Down the Frozen River

Tag: Corey Crawford

  • Elliott Backstops Blues to 3-2 Win in Game 3, St. Louis Leads Series 2-1

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-1The St. Louis Blues emerged victorious at the United Center on Sunday, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2. Blues goaltender, Brian Elliott stopped 44 shots on 46 shots against, picking up the win with a .957 SV%, while Chicago’s Corey Crawford turned aside 33 pucks on 36 shots against in the loss with a .917 SV%.

    Jaden Schwartz’s third period power play goal proved to the game winner as St. Louis toppled Chicago on road ice.

    Entering Sunday, David Backes had a two-game point streak with 1-1-2 totals in the first two games of the series. Backes has now extended his point streak to three games with an assist on Schwartz’s game winning goal.

    Also heading into Game 3, the Blackhawks scratched Brandon Mashinter in favor of Richard Panik and Dale Weise, while the Steve Ott returned to the lineup from an injury that occurred on December 5th for the Blues. Crawford became Chicago’s all-time franchise playoff leader in wins with his 46th career playoff victory after Game 2, surpassing legendary Blackhawks goaltender Tony Esposito. Game 3 was the 371st consecutive sellout at United Center, including postseason games.

    Viktor Svedberg and Kyle Brodziak took penalties 1:49 into the first period in Game 3 and gave Chicago an early power play. Svedberg was in the box for a roughing minor, while Brodziak received a roughing double minor, which was served by Robby Fabbri.

    St. Louis had 5 shots on goal before the Blackhawks could even record their first shot on goal, yet a slap shot from Brent Seabrook at the point beat Elliott almost 30 seconds into the Blackhawks power play, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead at 2:18 of the first period. Seabrook’s goal was assisted by Jonathan Toews (2) and Patrick Kane (3).

    Next, St. Louis’ Jay Bouwmeester served time in the penalty box for hooking Artemi Panarin at 3:41 of the first period and promptly returned to the box for having played the puck before fully exiting the sin bin at 5:46. It’s a real interference rule, look it up.

    Unknown-2In keeping with the trend, Svedberg went to the box for catching Vladimir Tarasenko with a high stick at 12:04 of the first period and gave the Blues a power play.

    All it took was seven seconds of a man advantage for St. Louis defenseman, Colton Parayko to tie the game, 1-1, with a power play goal (his first of the playoffs) that was assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Fabbri.

    At 19:31 of the first period, Joel Edmundson and Andrew Shaw exchanged pleasantries, sending Edmundson to the box for cross checking and Shaw for slashing. The matching minors would carry over into the second period for a little over the first minute and a half.

    After one, the game was tied 1-1, with the Blackhawks leading in shots on goal (10-9), faceoff wins (17-10), giveaways (4-3) and takeaways (2-1). The Blues led in hits (16-12) and blocked shots (10-3) after twenty minutes of play.

    Sixty-four seconds into the second period Artem Anisimov put Chicago ahead 2-1 with some help from Panarin.

    Aside from the numerous saves Crawford made in the chaos of the first six minutes of the second period, the only other major event was Chicago’s last power play of the afternoon at 9:38 of the 2nd. Scottie Upshall was sent to the box for tripping Andrew Shaw, but the Blackhawks were unsuccessful to convert on the power play. With forty minutes in the books, Chicago was leading 2-1 and outshooting the Blues 34-22.

    The Blackhawks had a .774 win percentage (tied for 5th in the NHL) in the regular season when scoring first, but regular season stats ultimately mean nothing in the playoffs.

    A little over five minutes into the third period, Patrik Berglund scored for St. Louis to tie the game, 2-2. Kevin Shattenkirk (1) and Robby Fabbri (2) picked up assists on Berglund’s goal. Patrick Kane took a four-minute double minor penalty for high sticking at 11:51 of the 3rd and put St. Louis on the power play.

    Vladimir Tarasenko found David Backes who tossed the puck over to Jaden Schwartz, who in turn, capitalized on the power play with a goal. Schwartz’s goal put the Blues ahead 3-2 with plenty of time for Chicago to throw everything left at the net, including the kitchen sink. Ultimately, the Blackhawks pulled Crawford in exchange for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail as the Brian Elliott and the Blues sealed the deal.

    After sixty minutes of play, the Blues were victorious and led in hits (40-36), faceoff wins (42-41) and went 2/3 on the night on the power play. Chicago finished Game 3 leading in shots on goal (46-36), giveaways (12-9) and blocked shots (19-13), and went 1/4 on the man advantage on the night.

    The St. Louis Blues now have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4.

    Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night at 9:30 PM EST at the United Center and can be seen on NBCSN in the United States, as well as Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

  • Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s -Metropolitan

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

    Connor: Forward – Sid the Kid or Ovi?  Sid the Kid or Ovi?  Who to choose as the Metro forward MVP?Washington Capitals Logo

    Personally, I’m leaning towards Crosby.  I know, go figure, the Pens fan leans that way.  But here’s the thing: Crosby led the Metro in points with his 85, which is 14 more than the Alex Ovechkin.  Sure, Ovi has the goals lead by over a dozen, and Crosby doesn’t have the division assists lead (that one actually belongs to Evgeny Kuznetsov).  But, the fact that Crosby is a versatile player is what sets him apart.  He has the second most goals in the division, and the same is true of assists – hence the points lead.  That unpredictability of not knowing whether he’s going to take the shot or dump it off makes him an invaluable weapon.

    Colby: Alex Ovechkin

    I have to agree with Connor on this one, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were the best two forwards in this division. Although I’m giving advantage to Ovechkin because Crosby had a horrible start to the season and only really turned it on the final few months of the season. I understand that’s a great time to be hot, but I can’t give a season MVP to a player who didn’t do much in the first half of the year.

