints about discomfort and nonexistent legroom and, in some cases, threatening to boycott the Garden altogether. more

Optional morning skate for #RedWings prior to tonight’s game against @MapleLeafs at @LCArena_Detroit Howard in starter’s net. Hronek not skating again, so he’s likely out and Biega in. Nielsen and Daley skating and expected back during Western Canada trip. — Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 12, 2019

from Chip Alexander of the News & Observer, The Carolina Hurricanes still don’t have a blemish on their record. The Canes, showing off their speed and quickness, topped the New York Islanders 5-2 on Friday to improve their record to 5-0-0. That’s the best start to a season in franchise history and had Canes fans at full throat in the final seconds at PNC Arena. “I thought from start to finish we were ready to play,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game and the guys dug in. All in all it was a good effort by everybody in the group. “I like the way guys are coming to work every day. The 5-0 is kind of irrelevant. We’re trying to win the day. That’s the mentality these guys have had and that we have to continue.” continued Watch the game highlights below.

from Andrew Berkshire of Sportsnet, Mantha has been knocking at the door for a long time now, what kept the Detroit Red Wings from letting him open it is anyone’s guess. We can talk about the lower levels of competition he faced or optimal deployment, but the fact is he’s been one of the Red Wings’ best players for years. This season you can see quite clearly that he’s getting to the right places, producing far more than team or league average, and getting it done off the rush at a high rate despite the Red Wings not being a great rush team. Mantha ranks eighth in the NHL in scoring chances per minute at 5-vs-5 this season, and his excellent numbers at 5-vs-5 might even hold out to a large extent, since half his production so far has been on the powerplay. I have my doubts that he can be a point per game player, but can he get close? I wouldn’t be surprised, especially if he continues to play with Larkin. This exact level of production is impossible to sustain, but there’s all sorts of breakout potential here, so let’s say it’s fact. more which includes a graph of Mantha's shot quality, plus a few more NHL players...

from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star, If Mike Babcock’s job is on the line this season, you’ve really got to start wondering whether he’s got a fighting chance. At this point, it appears more like his boss, Kyle Dubas, has tasked Babcock with the unenviable job of getting better results out of a roster that is no better than last year’s, and quite possibly weaker. Coming off a collapse against Montreal, a tight one-goal defeat to the Stanley Cup champions from St. Louis and a walloping at the hands of talented Tampa on Thursday, the Maple Leafs are certainly looking a bit wobbly in the second week of the NHL season. Against the Bolts, the same vulnerabilities that were there last spring when the Leafs went out in the first round of the playoffs against Boston remained. That’s not surprising, given that the major surgery done by Dubas this summer on the Leaf roster — the five players who started the game on Thursday weren’t in the opening night lineup a year ago — wasn’t about improving the team’s weakest areas. Dubas didn’t set out to fix problems. He was necessarily and completely focused on controlling costs. continued

from Mark Newman of GriffinsHockey.com, Some vilified his predecessor for adhering to the adage of allowing players to become “overripe” in the minors before being promoted to the NHL, but Yzerman also believes that there are risks in pushing a player too fast. The fact is the development process at the AHL level frequently takes time. How much time a player may need will vary. “The timetable is different for every player,” Yzerman said. “My feeling is when you have young guys who are excelling in the American League for an extended period of time, they’re showing they’re ready for the NHL. When they’re really good in the AHL, they’re usually good enough to play in the NHL. But you have to look at it player by player.” Yzerman feels that it’s in the best interest of the player’s development to put them in a position to gain from experience. The more minutes available to a prospect, the more opportunities for that player to polish their skills. “If they’re in the NHL, but they’re sitting at the end of the bench and only getting limited minutes and struggling to meet your expectations, they’re better off playing in a place where they can be improving and excelling and their confidence can be growing,” he said. “Our goal is to help them become better players.” Still, Yzerman won’t hesitate to promote a prospect if they can help make the Red Wings a better team without stunting their own growth. “If they’re in the NHL and they can make the team more competitive, they’re helping the team,” he said. “If they’re excelling on the ice and holding their own – given it can be difficult, it can be a challenge – they’ll be given the opportunity to show they can play in the NHL. much more

