DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings today assigned left wing Drew Miller to the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins. Additionally, the Red Wings removed center Dylan Larkin from injured reserve.
Miller has skated in 35 games with the Red Wings this season, recording six points (5-1-6) and 14 penalty minutes. The 32-year-old has totaled 106 points (56-50-106) and 484 games since joining the Red Wings in 2009-10 and has recorded 121 career points (62-59-121) in 551 NHL games between the Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning since making his NHL debut in 2006-07. Miller has also tallied 13 points (6-7-13) in 60 Stanley Cup playoff games, and helped the Ducks to a Stanley Cup championship in 2007, skating in three games as a first-year pro.
Originally drafted by Anaheim in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Miller skated in 163 American Hockey League games from 2005-09 for the Portland Pirates and Iowa Chops, notching 110 points (55-55-110) and 73 penalty minutes. Born in Dover, N.J., but raised in East Lansing, Mich., Miller spent three seasons with the Michigan State Spartans from 2003-06 and recorded 86 points (39-47-86) in 125 games. He was named the CCHA's Best Defensive Forward and won the CCHA Humanitarian Award in 2006. He also skated for the Braehead Clan in the United Kingdom's top professional league in 2012-13, totaling 30 points (15-15-30) in 25 games.
- Detroit Red Wings.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Preds Activate Granberg, Assign Him to Milwaukee
Granberg missed the previous six games to injury. He has played in 10 games for the Predators this season and recorded 10 penalty minutes. Granberg has appeared in 18 contests for Milwaukee and registered 12 penalty minutes.
The Preds return to the ice tonight at Pittsburgh in their first game after the All-Star break. The game will be televised at 6:00 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Tennessee and can be heard on the Predators' flagship radio station, 102.5 The Game.
- Nashville Predators PR.
Alain Vigneault gets extension from Rangers
Vigneault, 55, is 175-97-23 since becoming Rangers coach in 2013. In his first season the Rangers reached the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
The Rangers are 31-17-1 this season, fourth in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 165 goals, the second-most in the NHL. They play the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG 2, FS-O, NHL.TV).
In 1,101 NHL games, Vigneault is 597-385-84 with 35 ties with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and Rangers in 15 seasons.
- NHL
Report: Rangers give head coach Alain Vigneault extension
Vigneault also has reportedly been given a $2 million raise on his contract.
Heading into Tuesday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Vigneault has a 173-97-23 record coaching the Rangers since he started coaching the team in the 2013-14 season. He started to coach the Vancouver Canucks in 2006-07, going 313-170-57 coaching them. From 1997-98 to 2000-01, Vigneault coached the Montreal Canadiens, recording a 109-118-35-4 coaching record with the Canadiens.
Vigneault won a Western Conference championship with the Canucks in 2010-11, going 54-19-9 that season. He also won an Eastern Conference championship with the Rangers in 2013-14, going 35-41-6.
Vigneault also won a Presidents Trophy with the Rangers in their 2014-15 campaign, going 53-22-7.
Vigneault was a Jack Adams Award winner in 2007.
Heading into Tuesday night, the Rangers are 31-17-1 this season.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Wayne Simmonds leads 3 Stars of the Week
NEW YORK - Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks left wing Patrick Marleau and Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending Jan. 29.
FIRST STAR - WAYNE SIMMONDS, RW, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Simmonds earned MVP honors at Sunday's 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game and also registered two goals in two contests earlier in the week with the Flyers (25-19-6, 56 points). Making his All-Star Game debut in the city where he played his first three NHL seasons, Simmonds scored twice in the Metropolitan Division's 10-6 semifinal win over the Atlantic Division before potting the tournament-clinching goal in a 4-3 triumph against the Pacific Division in the final. Earlier in the week, Simmonds notched the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers Jan. 25 and again found the back of the net in a 2-1 triumph against the Toronto Maple Leafs Jan. 26. The 28-year-old Scarborough, Ont., native paces the Flyers and shares ninth place in the NHL with 21 goals in 50 games this season (21-17-38).
SECOND STAR - PATRICK MARLEAU, LW, SAN JOSE SHARKS
Marleau led the NHL with five goals and six points in three games to power the Pacific Division-leading Sharks (31-17-2, 64 points) to a pair of wins. He tied a League record with four goals in one period (the 3rd) of a 5-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche Jan. 23, becoming the 12th player in NHL history to achieve the feat and first since Jan. 26, 1997 (Mario Lemieux). Marleau added one goal in a 4-3 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets Jan. 24 and one assist in a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Jan. 26. The 37-year-old Aneroid, Sask., native ranks fifth among active players with 498-564-1,062 in 1,461 career games played, including 17-9-26 in 50 outings this season.
THIRD STAR - FREDERIK ANDERSEN, G, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Andersen earned two shutouts in as many appearances, stopping all 48 shots he faced, to propel the Maple Leafs (23-15-9, 55 points) to two victories in three contests. He turned aside 26 shots in a 4-0 triumph against the Calgary Flames Jan. 23 and made 22 saves in a 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings Jan. 25. In doing so, Andersen posted consecutive shutouts for the first time in his NHL career (164 GP). The 27-year-old Herning, Denmark, native - who is in his first campaign with the Maple Leafs - owns a 21-10-8 record with a 2.55 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and three shutouts in 39 games this season.
News & Notes: Wayne Simmonds leads Metropolitan to All-Star win
Wayne Simmonds scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:58 remaining in regulation to lift the Metropolitan Division past the Pacific Division in the final of the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Staples Center.
* By virtue of its championship, the Metropolitan Division, coached by Hockey Hall of Fame member Wayne Gretzky, claimed the winner-take-all $1 million prize for the tournament.
* Simmonds, who scored twice in the Metropolitan Division's semifinal win, earned MVP honors and, as a result, a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. A second-round pick (No. 61) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL Draft, Simmonds played his first three NHL seasons for the Kings before a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers.
* "It's all pretty surreal," said Simmonds, who was making his All-Star Game debut. "I don't even know if I realize what's going on right now, but it's pretty cool."
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
PACIFIC DIVISION 10, Central Division 3 (SF)
Metropolitan Division 10, ATLANTIC DIVISION 6 (SF)
Metropolitan Division 4, PACIFIC DIVISION 3 (F)
ALL-STAR GAME QUICK HITS
* The Metropolitan Division advanced to the final by defeating the Atlantic Division in its first game, led by two goals and two assists each by Cam Atkinson and John Tavares.
* The Pacific Division defeated the Central Division in the opening semifinal, guided by one goal and two assists apiece by Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty of the hometown Kings.
* After capturing the title in 2016 with the Pacific Division, Metropolitan Division forward Taylor Hall became the only player to win both All-Star Games played under the 3-on-3 format.
ICYMI: 100 GREATEST NHL PLAYERS PARTICIPATE IN LEGENDARY PUCK DROP
Members of the newly announced 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian joined the 2017 All-Stars for a legendary puck drop prior to the All-Star tournament Sunday.
Visit NHL.com/100 to view the complete list of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian.
SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Washington @ NY Islanders, 7 p.m., CSN-DC+, MSG+, NHL.TV
Columbus @ NY Rangers, 7 p.m., FS-O, MSG 2, NHL.TV
Nashville @ Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., FS-TN, ROOT, NHL.TV
Philadelphia @ Carolina, 7 p.m., CSN-PH, FS-CR, NHL.TV
Buffalo @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., MSG-B, SNE, RDS, NHL.TV
New Jersey @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m., MSG+ 2, FS-D, NHL.TV
Boston @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., SN, SN1, TVA Sports, NESN, SUN, NHL.TV
Ottawa @ Florida, 7:30 p.m., TSN5, RDS2, FS-F, NHL.TV
Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 8 p.m., TSN3, FS-MW, NHL.TV
Toronto @ Dallas, 8:30 p.m., SNO, FS-SW, NHL.TV
Minnesota @ Edmonton, 9 p.m., FS-N, FS-WI, SNW, NHL.TV
Los Angeles @ Arizona, 9 p.m., FS-W, FS-A, NHL.TV
Colorado @ Anaheim, 10 p.m., SN, SN1, ALT, PRIME, NHL.TV
Chicago @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., CSN-CH, CSN-CA, NHL.TV
REGULAR SEASON RESUMES WITH 14-GAME SLATE
The 2016-17 regular season resumes Tuesday with 28 of the 30 teams in action. A look at where clubs stand with 60.1 percent (739 of 1,230 games played) of the season in the books:
* Twenty-four of the League's 30 teams are within six points of a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The top 10 teams in the NHL standings are separated by nine points.
* The top three teams in the Pacific Division are separated by one point.
* The top four teams in the Metropolitan Division are separated by nine points.
* Teams 2-6 in the Atlantic Division are separated by eight points.
* Teams 3-6 in the Central Division are separated by six points.
- NHL Public Relations
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Hurricanes Recall Eddie Lack from Charlotte
Lack, 29, was assigned to Charlotte for a conditioning stint on Thursday after missing 26 of the Hurricanes' last 30 games due to a concussion. In two games with the Checkers, Lack allowed just three goals in 120 minutes of work, good for a 1-1-0 record, 1.50 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage. The Norrtälje, Sweden, native is 1-2-1 with a 3.78 goals-against average in five games for the Hurricanes this season. Lack has appeared in 121 career NHL games with Vancouver and Carolina, going 47-46-16 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
Metropolitan defeats Pacific in All-Star Game final
Simmonds, who was named the MVP, took a 2-on-1 pass from Taylor Hall and beat goalie Mike Smith with 4:58 remaining to give the Metropolitan a 4-3 lead.
The goal came directly off the faceoff after a television timeout. Atkinson scored on his own rebound before the timeout.
The Pacific Division, the defending NHL All-Star Game champion, made a last-ditch effort to tie the game and had its best chance in the final minute when Ryan Kesler's shot hit the post behind goalie Braden Holtby.
The Metropolitan Division players will split a $1 million prize.
Pacific Division captain Connor McDavid and Bo Horvat scored goals late in the first half to give the Pacific Division a 3-2 lead at the intermission.
The Pacific Division thought it had gone ahead 4-2 at 3:24 of the second half on a shot from Kesler, but the goal was disallowed after Metropolitan coach Wayne Gretzky challenged and video review determined that McDavid was offside.
Defensemen Seth Jones and Justin Faulk scored for the Metropolitan Division in the first half.
Joe Pavelski scored 22 seconds into the game to give the Pacific Division a 1-0 lead.
Sergei Bobrovsky played the first half for the Metropolitan Division. Martin Jones was in goal for the Pacific Division in the first half.
- NHL.com.
Pacific team beats Central team
The Pacific division team is moving on after a 10-3 win over the Central division team in the 1st game at the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday.
Jonathan Toews, Vladimir Tarasenko and PK Subban scored for the Central, while Johnny Gaudreau (2), Jor Pavelski, Bo Horvat, Ryan Kesler, Jeff Carter, Connor McDavid, Cam Fowler, Drew Doughty and Brent Burns scored for the Pacific.
Martin Jones made seven saves for the Pacific, and Mike Smith made 2 for the Pacific as well.
Devan Dubnyk and Corey Crawford each made six saves for the Central.
Big goalie, little kid dominate All-Star Skills Competition
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Hockey Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Big Mike Smith and little Ryker Kesler stole the show at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
The towering Arizona goalie scored a 188-foot goal during the Four Line Challenge on Saturday night, and the 6-year-old son of Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler scored on Montreal goalie Carey Price during the Shootout.
The Atlantic Division won the overall competition and chose to face the Metropolitan Division on Sunday in the second semifinal period of the All-Star Game, which was changed last year to a 3-on-3 tournament among teams from each of the NHL's four divisions.
NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid won the Fastest Skater competition, and Montreal defenseman Shea Weber had the hardest shot in the All-Star field for the third consecutive season, albeit with his lowest speed yet. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby won the Accuracy Shooting competition, and he joined Weber and Boston's Brad Marchand as the only adults to score in the shootout.
The event ended with a shootout competition between the Atlantic and Pacific teams, but just four of the 20 skaters scored. One of them was Ryker, who beat the grinning Price five-hole and celebrated with a two-fisted pump that he learned from his All-Star dad, who filmed him on his phone.
"I was more nervous than him watching," Ryan Kesler said.
The best early moment belonged to Smith, who lived every goalie's dream when he shot a puck from the crease into a tiny slot at ice level in the middle of the far net. Before Ryker Kesler seized control of the shootout, Smith's goal was the most memorable moment of this relaxed Saturday afternoon of annual silliness preceding the game Sunday.
"I didn't really have a strategy," Smith said. "I was really focused on just hitting the board, but it kind of curled in at the last second, and I couldn't believe it, to be honest. I was just as shocked as everyone else."
Smith already showed off his shooting skills while scoring a goal into an empty net for the Coyotes in October 2013, but this one had much less margin for error.
"The look on (Vancouver All-Star) Bo Horvat's face when I looked over at him was pretty priceless," Smith said. "I'm sure mine was, too, to see it go in. But it was something I'll remember for a long time. My family was here to witness it, too, so they can believe me."
Smith's shot was the highlight of the Four Line Challenge, the newest addition to the Skills Competition. Essentially a version of the on-ice promotions all around the world that turn hockey into a variant of miniature golf, the NHL stars largely missed the tiny targets until Smith let loose with his stunner.
Ryker Kesler also got his dad's turn in the Four Line Challenge, but missed from mid-ice.
Turns out he was just getting warmed up.
McDavid, who's only 14 years older than Ryker, also added another honor to his rapidly growing list, easily beating his seven competitors in a lap around the ice to prove his superior speed. He beat Colorado speedster Nate MacKinnon during their head-to-head race, but fell just short of Dylan Larkin's NHL speed record during his second lap.
The Edmonton Oilers captain will appear in his first All-Star Game on Sunday after missing last year's festivities due to a broken collarbone.
Crosby and Toronto rookie Auston Matthews only needed five shots apiece to hit the four targets in the Accuracy contest, but Crosby did it more quickly.
