Down the Frozen River

Tag: Alexey Marchenko

  • Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games

    We’ve talked a lot in DtFR Podcasts about who is – and maybe even more about who isn’t – going to the XXIII Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. However, we haven’t had too many discussions yet about the tournament itself.

    What nations are going to be there? What is the format of the tournaments? What time will those games be? Will the United States get those games broadcast live? And, most importantly, who’s taking gold?

    Let’s tackle those questions one at a time.

    What nations are going to be at the Olympics this year?

    In total, there will be 14 nations represented between the two tournaments – though that number does come with a catch.

    Starting with the women’s tournament (which drops the first puck February 10 at 2:40 a.m. Eastern time), there will be two groups of four sides apiece competing to qualify for six spots in the knockout tournament.

    Group A consists of:

    • Canada
    • Finland
    • Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
    • United States of America

    One of these things is not like the others, so now sounds like as good a time as any to discuss one of our “wildcard” nations.

    With a press release on December 5, 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Russian Olympic Committee for the 2018 Games for “the systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system” during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

    While that is a hefty charge, the IOC did offer an avenue for clean Russian athletes to compete. Every Russian who passes the IOC’s drug tests is eligible to compete for the Olympic Rings instead of for the Russian Federation, meaning any medals won by Russian athletes will not count towards Russia’s all-time medal counts. No Russian flags will be raised, nor will the State Anthem of the Russian Federation be heard, but at least those athletes will still have an opportunity to compete.

    Group B consists of:

    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland

    Ooh, our other “wildcard!” It’s hidden a bit better than the Russian situation, but there’s a hint in one team’s name.

    You probably noticed there was no specification associated with Korea. That’s because North Korea and South Korea are fielding a unified team of 35 players (the standard 23 from South Korea with an additional dozen from North Korea) in the women’s hockey tournament.

    This is a weird and highly politicized (Politics at the Olympics? *insert sarcastic ‘No!’ here*) decision that was finalized only 24 days before Korea’s first game, and that crunched timeline may yield unfortunate results on the ice. Steve Mollman of Quartz provides some excellent information about the politics of the situation, but the only rule Head Coach Sarah Murray, a dual-citizen of Canada and the USA, must follow is three North Korean players must be active for each game.

    Meanwhile, the men’s tournament is a bit larger and features three groups of four teams for a total of 12 nations.

    Group A consists of:

    • Canada
    • Czech Republic
    • South Korea
    • Switzerland

    …Group B:

    • Olympic Athletes from Russia
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • United States

    …and Group C (the group I’m affectionately calling “The Euro Cup.” Original, I know):

    • Finland
    • Germany
    • Norway
    • Sweden

    All 12 squads will qualify for the knockout stage, but there is a major reward for each nation that wins its group: an automatic entry into the quarterfinals. The best second-place team will also earn a bye in the playoff round that will feature the remaining eight teams.

    What is the format of each tournament?

    Like many international sporting events, both the men’s and women’s Olympic hockey tournaments will begin with a group stage.

    Each team in a given group will play one game against the other three teams in its section. For example, the unified Korean team in the women’s tournament will play Switzerland (February 10 at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time), Sweden (February 12 at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time) and Japan (February 14 at 2:40 a.m. Eastern time).

    Standings will be tabulated in a way similar to the NHL, however there are a few differences: wins count for three points, while overtime and shootout wins only count for two. Overtime and shootout losses will still count for one point, and a regulation loss is… well, a major bummer.

    Okay, we’ve completed the group stage. How does this turn into a knockout tournament?

    This is the phase where things start to look a bit different between the men’s and women’s tournaments. Let’s start with the women’s competition, which will begin its knockout stage on February 16 at 10:10 p.m. Eastern time.

    Did you notice how stacked Group A is? The IOC and IIHF did that intentionally, but they also paved the way for those teams into the tournament as all four will qualify for at least the quarterfinals. The top two teams from the group (A1 and A2) will receive automatic bids into the semifinals, while the remaining sides will square off against the winner and runner-up of Group B (A3 versus B2 and A4 versus B1) in the quarters. B3 and B4 will continue play, but the best they’ll be able to finish in the consolation tournament is fifth place.

    The winner of A3vB2 will take on A1 in the semis, and A2 will square off against the victor of A4vB1. Once those tilts are done, it will boil down to the Gold Medal game, which is scheduled for February 21 at 11:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Bronze Medal match is slated for February 21 at 2:40 a.m. Eastern time.

    As stated before, the group stage in the men’s tournament has no bearing on which nations advance into the knockout – all 12 teams will do just that. However, playoff matchups are dependent on success in the group stage.

    Once group play is complete, all 12 teams will be pooled into one table with the three group winners listed 1-3, the runners-up 4-6 and so on, so forth. Within those four trios, they’ll be ordered by the number of points they earned in the group stage. Should there be a tie in points, it will be decided by goal-differential, then goals for, then – hopefully it doesn’t come to this one – the superior 2017 IIHF ranking.

    I won’t bore you with the seeding process, but the first round of the men’s knockout tournament will begin February 19 at 10:10 p.m. Eastern time. The top four teams from the group stage enter during the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for February 20 at 10:10 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the semifinals three days later. Bronze medals will be awarded after the game at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time on February 24, followed by the Gold Medal tilt at 11:10 p.m. Eastern time that night.

    What time are these games happening, and are they being televised?

    To our readers not from the United States, the broadcasting part of this section doesn’t apply to you. Then again, most of you probably don’t want puck drops listed in Eastern time anyway, so thanks for reading this far if you’re still here!

    Since the women’s tournament begins first, let’s start with their schedule. Remember, OAR means Olympic Athletes from Russia.

