Tag: Columbus Jackets

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January 1 – Day 78 – Centennial Classic

Wake up, sleepyheads! I don’t care how late you stayed up! We’ve got to get this year started off right and the only way to do that is with hockey!

The action starts at 3 p.m. with Detroit at Toronto (NBC/SN/TVAS) at Exhibition Stadium – you know, where the Argonauts and Toronto FC play. Ottawa at Washington (SN/TVAS) drops the puck at 7:30 p.m., followed half an hour later by tonight’s nightcap: Philadelphia at Anaheim (NHLN). All times eastern.

All three games are going to be very exciting, but only one is a rivalry. Oh, and it’s also being played outside, which seems to get everybody excited. We’ll head up to Toronto just in case something cool happens.

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BMO Field  – that’s the usual name of this facility – has certainly seen some special events this season. It was the site of TFC‘s MLS Eastern Conference-clinching effort, making them the first-ever Canadian participant in the MLS Cup. Unfortunately, they lost the scoreless title game to the Seattle Sounders in penalty kicks, earning the Sounders their first Cup.

Also, the Argonauts… played football… sometimes.

The same could also be played for today’s visitors. For 25-straight seasons, Detroit has played at least four games beyond their regular season schedule, but at 16-16-4, it looks like more than Joe Louis Arena will be coming to an end. The main culprit? A lackadaisical offense that has managed only 84 goals – the fifth-fewest in the NHL.

The ‘C’ on Henrik Zetterberg‘s chest is important to him, and it shows in his play. He leads his club with 25 points, acting most of the time as a facilitator. The Wings‘ sniper is the same kid it was last year. Dylan Larkin has 10 tallies to his credit, most on the team.

Yesterday we featured the best power play in the game. Today, Detroit represents the worst, successful on only 12% of opportunities. It’s with the man-advantage that Frans Nielsen truly shines, as his seven power play points are tops on the club. Larkin once again tops the Wings‘ goal chart with the extra man, but he shares the title with Thomas Vanek as both have lit the lamp three times.

Although they’re nearly five kilometers (that’s three miles, Americans) from their usual surface, the 16-12-7 Maple Leafs play host this evening. Winners of their last four, they’re the fifth-best team in the Atlantic Division even though they’re tied for the 12th-most goals scored.

Unfortunately in the Eastern Conference this year, 12th-most is not good enough to break into a playoff position, even when Toronto‘s defense/goaltending is even better than their offense. Star rookie Auston Matthews has been at the head of the Leafs‘ attack, notching 30 points in 35 games. 18 of those points have been goals, which is also the best mark on the squad.

Defensively, the Leafs are at their best when down a man. They’ve properly defended 84.9% of opposing power plays, the sixth-best mark in the NHL. Zach Hyman and Roman Polak have both been at the head of that effort, with 14 shorthanded blocks apiece.

Let us not forget that it was not randomly the Red Wings to visit Toronto this fine first day of 2017. This rivalry is as old as the league itself and has been played out in the Stanley Cup playoffs more than every other rivalry other than Boston-Montréal. Even though they haven’t faced since 1993 in that capacity, don’t think the animosity between these fan-bases has dwindled any since then.

Some players to keep an eye on include Detroit‘s Jimmy Howard (.934 save percentage [tied for second-best in the league] for a 1.96 GAA [fourth-best in the NHL]) & Toronto‘s Frederik Andersen (.925 save percentage [ninth-best in the league] for 15 wins [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]) and Matthews (18 goals [fifth-most in the league]).

Vegas has marked the Maple Leafs a -150 favorite, and I’d be shocked if the Wings pull even a point out of Hogtown. Although Howard is going to give his best shot, Toronto‘s offense is far superior to the Wings‘ and will be able to power the Leafs to victory.

Hockey Birthday

  • Calum MacKay (1927-2001) – A Red Wing for six games, this left wing played most of his seven seasons in Montréal. He was an All Star selection and hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1953.
  • Dave Silk (1958-) – This right wing was the 59th-overall pick in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft by the Rangers, and he played most of his seven-season career with the club. Just like MacKay, Silk had a brief tenure in Detroit, but he’s most known for his gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games.
  • Bobby Holik (1971-) – The 10th-overall pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by Hartford, this center played most of his 18-season career in New Jersey. While there, he was twice named to the All Star team and also hoisted two Stanley Cups.
  • Jeff Carter (1985-) – This two-time Cup winning center was the 11th-overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by Philadelphia, the club he’s technically played most his games with. Of course, it looks like his tenure in Los Angeles will continue well beyond this season and we’ll forever remember him a King.
  • Gilbert Brule (1987-) – Columbus picked this center sixth-overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s who he spent most of his eight NHL seasons with. Nowadays, this Canadian is playing in Croatia with the Medveščak Zagreb in KHL.
  • Devin Setoguchi (1987-) – The eighth-overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by San Jose, this right wing is in his ninth NHL season, playing this year for Los Angeles.

Columbus‘ winning streak extends to 15-straight, thereby ending Minnesota‘s at 12, after a 4-2 Blue Jackets victory in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

The first goal of the day was struck with 9:55 remaining in the first period, belonging to First Star of the Game Cam Atkinson (Brandon Dubinsky) and the Jackets. It was the lone tally of the first frame.

3:29 after returning to the ice, Jack Johnson (Brandon Saad and Alexander Wennberg) doubled Columbus‘ lead to 2-0, and Atkinson (Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara) buried the eventual game-winning goal only 15 seconds later. The Wild finally got on the board with a power play wrister from Mikael Granlund (Third Star Jared Spurgeon and Mikko Koivu) at the 5:58 mark to set the score at 3-1, but Columbus had one more trick up their sleeve: a Seth Jones (Saad and Nick Foligno) snap shot with 2:25 remaining in the period to resume their three-goal lead.

Only 24 seconds after resuming play in the third period, Jason Zucker (Granlund and Spurgeon) buried a backhand shot to set the score at 4-2, but the Wild were unable to pose anymore of a threat to lose their first contest since December 2.

Second Star Sergei Bobrovsky earns the victory after saving 29-of-31 shots faced (93.5%), leaving the loss to Devan Dubnyk, who saved 21-of-25 (84%).

The Jackets‘ road victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 44-24-12, favoring the home squads by 14 points over the roadies.

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December 31 – Day 77 – A streak must end in St. Paul

The day you’ve been worried about has finally arrived. After today, there’s no more hockey in 2016.

Fortunately, 2017 is right around the corner and has tons of hockey in store!

New Year’s Eve features 11 contests,  and the action starts at 1 p.m. with two games (Buffalo at Boston and Washington at New Jersey) dropping the puck, and Columbus at Minnesota gets underway at 6 p.m. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. brings with it a trio of matchups (the New York Islanders at Winnipeg [SN], Montréal at Pittsburgh [CBC/TVAS] and Carolina at Tampa Bay), trailed an hour later by two more (the New York Rangers at Colorado and Florida at Dallas). The West Coast gets involved at 10 p.m. with a pair of games (Vancouver at Edmonton [CBC/SN] and Arizona at Calgary [CBC/SN1/SN360]), with tonight’s nightcap – San Jose at Los Angeles – waiting half an hour before dropping the puck. All times eastern.

