Down the Frozen River

Tag: NHL

  • Predators Stun Heavily Favored Ducks in Game 1 at Honda Center

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Pekka Rinne, and the usual suspects for the Nashville Predators when it comes time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, stunned the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of their series, emerging victorious on road ice, 3-2. Rinne made 27 saves on 29 shots against for a .931 SV% while picking up the win, as Anaheim’s goaltender, John Gibson made 30 saves on 33 shots against for a .909 SV% in the loss.

    Gibson had appeared in four Stanley Cup Playoff games heading into Friday night at the Honda Center, having gone 2-2 with a 2.70 GAA, and entered the night as the regular season’s tied-for-2nd best goaltender in goals-against-average with St. Louis Blues goalie, Brian Elliot, with a 2.07 GAA behind only Tampa Bay Lightning goalie, Ben Bishop’s 2.06 GAA.

    UnknownJames Neal started the scoring for Nashville 35 seconds into the first period and gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with some help from Ryan Johansen.

    The Predators and Ducks then swapped minor penalties about four minutes apart nearly seven minutes and eleven minutes into the opening frame, with Nashville forward, Mike Ribero, being sent to the box for hooking at 7:08 and Anaheim defenseman, Simon Despres, sent to the sin bin for high sticking at 11:24 of the first period. Neither team was successful on their first power play opportunities of the night.

    At 16:15 of the first period, Nashville’s Anthony Bitetto was called for holding the stick of Ducks forward, Nate Thompson, giving Anaheim a power play. Less than 40 seconds later, the Ducks went on a two-man advantage with star defenseman, Shea Weber, going to the box for cross checking David Perron.

    Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf capitalized on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play with his first playoff goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs assisted by Cam Fowler and Corey Perry at 17:39 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. Shots on goal were even at 12-12 after the first twenty minutes of play and the Ducks were leading in hits (16-12), faceoffs (17-9) and giveaways (7-2), while the Predators led in takeaways (1-0) and blocked shots (8-4).

    The second period started with another quick goal, however, it was scored this time Anaheim Ducks forward, Ryan Kesler, to give the Ducks their first lead of the night at 2-1, 48 seconds into the 2nd. Kesler’s goal was assisted by Andrew Cogliano (1) and Hampus Lindholm (1).

    UnknownNashville responded to Anaheim’s goal with a goal from Colin Wilson at 7:55 of the 2nd period, with help from Ryan Ellis (1) and Roman Josi (1) to tie the game, 2-2.

    Both teams continued to swap chances as the rest of the second period went on and after forty minutes of play the Predators were leadings in shots on goal 25-20, takeaways (3-1) and blocked shots (12-11). Anaheim, on the other hand, led in faceoffs (26-17) and giveaways (12-6) after forty. Both teams had 27 hits aside.

    Twenty-five seconds past halfway in the third period, Filip Forsberg shot the puck towards Gibson and it appeared to have deflected off of Anaheim’s Shea Theodore and wound up behind Gibson. Forsberg’s fluke goal proved to be the game winner, as the Ducks could not answer the Predators tally, despite trailing 3-2 with almost half a period left in regulation.

    Anaheim used their timeout with 1:51 remaining in the game and had pulled their goaltender, but it was to no avail. Nashville kept the puck out of their zone and forced the Ducks to recover and retreat.

    After sixty minutes of play, the Nashville Predators had won 3-2 and took a 1-0 series lead on the home ice advantage, Anaheim Ducks. The Preds ended the game with 33 shots on goal compared to the Ducks 29. Nashville also led in hits (33-31) and blocked shots (20-17), while Anaheim dominated the faceoff dot (42-27), giveaways (20-11) and went 1/4 on the power play. The Predators failed to convert on all three of their power play opportunities and tied the Ducks in takeaways (5-5).

    This is just the 2nd time that the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators have met in a Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. The previous series between these two teams was back in the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals, where Nashville went on to win the series in six games (4-2). That same series was the first playoff series win in the Predators franchise history, before succumbing to the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals.

    Game 2 of this year’s 2016 Western Conference Quarterfinal between Anaheim and Nashville is slated for Sunday at 10:30 PM EST on NBCSN, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, before swinging to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for Game 3 on Tuesday.

