Sport-scan daily brief

"It's an 18-year-old kid," Blues F Chris Stewart told reporters. "I don't know how it's going to look when one of our heavies goes out there and tries to attack him."

Erne apologized for the hit — which earned him a two-minute penalty and certainly will be reviewed by the league — saying it was "unintentional" and he caught Sobotka with his shoulder, not his elbow.

"I was facing one way, and I turned the other way, and he was just kind of right there," Erne said. "I wanted to hit him. I just didn't think I was going to hit his head. It was a total accident. It was my fault. I apologize."

There were no apologies about what came after. Erne scored power-play goals with 1:14 left in the second and 1:31 into the third to make the score 3-2. Tom Pyatt's wrist shot after a mad dash down the left wing 9:11 into the third tied the score. C Valtteri Filppula and Erne scored in a 2-0 shootout win; Kristers Gudlevskis made two saves.

"Good for him," coach Jon Cooper said of Erne. "He played with a ton of confidence." Especially on his second goal. Alone in front, he called for the puck from C Cedric Paquette, waited for G Brian Elliott to make a move and shot into the open space.

"I knew there was nobody behind me, so I had a little more time to think about what I wanted to do," Erne said. "I knew if I was going to beat (Elliott), I had to catch him the wrong way."

As for his hit on Sobotka, Erne said it was "not an ideal start," but he had to put it behind him.

"He was drafted high for a reason," Cooper said. "The fact that he has stick skills and sees the ice well, that's all well and good. But he has a little bite to him, and (not getting rattled by the hit) showed it. To come back and score and get the shootout winner is a tribute to him."

IKONEN OUT: LW Henri Ikonen left the game in the third on wobbly legs after a hit into the boards by D Jordan Leopold. He will be evaluated today. Cooper indicated he is likely okay and said the hit was not dirty. Ikonen lost an edge and was falling as he was hit.

GAME ACTION: G Cedrick Desjardin stopped 12 of 14 shots. Gudlevskis stopped 13 of 14. … Tampa Bay was being outshot 14-2 early in the second but ended trailing 28-27. … Filppula did not get a shot on goal but impressed nonetheless. "I don't think I had a grasp or near the respect for his skating and puck protection as I did when I watched him (Wednesday)," Cooper said. "He's a good hockey player."

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 09.19.2013

717331 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning forwards aim to tighten up defense

Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 18, 2013 1:30pm

A funny thing happens when you talk to the Lightning's top forwards about the need to play better defensively.

Each player, unsolicited, brings up that Tampa Bay was the only team to allow at least 400 goals combined the past two seasons — 425 to be exact, 29 more than any other team.

"And that," center Steven Stamkos said, "is pretty alarming."

Coach Jon Cooper believes so, too, and has made it a priority to shore up the Lightning's play in the defensive zone.

But he also has made it clear to his top forwards — you don't think they pulled that goals-against stat out of thin air, do you? — they have as much defensive responsibility as goaltenders and defensemen.

"We're not just talking about (Steven) Stamkos and (Marty) St. Louis," Cooper said. "We're talking about the (Ryan) Malones, the (Alex) Killorns, (Teddy) Purcells. It's not like these guys can't play D. They've all done it. They've all got pretty good habits. It's just the point of all five guys (on the ice) doing it together."

"It's not that you're not allowed to score goals any more," Stamkos said. "You just have to play defense. It's just being smarter. Marty and I finished one-two in scoring (in the league) last year. It's great, but we don't make the playoffs. There has to be a little give-and-take."

It is a concept from which the forwards admit they strayed the past couple of seasons.

It's no surprise, then, that Cooper said he will devote more than 50 percent of training camp to playing team defense.

It will be interesting to see during tonight's preseason home opener against the Predators if the lessons are taking hold, at least in concept.

For St. Louis, though, the concept goes beyond helping out in the defensive and neutral zones.

"Playing defense (happens) as soon as you lose the puck in your offensive zone," he said. "The quicker you defend, the quicker you get the puck back, so you're not playing a 200-foot game. We haven't done that very well, so you end up in your own zone, tired, and it's tough."

