Down the Frozen River

Author: Connor Keith

  • October 26 – Day 15 – The Boston-New York thing is happening again

    We’ve got four games to choose from tonight! Montréal visits the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. (RDS/SN1), followed an hour later by Boston at the New York Rangers (NBCSN/TVAS). 9:30 p.m. brings with it Washington at Edmonton (SN1/SN360) and this evening’s nightcap, Nashville at Anaheim, drops the puck an hour later. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Boston at New York: In addition to being hockey’s more recognized iteration of the Boston vs. New York rivalry, tonight also marks Dominic Moore‘s first return to Madison Square Garden, his home arena of the last three seasons.
    • Nashville at Anaheim: Remember the Western Quarterfinals a year ago? The Ducks wish you wouldn’t.

    This may be Moore’s 10th team, but his story is worth repeating and makes the rivalry between these clubs a little bit more interesting.

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    Tonight is far from Moore’s first time in the visitor’s dressing room in Madison Square Garden – he’s done that 12 times before tonight with half as many teams. Heck, this isn’t even his first return to the World’s Most Famous Arena after time with the Blueshirts, as 2013-’15 was his second stint with the club.

    What makes this game special is his signing his second contract with the Rangers in the summer of 2013. The last time Moore was on the ice, he was a member of the San Jose Sharks participating in the 2012 playoffs.

    The gap year was far from recreational. Moore’s wife Katie was diagnosed with cancer. Instead of travel across the continent for a seven-month hockey season, he stayed by her side until she ultimately passed.

    The Rangers took a chance with their third round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and signed him to a one-year deal after he had been off the ice for more than a year, and he didn’t disappoint. He scored 18 points (tied for 12th-most on the team) en route to the Bill Masterton Trophy, earning him a two-year extension. Following the 2015-’16 season, he signed with the Bruins during free agency.

    Things haven’t been going so well in Boston, as the Bruins are 3-3-0 after last night’s 5-0 drubbing by the Wild. Their 18 goals-against ties them for 12th worst in the NHL, and that is made even worse by the fact that their three goals-against-per-game ranks even worse, tying for a bottom-11 standing.

    Those numbers wouldn’t be quite as bad if the Bruins were scoring like they did last season when they fired 240 goals, the fifth-most in the NHL. This season’s 15 tallies ties for ninth-fewest, once again made worse when taking the number of games Boston has played into account. They average only 2.5 scores-per-game, the sixth-lowest rate in the league and worst in the Atlantic Division.

    They’re led offensively by Brad Marchand‘s team-leading nine points and David Pastrnak‘s four goals.

    On paper, the 4-2-0 Rangers look like they should be doing much better. They’ve scored the ninth-most goals this season, backed by the great Henrik Lundqvist, who’s led the goaltending department to allowing only 16 goals to tie for ninth-fewest.

    They are led offensively by Chris Kreider‘s seven points. Additionally, Jimmy Vesey ties Kreider’s goal totals with three tallies.

    Statistics can be misleading though. Even though the Rangers currently have the second-best standing in the Metropolitan Division, they have been unable to find sustained success. Until their last game, a 3-2 victory over the Coyotes, the Blueshirts would win a game, then lose a game. Win a game, then lose a game. Until they prove that they can play consistently, the Rangers are a difficult team to trust.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Marchand (nine points [tied for second-most in the NHL], including six assists [tied for third-most in the league] for a +8 [tied for third-best in the NHL]), Pastrnak (+8 [tied for third-best in the league]) and Tuukka Rask (three wins [tied for third-most in the NHL] on a .947 save percentage [fourth-best in the league] for a 1.67 GAA [tied for fourth-best in the NHL]) & New York‘s Lundqvist (three wins [tied for third-most in the league]).

    Most establishments in Vegas mark bets as off in this contest, but I don’t think it’s the same scenario as when San Jose visited Pittsburgh last week. Given them riding their first win streak of the season, I’m leaning towards the home Rangers in this one.

    Happy Birthday

    • Miikka Kiprusoff (1976-) – This Finnish goaltender spent nine of his 12 NHL seasons with Calgary, playing 576 games for the Flames. He’s also earned Team Finland three silver medals (two at the World Championships and the 2004 World Cup).

    Troy Brouwer and Second Star of the Game Brian Elliott made good on their return to Scottrade Center in yesterday’s Game of the Day, leading the Flames to a 4-1 victory.

    Third Star Dennis Wideman (Brouwer and John Gaudreau) scored a power play wrister only 3:54 after puck drop to give Calgary an early lead. With 9:30 remaining in the frame, Deryk Engelland (Kris Versteeg and First Star Sam Bennett) doubled the Flames‘ lead with the eventual game-winner, a score that would hold into intermission.

    Only one goal was struck in the second period, belonging to the visiting squad. Bennett (Dougie Hamilton and Matthew Tkachuk) is the guilty party, scoring 2:16 after returning to the ice.

    St. Louis finally got on the board at the 5:49 mark of the final frame with a Kevin Shattenkirk (Vladimir Tarasenko and Colton Parayko) power play wrister, but Gaudreau (Matt Stajan and Micheal Ferland) scored on an empty net with 71 seconds remaining to end any chance of a Blues comeback.

    Elliott earns the win after saving 23-of-24 shots faced (95.8%), while Carter Hutton takes the loss, saving 26-of-29 (89.7%).

    Calgary‘s win sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 10-6-1, but that still favors the home sides by four points.

  • October 25 – Day 14 – Moose comes home

    It’s been too long since we’ve had a busy schedule. Cue tonight, which has 11 games taking place. As you’ve come to expect, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with three of them (Minnesota at Boston, Arizona at New Jersey and Florida at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by another trio (Buffalo at Philadelphia [NBCSN], Tampa Bay at Toronto [SN1/TVAS] and Carolina at Detroit). Calgary at St. Louis drops the puck at 8 p.m. and Winnipeg at Dallas follows suit 30 minutes later. The west coast gets involved at 10 p.m. with two contests (Ottawa at Vancouver [RDS2] and Anaheim at San Jose [NBCSN]), and Columbus at Los Angeles rounds things out half an hour later. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Calgary at St. Louis – Troy Brouwer and Brian Elliott make their first return to the Scottrade Center since making their way to Alberta in the offseason.
    • Anaheim at San Jose – No friends here, and that often yields some of the best hockey.