    Not to mention what Ovechkin did this year: he had a 50 goal season and 70 point year also. Yes, he was on the best team in the league, but a lot of the reasons players like Justin Williams and TJ Oshie are successful is because other teams are trying to focus on Ovechkin. This man had a strong season and ended on a hat-trick in his final few games.

    Connor: Defender – Ryan McDonaghNew York Rangers Logo

    I’m not picking him just because he was a star for my fantasy team this season (But seriously though, he was.  Like, fifth highest scorer all season, good for the team that won our league’s President’s Trophy.).  Of the three candidates I had for this title, he far and away had the best season.  His main competition was Olli Maatta, as Maatta had a +27 on the year to McDonagh’s +26.  The thing is though, not only does the Blueshirt lead the Penguin in blocks – in my opinion the primary way of gauging a true defenseman’s efforts – but he also helped himself out by scoring 34 points, including nine goals.  Even better than that, not only did he take more shots, but he also connected on 1.7% more of those attempts.  What a stud.

    The other man that had his hat in the ring was Karl Alzner.  I sort of hinted at it before, but I like blocks.  A lot.  Alzner fits that bill, as he has over 60 more than McDonagh, and even scored more points and assists than Maatta, but you simply can’t look past his +14 rating.  I know, what a terrible stat.  What some teams wouldn’t give to have that consistency.  But, it pales to McDonagh and Maatta’s efforts, eliminating him from contention.

    Colby: Kris LetangPittsburgh Penguins Logo

    I am really surprised Connor didn’t pick this Penguin, so I will. Kris Letang may not be my favorite person but he had a solid year. Letang had 51 assists and 67 points on the year. We also can point out he is 3rd in points by a defenseman. Among those top 3 defensemen, he had the best plus minus of +9. If we gave Erik Karlsson an MVP in Atlantic, we have to consider Letang for Metro. There, I reached my quota for nice comments about the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    Connor: Goaltender – Braden Holtby

    This one should be a lot easier than I made it, but I think I’m going to have to go with Holtby.  I started out with a tough list of five goaltenders to choose from (Marc-Andre Fleury, Thomas Greiss, Holtby, Michal Neuvirth and Cory Schneider), all goaltenders I consider to be very good.  Yes, I’m fully aware I did not include Henrik Lundqvist, but I think it’s safe to say that this was not the best season of his incredible career, as the Rangers had 217 goals against, barely below the league average.

    Anyways, back to Holtby.  There’s obviously the 48 wins to his credit, although with an offense like Washington’s, I don’t think that’s where you fully gauge him.  What really sets him apart from Schneider in this instance is his nine losses.  Yes, nine, after taking the decision in 64 games.  Schneider?  25 losses, only two fewer than his wins (which, just like Holtby, can be partially attributed to New Jersey’s poor offense).

    To close things out, I’m most impressed by Holtby’s success given his age.  Whether or not you buy into the theory that goaltenders typically peak around the same age, I think it’s safe to assume that experience will improve your game.  Schneider is showing that at the ripe age of 29.  Holtby is only 26.  If he continues improving until that point, God save the Metropolitan Division.  Martin Brodeur to Lundqvist to Holtby is definitely not what those teams were hoping for.

    Colby: Braden Holtby

    I don’t think this is even a question at this point, when you tie the record for most wins in single season and your name is now with Martin Brodeur, you deserve a trophy. He is a big reason the Caps are as good as they are. I think this was a break out year for him and I think after this season you have to consider him an elite goalie in the NHL. He was the best goalie in the whole league and at this point I hope it just translates to the playoffs.

  • Chicago at St. Louis – Game 2 – Keith returns to level the series for the Hawks

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    Duncan Keith doesn’t play in Game 1, the Blues take advantage to take a series lead.  He plays Game 2, and now the Hawks have home ice advantage, winning 3-2.

    A scoreless, highly defensive first period had many thinking Game 2 would be similar to the first.  Only nine combined shots were fired in the opening frame, with Chicago firing only two, even though both sides had a power play opportunity each.

    Second Star of the Game (although I would argue he is not deserving of the honor due to his involvement in a future play) Vladimir Tarasenko finally scored the first regulation goal of the series at the 15:20 mark of the second period on a wrister from between the dots, assisted by Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera.  The Blues‘ lead didn’t last long though, as Keith’s slap shot, assisted by Third Star Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews with five seconds remaining in the period, leveled the game.

    Similar to the period before, the third was more than half complete before the third goal was scored.  Before that happened though, Tarasenko committed a slashing penalty on Andrew Shaw, earning him a two minute break in the sin bin.  With seven seconds remaining on the power play, and 4:19 remaining in regulation, Shaw himself made Vladi pay, assisted by Brent Seabrook and Kane to give Chicago the lead.  They scored an insurance goal on an empty net with 1:26 remaining when Artemi Panarin tipped-in Keith’s initial attempt, and it proved to be necessary as Kevin Shattenkirk connected on a slap shot off a David Backes face-off win, but with only two seconds remaining in the game.

    First Star Corey Crawford earns the leveling win after saving 29 of 31 shots faced (93.5%), while Brian Elliott takes the loss after saving 26 of 28 (92.9%).

    The squads will board planes tonight or tomorrow and make their way to Chicago for Game 3, which will take place at 3 p.m. eastern on Sunday.  It may be viewed on NBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Chicago at St. Louis – Game 1 – Backes wins the series opener for the Blues

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    Finally, after all the “Wakey, wakey Backes” nonsense NBC kept bringing up, it was time for this series to get underway.  Who better to score the overtime winner than the First Star of the Game, Captain David Backes?

