SUNRISE Leon Draisaitl Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Bob Boughner’s favorite dinner spot used to be a sports pub in the minor-league hockey hotbed of Glens Falls, New York called Dango’s, a place where the chicken wings were huge and most of the televisions were usually tuned to hockey.These days, it’s an upscale steakhouse called Mastro’s.If there’s one constant of Boughner’s life in hockey, it’s that just about everything — from refining a palate, to reaching the NHL, to transforming a hockey team — takes time. And Boughner got a very tough reminder of that last season when the Florida Panthers missed the postseason by a single point in his inaugural year as their coach.So here the Panthers go again, trying to become a playoff club. But with Boughner leading the charge, there’s real belief that good things are coming.“He’s even more than advertised,” Panthers president Matthew Caldwell said. “His diligence, he’s a player’s coach but also very, very technical. He gets into the weeds and I think the players trust him, but he’ll hold them accountable too. His ability to be there for the players but also correct them, not be too friendly with them, have strong standards, that’s been excellent.”Boughner won the job in Florida by selling Caldwell and the rest of the Panthers’ leadership on a vision.His message: Be patient.Boughner played 297 games in three different minor leagues, needing seven years to make the jump from NHL draftee to NHL player. Once he got to the top level, he never left, spending parts of 10 seasons with six franchises and being part of five deep runs in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was a hard-nosed defenseman, someone whose pro-career-best of eight goals came during those Dango’s-fueled days with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings in 1993-94.His coaching climb took time as well, going from an owner-coach-president of OHL team in his hometown of Windsor, Ontario to some NHL assistant stints and finally getting the head job in Florida in 2017.“It wasn’t an easy road. It was a hard road,” Boughner said. “I earned it as a player and I had to work every day to stay there. And it was not like I had a secure spot every year, too. But I always worked hard to be a team guy and that’s what has sort of turned into some of my coaching philosophy. I had to build it from the ground up. I miss playing every day, but coaching http://www.officialhockeypanthersshop.com/authentic-adidas-roberto-luongo-jersey , there’s something gratifying when it all comes together.”He feels that gratification coming in Florida.The Panthers, who open their home schedule on Thursday against Columbus, won three playoff series in their third season of existence — 1995-96. They’ve won zero series since, missing the playoffs entirely in 17 of the 21 seasons that followed their lone run to the Stanley Cup final. Boughner spent two seasons as part of the Panthers organization as a player, though he never made the NHL club.Panthers general manager Dale Tallon knew it would take time for Boughner’s system to take root. Florida was 25-8-2 in its last 35 games last season, going from near the bottom of the Eastern Conference to just missing the postseason.“I just like his whole attitude about everything,” Tallon said. “He’s a straightforward, no-nonsense guy. His technical aspect is terrific. And he gets the player. He has good relationships with all the players.”Boughner looks back at last season with the obvious tinge of disappointment.But he also knows the growing pains were vital.Much of the core from last season remains the core now, and those players know what makes Boughner tick — and what makes his system work. There’s a culture in place now, a level of expectation, a level of accountability.It’s what Boughner demanded from himself as a player, and it’s his blueprint for what he wants as a coach.“There’s no more excuses,” Boughner said. “There’s a point last year, maybe 10 or 15 games in, when we were on a trip and I couldn’t wait to get off our plane and get to the hotel and tell the guys get into the meeting room. I sort of blew up, got a lot of things off my chest, and the guys sort started taking inventory of themselves. I think we’ve turned a corner now. I think we’re ready now.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Pekka Rinne stopped 26 shots, Ryan Hartman scored at 5:33 of the third period and the Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 Tuesday night for a franchise-record ninth straight victory.The Predators extended the NHL’s longest active winning streak. The defending Western Conference champs also padded their lead atop both the conference and the Central Division.Rinne recorded his seventh shutout this season, tying Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for most in the NHL. Rinne now is 17-1-1 over his last 19 games.Nick Bonino scored an empty-netter with 13.6 seconds left after Stars defenseman John Klingberg caught a skate on his own net, causing him to trip and lose the puck.Kari Lehtonen made 32 saves for Dallas.BRUINS 6, RED WINGS 5, OTBOSTON (AP) – Brad Marchand completed his hat trick 34 seconds into overtime and Boston escaped with the victory over Detroit after twice squandering a two-goal lead in regulation.It was a team-record 11th regular-season overtime goal for Marchand, who also had two assists.Torey Krug had two goals and two assists, and David Pastrnak had three assists