Around these parts, we’ll do our best to give you everything you need to know about the Columbus Blue Jackets. We’ll also fill you in on the stories you may not have heard about (or those you didn’t think you need to know about), the social media buzz around the league, along with a few random nuggets for good measure.
Think of it as your morning coffee with a shot of hockey talk.
WELP: The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t screwing around.
Their 7-0 win over the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 on Sunday was the loudest statement yet in these Stanley Cup playoffs and a direct answer to the drubbing they took in Ottawa last week. They chased Craig Anderson twice (well, kind of, if you believe Guy Boucher’s reasoning for the first instance) and converted the extra point to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Final back to Ottawa for Game 6, where they’ll look to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year and continue their quest to be the NHL’s first repeat champions in nearly 20 years.
This is Jake Guentzel having a whiff of a smelling salt, not the Senators’ performance. Sorry, folks. That was bad.
Lessons being learned on the Penguins bench today pic.twitter.com/tMwTUeWLHE
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 21, 2017
Now it’s up to the Senators to answer on home ice to keep their season alive. For Pittsburgh, the goaltending switch from Marc-Andre Fleury to Matt Murray has seemed to energize the team – especially after the blowout loss in Game 3.
JOEY'S ON THE MEND: Ryan Johansen’s left thigh injury has been kept under wraps by just about everyone, but it was good to see photos of him in good spirits at the hospital over the weekend. Talk about a scary situation – apparently in some discomfort after a collision near the boards late in the second period, doesn’t look quite right on the bench, but plays the rest of the game for Nashville.
After the game, Johansen underwent emergency surgery and the team announces he’s out the rest of the playoffs and will require a 2-3 month recovery. Forget the playoffs, this is about the healthy and safety of the player and hopefully the situation is under control. Johansen was the Predators’ top forward in these playoffs and his loss is immense, despite their Game 5 win at Honda Center on Saturday night.
Ready to cheer the boys on! #GoPreds pic.twitter.com/bxOkCTfwlR
— Ryan Johansen (@RyanJohansen19) May 20, 2017
Not only was Johansen injured but Nashville also lost Mike Fisher, so they’re down two top centers and a win away from the Stanley Cup Final. If they get past the Ducks and advance, they’ll be in tough against either Ottawa or Pittsburgh pending the outcome of the East Final.
On Sunday, the Predators released a statement confirming Johansen was diagnosed with acute compartment syndrome, a rare condition caused by pressure buildup from internal bleeding or tissue swelling. Scary stuff.
Took him a while but he made it @KevinFiala22 pic.twitter.com/N5NV3rSBDd
— Ryan Johansen (@RyanJohansen19) May 21, 2017
TROUBLE FOR ANAHEIM: Game 5 was a big-time opportunity for the Ducks.
Like, it was on a platter for them to take control of the series after a huge road win at Bridgestone Arena in Game 4. The Predators were down two of their centers, their offense sputtered in Game 4 and John Gibson looked like a stud between the pipes as they took a 2-2 tie back to southern California.
But there’s no way around: they were absolutely miserable in Game 5.
Calle Jarnkrok, serving as Nashville’s No. 1 center in the absence of Johansen and Fisher, held things together and the defense drove the bus for the Predators. Pekka Rinne was nails, Gibson got hurt (though Randy Carlyle said he expects him ready for Game 6 tonight in Nashville) and the Ducks looked out of rhythm, lost, and defeated even though it was a 2-1 game.
EXPANSION LOOMS: In one month’s time, the Blue Jackets (along with the rest of the NHL) will know which of their players are headed to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Columbus has a lot of balls in the air as far as who could be picked by Vegas and what that could mean for its roster, and there’s a lot of mystery right now – at least publicly – as to what’s going to happen when the Golden Knights officially get their pick from dozens of NHL players at no cost. Their roster is already taking shape, sort of, with a couple of signings and it'll get pushed even further in mid-June.
Reminder: the NHL’s first expansion draft in 17 years takes place June 18-20 behind closed doors. Teams will make their “protected” lists public, the league confirmed, and the Golden Knights’ selections will be revealed during the NHL Awards ceremony on June 21 in Las Vegas.
ICYMI: William Karlsson won gold with Sweden yesterday at the IIHF World Championship in Cologne, outlasting Canada in a five-round shootout. It's Sweden's first Worlds gold since 2013 ... Vladislav Gavrikov was injured in Russia's final game of the Worlds and did not return ... Jeff Svoboda has an in-depth look at the season of Sam Gagner, easily one of the NHL's top bargains in 2016-17.
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