Down the Frozen River

Tag: Blackhawks

October 28 – Day 17 – Sticking with Scrappers
There may be fewer games than yesterday, but that’s not to say Friday is a slouch, as we’ve got six matchups to choose from. Two games get us started at 7:30 p.m. (Chicago at New Jersey and the New York Rangers at Carolina [TVAS]), with two more following at 9 p.m. (Winnipeg at Colorado and Ottawa at Calgary [RDS2]). Finally, at 10 p.m., our final two contests go underway (Edmonton at Vancouver [SN1/SN360] and Columbus at Anaheim). All times eastern.

With the season not even being three weeks old yet, I’m in the business of giving everybody some love. In essence, I guess what I’m saying is let’s head to Newark!

Enter right wing Jordin Tootoo. A little bit of a journeyman, Chicago is the fourth team he’s played for in his now 13-season career.

Most recently, he was a member of his opposition this evening. He played 134 games over two seasons with the Devils, easily his second-longest tenure with an NHL club.

Similar to Steve Ott, yesterday’s subject of the Game of the Day, Tootoo plays the role of agitator and enforcer. While playing at The Rock, he spent 174 minutes in the sin bin (1.3 minutes, or 77.9 seconds per game), 58.6% of which were last season.

In his defense, life in Jersey wasn’t always about being a nuisance. During the 2014-15 season, he found the back of the net 10 times en route to a 15 point season – the second-most goals he’s ever scored in a season since his junior days in Brandon.

He’s appeared in every game this season for the 3-3-1 Blackhawks, a team that scores as many goals as they give up – 25. Part of the problem for the numerous scores against them has been a pitiful penalty kill. Their 46.1% kill rate ranks worst in the league, trailing the Nashville Predators by 22.1%.

For those wondering, the average kill rate in the league entering Thursday’s action was 79.97%. Chicago has been atrocious.

Offensively, the Hawks are lead by center Artem Anisimov and his nine points. That being said, it has been Richard Panik scoring the goals, with a team-leading six to his credit.

Life has been treating Jersey only slightly better, as they’re sitting at 3-2-1 for an early third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Defense and goaltending have by far been the name of the game for the Devils, as Cory Schneider has allowed only 12 pucks to get past him this season. Saving .936 percent of his shots faced for a solid two GAA, he’s played every second of the season so far. That is, up until tonight. Keith Kinkaid takes the crease this evening for his first game since April 7, a 4-2 loss on home ice to Tampa Bay.

Last season, the Devils ranked dead last in the NHL with only 182 goals to their credit, and this season has been more of the same. Taylor Hall has done his part, leading the team with five goals for six points, but more players than Travis Zajac will have to contribute if the Devils want to make the run at the playoffs Schneider deserves.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Chicago‘s Anisimov (nine points [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]), Patrick Kane (six assists [tied for fifth-most in the league] and a +7 [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]) and Panik (six goals [tied for the league lead]) & New Jersey‘s Hall (five goals [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]).

Bets look to be off the table at most establishments in Sin City, but sportsbook.com still has a line posted at -110 in favor of the Devils. If only Jersey had somebody on their team that could ensure the Hawks would head to the penalty box… Huh. Since that’s not the case, I worry for Kinkaid’s safety against an offense that has scored six goals in their past two games. I’m taking the Hawks.

Hockey Birthday:
- Martin Skoula (1979-) – This Czech defenseman played 10 seasons in the NHL with six different teams, but 383 of his 776 games were with Colorado, the team that drafted him 17th in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Three years later, he hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche.
- Jack Eichel (1996-) – Buffalo‘s wonder-boy from Boston University scored 56 points in his rookie year, 24 of which were goals to lead the team. Hopefully he’ll return to the ice soon.
After an eight-round shootout, the Detroit Red Wings extended their all-time record over the St. Louis Blues to 146-136-37.

Kevin Shattenkirk (Patrik Berglund) opened the scoring at the 22:31 mark of this game, but the Red Wings leveled again with 6:06 remaining in the second period with a Second Star of the Game Frans Nielsen (Darren Helm and Alexey Marchenko) backhander to set the score at one-all, the score that held through the remainder of regulation and overtime. And off to the shootout they went.
1. Alexander Steen: bingo, Blues up a score.
2. Nielsen saved by Third Star Jake Allen.
3. Vladimir Tarasenko straight-up missed the cage.
4. Gustav Nyquist found the back of the net to tie the shootout.
5. Shattenkirk: saved by First Star Petr Mrazek.
6. Dylan Larkin: saved by Allen.
7. David Perron: third-straight save.
8. Andreas Athanasiou: mixing it up with a miss.
9. Nail Yakupov: Mrazek says “No way, bruh.”
10. Tomas Tatar gets the same memo from Allen.
11. Robby Fabbri learns that not just Jesus saves.
12. Riley Sheahan gets some of the same medicine.
13. Berglund finds Mrazek.
14. Helm can’t score either.
15. Dmitrij Jaskin can’t get it done.
16. Henrik Zetterberg scored so he could go to bed. Wings win 2-1.
Mrazek earns the victory by saving 31-of-32 shots faced (96.9%), while Allen’s 26-of-27 (96.3%) is only good enough for a shutout loss.

