Sport-scan daily brief

Towering forward Jamie Devane, recalled from the Marlies, is not likely to draw into the lineup, while it's expected Carter Ashton, wearing a full face-mask following an injury, will play on the fourth line with Jay McClement and Colton Orr.

The Sens are coming off a 1-0 win to open the season at Buffalo on Friday night. Eric Karlsson scored late in that contest after being set up by Clark MacArthur, who returns to the Air Canada Centre wearing an Ottawa uniform after signing with the Sens as a free agent this past summer.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.06.2013

719862 Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mason Raymond reveals you can still do a spin-o-rama in the shootout

Noah Love | 05/10/13 | Last Updated: 05/10/13 11:40 PM ET

Mason Raymond of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Rumours of the spin-o-rama shootout goal’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Toronto’s Mason Raymond used the move, as he had done in the past as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, and beat Ottawa’s Craig Anderson in the Maple Leafs’ 5-4 shootout win over the Senators. After the game, Ottawa head coach expressed some confusion as to why the goal was a) allowed to count and b) not reviewed.

“I was on a conference call at the start of the year with all the other coaches and was informed at that time, with Bryan Murray, that that play would be seriously reviewed, and that you’d be taking a chance if you used the spin-o-rama move,” MacLean said. “And we informed our players of that. I think it’s a very unfair play for the goaltender, to come in and blow snow on him. The puck went backwards and came forwards.

“But that’s me, I’m just a fisherman from Nova Scotia so I don’t know nuthin’ about nuthin’.”

In fact, the league did move to eliminate the spin-o-rama move in June, but the rule change was never enacted because the NHL Players’ Association wanted it to stay.

Raymond, who last scored using the move in a March shootout against Columbus, said he’ll keep using it until someone tells him he can’t.

“I’ve been successful with it in the past,” he said. “I know it raises some eyebrows, but I haven’t had any problems with it. … It’s [a move] that has raised some debate and I’m sure there’ll be a little more over it, but why not?”

Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier first joked that he didn’t mind the spin-o-rama.

“If he does it on the other goalie, I don’t,” he said with a laugh. He then clarified that he didn’t actually like the move that much and had been scored on by a player using it.

“Tough move for the goalie, and a tough debate. He’s stopping at the same time the the puck’s still moving. It’s up to the league.”

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, meanwhile, was a bit more blunt.

“The puck went in the net,” he said. “Which part didn’t you understand?”

National Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719863 Toronto Maple Leafs

Jonathan Bernier shines in relief appearance as Toronto Maple Leafs down Ottawa Senators in shootout

Michael Traikos | 05/10/13 | Last Updated: 05/10/13 11:53 PM ET

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier, right, replaced James Reimer midway through the second period and led the Maple Leafs with 15 saves – and two in the shootout — in a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators.

The goalie debate in Toronto just got a little interesting, if not more one-sided.

After Toronto Maple Leafs demotion, John-Michael Liles takes on minor-league duties with healthy dose of professionalism and hope

For the first two games of the season, James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier took turns in net for the Maple Leafs. Both won their games, leaving head coach Randy Carlyle no choice but to continue the rotation.

Reimer started the home opener against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, and the thinking was that Bernier would be in net for the following game. But those plans likely changed when Reimer was pulled midway through the second period and Bernier was named the first star in a 5-4 shootout win.

When asked if Bernier’s performance changed how he viewed his goaltenders moving forward, Carlyle was honest.

“It makes it easier,” he said.

And yet, Bernier does not see it that way. The goaltender, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the summer, knows there is an opportunity to seize the No. 1 job. But he also is aware that both he and Reimer will get their fair share of starts.

“It’s still a long season,” said Bernier, who was perfect on all 15 shots he faced, not including the two he stopped in the shootout. “You know, our main focus for me and Reimer is to win games and that’s the only thing we’re going to focus on. We’re not going to worry about who’s going to play. We’re just going to support each other.”

Mason Raymond, who along with Tyler Bozak scored in the shootout, had a goal two assists; Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto. But it was Bernier who saved the game after the Leafs were down 4-2 in the second period.

