Down the Frozen River

Tag: Connor McDavid

  • January 5 – Day 82 – A derrick gets the Oil Bruin

    Hey Thursday, how are you. Oh, you come bearing gifts? Great! What is it? Sweet, it’s hockey, just what we wanted!

    Sorry, I’ve had Bob’s Burgers on the mind lately.

    Anyways, we’ve got a nice little selection of seven contests this evening, starting with a pair at 7 p.m. (Edmonton at Boston [SN/TVAS] and Columbus at Washington) and Nashville at Tampa Bay half an hour later. Carolina at St. Louis drops the puck at 8 p.m., with Buffalo at Chicago (NBCSN) waiting half an hour. Finally, our co-nightcaps – Detroit at Los Angeles (SN) and Minnesota at San Jose – get underway at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

    It may not be a divisional or even conference matchup, but the game I’m most interested in this evening involves the Bruins and the return of an old friend.

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    With Milan Lucic in tow, the 19-13-7 Oilers make their annual trip to the TD Garden. Playing the 10th-best offense in the league, Edmonton has earned the third-best record in the Pacific Division.

    This Connor McDavid kid just might pan out for the Oilers. His 43 points are not only 10 more than Leon Draisaitl‘s second-place effort, but also tie Evgeni Malkin for the league’s highest mark. Draisaitl isn’t a skater to be laughed at though. He ties McDavid for the clubhouse lead in goals scored, both with 14 tallies apiece.

    Part of the reason the Oil have been able to find such success has been their strong power play. They rank eighth-best in the league in that regard, burying the puck in 21.1% of man-advantage situations. Once again, Draisaitl proves himself worth every cent of his three-year, $10.2 million contract by notching a team-leading 15 points on the power play. Eight of those have been goals, which is also the best total in that category.

    Playing host this evening are the 20-16-4 Bruins, the third-best team in the Atlantic Division. They’ve earned that position by playing some fantastic defense and goaltending, allowing only 96 goals – the seventh-lowest total in the NHL.

    As has been the case since at least the 2012-’13 season, the man in charge of Boston‘s crease has been 19-8-3 Tuukka Rask. He’s managed that mark by notching a season .928 save percentage and 1.93 GAA, the  fifth (tied) and third-best efforts, respectively, among the 45 goalies with at least 15 appearances.

    But it hasn’t been just the exemplary play of Rask. As good as he’s been, his defense has also been magnificent. Led by Captain Zdeno Chara‘s 73 blocks, the defense has allowed only 27.2 shots-per-game to reach Rask, tying them for the third-best mark in the league.

    As one might expect, those combined efforts result in a solid penalty kill. The Bruins are second-best when down a man, refusing to yield a goal 87.6% of the time in that situation. Rookie Brandon Carlo and Chara have shared the bulk of the responsibilities on the penalty kill, both with 21 shorthanded shot blocks on their resumes.

    Unfortunately, you can’t be good at everything. Boston‘s figuring that our the hard way when they have a power play presented to them. The seventh-best team on the power play a season ago, the Bruins are now tied for fifth-worst, a dramatic fall from grace. The main issue seems to be that only one power play line is scoring, as Torey Krug and Brad Marchand are on the same line and have the same seven man-advantage points. I don’t think that’s just coincidence, especially when David Pastrnak, who leads the team with four power play goals, is also on that line.

    Other than that, yeah. I guess Boston is good at a lot of things right now. All the Big 4 sports are having solid years. I guess the Revolution are the other soft spot? Even then, they only missed the MLS Cup playoffs due to losing a goal-differential tiebreaker with the Union.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Boston‘s Pastrnak (19 goals [fifth-most in the NHL]) and Rask (four shutouts among 19 wins [both tied for second-most in the league] on a 1.93 GAA [third-best in the NHL] and a .928 save percentage [tied for fifth-best in the league]) & Edmonton‘s McDavid (29 assists [most in the NHL] among 43 points [tied for the league lead]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the NHL] among 18 wins [sixth-most in the league]).

    Currently, Boston is marked a -145 favorite to beat the Oil this evening. I’d pick the Bruins to win if I were you, if for no other reason than they’re playing at home. That being said, I wouldn’t doubt the Oilers‘ ability to force overtime.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Steve Tuttle (1966-) – A sixth-round pick by St. Louis in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing only had a job in the NHL for three seasons before finishing his career in the International Hockey League.
    • Joe Juneau (1968-) – Selected in the fourth round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by Boston, this center played most of his 13 NHL seasons with Washington. By the time he hung up his skates, he notched 572 points.
    • Mike Grier (1975-) – Another St. Louis pick, this right wing was selected in the ninth-round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He never actually played a game for the Blues in his 14 seasons, instead spending most of his time in Edmonton.
    • Kyle Calder (1979-) – Chicago selected this left wing in the fifth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He spent six seasons with the Blackhawks before completing the remainder of his 10-year career as a journeyman.

    A four-goal explosion in the third period was more than enough for the Rangers to secure a 5-2 victory over the rival Flyers in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    The scoring didn’t begin until the 22:08 mark, courtesy of a snap shot from First Star of the Game Kevin Hayes (Michael Grabner and Brady Skjei) to give New York a 1-0 lead. It was the lone tally of the second frame.

    Chris Kreider (Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello) was the next Blueshirt to strike, burying his snap shot 5:01 after returning to the ice for the final frame. 6:12 later, Graber (J.T. Miller and Dan Girardi) took credit for the eventual game-winning goal, then setting the score at 3-0. The only New York penalty of the third period proved to be a costly one. Stepan was caught hi-sticking Chris VandeVelde, and Third Star Jakub Voracek (Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere) took advantage by netting a power play snap shot with 7:28 remaining in regulation. Any momentum that earned Philadelphia was squelched 1:43 later when Hayes (Miller) scored a snap shot to set the score at 4-1. Voracek (Michael Del Zotto and Michael Raffl) struck again with 2:52 remaining on the clock to try to give the Flyers late life, but Grabner’s snap shot on an empty net 37 seconds later put the final nail in Philadelphia‘s coffin.

