Down the Frozen River

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  • TRADE: Habs send Jerabek to Washington

    The Montreal Canadiens traded D Jakub Jerabek to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

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    Jerabek, 26, had one goal and three assists (four points) in 25 games with Montreal this season. He had one goal and ten assists (11 points) in 17 games with the Canadiens’s AHL affiliate, Laval Rocket this season as well. The 5’11”, 200-pound, native of Pilsen, Czech Republic signed as a free agent with the Canadiens on May 1, 2017.

    Washington Capitals LogoIn 308 games with Plzen HC in the Czech League, Jerabek had 16-83–99 totals. He also had 5-29–34 totals in 59 games with Podolsk Vityaz in the KHL.

    Poised to make a deep run (save your Second Round jokes for now, folks), Washington solidifies their defensive depth with this trade.

  • February 21 – Day 133 – Round four

    Six games on this Wednesday’s schedule might be a low number, but don’t misinterpret that as a bad night of action – there’s more than a few games to be seen!

    Like we have the last week or so, we begin our hockey day in PyeongChang at the Olympics. Canada vs. Finalnd and Sweden vs. Germany, the final two quarterfinal matchups in the men’s tournament, are scheduled to drop the puck at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time.

    Back in the NHL, it’s a typical light Wednesday schedule with only three tilts on the board. The action starts at 8 p.m. when Ottawa at Chicago (NHLN/SN/TVAS), but the next game – Dallas at Anaheim – isn’t slated to begin until 10 p.m. Finally, the league’s nightcap features Calgary at Vegas and gets underway at 10:30 p.m. All times Eastern.

    Back at the Olympics, there’s only one game being played and it’s a doozy: Team Canada is squaring off against Team USA in the women’s gold medal game, scheduled for 11:10 p.m. Eastern time.

    Of note in NHL action this evening, D Johnny Oduya is making his return to Chicago after spending five seasons with the Blackhawks. However, there’s nothing – not even what should be an excellent matchup between the Canadians and Finns in the men’s tournament – that can distract us from what is sure to be another excellent game between the powerhouses of the women’s game!

     

    Let’s talk stats before we even think about jumping into the arguably even more important narrative associated with this game.

    Having won Group A, 4-0-0-0 Canada enters this game as the top-seeded team in the women’s Olympic tournament even though it is currently second in the IIHF rankings behind the USA.

    The reason for the Canadians’ success is easy to see. Their four goals per game and .5 goals against per game are both the best of any team in the tournament, and the 25 shots against they allow per game is fourth-best.

    There have been few lines in the women’s tournament as dominant as Team Canada’s top-three forwards. Of those, none have shined brighter than F Melodie Daoust, who’s posted incredible 3-3-6 totals in only four games played. She’s joined by F Meghan Agosta (2-2-4) and F Marie-Philip Poulin (2-3-5) on the line, making them a dangerous threat to score on every shift they take.

    F Rebecca Johnston has also been impressive from the second line with her 3-2-5 totals, but where she really earns her roster spot is on the power play. Two of her three goals have been struck while the Canadians have an extra skater, and she accounts for half of her team’s power play goals.

    As mentioned before, Canada’s defense has been only average in this Olympic tournament, but average is all Head Coach Laura Schuler needs when she has not one… not two… but three stellar goaltenders at her disposal. Ann-Renee Desbiens, Genevieve Lacasse and Shannon Szabados have all been tremendous when they’ve taken to the crease, as they’ve combined to allow only two goals in four showings (Desbiens and Szabados both have one shutout apiece) with save percentages that are all above 97 percent.

    Considering she was in net for the elimination game against the OAR in the semifinals, it would seem likely Szabados will get the nod tonight with Lacasse as her backup, but I’m under the impression Canada could find success with any of these three commanding the crease.

    If Canada is in the red corner, 3-0-0-1 Team USA is in the blue. Having counted the days since February 20, 2014 (more on that in a moment), the Americans are more than excited to play this game, and they have just the strengths to win this game.

    The Canadians may be able to claim the best offense and goals-against, but Team USA is right behind them in the rankings. America boasts scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game, led in large part by the incredible efforts of second-liner F Dani Cameranesi, who leads the team with her 3-2-5 totals in four showings. Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson has also been exemplary, averaging a point per game with her 3-1-4 marks from the third line.

    While the offense is good, the Ice Yanks’ defense is even better. Having allowed only 18.5 shots against per game, Team USA’s defense tops all teams at the Olympics. That’s made life all too easy for G Maddie Rooney, who’s posted a solid .951 save percentage for a 1.01 GAA in three games. Pair her effort with the defense, and Team USA’s .75 goals against-per-game is second-best in PyeongChang.

    As mentioned before, the stats are only half the story in this game as the rivalry between these two nations is easily the world’s fiercest and most competitive in the women’s game.

    Looking back at recent results of the world’s biggest tournaments, the Americans should be the clear favorites to win the gold medal. They’ve won four-consecutive IIHF World Championships (2013, 2015-’17) and three-consecutive Four Nations Cups (2015-’17).

    However, that success has not extended to the Olympic Games, and it’s a curse that extends way back to 2002. After winning the inaugural gold in women’s ice hockey in 1998, Team USA has had to settle for three silvers (including the last two in 2010 and 2014) and a 2006 bronze.

    Well, curse is the right word only if you’re from the United States. For one team to win all those World Championships and Four Nations Cups, another team has to lose.

