Down the Frozen River

Tag: Anaheim Ducks

  • Sharks Win 6-3, Eliminate Kings in 5 Games

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe San Jose Sharks remained perfect against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center this year, including both the regular season and the postseason, defeating the Kings 6-3 in Game 5 and winning the best-of-7-game series 4-1.

    Martin Jones made 19 saves on 22 shots faced for an .864 SV% en route to the victory, while LA’s Jonathan Quick saved just 22 shots of the 27 he faced for an .815 SV% in the loss. Entering Friday night, Los Angeles was trailing 3-1 in a series for the 14th time in franchise history. Of the 13 prior occurrences, the Kings were only able to come back and win the series twice, once in 2014 vs. San Jose and the other time versus the Edmonton Oilers in 1989.

    Joonas Donskoi kicked off the goal scoring frenzy at 1:08 of the first period to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Logan Couture picked up his first of three assists on the night on Donskoi’s first goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    At 2:45 of the period, Luke Schenn interfered with Tomas Hertl and was sent to the penalty box, giving San Jose their first power play of the night, which quickly turned into a 5-on-3 advantage 16 seconds after Schenn’s penalty, due to Dustin Brown having tripped Shark’s goaltender, Martin Jones. Despite the two-man advantage, the Sharks were unable to score on the power play.

    Chris Tierney picked up his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal at 11:21 of the first period with some help from Brent Burns, who like Couture, also went on to have a three-assist night. Tierney’s goal made it 2-0 San Jose with lots of time left in both the first period and in the game.

    Sharks forward, Joel Ward was penalized for tripping Trevor Lewis at 16:27 of the opening frame, but San Jose’s penalty kill was able to avert a power play goal from the Kings.

    After one, it was 2-0 San Jose. The Sharks were leading in shots on goal (13-4), hits (12-10), takeaways (1-0) and blocked shots (9-3), while Los Angeles was controlling the faceoff dot (14-12). Both teams had committed four giveaways each after twenty minutes of play.

    The second period opened up to Matt Nieto making it 3-0 Sharks a little after four minutes into the period. Nieto’s first goal of the playoffs was assisted by Ward and Couture at 4:05 of the period. Shortly thereafter, Patrick Marleau was granted a penalty shot for being denied a scoring opportunity with 14:29 to go in the 2nd. Despite his moves, Jonathan Quick stood tall and denied Marleau of a penalty shot goal that would’ve given the Sharks a four-goal lead.

    Unknown-3Just as it was looking like the Sharks might finally exercise some demons from the past, Anze Kopitar tipped one by Jones at 7:44 of the 2nd for his 2nd of the series, assisted by Dwight King (1) and Drew Doughty (1) to make the Kings trail by two.

    Jeff Carter quickly followed up at 11:26 of the 2nd period with his 2nd of the postseason to cut San Jose’s lead to one. Jake Muzzin and Tyler Toffoli picked up the helpers on Carter’s goal.

    Carter’s goal meant that Los Angeles was trailing 3-2 with plenty of time left to be a threat.

    Nearly five minutes later, Kris Versteeg tied the game, 3-3, with his first goal of the playoffs, assisted by Kyle Clifford and Muzzin. The celebration was short lived, rather, nearly ruined when Trevor Lewis put San Jose on the power play at 17:26 of the second period after slashing Hertl. The Sharks did not score on the man advantage and the game went into the second intermission tied at 3.

    San Jose held a slim lead in shots on goal (23-18) and dominated blocked shots (20-8), while Los Angeles had taken control of hits (27-24), faceoff wins (29-23) and giveaways (12-10). Both teams had one takeaway after forty minutes of play and the Sharks were 0/3 on the power play, while Los Angeles was 0/1.

    There were no penalties in the third period, however there were still lots of goals.

    Donskoi continued to set the heroic tone for San Jose almost four minutes into the third period with what would be the game-winning goal. Burns and Couture picked up the assists.

    It wasn’t until 12:24 of the 3rd that the Sharks would score again when San Jose captain, Joe Pavelski beat Quick on a shot to the back of the twine. Burns and Paul Martin got the assists on Pavelski’s 5th goal of the postseason and the Sharks were now in command of the game with a two-goal lead.

    With about four minutes left in the game, Darryl Sutter signaled for Quick to vacate the Kings’ net and utilize an extra attacker, but it was ultimately to no avail. Shortly after Joe Thornton iced the puck aiming for LA’s empty net, Melker Karlsson received a pass from Marleau and put the puck at the back of the net for his the empty net goal that sealed the deal on the series. Karlsson’s first of the series gave San Jose a 6-3 lead at 19:38 of the third period.

    The Sharks defended the Kings last ditch efforts on their season and emerged victorious once again on road ice at Staples Center this (post)season.

    San Jose finished with six goals on the scored board in what was the highest scoring game of the series and recorded 28 shots on goal compared to Los Angeles’s three goals on 22 shots on goal. The Kings finished the night leading in hits (39-30), faceoff wins (41-29) and giveaways (16-11), while the Sharks led in blocked shots (29-11). Both teams finished the night unsuccessful on the power play and with one takeaway each.

