Tag: 1997 NHL Entry Draft

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January 12 – Day 89 – Y’Hall come back now

You’re getting close to the weekend. Only one more day of school or work. The best way to prepare for Friday is with some hockey tonight, obviously.

As usual, the action begins at 7 p.m. with Vancouver at Philadelphia, followed half an hour later by two more games (Pittsburgh at Ottawa [RDS2] and Buffalo at Tampa Bay). 8 p.m. marks the puck drop of another pair of contests (Boston at Nashville [TVAS] and Montréal at Minnesota [NBCSN/RDS]), with Detroit at Dallas trailing 30 minutes later. The final pair of games gets the green light at 9 p.m. (New Jersey at Edmonton and Anaheim at Colorado), with tonight’s nightcap – St. Louis at Los Angeles (SN/SN360) – getting underway at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

Taylor Hall finally plays his first game in Rogers Place, although it’s much later than many Oilers fans expected before this offseason. He should receive a warm welcome this evening.

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It seems like it was only last weekend that these two played each other. Oh wait, it was last Saturday that the Oilers beat New Jersey 2-1 on an overtime slap shot from Mark Letestu.

This game has certainly been the more anticipated of the two contests waged between these teams this season. Thanks to a trade that shipped the former number one pick to Newark, Hall has been champing at the bit to get back in front of his original home crowd.

Hall was drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and made an almost immediate impact. He played 65 games in his rookie season, scoring a team-leading 22 goals.

Although he only achieved that status one more time (ironically, it was last season when joined by Connor McDavid, the kid that replaced him as the star of the future), Hall was always an integral part of the Oilers‘ offense. He led the club in points three times in his six Edmonton seasons, and never fell lower than third place. In all, Hall contributed to or directly scored 328 goals in a blue sweater, only three fewer than Jordan Eberle in that time span.

Since making his way to New Jersey after being traded for Adam Larsson, he’s learned all about how difficult scoring can be. Currently only taking credit for 25 points on nine goals, Hall is on pace for only 56 points on 20 goals, which would be the fifth and third-worst efforts, respectively, of his seven-year career.

In his defense, it doesn’t help that he regularly has to play against the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky, Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist. Those guys don’t give up many goals to start with, no matter how good you are.

Hall and his 16-18-8 Devils make their way to Edmonton with the second-worst record in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. That sounds much worse than it actually is though, as it’s only eight points out of a playoff spot – and with a game in-hand! – but I’m far from predicting a New Jersey surge. As one might expect from Hall’s numbers, the Devils have mightily struggled to score, accounting for only 92 tallies in 42 games, the third-lowest scoring rate in the league.

Remember Hall’s scoring stats? 25 points on nine goals? I regret to inform you that he’s actually a team-leader with those numbers. He and Travis Zajac both have the same point total due to sharing the second line. The other skater on that line – P.A. Parenteau – has certainly benefited from their efforts, as his dozen tallies are the most in Jersey.

It’s not happenstance that the third-worst offense has the second-worst power play in the league, as the Devils capitalize on only 13.3% or their opponent’s penalties. Both Kyle Palmieri and Damon Severson have thrived with one fewer foe to keep an eye on, as both have nine power play points to lead the club, but it’s been Hall and Parenteau who have truly done the minimal damage, each with four man-advantage tallies.

Hosting Jersey this evening are the 21-15-7 Oilers, the third-best team in the Pacific Division even though they’ve lost their last two games. As a club is prone to do when four of their last five first-round picks are forwards, Edmonton has made their living on the offensive end of the ice, scoring 121 goals – the seventh-most in the NHL.

When I said McDavid replaced Hall as the star of Edmonton in his rookie season, I meant it. McDavid has the world – or at least the NHL – by a string with his league-leading 48 points. Just like Parenteau, Patrick Maroon has taken advantage of having such a player on his line, as his 16 goals are tops in Edmonton.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Edmonton‘s McDavid (48 points on 34 assists [both lead the league]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts among 20 wins [both tied for fifth-most in the NHL]) and New Jersey‘s Parenteau (12 goals [leads the team]) and Steven Santini (+5 [leads the team]).

Vegas has marked the Oilers a heavy favorite to win tonight’s game at -190, and it’s hard to pick against that. The Oilers have been one of the better stories this season barring Columbus and Minnesota, and New Jersey hasn’t been able to match their mid-November form when they went 5-0 in nine days. Oilers fans shouldn’t need to break a sweat.

Hockey Birthday

  • Jimmy Skinner (1917-2007) – Although offered a contract from the Rangers, Skinner never played a game in the NHL. Instead, he coached four seasons in Detroit to win the 1955 Stanley Cup.
  • Tim Horton (1930-1974) – Just in case some of you kids don’t know, he’s more than a donut and coffee shop. This seven-time All Star played 24 seasons, almost all of which were in Toronto, where he won four Stanley Cups – including three-straight from 1962-’64.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977, three years after passing away in a car accident.
  • Curt Fraser (1958-) – Drafted 22nd-overall by his hometown Canucks in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, this left wing played a dozen seasons in the league, most of which in Chicago. He ended his career with 433 points to go with his 1306 penalty minutes.
  • Espen Knutsen (1972-) – Although this center was drafted in the 10th-round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by Hartford, he never played a game with the club. Instead, he spent most of his five seasons in Columbus. In 2002, he became the first and only Norwegian participant in an All Star Game.
  • Jocelyn Thibault (1975-) – This goaltender was drafted 10th-overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by Quebec, but he ended up spending most of his time in Chicago. He completed his career with a 238-238-75 record and earned one All Star nomination.
  • Marian Hossa (1979-) – The 12th-overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Ottawa, this right wing is currently in his eighth season in Chicago. He’s thrice hoisted the Stanley Cup, not to mention his five All Star Game appearances.
  • Claude Giroux (1988-) – The captain of Philadelphia was drafted 22nd-overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He’s spent his entire career with the Flyers and has been thrice named an All Star.

Led by First Star of the Game Alex Ovechkin‘s two-goal night to notch the 1000th and 1001st points of his career, Washington was more than prepared to beat the Penguins 5-2 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Ovechkin (Second Star Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie) got off to a quick start, giving the Capitals the lead only 35 seconds into the contest with an impressive wrister. Although it proved to be the only goal of the first period, Pittsburgh was never able to pull ahead of the Caps.

