Down the Frozen River

Tag: Mike Green

  • Preview: Game 50- Avalanche @ Bruins

    Preview: Game 50- Avalanche @ Bruins

    Monday afternoon at TD Garden, the Colorado Avalanche visit the Boston Bruins in the conclusion of their regular season series– in which the Avs are in the midst of their second-longest road winning streak in club history at seven games.

    Colorado’s longest road win streak in franchise history was set during the 2019-20 season when the Avs won nine consecutive games on the road from Feb. 4-March 2, 2020.

    The last time the Avalanche won seven straight road games was back in the 1998-99 season, when Colorado won seven games away from home from Jan. 10-Feb. 7, 1999.

    Boston, on the other hand, is coming off of a, 3-2, overtime win in Ottawa on Saturday– having finished their four-game road trip with a 2-1-1 record.

    On Jan. 26th, the Bruins lost, 4-3, in overtime at Ball Arena as the Avalanche continued their franchise record 18-game home win streak in the process.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters after practice on Sunday that Jeremy Swayman would likely get the start in the crease after consulting with goaltending coach, Bob Essensa, and that Derek Forbort would return to the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch in the win against the Senators.

    As a result of Forbort returning to action, Connor Clifton will likely return to the press box for Monday’s matinée matchup.

    The Bruins will be without the services of Jakub Zboril and Brad Marchand as Zboril remains out for the rest of the season due to his right ACL injury, while Marchand will serve the sixth game out of his six-game suspension on Monday for his antics against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender, Tristan Jarry, back on Feb. 8th.

    Linus Ullmark is expected to serve as Swayman’s backup against Colorado, while Anton Blidh likely remains out of the lineup with Marchand out until Feb. 24th amidst other temporary roster adjustments.

    For instance, Cassidy remains committed to Charlie Coyle as the second line center with Trent Frederic at left wing and Craig Smith on right wing while Taylor Hall is required to fill-in for Marchand on the first line alongside Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.

    As a result, Erik Haula was slotted on the left side of Jack Studnicka in Ottawa while Nick Foligno served as the third line right wing.

    Jake DeBrusk scored a goal in Saturday’s win and played alongside fourth line regulars, Tomáš Nosek and Curtis Lazar, leaving no room for Blidh to get back into the lineup until Marchand returns, at least.

    In summary, Boston will likely be without Zboril, Marchand, Blidh and Clifton on Monday.

    The Bruins (28-17-4, 60 points) enter Monday 4th place in the Atlantic Division and in command of the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference, while Coloardo leads the Central Division, Western Conference as well as the entire National Hockey League standings with a 36-9-4 record (76 points).

    Both teams have played in 49 games and will take part in their 50th game of the season against one another.

    Boston is 15-10-1 at home this season and 4-4-2 in their last ten games, while the Avalanche are 15-6-2 on the road and 8-1-1 in their last ten games.

    The Bruins are 73-58-15-3 in 149 regular season games against the Avalanche/Québec Nordiques in franchise history with 557 goals for and 488 goals against in that span.

    Marchand leads the B’s in scoring this season with 21-28–49 totals in 39 games played, while Pastrnak leads the team in goals (25) and ranks second in points (46) in 49 games.

    Bergeron rounds out the top-three in team scoring with 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 45 games.

    A few milestones are within reach in Monday’s matinée meeting with the Avalanche.

    Bergeron (20) is one shorthanded goal away from tying Don Marcotte (21) for the 4th-most shorthanded goals in franchise history, Coyle (198) is two assists away from his 200th career NHL assist and Haula (99) is one goal away from his 100th career NHL goal.

    At the other end of the rink, the Avalanche are 13-2-1-1 in 17 games at TD Garden– outscoring the Bruins, 45-28, in that span– and 4-0-0 in day games this season.

    Colorado is 12-2-1 in matinée games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.

    Nazem Kadri leads the Avs in scoring so far this season with 63 points (21 goals, 42 assists) in 46 games, while Mikko Rantanen (26-32–58 totals in 46 games) and Cale Makar (18-32–50 totals in 45 games) round out the top-three on the roster.

    Makar had an assist in Colorado’s, 5-3, win at Buffalo on Saturday and reached the 50-point plateau for his second time in three seasons (he’s yet to appear in 57 or more games in a regular season thus far) and did so in his 45th game of the season.