“The one that you noticed when he went in is there wasn’t a lot of extra rebounds,” Carlyle said of Bernier. “When he made the save, the puck was either in his glove or he was able to freeze it. He controlled the puck, which allowed us to box out. There wasn’t so much of the wild scrambles around the net. So hat’s off to him.”

“Bernier had the opportunity to get in there and he played great,” said Reimer. “He made some big saves, so it’s never a bad thing when you’re winning games.”

It was a sloppy game. Not just from Reimer, who allowed four goals on 21 shots, but from the entire defence. Part of the reason for that is the bodies that were missing from the lineup.

With David Clarkson suspended and three other regulars on long-term injury reserve (Nikolai Kulemin, Mark Fraser and Frazer McLaren), the Leafs had three rookies (Morgan Rielly, Spencer Abbott and Jamie Devane) making their NHL debut.

As such, both goalies saw a lot of action.

Reimer, who allowed four goals on 21 shots before getting pulled in the second period, was solid in the first game of the regular season. But despite past success against the Senators — he entered the game with a career record of 8-1-1, with a 1.69 goals-against average and .949 save percentage — he struggled to keep the puck out of the net.

“It was a tough one,” said Reimer. “I felt like I was hanging in there and making some good saves. But a couple of pucks slipped by somehow. It felt like some bad luck maybe, but at the same time as a goaltender you’re a last line of defence and you need to be there and find a way to keep the puck out of the net.”

Still, it was difficult to blame Reimer for all the goals.

Ottawa’s Cory Conacher made it 2-1 when Toronto defenceman Cody Franson bobbled a puck in front of the crease. With the score tied 2-2, Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly accidentally bowled Reimer over and essentially gave defenceman Jared Cowen a wide open net to shoot at.

When Jason Spezza scored on the very next shot, Carlyle decided to make a change for perhaps no other reason than to give his team a different look.

With Bernier in the game, the Leafs seemed a bit more settled. Joffrey Lupul scored made it a one-goal game by scoring a power play goal with 17 seconds remaining in the second period. And in the third, James van Riemsdyk tied the game 4-4 when he converted a pass from Phil Kessel.

Bernier, who was spectacular in a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, had the crowd chanting his name in the third period. Even Reimer was impressed by the effort.

“If we’re winning game, that’s a good thing,” he said. “I’m not going to sit on the bench and hope my teammate plays bad … obviously you don’t want to get pulled. But I know what kind of team we have in here, so I knew we were going to come back.”

National Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719864 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Kulemin out two weeks with ankle injury, Reimer gets start in home opener

Michael Traikos | 05/10/13 1:35 PM ET

Toronto Maple Leafs' Nikolai Kulemin collides with Philadelphia Flyer Maxime Talbot on Oct. 2, 2013. Kulemin will out for at least two weeks with a chipped bone in his ankle.

The goalie rotation continues.

Leafs want Morgan Rielly to be himself in NHL debut against Senators

James Reimer, who won the regular season opener and then sat for Game 2, will be back in net when the Toronto Maple Leafs play their home opener against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

It is a decision based on numbers as much as it is equality.

Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

Reimer, who stopped 34 of 37 shots in a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, has a career record of 8-1-1 with a 1.69 goals-against average and .949 save percentage against the Senators.

“As a coach, it has some bearing on the decision-making process,” Carlyle said of Reimer’s success against Ottawa. “It’s not 100% based upon that, but I would tell you I was crazy if I didn’t look at it. Or you guys would be telling me.”

Ottawa began its season on the road on Friday, with a 1-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres. Craig Anderson stopped 35 shots and defenceman Erik Karlsson had the only goal.

Reimer said the rivalry against the Senators was probably the reason for his success.

“It’s always an exciting game when we play them and you get up for it. All the guys get up for it,” he said. “When you have success as a goaltender, it has more to do with how your team plays than how you play personally.