    2018 Women’s Tournament
    Date/Time in PyeongChang Date/Time (EST) Group/
    Round    		 Matchup USA Live Broadcast
    February 10 at 4:40 p.m. February 10 at 2:40 a.m. B Japan v Sweden
    February 10 at 9:10 p.m. February 10 at 7:10 a.m. B Switzerland v Korea USA
    February 11 at 4:40 p.m. February 11 at 2:40 a.m. A Finland v USA NBC Sports Network
    February 11 at 9:10 p.m. February 11 at 7:10 a.m. A Canada v OAR
    February 12 at 4:40 p.m. February 12 at 2:40 a.m. B Switzerland v Japan NBC Sports Network
    February 12 at 9:10 p.m. February 12 at 7:10 a.m. B Sweden v Korea NBC Sports Network
    February 13 at 4:40 p.m. February 13 at 2:40 a.m. A Canada v Finland NBC Sports Network
    February 13 at 9:10 p.m. February 13 at 7:10 a.m. A USA v OAR NBC Sports Network
    February 14 at 12:10 p.m. February 13 at 10:10 pm B Sweden v Switzerland NBC Sports Network
    February 14 at 4:40 p.m. February 14 at 2:40 a.m. B Korea v Japan USA
    February 15 at 12:10 p.m. February 14 at 10:10 pm A USA v Canada NBC Sports Network
    February 15 at 4:40 p.m. February 15 at 2:40 a.m. A OAR v Finland USA
    February 17 at 12:10 p.m. February 16 at 10:10 pm QF Quarterfinals CNBC
    February 17 at 4:40 p.m. February 17 at 2:40 a.m. QF Quarterfinals USA
    February 18 at 12:10 p.m. February 17 at 10:10 pm CONS Classification (5-8 place)
    February 18 at 4:40 p.m. February 18 at 2:40 a.m. CONS Classification (5-8 place)
    February 19 at 1:10 p.m. February 18 at 11:10 pm SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 19 at 9:10 p.m. February 19 at 7:10 a.m. SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 12:10 p.m. February 19 at 10:10 pm CONS Classification (7-8 place)
    February 20 at 4:40 p.m. February 20 at 2:40 a.m. CONS Classification (5-6 place)
    February 21 at 4:40 p.m. February 21 at 2:40 a.m. BMG Bronze Medal Game USA
    February 22 at 1:10 p.m. February 21 at 11:10 pm GMG Gold Medal Game NBC Sports Network

    And now, the men’s tournament:

    2018 men’s Tournament
    Date/Time in PyeongChang Date/Time (EST) Group/
    Round    		 Matchup USA Live Broadcast
    February 14 at 9:10 p.m. February 14 at 7:10 a.m. B Slovakia v OAR USA
    February 14 at 9:10 p.m. February 14 at 7:10 a.m. B USA v Slovenia NBC Sports Network
    February 15 at 12:10 p.m. February 14 at 10:10 pm C Finland v Germany CNBC
    February 15 at 4:40 p.m. February 15 at 2:40 a.m. C Norway v Sweden NBC Sports Network
    February 15 at 9:10 p.m. February 15 at 7:10 a.m. A Czech Republic v South Korea USA
    February 15 at 9:10 p.m. February 15 at 7:10 a.m. A Switzerland v Canada NBC Sports Network
    February 16 at 12:10 p.m. February 15 at 10:10 pm B USA v Slovakia CNBC
    February 16 at 4:40 p.m. February 16 at 2:40 a.m. B OAR v Slovenia NBC Sports Network
    February 16 at 9:10 p.m. February 16 at 7:10 a.m. C Finland v Norway USA
    February 16 at 9:10 p.m. February 16 at 7:10 a.m. C Sweden v Germany NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 12:10 p.m. February 16 at 10:10 p.m. A Canada v Czech Republic NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 4:40 p.m. February 17 at 2:40 a.m. A South Korea v Switzerland NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 9:10 p.m. February 17 at 7:10 a.m. B OAR v USA NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 9:10 p.m. February 17 at 7:10 a.m. B Slovenia v Slovakia USA
    February 18 at 12:10 p.m. February 17 at 10:10 pm C Germany v Norway NBC Sports Network
    February 18 at 4:40 p.m. February 18 at 2:40 a.m. A Czech Republic v Switzerland NBC Sports Network
    February 18 at 9:10 p.m. February 18 at 7:10 a.m. A Canada v South Korea USA
    February 18 at 9:10 p.m. February 18 at 7:10 a.m. C Sweden v Finland NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 12:10 p.m. February 19 at 10:10 pm Q Qualifications NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 4:40 p.m. February 20 at 2:40 a.m. Q Qualifications NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 9:10 p.m. February 20 at 7:10 a.m. Q Qualifications USA
    February 20 at 9:10 p.m. February 20 at 7:10 a.m. Q Qualifications NBC Sports Network
    February 21 at 12:10 p.m. February 20 at 10:10 pm QF Quarterfinals CNBC
    February 21 at 4:40 p.m. February 21 at 2:40 a.m. QF Quarterfinals NBC Sports Network
    February 21 at 9:10 p.m. February 21 at 7:10 a.m. QF Quarterfinals NBC Sports Network
    February 21 at 9:10 p.m. February 21 at 7:10 a.m. QF Quarterfinals USA
    February 23 at 4:40 p.m. February 23 at 2:40 a.m. SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 23 at 9:10 p.m. February 23 at 7:10 a.m. SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 24 at 9:10 p.m. February 24 at 7:10 a.m. BMG Bronze Medal Game NBC Sports Network
    February 25 at 1:10 p.m. February 24 at 11:10 pm GMG Gold Medal Game NBC Sports Network

    A master schedule is available at the bottom of this article, but there’s one question left to answer first.

    So, who’s going for the gold?

    Ah, perhaps the most important question of them all.

    As we’ve been doing this whole time, we’ll stick with tradition and predict the women’s tournament first.

