Down the Frozen River

Tag: NHL

  • October 18 – Day 12 – Moore afternoon hockey

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day between Columbus and Chicago ended in a 4-1 loss for the Jackets, making their record 0-6-0.

    Chicago waited to score until half the game was over, with Artem Anisimov firing his second of the year after an assist from Artemi Panarin at the 15:35 mark of the second.  A little over a minute later, Teuvo Teravainen scored the game-winner, setting the score at 2-0 going into the third.  Marian Hossa began the third period scoring at the 7:48 mark, followed almost 10 minutes later by Jack Johnson, his first of the season

    No, not that Jack Johnson.

    The final goal of the game was an empty-netter, scored at the 18:33 mark by Patrick Kane.

    Corey Crawford earns a win to set his record at 2-2 by stopping 22 of 23 shots faced (95.7%), while Curtis McElhinney earns his first loss on the season after blocking only 26 of 29 (89.7%).

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at a 6-5 advantage for the home squad.

    Today’s schedule includes five games, spaced throughout the day.  The first puck is dropped at 1 p.m. eastern in Madison Square Garden when the Rangers host New Jersey.  The other afternoon game begins at 3 p.m. eastern with St. Louis visiting Winnipeg.  The evening games begin at 8 p.m. eastern when Minnesota visits Anaheim, followed an hour later by Edmonton at Vancouver.  The final game of the night begins at 10 p.m. eastern when Colorado visits Los Angeles.

    60% of the games today involve division rivals, of which today’s Game of the Day is one, but that is not my main incentive for choosing this fixture – more special is the return of John Moore to Manhattan.

    New Jersey Devils LogoNew York Rangers Logo

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Bonus points and a shout-out on the next podcast for anyone who can figure out why this is included.  Send us a tweet or post your answers in the comments.  Consider it my challenge to you.  Thanks to YouTube user JUSTASITTINANDAROCK for supplying the piece.

    The defender played 125 games of his 233 game career with the Blueshirts (53.6%), the most of any of the four teams he’s played for.  He showed up at the Garden after being traded to the Rangers from Columbus at the 2012-’13 trade deadline, scoring a goal in his first game.  After arriving, he notched five assists and that goal before the end of the season, earning a +9 Corsi rating.

    During his entire tenure in the Big Apple, he claimed 21 assists and six goals (all even-strength, and two of which were game-winners) and earned a +23 Corsi rating during the regular season.

    His last appearance for the Blueshirts in the Stanley Cup playoffs occurred during the 2013-’14 season as he was traded to Arizona before the deadline in the 2014-’15 season.  In those playoffs, he earned a +2 Corsi rating (seventh on team) with two assists (tied for 17th on team).

    So far, Moore nor the 0-3-0 Devils have had quite the start they would have hoped for, as he has a -2 Corsi rating in two games played, due in part to an arm injury sustained in the second game of the season.

    Count on the Rangers spoiling Moore’s return with a victory at the Garden.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #12- Surprise Surprise, Connor Only Messed Up Once

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #12- Surprise Surprise, Connor Only Messed Up Once

    The Down the Frozen River crew talks about many things as week one (and a half) of the 2015-2016 regular season has gone by. Standings, winners and losers, and a couple of new segments debut in this episode of the Down the Frozen River Podcast. Connor only messed up one name and Colby will be back next time.

    Surprisingly mentioned this week- Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo. Surprisingly not mentioned this week- Zach Boychuk, Pete Blackburn, DJ Bean.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show! Please interact with us.

    https://soundcloud.com/down-the-frozen-river/dtfr-podcast-12-surprise-surprise-connor-only-messed-up-once

  • October 14 – Day Eight – Wednesday Night Rivalry…

    Last night’s Game of the Day was certainly a shocker.  First-year Shark, goalkeeper Martin Jones, earned himself and his team a five-goal shutout victory over the Alex Ovechkin-less Capitals last night in the Verizon Center.

    Joe Thornton scored the first goal of the game after almost 11 minutes, the only goal of the first period.  San Jose scored two insurance goals apiece in both the second and third periods, all by different skaters.  In all, nine separate players found their way to the scorecard, with both Matt Nieto and Chris Tierney adding a goal an and assist to their résumé for the year.

    Jones stopped all 31 shots faced to improve his record to a perfect 3-0-0 and has only given up one goal so far this season, while Braden Holtby stopped 27 of 30 (90%), as Nieto and Tierney’s goals were scored on an empty net.

    The road team now leads the DtFR Game of the Day series 4-3, and are on a three-game win streak.

    Tonight’s schedule includes only four games, all of them played under the Stars and Stripes.  Ottawa and Columbus kick things off at 7 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by Chicago at Philadelphia (NBCSN).  At 10 p.m. eastern, Boston plays their lone regular-season game in Denver against Colorado, while Arizona and Anaheim wait half an hour before dropping the puck on the Pond.