    I enjoy an Anaheim–San Jose meeting as much as the next, but since Calgary‘s second visit isn’t until March – a month most have no expectations of them being relevant in – we’ll catch Brouwer and Elliott’s return to the Gateway to the West.

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    Elliott’s career in St. Louis began in the 2011-’12 season, back in the days of Jaroslav Halak. They found immediate success,  taking home the William M. Jennings Trophy for that campaign.

    Over the next five seasons, he amassed a 104-46-16 record, averaging a .925 save percentage (best Blues-career among players with more than one appearance) and 2.01 GAA.

    His 164 starts are most recorded by a St. Louis goaltender, but the record that he truly hangs his hat on is the franchise record for shutouts – 25, five more than the man he was originally charged with backing-up. One more shutout was recorded last season during the playoffs, as he led the Blues to qualify for the Western Finals for only the seventh time in team history.

    Helping Elliott and the Notes to the Western Finals was Brouwer. Only in town for a year as a result of the trade that sent T.J. Oshie to Washington, the right wing made good use of his time, notching 21 assists, the second-highest mark of his career, and 18 goals, tying for third-most on the team.

    He scored eight goals in the playoffs with the Notes last season (the most of his career), including a Game 7 winner in Chicago during the Western Quarterfinals to eliminate the team that drafted him in 2004.

    Be it by trade or free agency, both have found their way to the struggling 2-4-1 Calgary Flames. Before last night, their only other victory was a 4-3 overtime win against the Sabres last Tuesday.

    As Colby documented Saturday, goaltending and defense has been the problem for Calgary so far this season. In only seven games played, they’ve already allowed 28 goals against, by far the most in the league. That averages out to four-per-game, tied for the second-worst rate in the NHL with Carolina and Ottawa.

    Much of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the goalies. Together, Elliott and Chad Johnson have saved only .871 percent of shots faced for a 3.78 GAA – in other words, not good, as their combined save percentage trails the league average by .032. These stats collected before the completion of Monday’s game.

    St. Louis has picked up right where they left off a season ago. Their 4-1-1 record is best in the Central Division, with their lone pointless game occurring five days ago in Edmonton when they lost 3-1.

    After the last few days of focusing on some defensive teams, the Blues provide a lot of scoring. Of course, could you expect anything less of a team led by Paul Stastny, Alex Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko with seven points apiece? The right wing of that group is on a mission every time he takes the ice, and already has a team-leading four goals to show for it.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Calgary‘s Brouwer (five points, including three goals [both tied for team lead]), Michael Frolik (three goals [tied for team lead]), Mark Giordano (five points [tied for team lead]) and Sean Monahan (three goals [tied for team lead]) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (three wins [tied for second-most in the league]) and Tarasenko (four goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL] for seven points [tied for ninth-most in the league]).

    Tonight’s game is actually the second half of a home-and-home series between these squads… Well, kind of. That holds true for the Blues, who have been waiting for the Flames in St. Louis probably since Sunday morning. The Flames made a quick stop in Chicago last night, winning 3-2 in a seven-round shootout.

    The Blues beat the Flames 6-4 Saturday in the Saddledome. Vegas is predicting more of the same, as St. Louis is favored -190 this evening. I’ve picked against the gamblers and been right a few times already this season, but tonight is not a game I’m willing to take that bet. The Notes should win this one.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Rejean Houle (1949-) – This right wing spent his entire 11-year NHL career in Montréal, playing 635 games en route to five Stanley Cup championships.
    • Mike Eruzione (1954-) – We usually reserve this section for NHL alumni, but this left wing deserves an exception, seeing as he captained the American hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. For those who are bad at remembering dates, maybe the game-winning goal in the Miracle on Ice means something to you?
    • Wendel Clark (1966-) – The first pick of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, Clark played 608 of his 793 career games with Toronto, the team that drafted him. Interestingly, it took him three stints with the club to reach that number.
    • Josef Beranek (1969-) – Beránek was a center drafted 78th overall in 1989 by Edmonton. Although he bounced around the league a little bit, his 208 games with the Oil were the majority of his 531-game NHL career.

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day went exactly as expected, with the Montréal Canadiens beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1.

    Second Star of the Game Shea Weber (First Star Alexander Radulov and Artturi Lehkonen) opened the scoring 25:28 into play with a slap shot, but Jakub Voracek (Claude Giroux and Brandon Manning)  drew the Flyers level with 8:13 remaining in the second period.

    With 6:52 remaining in regulation, Brendan Gallagher (Radulov and Weber) scored a game-winning power play goal with a tip-in for the Habs. Radulov capped his three-point night with an insurance goal (Alexei Emelin) on an empty net with 63 seconds remaining.

    Third Star Carey Price earns the victory after saving 31-of-32 (96.9%), while Steve Mason takes the loss after saving 30-of-32 (93.8%).

    Montréal‘s victory set the DtFR Game of the Day series at 10-5-1, favoring the home sides by six points.

  • October 24 – Day 13 – Something something Canadian aviation

    There’s only two games on the schedule this evening. The first involves Philadelphia visiting Montréal at 7:30 p.m. (RDS), with Calgary at Chicago dropping the puck an hour later (NHLN/SN/TVAS). All times eastern.

    Seeing as Philly has much higher expectations for this season than the Flames, we’ll head up to the Bell Centre to catch them take on the Habs.

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    This game was supposed to be made a little bit more fun by the return of Dale Weise, but he is serving one-third of his suspension for his illegal check to Korbinian Holzer‘s head this evening. We’ll just hold that story until November 5.

    …Or will we?

