SUNDAY, APRIL 10 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D9
Michigan exodus to NHL begins
BY STEPHEN WHYNOOwen Power is trading in Michigan maize and
blue for the blue and gold of the Buffalo Sabres, and
he is far from the only Wolverine making the leap to
the NHL.
The Michigan exodus was underway less than 24
hours after the loaded Wolverines were knocked
out of the Frozen Four short of a national title.
Before Power inked his deal with Buffalo on
Friday, teammates Kent Johnson and Nick Blan-
kenburg signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Matty Beniers and Brendan Brisson might not be
too far behind in the aftermath of Michigan's
overtime loss to Denver on Thursday in the NCAA
tournament semifinals.
Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams said Pow-
er was expected to join Buffalo in Florida on
Saturday and was tentatively scheduled to make his
debut Tuesday at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 6-foot-5, 214-pound defenseman, drafted
first overall by Buffalo in 2021, recorded more than
a point per game f or Michigan. He had a hat trick at
the world junior championships before the event
was called off and played almost 22 minutes a game
for Canada at the Winter Olympics. Power, a 19-
year-old sophomore, will get some valuable experi-ence by suiting up with the Sabres, who will miss
the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season.
“When you add it all up, it was a great develop-
ment year for him,” Adams said. “Regardless of how
talented he is, he’s still a young player, and we want
to keep helping him get better and better and set
him up for success. Really am proud of how he
handled himself during this season on and off the
ice and just excited to get him in a Sabres uniform.”
Johnson, a sophomore forward, signed a three-
year, entry-level contract like Power, while Blan-
kenburg, a senior defenseman, got a one-year deal.
They are expected to join Columbus on Monday and
could also get plugged into the l ineup right away.
Blankenburg was a free agent, while Johnson
was the fifth pick in the 2021 draft. He had 17 goals
and 47 assists in his final college season and
registered five points in four games at the 2022
Olympics representing Canada.
“Kent Johnson is a remarkable young man both
on and off the ice,” Blue Jackets General Manager
Jarmo Kekalainen said. “He is a highly skilled and
creative player who can bring you out of your seat
whenever he’s on the ice.”
There are similarly high hopes for sophomore
forwards Beniers and Brisson, who starred for the
United States at the Olympics on a team featuringmore than a dozen college players. Beniers could
soon join the expansion Seattle Kraken after they
took him second in the draft, while Brisson was a
2020 first-round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Goaltender Erik Portillo (Buffalo); defensemen
Luke Hughes and Ethan Edwards (New Jersey
Devils) and Jacob Truscott (Vancouver Canucks);
and forwards Thomas Bordeleau (San Jose Sharks),
John Beecher (Boston Bruins), Eric Ciccolini (New
York Rangers), Mackie Samoskevich (Florida Pan-
thers) and Dylan Duke (Tampa Bay Lightning) are
the other Michigan players with rights already
owned by NHL clubs.
Adams said he also spoke with Portillo, who was
in goal for the loss to Denver. It was not clear what
Portillo’s path forward might be, but the Sabres did
not have much doubt Power would join them and
play in the NHL quickly.
“This stretch of games until the end of the season
is so critical for him because you feel the NHL game,
you get a good understanding of what you need to
do to prepare yourself to play, the speed of the game,
physicality — all of it,” Adams said. “He’ll take that
into his offseason, and just the way he’s wired, [he]
is the type of kid who processes things very quickly,
and he’ll learn quickly.”
