Down the Frozen River

Tag: Boston Bruins

A Few Thoughts…

By: Nick Lanciani

Hello, it’s me- okay I promise I won’t get Adele stuck in your head. I’m back again (kind of) and I’m here to share a few thoughts with you on the state of the National Hockey League as we wrap up the 2016 NHL All Star Break and get ready for tonight’s games. Thank you for reading (and hopefully enjoying) my “Look to the Rafters” series last year. I had a lot of fun writing most of them before the season started, then making minor changes to them before posting them throughout the last several months as I tried to cram them into my busy schedule.

This is my first “real-time” post in a while that hasn’t just been a podcast, because I’ve had other commitments on weekends. Having said that, I’ll resume a regular column role after the Super Bowl because, well, I’ll be working this weekend (go Panthers! – Carolina Panthers, that is).

Anyway, how about the league parity this year? Every division is pretty close unless you’re the Columbus Blue Jackets, then there’s pretty much no hope (I’m sorry, good people of Columbus, Ohio).

Plenty of teams are in spectacular standings battles as we begin the rest of the season after the All Star Break (it’s not really the second half of the season, since every team has played over 41 games already ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). I’ll be taking a look at some trade deadline previews in the next week or two, as the trade deadline is looming over the horizon, but first here’s a few thoughts for your pleasure…

First, good for the NHL for finally stepping up to the plate and embracing John Scott at the All Star Game- that and the new 3 on 3 All Star Game format made it perhaps the best All Star Game since at least 2004. I won’t go into the hypocritical nuances and overtones from the entire All Star Weekend regarding the storylines the league was drumming up about John Scott, but I digress.

Second, John Scott has a way with words (and I mean it). If you still haven’t had the time to read Scott’s column in The Players’ Tribune go ahead and read it now, I’ll wait. You good now? If you’ve already read it, read it again. Scott’s piece is exceptional. It’s well crafted, well written, and well, better than anything I ever did/aim to do here on this site. Seriously, Mr. Scott, if you ever consider becoming a hockey blogger after you retire from the game someday, please write for us, as long as we’re still around however many years into the future.

Third, there’s plenty of speculation mounting regarding league expansion once again- then again, when hasn’t it been this season? I’m sure the league is doing everything in its power to carefully review and construct all the details that would be necessary to work out for any cautious business ventures that may or may not ultimately be made.

Again, however, not much has changed in the discussion at the end of the day. Québec City is still a beautiful city and deserves an NHL team, however, history may be repeating itself in that the Canadian dollar has been showing signs of the ultimate demise of the 1990s Quebec Nordiques. In other words, it’s not good.

You might ask, “what about revenue sharing?” and the answer is that the league already has a system in place that significantly boosts its smaller market Canadian teams (Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and even Ottawa- these are “small” in the sense that their financial backing is nothing compared to the Toronto Maple Leafs and/or the Montreal Canadiens).

Bottom line, it’s important to remember that 1) any sports franchise is expensive as heck to own and operate, especially if any public funding comes into play and 2) all Canadian teams generate revenue in Canadian dollars, but must pay their salaries in American dollars per the terms and conditions of the current CBA.

So, yeah, umm I’d like to see the Québec Nordiques resurrected, but not if it means that they’ll end up folding or relocating only a few years into a rebirth.

With regards to Las Vegas, T-Mobile picked up the tab on the naming rights for the new Las Vegas arena, so that’s promising for something, whether it’s hockey or just another entertainment venue ultimately. The league seems to have a special interest in the Las Vegas ownership group given its strong backing and the tremendous amounts of support that local Vegas residents have shown in hopes of landing an NHL gig.

And for you, good people of Las Vegas, Nevada, I am hopeful. Just as hopeful as I am for the wonderful citizens of Le Ville de Québec. Indeed, it would be a shame if this is all for nothing for now, but at least the serious level of the discussions is out there, are tangible, and within reach of hopefully putting something together.

As for Seattle, remember they are not part of the formal expansion application/discussion process at this time because they still cannot come to terms on building a new NHL/NBA ready arena in the Seattle metropolitan area.

Which, hey, if you wonderful people of Seattle, Washington got on that, we could be talking about another possible expansion team and almost being able to balance the conferences again (and that right there, lies another issue potentially holding expansion back- the imbalance of the conferences as they are and as they would be by adding teams in Québec and Las Vegas).

All I know is that I’m glad I’m not the one that is responsible for making all of these decisions. I’d much rather be a GM right now that’s having to debate trading a major component of a franchise or not and praying he doesn’t leave in free agency if he doesn’t resign (I’m looking at you, Mr. Yzerman). It seems as though at the end of the day, dealing with player contracts that don’t yield $500 million in expansion fees is much easier to crunch than well, what I just said about expansion fees.

Finally, thank you to the NHL, NWHL, CWHL, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Pride, and hockey fans everywhere for joining forces and continuing to support Denna Laing. It’s incredible to see the outpouring of compassion by the hockey community and helps make the world a better place.

I’ve seen some bad injuries in person before and I never want to have to see another stretcher on the ice again, but it’s nice to know and see how positive Denna Laing has remained through the last month and has given a newfound hope for us all to see that anything is possible and dreams may come true.

