Down the Frozen River

Tag: Artemi Panarin

Stanley Cup Playoffs: First Round– April 20

For at least the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the authors at Down the Frozen River present a rapid recap of all of the night’s action. Tonight’s featured writers are Connor Keith and Nick Lanciani.

New York Rangers at Montreal Canadiens— Game 5

By: Connor Keith

With the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime victory against Montréal at the Bell Centre Thursday, they are only one victory away from advancing to the next round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Though the first frame didn’t end scoreless, the battle between two high-caliber goaltenders was immediately apparent. Montréal fired 15 shots at Third Star of the Game Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price faced 10 from the Blueshirts, but only three got past: Montréal exited the first period leading 2-1 thanks to a Artturi Lehkonen (Nathan Beaulieu and Alex Galchenyuk) wrap-around and a power play wrist shot by Second Star Brendan Gallagher (Andrei Markov and Lehkonen).

The Rangers haven’t been able to convert a single man-advantage all series against Price, so it only makes sense that they then leveled the game at one-all with 4:04 remaining in the first period while short-handed courtesy of Jesper Fast (First Star Mika Zibanejad). The Swedish center advanced the puck along the far boards through the neutral zone and across the blue line before splitting Beaulieu and Jeff Petry with a centering pass to his countryman for a wrister from the slot. The tied game lasted only 25 seconds before Gallagher buried his wrister, but the fact that it was the Canadiens’ last tally of the game came to haunt them.

It seemed Fast’s shorthanded effort at the end of the period took all the energy out of the Rangers, as they played terribly for most of the second period. They played defense for most of the frame – including killing two penalties (Ryan McDonagh for slashing and Mats Zuccarello for hi-sticking) – and gave the puck away twice as often as the Habs. To top it off, they were also out-hit by a wide margin, led by Steve Ott’s game-total of eight blows.

That’s what makes it so unbelievable that they exited the frame tied two-all with Montréal. Alain Vigneault inspired his squad to give him three good minutes at the end of the second period, and it yielded Brady Skjei’s (Rick Nash and Jimmy Vesey) wrister from the slot, New York’s second game-tying goal of the contest.

A goal can do a lot for a club, made evident by the Rangers holding the Habs without a shot on goal until 9:49 remained in the third period. Only five shots per team could be managed in that back-and-forth frame, and Lundqvist and Price kept all of them from crossing their goal lines to force the second-straight overtime match at the Bell Centre.

If Claude Julien did nothing else during the intermission following regulation, he should have reminded his squad that the Rangers know how to play on the road. Away from Madison Square Garden, New York was an impressive 27-12-2 during the regular season and it notched another victory thanks to Zibanejad’s (Chris Kreider) wrister with 5:38 remaining in the first overtime period.

Kreider took control of the puck at the near point of his defensive zone and quickly advanced up the boards into the attacking third. He didn’t have to do anything special with his pass, but it ended up being one of the best centering passes of the series with just the right pace to allow Zibanejad to one-touch the puck past Price’s glove for the Blueshirts’ third victory of the playoffs.

The Rangers’ first chance to clinch a spot in the Eastern Semifinals will come about Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern time on home ice at Madison Square Garden. United States residents can watch the game on NBC, while Canadians will be serviced by CBC and TVAS.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins— Game 5

The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 5-2 victory and eliminated Columbus on home ice at PPG Paints Arena in five games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 49 saves out of 51 shots against for a .961 save percentage in the win, while Blue Jackets goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped just 27 out of 32 shots faced for an .844 SV% in the loss.

Phil Kessel (2) kicked off scoring in Game 5 with a power play goal almost halfway into the 1st period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Kessel’s spectacular wrist shot beat Bobrovsky high on the short side.

Bryan Rust (4) made it a 2-0 game just 67 seconds into the 2nd period scoring on a rebound with the backhand past Bobrovsky. Kessel (6) and Evgeni Malkin (9) picked up the assists on the goal.

Almost three minutes later, Rust (5) added his second goal of the night. Ron Hainsey (2) had the only assist on the goal at 3:50 of the 2nd period.

Just like that the Penguins were up 3-0 and it seemed like they were in the clear, until Columbus’s William Karlsson (2) put the Blue Jackets on the scoreboard and made the game just a little bit closer. Karlsson’s goal cut the lead to two and was assisted by Sam Gagner (2) at 9:30 of the 2nd period.

Boone Jenner (2) swatted the puck out of mid air and past Fleury on a power play to make it a one goal game at 12:24 of the 2nd period. Seth Jones (2) and Cam Atkinson (1) notched the assists on Jenner’s goal and Columbus trailed the Penguins 3-2 heading into the 2nd intermission.

After Alexander Wennberg was sent to the penalty box for goaltender interference, Pittsburgh’s superstar center, Sidney Crosby (2) made Columbus pay with a power play goal that made it 4-2 Pittsburgh at 5:31 of the 3rd period. Malkin (10) notched his 2nd assist of the night and Kessel (7) picked up his third point of the game (one goal, two assists) on Crosby’s insurance goal.

Scott Wilson (1) followed suit with a goal of his own to make it a three-goal game on a no look shot off a rebound about a minute after Crosby’s goal. Trevor Daley (1) and Conor Sheary (2) amassed the assists on Wilson’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal. Wilson’s goal made it 5-2 in favor of the Penguins at 6:22 of the 3rd.

As the seconds counted down in Pittsburgh, so did the lifespan of the ice in Columbus. With the 5-2 victory firmly sealed after the final horn, the Pittsburgh Penguins had eliminated the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games, winning the series 4-1.

The Penguins are the 2nd team to advance to the Second Round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs and will face the winner of the Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs series.

Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators— Game 4

For the first time in franchise history, the Nashville Predators have swept a Stanley Cup Playoff series, having defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1, in Game 4 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night.

Chicago hadn’t been swept since their 1993 Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup with the St. Louis Blues, which, interestingly enough was also the last time a team with the best record in their conference was swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Predators goalie, Pekka Rinne stopped 30 out of the 31 shots he faced for a .968 save percentage in the win, while Blackhawks goaltender, Corey Crawford made 22 saves on 25 shots against for an .880 SV% in the loss.

Roman Josi (1) scored the game’s first goal (and his first of the postseason) 9:41 into the 2nd period. Ryan Ellis (2) and Ryan Johansen (5) were credited with the assists on the goal that made it 1-0 Nashville.

Colton Sissons (2) scored what would become the game winning goal almost halfway into the 3rd period. Viktor Arvidsson (2) and Ellis (3) tabbed the assists on the goal.

Less than two minutes later, Josi (2) scored his 2nd goal of the game on a pass from Sissons (1) and made it a 3-0 game for the Predators. Austin Watson (1) had the secondary assist on Josi’s goal.

The Blackhawks finally answered with a goal of their own on a power play as Jonathan Toews (1) collected his 40th career Stanley Cup Playoff goal and first of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Artemi Panarin (1) and Patrick Kane (1) were credited with the assists on the goal that cut the lead to 3-1. Yet it was too little, too late for Chicago.

With Crawford on the bench and an extra skater on the ice for the Blackhawks, P.K. Subban freed the puck from his own zone and sent it to Filip Forsberg. Forsberg found Arvidsson in the clear and with a direct shot at the empty net.

Arvidsson (2) tacked on the empty net goal for Nashville at 18:12 of the 3rd period. Forsberg (3) and Subban (2) collected the assists as the Predators went on to win 4-1.

Nashville advances to the Second Round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they await to face the winner of the Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues series. The Predators are just the third team to punch their ticket to Round Two (and second team to do so on Thursday night, as the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier in the evening).

San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers— Game 5

It only took almost a full overtime period and nearly 15 shots on goal within that time span, but David Desharnais found the back of the net for the Edmonton Oilers who completed a comeback and defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on home ice at Rexall Place on Thursday night.

Oilers goaltender, Cam Talbot, made 27 saves on 30 shots faced for a .900 save percentage in the win, while San Jose goalie, Martin Jones stopped 44 out of 48 shots against for a .917 SV% in the loss.

Patrick Maroon (1) struck first for the Oilers on a rebound to make it 1-0 Edmonton 5:28 into the opening frame. Matt Benning (1) had the only assist on the goal.

Mikkel Boedker (1) fired a shot past Talbot just past halfway in the 1st period to tie the game, 1-1. Chris Tierney (1) and Marcus Sorensen (1) had the assists on the tic-tac-goal setup.

After Joe Thornton’s shot initially broke through Edmonton’s goaltender, Cam Talbot, Patrick Marleau (2) finished the job by crashing the net and sending the loose puck home to the back of the twine to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead. Thornton (2) and Brendan Dillon (1) were given the assists on Marleau’s 2nd of the series.

David Schlemko (2) found the back of the net for the second consecutive game in the series to put San Jose up 3-1 on a long range wrist shot. The assists went to Boedker (1) and Joel Ward (3) on Schlemko’s goal at 8:38 of the 2nd period.

