Down the Frozen River

Tag: Henrik Lundqvist

March 23 – Day 160 – Rubber game

It was an easy game plan for the Lightning in yesterday’s Game of the Day, as they used two goals a period to beat the Red Wings 6-2.

Tampa Bay earned the lead they would not yield after only 1:47 of play courtesy of a First Star of the Game Erik Condra wrister, assisted by Third Star Ondrej Palat (his 16th helper of the season) and Brian Boyle. Vladislav Namestnikov doubled that lead 8:08 later with a wrister of his own, assisted by J.T. Brown (his 14th helper of the season). Starting the formula, the Bolts held their at those two tallies for the remainder of the period.

Even quicker than they scored in the first period, Tampa scored their game-winning goal in the second. Steven Stamkos fired a wrister only 33 seconds after resuming play (his 34th tally of the season), assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Second Star Victor Hedman. Detroit began trying to stage a comeback, as they also scored two goals in the second – the first of which found the back of the net at the 8:08 mark on a Justin Abdelkader power play wrister, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg (his 32nd helper of the season) and Niklas Kronwall. With 4:35 remaining in the frame, the Wings pulled within a goal after Darren Helm fired a wrister assisted by Pavel Datsyuk (his 27th helper of the season) and Anthony Mantha, but Tampa scored their first of three insurance goals 2:17 later on a Kucherov power play wrister (his 28th tally of the season), assisted by Tyler Johnson and Stamkos to nip that in the bud. The 4-2 score held into the second intermission.

Another quick start gave the Lightning a two goal advantage, as Palat’s backhander only 1:03 after resuming play, assisted by Johnson and Hedman (his 34th helper of the season) extended their lead to three. The Bolts‘ final tally was Condra’s second of the game, assisted by Boyle at the 16:56 mark, setting the score at the 6-2 final.

Ben Bishop earns the win after saving 23 of 25 shots faced (92%), while Jimmy Howard takes the loss after saving 13 of 16 (81.3%). He was replaced after Stamkos’ second period goal by Petr Mrazek, who saved 15 of 18 (83.3%) for no decision.

Tampa Bay‘s win makes it two straight for the home sides, setting the DtFR Game of the Day series at 72-41-17, favoring the home sides by 33 points over the roadies.

I hope you enjoyed all the games yesterday, because this evening has only two matchups to offer. Even better, they’re both occurring not even five miles apart, so it’s doubtful they’re happening anywhere near you. The first drops the puck at 7 p.m. between Ottawa and the New York Islanders (TVAS/SN), followed an hour later by Boston visiting the New York Rangers (NBCSN/SN1).

Seeing as Ottawa trails Philadelphia by seven points for the final spot in the postseason, we’ve gotta keep an eye on the important battle for playoff position that will take place in Madison Square Garden.

Tonight’s game will be Boston‘s 18th in the Game of the Day series where they own a 7-9-1 record, with their most recent being their 4-0 loss in Anaheim on Friday. New York has been featured 19 times before tonight’s game, and own a 10-7-2 record such contests. Their most recent was March 13, a 5-3 loss on home ice to the Penguins.

The 39-26-8 Boston Bruins currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. It has been their offense that has gotten them there, as they’ve scored the third most goals, but also given up the 13th most scores. A more in-depth analysis of Boston‘s game can be found within Friday’s article.

A win tonight does two things for the Bruins, the less of which is expanding their lead over the Red Wings to five points for the final division qualifier. More important is catching the slipping Panthers for the second spot, and they would pull within a point of doing just that.

The 41-24-8 New York Rangers currently occupy second place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. They’ve also be a stronger offensive team, scoring the sixth most goals in the league, but give up the 15th most scores in the process.

Even with Derek Stepan’s 168 shots, the Rangers have fired the puck only 2084 times, but an incredible 9.8% have found the back of the net for 207 goals (led by Derick Brassard’s 25 tallies), the sixth most in the league. What is surprising about the Blueshirts‘ offensive success is that it is not very dependent on the power play, as their 18.37% success rate, good for only 36 extra man goals (led by Brassard’s eight power play tallies), ranks 15th worst in the NHL.

Even with Dan Girardi’s 182 blocks, New York has allowed 2204 shots to reach 32-19-6 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 192 goals against, the 15th most in the league. Even worse than the power play has been the penalty kill, as the Rangers have neutralized only 76.89% of their infractions to allow 49 power play goals, the third worst rate in the NHL.

Seeing as the Capitals have already clinched both the division and the conference, New York is now focused on securing the second seed in the Metropolitan. A win tonight would help them do that by extending their lead over third place Pittsburgh to four points, although the Pens will have two games in hand.

The season series between these squads is currently tied at 1-1-0, with the most recent meeting occurring January 11 in the World’s Most Famous Arena, a 2-1 victory for the home Rangers.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Brad Marchand (34 goals [tied for fourth most in the league] and +22 [10th best in the league]) & New York‘s Lundqvist (32 wins [tied for fifth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for sixth most in the league] and .922 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]) and Ryan McDonagh (+25 [eighth best in the league]).

Boston has the better offense, power play and penalty kill, so I’m leaning towards the Bruins winning the season series with a road victory tonight.

March 23, 2016
March 13 – Day 150 – Yup, Pittsburgh-New York again

They needed overtime, but the Blues beat the Stars 5-4 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Troy Brouwer scored St. Louis‘ first goal at the 8:47 mark of the first period with a snap shot, assisted by Robby Fabbri (his 16th helper of the season) and Paul Stastny, but the Stars leveled the game 2:19 later with a Cody Eakin backhander, assisted by Jamie Benn (his 43rd helper of the season) and Kris Russell. The one-all score held into the intermission.

Only 1:37 after resuming play, the Blues again took a lead, this time off a Vladimir Tarasenko wrister (his 33rd tally of the season), assisted by Jay Bouwmeester and Third Star of the Game Alex Pietrangelo, but once again Dallas leveled quickly, as Second Star Jason Spezza’s wrister (his 27th tally of the season), assisted by Tyler Seguin and Russell, found the back of the net 1:01 later. The Notes took control of the final 10 minutes of the second period, scoring two goals. The first crossed the goal line at the 10:19 mark, compliments of a First Star Kevin Shattenkirk wrap-around shot (his 11th tally of the season), assisted by Stastny and Jaden Schwartz. With 46 seconds remaining in the frame, Shattenkirk scored his second of the night on a slap shot, assisted by Schwartz and Tarasenko (his 28th helper of the season). The 4-2 score held into the second intermission.