Let’s let our professional women’s athletes play another outdoor game as part of the Winter Classic festivities, let’s let our player’s play, and let’s have it televised, because there’s no reason to believe that women’s hockey is any less thrilling than men’s hockey.

February 2, 2016
Down the Frozen River Podcast #21 (that’s right we skipped #20)

The Down the Frozen River crew kicks off 2016 with their first podcast of the year (well, that actually made its way onto the site, that is- we may resurrect #20 someday). This week the DTFR crew discusses Montreal, Jonathan Drouin, injuries, and guitar? Hear what they have to say about the latest news and notes from around the NHL in this week’s #DTFRPodcast.

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

January 22, 2016
January 19 – Day 101 – It’s the last Boston-Montréal game of the regular season!

The St. Louis Blues used a three-goal third period to secure the 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

It took exactly 12 minutes before Alexander Steen scored the Blues‘ first goal, assisted by First Star of the Game Paul Stastny (his 16th helper of the season), but they were not able to keep the lead into the intermission, as Christ Kunitz scored with 117 seconds remaining off assists from Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby (the 23rd assist of the season for both).

The Pens took their only lead of the game at the 15:56 mark of the second with a tally from Evgeni Malkin, off assists from Carl Hagelin and Letang (his 24th helper of the season), but the Blues leveled the score 1:18 later with Vladimir Tarasenko’s 25th goal of the season off assists from Joel Edmundson and Robby Fabbri. The two-all score held into the second intermission.

The Blues‘ game-winning goal occurred only 2:10 after resuming play, courtesy of Second Star Troy Brouwer after assists from Stastny and Colton Parayko (his 13th helper of the season). Stastny continued his excellent night with the first insurance goal, assisted by Brouwer and Jay Bouwmeester (his 11th helper of the season). The final goal of the night was an empty-netter with only 12 seconds remaining, courtesy of Kevin Shattenkirk after assists from Steen (his 27th helper of the season) and Stastny.

Third Star Brian Elliott earns the win after saving 36 of 38 (94.7%) to improve his record to 9-5-4, while Jeff Zatkoff’s record falls to 3-5-1 after saving only 20 of 24 (83.3%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 43-19-9, favoring the home squad by 33 points.

It’s an eight-game schedule on this Tuesday, with four games dropping the opening puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Calgary at New Jersey, Vancouver at the New York Rangers, Toronto at Philadelphia [TVAS] and Washington at Columbus). 7:30 p.m. eastern brings with it the beginning of two more games (Boston at Montréal [RDS] and Edmonton at Tampa Bay), followed half an hour later by Chicago at Nashville (NBCSN/SN1). This evening’s nightcap occurs at 10:30 p.m. eastern between Dallas and Los Angeles.

Three of tonight’s games are between divisional rivals (Washington at Columbus, Boston at Montréal and Chicago at Nashville), and two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Boston at Montréal and Dallas at Los Angeles). The Chicago at Nashville game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Although I’m intrigued by the Dallas–Los Angeles game, the Boston–Montréal game is too important in the standings for us to ignore. To Montréal we go!

Tonight’s game will be Boston‘s 10th appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 3-5-1 record. Their most recent showing in such games was on January 11, when they lost 2-1 in Madison Square Garden. Montréal has been featured eight times before tonight, and own a 6-1-0 record in such games, with their most recent being on New Year’s Day against these Bruins in Foxboro, Mass., where they won 5-1.

The 23-16-5 Boston Bruins currently occupy fourth place in the Atlantic Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference, good enough to qualify them for the first wild card position. To get themselves to that position, they utilize one of the best offenses in the league, backed by an above-average defense.

Led by Patrice Bergeron’s 153 shots, the Bruins have fired the puck 1388 times, of which a solid 9.4% have found the back of the net for 131 goals (led by Bergeron’s 17 tallies), fourth-most in the league. A specific facet of Boston‘s offense that has proven highly successful has been the power play, where they’ve scored on a whopping 27.73% of attempts for 33 goals.

Defensively, the Bruins have allowed only 1272 shots (aided by Kevan Miller’s team-leading 71 blocks) to reach 15-13-4 Tuukka Rask and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.5% for 115 goals against, 12th-best in the league. While the penalty kill has been successful (killing 84% for only 24 power play goals against), their biggest strength has been scoring shorties, with six to their credit (led by Brad Marchand’s three).

Boston is currently riding a two-game win streak, with their most showing being a 3-2 victory against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. A win tonight has the potential to move them past Tampa Bay into the third division spot for the Atlantic.

The 23-19-4 Montréal Canadiens currently sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. They play a game very similar to the Bruins (I know, neither fan base likes being compared to the other), as they have a solid offense backed by an above-average defense.

Led by Max Pacioretty’s 181 attempts, the Habs have fired the puck 1457 times, of which 8.6% have found the back of the net for 126 tallies (led by Pacioretty’s 19 goals), seventh-most in the league. Although the offense as a whole has been very successful, the power play has not been as good, as they’ve only found the back of the net on 18.18% of attempts for 28 goals (led by Pacioretty’s seven).