AP Hockey Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Big Mike Smith and little Ryker Kesler stole the show at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
The towering Arizona goalie scored a 188-foot goal during the Four Line Challenge on Saturday night, and the 6-year-old son of Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler scored on Montreal goalie Carey Price during the Shootout.
The Atlantic Division won the overall competition and chose to face the Metropolitan Division on Sunday in the second semifinal period of the All-Star Game, which was changed last year to a 3-on-3 tournament among teams from each of the NHL's four divisions.
NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid won the Fastest Skater competition, and Montreal defenseman Shea Weber had the hardest shot in the All-Star field for the third consecutive season, albeit with his lowest speed yet. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby won the Accuracy Shooting competition, and he joined Weber and Boston's Brad Marchand as the only adults to score in the shootout.
The event ended with a shootout competition between the Atlantic and Pacific teams, but just four of the 20 skaters scored. One of them was Ryker, who beat the grinning Price five-hole and celebrated with a two-fisted pump that he learned from his All-Star dad, who filmed him on his phone.
"I was more nervous than him watching," Ryan Kesler said.
The best early moment belonged to Smith, who lived every goalie's dream when he shot a puck from the crease into a tiny slot at ice level in the middle of the far net. Before Ryker Kesler seized control of the shootout, Smith's goal was the most memorable moment of this relaxed Saturday afternoon of annual silliness preceding the game Sunday.
"I didn't really have a strategy," Smith said. "I was really focused on just hitting the board, but it kind of curled in at the last second, and I couldn't believe it, to be honest. I was just as shocked as everyone else."
Smith already showed off his shooting skills while scoring a goal into an empty net for the Coyotes in October 2013, but this one had much less margin for error.
"The look on (Vancouver All-Star) Bo Horvat's face when I looked over at him was pretty priceless," Smith said. "I'm sure mine was, too, to see it go in. But it was something I'll remember for a long time. My family was here to witness it, too, so they can believe me."
Smith's shot was the highlight of the Four Line Challenge, the newest addition to the Skills Competition. Essentially a version of the on-ice promotions all around the world that turn hockey into a variant of miniature golf, the NHL stars largely missed the tiny targets until Smith let loose with his stunner.
Ryker Kesler also got his dad's turn in the Four Line Challenge, but missed from mid-ice.
Turns out he was just getting warmed up.
McDavid, who's only 14 years older than Ryker, also added another honor to his rapidly growing list, easily beating his seven competitors in a lap around the ice to prove his superior speed. He beat Colorado speedster Nate MacKinnon during their head-to-head race, but fell just short of Dylan Larkin's NHL speed record during his second lap.
The Edmonton Oilers captain will appear in his first All-Star Game on Sunday after missing last year's festivities due to a broken collarbone.
Crosby and Toronto rookie Auston Matthews only needed five shots apiece to hit the four targets in the Accuracy contest, but Crosby did it more quickly.
News & Notes: NHL All-Star Game ready for Los Angeles
A $1-million prize is on the line during the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game, which takes over Hollywood and Staples Center on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVA Sports).
For the second straight year, all four divisions will compete in a 3-on-3 tournament, with each game 20 minutes in length. Teams -- comprised of six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders -- will change ends at the 10-minute mark of each contest. Games that are tied after 20 minutes will be decided by a shootout.
The Atlantic Division won the 2017 Coors Light NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday and opted to face the Metropolitan Division in the second semifinal. The Pacific Division will play the Central Division in the opening game of the tournament. The two winners will advance to the final to determine the overall tournament champion.
... GRETZKY STEPS IN AS COACH OF METROPOLITAN DIVISION
The NHL announced that Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky will serve as coach of the Metropolitan Division for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game in place of Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella.
"The League came to me [Friday] night and said, 'Would you like to coach?' and I said, 'Sure,'" Gretzky said. "Playing in the All-Star Game is a privilege and a pleasure, and the chance to be around it and part of it [today] ... I'm excited and I'm really looking forward to it."
ATLANTIC DIVISION PREVAILS IN NHL ALL-STAR SKILLS COMPETITION
The Atlantic Division defeated the Pacific Division, 4-1, in the Discover NHL Shootout to win the 2017 Coors Light NHL All-Star Skills Competition and earn the right to select both its first opponent and when its semifinal matchup will be played during the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game.
Among the highlights:
* Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith scored from the far goal line in the Honda NHL Four Line Challenge.
* Edmonton Oilers and Pacific Division captain Connor McDavid skated a 13.02-second lap to win the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater.
* Ryker Kesler, the son of Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler, slipped the puck by Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price in the Discover NHL Shootout.
TEAM GRETZKY WINS NHL ALL-STAR CELEBRITY SHOOTOUT
Justin Bieber scored a goal and two points, and Cuba Gooding Jr. scored the decisive goal, to guide Team Gretzky past Team Lemieux in the 2017 NHL All-Star Celebrity Shootout, a charity game featuring 21 members from the recently announced 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian.
The game benefited Echoes of Hope, a nonprofit organization founded by Luc and Stacia Robitaille that strives to inspire hope in the lives of at-risk and emancipated foster youth.
- NHL Public Relations.
2017 NHL All-Star Skills Competition Result
Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay
Central Division vs. Pacific Division
One Timers: Keith, Suter, Tarasenko vs. Pavelski, Kesler, Carter
Passing: Toews vs. Doughty
Puck Control: Seguin vs. Fowler
Stick-Handling: Kane vs. Gaudreau
Goalie Goals: Dubnyk vs. Smith
Central Division Time: 1:44.03 / Pacific Division Time: 2:03.12
Atlantic Division vs. Metropolitan Division
One Timers: Karlsson, Trocheck, Okposo vs. S. Jones, Ovechkin, Simmonds
Passing: Nielsen vs. Tavares
Puck Control: Marchand vs. Faulk
Stick-Handling: Matthews vs. Crosby
Goalie Goals: Price vs. Holtby
Atlantic Division Time: 1:39.69 / Metropolitan Division Time: 1:21.70
Points Available: 3 - The team with the fastest time in each heat scores one point; the team with the fastest overall time scores one bonus point.
Score through first event: Metropolitan 2, Central 1, Atlantic 0, Pacific 0
Honda NHL Four Line Challenge
Shooter 1: (Near blue line): Kucherov (Atlantic) 0-for-2; McDonagh (Metropolitan) 0-for-2; Suter (Central) 1-for-2, 1 point; Pavelski (Pacific) 0-for-2
Shooter 2: (Center line): Karlsson (Atlantic) 0-for-2, Simmonds (Metropolitan) 1-for-2, 1 point; Seguin (Central) 0-for-2, Burns (Pacific) 1-for-3, 3 points
Shooter 3: (Far blue line): Marchand (Atlantic) 0-for-2, Hall (Metropolitan) 0-for-2, Subban (Central) 0-for-2, Kesler (Pacific) 0-for-2
Shooter 4: (Goal line): Weber/Price (Atlantic) 0-for-2; Holtby (Metropolitan) 0-for-2; MacKinnon/Crawford (Central) 0-for-2; Smith (Pacific) 1-2, 30 points
Pacific wins event. Pacific 23, Metropolitan 1, Central 1, Atlantic 0
Points Available: 1 - The Team with most points at end of event scores one point.
