NHL MORNING SKATE – JAN. 28, 2016

Posted on January 28, 2016 by CanucksBanter

NHL MORNING SKATE – JAN. 28, 2016

Welcome to the “NHL Morning Skate,” a daily collection of the latest news and notes from around the League.

REMINDER: NHL ALL-STAR BREAK

The NHL’s All-Star break begins today and runs through Monday, Feb. 1.
There will no scheduled practices and dressing rooms must be closed through Sunday, Jan. 31.

2016 HONDA NHL ALL-STAR GAME INFORMATION GUIDE

The 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game Interactive Information Guide is now available for download via the League’s Media site.

The guide features this weekend’s schedule of events as well as a roster of participants and rules for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition and 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game. It also includes a complete history of the NHL All-Star Game as well as records and a register for skaters, goaltenders and head coaches.

NHL ADDS KUZNETSOV, NEAL TO ALL-STAR GAME ROSTER

The NHL announced that Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and Predators forward James Neal have been added to the roster for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game.

Kuznetsov replaces Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin on the Metropolitan Division roster, while Neal replaces Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on the Central Division roster. Islanders captain John Tavares replaces Ovechkin as the captain of the Metropolitan Division team.

Click here for more information.

VOTING FOR BREAKAWAY CHALLENGE CLOSES TODAY

Voting for the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge – the second event in the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition – closes today at 5:00 p.m. ET.

While five shooters for this event will be determined by team captains, one guaranteed participant will be selected by fans via the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge Fan Vote. The three eligible candidates are forwards Matt Duchene (COL), Dylan Larkin (DET) and Brandon Saad (CBJ).

Fans can vote via Twitter for their favorite eligible player by including his corresponding hashtag: #NHLBreakawayDuchene, #NHLBreakawayLarkin or #NHLBreakawaySaad.

ICYMI: SCHNEIDER UNVEILS ALL-STAR GAME PADS

Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who will represent the Metropolitan Division at the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Nashville, unveiled his pads for the midseason showcase that pay homage to Music City:

2016 BMO CHL/NHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME

The 2016 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game takes place tonight at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver (9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, SN, TVAS). All 40 players scheduled to participate in the game – representing the OHL, QMJHL and WHL – are eligible for selection in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Click here for the full rosters.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps
TAMPA BAY 1, Toronto 0
Philadelphia 4, WASHINGTON 3 (OT)
Nashville 2, CALGARY 1
Colorado 4, LOS ANGELES 3

VORACEK, FLYERS SNAP CAPITALS’ HOME WINNING STREAK AT 12 GAMES

Washington erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits, but Jakub Voracek (2-0—2) scored 38 seconds into overtime to help the Flyers end a three-game skid (0-3-0) and snap the Capitals’ home winning streak at 12 games.

* At 21-18-8 (50 points), the Flyers moved within five points of the idle Penguins (24-17-7, 55 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia holds one game in hand, but Pittsburgh owns the ROW tiebreaker (PIT: 23, PHI: 19).
* The Flyers earned their eighth overtime victory of the season (8-4), tied for first in the NHL with the Flames (8-1) and Blackhawks (8-4).
* Voracek recorded his sixth career overtime goal and second of the campaign (also Nov. 14 at CAR). He also posted his 14th career multi-goal game and first since Dec. 21, 2014 at WPG (2-0—2, including OT GWG).
* Voracek ranks second on the Flyers with 8-28—36 overall this season, including 4-6—10 in his past seven games.

VASILEVSKIY, STAMKOS POWER LIGHTNING PAST MAPLE LEAFS

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 30 shots he faced and Steven Stamkos scored the lone goal early in the first period to guide the Lightning to their eighth victory in their past nine games overall as well as their sixth straight win at Amalie Arena.

* At 27-18-4 (58 points), the Lightning climbed back into second place in the Atlantic Division, where teams Nos. 2-4 are separated by just one point. They also moved within five points of the idle Panthers (29-15-5, 63 points) for first place.
* Vasilevskiy – a native of Tyumen, Russia – earned his second career shutout (also March 3, 2015 vs. BUF: 28 SV) while playing his first NHL game in front of his parents.
* “It was their first NHL game and I did well . . . I showed them I can play in the NHL,” said Vasilevskiy, who won his sixth consecutive decision. “A shutout is always amazing for a goalie, but the most important thing is the win.”
* Stamkos notched his team-leading 21st goal of the season and 10th via the power play, tied for fifth in the NHL with Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. He also picked up his fifth game-winning goal of the campaign.