Not to be outdone, Edmonton blue liner, Mark Letestu (1) snuck in from the point on a power play opportunity to receive a pass from Leon Draisaitl and buried the puck behind Jones. Letestu’s goal cut the lead to one at 18:33 of the 2nd period and was assisted by Draisaitl (1) and Connor McDavid (2).

Entering the 3rd period, 3-2, the Oilers were hungry for more, while the Sharks were hoping to hold on and steal another game on the road.

Oscar Klefbom (2) received a pass from Desharnais and wired a slap shot past Jones with 2:46 to go in regulation to tie the game, 3-3. Desharnais (1) and Benning (2) were credited with the assists on the game-tying goal.

After 60 minutes the Oilers were outshooting the Sharks 34-28, outhitting the Sharks 30-15 and were 1/3 on the power play, compared to San Jose’s 0/1 on the man advantage. But 60 minutes were not enough for there to be a regulation winner in Game 5, and thus sudden death overtime was necessary.

Three colossal saves on three separate rushes by the Oilers were made by Jones before the 10-minute mark in overtime. Jones denied excellent rushes from Edmonton’s best in Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid in a span of minutes.

While the action was tilted on one end of the ice, Thornton recorded the first shot on goal in overtime for San Jose with a wrist shot at 9:37 of the overtime period. Edmonton had already amassed 10 shots on net by then.

With less than two minutes to go in overtime, David Desharnais (1) tipped a shot past Jones to complete the comeback and for his first goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Draisaitl (2) and Andrej Sekera (1) had the assists on the game-winning overtime goal at 18:15.

The Edmonton Oilers took Game 5 by a score of 4-3 and now lead the series 3-2. Edmonton looks to close things out on the road in San Jose on Saturday in Game 6. American viewers can tune in to NBCSN at 10:30 p.m. ET and Canadian fans can watch on Sportsnet or TVA Sports.

April 21, 2017
2017 NHL Trade Deadline Preview: Central Division

1. Minnesota Wild– 37-12-6 (80 points, 55 GP)

To nearly everyone’s surprise, the Minnesota Wild are first in the Central Division. I say “to nearly everyone’s surprise” because the Central Division is usually just assumed to be controlled by the Chicago Blackhawks, since at least 2010.

Aside from needing to maintain this surge in momentum that the Wild have been on, it’s reasonable to believe Minnesota will move someone that’s been largely expendable for the Wild organization, but could perhaps use a fresh start elsewhere in return for a nice little package that’ll get them further in the playoffs than in recent years. Look, I really don’t know what Minnesota needs, other than to end some of the rumors that are always swirling the team about Jonas Brodin’s future and such.

Potential assets to trade: F Erik Haula, D Jonas Brodin

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Kevan Miller (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Drew Stafford (WPG)

2. Chicago Blackhawks– 35-17-5 (75 points, 57 GP)

The Chicago Blackhawks look like they’re going to go with their usual formula this season at the trade deadline. Acquire a veteran or two, make them look like they robbed the team they made a deal with, then not be able to sign a bunch of people in the offseason after winning the Cup. It is an odd year, after all.

The Blackhawks have a plethora of later picks in the 2017 draft, which all but solidify the “acquire some old guy” theory. They also have almost all of their first, second and third round picks as well, so if they needed to replenish anything immediately and focus on maintaining a future, they could do so.

This could be the year that some 38-year-old forward with a lengthy term and cap hit remaining on his contract gets moved to find a more suitable and long term replacement alongside Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews, et al.

Potential assets to trade: F Marian Hossa, F Marcus Kruger, F Andrew Desjardins, D Michael Rozsival, G Scott Darling

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Tomas Plekanec (MTL), D Dennis Seidenberg (NYI), F Drew Stafford (WPG), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

3. St. Louis Blues– 29-22-5 (63 points, 56 GP)

The St. Louis Blues really shouldn’t be where they are in a playoff spot, but this is the world we live in now with the current structure of the Stanley Cup Playoffs format. I digress.

St. Louis is one of those teams that’s marginally decent and could, on a whim, take a turn for the worst. This is one of those years where the Blues management should strongly consider whether or not they have the tools for a deep playoff run and a future, because at a glance– they don’t. They’re getting older and they’ve had to witness the loss of a franchise player in David Backes to free agency because of the salary cap and all.

It’s always better to get something for a player than to get nothing at all. And St. Louis has a defenseman that’s in demand that they’ll probably lose this offseason in free agency if they don’t try to move him now. They’ve got to stay ahead of the downward curve as much as they can to stay competitive.

Potential assets to trade: F Patrik Berglund, D Kevin Shattenkirk, G Carter Hutton

Potential assets to acquire: F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), G Reto Berra (FLA), F Tyler Johnson (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

4. Nashville Predators– 27-21-8 (62 points, 56 GP)– currently the first Wild Card in the Western Conference

After acquiring one of the better defensemen in today’s game in June, the Nashville Predators are far from hitting the mark everyone expected they would. Now, whether or not the Preds will make the playoffs and just how far might they go remains to be seen, but if anything, they should be buyers at the trade deadline, as opposed to sellers.

The floor hasn’t fallen out from underneath Nashville and they’ve simply been caught in a transition year. Could they restructure some parts of their roster, yes, but it might be wise to just do that in free agency when more options will be open. It would be unwise to simply do nothing at the deadline, though, as Nashville could dangle some of their veterans as bait.

Potential assets to trade: F James Neal, F Mike Ribeiro, F Vernon Fiddler, D Yannick Weber

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Tyler Johnson (TB), F Onrej Palat (TB)

5. Dallas Stars– 22-25-10 (54 points, 57 GP)

Facing a lot of injuries and an aging roster, the Dallas Stars have a lot of attractable options to sell as rentals for teams looking for just a little more depth to get them further this season.

This is not how the Stars expected this season to go, but this is what they’ve got. Contrary to what Dallas likes to believe, they should trade at least one of their goaltenders and acknowledge that other parts of their roster could be filled with a younger player that might be able to keep up with the speed game of the Central Division, let alone the modern NHL. Additionally, Stars GM Jim Nill has some repairs to make on the blue line, but it’s best if they wait until free agency to do so.

Potential assets to trade: F Adam Cracknell, F Patrick Eaves, F Jiri Hudler, F Lauri Korpikoski, F Patrick Sharp, G Kari Lehtonen, G Antti Niemi

Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), G Anders Nilsson (BUF), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), F Jonathan Drouin (TB), F Tyler Johnson (TB), G Ben Bishop (TB), F Drew Stafford (WPG), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG), G Ondrej Pavelec (WPG)

6. Winnipeg Jets– 25-29-4 (54 points, 58 GP)

Despite all of the hype from earlier this season, the Winnipeg Jets have cooled down a bit. After having a taste of the postseason in 2015, Winnipeg’s been on the lookout for a savior like Patrik Laine for quite some time. This might not be their year to get into the playoffs and on a long run, but they can certainly set themselves up for next year as sellers on March 1st.

They don’t have much to sell, but they have just enough to revamp parts of their roster, while still being able to land a good draft pick or two and really building a solid foundation for the future. It’s not wrong to think that the Jets might be taking the Toronto Maple Leafs model and fast forwarding through all of the mumbo-jumbo that the Leafs had going on for the last decade until now. The kids are alright in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Potential assets to trade: F Shawn Matthias, F Drew Stafford, F Chris Thorburn, D Paul Postma, D Mark Stuart, G Michael Hutchinson, G Ondrej Pavelec

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), G Malcolm Subban (BOS), G Anders Nilsson (BUF), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), F Ondrej Palat (TB), G Ben Bishop (TB)

7. Colorado Avalanche– 15-36-2 (32 points, 53 GP)

This is pathetic, stupid, hockey. I mean, the Colorado Avalanche are like, when the Atlanta Thrashers first came into the league level bad. I won’t go as far to say that they’re like an AHL team, but the Avalanche have a situation that couldn’t possibly get any worse– but looks like it will– before it gets better.

Fifteen wins in 53 games played so far this season. Fifteen.

Colorado GM Joe Sakic has an immensely improbable mountain to climb. Yet, as we’ve seen Super Joe do before (at least on the ice), he’s looking to perform and perform in a big way. The biggest sellers at this year’s trade deadline, the Avalanche are looking at dumping everyone except for Nathan MacKinnon and their head coach, Jared Bednar. Though it pains me to see franchise players, like Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, being shopped after an unsuccessful turnaround since 2009.

