Down the Frozen River

Tag: Bridgestone Arena

  • Swayman earns shutout in Boston’s, 2-0, win on the road

    Swayman earns shutout in Boston’s, 2-0, win on the road

    Jake DeBrusk scored the game’s first goal, which went on to become the eventual game-winning goal thanks to Jeremy Swayman’s 42-save shutout effort Thursday night in a, 2-0, win for the Boston Bruins over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

    Swayman (7-4-0, 2.20 goals-against average, .921 save percentage in 11 games played) stopped all 42 shots that he faced in the shutout win for Boston.

    Nashville netminder, Juuse Saros (10-8-1, 2.34 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 19 games played) made 31 saves on 33 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 12-8-0 (24 points) on the season and remain in 5th place in the Atlantic Division– three points behind the Detroit Red Wings for 4th.

    Meanwhile, the Predators dropped to 12-10-1 (25 points) overall and fell to 5th place in the Central Division by virtue of a tiebreaker to the Colorado Avalanche (in which the Avs have the advantage in accordance with games in-hand).

    Entering Thursday night, the last time the B’s and Preds faced each other was on Jan. 7, 2020, at Bridgestone Arena.

    Boston won, 6-2, as Tuukka Rask made 34 saves on the road.

    The two teams did not meet last season due to the temporarily realigned divisions for the condensed 56-game regular season and 2021 Stanley Cup Playoff format.

    The Bruins were without the services of Anton Blidh (upper body) and Brad Marchand (suspension) on the roster against the Predators Thursday night, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, remained in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.

    Joe Sacco, as a result, made a minor change to his lines after Tuesday night’s, 2-1, loss to the Red Wings– moving Erik Haula to the second line left wing with Charlie Coyle at center and Craig Smith on right wing, while relegating Nick Foligno to the third line with Trent Frederic in the middle and Karson Kuhlman on the opposite wing.

    Sacco made no other changes among his skaters, while Linus Ullmark served as Swayman’s backup in Nashville.

    Thursday night marked Smith and Haula’s return to Bridgestone Arena since the two last played for the Predators.

    Smith spent nine seasons as a Pred from 2011-20, prior to signing his current three-year contract with the Bruins ahead of the 2020-21 season.

    Haula, meanwhile, spent all of last season with the Predators prior to joining Boston in free agency on July 28th.

    Connor Clifton was the only healthy scratch for Boston, while Taylor Hall took part in his 700th career NHL game.

    Midway through the opening frame, Yakov Trenin interfered with Jakub Zboril, yielding the night’s first power play for the Bruins at 12:39 of the first period, but not before Trent Frederic and Mark Borowiecki exchanged some shoves that resulted in matching roughing minors.

    Boston had a 5-on-4 advantage for a pair of minutes and used up almost all of the time on the power play before hitting the back of the net.

    Smith fed the puck to DeBrusk (4) for the shot from the faceoff circle over Saros’ blocker and under the bar to give the B’s a, 1-0, lead.

    Smith (3) and Coyle (6) tallied the assists on DeBrusk’s power-play goal at 14:38 of the first period.

    Despite being outshot for a large part of the first period, the Bruins entered the first intermission with the, 1-0, lead on the scoreboard and a, 15-12, advantage in shots on net.

    Boston also led in blocked shots (5-3), while Nashville controlled the flow of the game in takeaways (3-0) and hits (6-5). Both teams had three giveaways each and split faceoff winning percentage, 50-50, through 20 minutes of play.

    The Predators had yet to see time on the skater advantage, while the Bruins were 1/1 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Less than a minute into the second period, Coyle won a battle along the boards, which freed up a loose puck on a turnover to Haula before Haula passed it back to Brandon Carlo as Carlo snuck in from the point to the high slot.

    Carlo (2) blasted a shot while Smith screened Saros and the rubber biscuit found its way to the back of the twine to give the Bruins a two-goal lead.

    Haula (3) was Carlo’s only teammate to record an assist on the goal as Boston jumped ahead, 2-0, 30 seconds into the second period.

    With the assist on the goal, however, Haula reached the 200-point plateau in his NHL career.

    Moments later, Zboril was injured on a routine hit along the boards, in which Tanner Jeannot didn’t do anything wrong.

    Zboril’s right knee took the brunt of the force as his body collided with the boards in the neutral zone, leaving Zboril to be helped off the ice by a teammate after the whistle.

    The Bruins tweeted early in the third period that Zboril would not return to the night’s action with a lower body injury.

    Meanwhile, back in the tail-end of the middle frame, Mattias Ekholm tripped up Kuhlman at 19:40 and cut a rut to the sin bin as a result.

    Boston’s ensuing power play would spill into the final frame as the horn signaled the end of the second period.

    The Bruins led, 2-0, despite trailing in shots on goal, 26-24.

    Nashville led in shots on net in the second period alone, 14-9, as well as in takeaways (4-2) and hits (21-11), while Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (10-6), giveaways (7-4) and faceoff win% (59-41).

    The Predators had yet to see any action on the skater advantage through 40 minutes, while the B’s were 1/2 on the power play entering the third period.

    Coyle roughed up Nick Cousins and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 6:04 of the third period, presenting the Preds with their first power play of the night.

    Nashville couldn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Midway through the final frame, Filip Forsberg was sent to the box for holding at 10:18, followed by Borowiecki for high sticking at 12:02, resulting in a two-skater advantage for Boston for about 16 seconds before an abbreviated 5-on-4 power play.

    The Bruins weren’t able to muster anything past Saros this time around, however, as neither team scored a goal in the third period.

    With about 2:30 remaining in the action, Pred head coach, John Hynes, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker.

    After a stoppage with 1:57 left on the clock, Hynes used his team’s timeout to rally his skaters, but it was to no avail.

    At the final horn, the Bruins had won, 2-0, as Swayman picked up his first shutout of the season– the third overall in his short NHL career thus far.

    Swayman joined the likes of Bill Ranford (3x), Tim Thomas (2x) and Jonas Gustavsson to become the fourth goaltender in Bruins history to notch a shutout with 42 or more saves.

    The Bruins left Bridgestone Arena with the advantage in blocked shots (20-11), giveaways (8-5) and faceoff win% (51-49), while the Predators wrapped up Thursday night’s action leading in shots (42-33)– including a, 16-9, advantage in the third period alone, as well as the led in hits (24-13).

    Nashville went 0/1 and Boston went 1/4 on the power play.

    The B’s improved to 8-4-0 (4-2-0 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 9-0-0 (5-0-0 on the road) when leading after the first period and 8-1-0 (5-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Preds fell to 3-8-1 (2-4-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-8-0 (1-5-0 at home) when trailing after one and 2-8-0 (2-3-0 at home) when trailing after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins return home for a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday before hitting the road through Western Canada next Wednesday (Dec. 8th), Thursday (Dec. 9th) and Saturday (Dec. 11th) in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, respectively.

  • Marchand leads third period comeback against Canucks

    Marchand leads third period comeback against Canucks

    Brad Marchand’s third period effort spurred the Boston Bruins to a, 3-2, win over the Vancouver Canucks Sunday night at TD Garden.

    Marchand tallied a goal and an assist on the game-winning goal in the third period as Linus Ullmark (5-3-0, 2.76 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in eight games played) turned aside 36 out of 38 shots faced in the victory for Boston.

    Vancouver netminder, Jaroslav Halak (0-4-1, 2.85 goals-against average, .910 save percentage in six games played), made 39 saves on 42 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 11-7-0 (22 points) on the season and remain in 5th place in the Atlantic Division– one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for 4th– while the Canucks fell to 6-14-2 (14 points) overall and stuck in 8th place in the Pacific Division.

    Prior to the ongoing pandemic, Vancouver beat Boston, 9-3, at Rogers Arena on Feb. 22, 2020.

    Trent Frederic returned to the lineup for Boston after missing the last seven games with an upper body injury, while Ullmark returned to the crease after missing a scheduled start in Buffalo on Nov. 24th when he tweaked something at morning skate ahead of Boston’s, 5-1, win against the Sabres.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a few changes to his lines coming off of a, 5-2, loss to the New York Rangers on Friday– inserting Frederic at center on the third line with Nick Foligno and Karson Kuhlman on his wings, for starters.

    Kuhlman returned to the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for the last four games.

    Craig Smith was promoted back to his regular role on the second line at right wing, while Tomáš Nosek was relegated to the fourth line center slot with Frederic returning to the lineup and Erik Haula joining Jake DeBrusk and Connor Clifton as Sunday’s scratches.

    Sunday night marked the first time this season that Haula and DeBrusk were scratched.

    Jakub Zboril kicked things off with an interference infraction at 1:50 of the first period, yielding the night’s first power play to Vancouver.

    Late in the ensuing skater advantage, the Canucks took advantage of a mishap in the crease when Ullmark and nearest defender, Mike Reilly, miscommunicated on a puck that bounced off of the Bruins goaltender and ended up in prime real estate in front of Tanner Pearson.

    Pearson (3) poked the loose puck over the goal line from point blank and gave Vancouver a, 1-0, lead at 3:33 of the first period.

    Brock Boeser (5) and Nils Höglander (5) had the assists on Pearson’s power-play goal as the Canucks took an early lead and momentum that was ultimately cut short about two minutes later.

    Anton Blidh (1) skated into Boston’s attacking zone and wired a shot past Halak’s glove side from afar– about two strides into the zone from the blue line in the high point, that is.

    Blidh’s unassisted effort tied the game, 1-1, at 5:51.

