Down the Frozen River

Tag: Anaheim Ducks

March 6- Day 138- Battle Br[uin] in Ottawa
Four games are on the docket for Monday night and if you’re a fan of split screen viewing, then this night is for you. The puck drops in three cities at 7:30 p.m. with the fourth game getting underway at 8 p.m. If you’re a remote, brace yourself for some serious channel flipping.

The action starts simultaneously at 7:30 p.m. with the New York Rangers at the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins at Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals (NBCSN/CSN-DC). Half an hour later, things kick off at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba for the San Jose Sharks and the Winnipeg Jets. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Boston at Ottawa: With a win in regulation the Bruins can tie the Senators for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division in perhaps the closest battle for a playoff spot in the shootout era of the NHL. Also, I’ll be working, so there’s that.
- Dallas at Washington: The visiting Capitals beat the Stars 4-3 in overtime on January 21st in an entertaining matchup. Dallas makes their annual visit to Washington this time around.
For the second day in a row, I’m in charge of today’s DTFR Game of the Day Matchup and as such, I can pick whoever I want without repercussion since Connor isn’t coming back until Tuesday (that’s tomorrow, for those of you that didn’t already know).

So let’s take a trip to Kanata, Ontario just outside of Canada’s capital city where the Boston Bruins are in town to take on the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

The visiting Bruins are 4-1-0 in their last five games having outscored their opponents 18-9 in that span. Since naming Bruce Cassidy as their interim head coach on February 7th, Boston is 8-2-0. Currently third in the Atlantic Division with 74 points on the season, the Bruins are 34-25-6 after 65 games played.

Boston has had a bit of a turnaround to say the least since relieving Claude Julien from his duties as head coach. Whether or not that was the spark that ignited the team as of late remains to be seen over the course of the next month, however, the Bruins have improved in several areas of the ice.

Under Cassidy’s reign, the Bruins have generated a lot of offense, improving their power play to a 19.8% completion rate (good enough for 13th in the league) while improving their goal differential to a +10. The B’s penalty kill (86.0%), by the way, is 2nd best in the league behind the Florida Panthers (86.1%).

Veteran winger Brad Marchand (29-38-67 totals in 65 GP) is tied for 4th in league scoring with San Jose’s Brent Burns. Marchand’s name, as well as Burns and others, are certainly worthy of consideration for Hart Trophy talk.

David Pastrnak is tied for 26th in the league alongside Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson. Pastrnak is in the midst of a breakout season in just his third year in the league and has 26 goals and 28 assists, good enough for 54 points in 58 games played this season.

On defense, the Bruins have relied on the likes of Zdeno Chara, Brandon Carlo, Torey Krug and the gang for added depth scoring and shutdown play from time to time. Krug is two points shy (6-36-42 totals in 2016-2017) from tying a career high in points set last season (4-40-44 totals in 2015-2016). For the record, Krug has appeared in all 65 games so far this season, compared to 81 games last season.

Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask is tied for 5th in wins with Martin Jones. Both goalies have 30 wins in 51 and 52 games played, respectively. Rask has a .913 SV% in that time and a 2.26 goal against average, good enough for 8th in the league among active goalies with 25 or more games played.

The hometown Ottawa Senators roll into Monday night 3-2-0 in their last five games having been outscored 12-8 by their opponents in that span. The Sens are currently 2nd place in the Atlantic Division after 63 games played with a 35-22-6 record and 76 points on the season.

Their power play ranks 24th in the league with a success rate of 16.8% and their penalty kill is operating at 11th in the league, having successfully killed off 82.1% of penalties against this season.

Unlike their opponent, Ottawa is not much of an offensive powerhouse as they’ve only amassed a +1 goal differential, having scored 166 goals for and let in 165 goals against. Additionally, the Senators are 6-4-0 in their last ten games, showing some signs of slowing down, thanks in part, due to injuries.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson is tied for 17th in scoring with 11 goals and 45 assists for 56 points. The only other Senator in the top-50 is right winger Mark Stone (tied for 37th overall) with 48 points on the season.

Ottawa’s goaltending duo of Craig Anderson (18-8-1 in 27 games played) and Mike Condon (17-11-5 in 35 games played with PIT and OTT) has proven to be good enough to keep the Senators in the quest for the top of the Atlantic Division. Anderson’s 2.25 GAA is 7th among goalies with 25 or more games played this year, while his .930 SV% ranks 4th, in the midst of his incredible run in the face of his wife, Nicholle’s courageous battle with cancer.

Condon, by the way is tied for 15th in goals against average with a 2.54 and tied for 26th in save percentage with a.911 among goalies who have played at least 25 games this season.

The addition of Alex Burrows from the Vancouver Canucks prior to the trade deadline will anger most Bruins fans who recall Burrows as the infamous biter of Patrice Bergeron’s finger in Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Besides the obvious battle in the standings, an interesting aside for this game will be how receptive Boston is to having to see Burrows more often in their own division.

Ottawa defeated Boston, 3-1, on November 24, 2016 on home ice. Monday night is just the 2nd of four meetings this season between the clubs. Whatever the outcome tonight, the Senators will have to face the Bruins in Boston on the 21st of this month and on April 6th.

In light of their recent run, the Bruins should be a much more competitive team against the Senators this time around. Then again, Ottawa is a team that played a huge role in keeping Boston out of the playoffs in 2015 and could make life nearly as difficult this season. Despite everything, Boston is retooled and ready to go this time around.

Again, ignore whatever Vegas is saying– your pal, Nick, is here to tell you who will win. I’m picking Boston in a close one that’ll come down to a “stand on his head” performance from Rask and a strong game from one of Boston’s leading scorers (either Marchand or Pastrnak, flip a coin– I’m just covering my bases here). Then again, Ryan Spooner is an Ottawa native and always seems to play well for the Bruins in front of his friends and family…

Hockey Birthday

Daniel Winnik (3/6/1985-)– Winnik seems as though he’s been everywhere in the league, although there is one team that’s certain to be keeping an eye on him as a low cost, high reward variety player this June– the Vegas Golden Knights. Since he is the head of his class of current and former NHL players born on March 6th, I decided to give him this special little feature.

The gritty glue guy has played in 699 career NHL games to date, amassing 72 goals and 150 assists for 222 points. Winnik’s career began in the 2007-2008 season with the team formerly known as the Phoenix Coyotes (now Arizona Coyotes) where he had 11-15-26 totals in 79 games played. Over the years, Winnik has played for the Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and currently, the Washington Capitals.

Joe Matte (1893-1961), George Redding (1903-1974), Andy Aitkenhead (1904- 1968), Buzz Boll (1911-1990), Paul Gauthier (1915-), Bill Shill (1923-1998), Reg Sinclair (1925-2013), Pete Goegan (1934-2008), Vic Venasky (1951-), Fred Arthur (1961-), Darrell May (1962-), Dan Bourbonnais (1962-), Peter Allen (1970-), Patrick Labrecque (1971-), Chris Taylor (1972-), Lubomir Vaic (1977-), Allan Rourke (1980-), Steve Wagner (1984-), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (1985-), Chris Mueller (1986-), Mario Bliznak (1987-), Rhett Rakhshani (1988-), Eric Wellwood (1990-), Kevin Gravel (1992-), Louis Domingue (1992-), Nicklas Jensen (1993-)

Sunday’s DTFR Game of the Day Matchup featured the San Jose Sharks at the Minnesota Wild and first place was on the line for one team at Xcel Energy Center. A win would move the Wild past the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division and a win is just what Minnesota got.

Eric Staal’s two-goal effort and Devan Dubnyk’s 20 saves on 21 shots against led the Wild to a 3-1 victory over San Jose on Sunday. Minnesota’s win snapped the Sharks’s three game winning streak and handed a loss to Martin Jones who made 25 saves on 28 shots faced.