    Second Star Henrik Lundqvist saved 30-of-32 shots faced (93.75%) to earn the victory, while Steve Mason saved only 23-of-27 (85.2%) in the loss.

    Even with two-straight visiting wins in the DtFR Game of the Day series, the home team still holds a 14-point edge with a 46-25-13 record.

  • December 29 – Day 75 – Gretzky game

    The last Thursday of 2016 is a busy one in the NHL. A dozen games will take place this evening, starting with two at 7 p.m. (Boston at Buffalo and New Jersey at Washington [NBCSN]) and another pair half an hour later (Toronto at Tampa Bay [TVAS] and Montréal at Florida [RDS]). 8 p.m. brings with it four contests (Chicago at Nashville, the New York Islanders at Minnesota, Columbus at Winnipeg and Detroit at Ottawa [RDSI]), and Colorado at Dallas gets underway 30 minutes later. Lastly, it’s a trifecta of nightcaps (Anaheim at Calgary [SN360], Los Angeles at Edmonton and the New York Rangers at Arizona) when 9 p.m. rolls around to close out the night.

    Short list:

    • Boston at Buffalo: Nothing like a little rivalry to get the blood pumping.
    • Montréal at Florida: Al Montoya will get the start in net against the club he played 45 games over two seasons with.
    • Los Angeles at Edmonton: Another rivalry, although it’s nowhere near as Great as it once was (See what I did there? Sneaky.).

    Sorry Montoya, but the potential for a good game in Alberta is too great for us to pass up. Off to the brand-new Rogers Place!

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    Of course, this rivalry exists/used to exist entirely because of the trade that shipped Wayne Gretzky from the Oilers to the Kings, but it takes new life this year as both teams are currently in playoff position. Of course, that could change if things don’t go the Kings‘ way and either Dallas, Nashville or Winnipeg win this evening.

    The Kings make the trip to Edmonton with a 17-14-4 record, good enough for fifth place in the Pacific Division and, more importantly, eighth in the Western Conference – aka the second wildcard! They’ve found that success by playing one of, if not the best defense in the league, allowing only 83 goals – the sixth-fewest in the NHL.

    Thanks to Jonathan Quick‘s groin injury in the first game of the season, it has been 15-9-3 Peter Budaj taking most of the starts in Los Angeles. Over that time, he’s accrued a .919 save percentage and 2.04 GAA – the 19th and sixth-best efforts, respectively, among the 44 netminders with 14 or more appearances.

    An okay save percentage paired with an excellent GAA is always indicative of a stellar defense, and Tinseltown is no different. Led by Derek Forbort‘s 77 shot blocks and second-in-command Alec Martinez‘ 72, the Kings allow only an average of 25.8 shots to reach Budaj’s net per night, the best in the league by nearly a full shot.

    As expected, they continue that effort on the penalty kill, where their 84.2% kill rate is tied for seventh-best in the league. Although the same two culprits are responsible for this charge, Martinez’ 19 shorthanded blocks are five more than Forbort’s.

    Unfortunately, the power play hasn’t been able to hold up its end of the bargain. Successful on only 15.7% of opportunities, the Kings tie for ninth-worst in the league. Jeff Carter leads the team with only eight power play points, but that overshadows an impressive six power play goals (ties for 11th-most in the NHL).

    Playing host this evening are the 18-12-6 Oilers, the second-best team in the Pacific. Offense is the name of the game in The Big E, as the Oil‘s 103 tallies ties for seventh-most in the NHL.

    You get two guesses as to who has the most points in Edmonton. Something tells me you only needed one of those guesses. Captain Connor McDavid‘s 42 points are not only tops in Edmonton, but also the tie with Sidney Crosby for most in the entire league. That being said, it has been Leon Draisaitl who has buries the most pucks for the Oil, with 14 to his credit. He narrowly beats out McDavid’s 13.

    Just like Los Angeles, what goes well during even-strength action shines especially bright during special teams. Edmonton‘s 21.2% conversion rate on the power play is eighth-best in the NHL. Draisaitl truly shines here, partially because he and McDavid are both on the first power play unit. The elder center has 14 man-advantage points on his resume already this year (two more than McDavid and Milan Lucic), and also has an impressive eight power play goals (tied for second-most in the league).

    These clubs have already met once this season, and the Kings came out on top. They squared off in the Staples Center on November 17 to a 4-2 LA victory. Budaj took credit for the win, and Carter’s shorthanded second period wrister was the deciding score.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Edmonton‘s McDavid (29 assists [most in the league] among 42 points [tied for the NHL lead]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the league] among 17 wins [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]) & Los Angeles‘ Budaj (four shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] and a 2.04 GAA [sixth-best in the NHL] for 15 wins [tied for eighth-most in the league]) and Carter (19 goals [tied for second-most in the NHL]).

    Vegas likes Edmonton to win tonight at -130, and I do too. Not only are the Oil playing at home sweet home, their penalty kill is more than up to the task of squelching the Kings‘ poor power play. I’d even go so far to say that Mark Letestu, who opened the season with two shorthanded goals, could notch his fourth penalty kill point tonight. Who knows?

    Hockey Birthday

    • Nels Stewart (1902-1957) – When the Montreal Maroons won the 1926 Stanley Cup, it was this Hall of Fame center who was in the middle of most of the scoring. A two-time Hart Trophy winner, he scored a team-high 34 goals in 36 games played that season.
    • Filip Kuba (1975-) – A Florida-pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, this defenseman played most of his 14 seasons in Minnesota. In 2004, his fourth season with the Wild, he earned a roster spot at the All-Star game.
    • Pierre Dagenais (1978-) – You know you’re wanted when the same team drafts you twice. That’s what happened to this left wing, as New Jersey selected him in both the 1996 and 1998 NHL Entry Drafts. He only played 25 games for the Devils; most of his short NHL career was spent in Montréal.

    Notching the first hat trick of his NHL career, First Star of the Game Robby Fabbri led St. Louis past the Flyers in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day series, winning 6-3.