    Minutes later, Conor Garland was penalized for holding the stick and presented the Bruins with their first chance on the power play at 10:14, but the B’s weren’t able to capitalize on the skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Nosek caught Tyler Motte with a high stick and was assessed a minor infraction as a result at 15:44.

    Vancouver entered the zone while on the ensuing power play and Garland ripped a shot from along the boards past Ullmark’s glove on the short side, but Cassidy used a coach’s challenge on the grounds that he and the Bruins’ video crew believed the Canucks were offside prior to the goal.

    Video replay revealed that Höglander was, in fact, over the blue line with both skates prior to the puck entering the attacking zone, rendering Garland’s would be goal useless and reversing the call on the ice.

    The score remained tied, 1-1, heading into the first intermission, while the Bruins led in shots on goal, 11-10.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (5-1) and hits (8-4), while the Canucks led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (4-1) and faceoff win percentage (56-44).

    Vancouver was 1/2 on the power play, while the B’s were 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Nosek thought he put the Bruins ahead within about a minute of action in the second period, but the call on the ice was “no goal” and upheld after a quick official review confirmed that– while Nosek’s initial kick of the puck to his stick blade was fine, his subsequent kick while falling that resulted in the rubber biscuit finding the twine was no good.

    Minutes later, Marchand slashed Garland and was sent to the box at 6:54 of the second period.

    Vancouver wasn’t able to capitalize on the resulting skater advantage, however.

    Midway through the period, Garland (6) got the goal that he was looking for earlier in the night when he sent a shot with eyes through Jason Dickinson’s legs and Ullmark’s five-hole while Dickinson screened the Boston netminder.

    Garland’s goal was unassisted and gave the Canucks a, 2-1, lead at 12:31 of the second period.

    And so, 2-1, it remained as Vancouver led on the scoreboard through 40 minutes of action and in shots on goal, 27-24, including a, 17-13, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Canucks dominated in takeaways (3-1), giveaways (8-3) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (11-8) and hits (17-13).

    Vancouver went 1/3 on the power play, while Boston remained 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the second intermission.

    Matt Grzelcyk caught Höglander with a quick hook and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 3:51 of the third period as a result, but Vancouver couldn’t muster anything on the scoreboard.

    Höglander, himself, was the next player off to the sin bin after he tripped Foligno at 7:21 of the third period.

    This time the Bruins found the back of the net on the power play after Ullmark stoned Motte on a shorthanded breakaway at the other end.

    David Pastrnak sent a shot attempt off the post where the puck pinballed around in the ensuing chaos off of Patrice Bergeron before settling outside the slot while a mass of bodies gathered in front of Halak.

    Marchand (9) scooped up the puck and buried it to tie the game, 2-2, with a power-play goal at 8:45 of the third period.

    Foligno (4) and Bergeron (9) notched the assists on Marchand’s goal as the Bruins surged to life.

    Chances were traded at both ends when Oliver Ekman-Larsson raced Blidh into the corner and promptly boarded the Boston skater, resulting in a minor penalty that Garland ended up serving while Ekman-Larsson had to tend to an errant skate blade that popped out from the force of the collision with Blidh at 15:23.

    Once more, it didn’t take the Bruins long to convert on the ensuing power play.

    Marchand thread a pass through the slot to Pastrnak (7) for the redirection goal while crashing the net to give Boston their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 16:36 of the third period.

    Marchand (15) and Bergeron (10) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s power-play goal and the Bruins had their first lead of the night.

    With their goaltender pulled and a stoppage in play with 46 seconds left on the clock, Canucks head coach, Travis Green, used his timeout to rally his skaters, but it was to no avail.

    Though the Bruins didn’t end up scoring an empty net goal– despite Marchand’s best efforts to give Bergeron an easy lay-up, Bergeron had entered the zone offside to negate an insurance goal after Green challenged the call on the ice– the final horn sounded without issue.

    Boston had won, 3-2, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 42-38, including an, 18-11, advantage in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in blocked shots (12-11), hits (28-18) and faceoff win% (51-49), while Vancouver exited the building with the advantage in giveaways (10-3).

    The Canucks finished Sunday night’s effort 1/4 on the power play, while Boston went 2/3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s improved to 4-3-0 (3-1-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 1-4-0 (1-2-0 at home) when tied after the first period and 2-4-0 (2-1-0 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    Vancouver fell to 2-4-0 (1-4-0 on the road) when scoring first, 2-6-0 (1-4-0 on the road) when tied after one period and 4-1-0 (2-1-0 on the road) when leading after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins wrap up their three-game homestand against the Detroit Red Wings to close out the month of November on Tuesday.

    Boston begins the month of December with a one-off road game at Bridgestone Arena against the Nashville Predators on Thursday (Dec. 2nd) before returning home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning for a game next Saturday (Dec. 4th).

  • Bruins drop Black Friday matinée to Rangers, 5-2

    Bruins drop Black Friday matinée to Rangers, 5-2

    For the first time since the 2003-04 regular season, ABC played host to a national broadcast of a National Hockey League game as the Boston Bruins lost, 5-2, to the New York Rangers in their 500th consecutive sellout at TD Garden on Friday afternoon.

    New York scored three unanswered goals in the third period (including an empty net goal) to pull ahead and never look back as Igor Shesterkin (11-3-2, 2.22 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 16 games played) made 34 saves on 36 shots faced for the win.

    Boston goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (6-4-0, 2.42 goals-against average, .908 save percentage in 10 games played), stopped 26 out of 30 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins dropped to 10-7-0 (20 points) on the season and remain in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers improved to 13-4-3 (29 points) and sit 3rd in the Metropolitan Division despite tying the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals in points.

    Carolina owns the tiebreaker for 1st place in the division currently, by virtue of having played in one game fewer than the Capitals at the time of this writing.

    Washington sits ahead of New York by virtue of the same thing, though the Caps are in action on Friday night and would slip to 3rd in the Metropolitan Division with a loss in regulation.

    The B’s also fell to 6-3-0 at home this season in nine games at TD Garden, while the Rangers improved to 8-3-2 on road ice in 13 away games thus far.

    Boston went 5-3-0 against New York last season.

    The Bruins were without Trent Frederic (upper body) on Friday, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one minor change to his lineup from Wednesday night’s, 5-1, win in Buffalo to Friday afternoon’s matinée matchup with the Rangers.

    Cassidy swapped centers on the third and fourth lines– promoting Tomáš Nosek to the top-nine and demoting Erik Haula to the bottom line.

    Connor Clifton and Karson Kuhlman were Boston’s healthy scratches in the press box on Friday afternoon.

    Ryan Lindgren lifted David Pastrnak’s stick and Pastrnak’s stick ended up catching Lindgren in the face, yielding a high sticking infraction for No. 88 in black and gold and the afternoon’s first power play opportunity for the Rangers at 6:25 of the first period.

    New York wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Moments later, Chris Kreider cut a rut to the penalty box for interference at 10:55, but Boston wasn’t able to muster anything on the resulting power play– even when they had 10 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage as Adam Fox caught Craig Smith with a high stick at 12:45.

    Instead, however, Smith (2) scored in the vulnerable minute after a power play one second after Fox emerged from the box to bring the Rangers back to even strength.

    Smith’s goal was unassisted and beat Shesterkin up high to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead at 14:46 of the first period after Jacob Trouba botched a clearing attempt for New York.

    In the dying seconds of the opening frame, however, the Rangers responded as Dryden Hunt worked the puck deep past the goal line near the endboards and flipped a pass to Artemi Panarin before Panarin setup Ryan Strome (3) in the slot for a goal– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Panarin (16) and Hunt (2) tallied the assists on Strome’s goal at 19:54.

    Entering the first intermission, the game was tied, 1-1, despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 17-5.

    The Rangers held the advantage in blocked shots (5-1) and hits (5-4), while the Bruins led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (2-0) and faceoff win percentage (63-38).

    New York was 0/1 and Boston was 0/2 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Less than a minute into the second period, Brad Marchand caught Trouba with a hook (despite it actually looking to be a simple stick lift on second glance) and was sent to the sin bin 17 seconds after emerging from the first intermission.

    The Blue Shirts weren’t able to score on the ensuing power play, though.

    Moments later, Pastrnak won a draw in the attacking zone back to Marchand whereby Marchand moved the puck to Matt Grzelcyk as the Boston defender snuck in from the point to feed Patrice Bergeron (8) point blank for a goal.

    Grzelcyk (3) and Marchand (14) were credited with the assists as the Bruins pulled ahead once more, 2-1, at 6:51 of the second period.

    Midway through the second, however, Swayman struggled with his rebound control and inadvertently kicked the puck directly to Hunt in the slot while Hunt was crashing the net instead of sending the rubber biscuit off to the boards or covering it up.

    Hunt (2) buried the loose biscuit into the mostly empty twine and destroyed the in-net camera with a precise shot, while Lindgren (2) and Fox (16) tallied the assists.

    The Rangers had tied the game, 2-2, at 12:33, but followed up their surge in momentum with a high sticking infraction by Panarin at 14:37.

    Luckily for New York, the Bruins weren’t on top of things on their resulting power play.

    At least Swayman was able to stop Mika Zibanejad with a diving paddle save on a cross-slot one-timer in between Hunt’s goal and Panarin’s penalty in what might earn recognition as “the save of the year”.

    Rangers head coach, Gerard Gallant, briefly pulled Shesterkin out of the net for an extra attacker with 1.4 seconds remaining on the clock on an attacking zone faceoff, but New York wasn’t able to recreate the magic of their quick goal in the dying seconds of the first period as the horn sounded to commence the second intermission.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the two teams were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard, despite Boston leading in total shots on goal, 29-24, after tailing New York, 19-12, in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The Rangers held onto the advantage in blocked shots (9-3), giveaways (7-5) and hits (15-9) after two periods, while the B’s led in faceoff win% (64-36).