— Associated PressEntering Saturday’s games
GOALS GP G
Auston Matthews, Toronto................................. 66 56
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton.................................... 71 50
Chris Kreider, N.Y. Rangers................................. 72 47
Alex Ovechkin, Washington................................ 68 43
Connor McDavid, Edmonton................................ 71 42
Kyle Connor, Winnipeg........................................ 69 41
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota................................... 69 41
Alex DeBrincat, Chicago...................................... 71 39
Filip Forsberg, Nashville...................................... 57 38
Elias Lindholm, Calgary....................................... 71 38
David Pastrnak, Boston....................................... 69 38
Matt Duchene, Nashville..................................... 66 37
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado.................................. 68 35
Aleksander Barkov, Florida................................. 58 34
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary................................... 71 34
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary.................................. 71 34
Sebastian Aho, Carolina...................................... 69 33
Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh................................... 66 33
Brock Nelson, N.Y. Islanders............................... 61 33
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay.............................. 70 32
ASSISTS GP A
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida.............................. 71 77
Roman Josi, Nashville......................................... 68 68
Connor McDavid, Edmonton................................ 71 66
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary................................... 71 65
Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers............................. 67 65
Patrick Kane, Chicago.......................................... 67 58
Mitch Marner, Toronto........................................ 62 58
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers...................................... 69 57
Nazem Kadri, Colorado........................................ 65 57
J.T. Miller, Vancouver.......................................... 70 56
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary.................................. 71 55
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh....................................... 68 53
Cale Makar, Colorado........................................... 67 52
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton.................................... 71 51
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado.............................. 55 51
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado.................................. 68 51
Morgan Rielly, Toronto........................................ 71 51
Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota................................ 62 50
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay................................. 71 48
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver................................... 66 48
POWER-PLAY GOALS GP PP
Chris Kreider, N.Y. Rangers................................. 72 25
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton.................................... 71 20
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado.................................. 68 16
Auston Matthews, Toronto................................. 66 15
Josh Norris, Ottawa............................................. 54 15
Alex DeBrincat, Chicago...................................... 71 14
Matt Duchene, Nashville..................................... 66 14
Alex Ovechkin, Washington................................ 68 14
David Pastrnak, Boston....................................... 69 14
Sebastian Aho, Carolina...................................... 69 13
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg............................... 71 13
Sam Reinhart, Florida.......................................... 68 13
Mika Zibanejad, N.Y. Rangers............................. 72 13
Bo Horvat, Vancouver.......................................... 67 12
Timo Meier, San Jose.......................................... 65 12
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay.............................. 70 12
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota................................... 69 11
William Nylander, Toronto.................................. 70 11
Joe Pavelski, Dallas............................................. 70 11
John Tavares, Toronto......................................... 70 10
SHORTHANDED GOALS GP SH
Trevor Moore, Los Angeles.................................. 73 5
Aleksander Barkov, Florida................................. 58 4
Alex Formenton, Ottawa..................................... 67 4
Isac Lundestrom, Anaheim.................................. 70 4
Ilya Mikheyev, Toronto........................................ 42 4
Gustav Nyquist, Columbus.................................. 72 4
Cam Atkinson, Philadelphia................................ 71 3
Kyle Connor, Winnipeg........................................ 69 3
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida.............................. 71 3
Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles................................. 70 3
Chris Kreider, N.Y. Rangers................................. 72 3
Adam Lowry, Winnipeg....................................... 69 3
Mitch Marner, Toronto........................................ 62 3
Colin Blackwell, Seattle....................................... 47 2
Pierre Engvall, Toronto........................................ 67 2
Mark Giordano, Seattle....................................... 64 2
Mathieu Joseph, Tampa Bay............................... 66 2
Artturi Lehkonen, Montreal................................ 63 2
Brad Marchand, Boston....................................... 60 2
Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado................................ 52 2
POWER-PLAY ASSISTS GPPPA
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers...................................... 69 32
Connor McDavid, Edmonton................................ 71 30
Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers............................. 67 30
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida.............................. 71 28
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver................................... 66 27
J.T. Miller, Vancouver.......................................... 70 26
Roman Josi, Nashville......................................... 68 25
Cale Makar, Colorado........................................... 67 23
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay................................. 71 22
Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina................................. 67 21
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh................................... 59 20
Mikael Granlund, Nashville................................. 68 20
Nazem Kadri, Colorado........................................ 65 20
Patrick Kane, Chicago.......................................... 67 20
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh....................................... 68 20
Morgan Rielly, Toronto........................................ 71 20
Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota................................ 62 20
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado.............................. 55 19
Brad Marchand, Boston....................................... 60 19
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton....................... 53 19
SHORTHANDED ASSISTS GP SHA
Mika Zibanejad, N.Y. Rangers............................. 72 4
