Down the Frozen River

Tag: 2001 Stanley Cup Finals

  • April 6 – Day 169 – Pacific pandemonium

    Buckle up for a wild Thursday.

    There’s a dozen games on tap this evening, starting with four (Ottawa at Boston [NBCSN/RDS], Pittsburgh at New Jersey [SN360], the New York Islanders at Carolina and Winnipeg at Columbus) at 7 p.m. and another two (Tampa Bay at Toronto [TVAS] and St. Louis at Florida) half an hour later. 8:30 p.m. marks the puck drop of Nashville at Dallas, with Minnesota at Colorado waiting 30 minutes before getting underway. A pair of contests (Vancouver at Arizona and Chicago at Anaheim [NBCSN]) see their start at 10 p.m., with our co-nightcaps – Calgary at Los Angeles (SN360) and Edmonton at San Jose – dropping the puck half an hour later. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Ottawa at Boston: These clubs are tied at 94 points apiece for second and third place in the Atlantic Division.
    • Tampa Bay at Toronto: Tampa‘s postseason dreams are still alive, but they’ll be dashed with a loss this evening.
    • Chicago at Anaheim: Chicago has already clinched home ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs, but the Ducks still have some work to do within the Pacific Division.
    • Edmonton at San Jose: Speaking of the Pacific, these squads are tied at 97 points apiece for second and third place.

    Of that list, the two tie-breaking games certainly stand out among the rest. It’s a tough choice between them, and I don’t think there’s really a wrong answer.

    But…

    Since Montréal has already clinched the Atlantic and both the Oilers and Sharks can still win their division, we have to turn our attention to The Tank for this episode Pacific Pandemonium!

     

    No, not pandamonium. Pandemonium.

    Though, come to think of it, that is a good representation of what is going on out West.

    The top three teams in the Pacific are all over each other, and each still has a chance to advance into first place in the group. In fact, this panda .gif is so accurate, it even shows the fourth-place Flames leaving the tussle, as they’re already locked into one of the wild cards.

    To continue with our panda metaphor, the bear at the bottom of the pile is certainly the 45-28-7 Sharks. Though tied with Edmonton on points, they’ve played one more game to put them in third place. Should they fall tonight, whether it be in regulation or extra-time, they will be unable to claim the top seed in the division.

    The reason they’ve fallen from grace is their 1-8-0 record over the second half of March. As pointed out the last time we featured San Jose, it led the Pacific by five points at the beginning of the month. Now, the Sharks are simply fighting for home ice in the first round.

    That article went on bemoaning the Sharks and their play of late. Somebody in San Jose‘s front office must have read it, because things have certainly changed since the beginning of April.

    San Jose enters tonight’s game on a two-game winning streak (their first since March 12-14), and it’s all because 35-22-6 Martin Jones rediscovered his game. Over the second half of March, Jones posted an atrocious .862 save percentage and 3.85 GAA. Simply put, you’re not going to win many games that way.

    Jones’ goaltending coach is Johan Hedberg, himself a former NHL goaltender.  Undoubtedly, Hedberg probably also went through tough patches like Jones did. Whatever he said or did with Jones has obviously worked, as the Sharks have their number one goalie back.

    Jones hasn’t been just good in these last two games, he’s been great. He’s posted an incredible .969 save percentage and averaged only one goal-allowed, both numbers that are near the top of the league to start the month.

    One of the best tests of a goalie is his performance against the power play, especially when the penalty kill in front of him manages only an average 80.9% kill rate on the campaign. Of all the goaltenders to have faced at least eight power play shots in the past four days, Jones is one of only six to have saved all of them.

    There is still one remnant from the losing skid, though it’s no surprise given the Sharks‘ season success rate of only 16.7% on the power play that ties for sixth-worst in the NHL. San Jose has converted neither of its extra-man opportunities this month even though both Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski – the Sharks‘ best players on the man-advantage – have not missed any time.

    With a game-in-hand on the Pacific-leading Ducks, 44-26-9 Edmonton still has its sights set on hoisting its first Division Champion banner since 1992. They can make a strong step in that direction with a win tonight.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Oilers did just that (win, that is), as they’ve earned a 9-2-0 record in their past 11 games – the third-best record in the league in that time.

    The only thing better than Edmonton‘s record is its propensity for scoring the puck. 44 Oilers goals have been struck since March 14, the most in the league since then. I probably don’t need to tell you who’s behind most of those tallies, but would I be doing my job if I didn’t?