    Enter Canada, the four-time runners-up at the IIHF World Championships (2013, 2015-’17) and three-time runners-up at the Four Nations Cup (2015-’17). While those results are undoubtedly disappointing, the Canadians will gladly take those lumps if it prepared them to win their fifth-consecutive Olympic gold.

    Team Canada has dominated Olympic competition over the past 20 years. In addition to winning four-consecutive gold medals (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), Canada also took silver in the inaugural 1998 competition. That means this is Canada’s sixth-consecutive appearance in the gold medal game, a streak better than most teams’ medal counts in this tournament.

    The Olympic Rings are on the ice tonight, but does this mean it’s going to be an easy victory for Team Canada? Hardly so, as they – just like Team USA will have to do to win – will have to earn every inch of the ice in what should be an incredibly competitive match.

    Just take into account the preview to this game that we witnessed only a week ago. Behind an incredible 44-for-45 save effort (.978 save percentage) from Lacasse, Team Canada was able to hold on to a 2-1 victory. Both teams showed great resilience in that game to register one even-strength goal apiece, but it was D Megan Keller’s interference penalty 7:18 into the second period that ultimately cost the Americans the victory, as Agosta (F Natalie Spooner and F Brianne Jenner) was able to turn the resulting power play into a goal 1:30 later.

    Of course, maybe the even more important preview might have occurred four years ago (almost to the day) in the Sochi gold medal game. With goals from F Meghan Duggan and F Alexandra Carpenter, the Americans had a 2-0 advantage with five minutes separating them from the championship.

    However, the Canadians are never eliminated until the fat lady sings. Jenner began the comeback with 3:26 remaining in regulation, setting the score at 2-1.

    That’s okay, right? Team USA still has a one-goal lead and is inches from the finish line! In fact, the defense and G Jessie Vetter were keeping Canada at bay, holding on to that lead with only a minute until the final horn…

    And then it happened. With Szabados pulled for the extra attacker, Poulin leveled the game with only 55 ticks left on the clock, setting up an overtime period that lasted 8:10 before Poulin would score again to clinch her second Olympic gold in as many tries.

    It goes without saying, but Team USA cannot afford another collapse like that.

    Now comes the tough job of picking the winner of this game. In case it wasn’t brutally apparent, I certainly have my rooting interests in this game and desperately want to see the Americans succeed. However, having seen Team Canada already win Group A and knowing the Americans’ history at the Olympics, I know this will be a very difficult game to win.

    If the Americans are going to win this game, they’re going to need their defense to continue to play lights out like it has all tournament, and they also just might need a little bit of luck to beat Szabados. It’s certainly possible for that to happen, but Canada’s success at this tournament year after year (well, four years after four years) will leave me doubting until the clock officially reaches 0:00.

  • TRADE: Toronto flips Fehr to San Jose for a draft pick

    A minor move could pay off for the San Jose Sharks after they acquired F Eric Fehr from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2020 7th round pick on Tuesday.

    San Jose has been looking for a fourth line center all season and they just might have gotten their man.

    UnknownFehr, 32, has 17-11–28 totals in 34 games with the San Diego Gulls (AHL) this season. He has two penalty minutes in four NHL games with Toronto in 2017-18.

    A native of Winkler, Manitoba, the 6’4″, 208-pound center has 103 goals and 99 assists (202 points) in 566 career NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals.

    He won a Stanley Cup championship with Pittsburgh in 2016 and has eight goals and two assists (ten points) in 60 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. Fehr was originally drafted by Washington in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

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    Toronto now has eight picks in the 2020 draft as a result of this trade.

    That might seem irrelevant now, but rest assured, someone’s going to have to remember the number of draft picks each team has for something in 2020.

  • TRADE: Bruins acquire Holden from Rangers

    It’s not the left-shot defenseman many Bruins fans had been hoping to acquire by the NHL’s Trade Deadline on February 26th, but it’s a defenseman nonetheless.

    The Boston Bruins traded D Rob O’Gara and a 2018 3rd round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for D Nick Holden on Tuesday.

    Unknown-7Holden, 30, recorded three goals and nine assists (12 points) in 55 games with the Rangers this season. He established career highs in goals (11), assists (23) and points (34) in his first season with New York (last season) in 80 games played. As well, Holden had two goals and two assists in 11 postseason games.

    The St. Albert, Alberta native was previously acquired by the Rangers in exchange for a 4th round pick (Petr Kvaca) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in a deal with the Colorado Avalanche on June 26, 2016. He was originally signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 28, 2008 and has appeared in 356 career NHL games– amassing 35-72–107 totals with the Rangers, Avalanche and Blue Jackets.

    At 6’4″, 214-pounds, Holden will more than likely slide into a bottom-pair defensive role for Boston as they continue their march down the stretch towards the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Holden will be a healthy scratch until Saturday as Boston is in Edmonton for a Tuesday night tilt.

    downloadO’Gara, 24, has yet to record his first career NHL goal in 11 career NHL games (all with Boston). In 43 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL) this season, O’Gara had two goals and six assists (eight points) and a plus-five rating.

    A native of Massapequa, N.Y., the 6’4″, 207-pound blue liner was selected by the Bruins in the 5th round (151st overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and completed a four-year collegiate career at Yale University from 2012-16. He is the only defenseman in Yale history to be a three-time winner of the John Poinier Award as the team’s Best Defenseman.

    O’Gara made his NHL debut with the Bruins on October 13, 2016 at Columbus.