Detroit‘s victory earned the road teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series another two points, but the homers still have a five-point advantage with a 11-6-2 record.
October 28, 2016
October 27 – Day 16 – Bunches of animals are showing up in St. Louis this week. Today it’s Otters.
It’s a busy Thursday, just the way we like them. Per usual, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with three puck drops (Minnesota at Buffalo, Arizona at Philadelphia and the New York Islanders at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by two more (Florida at Toronto and Tampa Bay at Montréal [RDS/SN360]). The top of the hour marks the start of two contests (Detroit at St. Louis and Dallas at Winnipeg), while this evening’s co-nightcaps wait until 10:30 before starting (Nashville at Los Angeles and Columbus at San Jose). All times eastern.

It’s goin’ be lit.

Short list:
- Arizona at Philadelphia – Ryan White returns to the Wells Fargo Center, his home for the previous two seasons.
- New York at Pittsburgh – I don’t need to dress up this rivalry.
- Florida at Toronto – James Reimer only played eight regular season games with San Jose, so the Panthers are effectively his second team after six seasons with Toronto.
- Tampa Bay at Montréal – Michael Bournival used to call the Bell Centre home. Now his office is in the Sunshine State.
- Detroit at St. Louis – In addition to being a vintage rivalry, Steve Ott returns to Scottrade Center.
If Reimer were expected to play this evening in Toronto, we’d certainly focus there. Instead, we head to St. Louis with Otter for an old-timey rivalry.

Center Ott arrived in St. Louis with Ryan Miller when the Blues traded William Carrier, Jaroslav Halak and Chris Stewart to Buffalo at the 2013-’14 trade deadline. Miller departed for Vancouver after that postseason, but Ott remained until this offseason.

Ever since he entered the league in 2002, Ott has had a reputation for being one of the biggest pests in hockey. His penchant for getting into even the coolest of heads is well-known, as is his ability to cuss out any player in the arena in his native tongue.

It’s an ability that doesn’t show up on his stat sheet. The NHL doesn’t track “Caused Penalties in Minutes,” but if they did Ott would be a league leader. Some of the most recent Blues memories of Ott were against the Blackhawks during last season’s Western Quarterfinals. Ott was regularly getting into it with Jonathan Toews, a player that spent only 62 minutes in the penalty box during the regular season (.775 minutes, or 46.5 seconds, per game). In those seven games, he served 10 minutes – over 1.4 minutes per contest!

But it’s not simply his quick wit and abrasive behavior that has made him a fan favorite with every team he’s played for. During the 2014-’15 season, his first full campaign in St. Louis, he scored 12 points (including nine assists) while throwing 182 hits and 14 blocks. He was also effective at causing turnovers that season, forcing 21 giveaways.

This year, Ott dons the sweater of the Blues‘ former rivals: the 5-2-0 Detroit Red Wings. Before Detroit swapped conferences in 2013, the Blues and Wings shared the same division since 1981, which led to some fantastic matchups when they were both playing well (also read as when St. Louis was playing well).

The Wings enter tonight’s game on a five-game winning streak, tying Arizona for the longest active streak of any variety – except that the Coyotes have been on the losing side of things.

Much of that success has been due to some serious offensive firepower. They’ve scored 24 goals already this year in only seven games played (they average over 3.4 goals per game). Gustav Nyquist and Thomas Vanek take equal responsibility, as they both lead the team with eight points to their credit. Completing the scores have been Darren Helm and Vanek, each of whom have a team-high four goals to their name.

The 4-2-1 Blue Notes have a .667 winning percentage in the Scottrade Center, and they’ll be looking to improve that to a .750 this evening. Although they play a more well-rounded game than their opposition, St. Louis also prefers to have the puck on their stick.

Just like he’s been the last three seasons, Vladimir Tarasenko has been the star of St. Louis so far this season (that’s why I have him on my fantasy team!). He has eight points to his credit already, four of which are goals – both totals lead the team.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Detroit‘s Helm (+9 [second-best in the NHL]) and Jimmy Howard (.5 GAA [leads the league] on a .984 save percentage [leads the league] for one shutout) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (2.39 GAA for three wins [both best on the team]) and Tarasenko (eight points [best on the team]).

The Blues barely had the upper hand last year, going 1-0-1 against the Wings by forcing overtime in their first meeting. Vegas predicts St. Louis will keep that run going tonight, as they’re favored at -155. I think that’s a safe assumption. The Blues should win this evening.