Dallas responded to the Blues‘ two unanswered goals in the second with two of their own in the third, the first of which came courtesy of Spezza at the 6:02 mark, assisted by Ales Hemsky and Alex Goligoski. The lone power play goal of the night found the back of the net with only 1:12 remaining in regulation off a Benn tip-in, assisted by Seguin (his 39th helper of the season) and Goligoski. Neither team was able to break the tie before regulation, so the game moved into three-on-three overtime.

It took only 2:11 of overtime before Pietrangelo’s wrister, assisted by Stastny (his 28th helper of the season) and Fabbri, found the back of the net for the Blues‘ winner.

Jake Allen earns the win after saving 34 of 38 shots faced (89.5%), while Antti Niemi takes the overtime loss, saving 31 of 36 (86.1%).

After St. Louis‘ win, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 66-38-16, favoring the home teams by 28 points over the roadies.

With such a busy hockey Saturday, you probably need a rest. But, luckily for us, the people in charge of NHL scheduling are addicted to the game just as much as us and can’t just take a day off, so they gave us three games to watch today. The first of those games, Pittsburgh at the New York Rangers, drops the puck at 12:30 p.m. eastern on NBC. Game Two gets started at 3 p.m. eastern between Tampa Bay at Columbus, and this evening’s nightcap, Toronto at Detroit (NBCSN) goes underway at 7:30 p.m. eastern.

Two of today’s games are between division rivals (Pittsburgh at New York and Toronto at Detroit), but Pittsburgh at New York is the only game between teams currently qualifying the playoffs.

In addition to qualifying for both of those groups, the Pittsburgh–New York game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchups, so you know we’re watching that one!

This afternoon’s game will be Pittsburgh‘s 13th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 4-7-1 record. Their most recent appearance in such games was March 3, a 4-1 home victory over these Rangers. New York was featured again the day later in their 3-2 victory in Washington, their 18th showing in the series which set their record in such games at 10-6-2.

The 35-24-8 Pittsburgh Penguins are currently the fourth best team in the Metropolitan Division and eighth best in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wild card. To get to that position, the Pens have played the ninth best defense, paired with the 14th best offense.

Even with Kris Letang’s team-leading 94 blocks, the Penguins have allowed 2030 shots to reach 28-16-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.2% for 170 goals against, the ninth fewest in the league. Pittsburgh‘s defense especially clamps down when short a man, defending 83.65% of their penalties, allowing only 34 power play goals against, the sixth best rate in the NHL. Further improving on that rate, the Pens have also scored six shorthanded goals this season (led by Eric Fehr’s three shorties), one more than the league average.

The offense had a slow start to the season, but has grown throughout the season to become what we typically expect from Pittsburgh. Led by Phil Kessel’s 221 shots, the Penguins have fired the puck 2188 times, of which 8.3% have found the back of the net for 183 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 28 tallies), the 14th most in the league. The biggest struggle for the Pens seems to be the power play, as they are successful on only 18.31% of attempts, earning 39 extra man goals (led by the injured Evgeni Malkin’s 11 power play tallies), the 13th worst rate in the league.

Pittsburgh‘s last game was Friday, a 3-2 victory in Columbus. As long as the Penguins do anything better than losing in regulation, they will move ahead of Detroit for the first wildcard position, but Pittsburgh would prefer to earn two points to pull within two points of the Islanders for the final division qualifier.

The 39-22-7 New York Rangers currently occupy second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, the Rangers have played the seventh best offense, backed by the 12th best defense.

Even with Derick Brassard’s 150 shots, the Blueshirts have only fired the puck 1925 times, but 9.8% have found the back of the net for 192 goals (led by Brassard’s 24 tallies), the seventh most in the NHL. Just like the Penguins, New York‘s offensive special team has not been indicative of their scoring success, as they are successful on only 18.23% of attempts, good for 33 power play goals (led by Brassard’s seven extra man tallies), the 14th worst rate in the league.

Dan Girardi’s 162 blocks have helped lead the Blueshirts to allowing only 1990 shots to reach 31-17-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 173 goals against, the 12th fewest in the league. The biggest hole in New York‘s game has been their penalty kill, whose 77.39% kill rate that has allowed 45 power play goals ranks fourth worst in the league.

The Rangers‘ most recent game was a 3-2 overtime loss in Detroit yesterday. Currently, the Blueshirts have only a three point lead over their Brooklyn-based rivals, but a win today would improve that spread to five points.

The season series is currently tied 1-1-0, but this is the first visit by the Penguins to Madison Square Garden this campaign. The last time these teams met was 10 days ago, when the Penguins beat the Rangers 4-1. Last postseason, these two squads met in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Rangers easily took care of the opposition in five games before eventually falling in the Eastern Finals.

Some players to keep an eye on in this afternoon’s game include New York‘s Lundqvist (31 wins [fifth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for seventh best in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (67 points [sixth most in the league] and 28 goals [10th most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for second most in the league] and 28 wins [tied for seventh most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+28 [tied for second best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+26 [tied for fourth best in the league]).

We’ve covered both of the previous games between these two squads, and both times I predicted the Rangers to win. While the Blueshirts are the better team overall, their poor special team play, specifically the penalty kill, always allows other teams the chance to beat them. Should Pittsburgh get under New York‘s skin, this one could go the way of the visitors.

March 13, 2016
March 4 – Day 141 – I’ll take Washington for 100, Alex
I predicted that the New York Rangers would easily handle the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the Game of the Day actually went the opposite way, as the Pens won 4-1.

The first goal of the game wasn’t scored until the 36:50 mark, the lone tally for the Blueshirts. It was a Chris Kreider wrister, assisted by Mats Zuccarello (his 27th helper of the season) and Ryan McDonagh. Pittsburgh leveled the score only 57 seconds later with a wrister from Sidney Crosby, assisted by Carl Hagelin and Kris Letang (his 38th helper of the season). Evgeni Malkin’s game-winner crossed the goal line at the 18:08 mark (his 25th tally of the season), assisted by Chris Kunitz and Trevor Daley. The Penguins‘ three-goal period was completed with only 34 seconds remaining, courtesy of a Patric Hornqvist tip-in, assisted by Phil Kessel (his 22nd helper of the season) and Malkin.

Only one goal was scored in the third, courtesy of a Kessel wrister assisted by Malkin (his 29th helper of the season) on an empty net.

