Down the Frozen River

Tag: Corey Perry

  • December 29 – Day 83 – Roasted duck

    New Year’s weekend is upon us, so it’s time to settle in and watch some hockey.

    This Friday is an excellent start to the festivities, as there’s 11 games on the schedule. The action begins at 7 p.m. with Buffalo at New Jersey, followed half an hour later by four more (Columbus at Ottawa [RDS], the New York Rangers at Detroit, Philadelphia at Tampa Bay [TVAS] and Pittsburgh at Carolina). A pair of contests (Nashville at Minnesota [NBCSN] and the New York Islanders at Winnipeg) drop the puck at 8 p.m., while St. Louis at Dallas waits 30 minutes before getting underway. The next wave of games (Toronto at Colorado and Chicago at Edmonton [SN1]) gets the green light at 9 p.m., and tonight’s nightcap – Calgary at Anaheim – gets started at 10 p.m. All times Eastern.

    My list of potential games to focus on this evening? I thought you’d never ask!

    • Buffalo at New Jersey: F Jacob Josefson was a member of the Devils’ organization since the 2010-’11 season. Tonight, he’ll make his first visit to the Prudential Center as a member of the road team.
    • New York at Detroit: If Original Six hockey is what gets you excited, this is the game for you.
    • Philadelphia at Tampa Bay: Another player making his return to a former home is F Valtteri Filppula. He called Tampa home for four seasons.
    • Calgary at Anaheim: Though it’s an experience Flames fans would rather forget, these teams did square off in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last year.

    Currently tied for ninth place in the Western Conference, tonight’s action in Orange County could push either team involved into the second wildcard. That sounds to me like a surefire fun contest!

     

    It’s amazing to think that the 16-14-8 Ducks are in the position they’re in. After all the injuries they’ve suffered, they still sit on the brink of making the postseason for the sixth-consecutive season.

    But those injuries are almost entirely in the past now. With the exception of W Corey Perry, who is slated to return to action in the next week or two, and W Patrick Eaves long-term skin condition, Anaheim’s offense is almost entirely back together. C Ryan Getzlaf and F Rickard Rakell are back on the first line, F Ryan Kesler is getting back into the swing of things on the third and F Antoine Vermette – as exemplary as he usually is on face-offs – has been relegated back to his customary spot on the fourth line.

    The Ducks have earned a 4-3-1 record since Getzlaf returned from his injury on December 11, and it’s been all because of that offensive resurgence. For the season, Anaheim has averaged only 2.63 goals per game, the (t)fourth-worst effort in the NHL. However, scoring has climbed to 2.75 goals-per-game since his return, good enough for a (t)13th-best 22 goals.

    Getzlaf himself has been a major contributor to that effort. He is the lone Duck to manage more than .75 points-per-game on the season (1.14, to be exact), and he has posted 1-8-9 totals in eight games played since returning to the ice to lead the team.

    I said it in a podcast a few weeks ago, but if the Ducks can rally behind their now-healthy stars, this club can take advantage of a soft Pacific Division and climb right back into playoff contention.

    Of course, they’ll need to get past 18-15-4 Calgary tonight if they want to continue their success. The Flames are on a quietly decent hot streak right now, as they’ve earned points in seven of their last 10 games with a 4-3-3 record.

    Over this run of success, few defenses have been better than the Flames, as they’ve allowed only 18 goals against, the second-fewest in the league (Nashville is tied in total goals allowed, but it has played two fewer games). Calgary has allowed only 275 shots to reach 14-12-3 G Mike Smith (the seventh-fewest in the league) over this run thanks in large part to the efforts of C Mikael Backlund (10 takeaways), RW Garnet Hathaway (25 hits) and D Michael Stone (22 blocks).

    Smith has also been stellar, as he’s posted a .931 save percentage and 1.84 GAA over his last seven starts. Add in the always solid work by LW Johnny Gaudreau, whose 28 assists and 41 points on the season are (t)seventh- and (t)ninth-most in the league, respectively, and it makes sense why Calgary has been climbing the standings lately.

    No discussion about a Flames trip to Anaheim is complete without discussing their apparent curse while playing at the Honda Center. Though they did finally beat the Ducks in California 2-1 on October 9 this season, that was their first victory on The Pond since April 25, 2006. For a frame of reference, that was the final season the Ducks still used an adjective in their name.

    Perhaps tonight is the night Calgary starts a winning streak on the Pond. It’s certainly possible – that’s why they play the games. However, I think the Ducks’ newfound energy is going to be too much to contain and it will be Anaheim earning two points this evening.

    Thanks to W David Perron‘s wicked wrist shot, the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime at Staples Center in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    The well rested Kings showed their energy in the first period, as they out-shot Vegas 11-to-nine and registered the frame’s only goal. W Marian Gaborik (D Derek Forbort and D Drew Doughty) was the successful scorer, as he deflected a shot into G Marc-Andre Fleury‘s net at the 8:13 mark.

