NHL short takes
April 6, 2014 at 12:49AM
30-year-old Minnesotan makes NHL debut
After 307 AHL games, 30-year-old Mark Van Guilder, a former standout at Roseville High, made his NHL debut last Sunday in Nashville's shootout win over Washington.
"I think the best part of it is my teammates in Milwaukee, the support and the response from them when I found out from my coach," Van Guilder told NHL Live. "The cool thing about this is I've been in this organization for so long that there are so many guys in Nashville who I knew and I'm friends with, so they made me feel so comfortable. I was actually kind of nervous for the first time in I don't know how many years for a hockey game. It was awesome and lot of fun."
No way to keep 'em happy in Toronto
Former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson hasn't been quoted since leaving Toronto, but ESPN.com got him on the horn in the wake of the Maple Leafs' free fall.
With Randy Carlyle potentially on the chopping block, Wilson told Pierre LeBrun, "In Toronto, everything is always out of perspective; they're either winning games and they're planning the parade route or you lose a couple of games and everything gets overexaggerated.
"I really feel for the coaching staff and, above all, for Randy right now. He's got the same thousand-yard stare that I had. But at the end, you almost feel like it's completely out of your control, everything takes on a life of its own. It's unbelievable."
It was just a simple question in Vancouver
Vancouver GM Mike Gillis was asked by the TEAM1040-AM if coach John Tortorella would be back next season: "I'm not sure I'll be back next season."
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Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks, an injury that pauses the Washington Capitals superstar captain’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.
