Down the Frozen River

Tag: Brian Elliott

Sick Hands of The Month – Chad Johnson Steals the Show in the Second Annual ShoTM.

Hey, everyone, I’m back this week for the second Sick Hands of The Month! If you forgot what that was, here is a quick reminder: So what I’m basically going to do is pick a player from each position on the ice (Left Wing, Center, Right Wing, two defenders, and a goalie). Then it’s basically the same thing as the normal “SHS” where I recap why I picked them and highlight their best games, goals, assists, etc. (A quick side note, sorry I’m a little late getting this out, I’m all caught up in finals at school and it’s been a mess and I haven’t found time to write it out but here I go!)

Sidney Crosby – Center (PIT) The reason why I picked this powerhouse center from Cole Harbour, Canada is plain and simple! Mr. Crosby is a straight up, certified G and I mean it. He went from having an alright 13 points in just 10 games his first month on the ice (keep in mind he missed a couple games due to a concussion) to having a WICKED 21 points with 12 goals and 9 assists in just 15 games! Four of his 12 goals also came on the power play as well. Crosby was a dominant force whenever he was on the ice as he leads the league with his 21 goals overall and tied for second in points with 32. In Crosby’s last five games he’s racked up 7 points (5G, 2A) with two goals coming on the manpower advantage. So it was an easy choice to pick Crosby for the center position.

Max Pacioretty – Left Wing (MTL) I picked the stud captain from Montreal because he had a stellar month to say the lease! Max went from only having 12 points in the opening month to having a solid 14 points in 15 games and playing in Montreal isn’t the easiest thing to do. That included 10 goals and a nice 4 helpers as well. In fact just last Saturday, Patches put up a five-point night that included four goals and an assist in a 10-1 win against Colorado. In his last five games, Pacioretty has put up nine points (7G, 2) with four goals coming on the power play. So you can say he his on a total tear and if he keeps this up, Montreal is going to be atop the league for a long time!

Cam Atkinson – Right Wing (CBJ) This position was pretty hard because it was down between Atkinson and Tarasenko again. And as most of you know, if you read my post last month, he won this title last month so I decided to go with Cam plus he had different stats! So the reason why I picked Atkinson as the winner for this month was because he had a HUGE turnaround with his play from last month where he only racked up 12 points (4G, 8A) with a plus/minus of -5. He went totaling 19 points in just 15 games while scoring six goals and 13 assists a plus/minus of 12! In his last five games, he has seven points (7G, 2A) including at least two points in three straight games so he’s on fire. So as you can clearly tell, that is a great turn around for one of the top Blue Jacket players and if he keeps producing like this, the Jackets are going to have a great season!

Brent Burns – Defense (SJS) Once again, who else but Brent Burns? Don’t worry, I’ll wait for an answer….that’s what I thought, you couldn’t think of someone, could you?! Yes, Mr. Burns appears on Sick Hands of the Month for the second month in a row because he was on yet another rampage during the second month of hockey. (When isn’t he on a tear?), Burns picked up right where he left off with 14 points through the first month and tallied 12 points including 6 goals and six assists in this past month. He now leads all defenders in goals with 12 and is second in points with 25 so Burns is a force on the offensive side of the puck. In Burns’ last five games he has four points including a point in his last four straight games so he will look to keep the streak going and push the Sharks’ back into the playoffs.

Erik Karlsson – Defense (OTT) Well if you didn’t think of anyone when I asked you “Who else but Brent Burns?” Here’s your guy, well in my opinion at least, actually it should be in everyone’s opinion because this man is a stud! Karlsson is one of the best offensive defensemen in the game and I will argue with anyone on that. Karlsson went from having 12 points (3G, 9A) in the first month of playing to now having a fantastic 15 points made up of four goals and 11 assists with six points coming on the power play. In his last five games, he has tallied eight points (3G, 5A) including a three-point night against the Sharks and a four point night against the Penguins. He is tied for third by D-men in goals with seven, leads the league in assists with 20 and in points with 27. Karlsson is a clear choice for the Norris Trophy if he keeps this up.

Chad Johnson – Goalie (CGY) Yes people, you guys are indeed seeing this right. I did pick Chad Johnson for a reason, I know some of you if not all of you were probably expecting to see Carey Price or Devan Dubnyk or Matthew Murray but no! Chad Johnson got the win for the month and I’ll tell you why! Johnson has been the hottest goalie in hockey right now hands down, and he has certainly exceeded my expectations by far. This month Johnson has started in 13 games and has an amazing record of 11-2 with a solid .946 SV% and a 1.61 GAA. Johnson leads the month in wins and save percentage and is second in GAA by .01 to Dubnyk. Johnson has clearly taken the starting job away from Brian Elliott and is killing it in net for the Flames. Johnson has started in all the Flames last five games going 5-0. He never let his SV% get below .910 or let in more than three goals in one game. In all of those previous five games, he’s faced 25 shots or more so they were tough games. If Johnson keeps up his play and the Flames can ride the hot hand, they are in for a fun time! Johnson by far was the most dominate player to write about this week.

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

December 13, 2016
December 2 – Day 51 – Wildfires usually aren’t fun, but this one is an exception
Congratulations! You made it through the work week! You know what you deserve? Hockey.

Unfortunately, there’s only two games occurring this evening, and the action doesn’t start until 9 p.m. with Minnesota visiting Calgary. An hour and a half later, the second game – Montréal at San Jose (RDS) – drops the puck. All times eastern.

Tonight is the night our Minnesota fans have been waiting for: their Wild are finally being featured in the DtFR Game of the Day!

Making their first of two visits to the Saddledome this season are the 11-8-3 Minnesota Wild, good enough to currently occupy third place in the Central Division. They’ve gotten to that position with excellent play from their goaltending, which allows the fewest goals in the league (46).

