Down the Frozen River

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  • 2016 NHL Awards Live Blog

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Tonight is the 2016 NHL Awards ceremony from Las Vegas, so I figured I’d recap every award tonight as they are presented.

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    Calder Memorial Trophy winner- Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks

    Other finalists- Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI) and Connor McDavid (EDM)

    Ted Lindsay Award winner- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

    Other finalists- Jamie Benn (DAL)  and Braden Holtby (WSH)

    General Manager of the Year- Jim Rutherford, Pittsburgh Penguins

    Other finalists- Brian MacLellan (WSH) and Jim Nill (DAL)

    Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner- Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers

    Other finalists- Mats Zuccarello (NYR) and Pascal Dupuis (PIT)

    Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award winner- Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

    Other finalists- Alex Ovechkin (WSH) and John Tavares (NYI)

    King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner- Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

    Other finalists- none announced

    NHL Foundation Player Award- Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames

    Other finalists- Matt Martin (NYI) and P.K. Subban (MTL)

    EA Sports NHL 17 Cover Athlete- Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

    Other finalist- Joe Pavelski (SJ)

    James Norris Memorial Trophy- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

    Other finalists- Brent Burns (SJ) and Erik Karlsson (OTT)

    Frank J. Selke Trophy- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

    Other finalists- Patrice Bergeron (BOS) and Ryan Kesler (ANA)

    Maurice “The Rocket” Richard Trophy- Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

    (presented to the goal scorer who scored the most goals in the season, so this one was already technically awarded before Wednesday night)

    William M. Jennings Trophy- Frederik Andersen and John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

    (presented to the goaltender(s) who allowed the fewest total goals against in the season, awarded prior to Wednesday night)

    Jack Adams Award- Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals

    Other finalists- Lindy Ruff (DAL) and Gerard Gallant (FLA)

    Then NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman took some time out in the night to remember Ed Snider and Gordie Howe. We had this to say…

    Art Ross Trophy- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

    (presented to the player that led the league in scoring at the end of the regular season, awarded prior to Wednesday night)

    Lady Byng Memorial Trophy- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

    Other finalists- Aleksander Barkov (FLA) and Loui Eriksson (BOS)

    Vezina Trophy- Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

    Other finalists- Ben Bishop (TB) and Jonathan Quick (LA)

    Hart Memorial Trophy- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

    Other finalists-  Jamie Benn (DAL) and Sidney Crosby (PIT)

     

     

     

  • Completely Biased DTFR Awards for Our Egos

    By: Nick Lanciani

    It’s the NHL Award season, so since I’m a nice boss/founder/whatever you want to call me, I figured I’d hand out some awards to our Down the Frozen River crew. These once in a lifetime beauties will probably never be given out again, so enjoy them while they last.

    Newcomer Award– presented by me to our rookie of the year for producing quality content- Frank Fanelli

    Frank joined us this spring and hit the ground running with some quality Philadelphia Flyers hot takes (and serious takes). His dedication made our lives easy when it came time to organize our schedule of playoff recaps and other quick write-ups that we did in preparation for a whole lot more next season. Frankly, I think he did a good job. Thanks Frank!

    Social Media Guru Award– presented by me to our best social media content producer (and stuff)- Jordan Dettrow

    Jordan was another addition to the crew this season— prior to Frank’s arrival— as we expanded our reach and broadened our target audience from just your average NHL fan to all kinds of hockey fans. Though Jordan has been quite busy this offseason, his presence as one of us has been felt all throughout our ramped up coverage of this year’s playoffs. I could have made him a co-recipient of the Newcomer Award, but I felt as though it’s necessary to make him stand out on his own, since without him we wouldn’t have over 750 followers on Twitter (we’d have, like, 700 fewer than that). I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of new and exciting things will come from him next season. Thanks Jordan!

    Hot Air Award– presented by me to our crew member with the most bold predictions and hot takes this season on the Down the Frozen River Podcast- Colby Kephart

    Colby is… well, Colby. Always willing to talk and offer his thoughts, his bold predictions on our show keep us on edge and in tune with what’s going on around the league. Another DTFR member with a busy offseason, we certainly wish him the best as he does some real world things in the meantime. He’ll need to rest his voice for another season of podcasts coming this September. Thanks Colby!

    Content-King Award– presented by me to our crew member with the most content/best quality content on a consistent basis this season- Connor Keith

    All season long Connor wrote daily Game of the Day matchups (well, with the exception of that time between November and the end of the semester, because college). His dedication to his craft is unlike any other in the nature of his hard work and many late nights spent writing about plenty of teams he’d probably rather never hear about ever again. We all expect more of the same from him this season (and more, muwahaha), but the choice is always his, as he heads into the real world of sports. Thanks Connor!

    Good-For-Nothing Award– presented as a participation award to one of our members when I can’t think of anything else to give- Nick Lanciani (oh, hey look, that’s me)

    I get to take home this awesome award because I created this whole thing in the first place (I meant these awards, not just this site, but you know— I made the site too, so there’s always that). I would’ve also given Kevan Miller partial ownership of this award, but alas, he’s not on our Down the Frozen River team. Maybe next year, Kevan (please don’t hate me).

  • Pittsburgh at San Jose – Game 6 – Penguins hoist the Cup after a 3-1 victory

    Pittsburgh Penguins LogoUnknownIf football is any predictor, we should’ve known this series would be exactly this long – the Raiders and Steelers have split their six games when meeting in the AFC playoffs in their historic rivalry, including such occurrences as the Immaculate Reception.  In hockey, we cannot end a playoff series tied, and the Penguins now have a 4-2 postseason record over the Sharks that they used to hoist the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in the franchise’s history.

