Down the Frozen River

Tag: Karl Alzner

Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s -Metropolitan

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

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

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

Colby: Alex Ovechkin

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

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

Connor: Defender – Ryan McDonagh

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

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

Colby: Kris Letang

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

Connor: Goaltender – Braden Holtby

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

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

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

Colby: Braden Holtby

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

April 16, 2016
Carlson, Beagle and Co. Jump Out to 1-0 Series Lead Against Flyers

By: Nick Lanciani

Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals shutout the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0, in front of a rowdy crowd on home ice at the Verizon Center on Thursday night.

Holtby made 19 saves en route to the shutout victory, while Steve Mason made 29 saves on 31 shots against in the loss.

About midway into the first period, Brooks Orpik went on a string of taking penalties, including an illegal hit to the head of Nick Cousins, which the Flyers were unable to capitalize on. Philadelphia was leading 11-8 in shots on goal after twenty minutes of play, while failing to convert on three power play opportunities.

The second period saw the Capitals go on the power play early in the period as Flyers defenseman, Mark Streit, was sent to the box for holding almost three minutes into the second frame. Washington was unable to convert on the power play. At 8:50 of the second period, Dmitry Orlov was sent to the sin bin for tripping Philadelphia forward, Sam Gagner, putting the Flyers on the power play to no avail.

Philadelphia then took two penalties about two and half minutes apart, as Ryan White served a charging minor at 13:28 and Brandon Manning was sent to the box for delay of game at 16:02 of the second period. 19 seconds into Manning’s penalty the Capitals scored on the power play on a shot from the point by John Carlson. Marcus Johansson and T.J. Oshie picked up assists on what became the game winning goal by Carlson.

By the end of the 2^nd period, Washington was outshooting Philadelphia 22-15, limiting the Flyers to 4 shots on goal in the period.

The pace of the game picked up for the third period in both intensity and undisciplined play.

After killing a too many men on the ice bench minor, served by Ryan White at 2:30 of the 3^rd period, the Philadelphia Flyers were shorthanded once again after Sam Gagner took a 4-minute double minor for high sticking Brooks Orpik 5:28 into the final period. This led to a lenthgy penalty kill, which Steve Mason and the Flyers were able to kill off unharmed.

A little under eight minutes later, Wayne Simmonds and Tom Wilson dropped the gloves and squared off after Wilson boarded Flyers defenseman, Andrew MacDonald. Both Simmonds and Wilson picked up 5-minute major penalties for fighting. About a minute later, Shayne Gostisbehere and Andre Burakovsky had a little shoving match that resulted from an interference call on Gostisbehere and a slashing minor on Burakovsky.

At 16:36 of the third period, Jay Beagle sealed the deal for Washington with a shot that beat Mason and reached the back of the twine with help from Marcus Johansson. Trailing by two goals late in the third, the Flyers pulled Mason for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail. Holtby stood tall in goal and the Capitals pulled off the 2-0 shutout with an additional scrum after the sounding of the horn to end the game.

Jakub Voracek picked up a roughing minor, White received a 10-minute misconduct, while Beagle and Karl Alzner each received roughing minors at 20:00 of the third period.

The Capitals outshot the Flyers 31-19 after 60 minutes of play and also led in hits (29-27) and blocked shots (23-21). Philadelphia had a 31-26 advantage on the faceoff dot and led in giveaways 9-5. Washington was 1/6 on the night on the power play, while the Flyers 0/4.

Washington came into Thursday night as this season’s President’s Trophy winners with the best record in the NHL. This series is the 5^th Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup between these two teams and their first matchup since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal on April 22, 2008. This year also marks the 38^th playoff appearance in 48 seasons for Philadelphia and the 26^th Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance for Washington in 41 seasons.

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals split the regular season series with Claude Giroux and the Flyers this season, with 8 of their last 12 meetings having been decided by one goal (until Thursday night). Holtby went into the game with a 48-9-7 record on the regular season and a 2.20 GAA and .922 SV% in 66 games played.

The series shifts to Game 2 on Saturday night in Washington with the home team (the Capitals) in command of a 1-0 series lead at 7:00 PM EST on CNBC. The Flyers might be without the services of Sean Couturier, who suffered a shoulder injury in Game 1, while the Capitals are expected to be in full force on home ice at the Verizon Center.

April 15, 2016
April 9 – Day 177 – It used to be the final game of the season…

The Blue Jackets surprised me by beating the Sabres 4-1 in Buffalo in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Only one goal was struck in the first period, belonging to the Jackets. Matt Calvert is the guilty party, assisted by Brandon Dubinsky (his 31st helper of the season) and Ryan Murray to a power play wrister with 1:15 remaining in the frame.

Buffalo leveled at the 13:37 mark of the second period on a Third Star of the Game Sam Reinhart power play tip-in, assisted by Jack Eichel (his 31st helper of the season) and Matt Moulson. Second Star Nick Foligno takes credit for the game winning snap shot 1:39 later, assisted by Boone Jenner (his 19th helper of the season) and Josh Anderson. The first of Columbus‘ two insurance goals found the back of the net with 2:35 remaining in the period, a Dalton Prout wrister assisted by William Karlsson (his 11th helper of the season).

The final goal of the game was struck at the 5:11 mark courtesy of First Star Brandon Saad, assisted by Alexander Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

Joonas Korpisalo earns the victory after saving 34 of 35 shots faced (97.1%), while Jason Kasdorf takes the loss, saving 26 of 30 (86.7%).

Columbus ends the two game winning streak by home sides, setting the DtFR Game of the Day series at 82-46-19, favoring the home sides by 40 points.

Every single team is in action today. Yes, that includes your favorite team, your arch rivals, playoff teams, non-playoff teams… all of ’em. The action starts nice and early at half past noon eastern with two games (Ottawa at Boston [RDS/SN1] and Detroit at the New York Rangers), with Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (NBC/SN1) dropping the puck at 3 p.m. eastern. Anaheim at Colorado (SN1) is the next game to get underway, starting at 5:30 p.m. eastern, before five games drop the puck at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern (Calgary at Minnesota [CITY], Tampa Bay at Montréal [TVAS/SN], Carolina at Florida, Toronto at New Jersey [CBC] and Chicago at Columbus), trailed half an hour later by Buffalo at the New York Islanders (BELL TV). The next two games start at 8 p.m. eastern (Washington at St. Louis [NHLN] and Nashville at Dallas), with two more getting underway two hours later (Edmonton at Vancouver [CBC] and Winnipeg at Los Angeles [SN]). Finally, after all that, Arizona at San Jose gets started at 10:30 p.m. eastern, this evening’s nightcap.