    Just examining the format of the tournament, the IIHF and the IOC are simply begging for another Gold Medal Game between Canada and the United States, the world’s top-two ranked women’s teams.

    There’s obviously potential for either team to stumble in a group that features the four best squads in the world and be forced to play in the quarterfinals, but I just don’t see it happening. Should my prediction prove correct, the world’s best teams would square off in a third-straight Olympic Final, with Canada playing for its fifth-consecutive gold.

    As for the men’s tournament, it’s been well reported that the NHL keeping its players at home will play a major role in determining which nations are taking home hardware.

    In my opinion, that leaves the door wide open for the Olympic Athletes from Russia, especially since they’re playing in what I believe to be the weakest group of the bunch. The OAR boasts players such as F Pavel Datsyuk, C Mikhail Grigorenko, W Ilya Kovalchuk, D Alexey Marchenko, D Nikita Nesterov and F Vadim Shipachyov – all of whom have NHL experience. Tack on the fact that they all play in the second-best league in the world, and they’re more than prepared for every challenge that can come their way in Pyeongchang.

    Of course, we all saw what happened the last time the Russians were favorites to win the Olympics. Should this team crumble like 2014’s squad (even though F T.J. Oshie will be preoccupied playing with the best Russian player in the world, W Alex Ovechkin), I’m leaning towards the winner of the mini Euro Cup taking full advantage. All four of those teams are in the top-10 of the current IIHF World Rankings, with Sweden and Finland respectively leading the way as numbers 3 and 4.

    But don’t leave the predicting work to me. Here’s what all of us here at Down the Frozen River – and even our old pal Frank Fanelli, now of Student Union Sports – think is going to happen:

    Down the Frozen River’s Olympic Picks
    Cap’n Colby Connor Frank Jordan Nick Pete
    Women’s Tournament
    Gold Canada Canada Canada USA USA USA USA
    Silver USA USA USA Canada Canada Canada Canada
    Bronze Finland Sweden Finland Sweden Sweden Finland Sweden
    Fourth Sweden Japan OAR Finland Finland Sweden Finland
    Men’s Tournament
    Gold Sweden Sweden OAR Sweden OAR Sweden Sweden
    Silver Canada USA Finland USA Canada OAR OAR
    Bronze Finland Canada Sweden Canada USA Canada Canada
    Fourth OAR OAR Canada Finland Sweden USA USA

    It seems I’m not alone in my prediction of a Canada-USA Gold Medal match in the women’s tournament! All seven of us have the two squaring off in the final, with a slim majority believing Captain Meghan Duggan and co. can lead Team USA to its first gold since 1998.

    As for the women’s Bronze Medal game, we’re leaning towards a Scandinavian country taking home some hardware – with most of us favoring Sweden over Finland. However, Colby and I think underdogs are going to make it to the semifinals before falling, as I’m pegging the fourth-ranked Olympic Athletes from Russia to end up in fourth and Colby’s picking ninth-ranked Japan.

    In the men’s tournament, it seems Sweden is the nearly consensus favorite to come away with the medals that match its tri-crowned sweaters. However, who Captain Joel Lundqvist‘s – yes, the twin brother of the Rangers’ G Henrik Lundqvist – team beats in that Gold Medal game is anyone’s guess, as we’ve picked four different teams to take home silver.

    We seem to be in a bit more agreement about the winner of the bronze medal, as four of us have pegged Captain Chris Kelly‘s Team Canada to come home with its third-consecutive medal.

    While we may all have our own rooting interests, I think we can all agree that this should be a fun and exciting two weeks of hockey.