    The season hasn’t treated the 2-2-1 Flyers very nicely so far. Before beating the Hurricanes 6-3 on Saturday, the Flyers were riding a 0-2-1 skid, being outscored 14-9 in that stretch.

    As indicated by that statistic, defense and goaltending have been the issue on Broad St. – something Flyers fans have become all too familiar with. Steve Mason has taken the decision in four of Philly‘s five games for a 1-2-1 record. He has a .882 save percentage for a 3.35 GAA, both numbers well below the league average. Although he’s seen limited time, Michal Neuvirth has statistically been worse, posting a .854 save percentage for a 4.24 GAA in 85 minutes played.

    Offensively, the Flyers are led by Jakub Voracek, who has scored two goals and notched five assists for seven points. Matt Read leads the club in goals, with five to his credit.

    Montréal has yet to not earn a point having gone 4-0-1 so far this season, including their current three-game win streak. Most recently, the Canadiens went into the TD Garden to beat the Bruins 4-2 on Saturday. That success has propelled this squad that many wanted dissected a season ago to the top of the Eastern Conference early on.

    Defense has been the name of the game for the Canadiens so far this year. Overall the Habs have a +11 goal-differential, but their eight goals-allowed is seven below the league average. Al Montoya started the first three games, saving .962 percent of the shots he faced for a 1.3 GAA. Carey Price has since returned to post a perfect 2-0-0 record, saving .92 percent for a 2.02 GAA.

    Offensively, Montréal has turned to Alex Galchenyuk (1G/4A), Brendan Gallagher (3G/2A), Max Pacioretty (1G/4A) and Shea Weber (1G/4A), all of whom have five points. Gallagher and Torrey Mitchell have both scored three goals to lead the squad in that department.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Montréal‘s Nathan Beaulieu (+7 [tied for fifth-best in the NHL]), Montoya (1.3 GAA on a .962 save percentage [both second-best in the NHL] for two wins [tied for eighth-most in the league], including one shutout [one-of-five this season]) or Price (2.01 GAA [ninth-best in the NHL]) and Weber (+8 [tied for third-best in the league]) & Philadelphia‘s Claude Giroux (six assists [tied for the NHL-lead]), Read (five goals [tied for second-most in the league]), Wayne Simmonds (four goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]) and Voracek (five assists [tied for sixth-most in the league]).

    Montréal has a -160 advantage over the Flyers this evening. Given Philly‘s goaltending situation and the fact that this game is in the Bell Centre, that might be a conservative mark. Expect the Habs to earn two points this evening.

    Hockey Birthday:

    • Jamal Mayers (1974-) – Over 65% of Mayers’ 915 career NHL games were played with St. Louis. A right wing by trade, he scored 90 goals en route to a 219 point career and currently acts as an analyst for NHL Network.
    • Jonas Gustavsson (1984-) – This is the eighth NHL season of the goalie’s career and his first with Edmonton. One of his best accolades is the silver medal he won at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with Team Sweden.

    In case you didn’t watch the Heritage Classic yesterday, Edmonton scored three goals in 7:52 to beat the Jets 3-0 at Investors Group Field in our Game of the Day.

    The first of those goals, thus the game-winner, was struck 36 seconds before the midway point of the game. Third Star of the Game Mark Letestu fired a unassisted short-handed snap shot past Connor Hellebuyck to open the scoring. 1:46 later, Darnell Nurse (Connor McDavid and Second Star Zack Kassian) doubled that lead with a snapper of his own. With 2:44 remaining in the second period, Kassian (Benoit Pouliot and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) scored the second insurance goal for the Oilers to set the score at the 3-0 final.

    First Star Cam Talbot saved all 32 shots he faced en route to the shutout victory. Hellebuyck takes the loss, saving 29-of-32 (90.6%).

    Edmonton‘s win is the second-straight for a road team in the DtFR Game of the Day series, but the home sides still have a four-point advantage with a 9-5-1 record.

  • October 23 – Day 12 -It’s not really my heritage, but I’ll celebrate anyways since there’s hockey

    Eight points are on the line on this fourth Sunday of October. Edmonton visits Winnipeg at 3 p.m. (NHLN/SN/TVAS2) and Minnesota at the New York Islanders drops the puck at the completion of that contest at 6 p.m. Arizona at the New York Rangers (NHLN) starts at the usual starting time of 7 p.m., and Vancouver at Anaheim (SN), this evening’s nightcap, gets underway an hour later. All times eastern.

    Although I have my qualms with the plethora of outdoor games played these days, this afternoon’s contest in Manitoba should be worth the watch.

    Unknown-5Unknown-4Welcome to Investors Group Field. Canadians know this place as the home of Winnipeg‘s football team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. All of us on this website are Americans, so we are more familiar with it hosting seven matches during the 2015 Women’s World Cup, including two involving *ahem* the World Champion USWNT.

    I’ll wait for you to get settled down again. I know, I still celebrate every time I think about Megan Rapinoe’s two goals in this stadium.

    Anyways, back to the sport we’re supposed to be talking about: football. Wait, no, the football stadium was taken over by hockey. Right.

    The Edmonton Eskimos Oilers enter today’s game with a 4-1-0 record – the third best in the Western Conference, and fourth best in the league. Their lone blemish came last Sunday against Buffalo, falling 6-2. They’ve found their success with the puck on their stick, scoring 20 goals so far this season (seven more than the league average). Last year’s first overall pick in the NHL Draft has been at the forefront of the Oil‘s attack, as Connor McDavid has eight points to his name, including four goals.

    Opposing them this afternoon is the 2-2-0 Winnipeg Jets. The last time we watched the Jets, Patrik Laine scored the first hat trick of his career against the only kid drafted before him in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft en route to a 5-4 overtime victory. Just like Edmonton, offense is where Winnipeg shines. They’re led by center Mark Scheifele, who’s six points are evenly split between goals and assists.