A little under half of today’s games are divisional rivalries (Ottawa at Boston, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, Tampa Bay at Montréal, Nashville at Dallas, Edmonton at Vancouver and Arizona at San Jose), and three are between playoff qualifiers (Detroit at New York, Washington at St. Louis and Nashville at Dallas). Tampa at Montréal is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.

There are some great games on the docket this evening, but the one that could be very meaningful is Washington–St. Louis, as T.J. Oshie makes his return to Scottrade Center.

With the 24th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the St. Louis Blues selected T.J. Oshie from the University of North Dakota. He joined the club during the 2008-’09 season, playing in 57 regular season games and scoring 39 points. He followed that effort with 48 points the following season, including 30 assists.

His breakout season was 2011-’12, when he played in almost every regular season game to score 54 points, including 35 assists. That success carried into the postseason, as he scored three points before falling to the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Semifinals. Excluding the lockout shortened 2013 season, Oshie has continued his success each season, leading to his personal-best 60 point season in 2013-’14 season.

This July, Oshie was shipped to Washington in exchange for Troy Brouwer, Pheonix Copley and a third-round pick in this year’s Entry Draft. In that first year, Oshie has tickled the twine 26 times, the most in his career.

His 55-17-8 Washington Capitals have clinched the President’s Trophy. They’ve earned that position by playing both the second best offense and defense.

Like you’d expect, the entire offense revolves around Alex Ovechkin. His 389 shots has led the Caps to firing the puck 2450 times, with a solid 9.9% finding the back of the net for 247 goals (led by Ovechkin’s 47 tallies), the second most in the NHL. Washington also has a very strong power play, successful on 22.36% of attempts for 55 extra man tallies (led by Ovechkin’s 19 power play goals), the fourth best rate in the league.

Led by Karl Alzner’s 202 blocks, Washington has allowed only 2284 shots to reach 47-9-7 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for only 190 goals against, the second most in the NHL. Once again, Washington‘s special teams rank fourth best, neutralizing 84.8% of their infractions for 38 power play goals against.

Washington enters tonight’s game on a three game losing skid, with their most recent being Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins.

The 49-23-9 St. Louis Blues currently sit in second in both the Central Division and the Western Conference. They’ve gotten there by playing the fourth best defense, paired with the 14th best offense.

Led by Alex Pietrangelo’s 134 blocks, St. Louis has allowed 2391 shots to reach 23-7-6 Brian Elliott and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.5% for 196 goals against, the fourth fewest in the NHL. The penalty kill has also been spectacular, killing 85.04% of their infractions for 41 power play goals against, the third best rate in the league.

Led by Vladimir Tarasenko’s 289 shots, the Blues have fired the puck 2454 times, with 8.9% finding the back of the net for 223 goals (led by Tarasenko’s 39 tallies), the 14th most in the league. It’s another strong special team unit, as the Blues have found success on 21.79% of their power plays for 51 extra man goals (led by Tarasenko’s dozen power play tallies), the sixth best rate in the league.

St. Louis enters the game riding a three game winning streak, with their most recent being Thursday’s 2-1 overtime victory in Chicago. As the Blues are tied with the Stars for the division and conference lead, a win, or even an overtime loss, paired with a Stars loss will propel them to first place, but a Dallas win ensures that they keep home ice until the Stanley Cup Finals.

St. Louis has already made their visit to Washington, which they thoroughly enjoyed, winning 4-0.

Some players to keep an eye on include St. Louis‘ Elliott (two GAA [leads the league] and .932 save percentage [leads the league]), Colton Parayko (+29 [fifth best in the league]) and Tarasenko (39 goals [fourth most in the league]) & Washington‘s Holtby (47 wins [leads the leauge], 2.22 GAA [seventh best in the league] and .921 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league), Evgeny Kuznetsov (56 assists [fourth most in the league] and 76 points [tied for eighth most in the league]) and Ovechkin (47 goals [leads the league]).

On paper, Washington should win this game. They should easily be able to shut down St. Louis‘ offense. But, the thing that gives the Blues a chance, beyond even their home ice, is that they still have something to play for. It’s for that reason that I think St. Louis will make every effort to win.

April 9, 2016
March 30 – Day 167 – Another playoff preview

With a 4-1 victory in yesterday’s Game of the Day, Minnesota completed the season sweep of Chicago, revenge for four-straight losses in the Western Semifinals almost a year ago.

Second Star of the Game Jarret Stoll scored the Wild‘s first goal after only 2:37 of play, assisted by Mike Reilly (his sixth helper of the season) and Jordan Schroeder, but Chicago leveled with a power play goal at the 11:55 mark, courtesy of Marian Hossa, who was assisted by Jonathan Toews (his 27th helper of the season) and Michal Rozsival. The one-all score held not only into the first intermission, but also the second.

Tonight’s game-winner was a First Star Jared Spurgeon backhander at the 4:07 mark of the third, assisted by Mikko Koivu (his 38th helper of the season) and Jason Pominville. Third Star Erik Haula scored the first of the two insurance goals at the 11:03 mark, assisted by Nino Niederreiter (his 23rd helper of the season) and Matt Dumba. Niederreiter’s night was not done though, as he scored on an empty net with 1:19 remaining in the game after assists from Mikael Granlund (his 31st helper of the season) and Haula.

Devan Dubnyk earns the win after saving 18 of 19 shots faced (94.7%), while Scott Darling takes the loss, saving only 14 of 17 (82.4%).

The second straight home victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 76-43-18, favoring that side by 36 points over the opposing roadies.

It’s a light Wednesday night in the NHL, as only three games are taking place. The action starts at 7:30 p.m. eastern when Ottawa visits Winnipeg (TVAS/SN), followed half an hour later by Washington at Philadelphia (NBCSN/SN360). Finally, at 10 p.m. eastern, this evening’s nightcap, Calgary at Anaheim (SN) gets underway.

