Tag: Frank Fanelli

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Playoff Recaps

An All Around Team Effort Helps Nashville Earn a Giant Win at Home.

The Nashville Predators took down the San Jose Sharks easily by the score of 4-1 after scoring four straight unanswered goals. Nashville played a great all-around game and easily won in front of their home crowd. This loss was San Jose’s first road loss of the playoffs.

The Predators looked to use home ice advantage in their favor to get back in the series. They even had Tennessee Titans superstar quarterback Marcus Mariota appear before the game on the ice to get the crowd pumped up. Nashville made a major lineup change prior to Game 3. Preds center Mike Ribeiro was a healthy scratch after having only one point and a minus-three in nine playoff games this year. Nashville replaced Ribeiro with rookie Pontus Aberg who made his NHL debut tonight. Aberg recorded 40 points, 25 of them goals, in 73 games with their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.

Nashville applied major pressure early and just 1:11 into the game the pressure resulted in the game’s first penalty. Sharks winger Melker Karlsson took down Preds star Roman Josi with a hook and earned a two-minute trip to the sin bin. This sent the Predators to their awful man advantage. Nashville is a horrendous 2/31 on the PP in the playoffs. The penalty resulted in no big chances as they only managed 2 shots and San Jose killed it off.

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The games first goal came with 6:47 remaining in the first period. This goal resulted from pure skill and speed. San Jose vet Patrick Marleau kicked the puck to himself at his own blue line but kicked it so far even I thought the play was going to result in nothing. I and probably every fan in the arena was wrong. Marleau was able to split Predators defender, Shea Weber, and Roman Josi and beat them to the puck in the Preds zone. Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne tried to come out and perform a diving poke check but completely missed the puck after Marleau pulled the puck back onto his stick. Marleau then had a wide open net and slammed the puck home to open up the Sharks tab. This goal was the first 1st-period goal of the series between these two teams.

With a little of five minutes left in the first period, Predators D-man Anthony Bitetto crossed check Sharks center Joe Thornton. After the penalty was called, a major scrum ensued which resulted in a roughing minor for Sharks defender Brent Burns and Predators defender Barret Jackman. These two calls canceled each other out and sent San Jose to their first PP of the game from the Bitetto cross-check call. The Preds were able to kill this PP of with poise. Then with 55 seconds left in the first, Preds winger Viktor Arvidsson gets the call for slashing Sharks defenseman Brendan Dillon sending San Jose to their second PP of the game and the first period ended with them on the man advantage.

The second period started with the Sharks on the power play. Nashville was once again up to the task and didn’t allow a shot and killed off the penalty. Then just 2:19 into the second period, San Jose youngster Joonas Donskoi received a four-minute high-sticking call after he caught Preds winger James Neal up high. Nashville went to their second manpower advantage of the game, looking for some major momentum and even a goal to tie the game.

That is exactly what Nashville did thanks to a very good power play. Predators Mattias Ekholm gathered the puck on the left-hand side, skated the puck across the blue line and drove right into the slot. Ekholm spotted Preds winger James Neal low on the right-hand side and fed him a nifty pass. Neal took the pass and HAMMERED a one-timer from almost the goal line and beat San Jose goalie Martin Jones high short side to tie the game up at 1-1 on the power play.

Nashville would then get another glorious chance to take the lead just 3:21 later. Predators defender Roman Josi corralled the puck high in the left-hand slot and ripped a wrister looking to beat Jones high glove side. Martin Jones had other plans and robbed Josi with a stellar glove save to keep the game knotted at 1 goal a piece.

San Jose went back on the penalty kill after Sharks winger Matt Nieto hooked Preds Ryan Johansen. Nashville went back to the power play for the third time looking to take the lead again. Sadly, their power play did not last long because Nashville winger Craig Smith caught Sharks winger Nick Spalling with a stick up high and we then played 4 on 4 hockey.

Just 44 seconds later of four aside hockey, Nashville would take the lead thanks to Shea Weber. Predators Ryan Johansen carried the puck in on the right side and tried dancing around the defenseman. Johansen got the puck poked right off his stick and went right to Shea Weber sitting in the slot. Weber unleashed a HOWITZER of a slap shot that beat Martin Jones high glove side and went bar down to give them a 2-1 lead. This goal was Weber’s 13th career playoff goal, tieing the franchise record for goals in the playoffs with David Legwand (no longer on the team).

San Jose went back on the power play with their fourth chance of the game. This time, Nashville defenseman Barret Jackman got called for hooking Sharks defender Brent Burns. The Sharks look to tie the game up on their power play which is usually very strong. San Jose managed to fire four shots on Pekka Rinne, but Rinne was very effective and shut down every opportunity. The second period would end with Nashville up 2-1, but San Jose still looking to tie the game.

Just like the second period started, the third period started with the Sharks back on the power play for 21 seconds. Nashville killed off that penalty once again, especially thanks to Pekka Rinne and blocked shots. The two teams would then trade a couple of decent scoring chances, but again, the duo of Rinne and Jones would turn them away.

Then with 13:51 left in the third period, Predators youngster Colton Sissons went on a mini breakaway looking to score. Sissons would then get knocked off the puck and taken down. He went flying into the post banging his knee right off the post. Sissons would then need help to get off the ice and went right into the locker room. Hope he can return quickly!

Then just 46Unknown seconds later the Predators would strike again to go up 3-1 with 13 minutes remaining. Nashville winger Colin Wilson grabbed the puck on the goal line and slid a beautiful pass to pinching defender Ryan Ellis. He then threw a snap shot on net that was immediately saved by Jones’ left pad. The puck went off the boards and right to Wilson who was sitting in the same spot. Wilson corralled the loose puck on the goal line and shot it off the right post and in to give the Preds their first two-goal lead of the series. Wilson now has points in four straight games.

San Jose would then start applying some more pressure in the hope of getting back into the game. Although, once again Pekka Rinne was able to stone the Sharks on back to back chances to keep his team’s two-goal lead.

With 8:52 left in the contest we would get more 4 on 4 hockey. Nashville D-man Roman Josi collects a slashing call against Sharks center Joe Thornton and Joe Thornton getting two minutes for slashing Roman Josi right back. San Jose looked to take a page out of Nashville’s book and score a goal while playing 4 on 4 just like the Preds did earlier in the game, but this never happened.

Nashville winger Craig Smith would then be sent on a mini breakaway off a nice pass. San Jose D-man Brenden Dillon would slash Smith on his BA causing his shot to go wide. This sent the Preds to their fifth PP of the game looking to convert for another goal. Just 47 seconds into the power play, Mike Fisher would have another amazing chance to add to the lead. Fisher got the puck in the high slot and fired a laser that was calmly gloved down by Jones to still give his team a glimmer of hope.