for the Bruins http://www.officialkings.com/authentic-adidas-alex-iafallo-jersey , who won for the fourth game in a row.Anton Khudobin made 30 saves for Boston, which led 2-0 after 52 seconds and never trailed but needed overtime after Martin Frk made it 5-5 midway through the third period.Anthony Mantha had two goals and two assists for Detroit, which has lost four straight, seven of nine and 17 of 26 since it last topped .500 on Jan. 5.DUCKS 4, CAPITALS 0ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – John Gibson made 36 saves for his 14th career shutout, Rickard Rakell scored for the fourth straight game and Anaheim extended its home point streak to nine games with a win over Washington.Adam Henrique, Hampus Lindholm and Nick Ritchie also scored for the Ducks, who passed San Jose for second in the Pacific Division. Ritchie scored an empty-net goal, and Ryan Getzlaf and Josh Manson each had two assists.Braden Holtby was pulled early in the second period after giving up three goals on nine shots. Philipp Grubauer made eight saves in relief for the Capitals, who have lost three straight road games.WILD 6, HURRICANES 2ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Eric Staal’s second goal of the night capped a franchise-record flurry to start the second period, and Minnesota cruised past Carolina.Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves for his fifth win in his last six starts, and the Wild raised their home record to an NHL-leading 24-5-6.Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Daniel Winnik and Staal scored in a span of 3:28, the fastest four-goal stretch in Wild history that gave the home team a huge lead less than four minutes after the first intermission ended while fans were still filing back into their seats.Staal, the second overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Hurricanes who spent 13 years with the club until a late-season trade, has 64 goals in 149 games with the Wild.Phillip Di Giuseppe and Derek Ryan scored for Carolina in the third period.RANGERS 3, JETS 0NEW YORK (AP) – Patrik Laine got his fourth hat trick and set a career high with his 38th goal, lifting Winnipeg over New York.The 19-year-old star had been the youngest ever with three hat tricks – getting there at 18 years, 302 days – but it had been over a year since his last three-goal game. Laine is now two goals behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead this season.Laine has at least a point in nine straight games (13 goals, six assists) and has scored multiple goals in four of his past five contests.Steve Mason made 31 saves as the Jets extended their winning streak to three.Henrik Lundqvist made his 798th career appearance and stopped 31 shots as the Rangers lost for the first time in four games.DEVILS 6, CANADIENS 4NEWARK Womens Anze Kopitar Jersey , N.J. (AP) – Taylor Hall extended his point-scoring streak to 19 games, Travis Zajac scored two power-play goals and New Jersey beat Montreal to snap a three-game skid.Hall’s consecutive-points streak is the longest in the NHL this season. Hall, who had two assists, has recorded points in his last 26 appearances dating to Jan. 2. He missed three games before the All-Star break with a thumb injury during that span.Stefan Noesen, Blake Coleman, Patrick Maroon and Brian Boyle also scored for the Devils. Keith Kinkaid made 29 saves.Jacob de la Rose scored twice for the Canadiens, who had picked up at least one point in their previous seven games (3-0-4). Brendan Gallagher and Byron Froese had the other goals.LIGHTNING 5, PANTHERS 4, OTTAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Brayden Point scored 2:49 into overtime to give Tampa Bay the victory over Florida.Point scored his third overtime goal of the season.Yanni Gourde scored twice and finished with three points for the Lightning, who reached overtime for the sixth consecutive game. J.T. Miller added his 15th of the season, second with the Lightning.Nick Bjugstad recorded his first career hat trick and Aleksander Barkov finished with three assists for the Panthers.BLUE JACKETS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Joonas Korpisalo stopped 37 shots, Artemi Panarin and Pierre Luc-Dubois each had a goal and two assists, and Columbus beat Vegas.Zach Werenski and Ian Cole also scored for the Blue Jackets, winners of two straight and four of their last six. The victory over the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights helped Columbus hold onto the second wild card in the Eastern Division with 15 games remaining.Marc-Andre Fleury – a Blue Jacket-killer in the playoffs last year for Pittsburgh – had 17 saves for the Golden Knights, who have lost four of five. Erik Haula scored for Vegas.BLACKHAWKS 2, AVALANCHE 1, OTCHICAGO (AP) – Jonathan Toews scored nine seconds into overtime and had an assist in regulation to lead Chicago past Colorado.The game-winner was generated directly from the faceoff at center ice. Toews pulled the draw to Duncan Keith, who fed Patrick Kane on the right side. Kane fed Toews on a 2-on-1 and the Chicago captain chipped his 18th goal past Semyon Varlamov from the low edge the right circle.Chicago’s Jean-Francois Berube stopped 33 shots and Erik Gustafsson connected in the first, as the fading Blachawks won for the second time in five games.Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon extended his points streak to six games with his team-leading 32nd goal in the second period.