Two of the games this evening are between division rivals (Washington at Philadelphia and Calgary at Anaheim), but only Washington at Philadelphia is between playoff qualifiers. Additionally, the Calgary–Anaheim game is a rematch of one of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals.

While the Flames–Ducks game might be fun on an emotional level, the Capitals–Flyers game is important, as these two are headed towards meeting each other in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tonight’s game will be Washington‘s 16th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 10-4-1 record. Last time they were featured, they lost 4-3 in overtime in Los Angeles on March 9. Philadelphia has been featured much more recently, as we focused on their 4-2 victory in Colorado last Thursday, which set their series record at 5-2-0.

The 54-16-5 Washington Capitals are living large, already clinching the Metropolitan Division, Eastern Conference, and regular season championship, aka the President’s Trophy. As you’d expect, they play probably the best hockey in the league, as they’ve given up the fewest goals and scored the second most.

Led by Karl Alzner’s 186 blocks, Washington has allowed only 2142 shots to reach 46-9-4 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.2% for 175 goals against, the fewest in the NHL. Along with that, they’ve successfully killed 84.81% of their penalties for only 36 power play goals against, the fourth best rate in the league.

Offensively, the Capitals focus on quality over quantity, as even with Alex Ovechkin’s team-leading 364 shots, they’ve only fired the puck 2280 times, but a whopping 10.2% have found the back of the net for 236 goals (led by Ovechkin’s 43 tallies), the second most in the league. The Caps‘ power play has been even better, as they’re successful on 22.75% of their attempts, good for 53 extra man goals (led by Ovechkin’s 17 power play tallies), the second best rate in the NHL.

Washington last played to a 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Monday. What makes the Capitals worth watching this evening (other than how well they play the game) is how they approach this game. Although Philadelphia could still advance to the first wildcard spot, this could very well be the Capitals‘ first playoff opponent, so they will be using this game almost as a scouting event for a couple weeks from now.

The 37-25-13 Philadelphia Flyers are currently the fifth best team in the Metropolitan Division and eighth best in the Eastern Conference, qualifying them for the second wildcard spot. To get there, they’ve played the 14th best defense in the league, paired with the 11th worst offense.

Even with Nick Schultz’ 159 blocks, Philadelphia has allowed 2320 shots to reach 20-17-9 Steve Mason and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 199 goals against, the 14th fewest in the NHL. Part of that problem has been a poor penalty kill, which has neutralized only 80.82% of their infractions, allowing 47 power play goals in the process, the 12th worst rate in the league.

Led by Claude Giroux’ 222 shots, the Flyers have fired the puck 2303 times, with 8.4% finding the back of the net for 196 goals (led by Wayne Simmonds’ 26 tallies), the 11th fewest in the league. Once again, part of that problem is due to poor special teams play, as Philly has connected on only 17.97 power play opportunities for 46 extra man goals (led by Simmonds’ 11 power play tallies), the 13th worst rate in the NHL.

Philadelphia last played Monday to a 3-2 overtime home victory over the Jets. With a win tonight, the Flyers would pull within two points of the dormant Islanders, but New York will have a game in hand. Of course, that is only an added benefit of pulling away from Detroit by two points while still having a game in hand over them.

Washington has already won the season series with their 2-0-1 record against Philly. The last time these squads met was February 7, a 3-2 victory in Washington, but that was of course against a Flyers team under much different circumstances. Washington will be using this game to get a better understanding of the Flyers, while Philly desperately wants to win to try to get away from the Capitals during the playoffs.

Some players to watch include Philadelphia‘s Giroux (64 points, including 42 assists, with 20 coming on the power play and 222 shots [all lead the team]), Radko Gudas (280 hits [leads the team]), Schultz (159 blocks [leads the team]) and Simmonds (26 goals, including 11 on the power play [both lead the team]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (47 assists [tied for sixth most in the league]), Holtby (46 wins [leads the league], 2.19 GAA [fifth best in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for sixth best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (53 assists [fourth most in the league], +28 [fourth best in the league] and 73 points [tied for fifth most in the league]) and Ovechkin (43 goals [leads the league]).

This is a tough game to predict the outcome of. On the one hand, since Washington has clinched, they have no need to strain themselves for victories and will be content to go the rest of the regular season without any injuries and well rested. However, they can also play “Playoff Hockey God” if they’d like and try to influence who they’d meet in the first round: Flyers, Islanders or Red Wings. The answer to that question could influence how they play this game. On the other end, we have a Philadelphia team not only intent on qualifying for the playoffs, but also getting as far away from Washington as possible during the playoffs, and the best way to do that is to be the first wildcard team, sending them to the Atlantic Division to fight towards the conference finals. To do that, they need a win tonight over the same competition they want to avoid. Based on talent alone, Washington should win this.

March 30, 2016
March 9 – Day 146 – They left Kings…

For the second night in the row, Boston earned a win in the Sunshine State, and once again it required overtime.

If you like defense and goaltending, this was the game for you. Although there was a combined total of 75 shots on goal, 98.7%, all but the last one, did not find the back of the net.

Marked at the 60:10 mark, Third Star of the Game Brad Marchand scored his 34th goal of the season to earn the Bruins the bonus point. His wrister was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug.

First Star Jonas Gustavsson saved earned the shutout victory after saving all 42 shots he faced, while Second Star Ben Bishop has to take the overtime loss, saving 30 of 31 (96.8%).

Thanks to the Bruins, the road squads are currently riding a five game winning streak in the DtFR Game of the Day series, which now stands at 64-37-15, favoring the home squad by 28 points over the roadies.

This Wednesday is a lighter schedule, although still busier than Monday’s. To start the night, the New York Islanders visit Toronto at 7 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by Chicago at St. Louis. Nashville at Calgary drops the puck at 9:30 p.m. eastern, trailed half an hour later by two more games (Arizona at Vancouver and Anaheim at Colorado). Finally, Washington at Los Angeles, this evening’s nightcap, gets underway at 10:30 p.m. eastern.

Chicago at St. Louis and Arizona at Vancouver are this evening’s only divisional rivalries being played, and another set of two games are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Chicago at St. Louis and Washington at Los Angeles).

