Down the Frozen River

Tag: Miller

February 26 – Day 130 – Rubber-match with big implications? Yes, please.
There’s another great sampling of games on tap today in the NHL. The action starts at 12:30 p.m. with Boston at Dallas (NBC), followed by Calgary at Carolina at 3 p.m. Two contests (Edmonton at Nashville [SN360] and Columbus at the New York Rangers [NHLN]) drop the puck at 5 p.m., trailed by another pair (St. Louis at Chicago [NBCSN] and Ottawa at Florida [SN/SN360/TVAS]) two-and-a-half hour after. Finally, tonight’s nightcap – Buffalo at Arizona – gets underway at 8:30 p.m. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Edmonton at Nashville: Did you know these towns are sister cities? Something tells me this contest between current playoff qualifiers will not be quite as friendly.
- Columbus at New York: Talk about a battle for position. There’s a big difference between the third division spot and a wild card.
- St. Louis at Chicago: One of my favorite rivalries in the league, but I’m definitely biased.
As much as I do love the Blues–Hawks rivalry, the game at Madison Square Garden is far too important to neglect.

There’s no denying the magnitude of today’s matchup. Separated by only one point in the standings, this is the last time these clubs will meet this regular season. So far, both teams are 2-2-0 in the five-game season series, so tonight’s game is a true rubber-match.

It could be argued that New York has had a little bit more success in the series, as they have hosted the Jackets only once before today. They may have lost that previous game, but that also means they won two-of-three games in Nationwide Arena (including a 3-2 victory on February 13) – an impressive feat given the Jackets‘ 22-9-1 home record. Of course, what else should we expect from the best road team in the NHL? The Rangers are 21-8-0 as visitors this season, three points better than Chicago‘s second-best road mark of 19-10-1.

Columbus enters play today with a 38-16-5 record, the fourth-best mark in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. As you’d expect from the sixth-best team in the league, the Blue Jackets play phenomenally on both ends of the ice, to the point that it’s often difficult to discern which is better – and that’s a really good position to be in. Given the fact that they just whipped the Islanders 7-0 yesterday, let’s focus in on Columbus‘ offense.

The Blue Jackets have already buried 192 goals this season, the fifth-most in the entire league. That attack is spearheaded by none other than Cam Atkinson and his team-leading 51 points. To put in perspective how incredible this right wing has been this year, he set his career-high in points last season with 53. Yes, 53, only two more than he has right now. With 23 games left on the schedule, he’s on pace for 71 points by season’s end. With next year being the last of his current contract, he’s well on his way to a significant raise.

What’s made Atkinson so special is the fact that he creates goals almost as often as he scores them – and he scores a lot of goals. 27, to be exact, the most on the team. That total ties the mark he set last year, and I have a suspicion he’ll find a way to tack on at least one more tally before the season closes.

As you’d guess from an offensive juggernaut like the Jackets, they play a mean power play. That guess is correct, as they convert 21.9% of opportunities into goals – the fourth-best rate in the NHL. While Atkinson leads the charge at even-strength, Alexander Wennberg has been the extra-man champion with his team-leading 21 power play points. Not quite the goalscorer, he prefers to set up linemate and captain Nick Foligno, who has buried a team-high 10 man-advantage tallies.

Riding a two-game winning streak, the 40-19-2 Rangers currently occupy the third-best spot in both the Metropolitan and the East. Offense is the name of the game in the Big Apple, as the Blueshirts have accounted for 201 goals already this season – the third-most in the NHL.

Just as he’s done all year, J.T. Miller has paced that attack like a pro. He’s already accounted for 47 points this season and is on pace to notch another 16 before things are all said and through. His previous career-high was 43, set a season ago, so Miller is certainly on the up-and-up.

The major beneficiary of Miller’s productivity is linemate Michael Grabner, who has buried a team-leading 26 goals this season from the third line. The wing has been playing so well, he has a chance of besting his current career-high of 35 tallies that he set in 2010-’11 with the crosstown rival Isles.

One thing is certain about tonight’s game: Whomever wins tonight will be in third place in the Metropolitan (currently slated to face Pittsburgh in the Eastern Quarterfinals), while the loser – regardless of if its in regulation or some variety of overtime – would lay claim to the first wildcard (would currently face Montréal). While I’m certain neither club is too worried about trying to work their way into a specific playoff spot right now, this game could be the one pointed to if one team faces a more difficult path to Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Columbus‘ Atkinson (27 goals [tied for seventh-most in the league]), Sergei Bobrovsky (31 wins [tied for second-most in the NHL] on a 2.21 GAA [fifth-best in the league] and a .925 save percentage [tied for sixth-best in the NHL], including three shutouts [10th-most in the league]) and Wennberg (40 assists [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]) & New York‘s Grabner (+28 [tied for eighth-best in the league]) and Henrik Lundqvist (28 wins [seventh-most in the NHL]).

When two of the top-six teams in the league square off, you’re almost ensured a fantastic matchup. That’s almost made more certain by the fact that most books in Vegas aren’t even posting a line for tonight’s contest. With impressive goaltending and offense on both benches, it’s hard to pick a winner, but I’ll pick the Rangers since they have home ice.

Hockey Birthday
- Joe Mullen (1957-) – From undrafted to the Hall of Fame, this right wing truly had a phenomenal, unpredictable career. Spending most of his days in Pittsburgh paid off very well, as he hoisted two of his three Stanley Cups with the Penguins – just as many All-Star designations he earned in his 16 seasons. Mullen also won the Lady Byng Trophy twice in the span of three years.
- Marc Fortier (1966-) – Another undrafted forward, this center played 212 games in the NHL over six seasons, most of which with Quebec. He registered 102 points in the before retiring in 2005.
- Marty Reasoner (1977-) – A longtime Oiler, this center was selected 14th-overall by St. Louis in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. His most productive season was in 2005-’06 when he split time between Edmonton and Boston, as he registered 34 of his 266 career points.
With his overtime winner, Third Star of the Game Andrew Shaw earned the right to be named “King of Quebec” for the day, as he led the Canadiens to a 3-2 victory against rival Toronto in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Of course, we had to get to overtime first. Second Star Auston Matthews (Jake Gardiner and James van Riemsdyk) got the Maple Leafs on the board first with 9:06 remaining in the opening period. His tip-in was the lone tally of the first frame.

The Habs scored both their regulation goals in the second period. Captain Max Pacioretty (First Star Alex Galchenyuk and Shaw) leveled the contest with a power play snap shot 7:29 after returning from intermission, followed 8:52 later by a wrist shot from Galchenyuk (Nikita Nesterov and Nathan Beaulieu) to take a 2-1 lead, the score that held to the second intermission.

All Galchenyuk’s goal did was spark Matthews to do more Auston Matthews things. Only 1:19 after resuming play for the third period, he (Zach Hyman and William Nylander) buried another tip-in to level the game for the home team and ultimately force three-on-three overtime.

Shaw (Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov) needed was 1:06 to bury his backhander to clinch the bonus point for Montréal.

Carey Price earned the victory after saving 32-of-34 shots faced (94.1%), leaving the overtime loss to Frederik Andersen, who saved 25-of-28 (89.3%).

Road teams are not supposed to have this much success in a competitive league like the NHL, yet the visitors in the DtFR Game of the Day series are currently riding an eight-game win-streak and have a 68-43-21 record, nine points better than hosts.
February 26, 2017
February 23 – Day 127 – When the Rangers are in Canada, are they called Mounties?
Thursday is one of my favorite nights for hockey. Not only is there usually tons of games on, but there’s only one more day of work and, hey, Thirsty Thursday isn’t just an expression!

In all seriousness though, there’s some high-quality games being played tonight, even if there’s only six on the schedule. The action starts at 7:30 p.m. with three contests (the New York Islanders at Montréal [RDS], the New York Rangers at Toronto [TVAS] and Calgary at Tampa Bay), followed half an hour later by Colorado at Nashville (SN360). Arizona at Chicago (NBCSN) drops the puck at 8:30 p.m., followed two hours later by tonight’s nightcap: Boston at Los Angeles (SN).

It’s been a week since we’ve featured the Rangers, and even longer for the Maple Leafs. Let’s get both off that list by featuring the biggest city in the United States against the biggest in Canada. Off to the Air Canada Centre!

