This season, the NHL is making a big push in its Hockey is for Everyone initiative. The main site’s Hockey is for Everyone hub sports stories, videos, and discussions with ambassadors, and states

We support any teammate, coach or fan who brings heart, energy and passion to the rink. We believe all hockey programs from professionals to youth organizations should provide a safe, positive and inclusive environment for players and families regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender http://www.tblightningjersey.com/vladislav-namestnikov-jersey-c-5.html, disability, sexual orientation and socio economic status.
Tampa Bay Lightning is taking part in this initiative by hosting PRIDE night tomorrow night. Brian Boyle is the Bolts’ You Can Play ambassador, and will be welcoming LGBTQ guests to the arena with a special PSA. The Tampa Bay Lightning press release states

The night will include LGBTQ messaging on LightningVision throughout the game, including a PSA from Bolts You Can Play representative Brian Boyle. The game s Community Hero honoree will also be tied to the LGBTQ community and will benefit Equality Florida. Groups from Equality Florida, Diversity Tampa Bay and Balance Tampa Bay will be recognized in arena and proceeds from the game s 50/50 drawing, presented by Moffitt Cancer Center Ben Bishop Jersey, will benefit local LGBTQ charities.
There is also a special ticketing package announced that includes access to a PRIDE network event on the Bud Light Party Deck, and a Bolts PRIDE shirt.


Lightning cruises past Oilers for fifth win in seven games. “Ben Bishop may be the Lightning s biggest decision at next week s trade deadline.” [Tampa Bay Times]

Lightning journal It s like http://www.tblightningjersey.com/steven-stamkos-jersey-c-10.html old times for reunited Triplets. ‘The Triplets line is back. Will the reunion last? It s getting results, so I hope so, C Tyler Johnson said after Tuesday s 4 1 win against the Oilers. I like playing with those guys. They re fun to play with. They re great hockey players. Makes the game easier for me. ‘ [Tampa Bay Times]

NHL Trade Rumors Would the Lightning be interested in moving Stralman? “Could Tampa be looking to deal a top defenseman before the March 1st deadline? If they would listen, Pittsburgh could make them an intriguing offer.” [Pensburgh]

Steven Stamkos of Lightning progressing after surgery. He s progressing well, general manager Steve Yzerman told the Tampa Bay Times. He s doing well, but [we] can t give a return date yet. [NHL]

Ready to be excited about the Syracuse Crunch post season? WE ARE. A daily look at the race to the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs. The 2016 17 regular season ends April 15. [The AHL]


NHL wants ‘two dedicated weeks’ for bye weeks next season. “Next season http://www.tblightningjersey.com/cedric-paquette-jersey-c-6.html, assuming the new plan is implemented, half the teams will take their bye week one week, then the other half will take it the next week.” [NBC]

The NHL’s Goal Get Younger Fans. “MS. BROWNING NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gave me one clear goal, and that’s to grow our sport. Our mission is to modernize our approach and take a fresh look at the marketing mix to find new ways to engage new and future fans.” [Wall Street Journal]

NHL 100 Legion of Doom highlights hockey s all time iconic lines. “Sometimes when three players click on the same line, the unit becomes bigger than the sum of its parts.” [CBC]

Bye weeks proving to be disastrous for NHL teams. “After Sunday s games, NHL teams have gone 4 12 4 in their first game back from the bye. Saturday was particularly bloody, with the Blackhawks, Capitals, Canadiens, Lightning and Predators all losing in their return to the ice after short rests.” [Chicago Tribune]

The NHL’s rookie class this season is one of the best ones we have seen in quite some time, stacked with high level talent at the top that is already making a substantial impact in the league.

You have the Toronto trio of Auston Matthews the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 , William Nylander and Mitch Marner.