Devan Dubnyk has been nothing short of incredible this season. He’s only earned a 9-6-2 record over his 17 starts, but his record is not indicative of how well he’s played. His .946 save percentage and 1.66 GAA both rank second-best in the league among all goaltenders with nine or more appearances.

His exemplary play has been necessary, because Minnesota‘s blueline has not done much to help him. So far this season, they’ve allowed opponents to fire an average of 31.1 shots per game, the ninth-highest in the NHL. Jared Spurgeon‘s 39 blocks leads the team, but him and Jonas Brodin are the only two skaters for the Wild that have more than 30 blocks to their credit.

Hosting the Wild this evening are the 11-13-2 Flames, who currently sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division. The main reason Calgary has not found success this season has been their poor goaltending and defense, which has allowed 76 goals already – the third-most in the NHL.

Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson have split time between the pipes almost perfectly this year – separated by only 5:33 – at 13 starts apiece. Johnson has certainly found more success, earning a 8-4-1 record on a .93 save percentage and 2.06 GAA – the t-ninth and 10th-best effort among the 48 netminders with seven or more appearances.

Part of the reason Johnson has been able to play so well has been due to the defense playing in front of him. The Flames have allowed an average of only 29.5 shots against per game, the ninth-fewest in the league. That effort has been headlined by Mark Giordano, who has 64 blocks to his credit, the second-most in the entire league.

The defensive Achilles heel for Calgary has been on the penalty kill. Giordano’s 20 shorthanded blocks lead not only the Flames, but also the entire league, but it hasn’t done much to improve a 77.3% kill rate, tied for third-worst in the NHL.

It’s frightening, but the penalty kill has actually been the better of the two special teams. The Flames‘ power play is worst in the league, successful on only 10.1% of opportunities. Dennis Wideman has done his best to lead the man-advantage with four power play points, including two goals, but he’s one of only 11 skaters who have earned a point under those circumstances. It goes without saying that the Flames need to work on this aspect of their game if they want to return to their 2014-’15 form.

These squads have already met up once this year, with Calgary notching a 1-0 victory at the Xcel Energy Center. Gaudreau took credit for the lone tally.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Calgary‘s Johnson (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] on a 2.06 GAA and a .93 save percentage [both 10th-best in the NHL]) & Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (four shutouts [most in the league] on a 1.66 GAA and a .946 save percentage [both second-best in the NHL]) and Jason Zucker (+12 [tied for fifth-best in the league]).

It’s never a good sign for the home team when they have a line with a plus, but that’s the case this evening. I agree with Vegas’ prediction, based mostly on Calgary‘s ineptitude on special teams. Although Minnesota‘s effort on either the power play or the penalty kill does not dazzle, it should be more than enough to hold the Flames at bay.

Hockey Birthday
- Rich Sutter (1963-) – This Sutter brother was drafted 10th-overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by Pittsburgh, but his longest tenure with a club was from 1986-’90 with Vancouver.
- Ron Sutter (1963-) – The ’82 Draft treated this Sutter a little better, as he was picked fourth-overall by, go figure, the Flyers. Nothing like a little sibling rivalry, especially between twins. Unlike Rich, Ron spent much of his career with the club that drafted him.
- Sergei Zholtok (1972-2004) – This center was the 55th-overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by Boston, but he played 210 of his 588 career games (35.7%) with Minnesota. Unfortunately, the Latvian’s life was cut short by cardiac arrhythmia.
Edmonton absolutely dominated the second period to seal a 6-3 victory over the Jets in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The scoring started only shortly after the game did. Bryan Little (Blake Wheeler and Drew Stafford) waited only 35 seconds before scoring his first goal of the season. 1:56 later, Mark Letestu (First Star of the Game Leon Draisaitl and Andrej Sekera) pulled the Oil even at one-all with a power play goal. Winnipeg resumed the lead with 9:46 remaining in the opening frame with a power play goal of their own, courtesy of rookie Third Star Patrik Laine (Toby Enstrom and Nikolaj Ehlers). The Jets held that 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Quick scoring seemed to be the theme of the night, as Draisaitl (Milan Lucic and Second Star Connor McDavid) buried a power play wrister to tie the game for Edmonton. The Oilers took their first lead of the night – a lead they would not yield – only 4:15 later when Letestu (Lucic and McDavid) buried yet another power play wrister. Patrick Maroon (Zack Kassian and Letestu) takes credit for the game-winning goal, as he buried a wrist shot with 8:17 remaining in the second period to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead going into the second intermission.

Another quick goal was struck in the final frame by Laine (Dustin Byfuglien and Wheeler) at the 1:44 mark, but it was all the Jets could muster for their comeback attempt. Draisaitl (McDavid and Adam Larsson) and Benoit Pouliot (Sekera and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) notched two insurance goals for the Oil to seal the victory.

Cam Talbot earned the victory after saving 22-of-25 (88%)shots faced, leaving the loss for Connor Hellebuyck, who saved 23-of-29 (79.3%). He was replaced after Pouliot’s goal by Michael Hutchinson, who saved all four shots he faced for no decision.

The road teams have been staging quite the comeback in the DtFR Game of the Day series, earning 11 points in the last seven games. That being said, the home squads still have the advantage with their 28-18-7 record, leading the visitors by four points.
December 2, 2016
November 10 – Day 29 – Great Stars of fire
The bartender just walked by. He asked if anybody wanted another hockey game. Considering how good yesterday was, I got a whole round for tonight. Hope that’s okay.