    Some players to keep an eye on in today’s game include Edmonton‘s McDavid (eight points [tied for third-most in the league] on four goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]), Kris Russell (+6 [tied for eighth-best in the league]) and Cam Talbot (four wins [leads the NHL]) & Winnipeg‘s Dustin Byfuglien (four assists [leads the team]), Laine (four goals [leads the team]) and Scheifele (six points for a +4 [both lead the team]).

    With home ice, Winnipeg is favored at a -123. While that would certainly make a nice story, I don’t think that’s what is going to happen. I believe it will be the Oilers taking the two points from this game with an exemplary performance from McDavid on arguably the biggest stage he’s had in his young professional career.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Fred Shero (1925-1990) – He may have played defense for 145 NHL games (all with the Rangers), but Shero is more known for his coaching career. He amassed a 390-216-118 career record en route to four Stanley Cup Finals appearances, winning half of those with Philadelphia.

    The Boston Bruins have had trouble of late defending home ice, going 17-18-6 a season ago. That trend continued last night when they fell 4-2 to their arch-rivals, the Montréal Canadiens.

    The Habs won this game in the second period. After a scoreless opening frame for both sides, First Star of the Game Brendan Gallagher (Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk) broke the draw with a snap shot with 8:19 remaining in the second to give the Canadiens the lead. That lead doubled 6:03 later when Phillip Danault (Alexander Radulov and Greg Pateryn) scored his first of the season.

    5:34 into the final period, Third Star Dominic Moore (Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari) scored a wrister for the Bruins to pull the home team within a goal, but Paul Byron‘s (Shea Weber and Andrei Markov) short-handed snap shot 1:58 later returned the Habs‘ lead to 3-1 – and proved to be the game-winner. Ryan Spooner‘s (David Backes and David Krejci) power play snap shot at the 8:09 mark once again pulled Boston within a score, but they were unable to find the back of the net again. Second Star Torrey Mitchell tacked on the insurance goal with 7:13 remaining for the Canadiens to seal the victory.

    Carey Price earns the victory after saving 19-of-21 (90.5%) of the shots he faced, while Anton Khudobin takes the loss, saving 25-of-29 (86.2%).

    With that road victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 9-4-1, still favoring the home teams by six points.

  • October 22 – Day 11 – Not just a rivalry game

    It’s Saturday, so you know what that means: a busy day. Everything is being held for prime time, so eight games drop the puck at 7 p.m. (Toronto at Chicago [CBC], Montréal at Boston [CITY/TVAS], Tampa Bay at Ottawa [SN1/SN360], San Jose at Detroit, Colorado at Florida, Minnesota at New Jersey, Carolina at Philadelphia and the New York Rangers at Washington [NHLN]). 8 p.m. brings with it two more contests (Pittsburgh at Nashville and Columbus at Dallas), and the final two games find their start two hours later (Vancouver at Los Angeles [CBC] and St. Louis at Calgary [SN1/SN360]). All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Montréal at Boston: One of, if not the best all-time rivalry in hockey. It’s always worth the watch.
    • Toronto at Chicago: Another Original Six matchup.
    • New York at Washington: This rivalry goes back to the ’80s. Since all of us at Down the Frozen River were born in the ’90s, we’re pretty sure that was a long time ago.

    Of those three games, it’s just too hard to ignore the scrap for the Atlantic Division lead between Montréal and Boston going on this evening in the TD Garden.

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    Two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference square off this evening and, as I mentioned before, the winner will take the division lead. But, something tells me that a division lead, especially this early in the season, is just icing on the cake between these two.

    The Canadiens enter the game with an impeccable 3-0-1 record, with their lone single-point game occurring last weekend In Ottawa.

    Although the Habs have scored 16 goals already this season, it has been their blue line and goaltending that has been more impressive. So far, Al Montoya and Carey Price have only allowed six tallies, half the league average, on a combined .955 save percentage.

    The home Bruins have a 3-1-0 record, losing their only game last Saturday 4-1 in Toronto.

    Just like their counterparts, goaltending has been the Bruins‘ shining spot so far this season, as Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin have only allowed nine goals against, collectively saving 92.4% of shots faced.

    To properly breakdown how good a goaltending matchup this could be, Montoya and Rask are the top two in the league in save percentage, and both also rank in the top five in goals against average. If presumed starter Price can continue to produce like his backup did to start the season, we should be in for a great game.

    Some players to keep an eye on during this evening’s game include Boston‘s David Backes (+7 [tied for third-best in the league]), Brandon Carlo (+7 [tied for third-best in the NHL]), Zdeno Chara (+6 [tied for seventh-best in the league]), Brad Marchand (+9 [tied for the NHL-lead] with nine points [tied for the league-lead] on six assists [tied for the NHL-lead] and three goals [tied for ninth-most in the league]), David Pastrnak (+9 [tied for the NHL-lead] with four goals [tied for second-most in the league] for seven points [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]) and Rask (.947 save percentage [second-best in the league], three wins [tied for second-most in the NHL] and 1.67 GAA [fourth-best in the league]) & Montréal‘s Nathan Beaulieu (+6 [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]), Montoya (1.3 GAA [leads the league] and .962 save percentage [leads the NHL] for a shutout [one of three so far this season] on two wins [tied for sixth-most in the league]) and Shea Weber (+6 [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]).

    Last season, the Canadiens took the season series 3-2-0, including two victories in Massachusetts. But, it is the Bruins that are favored in tonight’s game at -124. Although the Habs have played well to start the season, I have a hard time picking against Boston on home ice.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Ron Tugnutt (1967-) – This goaltender put in 16 NHL seasons, playing most of his 537 games with Quebec (153) and Ottawa (166). Some of the records he still holds are most saves in a regular season contest (70) and highest regular season save percentage.
    • Stephane Quintal (1968-) – A long time Canadien, Quintal played 507 of his 1037 games along the blue line in a red sweater. Nowadays, he’s Senior Vice President of Player Safety.
    • Miroslav Satan (1974-) – Over 14 NHL seasons, Šatan played for five clubs, but he spent most of his time in Buffalo. The right wing scored 363 scores and ended up with 735 points.

