Down the Frozen River

Tag: Beleskey

  • November 8 – Day 27 – Could there be any other?

    Happy Tuesday! For me, that means band rehearsal, but you get to kick back and watch some hockey. You’ve picked the right night to do that, as there’s quite a selection of games to choose from, starting with five at 7 p.m. (Carolina at New Jersey, Vancouver at the New York Rangers, Detroit at Philadelphia, Edmonton at Pittsburgh and San Jose at Washington), followed half an hour later by two more (Los Angeles at Toronto [TVAS] and Boston at Montréal [RDS]). 8 p.m. marks the beginning of a couple more contests (Ottawa at Nashville [RDS2] and Dallas at Winnipeg), with Arizona at Colorado, this evening’s nightcap, dropping the puck an hour later. All times eastern.

    I know we just watched them last night, but we’re going to hop on the Bruins‘ plane to Montréal to catch them take on the best team in the league in one of the best rivalries in North America.

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    The last time these two met, Montréal upset the Bruins 4-2 in the TD Garden. Don’t think for a moment that Boston has forgotten.

    These are two proud franchises, with 30 Stanley Cups between them, and the rivalry between requires no introduction.

    As stated yesterday, the 7-5-0 Bruins‘ strength is found between the pipes and along the blue line. They have allowed 32 goals so far this season, led by 7-1-0 Tuukka Rask‘s .941 save percentage and 1.74 GAA. So good has Rask been that he’s earned two shutouts even when facing 29.7 shots per game, the 13th-fewest allowed by a team’s defense in the NHL.

    While 13th is far from the top of the list, it is probably better than most would consider the Bruins‘ defense to be. So far this season, they’ve been led by Brandon Carlo and Zdeno Chara, who have 30 and 26 blocks respectively.

    The defense has been especially good on the penalty kill, refusing to yield a goal on 84.3%  of opposing man-advantages, the ninth-best rate in the best hockey league in the world.

    Their opposition this evening are the 10-1-1 Canadiens. While they’ve played fantastically so far on both ends of the ice, I’m most impressed with their offense, which has managed 39 goals in 12 games (3.25 per game).

    Twenty Habs have notched a point so far this season (including goaltender Al Montoya!), but the two that have really stood out have been center Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Shea Weber, who have 11 and 10 points respectively. In addition, Torrey Mitchell has struck five goals so far for Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge to lead the club.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Boston‘s Brad Marchand (14 points [tied for fourth-most in the league] on nine assists [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]), David Pastrnak (eight goals [tied for the league-lead] and a +11 [tied for sixth-best in the NHL]) and Rask (seven wins [tied for second-most in the league], two of which are shutouts [tied for third-most in the NHL], on a 1.74 GAA [fifth-best in the league] and .941 save percentage [sixth-best in the NHL]) & Montréal‘s Carey Price (.952 save percentage [second-best in the league] for a 1.57 GAA [fourth-best in the NHL] and seven wins [tied for second-most in the league], one of which was a shutout [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]) and Weber (+15 [leads the league]).

    It looks like most books are closed in Vegas regarding this game, which should always get a hockey fan excited. What makes this matchup even more tantalizing is it’s location, as the Canadiens are a perfect 7-0-0 at the Bell Centre, but five of Boston‘s seven wins have been away from the TD Garden. It should be a good contest, but I’m leaning towards a Montréal victory.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Johnny Bower (1924-) – Known in his day as “The China Wall,” Bower was the goaltender to win four of Toronto‘s 13 Stanley Cups. The two-time Vezina winner played 522 games over 15 seasons, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976 with a career 250-195-90 record.
    • Keith Jones (1968-) – This right wing played 491 games over nine seasons, most of which were with Washington – the team that drafted him. Nowadays, Jones spends his days with the NBCSN studio crew and providing color and analysis for the Flyers‘ local broadcasts. Maybe Philadelphia will give him a victory over Detroit for his 48th.

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day was our fourth-straight lopsided victory, as Boston beat Buffalo 4-0.

    After a scoreless first period, Marchand (Pastrnak and Third Star of the Game Matt Beleskey) scored a power play wrister that proved to be the game-winner 5:44 into the middle frame.

    Second Star David Krejci (Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner), Riley Nash and Pastrnak (Austin Czarnik and John-Michael Liles) accounted for the three insurance goals.

    First Star Rask saved all 32 shots he faced to earn the shutout victory, while Robin Lehner saved 38-of-42 (90.5%) in the loss.

    Boston‘s victory extends the home teams’ advantage to six points in the DtFR Game of the Day series with a record of 16-10-3.

  • 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.

  • October 26 – Day 20 – Are the Ducks quacks?

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day between the Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers ended in a 4-1 victory for the Blueshirts.  Although the Flames had a great start to the evening by posting a goal at the 3:06 mark of the first period, the Rangers were able to take the lead during second and never look back.

    Jiri Hudler was responsible for the Flames‘ lone goal.  He scored his third of the season following assists from Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.

