Down the Frozen River

Tag: Igor Larionov

  • Vegas’s first line lifts Golden Knights to 3-1 series lead in Game 4

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    William Karlsson had a goal, Jonathan Marchessault had an assist and Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist en route to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 of the 2018 Western Conference Final. The Golden Knights first liners— along with another strong performance from their goaltender— helped cement a 3-1 series lead.

    Vegas is one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final almost a year since their roster was formed via the 2017 Expansion Draft.

    Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves on 37 shots against for a .946 save percentage in the win for the home team at T-Mobile Arena Friday night, while Winnipeg netminder, Connor Hellebuyck, stopped 26 out of 29 shots faced for an .897 SV% in 58:29 time on ice in the loss.

    Penalties are all the more costly in the postseason and the Jets got an early reminder of why that is in the first period when Tyler Myers was called for interference less than two minutes into the action.

    William Karlsson (6) buried a shot from one knee off the post and in on the power play and the Golden Knights led, 1-0, 2:25 into the first period. Jonathan Marchessault (10) and Reilly Smith (14) notched the assists on the goal.

    Marchessault tied the NHL record for most points by a player in his team’s first playoff appearance (18 points) with his assist on Karlsson’s goal. Igor Larionov was the last player to record 18 points in his team’s first postseason with the San Jose Sharks in 1994, while Jude Drouin was the first to establish the record of 18 points by a player in his team’s first postseason as a member of the New York Islanders in 1975.

    A little past the halfway mark of the first period, Mark Scheifele slashed Brayden McNabb and was subsequently sent to the penalty box to serve for a minor infraction. Vegas did not convert on the ensuing player advantage.

    After one period, the Golden Knights led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and trailed, 10-9, in shots on goal. Both teams had nine blocked shots and four giveaways aside, while the Jets led in hits (17-15). Vegas led in takeaways (3-2), faceoff win percentage (65-35) and was 1/2 on the power play after 20 minutes of play, while Winnipeg had yet to see any time on the special teams advantage.

    Karlsson slashed Jets captain, Blake Wheeler, and was sent to the sin bin early into the second period— less than three minutes into the second frame— but Winnipeg couldn’t will the puck past Fleury on the power play.

    Then Tomas Nosek tripped Jacob Trouba at 8:28 of the second period and the Jets went back on the power play.

    This time, things were different, as Wheeler had set up Patrik Laine with one of the best chances of the night, only to be denied by Fleury after Laine couldn’t receive the pass cleanly, settle the puck and release one of his patented quick shots in time. No matter, Winnipeg would get another chance.

    On the ensuing faceoff in the attacking zone, the Jets won the puck and worked it around the offensive zone before Dustin Byfuglien fed Laine in his comfort zone— the faceoff dot just to the right of Vegas’s netminder.

    Laine (5) ripped a shot past Fleury and Winnipeg had a power play goal of their own, tying the game, 1-1, at 9:29 of the second period. Byfuglien (11) and Wheeler (18) had the assists on the goal.

    Just like in Game 3, however, the Golden Knights responded on the scoreboard less than a minute later as Nosek found redemption for serving time in the sin bin.

    Nosek (1) poked the puck through Hellebuyck after Pierre-Edouard Bellemare nearly scored on a wraparound 10:12 into the second period, giving Vegas a 2-1 lead.

    Bellemare (1) and Luca Sbisa (1) were credited with the assists on the Golden Knights goal 43 seconds after Winnipeg tied the game.

    Late in the period, Sbisa tripped Nikolaj Ehlers and Vegas went on to kill off the minor penalty without any trouble from the visiting team’s power play.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Golden Knights led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and trailed, 25-22, in shots on goal. Vegas also led in blocked shots (16-15) and takeaways (13-6), while Winnipeg led in hits (32-28) and giveaways (8-6). Faceoff win percentage was even (50-50) after two periods and the Jets were 1/3 on the power play, while Vegas was 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the second intermission.

    A mere 28 seconds into the third period, McNabb was guilty of cross checking Scheifele and was sent to the box. Winnipeg came out of the gates surging and being shorthanded did not help Vegas’s cause, though the Golden Knights were able to kill off the penalty, thanks to Fleury’s stellar goaltending.

