The Down the Frozen River crew (Connor and Nick) present their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff predictions by each round and pick their 2016 Stanley Cup winners. As always, hear about the latest news and notes around the NHL every week on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.
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Frank Fanelli officially joins Down the Frozen River with his first post and explains what it felt like for Philadelphia Flyers fans heading into this weekend’s action and how far he thinks the Flyers will be able to go in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
By: Frank Fanelli
As the Flyers geared up for their playoff push, for us Flyers fans, it felt like the 2009-2010 season all over again. That season, the Flyers were very shaky- going up and down in the standings battling for a playoff spot with the New York Rangers. In their last 12 games, the 2009-2010 Flyers went 2-10, which was terrible down the stretch, but somehow it all came down to the very last game of the regular season against the Rangers. Philadelphia eventually won 2-1 in a nerve-wracking shootout.
This year is very much just like that year in all aspects of the season. In their first 20 games the Flyers went a disappointing 6-14 to start the season. When I first saw this start to the season I thought to myself “Oh boy, here’s to another disappointing season with no postseason play” I was livid with their start because this year I thought it was going to be so much different.
Well, their mid-season form took to full affect just like always, going back and forth with win after win then a string of loss after loss. It really wasn’t a promising sight. I mean the Flyers were still in contention but I thought nothing of it because they never showed any potential to creep into a playoff spot. Now that has completely changed!
On March 3rd the Flyers sat at 29-34, just out of a playoff spot and got a huge wakeup call by getting thrashed 4-0 to the mediocre Edmonton Oilers— AT home nonetheless! This, without a doubt in my mind, was a call to action for the Philly squad, coming back the next game and demolishing the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0 and kick started this team’s push to the playoffs.
The Flyers then went on a resurgent 10-7 run in their next 17, leading up to their record at 39-27-13 with 91 points entering Friday— barely hanging on to that last Wild Card spot. From then, I believed the Flyers would make the playoffs because of the way they had been playing lately. They had 3 games remaining on their schedule, against the below average Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins (who are on fire), and a strong New York Islanders team to end their season.
*Editor’s note: The Flyers lost, 4-3, in overtime to the Maple Leafs, and then beat the Penguins and Islanders to cap off their season, if you’ve been under a rock. Although by now, hopefully you know they’re in and the matchups have been determined.*
Prior to clinching, I believed that if the Flyers wanted to make the playoffs, they were going to have to realize they needed to pick up their play! The Flyers would make the playoffs because they have played very solid as a whole team and they would realize this and push to the end.
Philadelphia will play the Washington Capitals, who locked up the President’s Trophy with the best record in the NHL, in the first round of the playoffs. These two teams split the 4-game season series 2-2, with both teams trading wins back and forth. These 4 games were always a constant battle with the Capitals outscoring the Flyers 12 goals to 10. Also 3 of the 4 games were separated by only 1 goal with 2 of the games going past regulation. Philadelphia won both of those games. The Flyers are 110-78-19 overall against the Capitals. Going 2-2 against them in 4 playoff series matchups dating back to 1984, with 3 of the 4 series matchups going to 6 or 7 games!
So clearly the facts are all there for it to be a very close and intense playoff matchup, which any hockey fan will love to watch. I think the Flyers will battle the Capitals in an intense 6 game series favoring the Flyers in the end, but this is where I think their “Cinderella” type season will come to an end.
I just do not see the Flyers making a long run in this year’s playoffs, especially with how hot the Penguins, Lightning, Panthers and even the Rangers have been playing lately. Even with Michal Neuvirth projected to be back in the lineup, ready and healthy for the playoffs. The Flyers simply do not have enough fire power in their offense.
For example, their star captain Claude Giroux through 79 games only had 66 points when he was projected to reach 81. Their second in “command” Jakub Voracek only had 53 points through 70 games when he was originally projected to have 73. These two players are clear examples on why Philadelphia will go out in the second round because they do not have enough offensive prowl.
Let alone their very shaky defense, which has a very hard time scoring as well. Their top scorer, rookie sensation Shayne Gostisbehere, who had an astonishing 43 points in 61 games up to Friday, which ranked 7th in scoring among rookies. Other than “Ghost” they have no offensive production from their defense, who also can be exploited for a good amount of goals which is very risky.
Last but not least their goalies are sub-par to say the least. Their “rock” Steve Mason, as of late, in his last 15 games leading up to Friday, went 9-4-2 with a .950% SV and a 2.10 GAA. He has had to fill in for Neuvirth, because before Neuvirth got hurt, he was basically the starter. So Mason has been a HUGE part of the Flyers success in their recent games, but I do not see Mason being a productive starter in the postseason.
The reason why is because of his measly playoff record, going 2-6 with a .907% and a 3.11 GAA in 8 starts with Columbus and Philly. Even if Michal Neuvirth is able to come back in time (which he is, as of Sunday) for the playoffs— his playoff record is 4-5 with a .914% and a 2.30 GAA in 9 starts with Washington.