With Reimer getting the start for Game 3, expect Jonathan Bernier to be back in net when the Leafs play the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

* * *

Spencer Abbott was recalled on Saturday to replace injured winger Nikolai Kulemin, who Carlyle said is out for at least two weeks with a chipped bone in his ankle.

“He got a shot in his foot yesterday at practice,” Carlyle said of Kulemin. “It’s not a displaced fracture, so he might have been playing on it for a month or so and then if it displaces then you have a longer healing process. We felt in consultation with our doctors the best thing to do was to mobilize it now. He has a walking boot.

“It’s just a small bone broken on his ankle. To say it’s not a significant injury would be incorrect.”

Abbott, a Hobey Baker finalist with the University of Maine whom the Leafs signed as an undrafted free agent in 2011, scored 13 goals and 33 points in 55 games as a rookie last season in the minors.

National Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719865 Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs want Morgan Rielly to be himself in NHL debut against Ottawa Senators

Michael Traikos | 05/10/13 | Last Updated: 04/10/13 7:20 PM ET

TORONTO — From barstools to the backs of cabs, everyone seems to have an opinion on whether Morgan Rielly should stick with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, something that the 19-year-old witnessed for himself the other day as he walked back to his hotel from the arena.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ first two games: What we have learned so far

“The two people behind me were asking each other about what the team will do with me. I heard my name but I didn’t want to say anything to them, so I just kind of kept to myself,” Rielly said. “The one guy said he thinks the team should put me back in junior, so that kind of hurt my confidence a little bit.”

Lucky for Rielly, the Leafs are the ones making the decision. Not that it makes it any easier.

With Mark Fraser out with a lower-body injury, Rielly will get an opportunity to make his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. From there, it gets a bit complicated. Rielly, who was a healthy scratch for the first two games of the season, can play nine games before the Leafs decide whether to keep him or send him back to junior.

At the same time, Fraser’s long-term injury reserve status means he has to miss at least 10 games or 24 days, which could benefit Rielly’s situation.

“I can see how [Fraser’s injury status] could be an opportunity,” Rielly said, “but I also know that we have some pretty good players in the AHL, like John-Michael Liles, [Korbinian] Holzer, T.J. Brennan.”

Those players might not be able to match Rielly’s speed, puck-moving ability or offensive instincts. But they all have him beat in the experience, which is why the Leafs are trying to be patient with the young defenceman.

No one doubts that the fifth-overall pick has the potential to become a special player in this league. But he is still a teenager.

“What are my expectations? Just go out and play,” head coach Randy Carlyle said. “Do your thing. He’s a talented young hockey player … I think you have to play to your strengths. I don’t want Morgan Rielly to be just a defensive defenceman. I want him to move the puck and skate. That’s his game.”

No one is expecting perfection from Rielly. If his teammates’ debuts are anything to go by, plan for a few mistakes and at least one welcome to the NHL-type moment.

In his first game, Nazem Kadri had his stick knocked clean from his hands off the opening faceoff. Jake Gardiner received multiple stitches after taking a puck in the face on his first shift. And Cody Franson remembers getting caught on a line change and being left alone on a one-on-one against Alex Ovechkin.

“It’s a little nerve-wrecking,” Gardiner said of his NHL debut.

Rielly said he is trying not to look too far ahead, which is not exactly a cliché. He does not know how many opportunities he will get or how long he will be here. He lives in a hotel because it means he can check out anytime. And lately he has not been taking advantage of the hotel’s laundry service, because it takes 48 hours to get it back “and I don’t know if I’ll still be around then.”

In other words, he is literally taking it one day at a time.

“I don’t know what the next two weeks is going to bring,” Rielly said. “It’s kind of a weird experience, one I’ve never had before. I think I just have to keep working hard every day, just keep having a positive attitude. If I get a chance to play, it’s pretty important and I’ve got to make the most of it.”

Who knows, maybe the next time he overhears two fans discussing his future, Rielly might get the answer he desires. If that happens, he might actually stop and introduce himself.