    I expected a Predators win in yesterday’s Game of the Day. I was terribly wrong.

    This game may come to be known as the Power Play Game, as five of the eight scores were a result of the man-advantage. The first of those tallies was struck 5:17 into the second period when Justin Abdelkader (Third Star of the Game Ryan Sproul and Gustav Nyquist) took advantage of a Filip Forsberg holding penalty four seconds earlier to set the score at 1-0 for the Wings. The Predators struck back 8:56 later with power play goal of their own from P.K. Subban (Roman Josi) on a 5-on-3 play. Still on the power play from Danny DeKeyser sending the puck over the glass, Mike Ribeiro (Ryan Ellis and Viktor Arvidsson) gave Nashville a 2-1 lead with 5:29 remaining in the period. They couldn’t take that lead into the dressing room though, as Drew Miller (Mike Green) beat Pekka Rinne with 40 seconds remaining before the horn to level the score at two-all.

    1:10 after returning to the ice, First Star Tomas Tatar (Alexey Marchenko and Jonathan Ericsson) returned the lead to the Red Wings on an even-strength snap shot. Nyquist takes credit for the game-winner, an unassisted snap shot with 8:33 remaining on the game clock. Nashville pulled within one when Mike Fisher (Josi and Forsberg) scored a power play goal, but Darren Helm (Luke Glendening and Henrik Zetterberg) put that comeback to sleep with a power play goal of his own with 22 seconds remaining on an empty-net.

    Second Star Petr Mrazek earns the victory after saving 30-of-33 (90.9%), while Rinne takes the loss, saving 38-of-42 (90.5%).

    Detroit‘s victory at Joe Louis Arena sets the home teams’ record in the DtFR Game of the Day series at 9-3-1, favoring them by eight points over the visiting squads

  • October 21 – Day 10 – Ugh.

    That’s all I can really say about tonight’s contests. Only three games are on tap this evening and most of them are at the same time. Two drop the puck at 7 p.m. (Arizona at the New York Islanders and Chicago at Columbus), followed half an hour later by Nashville at Detroit (NHLN/SN360/TVAS). All times eastern.

    I must admit, there’s nothing really attractive about any of these three games. None of these teams have a winning record (two are .500, though), and all of them are west vs. east. I suppose we’ll go with the Predators at the Red Wings since expectations are so high for Nashville this season.

    UnknownUnknownThe Nashville Predators enter tonight’s game hosting a 1-2-0 record. Their one victory came in their first game played, a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena. Offense has been the main struggle so far, as their seven tallies ties for fourth-fewest in the NHL. Their leading point-scorer is Ryan Johansen, who has four assists to his credit.

    Their opposition this evening is the 2-2-0 Detroit Red Wings. It’s not only their record that’s even: Detroit has also scored just as many goals as they’ve allowed – 12. Barring their first game against Tampa Bay, the Wings have averaged only 22 shots per game, 11 fewer than the league average. Even more frustrating for Detroit, Tomas Tatar, who leads the squad with 12 shots, has yet to find the back of the net. Instead, it is Mike Green and Thomas Vanek leading the team offensively, both with six points evenly distributed between goals and assists.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Detroit‘s Green (three goals and three assists for six points [all tie for team lead]), Darren Helm (three goals [ties for team lead]), Gustav Nyquist (three assists [ties for team lead]) and Vanek (three goals and three assists for six points [all tie for team lead]) & Nashville‘s Pekka Rinne (.934 save percentage [fifth-best in the leauge] and 2.04 GAA [ninth-best in the NHL]).

    Detroit is marked as the +100 underdog in tonight’s contest, a line I am comfortable with. I think the Preds can go into Joe Louis Arena and earn their second victory of the season.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Carl Brewer (1938-2001) – This three-time Stanley Cup champion played 604 games over 12 NHL seasons along the blue line. Most of his career was spent with hometown club Toronto, but he also had stops in Detroit and St. Louis. In addition to his three professional titles, Brewer also helped Canada claim bronze at the 1967 World Championships.
    • Lou Lamoriello (1942-) – Although he’s coached 53 games in his career, Lamoriello is better known for his team building abilities. He spent 28 seasons in New Jersey, winning three Stanley Cups. This is is second year in Toronto. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.
    • Michel Briere (1949-1971) – The career that never had the opportunity to truly get started, Brière played 76 games with Pittsburgh, scoring the third most points on the team. Unfortunately, he was involved in a car accident that eventually cost him his life. Brière’s 21 was never reissued, eventually being retired in 2001, and the QMJHL MVP and the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ Rookie of the Year awards both bear his name.
    • Mike Keenan (1949-) – A controversial character in the NHL that has never held down a job for more than four seasons, Keenan has coached 1386 games in the top league in the world to date. His 672-531-147-36 record for 1527 points is decent, but what he really hangs his hat on is leading the Rangers to their fourth and most recent Stanley Cup championship in 1994.

    How many more leads will be blown this season? San Jose had a two-goal lead on the Penguins entering the third period, but ended up falling 3-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    Both those Shark tallies were struck in the second period. 5:04 after resuming play from the first intermission, Tomas Hertl (Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns) fired his backhander past Third Star of the Game Marc-Andre Fleury to take the lead. With 3:45 remaining in that same period, Patrick Marleau (Logan Couture) doubled the Sharks‘ lead by beating Fleury with a wrister.

    Pittsburgh‘s comeback began 6:47 into the final frame when Second Star Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the season. 2:14 later, Scott Wilson (Matt Cullen and First Star Patric Hornqvist) leveled the game with 10:59 remaining in the contest. Hornqvist’s (Phil Kessel and Malkin) struck the winning wrister with 5:58 remaining in regulation to seal the victory.

    Fleury earns the victory after saving 32-of-34 (94.1%), while Martin Jones takes the loss after saving 17-of-20 (85%).

    Pittsburgh‘s victory extends the home teams’ record to 8-3-1 in the DtFR Game of the Day series, favoring them by six points over the roadies.