    Today marks the first matchup decided by committee, so that is exciting.  What’s most exciting for me is that I’m not solely responsible if you think I chose the wrong game!  Now we all have to share the blame!  Hooray!

    We decided to go with the Hawks–Flyers game.

    Unknown-2Philadelphia Flyers Logo

    Look at those logos.  They don’t even want to face each other.  Definitely screams Wednesday Night Rivalry.

    Not only is this the only nationally televised game of the night, it also has an additional “Original 12” narrative (Yes, I’m fully aware that’s not really a thing.  Just roll with it.).  So far in this week-old season, both teams have been competitive, with Chicago owning a 2-1 record (lost to the Rangers on opening night, swept a home-and-home with the Islanders) and a 1-1-1 record for Philly (lost to Tampa in OT, split a home-and-home with Florida).

    According to Vegas, this should be the most competitive game of the night, as the Flyers have a +121 line (The next closest is Sens–Jackets at -134).

    With that information and overall predictions for the teams for the season, I’m picking the road team to pick up their fourth straight victory in our Game of the Day series.

    Some players to watch in this one include Chicago‘s Patrick Kane (regardless of how you feel about him, he is still having a successful season with six points [tied for second in the league] on three goals [tied for second in the league]) and Philly‘s Michal Neuvirth (one shutout this season [tied for second in the league]).

  • October 13 – Day Seven – And on the seventh day…

    No, before you get worried, I won’t be forsaking my responsibility to the Game of the Day.  That being said, since it is fall break for school, I definitely will be resting.  So many video games, so little time…

    Yesterday’s Game of the Day between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins ended exactly the way I, and I think most of us, expected: a Bolts winner.  Steven Stamkos earned his 500th and 501st points with the game-winning goal at the 15:17 mark of the second period to set the score at 4-3.  The Lightning scored two insurance goals in the final period to cement their victory, moving them into a tie with Montréal at the top of the division for the day.

    Ben Bishop stopped 27 of 30 (90%) to earn the win, while Tuukka Rask could only stop 17 of 23 (73.9%).

    The Game of the Day series is now an evenly split 3-3 between the home and road squads.

    Today’s schedule includes nine games (eight in America), making a busy night for hockey fans.  As usual, the action begins at 7 p.m. eastern, with five games starting then: Nashville at New Jersey, Winnipeg at the New York Rangers, Montréal at Pittsburgh, San Jose at Washington, and Florida at Carolina.  Half an hour later, the puck drops at the Joe when Detroit plays host to Tampa Bay (NBCSN).  At 8:30 eastern, Edmonton begins their game against Dallas, followed half an hour later by St. Louis at Calgary.  The final game of the night begins at 10 p.m. eastern when Vancouver visits Los Angeles.

    My pick for the Game of the Day is… San Jose at Washington!
    Unknown-3Washington Capitals Logo

     

     

     

     

     

    Come on down!

    Props to “Boba Fettuccine” for posting this .gif to this board.  And for anyone wondering, yes, that is Aaron Paul (a.k.a. Jesse Pinkman) in 2000.  The Internet is a great place with millions of hidden gems of information, kids.

    Anyways, while the game may not be the most competitive of the night (the Caps are a -135 favorite in this one), it is highlighted by the return of RW Joel Ward to the Verizon Center.

    Ward played 276 games over four seasons with Washington before signing with the Sharks this offseason.  During his time with the Caps, he amassed 57 goals and 64 assists (121 points) and a +22 Corsi rating.  Speaking of Corsi, Ward led the Caps in the statistic twice, during the 2011-’12 season and during the 2013-’14 campaign.

    In the last two seasons, he has scored four game-winners per year, a feat he only accomplished once in seasons before.  An especially important aspect of his game in Washington compared to his three seasons in Nashville was helping to produce power play goals.  In those same two seasons that he scored his game-winners, he averaged 4.5 power play assists, by far the best of any other two years of his career.  It is surely this recent success that inspired San Jose to sign him to a three-year contract, where he is currently playing on the second line.

    So far this season, he has accounted for two assists in as many games played and a +1 Corsi rating.

    As stated before, the game will probably not be the most competitive of the night.  Washington has their sights set on Lord Stanley, while the Sharks are simply hoping to put together a respectable campaign during their time of transition.  I’m taking the home squad in this one.

  • Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Minnesota Wild

    Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Minnesota Wild

    By: Nick Lanciani

    My look at what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future continues. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

    Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

    For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

    Unknown-4Minnesota Wild

    Current Retired Numbers- 1 Minnesota Fans

    Recommended Numbers to Retire

    9 Mikko Koivu

    Koivu has been one of the first- if not the first- products of the Minnesota Wild’s system. The franchise itself is still young, having first appeared in the 2000-2001 season, so not many players have gone through Minnesota for their entire career, or under extraordinary circumstances, hence as things stand right now, we’ll likely only see the Wild retire a number in the next ten or fifteen years.