    Perhaps Kris Letang’s goal (by a defenseman no less, not ironic if you’re familiar with the history of both football teams) will be remembered with such accolades as the one listed before and become one of those named plays in Pittsburgh‘s vast sporting lore.  The Second Star of the Game’s slap shot found the back of Third Star Martin Jones’ net at the 7:46 mark of the second period after assists from First Star Sidney Crosby (his 12th helper of the postseason) and Conor Sheary.  A centering pass to Patric Hornqvist went awry, leading to Crosby ending up with the puck on the near side of Jones’ crease.  He took it behind the net and passed to Letang waiting at the far face-off zone to bang it off the netminder for a five-hole goal.

    What’s more impressive is that tally was struck only 1:19 after Logan Couture and the Sharks had leveled the score.

    For the opening five minutes of the second period, the Sharks were making extremely evident what Coach Peter DeBoer had stressed during intermission, as they led the shot totals five to one.

    Those efforts proved fruitful 6:27 after resuming play when Couture scored his 30th point of the postseason (only the fifth player to reach that mark since 1995) with a goal-scoring wrister, assisted by Melker Karlsson and Brent Burns (his 17th helper of the postseason).  Burns had gloved down a clearing attempt by the Penguins just outside San Jose‘s offensive zone.  He passed from the near to far boards along the blue line to Karlsson to enter the zone, who immediately shoved the puck along to the attacking Couture.  Although the scouting report has said to attack Matt Murray’s glove hand, Couture fired for the netminder’s five-hole, banking a shot off his left pad to level the score after a first period goal from Brian Dumoulin.

    Dumoulin’s play actually begins 26 seconds before he finds the net when he was tripped by Dainius Zubrus at the 7:50 mark of the first period, causing the first power play of the game.  His ensuing slap shot was assisted by Justin Schultz and Chris Kunitz (his eighth helper of the postseason).  Kunitz passed up the near boards to Schultz at the point, who passed across the blue line to the waiting goal scorer.  The defenseman faked a shot to get Karlsson out of his way before following through with a second attempt that narrowly beat Jones far side.

    For the most part, Pittsburgh was in control for most of the final game of the NHL season.

    The first period stats that best explain the opening frame (other than Pittsburgh‘s 100% power play success rate) include the Pens‘ 60% face-off win rate and the 16 combined turnovers in favor of the Sharks – 11 giveaways from the Penguins and another five Shark takeaways.

    Overall, Pittsburgh controlled the puck, but when San Jose could ascertain possession, they certainly struck fear into Murray and the black-and-gold on a few occasions, but the netminder stood tall to keep the Sharks off the board.

     

    Once again the Penguins entered the intermission with a one-goal lead, but the long change in the second period, as its prone to do, has a way of evening things out to not favor either side.  The Sharks actually led the frame’s shot totals (13 to 11, respectively) in addition to continuing their dominance along the boards (18 to 10 for the period and 36 to 22 after two periods), but Pittsburgh continued to own the face-off dot (winning 15 out of 22 face-offs in the frame and 65% for the contest) to hold their own.

    Statistics for the final frame are misleading, with the exception of one: blocked shots.  Pittsburgh ended the game with 33 blocks, with quite a few of them occurring in the final 20 minutes.  With the help of those blocks and the threat of others forcing rushed attempts, only two Shark shots reached Murray’s net.

    With two minutes remaining in San Jose‘s season, Jones left the ice for a sixth skater.  Hornqvist made the Sharks pay with 62 seconds remaining with a wrister on the empty net after an assist from Crosby to seal the victory for the City of Champions.  The Conn Smythe Trohpy-winning captain took credit for one of the many blocks of the frame near the point and dished to a streaking Hornqvist, who barely advanced into the Sharks’ zone before scoring.

    History certainly has a way of repeating itself, even when excluding the connection between these towns on the gridiron.  Seven years ago, to the day, was the date when the Penguins last hoisted the Cup.  The seasons followed a similar story line: a team that looked so dangerous on paper that failed to live up to the scouting report on ice.  To resolve the issue, a new coach was hired, then Dan Bylsma, and Sullivan this season.  Even the fact that the Penguins won in their road white sweaters (That’s a Steel City tradition though, at this point.  It’s been since 1960 that a Pittsburgh-based Big Four team [baseball, basketball, football and hockey] has won on home turf (the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates) recalls memories of the Penguins‘ triumph in Joe Louis Arena.

    Both goaltenders played exceptionally well, but Murray earned the victory after saving 18 of the 19 shots he faced (94.7%), while Jones takes the loss, saving 24 of 26 (92.3%).

  • Lake Erie sweeps Hershey for 1st Calder Cup championship

    By: Nick Lanciani

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    The Lake Erie Monsters are your 2016 Calder Cup champions after sweeping the Hershey Bears in four games in the 2016 Calder Cup Finals. Saturday night’s 1-0 overtime victory sealed the deal for the Monsters as they clinched their first Calder Cup in franchise history (and first Calder Cup championship for the Cleveland region since the Cleveland Barons won their ninth Calder Cup in 1964).

    lake-erie-monsters-logo-13bd4f971e24a58cOliver Bjorkstrand scored the game winning goal with seconds remaining in the first sudden death overtime period. His 10th goal of the postseason and third overtime game-winner, Bjorkstrand was named the recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of this year’s Calder Cup playoffs.

    He had 10-6-16 totals in 17 games en route to becoming an AHL champion and is a third round selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets from the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

    Lukas Sedlak and Zach Werenski had the primary and secondary assists on Bjorkstrand’s game-winning goal.

    Anton Forsberg had a 23 save shutout in front of a sold out home crowd at the Quicken Loans Arena, while Justin Peters stopped 32 out of 33 shots faced for the Bears in the loss.