  • October 20 – Day Nine – Rematch, Vol. I

    Get ready for a wild ride tonight, because there’s going to be a lot of hockey action tonight. Pucks start dropping at 7 p.m. eastern (New Jersey at Boston, Anaheim at Philadelphia and San Jose at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by another trio of games (Arizona at Montréal [RDS/SN360], Colorado at Tampa Bay and Washington at Florida). Toronto visits Minnesota at 8 p.m., followed 30 minutes later by Los Angeles at Dallas. 9 p.m. marks the beginning of two games (Carolina at Calgary and St. Louis at Edmonton) followed by this evening’s nightcap an hour later: Buffalo at Vancouver (SN360). All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Anaheim at Philadelphia: With the Flyers‘ first home game of the season, it’s the first time they’re sporting their new threads honoring their 50th anniversary.
    • San Jose at Pittsburgh: You know, it’s just a Stanley Cup rematch. No big deal (or, as the kids put it, NBD).
    • St. Louis at Edmonton – Traded only five days before the season, Nail Yakupov returns to Edmonton, where he spent his first four seasons.

    Let’s get real. There’s only two Stanley Cup rematches a year. This being the first one, we have to give it our attention. Sorry Philly and Yakupov.

    UnknowntIMcw8ylThe San Jose Sharks enter the night with a 3-1-0 record, with their lone loss occurring three days ago in Madison Square Garden, falling 7-4 to the Rangers.

    Other than that lone blemish, the Sharks have picked up right where they left off a few months ago. San Jose has scored exactly as many goals as they’ve given up (12), but excluding the score-fest in New York, the Sharks are +3, which would tie them for the third best mark in the league. Defenseman Brent Burns has led the Sharks‘ scoring, notching three goals and five assists for eight points.

    Their opposition also only has only one regulation loss on their record, due in part to playing goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury two times in as many days and three times in four days. That’s far from the only reason though. They failed to find the back of the net once against Montréal Tuesday 4-0.

    Similar to San Jose, if you exclude their lone debacle of the season, the Penguins would have a +1 goal differential on the season. Matt Cullen, Evgeni Malkin and Conor Sheary have all scored one goal and two assists for three points on the young season, but Sheary is currently questionable after sustaining a bruise around his eye in Montréal.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s contest include Pittsburgh‘s Fleury (two wins [tied for seventh-most in the league] on a .914 save percentage [ninth-best in the NHL]) and San Jose‘s Burns (eight points [leads the NHL] on five assists [tied for the league-lead] and three goals [tied for sixth-most in the NHL]), Martin Jones (two wins [tied for third-most in the league]), Joe Pavelski (four assists [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]) and Joe Thornton (five assists [tied for the league-lead]).

    Bets look to be off with most books in Vegas, which should only prove the expected quality of this game. The only reason I give the Penguins the edge in this contest is due to them having home ice. Then again, seeing that banner might give San Jose just the motivation they need. We’ll have to watch and see.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Mikhail Shtalenkov (1965-) – The Russian goaltender spent seven seasons in the NHL, most of which were spent with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.  He had a career save percentage of 89.8%.
    • Colin Wilson (1989-) – This marks Wilson’s eighth professional season, all of which spent with the Nashville Predators. Last season, the center scored his 200th NHL point on March 24 against the Canucks.

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day was our second 5-4 overtime thriller of the season. Go figure that one included Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs too, and just like last time, it was the home squad – the Winnipeg Jets in this case- that rose to the occasion in sudden death.

    Mike Babcock and the Leafs will be kicking themselves after this one. They scored both goals in the first frame, starting with Connor Carrick‘s (James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner) 6:46 after dropping the puck. Third Star of the Game Nazem Kadri (Morgan Rielly and Milan Michalek) takes credit for the second tally with 3:48 remaining in the frame.

    Three more goals were scored in the second period, and two belonged to Toronto. William Nylander‘s (Matthews and Nikita Zaitsev) wrister found the back of Michael Hutchinson‘s net 6:47 after resuming play, followed eight seconds later by a goal from Kadri (Nylander and Leo Komarov) to set the score at 4-0. Tyler Myers (Second Star Mark Scheifele and Shawn Matthias) scored the Jets’ first goal with 6:56 remaining in the frame before the squads returned to their dressing rooms.

    As good as the Maple Leafs‘ first period was, Winnipeg’s third was better. Only a minute after returning to the ice, First Star Patrik Laine (Dustin Byfuglien and Scheifele) pulled the score to 4-2 with a wrister. Scheifele (Josh Morrissey and Drew Stafford) followed that 5:05 later with his third score of the season to pull the Jets within one.  55 seconds before what could have been the final horn, Laine (Nikolaj Ehlers) struck again with a snap shot to force three-on-three overtime.

    Overtime lasted only 2:40 before Laine (Byfuglien) completed the first hat trick of his career with a wrister past Frederik Andersen to secure the victory.

    Hutchinson earns the victory after saving 36-of-40 (90%), while Andersen takes the overtime loss, saving 29-of-34 (85.3%).

    With that victory, Winnipeg improves the home team’s record to 7-3-1 in the DtFR Game of the Day series, leading the roadies by four points.

  • October 19 – Day Eight – Matthews vs. Laine

    There’s only two games on tap this evening, both of which are on national TV. The biggest problem? They’re both on at the same time. Toronto visits Winnipeg (SN) and Detroit visits the New York Rangers (NBCSN/TVAS) at 8 p.m. All times eastern.

    I know that Detroit at New York is an Original Six matchup, but if you’re not looking forward to Auston Matthews vs Patrik Laine, you’re crazy!

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    It may have been a week ago, but Matthews is still the talk of the hockey world. His four-goal debut is probably the best opening game of a career the game of hockey, and maybe even the entire world of sports has ever seen. So good was that one game, he is still tied for the league-lead in tallies after being shut out against the Bruins.