Potential assets to trade: F Rene Bourque, F Joe Colborne, F Blake Comeau, F Matt Duchene, F Jarome Iginla, F Gabriel Landeskog, F John Mitchell, D Tyson Barrie, D Cody Goloubef, D Erik Johnson* (*pending his injury status), D Fedor Tyutin, G Calvin Pickard

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Kevan Miller (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), G Malcolm Subban (BOS), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Tomas Plekanec (MTL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), F Tyler Johnson (TB), F Ondrej Palat (TB), G Ben Bishop (TB), D Martin Marincin (TOR), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

February 14, 2017
Sick Hands of The Month – Burns Shows Up For The Third Month in a Row, Easily Stands Out in SHoTM

Hey, everyone, I’m back again for a new week of Sick Hands Sunday! I can’t wait to get another version out to all my fans for you all to enjoy! This week was a little easier to pick the winner so let’s get right into it! I am very sorry for my post coming out two days late, I was busy traveling over the MLK weekend and I just now have the time to get it out so here it is! It’s time third “Sick Hands of The Month”

Eric Staal – Center (MIN) The reason why I picked this certain Staal brother from Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada was because he was simply unstoppable over the past month. Honestly, even in his last five games, he’s been on a complete tear and I mean it! In this past month, Staal has led all centers in points with 16 in 12 games played. His seven goals and nine assists that made up those points were good enough to rank himself for third in goals and fourth in the helper category. In his last five games, Staal has been on fire, recording six points in that stretch made up of two goals and four assists. He racked up six power play points which were second best for the center spot. It’s safe to say, Eric’s move to Minnesota has worked out for the better and if he stays this red hot no one’s going to be complaining!

Artemi Panarin – Left Wing (CHI) Hey look, it’s the breadman back on Sick Hands of The Month for the second time after a month off! Clearly, he did something right to get back on it and I’m gonna tell you just how great he was this month. Panarin had a very solid week and edged out his fellow countryman, Alex Ovechkin for the spot this month. The breadman finished with 18 points in 14 games that were made up of six goals and a whopping twelve assists. His six assists ranked third out of all left wingers for the month and his amazing twelve assists ranked number one for the calendar month! In Panarin’s last five games he has only tallied four points (2G, 2A). He also notched eight power play points, with four of them being goals, which were both first for his position as well.

Patrick Kane – Right Wing (CHI) Oh my, it must be a Blackhawks team party as this is the second Hawks player this month to find the list, but Kane’s firs time on Sick Hands of the Month! Kane had a fantastic week and rightfully deserved to be on this list and here’s why he tallied an amazing 17 points in just 14 games. Of those 17 points, only FOUR of them were goals and he had THIRTEEN assists, yes he had thirteen helpers this week which is mind blowing! He had five power play points, guess how he got them? Yes, all by the way of picking his head up and finding the open man for the assist. In Kane’s last five games, he’s registered seven points which were made up of two goals and five assists. His low week in goals (4) had him ranked at sixth for right wingers but first in assists (13).

Brent Burns – Defense (SJS) My oh my, would you look who it is, it’s Brent Burns! I need to ask my readers a question, are you really surprised that he’s on here, or should we just start getting used to seeing his name? Don’t worry, I’ll wait for an answer….the answer is probably no we aren’t surprised. But yes, Mr. Burns appears on Sick Hands of the Month for the THIRD month in a row because he was on yet another rampage during the third month of hockey. Burns finished with a jaw-dropping 19 points in only 14 games and those points were made up of just five goals and fourteen assists this month. He tallied five power play points with one of them being a goal. His two goals ranked fourth for D-men but he was first with his sixteen helpers for his position. In his last five games, Burns has racked up a staggering eight points based off of three goals and five assists. If he keeps this up again, I will probably be writing about him next week.

Victor Hedman – Defense (TB) This man right here, ALL the way from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden is an absolute beast on the backend for the Lightning without a doubt. He is always their most consistent offensive defenseman and most of the time, defensive as well. For this past month, Hedman put up a mountainous 18 points in just 13 games which were made up of only two goals and a tremendous SIXTEEN, yes you read this right, sixteen apples this month. This man was on a mission to find his teammates to score and he did just that! He also had TEN of his sixteen assists come on the manpower advantage so that is a major help to him and the team overall big time! In Hedman’s last five matchup’s he’s cooled off a bit by only tallying three points all by assists. If Hedman can keep this pace up, the Bolts will be extremly happy.

Sergei Bobrovsky – Goalie (CBJ) Dear lord, where do I start writing about Bobrovsky?!? It’s a serious question, this man was unbeatable during their historic 16 game win streak that fell one game short of the record. But overall, during the month, ‘Bob’ started in 11 games and finished with a fabulous 10-1 record, only letting in 22 goals on 313 shots against. He finished with a .930 Save Percentage and a 2.04 Goals Against Average. His SV% ranked fourth in the goalie category with a minimin of at least five games played. His GAA ranked fifth in all goalies which is not bad at all. ‘Bob” stood on his head, bailing out his team mulitpule times and that’s why he is on here! In his last five games, he is 4-1 and besides his one loss where his SV% was very poor, he did not let it drop below a .935 or give up more than two goals. ‘Bob’ is the Jackets savior and if his play keeps up they are going to make it far!

January 17, 2017
January 15 – Day 92 – Wild-Hawks rivalry
What better way to close out your weekend than with hockey? The action gets an early start at 1 p.m. with Philadelphia at Washington (NBC/TVAS), with two contests dropping the puck in prime time at 7 p.m. (New Jersey at Vancouver [SN] and Minnesota at Chicago [NBCSN]). Finally, St. Louis at Anaheim (NHLN) gets underway at 9 p.m. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Philadelphia at Washington: In addition to being a rivalry, it’s also a rematch from last season’s Eastern Quartefinals.
- Minnesota at Chicago: A Wild win tonight would distance Minnesota‘s Central Division and Western Conference lead over their biggest rivals in their first meeting of the year.
Just like yesterday’s rivalry in Ottawa, the matchup in the United Center is just too big to miss. Off to the Windy City we go!

Way back in the day, the Blackhawks and North Stars had a fantastic rivalry, similar to the Bears and Vikings and the Twins and White Sox. Of course, it died out when the Stars lost the direction from their name and headed to the Lone Star State.

Simply introducing the Wild to the league in 2000 did not completely rekindle the dormant geographical rivalry. That job was completed 13 years later when these clubs met in the Western Quarterfinals. Although the Hawks needed only five games to dispatch the Wild, a playoff meeting paired with Minnesota joining the Central Division that offseason marked the beginnings of today’s rivalry.

For three-straight seasons, these clubs met in the postseason, and the Wild have been eliminated three straight-times. Minnesota does have a big victory over the Hawks though: last season’s Stadium Series matchup at TCF Bank Stadium, where the Wild whipped Chicago 6-1.

What better environment for a statement win? With a win over the Stars last night for their third-straight, Minnesota took control of Central Division and Western Conference by winning the games-played tiebreaker over Chicago. Of course, the Wild would love to create a real point-spread over the Hawks before staking dramatic claims like “Best in the West” or something to that effect.

Minnesota has earned their 27-9-5 record by playing some phenomenal goaltending that has allowed only 84 goals, the second-fewest in the NHL.

At the midway point of the season, 22-7-3 Devan Dubnyk easily gets my vote (if I had one) for Vezina. His .94 save percentage and 1.77 GAA are both best in the NHL.

Making his effort more impressive is the fact that Minnesota‘s defense is not one of the elite units in the league. Led by Jared Spurgeon‘s 73-block effort, the Wild have allowed 29.5 shots-per-game to reach Dubnyk’s crease, only the 12th-best in the NHL.

Dubnyk’s success has carried into the penalty kill. Thanks to him and Spurgeon’s team-leading 11 shorthanded blocks, Minnesota ranks fifth-best on the penalty kill, refusing to yield a goal on 85.1% of opposing power plays.

Playing host this evening are the 27-13-5 Blackhawks, currently in second place in the Central Division due to losing the games-played tiebreaker to the this tonight’s opponent. They’ve found that success by playing a well-rounded game, but I’ve been most impressed with their goaltending that has allowed only 112 goals over 45 games – the seventh-lowest average in the league.

The man between the pipes more often than not for Chicago has been 16-9-3 Corey Crawford, whose .922 save percentage and 2.47 GAA are (t)12th and 19th-best among the 47 netminders with 14 or more appearances.

While Dubnyk has certainly been better than Crawford this season, Crawford has arguably been more important for his club this season as the Hawks‘ defense allows 31.3 shots-per-game to reach his crease, tied for the eighth-worst rate in the league. Niklas Hjalmarsson is doing all he can to resolve that issue, as his 104 blocks are not only most on the team, but fifth-most in the league.

The biggest issue for Chicago this season has been their miserable penalty kill. Ranked third-worst in the league, the Hawks have stopped only 76.3% of opposing power plays. Once again, Hjalmarsson cannot be lumped into that effort, as his 19 shorthanded blocks are easily the best in the Windy City.

Some players to keep an eye on include Chicago‘s Scott Darling (.924 save percentage [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]), Patrick Kane (33 assists [second-most in the league] among 45 points [fourth-most in the NHL]), Duncan Keith (29 assists [fourth-most in the league]) and Artemi Panarin (42 points [ninth-most in the NHL]) & Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (1.77 GAA on a .94 save percentage [both best in the league] for 22 wins, including five shutouts [both tied for second-most in the NHL]), Mikael Granlund (+22 [tied for fourth-best in the league]), Mikko Koivu (+22 [tied for fourth-best in the NHL]), Spurgeon (+24 [third-best in the league]), Ryan Suter (+27 [best in the NHL]) and Jason Zucker (+25 [second-best in the league]).