    It was actually Wayne Simmonds (Travis Konecny and Brayden Schenn) and Philadelphia getting on the board first, as the right wing tipped-in the puck only 3:25 into the contest. The Notes leveled with 4:59 remaining in the first with a Kevin Shattenkirk (Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko) power play slap shot. With a dozen seconds remaining before the first intermission, Fabbri (Second Star Colton Parayko) notched his first goal of the night with a power play wrister, giving the Notes a 2-1 lead.

    Only 4:32 after returning to the ice, Nick Cousins (Ivan Provorov and Konecny) leveled the game for Philly with the lone goal of the second period.

    It was an evening of quick starts for the Flyers, as they took a 3-2 lead only 4:13 into the third period with a Schenn (Shayne Gostisbehere and Simmonds) power play slap shot. That lead lasted only 100 seconds before David Perron (Parayko) pulled St. Louis even. 1:20 after that, Third Star Scottie Upshall (Joel Edmundson and Alex Pietrangelo) provided the tally that proved to be the game-winning shot. Those that are good at math know that set the score at 4-3, leaving the final two goals to Fabbri to complete his hatty. He scored at even-strength with 4:59 remaining (Patrik Berglund and Dmitrij Jaskin), and on an empty net (Jaskin and Paul Stastny) with 2:56 remaining to earn the accolade.

    Carter Hutton earned the victory after saving 17-of-20 shots faced (85%), leaving the loss to Steve Mason, saving 19-of-24 (79.2%).

    The Notes‘ victory means the home sides in the DtFR Game of the Day series have earned at least a point in the last six matchups, setting the series record at 42-23-12 and improving their lead over the roadies to a dozen points.

  • December 11 – Day 60 – Round Three for Me

    Like U2 said, it’s basically just another Sunday in the NHL. The league has scheduled eight games for us to watch, starting with Ottawa at Anaheim (TVAS) at 4 p.m. Two more games drop the puck at 5 p.m. (Philadelphia at Detroit and Vancouver at Washington), followed an hour later by St. Louis at Minnesota to complete the afternoon matinees. Three contests get green-lit at the usual 7 p.m. starting time (Dallas at Chicago, Colorado at Toronto [SN] and New Jersey at the New York Rangers), with Winnipeg at Edmonton, this evening’s nightcap, waiting until 9:30 p.m. to get underway. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • New Jersey at New York: The Battle of the Hudson River finally gets underway in the 2016-17 season.
    • Winnipeg at Edmonton: Similarly, this rivalry makes it’s first visit to Rogers Place.

    I expect the late game to one of the better games of the day, so we’re off to The Big E.

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    It’s the second of Winnipeg‘s two-game, two-day weekend road trip. Looking to avoid their third-straight loss, the Jets will try to overcome goaltending that has allowed 92 goals, which ties for second-most in the league.

    Connor Hellebuyck has been the man between the pipes for the Jets more often than not this season, and has earned a 10-9-1 record in those 20 starts. To claim that record, he’s set a .908 save percentage and 2.73 GAA, both numbers the 30th-best effort among the 44 netminders with 10 or more appearances so far this season.

    Disappointingly, much of that responsibility rests on his shoulders. Although the Jets don’t have an exceptional defense, they allow only 29.9 shots to reach the net each game, the 13th-fewest among all clubs. That effort has been headlined by defensive extraordinaire Dustin Byfuglien, who has already prevented 54 shots from reaching Hellebuyck’s cage.

    Not surprisingly, Winnipeg‘s penalty kill has also suffered so far this year. Negating only 77.9% of their infractions, the Jets‘ penalty kill ranks fifth-worst in the league. Don’t tell Toby Enstrom though, as he has an impressive 15 shorthanded blocks to his credit to not only lead the team, but tie for 10th-most in the entire NHL.

    The power play has also been fairly unimpressive. Even with rookie Patrik Laine‘s nine power play points (seven of which are goals, which also leads the club), the Jets have found success on only 15.4% of opportunities to rank seventh-worst in the league.

    Hosting Winnipeg this evening are the 14-11-5 Oilers, a team sitting in third place in the Pacific Division. Much of the reason they’ve been able to find such success this season has been due to their explosive offense, which ranks fifth-best in the NHL after scoring 89 goals.

    He was the number one pick in last season’s draft, and every game proves that Peter Chiarelli made the right decision (not that it was in any doubt). Connor McDavid is the king of River City, already notching 38 points this season. While his dozen goals are impressive, it’s been Leon Draisaitl with the scoring lead, burying 13 goals so far this year.

    To continue the onslaught, Edmonton is home to the fifth-best power play in the game, converting 22.1% of their opportunities. The usual suspects have both led the man-advantage with 11 points apiece, but it has been Draisaitl with seven power play goals.

    The penalty kill has also been very impressive for the Oil. They’ve refused to yield a power play goal in 84.4% of situations, the ninth-best rate in the league. Heading the shorthanded goal-stopping effort has been not-so-new-anymore addition Kris Russell, who has 15 undermanned blocks to his credit.

    This matchup has already been played twice this season, with Edmonton winning both games by a combined 9-3, in Manitoba no less.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Edmonton‘s Draisaitl (13 goals [tied for seventh-most in the league]), McDavid (38 points, including 26 assists [both lead the NHL]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] among 13 wins [tied for sixth-most in the NHL]) & Winnipeg‘s Nikolaj Ehlers (19 assists [tied for seventh-most in the league]), Laine (17 goals [third-most in the NHL]) and Mark Scheifele (14 goals [tied for fifth-most in the league] for 28 points [10th-most in the NHL]).

    A quick search did not yield a line for this game, so it looks like the know-it-alls in the desert are calling this one too close to call. I like the Oilers to win. Not only does Winnipeg have a losing skid hanging over them, but their special teams pale in the face of Edmonton‘s.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Moose Vasko (1935-1998) – This defenseman’s given name might have been Elmer, but his nickname Moose was more descriptive of his efforts over his 13 seasons. Most of that time was spent in Chicago, where he hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1961.
    • J.P. Parise (1941-2015) – He may have never hoisted the Stanley Cup, but this left wing was twice an All-Star. Most of his 594-point career was spent in Minnesota with the North Stars.
    • Daniel Alfredsson (1972-) – The greatest scorer in Senators history, this right wing was drafted by the club in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. By the time his 17 seasons in Ottawa were complete, he’d notched 1108 points. His number 11 will be retired on December 29.
    • Mark Streit (1977-) – A Montréal draft pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, this defenseman is in his fourth season in Philadelphia.