Score through two events: Metropolitan 2, Central 1, Pacific 1, Atlantic 0
DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting
Atlantic Division vs. Metropolitan Division
Okposo (15.970) vs. Tavares (26.800) - Atlantic wins 1 point
Matthews (12.280) vs. Crosby (10.730) - Metropolitan wins 1 point
Central Division vs. Pacific Division
Laine (21.820) vs. McDavid (15.640) - Pacific wins 1 point
Kane (18.950) vs. Carter (17.660) - Pacific wins 1 point
Points Available: 6 -The winner of each match-up scores one point; the player who hits all four targets in the fastest time scores the bonus point for his team. If a player breaks Daniel Sedin's record of 7.3 seconds, they score one bonus point for their team.
Metropolitan gets bonus point for fastest overall.
Score through three events: Metropolitan 4, Pacific 3, Central 1, Atlantic 1
Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater
Atlantic Division vs. Metropolitan Division
Kucherov (13.160) vs. Atkinson (13.330) - Atlantic wins 1 point
Trocheck (13.320) vs. Simmonds (13.650) - Atlantic wins 1 point
Central Division vs. Pacific Division
Laine (13.420) vs. Horvat (13.430) - Central wins 1 point
MacKinnon (13.620) vs. McDavid (13.020) - Pacific wins 1 point
Points Available: 6 - The winner of each match-up scores one point; the team with the fastest skater scores a bonus point; if the fastest skater is successful in breaking Dylan Larkin's record of 13.172 seconds, an additional bonus point will be awarded to his team.
Pacific wins bonus point for fastest overall time.
Points awarded. Atlantic 2, Metropolitan 0, Central 1, Pacific 2
Score through four events: Pacific 5, Metropolitan 4, Atlantic 3, Central 2
Oscar Mayer NHL Hardest Shot
Atlantic Division vs. Metropolitan Division
Hedman (94.2) vs. S. Jones (98.1) - Metropolitan wins 1 point
Weber (102.8) vs. Ovechkin (97.8) - Atlantic wins 1 point
Central Division vs. Pacific Division
Laine (101.7) vs. Burns (97.7) - Central wins 1 point
MacKinnon (92.3) vs. Doughty (94.6) - Pacific wins 1 point
Points Available: 6 - The winner of each match-up scores one point; the team with the player who has the hardest shot scores one bonus point; if a player breaks Zdeno Chara's record of 108.8 mph, they score one bonus point for their team.
Atlantic wins bonus point for hardest overall shot.
Points awarded: Atlantic 2, Metropolitan 1, Central 1, Pacific 1
Score through five events: Pacific 6, Atlantic 5, Metropolitan 5, Central 3
** Metropolitan, Central eliminated **
Discover NHL Shootout
Nine skaters and two goaltenders from each of the top-scoring teams from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference will participate.
Pacific Division vs. Atlantic Division
Marchand vs. Smith, goal, 1 pt
Doughty vs. Price, miss, 0 pts
Kucherov vs. Smith, miss, 0 pts
Pavelski vs. Price, miss, 0 pts
Hedman vs. Smith, miss, 0 pts
Horvat vs. Price, miss, 0 pts
Weber vs. Smith, goal, 1 pt
Nielsen vs. Smith, miss, 0 pts
Kesler's kid vs. Price, goal, 1 pt
Karlsson vs. Jones, miss, 0 pts
McDavid vs. Rask, miss, 0 pts
Okposo vs. Jones, miss, 0 pts
Gaudreau vs. Rask, miss, 0 pts
Crosby (Discover pick shooter) vs. Jones, goal, 2 pts
Kane (Discover pick shooter) vs. Rask, miss, 0 pts
Trocheck vs. Jones, miss, 0 pts
Burns vs. Rask, miss, 0 pts
Matthews vs. Jones, miss, 0 pts
Carter vs. Rask, miss, 0 pts
Points Available: 1 point for every goal scored; 2 points for every goal scored with a Discover puck.
Atlantic wins Shootout 4-1.
Final Skills Competition score: Atlantic 4, Pacific 1
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Wayne Gretzky to coach Metropolitan Division All-Star team
Tortorella announced earlier this week that he would not coach the game. He also was not with the Blue Jackets for their final game before the All-Star break, a 4-3 loss at the Nashville Predators.
Over the course of four coaching seasons, all with the Arizona Coyotes, Gretzky has a record of 143-161-24.
In his NHL playing career, Gretzky has 894 goals and 1963 assists for 2857 points.
Ron Francis: 100 Greatest NHL Players
by Stu Hackel / Special to NHL.com.
It was easy for Ron Francis to be "Captain Class," a moniker Sports Illustrated once hung on him. He only needed to be himself.
"In a sports era that celebrates the loud, the lewd, the boorish and the belly-pierced, Francis has quietly slipped through the cracks and into the record books," Gerry Callahan wrote in his 1997 Sports Illustrated profile of Francis. "He has flourished without an act, an attitude or a designer ego."
Open those record books and you'll find that Ron Francis became one the most prolific players in NHL history, residing in hockey's stratosphere alongside the game's greatest names. When, at age 41, he concluded his 23-season career in 2004 -- having starred in his own selfless way for the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and, very briefly, Toronto Maple Leafs -- his 1,798 points were the fourth most in NHL history; he trailed Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Gordie Howe. He was ranked 19th in goals with 549 and had 22 consecutive 50-point seasons, equaling Howe's record. He is second only to Gretzky (1,963) in assists and third behind Howe (1,767) and Messier (1,756) in games played.
Yet somehow, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee is seldom top-of-mind when the very best NHL players are discussed. Francis accomplished it all with such efficiency and grace that he was easily the most overlooked superstar of his era.
"If it's possible to be the No. 2 man in assists and be underrated, Ronnie was," Ray Ferraro, a Whalers teammate from 1984-90, told the Hartford Courant in 2005. "He was so understated. He didn't beat his chest and tell everybody how good he was. And he was almost elegant in the way he played."
He was also a leader, largely by example, both on and off the ice. His own unpretentious personality did not produce gobs of media attention, but Francis was quite content using his considerable talents to make those around him better.
"I understand that my game in itself was not dominating like a Gretzky or a Lemieux or Messier," he said in 2006. "I never had the physical talent or ability to dominate a situation, but I used my talents and drew from the best of my teammates' abilities." This was Francis's way of recognizing how he elevated others, one of his greatest traits.
A parade of top scoring forwards benefitted from Francis's knack for getting them the puck: Kevin Dineen, Sylvain Turgeon and Pat Verbeek of the Whalers; Jaromir Jagr and Joe Mullen of the Penguins; and Jeff O'Neill of the Hurricanes among them. Even Lemieux would play wing on Francis' line - each finishing with 92 assists in 1995-96 -- in a marvelous trio with Jagr on the other side.
When a 41-year old-Jagr joined the Devils in 2013, he told Rich Chere of The Newark Star-Ledger about playing with Francis and what he learned from him regarding being a pro.