Clearly, as you can tell, both of these goalies have proven that neither of them are a reliable playoff starter. With the Flyers low offensive production, shaky defense, and unreliable goaltending, these are just a couple of prime examples as to why the Flyers will bow out in the second round of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
By: Nick Lanciani
After the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, on Thursday night at TD Garden, the Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3, in overtime— further complicating playoff clinching scenario matters (well, not really). Two key things to remember are 1) each team is ultimately in control of a portion of their own destiny and 2) the formula is simple, just win.
So with that in mind, if you are a Red Wings fan, you either want your team to:
– Win in regulation or overtime versus the New York Rangers on Saturday.
– Win in a shootout against the Rangers and hope that Boston does not win in regulation or overtime on Saturday, OR for Philadelphia to go 1-0-1 or worse in their last two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders (respectively).
– Lose in overtime or a shootout to the Rangers and hope that Boston gets 1 point of less against Ottawa on Saturday, OR for the Flyers to go 1-0-1 or worse in their last two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders (respectively).
Of note, Boston holds the second tiebreaker over Detroit, by virtue of having won the season series against the Red Wings.
If you are a Bruins fan, you either want your team to:
And if you’re a Flyers fan and the following plays out…
A Red Wings loss to the Rangers in regulation or a Detroit win in a shootout over New York, while the Bruins win in regulation, would ensure that the Red Wings would fall to the wild card spot.
At 94 points and 39 ROW Detroit would have to hope that the current 92 point, 36 ROW Flyers go 1-1-0, thereby finishing with 94 points and losing the tiebreaker on ROW.
OR Flyers fans would hope that…
PHI goes 1-0-1, finishing with 95 points and ahead of DET for the wild card, or PHI goes 2-0-0 and finishes with 96 points, thereby ahead of DET for the wild card regardless of the Red Wings result on Saturday.
Finally, as a friendly reminder, Detroit has a 41-29-11 record, totaling 93 points and 39 ROW’s with 1 game remaining this season. Boston is 42-30-9 this season with 93 points and 38 ROW’s with 1 game remaing and Philadelphia is 39-27-14 on the year with 92 points and 36 ROW’s with 2 games remaining.
This weekend is sure to be fun, so you should probably contact those people that invited you to things and tell them you have other plans now.
With two successful shootout goals, the Flyers held home ice to beat Washington 2-1 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.
The first two periods were just like I like them – scoreless. It wasn’t until 41:28 had ticked off the clock that Alex Ovechkin connected on a power play snap shot, assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov (his 54th helper of the season) and Justin Williams. With 5:28 remaining in regulation, Brayedn Schenn leveled the game for the Flyers, assisted by Claude Giroux (his 43rd helper of the season) and Wayne Simmonds. Neither side could find the net again during the remaining time, nor the five minutes of overtime, sending us to a shootout.
Washington got to shoot first, but T.J. Oshie’s attempt was denied by Third Star of the Game Steve Mason. Nick Cousins was up next, and scored on a backhander. Kuznetsov danced around a bit before getting almost all the way to the goal line and tried to bang one off the far post, but Mason make a quick glove save to end that attempt. Second Star Sam Gagner gets the unofficial game winner, going five hole on First Star Braden Holtby to secure the bonus point.
Mason earns the win after saving 29 of the 30 shots he faced (96.7%), while Holtby take the shootout loss, saving 33 of 34 (97.1%).
With the third straight home win, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 77-43-18, favoring the home sides by 37 points over the roadies.
This Thursday, we have 10 games on tap for you to choose from. 40% of them drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Toronto at Buffalo [BELL TV], Columbus at the New York Islanders, Nashville at Pittsburgh [NHLN/TVAS] and the New York Rangers at Carolina), followed half an hour later by two more (Montréal at Tampa Bay [RDS] and New Jersey at Florida). Ottawa at Minnesota [RDS2] starts at 8 p.m. eastern, with Arizona at Dallas trailing 30 minutes later. Finally, our co-nightcaps drop the puck at 10:30 p.m. eastern (Calgary at Los Angeles and Vancouver at San Jose).
Over half of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Toronto at Buffalo, Columbus at New York, New York at Carolina, Montréal at Tampa Bay, Calgary at Los Angeles and Vancouver at San Jose), but only Nashville at Pittsburgh is between playoff qualifiers. Also, the Montréal–Tampa Bay game is a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Semifinals.
The game that stands out the most this evening actually has nothing to do with the standings, but everything to do with the return of a beloved player.
Tonight’s game will be New York‘s 22nd in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 11-7-3 record, with their most recent being Sunday’s home 3-2 overtime loss to the Penguins. Carolina has been featured four times before this game, and own a 1-1-2 record in such contests, with their most recent being February 23’s 3-1 home victory over the Flyers.
Drafted by the Hurricanes second overall in the 2003 Entry Draft, Eric Staal has only recently joined the second team of his career at this season’s trade deadline.
Over 12 years in Carolina, Staal played 909 games, scoring 322 goals and adding 453 assists for 775 points.