    San Jose will now wait for the winner of the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators series to end and then face its winner in the Second Round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Los Angeles will face many tough questions this offseason after a disappointing Game 5 loss and overall disappointing postseason performance based on how they got into the playoffs in the first place. They’ll also face the decision of whether or not to resign pending unrestricted free agent, Milan Lucic, who is sure to attract some attention from several teams around the league.

    In any case, the fourth installment of San Jose vs. Los Angeles was yet another epic in the storied history of California hockey.

  • Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s –Pacific

    Colby’s Corner meets Connor for divisional MVP’s. It will be a four part series, where Connor Keith and I (Colby) will pick, by division, the MVP of the forwards, defensemen and a goalies. This week, the two of us will discuss the Pacific division.

    Connor: Forward- Joe PavelskiUnknown

    Of the three Pacific Division teams to qualify for the playoffs, only San Jose plays an offensive game.  Who better to lead that charge than Captain Pavelski, the Pacific forward MVP.  This guy does absolutely everything.  He’s the leading goal scorer in the division, successful on 17% of attempts, and takes second in points.  Oh yeah, on the other end, he also has 67 blocks to his credit (leads San Jose forwards), not to mention his 147 hits.

    His closest competition for the honor was actually line-mate Joe Thornton, who leads the division in assists and points.  Since they are on the same line, the Joes have the same +25, but the reason Thornton falls off for me is his only taking half the shots Pavelski does while still having a shooting percentage over 15.7%.  I know he’s north of 35-years-old, but I feel like Thornton still has a lot to give and could benefit by being on his own line, but that hasn’t happened since the 2013-’14 season if I’m not mistaken.

    Colby: Joe Thornton

    I like Pavelski, but I had to go with big Jumbo Joe on this one. This year he had 63 assists and 82 points. I have to give it to the man who has been setting up Pavelski all year long. The two of them couldn’t stop connecting all year long and now we are seeing them connect in the playoffs. Both Pavelski and Thornton would be deserving of the reward, I just wanted the assist king to get some love, so I picked big Joe.

    Connor: Defender- Brent Burns

    Was there much doubt here?  This is another man that does everything for the Sharks.  He’s scored the second most goals and assists for his entire team to rank third in points, and all of those totals are tops in the division for defensemen.  While being a threat to score, he also maintains his blue line presence, having the most blocks on his squad.

    Burns’ main detractor is the exact same as Erik Karlsson, an offensive D-man cut from the same cloth.   Neither players have positive +/-, which is a price they pay for being more involved on the opposite end of the ice.  When it works like it has been this season for the Sharks to get into a playoff spot, it is certainly an issue they can deal with.

    Colby: Brent Burns

    I can’t argue Brent Burns at all; this man and his beard are both amazing. Burns is a defenseman that the other team has to keep their eye on at all times. He played all 82 games this year and put up 75 points. That means he had a point in 91% of his games. Teams couldn’t stop him or keep him off the scoresheet. If the Sharks have a deep run it’s because of the 3 players we have mentioned so far this year. A nice honorable mention will go to Drew Doughty who put up 51 points and had a plus minus of +24 tops in the top 10 Defenseman by points.Unknown

    Connor: Goaltender- Jonathan Quick

    Quick has some of the strongest numbers in the league, much less the division, and has led his team to barely missing out on their second division title.  He leads the division in wins and fell one short of tying for shutouts.  Going along with that, he also has 38 quality starts and a .559 quality start rate, which leads those stats of both the remaining goaltenders for the other division qualifiers.

    I toyed with choosing Martin Jones for a minute, based simply on how much more work he has to do compared to Quick and John Gibson due to the defense in front of him, but decided against it since save percentage and goals against average were the lowest of the three netminders.

    Colby: John GibsonUnknown

    This one may be a shock but if you look at save percentage and goals against average, John Gibson actually beats Jonathan Quick. Quick was second in the league for wins, however, as he had a .918 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average. Gibson had .920 save percentage and 2.07 GAA, thus edging out Quick. Now I also look at the games Gibson played, but the thing to remember is he didn’t start the year with Anaheim. He was in the AHL and earned a spot on the team and during the run at the end of the year he was the number one goalie. Gibson needs some credit for Anaheim’s huge comeback this season.

  • Ducks Rout Predators 4-1, Series Tied 2-2

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe Anaheim Ducks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 on road ice at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday night. Frederik Andersen made 30 saves on 31 shots faced for a .968 SV% in the victory, while Pekka Rinner made 21 saves on 25 shots against for a .840 SV% in the loss.

    Sixty-two seconds into the first period, Ryan Getzlaf sent one behind Rinne to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Getzlaf’s 2nd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs was assisted by David Perron (1) and Kevin Bieksa (1) and was just the Ducks 2nd shot of the night.

    Shea Weber was guilty of the game’s first penalty when he sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game minor penalty at 7:41 of the first period. The Ducks were unable to convert on the man advantage and David Perron was called for a tripping minor himself at 8:15 of the period. Nashville was unable to capitalize on their short power play while Perron was still in box and failed to convert on another power play before the end of the 1st when Anaheim defenseman, Cam Fowler was sent to the box for delay of game.