    297_hershey-bears-primary-2013With the conclusion of the Calder Cup Finals, thus concludes the AHL’s 80th season as a league in operation since 1936. Fun fact for you hockey history buffs, the American Hockey League originally served as a rival professional league of the NHL in its first season of existence, until the NHL made the AHL sign an affiliation agreement becoming the official minor league of the NHL the following season.

    The Monsters are the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets and show promising depth throughout the organization heading into next season. Hershey had a good season showing as an annual powerhouse of the AHL as the affiliate of the Washington Capitals.

  • Jones carries San Jose on his back as Sharks defeat Penguins in Game 5

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Stanley Cup Final Logo

    Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks never looked back after taking a 3-2 lead on a goal from Melker Karlsson in the first period, as Jones made 44 saves and the Sharks added an empty net goal to win 4-2 in Game 5 at CONSOL Energy Center on Thursday night.

    Jones’s 44 saves came on 46 shots against with a .957 SV% in the sixty minute effort. Meanwhile Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender, Matt Murray, amassed 18 saves on 21 shots faced. In 58:43 TOI, Murray walked away with a .857 SV% despite entering Game 5 with a 2.09 GAA and a .925 SV% through his first 19 playoff starts this postseason.

    Earlier in the day on Thursday it was confirmed that Tomas Hertl would not be in San Jose’s lineup once again, and that he remains day-to-day with a lower body injury.

    UnknownGame 5 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final kicked off with the fastest four goals scored by either team in Stanley Cup Final history. It only took 2:53 for the Sharks to make it 2-0, but at 5:06 of the first period, the Penguins had tied the game, 2-2.

    Brent Burns kicked off the goal scoring just 1:04 into the night with his 7th goal of the playoffs on a wrist shot that beat Matt Murray. Melker Karlsson (2) and Logan Couture (19) picked up the assists as Couture began what would be a three point twenty minute effort on the goal. The 1-0 lead was San Jose’s first in-game lead of the series.

    Couture capitalized on a redirection for his 9th goal of the postseason at 2:53 of the first period. Justin Braun had fired a shot that Couture knocked down just enough to change its destination from a routine save to a twine-seeking missile. Braun notched his 5th assist of the playoffs on the goal and the Sharks led 2-0.

    Shortly thereafter, Dainius Zubrus sent the puck over the glass and consequently received an automatic minor penalty for delay of game. While on the power play, Phil Kessel sent a beauty of a pass to Evgeni Malkin, as Malkin fired a wrist shot past Martin Jones to cut the San Jose’s lead in half. Pittsburgh had successfully converted on the power play with Malkin’s 6th goal of the playoffs and his second power play goal in as many games. Kessel (12) and Kris Letang (12) were credited with the primary and secondary assists at 4:44 of the 1st.

    Carl Hagelin scored the tying goal 5:06 into the opening period. Nick Bonino fired a shot that Hagelin in turn redirected past Jones for his 6th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Bonino was credited with the only assist on the goal (his 14th of the postseason).

    With the score tied at two San Jose had to endure a crucial penalty kill after Brent Burns caught Brian Dumoulin with a high stick nearly midway through the period; at a time where all of the momentum had appeared to have swung 180 degrees in favor of the Penguins.

    But the Sharks penalty kill, as well as the goaltending of Jones, worked effectively and San Jose prevailed unscathed by the Pittsburgh power play that had already scored on their first opportunity of the night.

    At 14:47 of the first period, Karlsson received the puck from Couture and sent a wrist shot past Murray for his 5th goal of the postseason and gave the Sharks their second lead of the night. Couture (20) and Brenden Dillon (2) had the assists on the goal that made it 3-2 San Jose. Couture’s assist on Karlsson’s goal capped off his three-point night.

    As the period came to a close, the Sharks held onto the one goal lead heading into the first intermission. In the first four games of the series both teams had only totaled five goals, but in the first period alone of Game 5, both teams yielded five goals combined on the scoreboard.

    The Penguins outshot the Sharks (15-7) and led in faceoff wins (15-10), giveaways (2-1), takeaways (5-4) and blocked shots (9-4). Both teams had 13 hits aside after twenty minutes of play. San Jose had yet to see time on the man advantage and Pittsburgh converted on one of their two man advantage opportunities of the first period.

    A scoreless second period encountered two penalties and numerous desperation saves from Jones. Pittsburgh served and killed off a bench minor for too many men at 5:58 of the period, while San Jose killed off Karlsson’s slashing minor that was assigned at 10:30 of the 2nd.

    Pittsburgh_Penguins_1971-1992

    With forty minutes in the books the Sharks still led 3-2 despite trailing the Penguins in shots on goal 32-15. Both teams tied in hits (23-23) and blocked shots (10-10) after two periods.

    Meanwhile the Penguins led in faceoff wins (24-23), giveaways (4-2) and takeaways (7-5) after two. San Jose went 0/1 on the power play and Pittsburgh had gone 1/3 on the power play entering the second intermission.

    An eventful, save filled, third period saw its crescendo in the last six minutes of regulation, when Hagelin took a penalty for hooking at 14:04 of the third, giving the Sharks their second power play of the night. While Pittsburgh kept the puck out of their defensive zone for the most part on the ensuing penalty kill, the Sharks had a couple phenomenal scoring rushes while being outshot by a 2:1 ratio.

    With about 90 seconds left on the clock Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, instructed Murray to vacate the net in favor of an extra attacker. In turn, Pittsburgh would take a timeout shortly after a stoppage in play, to try to rest their key players and draw up a surefire way of tying the game.

    Whatever plan the Penguins drew up, they could not execute, as the Sharks eventually cleared the zone and Joe Pavelski tallied his first goal of the series on an empty net. Pavelski’s 14th goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now the 3rd most in a postseason by a U.S. born player (behind Kevin Stevens’ 17 goals in 1991 with Pittsburgh and Joe Mullen’s 16 goals in 1989 with the Calgary Flames). Joe Thornton had the sole assist— his 18th of the playoffs— on Pavelski’s goal.