Short list:

  • Buffalo at Boston: Didn’t they just play this rivalry Thursday? Yes, yes they did.
  • Columbus at Minnesota: The game everybody is talking about. Both clubs have won at least their last 12 games, but one must lose today.
  • Florida at Dallas: Both Jason Demers and Colton Sceviour make their first returns to Texas after a combined seven seasons with the Stars.
  • New York at Colorado: Nick Holden is also making his first trip back to his old stomping grounds.
  • Arizona at Calgary: Josh Jooris played his first two seasons in the Saddledome before making his way to the desert.
  • San Jose at Los Angeles: The Battle of California is even more exciting this season since these clubs met in last year’s playoffs.

Like I said yesterday, 2016 is going out with a bang. Even games not listed – Canadiens–Penguins comes to mind – are going to be exemplary. What better way to celebrate the closing of the year than at your closest arena?

As far as our focus today, we have to head to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, truly the State of Hockey today.

Columbus Blue Jackets LogoUnknown-2

 

Please raise your hand if, before the season began, you expected this matchup to be played under these circumstances.

Just so you know, I’m going to call 90% of you liars.

For those that are unaware, Columbus comes to the Xcel Energy Center as winners of their last 14 games, rivaled only by the Wild and their 12-game winning streak. Both streaks are certainly impressive, but Penguins fans are pulling for the Wild this afternoon – and not just for the impact on the standings. During the 1992-’93 season, Pittsburgh closed the campaign on a 17-game winning streak, the longest in NHL history.

Columbus‘ streak has propelled them to a 25-5-4 record, the best mark in the NHL. While both sides of the ice have obviously been impressive for the Jackets, it’s been an impressive effort by the goaltender and good defense, allowing only 70 goals – tied for the fewest in the league (more on that later).

With a 23-5-2 record in 30 starts, Sergei Bobrovsky has been in net for most of the Blue Jackets‘ victories. He backs his impressive record with a season .934 save percentage and 1.95 GAA, ranking top-three in both statistics against 42 other netminders with 15 or more appearances.

Bobrovsky has been good on his own, but he’s also gotten good help from his defense. Led by David Savard‘s 63 shot blocks, Columbus allows exactly 30 shots per game to reach the goal crease, the 14th-lowest average in the NHL.

Offensively, nothing is finer than the Jackets‘ power play. They bury the puck on 28% of opportunities, by far the best rate in the entire league. Cam Atkinson deserves a lot of the credit, as his 17 power play points are tops in Ohio, but he splits the extra-man goal-scoring title with Nick Foligno – both have lit the lamp seven times.

Hosting today’s game are the 23-8-4 Wild, the second-best team in both the Central Division and the Western Conference. Just like Columbus, their incredible streak, as well as their impressive season, have been sparked by refusing to allow the opposition to score. Like Columbus, Minnesota has allowed only 70 goals.

Yes, you read that correctly. Both these teams come into this evening’s game allowing the fewest goals in the league. This contest is more than simply some win streaks. It’s about establishing defensive dominance

Starting netminder Devan Dubnyk enters tonight’s game with a 19-6-3 record on a .944 save percentage and 1.67 GAA – the best marks in the league among goalies with 14 or more appearances.

This is where the similarities between this evening’s opponents begin to diverge. Dubnyk does not have the luxury Bobrovsky does in a defense that keeps the puck off his crease. Instead, Dubnyk has to fend off 30.6 shots-per-game, the (t)10th-highest total in the game. Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon cannot take any credit for Dubnyk’s exhaustion, as they both have 62 shot blocks to lead the squad. Unfortunately, they’re also the only two defensemen with more than 50 blocks to their credit.

That hasn’t seemed to hold them back though. Specifically, the penalty kill is just as strong as ever, killing off 85.6% of opposing power plays – the fifth-best mark in the NHL. Spurgeon is joined by Mikael Granlund in leading the effort, as both have 10 shorthanded blocks to their credit.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include:

Columbus Blue Jackets:

  • Atkinson (35 points [tied for ninth-most in the league])
  • Bobrovsky (23 wins [most in the NHL] on a 1.95 GAA [second-best in the league] and a .934 save percentage [tied for second-best in the NHL], as well as three shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the league])
  • Jack Johnson (+20 [sixth-best in the NHL])
  • Brandon Saad (+19 [seventh-best in the league])
  • Savard (+23 [tied for second-best in the NHL])
  • Alexander Wennberg (24 assists [tied for sixth-most in the league])

Minnesota Wild:

  • Dubnyk (1.67 GAA on a .944 save percentage, as well as five shutouts [all best in the NHL], for 19 wins [tied for second-most in the league])
  • Granlund (+18 [tied for eighth-best in the NHL])
  • Mikko Koivu (+18 [tied for eighth-best in the league])
  • Nino Niederreiter (+16 [10th-best in the NHL])
  • Spurgeon (+23 [tied for second-best in the league])
  • Ryan Suter (+25 [leads the NHL])
  • Jason Zucker (+23 [tied for second-best in the league])

Minnesota is marked a -124 favorite by Vegas, but this is shaping up to be arguably the best game we’ve had this season. Everything is on the line tonight in St. Paul. I like the Wild simply because they’re at home, but this should be a game for the ages.

Hockey Birthday

  • René Robert (1948-) – The right wing on Buffalo‘s French Connection line, Robert played most of his dozen NHL seasons with the Sabres. Although that corps had such success, Robert earned only two All-Star selections.

Led by First Star of the Game Aaron Dell‘s shutout, the Sharks bested the Flyers at the Tank 2-0 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

The winning goal was struck with 3:31 remaining in the first period. It was a power play wrister from Second Star Patrick Marleau (Kevin Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic), set up by Ivan Provorov‘s tripping penalty.

The game remained at 1-0 until 4:37 remained in regulation. Justin Braun (Joe Pavelski and Marleau) provided the insurance tally to ensure San Jose‘s victory.

Dell saved all 21 shots he faced for the shutout victory, the first of his young career. Steve Mason takes the loss after saving 11-of-12 shots faced (91.7%). Unfortunately, he only played one period before being injured. He was replaced by Anthony Stolarz, who saved 21-of-22 (95.5%) for no decision.

The DtFR Game of the Day now stands at 44-23-12, favoring the homers by 16 points over the roadies.

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December 22 – Day 71 – Ohio vs. Pittsburgh

The first of two waves of send-off games into the Christmas break go down tonight, with 10 contests in all. As usual, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with three games (Carolina at Buffalo, Philadelphia at New Jersey and Pittsburgh at Columbus), followed half an hour later by four more (Minnesota at Montréal [RDS/SN360], Anaheim at Ottawa [RDS2], St. Louis at Tampa Bay and Boston at Florida). Los Angeles at Nashville drops the puck at 8 p.m., with Toronto at Colorado waiting an hour before getting underway. Finally at 10 p.m., Winnipeg at Vancouver – tonight’s nightcap – gets green-lit.