Then 1:48 into the Predators fifth power play, Nashville would strike again. Preds winger Filip Forsberg, who was in the right-hand corner, passed the puck up to Preds D-man Roman Josi at the point. Josi passed the puck right back to Forsberg who grabbed the puck, curled back and drove right to the top of the right faceoff circle. Forsberg then rifled a NASTY wrist shot that, once again, beat Martin Jones high glove side and went bar down to increase the lead to 4-1. This would end up being the final score of the game as the Predators would hold on for a huge win.

Nashville’s goalie Pekka Rinne would end the game saving 24 out of 25 shots for a .963 SV%. While San Jose’s tendy Martin Jones would save 21 out of 25 shots for a measly .840 SV%.

Nashville would lead faceoffs (35-26), hits (37-28), and giveaways (6-5). San Jose would lead in shots (27-25) and penalty minutes (14-12). The teams would tie in blocked shots (19-19). The Sharks went a terrible 0/4 on the power play and the Predators went 2/5.

Nashville would earn a huge win and also a huge momentum builder with tonight’s win. Thier win would cut San Jose’s series lead to 2 games to 1. These two teams will meet again on Thursday night at 9 pm back here in Nashville, Tennesee. The game can be seen on CNBC, SN, or TVAS2.

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Playoff Recaps

Another Strong Game from Braden Holtby Helps the Capitals win 1-0 and Advance to Round 2.

The Washington Capitals took care of the pesky Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 1-0 on Sunday afternoon . Washington officially won the seven game series 4-2 and did not allow the Flyers to force another game. The Capitals were led by their stellar goaltender Braden Holtby who picked up the win in a 29 save shutout, his second shutout of the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Flyers looked to pull of another miracle win against the Washington Capitals in Game 6 this afternoon in Philly at an electric Wells Fargo Center. Again the Flyers went with goalie Michal Neuvirth who has been sensational in his past two games going 2-0 with a .987 SV% and a .50 GAA and with one shutout. While the Capitals are hoping goaltender Braden Holtby can turn in another shutout like his Game 1 performance.

Washington Capitals Logo

Game 6 started just like Game 5 did, very physical. In Game 5 there was a fight just 10 seconds into the game. Well, Game 6 started the same way, but no fight was started. Instead, it was just hit after hit after hit from both teams, obviously trying to set the tone early in the game.

Just a couple examples of the physical play was Flyers winger Brayden Schenn absolutely LEVELING Caps center Nicklas Backstrom along the right side boards. As well as Flyers new guy, who was the captain of their AHL team, Colin McDonald CLOBBERING Capitals Andre Burakovsky in the corner of the Caps zone. Both these hits got the home crowd of the Flyers amped up and ready to go!

Now surprisingly there were no great scoring chances by both teams, just a couple outside shots here and there that were easily saved by both goalies. It took a while for the games first penalty to dawn upon us as well. At the 13:18 mark of the first-period Flyers superstar Claude Giroux got the call for hooking Caps winger T.J Oshie. This sent the Capitals to their deadly power play and their first of the game. Philly was up to the task and only let two shots reach Neuvirth and killed off the infraction with awesome shot blocking.

Washington would then go right back on the power play just 4:55 later when Flyers power forward Wayne Simmonds slashed Caps D-man Karl Alzner. The Caps would get a couple quick shots that were easily saved by Neuvirth. On a faceoff play just 45 seconds later Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald missed lifting the stick of Capitals Marcus Johansson and caught him up high with a hi-sticking call. Washington would then go on the 5 on 3 power play.

Then finally, with 31 seconds remaining in the period we get the games first scoring chance thanks to Washington vet Justin Williams. He received a pass in the high slot from center Nicklas Backstrom and fired a quick wrist shot that was turned away nicely by Neuvirth’s blocker. Washington would end the period still on the 5 on 3 PP.

Washington started the second period with the 5 on 3 power play. Nothing came from this two-man advantage as the Flyers were able to kill it off. The next penalty went to Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom as he was slapped with a double minor for hi-sticking Flyers grinder Ryan White. Then as the replays ensued it was really the stick of Philly winger Chris VandeVelde who caught him up high but the penalty didn’t change. Then just five seconds later the Capitals would take another penalty, this time, Washinton D-man Matt Niskanen got a two-minute infraction for hooking Philly winger Wayne Simmonds. This would send the Flyers to a crucial 5 on 3 power play in hope for a goal to break the 0-0 tie.

Philadelphia Flyers Logo

Unfortunately, the Flyers only managed three shots on goal and it was a terrible power play to go along with it. Then to put insult to injury of that awful power play, Flyers grinder Ryan White got called for holding the stick of Capitals defender Matt Niskanen just 6:55 into the second and it nullified the Flyers PP and made the game 4 on 4.When the 4 on 4 ended it sent the Caps to their fourth power play of the game, but only had 30 seconds to work with and blew their chance to strike first as the PP expired.

At 8:59 into the second period we got the games first goal courtesy of Caps center Nicklas Backstrom. Washington star Alex Ovechkin held the puck in at the right blue line, and spotted Caps Winger Marcus Johansson in the slot and hit him with a pass. Johansson settled the puck down and slid the puck over to the goal scorer, Nicklas Backstrom who was standing at the left side dot. Once the puck hit Backstrom’s stick he quickly fired a wrister up high that beat Neuvirth up high for the 1-0 lead.

This goal snapped Neuvirth’s shutout streak at 106:20, an outstanding mark that lasted a game and 2 periods. Washington also finally beat Neuvirth after he saved their previous 72 shot attempts. So clearly the Caps were relieved they were able to finally get a goal. The second period ended with the Capitals up 1-0, so if the Flyers want to keep their playoff hopes alive they better wake up in the third period.

Hey, look! You could have guessed it, the Flyers took ANOTHER penalty. This time is was Flyers winger Sam Gagner who hooked Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov. Washington would then get their 5th man advantage of the game, but only had one shot on goal. Once again the Flyers were outstanding on the kill.

The rest of the third period was back and forth to say the lease. Each team had numerous scoring chances but were always denied by the goalies of Neuvirth and Holtby. The Flyers would then pull Neuvirth with 1:20 left in the game desperately trying for that tying goal. Sadly, the Flyers were not able to get one past Holtby in the dire minutes of the game and lost Game 6 by a score of 1-0. The last glimmer of hope on the Flyers “cinderella” type season was after that final buzzer rung, their fans immediately gave the team a standing ovation.

Holtby once again played a phenomenal game, saving all 29 shots thrown his way for his second shutout of the series. While Michal Neuvirth played outstanding again in the losing effort stopping 25 out of 26 shots for a .966 SV%.