    As a result of the trade, the Rangers now have seven picks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

  • Merkle’s Weekly Bumblings: Week 19

    Skater of the Week: Nico Hischier

    Boy, what a devil of a week for this kid, huh? HUH? (not even crickets chirp for this pun)

    In four games, the 19-year-old centerman put up four goals (one in each game) and three assists for seven points, and is currently riding a five-game point streak overall. A +8 through the first three games was marred slightly by a -2 in the final game of the week, but any coach would gladly take a +6 week for any of his players. Perhaps the best stat in all of this, though, is Hischier’s shooting percentage throughout the four-game goal streak. In those four games, Hischier has only fired seven total shots at the net, leaving him with a ridiculous .57 shooting percentage.

    With 39 points in 59 games, the league’s most recent first-overall pick is having himself a very solid year. With his Devils entrenched in the knock-down, drag-out dogfight that is the Metropolitan playoff race, he’ll need to continue his strong play to help New Jersey go from the basement to the playoffs.

    Tendy of the Week: Antti Raanta

    The Arizona Coyotes have won four consecutive games. This is not a drill.

    For the first time since January of 2016, the ‘Yotes have strung together four straight, and Raanta is arguably the entire reason for it. In three starts and one relief appearance throughout the week, Raanta managed to string together a 3-0-0 record with a .976 save percentage and 0.91 GAA. The Finnish netminder started the week stopping 37-of-38 against Chicago, before stopping all 12 shots he faced against San Jose, turned aside 34-of-36 attempts by Montreal, and capped the week with a 40-save blanking of Edmonton.

    Obviously Arizona is in no position to even entertain the idea of a playoff run, but they can at least have some confidence in the performance of Raanta this year. He currently holds a .924 save percentage and 2.45 GAA on the season, and is two wins under .500 on a very bad team.

    Game of the Week: New Jersey Devils 5 @ Philadelphia Flyers 4 (SO), Tuesday February 13th, 2018

    Who would have guessed that two bitter rivals fighting for position in the division standings would produce a fun game?

    71 shots and 51 hits in a game that saw no major penalties looks a lot like a playoff stat line. Just good, hard hockey.

    Things would get rolling shortly into the opening frame, as Claude Giroux fed a speeding Travis Konecny with a beautiful backhand stretch pass, allowing Konecny to steam past Will Butcher across the New Jersey blueline before firing a beautiful wrister past the blocker of Keith Kinkaid and putting the Flyers up 1-0 just 1:54 into the game.

    The rest of the first and first few minutes of the second would pass scoreless, due in part to solid netminding, and arguably moreso to a symphony of goalposts. But 4:06 into the second the Devils finally knotted the scored, as Taylor Hall streaked down the left wing side and found just enough daylight between Michal Neuvirth and the post to squeak in the 1-1 tally. Hall would get absolutely buried by Radko Gudas just as the puck was finding its way into the net, but the hit was clean and Hall shoo’d away the tweetie birds in short order and looked none the worse for wear. Just 43 seconds later the Flyers would reestablish their lead as Michael Raffl took an indirect pass off the end boards from Andrew MacDonald and fed a turnaround pass to Scott Laughton in the slot, who managed to get just enough of it to get it past the pad of Kinkaid and across the goal line. Then about six minutes later a Radko Gudas point shot would redirect off of a New Jersey stick past Kinkaid to put the Flyers up 3-1, before John Moore would answer at the 13:17 mark with a bomb from the point that blurred past the glove of Neuvirth and drew the Devils back within one. Just under three minutes later it would be Philly captain Claude Giroux firing home a power-play goal from the left circle, but just 10 seconds later Nico Hischier would again cut the lead to one heading into the third.

    Neuvirth and co. held the fort for nearly the entire third period, but a jam play in front would create a loose puck for a circling Taylor Hall who would pounce and send the game to overtime. The extra frame saw a pair of dazzling glove stops (Neuvirth on Hall just seconds in, and Kinkaid on a Voracek redirect with just over a minute remaining), but no more pucks would find twine until Drew Stafford continued his shootout mastery in the second round of the skills competition, and a Kinkaid stop on Voracek would end the game and give the Devils the victory.

    News, Notes, & Nonsense:

    Four ‘Blackhawks fans’ (I use the term loosely, as no one I’ve ever encountered that roots for the Hawks deserves to be lumped in with these lowlifes) were booted from the arena and later issued a permanent ban by the organization for shouting racial taunts at Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly as he was serving a penalty. Personally, I think they should have been invited into the penalty box with DSP as part of their punishment, but that’s just my opinion.

    Speaking of the Blackhawks and Capitals, the two teams made a deal that sees defenseman Michal Kempny head to D.C., while a third round pick finds its way back to the Windy City, likely to be turned into a superstar player because Stan Bowman is a wizard.

    Also on the trade front are rumors of Petr Mrazek being dealt to Philadelphia, who are currently relying upon third-stringer Alex Lyon after injuries to Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth. As someone who owned Mrazek on their fantasy team at one point this season, I feel I am qualified to ask the Flyers why in the name of all that is holy they would want to do such a thing.

    Editor’s note: Pete’s crystal ball was on point Monday night. Mrazek was shipped to Philadelphia in return for two draft picks: a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018 and a conditional third-round pick in 2019. Detroit retained half of the goaltender’s salary. Read our recap here.

    Nick Foligno is out for what looks to be a couple of weeks, and I’m not crying, you’re crying.

    The Olympic men’s hockey tournament has been even weirder than we could have predicted, but after an early hiccup it looks like the Artists Formerly Known as Russia are set to steamroll everything in their path just as it appeared they should on paper.

