"I think that one of the unique things about Willy is he can play with good players and highly-skilled players, and we did talk about that, even dating back to pre when I was here. His ability to play with some of the most talented [players], whether it was Nick Backstrom, so we just had some good conversations about him being able to play that [role]."
MILAN -- Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Canada are rolling into the knockout round at the Olympics as the best team in the tournament. They may have put the top seed out of the Americans' reach. Crosby and McDavid each had a goal and two assists in a clinical, businesslike 10-2 dismantling of France on Sunday, which included Tom Wilson fighting the player who delivered a forearm to Nathan MacKinnon's face.
At times during last night's matchup between the NY Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers, it looked as if the Isles were chasing the Oilers through extended shifts over and over. But despite the Oilers' superstars controlling the puck, the Isles stood tall defensively and had a brick wall in net. The Isles have fared well against opposing superstars this season, especially two who are widely considered the top two forwards in the league, in Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
Ilya Sorokin delivered a vintage performance, stopping all 35 shots he faced to record his NHL-leading fifth shutout of the season as the New York Islanders edged the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 on Thursday night at Rogers Place. Sorokin was sharp from the opening faceoff, tracking pucks cleanly through traffic and calmly handling Edmonton's relentless pressure. When he wasn't the difference, the goalposts helped - ringing twice on Oilers chances in a scoreless game that felt like it was waiting for one mistake to decide it.
"But other than that, I thought it was pretty good, exactly what we wanted. ... It's just a little bit frustrating, because I thought guys were into the game, guys were sharp, but that little pop was missing. "I don't know - that little bit of energy on the bench wasn't there, but it was a good game for us. Just little mistakes cost us."
Frederic, who was given a nice hand from the crowd when his obligatory welcome-back video was played, very well may have tripped on a fellow Oiler. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for Edmonton to cash in. McDavid took a Draisaitl feed at the side of the net and he calmly waited for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to sneak behind Sean Kuraly at the opposite post. McDavid hit him for a perfect redirect goal for the 1-0 Edmonton lead at 13:38 of the first period.
"I mean, it's fine. It's been a grind lately," Matthews said. "You know, for us, it's trying to string together points and wins. And I think we've done a pretty decent job of that over the last seven, eight, nine, 10 games. You just want to continue to put yourself in a position to win games, and the team win games."
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 31 shots to make Sam Reinhart's first period snipe stand up in Florida's 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. It was Bobrovsky's second shutout of the season and the 51st of his career. Gustav Forsling drew the lone assist on Reinhart's goal, which gave Sam 1 the NHL lead in game-winning goals (five). A couple of milestones took place in Thursday's contest. Defenseman Jeff Petry suited up for his 1,000th NHL game and forward prospect Jack Devine played his first.
Selected first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, Schaefer has been a transformative presence for the Islanders, and he's been their best player by some distance to start the year. He's the favourite to win the Calder Trophy through the opening month of the season, pulling ahead of Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov. And few players make the game look so easy, as Schaefer's world-class skating and ability to enter the rush are propelling the Islanders into must-watch territory.
"I didn't grow up deeply immersed in hockey, even though my brothers loved the sport. It wasn't until I met Connor that I truly began to understand the game. The skill, the strategy, the passion that drives it."
As Kirill Kaprizov enters the final year of his contract, the hockey world has been waiting for news of a contract extension with the Minnesota Wild to drop -- but Kaprizov has reportedly turned down an offer that would have broken monetary records in the NHL. Right now, the highest-paid player in the league is Leon Draisaitl, who earns $14 million annually, whereas the largest contract in history was Alex Ovechkin's 13-year, $124 million deal signed back in 2008.
While speculation continues to swirl around the superstar's long-term future, McDavid has offered little to fuel the fantasy. Speaking recently during Team Canada's Olympic orientation camp, the Oilers captain struck a measured tone when asked about resigning in Edmonton, echoing the patience he expressed during his postseason press conference after a second straight Stanley Cup Final loss to the Florida Panthers.