AVALANCHE, PREDATORS CONTINUE WILD PLAYOFF PUSH

Both the Avalanche and Predators earned one-goal victories to head into the All-Star break occupying the two Wild Card spots in the Western Conference:

* Nathan MacKinnon scored the tiebreaking goal with 9:25 remaining in regulation to help the Avalanche rally from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits en route to their fifth victory in their last six games. Per Elias, Colorado overcame a two-goal deficit to win for the fourth time this season – second in the NHL behind Dallas (5x). MacKinnon posted his fifth game-winning goal of the campaign, while Gabriel Landeskog (2-0—2) registered his eighth career multi-goal game and second of 2015-16 (also Oct. 10 vs. DAL: 2-2—4).
* Shea Weber scored what stood as the game-winning goal and Carter Hutton made 26 saves to lead the Predators to a sweep of their four-game road trip through Western Canada. Weber ranks fifth among defensemen with 12 goals this season; his nine strikes via the power play also place second among blueliners, behind Carolina’s Justin Faulk (12). Hutton improved to 5-2-1 in eight appearances this season (2.36 GAA, .916 SV%, 1 SO).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner played in his 423rd consecutive games (all w/ WSH) to pass Bobby Carpenter (422) for the longest such streak in franchise history.

LOOSE PUCKS

Despite suffering the overtime loss, Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (28 SV) has earned at least one point in 25 of his past 26 decisions dating to Nov. 12 (22-1-3) . . . Kings defenseman Drew Doughty scored his first career shorthanded goal (573 GP) . . . Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky (2-0—2) registered his second career multi-goal game (also Feb. 15, 2015 at ANA: 2-0—2) . . . Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier turned aside 28 of 29 shots . . . Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm (0-1—1) extended his assist/point streak to a career-high five games (1-5—6) . . . ICYMI: Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick (15 SV) made a helicopter paddle save.

Canadian Government Expenditures For The First Half of 2015-16

Posted on January 28, 2016 by CanucksBanter

Get the report
Expenditure Monitor 2015-2016 Q2

Get the data
Expenditure Monitor 2015-16 Q2.xlsx

Summary
Total government expenditures for the first half of 2015-16 were $124.7 billion, an increase of 5.5 per cent over the same period last year ($118.2 billion). This is slightly higher than the 3.4 per cent increase in total program expenses outlined in Budget 2015. Most of this increase draws from the Government’s new enhanced Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB). The first cheques for this enhanced benefit were delivered in July, adding $3.2 billion to the previous year’s UCCB payments.

Infrastructure spending is responsible for most of the remaining increase. Supplementary Estimates (A) 2015-16 requested over $1.1 billion for infrastructure renewal. The programs that were major recipients of these infrastructure funds have increased spending by $284 million compared to the previous year, an overall increase of 5.6 per cent. When combined with $151 million in increased spending by the Office of Infrastructure Canada’s Large Scale Infrastructure Investments program, this brings the investment in infrastructure renewal to $435 million by the end of the summer of 2015.

These spending increases are offset by lower interest rate costs on public debt. With the decline in the long-term bond yields, the Government’s average interest rate on public debt has fallen from 2.83 per cent in 2011 to 2.23 per cent in 2014. Further decreases have provided $327 million in savings from public debt interest in the first six months of 2015-16. These savings look set to continue until interest rates begin to rise.

Related reports

Supplementary Estimates (A) 2015-16

The Government Expenditure Plan and Main Estimates for 2015-16

Nashville Knocks Vancouver Out Of Playoff Picture With 2-1 Win

Posted on January 27, 2016 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff January 27, 2016

The Vancouver Canucks (20-19-11) hosted the Nashville Predators (23-18-8) last night at Rogers Place, beginning a three game home stand.

In Vancouver’s first home game since the completion of their 6-game road trip, the Canucks fell behind early, and found it difficult to execute their game plan against the Predators, who played well in all facets of their game.

VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 26: Brandon Sutter #21 of the Vancouver Canucks scores on Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators during their NHL game at Rogers Arena January 26, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

Brandon Sutter scored his first goal in 33 games on his return to the line-up from a sports hernia operation; Chris Tanev had an assist (1-7=8 in last 15 games played); Daniel Sedin picked up a helper (5-2=7 in last 12 games played); and Ryan Miller stopped 17 of 19 shots for a .895 Sv%., but it was not enough as the Canucks ended the game on the short end of the score, losing 2-1 to Nashville, to begin their 3-game home stand.