    2018 Olympic Hockey Tournament
    Date/Time in PyeongChang Date/Time (EST) Sex Group/
    Round    		 Matchup USA Live Broadcast
    February 10 at 4:40 p.m. February 10 at 2:40 a.m. W B Japan v Sweden
    February 10 at 9:10 p.m. February 10 at 7:10 a.m. W B Switzerland v Korea USA
    February 11 at 4:40 p.m. February 11 at 2:40 a.m. W A Finland v USA NBC Sports Network
    February 11 at 9:10 p.m. February 11 at 7:10 a.m. W A Canada v OAR
    February 12 at 4:40 p.m. February 12 at 2:40 a.m. W B Switzerland v Japan NBC Sports Network
    February 12 at 9:10 p.m. February 12 at 7:10 a.m. W B Sweden v Korea NBC Sports Network
    February 13 at 4:40 p.m. February 13 at 2:40 a.m. W A Canada v Finland NBC Sports Network
    February 13 at 9:10 p.m. February 13 at 7:10 a.m. W A USA v OAR NBC Sports Network
    February 14 at 12:10 p.m. February 13 at 10:10 pm W B Sweden v Switzerland NBC Sports Network
    February 14 at 4:40 p.m. February 14 at 2:40 a.m. W B Korea v Japan USA
    February 14 at 9:10 p.m. February 14 at 7:10 a.m. M B Slovakia v OAR USA
    February 14 at 9:10 p.m. February 14 at 7:10 a.m. M B USA v Slovenia NBC Sports Network
    February 15 at 12:10 p.m. February 14 at 10:10 pm W A USA v Canada NBC Sports Network
    February 15 at 12:10 p.m. February 14 at 10:10 pm M C Finland v Germany CNBC
    February 15 at 4:40 p.m. February 15 at 2:40 a.m. W A OAR v Finland USA
    February 15 at 4:40 p.m. February 15 at 2:40 a.m. M C Norway v Sweden NBC Sports Network
    February 15 at 9:10 p.m. February 15 at 7:10 a.m. M A Czech Republic v South Korea USA
    February 15 at 9:10 p.m. February 15 at 7:10 a.m. M A Switzerland v Canada NBC Sports Network
    February 16 at 12:10 p.m. February 15 at 10:10 pm M B USA v Slovakia CNBC
    February 16 at 4:40 p.m. February 16 at 2:40 a.m. M B OAR v Slovenia NBC Sports Network
    February 16 at 9:10 p.m. February 16 at 7:10 a.m. M C Finland v Norway USA
    February 16 at 9:10 p.m. February 16 at 7:10 a.m. M C Sweden v Germany NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 12:10 p.m. February 16 at 10:10 pm W QF Quarterfinals CNBC
    February 17 at 12:10 p.m. February 16 at 10:10 p.m. M A Canada v Czech Republic NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 4:40 p.m. February 17 at 2:40 a.m. W QF Quarterfinals USA
    February 17 at 4:40 p.m. February 17 at 2:40 a.m. M A South Korea v Switzerland NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 9:10 p.m. February 17 at 7:10 a.m. M B OAR v USA NBC Sports Network
    February 17 at 9:10 p.m. February 17 at 7:10 a.m. M B Slovenia v Slovakia USA
    February 18 at 12:10 p.m. February 17 at 10:10 pm M C Germany v Norway NBC Sports Network
    February 18 at 12:10 p.m. February 17 at 10:10 pm W CONS Classification (5-8 place)
    February 18 at 4:40 p.m. February 18 at 2:40 a.m. M A Czech Republic v Switzerland NBC Sports Network
    February 18 at 4:40 p.m. February 18 at 2:40 a.m. W CONS Classification (5-8 place)
    February 18 at 9:10 p.m. February 18 at 7:10 a.m. M A Canada v South Korea USA
    February 18 at 9:10 p.m. February 18 at 7:10 a.m. M C Sweden v Finland NBC Sports Network
    February 19 at 1:10 p.m. February 18 at 11:10 pm W SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 19 at 9:10 p.m. February 19 at 7:10 a.m. W SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 12:10 p.m. February 19 at 10:10 pm M Q Qualifications NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 12:10 p.m. February 19 at 10:10 pm W CONS Classification (7-8 place)
    February 20 at 4:40 p.m. February 20 at 2:40 a.m. M Q Qualifications NBC Sports Network
    February 20 at 4:40 p.m. February 20 at 2:40 a.m. W CONS Classification (5-6 place)
    February 20 at 9:10 p.m. February 20 at 7:10 a.m. M Q Qualifications USA
    February 20 at 9:10 p.m. February 20 at 7:10 a.m. M Q Qualifications NBC Sports Network
    February 21 at 12:10 p.m. February 20 at 10:10 pm M QF Quarterfinals CNBC
    February 21 at 4:40 p.m. February 21 at 2:40 a.m. W BMG Bronze Medal Game USA
    February 21 at 4:40 p.m. February 21 at 2:40 a.m. M QF Quarterfinals NBC Sports Network
    February 21 at 9:10 p.m. February 21 at 7:10 a.m. M QF Quarterfinals NBC Sports Network
    February 21 at 9:10 p.m. February 21 at 7:10 a.m. M QF Quarterfinals USA
    February 22 at 1:10 p.m. February 21 at 11:10 pm W GMG Gold Medal Game NBC Sports Network
    February 23 at 4:40 p.m. February 23 at 2:40 a.m. M SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 23 at 9:10 p.m. February 23 at 7:10 a.m. M SF Semifinals NBC Sports Network
    February 24 at 9:10 p.m. February 24 at 7:10 a.m. M BMG Bronze Medal Game NBC Sports Network
    February 25 at 1:10 p.m. February 24 at 11:10 pm M GMG Gold Medal Game NBC Sports Network

  • 2017 NHL Expansion Draft: Available Lists

    30 of the NHL’s 31 teams submitted their protected lists on Saturday by 5 p.m. ET. The protected lists were made public at 10:30 a.m. ET (originally scheduled for 10 a.m.) on Sunday. Additionally, the available lists of players to choose from were released.

    vegas_golden_knights_logo

    The Vegas Golden Knights will now spend the next few days constructing their roster, with the full reveal set for Wednesday night during the NHL Awards Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

    Vegas can choose from the following available players:

    Anaheim Ducks

    Forwards: Spencer Abott, Jared Boll, Sam Carrick, Patrick Eaves, Emerson Etem, Ryan Garbutt, Max Gortz, Nicolas Kerdiles, Andre Petersson, Logan Shaw, Nick Sorensen, Nate Thompson, Corey Tropp, Chris Wagner

    Defensemen: Nate Guenin, Korbinian Holzer, Josh Manson, Jaycob Megna, Jeff Schultz, Clayton Stoner, Sami Vatanen

    Goalies: Jonathan Bernier, Jhonas Enroth, Ryan Faragher, Matt Hackett, Dustin Tokarski

    Arizona Coyotes

    Forwards: Alexander Burmistrov, Shane Doan, Tyler Gaudet, Peter Holland, Josh Jooris, Jamie McGinn, Jeremy Morin, Mitchell Moroz, Chris Mueller, Teemu Pulkkinen, Brad Richardson, Garret Ross, Branden Troock, Radim Vrbata, Joe Whitney

    Defensemen: Kevin Connauton, Jamie McBain, Zbynek Michalek, Jarred Tinordi

    Goalies: Louis Domingue

    Boston Bruins

    Forwards: Matt Beleskey, Brian Ferlin, Jimmy Hayes, Alex Khokhlachev, Dominic Moore, Tyler Randell, Zac Rinaldo, Tim Schaller, Drew Stafford

    Defensemen: Linus Arnesson, Chris Casto, Tommy Cross, Alex Grant, John-Michael Liles, Adam McQuaid, Colin Miller, Joe Morrow

    Goalies: Anton Khudobin, Malcolm Subban

    Buffalo Sabres

    Forwards: William Carrier, Nicolas Deslauriers, Brian Gionta, Derek Grant, Justin Kea, Matt Moulson, Cal O’Reilly, Cole Schneider

