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ANAHEIM – Group texts went back and forth between San Jose Sharks players during the NHL All-Star Skills Competition and NHL All-Star Game. Mostly they were about former teammate John Scott and how the hulking enforcer who spent the 2014-15 season in San Jose was handling the weekend. Not often do hockey players pay much attention to the All-Star festivities. A lot are on vacation and try to get away from the game. But Scott, who was voted into the game as a Pacific Division captain with an internet fan vote , left a large impact on the Sharks’ room. Enough to where Pacific Division teammates Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns carried Scott off the ice after their team won the 3-on-3 competition, along with $1 million to be distributed to the group.  During the three days in Nashville, it felt like he was more a part of the Sharks than any team in the league. Scott was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens after his selection to the game . Since the deal he had been in the minors with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps. “Johnny … it was great to see that,” Sharks defenseman Justin Braun said. “He was a great teammate while he was here and to see that turn out the way it did couldn’t have gone any better.” Sharks players had a reaction to most parts of Scott’s weekend. From the skills competition – where he wore an All-Star jersey while the rest of his teammates wore team jerseys – where he took part in the hardest shot, to the game itself where he scored two goals, the weekend left a mark on his former teammates. His first goal, where he reacted with a mega celebration seemed to draw the most attention. “Just to see him get that one and the big celebration and everything with Pavelski and Burns being out there for it, just a great moment for everyone involved,” Braun said.   The oddness of Scott’s place in the game was apparent to the Sharks – especially in the skills competition where he looked out of place in his jersey. Scott received a standing ovation from the Bridgestone Arena crowd before the hardest shot. “It was a unique situation there and we’d like to have seen him in some type of colors. It’s not easy being that guy, I’m sure,” Pavelski said. “He had to wear the NHL jersey in the skills competition and he handled it great. That’s his personality and that’s the type of guy he is, so it was fun.” Players weren’t surprised at how Scott tried to make the weekend as fun as possible and took it in stride. That’s the way he was when he played for the Sharks last season. He scored three goals – a career high – in 38 games in San Jose. Former teammate Mike Brown liked how Scott cracked up when the Nashville fans booed a stone-faced Patrick Kane. “That’s typical John Scott right there,” Brown said. “He starts doing that and you start laughing also, so he’ll get you going like that.” Even people who weren’t with the Sharks when Scott was there could sense a vibe around the player and what he meant to San Jose. “It also gave me a real idea of what I already had heard of what a respected guy this guy was around the room and the team here and the time he spent here,” first-year Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “That spoke volumes about the impact he had on this group when he was here last year.” MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY - - - - - - - Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper         Continue to Article

February 02, 2016 4:17:pm EST

NASHVILLE – When you have the hero’s journey of John Scott, Jaromir Jagr wigs, Chewbacca masks and a goalie making saves with a guitar, the actual NHL All-Star Game itself might have been overshadowed a bit.  But the NHL nailed it. It really did. The 3-on-3 format not only worked this season, but showed good potential for being the format that finally figured out how to take a moribund event and inject both excitement and drama into it. Along with putting the skill of the NHL’s best and brightest on display, of course. The genesis of the 3-on-3 format was a desire from the NHL and the NHLPA to go in a different direction after last season’s unwatchable game in Columbus ; and from Nashville Predators officials to have something new as the hosts of the 2016 game. “We sat down and we said that we don’t seem to be getting the bang for our buck at All-Star. Let’s reevaluate what we’re trying to do at All-Star,” said Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to the executive director of the NHLPA. “Everyone was in agreement that it needs to be something special and unique. It should be a great weekend for hockey, and it hasn’t seemed to be translating like that for the last few years.” The Predators had a hefty investment in All-Star Weekend, and the last thing the team wanted was for the lingering bad taste of the previous All-Star Game to dampen the enthusiasm for theirs. “We felt very strongly that we wanted to make this the best All-Star Game ever. There was negative feedback about the All-Star Game, so why not make a change?” said Predators GM David Poile last November. “And once we saw the 3-on-3 overtime format … for most hockey guys, general mangers or owners of the clubs as well as the players, we thought it was time to try something different and make it special.” It was different, and it was special. Here are six reasons the new NHL All-Star Game format was a blockbuster success: Continue to Article

February 01, 2016 12:59:pm EST

- - Penguins 2, Devils 0 Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel scored goals, Marc-Andre Fleury made a succession of strong saves during his 42nd career shutout and the Pittsburgh Penguins moved into the NHL All Star break with a 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins won their third in a row and fourth in five games -- and improved to 9-3-4 in their last 16 games -- while halting the Devils' attempt to win five consecutive games for the first time in nearly three years. - - Ducks 6, Bruins 2 The Anaheim Ducks spotted Boston a goal in the first minute before scoring four straight against two goaltenders en route to a 6-2 victory over the Bruins. Continue to Article