    With about four seconds left in the game and after a whistle for a routine cover up by Jones, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got into it a bit as the rest of the skaters on the ice gathered in a scrum. Crosby and Vlasic each received roughing minors and the game became a 4-on-4 battle for the remaining seconds on the clock in regulation.

    Time ticked down and the Sharks walked away with a 4-2 victory in Pittsburgh.

    Thursday night’s win was San Jose’s 6th road win of the postseason, which surpassed their previous franchise record set back in 2004. Likewise, the Sharks improved to 9-0 in this postseason when leading after two periods. The Penguins fell to 0-5 while trailing after forty minutes.

    Pittsburgh led in shots on goal (46-22), hits (32-30), giveaways (10-2) and takeaways (7-5) at the final horn of Game 5 and San Jose led in faceoff wins (36-34) and blocked shots (17-10). The Sharks finished the night 0/2 on the man advantage and the Penguins went 1/3.

    With the win in Game 5, San Jose became just the 15th team to win Game 5 while trailing 3-1 in the series (in 33 of such series’ in NHL history). Pittsburgh now leads the 2016 Stanley Cup Final three games to two (3-2) heading into Game 6 at SAP Center in San Jose.

    A win for the Penguins in Game 6 on Sunday would clinch their fourth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Meanwhile a win at home for the Sharks would send the series back to Pittsburgh for a Game 7 on Wednesday, June 15th.

    Game 6 is Sunday night at SAP Center in San Jose. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8:00 PM ET and the game can be viewed on NBC in the United States, as well as on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

     

  • Lake Erie is 1 win away from breaking Cleveland’s curse

    By: Nick Lanciani

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    Do you believe in Cleveland?

    While Steph Curry might be crushing your dreams in the 2016 NBA Finals (and as a blog founded in Charlotte, NC we’re okay with that— we can be impartial when it comes to sports outside of hockey, right?), the Lake Erie Monsters are one win away from breaking Cleveland’s long awaited championship curse in professional sports.

    They might be a minor league team, but they’re a major league team in your hearts, Ohio. Especially when you guys have to watch Columbus Blue Jackets games every now and then (okay, that was a low blow- I apologize).

    lake-erie-monsters-logo-13bd4f971e24a58cBut on Monday night, the Monsters defeated the Hershey Bears 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 of the 2016 Calder Cup Finals and took a 3-0 series lead.

    Anton Forsberg made 17 saves on 19 shots against in goal for Lake Erie en route to the win, while Justin Peters stopped 25 of 28 shots on goal for Hershey in the loss.

    Ryan Stanton kicked off the game’s scoring at 2:07 of the 1st period with his 3rd goal of the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs. Carter Camper and Riley Barber picked up the assists on the goal that made it a 1-0 game for Hershey early in the first period. Stanton’s goal marked just the second time in the series that the Bears had a 1-0 lead.

    But Oliver Bjorkstrand continued his fantastic play in the series and fired a one-timer past Peters to tie the game at 1-1, over four minutes after Hershey opened the scoring. Bjorkstrand’s 8th of the postseason was assisted by Lukas Sedlak and Brett Gallant at 6:44 of the first period and was the first of two goals on the night for Bjorkstrand.

    After twenty minutes of play, the game was tied 1-1. Lake Erie led in shots on goal 11-6 after the first period and looked to capitalize on their home ice advantage coming out of the first intermission.

    Daniel Zaar scored the go ahead go for the Monsters on the power play at 18:13 of the 2nd period. Dean Kukan and Alex Broadhurst recorded the primary and secondary assists on Zaar’s 7th goal of the playoffs.

    But Lake Erie could not maintain a 2-1 lead for long, as the Bears found a way to tie the game almost 50 seconds later.

    297_hershey-bears-primary-2013Dustin Gazley fired a shot past Forsberg’s glove and made it a 2-2 game with one minute remaining in the second period. The goal was Gazley’s 4th of the playoffs and was assisted by Zach Sill and Ryan Bourque at 19:00 of the 2nd.

    Lake Erie continued to lead in the shots on goal department 20-13 at the end of forty minutes of play.

    A scoreless third period resulted in a necessary sudden death overtime that would only last 1:20 when Bjorkstrand secured the win with a game winning goal. His 9th goal of the postseason, Bjorkstrand’s goal was assisted by Zach Werenski and Steve Eminger.

    With the win, the Lake Erie Monsters have a 3-0 series lead heading into Game 4 on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.

    While their arena roommates, the Cleveland Cavaliers, are at home battling the Golden State Warriors for the 2016 NBA Championship, the Monsters will be getting ready for Saturday’s chance at Cleveland’s first AHL championship since the 1964 Cleveland Barons won the Calder Cup.

    A win on Saturday would also be Cleveland’s first professional sports league championship since the 1964 Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship Game (pre-Super Bowl era).

    Lake Erie has now taken a 3-0 series lead in all four rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs and is looking to sweep the Hershey Bears, which would provide the franchise with their first Calder Cup Championship in history.

  • Malkin Finally Finds the Back of the Net For The GWG, Pittsburgh Now One Win Away From Winning the Stanley Cup.

    The San Jose Sharks looked to even up the series on home ice and head back to Pittsburgh with the series tied at two games apiece. While the Pens, on the other hand, looked to take a commanding 3-1 series lead going back home. The Sharks are without Tomas Hertl for the second game in a row as he is out with a lower-body injury.  San Jose will look to keep their home crowd in the game early with Metallica playing the National Anthem and by Martin Jones coming off a huge Game 3. If the Sharks keep the crowd in it early they will have an easier time while the Penguins will look to take them out of the game.