In all seriousness, we have quite a selection of games this evening, starting with three at 7 p.m. (Columbus at Boston, Minnesota at Pittsburgh and Anaheim at Carolina), followed half an hour later by four more (Los Angeles at Montréal [RDS/SN360], Vancouver at Detroit, the New York Islanders at Tampa Bay and San Jose at Florida). St. Louis at Nashville drops the puck at 8 p.m., and tonight’s co-nightcaps get underway an hour later (Dallas at Calgary and Winnipeg at Arizona). All times eastern.

Short list:
- Los Angeles at Montréal: Tom Gilbert played the last two seasons in The City of Saints, but now he works in The City of Angels.
- New York at Tampa Bay: It’s a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals from last year.
- St. Louis at Nashville: Carter Hutton heads back to Nashville, where he played the previous three seasons, and with a chance to play to boot.
- Dallas at Calgary: Jiri Hudler spent four seasons in the Saddledome, but now he wears white in that building.
We haven’t watched the Stars yet this season, so let’s head to Alberta with them.

Hudler joined Calgary before the 2012 season via free agency, and the center’s impact was noticed immediately in the lockout-shortened season as he notched 27 points.

His final full season with the Flames was easily the best campaign of his career. In 78 games played during the 2014-’15 season, he narrowly missed averaging a point a game with 76 to his credit.

This was also the season that Calgary qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2009. Although his club fell in the Western Conference Semifinals, it was no fault of Hudler’s. He continued his success with eight points in 11 games, split evenly between goals and assists.

Following his career year, Hudler was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy, the first Flame since Joe Mullen of the 1989 Stanley Cup winning team to earn the honor.

He was traded from Calgary to Florida at last year’s trade deadline, but was not offered another contract this off-season. He signed with Dallas in August, only 21 days before the start of the season. He has not had the start to the season that he would’ve liked, with no points, or even a shot, to show for an hour’s work. He has been facing an illness so severe that he was placed on injured reserve, but he has the chance to be activated this evening.

Those Stars enter the night riding a 4-6-3 record, a far cry from their expectations entering this campaign. While the goaltending is on par with last season’s (be careful, I don’t want you to read that as good), it has been Dallas‘ offensive drought that has caused their current predicament.

So far this season, the Stars have managed only 33 goals in 13 games, the 11th-worst scoring average in the game. Dallas‘ struggles can’t be pinned on Tyler Seguin, who has 14 points to his credit evenly split between goals and assists, but the rest of the team – including great forward like Jamie Benn – has yet to break the 10-point mark.

While I wasn’t planning on thoroughly discussing Dallas‘ defense, there’s one major pitfall that must be acknowledged: the penalty kill. The Stars‘ 75% kill rate ranks fourth-worst in the league. When paired with a team that struggles to keep the puck out of their own net at even-strength, they are not doing themselves any favors by committing 52 penalties – four per game!

The Flames play tonight’s game with the same record as the Stars but with the added note of riding a two-game losing skid. That’s where the similarities end though, as Calgary‘s inability to prevent the opposition from scoring is putting them in quite a hole.

Having already allowed 50 goals against this season, the Flames give up an average of 3.57 tallies against per game – tied for the third-worst rate in the NHL with Philadelphia. The blame rests solely on the goaltenders, who have been under no more or less pressure than the average netminder in the league in terms of shots faced per game. Brian Elliott has started nine games so far this season for a 3-6-0 record. In those games, he’s saved a poor 88.7% of shots faced for a whopping 3.33 GAA to rank worst and third-worst in the league, respectively, among the 24 goalies who have appeared in as many contests.

Offensively, the Flames badly need to focus on one important aspect of their game: the power play. Successful on only 8.3% of attempts, Calgary ranks dead last in the NHL in the category. On the bright side, it means that most of their goals have come against more difficult conditions, so at least they have that going for them.

Ahh, Caddyshack.

Continuing the thread of special teams, you would be wise to assume the Flames‘ penalty kill is equally as bad as their power play given the goaltending situation. For those who had second-to-last in the league, you win bonus points, as the Flames have stopped 72.4% of opposing extra-man advantages to rank better than only Chicago‘s horrendous efforts on the kill.

Some players to keep an eye on include Calgary‘s Michael Frolik (nine points on five goals [both lead the team]) and Dallas‘ Seguin (seven goals [tied for sixth-most in the league]).

Las Vegas favors the home team with a -125, but I don’t like that the NHL’s most potent offense last season is coming to town to face one of the worst goaltending situations. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that the Stars start getting things pulled together against a prone opponent.

Hockey Birthday
- Don Saleski (1949-) – This right wing was the 64th overall selection in the 1969 NHL Entry Draft. He ended up playing 543 games in the league, all but 67 of which were with the team that drafted him: the Philadelphia Flyers, including the 1973-’74 and ’74-’75 Stanley Cup winning teams.
- Mike Leclerc (1976-) – On the opposite wing, Leclerc was drafted 55th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by Anaheim. He ended up playing 341 games over his career, 85.3% of which were with the club that drafted him.
- Kristian Huselius (1978-) – Another left winger like Leclerc, Huselius was drafted 47th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Florida, the club he spent 38.8% of his career with.
The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in the first overtime game in our Game of the Day series since October 28.

Columbus struck quickly last night, scoring both their regulation goals within the opening 5:30. Second Star of the Game Boone Jenner (Scott Hartnell and Cam Atkinson) takes credit for the first goal with a snap shot only 1:23 after the opening puck drop. 4:06 later, Brandon Saad (Ryan Murray and Third Star Jack Johnson) scored a snapper of his own to give the Jackets a 2-0 lead, which held into the first intermission.

Anaheim‘s comeback began with 2:39 remaining in the second period when Rickard Rakell (Cam Fowler and Josh Manson) scored his fourth goal of the season. It was the lone tally of the second period, meaning Columbus still had a one-goal lead going into the final 20 minutes of play.