Actually, Stamkos said, Tampa Bay might not have to play that kind of game as much if forwards were a little more careful with the puck in the offensive zone.

"You've got to pick your spots," he said. "Just fewer 'hope' plays, being smarter. For me, that's something I want to work on. It's little positional things, a little less turnovers that lead to offensive chances by the other team."

Ultimately, though, what Cooper wants is five players, the unit, playing solid team defense.

That means forwards are backchecking in the neutral zone and keeping a close gap on opponents in the defensive zone to perhaps produce turnovers.

"You can't rely on your goaltender to make every single save," Cooper said. "It's not much fun playing D. It's much more fun to score goals. Do you need to score goals? Yes, but to win in this league, it's premier to keep the puck out of your net."

"You have to make sacrifices," Purcell said. "Maybe you won't be getting as many points or goals. But at the end of the day, your team is going to get more wins, and that's what it's all about."

>>tonight

Lightning vs. Predators

When/where: 7:30; Tampa Bay Times Forum

Radio: 970-AM

Lineup: Goaltenders — Cedrick Desjardins, Riku Helenius. Defensemen — Keith Aulie, J.P. Cote, Victor Hedman, Andrej Sustr, Matt Taormina, Luke Witkowski. Forwards — Brett Connolly, Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Ryan Malone, Vlad Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Richard Panik, Steven Stamkos, Tanner Richard, Geoff Walker.

Lightning forwards aim to tighten up defense 09/18/13 [Last modified: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 9:29pm]

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 09.19.2013

717332 Toronto Maple Leafs

Shoalts: Leafs’ Lupul finds the spotlight

DAVID SHOALTS

TORONTO — The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Sep. 18 2013, 9:31 PM EDT

Last updated Wednesday, Sep. 18 2013, 9:34 PM EDT

It was fitting Joffrey Lupul appeared in his first media scrum of training camp on the same day a crew from HBO’s popular documentary series 24/7 swarmed the Toronto Maple Leafs practice rink to prepare for this year’s version, which will chronicle the Leafs and Detroit Red Wings leading up to their appearance in the 2014 Winter Classic.

Lupul, after all, is the most media-savvy player on the NHL team, one who at least hides any annoyance with the mob of reporters and cameras that hovers at every practice and game.

“Some guys more than others,” Lupul said Wednesday, when he was asked if his teammates will welcome the presence of HBO cameras in usually off-limits areas when the shooting starts in early December. “But you should have fun with it. People like to see the players’ personalities, see the preparation for games.

“The key is to be yourself. I’ve watched the show in the past and it’s entertaining. I would expect it to be this year, too.”

Fortunately for Lupul and Maple Leafs fans, the actual news Wednesday was there is no reason to think at this point the veteran left winger will not be around for a star turn on the show. He took part in his first practice of training camp after coming down with back spasms just before camp opened last week.

Given Lupul’s checkered injury history (concussion, separated shoulder, broken forearm) includes two back operations in December of 2009 to repair a herniated disc, the alarm bells immediately went off. But not to worry, Lupul said, his latest malady was simply the result of overwork and was not related to his previous sacroiliac woes.

“I believe since I had surgery this is the first time I’ve missed time with [a back problem],” Lupul said. “I felt great all summer. I hadn’t had any issues.”

Lupul, who turns 30 next week, spent the week before training camp working with skating coach (and former world and Canadian champion) Barbara Underhill. He felt a twinge one morning and ignored it, much to his chagrin.

“I put in a lot of work the week before I was [in Toronto for camp],” he said. “There was some tightness [in the back] and I decided to push on through. It probably wasn’t the right idea the week before camp. There was a bit of concern because I have a history with the low back. Everything feels fine. There’s plenty of time to opening day so I feel confident.”

Lupul took part in just the first hour of head coach Randy Carlyle’s lengthy practice Wednesday. But both he and Carlyle said that was part of the plan, which is to exercise extreme caution during the preseason with any injury.

Just where Lupul will play this season has not been determined. He finished the 2013 campaign playing with centre Nazem Kadri, after James van Riemsdyk clicked with Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel when Lupul was lost for six weeks with a broken arm. Lupul played with Bozak and Kessel on Wednesday, but Carlyle said no lineup is written in stone yet.

