Tag: New Jersey Devils

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks embark on five game eastern swing; Open up in New Jersey Sunday

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San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini scored two goals against the Minnesota Wild on Thu Nov 7, 2024 at SAP Center in San Jose (San Jose Sharks X photo)

On San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Minnesota Wild’s Matt Boldy scored two goals. Kirill Kaprizov had three assists as the San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 on home ice on Thursday night.

#2 The Wild Mats Zuccarello scored a second period goal on a no look pass from Kaprizov that had Zuccarello went through numerous defenders to score the go ahead as the Wild took the lead 2-1.

#3 It was also a thrilling night for the Sharks Macklin Celebrini who scored twice for all of the Sharks scoring. Once in the second period at 4:36 and his second goal of the night at 16:08 in the third period. Not a bad night’s work for the NHL first round draft pick?

#4 Despite Celebrini’s two goal effort the Sharks still couldn’t stop the Wild attack. In the third period with the Wild ahead 3-1 the Wild picked up two more goals one from James Brodin at 6:02 and Matt Boldy’s second goal of the night at 18:25 to put the final touches for the win.

#5 The Sharks open with a five game east coast swing starting in New Jersey this Sunday at 4:30pm PST. New Jersey has won four of their last five games. In their last game the Devils defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 and got two goals from Jesper Bratt. Mary Lisa how do you see this one?

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com


San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks back on track host Canucks tonight at SAP

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San Jose Sharks center Will Smith (2) is congratulated taking a skating lap in front of the Sharks bench after scoring a second period goal against the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center on Thu Oct 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 San Jose Sharks Will Smith who scored twice on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-2 win inspiring the Sharks who picked up their third straight win at SAP Center.

#2 After losing nine straight the Sharks winning three straight face a Blackhawks teams who were struggling losing five of their last six games.

#3 Smith had such a good game in the middle of the second period scored what would be the winning goal with a wrister on a shot that deflected for a goal off the crossbar.

#4 Mary, talk about the goaltenders in this one for the Blackhawks Petr Mrazek stopped 26 of 29 shots and allowed three goals for the Sharks MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 26 of 28 shots and allowed two goals in a very close game.

#5 The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night for a 7:00pm PT. The Canucks after winning three straight have dropped their last two on Monday night to the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime 4-3 and getting shellacked by the New Jersey Devils at Rogers Centre in Vancouver 6-0. The Sharks are coming into Saturday’s game with momentum and the Canucks are coming off a couple of loses how do you see this one tonight?

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Utah goes O 4 Canada, gets blanked by Ottawa 4-0, First Utah home loss and first Ottawa road win for season

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Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) winds up to shoot the puck against forward Alexander Kerfoot (15) and the Utah Hockey Club at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tue Oct 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

Coming into Tuesday night’s contest between the Ottawa Senators and Utah Hockey Club, fans of the NHL’s newest franchise had every reason for optimism with the team sporting a 4-1-1 record to start the season, just one point out of a tie for first place in the Central Division and undefeated on home ice.

Local recording artist Krispin Banks performed the first-ever rendition of O Canada for an NHL game at Delta Center, followed by a stirring rendition of the American national anthem, and everyone was ready for another great night of hockey. Unfortunately the Utah Hockey Club couldn’t seal the deal and not only that couldn’t score a goal on home ice getting shutout 4-0 at the Delta Center. Utah now with a 4-2-1 record.

The two teams traded chances to no avail throughout the first half of the first period until Noah Gregor and Jack McBain were each sent to the box for roughing penalties. That’s when it all went downhill for Utah HC. During the two-minutes of 4-on-4 play, Ottawa’s Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux each found the back of the Utah net to quickly put the Senators up 2-0.

Five minutes later, with Robert Bortuzzo serving a minor penalty for holding against Tim Stützle, Ridley Greig scored a power play goal to put the Senators up 3-0. Adding insult to injury, Brady Tkachuck made it 4-0 with eight seconds remaining in the opening frame.

Goaltender Karel Vejmelka replaced Connor Ingram to start the second period of play. Vejmelka had appeared in only one previous game so far this season, Utah’s only regulation loss to the New Jersey Devils. He turned away all 5 shots he faced in the second period, but Utah still faced a 4-0 deficit heading into the third period.

Utah HC has scored 5 or more goals in a game three times already this season, but they needed to pull it off all in one period if they were to mount a comeback against Ottawa, but this was not to be their night. Vejmelka stopped all 14 shots he faced in the third period, but the offense was unable to push the puck past Anton Forsberg of the Senators who was perfect against 31 shot attempts to record his first shutout of the season.

Following the game, Utah Hockey Club Head Coach André Tourigny spoke of a drop-off in his team’s focus. “I think we obviously came out strong, playing well, but we didn’t stay in the moment. We got carried away, a little bit soft, defensively, forced a play turnover, you know, and just we had them where we wanted. We played well. We just need to stay patient, stay humble, go one shift at a time, and we got ahead of ourselves and we paid for it.”