That lead lasted only 1:25 after resuming play before Nick Ritchie (Joseph Cramarossa) scored a wrap-around to level the score for the Ducks.

Three-on-three overtime lasted only 1:21 before First Star Zach Werenski (Alexander Wennberg and Saad) scored the winner with a wrister.

Sergei Bobrovsky earns the victory after saving 30-of-32 shots faced (93.75%), while John Gibson takes the overtime loss saving 15-of-18 (83.3%).

With that victory, Columbus improves the home squads’ record in the DtFR Game of the Day series to 18-10-3, favoring the homers by nine points over the roadies.
November 10, 2016
November 6 – Day 25 – One more before heading back east
For a Sunday, we have quite a few games on the schedule. What’s pro football? I’ve never heard of it.

Two games drop the puck at 5 p.m. (Colorado at St. Louis and Edmonton at Detroit), followed an hour later by New Jersey at Carolina. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. marks the beginning of a couple of contests (Dallas at Chicago [TVAS] and Winnipeg at the New York Rangers [SN/SN360]) and tonight’s nightcap, Calgary at Anaheim, goes underway at 9:30 p.m. All times eastern.

We’ve had a nice weekend out on the west coast. There’s no games out here tomorrow, so let’s catch one more game before heading back east.

It’s our third game on the Pond in five days, and if this one follows the scoring of the last two, the winner should cruise to a 5-1 victory.

Enter the visiting 5-7-1 Calgary Flames. Just last night the Flames were up the freeway in the Staples Center, but they lost 5-0 to the Kings. While their offense is certainly capable of scoring, Calgary is held back by the large quantities of goals they allow.

Brian Elliott has started nine of the Flames‘ games, including last night’s contest. Before the puck was dropped yesterday, Elliott had a .889 save percentage for 3.12 GAA – a far cry from the .93/2.07 he notched last year with the Blues. Chad Johnson, Elliott’s backup, has better stats – .908 save percentage for a 2.67 GAA – but on a small sampe size, with only four starts to his credit this season.

Regardless of who starts in net for the Flames, they need to do better. Plain and simple. Led by Mark Giordano‘s 37 blocks, Calgary‘s defenders have allowed the average number of pucks to reach Elliott and Johnson, so the fault does not lie along the blueline.

One way to take pressure off the last line of defense needs to be avoiding the penalty box. Calgary is home to the second-worst penalty kill in the, neutralizing only 73.1% of opposing power plays.

Defending home ice this evening are the 5-5-2 Anaheim Ducks. They play a well rounded game for a +2 goal differential.

A strong suit I’ve liked out of the Ducks has been their commitment to special teams. Successful on 24.4% of power plays, Anaheim ranks sixth-best in the NHL with the man-advantage. They back that with the 10th-best penalty kill, refusing to yield a power play goal on 83% of opposing attempts.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Anaheim‘s John Gibson (one shutout [tied for sixth-most in the league]) and Calgary‘s Michael Frolik (nine points on five goals [both lead the team]).

Vegas marks Anaheim as a -190 favorite coming into tonight’s game, one of the most uneven lines on today’s schedule. Given Calgary‘s inability to stop the Ducks‘ power play, much less their standard offense, I think Anaheim easily defends home ice for the victory.

Hockey Birthday
- Erik Cole (1978-) – The 71st overall selection in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, this left wing is still technically active in the league even though he hasn’t played since the 2014-’15 season. He’s most known for his two stints in Carolina, playing 557 games over nine seasons.
- Brad Stuart (1979-) – The third overall pick of that draft is in the same situation as Cole. The defenseman was drafted by San Jose, and played 486 games over eight seasons with the Sharks.
- Andrew Murray (1981-) – Drafted 242nd overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus, Murray’s career has taken him away from North America to the KHL from 2013-’15.
The Penguins are taking no prisoners as of late, as their 5-0 victory over San Jose in yesterday’s Game of the Day is the fifth in their last six games.

Chris Kunitz (Evgeni Malkin and Ian Cole) takes credit for the game-winning tally, a snap shot only 4:22 after initial puck drop. Second Star of the Game Sidney Crosby (Third Star Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary) tacked on the second-and-final goal of the first period with 1:32 remaining in the frame.

Crosby (Hagelin and Brian Dumoulin), Eric Fehr (Matt Cullen and Sheary) and Nick Bonino (Trevor Daley and Hagelin) scored the three remaining goals during the second period.

First Star Matt Murray earns the shutout victory after saving all 32 shots he faced, while Martin Jones saved four-of-seven (57.1%) for the loss. He was replaced following Crosby’s second goal, only 13 seconds into the second period, by Aaron Dell, who saved 16-of-18 (88.9%) for no decision.

With that victory by the visiting Penguins, the DtFR Game of the Day series stands at 14-10-3, favoring the home squads by only two points.

Bonus stat: Five of our last seven Game of the Days have been won by a five-goal offense, beginning with Pittsburgh in Philadelphia October 29.
November 6, 2016
October 25 – Day 14 – Moose comes home
It’s been too long since we’ve had a busy schedule. Cue tonight, which has 11 games taking place. As you’ve come to expect, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with three of them (Minnesota at Boston, Arizona at New Jersey and Florida at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by another trio (Buffalo at Philadelphia [NBCSN], Tampa Bay at Toronto [SN1/TVAS] and Carolina at Detroit). Calgary at St. Louis drops the puck at 8 p.m. and Winnipeg at Dallas follows suit 30 minutes later. The west coast gets involved at 10 p.m. with two contests (Ottawa at Vancouver [RDS2] and Anaheim at San Jose [NBCSN]), and Columbus at Los Angeles rounds things out half an hour later. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Calgary at St. Louis – Troy Brouwer and Brian Elliott make their first return to the Scottrade Center since making their way to Alberta in the offseason.
- Anaheim at San Jose – No friends here, and that often yields some of the best hockey.
I enjoy an Anaheim–San Jose meeting as much as the next, but since Calgary‘s second visit isn’t until March – a month most have no expectations of them being relevant in – we’ll catch Brouwer and Elliott’s return to the Gateway to the West.