Columbus’ Zach Werenski has been a huge part of the Blue Jackets’ turnaround http://www.jetshockeygear.com/paul-postma-jersey-c-29.html, and you can not forget about Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray. Yes, even after his postseason performance he is still eligible for the Calder Trophy and has one of the top save percentages in the NHL among all goaltenders.

Matthew Tkachuk is having a fantastic debut year for a Calgary team that is on its way to returning to the playoffs.

But when it comes to the top rookie in the NHL at this point, it is difficult to look past the performance of Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine, the No. 2 pick in 2016 right after Matthews.

He is not only the leading scorer among rookies this season, he is putting together one of the all time great seasons the NHL has ever seen from an 18 year old. Entering the week he’s sitting on 31 goals, averaging a point per game, and is three points ahead of Matthews in the scoring race even though he has played in six fewer games.

The only player in the NHL right now that has more goals than him is Sidney Crosby.

It is an incredible performance, but let’s take a look at it from an historical context because it is truly the type of season we simply do not see very often.


ST. LOUIS, MO – DECEMBER 03 Winnipeg Jets rightwing Patrik Laine 29 ties the score in the second period by firing a shot past St. Louis Blues goalie Carter Hutton 40 . Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire

In the history of the NHL there have only been three players that scored at least 30 goals and averaged at least a point per game during their age 18 season. The players Dale Hawerchuk in 1981 82, Steve Yzerman in 1983 84, and Sidney Crosby in 2005 06.

Laine, at the moment, is on track to join that group.

Perhaps even more impressive is that he is doing it in an era where goal scoring across the league does not compare to what it was for Hawerchuk, Yzerman and Crosby. Hawerchuk and Yzerman played in the pond hockey scoring era of the 1980s, while Crosby’s rookie year was during the 2005 06 season when scoring saw a brief spike coming out of the lockout.

Keep in mind that an 18 year old Hawerchuk scored 45 goals in his rookie season and still finished 13th in the league in goals. Yzerman scored 39 his rookie year and was only 27th in the NHL. Crosby’s 39 goals in 2005 06 were 12th.

Laine, again, is second in the league. The raw numbers might not compare Chris Thorburn Jersey, but it is simply a different era and the numbers needed to be treated as such.

If Laine maintains his current spot in the overall goal scoring rankings, he would be the first 18 year old to ever finish in the top five in goal scoring http://www.jetshockeygear.com/toby-enstrom-jersey-c-24.html, and he has an outside shot at actually winning that crown. It would probably require another hot streak from him, combined with a slump from Crosby, but the possibility is at least on the table.

When you look at Laine’s underlying numbers compared to, say http://www.jetshockeygear.com/tyler-myers-jersey-c-28.html, Auston Matthews, there are some things that might make it easy to suggest that his performance is “unsustainable” and maybe not quite as dominant as Matthews. Laine doesn’t generate quite the volume of shots that Matthews does, and he isn’t as dominant of a possession player. That doesn’t mean that Laine won’t someday be that type of player and improve in those areas. He is, after all, still only 18 years old and is an unfinished product at this point.

But there is still something to be said for production. There is still something to be said for challenging the best player in the world for the NHL’s goal scoring crown as an 18 year old rookie. There is still something to be said for having the elite shot and raw natural scoring ability that Laine has. He may not score on 20 percent of his shots for the rest of his career, but even if that drops down a little bit he is going to continue to be an elite goal scoring winger.

And even if this success this season is the result of some sort of unsustainable run of shooting luck, you still can’t take away those goals.

The Jets, consistently one of the most boring franchises in professional sports, badly needed a player like Laine. A franchise building block the organization can build around for the next decade. Now, they not only have one, but he is putting together one of the finest rookie seasons the NHL has ever seen.

With the NHL’s trade deadline approaching, Washington Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan called Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin into his office a few weeks ago to ask the faces of the franchise how they felt about the construction of the team.

Washington tore through January and much of February, moving into first place in the league standings. MacLellan was happy with the team and didn’t see any holes that could burn the Capitals in the postseason, but he wanted his players’ perspective. So he asked the two mainstays who’d endured the most failed playoff runs with this organization.