The Canucks are now 6-5-1 in their last 12 home games; and in their last four home games, are 2-1-1.

VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 26: Ryan Miller #30 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a glove save against the Nashville Predators during their NHL game at Rogers Arena January 26, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Nashville won 2-1. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Nashville Predators, on a fast start, opened up the game with some great scoring opportunities and eventually popped one of them in, opening up the scoring on their first shot on net, to take a 1-0 lead before most were able to sit down with their beer and popcorn.

Craig Smith, his 11th goal of the season, on a deflected shot, assisted by Mike Fisher (5) and Mattias Ekholm (14) at 0:59.

Once again, the Canucks were caught flatfooted, as another opponent scored the opening goal on home ice, thinking that the All-Star break started a little early and they didn’t have to earn it.

And it was more of the same, the rest of the game.

It took seven minutes but the Canucks would catch up to the Predators in shots with 2 each, eventually overtaking Nashville on a great Bo Horvat rush to the Predators net, where he not only got the shot off but crashed the net.

The Predators were not only dominating the game in scoring opportunities but also ruling the face-off circle as they went into the last half of the period, winning 5 of 7 face-offs, including 3 for 3 in the neutral zone.

Brandon Sutter would work his magic in his first game back, as he was instrumental in the Canucks first goal of the game, on their 6th shot of the opening period. Sutter fed Daniel Sedin as pass, who then returned the puck to him, and Sutter buried the puck behind Pekka Rinne to tie the game at 1-1.

Sutter, his first goal in 33 games, his 5th of the season, on a deflected shot, assisted by Daniel Sedin (23) and Chris Tanev (10), at 11:39.

The Predators would get the first power play of the game when Emerson Etem would get a minor penalty for tripping Miikka Salomaki at 12:09.

Sutter would have a chance shorthanded to give Vancouver the lead as he went in on Rinne all alone but was unable to score.

With 4:08 left, the Canucks were out shooting Nashville 10-6, and the Predators continued to dominate the faceoff circle, as they had won 9 of 12 face-offs up to that point.

At 15:54 Derek Dorsett and Cody Bass would drop the gloves and fight, both receiving five minute fighting majors.

Canucks, Predators 1-1 after the opening period.

After one period:

Canucks out shot Nashville, 12-6.
Nashville ruled face-offs, winning 12 of 16. A total embarrassment for Vancouver.
Vancouver had 6 hits to 5 for the Predators; Canucks penalty kill was 1 for 1.
Brandon Sutter and Alex Biega led Canucks in shots with 3 each.
Linden Vey was 2 for 5; Bo Horvat, 1 for 4 in Canuck face-offs.
Alex Biega and Adam Cracknell led Canucks in hits with 2 each.
Canuck players Corsi For:
- In all situations:
  - Daniel Sedin, Matt Bartkowski, and Jannick Hansen, 8 each
  - Alex Biega and Brandon Sutter 7 each
- Even strength 5v5:
  - Sedin and Bartkowski, 8
  - Biega and Hansen, 7
  - Sutter and Tanev, 6
Teams Corsi For:
- Canucks 15, Nashville 7: at even strength 5 v5
- Canucks 16 Nashville 8: in all situations.

Both teams came out skating for the middle frame, with the Canucks showing more desire to get the go ahead goal.

Nashville would get their second power play of the game when Matt Bartkowski would go off for tripping Filip Forsberg at 7:20.

Nashville had no shots on their power play and were being out shot 4 to 1, after the Canucks penalty kill, which was 2 for 2 in the game.

Canucks were settling down in the face-off circle, as they were 5 for11, at the 13-minute mark of the period.

Vancouver would get their first power play of the game, on a sloppy line change by Nashville, for too many men on the ice, a bench minor, at 14:28.

The Canucks once again failed to score on the power play, now 1 for 10 in their last 7 games.

Canucks were out shooting Nashville, 11 to 4 with 3:23 left in the middle period; 23 to 10 in the game.

Predators, Canucks still 1-1 after two periods.