Short list:

  • Philadelphia at New Jersey: It’s the Battle of the Jersey Turnpike tonight!
  • Pittsburgh at Columbus: This regional rivalry between Ohio and Western Pennsylvania will probably reach new heights this year.

While I always love a good, established rivalry like the one that will occur tonight at the Prudential Center, there’s a very important game happening at Nationwide Arena that we must attend to!

pittsburgh_penguins_logoColumbus Blue Jackets Logo

 

Baseball has Pirates–Reds, and of course football features the Browns–Steelers. The rivalry between these two cities in the Rust Belt has existed longer than either of these teams have existed.

That being said, the iteration of this rivalry on ice has only taken form recently. It was most prominent in 2014, when these clubs matched up in the Eastern Quarterfinals. Although the Jackets notched their first two postseason victories in franchise history, they fell in six games. If they keep playing like they have to start this season, they might get past counting playoff wins and start counting franchise series victories.

The Penguins make the trip down I-70 with an impressive 21-7-5 record, the best mark in the Eastern Conference. That success has been almost entirely due to the most potent offense in the league, scoring an average of 3.45 goals per game.

With 37 points to his credit, Evgeni Malkin currently has the clubhouse lead in points, but it’s Captain Sidney Crosby who has been most impressive. He’s already buried 22 goals this season, even though he’s played only 27 games.

Part of Pittsburgh‘s offensive success has been their quality power play, scoring on 22.3% of opportunities for the sixth-best mark in the NHL. Phil Kessel and Malkin share scoring responsibilities with the extra-man, both with 13 power play points to their credit, but once again it is Crosby scoring the puck, as his eight man-advantage goals are tops on the team.

What should alarm Yinzers about their club is a penalty kill that ties for seventh-worst in the league, as they stop only 79.1% of opposing power plays. While Ian Cole‘s 14 shorthanded blocks tie him for 25th-most in the league, he is one of only two skaters with more than a dozen penalty kill blocks to his credit.

Playing host this evening are winners of their last 10 games, the 21-5-4 Blue Jackets – the third-best team in both the Eastern Conference and the Metropolitan Division. Although their offense has been impressive on it’s own, Columbus‘ success has been sparked by their defense and goaltender, which have allowed only 62 goals against – the second-fewest in the league.

19-5-2 Sergei Bobrovsky has been in net for all but four of the Jackets‘ games, and has earned a .932 save percentage and 1.94 GAA – the fifth-best effort in the NHL among the 44 netminders with 13 or more appearances to their credit.

Part of the reason his play has been so consistent has been due to the defense playing in front of him. Thanks to his blueliners, he’s faced only an average of 29.5 shots-per-night, tying for 10th-fewest. David Savard has headed that charge, as his 52 blocks are most on the team. However, he is one of four skaters with more than 40 shot blocks to his credit, so it has been a full team affair for the Jackets.

Offensively, Columbus has truly shined on the power play, as their 27.1% success rate is far and away the best conversion rate in the NHL. Cam Atkinson is responsible for 15 of those points, including six man-advantage goals, and both those totals are tops on the squad.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Columbus‘ Atkinson (33 points [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]), Bobrovsky (19 wins [most in the league], including three shutouts [tied for third-most in the NHL], on a 1.94 GAA [fifth-best in the league] and a .932 save percentage [sixth-best in the NHL]), Jack Johnson (+16 [ninth-best in the league]) and Savard (+18 [tied for third-best in the NHL]) & Pittsburgh‘s Cole (+18 [tied for third-best in the league]), Crosby (22 goals [most in the NHL] among 36 points [fourth-most in the league]), Kessel (22 assists [tied for seventh-most in the NHL] among 33 points [tied for eighth-most in the league]), Malkin (37 points [third-most in the NHL], including 23 assists [sixth-most in the league] and 14 goals [10th-most in the NHL]), Matthew Murray (.938 save percentage for a 1.85 GAA [ both second-best in the league]) and Justin Schultz (+21 [second-best in the NHL]).

Believe it or not, but Columbus is favored to win tonight’s matchup with a -110 line, and although sided, I have to agree with Vegas. The Jackets‘ incredible power play matches up extremely well against Pittsburgh‘s lackluster penalty kill.

Hockey Birthday

  • Ian Turnbull (1953-) – The 15th-overall selection in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto, this defenseman played 628 games over 10 seasons. Most of his days were spent with the club that drafted him, and he notched 414 points with the Leafs.
  • Kirk Maltby (1972-) – An Oilers selection in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing played most of his 1072 games with Detroit. While playing with the Wings, he hoisted the Stanley Cup four times.
  • Stan Neckar (1975-) – Ottawa selected this defenseman 29th-overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Although he wore a red Senators sweater for most of his playing days, he won his lone Stanley Cup in 2004 with Tampa Bay.

Hopefully you took my recommendation yesterday and watched Philadelphia‘s 3-2 shootout victory over Washington in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day. It was an absolute pleasure to watch.

Only one goal was struck in the first period, and it belonged to the visiting Capitals. Andre Burakovsky (Dmitry Orlov and Lars Eller) takes credit, as his snap shot with 1:36 remaining in the frame was his third tally of the season.

4:25 after Philadelphia returned to the ice, they leveled the game with a Michael Raffl (Radko Gudas and Jakub Voracek) wrap-around shot. Washington once again took a one-goal lead 5:28 later when Eller (John Carlson and Burakovsky) buried a snapper. The final goal of regulation was buried with 21 seconds remaining in the second frame with an unassisted tally from Claude Giroux.

The shootout is certainly a poor way of declaring a victor in a hockey game, but in today’s NHL, this game deserved nothing less. As the home team (even though they were wearing their white alternates), the Flyers elected to go first.

  1. Shayne Gostisbehere earned the honor of first shot, but he missed the net.
  2. T.J. Oshie took advantage of the miss by burying his attempt, giving Washington a 1-0 lead.
  3. Giroux did a little bit better than Gostisbehere as his shot was on frame, but Third Star of the Game Braden Holtby was there for the save.
  4. Evgeny Kuznetsov tried to end the shootout with another Capitals goal, but Second Star Steve Mason made the save to give Philly a breath of life.
  5. Voracek took that breath and ran with it. His shot found the back of the net to level the shootout, but the Caps still had another opportunity to end the game.
  6. Unfortunately for them, Nicklas Backstrom was unable to seal the deal, as Mason denied his shot.
  7. First Star Wayne Simmonds scored the Flyers‘ second-straight goal, putting the pressure on Washington in a miss-and-lose situation.
  8. Mason stood tall again. Justin Williams‘ shot failed to escape the goaltender’s right pad, sealing the bonus point for the home team.

Mason earns the victory after saving 36-of-38 shots faced (94.7%), leaving the shootout loss to Holtby, also saving 36-of-38.

Philadelphia‘s victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 39-23-11 in favor of the home teams, leading the roadies by seven points.

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November 21 – Day 40 – If you get stuck in an Avalanche, I recommend more than a Jacket

Hey buddy, how’s it going? Oh, first day back at work this week got you down? I know how to fix that: watch hockey.