This should be a fantastic game. Minnesota comes into this game riding tons of momentum, while Chicago finally has the goal of reclaiming their position in the standings. Given that the Hawks were inactive yesterday and Minnesota had to travel from Texas, I’m leaning towards Chicago, but that’s not to say I’m picking against a very impressive Wild team.

Hockey Birthday
- Brett Lebda (1982-) – Although undrafted, this defenseman played 397 games over seven seasons in the NHL, most of which with Detroit. He was a member of the Wings‘ 2008 Stanley Cup squad.
You did it Leafs fans. Toronto‘s 4-2 victory over Ottawa in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day has earned them third place in the Atlantic Division. If they hold onto it, they qualify for the playoffs.

Only 6:26 into the game, Second Star of the Game Nazem Kadri (James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak) got things started with a power play wrister to give the Maple Leafs an early lead that lasted until the first intermission.

Toronto got off to an even faster start in the second period as Bozak (Mitch Marner) buried a wrister only 1:07 after returning to the ice. The Senators pulled back within a goal when Dion Phaneuf (Mike Hoffman and Erik Karlsson) potted a slap shot 8:08 later. With 110 seconds remaining before the second intermission, Third Star Kyle Turris (Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel) leveled the game with a wrister.

Kadri (William Nylander and Matt Hunwick) takes credit for the winning goal only 2:31 after returning from intermission – yet another quick goal. Connor Brown (Auston Matthews) tacked on an insurance goal 5:21 later to secure Toronto‘s victory.

First Star Curtis McElhinney earned his first victory with the Leafs by saving 35-of-37 shots faced (94.6%), leaving the loss to Mike Condon, who saved 23-of-27 (85.2%).

The Leafs‘ victory is the second-straight by the road team in the DtFR Game of the Day series, setting the series record at 49-31-14 in favor of the homers by six points.
January 15, 2017
January 2 – Day 79 – Winter Classic… hopefully
For the second day in a row, there’s only three games on the schedule. Well, maybe. The NHL will decide today at 8 a.m. if the Chicago at St. Louis (NBC/SN/TVAS) Winter Classic, currently scheduled at 1 p.m., will take place at that time, later, or even potentially postponed until tomorrow. Two games will take place for sure: Boston at New Jersey (SN) at 7 p.m. and Colorado at Vancouver three hours later. All times eastern.

If only this was the situation yesterday. All three matchups looked good on paper to open the year. Instead, the Winter Classic is by far the best game on the schedule today, so we must hope that this game happens!

The best team in the not only the Central Division but also the Western Conference, is the same club that has already played in four outdoor games – the most in the league. This year’s edition of the Blackhawks, at 23-11-5, have a specialty in not allowing their opposition to find the back of their net, allowing only 93 goals, tying for the seventh-fewest.

Back from injury, 13-7-3 Corey Crawford has resumed his starting role in Chicago‘s net. So far this season, he’s set a .928 save percentage and 2.28 GAA, the (t)sixth and (t)10th-best efforts, respectively, among his 46 peers that have 12 or more appearances.

Crawford is especially deserving of the praise, because the defense playing in front of him has not been that good at their primary responsibility. The Hawks have allowed 31.2 shots-per-game to reach his net, making him the eighth-most taxed netminder in the business.

That all being said, Niklas Hjalmarsson has done all he can to impact that statistic, as his 87 shot blocks are far-and-away the most on the club. He leads Brent Seabrook‘s total by 31 blocks, who firmly has second place by 14 blocks in his own right. I’d say that more defensemen need to keep pucks off Crawford’s net, but with the record they have… I guess they’re doing all right.

This defensive effort rears its ugly head on the penalty kill. Have you heard that expression, “When *censored* hits the fan?” That might be an understatement. Chicago ranks third-worst in the league when down a man, neutralizing only 75% of opposing power plays. Seabrook has been very important here, but it is probably telling that his measly six shorthanded blocks are top on the team.

Playing three blocks down Clark Avenue from Scottrade Center, the 19-13-5 Blues have taken up residence at Busch Stadium, the home field of the St. Louis Cardinals. Currently in third place in the Central Division, the Notes have found their success with the puck on their stick, scoring 103 goals, tying them for the 11th-best offense.

Easily the best forward on the team, right wing Vladimir Tarasenko has a club-leading 39 points to his credit in 37 games. 16 of those have been goals which, you guessed it, is also the best mark in St. Louis.

The power play has been a point of pride for St. Louis, as their 21.6% success rate is tied for seventh-best in the NHL. Who else to lead that effort than Tarasenko, who has 15 man-advantage points already on his resume. That being said, it’s actually been Kevin Shattenkirk who’s buried more power play goals. His six extra-man goals are top on the team.

If the power play has been good, the penalty kill has been great. St. Louis rejects 86% of opposing power plays, the fourth-best effort in the NHL and tops in the Western Conference. Captain Alex Pietrangelo has been at the head of that effort, as you’d expect a leader to be. His 17 shorthanded blocks are tops on the team.

Just like yesterday’s featured game – both by DtFR and the NHL – this matchup is not by accident. Although probably more known for the baseball rivalry between the Cardinals and Cubs, these towns do not like each other. Like, at all. While the Cubbies have had more recent success on the diamond, it was these very Blue Notes that expelled the Blackhawks in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. Something tells me that was only fuel on an already brightly burning fire.

Some players to keep an eye on this afternoon include Chicago‘s Crawford (.928 save percentage [tied for seventh-best in the league]), Patrick Kane (26 assists [tied for third-most in the NHL] among 37 points [tied for eighth-most in the league]) and Artemi Panarin (38 points [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]) & St. Louis‘ Tarasenko (39 points [fourth-most in the league], including 16 goals [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]).

As usual, the way to beat the Blues is by eliminating Tarasenko. Chicago has been able to do that in two of their three meetings with St. Louis, including their most recent meeting – a 6-4 victory down the road at Scottrade Center on December 17. Vegas has marked St. Louis a -124 favorite, but road teams have won four of the last six outdoor games. I’m biased, but I believe the Notes can hold off the Hawks for a victory today.

Hopefully today’s game is able to be played, because there’s a couple good games that deserve to be watched tomorrow.

Hockey Birthday
- Glen Harmon (1921-2007) – This defenseman may have only played nine seasons in the NHL, but he was named to two more All Star teams and hoisted two more Stanley Cups than a lot of players who play double the time. He played all nine seasons in Montréal.
- Robbie Ftorek (1952-) – Although undrafted, this forward played eight seasons in the NHL (he also spent five seasons in the WHA), most of which with the Rangers. By the time his NHL career was complete, he’d notched 227 points. He also won a silver medal with Team USA at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics.
- Mattias Norstrom (1972) – Drafted 48th-overall by the Rangers in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, this defenseman played 14 seasons in the league, most of which in Los Angeles. He was the Kings‘ captain from 2001 until he was traded during the 2007 season.
- Brian Boucher (1977-) – This goaltender was drafted 22nd-overall by Philadelphia in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, and he played most of his 13-year career with the Flyers. Although he never hoisted a Stanley Cup or was named to an All Star game, he holds the modern NHL record for longest shutout streak at 332:01 (that’s over 5.5 hours!).
If you like offensive surges, the Centennial Classic was the game for you, as Toronto won 5-4 in overtime against the arch-rival Red Wings.

Although it ended up being high scoring, this contest stayed scoreless until the 5:33 mark of the second period. Third Star of the Game Anthony Mantha (Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Tatar) takes credit for the lone goal of the frame, giving Detroit a 1-0 lead.

Toronto returned to the ice with a bad taste in their mouth, scoring four straight goals. Leo Komarov (Jake Gardiner and William Nylander) takes credit for the first, only 1:23 after resuming play. Next up was Mitchell Marner (Morgan Rielly and James van Riemsdyk), who buried his snap shot exactly seven minutes later. Second Star Connor Brown (Zach Hyman and Connor Carrick) set the score at 3-1 with his wrister at the 9:34 mark, First Star Auston Matthews (Brown and Hyman) completed the surge only 2:31 later.

Down 4-1, the Wings needed a mighty surge, and they got one. Jonathan Ericsson (Mantha and Xavier Ouellet) got it started with 6:06 remaining in regulation with his first goal of the season. Dylan Larkin (Zetterberg and Tatar) pulled Detroit within a goal with 1:46 remaining, and Mantha (Zetterberg and Thomas Vanek) completed the comeback with only two ticks left on the clock, forcing three-on-three overtime.

A game like this doesn’t deserve to end in a shootout. Whether you believe that or not, Matthews (Gardiner and Brown) did, as he buried his winner with 80 seconds remaining in overtime to earn Toronto the bonus point.