Elliott’s career in St. Louis began in the 2011-’12 season, back in the days of Jaroslav Halak. They found immediate success, taking home the William M. Jennings Trophy for that campaign.

Over the next five seasons, he amassed a 104-46-16 record, averaging a .925 save percentage (best Blues-career among players with more than one appearance) and 2.01 GAA.

His 164 starts are most recorded by a St. Louis goaltender, but the record that he truly hangs his hat on is the franchise record for shutouts – 25, five more than the man he was originally charged with backing-up. One more shutout was recorded last season during the playoffs, as he led the Blues to qualify for the Western Finals for only the seventh time in team history.

Helping Elliott and the Notes to the Western Finals was Brouwer. Only in town for a year as a result of the trade that sent T.J. Oshie to Washington, the right wing made good use of his time, notching 21 assists, the second-highest mark of his career, and 18 goals, tying for third-most on the team.

He scored eight goals in the playoffs with the Notes last season (the most of his career), including a Game 7 winner in Chicago during the Western Quarterfinals to eliminate the team that drafted him in 2004.

Be it by trade or free agency, both have found their way to the struggling 2-4-1 Calgary Flames. Before last night, their only other victory was a 4-3 overtime win against the Sabres last Tuesday.

As Colby documented Saturday, goaltending and defense has been the problem for Calgary so far this season. In only seven games played, they’ve already allowed 28 goals against, by far the most in the league. That averages out to four-per-game, tied for the second-worst rate in the NHL with Carolina and Ottawa.

Much of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the goalies. Together, Elliott and Chad Johnson have saved only .871 percent of shots faced for a 3.78 GAA – in other words, not good, as their combined save percentage trails the league average by .032. These stats collected before the completion of Monday’s game.

St. Louis has picked up right where they left off a season ago. Their 4-1-1 record is best in the Central Division, with their lone pointless game occurring five days ago in Edmonton when they lost 3-1.

After the last few days of focusing on some defensive teams, the Blues provide a lot of scoring. Of course, could you expect anything less of a team led by Paul Stastny, Alex Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko with seven points apiece? The right wing of that group is on a mission every time he takes the ice, and already has a team-leading four goals to show for it.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Calgary‘s Brouwer (five points, including three goals [both tied for team lead]), Michael Frolik (three goals [tied for team lead]), Mark Giordano (five points [tied for team lead]) and Sean Monahan (three goals [tied for team lead]) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (three wins [tied for second-most in the league]) and Tarasenko (four goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL] for seven points [tied for ninth-most in the league]).

Tonight’s game is actually the second half of a home-and-home series between these squads… Well, kind of. That holds true for the Blues, who have been waiting for the Flames in St. Louis probably since Sunday morning. The Flames made a quick stop in Chicago last night, winning 3-2 in a seven-round shootout.

The Blues beat the Flames 6-4 Saturday in the Saddledome. Vegas is predicting more of the same, as St. Louis is favored -190 this evening. I’ve picked against the gamblers and been right a few times already this season, but tonight is not a game I’m willing to take that bet. The Notes should win this one.

Hockey Birthday
- Rejean Houle (1949-) – This right wing spent his entire 11-year NHL career in Montréal, playing 635 games en route to five Stanley Cup championships.
- Mike Eruzione (1954-) – We usually reserve this section for NHL alumni, but this left wing deserves an exception, seeing as he captained the American hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. For those who are bad at remembering dates, maybe the game-winning goal in the Miracle on Ice means something to you?
- Wendel Clark (1966-) – The first pick of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, Clark played 608 of his 793 career games with Toronto, the team that drafted him. Interestingly, it took him three stints with the club to reach that number.
- Josef Beranek (1969-) – Beránek was a center drafted 78th overall in 1989 by Edmonton. Although he bounced around the league a little bit, his 208 games with the Oil were the majority of his 531-game NHL career.
Yesterday’s Game of the Day went exactly as expected, with the Montréal Canadiens beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1.

Second Star of the Game Shea Weber (First Star Alexander Radulov and Artturi Lehkonen) opened the scoring 25:28 into play with a slap shot, but Jakub Voracek (Claude Giroux and Brandon Manning) drew the Flyers level with 8:13 remaining in the second period.

With 6:52 remaining in regulation, Brendan Gallagher (Radulov and Weber) scored a game-winning power play goal with a tip-in for the Habs. Radulov capped his three-point night with an insurance goal (Alexei Emelin) on an empty net with 63 seconds remaining.

Third Star Carey Price earns the victory after saving 31-of-32 (96.9%), while Steve Mason takes the loss after saving 30-of-32 (93.8%).

Montréal‘s victory set the DtFR Game of the Day series at 10-5-1, favoring the home sides by six points.
October 25, 2016
Colby’s Corner Flames Found a Goalie

The Calgary Flames had a rough season last year due to some pretty bad goalies. They had a carousal of goalies starting with Jonas Hiller. Hiller played in 26 games last year and finished with a goals against average (GAA) of 3.51 and a terrible save percentage of .879. They soon gave up on Hiller and they turned to Karri Ramo. Ramo played the most games of their season with 37 games, Ramo wasn’t much better as he posted a 2.63 GAA and save percentage .909.

They gave youngster Joni Ortio 22 games and the trend continued with him as his numbers were 2.76 GAA and save percentage .902. The team got desperate as they turned to Niklas Backstrom for four games and his numbers were also pretty bad as he posted 3.35 GAA and save percentage of .881.

