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COLUMBUS -- Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand doesn't regret punching Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head at the end of Game 3, though he did say Wednesday that his actions were "unnecessary."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy plans on having a chat with Marchand about the winger's discipline. Marchand has taken two penalties in the second-round series that have directly led to Columbus power-play goals.
But an even bigger hot-button issue emerged Tuesday as Marchand -- long known as one of the league's biggest agitators -- came up on Harrington from behind and punched him in the head during a stoppage late in the third period of Columbus' 2-1 win in Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Marchand was not called for a penalty, and the NHL Department of Player Safety decided not to implement any supplemental discipline other than a warning.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, asked about the punch while attending a Canadian Parliamentary hearing on concussions, said Marchand should have been penalized and, if it happens again, "he should look forward to a suspension."
Marchand called the punch "a reaction" after, he said, his teammate Jake DeBrusk was bullied in front of the Blue Jackets' net. Marchand said DeBrusk took "about six punches there from two guys" and therefore he felt he needed to defend his teammate.
"Having to talk about it today, is probably not something I'd go back and do it again," Marchand said Wednesday.
"I'm not overly concerned about what's said in the media and what fans say, and stuff like that. It was an unnecessary play, but it is what it is. Games go on, and I'll worry about the next one."
The Blue Jackets lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday in Columbus.
Entering these playoffs and through the first round, a new narrative was emerging regarding Marchand: The NHL's ultimate troll had turned a new leaf after being suspended six times over seven years for penalties such as slew footing, elbowing, clipping and spearing.
After last year's playoffs were marred by Marchand's unusual behavior of licking two different opponents, the NHL's Department of Player Safety privately and publicly asked Marchand to tone things down.
The 30-year-old Marchand made a commitment to stay out of trouble.
"I've got to cut that s--- out," Marchand said after the Bruins were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring. "After having a couple days, kind of looking back on the year and seeing what's happened the last few days with all the media and everything, I think the biggest thing for me now is to really take a pretty hard look in the mirror and realize the actions, some of the things that I'm doing have much bigger consequences.
"... I think it's kind of gotten to the point where the last thing I ever want to do is bring the embarrassment to my teammates and the organization that it did."
Marchand, the winger on Boston's top line, went the entire 2018-19 regular season without any discipline from the Department of Player Safety.
He went on to have a breakout offensive campaign, becoming the Bruins' first player to reach 100 points since Joe Thornton in 2003. Over the past three seasons, no other left wing -- not even Alex Ovechkin -- has more points than Marchand's 270.
"We need him on the ice," Cassidy said Wednesday.
Marchand leads the Bruins with nine points this postseason, but he's been scoreless in the three games against the Blue Jackets.
Earlier in the playoffs, the Bruins' Torey Krug told ESPN that he noticed Marchand was making a concerted effort to change his ways.
"The other part is his natural maturation into a leader in this room," Krug said. "We know the weapon that he is on the ice to win hockey games. He's not doing anything to hurt the team, and that's become something we rely on. We need him to win hockey games, so he can't be doing some crazy things on the ice to hurt the team. He's realized that, and he's done a good job growing up."
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OTTAWA, Ontario -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hit back Wednesday at the notion of banning any kind of head contact in hockey, telling a Canadian parliamentary panel that such a rule would be impossible to enforce and would lead to the end of hitting.
The league has faced calls to penalize any head contact in the hope of eliminating potentially debilitating concussions. Those calling for a strict rule include Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and cabinet minister in Paul Martin's Liberal government.
In sometimes combative testimony, Bettman said such a rule at the NHL level would mean larger players would be penalized when they inevitably land blows on smaller players' heads in the normal course of play. Ultimately "there would be no more body checking," something players and fans think is an "exciting, appealing, entertaining" and important part of the game.
Bettman decried what he called "blanket statements about changing a rule" on head contact that might not address "where the injuries are being caused."
He said the game is safer for players and different in terms of physical contact from football, in which there are repeated blows to players' heads. He questioned any direct link between multiple hockey concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain condition associated with repeated blows to the head. CTE can be profoundly debilitating, with symptoms that include memory problems, personality changes, aggression and depression.
"I don't believe there has been, based on everything I've been told -- and if anybody has information to the contrary, we'd be happy to hear it -- other than some anecdotal evidence, there has not been that conclusive link," Bettman said.
When asked if there were any rules or changes he would make to the game to reduce head contact, Bettman told parliament that he likes the way professional hockey is being played. "Right now, I don't believe there's much we can do," he said.
The special committee has spent months holding hearings on the issue of concussions, including options for treatment, prevention and what, if anything, the federal government should be doing about sports-related head injuries. Experts and athletes have appeared before the cross-party panel, as have high-profile figures such as CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Eric Lindros, the former NHL player whose Hall of Fame career was cut short by multiple concussions.
Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly were the final witnesses of the committee's study before it tables a report in the coming weeks. Although attention has focused on amateur athletics, the committee could recommend concussion protocols for professional sports.
"I'm hoping that's not the case," Bettman said after the meeting about that possibility.
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San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer wouldn't rule out a return by star captain Joe Pavelski to the lineup during their series against the Colorado Avalanche.
Pavelski has missed the first three games of the series, which San Jose leads 2-1, following a gruesome injury he suffered when his head struck the ice in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights on April 23.
"He's getting better every day. He was FaceTiming us after the game last night, so he's feeling better," DeBoer said Wednesday, the morning after the Sharks defeated the Avalanche in Game 3. "We're all excited about the progress he's making."
DeBoer said Pavelski was expected to resume skating on Wednesday back in San Jose.
Midway through the third period in Game 7, Pavelski's head hit the ice following a cross-check to the chest by Knights center Cody Eakin and a collision with Vegas forward Paul Stastny. Pavelski was motionless for a moment, bleeding profusely through the top of his helmet. Brent Burns and other Sharks players surrounded their captain, calling for the training staff to come out. Pavelski eventually sat up and gingerly skated to the back, his teammate Joe Thornton pressing a towel against his head.
Pavelski would not return to the game. The Sharks used the energy of that moment to rally from a 3-0 deficit and tie the game, thanks to a five-minute major to Eakin on the play. They'd eventually win Game 7 in overtime.
DeBoer has declined to specify if the injury was a concussion, but has said "he was feeling the effects. You can put two and two together on that."
Pavelski had 38 goals and 26 assists in 75 games this season, and two goals and two assists in seven playoff games. In his career, Pavelski has 95 points in 128 playoff games, including an NHL-best 14 goals during the Sharks' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
"Pavelski is a big hole for us. He's a big piece of everything we do. We knew the challenge coming into this series. When Pavs has been out in the past, we haven't handled it well. We've been exposed a little bit by missing him in different situations," DeBoer said.
But the Sharks have managed to fill that void with their depth, moving forward Gustav Nyquist up to Pavelski's usual spot on the top line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier.
"We've gotten contributions from a lot of different guys," DeBoer said.
Pavelski has had a presence around the team since the injury, hanging around the practice facility, although he did not make the trip to Denver. His injury has continued to be a rallying point.
"We're trying to win as many games as we can so we can see him back out on the ice again," Thornton said.
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Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Hurricanes go up 3-0 on the Islanders
Published in
Hockey
Thursday, 02 May 2019 04:56
Uh-oh, could we be seeing a second-round sweep? After taking care of Barry Trotz's old team in the first round in seven games, the Carolina Hurricanes are now up 3-0 on his current team, the New York Islanders.
Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:
Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day
About last night ...
Game 3: Carolina Hurricanes 5, New York Islanders 2 (Hurricanes lead the series 3-0). Oh, how quickly it has soured for the Islanders. We knew they'd have a hard time generating offense this postseason, but this series has been a particular struggle. It's rare to climb out of an 0-3 deficit (though in this year's wacky playoffs, who would rule out anything?). Only four teams in NHL history have done it; the most recent was the 2014 Kings. Carolina, once again, put on a show for the home crowd, with an especially big third-period goal from captain Justin Williams. It proved to be the winner.
Game 4: Dallas Stars 4, St. Louis Blues 2 (series is tied 2-2). The Blues would strike first, but the Stars would control so many aspects, playing a more physically dominating game and capitalizing on turnovers. Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington has been ultra-composed since inheriting the No. 1 job, and he started the night off excellently. But then, for the first time in his NHL career, we saw him lose his cool with a pair of dumb penalties. The Stars' decision to mix up the top two lines paid off, as four different players scored goals.
0:40
Dickinson, Spezza net 1st-period goals to put Stars in front
Jason Dickinson lunges for a rebound and puts it in the back of the net to tie the game, then Jason Spezza scores a power-play goal to make it 2-1 Stars.
Three stars
1. Curtis McElhinney, G, Carolina Hurricanes
At 35 years and 343 days old, he became the oldest goaltender to make his first career postseason start. He made it count, turning away 28 of 30 shots.
2. Justin Williams, RW, Carolina Hurricanes
Yeah, yeah, he's Mr. Game 7. But maybe he's just Mr. Clutch. His go-ahead goal midway through the third period was the by-product of perfect positioning and a killer finish.
.@JustinWilliams gives the @NHLCanes a 3-2 lead. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/NzxuUQZFOo
- NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 2, 2019
3. Tyler Seguin, C, Dallas Stars
Seguin took to his new line assignment with Mats Zuccarello and Jason Dickinson by dishing out two assists on Wednesday night. He has also established a career high for playoff points (nine).
