Down the Frozen River

Tag: Colby Kephart

  • Colby’s Corner Sabres’ Swords In the Playoffs

    If you have been following the blog at all or just me personally you know I am a huge Buffalo Sabres fan. With this being said, it has been a year since I have written an article about them, so it’s about time for the Sabres update. Unknown-2

    The Sabres roster looks a little different going into this season as Chad Johnson, David Legwand and Carlo Colaiacovo’s contracts have expired and they are no longer with the team.

    At the 2016 draft, Tim Murray made another trade as the Sabres acquired a top four defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for Mark Pysyk. Another trade at the draft was a 3rd round pick for the negotiating rights of Jimmy Vesey. Jimmy Vesey was due to become a UFA on August 15th when Murray acquired him. This gave the Sabres a few weeks to talk with Vesey before that date. In the end, Vesey decided to become a UFA and eventually chose the New York Rangers as his new team.

    The team continued to get better as they landed a top free agent in Kyle Okposo for a 7-year, $42 million contract. This figures out to be a six million dollar average annual value (per year cap hit). The Sabres added a few AHL players for Rochester in free agency, the biggest name being Justin Falk, who will fight to be the depth guy in Buffalo. Most of the Sabres offseason was trying to re-sign their current players.

    The Sabres gave one-year deals to Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno, Daniel Catenacci, Cole Schneider and Johan Larsson. Jason Kasdorf, Casey Nelson and Nicolas Deslauriers got 2-year deals. Jake McCabe got a 3-year deal with $1.6M average annual value. There is only one RFA left and that is Rasmus Ristolainen. Not to worry, though, he is expected to sign a big long-term deal keeping him with the Sabres for a while. (As for why Murray is waiting, I have no clue and I am as frustrated as you are.)

    So with all of these moves plus adding a top six winger and top four defenseman, what does this mean for the Sabres this upcoming season?  

    Here are my thoughts on the subject. The Sabres need to be playoff-bound this year for a few reasons:

    First, the Atlantic division is completely up for grabs this year. Looking at the division, there isn’t one clear winner like years past. Boston and Montreal have questions defensively to figure out. The Florida Panthers have a lot of new faces, but will they all fit and work together right? Tampa might be the strongest team in the division after keeping Steven Stamkos.

    Photo Credit: Bill Wippert
    Photo Credit: Bill Wippert

    Second, if the Sabres don’t make the playoffs, it could be the end of Dan Bylsma in Buffalo. Bylsma wasn’t Murray first choice to be coach of this team, and if the team doesn’t improve at the rate Murray wants them to, there could be big changes and Bylsma could be one of them.

    Finally, do it for Marcus and Zemgus. Folgino and Girgensons had a few question asked of them about production last season. If the team doesn’t make the playoffs this season, these are two guys who could be playing their last season in Buffalo unless their production jumps up dramatically. You may call me crazy for this thought, but it really does hurt me knowing that my favorite player (Girgensons) may be traded at some point.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #33- We’re Baaack!

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #33- We’re Baaack!

    The Down the Frozen River crew returns as Colby, Frank and Nick discuss several of the offseason’s biggest stories, including Las Vegas, the day hockey Twitter erupted and some of the best and worst free agent signings. As well, the DTFR crew talks about some World Cup of Hockey replacements. As always, stayed tuned for weekly coverage of the latest news and notes around the NHL every week on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    *Editor’s note: Due to a technological crisis that was averted, this episode was recorded on Friday of last week and finally salvaged to being released this week. We’ll have another episode that should go smoothly this Friday. Oh and don’t mind the flushing toilet sound in this one… Connor’s not our next door neighbor anymore so stuff like that might happen because we can’t control strangers (please come back Connor).*

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

  • Vesey’s Pieces

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Bad forced play-on-word attempts are my middle name, so in “Vesey’s Pieces” I take a look at what teams have the right pieces in place to lock up Jimmy Vesey on August 15th (if he doesn’t re-sign with the Buffalo Sabres before then).