We’ve got a decent little selection to choose from this evening, starting with three at 7 p.m. (Calgary at Buffalo, the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh and Colorado at Columbus), followed by Tampa Bay at Nashville (TVAS) an hour later. Minnesota at Dallas finds its start at 8:30, with Chicago at Edmonton (SN/SN1) dropping the puck at 9 p.m. Finally, New Jersey at San Jose – this evening’s nightcap – gets green-lit at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

Short list:

  • Colorado at Columbus: Fedor Tyutin spent eight seasons in central Ohio, but returns tonight wearing different colors.
  • New York at Pittsburgh: Last season, these clubs met up in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Pens won in five games.
  • Minnesota at Dallas: Another quarterfinals rematch, but from the Western Conference. Dallas won in six games.

Since Colorado makes only one trip to Nationwide Arena a year, we’ll catch Tyutin’s homecoming.

Unknown-1Columbus Blue Jackets Logo

 

Tyutin joined Columbus during the off-season preceding the 2008-’09 season after being traded by the New York Rangers for Dan Fritsche and Nikolai Zherdev.

While playing for the Jackets, the defenseman notched 185 points in 553 games. Then again, that wasn’t his primary objective. Ohioans remember him most for his physical, selfless play, sacrificing himself 788 times to prevent a puck from finding the net, and another 735 times hurling himself at opposing skaters.

Certainly not quite as momentous, Rene Bourque is also making a return to Columbus. He played 57 games over two seasons with Columbus. Why his return is special will be revealed shortly.

These days, they’re wearing burgundy sweaters – Tyutin  after being the odd-man out in Columbus cap-space moves, and Bourque after not getting his contract renewed. Their Avs are 8-9-0 for last place in the Central Division, due almost entirely to a flailing offense.

Colorado has only managed 36 goals so far this season in their 17 games to average 2.12 per game. Nathan MacKinnon has led the charge (if you can call it that) with 12 points to his credit, but it has been Matt Duchene finishing the plays with six tallies to his credit.

Herein lies the Avalanche‘s first issue: their leading goalscorer hasn’t seen the ice in over a week after suffering a concussion on November 12. This is where Bourque comes in: with five goals to his credit, he is the leading active goalscorer for the club.

Even though defense is what has kept the Avalanche somewhat competitive, they have one fatal flaw: the penalty kill. Successfully nullifying 78.9% of their infractions, Colorado ranks seventh-worst in the NHL. Their poor success rate is due almost entirely to committing too many penalties. The Avs have faced 71 power plays already this year, tying for fourth-most in the league.

The 10-4-2 Blue Jackets play host this season, currently laying claim to fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. That position goes well with their four-game winning streak, which ties with Carolina and Tampa Bay for longest-active in the NHL right now.

They’ve gotten there with strong goaltending. With a .931 save percentage and 2.19 GAA, Sergei Bobrovsky for his 10-4-1 record, ranking sixth and ninth-best in the league, respectively, among the 37 goalies with eight or more appearances to their credit.

What makes Bobrovsky’s efforts more impressive is the fact that the blueline in front of him hasn’t been exactly impressive. Jack Johnson leads the club with 28 blocks.

28.

Let that set in for a minute.

For a team having the success the Jackets are this season, they allow 31.5 shots on the cage per game, the eighth-highest average in the NHL. Should Columbus want to really be a threat this postseason, they’ll need to add something to their defensive corps.

Offensively, Columbus‘ forte has been nothing but their power play. They’ve been successful on 31.8% of their extra-man attempts, tops in the league. Alexander Wennberg has been the man-in-charge on the power play with 10 power man-advantage points to his credit. That being said, it’s been Cam Atkinson completing most of those plays, potting four power play goals.

Some players to keep an eye on include Colorado‘s Erik Johnson (46 blocks [leads the team]) and MacKinnon (12 points [leads the team]) & Columbus‘ Bobrovsky (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] of his 10 wins [tied for third-most in the NHL]) and Wennberg (14 assists [tied for the league-lead]).

For the second night in a row, bets are off for our Game of the Day. That being said, I don’t have anywhere near the expectations I had for yesterday’s Florida at New York contest. Columbus should easily handle the visiting Avalanche.

Hockey Birthday:

  • Alex Tanguay (1979-) – This left wing played 16 NHL seasons, most of which with the club that drafted him 12th-overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft: Colorado. He was a part of the 2001 Avalanche team that hoisted the Stanley Cup.
  • Ben Bishop (1986-) – No time to celebrate, this goaltender has a game tonight in Nashville.

It took a shootout, but Florida was able to earn two points in the World’s Most Famous Arena by beating the Rangers 3-2.

Only one goal was scored in the first period, and it brought the home fans to their feet. With 6:45 remaining in the frame, Chris Kreider (Derek Stepan and Marc Staal) buried a wrister to set the score at 1-0.

Third Star of the Game Keith Yandle was the whole reason we featured this game, and he came through in a big way for Florida, scoring (Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov) with 5:17 remaining on a power play slap shot to level the score going into the second intermission.

Only 1:45 after returning to the ice for the final frame, Mika Zibanejad (Mats Zuccarello and Jimmy Vesey) scored for the Rangers, but that lead lasted only 6:09 before Aaron Ekblad (Jakub Kindl and Trocheck) tied the game at two-all, the score that held not only to the end of regulation, but also through the three-on-three overtime period.

  1. Zuccarello went first for New York, but was saved by First Star James Reimer.
  2. Trocheck went next and gave the Panthers a 1-0 shootout lead.
  3. Next up for the Blueshirts was Brandon Pirri, who was also saved.
  4. Barkov ends the shootout for the Panthers with a goal.

Reimer saved 33-of-35 (94.3%) for the victory, forcing Second Star Henrik Lundqvist to take the shootout loss saving 28-of-30 (93.3%).

Florida‘s shootout victory only pulls the road teams back within a dozen points of the home sides, as the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 24-12-6.

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November 9 – Day 28 – Quackin’ Jackets, or not so much?

Let’s watch ourselves some hockey tonight. While the selection is small at only three games, there’s some quality matchups being contested, starting with Anaheim at Columbus at 7 p.m. Half an hour later, Ottawa visits Buffalo (SN/TVAS), followed by Chicago at St. Louis (NBCSN), this evening’s nightcap.

Short list:

  • Anaheim at Columbus: Jared Boll was a Blue Jacket for the last nine seasons, but he now finds himself sitting on the opposite bench.
  • Ottawa at Buffalo: It seems like every game for Buffalo has been a rivalry, of late. Tonight’s contest against Ottawa is another one.
  • Chicago at St. Louis: Another rivalry only magnified by last season’s playoff meeting.

Oh… That’s all the games going on this evening. Like I said, you can’t go wrong with whichever game you choose to watch tonight.

As far as the game DtFR will focus on, I’m leaning towards the Anaheim–Columbus game since Boll will only play in Nationwide Arena once this year, and we’re a little partial to him for sharing Charlotte, N.C. as our hometown.

Unknown-1Columbus Blue Jackets Logo

 

Columbus selected the right wing 101st in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He notched 40+ points in three of his four junior seasons, but Boll turned out to not be quite the striker in the pros. Like many before him who have suffered the same fate, he turned to his physical play to continue to earn a spot on the Jackets‘ roster and a paycheck.