“They’re usually thinking a little differently because of their personalities,” MacLellan said. “Ovi’s like, ‘Just get someone.’ Nick’s, ‘Wait, wait http://www.wacapitalsjersey.com/jay-beagle-jersey-c-2.html, wait, wait, don’t.’ It’s kind of a fun dynamic. Our team, they’re the key guys — those two and [goaltender Braden] Holtby. We’re trying to do everything around them. Make their lives easier so they can compete hard.”

[The biggest moves and takeaways from the NHL trade deadline]

Not that MacLellan was getting his marching orders from Backstrom and Ovechkin, but his one significant move before Wednesday’s trade deadline made both Backstrom and Ovechkin happy, even if it seemed their opinions differed slightly. MacLellan got arguably the best player available on the market in defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. In doing so, he didn’t upset the chemistry of the team by trading away anyone off Washington’s regular NHL roster.

MacLellan also showed his superstars how invested he is in this season, dealing a valued prospect in forward Zach Sanford and more of what few high draft picks the organization has for a rental player that gives the Capitals the best defensive depth in the league.

“This is an all in thing from his standpoint,” Backstrom said. “I feel like he’s really trying to make this team better, so we can have better success in the playoffs.”

[Caps make one last move on deadline day]

Backstrom said he saw that meeting as MacLellan asking Backstrom and Ovechkin, two captains who have been with the organization for a decade, how the team was feeling about its postseason chances. While Backstrom gave MacLellan his opinion that he was encouraged by how the team had been playing Dmitry Orlov Jersey, he didn’t consider the conversation MacLellan asking him or Ovechkin what the organization should do. In the same vein http://www.wacapitalsjersey.com/lars-eller-jersey-c-3.html, Ovechkin didn’t necessarily push for MacLellan to make a big move.

“Yeah, I’m always texting him,” Ovechkin said sarcastically. “No, obviously, we talk. It’ll stay between us. Right now, the situation is you can see the organization thinks this is a team who can do it. It’s a good sign.”

Even before the trade for Shattenkirk on Monday night, MacLellan said he was trying to instill a sense of “urgency” into Washington’s locker room. This is the second season of what MacLellan has previously referred to as a “two year window” with this corps of players. The Capitals entered the season with 10 players in a contract year, including four scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.

Pay raises for restricted free agents such as Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky and Dmitry Orlov mean Washington will be limited in which unrestricted players it can re sign, potentially forced to part with T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams and Karl Alzner. That’s something Williams has brought up in team meetings throughout the season, and it’s one of the reasons the group is so close knit and didn’t want to see anyone go before the trade deadline.

[Banged up T.J. Oshie, Brooks Orpik close to return]

There’s also the reality that Ovechkin, 31, and Backstrom, 29, are running out of opportunities to lead a team past the second round of the playoffs — uncharted territory for them. The team has reduced the ice time for both players to help keep them fresher for the postseason. Backstrom is leading the Capitals in scoring, but Ovechkin’s goal production is down, he is unlikely to extend his streak of 50 goal seasons to four in a row, and he’s averaged fewer shots on goal in the process.

Asked if this is the best team that’s surrounded Ovechkin and Backstrom, MacLellan said it is.

“I’m not going to say, ‘This is the year,’ ” Backstrom said. “But we’ve been playing good so far, and we’re first in the standings. … We’ll see what’s going to happen in the playoffs.”

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Washington will again have a challenging playoff path because its division is so competitive. Should the Capitals win their first round matchup, they’d likely have to play the winner of a series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round. Those two teams have the second and third most points in the Eastern Conference, and Pittsburgh is the defending Stanley Cup champion and last team to oust Washington from the postseason in the second round.

At past trade deadlines under MacLellan, the Capitals were mostly quiet with the exception of depth moves while their rivals went for the splash. Washington’s push for Shattenkirk took some members of its locker room by surprise.