    Simply put, Connor McDavid is really, really good at hockey. He’s registered 20 points in his past 11 games to pace the league since mid-March. What is truly impressive about McDavid’s late-season surge is that he’s calling his number more often. He’s only notched 29 goals on the season, a surprisingly low total since he’s effectively locked up his first Art Ross Trophy. But lately? He’s buried six of those tallies in the last 11 contests, a run that is matched by line-mate Patrick Maroon to co-lead the squad.

    The Oil‘s offensive dominance continues on the power play, where it has converted an impressive 28.9% to rank sixth-best in the league since mid-March. McDavid is joined on this attack by Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic, as they’ve all notched five man-advantage points in the past 24 days. Lucic has been especially impressive during this run, as four of his points have been goals, which ties for the second-highest total in the NHL in that time.

    Edmonton‘s penalty kill has also been excellent of late, as it’s properly defended and neutralized 85.7% of its infractions to tie for the sixth-best mark in the league since mid-March. Andrej Sekera deserves a lot of the credit for that success, as he’s blocked eight shots on the penalty kill in the past 11 games, which ties for second-most in the league.

    The Oilers own a one-point lead in the series between these clubs this season, thanks to forcing overtime they first ran into the Sharks on December 23. These clubs last met March 30 in Edmonton, where the Oil bested San Jose 3-2 thanks to Maroon’s two-goal night.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Edmonton‘s Draisaitl (75 points [eighth-most in the league] on 47 assists [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]), McDavid (66 assists for 95 points [both lead the league] and a +25 [10th-best in the NHL]) and Cam Talbot (40 wins [third-most in the league], including seven shutouts [tied for third-most in the NHL]) & San Jose‘s Burns (74 points [ninth-most in the league]) and Jones (35 wins [seventh-most in the NHL]).

    I’m surprised: Vegas favors the Sharks to win tonight on a -125 line. While Jones’ resurgence have helped to cool my doubts about San Jose going into the playoffs, I still don’t think it’s enough to fend off the Oilers‘ dominant offense.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Connie Broden (1932-2013) – This center did the unthinkable by the standards of today’s game: he played only six regular season games in the NHL – all with the Canadiens – and scored only three points, but he hoisted two Stanley Cups. Talk about an effective career!
    • Michel Larocque (1952-1992) – This goaltender was selected sixth-overall by Montréal in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, and that’s where he played most of his 11 seasons. Amassing a career 160-89-45 record, he won four Vezina Trophies and the 1979 Stanley Cup.
    • Olaf Kolzig (1970-) – The only South African to play in the NHL to date, this goaltender was the 19th-overall pick by Washington in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. All but one of his 17 seasons were spent with the Capitals, and he won the 2000 Vezina and 2006 King Clancy Memorial Trophies and played in two All-Star Games before retiring.
    • Hal Gill (1975-) – Another player to spend most of his career with the club that drafted him, this defenseman was selected by Boston in the eighth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He hoisted his lone Stanley Cup as a member of the Penguins‘ 2009 squad.
    • Ville Nieminen (1977-) – This NHL journeyman was picked by Colorado 78th-overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. In only seven seasons, he played with seven different clubs, but before being shipped off from the Avalanche, he helped them to the 2001 Stanley Cup.
    • Travis Moen (1982-) – Calgary selected this left wing in the fifth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, but he never played a game with the Flames. Instead, he spent half of his 12-year career in Montréal. Another Stanley Cup winner, he was a member of the 2007 Ducks.
    • Clarke MacArthur (1985-) – Buffalo selected this left wing 74th-overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, but he’s in his fourth season with the Senators. Due to suffering a concussion during training camp, he finally made his season debut Tuesday.

    With a two-goal shutout victory over the Rangers in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, I present you your 2016-’17 regular season champion, the back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals!

    With four prominent skaters healing up in the press box, the Rangers entered this contest over-matched. That being said, they managed to keep the Capitals off the board until only 5:11 remained in the second period. Alex Ovechkin (Second Star of the Game Evgeny Kuznetsov and Third Star Marcus Johansson) took advantage of a Brendan Smith holding penalty to score a deflected power play goal.

    That was the only tally Washington managed before the second intermission, meaning the game’s lone insurance goal was struck in the third period. It came off Kuznetsov’s (Johansson and Justin Williams) stick, a wrist shot 5:42 into the frame.

    First Star Braden Holtby earned the victory after saving all 24 shots he faced, leaving the loss to Henrik Lundqvist, who saved 23-of-25 (92%).

    With the final playoff pushes seeing their last breaths, hosts in the DtFR Game of the Day series are truly taking advantage of their home-ice advantage. They’ve improved their records in the series to 87-59-25 (seven points better than the road teams) by winning six of the last seven games.