"Five-on-five, Ronnie Francis was my centerman for seven or eight years in Pittsburgh. He probably assisted on most of the goals I scored," Jagr said. "He gave me that extra confidence. … Even if I didn't feel very well or if I played bad, I knew he could always make me look good. That's what I want to be for the guys I play with.
"I remember my first scoring title (in 1995). I needed to score a point. He had the flu. We'd played together for a long time. He shouldn't have played, but he played for me so I felt comfortable. I scored and won the scoring [title]. He told me after the game [how he felt], but he didn't show you that."
Francis also excelled in some of the game's subtle arts. His body positioning and quick hands made him one of hockey's best tip-in goal scorers. He checked top forwards as well as he produced points and did so cleanly, staying out of the penalty box. He was among the best faceoff men in the League, learning the tendencies not just of opposing centers but also the officials who dropped the puck. He also positioned his teammates to win the puck after it was dropped.
Most of all, Francis had a very high hockey IQ. "He sees things on the ice that sometimes as a coach you wait to see on video," Paul Maurice, who coached him in Carolina, told Bob Foltman of The Chicago Tribune. "He's an incredibly bright hockey man."
And he contributed mightily to the Penguins' two consecutive Stanley Cup championships, playing his best hockey at the most critical moments, especially in 1992 when Mario Lemieux broke his hand in the second round of the playoffs. "Our whole team hung in there but it was Ron Francis who steered the ship," Pierre McGuire, an assistant coach of those Penguins teams, told author Kevin Allen in the 2009 book "Then Wayne Said to Mario …"
Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on March 1, 1963, Francis came from a blue-collar background -- his father, Ron, worked in a local steel mill for 40 years -- that served as the source of his work ethic and demeanor. Staying home for junior hockey, he averaged about a point per game for the Soo Greyhounds before Hartford selected him at No. 4 in the 1981 NHL Draft. He began a second season in junior but, after averaging nearly two points a game, he was summoned by the Whalers to the NHL in mid-November of '81, where he was mentored by his roommate, future Hall of Famer Dave Keon.
A 25-goal, 43-assist first season got Hartford fans seeing him as the foundation for the club's future. They called him "Ronnie Franchise," and for nearly 10 full seasons Francis did just about everything for the Whalers. He led them in scoring five times and in assists nine times. At nearly 22 he was named captain in February 1985 and was pegged as the young, rising star who -- it was hoped -- would lift the small-market franchise to the Stanley Cup.
Then, quite suddenly, things changed after the 1989-90 season. The fans' love for him remained, but Francis' relationship with the organization frayed following a fourth straight disappointing first-round playoff knockout. Contract negotiations with new ownership and management stalled. Coach Rick Ley inexplicably stripped Francis of the captaincy. The Whalers and Francis drifted apart.
Coincidentally, for one week in late 1990, a Pittsburgh pro scout had watched the Whalers play three home games, looking for help on defense. He was most impressed with No. 10, who played a complete game, had energy and great vision, passed excellently, possessed a good shot and cleaned out opposing centers on faceoffs. He wasn't the fastest skater, but showed great balance and, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, was very hard to knock off the puck. The scout thought he'd be a terrific second center in Pittsburgh behind Mario Lemieux.
As the 1991 trade deadline neared and Hartford badly sputtered, the Whalers called around, telling teams they'd move Francis. Penguins general manager Craig Patrick pounced, acquiring him and much-needed physical defensemen Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings on March 4.
"Funny, how I went from the best thing since sliced bread last season to totally on the outs over the summer," the normally reserved Francis told the Hartford Courant when he learned of the trade. "But I'm pleased I was able to put it out of my mind and play well the last few months."
So the 27-year-old Francis, just entering the prime of his career, went to work for the Penguins. Two weeks later, after playing three games with his new team, he told Samuelsson, "Ulfie, I think we can win the Stanley Cup." He was right.
"Certainly, we weren't a championship-caliber team, in my opinion, until we made that deal," Patrick told the Penguins website 15 years later. "It was very important for us because it gave us two top centermen. Ronnie was playing No. 1 center in Hartford and to bring him here to play with Mario, when you have two guys like that, it's pretty special to have that in this League at any time."
What didn't happen in Hartford, happened in Pittsburgh -- Francis played a critical role in winning the Stanley Cup that spring and the following season too. In '91, he scored seven playoff goals, all at even strength, four of them game-winners. In the crucial Game 4 of the second round against the Rangers in '92, he had a hat trick, capped off by the overtime winner, prompting neighbors to festoon the tree in front of his house with hats. He led the NHL with 19 playoff assists that season, and the last of his eight goals was the Cup-winner against the Chicago Blackhawks.
"He had an uncanny ability to elevate at big moments in games," McGuire said. "When big games came up, his name was always on the scoresheet and always at big times in those games. He stood out in all eight playoff series."
Francis quietly starred in Pittsburgh for seven full seasons, always leading by example and twice serving as captain. He led the NHL twice in assists, was twice awarded the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship, won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward once and finished second in Selke voting another time.
Then, in 1998, he signed as a free agent with the relocated Whalers franchise, now in North Carolina -- in part, he said, to build hockey interest in a nontraditional market. He played five-plus seasons with the Hurricanes, leading them in scoring twice. In 2002 he won his third Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and the King Clancy Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions in the community. He was the Hurricanes captain for five seasons.
In 2002 the Hurricanes made their first Cup Final, and Francis led them in playoff scoring with 16 points. Of his six goals, three of them won games, including Game 1 of the Final against the Detroit Red Wings, when he scored in overtime, the biggest goal in Whalers/Hurricanes history to that point.
"His reaction to it was much like any other goal he scored," teammate Aaron Ward said. "He didn't make a mockery of it or jump up and down. He just put his stick up in the air like any other goal."
"Ronnie was a player who was the same every day and that's what amazed me," teammate Kevyn Adams said.
But Francis could surprise, too. Three weeks after the '02 Final, with Detroit having prevailed, Francis got together with Hurricanes equipment manager Skip Cunningham, who was with the Whalers when the teenage Francis broke into the NHL in '81. An appreciative Francis had mounted the puck from the overtime goal and the scoresheet on a plaque and made it a gift for Cunningham.
"Class," Cunningham said. "There's no other word for it."
He was always "Captain Class."
"In a sports era that celebrates the loud, the lewd, the boorish and the belly-pierced, Francis has quietly slipped through the cracks and into the record books," Gerry Callahan wrote in his 1997 Sports Illustrated profile of Francis. "He has flourished without an act, an attitude or a designer ego."
Open those record books and you'll find that Ron Francis became one the most prolific players in NHL history, residing in hockey's stratosphere alongside the game's greatest names. When, at age 41, he concluded his 23-season career in 2004 -- having starred in his own selfless way for the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and, very briefly, Toronto Maple Leafs -- his 1,798 points were the fourth most in NHL history; he trailed Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Gordie Howe. He was ranked 19th in goals with 549 and had 22 consecutive 50-point seasons, equaling Howe's record. He is second only to Gretzky (1,963) in assists and third behind Howe (1,767) and Messier (1,756) in games played.