The Rangers make their trip to The Queen City with a 38-19-2 record, the fourth-best mark in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. The reason for that success? An impressive offense that has managed 196 goals, the third-most in the NHL.

Even though he’s only in his third full season with the senior club, J.T. Miller has been at the head of that attack with his team-leading 46 points, already accounting for three more scores than his previous career-high. He’s certainly proven that Glen Sather was right to draft him 15th-overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Part of the reason Miller has been so deadly is due to linemate Michael Grabner, who takes credit for a team-high 26 goals. Just like Miller has already done Grabner is on pace to exceed his current 34-goal career-high by three goals.

Hosting the Blueshirts tonight are the always exciting Maple Leafs, whose 28-20-11 record has earned them third place in the Atlantic Division. As you’d expect from a team that has won their past two games and drafted a center with the first pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, offense is the name of the game in Toronto, as they’ve managed 185 goals already this season, which ties for fifth-most in the NHL.

That rookie, of course, is Arizonan Auston Matthews, and he’s already made an immeasurable impact on a franchise that hasn’t tasted the playoffs since 2013. Not only is he a shining light at the end of the tunnel for brighter futures, he’s providing an early sampler by having the Leafs competitive ahead of schedule thanks to his team-leading 52 points (the second-most among rookies).

Matthews has been especially deadly when he calls his own number. As he grows his supporting cast, the center will learn to distribute the puck just as much as he shoots, but it’s certainly been a pleasure to witness him bury a team-leading 28 goals this season, a total that ties for fourth-most in the league regardless of NHL-tenure.

You’re hard-pressed to find a better club on the power play than Toronto, because there isn’t one. Successful on 23.5% of attempts, the Maple Leafs are best in the league. Since Matthews has been busy with operating the even-strength action, fellow rookie William Nylander has taken up the role of “power play specialist,” as his 19 points with the man-advantage is tops in Toronto. Yet it’s been Nazem Kadri who has been the most dangerous with the extra man, as he has a team-leading 10 power play goals on his resume.

New York shouldn’t expect to catch the Leafs napping when they commit a penalty either, as Toronto is home to the (t)eighth-best penalty kill in the NHL. Led by Roman Polak‘s solid 28 shorthanded blocks, the Maple Leafs don’t yield a goal in 83.3% of penalty kill situations.

Tonight marks the final of three meeting between these clubs this season, and it’s a true rubber match as both sides have a 1-1-0 record against the other. In an interesting turn of events, both teams have won on their opponent’s ice. The Leafs beat New York 4-2 at Madison Square Garden on January 13, followed six days later by the Rangers besting Toronto 5-2 on tonight’s surface.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include New York‘s Grabner (+28 [eighth-best in the league] with 26 goals [10th-most in the NHL]) and Henrik Lundqvist (27 wins [tied for seventh-most in the league]) or Antti Raanta (2.32 GAA [ninth-best in the NHL]) & Toronto‘s Frederik Andersen (24 wins [10th-most in the league]) and Matthews (28 goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]).

It’s not much of line, but Vegas favors Toronto to win tonight’s game with a -110 line. Although both teams have exceptional offenses, I’m leaning towards the Leafs winning tonight’s contest. Not only do they have home ice, but both of Toronto‘s special teams have been exceptional this season, and that should give them the edge.

Hockey Birthday
- Jeff O’Neill (1976-) – Drafted fifth-overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing was selected by Hartford and spent most of his playing days with the organization – even if a majority of that time was in Carolina! He was named an All-Star one time in his 11-year career.
- Dan Snyder (1978-2003) – Due to a single car accident cutting his life short, this center played only 49 games in the NHL (all with Atlanta), but his memory lives on in various forms, including the organization (now in Winnipeg) and the Chicago Wolves naming awards in his memory and the creation of a scholarship for natives of his hometown Elmira, Ontario, among others.
If only Philadelphia hadn’t committed goaltender interference as its disallowed goal slipped by Braden Holtby 23 seconds into the game, maybe this DtFR Game of the Day would have ended differently for them. Instead, the Capitals swiped a cool 4-1 victory.

The first goal of the game that stayed on the scoreboard belonged to Nicklas Backstrom (Second Star of the Game T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin), who scored his snap shot 6:33 after the initial puck drop. First Star Evgeny Kuznetsov (John Carlson and Justin Williams) followed that up with 3:32 remaining in the frame by scoring a power play snapper to set the score at 2-0. That final goal of the period proved to be the winning tally.

6:54 into the second period, Third Star Brayden Schenn (Brandon Manning) tried to spark life into the Flyers with a deflection that found the back of the net, but Kuznetsov (Williams and Taylor Chorney) once again set the scoring advantage for Washington at two goals by burying a deflection of his own with 2:01 remaining in the frame.

Oshie (Ovechkin and Backstrom) provided a final insurance tally with 5:17 remaining in the game to ensure a Caps win.

Holtby earned the victory after saving 33-of-34 shots faced (97.1%), leaving the loss to Michal Neuvirth, who saved 25-of-29 (86.2%).

If a team is going to be featured in the DtFR Game of the Day series, they want to be wearing white, as the 65-43-21 road teams have won their past five contests and now have a five-point lead over the hosts.
February 23, 2017
February 17 – Day 121 – Since Penguins are from the South(ern Hemisphere), would they have been Confederates?
I thought about posting Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” but decided instead to write about hockey.

You’re welcome.

There’s only three games on the schedule this evening, which makes choosing the featured game a breeze. Pittsburgh at Columbus (NHLN/SN/TVAS) starts things off at 7 p.m., followed half an hour later by Colorado at Carolina. Finally, Florida at Anaheim (SN1) drops the puck at 10 p.m. as tonight’s nightcap. All times eastern.

It is with great deliberation that we will feature Pittsburgh at Columbus for the third time this season in as many meetings.

Winners of its past two games, Pittsburgh makes its second trip of the season to Nationwide Arena with a 36-13-7 record, which is good enough for second place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have been magnificent with the puck on their stick this season, as they’ve buried 199 goals so far – the most in the NHL.

Leading that charge has been none other than Captain Sidney Crosby, who’s 64 points not only top the team, but are also the second-most in the league. Of course, just last night he joined the 1000-point club with a three-point effort against the Jets, including taking credit for the game-winning overtime goal. Speaking of goals, that’s another department Crosby heads for Pittsburgh, as his 31 markers are tops in the Steel City.

As you’d expect from the club with the best offense in the league, Pittsburgh‘s power play is a thing of beauty. The Penguins convert 22.2% of opponents’ penalties into goals – the fourth-best rate in the league. Since Crosby commands the even-strength play, Phil Kessel has taken up residence as the power play manager in his second season with the team. His 25 power play points lead the team, even if Crosby has the man-advantage goal-scoring lead with 10 tallies.

If the reigning Stanley Cup champions have one thing to fix, it is definitely their penalty kill. They are ninth-worst in the league when down a man, stopping only 79.6% of opposing power plays. Ian Cole certainly doesn’t deserve the blame though, as his team-leading 32 shorthanded blocks are tied for third-most in the league.

Playing host this evening are the 36-15-5 Blue Jackets, the third-best team in both the Metropolitan and the East. Columbus is a very strong team that plays well on both ends of the ice, but I’m most impressed by their offense. The Jackets have managed 180 tallies so far this season, the fifth-most in the league.

No one deserves more credit for that effort than Cam Atkinson, who leads the team with 49 points. Just like the star forward for the opposition, Atkinson is not afraid to call his own number, as his 27 goals are also a team-high.

Few (three, to be exact) power plays are better than Pittsburgh‘s. The Jackets are the proud owners of one of said power plays, as they convert 22.8% of their man-advantages into goals – the third-best rate in the NHL. Alexander Wennberg has been the mastermind behind that fantastic effort, as his 21 power play points are tops in Ohio, but it’s been Nick Foligno that has been the most impressive. He’s buried 10 goals with the man-advantage, which ties for sixth-most in the league in addition to leading the Jackets.