Over his nine seasons in Columbus, Boll threw 967 hits – 107.4 per season and 1.9 per game. That translated into 1195 minutes in the penalty box – 132.8 minutes per season and 2.31 minutes per game. For those of you that don’t like stats and numbers, this set – especially the penalty minutes – screams an enforcer position.

This offseason, Boll signed with Anaheim, who currently sits at 6-5-2. What has been most-impressive about the Ducks this season has been their defense, which has allowed only 30 goals against.

John Gibson has started in net for all but three of the Ducks‘ games, and has earned a 5-4-0 record on a .914 save percentage and 2.43 GAA.

Not very good numbers.

It has been the blue line that has stood strong. Anaheim has allowed only 378 shots to reach Gibson and co. in 13 games. Limiting opposing offenses to only 29.1 shots per game is an impressive move, given that the average team in the league allow 30.2 per game. Sami Vatanen has led the charge with 29 blocks to his credit, but he is the only Duck with more than 20. I’ve said it every time I’ve featured Anaheim, but the remainder of the blue line needs to protect their young goaltender if they want to find success.

What has kept Anaheim alive offensively has been their strong power play. Successful on 27.9% of attempts, the Ducks have the third-best man-advantage in the league and should be feared. Ryan Kesler has led the special teams with four power play goals to his credit.

Columbus enters the night with a 5-3-2 record. Just like Anaheim, the Blue Jackets have been finding success on the defensive end by allowing only 21 goals.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been playing out of his mind so far this season, earning a 5-3-1 record in his nine starts. His three losses haven’t entirely been his fault though, as he owns a season .947 save percentage and 1.79 GAA – both ranking top-six in the league among goaltenders that have played three or more games. Even more impressive is the fact that he faces an average of 33.3 shots per game, well above the league average.

It will be interesting to see if Bobrovsky can continue his stellar play as the season progresses and if the Jackets could by buyers at the deadline – but hey, that’s still four months away!

One place the Jackets don’t need to improve at right now is their power play. The Ducks‘ is good, but Columbus‘ 39.3% success rate is way better. In fact, it’s best in the league, beating second-best Philly by 11%. Cam Atkinson has lead the charge for the Blue Jackets on the power play, notching four extra-man goals.

The penalty kill has also been extremely good for the Jackets. Columbus has found themselves in the penalty box 32 times this season, but they’ve refused to yield a goal on 90.6% of those attempts for the second-best rate in the league.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Anaheim‘s Jonathan Bernier (.939 save percentage [sixth-best in the NHL] for a 2.03 GAA [ninth-best in the league]) and Ryan Getzlaf (11 assists [tied for second-most in the NHL]) & Columbus‘ Bobrovsky (three shutouts [tied for most in the league] on a .947 save percentage [fourth-best in the NHL] for a 1.79 GAA [fifth-best in the league]) and Alexander Wennberg (11 assists [tied for second-most in the NHL]).

Vegas has marked Columbus as a -119 favorite coming into tonight’s game. Going back to last season, I don’t know if I’ve ever favored the Jackets before in this series, but I agree with the odds-makers. Columbus is a hot team right now, being opportunistic and refusing to yield opposing tallies. It will be interesting to see if this is just a hot streak or a real threat in the Eastern Conference.

Hockey Birthday:

  • Bill Guerin (1970-) – Over 18 seasons, Guerin played 1263 games at right wing, most of which – 30.1%, in fact – were with the Devils, the team that drafted him fifth overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He’s hoisted the Stanley Cup three times, most recent of which was last season as Assistant General Manager for Pittsburgh.
  • Carl Gunnarsson (1986) – The Swedish defender of the St. Louis Blues, the team he’s playing his third season with. Tonight will be his 447th career game, and he’ll be looking for his second point of the season this evening against Chicago.

A late Canadiens goal was the difference in yesterday’s Game of the Day, leading them to a 3-2 victory over the arch-rival Bruins.

After no goals were struck in the first frame, the Habs broke the draw with a power play slap shot from Shea Weber (Andrei Markov and Tomas Plekanec) 3:58 after resuming play. That lead lasted only 50 seconds before Colin Miller scored an unassisted wrister to level the score for Boston. The third-and-final goal of the second frame was struck at the 5:08 mark, 20 seconds after Miller’s, when Alex Galchenyuk‘s (Alexander Radulov and Second Star of the Game Paul Byron) backhand found the back of the net to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead they would take into the second intermission.

The score was tied once again 6:38 into the final frame when Third Star David Pastrnak (John-Michael Liles and Brad Marchand) scored a power play slap shot. The Bruins nearly forced overtime, but Byron’s (Galchenyuk and Radulov) backhander with 62 seconds remaining earned Montréal two more points in the standings to further cement their spot at the top of the league.

First Star Carey Price earned the victory after saving 41-of-43 shots faced (95.3%), while Zane McIntyre saved only 20-of-23 (87%) in the loss.

Montréal‘s Game of the Day victory is their fourth out of four appearances and the second-straight for the home team in the series. It improves the home squads’ record to 17-10-3 and expands their lead over the roadies to eight points.

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November 7 – Day 26 – Buffalo-Boston bout

We’ve got three games on the schedule this evening, and they’ll all be played at almost the same time. Two games drop the puck at 7 p.m. (Buffalo at Boston [SN/TVAS] and Vancouver at the New York Islanders (NHLN]), with Tampa Bay at Florida going underway half an hour later. All times eastern.

Short list:

  • Buffalo at Boston: Over 40 years this rivalry has been waged, including eight playoff series. Not only does it rage in the TD Garden this evening, but also at DtFR headquarters.
  • Tampa Bay at Florida: Round two of the Governor’s Cup goes down tonight.

Given that Boston and Buffalo are tied on points, we’ll catch their game in the City on a Hill.

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The Sabres entered the league in 1970, and the rivalry has only intensified since. Boston has a 156-141-29 all-time advantage over the Sabres for a well-contested series in addition to their eight postseason meetings.

They last met in the playoffs during the 2009-’10 season in the Eastern Quarterfinals, with Boston winning the series 4-2. That victory gave the Bruins a 6-2 series record against Buffalo in the playoffs, but they were upset a round later that year by Philadelphia.

The Sabres enter tonight’s game with a 5-4-2 record. While they have had some offensive struggles with Nicolas Deslauriers, Jack Eichel and Evander Kane finding themselves on the injury report, Buffalo has stood strong on the defensive end, allowing only 24 goals against – the fourth-best mark in the league.

Robin Lehner has started eight games for Buffalo this year, accounting for a 4-3-1 record on a .929 save percentage and 2.14 GAA. Given the defense playing in front of him, those numbers are very good. The Sabres defense has allowed 334 shots to reach their goaltenders already this season, which breaks down into 30.4 shots against per game.

Should the Sabres want to continue improving (odds are good that they do), more than Josh Gorges and Rasmus Ristolainen, who have 22 and 20 blocks respectively, need to contribute to alleviate pressure on their goaltender. Zach Bogosian has blocked the third-most shots so far this season, and only has 15 to his credit.