Yet somehow, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee is seldom top-of-mind when the very best NHL players are discussed. Francis accomplished it all with such efficiency and grace that he was easily the most overlooked superstar of his era.
"If it's possible to be the No. 2 man in assists and be underrated, Ronnie was," Ray Ferraro, a Whalers teammate from 1984-90, told the Hartford Courant in 2005. "He was so understated. He didn't beat his chest and tell everybody how good he was. And he was almost elegant in the way he played."
He was also a leader, largely by example, both on and off the ice. His own unpretentious personality did not produce gobs of media attention, but Francis was quite content using his considerable talents to make those around him better.
"I understand that my game in itself was not dominating like a Gretzky or a Lemieux or Messier," he said in 2006. "I never had the physical talent or ability to dominate a situation, but I used my talents and drew from the best of my teammates' abilities." This was Francis's way of recognizing how he elevated others, one of his greatest traits.
A parade of top scoring forwards benefitted from Francis's knack for getting them the puck: Kevin Dineen, Sylvain Turgeon and Pat Verbeek of the Whalers; Jaromir Jagr and Joe Mullen of the Penguins; and Jeff O'Neill of the Hurricanes among them. Even Lemieux would play wing on Francis' line - each finishing with 92 assists in 1995-96 -- in a marvelous trio with Jagr on the other side.
When a 41-year old-Jagr joined the Devils in 2013, he told Rich Chere of The Newark Star-Ledger about playing with Francis and what he learned from him regarding being a pro.
"Five-on-five, Ronnie Francis was my centerman for seven or eight years in Pittsburgh. He probably assisted on most of the goals I scored," Jagr said. "He gave me that extra confidence. … Even if I didn't feel very well or if I played bad, I knew he could always make me look good. That's what I want to be for the guys I play with.
"I remember my first scoring title (in 1995). I needed to score a point. He had the flu. We'd played together for a long time. He shouldn't have played, but he played for me so I felt comfortable. I scored and won the scoring [title]. He told me after the game [how he felt], but he didn't show you that."
Francis also excelled in some of the game's subtle arts. His body positioning and quick hands made him one of hockey's best tip-in goal scorers. He checked top forwards as well as he produced points and did so cleanly, staying out of the penalty box. He was among the best faceoff men in the League, learning the tendencies not just of opposing centers but also the officials who dropped the puck. He also positioned his teammates to win the puck after it was dropped.
Most of all, Francis had a very high hockey IQ. "He sees things on the ice that sometimes as a coach you wait to see on video," Paul Maurice, who coached him in Carolina, told Bob Foltman of The Chicago Tribune. "He's an incredibly bright hockey man."
And he contributed mightily to the Penguins' two consecutive Stanley Cup championships, playing his best hockey at the most critical moments, especially in 1992 when Mario Lemieux broke his hand in the second round of the playoffs. "Our whole team hung in there but it was Ron Francis who steered the ship," Pierre McGuire, an assistant coach of those Penguins teams, told author Kevin Allen in the 2009 book "Then Wayne Said to Mario …"
Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on March 1, 1963, Francis came from a blue-collar background -- his father, Ron, worked in a local steel mill for 40 years -- that served as the source of his work ethic and demeanor. Staying home for junior hockey, he averaged about a point per game for the Soo Greyhounds before Hartford selected him at No. 4 in the 1981 NHL Draft. He began a second season in junior but, after averaging nearly two points a game, he was summoned by the Whalers to the NHL in mid-November of '81, where he was mentored by his roommate, future Hall of Famer Dave Keon.
A 25-goal, 43-assist first season got Hartford fans seeing him as the foundation for the club's future. They called him "Ronnie Franchise," and for nearly 10 full seasons Francis did just about everything for the Whalers. He led them in scoring five times and in assists nine times. At nearly 22 he was named captain in February 1985 and was pegged as the young, rising star who -- it was hoped -- would lift the small-market franchise to the Stanley Cup.
Then, quite suddenly, things changed after the 1989-90 season. The fans' love for him remained, but Francis' relationship with the organization frayed following a fourth straight disappointing first-round playoff knockout. Contract negotiations with new ownership and management stalled. Coach Rick Ley inexplicably stripped Francis of the captaincy. The Whalers and Francis drifted apart.
Coincidentally, for one week in late 1990, a Pittsburgh pro scout had watched the Whalers play three home games, looking for help on defense. He was most impressed with No. 10, who played a complete game, had energy and great vision, passed excellently, possessed a good shot and cleaned out opposing centers on faceoffs. He wasn't the fastest skater, but showed great balance and, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, was very hard to knock off the puck. The scout thought he'd be a terrific second center in Pittsburgh behind Mario Lemieux.
As the 1991 trade deadline neared and Hartford badly sputtered, the Whalers called around, telling teams they'd move Francis. Penguins general manager Craig Patrick pounced, acquiring him and much-needed physical defensemen Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings on March 4.
"Funny, how I went from the best thing since sliced bread last season to totally on the outs over the summer," the normally reserved Francis told the Hartford Courant when he learned of the trade. "But I'm pleased I was able to put it out of my mind and play well the last few months."
So the 27-year-old Francis, just entering the prime of his career, went to work for the Penguins. Two weeks later, after playing three games with his new team, he told Samuelsson, "Ulfie, I think we can win the Stanley Cup." He was right.
"Certainly, we weren't a championship-caliber team, in my opinion, until we made that deal," Patrick told the Penguins website 15 years later. "It was very important for us because it gave us two top centermen. Ronnie was playing No. 1 center in Hartford and to bring him here to play with Mario, when you have two guys like that, it's pretty special to have that in this League at any time."
What didn't happen in Hartford, happened in Pittsburgh -- Francis played a critical role in winning the Stanley Cup that spring and the following season too. In '91, he scored seven playoff goals, all at even strength, four of them game-winners. In the crucial Game 4 of the second round against the Rangers in '92, he had a hat trick, capped off by the overtime winner, prompting neighbors to festoon the tree in front of his house with hats. He led the NHL with 19 playoff assists that season, and the last of his eight goals was the Cup-winner against the Chicago Blackhawks.
"He had an uncanny ability to elevate at big moments in games," McGuire said. "When big games came up, his name was always on the scoresheet and always at big times in those games. He stood out in all eight playoff series."
Francis quietly starred in Pittsburgh for seven full seasons, always leading by example and twice serving as captain. He led the NHL twice in assists, was twice awarded the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship, won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward once and finished second in Selke voting another time.
Then, in 1998, he signed as a free agent with the relocated Whalers franchise, now in North Carolina -- in part, he said, to build hockey interest in a nontraditional market. He played five-plus seasons with the Hurricanes, leading them in scoring twice. In 2002 he won his third Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and the King Clancy Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions in the community. He was the Hurricanes captain for five seasons.
In 2002 the Hurricanes made their first Cup Final, and Francis led them in playoff scoring with 16 points. Of his six goals, three of them won games, including Game 1 of the Final against the Detroit Red Wings, when he scored in overtime, the biggest goal in Whalers/Hurricanes history to that point.
"His reaction to it was much like any other goal he scored," teammate Aaron Ward said. "He didn't make a mockery of it or jump up and down. He just put his stick up in the air like any other goal."
