The World of Sports

New on Sports Illustrated: New faces try to help Pens snap 3-game skid at Kings

<a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/game/2155399">
The Pittsburgh Penguins added some scoring depth as they prepare for a 14th straight playoff run, and the new additions are expected to make their team debuts at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
Patrick Marleau, Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues were acquired on Monday, and the forwards are arriving at a good time, as the Penguins will try to avoid losing four in a row for the first time this season.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told reporters that the new additions should give coach Mike Sullivan a better opportunity to spread around the minutes.
"The top three lines were probably playing a little bit more than they should," Rutherford said. "[We're] trying to get their minutes down so that we can come and come hard, shift after shift, with four lines. That's what we should be able to do after we made those changes."
Pittsburgh lost 5-3 at the Washington Capitals on Sunday to fall two points behind the Capitals for the Metropolitan Division lead.
The Penguins have been outscored 14-5 in their three-game losing streak.
The Kings, stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference standings for most of the season, did most of their trading in the days leading up to the deadline, unloading veterans Kyle Clifford and Alec Martinez, both of whom were part of the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Championship teams.
"It's not an easy few months here because you're dealing with some very important people in the history of the L.A. Kings," Los Angeles general manager Rob Blake told reporters on Monday. "They've been able to do a tremendous amount, but we're moving forward."
Los Angeles is playing better in the past two weeks, posting a 3-2-1 record in their past six games following a dreadful 2-12-1 stretch.
Blake said the remainder of the season will be a prime opportunity for the younger players to experience more playing time against NHL competition.
"It's important for those guys to show what they can do the next 20 games," Blake said.
The Kings should be plenty familiar to Marleau, who played for Pacific Division rival San Jose from 1997-2017 before rejoining the Sharks prior to this season.
Marleau has played 115 games against Los Angeles, the most against any NHL team, and has 43 goals and 52 assists, both also tops against any opponent.
One thing Marleau doesn't have is a Stanley Cup title.
"His desire to get that ultimate prize is going to be big for him," Rutherford said. "His time is running out. He should be a good fit for us."
Sheary, who played his first three NHL seasons for Pittsburgh before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres following the 2017-18 season, gets another chance to succeed with the Penguins. He has experience playing alongside Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby.
"He was pretty pumped when I talked to him," Rutherford said. "The coaches felt very strong when his name came up that it would be seamless for him coming back in here."
--Field Level Media
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New on Sports Illustrated: New faces try to help Pens snap 3-game skid at Kings

The Pittsburgh Penguins added some scoring depth as they prepare for a 14th straight playoff run, and the new additions are expected to mak...

New on Sports Illustrated: Knights host Oilers in upper-echelon Pacific battle

<a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/game/2155396">
The Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights will put a six-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night when they open a four-game homestand against the Edmonton Oilers in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights, who are 10-3-2 since Peter DeBoer took over for Gerard Gallant as head coach on Jan. 15, hold a two-point lead over both Vancouver and the Oilers, who will be playing the second game of a back-to-back that started with a 4-3 overtime loss at Anaheim on Tuesday night.
Vegas, which owns the longest active winning streak in the NHL, has been off since a 6-5 overtime victory at Anaheim on Sunday. William Karlsson ended a 20-game goalless drought with his third career hat trick in the win, while Mark Stone had four assists and Shea Theodore scored the game-winner with 1:10 remaining in OT.
The Golden Knights were busy at the trade deadline on Monday, acquiring 2019 Vezina finalist Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks and also picking up forward Nick Cousins from the Montreal Canadiens.
"I'm excited about everything we did yesterday," DeBoer said after his team's practice on Tuesday. "I think it's a testament to the work the guys have put in the last three weeks in that there is a belief in management and ownership that this team has a chance (to win a Stanley Cup). They didn't dip their toe in the pool, they jumped in and put some serious assets out there in order to give us some guys to help us win."
Lehner, who practiced with the Golden Knights on Tuesday, was 16-10-5 with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage while splitting time with Corey Crawford. His arrival gives Vegas a dynamic 1-2 goaltender combo with three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury, who is 25-14-5 with a 2.79 goals-against and .906 save percentage.
"There's no doubt you have two elite goalies," DeBoer said. "We're going to have to use a rotation more than maybe I would have considered using down the stretch, which I think makes both guys better. They'll both be fresh and ready to go come playoff time."
"I was definitely (shocked)," Lehner said of the trade. "We were hearing from a few teams, and then Vegas came from nowhere. So yeah, I was shocked, very excited, pleasantly surprised. (Heck) of a hockey team in here. Fun to join a team that has a chance to win the Cup."
The Oilers were also active at the trade deadline, adding forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Ryan Kuffner and defenseman Mike Green from Detroit, forward Tyler Ennis from Ottawa and goalie Angus Redmond from Anaheim.
Ennis and Athanasiou both paid immediate dividends in their Edmonton debuts in Tuesday's overtime loss to the Ducks. Each finished with a goal and an assist.
Athanasiou's goal with 4:35 to go in the third period tied the game at 3-3 and notched the Oilers, who trailed 2-0 after the first period, a valuable point in the crowded Pacific Division race.
"We didn't play very well," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "We got better as the game went on, but the first period was poor for our group. We just got outworked and didn't compete hard enough. ... We came back, got a point, but frustrating. I'd like to see us play 60 minutes tomorrow night."
This is the second of four meetings between the two teams. Edmonton, behind a pair of goals by Connor McDavid and three assists from Leon Draisaitl, won the first one 4-2 on Nov. 23 in Las Vegas.
--Field Level Media
</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: Knights host Oilers in upper-echelon Pacific battle

The Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights will put a six-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night when they open a four-game...

