Down the Frozen River

Author: Nick Lanciani

  • Bruins take bite out of the Sharks, 4-1

    The Boston Bruins returned home for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday night and promptly beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-1, at TD Garden– eight days after the two teams collided for a thrilling (and controversial) battle in San Jose.

    Boston swept the season series with the Sharks, 2-0-0, after Tuesday’s win and Feb. 18th’s, 6-5, victory in overtime.

    David Krejci, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand had goals for the Bruins, while Logan Couture had the only goal for the Sharks.

    Jaroslav Halak (17-9-4 record, 2.29 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 32 games played) made 19 saves on 20 shots against for a .950 SV% in the win for the B’s.

    Sharks goaltender, Martin Jones (29-13-5, 2.95 GAA, .875 SV% in 48 GP), stopped 28 out of 32 shots faced for an .875 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 23-1-3 when leading after two periods and 10-0-2 in the month of February.

    Boston also improved to 37-17-9 (83 points) on the season and remained in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division standings, while San Jose fell to 37-19-8 (82 points) on the season, but still in 2nd place in the Pacific Division.

    Weymouth, Massachusetts native, Charlie Coyle, made his home debut for Boston and Marcus Johansson made his debut (at home and for the team) with the Bruins on Tuesday.

    Johansson was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Monday prior to the league’s trade deadline in exchange for a 2019 2nd round pick and a 2020 4th round pick. He is the first player in franchise history to wear No. 90.

    The Bruins also signed Lee Stempniak to a one-year, $650,000 contract on Sunday and formally assigned the veteran NHL winger to the Providence Bruins (AHL).

    Upon the acquisition of Johansson, the B’s re-assigned Karson Kuhlman and Peter Cehlarik to Providence to keep them eligible for the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs.

    Boston General Manager Don Sweeney provided an update on David Pastrnak (left thumb) during his press conference after the trade deadline on Monday and announced Pastrnak would be in a cast for about two more weeks, then he’d need to get a splint and a sense as to his measure of comfort for his eventual return to the lineup.

    With Kevan Miller (upper body) day-to-day after blocking a shot up high in Vegas against the Golden Knights, John Moore was inserted on the third defensive pairing.

    Bruce Cassidy kept his usual first and fourth lines together, as well as his first two defensive pairings, while adjusting his second and third lines to account for the additions of Johansson and Coyle.

    Johansson suited up to the right side of Krejci and DeBrusk, while Coyle centered the third line with David Backes on his right wing and Joakim Nordstrom returning to the lineup as the left wing (Nordstrom was a healthy scratch in St. Louis).

    Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch for Boston on Tuesday with Miller and Pastrnak out of the lineup due to injury.

    Early in the first period, Justin Braun slashed Coyle as the Bruins center was in the midst of a scoring chance at 5:41.

    Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play and instead committed the game’s next infraction, when Matt Grzelcyk hooked Michael Haley at 11:58 of the first period.

    Less than a minute into San Jose’s first power play of the night, Couture (23) banked one off of Halak’s leg pad and squeezed the puck between Halak’s pad and the inner post.

    Couture’s power play goal was unassisted and gave the Sharks the lead, 1-0, at 12:47 of the opening frame.

    Less than two minutes later, Timo Meier caught DeBrusk with a high-stick and drew some blood. As a result, Meier was assessed a double-minor penalty at 14:29.

    Just ten seconds into the resulting 5-on-4 advantage for the next four minutes, Boston worked the puck around the umbrella setup, yielding a one-timer from Krejci (15) that blew past Jones to tie the game, 1-1.

    Torey Krug (38) and Marchand (48) notched the assists on Krejci’s power play goal at 14:39.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, while the Bruins led the Sharks in shots on goal (16-8). The B’s also held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (4-3), giveaways (8-4), hits (11-3) and face-off win percentage (68-32).

    San Jose was 1/1 on the power play, while Boston went 1/3 on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Erik Karlsson had battled a groin injury earlier in the month of February and missed the last time these two teams went toe-to-toe on Feb. 18th, but he was on the ice for a grueling effort.

    Early in the middle frame, Karlsson tried to defend McAvoy in the Sharks’ defensive zone, but appeared to have overexerted himself and tweaked something in his leg.

    Karlsson went to the dressing room and returned later in the period, only to once again make an exit after Marchand danced around the Sharks defender for a shorthanded goal later in the period.

    The veteran blue liner did not return for the third period of action.

    Meanwhile, almost halfway through the second period, McAvoy (5) sniped a wrist shot past Jones’ blocker on a give-and-go from Marchand after the feisty Bruin received a pass from Danton Heinen entering the zone.