Frederik Andersen takes earns the win after saving 33-of-37 shots faced (89.2%), leaving the overtime loss to Jared Coreau, who saved 23-of-28 (82.1%).

Although not on their usual surface, Toronto‘s home victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 45-24-12, favoring the hosts by 15 points.
January 2, 2017
Sick Hands Sunday – Panarin and Lundqvist Can’t Be Stopped, Win This Week’s Crown.

Hey everyone, I’m back again for a new week of Sick Hands Sunday! I can’t wait to get another version out to all my fans for you all to enjoy! This week was a little easier to pick the winner so let’s get right into it!

So for the forward portion of this article, like I stated above, it was an easy week to pick the winner! The reason why I say this was because Blackhawks winger Artemi Panarin was on fire over the last week picking up ELEVEN points (4G, 7A) in just four games and in four of his five games this week he tallied at least two points and three power-play goals as well. Here’s how Panarin did game by game.

Panarin celebrates his goal (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

In Panarin’s first game, he recorded a power play goal in a solid 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars. The “BreadMan” as they like to call him, received a beautiful pass right on the left-hand dot from Duncan Keith. Panarin let a nasty one-timer go from his knee that beat Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen right under the blocker to ice the game and push the score to 3-1. You can see his goal down below:

Toasty pic.twitter.com/5QB9gvjpcq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 12, 2016

In Panarin’s second game they took on the streaking New York Rangers in a battle of hot teams. Panarin recorded two assists in a 2-1 win. His best assist came on the Hawks first goal of the game early in the second period. He came down the left-hand boards, cut towards the dot, and delivered a great pass to a streaking Trevor van Riemsdyk who ripped a shot past Antti Raanta for the opening goal. He added a secondary assist late in the game as well. You can see the great pass down below:

A quality finish by @TvanRiemsdyk6 and an apple for the #BreadMan in the Big Apple pic.twitter.com/DntO4GoOVi

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 14, 2016

In the Blackhawks’ third game Panarin picked up three points (2G, 1A) with all three points coming on the power play! Panarin scored his first goal of the game just like he did in his first game. He received a cross-ice pass from Brent Seabrook right in his wheelhouse and Panarin fired the one-timer top cheese to bring the Hawks back a goal at 2-1. Here’s his rocket down below:

A dozen bread goals fresh from the oven pic.twitter.com/1htnzSCNad

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 16, 2016

Panarin would tally yet another power play goal in basically the same spot with the same setup. He took another beauty of a pass from Seabrook right on the left side dot and ripped another one-timer far side that beat Isles goalie Thomas Greiss high glove side to tie the game up at four goals a piece.He finished with another assist for three points on the night. Here’s his goal down below:

And the #BreadMan makes it a baker's dozen with another PPG pic.twitter.com/okgukQ97pJ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 16, 2016

In Panarin’s fourth game he had another monster game with three points (1G, 2A) in a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Blues. His first assist came on Brian Campbell‘s tap in goal. Panarin received a cross-ice pass from Patrick Kane on the left side boards. Panarin then spotted Campbell sitting wide open at the back door and he rifled a pass over to him for the tap in goal to tie the game at 3-3. Here’s the beautiful pass below:

.@bcampbell_51 joins the scoring fun! pic.twitter.com/lgYoEfTBQi

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2016

Panarin then put his great hands to use again with another fantastic assist. He spotted a wide-open Niklas Hjalmarsson at the points and sauced him a beaut of a pass at the top and Hjalmarsson fired a one-timer past Jake Allen to tie the game back up at 4-4. Panarin also added the icing to the cake with an empty net goal late in the goal to cap off the come from behind win! Here’s the awesome pass below:

And boom goes the Hjalmarsson pic.twitter.com/IoWrffOOn3

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2016

Panarin’s last game of the week he tallied two assists in a commanding 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. Panarin’s first assist came on Kieth’s first goal of the season. He stopped on the half wall on the left-hand board and passed to Keith who was wide open at the point. Keith let a massive one-time clap bomb go that beat Sharks goalie Martin Jones blocker side to tie the game at 1-1. He would then get another assist on an empty net goal to cap off an amazing week. Here it is below:

#ChicagoRunsOnDuncan pic.twitter.com/Kcx8nDwwIM

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 19, 2016

Lundqvist makes a save vs the Stars (Jermone Miron/USA Today Sports)

Now for the goalie part of the article, I decided to go with Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist! Even though he had games where he was benched because of poor play, he still finished with an extremely strong week. He finished with a record of 3-0 a .98 GAA and a .967 SV%. He only gave up three goals on 90 shots in three games and also grabbed one joint shutout with Rannta vs the Stars. If some of you guys don’t know he had to come out of the game because he was decked by Stars goon Cody Eakin, who has later suspended four games, but later returned to complete the shutout! So it was pretty easy to pick “King Henrik” as the winner for this week!

The Honorable Mention goes to Devan Dubnyk and Eric Staal. I will see you guys next Sunday for another recap of the best player of the week! (Thanks to the Chicago Blackhawks’ Twitter for the videos of the goals!)

December 19, 2016
November 29 – Day 48 – Rowe says it’s Tommy Time!
Welcome to the last Tuesday of November. I know, it’s not very momentous on its own, but the NHL is helping out with a dozen hockey games to watch. The action starts at – you guessed it – 7 p.m. with a couple of games (Carolina at the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay at Columbus), followed half an hour later by three more (Boston at Philadelphia [NBCSN/TVAS], Buffalo at Ottawa [RDS2] and Dallas at Detroit). New Jersey at Winnipeg starts at 8 p.m., with Florida at Chicago waiting 30 minutes before beginning. 9 p.m. marks two puck drops (Nashville at Colorado and Toronto at Edmonton [NBSCN]), with tonight’s tri-nightcap getting green lit at 10 p.m. (Minnesota at Vancouver, Montréal at Anaheim [RDS] and Arizona at San Jose). All times eastern.

Short list:
- Carolina at New York: Last season, Viktor Stalberg played in Madison Square Garden on the regular. Tonight, he’s just visiting.
- Buffalo at Ottawa: A rivalry game, with the chance to be made more special by the return of Jack Eichel.
- Florida at Chicago: Tom Rowe coaches the first NHL game of his career.
Stalberg will return to Manhattan again, and rivals will be rivals, but you only make your coaching debut once. Let’s see what Rowe’s got.

Rowe’s carer in the NHL began after being drafted 37th-overall in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft. By the time he hung his skates up the last time, he’d played 357 career games with three different franchises, most of which with Washington, the club that drafted him. His best season was the third of his career, when he scored 31 goals and notched another 30 assists to become the first-ever American to bury 30 or more tallies in a season.

Rowe had been a coach at multiple levels, but he took his first head coaching job in a senior-level league in 2012 when he took command of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, replacing Brad McCrimmon who died in the Lokomotiv plane crash. He led a team of all new players to a 24-18-0 season.

He only kept the job for a year before returning to the States to begin his tenure with the Panthers‘ organization. He took the same job he had with Lokomotiv, but with the San Antonio Rampage in the AHL. He stuck with the team in their move to Portland before being promoted mid-season to associate general manager on New Year’s Day 2016. By the time he departed Portland, he’d amassed an 88-66-17 record.

If only normal people not involved in sports could get promotions as quick as Rowe. He was associate GM for only four-and-a-half months before replacing Dale Tallon as the man in-charge.

That brings us to Sunday’s move. Gerard Gallant entered PNC Arena as head coach of the then 11-9-1. By the time he exited, he added another loss, had a pink slip in hand and was in search of a job.

It turns out, Rowe already had a new coach in mind: himself. It seems to be the trend in Miami of late, as Dan Jennings did the same thing with the Marlins for most of the 2015 season. If the baseball team in town is any indication, the future doesn’t look bright for the Panthers.

That being said, Jennings had one specific thing playing against him: no managerial experience. Rowe has been a consistent winner, so it will be interesting to see how the Panthers‘ season unfolds.

Rowe completely takes over a 11-10-1 Florida club that sits in fifth in the Atlantic Division. Statistically, they’ve been simply average this season, scoring 55 goals (19th-best) against 57 allowed ([t]15th-best). Given their rankings against the league on those numbers, we’ll pin the poor start to the season on the offense.

Of the Panthers‘ 55 goals, center Jon Marchessault has been involved in 17 of them to lead the team. 10 of those points have been goals, which also is tops in the dressing room. Perhaps that is the biggest problem for Florida: goal distribution. Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck tie for second-place in the goal-scoring race, but with only six tallies apiece.

Not surprisingly, the power play has been especially poor for the Panthers. They’ve been successful on only 14.7% of their attempts to rank 10th-worst in the NHL. Leading the team’s special team is – you guessed it – Marchessault, as he has three power play goals among six points.

Hosting them this evening is the best team in the Western Conference – the 14-6-3 Chicago Blackhawks. As usual in an even-numbered Stanley Cup year, they’ve been led by their impressive offense which has notched 65 goals – second-most in the conference and seventh-most in the league.