    Barry Trotz became just the fifth coach in league history to coach 1,500 games. Don’t let his ‘angry Russian mob boss’ looks fool you, Trotz is one of the nicest humans I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, and I’d like to extend a sincere congratulations to him.

    Dion Phaneuf and Marian Gaborik changed places, in a move that would have been landscape-shifting in the NHL in about 2008. Phaneuf did score in his first game as a King, because the hockey gods are just having all sorts of fun at Ottawa’s expense this year.

     

    It’s looking more and more likely (depending on who you ask, anyway) that we could see Erik Karlsson dealt at the deadline. I’m not sure what sort of return that would yield, but considering some believe Jack Johnson is worth a first round pick, I’d have to assume that the Sens would legally own the first-born child of the other involved GM.

  • February 20 – Day 132 – Bronze OAR fourth for the Finns?

    Tuesdays are usually chock full of action, and that’s definitely true today with the Olympics still in full swing. In total, there’s 14 tilts eligible for the distinct honor of being named DtFR’s Game of the Day.

    We start with the Olympics. The rest of the men’s quarterfinals are slated to be played this morning at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time. Finland squares off against host South Korea for a chance to  play Canada, and Sweden awaits the winner of Switzerland vs. Germany.

    In NHL action, there’s nine games to be played this fine evening, starting with four (Florida at Toronto, Columbus at New Jersey, Montréal at Philadelphia [RDS/TSN2] and Tampa Bay at Washington [TVAS]) at 7 p.m. and Nashville at Detroit half an hour later. Next up are two puck drops scheduled for 8 p.m. (San Jose at St. Louis and Los Angeles at Winnipeg), with Boston at Edmonton waiting an hour before getting underway. Finally, Colorado at Vancouver completes the night’s action at 10 p.m. All times Eastern.

    But wait, there’s still more hockey on today’s schedule, as there’s three games yet to be played in PyeongChang. The Czech Republic will play Team USA at 10:10 p.m. in the men’s quarterfinals, followed by the OAR vs. the winner of last night’s Slovenia-Norway match at 2:40 a.m. Also at 2:40 a.m. is the women’s bronze medal game between Finland and the OAR. All times Eastern.

    Beyond the Olympic games – all of which are important – I’m most drawn to the activity in Missouri due to the Blues and Sharks being tied at 72 points apiece. However, which game do we ultimately go with?

    Since medals are being handed out in the wee hours of the morning, it’s hard to ignore the Olympics. Let’s head over to Kwandong Hockey Centre to see how this game goes down!

     

    Before we get underway, it should be pointed out that all stats were collected before the fifth-place game between Switzerland and Japan. The potential for either team to fall above or behind Finland and/or the OAR in a given statistic is slim, but still mathematically possible.

    By simply looking at statistics, the loser of this game seems to be abundantly clear. The Olympic Athletes from Russia had a terrible group stage, losing all three games in Group A with a combined goal-differential of -14 (eclipsed only by Korea’s -19 in its opening three tilts). While the OAR did manage to upset Switzerland 6-2 in the quarterfinals, they were swiftly knocked out of gold medal contention in the semifinals by losing a 5-0 to the Canadians.

    The OAR rank seventh out of eight teams in the three statistics I consider most important in determining the quality of a team: goals per game, goals against per game and shots against per game.

    Offensively, Большая красная машина – The Big Red Machine – has averaged only 1.4 goals per game. They have only one weapon of any real significance in F Anna Shokhina, as she’s scored three of the OAR’s seven goals en route to 3-2-5 totals for the tournament.

    Make sure you read that correctly: Shokhina has five points, while the OAR have only seven goals to their credit for the entire tournament. To keep a long story short, the OAR are effectively helpless when she’s not on the ice.

    Allowing 40.2 shots against per game, the defense has been no better than the offense in The Big Red Machine’s first five games. That’s made life exceedingly difficult for G Nadezhda Morozova, and she may have stolen the only game she could against the Swiss. Morozova has posted a measly .889 save percentage for the tournament, which doesn’t pair well with her 3.98 GAA. Those defensive efforts combine for the OAR allowing 4.4 goals against per game.

    Meanwhile, Finland has simply fallen victim to the fate that befalls almost every national women’s hockey team in the world during the Olympics: it’s not from North America. With the exception of games against the United States and Canada, the Naisleijonat – Lady Lions – have earned two victories in two tries.

    However, in tournaments with only eight teams, squaring off against the two best squads in the world is unavoidable, hence the reason Finland finds itself playing only for bronze.

    The Finns’ biggest strength is almost certainly their attack, as the 2.8 goals they average per game is the fifth-best of all eight teams at the Olympics. The Lady Lions’ brightest star has been first-liner F Riikka Valila with her 4-1-5 totals, but linemate F Michelle Karvinen has also been stellar with her 3-2-5 marks. Both have averaged a point-per-game this tournament and show no signs of slowing down.

    Naisleijonat isn’t quite as spectacular on the defensive end having allowed a third-worst 31.6 shots against per game, but they’ve been more than bailed out by the solid play of G Noora Raty. She’s posted a .911 save percentage in her 295:25 of action, good enough for a 2.84 GAA. As such, Finland allows an average of only 2.8 goals against per game.

    It was only six days ago that these teams last saw each other in Group A play, and it’s a tilt the OAR would much rather forget. Led by a dominant two-goal performance by Karvinen, Finland easily handled the OAR to a 5-1 victory.