    The first period was absolutely filled with penalties (five, to be exact) – three by the Blues and two by Chicago, including 36 seconds of 5-on-3 play for the Blackhawks – but Second Star Brian Elliott rose to the occasion to keep the first period scoreless.

    Michal Rozsival was sent to the box in the fourth minute of the second period for an interference call that more looked like something from WWE, but the Notes were not able to take advantage of the power play.  The Hawks upped the pressure after the kill leading up to the midway point of the game, but Elliott continued to hold strong and kept the game at nil.  St. Louis had a power play at the end of the period, but Third Star Corey Crawford continued to keep the puck out of his net.

    After two periods, both goaltenders had clean sheets, with Crawford making all 20 saves and Elliott matching him at a perfect 14 for 14.

    The third period was much more aggressive, going back and forth at a quick rate, but the score remained at goose eggs.

    Backes finally won the game, but not in the third period.  It was at the 9:04 mark, a shot that trickled through Crawford’s legs.

    Elliott ended the game making all 35 shots, while Crawford gave up only one of the 18 he faced (94.4%).

    Chicago will remain in St. Louis to play them at 8 p.m. eastern.  That game can be viewed on NBCSN, SN and TVAS2.

  • Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s- part 2

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

    Forward

    Connor– Patrick KaneUnknown-2

    I’m sure this was unexpected.  You know, it was a stretch with his league leading 103 points, composed of the second most goals (44) and third most assists.  It’s too bad the Hawks don’t have anyone else on their team…  Right…  These Blackhawks are really good, which almost makes Kane’s incredible numbers even better since he has such competition.

    Colby– Patrick Kane

    I don’t think it’s a question that this has to be given to Patty Kane. This man knew that this year he had to step up after losing Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad, well he sure did that. This man is one of the first Americans to ever hit 100 points in a single season. The game he hit 100 points in against the Bruins was pure destruction. He finished with 3 goals and an assist. This man can’t be stopped, only slowed down. Hopefully this continues in the World Cup of Hockey, so the United States stands a good chance in it.

    Defender

    Connor– Colton Parayko

    I know, leave it to the Blues fan to pick Parayko. Hear me out, though. I’m usually against picking rookies for these sorts of things, just because I think a few years of experience gives us a better gauge of what to expect.  That being said, this kid has a +29 on the entire season. Think about that. That doesn’t just lead his entire team, or even just all Central defenders, but is best in the division, regardless of position. He’s gotten to that position by scoring 33 points and blocking 115 shots. If he can continue this success, he could quickly become one of the top defensemen in the entire NHL.

    Colby– Roman JosiUnknown

    Okay Connor, you are nuts with this one. Parayko isn’t even going to be a finalist for Calder. I am not picking him for this division. I have to give it to Roman Josi. This man is 4th in points of defenseman with 61 points. Connor, that’s 28 points ahead of your man up there. He may be a minus on the season, but the difference is the team he has with him. James Neal isn’t Vladimir Tarasenko and it’s ultimately him and Weber out there playing defense. Josi is also 1oth in goals scored by defenseman. This was a good break out season, but I am taking Josi for my pick.

    Goaltender

    Connor– Brian Elliott

    This one is tough, as there is such a disparity in games played between the top two goaltenders in this division. That being said, Brian Elliott, who has played in 37 games for a 21-7-6 record, is deserving of this honor. With four shutout victories, he has a 93.2% save percentage and a 2.00 GAA, both tops in the league, for 24 quality starts (.706 QS%)Unknown-1

    Corey Crawford actually leads Elliott in a few stats, including wins and winning percentage, shutouts, and quality starts, but he also has 20 more games played to his advantage. Elliott has had to fight both injuries and Jake Allen for the starting job, which makes his efforts even more special.

    Colby– Corey Crawford

    It’s funny you mention Crawford because he is my pick for the goaltender MVP of this division. Just like you said, he edges Elliott including wins with Crawford having 35 wins thus far on the season. You look at it as fewer games giving Elliott an advantage, I disagree. Part of the NHL is staying healthy and Elliott couldn’t do that, just like he can’t keep the number one job there in St. Louis. Jake Allen and Elliott have split time and that proves he’s not good enough to keep the number one slot. If you want to bring Crawford’s backup Darling in this, remember Darling won Chicago a playoff, something neither goalie in St. Louis has done yet. Sorry Connor. Rant over.

  • April 3 – Day 171 – Will the Bruins get back in?

    The success in Pittsburgh continues with a 5-0 victory in Brooklyn in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    The game-winner found the back of the net at the 12:41 mark of the first.  What makes this one special is not only that it was an unassisted shorty, but that it was Oskar Sundqvist’s first tally of his career.

    The insurance goals started piling on in the second period, with Patric Hornqvist finding the back of the net at the 8:09 mark, assisted by Justin Schultz and Sidney Crosby (his 49th helper of the season).  Second Star of the Game Matt Cullen struck with 4:30 remaining in the frame with a wrister for his 14th tally of the season, assisted by Third Star Tom Kuhnhackl and Eric Fehr.  The Pens didn’t score again in the period, and took their 3-0 lead into the third.

    At the 10:40 mark of the final frame, Phil Kessel extended Pittsburgh‘s lead to four with a wrister, assisted by Kris Letang (his 46th helper of the season).  The final goal belonged to Kuhnhackl, assisted by Cullen (his 14th helper of the season) and Justin Schultz.