Thanks to Carl Hagelin earning a seat in the penalty box for hooking Tom Wilson, Ovechkin (John Carlson and Backstrom) doubled the Capitals‘ lead with a power play slap shot  from the spot he always shoots from in the left penalty circle. The 2-0 Washington lead held into the second intermission.

Justin Williams (Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov) takes credit for the eventual winning goal, as his wrister only 4:31 into the final frame was pure. The Pens tried to claw (wing?) their way back into the game with an Evgeni Malkin (Justin Schultz and Phil Kessel) power play wrister only 3:15 later, but Backstrom (Oshie and Carlson) put that threat to bed with a power play wrsiter of his own with 6:49 remaining in the third period. Patric Hornqvist (Sidney Crosby and Kessel) tried once again to find some late momentum by scoring a power play wrister with 2:36 remaining in regulation, but Lars Eller (Backstrom and Oshie) scored on the empty net with 18 seconds left on the clock to fully ice the game.

Third Star Holtby earns the victory after saving 30-of-32 shots faced (93.75%), while Marc-Andre Fleury takes the loss, saving 25-of-29 (86.2%).

Washington‘s home victory snaps the four-game winning streak by the road squads in the DtFR Game of the Day series and improves their record to 48-29-14, nine points better than the visitors.

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January 5 – Day 82 – A derrick gets the Oil Bruin

Hey Thursday, how are you. Oh, you come bearing gifts? Great! What is it? Sweet, it’s hockey, just what we wanted!

Sorry, I’ve had Bob’s Burgers on the mind lately.

Anyways, we’ve got a nice little selection of seven contests this evening, starting with a pair at 7 p.m. (Edmonton at Boston [SN/TVAS] and Columbus at Washington) and Nashville at Tampa Bay half an hour later. Carolina at St. Louis drops the puck at 8 p.m., with Buffalo at Chicago (NBCSN) waiting half an hour. Finally, our co-nightcaps – Detroit at Los Angeles (SN) and Minnesota at San Jose – get underway at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

It may not be a divisional or even conference matchup, but the game I’m most interested in this evening involves the Bruins and the return of an old friend.

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With Milan Lucic in tow, the 19-13-7 Oilers make their annual trip to the TD Garden. Playing the 10th-best offense in the league, Edmonton has earned the third-best record in the Pacific Division.

This Connor McDavid kid just might pan out for the Oilers. His 43 points are not only 10 more than Leon Draisaitl‘s second-place effort, but also tie Evgeni Malkin for the league’s highest mark. Draisaitl isn’t a skater to be laughed at though. He ties McDavid for the clubhouse lead in goals scored, both with 14 tallies apiece.

Part of the reason the Oil have been able to find such success has been their strong power play. They rank eighth-best in the league in that regard, burying the puck in 21.1% of man-advantage situations. Once again, Draisaitl proves himself worth every cent of his three-year, $10.2 million contract by notching a team-leading 15 points on the power play. Eight of those have been goals, which is also the best total in that category.

Playing host this evening are the 20-16-4 Bruins, the third-best team in the Atlantic Division. They’ve earned that position by playing some fantastic defense and goaltending, allowing only 96 goals – the seventh-lowest total in the NHL.

As has been the case since at least the 2012-’13 season, the man in charge of Boston‘s crease has been 19-8-3 Tuukka Rask. He’s managed that mark by notching a season .928 save percentage and 1.93 GAA, the  fifth (tied) and third-best efforts, respectively, among the 45 goalies with at least 15 appearances.

But it hasn’t been just the exemplary play of Rask. As good as he’s been, his defense has also been magnificent. Led by Captain Zdeno Chara‘s 73 blocks, the defense has allowed only 27.2 shots-per-game to reach Rask, tying them for the third-best mark in the league.

As one might expect, those combined efforts result in a solid penalty kill. The Bruins are second-best when down a man, refusing to yield a goal 87.6% of the time in that situation. Rookie Brandon Carlo and Chara have shared the bulk of the responsibilities on the penalty kill, both with 21 shorthanded shot blocks on their resumes.

Unfortunately, you can’t be good at everything. Boston‘s figuring that our the hard way when they have a power play presented to them. The seventh-best team on the power play a season ago, the Bruins are now tied for fifth-worst, a dramatic fall from grace. The main issue seems to be that only one power play line is scoring, as Torey Krug and Brad Marchand are on the same line and have the same seven man-advantage points. I don’t think that’s just coincidence, especially when David Pastrnak, who leads the team with four power play goals, is also on that line.

Other than that, yeah. I guess Boston is good at a lot of things right now. All the Big 4 sports are having solid years. I guess the Revolution are the other soft spot? Even then, they only missed the MLS Cup playoffs due to losing a goal-differential tiebreaker with the Union.

Some players to keep an eye on include Boston‘s Pastrnak (19 goals [fifth-most in the NHL]) and Rask (four shutouts among 19 wins [both tied for second-most in the league] on a 1.93 GAA [third-best in the NHL] and a .928 save percentage [tied for fifth-best in the league]) & Edmonton‘s McDavid (29 assists [most in the NHL] among 43 points [tied for the league lead]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the NHL] among 18 wins [sixth-most in the league]).

Currently, Boston is marked a -145 favorite to beat the Oil this evening. I’d pick the Bruins to win if I were you, if for no other reason than they’re playing at home. That being said, I wouldn’t doubt the Oilers‘ ability to force overtime.

Hockey Birthday

  • Steve Tuttle (1966-) – A sixth-round pick by St. Louis in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing only had a job in the NHL for three seasons before finishing his career in the International Hockey League.
  • Joe Juneau (1968-) – Selected in the fourth round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by Boston, this center played most of his 13 NHL seasons with Washington. By the time he hung up his skates, he notched 572 points.
  • Mike Grier (1975-) – Another St. Louis pick, this right wing was selected in the ninth-round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He never actually played a game for the Blues in his 14 seasons, instead spending most of his time in Edmonton.
  • Kyle Calder (1979-) – Chicago selected this left wing in the fifth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He spent six seasons with the Blackhawks before completing the remainder of his 10-year career as a journeyman.