Thanks in part to Andrei Markov’s team-leading 75 blocks, only 1274 shots have made their way to 12-11-4 Mike Condon and co., of which they’ve saved 91.1% for 117 goals against, 15th-best in the league. The penalty kill has been slightly above average as well, as they’ve killed 84.56% of attempts for 23 goals against.

The Habs are currently riding a four-game losing streak, with their most recent being a 5-2 loss in Chicago on Sunday. Should Montréal win tonight, they will swap spots with the Bruins for the first wild card spot.

This is the final regular season meeting between these bitter rivals, with the Habs already winning the series 3-1-0. Their last meeting was at the Winter Classic, where Montréal won 5-1.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game includes Boston‘s Rask (four shutouts [tied for third-most in the league]) and Montréal‘s P.K. Subban (29 assists [tied for sixth-most in the league]).

This one is a tough one to pick. Although I think the Bruins are the better overall team, it is hard to argue against the result of the last meeting, especially since the game is in Montréal this time. The line reads Montréal at -111, so I suppose I’ll pick the Habs to pull out the victory.

January 19, 2016
January 11 – Day 93 – This one definitely counts in the Boston-New York rivalry

With four second period goals, and six goals in 30:15, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The Hawks‘ offense blitz did not get started until the 8:27 mark of the first when Brandon Mashinter opened the scoring off assists from Ryan Garbutt (his fourth helper of the season) and Dennis Rasmussen. The other goal of the period came with 3:38 remaining on the clock, as Second Star of the Game Patrick Kane scored off assists from Artemi Panarin (his 24th assist of the season) and Trevor van Riemsdyk to set the score at 2-0, which held into the intermission.

Chicago continued their success into the second, scoring only 1:39 after resuming play. It was First Star Marian Hossa with the tally, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jonathan Toews (his 14th assist of the season). Colorado finally got on the board with a goal from Third Star Matt Duchene, assisted by Carl Soderberg (his 22nd helper of the season) and Gabriel Landeskog. Duchene struck only 4:08 later to set the score at 3-2 after being assisted by Alex Tanguay and Nathan MacKinnon (his 22nd assist of the season). Two-straight Avalanche goals didn’t seem to make the Blackhawks very happy, as they fired three-straight of their own before the second period ended. The first was a Kane power play goal at the 12:25 mark, his 25th goal of the season, assisted by Brent Seabrook and Artem Anisimov, which proved to be the game-winner. The next Hawk goal came only 2:06 later, Toews’ 16th tally, assisted by Andrew Shaw and Erik Gustafsson. Chicago completed their surge with 1:18 remaining in the period with Hossa’s second goal of the night, assisted by Toews (his 15th assist of the season) and Shaw to set the score at 6-2.

Colorado could only manage one goal in the final period, compliments of MacKinnon after assists from Duchene (his 16th of the season) and Nick Holden, setting the score at the 6-3 final.

Corey Crawford’s record improves to 23-10-2 after saving 34 of 37 (91.9%), while Semyon Varlamov’s record falls to 15-11-3 after saving 16 of 20 (80%). He was pulled after 32:25 of play following Kane’s second goal of the night, and replaced by Calvin Pickard, who saved 13 of 15 (86.7%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 36-19-8, favoring the home squads by 22 points over the roadies.

After a busy weekend, this Monday’s schedule consists of only four games, with the action getting started at 7 p.m. eastern when Boston visits the New York Rangers (NHLN/TVAS/SN). The rest of the games don’t get started for at least another two hours, as San Jose and Calgary drop the puck at 9 p.m. eastern. 10 p.m. eastern brings with it the beginning of the Florida at Vancouver game, followed half an hour later by this evening’s nightcap, Detroit at Los Angeles.

San Jose at Calgary represents the only divisional rivalry being played this evening, and the remaining matchups are all between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.

I know we’ve watched both of these teams recently, one as recent as Saturday, but a team qualifying only for a wild card spot always has a little more to play for, so let’s take a look at the Boston–New York game.

The Boston Bruins have been featured eight times before tonight’s game in the DtFR Game of the Day series, and own a 3-4-1 record in such games, with their most recent showing being a 4-1 victory in New Jersey on Friday. The New York Rangers are tied with Chicago for the most appearances in the series, and own a 6-3-2 record when the focus of our attention. Their most recent game in the series was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Capitals on Saturday.

The 21-14-5 Boston Bruins currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference and, most importantly, the first wild card position. An in-depth explanation of their game may be read here, but the important thing to know is Boston is one of the best offensive teams in the league.

Their most recent showing was a 2-1 overtime loss in Ottawa on Saturday.

The 22-14-5 New York Rangers currently own second place in the Metropolitan Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Similar to the Bruins, the Blueshirts also play a strongly offensive game, which you can read more about here.

The Rangers‘ most recent game was their 4-3 overtime loss to the Capitals in Saturday’s Game of the Day. You can read a quick-and-dirty recap of that game here.

These two have already met up once this season, a 4-3 Boston win the day after Thanksgiving in the TD Garden. Although the Rangers had the lead twice, they were not able to hold on for the victory, and will utilize those sour memories as inspiration to level the season series.