So it didn’t come as surprise that the team needed to bring in some better goaltending. They thought they accomplished this when they traded with St. Louis for Brian Elliott. He was set to become the Flames new number one goalie.

They also added Chad Johnson through free agency after his career year in Buffalo. He was set to be the backup to start the season. Johnson believes he can be a number one goalie and maybe believed he could beat Elliott out for the number one spot, but was content as number two.

Well things didn’t go as suspected for Brian Elliott. After back-to-back losses to Edmonton and allowing 10 goals. They final give Chad Johnson his first start of the season against Vancouver and he earns the team the first points of the season as the team falls to Vancouver in overtime. They give Johnson his second start of the season 3 days later vs. Buffalo and he gives the team their first win of the season.

The Flames gave Brian Elliott another chance against the Carolina Hurricanes. He gave up another 4 goals and another loss for the Flames. Elliott’s season stats thus far are horrible with a GAA of 4.72 and save percentage of .839. Johnson however has tremendous numbers thus far with GAA of 1.89 and save percentage of .923. This ranks him top 10 in NHL in both stats.

The Flames still believe Brian Elliott is their number one goalie even when the stats don’t back the information up. I am a believer in playing the hot goalie and thus I think Johnson should take over as number one. Elliott may have a better career numbers and more experience in bigger games. But Johnson can be a number one goalie and Calgary should give him the chance.

Although a team can’t make the playoffs this early in the year, they can definitely lose hope. When a team plays their hearts out and yet they lose because of a lack of goaltending, it can kill a team’s morale and impact a team greatly. I am not saying Calgary’s season is over, all I am saying is Johnson is the hot goalie and they should give him a chance to be the number one.

October 22, 2016
Down the Frozen River Podcast #40- Goalies Galore

We didn’t really start talking about goalies like we wanted to until almost 20 minutes into the recording, so if that’s what you came here for, sit tight a minute (or 20).

October 21, 2016
Sick Hands Sunday – McDaivd’s Amazing Two Game Performance Puts Him On Top.

Hello ladies and gents, I am finally back after a nice three-week break. Well, not really a break, there was just two weeks of preseason so I couldn’t do anything with that because there were no stats that were kept. So, where do I start? Hockey is finally back and I hope you die hard hockey fans, like me, are jumping out of your seats because I am! The best sport ever is finally getting back in the swing of things and I couldn’t be happier!

The 2016-2017 NHL season officially got under way on Wednesday, October 12 which now means I will have a new article out every Sunday about the best player in the week! (Now even though this “SHS” article is going to only cover five days of hockey I will still do it.) On the 12th, there were 4 games taking place over the span of the night. Toronto vs Ottawa, St. Louis vs Chicago, Calgary vs Edmonton, and Los Angeles vs San Jose. ALL games were rivalry games so in my opinion, the NHL did a great job on the first night.

Connor McDavid celebrates his penalty shot goal vs the Calgary Flames (Photo by Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via VP)

Just like my last article, this week was extremely difficult to pick a player that stood out the most just because there were three players who had a fantastic first couple of games. Edmonton center Connor McDavid has been on FIRE collecting 6 points in his first two games (3G, 3A) while winning both games against Calgary as well, Boston winger Brad Marchand (who took home honorable mention in my last article) had a dominating season opener recording FIVE points (2G, 3A) in a 6-3 come from behind win against Columbus. He finished with one more assist in a 4-1 loss to Toronto. Last but not least, Toronto Maple Leaf center Auston Matthews making his NHL debut went off against Ottawa registering four points (all of them being goals) and becoming the third youngest player to have four goals in a game. He failed to register a point in his second game against Boston. His hat trick was the quickest for a player making his NHL debut since 1943-44. And he became the fifth player overall to score a hat-trick in his first game. So as you can see I had a hard time picking who won (down below you can Matthews’ four-goal night:

I decided to go with Oilers’ Connor McDavid as this weeks’ “Sick Hands Sunday” winner! The reason why I picked McDavid is simple in my opinion. The way he played in the Oilers season opener was awesome. He helped them to 7-4 win vs a depleted Calgary team. McDavid scored his team’s fourth goal overall thanks to a friendly bounce by the side of the net. McDavid corraled the rebound standing to Flames goalie Brian Elliott‘s left and slid the puck through the sprawled-out pad and into the net. He would then score again just about two minutes later on a penalty shot to increase the Oilers lead to 5-3. McDavid was hooked on a breakaway by Flames defender Dennis Wideman and was awarded a penalty shot. McDavid made Elliot look like he was in squirts again and deaked him out of his skates. He slowed down at the hash marks, quickly made four or five stick handles, made Elliott go the wrong way, and roofed the puck over Elliott’s blocker. Rodgers Place went crazy for their newly appointed captain scoring his second of the night. You can see his amazing penalty shot down below.

The Oilers would then go right back to work against the same Flames team just two days later for the Flames home opener. McDavid went on to have another three-point night (1G, 2A) in another 5-3 win to move to 2-0 overall in just two games! McDavid picked right up where he left off scoring at 7:45 of the first period to tie the game up at one goal a piece. Oilers winger and linemate Jordan Eberle fed a beauty of a pass to Connor McDavid at center ice that sent him in all alone on a breakaway. Flames goalie Brian Elliott wanted to redeem himself after McDavid made him look like a fool two days ago. Well, Connor wasn’t having any of it, he made a quick little move to the backhand and roofed it over Elliott’s glove for a great goal. McDavid would then grab the next two assists on the next two Oilers goals for another solid night. Here is the link to McDavid’s game tieing goal: (https://www.nhl.com/video/mcdavid-scores-on-a-breakaway/c-45312403)

Once again, Brad Marchand will take home the Honorable Mention for the second time in a row. Even though his five-point night was insane, McDavid two-game performance stomped Brad’s first game by far: Brad played great in his first game and his highlights are down below for you to check out!