Patrice Bergeron, Boston.................................... 63 3
Connor Brown, Ottawa........................................ 56 3
John Carlson, Washington.................................. 66 3
Phillip Danault, Los Angeles................................ 71 3
Aaron Ekblad, Florida........................................... 61 3
Yanni Gourde, Seattle.......................................... 63 3
Zach Hyman, Edmonton...................................... 66 3
Alexander Kerfoot, Toronto................................ 71 3
Anton Lundell, Florida......................................... 56 3
Logan O'Connor, Colorado................................... 71 3
Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas...................................... 70 3
Morgan Rielly, Toronto........................................ 71 3
Dominic Toninato, Winnipeg............................... 67 3
Mathieu Joseph, Tampa Bay............................... 66 2
Blake Lizotte, Los Angeles.................................. 61 2
Tomas Nosek, Boston.......................................... 65 2
Matt Roy, Los Angeles........................................ 59 2
Moritz Seider, Detroit......................................... 71 2
Nikita Zaitsev, Ottawa........................................ 51 2
POWER-PLAY POINTS GPPPP
Connor McDavid, Edmonton................................ 71 39
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton.................................... 71 36
Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers............................. 67 35
Roman Josi, Nashville......................................... 68 34
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida.............................. 71 33
J.T. Miller, Vancouver.......................................... 70 33
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado.................................. 68 33
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers...................................... 69 32
Chris Kreider, N.Y. Rangers................................. 72 32
Cale Makar, Colorado........................................... 67 30
Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina................................. 67 29
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh................................... 59 28
Nazem Kadri, Colorado........................................ 65 28
Patrick Kane, Chicago.......................................... 67 28
Auston Matthews, Toronto................................. 66 28
William Nylander, Toronto.................................. 70 28
Alex DeBrincat, Chicago...................................... 71 27
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay................................. 71 27
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver................................... 66 27
Sam Reinhart, Florida.......................................... 68 27
GAME-WINNING GOALS GPGW
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton.................................... 71 10
Chris Kreider, N.Y. Rangers................................. 72 10
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary................................... 71 9
Auston Matthews, Toronto................................. 66 9
Connor McDavid, Edmonton................................ 71 9
David Pastrnak, Boston....................................... 69 9
Jason Robertson, Dallas...................................... 62 9
Sebastian Aho, Carolina...................................... 69 8
Filip Forsberg, Nashville...................................... 57 8
Elias Lindholm, Calgary....................................... 71 8
Timo Meier, San Jose.......................................... 65 8
Josh Norris, Ottawa............................................. 54 8
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay.............................. 70 8
Sam Bennett, Florida........................................... 61 7
Kyle Connor, Winnipeg........................................ 69 7
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh................................... 59 7
Jake DeBrusk, Boston.......................................... 66 7
Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles................................. 70 7
Patrik Laine, Columbus........................................ 53 7
Andrew Mangiapane, Calgary............................. 71 7
SHOTS GP S
Auston Matthews, Toronto................................. 66314
David Pastrnak, Boston....................................... 69304
Alex Ovechkin, Washington................................ 68301
Kyle Connor, Winnipeg........................................ 69287
Connor McDavid, Edmonton................................ 71286
Timo Meier, San Jose.......................................... 65276
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado.............................. 55261
Patrice Bergeron, Boston.................................... 63257
Patrick Kane, Chicago.......................................... 67250
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton.................................... 71249
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota................................... 69249
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa....................................... 67240
Roman Josi, Nashville......................................... 68237
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado.................................. 68237
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary................................... 71234
Alex DeBrincat, Chicago...................................... 71230
Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh................................... 66230
Jeff Skinner, Buffalo........................................... 71229
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary.................................. 71229
Nazem Kadri, Colorado........................................ 65228
PLUS-MINUS RATING GP+/-
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary................................... 71 54
Elias Lindholm, Calgary....................................... 71 51
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary.................................. 71 47
Devon Toews, Colorado....................................... 60 47
Cale Makar, Colorado........................................... 67 42
Aaron Ekblad, Florida........................................... 61 38
Alex Goligoski, Minnesota................................... 62 36
MacKenzie Weegar, Florida................................. 71 36
Justin Faulk, St. Louis......................................... 65 33
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado.................................. 68 33
Aleksander Barkov, Florida................................. 58 32
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida.............................. 71 32
Gustav Forsling, Florida...................................... 62 31
Christopher Tanev, Calgary................................. 71 30
Anton Lundell, Florida......................................... 56 28
Mika Zibanejad, N.Y. Rangers............................. 72 28
Tony DeAngelo, Carolina..................................... 54 27
Ryan Hartman, Minnesota.................................. 70 27
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado............................... 51 27
Jaccob Slavin, Carolina........................................ 70 27NHL LEADERSMADDIE MEYER/GETTY IMAGES
Michigan defenseman Owen Power, battling D enver’s Carter Mazur on Thursday, was last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick and is joining t he Sabres.hockey
ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Florida Panthers have
proved they know how to score.
Against the Nashville Predators,
they showed they can play a little
defense as well — even with a
rookie goaltender in net.