    But it was Tyler Myers (4) finding the back of the twine in the vulnerable minutes after Winnipeg’s power play, having shot the puck through Fleury’s five-hole and wedging it underneath the net camera.

    Jack Roslovic (3) had the only assist on the game-tying goal at 5:34 of the third period. This time the Golden Knights did not immediately strike back and the game remained tied, 2-2, for a little over seven minutes.

    A Jets turnover led to a loose puck winding up on Smith’s stick. The Vegas forward charged into the attacking zone and sniped a snap shot past Hellebuyck’s short side going bar down to give the Golden Knights their third lead of the night, 3-2.

    Smith’s (2) goal was just his second of the postseason and was unassisted at 13:02.

    Time ticked down. Tension grew. Tempers didn’t flare as much as they had in previous games in the series, which didn’t lead to any retaliation penalties that could’ve jeopardized everything for either club.

    With 90 seconds remaining in regulation, Hellebuyck vacated the goal for an extra attacker.

    Paul Maurice called a timeout at a stoppage in play with 1:13 remaining in regulation to rally his Jets roster, but Gerard Gallant’s Golden Knights matched the intensity— clearing the puck, battling along the boards and keeping the vulcanized rubber biscuit away from their opponent.

    Vegas won the final faceoff of the game with 6.8 seconds remaining in their own zone. Winnipeg would not get a last second shot away as Marchessault guided the puck through the neutral zone as the final horn sounded.

    The Golden Knights won Game 4, 3-2, and are now one win away from advancing to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final— in their inaugural season.

    After 60 minutes of play, Winnipeg led in shots on goal (37-29) and giveaways (16-9), but Vegas led in blocked shots (25-18), hits (45-43) and more importantly in the final results column. The Jets went 1/4 and the Golden Knights were 1/2 on the power play Friday night.

    Game 5 is Sunday afternoon at Bell MTS Place in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 3:00 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States have the chance to witness history on NBC. Fans in Canada, meanwhile (assuming the entire country’s rooting for the last Canadian team in the postseason) can cheer for the Jets on CBC, Sportsnet or TVAS.

  • December 3 – Day 52 – Jack is Back

    As usual, Saturday hosts a busy NHL schedule, and with college football getting out of the way, you can pay even more attention to the multiple day games! Three of those matinees start at 1 p.m (Boston at Buffalo [SN], Carolina at the New York Rangers and Chicago at Philadelphia [NHLN]), followed an hour later by New Jersey at Nashville. Five contests begin at the usual 7 p.m. starting time (Toronto at Vancouver [CBC], Winnipeg at St. Louis [SN], Florida at Ottawa [CITY/TVAS], Washington at Tampa Bay and Detroit at Pittsburgh [NHLN]), trailed an hour later by Columbus at Arizona. Dallas at Colorado finds its start at 9 p.m., with tonight’s nightcap, Anaheim at Edmonton (CBC/SN) dropping the puck 60 minutes later. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Boston at Buffalo: This rivalry has existed almost as long as the Sabres. Tonight’s edition will look far different than November’s meeting, as Jack Eichel is back on the ice.
    • Detroit at Pittsburgh: Back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals bouts in 2008 and 2009 between these clubs sparked this rivalry, but it’s died down in recent years.

    Clubs joined simply by conference are no match for a rivalry shared within a division. To KeyBank Arena we go!

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    In the white corner are the visiting Bruins. At 13-10-1, they’re the fourth-best team in the Atlantic Division. They’ve gotten to that position with some excellent defense and goaltending, which has allowed only 53 goals – the sixth-fewest in the NHL.

    Although four netminders have taken to the crease for the Bruins, 12-4-1 Tuukka Rask has always been the man in charge. His 17 starts leads the club, as do his .938 save percentage and 1.64 GAA that rank fourth and best, respectively, among his peers with nine or more appearances.

    Part of the reason he’s been able to find such success is because of the team playing in front of him and their improvement from a year ago. Last season, the Bruins blueline allowed 30.4 shots-per-game to reach Rask, tying for the 11th-highest rate in the league. Nowadays, Boston is home to the fourth-best defense, allowing only 27.3 shots-against-per-game.