    After twenty minutes of play, both teams had seven shots on goal and the Ducks were leading 1-0 on the scoreboard as well as in hits (14-13), takeaways (2-1) and blocked shots (11-0). The Predators were leading in faceoff wins (11-6) and giveaways (3-0).

    Twenty-six seconds into the second period, Ryan Garbutt tripped up Predators star, Filip Forsberg, giving Nashville a power play. Nashville was unable to utilize the man advantage to their advantage.

    UnknownMike Fisher tied the game at 1 at 11:26 of the 2nd period with his goal of the series, assisted by Colin Wilson (2) and Shea Weber (1).

    Colton Sissons took a trip to the sin bin at 12:45 of the second period for interference, but was followed up by David Perron canceling Anaheim’s power play a mere five seconds later after high sticking Fisher. Simon Despres and Viktor Arvidsson took a tripping call and an unsportsmanlike minor respectively at 15:55 of the 2nd period.

    Nate Thompson received a pass from Rickard Rakell and scored the eventual game winning goal at 17:04 of the second period. Sami Vatanen was credited with the secondary assist. Almost two minutes later, Jamie McGinn made it 3-1 Anaheim with a goal that was assisted by Chris Stewart.

    At the end of two periods the Ducks led the Predators 3-1 on the scoreboard and trailed 23-19 in shots on goal.

    After failing to capitalize on two power play opportunities in the first half of the third period, Nashville found themselves behind the eight ball if there was any hope for a comeback on home ice in Game 4. At 16:52 of the third period, Andrew Cogliano put the game away for the Ducks with a goal that put Anaheim ahead 4-1. Cogliano’s goal— his 2nd of the playoffs— was assisted by Jakob Silfverberg.

    The Ducks were victorious after sixty minutes of play, despite trailing in many statistics. The Predators lost 4-1, but led in shots on goal (31-25), hits (41-27), faceoff wins (31-22) and giveaways (8-3) in Game 4, while Anaheim led in takeaways (7-3) and blocked shots (25-12). Neither team was successful on the power play, with the Ducks having gone 0/5 and the Preds having gone 0/6 on Thursday night.

    With the series now tied 2-2, the rest of the best-of-7 series now essentially shifts to a best two-out-of-three scenario. Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with more information about the time of puck drop and what channel it will be broadcasted on to be provided by the NHL.

  • Frederik Andersen and Chris Stewart Lead the Ducks to a Crucial Game 3 Win

     

    The Anaheim Ducks took care of the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-0 on Tuesday night in the heart of the music city. The Ducks were led by an unlikely hero, right winger Chris Stewart. He picked up a goal and an assist in tonight’s contest.

    You were able to tell at the immediate start of the game that the Predators fans were amped up and ready to go. The fans stuck to their 14-year tradition dating back to 2002 and ended up throwing not one, not two, but THREE huge catfish on the ice. So the Bridgestone Arena was all ready to go, but unfortunately, the result was not what they were hoping for. While the Ducks, on the other hand, were looking to build off of their outstanding 23-11-7 record away from the Honda Center (their home rink) during the regular season.

    The Anaheim Ducks decided to move away from their young goaltender John Gibson after his underperformances in Games 1 and 2. Ducks skipper Bruce Boudreau turned to his usual number 1 goalie Frederik Andersen, who hasn’t played since the season finale on April 10th, to help backstop the Ducks and hope to propel them to a Game 3 win.

    The first scoring chance went to Ducks young center Rickard Rakell just 5 minutes into the game with a quick snapshot from the right dot. Although, Predators superstar goalie Pekka Rinne was sublime and snared the puck out of the air. Nashville then counters with a great chance just a minute later with Pred’s left winger Colin Wilson driving to the slot and ripping a shot, but Andersen was up to the task and made his save look even easier.

    The first goal of the game came with 9:55 remaining in the first period. Predator’s youngster Anthony Bitetto committed a horrendous turnover in his own defensive end. Ducks winger Chris Stewart picked up the loose puck, dropped it off to Shawn Horcoff, who then drew two Nashville defenders to him and spotted Duck’s left winger Jamie McGinn open on the right side and slid a pass over to him and he hammered it home to open up the scoring. It was McGinn’s 3rd career playoff goal and first of the 2016 playoffs.

    Then a minute later at 8:13 remaining in the period Pred’s right winger James Neal took the game’s first penalty by catching Anaheim defenseman Simon Despres up high with his stick. This sent the Ducks to the power play where they looked to build on their  1-0 lead but only had one shot and never gained any great scoring chances.

    Simon Despres looked to add to his team’s lead himself when he was spotted by Ducks vet Ryan Getzlaf with a beauty of a backhand pass from the corner. Although, Rinne stood tall and stoned his one-timer to keep the ducks lead at one. Also to end the period, Despres took down Nashville’s Mike Fisher with 41 seconds left in the first to earn a two-minute spot in the sin bin. This sent the Predators to their first PP of the game.

    Nashville opened up the second period still on the power play looking to tie the game early. Unfortunately, Anaheim had an awesome penalty kill and only gave up 3 weak shots. Nashville would then go back on the PP with Jamie McGinn tripping Predators left winger Filip Forsberg  just eight minutes later, but just like before, it did not amount to anything.