    Pittsburgh Penguins Logo

    Well both teams had their hopes fulfilled:

    It was a very odd start to this Game 4, here on Monday night. What I mean were both teams each started off very slow but it was a very fast-paced start to the game. There were only two stoppages within the first six minutes of the game and both teams only managed one shot in these six minutes, a very unlikely start to the game. So the crowd was not loud but still excited as this game got underway.

    The Penguins would then get their wish right away and score just 7:36 into the opening period. Pens star Evgeni Malkin would dish the puck to a sprinting Phil Kessel at the red line. Kessel would grab the puck and go into the offensive zone on a one v one rush with the Sharks D. Kessel was pushed to the outside on the right dot but was able to get a wrist shot on net. The shot was easily blockered away by Sharks goalie Martin Jones over to the circle on the left dot. Unfortunately for Jones, the puck went right to the stick of Pens defender Ian Cole who jumped up into the play. Cole quickly released a snapshot and beat the sprawling Jones over the blocker for the 1-0 lead. This was Cole’s first ever career playoff goal.

    Pittsburgh would then go right back on the prowl looking to increase their lead just four minutes later. Sharks D-man Marc-Edouard Vlasic would get caught for interference on Pens captain Sidney Crosby. This sent the Pens to their first power play of the game where they are a terrible 0/6 overall in the Finals on the PP. Pittsburgh would only manage three shots, and thanks to some stellar saves from Jones, the Sharks killed off the penalty.

    San Jose would then get their chance three minutes later on their first man advantage of the game. Pens defender Ben Lovejoy would get caught holding the stick of Sharks vet Patrick Marleau. The Sharks would get a ton of pressure in the offensive zone but only threw two shots on target and the Penguins killed it off.

    After the Penguins fairly early goal to start the contest, the game settled down a bit. Both clubs had flurries of a couple minutes on the attack, but most of the times their shots either missed or went over the net. The two teams were unable to achieve more than 10 shots on net with San Jose leading 8-6 in shots. The first period ended with the Pens still up 1-0 on the scoreboard.

    The second period started with the Sharks taking another penalty 2:28 into the period in the attacking zone. San Jose’s Melker Karlsson would get called for a two-minute interference call on Penguins winger Eric Fehr. The Penguins wasted no time as they would tally just nine seconds into the power play. Pittsburgh D-man Kris Letang, on the top of the point in the middle, would fire a pass over to Phil Kessel on top of the left circle. Kessel would slide a foot or two forwards and rifle a pass, through a maze of players in the slot, over to Evgeni Malkin who was standing right on the backdoor post to Jones’ left. Malkin would angle his stick to the net, receive the pass and deflect the puck into the goal for the two-goal lead at 2-0. This was Malkin’s first goal since May 20th, which was a six-game goalless drought.

    The Penguins would then come close to making it 3-0 and 4-0 just a couple minutes later. Eric Fehr and Tom Kuhnhackl would both hit the left post behind Martin Jones within minutes of each other. Luckily for the Sharks, both pucks hit iron and rang out to keep the deficit at two goals.

    Midway through period two, the game was being controlled by the Penguins 100%. The Sharks looked like an already depleted team with more than half the game to play. If San Jose wants to muster any sort of offense and even attempt to come back, they will have to get Pittsburgh out of their rhythm.

    The Sharks would jump right to my summary and almost complete it. The Sharks 4th line was in on the offensive attack with 5:51 left in the second period. Sharks center Nick Spalling would grab the puck low at the hash marks/slot on the right circle. Spalling would then rip a wrister that beat Pens goalie Matt Murray short side over his glove but not the crossbar and rang out. Then just 50 seconds later Sharks center Logan Couture would notice a loose puck left in the zone and picked it up and went in on a mini breakaway. Couture did not have time to cut into the middle and tried beating Murray short side over his blocker on the left side. Murray was having none of this and made the save look easy and blockered the puck up into the netting behind the net for a whistle to keep his perfect night intact.

    San Jose would go back on the manpower advantage just two minutes later. Penguins rookie Bryan Rust would get caught standing still and took a lazy hooking penalty on Sharks All-Star Brent Burns. This was the Sharks second PP of the game and a prime chance to cut into the Pens lead before the intermission and give the home crowd something to cheer about. The Sharks were unable to get the puck into the Penguins zone for nearly half the power play and were unable to score.

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    The Penguins held firm for most of the period and were in control, yet again, for most of the second. Pittsburgh held the Sharks to just a measly four shots in the WHOLE middle frame. They had a slight lead in shots at 13-12 over the first two periods and led 2-0 at the second intermission.

    Just about five minutes into the final period, the Sharks had one of their best chances of the night. Sharks center Logan Couture would stop on a T at the right-hand blue line. Couture would feed a streaking Patrick Marleau with a beauty of a saucer pass to spring him on a breakaway. Marleau would come barreling into the slot and tried lifting a shot over Murray’s glove but was shut down with an awesome glove save.

    Then three minutes later after the Sharks held the puck in the Penguins zone for a long time, they were finally able to get one past Murray. Sharks D-man Brenden Dillon would put a helpless wrist shot on net that purposely went wide. The puck hit a body in front and laid loose helplessly in the slot. Sharks grinder Chris Tierney would chop the puck over to linemate Melker Karlsson who would then grab the puck and put a shot on net while falling down. The puck would sneak under Murray’s left arm and trickle into the net to cut the Pens lead in half at 2-1.

    Now at the halfway point of the final period, the Sharks reversed the tape and were the team in control to start the period. San Jose was relentless on the attack looking for that game-tying goal and gaining a lot of momentum back on their side. The Sharks players and fans will hope they can keep the pressure up and tally again.