So as you can tell, McDavid had a stellar first two games and actually has a game tonight at home against the Buffalo Sabres. So if McDavid follows his first two games, he is certain to have another great night! I will see you guys next Sunday for another recap of the best player of the week!

October 16, 2016
Realistic Predictions for the 2016-2017 Season

By: Nick Lanciani

Anaheim Ducks

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

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

Arizona Coyotes

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

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

Boston Bruins

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

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

Buffalo Sabres

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

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

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

Calgary Flames

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

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

Carolina Hurricanes

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

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

Chicago Blackhawks

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

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

Colorado Avalanche

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

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

Columbus Blue Jackets

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

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

Dallas Stars

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

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

Detroit Red Wings

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

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

Edmonton Oilers

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

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

Florida Panthers

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

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

Los Angeles Kings

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

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

Minnesota Wild

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

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

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

Montreal Canadiens

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

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

Nashville Predators

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

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

New Jersey Devils

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

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

New York Islanders

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

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

New York Rangers

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

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

Ottawa Senators

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

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

Philadelphia Flyers

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

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

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

Pittsburgh Penguins

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

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

San Jose Sharks

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

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

St. Louis Blues

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

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

Tampa Bay Lightning

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

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

Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews.

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

Vancouver Canucks

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

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

Washington Capitals

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

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

Winnipeg Jets

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

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

*Honorable mention* Las Vegas _____ Knights

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

President’s Trophy Winner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 12, 2016
Numbers Game: Top-5 Pending UFA Goalies

By: Nick Lanciani

12:01 PM ET on July 1st (precisely) marks the start of the NHL’s free agency period, so of course, you’ve found yourself scavenging the Internet for the freshest hot takes and the best indications of where players will end up. Likewise, you probably just want to know who’s available out there (and I’m not talking about Tinder).

Well fear not, because I’m here to set things straight with a short series of posts about the Top-5 free agents in every category you can think of (UFA forwards, UFA defensemen, UFA goalies, RFA forwards, RFA defensemen and RFA goalies) in this latest edition of Numbers Game posts. Also, I have bad news, if you came here expecting to find a starting goaltender, you won’t find one.

1. G Chad Johnson (22-16-0-4, 2.36 GAA, .920 SV% with the Buffalo Sabres)- $1.300 million cap hit, 29 years old

Chad Johnson is the closest thing to a starting goaltender, compared to the majority of the rest of the pending UFA goalies. Goalies are weird. They have no timetable for development, they’re unpredictable and most everyone seems to make whatever conjecture imaginable about whether or not a goalie is good or not, worthy of starting or a lifetime backup (or #AHLLifer, but that might just be a running joke here).

Johnson is a solid backup (dare my circa 2010 self say it). In 45 games played for Buffalo this season, he racked up 22 wins, a 2.36 GAA and a .920 SV%. While that might not look elite compared to other goaltenders around the NHL, Johnson has been an entirely different goaltender since his 2.10 GAA and .925 SV% in 27 games with the Boston Bruins in 2013-2014. Granted, his goal against average crept past the 3.00 mark in 2014-2015 with his 19 game stint with the New York Islanders, with the right team, Johnson can solidify your crease.

If you even have a better blue line than most teams around the NHL, perhaps Johnson could be the next Martin Jones to emerge as a goalie that never really had a chance to fully take control of a number one starting job, without any competition, and run with it.

Look, at $1.300 million this season, Johnson is not much of a risk to take in the coming years if you sign him to a multiyear contract. The hope is that he continues his upswing as long as you balance his time and/or have a good enough team in front of him. Johnson is one of those underrated, feel good stories and who wouldn’t want to see him succeed?

2. G Jhonas Enroth (7-5-0-1, 2.17 GAA, .922 SV% with the Los Angeles Kings)- $1.250 million cap hit, 27 years old

Jhonas Enroth is not a starting goalie. Now that that’s out of the way, here’s why. He had his best career save percentage with the Los Angeles Kings this season at a .922 in 16 appearances and he even had his best goal against average (2.17) in 10 games played or more of his career.

Compared to the time Enroth split time with the Buffalo Sabres and the Dallas Stars in 2014-2015 when he had a 18-26-0-2 record in 50 games played with a .904 SV% and 3.07 GAA, he’s a changed goaltender when he has 1) a defense in front of him and 2) a backup role that limits him to around 20 games a season. The 2014-2015 season was his worst campaign since his first career NHL start in the 2009-2010 season, when he debuted his NHL career with a .892 SV% and a 4.12 GAA.

The moral here is that Enroth is better than most people give him credit for, however, many still question his stature in a 6′ by 4′ net. And with smaller pads coming to the league, his play is bound to be affected by that. But alas, the old days of 3.00 GAA and .800 SV%’s being tremendous might finally return if you like offense. We’ve come to know low 2.00 and high 1.00 GAA’s as standard, when in actuality, pretty much any goalie under a 3.00 is better than you would think.

Again, it all boils down to the role of the goalie and how much usage they get. Another season like this season for Enroth would be respectable if he continues to be a top-notch backup that plays in anywhere from 20 to 25 games a year.

3. G James Reimer (17-14-0-7, 2.31 GAA, .922 SV% with the Toronto Maple Leafs/San Jose Sharks)- $2.300 million cap hit, 27 years old

Don’t laugh, but James Reimer might finally be starting to turn the corner and become a good goaltender. In 40 games played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks this year, he had a 17-14-0-7 record, 2.31 GAA and a .922 SV%. His GAA and SV% this year were both career bests in the most number of games he’s played in a single season.