January 27, 2016 12:56:am EST

Logan Couture still has trouble with his ankle after games.  Couture suffered a fractured right fibula near the area in the first week of the NHL season, an injury that required surgery that kept him out almost two months. Then when he came back, he suffered a small arterial bleed near his right thigh area  two games later, which kept him out three weeks after surgery. Considering the amount of medical problems he’s had this season a little soreness should be the least of the 26-year-old Couture’s worries. “I don’t practice very often because of how sore (my ankle) is the day after a game,” Couture told Puck Daddy via phone. “But it’s something I have to get through. Injuries happen in sports unfortunately. We fixed it up. It’s not broken anymore. It’s all healed. I just have to learn how to deal with it and get used to it really.” For the Sharks, keeping Couture healthy has been a chore – and one that’s taken on utmost importance for the team. San Jose is 11-3-3 with Couture in the lineup. Without Couture the Sharks are 14-15-1.  The Sharks are 7-0-2 in their last nine games – all with Couture in the lineup. During this stretch they’ve clawed up the standings to second place in the Pacific Division with 54 points. “I think we have the pieces honestly. I do really believe that. We’re starting to play better hockey,” Couture said. “We’re playing systems that have been brought in by the new coaching staff. It took us a while to learn those and get used to those. When you have the same coaching staff for seven, eight, nine years or whatever it was and you change, it takes some time to get used to certain things and we’ve done that now.” Some of this may be purely coincidental. According to War on Ice , 5-on-5 Couture is a minus-1.08 CF% Rel, meaning the Sharks possess the puck more when he’s not on the ice than when he plays. Also he has just 10 points in 17 games this year. But Couture’s presence, even if he’s not 100 percent, has given the Sharks more NHL-level depth in a conference that oozes multiple talented centers many rosters. A year ago, Couture had 67 points in 82 games.  As a versatile center, Couture has enabled first-year Sharks coach Peter DeBoer to have easier line match ups against some of the more rugged Western Conference opponents. Without Couture, DeBoer was forced to overplay some of his more veteran players, which can be tiresome over an 82-game season.  He’s kept 36-year-old forward Patrick Marleau at center and moved struggling center Tomas Hertl to Joe Thornton’s line as a winger. There, Hertl has rediscovered his scoring touch with nine points in his last nine games. A 1-2-3-punch at center of Thornton, Marleau and Couture is as potent as any in the Western Conference right now. “Pete and the coaching staff allow players with creativity in their game to be creative,” Couture said. “They don’t force guys out of their comfort zones. They’re not going to tell Joe Thornton he can’t carry the puck and he has to dump and chase every time. They’re not going to do that. They allow players to play to their strengths.” When Couture suffered the arterial bled, he sent out a Tweet about how difficult the prior four months had been. He said he wrote that because he felt being injured meant letting the team down. Now that he’s healthier he can contribute again, which has helped his mental state. “As a hockey player you want to play hockey and you don’t think of other things to do during the season," Couture said. "It’s just hockey, hockey, hockey. Two months with my ankle was difficult because you feel like you’re not helping the team out. You’re letting people down even though there’s nothing you can do. "And then to come back, work really hard and get myself back in shape and then go down a game and a period into my comeback was mentally tough for me. It was difficult to get through but I’m past it now and going in the right direction.” MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS   - - - - - - - Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper Continue to Article

January 26, 2016 12:00:pm EST

I t's a Monday edition of  Marek vs. Wyshynski  podcast, in which we discussed: - San Jose Sharks announcer Bret Hedican joins us to talk about Joe Thornton, Brent Burns and whether anyone likes Patrick Marleau; plus, some quality talk about the 10-year anniversary of the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup win.  - Josh Cooper of Puck Daddy joins us to talk about Nashville and the LA Kings.  - Marek on the top prospects game in Vancouver. - Lucic is suspended for a punch in a hockey game. - Stamkos contract offer analysis. - Wysh's dog decided to have bad belly at the wrong time.  - News and notes from around the NHL. The   Marek vs. Wyshynski Podcast  is hosted by  Jeff Marek of Sportsnet and Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports , breaking down the NHL on a (somewhat) daily basis with their particular brand of whimsy and with guest voices from around the hockey world.  MvsW  streams live while its being recorded:  LISTEN HERE!   [ And if that doesn't work, try here. ] Continue to Article

January 25, 2016 5:00:pm EST