Marc-Andre Fleury earns the win after saving 27 of 28 (96.4%), while Henrik Lundqvist takes the loss, saving 19 of 22 (86.4%). He was replaced for the third period by Antti Raanta, who saved all three shots he faced.

The DtFR Game of the Day now stands at 64-34-13, favoring the home sides by 36 points over the roadies.

Only three games are being played on this first Friday of March, and two of them drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (the New York Rangers at Washington [NHLN] and Edmonton at Columbus). This evening’s nightcap, New Jersey at Dallas, drops the puck at 8:30 p.m. eastern.

The New York–Washington game is our Game of the Day for a variety of reasons:
1. It’s our only divisional matchup.
2. It’s our only game between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.
3. It’s a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.
4. Washington has the opportunity to earn their 100th point in the standings, which surely is the NHL version of Lawler’s Law, but for qualifying for the playoffs.
Tonight’s game will be New York‘s 18th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 9-6-2 record. Washington has played 13 games in the series before tonight’s game, and own a 10-3-0 record in such games. Their most recent showing in the series was Wednesday, when they beat the Maple Leafs 3-2.

The 37-21-6 New York Rangers currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. They play the seventh best offense in the league, paired with the ninth best defense. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within yesterday’s article.

Yesterday’s 4-1 loss ended the Rangers‘ win-streak at three. A win tonight is important, as the Islanders are not active, giving the Blueshirts the opportunity to advance their lead for second to five points.

The 47-12-4 Washington Capitals currently occupy the top spot in the division, conference and league by at least 13 points. They play a well-rounded game, but that seems to gives the impression that they don’t do anything particularly well – that’s about the exact opposite of the Caps. They’ve scored the second most goals in the league, paired with giving up the second least. A more in-depth analysis of Washington‘s play can be found in Wednesday’s article.

Washington has won their last two games played, with their most recent being their 3-2 victory over the Leafs on Wednesday. A win tonight for the home side improves their lead for the Metropolitan Division to an even 20 points.

Washington currently leads the season series 3-1-0, with the most recent game occurring January 17, a 5-2 Capitals win in Washington. These squads also met last season in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with New York winning the deciding Game Seven on home ice before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Conference Finals.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (31 wins [tied for fourth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (43 assists [tied for fifth most in the league] and 60 points [10th most in the league]), Braden Holtby (40 wins [leads the league], 2.22 GAA [tied for eighth best in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+30 [leads the league], 46 assists [tied for third most in the league] and 66 points [fifth most in the league]) and Alex Ovechkin (41 goals [leads the league] and +24 [tied for fourth best in the league]).

It’s always tough to pick against the best team in the league, regardless of location. Giving them home ice this evening should be more than enough to give the Capitals the edge over the Rangers.
March 4, 2016
March 3 – Day 140 – Double down on the Blueshirts

Brooks Laich’s return to Washington was almost a successful one, as the Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the Capitals by only a score of 3-2.

Washington scored two of their three goals in the first period, all in the span of 28 seconds. Taylor Chorney’s first goal of the season was also the Caps‘ first of the night, scored at the 18:15 mark. His wrister was assisted by T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov (his 46th helper of the season). Alex Ovechkin doubled Washington‘s lead with a slap shot (his 41st tally of the season), assisted by Nicklas Backstrom and Oshie.

The lone goal of the second period pulled the Maple Leafs back within a goal, scored at the 1:37 mark courtesy of Nikita Soshnikov’s first tally of the season, assisted by Nazem Kadri (his 23rd helper) and Matt Hunwick.

Toronto leveled the score at two-all only 8:16 into the third period, courtesy of a Colin Greening snap shot, assisted by Peter Holland (his 17th helper of the season) and Connor Carrick. The Capitals‘ winner found the back of the net at the 9:31 mark when Matt Niskanen scored on the power play, assisted by Backstrom (his 43rd helper of the season) and Oshie.

Philipp Grubauer earns the win after saving 27 of 29 (93.1%), while Jonathan Bernier takes the loss, saving 20 of 23 shots (87%).

Washington‘s win is the second in the row for home squads, setting the season record at 63-34-13, 34 points better than the roadies.

It’s a busy Thursday in the greatest hockey league in the world, as 24 teams are in action this evening. Eight of those teams drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh [NHLN], Chicago at Boston, Calgary at Buffalo and Edmonton at Philadelphia), followed half an hour later by two more games (Tampa Bay at Ottawa and Minnesota at Toronto). 8 p.m. eastern brings with it the beginning of two games (New Jersey at Nashville and the New York Islanders at Winnipeg), with another couple trailing an hour later (Florida at Colorado and Anaheim at Arizona). San Jose at Vancouver drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern, and this evening’s nightcap, Montréal at Los Angeles, gets its start at 10:30 p.m. eastern.

Four of tonight’s games are between divisional rivals (New York at Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay at Ottawa, Anaheim at Arizona and San Jose at Vancouver), and two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at Pittsburgh and Chicago at Boston). The New York–Pittsburgh game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tonight’s game is New York‘s 17th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 9-5-2 record. Their most recent in the series was February 21, a 1-0 overtime win over the Red Wings. Pittsburgh has been featured 11 times before tonight, and own a 3-7-1 in such games. Their most recent was February 24, a 5-1 beat down in Boston.

The 37-20-6 New York Rangers currently occupy second in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the sixth best offense in the league, paired with the ninth best defense.

Although he is still out on injury, Rick Nash’s 149 shots still leads the Blueshirts, who have only 1822 to their credit. A solid 9.7% of those attempts have found the back of the net for 180 goals (led by Derick Brassard’s 22 tallies), sixth most in the league. The most impressive part about New York‘s game is that most of that success has occurred at even strength, as their 17.44% success rate, good for only 30 power play goals, ranks seventh worst in the league.

Led by Dan Girardi’s 148 blocks, the Blueshirts have allowed only 1864 shots to reach 31-16-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 159 goals against, the ninth fewest in the league. Yet again, the Rangers‘ special teams let them down, as their 77.78% kill rate is fifth worst in the league.

New York is currently riding a three game win streak, with their most recent being a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on Monday. While a win tonight would pull the Rangers within 16 points of the Capitals, it more importantly has the opportunity to increase their lead over the Islanders to seven points.

The 32-22-8 Pittsburgh Penguins currently sit in fourth in the Metropolitan Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wildcard position. They’ve achieved that position by playing the 10th best defense, paired with the 14th worst offense.