    He trails only Brian Leetch (38 games in 1991-92, 43 games in 1990-91), Mike Green (43 games in 2008-09), Gary Suter (44 games in 1987-88) and Steve Duchesne (44 games in 1988-89) among defenders aged 23 or younger in reaching 50 points in as few games since 1986-87.

    In the crease, Swayman (10-7-3, 2.14 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 21 games played) is expected to get the start for the Bruins after making 29 saves on 31 shots faced in Saturday’s, 3-2, overtime win in Ottawa.

    Darcy Kuemper (25-5-2, 2.40 goals-against average, .920 save percentage in 35 games played) is likely to get the start for the Avalanche after making 29 saves on 32 shots faced in Saturday’s, 5-3, win against the Sabres in Buffalo.

    He made 29 saves on 32 shots against in Colorado’s, 4-3, overtime victory against Boston on Jan. 26th, while Ullmark turned aside 37 out of 41 shots faced in the overtime loss for the B’s.

    The Bruins host the Avalanche before embarking on a six-game road trip through Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Vegas and Columbus, while Colorado finishes up a four-game road trip in Detroit on Wednesday after Monday’s matinée in Boston.

    Expected lineups

    Boston Bruins

    BRUINS LINES

    71 Taylor Hall 37 Patrice Bergeron (C) 88 David Pastrnak (A)

    11 Trent Frederic 13 Charlie Coyle 12 Craig Smith

    56 Erik Haula 23 Jack Studnicka 17 Nick Foligno

    74 Jake DeBrusk 92 Tomáš Nosek 20 Curtis Lazar

    58 Urho Vaakanainen 73 Charlie McAvoy

    48 Matt Grzelcyk 25 Brandon Carlo (A)

    28 Derek Forbort 6 Mike Reilly

    1 Jeremy Swayman

    35 Linus Ullmark

    Healthy scratches and injured members (officially TBA, below is only a prediction based on last game)

    John Moore (unlisted), Brad Marchand (suspension), Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Connor Clifton, Anton Blidh

    Colorado Avalanche

    92 Gabriel Landeskog (C) 29 Nathan MacKinnon (A) 96 Mikko Rantanen (A)

    13 Valeri Nichuskin 91 Nazem Kadri 95 Andre Burakovsky

    17 Tyson Jost 37 J.T. Compher 16 Nicolas Aube-Kubel

    43 Darren Helm 18 Alex Newhook 25 Logan O’Connor

    7 Devon Toews 8 Cale Makar

    3 Jack Johnson 49 Samuel Girard

    28 Ryan Murray 6 Erik Johnson

    35 Darcy Kuemper

    39 Pavel Francouz

    Healthy scratches and injured members (officially TBA, below is only a prediction based on last game)

    Bowen Byram (upper body), Stefan Matteau (IR), Kurtis MacDermid

    Goaltending stats entering Monday

    Boston Bruins

    1 Jeremy Swayman 10-7-3 in 21 GP, 2.14 GAA .923 SV%, 2 SO

    35 Linus Ullmark 16-8-1 in 26 GP, 2.79 GAA .909 SV%, 0 SO

    Colorado Avalanche

    35 Darcy Kuemper 25-5-2 in 35 GP, 2.40 GAA, .920 SV%, 3 SO

    39 Pavel Francouz 7-2-0 in 9 GP, 2.39 GAA, .921 SV%, 2 SO

  • DTFR Podcast #206- What’s Kapanen, My Dudes?

    DTFR Podcast #206- What’s Kapanen, My Dudes?

    The DTFR Duo discuss Photoshop, Todd Reirden’s firing, Arizona Coyotes draft violations, the Kasperi Kapanen trade back to Pittsburgh and the Second Round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    Dates, awards finalists, opting out, new faces, exhibition schedule and the Ottawa Senators rebrand.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • 2020 NHL Trade Deadline Recap

    Below is a quick recap of all the trades that officially occurred on Monday prior to the National Hockey League’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

    The Edmonton Oilers kicked things off early Monday morning by sending F Kyle Brodziak and a conditional 2020 4th round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for D Mike Green.

    Edmonton surrenders their 4th round pick in the deal unless the Oilers advance to the Western Conference Final with Green playing in 50 percent of the playoff games in the first two rounds combined, in which case, Detroit would then receive Edmonton’s 2021 3rd round pick.

    Detroit retained 50% of Green’s salary in the transaction. MORE

    The Colorado Avalanche traded a 2021 4th round pick to the Ottawa Senators for F Vladislav Namestnikov. MORE

    F Jean-Gabriel Pageau was traded by the Ottawa Senators to the New York Islanders for a conditional 2020 1st round pick, a 2020 2nd round pick and a conditional 2022 3rd round pick.

