Hurricanes top Red Wings for 8th straight, take Central lead
Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) and Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) battle for the puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)DETROIT โ Dougie Hamilton and Nino Niederreiter scored, Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Sunday night for their eighth consecutive victory. Carolina moved into the Central Division lead at 20-6-1, a point ahead of idle Tampa Bay and Florida. โI think heโs feeling good about his game and when Anthony feels good about his game, good things happen,โ Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. โI think puck management is going to be crucial Tuesday night.โON THE MOVEThe Red Wings recalled forward Mathias Brome from the taxi squad.
Red Wings scoreless in opener, lose 3-0 to Hurricanes
The Red Wings, who were easily the NHL's worst team last season, played for the first time since they lost to Carolina at home on March 10, 2020. โOnce you started playing, you stopped thinking about it as much and it wasnโt quite as weird,โ Red Wings center Dylan Larkin said. โIt was a good step in the right direction.โROUGH STARTLarkin made his debut as captain of the Red Wings, and his giveaway helped the Hurricanes score first. Playing the rebuilding Red Wings eight times in 56 games in the pandemic-altered Central Division should help Carolina's chances. The Red Wingsโ No.
Familiarity breeds respect among NHL East playoff teams
TORONTO, ONT Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as a blue-collar team. Is that a positive or a negative? Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the seventh-seeded Blue Jackets. Thats in the history books forever, Cooper said, noting how both teams have made various changes to their lineups. Id call them a really good team.Familiarity is breeding respect among the East opponents entering the first round. The Islanders hold a 5-2 playoff series edge over Washington.
Bubble hockey begins: NHL playoff teams adjust to quarantine
When the Boston Bruins boarded their flight bound for Toronto, they thought of it as just another long road trip. NHL players from the 24 playoff teams woke up to their new reality Monday in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. Columbus coach John Tortorella won't name his starting goaltender for Game 1 against Toronto until the day before. It's just the start, and it'll take almost a week of daily testing to be sure the NHL can pull this off. But getting into the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles represented an important stride toward playing during a pandemic.