Hockey Birthday:
- Sergei Samsonov (1978-) – This left wing played exactly 888 regular season games, over 500 of which were with Boston. He was drafted eighth overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, seven picks after fellow Bruins-pick Joe Thornton, and a year later the Russian earned the Calder Memorial Trophy.
- Brandon Saad (1992-) – This is Saad’s second season in Columbus after spending four seasons with ex-division rival Chicago. He’d already scored 179 points before this season started. Maybe he’ll score another tonight in The Tank.
With three goals in the second period, the New York Rangers bested the visiting Boston Bruins 5-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Boston actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead, starting with David Pastrnak‘s (Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara) wrister only 10 seconds into the contest. With 5:16 remaining in the opening frame, the Bruins‘ Austin Czarnik (David Krejci) doubled the visitor’s score with the first goal of his young career.

New York‘s comeback began 44 seconds before the midway point of the game when Second Star of the Game Rick Nash (Derek Stepan and Jimmy Vesey) connected on a power play wrister. 7:19 later, Kevin Hayes (Jesper Fast and Ryan McDonagh) scored his second goal of the season on a wrister to draw the Blueshirts even. 36 seconds before the final horn of the second period, First Star Brandon Pirri (Third Star J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad) buried the Rangers‘ second power play goal of the game. That tally ended up being the game winner.

Pirri (Marc Staal and Miller) and Vesey (Nash and Stepan) both scored insurance goals in the final frame to put this game away.

Henrik Lundqvist earns the victory after saving 27-of-29 shots faced (93.1%), while Zane McIntyre takes the loss, saving 26-of-31 (83.9%).

With another home victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series favors the home sides by six points with a 11-6-1 record.
October 27, 2016
October 12 – Opening Day – What to choose?
The day we’ve all been waiting for is finally upon us: Opening day of the NHL season. It’s time to see if *insert the name of your favorite team’s GM here* made any good decisions during the off-season, or if you’ll just spend the next seven months cursing at your television set.

Oh wait, you’ll be doing that even if your team is good? Carry on, then.

Just like last year’s opener, we’ve got four games on the docket. Some stats about them? Sure, I thought you’d never ask!

Two contests will occur in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, and the other two will be under the red and white maple leaf where many citizens of the first nation might be headed after November’s election. Similarly, no teams will be crossing any national borders, meaning that it will be American vs. American and Canadian vs. Canadian clubs. Each timezone will also be represented in this evening’s festivities, beginning in Eastern time and traveling across the map towards the Pacific.

Tonight will feature Toronto visiting Ottawa in the Battle of Ontario at 7 p.m. (SN and TVAS), followed an hour later by St. Louis at Chicago (NBCSN). 10 p.m. marks the puck drop of Calgary at Edmonton (SN and TVAS2), the first installment of the Battle of Alberta this year, followed half an hour later by Los Angeles at San Jose (NBCSN) to start this season’s Battle of California. All times eastern.

Which one to pick… which one to pick…

I know: all of them.

That’s right, each game is too special not to watch this evening, so we’re going to break tradition (does a series only in its second year have traditions?) and feature all four of tonight’s games. So without further to do, let’s get some quick previews in before you get watching.

This game is a special one not simply because of the rivalry that exists between these squads, but that it is also the first official game that the Leafs will be sporting their new logo as well as the first wearing of their road whites. As explained here, the level of symbolism in the new crest is pretty cool, including references to the 1931 opening of the Maple Leaf Gardens (hint: count the points of the leaf), the 1917 foundation of the franchise and their 13 Stanley Cup titles (hint: count the veins, and note a majority of their locations above the word mark).

Beyond that, this is also a rivalry game, and probably one of the four most circled dates on the Sens‘ calendar (the other three being the remainder of this series). Ottawa swept the season series last year and certainly has intentions of continuing that success after the summer break.

If you’re a little bit old-school and enjoy a good hockey scrap, this is probably your game this evening – this series leads the league in fights and penalty minutes.

This has been one of the best rivalries in recent years, and that has only intensified – twice – since the end of April, which witnessed St. Louis beating the Blackhawks in Game 7 to advance to the Western Semifinals, and eventually the Western Finals. Chicago will look to exact revenge against a Notes squad that ended their title defense earlier than they would have liked.

Further dirtying the waters, the Blues and Blackhawks played a preseason game only 11 days ago. My opinions on division rivals contesting exhibitions deserves another post, but the net result was a questionable blow from Niklas Hjalmarsson against Ty Rattie. The defenseman was suspended for the remainder of the preseason as well as tonight’s game for throwing a leaping shoulder at the right wing’s head. Although he was not injured, Rattie’s linemates were quick to converge on Hjalmarsson, and I fully expect there to be some carryover both tonight and November 9 after the defenseman returns.

The third of our four rivalries this evening, this edition of the Battle of Alberta is special in a similar way to the Battle of Ontario. This will be the first official game played in Rogers Place after 42 years at Rexall Place, and what better way to commemorate it than with naming Connor McDavid the youngest captain in NHL history.