    After the intermission, the Knights showed a much better effort. They dominated the second frame to out-shoot Los Angeles 15-to-three. As a result of their almost constant puck possession, First Star of the Game F Jon Marchessault (D Colin Miller and W Reilly Smith) was able to level the game with 1:26 remaining before the second intermission.

    Vegas took its first lead of the game with 8:50 remaining in regulation courtesy of a LW Brendan Leipsic (RW Alex Tuch and C Cody Eakin) wrister (his first of the season and second of his career), but that advantage didn’t last long. Doughty (D Jake Muzzin) leveled the game once again 4:17 later with a tip-in. That two-all score held until the end of regulation, forcing three-on-three overtime.

    What is scheduled as a potential five minutes of extra time was trimmed to only 3:30 of action thanks to Perron’s (Smith) lightning fast game-winning strike. Smith entered the offensive zone with the puck, but was forced to drop the puck back to Perron since both Kings defenders were between him and Second Star G Jonathan Quick‘s net. That situation worked in Perron’s favor, as he was able to slide towards the left face-off dot before ripping a wrister short side.

    Fleury earned the victory after saving 26-of-28 shots faced (.929 save percentage), leaving the overtime loss to Quick, who saved 36-of-39 (.923).

    Vegas’ win is the second-straight by a road team in the DtFR Game of the Day series, and it pulls the visitors within 18 points of the 46-27-10 hosts.

  • December 18 – Day 75 – Henrique The Rock

    There are good Mondays in the NHL, and there are bad Mondays in the NHL.

    This is one of the bad ones, as there’s only five games on the schedule for our viewing pleasure. Three of tonight’s contests (Columbus at Boston [SN/TVAS], Anaheim at New Jersey and Los Angeles at Philadelphia [NHLN]) drop the puck at 7 p.m., while the evening’s co-nightcaps – Pittsburgh at Colorado and San Jose at Edmonton – will get underway at 9 p.m. All times Eastern.

    Who would’ve guessed it, but I already have notes on a couple of today’s games.

    • Anaheim at New Jersey: C Adam Henrique had been a member of the Devils’ organization since 2008. After being traded at the end of last month, he’ll make his first-ever trip to the Prudential Center as a member of the road squad.
    • San Jose at Edmonton: The Western Quarterfinals might have been eight months ago, but that won’t dull the Sharks’ desire to exact revenge on the Oil for eliminating them at The Tank.

    It’s been a while since we’ve watched a Ducks game. Let’s see if Henrique gets a warm welcome.

     

    Selected in the third round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the Devils’ organization is the only professional hockey team Henrique has ever known. After completing his fourth and final season with the Windsor Spitfires, he reported to the capital of New York at the start of the 2010-’11 season before earning his first NHL experience on April 11, 2011.

    Henrique would retain his spot on the senior roster for most of the 2011-’12 season, and has not seen the AHL since the 2012-’13 campaign. In all, Henrique played 455 games over eight seasons with New Jersey, managing decent 122-135-257 totals over that time to average .56 points-per-game.

    But even a decent résumé could not save him from being traded at the end of November. With 14 points to his name over his first 24 games played this season, he was shipped to Anaheim to help the Ducks with their injury-laden offense (W Patrick Eaves, F Ryan Kesler, F Mike Liambas, W Corey Perry and LW Nick Ritchie are all currently on injured reserve). I’m sure the Devils had been happy with how he’d been playing this year, but with him under contract for only one more season following this one and the opportunity to snag D Sami Vatanen through the 2019-’20 season and a potential draft pick sitting on the table, this was a no-brainer for Devils General Manager Ray Shero.

    Since trading for Henrique, Anaheim has earned a 3-1-4 record to improve its season mark to 14-11-8, which is good enough for 11th place in the Western Conference. The Ducks have played especially good of late, as they’ve earned points in seven-consecutive contests.

    However, even by adding Henrique to the Ducks’ second line, the true core of this team is its incredible effort on the defensive end, which has allowed a (t)fifth-lowest 18 goals since November 30.

    Led by D Francois Beauchemin‘s 2.62 blocks-per-game and F Chris Wagner‘s 3.62 hits-per-game since the end of November, the Ducks’ defense has been a decent presence, allowing only 256 shots against – the 10th-fewest in the NHL. However, when he’s been on the ice – as he will be tonight – 3-0-4 G Ryan Miller has been the true star. He’s started only two games since Henrique’s arrival, but he’s earned three points in those efforts with his dominant .969 save percentage and .96 GAA to elevate his season numbers to a .945 save percentage and 1.74 GAA. On the season, Miller is second-best in both statistics among the 64 netminders with at least four starts.

    Given the unenviable task of trying to give Miller his first regulation loss of the season are the 18-9-5 Devils, the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division. Similar to Anaheim, New Jersey has also turned into a defensive team since trading for Vatanen, as it has allowed only 22 goals since his arrival – the 13th-fewest in the NHL.