New on Sports Illustrated: Ex-TCU QB Trevone Boykin Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/02/27/trevone-boykin-sentenced-three-years-prison">
Boykin pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges from the 2018 beating of his girlfriend.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Former TCU and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to charges from the 2018 beating of his girlfriend.
Boykin and prosecutors agreed to the sentence in return for his guilty plea Wednesday to aggravated assault and witness tampering charges. Boykin's attorney said his client will be eligible for parole in less than a year.
Boykin had been in the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth since December after he ducked paying for a hotel room in nearby Arlington.
Shabrika Bailey alleged that Boykin broke her jaw in two places in the March 2018 beating. The Seahawks cut Boykin in the wake of the allegation.
Boykin, a West Mesquite High School graduate who played for the TCU Horned Frogs in 2012-15, was the 2014 Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year and set team career records in career passing yards (10,728), passing attempts (1,356), pass completions (830) and touchdown passes (86). He also set single-season team records in 2014 for passing yards (3,901), touchdown passes (33), touchdowns responsible for (42) and total offense (4,608), and set a single-game team record with seven touchdown passes in a 2014 game that TCU won over Texas Tech, 82-27.
With the Seahawks, Boykin played in five games in 2016, completing 13 of 18 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown and one interception. He spent 2017 on the Seahawks practice squad.
He had been in trouble with the law since 2015, however, when he had a barroom brawl in San Antonio two days before the Frogs were to meet the Alamo Ducks in the 2016 Alamo Bowl. He was suspended for the game, then pleaded no contest to a resisting-arrest count and got a year's deferred adjudication probation. in June 2016.
In March 2017, he was arrested on public intoxication and misdemeanor marijuana possession charges after a car in which he was a passenger struck a tavern, hitting seven people on the sidewalk.
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New on Sports Illustrated: Ex-TCU QB Trevone Boykin Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Boykin pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges from the 2018 beating of his girlfriend. FORT WORTH, Texas — Former TCU and Seattle Seahawks qu...

New on Sports Illustrated: The Fight to Survive Rages on as Battered Blue Jackets Chase Playoff Spot