And you thought Sidney Crosby was a baby-faced captain.

The Oil‘s new home, located almost dead-center in downtown Edmonton, increases their seating capacity by almost 2000 and moves them to the bottom of the list of oldest arenas – a list they ranked second in a year ago.

Speaking of new beginnings, the Oilers hope to continue rebuilding towards the days of old with this year’s first rounder, Jesse Puljujärvi. Perhaps this game will be a sampler of how Todd McLellan intends to use his offensive youngsters this season.

The final game of the night should be one of the better ones. The Battle of California has extended into the playoffs for three of the last four seasons, including San Jose advancing to the Western Semifinals, and eventually the Stanley Cup Finals, over the Kings in five games last season. This should be a fantastic game, one well worth staying awake for if you’re tuning in from the East Coast.

Best of luck to your team if they’re playing this evening. If not, we’ll see you tomorrow!

Hockey Birthday
- Jaroslav Drobný (1921-2001) – Tennis aficionados are raising their eyebrows at this one. Drobný may be more commonly known for his three major titles (including two French Opens), but he was also a highly successful amateur hockey player. In 1947, he was a part of the Czechoslovakian team that took gold at the World Ice Hockey Championships, where he scored 15 goals in seven games, including a hat trick against the Stars and Stripes. He also helped Czechoslovakia to the silver medal in the Winter Olympics a year later, “falling” to Canada in a goalless championship game. He scored nine goals in eight games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Drobný impressed the Boston Bruins in that tournament, and they offered him a $20,000 contract. If he hadn’t declined to focus on his tennis career, he would’ve been the first European to play in the NHL (instead, Swede Ulf Sterner takes that title, joining the Rangers 16 years later in 1965). He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.
- Denis Brodeur (1930-2013) – Father of Devils‘ legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur, Denis also knew his way around the crease. He was on the Canadian team that took bronze in the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy.
- J.J. Daigneault (1965) – The defender made his NHL debut during the 1984-’85 season with Vancouver, but the 10-team journeyman will be most known for his days with the Canadiens. He played six seasons and seven games in Montréal, 39% of his 900 regular season-game career. He currently serves as an assistant coach with the Habs, a position he’s held since 2012.
- Dwayne Roloson (1969) – This goaltender made his NHL debut during the 1996-’97 season with the Calgary Flames. He played in 606 regular season games, most of which were with the Edmonton Oilers (193 games over four seasons).
- Mike Green (1985) – Although this is his second season in Detriot, this will be the defenseman’s 12th season in the league. Most of that time was spent in Washington, where he played in 575 regular season games and seven postseasons.
- Sean Monahan (1994) – Entering Year Four of his career, Monahan has gotten his start in Calgary. The sixth player selected in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the center has appeared in 237 regular season games already and has 159 points his credit. Also, this kid is younger than me, so take that for what it’s worth.
October 12, 2016
Chicago at St. Louis – Game 7 – Brouwer and the Blues advance

With a 3-2 win in the Scottrade Center Monday night, the Blues are off to Dallas after eliminating the arch-rival Chicago Blackhawks.

Exactly a minute into the game, Jori Lehtera redirected a Jay Bouwmeester shot into the back of Corey Crawford’s net to give the Blues a one-goal lead. Bouwmeester’s initial shot from the blue line was assisted by Jaden Schwartz.

The Notes doubled their lead with 6:17 remaining in the opening period with a slap shot from Colton Parayko, assisted by Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen. Steen dug the puck out of the corner and passed to Berglund at the near face-off dot. Berglund dumped off to the rookie, who fired from almost on the blue line to give the Blues their second goal.

Marian Hossa pulled the Blackhawks back within a goal with a slap shot with 1:30 remaining in the frame. His third goal of the series was assisted by Richard Panik. The offensive threat began in the Hawks‘ defensive zone when Schwartz blows an edge and ends up on his back. Panik collected the puck in the neutral zone and made the cross-ice pass to Hossa just before he crossed the blue line. Hossa fired his slapper from just outside the right face-off circle.

Just like they have all series, St. Louis made certain to make their presence along the boards known, as they led the Hawks in hits, 20 to seven.

Thanks to a Kevin Shattenkirk hooking penalty causing the first power play of the game, Andrew Shaw leveled the game with a wrister assisted by Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, the only tally of the period. Keith started the play at the blue line, passing to Toews who quickly dumped to Shaw along the goal line to Second Star of the Game Brian Elliott’s stick side. In what was probably an attempted pass to Patrick Kane on the opposite side of the crease, Shaw’s puck hit Bouwmeester’s leg as he was sprawled on the ice and trickled past Elliott’s left skate.