No doubt the best year to be a Cane was during the 2005-’06 season when they won the Stanley Cup. During that playoff run, Staal scored nine goals (tied for second most on the club) and 19 assists (led the team) for 28 points, the most for Carolina. Arguably his most important goal was his only game winner of the postseason, an overtime power play tally, his first his playoff career, that saved the Canes from going down three games to none in Montréal. With that new found momentum, Carolina won the next three games following to win that series 4-2 and eventually hoist the Cup.
That success wasn’t isolated to the playoffs though, as he scored 45 goals during the regular season, as well as 55 assists, for 100 points flat, all categories he led (ok, tied for the lead in assists with Cory Stillman) for his club. Those sophomore numbers have also been the peak of his career, which he achieved with cool 16.1% shooting rate.
Before joining the Rangers this February, he notched 23 assists, a total that still ranks fourth most on the team this season. His production has improved since making the move to Manhattan, as he already has three goals and two assists to his credit after only 14 games played.
The 43-24-9 New York Rangers sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division as well as the Eastern Conference. To get there, they’ve played solid offense backed by the 12th best defense.
Even with Derek Stepan’s 176 shots, New York has fired the puck only 2158 times, but 10% have found the back of the net for 219 goals (led by Derick Brassard’s 27 tallies), the fifth best offense in the NHL. The Rangers prefer to keep things even-steven, as their power play, successful on 19.32% of their attempts for 40 extra man goals (led by Brassard’s eight power play tallies) ranks only 12th best in the league.
Even with Dan Girardi’s 187 blocks, the Blueshirts have allowed 2303 shots to reach 33-19-7 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 199 goals against, the 12th fewest in the league. If you thought New York was concerned about their power play, you haven’t seen the other side of their special teams. Madison Square Garden is the home of the fourth worst penalty kill in the league, neutralizing only 77.93% of their infractions for 49 power play goals against.
The Rangers last played Sunday when they fell to the Pens, which ended their winning streak at three. A win is very important for New York, as they are still very much competing with Pittsburgh for second in the division and home ice for the first round of the playoffs.
The 33-28-16 Carolina Hurricanes are seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference. The Canes play the 15th worst defense, paired with the fifth worst offense.
Led by Ron Hainsey’s 118 blocks, Carolina has allowed only 2112 shots to reach 21-16-10 Cam Ward and co., of which they’ve collectively saved only 90.8% for 208 shots against, the 15th most in the league. The worst part about that stat is that most of those goals come at even strength, as the Hurricanes‘ 84.38% kill rate that has allowed only 30 power play goals against ranks fifth best in the entire league.
Led by Jeff Skinner’s 239 shots, the Canes have fired the puck 2312 times, with 8% finding the back of the net for 187 goals (led by Skinner’s 26 tallies), the fifth fewest in the league. A major contributor to that issue is certainly their power play, which ranks eighth worst after finding success on only 16.67% of attempts for 38 goals (led by Justin Faulk’s 12 power play tallies).
Carolina last played Tuesday to a 2-1 shootout loss in Brooklyn. The Canes are technically still alive for the playoffs, but trail the Flyers by seven points with only five games remaining.
New York has already won the season series against the Hurricanes, but would like to complete the season sweep with a fourth win this evening in Raleigh.
Some players to keep an eye on include Carolina‘s Skinner (26 goals, 22 of which were at even strength and seven were game winners, for 47 points on 239 shots [all lead the team]) and Jordan Staal (+6, 20 even strength assists, two shorthanded assists and 156 hits [all lead the team]) & New York‘s Lundqvist (33 wins [tied for sixth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for seventh most in the league] and .922 save percentage [eighth best in the league]) and Ryan McDonagh (+27 [tied for fifth best in the league]).
There’s no doubt in my mind that New York, especially with the help of their offense, will win this game. That being said, they will get cheered at least once by the Hurricane faithful when the 12-year Carolina alumnus takes the ice.
I picked the Lightning to beat the Panthers in yesterday’s Game of the Day. Florida‘s five goals proved me wrong.
Tampa Bay took the initial lead only 5:52 after play on a Tyler Johnson power play wrister, assisted by Nikita Nesterov and Ondrej Palat (his 20th helper of the season). 7:44 later, Vincent Trocheck leveled the score after an assist from Jussi Jokinen, his 41st helper of the season. Third Star of the Game Jaromir Jagr gave the Panthers a lead they would not yield on the power play with 1:58 remaining in the period, assisted by Aleksander Barkov and Second Star Jonathan Huberdeau (his 36th helper of the season). The 2-1 score held into the intermission.
Only one goal was scored in the second frame, and it belongs to Florida. With 4:07 remaining in the period, Jiri Hudler gave the Panthers their third goal, the game-winner, assisted by Alex Petrovic and Nick Bjugstad (his 17th helper of the season).
The score became 4-1 4:02 after resuming play from the second intermission after a Huberdeau wrister, assisted by Barkov and Jagr (his 33rd helper of the season). Tampa finally scored their second goal with 3:12 remaining in regulation when Steven Stamkos connected on a power play wrister for his 36th tally of the season, assisted by Brian Boyle and Nesterov. Jokinen closed the scoring for the evening with 25 seconds remaining, a shorthanded wrister on an empty net for his 17th goal of the season.