Who else to front the Hawks‘ attack than right wing Patrick Kane? The former first pick has 23 points to his credit, 21.7% of last season’s total a little over a quarter of the way through this year’s campaign. He hasn’t always been the goalscorer, though. That title goes to Marian Hossa, who has 11 tallies on his resume.

Every team has a weakness, and the Windy City‘s is the penalty kill. The Blackhawks rank dead-last in the NHL, stopping the opposition’s man-advantage only 70.8% of the time. Niklas Hjalmarsson may have a dozen shorthanded blocks to his credit, but more Hawks need to get involved to avoid another early playoff exit.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Chicago‘s Corey Crawford (two shutouts [tied for sixth-most in the NHL] among 10 wins [tied for eighth-most in the league]), Hossa (11 goals [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]), Kane (23 points [tied for fourth-most in the league] on 15 assists [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]) and Artemi Panarin (21 points [tied for eigth-most in the league]) & Florida‘s Aleksander Barkov (12 assists [leads his team]), Derek MacKenzie (52 hits [leads his team]), Alex Petrovic (+8 [leads his team]) and Mark Pysyk (30 blocks [leads his team]).

Chicago is marked by Vegas with a -135 next to their name, a line they’ve certainly earned. Rowe is not going to solve all the Panthers‘ plane ride from Raleigh to Chicago, so I am leaning towards the Hawks continuing their great season.

Hockey Birthday
- Neal Broten (1959-) – A center drafted 42nd-overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars, he played 17 NHL seasons and hoisted the Stanley Cup once with the 1994-’95 Devils. Of course, he may be even more remembered for being a part of the Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid. Either way, he was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, two years after his No. 7 was raised to the Stars‘ rafters.
- Brad May (1971-) – The 14th-overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, May played 18 seasons in the league – most of which with Buffalo, the club that drafted him. He won the Stanley Cup in 2006-07 with Anaheim.
- Pavol Demitra (1974-2011) – This left wing won the 1999-00 Lady Byng Trophy while skating for the Blues, the team he spent most of his 16 seasons with. He was one of the 44 people that died in 2011 Lokomotiv plane crash.
- Tanner Glass (1983-) – A scrapper currently skating for Hartford in the Rangers‘ system, he’s played in the past nine NHL seasons. Most of his time was spent in Vancouver, where he helped the Canucks qualify for the 2010-11 Stanley Cup Finals.
For the second time in the last three days, the DtFR Game of the Day has required more than 60 minutes to declare a winner. This time, it was host St. Louis beating the Stars 4-3 in overtime.

With 6:24 remaining in the opening frame, Third Star of the Game Robby Fabbri (Robert Bortuzzo and Jori Lehtera) gave the Notes a 1-0 lead with a wrister to beat Antti Niemi.

Only 4:17 into the second period, that lead doubled when Alex Pietrangelo (Patrik Berglund and Colton Parayko) scored a power play backhander. Dallas returned the differential to one with 3:39 remaining in the period with a Second Star Jamie Oleksiak (Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin) wrister.

The Stars must have received quite the motivational speech during intermission, as Benn (Julius Honka and Jason Spezza) buried a power play wrister to level the game at two-all. 11:25 later, St. Louis took the lead again with a First Star David Perron (Jaden Schwartz and Jay Bouwmeester) wrister. That lead nearly lasted to the final horn, but not before Oleksiak (Honka and Benn) buried a slap shot with with Niemi pulled. To three-on-three overtime we went.

The extra period lasted only 3:24 before Vladimir Tarasenko (Lehtera and Kevin Shattenkirk) scored a wrister to end the game.

Jake Allen earned the victory after saving 18-of-21 shots faced (85.7%), forcing Niemi to take the overtime loss, saving 27-of-31 (87.1%).

The Blues‘ win sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 27-16-7, favoring the home squads by seven points over the roadies.
November 29, 2016
Sick Hands of The Month – Panarin, Scheifele, Tarasenko, Burns, Weber, and Price win The First SHoTM.

Hey, everyone, I’m back this week for something a bit different then what I usually do! I’ve decided that every month instead of doing just the normal Sick Hands Sunday, I would turn it into the players of the month. So what I’m basically going to do is pick a player from each position on the ice (Left Wing, Center, Right Wing, two defenders, and a goalie). Then it’s basically the same thing as the normal “SHS” where I recap why I picked them and highlight their best games, goals, assists, etc. Here’s the first Sick Hands of the Month below and let’s see how it goes!

Mark Scheifele – Center (WPG) The reason why I picked the 6’3″ center from Kitchener, Ontario is simple. He leads the league and his team with twenty points (10G, 10A) in just 16 games at the one month mark. In his last five games’s he’s tallied a whopping eleven points (5G, 6A), so he is on absolute fire, and that may even be an understatement. He centers the first line with Nikolaj Ehlers on his left and rookie Patrik Laine (who leads the league in goals with 11) on his right. So he is having no problem producing with his line, even if it is a very young line. A month into the campaign last year, Mark only had a measly nine points through 15 games (5G, 4A). S0 he is making a huge improvement from last year. Keep a look out for Scheifele to stay red hot, and if he does, for the Jets to start putting a couple wins together.

Artemi Panarin – Left Wing (CHI) Picking the Left Winger was a bit difficult because it was either Panarin or Nick Foligno from the Blue Jackets. I decided to go with Panarin because he just had a better month even if they were tied in points. Panarin recorded six points in his last five games, that’s not as much as Scheifele but it is still a decent five-game span. He is tied for fourth in the league in points with 16 and is second on his team in points and is on the Blackhawks second line with fellow Russian, Artem Anisimov and Slovak, Marian Hossa. A month into his amazing rookie season last year Panarin only had 12 points (2G, 10A) so compared to last year he is doing much better to start the season. I see no problem with his game now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if by next month he is in contention for this spot again.

Vladimir Tarasenko – Right Wing (STL) Like picking the left, picking the right winger was challenging as well! It was down between Tarasenko and Patrick Kane (who else to be honest?) I ended up going with Tarasenko because he’s produced more with less time on the ice then Kane. Even though they both have 17 points, Tarasenko grabbed six goals and eleven assists while only averaging 18 minutes on the ice which is very impressive. While Kane had 17 points with 22 minutes on the ice, so that’s why I picked him. Tarasenko is on St. Louis’ second line with Jori Lehtera and Robby Fabbri, so he is really the main producer of that line. He leads the Blues in points with those nice 17 points. Tarasenko hasn’t really missed a beat from last year where a month into the season he racked up 13 points (7G, 6A). In his last five games he’s racked up eight points, so when Tarasenko’s on fire so are the Blues.

Brent Burns – Defense (SJS) Who else but Brent Burns honestly? When you think defense or even offensive defensemen the first name that comes to my mind is Brent Burns and I’m sure it come’s to many others as well. Burns leads all D-men with 14 points, 6 goals and tied for fourth with 8 assists. He also is tied with Joe Pavelski for the team lead in points. So as you can see, he is tearing it up so it wasn’t too hard to pick Burns as one of my main guys for the month. Burns has four points in his last five games which isn’t too bad for a defender. Based off a year ago and a month into the season Burns only had 10 points (4G, 6A) so he is on pace from last year and doing a little better as well. Maybe this year he can be crowned best defender in the league!

Shea Weber – Defense (MTL) Wow, some people, honestly I was one of them may be saying “Weber? How did he make it?” Well, I will tell you guys, because it is pretty impressive. After the trade, I thought he was going to be worthless but boy was I wrong. Weber is tied for second for defenders in points with 12 and is tied with Brent Burns for the league lead with six goals. He also has six assists to round out his great first month to the season that has made very many Habs fans happy. Weber is third on his team in points and last year a month into a season Weber only had seven points (3G, 4A) when he was still in Nashville before the trade. So a change of scenery has definitely had an impact on his scoring. Weber has three points in his last five games, which have all been goals! Weber has turned everyone’s head and he will probably continue to do so, so I think he will continue to produce.

Carey Price – Goalie (MTL) Picking Carey Price was probably the easiest position of this article. The reason why I say this is extremely easy to explain, Price leads the league in wins (10) and has a 10-0 record. He just became the first goalie ever in the history of the NHL to start the season with 10 straight wins. He’s second in the league with a 1.40 GAA and a 957 SV% only to Penguins goalie Matt Murray who has only played four games compared to Carey’s 10 so in my opinion Price is number one. Price is also second in the league with two shutouts with his most recent one coming to the Red Wings. Compared to last year Price dealt a major injury and only played in 12 games so he is showing no signs of rust and is showing us why he is the great Carey Price.

Well, that does it for me this week, I hope everyone enjoys the new version of the article! I know I had a blast and I hope you all did reading it as well! I will see you guys next Sunday for another recap of the best player of the week!

November 13, 2016
Sick Hands Sunday – Anisimov’s Ramped Tear Through Three Games Give Him the Easy Win.

Hello, folks, I’m back at it again with another “SHS” article and I can’t wait to keep the ball rolling with another week! This week was the first full week of the NHL and I couldn’t be any happier! I hope you guys are just as happy as I am!