Both teams have already hosted one game in this best-of-four season series, and both teams can claim a home victory. That being said, the most recent game, which took place at PPG Paints Arena, was nowhere near as dominant a performance as the Jackets had when they hosted. Columbus won 7-1 when these clubs met December 22, but the Penguins needed overtime to win 4-3 on February 3.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Columbus‘ Atkinson (27 goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]), Sergei Bobrovsky (30 wins [second-most in the league] on a 2.19 GAA [fourth-best in the NHL] and a .925 save percentage [seventh-best in the league], including three shutouts [10th-most in the NHL]) and Wennberg (36 assists [tied for fifth-most in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (31 goals [most in the NHL] among 64 points [second-most in the league]), Evgeni Malkin (58 points [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]), Matthew Murray (.926 save percentage [tied for third-best in the league] for a 2.27 GAA [tied for sixth-best in the NHL]) and Justin Schultz (+31 [tied for third-best in the league]).

Vegas has marked the Jackets to win with a -110 line, and it’s hard to pick against that. There are few clubs that can go toe-to-toe with the Penguins, but Columbus is one of them. Pair home ice with a penalty kill that is superior to that of the Penguins‘, and we should see a Blue Jackets victory – even if it’s not by six goals.

Hockey Birthday
- Lindy Ruff (1960-) – Selected 32nd-overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, this skater spent most of his 12 seasons with the club that drafted him: Buffalo. With one assist during the 1990-’91 campaign, he claimed exactly 300 points over his career. Nowadays, he’s the head coach in Dallas.
- Luc Robitaille (1966-) – This left wing was a special player. Although drafted by Los Angeles in the ninth-round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, he won the 1987 Calder and proved to be an eight-time All Star. The Hall-of-Famer spent most of his career with the Kings, but he hoisted his lone Stanley Cup in 2002 with Detroit.
- Vinny Prospal (1975-) – This center might have been drafted by Philadelphia in the third-round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent most of his 16-year career in Tampa Bay. He registered 765 points before hanging up his skates for good.
- Drew Miller (1984-) – Anaheim selected this left wing in the sixth-round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, but he’s spent the last eight seasons with the Red Wings organization. He’s one of the lucky players to make his NHL debut during the playoffs, and he was even luckier to win the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
With a 4-2 home victory against the crosstown rival Rangers in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, the Islanders have pulled within a point of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

The game didn’t start the Isles‘ way though, as Nick Holden (Mats Zuccarello and Brady Skjei) took credit for the lone goal of the first period. He buried his wrist shot only 6:23 into the contest to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead that held into the first intermission.

Only 2:43 after returning to the ice, Anders Lee (Josh Bailey and First Star of the Game John Tavares) pulled the Islanders even with a wrister, followed only 3:41 later by Second Star Andrew Ladd‘s (Stephen Gionta) wrister. The Isles took their 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

The Isles‘ third straight goal proved to be the winner, and it was a special one. Only 3:03 after returning to the ice, Third Star Nikolay Kulemin (Tavares) buried a shorthanded wrister to set the score at 3-1. Jimmy Vesey (Rick Nash and Skjei) eventually converted the Rangers‘ power play into a goal, but Ladd’s (Jason Chimera) second goal of the night on an empty net squelched any chance of a late Blueshirts comeback.

Thomas Greiss saved 25-of-27 shots faced (92.6%) to earn the victory, leaving the loss to Henrik Lundqvist, who saved 19-of-22 (86.4%).

The Isles‘ victory snaps a three-game losing skid by home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series and sets the hosts’ record at 63-42-18, four points better than visitors.
February 17, 2017
February 16 – Day 120 – Battle in the Big Apple
Congratulations! At game time tonight, there’s only one more day of work before the weekend! To celebrate, I’d recommend hockey.

You have a wide selection of games to choose from this evening, as 16 teams are in action this evening. Per usual, contests start at 7 p.m. with three games (the New York Rangers at the New York Islanders [TVAS], Ottawa at New Jersey [RDS] and Winnipeg at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by Colorado at Buffalo (NBCSN). Two games drop the puck at 8 p.m. (Vancouver at St. Louis [SN/SN360] and Dallas at Minnesota), with Philadelphia at Edmonton waiting an hour before getting underway. Finally, Arizona at Los Angeles – tonight’s nightcap – gets the green light at 10:30 p.m. All times eastern.

Short list:
- New York at New York: The situation has certainly changed since the last time these rivals met.
- Dallas at Minnesota: Remember last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinals? The Stars beat the Wild in six games.
The Battle of New York has some huge short-term implications on the standings. Pair that pressure with the rivalry and we should have a good game on our hands.

The 37-18-1 Rangers aren’t back to Madison Square Garden yet! After going to Columbus and beating the Blue Jackets 3-2 for their sixth-straight victory, the Blueshirts complete their two-game road trip with a stop at the Barclays Center in possession of fourth place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. When they’re at their peak – and they are right now – the Rangers are an offensive-minded team, as they’ve scored 190 goals so far this season, the third-most in the league.

The man leading that charge is none other than J.T. Miller, a fifth-year left wing from the Plymouth Whalers. Although he’s one of four Rangers with at least 40 points to his credit, he tops the club with his 46. Many of those points have been assists though, and that’s where Michael Grabner, the right wing on the Blueshirts‘ third line, comes into play. Grabner has buried the puck 26 times this season to lead the team.

Yes, you read that correctly: third line. No matter who is on the ice, the Rangers are potent.

Playing host this evening are the 25-20-10 Islanders, the sixth-best team in the Metropolitan and 10th in the East. The main reason the Isles find themselves on the outside of playoff contention is due to their defense, which has allowed 162 goals in 55 games – the sixth-worst rate in the NHL.

17-10-3 Thomas Greiss has been charged with manning the crease more often than not this season, and for good reason: his .918 season save percentage and 2.55 GAA are the best on the team. And those are solid numbers even when compared to the rest of the league. He ranks (t)16th and (t)19th, respectively, against the 50 other netminders with at least 15 appearances this season.

No, the goals are not on Greiss’ head. Instead, I point the finger at an Islanders defense that allows 32.4 shots to reach his crease per game, the fourth-worst effort in the NHL. Although Calvin de Haan has been an absolute shot blocking machine (his 141 blocks not only lead the team, but are also fourth-most in the league), he is the only blueliner with more than 110 blocks to his credit. If Garth Snow thinks it’s in the card for his club to qualify for the playoffs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Isles make a move for another defenseman.

Although the Isles‘ offense as a whole has been adequate this season, one part of their game that still needs to improve is the power play. Even with Captain John Tavares‘ team-leading 14 power play points, the Islanders only convert 16% of opponents’ penalties into goals – the sixth-worst rate in the NHL. Anders Lee has been the final man responsible for most of the limited success the Islanders have found this season, as he’s buried seven goals with the man-advantage, one more than Tavares.

Although these clubs are separated by only a half-hour train ride, this is only the third time this season they’ve met. It’s been an even series so far, as both teams have won a game and lost one in regulation. The last time they met was December 6, when the Islanders beat the Rangers 4-2 on this surface.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include the Islanders‘ Josh Bailey (27 assists [leads the team]), Dennis Seidenberg (+18 [best on the team]) and Tavares (46 points [leads the team]) & the Rangers‘ Grabner (26 goals [tied for sixth-most in the league] for a +28 [tied for sixth-best in the NHL]) and Henrik Lundqvist (26 wins [tied for seventh-most in the league]) or Antti Raanta (2.32 GAA [10th-best in the NHL]).

By the narrowest of margins, Vegas has marked the Islanders to win tonight’s game with a -105 line. Unfortunately for them, that’s not the way I see this game going. The Rangers are red-hot right now, and that offense will be more than enough to overpower the Isles‘ miserable defense.

Hockey Birthday
- Lanny McDonald (1953-) – If for nothing else, this right wing deserved to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame for his mustache alone, but four All-Star appearances and the 1989 Stanley Cup don’t hurt. He was drafted fourth-overall by Toronto in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, but he spent most of his 16-year career in Calgary.
Although Detroit tried valiantly with the sixth attacker, they were unable to break First Star of the Game Carter Hutton, who earned a two-goal shutout victory for the Blues in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

With St. Louis‘ first shot of the game, Second Star Ivan Barbashev (Kenny Agostino and Carl Gunnarsson) takes credit for the game-winning goal. He buried his wrist shot 2:06 after the beginning of play.