"Ronnie was a player who was the same every day and that's what amazed me," teammate Kevyn Adams said.
But Francis could surprise, too. Three weeks after the '02 Final, with Detroit having prevailed, Francis got together with Hurricanes equipment manager Skip Cunningham, who was with the Whalers when the teenage Francis broke into the NHL in '81. An appreciative Francis had mounted the puck from the overtime goal and the scoresheet on a plaque and made it a gift for Cunningham.
"Class," Cunningham said. "There's no other word for it."
He was always "Captain Class."
Eric Lindros: 100 Greatest NHL Players
by Nicholas J. Cotsonika / NHL.com Columnist
Eric Lindros didn't enjoy hockey because he was a great player. He was a great player because he enjoyed hockey.
The joy brought out his ability.
"There were results when I enjoyed it," he says. "When I enjoyed it, I played well."
When did he enjoy himself most?
"The '90s," he says. "Most of the '90s."
When he was healthy, happy and humming, Lindros was a dominant force. He had the skill of a small man but stood 6-feet-4, weighed 240 pounds and powered through opponents with a mean streak.
From the time he broke into the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992-93 to his final season with them in 1999-2000, he averaged 1.36 points per game. Only Mario Lemieux (2.11) and Jaromir Jagr (1.45) averaged more.
He centered John LeClair and Mikael Renberg on the "Legion of Doom" line, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1994-95 and led the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 26 points in 19 games in 1996-97, when the Flyers made the Final. He averaged 1.14 points per game in the playoffs with the Flyers.
Lindros was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.
"He, without question, was one of the best," said Keith Jones, who played with and against Lindros. "There were times and periods of time when he was the best in the game."
Even the greatest players marveled at him.
"He changed the game," Wayne Gretzky said. "When Eric came in, he was that new physical power forward that happened to have really good hands."
Mark Howe, son of Gordie Howe and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame himself, was playing defense for the Detroit Red Wings against the Flyers at the Spectrum. As he went back for a puck, he knew a young Lindros was coming. So he moved the puck and stepped aside.
Lindros didn't finish his check. Still, he was five inches and 55 pounds bigger than Howe. His shoulder grazed Howe's chin on the way by.
"I went boom, right up against the boards," Howe says. "I was seeing stars for a couple seconds. I got to the bench and said, 'Oh, my God. If he wanted to hit me, it probably would have killed me.' He was just a mountain of a man."
Lindros excelled during his first two seasons in the NHL. But he reached another level after Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke acquired LeClair in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 9, 1995. Coach Terry Murray put the 6-3, 226-pound LeClair and 6-2, 235-pound Renberg on Lindros' wings.
In the first period of their second game together, LeClair camped in front of the New Jersey Devils' net and stuffed in a pass from Lindros. After the 3-1 win, Flyers center Jim Montgomery said, "They look like the Legion of Doom out there."
The nickname stuck. If they had the puck, opponents were doomed. For three seasons, they dominated. The season after winning the Hart, Lindros set career highs with 47 goals, 68 assists and 115 points in 1995-96.
"We played similar styles," Lindros says. "We enjoyed coming to practice. We had a lot of fun at practice together, and I think that really paid off in terms of what happened on the ice during games. I think there was a direct correlation to that. You've got a group of guys that truly enjoy coming in in the morning and being around each other all the time, you're going to have much better success."
LeClair credits Lindros with raising the standard and bringing out everyone's best. If you failed on a scoring chance, he wouldn't be afraid to say, "You've got to score that." He'd say, "Practice hard. Score every drill. We're out here to play hard." Or he'd say, "Let's score every time. We're here, so let's beat these guys 3-on-3 down low. Let's beat them."
Lindros laughs about it now. Of course he does.
"It's the goal of the game, pardon the pun," he says. "Just keeping things tidy. If we're going to go through a drill, if we're going to skate and have a whole bunch of regroups and go all the way up and down that ice a whole bunch of times, let's finish it off with a goal."
The Flyers traded Renberg to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 20, 1997. The Legion of Doom was done. But Lindros and LeClair were not.
Jones arrived via trade from the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 12, 1998. He says he had one good knee and another "hanging on by a thread" at the time. But coach Roger Neilson decided to try him with Lindros and LeClair in his first game.
"I'm thinking, 'Perfect. Get me out there,'" Jones says.
The first two periods didn't go well. But Lindros kept encouraging Jones, and in the third, Jones scored on Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur for the first time in his career and had an assist in a 6-1 victory for the Flyers. After going without a point in his last seven games with the Avalanche, Jones had 10 points in his first six with the Flyers.
"All of that was on the back of Eric," Jones says. "Believe me, I was almost done in Colorado. So that's how good he was. He could make other players better as long as you thought the game well. He could carry you."
And push you.
"I hated practice," Jones says. "I was forced into doing a lot more than I wanted to because of the way that both he and John LeClair practiced. But Eric stood out above all. I was almost shocked when I got here. It wouldn't matter if he had a short night of sleep. He never shorted practice."
Because he never hated it.
"I always enjoyed practice," Lindros says. "It didn't seem like a whole lot of work. It wasn't work. It was fun."
Lindros' story includes controversy and disappointment. He refused to play for the Quebec Nordiques after they selected him No. 1 in the 1991 NHL Draft and sat out what could have been his rookie season waiting for a trade.
He ended up with the Flyers after an arbitrator ruled the Nordiques had agreed to a trade with Philadelphia before agreeing to one with the New York Rangers. One of the players the Flyers gave up for him, Peter Forsberg, won the Hart Trophy himself and the Stanley Cup twice after the Nordiques became the Avalanche.
Lindros and his parents often clashed with Flyers management, and he was stripped of the captaincy in 1999-2000.
"What you saw on the ice was really what Eric was," Jones says. "His strengths were not his ability to communicate, although he tried really hard. His strength was his game."
Lindros missed 140 games during his eight seasons with the Flyers, almost a quarter of their games. He sustained his sixth concussion in 27 months when Devils defenseman Scott Stevens caught him with his head down and put a shoulder into his jaw in the first period of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2000.
He had come back from a concussion after a 10-week absence and scored a goal in Game 6, trying to keep the Flyers from blowing a 3-1 series deficit, only to suffer that devastating hit. He would never play for Philadelphia, and would never be the same, again. He sat out the 2000-01 season in a contract dispute with the Flyers and was traded to the Rangers.
The irony is Lindros was injured by his own greatness. He grew up as the biggest and strongest and best kid, never worrying about skating with his head down, opponents bouncing off him like Lilliputians. But that cost him in the NHL.
Lindros had 73 points (37 goals, 36 assists) in 72 games with the Rangers and won a gold medal with Canada at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2001-02, then played two more seasons with New York, one with the Toronto Maple Leafs and one with the Dallas Stars. He retired at age 33 having played 760 regular-season and 53 playoff games in the NHL, never having won the Stanley Cup. His final regular-season totals: 372 goals, 493 assists, 865 points and 1,398 penalty minutes.
"I moved to wing and just didn't have the confidence to cut through the middle of the ice anymore," Lindros says. "I felt vulnerable. I didn't want to get hit the same way I got hit the past."