    Here’s a list of teams that could sign Vesey:

    Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets

    Yes, that list includes Las Vegas, because wouldn’t it be funny if Jimmy Vesey decided to wait another year just to mess with everyone and give him 31 options instead of 30?

    Also, I know the salary cap exists, but teams are allowed to exceed the cap by 10% without facing penalty in the offseason. By training camp each organization must be cap compliant, meaning that any team could sign Vesey to the maximum amount of $925,000 on August 15th and spend the rest of the offseason figuring out who they’ll trade or send down to the AHL to fit under the salary cap.

    Realistically, let’s take a look at who’s in play, shall we?

    The fact of the matter is that Jimmy Vesey’s agent seems to confirm just about anything that’s been asked. Are the Bruins interested? Are the Blackhawks interested? Are the Sabres interested? Is Toronto interested? Does Jimmy think a hot dog is a sandwich?

    All of these questions seem to be met with a “yes” or “there’s a mutual interest something something they’re expected to be on the short list something something get out of here with your hot dog takes.”

    Enough foolishness aside, Colby Kephart and I agreed on Tuesday in a private conversation that we’re both tired of the media circus that’s become the Vesey Decision 2016. It’s nothing against Vesey as a player, or his right to explore all of his options per the collective bargaining agreement in the manner that he is, but rather it’s the hype that we’re annoyed about.

    Nobody is questioning his ability, having amassed 24-22-46 totals in 33 games this season with the Harvard Crimson and 32-26-58 totals the year before that in 37 games played. That’s 104 points in 70 games over his final two seasons with the Crimson, if you can’t do the math. Vesey’s numbers have grown and his playing style has developed as he’s gone through four years at Harvard, in the midst of one of the greatest college hockey cities in the United States- all while not being put against Hockey East universities on the regular, mind you.

    That’s not to discredit the ECAC either. Vesey is a college standout. He’s the real deal, but like any prospect, there’s a chance he won’t make as much of an impact as one would expect.

    And that is what hinges me from being able to say without a doubt he’s apt to be going to one team or another, because it all depends on how much of a risk teams are willing to take.

    Could he sign with his hometown team in Boston? Absolutely, but it’s not like the Bruins won’t be fine offensively if they don’t sign Vesey. Their top-six forwards are Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Matt Beleskey, David Backes and/or Frank Vatrano (which technically breaks the rules of limiting the discussion to just six players if one includes Vatrano).

    Would a solidified top-nine make the Bruins a better team? I guess you could say so, but that does nothing to improve their defense.

    Buffalo has been trying their hardest to keep Vesey around longer than just for this summer with their Jack Eichel diplomacy, but even there, it’s not like they’ll be that much better of a team or that much worse if they lose out on Vesey for only the cost of a third round pick. Keep in mind Boston traded a third round pick for Zac Rinaldo after all.

    The Sabres have a quality roster with the addition of Kyle Okposo this offseason and rising sophomore Eichel and friends. Tim Murray’s been making the right moves as their general manager and this could be the season that they get back into the playoffs if they play their cards right, their guys stay healthy and the right additions without subtracting reveal themselves throughout the season.

    They won’t lead the Atlantic Division, because hello, the entire state of Florida is good at hockey right now. Yet Buffalo will definitely be more competitive against a weakened, P.K. Subban-less Montreal Canadiens, the Ottawa Senators (who’ll end up overpaying Cody Ceci, just watch), Detroit Red Wings (who’ll probably miss the playoffs for the first time in forever) and Bruins (what’s a defense).

    As for Chicago, what are the odds that Vesey will win the Cup in his first season if he signs with them? Pretty great probably, but what are the odds that he’d get traded that offseason or in his first few years in the league from the Blackhawks? Also pretty good, since his last name isn’t Kane, Toews, Panarin, or Hossa (or any of their other core guys).

    It’s hard to crack the core in Chicago, even if they are to move Marian Hossa in the coming season(s). But it also looks like poor salary cap management may finally be catching up to them, ignoring the fact that this is what is said every other year about the Blackhawks.