    Just 3:37 later the Ducks add another goal, courtesy of Ducks center Rickard Rakell. Ducks winger Corey Perry fed a nice pass to defenseman Sami Vatanen who let a wrist shot go from the point that found Rakell in front for a beautiful tip just over Rinne’s pad. This was also Rakell’s 3rd career playoff goal and first of his 2016 playoff campaign.

    Believe it or not,then 5:37 later Anaheim tacked on another goal to push its lead to 3-0. This time, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, after receiving a pass from defenseman Hampus Lindholm, drove right down main street, making moves left and right and pulled the puck into the corner going untouched. From there he spotted a streaking Christ Stewart in the slot and hit him with a superb pass. Stewart corralled the pass, threw a quick shot that was swiftly turned away from Rinne with a pad save. Then, immediately got his own rebound and lifted a backhand shot right over Rinne’s blocker for his first goal of the playoffs.

    With 1:53 remaining in the second Duck’s D-man Cam Fowler took an interference penalty on Pred’s center Mike Ribeiro. This sent the Predator’s on the 3rd PP of the game, but just like the previous two resulted in nothing special.

    The third period had little to no action at all, a couple shots here and there but nothing big. Ducks right winger Jakob Silfverberg slashed Mike Ribero sending the Pred’s to their 4th PP just 29 seconds into the third period. Everyone in the building and all the fans begged and pleaded for a goal or just some momentum going their team’s way but never got it. The only exciting play on this power play was Ryan Johansen beating Simon Despres behind the net, then played the puck in front but Andersen had that play covered up. The Pred’s last PP came just five minutes later with the Ducks picking up a bench minor for too many men. This, just like the other power plays, resulted in nothing special again. They simply need to produce on the man advantage if the want to win the series and win the Cup.

    With 8:26 remaining in the game Predators winger Calle Jarnkrok slashed Jamie McGinn’s stick and broke it right in half to cap off a terrible night for all Predators players. This sent the Ducks on their second and last PP of the game, nothing came from it. Nashville would get their last good scoring chance with six minutes remaining with a shot coming from the point from Pred’s D-man Ryan Ellis firing a low hard wrister from the point which was calmly saved by Andersen capping off a big night from the Dane.

    The Predators would then pull Pekka Rinne with 2:19 remaining in the game in hopes of a miracle comeback, but clearly it did not work at all. On the other hand, Duck’s goalie Frederik Andersen had a huge night! He stopped all 27 shots Nashville threw at him for his second career playoff shutout. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne stopped 18 out of 21 shots and finished with an awful .857%

    The Predators outshot the Ducks (27-21) lead in faceoffs (33-30) and giveaways (14-3). While the Ducks lead in hits (29-27) penalty minutes (10-4) and blocked shots (15-11). Anaheim went 0/2 on the power play and Nashville went for a dreadful 0/5.

    It was also a special night for Anaheim Ducks captain, Ryan Getzlaf as he played in his 100th career playoff game. He now holds the record for most playoff games played by a Duck after passing long-time Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin.

    This was a huge win for the Ducks because they avoid going down 3-0 and cut Nashville’s lead down to 2 games to 1 (2-1). These teams will be back at it on Thursday night back here in Nashville, Tennesee at 8 pm EST. The game can be caught on NHLN-US, FX-CA, or FS-TN.

  • Nashville at Anaheim – Game 2 – Smith leads the Preds to a two-game lead

    UnknownUnknown

     

     

    On Craig Smith’s two point night, the Nashville Predators have taken a two-game lead over the Anaheim Ducks by winning 3-2 before making the trip to Music City.

    Andrew Cogliano opened the scoring with 5:40 remaining in the opening frame with an unassisted backhander, but they couldn’t hold that lead into the intermission, as Mattias Ekholm, assisted by Colin Wilson and Smith, leveled the score on a backhander with 56 seconds remaining in the frame.

    Both sides certainly had their opportunity to find more offense, as a total of five penalties were committed for three power plays (favoring Nashville by a lone advantage).

    Smith liked being involved in the scoring, so he gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at the 9:55 mark on a wrister, assisted by Filip Forsberg and Third Star of the Game Roman Josi.  Josi passed the puck to Forsberg, who pulled the net behind John Gibson’s net.  As Smith advanced towards the crease, Forsberg put the puck on his stick, allowing Smith to find the left post.  Things leveled out following that tally, as neither team was able to effect that score.  With 2:30 remaining in the second period, David Perron was sent to the box for interference against Ryan Ellis, which proved to be costly, as Shea Weber’s slap shot, assisted by Josi and Forsberg, found the back of Gibson’s net at the 19:21 mark to set the differential at two tallies, and proved to be the eventual game winner.

    With 2:42 remaining in regulation, Second Star Nate Thompson’s backhander, assisted by Jakob Silfverberg and Cogliano made things interesting, as he connected to pull the Ducks within a goal.  But, even with the extra attacker from pulling Gibson, Anaheim was not able to defend their home ice and level the game.

    Although this was a fun, tight game to watch according to the scoreboard, the true story was being played out along the boards.  79 total hits were thrown in the game, with the majority (47) thrown by the losing Ducks, who also sat in the box three times as long as Nashville.