The only goal in the game was an unassisted wrister by Jaden Schwartz on an open net with 11 seconds remaining on the clock.

Hutton earns the shutout victory after saving all 25 shots he faced, leaving the loss to Third Star Petr Mrazek, who saved 27-of-28 (96.4%).

The Blues‘ victory is the third-straight by the road team in the DtFR Game of the Day series, which pulls visitors within two points of the 62-42-18 hosts.

*Also, don’t tell anybody, but St. Louis just swept it’s five-game road trip.*
February 16, 2017
February 13 – Day 117 – Blueshirts… Blue Jackets… Blue Everything!
There may only be two games happening today, but one of them is going to be absolutely fantastic. The action starts at 7 p.m. eastern when the New York Rangers visit Columbus (NBCSN/SN/TVAS), followed 90 minutes later by Arizona at Calgary.

You get one guess at which one we’re going to feature.

The 20-somethings will remember this blue song…

…while the 30-something crowd might enjoy a little LeAnn Rimes.

Regardless of your preference, I think the message is clear: blue is the color of the day.

The 36-18-1 Rangers may be wearing white tonight, but they’re the Blueshirts all the same, complete with a five-game winning streak. Currently occupying fourth place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference, offense is the name of the game in Manhattan, as the Rangers have managed 187 goals this season – the third-most in the league.

Calling J.T. Miller the standout forward is almost an insult to the rest of the Rangers‘ attackers, as four players have 40 or more points to their credit. That being said, Miller does lead the team by contributing to 45 tallies this season. Of course, most of those are assists, meaning someone has to be scoring those passes… That’s where linemate Michael Grabner comes into play: he leads the team with 26 tallies.

Playing host this evening is 35-14-5 Columbus, the second-best team in the Metropolitan. Although they’ve been exemplary on both ends of the ice, the Blue Jackets have been most impressive at keeping the opposition off the scoreboard, as they’ve yielded only 132 goals this season – the third-fewest in the NHL.

Every good defense starts with a good goalie, and Columbus is no different. 30-11-3 Sergei Bobrovsky has been the man to beat this year with his .926 season save percentage and 2.17 GAA. Respectively, those stats rank (t)third and fourth-best in the league against the 38 other netminders with at least 22 appearances.

For those wondering, last year’s Vezina Trophy winner – Braden Holtby – currently has a .926 season save percentage and 2.02 GAA. Yes, he’s better than Bobrovsky, but only by the skin of his teeth.

Yet I’d argue Bobrovsky has had a better season than Holtby so far, mostly due to the defenses playing in front of them. Washington has a fantastic defense, which takes pressure off Holtby. Meanwhile, Columbus‘ blueline is only average, as they allow 30.1 shots-per-game to reach Bobrovsky’s crease – only the (t)13th-best in the league. Jack Johnson has been at the head of that effort with his team-leading 89 shot blocks.

The Blue Jackets are no slouch on the other end, though – especially when they have the man-advantage. Led by Alexander Wennberg‘s 20 power play points, Columbus has buried 23.3% of their power play opportunities, which ties for the second-best rate in the NHL. Power play linemates Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno have shared scoring responsibilities, as both have nine goals with the extra man.

It’s rare the Penguins pull for New York, but that’s the case this evening. Should the Rangers win in regulation, Pittsburgh advances past Columbus for second place in the Metropolitan Division due to winning the three-way games-played tie with the Jackets and Blueshirts (Columbus would still lead the Rangers with a game in hand). Meanwhile, a Jackets victory of any variety leaves the Eastern standings as they are – for a night, anyways.

This is the fourth game in a five-game series between these teams. Currently, Columbus has a 2-1-0 series lead over the Rangers, thanks to a 6-4 victory at Madison Square Garden the last time these clubs met on the last day of January.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Columbus‘ Atkinson (27 goals [fourth-most in the league]) and Bobrovsky (30 wins [second-most in the NHL] on a 2.17 GAA [fifth-best in the league] and a .926 save percentage [tied for fifth-best in the NHL], including three shutouts [tied for eighth-most in the league]) & New York‘s Grabner (26 goals [tied for fifth-most in the NHL] for a +28 [tied for sixth-best in the league]) and Henrik Lundqvist (26 wins [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]) or Antti Raanta (2.34 GAA [tied for ninth-best in the league]).

With a great goaltender, a killer power play and home ice to boot, it’s hard to argue with a -135 line in favor of the Blue Jackets. While the Blueshirts will certainly not lose easy, I think Columbus wins tonight.

Hockey Birthday
- Gaston Gingras (1959-) – Picked by Montréal 27th-overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, this defenseman played 10 seasons in the NHL. Not only did he spend most of his days with the club that selected him, he also won his lone Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986.
- Marc Crawford (1961-) – This left wing was selected by Vancouver in the fourth-round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Every single one of his 176 games in the league were in a Canucks sweater.
- Mats Sundin (1971-) – The first overall pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by Quebec, this Hall-of-Fame center played 18 seasons – most of which with Toronto. He was selected to eight All Star games and notched 1349 career points.
- Niklas Backstrom (1978-) – Although he currently plays for HIFK, this netminder spent 10 seasons in the NHL, almost all of which with Minnesota. He most recently played for Calgary, making three starts last season.
Rivalries are supposed to be tight games. That wasn’t the case last night in the DtFR Game of the Day, as Boston won a four-goal shutout against the hated Canadiens.

Those that bet on Adam McQuaid (Third Star of the Game Peter Cehlarik and Torey Krug) scoring not only the first goal of the game, but also the game-winner, are currently a whole lot richer. He buried his snap shot 8:57 into the game for the lone tally of the first period.

The Bruins truly took control of this contest in the second period with two goals courtesy of Second Star Zdeno Chara (Ryan Spooner and Brad Marchand) at the 5:08 mark in a shorthanded situation, followed almost exactly 10 minutes later by David Krejci (David Backes and Cehlarik) on the power play.

Five minutes into the third, Frank Vatrano (Krejci and David Pastrnak) took credit for the final Boston goal to set the 4-0 final score.

First Star Tuukka Rask saved all 25 shots he faced to earn the victory, leaving the loss to Carey Price, who saved 32-of-36 (88.9%).

Boston‘s victory is the first shutout in the DtFR Game of the Day series since February 6, and expands the 62-39-18 home teams’ lead over visitors in the series to eight points.
February 13, 2017
February 7 – Day 111 – Pigeons not the only birds in Gotham
A whopping 11 games are on the schedule this evening, so let’s hop right in. Like it usually does, the action starts at 7 p.m. with four contests (San Jose at Buffalo, Anaheim at the New York Rangers, Calgary at Pittsburgh [TVAS] and Carolina at Washington), followed half an hour later by another set of four (Dallas at Toronto, St. Louis at Ottawa [RDS2], Columbus at Detroit and Los Angeles at Tampa Bay [NBCSN]). We keep moving west with two contests (Vancouver at Nashville and Minnesota at Winnipeg) dropping the puck at 8 p.m., followed an hour later by tonight’s nightcap: Montréal at Colorado (RDS). All times eastern.

There’s a handful of good games this evening, but I expect the best one to occur at Madison Square Garden. To the Big Apple we go!

The Ducks make their yearly trip to the World’s Most Famous Arena with a 28-16-10 record, good enough for second place in the Pacific Division. They’ve found much of that success on the back of their defense and goaltending, as Anaheim has allowed only 133 goals in 54 games this season, the sixth-best rate in the NHL.

That all starts with 20-12-8 John Gibson, who’s having a solid campaign. He’s accumulated a .921 season save percentage and a 2.27 GAA, the (t)eighth and sixth-best efforts, respectively, among the 43 goaltenders with at least 20 appearances.

Much of the reason he’s found such success has been due to the blueline playing in front of him, which has allowed only 29.4 shots-per-game to reach his crease – the 10th-best rate in the league. That being said, the defense is working its hardest to fill some big skates. Sami Vatanen, who leads the club with 94 shot blocks, is currently fighting a lower-body injury to the point that Brandon Montour was recalled from San Diego. Cam Fowler, who has blocked 82 shots so far this year for the active-lead in the clubhouse, is being called on to fill the void.