The Washington Capitals final stat leaders for their first series are as followed. Their leading point getter was Nicklas Backstrom (2G, 5A), leading goal scorer was John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin both with 3 goals and assist leader was Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson both with 5 assists. While their goaltender Brenden Holtby finished the series with a marvelous  4-2 record, a .968 SV%, and a .84 GAA in 6 Games as well as two shutouts.

The Philadelphia Flyers leading point getter was a 4-way tie for first. Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Sam Gagner, and Shayne Gostisbehere all had 2 points (all players had 2 assists), leading goal scorer was a 6 way tie all with 1 goal (Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, Micheal Raffl, Andrew McDonald, Chris VandeVelde, and Ryan White), and leading assist getter were the same 4 people who lead in total points.

While Steve Mason finished his playoffs with a dreadful 0-3 record, a .852 SV%, and a 4.09 GAA in 3 Games (Games 1, 2, and 3) and Michal Neuvirth finished with a 2-1 record, a .981 SV%, and a .67 GAA in 3 Games (Games 4, 5, and 6). You can clearly tell that the Capitals were the better team overall and the Flyers offensive production was bad. A major key on why they got bounced in the first round.

Philadelphia lead in faceoffs (35-24), penalty minutes (10-6), hits (38-32), blocked shots (21-15), and giveaways (14-13). While the Capitals only lead in shots (29-26). Philly finished 0/3 on the power play and Washington finished 0/5.

Washington was able to finish off the Flyers and not allow them to force a Game 7. They won the series 4 games to 2. Philly will now pack their bags and begin the offseason earlier than they hoped for as they are officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Capitals will now take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that will begin as soon as the other four series finish.

 

 

 

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Michal Neuvirth’s HUGE Second Game in a Row Paired Ryan White’s Game Winning Goal Help the Flyers Force a Game 6.

The Philadelphia Flyers squeezed out a 2-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Friday night IN Washington, D.C. The Capitals came into tonight’s game up 3 games to 1 in the 7 game series looking to finish off the Flyers. The Flyers had other thoughts tonight and played an average overall game, but thanks to underrated goaltender Michal Neuvirth, they escaped with the shutout win.

Philadelphia Flyers Logo

Washington wanted to forget about their disappointing Game 4 and start anew in Game 5.  Once again the Flyers followed their gut instinct and went with Michal Neuvirth after his impressive performance in Game 4. He led the Flyers to a crucial win in a game that was win or go home and he looked to do the same tonight.

The first period started out as a wild one, with the two teams engaging in an early brawl just TEN seconds into the game. The brawl featured Philly winger Brayden Schenn and Caps winger T.J. Oshie. Both players fought for a good amount of time and both got a number of clean punches in but the fight ended in a clean tie. After this start to the game, you could tell that tonight’s match up wasn’t going to be an easy win for either team. The games first penalty went to Capitals vet Justin Williams just 1:08 into the game as he was called for a double minor (four minutes) for hi-sticking Philly defender Nick Schultz. Now the Flyers still struggling on the man advantage looked to score an early goal to get the crowd out of the game. Well, this didn’t happen, in fact, they only mustered three shots on net and with a stellar penalty kill by the Caps, their fans got loud with the kill.

Next, Paul Bunyan aka Radko Gudas took the Flyers first infraction of the game when he cross-checked Washington D-man Karl Alzner 5:45 into the period. This mistake sent the Caps to their almost unstoppable power play and the first of tonight’s contest. Philly was on lock down defense and only gave up 2 easy shots and killed that opportunity with comfort. Finally, almost 10 minutes into the game, Washington grabs the games first primal scoring chance. Surprisingly, Caps enforcer Tom Wilson grabbed the puck behind the Flyers net. He then spotted fellow enforcer Daniel Winnik in front and hit him with an amazing no look-back hand pass from behind the net. Winnik received the pass and fired a quick wrister on net and was kicked aside by Neuvirth’s right pad and made a miraculous save to keep the score at 0-0.

Again, there was another penalty called just 1:53 later with Caps winger Justin Williams getting called for goaltender interference on Michal Neuvirth. This brace sent the Flyers to their second PP of the game, but just like the last one, they only threw two weak shots on net and it was killed off with poise. Now 5:28 later, a little scuffle ensued between Caps winger Jason Chimera and Philly defender Nick Schultz. This little brouhaha resulted in each player getting a two-minute penalty for roughing.

The second period started off edgy with the teams combining for 3 hits within the first 1:05. Then just 2:05 into the second period the Caps took ANOTHER penalty with Marcus Johansson roughing Flyers rookie Colin McDonald from behind. Philadelphia was sent to their third power play of the game, but this didn’t last as long as the Flyers hoped for. Just 1:35 into the Flyers PP, rookie defender Shayne Gostisbehere got called for two minutes for holding the stick of Capitals Daniel Winnik. The two teams played four on four hockey for the remainder of the two penalties.

Once again, there was another penalty for the Capitals. This time, it was Washington’s Justin Williams again for catching Flyers captain Claude Giroux with a hi-stick. Philly would then go on their 4th man advantage of the game and this time, they would cash in and grab the games first goal. As the Capitals penalty expired, Flyers defender Mark Streit moved the puck over to Flyers winger Sam Gagner on the left point. Gagner decided to let a one-timer clap bomb go towards the net. His shot hit Philly grinder Ryan White who was standing in front of Holtby’s net. The puck hit White and fell down right in front of him. White quickly jumped on the puck and fired it on net with his back still facing Holtby. The puck took a lucky bounce and hit Capitals defenseman Taylor Chorney who was standing at the side of the net. Unfortunately, Chorney was in the wrong place at the wrong time as the puck hit his skate and ricocheted into the wide open net to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

The Capitals would then grab the next excellent scoring chance with just 2:09 remaining in the second period. Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, who was on the half board on the right side, located Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin in the high slot. Backstrom skimmed a pass to Ovi who had trouble with the puck in his feet. As he was being peppered from behind by Philly call-up Colin McDonald he was still able to get a wrist shot on net. Neuvirth was able to propel the puck out with his right pad but was not able to control the rebound as the puck scooted out to his right. Washington winger Marcus Johansson was able to reach the rebound, turn, and fire the puck on net. Neuvirth was able to push off to his right and absolutely ROBB Johansson of a wide open net and a sure goal with his right pad. This save was one of if not the best save of Neuvirth’s game and kept his team in the lead going into the second intermission. The Flyers were lucky to not have given up a goal because they were heavily outshot by Washington 16-2 in the second period alone. HUGE credit to goalie Michal Neuvirth for standing on his head.

