Down the Frozen River

Tag: Butcher

  • New Jersey Devils 2018-2019 Season Preview

    New Jersey Devils 44-29-9, 97 points, fifth in the Metropolitan Division Additions: RW Kurtis Gabriel, D Eric Gryba, D John Ramage, F Eric Tangradi, D Egor Yakovlev Subtractions: G Ken Appleby (signed by Manitoba, AHL), C Christoph Bertschy (signed with Lausanne, NL), D Yaroslav Dyblenko (released; signed by SKA Saint Petersburg, KHL; traded to Spartak Moscow, KHL),…

  • 2018 Offseason Preview: New Jersey Devils

    Now that the current Colorado franchise is out of the way, next up in DtFR’s offseason previews are the former Colorado Rockies: the New Jersey Devils! Ending a five-year playoff drought is hard, but maintaining and growing upon that success can often be harder. Such is the situation facing this young Devils squad headlined by…

  • A (forked) Tale of 3 Periods: Devils drop Game 2 to Lightning, but can build on strong play.

      Often times, hockey games can be looked at as stories. Three separate periods of play strung together as a single narrative, often carrying a common theme among them. Then, there are games like this one. Games where each 20 minute segment is entirely its own, almost entirely unrelated to one another. In a way,…

  • March 18 – Day 158 – This might be one of those weird games…

    With eight games on the schedule this Sunday, surely it’s possible to find a game for everybody to watch. The day’s action finds its start at 3 p.m. with Detroit at Colorado, followed an hour later by Calgary at Vegas (SN360). 5 p.m. is a major starting time today, as three tilts (Edmonton at Tampa…

  • Merkle’s Weekly Bumblings: Week 19

    Skater of the Week: Nico Hischier Boy, what a devil of a week for this kid, huh? HUH? (not even crickets chirp for this pun) In four games, the 19-year-old centerman put up four goals (one in each game) and three assists for seven points, and is currently riding a five-game point streak overall. A +8…

  • February 13 – Day 125 – Battle of the Turnpikes

    That adventure to Asia yesterday was excellent, but there’s more hockey to be watched today. At 7:10 a.m. Eastern time this morning, the Team USA women took on the OAR in Group A play. Needing a regulation victory to keep pace with the Canadians, the Americans shutout OAR 5-0. Meanwhile, the NHL is still going…

  • 2018 Trade Deadline Preview: Metropolitan Division

    1. Washington Capitals– 31-17-5 (67 points, 53 GP) After spending a couple of months figuring themselves out and weathering the storm that’s been Braden Holtby‘s second-to-last career worst season (his 2.76 goals against average and .915 save percentage in 39 games played are better and the same as his 2013-14 2.85 GAA and .915 SV%…

  • Merkle’s Weekly Bumblings: Week 15

    Skater of the Week: Brad Marchand You may not (probably don’t) like him, but the Little Ball of Hate doesn’t give a damn about what you like. He’s gonna score on your team, and you’re gonna deal with it. The league’s premiere super-pest tallied two goals and five assists in four contests this week, made arguably…

  • December 5 – Day 62 – Metro mayhem

    It’s Tuesday, so you know what that means: another fun day of hockey action! The evening gets started at 7 p.m. with the puck drop of New Jersey at Columbus, followed half an hour later by four more contests (the New York Rangers at Pittsbrugh [NBCSN/SN], St. Louis at Montréal [RDS/TSN2], Winnipeg at Detroit and…

  • November 1 – Day 29 – Brian Boyle’s debut?

    Halloween is great, but it’s the first couple of weeks in November that are truly great because you get to eat your candy. What better way to watch a hockey game? Speaking of which, you’ll have a few more contests to choose from while experiencing your sugar high than your typical Wednesday. The action starts…