WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexander Nikishin took the ice helmetless for warmups prior to Game 5 of the Carolina Hurricanes' second-round series at Washington and skated the customary solo lap for a player making his NHL debut.
While it meant bad news of injured defenseman Jalen Chatfield not being available, Nikishin got to go from playing in Russia all season to jumping into the middle of the playoffs. The organization's top prospect skated 10 1/2 minutes as Chatfield's replacement on the blue line and drew strong reviews from teammates and coach Rod Brind'Amour for how he handled the situation.
“I don’t know that there’s a tougher spot to throw a kid in, especially when there’s such a language barrier,” Brind'Amour said. “I thought he did all right. We got a little fortunate on the one that was offside because he turned that one over and had it on his tape, but he hung in there. And you can see he’s going to be a good player for us, and he’s got a bright future.”
Nikishin was spared of being on the wrong end of a Capitals goal because it was taken off the board on a coach's challenge for offside. He was steady in most of his 16 shifts Thursday night.
“I thought he was great,” veteran defenseman Sean Walker said. "He’s a big body, he skates well, he shoots the puck well. He really ended some plays in the D zone and in the O zone you see he can get a pretty good shot off. It was great to see.”
Brind'Amour and Walker credited Dmitry Orlov and the Hurricanes' other Russians for helping the 23-year-old new to North America adjust as well as possible. Nikishin left the KHL earlier this spring and signed his first NHL contract last month.
“I was so nervous whenever a Russian guy comes and starts playing, but I tried to give him a couple advices and I think he did a great job,” said Svechnikov, who scored the go-ahead goal in a series-ending 3-1 victory. "I couldn’t imagine just coming from Russia and playing a playoff game. It must be so hard. But he did a great job. I’m very proud of him.”
Chatfield appeared to tweak something late in Game 4. The team announced early in warmups that Chatfield would not play in Game 5 because of an undisclosed injury.
“That was just a huge guy to have out,” Brind'Amour said. “Hopefully he can recover in however many days that we have here.”
Carolina will face either Florida or Toronto in the Eastern Conference final. Walker, Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere and Brent Burns played some extra minutes in Chatfield's absence Thursday night but would love to have him in the lineup for the opening game of the third round.
“We really miss Chatty,” Walker said. "He’s a big part of our D corps back there, so we’ll be excited to have him back.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin (21) skates with the puck past Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) in the first period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin (21) warms up before Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