    First Star Matthew Murray earns the shutout win, saving all 24 shots he faced, while Jean-Francois Berube takes the loss after saving only 28 of 33 (84.8%).

    Pittsburgh‘s victory is the second straight for the road squads, setting the DtFR Game of the Day series at 78-45-18, but favoring the home sides by 35 points.

    We’ve got five games on tap today, starting with Boston at Chicago at 12:30 p.m. eastern (NBC/TVAS/SN).  Philadelphia at Pittsburgh is the next game to start, dropping the puck at 5 p.m. eastern.  Two games go under way three hours later (St. Louis at Colorado and Minnesota at Winnipeg), and Dallas at Anaheim, this evening’s nightcap, starts at 9 p.m. eastern.

    A majority of today’s games are division rivalries (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, St. Louis at Colorado and Minnesota at Winnipeg), but only two are between teams qualifying for the playoffs (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh and Dallas at Anaheim).

    The game I’m most concerned with actually isn’t listed in either of those groups, but instead the Bruins–Blackhawks contest.

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    This afternoon’s game will be Boston‘s 20th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 8-10-1 record.  They most recent series  appearance was Friday’s 6-5 victory in St. Louis.  Chicago has been featured 23 times before tonight’s game, where they own a 10-10-3 record.  Their last time featured was Tuesday, when they lost 4-1 in Minnesota.

    The 41-29-8 Boston Bruins currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference, making them the first team left out of the Eastern playoffs.  To get there, they’ve played the fourth best offense, but they’ve been held back by the 13th worst defense.  A more in-depth analysis of Boston‘s play can be found within Friday’s article.

    That 6-5 victory in St. Louis was not only Boston‘s most recent appearance in the Game of the Day series, but also their most recent played period.  As Detroit is inactive today, a win will propel the Bruins past the Red Wings for the third division qualifier, while a loss wastes Boston‘s game in hand.

    The 45-26-7 Chicago Blackhawks are currently the third best team in the Central Division and fourth best in the Western Conference.  They’ve been led by the eighth best defense in the league, but have also played the ninth best offense.  A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within Tuesday’s article.

    The Blackhawks‘ last game was their 5-4 overtime victory in Winnipeg.  Chicago has already clinched a playoff spot, but that does not mean that they have nothing more to play for until the postseason.  A win provides them the opportunity to pull within two points of the second place Blues, but they’ll need some help from Colorado for that to happen.

    Chicago has already made their annual vision to Boston, with the Bruins winning 4-2 on March 3.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Boston‘s Brad Marchand (35 win [seventh most in the league]) and Chicago‘s Patrick Kane (96 points [leads the league], 40 goals [third most in the league] and 56 assists [third most in the league]).

    I like Chicago to win this one, even with Corey Crawford continuing to miss games.  Their offense should not have too many issues with Boston‘s defense, and will have the crowd at their back to propel them to victory.

  • March 29 – Day 166 – Windy City meets the Land of 10,000 Lakes

    A three goal third period is what separated San Jose from Los Angeles to win 5-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    Los Angeles scored first, thanks to Third Star of the Game Justin Braun firing the puck over glass.  Vincent Lecavalier capitalized on the man advantage with a snap shot, assisted by Alec Martinez (his 21st helper of the season) and Brayden McNabb.  Their lead lasted only 3:45 before Braun amended for his penalty with a pure wrister, assisted by Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels (his 10th helper of the season) to level the game.  The one-all score held into the intermission.

    7:55 after returning to the ice, First Star Joe Pavelski scored the Sharks‘ second straight goal with a wrister (his 36th tally of the season), assisted by Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns.  But, just like the first intermission, the second was also a level score, as Lecavalier scored his second of the night with 4:17 remaining in the frame, assisted by Milan Lucic (his 33rd helper of the season) and Tyler Toffoli.

    San Jose took their second lead of the night 4:28 into the third off a Second Star Joe Thornton power play wrister, assisted by Pavelski and Burns (his 43rd helper of the season).  Instead of LA having the leveler like this game went in the first two periods, the Sharks scored an insurance goal with 3:19 remaining from Karlsson, assisted by Wingels and Roman Polak (his 15th helper of the season).  The final goal was an empty netter with 19 seconds remaining, courtesy of Braun (his fourth of the season) after an assist from Dainius Zubrus.

    Martin Jones earns the victory after saving 30 of 32 shots faced (93.8%), while Jonathan Quick takes the loss after saving 26 of 30 (86.7%).

    The Sharks‘ victory snaps the two game winning streak by the road teams and sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 75-43-18, favoring the home sides by 34 points over the roadies.

    It’s a relatively busy Tuesday, especially if you’re like @kephartc and me and are also keeping an eye on both Team USA soccer matches occurring this evening.  That being said, there are nine games being played this evening, with the action starting at 7 p.m. eastern with three of them (Boston at New Jersey [TVAS], Carolina at the New York Islanders and Buffalo at Pittsburgh [BELL TV]), with two more following half an hour later (Detroit at Montréal [RDS] and Toronto at Florida).  Chicago at Minnesota gets its start at 8 p.m. eastern, trailed 30 minutes later by another pair of games (Colorado at St. Louis [NBCSN] and Nashville at Dallas).  Finally, San Jose at Vancouver, this evening’s nightcap, drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern.

    Most of tonight’s games are (Carolina at New York, Detroit at Montréal, Toronto at Florida, Chicago at Minnesota, Colorado at St. Louis, Nashville at Dallas and San Jose at Vancouver), while only two are between teams qualifying for the playoffs (Chicago at Minnesota and Nashville at Dallas).  The Chicago–Minnesota game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals.

