NHL Expansion - Part 1 Seattle

With future expansion and franchise re-location currently, a hot topic within the NHL we thought it was a good idea to have a look what’s going on across the pond with regards to team changes. Starting today with Seattle, the favourite to land an expansion team.

Seattle

News broke last week that there will be a $600-million renovation of KeyArena in Seattle prompting talk that the city is set to host an NHL franchise.

Seattle City Council confirmed that the project to renovate and upgrade the 55-year-old KeyArena, which first opened its doors in April 1962, could begin to get underway late next year with the project expected to be completed around October 2020. Meaning an NHL team could be playing out of the facility for the 2020-21 season.

Last week’s meeting saw Seattle City Council vote 7-1 in favour of a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and Oak View Group, an organization co-founded by Tim Leiweke, (formerly the president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Kings, and operated in the same roles with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment from August 2013 until October 2015). It appears the MOU has finally given some clarity to an arena situation that has been watched intently by those who believe Seattle should be the next new NHL market. 

Now though it appears that Seattle are in a position to be able to bring Major League hockey to the city. But for that to happen, what would the NHL potentially be looking at when granting Seattle, a franchise?

Arena - The arena currently plays host to the NCAA’s Seattle Redhawks and WNBA’s Seattle Storm, but hasn’t had a permanent major league tenant since the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics left the city for Oklahoma, following the 2007-08 season. Updating the arena, which presently has a capacity of around 15,000 for hockey, would be the last hurdle when it comes to bringing professional sports back to the city.

Seattle have longed for the return of their SuperSonics ever since the day they left, but the major stumbling block was the lack of a facility. With this announcement an NBA return to the city is a possibility. Back in 2013 when the topic of further NHL expansion was first mentioned there was talk that the Sacramento Kings (at the time up for sale) could be purchased and re-branded as the SuperSonics Mark II. That would have been dependant of an arena deal in place, with a brand-new facility only being granted provided the NBA team shared it with an NHL team.

With that in mind there were certain expectations during the recent expansion process in July 2015 which garnered the Golden Knights, that Seattle would join Las Vegas and Quebec City as potential expansion cities to submit bids. However, the deadline came and passed, without Seattle submitting a bid.

Population – The city’s television/media market and prospective fan base make it an intriguing place for the league to land. According to a U.S. Census estimate in 2016, Seattle’s population, 704,000, made it the 18th-most populous city in the country, but that doesn’t include surrounding towns such as Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent and Everett, all of which have a population of at least 100,000 within roughly an hour of Seattle. Meanwhile, Nielsen ranked Seattle-Tacoma as the 14th-best television market in the U.S.

Hockey History - Washington State is home to four existing teams in the WHL’s U.S. Division, including the Everett Silvertips, Tri-City Americans, Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds. The latter of which play at Kent’s ShoWare Center to the south of Seattle.

Seattle has a long hockey history, dating back to the formation of the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans in 1915. The 1917 Metropolitans were the first American winners of the Stanley Cup, but folded in 1924 before the rise of the Original Six, while the Seattle Totems played in the borderline-major Western Hockey League from 1944 until the WHL's dissolution in 1975. As of 2015, the Puget Sound region's highest level of hockey is the Canadian major juniors: the Seattle Thunderbirds (based 20 miles south of Seattle in Kent) and Everett Silvertips (25 miles north of Seattle) play in the Western Hockey League. Additionally, Silver's 2013 study concluded that Seattle had the largest number of avid hockey fans of any U.S. media market that did not have an NHL team.
In April 1974, Seattle and Denver were conditionally granted NHL franchises. Seattle's never came to fruition because of the Western League's instability (according to season ticket promotions, the team would have kept the WHL name of Totems). A Seattle group made a bid on an expansion franchise in 1990, but it failed over the financial terms the NHL demanded. The SuperSonics basketball team managed the arena and would not offer a share of suite revenues considered necessary for the NHL team's success. The businessmen who wanted to operate the potential NHL team were unwilling to pay the $50 million expansion fee imposed by the NHL, and their bid was rejected.