    If the 2020 1st round pick is in the top-3 overall selections, then Ottawa receives the Islanders’ 2021 1st round pick. If New York wins this Stanley Cup this year, then Ottawa receives the Islanders’ 2022 3rd round pick. MORE

    The Carolina Hurricanes traded F Erik Haula, F Lucas Wallmark, F Eetu Luostarinen and D Chase Priskie to the Florida Panthers for F Vincent Trocheck. MORE

    F Nate Thompson was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2021 5th round pick. MORE

    The San Jose Sharks traded F Patrick Marleau to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional 2021 3rd round pick.

    If Pittsburgh wins the Cup, then San Jose receives a 2021 2nd round pick instead. MORE

    D Calle Rosen was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Toronto Maple Leafs for G Michael Hutchinson. MORE

    The Philadelphia Flyers acquired Derek Grant from the Anaheim Ducks for Kyle Criscuolo and a 4th round pick. MORE

    F Wayne Simmonds was traded by the New Jersey Devils to the Buffalo Sabres for a 2021 5th round pick. The Devils retained 50% of Simmonds’ salary ($2.500 million) in the trade. MORE

    F Danton Heinen was traded by the Boston Bruins to the Anaheim Ducks for F Nick Ritchie. MORE

    The Montreal Canadiens traded F Matthew Peca to the Ottawa Senators for F Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 7th round pick.

    The Detroit Red Wings traded F Andreas Athanasiou and F Ryan Kuffner to the Edmonton Oilers for F Sam Gagner, a 2020 2nd round pick and a 2021 2nd round pick.

    F Tyler Ennis was traded by the Ottawa Senators to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2021 5th round pick. MORE

    The Calgary Flames acquired D Derek Forbort from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional 2021 4th round pick.

    F Evan Rodrigues and F Conor Sheary were traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the Pittsburgh Penguins for F Dominik Kahun.

    The Dallas Stars traded D Emil Djuse to the Florida Panthers for a 2020 6th round pick (originally belonging to the Buffalo Sabres).

    D Sami Vatanen was traded by the New Jersey Devils to the Carolina Hurricanes for F Janne Kuokkanen, D Fredrik Claesson and a conditional 2020 4nd round pick.

    If Vatanen plays a certain number of games, then the pick can become a 3rd round pick.

    G Robin Lehner was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Chicago Blackhawks, then was flipped to the Vegas Golden Knights in a three-team trade.

    Toronto acquired a 2020 5th round pick from Vegas, while retaining a portion of Lehner’s salary to complete the trade.

    Chicago acquired G Malcolm Subban, D Slava Demin and a 2020 2nd round pick (originally belonging to Pittsburgh) from Vegas.

    Vegas acquired Lehner and and F Martins Dzierkals.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired F Devin Shore from the Anaheim Ducks for F Sonny Milano.

    The Carolina Hurricanes acquired D Brady Skjei from the New York Rangers for a 2020 1st round pick.

    D Erik Gustafsson was traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Calgary Flames for a 2020 3rd round pick.

    F Barclay Goodrow and a 2020 3rd round pick (originally acquired from Philadelphia) were traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2020 1st round pick and F Anthony Greco.

    The New Jersey Devils traded G Louis Domingue to the Vancouver Canucks for G Zane McIntyre.

    D Brandon Davidson was traded by the Calgary Flames to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations.

    The Anaheim Ducks traded D Korbinian Holzer to the Nashville Predators for D Matt Irwin and a 2022 6th round pick.

    D Christian Djoos was traded by the Washington Capitals to the Anaheim Ducks for F Daniel Sprong.

    F Nick Cousins was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2021 4th round pick.

    The Philadelphia Flyers traded D T.J. Brennan to the Chicago Blackhawks for F Nathan Noel.

    In a minor trade, the New York Islanders sent F Matt Lorito to the Toronto Maple Leafs for D Jordan Schmaltz.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets traded F Markus Hannikainen to the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional 2020 7th round pick.

    G Angus Redmond and a conditional 2022 7th round pick were traded by the Anaheim Ducks to the Edmonton Oilers for D Joel Persson.

  • Analysis: Oilers add depth on blue line in Green with Klefbom out

    Early Monday morning, the Edmonton Oilers jumpstarted the 2020 NHL trade deadline by acquiring Mike Green from the Detroit Red Wings while most fans on the East Coast were likely sleeping.

