The Lightning
-The Lightning slipped Gemel Smith through on Monday yesterday. He cleared on Tuesday, and was sent to Syracuse. Tampa decreasing its store of forwards can only mean one thing: Brayden Point must be ready to don the blue and white again.
At this morning’s Tampa Bay Lightning practice, there were increasing signs that Brayden Point was closing in on returning to the lineup. He was a full participant, centering the top line between Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. He also resumed his place on the first power play unit that Tyler Johnson had been occupying. The Lightning’s next game is Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs and it looks like he’s ready to make his return in Toronto.
Brayden Point back on first #tblightning power play for today’s practice. Good sign he could be back Thursday against Toronto. pic.twitter.com/gJblCaBuKo
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) October 8, 2019
Lines from #tblightning practice
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Joseph-Johnson-Gourde
Palat-Cirelli-Killorn
Maroon-Verhaeghe-WitkowskiDefense pairs rotating with 7 on the ice.
*Smith not on the ice for practice
— Caley Chelios (@CaleyChelios) October 8, 2019
Another good indication Brayden Point is ready to make his season debut. #Bolts https://t.co/OgJFi7MUE4
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) October 8, 2019
-Are Steven Stamkos and Kevin Shattenkirk as good at changing diapers as they are at hockey? Well…
LIGHTNING DIAPER CHALLENGE:
Steven Stamkos and Kevin Shattenkirk became new dads in the off-season, so I had to put those father skills to the test 😂(Thanks for being good sports @RealStamkos91 @shattdeuces @BraydenPoint19 & Ryan McDonagh) #Bolts #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/b1SaxHUbgh
— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiWTSP) October 8, 2019
-Here’s Lightning prospect Sammy Walker doing good things:
Safe to say Walker and McLaughlin are ready to play Friday. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/zZUuiW7Zvl
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) October 8, 2019
The Crunch
–Crunch Corner is back! We are very excited that Justin is continuing his in-depth coverage of the Syracuse Crunch in weekly updates that combine his hockey analysis abilities with his spot-on humor.
It’s been one game. They got a point. Other teams have more than a point. Some teams have no points. We’ll start looking at the official standings next week.
-The Crunch issued their own weekly recap, too. It isn’t as funny, but we can’t all be Justin.
After opening our 26th AHL season on Friday, we’ve added Gemel Smith and Luke Schenn to our roster heading into a weekend trip to Cleveland.
Weekly Release: https://t.co/aKtDeEWEI9 pic.twitter.com/yQ4llxUya7
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) October 8, 2019
-The Crunch announced their promotional schedule yesterday, so get those calendars out.
We’ll announce dates and details for our You Can Play Night and 40th Anniversary of Miracle on Ice Night later this season. Both feature specialty jerseys.
We’ve got something special in the works still. pic.twitter.com/Lqw3KtmFNU
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) October 8, 2019
Sadly, Syracuse Speaks listeners will be disappointed to see that there is no Harry Potter night planned.
The Game
-Although it was a loss, some good information can still be gleaned from the Buffalo Sabres’ most recent overtime loss.
You don’t like to see losses, but I did like to analyze the way Krueger handled his lineup when pushing for a tying goal and in OT https://t.co/TkKzN6jBdR
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) October 8, 2019
-Here’s an update on the Sabres’ coaching:
Encouraging update on Sabres assistant coach Don Granato. Brother Tony spent a week away from the UW hockey team to be with Don during ongoing health situation. Also the latest on K’Andre Miller’s (NYR) suspension from Todd. https://t.co/8x6ifJt0BA
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) October 8, 2019
-Former Sabres goalie Nathan Lieuwen has bought a BCHL franchise.
“Having a BCHL franchise showcasing an exciting brand of hockey will be a great addition to the economic well-being of the City,” says Lee Pratt, Mayor of the City of Cranbrook. “Nathan and his group, along with City staff have worked closely together these last few months to bring this great entertainment to the citizens at an affordable price. We welcome the Bucks to Cranbrook and look forward to many years of exciting hockey.”