On February 16, 2012, a plan was announced to build a new arena in Seattle's SoDo district just south of Safeco Field. An investment group, headed by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen, is proposing to seek a return of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to Seattle after the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and is interested in possibly having an NHL team as well. The configuration of the proposed arena would be able to accommodate hockey, unlike KeyArena. The arena would be built as a public-private partnership between the City of Seattle and Hansen's group. Hansen's group would invest $290 million and the public sector (city and county) $200 million. The project will not proceed without the confirmed purchase of a professional team as the arena's tenant. Hansen's group has purchased all the land that makes up the arena site. Commenting later that day, NHL Commissioner Bettman stressed that the NHL has no plans for expansion or relocation. Levin has spoken to Hansen and expressed his interest in being involved as the owner of the NHL franchise that would be the tenant in the arena. Levin has also expressed his interest to Bettman.
On July 25, 2012, it was reported that Wayne Gretzky was meeting with Bellevue officials regarding an NHL team in the Seattle area. On September 11, 2012, it was announced that the Seattle City Council had reached an agreement with Hansen to build an arena in Seattle's SoDo district. The agreement calls for a $40 million transportation fund, $7 million to upgrade KeyArena, an option for the city and county to sell the arena at the end of the 30-year lease period, and a personal financial guarantee from Hansen if the arena's finances fall short. Shortly afterward, on September 24, it was reported that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz and team president Patrick LaForge visited Seattle, sparking rumors of the Oilers relocating to Seattle.

Ownership - Within days further news broke from the NHL stating that, a Seattle ownership group has been authorized to file an application for an NHL expansion team that would begin play in the 2020-21 season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday.

The cost of the team would be $650 million, and Commissioner Bettman said the NHL is looking at only Seattle for possible expansion.

The group includes Jerry Bruckheimer, a Hollywood producer, and David Bonderman, a private equity CEO. Seattle would become the 32nd NHL team.

"That doesn't mean we have granted an expansion team," Commissioner Bettman said following the Board of Governors meeting. "We have agreed as a league to take and consider an expansion application and to let them run in the next few months a season ticket drive."

The Vegas Golden Knights, who began play this season as the NHL's 31st team, paid a $500 million expansion fee. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the $150 million spike in the expansion fee reflects the value of the team in a specific market and allows for inflation.

"Including the fact that the Vegas franchise went for $500 million and, it's been … a successful expansion," Deputy Commissioner Daly said.

Seattle became a viable option for an NHL team this week with the agreement between the city and Los Angeles-based Oak View Group for a privately financed $600 million renovation of KeyArena, which opened in 1962 and was the home of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics from 1967-78, 1985-1994 and 1995-2008 before they relocated to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding between the city and Oak View Group. The memorandum was approved by the Seattle City Council in a 7-1 vote Monday.

The Billion Dollar Buyer spent more than $2 billion to get the Houston Rockets, and Tilman Fertitta may not be stopping there.  The possibility of an NHL team in Houston was quickly raised even at Fertitta's introductory press conference after buying the Rockets.

Recently, Fertitta confirmed in a tweet that the talks are underway.

"As I've mentioned before, I'm very interested in the possibility of bringing the NHL to Houston, but it will have to be a deal that works for my organization, the City, fans of the NHL throughout the region, and the NHL Board of Governors. We are in the very early stage of evaluating what opportunities may exist but look forward to a thorough process."

 

Assuming Seattle does get a team at some point in the near future, the great unknown is whether the franchise comes to the Pacific Northwest by way of expansion or relocation. An expansion team would come with the opportunity for the league to balance the conferences, as the Eastern Conference boasts 16 teams to the Western Conference’s 15, however the Pacific would then house nine teams compared to the Central’s seven, so some form of re-alignment would be required.

An expansion team would also come with the excitement of a blank slate and the ability to build from the ground up, just as the Golden Knights have done this season. Relocation, on the other hand, could allow the NHL to bring a readymade organization to the city, one that could be competitive out of the gate.

Seattle are looking likely favourites to land the all-important 32^nd NHL franchise but that doesn’t mean they don’t have competition. Read on for a look at some of their rivals.

NHL - Sharks Round Up - October 04-17, 2017

Philadelphia Flyers @ Sharks 5-3 - Wednesday, October 04

The Philadelphia Flyers' power play struggled during the preseason, scoring five goals in eight games. Then the regular season began, and they scored on their first three power plays in a 5-3 victory against the Sharks at SAP Center. Wayne Simmonds scored three goals, two of them with the man-advantage, including the game-winner at 9:27 of the third period. It was the second hat trick of Simmonds' NHL career. The other was April 20, 2013, at the Carolina Hurricanes. Claude Giroux and Jordan Weal scored for the Flyers, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jakub Voracek each had three assists, and Brian Elliott made 32 saves in his Philadelphia debut. Kevin Labanc scored two goals in the first period for the Sharks, and Logan Couture scored in the third. Labanc was in the penalty box for all three Philadelphia power-play goals. Martin Jones made 26 saves for San Jose. Simmonds deflected Gostisbehere's shot from the point past Jones on the power play to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead with 10:33 remaining. It came six seconds after Labanc went to the penalty box for tripping. Simmonds gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead when he scored on the power play with 2:24 left in the second period. That goal came eight seconds after Labanc was penalized for slashing. Simmonds deflected Gostisbehere's slap shot from the left point past Jones. Simmonds completed the first hat trick in a season opener in Flyers history when he scored into an empty net with 36 seconds left to make it 5-3.

