Archives for February 10, 2019

‘”I think the power play is really doing a good job possessing the puck in the zone,” Housley said afterward. “I would like to see them shoot a little bit more. You saw two goals that came by just getting pucks to the net, but they have done a terrific job in the month of February. It’s been a whole different story than it was in January. … We’re going to need them, especially in tight games like this.”‘

‘The Sabres made Ullmark’s job easier with their improved defensive play. Jake McCabe and Zach Bogosian laid out to break up 2-on-1 backdoor passes. For the most part, they kept the Red Wings’ scoring chances to the short side and cleared traffic from in front of the net.’

‘”Systemwise, we’ve got to be all on the same page, know what we’re we’re doing out there,” Ristolainen said “Everyone has to know their responsibility but today was a little better for sure. We got the result we wanted, goalie played great and we go on to the next one.”‘

‘In addition to their defense correcting previous mistakes, the offense continued to thrive. Casey Mittelstadt and Kyle Okposo scored power-play goals, while Conor Sheary broke a scoreless tie early in the second period. Linus Ullmark made 28 saves, perhaps none more important than his stop on Andreas Athanasiou’s third-period breakaway.’

‘”It was really kind of weird how it came about,” Scheifele told this corner at the All-Star Game in San Jose. “It actually started out that we found out we both did skills work in the offseason with [former NHL star] Adam Oates. So you start bonding and talking about that. And then we went to a Starbucks before all our games together in that tournament. That’s how it started, but it’s grown into a really good friendship.”‘