Zach Parise returned to the lineup after missing three games due to the mumps and came in clutch on the power play, scoring a goal at 11:06 of the 1st period to kickstart the Wild with a 1-0 lead on home ice. Parise’s power play goal was Minnesota’s 16th goal on the power play in the last 16 games. Jason Pominville (29) and Ryan Suter (26) collected the assists on Parise’s 15th goal of the season.

Staal made it 2-0 with his 18th goal of the year, assisted by Matt Dumba (18) at 15:24 of the 1st period. Melker Karlsson put the Sharks on the board with a redirection and cut the lead in half prior to the first intermission, scoring his 9th goal of the year with less than two minutes to go in the opening period. Michael Haley (9) and Justin Braun (7) were credited with the assists on Karlsson’s goal.

Finally, Staal put the game away with his 19th of goal of the year, which gave the Wild a 3-1 lead at 18:11 of the 3rd period. Recent acquisition, Martin Hanzal (13) picked up the only assist on Staal’s second goal of the night.
March 6, 2017
March 5- Day 137- Sharks live in the Wild, not pools
For the second day in a row, somebody else has had to take the Game of the Day duties, since Connor Keith is out of town. Here goes nothing.

Sundays are perfect for sitting and watching hockey all day and if you don’t have anything to do from mid-afternoon through the rest of the night, then today’s schedule is just for you.

Sunday’s action begins in Calgary, Alberta as the New York Islanders pay their annual visit to the Calgary Flames at 4 p.m. Buffalo at Pittsburgh (NHLN/ROOT/MSG-B) kicks off at 5 p.m. As things get underway at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, newly acquired defenseman Kyle Quincey and the Columbus Blue Jackets face off against now former Blue Jacket defenseman Dalton Prout and the New Jersey Devils in New Jersey.

An hour later the Pacific Division leading San Jose Sharks visit the 2nd place in the Central Division Minnesota Wild. At 8 p.m. the Vancouver Canucks face former teammate Ryan Kesler and the Anaheim Ducks in southern California as the St. Louis Blues square off against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on NBCSN.

Half an hour later, the evening’s final game kicks off in Glendale, Arizona with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Arizona Coyotes. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Buffalo at Pittsburgh: In a rematch of the 2008 Winter Classic, the Sabres and head coach Dan Bylsma pay a visit to Bylsma’s former club as Buffalo looks to climb from being five points out of a wild card spot in the Atlantic Division.
- Columbus at New Jersey: Kyle Quincey and Dalton Prout were traded for each other, so which team made the better move? Obviously we’ll find out after whoever wins this game.
- San Jose at Minnesota: Two division leaders in the Western Conference do battle as the Wild look to compete with the Washington Capitals in this season’s President’s Trophy race. Okay, fine, Minnesota was on top of the Central Division until last night.
- St. Louis at Colorado: Some professional team from St. Louis is playing some bantam team from Colorado (only kidding). Honestly, I’m just throwing this one on here in case your team’s not playing tonight and you want to watch out of market hockey on NBCSN.
Since I was informed I would be writing today’s Game of the Day matchup preview, the Minnesota Wild were on top of the Central Division as the San Jose Sharks continued to dominate the Pacific Division and everything seemed to be perfectly aligning for my Daily Matchup debut– that is until the Chicago Blackhawks decided to ruin the fun, surpassing the Wild for 1st in the Central Division with their 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators Saturday night.

However! First place is still on the line for both teams in the San Jose Sharks at Minnesota Wild matchup (technically). Minnesota can reclaim the Central Division lead with a win at home and San Jose can do everything to keep the Wild out of first place in the Central while putting more separation between themselves and the Edmonton Oilers for first in the Pacific Division.

Stay with me here.

The Sharks enter Xcel Energy Center on a three game winning streak with a 38-18-7 record through 63 games played (good enough for 83 points on the year), as the Wild enter Sunday night coming off of a 1-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and a 41-15-6 record after 62 games played and 88 points on the season.

Despite losing in the Stanley Cup Final last year, San Jose is still a hot team on a run, similar to how the Tampa Bay Lightning seemed to shrug off their 2015 Stanley Cup Final loss to the Blackhawks. The Sharks aren’t in the hunt for the President’s Trophy– but the Wild are, more on that in a second– yet they’re quietly peaking at the right time.

Though quietly might not be the right term.

Winners of four out of their last five games, in which they’ve outscored their opponents 15-6 in that span, San Jose is witnessing quite the team effort in the midst of a Hart Trophy worthy season from defenseman Brent Burns (27-40-67 totals in 63 games). Only Sharks captain Joe Pavelski ranks in the top-50 in scoring in the NHL tied for 21st in the league with 55 points alongside Auston Matthews (TOR), Alex Ovechkin (WSH), Leon Draisaitl (EDM) and Victor Hedman (TB).

Despite trailing off in goals this season, Joe Thornton’s 35 assists contribute to the overall +29 goal differential for the team in teal.

Martin Jones (30-15-6 on the season in 52 GP) has stood tall in goal for the second straight year, notching 30 wins thus far (tied for 5th in the league with Boston’s Tuukka Rask). Jones’s .917 save percentage ranks 17th (tied with Florida’s Roberto Luongo) among active goalies with at least 25 games played this season, as his 2.28 goals against average is good enough to be tied for 9th in the league with Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray (same parameters as before, active goalies with at least 25 games played).

Minnesota enters Sunday with a 41-15-6 record through 62 games played (good enough for 88 points) and is 3-2-0 in their last five games, having outscored their opponents 19-17 during that time.

Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau has led his team within reach of the President’s Trophy as the team with the best record in the league at the end of the regular season, trailing one point behind the Blackhawks with three games in hand and seven points behind the Washington Capitals with two games in hand.

The State of Hockey’s leading scorer, center Mikael Granlund, ranks 12th in the league with 21-38-59 totals in 62 games played. Mikko Koivu (48 points), Nino Niederreiter (46 points) and Eric Staal (46 points) are also in the top-50 scorers in the league among active skaters.

Depth scoring has been a strong suit of an otherwise solely superstar-less driven scoring team as the Wild have racked up a +61 goal differential. Devan Dubnyk (34-12-3 on the season in 49 GP) ranks 1st in the league in save percentage with a .933 and 2nd in GAA with a 2.03 among active goalies with at least 25 games played this season. Dubnyk’s underrated play in net is sure to land him a Vezina Trophy this season.

The Sharks are 18-11-3 on the road, including their most recent 4-1 win in Vancouver against the Canucks on February 25th. Meanwhile, the Wild are 22-8-1 on home ice, including their 5-4 victory in overtime against the Los Angeles Kings on February 27th.

Minnesota topped San Jose in their previous meeting by a score of 5-4 on January 5th. The two teams will do battle once again on March 21st in what could be a season series tiebreaker.

Both teams are on a tear on offense in the last couple of weeks, however, Sunday night could be a different story with Dubnyk and Jones in net (so long as they’re the starters). Additionally, the Sharks have a slight edge in defense, having allowed one fewer goal than the Wild this season (147 goals against for SJ, compared to 148 GA for MIN).

I don’t know what the odds in Vegas are saying, but my money’s on San Jose pulling off a win with a slim margin of victory over Minnesota. The Wild beat the Sharks on road ice in January, so it’s only fair that San Jose wins one in Minnesota, right?

Hockey Birthday

Milt Schmidt (1918- January 4, 2017)– The Ultimate Bruin played all of his career (1936-1955) with Boston, coached in Boston (1954-1966) and was even the general manager (1967-1972) for the Bruins, winning two Stanley Cups as a player in 1939 and 1941, as well as two Stanley Cups as a GM in 1970 and 1972 for a total of four Cups in his life in hockey. Schmidt also coached the Washington Capitals in their first couple of seasons in existence (1974-1976), though they missed the playoffs both years.Hockey Birthday

Schmidt helped find Bobby Orr and pulled off the blockbuster trade of Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte and Jack Norris for Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield from the Chicago Black Hawks as a general manager and took three years off from his playing career (in its prime!) from 1942-1945 to serve in World War II for the Royal Canadian Air Force alongside his Kraut Line teammates Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer.