This is usually the point of the post where you’ve already figured out which contest I’ve chosen. Alas, the Chicago–St. Louis game, while very important to the standings and a heck of a lot of fun to watch, is not this evening’s choice, but instead it is the return of Mike Richards and Justin Williams to the City of Angels.

This will be Washington‘s 15th appearance in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 10-4-0 record. Their most recent showing in the series was Friday, a 3-2 loss on home ice to the Rangers. Los Angeles was featured the next day in their 3-2 loss to the Ducks, also on home ice. That was their fifth appearance in the series, setting their record in such games at 2-3-0.

Before jumping into game analysis, we must first set the stage. Tonight’s game is the first return by both Richards and Williams to the Staples Center since joining the Capitals this January and last July, respectively. For Kings fans, these returns are of strikingly different varieties – almost similar to a hero and heel of WWE, but few will be in favor of tonight’s villain.

Our hero this evening is Williams, a seven year veteran of the Kings. The right winger joined the squad during the 2008-’09 season after being traded from the Carolina Hurricanes, where he had won a Stanley Cup in 2005-’06. Although the Kings didn’t make the playoffs that season, they did the next five. Williams was an important part of the 2010-’11 and 2011-’12 seasons, where he twice tied for second most points on the squad. Of course, it is the ’11-’12 season that is most memorable, as his 15 playoff points (tied for fourth most on the team) helped lead the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Championship. Williams’ success, especially in assists, continued in the following seasons, as he always ranked at least top-three in points leading up to the 2013-’14 Stanley Cup Championship. After declining last season, the Kings elected not to renew his contract, leading him to sign with the Capitals over the summer.

Not everything about Washington‘s visit will be pleasant for Kings fans, as they also show up with Richards on the squad, our heel for the evening. Richards joined Los Angeles before the 2011-’12 season, and was also on both the teams to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. With the exception of the 2014-’15 season, which witnessed him being sent down to the AHL, Richards consistently ranked top-four in points during the regular season. He was a much bigger contributor to Los Angeles‘ first Cup than the second, as he continued being a top-four point scorer, which he followed up a year later by leading the squad in playoff assists.

Richards’ downfall during the 2014-’15 season was completed in June when the Kings terminated his remaining contract due to drug charges at American-Canadian border. After a long ordeal between the Kings and the NHLPA, Richards was finally eligible to be signed as a free agent in October. Washington signed him to a one-year, $1 million contract in January.

Richards’ and Williams’ new team, the 49-13-4 Washington Capitals, look more and more like the team to have signed with this offseason. Not only do they lead the Metropolitan Division, Eastern Conference and the entire NHL, but they’re doing it by an incredible 14 points. As you’d expect of a team with this kind of success, the Caps play well on both ends of the ice, ranking second best in both scoring and goal prevention.

The offense starts just where you’d expect it to: Alex Ovechkin. His 329 shots more than double Williams’ attempts, and he has the second most on the squad. Overall, the Caps have fired the puck 2025 times, with a spectacular 10.4% finding the back of the net for 214 goals (led by Ovi’s 41 tallies), the second most in the league. Washington‘s special teams are not too far behind, successful on 23.33% of attempts for 49 power play goals (led by Ovechkin’s 16 extra man tallies), the third best conversion rate in the league.

Defensively, the Caps are just as good. Led by Karl Alzner’s 169 blocks, only 1904 shots have reached 41-8-3 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.4% for only 151 goals against, the second fewest in the league. The penalty kill has also been stellar this season, responsible for neutralizing 84.76% of their infractions for only 32 power play goals against.

Washington is currently riding a two game win streak, with their most recent occurring Monday, a 2-1 shootout victory in Anaheim. With 102 points already to their credit, the Capitals are already planning out which hotels they’ll be staying in when they play in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. That being said, they’d like to maintain a 15 point minimum lead for the Presidents’ Trophy to ensure home ice throughout the tournament.

The 39-22-4 Los Angeles Kings currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference. They are led by their defense, which ranks best in the league, but their offense is 14th worst. A more in-depth analysis of LA‘s game can be found within Saturday’s article.

The Kings‘ most recent game was 5-1 win over the Canucks. Tonight’s game is an important one for the Kings, as a win paired with any type of loss for the Ducks propels Los Angeles back to the top of the Pacific Division.

Per usual, teams from opposite conferences meet only twice a year (excluding, of course, the Stanley Cup Finals). Los Angeles has already made their visit to the Verizon Center this year on February 16, falling 3-1.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Los Angeles‘ Anze Kopitar (+26 [tied for fourth best in the league]), Tyler Toffoli (+27 [third best in the league]) and Jonathan Quick (33 wins [tied for third most in the league] and 2.17 GAA [tied for fourth best in the league]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (44 assists [tied for fifth most in the league]), Holtby (41 wins [leads the league], 2.21 GAA [tied for seventh best in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for seventh best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+31 [leads the league], 47 assists [fourth most in the league] and 67 points [fifth most in the league]), Ovechkin (41 goals [leads the league] and +21 [tied for ninth best in the league]) and Williams (+21 [tied for ninth best in the league]).

Los Angeles may own the best defense in the league, but Washington‘s offense will be too much to handle. The Capital that will have the best time this evening will be Williams, who should be well received by the home crowd, but the same may not be able to be said about Richards, who, in fact, may enjoy beating the Kings all the more because of it.

March 9, 2016
March 2 – Day 139 – The best versus, Laich, literally the worst

The Minnesota Wild took command of the third period with three goals to beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3, replacing them as the second wildcard in the process.

It was the road Avalanche who scored the first goal, only 33 seconds into the game on a power play slap shot from Jarome Iginla, who was assisted by Tyson Barrie (his 32nd helper of the season) and Mikkel Boedker. 10:04 later, the Wild leveled the score with a wrister from First Star of the Game Nino Niederreiter (his 13th tally of the season), assisted by Second Star Jason Pominville. That goal opened the floodgates for Minnesota, as Pominville scored only 1:01 later with a wrister of his own, assisted by Niederreiter (his 19th helper of the season). The Wild ended the period with a 3-1 lead, as Erik Haula scored with 2:12 remaining, assisted by Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella.