  • Roberto Luongo, Bjugstad, and Smith Overpower New York to Even Up the Series.

    The Florida Panthers defeated the New York Islanders by the score of 2-1 on Friday night in front of a rocking 18,373 at the BB&T Center. The Panthers were led by their All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo who made 41 saves in their winning effort.

    Both teams started off the game by sending their 4th line to the opening faceoff to try to gain momentum. This worked in favor of both sides being that just 42 seconds into the game there already was a scrum. The scrum involved the two team’s enforcers Shawn Thornton and Matt Martin but didn’t amount to anything. Just three minutes later on the Panthers sixth shot, Rielly Smith (his 3rd goal in just two games) scored the game’s first goal off a juicy rebound from Thomas Greiss, assisted by Nick Bjugstad and Johnathan Huberdeau.

    Rocco Grimaldi took the game’s first penalty just two minutes later after he took down Islanders center, Alan Quine. This would send the Islanders to the power power where they looked to even up to score. They were able to sustain a good amount of pressure, but with just one weak shot from the point, it never amounted to anything great. Then 12 minutes later Panthers left winger Garret Wilson tripped Islanders left winger Shane Prince resulting in their second power play of the period. Unfortunately, this PP was worse than the first one resulting in no shots. So, the first period ended 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.

    The second period started just like the first, with both coaches sending out their 4th line to set the tone, but this time nothing happened. The first prime scoring chance and momentum went to the Panthers at 17:04 of the second period from veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov after Greiss shut down his first shot from the slot with a great toe/blocker save. Then just 3 minutes and 21 seconds later Dmitry Kulikov found Reilly Smith behind the net who then found a cutting Nick Bjugstad (who slipped poor coverage from Islanders right-winger Josh Bailey) with a spinning backhand pass and Bjugstad roofed his first of the playoffs to open the Panthers scoring tab in the second period.

    With 1:27 remaining in the second period we had our games first major altercation. Of course, you might have even guessed it, it involved both teams 4th line again! The Islanders enforcers went at it trying to gain energy for their team who were down 2-0 at the time. It seemed that everyone on the ice had a man tied up and were going back and forth. Before it all started, the pesky Casey Cizikas gave Panthers D-man Aaron Ekblad a shot below the belt and his teammates didn’t like that and a brawl commenced. After everything settled down, a total of 6 penalties were handed out, with both teams sending 3 players to the box. Believe it or not, each player on the 4th line for both teams got two minutes for roughing with Cizikas getting an extra penalty for the low blow. So, the Panthers went on their first power play, but it resulting in nothing special.

    The start of the third period was a slow one, with no team truly gaining momentum. One of the first actions of the period was at the 15:47 mark of the third period when Cal Clutterbuck made two beautiful toe drags to gain the zone and gave Panthers defenseman Alex Petrovic no choice but to drag Clutterbuck down and go to the box for holding. The Islanders would then get their third PP of the game. They grabbed three high-quality shots during the 2-minute span, but Roberto Luongo was up to the task and kept the shots out of his net.

    Then with 3:33 seconds remaining in the game, the Islanders were able to ultimately get one past the stellar Luongo with their 40th shot of the game. With their superstar, John Tavares corralling Nick Leddy’s point shot off the boards and slamming the puck past Luongo’s right pad for his second of the playoffs. Also, Kyle Okposo grabbed the secondary apple (assist) on the goal. They then pulled goaltender Thomas Greiss for the extra attacker pushing for that tying goal. They only managed two shots, but “Lu” wasn’t having any of it and shut the door. The Panthers would then ice the game on an empty net goal scored by Dmitry Kulikov assisted by Aleksander Barkov at 19:51 of the third period.

    New York outshot Florida 42-31 and outhit the Panthers 32-22. While Florida won in the faceoff category 36-27, lead in giveaways 13-9, and blocked shots 12-8. Florida was 0/1 on the power play while New York was 0/3.

    First Start Roberto Luongo would earn his first playoff win since 2011 when he was with the Vancouver Canucks after saving 41 out of 42 shots (.976%). While Thomas Greiss, who played a great game, gets stuck with the loss after saving 28 out of 30 shots (.933%).