But in the end, what he did outweighed what he didn't, and it all goes back to the same thing.
"There were some fun times and some great experiences," he says. "If I didn't love the game as much as I did, I would have stopped playing."
When he thinks about his career now, he thinks about everything -- success, failure, teammates, coaches -- and this is his conclusion:
"You feel fortunate," he says.
The joy brought out his ability.
"There were results when I enjoyed it," he says. "When I enjoyed it, I played well."
When did he enjoy himself most?
"The '90s," he says. "Most of the '90s."
When he was healthy, happy and humming, Lindros was a dominant force. He had the skill of a small man but stood 6-feet-4, weighed 240 pounds and powered through opponents with a mean streak.
From the time he broke into the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992-93 to his final season with them in 1999-2000, he averaged 1.36 points per game. Only Mario Lemieux (2.11) and Jaromir Jagr (1.45) averaged more.
He centered John LeClair and Mikael Renberg on the "Legion of Doom" line, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1994-95 and led the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 26 points in 19 games in 1996-97, when the Flyers made the Final. He averaged 1.14 points per game in the playoffs with the Flyers.
Lindros was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.
"He, without question, was one of the best," said Keith Jones, who played with and against Lindros. "There were times and periods of time when he was the best in the game."
Even the greatest players marveled at him.
"He changed the game," Wayne Gretzky said. "When Eric came in, he was that new physical power forward that happened to have really good hands."
Mark Howe, son of Gordie Howe and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame himself, was playing defense for the Detroit Red Wings against the Flyers at the Spectrum. As he went back for a puck, he knew a young Lindros was coming. So he moved the puck and stepped aside.
Lindros didn't finish his check. Still, he was five inches and 55 pounds bigger than Howe. His shoulder grazed Howe's chin on the way by.
"I went boom, right up against the boards," Howe says. "I was seeing stars for a couple seconds. I got to the bench and said, 'Oh, my God. If he wanted to hit me, it probably would have killed me.' He was just a mountain of a man."
Lindros excelled during his first two seasons in the NHL. But he reached another level after Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke acquired LeClair in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 9, 1995. Coach Terry Murray put the 6-3, 226-pound LeClair and 6-2, 235-pound Renberg on Lindros' wings.
In the first period of their second game together, LeClair camped in front of the New Jersey Devils' net and stuffed in a pass from Lindros. After the 3-1 win, Flyers center Jim Montgomery said, "They look like the Legion of Doom out there."
The nickname stuck. If they had the puck, opponents were doomed. For three seasons, they dominated. The season after winning the Hart, Lindros set career highs with 47 goals, 68 assists and 115 points in 1995-96.
"We played similar styles," Lindros says. "We enjoyed coming to practice. We had a lot of fun at practice together, and I think that really paid off in terms of what happened on the ice during games. I think there was a direct correlation to that. You've got a group of guys that truly enjoy coming in in the morning and being around each other all the time, you're going to have much better success."
LeClair credits Lindros with raising the standard and bringing out everyone's best. If you failed on a scoring chance, he wouldn't be afraid to say, "You've got to score that." He'd say, "Practice hard. Score every drill. We're out here to play hard." Or he'd say, "Let's score every time. We're here, so let's beat these guys 3-on-3 down low. Let's beat them."
Lindros laughs about it now. Of course he does.
"It's the goal of the game, pardon the pun," he says. "Just keeping things tidy. If we're going to go through a drill, if we're going to skate and have a whole bunch of regroups and go all the way up and down that ice a whole bunch of times, let's finish it off with a goal."
The Flyers traded Renberg to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 20, 1997. The Legion of Doom was done. But Lindros and LeClair were not.
Jones arrived via trade from the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 12, 1998. He says he had one good knee and another "hanging on by a thread" at the time. But coach Roger Neilson decided to try him with Lindros and LeClair in his first game.
"I'm thinking, 'Perfect. Get me out there,'" Jones says.
The first two periods didn't go well. But Lindros kept encouraging Jones, and in the third, Jones scored on Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur for the first time in his career and had an assist in a 6-1 victory for the Flyers. After going without a point in his last seven games with the Avalanche, Jones had 10 points in his first six with the Flyers.
"All of that was on the back of Eric," Jones says. "Believe me, I was almost done in Colorado. So that's how good he was. He could make other players better as long as you thought the game well. He could carry you."
And push you.
"I hated practice," Jones says. "I was forced into doing a lot more than I wanted to because of the way that both he and John LeClair practiced. But Eric stood out above all. I was almost shocked when I got here. It wouldn't matter if he had a short night of sleep. He never shorted practice."
Because he never hated it.
"I always enjoyed practice," Lindros says. "It didn't seem like a whole lot of work. It wasn't work. It was fun."
Lindros' story includes controversy and disappointment. He refused to play for the Quebec Nordiques after they selected him No. 1 in the 1991 NHL Draft and sat out what could have been his rookie season waiting for a trade.
He ended up with the Flyers after an arbitrator ruled the Nordiques had agreed to a trade with Philadelphia before agreeing to one with the New York Rangers. One of the players the Flyers gave up for him, Peter Forsberg, won the Hart Trophy himself and the Stanley Cup twice after the Nordiques became the Avalanche.
Lindros and his parents often clashed with Flyers management, and he was stripped of the captaincy in 1999-2000.
"What you saw on the ice was really what Eric was," Jones says. "His strengths were not his ability to communicate, although he tried really hard. His strength was his game."
Lindros missed 140 games during his eight seasons with the Flyers, almost a quarter of their games. He sustained his sixth concussion in 27 months when Devils defenseman Scott Stevens caught him with his head down and put a shoulder into his jaw in the first period of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2000.
He had come back from a concussion after a 10-week absence and scored a goal in Game 6, trying to keep the Flyers from blowing a 3-1 series deficit, only to suffer that devastating hit. He would never play for Philadelphia, and would never be the same, again. He sat out the 2000-01 season in a contract dispute with the Flyers and was traded to the Rangers.
The irony is Lindros was injured by his own greatness. He grew up as the biggest and strongest and best kid, never worrying about skating with his head down, opponents bouncing off him like Lilliputians. But that cost him in the NHL.
Lindros had 73 points (37 goals, 36 assists) in 72 games with the Rangers and won a gold medal with Canada at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2001-02, then played two more seasons with New York, one with the Toronto Maple Leafs and one with the Dallas Stars. He retired at age 33 having played 760 regular-season and 53 playoff games in the NHL, never having won the Stanley Cup. His final regular-season totals: 372 goals, 493 assists, 865 points and 1,398 penalty minutes.
"I moved to wing and just didn't have the confidence to cut through the middle of the ice anymore," Lindros says. "I felt vulnerable. I didn't want to get hit the same way I got hit the past."
But in the end, what he did outweighed what he didn't, and it all goes back to the same thing.
"There were some fun times and some great experiences," he says. "If I didn't love the game as much as I did, I would have stopped playing."
When he thinks about his career now, he thinks about everything -- success, failure, teammates, coaches -- and this is his conclusion:
"You feel fortunate," he says.
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