A four-goal explosion in the third period was more than enough for the Rangers to secure a 5-2 victory over the rival Flyers in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

The scoring didn’t begin until the 22:08 mark, courtesy of a snap shot from First Star of the Game Kevin Hayes (Michael Grabner and Brady Skjei) to give New York a 1-0 lead. It was the lone tally of the second frame.

Chris Kreider (Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello) was the next Blueshirt to strike, burying his snap shot 5:01 after returning to the ice for the final frame. 6:12 later, Graber (J.T. Miller and Dan Girardi) took credit for the eventual game-winning goal, then setting the score at 3-0. The only New York penalty of the third period proved to be a costly one. Stepan was caught hi-sticking Chris VandeVelde, and Third Star Jakub Voracek (Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere) took advantage by netting a power play snap shot with 7:28 remaining in regulation. Any momentum that earned Philadelphia was squelched 1:43 later when Hayes (Miller) scored a snap shot to set the score at 4-1. Voracek (Michael Del Zotto and Michael Raffl) struck again with 2:52 remaining on the clock to try to give the Flyers late life, but Grabner’s snap shot on an empty net 37 seconds later put the final nail in Philadelphia‘s coffin.

Second Star Henrik Lundqvist saved 30-of-32 shots faced (93.75%) to earn the victory, while Steve Mason saved only 23-of-27 (85.2%) in the loss.

Even with two-straight visiting wins in the DtFR Game of the Day series, the home team still holds a 14-point edge with a 46-25-13 record.

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December 18 – Day 67 – Battle of the Hudson River

There’s only six more days of hockey left before the Christmas break! Start cramming hockey pucks now, starting with Los Angeles at Boston (SN) at 1 p.m., followed by Colorado at Winnipeg at 3 p.m. and Columbus at Vancouver at 4 p.m. The usual 7 p.m. starting time brings with it two puck drops (San Jose at Chicago [NHLN] and Ottawa at the New York Islanders [SN/TVAS]), trailed 30 minutes later by tonight’s nightcap: New Jersey at the New York Rangers. All times eastern.

The Devils may not be having the success they’d like this season, but nothing can lift a team’s spirits more than a victory over a nearby rival. Let’s follow the Rangers back to Madison Square Garden for the Battle of the Hudson River!

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Separated by only 10 miles, this rivalry was sparked the minute the Colorado Rockies moved to Meadowlands Arena in 1982. Since then, these clubs have met 267 times total, with the Rangers leading both the all-time series at 122-110-27-8, and the more competitive playoff series at 18-16.

Nothing details this rivalry better than their dominance in the 90s than counting trophies. New York‘s Stanley Cup victory in 1994 is widely known, as it was their first title in 54 years. But don’t let it be forgotten who they played in the Eastern Conference Finals. You guessed it, it was their old pal Jersey. The Rangers needed seven games to best the Devils before advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals to beat Vancouver.

Although they didn’t have to go through the Blueshirts (they have Philadelphia to thank for that, even though they don’t get along with that club either), it was the Devils‘ turn to take home Lord Stanley a year later. They bested Detroit in a quick four games that year to earn the franchise’s first title.

My, how things have changed since those days. Entering tonight’s game in seventh-place in the Metropolitan Division, the 12-12-6 Devils would beg for success like that, especially given their five-game losing skid. Although the defense and goaltending have not been phenomenal this season, the main reason for Jersey‘s struggles have been on the scoring end of the ice where they’ve managed only 70 goals – the fourth-fewest in the NHL.

With a team-leading 23 points, Travis Zajac has been involved in nearly a third of the Devils‘ scores. That being said, Mike Cammalleri holds the clubhouse goal-scoring lead having lit the lamp nine times so far this campaign.

Between the two of them and Taylor Hall, who has eight goals among 20 points with his new club, they have scored 35.7% of the Devils‘ goals. In short, the Devils need to find a way to get more skaters involved in scoring. No other players have more than 17 points to their credit, which is a striking number given the fact that Zajac only ties for the 36th-most points in the league. This entire offense needs a reboot, but it is going to have to be a team-effort.

Not unexpectedly, the Devils have also struggled on the power play. Their 14.9% conversion rate is eighth-worst in the NHL, but that can’t be blamed on Hall. He already has seven power play points to his credit, as well as four power play goals to lead the squad in both categories. Unfortunately for the Devils, that only ties for the 61st-best effort with the man-advantage in the league, which considerably takes the wind out of Hall’s sails.

Jersey might have been struggling on the power play, but they still find great success on the penalty kill. Led by Captain Andy Greene‘s 19 shorthanded blocks, the Devils have refused to yield a goal to 83.2% of opposing power plays, tying them for the ninth-best rate in the league.

Unfortunately for New Jersey, the odds of them snapping their losing skid are bleak, as they face the second-best team in the Metropolitan Division: the 22-10-1 Rangers, who are riding a two-game win streak thanks to last night’s shootout victory in Nashville. As has been the case all year, the Blueshirts are making headlines with their powerful offense that has already notched 109 tallies this season – the most in the NHL.

Like I said yesterday, you have to keep an eye on the club scoring title in Manhattan. Currently, the king of the dressing room is Kevin Hayes, who has 23 points to his credit. Similarly, Michael Grabner is not the sole lead-goalscorer anymore. He’s been joined by Rick Nash, as they both have 13 tallies apiece.

Currently rating ninth-best, New York has had a solid power play this season as they’re successful on 21.4% of attempts. Six skaters have headed that effort, but Nash, Brandon Pirri and Jimmy Vesey deserve special credit as they each have four goals with the man-advantage, tying for a team-high.

The Blueshirts have been even more impressive on the penalty kill, where their 87.3% success rate is third-best in the NHL. Kevin Klein‘s 13 shorthanded blocks have been the most impressive effort on the squad, but 14 of New York‘s 26 skaters have notched at least one block on the penalty kill. This entire club has bought in on both ends of the ice, and Alain Vigneault should be proud.

