Friday's hockey: Flyers' Tortorella takes blame for collapse; Edvinsson gets assist for Griffins
Voorhees, N.J. — Put those playoff plans on hold, Flyers fans.
And not just this season.
Philadelphia is stuck on the outside of the postseason for the fourth straight year after its fate was decided in Game 82. They needed to win in regulation against Washington on Tuesday, pulled their goalie and lost 2-1, ending any hopes of the Detroit Red Wings making the playoffs as a consequence.
The Flyers’ acceleration from expected painful rebuild to the cusp of the playoffs was faster than expected – especially among those whose opinions matter most, coach John Tortorella and general manager Danny Briere – which made the late-season freefall all the more puzzling and gut-wrenching.
As far as next season? Even then, the playoffs aren’t necessarily a benchmark in the process.
“We are a ways away,” Tortorella said Friday. “We have so much work to do with this team. There are holes in the team. It’s going to take more time.”
Added Briere: “I know the expectation next year will be, oh, we've got to get in the playoffs. I don't even know that we're there yet. It was a great year. But there's still a long ways to go.”
Don't all rush to order those season tickets!
The reality is, preaching patience over playoffs has been the long-term blueprint in Philadelphia since Briere took over late last season. This season — which ended when the Flyers were eliminated last week in the final game of the season — was more about finding which of the young core are worth developing as the team grows into a hopeful eventual Eastern Conference contender.
Tyson Foerster. Cam York (Michigan). Owen Tippett. Morgan Frost. Samuel Ersson.
Not a bad start. Just not enough to chase a Stanley Cup.
“I think we still need to add talent to our team,” Tortorella said.
Pushing 66, Tortorella said he's “as energized as I’ve ever been, already thinking about next year” and will return to the bench to do his part to see the rebuild through.
“I am totally in,” Tortorella said, “until Danny says, ‘Get the hell out of here.’”
Not a chance.
Briere championed the job Tortorella did this season as he guided the Flyers to the last game of the season with meaningful hockey to play. The Flyers were widely predicted by experts, fans and oddsmakers to finish near the bottom of the NHL. In his second season on the bench, Tortorella instead squeezed every ounce of talent, and summoned all the grit he could out of his players to thrust them into a playoff race.
For most of the season, the Flyers not only played over their heads, they succeeded while navigating the loss of No. 1 goalie Carter Hart to sexual assault charges and the murky circumstances that led to 2022 No. 1 draft pick Cutter Gauthier forcing a trade.
Yet the end was so crushing because a playoff berth was in hand until an eight-game losing streak that bridged March and April that proved the death knell for their season.
Tortorella largely took the blame for the collapse.
“I couldn’t get the team to close the deal,” Tortorella said. “It was a concern of mine, 25 games left or so in the season, can we stay with it? I think it’s my job to get it to the end. I think the team played hard right to the end. I just did not close the deal.”
But why? The answers are somewhat obvious on the surface. Ersson went from backup goalie to workhorse and faded down the stretch under the stress of heavy minutes. The team ran out of gas after a rugged early March schedule against some of the top teams in the NHL. Perhaps a notoriously prickly Tortorella pushed his players past the point where they could produce more than what he expected out of them.
“I’ve made some mistakes this year," Tortorella said, ”not the ones you may think I did."
The big mistake — arguably, of course — was benching Sean Couturier only 34 days after he was named team captain.
Only those inside the locker room know the true consequences of Tortorella’s choice in mid-March to make a such a bold and controversial call. But Tortorella fielded multiple questions and needed nearly 10 minutes to defend himself Friday — and stood by his decision.
While Tortorella admitted the timing wasn't great, he added, “the captaincy's not going to stop me from holding people accountable.”
Couturier said at the time he was “frustrated with the way I’ve been treated” and his agent called out the franchise for a lack of communication.
Tortorella said Friday the criticism “kind of caught me off guard, a little bit” but defended his style inside the locker room and insisted his players always know where they stand with the coaching staff. Tortorella also blasted agent Erik Lupien calling him, “a little piss-ant out there pounding his chest that really doesn’t know what’s going on between Sean and I.”
“I think it turned into a bunch of drama,” Tortorella said.
Torts? Drama? Who, him?
“You’ve got the wrong coach here then if we’re going to be hugging,” Tortorella said.
Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, brandished his reputation as a fiery, no-nonsense coach on a team still mostly full of young 20-somethings finding their way in the NHL. Briere has Tortorella's back — and the coach seems to have the support of the locker room that largely expects him to return next year.