    Of course, that game counted only for seeding. With hardware on the line and a victory against Switzerland under their belt, I expect a much better showing from the OAR.

    However, don’t misread that and think I’m picking the OAR to win this game. Finland is far and away the superior team in this match, and they look to be an almost certain lock for their third Olympic bronze medal.

    Team USA turned on the jets in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, as the Americans beat Slovakia 5-1 at Gangneung Hockey Centre in the qualification round of the men’s Olympic tournament to advance to a quarterfinal matchup against the Czech Republic.

    Team USA was the first to get on the board, but they didn’t score until the 1:36 mark of the second period. F Troy Terry (a fifth-round pick by the Ducks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft) drove through the center of the zone for a solid scoring opportunity, but he did too much and slid his backhanded shot past the goal post and into the boards. The loose puck bounced back above the goal line, eventually ending up on Bruins prospect F Ryan Donato’s (D Matt Gilroy and Terry) stick for him to beat G Jan Laco to the far post.

    Arguably the biggest event of the game occurred only 26 seconds later. F Ladislav Nagy ended up in G Ryan Zapolski’s crease, making contact leaving Zapolski with an injury to his left knee. Before play was stopped, another D Michal Cajkovsky hit Donato in the head with his shoulder, drawing blood. Much to backup G Brandon Maxwell’s chagrin, neither player’s ailments took them out of action. However, Cajkovsky did earn himself a 25-minute match penalty, removing him from play.

    That whole sequence left Team USA with a five-on-three advantage, which they converted into a goal only 17 seconds later. Doing his best W Alex Ovechkin impression, D James Wisniewski (Terry) one-timed a slap shot from the left face-off circle to beat Laco for what proved to be the game-winning goal. F Mark Arcobello set the score at 3-0 with 6:30 remaining in the frame by flipping a snap shot past Laco’s glove.

    Slovakia finally found a goal with 3:06 remaining in the second. with  F Jordan Greenway (a second-round pick by the Wild in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft) in the penalty box for slashing and F Tomas Surovy acting as a screen, D Peter Ceresnak (D Dominik Granak and Nagy) ripped a slap shot from the blue line to pull the Slovaks back within a 3-1 deficit.

    A little bit of tic-tac-goal is what led to Team USA’s fourth goal of the game, probably the prettiest tally I’ve seen at this tournament. F Broc Little slid a one-touch pass right across Laco’s crease, setting up F Garrett Roe (Little and F Brian O’Neill) to elevate his shot over the netminder’s right pad. To keep with tradition of scoring two goals against Slovakia, Donato (Wisniewski) scored the Americans’ last goal, setting the 5-1 final score and locking up a date with the Czechs.

    Zapolski earned the victory after saving 22-of-23 shots faced (.957 save percentage), leaving the loss to Laco, who saved 28-of-33 (.848).

    That’s four-straight wins by teams officially designated the road team at the Olympics in the DtFR Game of the Day series. As such, the visitors have pulled within 18 points of the 70-45-17 hosts.

  • TRADE: Flyers add depth in net, acquire Mrazek from Red Wings

    After losing both Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth to injury, the Philadelphia Flyers were looking to do something to help them down the stretch.

    On Monday night, the Flyers acquired G Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a conditional 4th round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional 3rd round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Detroit retained 50 percent of Mrazek’s salary in the trade.

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    The conditions on the picks involved are as follows:

    If Philadelphia makes the playoffs and Mrazek wins five games for the Flyers in the regular season, then the 4th round pick in 2018 becomes a 3rd round pick. If the Flyers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and Mrazek wins six playoff games, the 3rd round pick becomes a 2nd round pick.

    If Philadelphia re-signs him, Detroit receives a 2019 3rd round pick from the Flyers.

    Or as TSN’s Bob McKenzie so wonderfully put it after reporting the conditions on the draft picks involved:

    download-1Mrazek, 26, had an 8-7-3 record in 22 appearances with the Red Wings this season for a 2.89 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

    He spent the last two seasons playing in the majority of games for Detroit after unseating current starting goaltender for the Red Wings, Jimmy Howard, from the number one spot in goal and had a career best 2.33 GAA and .921 SV% (in at least 10 games played) in 54 games played in 2015-16.

    The native of Ostrava, Czech Republic is back in a backup goaltender role after amassing a career worst 3.04 GAA and .901 SV% in 50 GP last season for the rebuilding Red Wings. In 150 career NHL games, he has a 72-58-20 record with a career GAA of 2.60 and .912 SV%.

    He won a 2013 Calder Cup championship with Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins and appeared in three career Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2016 amassing a 1.36 GAA and a .945 SV%.

    Mrazek was drafted by Detroit in the 5th round (141st overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and is a pending-RFA this July.

    This trade comes as no surprise for the Flyers as they look to maintain momentum down the stretch and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with both Elliott and Neuvirth injured and out of commission.

    Since Detroit retained 50% of Mrazek’s salary, the goaltender will only carry a $2.000 million cap hit for Philadelphia through the end of the season.

    The Red Wings are expected to move forward with Jared Coreau as their backup, while the Flyers look to rely on Mrazek and Alex Lyon to hold the fort down until Neuvirth and Elliott recover.

  • Why Jackets Fans Need to Step Off the Ledge

    This has definitely not been the season that Jackets fans had hoped for in September or even the season it seemed like it would be in late October.  Sitting outside of a playoff spot with a week to go before the trade deadline is less than ideal.  With the Devils now seven points ahead of the Jackets with 23 games left, the only spot left for them in the playoffs may be the eighth seed and a first round matchup against Tampa Bay, a team they have struggled mightily against this year.