Tonight’s contest is the second time these teams have met this season. Only a Sunday ago, Madison Square Garden hosted the Devils to a five-goal shutout Rangers victory.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include New Jersey‘s Cammalleri (nine goals [leads the team]), Kyle Palmieri (57 hits [leads the team]), Kyle Quincey (+5 [leads the team]) and Zajac (15 assists among 23 points [both lead the team]) & New York‘s Grabner (+18 [tied for second-best in the league]), Hayes (+16 [tied for eighth-best in the NHL]) and, depending on who plays, Henrik Lundqvist (14 wins [tied for eighth-most in the league]) or Antti Raanta (1.67 GAA on a .941 save percentage [both second-best in the NHL], including two shutouts [tied for eighth-most in the league]).

New York is favored at almost every casino in Vegas, and for good reason. All facets of the game are going their way these days, which is the exact opposite of what you can say about Jersey. Expect the Rangers to put a similar beat-down on their rivals as they did last weekend.

Hockey Birthday

  • Jean Pronovost (1945-) – This right wing played 998 games over 14 seasons, most of which with Pittsburgh. By the time his career was done, he’d notched 774 points and been selected for four All Star games.
  • Dan Cleary (1978-) – The 13th-overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago, this left wing has played most of his 17+ year career with Detroit, where he was a member of the Stanley Cup winning 2008 Red Wings team. He still plays in Detroit‘s system with Grand Rapids, and made 17 appearances with the senior team in the 2014-15 season.

Third Star of the Game Vesey’s return to Nashville – if you can call it that – went exactly as he would have liked, as his Rangers beat the Predators 2-1 in a shootout in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Only one goal was struck in the first period, and it belonged to Nash (Hayes and Nick Holden) and the Rangers. Nash’s wrister was his 13th goal of the year.

It stood as the would-be winner until Second Star Mike Fisher buried an unassisted wrister of his own 9:22 into the second frame to level the score at one-all. As neither side was able to break the tie with the remaining 35:38, which included five minutes of three-on-three play, the important bonus point was awarded in a shootout.

As home team, the Predators elected to shoot first…

  1. …and sent Ryan Johansen into the fray. Lundqvist was not about to let that into his net.
  2. Wonder boy himself, Vesey’s shot was pure to give the Rangers a 1-0 shootout lead.
  3. Next up for Nashville, Craig Smith did even worse than Johansen – he missed the cage.
  4. Mats Zuccarello ended the shootout almost as quickly as it began, scoring on First Star Juuse Saros.

Lundqvist earns the victory after saving 31-of-32 shots faced (96.9%), while Saros takes the shootout loss, saving 26-of-27 (96.3%).

Another road victory in the DtFR Game of the Day series pulls the roadies within six points of the hosts, who have a 36-22-11 record.

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December 5 – Day 54 – If there are emperor Penguins, are there any from the legislative branch?

Time to start another week the only way we know how: with more hockey. There’s four contests occurring this evening, all at 7 p.m. eastern: Florida at Boston (NHLN/SN/TVAS), Ottawa at Pittsburgh (RDS2), Buffalo at Washington and Arizona at Columbus.

The Steel City looks to be hosting the best game of the evening, so we’re off to PPG Paints Arena!

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Ottawa comes to town sporting a 15-8-2 record, good enough for second place in the Atlantic Division. The reason they’ve been able to find such success is due totally to their goaltending that has allowed only 59 goals, tying for eighth-fewest in the NHL.

Craig Anderson has made 18 starts this season, and looks to be in line for another tonight after spending time with his wife during her cancer treatment. Even with something that could be a distraction (don’t get me wrong, life comes before sports), he’s still had a successful season so far, earning a 12-5-1 record with a .93 save percentage and 2.2 GAA – the sixth (tied) and 14th-best efforts among the 42 netminders with nine or more appearances.

That effort has been necessary for most of the season, but the Senators‘ defense has been improving. Last time we featured Ottawa, they were allowing the ninth-most shots-against average, but they now rank only 13th-worst, allowing 30.8 shots-against-per-game. As usual, that defensive effort has been led by Captain Erik Karlsson, who’s 73 blocks is tops in the Canadian capital.

The Senators‘ defense has continued its strong play even when disadvantaged. Ottawa ranks ninth-best in the NHL on the penalty kill, refusing to yield a goal 84.6% of the time. This is where Dion Phaneuf has taken command, as his 15 shorthanded blocks lead the club.

Unfortunately for Ottawa, the other special team has been nowhere near as competitive. Successful on only 12.6% of opportunities, the Senators‘ power play is third-worst in the league. Don’t tell Mike Hoffman though – his eight power play points are the most on the squad, as are his four man-advantage goals.

Winners of their last two games, the Penguins enter tonight’s game with a 15-7-3 record, good enough for second-place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ve earned that success by scoring 78 goals, the fourth-most in the NHL.

It’s finally happened. Even though he gave Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin a six-game head-start, Captain Sidney Crosby has taken the points lead in Pittsburgh, with 26 to his credit. 16 of those have been goals, which is seven more Malkin’s nine, the second-best goal-scorer on the squad.

Where the Pens still need to improve is on their penalty kill. Even though Ian Cole has 11 shorthanded blocks, to his credit, Pittsburgh ranks fifth-worst in the league at neutralizing their infractions, stopping only 78.4% of opponents’ power plays.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Ottawa‘s Anderson (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the NHL] among 12 wins [tied for sixth-most in the league] on a .93 save percentage [tied for eighth-best in the NHL]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (16 goals [tied for league-lead] among 26 points [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]), Kessel (16 assists [tied for seventh-most in the league] among 24 points [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]), Malkin (16 assists [tied for seventh-most in the league] among 25 points [eighth-most in the NHL]) and Matthew Murray (2.02 GAA [sixth-best in the league]).

Pittsburgh is heavily favored to win tonight’s game, indicated by the -225 next to their name. Although Anderson is having his best season in Ottawa since his 2012-’13 campaign, the Penguins simply have too many weapons to overload him and his defense. Pittsburgh should win.