Sadly, the Kitchner, Ontario native passed away in January at 98-years-old as the last member of the inaugural (1936-1937) American Hockey League (AHL) season.

He passed on the reigns of the oldest living former NHL player to John “Chick” Webster, 96, who made his NHL debut in the 1949-1950 season with the New York Rangers, appearing in 14 games and racking up four penalty minutes in his short NHL career.

Other Birthdays

Bill Thoms (1910-1964), Harry Pidhirny (1928-2010), Ken Yackel (1932-1991), Dale Anderson (1932-2015), Pat Hannigan (1936-2007), Bob Richer (1951-), Paul Gardner (1956-), Tim Friday (1961-), Anatoli Semenov (1962-), Bob Halkidis (1966-), Matt DelGuidice (1967-), Shjon Podein (1968-), Bryan Berard (1977-), Paul Martin (1981-), Barret Jackman (1981-), Michel Ouellet (1982-)

Saturday night’s DTFR Game of the Day matchup between the host New York Rangers and visiting Montreal Canadiens witnessed a 4-1 victory for the Habs on road ice as Montreal improved to 6-2-0 in the Claude Julien (Part Deux).

Carey Price made 26 saves on 27 shots faced en route to picking up the win at Madison Square Garden, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31 shots against on 35 shots faced in the loss.

Shea Weber opened the scoring for the Canadiens at 12:51 of the first period for his fifteenth goal of the season. Max Pacioretty (26) and Steve Ott (4) picked up assists on Weber’s goal. Montreal went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead in what looked like it would be a goalie battle after all (as Colby wrote about yesterday), as Lundqvist made 10 saves on 11 shots faced and Price turned aside all six shots from the Rangers in the first period.

Despite trailing in shots on goal by five in the first period, New York only trailed in SOG 14-10 in the 2nd period and led in the category 11-10 in the 3rd period.

Artturi Lehkonen (12) scored what would become the game winning goal 8:48 into the 2nd period on a one-timer from one knee on a pass from Phillip Danault (21). Pacioretty (27) picked up the seconday assist.

The Canadiens went up 3-0 nearly ten minutes later in the 2nd period on a goal from Andrew Shaw (10). Shaw’s wraparound goal was assisted by Alex Galchenyuk (21) and Andrei Markov (24).

The lone goal from the Rangers came on a shot from Chris Kreider who notched his 24th goal of the season. Derek Stepan (32) and Mats Zuccarello (33) assisted on Kreider’s goal at 1:44 of the 3rd period. New York cut the lead to two goals, but could not muster enough to do anything further.

New addition to the lineup for Montreal, defenseman Jordie Benn fired home his 3rd goal of the season (and first as a Hab) at 6:58 of the 3rd period. Nathan Beaulieu (21) and Galchenyuk (22) assisted on Benn’s goal.

For more stats on Daily Matchup records, wait for Connor to get back (though I’m having a lot of fun writing this, maybe I’ll steal it from him more often).
March 5, 2017
March 3 – Day 135 – Andersen’s revenge
Fridays usually aren’t too eventful in the NHL, but that’s not true tonight with half a dozen contests being played. The action starts at 7 p.m. with Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh (NHLN/SN/TVAS), followed half an hour later by Arizona at Carolina. The staggered starts continue at 8 p.m. with St. Louis at Winnipeg, trailed 30 minutes later by the New York Islanders at Chicago. Detroit at Calgary drops the puck at 9 p.m., with tonight’s nightcap – Toronto at Anaheim – waiting an hour before getting underway. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh: The Penguins needed seven games to get past the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to their fourth Stanley Cup victory.
- New York at Chicago: For four years of Andrew Ladd‘s career, he wore the Blackhawks‘ red-and-black. But now, he dresses for the Islanders.
- Toronto at Anaheim: Frederik Andersen also returns to his former stomping grounds, as he called the Honda Center home for the first three years of his career.
Since Ladd only played 19 regular seasons with the Hawks last year, lets focus in on Andersen’s trip west.

*Author’s note: All statistics were accurate at the time of composition. Three games (NYI@DAL, TOR@LAK and VAN@SJS) had yet to finish. My apologies for the inconvenience.*

Although originally drafted by Carolina in 2010, Andersen elected for re-entry after being unable to reach a contract with the Hurricanes and was selected by Anaheim 87th-overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Only a season later, he was the Ducks‘ primary backup. He made 24 starts during that 2013-’14 rookie season, and earned a 20-5-0 on career-bests .923 save percentage and 2.29 GAA.

That good impression earned him the starting job in his sophomore season, and he retained it through last year. Over his entire career in Anaheim (aka, the first three years of his career), he earned an impressive 114-77-26 record on a .918 save percentage and 2.33 GAA, and helped lead the Ducks to a 2015 Western Conference Finals appearance.

He looked to be the goaltender of the Ducks‘ future, but Bob Murray had other ideas. With the quick coming of age by John Gibson (Andersen’s backup from 2014-’16), he was presented with the perfect situation: two fantastic goaltenders both under the age of 30. Looks like it’s time to make a trade, but who to ship off?

Murray decided to stick with the younger Gibson, leaving Andersen as the odd man out. That’s how he ended up in Toronto. He was traded to the Maple Leafs this offseason in exchange for two draft picks (one of which became Sam Steel of the Regina Pats).

It’s easy to say it’s been a seamless transition. Andersen’s play has, for the most part, remained consistent to what he exhibited in Anaheim and the Leafs are in playoff contention for the first time since 2012-’13.

While Andersen has been good, the 28-21-13 Maple Leafs‘ offense has been better. They’ve buried 189 goals in 62 games this season – the sixth-best effort in the NHL – and that success has led them to fourth place in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference.

Of course, when you have the incredible Auston Matthews, that shouldn’t be that difficult to do. The rookie has been absolutely unstoppable this season, as he already has an impressive 55 points to his credit to lead the team. 31 of those points have been goals, another total that paces Toronto.

The Leafs are especially potent on the power play. Led by rookie William Nylanders‘ 20 power play points, Toronto leads the NHL with a 23% success rate with the man-advantage. If Gibson picks one Maple Leaf to pay extra attention to when his club is short a man, it should be Nazem Kadri. The center has 10 extra-man goals to his credit – the most on the team.

Toronto has also been solid on the penalty kill. Properly defending 83.5% of their infractions, the Leafs are ninth-best in the league in that situation. Much of that success is the fruit of Roman Polak‘s labor, as his 29 shorthanded blocks are best on the team.

Though playing without him, Andersen’s former club is still finding wins this season. They currently occupy third place in the Pacific Division with their 32-21-10 record, and most of that success is directly due to their impressive defense and goaltending, as the Ducks have allowed only 159 goals against this year – that ties for the sixth-fewest in the NHL.

It turns out keeping Gibson was, at minimum, a good choice. He’s earned an impressive 23-15-8 mark so far this year on his season .922 save percentage and 2.24 GAA, the (t)seventh and sixth-best effort in the league among the 43 goalies with at least 23 appearances.

Of course, it never hurts to help a 23-year-old netminder with one of the league’s better defenses. Led by Cam Fowler‘s 105 shot blocks (he’s on pace to best his former career-high 122 blocks by 15), Anaheim has allowed only 29.3 shots-per-game to reach Gibson’s crease – the ninth-best effort in the league.

As you’d expect from a team that does almost everything regarding the defense well, the penalty kill is fairly solid. The Ducks properly neutralize 84.9% of opposing power plays, the fourth-best rate in the league. Fowler deserves a lot of the credit, as his 23 shorthanded shot blocks are tops on the club.

The Ducks have already made their yearly trip to Toronto, and it was certainly a successful trip. Thanks to Fowler’s game-winning power play tally, Anaheim won December 19’s contest at the Air Canada Centre 3-2.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Gibson (five shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the leauge] and a 2.24 GAA [sixth-best in the NHL] on a .922 save percentage [tied for seventh-best in the league]) and Toronto‘s Matthews (31 goals [tied for second-most in the NHL]).