The special team Buffalo is most proud of has been their power play, which accounts for 32% of their goals. The Sabres have been successful on 22.22% of their attempts, which ranks as the ninth-best effort in the NHL, and half of their eight power play goals have been scored by Matt Moulson.

Boston enters the night with a 6-5-0 record, a position I feel they are fortunate to be in. Defense and goaltending has been the strength of the Bruins, if you could call an end of the ice that has allowed 32 goals in 11 games a strength. The offense has been even poorer, scoring only 25 times.

Last season, Boston was home to the fifth-most potent offense in the NHL, scoring 236 goals to average 2.88 per game. Almost a month into the season, the Bruins average only 2.27 goals per game to rank fifth-worst. Brad Marchand has done a good job to lead the team with 13 points, trailed closely behind by David Pastrnak‘s 10, but the remaining Bruins have yet to break the five-point mark.

If the Bruins don’t figure their offense out, at least they can hang their caps on having the 10th best penalty kill in the league. Allowing eight extra-man tallies against, they’ve killed 83.33% of their penalties.

Some players to keep an eye on include Boston‘s Marchand (nine assists [tied for sixth-most in the NHL]), Pastrnak (seven goals [tied for fourth-most in the league] and a +11 [tied for sixth-best in the NHL]) and Tuukka Rask (six wins [tied for fourth-most in the league], including a shutout [tied for sixth-most in the NHL]) & Buffalo‘s Anders Nilsson (1.95 GAA [10th-best in the league] on a .937 save percentage [10th-best in the NHL]), Kyle Okposo (five goals [leads the team]) and Ristolainen (eight assists [leads the team]).

Boston has been marked by Vegas with a -160 advantage, but I think they’re wrong. I’m picking the upset due to Buffalo‘s defense being more than able to contain the Bruins‘ anemic offense.

Hockey Birthday

  • Michel Picard (1969-) – This left wing played 166 games over nine seasons in the NHL with six teams, 36.7% of which were in St. Louis from 1997-’99. Nowadays, he’s an amateur scour for the Blues.
  • Mike Commodore (1979-) – The 42nd overall selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, this defenseman played 484 games over 11 seasons, mostly with Carolina, the team he won his lone Stanley Cup with.
  • Pascal Leclaire (1982-) – The eighth overall pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, and first goaltender selected, Leclaire played 173 games over seven seasons to total a 61-76-15 record. Most of those games were played with the team that drafted him: the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With two goals in the second period, the Anaheim Ducks beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The Ducks found the scoreboard first, and didn’t wait long to do it. 2:29 after beginning the game, First Star of the Game Clayton Stoner (Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf) scored a wrister to give Anaheim the lead. With 3:45 remaining in the period, Calgary drew even when Alex Chiasson (John Gaudreau and Sean Monahan) found the back of the net for the Flames. The one-all score held into the first intermission.

The Ducks were quick starters again in the second period, waiting only 3:18 before Second Star Ryan Kesler (Perry and Getzlaf) scored the game-winning wrister.

Andrew Cogliano (Jakob Silfverberg and Josh Manson) and Kesler (Perry and Getzlaf) scored the two insurance goals for Anaheim to secure the victory.

Third Star Jonathan Bernier earns the victory after saving 25-of-26 shots faced (96.2%), while Chad Johnson takes the loss after saving 17-of-21 (81%).

Anaheim‘s victory on the Pond pads the home squads’ lead in the DtFR Game of the Day series, setting the homers’ record at 15-10-3 to lead the roadies by four points.

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November 6 – Day 25 – One more before heading back east

For a Sunday, we have quite a few games on the schedule. What’s pro football? I’ve never heard of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hockey Birthday

  • Erik Cole (1978-) – The 71st overall selection in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, this left wing is still technically active in the league even though he hasn’t played since the 2014-’15 season. He’s most known for his two stints in Carolina, playing 557 games over nine seasons.
  • Brad Stuart (1979-) – The third overall pick of that draft is in the same situation as Cole. The defenseman was drafted by San Jose, and played 486 games over eight seasons with the Sharks.
  • Andrew Murray (1981-) – Drafted 242nd overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus, Murray’s career has taken him away from North America to the KHL from 2013-’15.

The Penguins are taking no prisoners as of late, as their 5-0 victory over San Jose in yesterday’s Game of the Day is the fifth in their last six games.

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

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

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

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

Bonus stat: Five of our last seven Game of the Days have been won by a five-goal offense, beginning with Pittsburgh in Philadelphia October 29.

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November 5 – Day 24 – Rematch, Vol. II

Exactly what Elton John said. So good for fighting, in fact, that we’ll have 13 of them, starting with a matinee featuring Minnesota at Colorado (SN) at 3 p.m. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. brings eight puck drops (Columbus at St. Louis, New Jersey at Tampa Bay, the New York Rangers at Boston [NHLN], Philadelphia at Montréal [CITY/TVAS], Buffalo at Ottawa [SN1/SN360], Florida at Washington, Edmonton at the New York Islanders [SN] and Vancouver at Toronto [CBC]), followed an hour later by two more (Carolina at Nashville and Chicago at Dallas). The west coast gets involved at 10 p.m. with Calgary visiting Los Angeles (CBC/SN1), followed half an hour later by our nightcap: Pittsburgh at San Jose. All times eastern.

Short List:

  • New York at Boston: It’s an Original Six rivalry as well as hockey’s iteration of the USA’s most famous sports rivalry.
  • Buffalo at Ottawa: Another rivalry for the Sabres this week.
  • Philadelphia at Montréal: Dale Weise returns to the Bell Centre wearing white after spending three seasons with the Canadiens.
  • Calgary at Los Angeles: Kris Versteeg is also making a return to his home arena of a year ago, but he only played for the Kings one season.
  • Pittsburgh at San Jose: It’s the second and final Stanley Cup Finals rematch this year, this one taking place on the surface where hardware was distributed.

The Penguins and Sharks won’t run into each other again this calendar year, so we’re off to the Tank!

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Game 8 of the Stanley Cup Finals goes down tonight!

…Wait…

Well, it is the eighth and final meeting between the Pens and Sharks in 2016, and Pittsburgh has certainly had the advantage in that time-span. Not only do they have the Stanley Cup in their possession due to beating the Sharks four times in early June, but the Penguins already won the first rematch in Pittsburgh 3-2.

San Jose enters the night with a 6-5-0 record, even if they are riding a two-game losing skid. So far this season, they’ve found success in their defense and goaltending, allowing only 27 goals against.

Martin Jones has started all but one game this season, and has a 5-5-0 record to show for a .909 save percentage and 2.34 GAA. Those are both decent statistics, but I would contest that they’re due in part to the help he is getting from his blue line (and sometimes even forwards!), as three skaters (Justin Braun, Brent Burns and Paul Martin) have 20 or more blocks to their credit and three more have over 10 (Joe Pavelski, David Schlemko and Marc-Edouard Vlasic).

In the other corner, the 7-2-2 Penguins enter the Tank on a five-game point streak. While the Sharks are a defensive-minded club, the Penguins prefer to score with 31 goals already to their credit.