Even with Kris Letang’s 90 blocks, the Pens have allowed 1900 shots to reach 26-14-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve saved 92.2% for 160 goals against, 10th fewest in the league. When a man down, Pittsburgh‘s defense has improved their play, killing 83.51% of their penalties for only 32 power play goals against, the seventh best rate in the league.

Led by Phil Kessel’s 201 shots, the Penguins have fired the puck 2035 times, but only 8.1% have found the back of the net for 167 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 25 tallies), 14th worst in the league. That lack of success has followed Pittsburgh to the power play, as their 18.18% success rate, good for only 36 goals (led by Evgeni Malkin’s 10 extra man tallies) is 13th worst in the league.

Pittsburgh‘s most recent game was a 3-2 loss in Washington on Tuesday. With a win today, Pittsburgh does not improve their position in the standings, but they do draw within a point of Detroit for the first wildcard position. That being said, a loss does put them at risk of having only a one point lead over the ninth place Flyers.

The Penguins and Rangers have met only once this season, a three goal shutout victory in Pittsburgh for the Blueshirts. They also met in the playoffs last season, where New York won 4-1.

Some players to keep an eye on include New York‘s Lundqvist (31 wins [tied for third most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .924 save percentage [tied for eighth best in the league]) and Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (60 points [tied for eighth most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for second most in the league] and 26 wins [tied for eighth most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+25 [third best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+23 [tied for sixth best in the league]).

To be honest, even with the Pens having home ice for the night, they have no business beating the Rangers. I expect a relatively easy New York win.

March 3, 2016
February 21 – Day 129 – Original Six in the Garden

The Pittsburgh Penguins extended their DtFR Game of the Day losing streak to six straight, falling to Tampa Bay 4-2 yesterday.

It was all Tampa Bay in the first period, as they scored two unanswered goals. The first of those tallies was an Anton Stralman wrister at the 9:08 mark, assisted by Vladislav Namestnikov (his 17th helper of the season) and Jonathan Marchessault. 2:12 later, Steven Stamkos got involved with his 24th goal of the season, a backhander assisted by Alex Kilorn and Matthew Carle.

The Bolts began the second right where they left the first, with Carle’s unassisted first goal of the season at the 3:14 mark. The Penguins finally got on the board 2:21 later, when Tom Kuhnhackl scored his first goal of the season, a short-hander no less. Tampa set the score at 4-1 with a tip-in from Tyler Johnson, assisted by Ondrej Palat (his 11th helper of the season) and Marchessault. With 3:59 remaining in the second, Pittsburgh got their second off a Scott Wilson wrister, assisted by Bryan Rust and Kris Letang (his 33rd helper of the season). The 4-2 score held into the second intermission and through the final period.

Ben Bishop earns the victory after saving 37 of 39 shots (94.9%), while Jeff Zatkoff takes the loss after saving 16 of 20 (80%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 57-30-12, favoring the home squad by 32 points over the roadies.

Twelve teams are in action today, and one of them is being played outside for everyone who thinks that’s fun. The day’s action gets started at 12:30 p.m. eastern when Pittsburgh visits Buffalo, followed three hours later by Chicago at Minnesota, the first of two games in the Stadium Series this year. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern features three puck drops (Calgary at Anaheim, Detroit at the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay at Carolina). The prestigious title of nightcap is bestowed to the Colorado at Vancouver game, which drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern.

Chicago at Minnesota and Calgary at Anaheim are the only two divisional rivalries being played today, and only the Detroit–New York game is between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs. The Chicago–Minnesota and Calgary–Anaheim games are also worth watching for being rematches of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals.

Although the NHL may not like it for all the effort they put into their outdoor games, it is the Detroit–New York game that attracts my attention best.

Tonight’s game will be Detroit‘s eighth in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 5-2-0 record. Their most recent was Valentine’s Day, when they beat the Bruins 6-5. New York will be playing in their 16th game in the series, where they own a 8-5-2 record. They’ve been featured more recently, falling 5-3 on home ice to the Blackhawks on Wednesday.

The 29-20-10 Detroit Red Wings currently sit in fourth in the Atlantic Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference, good enough to qualify them for the first wildcard position. To get to that position, they’ve played a slightly above-average defense, paired with a slightly below-average offense.

Thanks in part to Danny DeKeyser’s team-leading 79 blocks, the Red Wings have allowed only 1716 shots to reach 22-11-5 Petr Mrazek and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for 153 goals against, the 14th-fewest in the league. Just like the entire defensive unit, the penalty kill has also hung around average for much of this season. Currently, the Wings rank 15th-best, killing 80.73% for 34 extra-man goals against.

Rookie sensation Dylan Larkin has already become an integral part of Detroit‘s offense, as his 157 shots have helped lead the squad to 1695 shots, of which 8.7% have found the back of the net for 149 goals (led by Larkin’s 19 tallies), 13th-fewest in the league. Just like the penalty kill, this special team ranks just behind the overall offense. The Wings‘ 18.28% success rate ranks 12th-worst, and has provided 34 goals.

Detroit enters tonight game on a two-game losing skid, with their most recent being a 3-2 shootout loss in Ottawa last night. Should the Wings win, they have the potential to move back into third place in the Atlantic Division, but they will also need Tampa Bay to lose to Carolina. Should they lose, they do run the risk of falling into the second wildcard position should Pittsburgh beat Buffalo.

The 33-19-6 New York Rangers currently rank second-best in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the fifth-best offense in the NHL, which is backed by the ever-improving defense. A more in-depth analysis of the Blueshirts‘ style can be found within Wednesday’s article.

New York‘s most recent game was a 4-2 victory in Toronto on Thursday. Should the Rangers win, they improve their lead over their Brooklyn rivals to five points.

Today’s game is the first in this season’s series. Last season, Detroit won the series 2-0-1, with the overtime loss being the only game played in Madison Square Garden.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Detroit‘s Larkin (+21 [tied for eighth-best in the league]) and Mrazek (2.11 GAA [fourth-best in the league], four shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the league] and .927 save percentage [sixth-best in the league]) & New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (28 wins [tied for fourth-most in the league] and .922 save percentage [10th-best in the league]).

I don’t expect this to be much of a game. New York is a tough opponent, especially at home, and Detroit has not played well this week. I expect the Blueshirts to earn two points.

February 21, 2016
February 10 – Day 118 – It’s been 9.5 months…

So, I predicted a fantastic game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins in yesterday’s Game of the Day. Turns out, I was way off with that prediction, as the Kings won 9-2.