I like the Ducks to win tonight not only because they have home ice, but also because I trust their offense more than I trust the Leafs‘ defense. It should be a tight game, but Anaheim should prevail.

Hockey Birthday
- Andy Murray (1951-) – A head coach with 10 years of experience, Murray’s longest tenured position was with the Los Angeles Kings from 1999 to 2005. He has a career 333-278-127 record.
- Brian Leetch (1968-) – Probably the best hockey player from Texas all-time, this Hall of Fame defenseman was selected ninth-overall by the Rangers in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft and played 18 sesaons. A nine-time All-Star, he won the 1994 Stanley Cup as well as two Norris Trophies, the 1989 Calder and the 1994 Conn Smythe.
- Stephane Robidas (1977-) – Selected in the seventh round by Montréal in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, this defenseman played 15 seasons in the league, spending 11 of those years in Dallas. He finished his career with a +16 rating and earned one All-Star Game appearance.
- Colton Orr (1982-) – He may not have been drafted, but that didn’t stop him from playing 11 years in the NHL. Spending most of that time in Toronto, he was known as an enforcer and has 641 career hits to show for his work.
- Alexander Semin (1984-) – Washington selected this left wing 13th-overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s where he’s spent the most of his 11-year NHL career. Currently, he plays for the Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL.
First Star of the Game Paul Byron didn’t really feel like playing overtime last night, so he buried an unassisted wrist shot with nine seconds remaining in regulation to give Montréal a 2-1 victory over the Predators in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Nashville actually had the lead for most of the game. With 95 seconds remaining in the first period, Ryan Ellis (P.K. Subban and Mike Fisher) buried a power play slap shot to set the score at 1-0.

Not only would that tally last to the first intermission, but it would also hold through the entire second period.

With 9:05 remaining in regulation, things started to get interesting. Brendan Gallagher (Alex Galchenyuk) potted a wrap-around goal to pull the Habs even with the Preds. Then madness happened, as Byron won the game with fewer than 10 seconds on the clock.

Second Star Carey Price earned the victory after saving 24-of-26 shots faced (96%), leaving the gut-wrenching loss to Third Star Pekka Rinne, who saved 24-of-26 (92.3%).

Montréal‘s victory is the second-straight by a home team in the DtFR Game of the Day series, no small task given how successful the 70-45-22 visitors have been of late. Hosts now trail the visitors in the series by only eight points.
March 3, 2017
Blackhawks and Ducks swap minor leaguers

In a late transaction prior to the 3 PM ET trade deadline on Wednesday the Anaheim Ducks acquired forwards Sam Carrick and Spencer Abbott from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for left winger Kenton Helgesen and a 7th round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Carrick, 25, has yet to play in a NHL game this season, but has appeared in 19 career NHL games since the 2014-2015 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has 1-1-2 totals and 13 penalty minutes in his young NHL career.

Additionally, Carrick has been in 249 career AHL games with the Toronto Marlies and Rockford IceHogs, notching 52 goals and 76 assists for 128 points since the 2012-2013 season. He had 11-17-28 totals in 57 games played with Rockford this season prior to being traded.

The 6’0″, 207-pound forward has played in 36 career Calder Cup Playoff games with 6-11-17 totals.

He was drafted by 144th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto and can become an unrestricted free agent this July.

Abbott, 28, has appeared in two career NHL games since the 2013-2014 season with the Maple Leafs and the Blackhawks. He has yet to record his first career NHL point.

In 240 career AHL games with the Marlies and IceHogs, Abbott has 64 goals and 119 assists for 183 points since the 2011-2012 season. He had 15-20-35 totals in 53 games so far this season with Rockford. Abbott has participated in 29 career Calder Cup Playoff games and has nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in that span.

He was undrafted and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Abbott and Carrick will report to the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

Helgesen, 22, has yet to make his NHL debut and has recorded five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 69 career ECHL games with the Utah Grizzlies.

The 6’3″, 194-pound forward had 3-10-13 totals in 38 games played with Utah prior to being traded Wednesday. Helgesen has played in four ECHL playoff games in his short professional career since 2016.

He was originally drafted 187th overall by Anaheim in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and is a pending restricted free agent this summer.

March 2, 2017
March 2 – Day 134 – Subban’s back
Now that the trade deadline is behind us, it’s time to clamp down and see how the 39 remaining days of the regular season are going to play out.

That watch starts with a bang tonight, as there’s 10 games on tonight’s schedule. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. with five games (New Jersey at Washington, the New York Rangers at Boston [NBCSN/TVAS], Florida at Philadelphia, Minnesota at Columbus and Arizona at Buffalo), followed half an hour later by two more (Nashville at Montréal [RDS/SN] and Colorado at Ottawa [RDS2]). The New York Islanders at Dallas drops the puck at 8:30 p.m., trailed two hours later by tonight’s co-nightcaps: Toronto at Los Angeles and Vancouver at San Jose.

Short list:
- New York at Boston: You know, it’s just an Original Six rivalry between two playoff contenders.
- Nashville at Montréal: The game many in Quebec have been waiting for: the return of P.K. Subban.
- Colorado at Ottawa: Patrick Wiercioch also returns to his former home arena of five seasons tonight.
No discussion. There’s no way we’re not watching Subban’s return to the Bell Centre.

It was one of the biggest probably most unexpected trades of the 2016 offseason. Marc Bergevin decided to swap defensemen with the Predators, shipping Subban to the Music City in exchange for Shea Weber. Nothing else was involved in the trade – no money or salary retention, no picks or prospects. Just man for man.

Subban was drafted 43rd-overall by the Habs in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and he has playing regularly in the league since the 2010-’11 season. Known for his offensive abilities just as much as his defensive play, he scored 278 points over his seven seasons in Montréal, and helped them to five playoff appearances, including two Eastern Conference Finals appearances.

One of those Conference Finals appearances was in 2010. Subban’s first taste of the playoffs was only his third NHL game played, but that didn’t seem to phase him. In the 14 games he appeared for the Habs before they were eliminated by Philadelphia, he notched eight points – the second-most on the team by a blueliner, and with five fewer games than Roman Hamrlik.

But unlike other blueliners who are often caught sacrificing their defensive responsibilities to get their names on the scoreboard, Subban rarely makes his goaltender a victim of his play. He’s blocked a total of 685 shots in his career and has a +29 rating since ’10-’11, the 21st-best mark among defensemen with at least 154 points to their name in that time. That came to a point in his 2012-’13 campaign, when he won the Norris Trophy with 38 points and 49 shot blocks.

Given the fact that both clubs seem to be headed to the playoffs this season, neither team has lost the trade in the short-term. But it is surprising that the Canadiens would give up Subban, who is going to turn 28-years-old in May, for Weber, who turned 31 in August. Four years isn’t much in the “real world,” but in sports that’s a huge number. It could be argued that Weber has more experience, but what more does Subban really have to learn? Plus, Subban has so much more hockey to provide his club. Thanks to this trade, the Predators should be a threat in the Central Division for years to come.

Speaking of the Preds, they enter tonight’s game riding a four-game winning streak with a 32-22-9 record, the third-best mark in the Central Division. Offense has been the name of the game this season in Nashville, as the Predators have managed 186 goals in 63 games – the eighth-best scoring rate in the league.

Smashville‘s first line truly lives up to it’s club’s nickname, as they are the true backbone on this team. Both Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen have notched 49 points so far this season to co-head the squad in the statistic, but it’s been Forsberg who has been the most dominant player in a gold sweater. He’s buried 26 goals to lead the side, and is on pace for eight more. If he can reach that total (which he’s trying hard to do, scoring 10 goals in his last five games), it would set a new career-high by beating last year’s 33-goal mark.