    Marchand (49) and Heinen (13) tallied the assists on what would become the game-winning goal at 9:09 of the second period and the Bruins had their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    A mere 37 seconds later, DeBrusk (20) reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career as Boston entered the attacking zone on a three-on-one with tremendous puck movement.

    Krejci (40) and Johansson (16) were credited with the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 9:46, as the Bruins led, 3-1.

    With the assist on the goal, Johansson picked up his first point as a member of Boston.

    Less than a minute later, Sean Kuraly tripped up Joe Thornton and took a trip to the penalty box at 10:29.

    While shorthanded, Marchand (25) received a pass and broke free from Karlsson and the rest of the Sharks to dangle and get a shot off with the backhand through the five-hole on the San Jose netminder to make it, 4-1, for Boston at 12:28 of the middle frame.

    Marchand’s shorthanded goal was the 25th of his career and tied Rick Middleton for the most in Bruins franchise history.

    Of course, Patrice Bergeron (36) had the primary assist on Marchand’s goal, while Brandon Carlo (5) had the secondary assist.

    Late in the period, Evander Kane tried to fight Kuraly, but the linesmen intervened as Kuraly had not had the chance to take off his gloves.

    Kane received two roughing minors to Kuraly’s one roughing infraction, leaving the Sharks shorthanded at 14:55. Kevin Labanc served Kane’s extra minor.

    A few minutes later, Barclay Goodrow and Chris Wagner got tangled up in front of the benches and exchanged brief fisticuffs before the linesmen got in the way and ended the fight early.

    Goodrow and Wagner both received five-minute major penalties for fighting at 17:54.

    Less than a minute after that, Moore was penalized for cross-checking Meier at 18:25.

    San Jose did not score on the ensuing power play and both teams went into the second intermission with Boston leading on the scoreboard, 4-1, and in shots on goal, 24-12.

    The B’s also led in blocked shots (10-6), takeaways (6-5), giveaways (11-9), hits (18-16) and face-off win% (58-42) as they continued to flat-out dominate the Sharks on home ice.

    Boston was 1/4 on the power play, while San Jose was 1/3 heading into the third period.

    Early in the third period, while going hard for the puck, Zdeno Chara caught an elbow on Kane, which led to Kane pulling down the 6-foot-9 captain of the B’s from behind and throwing a couple punches.

    Chara, in return, got back to his feet and was willing to fight a fair fight. He promptly delivered several well placed punches as Kane hunched over to avoid an otherwise surefire death sentence from the tallest player in NHL history in his 2nd fight in 44 games this season.

    Kane received an instigating penalty on top of his five-minute major for fighting. As such, he automatically was charged with a ten-minute misconduct, while Chara picked up two minutes for elbowing and a five-minute major for fighting.

    As a result of Kane’s instigating penalty, the Sharks were left shorthanded at 3:22 of the third period.

    Almost 30 seconds later, Kane received a game misconduct for his continued verbal argument with the refs at 3:51.

    Seconds after the ensuing face-off Haley didn’t even bother to make a play and instead dropped the gloves with Backes as the game further descended into chaos.

    After Backes and Haley were sent to the sin bin– each with five-minute majors for fighting– at 3:56 of the third period, neither team scored a goal, nor committed another infraction.

    By the final horn, Boston had secured the win, 4-1, over San Jose and dominated shots on goal, 32-20.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in blocked shots (16-7) and face-off win% (58-42), while the Sharks finished the action ahead in giveaways (15-13) and hits (27-21).

    Boston finished Tuesday’s action 1/4 on the power play, while San Jose went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s finish off the month of February with a Thursday night matchup against the league leading, Tampa Bay Lightning. Boston then sets its sights on the month of March as their six-game homestand continues against the Devils on Saturday and the Carolina Hurricanes next Tuesday (March 5th).

    Next Thursday (March 7th), the Florida Panthers visit Boston, followed by the Ottawa Senators (March 9th), before the Bruins hit the road in Pittsburgh (March 10th) for their first road trip since the trade deadline.

  • Analysis: McQuaid’s a solid trade for Columbus

    Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen checked everything off his shopping list, both in the days leading up to and including the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline.

    Kekalainen got a number one center on Friday in Matt Duchene, he added a quality top-nine forward in Ryan Dzingel on Saturday, added depth in the crease with Keith Kinkaid early Monday morning, then completed the puzzle among current NHLers in a transaction with the New York Rangers on Monday afternoon.

    The Blue Jackets acquired Adam McQuaid from the Rangers in exchange for Julius Bergman, a 2019 4th round pick and a 2019 7th round pick.

    McQuaid, 32, was originally drafted in the 2nd round (55th overall) by Columbus in the 2005 NHL Draft, but was traded to the Boston Bruins on May 16, 2007.