Carlyle, by the way, is clearly not as happy as Lupul about the pending presence of the 24/7 crew, but he is taking it in good humour, at least for now.

Someone asked if there is anything good or bad about having cameras omnipresent.

“Is there anything good or bad about me having to face 40 reporters every day?” Carlyle said.

“It’s branding,” he added. “It’s selling the game, not only to our market but to North America and anywhere in the world. We’re partners [with the NHL and HBO] and we were asked to participate. The people that are in those positions made the decision we’d like to be there so you live with it, like scheduling.”

Okay, one smart aleck said, did you have any input into the decision?

“None,” the coach said.

Well, came the follow-up, what would you have said if anyone asked for your opinion? That drew a smile from Carlyle.

“None,” he said again to a round of laughter.

Carlyle said right winger Colton Orr, who has also been injured (bone bruise) since the first practice of camp, will begin skating Thursday or Friday, and may join the team for its weekend games.

The Leafs made a couple more cuts Wednesday, sending forward Tyler Biggs and defenceman Jesse Blacker to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 09.19.2013

717333 Toronto Maple Leafs

Jerry D’Amigo goes from prospect to suspect as Maple Leafs make first cuts

DAVID SHOALTS

The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Sep. 18 2013, 7:57 AM EDT

Last updated Wednesday, Sep. 18 2013, 9:14 AM EDT

It was the timing rather than the presence of Jerry D’Amigo’s name on the list of cuts by the Toronto Maple Leafs that underscored a couple of realities about today’s NHL.

The first has actually been true of the NHL for practically as long as it’s been around, not just a cold fact of life under the salary cap. That is the passage of a player from prospect to suspect, the point at which the team’s management decides the young man in question has had ample time and opportunity to develop into a major-league player but is stalled. It is then that he, like D’Amigo, starts to be among the team’s first round of cuts.

D’Amigo, 22, was never one of the Leafs’ most prized prospects, a sixth-round draft choice in 2009, but he was getting consideration as a dark horse candidate as a third- or fourth-line winger heading into this season’s training camp. His best season in the American Hockey League was 41 points in 2011-12, but there was some thought D’Amigo could be a decent penalty-killer and checker.

However, Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle obviously decided after just five days of training camp D’Amigo did not show what it takes and he was sent to the Toronto Marlies farm team on Tuesday. This will be D’Amigo’s fourth AHL season, which definitely puts him on the suspect track.

The second reality of the NHL, this one peculiar to the world of the salary cap, is probably why a decision on D’Amigo came faster than it might have even a year ago. Thanks to last season’s lockout and new collective agreement, the salary cap this season is artificially low at $64.3-million (all currency U.S.), which means a lot of experienced players are looking for jobs right now.

A lot of them, such as winger Mason Raymond with the Leafs, are in training camps fighting for jobs on what are called professional tryout offers. Show enough to make the team and you get a contract, probably for something around $600,000 if the team has to be mindful of the cap like the Leafs.

This makes it a lot harder for the second tier of prospects to win a job in training camp. NHL head coaches, and Carlyle is a prime example, generally prefer experience when they have their druthers because it is usually more helpful to their job security.

At 28, Raymond has six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks on his resume, including one with 25 goals. So, when Carlyle is looking to fill a vacancy on his third line, the D’Amigos of the hockey world had better come to camp flying to stand a chance.

Another name that comes up in the prospect-suspect conversation is centre Joe Colborne, 23, who was taken 16th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2008 entry draft. When he arrived in the Tomas Kaberle trade two and a half years ago, Colborne was considered a candidate to be the long-sought No. 1 centre some day but it hasn’t happened yet.

Now, Colborne’s only chance to make the Leafs is as the fourth-line centre. This requires him to use his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame to knock people around, which is part of his problem in making the NHL to stay.

Colborne has never shown an eagerness to play a physical game, which drives pretty much any NHL coach crazy, let alone Carlyle, who prizes the hard-nosed player above all. Coaches simply cannot fathom big players who play a soft game and Colborne needs to play hard to stay.