Colorado‘s best period was the second, as they accounted for both goals scored in the frame. The first of those tallies was Chris Bigras’ first of the season at the 3:25 mark, assisted by Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon (his 28th helper of the season). The Avs leveled the game at three-all at the 12:33 mark with a Cody McLead wrister, assisted by Jack Skille and John Mitchell.

Minnesota‘s game-winner found the back of the net 5:34 after resuming play from the second intermission, courtesy of Charlie Coyle, whose wrister was asssited by Third Star Zach Parise. Coyle accounted for his own insurance goal, scored with 1:27 remaining in regulation on an empty net. He was assisted by Ryan Suter (his 35th helper of the season) and Parise. Niederreiter accounted for the final goal of the game, also an empty netter, with only 44 seconds remaining on the clock, assisted by Pominville (his 22nd helper of the season).

Devan Dubnyk earns the win after saving 30 of 33 (90.9%), while Calvin Pickard takes the loss, saving 15 of 16 (93.8%). He replaced Semyon Varlamov after a three-goal first period, saving only nine of 12 (75%).

With Minnesota‘s win, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 62-34-13, favoring the home squads by 32 points over the roadies.

There’s only three games on the schedule, with the action getting started at 7 p.m. eastern in Washington when Toronto pays the Capitals a visit. 8 p.m. eastern brings with it the Chicago at Detroit (NBCSN) puck drop, which is trailed by two hours by Montréal at Anaheim.

Chicago–Detroit is the only game between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs, but the game that attracts my attention the most is actually Toronto at Washington, due to the return of longtime Capital Brooks Laich.

Toronto has been featured in the Game of the Day series three times before tonight, with their most recent being a 2-1 overtime loss to the Red Wings on home ice on November 6 to set their series record at 0-2-1. As you’d expect from the best team in the league, Washington has been featured a dozen times before tonight’s game, and own a 9-3-0 record in such games. Their most recent in the series was February 18, a 3-2 overtime victory in Brooklyn.

Laich joined the Washington Capitals in a mid-season trade during the 2003-’04 season from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Peter Bondra, himself another longtime member of the Caps‘ organization. He received his first consistent time with the senior squad in the 2005-’06 season, scoring 21 points in 73 games. His breakout offensive season came two years later in 2007-’08, when he began his streak of 16+ goals and 16+ assists (31+ points) for five straight seasons.

Although not the squad’s captain, Laich served as the team representative during the 2012 lockout. This was due to his long career with the organization (in fact, his tenure was the longest active in all of Washington‘s sports teams), which ended up lasting 12 seasons before being traded to the Leafs before the trade deadline due to cap issues.

Laich’s 21-30-10 Toronto Maple Leafs currently rank worst in the NHL, much less the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, and should already be preparing Auston Matthews’ locker for next season. If you could say the team is being led by anything, it would have to be their defense, which ranks eighth worst in the league, as the offense is third worst.

Although the Maple Leafs haven’t played well overall this season, they have done a relatively decent job of keeping shots off the goalkeepers, as only 1871 pucks have found their way to 7-16-3 Jonathan Bernier and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91% for 182 goals against, eighth most in the league. In the grand scheme of things, Toronto‘s penalty kill hasn’t been too bad this season, as their 80.3% kill rate, allowing 40 power play goals against, ranks 13th worst in the league.

The real problem for the Leafs has been their offense. Led by Nazem Kadri’s 209 shots, the Leafs have fired the puck a solid 1908 times, but only 7.4% have found the back of the net for 147 goals (led by Leo Komarov’s 18 tallies), third fewest in the league. The Maple Leafs‘ power play almost perfectly reflects that, as their 14.43% success rate, good for only 28 power play goals (led by P.A. Parenteau’s six extra-man tallies), is worst in the league.

Toronto is currently riding a two-game losing skid, with their most recent being a 2-1 loss to the Lightning on Monday. At this point in the season, the Leafs should not be concerned about what wins do for them, as they should be more worried about bettering their odds for the Matthews sweepstakes.

The 46-12-4 Washington Capitals not only lead the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference, but they even lead the league by 13 points. They’ve made it to that position by playing the best defense in the league, paired with the second best offense.

Led by Karl Alzner’s 153 blocks, the Caps have allowed only 1760 shots to reach 39-7-3 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.3% for only 142 goals against, the fewest in the NHL. That success has only slightly left them on the penalty kill, where their 83.94% kill rate, allowing only 31 power play goals, ranks fifth best.

The offense, led by none other than Captain Alex Ovechkin, is only steps behind the defense. Led by his 312 shots on goal, the Caps have fired the puck 1869 times, of which a whopping 10.6% have found the back of the net for 202 goals (led by Ovechkin’s 40 tallies), second most in the NHL. Washington‘s power play is beyond deadly, successful on 23.71% of attempts for 46 extra man tallies (led by Ovechkin’s 16 power play goals), tops in the league.

Washington played the Penguins last night, winning 3-2 on home ice. With a win tonight, the Caps improve their lead in the division and conference to 18 points, and have the potential to improve their lead for the Presidents’ Trophy to 15 points.

Washington currently leads the season series 2-0-0, but the Leafs did take them to a shootout in their first meeting in early November. These squads more recently met on November 28 in Toronto, where the Caps earned a 4-2 victory.

Some players to keep an eye on include Toronto‘s Kadri (22 assists and 209 shots [both lead the team]), Komarov (35 points,18 of which are goals, 13 at even strength and one short-handed, and 255 hits [all lead the team]), Parenteau (six power play goals and three game-winners [both lead the team]) and Morgan Rielly (17 even strength assists [leads the team]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (41 assists [eighth most in the league]), Holtby (40 wins [leads the league], 2.22 GAA [tied for eighth best in the league] and .923 save percentage [10th best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+30 [leads the league], 45 assists [tied for third most in the league] and 65 points [fifth most in the league]) and Ovechkin (40 goals [most in the league], +23 [tied for fifth best in the league] and 58 points [10th most in the league]).

It doesn’t take much to determine that Washington should win this game easily. The real question is the size of the goal differential.

March 2, 2016
February 18 – Day 126 – Islander Wars, Episode II: Return of the Caps

New York beat Chicago in the first game of the season. Chicago finally got the opportunity to return the favor, and capitalized on it, winning 5-3.