This week, like the past week, was pretty hard to pick a winner. (I’m just going to assume that every week is going to be tough until I see a clear winner) So I narrowed it down to four players before I picked a winner. The first one was Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov who tallied a stunning seven points (4G, 3A) in just three games. Sharks center Joe Pavelski and defender Brent Burns who both racked up six points (2G, 4A) in four games. While finally, Flyers winger Jakub Voracek, broke out of his scoring slump and recorded six points (2G, 4A) in only three games. So as you can see it was tough to choose who would take home this week’s crown.

Artem Anisimov celebrates his goal vs the Leafs with his teammates. (Photo by Jeff Haynes – AP Photo)

After careful consideration, I had to go with Artem Anisimov because he was just unstoppable no matter what anyone said. In my opinion, he is very underrated and since he is playing on the second line with the most recent Calder Memorial Trophy winner Artemi Panarin and the most recent Ted Lindsay and Hart Memorial Trophy winner Patrick Kane he is having no trouble producing with them.

In Anisimov’s first game of the week against the Philadelphia Flyers, Anisimov picked four points (2G, 2A) in a 7-4 win. He played a fantastic game, one of the best I have seen him play in a long time. (I hate to admit it because I am a Flyers fan and I was watching the game) His final line for the game was as follows: 2 goals (1 PPG, 1 GWG), 2 assists, plus 3, o penalty minutes, 3 shots on goal, 18:33 TOI. As you can see by the scoreline he was one of the best players in the game by far. Here are the full highlights of the game and his four-point night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrTnuWZprUw

In Anisimov’s next game, he wasn’t nearly as productive. They were surprisingly upset by the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Artem only managed to pick up one assist in the upset but was still able to have a good game in the loss. In his last game of the week, Anisimov returned to his golden form and potted two goals on two shots in a 5-4 come from behind shootout win against Toronto Maple Leafs. Artem’s linemate Artemi Panarin beautifully deaked around the Leafs defender and saw Anisimov go right to the net and hit him with the one-timer for his first goal of the game. Here is the amazing goal below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBur8_ieaOo

His second goal of the game was a pure goal scorers goal at it’s finest. He picked up the shot from a rebound right in the slot and put it home to bring the Hawks within one. You can see the goal here:

https://www.nhl.com/video/embed/anisimov-brings-hawks-within-one/t-282910154/c-45581003

Honorable Mention goes out to both Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski who both put up great numbers but unable to get the title this week. If Anisimov continues his tear he will be a forced to be reckoned with. I will see you guys next Sunday for another recap of the best player of the week!

October 23, 2016
Realistic Predictions for the 2016-2017 Season

By: Nick Lanciani

Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks added Jared Boll in the offseason to help bolster Team USA’s heart and grit rating at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Oh wait. Anaheim also brought back Randy Carlyle as head coach.

So basically it’ll be Throwback Thursday everyday this season for the Ducks, since it’ll be ten years since their 2007 Stanley Cup championship with Carlyle and crew. Why not bring back the maroon and jade uniforms while we’re at it?

Arizona Coyotes

Youth is not just prevalent on the Arizona Coyotes roster this season, but in their front office as well, as 27-year-old, John Chayka, was hired as the youngest GM in NHL history.

Max Domi and Anthony Duclair do all they can to convince Shane Doan to become the next Jaromir Jagr and maybe then we can start talking about a potential Cup run for the Coyotes. A plethora of defensemen fight for six roster spots and are narrowed down throughout the season, Hunger Games style.

Boston Bruins

Big and Bad are Backes. Wait, that’s not it. The Boston Bruins added David Backes, Riley Nash and Dominic Moore to their group of forwards this offseason all while seeming to forget that they still need another top-4 defenseman (let alone an entire defense).

Like most years of Boston sports (okay, with the exception of the last fifteen years), the Bruins will probably narrowly miss the playoffs again, much to the dismay of their hardcore fan base that still goes to every game like it’s their job. Or am I confusing them with the guys on the roster? At least 63 + 37 = 100.

Buffalo Sabres

So the Buffalo Sabres look to do things this year. That’s a thing, I’m pretty sure. Major loss? Chad Johnson left the team via free agency and went to Calgary. Major gains?

They brought in Kyle Okposo and everything else remained pretty much the same, so they should probably be on the outside looking in again, unless they become the new Ottawa Senators (forged by youth and a backup goalie that takes over from February through their early first round playoff exit in April).

All kidding aside, the Sabres remain hopeful. Meanwhile, Rasmus Ristolainen finally got paid (at a discount, none the less— Flo from Progressive would be happy).

Calgary Flames

What did the Calgary Flames do this offseason? They got some goaltending. Brian Elliott was acquired via a trade with St. Louis and Chad Johnson came over from Buffalo in free agency, so that’s two new goalies for a total of about half as many goalies that the Philadelphia Flyers have played in the last twenty years (though Calgary is starting to catch up).

Johnny Gaudreau is still unsigned, so that could be problematic, since he’s like, Calgary’s entire offense. At least, that’s what the fake Kanye West account told me— just kidding, he finally signed the other day. Given the state of the Western Conference, it’s safe to say they won’t be flaming their competition in the standings.

Carolina Hurricanes

Biggest additions: Lee Stempniak, Viktor Stalberg and Teuvo Teravainen (so basically just Teravainen, if you’re playing along with the rebuild at home). Matt Tennyson was also brought in on the blue line via free agency from San Jose, so there’s that.

Hurricanes fans, take solace in the fact that the Columbus Blue Jackets exist in your division, because at least Carolina won’t finish last with an improved New Jersey Devils team (minus their defense) looking to jump ahead of the Hurricanes in the standings.

Chicago Blackhawks

2013, 2015— shoot, this year’s Stanley Cup Final is in an odd numbered year, isn’t it? Well, forget all of the season predictions, congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks. They’ll probably just insert some prospect alongside Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook or someone and be fine.

I mean, that’s been the formula since 2010 anyway. Win the Cup, trade a bunch of people because of the salary cap over the next offseason or two, win the Cup again and do it all over again. The only problem is, the Blackhawks have got the toughest division, so they’ll probably still make the playoffs, at least.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche added two Bourques to their team (Gabriel Bourque and Rene Bourque) so they’re obviously hoping to double their efforts of their 2001 Stanley Cup championship with legendary defenseman Ray Bourque. What’s that? They’re not related? Nice try Joe Sakic.

While the Av’s were perfect in the preseason, sadly none of it counted and they’ll start 0-0-0 just like everybody else. New head coach, Jared Bednar, won’t be dismantling any stanchions this year, so that’s good news, glass between the benches at Pepsi Center.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Zach Werenski made the team, so now they’ll have a defense. Oh, sorry, didn’t you there Ryan Murray, Seth Jones and Jack Johnson. But all kidding aside, these guys just need to stay healthy— I’m looking at you Sergei Bobrovsky.

Their group of forwards kind of have it going on. But sadly, this isn’t the year for the Columbus Blue Jackets, unlike the rest of the teams in Ohio it seems. Also, how it is possible for Werenski, a player from Michigan University, to not get run out of Ohio? I’ll wait.

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars have the same goaltending tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, the same core group of forwards primarily in Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and an improved defense with the loss of Kris Russell.

Somehow every year, this band of veterans impresses the hockey world by combatting speed and skill with heart and grit (minus some of the grit). But just like last year, they probably still won’t figure it out in the playoffs between their two goaltenders and fail miserably (in the eyes of Stars fans).

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings added Steve Ott (grit), Thomas Vanek (heart) and Frans Nielsen (actually, kind of good), this offseason to their group of forwards that doesn’t include Pavel Datsyuk for the first time in like, forever.

Datsyuk was traded to Arizona at the draft after he announced his retirement from the NHL to go play in the KHL back home before ultimately wrapping up his professional hockey career. And with that, so ends the Red Wings playoff appearance streak this season. But at least Petr Mrazek will be their number one goalie, right?

Edmonton Oilers

Rogers Place looks pretty cool. Milan Lucic Bruinsinizes the team. Peter Chiarelli traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson. And that is all. Just kidding, Chiarelli also traded Nail Yakupov to the St. Louis Blues for practically nothing (so just like the Hall trade).

Connor McDavid was named captain and the team got worse. Kris Russell was added to the defense and Eric Gryba was not re-signed, then PTO’ed, then signed to a new deal with Edmonton, then probably placed on waivers. Sounds like things are business as usual for the Oilers.

Florida Panthers

James Reimer signed as the backup goaltender to Roberto Luongo for the Florida Panthers this offseason, so if you’re a fan of the 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs or 2011 Vancouver Canucks, maybe Florida is your team (until games actually matter in the playoffs).

Jason Demers and Keith Yandle were two major additions to the Panthers blue line, while they managed to finagle Jared McCann out of Vancouver in exchange for Erik Gudbranson. So basically, the Panthers are poised to dominate the Atlantic Division once again in the regular season. Can I get a Jaromir Jagr for the Hart Trophy to with it?