Washington Capitals Logo

Philadelphia started the third period fast obviously looking for that insurance goal. Only 2:30 into the final frame, Flyers D-man Shayne Gostisbehere had the puck at the point and shot a laser to the net that beat Holtby to the right but not the post and rang right off the cross bar. Philly would then get another scoring possibility with the Capitals taking their 5th penalty of the game 6:51 into the third. Caps right winger Jason Chimera dished out a huge cheap shot on Flyers stud Jakub Voracek and got two minutes for boarding. Philly would only manage one shot on this PP but gave up a great short-handed chance. Caps winger Daniel Winnik went streaking down the left-hand boards. He out waited sliding Philly D-man Shayne Gostisbehere and centered a pass towards streaking Caps enforcer Jay Beagle. Beagle lunged for the puck and tipped it on net but was stoned by Neuvirth who robbed Beagle with a huge left pad save to keep their lead intact again. Flyers Ryan White would then get a trip to the sin bin after interfering with Washington defender Nate Schmidt. The Capitals would look to find a way to tie the game on their sizzling power play. Well, the Flyers penalty killers were up to the task again and killed the penalty off while only giving up one small shot.

Washington would then get their best opportunity of the game with 6:34 left in the game. Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin came busting down the right-hand side of the ice. He rifled a wrist shot low far side that was easily turned away with Neuvirth’s left pad. The juicy rebound went right into the wide open slot just sitting there waiting for Washington defenseman, Dmitry Orlov to hammer it home, but Flyers D-man Shayne Gostisbehere had other plans. Right as Orlov was about to fire home the game-tying rebound into the open net, Gostisbehere dove and knocked the puck away as well as Orlov’s stick right out of his hand for a marvelous defensive play!

Like I said, that was Washington’s last prime scoring chance of the game. They pulled goaltender Braden Holtby with 1:02 left in the game in the hope of a game-tying goal. Washington was only able to get one shot through on goal as Philly was blocking everything in sight. Then with 31 seconds left in the game, the Flyers would put the icing on the cake. Flyers 4th liner, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare stole the puck off the stick of Capitals winger T.J. Oshie and passed the puck over to Flyers fellow 4th liner Chris VandeVelde. He then would go in all alone on the wide open net and throw the puck into the goal to end the Caps chance at a comeback and make the score 2-0. This score held till the final buzzer for a huge win.

Philly won this game thanks to wonderful goaltending from Michal Neuvirth for the second game in a row. Tonight he turned away all 44 shots thrown his way for hist first shutout of his 2016 playoff campaign. On the other hand, Caps goalie Braden Holtby stopped 10 out of 11 shots faced for a .900 SV%. The Flyers 11 shots are a team record for fewest shots in a playoff game in franchise history.

The Capitals lead in shots (44-11), penalty minutes (19-13), faceoffs (38-34) and hits (35-17). The Flyers only led in blocks (18-6) and giveaways (5-4). Philly were a dreadful 0/6 on the power play while Washington was 0/2.

The Flyers once again staved off elimination and cut into the Caps series lead and now made it (3-2). Philly will now head back home to the WFC for Game 6 in the hope of forcing another Game 7. This game will be played on Sunday at Noon and can be seen on NBC, CBC, or TVAS.

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Playoff Recaps

Ben Bishop’s Shutout and Alex Killorn’s Late Third Period Goal Help the Lightning Move On To Round 2.

The Tampa Bay Lightning finished off the series and ended the Detroit Red Wings 2016 Playoffs early by a score of 1-0 Thursday night. The Lightning were led by 6 foot 7 goaltender Ben Bishop as he made a whopping 34 saves for his first shutout of the playoffs.Unknown-1

Tampa Bay looked to close out the series and get rid of the pesky Wings in front of their insane sellout crowd at Amalie Arena. The Red Wings turned to tendy Petr Mrazek for a third straight game after going 1-1 with a .930 SV% and a 1.52 GAA in Games 3 and 4.

Detroit looked to jump out early and quickly and gain as much momentum as possible. Just 2:51 into the game Detroit youngster Dylan Larkin spotted Wings D-man Niklas Kronwall jumping up into the rush and hit him with a nice pass. Kronwall let a nifty backhander go but was easily shut down by Bishop with no problem.

The games first penalty went to the Lightning with a little close to 4 minutes gone in the first period with a two many men on the ice call. This blunder sent the Wings to their mediocre power play, coming into Game 5 Detroit were a disastrous 1/21 on the manpower advantage. So they looked to change their luck early in the game. Lucky for them, Tampa defenseman Jason Garrison took a foolish penalty and got a trip to the sin bin to feel shame. Garrison cross checked Detroit left winger Justin Abdelkader in front of the net just 46 seconds into their first PP. Detroit looked to grab the game’s first goal on an early 5 on 3 power play.

Detroit got the game’s first excellent scoring chance on that same 5 on 3 power play. Right Winger Brad Richards corraled the puck at the left side blue line and then sent a pass across the ice to vet Pavel Datsyuk who was posted up down low on the right-hand side. The Magic Man, as he’s called, received the pass and fired a swift wrister up high that beat Bishop high glove side but caught the cross bar and came right back out. This was the last scoring chance as Tampa killed the PP off with stellar shot blocking.

Now it was the Lightning’s turn to break the scoreless deadlock. Tampa 4th liner Eric Condra picked off a terrible pass from Wings D-man Jonathan Ericsson in the right corner and spotted defender Jason Garrison making a b-line to the net. Condra rocketed a pass across the slot and Garrison grabbed the puck and fired a wrist shot on net. Mrazek made an insane left pad kick out for his best save of the game so far.

Now it was Tampa’s turn for their first power play of the game. This time, it was Detroit left winger Gustav Nyquist getting the call just 9:06 into the game for slashing D-man Braydon Coburn. Nothing came from this power play as Detroit easily killed it off, but Tampa got another chance with just 38 seconds left in the first period. Lightning young buck Jonathan Drouin used his blazing speed to draw a hooking call from Wings defender Niklas Kronwall. The period ended with Tampa still on the PP.

Lightning fans were urging their team to start the second period off right with a power play goal. Nothing came from this PP because the Lightning only managed 2 weak shots. Just 2:53 later Tampa was back on the man advantage with Wings rookie Dylan Larkin getting a two-minute call for tripping Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn. This sent Tampa to their 3rd power play of the game but they maintained no shots. They did give up a short-handed breakaway opportunity to Detroit winger Riley Sheahan as he intercepted Victor Hedman’s D to D pass and went in all alone. Sheahan tried beating Bishop five-hole, but Bishop wasn’t having any of that and turned it away.

 

Kyle Quincey of the Red Wings took the games next penalty as he got called for hooking Tampa star Nikita Kucherov 9:47 into the second period. The Lightning weren’t able to get anything going again on their PP and only threw one shot on net during the two minutes. Then with just over eight minutes remaining Detroit defender Danny DeKeyser sprung Wings left winger Darren Helm on a breakaway with a blue line to blue line pass and sent Helm in all alone. Bishop was up to the task and turned Helm’s shot away with his right pad like it was nothing.

