Top Line: Bryzgalov “doesn’t care” if he’s bought out, Kovalchuk back soon, more links
Ilya Bryzgalov’s comments to the Courier-Post on Tuesday may not sit well in Philadelphia, but they were misconstrued. (Marianne Helm/Getty Images)
By Allan Muir
An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:
• Ilya Bryzgalov says he has no control over the future and isn’t giving a lot of thought to remaining with the Flyers after this season. Note: this initially drew heavily on the Courier-Post headline, which suggested that Bryz “didn’t care” about staying in Philly. Read the story and you’ll see why that wasn’t a fair characterization.
• The Devils are 0-3-4 and have scored just 12 goals since Ilya Kovalchuk went on IR, so the news that he’s skating and will be back soon gives a boost to their sagging playoff hopes.
• Remember that pic of Rihanna rocking a Senators jersey like it was a Betsey Johnson mini? Yeah, apparently that’s a thing now in Ottawa. It would be a lot less disturbing if it weren’t leading to the revelation of so many pasty man-thighs.
• The Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 5-3 win over Carolina. They also got word that All-Star defenseman Kris Letang could return to the lineup later this week.
• The return of Justin Faulk couldn’t stop the Hurricanes from dropping to 1-8 since signing Alex Semin to a long-term deal.
• Ben Bishop stuck it to his former teammates, but let’s be honest: the big story out of the Lightning’s win was the first NHL goal for the wildly-coiffed enforcer Pierre-Cedric Labrie, right?
• The Isles earned a gut-check win over the Flyers. This looks like a playoff team, doesn’t it?
• They also announced plans for a preseason game in Brooklyn next fall against the Devils.
• Sergei Bobrovsky posted his fourth shutout in his last 15 starts and the Blue Jackets snapped a two-game skid with a 4-0 win over the Sharks that puts them right back into the Western Conference playoff picture.
• The Washington Capitals continued their late-season surge with a 3-2 win over the Habs. That’s five straight for the Caps and nine in their last 11, but here’s a reality check for the team’s fans: this was the first regulation win for Washington against a team currently in a playoff position. Wow.