Leading the way for Pittsburgh as been Evgeni Malkin, who has 11 points to his credit to average a point-per-game. That being said, Sidney Crosby is hot on his tail with eight points on six goals. He’s appeared on the score sheet in each of the five games he’s played since returning from his concussion and has been a force to be reckoned with.

The Pens have been exceptionally potent on the power play so far this season. For every four extra-man opportunities, Pittsburgh has found the back of the net once – the fifth-best rate in the league. Michael Haley will need to keep himself contained if the Sharks want to earn a victory.

That being said, part of the reason the Sharks have been so strong has been their ability to negate penalties. Their 86.7% kill rate ranks sixth-best in the league, a good match for Pittsburgh‘s attack.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Pittsburgh‘s Marc-Andre Fleury (six wins [tied for second-most in the NHL]) and Malkin (six goals [tied for fourth-most in the league]) & San Jose‘s Pavelski (eight assists [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]).

The Sharks desperately want to defend the Tank and earn a win this evening given what happened the last time the Penguins came to town. Vegas has them marked to win with a -125. I don’t feel quite that confident, but that may be partially my bias. Whichever team is able to win the special teams battle, especially when Pittsburgh has the man-advantage, should walk away with tonight’s victory.

Hockey Birthday

  • Cooney Weiland (1904-1985) – A center from Ontario, Weiland played 11 NHL seasons, 71.7% of which were with the Bruins.
  • Sergei Berezin (1971-) – A left winger from Russia that played seven NHL seasons. He started his career in Toronto, where he played 357 games and scored 220 points.
  • Alexei Yashin (1973-) – Another Russian, but Yashin played center. He was drafted second overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by Ottawa and played 850 games over a dozen seasons.
  • Toby Enstrom (1984-) – This Swedish defenseman is working on his 10th season in the NHL, all of which have been spent with the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise.
  • Nikolai Zherdev (1984-) – The fourth overall of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing has played six seasons in the best league in the world so far. Currently playing in the KHL, he’s most remembered for his four seasons in Columbus.

On a night where 24 goals were scored among five teams (Montréal was shutout by Columbus), a 5-1 Anaheim victory seemed par for the course in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The Ducks struck first, waiting 9:05 before Kevin Bieksa (Third Star of the Game Corey Perry and Second Star Rickard Rakell) scored his first goal of the season on a power play slap shot. The eventual game-winner was struck 3:06 later when Rakell (Perry and Michael Sgarbossa) found Anaheim gold with a slap shot of his own. The third and final tally of the frame also belonged to the Ducks, this time a Jakob Silfverberg (First Star Antoine Vermette and Andrew Cogliano) backhander to set the score at 3-0 45 seconds before the first intermission.

With 6:37 remaining in the second period Vermette (Ondrej Kase and Josh Manson) scored a slap shot to give the Ducks a 4-0 lead. Arizona finally stopped the bleeding with a goal from Jamie McGinn (Radim Vrbata and Christian Dvorak) 3:09 later, but was unable to find another with the remaining time.

Rakell (Ryan Kesler) scored another insurance goal in the third period to put the final nail in the Coyotes‘ coffin.

John Gibson earns the victory after saving 21-of-22 shots faced (95.5%), while Louis Domingue saved 18-of-21 (85.7%) in the loss. He was replaced after 20 minutes of play by Justin Peters, who saved 10-of-12 (83.3%) for no decision.

With the Ducks‘ victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series stands at 14-9-3, favoring the home squads by four points.

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October 27 – Day 16 – Bunches of animals are showing up in St. Louis this week. Today it’s Otters.

It’s a busy Thursday, just the way we like them. Per usual, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with three puck drops (Minnesota at Buffalo, Arizona at Philadelphia and the New York Islanders at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by two more (Florida at Toronto and Tampa Bay at Montréal [RDS/SN360]). The top of the hour marks the start of two contests (Detroit at St. Louis and Dallas at Winnipeg), while this evening’s co-nightcaps wait until 10:30 before starting (Nashville at Los Angeles and Columbus at San Jose). All times eastern.

It’s goin’ be lit.

Short list:

  • Arizona at Philadelphia – Ryan White returns to the Wells Fargo Center, his home for the previous two seasons.
  • New York at Pittsburgh – I don’t need to dress up this rivalry.
  • Florida at Toronto – James Reimer only played eight regular season games with San Jose, so the Panthers are effectively his second team after six seasons with Toronto.
  • Tampa Bay at Montréal – Michael Bournival used to call the Bell Centre home. Now his office is in the Sunshine State.
  • Detroit at St. Louis – In addition to being a vintage rivalry, Steve Ott returns to Scottrade Center.

If Reimer were expected to play this evening in Toronto, we’d certainly focus there. Instead, we head to St. Louis with Otter for an old-timey rivalry.

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Center Ott arrived in St. Louis with Ryan Miller when the Blues traded William Carrier, Jaroslav Halak and Chris Stewart to Buffalo at the 2013-’14 trade deadline. Miller departed for Vancouver after that postseason, but Ott remained until this offseason.

Ever since he entered the league in 2002, Ott has had a reputation for being one of the biggest pests in hockey. His penchant for getting into even the coolest of heads is well-known, as is his ability to cuss out any player in the arena in his native tongue.

It’s an ability that doesn’t show up on his stat sheet. The NHL doesn’t track “Caused Penalties in Minutes,” but if they did Ott would be a league leader. Some of the most recent Blues memories of Ott were against the Blackhawks during last season’s Western Quarterfinals. Ott was regularly getting into it with Jonathan Toews, a player that spent only 62 minutes in the penalty box during the regular season (.775 minutes, or 46.5 seconds, per game). In those seven games, he served 10 minutes – over 1.4 minutes per contest!

But it’s not simply his quick wit and abrasive behavior that has made him a fan favorite with every team he’s played for. During the 2014-’15 season, his first full campaign in St. Louis, he scored 12 points (including nine assists) while throwing 182 hits and 14 blocks. He was also effective at causing turnovers that season, forcing 21 giveaways.

This year, Ott dons the sweater of the Blues‘ former rivals: the 5-2-0 Detroit Red Wings. Before Detroit swapped conferences in 2013, the Blues and Wings shared the same division since 1981, which led to some fantastic matchups when they were both playing well (also read as when St. Louis was playing well).

The Wings enter tonight’s game on a five-game winning streak, tying Arizona for the longest active streak of any variety – except that the Coyotes have been on the losing side of things.

Much of that success has been due to some serious offensive firepower. They’ve scored 24 goals already this year in only seven games played (they average over 3.4 goals per game). Gustav Nyquist and Thomas Vanek take equal responsibility, as they both lead the team with eight points to their credit. Completing the scores have been Darren Helm and Vanek,  each of whom have a team-high four goals to their name.

The 4-2-1 Blue Notes have a .667 winning percentage in the Scottrade Center, and they’ll be looking to improve that to a .750 this evening. Although they play a more well-rounded game than their opposition, St. Louis also prefers to have the puck on their stick.

