The defending Stanley Cup champion Washington
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The defending Stanley Cup champion Washington
| Capitals got faster ahead of the NHL trade deadline by acquiring speedy winger Carl Hagelin from the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.Washington sent a 2019 third-round pick and a conditional 2020 sixth-round pick to Los Angeles.“We are pleased to welcome Carl to our organization www.officialducks.com ,” general manager Brian MacLellan said. “We felt this trade enables us to add depth up front and provides us with a veteran player with a tremendous amount of speed to help us on the penalty kill.”Hagelin must satisfy a games-played requirement in the playoffs and the Capitals must win two rounds for the Kings to get the sixth-rounder in next year’s draft.The teams announced the trade after Washington winger Devante Smith-Pelly cleared waivers and was assigned to Hershey of the American Hockey League. The Capitals needed to wait until Smith-Pelly was claimed or cleared waivers to clear a roster spot and salary-cap space for Hagelin. The Kings still had to retain salary for the Capitals to fit in Hagelin’s $4 million salary.Hagelin has just two goals and six assists in 38 games this season with Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. But the Capitals are plenty familiar with Hagelin after facing him in the playoffs the past six years.Washington is Hagelin’s fifth team during his eight-year NHL career. He has 230 points in 526 regular-season games and won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Toronto Maple Leafs carry a four-game winning streak into Nationwide Arena on Friday night to face a team that’s even hotter.The Columbus Blue Jackets (22-12-3) returned from the Christmas break on Thursday night with their fifth consecutive victory, a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ goal 31 seconds into overtime.The Maple Leafs (25-10-2) will be the more rested team, playing their first game since the layoff, but coach Mike Babcock said afterpractice on Thursday in Toronto that he doesn’t think that’s necessarily an advantage.Article continues below ...“It concerns me a little bit that Columbus is playing just from the fact that if you watched this practice you know we’re a little bit rusty to say the least Anaheim Ducks T-Shirts Authentic ,” Babcock said. “But we’ll be better tomorrow and get ready for them.”Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly liked being able to have a practice before a game.“I think we should all be fresh and ready to go,” he said “We’ve got some big games coming up here. … It works to our advantage to have a practice today and play tomorrow.”The Maple Leafs kept their winning streak intact on Sunday with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings. John Tavares scored the tying goal in the final seconds of the third period and Kasperi Kapanen the winner in overtime.Tavares leads the Maple Leafs with 24 goals in his first season with the club and Mitchell Marner has a team-best 38 assists and 50 points.Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews was named this week in fan voting as the captain of the Atlantic Division team for the NHL All-Star game next month.“To be selected is a huge honor and to be the captain of a division is pretty special,” Matthews said. The 21-year-old Matthews has accumulated 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games this season.“It’s exciting for our franchise,” Babcock said. “Obviously, he’s a good player and it’s a real compliment for him from the fans.”The Maple Leafs are running into one of the hottest goaltenders in the league. Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky was honored as the NHL’s First Star of the Week. Bobrovsky was given the first night of the Blue Jackets’ back-to-back off on Thursday after posting a 5-0-1 record with two shutouts in six straight starts. He made 34 and 39 saves in his last two games. “He’s playing at the top of his game Anaheim Ducks Hoodies Authentic , really, with a lot of confidence and he gives us a lot of confidence and keeps us calm on the bench,” Blue Jackets winger Cam Atkinson said. “We expect him to make those saves, and it’s amazing what he does for morale and then our team on the ice and the bench. He picks us up when we need him.” Although the Blue Jackets keep winning, coach John Tortorella was not particularly impressed with the how the team played last weekend at Philadelphia and New Jersey in victories.“I thought we sucked in both games Anaheim Ducks Hats Authentic ,” he said. “It’s time to get back to work. It’s simple. You had your break. Christmas is over. It’s a National Hockey League season. I hope we play better after the break.”Besides Bobrovsky, Atkinson has provided a significantcontribution for the Blue Jackets with four goals in the last four games and 23 for the season.“He’s one of the top players in this league,” Tortorella said. “I think we feels that.”Against the Rangers, the Blue Jackets let an early lead slip away before defenseman Zach Werenski scored the tying goal with 2:20 left in the third period and then Dubois ended it. “You’ve got to find a way to get points and that’s what we’ve been doing,” Werenski said. “It’s crunch time now. These are huge points. Every game matters.” |
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