Themselves riding a three-game winning streak, the Canadiens boast a 35-21-8 record for their season’s mark, good enough for first place in the Atlantic Division. Nashville‘s vaunted offense will face a stiff test this evening, as the Habs like to play defense – and they do a pretty good job of it. They’ve allowed only 161 tallies against in 64 contests, which ties for the sixth-best rate in the NHL.

Of course, that effort starts in net, where the Canadiens are pleased to employ 27-16-5 Carey Price. A team knows they’ve found a good goaltender when he’s having an average year by his standards, but is still one of the best in the league. He has a season .92 save percentage and 2.37 GAA, the (t)ninth and 11th-best effort among the 43 netminders with at least 24 appearances.

It doesn’t hurt that he has a defense in front of him that ties for 12th-best in the league at limiting shots on his net. Led by Weber’s 130 shot blocks, the Predators allow only 30 shots-per-game to reach Price’s net.

Although the offense as a whole hasn’t been anything to write home about, the Habs‘ power play is still one of the best in the league. Led by Weber’s 21 points with the man-advantage, Montréal ties for 10th-best on the power play with a 21.5% success rate. 11 of Weber’s points have been goals, which leads not only the team, but is also tied for fourth-most in the entire NHL (most among blueliners).

The Candiens have already made their yearly visit to Bridgestone Arena, but it wasn’t an easy trip. They needed an overtime winner from Captain Max Pacioretty to claim a 2-1 victory over Nashville on January 3.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Montréal‘s Pacioretty (31 goals [tied for second-most in the league]) and Price (.92 save percentage [10th-best in the NHL] for 27 wins [tied for eighth-most in the league) & Nashville‘s Johansen (39 assists [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]) and Pekka Rinne (25 wins [10th-most in the league]).

Vegas is siding with home ice and defense tonight, as they’ve marked Montréal a -130 favorite. That’s a line I have to agree with. Both teams seem to be on the upswing at the right time, but an always strong Bell Centre crowd will propel Le Grand Club to victory.

Hockey Birthday
- Bill Quackenbush (1922-1999) – This Hall of Fame defenseman played 14 seasons in the NHL, almost evenly splitting time between Detroit and Boston (he played more games for the Bruins). An eight-time All-Star, he won the 1949 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
- Claude Larose (1942-) – A long-time Canadien, this right wing was a member of five Stanley Cup-winning clubs. He played in four All-Star games in his 16-year career and registered 483 points.
- Eddie Johnstone (1954-) – Selected by the Rangers in the sixth-round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, this right wing played 10 seasons in the NHL. His best campaign was in the 1980-’81 season when he scored a career-best 68 points, and he was rewarded with his lone All-Star appearance.
- Raimo Summanen (1962-) – Another sixth-rounder, this left wing was selected by Edmonton in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He may have only played in five NHL seasons, but he was a member of the Oilers‘ 1984 Stanley Cup-winning squad.
- Tomas Kaberle (1978-) – Players drafted in the eighth-round are not expected to be this good, but Toronto found a stud in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. This defenseman, who spent most of his career with the Maple Leafs, was named to four All-Star Games, and also hoisted the 2011 Stanley Cup.
- Henrik Lundqvist (1982-) – Speaking of late picks, this goaltender turned out to be okay. King Henrik was selected by the Rangers in the seventh-round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, and the rest is history. A three-time All Star and the winner of the 2012 Vezina Trophy, the only accolade missing from his resume is a title.
- Jay McClement (1983-) – St. Louis picked this center 57th-overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, but he’s currently playing his third season in Carolina. He’s registered 243 points in his 12-year career.
- Ryan Shannon (1983-) – This center played only six seasons in the NHL, but he managed to hoist the Stanley Cup in his rookie season with Anaheim‘s 2006-’07 club.
If you didn’t heed our advice and watch yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, you missed an absolutely phenomenal contest. The most surprising part of Chicago‘s 4-1 victory over the Penguins? It was Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling that was the First Star of the Game, not hat trick-scoring Patrick Kane, who was left with Second Star honors.

Kane’s (Third Star Nick Schmaltz) first of three tallies were struck 28:49 into the game, giving the Hawks a one-goal lead. Pittsburgh fought back with three minutes remaining in the second period when Scott Wilson (Ron Hainsey) buried a slap shot so fast that the referee didn’t see the puck enter the net (Toronto had to stop the game for an official review), but Richard Panik (Duncan Keith) reclaimed the lead for Chicago with one of the best goals of the year. That 2-1 lead held into the second intermission.

Kane took credit for both the insurance goals in the final frame. The first (Schmaltz and Artemi Panarin) was a snap shot, and the second was an unassisted backhander on an empty net.

Darling earned the victory after saving 36-of-37 shots faced (97.3%). Marc-Andre Fleury also had a better game than the numbers indicate in the loss, saving 25-of-28 (89.3%).

With Chicago‘s home victory, DtFR Game of the Day hosts have pulled within 10 points of the 70-44-22 roadies.
March 2, 2017
TRADE: Predators add Parenteau

The Nashville Predators took part in Wednesday afternoon’s trade deadline action by trading a 2017 6th round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for veteran forward P.A. Parenteau.

Parenteau, 33, was previously claimed on waivers by New Jersey from the New York Islanders in October and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

In 295 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Devils, Parenteau has tallied 114 goals and 67 assists (181 points).

Through 59 games this season, he had 13-14-27 totals with New Jersey. Parenteau was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the ninth round (264th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

New Jersey’s newly acquired 6th round pick in the 2017 draft is exactly that. No terms or conditions apply.

March 1, 2017
2017 Trade Deadline Recap

The following is a list of every transaction made at this year’s trade deadline in a team-by-team format.

All trades made between January 1, 2017 and leading up to 11:59 PM ET February 28, 2017 can be found here.

2017 NHL Trade Deadline- March 1, 2017

Anaheim Ducks

Acquired: F Spencer Abbott and F Sam Carrick from Chicago.

Traded: F Kenton Helgesen and a 2019 7th round pick to Chicago.

Arizona Coyotes

Acquired: F Joe Whitney from Colorado.

Traded: F Brendan Ranford to Colorado.

Boston Bruins

Acquired: F Drew Stafford from Winnipeg.

Traded: A conditional 6th round pick in 2018 to Winnipeg.

Buffalo Sabres

Did not make any trades.

Calgary Flames

Acquired: F Curtis Lazar and D Mike Kostka from Ottawa.

Traded: D Jyrki Jokipakka and a 2017 2nd round pick.

Carolina Hurricanes

Did not make any trades.

Chicago Blackhawks

Acquired: F Kenton Helgesen and a 2019 7th round pick from Anaheim.

Traded: F Spencer Abbott and F Sam Carrick to Anaheim.

Colorado Avalanche

Acquired: F Brendan Ranford from Arizona.

G Joe Cannata from Washington.

A conditional 2018 4th round draft pick from Los Angeles.

F Sven Andrighetto from Montreal.

Traded: F Joe Whitney to Arizona.

D Cody Corbett to Washington.

F Jarome Iginla to Los Angeles.

F Andreas Martinsen to Montreal.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Acquired: D Kyle Quincey from New Jersey.

F Lauri Korpikoski from Dallas.

Traded: D Dalton Prout to New Jersey.

D Dillon Heatherington to Dallas.

Dallas Stars

Acquired: D Dillon Heatherington from Columbus.

Traded: F Lauri Korpikoski to Columbus.

Detroit Red Wings

Acquired: A 2018 6th round pick from Montreal.

A conditional 2017 3rd round pick and D Dylan McIlrath from Florida.

Traded: F Steve Ott to Montreal.

F Thomas Vanek to Florida. 50% of Vanek’s salary was retained by DET.

Edmonton Oilers

Acquired: F Justin Fontaine from New York (R).

Traded: F Taylor Beck to New York (R).

Florida Panthers

Acquired: F Thomas Vanek from Detroit. DET retained 50% of Vanek’s salary in the deal.