Some players to watch in this one include Boston‘s Tuukka Rask (four shutouts [tied for third-most in the leauge]) and New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (18 wins [tied for fifth-best in the league]).

Both of these teams play similar styles of play – good defenses supported by strong offenses. That being said, the B’s have done better on both ends than their opponents, and I believe that will be the difference in this one. I expect this Original Six matchup to go the way of the Bruins.

January 11, 2016
January 8 – Day 90 – Does New Jersey count in the Boston-New York rivalry?

The Washington Capitals proved that they are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference by besting a solid New York Islanders team 4-1 in Brooklyn in last night’s Game of the Day.

The Caps came out firing on all cylinders, as they were able to punch the puck into the back of the net twice in the opening period. The first tally came after 5:45 of play when Third Star of the Game Jason Chimera was able to score off Marcus Johansson’s 16th assist of the season. Exactly 10 minutes later, Karl Alzner assisted First Star Alex Ovechkin to his 22nd goal of the season, putting his career total at 497 tallies, this one proving to be the game-winner.

New York finally got on the board after 21:59 of play when Ryan Strome and Mikhail Grabovski assisted Brock Nelson to his 14th goal of the season, but Washington was able to regain the momentum when Nate Schmidt scored on Nicklas Backstrom’s 25th assist of the season. The 3-1 score held into the final period.

Only one goal was scored in the final 20 minutes of play, this one credited to Backstrom, his 12th of the season, after Jaroslav Halak had left the ice for the extra attacker, setting the score at the 4-1 final.

Second Star Braden Holtby continues his incredible season, improving his record to 26-4-2 after saving 34 of 35 (97.1%). Halak’s first game back from injury didn’t go in his favor, and his record falls to 10-7-3 after saving 34 of 37 (91.9%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 35-18-7, favoring the home squad over the roadies by 23 points.

The weekend schedule gets started with six games this evening, and the first two drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Boston at New Jersey and Columbus at Carolina). 8:30 p.m. eastern brings with it the start of the Buffalo at Chicago game (NHLN/BELL TV), followed half an hour later by a couple more (Nashville at Colorado and Tampa Bay at Edmonton). Finally, this evening’s nightcap gets started at 10 p.m. eastern when St. Louis visits Anaheim (SN).

Two games are divisional rivalries (Columbus at Carolina and Nashville at Colorado), and only Boston at New Jersey exhibits two teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.

The matchup I’m most intrigued by is the Boston at New Jersey game, as these teams are only separated by a point in their fight for the Eastern Conference wild card spots.

Boston has been featured in the Game of the Day series seven times before tonight’s game, and host a 2-4-1 record in such games. Their most recent showing was the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, when they fell to the Canadiens 5-1. This will be New Jersey‘s third appearance, and they are 1-1-0 so far. Their last game in the Game of the Day series was on December 13, a 4-0 loss in Brooklyn to the Islanders.

The 20-14-4 Boston Bruins are currently fourth-best in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference, earning them the final playoff position as the second wild card. They play one of the best offensive games in the league, and are improving their defensive efforts by the game.

Led by Patrice Bergeron’s 128 shots, the Bruins have put 1182 shots on net, only two behind the league average with two less games played. 9.8% have found the back of the net for 116 goals, fourth most in the league. The success has continued into the special teams, where Boston has scored on 28.44% of their attempts for 31 tallies (led by Bergeron’s eight goals).

Boston started the season having difficulty keeping opponents off the scoreboard, but has improved over the course of the season. The Bruins have allowed only 1098 shots (thanks in part to Adam McQuaid’s 67 blocks) to reach 14-11-3 Tuukka Rask and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.2% for only 104 goals against. The penalty kill has been only average so far this season, killing 82.09% for 24 goals against. What makes this special team significant is their knack for short-handed goals, as they have six to their credit (three of which belong to Brad Marchand).

The Bruins are currently riding a two-game losing skid, with their most recent being a 3-2 loss to the Capitals on Tuesday.

The 20-16-5 New Jersey Devils currently own fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference, earning them the top wild card spot. They’ve play one of the best defenses in the league to compensate for lower scoring numbers.

Thanks in part to Adam Larsson’s team-leading 74 blocks, only 1155 shots have made their way to 17-12-5 Cory Schneider and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.4% for only 93 goals against, sixth-best in the league. They’ve been just as successful on the penalty kill, preventing 82.95% of power plays and allowing only 22 goals. Additionally, the Devils also have four shorties to their credit, two of which belong to Adam Henrique.

Offensively, the Devils have not been as strong, with only 1018 shots (led by Kyle Palmieri’s 103) and 92 goals (led by Palmieri’s 17) to their credit, sixth-fewest in the league. The power play has been slightly better, as New Jersey scores on 19.26% of attempts (average in the NHL) for 26 goals (led by Palmieri’s six).

New Jersey is currently on a two-game losing skid, with their most recent being a 2-1 loss in Montréal on Wednesday.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Rask (four shutouts [tied for third-best in league]) and New Jersey‘s Schneider (2.06 GAA [tied for fourth-best in league], three shutouts [tied for sixth-best in league], .927 save percentage [seventh-best in league] and 17 wins [tied for seventh-best in league]).