    By scoring in each period, the Panthers were able to defend home ice against Vancouver 4-2 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Florida didn’t wait too long to get the scoring started. Their lone goal of the first period was struck only 2:22 into the match by First Star of the Game Aleksander Barkov (Third Star Seth Griffith) with an impressive wrist shot.

    With 25 seconds remaining until the midway point of regulation, Derek MacKenzie (Paul Thompson and Colton Sceviour) lit the lamp with a tip-in goal to set the score at 2-0, which held into the second intermission.

    Aaron Ekblad (Jaromir Jagr and Barkov) buried what proved to be the winning goal only 1:05 into the final frame with a backhanded shot. The Canucks finally got on the board at the 8:06 mark with a Jack Skille (Michael Chaput) wrister to pull within two, followed 3:39 later by a power play tally from Daniel Sedin (Troy Stecher and Henrik Sedin), but the comeback met its end with 48 seconds remaining in regulation when Vincent Trocheck (MacKenzie and Mark Pysyk) scored on an empty net.

    Second Star Roberto Luongo earned the victory after saving 37-of-39 shots faced (94.9%), while Jacob Markstrom takes the loss, saving 38-of-41 (92.7%).

    With a win today from Edmonton, the home teams will complete their week-streak over the roadies in the DtFR Game of the Day series. This success has given the hosts a 35-19-8 record, with favors them by 13 points over the visitors.

  • December 8 – Day 57 – Orange you glad I picked two orange teams?

    It’s Thirsty Thursday at a hockey rink near you!

    *Disclaimer: I do not actually know if it is Thirsty Thursday at your local arena. Please do not assume I know your club’s Thursday promotions.*

    The action starts at 7 p.m. with three contests (Colorado at Boston, St. Louis at the New York Islanders and Edmonton at Philadelphia), followed half an hour later by three more (New Jersey at Montréal [RDS/SN360], Vancouver at Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh at Florida). The New York Rangers at Winnipeg drops the puck at the top of the hour, and Nashville at Dallas trails at 8:30 p.m. 9 p.m. marks the beginning of Calgary at Arizona, which precedes tonight’s nightcap – Carolina at Los Angeles – by 90 minutes.

    Riding a six-game winning streak, the Flyers are currently playing must-watch hockey. Tonight, they host a good Oilers team, so we’re off to the Wells Fargo Center.

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    Edmonton enters tonight’s game on a streak of their own, but it’s as far from Philly‘s as it can be without being a losing skid – they’ve suffered two-straight overtime losses. The Oilers are 14-10-4 for first place in the Pacific Division, and they’ve gotten to that position by playing an incredible offense that has already notched 82 goals, the most in the Western Conference.

    Second-year pro and first-year captain Connor McDavid has headlined that scoring effort this season, notching 36 points in 28 games – the highest point total in the league, much less the Oilers. He’s joined by Leon Draisaitl to co-lead the club with 11 goals apiece.

    Much of the success is due to Edmonton taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves in the form of opposing penalties. The Oil‘s 20.4% success rate is 10th-best in the league, co-led by Draisaitl and McDavid’s 10 man-advantage points. Draisaitl’s effort with the extra-man has been especially impressive, as his seven power play goals ties for second-most in the NHL.

    Hosting them this evening are the 15-10-3 Flyers – a club who has earned 40% of their wins in the past 12 days to move into fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. The reason they’ve been able to pull off this streak is due totally to their offense, which has notched 87 goals so far this year.

    Who else to lead Philly‘s scoring effort than Wayne Simmonds? His 26 points are just another line item in the long list of things he does for this club. 15 of those points are goals which – you guessed it – is also the best on the squad.

    Edmonton‘s power play is good, but Philadelphia‘s is way, way better. Led by Claude Giroux‘ 14 power play points, the Flyers have connected on 23.8% of their man-advantages, the second-best rate in the league. Eight of Simmonds’ goals have been on the power play, double the tally of Giroux to top the squad.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Edmonton‘s McDavid (36 points on 25 assists [both lead the NHL]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] among 13 wins [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]) & Philadelphia‘s Giroux (18 assists [tied for fifth-most in the league]) and Simmonds (15 goals [fourth-most in the NHL] among 26 points [tied for ninth-most in the league]).

    Philly is marked the favorite by Vegas with a -130 line, but I like Edmonton to take the victory. My pick is dependent on Cam Talbot having a good game, as he either plays well… or he doesn’t. That being said, the Oil do have the additional advantage of the superior penalty kill in their back pocket, which could still be enough to get them out of Philly with the victory.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Red Berenson (1939-) – This center was a longtime Blue, playing 519 of his 987 games in the Gateway to the West. He notched 658 points over his 17 career, but nowadays he’s the head man at the University of Michigan.
    • Ted Irvine (1944-) – A left wing with 11 seasons of NHL experience, he spent most of his days playing in Madison Square Garden. He notched 331 points in his career.
    • Drew Doughty (1989-) – This defenseman has never played for anyone but the Kings, the club that drafted him second-overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Recipient of last season’s Norris Trophy, he notched 51 points and 105 blocks.

    It took 61:36, but the Washington Capitals were able to hold off the Boston Bruins with a 4-3 overtime victory in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    It took only 23 seconds for the Caps to earn their first lead of the game, courtesy of Second Star of the Game Justin Williams (Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin). They doubled that lead to 2-0 7:34 later when Williams (Kuznetsov) buried his second of the night with a wrister.

    Washington‘s final goal of regulation was struck 5:51 into the second period off a Daniel Winnik (Jay Beagle) wrister. The Bruins waited until 3:25 remained in the frame to begin their impressive comeback with a Dominic Moore (Anton Blidh) wrister. David Pastrnak pulled Boston within a tally with a minute remaining in the second period to set up an exciting third frame.