    So far this season, trends indicate that Matthews is bad luck for the Maple Leafs. Whenever the rookie scores, they fall in overtime. He doesn’t score? They win. If you’re a fan of one of the other 29 teams in the league, hope that Lou Lamoriello buys into my off-the-wall theory and ships his young star off to your club.

    Don’t hold your breath.

    In the blue corner is Finnish Laine and the Winnipeg Jets. In three games, he’s scored a goal and an assist. His point and goal totals might trail Matthews, but the fact that he has that apple proves that he shares better than the first pick.

    The Jets enter the night with a 1-2-0 record, their lone win against the Hurricanes in overtime on Thursday.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Toronto‘s Matthews (four goals [tied for league-lead]) and Winnipeg‘s Blake Wheeler (five points [tied for eighth-best in the NHL] on three goals [tied for fourth-most in the league]).

    I know Toronto is on the road, but I like them to win this game. They have a better penalty kill, and Frederik Andersen has allowed half a goal fewer per game on a better save percentage than Connor Hellebuyck. Offensively, they also have a  better shot percentage. I’m picking against Vegas again this evening, who favors Winnipeg at -125.

    Hockey Birthday

    Roy Worters (1900-1957) – This is my kind of guy. Worters was an NHL netminder for 484 games over 12 seasons, predominantly with the New York Americans, recording 66 career shutouts and being the first goaltender to win the Hart Memorial Trophy –  all at the height of 5′ 3″. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day was not simply won by the Montréal Canadiens: it was won by First Star of the Game Al Montoya. His perfect 36 saves on 36 shots earned him one of the first shutouts of the 2016-’17 season for a 4-0 victory.

    The winning goal belongs to Second Star Max Pacioretty (Jeff Petry) on his first tally of the season, a wrister from the stick-side face-off zone. He struck only 23 seconds into the contest, and it was the only score of the first frame.

    Third Star David Desharnais (Pacioretty) fired the only insurance goal of the second period with 7:53 remaining before the second intermission.

    Things really started to unravel for the Penguins in the final frame. Alexander Radulov (Alex Galchenyuk and Montoya) and Desharnais (Petry and Andrei Markov) both struck to double the Habs‘ lead and improve their record to 2-0-1 to open the Bell Centre.

    This game was selected to be featured because many expected Mike Condon to make his first start for the Penguins against his ex-team. Instead, it was Marc-Andre Fleury that played the game, and his drained energy level was apparent. He saved 28-of-32 (87.5%), barely better than his showing against Colorado.

    That win by the Canadiens sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 6-3-1, favoring the home squads by three points over the roadies.

  • October 18 – Day Seven – Condon can’t escape the Canadiens

    In yesterday’s Battle of the Undefeateds, it was the Colorado Avalanche that took the overtime victory in Pittsburgh.

    If you like offense, these opening 20 minutes were for you. Four goals were scored, but the opening period ended tied at 2-2. Phil Kessel (Kris Letang and Nick Bonino) opened the scoring 8:57 after the opening puck drop with a power play goal, followed 36 seconds later by Third Star of the Game Matt Cullen‘s (Chris Kunitz and Conor Sheary) first tally of the season. Pittsburgh‘s 2-0 lead lasted until 3:33 remained on the clock before ex-Penguin Jarome Iginla (Second Star Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie) pulled the Avs within one with a power play tally. Patrick Wiercioch (Rene Bourque and Fedor Tyutin) completed the comeback 1:23 later with a slap shot from the point.

    After a scoreless second period, Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead 9:12 after beginning with a Trevor Daley (Cullen and Justin Schultz) power play slap shot, but it lasted only 4:16 before First Star Gabriel Landeskog (Mikhail Grigorenko and Erik Johnson) took advantage of a man-advantage of his own to force overtime.

    Twenty-two seconds after returning to the ice after the completion of regulation, Landeskog (MacKinnon and Johnson) capped his two-point night with his second goal, giving the Avalanche the 3-2 overtime victory.

    Calvin Pickard earns the victory after saving 28-of-31 (90.3%), while Marc-Andre Fleury takes the overtime loss after saving 27-of-31 (87.1%).

    Although the Pens fell, the home teams still hold a one-point advantage over the roadies in the DtFR Game of the Day series with a 5-3-1 record.

    On your way home from work, make sure to buy some batteries, because you’re going to need them for your remote tonight with a dozen games taking place. Three get started at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. (Anaheim at New Jersey, San Jose at the New York Islanders and Colorado at Washington), with another trio dropping the puck 30 minutes later (Pittsburgh at Montréal [SN360/TVAS], Arizona at Ottawa [RDS] and Florida at Tampa Bay). 8 p.m. brings with it two contests (Dallas at Nashville and Los Angeles at Minnesota) and Philadelphia at Chicago trails half an hour later on NBCSN. Another pair of games finds their starts at 9 p.m. (Buffalo at Calgary and Carolina at Edmonton) and St. Louis at Vancouver, this evening’s nightcap, gets going an hour later. All times eastern.

    I’m torn between two games tomorrow, both involving the return of a player to his home stadium of a season ago. Although Jon Marchessault‘s return involves a rivalry, I’m more intrigued by Mike Condon presumably starting in the Bell Centre for the Penguins.  To the City of Saints we go!

    pittsburgh_penguins_logoUnknown-1Montréal never intended for this contest to mean anything. Condon was supposed to remain in the Canadiens‘ system by clearing waivers after final roster cuts. He was supposed to be an IceCap.

    It’s not like the Penguins had their eye on him either. That is to say, at least not until September 19, when Matt Murray broke his hand at the World Cup of Hockey. When they saw Condon was placed on waivers, they gobbled him up with a one-year, one-way contract as a better backup goaltending option than Filip Gustavsson, Tristan Jarry or Sean Maguire.

    But that’s all in the past. With Fleury playing his third game in five days last night against the Avalanche, Condon is almost assured to be thrust back into the Montréal spotlight – one of the brightest in hockey – albeit wearing different colors.