    Both teams had four takeaways each and neither team could find the back of the net on the power play as New York was 0/2 and Boston was 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    Kreider thought he had scored the goal of the season early in the third period when he wrapped around the back of the net and lobbed a shot attempt behind Swayman’s shoulders– lacrosse style– off the crossbar and through the crease, but official review determined that he had, in fact, not scored the go-ahead goal.

    Andrei Svechnikov’s records are still resting at ease with Carolina.

    Instead, midway through the final frame, Panarin (5) bunted a redirection shot from point blank past Swayman while crashing the net on a reception from Julien Gauthier.

    Gauthier (2) and Strome (2) had the assists and the Rangers had their first lead of the afternoon, 3-2, at 11:35 of the third period.

    About five minutes later, New York extended their lead to two-goals as Gauthier setup Alexis Lafrenière (5) on a 2-on-1 against Bruins defender, Charlie McAvoy, for the high blocker side goal on a catch and release shot by Lafrenière.

    Gauthier (3) and Fox (17) notched the assists as the Rangers went up, 4-2, on the scorebaord at 16:22 of the third period.

    With 2:37 remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker, but it was ultimately to no avail.

    McAvoy tripped up Kevin Rooney with an errant leg at 19:03 and Barclay Goodrow did not take the aggressive infraction lightly– delivering a swift cross check in return to McAvoy before a scrum ensued.

    The two teams finished the afternoon at 4-on-4 after McAvoy and Goodrow worked their way into their respective boxes at 19:03.

    Finally, Trouba (3) buried an empty net goal after winning a battle behind his own net and flipping the puck down the length of the ice from his own zone.

    Patrik Nemeth (2) had the only assist on Trouba’s goal as the Rangers sealed the deal on their, 5-2, victory at 19:48 of the third period.

    After the goal, Marchand and Panarin exchange words from their benches leading to Panarin taking off one of his gloves and chucking it at Marchand while a linesman stood in the crossfire.

    Both players received misconducts and were sent to their dressing rooms with an early dismissal at 19:48.

    At the horn, the Rangers had won, 5-2, despite finishing the afternoon trailing in shots on goal, 36-31, to Boston.

    Both teams managed to fire seven shots on net each in the third period, however, while New York wrapped up Friday’s action leading in blocked shots (17-4), giveaways (10-5) and hits (23-21).

    The B’s finished the afternoon leading in faceoff win% (57-43).

    There were no penalties that resulted in skater advantages in the third period, so the Rangers finished the day 0/2 on the power play and the Bruins went 0/3.

    Boston dropped to 7-4-0 (4-2-0 at home) when scoring first, 0-4-0 (0-2-0 at home) when tied after one and 2-2-0 (2-1-0 at home) when tied after two periods this season.

    New York improved to 5-4-1 (3-3-0 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-0-2 (4-0-2 on the road) when tied after the first period and 6-0-1 (4-0-0 on the road) when tied after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins continue their three-game homestand against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday before hosting the Detroit Red Wings to close out the month of November on Tuesday, Nov. 30th.

    Boston begins the month of December with a one-off road game at Bridgestone Arena against the Nashville Predators next Thursday (Dec. 2nd) before returning home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning for a game next Saturday (Dec. 4th).

  • Canes finish Preds on the road in Game 6

    Canes finish Preds on the road in Game 6

    For the third straight postseason, the Carolina Hurricanes have won a series as the Canes defeated the Nashville Predators in Game 6 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, 4-3, in overtime.

    Oh, and it was the first time all series long that the road team won a game– let alone just the third instance in Stanley Cup Playoffs series history that four consecutive games required overtime to determine a winner.

    Sebastian Aho had a pair of goals, including the game-winning tip-in goal, as the Hurricanes eliminated the Predators and advanced to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Alex Nedeljkovic (4-2, 2.22 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in six games) stopped 24 out of 27 shots against in the win for Carolina.

    Predators goaltender, Juuse Saros (2-4, 2.78 goals-against average, .921 save percentage in six games played) made 27 saves on 31 shots faced in the loss.

    Nashville got on the board early and first as Nick Cousins (2) redirected the puck past Nedeljkovic at 1:44 of the first period.

    The Preds had utilized the dump and chase to break into the zone, fought hard to keep the puck from going across the blue line, then ultimately shifted the rubber biscuit from Ben Harpur to Erik Haula before a redirection had other plans as Cousins picked up the goal.

    Haula (3) and Harpur (1) had the assists on Cousins’ goal and the Predators had the lead, 1-0, as a result.

    Less than a few minutes later, Brock McGinn (3) tied the game, 1-1, with a wraparound that he tucked in on the short side from the slot after winning a battle for a loose puck on the other side of the net behind the goal line.

    Martin Necas (3) tallied the only assist on McGinn’s goal at 4:21.

    Almost 30 seconds later, Andrei Svechnikov tripped Luke Kunin and was sent to the penalty box with a tripping infraction at 4:52 of the first period.

    Nashville couldn’t muster anything on the ensuing power play– their first of the night.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, as the Predators outshot the Hurricanes, 11-9.

    The Preds held the advantage in blocked shots (7-2) and faceoff win percentage (60-40), while the Canes led in takeaways (5-1), giveaways (7-4) and hits (14-12).

    Carolina had yet to see any time on the skater advantage, while Nashville was 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Mikael Granlund (2) made it, 2-1, Nashville at 1:13 of the second period after the Hurricanes turned the puck over in their own zone.

    Ryan Ellis sent the puck to the slot where Granlund corralled it, pulled it to his blade and scored on Nedeljkovic while the Canes netminder was caught off guard. Ellis (4) had the only assist as a result.

    A few minutes later, Granlund tripped Necas and was sent to the box at 4:42 of the second period– presenting Carolina with their first chance on the power play, but it was later cut short when Dougie Hamilton received an interference minor at 5:37.

    After a little 4-on-4 action, the Predators would have an abbreviated power play, but Nashville couldn’t capitalize on the resulting 5-on-4 advantage.

    Nevertheless, the Preds would get another chance on the skater advantage when Aho caught Ryan Johansen with a slash at 7:18 of the second period.

    It didn’t take long for Johansen (3) to get his revenge on the scoreboard as Roman Josi sent a shot pass to No. 92 in a Predators uniform for the redirection power-play goal.

    Josi (4) and Granlund (3) had the assists as the Preds extended their lead, 3-1, at 7:32.

    A little more than four minutes later, however, Matt Benning was assessed an infraction for interference at 11:49 and presented Carolina with their second power play of the night.

    Late in the ensuing skater advantage, Hamilton sent the puck to Aho (4) for the deflection goal to bring the Hurricanes to within one while on the power play.

    Hamilton (3) had the only assist on Aho’s power play goal as Carolina trailed, 3-2, at 13:34.

    Late in the period, Hurricanes defender, Brady Skjei cross checked Cousins and cut a rut to the sin bin at 18:38 as a result– yielding a power play that would spill into the final frame of regulation for Nashville.

    After two periods, the Predators led, 3-2, on the scorebaord and, 21-14, in shots on goal, including a, 10-5, advantage in the second period alone.

    Nashville held the advantage in blocked shots (13-10) and faceoff win% (62-38), while Carolina led in takeaways (7-3) and hits (23-18). Both teams managed to have 13 giveaways each through 40 minutes of play.

    The Canes were 1/2 and the Preds were 1/4 on the power play heading into the second intermission.

    After killing off Skjei’s minor, the Hurricanes went back on the power play when Ellis slashed Jesper Fast while the Canes forward had a quick break at 3:02 of the thrid period.

    Carolina did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Shortly thereafter, Jordan Martinook collided with Josi, rendering the Predators captain out for the rest of the night with an injury.

    Midway through the third, Jaccob Slavin setup Hamilton (1) with a pass for another redirection goal while No. 19 for Carolina pinched and stood around on the doorstep in front of Saros to tie the game, 3-3, at 13:59.

    Slavin (2) and McGinn (1) notched the assists on Hamilton’s first goal of the 2021 postseason.

    60 minutes was not enough to decide a winner as the two teams were heading for overtime for the fourth consecutive game in the series– tied, 3-3, in Game 6.

    Carolina led in shots on goal, 30-26, and had a, 16-5, advantage in the third period alone, while the Canes also led in takeaways (8-7) and hits (32-28).

    Nashville, meanwhile, held the lead in blocked shots (20-11), giveaways (18-16) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, the Hurricanes finished 1/3 on the power play Thursday night, while the Predators went 1/4.

    It didn’t take long before Carolina won an attacking zone faceoff off the boards back to the point where Slavin floated a shot that Aho (3) tipped over Saros’ glove side to end the game, 4-3, for the Hurricanes at 1:06 of the overtime period.

    Slavin (3) recorded the only assist on Aho’s game-winning/series clinching goal and Canes finished the night leading in shots on goal, 31-27, despite both teams managing to each record one shot on goal in overtime.

    Nashville finished the night leading in blocked shots (20-11), giveaways (18-16) and faceoff win% (55-45), while Carolina held the advantage in hits (32-28).

    In the handshake line after Aho’s goal, Nedeljkovic took a longer time to speak with Preds backup, Pekka Rinne, in what might have possibly been Rinne’s last game under contract as an NHL player.

    The 38-year-old goaltender was drafted by Nashville in the 8th round (258th overall) in 2004, and spent the last two seasons primarily as the backup for the Predators as the club transitioned to Saros as the full-time starter.