Play of the night
One of the plays that earned McElhinney our first star of the night:
Curtis McElhinney this is a seeeeeerious skate save pic.twitter.com/L9Ngd2xc2m
- Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) May 2, 2019
Dud of the night
Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington unraveling at the end of the second period.
First, Binnington retaliates after a jab from Stars captain Jamie Benn. Both players would receive two-minute penalties (Binnington's was for roughing).
This is the Benn-Binnington incident. pic.twitter.com/McTqBQGNzY
- Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) May 2, 2019
Then, on his way off the ice, Binnington took a swipe at Dallas goalie Ben Bishop near the bench.
Overhead (and only) angle shown by NBCSN of the Binnington chop on Bishop: pic.twitter.com/yr7pQyUuzS
- Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) May 2, 2019
That meant the Stars had to begin the third on a penalty kill. It's the rare goalie-on-goalie slash, and it's not cool.
On the schedule
Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4, 7:30 p.m. ET (Jackets lead the series 2-1)
The Blue Jackets are rewriting their postseason narrative this spring. Perhaps no one more so than goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who is having a dynamite playoff run. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner had been 5-14 in the playoffs, with a goals-against average of 3.49 and a save percentage of .891. This postseason? He's 6-1, with a 1.88 GAA and .937 save percentage. Columbus has all the hallmarks of a John Tortorella-coached team, clogging lanes and blocking shots -- and the Bruins' stars are getting frustrated. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have combined for just one goal so far. And now Marchand (who had done a good job this season of rewriting his narrative as a pest ... until this series) is on notice after some unsportsmanlike play.
San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche, Game 4, 10 p.m. ET (Sharks lead the series 2-1)
The Sharks got their mojo back in Game 3, thanks to a hat trick from Logan Couture and some nifty playmaking by new dad Gustav Nyquist, who is having a whirlwind week. Now San Jose may be getting reinforcements. Captain Joe Pavelski is skating again (after FaceTiming the team after their critical road win). Colorado started strong in Game 3 but then fell apart in what might have been one of their worst performances of the postseason. Avs coach Jared Bednar lamented his team's miscues, which included "some bonehead decisions with the puck." The Avalanche are a young team, and their style is conducive to mistakes.
Social post of the day
A good boy and his favorite Bread:
Quotable
"Just a bunch of grown men being donkeys." -- Jamie Benn on the skirmishes at the end of the second period of the Stars-Blues game.
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Pregnant Lincicome preparing to shut down season, will skip USWO
Published in
Golf
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 13:14
DALY CITY, Calif. – Brittany Lincicome fans should enjoy watching “Bam Bam” while they can at this week’s LPGA Mediheal Championship.
She is a little more than five months pregnant and getting ready to shut down her season to prepare for the birth of her first child later this year.
She won’t be playing in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open and plans to make the Pure Silk Championship at Kingsmill in three weeks her last appearance of the season. She’s expecting a girl on Sept. 1.
Why no U.S. Women’s Open?
“Just talking to Gerina [Piller] and Stacy [Lewis], they both said they made it to about six months and that was enough, that was the perfect time,” Lincicome said. “I feel wonderful, physically, right now. I’ve not been sick, not been tired, feeling great, but some shots are starting to go to the right, when I come out of them. It’s getting more frustrating now. I feel like I should be an athlete and compete at the highest level, and I just can’t do what I feel like I should do.”
Lincicome feels her body changing and what that is beginning to do to her swing.
“I’ve just started feeling the pregnancy the last couple weeks,” Lincicome said. “I’m starting to feel her move around a little bit, which is cool.”
Lincicome has one of the best caddies on tour, Missy Pederson. What is she going to do while Lincicome is away? Pederson will take up a temporary job with another major champion. She’ll make her first start with Angela Stanford at the U.S. Women’s Open.
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Hmong-American Khang making inspired run at Solheim Cup spot
Published in
Golf
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 15:08
Megan Khang isn’t getting ahead of herself, but she knows her surge up the U.S. Solheim Cup standings is a source of pride among the Hmong-American population.
She’s the first Hmong-American to play the LPGA, and she knows what it would mean if she made the American team that goes to Scotland to meet the Europeans in September.
“I’m just trying to play well, and I know if I do that, everything else will take care of itself,” Khang said. “But it would be a great honor to make that team.”
With her tie for fifth last weekend at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, Khang climbed to sixth on the U.S. Solheim Cup point standings. The top eight at the conclusion of the CP Women’s Open in late August will qualify for the team. There’s a long way to go, with 13 more events before qualifying ends, three of them majors, but she has put herself in good position before the summer run of big events. She’s in the field at this week’s LPGA Mediheal Championship.