Although New Jersey‘s defense is strong, I think Boston‘s offense can overpower Schneider’s team. Since the Devils have such a tough time scoring, I expect the B’s to claim the top wild card spot with a victory tonight.

January 8, 2016
January 1 – Day 83 – You get two guesses…

Yesterday’s Game of the Day between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues ended poorly for the home squad, as the Wild scored two goals in the final 8:32 of play to secure the 3-1 victory.

The first goal of the game was not scored until 28:42 had ticked off the clock, and belonged to St. Louis. Thanks to Marco Scandella sending the puck over the glass, the Blues took advantage of the extra man to get Third Star of the Game Kevin Shattenkirk his seventh goal of the season, assisted by Alexander Steen (his 22nd helper of the season) and Paul Stastny. Minnesota waited until 3:48 remained in the second period to level the score at one-all, as Justin Fontaine and First Star Erik Haula assisted Second Star Nino Niederreiter to his eighth goal of the season. The 1-1 score held into the second intermission.

The Wild notched their game winner at the 11:28 mark of the final period with a tally from Haula, assisted by Niederreiter. Minnesota‘s final tally was an empty-netter, scored with 1:37 remaining in the game, compliments of Thomas Vanek, assisted by Charlie Coyle to set the score at 3-1.

Devan Dubnyk improves his record to 16-10-2 after saving 33 of 34 (97.1%), while Jake Allen’s record falls to 18-9-2 after saving 26 of 28 (92.9%).

The DtFR Game of the Day Series now stands at 32-15-6, with the homers favoring the roadies by 24 points.

Happy New Year from all of us at Down the Frozen River! Too bad the NHL doesn’t share our sentiments, as they are only putting on two games today. Jerks.

Oh wait. One of those is the Winter Classic between the Montréal Canadiens and Boston Bruins!

It gets started at 1 p.m. eastern and takes place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. The other game takes place inside Rogers Arena (Indoor games. So yesterday, I know.) at 10 p.m. eastern when the Anaheim Ducks visit the Vancouver Canucks.

Both teams have been featured six times before today’s game in the DtFR Game of the Day series, but the Habs own a much better record than the Bruins (5-1-0 and 2-3-1, respectively). Montréal‘s last showing in the series was a 6-2 defeat in Dallas on December 19, while the home squad has been featured as recently as Tuesday, when they beat the Senators 7-3 on home ice.

The 21-15-3 Montréal Canadiens currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Although they play a strong game on both ends of the ice, the Habs are certainly a more offensive-minded team having scored the fifth-most goals so far this season.

They may have two more games to their credit than the league average, but that is not the reason the Habs have 1226 shots to their credit (led by Max Pacioretty’s 156), 134 over the league average. 8.9% of those shots have turned into goals, 109 to be exact, led by Pacioretty’s 15 tallies. Although the offense has been strong, the power play has been only average. On 129 attempts, Montréal has only scored 25 goals (led by Pacioretty’s five goals) for a 19.38% success rate that leads the league average by only .24%.

The main facet of Montréal‘s defense has been keeping shots off 10-9-3 Mike Condon and co. Thanks to Tom Gilbert’s team-leading 61 blocks, only 1077 shots have found their way to the crease, of which 91.2% have ben saved for 97 goals against. The defensive successes have continued into the penalty kill, which has neutralized 84.5% of opposing opportunities for only 20 power play goals against. Also, an added bonus to the penalty kill has been the seven short-handed goals that lead the league average by four tallies.

Their most recent showing was a 3-1 loss at Florida on Tuesday.

The 20-12-4 Boston Bruins currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. Just like Montréal, Boston employs a strong offensive attack, but are backed by a solid defense.

Led by Patrice Bergeron’s 122 shots, the Bruins have put 1127 shots on goal, of which 10% have found the back of the net for 113 goals (led by Brad Marchand’s 15). Boston employs one of the strongest power plays in the league, successful on 29.41% attempts for 30 goals.

The Bruins‘ defense has also been very strong, as they’ve only allowed 1039 shots to reach 14-9-3 Tuukka Rask and co. (led by Adam McQuaid’s team-leading 64 blocks), of which 91.4% have been saved for 96 goals allowed. Boston‘s penalty kill has been slightly better than average, allowing 23 goals on 127 opposing attempts for a 81.89% kill that leads the league average by 1.03%.

Their most recent showing was a 7-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Some players to watch include Boston‘s Tuukka Rask (four shutouts [tied for third in the league]) and Montréal‘s P.K. Subban (25 assists [tied for seventh in the league]).

This will be the fourth meeting of the season between these two bitter rivals. Montréal owns a 2-1-0 lead in the season series, but the most recent game, on December 9, was a 3-1 Boston victory in the Bell Centre.

It is hard to pick against the Bruins in today’s game. Both their offense and defense is better than Montréal‘s, and the stands will definitely be filled with rowdy ~~Patriots~~ Bruins fans. Expect Boston to pick up their first win of the New Year.