Just as Chicago had the only goal in the second, St. Louis had the lone tally of the third to break the tie and win the series. The series-clinching goal belongs to First Star Troy Brouwer, his first of this postseason, assisted by Third Star Robby Fabbri and Paul Stastny. The play starts on Erik Gustafsson’s stick, as he is working to advance the puck into the neutral zone before Fabbri throws a full body check to break possession. Alex Pietrangelo collected the puck and dumped it back into the offensive zone, where Stastny collected. Working hard to maintain possession, he finally finds Fabbri in the far face-off circle, who dumps to Brouwer waiting in the crease. Brouwer’s initial shot finds the right post, and the second was a fan, but the third time was indeed the charm, finding the back of Crawford’s net.

Elliott earns his first Game 7 win in his first Game 7 appearance, saving 31 of 33 shots faced (93.9%), while Crawford takes the loss, saving 23 of 26 (88.5%).

As the lower seed, a maximum of only three games will be played in St. Louis next round when they face the Dallas Stars. No date or time has been released for when that series will begin in North Texas.

April 26, 2016
Chicago at St. Louis – Game 5 – Kane’s overtime winner forces Game 6

It may have taken double overtime, but a Patrick Kane backhand has sent this series back to the United Center with the opportunity for the Blackhawks to force a Game 7.

The first period was not much to talk about. Only 10 combined shots were fired between the two teams, with only another 10 combined blocks.

It was the second when things started heating up. Chicago opened the scoring at the 11:32 mark with Marian Hossa connecting on a shorthanded wrister, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson. Hjalmarsson collected a Blues dump into the zone and banked a pass off the boards to Hossa, who advanced the puck to Brian Elliott’s glove side face-off dot before top-shelfing it over Moose’s shoulder.

They only held the lead for 57 seconds before Third Star of the Game Jaden Schwartz leveled on a power play slap shot (yes, the same penalty involved in the shorty), assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko. Pietro sent a right-to-left cross-ice pass to Schwartz from just across mid-ice to the blue line. Schwartz advanced the puck to the left face-off circle before sneaking one in on Corey Crawford’s glove side.

The Blackhawks reclaimed the lead with 4:36 remaining in the period with an Artem Anisimov wrister, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Teuvo Teravainen. Just before the clock read zeroes for the period, Panarin fired a slap shot to set the score at 3-1, assisted by First Star Kane and Jonathan Toews.

6:57 into the third, Second Star Robby Fabbri brought the Notes back within a score with a strong wrister, assisted by Pietrangelo. The Notes‘ surge continued with 5:10 remaining in regulation on a David Backes tally, with assists from Pietrangelo and Fabbri. Neither team could find the back of the net before the final horn, so the second game of this series entered into overtime.

St. Louis fired 11 shots in the first overtime period, but neither Crawford nor Elliott would let a puck by, forcing the first double overtime game of this season’s playoffs.

Only 3:07 after returning to the ice, Kane ended the game with backhander, assisted by Richard Panik. It was a lazy, deflected puck off Elliott just waiting to be put into the back of the net. After firing the initial shot, Kane drifted behind the cage, and then scored the rebound of his own initial attempt.

Crawford ends the night with the win after saving 43 of 46 shots faced (93.5%), while Elliott takes the overtime loss, saving 31 of 35 (88.6%).

Game 6 will be played in Chicago on Saturday, April 23. Puck drop will be at 8 p.m. eastern, and the contest may be viewed on CBC, NBC or TVAS2.

April 22, 2016
St. Louis at Chicago – Game 4 – Shaw’s penalty overshadows his three point night, Blues win 4-3

The Blues arrived in Chicago tied with the Blackhawks in their Quarterfinal series. With two impressive road wins, they come home to St. Louis with the opportunity to punch their ticket to the Semis after winning 4-3 in Game 4.

The only goal of the first period was an absolute rifle from First Star of the Game Vladimir Tarasenko on Corey Crawford’s glove side, assisted by Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz with 5:58 remaining in the frame.

Although the Notes had the lead on the scoreboard, it was actually the Blackhawks who led the period in shots with 14, but St. Louis countered by continuing their physical ways with a solid 17 hits in the opening frame.

By deflecting an initial slap shot from Marian Hossa (who was set up by Erik Gustafsson) into net, Andrew Shaw leveled game for the Hawks at the 9:12 mark. Third Star Duncan Keith struck again 3:57 later on the power play to give Chicago the lead, assisted by Shaw and Patrick Kane. With 2:29 remaining in the period, Tarasenko struck again to take advantage of an Andrew Ladd interference penalty with a power play wrister assisted by Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk. As the last goal of the period, the game entered the second intermission tied at two-all.

After two, Chicago still led the game with 28 shots to St. Louis‘ 15, but the Notes had a 20 hit lead on the home Hawks.

A minute and a second after play resumed, Keith was caught holding Lehtera. 35 seconds later, Schwartz earned the Blues their second lead of the night with a power play wrister assisted by David Backes and Shattenkirk. Steen waited 3:10 before increasing the Blues‘ lead to two goals. It was a sweet steal on a pass in Chicago‘s defensive end that he fired over the surprised Crawford’s glove.