The defensive success continues on the penalty kill, where the Ducks rank fifth-best by refusing to yield a goal on 84.3% of opposing power plays. Vatanen is usually a big player when down a man with 19 shorthanded blocks to his credit, so Anaheim will once again turn their eyes to Fowler, who’s 18 blocks when down a man are second-best.

Playing host this evening are the 33-18-1 Rangers, the fourth-best team in the Metropolitan Division and fifth-best in the Eastern Conference. Winners of their last two games, the Blueshirts have found a lot of their success with the puck on their stick, scoring 175 goals already this season – the second-most in the league.

New York‘s forwards may not turn heads when compared to the rest of the league, but they play incredibly well together. Leading the group has been J.T. Miller with 40 points, but four other skaters have at least 35 points to their credit. And he’s not even the one scoring all the goals. That job belongs to Michael Grabner, who tops the club with 23 tallies.

As might be expected, the Blueshirts‘ power play is pretty darn good. Led by Captain Ryan McDonagh and his 12 power play points, New York converts 21.3% of it’s opponents’ penalties into tallies, the ninth-best rate in the NHL. What makes the Rangers so dangerous is that opposing goaltenders don’t know who is going to take the final shot. The power play goal scoring title is shared between Chris Kreider, Rick Nash and Brandon Pirri, all of whom have five tallies with the man-advantage.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Gibson (2.27 GAA [seventh-best in the league] and three shutouts [tied for seventh-most in the NHL) and New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (23 wins [tied for eighth-most in the league]).

It’s strength-on-strength tonight at MSG, which means the other end of the ice may prove to be more important in determining the outcome. Given the Rangers‘ strong play on the defensive end, I think the home squad holds on for the victory.

Hockey Birthday
- Peter Bondra (1968-) – An eighth-rounder selected by Washington in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing earned five All-Star selections over his 16 seasons.
- Alexandre Daigle (1975-) – Selected by Ottawa, this center was the first pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He spent half of his 10 seasons in the league with the Senators, his longest tenure with a club.
- David Aebischer (1978-) – This goaltender was selected in the sixth-round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Colorado. He made his debut with the club during the 2000-’01 season and was a member of the Stanley Cup-winning team.
- Steven Stamkos (1990-) – Another top pick, Tampa Bay selected this center in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, he’s managed three All-Star selections and two Richard trophies.
- Ryan O’Reilly (1991-) – Picked 33rd-overall by Colorado in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, this center’s crowing achievement is the 2014 Byng trophy. This season is his second in Buffalo.
In yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, First Star of the Game Carter Hutton led the Blues to a two-goal shutout victory over Philadelphia.

Paul Stastny (Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Steen) takes credit for the winning goal with 4:38 remaining in the second period on a tip-in.

Second Star Kenny Agostino (David Perron and Jori Lehtera) tacked on the lone insurance tally 2:10 into the final frame on a breakaway snap shot in his first game as a Blue.

Hutton saved all 26 shots he faced for the victory, leaving the loss to Michal Neuvirth, who saved 14-of-16 (87.5%).

Road teams have earned three-straight victories in the DtFR Game of the Day series, and that surge has pulled them within seven points of the 59-37-17 homers.
February 7, 2017
January 6 – Day 83 – Surging Canucks
You did it. You made through your first week back to work after the long holiday. You deserve some hockey.

Fortunately, the NHL has you covered with six contests this evening, starting with two at 7:30 p.m. (Toronto at New Jersey and Nashville at Florida [TVAS]) and Carolina at Chicago (NHLN) an hour later. 9 p.m. marks the puck drop of the New York Islanders at Colorado, followed 60 minutes later by tonight’s co-nightcaps: Calgary at Vancouver and Arizona at Anaheim.

Short list:
- Carolina at Chicago: Teuvo Teravainen played 115 games over three seasons in the United Center. Tonight, he wears white facing off against his old club.
- Calgary at Vancouver: It’s rivalry night in British Columbia!
As badly as I want to feature the Hurricanes for the first time this season, Teravainen is not enough to pull me away from the rivalry taking place this evening in the ever-tightening Pacific Division.

The Flames relocating from Atlanta to Cowtown in 1980 fulfilled a rivalry that needed only Canada’s best arena to be made complete: a hockey rink. The Rocky Mountains used to be the only thing separating these differing cultural and political hubs of Western Canada, but the NHL has joined Calgary and Vancouver with the opportunity to claim superiority in the most definitive way possible.

Both all-time and as of late, Calgary has had the upper-hand in this matchup. In all regular and postseason meetings, the Flames have a 132-93-26-13 record against the rival Canucks, including a 111-76-26-13 record during the regular season.

Seven times these clubs have met up in the playoffs, and almost every time it has gone the Flames‘ way. Most recently, Calgary won their 2015 Western Conference Quarterfinals series in six games to improve their postseason-series record against the Canucks to 5-2.

Calgary enters tonight’s game on a two-game winning streak and with a 21-17-2 record, good enough for fourth place in the Pacific Division and, more importantly, seventh in the Western Conference. They’ve found that by playing a steady offense, scoring 107 goals – tied for 15th-most in the league.

Fourth-year player Johnny Gaudreau has been at the head of that effort, notching 26 points for the highest mark on the club. He beats Mikael Backlund by a lone point, but the center has something the left wing hasn’t: a dozen goals, the most on the squad by two tallies.

Part of that offensive success is due to a solid power play. The Flames are 10th-best with the man-advantage, burying 20.7% of their attempts. Gaudreau continues his excellent season in this department, with 10 power play points. Similarly, Backlund’s five extra-man goals is also still tops on the team.

Don’t overlook the Canucks this season. Blessed (#blessed?) with a weak Western Conference, 19-18-3 Vancouver sits only a point out of playoff position, thanks in part to their current five-game winning streak. What’s held them back so far this season has been some slightly leaky defense and goaltending that has allowed 115 goals, tying them for sixth-most tallies given up.

Although he’s seen only six more starts than Jacob Markstrom, 11-10-1 Ryan Miller has been the netminder of choice in Vancouver. In 23 starts, he’s notched a .912 save percentage and 2.65 GAA, the 29th-best effort in the league compared to the 47 other goalies with a dozen or more appearances.

While those numbers are far from exemplary, Miller can’t take full responsibility for the Canucks‘ struggles. The defense playing in front of him hasn’t given him much help, allowing 30.5 shots-per-game to reach his crease – tied for the 11th-highest average. It’s not that Vancouver doesn’t have good defensemen. In fact, Alexander Edler, Ben Hutton and Luca Sbisa all tie for the team lead in shot blocks, with 61 to their credit (Edler has been especially impressive, playing only 26 games compared to Hutton and Sbisa’s 40 appearances), tying them for 58th in the league.

Instead, it’s been the other three skaters that haven’t contributed. Combined, Troy Stecher and Nikita Tryamkin have blocked only 64 shots. Chris Tanev gets a pass, as tonight’s game will be only his 18th of the season. When he’s on the ice, Vancouver has an 11-4-2 record.

Now that Edler and Tanev are back on the ice, Vancouver hopes to improve their lackluster penalty kill that ranks 10th-worst after neutralizing only 80.3% of opposing power plays. Even after missing so many games, Edler’s 16 shorthanded blocks are still best on the team by a wide margin.

If I’m Vancouver, I’m more concerned about my power play, or lack thereof. The Canucks are fourth-worst in the NHL with the man-advantage, potting only 13.9% of their opportunities. Both Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin have eight power play points to the their names, which is just fine. It’s the fact that who’s scoring the goals – Loui Eriksson, D. Sedin and Brandon Sutter – are predictable. Combined, their 11 power play goals account for 65% of the man-advantage tallies. More skaters need to take responsibility for lighting the lamp, and in doing so, they’ll help increase the numbers of their established scoring stars.

These clubs have already met twice this season, and Calgary already has a slight 1-0-1 advantage. They most recently met two days before Christmas at the Saddledome, where the Flames 4-1. Tonight’s game is the first-half of a home-and-home series that completes tomorrow night.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Calgary‘s Chad Johnson (three shutouts [tied for fifth-most in the league]) should he play and Vancouver‘s Bo Horvat (12 goals among 27 points [both lead the team]).