    Only one goal was struck in the remaining 20 minutes, of course belonging to the Bruins. It was Colin Miller (Austin Czarnik and Brad Marchand) who took credit for the game-tying tally with a power play slap shot that eventually forced three-on-three overtime.

    Although all momentum was on Boston‘s side, it was First Star Nicklas Backstom (Nate Schmidt and Marcus Johansson) who finished the contest for the Capitals with a game-winning wrister.

    Braden Holtby earns the victory after saving 31-of-34 (91.2%), leaving the overtime loss to Tuukka Rask, saving 16-of-20 (80%).

    Washington‘s win improves the home sides’ record to 32-19-8 in the DtFR Game of the Day series, a seven-point advantage over the visitors.

  • Sick Hands Sunday – Hoffman and Jones Both Go On a Tear to Capture All The Glory For This Week’s Title.

    Hey everyone, I’m back again for a new week of Sick Hands Sunday! Sorry, that I’m getting this week’s article out a day late, I was traveling all day back from Pittsburgh. But here I am, I can’t wait to get another version out to all my fans for you all to enjoy! This week was a little easier to pick the winner so let’s get right into it!

    For the forward position of the article, once again it was pretty easy to pick the winner! So if it keeps going like this picking the winner is going to be easy from here on out and I will love it. I decided to go with Senators left winger Mike Hoffman who registered seven points (4G, 3A) in just four games. In all four games, he had at least one point and had four total power play points in four games as well. Here is how Hoffman did game by game:

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    Hoffman drives into the offensive zone with the puck (Julie Oliver/Postmedia)

    In Hoffman’s first game he tallied an assist in a 2-0 win over the powerhouse New York Rangers. Hoffman’s assist came on the Mark Stone‘s power-play goal to stretch their lead to 2-0 after two periods. Hoffman picked up the puck, skated down the left-hand boards, and threw a pass to the streaking Stone right in the slot. Stone received the pass and quickly fired the pass over Antti Raanta‘s blocker for the goal. Here’s the beautiful pass below:

    In Hoffman’s second game of the week, he recorded four points, including a hat trick and an assist in a 5-4 loss against the struggling Buffalo Sabres. Hoffman’s first goal came off a juicy rebound from a point shot, the puck was kicked back into the slot by Sabres goalie Robin Lehner. He jumped right on the loose puck and slammed it into the back of the net to bring the Sens within a goal at 2-1. Here’s his first of the night:

    With Hoffman’s second of the night, it was a beauty. The play started with Stone bringing the puck down the left-hand side and throwing a cross-ice pass over to Erik Karlsson who skated down to the right-hand dot. Karlsson then dished an amazing pass to Hoffman who was making a B-line right to the front of the net. All Hoffman had to do was redirect the puck into the wide-open net, and he did to bring the Sens back to within a goal at 4-3 at the end of period two.

    For Hoffman’s third and final goal, it was an absolute rocket! Hoffman received a great pass from teammate Dion Phaneuf right into his wheelhouse. Hoffman let the one-timer go and the shot trickled past Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson. That goal capped off a highly impressive night from the young man, but it wasn’t enough as the Sens could not complete the comeback. You can see all his goals in full time down below including the final goal:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GPDrrKFg98

    The Senators then took on the Flyers where Hoffman recorded a power play goal in a 3-2 OT loss. The play all started by Kyle Turris cycling the puck down to Mark Stone below the goal line at the side of the net. Stone spotted Hoffman all alone standing at the side of the net and rifled a pass over to Hoffman who then fired the slap shot into the wide open net to open the scoring at 1-0. You can see his goal below:

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    Jones makes one of his 31 saves during the 2-1 win over Montreal. (Getty Images)

    Hoffman added an another assist in their 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers to round off the week on a high note. Now let’s move on to the goalie portion of the week! For the winner of this week, I decided to go with Sharks goalie Martin Jones who had a stellar week in the net! Jones started three of the Sharks games during the week going 3-0 in that span only letting in three goals finishing with an amazing .962 SV% and a 1.00 GAA. Jones was on fire and no one could score. He is turning his season around after a slow start and boosted his stats up to 13-8-1 with a 1.99 GAA and a .924 SV%. Down below you can see Jones’ absolute larceny on Alex Galchenyuk with a sprawling glove save.

    The Honorable Mention goes to Connor McDavid and Steve Mason I will see you guys next Sunday for another recap of the best player of the week! (Thanks to the Ottawa Senators’ Twitter for the videos of the goals!)

  • December 4 – Day 53 – Frans will be Frans

    For a Sunday, we have a good sampling of games to watch. Montréal visits Los Angeles (RDS) at 3 p.m., followed two hour later by Tampa Bay at Carolina. The final round of matinee games drops the puck at 6 p.m. with two contests (Philadelphia at Nashville [TVAS] and Detroit at the New York Islanders), with Winnipeg at Chicago (SN) waiting until the usual 7 p.m. starting time. Two games share the role of nightcap tonight (Anaheim at Calgary [SN360] and Minnesota at Edmonton [SN1]), dropping the puck at 9:30 p.m. All times eastern.

    Up until this season, every single game of Frans Nielsen‘s career was spent wearing blue and orange. This afternoon, he’ll dress in the Barclays Center’s visitor’s locker room for the first time.

    UnknownNew York Islanders Logo

     

    Way back in 2002, New York drafted an 18-year-old that would become the first Dane to play in the NHL. Of course, Nielsen’s career is not marked simply by that.

    His tenure with the Islanders was a successful one.  From the time he made his NHL debut in the 2006-07 to last season, he was the third-leading scorer for the Isles, including 230 assists to tie for second-most for the club in that time span.

    Nielsen has continued that success in Motown, as his 14 points ties for for second-most for the Red Wings.  Interestingly, he’s taken more of a goal scoring role with his new team, as his six goals are second-most on the team.

    Detroit comes to the Barclays Center with an 11-11-3 record, sitting in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. While their new center seems to be a good pickup, the Wings still struggle to score the puck, as their 58 goals ties for eighth-fewest.

    Henrik Zetterberg has headlined Detroit‘s offense so far this season with 17 points to his credit, but it’s been sophomore Dylan Larkin completing many of the plays – his eight goals is tops in the Motor City. To put those efforts in perspective, Zetterberg’s 17 points tie for 56th in the league, and Larkin ties for 37th.