After two periods:

Canucks out shooting Nashville, 24-11.
Nashville ruled face-offs, winning 20 of 33. A total embarrassment for Vancouver.
Vancouver had 10 hits to 13 for the Predators; Canucks penalty kill was 2 for 2.
Canucks power play 0 for 1.
Brandon Sutter,Alex Biega, Daniel Sedin and Sven Baertschi led Canucks in shots with 3 each.
Linden Vey was 5 for 10; Bo Horvat, 6 for 11 in Canuck face-offs.
Alex Biega, Adam Cracknell and Luca Sbisa led Canucks in hits with 2 each.
Teams Corsi For:
- Canucks 27, Nashville 18 at even strength 5 v5
- Canucks 32 Nashville 20 in all situations
Canuck players Corsi For:
- In all situations:
  - Tanev, 14; Sedin and Edler, 12; Vey, Bartkowski, Baertschi, 11 each
- Evev strength 5v5:
  - Tanev, 12 Bartkowski, 11; Edler, Biega, Sedin, 10 each

The Predators and Canucks would be out hard for the final period, but it would be Nashville that would get the first man advantage opportunity early in the period.

Ben Hutton would get a minor for hooking Mike Ribiero at 1:26. Canucks would survive being shorthanded, making it 3 for 3 on the penalty kill for the game.

The Predators would continue to press Vancouver, taking an early lead in shots in the period 5-0.

With Arizona having lost, a Canucks victory would lock the two teams in a tie in the division standings but the Canucks were not the dominating team in the period.

With 12:20 left in the game, Canucks had not registered a shot on net and were being out shot 6-0 by Nashville; but the Canucks were 2 for 3 in face-offs

The Canucks just were not being allowed to generate any offense in the Nashville end, except for the occasional rush which was not amounting to much.

Predators were doing a good job of getting in the way of Vancouver and either deflecting or blocking opportunities for shots on net or passes.

With less than eight minutes left in the game, the Canucks were generating good scoring chances but were just unable to get some puck luck to get shots on net and get the go ahead goal.

While the Canucks were trying to complete a change, Nashville took advantage of the Canucks, and went up 2-1, with time not a friend to the Canucks.

James Neal, at 15:16, his 18th of the season, on a wrist shot, from Barrett Jackman (2).

With 1:49 left and only 4 shots on net, the Canucks would get a power play when Mattias Ekholm would get penalized for holding against Bo Horvat in the neutral zone at 18:11.

Soon after the resulting face-off, the Canucks would pull Miller for the extra attacker in an attempt to get the tie breaking goal.

With the seconds ticking away, Linden Vey had a great opportunity to put the game into overtime, but would miss scoring, and Nashville would take the game, 2-1.

With the loss, Vancouver falls 5th place in the Pacific division, tied with Anaheim for 4rth, with 51 points. The Canucks are 2 points behind Arizona who are in 3rd; 5 points behind San Jose; and 12 points behind division leading Los Angeles, who have 63 points.

GAME REVIEW

CANUCKS PLAYERS STATS

WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD STANDINGS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS

STATISTICS COURTESY OF THE NHL AND VANCOUVER CANUCKS

NHL MORNING SKATE – JAN. 26, 2016

Posted on January 26, 2016 by CanucksBanter

NHL MORNING SKATE – JAN. 26, 2016

Welcome to the “NHL Morning Skate,” a daily collection of the latest news and notes from around the League.

NHL ANNOUNCES SKILLS COMPETITION FORMAT . . .

The NHL announced the details and format of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition, which will take place on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena (6:00 p.m. CT / 7:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Six events will make up the competition: Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge, DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting, Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay, AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot and Discover NHL Shootout.

Click here for complete details on each event.

. . . DETAILS OF LIVE IN MUSIC CITY

The League also announced the details of NHL All-Star Friday Night: Live in Music City, which will take place on Friday from the Honda Stage at Bridgestone Winter Park in downtown Nashville (7:00 p.m. CT / 8:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN, SN).

The one-hour primetime special will feature live roundtable discussions with NHL All-Stars, performances from top country music artists and a few surprises.

Click here for more information.

NHL AND NHLPA RENEW PARTNERSHIP WITH GoPRO

The NHL and NHLPA announced a renewal of their partnership with GoPro to deliver hockey fans a behind-the-scenes look at the game. The extension includes NHL After Dark, an 11-part series filmed and produced by GoPro that will give hockey fans an immersive look at what happens on the ice during after-hours training sessions.

Click here to learn more and watch a trailer of NHL After Dark.

MONDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps
Detroit 4, NY ISLANDERS 2
Boston 3, PHILADELPHIA 2
COLUMBUS 5, Montreal 2
NY RANGERS 6, Buffalo 3
DALLAS 2, Calgary 1
Arizona 2, MINNESOTA 1 (SO)

BRASSARD’S FIVE POINTS LIFT RANGERS OVER SABRES

Derick Brassard posted a career-high five points (2-3—5), including 2-2—4 in the third period, to propel the Rangers to their third victory in their last four games.

