- Morning Skate
- Posts
- Morning Skate - Thursday, November 17
Morning Skate - Thursday, November 17
Morning Skate - Talking Torts & Throwback Thursday
Share Morning Skate with a Teammate!
It is a great pleasure to bring hockey content to your inboxes on a daily basis. Our next step is to grow our viewership and we need your help. Please take a moment to forward and share this newsletter with your hockey-loving friends!If this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up here: morningskate.io
Yesterday's NHL Scores
Last Night's News 📰
REAVES OUT?: New York Rangers forward Ryan Reaves has been a healthy scratch four of the last five games, and his days in New York could be near an end. He said that he has been putting in the work at practices, but ultimately, it might come down to a numbers game by stating, "We've got a lot of bodies around here, and I don't know how it's going to shake out." Reaves currently has zero points in 12 games.
FLOWER'S ON THE SHELF: Yesterday, the Minnesota Wild placed goaltender Marc-André Fleury on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. Fleury did not practice on Wednesday after making 23 saves in a loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and will be out for at least seven days.
AN APPLE A DAY: For the Winnipeg Jets, it's more like 56-84 days! That's how long Mason Appleton will be out after having wrist surgery on Wednesday. Appleton suffered the injury during the second period of the Jets' 3-2 overtime win against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday and will miss the next 8-12 weeks.
MOMS MAKE MEMORIES: Following a win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, the St. Louis Blues brought their mothers on a two-game road trip to Colorado and Chicago. It was the first-ever mom's trip for the Blues, who won both games to extend their winning streak to four in a row.
DOUBLE DUTY FOR DOUGIE: Not only have the New Jersey Devils been hot on the ice, but their social media game has also been on fire. After fans asked New Jersey's Twitter account to reveal its admin if the Devils won 10 games in a row, the team responded with a video of Dougie Hamilton hard at work creating memes. Never change, Dougie!
Throwback Thursday
To the surprise of many, the top three teams in the league are the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and Vegas Golden Knights. Today, we look at the last time these respective teams had a hot start or long winning streak. Let's start with the club that emerged as the beasts of the East.
The Last Time...
Boston Bruins Had a Hot Start to the Season (Oct. 12, 1969 - Oct. 25, 1969)
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the top movie at the box office.
The Beatles recently released "Abbey Road" (Sep. 26, 1969).
Matthew McConaughey was not yet born (Nov. 4, 1969).
The Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary (Atlanta) Flames, and New York Islanders were not in the league.
Current Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was a few months old. (June 30, 1969)
New Jersey Devils Won 10 Consecutive Games (Mar. 28, 2006 - Apr. 16, 2006)
Twitter was not available to the public.
"Bad Day" by Daniel Powter was the number-one song on the charts.
"Keeping Up With the Kardashians" would not air for another year and a half (Oct. 14, 2007).
"Scary Movie 4" was the top movie at the box office.
"Hannah Montana" debuted on the Disney Channel (Mar. 24, 2006).
Vegas Golden Knights Had a Hot Start to the Season (Jan. 14, 2021 - Feb. 27, 2021)
"Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo was the number-one song on the charts.
Bill and Melinda Gates were still married.
Britney Spears was still under conservatorship (Nov. 12, 2021).
Nick Cannon only had four children.
"Firefly Lane" was the top-streamed show on Netflix.
Tortorella Talk
Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella is one of the most quotable personalities in the NHL. He goes viral for his brutal honesty, and fans have come to get a chuckle out of it. There is never a dull moment on the Tortorella train, like when he went viral on Nov. 15 for a comment about the Flyers while facing the Columbus Blue Jackets. So, we figured we would go down memory lane and reminisce on some of his memorable quotes this season.
Everything Sucks
That viral comment about the Flyers during the Blue Jackets game came during the first period while talking to the ESPN+ announcers behind the bench. The announcers asked Torts what his analysis was on his team's play, considering they gave up the first goal. He responded, "We suck. We haven't forechecked. We haven't done anything as of right now." Well, that certainly is honest! His team responded and fought back to force overtime but lost 5-4.
'A' for Effort
Philadelphia is now on a four-game losing streak, and on Nov. 13, Tortorella had words of encouragement for his squad instead of criticism. He backed his boys by stating, "You can boo us. You can talk s*** about us. I will back those guys because they are trying. I'm very pleased with the effort. I don't give a s*** what people think about out here." Torts may have a soft side that people aren't used to seeing, even if expletives are involved.
No Analytics Zone
Analytics have become a big part of the NHL. It has been implemented in scouting players and in constructing rosters and game plans for teams, but Torts is not a fan. He stated, "I think most analytics are trash. I believe in the eye test and the stomach." Hard to disagree with the stomach test. If it's a gut feeling, it's usually right!
Real or Fake: The New Jersey Devils
This weekly segment looks at a notable, eye-opening trend in the league, be it an individual or team performance, and examines whether it’s real or if it’s more likely an aberration that should correct itself over time.
Last season, it wasn't until January that the New Jersey Devils notched their 13th win. By that point, the team was already 17 points back in the loaded Metropolitan Division and had just lost
that cost him 17 games. In other words, their fate was in the books. This year's 13th win came on Tuesday night amidst much more favorable circumstances, serving as the Metro-leading club's 10th in a row.
New Jersey dropped its first two games of the season and has won 13 of 14 since, setting a blistering pace that has upended the entire division. Are the Devils here to stay?
Real: Young Stars Breaking Out
This surge of contention seems to have come out of nowhere, but GM Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils' front office planned for it. By signing Hamilton,
, and Erik Haula over the past two offseasons, there was a clear intent to add some outside help to bolster a core set to develop internally. That internal development is happening rapidly, as homegrown youngsters Jesper Bratt (24), Jack Hughes (21), and
.
Fake: Feasting on an Easy Schedule
Tougher tests for the Devils are still to come. Only five of their first 16 games have come against playoff teams from a year ago. Although
's shutout of the Colorado Avalanche in late October was legitimately impressive, the other three clubs (Washington Capitals, Edmonton Oilers, and
) aren't exactly setting the league on fire right now.
Real: Vaněček Shining
Given all the goalie-starved franchises this past summer, it's a wonder that New Jersey landed Vaněček for what seems like a paltry return.
, who will earn $3.4 million this year ahead of restricted free agency, the Devils merely swapped second-rounders with the Capitals (that swap is looking good, by the way) and threw in a third-round pick. Now, Vaněček is 7-1 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .915 save percentage, numbers that stand as career-bests but don't seem entirely out of line from the Czech netminder's first two seasons.
Verdict: Some regression is likely, but these guys are for real, and a new era of New Jersey Devils hockey is clearly upon us.
NHL Standings
NHL's Leading Scorers
Today's NHL Schedule