It didn’t take long before Chicago had their first goal, courtesy of Andrew Desjardins at the 3:30 mark. His tip-in was assisted by Second Star of the Game Teuvo Teravainen and Niklas Hjalmarsson (his 16th helper of the season). That goal was the only one of the period, so the Hawks took their lead into the dressing room.

At the 10:05 mark of the second, Chicago struck again with a power play wrister from First Star Artemi Panarin (his 20th tally of the season), assisted by Erik Gustafsson and Michal Rozsival. New York finally got on the board 3:40 later with a wrister from Third Star Kevin Hayes, assisted by Oscar Lindberg’s 12th helper of the season. The Hawks‘ 2-1 lead held into the second intermission.

The Blueshirts leveled the score only 24 seconds after resuming play, courtesy of a Derick Brassard power play snapper, assisted by Keith Yandle (his 28th helper of the season) and Chris Kreider. They followed that goal 1:53 later with a Dan Boyle slap shot, assisted by Hayes (his 17th helper of the season) and J.T. Miller. The Blackhawks took offense to New York‘s goal streak, so they went on one of their own, thanks in large part to two Rangers penalties. The first of those two power play goals occurred at the 9:53 mark, courtesy of an Andrew Shaw slap shot, who was assisted by Teravainen and Jonathan Toews (his 21st helper of the season) to level the game at three-all. The Hawks broke the tie with only three minutes remaining in regulation on another power play. Panarin scored his second of the night, assisted by Patrick Kane (his 49th helper of the season) and Brent Seabrook. The final goal of the game came 1:49 later when Duncan Keith earned his 30th helper of the season with the assist on Panarin’s first professional hat trick-completing tally, which set the score at the 5-3 final.

Corey Crawford earns the win, saving 31 of 34 (91.2%), while Henrik Lundqvist takes the loss after saving 15 of 19 (78.9%).

The Game of the Day series now stands at 56-29-11, favoring the home squad by 33 points over the roadies.

This Thursday, we have a busy schedule, with 11 games on the docket. First up are the two games that start at 7 p.m. eastern (Washington at the New York Islanders and Detroit at Pittsburgh [NBCSN]), followed half an hour later by four more (the New York Rangers at Toronto, Carolina at Ottawa, Winnipeg at Tampa Bay and San Jose at Florida). 8 p.m. eastern brings with it a couple more games (Los Angeles at St. Louis and Boston at Nashville), followed 60 minutes later by another pair (Minnesota at Edmonton and Dallas at Arizona). The final game of the night is Anaheim at Vancouver, which drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern.

Washington at New York and Anaheim at Vancouver represent the only two divisional rivalries taking place this evening, and five are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Washington at New York, Detroit at Pittsburgh, San Jose at Florida, Los Angeles at St. Louis and Boston at Nashville). Washington at New York is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

As usual, we try to go with games that qualify for most or all of those groups. Washington–New York is in all three, and selfishly, it’s been awhile since we’ve featured either squad, so let’s hop on the B Train and head to the Barcalays Center!

Tonight’s game will be Washington‘s 12th in the series, where they currently own a 8-3-0 record. Their most recent showing under our focus was February 6, when they visited New Jersey and won 3-2 in the shootout. New York hasn’t been featured since their February 4 trip to Washington, where they fell 3-2 in their fourth featured game, dropping their record in the series to 1-3-0.

The 41-10-4 Washington Capitals are currently the best team in the NHL by a five-point margin. They’ve earned that position honestly, as they sport the best defense backed by only the second-best offense.

Thanks in part to Karl Alzner’s team-leading 143 blocks, the Caps‘ defense has allowed only 1598 shots to reach 35-6-3 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.6% for only 126 goals against, fewest in the league. Although they don’t own the top penalty kill, Washington‘s special team is still a force to be reckoned with, as it’s killed 83.91% of penalties for only 28 power play goals against, fifth-best in the league.

Washington‘s offense is second-rate only in the literal sense that it is second-best in the league in goals scored (184, led by Alex Ovechkin’s 35 tallies). Ovechkin, with his 276 shots, has also led his squad to 1675 attempts, of which a whopping 10.8% find the back of the net. The success continues to the power play, where the Caps rank number one with their 23.7% success rate that has provided them 41 extra-man goals (led by Ovechkin’s 14).

At this point, Washington is most concerned with clinching the Presidents’ Trophy, as neither the Rangers nor Florida are providing much competition for either the division or conference, respectively. With a victory tonight to begin a win-streak (they beat the Kings 3-1 Tuesday), the Capitals expand their lead for home ice back to seven points over Chicago.

The 30-19-6 New York Islanders currently occupy third in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. They’ve made it to that position by playing the eighth-best offense and the ninth-best defense, so they are a very well-rounded team.

Led by John Tavares’ 170 shots, the Isles have fired 1680 attempts, of which 9.3% have found the back of the net for 161 tallies, eighth-most in the league. That success hasn’t carried over to the power play as much, as their 20.37% success rate, good for 33 goals, ranks only 11th-best in the league.

The defense is right behind, and led by injured Calvin de Haan’s 139 blocks to allow only 1652 shots to reach 16-6-2 Thomas Greiss and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 141 goals against, ninth-fewest in the league. That success draws almost directly from the second-best penalty kill in the league, as the Isles kill an incredible 86.96% of their penalties for only 21 extra-man goals against. They also have taken advantage of opportunities well, as they have five short-handed goals to their credit (led by Cal Clutterbuck’s two shorties).

New York most recently played on Monday, beating the Red Wings 4-1. Should the Islanders manage to turn that win into a streak, they have the opportunity to pull within two points of their Manhattan rivals, but that is also dependent on cooperation from Toronto. More importantly than that though is avoiding falling out of a division spot, which is possible if they lose and Pittsburgh wins this evening.

Washington currently leads the season series 2-0-0, but the February 4 game was certainly an improvement for the Isles against the Caps, as they fell by only a lone goal instead of three.

