Tuesday's hockey: Saginaw's Parekh cracks top-5 prospects for NHL draft
Saginaw Spirit defenseman Zayne Parekh cracked the top-5 prospects for the 2024 NHL entry draft, according to the NHL Central Scouting final rankings released on Tuesday.
Parekh, who was ranked No. 10 in the mid-season rankings, led all Ontario Hockey League defensemen in scoring with 33 goals, 63 assists and 99 points in 66 games.
It was the highest single-season total by an OHL blueliner since Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires had 24 goals, 76 assists and 100 points in 58 games in 2010-11.
Saginaw will host the 2024 Memorial Cup from May 24-June 2. The Spirit lead the Soo Greyhounds 2-1 in the OHL Western Division semifinal after a 7-2 win in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday.
Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov of Belarus was ranked No. 2 once again, behind Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, the consensus No. 1 pick who won the Hobey Baker Award on Friday as the NCAA's top player with 32 goals, 32 assists and 64 points in 38 games.
Rounding out the top 5 were No. 3-ranked Cayden Lindstrom, a center from Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League and No. 4-ranked Zeev Buium, a defenseman who won the national championship withe the University of Denver. Buium's brother, Shai, was a second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2021.
Playoff tracker
Atlantic
▶ Panthers (110)
▶ Bruins (109)
▶ Maple Leafs (102)
Metropolitan
▶ Rangers (114)
▶ Hurricanes (111)
▶ Islanders (92)
Wild card
▶ Lightning (96)
▶ Capitals (91)
(Top two wild-card teams make the playoffs)
▶ Red Wings (91)
▶ Penguins (88)
▶ Flyers (87)
▶ Sabres (84)
▶ Devils (81)
Eastern Conference playoff matchups
▶ (1M) Rangers vs. Capitals (WC2)
▶ (A2) Bruins vs. Maple Leafs (A3)
▶ (1A) Panthers vs. Lightning (WC1)
▶ (2M) Hurricanes vs. (3M) Islanders
Remaining games in wild-card race
Islanders (92)
▶ Home (1): Penguins
▶ Away (0): None
Capitals (91 points)
▶ Home (0): None
▶ Away (0): None
Red Wings (91)
▶ Home (0): None
▶ Away (0): None
Penguins (88)
▶ Home (0): None
▶ Away (1): Islanders
Flyers (87 points)
▶ Home (0): None
Tuesday's NHL games
Washington 2, (at) Philadelphia 1: T.J. Oshie scored into an empty net in the rare situation of a team pulling its goaltender in a tie game, and Washington is in the playoffs after beating Philadelphia.
Flyers coach John Tortorella pulled goalie Samuel Ersson for an extra attacker because his team needed to win in regulation to keep its hopes alive. The result allowed the Capitals to clinch a berth and eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins – rivals for both teams finishing the regular season in Philadelphia – in improbable fashion with Oshie’s goal with exactly 3 minutes left.
The surreal scene played out after the Flyers and Capitals slogged out much of the third period 5 on 5 – and perhaps a minute after Detroit went to overtime in Montreal, eliminating Philadelphia. Tortorella may not have known his team had no chance of winning when he sent Ersson to the bench and opened the net for Oshie.
Washington will face the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the first round beginning this weekend, returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence ended their eight-year streak.
Ottawa 3, (at) Boston 1: Jiri Smejkal scored his first career goal midway through the second period and Jakob Chychrun scored again for Ottawa less than a minute later in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Artem Zub added an empty-net goal with 1:48 remaining and Anton Forsberg had 34 saves for the Senators, who avoided a three-game season sweep by Boston had a chance of spoiling the Bruins’ hopes of clinching the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins (47-20-15) led second-place Florida by a point entering Tuesday night. Boston blew back-to-back chances to clinch the division by getting shut out by Washington 2-0 on Monday, then a home loss to the Senators on Tuesday night.
Pavel Zacha scored Boston’s only goal. Linus Ullmark finished with 17 saves for the Bruins.
(At) Columbus 6, Carolina 3: Zach Werenski had two goals and two assists, Jet Greaves made 38 saves and Columbus beat a diminished version of playoff-bound Carolina.
The Hurricanes, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division, rested eight regulars in the meaningless regular-season finale.
Carolina finished with 111 points at 52-23-7, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the division champion New York Rangers. The Hurricanes reached the postseason for the sixth straight year.
At least it wasn’t another loss for last-place Columbus, which had another season marred by injuries that sidelined top players, including the two goaltenders. The Blue Jackets missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
(At) Florida 5, Toronto 2: Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored 10 seconds apart midway through the second period, and Florida beat Toronto.
With the victory and Boston’s 3-1 loss to Ottawa, Florida clinched the Atlantic Division title. The Panthers (52-24-6) finished the season with a four-game win streak to make up a five-point deficit in the standings.
Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour also scored for Florida, and Anthony Stolarz made 24 saves.
The Panthers will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round of the playoffs.
John Tavares and Noah Gregor scored for the Maple Leafs (46-25-10), and Joseph Woll made 37 stops.
Toronto is locked into the Atlantic Division’s third seed. It will play Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
(At) Winnipeg 4, Seattle 3: Kyle Connor (Michigan) scored twice and Tyler Toffoli broke a third-period tie to lift Winnipeg to a key victory over Seattle.
The win clinched second place in the Central Division for the Jets and home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche.
Winnipeg (51-24-6) also stretched its win streak to seven in front of its eighth sold-out crowd of the season at Canada Life Centre.
(At) Vegas 3, Chicago 1: Brayden McNabb, Michael Amadio and Nicolas Roy scored, and Vegas moved into third place in the Pacific Division after defeating Chicago.