    The series is now tied at one game apiece (1-1).  Both teams will now grab a flight up north to Brooklyn, New York for Game 3 on Sunday with puck drop scheduled for 8 PM. You can catch this matchup on NBCSN, SN, MSG+, or FS-F.

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

    By: Nick Lanciani

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Hornqvist’s Hat Trick Helps Penguins Win 5-2, Take 1-0 Series Lead on Rangers

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Pittsburgh Penguins LogoPatric Hornqvist tallied a hat trick in the midst of a 4-point night and 5-2 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup. Antti Raanta suffered the loss for the Rangers, having made 16 saves on 19 shots for a .842 SV% in 39:54 time on ice.

    Wednesday night’s action was Jeff Zatkoff’s first career NHL playoff appearance and first career Stanley Cup Playoff win. He made 35 saves on 37 shots on goal for a .946 SV%. Zatkoff had a .896 SV% in his last five appearances during the regular season, dating back to January 18th. He took to the ice for warmups with Tristan Jarry as his backup as Marc-Andre Fleury was unavailable due to his ongoing recovery from a concussion.

    New York Rangers goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, was injured late in the 1st period, after receiving a stick in the eye from his teammate and defenseman, Marc Staal. Lundqvist stayed in the game until the end of the period and made 10 saves on 11 shots against for a .909 SV% through 20 minutes.

    During this final minute of play in the first, Patric Hornqvist (1) went hard to the net and received a pass from Conor Sheary (1) and sent the puck past Lundqvist to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead with 17.6 seconds to go in the period. Kris Letang (1) picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

    The second period was similar in nature to the first period in that both teams swapped a couple of power play opportunities. Pittsburgh’s special teams weren’t able to capitalize on consecutive penalties to Rangers forwards, Chris Kreider and Dominic Moore, at nine seconds into the period and at 10:02, respectively. Meanwhile, New York’s power play was powerless on Trevor Daley’s tripping penalty with 8:14 to go in the 2nd.

    At 18:56 of the second period, Sidney Crosby snapped a quick wrist shot past Raanta on a breakaway to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Crosby’s first goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs was assisted by Hornqvist (1).

    After forty, the Penguins were leading 2-0 on the scoreboard, but trailing 21-18 in shots on goal to the Raners.

    Pittsburgh began the third period playing a little catch-up hockey after amassing six penalty minutes just 2:08 into the period. Karl Hagelin was given a four minute double minor penalty for high sticking Rangers forward, Kevin Hayes, while Pittsburgh defenseman, Ian Cole, was sent to the box with a two minute minor for interfering with Eric Staal in front of Zatkoff.

    New York Rangers LogoNew York was quick to capitalize on their 5-on-3 advantage, with Derek Stepan scooping up a power play goal on the rebound and cut the Penguins lead in half. Stepan’s first of the playoffs was assisted by Rick Nash (1) and Derick Brassard (1). But the Penguins were quick to answer back in a hurry, notching a short-handed goal scored by Tom Kuhnhackl (1) on a two-on-one from Nick Bonino (1) and Kris Letang (2). The goal was Kuhnhackl’s first career Stanley Cup playoff goal and gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.

    Patric Hornqvist followed up with a power play goal at 8:02 of the third period with his second of the night, assisted by Phil Kessel (1) and Sidney Crosby (1). Hornqvist poked the puck into the net before Raanta could figure out that it had slid behind him and gave the Penguins a 4-1 lead. Rangers head coach, Alain Vigneault, used his coach’s challenge to review the goal for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice was upheld after Hornqvist had clearly allowed Raanta a chance to play the puck.

    With lots of time left in regulation, Stepan netted his second of the night at 10:11 of the third, pulling the Rangers to within two once again. Dan Boyle picked up an assist on the goal. New York had been outshooting Pittsburgh 34-27 at the time of Stepan’s goal to trail 4-2.

    Finaly, Patric Hornqvist completed his first career playoff hat trick with under three minutes to go in regulation on an empty net goal. The goal was assisted by Crosby and Trevor Daley. Hornqvist became the first Penguins player to score a hat trick in the team’s playoff opener and the first player to do so for any team since Alexander Mogilny did so with the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 9, 2003, per the NHL’s public relations department.