With regard to pulling goalie Connor Ingram after the first period, Tourigny added, “Everybody in life has bad days at the office sometimes. And I think when you’re a goaltender, you’re exposed more than anybody else. So I think you need to make the right decision for the team. It’s nothing personal.”

Karel Vejmelka addressed his mindset entering the game in a relief role. “Obviously it’s not easy, but I try to be prepared to play. Like any other game, just be ready anytime. So just try to focus for the first shot and get into it.”

Team captain Clayton Keller commented on the inevitability of games such as this one. “You know it’s going to happen. It’s a long season. You can’t get frustrated, you got to stay patient. Get better every day and good things happen.”

In the other locker room, winning netminder Anton Forsberg commented on his first visit to Salt Lake City as an NHL city. “It was a nice arena. We had a good day yesterday and went to some nice coffee shops. So I didn’t see a lot but it seems like a good city. I’m happy to be able to come out here. It’s been one of the cities I haven’t visited yet, so that’s great.”

Moving forward, Utah HC hopes that visiting teams enjoy the city while finding Delta Center itself far less hospitable on the ice.

Having lost for the first time at home, Utah now gears up to face division rival Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at the Delta Center.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Hockey in Prague brings out over 16,000 fans; Keller named first captain in Utah history; plus more news

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Buffalo Sabres Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left battles for the puck with New Jersey Devils Thomas Tatar second from right at the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal in Prague on Fri Oct 4, 2024 (AP News photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 It had to be special for the New Jersey Devils who faced off with Buffalo Sabres in Prague. New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots in the 4-1 win Friday night at the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal. The game drew 16, 913 so the NHL is a hot commodity in Prague as well.

#2 Clayton Keller was named the first captain in Utah Hockey history Oliver Eckman Larsson was the Arizona Coyotes beginning Sep 13, 2018 and later was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on July 23, 2021. Keller was the alternate captain on the Coyotes for the last two seasons, he also led by example leading the Yotes in goals with 33 goals, assists with 43, and 76 points.

#3 While Edmonton Oilers Kris Knoblauch is still trying to decide whose going to work the blue lines with just six days left until the regular season starts. But there is no doubt that the Oilers will be starting Stuart Skinner in goal for this season. Stuart started in 57 games last season. Knoblauch said of Stuart, “You look at how well he’s handled adversity throughout the year. After a bad game, he’s always responded.

#4 Len, Austin Matthews comes into this season as the 26th named captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Matthews succeeds last season’s captain John Tavares. Tavares had been team captain for the Leafs since October 2019. Tavares will continue to bring a veteran presence. One of the big reasons for Matthews becoming the captain was given by team president Brenden Shanahan, “Over these past eight seasons, we’ve witnessed first-hand Auston’s trajectory and evolution as a player and a person,”

#5 The San Jose Sharks and NHL’s number one draft pick Macklin Celebrini is still nursing a nagging lower body injury. Celebrini was able to skate for the first time on Friday since his injury during Tuesday’s pre season game against Utah. Sharks head coach Ryan Warosfsky said “He skated on his own today, so I think we’re trending in the right direction. But again, it’s still very early in the process, and we’ll see how he is tomorrow and evaluate.”

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Blues turn it up with 2 wins after losing to San Jose; Oilers McDavid scratched against Vegas Wednesday; plus more news

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Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid controls the puck against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Mon Apr 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Arizona Coyotes might relocate to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is being very aggressive about getting the Coyotes. The owner of the Utah Jazz Ryan Smith wants an NHL team to join he and the Jazz at the Salt Palace.

#2 The St Louis Blues had to be sore after losing to the San Jose Sharks last Saturday in overtime. The next day the Blues exploded and defeated the Anaheim Ducks six goals and came away with a 6-5 win. On Wednesday the Blues once again got a three goal win to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by three goals 5-2 all four of the Blues first four shots were all goals to start the game.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid was scratched out of the line up against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. The Oilers have been rolling and even without McDavid the Oilers came out a big winner 5-1 in Edmonton. McDavid missed practice for the second straight day with a lower body injury

#4 Syd the Kid Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins wins the NHLPA most complete player of the year. Crosby got 38.37 percent of the vote Crosby beat out the Florida Panthers center Alexander Barkov who had 14.6 percent of the vote.

#5 Alexander Ovechkin is becoming like the ageless wonder setting a record scoring 30 or more goals for the 18th season. In the first 43 games this season Ovechkin had eight goals and teammate Dylan Strome said he wouldn’t be surprised if he reached 30 which he has now done for the 18th time.