“If he had have said, ‘He’s having a great pre-season, he looks good, I think he should play all year,’ I would have said, ‘I appreciate that. I’m Morgan, nice to meet you.’

“But no, he made fun of me.”

National Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719866 Washington Capitals

About the Capitals’ disallowed goal in Dallas

By Katie Carrera, Published: October 6 at 12:39 am

As Nicklas Backstrom crashed the net and bunted the puck past Dallas netminder Kari Lehtonen with 8 minutes 1 second gone in the second period, it appeared as though the Washington Capitals had pulled ahead of the Stars on Saturday night.

But rather than adding an even-strength goal to the scoreboard at American Airlines Center, the tally was waved off because as Backstrom made the motion to knock the puck into the net his stick hit the Lehtonen’s mask

According to the explanation from the NHL’s situation room:

“Referee Mike Leggo determined that Nicklas Backstrom made incidental contact with goalie Kari Lehtonen and prevented Lehtonen from doing his job in the crease — no goal, no penalty. This play is the referee’s call on the ice and is not reviewable.”

Backstrom was unsurprisingly frustrated. “What I saw was the puck and I touched the puck before I touched the mask,” he said. “But I don’t know, it’s typical.”

Said Lehtonen: “I knew that I got hit pretty hard. I tried to tell that to the linesman. I think he saw it too and he went to tell them. It was a weird play. Sometimes they are able to see it and sometimes not. I’m just lucky they waved it off.”

Here’s the video of the play:

Who knows what might have transpired in the game if that tally would have stood. Even-strength goals have been elusive for the Capitals so far this season and one at that particular juncture would have forced Dallas to play a more open style of game.

But Coach Adam Oates didn’t want to dwell too much on would-haves and could-haves.

“I thought once the puck goes in there you’re allowed to go after it and I didn’t think Backy interfered with him. I thought he touched the puck first and then the goalie. Obviously the goalie embellished a little,” Oates said. The officials “do their best, the guy thought he was interfered with. You’ve got to be able to survive that stuff. Tough time, you want the goal but it happens. Hopefully in the course of the season it goes the same for everybody.”

Five thoughts on the Capitals’ 2-1 loss to Dallas to follow Sunday morning.

Washington Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719867 Washington Capitals

Catching up with former Caps prospect, Stars center Cody Eakin

By Katie Carrera, Published: October 5 at 5:00 pm

On June 22, 2012, the day of the NHL draft, Cody Eakin was caught by surprise when the Washington Capitals traded him and a second-round pick that year to the Dallas Stars in exchange for veteran center Mike Ribeiro.

It was a move that gave the Capitals the playmaking second-line center they had long sought — for a year, anyway. And it gave Eakin an opportunity to move up the depth chart that likely wasn’t available in Washington.

“At first I was a little shocked but they traded a heck of a player to Washington so I knew there was going to be an opportunity for me to get some ice time,” Eakin said Saturday morning in Dallas. “I came down here, got comfortable in the American league last year for the first half and then last season was able to make the transition pretty smoothly.”

Eakin played 35 games for the AHL’s Texas Stars last year during the lockout and then skated in all 48 of Dallas’s contests once the shortened NHL regular season began.

He recorded seven goals, 17 assists and averaged 15:05 of ice time per night as the Stars’ usual third-line center last season. He’ll line up at second-line center tonight in his first game against the Capitals since the trade, skating with Ray Whitney and Alex Chiasson.

“I thought through camp he was one of our better players,” Stars Coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought his puck movement was real good, his defense against some of the top players in his own zone was good.”

Even if Eakin doesn’t stick on the second line in Dallas, he’s become a consistent part of the team’s lineup and wants to make the most of the chances he’s receiving to be more of an impact player.

“This season I’m getting more of an opportunity, more minutes and hopefully I can take advantage of that,” Eakin said. “I worked hard this offseason and can hopefully I can be able to handle that workload.”

Washington Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719868 Washington Capitals

Joel Ward recounts being trapped in a hotel bathroom

By Katie Carrera, Updated: October 5, 2013

What started out as a normal game-day morning wound up becoming quite the adventure for Joel Ward.