    First Star Pekka Rinne earns the victory after saving 27 of 29 shots faced (93.1%), while Gibson takes the loss, saving 24 of 27 (88.9%).

    These teams will meet up again in Nashville on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. eastern.  That contest can be viewed on SN360, TVAS2 or USA.

  • Predators Stun Heavily Favored Ducks in Game 1 at Honda Center

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Pekka Rinne, and the usual suspects for the Nashville Predators when it comes time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, stunned the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of their series, emerging victorious on road ice, 3-2. Rinne made 27 saves on 29 shots against for a .931 SV% while picking up the win, as Anaheim’s goaltender, John Gibson made 30 saves on 33 shots against for a .909 SV% in the loss.

    Gibson had appeared in four Stanley Cup Playoff games heading into Friday night at the Honda Center, having gone 2-2 with a 2.70 GAA, and entered the night as the regular season’s tied-for-2nd best goaltender in goals-against-average with St. Louis Blues goalie, Brian Elliot, with a 2.07 GAA behind only Tampa Bay Lightning goalie, Ben Bishop’s 2.06 GAA.

    UnknownJames Neal started the scoring for Nashville 35 seconds into the first period and gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with some help from Ryan Johansen.

    The Predators and Ducks then swapped minor penalties about four minutes apart nearly seven minutes and eleven minutes into the opening frame, with Nashville forward, Mike Ribero, being sent to the box for hooking at 7:08 and Anaheim defenseman, Simon Despres, sent to the sin bin for high sticking at 11:24 of the first period. Neither team was successful on their first power play opportunities of the night.

    At 16:15 of the first period, Nashville’s Anthony Bitetto was called for holding the stick of Ducks forward, Nate Thompson, giving Anaheim a power play. Less than 40 seconds later, the Ducks went on a two-man advantage with star defenseman, Shea Weber, going to the box for cross checking David Perron.

    Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf capitalized on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play with his first playoff goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs assisted by Cam Fowler and Corey Perry at 17:39 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. Shots on goal were even at 12-12 after the first twenty minutes of play and the Ducks were leading in hits (16-12), faceoffs (17-9) and giveaways (7-2), while the Predators led in takeaways (1-0) and blocked shots (8-4).

    The second period started with another quick goal, however, it was scored this time Anaheim Ducks forward, Ryan Kesler, to give the Ducks their first lead of the night at 2-1, 48 seconds into the 2nd. Kesler’s goal was assisted by Andrew Cogliano (1) and Hampus Lindholm (1).

    UnknownNashville responded to Anaheim’s goal with a goal from Colin Wilson at 7:55 of the 2nd period, with help from Ryan Ellis (1) and Roman Josi (1) to tie the game, 2-2.

    Both teams continued to swap chances as the rest of the second period went on and after forty minutes of play the Predators were leadings in shots on goal 25-20, takeaways (3-1) and blocked shots (12-11). Anaheim, on the other hand, led in faceoffs (26-17) and giveaways (12-6) after forty. Both teams had 27 hits aside.

    Twenty-five seconds past halfway in the third period, Filip Forsberg shot the puck towards Gibson and it appeared to have deflected off of Anaheim’s Shea Theodore and wound up behind Gibson. Forsberg’s fluke goal proved to be the game winner, as the Ducks could not answer the Predators tally, despite trailing 3-2 with almost half a period left in regulation.

    Anaheim used their timeout with 1:51 remaining in the game and had pulled their goaltender, but it was to no avail. Nashville kept the puck out of their zone and forced the Ducks to recover and retreat.

    After sixty minutes of play, the Nashville Predators had won 3-2 and took a 1-0 series lead on the home ice advantage, Anaheim Ducks. The Preds ended the game with 33 shots on goal compared to the Ducks 29. Nashville also led in hits (33-31) and blocked shots (20-17), while Anaheim dominated the faceoff dot (42-27), giveaways (20-11) and went 1/4 on the power play. The Predators failed to convert on all three of their power play opportunities and tied the Ducks in takeaways (5-5).

    This is just the 2nd time that the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators have met in a Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. The previous series between these two teams was back in the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals, where Nashville went on to win the series in six games (4-2). That same series was the first playoff series win in the Predators franchise history, before succumbing to the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals.

    Game 2 of this year’s 2016 Western Conference Quarterfinal between Anaheim and Nashville is slated for Sunday at 10:30 PM EST on NBCSN, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, before swinging to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for Game 3 on Tuesday.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #32- Playoff Predictions

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #32- Playoff Predictions

    The Down the Frozen River crew (Connor and Nick) present their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff predictions by each round and pick their 2016 Stanley Cup winners. As always, hear about the latest news and notes around the NHL every week on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!

  • March 18 – Day 155 – Boston brings back Beleskey

    Thanks to two goals in the second period, the Nashville Predators beat the New York Islanders 4-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    It was a Second Star of the Game James Neal wrister that opened the scoring (his 27th tally of the season), finding the net at the 9:15 mark after an assist from Calle Jarnkrok.