G Adam Wilcox from Tampa Bay.

D Reece Scarlett from New Jersey.

Traded: A conditional 2017 3rd round pick and D Dylan McIlrath to Detroit.

G Mike McKenna to Tampa Bay.

F Shane Harper to New Jersey.

Los Angeles Kings

Acquired: A conditional 2018 4th round pick from Montreal.

F Jarome Iginla from Colorado.

Traded: F Dwight King to Montreal.

A conditional 2018 4th round draft pick to Colorado.

Minnesota Wild

Did not make any trades.

Montreal Canadiens

Acquired: F Steve Ott from Detroit.

F Dwight King from Los Angeles.

F Andreas Martinsen from Colorado.

Traded: A 2018 6th round pick to Detroit.

A conditional 2018 4th round pick to Los Angeles.

F Sven Andrighetto to Colorado.

Nashville Predators

Acquired: F P.A. Parenteau from New Jersey.

Traded: 6th round pick to New Jersey.

New Jersey Devils

Acquired: D Dalton Prout from Columbus.

6th round pick from Nashville.

F Shane Harper from Florida.

Traded: D Kyle Quincey to Columbus.

F P.A. Parenteau to Nashville.

D Reece Scarlett to Florida.

New York Islanders

Did not make any trades.

New York Rangers

Acquired: F Taylor Beck from Edmonton.

Traded: F Justin Fontaine to Edmonton.

Ottawa Senators

Acquired: D Jyrki Jokipakka and a 2017 2nd round pick from Calgary.

Traded: F Curtis Lazar and D Mike Kostka to Calgary.

Philadelphia Flyers

Acquired: F Valtteri Filppula, a 2017 4th round pick and a conditional 2017 7th round pick from Tampa Bay.

Traded: D Mark Streit to Tampa Bay.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Acquired: D Frank Corrado from Toronto.

D Mark Streit from Tampa Bay.

Traded: F Eric Fehr, D Steve Oleksy and a 2017 4th round pick to Toronto.

A 2018 4th round pick to Tampa Bay.

San Jose Sharks

Acquired: F Jannik Hansen from Vancouver.

Traded: F Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional 2017 4th round pick to Vancouver.

St. Louis Blues

Did not make any trades.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Acquired: G Mike McKenna from Florida.

D Mark Streit from Philadelphia.

A 2018 4th round pick from Pittsburgh.

Traded: G Adam Wilcox to Florida.

F Valtteri Filppula, a 2017 4th round pick and a conditional 2017 7th round pick to Philadelphia.

D Mark Streit to Pittsburgh.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Acquired: F Eric Fehr, D Steve Oleksy and a 2017 4th round pick from Pittsburgh.

Traded: D Frank Corrado to Pittsburgh.

Vancouver Canucks

Acquired: F Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional 2017 4th round pick from San Jose.

Traded: F Jannik Hansen to San Jose.

Vegas Golden Knights

Ineligible to participate in the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline. The Golden Knights have yet to complete all of their paperwork and submit their final payment for the $500 million expansion fee. Upon doing so, Vegas can sign eligible free agent college players (once their season ends), junior players over 20 years of age and free agents from Europe.

The Golden Knights submitted their final payment and completed all remaining paperwork as officially announced just after 3 PM ET on March 1st. Welcome to the league (officially)!

Washington Capitals

Acquired: D Cody Corbett from Colorado.

Traded: G Joe Cannata to Colorado.

Winnipeg Jets

Acquired: A conditional 6th round pick in 2018 from Boston.

Traded: F Drew Stafford to Boston.

March 1, 2017
TBT: 2016 Trade Deadline Recap

Can’t seem to recall what happened at last year’s trade deadline? Fear not, because we remember everything.

Below is a recap of all the trades made the day of the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline.

2016 NHL Trade Deadline- February 29, 2016

Anaheim Ducks

Acquired: F Jamie McGinn from Buffalo.

F Brandon Pirri from Florida.

F Corey Tropp from Chicago.

D Martin Gernat and a 2016 4th round pick from Edmonton.

Traded: A 6th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to Florida

A conditional 2016 3rd round pick to Buffalo.

F Tim Jackman and a 2017 7th round pick to Chicago.

F Patrick Maroon to Edmonton.

Arizona Coyotes

Acquired: F Sergei Plotnikov from Pittsburgh.

F Alex Tanguay, F Conner Bleackley and D Kyle Wood from Colorado.

F Matia Marcantuoni from Pittsburgh.

Future considerations from Arizona.

Traded: F Matthias Plachta and a 7th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to Pittsburgh.

F Mikkel Boedker to Colorado.

F Dustin Jeffrey, F Dan O’Donoghue and D James Melindy to Pittsburgh.

D Corey Potter to Nashville.

Boston Bruins

Acquired: D John-Michael Liles from Carolina.

F Lee Stempniak from New Jersey.

Traded: F Anthony Camara, a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and a 5th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to Carolina.

2017 2nd round pick and 2016 4th round pick to New Jersey.

Buffalo Sabres

Acquired: A conditional 2016 3rd round pick from Anaheim.

Traded: F Jamie McGinn to Anaheim.

Calgary Flames

Acquired: D Jyrki Jokipakka, D Brett Pollock and a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft from Dallas.

G Niklas Backstrom and a 2016 6th round pick from Minnesota.

Traded: D Kris Russell to Dallas.

F David Jones to Minnesota.

Carolina Hurricanes

Acquired: F Anthony Camara, a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and a 5th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft from Boston.

D Dennis Robertson from Chicago.

Traded: D John-Michael Liles to Boston.

G Drew MacIntyre to Chicago.

Chicago Blackhawks

Acquired: G Drew MacIntyre from Carolina.

F Tim Jackman and a 2017 7th round pick from Anaheim.

Traded: D Dennis Robertson to Carolina.

F Corey Tropp to Anaheim.

Colorado Avalanche

Acquired: F Taylor Beck from New York (I).

F Mikkel Boedker from Arizona.

D Eric Gelinas from New Jersey.

Traded: F Marc-Andre Cliche to New York (I).

F Alex Tanguay, F Conner Bleackley and D Kyle Wood to Arizona.

2017 3rd round pick to New Jersey.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Dallas Stars

Acquired: D Kris Russell from Calgary.

Traded: D Jyrki Jokipakka, D Brett Pollock and a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to Calgary.

Detroit Red Wings

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Edmonton Oilers

Acquired: F Patrick Maroon from Anaheim.

Traded: D Martin Gernat and a 2016 4th round pick to Anaheim.

Florida Panthers

Acquired: A 6th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft from Anaheim.

Traded: F Brandon Pirri to Anaheim.

Los Angeles Kings

Acquired: F Brett Sutter from Minnesota.

Traded: F Scott Sabourin to Minnesota.

Minnesota Wild

Acquired: F Scott Sabourin from Los Angeles.

F Michael Keränen from Ottawa.

F David Jones from Calgary.

Traded: F Brett Sutter to Los Angeles.

D Conor Allen to Ottawa.

G Niklas Backstrom and a 2016 6th round pick to Calgary.

Montreal Canadiens

Acquired: F Stefan Matteau from New Jersey.

Traded: F Devante Smith-Pelly to New Jersey.

Nashville Predators

Acquired: D Corey Potter from Arizona.

Traded: Future considerations from Arizona.

New Jersey Devils

Acquired: 2017 3rd round pick from Colorado.

2017 2nd round pick and 2016 4th round pick from Boston.

F Devante Smith-Pelly from Montreal.

Traded: D Eric Gelinas to Colorado.

F Lee Stempniak to Boston.

F Stefan Matteau to Montreal.

New York Islanders

Acquired: F Marc-Andre Cliche from Colorado.

F Shane Prince and a 2016 7th round pick from Ottawa.

Traded: F Taylor Beck to Colorado.

A 2016 3rd round pick to Ottawa.