Khang’s parents, Lee and Nou, were children when they escaped Laos with family as communist death squads hunted Hmong for aiding Americans in the Vietnam War. After spending months in Thai refugee camps, Khang’s parents finally made their way to the United States, where their families rebuilt their lives.
Lee, Meghan’s father, didn’t know what golf was when he arrived in the United States as an 8-year-old. He didn’t start playing the game until he was 32, but he taught himself, learning mostly from scouring Golf Digest and later watching YouTube videos. He’s the only coach Megan has ever known.
“Megan is definitely a role model for young Hmong boys and girls,” Lee said. “I’m so driven to make her the best player she can be, that I have to stand back sometimes to see the big picture and appreciate what she’s doing.”
Megan, a fourth-year LPGA member, knows the impact her name makes on a leaderboard.
“It would mean the world to me, to inspire children in some way, even if it’s one child,” Khang said.
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Furtney, Shepherd team up to win Women's Amateur Four-Ball
Published in
Golf
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 15:40
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Megan Furtney and Erica Shepherd atoned for a semifinal loss a year ago by winning the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball on Wednesday with a strong start and a steady finish at Timuquana Country Club.
Furtney and Shepherd, high school seniors who plan to play for Duke next year, made their fourth birdie on the par-5 seventh hole to build a 3-up lead, and lost only one hole the rest of the way for a 2-and-1 victory over Jillian Bourdage and Casey Weidenfeld.
Furtney is from South Elgin, Illinois, and Shepherd from Greenwood, Indiana.
''I've said it before and I'll say it a hundred more times. We know each other's game so well and we're so good about communicating with each other on the golf course,'' Furtney said. ''I think we're one of the few teams out here who didn't use caddies this week. I like to say that we kind of caddie for each other in a sense. We kind of know what kind of shots each other, like what we're capable. So kind of being able to talk those through and have a lot of options open is really important for us as a team.''
Shepherd won the 2017 U.S. Girls Junior and tied for 23rd in the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Furtney recovered from losing the tip of her pinky finger in a freak accident in 2017.
Bourdage and Weidenfeld are high school teammates in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
In the morning semifinals, Furtney and Shepherd beat Amari Avery and Alexa Pano 4 and 3, and Bourdage and Weidenfeld topped Sadie Englemann and Rachel Heck in 20 holes.
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Tiger Woods will visit the White House on Monday to attend a ceremony hosted by President Trump, according to published reports.
Trump and Woods have played multiple rounds together in South Florida, and Trump tweeted last month that he spoke with Woods and intended to award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom after his stirring victory at the Masters. That ceremony is expected to be held later this year.
Woods would be the fourth golfer to receive the highest civilian honor, joining Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Charlie Sifford.
Woods is not planning to play next week at the AT&T Byron Nelson outside Dallas. The PGA Championship is held the following week at Bethpage Black.
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One week after first tour win, Campillo shares lead in China
Published in
Golf
Thursday, 02 May 2019 03:54
SHENZHEN, China – Spaniard Jorge Campillo began his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles by shooting 7-under 65 to share the lead with two other players after the first round of the Volvo China Open on Thursday.
Four days after winning the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco for his first victory on tour, Campillo made five birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round at the Genzon Golf Club.
David Lipsky, a winner this season at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and Tapio Pulkkanen also shot 65s.
The trio is a stroke clear of 2015 winner Wu Ashun, another Chinese player in Jin Daxing, and John Catlin.
With Li Haotong a shot further back on 5 under, China has three players in the top seven.
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Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo's house was robbed and his brother was threatened with a knife on Wednesday during the Champions League win against Liverpool, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC.
Two thieves broke into Arthur's house in the Pedralbes neighbourhood of the Catalan city through a window and left with several items, including watches and objects which were easy to carry.
While they were still in the house, Arthur's brother, Paulo Henrique, arrived back from watching Barca beat Liverpool 3-0 at Camp Nou. When confronted by him, the robbers threatened him with a knife and were able to constrain him and an assistant who had also been in the property.
Once the duo had left, Arthur was contacted by his brother and told what had happened. The Brazil international raised the issue with Barcelona's security staff, who in turn contacted the police.
The police arrived at the scene later on Wednesday night and an official report was filed on Thursday.
It's not the first time a Barca player's home has been targeted in recent years. Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Philippe Coutinho and Kevin Prince Boateng have all suffered break-ins since 2018.
Robbers broke into Pique's house while he was attending his partner Shakira's concert in the city last summer. Coutinho, Alba and Boateng were all targeted while Barcelona matches were being played.
Arthur joined Barca from Gremio last July and has been an ever-present in Ernesto Valverde's side in his first season in Spain. However, he was the surprise omission from the team against Liverpool, with Arturo Vidal preferred over him.
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