Keith pulled Chicago back within a goal with 5:20 to go in regulation with a wrister, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Shaw.

The game effectively ended with 2:04 remaining in regulation when Shaw was called for interference against Jay Bouwmeester. Before making his way to the box, Shaw was seen choosing two particular fingers to convey a message to the referee, and they certainly weren’t thumbs up. Following the horn, Shaw initiated a scrum with Pietrangelo in Second Star Brian Elliott’s end, and he continued to fight even after the referee was making every attempt to separate the two.

These actions in addition to some choice words that, if I’m to trust my lip reading abilities, were homosexual slurs directed at the official, Shaw may be receiving at least a fine from the league, if not a suspension. It is a shame that he allowed the Blues to get to him so much, as he had one of the best games of the night for the Blackhawks before all the debauchery.

Elliott earns the win after saving 39 of the 42 shots he faced (92.9%), while Crawford takes the loss, saving 16 of 20 (80%).

With that win, the Blues return to St. Louis with a 3-1 series lead and the opportunity to punch their ticket to the Western Semifinals on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. eastern. That contest can be viewed on NBCSN, SN or TVAS.

April 20, 2016
Chicago at St. Louis – Game 2 – Keith returns to level the series for the Hawks

Duncan Keith doesn’t play in Game 1, the Blues take advantage to take a series lead. He plays Game 2, and now the Hawks have home ice advantage, winning 3-2.

A scoreless, highly defensive first period had many thinking Game 2 would be similar to the first. Only nine combined shots were fired in the opening frame, with Chicago firing only two, even though both sides had a power play opportunity each.

Second Star of the Game (although I would argue he is not deserving of the honor due to his involvement in a future play) Vladimir Tarasenko finally scored the first regulation goal of the series at the 15:20 mark of the second period on a wrister from between the dots, assisted by Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera. The Blues‘ lead didn’t last long though, as Keith’s slap shot, assisted by Third Star Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews with five seconds remaining in the period, leveled the game.

Similar to the period before, the third was more than half complete before the third goal was scored. Before that happened though, Tarasenko committed a slashing penalty on Andrew Shaw, earning him a two minute break in the sin bin. With seven seconds remaining on the power play, and 4:19 remaining in regulation, Shaw himself made Vladi pay, assisted by Brent Seabrook and Kane to give Chicago the lead. They scored an insurance goal on an empty net with 1:26 remaining when Artemi Panarin tipped-in Keith’s initial attempt, and it proved to be necessary as Kevin Shattenkirk connected on a slap shot off a David Backes face-off win, but with only two seconds remaining in the game.

First Star Corey Crawford earns the leveling win after saving 29 of 31 shots faced (93.5%), while Brian Elliott takes the loss after saving 26 of 28 (92.9%).

The squads will board planes tonight or tomorrow and make their way to Chicago for Game 3, which will take place at 3 p.m. eastern on Sunday. It may be viewed on NBC, SN or TVAS.

April 15, 2016
Chicago at St. Louis – Game 1 – Backes wins the series opener for the Blues

Finally, after all the “Wakey, wakey Backes” nonsense NBC kept bringing up, it was time for this series to get underway. Who better to score the overtime winner than the First Star of the Game, Captain David Backes?

The first period was absolutely filled with penalties (five, to be exact) – three by the Blues and two by Chicago, including 36 seconds of 5-on-3 play for the Blackhawks – but Second Star Brian Elliott rose to the occasion to keep the first period scoreless.

Michal Rozsival was sent to the box in the fourth minute of the second period for an interference call that more looked like something from WWE, but the Notes were not able to take advantage of the power play. The Hawks upped the pressure after the kill leading up to the midway point of the game, but Elliott continued to hold strong and kept the game at nil. St. Louis had a power play at the end of the period, but Third Star Corey Crawford continued to keep the puck out of his net.

After two periods, both goaltenders had clean sheets, with Crawford making all 20 saves and Elliott matching him at a perfect 14 for 14.

The third period was much more aggressive, going back and forth at a quick rate, but the score remained at goose eggs.

Backes finally won the game, but not in the third period. It was at the 9:04 mark, a shot that trickled through Crawford’s legs.

Elliott ended the game making all 35 shots, while Crawford gave up only one of the 18 he faced (94.4%).

Chicago will remain in St. Louis to play them at 8 p.m. eastern. That game can be viewed on NBCSN, SN and TVAS2.

April 14, 2016
April 3 – Day 171 – Will the Bruins get back in?

The success in Pittsburgh continues with a 5-0 victory in Brooklyn in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The game-winner found the back of the net at the 12:41 mark of the first. What makes this one special is not only that it was an unassisted shorty, but that it was Oskar Sundqvist’s first tally of his career.