    The Maple Leafs seem to be largely at play, what with Auston Matthews being a main attraction and Vesey’s family ties to the organization. While we’re on the subject of Toronto, why not take a look at the Arizona Coyotes who have done everything the Maple Leafs have dreamed of in one offseason at this point?

    There’s a great chance he’ll end up with an Original Six team, because that’s where it seems his interest resides. In the end it’s all about the best fit, which could sway Vesey to a team like the Coyotes where he has the chance to standout on the roster and against other teams, if that’s what he’s after. Or he could stay with the Sabres.

    Then again, he’ll probably sign with a team none of us expected him to sign with and disappoint every fanbase that was on edge, awaiting a signature on a piece of paper with their team’s logo on it.

    But hey, for the record, I’ve never had Reese’s Pieces which might shock you even more than Jimmy Vesey getting your hopes up and signing with a different team. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

     

  • Completely Biased DTFR Awards for Our Egos

    By: Nick Lanciani

    It’s the NHL Award season, so since I’m a nice boss/founder/whatever you want to call me, I figured I’d hand out some awards to our Down the Frozen River crew. These once in a lifetime beauties will probably never be given out again, so enjoy them while they last.

    Newcomer Award– presented by me to our rookie of the year for producing quality content- Frank Fanelli

    Frank joined us this spring and hit the ground running with some quality Philadelphia Flyers hot takes (and serious takes). His dedication made our lives easy when it came time to organize our schedule of playoff recaps and other quick write-ups that we did in preparation for a whole lot more next season. Frankly, I think he did a good job. Thanks Frank!

    Social Media Guru Award– presented by me to our best social media content producer (and stuff)- Jordan Dettrow

    Jordan was another addition to the crew this season— prior to Frank’s arrival— as we expanded our reach and broadened our target audience from just your average NHL fan to all kinds of hockey fans. Though Jordan has been quite busy this offseason, his presence as one of us has been felt all throughout our ramped up coverage of this year’s playoffs. I could have made him a co-recipient of the Newcomer Award, but I felt as though it’s necessary to make him stand out on his own, since without him we wouldn’t have over 750 followers on Twitter (we’d have, like, 700 fewer than that). I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of new and exciting things will come from him next season. Thanks Jordan!

    Hot Air Award– presented by me to our crew member with the most bold predictions and hot takes this season on the Down the Frozen River Podcast- Colby Kephart

    Colby is… well, Colby. Always willing to talk and offer his thoughts, his bold predictions on our show keep us on edge and in tune with what’s going on around the league. Another DTFR member with a busy offseason, we certainly wish him the best as he does some real world things in the meantime. He’ll need to rest his voice for another season of podcasts coming this September. Thanks Colby!

    Content-King Award– presented by me to our crew member with the most content/best quality content on a consistent basis this season- Connor Keith

    All season long Connor wrote daily Game of the Day matchups (well, with the exception of that time between November and the end of the semester, because college). His dedication to his craft is unlike any other in the nature of his hard work and many late nights spent writing about plenty of teams he’d probably rather never hear about ever again. We all expect more of the same from him this season (and more, muwahaha), but the choice is always his, as he heads into the real world of sports. Thanks Connor!

    Good-For-Nothing Award– presented as a participation award to one of our members when I can’t think of anything else to give- Nick Lanciani (oh, hey look, that’s me)

    I get to take home this awesome award because I created this whole thing in the first place (I meant these awards, not just this site, but you know— I made the site too, so there’s always that). I would’ve also given Kevan Miller partial ownership of this award, but alas, he’s not on our Down the Frozen River team. Maybe next year, Kevan (please don’t hate me).

  • Hertl Power- Forward Scores 2 for Sharks in Game 3 Victory

    By: Colby Kephart

    UnknownThe San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues by a score of 3-0 in Game 3 of the 2016 Western Conference Final. The Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl line was responsible for 2 goals on Thursday night, with Hertl responsible for both of them.

    Martin Jones also had a great night stopping 22 shots out of the 22 shots he faced for his second straight shutout. Brain Elliot stopped 11 out of 14 before being pulled in the 3rd period.