The Sharks tied the game 3-3 at 3:12 of the third on Couture's power-play goal. Joe Thornton had the primary assist. Brent Burns had the other for his 500th NHL point. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 8:28 of the first period on Giroux's goal from the slot after a giveaway by Jones. Weal made it 2-0 with a power-play goal from the right face-off circle at 11:16 of the first. Labanc scored his first of the night on a rebound at 17:17 of the first to get San Jose within 2-1. He tied it 2-2 with 19 seconds left in the period with a power-play goal.
Voracek passed back across the ice to Gostisbehere at the left point for a slap shot that Simmonds deflected into the net from close range for his first goal. Labanc had the puck in the left circle with a good chance to complete a hat trick, but Elliott got across the crease to stop his slap shot with 10:43 left in the third period to keep it tied 3-3. Simmonds scored the game-winner 10 seconds later.Elliott stopped a point shot from Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon, but the puck bounced into the air, and Labanc knocked it past him with a backhand from close range for his first goal.Center Nolan Patrick, selected by the Flyers with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, had three shots on goal and a blocked shot in 13:30 in his NHL debut. The 19-year-old was 5-for-9 on draws (56 percent). … Philadelphia was 3-for-5 on the power play. San Jose went 2-for-6. ... Flyers rookie defensemen Travis Sanheim and Samuel Morin were healthy scratches, as was forward Jori Lehtera. ... Defenseman Tim Heed and forwards Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Carpenter were the healthy scratches for the Sharks."He had good legs, and the three penalties I think came from being a little excited. First game and he was trying so hard that he reached on a couple. I don't hold him responsible for a couple of the three. He'll learn from his mistakes and where to back off. You can't teach what he does. A lot of the night, he was our best player." Peter DeBoer said."I've got to be more disciplined. That shouldn't have happened, and they scored off them, so I've got to be a little more disciplined and watch where I put my stick [on taking three penalties that led to three Flyers power-play goals]." Kevin Labanc.

Los Angeles Kings @ Sharks 4-1 - Saturday, October 07

Coach John Stevens has been pushing the Los Angeles Kings to become a more aggressive, attacking team in the offensive end this season. They took a big step in that direction in a 4-1 victory against the Sharks at SAP Center. Anze Kopitar scored two goals and had an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for Los Angeles, which outshot San Jose 17-6 in the first period and took control of the game. Dustin Brown and Nick Shore scored for the Kings (2-0-0). Mikkel Boedker scored for the Sharks (0-2-0).

San Jose goaltender Martin Jones gave up four goals on 29 shots and was replaced by Aaron Dell at 14:05 of the second period with Los Angeles leading 4-1. Dell made nine saves. The Kings built a 2-1 lead in the first period. Brown banked the puck off Jones' left shoulder and inside the post at 5:08 to put Los Angeles ahead 1-0. The Sharks responded quickly, tying it 1-1 at 6:14 when Boedker deflected Brenden Dillon's point shot past Quick for his first goal. Kopitar scored on a snap shot from the high slot to put the Kings up 2-1 with eight seconds left after a turnover by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.

Kopitar scored again at 12:07 of the second period to make it 3-1.

Shore was credited with the goal that made it 4-1 when San Jose forward Melker Karlsson knocked the puck into his own goal at 14:05 of the second while trying to clear it from the crease. Jones couldn't control the puck after a long wrist shot from Trevor Lewis, and the Sharks couldn't get it out of their zone.

Kopitar gave the Kings a two-goal lead when his sharp-angled shot from near the left boards deflected off Dillon's stick and past Jones. The Sharks trailed 2-1 but had a great chance to pull even with 11:42 left in the second period on Joonas Donskoi's wrist shot from in close, but Quick made the save and smothered the puck. The Kings scored two more goals in the period to put the game away. Brown took a pass from Kopitar on the rush and beat Jones from the right face-off circle for the game's first goal. It was his 18th goal in 73 career games against San Jose.

Burns, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, had four giveaways, no points and a minus-4 rating. ... The Kings went 0-for-6 on the power play, and the Sharks were 0-for-4. ... Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli each had five shots on goal to lead the Kings. Timo Meier's five led the Sharks.

"I respect that everyone is coming to the rink ready to play, but we're missing something. Just mentally we know we've got another level." Joe Pavelski

"That was just horrible. You can't make excuses because that was a very, very poor effort from the first minute to the 60th minute, from the power play to the penalty kill. It was just garbage hockey from us." Logan Couture said.