    He went on to become a solid top-six defender with the Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, while remaining a stay-at-home, shot blocking machine.

    John Tortorella is going to like having him around in the defensive zone.

    For the first time since being drafted by the Blue Jackets, McQuaid will have a chance to suit up in Columbus red, white and blue.

    In 36 games for the Rangers this season, he has two goals and three assists (five points), with a plus-three rating and 33 penalty minutes.

    Hampered by injuries in his final season with Boston, McQuaid amassed 1-3–4 totals in 38 games with the Bruins in 2017-18 and has 15-56–71 totals in 498 career NHL games with New York and Boston.

    In 68 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, he has three goals and eight assists (11 points) along with a plus-13 rating and 30 penalty minutes.

    McQuaid scored the only goal in Boston’s series clinching sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Final and had four assists in the B’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship.

    He should slide in place of Scott Harrington or Dean Kukan down the stretch for Columbus and help bring some vital postseason experience, along with veteran leadership, to the Blue Jackets blue line.

    Bergman, 23, was previously acquired by Columbus from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 22nd as part of the Duchene trade and appeared in 33 American Hockey League games with the Belleville Senators this season prior to being assigned to the Cleveland Monsters (before being traded once again).

    The young defender had six assists with Belleville and has 16-51–67 totals in 223 career AHL games with the Worcester Sharks, San Jose Barracuda and Belleville.

    He was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft.

    With the addition of a 4th round and 7th round pick in this year’s draft, the Rangers now have ten picks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in June.

  • Analysis: Stone rocks Vegas offense

    Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee made the biggest splash at the annual NHL Trade Deadline, acquiring Mark Stone and Tobias Lindberg from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 2nd round pick (originally belonging to the Dallas Stars).

    In the grand scheme of things, Ottawa completes the circle of assets for Marc Methot, as the Golden Knights claimed the defender from the Senators in the 2017 Expansion Draft, then traded Methot to the Stars for Dylan Ferguson and a 2020 2nd round pick.

    Oh, also, the Sens got rid of their top three scorers in a span of three days leading up to and including the deadline day itself.

    But for Vegas, Stone, 26, joins the Golden Knights riding a career-high 28 goals and 34 assists (62 points) in 59 games played this season. He’s reached the 20-goal plateau in five consecutive seasons and had a career-high 42 assists last season, amassing 20-42–62 totals in 58 games.

    Short of Alex Ovechkin‘s ability to score almost 50 goals a season for the last decade (basically), Stone is perhaps the most consistent goal scorer– and he’s only just reaching the arch of his prime.

    As such, Vegas was quick to get Stone to agree to terms on a contract extension that he cannot technically sign until March 1st. The expected deal will be an eight-year contract worth $9.500 million per season, as first reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

    Stone has 123-188–311 totals in 366 career NHL games with Ottawa and five goals and eight assists (13 points) in 27 career postseason games. He was originally drafted by the Senators in the 6th round (178th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.

    He’ll immediately make an impact on the first line alongside Jonathan Marchessault and, pending-RFA, William Karlsson, while Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch continue to round-out Vegas’ top-six forwards.

    Should the Golden Knights start to peak at the right time, they’ll look to be as much of a force– if not better– than they were last season in their run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.

    Tobias Lindberg, meanwhile, rejoins the Golden Knights family after previously being acquired by Vegas– along with a 2018 6th round pick– in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Calvin Pickard on Oct. 6, 2017.

    The 23-year-old spent the entire 2017-18 season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL), but was later traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 23, 2018. On Dec. 5, 2018, Lindberg was once again on the move, this time being traded to the Senators.

    He has appeared in six career NHL games with the Maple Leafs during the 2015-16 season and recorded two assists in that span. He had 5-7–12 totals in 34 AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Belleville Senators this season.

    While Oscar Lindberg, 27, is a current NHL roster player in the deal, the biggest piece in return to the Senators is Brannstrom.

    The 19-year-old defender was drafted by the Golden Knights in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and recorded seven goals and 21 assists (28 points) in 41 games with the Wolves this season.

    He also had 2-2–4 totals in five preseason games for Vegas this season and most recently captained Team Sweden in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship to a perfect 4-0-0-0 preliminary round record, while leading all defenders in the tournament in scoring with four goals in five games.

    In the long run, Brannstrom might be the perfect replacement for Erik Karlsson (traded in the offseason to the San Jose Sharks) on Ottawa’s blue line as a puck moving, offensive minded, defender.

    The elder Lindberg, on the other hand, is in his sixth professional season, having recorded 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 35 games this season for the Golden Knights.