    The Isles waited to level the score util 6:02 had passed in the second period.  It was Ryan Pulock’s first goal of the season in his eighth career NHL game played, assisted by John Tavares (his 30th helper of the season).  The Predators didn’t take kindly to being the first to allow a goal to him though, as they had a two goal lead within 3:52 after his score.  Third Star Ryan Ellis scored the first of those tallies at the 8:13 mark on the power play, assisted by First Star Ryan Johansen (his 36th helper of the season) and Mattias Ekholm, followed 1:41 later by Johansen’s game-winning wrister, assisted by Neal (his 19th helper of the season) and Anthony Bitetto.  Just as quickly as the Nashville blitz began, it ended, giving the Predators a 3-1 lead going into the second intermission.

    Only 1:55 into the third, Brock Nelson’s 23rd tally of the season pulled New York within a goal, assisted by Thomas Hickey.  The comeback fell apart though, as Austin Watson’s wrister found the back of an empty net, assisted by Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson (his 17th helper of the season), clinching the Preds‘ victory.

    Pekka Rinne earns the win after saving 20 of 22 shots faced (90.9%), while Thomas Greiss takes the loss, saving 28 for 31 (90.3%).

    After yesterday’s result, the DtFR Game of the Day series stands at 69-40-16, favoring the home squads by 30 points over the roadies.

    We’ve got six games on the schedule this Friday, starting with the first to at 7 p.m. eastern (Ottawa at Buffalo [RDS/Bell TV] and Nashville at Washington [TVAS]).  Chicago at Winnipeg starts at 8 p.m. eastern (NHLN), and another pair trails an hour later (Colorado at Calgary and Vancouver at Edmonton).  Finally, this evening’s nightcap, Boston at Anaheim, drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern (SN1).

    Half of the games taking place this evening are divisional rivals (Ottawa at Buffalo, Chicago at Winnipeg and Vancouver at Edmonton), and two are between teams currently qualified for the playoffs (Nashville at Washington and Boston at Anaheim).

    Our attention is attracted to the Boston–Anaheim game for two reasons:

    1. Matt Beleskey will be making his first return to Anaheim as a member of the Bruins
    2. It’s Nick’s birthday, so he’s made a special request!

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    This will be Boston‘s 17th appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 7-8-1 record.  Their most recent appearance was March 8, a one-goal overtime victory in Tampa Bay.  Anaheim has been featured seven times before tonight’s game, and own a 4-1-2 record in the series, with their most recent being their 3-2 victory in Los Angeles on March 5.

    The main reason for tonight’s selection was not only the expected quality of the contest, but also the return of an ex-Duck with seven years tenure on The Pond.  Matt Beleskey was drafted by the Ducks in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.  He made his first appearance on the Pond two years later, but began earning regular time with the senior club in the 2010-’11 campaign.  It was that season that he scored 11 NHL goals, which stands as the second most during his time in Anaheim and third most in his career.

    That 2010-’11 season arguably stood as his best until his 2013-’14 campaign, where he scored 24 points, including 15 assists – and things have only been looking up since.  Last season, he scored a career high 22 goals and 10 assists (his first double-double, if you’ll allow me to use some March Madness terminology), which he followed with eight playoff goals (half a goal a playoff contest) before the Ducks were eliminated by the Blackhawks, prompting him to test free agency.  The Bruins were impressed, and signed him to a $19.8M contract over five years.

    He’s certainly earned that payday so far, as the 33 points he already has to his credit is the best of his career.  He’s gotten to that point by scoring 13 goals, and earning 20 helpers to boot.

    To be honest, the real reason I know he’s good is he’s on my fantasy team.  And I only sign quality talent for my best in the league 17-4-0 squad.  You can take that analysis to the bank.

    The 39-24-8 Boston Bruins currently occupy second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference.  They’ve earned that position by playing the third best offense in the league, but that’s been paired with the 13th worst defense.

    Led by Patrice Bergeron’s 237 shots, the Bruins have fired the puck 2221 times, with 9.5% finding the back of the net for 215 goals (led by 34 Brad Marchand’s 34 tallies), third most in the league.  The power play is just a step behind, as their 21.5% power play success rate, good for 43 extra man goals, ranks seventh best in the league.

    Even with Dennis Seidenberg’s 133 blocks, the Bruins have allowed 2190 shots to reach 28-19-7 Tuukka Rask and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.8% for 191 goals against, the 13th most in the league.  Although the defense a whole hasn’t played well, the penalty kill ranks 10th best with their 82.05% kill rate that has allowed only 42 power play goals against.  Further improving on that rate, the Bruins have scored nine shorthanded goals (led by Marchand’s four shorties), four more than the league average.

    Boston most recently played Tuesday to a 3-2 loss in San Jose.  With a win tonight, the Bruins could pull within a point of the division leading Panthers.

    The 38-22-9 Anaheim Ducks are currently the second best team in the Pacific Division, and fifth in the Western Conference.  To get to that position, they’ve played the third best defense in the league, but have scored the sixth fewest goals.

    Led by Hampus Lindholm’s 102 blocks, the Ducks have allowed only 1884 shots to reach 19-9-6 Frederik Andersen and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for only 162 goals against, the third fewest in the league.  That success no doubt continues with the special teams, as their 87.04% kill rate is the stingiest in the league, allowing only 32 power play goals.