The Capitals winger went through his usual routine, got some coffee, read the paper and was in the midst of having breakfast with his teammates at the restaurant at the Omni hotel in Dallas. But when he excused himself to go to the bathroom, things took a turn for the worse.

Ward got trapped in the bathroom stall. A dilemma he and his teammates documented quite well on Twitter.

“I tried to come out and I flipped the switch a little bit but it wasn’t really coming undone,” said Ward, who after a morning of being teased mercilessly by his teammates took the whole experience in stride. “I’m in panic mode because I realized the door wasn’t going to open on me. I texted Karl [Alzner] to see if he was still around.”

Alzner and several other teammates came in to assess the situation, had a good laugh and a few waited for backup to arrive. But even when hotel staff showed up, they couldn’t get the door to open, either.

“Basically we had the whole Dallas SWAT team come in and still couldn’t open the door,” Ward said, exaggerating just a bit. “The latch on the inside where I was would turn but the bolt wouldn’t move, I think it was stripped. The bolt was just chilling.”

The space underneath the door was too small for Ward to slide through, so eventuallly a ladder was retrieved so he could climb over the door. All told it took about 44 minutes for Ward to escape the bathroom so he could make the bus ride over to American Airlines Center.

“They got a ladder and Karl and Carly [John Carlson] pretty much carried me like a log,” Ward said. “I sat there for 40 minutes, listening to toilet flushes all morning.”

Washington Post LOADED: 10.06.2013

719869 Washington Capitals

Jack Hillen underwent successful surgery; Steve Oleksy to face Stars

By Katie Carrera, Published: October 5 at 1:58 pm

Greetings from American Airlines Center in Dallas, where the Capitals just wrapped up their morning skate.

One of the best parts about realignment, in my opinion, is that every team will play the league’s 29 other clubs both home and away. It makes for a better picture of the NHL as a whole and this year it will see the Capitals travel to several cities they haven’t visited in a number of seasons.

Saturday’s tilt is the Capitals’ first visit to Dallas since Dec. 2, 2010. The squad then coached by Bruce Boudreau lost that game, 2-1, after a would-be tying goal by John Carlson in the final seconds of regulation was waved off because Alex Ovechkin was in the crease. Brandon Segal, now with the Hershey Bears, scored the game-winner for the Stars.

A lot has changed since then, and Saturday night the Capitals will get a look at the revamped Stars. Lindy Ruff is in his first year as coach in Dallas, which added Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley as part of a seven-player trade with Boston this summer. The Stars also brought in veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar (two years, $10 million) as a free agent in the offseason.

>>Defenseman Jack Hillen underwent a successful surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibial plateau, which is the top part of the tibia that lies under the knee, after suffering the injury against the Flames Oct. 3. Hillen is expected to miss four to six months. While surgery was required to reattach the fractured part of Hillen’s bone with screws and a metal plate, there was no ligament damage.

>>With Hillen out, Steve Oleksy will make his season debut tonight against the Stars. Coach Adam Oates’s preference for players skating on their strong side is well known and he considers this a quick fix for the time being, but Oleksy is looking to make the most of his return.

“It’s never an easy situation but it’s part of the game. I have to do my best to still be a positive guy in the locker room, be a good team guy,” Oleksy said. “I just have to do my best tonight and contribute any way you can.”

Here are the projected lineups for both the Capitals and Stars.

Capitals

Laich-Grabovski-Brouwer

Chimera-Fehr-Ward

Erat-Beagle-Wilson

Alzner-Green

Erskine-Carlson

Oleksy-Carrick

Holtby, Neuvirth.

Stars

Jamie Benn-Tyler Seguin-Erik Cole

Shawn Horcoff-Vernon Fiddler-Valeri Nichushkin

Antoine Roussel-Rich Peverley-Ryan Garbutt

Alex Goligoski-Sergei Gonchar

Trevor Daley-Stephane Robidas

Brenden Dillon-Jordie Benn

Kari Lehtonen is expected to start.