Hurricanes extend season-opening win streak to five games; Miller starts off season No. 17 with a win; Sabres defeat Panthers to move to 4-0-1  

from Arthur J. Regner of DetroitRedWings.com, After they dispatched the Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night in Montreal, the Red Wings were pumped, but not overly euphoric about beating a team that has dominated them in recent years. Most of the Wings attributed their victory to Detroit's attitude of playing a relentless style of hockey regardless of the situation.... "Our guys understand, for us to be a good hockey team, we have to be workers, we have to be committed to doing it right, we have to be really good defensively, have great attention to detail," said Wings coach Jeff Blashill after Friday's practice at BELFOR Training Center. "I think we've worked and competed and sacrificed. The sacrifice is showing in the blocked shots, the work and compete in the puck battles and the relentless pursuit of the puck. "Tomorrow night against Toronto we better be a hard forechecking team that's making them defend, otherwise it's a hard night. I think our team understands what we need to be to be successful. I think we have a full grasp of that. That doesn't mean we're going to do it every night, but we got to do as close to every night as humanly possible." read on

Blashill first, Helm and Cholowski below.   Blashill post-practice. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Idch9xQ9dl — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 11, 2019

via Ansar Khan tweets, Red Wings skating prior to tomorrow’s game vs. Maple Leafs at LCArena Hronek only player not on ice after getting cut above eye late in Thursday’s win lines at practice: Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha Glendening-Athanasiou-Hirose Ehn-Filppula-Erne Helm-de la Rose-Abdelkader (Svechnikov working in) Defense: DeKeyser-Biega (for Hronek) Nemeth-Green Cholowski-Bowey Nielsen, Daley, Ericsson (IR) not skating. Howard Bernier

via Sportsnet, Hockey Central chat on what makes Brayden Point worth the price of admission, and has Brian Burke saying, "I just can't wait to watch him play."  

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet, It really doesn’t make sense that the Edmonton Oilers would believe in Dave Tippett’s system any more or less than they believed in Todd McLellan’s, or Ralph Krueger’s. But there’s something happening here, as the Oilers ran their start to 4-0 Thursday night in Newark, taking down the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in a shootout to win yet another game in which they trailed three times. “The biggest thing that has changed is our commitment to playing within our structure; playing within our game,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “You can be chasing a little bit, but we’re not taking obscure chances to try to make up plays in a game. We stick to our structure, and chip away.” continued

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, Frederik Andersen was in net for his 216th game for the Maple Leafs Thursday night at the Scotiabank Arena. For only the second time, he allowed seven goals against. The first time, against Tampa Bay in October of 2016, he finished the game. On Thursday, he played just 46:57 before getting the merciful hook from coach Mike Babcock. Andersen wasn’t particularly sharp but he wasn’t alone. Babcock and his staff didn’t have a good night either. The Leaf players, for the most part, were outplayed and outworked by the Lightning. The much-discussed fourth line played like a fifth line. And the great finesse and skill from the Tampa lineup mostly obliterated the finesse and skill of the Leafs. “I thought it was going to be a hell of a game,” said Babcock. “I don’t think it was.” This new season is only four games old for Andersen, five games old for the Leafs, and already there is some reason for concern. Babcock wants six points every five games. That’s his built-in mantra. That gets you to 96 plus points on the season. That gets you to the playoffs. Losing to the Lightning — losing three home games in a row, one in a scrambly overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, one in a well-played defeat against the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, and last night a non-competitive, sloppy, game for the Leafs, this 7-3 result that saw Andersen chased from the goal with over 13 minutes still to play. read on Watch the gem highlights below.

40-year-old Marleau scores twice in first game since signing with San Jose; Oilers join rare company with fourth straight comeback win to open season; Ovechkin records 22nd career game with multiple power-play goals.  