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings most recently added Devin Setoguchi to their batch of forwards, so that summarizes everything about their offseason. Props to Setoguchi for making a comeback in the NHL. Shouts to the Kings for having a cool arena by the way. I stopped by there in August.

Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick and Anze Kopitar all won awards last season, so that should have some indication of how they’ll do this season. They’ll probably make the Western Conference Final and have to play the Chicago Blackhawks again, won’t they?

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild added Eric Staal to their roster this offseason and most recently (and more important than Staal), Teemu Pulkkinen.

Chris Stewart returned to the Wild organization after a trip around the league (or so it seemed) and everything else pretty much remained the same.

So if you’re a Minnesota fan, first, good luck surviving the winter (as usual). Second, nobody knows how the Vikings are doing it, but they’re doing it. And third, the Wild aren’t going to be that great this season, so pick one of the first two options to bandwagon, if you would please.

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens traded P.K. Subban. That is all.

But seriously, how could you, Montreal? Other than that, Alexander Radulov, Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber are all part of the team now, while Carey Price will miss the first game with the flu and Mike Condon got claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh. Looks like the team’s all yours, Al Montoya.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators acquired P.K. Subban this offseason. What were the Montreal Canadiens thinking?

The Preds are letting their forwards develop and made their defense significantly better by getting rid of Shea Weber for Subban. Now if only Pekka Rinne would return to vintage Pekka Rinne form, then this could the year for Nashville. Then again, they’re in the same division as Chicago in an odd numbered playoff year, so…

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils restructured their forwards with the additions of Taylor Hall, Beau Bennett, Vernon Fiddler and P.A. Parenteau, but they still lack a defense (mostly). Brandon Gormley, Ben Lovejoy and Kyle Quincey are notable (somewhat) additions to the blue line in the Garden State.

Andy Greene remains one of the strangest trivia questions when someone asks you “who is the current captain of the Devils?” And Cory Schneider is still a highly underrated goaltender that somehow manages to survive without a team in front of him. But at least New Jersey is gearing up for the underdog of the year status.

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders added a lot of veteran presence to their noticeably Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum-less organization (yes, I took a shot at Barclays Center, there). Jason Chimera, Andrew Ladd and Dennis Seidenberg are now members of the Islanders and well, at least Seidenberg’s contract is only for a year.

As long as Jaroslav Halak plays like he did at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (minus the final loss to Canada) and stays healthy, John Tavares and crew could lead this team further in the playoffs than in recent memory. Time may be winding down on their Cup contention clock, since Tavares is looking for an extension and well, everyone else on their roster is getting older.

New York Rangers

If winning the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes counts for anything than the New York Rangers are winners. But they probably won’t be winners of much this season. Granted, they could make a playoff run (or miss it altogether), the same tune rings true, Henrik Lundqvist cannot be a team on his own.

Josh Jooris and Mika Zibanejad are big name additions to the offense. Okay, so they’re just names added to the roster. Nick Holden is new to the Blueshirts blue line and well, they’re still an aging defense. Best of luck to the youth in the New York, like Vesey, Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes and others for getting to play more than one position this year on the same shift.

Ottawa Senators

Chris Kelly is back with the Ottawa Senators this season after playing 11 games last year with the Boston Bruins and recovering from a broken femur. Derick Brassard was acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan switched his number from 6 to 9 (get your mind out of the gutter, Internet).

Otherwise, the Senators remain virtually the same. On the outside looking in, but probably raising a few eyebrows for their late season surge. They’re still waiting on their youth, which is at least working better than it is for their counterparts in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs (who, although contrary to popular belief, might actually be better this year).

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers already appear to be in midseason form, what with Radko Gudas‘s six-game suspension and their apparent preference for Steve Mason as their number one goalie, as usual.

Boyd Gordon and Dale Weise are additions (though, can you really call them that?) and Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov made the team from training camp (and the last couple of years of drafting), so the Flyers appear to be a middle of the pack team again this year.

Additionally, they’ll face off with the Pittsburgh Penguins in this season’s Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Heinz Field on February 25, 2017 as part of the league’s 50th season celebration of the 1967 expansion. So yeah, that’s all I got for Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have virtually the same team from Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final and look to defend their championship title without Sidney Crosby for at least game one of an 82 game regular season schedule.

New goaltender, Mike Condon, could make things interesting when comes time to decide between Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray before the 2017 expansion draft, since he could likely become Murray’s backup.

San Jose Sharks

Just like the Penguins, the San Jose Sharks roster remains virtually untouched since their loss in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, which kind of makes you wonder, did anyone remember that there was an offseason?

Matt Tennyson jettisoned to Carolina (I was dying to juxtaposition those words), where he was now sent down to the Charlotte Checkers. Roman Polak went back to Toronto and honestly, that was probably for the better for San Jose. Aaron Dell is the new backup to Martin Jones and would someone just let Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau win a Cup this year? I mean, if Phil Kessel can, then surely those guys can too.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues will be consciously uncoupling with Ken Hitchcock at the end of the season in his farewell to coaching tour. Mike Yeo has already been named as his replacement and has begun barking out orders at practice, similar to his meltdown in Minnesota (though I have not confirmed that).

They lost David Backes to free agency, because the salary cap exists and good luck to the front office in St. Louis to try figure that one out in the next few years. Meanwhile they added Nail Yakupov for virtually nothing, though in their defense, they already had their own Yakupov in Magnus Paajarvi on their roster, so maybe this time they can make it work.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning finally agreed to a three year bridge deal extension, so Lightning fans rejoice, your fountain of youth is still intact for now. Steven Stamkos stuck around for eight more years and GM Steve Yzerman can now take the next six months off until the playoffs when he has to start worrying about how far his team will go and what to do with Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Bolts look like geniuses here, for having developed their players well over the last few seasons and will more than likely dominant the Atlantic Division with their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. Sadly, Tampa probably won’t win the Cup because the Blackhawks exist and that whole 2013, 2015, 20??? pattern exists.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews.

(Colby told me to just write that. I think it works).

Vancouver Canucks

Loui Eriksson joined fellow Swedes, Daniel and Henrik Sedin in Vancouver this offseason. So in other news, Team Sweden, feel free to send the Canucks some of your jerseys, because after looking at the rest of the roster, I’m sure they don’t want to be associated with whatever Vancouver’s front office is doing.

Vancouver added Erik Gudbranson. At the cost of Jared McCann to the Florida Panthers. Actually, from the sound of it, it wasn’t a cost at all. The Canucks hate youths. Millennials ruin everything. Best of luck to you Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals acquired Lars Eller this offseason, so that’s good, but they also signed Brett Connolly via free agency (so that’s bad). But let’s be honest, the Capitals will probably make the former 6th overall pick better than he’s ever been. Or at least playing on a line with Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Nicklas Backstrom will probably help with that.

So basically, the outlook for Washington is this: they’re a good team, they’ll do well, Braden Holtby is elite and they’ll win a lot. Maybe a Cup run is in their future.

Winnipeg Jets

Patrik Laine was selected 2nd overall at this year’s draft by the Winnipeg Jets, Blake Wheeler was named captain and Winnipeg finally moved on from Ondrej Pavelec (by sending him to Manitoba).

What’s that? Jacob Trouba is still a RFA? He wants to be TRADED? Forget all of the good storylines going for the Jets, the Trouba dilemma overshadows everything especially after Rasmus Ristolainen re-signed with the Sabres and began the end of the stare down between Ristolainen, Hampus Lindholm and Trouba as to which RFA defenseman would make a move first. So Kevin Cheveldayoff, who are you going to trade Trouba to? Asking for a friend. No, but seriously, he doesn’t want to miss playing time.

*Honorable mention* Las Vegas _____ Knights

Honestly, somebody just name the team already. I want to start working on coming up with a uniform in NHL 17’s Franchise Mode for you, Bill Foley.

President’s Trophy Winner

If you’re Canadian, this doesn’t matter. If you’re American, good luck. Oh, you meant the President’s Trophy, as in “the team with the best record at the end of the regular season in the NHL”? Well, probably can’t go wrong with the Washington Capitals for that one, unlike their other Washington counterparts that have marred records.

1st Place in the Atlantic Division at season’s end– Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning, basically the entire state of Florida

One of the teams in Florida will win the Atlantic Division, that’s really all I know.

1st Place in the Metropolitan Division at season’s end– Pittsburgh Penguins

It’s no cakewalk, but Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury live up to that “two is better than one” mantra (sorry Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss).

1st Place in the Central Division at season’s end– Nashville Predators

It doesn’t really matter who clinches the Central Division this season because they’re still going to lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs.

1st Place in the Pacific Division at season’s end– Los Angeles Kings

Winning the division isn’t everything. Just ask the 2015-2016 Anaheim Ducks and the late 2000s/early 2010s San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately what this means for Los Angeles is that they’ll be out in seven games in the first round.

October 12, 2016