-New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist has been in the league for 14 seasons. 14!
14 years ago, Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist30) made his NHL debut.
The @NYRangers goalie looks back on his first game and first roommate…@68Jagr. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/d9m2XO8f3X
— NHL (@NHL) October 8, 2019
-Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dmitry Kulikov has been granted personal leave from his team to tend to a personal matter.
The #NHLJets have granted Dmitry Kulikov a personal leave from the team. As a result, he has been designated as a ‘Non-Roster Player’.
During that time, he will not count against the clubs active 23-man roster, but his cap hit will continue to count against the clubs salary cap. pic.twitter.com/4WihHVai8U
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) October 8, 2019
-Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks is back in the fold.
HE’S BACK IN TEAL!
Welcome back, Patrick Marleau! pic.twitter.com/jyFczqWrJy
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 8, 2019
Unless the #Sharks were willing to assign more than 1 player to the minors in the short term, $700,000 is nearly all that SJ could afford to fit under the cap. https://t.co/jYbdal0f54
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) October 8, 2019
-I think the Philadelphia Flyers are ahead of the curve here. Maybe we all need rage rooms.
True story – and maybe the most Philly thing ever. #Flyers have added a “Rage Room” to @WellsFargoCtr, where “participants wearing protective gear can smash, break, and unleash their rage upon everyday items like televisions and dishes using bats, sledgehammers, and more.”
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 8, 2019
-Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk just might “be the best franchise destroyer on the continent,” writes Katie Baker of The Ringer.
Melnyk may have “saved” Ottawa from bankruptcy in 2003, but from the start, much of his wealth was tied to his pharmaceutical company, Biovail, which had been plagued by issues for years. (A 1998 Forbes article described Melnyk as “a smooth, well-tailored entrepreneur with only a medical publishing background, who has made a number of announcements about his company’s pending drugs that have yet to prove true.”) The same year Melnyk bought the Senators and their arena for $92 million, he also told investors—fraudulently, it was later ruled—that subpar Biovail profits were a result of a fatal truck accident in Illinois that had delayed shipments. Over the years Melnyk has relied on a daisy chain of loans to finance the Senators, the most recent being a $135 million line of refinanced credit announced in the summer of 2018.
-Former NHL star Daniel Carcillo wants the health of NHL players to be taken care of.
“What’s the point of playing professional sports? It’s supposed to be for the memories? If you can’t remember that anymore, it’s really scary.”
Two-time Stanley Cup champion @CarBombBoom13 calls on the NHL and the NHLPA to take care of its athletes. #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek pic.twitter.com/f8cyxixzUP
— The Players’ Tribune (@PlayersTribune) October 8, 2019
-The PG Cougars of the WHL are donning pretty amazing custom jerseys celebrating Oktoberfest:
Guten Tag! Introducing the 2019 @pgcougars Oktoberfest themed @CCMHockey jerseys.
These traditional lederhosen inspired jerseys will see @TheWHL action on October 19th vs. @spokanechiefs! pic.twitter.com/tf58cGwjQu
— Taylor Vause (@wizardofvause) October 8, 2019
-Mike McKenna’s newest podcast episode is up.
🥅NEW PODCAST🥅
Lindsay Middlebrook
“The China Wall”
– 37 NHL games
– @EdmontonOilers @NHLJets @NJDevils #NorthStars
– Studio 54
– Mile run in front of Jets fans
– @chicoreschNJD
– Draft day mixup
MUCH more!@Spotify https://t.co/iLn9ZVs1TV@ApplePodcasts https://t.co/i4ZatqwUNc pic.twitter.com/x7kCbVlWzs— Mike McKenna (@MikeMcKenna56) October 8, 2019
-NCAA fans will want to have The Hockey News’ top 100 list handy at all times.