Granted, his record could still use some room for improvement in the “wins” column, Reimer is ready to make a run at being a number one goalie on the right team. If Calgary tightens their defense and feels like making newly acquired goaltender, Brian Elliott, compete for his number one spot, similar to how he battled Jake Allen in St. Louis, then Reimer is their man.

Then again, they probably should stick with what they’ve got. But my point remains, James Reimer can be good after all. I’ve said it before, goalies are weird. In six NHL seasons, Reimer has had a goal against average of 3.10 or more three times, all with the lackluster Maple Leafs. Of note, his 2.31 GAA performance beat his 2.46 GAA in 2012-2013 when he played in 33 of the 48 game lockout shortened season.

Take it or leave it, Reimer is a solid choice for your net if you have the right guys in front of him. He might not be a starter (yet), but his skills can still be honed in before it’s too late. At only 27 years old, he likely has at least 10 more years of playing in front of him.

4. G Anton Khudobin (3-3-0-0, 2.69 GAA, .909 SV% with the Anaheim Ducks)- $2.250 million cap hit, 29 years old

Chalk Anton Khudobin up as another solid backup goaltender— if you have the right defense for him. He might not be stealing wins in the “wins” column, but Khudobin has shown flashes of quality stats in both goals against average and save percentage.

Last season, Khudobin made only nine appearances before the Anaheim Ducks settled on Frederik Andersen and John Gibson as their goaltending tandem. Of course, Andersen was traded to Toronto earlier this month and Gibson is now considered their number one guy, so why would they risk the chance of losing out on a decent backup when you consider their other option (they have none).

Khudobin’s 2013-2014 season campaign with the Carolina Hurricanes resulted in 36 games played with a .926 SV% and a 2.30 GAA. Since then he has not seen the same action or numbers, but there’s a good chance that with the right mix of players, Khudobin could bail a team out in a game or two and play as a backup in 20 to 25 games.

By now I’m sure you’ve recognized my trend. Backup goalies should only play 20 to 25 games, depending on who they are. If they prove more value to you, based on their performance, up their appearances to 30. But if you’re considering splitting time between your goalies, get two starters. Don’t waste your time mismanaging a position you can’t fully manage in net.

5. G Jonas Gustavsson (11-9-0-1, 2.72 GAA, .908 SV% with the Boston Bruins)- $700,000 cap hit, 31 years old

Before you start breaking out the jokes about Jonas Gustavsson, consider this; Gustavsson only has one losing season as a backup goaltender in seven seasons in the NHL since 2009-2010 with Toronto and stops with the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. His career save percentage has hovered right around .900 and he’s only had a season that ended with a GAA of more than 3.00 once (a 3.28 in 2009-2010).

When there’s not much else to choose from, sometimes it’s best to take a stab at someone who can hold you over for a year or two as a quality backup. He should play nowhere near 40 games, nor should he only play seven, as he’s done twice in his career, both with the Red Wings (once in the shortened 2012-2013 season and again in 2014-2015). Actually, you know what? His numbers don’t really show how much you should use him one way or another.

I’ll admit, I was scratching for a fifth goaltender to include in my top-5 pending UFA goalies (no offense to Gustavsson). The fact of the matter is that the talent pool in the crease is extremely thin this offseason, so it’s best to just get what you’re money can buy to hold you over without overpaying and/or develop your guys in the system.

Honorable Mentions

G Ben Scrivens (5-8-0-0, 3.07 GAA, .906 SV% with the Montreal Canadiens)- $2.300 million cap hit, 29 years old

Ben Scrivens has never had a GAA less than 2.55— and that was when he split the 2013-2014 season with Los Angeles and the Edmonton Oilers. So that pretty much explains everything, given that he’s also played for Toronto and most recently Montreal in his career that spans all the way back to the 2011-2012 season.

He’s certainly not a starter and he’s definitely not worth $2.300 million as a back up, but if there’s no one else left, he’s going to be paid whatever amount of money to stand in the net for some team (like what Montreal did before they had Mike Condon take the brunt of the work and handle it as well he could with what little the Canadiens had going for them while Carey Price was hurt).

G Karri Ramo (17-18-0-1, 2.63 GAA, .909 SV% with the Calgary Flames)- $3.800 million cap hit, 29 years old

It appears the Calgary Flames are ready to throw in the towel on trying to develop the once considered top prospect of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In six NHL seasons, broken up by a stint in the KHL, Ramo has never had a season with a GAA better than 2.60 or a SV% better than .912.

It’s not the save percentage that bothers me, but rather, it’s that goals against average that’s a little concerning for any team that chooses to sign a goalie that made 37 appearances this season and surmounted a 2.63 GAA and a .909 SV%. Perhaps there’s one more shot left for Ramo, but at whatever price is under a million dollars and for a backup role. Again, if you had to, he’s someone to take in free agency over whatever might be left for a year.

G Anders Lindback (5-7-0-1, 3.11 GAA, .894 SV% Arizona Coyotes- $875,000 cap hit, 27 years old

In 2011-2012, Anders Lindback proved he could be a decent backup with a 16 game performance that resulted in a career best 2.42 GAA and a .912 SV% that season, despite a 5-8-0 record.

When he was with the Nashville Predators, he had blue liners in front of him to prevent chances and Pekka Rinne to play more than the majority of the games of the season. Lindback’s bounced all around the league and might have settled in with the Arizona Coyotes if it weren’t for Louis Domingue as an up and comer for the Coyotes. For a low-risk, high reward opportunity, why not take a 27 year old backup goaltender for a year or two and see if he can improve with a better team in front of him?

June 30, 2016