    After 60 minutes of play, the Pittsburgh Penguins rejoiced in a 5-2 win and a 1-0 series lead over the New York Rangers.

    This is the seventh time- third straight season in a row- that the Rangers and the Penguins have met in the postseason. New York was 1-2-1 in four games against Pittsburgh during the regular season. Having earned their only win in a 3-0 shutout by Henrik Lundqvist on February 10 at CONSOL Energy Center.

    Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM EST in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and can be seen on NBC, before the series heads up to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday for Game 3.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #32- Playoff Predictions

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #32- Playoff Predictions

    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.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!

  • How the Flyers Got Here (and Where They’ll Go)

    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.

    Philadelphia Flyers Logo

    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.

    michal-neuvirth-steve-mason
    Michal Neuvirth (Left) with Steve Mason (right) (USA Today Images)

    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.

  • Talking About Playoffs!?!?! (Clinching Scenarios)

    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.

    UnknownSo 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.

    UnknownIf you are a Bruins fan, you either want your team to:

    • Win in regulation or overtime against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and
      • Hope that Philadelphia goes 1-0-1 in their last two games to clinch a wild card spot.
      • Hope that Detroit loses to the Rangers in regulation or wins in a shootout against New York (and the Bruins will finish 3rd in the Atlantic Division).
      • Hope that the Red Wings win in regulation or in overtime against New York (and Boston will finish in the final wild card spot).
    • Win in a shootout against the Senators on Saturday and
      • Clinch the wild card spot if Philadelphia goes 1-0-1 in their final two games as the Bruins hold the tiebreaker.
      • Hope that Detroit suffers any type of loss to the Rangers (in regulation, overtime or a shootout) and Boston would finish 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
    • Lose to Ottawa in overtime or a shootout and:
      • Hope Philadelphia would go 1-1-0 (and the Bruins would claim the wild card, based on the tiebreaker of ROW- regulation-plus-overtime-wins).
      • Hope that Detroit would lose in regulation against the Rangers for the Bruins to finish 3rd in the Atlantic.
    • Lose to Ottawa in regulation and:
      • Hope that Philadelphia would lose at least one of their two remaining games in regulation. Detroit would finish 3rd in the Atlantic win or lose against the New York Rangers, because of their ROW tiebreaker with Boston.

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoAnd 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.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #30- College Night (Feat. Frank Fanelli)

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #30- College Night (Feat. Frank Fanelli)

    The Down the Frozen River crew continues to grow as they welcome Frank to the team and talk about recent college signings and Jimmy Vesey, as well as the NHL email dump and the wild card battle leading up to the final week of the NHL’s 2015-2016 regular season. Stay tuned next week for more guests on the show and NCAA Frozen Four coverage. As always, hear what the DTFR Crew has to say about the latest news and notes from the NHL, right here on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #29- Colby’s Day Out

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #29- Colby’s Day Out

    The Down the Frozen River crew talks about a few things including, Colby’s journey to PNC Arena for the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres game on Tuesday, college predictions (both in signings and in NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four Tournament inexpert predictions) and Colby and Nick provide their power rankings of the top 10 teams so far this season based on the illusion of logic. As always, stay tuned for next week’s #DTFRPodcast because hopefully it’ll be better than this one. Hear what the DTFR Crew has to say about the latest news and notes from the NHL as always right here on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #28- NWHL Wrap Up, NHL GM’s Meetings and More!

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #28- NWHL Wrap Up, NHL GM’s Meetings and More!

    The Down the Frozen River crew discusses the success of the National Women’s Hockey League’s (NWHL) inaugural season and Isobel Cup Playoffs, as well as some of the topics at the 2016 NHL GM meetings in Boca Raton, Florida. The DTFR team also talks about the race for the wild card spots with less than a month left in the 2015-2016 regular season. Stay tuned for next week’s all new #DTFRPodcast where the guys will talk some college hockey and more! Hear what the DTFR Crew has to say about the latest news and notes from the NHL as always right here on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!