First Star Roberto Luongo earns the win after saving 33 of 35 shots faced (94.3%), while Andrei Vasilevskiy takes the loss, saving 22 of 26 shots faced (84.6%).
Florida‘s win sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 74-43-17, favoring the home sides by 33 points over the roadies.
After such a busy Saturday, we need a little break, but the Easter Bunny still brought along three games for our viewing pleasure. The action starts at 5 p.m. eastern when New Jersey visits Carolina, followed by Pittsburgh at the New York Rangers at 7:30 p.m. eastern (NBCSN/TVAS). Finally, Chicago visits Vancouver at 8 p.m. eastern (SN) to round the evening out.
Two of today’s games are divisional rivalries (New Jersey at Carolina and Pittsburgh at New York), and Pittsburgh at New York is the only game between playoff qualifiers.
In addition to the reasons listed above, we’ll head to Madison Square Garden as it is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
This will be Pittsburgh‘s 15th appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 6-7-1 record, with their most recent being March 19’s 4-1 win in Philadelphia. New York has been featured 20 times before tonight’s game, and they own a 11-7-2 record in such instances. Their last time featured, they beat the visiting Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday.
The 41-25-8 Pittsburgh Penguins currently occupy third in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the fifth best defense in the league, paired with the 11th best offense.
Led by Ian Cole’s 106 blocks, the Penguins have allowed 2175 shots to reach 32-17-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 182 goals against, the fifth fewest in the league. That success has carried into the penalty kill, where the Pens have successfully defended 83.77% of opposing power plays for only 37 extra man goals against, the seventh best rate in the league. Further improving on that rate, they’ve also scored six shorthanded goals (led by Eric Fehr’s three shorties), one more than the league average.
Led by Phil Kessel’s 236 shots, Pittsburgh has fired the puck a whopping 2408 times, with 8.3% finding the back of the net for 204 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 31 tallies), the 11th most in the NHL. The biggest hole for the Pens continues to be their power play, as their 17.45% success rate, good for 41 power play goals (led by the injured Evgeni Malkin’s 11 extra man tallies), the 12th worst in the league.
Pittsburgh‘s last game was yesterday’s 7-2 victory in Detroit. With another road win tonight, Pittsburgh would pull within at least three points of second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The 43-24-8 New York Rangers currently rank second best in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. To get this far, they’ve played the sixth best offense, paired with the 14th best defense. A more in-depth analysis of the Blueshirts‘ game can be found within Wednesday’s article.
The Blueshirts have won their last two games, with their most recent victory being Wednesday over the Bruins. Should the Rangers hold home ice for the win, they will improve their lead over Pittsburgh to six points for second in the division.
Pittsburgh currently leads the season series 2-1-0, but this final game could level the series at .500. These squads met last season in the first round of the playoffs, where the Rangers won the series 4-1.
Some players to keep an eye in tonight’s game include New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (33 wins [tied for fifth most in the league], .922 save percentage [tied for seventh best in the league] and four shutouts [tied for seventh most in the league]) and Ryan McDonagh (+28 [fourth most in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (77 points [third most in the league], 46 assists [tied for seventh most in the league] and 31 goals [tied for ninth most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for third most in the league] and 33 wins [tied for fifth most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+31 [leads the league]) and Olli Maatta (+27 [tied for fifth best in the league]).
Although New York enters tonight’s home game riding a winning streak, I’m still leaning towards the Penguins, who have been riding a tremendous surge in the past couple months.
It was an easy game plan for the Lightning in yesterday’s Game of the Day, as they used two goals a period to beat the Red Wings 6-2.
Tampa Bay earned the lead they would not yield after only 1:47 of play courtesy of a First Star of the Game Erik Condra wrister, assisted by Third Star Ondrej Palat (his 16th helper of the season) and Brian Boyle. Vladislav Namestnikov doubled that lead 8:08 later with a wrister of his own, assisted by J.T. Brown (his 14th helper of the season). Starting the formula, the Bolts held their at those two tallies for the remainder of the period.
Even quicker than they scored in the first period, Tampa scored their game-winning goal in the second. Steven Stamkos fired a wrister only 33 seconds after resuming play (his 34th tally of the season), assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Second Star Victor Hedman. Detroit began trying to stage a comeback, as they also scored two goals in the second – the first of which found the back of the net at the 8:08 mark on a Justin Abdelkader power play wrister, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg (his 32nd helper of the season) and Niklas Kronwall. With 4:35 remaining in the frame, the Wings pulled within a goal after Darren Helm fired a wrister assisted by Pavel Datsyuk (his 27th helper of the season) and Anthony Mantha, but Tampa scored their first of three insurance goals 2:17 later on a Kucherov power play wrister (his 28th tally of the season), assisted by Tyler Johnson and Stamkos to nip that in the bud. The 4-2 score held into the second intermission.