    All of San Jose was then let down when Pittsburgh would grab another goal to increase their lead to 3-1 in a crucial part of the game. Penguins winger Carl Hagelin would catch the loose puck along the top of the left point. Hags would dish a gorgeous pass over to a streaking Eric Fehr coming down the middle of the ice. Fehr would then be in all alone with goalie Martin Jones. Fehr put a laser of snapshot under Jones’ blocker for the two-goal lead with two minutes left in the game.

    San Jose would then pull their goalie for an extra attacker immediately after the goal in hopes of a miracle of a comeback. San Jose was unable to get more than one shot on goal and the Penguins stood their ground and nullified any hope of a comeback.

    The game ended with the Pens holding on for a vital 3-1 win and now hold a 3-1 lead in the series. The Penguins will now have a chance to be the first Pittsburgh-based sports team to win a title at home since the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates when Bill Mazeroski hit a historic walk-off home run in Game 7.

    Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopped 17 out of 20 shots for a terrible .850 SV% while Pens’ Matt Murray stopped 23 out of 24 shots for a great .958 SV%. San Jose led in shots (24-20), faceoffs (37-30), hits (46-31), and giveaways (20-9). The teams tied in penalty minutes (four each) and blocked shots (20). The Penguins were 1/2 in shots while the Sharks were 0/2.

    Pittsburgh will have a chance to win the Stanley Cup back home on Thursday night at 8 pm.

  • A few Monday afternoon thoughts

    By: Nick Lanciani

    In light of the Florida Panthers new look, Peter Karmanos Jr.’s latest debacle and all the expansion talk, I’m here to try to put a few thoughts on the same page.

    Florida_Panthers_logo_2016.pngCarolina Hurricanes Logo

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Some thoughts on Florida’s rebrand…

    First, there’s the Florida Panthers rebrand. Am I allowed to say the new logo is growing on me? The answer to that rhetorical question is obviously yes, because this is my site, but also because it’s the truth. Look, I’m not obsessed with the new look for the Panthers, but I can respect this shield design as a new, modern, hockey crest. It’s clean and respectful of the organization’s history, now over 20 years old, and really ties itself into the Southern Florida sports scene. While it might look better as a third jersey logo— at least when you put it on their new home sweater, which, by the way has a bit too much going on for my liking— it was time for a change in Sunrise.

    Give it a few years and I’m sure the Panthers will figure out how to tweak things to satisfy their entire fanbase, while honoring the 101st Airborne in their humble homage with their fresh look.

    Bottom line, not everyone can be like the Dallas Stars latest rebrand a few seasons ago. I mean, just look at the Carolina Hurricanes. They redesigned their image the same offseason as the Stars and, well, it just hasn’t caught on as much as anyone had hoped in the hockey world. While another rebrand would certainly help, the Hurricanes have much bigger issues on their plate, whether anyone’s willing to admit them or not. Which brings me to my second point…

    …on Carolina chaos…

    (How’s that for a transition?)

    Carolina owner, Peter Karmanos Jr., the man responsible for moving the Hartford Whalers back in 1997, has been looking for a dancing partner for a couple of years now to help cover the costs of owning  and operating the Hurricanes, albeit while retaining all the power and control that he brought with the Whalers to Raleigh as an odd precondition.

    But now it appears as though the focus of that dancing partner might now be in the form of a lawyer, as Karmanos deals with a little over $105 million lawsuit from three of his sons.

    Without getting into too much detail, this should be raising red flags (not the hurricane warning kind) despite whatever anyone from the league or Hurricanes organization says. We’ve known for a few seasons now that Carolina is in shambles when it comes to attendance and likewise, that the franchise is not as financially stable at its foundation as the NHL would hope.

    Karmanos continues to insist that there is no need to relocate the franchise to a more desirable location (at least from a fanbase perspective), such as Québec City or Las Vegas.

    There’s no better chance than now for Karmanos to make a move, whatever that may be, but as the legal battles within his family play out, he might be forced to sell the franchise to an owner in a potential expansion location and get the organization out of Carolina, if there continues to be no immense local interest among potential owners.

    What the NHL won’t tell you, and I’m sure, is that they really don’t want to have another Phoenix Coyotes disaster circa 2009. You know, the one with bankruptcy, lawsuits, the league eventually owning the team, Wayne Gretzky as a coach (wait that had nothing to do with it), and that Canadian millionaire that wanted to move them to Hamilton, Ontario?

    But alas, my third thought, we’re more than likely on the verge of expansion in the NHL. Like it or not.

    …and finally, on expansion.

    Las Vegas may surely be coming in the next couple of seasons, but what might be more intriguing is the thought that no news might be good news for Québec City.

    Of course, there’s a few holdups with a team potentially venturing to Vidéotron Centre that’s not just a preseason matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Montréal Canadiens next season.

    The struggle of the Canadian dollar could scamper the hopes of Nordiques fans once again and the ongoing Carolina catastrophe could scatter current expansion plans. But then again, who knows what relocation talks might be circulating and/or among whom (if any).

    What’s next for the league is to decide once and for all whether to delay expansion, accept one or both expansion bids, or nullify any chance of expansion at this time. That announcement is expected June 22nd, conveniently at the NHL’s annual Awards Ceremony in where else? Las Vegas.

    Basically, it’s a yes, no, maybe scenario.

    While some, like Brian Mulroney, are adamant that the league will look over Québec this time around for expansion, others in the rumor mill are more hopeful that as long as everyone’s distracted with the squabble about a team in the Sin City, then there’s a good chance we’ll see a return of the Québec Nordiques as a delightful surprise.

    The league is more than ready to make a go at both locations, regardless of conference alignment atrocities in the eyes of some fans. But your conference woes might see some ease if the Hurricanes situation yields a relocation resolution. And maybe that is the reason, after all, that there’s not much chatter out of Québec on the state of their expansion plans.