    Just like Anaheim, even though 13-6-4 Cory Schneider has had some excellent assistance from F Brian Gibbons (10 takeaways), D Andy Greene (2.5 blocks-per-game) and D Steven Santini (3.4 hits-per-game) during this run, he’s been the true stud on the defensive end. Since November 30, he’s posted a .932 save percentage and 1.99 GAA to earn nine points in the standings and elevate his season numbers to a .921 save percentage and 2.58 GAA, both top-10 efforts among the 31 goaltenders with at least 16 starts.

    In a defensive matchup like this, it’s going to boil down to which offense can impose its will better. Considering Jersey’s offense has been stronger both since the trade and on the season as a whole, I’d bank on the Devils earning two points at home tonight – no matter how strong a fight Miller puts up.

    On the back of First Star of the Game F Patrick Kane‘s two-goal performance, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 at the United Center in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Only one goal apiece was struck in the first two periods, and they both belonged to Kane. The first period’s marker – a Kane (F Nick Schmaltz and F Artem Anisimov) slap shot – was struck with 9:04 remaining in the frame. Showtime (D Jordan Oesterle and D Duncan Keith) scored again with 4:24 remaining in the second period with a wrist shot that proved to be the game-winner.

    Coming off the bench, Kane was simply fortunate to be the beneficiary of a stellar Oesterle pass that crossed both blue lines. That pass, which extended well beyond 50 feet, set Kane up for a one-on-one scenario against G Alex Stalock, and he took advantage to beat the backup’s five hole to the left post.

    Thanks to Third Star RW Ryan Hartman‘s unassisted wrister 1:41 into the third period, the Hawks earned themselves a three-goal advantage, but D Mathew Dumba (D Ryan Suter and F Charlie Coyle) was able to pull the Wild back within a two-goal deficit 4:15 later. That’s as close as Minnesota could get however, and F Tommy Wingels set the 4-1 final score with an unassisted shorthanded backhanded shot with four minutes remaining in the game.

    Second Star G Corey Crawford earned the victory after saving 27-of-28 shots faced (.964 save percentage), leaving the loss to Stalock, who saved 42-of-45 (.933).

    Home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series have rediscovered their winning ways, as Chicago’s victory was the hosts’ third-straight. That has improved the homers’ record in the series to 42-24-9, 18 points better than the visitors.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #84- What’s the Problem, Senator?

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #84- What’s the Problem, Senator?

    Nick and Connor discuss the hullabaloo regarding the fallout of the Ottawa Senators and whether or not they should trade Erik Karlsson (thereby tanking and rebuilding). A quick look around California reveals contenders and pretenders, while All-Star talent and rookies are also reviewed.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #82- Baby It’s Cole Outside

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #82- Baby It’s Cole Outside

    Nick and Connor analyze the Sami Vatanen–Adam Henrique trade between the Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils, recap the standings at the end of November and talk what’s next for the Pittsburgh Penguins with Matt Murray out week-to-week. Connor also breaks down the potential scenarios for Ian Cole and the Penguins.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • November 20 – Day 48 – Where’s the offense?

    We’re only three days away from the all-important American Thanksgiving holiday! Every team (well, maybe not Arizona and Buffalo) will be working to pack as many points into these days as possible, which should make for some exciting action.

    Said action is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. with three games (Columbus at Buffalo [SN1], Arizona at Toronto and Calgary at Washington [TVAS]), followed by a pair (Winnipeg at Nashville and New Jersey at Minnesota) an hour later. Finally, tonight’s nightcap featuring Anaheim at San Jose (SN) will drop the puck at 10:30 p.m. to close out the evening. All times Eastern.

    Separated by only a point in the Pacific Division standings, there’s no way we’re missing a rivalry game pitting NorCal against SoCal. Off to the SAP Center with us!

     

    Two teams undoubtedly working to maximize their points this week are the 9-7-3 Ducks and the 10-8-0 Sharks, as both are currently on the outside of the top-eight in the Western Conference.

    Even though it’s currently riding a two-game winning streak, Anaheim’s offense has left much to be desired this season, as it ranks 11th-worst in the NHL by averaging only 2.84 goals-per-game. Of course, what should we expect from a team that is playing Derek Grant as its top-line center?

    Grant is in the position he’s in due to the Ducks’ roster being absolutely devastated by injuries. RW Jared Boll, W Patrick Eaves, C Ryan Getzlaf, W Ondrej Kase and F Ryan Kesler are all on injured reserve, which has thrust immense pressure on F Rickard Rakell and W Corey Perry to keep Head Coach Randy Carlyle‘s machine running as smooth as possible. All things considered, they’ve both performed very well, as Rakell has scored a team-high seven goals (7-9-16 totals), thanks in large part to Perry’s club-leading 11 assists (3-11-14).