    In his career, Lindberg has 34-37–71 totals in 232 games with Vegas and the New York Rangers. He was claimed from the Rangers in the 2017 Expansion Draft by the Golden Knights and has three goals and two assists (five points) in 17 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

    He was originally drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes (now Arizona Coyotes) in the 2nd round (57th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.

    While Sens fans may be disappointed to see the last of their top scorers be dealt to a playoff contender, at least the return on the Stone deal was close to what it should’ve actually been compared to previous high-profile trades out of Ottawa.

    Though they really could’ve gotten at least another draft pick, if not a first round pick in this deal for someone of Stone’s caliber.

  • Analysis: Colorado’s brass shines with Brassard

    Monday afternoon, Colorado Avalanche General Manager Joe Sakic addressed a need in a deal with Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon.

    Sakic needed a third line center and he only needed to go down the hallway to find one. No, really, Colorado and Florida were facing each other Monday night, so the logistics of the trade were pretty simple.

    Colorado acquired Derick Brassard and a conditional 2020 6th round pick from Florida in exchange for a 2020 3rd round pick. If Brassard re-signs with the Avalanche, Colorado will not receive Florida’s 6th round pick in 2020.

    Brassard, 31, has ten goals and nine assists (19 points) in 50 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Panthers this season. He was acquired by Florida on Feb. 1st and have 1-3–4 totals in 10 games with the Panthers prior to being traded twice in the same season for the second year in-a-row.

    Originally drafted in the 1st round (6th overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2006 NHL Draft, Brassard has 172-275–447 totals in 766 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Penguins and Panthers.

    He has 23 goals and 36 assists (59 points) in 90 career Stanley Cup Playoff appearances and helped lead Canada with 11 points (five goals, six assists) to the gold medal at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

    Though being traded a bunch of times can get tiring, there’s always one thing that can be pulled away from it– you’re in demand.

    As long as there’s a GM out there that wants you on their team, that’s a good sign. Right now, Sakic wants Brassard on his team.

    He’ll fit in with Tyson Jost and Matt Calvert as an anchoring presence down the middle to provide some much needed depth in the Avs lineup that– should they make the postseason– might just get them into the Second Round at least.

    As for Florida, Tallon now owns two 3rd round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft. Should the Panthers figure things out in the offseason, that extra pick on hand might be just enough to attract a larger return at next season’s trade deadline.

    Of course, if Florida is content with their current plan– whatever that may be– or fails to bring in some big talent in the offseason, then stockpiling 2020 Draft picks isn’t a terrible idea.

    Next year’s draft looks like it’ll be deeper than this coming offseason’s draft class.

  • Analysis: Kinkaid paints light in Columbus’ crease

    Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen was active on Monday, first adding depth in the crease, having acquired goaltender, Keith Kinkaid, from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2022 5th round pick.

    Kinkaid, 29, has a 15-18-6 record, 3.66 goals against average and ,891 save percentage in 41 games played this season playing behind a lackluster Devils defense.

    Sergei Bobrovsky‘s 2.75 GAA and .908 SV% in 45 games played keeps him ahead of Kinkaid as the Blue Jackets starter, however Kinkaid provides some healthy competition for the role of the backup goaltender down the stretch as Joonas Korpisalo‘s 3.07 GAA and .896 SV% in 21 games played hasn’t been ideal.

    Kinkaid has a 64-55-17 record with a 2.90 GAA and .906 SV% in 151 career games with New Jersey since making his NHL debut in the 2012-13 season.

    He has a career-high three shutouts this season and led the United States to a bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, where he posted a 2.29 GAA and .912 SV% in nine games.

    It’s a low risk, high reward transaction for Columbus, as Kekalainen only gave up a 5th round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, despite ridding his organization of nearly every selection they’ll have in the 2019 Draft by Monday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

    No, seriously, the Blue Jackets have their own 3rd round pick and Calgary’s 7th round pick in this June’s Draft.

  • Analysis: Jets net key center for 2nd year in-a-row at deadline

    Last season, the Winnipeg Jets added Paul Stastny from the St. Louis Blues for their deep run into the 2018 Western Conference Finals.

    Though things came up short in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights– who would go on to sign Stastny in free agency– the Jets are ready to go at it again and push further.

    This season, Winnipeg has acquired Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers in exchange for Brendan Lemieux, a 2019 1st round pick and a conditional 2022 4th round pick.

    The Jets’ 2019 1st round pick in the trade is Top-3 lottery protected on the off chance Winnipeg skids off the runway to the postseason over the next month. If that happens, the Rangers will receive Winnipeg’s 2020 1st round pick instead.

    If the Jets win the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, then New York will receive Winnipeg’s 2022 4th round pick.

    Hayes, 26, is a native of Dorchester, Massachusetts and has 14 goals and 28 assists (42 points) in 51 games this season for the Rangers. Hs has 87-129–216 totals in 361 career games with New York and was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1st round (24th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.