    Before I get into telling you about the action let me just start by saying St. Louis scratching Steve Ott was a huge mistake. Ott gets into the heads of the other team and makes every game he’s a part of more entertaining. St Louis jumped out from the gates looking to rebound after Game 2. They had the first three shots of the game and managed to keep the Sharks from getting a shot on goal through the first few minutes. The Sharks started to get their feet going, but sent their shots high and wide.

    With 4:07 remaining in the period, a turnover forced by Joe Thornton found Joe Pavelski as he was racing into the offensive zone. Pavelski made a great pass to find Tomas Hertl alone on the other side of the ice who hammered the one-timer past Brian Elliott. It was Hertl’s 4th goal of the playoffs and gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead. For most of the first period there was a lot of neutral zone play and were many battles along the boards. With less than a minute left in the period, Alex Pietrangelo took a charging penalty on the goal scorer Hertl.

    The second period started with 1:53 left on the Sharks power play as they were looking to add to their lead. The Blues were able to kill off the penalty, having only allowed a single shot on goal. The Sharks had a great chance to add to their lead as Chris Tierney danced by the Blues defenseman but was denied by Elliott.

    The Sharks forced turnovers all over the ice, but they couldn’t capitalize on them until 11:44 of the second period. Joonas Donskoi got his stick in the right spot to break up a Blues pass and started a fast break with Logan Couture leading the rush. Couture held the puck up and made a great pass back to Donskoi who made no mistake from the slot to beat Elliott with a wrist shot. It was Donskoi’s 4th goal of the playoffs and Couture’s 20th point this postseason.

    Couture took a penalty with 4:59 remaining in the period for catching Patrik Berglund with a high stick. San Jose was up to the task on the penalty kill, however, as they killed it off without any issue. The horn brought the end of a defense-heavy period as both teams combined for only 11 shots on goal. San Jose was also out hitting St Louis 32-16 after forty minutes of play.

    Unknown-1The 3rd period started with St. Louis jumping out again with pressure, getting the first 3 shots of the period and holding San Jose shot less. Shot less, that is, until Tomas Hertl received a pass from Thornton and took it to the front of the net and trickled the puck through Elliott’s pads 5:29 into the third.

    Blues head coach, Ken Hitchcock, made a goalie change, swapping Elliott with Jake Allen after San Jose’s third unanswered goal of the night (and seventh consecutive goal of the series). The goal was Hertl’s 5th of the playoffs and Thornton’s 10th assist of the playoffs.

    St Louis was trying not get shut out again and Troy Brouwer thought he had one when they forced a turnover. His wrist shot from the point beat Martin Jones but rang off the post and kept Jones shutout streak alive. With just over 5 minutes left in the game, St Louis pulled Allen for an extra attacker. The Sharks were able to keep everything out wide, without surrendering many chances to the Blues. The Blues had a few chances but Jones was up to it securing his shutout.

    Game 4 will be in San Jose on Saturday at 7:15 PM ET on NBC in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada. We can only hope Steve Ott plays in that game.

  • Mike Fisher’s Triple OT Winner Evens the Series

    By Colby Kephart

    UnknownThe Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks by the score of 4-3 in triple overtime at Bridgestone Arena in Game 4 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff Second Round matchup. The goalies were a huge story of the game as Pekka Rinne stopped 44 out of 47 shots for a .936 save percentage.

    Martin Jones stopped 41-45 shots, 18 of those came in the overtime periods. Mike Fisher had a two goal night for the Predators and Brent Burns also had a two goal night in a losing effort for the Sharks.

    Heading into Game 4, Colin Wilson was on a 4 game point streak and it only took 41 seconds for the streak to continue. A Mattias Ekholm shot from the front squeaked past Martin Jones and Wilson was there to push it into the empty net. It was Wilson’s 4th goal of playoffs and gave his team a 1-0 lead. It was also Nashville’s first shot of the game and it raised a few questions for San Jose.

    The Sharks answered those questions as Logan Couture found Brent Burns busting into the zone along the boards. Burns fired a shot that caught Pekka Rinne by surprised and beat him high glove side. This was Burns 3rd goal of the playoffs and 12th point. Just like Nashville it was also San Jose’s first shot of the game. I was picturing a high scoring game after this but the play began to slow down.