    Rinne is a pending-unrestricted free agent and may return to his home country of Finland for a season or two prior to hanging up the skates.

    He made his NHL debut with the Preds in the 2005-06 season and spent parts of 15 seasons with one team– Nashville.

    Across that span, Rinne amassed a 369-213-75 record in 683 career games (667 starts) and finished with a career 2.43 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage and 60 shutouts with the Predators as one of the most prominent Finnish goaltenders in league history.

    The Hurricanes, meanwhile, won their First Round series against Nashville in six games (4-2) and advanced to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result.

    The Canes will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round with Carolina in command of home ice advantage for the best-of-seven game series, having won the Discover NHL Central Division regular season title as the club with the best record in the 2020-21 season.

    Game 1 is Sunday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can watch the action on NBCSN, while those in Canada can tune to SN or TVAS for the series opener.

  • Canes take 3-2 series lead with win in Game 5

    Canes take 3-2 series lead with win in Game 5

    Martin Necas scored a pair of goals as Jordan Staal scored the game-winner in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a, 3-2, victory in front of their home crowd at PNC Arena as the Canes took a 3-2 series lead over the Nashville Predators in Game 5 on Tuesday.

    Alex Nedeljkovic (3-2, 2.10 goals-against average, .927 save percentage in five games played) made 23 saves on 25 shots against int he win for Carolina.

    Predators netminder, Juuse Saros (2-3, 2.59 goals-against average, .928 save percentage in five games played) stopped 34 out of 37 shots faced in the loss.

    The biggest lineup change from Game 4 to Game 5 was the return of defender, Jaccob Slavin, to Carolina’s blue line. Slavin’s missed three games this postseason due to injury and brings a physical presence that the Hurricanes would be wise to utilize to combat Nashville’s big bodies.

    Dougie Hamilton cross checked Filip Forsberg as the two skaters barreled into Nedeljkovic early in the opening frame, yielding the night’s first power play to Nashville at 5:03 of the first period.

    The Predators weren’t successful on the ensuing skater advantage, but used the momentum gained from surviving the energy of the PNC Arena crowd as well as the power play opportunity to strike first moments later.

    Roman Josi sent a shot towards the net from the point that deflected off teammate, Yakov Trenin (1) and floated over Nedeljkovic’s shoulder like a “knuckle puck” would cut erratically through the air and into the twine in The Mighty Ducks.

    Josi (3) had the only assist on Trenin’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal as the Preds jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 11:44 of the first period.

    About a couple minutes later, Luke Kunin hit Andrei Svechnikov hard along the boards, which sparked a response from Svechnikov as the two players exchanged pleasantries before a crowd gathered.

    In all, Kunin and Matt Benning, as well as Svechnikov picked up roughing minors, while the Hurricanes got a power play out of it at 13:10.

    About a minute later, Carolina converted on the skater advantage as Hamilton worked the puck over to Necas (1) for a snap shot over Saros’ glove to tie the game, 1-1, at 14:21.

    Hamilton (2) tallied the only assist on Necas’ first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

    Entering the first intermission, the Hurricanes and Predators were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, though Carolina led in shots on goal, 10-5.

    The Canes also held the advantage in giveaways (5-0) and faceoff win percentage (63-38), while the Preds led in blocked shots (8-7), takeaways (2-1) and hits (21-19).

    Nashville was 0/1 and Carolina was 1/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Less than a minute after returning from the first intermission, Trenin (2) scored on a catch-and-release goal on a 2-on-1 as Colton Sissons (2) provided the only assist to give the Predators a, 2-1, lead 53 seconds into the second period.

    Midway through the period, Forsberg cut a rut to the penalty box for tripping Sebastian Aho at 8:59, but the Hurricanes couldn’t muster anything on the ensuing power play.

    Moments later, Carolina thought they had tied the game on a shot by Slavin that appeared to hit Nashville forward, Ryan Johansen, and deflect past Saros, but Predators head coach, John Hynes, used a coach’s challenge to argue that there was goaltender interference on the play and the call on the ice should be reversed in that case.

    Though review confirmed to the eyes of Caniacs in the stands at PNC Arena and fans at home that Warren Foegele entered, then promptly exited the crease with his right skate with enough time for Saros to reset himself (nevertheless, he was unaffected anyway) before– what’s that? His own teammate barreled into him?

    Yes, Josi made contact with his own goaltender, pile-driving him out of position as the goal had been scored. Surely the on-ice officials would make the right call and…

    …well.

    In the eyes of the officials, Foegele had done enough to merely exist in the playing surface, despite not making any contact or direct impeding gesture to disrupt Saros’ play, but what’s a catch these days anyway?

    The call on the ice was reversed and the goal was taken off the board due to incidental goaltender interference.

    Nashville remained in command, 2-1, at 12:22 of the second period.

    And the Preds’, 2-1, lead was enough to get them into the dressing room for the second intermission unscathed as Carolina outshot the Predators, 24-16, through 40 minutes of action.

    The Hurricanes had a, 14-11, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone and led in giveaways (13-1), hits (48-30) and faceoff win% (64-36), while Nashville held the lead in blocked shots (12-7) and takeaways (6-2) after two periods.

    The Preds were still 0/1 and the Canes remained 1/2 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Foegele was assessed a roughing minor for getting tangled up with Ben Harpur at 5:36 of the third period and presented the Predators with a power play as a result.

    Carolina’s penalty kill stood tall, however, as Foegele was released from the box two minutes later without issue.

    Midway through the period, Necas (2) raced up through the neutral zone with speed, broke into the attacking zone, cut for the trapezoid behind the net and wrapped the rubber biscuit around the goal frame and into the twine behind Saros to tie the game, 2-2, on an impressive display of athletic ability.

    Slavin (1) notched the assist on Necas’ second goal of the game as No. 88 for Carolina almost singlehandedly put the team on his back at 12:55 of the third period.

    Despite scoring a goal that was later waved off due to the magic of a coach’s challenge in the second period, the Hurricanes found themselves heading to overtime with the Predators tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard– even after outshooting Nashville, 35-25, in shots on goal, including an, 11-9, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Preds led in blocked shots (15-12) and takeaways (6-4) after regulation, while the Canes led in giveaways (20-4), hits (66-40) and faceoff win% (56-44).

    Nashville was 0/2 and Carolina was 1/2 on the power play as each team searched within themselves to find a game-winner and procure a 3-2 series lead as a result with overtime looming after the 15-minute intermission.

    Brady Skjei was sent to the box for holding 56 seconds into the extra frame, but Nashville’s ensuing power play was cut short as Alexandre Carrier interfered with Aho at 1:43.

    The two clubs would skate at 4-on-4 for 1:14 prior to Carolina yielding an abbreviated 5-on-4 power play.

    But the Hurricanes’ captain had other plans.

    Staal sent a shot on Saros that the Predators goaltender stopped while generating a rebound that he quickly batted away from the crease right to… …Staal as Staal (4) smacked the puck out of the air, got a lucky bounce and watched the vulcanized piece of rubber sneaked through Saros’ five-hole to give Carolina a, 3-2, overtime win.

    Staal’s unassisted effort at 2:03 of the overtime period secured a 3-2 series lead for the Hurricanes as the home team finished Tuesday night leading in shots on goal, 37-25, including a, 2-0, advantage in the extra frame alone.

    Carolina wrapped up the effort leading in blocked shots (21-4), hits (66-40) and faceoff win% (59-41), while Nashville exited PNC Arena with the lead in blocked shots (16-12).

    The Preds finished the night 0/3 on the skater advantage while the Canes went 1/3 on the power play in Game 5.

    The Hurricanes take a 3-2 series lead back on the road for Game 6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Thursday. Puck drop is expected a little after 9:30 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to NBCSN for national coverage, while fans in Canada can catch the game on SN360 or TVAS.

  • Aho and Nedeljkovic power Canes to, 3-0, shutout

    Aho and Nedeljkovic power Canes to, 3-0, shutout

    Sebastian Aho scored a pair of goals as Alex Nedeljkovic made 32 saves in a, 3-0, shutout win for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of their 2021 First Round series with the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena on Wednesday.

    Nedeljkovic (2-0, 1.01 goals-against average, .964 save percentage in two games played) became the second rookie goaltender in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise history to record a postseason shutout, joining Cam Ward in doing so.

    Ward notched a pair of shutouts in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs en route to leading Carolina to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.

    Meanwhile, Predators goaltender, Juuse Saros (0-2, 3.08 goals-against average, .910 save percentage in two games played) stopped 28 out of 30 shots faced in the loss.

    The Hurricanes were without Jaccob Slavin on the blue line, so Jake Gardiner was dressed for Carolina.

    Meanwhile, Predators head coach, John Hynes, had replaced Calle Jarnkrok (illness), Mathieu Olivier and Ben Harpur with Eeli Tolvanen, Brad Richardson and Matt Benning in the lineup on Wednesday.

    Early in the action, former Carolina forward, Erik Haula, got tangled up with Martin Necas and received a minor infraction for roughing– yielding the game’s first power play to the Hurricanes at 2:02 of the first period.

    The Canes were not successful on their first skater advantage of the game.

    Moments later, Nashville defender, Mattias Ekholm, tripped Warren Foegele and presented Carolina with another power play at 7:17 of the opening frame.

    The Hurricanes wouldn’t waste much time on the ensuing skater advantage before Aho (1) received a pass from Andrei Svechnikov through the high slot and one-timed the puck into the back of the twine.