But he does have one thing going for him. Colborne is still on the prospect side of the equation and if the Leafs send him to the Marlies he must clear NHL waivers first. Since there is never a shortage of NHL coaches who think they will be the one to finally convince a player to use his physical gifts properly, the chance that a team would claim him is probably enough to keep Colborne with the Leafs as long as he has a decent camp.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 09.19.2013

717334 Toronto Maple Leafs

Ottawa Senators face new challenges in post-Alfredsson era: Cox

By: Damien Cox Sports Columnist, Published on Wed Sep 18 2013

When Bobby Ryan scored his first goal as an Ottawa Senator in Winnipeg on Sunday, Bryan Murray knew exactly what he wanted to say to Ryan after the game.

“I said, ‘What took you so long?” chuckled Murray. “Why did you wait until the second period?”

They are, of course, anxious to turn the page in the nation’s capital these days, move on from the Daniel Alfredsson Era, which came close to including a Stanley Cup in 2007, and on to that which lies beyond.

It’ll be awkward to have Alfredsson as a rival player in Detroit, of course, particularly with the Red Wings now in the same division as the Sens. But when it comes to the Battle of Ontario, which resumes Thursday night with an exhibition tilt in Ottawa, perhaps the Senators won’t mind having their captain booed every time he touches the puck.

In Ottawa, that is.

Ryan won’t inspire that same response from Leaf fans that crowd into Ottawa’s rink, at least not right away, and neither will new Ottawa captain Jason Spezza. So the rivalry, somewhat muted in recent years, will require new heroes and villains before it can really find its feet again.

Maybe that will be this season, maybe not, which means it may or may not include Murray, still an NHL general manager at age 70, but uncertain about his future beyond the expiration of his current contract at the conclusion of this season.

“I’m not sure where I’m heading right now,” said Murray, who lost his mother last week and thinks often about spending more time in the Denver area visiting his two grandchildren.

“When I came to Ottawa (in 2004) I just wanted to coach for a couple of years and then retire. Now, I’m just not sure.”

There are many moving parts to the Ottawa hockey story this season, and Ryan and Murray are just two of them. Spezza is another, and like Murray it’s astounding how his reputation has rebounded in the past two seasons after the Senators found they couldn’t give him away if they wanted to several summers ago because of his contract.

Murray, for his part, was set to be tarred and feathered when the Sens appeared to be going nowhere three years ago. But a change of direction and some outstanding work at the draft table has helped Ottawa stay more than competitive, and the hiring of Paul MacLean has created a new team attitude and philosophy.

Last year, without players like Spezza and Erik Karlsson for long stretches, the Sens became a team renowned for work ethic and grit, certainly something that wasn’t the team’s calling card when they were getting whipped by the Leafs in the post-season in the early years of the new century.

“The enthusiasm never died last season,” said Murray. “Can we recreate that this season? I think we can.”

The obstacles for Ottawa, meanwhile, remain to replace the professionalism of Alfredsson and to adapt to the tightened economic strings that owner Eugene Melnyk has attached to the hockey operation.

Melnyk has said publicly the team is losing $9 million to $10 million per season, and coupled with his own financial challenges and inability (so far) to convince Ottawa politicians to help him secure a casino licence to provide new revenues for the Senators, that has meant the team won’t be anywhere near the $64.3 million NHL salary lid this season.

Instead, the club will spend something in the neighbourhood of $51 million, making the Sens one of the lowest-spending teams in the NHL this season. After two lockouts and the establishment of a league-wide salary cap system, the Senators have emerged as economically challenged as they ever were under the old system.

The Sens aren’t about to be moved and they’re not for sale, but once again they are the low-spending franchise battling their big-money provincial cousins to the south.

“I’m not worried about the future of the team, but I just spend the cash. It’s not mine,” said Murray. “This team works. We’ll make it work.

“As long as we’re competitive, the building will be full. Whether that will be enough, I don’t know.”

Curtis Lazar and Shane Prince are two youngsters who have shone at camp already this fall for Ottawa, and the team’s ability to draft exceptionally well in recent years is, really, what has allowed it to be as competitive as it has been.