#6 The New Jersey Devils failed to make post season for tenth time in 12 seasons. New Jersey suffered from injuries, goalie instability, and the Devils have suffered a numerous amount of injuries and missed a lot of key players who were out.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Sharks hope to take advantage of struggling New Jersey tonight at SAP

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The San Jose Sharks left winger Alex Barabanov (94) gets some of the Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon’s arm extension (right) at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Titus:

#1 The San Jose Sharks just couldn’t figure out the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at SAP Center in San Jose losing in a two game contest 4-2.

#2 The Predators Kiefer Sherwood found the back end of the net twice, the Preds Filip Forsberg scored his 27th goal of the season against San Jose which proved big in the Nashville scoring tally.

#3 Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 23 shots and allowed two goals while the Predators Gustav Nyquist got an empty net goal against San Jose.

#4 The Sharks Filip Zadina and Mikael Granlund scored goals and the Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 31 Nashville shots but it was enough to match the Predators.

#5 The Sharks face the struggling New Jersey Devils tonight here at SAP Center in San Jose and the Sharks hope to take advantage of New Jersey’s downside and get back in the win column.

Titus Wilkinson is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Stadium Series gets TV ratings boost from outdoor games; Canes Andersen is on the way back from blood clotting; plus more news

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TV ratings were up 21% at the Met Life East Rutherford in the NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series on Sat Feb 17 with the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the New Jersey Devils and on Sun Feb 18 New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the NHL Stadium Series with the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils on Sat 17th and the New York Rangers and New York Islanders Sun 18th were big hits at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford. Both games combined for 150,000 fans and the TV rating were up 21% from last season’s Stadium Series. ABC TV had 1.37 million viewers and 449,000 in the 18-49 demographic.

#2 Len talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews he’s been unstoppable on Wednesday night he scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season in 54 games. Matthews also has 24 assists and a total of 75 points. San Ramon’s very own Matthews was born in your neck of the woods Contra Costa County.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings Patrick Kane for the first time this season. Bedard who will face Kane who has won the Stanley Cup three times and looks at it as a challenge and an honor to face one of the best former Blackhawks in history. Face off between the two teams at the United Center in Chicago is Sunday at 6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT.

#4 The Philadelphia Flyers after winning three straight games dropped their next two one to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the second to the New Jersey Devils. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was barking at his players during the Monday morning skate “not enough” and said he wanted “more from everybody” and it looked like it worked as the Flyers who took on the Blackhawks on Wednesday night and played a much tighter game and getting the win 3-1.

#5 The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers have expressed interest in a possible trade for the San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin and defenseman Mario Ferraro. Ferraro is in the third year of his four year $13 million contract and Kunin is under team control and would be a restricted free agent after this season. The Sharks would get a first rounder from either club.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcast Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stadium Series game 1 Flyers vs Devils 2/17/24: Devils Hischier nets two goals in 6-3 win over Flyers at Met Life

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New Jersey right winger Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates putting the puck in the net against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period in the Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey on Sat Feb 17, 2024

By Jessica Kwong

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils dominated the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night with a 6-3 victory in game one of the NHL Stadium Series that is making history as the first-ever outdoor professional hockey event with back-to-back contests at the same venue.

The NHL’s 40th outdoor game was filled with spectacle at MetLife Stadium, which serves as the home for the NFL teams the New York Jets and the New York Giants. The Devils hosted their division rivals, the Flyers, and came away with a much-needed win that put them two points behind Detroit Red Wings for the wild card.

“It was a big game, big event but especially a big game against a rival, a four-point game there and it was a huge win for us so that’s a team we’re chasing,” said Devils captain Nico Hischier. “So I think everybody was ready to play and it was all business for us.”

Only 32 seconds into the first period, Hischier made a backhand goal assisted by Ondrej Palat to put New Jersey up 1-0. It was the second fastest goal in an NHL outdoor game after Colby Armstrong’s goal 21 seconds into the Winter Classic back in 2008. At 13:30, Tyler Toffoli made a wrist shot from Brendan Smith and Jack Hughes to boost the Devils up 2-0.

In the second period, Owen Tippett made a wrist shot assisted by Travis Konecny and Egor Zamula to cut the Flyers’ lead to 2-1. There was an outburst of scoring at the end of the second period. At 16:36, Smith made a wrist shot from Palat and Hischier to put the Devils up 3-1. New Jersey kept up their offense and at 17:48, Nathan Bastian made a snap shot from Timo Meier and Curtis Lazar to extend their lead to 4-1.

The Flyers answered back at 18:23 when Tippett made a wrist shot from Konecny and Morgan Frost and Philadelphia trailed 4-2.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella said the most important part of the game was when they got a roll in the second period and starting taking penalties.

“Not so much being man down but we’re man down, four on four,” said Tororella. “We needed another goal in the second and I thought we were right there knocking on the door, but then we took some penalties and it took us out of our flow.”