The first of the Bruins‘ two goals was scored after 5:03 of play on the power play, scored by Brad Marchand (his 25th goal of the season), assisted by Matt Beleskey and Zdeno Chara. Los Angeles leveled the score 13:18 later with a power play goal of their own via a Second Star of the Game Jeff Carter wrister, assisted by Jake Muzzin and First Star Drew Doughty (his 22nd helper of the season) and later took the lead with only 16 seconds remaining in the period when Marian Gaborik backhanded the puck into net (his 11th goal of the season), assisted by Vincent Lecavalier. The Kings‘ 2-1 lead held into the intermission.

Los Angeles continued their goal streak 2:42 after resuming play when Andy Andreoff scored his fourth tally of the season off a wrister, which eventually became the game-winner. 9:27 later, the score became 4-1 when Doughty backhanded power play goal into the net, assisted by Third Star Milan Lucic (his 19th helper of the season) and Gaborik. LA‘s third goal of the period occurred at the 12:42 mark when Dwight King tipped the puck into goal, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Carter (his 23rd helper of the season). 1:04 before the Bruins were saved by the bell, the Kings scored their fourth and final goal of the period, courtesy of Trevor Lewis off assists from Muzzin (his 25th helper of the season) and Kyle Clifford. The 6-1 score held into the second intermission.

The Kings struck quickly again at the beginning of the third period, when Lucic scored off assists from Anze Kopitar (his 34th helper of the season) and Dustin Brown. Boston scored their second and final goal of the night 1:03 later when Tyler Randell connected on his snap shot, assisted by Kevan Miller (his 12th helper of the season) and Max Talbot. The Kings returned to the offensive at the 13:50 mark when Luke Schenn scored a snap shot power play goal of his own, assisted by Christian Ehrhoff and Toffoli (his 17th helper of the season). The Kings had one more goal in them, which Brown scored with 3:03 remaining in the game, assisted by Schenn and Ehrhoff (his ninth helper of the season), setting the score at the 9-2 final.

Jonathan Quick earns the win after saving 35 of 37 (94.6%), while Tuukka Rask takes the loss after saving 27 of 32 (84.4%). He was pulled after 32:29 of play (King’s goal) and replaced with Jonas Gustavsson, who saved 21 of 25 (84%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 53-25-10, favoring the home squad by 38 points over the roadies.

As usual, it’s a light Wednesday schedule for the NHL this week. The first puck drops in Detroit, who is hosting Ottawa at 7 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh (NBCSN). This evening’s nightcap starts at 9:30 p.m. eastern, featuring Vancouver in Arizona.

All of today’s games are divisional rivalries, but New York at Pittsburgh is the only game between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs, as well as a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tonight’s game will be New York‘s 14th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 7-4-2 record. Their most recent showing in the series was January 17, a 5-2 loss in Washington. Pittsburgh has been featured eight times before tonight’s game, and own a 3-4-1 record in such games. The last time they were featured was last Friday, when they fell 6-3 in Tampa Bay.

The 30-18-5 New York Rangers currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played one of the strongest offenses in the league, but what makes the Blueshirts most dangerous is their seemingly continuous improvement on the defensive end.

Led by Rick Nash’s 149 attempts, the Rangers have fired 1564 shots, of which a solid 9.6% have found the back of the net for 153 goals, sixth-most in the league. The most intriguing thing about this offense, though, is that most of their success is at even-strength. In fact, New York‘s 15.89% success rate, good enough for only 24 extra-man goals (led by Mats Zuccarello’s five power play tallies), ranks third-worst in the league. Making matters worse, the Rangers have also allowed five short-handed goals, one more than the league average.

Thanks in part to Dan Girardi’s 104 blocks, the Blueshirts have allowed only 1560 shots to reach 26-14-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for 137 goals against, 13th-fewest in the league. Just like on offense, this success is with no help to the special teams unit, as New York has killed only 78.13% of opposing power plays and allowed 35 extra-man goals, fifth-worst in the league.

New York is currently riding a three-game win streak, with their most recent being a 2-1 victory over the Devils on Monday. A win tonight expands their lead over the Islanders to five points and gets them within 15 points of the league-leading Capitals.

The 27-18-7 Pittsburgh Penguins currently occupy fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. They’ve played a very balanced game to get to this position, with both ends of the ice ranking above average against the rest of the league. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within Friday’s post.

The Penguins are currently riding a two-game win streak, with their most recent victory occurring Monday with a 6-2 win over the Ducks. A win today bumps Pittsburgh back into third place in the division, even if it is only by a point. Additionally, they would only trail the Rangers by two points for second, an important goal for the Pens as they try to avoid the wild card.

These squads met last year in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Pittsburgh did little than act as a speed bump on the Rangers‘ path to the Eastern Conference Finals, as New York won the series 4-1.

Somehow, division rivals New York and Pittsburgh have avoided each other since that deciding Game Five almost 292 days ago (nine months and 16 days), making this game the first of four meetings this regular season. In addition to their playoff success against the Penguins, the Rangers won last season’s regular season series 3-0-1.

Some players to watch include New York‘s Lundqvist (26 wins [fourth-most in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Sidney Crosby (53 points [sixth-most in the league] and 24 goals [tied for eighth-most in the league]), Marc-Andre Fleury (four shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the league] and 21 wins [tied for ninth-most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+23 [fourth-best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+21 [tied for seventh-best in the league]).

Judging by overall numbers alone, it is hard to pick against New York‘s offense, but until their special teams improve, they will always be suspect to even the worst teams. Too bad for them the Penguins are not the same team that started the season 0-3-0. Since the game is in Pittsburgh, I give the edge to the Pens.

February 10, 2016
January 17 – Day 99 – It’s another Blueshirts-Caps day

It took overtime, but the Sharks were able to spoil Antti Niemi’s homecoming, as they beat the Stars 4-3.

Only one goal was scored in the first period, and it belonged to the road team. Mattias Janmark and Antoine Roussel both notched their eighth assists of the season as they helped Ales Hemsky to a backhander at the 11:15 mark.

The second period was all San Jose, as they not only leveled the game, but took the lead going into the second intermission. Their first goal came only 3:54 after resuming play, scored by Second Star of the Game Marc-Edouard Vlasic after assists from Joe Thonton (his 25th helper of the season) and First Star Tomas Hertl. Only 7:13 later, Chris Tierney fired a slapshot past Niemi on the power play after assists from Tommy Wingels (his ninth helper of the season) and Matt Nieto, setting the score at 2-1.