    You know how this usually goes down – we go with the game that qualifies for all three games!

    Unknown-2Unknown-2This will be Chicago‘s league-leading 23rd appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 10-9-3 record.  Minnesota has made 11 appearances before tonight’s game, and own a 6-5-0 record in such instances.  Both of these teams were last featured March 20, when the Wild won 3-2 in a shootout in Chicago.

    The 44-25-7 Chicago Blackhawks currently occupy third in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference.  They’ve played a balanced game to get this far, allowing the eight fewest goals paired with the ninth most goals scored.

    Even with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 147 blocks, Chicago has allowed  2333 shots to reach the injured 35-18-4 Corey Crawford and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.3% for only 188 goals against, the eighth fewest in the NHL.  That success has been no help to the defensive special team, as they are successful on only 79.17% of their penalty kills, allowing 45 power play goals in the process.  To improve on that rate, they have scored eight shorthanded goals, two more than the league average.

    Led by Patrick Kane’s 264 shots, the Hawks have fired the puck 2335 times, with 9% finding the back of the net for 212 goals (led by Kane’s 39 tallies), the seventh most in the league.  This special team is much better, as the Blackhawks‘ 21.74% success rate on the power play, good for 50 extra man goals (led by Kane’s 15 power play tallies) ranks fifth best in the NHL.

    Chicago enters tonight’s game riding a two game winning streak, with their most recent coming Sunday, a 3-2 victory in Vancouver.  With another win tonight, the Blackhawks have the opportunity to pull within two points of the conference lead, but they will need help from both Colorado and Nashville for that to happen.  Should they lose and Nashville win, their lead over the Predators for third in the division will fall to only two points.

    The 37-28-11 Minnesota Wild are currently the fifth best team in the Central Division and eighth best in the Western Conference.  To get there, they’ve played the ninth best defense, paired with the 13th best offense.

    Led by Jared Spurgeon’s 149 blocks, Minnesota has allowed only 2188 shots to reach 31-22-6 Devan Dubnyk and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for only 189 goals against, the ninth fewest in the NHL.  Just like Chicago, the Wild haven’t gotten much help from the penalty kill, which ranks fifth worst in the league with only a 78.42% kill rate, allowing 41 power play goals.  That being said, the Wild have scored seven shorthanded goals (led by Erik Haula’s two shorties), one more than the league average.

    Even with Zach Parise’s 220 shots, the Wild has fired the puck only 2215 times, with 9.2% finding the back of the net for 206 goals (led by Parise’s 24 tallies), the 13th most in the NHL.  The Land of 10,000 Lakes is also the home of the 10th best power play, successful on 19.75% of their opportunities and good for 48 power play goals (led by Mikko Koivu’s 10 extra man tallies).

    Minnesota enters today’s game white hot, winners of five straight.  Their most recent was Saturday’s four goal shutout win in Colorado.  With another win tonight, the Wild have the opportunity to improve their lead over Colorado for the final Western playoff spot to five points, but they’ll need some help from St. Louis for that to happen.  It is also still possible for Minnesota to get out of the second wildcard spot and into the first, and a Wild win paired with a Nashville loss would pull them within four points.

    Not only has Minnesota already won the season series against Chicago, but they are looking for the season sweep with their fifth straight victory over the Hawks.  This season’s success is revenge  for a four game sweep in last season’s Western Conference Semifinals on Chicago‘s way to the Stanley Cup.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Chicago‘s Kane (94 points [leads the league], 39 goals [second most in the league] and 55 assists [tied for second most in the league]) and Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (five shutouts [tied for fourth most in the league] and 31 wins [10th most in the league]).

    Giving Minnesota‘s current winning streak against both the Blackhawks as well as overall in addition to being this evening’s host, I think the Wild pull this one out to complete the season sweep of the Windy City.

  • March 20 – Day 157 – The Wild’s wildcard chase continues in Chicago

    The Pittsburgh Penguins used a three goal second period to knock off the in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    The first goal wasn’t scored until the 21:58 mark, courtesy of Radko Gudas and the Flyers, his fourth goal of the season.  1:01 later, Trevor Daley leveled the game with a snap shot (his fifth tally of the season), assisted by First Star of the Game Nick Bonino and Eric Fehr.  The tie lasted until 3:04 remained in the frame when Second Star Carl Hagelin’s slap shot found the back of the net for the game winner, assisted by Bonino (his 11th helper of the season).  1:29 later, Chris Kunitz fired a slap shot of his own to give the Pens an insurance score, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist (his 27th helper of the season).  The 3-1 score held into the second intermission.

    Kris Letang was responsible for the lone tally of the final period, an empty netter assisted by Kunitz and Crosby (his 43rd helper of the season).

    Marc-Andre Fleury earns the victory after saving 16 of the 17 shots he faced (94.1%), while Third Star Steve Mason takes the loss, saving 31 of 34 (91.2%).

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 70-41-16, favoring the home sides by 30 points over the visitors.

    It’s getting to be that time of year again when Sundays are just as busy and unpredictable as Saturdays, and I’m not just talking about March Madness.  A total of seven games are going to be played today, starting with Anaheim at Winnipeg at 3 p.m. eastern.  Columbus at New Jersey gets going at 5 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by Washington at Pittsburgh (NBCSN/TVAS).  The usual starting time of 7 p.m. features Calgary at Montréal (RDS/SN), which is trailed 90 minutes later by the opening puck drop of Minnesota at Chicago (NBCSN).  9:30 p.m. eastern marks the beginning of Colorado at Edmonton (SN1), which is followed half an hour later by this evening’s nightcap, Arizona at San Jose.