Another quick start gave the Lightning a two goal advantage, as Palat’s backhander only 1:03 after resuming play, assisted by Johnson and Hedman (his 34th helper of the season) extended their lead to three. The Bolts‘ final tally was Condra’s second of the game, assisted by Boyle at the 16:56 mark, setting the score at the 6-2 final.
Ben Bishop earns the win after saving 23 of 25 shots faced (92%), while Jimmy Howard takes the loss after saving 13 of 16 (81.3%). He was replaced after Stamkos’ second period goal by Petr Mrazek, who saved 15 of 18 (83.3%) for no decision.
Tampa Bay‘s win makes it two straight for the home sides, setting the DtFR Game of the Day series at 72-41-17, favoring the home sides by 33 points over the roadies.
I hope you enjoyed all the games yesterday, because this evening has only two matchups to offer. Even better, they’re both occurring not even five miles apart, so it’s doubtful they’re happening anywhere near you. The first drops the puck at 7 p.m. between Ottawa and the New York Islanders (TVAS/SN), followed an hour later by Boston visiting the New York Rangers (NBCSN/SN1).
Seeing as Ottawa trails Philadelphia by seven points for the final spot in the postseason, we’ve gotta keep an eye on the important battle for playoff position that will take place in Madison Square Garden.
Tonight’s game will be Boston‘s 18th in the Game of the Day series where they own a 7-9-1 record, with their most recent being their 4-0 loss in Anaheim on Friday. New York has been featured 19 times before tonight’s game, and own a 10-7-2 record such contests. Their most recent was March 13, a 5-3 loss on home ice to the Penguins.
The 39-26-8 Boston Bruins currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. It has been their offense that has gotten them there, as they’ve scored the third most goals, but also given up the 13th most scores. A more in-depth analysis of Boston‘s game can be found within Friday’s article.
A win tonight does two things for the Bruins, the less of which is expanding their lead over the Red Wings to five points for the final division qualifier. More important is catching the slipping Panthers for the second spot, and they would pull within a point of doing just that.
The 41-24-8 New York Rangers currently occupy second place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. They’ve also be a stronger offensive team, scoring the sixth most goals in the league, but give up the 15th most scores in the process.
Even with Derek Stepan’s 168 shots, the Rangers have fired the puck only 2084 times, but an incredible 9.8% have found the back of the net for 207 goals (led by Derick Brassard’s 25 tallies), the sixth most in the league. What is surprising about the Blueshirts‘ offensive success is that it is not very dependent on the power play, as their 18.37% success rate, good for only 36 extra man goals (led by Brassard’s eight power play tallies), ranks 15th worst in the NHL.
Even with Dan Girardi’s 182 blocks, New York has allowed 2204 shots to reach 32-19-6 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 192 goals against, the 15th most in the league. Even worse than the power play has been the penalty kill, as the Rangers have neutralized only 76.89% of their infractions to allow 49 power play goals, the third worst rate in the NHL.
Seeing as the Capitals have already clinched both the division and the conference, New York is now focused on securing the second seed in the Metropolitan. A win tonight would help them do that by extending their lead over third place Pittsburgh to four points, although the Pens will have two games in hand.
The season series between these squads is currently tied at 1-1-0, with the most recent meeting occurring January 11 in the World’s Most Famous Arena, a 2-1 victory for the home Rangers.
Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Brad Marchand (34 goals [tied for fourth most in the league] and +22 [10th best in the league]) & New York‘s Lundqvist (32 wins [tied for fifth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for sixth most in the league] and .922 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]) and Ryan McDonagh (+25 [eighth best in the league]).
Boston has the better offense, power play and penalty kill, so I’m leaning towards the Bruins winning the season series with a road victory tonight.
They needed overtime, but the Blues beat the Stars 5-4 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.
Troy Brouwer scored St. Louis‘ first goal at the 8:47 mark of the first period with a snap shot, assisted by Robby Fabbri (his 16th helper of the season) and Paul Stastny, but the Stars leveled the game 2:19 later with a Cody Eakin backhander, assisted by Jamie Benn (his 43rd helper of the season) and Kris Russell. The one-all score held into the intermission.
Only 1:37 after resuming play, the Blues again took a lead, this time off a Vladimir Tarasenko wrister (his 33rd tally of the season), assisted by Jay Bouwmeester and Third Star of the Game Alex Pietrangelo, but once again Dallas leveled quickly, as Second Star Jason Spezza’s wrister (his 27th tally of the season), assisted by Tyler Seguin and Russell, found the back of the net 1:01 later. The Notes took control of the final 10 minutes of the second period, scoring two goals. The first crossed the goal line at the 10:19 mark, compliments of a First Star Kevin Shattenkirk wrap-around shot (his 11th tally of the season), assisted by Stastny and Jaden Schwartz. With 46 seconds remaining in the frame, Shattenkirk scored his second of the night on a slap shot, assisted by Schwartz and Tarasenko (his 28th helper of the season). The 4-2 score held into the second intermission.