    The offense is what was holding Anaheim back in the beginning of the season, but that issue has certainly been resolved.  That being said, even with Corey Perry’s 186 shots leading the Ducks to 2100 attempts, they’ve only connected on 8.2% for 175 goals (led by Perry’s 29), the sixth fewest in the league.  Anaheim‘s special team play continues its success with the puck on its stick, as their 23.19% power play success rate, good for 48 power play goals (led by Perry’s 11), is the second best rate in the league.

    Anaheim lost their most recent game 2-1 to the Rangers on Wednesday.  The most important thing a win does tonight for the Ducks is give them a three point lead over the Sharks for second place in the division.

    Anaheim has already made their yearly visit to the TD Garden, and they certainly enjoyed it, winning 6-2 on January 26.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Anaheim‘s Andersen (2.23 GAA [eighth best in the league]) or John Gibson (2.07 GAA [second best in the league]) and Boston‘s Marchand (34 goals [fourth most in the league] and +22 [10th best in the league]).

    This should be an interesting game, as Boston‘s offense and Anaheim‘s defense are about equal in strength.  Over the course of the entire season, Boston‘s defense has been stronger than the Ducks‘ offense, but I’m not feeling confident enough in that for a game on The Pond.  I’ll give a slight edge to Anaheim.

  • March 5 – Day 142 – Freeway Face-Off

    For the second straight day, my prediction was incorrect, as the New York Rangers won in Washington 3-2.

    New York got on the scoreboard first, only 5:47 into the contest.  Jesper Fast’s wrister was true, assisted by Dan Girardi (his 15th helper of the season) and Ryan McDonagh.  Thanks to a Karl Alzner tripping penalty, the Blueshirts doubled their lead with a power play snap shot from Keith Yandle, who was assisted by Derick Brassard (his 25th helper of the season) and First Star of the Game Derek Stepan, which they held into the intermission.

    Just as the Rangers scored two goals in the first frame, Washington did in the second.  10:58 after resuming play, Third Star Jay Beagle’s wrister found the back of the net, his seventh tally of the season.  With only 40 seconds remaining in the period, T.J. Oshie’s scored on a wrister of his own, his 19th tally of the season.  The game would come down to the final 20 minutes, as the two-all score held into the second intermission.

    Only one goal was scored in the third, belonging to the Rangers only 17 seconds after returning to the ice from the dressing room.  New York‘s winner came courtesy of a Stepan wrister, assisted by McDonagh (his 23rd helper of the season).

    Second Star Antti Raanta earns the win after saving 32 of 34 (94.1%), while Braden Holtby takes the loss, saving 20 of 23 (87%).

    With New York‘s win, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 64-35-13, favoring the home squads by 34 points over the roadies.

    It’s a wildly busy Saturday in the NHL, as 11 games will be played in the span of approximately 12 hours, with the first of those matchups dropping the puck at 1 p.m. eastern (Minnesota at Buffalo).  3 p.m. eastern brings with it the beginning of a pair of games (Nashville at Colorado and Calgary at Pittsburgh), followed an hour later by Anaheim at Los Angeles.  The usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern features the beginning of five contests (Montréal at Winnipeg, Ottawa at Toronto, Carolina at Tampa Bay, Washington at Boston [NHLN] and Columbus at Philadelphia).  Florida at Arizona drops the puck at 9 p.m. eastern, trailed an hour later by this evening’s nightcap, Vancouver at San Jose.

    Five of today’s games are divisional rivalries (Nashville at Colorado, Anaheim at Los Angeles, Ottawa at Toronto, Columbus at Philadelphia and Vancouver at San Jose), but only two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Anaheim at Los Angeles and Washington at Boston).

    If you haven’t looked at the standings recently, you need to know that Anaheim and Los Angeles are currently tied at 80 points apiece for the Pacific Division lead.  To not feature this game would be blatantly disrespectful to hockey, and probably all of mankind.

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    This afternoon’s game will be Anaheim‘s seventh in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they currently own a 3-1-2 record.  Their most recent showing under our scrutiny was February 15, a 6-4 victory in Calgary.  Los Angeles has only been featured four times before today’s matinee, and own a 2-2-0 record in such games.  Their most recent was February 9, an incredible 9-2 victory in Boston.

    The 36-19-8 Anaheim Ducks currently occupy second place in the Pacific Division (due to losing a regulation+overtime win tiebreaker to Los Angeles) and fifth in the Western Conference.  Although they had a rough start to the season, they’ve played the third best defense in the league, but it’s been supported by the sixth worst scoring offense.

    Led by Hampus Lindholm’s 97 blocks, the Ducks have allowed only 1722 shots to reach 16-8-2 John Gibson and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for only 147 goals against, third fewest in the league.  That incredible run of success has been led by the second best penalty kill in the NHL, which has neutralized 86.73% of their trips to the sin bin, allowing only 30 power play goals against.

    Earlier in the season, it was the offense holding Anaheim back, although that doesn’t seem to be the case right now (more on that in a minute).  Led by Corey Perry’s 174 shots, the Ducks have fired the puck a decent 1935 times, but only 8.2% have found the back of the net for 161 goals (led by Perry’s 28 tallies), sixth fewest in the league.  The penalty kill has not been hampered by this lack of success though, as Anaheim‘s 22.8% success rate, good for 44 power play goals (led by Perry’s 11 extra man tallies), is the second best rate in the NHL.