    Defensemen: Brady Austin, Mathew Bodie, Zach Bogosian, Justin Falk, Taylor Fedun, Cody Franson, Josh Gorges, Dmitry Kulikov

    Goalies: Anders Nilsson, Linus Ullmark

    Calgary Flames

    Forwards: Brandon Bollig, Lance Bouma, Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson, Freddie Hamilton, Emile Poirier, Hunter Shinkaruk, Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg, Linden Vey

    Defensemen: Matt Bartkowski, Ryan Culkin, Deryk Engelland, Michael Kostka, Brett Kulak, Ladislav Smid, Michael Stone, Dennis Wideman, Tyler Wotherspoon

    Goalies: Brian Elliott, Tom McCollum

    Carolina Hurricanes

    Forwards: Bryan Bickell, Connor Brickley, Patrick Brown, Erik Karlsson, Danny Kristo, Jay McClement, Andrew Miller, Andrej Nestrasil, Joakim Nordstrom, Lee Stempniak, Brendan Woods

    Defensemen: Klas Dahlbeck, Dennis Robertson, Philip Samuelsson, Matt Tennyson

    Goalies: Daniel Altshuller, Eddie Lack, Michael Leighton, Cam Ward

    Chicago Blackhawks

    Forwards: Kyle Baun, Andrew Desjardins, Marcus Kruger, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Michael Latta, Brandon Mashinter, Dennis Rasmussen, Jordin Tootoo

    Defensemen: Brian Campbell, Dillon Fournier, Shawn Lalonde, Johnny Oduya, Ville Pokka, Michal Rozsival, Viktor Svedberg, Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Goalies: Mac Carruth, Jeff Glass

    Colorado Avalanche

    Forwards: Troy Bourke, Gabriel Bourque, Rene Bourque, Joe Colborne, Turner Elson, Felix Girard, Mikhail Grigorenko, Samuel Henley, John Mitchell, Jim O’Brien, Brendan Ranford, Mike Sislo, Carl Soderberg

    Defensemen: Mark Barberio, Mat Clark, Eric Gelinas, Cody Goloubef, Duncan Siemens, Fedor Tyutin, Patrick Wiercioch

    Goalies: Joe Cannata, Calvin Pickard, Jeremy Smith

    Columbus Blue Jackets

    Forwards: Josh Anderson, Alex Broadhurst, Matt Calvert, Zac Dalpe, Sam Gagner, Brett Gallant, William Karlsson, Lauri Korpikoski, Lukas Sedlak, T.J. Tynan, Daniel Zaar

    Defensemen: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Scott Harrington, Jack Johnson, Kyle Quincey, John Ramage, Jaime Sifers, Ryan Stanton

    Goalies: Oscar Dansk, Anton Forsberg, Joonas Korpisalo

    Dallas Stars

    Forwards: Adam Cracknell, Justin Dowling, Cody Eakin, Ales Hemsky, Jiri Hudler, Curtis McKenzie, Mark McNeill, Travis Morin, Patrick Sharp, Gemel Smith, Matej Stransky

    Defensemen: Mattias Backman, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Ludwig Bystrom, Nick Ebert, Justin Hache, Dan Hamhuis, Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, Greg Pateryn, Dustin Stevenson

    Goalies: Henri Kiviaho, Maxime Lagace, Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, Justin Peters

    Detroit Red Wings

    Forwards: Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Colin Campbell, Martin Frk, Luke Glendening, Darren Helm, Drew Miller, Tomas Nosek, Riley Sheahan, Ben Street, Eric Tangradi

    Defensemen: Adam Almquist, Jonathan Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Xavier Ouellet, Ryan Sproul

    Goalies: Jared Coreau, Petr Mrazek, Edward Pasquale, Jake Paterson

    Edmonton Oilers

    Forwards: David Desharnais, Justin Fontaine, Matt Hendricks, Roman Horak, Jujhar Khaira, Anton Lander, Iiro Pakarinen, Tyler Pitlick, Zach Pochiro, Benoit Pouliot, Henrik Samuelsson, Bogdan Yakimov

    Defensemen: Mark Fayne, Andrew Ference, Mark Fraser, Eric Gryba, David Musil, Jordan Oesterle, Griffin Reinhart, Kris Russell, Dillon Simpson

    Goalies: Laurent Brossoit, Jonas Gustavsson

    Florida Panthers

    Forwards: Graham Black, Tim Bozon, Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Jonathan Marchessault, Colton Sceviour, Michael Sgarbossa, Reilly Smith, Brody Sutter, Paul Thompson, Shawn Thornton, Thomas Vanek

    Defensemen: Jason Demers, Jakub Kindl, Brent Regner, Reece Scarlett, MacKenzie Weegar

    Goalies: Reto Berra, Sam Brittain, Roberto Luongo

    Los Angeles Kings

    Forwards: Andy Andreoff, Justin Auger, Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford, Andrew Crescenzi, Nic Dowd, Marian Gaborik, Jarome Iginla, Trevor Lewis, Michael Mersch, Jordan Nolan, Teddy Purcell, Devin Setoguchi, Nick Shore

    Defensemen: Matt Greene, Vincent Loverde, Brayden McNabb, Cameron Schilling, Rob Scuderi, Zach Trotman

    Goalies: Jack Campbell, Jeff Zatkoff

    Minnesota Wild

    Forwards: Brady Brassart, Patrick Cannone, Ryan Carter, Kurtis Gabriel, Martin Hanzal, Erik Haula, Zack Mitchell, Jordan Schroeder, Eric Staal, Chris Stewart, Ryan White

    Defensemen: Victor Bartley, Matt Dumba, Christian Folin, Guillaume Gelinas, Alexander Gudbranson, Gustav Olofsson, Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella, Mike Weber