    As would be expected from the low production, the power play has also suffered. Successful on only 14.9% of opportunities, the Wings are 10th-worst with the man-advantage in the NHL. This has been where Nielsen has truly shone, as his six power play points are a club-best. However, they’ve all be assists, and four skaters (Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Larkin and Thomas Vanek) have two extra-man tallies for the clubhouse lead. Unfortunately, Abdelkader and Helm find themselves on the Wings‘ injured reserve, which has done nothing to help a sputtering offense.

    Hosting Nielsen and the Wings this evening are the 9-10-4 Islanders, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They’ve earned that position by scoring only 58 goals, tying them for eighth-fewest in the NHL.

    Don’t tell Captain John Tavares that he’s not supposed to be racking up the points, as he already has 18 to lead his club. In addition, his six goals ties him with Brock Nelson for the scoring-lead in Brooklyn, but once again those numbers need to be put in perspective. 18 points is good enough to only tie for 45th-best in the league, and six goals ties for 84th.

    If Detroit‘s power play is bad, New York‘s is definitely worse. Scoring on only 11.8% of man-advantages earns the Islanders second-worst in the NHL, and worst in the conference. Tavares has been the biggest threat with five power play points, two of which are goals.

    Before we go any further, we need to clear something up. Not everybody is going to be a Sidney Crosby or Patrik Laine goal scorer (their 16 goals are the league benchmark), nor are many going to match Connor McDavid‘s impressive 34 points. I get that. But it’s the fact that these skaters for both clubs – Larkin, Nelson, Tavares and Zetterberg – are the ones leading their respective clubs. If they’re the best the club has to offer, what does that mean for the guys behind them?

    And that, my dear children, is how you get anemic offenses.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Detroit‘s Zetterberg (12 assists among 17 points [both lead the team]) and New York‘s Tavares (12 assists among 18 points [both lead the team]).

    In a game that I would have assumed to be a pick-’em, Vegas has marked the home Isles as the -145 favorite. The main reason I’ll stick with the odds-makers’ prediction is that Detroit not only played yesterday, but had to travel from Pittsburgh, while New York hasn’t played in three days and is riding a three-game winning streak.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Montréal Canadiens (1909-) – The oldest active hockey club in the world predates their own league.
    • Alex Delvecchio (1931-) – This center played an incredible 1549 games over 24 seasons with Detroit, hoisting the Stanley Cup three times. Fats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.
    • Rick Middleton (1953-) – Nifty played right wing for 1005 games over his 14-season career, most of which with Boston. Although he never won a title, he was thrice named an All-Star.
    • Dave Taylor (1955-) – Another right wing, he was drafted by Los Angeles in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft. He played 1111 games over his 17-season career, and his number 18 hangs in the Staples Center’s rafters.
    • Jassen Cullimore (1972-) – Although the 29th-overall selection in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by Vancouver, this defenseman spent most of his days in Tampa Bay – including that team that won the 2004 Stanley Cup.

    I expected a tight contest in yesterday’s Game of the Day, and that’s what we got when Boston beat Buffalo 2-1.

    The lone goal of the first period was struck with 5:50 remaining in the frame, belonging to David Krejci (Brandon Carlo and David Backes) and the Bruins.

    Patrice Bergeron (Second Star of the Game David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand) doubled Boston‘s score 7:44 into the third frame with a backhander. Third Star Evander Kane (Sam Reinhart) buried his first goal of the season 1:28 later, but the Sabres could not manage another tally to complete the comeback.

    First Star Tuukka Rask saved 35-of-36 (97.2%) shots faced to earn the victory, leaving the loss to Robin Lehner, who saved 31-of-33 (93.9%).

    Even though Boston won, the home teams still have a three-point lead over the visitors in the DtFR Game of the Day series with their 29-19-7 record.

  • December 1 – Day 50 – This one’s not outside, but it’s still cool… right?

    How special that the 50th day of play perfectly aligns with December 1. It’s like the NHL planned it that way.

    As usual, Thursday is one of our busier weekdays, so without further ado…

    Four games drop the puck at 7 p.m. (Carolina at Boston, the New York Rangers at Buffalo, Dallas at Pittsburgh [SN360] and the New York Islanders at Washington), followed half an hour later by two more (Philadelphia at Ottawa [RDS] and Florida at Detroit). 8 p.m. marks the start of a pair of games (Tampa Bay at St. Louis and Edmonton at Winnipeg), with New Jersey at Chicago waiting 30 minutes before getting underway. Two more contests get green lit at 9 p.m. (Columbus at Colorado and Los Angeles at Arizona) trailed an hour later by this evening’s nightcap: Anaheim at Vancouver (SN360). All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • New York at Washington: I like rivalries. You like rivalries. We all like rivalries.
    • Edmonton at Winnipeg: This rivalry has existed even longer than New York–Washington, going back to these clubs’ WHA days.

    I expect the contest at the MTS Centre to be the better of our two rivalries this evening, so off to Manitoba!

    Unknown-5Unknown-4

     

    Wait, didn’t we already feature this game? Yes, yes we have. In fact, if I went through my record correctly, this is the first exact rematch in the DtFR Game of the Day series this season, featuring both teams back in the same city.

    Then again, is it truly an identical rematch? That distinction of city instead of arena was intentional. When we featured these two last time, they played at Investors Group Field where the Oilers have a perfect 1-0-0 franchise record after beating the Jets 3-0.

    Edmonton enters tonight’s game with a 12-10-2 record, good enough for third place in the Pacific Division. They’ve earned that position with a solid offense that has scored 69 goals already this season – the fifth-best effort in the NHL.

    You get two guesses to find out who’s leading the Oil, and you probably won’t need the second. It’s been Captain Connor McDavid, who has 31 points to his credit to average 1.29 points per game – the best effort in the league among players with more than two games played (yes, that intentionally excludes only Jack Eichel‘s two points in one game). 11 of McDavid’s points have been goals, which also leads the club by four tallies.