    The Red Wings acquired Kyle Brodziak and a conditional 2020 4th round pick in return.

    If the Oilers make the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, advance to the Western Conference Final and Green plays in 50 percent of the playoff games in the first two rounds, then Detroit receives Edmonton’s 2021 3rd round pick instead of their 2020 4th round pick.

    Detroit retained 50% ($2.688 million) of Green’s salary in the trade.

    Green, 34, has three goals and eight assists (11 points) in 48 games with Detroit this season and was third on the team in blocked shots (63) at the time of the trade.

    A Calgary, Alberta native, Green was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round (29th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

    He has 10-27–37 totals in 76 career Stanley Cup Playoff games and 150-351–501 totals in 878 career regular season games for the Red Wings and Capitals.

    Oilers General Manager, Ken Holland, addressed a need for a durable extra body in Edmonton’s own end with Oscar Klefbom out two-to-three weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in Feb. 19th’s, 2-1, overtime loss against the Boston Bruins.

    Green is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

    Brodziak, 35, has not played this season due to a back injury and will remain on the long-term injured reserve for Detroit.

    He is in the final year of his current contract ($1.150 million cap hit) and will be a pending-UFA at season’s end and has 129-167–296 totals in 917 career NHL games with the Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.

  • DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

    DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

    Some firsts, 100s, broken fingers and pointing fingers– who should be concerned about their job security behind the bench? Plus Cap’n and Pete are back.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • DTFR Podcast #151- Gritty’s European Vacation

    DTFR Podcast #151- Gritty’s European Vacation

    The DTFR Duo breaks down Jimmy Howard’s one-year extension with the Detroit Red Wings, Gritty’s allegiance in the 2019 NHL Global Series, the New York Islanders’ bottom-six dilemma, Ilya Kovalchuk’s relationship with the Los Angeles Kings, more awards and a look at how things should stack up in the Metropolitan Division for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show onPatreon.

  • DTFR Podcast #149- SnapFace with Zach Boychuk

    DTFR Podcast #149- SnapFace with Zach Boychuk

    We’re less than a month away from the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, so let’s take a gander at how things should shape up for the Central Division.

    The Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the first postseason berth this season, Quinn Hughes signed his entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, Shane Wright was granted exceptional status and the DTFR Duo presented the first few individual season awards.

    *Zach Boychuk wasn’t actually on… …this time around, anyway.*

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show onPatreon.

  • DTFR Podcast #133- Stuffed

    DTFR Podcast #133- Stuffed

    The Original Trio reunites to talk recent trades, recent coaching changes, the Buffalo Sabres current winning streak, a haphazard review of the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers, as well as a look at the division standings as of American Thanksgiving.

    Craig Berube is now in charge behind the bench of the St. Louis Blues and Ken Hitchcock is back from retirement to coach the Oilers after Mike Yeo and Todd McLellan were both fired respectively from their clubs.

    Rasmus Dahlin continues to emerge as a star in Buffalo as the team rises in the standings– can the Sabres keep this up? Will Dahlin get some votes for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year and does Phil Housley deserve credit for the team’s turnaround?

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Athanasiou’s two-goal night lifts Red Wings over the Bruins, 3-2, in OT

    Detroit Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou scored the game-tying goal in the third period, then added his second goal of the night for the sudden death victory in overtime, 3-2, over the Boston Bruins Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

    Jimmy Howard (7-6-2, 2.60 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 15 games played) made 34 saves on 36 shots against for a .944 SV% in the win for Detroit, while Tuukka Rask (4-4-2, 2.79 GAA, .909 SV% in 10 GP) got the start for the Bruins and picked up the loss, despite making 24 saves on 27 shots faced for an .889 SV%.

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    The Red Wings improved to 10-9-2 (22 points) on the season and leapfrogged the Ottawa Senators for 6th place in the Atlantic Division standings. Boston fell to 11-6-4 (26 points), but improved to 4th place in the Atlantic by virtue of having one game in-hand over the Montreal Canadiens.

    Wednesday night was the 300th meeting in Detroit between the two franchises, with the Bruins now holding an all-time record of 86-159-55 in Hockeytown, while the Red Wings are now 8-3-3 in their last 14 home games against Boston.

    Detroit is also 9-2-0 in their last 11 games. Boston is 5-4-2 in their last 11 games as a result of the loss.