<a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/2020/02/27/blue-jackets-playoff-hunt-injuries">
Columbus has been marred with injuries from the get-go—and to key players, too. The team is still in the postseason hunt, but it's only going to get harder from here.
OK, Columbus Blue Jackets fans: the hockey world will stop laughing at your injury-related misery. It’s easy to feel bad for you guys because the Blue Jackets have a darn good hockey team and deserve a break from the injury ninja.
The Blue Jackets have made the post-season just five times in the past 18 seasons and despite having to replace a few of the franchise’s greatest players this past summer, the team quickly began to close in on appearance No. 6. From Dec. 1 until Jan. 31, the Blue Jackets had the third-best record in the NHL with a 16-5-4 run and just 49 goals against in 25 games (the fewest allowed in that span). Since then? The Blue Jackets have gone 4-4-6 in the past 14 games with a minus-seven goal differential, making them a pure mid-pack team. If it wasn’t for a league-leading 14 overtime losses this season, this conversation would be significantly different.
Why, exactly? Per
</a><a href="https://nhlinjuryviz.blogspot.com/2019/10/201920-NHL-man-games-lost-plots.html">NHLInjuryViz</a>, a website that tracks player injuries, only the Pittsburgh Penguins have been marred more by injury this season, with 18 players missing time with the Blue Jackets this season. Since Friday, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and forwards Riley Nash and Oliver Bjorkstrand have sustained injuries, with Bjorkstrand ending his season early with a fractured ankle. Seth Jones, Josh Anderson and Alexandre Texier are out long-term and if they return, it won’t be until just before the playoffs at best. It digs deeper than that, but eight players currently sit on the injured reserve. Cam Atkinson’s original return date is creeping up, so that’s a bonus, at least.
<figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTcwNzQ3NTQ2OTEyNjk1OTU5/nick-foligno-blue-jackets.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
***
More From The Hockey News: 
* <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/was-david-ayres-a-godsend-or-an-embarrassment-for-the-nhl-probably-both">Was David Ayres a godsend or an embarrassment for the NHL? Probably both</a> 
* <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/the-fight-to-survive-rages-on-as-battered-blue-jackets-chase-playoff-spot">The fight to survive rages on as battered Blue Jackets chase playoff spot</a> 
* <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/muzzins-injury-is-a-nightmare-for-the-maple-leafs-who-now-need-blueline-to-be-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts">Muzzin’s injury a nightmare for Leafs, who need blue line to be greater than sum of its parts</a> 
* <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/rebuild-or-reload-for-wild-gm-bill-guerin-the-answer-isnt-black-or-white">Rebuild or reload? For Wild GM Bill Guerin, the answer isn’t black or white</a> 
***
An ideal world wouldn’t have Stefan Matteau and Nathan Gerbe playing top-six minutes, and the top line of Gustav Nyquist, Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno is definitely on the lower side of the hockey spectrum. But the Blue Jackets are a good team: even though the team seems to rarely operate with a full NHL-quality roster, Columbus has figured out how to get points in the title race. With 65 games under their belt, the Blue Jackets sit second in the wild-card race with three games in hand over their three closest competitors. Merzlikins, the man that gave the team new life in January with a 9-2-0 record and three shutouts, is out for an undisclosed time, but Joonas Korpisalo was fantastic prior to an injury of his own. The Blue Jackets have been able to rely on their goaltending in a year where that was the biggest question, and that’s important.
Columbus <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/nhl-trade-deadline-2020-trade-tracker-and-analysis-on-deadline-day-deals">didn’t make a splash on deadline day</a>, acquiring Devin Shore from Anaheim and a conditional seventh-round pick from Arizona. So GM Jarmo Kekalainen must be content with the group he’s assembled for coach John Tortorella and didn’t go the aggressive route he did a year ago to acquire Ryan Dzingel and Matt Duchene. The Blue Jackets didn’t have a lot of pieces to offer, anyway, especially since they’re missing their second- and third-round picks this season. The Blue Jackets have a whopping $23 million in open cap space with $30 million tied up among players on injured reserve, and thanks to a plethora of AHL call-ups, 12 of the 24 players currently on the roster (including two on emergency loan) make less than a million dollars. To say the roster is just a shell of what it could be is an understatement.
Despite that, the Blue Jackets still have a good statistical chance at the playoffs. Reality may have different plans. The Blue Jackets have struggled to seal the deal in regulation recently and new long-term injuries aren’t going to make the ride any smoother. When most of your original top six and two of your best defensemen aren’t set to return anytime soon, good luck. So while they’ve remained alive now, it’s getting over the hump that’s going to be the issue. The Metropolitan Division’s playoff race is very close with just six points separating Pittsburgh in second and Carolina in sixth, so the Blue Jackets need to find a bit of urgency down the stretch. The Blue Jackets are the most thrashed group of the bunch, and in Columbus’ 17 remaining games, <a href="https://twitter.com/Ech28/status/1232541261288157185/photo/1">only four</a> are against teams not currently in a playoff spot. Boston, Washington and Tampa Bay (twice) are still on the docket. Nothing about this gets easier.
If it all falls through, Columbus has a legitimate excuse for missing the playoffs in a year that wasn’t expected to be this successful, anyways. If the Jackets do make it and can recover most of the original lineup, we could have another playoff upset on our hands.
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New on Sports Illustrated: The Fight to Survive Rages on as Battered Blue Jackets Chase Playoff Spot

Columbus has been marred with injuries from the get-go—and to key players, too. The team is still in the postseason hunt, but it's only...

New on Sports Illustrated: Virus Forces Japan Baseball to Ban Fans From Preseason Games

<a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/02/27/japan-baseball-coronavirus">
Japan's professional baseball league says it will play its 72 remaining preseason games in empty stadiums because of the threat of the spreading coronavirus.
TOKYO (AP) Japan's professional baseball league says it will play its 72 remaining preseason games in empty stadiums because of the threat of the spreading coronavirus.
The regular season is to open on March 20.
The virus that began in China is disrupting all of the country's sports schedules and has raised concerns about the Tokyo Olympics. They are to open on July 24 followed by the Paralympics on Aug. 25.
Representatives of the baseball league's 12 teams made the move at a special meeting on Wednesday.
“This was a bitter decision to make,” Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Commissioner Atsushi Saito as saying. “Because we can't determine the situation, I won't say anything right now about (opening day). “If possible, we all want to go ahead on March 20.”
Japan's top soccer league, the J-League, has also halted all play until March 15.
Five deaths in Japan have been attributed to the virus outbreak. China has reported more than 2,700 deaths, and China is the host nation for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: Virus Forces Japan Baseball to Ban Fans From Preseason Games

Japan's professional baseball league says it will play its 72 remaining preseason games in empty stadiums because of the threat of the ...

The World of Sports

New on Sports Illustrated: New faces try to help Pens snap 3-game skid at Kings

New on Sports Illustrated: Knights host Oilers in upper-echelon Pacific battle

New on Sports Illustrated: Ex-TCU QB Trevone Boykin Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

New on Sports Illustrated: The Fight to Survive Rages on as Battered Blue Jackets Chase Playoff Spot

New on Sports Illustrated: Virus Forces Japan Baseball to Ban Fans From Preseason Games

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