Let's take a look from the other side... from Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, “We weren’t sharp,” Julien said after the Canadiens dropped a 4-2 decision to the Detroit  Red Wings in their home opener Thursday.... The Canadiens forged a 1-0-2 record to open the season on the road, coming back in all three games to force overtime. But the resiliency factor wore out Thursday. “You never want to think that way,” Carey Price said when asked if the Canadiens had run out of magic after heading into the third period trailing 3-2. “It was a pretty even game until they scored that empty-net goal. The Canadiens outshot the Red Wings 11-8 in the third period, but the Red Wings adopted a defensive stance and kept most of the chances to the outside. When the Canadiens did get a good look, it seemed they were concentrating their efforts on hitting Detroit goaltender Jonathan Bernier in the breadbasket.... Carey Price had reason to be frustrated on Detroit’s second goal at the conclusion of the first period. Dylan Larkin clearly interfered with Price a second before Tyler Bertuzzi buried a backhander. “It was a point shot and I tried to block (Larkin) in front of me,” Price said. “It was a tip situation and the puck went off the boards and came out in front.” Price said he was interfered with, but he understood why Julien didn’t challenge the goal and run the risk of taking a penalty if he was wrong. more Below, watch the extended game highlights and a little celebration in the Wings' room.

First up is Danny DeKeyser and below is Jonathan Bernier and the game highlights. I will add more videos if they become available within the next half hour.  Added 10:31pm, Mantha added below. added 10:38pm, Blashill below plus a video with many of the above in it.  

Finally a win in Montreal, Wings 4 Canadiens 2, A very good road win of the Wings tonight. They'll host the Leafs on Saturday. Detroit goals and stats below.

Tonight we face off against Montreal. Most of us will forever hold a grudge against Shea Weber for the slamming of Z's head into the glass incident. Never forget what a jerk move that was. It should still serve as a reminder, and, a motivater to all Wings players every time we face this team. On a more friendly note, I will always be grateful to the Canadians for January 13, 1971. The day our very own Mickey Redmond joined the Detroit Red Wings. So, thanks Montreal. We all know we got the best of that deal..... It's a Live Blog!

Top prospects Alexis Lafrenière and Quinton Byfield have been lighting up junior hockey, leaving scouts drooling over their immense potential. The TSN Hockey Insiders discuss the latest buzz around the draft, Seattle's timeline to hire their first bench boss, Nolan Patrick's health, and more in Insider Trading. Watch at TSN.

from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet, That Modano/Babcock storyline was frequently brought up by hockey fans and pundits after Babcock’s decision last week to make respected veteran centre Jason Spezza a healthy scratch for the Toronto Maple Leafs home opener was met with widespread criticism. “I felt for Jason,” Modano told Good Show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Thursday. “I mean that’s just hard. As you get older you have scenarios that play out that maybe you thought shouldn’t play out at the time. … “I enjoyed Mike at the beginning of the year and then I got injured and kind of out of the system and fought my way back. It was a tough pill to swallow to miss one of the last three games to get 1,500. It’s a bitter pill but for some reason, some way that was his decision and you gotta live with it the rest of your life.” Modano, who described playing under Babcock as a “unique experience,” was asked if he thinks anyone can change Babcock’s mind once it’s made up. “Uhh, I don’t think so. I don’t think so,” Modano said while laughing. more

Below find Hirose and Larkin plus Blashill.   "For us we just want to shut it down, have a great start, and have momentum on our side." - @antomantha8 | #LGRW pic.twitter.com/b4qDUwXeVq — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 10, 2019

from Elliott Teaford of the OC Register, The Ducks made Darryl Sutter an offer he couldn’t refuse. Of course, he could have said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and remained on his family’s farm near the tiny Canadian hamlet of Viking, Alberta, a contented man after winning two Stanley Cup championships in a remarkable three-season span with the Kings. But something about Dallas Eakins’ coaching style and Bob Murray’s friendship and a chance to forge ahead in a new direction, in a new role, appealed to Sutter. He couldn’t stay away, even if it meant swapping allegiances in a fierce Southern California hockey rivalry. continued

NEW YORK (October 10, 2019) – The 2019-20 National Hockey League (NHL®) season is now underway, and with it, a brand-new redesigned homepage on the League’s official website, NHL.com, and a reimagined Gamecenter experience in the flagship NHL® App are being unveiled; giving fans more information and data before, during, and after a game. Both the website and the app are operated by Disney Streaming Services in partnership with the NHL. “Our mission is to provide new and innovative ways to immerse fans in the sport of hockey, and this season we are excited to introduce a newly redesigned homepage and an all new Gamecenter experience to serve fans the type of content they want in more robust ways,” said Barry Tishgart, SVP and General Manager, Hockey, Disney Streaming Services. “We have a few more features up our sleeve, releasing later this season, that will ‘change the game’ with how fans consume live games.” 