    A majority of today’s games are divisional rivalries (Columbus at New Jersey, Washington at Pittsburgh, Minnesota at Chicago and Arizona at San Jose), but Washington at Pittsburgh is the only game between current playoff qualifiers.  Also, the Anaheim–Winnipeg and Minnesota–Chicago games are rematches of some Western Conference playoff matchups of a season ago.

    In addition for the reasons stated above, the Minnesota–Chicago game is an important one because a Wild win propels them into the playoffs.

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    Tonight’s game will be Minnesota‘s 11th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 5-5-0 record, with their most recent being March 10’s 2-1 loss on home ice to Edmonton.  Chicago has been featured 21 times before tonight’s contest, and own a 10-9-2 record in such games.  Their most recent in the series was Wednesday’s 3-2 home loss to Philadelphia.

    The 33-28-11 Minnesota Wild currently sit sixth in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference, making them the first team outside the playoff picture in that conference.  To get to that position, they’ve played the ninth best defense in the league, but have only managed the 13th fewest goals scored.

    Led by Jared Spurgeon’s 139 blocks, Minnesota has allowed only 2023 shots to reach 26-22-6 Devan Dubnyk and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.6% for 182 goals against, the ninth fewest in the league.  The Wild should make all efforts to avoid taking penalties, as their 77.01% kill rate that has allowed 40 power play goals ranks fourth worst in the NHL.  To slightly make up for that deficiency, the Wild has scored six shorthanded goals (led by Erik Haula’s two shorties), one more than the league average.

    Even with Zach Parise’s 199 shots, the Wild have only fired the puck 2067 times, with 9% finding the back of the net for 188 goals (led by Charlie Coyle’s 21 tallies), 13th fewest in the NHL.  As far as Minnesota‘s special teams go, the power play is miles ahead, as their 19.28% success rate, good for 43 extra man goals (led by Mikko Koivu’s nine power play tallies), ranks 14th best in the league.

    The Wild played yesterday to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on home ice.  With a win today, Minnesota could advance themselves past the Avalanche for eighth in the conference, even if only for a day, but they will need the help of the Oilers.

    The 42-24-6 Chicago Blackhawks are currently the third best team in the Central Division, and fourth best in the Western Conference.  They’ve played stellar hockey all season, as they are the seventh best defense and eighth best offense.

    Even with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 141 blocks, the Hawks have allowed 2207 shots to reach 35-18-4 Corey Crawford (questionable for tonight’s game as of Saturday night) and co., of which they’ve collectively saved a solid 92.3% for only 176 goals against, the seventh fewest in the league.  The best way to beat this Chicago defense is to get under their skin and get them to commit penalties, as their 78.64% kill rate that has allowed 44 power play goals against ranks seventh worst in the NHL.  To make up for that poor effort, the Hawks have scored eight shorthanded goals.

    Led by Patrick Kane’s 254 shots, Chicago has fired the puck 2213 times, with 9% finding the back of the net for 201 goals (led by Kane’s 39 tallies), eighth most in the NHL.  The Hawks have truly excelled on the power play, as their 22.52% success rate, good for 50 extra man goals (led by Kane’s 15 power play tallies) ranks third best in the league.

    Chicago‘s most recent game was their four goal shutout victory in Winnipeg Friday night.   A win tonight pulls the Blackhawks back within a point of the second seed in the Central Division, but a loss allows the Predators to get within three points of a division qualifier should they beat the Kings tomorrow.

    In addition to being  an important game this season, it was also a Western Conference Semifinal last season   It’s not one that Wild fans like being reminded of though, as Chicago swept Minnesota on their way to their sixth franchise Stanley Cup Championship.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Crawford (seven shutouts [leads the league], 35 wins [tied for third most in the league] and .926 save percentage [fourth best in the league]) (should he play) and Kane (92 points [leads the league] and 39 goals [second most in the league] and 53 assists [tied for second most in the league]) & Minnesota‘s Coyle (21 goals, 19 of which were at even strength [both lead the team]) and Koivu (48 points, nine of which were power play goals and 23 were even-strength assists [all lead the team]).

    With the exception of the injured Crawford, it seems as if Chicago has gotten out of their funk from earlier in the week.  Since Minnesota‘s offense is as much of a threat, Chicago should be able to keep pressure off Scott Darling to ensure a home victory.

  • March 11 – Day 148 – Central Shootout

    Well, I don’t think anyone expected that one.  The Edmonton Oilers won 2-1 in Minnesota in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    Edmonton‘s first goal was the lone tally of the first period.  Lauri Korpikoski was responsible, as his wrister, assisted by Mark Letestu (his 11th helper of the season) and Adam Clendening, found the back of the net at the 9:55 mark.

    The Wild did the same thing in the second period, as Zach Parise’s 19th score of the season leveled the score at the 11:04 mark of the frame.

    The Oilers‘ winner found the back of the net with 7:29 remaining in regulation, scored by the first pick of this season’s entry draft, Second Star Connor McDavid, who was assisted by Zack Kassian and Andrej Sekera (his 19th helper of the season).

    First Star Cam Talbot earns the win after saving 29 of 30 shots faced (96.7%) while Third Star Darcy Kuemper takes the loss, saving 23 of 25 (92%).

    After tonight’s Wild loss, the DtFR Game of the Day series stands at 65-38-15, favoring the home squad by 27 points over the roadies.

    Five games will be played this evening, beginning with Pittsburgh visiting Columbus at 7 p.m. eastern, followed by Philadelphia at Tampa Bay half an hour later.  The Anaheim at St. Louis game drops the puck at 8 p.m. eastern, trailed 30 minutes later by Chicago at Dallas (NHLN).  Finally, Arizona at Calgary, this evening’s nightcap, gets its start at 9 p.m. eastern.

