Mackinnon heads NHL stars of the week
Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan Mackinnon, Boston Bruins centre Pavel Zacha and Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko have been named the NHL'S three stars of the week.
Mackinnon paced the league in assists (seven) and points (10) as the Avalanche went 3-0-0 on the week. He also extended his home point streak to 32 games and took the lead in the Art Ross Trophy scoring race with 111 points (40 goals, 71 assists) on the season.
Mackinnon became the fourth player in Avalanche/ Nordiques history to record three or more 40-goal campaigns, joining franchise icons Michel Goulet (seven), Joe Sakic (five) and Peter Stastny (five).
Zacha had seven points (five goals, two assists) in four games, sharing the NHL lead in goals. The Bruins went 3-0-1 to earn seven of eight possible points and closed the gap behind the Presidents' Trophy-leading Florida Panthers to one point.
Demko went 3-0-0 with a 0.81 goals-against average and .969 save percentage as the Canucks remained atop the Western Conference standings.
He set a new career mark with his league-leading 34th victory of the season in a 5-0 decision over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
The Toronto Blue Jays unveiled their new rallying catchphrase — To the Core — replacing the Next Level signatures of the past couple of seasons.
The implication from that mothballed hashtag was that a young group was ready to turn all that promise into playoff success. That played out with back-to-back post-season sweeps each of the past two Octobers as, at best, the team flatlined rather than ascended to any meaningful Next Level.
The To the Core marketing pitch/rallying cry was unveiled Monday with the team's latest pitch to sell tickets (many of them higher priced) for games at the renovated Rogers Centre. With the April 8 Jays home opener now less than a month away, the push has begun.
In the slick video to launch the new branding, several Jays players appear with the Next Level leaders Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette prominent among them and closer Jordan Romano with a Canadian flag draped over his shoulder.
“The sum of our parts?” the narrator asks. “Nah. We're more than that. There's nobody like us. At our core, we're built to win.
“Relentless in our pursuit of greatness. Who are we? Blue Jays to the core.”
Injuries continue to pile up
for the Toronto Raptors, as Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., and Chris Boucher all missed Monday's game in Denver. Quickley is out with a left-hip flexor strain. Trent is dealing with a right groin strain. Boucher, a reserve forward from Montreal, has a right knee contusion.