NEW YORK (October 10, 2019) – The National Hockey League (NHL®) and SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT) today announced an expansion to their longstanding partnership as the NHL’s real-time scoring system provider, which now will include puck and player tracking technology development and implementation, data integration and distribution, and virtual graphics generation.

Patrik Laine: "I think last year I was just stressed about contracts and all of that kind of stuff. Now, I have it in my pocket so now I can just play hockey and not worry about that.” #NHLJets — Scott Billeck (@ScottBilleck) October 10, 2019

5 1/2 minutes of saves.  

Detroit's Morning Skate In Montreal The Wings hit the ice about 1/2 hour ago. This is the only media report from the skate. I will add if needed.   Jonathan Bernier starts tonight. — Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 10, 2019

RALEIGH, NC – Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a core muscle injury. His recovery time is estimated to be six to eight weeks. Martinook, 27, has posted one assist in four NHL games this season. The 6’1”, 204-pound forward set a career high with 15 goals in 2018-19 and added 10 assists while playing in all 82 regular-season games for the Hurricanes. Martinook also registered four assists in 10 playoff games as Carolina advanced to the 2019 Eastern Conference Final. The Brandon, Man., native has recorded 91 points (41g, 50a) in 333 career NHL games with Arizona and Carolina. Martinook was acquired by the Hurricanes from the Coyotes along with a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (Luke Henman) in exchange for Marcus Kruger and a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (Ty Emberson) on May 3, 2018.

The Fox Sports Detroit crew with a Throw Back Thursday look at Patrick Roy.  

from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post, Catch the Avs, if you can. They’re furiously fast. They’re freakin’ good. And they know it. “We feel like we can beat any team,” Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon told me Wednesday. “If we play our best, we feel like we can beat anybody, which is something we’ve never really felt before on this team.” As MacKinnon plopped down at his locker, removing his practice gear, he was surrounded by hockey speed that can kill and talent Colorado has not enjoyed since Joe Sakic was skating instead of sitting in the team’s front office. Led by MacKinnon, the world’s best hockey player on any given night, the big “A” on the team’s sweater is now surrounded by an unspoken but unmistakable “S,” “W” and “G.” For the first time in a long time, the Avalanche hits the ice with the swag of talented players who have not only have arrived but are itching to knock down the door. I think it’s safe to say Colorado has never put a faster team on the ice. continued

Head coach Todd McLellan of the LA Kings after an 8-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.   ... So, it tells me that our group’s got a long, long way to go. Some of the players we’ve counted on or we need to count on have to play a lot better or they don’t belong in the league, and we’ll have to look at some individuals." 2/2 — Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) October 10, 2019 Catch the game highlights below.

Dan Rosen of NHL.com answered a fan question about Anthony Mantha. After his hot start, do you see Anthony Mantha as a 35-plus goal scorer? I didn't need to see Mantha's hot start to know the Detroit Red Wings forward could be a 35-plus goal scorer. He scored 25 goals in 67 games last season. Extrapolate that over an 82-game season, and Mantha would have scored 30-31 goals. Now factor in the expected growth potential as a 25-year-old who is fully adjusted to the NHL, fully aware of what works for him, and I think it's fair to expect a bump in production provided he stays healthy. Mantha is 6-foot-5, 234 pounds and has a lot of skill. He's a version of the new power forward in the NHL. He doesn't care if you play physical against him, he may prefer it. He can play physical against you and use his skill to beat you in a myriad of ways. Mantha can become a restricted free agent after this season. The Red Wings better lock him up long term. His best is yet to come.

from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province, Horvat knew in the summer that he was going to be named captain. “Everybody was trying to keep it a secret and it was the worst-kept secret ever,” laughed Horvat. You would think that would put the centre at ease when the big night finally arrived. It didn’t. Horvat was not quite himself and the magnitude of the major moment was captured with his father, Tim. shedding a tear at Rogers Arena. “I’m not going to lie —  I was nervous,” admitted Horvat. “You feel that added pressure, but at the same time, I wanted to embrace it and go out there and have a good game. It was a really special night and one I won’t forget. It was pretty surreal. It was actually pretty emotional and obviously really humbling and a dream come true.” conrinued Watch the ceremony below.

Canucks score eight on night Horvat named captain; Eichel leads Sabres in OT victory; 21-year-old Hart records first career shutout