    Svechnikov (1) and Dougie Hamilton (1) had the assists on Aho’s power-play goal and Carolina took a, 1-0, lead at 8:03.

    The Predators got their first skater advantage of the night at 8:47 when Vincent Trocheck roughed up Benning, but the Preds weren’t able to convert on the power play.

    Nor did Nashville have any success on the skater advantage moments later when Hamilton was penalized for interference at 13:04.

    No, the Preds also didn’t score on the power play at 15:59 when Aho roughed Haula and again the Predators were powerless on the advantage at 19:03 when Jordan Staal cut a rut to the sin bin for interference.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Hurricanes led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and were outshooting Nashville, 10-9.

    Carolina also led in blocked shots (4-2), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (5-3) and hits (20-18), while the Predators dominated the faceoff dot in faceoff win percentage (57-44).

    Nashville was 0/4 and the Canes were 0/2 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Ryan Johansen got tangled up with Svechnikov as the two forwards exchanged pleasantries and received roughing minors at 4:16 of the second period.

    After two minutes of 4-on-4 action, the two teams resumed full strength with cooler heads (for a few minutes anyway).

    Brett Pesce was penalized for holding at 8:34, but Nashville continued to struggle on the power play as Nedeljkovic stood tall in the crease for Carolina.

    Viktor Arvidsson took a trip to the box at 9:38 for interference, but the Hurricanes couldn’t muster anything on the resulting power play.

    Shortly thereafter, Benning and Jordan Martinook got into a heated exchange, yielding roughing minors at 12:03 of the second period and plunging the game into another pair of minutes at 4-on-4.

    Late in the period, Nino Niederreiter hooked Richardson, but the Preds couldn’t get anything going on the ensuing power play at 16:37.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Hurricanes held onto their, 1-0, lead on the scoreboard despite Nashville pulling ahead in shots on goal, 24-20, including a, 15-10, advantage in the second period alone.

    Carolina held the lead in blocked shots (10-6), giveaways (11-10) and hits (36-32), while the Predators had the advantage in takeaways (5-3) and faceoff win% (56-44).

    Nashville was 0/6 on the power play, while the Canes were 1/3 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Foegele sent the puck over the glass and out of play, yielding an automatic delay of game infraction almost midway through the third period at 9:24.

    The Preds couldn’t capitalize on the resulting power play.

    Late in the period, Hynes pulled Saros for an extra attacker, but Carolina worked to clear the puck out of their own zone.

    Pesce dumped the puck deep– missing the empty net– but didn’t ice the puck as Aho (2) charged into the attacking zone, pounced on the loose puck and buried the rubber biscuit into the net to give Carolina a two-goal lead.

    Pesce (3) had the only assist on Aho’s second goal of the night and the Hurricanes led, 2-0, at 19:07 of the third period.

    Less than a minute later, Foegele (1) worked the puck behind the goal line and wrapped around the net, sending an errant puck off of Ryan Ellis’ skate and through Saros for a three-goal lead.

    Jesper Fast (1) had the only assist on Foegele’s insurance goal as the Canes made it, 3-0, at 19:32.

    At the final horn, Carolina had secured a 2-0 series lead with a, 3-0, win as Nedeljkovic recorded the shutout– his first career postseason shutout.

    The Predators finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-31, despite Carolina leading in shots on goal in the third period alone, 11-8.

    Nashville also wrapped up Wednesday night’s action with the lead in giveaways (19-16) and faceoff win% (53-48), while the Canes finished the night leading in blocked shots (17-10) and hits (52-39).

    The Preds went 0/7 and the Canes went 1/3 on the power play in Game 2.

    The Hurricanes lead the series 2-0 as the venue shifts to Bridgestone Arena for Game 3 in Nashville on Friday. Puck drop is expected a little after 7 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to national coverage on USA Network, while those in Canada can watch the action on FXX-Canada or TVAS2.

  • 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifier Preview: Western Conference

    Hockey’s back. In August!?! In this economy?!?

    Yes, truer words have never been spoken. Hockey. Is. Back.

    But not in the way you’re probably thinking if you’ve been under a rock for the last– let’s see, what month is it now?

    The National Hockey League paused the 2019-20 regular season on March 12th due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic before canceling the rest of the regular season in late May and announcing a 24-team playoff format for 2020.

    Make no mistake, whether you put an asterisk next to the winners of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final or not– it’ll be the hardest Cup to win since Lord Stanley of Preston announced he’d donate the silver rose bowl to the best hockey team in the world (so Canada) on March 18, 1892.

    Despite all the training world class athletes do in contemporary times, nothing could prepare any athlete to stop playing, go through training camp after months of (in some cases) not being able to skate on any ice, then go full throttle for a championship tournament.

    If anything, the asterisk next to the 2020 Stanley Cup champions will simply be a marker for the challenging times and remarkable feats of athleticism that team went through to put it all together and lift a 35-pound trophy at the end.

    By now you’ve probably heard how the 2020 postseason will work– 24 teams vying for 16 spots, with eight teams (four in each conference) already locked into the playoffs, but fighting for the top-four seeds as the other 16 teams compete in a best-of-five series to punch a ticket into the playoffs.

    Those 16 teams are in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which technically isn’t part of the 2020 postseason according to the NHL, but the individual player and team stats will count towards the playoffs in the record books.

    So for Arizona Coyotes fans, the long standing playoff drought since 2012, technically isn’t over yet. They’d have to beat the Nashville Predators first.

    With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the Western Conference Qualifiers, while the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars sort themselves out.

    All Western Conference games will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, including the Western Conference Final and all of the Stanley Cup Final.

    (5) Edmonton Oilers (37-25-9, 83 points) vs (12) Chicago Blackhawks (32-30-8, 72 points)

    Edmonton: 71 games played, .585 points percentage, 31 regulation wins.

    Chicago: 70 games played, .514 points percentage, 23 regulation wins.

    The Edmonton Oilers finished second in the Pacific Division with 83 points– three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead. That’s how good the Oilers were at times and/or how far behind the Pacific Division was at times leading up to the premature end of the regular season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    One thing is for sure about the always home-ice even without fans in the bubble Oilers team, their top players were much better than they were last season.

    2019-20 Art Ross Trophy winner and Hart Memorial Trophy finalist, Leon Draisaitl had 110 points this season in 71 games played. He was on pace for 126 points had the regular season reached its original conclusion.

    That would’ve been 21 points better than his previous high of 105 points in 82 games last season. Luckily for Draisaitl, he still set a new career-high in a pandemic– two new career-highs, actually.

    Though 43 goals this season did not top the 50 goals he scored in 2018-19, Draisaitl set career-highs in assists (67) and points (110)– and yet, somehow he still was a minus-seven on the season.

    Is it worth exploring moving Draisaitl out of Edmonton? MY COLUMN:

    (If you’re wondering, that’s four consecutive seasons of at least 70 points and back-to-back 100-plus point seasons for Draisaitl, so no, he’s not going anywhere.)

    Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, had 34 goals and 63 assists (97 points) in 64 games this season, which was 19 points shy of his career-high 116-points last season in 78 games in 2018-19. McDavid was on pace for 124 points this season at the time of the stoppage.

    Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was third in scoring for Edmonton with 22-39–61 totals in 65 games this season, then the next highest skater had 34 points in 59 games (Zack Kassian). This season marked back-to-back 60-point seasons for Nugent-Hopkins for the first time in his career.

    In goal, Mike Smith (19-12-6 in 39 games played, 37 starts, 2.95 goals against average, .905 save percentage and one shutout) split time with Mikko Koskinen (18-13-3 in 38 GP, 34 starts, 2.75 GAA, .917 SV% and one shutout in that span) this season.

    The 38-year-old veteran goaltender, Smith, has a 2.17 GAA, a .938 SV% and four shutouts over 24 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

    Meanwhile, 32-year-old Koskinen has yet to appear in a postseason NHL game.

    Smith’s .938 SV% in the playoffs, however, is league-leading among active NHL goaltenders with a minimum of 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games played.

    Oilers head coach, Dave Tippett, might be smart to start Smith over Koskinen in Game 1, considering Smith’s career playoff numbers, but he did post a 3.20 GAA and a .917 SV% in five games with the Calgary Flames in the 2019 First Round en route to Calgary’s defeat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.

    Smith did record one shutout in last year’s playoffs, however, and faced 205 shots against in those five games against the Avs.

    That was about 34% of the number of shots he faced (602) in 16 games with the then known as Phoenix Coyotes en route to their 2012 Western Conference Final appearance against the eventual 2012 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

    At the other end of the rink, Patrick Kane led the way for the Chicago Blackhawks this season with 33-51–84 totals in 70 games, which was 24 points more than Jonathan Toews’ 60-point effort in 70 games for Chicago this season.

    2019-20 Calder Memorial Trophy finalist, Dominik Kubalik, was third in Blackhawks scoring with 30 goals and 16 assists (46 points) in 68 games played.

    For Kane, the pandemic shortened 2019-20 regular season marked five consecutive seasons with at least 70 points, while he was on pace for about 98 points had the regular season witnessed a full 82-game conclusion.

    For Toews, he has never had a season with 82 games schedule below 50 points (though he had 48 points in 47 games in the lockout shortened 2012-13 season), but he did see a decrease in production from 81 points in 82 games last season to 60 points in 70 games this season. He was on pace for 70 points over an 82-game schedule in 2019-20.

    In goal, Corey Crawford led the Blackhawks with a 16-20-3 record in 40 games played (39 starts), a 2.77 GAA, .917 SV% and one shutout this season.

