Panthers laugh off travel delays, ‘bonding time’
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
EDMONTON, Alberta — The Florida Panthers did in fact make it to Edmonton on Wednesday after travel delays, and they were rather amused with all the concern ahead of Thursday’s 4-3 win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s just so funny how everything gets so magnified in the Cup finals,” Panthers forward Kyle Okposo said during Thursday morning’s skate. “This happens four times a year to every team in the regular season and nobody says anything. And now it’s like, ‘Oh my God, they’re not going to be able to play!'”
Torrential rain in South Florida on Wednesday caused massive flooding and significant travel delays, including the Panthers’ charter flight to Edmonton, which was delayed for a few hours. Fans and media were tracking the flight online to see when it could get to Edmonton. It landed in the 8 p.m. hour locally — about two hours after the team was scheduled to do interviews at the Edmonton Oilers‘ arena.
“I think we always knew we would get out at some point, whether we got in at 2 in the morning or whatever. We were going to get here,” Okposo said. “Everybody was just kind of having fun with it, honestly.”
Unbeknownst to players, even the Edmonton air traffic controllers were getting in on the fun. One jokingly told the pilots of the Panthers’ charter that there would be a “two-hour hold or whatever it would take for you to be low enough in fuel to have to divert from Edmonton.”
Rather than immediately fly to Edmonton after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, the Panthers opted to remain in South Florida — despite weather forecasts that predicted significant rain for Wednesday.
“We pay a bunch of really smart people to have better answers than we do,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “This is the way we do it, and there are reasons for it, and I’m 100% good with it. At no point when a guy gets a cold do they come to see me on how they should fix it.
“We spent an hour at our rink, a little longer. We sat there, and our chef is unbelievable. The coaches put on 7 pounds yesterday. That’s the only ramification.”
Once on the plane, the Panthers spent an extra 90 minutes on the tarmac, Maurice said. The players passed the time as they usually do on trips: watching movies, catching up on sleep and playing cards.
“We love adversity. We got some more team bonding time. It was fun,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “We had some guys go behind the scenes to do things that usually don’t [happen] to get us off the ground, and happy to finally take off, obviously.
“It was either we would be sitting on the plane or we were going to get here and go to the lounge and hang out together. So it made no difference for us.”
The Panthers, who have a 2-0 lead over the Oilers, said the delay did nothing to interrupt their Game 3 preparations.
“No, not at all,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “We got to practice in the morning, and I got like nine hours of sleep last night, so it was great.”
Added forward Matthew Tkachuk: “It wasn’t that big of a deal, to be completely honest with you. … I think most guys did something when they got to the hotel: pool, bike, whatever. I mean, it was a long flight. By the time you get to the hotel, you just do that and you go right to bed.”
Maurice did acknowledge the severity of the weather in South Florida.
“I’m joking around with that, but there’s some people who are struggling right now in Florida with the flooding,” he said. “So it’s a serious thing that happened there. But our day was not serious.”
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Connor McDavid continues setting records and moving up scoring lists.
McDavid had two goals and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers‘ 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night, passing Jari Kurri for second all time in points in Edmonton history. McDavid, a three-time Hart Trophy winner for league MVP and five-time scoring champion, now has 1,044 points in his 10-year career and trails only Wayne Gretzky on the franchise list.
Kurri had 1,043 points in his 10 years with the Oilers, playing on a line with Gretzky for much of it. Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, had 1,669 points in nine seasons in Edmonton.
“Quite a remarkable feat,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “For him to go up the scoring list as quickly as he has, and within an organization that has had so many significant players. I’ve seen so many remarkable things from him. He’s a tremendous player and great teammate. I said I wouldn’t be surprised anymore just because he surprises you so often over these years, but it’s a nice feat for him and the guys are very proud of him.”
McDavid’s second goal was of the highlight variety. He shot the puck from a tough angle, lifting it over Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson without much room.
McDavid didn’t speak to reporters after the game. He was involved in a collision with Minnesota forward Marcus Johansson in the second period in which McDavid’s elbow hit Johansson in the face. There was no penalty called, but it drew the ire of the Wild.
Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren practiced with the team on Wednesday for the first time since his upper-body injury on Friday.
He will travel with the team to Ottawa but is still on injured reserve and isn’t eligible to play in Thursday’s game against the Senators. Lindgren, 31, can be activated on Saturday, when Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Not quite ready with being on the IR and that, but another positive step being on the ice today,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said.
Lindgren took a hit to the head and left the Capitals’ home game against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. In the first minute of the second period, he was struck in the side of the head by Montreal’s Nick Suzuki, who was checked into the goalie by Brandon Duhaime. The game resumed, but Lindgren was pulled approximately two minutes later, and the Canadiens went on to win 3-2 in overtime.
Lindgren is 10-8-2 with a 2.65 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 21 starts.
He has a career record of 63-47-14 with a .277 GAA and .907 save percentage in 131 regular-season games (123 starts) for the Montreal Canadiens (2015-20), St. Louis Blues (2021-22) and Capitals.
Washington forward Sonny Milano participated in his first full practice since sustaining an upper-body injury on Nov. 6 against the Nashville Predators. Milano, 28, wore a non-contact jersey as he continues his recovery. Milano has played in three games this season.
He has 137 career points (62 goals, 75 assists) in 313 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2015-20), Anaheim Ducks (2020-22) and Capitals.
WASHINGTON — A bill to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday.
The ongoing effort, which included the bill being first introduced in October, needed to be submitted for consideration again in the 119th Congress.
Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., reintroduced the Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act in the House along with co-sponsors Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Bill Keating, D-Mass. Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reintroduced it in the Senate.
USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said he encourages fans to contact their congressional representatives to express their support for the bill’s passage. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league enthusiastically supports the legislation.
February marks the 45th anniversary of the Americans beating the heavily favored Soviet Union on the way to the gold medal on home ice in Lake Placid, New York.
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