    They’ve also received decent backup from second-liner F Andrew Cogliano, who provides .58 points-per-game, but it gets harder and harder to find depth scoring when young players like Grant, LW Nick Ritchie, F Kevin Roy and W Logan Shaw are being thrust onto the senior team.

    Even though they’re performing with varying degrees of success, the youngsters have managed only 8-13-21 totals in their 57 man games (.37 points-per-game), playing predominantly in the bottom-six positions formerly occupied by those that have been promoted to the top lines. It’s hard to fault them for Anaheim’s struggles, but it’s equally hard to imagine the Ducks having much success until the end of December when Getzlaf and Kesler should be able to return to the ice.

    Making a difficult situation even tougher, Anaheim has to square off against a Sharks team that plays defense extremely well, as San Jose leads the league in both shots against (28.2 per game) and goals against (2.28 per game).

    Of course, that leaves the Sharks’ offense to blame for them also sitting on the outside of the current playoff picture. Even with the incredible secret weapon named D Brent Burns at their disposal, Head Coach Peter DeBoer’s club has managed only 2.44 goals-per-game, the fourth-worst effort in the NHL.

    Unfortunately for San Jose, they don’t have the excuse of a long list of injuries like Anaheim, as it’s only been confirmed that F Joe Pavelski has not been playing at 100 percent. Instead, everyone not named F Logan Couture – who has managed .83 points-per-game –  has simply struggled to start the season.

    Probably the best statistic to showcase the Sharks’ lack of rhythm can be found within the leader board for their clubhouse Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (if this trophy exists, it has to be called the Patrick Marleau Award). With his 10-5-15 totals, Couture is easily leading the race, but W Joonas Donskoi is in second place with only five goals to his name. In fact, only 13 different players have found the back of the net this season for San Jose, only a year removed from 26 different players scoring at least one goal.

    One of the most obvious players still looking for his groove is last year’s Norris Trophy winner. After posting career-high 29-47-76 totals last year, Burns has yet to find the back of the net on any of his 75 shots on goal. It has become painfully obvious how important the versatility of Burns is to this team, so the sooner he can find his rhythm, the better the Sharks’ chances of getting into the tournament

    Rivalry games have a way of bringing out the best in any team, regardless of how well or how poor it’s been playing lately. That being said, I’m still leaning towards G Martin Jones and the Sharks beating Anaheim since D John Gibson made 50 saves in yesterday’s victory over the Panthers.

    After chasing G Jonathan Quick 11:22 into the game, the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    The reason Quick was pulled shortly after the midway point of the first period is because he allowed Vegas to score three unanswered goals on only nine shots faced (.667 save percentage).

    The first of those was struck only 55 seconds into the contest courtesy of a wrist shot by First Star of the Game William Karlsson (Reilly Smith). The Golden Knights’ advantage was doubled to two goals at the 9:21 mark by Second Star Cody Eakin (Brendan Leipsic), followed only 2:01 later by Karlsson’s (Smith) second tally of the night, a wrister that proved to be the game-winner.

    This goal was all due to a careless mistake by Quick while he was playing behind his own net. Intending to dish the puck to D Derek Forbort in the right corner, the goaltender fanned on the pass and left it unattended in the trapezoid. Before he could decide whether to repossess the puck or get back to his crease, Smith took control of the situation and centered a pass to Karlsson at the right post, who played it with his right skate to slide it behind his left leg to the blade of his stick and into the net – no matter how hard D Drew Doughty tried to keep the puck from crossing the goal line.

    After Quick was replaced by backup G Darcy Kuemper, the Knights did not find the back of the net again while he was in the crease. Solidifying the defensive end was a major boost to the Kings’ morale, because Trevor Lewis (Alex Iafallo) finally got them on the board at the 8:35 mark of the second period.

    That positive momentum carried into the third period, and Los Angeles finally sneaked a second goal past Third Star G Maxime Lagace with 8:15 remaining in regulation: a wrister by Tanner Pearson to set the score at 3-2.

    Since they were unable to beat Lagace a third time with only five skaters, the Kings pulled Kuemper late in the third period for an extra attacker. It was then, with 62 seconds remaining before the final horn, that Alex Tuch (Eakin) scored the last goal of the game on an empty net to set the 4-2 final score.

    Lagace earned the victory after saving 27-of-29 shots faced (.931 save percentage), and Kuemper finished the night saving all 30 shots he faced in 47:23 of play for no decision.

    The Golden Knights’ home victory is the third-straight and sixth in the past seven days by hosts in the DtFR Game of the Day series. The homers now have an impressive 26-17-5 record that is 10 points better than the visitors.

  • Merkle’s Weekly Bumblings: Week 5

    Player of the Week: Nikita Kucherov

    Tampa is kind of making these choices too easy every week.

    The hottest team in the league continued to roll, and the hottest line in the league followed suit. Linemates Vladislav Namestnikov (4 goals, 1 assist) and Steven Stamkos (1 goal, 5 assists) were certainly no slouches, but Kucherov’s 2 goals and 7 points in 3 games were easily the most impressive output of the week, especially considering both goals and 6 of those points were in the first 2 games of the week.