    Prior to being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights at the trade deadline via the Toronto Maple Leafs in a three-team trade– in which Chicago acquired, in part, Malcolm Subban– Robin Lehner served as Crawford’s tandem goaltender with a 16-10-5 record in 33 games played (31 starts), a 3.01 GAA, .918 SV% and no shutouts in that span with the Blackhawks.

    Subban, on the other hand, made one appearance with Chicago after the trade and played in one minute as a Blackhawk. He had a 3.18 GAA and an .890 SV% in 20 games (19 starts) with the Golden Knights this season, however.

    Should Blackhawks head coach, Jeremy Colliton, be given any reason not to opt for Crawford as his Qualifier starter, then there’s cause for concern as to whether or not Chicago can upset the Oilers if Subban can’t right the ship from his worst season as an NHL backup goaltender.

    Four months off with plenty of rest to get in the right mindset might have been a good thing for his rhythm, however, as Crawford and Subban made a combined shutout effort in Chicago’s, 4-0, win over the St. Louis Blues in their exhibition matchup.

    What’s more, the Blackhawks went 2-1-0 in three games against the Oilers this season, but before you start thinking there’s a chance Chicago upsets Edmonton with a sweep or anything, take caution as the Hawks had ten goals for and nine goals against in their season series.

    This will be Colliton’s first appearance behind the bench as head coach in a postseason (but also not technically postseason) appearance for the Blackhawks– and Chicago’s first postseason action without Joel Quenneville at the reigns since before Quenneville was hired four games into the 2008-09 season.

    It truly is a new era for Chicago, despite much of the core remaining from their three Cup championships in a five-year span.

    Look for the Oilers to get the job done in four games with Tippett looking to punch his ticket back to the postseason since leading the Coyotes to the 2012 Western Conference Final, while The Hockey Gods favor Edmonton since the tragic loss of their teammate, Colby Cave, in April after the 25-year-old forward suffered a brain bleed and died days later after being placed in a medically induced coma.

    Regular season outcomes:

    3-1 CHI at United Center on Oct. 14th, 5-3 EDM at Rogers Place on Feb. 11th, 4-3 CHI at United Center on March 5th

    Schedule:

    8/1- Game 1 CHI @ EDM 3 PM ET on NBC, SN

    8/3- Game 2 CHI @ EDM 10:30 PM ET on NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN

    8/5- Game 3 EDM @ CHI in Edmonton 10:30 PM ET on NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN

    8/7- Game 4 EDM @ CHI in Edmonton*

    8/8- Game 5 CHI @ EDM*

    *If necessary

    (6) Nashville Predators (35-26-8, 78 points) vs (11) Arizona Coyotes (33-29-8, 74 points)

    Nashville: 69 games played, .565 points percentage, 28 regulation wins.

    Arizona: 70 games played, .529 points percentage, 26 regulation wins.

    There’s something in the water in Nashville– and it’s not just catfish. Predators defender– and 2019-20 James Norris Trophy finalist– Roman Josi led the Preds in scoring this season with 65 points (16 goals, 49 assists) in 69 games.

    He was on pace for 77 points at the time of the stoppage and trailed Washington Capitals defender– and fellow Norris finalist– John Carlson by ten points for the most points by a defender this season.

    It was a career-season for Josi in goals, assists and points, by the way.

    Nashville’s top-three in scoring, in fact, nearly contained two defenders as Josi led the way and Ryan Ellis notched 38 points in an injury-riddled 49-game season (a 64-point pace had the full 82-game schedule been completed if the pandemic never happened).

    Ellis trailed Filip Forsberg (21-27–48 totals in 63 games) and Matt Duchene (13-29–42 totals in 66 games) in scoring on the Predators roster.

    Juuse Saros finally emerged as a de facto starting goaltender for Nashville after amassing a 17-12-4 record in 40 games played (34 starts), as well as a 2.70 GAA, .914 SV% and four shutouts on the season.

    Pekka Rinne, meanwhile, had an 18-14-4 record in 36 games (35 starts), which wasn’t bad, but his numbers past his overall record were actually a career-worst with a 3.17 GAA and an .895 SV% in 2019-20.

    Rinne previously had a 3.80 GAA in a season, but that was only when he played in two games in 2005-06.

    This was a season to forget for Rinne, but perhaps a larger indicator of more worries to come for Nashville in the net– especially more so after Saros didn’t exactly light it up as a starter with a goals against average that would even make a backup goaltender look, well, average.

    The Arizona Coyotes enter the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifier with a new owner, as well as a new Interim General Manager in Steve Sullivan, as well as Nick Schmaltz leading the way in scoring with 11 goals and 34 assists for 45 points in 70 games played.

    Not ideal, ideally speaking.

    Clayton Keller had 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 70 games and was on pace for 52 points had the pandemic not cut the regular season short.

    Meanwhile, Conor Garland was third on the team in scoring with 39 points in 68 games, while establishing career-highs in goals (22), assists (17) and points (39) in the process.

    Christian Dvorak and Phil Kessel each had 38 points in 70 games. Over an 82-game schedule, that’s about a 45-point pace, which would’ve still been a career-season for Dvorak and a disappointment for Kessel in his first season in the desert.

    Granted, Kessel’s not playing with guys like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin in his new home in Arizona.

    He failed to reach the 20-goal plateau for the first time since the 2007-08 season, in which Kessel scored 19 goals in 82 games for the Boston Bruins in his sophomore season.

    Kessel also failed to reach 30-assists for the first time since his first season as a Toronto Maple Leaf in 2009-10, in which he had 25 helpers in 70 games.

    Finally, No. 81 on Arizona’s roster failed to amass at least 40 points in a season for just the third time in his career (29 points in 70 games while missing time battling testicular cancer with the Bruins in his rookie season in 2006-07, and 37 points in 82 games the following season in 2007-08 with Boston).

    Granted, Kessel likely could have passed the 40-point plateau had the COVID-19 pandemic not interrupted plans for him and his Coyotes teammates.

    In goal, Antti Raanta appeared in 33 games (32 starts) and had a 15-14-3 record, as well as a 2.63 GAA, a .921 SV% and two shutouts in that span.

    Darcy Kuemper went 16-11-2 in 29 games played (all starts) and amassed a 2.22 GAA, while putting up a .928 SV% and two shutouts this season for the Coyotes.

    If there’s any doubt Rick Tocchet has over deciding which goaltender to start in Game 1 against Nashville, there shouldn’t be any question– it has to be Kuemper.

    Simply put, it’s Kuemper’s net to lose right now in Arizona and a little healthy competition isn’t a bad idea to try to spur Raanta in the right direction if he wants to be a starter in this league.

    Boy, home ice advantage really would be something in this series by default, right? After all, each team won their only home game in their regular season matchups prior to the premature conclusion to the 2019-20 regular season due to the pandemic.

    Since home ice is without fans in Edmonton for all Western Conference teams in the 2020 postseason, there’s not much to go off of in terms of these two clubs’ head-to-head meetings.

    But the Predators have more than a few things going in their favor among their forwards and defenders who could also play forward, arguably.

    The one thing Arizona has that Nashville hasn’t seen much of this season is a consistent starter in the crease.

    If the Coyotes win the series, it’ll likely have something with Kuemper stealing a few games.

    If the Preds sweep Arizona, it might have something to do with the sheer fire power in a last-ditch effort at what’s otherwise a closing window for a potential Cup contending roster.

    At the very least John Hynes probably doesn’t have to worry about getting the same treatment as Peter Laviolette– who Hynes replaced in January– if the Predators dropped the ball in this series.

    Let’s say Nashville in three, but give props to Kuemper for honing in his talents to tend the crease this well in his career. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s arrived and here to stay, unlike former Coyotes GM John Chayka.

    Regular season outcomes:

    5-2 ARI at Gila River Arena on Oct. 17th, 3-2 NSH at Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 23rd

    Schedule:

    8/2- Game 1 ARI @ NSH in Edmonton 2 PM ET on USA, NHL.TV, SN360

    8/4- Game 2 ARI @ NSH in Edmonton 2:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV, SN1, SN360

    8/5- Game 3 NSH @ ARI in Edmonton 2:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV, SN360

    8/7- Game 4 NSH @ ARI in Edmonton*

    8/9- Game 5 ARI @ NSH in Edmonton*

    *If necessary

    (7) Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6, 78 points) vs (10) Minnesota Wild (35-27-7, 77 points)

    Vancouver: 69 games played, .565 points percentage, 27 regulation wins.

    Minnesota: 69 games played, .558 points percentage, 30 regulation wins.

    Entering the 2019-20 season, Vancouver Canucks General Manager, Jim Benning, added J.T. Miller to the fold in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Benning then went out and got Tyler Toffoli from the Los Angeles Kings leading up to the 2020 trade deadline.

    As a result, the Canucks are much improved from last season to this season.

    Miller led the team in scoring with 27-45–72 totals in 69 games played and was on pace for about 86 points at the time of the stoppage due to the pandemic.

    Elias Pettersson (66 points in 69 games), Bo Horvat (53 points in 69 games) and Quinn Hughes (53 points in 69 games) rounded out the top-three in scoring for Vancouver.

    Horvat and Hughes were tied for the third most points on the team as Hughes left his mark on the 2019-20 season by earning Calder Memorial Trophy finalist honors.

    Meanwhile, Jacob Markstrom led the Canucks in the crease with a 23-16-4 record in 43 games played (all starts), as well as a 2.75 GAA, a .918 SV% and two shutouts in that span.

    Thatcher Demko made 27 appearances (25 starts) as the backup goaltender and went 13-10-2 on the season with a 3.06 GAA and a .905 SV% in that span.

