@iceman-cometh
Ignore the hacked and now fake @icemancometh tweets on X. Doing the writing thing for The Athletic. SoCal bred. Eyes on the California teams and beyond. Still love the grits. Still kinda goofy. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/
Instead of seeing what free agency could bring, Kiefer Sherwood got his life-changing contract with a long-term commitment to the Sharks. Now he wants to be part of their build to something special.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...
As they chase down a playoff spot, Mammoth lock up potential UFA center Nick Schmaltz with eight-year, $8 million AAV extension.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...
Just two games in the NHL tonight and neither involve Western Conference teams so the playoff race stays quiet for a night.
No dramatic comeback was required. No late heroics were necessary. In their resounding win over the Jets, the Ducks found the kind of game that could make them a postseason threat.
From Winnipeg
www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...
An impressive 4-1 win for Ducks over Jets. Not necessarily in who they beat given Winnipeg's season but how they did it.
Still with 20 minutes left and you figure the Jets will make a push at some point, but Ducks have played probably their most ideal 40 minutes of season from a defensive and game management standpoint. Basically cutting Winnipeg off before it can generate anything offensively.
No stopping the Sabres wagon these days. Not the Sharks tonight, who fall 6-3 in Buffalo to start their road trip. Jack Quinn has a hat trick. Macklin Celebrini, Kiefer Sherwood and Alex Wennberg (PP) score for San Jose. Sabres were 11-14-4 on Dec. 8. Now 40-19-6.
And then just seconds later, Ryan Poehling gives Anaheim the 2-1 lead with a deflection in front. Gritty goals abound.
Gritty goal by Tim Washe pulls Ducks into a 1-1 tie not long after Morgan Barron's deflection broke the ice in the second period.
Ducks have their skating legs so far against Jets even though both teams aren't putting shots on goal in the first. Those legs weren't there Sunday against Blues.
Looks like John Carlson's debut with Anaheim will come either on Saturday in Ottawa or Sunday in Montreal at the end of the Ducks' road trip. Joel Quenneville: "He’s progressing. He said he's feeling better." Only lineup change tonight vs. Jets is Jansen Harkins drawing in for Frank Vatrano.
Tonight's notable West playoff race games: SJ at BUF, ANA at WPG, LA at BOS, VGK at DAL, UTA at MIN, EDM at COL, NSH at SEA. Big slate.
Whaddaya know? Doin' a roadie.
With the 5-4 OT win over Columbus on Adrian Kempe's strike and second of the game, Kings pull within one point of Seattle for the WC2. This was the rescheduled game so L.A. couldn't afford to let these points get away. Now tied with San Jose but Sharks (2) and Kraken (1) each have games in hand.
Kings about to kick off a five-game trip right in Columbus with the rescheduled game from Jan. 26. This one figures to boost or end their playoff hopes. But with the way the Pacific has been, maybe it doesn't do either if no one else stacks wins to pull away.
Just a pretty disengaged game by the Ducks so far as the Blues grab a three-goal lead in the second. They've had a ton of home games and are about to jump on a cross-country Canadian trip. Feels like they're just not into this one.
Points lost for Kings, Predators, Sharks and Kraken so still no separation when it comes to the WC2. Seattle's loss at home isn't great. L.A.'s late blown lead in regulation hurts. No shame in Nashville losing at white-hot Buffalo. San Jose managed two of four with OT losses in home back-to-back.
Scott Laughton's first goal in his Kings debut is a big one as it pulls them into a 2-2 tie late in the second period. Jared Wright also gets his first NHL point in his third game.
Thought politics and sports weren't supposed to mix.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/709...
John Carlson won’t play tomorrow vs. STL. Still working his way back from a lower-body injury that he had prior to the Olympic break.
#FlyTogether
It is too early to say if John Carlson will be the Ducks' best trade deadline acquisition ever, but the accomplished defenseman is the biggest. On them joining force for a postseason splash.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/709...
Sharks fall, 3-2, to Blues in overtime as Kiefer Sherwood scoring a big tying goal in the third but Robert Thomas gets the winner in the first minute with a rebound score off his skate. Freshly re-signed Alex Nedeljkovic stops 11 of 14 and Macklin Celebrini gets his 31st. Disappointing one for SJ.
Alex Killorn's shootout goal in the sixth round gives Ducks a 6-5 back-and-forth win over Canadiens. Lukas Dostal stopped five of six Montreal tries. Anaheim now 8-0 in shootouts. Cutter Gauthier, Radko Gudas, Jackson LaCombe, Leo Carlsson, Chris Kreider with ANA goals.
Canadiens and Ducks are really, as my friend @arponbasu.bsky.social says, mirror images of each other in a lot of ways. Explosive and leaky. Can erase deficits. Tonight, it's Montreal that's done it.
Appreciate you, Steve. Yes, I'm ready to take a small breather here.
Ducks hold a 3-2 lead after two periods as Jackson LaCombe's PP goal was the only marker in the second to snap a tie. Lukas Dostal had several key saves. Sam Montembeault has been shaky but also made some excellent stops to keep it a one-goal game.
Twenty seconds into the game, Ducks score from distance but it's pulled off the board for a successful offside challenge. So they decide to score 19 seconds later. This one counts. ... and as I type this up, Canadiens tie it up 22 ticks later.
Won't go so far as to say there was undue pressure by Ducks owner Henry Samueli but remember at the hiring of Quenneville him saying he wants back in the playoffs. Tired of rebuilding. It's time and a player like John Carlson being on the market figures into that. Anaheim is bent on being in dance.
Kings trade Corey Perry to Lightning for 2028 second-round pick.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/709...
