This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
When Evgeni Nabokov was traded to San Jose on Monday, you kind of already knew what was going to happen. The Sharks weren't in dire need of goaltending and Andrei Vasilevskiy was clearly better suited to be the Lightning's backup. So, really, there was only one right answer: Nabokov was retiring.
By this morning, Nabokov will have left our minds. He's no longer found on the front page of either TSN.ca or NHL.com. That's going to happen in a 24/7 news cycle, where the news you jus t heard has already become yesterday's news. The Sharks have that one glaring hole in their franchise history despite periods of sustained success: a Stanley Cup title. Whenever the Sharks are discussed as a contender, most detractors will point towards their lack of playoff success, something that has actively prevented them from being discussed in the same tier as Chicago, Los Angeles or Detroit.
But the Sharks were a powerhouse for the better part of the decade, winning five division titles, one Presidents' Trophy and making a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Nabokov was a big reason for that. The former ninth-round pick retired as the Sharks' franchise leader in games, wins and shutouts, spending a total of 10 seasons in the Bay Area. As a ninth-round draft pick whom the Sharks never really bothered to scout, Nabokov's ascension, literally from the depths of the hockey world, was meteoric and astounding.
The Kazakh-born Nabokov, who wore No. 20 to honor the great Vladislav Tretiak, posted back-to-back 30-win seasons in his first two years in the NHL, then later capped off his days as a Shark with three consecutive 40-win seasons. During those 40-win seasons, Nabokov appeared in more than 70 games twice. That's about as close to as you can get to being an Ironman as a goalie. That's not mentioning that he's the first goalie to score a power play goal.
At times, many considered Nabokov to be one of the best in the league, even though his career has seen some real ups and downs. He always seemed quicker than all the other goalies, often relying on his reflexes to make some incredible saves, like an octopus lashing out with all of its limbs, trying to catch, block and deflect any form of vulcanized rubber. I'll always remember this save against Brad Richards in 2008 to help the Sharks stay alive in an elimination game, in what ended up being a four-overtime marathon and a remarkable 53-save performance from Nabokov. That save on Richards is about as close as you can get to scoring a goal without actually scoring a goal. Nabokov caught the puck right on the goal line.
But he was also nearly replaced by Vesa Toskala in 2006, he nearly played out his career in the KHL, and he nearly landed on Long Island after signing with Detroit in his NHL comeback. (Okay, going to the Islanders eventually happened, but it almost never did, either).
I'm sure that Nabokov, the always classy Steve Yzerman and long-time hockey guy Doug Wilson got together to get Nabokov the right send off, and I wouldn't be surprised if Nabokov had a lot of input on this as well. It's rare to see athletes say farewell to the show on their own terms, so I'm glad it was able to get done. The Sharks and Nabokov realized that they were always a good fit for each other despite their past differences. Nabokov should be the first of a long line of goalies that the Sharks should be proud of producing. Nice job, San Jose.
Friday goalie notes:
- Despite being the likely starter, Emery hasn't been worthy of any love since joining Philadelphia, but McElhinney could be an interesting start. The BJ's aren't very good at home (11-14-2) but the Flyers are even worse on the road, tied for third-last with road wins (8) in the East. McElhinney is unpredictable because you never know what kind of performance you're going to get, but he's been pretty good with more good performances than bad. Over his career, McElhinney has allowed over three goals per game against the Flyers but has a 3-1-0 record against them.
- The Blackhawks should be able to bounce back after digging themselves into a 3-1 hole before finally succumbing 5-4 in overtime to Vancouver. The Devils should be dispatched pretty easily but Schneider will certainly give them a chance. He's been excellent of late and has traditionally gotten better as the season goes on, but his track record against Chicago, going back to his Vancouver days, isn't very good (3.44 GAA, .901 Sv%). Starting Crawford is a no brainer.
- There's still a chance the Stars could elect to give Jhonas Enroth a big welcome and give him the home start Friday against Florida, but Lehtonen should get the start after winning his past two starts on the road against the Bruins and Rangers. The Panthers have some good young players but the Stars are an offensive machine, which means whoever the Panthers start in goal is going to get shelled. It could be Luongo, who is coming off a loss last night, or Al Montoya. Not a good matchup for the Cats.
- Niemi wasn't very good the day Nabokov announced his retirement, but he gets an easy bounce back opponent in Arizona, who will be without Martin Hanzal. Smith has been good over his past five games, allowing just eight goals in that span, but has just two wins to show for it because the Coyotes can't score goals. Maybe it's because Don Maloney already threw in the white flag, but Smith has played much better recently and it might be because there's a little less pressure. The Coyotes came into the season as a playoff contender even though they were a noticeably weaker team on paper. The notorious hothead can be a little hard on himself sometimes… and get really, really angry.