    Kucherov is even being talked about as having a shot at 50 goals in 50 games. While it’s certainly still quite a ways away, it will definitely be interesting to see if he can reach the fabled mark.

    Team of the Week: Toronto Maple Leafs

    Fans of Steve Dangle’s LFR series will know that this was a week chock full of victory puppies.

    After a very shaky stretch that saw the Leafs nearly fall all the way back to a .500 record after a scorching start, things looked increasingly bleak as they learned they’d be without superstar Auston Matthews heading into this week’s 4-game schedule. But the loss of #34 seemed to light a spark under his teammates’ collective tails.

    Toronto opened the week hosting the Golden Knights and whoever they could find willing to throw on some goalie pads (we love ya, Max) and the two squads treated us to an extremely fun night that ended in a 4-3 Leafs victory on the strength of a silky shootout goal from Mitch Marner. They would follow that effort up with a 4-2 victory over Minnesota, heading into a back-to-back home-and-home with arch rival Boston.

    Now, the Bruins are more Providence than Boston right now as they deal with a slew of injuries, particularly in the forward group, but credit them for putting up one heck of a fight at the ACC on Friday night as they came just 60 seconds from victory before James van Hockey (who notably had 4 points in the 2 games against the Bruins) tied the game and sent it to overtime. In overtime, Patrick Marleau touched the ice, so the team he played for won the game. (If you’re not familiar with Marleau’s ridiculous GWG stats, go have a look. Legitimately about 1/5th of his career goals have won a game.)

    Saturday night the Leafs would wrap up a Matthews-less week 4-0 after a 4-1 victory over the Bruins in Boston, with backup goalie Curtis McElhinney shining in net. The Leafs now get 4 days of rest, riding a boatload of momentum, and likely will see the return of Matthews the next time they hit the ice. Maybe hope your team doesn’t play them anytime soon.

    Game of the Week: Los Angeles Kings 4 @ Anaheim Ducks 3 (OT), Tuesday November 7th

    The NHL likes to think of Wednesday as rivalry night, but boy were they a day late this week.

    What was easily the most entertaining game of the year to this point (in this humble writer’s opinion) saw some fantastic stat lines. 7 goals, 79 shots, 54 hits, 51 penalty minutes, and 12 power plays should tell you what sort of game you missed if you didn’t happen to catch this barn-burner.

    To put the insanity of this game into simple terms, Jared Boll opened the scoring. Yeah, that Jared Boll! Isn’t that spectacular?! Like, okay, Brandon Montour did 99% of the work and just had his wrap-around attempt bounce onto Boll’s stick so he could hack it into an open net, but who really cares? Somebody get that man a cookie.

    Sami Vatanen would send the Ducks up 2-0 later in the 1st just as their power play opportunity expired, and for most of the 1st period the Ducks looked like they had the game by the throat. If not for some simply spectacular goaltending (see also: strategical flailing) by Jonathan Quick, this game could have gotten out of hand early. But after watching their goaltender perform miracles for most of the opening frame, the Kings decided maybe they should help him or something, so Anze Kopitar figured he’d go ahead and score a goal with just over 3 minutes remaining to send the teams to the locker rooms with Anaheim leading 2-1.

    The second period saw less offense and more punches in the face. Jonathan Quick attempted to help Derek Forbort ruin Corey Perry‘s day, but the referees felt that someone with a full cage getting into fisticuffs with someone who isn’t wearing a full cage isn’t decidedly fair, so Andy Andreoff (great name, btw) had to go to the penalty box and feel Quick’s shame for him. Jared Boll would later fight Andreoff, I would assume feeling that Andy should earn his own time in the penalty box and not just bum it off of others. Oh, also Rickard Rakell and Adrian Kempe scored goals, so that was kinda neat.

    The Kings absolutely mugged the Ducks in the 3rd, racking up 17 shots on John Gibson to just 6 mustered against them, but only Dustin Brown managed to get one past the Anaheim netminder, so off to bonus hockey we would go, knotted at 3. It would take nearly 4 minutes of 4-on-4 madness to decide the game, but finally Nick Shore would complete the Kings’ comeback and end a terrific night of hockey and shenanigans.

    News, Notes, & Nonsense:

    Jarome Iginla is still unsigned (podcast listeners will appreciate that), but he says he’s not ready to retire. I think he should play on a line with Jagr in Calgary, and we can nickname the line the Geri-hat-tricks or something like that.

    Roberto Luongo picked up career win number 455 this week, passing Curtis Joseph for 4th all-time in that category. I’m pretty sure nobody above him is better at self-deprecating Twitter humor, though, so really he’s probably the greatest of all time.

    Brian Boyle scored his first goal since returning to the Devils lineup, and his celebration was pretty much the most sincere display of happiness that doesn’t include a dog that you’ll ever see.