In the third period, Hischier made a wrist shot at 2:48 from Jesper Bratt and John Marino to bring the Devils up 5-2. The Flyers pushed to remain in the game as Nick Seeler made a wrist shot at 9:07 from Scott Laughton and Sean Walker to make it 5-3. But the Devils were relentless as Bastian made a wrist shot from Erik Haula and Lazar at 18:15 to lead and eventually beat the Flyers 6-3.

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff commended his team for coming through in the third period.

“As we talked this morning, we needed this win. If they beat us it puts them almost out of reach,” said Ruff. “You look at that game and you enjoy it and we move on to the next one now.”

It was 30.6 degrees Fahrenheit when the puck dropped at 5 p.m. PT for the first game of the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. There were 70,328 fans in attendance.

MetLife Stadium was transformed under the theme NHL Stadium Series Park, with the ice rink in the middle of the football stadium surrounded by grass, plants, paths, park benches and a couple of floor hockey courts. The teams’ mascots, the NJ Devil and Gritty, ran around the “park” and special guests watched a special pre-game concert on a grassy area behind one of the goals. The Jonas Brothers played the pre-game concert and during the second intermission.

The Devils travel to face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Flyers finish their three-game road trip at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Stadium Series continues at MetLife Stadium with the New York Rangers (5-16-3) versus the New York Islanders (22-18-13), first and fifth in the Metropolitan Division respectively. The puck drops at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET.

NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series podcast with Jessica Kwong: Outdoor Stadium Series continues with Flyers vs. Devils; Rangers vs. Islanders this weekend at Met Life Stadium

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NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium East Rutherford New Jersey begins Sat Feb 17, 2024 with Philadelphia vs. New Jersey and Sun Feb 18, 2024 NY Rangers vs. NY Islanders (ESPN image)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 Jessica lots of anticipated excitement regarding the 2024 NHL Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey.

#2 The first game features the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils on Sat Feb 17th. The outdoor game between these two teams has the Flyers who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division at 29-19-6. The Flyers have won four straight games. New Jersey is just behind the Flyers with a 27-21-4 in fourth place. This could be a pretty evenly match game. A 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET face off.

#3 In the second game Sun Feb 18 at Met Life it’s the battle of the crosstown rivals the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. The Rangers who are first place in the Metropolitan Division they have won five straight games 34-16-3 with a whopping 71 points. The Islanders are in fifth place 22-18-13 they have lost their last two games. No matter where these two teams are in the standings it’s a rivalry and expect neither to give in especially on a big stage like the Stadium Outdoor series. Face off on Sunday 12:00pm PT/ET 3:00pm.

#4 Met Life Stadium capacity is 82,500 and is expected to be a sell out. This attendance for this game could rival one of the NFL games that is played at the stadium on a regular basis that’s how popular these outdoor games are.

#5 One of the featured attractions of the Stadium Series this will be the 40th and 41st outdoor games this will be the first time that four teams will play at the same venue for the New York/New Jersey fans. This will be the fifth outdoor game for the Flyers (1-3-1), the Rangers have a perfect record in the outdoor games (4-0-0), the Devils and Islanders have played in just one outdoor game and share the same outdoor record (0-1-0).

Jessica Kwong hosts Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Devils Bratt hopes for some snow at Winter Classic games; Is there a NY Rangers goalie controversy?; plus more news

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New Jersey Devils’ Jesper Bratt (63) skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 11, 2023. Bratt hopes for some snow during the NHL Stadium Series Winter Classic on Sat Feb 17, 2024 at MetLife Stadium at East Rutherford in New Jersey (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker, File)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Edmonton Oilers had their 16 game win streak snapped as they were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 at the T Mobile Center at the Fortress. The Knights were a tough customer.

#2 The New Jersey Devils Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier were hoping for some snow for the Winter Classic games on Feb 17th and 18th as the Devils will be hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Bratt said that he grew up watching the NHL outdoor games and said that snow at the Stadium Series would be cool to have, “I mean, I grew up watching some of the Winter Classic games and obviously when it was snowing out, it made it a little more real.”

#3 New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick got the call for his third straight game and it had the media asking Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette if there is a goalie controversy as Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin will now be the back up, “‘Shesty’ is our guy here,” Laviolette said “We’re going to work in the next few days to get him some practice time, get him some reps.”

#4 Len, refrigeration truck showed up at Met Life Stadium in preparation for the Stadium Series Winter Classic to prepare the ice rink for the two games on Feb 17th and 18th a first in the outdoor series for back to back games. Andrew Higgins, NHL senior manager, facilities operations and hockey operations said, “I think this will be a little extra challenging, just kind of ramping ourselves up a second day and getting ready for that second game before we get ready to tear out.”

#5 Len, I’ll let you tell us how you see tonight’s doubleheader between the Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers underway in the first game and in game two it’s the Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks at 6:30pm PT.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com