These squads also met in last season’s playoffs, where the Caps won in seven games in the first round. New York has not beaten Washington since Game Six on April 25, and certainly has aspirations of ending that skid.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include New York‘s Greiss (.931 save percentage [second-best in the league] and 2.16 GAA [tied for sixth-best in the league]) & Washington‘s Alzner (+21 [tied for sixth-best in the league]), Nicklas Backstrom (53 points [tied for eighth-best in the league] and 36 assists [tied for ninth-most in the league]), Holtby (35 wins [most in the league], 2.16 GAA [tied for sixth-best in the league] and .926 [seventh-best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+27 [leads the league], 41 assists [third-most in the league] and 57 points [tied for fifth-most in the league]) and Ovechkin (35 goals [leads the league] and +21 [tied for sixth-best in the league]).

Although I think New York is better than their 9-7-1 record in their last 17 games, I don’t really think it matters. Washington has already started building Donald Trump’s wall, and it’s name is Braden Holtby. And, when you pair it with Ovechkin’s offense… New York will be lucky to take the Caps to overtime.

February 18, 2016
February 4 – Day 112 – It’s another rematch!

In what is currently a First Round matchup in the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning held home ice to earn the 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

The Bolts scored the first goal after 21:23 of play, courtesy of a J.T. Brown wrister, assisted by Braydon Coburn (his seventh helper of the season), but the Wings leveled the score only 3:43 later with a snap shot from Gustav Nyquist, assisted by Tomas Tatar (his 15th helper of the season) and Kyle Quincey. Tampa‘s game-winner came at the 6:30 mark of the second with a Tyler Johnson wrister, assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman (his 24th helper of the season). The 2-1 Lightning lead held into the second intermission.

The Lightning‘s lone insurance goal was Kucherov’s 21st tally of the season, a wrister off the assist from Ondrej Palat, setting the score at the 3-1 final.

Ben Bishop earns the win by saving 24 of 25 (96%), while Petr Mrazek takes the loss after saving 20 of 23 (87%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 49-24-9, favoring the home squad by 34 points.

It’s a busy Thursday in the NHL! The action starts at… you guessed it… 7 p.m. eastern (Boston at Buffalo and Minnesota at the New York Rangers)! 7:30 p.m. eastern brings with it four more games (the New York Islanders at Washington [NBCSN], New Jersey at Toronto, Edmonton at Ottawa and Detroit at Florida), followed by two more at the top of the hour (San Jose at St. Louis and Philadelphia at Nashville). 9 p.m. eastern brings with it two games (Dallas at Colorado and Chicago at Arizona), with the co-nightcaps occurring an hour later (Columbus at Vancouver and Anaheim at Los Angeles [NBCSN]).

Five of tonight’s 12 games are between divisional rivals (Boston at Buffalo, New York at Washington, Detroit at Florida, Dallas at Colorado and Anaheim at Los Angeles), while another set of five are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at Washington, Detroit at Florida, San Jose at St. Louis, Dallas at Colorado and Anaheim at Los Angeles).

Four of tonight’s games have some special notes associated. Minnesota brings with them Jarret Stoll, an ex-Ranger of this season, and Edmonton‘s Eric Gryba makes his first return to Ottawa after three seasons of playing with the Sens. New York–Washington is a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, and John Tortorella will coach his first game in Vancouver since being released in May of 2014.

While those returns are intriguing, we grow closer to the playoffs everyday, and what better way to realize that than taking a look at last year?

Tonight is New York‘s fourth game in the DtFR Game of the Day series, in which they own a 1-2-0 record. Their most recent appearance was on January 25 when they hosted the Red Wings and lost 4-2. Washington has been featured nine times before tonight’s game, and own a 6-3-0 record in such games, with their most recent being a 5-2 victory over the Rangers on home ice.

The 26-16-6 New York Islanders currently sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. They have a top-10 defense paired with one of the better offenses in the league.

Led by Calvin de Haan’s 169 blocks, the Islanders defense has allowed only 1457 shots to reach 12-9-4 Jaroslav Halak and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.5% for only 118 goals against, eighth fewest in the league. The Isles also own the second-best penalty kill in the league, killing 86.9% for only 19 power play goals against.

John Tavares has spearheaded the Islanders‘ offense with a team-leading 145 shots, with the team being responsible for 1460 shots total. 9% have found the back of the net for 132 goals (led by Brock Nelson’s 20 tallies). The biggest thing holding the Islanders back is their 15th-worst power play. They’re successful on only 18.12% of attempts for 25 power play goals (led by Frans Nielsen’s five).

New York‘s most recent game was a 5-3 victory over the Wild on Tuesday. Pending the Rangers‘ result against those Wild, the Islanders do have the opportunity to jump the Blueshirts into second place in the division.

The 35-9-4 Washington Capitals are currently the best team in the league, leading the second place Chicago Blackhawks by two points. There’s no doubting that they deserve that spot, as they have the best defense and second-best offense.

Led by Karl Alzner’s 122 blocks, the Caps have only allowed 1376 shots to reach 30-5-3 Braden Holtby and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.6% for only 108 goals against, fewest in the league. Part of the reason Washington has found such success has been their seventh-best penalty kill, killing 83.67% of opposing power plays for only 24 power play goals against.

The offense is no slouch, either. Led by Alex Ovechkin’s 234 shots, the Capitals have fired 1482 pucks on goal, of which a whopping 10.7% have found the back of the net for 158 goals (Ovechkin leads the way with 28 tallies). That offense has been supported by the league-leading offense, scoring on 25.33% for 38 goals (led by Ovechkin’s 11 power play tallies).

Going back to before the All-Star Game, the Capitals are actually on a two-game losing skid, with their most recent being a 5-2 loss to the Panthers on Tuesday. While the Capitals may not have anyone to surpass, a win tonight does have the potential to increase their lead over the Rangers in the division, the Panthers in the conference and the Blackhawks for the Presidents’ Trophy.

In their only other meeting this season, the Capitals beat the Islanders 4-1 in Brooklyn on January 7. While that game may not have been so tight, last season’s playoff series was. The Caps needed seven games to knock off the Isles before eventually falling to the other team from the Big Apple.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include New York‘s Thomas Greiss (.927 save percentage [tied for ninth-best in the league]) and Washington‘s Holtby (30 wins [leads the league], 2.07 GAA [fifth-best in the league] and .929 save percentage [tied for sixth-best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+25 [leads the league], 36 assists [third-most in the league] and 51 points [fifth-most in the league]) and Ovechkin (28 goals [tied for second-most in the league] and +20 [tied for sixth-best in the league]).