    Rookie Brandon Carlo has headlined that turnaround, already notching 42 blocks in his debut season. Zdeno Chara also deserves credit, as his 41 deflections were accumulated in only 19 games, but the Bruins‘ captain will not be available today with a lower body injury suffered a week and a half ago. Boston is 2-4 since he sustained the injury.

    The defensive success has carried into the penalty kill, where the Bruins‘ 85.4% kill rate is second-best in the Eastern Conference, fifth-best overall. Carlo continues his good work on the special teams, leading the club with 14 shorthanded shot blocks.

    Where Boston hasn’t been impressive is the power play. Successful on only 14.7% of attempts, the Bruins are eighth-worst in the NHL. That effort is headlined by by David Krejci and David Pastrnak, who both have five extra-man points. Pastrnak’s effort has been more impressive, as his four power play goals lead the squad.

    Hosting them this evening are the 9-9-5 Sabres, who are winners of their last two contests. Buffalo has been held back by their offense so far with the fewest goals in the league (47), but help comes in the form of a sophomore center.

    So far this season, Kyle Okposo has led the team with 16 points, and has paired with Matt Moulson for the Sabres‘ scoring title with seven goals. But things changed Tuesday when Eichel exchanged his boot for skates and a stick. In only two games, he’s notched four goals – yes, four – to average the best points-per-game average in the league. I don’t know if he’ll be able to maintain that blistering pace of two points per game, but averaging even half that effort would currently tie him for seventh-best average in the league.

    Eichel has rejoined an impressive power play. Ranking fourth-best in the NHL, Buffalo has converted 23.4% of their man-advantages. It’s been in this situation where Okposo has earned his paycheck, as he’s notched 11 power play points to lead the team. Moulson has also been very impressive by leading the team with six extra-man tallies.

    While Eichel will help the Sabres‘ offense, he isn’t going to do much for a penalty kill that ranks worst in the conference and second-worst in the league. Even with Josh Gorges‘ 14 shorthanded blocks, Buffalo has neutralized only 76.6% of their penalties. They don’t commit many infractions, so the play on the ice in those two minutes will need to improve for the Sabres to be considered a real threat to qualify for the playoffs.

    These two have already once this season, a little under a month ago. Boston easily handled the Sabres at the TD Garden, winning 4-0.

    Some players to keep an eye on this afternoon include Boston‘s Pastrnak (13 goals [tied for third-most in the league] for a +13 [fourth-best in the NHL]) and Rask (1.64 GAA [best in the league] for three shutouts [tied for second-most in the NHL] in 12 wins [tied for third-most in the league] on a .938 save percentage [fourth-best in the NHL]) & Buffalo‘s Anders Nilsson (.934 save percentage [tied for fifth-best in the league]).

    Vegas has marked Buffalo as a +126 underdog in today’s game, but I don’t know if it’s even that extreme. While each club has a good and bad special team, they line up against each other well in this matchup such that a poor power play is going against a poor penalty kill, and vice versa.

    I actually like Buffalo to pull off the home upset, but one thing I do know is this game will not be a four-goal shutout like their last meeting.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Igor Larionov (1960-) – This center might have been drafted by Vancouver in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent far more of his 14 seasons in Detroit, where he won the Stanley Cup three times.
    • Mike Ramsey (1960-) – The 11th-overall pick in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft belonged to Buffalo, and they drafted this defenseman. He played 911 games over 14 seasons with the Sabres.
    • Jiri Bicek (1978-) – Selected by New Jersey in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing. Although he played in only four seasons with the Devils‘ senior squad, he did appear in five Stanley Cup playoff games to help Jersey to the 2003 title.

    Although the Wild was able to score a game-tying goal in the third period, they weren’t able to win the shootout as Calgary won 3-2.

    Minnesota actually took credit for the first goal of the game. Only 3:50 after starting play, Chris Stewart (Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter) deflected a shot to put the Wild on the board first. The Flames leveled the score with 7:34 remaining in the frame when Kris Versteeg (Jyrki Jokipakka and Sean Monahan) buried a backhanded shot. Only 1:07 later, First Star of the Game Mikael Backlund (Third Star Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano) scored on a power play backhander to give Calgary the lead going into the first intermission.