    Even if they went on a tear and somehow got the sixth or seventh seed, they would likely find themselves playing the Penguins or Capitals in round one, two other teams they have not played particularly well against.  The loss yesterday to Pittsburgh was not encouraging–a team built around speed looked slow and lethargic compared to the Pens (even more amazing when you consider the Jackets are the younger team) and the Jackets’ Vezina-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky again struggled to solve the Penguins.

    Many fans are frustrated.  They want results and are tired of waiting.  I certainly understand this, but I also think that perspective is needed and last year’s unexpected season probably had us thinking the team was closer than it was just as the prior season’s disastrous performance had us thinking the team was further away that it actually was.

    I’m going to take you back in time to April of 2016 at the end of that disastrous season when I wrote the following on another site:

    So, a Jackets team that is capable of winning the Cup has those basic ingredients–an elite defenseman, an elite center, solid goaltending and forward depth.  The Jackets do not possess all of these things, clearly and you could argue that the 2015-16 Jackets had none of those things.  So, what is a reasonable timeline to get to the destination?

    I am going to argue that the Jackets are closer than you think, but that the timeframe to get there is longer than you want it to be.  I believe this team can compete for a Cup in three years.

    Three years.  This is year two.  Yes, it seems that the team has taken one step forward and one step back since then, but things are still on schedule.

    Let’s start by looking at elite defensemen.  Zach Werenski and Seth Jones is as good of a pair as any in the NHL.  In 2016, this was still a question mark because we hadn’t seen Werenski.  This has been solved.  Beyond the top pair, there are some issues that will need to be addressed, but this could be resolved through players in the pipeline.  Markus Nutivaara has really shown his worth this season.  Gabriel Carlsson is still in Cleveland.  Vladislav Gavrikov will spend another year in the KHL–shout out to the NHL for deciding not to go to the Olympics!  Before he was hobbled with injuries, Ryan Murray was solid.  Beyond Jones, the right side is the weakness.  Savard has had a horrible year.  David Savard will get another chance next year likely paired with Nutivaara or Carlsson as Jack Johnson will not be back.  Maybe a new partner will reinvigorate him.  If not, one of the lefties will need to take that spot.  Either way, keep in mind that Jones and Werenski will play monster minutes in any future playoff run and the bottom pair will play minimal minutes.  They just need to get a top-four that works consistently.

    Pierre-Luc Dubois has exceeded expectations.  His even-strength CF% within 1 is second only to Artemi Panarin for Jackets’ regulars (Zac Dalpe is the statistical anomaly at #1 due to small sample size).  His size, speed and willingness to drive to the net could make him a player in the mold of Ryan Getzlaf.  He’s the center the franchise has always needed.  There may be growing pains, but the potential is there and the work ethic also seems to be there.

    Forward depth.  Let’s start with the positive.  The Jackets have a wealth of options on the right side.  Josh Anderson, Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand can all be scoring threats and they do it in their own unique ways.  Anderson’s size and speed make him a tough guy to defend.  Atkinson also possesses speed, but has more agility and creativity.  Bjorkstrand is a sniper who is also become a solid defender despite his size.  Meanwhile, Vitaly Abramov has picked up right where he left off last season in the QMJHL.  It is unclear if he’ll make the team next year or spend a year in Cleveland, but Abramov has a high upside.

    On the left side, Panarin has been everything he was billed to be, but he has also impressed me with his play away from the puck more than I expected.  Matt Calvert always gives 100 percent.  Other than those two, this has been part of the team’s struggles this season.  Before yesterday’s injury, Nick Foligno has not looked as quick as he has when the team is at its best.

    But, there is some good news.  For one, I don’t think Sonny Milano has been as bad as some would have you believe and I think maybe Torts needs to relax with the kid just a bit and find line mates who can cover for his deficiencies as he works on them.  This team was at its best this year when Milano was in the lineup.   The Jackets either need to give Milano another chance at second line left wing or they need to find someone else to fill that role so that Foligno can slot in on the third line.

    The Jackets have center depth, it just seems that, outside of Dubois, every center is slotted about 1 spot above where they should be.  Alexander Wennberg‘s 2016-17 performance was inflated by unsustainable power play production.  Once Wennberg stopped producing on power play (January of last year), his overall performance trailed off and frankly, it hasn’t rebounded.  I’ll probably write about this at more length, but despite what you may have read elsewhere, his struggles are real.  The Jackets options are (1) upgrade Wennberg or (2) fix the problem on the second line left wing and hope that improves Wennberg’s production.  Given that Wennberg is never going to produce his own goals and the Jackets’ competition has Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, the first route may be the better route, but it is also the more expensive route.

    The other issue may be Brandon Dubinsky.  No, I’m not all that concerned that he has “career-threatening issues” as some have reported.  I’m more concerned that the reporting has created a rift and lead him to want out.  Stan Fischler suggested this on a recent broadcast. Trying to move Dubinsky would be a real challenge.  Beyond that, Dubi playing on the third (or fourth) line is exactly the sort of depth we need.  The team may need to rebuild this relationship and hopefully certain journalists can avoid fanning the flames further.

    In the pipeline and under the radar is Kevin Stenlund, who has been playing in Europe. Stenlund could challenge Lukas Sedlak next year for a roster spot or play a season in Cleveland with Abramov, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for both players.