Just like he’s been the last three seasons, Vladimir Tarasenko has been the star of St. Louis so far this season (that’s why I have him on my fantasy team!). He has eight points to his credit already, four of which are goals – both totals lead the team.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Detroit‘s Helm (+9 [second-best in the NHL]) and Jimmy Howard (.5 GAA [leads the league] on a .984 save percentage [leads the league] for one shutout) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (2.39 GAA for three wins [both best on the team]) and Tarasenko (eight points [best on the team]).

The Blues barely had the upper hand last year, going 1-0-1 against the Wings by forcing overtime in their first meeting. Vegas predicts St. Louis will keep that run going tonight, as they’re favored at -155. I think that’s a safe assumption. The Blues should win this evening.

Hockey Birthday:

  • Sergei Samsonov (1978-) – This left wing played exactly 888 regular season games, over 500 of which were with Boston. He was drafted eighth overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, seven picks after fellow Bruins-pick Joe Thornton, and a year later the Russian earned the Calder Memorial Trophy.
  • Brandon Saad (1992-) – This is Saad’s second season in Columbus after spending four seasons with ex-division rival Chicago. He’d already scored 179 points before this season started. Maybe he’ll score another tonight in The Tank.

With three goals in the second period, the New York Rangers bested the visiting Boston Bruins 5-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Boston actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead, starting with David Pastrnak‘s (Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara) wrister only 10 seconds into the contest. With 5:16 remaining in the opening frame, the Bruins‘ Austin Czarnik (David Krejci) doubled the visitor’s score with the first goal of his young career.

New York‘s comeback began 44 seconds before the midway point of the game when Second Star of the Game Rick Nash (Derek Stepan and Jimmy Vesey) connected on a power play wrister. 7:19 later, Kevin Hayes (Jesper Fast and Ryan McDonagh) scored his second goal of the season on a wrister to draw the Blueshirts even. 36 seconds before the final horn of the second period, First Star Brandon Pirri (Third Star J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad) buried the Rangers‘ second power play goal of the game. That tally ended up being the game winner.

Pirri (Marc Staal and Miller) and Vesey (Nash and Stepan) both scored insurance goals in the final frame to put this game away.

Henrik Lundqvist earns the victory after saving 27-of-29 shots faced (93.1%), while Zane McIntyre takes the loss, saving 26-of-31 (83.9%).

With another home victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series favors the home sides by six points with a 11-6-1 record.

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April 8 – Day 176 – Out of Necessity, Vol. 4

Boston threw a wrench in Detroit‘s playoff plans, as they beat them 5-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

They struck their first only 1:25 into the contest with a David Pastrnak backhander, assisted by John-Michael Liles (his 15th helper of the season) and Colin Miller.  1:19 later, Boston doubled their lead when Third Star of the Game Brad Marchand connected on a snap shot, assisted by First Star Torey Krug (his 39th helper of the season) and Patrice Bergeron, which ended up being the final tally of the period.

The game winner found the back of the net at the 5:02 mark of the second period on the power play, courtesy of Krug after assists from Loui Eriksson and Second Star David Krejci (his 45th helper of the season).  Detroit finally got on the board at the 6:59 mark on a Alexey Marchenko wrister, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg (his 36th helper of the season) and Gustav Nyquist.  That was the last score of the period, so the score read 3-1 after 40 minutes.

Only 20 seconds after returning to the ice, the Bruins struck another insurance goal, this one a Lee Stempniak snap shot, assisted by Krug (his 40th helper of the season) and Marchand.  25 seconds after that, Eriksson set the score at 5-1 with a tip-in, assisted by Krejci (his 46th helper of the season) and Ryan Spooner.  Detroit takes credit for the final goal of the game, struck with 1:23 remaining by Andreas Athanasiou, assisted by Marchenko and Kyle Quincey.

Tuukka Rask earns the win after saving 13 of 15 shots faced (86.7%), while Jimmy Howard takes the loss, saving 21 of 26 (80.8%).  He was replaced after Eriksson’s third period goal by Petr Mrazek, who saved all eight shots faced.

The Bruins‘ win is the second straight for home sides in the DtFR Game of the Day series, setting the season series at 82-45-19, favoring the home teams by 42 points over the roadies.

We’ve only got one game on the schedule this evening, so we’re headed off to Buffalo for a 7 p.m. eastern puck drop on NHLN and BELL TV!

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This will be Columbus‘ third appearance in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 0-2-0 record.  Last time they were featured was October 22, a 3-2 loss in Minnesota.  Buffalo has been featured three times before tonight’s game, and own a 1-2-0 record in such situations.  Their lone win in the series was in their last appearance, a 3-2 victory in Ottawa on January 26.

The 34-35-11 Buffalo Sabres rank seventh in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference.  Although they play the 15th worst defense, they’ve been held back by the fifth worst offense.

Led by Josh Gorges’ 162 blocks, the Sabres have allowed 2445 shots to reach 22-16-4 Chad Johnson and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 215 goals against, the 15th most in the NHL.  The defense has been spearheaded by the defensive special team, which has killed 82.79% of their penalties for only 37 goals against, the eighth best rate in the league.

The major pitfall has been on the offensive end.  Even with the injured Evander Kane’s 271 shots, Buffalo has only fired the puck 2357 times, with 8.2% finding the back of the net for 196 goals (led by Jack Eichel’s 24 tallies), the fifth fewest in the league.  Again, the Sabres have actually been fairly successful on the special teams, scoring on 18.95% of their power play attempts, which is good for 47 power play goals, the 11th best rate in the league.

The Sabres enter tonight’s game on a three game winning streak, with their most recent being Tuesday’s 3-1 victory at New Jersey.

The 32-40-8 Columbus Blue Jackets are the worst team in the Metropolitan Division and second worst in the Eastern Conference.  They’ve gotten there playing the 12th worst offense, paired with the second worst defense.

Even with Brandon Saad’s 229 shots, the Jackets have fired the puck 2332 times, with 8.7% finding the back of the net for 210 goals (led by Boone Jenner’s 30 tallies), the 12th fewest in the NHL.  Part of the problem has been that Columbus has not capitalized on opportunities, as their 16.8% power play success rate, good for 41 extra man goals, is the eighth worst in the league.

The defense has been a bigger issue.  Even with Ryan Murray’s 170 blocks, Columbus has allowed 2471 shots to reach 14-19-1 Sergei Bobrovsky and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 90.9%, allowing 247 goals in the process, the second most in the league.  In comparison, the penalty kill has actually been decent, neutralizing 81.11% of their infractions, allowing 51 power play goals in the process, the 14th worst rate in the league.

The last game Columbus played was Wednesday’s 5-1 victory in Toronto.

Buffalo has already won the season series 2-0-0, with the most recent meeting ending 4-0 on February 19 in Columbus.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Buffalo‘s Ryan O’Reilly (59 points, including 38 assists, with 24 occurring at even-strength [all lead the team]) and Columbus‘ Cam Atkinson (52 points, including two shorthanded goals [both lead the team]), Brandon Dubinsky (30 assists, with 26 occurring at even-strength and 224 hits [all lead the team]) and Saad (23 even-strength goals and seven game winners on 229 shots [all lead the team]).

Buffalo should have this game in the bag.  Both their offense and defense are superior to the Jackets‘, and they enter their home game riding a winning streak.  I’ve got Sabres winning easy.