    A relocation fee is certainly less expensive than a $500 million expansion fee. And since Quebecor is more than willing to dish out $500 million U.S. for an NHL team that would generate all of its revenue in Canadian dollars, then there’s a good chance they could easily find the funds to come up with purchasing and relocating Carolina.

    The only issue would be getting Peter Karmanos out of the picture.

    That’s no easy feat, as exhibited by the Whalers forceful removal from Hartford and Karmanos’s dedication to Raleigh, which, although hasn’t been tremendous in growing the sport in the community (i.e. building rinks in North Carolina), nor providing the franchise with an adequate practice facility, has certainly been enough to keep the team around this long and with a 2006 Stanley Cup championship at hand.

    That was ten years ago. This is now.

    Whatever announcement is forthcoming on June 22nd, whether it’s no expansion at this time, yes to expansion or further delaying the thought of expansion, it appears as though the league is more than ready to make a go at both locations. Las Vegas for the first time, Québec City for a homecoming of the sorts.

    So while you’re worried about which of your favorite players might get poached by an expansion draft in a year or two, this offseason is sure to have more to it than first expected, as always. And there’s plenty of hurdles to still get over before you can start dreaming about what a team in Las Vegas might look like or seeing what kind of a response the Colorado Avalanche might get in their first regular season game back in Québec.

  • Pittsburgh at San Jose – Game 3 – Donskoi wins first Finals game for Sharks

    Pittsburgh Penguins LogoUnknownThe San Jose Sharks held serve in the Tank by beating the Penguins 3-2 in overtime to pull themselves within a game of a tied series.

    Two quick icing penalties in the opening minutes were almost two too many to overcome for the Penguins, but they were able to get the puck out of the zone just long enough to get in a quick change.

    Following that, Pittsburgh occupied much of the play leading up to Second Star of the Game Joel Ward’s hi-stick against Conor Sheary at the 2:58 mark in the Sharks‘ defensive zone.  San Jose‘s penalty kill responded exceptionally well, not allowing any shots on Third Star Martin Jones’ net.

    The Penguins seemed to prefer even sides, as only 31 seconds after Ward returned to the ice, Ben Lovejoy snuck an on-edge wrister past Jones’ stick for the opening tally.  His play started along the goal line when Brenden Dillon attempted the clear the puck along the near boards.  The puck didn’t have the Wheaties to cross the blue line and was intercepted by Lovejoy, who trickled his wrister into net.

    The Sharks finally notched their first shot of the game just past the eight minute mark, but rookie goaltender Matt Murray was certainly up to the task, deflecting the puck out of harm’s way to a teammate’s stick.

    That shot provided all the confidence the Sharks needed though, as Justin Braun, assisted by Joe Thornton  and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (his 11th helper of the playoffs), scored 26 seconds before the midway point of the frame to level the contest.  He received a screen from Melker Karlsson so perfect that Murray didn’t know Braun had fired the puck until he heard it in the net behind him.  Thornton was the lucky recipient of a scrum along the near boards and centered to Braun, who quickly ripped his wrister over Patric Hornqvist’s diving block and past Murray’s glove shoulder.

    Following the leveling goal, although Phil Kessel and the Pens had an exceptional breakaway opportunity, it was San Jose who had extended plays in their offensive zone, but the Penguins notched a total of 12 blocks to keep the Sharks‘ second goal off the board.

    After 20 minutes, the Penguins led in shots (14 to six), face-offs (52%), blocks (12 to five) and giveaways (four to eight), while the Sharks had takeaways (nine to two) and hits (20 to nine) to their credit.

    Due to play taking place almost exclusively outside the offensive zones for both teams, the second period failed to see a shot on goal until 4:14 had passed.

    The Sharks eventually took control of most of the first half of the period, including finding yet another post after beating Murray five-hole, but the netminder and his defense did well to keep the score tied at one-all.

    The Sharks headed to the power play with 9:18 remaining in the second frame when Carl Hagelin was found guilty of tripping Karlsson.  Although the Sharks had two fantastic opportunities, the score remained tied after a successful Penguins penalty kill.

    Even though the Sharks played a superior period filled with multiple plays of extended time in their offensive zone (they led shots in the period nine to six), it was the Penguins who exited the frame with the 2-1 lead off a Hornqvist tip-in (his eighth tally of the playoffs) off another Lovejoy shot and the hockey assist from Olli Maatta.  Maatta reset the play from the near boards to Lovejoy at the point, who fired the puck at Jones’ net.  Along the way, Hornqvist redirected the puck under the netminder’s arm to give the Pens the lead going into the final 20 minutes of regulation.

    San Jose also led face-offs (they took the game lead – 52%), giveaways (five to nine) and hits (10 to three), while Pittsburgh took won the period’s blocks (eight to six) and takeaways (five to three).

    The Penguins entered the third frame exactly how they wanted to – with a lead.  So far this postseason, they’d done that 11 times, and had a 10-1 record in such instances.  Further increasing their confidence, the Sharks were 1-4 in the five games where they’d entered the final 20 minutes trailing.

    Nick Bonino gave the Sharks four minutes of the man-advantage at the 4:48 mark when he not only hi-sticked Thornton, but also drew blood.  Though the Sharks played an exceptional power play, the Penguins almost completed both kills.  But that is all for naught since, just as Bonino’s sentence was about lifted, Ward scored a slap shot to level the game, assisted by First Star Joonas Donskoi and Thornton (his 17th helper of the postseason).  Thornton passed to rookie Donskoi from his own defensive zone, who completed the transition across the neutral zone with a pass to Ward.  The winger advanced as far as the point before firing his screaming slap shot past Murray.

    Following Ward’s tally, the game very much became a back-and-forth affair with neither team establishing a solid, long-term  presence in their offensive zone.  The Sharks finally had an opportunity around the 15 minute mark, but a poorly timed icing ended their threat and allowed the Penguins to transition from being reactive to proactive.