    While it has been a disappointing season in Cleveland as well, there are still some guys there who could provide the Jackets some needed depth.  Paul Bittner, Calvin Thurkauf and Tyler Motte are still young and could be nice additions to the bottom six.

    The drags on the Jackets speed game and possession statistics may soon be moved.  Johnson has reportedly demanded a trade, and I’d like to personally thank him for that.  If reports are true that he could yield a first round pick (or more), that is very good news for the Jackets.  On a sadder note, Boone Jenner is probably in need of a change of scenery.  He doesn’t seem to mesh well with what the Jackets are attempting to do.  He could also still yield a valuable asset in return and could create some cap space for the offseason to address some of the issues raised above and to start dealing with extensions for key players like Panarin and Werenski.

    Which leaves us with goaltending.  While I believe Joonas Korpisalo is an improvement over his predecessor, there remains a $9 million (plus?) question with respect to Bobrovsky after next year.  That’s a conservative estimate of what the two-time Vezina winner might seek on his next contract.  At 30-years-old, he’s also likely going to be seeking a six-eight year deal.  That is a large commitment to a player who has yet to come up big when it matters most.  The Rangers and Canadiens have two great goaltenders making $8.5 million and $10.5 million next year.  They are also both out of the playoffs this year with the Rangers having sent a letter to fans breaking it to them gently that they will be deadline sellers.

    There is no doubt that the Jackets would be even worse without Bob, but the question has to be asked if the team can afford to tie up that much cap space in one player.  If not, this is the offseason they have to start dealing with the transition.  Does that mean buying out Elvis Merzlikins’ contract with Lugano so the 23-year-old can come over to North America next year?  Does that mean making a deal to acquire a goaltender in case negotiations with Bob don’t work out?  Does that mean getting Korpisalo more playing time next year despite the theory that Bob doesn’t do well on long rest?  Or, does it mean doing the unthinkable–trading Bobrovsky and acquiring a replacement at a lower cap hit?  It is a difficult situation and one that could define the franchise going forward.

    While it would hurt to miss the playoffs, I would not be bothered by getting the top 10 pick I fully expected the team to get last year.  That’s another asset that can either be flipped for immediate help or, the better option in my view, kept to sustain organizational depth into the future.

    Regardless, the Jackets are closer now than they were two years ago, and still on schedule.  They have the center they needed.  They have the defensemen they needed.  And, for now, they have an elite goaltender though they need to make a decision about his future.  They also have players who can yield them assets at the deadline (and, in Jenner’s case, even at the draft) if they decide to move them.  The Jackets are not far away, if they can use these assets and some cap space to address their issues on the second line, they can be in a position to be a contender next year and beyond.

  • TRADE: Blackhawks unload Kempny to Washington for a conditional pick

    The Chicago Blackhawks have begun to unload some salary as they contemplate a looming rebuild. What’s that? It was only $900,000 and they’re still tight against the salary cap? Oh. Carry on then.

    On Monday, the Blackhawks sent 27-year-old defenseman, Michal Kempny, to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional 3rd round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

    Washington Capitals Logo

    A native of Hodnin, Czech Republic, Kempny notched 1-6–7 totlas in 31 games with Chicago this season and has three goals and 12 assists (15 points) in 81 career NHL games (all with the Blackhawks). A pending-UFA this July, he signed with Chicago as a free agent on May 23, 2016 and carries a cap hit of $900,000.

    imgresThe conditional pick the Capitals are sending in return will be the higher of Washinton’s own 3rd round pick or Toronto’s 3rd round pick (previously acquired from the New Jersey Devils in the offseason Marcus Johansson trade).

    With the acquisition of this conditional 3rd round pick, the Blackhawks will have seven picks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

  • February 19 – Day 131 – Working for the next Czech

    If there’s such thing as too much hockey in one Monday, I’d like to experience it so I may be the judge. Between the Olympic Games and the NHL, there’s nine games on today’s slate.

    For the second week, we start our attention in PyeongChang as the second women’s semifinal between Canada and the OAR is scheduled to be played at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time.

    Back on the east side of the Pacific, the NHL has scheduled games throughout the day to honor Family Day in Canada and Presidents Day in the United States. First up is Minnesota at the New York Islanders (SN) at 1 p.m., followed by Washington at Buffalo (SN1) at 3 p.m. and Boston at Calgary (NHLN) and hour later. The primetime games get started at 8 p.m. with Ottawa at Nashville (RDS), trailed half an hour later by Los Angeles at Chicago (NHLN/TVAS). Finally, Anaheim visits Vegas at 10 p.m. to close out the day’s festivities. All times Eastern.

    Back in South Korea, the men’s knockout tournament is getting underway. First up is Team USA vs. Slovakia at 10:10 p.m., followed by Slovenia vs. Norway at 2:40 a.m. All times Eastern.

    What games drew my attention when the schedule was released? I thought you’d never ask.

    • Canada vs. OAR: Medals are in sight for both teams, but what color could they be?
    • Los Angeles at Chicago: This rivalry was at its peak earlier in the decade. Will the nastiness resume tonight?
    • USA vs. Slovakia: Tomorrow is no longer ensured – a win is required to advance to the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic!
    • Slovenia vs. Norway: The same can be said for this game, but these competitors are eyeing a date with the OAR.

    Without question, the best game in the NHL today is taking place in Brooklyn. However, it’s hard for me to take my attention off the Olympic playoffs. Let’s head over to Gangneung Hockey Centre for the Group B rematch!