    The game was tied until halfway through the period when Roman Josi made a pass to James Neal who ripped a shot at Jones. It bounced off his pads to Mike Fisher who made no mistake to hit the back of the net. It was Fisher’s 3rd goal of the playoffs and gave his team a 2-1 lead. Nashville was able to keep the lead heading into the break.

    The 2nd period started with Nashville skating well and creating chances. James Neal had a great one early in the period as he tried to step around Rinne and his shot deflected away. 12:09 into the period Roman Josi took a bad interference call that gave San Jose a chance on the powerplay.

    Just as the powerplay expired, Joonas Donskoi took a slap shot from the top of the circle. It bounced off Ryan Ellis’s skate and squeaked past Rinne into the net. Nashville challenged the goal, claiming the play was offside on its entry. It looked like the goal would be disallowed, but the ref’s saw otherwise and called it a good goal. I am not sure if it was the fact they are looking at a small tablet or they saw something I didn’t see, but either way good goal.

    With the goal, momentum began to switch as San Jose started creating more chances. Logan Couture had a great look in front of the net but Rinne was able to stand tall and make the save. The game was tied at 2 going into the intermission.

    UnknownThe 3rd period started with a power play that carried over from the 2nd for Nashville. Things got better for Nashville as Brent Burns took a delay of game penalty, giving them a 5 on 3 powerplay for a few seconds but they weren’t able to do anything with it.

    This seemed to spark San Jose as they began to have more of the puck. The Predators became undisciplined as they took 2 penalties only 3 minutes apart. On the Sharks second power play of the period they finally broke the deadlock. Joe Thornton won a faceoff back to Couture, who slid the puck to Burns, who then hammered it from the point past Rinne for his second goal of the game.

    Nashville realized a 3-1 hole in the series would be dangerous and started to fight back. A shot from the point rang the post, much to Jones’s relief. The fans tried to get their team going making a lot of noise and it worked with just under 5 minutes left in the game. A shot by Ryan Ellis rebounded off of Jones to the stick of Neal who leveled the game at 3. It was Neal’s 4th goal of the playoffs and his second point of the game. The place erupted as overtime was needed to settle Game 4.

    Overtime started with the Predators pushing early as they jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in shots. Jones was not to beaten however as he stood tall. The Sharks had a great chance as Joel Ward tried a wraparound to beat Rinne, but Rinne and Ellis robbed Ward and Donskoi on a second chance opportunity. Nashville answered with a chance of their own as Ryan Johansen got the puck in the slot and hit the post about 5 minutes into overtime. Joe Pavelski thought he had the winner as he scored a goal after running into Rinne. The ref’s ruled the goal illegal, however, as it was disallowed due to goaltender interference.

    Nine minutes into the overtime, Nashville was given a great chance as Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a penalty for delay of game. The Predators threw everything at net on the power play as Josi, Neal and Craig Smith had great looks but Jones was able to turn them aside and kill off the penalty. Neither team could find a break in the first overtime, so a second overtime was needed.

    The second overtime was all San Jose and Rinne. San Jose had a lot of great chances from Tomas Hertl to Joe Pavelski, Rinne was there to keep Nashville in the game. Nashville was outshot 9-3 in the period. One shot attempt that wasn’t part of that shots on goal total was a Paul Martin slap shot that hit the crossbar. Shea Weber took a penalty with 2 minutes left in the period and the Predators penalty kill unit stepped up and bailed out Rinne by clearing the puck out of the zone a few times. The Preds survived the PK and forced a third overtime.

    The 3rd overtime was similar to the 2nd as goalies were the story of the period. Patrick Marleau had a great chance early with a wraparound, but Roman Josi got his stick in the way to block it. A minute into the third overtime period, it became Nashville’s longest game in franchise history. Rinne needed to be huge again as his captain, Shea Weber, took another bad penalty. He was able to stay tall and 11 minutes into the period Nashville got the break they wanted. Ekholm’s shot from the point was stopped by Jones and rebounded to Mike Fisher, who scored a goal that was as beautiful as his wife. It was his second goal of the game and evened the series at 2-2.