New York Rangers

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Ottawa Senators

Acquired: D Conor Allen from Minnesota.

A 2016 3rd round pick from New York (I).

Traded: F Michael Keränen to Minnesota.

F Shane Prince and a 2016 7th round pick to New York (I).

Philadelphia Flyers

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Acquired: F Matthias Plachta and a 7th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft from Arizona .

F Dustin Jeffrey, F Dan O’Donoghue and D James Melindy from Arizona.

Traded: F Sergei Plotnikov to Arizona.

F Matia Marcantuoni to Arizona.

San Jose Sharks

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

St. Louis Blues

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Vancouver Canucks

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Washington Capitals

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

Winnipeg Jets

Did not make a trade at the deadline.

February 27, 2017
February 27 – Day 131 – Qui(c)k Trip to Minnesota
This Monday in the NHL is no different than many of the others in that there aren’t too many games on the schedule this evening. The staggered starts begin at 7 p.m. with Montréal at New Jersey (RDS), followed half an hour later by Ottawa at Tampa Bay (RDS2). Finally, tonight’s nightcap – Los Angeles at Minnesota (NBCSN/TVAS) – drops the puck at 8 p.m. All times eastern.

Jonathan Quick‘s triumphant return to the ice Saturday has significantly increased Los Angeles‘ chances of making the playoffs, but they face a stiff test against the Wild tonight. What better way to see if they’re up to the task for a magical run?

Just as I was prepared to count the Kings out of this year’s edition of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Quick reemerged from injured reserve and proved he is more than capable of resuming the high quality play we know he’s capable of. He proved that by allowing only one tally against the Ducks.

He resumes control of a team 30-27-4 Kings team that is currently three points outside a playoff spot, as it’s only fifth-best in the Pacific Division and ninth-best in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Quick’s return probably will have little impact on the offense, where it needs the most help. The Kings have managed only 149 goals in 61 games this season, which ties for the sixth-worst scoring rate in the NHL.

The issue becomes immediately apparent when one analyzes the Kings‘ individual performances. Jeff Carter has had an incredible season and is far-and-away Los Angeles‘ brightest spot as his 30 goals and 55 points are both team-highs. But he leads second-best Tanner Pearson by 11 tallies and 18 points, a wildly large disparity.

Compare that same differential to Minnesota‘s much more well-rounded attack. Mikael Granlund, the Wild‘s leading point-scorer, has 55 points to his name, only nine more than Mikko Koivu. Similarly, he and Nino Niederreiter – who both have 19 tallies – lead Jason Zucker‘s effort by only one goal.

Not surprisingly, the offense continues to struggle even when presented with the man-advantage. Even with Carter’s 16 power play points and nine extra-man goals, the Kings have found success only 16.7% of the time, the seventh-worst rate in the league.

What’s kept Los Angeles alive this season is that as bad as the power play has been, the penalty kill has been good. Led by Alec Martinez‘ 26 shorthanded shot blocks, the Kings have properly defended 84.5% of opposing power plays, the fifth-best effort in the NHL.

Of course, no matter how good Quick looked against Anaheim, the Wild is a far superior opponent. Even more alarming, it’s not even the offense that makes this team the best team in both the Central Division and the West. Instead, it’s the incredible play of their netminder, who has allowed only 136 goals against – the second-fewest in the league.

To put things simply, 32-11-3 Devan Dubnyk has been one of, if not the best goaltender in the NHL this season. Not only is his .933 save percentage and 2.01 GAA the best in the State of Hockey, but they’re also the best and second-best marks, respectively, in the league.

His effort is made only more impressive by the fact that he faces an average of 31 shots-per-game, the (t)10th-highest rate in the NHL. Jared Spurgeon has done all he can to limit his netminder’s work with 106 shot blocks, but he’s the only skater with more than 80 to his credit. But, with as well as Dubnyk, is playing, I doubt Bruce Boudreau will hear him complain too much.

The Wild continue to be an impenetrable force even when they’re down a man, as their 83.1% penalty kill rate is 10th-best in the league. Just has he does at even-strength, Spurgeon headlines the penalty kill, as his 15 shorthanded blocks lead the club.

The Wild‘s penalty kill is good, maybe even great, but their power play is even better. Actually, to be more specific, it’s tied for best in the league with Toronto, as both are successful on 22.8% of attempts. Granlund headlines that attack with his 17 power play points, but it’s Niederreiter who will keep Quick on his toes. The Swiss wing has buried eight extra-man goals, the most on the squad.

On January 7, the Wild made their annual trek to the Staples Center to face Los Angeles, and they almost came away with two points. Instead, Pearson scored an overtime winner to give the Kings a 4-3 victory.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Los Angeles‘ Carter (30 goals [tied for second-most in the league]) & Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (32 wins on a .933 save percentage [both best in the NHL] and a 2.01 GAA [second-best in the league], including five shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]), Granlund (+29 [seventh-best in the league]), Koivu (+30 [sixth-best in the NHL]), Spurgeon (+32 [tied for second-best in the league]), Ryan Suter (+33 [best in the NHL]) and Zucker (+32 [tied for second-best in the league]).

With Minnesota favored -145 by Vegas, I’d be very surprised if the Kings manage to even force overtime this evening. Abysmal might be a compliment for this offense, and it will be made only worse by the overpowering play of Dubnyk. The Wild should continue to fight for the Western lead with relative ease this evening.

Hockey Birthday
- Braydon Coburn (1985-) – Currently playing his third season in Tampa Bay, this defenseman was originally selected eighth-overall by Atlanta in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Most of his 12-season career was spent in Philadelphia, and he was a member of that 2010 Flyers team that won the Eastern Conference from the seven-seed.
- Dustin Jeffrey (1988-) – Drafted in the sixth-round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by Pittsburgh, he last appeared in the league with Arizona in the 2015-’16 season.
Twice scoring two goals in a period, the Columbus Blue Jackets took it to the Rangers in Madison Square Garden in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, winning 5-2.

Only 1:02 into the game, First Star of the Game Alexander Wennberg (David Savard and Oliver Bjorkstrand) got the Jackets‘ attack started with a tip-in tally. Rick Nash (Jimmy Vesey and Derek Stepan) pulled New York back even with his snap shot 3:05 later, but a Second Star Cam Atkinson (Sam Gagner and Zach Werenski) power play snapper at the 6:47 mark once again gave the Blue Jackets a lead. That 2-1 score held into the first intermission.

The same man to strike first in the opening frame took credit for the lone tally of the second. Wennberg’s (Bjorkstrand) 12th goal of the year was a backhanded shot at the 9:47 mark of the period, and proved to be the eventual game-winner.

The Wennberg-Atkinson pattern continued 4:12 into the final frame, as Atkinson (Brandon Dubinsky) buried a snapper to give Columbus a 4-1 lead. With 24 seconds remaining in the game, Josh Anderson (William Karlsson and Scott Hartnell) scored the Jackets‘ final tally of the night, followed by Jesper Fast‘s (Marc Staal and Oscar Lindberg) goal with a second remaining on the clock.

Third Star Sergei Bobrovsky earned the victory after saving 28-of-30 shots faced (93.3%), leaving the loss to Henrik Lundqvist, who saved 21-of-26 (80.8%).

It’s been nine days since a road team in the DtFR Game of the Day series has lost. That incredible streak has given the 69-43-21 visitors an 11-point lead over hosts.
February 27, 2017
2017 NHL Trade Deadline Preview: Pacific Division

1. San Jose Sharks– 36-18-7 (79 points, 61 GP)

The San Jose Sharks are exactly where they want to be this time around at the trade deadline. Wednesday is sure to be a busy day around the league, but don’t expect to hear much out of San Jose– not just because of the lack of salary cap space, but rather, because the Sharks don’t have to all that much, if anything at all.

San Jose has a plethora of pending free agents to re-sign this summer and much more to worry about potentially losing to the incoming Vegas Golden Knights at the expansion draft in June. So yeah, feel things out if you must, but the Sharks really shouldn’t try to mix things up.