    The last goal of regulation belonged to Second Star Mikko Koivu (Jason Zucker and Spurgeon), a slap shot 7:40 into the final frame that eventually forced a scoreless three-on-three overtime.

    The Wild took the first shootout attempt…

    1. Nino Niederreiter went first for Minnesota, but all he found was Chad Johnson‘s pads.
    2. Versteeg scored a game in regulation, and the success continued in the shootout, putting the Flames up 1-0.
    3. Jason Pominville held serve for the Wild, but Calgary still had a shot in hand…
    4. …that Monahan buried to return the lead to the Flames.
    5. Charlie Coyle ended up being the last shootout participant, as his attempt was stopped by Johnson to secure the victory.

    Johnson saved 23-of-25 (92%) shots faced to earn the victory, leaving the shootout loss to Devan Dubnyk, who saved 29-of-31 (93.5%).

    Calgary‘s victory continues the winning way of the home squads, improving the hosts’ record to 29-18-7 in the DtFR Game of the Day series, leading the roadies by five points.

  • Couture’s 3-Point Night Leads Sharks to 2016 Western Conference Final

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe San Jose Sharks thumped the Nashville Predators 5-0 in Game 7 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchup.

    Logan Couture had a three point night and Joe Pavelski scored the game winning goal while Martin Jones made 20 saves on 20 shots faced en route to the shutout victory on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

    Jones became the fourth Sharks goaltender in franchise history to record a playoff shutout and became the first San Jose goalie to do so in a Game 7. Not only that, but it was the first Game 7 of Jones’s career.

    Pekka Rinne made 21 saves on 26 shots against for a .808 SV% in the loss and was pulled in the third period after the Sharks scored their fifth goal of the evening. Rinne’s replacement, Carter Hutton, notched one save on one shot on goal in 16:06 TOI.

    With the win, San Jose advanced to the Western Conference Final and will face the St. Louis Blues in the next round of the playoffs. It is the Sharks first appearance in the Western Conference Final since 2011 and their fourth overall (2004, 2010, 2011 and 2016).

    Entering Thursday night it was the 13th playoff game in 25 days for the Nashville Predators, who were 3-0 when facing elimination this postseason until Thursday’s outcome. It was just the second Game 7 in Predators franchise history, with their first Game 7 having been a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on road ice in Round One of this year’s playoffs.

    Sharks forward, Matt Nieto, was out of the lineup for Game 7 due to an undisclosed injury. As a result, Tommy Wingels was inserted into the lineup for the first time in two games after being a healthy scratch. San Jose entered the night 3-0 at home in the series and finished 4-0 at home in the series, while Nashville fell to 0-8 in all-time playoff games at SAP Center. Peter Laviolette’s five straight Game 7 winning streak was snapped and his record as a head coach in Game 7s fell to 5-2 (1-1 with Nashville) with the 5-0 outcome.

    Viktor Arvidsson took the game’s first penalty at 8:22 of the first period for sending the puck over the glass. Arvidsson’s delay of game minor gave San Jose their first power play of the night and it didn’t take them long to capitalize on the man advantage. Joe Pavelski wristed one past Rinne for his 9th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 9:02 of the first period. Patrick Marleau (5) and Joe Thornton (8) picked up the primary and secondary assists on Pavelski’s goal.

    The goal was just Pavelski’s 2nd career Game 7 goal and tied a Sharks postseason record for most goals in a playoff year with nine.

    It was apparent in the first eight minutes that the Sharks were grabbing momentum of Game 7 when they had already fired numerous shots on goal before Nashville got their first shot on Jones.

    In keeping with the home ice, home crowd fueled momentum; Joel Ward received a pass from Melker Karlsson that sent him in on a breakaway towards Rinne. Ward deked and slid the puck underneath Rinne’s five-hole to give San Jose a 2-0 lead at 16:51 of the period. Karlsson (1) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (7) assisted on Ward’s goal— his 3rd in five-career Game 7s.

    To finish off the first period, Shea Weber took an interference minor that would extend into the second period for 38 seconds.