“It’s pretty neat,” Alzner said. “You’re usually sitting there and thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that team picked so and so up, and this is going to be really good for them.’ Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. The rumor that I heard is that we were battling for Shattenkirk against Pittsburgh, and you definitely don’t want them to have him. So, it feels good that we could pick him up. It’s nice to see that we’re the team that got the prize at the end of the day.”

So, now what?

“Every year we talk about http://www.wacapitalsjersey.com/nicklas-backstrom-jersey-c-1.html, ‘This is our year, this is our year,’ ” Ovechkin said. “Enough talking. I think it’s time to do something.”

Perhaps no college football team finished the season stronger than USC. Sure http://www.alabamafanszone.com/amari-cooper-jersey-c-119.html, Clemson, but it was more about how the Trojans started that made the Rose Bowl run notable.

That 52 6 beating it took from Alabama on Labor Day weekend in Arlington was downright ugly. Things got worse with losses in two of the next three games. Everything turned from there with nine straight wins capped by a 52 49 classic over Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

It begged the postseason question How much differently would that Alabama USC game have been if it was played in January rather than September. A few former Trojans answered that question this week at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

Oh yeah http://www.alabamafanszone.com/customize-jersey-c-117.html, it would have been a totally different story because our team we always knew we were going to be great at the end, former USC running back Justin Davis said. But it was a matter of when we bought into the system or whatever. We thought we were ready for the first game but we obviously weren t.
The biggest difference between Week 1 and midseason was the emergence of quarterback Sam Darnold. He entered the Alabama late and completed 4 of 8 passes for 29 yards, but that was still Max Browne s team at that point.


It was Darnold who led the renaissance that included a 26 13 win at No. 4 Washington on Nov. 12. That change was enough to give confidence to receiver Darreus Rogers about a mythical rematch with Alabama.

With Sam Darnold, man http://www.alabamafanszone.com/blank-jersey-c-118.html, with him at quarterback, anything can happen, he said. The kid is special. I feel like it would be a better game, closer game and I feel like we probably could have made the upset but who knows? You never know what could happen but it probably would have been a different story.

Offensive lineman Zach Banner wasn t quite as ready to talk about any rematches.

It didn t happen, he said. So let s not talk about it.

All three former USC players had complimentary things to say about the Alabama team that routed them in AT T Stadium.
Rogers, who had a team high 45 receiving yards on two catches, called Alabama the best team I ve ever faced.

Disciplined. Physical. Fast, he said. It has it all.

Davis said the Trojans were still finding their identity with a new head coach in Clay Helton and a new starting quarterback in Browne. There weren t quite so many questions on Alabama s sideline Anthony Averett Jersey, he noted.

The was a Tide team coming off a national title. That wasn t something that would give USC players pause. Intimidation wasn t a factor.

Oh no, Davis said. Maybe for some young freshmen on our team because that s a big first game to play in but I know veterans knew they were just another team. They have good players like any other team does. We just had to deal with it.

The Trojans came out strong that night in Texas. They led 3 0 after the first quarter when Alabama s offense stalled on the first few drives. Jalen Hurts then replaced Blake Barnett and everything changed.

Alabama outscored USC 38 3 in the second and third quarters to blow things open. It included Hurts first touchdown pass, a 39 yarder to ArDarius Stewart. He added another, this time 71 yards to Stewart, when a cornerback and safety both blitzed to leave the receiver all alone.

The little things piled up and things got ugly.

In the end, it was USC s most lopsided loss since 1951.

That s what makes you mad because the score is kind of misleading because for a moment there, we were playing with them, Rogers said. And the Tide just turned. Our guys just weren t in the game anymore and they just ran up the score on us.

That just makes the intrigue of another shot more enticing for the running back who gained two yards on seven carries against Alabama.

I d die to have a second chance, Davis said.