Montreal Canadiens

Adam Ružička (repro photo: X/Arizona Coyotes)

On Friday, only one game was played in the Canadian-American NHL. Although the Slovak attacker’s team also played in it, he did not intervene in the action.

ARI – CAR 1:5

Carolina snaps Coyotes losing streak, Ružička does not play Piotr Kočetkov made 30 saves to lead Carolina to a 5-1 victory over Arizona, which has lost its eighth straight game. Five different players – Jordan Martinook, Jalen Chatfield, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teräväinen and Michael Bunting – scored for the Hurricanes, who won their sixth game in their last eight. Martin Nečas and Jack Drury recorded two assists each to be the only multi-point players in the duel. Dylan Guenther took care of the home team’s only goal, reducing the score to 1:2. Karel Vejmelka scored five goals from 26 shots and was replaced by Matt Villalta in the 47th minute. He made four saves in his NHL debut.

Slovakian forward Adam Ružička, who was the Coyotes’ least used player in his first two games after the change of location, did not feature in the starting line-up this time. He was replaced in it by Michael Carcone.

“We started really well, which is always great to see. And then our goalkeeper also performed really well. He made some really good saves,” said the winning team’s coach Rod Brind’Amour after the match, whose players opened the scoring after just 16 seconds and were already leading 2-0 in the fifth minute.

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His counterpart, Andre Tourigny stated: “Obviously, the way we started the game was unfortunate. I think it wasn’t because we didn’t play well, but we have to be a little more consistent in the little things, which is up to me. That is my responsibility.’

Thanks to an assist, Jordan Staal tied Jeff O’Neill’s 416 points for sixth on the team’s all-time list. Ron Francis (1,175), Eric Staal (775), Kevin Dineen (544), Sebastian Aho (525) and Brind’Amour (473) are ahead of him.

Martinook opened the scoring after just 16 seconds of the game:

Stars of the duel: 1. M. Nečas (CAR), 2. S. Jarvis (CAR), 3. P. Kočetkov (CAR)

2024-02-17 05:39:54
#Bad #news #NHL #Adam #Ružička

Šimon Nemec (photo: X/New Jersey Devils)

The New Jersey Devils hit the bull’s eye when they drafted Nic Hischier and Jack Hughes first overall. Now overseas, it is also being decided whether it is not too early to conclude that he also hit the black mark when drafting defenders Luke Hughes and Šimon Nemec.

“At this point, I think you could start to say that the Devils really hit it off with those two picks as well. Both were used as defenders. The Devils needed to shore up the defense after dealing with offense and productivity with other top picks,” stated Alex Potts of All About The Jersey.

Potts recalled that Luke Hughes made his debut in the NHL at the end of last season and this season he definitely established himself fully. However, that was also expected of him, and so he just lives up to expectations.

However, in the case of the German, it was not known for certain whether he would be ready for the best league in the world at this point. However, after being called up to the first team, it only shows that he does not want to return to the AHL and that his drafting can be a huge success for the team.

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Potts also pointed to advanced stats from this season for both of them, in which the German overall outperformed Hughes in every aspect – an overall rating percentile of 87 vs. 68, offensive 78 vs. 58 and defensive 81 vs. 76.

“The German has a fantastic defensive impact and quality scoring production despite not being pigeonholed as an attacking defender. He’s solidified his role on the team with his play, and there’s no way Lindy Ruff and co. they could send back to Utica while playing,” noted the overseas author.

Both have quality numbers in positional play and expected goals. At the time of Potts’ analysis, Hughes was 14th among defensemen with at least 100 minutes played with a CF% of 58.25, the German was 28th with a CF% of 55.22. In xGF%, the German was 13th at 57.53 and Hughes was 22nd at 56.52.

“These are unbelievable numbers. Yes, both of them are attracted by being in a strong team, at least analytically, but it is not only the merit of their teammates. They also benefit. To be in the top 30 in positional play among 248 defensemen and to be in the top 25 in expected goals on the same roster is pretty remarkable,” Potts stated.

“Defenders take longer to develop than forwards, but they’re both here and playing so well. This is obviously massive progress for the team now and for the long-term future. They become part of the core and at their age they can be here for a very long time. When you have two such strong players anchoring the defense, a duo that can only get better, it’s extremely promising. So far, it looks like both of these elections are going to be wild successes and we couldn’t ask for more from them.”

2024-01-09 08:30:38
#Unreal #numbers #Devils #hit #black #case #Hughes #German

William Nylander (foto: Instagram/Toronto Maple Leafs)

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that they have signed star forward William Nylander to a new eight-year, $92 million contract.

The contract, whose cap hit of $11.5 million will make Nylander the fifth-highest-paid player, also includes a full no-trade clause without the player’s permission.

In terms of total contract value, it is the highest in the history of a traditional organization. It surpasses John Tavares’ seven-year, $77 million contract. However, Auston Matthews signed a contract with a higher cap-hit – 13.25 million US dollars.

Nylander is in the midst of a career season in which he has already scored 21 goals and added 33 assists in just 37 games. He has a streak of 47 goals and 120 points. Last year, he set personal bests with 40 goals and 87 points.

The twenty-seven-year-old Swede performed evenly even during the elimination fights. In 30 games of the last four playoffs, he recorded 14 goals and 15 assists. In his career, he collected 40 points in 50 games.

2024-01-08 21:21:35
#Toronto #signs #Nylander #mega #contract