- It's no longer Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas highlighting Bruins vs. Canucks. That much is for sure. A lot has changed since 2011, and though the teams continue to consider each other bitter enemies, the rivalry has lost much of its luster (maybe Ryan Miller disagrees). It'll be a tough matchup with the winner hard to pick. The Bruins have lost two straight and will be looking to right the ship against a team they know they can beat, while the Canucks narrowly blew a 3-1 lead against Chicago on Wednesday. Both goalies are worth starting but one will have to take the loss.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Philadelphia Flyers (Ray Emery) at Columbus Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney*), 7:00 PM
New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider*) at Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford*), 8:30 PM
Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
* = confirmed
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Philadelphia Flyers
Steve Mason, G (knee surgery) – out 2-3 weeks.
Kimmo Timonen, D (blood clots) – practiced with team; no timetable for return.
Braydon Coburn, D (foot) – game-time decision; doubtful.
Michael Raffl, LW (illness) – practiced Thursday; questionable.
Zac Rinaldo, RW (suspension) – will not play.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nathan Horton, RW (back) – out for the season.
Boone Jenner, LW (back) - out 1-2 months.
Ryan Murray, D (ankle) – no timetable for return.
Jeremy Morin, LW (heart) – no timetable for return.
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) – practiced alone; no return date set.
James Wisniewski, D (lower body) – practiced alone; no return date set.
Jared Boll, RW (lower body) – game-time decision; questionable.
Brian Gibbons, C (knee) – practiced Wednesday; probable.
Dalton Prout, D (upper body) – will not play.
New Jersey Devils
Bryce Salvador, D (back) – no timetable for return.
Ryane Clowe, LW (concussion) – no timetable for return.
Damon Severson, D (ankle) – no timetable for return.
Stephen Gionta, C (hand) – will not play.
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D (knee) – practiced light; no timetable for return.
Tim Erixon, D (lower body) – will not play.
Florida Panthers
Brandon Pirri, C (upper body) – out two weeks.
Willie Mitchell, D (upper body) – will not play.
Dallas Stars
Rich Peverley, C (heart) – no timetable for return.
Valeri Nichushkin, RW (hip) – out 3-6 weeks.
Patrik Nemeth, D (arm) – out one week.
Antoine Roussel, LW (suspension) – will not play.
Travis Moen, LW (lower body) – game-time decision; probable.
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, RW (knee) – no timetable for return.
Mike Brown, RW (leg) – no timetable for return.
Tye McGinn, LW (undisclosed) – no timetable for return.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Justin Braun, D (finger) – out 4-6 weeks.
Arizona Coyotes
Mikkel Boedker, LW (ruptured spleen) – no timetable for return.
Martin Hanzal, C (back surgery) – no timetable for return.
Alexandre Bolduc, C (mid-body) – no return date set.
Joe Vitale, C (upper body) – no return date set.
Connor Murphy, D (illness) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Boston Bruins
:)
Vancouver Canucks
Brad Richardson, C (ankle) – no timetable for return.
Frank Corrado, D (upper body) – out 2-3 weeks.
Kevin Bieksa, D (hand) – week-to-week.
Nick Bonino, C (foot) – week-to-week.
Hot
Tyler Toffoli, RW, Kings – With a hat trick and four points last night, Toffoli is now on a three-game point streak during which he's collected six points. The Kings need to start winning games soon or otherwise fall out of the playoff race and Toffoli's recent return really gives them a boost offensively. He's been one of the team's best depth scorers with 35 points in 48 games.
Jason Spezza, C, Stars – It's about time the Stars got some steady secondary scoring from players not named Jamie Benn or Tyler Seguin. The big playmaker has five assists in his past five games and has really turned a corner since January. Of course, it helps that Ales Hemsky has finally started to score. The pair were dynamic when they were in Ottawa and only now has it really translated.
Cold
Martin St. Louis, RW, Rangers – St. Louis hasn't scored in over a month, since Jan. 10 to be exact, and has just one assist in his past nine games. He's been taken off the first power play unit in favor of Mats Zuccarello, so the prolonged slump has frustrated Alain Vigneault as well. St. Louis' best days are clearly behind him and he's no longer a dependable source of points, but given his talent he should be able to bounce back really soon.
Carl Soderberg, C, Bruins – The Swedish forward has two assists in his past five games, which is acceptable, but he hasn't scored since Jan. 17. He's been putting the shots on net, but they just haven't gone in. Over the past few seasons, the Bruins have lost a lot of depth via free agency and trades, which has put pressure on youngsters like Soderberg and David Pastrnak to provide some scoring. The Bruins have lost two straight but Soderberg may have a chance to really use his speed against Vancouver tonight.
Recommended Pickup
Alex Burrows, RW, Canucks – He's magic with the Sedins, and that's where he's been playing for the past few weeks. Radim Vrbata was a good linemate for the twins, but in order to generate some more even strength scoring Willie Desjardins has spread out the lines. Reuniting Burrows with the Sedins was a no-brainer, given their past chemistry, and Burrows now has four points in his past five games. The Canucks face Boston tonight, which means Burrows will surely be heavily involved somehow, and if he continues to skate on the top line he's going to be a very valuable player.