    Louis Domingue also appeared in one game (one start) in the regular season for the Canucks and had a 4.08 GAA and an .882 SV%.

    Markstrom will be the starter for Vancouver’s postseason run, but he’ll have to be a tad better in cutting down his goals against average for a deep run.

    For Canucks head coach, Travis Green, it’s more of the same game plan to try to spur the Canucks back into the playoffs for the first time since their 2015 First Round appearance and elimination at the hands of the Calgary Flames in six games.

    The Minnesota Wild removed the “interim” tag from their head coach, Dean Evason’s title since the pause in play and are looking to upset the Canucks and get back into the playoffs since missing the postseason last season.

    Kevin Fiala led the way for the Wild in scoring with 54 points (23 goals, 31 assists) in 64 games played. He was on pace for 69 points had the season gone all 82 games, but still established career-highs in goals, assists and points in the shortened season regardless.

    Ryan Suter led defenders and was second in scoring on the roster with 48 points (eight goals, 40 assists) in 69 games, while Eric Staal was ahead of Zach Parise by one point for third in scoring with 47 points in 66 games.

    In goal, Alex Stalock (20-11-4 in 38 games played, 36 starts, 2.67 goals against average, .985 save percentage, four shutouts) outplayed Minnesota’s usual starter Devan Dubnyk (12-15-2 in 30 GP, 28 starts, 3.35 GAA, .890 SV%, one shutout) and will likely backstop the team in Game 1 against Vancouver.

    Kaapo Kahkonen also made his NHL debut this season in the crease for the Wild in five games– amassing a 3-1-1 record, as well as a 2.96 GAA and a .913 SV%.

    Both teams had nine goals for and nine goals against one another in their season series. They also each had 89 total shots on goal against one another in the 2019-20 regular season.

    Though the Wild made strides this season at potentially avoiding a rebuild, it’s still an uphill climb for Minnesota against the Canucks on paper– regardless of their head-to-head matchups from the season.

    Vancouver has the right combination of speed, skill and youth to limit Minnesota’s chances and, at times, lackluster offense.

    The Canucks core is more defined than Minnesota’s fluid situation as Wild GM Bill Guerin evolves the roster over the next season or two.

    It’s a transition period, nonetheless.

    Benning and the Canucks are emerging from their transition and look to be ready to get back into the playoff hunt with what should be a four-game series win against the Wild.

    Regular season outcomes:

    4-1 VAN at Xcel Energy Center on Jan. 12th, 4-2 MIN at Xcel Energy Center on Feb. 6th, 4-3 F/SO MIN at Rogers Arena on Feb. 19th

    Schedule:

    8/2- Game 1 MIN @ VAN in Edmonton 10:30 PM ET on NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN

    8/4- Game 2 MIN @ VAN in Edmonton 10:45 PM ET on USA, NHL.TV, SN

    8/6- Game 3 VAN @ MIN in Edmonton TBD

    8/7- Game 4 VAN @ MIN in Edmonton*

    8/9- Game 5 MIN @ VAN in Edmonton*

    *If necessary

    (8) Calgary Flames (36-27-7, 79 points) vs (9) Winnipeg Jets (37-28-6, 80 points)

    Calgary: 70 games played, .564 points percentage, 25 regulation wins.

    Winnipeg: 71 games played, .563 points percentage, 30 regulation wins.

    The Calgary Flames were led in scoring this season by their hottest controversial player, Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk ruffled some feathers en route to re-igniting the “Battle of Alberta” and managed to amass 23-38–61 totals in 69 games played in 2019-20.

    He was on pace for 72 points this season at the time of the stoppage, but still had back-to-back seasons with at least 60 points nonetheless.

    Johnny Gaudreau was second on the roster in points with 58 points (18 goals, 40 assists) in 70 games played, which was down from his 99 points in 82 games last season. That said, Gaudreau was still on pace for about 68 points when the regular season was cut short by the ongoing pandemic.

    Instead, his streak of consecutive 60-plus point seasons was over at five seasons thanks to the pandemic.

    Finally, Elias Lindholm managed to set a new career-high in goals (29), while scoring 54 points in 70 games this season– ranking third on the team in scoring.

    In the crease, Calgary was saved by David “Big Save Dave” Rittich, who went 24-17-6 in 48 games played (all starts), had a 2.97 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and two shutouts this season.

    Actually, on second thought, maybe that’s not very good numbers to have for a *checks notes* starting goaltender.

    Alright, let’s check the backup…

    Cam Talbot went 12-10-1 in 26 games played (22 starts), had a 2.63 GAA, a .919 SV% and two shutouts this season. Hmm, not much better.

    Oh and did you remember that interim head coach, Geoff Ward, replaced Bill Peters after everyone found out Peters is racist?

    The Winnipeg Jets landed in fifth place in the Central Division with 80 points this season– two points behind the Dallas Stars, who were the fourth best team in the Western Conference by points percentage and have earned themselves home ice in at least the First Round, which only matters so much in a bubble, but still, this was meant to show how close the Jets came to being a Round Robin team instead of playing in a Qualifier series.

    Anyway, Kyle Connor soared as a Jet this season– establishing new career-highs in goals (38), assists (35) and points (73) in the process while playing in 71 games until the pandemic cut the regular season short.

    Connor was on pace for 84 points this season if the full 82-game schedule could’ve occurred uninterrupted.

    Meanwhile, Mark Scheifele actually tied Connor for the most points on the roster with 73, as Scheifele tallied 29 goals and had 44 helpers in 71 games. Not quite a career-season, but still respectable after setting career-high totals (38-46–84) last season in all 82 games.

    Winnipeg’s captain, Blake Wheeler, contributed more than just actions and words in defense of the Constitution and human rights this season, scoring 22 goals and amassing 43 assists for third place on the roster in points (65) in 71 games played.

    Patrik Laine, for those wondering, was fourth on the team with 63 points, which was back to his usual self, albeit with more assists (35) than goals (28) in 68 games.

    Laine hasn’t been a bust for the Jets– he’s never had a season with fewer than 50 points (last season, 82 games) and was on pace for about 76 points had the season been played in full.

    This was, however, the first season he failed to reach the 30-goal plateau, but he only missed it by two goals and, hello, the pandemic? Remember it? Yeah, that’s why he missed the mark, otherwise he would’ve (probably) scored a pair of goals in the remaining 11 games for Winnipeg on the 2019-20 regular season schedule at the time of the pause.

    In goal, Paul Maurice relied on old reliable to bail him out even more so in the wake of Dustin Byfuglien’s decision to sit out the 2019-20 season and eventual mutual termination of his contract with the club.

    2019-20 Vezina Trophy finalist, Connor Hellebuyck, held the fort down with a 31-21-5 record in 58 games played (56 starts), amassed a 2.57 goals against average and had a .922 save percenrage– as well as a league-leading six shutouts this season.

    Yeah, it was kind of a big season for Hellebucyk and if he’s not the favorite among the NHL GMs that vote for the Vezina, well, who knows what games they were watching (presumably their own).

    Laurent Brossoit went 6-7-1 in 19 games (15 starts) this season and had a dismal 3.28 GAA and an .895 SV% in that span. Yikes.

    The defense looks different without Byfuglien, but Hellebuyck remained stable as their primary alternative to keeping the puck away from their own net.

    That might not pay off against some of the powerhouses in the league, but luckily the Jets have enough time to let Maurice come up with a plan and enact it to cut down on Hellebuyck’s workload in the Qualifier if they want a chance to advance.

    Oh, speaking of the Winnipeg and Calgary series– nobody knows what to expect!

    The Jets and Flames met once this season– back in the 2019 Heritage Classic outdoors at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.

    Winnipeg won in overtime in comeback fashion that night, 2-1.

    They peppered Rittich with 45 shots (43 saves) and kept Hellebuyck to an ideal workload of 30 shots faced (29 saves).

    If the Jets don’t win this series, it’ll be a huge disappointment– perhaps even bigger than making the First Round and getting stomped out by their next opponent after the phenomenal performance by Hellebucyk in the crease all season.

    Then again, momentum no longer exists since everyone had about five months off.

    Let’s say this one goes all five games for one reason or another and that Winnipeg can pull it off and advance to the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Regular season outcomes:

    2-1 F/OT WPG at Mosaic Stadium, Regina, Saskatchewan on Oct. 26th

    Schedule:

    8/1- Game 1 WPG @ CGY in Edmonton 10:30 PM ET on NBCSN, NHL.TV, CBC, SN

    8/3- Game 2 WPG @ CGY in Edmonton 2:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV, SN

    8/4- Game 3 CGY @ WPG in Edmonton 4:45 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV, SN

    8/6- Game 4 CGY @ WPG in Edmonton*

    8/8- Game 5 WPG @ CGY in Edmonton*

    *If necessary

    2020 Western Conference Round Robin Action

    Here’s a quick glance at the Round Robin schedule for the top-four Western Conference teams if you’re not at all interested in the Qualifiers for some reason.

    Again, all games in the Western Conference are in Edmonton this year and all times Eastern.