Vegas has given a slight edge to the Flames, putting a +102 next to Vancouver‘s name. I’m going to side with Vegas on this one. Even if the Canucks‘ defense starts to buckle down and prevent Calgary from finding any rhythm, the Flames‘ defense should still be able to prevent their rivals from scoring.

Hockey Birthday:
- Dickie Moore (1931-2015) – You know you’re good when you have won the Stanley Cup six times. That’s the case with this Hall-of-Fame left wing, who also has just as many All Star selections. A 12 season-alumnus of Montréal, the Art Ross Trophy collected dust on his mantle, as he won it two-straight seasons with a combined 180 points.
- Scott Ferguson (1973-) – Although undrafted, this defenseman played in seven NHL seasons before calling it quits. Most of that time was with Edmonton, the team that gave him a chance out of juniors. He ended up playing in 201 games for the Oilers, earning 288 penalty minutes.
- Richard Zednik (1976-) – A 10th-round pick by Washington in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing proved to have a very good career given his draft position. Although he played seven seasons with the Capitals, he played most his 745 games with Montréal. He notched 379 points before he took his sweater off the last time.
- Adam Burish (1983-) – Drafted in the ninth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago, this right wing played a nine-year career. Spending most of his time with the club that drafted him, he was finally rewarded in 2010 with a Stanley Cup.
With two goals in the third period, the Oilers were able to escape Boston with a 4-3 victory in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

They got off to a hot start, capped by First Star of the Game Patrick Maroon‘s (Third Star Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) wrister that lit the lamp only 1:08 into the game. That lead lasted only 6:08 before Colin Miller (Austin Czarnik and Torey Krug) leveled the score with a slap shot.

They remained tied until 9:17 remained in the second period. Second Star Patrice Bergeron (David Pastrnak and Kevan Miller) is charged with breaking the draw with a solid snap shot. Just like earlier, that lead did not last long. Maroon (Eric Gryba and McDavid) waited only 3:26 before burying another wrister, once again knotting the game at two-all.

That was the first of three-straight goals by the Oilers. 14 seconds into the final period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Matthew Benning) gave Edmonton a 3-2 lead, followed 8:48 later by Maroon’s hat-trick and eventual game-clinching shot. Edmonton tried their hardest to let the Bruins back into the game, sending both Gryba and Benoit Pouliot to the penalty box to give Boston a five-on-three power play, but David Krejci (Bergeron and Brad Marchand) could only manage one goal on the opportunity.

Cam Talbot earns the victory after saving 33-of-36 shots faced (91.7%), leaving the loss to Tuukka Rask, who saved 21-of-25 (84%).

Edmonton‘s victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 46-26-13 in favor of the home sides, who have a 12 point lead over the road sides.
January 6, 2017
December 17 – Day 66 – Vesey vs. Nashville
A total of 10 games are on tap today, more than enough for us hockey addicts. The action starts at 2 p.m. with two matinees (Philadelphia at Dallas and Arizona at Minnesota), but the excitement really starts at 7 p.m. when five contests drop the puck (Pittsburgh at Toronto [CBC], New Jersey at Ottawa [SN360], Anaheim at Detroit, Montréal at Washington [CITY/NHLN/TVAS] and Buffalo at Carolina). Another pair get underway at 8 p.m. (Chicago at St. Louis and the New York Rangers at Nashville), with tonight’s nightcap – Tampa Bay at Edmonton (CBC/SN360) – getting green lit two hours later.

Short list:
- Anaheim at Detroit: These days, Detroit fans probably need the reminder of the glory days, and this old rivalry might do the trick.
- Chicago at St. Louis: In case it was ever in question, these towns don’t like each other.
- New York at Nashville: Ah, the drama.
I know there’s some good rivalries on , but since this is the only trip the Blueshirts will take to the Music City, we’ll follow the Jimmy Vesey saga to its conclusion.

Vesey is just like you and me. He graduated from college (Harvard, so I guess he’s not exactly like you and me…) and was eager to look for a job. But, he had already been drafted by the Predators in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Sounds like a great situation, right? Immediate employment out of school! It’s everyone’s dream!

It was actually better than that. David Poile, the Predators‘ general manager, did not want to send Vesey to Milwaukee to play in the AHL. His plan was to have Vesey participating with the Predators as soon as possible for their playoff run.

Turns out, Vesey wasn’t too interested in being told where to go. The Crimson graduate showed his smarts – like you do with an Ivy League education – and played the NHL’s CBA like a fiddle. Drafted in 2012 and not singing a contract by 2016, Vesey had the right to decline the contract and become a free agent.

As you might expect, that rubbed the Predators organization the wrong way, but they realized they had to get something out of the situation. Poile shipped Vesey off to Buffalo, where he again declined the Sabres‘ offers. As made evident by his eighth-most points by a forward in Madison Square Garden, the rookie has laid down roots with the Rangers.

Those Blueshirts have an impressive 21-10-1 record that is good enough for second in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Besides signing Vesey, New York added tons of offensive talent this offseason, and that has yielded 108 goals, the second-highest scoring average in the NHL.

It seems the points leader in Manhattan changes game by game. Going into tonight’s contest in Nashville, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller co-lead the offense, each with 22 points to their credit. Of course, the most dangerous Ranger as far as a netminder is concerned is Michael Grabner, who has lit the lamp a team-leading 13 times.

As one might expect, that success has carried into the power play, where the Rangers‘ 21.9% success rate is tied for seventh-best in the league. An incredible six players top the Blueshirts with six power play points apiece, but once again a goalies’ biggest concern is the final goalscorer. Rick Nash, Brandon Pirri and Vesey all have four man-advantage goals to their credit to account for 57% of New York‘s extra-man tallies.

If the Predators were planning on taking advantage of New York‘s penalty kill they have another think coming. The Blueshirts refuse to yield a goal on 86.9% of opposing power plays, the third-best rate in the NHL. Kevin Klein gets this accolade, as his 13 shorthanded blocks are tops in Manhattan.

The Vesey-less Predators have had more bad than good happen to them this season (Vesey no doubt being one of the first line items), as their 13-12-4 record is good enough for only fifth place in the Central Division. On the ice, their biggest issue has been their goaltending that has allowed 84 goals already this year – at only 29 games played, that’s the 10th-highest rate in the league.

12-8-4 Pekka Rinne has started between the pipes for Nashville in all but five games, and has notched a .916 save percentage and 2.5 GAA in that time – the (t)18th and (t)20th best efforts, respectively, in the NHL among the 42 goaltenders with a dozen or more appearances.

The Preds are a defensive-minded team, made apparent by their 29.9 shots-against average that ranks 13th-lowest in the team. Mattias Ekholm takes most of the credit for that, as his 54 shot blocks are the most on the squad. That being said, a total of four skaters (Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and P.K. Subban) have 40 or more blocks, so it has certainly been a team effort.

That defensive presence breaks down on the penalty kill though. Nashville ranks 10th-worst in the league at nullifying their penalties, successful only 80% of the time. This has been where Josi has shined, with a team-leading 13 shorthanded blocks to his name.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Nashville‘s Matt Irwin (+9 [leads the team]), Ryan Johansen (21 points [leads the team]) and James Neal (12 goals [leads the team]) & New York‘s Hayes (+15 [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]), Grabner (+18 [tied for second-best in the league]) and, should he play, Antti Raanta (1.67 GAA on a .941 save percentage [both second-best in the league]).

Since Nashville‘s defense and goaltending will not be good enough to handle the Rangers‘ offense, this boils down to the Predators‘ breaking though New York‘s tough defense and keeping up on the scoreboard. I don’t think it will happen, and Vesey will be able to laugh himself to back to Manhattan with another two points for his club.