With the 12th pick in the draft, there's little expectation of getting an impact player and the Flyers are mostly looking at cheap, short-term deals — such as the one-year, cap-friendly deal given last year to Marc Staal — for veteran help.
“I still think there's more that we need to do before we can take that next step and start pushing the envelope, taking some risks a little bit more," Briere said. “I still think we're at a stage where we need to think about the future, we need to build the right way to give us the best chance to be serious contenders for years to come and not just for a year or two.”
Iowa 4, Grand Rapids 1
The Grand Rapids Griffins dropped a 4-1 decision against the Iowa Wild in the final road game of the regular season on Friday.
Simon Edvinsson assisted on the only goal by Austin Czarnik, who were teammates earlier in the week with the Detroit Red Wings.
Sebastian Cossa's road point streak ended at 10 games (8-0-2), which is tied with Jimmy Howard's record from 2005-06. Cossa stopped 26-of-30 shots against the Wild.
The eight-game series against Iowa featured battles between Cossa (16th overall pick in 2021) and Jesper Wallstedit (20th overall pick in 2021). Cossa posted a 3-1-0 record and a .921 save percentage in four games against Wallstedt, who went 2-1-0 with the Minnesota Wild this year.
Defenseman Shai Buium (36th overall in 2021) was scoreless in his pro debut. He signed with the Griffins after helping Denver win its NCAA-record 10th national championship, one more title than Michigan (9).
Grand Rapids will wrap up the regular season at home on Sunday against Milwaukee at 5 p.m. The Griffins have a one-point lead over the Rockford IceHogs for second place in the Central Division.
Eastern Conference playoff matchups
Rangers vs. Capitals
▶ Game 1: Sunday @ N.Y. Rangers, 3 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Washington, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Washington, 8 p.m.
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
▶ Game 1: Saturday @ Boston, 8 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Monday @ Boston, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Wednesday @ Toronto, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Saturday @ Toronto, 8 p.m.
Panthers vs. Lightning
▶ Game 1: Sunday @ Florida, 12:30 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ Florida, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Thursday @ Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Saturday @ Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
Hurricanes vs. Islanders
▶ Game 1: Saturday @ Carolina, 5 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Monday @ Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Thursday @ N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Saturday @ N.Y. Islanders, 2 p.m.
Western Conference playoff matchups
Dallas vs. Vegas
▶ Game 1: Monday @ Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Saturday @ Vegas, 10:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Monday @ Vegas, TBD
Winnipeg vs. Colorado
▶ Game 1: Sunday @ Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ Winnipeg, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Colorado, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Colorado, 2:30 p.m.
Vancouver vs. Nashville
▶ Game 1: Sunday @ Vancouver, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ Vancouver, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Nashville, 5 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
▶ Game 1: Monday @ Edmonton, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Edmonton, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Michigan-area hockey this week
Friday
▶ Iowa 4, Grand Rapids 1
Saturday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Sweden in Finland, world U18s exhibition
Sunday
▶ Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, 5 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Tuesday
▶ Red Wings 5, Montreal 4 (OT)
Monday
▶ Red Wings 5, Montreal 4 (OT)
NHL teams count on goalies to save the day
Denver — Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev went home after a recent shaky outing and immediately watched film – the car-racing thriller “The Fast and the Furious.”
Anything to keep his own mind from racing.
It's playoff time, where teams march to the beat of their goaltenders. They want them laser-focused, full of confidence and ready to save the day.
There are quite a few teams going into the postseason with big decisions in net. That includes Boston, which could split the goaltending duties, and the Avalanche, where Georgiev led the league in wins (38) but also goals against (183). Not every team has a Connor Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg goaltender who will try to shutdown the Avalanche and is a favorite to capture the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best.
“Your goalie (in the playoffs) is the most important thing, like a quarterback or a pitcher. You need them to be on top of their game,” said former NHL goaltender Michael Leighton, who now lives in Windsor, Ontario, and runs a goalie academy. “If they’re not, your team’s in trouble.”
It simply boils down to that. When a goalie is going good, everything seems to be going good.
“It gives us a ton of confidence," Jets defenseman Neal Pionk said of Hellebuyck's big-save ability. "It lets you play freely, make some plays. Because when we play these good teams, they’re going to make some plays no matter what we do. We could play a perfect game and still give up a few scoring chances and that’s where the goalie helps us out.”
All across the league, the situations vary in net heading into the playoffs:
▶ Nashville vs. Vancouver. For Nashville, it’s the Juuse Saros Show after leading the NHL in saves (1,672). Thatcher Demko is back from a knee injury for the Canucks.
▶ Florida vs. Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy has rounded into familiar stellar form for the Lightning after returning from back surgery earlier this season. Florida has its own star Russian goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky (six shutouts).