Detroit would then get their second power play of the game. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman got the trip to the box after holding Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg 14:01 into the second period. Just like the Lightning, it was Detroit’s turn to give up a prime shorthanded opportunity just 58 seconds into their PP. Lightning grinder Brian Boyle came down the left-hand side and picked out streaking defender Jason Garrison. He then threw the puck in the direction for Garrison to skate into. Garrison skated to the bouncing puck sitting in the slot and swatted at it with one hand and redirected the puck on goal. Unfortunately, Mrazek made a spectacular pad save to keep it tied 0-0.

Then with just 1:30 remaining in the second period, Lightning defender Matt Carle overskated the puck at center ice. Detroit’s 19-year-old Dylan Larkin grabbed the sitting puck and was off the races all by himself. As Larkin came in on goalie Ben Bishop, he tried to fool hiUnknown-1m with a little stick handling. Bishop was unfooled and stoned Larkin with his blocker. This was Detroit’s third breakaway of the second period alone. Then jus 15 seconds later, Wings Henrik Zetterberg carried the puck into the offensive zone and picked his head up and saw a cutting Pavel Datsyuk. He hit Pavel with a mini breakaway pass and for some reason Datsyuk thought he could beat Bishop high like Larkin thought. Well, this did not work as Bishop shut down Datsyuk’s chance and calmly turned it away with his blocker.

The third period got off to a very slow start, the two teams traded shots back and forth, but nothing major. The first chance came with 2:53 remaining in the game thanks to Detroit new comer Mike Green. Wings right winger Tomas Tatar came flying into the zone and laid out a nice drop pass behind him. The pass found the stick of Mike Green and he took a couple steps in and fired a laser of a wrist shot, but Ben Bishop, once again, didn’t break a sweat and easily swallowed the shot up.

Now with just 1:43 remaining in the game, the first and only goal was scored. Lightning right winger Ryan Callahan cleverly picked off goalie Petr Mrazek’s behind the net pass. He then, quickly, turned around and fired a pass to top line left winger Alex Killorn who was sitting in the slot and he slammed the puck into the wide open net to give the Lighting the late 1-0 lead. This goal was Killorn’s 13th career playoff goal and 4th goal in 5 playoff games this year.

Detroit pulled their goalie Mrazek with 1:12 left in the game desperate for a tying goal. They even got help, because Lightning D-man Jason Garrison took his second senseless penalty of the game. He cross-checked Henrik Zetterberg with 43 seconds remaining in the game and the Wings got a 6 on 4 man advantage. This advantage did not help at all as Detroit were only able to achieve 1 shot total.

Killorn’s late period goal stood as the game and the series winner. Tampa Bay now moves on to face the winner of the Florida/New York matchup that is currently tied 2-2 in the series.

Detroit goalkeeper Petr Mrazek finished the game saving 23 out of 24 shots for a .958 SV%. While Lightning goalie Ben Bishop was unbeatable stopping 34 out of 34 shots for his first perfect game of the playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s top points leader was Nikita Kucherov with 8 points in 5 games (5G, 3A), the top geno (goals) leader was Kucherov (5G), and the top apple (assists) leader was Tyler Johnson with 5. The Lightning also had defender Victor Hedman who averaged 27:01 TOI (Total On Ice) per game, while Ben Bishop finished with a 4-1 record, a .950 SV%, and a 1.61 GAA in 5 games. The Detroit Red Wings top points leader was Tomas Tatar with 3 points in 5 games (0G, 3A), the top geno (goals) leader was an 8 player tie for first with one goal (Mike Green, Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist, Brad Richards, Dylan Larkin, Darren Helm, and Andreas Athanasiou), and top apple (assist) leader was also Tomas Tatar with 3. The Wings TOI (Time On Ice) leader was Danny Dekeyser who averaged 21:48. Jimmy Howard finished with a 0-2 record, .891 SV%, and a 3.59 GAA in 2 games. Detroit’s star goalie Petr Mrazek finished with a 1-2 with a .945 SV%, and a 1.35 GAA in 3 games.

The Lightning will now wait until their next series starts while the Red Wings will start their golfing season earlier than they hoped for. Meanwhile, every Red Wings fan will be on the edge of their seat this offseason. As they await word from Pavel Datsyuk to see if he is going to play in the NHL next year, or go back to Russia and play in the KHL. Tampa Bay ended up winning the series in 5 games by a total of 4-1.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Playoff Recaps

Michal Neuvirth Finally Gets the Chance to Shine, Earns A Huge Win to Avoid the Series Sweep.

Philadelphia Flyers LogoThe Philadelphia Flyers earned a vital win by the score of 2-1 Wednesday night over the Washington Capitals in a rocking Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers were led by Czech-born goaltender Michal Neuvirth who made a stellar 31 saves.

Finally, Flyers head Coach Dave Hakstol looked to his “number 2” goaltender Michal Neuvirth to provide momentum for his club. In my opinion, this coaching move came a game short, because clearly Neuvirth should have started Game 3! On the other hand, Capitals goalie Braden Holtby looked to continue his hot start to the series. Coming into Game 4, Holtby has stopped 93 out of 95 shots thrown his way in three games for an amazing .978% SV and a mindblowing .67 GAA with one shutout under his belt.

The beginning of the game started very fast. With each team going back and forth, trading shots off the post. The games first penalty went Capitals defender Taylor Chorney as he interfered with Flyers center Nick Cousins just 5:03 into the game. This sent the Flyers to their awful power play, who prior to game 3 were a dreadful 0/13 on the man advantage. So the Flyers were looking to grab a quick and early goal and that’s exactly what they did thanks to rookie sensation Shayne Gostisbehere. Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds dished the puck to the slot intended for Brayden Schenn, his stick got lifted and the puck went right to “Ghost’s” stick. He passed the puck to superstar center Claude Giroux who passed it right back to Shayne, who then moved it back to Giroux, and then received a perfect pass right in his wheel house! Ghost unleashed a massive one-timer from the point and beat Holtby high blocker side just 48 seconds into the PP to send the crowd into a frenzy. The goal was Gostisbehere’s first career playoff goal.

The Capitals looked to jump right back and tie the game. Just 26 seconds later Caps youngster Evgeny Kuznetsov came down the right-hand side and let a powerful wrister go, but Michal Neuvirth stood tall and shut that opportunity down faster then you could say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

This next part was one of the scariest moments in Flyers winger, Scott Laughton’s career. Scott Laughton was skating for the puck in the corner and also involved in a hard battle with Caps D-man John Carlson. Laughton got over-powered by Carlson and taken down unintentionally HARD into the boards banging his head and neck in both an awkward way. Laughton attempted to get up but just laid motionlessly behind Holtby’s net. This was definitely a scary sight for any hockey fan or player to see. He was then stretchered off the ice  10-15 minutes later after being tended to by the trainers, then was taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary measures. Everyone here at Down The Frozen River wishes a speedy recovery!