Dallas responded to the Blues‘ two unanswered goals in the second with two of their own in the third, the first of which came courtesy of Spezza at the 6:02 mark, assisted by Ales Hemsky and Alex Goligoski. The lone power play goal of the night found the back of the net with only 1:12 remaining in regulation off a Benn tip-in, assisted by Seguin (his 39th helper of the season) and Goligoski. Neither team was able to break the tie before regulation, so the game moved into three-on-three overtime.
It took only 2:11 of overtime before Pietrangelo’s wrister, assisted by Stastny (his 28th helper of the season) and Fabbri, found the back of the net for the Blues‘ winner.
Jake Allen earns the win after saving 34 of 38 shots faced (89.5%), while Antti Niemi takes the overtime loss, saving 31 of 36 (86.1%).
After St. Louis‘ win, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 66-38-16, favoring the home teams by 28 points over the roadies.
With such a busy hockey Saturday, you probably need a rest. But, luckily for us, the people in charge of NHL scheduling are addicted to the game just as much as us and can’t just take a day off, so they gave us three games to watch today. The first of those games, Pittsburgh at the New York Rangers, drops the puck at 12:30 p.m. eastern on NBC. Game Two gets started at 3 p.m. eastern between Tampa Bay at Columbus, and this evening’s nightcap, Toronto at Detroit (NBCSN) goes underway at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
Two of today’s games are between division rivals (Pittsburgh at New York and Toronto at Detroit), but Pittsburgh at New York is the only game between teams currently qualifying the playoffs.
In addition to qualifying for both of those groups, the Pittsburgh–New York game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchups, so you know we’re watching that one!
This afternoon’s game will be Pittsburgh‘s 13th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 4-7-1 record. Their most recent appearance in such games was March 3, a 4-1 home victory over these Rangers. New York was featured again the day later in their 3-2 victory in Washington, their 18th showing in the series which set their record in such games at 10-6-2.
The 35-24-8 Pittsburgh Penguins are currently the fourth best team in the Metropolitan Division and eighth best in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wild card. To get to that position, the Pens have played the ninth best defense, paired with the 14th best offense.
Even with Kris Letang’s team-leading 94 blocks, the Penguins have allowed 2030 shots to reach 28-16-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.2% for 170 goals against, the ninth fewest in the league. Pittsburgh‘s defense especially clamps down when short a man, defending 83.65% of their penalties, allowing only 34 power play goals against, the sixth best rate in the NHL. Further improving on that rate, the Pens have also scored six shorthanded goals this season (led by Eric Fehr’s three shorties), one more than the league average.
The offense had a slow start to the season, but has grown throughout the season to become what we typically expect from Pittsburgh. Led by Phil Kessel’s 221 shots, the Penguins have fired the puck 2188 times, of which 8.3% have found the back of the net for 183 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 28 tallies), the 14th most in the league. The biggest struggle for the Pens seems to be the power play, as they are successful on only 18.31% of attempts, earning 39 extra man goals (led by the injured Evgeni Malkin’s 11 power play tallies), the 13th worst rate in the league.
Pittsburgh‘s last game was Friday, a 3-2 victory in Columbus. As long as the Penguins do anything better than losing in regulation, they will move ahead of Detroit for the first wildcard position, but Pittsburgh would prefer to earn two points to pull within two points of the Islanders for the final division qualifier.
The 39-22-7 New York Rangers currently occupy second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, the Rangers have played the seventh best offense, backed by the 12th best defense.
Even with Derick Brassard’s 150 shots, the Blueshirts have only fired the puck 1925 times, but 9.8% have found the back of the net for 192 goals (led by Brassard’s 24 tallies), the seventh most in the NHL. Just like the Penguins, New York‘s offensive special team has not been indicative of their scoring success, as they are successful on only 18.23% of attempts, good for 33 power play goals (led by Brassard’s seven extra man tallies), the 14th worst rate in the league.
Dan Girardi’s 162 blocks have helped lead the Blueshirts to allowing only 1990 shots to reach 31-17-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 173 goals against, the 12th fewest in the league. The biggest hole in New York‘s game has been their penalty kill, whose 77.39% kill rate that has allowed 45 power play goals ranks fourth worst in the league.
The Rangers‘ most recent game was a 3-2 overtime loss in Detroit yesterday. Currently, the Blueshirts have only a three point lead over their Brooklyn-based rivals, but a win today would improve that spread to five points.
The season series is currently tied 1-1-0, but this is the first visit by the Penguins to Madison Square Garden this campaign. The last time these teams met was 10 days ago, when the Penguins beat the Rangers 4-1. Last postseason, these two squads met in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Rangers easily took care of the opposition in five games before eventually falling in the Eastern Finals.
Some players to keep an eye on in this afternoon’s game include New York‘s Lundqvist (31 wins [fifth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for seventh best in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (67 points [sixth most in the league] and 28 goals [10th most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for second most in the league] and 28 wins [tied for seventh most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+28 [tied for second best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+26 [tied for fourth best in the league]).
We’ve covered both of the previous games between these two squads, and both times I predicted the Rangers to win. While the Blueshirts are the better team overall, their poor special team play, specifically the penalty kill, always allows other teams the chance to beat them. Should Pittsburgh get under New York‘s skin, this one could go the way of the visitors.