    Defensively, the Oilers have been especially impressive on the penalty kill. They rank second-best in the NHL by not allowing a goal on 88.4% of opposing power plays. Leading the charge during these undermanned situations has been Darnell Nurse, who has 10 shorthanded blocks on his resume.

    Hosting them this evening are the 11-12-2 Jets who occupy sixth place in the Central Division. Although they have a good offense, Winnipeg has been held back by their defense and goaltending that has allowed 72 goals, the fourth-most in the league.

    Another Connor, Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has started between the pipes 17 times this season, earning a 9-8-0 record. Through those games, he’s earned a .915 save percentage and a 2.54 GAA, tying for (t)20th and 19th-worst among the 41 neminders with nine or more appearances.

    If we’ve learned nothing else from the Jets, it’s that an average paired with an average defense does not yield a consistent winning result. Even though four Winnipeg blueliners have 30 or more stops – led by Dustin Byfuglien‘s 44 blocks – they allow an average of 30.3 shots against per night, the only 15th-best rate in the league. While I’m still leaning towards the goaltending taking most of the blame, the Jets‘ defense does need to find a better way to limit opposing opportunities beyond blocking shots.

    As might have been suspected, the penalty kill has also been a problem for the Jets. Even though Toby Enstrom has 11 shorthanded blocks to his name, Winnipeg ranks eighth-worst when a man-down, stopping only 80.4% of opposing power plays.

    Given an offense that has scored 65 goals already this season, it is somewhat surprising that Winnipeg‘s power play has found success on only 13.8% of attempts. Rookie Patrik Laine leads that charge with seven power play points, five of which are goals.

    Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Edmonton‘s McDavid (31 points on 20 assists [both lead the NHL] and 11 goals [tied for seventh-most in the league]) and Cam Talbot (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the NHL] among 11 wins [tied for sixth-most in the league]) & Winnipeg‘s Nikolaj Ehlers (16 assists [tied for third-most in the NHL]), Laine (13 goals [tied for second-most in the league]) and Mark Scheifele (26 points on 13 goals [both tied for second-most in the NHL]).

    Vegas favors Winnipeg tonight, but not by much. The line reads -110, effectively only rewarding the Jets for playing at home. Due to that, I feel like Edmonton will be able to pull off the victory, as their defense and goaltending is slightly better than Winnipeg‘s.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Ryan Malone (1979-) – Although drafted by his hometown Penguins, this left wing is most known for his six seasons in Tampa Bay.
    • Tomas Tatar (1990-) – The 60th-overall selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he’s entering his sixth season with Detroit.

    An impressive three-goal first period led the Sharks to a 4-1 road upset of host Los Angeles in the Battle of California.

    The onslaught of goals started at the 3:32 mark with the second goal of rookie Kevin Labanc‘s (First Star of the Game Logan Couture and Second Star Joel Ward) career, a forceful wrist shot. With 55 seconds remaining in the frame, Couture (Joonas Donskoi and Ward) doubled a wrister of his own, trailed 30 ticks of the clock later by Ryan Carpenter‘s (Mikkel Boedker) first-ever career goal.

    The only goal of the second frame belonged to the host Kings. 3:01 after resuming play, Third Star Dustin Brown (Marian Gaborik and Nic Dowd) took advantage of a Labanc hooking penalty to pull back within two goals, but they were never able to tickle the twine again before the clock emptied.

    San Jose‘s final tally was with 77 remaining in the game, an empty-netter by Couture.

    Martin Jones earns the victory after saving 26-of-27 shots faced (96.3%), leaving the loss to Peter Budaj, saving 20-of-23 (87%).

    San Jose‘s victory is the first regulation win in the DtFR Game of the Day series since Ottawa’s 2-0 win on Sunday. It sets the series record at 28-17-7 in favor of the home squads, favoring them by six points over the roadies.

  • October 23 – Day 12 -It’s not really my heritage, but I’ll celebrate anyways since there’s hockey

    Eight points are on the line on this fourth Sunday of October. Edmonton visits Winnipeg at 3 p.m. (NHLN/SN/TVAS2) and Minnesota at the New York Islanders drops the puck at the completion of that contest at 6 p.m. Arizona at the New York Rangers (NHLN) starts at the usual starting time of 7 p.m., and Vancouver at Anaheim (SN), this evening’s nightcap, gets underway an hour later. All times eastern.

    Although I have my qualms with the plethora of outdoor games played these days, this afternoon’s contest in Manitoba should be worth the watch.

    Unknown-5Unknown-4Welcome to Investors Group Field. Canadians know this place as the home of Winnipeg‘s football team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. All of us on this website are Americans, so we are more familiar with it hosting seven matches during the 2015 Women’s World Cup, including two involving *ahem* the World Champion USWNT.

    I’ll wait for you to get settled down again. I know, I still celebrate every time I think about Megan Rapinoe’s two goals in this stadium.

    Anyways, back to the sport we’re supposed to be talking about: football. Wait, no, the football stadium was taken over by hockey. Right.

    The Edmonton Eskimos Oilers enter today’s game with a 4-1-0 record – the third best in the Western Conference, and fourth best in the league. Their lone blemish came last Sunday against Buffalo, falling 6-2. They’ve found their success with the puck on their stick, scoring 20 goals so far this season (seven more than the league average). Last year’s first overall pick in the NHL Draft has been at the forefront of the Oil‘s attack, as Connor McDavid has eight points to his name, including four goals.

    Opposing them this afternoon is the 2-2-0 Winnipeg Jets. The last time we watched the Jets, Patrik Laine scored the first hat trick of his career against the only kid drafted before him in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft en route to a 5-4 overtime victory. Just like Edmonton, offense is where Winnipeg shines. They’re led by center Mark Scheifele, who’s six points are evenly split between goals and assists.

    Some players to keep an eye on in today’s game include Edmonton‘s McDavid (eight points [tied for third-most in the league] on four goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]), Kris Russell (+6 [tied for eighth-best in the league]) and Cam Talbot (four wins [leads the NHL]) & Winnipeg‘s Dustin Byfuglien (four assists [leads the team]), Laine (four goals [leads the team]) and Scheifele (six points for a +4 [both lead the team]).