Hockey Birthday

  • Kevin Haller (1970-) – This defenseman was the 14th-overall selection in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by Buffalo, but he played for six teams and seven franchises (he mad the trip from Hartford to Greensboro). His favorite days were probably spent in Montréal, where he hoisted the 1993 Stanley Cup.
  • Olli Jokinen (1978-) – This center was the third-overall selection in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent far more of his time in Florida than with Los Angeles, the team that drafted him. Somehow, even though he played 17 seasons, he’s only made one playoff appearance.
  • Niklas Hagman (1979-) – Another Fin, this left wing was a Florida selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He played 770 games over his 10-season career and notched 301 points.

In our fifth game in the last nine days to require extra time, Detroit beat the Islanders 4-3 in overtime in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Anders Lee (Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas) didn’t wait too long to get the home Isles on the board, burying a wrist shot only 5:16 into the game. The Wings drew even again 7:37 later when First Star of the Game Mike Green (Frans Nielsen) scored a scary slap shot from outside the face-off left circle. The 1-1 tie held into the first intermission.

The Red Wings notched the lone tally of the second period with 5:20 remaining in the frame. Green (Thomas Vanek) takes credit again, but this time with a wrister to give Detroit a one-goal edge.

The Islanders tried their hardest to score quickly each period, and they were successful two-of-three times. Third Star Johnny Boychuk scored only 1:52 after returning from the second intermission to once again level the game. With 6:54 remaining in regulation, Henrik Zetterberg (Jonathan Ericsson and Tomas Tatar) scored a tip-in goal, but that lead lasted only 2:33 before Josh Bailey (John Tavares and Dennis Seidenberg) leveled the score once more at three-all. This tie was unbroken in the remaining 4:21 of regulation and forced five minutes of three-on-three overtime.

Second Star Danny DeKeyser (Tatar and Zetterberg) needed only 1:02 of that extra period to bury a wrist shot, securing the bonus point for the visiting Red Wings.

Petr Mrazek earned the victory after saving 32-of-35 shots faced (91.4%), leaving the overtime loss to Jaroslav Halak, who saved 30-of-34 (88.2%).

Detroit‘s win pulls the road squads within two points of the homers in the DtFR Game of the Day series. It stands at 29-19-8.

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December 3 – Day 52 – Jack is Back

As usual, Saturday hosts a busy NHL schedule, and with college football getting out of the way, you can pay even more attention to the multiple day games! Three of those matinees start at 1 p.m (Boston at Buffalo [SN], Carolina at the New York Rangers and Chicago at Philadelphia [NHLN]), followed an hour later by New Jersey at Nashville. Five contests begin at the usual 7 p.m. starting time (Toronto at Vancouver [CBC], Winnipeg at St. Louis [SN], Florida at Ottawa [CITY/TVAS], Washington at Tampa Bay and Detroit at Pittsburgh [NHLN]), trailed an hour later by Columbus at Arizona. Dallas at Colorado finds its start at 9 p.m., with tonight’s nightcap, Anaheim at Edmonton (CBC/SN) dropping the puck 60 minutes later. All times eastern.

Short list:

  • Boston at Buffalo: This rivalry has existed almost as long as the Sabres. Tonight’s edition will look far different than November’s meeting, as Jack Eichel is back on the ice.
  • Detroit at Pittsburgh: Back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals bouts in 2008 and 2009 between these clubs sparked this rivalry, but it’s died down in recent years.

Clubs joined simply by conference are no match for a rivalry shared within a division. To KeyBank Arena we go!

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In the white corner are the visiting Bruins. At 13-10-1, they’re the fourth-best team in the Atlantic Division. They’ve gotten to that position with some excellent defense and goaltending, which has allowed only 53 goals – the sixth-fewest in the NHL.

Although four netminders have taken to the crease for the Bruins, 12-4-1 Tuukka Rask has always been the man in charge. His 17 starts leads the club, as do his .938 save percentage and 1.64 GAA that rank fourth and best, respectively, among his peers with nine or more appearances.

Part of the reason he’s been able to find such success is because of the team playing in front of him and their improvement from a year ago. Last season, the Bruins blueline allowed 30.4 shots-per-game to reach Rask, tying for the 11th-highest rate in the league. Nowadays, Boston is home to the fourth-best defense, allowing only 27.3 shots-against-per-game.

Rookie Brandon Carlo has headlined that turnaround, already notching 42 blocks in his debut season. Zdeno Chara also deserves credit, as his 41 deflections were accumulated in only 19 games, but the Bruins‘ captain will not be available today with a lower body injury suffered a week and a half ago. Boston is 2-4 since he sustained the injury.

The defensive success has carried into the penalty kill, where the Bruins‘ 85.4% kill rate is second-best in the Eastern Conference, fifth-best overall. Carlo continues his good work on the special teams, leading the club with 14 shorthanded shot blocks.

Where Boston hasn’t been impressive is the power play. Successful on only 14.7% of attempts, the Bruins are eighth-worst in the NHL. That effort is headlined by by David Krejci and David Pastrnak, who both have five extra-man points. Pastrnak’s effort has been more impressive, as his four power play goals lead the squad.

Hosting them this evening are the 9-9-5 Sabres, who are winners of their last two contests. Buffalo has been held back by their offense so far with the fewest goals in the league (47), but help comes in the form of a sophomore center.

So far this season, Kyle Okposo has led the team with 16 points, and has paired with Matt Moulson for the Sabres‘ scoring title with seven goals. But things changed Tuesday when Eichel exchanged his boot for skates and a stick. In only two games, he’s notched four goals – yes, four – to average the best points-per-game average in the league. I don’t know if he’ll be able to maintain that blistering pace of two points per game, but averaging even half that effort would currently tie him for seventh-best average in the league.

Eichel has rejoined an impressive power play. Ranking fourth-best in the NHL, Buffalo has converted 23.4% of their man-advantages. It’s been in this situation where Okposo has earned his paycheck, as he’s notched 11 power play points to lead the team. Moulson has also been very impressive by leading the team with six extra-man tallies.

While Eichel will help the Sabres‘ offense, he isn’t going to do much for a penalty kill that ranks worst in the conference and second-worst in the league. Even with Josh Gorges‘ 14 shorthanded blocks, Buffalo has neutralized only 76.6% of their penalties. They don’t commit many infractions, so the play on the ice in those two minutes will need to improve for the Sabres to be considered a real threat to qualify for the playoffs.