"This is a hard league. You have to pay a price to win games, and we haven't done that enough. We really weren't in the game. There were stretches we kidded ourselves we were in the game, but we really weren't." Peter DeBoer said.

Buffalo Sabres @ Sharks 2-3 - Thursday, October 12

It was a night of firsts for the Sharks at SAP Center. Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier each scored his first goal of the season to help the Sharks win their first game, 3-2 against the winless Buffalo Sabres. San Jose took a 3-2 lead when Meier knocked in the rebound of a Joonas Donskoi shot at 14:30 of the second period. Donskoi had two assists for the Sharks (1-2-0), and Martin Jones made 23 saves. Jason Pominville had his second two-goal game of the season for the Sabres (0-3-1). Jack Eichel and Zemgus Girgensons each had two assists, and Robin Lehner made 23 saves.

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Hertl scored on the power play at 2:15 of the first period, tapping in Kevin Labanc's pass. Pominville scored at 12:26 of the first to tie it 1-1. He took a pass from Eichel in the slot and beat Jones with a wrist shot inside the left post. The Sharks regained the lead less than three minutes later when Tierney took a pass from Donskoi and scored from the low slot at 15:11 to make it 2-1. Pominville scored his second of the night from close range at 6:50 of the second period, taking a pass from Eichel on a 2-on-1 rush and beating Jones to tie it 2-2. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer's decison to have Tierney center a new-look third line with Meier and Donskoi paid off early. Meier won a battle for the puck along the left boards, skated to the right face-off circle and passed to Donskoi below the goal line. As he headed behind the net right to left, Donskoi sent a backhand pass to Tierney at the right post for a tap-in goal.

The Sabres were on a 5-on-3 power play when Jones made a blocker save on Eichel's sharp-angled wrist shot from below the left circle at 10:42 of the second period. Meier scored the game-winner less than four minutes later.

Eichel skated into the right circle, spun clockwise and sent a pass back to the trailing Pominville in the slot. Pominville's wrist shot got past Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon and beat Jones inside the left post.

The Sharks placed defenseman Paul Martin (ankle) on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Joakim Ryan from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. Ryan had one shot on goal in 21:24 of ice time in his NHL debut. ... Sharks defenseman Tim Heed and forward Ryan Carpenter each made his season debut. ... Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges made his season debut. … Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo played after missing the morning skate because of an illness. ... Sabres forward Evander Kane played his 500th NHL game. ... Buffalo has had a player score two goals in each of its four games, two apiece from Pominville and Kane.

"You drop the first two, the third one you start thinking about it a little bit. Especially opening up at home with the amount of games we have here. It's a little unusual. To get that first win was very important." Joe Pavelski

"It's tough to lose the first two games, but I think it's huge to win that game tonight and we want to build off that. We had a good week of practice, and I think it's all about our mindset, sticking to our identity. Just go out there every night and compete and play hard." Meier said.

"We played great, all four lines. [Jones] was good. ... We had a lot of chances after big forechecks. That's how we have to play every game. I'm for sure happy for two points because it was really important for us." said Hertl, who was moved from center on the third line to left wing on the second line.

NY Islanders @ Sharks 3-1 - Saturday, October 14

Thomas Greiss made 40 saves to help the New York Islanders to a 3-1 win against the Sharks at SAP Center. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders (2-2-1), who were outshot 16-4 in the third period.

Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose (1-3-0), and Aaron Dell made 20 saves in his first start of the season. The Sharks have lost three of their four games this season, all at home. Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 6:27 of the second period with his third goal of the season. He took a pass from Calvin de Haan and put a wrist shot from the left circle past Dell. San Jose outshot New York 41-23.

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 4:16 of the first period on Labanc's power-play goal from the right circle with de Haan in the penalty box for slashing. Labanc knocked in a rebound of Mikkel Boedker's shot. His wrist shot deflected off of Clutterbuck's skate and between Greiss' pads.