    As with last season’s acquisition of Stastny, Hayes adds to the strength down the middle for Winnipeg’s top-six forwards, likely suiting up on the second line with Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers.

    Hayes is a pending-UFA at season’s end with a cap hit of $5.175 million.

    Lemieux, 22, has nine goals and two assists (11 points) in 44 games with the Jets this season and currently leads NHL rookies in penalty minutes with 64.

    Originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2nd round (31st overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Lemieux made his NHL debut with the Jets on Oct. 20, 2017 after previously being dealt to Winnipeg on Feb. 11, 2015 as part of the Sabres/Jets Tyler Myers–Evander Kane trade.

    In 53 career games, Lemieux has 10-2–12 totals with a plus-12 rating and 85 penalty minutes. He is a pending-RFA at the end of the season.

    New York currently has five picks in the first two rounds of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

  • Analysis: Sharks bolster Cup run odds, add Nyquist

    Early on Monday morning, while most people were asleep in their beds, comfortably under their covers, the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings completed a trade.

    Detroit sent Gustav Nyquist to the Sharks in exchange for a 2019 2nd round pick and a conditional 2020 3rd round pick.

    San Jose will sent the Red Wings the lower of the Sharks or Florida Panthers’ 2019 2nd round picks and the conditional 2020 3rd round pick can become a 2020 2nd round pick if the Sharks reach the 2019 Stanley Cup Final or if Nyquist re-signs this offseason.

    The Red Wings retained 30% of Nyquist’s salary ($1.425 million retained) in the transaction.

    Nyquist, 28, has 16 goals and 33 assists (49 points) with the Red Wings this season in 62 games played and 125-170–295 totals in 481 career NHL games with Detroit.

    He was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the 4th round (121st overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft and represented Sweden at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

    San Jose’s offense has been hot as of late (averaging 3.73 goals per fame in the month of February), but not nearly as hot as their defenders have been all season with Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson anchoring the blue line.

    Nyquist solidifies the Sharks’ top-nine forwards and will likely suit up alongside Joe Thornton and Kevin Labanc, while the Red Wings have bolstered their potential prospect pool with 14 selections in the first three rounds of the next three year’s of drafts (2019, 2020 and 2021).

    Detroit currently has one 1st round pick, three 2nd round picks and one 3rd round pick in the 2019 Draft, as well as one 1st round pick, two 2nd round picks and two 3rd round picks in the 2020 Draft.

  • 2019 NHL Trade Deadline Recap

    Below is a quick recap of all the trades that officially occurred on Monday prior to the National Hockey League’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

    Early Monday morning the San Jose Sharks acquired F Gustav Nyquist from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a 2019 2nd round pick and a conditional 2020 3rd round pick. The 2020 3rd round pick becomes a 2nd round pick if the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final or Nyquist re-signs.

    Detroit retained 30% of Nyquist’s salary in the transaction. MORE

    The Anaheim Ducks completed a minor swap with the Ottawa Senators exchanging F Brian Gibbons for D Patrick Sieloff.

    G Keith Kinkaid was traded by the New Jersey Devils to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2022 5th round pick. MORE

    The New York Rangers sent F Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for F Brendan Lemieux, a 2019 1st round pick and a conditional 2022 4th round pick.

    Winnipeg’s 2019 1st round pick in the trade is Top-3 lottery protected. MORE

    The Montreal Canadiens sent F Michael Chaput to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for F Jordan Weal.

    The Florida Panthers traded F Tomas Jurco to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations.

    F Cliff Pu was traded by the Carolina Hurricanes to the Florida Panthers for future considerations.

    F Derick Brassard was traded by the Florida Panthers along with a conditional 2020 6th round pick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2020 3rd round pick.

    If Brassard re-signs with the Avalanche, Colorado will not receive Florida’s 6th round pick. MORE

    The New York Rangers traded D Adam McQuaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for D Julius Bergman, a 2019 4th round pick and a 2019 7th round pick. MORE

    The Calgary Flames acquired D Oscar Fantenberg from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 2020 4th round pick.

    F Mikael Granlund was traded by the Minnesota Wild to the Nashville Predators in exchange for F Kevin Fiala.

    F Mark Stone and F Tobias Lindberg were traded by the Ottawa Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights for D Erik Brannstrom, F Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 2nd round pick (originally belonging to DAL).

    Stone has agreed on an eight-year extension with Vegas worth $9.500 million per season, but cannot sign it until March 1st. MORE

    The Nashville Predators acquired F Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for F Ryan Hartman and a conditional 2020 4th round draft pick.

    If Nashville wins one round of the playoffs, the pick becomes a 2020 3rd round pick.

