Gästebuch » Some NHL teams wait weeks

GLENDALE Dustin Tokarski Jersey Womens , Ariz. — for a newly acquired player to produce. Some wait months. Some wait forever as the production never comes.The Arizona Coyotes needed to wait mere hours for forward Nick Schmaltz to start delivering a payback for the two players who were traded for him on Monday.Schmaltz will make his home-ice debut Saturday night when the Coyotes play the St. Louis Blues, who were 3-2 overtime winners at Colorado on Friday. Article continues below ...Coyotes goaltender Adin Hill, coming off his first NHL career shutout, also is expected to make his first start at home this season.The Coyotes were coming off a pair of dreadful home-ice losses, 6-1 to the Calgary Flames on Sunday and 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 23, when general manager John Chayka acquired Schmaltz from the Chicago Blackhawks for former first-round draft picks Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome.Schmaltz didn’t get on the scoresheet but made a tangible difference with his speed and playmaking skills the Tuesday as the Coyotes rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on the road.On Thursday, Schmaltz shifted to center — his preferred position — with Alex Galchenyuk and Clayton Keller as his linemates and produced a goal and an assist in a 3-0 road shutout of the Nashville Predators. Hill made 29 saves in his first start of the season and only the fifth of his career.“That’s why we got Nick,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. “It was nice to get production, basically, from all the lines.”Schmaltz set up Keller’s goal 1:40 into the second period, then scored himself on the power play in the final 21 seconds of the period to make it 2-0.“We knew it was going to come at some point, and we just kept working and got rewarded,” Schmaltz said. “Those are two guys (his linemates) who see the game at a similar level and we like to make plays and find each other and support each other. I think the chemistry is going to keep getting better and growing each and every night.”It was quite the turnaround for the Coyotes, who went from two of the worst losses — both aesthetically and score-wise — of Tocchet’s two-season tenure to two of their more impressive road wins.Hill was the big surprise; he was playing at Tucson (AHL) before being called up last weekend when No. 1 goaltender Antti Raanta and No. 2 Darcy Kuemper both sustained lower-body injuries at about the same time.“Two games ago we were the worst team in the league, now I’m sure people are going to say we’re great again,” Tocchet said. “I’m not a roller-coaster guy, it’s (stay) even keel. Keep doing the right things Valtteri Filppula Jersey Womens , hopefully. You’re going to go through some lulls, you manage those and you manage wins, and highs. I think that’s important for any team. Young kids are learning, too, to manage your emotions after wins and losses.”The Coyotes were 1-3-1 on a five-game homestand that preceded the two road wins, but they won four of five on home ice before that.The Blues are a team acquainted with roller-coaster rides, too. They won four of five from Oct. 27-Nov. 9 but had lost seven of nine before beating the Avalanche on defenseman Colton Parayko’s goal at 1:34 of overtime. Jake Allen made 27 saves, including a succession of difficult stops.St. Louis came into the game with the fewest wins (8) in the league, and this was their first one-goal victory all season.“Obviously, there’s a point (of the season) where we want to turn it around, and I think this was a huge win for us,” Parayko said. “It was a team win that started in the back with Jake and went all the way through the lineup. I thought we had a solid effort, and we want to continue with it.”The Coyotes were 2-0-1 against the Blues last season. Schmaltz’s older brother, Jordan, is a Blues defenseman. PITTSBURGH (AP) — It wasn’t the hastily arranged private plane ride from Miami to Pittsburgh. Or the police escort from the airport to PPG Paints Arena. It wasn’t the sight of a black-and-gold jersey with his name on the back hanging in the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ locker room. It wasn’t even racing to the bench and jumping over the wall and onto the ice with his new teammates without exchanging so much as an introductory handshake.No, Jared McCann’s “whoa” moment from the most exhilarating and surreal weekend of his professional life came Sunday, when the newly acquired forward arrived at Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby’s house to watch the Super Bowl with the rest of the gang.“There’s like an area to the side there Fredrik Claesson Jersey Womens , and it’s Hart Trophy, Hart Trophy, Hart Trophy,” McCann said, referring to Crosby’s three NHL MVP awards.Welcome to Pittsburgh, where the climate isn’t the only thing that’s a shock to the system.On Friday morning, McCann and Nick Bjugstad thought they were part of the long-term plans for the Florida Panthers. By Sunday night, they were hanging out in the home of one of the game’s biggest stars while playing for a team where anything less than a Stanley Cup parade through downtown in mid-June is considered a disappointment.No pressure or anything.“As soon as I walked in the rink here, they have the (championships) banners hanging everywhere,” McCann said. “It’s like: ‘You know what? We win here.’ You get that feeling. You just have confidence. You know you have guys that are going to show up every night and play well, and I want to be a positive influence for this team.”The Penguins are counting on that from both the 22-year-old McCann and the 26-year-old Bjugstad, brought over in a trade with Florida for veteran forwards Riley Sheahan, Derick Brassard and three 2019 draft picks.The early returns have been promising. Both players hardly looked overwhelmed while playing a back-to-back against Ottawa and Toronto in their first 27 hours with their new club. Bjugstad joined the second line and picked up an assist in a victory over the Senators while McCann played solidly centering the third line between forwards Tanner Pearson and Patric Hornqvist.“I thought they handled it great coming into a new dressing room 10 minutes before the game, getting thrown in there right into a game, playing some pretty good minutes, too,” Crosby said. “There’s a lot to be said about that. Sometimes that’s the best way Dylan DeMelo Jersey Womens , get thrown into it like that.”McCann credited Hornqvist for helping put him in the right spots on the ice over the weekend while the 6-foot-6 Bjugstad tried not to overdo it while centering the second line in place of injured Evgeni Malkin.“It’s almost better not having time to think,” Bjugstad said.That came on Monday when they went through their first practice in Pittsburgh. If Bjugstad wasn’t getting pulled away for a private moment with assistant coach Mark Recchi, then McCann was peppering anyone who would listen with questions.While they want to catch up quickly for a team that heads into Tuesday’s game against Carolina tied with Washington for second in the Metropolitan Division with 30 games to go, they also have the benefit of time. Neither player is a rental. Bjugstad is signed through 2021 while McCann’s contract runs through the end of the 2019-20 season.Coach Mike Sullivan still hasn’t settled on who will play where once Malkin — who is day to day with an upper-body injury — returns. Bjugstad could be effective as a third-line center, a spot the Penguins have been struggling to fill since Nick Bonino left following the team’s second straight Stanley Cup in 2017.Bjugstad also has size (6-foot-6) and a skillset that includes a 20-goal season, making him a candidate to find a spot in the top six. McCann, meanwhile, is an effective penalty killer who believes he is prepared for whatever the Penguins might throw his way. He already is taking pointers from 42-year-old Matt Cullen, who had made a career out of finding ways to do all the little things coaches love. It’s not a bad blueprint to follow.“I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to become the player I know I can be,” McCann said.First things first, however. McCann acknowledged he might have to stop at a shopping mall to pick up some pants. Seems he was in such a rush to get to Pittsburgh he mostly packed shorts for the trip north, not exactly ideal in a city where the sun is more rumor than fact between November and May. If that’s his lone misstep after the craziness surrounding his arrival, he’ll take it.“I had a great time in Florida,” McCann said. “But I feel like this is the next stepping stone in my career.”