The Stars leveled the score only 33 seconds after resuming play in the final frame with a snap shot from Tyler Seguin (his 25th tally of the season) after an assist from Jamie Benn. San Jose took the lead again only 7:18 later with Vlasic’s second goal of the night after assists from Dylan DeMelo and Joonas Donskoi (his 10th helper of the season). The flurry of goals ended only 12 seconds later when Third Star Jason Spezza leveled the score again after assists from Benn (his 30th helper of the season) and Seguin. The three-all tie held to the final horn, forcing some three-on-three play.

The overtime period lasted only 1:12 before Hertl scored the game-winner, assisted by Vlasic (his 16th helper of the season) and Logan Couture.

Martin Jones’ record improves to 20-13-2 after saving 32 of 35 (91.4%), while Niemi’s falls to 16-8-5 after saving 35 of 39 (89.7%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 41-19-9, favoring the home squad by 29 points over the roadies.

Fourteen points are on the table in today’s Sunday schedule. The action gets started at 3 p.m. eastern when Carolina visits Pittsburgh, followed an hour later by Vancouver at the New York Islanders. The final two matinees start at 5 p.m. eastern when Florida visits Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers visit Washington (NHLN/TVAS). Montréal at Chicago (SN/RDS) gets started at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern, followed half an hour later by Philadelphia at Detroit (NBCSN). Finally, this evening’s nightcap, Los Angeles at Anaheim, gets started at 9 p.m. eastern.

A majority of today’s games are divisional matchups (Carolina at Pittsburgh, Florida at Tampa Bay, New York at Washington and Los Angeles at Anaheim), and three are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Florida at Tampa Bay, New York at Washington and Montréal at Chicago). In addition to qualifying for the other two groups, the New York–Washington game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Those who have followed along all season know that I like to give preference to those games that are rematches of last year’s playoffs or a return of a player to an arena he used to call home, and today is no exception.

Today’s appearance in the Game of the Day series for New York will tie them with Chicago for most games featured in the series at 13. The Rangers own a 7-3-2 record in such games, and their most recent showing in the series was a 2-1 victory over the Bruins on Monday. Washington has been featured eight times before this afternoon’s competition, and own a 5-3-0 record in such games. Their most recent showing in the series was a 4-3 overtime victory in Madison Square Garden on January 9.

The 24-15-5 New York Rangers are currently second in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get them to that position, the Rangers have employed a top-10 offense backed by an above-average defense, measured by goals for or against.

The Blueshirts‘ most recent showing was a 3-2 shootout victory in Philadelphia yesterday. Should New York win today’s game, they would move at least a point closer to the league-leading Capitals and potentially create a lead more solid than winning a ROW tiebreaker over the Islanders.

The 33-8-3 Washington Capitals currently lead the Metropolitan Division by 16 points over the Rangers, the Eastern Conference by 12 points over the Panthers and the NHL by five points over the Blackhawks. Not only does the best defense in the league call the Verizon Center home, but also the second-best offense, showing why the Caps are the class of the NHL.

Thanks in large part to Karl Alzner and his team-leading 115 blocks, the Caps have allowed only 1229 shots to reach 28-4-2 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 93.1% for only 95 goals against, best in the NHL by two goals over Los Angeles. Washington maintains their excellent form on the penalty kill, where they’ve killed 84.92% of opposing power plays for only 19 tallies allowed.

Of course, the story in Washington is usually the offense, and this season has not been short of successes on that end as well. Led by Alex Ovechkin’s 216 attempts, the Caps have fired 1328 shots so far this season, of which a whopping 10.6% have found the back of the net for 144 goals (led by Ovechkin’s 26 goals), second-most in the league (trail Dallas by seven tallies). Just like the penalty kill, special teams have been a big part of that success, as the Capitals have scored on 26.15% of attempts for 34 power play goals, led by Ovechkin’s nine extra-man tallies.

Washington played yesterday, but it was not the result they were looking for as they lost 4-1 in Buffalo.

This is the fourth meeting of five between these two squads so far this season, with Washington leading the series 2-1-0. We’ve been there for all three, so you can read a quick-and-dirty recap of the games that occurred November 3, December 20 and January 9.

Some players to watch in this afternoon’s game include New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (20 wins [fourth-most in the league]) and Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (28 assists [tied for fifth-most in the league] and +17 [tied for sixth-best in the league]), Holtby (28 wins [leads the league], 1.97 GAA [second-best in the league] and .931 save percentage [tied for third-best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+21 [fourth-best in the league]) and Ovechkin (26 goals [tied for second-most in the league] and +19 [fifth-best in the league]).

I’m not even going to lie to you, I have to pick Washington in today’s game. They are the best team in the NHL, and I don’t see New York being anything more than a stepping stone on their way to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

January 17, 2016
January 11 – Day 93 – This one definitely counts in the Boston-New York rivalry

With four second period goals, and six goals in 30:15, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The Hawks‘ offense blitz did not get started until the 8:27 mark of the first when Brandon Mashinter opened the scoring off assists from Ryan Garbutt (his fourth helper of the season) and Dennis Rasmussen. The other goal of the period came with 3:38 remaining on the clock, as Second Star of the Game Patrick Kane scored off assists from Artemi Panarin (his 24th assist of the season) and Trevor van Riemsdyk to set the score at 2-0, which held into the intermission.

Chicago continued their success into the second, scoring only 1:39 after resuming play. It was First Star Marian Hossa with the tally, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jonathan Toews (his 14th assist of the season). Colorado finally got on the board with a goal from Third Star Matt Duchene, assisted by Carl Soderberg (his 22nd helper of the season) and Gabriel Landeskog. Duchene struck only 4:08 later to set the score at 3-2 after being assisted by Alex Tanguay and Nathan MacKinnon (his 22nd assist of the season). Two-straight Avalanche goals didn’t seem to make the Blackhawks very happy, as they fired three-straight of their own before the second period ended. The first was a Kane power play goal at the 12:25 mark, his 25th goal of the season, assisted by Brent Seabrook and Artem Anisimov, which proved to be the game-winner. The next Hawk goal came only 2:06 later, Toews’ 16th tally, assisted by Andrew Shaw and Erik Gustafsson. Chicago completed their surge with 1:18 remaining in the period with Hossa’s second goal of the night, assisted by Toews (his 15th assist of the season) and Shaw to set the score at 6-2.

Colorado could only manage one goal in the final period, compliments of MacKinnon after assists from Duchene (his 16th of the season) and Nick Holden, setting the score at the 6-3 final.

