#fourth-line

#fourth-line

The Toronto Maple Leafs will do what they haven't done in almost 20 years: play in the second round.The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in a glorious six game series in round one, and will be looking to make just their 5th conference final appearance since 1979, which is about 44 years.

The Bruins look to make it eight straight wins Tuesday night when they welcome the Nashville Predators to TD Garden.Boston is fresh off a shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday and can clinch the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed with a win and a Hurricanes' regulation loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

When you're the best team in hockey, everyone wants to knock you down, physically and mentally, and for the Bruins, that has been for the majority of the season.The Tampa Bay Lightning was the most recent opponent looking to take a win from Boston.Fortunately for the Black and Gold, they responded to the challenge and defeated Tampa Saturday at TD Garden.

BOSTON - Garnet Hathaway has quickly become a reliable player for the Bruins, and his presence was felt Saturday at TD Garden.Boston acquired the eighth-year forward from the Capitals on Feb. 23 in a deal that also included defenseman Dmitry Orlov.Hathaway has been a highlight on the Bruins' fourth line that has been solidified since Tomas Nosek returned from injury on the same night of Washington trade happened.

The Boston Bruins topped the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, this afternoon at the TD Garden to clinch the Atlantic Division.The game was a possible playoff preview, and it didn't disappoint.Special teams had their work cut out for them, as the Bruins had seven power plays and five penalty kills in the today's tilt - with gloves dropped just nine seconds in that set the tone for the rest of the day.

BOSTON - The Bruins clinched the Atlantic Division with 10 games left, and TD Garden witnessed a playoff-like atmosphere Saturday.The action needed nine seconds to get going with Garnet Hathaway and Jakub Lauko setting the tone for Boston.The former scored what ended up being the game-winning goal in the second period, showing he can get it done as a scrapper and through his skill on the ice.

The Rockford IceHogs dug themselves a mighty big hole at the BMO Center this weekend.With two chances to grab some momentum in their Central Division Semifinal series with Texas, the Hogs whiffed against the division's top club.Texas returns home with a 2-0 series advantage on the strength of a superior transition game and a knack for capitalizing on IceHogs mistakes.

If anything, the Marlies played worse and Utica made them pay for it thanks to a dominant second-period showing.First Period
A promising, fast-paced start by Toronto quickly unraveled before the two-minute mark.Loose defensive coverage allowed Utica to zip the puck around before Brian Halonen scored off of a feed from Alexander Holtz.

Bruins The Bruins' decision to wait to start Jeremy Swayman until the final game and a lack of a killer instinct contributed to their historic playoff loss.Too little, too late.The Boston Bruins made some lineup adjustments ahead of their winner take all Game 7.
Jeremy Swayman earned his first start of the postseason.

The Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers will finish their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series Sunday night at TD Garden.Although head coach Jim Montgomery did not reveal the Bruins' Game 7 goaltender immediately after morning skate, The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa projects Jeremy Swayman to get the start in between the pipes.

Game Wrap-ups
Whenever the Rangers need a big performance in an elimination game, Big Game Chris Kreider answers the call.With the Rangers down 1-0, Kreider got the biggest goal of the series thus far, redirecting Mika Zibanejad's shot past Akira Schmid just before the first period ended.That goal set the tone for the game, as the Rangers didn't look back.

12:20 AM ET


CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN's senior NHL writer.NEW YORK -- New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff blamed a parade of penalties for breaking his team's early momentum in Game 6, as the New York Rangers pushed their Eastern Conference first-round series to seventh game after a 5-2 win on Saturday night.

The Los Angeles Kings haven't made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since they were winning Cups in the early 2010s.They are virtually guaranteed to make it this year, after ending a four-year drought last season.They haven't made it past the first round since they won the Cup in 2014 though, and with the way things are going now, losing in Round 1 would be a big disappointment.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to virtually every player in the NHL.Be that as it may, the Toronto Maple Leafs interest should be limited to two players:
Timo Meier and Jakob Chychrun.But failing that, there is one good alternative:
Dylan Larkin, of the Detroit Red Wings.Toronto Maple Leafs and Dylan Larkin
Should the Leafs fail to land Timo Meier, Dylan Larkin would be a great fallback option.