The Knights, who have won three consecutive games, are one point ahead of Los Angeles. If Vegas beats Anaheim on Thursday, the Knights will clinch that spot and face Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings host the Blackhawks in their season finale on Thursday night.
Logan Thompson made 23 saves for Vegas. He was working on his second shutout of the season before Jason Dickinson scored for Chicago with 3:58 to go.
(At) Vancouver 4, Calgary 1: Tyler Myers had a goal an an assist, Thatcher Demko stopped 39 shots in his return from a knee injury and Vancouver beat Calgary to clinch the Pacific Division title.
Nils Hoglander, Dakota Joshua and J.T. Miller also scored to help Vancouver win a division for the first time since 2013. The Canucks are two points behind Dallas for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference, and both teams have one game remaining.
Brayden Pachal scored for the Flames and Jacob Markstrom had 27 saves.
Demko missed 14 games since suffering an injury in Vancouver’s 5-0 win over Winnipeg on March 9.
Sabres fire coach Granato
Seven months after general manager Kevyn Adams declared the Sabres’ competitive window of opportunity as being open, it slammed shut on coach Don Granato, who was fired on Tuesday.
Expressing his frustration and impatience, Adams launched what now stands as the team’s eighth coaching search in 12 years by targeting someone with NHL experience to inspire a young but underperforming team that extended the franchise’s league-record playoff drought to a 13th season.
“It’s go time. It’s time to perform on an individual level and a team level. We have to be better,” Adams said. “I believe we have a talented group of players that now we need to take the next step, which is obviously getting in the playoffs and going from there.”
Though crediting Granato for developing much of the Sabres' young core during his three-plus seasons behind the bench, Adams believes his players now need a more seasoned voice behind the bench.
“I’m not going to get in the names. I think it’s a challenge to do that and unfair. I think what you need to know is that as I walk out of here, know I have a plan,” Adams said, referring to his list of candidates. “We’re right there and we’re on the cusp and it’s going to be up to us. It’s going to be hard but that’s the best part.”
Granato was fired less than 12 hours after the Sabres closed their season with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay. The team finished with a 39-37-6 record and had been eliminated from playoff contention last week.
The 56-year-old Granato was a first-time NHL head coach, who took over first on an interim basis during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2021 season after Ralph Krueger was fired. Granato had two seasons left on his contact and finished with a record of 122-125-27 in Buffalo.
The team also announced the firing of assistant coach Jason Christie and video coordinator Matt Smith.
Potential candidates with NHL experience to replace Granato include former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube, former New York Rangers and Vegas coach Gerard Gallant, and 69-year-old Bruce Boudreau, who has been out of a job since being fired by Vancouver last season.
Another candidate who fits Adams' vision is former Sabres coach and player Lindy Ruff, who was fired by New Jersey in March. Ruff, who was fired by the Sabres during the lockout shortened 2012 season, led Buffalo to eight playoff berths – including a Stanley Cup Final in 1999 – during his 14-plus seasons.
Avs captain Landeskog watches practice
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog attended team meetings Tuesday and watched practice from the bench.
His coach, however, says he's “not close” to becoming a participant.
The 31-year-old Landeskog had cartilage replacement surgery on his right knee last May and is missing a second straight season. The Avalanche have one more regular season contest – Thursday against Edmonton – before starting a first-round playoff series with Winnipeg.
“Nothing’s really changed with him," coach Jared Bednar said. "His focus and determination to do everything he can to get back to play is still the same as I’ve seen it before. He’s going be dedicated to what he needs to do in order to try and come back into our lineup.”
Bednar said last month the team had a potential return date in mind for Landeskog – sometime in the playoff range – but nothing more concrete. The Swedish standout hasn’t played since the Stanley Cup clincher at Tampa Bay on June 26, 2022.
Landeskog has been the team's captain for a dozen seasons. Colorado hasn't named a temporary captain in his absence. Instead, they've been relying on the veteran leadership of players such as Andrew Cogliano, along with the assistant captains like Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar.
“Landy’s been involved. He was in the meeting this morning,” Bednar said. "He’s had input in some of those meetings. Obviously, he's not around every day. Our leadership is done by committee because, if you look at our personnel, we’ve got a lot of really good players that played major roles with us that are highly committed to what we’re doing and trying to have success.
“They’re all vocal and they all lead in different ways.”
Bruins broadcaster Edwards to retire
Jack Edwards is retiring after 19 years as the Boston Bruins' play-by-play announcer, the team announced Tuesday.
Edwards has described the position broadcasting for the Bruins on NESN as his “dream job,” which he started in 2005 after spending more than a decade at ESPN. He will continue calling Bruins games through the end of the playoffs.
The 67-year-old Edwards has struggled recently with slowed speech, for which he has received therapy. He spoke about the issue to The Boston Globe in February.
Edwards was recognized before the Bruins’ regular-season finale against the Ottawa Senators and presented with a golden stick in honor of his nearly two decades with the team. Edwards put his hand over his heart in thanks and lifted the stick up as fans cheered during the pregame ceremony.
A New Hampshire native and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Edwards said he grew up a Bruins fan and was grateful to finish out his 45-year broadcasting career covering the club.
“I retire from broadcasting not with a heavy heart, but gratefulness for a 19-year-long joyride,” Edwards said in a release. “I owe my career, my own pursuit of happiness, to the love and support of my family. I thank every member of the Bruins and NESN for your loyalty, helping me to achieve and live out a lifetime goal, high above the ice.”
Michigan-area hockey this week
Tuesday
▶ Red Wings 5, Montreal 4 (OT)
Wednesday
▶ Grand Rapids at Iowa, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Friday
▶ Grand Rapids at Iowa, 8 (AHL/96.1)
Saturday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Sweden in Finland, world U18s exhibition
Sunday
▶ Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, 5 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Monday
▶ Red Wings 5, Montreal 4 (OT)