Anleitungen » the Calder Trophy conversation

TORONTO — Auston Matthews said he is ready to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.The question is whether the team’s medical staff will clear him in time for the game against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena or wait until Saturday when the Maple Leafs visit the Minnesota Wild.The Maple Leafs did not play Tuesday while the Sharks were in Buffalo Womens Cam Fowler Jersey , where they lost 3-2 in overtime to the surging Sabres, who won their 10th straight.Article continues below ...It was the second straight loss for the Sharks, who dropped a 6-0 decision on the road to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.Joe Pavelski scored twice in the final nine minutes for the Sharks on Tuesday and leads the team with 15 goals.As for the Maple Leafs, Matthews has missed 14 games since Oct. 27 after he injured his shoulder in a collision with Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba.“In my mind, I feel ready to play (Wednesday),” Matthews said Tuesday after his first practice with contact. “The guys took it easy on me for the most part, but just in those battle drills and competing and stuff, everything felt good.”Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said final clearance for Matthews would not come until it is discussed with athletic therapist Paul Ayotte.The 21-year-old center has 10 goals and six assists in 11 games this season.“He looked fine out there (Tuesday) so we’ll see how he is,” Babcock said.The Maple Leafs (17-8-0)are 9-5-0 this season without Matthews, including a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins Monday night. The Maple Leafs have won five straight home games.“It’s never about one player, it’s about the team,” Babcock said. “We have a good leadership and the guys have worked hard most nights. We’ve had a tough schedule.”Mitch Marner has been playing particularly well. He had three assists against the Bruins on Monday and has six goals and 27 assists in 25 games.At times, it has looked as though Marner is playing a different game than the other players at times.“I think that’s what you think with all good players, is it not?” Babcock said. “I think, if you’re watching (Boston) Corey Perry Jersey , I think you think when (David Pastrnak) gets the puck and he’s playing a different game than everybody else too.“What’s amazing is most of us have no time and space whatsoever. We’re banging it here and banging it there and chasing it. Then the really good guys seem to have all the time in the world and that’s what you’re talking about. That’s why they’re just gliding all over the rink and it’s seems effortless and it seems like fun and they have the puck all the time and you can’t figure out why. They’re just better than everybody else.”The Sharks (12-8-5) are 4-5-3 on the road. They are considered somewhat of a disappointment so far this season.“We’ll find it,” said backup goaltender Aaron Dell, who could get the start Wednesday after Martin Jones got the call Tuesday. “It’s coming more and more. We were a little too offensive-minded to start and then we went polar opposite for a while and tried to play too much defense. Now, we’re going back and forth trying to find that middle. A little more time and we should be able to get that perfected and we’ll be a tough team to beat.”The Maple Leafs beat the Sharks 5-3 in San Jose on Nov. 15.“I get the frustration,” Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan told the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s natural for a fan base. Everyone in here grew up being a fan and you’re (upset) when the team loses. That’s what you should expect. It’s completely understandable. It’s frustrating when you’re not consistent. We could be doing a lot better. But considering how it’s gone, we’re still in a good spot.”“We still have a lot of the same core guys, but some of the new guys that have come in are pretty important pieces,” San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “We know we’re a good team and we know we’re going to be a great team.” GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Arizona Coyotes were one of the NHL’s best teams the final two months of the 2017-18 season, playing the kind of hockey coach Rick Tocchet envisioned his first season in the desert.If only they had started rolling a few months earlier.Plagued by the worst start in franchise history, the Coyotes finished last in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs for the sixth straight season, yet they have a glimmer of hope for the future thanks to their flourish to the finish.”There’s a lot of good positive things and we just have to keep pushing the pedal. We can’t stand pat,” Tocchet said. ”We can’t pat ourselves on the back, `Hey, we had a great second half.’ We’re still one of the bottom teams Conor Timmins Jersey Womens , which is reality, but saying that I thought we made a lot of strides.”The Coyotes made dramatic changes in hopes of ending their postseason-less run. Arizona parted ways with coach Dave Tippett and replaced him with Tocchet. Longtime captain Shane Doan’s contract was not renewed, No. 1 goalie Mike Smith was traded to Calgary and the Coyotes brought in a new group of players they hoped would lead the franchise out of its rut.Antti Raanta became the new top goalie, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was added to shore up the defense and Derek Stepan was expected to be the top-line center the team had sought for years.Little went according to plan. Raanta missed the first seven games with a lower-body injury and the Coyotes had trouble holding on to leads – when they could get them – and opened the season 1-12-1. Arizona could not escape the deep early hole, laboring at the bottom of the NHL standings throughout the first half of the season.The Coyotes started to click after the All-Star break. Raanta was healthy and stopping shots. The defense, a detriment early, tightened up. The offense, led by a core of young scorers, started to flow instead of sputter.Arizona went 17-9-3 over its final 29 games, finishing 29-41-12 with 70 points. The Coyotes were still last in the Pacific Division, but managed to finish ahead of Ottawa and Buffalo among the league’s bottom dwellers.”I’ve got all the confidence in this group,” said Stepan, who had 14 goals and was second on the team with 56 points. ”They’ve learned a lot this season and you’ve got to be able to carry that over into next season and continue to learn, and the older guys got to learn from the younger guys. It’s got to be a balanced group.”RAANTA’S RIDE: Raanta had a rough ride his first season as a No. 1 goalie, battling through separate injuries. Once he was healthy http://www.ducksshoponline.com/authentic-jakob-silfverberg-jersey , the Finnish goalie played like the Coyotes had hoped he would after trading for him from the New York Rangers.Raanta finished the season 21-17-6 with a 2.24 goals-against average and a save percentage of .930. He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this offseason, but the Coyotes locked him up for the next three years with a $12.75 million contract just before the season ended.”He stops the puck,” Coyotes GM John Chayka said. ”He just seems to, when he’s on, he’s locked in and he’s reading everything and making the game look easy. You put up his numbers both this season and over his career, he’s a high, high-end goaltender in terms of stopping the puck.”KELLER’S RISE: Clayton Keller got his rookie season off to a sizzling start, went through a dry scoring spell and finished strong to put himself in the Calder Trophy conversation.The No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 draft was the NHL’s leading rookie scorer during the season’s first month with nine goals and 15 assists before going 17 games without a goal into December. Keller closed strong with six goals and 15 assists in March and April, finishing with 23 goals and 65 points to lead the Coyotes in both categories.SIGNING OEL: One of the Coyotes’ top offseason priorities will be trying to sign All-Star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson as he heads into the last year of his contract.Once thought to be a trade target during Arizona’s rebuilding process, the Finnish defenseman remained a core player for the Coyotes, finishing fourth on the team with 42 points. He wants to stay in the desert and the Coyotes want him, so it’s a matter of coming to terms.—