    Most of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Pittsburgh at Columbus, Chicago at Dallas and Arizona at Calgary), and two contests are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Anaheim at St. Louis and Chicago at Dallas).

    Chicago and Dallas are currently tied for the Central Division and Western Conference lead, so you gotta believe we’re keeping an eye on that one!

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    This will be Chicago‘s 20th appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 10-7-2 record.  Their most recent showing in our series was February 25, a 3-1 loss on home ice to the Predators.  Dallas has been featured a little more recently, as they fell to the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime on February 29.  That was their ninth game in our series, and set their series record at 5-0-4.

    The 41-21-6 Chicago Blackhawks are currently the best in both the Central Division and Western Conference, and trail only Washington for the distinction of best in the league.  To get to that position, they’ve played one of the most well-rounded games – the sixth best in both offense and defense.

    Led by Patrick Kane’s 239 shots, the Hawks have fired the puck 2096 times, with 9.2% finding the back of the net for 193 goals (led by Kane’s 38 tallies), the sixth most in the NHL.  The offense has been spearheaded by the power play, as their 24.15% success rate, good for 50 goals (led by Kane’s 15 extra man tallies), ranks best in the league.

    The defense has been just as good.  Even with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 135 blocks,  Chicago has allowed 2094 shots to reach 35-16-4 Corey Crawford and co., but they’ve been nothing short of remarkable, collectively saving 92.6% for only 163 goals allowed, the sixth fewest in the league.  The Blackhawks aren’t perfect though.  Their special teams only neutralize 78.65% of their penalties – allowing 41 opposing power play goals in the process – the seventh worst rate in the league.  Never fear though, they do help themselves by having scored seven shorthanded goals so far this year, two more than the league average.

    Chicago‘s last game was a 3-2 shootout loss in St. Louis on Wednesday.  As they are tied on points with the Stars, a win this evening is important as the season comes down to the wire, as the Hawks would like to clinch home ice throughout the Western Conference tournament.

    The 40-20-8 Dallas Stars occupy second place in both the Central Division and Western Conference due to losing a regulation+overtime tiebreaker to this evening’s competition.  It has been the offense that has led the way, as the Stars have scored the most goals in the league, but they’ve also given up the eighth most goals against.

    Led by Tyler Seguin’s 261 shots, the Stars have fired the puck an incredible 2195 times, with 9.8% finding the back of the net for 218 goals, the most in the NHL.  That success starts with the power play, as their 21.96% success rate, good for 47 power play goals (led by Jamie Benn’s 14 extra man tallies), ranks seventh best in the NHL.

    It has been the defense, specifically the goaltending, that has held Dallas back this season.  Led by Johnny Oduya’s 146 blocks, the Stars have allowed 1980 shots to reach 22-12-6 Antti Niemi and co., of which they’ve saved only 90.4% for 196 goals against, the eighth most in the league.  The penalty kill hasn’t helped matters, defending only 79.9% of their infractions for 41 power play goals against, the 11th worst rate in the NHL.  To help make up for those goals, the Stars have scored nine shorthanded goals (led by Cody Eakin’s three shorties), four more than the league average.

    Dallas lost their most recent game 4-3, a Tuesday night contest in Montréal.  With a win tonight, the Stars would reclaim the division and conference lead, but a loss could allow the Blues to take their second place position.

    Dallas currently leads the season series 2-1-0, but is 1-1-0 on home ice.  The Stars won the most recent meeting 4-2 in Chicago on February 11.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Crawford (seven shutouts [leads the league], .929 save percentage [tied for the league lead], 35 wins [second most in the league] and 2.21 GAA [tied for seventh best in the league]), Kane (89 points [leads the league], 51 assists [second most in the league] and 38 goals [second most in the league]) and Artemi Panarin (62 points [10th most in the league]) & Dallas‘ Benn (73 points [second most in the league], 32 goals [tied for fourth most in the league] and 41 assists [tied for ninth most in the league]), John Klingberg (43 assists [seventh most in the league]) and Seguin (68 points [tied for fourth most in the league] and 32 goals [tied for fourth most in the league]).

    Choosing a winner in tonight’s game is tough.  Both squads have exceptional offenses, which doesn’t exactly play into Dallas‘ favor, but should the Blackhawks commit a lot of penalties, this game can stay tight.  The overall better team is the visitors, so I’ll pick the Blackhawks.

  • February 25 – Day 133 – The Predator becomes the prey

    Although the scoring differential was a bit larger than I had predicted, the Boston Bruins did in fact beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in yesterday’s Game of the Day, by a score of 5-1.

    The first and only goal of the first period came at the 16 minute mark, courtesy of a First Star of the Game David Pastrnak wrister.

    The winner was another Pastrnak wrister, this time 3:12 after resuming play, his eighth tally of the season.  Only 55 seconds later, Tom Kuhnhackl earned a tip-in goal, assisted by Oskar Sundqvist and Trevor Daley (his 15th helper of the season), to get the differential back to a single score.  The 2-1 score held into the second intermission.

    Although Boston already had the game-winning goal in their back pocket, it was really three goals in under five minutes in the third period that ended this game, the first of which was scored at the 10:34 mark courtesy of a Jimmy Hayes tip-in, assisted by Ryan Spooner (his 30th helper of the season) and Third Star Adam McQuaid.  The second of the period found the back of the net at the 14:26 mark with a Landon Ferraro snap shot, assisted by Dennis Seidenberg (his 10th helper of the season), followed 1:01 later by Brad Marchand’s wrister (his 31st goal of the season), assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron.