  • December 10 – Day 59 – Gudbranson is Badbranson when he’s playing against your team

    Welcome to the weekend. It’s been waiting for you.

    I know you have big plans for these 48 hours, but make sure to make some room for hockey. There’s quite a selection of games today, starting with Dallas at Philadelphia (SN1) at 1 p.m., followed three hours later by Ottawa at Los Angeles (RDS). Five games start at the usual 7 p.m. time (Toronto at Boston [CBC/NHLN], Colorado at Montréal [CITY/SN360/TVAS], Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, Vancouver at Florida [SN] and the New York Islanders at Columbus), trailed an hour later by Nashville at Arizona. The West Coast gets involved at 10 p.m. with Winnipeg at Calgary (CBC/SN) and tonight’s nightcap – Carolina at San Jose – drops the puck half an hour after. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Toronto at Boston: Everybody loves an Original Six matchup!
    • Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay: Last season, it took seven games for the Penguins to best the Bolts in the Eastern Finals.
    • Vancouver at Florida: The first five seasons of Erik Gudbranson‘s career was spent in Florida, but since this offseason he’s called British Columbia home.
    • Winnipeg at Calgary: Tonight’s contest is the first meeting of the season between these rivals.

    Since Gudbranson will only make one trip to the Sunshine State this season – barring an improbable Canucks–Panthers Stanley Cup Finals – we’ll follow Vancouver to the BB&T Center.

    UnknownFlorida_Panthers_logo_2016

     

    Welcome home Gudbranson. The defenseman was the third-overall selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and he made his NHL debut only a season later. It was a quick introduction to the senior club, as skipping an introductory stop in San Antonio, Florida‘s AHL side.

    Gudbranson made an immediate impact on the club, always playing 64 or more games for the Panthers (barring, of course, the 2012-’13 lockout). Over the course of his tenure in Florida, Gubdranson was known as a violent player – the most physical in the dressing room. He threw an impressive 754 hits while playing for the Panthers (the 11th-most among the 484 eligible over that time-span), including a hit season in 2014-15 where he landed 2.8 hits per game.

    He also performed his primary duties well, blocking 344 shots before catching a plane to Canada, the third-most for the franchise during his tenure.

    He found his way to Vancouver this summer in a trade that included a total of three 2016 draft picks (evenctually becoming Jonathan Ang and Adam Mascherin for Florida and Cole Candella for Vancouver) and Jared McCann joining the Panthers.

    He joins a 12-13-2 Canucks club that currently occupies sixth place in the Pacific Division. Much of the reason his team hasn’t found success is not his fault, as it is the offense that has not been producing. Vancouver has notched only 62 goals so far this season, the fourth-fewest in the NHL.

    As usual, the Sedins are doing all they can to keep the Canucks alive. Daniel Sedin leads the squad with 18 points, but brother Henrik Sedin is right behind with 17. Bo Horvat joins D. Sedin for the scoring lead, as they both have lit the lamp eight times.

    Unfortunately for Vancouver, neither 18 points nor eight goals breaks the top-50 in scoring this season – yet those are the numbers leading their team. That’s not a good sign for the other forwards expected to produce scoring.

    Much of those struggles can be attributed to a lackluster power play. Vancouver ties for the fifth-worst power play in the league, converting only 14.1% of opportunities. Once again, who else to lead the Canucks but the Sedins? They both have six man-advantage points for top in the clubhouse, but D. Sedin probably deserves more credit as he has three power play goals.

    Impressively, Vancouver has certainly buckled down on their own end when facing the man-advantage. Their 84.9% ties for seventh-best in the NHL, and was led by Alexander Edler and his 10 shorthanded blocks before he broke a finger. The man of the hour is right behind, notching nine for second-most, and has been expected to assume the role Edler left behind.

    Playing host this evening are the 12-12-4 Florida Panthers, currently the sixth-best team in the Atlantic Division. Similarly to Vancouver, it has been their offensive struggles that have held them back from greater success. The Panthers have notched only 64 goals this year, tying for fifth-fewest in the game.

    Jon Marchessault has been the man in charge of that offense, as he’s notched 19 points this season and 10 goals – already the best mark of his NHL career after only 25 games – to lead the squad. Unfortunately for the Panthers, he has been sidelined for the past week, and his status is unknown for tonight’s game. In his stead, Florida turns to Aleksander Barkov, who has 18 points on his campaign, and the three goalscorers (Aaron Ekblad, Jaromir Jagr and Vincent Trocheck) that tie for second-most goals on the team with six apiece.