The Flyers jumped right off the bat in the second period looking to extend their 1-0 lead. Just 31 seconds into the second-period Flyers captain Claude Giroux flew down the right-hand side throwing a wrister towards the net and finding the stick of Brayden Schenn. He then put a nasty redirection on target, but Braden Holtby denied that chance with ease.

Then with 16:09 remaining in the second the Flyers finally got their second goal they were pushing for. Brayden Schenn came down the right side, stopped on a dime at the point, and threw a weak wrister on net that was easily handled by Holtby, and waffleboarded into the corner. Flyers power forward Wayne Simmonds collected the rebound in the corner and dished it up to defenseman Andrew MacDonald at the point who then drilled a laser beating Holtby to his right for the 2-0 lead. This was MacDonald’s 2nd career playoff goal.

Washington Capitals LogoThe Flyers would then take their first penalty of the contest just six minutes later. This time, it was Philly right winger Sam Gagner getting a two minute trip to the box after interference agaisnt Washington’s vet Justin Williams. This would send the Caps to their sizzling power play. Coming into Game 4 they were a lethal 8/17 on the manpower advantage with 5 of their 6 goals scored in Game 3 coming on the PP. Well, the Flyers were up to the tall order and only gave up one shot during the two minutes and killed it off with poise.

The Capitals would then grab another infraction, this time, with Nicklas Backstrom going to the box for holding D-man Andy MacDonald. This sent the Flyers to their second power play of the game, but this one did not last long at all. Flyers stud Jakub Voracek got the call for holding Caps enforcer Jay Beagle just 28 seconds into their PP. So the two teams ended the second with 4 aside hockey.

The third period couldn’t have started off any better for the Capitals and any worse for the Flyers. Just 2:38 into the third-period Capitals defender Karl Alzner gave his D partner Matt Niskanen a perfect cross ice pass. Niskanen received the pass and threw a wrister towards Neuvirth in hope for a rebound. He got just want he wanted, as Neuvirth made the save but was unable to corral the rebound and it squirted free right to the stick of Caps hot offseason addition T.J. Oshie. Oshie grabbed the juicy rebound and lifted it right over the sprawling Neuvirth’s pad to get the Capitals on the board and make it 2-1.

Washington would get two more prime scoring chances to tie the game. The first one coming with 10:52 remaining in the game. John Carlson found his partner Nate Schmidt open up for a one-timer on the top of the right faceoff dot. Schmidt rifled a slap shot to the net, but right into Neuvirth’s chest. Then exactly three minutes later, Washington right winger Marcus Johansson fired the puck on net from the left dot, Neuvirth made the easy save but let the rebound sit right in the crease for the taking. Caps enforcer Tom Wilson noticed the sitting puck in the blue paint and took a wrister but was absolutely robbed by the glove of Neuvirth, I mean complete larceny!

The Flyers would end up holding off the Caps final onslaught of shots to grab a critical 2-1 win. Washington controlled most of the third period, but the only reason why Philadelphia was able to hold on was because of their goalie Michal Neuvirth. It was the Flyers 1st playoff win in their last 5 playoff games.

Michal Neuvirth was phenomenal to say the lease, stopping 31 out of 32 shots, for a .969%. While Caps tendy Braden Holtby turned away 23 out of 25 shots for a .920%. This was Neuvirth’s 3rd start in the last month in half due to injury. So I would say he didn’t miss a beat!

Washington lead in shots (32-25) and faceoffs (29-27). The Flyers lead in hits (42-38), blocks (28-12) and giveaways (12-11). Philly converted once on the power play but finished 1/2 while Washington went 0/2.

Flyers earned a decisive win to avoid the sweep and grab their first win of the series (3-1). These teams will go to Washington on Friday night where the Capitals will look to put away the pesky Flyers on home ice and clinch the seires. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm and the game can be seen on NBCSN, CBC, CSN-DC, and CSN-PH.

Categories
Playoff Recaps

Frederik Andersen and Chris Stewart Lead the Ducks to a Crucial Game 3 Win

 

The Anaheim Ducks took care of the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-0 on Tuesday night in the heart of the music city. The Ducks were led by an unlikely hero, right winger Chris Stewart. He picked up a goal and an assist in tonight’s contest.

You were able to tell at the immediate start of the game that the Predators fans were amped up and ready to go. The fans stuck to their 14-year tradition dating back to 2002 and ended up throwing not one, not two, but THREE huge catfish on the ice. So the Bridgestone Arena was all ready to go, but unfortunately, the result was not what they were hoping for. While the Ducks, on the other hand, were looking to build off of their outstanding 23-11-7 record away from the Honda Center (their home rink) during the regular season.

The Anaheim Ducks decided to move away from their young goaltender John Gibson after his underperformances in Games 1 and 2. Ducks skipper Bruce Boudreau turned to his usual number 1 goalie Frederik Andersen, who hasn’t played since the season finale on April 10th, to help backstop the Ducks and hope to propel them to a Game 3 win.

The first scoring chance went to Ducks young center Rickard Rakell just 5 minutes into the game with a quick snapshot from the right dot. Although, Predators superstar goalie Pekka Rinne was sublime and snared the puck out of the air. Nashville then counters with a great chance just a minute later with Pred’s left winger Colin Wilson driving to the slot and ripping a shot, but Andersen was up to the task and made his save look even easier.

The first goal of the game came with 9:55 remaining in the first period. Predator’s youngster Anthony Bitetto committed a horrendous turnover in his own defensive end. Ducks winger Chris Stewart picked up the loose puck, dropped it off to Shawn Horcoff, who then drew two Nashville defenders to him and spotted Duck’s left winger Jamie McGinn open on the right side and slid a pass over to him and he hammered it home to open up the scoring. It was McGinn’s 3rd career playoff goal and first of the 2016 playoffs.

Then a minute later at 8:13 remaining in the period Pred’s right winger James Neal took the game’s first penalty by catching Anaheim defenseman Simon Despres up high with his stick. This sent the Ducks to the power play where they looked to build on their  1-0 lead but only had one shot and never gained any great scoring chances.

Simon Despres looked to add to his team’s lead himself when he was spotted by Ducks vet Ryan Getzlaf with a beauty of a backhand pass from the corner. Although, Rinne stood tall and stoned his one-timer to keep the ducks lead at one. Also to end the period, Despres took down Nashville’s Mike Fisher with 41 seconds left in the first to earn a two-minute spot in the sin bin. This sent the Predators to their first PP of the game.