* At 27-17-5 (59 points), the Rangers moved three points ahead of the Islanders (25-16-6, 56 points) – who lost in regulation – for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers own the ROW tiebreaker (NYR: 25, NYI: 22), but the Islanders hold two games in hand.
* The Rangers improved to 18-5-2 (38 points) this season at Madison Square Garden, including points in six consecutive home games (5-0-1). Their 38 home points are tied for second in the NHL, behind only the Blackhawks (21-5-1, 43 points).
* Brassard, who leads the team with 17-19—36 this season, became the first Rangers player to record a five-point game since March 6, 2011 vs. PHI (Ryan Callahan: 4-1—5). Elias adds that Brassard became the first Rangers player to collect four points in the third period of one game since Nov. 25, 1992 at PIT (Mark Messier: 1-3—4).
* The Rangers earned their eighth consecutive victory over the Sabres dating to April 19, 2013 (BUF: 0-8-0). The teams face off two more times this season: March 8 at BUF and April 2 at NYR.

ATKINSON’S HAT TRICK POWERS BLUE JACKETS PAST CANADIENS

Cam Atkinson recorded his third career hat trick to lead the Blue Jackets past the Canadiens in the first half of their back-to-back, home-and-home series.

* Atkinson, who has spent his entire career with the Blue Jackets, became the third player in franchise history to collect three hat tricks. The others: Rick Nash (5) and Tyler Wright (3).
* Atkinson is tied for second on the Blue Jackets with 16 goals this season (49 GP), six shy of his career high established in 2014-15 (78 GP). His other two career hat tricks: April 5, 2012 at COL (3-0—3) and March 27, 2015 at CHI (3-0—3).
* Brandon Saad (2-0—2) added his third multi-goal game of the season. He paces the Blue Jackets with 18 goals overall (49 GP), five shy of his career high set in 2014-15 (82 GP w/ CHI).
* Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner both notched three assists. Dubinsky equaled a career high for assists in one game (5x total), while Jenner established a career high in that category.
* ICYMI: Atkinson helped a young fan win a puppy one night after Senators forward Bobby Ryan did the same at Canadian Tire Centre.

RED WINGS, BRUINS CLIMB ATLANTIC STANDINGS . . .

Both the Red Wings (25-16-8, 58 points) and Bruins (26-17-5, 57 points) won on Monday to keep pace in the Atlantic Division, where the top four teams are separated by just five points:

* Justin Abdelkader and Danny DeKeyser scored 71 seconds apart in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and help the Red Wings close January with a 7-1-0 road record. Via Elias, the team’s seven road wins equaled a franchise record for one calendar month, also achieved in April 1995 (7-3-0), March 2006 (7-0-0) and February 2011 (7-1-0). Petr Mrazek, who made 27 saves, won all seven of those games to improve to 18-9-4 overall this season (2.03 GAA, .932 SV%, 3 SO).
* Wayne Simmonds scored twice to help the Flyers erase a two-goal deficit, but Brett Connolly potted the winning tally with 1:54 remaining in regulation to lead the Bruins to their fifth victory in their last six games. Elias notes that Boston recorded its fourth tiebreaking goal in the final two minutes of regulation this season, tops in the NHL. The others: Nov. 27 vs. NYR (David Krejci – 18:17), Dec. 4 at CGY (Brad Marchand – 18:54) and Jan. 16 vs. TOR (Marchand – 19:13).

. . . STARS, COYOTES CONTINUE DIVISION PUSHES

The Stars and Coyotes also earned narrow wins to continue their climbs in their respective divisions:

* Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza scored 80 seconds apart in the second period to power the Stars to an 11-3-0 record in their last 14 games at American Airlines Center. At 31-14-5 (67 points), Dallas moved within three points of idle Chicago (33-15-4, 70 points) for first place in the Central Division. Benn registered his 28th goal of the campaign to tie Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin for second place in the NHL.
* Antoine Vermette scored the tying goal with 1:13 remaining in regulation – while shorthanded – and Anthony Duclair potted the lone tally in the shootout to lift the Coyotes to their second straight win on the heels of a four-game skid (0-3-1). At 24-19-5 (53 points), Arizona moved within one point of idle San Jose (25-18-4, 54 points) for second place in the Pacific Division, where teams Nos. 2-5 are separated by just five points.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS

* Coyotes captain Shane Doan played in his 1,433rd career game to move past Mike Gartner (1,432) and into sole possession of 25th place on the NHL’s all-time games played list.
* Sabres forward Evander Kane played in his 400th NHL game.
* Alain Vigneault (NYR) coached his 1,019th career game to tie Pat Burns for 19th place on the NHL’s all-time games coached list.