    Patrice Bergeron missed his second straight game after being ruled out for at least four weeks with a sternoclavicular injury sustained in last Friday’s matchup on the road against the Dallas Stars. As a result, Colby Cave was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Wednesday’s game in Detroit.

    Bruce Cassidy made some minor adjustments to his lineup from Saturday’s game in Arizona against the Coyotes as Kevan Miller returned to action after missing the last 13 games with a hand injury.

    Anders Bjork played alongside David Krejci and David Pastrnak on the first line, with Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom and Jake DeBrusk rounding out the top-six forwards.

    Danton Heinen, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Noel Acciari were left intact on the third line with Chris Wagner playing to the left of Sean Kuraly on the fourth line and David Backes on the right wing.

    Miller was paired with Matt Grzelcyk on the first defensive pair, while Torey Krug continued to play alongside Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon was paired with Steven Kampfer.

    Jakub Zboril was a healthy scratch and ultimately reassigned to Providence during the first intermission.

    Among other scratches, Brandon Carlo (upper body), Cave (healthy scratch), John Moore (lower body), Zdeno Chara (lower body- left MCL), Bergeron (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion) all missed Wednesday night’s action as well.

    Mike Green took the game’s only penalty at 13:22 of the first period for tripping Krejci.

    The Bruins were not able to convert on the ensuing power play and the game remained tied, 0-0, all the way into the first intermission.

    Both teams went to the dressing room with three giveaways each and Boston leading in shots on goal (12-4). Boston also held an advantage in blocked shots (3-2) and takeaways (3-1), while Detroit led in hits (12-6) and face-off win percentage (67-33). The Bruins were 0/1 on the power play in the game’s only skater advantage.

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    Forsbacka Karlsson (2) notched his second goal of his young NHL career after following up on a rebound that bounced off of Howard and a Detroit defender before Forsbacka Karlsson found the puck back on his stick and jammed it in at 4:08 of the second period.

    Boston led, 1-0, but only for about five minutes until Nick Jensen fired a shot from the point that Tyler Bertuzzi (6) redirected through Rask’s five-hole to tie the game, 1-1, while Kampfer failed to tie-up the Red Wings forward (and goal scorer) in front of the goal.

    Jensen (4) and Danny DeKeyser (3) had the assists on Bertuzzi’s goal at 9:48 of the second period.

    After 40 minutes of play, the Bruins outshot Detroit, 25-13, in a, 1-1, tie. The Red Wings led in blocked shots (7-6), takeaways (4-3), giveaways (10-8), hits (21-12) and face-off win% (51-49) after two periods.

    Early in the third period, Sean Kuraly threw the puck on goal as Chris Wagner (2) crashed the net and tabbed the garbage goal to give Boston a 2-1 lead at 6:45 of the third period. Kuraly (3) had the only assist on the goal.

    Athanasiou (8) followed up with a quick equalizer at 8:59 after Gustav Nyquist fired a shot up high, glove side, that Rask couldn’t get a full handle on, generating a rebound for Athanasiou’s quick reaction and goal.

    Nyquist (14) had the only assist and the game was tied, 2-2.

    Through 60 minutes of play, regulation was not enough, despite the Bruins leading the Red Wings in shots on goal (35-25). Detroit actually outshot Boston, 12-10, in the third period and held an advantage in just about every other statistical category, including blocked shots (11-6), giveaways (13-8), hits (29-16) and face-off win% (57-43).

    The Bruins, meanwhile, led in takeaways (6-4) entering overtime.

    Just 49 seconds into overtime, Athanasiou swooped in on a face-off in the attacking zone to steal the puck after Frans Nielsen took the draw to a stalemate.

    Athanasiou (9) then spun in front of the goal and scored from point blank to seal the victory, 3-2, for Detroit. Nielsen (11) had the only assist on the game-winning goal.

    At the final horn, the Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 36-27, but trailing on the scoreboard, 3-2. Detroit finished Wednesday’s effort with the advantage in blocked shots (11-6), giveaways (14-8), hits (30-16) and face-off win% (60-40).

    Boston is now 1-4 in overtime this season as a result of the loss.

    The B’s and Red Wings will meet again in ten days back in Boston, then they won’t meet again this season until March 31, 2019 in Detroit.

    For now the Bruins head home after going 1-1-2 on a four-game road trip to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden this Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 7:30 p.m. ET with Boston playing the first of back-to-back games on back-to-back days at home and on the road in Montreal against the Canadiens on Saturday.