The Islanders made it 1-1 at 17:02 of the first period when Lee tipped in Adam Pelech's shot from above the right circle. Clutterbuck, who returned after missing three games because of a lower-body injury, scored an empty-net goal at 18:10 of the third period. Greiss is 2-1-0 in three career starts against San Jose.
Nelson's goal came 13 seconds after Sharks forward Ryan Carpenter leveled Pelech with a big hit in the neutral zone. At 11:33 of the second period, Greiss saved Joe Pavelski's backhand shot from close range, preserving the Islanders' 2-1 lead. A frustrated Pavelski broke his stick by slamming it on the crossbar."I'd like the finish to be a little bit better," Pavelski said. "Something had to give. So the stick did."
As the Sharks turned up the pressure, defenseman Tim Heed sent a slap shot through traffic that Greiss denied with 16:51 left in the third period.The Islanders went 0-for-3 on the power play and are 0-for-18 this season. … Islanders forward Jordan Eberle, who sustained an upper-body injury during practice Wednesday, had one assist and three shots in 17:34 of ice time. ... Islanders defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Ryan Pulock were healthy scratches but could play Sunday at the Los Angeles Kings in the second game of a back-to-back. Seidenberg has played in one game this season; Pulock has yet to play. ... Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo and forwards Joel Ward and Barclay Goodrow were healthy scratches.
"I thought tonight was probably our best game of the four we've played. I thought the special teams both looked good. We did a lot of good things 5-on-5. We're building our game. If you see frustration, it's because these guys expect to win every night. We had a lot of time in their end of the ice, we put a lot of pressure on them. We had some great looks. We could have had four or five goals tonight pretty easily. You have to tip your hat to their goalie. He was outstanding." Peter DeBoer said.
"The rust is off now. I felt good again tonight. Felt strong. Felt the puck was on my stick all night, making good plays." Joe Thornton

Montreal Canadiens @ Sharks 2-5 - Tuesday, October 17

Logan Couture scored two goals and had two assists, and the Sharks defeated the Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center for the 11th straight time, 5-2. Martin Jones made 28 saves for the Sharks, and Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton scored. The Sharks (2-3-0) salvaged a second win in their season-opening five-game homestand. Now they'll hit the road for five games. Jonathan Drouin and Shea Weber scored for Montreal (1-4-1), which lost its fifth straight game. Carey Price made 30 saves and fell to 2-7-1 for his career against San Jose. The Canadiens haven't won in San Jose since Nov. 23, 1999, when they defeated the Sharks 3-2 in overtime. The Sharks took a 2-1 lead 53 seconds into the second period on Pavelski's first goal of the season. Kevin Labanc's point shot deflected off Pavelski, then Weber, and went past Price.

San Jose increased its lead to 3-1 at 8:03 when Hertl scored a power-play goal, tipping in a pass from Thornton. Weber cut San Jose's lead to 3-2 with a power-play goal at 10:37 when he beat Jones with a slap shot from the left circle. San Jose made it 4-2 on the power play on Couture's second goal at 13:24. Thornton scored into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining in the third period. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Couture scored on a rebound at 3:50 of the first period. Montreal tied it 1-1 16 seconds later on Drouin's wrist shot from the left circle.On Couture's second goal, Pavelski showed off his soccer skills when he kicked the puck out of heavy traffic in the slot to Couture, who scored from close range. "That was pretty special," Couture said. "I don't know if he knew I was there, but to be able to keep his balance and kick it over was pretty cool."The Sharks led 3-2 when Jones stopped Canadiens forward Charles Hudon on a breakaway with 7:56 remaining in the second period. Jones made a blocker save, then a right pad save a second later when Hudon tried to knock in his own rebound.Couture took advantage of some good bounces and his puck-handling skill to give San Jose a 1-0 lead. Hertl deflected Justin Braun's shot from the right point wide left of the net. The puck hit the backboards and caromed to Couture on the other side. Price moved quickly to his left, but Couture cut the other way and scored into a wide-open net on a wrist shot. "I had some net to shoot at right away but I figured he'd be sliding pretty hard, so I tried to outwait him and luckily nobody was there."The Sharks have killed 19 of their past 20 penalties. ... Weber had four hits, two blocked shots and two shots to go with his goal. ... Sharks rookie defenseman Tim Heed had an assist for his first NHL point. … Canadiens rookie defenseman Victor Mete also had an assist for his first career NHL point.

        

"[Martin Jones] was excellent. He was our best player. We need that. Key saves at the right time. It was important. We needed a win. I think obviously we didn't have the start we wanted. We wanted to get a good start here at home and for whatever reason we put ourselves in a spot where we really needed a win tonight to feel good going on the road trip, and we got it done. I think we're getting a little better every game." Peter DeBoer said.

"Obviously we didn't have the homestand we wanted, coming in 1-3. A chance to leave on a positive note and take a little momentum onto the road. Guys stepped up tonight." Pavelski said.