LOOSE PUCKS

MUST-SEE: Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (1-1—2) scored from center ice. Subban, who ranks fourth among blueliners with 4-31—35 this season, has registered at least one point in 10 of his past 12 games (3-8—11) . . . Bruins forward Brad Marchand scored to extend his point streak to six games (5-1—6), including goals in a career-high five straight games. Marchand also reached the 20-goal milestone for the third consecutive season and fifth time in seven total NHL campaigns . . . Wild forward Charlie Coyle recorded his 13th goal of the season (49 GP) to eclipse his career high of 12 set in 2013-14 (70 GP). He also scored for the third straight game (3-0—3), equaling a career high set March 22-26, 2014 (3-1—4) . . . Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons (2-0—2) posted his fourth career multi-goal game and first since Jan. 17, 2015 vs. PHI (2-0—2) . . . Islanders forward Brock Nelson scored his 11th goal in his past 19 games and fifth in his past five outings . . . Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (1-0—1) extended his point streak to five games (4-2—6) . . . ICYMI: The Panthers signed forward Aleksander Barkov to a six-year contract extension . . . The Blackhawks signed senior vice president and general manager Stan Bowman to a three-year contract extension . . . Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov, Devils forward Lee Stempniak and Blues goaltender Brian Elliott were named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Jan. 24 . . . The Flyers hosted You Can Play Night at Wells Fargo Center . . . The NHL and MLBAM unveiled details for three of their redesigned platforms: NHL.com, the NHL app and NHL.tv.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Anaheim @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., TVAS, SNO, SNW, FS-W, NESN
New Jersey @ Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, ROOT
Chicago @ Carolina, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN, SN1, CSN-CH
Columbus @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., FS-O, SNE, RDS
Buffalo @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, TSN5, RDS2
Toronto @ Florida, 7:30 p.m., TSN4, FS-F
Arizona @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., FS-A, TSN3
Nashville @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., FS-TN, SNP
Colorado @ San Jose, 10:00 p.m., NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNW

Trudeau has comfortable lead as preferred PM, Ambrose shows positive movement in Nanos tracking (ending January 22, 2016)

Posted on January 26, 2016 by CanucksBanter

Nanos Weekly Leadership Tracking

Preferred Prime Minister – Trudeau continues to enjoy a significant lead over the other party leaders as the preferred choice as PM. More than one in two Canadians (52.2%) preferred Trudeau as PM, 14.6% preferred Ambrose, 11.5% preferred Mulcair, 3.5% preferred May, and 17.2% were unsure. Ambrose has shown some positive movement over the past two weeks but still significantly trails Trudeau.

Qualities of a Good Political Leader – Asked a series of independent questions on the leaders, 70.9% of Canadians said Trudeau had the qualities of a good political leader, 55.2% thought similarly of Mulcair, while 34.3% and 31.4% of Canadians thought similarly of May and Ambrose respectively.

The team at Nanos in conjunction with Klipfolio have launched our new live political data portal where you run the numbers you want and can explore the trends and data you need. This is part of our campaign, not only to provide the most reliable data to Canadians but to let them use it as they wish. We were the first to do nightly tracking and now we are the first research organization to post live public opinion data for Canadians.

We were the first to do nightly tracking and now we are the first research organization to post live public opinion data for Canadians. Here’s the link to check it out

To view the detailed tracking visit our website.

Methodology

The views of 1,000 respondents are compiled into a party power brand index for each party that goes from 0 to 100, where 0 means that the party has no brand power and 100 means it has maximum brand power. A score above 50 is an indication of brand power for the party and its leader at this time.

The important factors in this weekly tracking include the direction of the brand strength or weakness and also the brand power of one federal party relative to another.

The data is based on random telephone interviews with 1,000 Canadians, using a four week rolling average of 250 respondents each week, 18 years of age and over. The random sample of 1,000 respondents may be weighted by age and gender using the latest census information for Canada, and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada.

The interviews are compiled into a four week rolling average of 1,000 interviews where each week, the oldest group of 250 interviews is dropped and a new group of 250 interviews is added. The current wave of tracking is based on a four-week rolling average of 1,000 Canadians (250 per week) ending January 22nd.

A random telephone survey of 1,000 Canadians is accurate 3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.

All references or use of this data must cite “Nanos Party Power Index” as the source.

Andrew Phillip Chernoff

The Outer Limits To The Inner Depths