    The Hockey Hall of Fame inductee class of Danielle Goyette, Clare Drake, Jeremy Jacobs, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne, and Paul Kariya was one for the ages, and if you need a solid laugh, check out the back-and-forth between longtime friends Selanne and Kariya, some of the finest chirping you will ever find.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #74- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part II)

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #74- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part II)

    Jaromir Jagr signed with the Calgary Flames this week, the regular season started (though the Pittsburgh Penguins might not have been told yet that the games matter now) and former players tend to be GMs in the NHL, the Original Trio confirms. Also, we gave participation trophies without even watching the rest of the season for the second year in a row.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • 2017 NHL Expansion Draft: Protected Lists

    30 of the NHL’s 31 teams submitted their protected lists on Saturday by 5 p.m. ET. The protected lists were made public at 10:30 a.m. ET (originally scheduled for 10 a.m.) on Sunday. Additionally, the available lists of players to choose from were released.

    The Vegas Golden Knights will now spend the next few days constructing their roster, with the full reveal set for Wednesday night during the NHL Awards Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

    To recap, here’s all of the protected players:

    Anaheim Ducks

    Forwards: Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Antoine Vermette

    Defensemen: Kevin Bieksa, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm

    Goaltender: John Gibson

    Arizona Coyotes

    Forwards: Nick Cousins, Anthony Duclair, Jordan Martinook, Tobias Rieder

    Defensemen: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Connor Murphy, Luke Schenn

    Goaltender: Chad Johnson

    Boston Bruins

    Forwards: David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner

    Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller

    Goaltender: Tuukka Rask

    Buffalo Sabres

    Forwards: Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane, Johan Larsson, Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo

    Defensemen: Nathan Beaulieu, Jake McCabe, Rasmus Ristolainen

    Goaltender: Robin Lehner

    Calgary Flames

    Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferlund, Michael Frolik, Johnny Gaudreau, Curtis Lazar, Sean Monahan

    Defensemen: T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton

    Goaltender: Mike Smith

    Carolina Hurricanes

    Forwards: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Elias Lindholm, Brock McGinn, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen

    Defensemen: Trevor Carrick, Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy

    Goaltender: Scott Darling

    Chicago Blackhawks

    Forwards: Artem Anisimov, Ryan Hartman, Marian Hossa, Tomas Jurco, Patrick Kane, Richard Panik, Jonathan Toews

    Defensemen: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook

    Goaltender: Corey Crawford

    Colorado Avalanche

    Forwards: Sven Andrighetto, Blake Comeau, Matt Duchene, Rocco Grimaldi, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Nieto

    Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Nikita Zadorov

    Goaltender: Semyon Varlamov

    Columbus Blue Jackets

    Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg

    Defensemen: Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, David Savard

    Goaltender: Sergei Bobrovsky

    Dallas Stars

    Forwards: Jamie Benn, Radek Faksa, Valeri Nichushkin, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza

    Defensemen: Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell

    Goaltender: Ben Bishop

    Detroit Red Wings

    Forwards: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg

    Defensemen: Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Nick Jensen

    Goaltender: Jimmy Howard

    Edmonton Oilers

    Forwards: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Zack Kassian, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

    Defensemen: Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Andrej Sekera

    Goaltender: Cam Talbot

    Florida Panthers

    Forwards: Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck

    Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, Keith Yandle

    Goaltender: James Reimer

    Los Angeles Kings

    Forwards: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli

    Defensemen: Drew Doughty, Derek Forbort, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin

    Goaltender: Jonathan Quick

    Minnesota Wild

    Forwards: Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker

    Defensemen: Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter

    Goaltender: Devan Dubnyk

    Montreal Canadiens

    Forwards: Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw

    Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Jeff Petry, Shea Weber

    Goaltender: Carey Price

    Nashville Predators

    Forwards: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Johansen

    Defensemen: Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban

    Goaltender: Pekka Rinne

    New Jersey Devils

    Forwards: Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac

    Defensemen: Andy Greene, John Moore, Mirco Mueller, Damon Severson

    Goaltender: Cory Schneider

    New York Islanders

    Forwards: Andrew Ladd, Anders Lee, John Tavares

    Defensemen: Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock

    Goaltender: Thomas Greiss

    New York Rangers

    Forwards: Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello

    Defensemen: Nick Holden, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal

    Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist

    Ottawa Senators

    Forwards: Derick Brassard, Ryan Dzingel, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris

    Defensemen: Cody Ceci, Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf

    Goaltender: Craig Anderson

    Philadelphia Flyers

    Forwards: Sean Couturier, Valtteri Filppula, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek

    Defensemen: Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning

    Goaltender: Anthony Stolarz

    Pittsburgh Penguins

    Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin

    Defensemen: Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Justin Schultz

    Goaltender: Matt Murray

    San Jose Sharks

    Forwards: Ryan Carpenter, Logan Couture, Jannik Hansen, Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Chris Tierney