These two have already once this season, a little under a month ago. Boston easily handled the Sabres at the TD Garden, winning 4-0.

Some players to keep an eye on this afternoon include Boston‘s Pastrnak (13 goals [tied for third-most in the league] for a +13 [fourth-best in the NHL]) and Rask (1.64 GAA [best in the league] for three shutouts [tied for second-most in the NHL] in 12 wins [tied for third-most in the league] on a .938 save percentage [fourth-best in the NHL]) & Buffalo‘s Anders Nilsson (.934 save percentage [tied for fifth-best in the league]).

Vegas has marked Buffalo as a +126 underdog in today’s game, but I don’t know if it’s even that extreme. While each club has a good and bad special team, they line up against each other well in this matchup such that a poor power play is going against a poor penalty kill, and vice versa.

I actually like Buffalo to pull off the home upset, but one thing I do know is this game will not be a four-goal shutout like their last meeting.

Hockey Birthday

  • Igor Larionov (1960-) – This center might have been drafted by Vancouver in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent far more of his 14 seasons in Detroit, where he won the Stanley Cup three times.
  • Mike Ramsey (1960-) – The 11th-overall pick in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft belonged to Buffalo, and they drafted this defenseman. He played 911 games over 14 seasons with the Sabres.
  • Jiri Bicek (1978-) – Selected by New Jersey in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing. Although he played in only four seasons with the Devils‘ senior squad, he did appear in five Stanley Cup playoff games to help Jersey to the 2003 title.

Although the Wild was able to score a game-tying goal in the third period, they weren’t able to win the shootout as Calgary won 3-2.

Minnesota actually took credit for the first goal of the game. Only 3:50 after starting play, Chris Stewart (Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter) deflected a shot to put the Wild on the board first. The Flames leveled the score with 7:34 remaining in the frame when Kris Versteeg (Jyrki Jokipakka and Sean Monahan) buried a backhanded shot. Only 1:07 later, First Star of the Game Mikael Backlund (Third Star Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano) scored on a power play backhander to give Calgary the lead going into the first intermission.

The last goal of regulation belonged to Second Star Mikko Koivu (Jason Zucker and Spurgeon), a slap shot 7:40 into the final frame that eventually forced a scoreless three-on-three overtime.

The Wild took the first shootout attempt…

  1. Nino Niederreiter went first for Minnesota, but all he found was Chad Johnson‘s pads.
  2. Versteeg scored a game in regulation, and the success continued in the shootout, putting the Flames up 1-0.
  3. Jason Pominville held serve for the Wild, but Calgary still had a shot in hand…
  4. …that Monahan buried to return the lead to the Flames.
  5. Charlie Coyle ended up being the last shootout participant, as his attempt was stopped by Johnson to secure the victory.

Johnson saved 23-of-25 (92%) shots faced to earn the victory, leaving the shootout loss to Devan Dubnyk, who saved 29-of-31 (93.5%).

Calgary‘s victory continues the winning way of the home squads, improving the hosts’ record to 29-18-7 in the DtFR Game of the Day series, leading the roadies by five points.

Categories
Daily Matchup

November 10 – Day 29 – Great Stars of fire

The bartender just walked by. He asked if anybody wanted another hockey game. Considering how good yesterday was, I got a whole round for tonight. Hope that’s okay.

In all seriousness, we have quite a selection of games this evening, starting with three at 7 p.m. (Columbus at Boston, Minnesota at Pittsburgh and Anaheim at Carolina), followed half an hour later by four more (Los Angeles at Montréal [RDS/SN360], Vancouver at Detroit, the New York Islanders at Tampa Bay and San Jose at Florida). St. Louis at Nashville drops the puck at 8 p.m., and tonight’s co-nightcaps get underway an hour later (Dallas at Calgary and Winnipeg at Arizona). All times eastern.

Short list:

  • Los Angeles at Montréal: Tom Gilbert played the last two seasons in The City of Saints, but now he works in The City of Angels.
  • New York at Tampa Bay: It’s a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals from last year.
  • St. Louis at Nashville: Carter Hutton heads back to Nashville, where he played the previous three seasons, and with a chance to play to boot.
  • Dallas at Calgary: Jiri Hudler spent four seasons in the Saddledome, but now he wears white in that building.

We haven’t watched the Stars yet this season, so let’s head to Alberta with them.

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Hudler joined Calgary before the 2012 season via free agency, and the center’s impact was noticed immediately in the lockout-shortened season as he notched 27 points.

His final full season with the Flames was easily the best campaign of his career. In 78 games played during the 2014-’15 season, he narrowly missed averaging a point a game with 76 to his credit.

This was also the season that Calgary qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2009. Although his club fell in the Western Conference Semifinals, it was no fault of Hudler’s. He continued his success with eight points in 11 games, split evenly between goals and assists.

Following his career year, Hudler was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy, the first Flame since Joe Mullen of the 1989 Stanley Cup winning team to earn the honor.

He was traded from Calgary to Florida at last year’s trade deadline, but was not offered another contract this off-season. He signed with Dallas in August, only 21 days before the start of the season. He has not had the start to the season that he would’ve liked, with no points, or even a shot, to show for an hour’s work. He has been facing an illness so severe that he was placed on injured reserve, but he has the chance to be activated this evening.

Those Stars enter the night riding a 4-6-3 record, a far cry from their expectations entering this campaign. While the goaltending is on par with last season’s (be careful, I don’t want you to read that as good), it has been Dallas‘ offensive drought that has caused their current predicament.

So far this season, the Stars have managed only 33 goals in 13 games, the 11th-worst scoring average in the game. Dallas‘ struggles can’t be pinned on Tyler Seguin, who has 14 points to his credit evenly split between goals and assists, but the rest of the team – including great forward like Jamie Benn – has yet to break the 10-point mark.

While I wasn’t planning on thoroughly discussing Dallas‘ defense, there’s one major pitfall that must be acknowledged: the penalty kill. The Stars‘ 75% kill rate ranks fourth-worst in the league. When paired with a team that struggles to keep the puck out of their own net at even-strength, they are not doing themselves any favors by committing 52 penalties – four per game!