Potential assets to trade: D Justin Braun, D David Schlemko

Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), F Thomas Vanek (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Scottie Upshall (STL), F Brian Boyle (TB)

2. Anaheim Ducks– 32-21-10 (74 points, 63 GP)

Barring the team’s looming salary cap maze, the Anaheim Ducks aren’t in that bad of a position heading into this season’s trade deadline. They’re quietly going about the year as one of the league’s best teams and competing stride for stride with San Jose and Edmonton for dominance in the Pacific Division.

Anaheim clearly doesn’t need to sell and it would appear as though they don’t have that much to move– with the exception of draft picks– in order to bring anything substantial in for the long run. The Ducks should look to add without subtracting and continue to add another depth rental player, like they did the other day in a trade with the Dallas Stars for veteran forward, Patrick Eaves.

Potential assets to trade: F Jared Boll, F Ryan Garbutt, D Shea Theodore

Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Joe Morrow (BOS), D Taylor Fedun (BUF), F Jarome Iginla (COL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), D Nick Jensen (DET), D Yannick Weber (NSH), F Scottie Upshall (STL)

3. Edmonton Oilers– 33-22-8 (74 points, 63 GP)

Edmonton Oilers general manager, Peter Chiarelli, has certainly turned the team around in his short time in the northern most organization in the NHL. Yes, it helps that Connor McDavid is an Oiler, however Edmonton is seeing some depth in their roster and that’s something that hasn’t been seen since their 2006 Stanley Cup Final run. Granted, I’m not saying they’ll go that far this year.

A quick glance at their roster reveals that the Oilers have room to grow and develop, in addition to deal. Yes, even as one of the top teams in the Pacific Division, I believe Edmonton will move at least one “major” piece.

Similar in nature to the Taylor Hall trade in the offseason that brought in Adam Larsson on defense, the Oilers are bound to make a big splash at this year’s trade deadline that just might put them over the edge of a fringe playoff team (in terms of predicted success) to a contender that has a chance of at least making the second round.

Potential assets to trade: F Jordan Eberle, F Matt Hendricks, F Mark Letestu, D Mark Fayne

Potential assets to acquire: D Justin Faulk (CAR), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Patrick Sharp (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Brandon Pirri (NYR), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), F Tyler Johnson (TB), F Ondrej Palat (TB)

4. Calgary Flames — 33-26-4 (70 points, 63 GP)– currently hold the first Wild Card in the Western Conference

It wouldn’t hurt the Calgary Flames to add a missing component or two, except for the fact that the Flames have $0 in cap space. Seriously. Calgary is right up against the ceiling in salary and they don’t exactly have anything worth selling, considering how close the battle in the Pacific Division is, let alone the fight for a Wild Card spot in the entire Western Conference.

A year after trading Kris Russell (and making it look like a steal), the Flames acquired the rental defenseman– with a chance of becoming a more permanent blue liner in Calgary, depending on his audition for the role– Michael Stone from the Arizona Coyotes about a week ago.

Brian Burke has some interesting decisions to make, in regards to pending free agents, as well as what direction he might take the team on March 1st. Whether they will become serious playoff contenders or early playoff dropouts (or even make the playoffs at all) remains to be seen.

Potential assets to trade: F Brandon Bollig, F Lance Bouma, D Deryk Engelland

Potential assets to acquire: D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), D Dennis Seidenberg (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Scottie Upshall (STL)

5. Los Angeles Kings– 30-27-4 (64 points, 61 GP)

Well… What I had originally planned to say is irrelevant now.

The Los Angeles Kings made quite a splash on Sunday, acquiring G Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for G Peter Budaj, D Erik Cernak, a 2017 7th round draft pick and a conditional 2017 draft pick. Los Angeles also acquired a 2017 5th round pick in the deal.

While the Kings need a goal scorer, they opted to go boldly in the opposite direction, by bringing in a quality goaltender who will now compete for time with the recent return of Jonathan Quick. Perhaps they are pushing Quick to regain his competitiveness sooner rather than later at such a late point in the season? Perhaps they are testing Quick’s durability with an audition from Bishop in case Quick isn’t as healthy as we think.

Nobody knows but Los Angeles’s front office (we can assume/hope). Despite the move and lack of salary cap room, the Kings could still have another move up their sleeve on Wednesday.

Potential assets to trade: F Dustin Brown, F Dwight King, F Trevor Lewis, F Jordan Nolan, D Brayden McNabb

Potential assets to acquire: F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Patrick Sharp (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Brian Boyle (TB)

6. Vancouver Canucks– 26-29-6 (58 points, 61 GP)

It is a well known fact that the Vancouver Canucks have been a dumpster fire at asset management for the last few years, so why not burn everything down at this point?

The Canucks will be selling on Wednesday, but how much they sell and what they will sell remains to be seen. Vancouver could play the role of a dark horse at this year’s trade deadline, not in the sense that they’ll add a rental player or two that will put them in the hunt, but rather in the sense that this might be their best chance to be tactically smart.

Bottom line, Vancouver, trade wisely. It’s time to recognize that you’re in a rebuild (injuries aside) and go full throttle. Make an attempt. Take a stab at it on March 1st, because you can’t get much worse than that team in burgundy and blue (that’s also in the Western Conference).

Potential assets to trade: F Alex Burrows, F Jannik Hansen, F Jayson Megna, D Alex Biega, D Philip Larsen, D Luca Sbisa, G Ryan Miller

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Jimmy Hayes (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Andrew Desjardins (CHI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), D Tyson Barrie (COL), G Kari Lehtonen (DAL), G Antti Niemi (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), G Petr Mrazek (DET), F David Desharnais (MTL), F Tomas Plekanec (MTL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Brandon Pirri (NYR), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), F Valtteri Filppula (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

7. Arizona Coyotes– 22-32-7 (51 points, 61 GP)

The Arizona Coyotes will without a doubt be forced to sell at this year’s trade deadline and they have a plethora of rental players to move for future assets as part of their long rebuild. After making several moves that appeared to be part of a bold strategy at the 2016 draft, Coyotes general manager, John Chayka has yet to see successful results from the roster he reconstructed over the summer.

Additionally, this year certainly might be the end of an era for Arizona. No, not their nagging search for a longtime home in the desert, but rather the face of the franchise since their move from Winnipeg, Shane Doan, may be destined to be on the move to a Stanley Cup contender in a trade reminiscent of the one the Boston Bruins made in 2000 in order to give Ray Bourque a real chance to win the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.

Potential assets to trade: F Shane Doan, F Anthony Duclair, F Josh Jooris, F Radim Vrbata, D Kevin Connauton, G Mike Smith

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Jimmy Hayes (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Andrew Desjardins (CHI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), D Tyson Barrie (COL), G Kari Lehtonen (DAL), G Antti Niemi (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), G Peter Mrazek (DET), F David Desharnais (MTL), F Tomas Plekanec (MTL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Brandon Pirri (NYR), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), F Valtteri Filppula (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

*Not participating- Vegas Golden Knights

Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights could have participated at their first NHL trade deadline prior to even taking the ice, however, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley indicated last week that the final installment on expansion fees would not get to league offices in New York City in time for the deadline. The team’s final payment is due April 5th.

Foley added that outstanding documents would be signed in time for the organization to send general manager, George McPhee, to the league’s annual general managers meetings in Boca Raton, Florida on March 6-8.

Had the paperwork been taken care of in time, Vegas would have been able to acquire draft picks or make trades tied to the expansion draft in June (usually surrounding an agreement not to select a certain player from a team, as historically shown).

According to Mike Cranston of NHL.com, Foley downplayed the importance of trading at the deadline, since the Golden Knights could not acquire players prior to March 1st.

Upon final payment, the organization will be able to sign free agent college players once their season ends (like the rest of the league can, regarding eligible college players), junior players over 20 years of age and free agents from Europe.

February 27, 2017