▶ New York Rangers vs. Washington. With the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers, it’s Igor Shesterkin, who won at least 36 games for a third straight season. Washington's Charlie Lindgren will be making his NHL postseason debut.
▶ Boston vs. Toronto. The Maple Leafs will rely on Ilya Samsonov while the Bruins have two standouts in Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.
▶ Edmonton vs. Los Angeles. Stuart Skinner is in the crease for Edmonton as a familiar foe awaits. The Kings used both Cam Talbot and David Rittich down the stretch as they prepare to face the Oilers for the third consecutive postseason.
▶ Carolina vs. the New York Islanders. Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen is 9-1 in his 10 starts since his March 7 return, posting a league-best .951 save percentage while his 1.30 goals-against average is second among goalies with more than three starts in that span. Coach Patrick Roy figures to go with a red-hot Semyon Varlamov.
▶ Dallas vs. Vegas. Logan Thompson and Adin Hill each have compelling cases to be in the net for the defending champion Golden Knights. No such questions for Dallas, who will rely on Jake Oettinger (allowed two goals or less in 10 of his last 11 games).
Last postseason, Oettinger was up-and-down. The ups included his first playoffs shutout and the downs saw him pulled from two games.
“It’s all about forgive and forget and one game at a time," Oettinger explained. "I learned a lot last year and the year before, and I feel like I’m ready for this one.”
Some teams are weighing their options in net and may go with a platoon system, including Vegas and Boston. And even though Andersen is on a roll, Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour wouldn’t tip his hand and could work in Pyotr Kochetkov, who won his last four games.
Having two quality goaltenders can be both a luxury and a challenge. Leighton once split time with Brian Boucher in guiding the Philadelphia Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost six games to Chicago.
The luxury: “Just in case one isn’t sharp or because of injury,” Leighton said.
The challenge: “Sometimes it’s not about the goalie, it’s about the team,” Leighton explained. “The team plays different in front of some goalies. You’re risking your players playing differently in front of a certain goalie.”
Down the stretch, Georgiev has surrendered 22 goals over his last five appearances for Colorado. Should he struggle, Justus Annunen is waiting on the bench.
“Trying to just stay positive and see the positive,” Georgiev said. “I’ve made a lot of good saves and trying to focus on that and bringing that into the next games.”
Goaltending 101: Look forward, not back.
"It’s kind of keeping a cool head, not getting too caught up in everything, not getting too excited,” said Washington’s Darcy Kuemper, who backstopped Colorado to the Cup title in 2022. “Just make sure you’re going out there and doing the things that you’ve done all year and stick to your structure. Obviously, there’s highs and lows all season but you get in the playoffs and it’s even to more extreme levels. You’ve just got to keep a cool head.”
Not to mention a confident one, because it's infectious.
“He’s our brick wall back there,” Stars forward Mason Marchment said of Oettinger. “He’s our stud.”
Coyotes' move elicits opposing responses
Phoenix — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sat next to the former Arizona Coyotes owner in a downtown Phoenix hotel meeting room, trying to put a positive spin on the funeral for a franchise.
Later Friday, Bettman sat next to the new Coyotes owner in Salt Lake City to bask in the excitement of the league's newest city and a fan base that had been itching for another team to join the NBA's Utah Jazz.
One day, two drastically different news conferences for the same hockey team.
"If you look back from the perspective over the last three decades, the NHL support for hockey in Arizona has been unwavering, to say the least,” Bettman said Friday in Phoenix. “And for anybody who’s been on that journey with us, there have been countless times when we could have made another decision and we didn’t. And so I hope everybody understands that this is a place that we believe hockey works.”
But only under the right circumstances.
Hockey worked in the desert for 27 years, albeit with some major potholes along the way.
In the Coyotes' 28th year since moving from Winnipeg, those ruts derailed the franchise and sent it to Utah.
His hand forced by self-inflicted and out-of-his-control circumstances, Alex Meruelo sold the Coyotes to the Smith Entertainment Group on Thursday, a deal approved unanimously by the NHL Board of Governors. The $1.2 billion deal gives SEG owner Ryan Smith control of the franchise's hockey operations, while Meruelo will keep the name and maintain business operations as he tries to build a long-awaited new hockey arena in Arizona.
Bettman approached Meruelo with a proposal to sell them team so it could play in an arena up to NHL standards — the 4,500-seat Mullett Arena is not — on March 6 and, despite initial hesitations, pulled off the deal in six weeks.