The Flames play tonight’s game with the same record as the Stars but with the added note of riding a two-game losing skid. That’s where the similarities end though, as Calgary‘s inability to prevent the opposition from scoring is putting them in quite a hole.

Having already allowed 50 goals against this season, the Flames give up an average of 3.57 tallies against per game – tied for the third-worst rate in the NHL with Philadelphia. The blame rests solely on the goaltenders, who have been under no more or less pressure than the average netminder in the league in terms of shots faced per game. Brian Elliott has started nine games so far this season for a 3-6-0 record. In those games, he’s saved a poor 88.7% of shots faced for a whopping 3.33 GAA to rank worst and third-worst in the league, respectively, among the 24 goalies who have appeared in as many contests.

Offensively, the Flames badly need to focus on one important aspect of their game: the power play. Successful on only 8.3% of attempts, Calgary ranks dead last in the NHL in the category. On the bright side, it means that most of their goals have come against more difficult conditions, so at least they have that going for them.

Ahh, Caddyshack.

Continuing the thread of special teams, you would be wise to assume the Flames‘ penalty kill is equally as bad as their power play given the goaltending situation. For those who had second-to-last in the league, you win bonus points, as the Flames have stopped 72.4% of opposing extra-man advantages to rank better than only Chicago‘s horrendous efforts on the kill.

Some players to keep an eye on include Calgary‘s Michael Frolik (nine points on five goals [both lead the team]) and Dallas‘ Seguin (seven goals [tied for sixth-most in the league]).

Las Vegas favors the home team with a -125, but I don’t like that the NHL’s most potent offense last season is coming to town to face one of the worst goaltending situations. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that the Stars start getting things pulled together against a prone opponent.

Hockey Birthday

  • Don Saleski (1949-) – This right wing was the 64th overall selection in the 1969 NHL Entry Draft. He ended up playing 543 games in the league, all but 67 of which were with the team that drafted him: the Philadelphia Flyers, including the 1973-’74 and ’74-’75 Stanley Cup winning teams.
  • Mike Leclerc (1976-) – On the opposite wing, Leclerc was drafted 55th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by Anaheim. He ended up playing 341 games over his career, 85.3% of which were with the club that drafted him.
  • Kristian Huselius (1978-) – Another left winger like Leclerc, Huselius was drafted 47th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Florida, the club he spent 38.8% of his career with.

The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in the first overtime game in our Game of the Day series since October 28.

Columbus struck quickly last night, scoring both their regulation goals within the opening 5:30. Second Star of the Game Boone Jenner (Scott Hartnell and Cam Atkinson) takes credit for the first goal with a snap shot only 1:23 after the opening puck drop. 4:06 later, Brandon Saad (Ryan Murray and Third Star Jack Johnson) scored a snapper of his own to give the Jackets a 2-0 lead, which held into the first intermission.

Anaheim‘s comeback began with 2:39 remaining in the second period when Rickard Rakell (Cam Fowler and Josh Manson) scored his fourth goal of the season. It was the lone tally of the second period, meaning Columbus still had a one-goal lead going into the final 20 minutes of play.

That lead lasted only 1:25 after resuming play before Nick Ritchie (Joseph Cramarossa) scored a wrap-around to level the score for the Ducks.

Three-on-three overtime lasted only 1:21 before First Star Zach Werenski (Alexander Wennberg and Saad) scored the winner with a wrister.

Sergei Bobrovsky earns the victory after saving 30-of-32 shots faced (93.75%), while John Gibson takes the overtime loss saving 15-of-18 (83.3%).

With that victory, Columbus improves the home squads’ record in the DtFR Game of the Day series to 18-10-3, favoring the homers by nine points over the roadies.

Categories
Daily Matchup

October 27 – Day 16 – Bunches of animals are showing up in St. Louis this week. Today it’s Otters.

It’s a busy Thursday, just the way we like them. Per usual, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with three puck drops (Minnesota at Buffalo, Arizona at Philadelphia and the New York Islanders at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by two more (Florida at Toronto and Tampa Bay at Montréal [RDS/SN360]). The top of the hour marks the start of two contests (Detroit at St. Louis and Dallas at Winnipeg), while this evening’s co-nightcaps wait until 10:30 before starting (Nashville at Los Angeles and Columbus at San Jose). All times eastern.

It’s goin’ be lit.

Short list:

  • Arizona at Philadelphia – Ryan White returns to the Wells Fargo Center, his home for the previous two seasons.
  • New York at Pittsburgh – I don’t need to dress up this rivalry.
  • Florida at Toronto – James Reimer only played eight regular season games with San Jose, so the Panthers are effectively his second team after six seasons with Toronto.
  • Tampa Bay at Montréal – Michael Bournival used to call the Bell Centre home. Now his office is in the Sunshine State.
  • Detroit at St. Louis – In addition to being a vintage rivalry, Steve Ott returns to Scottrade Center.

If Reimer were expected to play this evening in Toronto, we’d certainly focus there. Instead, we head to St. Louis with Otter for an old-timey rivalry.

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Center Ott arrived in St. Louis with Ryan Miller when the Blues traded William Carrier, Jaroslav Halak and Chris Stewart to Buffalo at the 2013-’14 trade deadline. Miller departed for Vancouver after that postseason, but Ott remained until this offseason.

Ever since he entered the league in 2002, Ott has had a reputation for being one of the biggest pests in hockey. His penchant for getting into even the coolest of heads is well-known, as is his ability to cuss out any player in the arena in his native tongue.

It’s an ability that doesn’t show up on his stat sheet. The NHL doesn’t track “Caused Penalties in Minutes,” but if they did Ott would be a league leader. Some of the most recent Blues memories of Ott were against the Blackhawks during last season’s Western Quarterfinals. Ott was regularly getting into it with Jonathan Toews, a player that spent only 62 minutes in the penalty box during the regular season (.775 minutes, or 46.5 seconds, per game). In those seven games, he served 10 minutes – over 1.4 minutes per contest!

But it’s not simply his quick wit and abrasive behavior that has made him a fan favorite with every team he’s played for. During the 2014-’15 season, his first full campaign in St. Louis, he scored 12 points (including nine assists) while throwing 182 hits and 14 blocks. He was also effective at causing turnovers that season, forcing 21 giveaways.