NHL - Toronto Maple Leafs @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 - Saturday, December 09, 2017

Tyler Bozak scored two goals and three points, and Mitchell Marner
had three assists to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena. After Riley Sheahan and Evgeni Malkin, on the power play, cut a 3-0 Maple Leafs lead to 3-2 with goals at 14:24 and 17:51, respectively, of the second period, Bozak made it 4-2 at 18:13. He deflected a shot from Jake Gardiner past goalie
Casey DeSmith
for his second goal of the game. Bozak centered James van Riemsdyk, who had one goal, and Marner. Sidney Crosby cut it to 4-3 with 2:48 remaining in the third period.Toronto (19-10-1) is 11-3-1 in its past 15 games, including 5-2-0 in its past seven. Pittsburgh (16-12-3) has lost two of its past three games (1-2-0) after winning its previous four. The Maple Leafs scored three first-period goals, including two in the first 1:42. Bozak had the secondary assist on the second goal and scored the third.

Connor Brown gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead after receiving a pass from Morgan Rielly, which he shot through a screen from Zach Hyman at 1:23. The goal ended his eight-game drought, dating to Nov. 18. Van Riemsdyk made it 2-0 19 seconds later. Tristan Jarry stopped a backhand shot from Bozak before Marner retrieved the puck behind the net and attempted a wraparound. Chad Ruhwedel knocked the puck off his stick, but allowed a pass from Marner through his legs to van Riemdyk, who sent a wrist shot past Jarry at 1:42.

Bozak extended the lead to 3-0 after a shot from Marner popped out of Jarry's glove, allowing Bozak to whack at the rebound twice before scoring on a third attempt at 12:55. DeSmith replaced Jarry to start the second period. Jarry made 13 saves on 16 shots; DeSmith made eight saves on nine shots.
Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for Toronto.
Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist left after taking a puck to the head 49 seconds into the third period. Sullivan did not update Hornqvist's status following the game. ... Maple Leafs defenseman Ron Hainsey received his 2017 Stanley Cup championship ring from the Penguins following the game. He had three assists in 16 regular-season games and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 25 Stanley Cup Playoffs games with Pittsburgh after being acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 23. … Crosby and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews faced each other for the first time this season and fourth time in the NHL. Crosby had one goal and Matthews was held without a point.

Leafs Quotes        

"I think we just came out strong. This is a really good team. Whenever you come to this building, you expect a challenge. I think that the guys were just ready to go and obviously created some offensive opportunities, and made them count." Morgan Rielly

"Real good for [Bozak]. Things haven't gone as well for him this year and confidence is always hard. … Worked real hard. Competed real hard." Mike Babcock said.

"We were opportunistic in the first period. Not as experienced of a goalie [Jarry] down there, so we wanted to make sure he saw a lot of pucks and go to the net." Andersen said.
"It hasn't been going too well, just points-wise for our line. I think we've been getting chances as of late, but it just hasn't been going in. So it's nice to contribute and be part of a big win for us." Bozak said.

Pens Quotes

"It's, again, a slow start. Like, we're not ready to play the first 10 minutes, but [we can't] win the game if we only play like two periods. We need to play harder." Evgeni Malkin

"We've got to come out with the mentality to dictate the pace. We can't come out seeing what kind of game it's going to be and before we know it, we're down two or 3-0." Crosby said."We just weren't good enough and it was the difference in the outcome. I mean, we can't keep chasing games the way we're chasing them, and when you play good teams you can't spot them a three-goal lead. When you give up a couple of goals so early in a game, it's a head-scratcher for me. I'm not sure I understand why, but that's something that we as a group have to solve if we're going to become the team we want to be." Mike Sullivan said.

NHL - Pens Round Up - December 01-07, 2017

Penguins @ Buffalo Sabres 4-0 - Friday, December 01, 2017
Tristan Jarry made 34 saves for his first NHL shutout, a 4-0 victory for the Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. It was the rookie's first start since No. 1 goalie Matt Murray was injured Monday in the second period of a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, and Tom Kuhnhackl scored on a penalty shot for the Penguins (14-10-3), who have won three games in a row. The Sabres (6-16-4) have been shut out three straight games and lost 10 of their past 11. After Kuhnhackl gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 3:23 of the first period, Crosby scored unassisted at 6:38 to make it 2-0 after he intercepted defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's pass across the slot and beat goalie Robin Lehner. Crosby, who had an assist on Patric Hornqvist's goal at 19:20 of the second period that made it 4-0, has five goals and six assists during a five-game point streak.
Jake Guentzel made it 3-0 with a wraparound goal at 18:05 of the first. He skated up the left wing after receiving a pass from Evgeni Malkin, went around the net and stuffed the puck inside the right post before Lehner could get over.Malkin returned to the lineup for the first of the home-and-home set with the Sabres after he missed the previous four games with an upper-body injury.
Buffalo has not scored since Kyle Okposo's empty-net goal with 51 seconds left in a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers last Saturday, a span of 180:51.