SAN JOSE - Timo Meier said Tuesday that he has not had any talks about a new contract with Sharks general manager Mike Grier, seemingly increasing the likelihood that the forward will be dealt prior to the NHL's trade deadline in less than three weeks.Meier, a pending restricted free agent, entered Tuesday with 51 points, including a team-leading 30 goals.

SAN JOSE - Timo Meier said Tuesday that he has not had any talks about a new contract with Sharks general manager Mike Grier, seemingly increasing the likelihood that the forward will be dealt prior to the NHL's trade deadline in less than three weeks.Meier, a pending restricted free agent, entered Tuesday with 51 points, including a team-leading 30 goals.

Roster Moves
So much for Tyler Motte being too expensive for the NY Rangers.Barely an hour after the Rangers were rumored to be out on Motte due to cost, the Motte Girl Summer Part 2 has been confirmed, with the Rangers sending Julien Gauthier to Ottawa in exchange for the winger and a conditional 7th round pick (becomes a 6th round pick if the Rangers get past the first round of the playoffs).

In case you missed it, and given the long weekend it's certainly possible, the NY Rangers made another trade deadline move with the Tyler Motte trade.This is his second trade to the Rangers in as many deadlines, and it cost the Rangers Julien Gauthier and a conditional 7th round pick that becomes a 6th should the Rangers win a round in the playoffs.

The Washington Capitals hosted the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets for Gr802 Night at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.The night started off festive and full of smiles.It did not end that way.Ouch.Look, the Caps didn't necessarily play badly in that game at five-on-five.In fact, the stats had the matchup slightly tilted in the Caps' favor in most of the categories we look at in this post series for every game.

Game Wrap-ups
The NY Rangers decided that after all the fun against Calgary, they could take it easy against Vancouver.The good news is that the Canucks also felt the same way, with both teams playing some relatively sloppy defense in a slow, low event game.The Rangers weren't without chances, with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad hitting a crossbar apiece.

The NY Rangers made their big splash yesterday, as the Vladimir Tarasenko trade made headlines and stole a lot of the NBA's trade deadline thunder.The Rangers landed their top line right wing and their much needed third paring defenseman in one shot.The move solidified two giant holes on the roster long before bidding wars would become a thing.

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The New York Rangers made news headlines last week with the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola.The two have already helped solidify the depth the team needed and haven't lost to this point.

After a highly successful weekend, the Rangers took on the Metro-leading Carolina Hurricanes.The Canes have surrendered less goals that every team except Boston, so winning by a margin of six-plus was unlikely, but the Rangers did see Ryan Lindgren return to the lineup.First Period:
It took until the final three minutes of the first, but the Rangers drew first blood.

Ahead of the trade deadline, the New York Rangers added some major star power into their forward ranks, in the form of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane.With those players added to a lineup that already includes such forward talent as Mika Zibanejad, Artemiy Panarin, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafrenière, and Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers are a high-octane group with an emphasis on skill and creativity.

Vladimir Tarasenko is a member of the New York Rangers.As crazy as it is to believe, the Rangers believe they have struck gold with one of the most complete offensive players in hockey Thursday afternoon.With a contest against the Seattle Kraken coming Friday evening, it's an opportunity to see both Tarasenko and also acquired Niko Mikkola in a Blueshirts uniform.

According to a report, New York Rangers winger and former 9th overall selection Vitali Kravtsov has requested a trade from the organization.The 23-year-old has played in just 28 games this year, with a 3-3-6 line in those contests.The trade deadline is on March 3rd.Chris Drury is going to have his work cut out for him to not lose big on the former top pick.