    Goalies: Johan Gustafsson, Darcy Kuemper, Alex Stalock

    Montreal Canadiens

    Forwards: Daniel Carr, Connor Crisp, Jacob De La Rose, Bobby Farnham, Brian Flynn, Max Friberg, Charles Hudon, Dwight King, Stefan Matteau, Torrey Mitchell, Joonas Nattinen, Steve Ott, Tomas Plekanec, Alexander Radulov, Chris Terry

    Defensemen: Brandon Davidson, Alexei Emelin, Keegan Lowe, Andrei Markov, Nikita Nesterov, Zach Redmond, Dalton Thrower

    Goalies: Al Montoya

    Nashville Predators

    Forwards: Pontus Aberg, Cody Bass, Vernon Fiddler, Mike Fisher, Cody McLeod, James Neal, P.A. Parenteau, Adam Payerl, Mike Ribeiro, Miikka Salomaki, Colton Sissons, Craig Smith, Trevor Smith, Austin Watson, Colin Wilson, Harry Zolnierczyk

    Defensemen: Taylor Aronson, Anthony Bitetto, Stefan Elliott, Petter Granberg, Brad Hunt, Matt Irwin, Andrew O’Brien, Adam Pardy, Jaynen Rissling, Scott Valentine, Yannick Weber

    Goalies: Marek Mazanec

    New Jersey Devils

    Forwards: Beau Bennett, Michael Cammalleri, Carter Camper, Luke Gazdic, Shane Harper, Jacob Josefson, Ivan Khomutov, Stefan Noesen, Marc Savard, Devante Smith-Pelly, Petr Straka, Mattias Tedenby, Ben Thomson, David Wohlberg

    Defensemen: Seth Helgeson, Viktor Loov, Ben Lovejoy, Andrew MacWilliam, Jon Merrill, Dalton Prout, Karl Stollery, Alexander Urbom

    Goalies: Keith Kinkaid, Scott Wedgewood

    New York Islanders

    Forwards: Josh Bailey, Steve Bernier, Eric Boulton, Jason Chimera, Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, Stephen Gionta, Ben Holmstrom, Bracken Kearns, Nikolay Kulemin, Brock Nelson, Shane Prince, Alan Quine, Ryan Strome, Johan Sundstrom

    Defensemen: Calvin de Haan, Matthew Finn, Jesse Graham, Thomas Hickey, Loic Leduc, Scott Mayfield, Dennis Seidenberg

    Goalies: Jean-Francois Berube, Christopher Gibson, Jaroslav Halak

    New York Rangers

    Forwards: Taylor Beck, Chris Brown, Daniel Catenacci, Jesper Fast, Tanner Glass, Michael Grabner, Marek Hrivik, Nicklas Jensen, Carl Klingberg, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Pirri, Matt Puempel

    Defensemen: Adam Clendening, Tommy Hughes, Steven Kampfer, Kevin Klein, Michael Paliotta, Brendan Smith, Chris Summers

    Goalies: Magnus Hellberg, Antti Raanta, Mackenzie Skapski

    Ottawa Senators

    Forwards: Casey Bailey, Mike Blunden, Alexandre Burrows, Stephane Da Costa, Christopher DiDomenico, Nikita Filatov, Chris Kelly, Clarke MacArthur, Max McCormick, Chris Neil, Tom Pyatt, Ryan Rupert, Bobby Ryan, Viktor Stalberg, Phil Varone, Tommy Wingels

    Defensemen: Mark Borowiecki, Fredrik Claesson, Brandon Gormley, Jyrki Jokipakka, Marc Methot, Patrick Sieloff, Chris Wideman, Mikael Wikstrand

    Goalies: Mike Condon, Chris Driedger, Andrew Hammond

    Philadelphia Flyers

    Forwards: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Greg Carey, Chris Conner, Boyd Gordon, Taylor Leier, Colin McDonald, Andy Miele, Michael Raffl, Matt Read, Chris VandeVelde, Jordan Weal, Dale Weise, Eric Wellwood

    Defensemen: Mark Alt, T.J. Brennan, Michael Del Zotto, Andrew MacDonald, Will O’Neill, Jesper Pettersson, Nick Schultz

    Goalies: Steve Mason, Michal Neuvirth

    Pittsburgh Penguins

    Forwards: Josh Archibald, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Carl Hagelin, Tom Kuhnhackl, Chris Kunitz, Kevin Porter, Bryan Rust, Tom Sestito, Oskar Sundqvist, Dominik Uher, Garrett Wilson, Scott Wilson

    Defensemen: Ian Cole, Frank Corrado, Trevor Daley, Tim Erixon, Cameron Gaunce, Ron Hainsey, Stuart Percy, Derrick Pouliot, Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Streit, David Warsofsky

    Goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury

    San Jose Sharks

    Forwards: Mikkel Boedker, Barclay Goodrow, Micheal Haley, Patrick Marleau, Buddy Robinson, Zack Stortini, Joe Thornton, Joel Ward

    Defensemen: Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon, Dan Kelly, Paul Martin, David Schlemko

    Goalies: Aaron Dell, Troy Grosenick, Harri Sateri

    St. Louis Blues

    Forwards: Kenny Agostino, Andrew Agozzino, Kyle Brodziak, Jordan Caron, Jacob Doty, Landon Ferraro, Alex Friesen, Evgeny Grachev, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Brad Malone, Magnus Paajarvi, David Perron, Ty Rattie, Scottie Upshall, Nail Yakupov

    Defensemen: Robert Bortuzzo, Chris Butler, Morgan Ellis, Carl Gunnarsson, Jani Hakanpaa, Petteri Lindbohm, Reid McNeill

    Goalies: Jordan Binnington, Carter Hutton

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    Forwards: Carter Ashton, Michael Bournival, J.T. Brown, Cory Conacher, Erik Condra, Gabriel Dumont, Stefan Fournier, Byron Froese, Yanni Gourde, Mike Halmo, Henri Ikonen, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Tye McGinn, Greg McKegg, Cedric Paquette, Tanner Richard, Joel Vermin