The insurance goals started piling on in the second period, with Patric Hornqvist finding the back of the net at the 8:09 mark, assisted by Justin Schultz and Sidney Crosby (his 49th helper of the season). Second Star of the Game Matt Cullen struck with 4:30 remaining in the frame with a wrister for his 14th tally of the season, assisted by Third Star Tom Kuhnhackl and Eric Fehr. The Pens didn’t score again in the period, and took their 3-0 lead into the third.

At the 10:40 mark of the final frame, Phil Kessel extended Pittsburgh‘s lead to four with a wrister, assisted by Kris Letang (his 46th helper of the season). The final goal belonged to Kuhnhackl, assisted by Cullen (his 14th helper of the season) and Justin Schultz.

First Star Matthew Murray earns the shutout win, saving all 24 shots he faced, while Jean-Francois Berube takes the loss after saving only 28 of 33 (84.8%).

Pittsburgh‘s victory is the second straight for the road squads, setting the DtFR Game of the Day series at 78-45-18, but favoring the home sides by 35 points.

We’ve got five games on tap today, starting with Boston at Chicago at 12:30 p.m. eastern (NBC/TVAS/SN). Philadelphia at Pittsburgh is the next game to start, dropping the puck at 5 p.m. eastern. Two games go under way three hours later (St. Louis at Colorado and Minnesota at Winnipeg), and Dallas at Anaheim, this evening’s nightcap, starts at 9 p.m. eastern.

A majority of today’s games are division rivalries (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, St. Louis at Colorado and Minnesota at Winnipeg), but only two are between teams qualifying for the playoffs (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh and Dallas at Anaheim).

The game I’m most concerned with actually isn’t listed in either of those groups, but instead the Bruins–Blackhawks contest.

This afternoon’s game will be Boston‘s 20th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 8-10-1 record. They most recent series appearance was Friday’s 6-5 victory in St. Louis. Chicago has been featured 23 times before tonight’s game, where they own a 10-10-3 record. Their last time featured was Tuesday, when they lost 4-1 in Minnesota.

The 41-29-8 Boston Bruins currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference, making them the first team left out of the Eastern playoffs. To get there, they’ve played the fourth best offense, but they’ve been held back by the 13th worst defense. A more in-depth analysis of Boston‘s play can be found within Friday’s article.

That 6-5 victory in St. Louis was not only Boston‘s most recent appearance in the Game of the Day series, but also their most recent played period. As Detroit is inactive today, a win will propel the Bruins past the Red Wings for the third division qualifier, while a loss wastes Boston‘s game in hand.

The 45-26-7 Chicago Blackhawks are currently the third best team in the Central Division and fourth best in the Western Conference. They’ve been led by the eighth best defense in the league, but have also played the ninth best offense. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within Tuesday’s article.

The Blackhawks‘ last game was their 5-4 overtime victory in Winnipeg. Chicago has already clinched a playoff spot, but that does not mean that they have nothing more to play for until the postseason. A win provides them the opportunity to pull within two points of the second place Blues, but they’ll need some help from Colorado for that to happen.

Chicago has already made their annual vision to Boston, with the Bruins winning 4-2 on March 3.

Some players to keep an eye on include Boston‘s Brad Marchand (35 win [seventh most in the league]) and Chicago‘s Patrick Kane (96 points [leads the league], 40 goals [third most in the league] and 56 assists [third most in the league]).

I like Chicago to win this one, even with Corey Crawford continuing to miss games. Their offense should not have too many issues with Boston‘s defense, and will have the crowd at their back to propel them to victory.

April 3, 2016
March 29 – Day 166 – Windy City meets the Land of 10,000 Lakes

A three goal third period is what separated San Jose from Los Angeles to win 5-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Los Angeles scored first, thanks to Third Star of the Game Justin Braun firing the puck over glass. Vincent Lecavalier capitalized on the man advantage with a snap shot, assisted by Alec Martinez (his 21st helper of the season) and Brayden McNabb. Their lead lasted only 3:45 before Braun amended for his penalty with a pure wrister, assisted by Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels (his 10th helper of the season) to level the game. The one-all score held into the intermission.

7:55 after returning to the ice, First Star Joe Pavelski scored the Sharks‘ second straight goal with a wrister (his 36th tally of the season), assisted by Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns. But, just like the first intermission, the second was also a level score, as Lecavalier scored his second of the night with 4:17 remaining in the frame, assisted by Milan Lucic (his 33rd helper of the season) and Tyler Toffoli.

San Jose took their second lead of the night 4:28 into the third off a Second Star Joe Thornton power play wrister, assisted by Pavelski and Burns (his 43rd helper of the season). Instead of LA having the leveler like this game went in the first two periods, the Sharks scored an insurance goal with 3:19 remaining from Karlsson, assisted by Wingels and Roman Polak (his 15th helper of the season). The final goal was an empty netter with 19 seconds remaining, courtesy of Braun (his fourth of the season) after an assist from Dainius Zubrus.

Martin Jones earns the victory after saving 30 of 32 shots faced (93.8%), while Jonathan Quick takes the loss after saving 26 of 30 (86.7%).