    D Michael Del Zotto was traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2019 6th round draft pick in return to the Anaheim Ducks.

    F Marcus Johansson was shipped from the New Jersey Devils to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2019 2nd round pick and a 2020 4th round pick. New Jersey retained 40% of Johansson’s salary in the trade.

    The Winnipeg Jets traded a 2020 7th round pick to the Minnesota Wild for F Matt Hendricks.

    The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired D Erik Gudbranson from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for F Tanner Pearson.

    D Nathan Beaulieu was traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the Winnipeg Jets for a 6th round pick.

    Winnipeg also traded a 2021 7th round pick to the Florida Panthers for D Bogdan Kiselevich.

    The San Jose Sharks sent F Linus Karlsson to the Vancouver Canucks for F Jonathan Dahlen.

    In their sixth trade of the day, the Winnipeg Jets traded F Nic Petan to the Toronto Maple Leafs for F Par Lindholm.

    The Florida Panthers traded D Chris Wideman to the Pittsburgh Penguins for F Jean-Sebastien Dea.

    F Alex Broadhurst was traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.

  • Boston’s singing the Blues, lose 2-1 in shootout to St. Louis

    Two red-hot teams collided at Enterprise Center on Saturday afternoon, whereby the home team, St. Louis Blues topped the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in a shootout. The Blues have won 12 out of their last 13 games and the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak was snapped.

    Jordan Binnington (14-2-1 record, 1.70 goals against average, .934 save percentage in 19 games played) made 31 saves on 32 shots against (.969 SV%) in the shootout victory for St. Louis, while Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (20-8-5, 2.40 GAA, .920 SV% in 34 GP) turned aside 28 out of 29 shots faced (.966 SV%) in the loss.

    Binnington is the sixth goaltender in NHL history to earn wins in each of his first six-plus career regular season home starts (joining Martin Jones, 6-0-0 with the Los Angeles Kings from Dec. 3-21, 2013, Bob Froese, 6-0-0 with the Philadelphia Flyers from Jan. 8-27, 1983, Wayne Thomas, 7-0-0 with the Montreal Canadiens from Jan. 14-27, 1973, Ken Dryden, 8-0-0 with the Canadiens from March 14-April 3, 1971 and Frank McCool, 8-0-0 with the Toronto Maple Leafs from Oct. 28-Nov. 11, 1944).

    Boston’s seven-game winning streak was their longest stretch of consecutive victories since 2013-14 (12-0-0). The Bruins are now 9-0-2 in the month of February and finished their five-game Western Conference road trip, 4-0-1, earning nine out of a possible ten points in the standings.

    The B’s fell to 36-17-9 (81 points) on the season, but remain in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Blues improved to 33-23-5 (71 points) this year and remain 3rd in the Central Division.

    Charlie Coyle made his debut for the Bruins since being acquired on Wednesday from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional 2019 5th round pick and Ryan Donato.

    Coyle centered the third line as Bruce Cassidy inserted Peter Cehlarik to the left of Coyle and David Backes on his right. Cehlarik returned to the lineup for the first time after missing the last two games with a lower body injury and was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Thursday.

    Trent Frederic was reassigned to Providence in Cehlarik’s place after Cehlarik was originally sent down on Wednesday to accommodate the acquisition of Coyle’s cap hit.

    Cassidy left the rest of his lines the same, as Joakim Nordstrom joined John Moore and Steven Kampfer as the B’s healthy scratches. David Pastrnak (left thumb) remains out of the lineup, but is progressing well, according to Cassidy.

    Almost midway through the first period, Alex Steen (7) capitalized on a give-and-go off a Bruins turnover and fired a shot past Rask to give St. Louis the lead, 1-0.

    Oskar Sundqvist (12) had the only assist on Steen’s goal at 7:15 of the first period.

    Late in the opening frame, Colton Parayko slashed Jake DeBrusk and sent Boston onto their first power play of the afternoon at 18:16. The B’s skater advantage was cut short after Torey Krug tripped up Ivan Barbashev at 19:29.

    An abbreviated 4-on-4 scenario unfolded heading into the second period, whereby a short power play would commence for the Blues thereafter.

    Through one period of play, St. Louis led Boston, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 9-8, in shots on goal. The Bruins held the advantage in blocked shots (5-1) and hits (10-9), while the Blues led in takeaways (7-1), giveaways (2-0) and face-off win percentage (58-42).

    Boston was 0/1 on the power play entering the first intermission and St. Louis had yet to see any time on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Early in the middle frame, after killing off Krug’s minor, the Bruins caught the Blues behind the play as Krug dished a pass up-ice to Kevan Miller through the neutral zone.