    The next game will be Saturday May 7th at the Shark Tank in San Jose at 10 pm.

  • Tampa Takes one in New York

    The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime to take game 3 on the road. Brian Boyle scored the game winning goal in overtime. Josh Bailey had a strong game in his return scoring 2 goals in a losing effort.  

    Going into game 3, Josh Bailey was a game time decision after missing the past few games. It proved to be a great choice as 8 minutes into the game Josh Bailey opened the scoring of the game. Travis Hamonic dumped the puck into the offensive zone and Nikolay Kulemin got in on the fore-check and managed to get the puck to Bailey in front of the net and made no mistake to beat Ben Bishop.

    The Islanders continued to pressure Tampa as they threw puck after puck at the net, but Bishop was up to the task. Bishop had a great first period making 16 saves on 17 shots. It looked like the Islanders were going to take the lead into the second period, but with 1:30 left in the period Casey Cizikas took a tripping penalty. Tampa made no mistake on the power-play as Alex Killorn’s slap shot from the point was deflected by Ryan Callahan past Thomas Greiss with just 13 second left in the period. Unknown-1

    The second period started with the Islanders throwing their weight around and no one felt it more than Jonathan Drouin who was hammered by Thomas Hickey crossing over the blue line. It was a little questionable with a lot of contact to Drouin’s head. It was also pointed out that Drouin lowered his head and Hickey had no option but make contact with his head. Drouin didn’t return until halfway thru the 3rd period.

     A few minutes later Tampa took its first lead of the game, Tyler Johnson won an offensive zone faceoff back to Victor Hedman who stepped into a slap shot and hammered it past Greiss. The lead lasted for about six minutes until the 4th line for New York was out grinding. Cal Clutterbuck got the puck back to Nick Leddy who let a slap shot go with big Matt Martin in front of the net and the puck beat Bishop. The 2nd period finished with both teams tied at 2 going into the final 20 minutes of the game.

    The 3rd period got underway and Jason Garrison took a high sticking penalty, giving the Islanders their 4th powerplay of the game. This time they were able to capitalize on the man advantage as Josh Bailey scored his second goal of the game after a great pass from Thomas Hickey making the game 3-2 just 2 minutes into the game.  

    This lasted 58 seconds as Tampa answered with a goal of their own. Valtteri Filppula was behind the net and made a great pass to find Vladislav Namestnikov who’s one timer hit the back of net. Alex Killorn also picked up an assist on the goal. The game slowed down a little as both teams began to play conservative hockey.

     With 8 minutes left in the period the Islanders’ 4th line struck again as they won a battle along the boards and found Cal Clutterbuck in the high slot who buried his shot past Bishop to retake the lead. New York Islanders Logo

    Tampa was looking to tie the game, so with just over 2 minutes left in the game they pulled Bishop for the extra attacker. It proved to be a great decision as Nikitia Kucherov receives a pass from Drouin to tie the game with 38 seconds left in the game. This meant overtime was needed to decide a winner.

    Overtime lasted a whole 2:48 as Brian Boyle scored his first ever playoff winning goal. Victor Hedman took a shot that missed the net and came off the boards to Boyle who made no mistake in finding the net with Greiss down and out.

    The next game will be Friday, May 6th at 7pm eastern standard time in New York.

  • Dallas Ends Minnesota’s Season in Game 6

    The Dallas Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild by the score of 5-4 to win the series and advance into the next round. Jamie Benn had a strong game as he posted a goal and 2 assists leading his team into the next round. Minnesota’s four-goal third period wasn’t enough to beat the Stars and keep their season alive. Unknown-2

    Coming into game 6, it was a question of who would get the start for Dallas, as Antti Niemi lost game 5. The Stars went back to Kari Lehtonen, who started games 1-3. The game started with rough stuff and it was not a surprise as the penalties started to fly. Five minutes into the game, Dallas found themselves on a 5-on-3 and it only took a little bit before they had the breakthrough.