    If the Canucks‘ power play is bad, the Panthers‘ is much, much worse. They tie for worst in the league, successful on only 13.5% of their attempts. Once again, that was Marchessault’s responsibility before he got hurt, as his seven points and three power play goals both led the team. Florida is left with Barkov (five power play points), Jagr (three goals among five points) and Keith Yandle (five power play points )to pick up the slack while their breakout star is healing his lower-body injury.

    Fortunately, the penalty kill has been outstanding, negating 85% of their infractions for the sixth-best mark in the league. Michael Matheson has headed that department with seven shorthanded blocks to his name.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Florida‘s Barkov (13 assists [leads the team]) and Trocheck (72 hits [leads the team]) & Vancouver‘s Gudbranson (61 hits [leads the team]) and D. Sedin (18 points [leads the team]).

    Vegas has marked Florida a -205 favorite this evening, but I think that’s a little strong given both teams play a similar style. If Marchessault can go, I think the Panthers can win, but without him I think the Canucks can pull off the road victory.

    Hockey Birthday:

    • Rob Blake (1969-) – Los Angeles drafted this defenseman in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, and he played 805 games over 14 seasons for the Kings. He was a member of the 2000-’01 Colorado club that hoisted the Stanley Cup, as well as on the coaching staff for the 2013-’14 champion Kings. His number 4 hangs in the Staples Center rafters for being a seven-time All-Star and winner of the 1998 Norris Trophy.
    • T.J. Hensick (1985-) – A 2005 NHL Entry Draft selection by Colorado, he’s appeared in 112 senior-level games. His longest stint in the NHL was in 2008-’09, when he played 61 games for the Avs.

    When your first goal of the season is a game-winner, you’re going to have a good night. Ask the Ducks, who beat San Jose 3-2 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Anaheim got the scoring started relatively quickly, as Rickard Rakell‘s (Third Star of the Game Shea Theodore and Corey Perry) wrist shot found the back of the net only 4:44 after beginning play. With 4:54 remaining in the frame, the Ducks doubled their score with a wrister from Second Star Antoine Vermette (Theodore and Nick Ritchie), but Brent Burns (Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski) and San Jose reeled them back in with six ticks remaining in the frame, setting the score at 2-1 going into the first intermission.

    The Sharks knotted the score at two-all 8:40 into the second period with a Kevin Labanc (Logan Couture and Joel Ward) snapper, only his third tally of the season. That score held to the end of the frame, setting up an exciting third and final period.

    With 5:38 remaining in regulation, First Star Hampus Lindholm (Ritchie and Ryan Kesler) buried his first goal of the season to break the tie and earn the Ducks first place in the Pacific Division.

    Jonathan Bernier earned the victory after saving 22-of-24 shots faced (91.7%), while Martin Jones takes the loss, saving 29-of-32 (90.6%).

    This entire business week has been dominated by the home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series, as their fifth-straight victory gives them an 11-point advantage over the roadies for a 34-19-8 record.

  • November 21 – Day 40 – If you get stuck in an Avalanche, I recommend more than a Jacket

    Hey buddy, how’s it going? Oh, first day back at work this week got you down? I know how to fix that: watch hockey.

    We’ve got a decent little selection to choose from this evening, starting with three at 7 p.m. (Calgary at Buffalo, the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh and Colorado at Columbus), followed by Tampa Bay at Nashville (TVAS) an hour later. Minnesota at Dallas finds its start at 8:30, with Chicago at Edmonton (SN/SN1) dropping the puck at 9 p.m. Finally, New Jersey at San Jose – this evening’s nightcap – gets green-lit at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Colorado at Columbus: Fedor Tyutin spent eight seasons in central Ohio, but returns tonight wearing different colors.
    • New York at Pittsburgh: Last season, these clubs met up in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Pens won in five games.
    • Minnesota at Dallas: Another quarterfinals rematch, but from the Western Conference. Dallas won in six games.

    Since Colorado makes only one trip to Nationwide Arena a year, we’ll catch Tyutin’s homecoming.

    Unknown-1Columbus Blue Jackets Logo

     

    Tyutin joined Columbus during the off-season preceding the 2008-’09 season after being traded by the New York Rangers for Dan Fritsche and Nikolai Zherdev.

    While playing for the Jackets, the defenseman notched 185 points in 553 games. Then again, that wasn’t his primary objective. Ohioans remember him most for his physical, selfless play, sacrificing himself 788 times to prevent a puck from finding the net, and another 735 times hurling himself at opposing skaters.