    Last season with the Habs, Condon went 21-25-6 – not bad for a rookie with a team with little morale playing in front of him. His .903 save percentage ranked 64th in the NHL for a 2.71 GAA. He has one career NHL shutout to his credit – his game in Tampa Bay on March 31.

    His return to Montréal should be an interesting one. When Carey Price went down last season, he looked to be more than capable of manning the crease. It took him nine games – over a month of action – before he lost a game in regulation! But he eventually regressed to the rookie mean, having losing skids of nine, four (one in overtime) and five games. Perhaps he was thrust into the spotlight too quickly (although that was never the original plan in Montréal) and will improve as a backup over the next season or more, but his initial audition left much to be desired. For his sake, I hope Habs fans don’t give him too hard a time this evening.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Montréal‘s Nathan Beaulieu (+5 [sixth-best in the NHL]) and Al Montoya (.942 save percentage [tied for sixth-best in the league] for a 1.92 GAA [seventh-best in the NHL] and one win [tied for eighth in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Cullen (three points, two of which are helpers [both tied for team-lead]), Kessel (two goals [leads the team]), Evgeni Malkin (three points, two of which are assists [both tied for team-lead]) and Sheary (three points, two of which are helpers [both tied for team-lead]).

    Montoya’s lone win of the season was in Buffalo against a team missing two of their top-four goalscorers from a season ago. Furthering that point, he gave up four goals in Ottawa two days later. I expect the Penguins‘ offense to be too much for the Canadiens to handle, regardless of their scoring success against Condon.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Mike Antonovich (1951-) – Center Antonovich played only 87 games over four seasons in the NHL, most of which was with New Jersey. Instead, he predominantly spent his time in the now-defunct WHA, playing 486 games in that league.
    • Kjell Samuelsson (1958-) – Over 14 seasons, Samuelsson laced up the skates 813 times. The defenseman played almost 730 games for a Pennsylvanian team, but a majority of those (545, to be exact) were for Philadelphia.

  • October 17 – Day Six – Someone must lose

    Up until last night, the Edmonton Oilers had been a fun, high-flying offense. Then Buffalo gave them a taste of their own medicine, beating them 6-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    2:37 after taking the ice for the first time this season, Kyle Okposo (Sam Reinhart and First Star of the Game Ryan O’Reilly) scored the first goal of the game, followed 4:37 later by O’Reilly (Okposo and Rasmus Ristolainen) doubling the Sabres‘ lead. The first period ended tied though, as Benoit Pouliot (Zack Kassian and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and Milan Lucic (Third Star Leon Draisaitl and Jordan Eberle) scored 100 seconds apart before the first intermission.

    Buffalo continued their trend of scoring twice a period in both the second and third frames. O’Reilly (Ristolainen and Cody Franson) takes credit for the winner, with Marcus Foligno (A), Second Star Brian Gionta (2G), Johan Larsson (A), Jake McCabe (A), Matt Moulson (G), O’Reilly (A) and Ristolainen (A) all participating in the three insurance tallies.

    Robin Lehner earns the victory after saving 31-of-33 (93.9%) shots faced, while Cam Talbot takes the loss after saving 17-of-23 (73.9%). He was replaced with 10:04 to go by Jonas Gustavsson, who saved the lone shot he faced for no decision.

    Although the road team won this time, the home squads still own a 5-3-0 record and a two-point lead over the roadies in the DtFR Game of the Day series.

    We’ve got four games to choose from this evening, starting with two at 7 p.m. (San Jose at the New York Rangers [NHLN] and Colorado at Pittsburgh [SN1]). Ottawa visits Detroit half an hour later (RDSI), and the night starts to find its end at 8 p.m. with Boston at Winnipeg (TVAS). All times eastern.

    I must admit, none of the games are extremely enticing. Ottawa at Detroit is the only contest between teams of the same conference, but the Red Wings would probably prefer we didn’t watch them right now. Although it is early in the season, Colorado at Pittsburgh is the lone game between undefeated teams, so we’ll head to the Steel City.

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    The Avalanche come to PPG Paints Arena owning an incredible 1-0-0 record. Their lone game so far this season was a 6-5 barn-burner against the Dallas Stars at the Pepsi Center. Tyson Barrie‘s then-unassisted insurance goal with 6:03 remaining in the game ended up being the game-winner Saturday night. Francois Beauchemin (2A), Joe Colborne (3G), Blake Comeau (A), Mikhail Grigorenko (A), Erik Johnson (A), Gabriel Landeskog (A), Nathan MacKinnon (G/A), Carl Soderberg (G), Patrick Wiercioch (A) and Nikita Zadorov (A) all participated in the scoring explosion.

    In addition to their opening thriller against the Washington Capitals, the Penguins have also bested the Anaheim Ducks without leaving the comforts of home. Phil Kessel (Patric Hornqvist) takes credit for the game-winner 2:02 before the halfway point of the contest. Ian Cole (G), Matt Cullen (A), Trevor Daley (A), Chris Kunitz (A), Evgeni Malkin (A) and Conor Sheary (G) all earned the honor of being listed on the score sheet.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Colorado‘s Colborne (three goals [tied for third-most in the league]) and Pittsburgh‘s Marc-Andre Fleury (two wins [tied for the league-lead] and a .948 save percentage [fifth-best in the NHL]).

    Last season, Pittsburgh won both games against the Avalanche by a combined 8-5 score. It was the first time either team had swept the other since 2012, which capped a four-game winning streak by the Penguins over Colorado over the span of three seasons.

    The Pens opened in Vegas favored at -155, and bettors have continued to bet against the visitors. Although the Avs outscored one of the most potent offenses from the comforts of home, I have a hard time believing they can duplicate that success against a Pittsburgh team with a better defense and goaltender. I pick the Pens to win by at least two goals.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Francis Bouillon (1975-) – Bouillon played 776 games over 14 seasons in the NHL, 581 of which were with the Montréal Canadiens. Though only 5′ 8″,  Bouillon was always in the thick of things and helped the Habs  reach the playoffs six times during his tenure.