    Miller found Chris Wagner (9) bolting down the right side in open ice and connected with the B’s winger on a tape-to-tape pass. Wagner promptly fired a shot past Binnington’s short side to tie the game, 1-1, at 5:12 of the second period.

    Miller (6) and Krug (37) notched the assists on Wagner’s third goal in his last seven shots.

    Moments later, Coyle was penalized for hooking St. Louis’ top star, Vladimir Tarasenko, at 7:28 of the second period. Boston killed off the penalty with ease as the Blues failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    Late in the second frame, Brad Marchand took a trip to the penalty box for holding Ryan O’Reilly and St. Louis went back on the power play at 15:32.

    The Blues did not convert on their third power play of the evening, but still fired four shots on goal.

    After 40 minutes of play, the score remained tied, 1-1, with the Bruins leading in shots on goal (19-16) and blocked shots (15-4). St. Louis held onto the lead in takeaways (12-4), giveaways (6-0), hits (16-14) and face-off win% (63-38).

    Boston was still 0/1 on the power play, while the Blues were 0/3 on the skater advantage heading into the second intermission.

    Though the game was still tied in the third period, only one event was noted on the scoresheet– a penalty against Boston at 11:57. Brandon Carlo received a two-minute minor for tripping Sammy Blais– the eventual shootout game-winning goal scorer.

    Through regulation, the Bruins led in shots on goal (30-23) and blocked shots (22-6), while the Blues led in takeaways (14-6), giveaways (10-1), hits (29-17) and face-off win% (54-46).

    St. Louis finished the game 0/4 on the power play, while Boston went 0/1 on the skater advantage. No penalties were called in the overtime period.

    Speaking of overtime, Cassidy started Sean Kuraly, Coyle and Charlie McAvoy, while Blues interim head coach, Craig Berube, sent out Jaden Schwartz, Tyler Bozak and Parayko to kick off the five-minute, 3-on-3, action.

    Cassidy soon was quickly rotating two defenders and one forward as the Bruins were trapped in their own zone, playing for a shootout. Rask made six saves in overtime, including a few heartbeat elevating stops on Tarasenko and gifted scorers for St. Louis.

    After overtime wasn’t enough to settle a, 1-1, game, things would be decided with a shootout.

    But first, a quick– final– review… Boston led in shots on goal (32-29) after 65 minutes of play and in blocked shots (23-6), while St. Louis led in giveaways (10-1), hits (30-17) and face-off win% (54-46).

    In the first round of the shootout, Bozak scored high, blocker side, on Rask after flying in with speed, then slowing himself down to snipe his shot.

    DeBrusk, on the other hand, was stopped by Binnington– in fitting fashion, after his five-game goal scoring streak was snapped once time expired in overtime.

    Tarasenko’s backhand shot went wide in the second round of the shootout, while Marchand straight-up missed the net with his own backhand.

    O’Reilly was stopped with the first shot of the third round, but Coyle scored after deking Binnington out of position and sliding the puck just past his outstretched leg pad to force the shootout into extra, sudden death, rounds.

    Steen, David Backes, Robert Thomas and Patrice Bergeron were all stopped by their opposing goaltender, while Blais roofed the puck into the twine in the sixth round after Rask sprawled to make a poke-check in desperation.

    With the game on his stick, Danton Heinen, had to score. Instead, he rushed his shot entering the zone and firing wide of the net to drop to 0-for-5 in his shootout career.

    St. Louis had won the shootout, 2-1, after six rounds and took home the extra point, as well as the final score, 2-1.

    For the fifth time in the last eight games for Boston, bonus hockey had been required. The Bruins fell to 2-3 in shootouts this season, while the Blues improved to 1-1.

    Boston fell to 12-2-4 when tied after two periods this season, but earned nine out of a possible ten points on their five-game road trip (4-0-1) as St. Louis has now won 12 out of their last 13 games.
    The Bruins return home with a 4-0-1 record on their five-game road trip and take on the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday and Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday to wrap up their schedule in the month of February.

  • Vegas Golden Knights 2018-19 Forecast Through 62 Games

    Coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, the Vegas Golden Knights (32-25-5, 69 points, 3rd in the Pacific Division) have 20 games remaining in the 2018-19 regular season.

    These aren’t your father’s Golden Knights, as production is down from their inaugural season in just their 2nd season of existence.

    Though Marc-Andre Fleury (29-18-5 record, 2.60 goals against average, .908 save percentage in 52 games played) remains Vegas’ starter on an almost nightly basis, backup goaltender, Malcolm Subban (3-6-0, 2.76 GAA, .912 SV% in 10 GP) has struggled to carry his own weight.