Corey Crawford’s record improves to 23-10-2 after saving 34 of 37 (91.9%), while Semyon Varlamov’s record falls to 15-11-3 after saving 16 of 20 (80%). He was pulled after 32:25 of play following Kane’s second goal of the night, and replaced by Calvin Pickard, who saved 13 of 15 (86.7%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 36-19-8, favoring the home squads by 22 points over the roadies.

After a busy weekend, this Monday’s schedule consists of only four games, with the action getting started at 7 p.m. eastern when Boston visits the New York Rangers (NHLN/TVAS/SN). The rest of the games don’t get started for at least another two hours, as San Jose and Calgary drop the puck at 9 p.m. eastern. 10 p.m. eastern brings with it the beginning of the Florida at Vancouver game, followed half an hour later by this evening’s nightcap, Detroit at Los Angeles.

San Jose at Calgary represents the only divisional rivalry being played this evening, and the remaining matchups are all between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.

I know we’ve watched both of these teams recently, one as recent as Saturday, but a team qualifying only for a wild card spot always has a little more to play for, so let’s take a look at the Boston–New York game.

The Boston Bruins have been featured eight times before tonight’s game in the DtFR Game of the Day series, and own a 3-4-1 record in such games, with their most recent showing being a 4-1 victory in New Jersey on Friday. The New York Rangers are tied with Chicago for the most appearances in the series, and own a 6-3-2 record when the focus of our attention. Their most recent game in the series was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Capitals on Saturday.

The 21-14-5 Boston Bruins currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference and, most importantly, the first wild card position. An in-depth explanation of their game may be read here, but the important thing to know is Boston is one of the best offensive teams in the league.

Their most recent showing was a 2-1 overtime loss in Ottawa on Saturday.

The 22-14-5 New York Rangers currently own second place in the Metropolitan Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Similar to the Bruins, the Blueshirts also play a strongly offensive game, which you can read more about here.

The Rangers‘ most recent game was their 4-3 overtime loss to the Capitals in Saturday’s Game of the Day. You can read a quick-and-dirty recap of that game here.

These two have already met up once this season, a 4-3 Boston win the day after Thanksgiving in the TD Garden. Although the Rangers had the lead twice, they were not able to hold on for the victory, and will utilize those sour memories as inspiration to level the season series.

Some players to watch in this one include Boston‘s Tuukka Rask (four shutouts [tied for third-most in the leauge]) and New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (18 wins [tied for fifth-best in the league]).

Both of these teams play similar styles of play – good defenses supported by strong offenses. That being said, the B’s have done better on both ends than their opponents, and I believe that will be the difference in this one. I expect this Original Six matchup to go the way of the Bruins.

January 11, 2016
January 9 – Day 91 – I’m running out of jokes for Washington visiting New York…

It was the second straight 4-1 road victory in the Game of the Day series, as Boston earned their 3000th all-time victory with a win at The Rock.

The lone goal of the first period belongs to Frank Vatrano and the Bruins after only 2:02 of play, assisted by Third Star of the Game Colin Miller, his 11th helper of the season.

It was a night of quick starts for the Bruins, as First Star Ryan Spooner fired his ninth goal of the season, this one the eventual game-winner, after being assisted by Second Star Dennis Seidenberg 4:49 after resuming play. New Jersey tried to stage a comeback with a goal from Bobby Farnham, assisted by Stephen Gionta and Adam Larsson (his seventh of the season) at the 11:57 mark to set the score at 2-1, but eventually gave up a power play goal to Jimmy Hayes with only 1:25 remaining in the period, assisted by Zdeno Chara (his 15th helper of the season) and Matt Beleskey.

Boston completed their series of quick goals when Seidenberg and Spooner (his 19th assist of the season) assisted Miller to the final goal of the game, setting the score at the 4-1 final.

Tuukka Rask took the night off, so it’s Jonas Gustavsson who earned the win after saving 19 of 20 (95%) to improve his record to 7-3-1, while Cory Schneider’s record falls to 17-13-5 after saving 27 of 31 (87.1%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 35-19-7, favoring the home squad over the roadies by 21 points.

It’s a busy Saturday in the NHL, with a whopping 10 games being played. There’s two matinees at 1 p.m. eastern, both of them involving the teams from the Big Apple (Washington at the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders at Philadelphia). Four games drop the puck at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern (Pittsburgh at Montréal [NHLN/TVAS/SN], Boston at Ottawa, Carolina at Columbus and Toronto at San Jose [CBC]), followed an hour later by Minnesota at Dallas. The games west of the Rockies get started at 9 p.m. eastern when Nashville visits Arizona, followed an hour later by Tampa Bay at Vancouver (CBC/SN). Finally, this evening’s nightcap drops the puck at 10:30 p.m. eastern when St. Louis visits Los Angeles.

Five of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Washington at New York, New York at Philadelphia, Boston at Ottawa, Carolina at Columbus and Minnesota at Dallas), while four feature teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Washington at New York, Minnesota at Dallas, Nashville at Arizona and St. Louis at Los Angeles). Washington at New York also represents a rematch of an Eastern Conference Semifinal from last season’s playoffs.

Since we already watched Washington‘s rematch with their quarterfinal opponent of a year ago, let’s watch them take on their opponent from the semifinals.

Washington has been featured seven times before tonight’s game, and owns a 4-3-0 record in such games. Their most recent was a 4-1 victory in Brooklyn on Thursday. Tonight’s game will tie New York with Chicago for 11 appearances, most in our series. The Rangers own a 6-3-1 in such games, with their most recent being a 3-0 loss in Sunrise last Saturday to the Panthers.

The 30-7-3 Washington Capitals currently own the best team in the NHL, as they have a 14-point lead over the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division, a nine-point lead over the Panthers in the Eastern Conference, and a one-point lead in the league over the Stars. You can read a summary of their play here, but for those that don’t want to, just know that there’s a reason the Caps lead the league – they’re the best on defense, and second-best in offense. In other words, they’re pretty good!

The Caps are currently riding a two-game winning streak, and their most recent game was a Thursday 4-1 victory in Brooklyn against the Islanders. You can read a quick-and-dirty recap of it here.

The 22-14-4 New York Rangers currently sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference, and have utilized a strong offense to get them to that position.