January 1, 2016
December 29 – Day 80 – Déjà Vu

In last night’s Game of the Day, we confirmed our beliefs that it’s Los Angeles and the rest of the Pacific Division, as the Kings won in Vancouver with a five-goal shutout that included the first hat trick of the Game of the Day series, courtesy of First Star of the Game Tyler Toffoli.

The winning goal was the lone tally of the first period, compliments of Toffoli, assisted by Second Star Anze Kopitar and Milan Lucic after 15:33 of play.

6:24 minutes later (if you’re only counting game time and not the intermission!), Trevor Lewis assisted Derek Forbort to his first goal of his career in 11 games, setting the score at 2-0. Exactly 10 minutes later, Kopitar notched his second assist of the evening with a helper to Brayden McNabb at the 11:57 mark. The Kings‘ 3-0 lead held into the second intermission.

If they hadn’t put the final nail in the coffin yet, Los Angeles scored their fourth goal of the evening at the 5:55 mark when Kopitar (yes, if you’re keeping score at home, that’s three assists!) and Alec Martinez assisted Toffoli to his second tally. Toffoli completed his hat trick at the 12:56 mark with a power play goal, assisted by Drew Doughty and, you guessed it, Kopitar, for his fourth assist of the evening, setting the score at the 5-0 final.

Third Star (guess that’s what a shutout gets you when there’s a hat trick and a four-assist night) Jonathan Quick made all 27 saves to improve his record to 19-9-1, while Jacob Markstrom’s record falls to 3-4-3 after saving only 33 of 38 (86.8%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 31-13-6, favoring the homers by 26 points over the roadies.

Ten games will be played this evening in the NHL, with the action getting started at the usual 7 p.m. eastern starting time as four matchups go underway (Ottawa at Boston [RDS2], the New York Islanders at Toronto [TVAS], Carolina at New Jersey and Dallas at Columbus), followed half an hour later by Montréal at Florida (RDS). 8 p.m. eastern brings with it two games (Nashville at St. Louis [NBCSN] and Detroit at Winnipeg), with the final three games beginning an hour later (Anaheim at Calgary, Los Angeles at Edmonton and Chicago at Arizona).

Six of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Ottawa at Boston, Carolina at New Jersey, Montréal at Florida, Nashville at St. Louis, Anaheim at Calgary and Los Angeles at Edmonton), while four feature teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Ottawa at Boston, Montréal at Florida, Nashville at St. Louis and Chicago at Arizona). Finally, tonight also features a rematch of the Western Conference Semifinals, as Anaheim takes on Calgary.

While most of the matchups listed are tantalizing, it is hard to take our attention away from the Ottawa–Boston game due to their deadlock tie in the division table. To the TD Garden we go!

Both squads have been featured five times already in the DtFR Game of the Day series, with their most recent being against each other only two days ago in Ottawa, where the Sens won 3-1. In the Game of the Day Series, Boston has a lackluster 1-3-1 record, while the Sens host a 2-2-1 record.

Yes, before you write nasty things in the comment section, I’m fully aware we just watched these two go at it on Sunday (this sounds like as good a time as ever for a plug: here’s my quick-and-dirty recap of that game!). But, the fact of the matter is that both of these teams are tied at 42 points apiece and qualifying for both the wild card spots, and a win tonight has the potential to move one of these teams into a division qualifying-spot should Detroit lose.

You can read an analysis of both teams here.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Tuukka Rask (four shutouts [tied for third in the league]) & Ottawa‘s Craig Anderson (16 wins [tied for fifth in the league]), Mike Hoffman (17 goals [tied for seventh in the league]) and Erik Karlsson (31 assists [tied for league lead] and 40 points [tied for fourth in the league]).

Ottawa spoiled my prediction when they beat the Bruins at home, but I feel much more confident picking Boston to win in the Garden.

December 29, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- San Jose Sharks

By: Nick Lanciani

What will retired numbers look like around the league in the future? While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

With that in mind, let’s explore what each team around the NHL might do in the coming seasons. Feel free to speak your mind and drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

San Jose Sharks

Current Retired Numbers- None

Recommended Numbers to Retire

19 Joe Thornton

Thornton began his career with the Boston Bruins as the 1^st overall selection of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft but was traded to the San Jose Sharks 23 games into the 2005-2006 season and has been an important piece the franchise ever since. Thornton is a stellar playmaker who has fully immersed himself into Bay Area culture to the point that he remains one of the most recognizable Sharks players ever.

While his goal production may be sagging and his leadership has recently come into question, Thornton’s presence in San Jose was the reason why they became such a dominant team in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Now of course, the Sharks find themselves in a bit of a transition, looking to rebuild their roster and either keep Jumbo Joe as part of their long term plan to capture their first Cup or look to see if there are any organizations willing to take on such a large cap hit.

At the end of the day, Joe Thornton is certainly deserving of having his number retired by the San Jose Sharks when he decides to hang up the skates, out of his dedication to the team and northern California hockey.

12 Patrick Marleau

Marleau is closing in on nearly 20 years with the San Jose Sharks and is the epitome of what it means to be a Shark. His inconsistent play these days shrouds the average hockey fan’s ability to see what Marleau has truly meant to the organization. He is a well liked leader and respected around the league. He is the first successful player to have been developed by the Sharks in their entire franchise history.