It’s tough to pick against the Capitals, especially on home ice. Washington expects to pick up the offense this night, as Ovi is making his return after serving his one-game suspension for missing/skipping the All-Star Game. I think this skid ends at two.

February 4, 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 7 – Day 89 – For a team that calls themselves the Caps, you’d figure their logo would be in all-caps like the Islanders…

First Star of the Game Bo Horvat scored twice in the third period to clinch the 3-2 Vancouver victory in Yesterday’s Game of the Day against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It was actually the Canes that struck first in this one, but it wasn’t until 28:02 had ticked off the clock. It was an important score for Carolina, as Jordan Staal earned his ninth assist of the season, helping Second Star John-Michael Liles to a short-handed goal, the first of the year for the squad. Vancouver leveled the score with 2:21 remaining on the clock when Adam Cracknell and Christopher Tanev assisted Third Star Sven Baertschi, the score that held into the second intermission.

The Canucks took their first lead of the game when Matt Bartkowski (his eighth assist of the season) and Alex Biega assisted Horvat 7:15 after resuming play. Their lead was short-lived though, as Noah Hanifin assisted Staal to his eighth goal of the season to knot the score at two. The game-winner came with only 1:06 remaining on the clock, courtesy of Horvat after being assisted by Baertschi (his seventh on the season) and Linden Vey on the power play.

These Swedish goalkeepers go way back, even before their NHL days. Eddie Läck began backing up Jacob Markstrom in 2009, when both played for Brynäs IF, and continued their relationship into the NHL, as both played in the Canucks‘ system. Markstrom got the advantage in this one, saving 26 of 28 (92.9%) to improve his record to 5-5-3. Läck’s record falls to 5-7-3 after saving 18 of 21 (85.7%).

Today’s Thursday schedule is an exciting one, with eight playoff teams in action. The festivities get started at 7 p.m. eastern when Washington visits the New York Islanders (TVAS/SN360), followed half an hour later by Florida at Ottawa (RDS). Philadelphia at Minnesota (NBCSN) gets started at 8 p.m. eastern, followed 30 minutes later by Winnipeg at Dallas. 9 p.m. eastern starts the Arizona at Calgary game, and this evening’s nightcaps start an hour and a half later (Toronto at Los Angeles and Detroit at San Jose).

Four of tonight’s games are between division rivals (Washington at New York, Florida at Ottawa, Winnipeg at Dallas and Arizona at Calgary), and Washington at New York represents the only game between two playoff qualifiers in addition to being an Eastern Conference Quarterfinal rematch.

Take all that information into account, and I challenge you to take a guess as to which game we’ll watch…

Washington has been featured in the DtFR Game of the Day series sixth times before this evening, and own a 3-3-0 record under such circumstances. Their most recent showing in the series was a 7-3 victory in Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers on December 20. New York has been featured only one time before, a 4-0 victory over the Devils on December 13.

The 29-7-3 Washington Capitals are currently the best team in the NHL, leading the Metropolitan Division by 12 points, the Eastern Conference by nine points, and the league by a lone point. Almost every facet of their game works to a t, as they lead the league in goals against and are second in goals for.

Good defenses keep the puck off their goalie as much as possible, and that is exactly what the Caps are doing. Thanks in part to Karl Alzner’s 103 blocks, they’ve allowed only 1105 shots to reach 25-4-2 Braden Holtby and co., who’ve collectively saved 92.9% (leads the league average by 1.3%) for only 84 goals against, 21 below the league average and tops in the NHL. Washington‘s been even better on the penalty kill, where they’ve saved 84.21% of the 114 attempts they’ve defended (3.51% above the league average), allowing only 18 goals.

Another thing good defenses do is get the puck to their forwards, and these forwards are some of the best in the business as well. Led by Alex Ovechkin’s 192 shots, the Capitals have put the puck on net 1183 times, of which 10.3% have found the back of the net for 122 tallies (led by Ovechkin’s 21). They’ve been especially potent on the power play, scoring on 25.83% of their attempts for 31 goals (led by Ovechkin’s seven).

The Caps‘ most recent showing was a 3-2 victory in Boston on Tuesday.

The 22-13-5 New York Islanders currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. Similar to Washington, the Isles play a very balanced game, but New York slightly favors the offensive end.

So far this season, New York has put 1191 shots on net (led by John Tavares’ 113), of which 9.2% have turned into goals for 110 tallies (led by Tavares’ 15), eighth-most in the league. Probably the biggest deficiency in the offense has been their power play. On 112 attempts, the Isles have scored 21 goals (led by Frans Nielsen’s four) for a 18.75% success rate that trails the league average by .55%.

What makes this Islanders team good is that the offense isn’t playing this well to overcome defensive or goaltending struggles. Although Calvin de Haan has 100 blocks to his credit, 1210 shots have still made their way to 12-6-2 Thomas Greiss and co., who have collectively saved 92.5% for only 97 goals against. And even though one special team has been struggling doesn’t mean that the other is. New York‘s penalty kill is great, killing 85.59% of 118 attempts for only 17 goals against.

The Isles‘ most recent game was a 6-5 victory over the Stars on Sunday.

Some players to watch in tonight’s game include New York‘s Greiss (.928 save percentage [sixth-best in the league]) or Jaroslav Halak (2.09 GAA [seventh-best in the league]) & Washington‘s Holtby (25 wins [best in the league], 1.93 GAA [second-best in the league] and .932 save percentage [tied for third-best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+18 [tied for fourth-best in the league]) and Ovechkin (21 goals [fifth-best in the league] and +15 [tenth-best in the league]).

Last season, these squads met in the first round of the playoffs, with Washington needing all seven games to knock off the Islanders. Both teams seem to have improved since then, making this game and the season-series all the better to watch.

It doesn’t matter where they play, it is tough to pick against Washington. The Islanders and their fans will put up a good fight, especially given how the playoffs went last year, but I think the Capitals can get out of the Barclays Center with two points.

January 7, 2016