"I think that's the guy that has led this team to two Stanley Cups back to back. He's an elite player, he plays at both ends of the rink, and we've seen Sid's game coming here for three or four weeks now. Now the puck's starting to go in the net for him, but certainly he's playing hard, he's playing the game at both ends of the rink, and when he does that, he's hard to handle. When you get up a few goals like that early, those games can be challenging. We talked about in between periods just making sure that we don't exhale, that we continue to try and work to get the next goal and play hard and play the right way, and for the most part, I think we did a good job." Mike Sullivan said.
"I think it's something that I'll be able to look back on hopefully in a while and be able to realize that it happened and it'll be a nice memory to have." Jarry said.
"When it's going like this, you try to keep shooting the puck and just try to be instinctive. That's one of those things where I think as a team we're going, as a line I think every line's going out there and contributing. We're just trying to do our part, and if we just think about that, then we'll make things happen." Crosby said.


Buffalo Sabres @ Penguins 1-5 - Saturday, December 02, 2017

Tristan Jarry made 32 saves to help the Penguins defeat the Buffalo Sabres for a second straight night, 5-1 at PPG Paints Arena. Jarry, who has assumed the starting role with Matt Murray recovering from a lower-body injury, made 34 saves for his first NHL shutout in a 4-0 win against the Sabres on Friday. He has won in four straight appearances after beginning his NHL career 0-1-2. Pittsburgh (15-10-3) has won four straight games since losing its previous three in regulation. It is 14-0-1 against Buffalo since a 4-2 loss on April 23, 2013.

Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring in the first period with his first goal since returning Friday from missing four games with an upper-body injury. Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist each scored in the second period to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead.

Jason Pominville cut Pittsburgh's lead to 3-1 at 11:18 of the third period. The goal was Buffalo's first in 232:09 dating to Nov. 24, when Kyle Okposo scored into an empty net with 51 seconds remaining in a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers. Phil Kessel made it 4-1 at 13:14 before Sidney Crosby pushed it to 5-1 by scoring into an empty net at 18:58. Crosby, who had two points (one goal, one assist) has at least one goal in each of his past five games after scoring once in his previous 15. He has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak. The Sabres (6-17-4) have lost 11 of their past 12 games (1-9-2). Despite losing by four goals for a second straight night, Buffalo coach Phil Housley was pleased with his team's effort even if the execution wasn't always there. Malkin scored with 1:16 remaining in the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. He carried the puck down the far wall and shot over a sliding Marco Scandella and Chad Johnson's glove. Hagelin extended the lead to 2-0 when he carried the puck above Buffalo's crease. Johnson fell forward while tracking the play, allowing Hagelin to shoot over him at 5:36 of the second period. Hornqvist made it 3-0 during a 4-on-3 power play with 1:00 remaining in the second. Crosby stickhandled around Jack Eichel and slid a pass for Hornqvist to tap past Johnson for his 10th goal of the season.

Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu played 7:46 before leaving in the second period with an undisclosed injury. … Scandella played in his 400th NHL game. … Sabres forward Matt Moulson was a healthy scratch after failing to score in his first 14 games this season. Forward Hudson Fasching, who was recalled from Rochester on Saturday, entered the lineup and had three hits in 10:57. … Pittsburgh began a season-long five-game homestand that will run through Dec. 11.

"It's hard to rely on a few guys to score goals each and every night. So when you get those contributions [from role players] in a timely fashion like we have the last handful of games here, it certainly helps." Mike Sullivan

"I was excited with the challenge [of starting on consecutive nights]. It's not something that happens too often at the NHL level. They wanted to see if I could do it and I was up for the challenge." Jarry said.

"I don't think there's any special formula. I think you go to the net hard. You get pucks to the net. All those habits, all those same things. And make sure you find a way to execute. I think our mindset has been to get more pucks and more people to the net and we've done that." Crosby said.