    Defensemen: Justin Braun, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

    Goaltender: Martin Jones

    St. Louis Blues

    Forwards: Patrik Berglund, Ryan Reaves, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Sobotka, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko

    Defensemen: Jay Bouwmeester, Joel Edmundson, Alex Pietrangelo

    Goaltender: Jake Allen

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    Forwards: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos

    Defensemen: Braydon Coburn, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman

    Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards: Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, James van Riemsdyk

    Defensemen: Connor Carrick, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly

    Goaltender: Frederik Andersen

    Vancouver Canucks

    Forwards: Sven Baertschi, Loui Eriksson, Markus Granlund, Bo Horvat, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter

    Defensemen: Alexander Edler, Erik Gudbranson, Christopher Tanev

    Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom

    Washington Capitals

    Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson

    Defensemen: John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov

    Goaltender: Braden Holtby

    Winnipeg Jets

    Forwards: Joel Armia, Andrew Copp, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry, Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler

    Defensemen: Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba

    Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck

  • Stanley Cup Playoffs: Conference Finals – May 22

     

    Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators – Game 6

    Though the Ducks led in almost every statistical category, it was Nashville that won 6-3 Monday to claim its first-ever Clearance Campbell Bowl and a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals.

    Game 6 had a sour start for Anaheim before the puck was even dropped. With John Gibson sidelined with a lower body injury, Randy Carlyle and the Ducks were forced to turn to backup Jonathan Bernier, making his first Stanley Cup playoffs start.

    Unfortunately for Bernier, it was baptism by fire. He faced only four shots in the first period, but he gave up two goals. The first was struck only 81 seconds into the contest by Second Star of the Game Austin Watson (Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin), his first faced of the game. Two shots and 7:26 later,  a wrist shot from First Star Colton Sissons (Third Star Pontus Aberg) set the score at 2-0.

    Following Sissons’ marker, the tides turned largely in favor of the visiting Ducks. Though they didn’t find the back of Pekka Rinne‘s net in the first frame, they did fire an impressive shots on net compared to Nashville’s four. That dominance continued in the second period when Anaheim fired 13 shots, nine more than Nashville.

    Even more impressive, the Ducks could have registered even more shot offerings. Led by Watson’s six rejections, the Predators blocked a total of 22 shots in the game. A large reason for Anaheim’s strong possession time was a result of its work at the face-off circle. Thanks in large part to Ryan Getzlaf‘s 73% face-off win rate, the Ducks won 62% of play resumptions.

    The most important thing the Ducks ensured by keeping puck in their offensive zone? They kept pucks off Bernier.

    The Ducks were finally rewarded for their hard work at the 4:45 mark of the second period courtesy of Ondrej Kase‘s (Getzlaf and Sami Vatanen) wrister on a gaping cage due to Rinne blocking a previous shot at the near post.

    With the comeback halfway complete, Anaheim looked to be well on its way to forcing a Game 7 at the Pond – but that was before Sissons (Aberg and Filip Forsberg) squeezed a backhanded shot between Bernier’s wickets to reclaim a two-goal lead for the Preds.

    But the Ducks weren’t dead yet. Only two minutes after Aberg’s tally, Chris Wagner (Nicolas Kerdiles and Antoine Vermette) bounced a wrister off Rinne’s head to pull Anaheim back within a goal, and Cam Fowler (Vatanen) leveled the game at three-all 8:52 into the third period.

    Fowler’s goal was not without controversy though, as Rinne felt Corey Perry‘s screen was a little too snug. Though Peter Laviolette challenged the play, but the referees sided with the Ducks and decided that Perry did not interfere with the netminder.

    But whether the goal counted or not didn’t matter, the Ducks could not find a fourth marker. Unfortunately for them, the Predators could – and what a series-winner it was.

    After receiving a pass from Calle Jarnkrok in the neutral zone, Sissons flew up the near boards into his offensive zone. Fowler ripped the puck off Sissons’ stick, but Jarnkrok was following close enough behind to maintain Nashville’s possession in the near slot. Once Jarnkrok saw Bernier had committed to sealing the near post, he crossed a pass to Sissons, who completed his hat trick with a nasty top shelf wrister.

    As the clock was winding down and the Ducks still trailed by a tally, Carlyle was forced to pull Bernier for the extra attacker to try to continue his club’s season with 2:33 remaining in regulation. Forsberg (Vernon Fiddler) took advantage only 11 seconds later to set off the loudest cheers Bridgestone Arena had ever heard.

    Watson (Ryan Ellis) tacked on yet another empty netter with 1:34 remaining in the game to set the final 6-3 score.

    Regardless of the Predators’ opponent, they’ll be on the road for Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Puck drop for the series opener is scheduled for Monday, May 29. Though a starting time has yet to be announced, it is expected to be at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

  • Stanley Cup Playoffs: Conference Finals– May 18

    Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators– Game 4

    Corey Perry and the Anaheim Ducks bursted the Nashville Predators undefeated at Bridgestone Arena this postseason bubble with a 3-2 victory in overtime in Game 4 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals.