    Defensemen: Dylan Blujus, Jake Dotchin, Jason Garrison, Slater Koekkoek, Jonathan Racine, Andrej Sustr, Matt Taormina, Luke Witkowski

    Goalies: Peter Budaj, Kristers Gudlevskis, Jaroslav Janus, Mike McKenna

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards: Brian Boyle, Eric Fehr, Colin Greening, Seth Griffith, Teemu Hartikainen, Brooks Laich, Brendan Leipsic, Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Kerby Rychel, Ben Smith

    Defensemen: Andrew Campbell, Matt Hunwick, Alexey Marchenko, Martin Marincin, Steve Oleksy, Roman Polak

    Goalies: Antoine Bibeau, Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks

    Vancouver Canucks

    Forwards: Reid Boucher, Michael Chaput, Joseph Cramarossa, Derek Dorsett, Brendan Gaunce, Alexandre Grenier, Jayson Megna, Borna Rendulic, Anton Rodin, Drew Shore, Jack Skille, Michael Zalewski

    Defensemen: Alex Biega, Philip Larsen, Tom Nilsson, Andrey Pedan, Luca Sbisa

    Goalies: Richard Bachman, Ryan Miller

    Washington Capitals

    Forwards: Jay Beagle, Chris Bourque, Paul Carey, Brett Connolly, Stanislav Galiev, Tyler Graovac, Liam O’Brien, T.J. Oshie, Zach Sill, Chandler Stephenson, Chrisitan Thomas, Nathan Walker, Justin Williams, Daniel Winnik

    Defensemen: Karl Alzner, Taylor Chorney, Cody Corbett, Darren Dietz, Christian Djoos, Tom Gilbert, Aaron Ness, Brooks Orpik, Nate Schmidt, Kevin Shattenkirk

    Goalies: Pheonix Copley, Philipp Grubauer

    Winnipeg Jets

    Forwards: Marko Dano, Quinton Howden, Scott Kosmachuk, Tomas Kubalik, J.C. Lipon, Shawn Matthias, Ryan Olsen, Anthony Peluso, Chris Thorburn

    Defensemen: Ben Chiarot, Toby Enstrom, Brenden Kichton, Julian Melchiori, Paul Postma, Brian Strait, Mark Stuart

    Goalies: Michael Hutchinson, Ondrej Pavelec

  • April 1 – Day 164 – Ducks dominance or Oilers ownage?

    Eight games will be played this penultimate Saturday of the NHL regular season, starting with Florida at Boston (SN) at 1 p.m. The other matinee of the day drops the puck an hour later and features Minnesota at Nashville. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. marks the beginning of five contests (Ottawa at Winnipeg [SN], Toronto at Detroit [CBC/NHLN], Montréal at Tampa Bay [CITY/TVAS], New Jersey at Philadelphia and Dallas at Carolina), and tonight’s nightcap – Anaheim at Edmonton (CBC/SN) – gets underway at 10 p.m. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Toronto at Detroit: Not only is this one of the more historical rivalries in the game, but Alexey Marchenko also makes his first – and last – trip to Joe Louis Arena as a visitor.
    • New Jersey at Philadelphia: The Battle of the Jersey Turnpike rages on tonight on Broad Street.
    • Anaheim at Edmonton: Oh, you know, there’s nothing major on the line in this game. Just the lead in the Pacific Division, that’s all.

    There’s no joking about it, tonight’s festivities in Edmonton are going to have a significant impact on the race for the Pacific championship. Though we were just there a couple days ago, it’s off to Edmonton with us!

     

    The best way to complete our three-day stop in Alberta is by featuring the best two teams in the Pacific Division. Only a point separates the Ducks and Oilers from each other with five fixtures left on the schedule.

    What makes this game even more important is this is the last time they’ll run into each other this year – barring a postseason meeting. The reason for Anaheim‘s advantage can be found in their second run-in with Oilers of the year. On December 3 – ironically at Rogers Place, the same surface on which they’ll square off tonight – Edmonton needed overtime to best the Ducks 3-2.

    That overtime loss is the differential in the season series between these clubs. Since both have won two of the previous four meetings, Anaheim has a one-point advantage on the Oilers in both the series and the standings as a whole.

    The 42-23-12 Ducks have been playing some fantastic hockey since mid-March. They’re riding a nine-game point streak that has seen them go 7-0-2 and climb to the top of the Pacific Division.

    As has been the case all year, Anaheim has made this surge on the back of its defense and goaltending. The Ducks have allowed only 17 goals in their past nine games, which is the second-fewest in the league since March 12.

    Though normally bearing the title of backup, a main reason for the Ducks‘ surge is 19-7-4 Jonathan Bernier, who has been the only goaltender to take to the crease during this run. He’s played remarkably, as his .938 save percentage and 1.86 GAA over this stretch are (t)fifth and (t)seventh-best among the 42 goalies who’ve made at least four appearances since mid-March.

    What makes Bernier’s play even more impressive is he hasn’t had quite the defense that he and 23-16-8 John Gibson have grown accustomed to this season. Though not by much, Anaheim‘s blueline is under-performing by their standards as they’ve allowed 30.3 shots-per-game to reach Bernier’s crease in the past nine games, which is actually sixth-tenths more than their season average.

    That slight decrease in performance can’t be blamed on Hampus Lindholm or Sami Vatanen though. They’ve been playing out of their minds of late, as they both have 18 shot blocks to their credit since March 12.

    Perhaps the reason for the Ducks‘ almost indiscernible drop in defensive production is due to Cam Fowler‘s recent play.  Though he averages 1.7 shot blocks per game for the entire season, that rate has dropped to 1.3 in the last nine games.