Anton Lundell scored the win-
ning goal in the second period,
and Florida beat Nashville, 4-1, on
the road Saturday for its seventh
straight victory.
“It was huge for us,” Lundell
said. “We’ve been letting in a lot of
goals the last [few] weeks.... We
need to defend even better.”
Jonathan Huberdeau and
Gustav Forsling scored empty-net-
ters 17 seconds apart, Carter Ver-
haeghe also had a goal and
Forsling recorded an assist as the
Panthers split the season series
with the Predators.
Rookie Spencer Knight made
24 saves for a victory in his fourth
straight appearance.
“My D really helped me out, and
the forwards did a great job com-
ing back,” Knight said. “I think it is
a team win. Guys were really
blocking shots.”
With the victory, the Panthers
padded their margin atop the
Eastern Conference and in the At-
lantic Division. They also added
another victory to the club record
with No. 51 of the season.
l MAPLE LEAFS 3, CANA-
DIENS 2: Auston Matthews
scored his NHL-leading 57th and
58th goals 27 seconds apart in the
first period as host Toronto edged
Montreal to wrap up a playoff spot
for the sixth straight season.
Matthews’s opener marked his
50th goal in his last 50 games,
making him the first player to
accomplish that feat since Mario
Lemieux in 1995-96. Matthews
also extended his point streak to
16 games (21 goals, 10 assists).
John Tavares also scored for the
Maple Leafs, and Erik Kallgren
made 24 saves.
Cole Caufield and Joel Ed-
mundson had goals for the Cana-
diens. Jake Allen stopped the first14 shots he faced before leaving
with an apparent leg injury in the
first period. Sam Montembeault
made 23 stops the rest of the way.
l RANGERS 5, SENATORS 1:
Chris Kreider scored twice, Arte-
mi Panarin added a goal and two
assists, and New York routed Otta-
wa at home to clinch its first post-
season berth since 2017.
Ryan Strome and Andrew Copp
also had goals and Igor Shesterkin
needed just 21 saves as the surging
Rangers moved into a tie with theidle Carolina Hurricanes atop the
Metropolitan Division.
Austin Watson had the lone
goal for the Senators, and Anton
Forsberg made 28 stops in defeat.
l FLAMES 4, KRAKEN 1:
Noah Hanifin had four assists, and
Calgary beat Seattle on the road
for its fourth straight victory.
Blake Coleman, Trevor Lewis
and Michael Stone scored off pri-
mary assists from Hanifin, who
added a secondary assist on Tyler
Toffoli’s shorthanded empty-nett-er to cap the scoring. Jacob Mark-
strom had 27 saves for the Flames.
Karson Kuhlman scored for the
Kraken, and Philipp Grubauer
stopped 25 shots.
l BLUES 6, ISLANDERS 1:
Justin Faulk scored twice in a 96-
second span and Jordan Binning-
ton stopped 29 shots from visiting
New York to lift St. Louis to its fifth
straight win.
Nick Leddy, Vladimir Tarasen-
ko, Ivan Barbashev and Robert
Thomas also scored for the Blues.
Grant Hutton scored his first
NHL goal for the Islanders, who
had won five of their previous six.
l DEVILS 3, STARS 1: Nico
Hischier and Pavel Zacha scored
10 seconds apart in the third peri-
od, and New Jersey won in Dallas.
Ty Smith also scored in the third
for the Devils, Fabian Zetterlund
recorded two assists, and Nico
Daws made 27 saves.
Jake Oettinger made 20 stops,
but the Stars missed out on a
chance to strengthen their playoff
positioning. Defenseman Ryan
Suter scored his 100th career goal
13:31 into the second.
l BLUE JACKETS 5, RED
WINGS 4 (OT): Jack Roslovic
had three goals, including the win-
ner at 3:19 of overtime, to lead
visiting Columbus past Detroit.
l DUCKS 5, FLYERS 3: Trevor
Zegras had a goal and an assist to
lead Anaheim to victory over host
Philadelphia.Cizikas banned for boarding
Islanders forward Casey Ci -
zikas was suspended for one game
for b oarding Hurricanes defense-
man Brendan Smith on Friday.
Cizikas will forfeit $12,500 that
will go to the Players’ Emergency
Assistance Fund.NHL ROUNDUP
Florida shores up its defense to pick up a seventh straight win
MARK ZALESKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rookie goaltender Spencer Knight, right, made 24 saves for a victory in his fourth straight appearance.PANTHERS 4,
PREDATORS 1