I predicted that the New York Rangers would easily handle the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the Game of the Day actually went the opposite way, as the Pens won 4-1.
The first goal of the game wasn’t scored until the 36:50 mark, the lone tally for the Blueshirts. It was a Chris Kreider wrister, assisted by Mats Zuccarello (his 27th helper of the season) and Ryan McDonagh. Pittsburgh leveled the score only 57 seconds later with a wrister from Sidney Crosby, assisted by Carl Hagelin and Kris Letang (his 38th helper of the season). Evgeni Malkin’s game-winner crossed the goal line at the 18:08 mark (his 25th tally of the season), assisted by Chris Kunitz and Trevor Daley. The Penguins‘ three-goal period was completed with only 34 seconds remaining, courtesy of a Patric Hornqvist tip-in, assisted by Phil Kessel (his 22nd helper of the season) and Malkin.
Only one goal was scored in the third, courtesy of a Kessel wrister assisted by Malkin (his 29th helper of the season) on an empty net.
Marc-Andre Fleury earns the win after saving 27 of 28 (96.4%), while Henrik Lundqvist takes the loss, saving 19 of 22 (86.4%). He was replaced for the third period by Antti Raanta, who saved all three shots he faced.
The DtFR Game of the Day now stands at 64-34-13, favoring the home sides by 36 points over the roadies.
Only three games are being played on this first Friday of March, and two of them drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (the New York Rangers at Washington [NHLN] and Edmonton at Columbus). This evening’s nightcap, New Jersey at Dallas, drops the puck at 8:30 p.m. eastern.
The New York–Washington game is our Game of the Day for a variety of reasons:
Tonight’s game will be New York‘s 18th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 9-6-2 record. Washington has played 13 games in the series before tonight’s game, and own a 10-3-0 record in such games. Their most recent showing in the series was Wednesday, when they beat the Maple Leafs 3-2.
The 37-21-6 New York Rangers currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. They play the seventh best offense in the league, paired with the ninth best defense. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within yesterday’s article.
Yesterday’s 4-1 loss ended the Rangers‘ win-streak at three. A win tonight is important, as the Islanders are not active, giving the Blueshirts the opportunity to advance their lead for second to five points.
The 47-12-4 Washington Capitals currently occupy the top spot in the division, conference and league by at least 13 points. They play a well-rounded game, but that seems to gives the impression that they don’t do anything particularly well – that’s about the exact opposite of the Caps. They’ve scored the second most goals in the league, paired with giving up the second least. A more in-depth analysis of Washington‘s play can be found in Wednesday’s article.
Washington has won their last two games played, with their most recent being their 3-2 victory over the Leafs on Wednesday. A win tonight for the home side improves their lead for the Metropolitan Division to an even 20 points.
Washington currently leads the season series 3-1-0, with the most recent game occurring January 17, a 5-2 Capitals win in Washington. These squads also met last season in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with New York winning the deciding Game Seven on home ice before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Conference Finals.
Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (31 wins [tied for fourth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]) & Washington‘s Nicklas Backstrom (43 assists [tied for fifth most in the league] and 60 points [10th most in the league]), Braden Holtby (40 wins [leads the league], 2.22 GAA [tied for eighth best in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]), Evgeny Kuznetsov (+30 [leads the league], 46 assists [tied for third most in the league] and 66 points [fifth most in the league]) and Alex Ovechkin (41 goals [leads the league] and +24 [tied for fourth best in the league]).
It’s always tough to pick against the best team in the league, regardless of location. Giving them home ice this evening should be more than enough to give the Capitals the edge over the Rangers.
Brooks Laich’s return to Washington was almost a successful one, as the Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the Capitals by only a score of 3-2.
Washington scored two of their three goals in the first period, all in the span of 28 seconds. Taylor Chorney’s first goal of the season was also the Caps‘ first of the night, scored at the 18:15 mark. His wrister was assisted by T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov (his 46th helper of the season). Alex Ovechkin doubled Washington‘s lead with a slap shot (his 41st tally of the season), assisted by Nicklas Backstrom and Oshie.
The lone goal of the second period pulled the Maple Leafs back within a goal, scored at the 1:37 mark courtesy of Nikita Soshnikov’s first tally of the season, assisted by Nazem Kadri (his 23rd helper) and Matt Hunwick.
Toronto leveled the score at two-all only 8:16 into the third period, courtesy of a Colin Greening snap shot, assisted by Peter Holland (his 17th helper of the season) and Connor Carrick. The Capitals‘ winner found the back of the net at the 9:31 mark when Matt Niskanen scored on the power play, assisted by Backstrom (his 43rd helper of the season) and Oshie.
Philipp Grubauer earns the win after saving 27 of 29 (93.1%), while Jonathan Bernier takes the loss, saving 20 of 23 shots (87%).
Washington‘s win is the second in the row for home squads, setting the season record at 63-34-13, 34 points better than the roadies.