The longtime playmaker is also the youngest player in NHL history to have reached the 1,300 games played milestone. The 2^nd overall pick of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft is sure to see his number 12 raised to the rafters of the SAP Center when he steps away from the game.

11 Owen Nolan

Nolan spent his longest amount of time with the San Jose Sharks over the course of his 18-year NHL career. He played in eight seasons for the Sharks between the 1995-1996 season and the 2002-2003 season. Nolan, while an iconic player of the 1990s and early 2000s, was most easily recognizable wearing a San Jose teal jersey to many fans of the game.

For the very reason of popularity alone, he stands a chance of having his number retired by the Sharks. However, compared to longtime Sharks forwards, Thornton and Marleau, Nolan’s got little chance of seeing his jersey number hung from the ceiling.

20 Evgeni Nabokov

Nabokov was a San Jose Sharks goaltender for ten years out of his 14-year NHL net minding career. This past season he suited up in 11 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning before being placed on waivers with the purpose of reassignment to Syracuse, ultimately opting for a trade to San Jose to then retire a Shark. Simply put, Evgeni Nabokov was the best goaltender in franchise history for the San Jose Sharks (thus far, anyway). Without a doubt, he’ll likely see his number raised to the rafters within a few years.

December 29, 2015
December 27 – Day 78 – Bruins try to jump to top of the Atlantic Division

Thanks to a clutch save from Jake Allen in the ninth round of the shutout, the St. Louis Blues were able to claim the extra point over the Dallas Stars in last night’s Game of the Day.

After playing a scoreless 26:18, First Star of the Game Alexander Steen scored a power play goal, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Third Star Vladimir Tarasenko, to give the Blues a one-goal lead. It was short-lived though, as Cody Eakin and Jamie Benn assisted Colton Sceviour to knot the score at one-all. The Stars scored their second and final goal of regulation with only 37 seconds remaining in the period when Patrick Sharp and Alex Goligoski assisted Tyler Seguin to his 20th goal of the season, giving Dallas a 2-1 lead going into the second intermission.

The Blues waited to score the game-tying goal until only 1:50 remained in regulation, as Jay Bouwmeester and David Backes assisted Second Star Robby Fabbri to send the game to overtime and, ultimately, the shoutout.

While he won’t get a goal added to his season total, Backes scored the final goal of the shootout, but it was Allen, who made the save on Vernon Fiddler’s shot, who secured the Blues‘ victory.

Allen improves his record to 17-8-2 with the win, saving 22 of 24 (91.7%), while Antti Niemi’s record falls to 15-5-3, saving 35 of 37 (94.6%).

The DtFR Game of the Day Series now stands at 30-12-6, favoring the home squad by 26 points. Last night’s game was the second straight that required a shootout, as Ottawa beat Florida on Tuesday, the last day of action before the Christmas break.

Tonight’s schedule consists of nine games, with the action getting started at 5 p.m. eastern when Boston visits Ottawa (RDS2). Three games follow at 6 p.m. eastern (Columbus at Florida, Toronto at the New York Islanders [TVAS/SN] and St. Louis at Dallas), trailed an hour later by Carolina at Chicago. Three games get started at 8 p.m. eastern (Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, Arizona at Colorado and Philadelphia at Anaheim), and the nightcap follows an hour later when Edmonton visits Calgary (SN).

Three of tonight’s games are between divisional rivals (Boston at Ottawa, St. Louis at Dallas and Edmonton at Calgary), while two of those are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (sorry Edmonton–Calgary!). Even though Dallas and St. Louis just played last night and should carry over a lot of emotion, the Boston–Ottawa game has a more immediate effect on the standings.

This will be both teams’ fifth time featured in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they both have a 1-2-1 record. The lone time the Bruins were the road squad in the series was November 7 then they visited Montréal – they lost 4-2. Ottawa has been the home side twice, winning their most recent game 4-2 over the Sharks (December 18), but losing 3-1 on October 11 against the Canadiens.

The 19-11-4 Boston Bruins currently sit third in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. They are currently riding a two-game losing skid, their most recent showing being a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres. Don’t let those recent results fool you, though: Boston has been a quietly good team this season, especially on the offensive end of the ice.

Led by Patrice Bergeron’s 110 shots, the Bruins have accounted for 1018 attempts so far this season. Exactly 10%, a significant portion, of those shots have found the back of the net for 102 goals, led by Brad Marchand’s 15. Especially strong for Boston has been their power play. Of the 90 opportunities the Bruins have been given, they’ve scored 26 goals (led by Loui Eriksson’s seven) for a 28.89% success rate. Although it is always wise to avoid penalties, Ottawa should probably take special care to avoid the box this evening, as Boston has a knack for making teams pay.

While the defense started the season playing very poorly, they have clamped down to give up only 84 goals to date. The main reason for this has not been so much the play of 13-8-3 Tuukka Rask and co., but the defense allowing only 959 shots to reach net (led by Adam McQuaid’s 56 blocks). Although the penalty kill has been only average (currently killing 81.36%), it has gotten in on the goal-scoring. When shorthanded, the Bruins have scored six times already this season, well above the league average of two.