NY Rangers @ Penguins 4-3- Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Ondrej Pavelec wasn't planning to start for the first time since Oct. 28. After Henrik Lundqvist got the flu, though, the New York Rangers turned to their backup goalie. Pavelec responded by making 41 saves to help the Rangers defeat the Penguins 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena. Pavelec was 2-13-1 with a 4.20 goals-against average and .870 save percentage in 16 games against Pittsburgh entering Tuesday. He was most effective in the second period, when he made 22 saves on 23 shots after facing four shots in the first. Pavel Buchnevich scored with 8:48 remaining to put New York ahead 4-3. Buchnevich carried the puck into the offensive zone and attempted a cross-ice pass that deflected off Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and over goalie Tristan Jarry. He has scored one goal in two of his past three games following a six-game drought. Jarry made 25 saves for Pittsburgh. He had won in four straight appearances and each of his previous two starts since starting goalie Matt Murray sustained a lower-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 27. The Rangers (15-10-2) have won six of their past seven games (6-1-0). The Penguins (15-11-3) had their winning streak end at four. After Phil Kessel gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 7:11 of the second period, Jesper Fast and Mats Zuccarello scored to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead entering the third. Fast tied it 2-2 with his fifth goal at 12:26 of the second. Brady Skjei blew by Letang wall before going forehand to backhand and forcing a rebound, which Fast scored on. J.T. Miller sent a stretch pass past Matt Hunwick to Zuccarello, who held off Hunwick to squeeze a shot through Jarry at 17:20 of the second. Patric Hornqvist tied it 3-3 with a power-play goal on a breakaway at 3:35 of the third period. He has scored one goal in each of his past four games. The Penguins were outshot 10-4 in the first period but took a 1-0 lead when Conor Sheary ended his eight-game goal drought at 15:13 of the period. Hornqvist backhanded a cross-crease pass through Rangers forward Rick Nash to Sheary, who one-timed it. The lead lasted 1:36 before Boo Nieves tied it 1-1 with his first NHL goal at 16:49. Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz left the game in the first period and again in the second with a lower-body injury. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said Schultz would be evaluated Wednesday.
Four points separate the top six teams in the Metropolitan Division. The New Jersey Devils lead the division with 36 points, and the Rangers are sixth with 32. Pittsburgh is one point ahead of New York with 33 points, tied with the Washington Capitals. The New York Islanders are third with 34 points.

"I'm playing the pass for the guy going back door. It deflects off me and goes right-top shelf. … I think in the third period, when you're trying to chase the game, you get exhausted and it's tough to rally." Letang said.
"We have to make sure we do a better job at recognizing when we have to make simple plays and play behind teams. … The third period was probably our best, but I thought early in the game, we were the victim of it a little bit." Mike Sullivan

NY Islanders @ Penguins 3-4 OT Thursday, December 07, 2017

Matt Hunwick scored 1:29 into overtime to give the Penguins a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena. Bryan Rust carried the puck to the crease and shot off Jaroslav Halak and Hunwick scored on the rebound. The goal was upheld following a review for goaltender interference. The Penguins (16-11-3) have won five of their past six games (5-1-0). The Islanders (16-9-3) have lost three of four (1-2-1) after winning seven of their previous eight (7-1-0). Phil Kessel and Riley Sheahan scored 32 seconds apart to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead in the third period. Kessel scored in a third straight game to make it 2-1 on a power play at 7:29 before Sheahan intercepted a pass from Halak against the near wall and shot over Halak while he was retreating to his crease at 8:01. Sheahan's goal was his second in 29 games this season and first that wasn't shot into an empty net.
The Islanders erased that lead when Mathew Barzal scored on New York's second shot of the period at 15:07, and Brock Nelson tied it 3-3 at 18:50. Kris Letang gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 12:17 of the first period when his slap shot through traffic got past Halak for a power-play goal. Kessel had a chance to extend the Penguins lead to 2-0 when he went on a breakaway early in the second period. With Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock chasing him, Kessel went forehand to backhand, but was denied when Halak slid right to make the save at 1:27. Jordan Eberle tied it 1-1 at 5:53. New York controlled the puck for nearly a minute after Sidney Crosby's stick broke, which allowed Eberle to take the puck down low and set up Pulock for a one-timer. Tristan Jarry made the initial save while falling in his crease and Eberle shot in the rebound for his fifth goal in seven games. Jarry made 23 saves. He has won three of four starts (3-1-0) since Matt Murray sustained a lower-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 27. Halak made 28 saves for New York. Penguins forward Tom Kuhnhackl left in the third period with an apparent injury after playing 9:17. He was in the process of being evaluated after the game, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said.
The Islanders played without defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who was out with an undisclosed injury. Weight said it is not expected to be serious. … Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz did not play because of a lower-body injury he sustained against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He is expected to miss several weeks.

        

"It's a little discouraging. We had complete control of the period, at least we felt, up until that point. … This team usually has been very good at making sure we defend leads the right way and keep going at teams." Mike Sullivan

"They kind of had a rush down at the other end and you kind of get going end to end there. I think they made a change and we were able to get a 3-on-2 and [Rust] just got it to the net. I was able to bang in the rebound." Hunwick said.

"Empty-netters are nice, but it's not the way you picture your first one. So to get one tonight definitely felt good." Sheahan said.

"I want to work as hard as I can and just get in front of as many pucks as I can. I think that's what I've been trying to do." Jarry said.