Nashville opened up the second period still on the power play looking to tie the game early. Unfortunately, Anaheim had an awesome penalty kill and only gave up 3 weak shots. Nashville would then go back on the PP with Jamie McGinn tripping Predators left winger Filip Forsberg  just eight minutes later, but just like before, it did not amount to anything.

Just 3:37 later the Ducks add another goal, courtesy of Ducks center Rickard Rakell. Ducks winger Corey Perry fed a nice pass to defenseman Sami Vatanen who let a wrist shot go from the point that found Rakell in front for a beautiful tip just over Rinne’s pad. This was also Rakell’s 3rd career playoff goal and first of his 2016 playoff campaign.

Believe it or not,then 5:37 later Anaheim tacked on another goal to push its lead to 3-0. This time, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, after receiving a pass from defenseman Hampus Lindholm, drove right down main street, making moves left and right and pulled the puck into the corner going untouched. From there he spotted a streaking Christ Stewart in the slot and hit him with a superb pass. Stewart corralled the pass, threw a quick shot that was swiftly turned away from Rinne with a pad save. Then, immediately got his own rebound and lifted a backhand shot right over Rinne’s blocker for his first goal of the playoffs.

With 1:53 remaining in the second Duck’s D-man Cam Fowler took an interference penalty on Pred’s center Mike Ribeiro. This sent the Predator’s on the 3rd PP of the game, but just like the previous two resulted in nothing special.

The third period had little to no action at all, a couple shots here and there but nothing big. Ducks right winger Jakob Silfverberg slashed Mike Ribero sending the Pred’s to their 4th PP just 29 seconds into the third period. Everyone in the building and all the fans begged and pleaded for a goal or just some momentum going their team’s way but never got it. The only exciting play on this power play was Ryan Johansen beating Simon Despres behind the net, then played the puck in front but Andersen had that play covered up. The Pred’s last PP came just five minutes later with the Ducks picking up a bench minor for too many men. This, just like the other power plays, resulted in nothing special again. They simply need to produce on the man advantage if the want to win the series and win the Cup.

With 8:26 remaining in the game Predators winger Calle Jarnkrok slashed Jamie McGinn’s stick and broke it right in half to cap off a terrible night for all Predators players. This sent the Ducks on their second and last PP of the game, nothing came from it. Nashville would get their last good scoring chance with six minutes remaining with a shot coming from the point from Pred’s D-man Ryan Ellis firing a low hard wrister from the point which was calmly saved by Andersen capping off a big night from the Dane.

The Predators would then pull Pekka Rinne with 2:19 remaining in the game in hopes of a miracle comeback, but clearly it did not work at all. On the other hand, Duck’s goalie Frederik Andersen had a huge night! He stopped all 27 shots Nashville threw at him for his second career playoff shutout. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne stopped 18 out of 21 shots and finished with an awful .857%

The Predators outshot the Ducks (27-21) lead in faceoffs (33-30) and giveaways (14-3). While the Ducks lead in hits (29-27) penalty minutes (10-4) and blocked shots (15-11). Anaheim went 0/2 on the power play and Nashville went for a dreadful 0/5.

It was also a special night for Anaheim Ducks captain, Ryan Getzlaf as he played in his 100th career playoff game. He now holds the record for most playoff games played by a Duck after passing long-time Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin.

This was a huge win for the Ducks because they avoid going down 3-0 and cut Nashville’s lead down to 2 games to 1 (2-1). These teams will be back at it on Thursday night back here in Nashville, Tennesee at 8 pm EST. The game can be caught on NHLN-US, FX-CA, or FS-TN.

Categories
Playoff Recaps

Roberto Luongo, Bjugstad, and Smith Overpower New York to Even Up the Series.

The Florida Panthers defeated the New York Islanders by the score of 2-1 on Friday night in front of a rocking 18,373 at the BB&T Center. The Panthers were led by their All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo who made 41 saves in their winning effort.

Both teams started off the game by sending their 4th line to the opening faceoff to try to gain momentum. This worked in favor of both sides being that just 42 seconds into the game there already was a scrum. The scrum involved the two team’s enforcers Shawn Thornton and Matt Martin but didn’t amount to anything. Just three minutes later on the Panthers sixth shot, Rielly Smith (his 3rd goal in just two games) scored the game’s first goal off a juicy rebound from Thomas Greiss, assisted by Nick Bjugstad and Johnathan Huberdeau.

Rocco Grimaldi took the game’s first penalty just two minutes later after he took down Islanders center, Alan Quine. This would send the Islanders to the power power where they looked to even up to score. They were able to sustain a good amount of pressure, but with just one weak shot from the point, it never amounted to anything great. Then 12 minutes later Panthers left winger Garret Wilson tripped Islanders left winger Shane Prince resulting in their second power play of the period. Unfortunately, this PP was worse than the first one resulting in no shots. So, the first period ended 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.

The second period started just like the first, with both coaches sending out their 4th line to set the tone, but this time nothing happened. The first prime scoring chance and momentum went to the Panthers at 17:04 of the second period from veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov after Greiss shut down his first shot from the slot with a great toe/blocker save. Then just 3 minutes and 21 seconds later Dmitry Kulikov found Reilly Smith behind the net who then found a cutting Nick Bjugstad (who slipped poor coverage from Islanders right-winger Josh Bailey) with a spinning backhand pass and Bjugstad roofed his first of the playoffs to open the Panthers scoring tab in the second period.

With 1:27 remaining in the second period we had our games first major altercation. Of course, you might have even guessed it, it involved both teams 4th line again! The Islanders enforcers went at it trying to gain energy for their team who were down 2-0 at the time. It seemed that everyone on the ice had a man tied up and were going back and forth. Before it all started, the pesky Casey Cizikas gave Panthers D-man Aaron Ekblad a shot below the belt and his teammates didn’t like that and a brawl commenced. After everything settled down, a total of 6 penalties were handed out, with both teams sending 3 players to the box. Believe it or not, each player on the 4th line for both teams got two minutes for roughing with Cizikas getting an extra penalty for the low blow. So, the Panthers went on their first power play, but it resulting in nothing special.

The start of the third period was a slow one, with no team truly gaining momentum. One of the first actions of the period was at the 15:47 mark of the third period when Cal Clutterbuck made two beautiful toe drags to gain the zone and gave Panthers defenseman Alex Petrovic no choice but to drag Clutterbuck down and go to the box for holding. The Islanders would then get their third PP of the game. They grabbed three high-quality shots during the 2-minute span, but Roberto Luongo was up to the task and kept the shots out of his net.