    Anaheim‘s 10 game winning streak is currently best in the league, two games stronger than Tampa Bay‘s eight game streak.  Their most recent showing was Thursday, a 5-1 victory in Arizona.  In addition to giving the Ducks a two point lead in the division over the rival Kings, Anaheim would also pull within three points of the dormant Blackhawks for the top spot in the Western Conference.

    The 38-21-4 Los Angeles Kings currently lead the Pacific Division by virtue of the regulation+overtime wins tiebreaker, and sit in fourth in the Western Conference.  They’ve gotten to that position by playing the bet defense in the league, paired with the 13th worst offense.

    Led by Alec Martinez’ 145 blocks, the Kings have allowed only 1747 shots to reach 32-16-3 Jonathan Quick and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 145 goals against, the fewest in the NHL.  The key to besting Los Angeles has been to get them to commit a penalty, as their 81.42% kill rate, which has allowed 42 power play goals, ranks only 13th best in the league.

    Jeff Carter’s 174 shots has helped lead the Kings to firing the puck a whopping 2054 times, but only 8.1% have found the back of the net for 168 goals (led by Tyler Toffoli’s 24 tallies), 13th fewest in the NHL.  While overall numbers might not be where they want them, the Kings have had decent success on the power play, where they optimize on 81.42% of opportunities for 40 power play goals (nine from Toffoli), the ninth best rate in the league.

    Los Angeles‘ last game was Thursday, a 3-2 victory over the visiting Canadiens.  Just like Anaheim, a win this afternoon gives the Kings an official lead over their heated rivals, and they pull within three points of the Western Conference lead.

    Anaheim currently leads the season series 2-1-0, with the most recent meeting occurring Sunday, a 4-2 victory for the Ducks on The Pond.

    Some players to keep an eye on in this afternoon’s game include Anaheim‘s Ryan Getzlaf (42 assists [eighth most in the league]), Frederik Anderson (2.22 GAA [eighth best in the league]) or Gibson (2.09 GAA [second best in the league]) and Perry (28 goals [ninth most in the league]) & Los Angeles‘ Anze Kopitar (+23 [tied for sixth best in the league]), Quick (32 wins [tied for third most in the league] and 2.18 GAA [sixth best in the league]) and Toffoli (+27 [tied for second best in the league]).

    It’s a shame this game isn’t on national TV, because there’s a lot on the line for not only the Pacific, but even the Western Conference.  Although the Kings‘ offense has been better for the entirety of the season and they have home ice, it is hard to pick against the Ducks with their 10 straight wins.  I’ll take Anaheim on the road.

  • 2016 NHL Trade Deadline Recap

    By: Nick Lanciani

    The Down the Frozen River team quickly recapped all the details of every trade made on the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline as they could in-between classes and things. Our “Deadline Deals” page will be updated with all of this information later in the day for your archiving needs. This post will be updated throughout the day. What is known is shown.

    Players and teams are bolded for your convenience/easy recognition and all trades that are pending and/or have not been officially confirmed are italicized.

    Last year, 24 trades were made at the deadline. This year, 19 trades were made at the deadline.

    The Arizona Coyotes kicked things off at the trade deadline this year by sending F Matthias Plachta and a conditional 7th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for F Sergei Plotnikov.

    In the second trade of the day, the Carolina Hurricanes traded G Drew MacIntyre to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for D Dennis Robertson.

    F Mikkel Boedker was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. The Arizona Coyotes acquired F Alex Tanguay, F Conner Bleakley, and D Kyle Wood in return.

    New Jersey Devils defenseman Eric Gelinas was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    The Calgary Flames sent D Kris Russell to the Dallas Stars for D Jyrki Jokipakka, D Brett Pollock and a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    The Boston Bruins acquired D John-Michael Liles from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, 5th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and F Anthony Camara.

    Boston also sent a 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a 4th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the New Jersey Devils F Lee Stempniak.

    The Buffalo Sabres traded F Jamie McGinn to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a conditional 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    F Brett Sutter was traded from the Minnesota Wild to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for F Scott Sabourin.

    The Arizona Coyotes traded F Dustin Jeffrey, F Dan O’Donoghue and D James Melindy to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for F Matia Marcantuoni.

    The Montreal Canadiens acquired F Stefan Matteau from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for F Devante Smith-Pelly.

    F Marc-André Cliche was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the New York Islanders for F Taylor Beck.  

    The Ottawa Senators traded F Michael Keränen to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for D Conor Allen.

    In another move, the Ottawa Senators sent F Shane Prince and a 7th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the New York Islanders for a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry.

    The Florida Panthers traded F Brandon Pirri to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 6th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    The Anaheim Ducks acquired F Corey Tropp from the Chicago Blackhawks and sent F Tim Jackman and a 7th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in return.

    In another trade, the Edmonton Oilers acquired F Patrick Maroon from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for D Martin Gernat and a 4th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    G Niklas Backstrom was traded from the Minnesota Wild along with a 6th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the Calgary Flames in exchange for F David Jones.

    The last trade of the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline witnessed the Arizona Coyotes trade D Corey Potter to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.