     

    For fans that don’t know much about this edition of Chlapci (The Boys), let’s just get this out of the way early: no, Miroslav Satan is no longer playing for the Slovaks. However, he is involved with this team in his role as general manager.

    So, what kind of team did the 2009 Stanley Cup champion build?

    Perhaps Slovakia’s best weapon is 30-year-old G Branislav Konrad. While he doesn’t have the luxury of an exemplary defense playing in front of him (Repre – a name for what seems to represent all Slovak men’s teams that, similar to the word yankee, does not have a direct translation – allowed a fourth-worst 27.67 shots against per game during the group stage), he’s still posted a decent .904 save percentage for a 2.4 GAA.

    Those two efforts have combined for Chlapci, the 10-seed in this knockout tournament, allowing only 2.33 goals against through their first three showings – the (t)sixth-best effort of the group stage.

    Perhaps the reason for the Slovaks’ struggles on the defensive end is because of their attacking style in the offensive zone. Only two Slovaks have averaged a point per game through the group stage, and they’re both defensemen: Peter Ceresnak (1-2-3 totals) and Dominik Granak (0-3-3). The Americans did well to keep both those players off the scorecard when they played Slovakia the first time (more on that in a moment), but a defensive pair’s ability to dominate the blue line and extend possessions – even if it doesn’t show up as goals or assists – is always a valuable assett.

    It just so happens that the 10-seed gets lined up with a fixture against the seven-seed, hence the reason we get a Group B rematch between the Americans and Slovaks.

    One of my favorite qualities about the Ice Yanks so far in this tournament has been their play in their own end. Allowing only 24.33 shots against per game, Team USA has ranked fifth-best at the 2018 Olympics. That effort has done much to simplify the game for G Ryan Zapolski as much as possible, as he’s been able to provide a .89 save percentage and 2.66 GAA.

    Of particular note, Zapolski and the United States have yet to allow a power play goal, a good sign of great defensive play.

    On the offensive end, there’s still a bit to be desired if you ask an American fan. Team USA has averaged only 1.33 goals per game, the (t)third-fewest of all 12 teams at the Olympics. F Ryan Donato – a hometown Bruins prospect from the 2014 NHL Entry Draft – has certainly been the team’s leader, as his 2-1-3 totals are the most goals and points on the team.

    In fact, it was in the American’s last game against the Slovaks on February 15 that Donato assumed his scoring role on the team, as he scored both the goals in a nerve-wracking 2-1 victory. F Chris Bourque was also stellar in that game by assisting on both power play goals, helping the United States overcome F Andrej Kudrna’s first period goal.

    Of note in that game, Konrad was not in net for the Slovaks, as Head Coach Craig Ramsay – the former Sabre and winner of the 1985 Selke Trophy – elected to start G Jan Laco. Laco performed well to post a .936 save percentage and 2.02 GAA, but I’d guess that Konrad will earn the nod tonight.

    Team USA may have beaten Slovakia once already this tournament, but it was far from a dominant victory that leaves me certain they can duplicate the performance. I first and foremost expect a tight game, but I think Repre can pull off the upset victory.

    Regardless of who wins, the victor will advance to the quarterfinals and a matchup with the second-seeded Czech Republic, Group A’s champion. That game will be played tomorrow at 10:10 p.m. Eastern time.

    With a two goals in the third period of yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day at Kwandong Hockey Centre, the Swedish men beat Finland 3-1 to clinch first place in Group C.

    Sweden’s defense dominated this game. Entering the tilt, Finland had registered five goals apiece in its first two showings. In addition to limiting the Lions to only one goal in this fixture, Sweden allowed only 19 Finnish shots on goal, well below the 23 per game Finland had averaged entering the match.

    Pair that with F Anton Lander‘s (F Linus Omark and G Viktor Fasth) breakaway five-hole goal with 5:07 remaining in the first period, and you have a game the Three Crowns never trailed. That being said, that was the lone tally of the opening 20 minutes due to F Par Lindholm’s nullified deflection with 9:16 remaining having been played with a high stick.

    Just like in the first period, only only a lone goal was struck in the second – but this one belonged to Finland. It was scored by F Joonas Kemppainen (D Miika Koivisto and F Julius Junttila) at the 1:32 mark, his second of the tournament to tie the game at 1-1. Kemppainen is the only player to score against Sweden’s defense so far this Olympic tournament, and he did it with scrappy resilience in the crease.

    As mentioned before, the third period was where Sweden really took control of this game, as it allowed the Lions to fire a game-high eight shots on goal – a testament to the Swedes’ defense. Meanwhile, the offensive end was also rolling, as F Patrik Zackrisson (D Johan Fransson) scored the game-winning goal at the 8:53 mark.

    Trailing by only a goal but facing a Swedish man-advantage with D Sami Lepisto in the box for holding, Head Coach Lauri Marjamaki elected to pull G Mikko Koskinen with 69 seconds remaining in regulation to even the number of skaters at five apiece. That move worked for a while, but F Oscar Moller (Omark) was able to score a power play empty netter with five seconds remaining in the game to clinch three point for Sweden.

    Fasth earned the victory after saving 18-of-19 shots faced (.947 save percentage), leaving the loss to Koskinen, who saved 20-of-22 (.909).

    With Sweden listed as the road team, its win marks the third-consecutive by visitors in the DtFR Game of the Day. As such, the roadies have pulled within 20 points of the 70-44-17 hosts in the series.