“We focused on the fact that these are the types of owners that we want, and this is the type of community we’d like to be a part of,” Bettman said. “For us, when the opportunity to come to Salt Lake City came, it was something we were very strongly focused on and something we wanted to accomplish — and to accomplish it was not easy.”
The deal elicited opposite responses in two states.
Utah fans have been expectedly excited, snapping up 11,000 season ticket deposits in the first few hours after the sale. Smith said that number had risen to 22,700 by Friday.
The yet-to-be-named team will already have a solid foundation in place, one poured by Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong through an aggressive rebuild started three years ago. The team has a talented core, players like Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, pushing to get the franchise back to the playoffs — outside of the 2020 pandemic bubble — for the first time since the 2012 Western Conference Finals.
Utah fans met Bettman with roaring applause in Salt Lake City on Friday as clusters of people gathered outside the Delta Center to take pictures in front of new “NHL in Utah” signage.
“For Utah, I hope we carry the same strut in our step and the trust in ourselves that they (the NHL) have in us,” Smith said while seated next Bettman and his wife, Ashley. “It’s a big bet on us and I’m incredibly amazed but not surprised on how we show up. I've never seen so many Republicans and Democrats, religious leaders and education leaders all on the same page like this.”
Arizona fans were decidedly dejected and accusatory, claiming Meruelo and the rest of the Coyotes' management were deceitful about the team's yearly proclamations that it will remain in Arizona for the long haul.
The flickering light down at the end of the long tunnel is a promise the Coyotes franchise will be “reactivated” if a new arena is built within five years. Meruelo's group has its sights set on a June land auction for a tract of land in north Phoenix valued at $68.5 million, one they hope to develop into an entertainment district that will include a new arena.
“You have my commitment to do everything in my power to keep the Coyotes in the Valley. one of the few communities in the country with four professional sports teams,” Meruelo said. “This is a global sports market.”
One without a hockey team for the foreseeable future.
Kings hope Talbot can return to early form
El Segundo, Calif. — It would be an understatement to say that Cam Talbot's season has been a roller coaster.
The Los Angeles Kings, though, are hoping their veteran netminder's game is ascending heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“My game is at a place where I like it, but there’s always room for improvement,” Talbot said. “Any time we get a practice day, which is often anymore, I try to take advantage of it.”
Talbot signed a one-year contract with the Kings during the offseason, his fourth team in five seasons. He played in 54 games and started 52, marking the fourth time in his 12-year career and first since 2018 that he has started at least 50 games. He posted a record of 27-20-6.
Among goaltenders with at least 50 games, Talbot is fifth with a 2.50 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.
The overall numbers are good, but Talbot has been inconsistent. He closed the regular season with four wins in his last six starts, but allowed four goals on 13 shots in Thursday night’s 5-4 overtime victory against Chicago. With the win, the Kings moved back into third place in the Pacific Division and drew a first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
When the series opens in Edmonton on Monday, it will mark the third straight season the Oilers and Kings have met in the first round.
Talbot was one of the league's best goalies from the start of the season until the Christmas break. He was 14-6-2 and second in the league with a 2.06 GAA before going through a stretch in which he was winless in 10 straight starts.
The midseason slump, when the Kings went 3-8-6 before the All-Star break, led to the firing of Todd McLellan as coach and Jim Hiller taking over.
Even though Talbot wasn't happy about the skid — where he went 0-7-3 and had a 3.86 GAA — he did see some things that didn't cause an overall breakdown in his confidence.
“You don't forget how to play a position. The first four or five games we allowed two goals or less. If we would have put the puck in the net like we are now, that would have led to a couple extra wins,” he said. “So, you just try to remind yourself that you're here for a reason, and the way that this season started wasn't a fluke.”
Hiller said the biggest improvement he saw from Talbot after the All-Star break was making the first save and not allowing many rebound opportunities.
“As a coach, you can overanalyze the position. What I've seen is that he's controlling rebounds and when he doesn't our defensemen are doing a good job of boxing out,” Hiller said.
Los Angeles is looking to win its first playoff series since winning its second Stanley Cup in three years in 2014. It went into last year's series against the Oilers with unproven playoff netminders in Joonas Korpisalo and Pheonix Copley.
Talbot and backup David Rittich have playoff experience, while Korpisalo had only one playoff series on his resume before last year.
Los Angeles is an underdog in the upcoming series after Edmonton won in six games last year and in seven in 2022.
“The biggest question is can Talbot and Rittich made the routine save 100% of the game and then the spectacular ones. The lower the score, the better LA would like it. That is where they flourish and I think that's where they will frustrate you,” TNT analyst Ed Olczyk said.