    With home ice, Winnipeg is favored at a -123. While that would certainly make a nice story, I don’t think that’s what is going to happen. I believe it will be the Oilers taking the two points from this game with an exemplary performance from McDavid on arguably the biggest stage he’s had in his young professional career.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Fred Shero (1925-1990) – He may have played defense for 145 NHL games (all with the Rangers), but Shero is more known for his coaching career. He amassed a 390-216-118 career record en route to four Stanley Cup Finals appearances, winning half of those with Philadelphia.

    The Boston Bruins have had trouble of late defending home ice, going 17-18-6 a season ago. That trend continued last night when they fell 4-2 to their arch-rivals, the Montréal Canadiens.

    The Habs won this game in the second period. After a scoreless opening frame for both sides, First Star of the Game Brendan Gallagher (Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk) broke the draw with a snap shot with 8:19 remaining in the second to give the Canadiens the lead. That lead doubled 6:03 later when Phillip Danault (Alexander Radulov and Greg Pateryn) scored his first of the season.

    5:34 into the final period, Third Star Dominic Moore (Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari) scored a wrister for the Bruins to pull the home team within a goal, but Paul Byron‘s (Shea Weber and Andrei Markov) short-handed snap shot 1:58 later returned the Habs‘ lead to 3-1 – and proved to be the game-winner. Ryan Spooner‘s (David Backes and David Krejci) power play snap shot at the 8:09 mark once again pulled Boston within a score, but they were unable to find the back of the net again. Second Star Torrey Mitchell tacked on the insurance goal with 7:13 remaining for the Canadiens to seal the victory.

    Carey Price earns the victory after saving 19-of-21 (90.5%) of the shots he faced, while Anton Khudobin takes the loss, saving 25-of-29 (86.2%).

    With that road victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 9-4-1, still favoring the home teams by six points.

  • Sick Hands Sunday – McDaivd’s Amazing Two Game Performance Puts Him On Top.

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

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

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

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

     

     

     

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

     

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

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

     

     

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

  • October 16 – Day Five – What does Dylan Strome have to do with Buffalo at Edmonton?

    Washington‘s second appearance in the Game of the Day series didn’t need more than 60 minutes for them to earn their first win of the 2016-’17 campaign over the New York Islanders.

    First Star of the Game Daniel Winnik (John Carlson and Jay Beagle) opened the scoring 11:58 after beginning play by deflecting Carlson’s wrister past Third Star Thomas Greiss. 1:51 later, Ryan Strome (Brock Nelson and Johnny Boychuk) scored on a power play wrister to beat Second Star Braden Holtby to level the score at 1-1, which held into the first intermission.

    Winnik (Karl Alzner and Brooks Orpik) struck oil again 7:46 after returning to the ice with a wrister. It was the lone score of the final 40 minutes, giving the Capitals their first victory of the season.

    Holtby earns the win after saving 21-of-22 (95.5%), while Greiss saved 26-of-28 (92.9%) in the loss.

    Washington‘s victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 5-2-0, favoring the home sides by four points over the roadies.

    What a day yesterday, huh? Let your remote celebrate the Sabbath too, as there’s only three games to be played this evening. The action gets green lit at 6 p.m. when Anaheim visits the New York Islanders, followed an hour later by Buffalo at Edmonton (NHLN/SN1). Finally, Carolina at Vancouver gets its start at 10 p.m. (SN1). All times eastern.

    The one that really attracts me is Sabres at Oilers. I know this will be the third time we’ll feature Edmonton, but is anybody really complaining about watching Connor McDavid?

    Unknown-2Unknown-5As hinted at before, McDavid’s early success has only been eclipsed by Toronto‘s Auston Matthews – the man who replaced as the most recent No. 1 pick. Through two games, he’s already scored three times (tied for third-most in the league). Pair that with three more assists, and his six points ties Boston‘s Brad Marchand for best in the league. We certainly need more evidence, but every time the center takes the ice I begin to believe a little bit more in the return of the Oil.

    Detracting from this matchup is the condition, and ultimate absence of Buffalo‘s Jack Eichel. The second pick in last year’s NHL Entry Draft scored 24 goals last year en route to 56 points. Almost ironically, his second year has already started like McDavid’s rookie season. Last year, McDavid missed time early in the season. Now it’s Eichel’s turn, as he suffered a high ankle sprain on Wednesday. All I know is Dylan Strome, the third pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, had better be careful next year.  Something’s coming. Something bad.

    In all seriousness, Eichel and McDavid have only squared off once in three possible meetings, which is probably two fewer than the NHL’s marketing and promotions departments would have liked. That being said, it looks like ex-Islander Kyle Okposo will be making his Sabres debut this evening, with the possibility of ex-Panther Dmitry Kulikov also suiting up. So that’s exciting, right?

    Just so you know, in comparison to Eichel v McDavid, the answer is no.

    Some players to watch include Buffalo‘s Robin Lehner (.924 save percentage last season) and Matt Moulson (scored Sabres’ lone goal of the 2016-’17 season) & Edmonton‘s Leon Draisaitl (two goals [tied for sixth-most in the league] for four points [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]), McDavid (six points [tied for the league-lead] on three goals [tied for third-most in the NHL] and three assists [tied for third-most in the league], and +4 [tied for third-best in the NHL]), Kris Russell (three assists [tied for third-most in the league]) and Cam Talbot (two wins [tied for the league-lead]).

    When’s the last time you heard this one: the Oilers are going to win this game. Vegas has Edmonton favored at -175 minimum in their home contest. I’ve gone against the odds a couple times this season (and, I would also like to point out that I’ve been right both times), but this is not one of those games. Edmonton pulls off the victory.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Darius Kasparaitis (1972-) – The defenseman’s career may have found its start on Long Island, but Kasparaitis is most known for his time in Pittsburgh. Last year, he co-founded a Floridian real estate development company.
    • Paul Kariya (1974-) – This left winger was the fourth player selected in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, and with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim he played for nine seasons and 606 games. Oh, and he’s also a movie star. Check that footage from D3: The Mighty Ducks. Get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.