    John Klingberg’s one-timer from the point beat Devan Dubnyk on the powerplay. Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza picked up the assists on Klingberg’s first goal of the playoffs. Dallas wasn’t done there, however, as three minutes later Jason Spezza converted a rebound off a Patrick Eaves slapshot.

    Things seemed to slow down a little bit, but questions were being asked of Minnesota and people were wondering if they were going to show up. With just under two minutes left in the 1st period, Patrick Sharp scored 2-on-1 as he lasered the puck past Devan Dubnyk, putting the Stars up 3-0 going into the break. Jamie Benn picked up his second assist of the night along with Cody Eakin on the Sharp goal. CJhyiLmK

    The 2nd period was little more balanced and Minnesota seemed to get more into the game. Dallas also seemed content on defending a 3-goal lead. Minnesota got a powerplay as Vernon Fiddler took a tripping penalty. Minnesota didn’t get anything going from it. Then the boos started coming from the Minnesota fans as the home team didn’t look a threat. It got worse for the fans as Jamie Benn got his 4th of the playoff, as he sniped one past Dubnyk with just under 30 seconds left in the period. Patrick Sharp picked up his second point of the night on the assist along with Jason Spezza picking up his 3rd point.

    The 3rd period saw goals on goals on goals. After a holding penalty on Dallas, Minnesota got their first goal of the game as Jared Sprugeon jammed one past Lehtonen to spark his team. 16 seconds after the goal, Jonas Brodin scored on a backhand to really get the place rocking. This forced Dallas to take a timeout and try to regroup.

     Minnesota wasn’t done there, though, as 4 minutes later, Jared Spurgeon scored his second powerplay goal of the game after a high sticking call on Stephen Johns. Dallas was able to slow the scoring down and get one of their own as Alex Golgoski bounced one off 3 Minnesota players and past Devan Dubnky. However, Minnesota wouldn’t go away, as Jason Pominville scored his 4th of the playoffs to cut the lead back down to 1 goal. Minnesota pulled Dubnyk for the extra attacker and they began throwing the kitchen sink at the Stars. Dallas was able to hold on for the win, thus winning the series.

    Dallas will play the winner of Chicago and St. Louis in the conference semi-finals.

  • Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s –Pacific

    Colby’s Corner meets Connor for divisional MVP’s. It will be a four part series, where Connor Keith and I (Colby) will pick, by division, the MVP of the forwards, defensemen and a goalies. This week, the two of us will discuss the Pacific division.

    Connor: Forward- Joe PavelskiUnknown

    Of the three Pacific Division teams to qualify for the playoffs, only San Jose plays an offensive game.  Who better to lead that charge than Captain Pavelski, the Pacific forward MVP.  This guy does absolutely everything.  He’s the leading goal scorer in the division, successful on 17% of attempts, and takes second in points.  Oh yeah, on the other end, he also has 67 blocks to his credit (leads San Jose forwards), not to mention his 147 hits.

    His closest competition for the honor was actually line-mate Joe Thornton, who leads the division in assists and points.  Since they are on the same line, the Joes have the same +25, but the reason Thornton falls off for me is his only taking half the shots Pavelski does while still having a shooting percentage over 15.7%.  I know he’s north of 35-years-old, but I feel like Thornton still has a lot to give and could benefit by being on his own line, but that hasn’t happened since the 2013-’14 season if I’m not mistaken.

    Colby: Joe Thornton

    I like Pavelski, but I had to go with big Jumbo Joe on this one. This year he had 63 assists and 82 points. I have to give it to the man who has been setting up Pavelski all year long. The two of them couldn’t stop connecting all year long and now we are seeing them connect in the playoffs. Both Pavelski and Thornton would be deserving of the reward, I just wanted the assist king to get some love, so I picked big Joe.

    Connor: Defender- Brent Burns

    Was there much doubt here?  This is another man that does everything for the Sharks.  He’s scored the second most goals and assists for his entire team to rank third in points, and all of those totals are tops in the division for defensemen.  While being a threat to score, he also maintains his blue line presence, having the most blocks on his squad.