Lineup Changes
Per Vince Mercogliano, the NY Rangers lines tonight have minimal changes.Tyler Motte is obviously in the lineup, on the fourth line, starting his second go round with the Rangers.Also, Jimmy Vesey and Vladimir Tarasenko have swapped places.Kreider - Zib - Vesey Panarin - Trocheck - Tarasenko Laf - Chytil - KakkoMotte - Leschyshyn - Goodrow
- Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 20, 2023

The bottom six are as expected.

The Bruins look to stay in the win column Saturday afternoon against the Wild as their road trip continues.Boston is coming off a 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday while Minnesota is 7-0-3 in its last 10 games and sits in second place in the Central Division.The Bruins will continue to rotate defensemen out of the lineup even with Derek Forbort's injury.

After dropping their last two games, the Boston Bruins returned to the win column by defeating the Winnipeg Jets, 3-0, on Thursday night.Before the game, head coach Jim Montgomery spoke about the team not " playing in the moment," Boston dug deep and returned to the league-leading team that has dominated opponents most of the season.

Nic Dowd continued his excellent season Tuesday night.The fourth-line center scored his 12th goal of the season setting a new career high.The milestone goal came in the second half of the third period after Dowd put a shot on net from the left circle just after the expiration of Washington's power play.

Anthony Mantha will not play against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday due to illness.The Capitals announced the news during warmups.#Caps Anthony Mantha (illness) will not play today vs San Jose.- CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 12, 2023

Mantha had one shot and two hits in 14:26 of ice time against the Bruins on Saturday.

Nic Dowd has been activated from the injured reserve before the Capitals are set to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.The fourth-line center is no longer listed on the IR on the NHL's media site.To make room for Dowd's return to play, the Caps announced that they have sent forward Aliaksei Protas back to the AHL's Hershey Bears.

Bruins Over the span of his seven-year NHL career, Barbashev has fit the mold of a straight-line, scrappy bottom-six skater.Top trade deadline targets like Timo Meier, Patrick Kane, and Jakob Chychrun might steal most headlines during the feeding frenzy ahead of the NHL's March 3 deadline.But if the Bruins want to address legitimate needs with their already stout lineup, shoring up the depth in their bottom-six forward corps might be the most logical move, rather than adding what would essentially be a luxury in Chychrun.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Ryan O'Reilly from the St. Louis Blues, along with Noel Acciari, in exchange for their first round pick in 2023, second round pick in 2024, third round pick in 2023 (Ottawa's), prospect Mikhail Abramov, and free agent signee Adam Gaudette.The Minnesota Wild also receive the Leafs fourth round pick in 2025 for retaining salary on O'Reilly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the deepest team in the NHL.It is indisputable.The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the NH L in players taken off waivers over the last several seasons, while they have better players in the AHL than most other teams have on their 4th lines.Look at their forwards: Jarnkork is on the 2nd line, and Kerfoot-Kampf-Engvall are some of the best non-star players alive in the world.

The Toronto Maple Leafs came into tonight's game with three things in mind.1) Make sure new guys Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari have a good time in their debuts.2) Joseph Woll plays like he does for the Marlies.3) Beat the gosh darn Montreal Canadiens for once this season.The game began with a heartwarming scene.

The Toronto Maple Leafs can't beat bad teams!The 2023 Toronto Maple Leafs regularly slaughter and destroy bad teams, then get bad results.This is really only a problem if you don't consider the nuance and subtleties of the situation.For instance: the Leafs games against the bad teams constitutes a very small sample size, while in fact the underlying numbers show that they rarely are outplayed, out worked, or deserve to lose.

In what is becoming an annual tradition, the New York Rangers have once again acquired depth winger Tyler Motte ahead of the trade deadline.This time, the Blueshirts picked him up from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Julien Gauthier and a conditional 2023 seventh-round draft pick, after acquiring him from the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round pick on deadline day last season.

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching and the Bruins find themselves in an intresting position.Boston sits atop the league standings with a 42-8-5 record and 91 points, 13 points ahead of the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division and seven in front of the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the NHL.