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Coyotes ship Antoine Vermette to Blackhawks

Antoine Vermette was noticeably emotional after Saturday’s game at TD Garden. And before the game, too, according to Arizona coach Dave Tippett.
“I don’t know what I am thinking, it’s obviously a strange position and it’s not a fun one,” Vermette said after his Coyotes lost to the Bruins, 4-1, on Saturday. “It’s not the way you see it as a group here. It’s not the position you want to be, it’s a little strange.”
He added, “You got to take it as a man and it’s part of the game, unfortunately. It’s not easy.”
A short while later, the 32-year-old center was traded. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Blackhawks gave up a first-round pick and prospect Klas Dahlbeck for the 12-year veteran, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Vermette, who has 13 goals and 22 assists this season, did not make a major impact on Saturday’s game in Boston. He finished as a minus-1 in 16:25 of ice time. He was on the ice for goals by Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand in the first period, as well as for teammate Martin Erat’s score in the third.
Vermette was rumored to potentially be heading toward Boston, where he already had one cheerleader in former teammate Chris Kelly, with whom he played on the Senators.
“We’re still good friends,” Kelly said. “He’s a great player, he plays every key position. He plays a power play, he kills penalties, last minute, both if you’re up or down he’s out there, and just a quality guy.
“He’s been around a long time and any team that gets him I think they’re going to be extremely happy with what they get.”

Paille back on target

Can a season be saved in a month?
It has been a trying season for Daniel Paille, one of frustration and ill fortune, one of missed chances more than anything. It hasn’t been optimal for a Bruins team that used to roll four lines consistently, but which couldn’t really count on its fourth line for much of anything this season.
Paille, though, has moved up and moved on, scoring goals in consecutive games for the first time all season. It’s an easy statistic to roll off, given that Paille had scored just one goal in all the months prior to this past week.
So, again, can a season be saved in a month?
“There’s no other way I can really take it,” Paille said. “I’ve got to do it that way. I think for me overall, as of now, it’s been a disappointing year, but I want to bring more to this team and this is my last chance to do it. So I want to continue having a good run here with our team.”
That has ramifications both for Paille — who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer — and for the Bruins, still trying to solidify their spot in the postseason.
Asked about the contract issue, Paille said, “That’s probably the least of my worries right now. To me, my focus is more on playing the right way. I know what I’m capable of doing and I want to try to do that this last month.”
The newly formed line, with Paille alongside Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson, has certainly been creating chances, with Paille scoring off a feed from Eriksson in the first period on Friday in New Jersey. But there were many more opportunities to score in the second period.
As has become the norm this season for Paille, though, those went unresolved. Still, the ability to create those chances goes a long way toward making good on them.
“Playing with Carl and Loui has been a fast-paced game, and it’s something that I’ve been wanting to bring for this team for a long time,” Paille said. “I’m just reacting out there. I’m not overthinking anything and that’s making the game a lot easier.”
He added, “We’re going to get chances. For me, I just don’t want to ruin their momentum. They’re a good group and anyone that plays with them is going to do really well.”
The two goals came after two games out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. Those were, as Paille put it, a couple of games to “reflect and clear my mind.” And then, taking the pressure off, he scored on the first shift back in the lineup, just 65 seconds into Tuesday’s game in Vancouver.
Paille’s goal-scoring streak ended Saturday. He didn’t even get a shot off in 14:15 of ice time.
On Tuesday, Paille ended his 36-game scoreless streak. Now it’s time for Soderberg to end his, which stretched to 16 games on Saturday.
“Sometimes that’s how it goes,” Paille said, with the wisdom of having ended his own. “I think we’ve had a number of scoring chances each game. It can go in, and unfortunately for the most part it hasn’t. But we’ve scored both games, which is a positive, and that’s how we’re looking at it.
“Carl, you know he hasn’t scored in a while, but he’s still involved in the game. Definitely keeping a positive attitude with the way he’s playing.”

Adding to game

When the Bruins brought up David Pastrnak, the focus was on his offensive talents, the speed, the skill, the ability to strike. But over his time with the team, in addition to the seven goals he’s scored, it’s clear that Pastrnak has taken on other duties as well.
On Friday night, Pastrnak demonstrated impressive commitment on the forecheck, bringing another element to a game that has, at times, dazzled in his rookie season.
“Before the game, we told [each other] we have to go hard on the forecheck,” Pastrnak said after Friday’s game. “I think all the guys went hard. We made them do some turnovers and then we got our chances. I think it’s good we went hard on them.”
He knows and they know that, by swapping Ryan Spooner for David Krejci, that line has become less of a two-way line, something that Spooner admitted, saying they’ve had “issues in our own end” at times.
The new group is more of a scoring line, something in evidence against New Jersey, when both Pastrnak and Spooner scored. But that being said, they’re doing their best to not be a porous line in their own end.
“We have to be stronger on the puck in their zone, try to be there as much time as we can, and when we get to our zone we have to our job and protect the house, and that’s all we’re focused on,” Pastrnak said

Moment to cherish

Spooner still hadn’t quite come down from the high of Friday night by Saturday afternoon. Spooner scored the game-winner in overtime, the first NHL goal of his career.
“I still can’t believe that I actually scored that goal,” Spooner said. “It was in the back of my mind. I was always out there and I was just thinking, ‘I just need to score.’ Now that it’s over with, it’s good.”
It took Spooner until his 35th game to score his first NHL goal. On Saturday, he earned an assist on Lucic’s opening goal.

Rask feels better

Rask said that he had suffered from a “stomach bug” on Friday, preventing him from playing against the Devils, and causing the Bruins to recall goalie Jeremy Smith on an emergency basis. The scratch ended Rask’s run of 18 consecutive appearances, and 27 of the team’s last 28 games.
“When you’re kind of in bad shape, it’s not really rest, but I still didn’t have to go to the rink, so I guess it counts as a rest,” Rask said.

Rask (31 saves) played in Saturday’s game against Arizona, but will get another rest coming up as the Bruins don’t play again until Thursday.

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