    Like I said, almost indiscernible. We’re splitting hairs here; Fowler has still been excellent, as have Lindholm and Vatanen. The Ducks still have a defense to be reckoned with, not to mention the red-hot Bernier playing in net. In short, scoring against the Ducks is not an easy thing to do.

    The true mark of a good defense is a solid penalty kill, and Anaheim has one of those. It ranks fifth-best on the season and stops 85.1% of opponents’ power plays. As you’d expect, the reason for the Ducks‘ success is twofold – as in two fantastic goalies. Both Bernier and Gibson save over 90% of power play shots against. Of the 28 netminders who’ve faced 175 or more man-advantage shots this season, they’re the only two goaltenders in the league who can make that claim.

    Of course, every team has a hole. For the Ducks, that issue this year is the power play, and that’s especially been the case over the last 20 days. The Ducks have found the back of the net with the man-advantage only three times in the past nine games for a horrendous success rate of 10%. Only three teams in the NHL have been worse since March 12.

    43-25-9 Edmonton has also been playing incredible hockey since mid-March, especially when it has the puck on its stick. Since March 14, the Oilers have buried 37 goals – five more than Carolina, Chicago and Washington (incredible offenses in their own rights) to lead the NHL. That offensive explosion has led the Oil to a 8-1-0 mark in that time, which ties for second-best in the league.

    Just like it’s been all year, Todd McLellan‘s club has utilized a two-headed attack of none other than Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Both have 16 points apiece since the 14th to co-lead the league.

    Since both play a solid, unselfish game, they get credit for a lot of helpers. Patrick Maroon, the final third of Edmonton‘s top line, has been the man taking advantage of that of late, as he’s potted six beauties in the past 18 days to lead the squad.

    An offense of this caliber does not mess around. Since March 14, Edmonton has taken advantage of 29% of its man-advantage situations to score nine power play goals. Four of those have been a direct result of Draisaitl’s play, though they’ve all been apples. Half of those assists have gone to Mark Letestu and the other half to Milan Lucic, both of whom join Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with two power play goals apiece to headline the Oil‘s extra-man attack of late.

    Maybe the most impressive part of Edmonton‘s game during this impressive run is its effort on the penalty kill. Only two tallies have resulted due to an Oilers penalty for a 91.3% kill rate, the second-best in the league in that time frame.

    While 39-21-8 Cam Talbot has been good over the stretch, the real reason for Edmonton‘s success is McLellan’s leadership. The best way to succeed at the penalty kill is to avoid it, and the Oilers have been shorthanded only 23 times in their past nine games, which ties for sixth-fewest in the NHL.

    The last time these squads met was only 10 days ago on March 22 at The Pond. Both Ryan Getzlaf and Lindholm added three points to their season totals to lead Anaheim to a narrow 4-3 victory over the visiting Oilers.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Getzlaf (52 assists [fifth-most in the NHL]) and Gibson (five shutouts [tied for sixth-most in the league] and a 2.28 GAA [seventh-best in the NHL] on a .921 save percentage [10th-best in the league]) & Edmonton‘s Draisaitl (72 points [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]), McDavid (63 assists for 91 points [both lead the league] for a +26 [tied for eighth-best in the NHL]) and Talbot (seven shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] among 39 wins [third-most in the NHL]).

    Vegas has marked the Oilers a -125 favorite to win tonight’s game. I’m going to side with the odds-makers this evening, as I trust Talbot and Edmonton‘s defense more than the Ducks‘ offense. That being said, this should be an absolutely thrilling matchup.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Ken Reardon (1921-2008) – This Winnipeg-born defenseman played all of his seven-year NHL career in Montréal. Though a short career, the Hall of Famer played in three All-Star Games and hoisted the 1946 Stanley Cup.
    • Guy Trottier (1941-2014) – This right wing played only three season in the NHL, and another three in the WHA. His longest tenured NHL team was Toronto, with whom he notched 45 points in 113 games.
    • Darren McCarty (1972-) – Detroit selected this right wing 46th-overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s where he spent all but two of his 15 seasons in the NHL. As you’d expect from a tenured Wing, McCarty is the proud owner of four Stanley Cup Champion rings.
    • J.P. Dumont (1978-) – Selected third-overall by the Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing played most of his 12 seasons in Nashville. He found his game with the Predators, as he provided a defensive presence and focused his offensive efforts on assists, earning 174.

    Scoring three goals in a period is usually a formula for success. That’s the strategy Calgary employed in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day to beat the Sharks 5-2 at the Saddledome.

    Third Star of the Game Johnny Gaudreau (Second Star Sam Bennett) provided a sample of what was to come after the intermission by scoring a tip-in with 7:34 remaining in the first period. That was the lone goal of the frame, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead with 40 minutes remaining.

    Sean Monahan (Matthew Tkachuk and Kris Versteeg) provided Calgary‘s first tally of the second with a power play wrist shot. That goal was answered 4:46 later by Marc-Edouard Vlasic (Michael Haley and Marcus Sorensen), but there was no Sharks response for what the Flames did next. Matt Stajan (Michael Stone) scored what came to be a game-winning snap shot with 7:22 remaining in the period, followed 5:31 later by an Alex Chiasson (Versteeg and T.J. Brodie) backhander. After having a one-goal lead for much of the game, Calgary entered the second intermission with a 4-1 advantage.

    Melker Karlsson (Joe Pavelski and Paul Martin) pulled San Jose back within two tallies with 6:54 remaining in regulation, but even that tally was erased by Bennett’s (Chiasson and Brodie) wrister on an empty net with 34 seconds remaining in the game.

    First Star Brian Elliott saved 36-of-38 shots faced (94.7%) to earn the victory. That left the loss to Martin Jones, who saved 18-of-22 (81.8%) before being pulled after Chiasson’s tally. Aaron Dell saved all 12 shots he faced for no decision.

    Currently riding a two-game winning streak, home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series now have an 83-58-25 record, which is two points better than the visitors.