    No more goals were struck in the frame, sending the Stanley Cup Finals to the second straight overtime game.  After a third frame that favored the Sharks, it was the Penguins who began the extra time in control of the game.  In the first six minutes, the Penguins fired a solid five shots to San Jose‘s one.  That is not to say that Murray’s services were not required though.  Even as the Sharks earned more opportunities, the rookie continued to answer the call and keep his team in the contest.

    Overtime ended up lasting 12:18 before Donskoi earned the Sharks their first ever Stanley Cup Finals win.  He went top shelf over Murray’s shoulder after an approach from behind the goal line for his sixth goal of the playoffs, assisted by Chris Tierney.

    There were two intriguing statistics in this game: shot totals, specifically those of the Penguins, and hits, those focusing on the Sharks.  It has been heavily featured in the analysis of their run, usually because the Pens‘ totals strongly led the opposition.  This evening was more of the same, as the Pens led shots 42 to 26.

    The Sharks have had much more success this postseason when being the more violent of their opposition.  Tonight?  47 hits to Pittsburgh‘s 17.  Doing this helped to slow the speedy Pens down and eliminate many of their dump-and-chase plays.

    Jones earns the win after saving 40 of the 42 shots he faced (95.2%), while Murray takes the overtime loss after saving 23 of 26 (88.5%).

    After earning their first win, the Sharks are now focused on leveling the series and making it a best of three.  They’ll get that opportunity this Monday at 8 p.m. eastern, which may be viewed on CBC, NBC or TVAS.

  • Lake Erie leads Calder Cup Finals 2-0 heading home for Games 3 & 4

    By: Nick Lanciani

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    The Lake Erie Monsters defeated the Hershey Bears 5-3 on Friday night in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals on road ice at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

    Monsters goalie, Anton Forsberg made 27 saves on 30 shots against in the win, while Justin Peters managed just 24 saves on 28 shots faced for the loss. Lake Erie now leads the series 2-0.

    lake-erie-monsters-logo-13bd4f971e24a58cZach Werenski kicked off scoring just 3:05 into the first period with a power play goal that gave Lake Erie a 1-0 lead on an impressive snipe from the 18-year-old defenseman.

    The goal was Werenski’s 5th of the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs and was assisted by Ryan Craig and T.J. Tynan.

    After one period the Bears lead in shots on goal 10-9, despite trailing to the Monsters 1-0 on the scoreboard.

    Oliver Bjorkstrand made it a 2-0 game for the Monsters almost four and a half minutes into the second period with his 6th goal of the playoffs. Markus Hannikainen had the only assist on Bjorkstrand’s goal at 4:29 of the period.

    Hershey cut Lake Erie’s lead in half on a power play goal from Zach Sill at 8:48 of the second period. Sill found his own rebound and powered it behind Forsberg for the goal. Carter Camper and Aaron Ness were credited with the primary and secondary assists on Sill’s 6th goal of the postseason. The Bears had now made it a one goal game, albeit trailing 2-1.

    But it seemed as though just as quickly the Bears got back into the game the Monsters pulled away once again shortly thereafter. Actually, it didn’t seem that way– it was that way.

    Lukas Sedlak added his 9th of the playoffs at 13:51 of the period and put Lake Erie back up by two. Kerby Rychel and Hannikainen picked up the assists on Sedlak’s goal, which made it 3-1 Monsters heading into the second intermission.

    Hershey, again, outshot Lake Erie 13-7 in the second period, despite trailing 3-1 on the scoreboard after forty minutes of play.

    Bjorkstrand picked up his 2nd goal of the night with a power play goal at 2:04 of the third period. Michael Chaput and Daniel Zaar assisted on Bjorkstrand’s 7th goal of the playoffs. With the goal, the Monsters were ahead by the same margin of victory in Game 1 (4-1).

    297_hershey-bears-primary-2013But Tyler Lewington had other plans for the Monsters as he worked his way past Lake Erie’s defense and snapped one past Forsberg for his 4th of postseason. Chris Bourque and Ness assisted on the goal that made it a 4-2 game at 9:57 with plenty of time left in the third period for Hershey to make things interesting.

    Lexington’s goal provided just enough momentum for the Bears to start to swing things their way as Liam O’Brien picked up his 4th playoff goal on a no look pass from Aaron Ness. Travis Boyd was also credited with an assist on O’Brien’s goal at 11:51 of the third.

    In a close 4-3 battle the Monsters held the Bears off long enough for Hershey to make the tough decision of pulling Justin Peters with 1:01 to go in regulation for an extra attacker.

    Despite their man advantage, the Bears were unable to tie the game and force overtime as Zaar crushed Hershey’s remaining hopes and dreams in Game 2 with an empty net goal at 18:59 of the period. Craig and Chaput added assists on Zaar’s 6th goal of the postseason.

    At the final horn, Lake Erie had won 5-3 and outshot Hershey 13-7 in the third period. With a 2-0 series lead as a result of Friday’s win, the Monsters are hungry for more on home ice in Games 3 and 4. If necessary, Game 5 is also in Lake Erie, so momentum could be vastly on their side should they slip up in one of the next two games.

    For Hershey, the loss was bittersweet– unlike their chocolate in town– but they have history on their side, as the last team to win the Calder Cup after trailing 2-0 in the series in 2010 against the Texas Stars. That Bears team was also the only team in Calder Cup history to win it all after dropping their first two games on home ice.

    Friday’s loss was also the first back-to-back loss for Hershey since March 19-20th (and first consecutive losses at home since January 17th and 25th).

    Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night at 7:00 PM ET in Lake Erie, where the Monsters stand a chance to go up 3-0 in the series.