The Sharks‘ victory snaps the two game winning streak by the road teams and sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 75-43-18, favoring the home sides by 34 points over the roadies.

It’s a relatively busy Tuesday, especially if you’re like @kephartc and me and are also keeping an eye on both Team USA soccer matches occurring this evening. That being said, there are nine games being played this evening, with the action starting at 7 p.m. eastern with three of them (Boston at New Jersey [TVAS], Carolina at the New York Islanders and Buffalo at Pittsburgh [BELL TV]), with two more following half an hour later (Detroit at Montréal [RDS] and Toronto at Florida). Chicago at Minnesota gets its start at 8 p.m. eastern, trailed 30 minutes later by another pair of games (Colorado at St. Louis [NBCSN] and Nashville at Dallas). Finally, San Jose at Vancouver, this evening’s nightcap, drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern.

Most of tonight’s games are (Carolina at New York, Detroit at Montréal, Toronto at Florida, Chicago at Minnesota, Colorado at St. Louis, Nashville at Dallas and San Jose at Vancouver), while only two are between teams qualifying for the playoffs (Chicago at Minnesota and Nashville at Dallas). The Chicago–Minnesota game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals.

You know how this usually goes down – we go with the game that qualifies for all three games!

This will be Chicago‘s league-leading 23rd appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 10-9-3 record. Minnesota has made 11 appearances before tonight’s game, and own a 6-5-0 record in such instances. Both of these teams were last featured March 20, when the Wild won 3-2 in a shootout in Chicago.

The 44-25-7 Chicago Blackhawks currently occupy third in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference. They’ve played a balanced game to get this far, allowing the eight fewest goals paired with the ninth most goals scored.

Even with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 147 blocks, Chicago has allowed 2333 shots to reach the injured 35-18-4 Corey Crawford and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.3% for only 188 goals against, the eighth fewest in the NHL. That success has been no help to the defensive special team, as they are successful on only 79.17% of their penalty kills, allowing 45 power play goals in the process. To improve on that rate, they have scored eight shorthanded goals, two more than the league average.

Led by Patrick Kane’s 264 shots, the Hawks have fired the puck 2335 times, with 9% finding the back of the net for 212 goals (led by Kane’s 39 tallies), the seventh most in the league. This special team is much better, as the Blackhawks‘ 21.74% success rate on the power play, good for 50 extra man goals (led by Kane’s 15 power play tallies) ranks fifth best in the NHL.

Chicago enters tonight’s game riding a two game winning streak, with their most recent coming Sunday, a 3-2 victory in Vancouver. With another win tonight, the Blackhawks have the opportunity to pull within two points of the conference lead, but they will need help from both Colorado and Nashville for that to happen. Should they lose and Nashville win, their lead over the Predators for third in the division will fall to only two points.

The 37-28-11 Minnesota Wild are currently the fifth best team in the Central Division and eighth best in the Western Conference. To get there, they’ve played the ninth best defense, paired with the 13th best offense.

Led by Jared Spurgeon’s 149 blocks, Minnesota has allowed only 2188 shots to reach 31-22-6 Devan Dubnyk and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for only 189 goals against, the ninth fewest in the NHL. Just like Chicago, the Wild haven’t gotten much help from the penalty kill, which ranks fifth worst in the league with only a 78.42% kill rate, allowing 41 power play goals. That being said, the Wild have scored seven shorthanded goals (led by Erik Haula’s two shorties), one more than the league average.

Even with Zach Parise’s 220 shots, the Wild has fired the puck only 2215 times, with 9.2% finding the back of the net for 206 goals (led by Parise’s 24 tallies), the 13th most in the NHL. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is also the home of the 10th best power play, successful on 19.75% of their opportunities and good for 48 power play goals (led by Mikko Koivu’s 10 extra man tallies).

Minnesota enters today’s game white hot, winners of five straight. Their most recent was Saturday’s four goal shutout win in Colorado. With another win tonight, the Wild have the opportunity to improve their lead over Colorado for the final Western playoff spot to five points, but they’ll need some help from St. Louis for that to happen. It is also still possible for Minnesota to get out of the second wildcard spot and into the first, and a Wild win paired with a Nashville loss would pull them within four points.

Not only has Minnesota already won the season series against Chicago, but they are looking for the season sweep with their fifth straight victory over the Hawks. This season’s success is revenge for a four game sweep in last season’s Western Conference Semifinals on Chicago‘s way to the Stanley Cup.

Some players to keep an eye on include Chicago‘s Kane (94 points [leads the league], 39 goals [second most in the league] and 55 assists [tied for second most in the league]) and Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (five shutouts [tied for fourth most in the league] and 31 wins [10th most in the league]).

Giving Minnesota‘s current winning streak against both the Blackhawks as well as overall in addition to being this evening’s host, I think the Wild pull this one out to complete the season sweep of the Windy City.

March 29, 2016