    Second Star Tuukka Rask earns the win after saving 41 of 42 shots faced (97.6%), while Marc-Andre Fleury takes the loss by saving 24 of 29 (82.8%).

    After the second home in in a row, the homers have a 35 point lead over the roadies, as the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 60-31-12.

    It’s an exciting Thursday in the NHL, with 10 games taking place.  The first two drop the puck at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern (Minnesota at Philadelphia and New Jersey at Columbus), followed half an hour later by another couple of games (Carolina at Toronto and Arizona at Florida).  The third pairing of games drop the puck at the 8 p.m. eastern mark (the New York Rangers at St. Louis and Nashville at Chicago [NBCSN]).  The remaining four games all start by themselves, starting with Winnipeg at Dallas at 8:30 p.m. eastern, then the New York Islanders at Calgary half an hour later.  Ottawa at Vancouver begins at 10 p.m. eastern, and Edmonton at Los Angeles, acting as this evening’s nightcap, starts at half past 10.

    Four of tonight’s games are between division rivals (New Jersey at Columbus, Nashville at Chicago, Winnipeg at Dallas and Edmonton at Los Angeles), and two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at St. Louis and Nashville at Chicago).  Lastly, Nashville at Chicago is also a rematch of one of last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinal matchups.

    Seeing as it qualifies for all three of those groups previously listed, it is hard to take our attention off the Predators–Blackhawks game!

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    Tonight’s game is Nashville‘s seventh in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 2-3-1 record.  Their most recent showing under our observation was a 4-3 overtime loss in Tampa Bay on February 12.  Chicago has been featured a series-high 19 times, and own a 10-6-2 record in such games.  Their most recent game in the series was February 17, a 5-3 victory in Madison Square Garden.

    The 29-21-11 Nashville Predators currently occupy fourth place in the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference, good enough for the top wildcard spot (which some could argue is very advantageous, seeing as they would avoid their highly competitive division foes until the Conference Finals).  The Predators have played a solid game to get them to that position, allowing the 13th-fewest goals and scoring the 15th-most.

    Thanks in part to Roman Josi’s team-leading 144 blocks, only 1617 shots have made their way to 22-18-9 Pekka Rinne and co., of which 90.8% have been saved for only 157 goals against, 13th-fewest in the NHL.  That effort slacks slightly on the penalty kill, as the Preds‘ 79.68% kill rate ranks 12th-worst, allowing 38 power play goals against.  That number is slightly improved though, when taking into account Nashville‘s six shorthanded goals.

    Led by James Neal’s 191 shots, Nashville has fired an incredible 1848 shots, and 8.4% have found the back of the net for 159 goals (led by Filip Forsberg’s 23 tallies), 15th-most in the league.  That offense has been spearheaded by the Predators‘ power play, with a 19.7% success rate for 39 goals (led by Shea Weber’s 11 extra-man tallies), which ranks 12th-best in the league.

    Nashville is currently riding a two-game win streak, with their most recent being a 3-2 victory in Toronto.  While potentially drawing within eight points of third place in the division is nice, a win this evening more importantly separates the Predators from the Avalanche by three points for the top wildcard spot.

    The 38-19-5 Chicago Blackhawks currently sit in second place in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.   To get to that position, they’ve played a top-five offense paired with a top-10 defense.

    Patrick Kane leads the way for the Hawks, accounting for 219 of the team’s 1913 shots, 9.1% of which have found the back of the net for 176 goals (led by Kane’s 35 tallies), fourth-most in the league.  The squad’s potency only increases when they have the man-advantage, as they connect on 22.63% of their opportunities for 43 power play goals (led by Kane’s 14 extra man goals), the second-best success rate in the league.

    The defense is only a step behind.  Even with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 115 blocks, 1911 shots have found their way to 32-15-3 Corey Crawford and co., 92.5% of which they’ve saved for only 148 goals against (seventh-fewest in the league).  The biggest whole in Chicago‘s game is their penalty kill, which neutralized 79.89% of their penalties for 35 power play goals against, 13th-worst in the league.  That being said, the Hawks‘ seven short-handed goals do make that rate a little bit more manageable.

    Chicago‘s most recent game was a 6-1 loss in Minnesota on Sunday.  In addition to securing second place for another day, a win also has the chance to propel Chicago to the top of the division and conference should Dallas lose in regulation.  A loss does put the Hawks at risk for falling to third, should the Blues beat the Rangers.

    Chicago has already won the season series, going 3-1-0 in the four previous games played.  These squads last met January 19 in Music City, where the Hawks won 4-1.

    This game is also another rematch of one of last season’s Western Quarterfinals.  As we know, Chicago won that series and every other one they were a part of en route to a Stanley Cup championship, but it did take the Hawks six games to defeat Nashville.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Crawford (seven shutouts [leads the league], 32 wins [second-most in the league] and .928 save percentage [tied for third-best in the league]), Kane (84 points [leads the league], 49 assists [second-most in the league], 35 goals [second-most in the league] and +21 [tied for sixth-best in the league]) and Artemi Panarin (57 points [seventh-most in the league]) & Nashville‘s Josi (44 points, 14 of which are power play assists, and 144 blocks [all lead the team]), Neal (+16 and 191 shots [both lead the team]) and Weber (11 power play goals and 133 hits [both lead the team]).

    Sometimes life isn’t fair.  For the Nashville Predators and their fans, this evening is one of those times.  The Chicago team they are facing is, plainly, just too good.  Nashville should consider themselves lucky if they escape the United Center with even a point.