It’s a busy Thursday in the greatest hockey league in the world, as 24 teams are in action this evening. Eight of those teams drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh [NHLN], Chicago at Boston, Calgary at Buffalo and Edmonton at Philadelphia), followed half an hour later by two more games (Tampa Bay at Ottawa and Minnesota at Toronto). 8 p.m. eastern brings with it the beginning of two games (New Jersey at Nashville and the New York Islanders at Winnipeg), with another couple trailing an hour later (Florida at Colorado and Anaheim at Arizona). San Jose at Vancouver drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern, and this evening’s nightcap, Montréal at Los Angeles, gets its start at 10:30 p.m. eastern.
Four of tonight’s games are between divisional rivals (New York at Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay at Ottawa, Anaheim at Arizona and San Jose at Vancouver), and two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at Pittsburgh and Chicago at Boston). The New York–Pittsburgh game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Tonight’s game is New York‘s 17th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 9-5-2 record. Their most recent in the series was February 21, a 1-0 overtime win over the Red Wings. Pittsburgh has been featured 11 times before tonight, and own a 3-7-1 in such games. Their most recent was February 24, a 5-1 beat down in Boston.
The 37-20-6 New York Rangers currently occupy second in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the sixth best offense in the league, paired with the ninth best defense.
Although he is still out on injury, Rick Nash’s 149 shots still leads the Blueshirts, who have only 1822 to their credit. A solid 9.7% of those attempts have found the back of the net for 180 goals (led by Derick Brassard’s 22 tallies), sixth most in the league. The most impressive part about New York‘s game is that most of that success has occurred at even strength, as their 17.44% success rate, good for only 30 power play goals, ranks seventh worst in the league.
Led by Dan Girardi’s 148 blocks, the Blueshirts have allowed only 1864 shots to reach 31-16-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 159 goals against, the ninth fewest in the league. Yet again, the Rangers‘ special teams let them down, as their 77.78% kill rate is fifth worst in the league.
New York is currently riding a three game win streak, with their most recent being a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on Monday. While a win tonight would pull the Rangers within 16 points of the Capitals, it more importantly has the opportunity to increase their lead over the Islanders to seven points.
The 32-22-8 Pittsburgh Penguins currently sit in fourth in the Metropolitan Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wildcard position. They’ve achieved that position by playing the 10th best defense, paired with the 14th worst offense.
Even with Kris Letang’s 90 blocks, the Pens have allowed 1900 shots to reach 26-14-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve saved 92.2% for 160 goals against, 10th fewest in the league. When a man down, Pittsburgh‘s defense has improved their play, killing 83.51% of their penalties for only 32 power play goals against, the seventh best rate in the league.
Led by Phil Kessel’s 201 shots, the Penguins have fired the puck 2035 times, but only 8.1% have found the back of the net for 167 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 25 tallies), 14th worst in the league. That lack of success has followed Pittsburgh to the power play, as their 18.18% success rate, good for only 36 goals (led by Evgeni Malkin’s 10 extra man tallies) is 13th worst in the league.
Pittsburgh‘s most recent game was a 3-2 loss in Washington on Tuesday. With a win today, Pittsburgh does not improve their position in the standings, but they do draw within a point of Detroit for the first wildcard position. That being said, a loss does put them at risk of having only a one point lead over the ninth place Flyers.
The Penguins and Rangers have met only once this season, a three goal shutout victory in Pittsburgh for the Blueshirts. They also met in the playoffs last season, where New York won 4-1.
Some players to keep an eye on include New York‘s Lundqvist (31 wins [tied for third most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .924 save percentage [tied for eighth best in the league]) and Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (60 points [tied for eighth most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for second most in the league] and 26 wins [tied for eighth most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+25 [third best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+23 [tied for sixth best in the league]).
To be honest, even with the Pens having home ice for the night, they have no business beating the Rangers. I expect a relatively easy New York win.
By: Nick Lanciani
Ray Bourque’s son, Ryan, was traded by the New York Rangers to the Washington Capitals on Sunday night.
The Capitals sent forward Chris Brown to the Rangers in return.
Bourque, 25, is the son of legendary Hall-Of-Fame (and Alumni Game scoring machine) Boston Bruins defenseman, Ray Bourque, and is a native of Boxford, Massachusetts.
He made his NHL debut with the Rangers on April 9, 2015 against the Ottawa Senators and tallied 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 55 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) this season.
He established a career high in assists (20) in the 2014-2015 season and a career high in games played (74), goals (21), points (37) and plus/minus (+16) in the 2013-2014 season with the Wolf Pack. The 5’9″, 185-pound forward has 57-65-122 totals in 325 career AHL games with Hartford.
The gold medal member of Team USA at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship (and bronze medalist with the United States at the 2011 IIHF WJC) will join his brother, Chris, and the Hershey Bears when they are next in action. Bourque was a third round pick (80th overall) of the New York Rangers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Brown is a 25-year-old forward who has two goals and one assist in 23 career NHL games with the Arizona Coyotes and Washington Capitals.
He had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 20 games with Hershey (AHL) this season and has 65-59-124 totals in 215 career AHL games with the Bears and the Portland Pirates.
Down the Frozen River 
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