Hockey Birthday
- Ken Hitchcock (1951-) – Hitch got his first head coaching job in the NHL in 1996, and he’s been involved in almost every season since. This season marks his sixth and final with the St. Louis Blues, who he got to the Western Finals a season ago. The highlight of his career came in 1999, when his Dallas Stars hoisted the Stanley Cup.
- Frantisek Musil (1964-) – More commonly known by Frank, this defenseman was the 38th-overall pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. That being said, he played 335 of his 797 games in Calgary and notched a +93 over his 14-season career.
- Craig Berube (1965-) – After going undrafted, this left wing had a physical 17-season career, spending most of his days in Washington. By the time he hung up his skates, he notched 159 points to go with his 3149 penalty minutes. Currently, he spends his days in Chicago as the head coach of the AHL’s Wolves.
- Vincent Damphousse (1967-) – Although drafted sixth-overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto, this center played most of his 18-season careeer with the rival Canadiens. He hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1993, his first campaign playing in hometown Montréal.
- Samuel Pahlsson (1977-) – Drafted by Colorado in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, this center played eight of his 11 seasons in Anaheim, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2007. He finished his career with 199 points.
- Matt Murley (1979-) – Some draft picks don’t pan out. Murley is one of those. Although a second-round pick by Pittsburgh in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, he only played 62 total games in the league.
- Erik Christensen (1983-) – Another center, Christensen played seven NHL seasons after being drafted by Pittsburgh in the 2002 Entry Draft. By the time his NHL career was through, he’d notched 163 points after playing with five different clubs.
The 4-2 score is misleading, as the Sharks had control of yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day from the get-go, scoring three goals in the first period in Montréal.

Aided by a Paul Byron hooking penalty, the Sharks got on the board only 6:50 into the contest when Second Star of the Game David Schlemko (Mikkel Boedker and Joonas Donskoi) buried a power play wrist shot to give the Sharks an early lead with his first goal of the season. That lead doubled 3:10 later when Patrick Marleau (First Star Joe Thornton and Third Star Brent Burns) score another power play wrister. Finally San Jose scored in a five-on-five situation, as Timo Meier (Schlemko and Donskoi) scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game with 6:42 remaining in the first period, made only better by the fact that it was the eventual game-winner. The Sharks‘ 3-0 lead lasted them into intermission.

The only tally of the second period was the fourth-straight by San Jose. Melker Karlsson (Micheal Haley) takes credit with a backhanded shot at the 6:44 mark.

Montréal tried their hardest in the third period to stage a comeback. In the span of 3:20, Brian Flynn (Tomas Plekanec and Zach Redmond) and Jeff Petry (Michael McCarron and Daniel Carr) both lit the lamp once each to pull the Habs within two scores, but they were unable to do anymore damage.

Martin Jones earns another victory after saving 26-of-28 shots faced (92.9%), while Carey Price takes the loss, saving 14-of-18 (77.8%). He was replaced following Karlsson’s goal by Al Montoya, who saved all five shots he faced.

Just like the home sides did last week, the road teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series are on quite a little streak. They’ve won their last five contests to pull themselves within seven points of the hosts, who still have a 36-22-10 record.
December 17, 2016
December 13 – Day 62 – Darling division leaders
Welcome to Tuesday night hockey. As usual, it’s a busy night, and the action gets started at 7 p.m. with four contests (Los Angeles at Buffalo, Washington at the New York Islanders, Chicago at the New York Rangers [NBCSN/SN/TVAS] and Vancouver at Carolina). Two more games drop the puck half an hour later (San Jose at Toronto and Arizona at Detroit), while another pair waits until the top of the hour (St. Louis at Nashville and Florida at Minnesota). Anaheim at Dallas finds its start at 8:30 p.m., and this evening’s nightcap – Columbus at Edmonton – gets green-lit at 9 p.m. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Washington at New York: A Metropolitan Division rivalry that began in the 1980s.
- Chicago at New York: An “Original Six” matchup, and the only time this regular season that the Hawks visit Manhattan.
Chicago at New York would be a phenomenal game even if it weren’t an old-school rivalry. The history between both franchises only adds to this contest.

I don’t know how they keep slipping through the cracks, but the Blackhawks haven’t been featured in the DtFR Game of the Day series since their 2-1 shootout victory over Florida on November 29.

Their play has been far from the reason for their absence, as their 18-8-4 record is best in the Western Conference. Although Chicago is home to a long list of excellent goalscorers, they’ve found much of their success by keeping opponents off the scoreboard. The Hawks have yielded only 69 goals this season, tying for seventh-fewest in the league.

While Corey Crawford is still the lead netminder in the Windy City, an emergency appendectomy on December 3 has forced him to the Blackhawks‘ injured reserve list. Enter 6-2-2 backup Scott Darling, whose .929 save percentage and 2.12 GAA is 11th and 12th-best effort, respectively, among the 58 goalies with five or more appearances.

For those wondering, I wouldn’t bet on Lars Johansson making his first-ever NHL start, even though Darling has played every second of Chicago‘s last five games (Darling is 2-2-1 in those games). We’ll break down New York‘s offense in a minute, but a quick summary: they’re one of the best in the league. Not the best way to introduce him to the NHL family.

Crawford, and now Darling, deserve much of the success for Chicago‘s defensive prowess, as the blueline playing in front of them has been nothing to write home about. The Hawks‘ goalies face an average of 30.8 shots-per-game, tying for the 11th-most in the NHL. That being said, that critique does not apply to Niklas Hjalmarsson, whose 64 blocks not only lead the squad, but ties for sixth-most in the entire league.

Due in large part to the overall effort of the defense, Chicago‘s penalty kill has struggled mightily this year. The Hawks allow opposing power plays to score 27.3% of the time, the absolute worst in the NHL. Other than Hjalmarsson’s 16 shorthanded blocks, no other defenseman has more than 10 to his name.

Hosting the Hawks this evening are the 20-9-1 Rangers, who currently occupy second place in the Metropolitan Division, arguably the toughest division in hockey. As mentioned before, they’ve played the best offense in hockey, scoring 105 goals in 30 games.

That 3.5 goals-per-game average is led by J.T. Miller and his 22 points. Although that effort is only good enough to tie him for 33rd-best in the league, it’s the fact that four skaters for the Rangers have 20 or more points to their credit. Adding to that depth has been Michael Grabner, who – although he only has 17 points – has buried 13 goals already this season, the most on the team.

Like I said, Johansson wants no part of this game, and Darling probably doesn’t either!

As would be expected, New York‘s power play has been very successful as well. Converting 22.6% of their opportunities, the Blueshirts rank fifth-best in the league. Again, what makes this man-advantage so frightening is that goaltenders have no idea where the pressure is coming from. A whopping six skaters have six power play points to their credit, including Rick Nash, Brandon Pirri and Jimmy Vesey, each of whom have four extra-man tallies.

The winning ways don’t stop when down a man. Madison Square Garden also houses the fourth-best penalty kill, as the Rangers refuse to allow the opposition to score on 85.9% of power play opportunities. Kevin Klein takes much of the credit in that department, as his 13 shorthanded blocks are most on the club.

The Rangers have already made their yearly trip to the United Center, where they won 1-0 game last Friday thanks to a Nick Holden overtime winner. Darling was in net for Chicago in that game, so perhaps he knows the secret that has eluded so many other teams to slowing down an offense that has so far been better than last year’s Stars and Capitals.

Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Chicago‘s Darling (.929 save percentage [10th-best in the NHL]), Marian Hossa (15 goals [tied for fourth-most in the league]) and Patrick Kane (20 assists [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]) & New York‘s Kevin Hayes (+16 [tied for third-best in the league]), Grabner (+19 [best in the NHL]) and, should he play, Antti Raanta (1.65 GAA [second-best in the league] on a .943 save percentage [third-best in the NHL]).

The Rangers are marked -145 favorites to win tonight’s game, and I think you’d be crazy to bet against them. In addition to simply being an incredible team overall (potentially the best team in hockey), they have an impressive 11-4-1 record at home and are riding a three-game winning streak. Although it won’t be an easy win, I am confident in a Blueshirt victory.