    In short, the series is now a best-of-three scenario as it is now tied, 2-2, heading back to Honda Center in Anaheim for Game 5.

    Ducks goaltender, John Gibson made 32 saves on 34 shots against for a .941 save percentage in the win, while Predators goalie, Pekka Rinne stopped 34 out of 37 shots faced for a .919 SV% in the loss.

    Rickard Rakell (7) opened the game’s scoring on a slap shot from outside the slot and just over the blue line after catching the Predators in the midst of a line change to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Cam Fowler (7) had the sole assist on Rakell’s goal.

    After 20 minutes of play, Anaheim led 1-0 on the scoreboard and held Nashville to just two shots on goal in the 1st period. As a result, the Ducks set a franchise record for fewest shots against in a playoff period (2). The previous record was three back in the 1st period of Game 5 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks.

    Both Nashville and Anaheim went 0/1 on the power play entering the first intermission.

    The Ducks extended their lead to two goals when Nick Ritchie (4) used Roman Josi as a screen against Rinne, then toe dragged the puck out of Josi’s reach to snipe a wrist shot top shelf on the glove side. Nate Thompson (4) and Sami Vatanen (3) were credited with the primary and secondary assists on the goal that made it 2-0 Anaheim.

    Officials put away the whistles for the 2nd period, as no penalties were called, which would only provide for more scrutiny later in the game when several calls were made against the Ducks and a non-call that probably should’ve been a penalty against the Predators indirectly led to the game tying goal in the final minute of regulation.

    After Nashville had an abysmal two shots on goal (compared to Anaheim’s 14 SOG) in the 1st period, the Predators picked up their offensive efforts in the 2nd period, outshooting the Ducks 18-12. Anaheim still led in total shots on goal, though, 26-20 after 40 minutes of play.

    Trailing 2-0 at the start of the 3rd period, the Nashville Predators remained calm, as they had been there before this postseason, having trailed by the same score to the Blackhawks in the First Round before coming back and winning in regulation.

    Anaheim could not convert on their final power play opportunity of the night about a quarter of the way into the 3rd period.

    After being given two power play opportunities of their own about midway through the 3rd, the Predators had no luck on the man advantage, but had begun racking up the minutes of offensive zone time.

    P.K. Subban (2) received a pass from Colin Wilson (2) and fired home a slap shot to cut the lead in half and make it a 2-1 game at 13:33 of the 3rd period. The already rambunctious fans in attendance at Bridgestone Arena only became louder as the Predators begun to smell a possible comeback. Viktor Arvidsson (7) had the secondary assist on Subban’s 2nd goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Kevin Bieksa’s high sticking infraction was quickly followed up by Anaheim’s Josh Manson’s slashing minor penalty, resulting in a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:31 with 4:38 remaining in regulation for the Preds.

    Anaheim’s penalty killing unit was successful at killing off both minor penalties before Nashville could tie the game.

    With less than a minute in regulation, the Predators won an offensive zone face-off and fired a barrage of shots at Gibson.

    Ryan Johansen appeared to get away with a cross check to the back of one of Anaheim’s skaters, before contributing on what would end up setting up the final goal of regulation

    Filip Forsberg (7) tied the game, 2-2, with his followup in front of the goal, beating Gibson to the puck before he could freeze it. Arvidsson (8) and James Neal (2) collected the helpers on the game tying goal with 34.5 seconds to go in the 3rd period.

    Forsberg now has four goals in four games thus far in the series.

    Nashville was mounting a comeback riding the momentum of the final 13 and a half minutes of regulation. Shots on goal were even at 31-31 after 60 minutes of play. Nashville led in blocked shots 18-15 and in giveaways 10-9, while Anaheim led in hits 28-27 and takeaways 9-6 heading into the overtime intermission.

    Game 4 became just the 26th playoff game of the 2017 postseason to require overtime (two games shy of the record— 28 overtime games— set in 1993).

    A little past halfway into the overtime period, Perry (4) fired a shot in the direction of the goal as a hard charging teammate, Thompson, was crashing the goal. Instead of setting up a one-timer, the puck deflected off of Nashville defenseman Subban’s stick and past Rinne to secure the 3-2 victory for the Ducks.

    Perry’s game winning goal was unassisted at 10:25 of overtime and tied the series 2-2.

    Anaheim finished the game leading in shots on goal 37-34, blocked shots 20-19 and giveaways 12-10, while both teams were even in hits 30-30. Neither team scored a power play goal on Thursday night, as Nashville went 0/5 on the man advantage and Anaheim went 0/2.

    Puck drop for Game 5 at Honda Center back in Anaheim is scheduled for a little after 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Viewers looking to watch the game in the United States can tune to NBC, while Canadian fans can catch the game on CBC and/or TVA Sports.