    New York tied the game at the 12:03 mark of the second.  Oscar Lindberg was responsible for the tally, assisted by Kevin Hayes and Marc Staal.  They took the lead only 4:54 later, compliments of of Dan Girardi’s game winner, assisted by Emerson Etem and Jarret Stoll.  The 2-1 score held into the second intermission.

    During the third, Kevin Klein scored his second goal of the year at the 8:38 mark, followed by the final goal only 1:48 later by Derick Brassard, assisted by Jesper Fast and Ryan McDonagh.

    Antti Raanta earned his second win in as many starts by stopping 22 of 23 (95.7%), while Jonas Hiller took the loss after stopping only 17 of 21 (81%).  He was pulled at the 12:01 mark of the final period and replaced with Joni Ortio, who stopped all five shots he faced.

    The DtFR Game of the Day series still favors the home team by eight points, currently standing at 11-5-3.

    Today is the second straight of only three games on the schedule.  First up at 7 p.m. eastern, the Flames hop on the B Train a day after playing the Rangers to face their opponent’s in-town rivals, the New York Islanders, at the Barclays Center.  Half an hour after that game gets underway, Arizona visits the Air Canada Centre to face Toronto.  Finally, Anaheim and Chicago round the night out in the United Center, with the opening puck dropping at 8:30 p.m. eastern (NHL Network).

    It’s been a trip down memory lane this weekend for Chicago, as they hosted the Stanley Cup runners-up Saturday.  The throwback to last season continues tonight when the Western Conference’s runners-up come a-calling.

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    Although the Ducks were only a victory away from earning the right to face the Lightning in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, they have looked nowhere near being considered contenders early this season.  The Ducks may literally waddle into the United Center tonight, having only a 1-5-1 record to show for their efforts.  Unlike division rival Calgary, whose plight was documented yesterday, the Ducks are right on par with the rest of the league in regards to goals against, as they’ve given up one less than the league average.  As I’m sure you’ve now assumed, the Ducks‘ concerns are with their forwards.  Anaheim has scored a grand total of six goals this season.  Yes, six goals over seven games.  What’s worse, they scored four of those goals in one game (10/18 against Minnesota).  Do the math, and that’s four times they’ve been shutout in seven games (they’re coming off one Saturday night at Minnesota).  In other words, not good.

    One of the issues here is an ineffective power play.  In 19 opportunities, the Ducks have only scored a lone power play goal.  Their 5.26% power play percentage trails the league average by 13.28%.  Another issue is the number of shots the Ducks are putting on goal.  Anaheim‘s 193 shots are 40 below the league average.  You’d think that would help their shot percentage… think again.  Anaheim trails the league in that category too, as their 3.1% trails the NHL average by 5.9%.

    Compare this to the team that rocked The Pond a season ago.  During the regular season, that squad scored 12 more goals than the league average, and allowed only two more than the average.  While the power play still was not on par with the rest of the NHL last season, it still exceeds this year’s effort as the special teams scored 15.68% of the time. Luckily, this year’s defense and goaltending is comparable, if not slightly surpassing last year’s excellent squad.

    So, what gives?  I think the loss of LW Matt Beleskey to Boston during free agency has a big part to do with it.  He scored 22 goals last season for the Ducks, third best on the team.  18 of those goals were during 5-on-5 play, where he also ranked third.  His four remaining goals were all on the power play, which tied for fourth on the team with Corey Perry.  Eight of his goals were game-winners, which led the team by two goals.  A goal scorer also brings with him shots, as he put 145 pucks on goal last season, placing him at fifth-best on the squad.  With those shots, though, came the second-best shot percentage (15.2%), trailing only Perry’s 17.1%.

    Additionally, the power play might also be struggling due to RW Kyle Palmieri being traded to the Devils during the offseason.  He accounted for five power play goals last season, which tied for second on the team.

    Turning our attention to the Stanley Cup Champions, we find a team that is settling into their groove and beginning to climb the ranks of the Western Conference.  Currently, the Hawks have a 5-3-0 record, giving them the second wild card position and fifth place in the conference.  Chicago enters the game on a three-game win streak, most recently shutting out the Lightning at home in overtime with a quick goal by Jonathan Toews.

    Similar to Anaheim, Chicago‘s offense hasn’t been glitzy, but they’ve been winning by keeping opposing offenses off the board.  They’ve given up only 16 goals so far this season, five goals under the league average.  Where they’ve really shined offensively is on the power play.  In 33 opportunities, they’ve converted six for goals (18.18%), which have accounted for a third of their total tallies this season.  Probably what is most frightening about the Hawks in light of their win streak is their number of shots (249, 16 over the league average) compared to their shooting percentage (7.2%).  If and when they get that percentage up, even if its just to the 9% league average, their offense will be a significant threat to any goalie.

    Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Anaheim‘s Frederik Andersen (.938 save percentage [tenth in the league]) and Chicago‘s Corey Crawford (one shutout [tied for fourth in the league], four wins [tied for seventh in the league] and 1.84 GA average [tied for ninth in the league]) & Patrick Kane (11 points [tied for fourth in the league] and five goals [tied for eighth in the league]).

    I expect a defensive, competitive matchup tonight that will end positively for Chicago, probably 1-0 or 2-1.