Hockey Birthday
- Doug Mohns (1933-2014) – This seven-time All-Star played an impressive 22 seasons, most of which with the Boston Bruins. By the time his career was over, he’d notched 710 points, including 462 assists.
- Bob Gainey (1953-) – The eighth-overall pick in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft, he played his entire NHL career with the club that drafted him: the Habs. By the time his playing days were through, he was a five-time Stanley Cup winner, four-time Selke winner, and the recipient of the 1979 Smythe Trophy. As you might expect with a resume like that, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 and his number 23 was retired in 2008.
- Sergei Fedorov (1969-) – Another Hall-of-Famer (Class of 2015), this center was drafted 74th-overall by Detroit in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. After 18 seasons, he’d won three Stanley Cups, two Selke Trophies, and the 1994 Hart and Pearson Trophies.
- Bates Battaglia (1975-) – This left wing may have been drafted by Anaheim in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, but he never played for the Mighty Ducks. Instead, he spent most of his days in Carolina, where he notched 150 of his career 198 points.
- Dan Hamhuis (1982-) – The 12th-overall pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft is currently in his first season with Dallas. Most of his playing days have been spent with the Central Division rival Predators, where he played 483 games.
They may have needed overtime, but Boston finally earned their first win of the season against the bitter rival Canadiens, winning 2-1 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Sixty-five seconds remained in the second period before the first goal was struck. Austin Czarnik (Adam McQuaid and Third Star of the Game Ryan Spooner) takes credit with only the third goal of his career. His wrister gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Desperation time was on the horizon in Montréal, but the Habs avoided making the decision to pull their netminder when Paul Byron (Torrey Mitchell and Andrei Markov) netted a backhander with 3:12 remaining on the clock. As neither team could break the knotted game, they settled to play three-on-three overtime.

Spooner (Torey Krug and Czarnik) apparently had enough of overtime, or he simply doesn’t like shootouts. Either way, he scored a wrister with 100 seconds remaining in overtime to earn the Bruins the extra point.

First Star Tuukka Rask earned the victory after saving 30-of-31 shots faced (96.8%), leaving the overtime loss to Second Star Carey Price, saving 27-of-29 (93.1%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series still favors the hosts, as their 36-19-9 record is 14 points better than the roadies’ efforts.
December 13, 2016
December 6 – Day 55 – On either end of the spectrum
It’s another busy Tuesday in the NHL! Per usual, the action gets started at 7 p.m. with four games (Edmonton at Buffalo, Vancouver at New Jersey, the New York Rangers at the New York Islanders [SN1] and Florida at Philadelphia), trailed an hour later by three more (Montréal at St. Louis [RDS], Colorado at Nashville [TVAS] and Detroit at Winnipeg). Two contests (Arizona at Chicago and Calgary at Dallas) share nightcap responsibilities, and they fulfill that duty quickly dropping the puck at 8:30 p.m. All times eastern.
- New York at New York: In addition to being bitter rivals, the Rangers barely held off the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division a season ago.
- Calgary at Dallas: Jyrki Jokipakka played the last two seasons in the American Airlines Center, but tonight he wears white with the visitors.
Since the defenseman never played a full season in Dallas, I think we need to tune in to the Battle of New York.

Yes, I’m as disappointed as you that this is ~~probably~~ definitely a cover. Not only did I check it by ear, but Shazam also won’t recognize this cut of the track. Dang you, Taylor Swift, and your restrictive and inconvienent, yet probably well-informed distrust of music streaming sites!

Anyways, the Rangers enter tonight’s game with a 17-8-1 record and have the opportunity to surpass Montréal for the best mark in the Eastern Conference should the Habs fall. They’ve gotten to that position riding their incredible offense that has struck 95 goals already this season, far-and-away the most in the league.

For most teams, 19 points should not be leading the club. Unless that club is the Rangers, which has two 19-point scorers, followed by an 18-pointer, three 17-pointers, etc. You get the idea. Those two leaders with 19-points are Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller. Both those skaters’ impacts have been evenly split between goals and assists, which leaves the scoring lead open to Michael Grabner, who has already lit the lamp 13 times this season.

Effectively, the easiest thing to say about New York‘s offense is this: Almost. Every. Single. Skater. Is. A. Weapon. You have been warned, Brooklyn.

Part of the reason for that success has been a successful power play. The Rangers‘ 22.7% conversion rate ranks sixth-best in the NHL. Led by Rick Nash‘s team-leading four extra-man goals and six power play points, the Blueshirts have struck 17 man-advantage goals already this season.

The other special team has also been very good. The Rangers‘ penalty kill ranks ninth-best, stopping their opposition 85.1% of the time. Kevin Klein gets to take a lot of credit for the success, as he leads the team with 13 shorthanded blocks.

As good as the Rangers have been, the Islanders have been bad. In fact, they are the worst team in the conference, due almost entirely to their lackluster offense, capable of only 61 goals so far this year – the seventh-fewest in the league.

Nineteen seems to be the magic number in the Big Apple, as that’s exactly how many points Captain John Tavares has as well. Unfortunately for him, he’s not backed by a bunch of others with similar totals. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson have tied for second-most productive, but with only 15 points on their resumes. Three skaters lead the Isles with six goals: Anders Lee, Nelson and Tavares.

Not surprisingly, the power play hasn’t treated the Boys from Brooklyn any better. Their 11.6% success rate with the man-advantage is the worst in the league. Equally expected, Tavares has taken the lead on this department of play as well, as his five power play points is best on the team, as do his two man-advantage tallies.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include the Islanders‘ Dennis Seidenberg (+12 [tied for ninth-best in the league]) & the Rangers‘ Grabner (+19 [best in the NHL] on 13 goals [tied for fourth-most in the league]), Hayes (+16 [third-best in the NHL]) and Henrik Lundqvist (12 wins [tied for sixth-most in the league]) or Antti Raanta (.931 save percentage [tied for sixth-best in the NHL]).

I pick New York to win this game.

In all seriousness, there should be no way the Rangers lose this game. Vegas has marked the Islanders a +120 underdog, and I think that’s far too narrow a margin. It won’t pay out much, but if you’re the gambling type you should definitely pick the Blueshirts.

Hockey Birthday
- Matt Niskanen (1986-) – The 28th-overall pick of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by Dallas, this defenseman is currently in his third season with Washington. So far this season, his nine points is second-most among the Capitals‘ defensive corps.
If you like offense and goal-scoring, yesterday’s Game of the Day was for you, as Pittsburgh beat the visiting Senators 8-5.

Hopefully this summary won’t be too long-winded.

First Star of the Game Bryan Rust (Second Star Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang) opened the scoring for Pittsburgh only 1:45 into the game, but their lead lasted only 6:33 before Kyle Turris (Ryan Dzingel and Chris Wideman) leveled for the Senators. The Penguins regained the lead only 27 seconds before Sidney Crosby (Conor Sheary and Ian Cole) regained the lead with a wrist shot. 6:16 before the first intermission, Erik Karlsson (Mark Stone) buried a wrist shot to tie the game at two-all.

A minute after returning to the ice, Stone’s (Dion Phaneuf and Karlsson) power play backhander gave the Sens their first lead of the game, which doubled 6:08 later when Mike Hoffman (Karlsson and Stone) scored a power play snap shot. Matt Cullen (Rust) set the score at 4-3 with a shorthanded backhander only 80 seconds later, and Third Star Phil Kessel (Justin Schultz and Cole) tied the game with 5:47 remaining in the second period. Schultz (Malkin and Kessel) scored a goal of his own 24 seconds later to give the Penguins a 5-4 lead that held into the second intermission.

Malkin (Kessel) takes credit for the eventual game-winning goal with a backhander only 1:05 after retaking the ice. Ottawa could manage only one more goal in the game, courtesy of a Phaneuf (Turris and Karlsson) wrister at the 6:17 mark. Rust scored both insurance goals, the first a penalty shot and the second an empty-netter assisted by Chris Kunitz and Brian Dumoulin.

Matthew Murray takes credit for Pittsburgh‘s victory, saving 17-of-18 shots faced (94.4%). He replaced starter Marc-Andre Fleury, who saved 12-of-16 (75%) before being replaced after Hoffman’s lead-taking goal 7:08 into the second period. Fleury, of course, earned no decision.

Craig Anderson takes the loss after saving 36-of-43 shots faced (83.7%). He was replaced by ex-Penguin Mike Condon with 7:24 remaining in regulation (the score was then 7-5), who was the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker before Rust’s third goal. Condon saved both shots he faced and, just like Fleury, he earned no decision.

The Penguins‘ victory increases the home sides’ lead over the roadies to four points in the DtFR Game of the Day series, advancing their record to 30-19-8.
December 6, 2016