This year, Ott dons the sweater of the Blues‘ former rivals: the 5-2-0 Detroit Red Wings. Before Detroit swapped conferences in 2013, the Blues and Wings shared the same division since 1981, which led to some fantastic matchups when they were both playing well (also read as when St. Louis was playing well).

The Wings enter tonight’s game on a five-game winning streak, tying Arizona for the longest active streak of any variety – except that the Coyotes have been on the losing side of things.

Much of that success has been due to some serious offensive firepower. They’ve scored 24 goals already this year in only seven games played (they average over 3.4 goals per game). Gustav Nyquist and Thomas Vanek take equal responsibility, as they both lead the team with eight points to their credit. Completing the scores have been Darren Helm and Vanek,  each of whom have a team-high four goals to their name.

The 4-2-1 Blue Notes have a .667 winning percentage in the Scottrade Center, and they’ll be looking to improve that to a .750 this evening. Although they play a more well-rounded game than their opposition, St. Louis also prefers to have the puck on their stick.

Just like he’s been the last three seasons, Vladimir Tarasenko has been the star of St. Louis so far this season (that’s why I have him on my fantasy team!). He has eight points to his credit already, four of which are goals – both totals lead the team.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Detroit‘s Helm (+9 [second-best in the NHL]) and Jimmy Howard (.5 GAA [leads the league] on a .984 save percentage [leads the league] for one shutout) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (2.39 GAA for three wins [both best on the team]) and Tarasenko (eight points [best on the team]).

The Blues barely had the upper hand last year, going 1-0-1 against the Wings by forcing overtime in their first meeting. Vegas predicts St. Louis will keep that run going tonight, as they’re favored at -155. I think that’s a safe assumption. The Blues should win this evening.

Hockey Birthday:

  • Sergei Samsonov (1978-) – This left wing played exactly 888 regular season games, over 500 of which were with Boston. He was drafted eighth overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, seven picks after fellow Bruins-pick Joe Thornton, and a year later the Russian earned the Calder Memorial Trophy.
  • Brandon Saad (1992-) – This is Saad’s second season in Columbus after spending four seasons with ex-division rival Chicago. He’d already scored 179 points before this season started. Maybe he’ll score another tonight in The Tank.

With three goals in the second period, the New York Rangers bested the visiting Boston Bruins 5-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Boston actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead, starting with David Pastrnak‘s (Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara) wrister only 10 seconds into the contest. With 5:16 remaining in the opening frame, the Bruins‘ Austin Czarnik (David Krejci) doubled the visitor’s score with the first goal of his young career.

New York‘s comeback began 44 seconds before the midway point of the game when Second Star of the Game Rick Nash (Derek Stepan and Jimmy Vesey) connected on a power play wrister. 7:19 later, Kevin Hayes (Jesper Fast and Ryan McDonagh) scored his second goal of the season on a wrister to draw the Blueshirts even. 36 seconds before the final horn of the second period, First Star Brandon Pirri (Third Star J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad) buried the Rangers‘ second power play goal of the game. That tally ended up being the game winner.

Pirri (Marc Staal and Miller) and Vesey (Nash and Stepan) both scored insurance goals in the final frame to put this game away.

Henrik Lundqvist earns the victory after saving 27-of-29 shots faced (93.1%), while Zane McIntyre takes the loss, saving 26-of-31 (83.9%).

With another home victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series favors the home sides by six points with a 11-6-1 record.

Categories
Nick's Net

Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- San Jose Sharks

By: Nick Lanciani

What will retired numbers look like around the league in the future? While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

With that in mind, let’s explore what each team around the NHL might do in the coming seasons. Feel free to speak your mind and drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Unknown-3San Jose Sharks

Current Retired Numbers- None

Recommended Numbers to Retire

19 Joe Thornton

Thornton began his career with the Boston Bruins as the 1st overall selection of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft but was traded to the San Jose Sharks 23 games into the 2005-2006 season and has been an important piece the franchise ever since. Thornton is a stellar playmaker who has fully immersed himself into Bay Area culture to the point that he remains one of the most recognizable Sharks players ever.

While his goal production may be sagging and his leadership has recently come into question, Thornton’s presence in San Jose was the reason why they became such a dominant team in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Now of course, the Sharks find themselves in a bit of a transition, looking to rebuild their roster and either keep Jumbo Joe as part of their long term plan to capture their first Cup or look to see if there are any organizations willing to take on such a large cap hit.

At the end of the day, Joe Thornton is certainly deserving of having his number retired by the San Jose Sharks when he decides to hang up the skates, out of his dedication to the team and northern California hockey.

12 Patrick Marleau

Marleau is closing in on nearly 20 years with the San Jose Sharks and is the epitome of what it means to be a Shark. His inconsistent play these days shrouds the average hockey fan’s ability to see what Marleau has truly meant to the organization. He is a well liked leader and respected around the league. He is the first successful player to have been developed by the Sharks in their entire franchise history.

The longtime playmaker is also the youngest player in NHL history to have reached the 1,300 games played milestone. The 2nd overall pick of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft is sure to see his number 12 raised to the rafters of the SAP Center when he steps away from the game.

11 Owen Nolan

Nolan spent his longest amount of time with the San Jose Sharks over the course of his 18-year NHL career. He played in eight seasons for the Sharks between the 1995-1996 season and the 2002-2003 season. Nolan, while an iconic player of the 1990s and early 2000s, was most easily recognizable wearing a San Jose teal jersey to many fans of the game.

For the very reason of popularity alone, he stands a chance of having his number retired by the Sharks. However, compared to longtime Sharks forwards, Thornton and Marleau, Nolan’s got little chance of seeing his jersey number hung from the ceiling.

20 Evgeni Nabokov

Nabokov was a San Jose Sharks goaltender for ten years out of his 14-year NHL net minding career. This past season he suited up in 11 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning before being placed on waivers with the purpose of reassignment to Syracuse, ultimately opting for a trade to San Jose to then retire a Shark. Simply put, Evgeni Nabokov was the best goaltender in franchise history for the San Jose Sharks (thus far, anyway). Without a doubt, he’ll likely see his number raised to the rafters within a few years.