Alfredsson, however, was always there as a leader and irreplaceable experience. Now, with a tight budget — that may have been part of what motivated Alfredsson to move on — and a challenging new division, the Sens will have to prove that Spezza, Chris Neil, Chris Phillips and Marc Methot can provide the same internal combustion the former captain did.

Toronto Star LOADED: 09.19.2013

717335 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs: Drew MacIntyre’s goalie mask drawing stares

By: Mark Zwolinski Sports reporter, Published on Wed Sep 18 2013

Drew MacIntyre’s goalie mask has become something of a hit on the web this week during Maple Leafs training camp.

The mask features cartoon characters from the Care Bears and My Little Pony as well as Roo from Winnie the Pooh.

And yes, MacIntyre took some good-natured ribbing from teammates when the characters first appeared four years ago. But the reason MacIntyre has departed from the norm in goalie-mask art — team logos, wild graphics and aggressive, tattoo-like Images — began with his wife, Karen, and then the birth of his first daughter, Mullen, four years ago.

“I’ve done it for years. It started off with my wife, Karen. Her nickname became ‘Care Bear,’ so that’s how it started,” said MacIntyre, a pro since 2001 when he was selected in the fourth round, 121st overall, by Detroit out of the Sherbrooke Castors in the QMJHL.

“My first daughter came along and her name was Mullen, so there was a Care Bear for her. We had another girl last year — Sallie — so now there’s two little Care Bears holding a mother bear. The mask was changed again when my 4-year-old (Mullen) started liking My Little Pony. She picked out that character.”

MacIntyre says his family has joined him at every stop in his career, which includes four NHL games, and a host of AHL stops in towns like Reading, Pa.; Toledo, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Winnipeg, Hamilton, Chicago, Milwaukee and Rochester, N.Y.

The 30-year-old Charlottetown native spent the first four years of his career with the Detroit organization, but did not play an NHL game. He moved on, either via trades or free-agent signings, to Vancouver, Montreal, Nashville, Buffalo and now Toronto.

He wouldn’t make his NHL debut until December 2007 with Vancouver (two games); a second opportunity came with the Sabres when MacIntyre was called in to fill for an injured Ryan Miller.

“I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs and they’ve (his family) been there. They’ve stayed in one-bedroom hotel rooms for a season, and that’s not a lot of fun,” said MacIntyre.

MacIntyre felt he had one of his best opportunities for NHL work with the Sabres, but his hopes turned to disappointment in a twist of hockey fate.

“I guess the toughest time was a couple of years ago with Buffalo,” MacIntyre said. “Nothing worked out. I thought I might have a chance to start but I became a backup and got sent down to Rochester. It was just tough all around, nothing went right. I played in the KHL (with HC Lev Praha in Prague), during the lockout but I was bought out, and I came home and there was nothing there, no jobs for me. I tried all over and then I got on with Reading in the East Coast League.”

MacIntyre signed a PTO (professional tryout contract) with the Marlies last year before agreeing to a one-year, two-way deal with the Leafs this season.

In the meantime, fellow goalie James Reimer also sported a newly painted mask during practice Wednesday, similar in colours and Images to the mask he wore last season.

Reimer, though, said the mask also has some new graphic details that “are pretty amazing.” The artwork was done by David Gunnarsson, whose DaveArt airbrushing company out of Sweden handles roughly 70 per cent of the masks worn by NHL goalies, Reimer says.

Toronto Star LOADED: 09.19.2013

717336 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs: Joffrey Lupul makes first appearance at camp

By: Mark Zwolinski Sports reporter, Published on Wed Sep 18 2013

Joffrey Lupul said he feels fine after missing the first six days of training camp and that this latest setback is not another chapter in his injury history.

“Everything is fine . . . obviously I’m not happy with the way things started here but I’m happy I am back on the ice,” said Lupul, who skated with the Leafs in camp Wednesday after rehabbing from back spasms that appeared on the eve of training camp last Wednesday.

Lupul skated in two fast-paced sessions Wednesday then exited the ice as the Leafs worked on special teams before a skating session where players lapped the ice in timed intervals.