    Despite bringing in Paul Stastny via free agency and Max Pacioretty via trade, the Golden Knights haven’t been immune to the injury bug this season.

    Stastny and Pacioretty themselves have joined Reilly Smith and others throughout the lineup on the injured reserve or out of playing action for various points of the season.

    While the Pacific Division title might be out of reach for Vegas this season, a divisional spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs is all but assured as long as the floor doesn’t fallout from underneath Gerard Gallant and his players.

    Of note, the Arizona Coyotes are emerging once again with a late season push for the playoffs– and this time around, they’re doing it without their starting goaltender, Antti Raanta (out for the season due to injury).

    Plus the Vancouver Canucks are still in contention and, well, that’s about it, realistically among Pacific Division teams that still have a chance for the last divisional spot and/or a Western Conference wild card berth.

    Anyway, back to the Golden Knights.

    Here’s a look at the latest Vegas forecast– keeping in mind there are many variables that can and will effect the final outcome, such as injuries and/or being called up, assigned, traded, lucky or unlucky.

    This forecast is just an educated guess. It’s a glimpse of what could be or could’ve been by the end of the regular season.

    As always, my degree is in communication– not math– and hockey is naturally steeped in context and holistic unpredictability. Nothing can account for sheer puck luck, the odd bounce or a blown call.

    If a player reaches the expected outcome, they’ve met expectations. If said player exceeds the forecasted stats, they’ve exceeded expectations (naturally). Of course, if a player does not perform, then they did not live up to expectations.

    On a game-to-game basis, whatever’s on the scoresheet can indicate general trends that can be further broken down into an educated forecast.

    At best, it’s a guess. At worst, well, it doesn’t really matter– it’s not like Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee is reading this and making his roster decisions based on what’s here, right?

    If he is, I’d like a job, please. Thanks.

    Vegas Golden Knights Forecast Through 62 Games (20 Games Remaining)
    WordPress, when are you going to make the ”gallery” option again (and actually make it good like how it used to be)?

    Among forwards, Vegas’ consistent first line last season of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Smith hasn’t had as much consistent luck and skill this season.

    Though Smith has battled injury this season, Marchessault remains one of the Golden Knights most consistent performers expected to lead his team in goals (25) and points (54) with 25-29–54 expected totals.

    Now what about Karlsson?

    Good question, what about him? Things haven’t gone exactly as planned in terms of capitalizing on his breakout season last season with a new contract in the offseason and higher expectations for this season.

    Karlsson’s bridge, one-year, extension last summer coming off the backs of a 43-goal season has only managed 18 goals thus far– including four goals in the last 22 games for the Golden Knights.

    Given his current trend, Karlsson is expected to amass 21-23–44 totals. He’d be tied with Pacioretty for 2nd place in expected goals (21) and 3rd in expected points (44) on the roster, but nowhere near the emergent star in the making that he was last season.

    While he very well could bounce back– similar to Smith in nature, following a good-year, bad-year, good-year, bad-year pattern– the phrase “what have you done for me yesterday” won’t help him in his next contract negotiation this summer unless McPhee gives him the benefit of the doubt.

    Meanwhile, Alex Tuch is expected to finish the season with a career-high 20-33–53 expected totals.

    That’s comforting to hear for a team that needs to rely on secondary scoring in the midst of a recession in primary production.

    Tuch is expected to lead in assists (33), followed by Smith (30) and Marchessault (29), while Marchessault is destined to lead in points (54) over Tuch (53) and Karlsson (44).

    On defense, Vegas’ blue line will finish off the season being led by Shea Theodore (11-21–32 expected totals), followed by Colin Miller (30 expected points) and Nate Schmidt (25 expected points despite missing the first 20 games of the season while serving a suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug).

    In net, Fleury looks like he’s bound to break under the weight of all the minutes he’s been playing and will play this season. A 2.74 expected GAA and .909 expected SV% is not starting goaltender material, unless we’re talking about Sergei Bobrovsky with the Columbus Blue Jackets or something.

    But it’s not like Gallant can really count on his current backup to offset some of Fleury’s load. Subban’s expected 2.70 GAA and .912 SV% isn’t tremendous either.

    If anything, it’s an indication that McPhee could help bolster his team with the acquisition of an extra goaltender by the trade deadline.

    Someone like Ryan Miller, 38-years-old, could help steal some crucial points for the Golden Knights down the stretch if the San Jose Sharks aren’t already in the process of completing a trade for the goaltender with the Anaheim Ducks.

    Growing pains are a fact of life– especially in sports– and Vegas is going through puberty already in its 2nd season. This season’s been full of highs, lows and awkward phases that hopefully will end in a glow up.

    Otherwise we’ll all be looking back at this season shaking our heads at how it could pull off that much denim or something back in the day.