    UnknownAfter twenty minutes of play the Sharks led 2-0 on the scoreboard and outshot the Predators 17-3. San Jose also lead in faceoff wins (15-7) and takeaways (5-0), while Nashville led in hits (16-14) and giveaways (8-5).

    Both teams blocked seven shots in the first period and Nashville has yet to see time on the man advantage, while the Sharks were 1/2 on the power play.

    Logan Couture extended his two-game point streak to three games with a quick goal 36 seconds into the second period that put San Jose on top 3-0. Couture capitalized on a Shea Weber mishap (that seemed to be a theme of the night) and put his seventh goal of the playoffs through Rinne’s five-hole. With two assists in the third period, Couture not only extended his point streak, but added to his already five goals and three assists (now make that six goals and five assists) in the series.

    His 11 points in the series passed Igor Larionov’s 1994 Sharks franchise record of ten points in a single postseason series.

    Fed up with his own play and Nashville’s general lack of effort, Mattias Ekholm went undisciplined at the end of the second period and cross checked Tommy Wingels. Ekholm received a minor penalty that would be served in its entirety to start the third period.

    But it didn’t take long for San Jose to capitalize on their third chance on the power play as Joe Thornton sent a backhanded puck in the twine 32 seconds into the third period. Thornton’s 3rd goal of the playoffs was assisted by Couture (9) and made it 4-0 Sharks.

    In keeping with the hometown momentum, San Jose pressured the Predators early in the third, resulting in another goal at 3:54 of the period. Joonas Donskoi sent the puck to Couture who then found Patrick Marleau for a snap shot that beat Rinne and made it 5-0 Sharks in the third period. Marleau’s 4th goal of the playoffs was enough to chase Rinne from the net, but not before Rinne swung his stick twice at the net to break it and a third time as he threw it behind him, before skating off the ice to be replaced by Hutton.

    Marleau’s goal was assisted by Couture (10) and Donskoi (5).

    At 14:34 of the third, Justin Braun took the Sharks first penalty of the night for interfering with Colin Wilson. Nashville was unable to amount anything on their only power play of the night and Jones and the Sharks went on to hold the 5-0 lead through the end of the game.

    With the shutout, Wilson’s seven-game point streak had been snapped, along with his 4-5-9 totals in that span and James Neal’s four-game point streak came to an end as well for the Preds.

    San Jose finished the night leading in shots on goal (27-20), takeaways (10-4) and blocked shots (22-12). Nashville ended the night leading in hits (46-31), faceoff wins (32-31) and giveaways (21-12). The Sharks went 2/3 on the power play, while the Predators went 0/1.

    While Couture had a three-point night and Marleau, Thornton and Vlasic each had two-point nights, top Nashville defensive pair, Weber and Roman Josi finished the night as minus-3’s.

    Despite trailing in shots on goal in periods one and two (17-3 and 6-5, respectively), Nashville outshot San Jose 12-4 in the third period.

    With the series outcome, the team that scores first in Game 7s improved to 123-42 (.745) all-time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (4-0 this postseason). San Jose improved to 8-0 when Pavelski records at least a point and the home team won all seven games in the series, which was just the fourth such occurrence in the last 20 years (with the other times being the 2013 Conference Semifinals between Los Angeles and San Jose, the 2003 Stanley Cup Final between New Jersey and Anaheim and the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between Toronto and the New York Islanders).

    For the seventh straight season, a team from California will be playing in the Western Conference Final. San Jose played in the WCF in 2010 and 2011 against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively, while Los Angeles took on the then Phoenix Coyotes in 2012 and the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2014. The Anaheim Ducks played the Blackhawks in 2015 and San Jose is once again back in the Western Conference Final in 2016.

    Game 1 of the 2016 Western Conference Final is scheduled for Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST in St. Louis at Scottrade Center and will be televised on NBCSN in the United States and CBC and TVA Sports in Canada. The St. Louis Blues have home ice advantage and play host to San Jose in Games 1 and 2, as well as 5 and 7 if necessary. The Sharks will host the Blues at SAP Center in Games 3 and 4, and Game 6 if necessary.