The 17-12-6 Ottawa Senators currently hold the second wild card position as the fifth-best team in the Atlantic Division and eighth-best in the Eastern Conference. Similar to their New England opponent, the Senators are also riding a two-game losing skid, with their most recent game a 2-1 shootout loss at Florida on Tuesday. I know I sound like a broken record when I talk about Ottawa, but their offense and goaltending have had to cover up for the poor defensive play on a regular basis this season.

I usually try to start with a positive, and Ottawa‘s offense is certainly one. Thanks in no part to only 969 shots put on net (led by Mike Hoffman’s 95), the Sens have scored 102 goals so far this season, led by Hoffman’s 17 tallies. While in no way as strong as Boston‘s, Ottawa‘s power play has been better than average, as they’ve scored 21 (led by Hoffman’s four) on 108 attempts for a 19.4% success rate.

The other end of the ice has not been quite as spectacular. Although Erik Karlsson already has 71 blocks this season, the Sens have allowed 1180 shots to reach 15-9-4 Craig Anderson and co., who have a combined 92% save percentage, only half a percent above league average. In addition to allowing too many shots into the crease, the penalty kill is also not going Ottawa‘s way. They’ve allowed 26 goals on 118 attempts, killing only 77.97%. If the defense could do more to improve these two statistics, they could be considered a significant threat for the cup this season. Until then, Ottawa can only be considered a playoff stepping stone.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Rask (four shutouts [tied for third in the league]) & Ottawa‘s Anderson (15 wins [tied for sixth in the league]), Hoffman (17 goals [tied for sixth in the league]) and Karlsson (29 assists [tied for league lead] and 38 points [sixth in the league]).

Given Ottawa‘s poor defense and penalty kill, it is hard to pick against the Bruins, even if they are the visiting team. I expect Boston to jump into the division lead with a win tonight.

December 27, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Philadelphia Flyers

By: Nick Lanciani

What will retired numbers look like around the league in the future? While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

With that in mind, I explore what each team around the NHL might do in the coming seasons. Feel free to speak your mind and drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Philadelphia Flyers

Current Retired Numbers- 1 Bernie Parent, 2 Mark Howe, 4 Barry Ashbee, 7 Bill Barber, 16 Bobby Clarke

Recommended Numbers to Retire

10 John LeClair

The Philadelphia Flyers really have some catching up to do when it comes to their retired numbers. For starters there’s the Legion of Doom line left winger, John LeClair, who spent ten years of his career with the Flyers, which included two consecutive 97-point seasons from 1995-1996 to 1996-1997. LeClair would reach the 90 point plateau for the third time in four seasons in the 1998-1999 season.

So, umm, yeah, why exactly haven’t you sent his number to the rafters, Philadelphia? I’ll speak from a completely biased perspective for a moment- John LeClair was one of my favorite players to try to emulate while growing up and playing street hockey in my neighborhood.

88 Eric Lindros

The center from the famous Legion of Doom line, Eric Lindros is well known for having been oft injured and the reason why the Québec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche had one of the greatest Swedish forwards of the game. But in his time well spent in Philadelphia, one season in particular, stands out for Lindros- his 115 point season in 1995-1996. Lindros only broke the 90-point plateau three times in his career, all as a member of the Flyers.

He only barely missed never having a season in Philadelphia with less than 60 points total, but in 1999-2000, Lindros came up just short, with 59 points, after only having played in 55 games due to injury. So again, why haven’t the Flyers done anything to immortalize his career with Philadelphia?

8 Mark Recchi

Recchi had two very successful stints with the Flyers over his 22-year career. In the 1992-1993 season, Recchi had 53-70-123 totals in 84 games played. From a scoring point, that was his best year ever in his career, but his success didn’t end there.

Although he won a Cup with Pittsburgh in 1991, before joining the inner state rival, Philadelphia Flyers, and went on to win a second Cup with Carolina in 2006, and his third with Boston in 2011, Mark Recchi will- rest assured- always be one of the greatest Philadelphia wingers in franchise history. Recchi was a centerpiece in the trade with Montreal that brought LeClair to the City of Brotherly Love and he was one of the reasons why playing with the Flyers in NHL 2001 was so great, for the record.

Again I must ask the question, why haven’t you done anything yet, Philadelphia Flyers organization?

12 Simon Gagné

Gagné spent eleven years of his remarkable career with the Flyers and scored some of the biggest goals in franchise history, including the one in 2010 that completed the seven game series comeback from being down in a 3-0 hole to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Whether he is able to make a return to play since taking a personal leave of absence 23 games into his short tenure with the Bruins, or whether he’s forced to retire, the Flyers should do the right thing with his jersey number and send it to the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center.

28 Claude Giroux

Giroux is the best player on the Flyers roster currently and will likely spend the majority of his career in Philadelphia black, white, and orange. After his career is over, the Flyers will no doubt bestow him the greatest honor from an organization and remove number 28 from circulation on the back of any Flyers jersey.

93 Jakub Voracek

The Flyers will need at least another eight years of Voracek to really determine if retiring his number is worthy of consideration one day, but we might as well include him in the conversation for the future.

December 26, 2015