    St. Louis Blues

    42-19-10, 94 points, 71 GP, .662 PTS%, 33 RW

    Aug. 2nd @ COL in Edmonton 6:30 PM ET on NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN360

    Aug. 6th vs. VGK in Edmonton, TBD

    Aug. 9th vs. DAL in Edmonton, TBD

    Colorado Avalanche

    42-20-8, 92 points, 70 GP, .657 PTS%, 37 RW

    Aug. 2nd vs. STL in Edmonton 6:30 PM ET on NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN360

    Aug. 5th @ DAL in Edmonton 6:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV

    Aug. 8th vs. VGK in Edmonton, TBD

    Vegas Golden Knights

    39-24-8, 86 points, 71 GP, .606 PTS%, 30 RW

    Aug. 3rd vs. DAL in Edmonton 6:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV, SN1

    Aug. 6th @ STL in Edmonton, TBD

    Aug. 8th @ COL in Edmonton, TBD

    Dallas Stars

    37-24-8, 82 points, 69 GP, .594 PTS%, 26 RW

    Aug. 3rd @ VGK in Edmonton 6:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV, SN1

    Aug. 5th vs. COL in Edmonton 6:30 PM ET on NHLN, NHL.TV

    Aug. 9th @ STL in Edmonton, TBD

  • DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    Dates, awards finalists, opting out, new faces, exhibition schedule and the Ottawa Senators rebrand.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Bruins score touchdown in Nashville, win, 6-2

    Six different players scored goals in the Boston Bruins’, 6-2, victory over the Nashville Predators Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.

    B’s netminder, Tuukka Rask (16-4-6 record, 2.29 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 26 games played) stopped 33 out of 35 shots faced for a .943 SV% in the win.

    Predators goaltender, Pekka Rinne (14-9-3, 3.06 GAA, .894 SV% in 26 games played) made 30 saves on 35 shots against for an .857 SV% in the loss.

    Boston remained in command of the Atlantic Division with a 25-8-11 record this season and 61 points. Meanwhile, Nashville fell to 19-16-7 (45 points), but remained in 6th place in the Central Division.

    The Bruins improved to 11-6-2 on the road this season and snapped a three-game losing streak.

    Kevan Miller (knee) has yet to make his season debut and missed his 44th game this season due to complications stemming from an injury last season.

    Meanwhile, the Bruins were also without the services of Connor Clifton (upper body) and Joakim Nordstrom (illness) against the Predators.

    Steven Kampfer was assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Sunday before being recalled on Monday likely for cap reasons and as a result of Clifton’s extended stay in the press box with an injury.

    Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a few minor moves to his lineup entering Tuesday night in Nashville– most notably moving up Anders Bjork to the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk at left wing and David Krejci at center.

    Danton Heinen, Charlie Coyle and Brett Ritchie comprised of the third line, while Sean Kuraly moved over to the left wing of the fourth line with Par Lindholm at center and Chris Wagner on the right side.

    On defense, Zdeno Chara remained paired with Charlie McAvoy on the top pairing, while Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo rounded out the top-four defenders as usual.

    John Moore was back on the left side of the third pairing with Matt Grzelcyk on his right side.

    David Backes and Kampfer were the only healthy scratches for the B’s on Tuesday.

    While Boston made line changes, Nashville made a head coaching change prior to their meeting with the Bruins.

    After losing to the Ducks, 5-4, in a shootout on Sunday night in Anaheim, the Predators fired Peter Laviolette on Monday and hired John Hynes as just their third head coach in franchise history Tuesday afternoon.

    Kevin McCarthy was also let go by the Preds and Rob Scuderi was hired as an assistant coach in place of McCarthy.

    Brad Marchand cross checked Viktor Arvidsson 14 seconds into the first period, but Arvidsson also cut a rut to the penalty box for embellishment on the delayed call.

    The two teams played 4-on-4 for two minutes and were almost unscathed except for when David Pastrnak (32) glided through the neutral zone, skated around Calle Jarnkrok and blasted a shot past Rinne just a couple of feet after entering the offensive zone to give Boston the, 1-0, lead at 1:36 of the first period.

    McAvoy (14) and Grzelcyk (10) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal.

    Moments later, Kuraly hit Matt Duchene from behind along the glass and received a two-minute minor for boarding at 6:10.

    Nashville did not convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led the Predators, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 13-8, in shots on goal.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (3-1) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while the Preds led in giveaways (3-2) and hits (8-2).

    Both teams had four takeaways aside and the Predators were 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame. Boston had yet to see any action on the power play.

    Nashville thought they had tied the game up 61 seconds into the second period when Nick Bonino batted the puck out of the air and over the goal line while the net was knocked off its moorings, but after review it was determined that the actions of a Predators player had caused the net to come off– therefore negating the goal.

    Rocco Grimaldi bumped McAvoy and sent the Bruins defender barreling into the post– knocking the net off its pegs as Bonino worked his magic.

    The score remained, 1-0, for Boston at 1:01 of the second period.

    About a minute later, the B’s had too many skaters on the ice and were assessed a bench minor penalty that was served by Ritchie.

    Once more the Preds couldn’t convert on the ensuing legal skater advantage.

    Almost midway through the second period, Heinen (7) sniped a shot over Rinne’s blocker side and into the corner pocket of the twine to score his first goal in eight games and give the Bruins a two-goal lead.

    Grzelcyk (11) and Coyle (14) tallied the assists on Heinen’s goal at 8:21 of the second period and Boston led, 2-0.

    But less than a minute later the Bruins found themselves shorthanded yet again as Carlo tripped Arvidsson at 9:01– resulting in a 5-on-4 advantage for Nashville.

    Things escalated to a 5-on-3 power play for the Predators after Grzelcyk caught Craig Smith with a high stick at 10:28.

    A short, 33-second, two-skater advantage would be followed by an abbreviated standard power play, but the Preds didn’t need that long to connect on the 5-on-3 advantage.

    A bang-band play led to Filip Forsberg (15) rocketing the puck behind Rask with assists from Duchene (20) and Roman Josi (31).

    With the secondary assist on Forsberg’s power play goal, Josi extended his scoring streak to 11-games and Nashville cut Boston’ lead in half, 2-1, at 10:54 of the second period.

    The B’s escaped the remainder of the penalty kill unharmed.

    Late in the middle frame, Nashville lost track of basic numbers and had too many skaters on the ice at 16:29.

    Kyle Turris took the long skate across the ice to serve the bench minor infraction and the Bruins capitalized on their first power play of the night.

    Patrice Bergeron (18) followed up on a second-effort and sent a shot over Rinne’s blocker to once again give the Bruins a two-goal lead.

    DeBrusk (10) and Marchand (41) had the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal and Boston led, 3-1, at 17:42.

    Through 40 minutes of play in Nashville, the Bruins (and their moms– as it was Boston’s moms trip) led the Preds, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 26-24, in shots on goal despite trailing in the second period shots on net alone– 16-13.

    Boston also maintained the advantage in blocked shots (9-2), takeaways (5-4) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Nashville led in giveaways (5-3) and hits (13-6).

    The Predators were 1/4 on the skater advantage, while the B’s were a perfect 1/1 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Wagner (4) kicked off the third period with a quick goal as he unintentionally redirected a shot after he was pushed by a Predators defender into Rinne at 2:51.

    Lindholm (1) and Krug (24) notched the assists on Wagner’s goal and the Bruins extended their lead, 4-1.

    Almost a minute later, Grimaldi tripped Chara and was assessed a minor infraction at 3:52 of the third period.

    Boston’s ensuing power play was not successful.

    Midway through the third period, Yakov Trenin tried to engage Chara in a fight and got the Bruins captain to exchange fisticuffs at 11:40.

    Chara received an extra minor for roughing while both received majors for fighting and thus the Predators were headed on the power play after just the 8th fight this season for Boston– and 3rd in a row for their captain.

    Four seconds later, Moore hooked Arvidsson and joined Ritchie (serving Chara’s roughing minor) and Chara in the box as the B’s faced Nashville’s 5-on-3 advantage at 11:44.

    The Predators weren’t able to get anything done with the two-skater advantage and took a penalty of their own at 15:38 when Josi hooked Lindholm.

    Shortly after Boston’s resulting power play expired, Coyle tripped Mikael Granlund at 17:46 and presented the Preds with their seventh power play opportunity of the night.

    Just as the saying goes “the seventh time’s a charm”, the Predators managed to squib a puck through Rask and just over the line while chaos ensued in the crease at 18:06.

    Granlund (7) notched the power play goal for Nashville and the Preds cut the lead back to, 4-2. Mattias Ekholm (19) and Forsberg (15) had the assists on Granlund’s goal.

    With 1:07 remaining in the game, Hynes pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but things didn’t go quite as planned when Krejci (9) received the puck on a pass from Rask and fired the rubber biscuit into the empty goal frame about 170-feet away from where he was standing at 19:05.

    Rask (1) picked up his first assist of the season and the only assist on Krejci’s empty net goal as Boston all but confirmed the win, 5-2.

    It only took another 22 seconds for the Bruins to rub salt in the wounds of Smashville– adding one more tic-toc-goal from Coyle (8) at 19:27 as Boston pulled ahead to a four-goal lead with seconds remaining in the action.

    Ritchie (4) and Heinen (10) were credited with the assists on Coyle’s goal and the B’s sealed the deal on a, 6-2, win in Nashville.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (36-35), blocked shots (15-6) and faceoff win% (56-44), while Nashville wrapped up the night with the advantage in giveaways (7-3) and hits (15-8).

    The Predators wrapped up Tuesday night’s action 2/7 on the power play and the B’s finished the game 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins improved to 16-4-2 when leading after the first period, 14-0-5 when leading after two periods and 18-6-7 when scoring the game’s first goal this season.

    Boston returns home to face the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday before venturing on the road to visit the New York Islanders on Jan. 11th, the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 13th and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 14th.

  • DTFR Podcast #172- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part IV)

    DTFR Podcast #172- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part IV)

    The 2019-20 season has begun, so naturally we handed out awards in our 4th Annual Participation Trophies After One Game ceremony.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.