Usually, good teams put lots of pucks on net. Instead, the Rangers prefer to take shots of a higher quality, as they’ve scored 10.3% of their 1132 shots (led by Rick Nash’s 117 shots) for 117 goals (led by Mats Zuccarello’s 16 tallies), fourth-most in the league. Although the offense as a whole has been one of the best, the Blueshirts‘ power play has been nothing special. They’ve had 114 opportunities and scored only 22 goals, for a 19.3% success rate that leads the league average by only .17%.

Thanks in part to Ryan McDonagh’s team-leading 77 blocks, the Rangers‘ defense has been able to keep all but 1193 shots away from 18-11-3 Henrik Lundqvist and co., who’ve collectively saved 91.8% for 103 goals against. Just like the power play, the penalty kill has been only average this season. New York has defended 133 penalties so far this season, of which they’ve killed 80.45% (.42% below average) for 26 goals against.

The Blueshirts‘ most recent game was a 6-2 victory over the Stars on Tuesday.

The Capitals and Rangers have already met twice before tonight’s game, with both taking place at Madison Square Garden. New York won the first meeting 5-2 on November 3, but Washington leveled the series only three weeks ago on December 20 with a 7-3 win. Both of those games were featured as a Game of the Day, and a recap can be found by clicking either score.

Some players to watch in tonight’s games include New York‘s Lundqvist (18 wins [tied for fifth-best in the league]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (25 assists [tied for eighth-best in the league]), Braden Holtby (26 wins [best in the league], 1.9 GAA [third-best in the league] and .933 save percentage [fourth-best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+18 [tied for fourth-best in the league]) and Alex Ovechkin (22 goals [fifth-best in the league] and +17 [tied for sixth-best in the league]).

Like I said a couple days ago, it is hard to pick against the Washington Capitals. I don’t care where they’re playing, who they’re playing, or any other variable. This team is no doubt the best team in the Eastern Conference, and potentially the league. Expect the Caps to complete their three-day, two-game tour of the Big Apple with four points.

January 9, 2016
January 2 – Day 84 – Rangers in the Magic City

The Boston Bruins didn’t seem to show up until the final period of the Winter Classic, and the Montréal Canadiens took advantage to claim a 5-1 victory in Foxboro, Mass.

Only one goal was scored in the first period, and it occurred in the second minute of play. Assisted by Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin, David Desharnais scored a wrister to give the Habs a one-goal lead, but the real story of the first period was Montréal‘s commanding defense (or Boston‘s poor offense, depending on how you want to look at it). Montréal owned the shots statistic by 11, as they held Boston to only three.

Just like the first period, the Habs owned the second period as well. They scored their first of two goals of the period at the two-minute mark, when Brian Flynn and Mark Barberio (his first helper of the season) assisted Paul Byron to a wrister, the game-winner. Montréal‘s third goal came with 2:40 remaining in the period when Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec assisted First Star of the Game Brendan Gallagher to a wrister of his own.

The Bruins gave their fans a ray of hope with a goal after 3:56, when Adam McQuaid and Ryan Spooner assisted Third Star Matt Beleskey, setting the score at 3-1. That optimism was short-lived though, as Gallagher and Plekanec assisted Pacioretty to a goal only 4:53 later to regain the three-goal lead. The final goal of the game was courtesy of Byron with 1:32 remaining in the game, assisted by P.K. Subban and Nathan Beaulieu.

Second Star Mike Condon, a Mass. native, improves his record to 11-9-3 after saving 27 of 28 (96.4%), while Tuukka Rask’s record falls to 14-10-3 after saving only 25 of 30 (83.3%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 32-16-6, favoring the home squad by 22 points.

Today’s Saturday schedule is a busy one, as there are a total of 12 games taking place. The three matinee games gets started at 1 p.m. eastern when Detroit visits Buffalo (BELL TV), followed at 4 p.m. eastern by the remaining two (Arizona at Edmonton and Philadelphia at Los Angeles). Beginning at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern is seven total games (St. Louis at Toronto [CBC], Minnesota at Tampa Bay, the New York Rangers at Florida, Dallas at New Jersey, the New York Islanders at Pittsburgh [NHLN/TVAS/SN], Nashville at Carolina and Washington at Columbus). After those games are complete, the final two games of the day get started at 10 p.m. eastern (Calgary at Colorado [CBC/TVAS] and Winnipeg at San Jose [SN]).

Four of today’s games are divisional rivalries (Detroit at Buffalo, Arizona at Edmonton, New York at Pittsburgh and Washington at Columbus), while two involve teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at Florida and Dallas at New Jersey). Since Florida and New York‘s records are almost identical, we’ll assume the game to be the more competitive of the two (that’s exactly how this works, right?) and focus in on Sunrise, Fla.

This will be New York‘s 10th time featured in the Game of the Day series, which ties them with Chicago for the most appearances this season. They own a 6-2-1 record when being featured, with their most recent being a 5-2 victory in Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Florida has been featured twice before today, and host a 1-1-0 record. Their last game in the series was a 2-1 shootout victory over the Senators on December 22.

The 21-13-4 New York Rangers currently occupy third place in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. They play a strong game on the offensive end of the ice, which you can read about here.

The Blueshirts‘ most recent showing was their 5-2 victory in Tampa Bay, which was featured as the Game of the Day on Wednesday. You can read a quick-and-dirty recap of that game here.

The 21-12-4 Florida Panthers currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. They utilize one of the best defenses in the league, measured by goals against, to establish themselves as one of the best teams in the division.

The Panthers couple defensive pairs that have allowed only 1061 shots to reach the crease (led by Captain Willie Mitchell’s 51 blocks) with Roberto Luongo and co. who saves 92.6% of those attempts (a rate that leads the league average by 1%) for only 83 goals against. Probably the biggest hole in the defense is their penalty kill, but even then it is technically better than average. Florida has killed exactly 80% of opponents’ power plays, which leads the average team by .5%.

The offense has not been quite as good as the defense, due in part to not getting many shots on net. Of their 1055 shots (led by Aaron Ekblad’s 93), 9.1% have found the back of the net for 96 goals. Just like the defense, Florida‘s special teams still have room to improve, as they’ve only converted 17.83% for 23 goals (led by Aleksander Barkov’s four).

The Panthers are riding a league-leading seven-game winning streak, with their most recent a 3-1 victory over the Canadiens on Tuesday.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Florida‘s Luongo (16 wins [tied for sixth in the league] and .926 save percentage [ninth in the league]) and New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (17 wins [fifth in the league]).

Especially since they are at home, I am leading towards a Florida winner. They are the hottest team in the league right now, and I believe that their defense will be able to handle New York‘s offense.

January 2, 2016