    Certainly not quite as momentous, Rene Bourque is also making a return to Columbus. He played 57 games over two seasons with Columbus. Why his return is special will be revealed shortly.

    These days, they’re wearing burgundy sweaters – Tyutin  after being the odd-man out in Columbus cap-space moves, and Bourque after not getting his contract renewed. Their Avs are 8-9-0 for last place in the Central Division, due almost entirely to a flailing offense.

    Colorado has only managed 36 goals so far this season in their 17 games to average 2.12 per game. Nathan MacKinnon has led the charge (if you can call it that) with 12 points to his credit, but it has been Matt Duchene finishing the plays with six tallies to his credit.

    Herein lies the Avalanche‘s first issue: their leading goalscorer hasn’t seen the ice in over a week after suffering a concussion on November 12. This is where Bourque comes in: with five goals to his credit, he is the leading active goalscorer for the club.

    Even though defense is what has kept the Avalanche somewhat competitive, they have one fatal flaw: the penalty kill. Successfully nullifying 78.9% of their infractions, Colorado ranks seventh-worst in the NHL. Their poor success rate is due almost entirely to committing too many penalties. The Avs have faced 71 power plays already this year, tying for fourth-most in the league.

    The 10-4-2 Blue Jackets play host this season, currently laying claim to fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. That position goes well with their four-game winning streak, which ties with Carolina and Tampa Bay for longest-active in the NHL right now.

    They’ve gotten there with strong goaltending. With a .931 save percentage and 2.19 GAA, Sergei Bobrovsky for his 10-4-1 record, ranking sixth and ninth-best in the league, respectively, among the 37 goalies with eight or more appearances to their credit.

    What makes Bobrovsky’s efforts more impressive is the fact that the blueline in front of him hasn’t been exactly impressive. Jack Johnson leads the club with 28 blocks.

    28.

    Let that set in for a minute.

    For a team having the success the Jackets are this season, they allow 31.5 shots on the cage per game, the eighth-highest average in the NHL. Should Columbus want to really be a threat this postseason, they’ll need to add something to their defensive corps.

    Offensively, Columbus‘ forte has been nothing but their power play. They’ve been successful on 31.8% of their extra-man attempts, tops in the league. Alexander Wennberg has been the man-in-charge on the power play with 10 power man-advantage points to his credit. That being said, it’s been Cam Atkinson completing most of those plays, potting four power play goals.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Colorado‘s Erik Johnson (46 blocks [leads the team]) and MacKinnon (12 points [leads the team]) & Columbus‘ Bobrovsky (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] of his 10 wins [tied for third-most in the NHL]) and Wennberg (14 assists [tied for the league-lead]).

    For the second night in a row, bets are off for our Game of the Day. That being said, I don’t have anywhere near the expectations I had for yesterday’s Florida at New York contest. Columbus should easily handle the visiting Avalanche.

    Hockey Birthday:

    • Alex Tanguay (1979-) – This left wing played 16 NHL seasons, most of which with the club that drafted him 12th-overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft: Colorado. He was a part of the 2001 Avalanche team that hoisted the Stanley Cup.
    • Ben Bishop (1986-) – No time to celebrate, this goaltender has a game tonight in Nashville.

    It took a shootout, but Florida was able to earn two points in the World’s Most Famous Arena by beating the Rangers 3-2.

    Only one goal was scored in the first period, and it brought the home fans to their feet. With 6:45 remaining in the frame, Chris Kreider (Derek Stepan and Marc Staal) buried a wrister to set the score at 1-0.

    Third Star of the Game Keith Yandle was the whole reason we featured this game, and he came through in a big way for Florida, scoring (Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov) with 5:17 remaining on a power play slap shot to level the score going into the second intermission.

    Only 1:45 after returning to the ice for the final frame, Mika Zibanejad (Mats Zuccarello and Jimmy Vesey) scored for the Rangers, but that lead lasted only 6:09 before Aaron Ekblad (Jakub Kindl and Trocheck) tied the game at two-all, the score that held not only to the end of regulation, but also through the three-on-three overtime period.

    1. Zuccarello went first for New York, but was saved by First Star James Reimer.
    2. Trocheck went next and gave the Panthers a 1-0 shootout lead.
    3. Next up for the Blueshirts was Brandon Pirri, who was also saved.
    4. Barkov ends the shootout for the Panthers with a goal.

    Reimer saved 33-of-35 (94.3%) for the victory, forcing Second Star Henrik Lundqvist to take the shootout loss saving 28-of-30 (93.3%).

    Florida‘s shootout victory only pulls the road teams back within a dozen points of the home sides, as the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 24-12-6.