    Burns’ main detractor is the exact same as Erik Karlsson, an offensive D-man cut from the same cloth.   Neither players have positive +/-, which is a price they pay for being more involved on the opposite end of the ice.  When it works like it has been this season for the Sharks to get into a playoff spot, it is certainly an issue they can deal with.

    Colby: Brent Burns

    I can’t argue Brent Burns at all; this man and his beard are both amazing. Burns is a defenseman that the other team has to keep their eye on at all times. He played all 82 games this year and put up 75 points. That means he had a point in 91% of his games. Teams couldn’t stop him or keep him off the scoresheet. If the Sharks have a deep run it’s because of the 3 players we have mentioned so far this year. A nice honorable mention will go to Drew Doughty who put up 51 points and had a plus minus of +24 tops in the top 10 Defenseman by points.Unknown

    Connor: Goaltender- Jonathan Quick

    Quick has some of the strongest numbers in the league, much less the division, and has led his team to barely missing out on their second division title.  He leads the division in wins and fell one short of tying for shutouts.  Going along with that, he also has 38 quality starts and a .559 quality start rate, which leads those stats of both the remaining goaltenders for the other division qualifiers.

    I toyed with choosing Martin Jones for a minute, based simply on how much more work he has to do compared to Quick and John Gibson due to the defense in front of him, but decided against it since save percentage and goals against average were the lowest of the three netminders.

    Colby: John GibsonUnknown

    This one may be a shock but if you look at save percentage and goals against average, John Gibson actually beats Jonathan Quick. Quick was second in the league for wins, however, as he had a .918 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average. Gibson had .920 save percentage and 2.07 GAA, thus edging out Quick. Now I also look at the games Gibson played, but the thing to remember is he didn’t start the year with Anaheim. He was in the AHL and earned a spot on the team and during the run at the end of the year he was the number one goalie. Gibson needs some credit for Anaheim’s huge comeback this season.

  • Pominville leads the State of Hockey in game 3

    The Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 5-3 on home ice. The series is now 2-1 in favor of Dallas. Jason Pominville had 2 goals and an assist. Patrick Sharp also had a 2 goal night in a losing effort. Devan Dubnyk earned his first win of the playoffs, stopping 14 of 17. Minnesota’s star players finally showed up in this game helping the team take Game 3. Unknown-2

    Dallas and Patrick Sharp had a great start to the game as Sharp tipped in Alex Goligoski’s shot from the point just 26 seconds into the game. Patrick Sharp continue his strong start with another goal four minutes later. Cody Eakin and Jamie Benn picked up assists on Sharp’s second goal. Devan Dubnyk had a rough start giving up two goal on three shots. Minnesota was going to be shutout in the first before Chris Porter got his first of the playoffs with Erik Haula and Jonas Brodin picking up assists.

    The 2nd period was a much better period for Minnesota and their fans. Just 6 minutes into the period, Erik Haula scored his first of the playoffs with Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter picking up the helpers. Teams continued exchanging chances but both Devan Dubnyk and Kari Lehtonen were up to the task. The Wild struck late again as Pominville was able to squeeze the rebound by Lehtonen to give the Wild their first lead of the game. The Building was really rocking as the Wild had their first lead in the series. The Wild outshot Dallas in the period 8-4, giving them an 18-10 lead on the game.

    The 3rd period started in Minnesota favor as Jordie Benn took a holding penalty just five minutes into the period. On that power play, the Wild were able to double their lead as Mikko Koivu got his first of the playoffs and Dallas was in a 4-2 hole. This only lasted about six minutes as Jason Demers’ shot deflected off Colton Sceviour to bring the game within one. Minnesota went into their defensive shell and was able to keep Dallas out. CJhyiLmK

    Around a minute left in the game the Stars pulled Lehtonen for the extra attacker. It only took a few minutes before Jason Pominville scored his second of the night from mid-ice into the empty net. Shots told a lot about this game as Dallas averaged 32 shots per game during the regular season, but tonight they finished with 17. This just shows how strong the Wild’s defense was tonight as they were able to slow a high caliber offense.