Then with 3:33 seconds remaining in the game, the Islanders were able to ultimately get one past the stellar Luongo with their 40th shot of the game. With their superstar, John Tavares corralling Nick Leddy’s point shot off the boards and slamming the puck past Luongo’s right pad for his second of the playoffs. Also, Kyle Okposo grabbed the secondary apple (assist) on the goal. They then pulled goaltender Thomas Greiss for the extra attacker pushing for that tying goal. They only managed two shots, but “Lu” wasn’t having any of it and shut the door. The Panthers would then ice the game on an empty net goal scored by Dmitry Kulikov assisted by Aleksander Barkov at 19:51 of the third period.

New York outshot Florida 42-31 and outhit the Panthers 32-22. While Florida won in the faceoff category 36-27, lead in giveaways 13-9, and blocked shots 12-8. Florida was 0/1 on the power play while New York was 0/3.

First Start Roberto Luongo would earn his first playoff win since 2011 when he was with the Vancouver Canucks after saving 41 out of 42 shots (.976%). While Thomas Greiss, who played a great game, gets stuck with the loss after saving 28 out of 30 shots (.933%).

The series is now tied at one game apiece (1-1).  Both teams will now grab a flight up north to Brooklyn, New York for Game 3 on Sunday with puck drop scheduled for 8 PM. You can catch this matchup on NBCSN, SN, MSG+, or FS-F.

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Uncategorized

How the Flyers Got Here (and Where They’ll Go)

Frank Fanelli officially joins Down the Frozen River with his first post and explains what it felt like for Philadelphia Flyers fans heading into this weekend’s action and how far he thinks the Flyers will be able to go in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers Logo

By: Frank Fanelli

As the Flyers geared up for their playoff push, for us Flyers fans, it felt like the 2009-2010 season all over again. That season, the Flyers were very shaky- going up and down in the standings battling for a playoff spot with the New York Rangers. In their last 12 games, the 2009-2010 Flyers went 2-10, which was terrible down the stretch, but somehow it all came down to the very last game of the regular season against the Rangers. Philadelphia eventually won 2-1 in a nerve-wracking shootout.

This year is very much just like that year in all aspects of the season. In their first 20 games the Flyers went a disappointing 6-14 to start the season. When I first saw this start to the season I thought to myself “Oh boy, here’s to another disappointing season with no postseason play” I was livid with their start because this year I thought it was going to be so much different.

Well, their mid-season form took to full affect just like always, going back and forth with win after win then a string of loss after loss. It really wasn’t a promising sight. I mean the Flyers were still in contention but I thought nothing of it because they never showed any potential to creep into a playoff spot. Now that has completely changed!

On March 3rd the Flyers sat at 29-34, just out of a playoff spot and got a huge wakeup call by getting thrashed 4-0 to the mediocre Edmonton Oilers— AT home nonetheless! This, without a doubt in my mind, was a call to action for the Philly squad, coming back the next game and demolishing the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0 and kick started this team’s push to the playoffs.

The Flyers then went on a resurgent 10-7 run in their next 17, leading up to their record at 39-27-13 with 91 points entering Friday— barely hanging on to that last Wild Card spot. From then, I believed the Flyers would make the playoffs because of the way they had been playing lately. They had 3 games remaining on their schedule, against the below average Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins (who are on fire), and a strong New York Islanders team to end their season.

*Editor’s note: The Flyers lost, 4-3, in overtime to the Maple Leafs, and then beat the Penguins and Islanders to cap off their season, if you’ve been under a rock. Although by now, hopefully you know they’re in and the matchups have been determined.*

Prior to clinching, I believed that if the Flyers wanted to make the playoffs, they were going to have to realize they needed to pick up their play! The Flyers would make the playoffs because they have played very solid as a whole team and they would realize this and push to the end.

Philadelphia will play the Washington Capitals, who locked up the President’s Trophy with the best record in the NHL, in the first round of the playoffs. These two teams split the 4-game season series 2-2, with both teams trading wins back and forth. These 4 games were always a constant battle with the Capitals outscoring the Flyers 12 goals to 10. Also 3 of the 4 games were separated by only 1 goal with 2 of the games going past regulation. Philadelphia won both of those games. The Flyers are 110-78-19 overall against the Capitals. Going 2-2 against them in 4 playoff series matchups dating back to 1984, with 3 of the 4 series matchups going to 6 or 7 games!

So clearly the facts are all there for it to be a very close and intense playoff matchup, which any hockey fan will love to watch. I think the Flyers will battle the Capitals in an intense 6 game series favoring the Flyers in the end, but this is where I think their “Cinderella” type season will come to an end.

I just do not see the Flyers making a long run in this year’s playoffs, especially with how hot the Penguins, Lightning, Panthers and even the Rangers have been playing lately. Even with Michal Neuvirth projected to be back in the lineup, ready and healthy for the playoffs. The Flyers simply do not have enough fire power in their offense.

For example, their star captain Claude Giroux through 79 games only had 66 points when he was projected to reach 81. Their second in “command” Jakub Voracek only had 53 points through 70 games when he was originally projected to have 73. These two players are clear examples on why Philadelphia will go out in the second round because they do not have enough offensive prowl.

Let alone their very shaky defense, which has a very hard time scoring as well. Their top scorer, rookie sensation Shayne Gostisbehere, who had an astonishing 43 points in 61 games up to Friday, which ranked 7th in scoring among rookies. Other than “Ghost” they have no offensive production from their defense, who also can be exploited for a good amount of goals which is very risky.

michal-neuvirth-steve-mason
Michal Neuvirth (Left) with Steve Mason (right) (USA Today Images)

Last but not least their goalies are sub-par to say the least. Their “rock” Steve Mason, as of late, in his last 15 games leading up to Friday, went 9-4-2 with a .950% SV and a 2.10 GAA. He has had to fill in for Neuvirth, because before Neuvirth got hurt, he was basically the starter. So Mason has been a HUGE part of the Flyers success in their recent games, but I do not see Mason being a productive starter in the postseason.

The reason why is because of his measly playoff record, going 2-6 with a .907% and a 3.11 GAA in 8 starts with Columbus and Philly. Even if Michal Neuvirth is able to come back in time (which he is, as of Sunday) for the playoffs— his playoff record is 4-5 with a .914% and a 2.30 GAA in 9 starts with Washington.

Clearly, as you can tell, both of these goalies have proven that neither of them are a reliable playoff starter. With the Flyers low offensive production, shaky defense, and unreliable goaltending, these are just a couple of prime examples as to why the Flyers will bow out in the second round of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Podcasts

Down the Frozen River Podcast #30- College Night (Feat. Frank Fanelli)

The Down the Frozen River crew continues to grow as they welcome Frank to the team and talk about recent college signings and Jimmy Vesey, as well as the NHL email dump and the wild card battle leading up to the final week of the NHL’s 2015-2016 regular season. Stay tuned next week for more guests on the show and NCAA Frozen Four coverage. As always, hear what the DTFR Crew has to say about the latest news and notes from the NHL, right here on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

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