    Zach Parise's legend continues to grow each year in Minnesota. Will he lead them on a Cup run in the near future? (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
    Zach Parise’s legend continues to grow each year in Minnesota. Will he lead them on a Cup run in the near future? (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

    11 Zach Parise

    Provided Parise spends the majority of his career with the Wild, there’s a good chance they’ll honor him and his legendary Minnesota family. Also, if he keeps scoring hat tricks like the one he had Thursday night, they’ll probably honor him too.

    20 Ryan Suter

    Likewise, it’s the same case with Suter- minus the hat tricks (see above).

    Other Notes

    Minnesota fans are number 1 in the State of Hockey, especially after having to live through the whole North Stars relocation to Dallas- probably hence why the number is set aside to make that connection between a committed franchise and their fans.

    Otherwise, I really got nothing for you in terms of what the future could look like for the Minnesota Wild’s rafters.

  • Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Los Angeles Kings

    Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Los Angeles Kings

    By: Nick Lanciani

    I continue to explore an important element of the game and what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

    Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

    For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

    UnknownLos Angeles Kings

    Current Retired Numbers- 4 Rob Blake, 16 Marcel Dionne, 18 Dave Taylor, 20 Luc Robitaille, 30 Rogie Vachon, 99 Wayne Gretzky

    Recommended Numbers to Retire

    32 Jonathan Quick

    Quick is one of the best goaltenders in Los Angeles Kings history. Period. Also, he has two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings that also happen to be the first two Cups in the entire existence of their franchise, so yeah, Quick’s kind of a big deal in Los Angeles.

    Don't you ever wish you could be as slick as Quick?(Photo via nhlpa.com)
    Don’t you ever wish you could be as slick as Quick?(Photo via nhlpa.com)

    8 Drew Doughty

    Drew Doughty is the Rob Blake of our current era for the Los Angeles Kings. It would be only fitting that when Doughty retires someday, the Kings hang up his number as well.

    23 Dustin Brown

    Brown’s a King for life and helped bring two Stanley Cups in three years to Los Angeles (2012 and 2014). The Kings have many current stars within their organization as a result of the strong teams they’ve put together for the last few years. With the exception of missing the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Los Angeles is still a team to be on the lookout for. Sure it might be a lot of retired numbers one day for the Kings, but it’ll be a lot of meaningful numbers for players that were intrinsically connected to significant events in franchise history.

    Anze Kopitar is worthy someday, you guys. I shouldn't have to write anything else. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
    Anze Kopitar is worthy someday, you guys. I shouldn’t have to write anything else. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

    11 Anze Kopitar

    Kopitar is a Kings great and he’s only turning 28 on August 24th. At this point I’d be repeating myself to say everything that I’ve already said, so I’ll just stop writing now.

    Other Notes

    Who knows what numbers may eventually be retired from That 70s Line someday. Many of the Kings players are still under 30 years old, so it’s difficult to predict how well each player will perform in their career, let alone be around with Los Angeles in their career.

  • Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Florida Panthers

    Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Florida Panthers

    By: Nick Lanciani

    My look at what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future continues. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

    Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

    For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

    Unknown-2Florida Panthers

    Current Retired Numbers- 93 Bill Torrey

    Recommended Numbers to Retire

    13 Olli Jokinen

    Plenty of great players have had brief stints with the Florida Panthers, believe it or not. Pavel Bure, John Vanbiesbrouck, and others were once the main attraction in Florida. Those former star players, however, never spent as much time as Jokinen did with the Panthers.

    Granted, Olli Jokinen is no longer a part of the Panthers (and unlikely to ever return at this point in his career), his numerous 60+ point seasons- including three consecutive seasons of 70+ points between the 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 seasons- while in Florida have earned him some recognition once he retires. Although he began his career in Los Angeles, Jokinen really stands out as a product of development while in Florida.

    Roberto Luongo certainly loves the warm weather of Florida as the occasional beachball has been spotted in his net. I'm only kidding, just wanted to make you laugh. No hard feelings, Lu. (Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports)
    Roberto Luongo certainly loves the warm weather of Florida as the occasional beachball has been spotted in his net. I’m only kidding, just wanted to make you laugh. No hard feelings, Lu. (Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports)

    1 Roberto Luongo

    By the time Roberto Luongo will begin considering retirement, he will have likely spent ten years of his career with the Panthers (split over two stints). He is the winningest goaltender in franchise history, having surpassed Vanbiesbrouck in 2006. While it’s likely the Vancouver Canucks will find a way to honor Luongo’s career after all is said and done, Luongo’s heart, soul, and greatest fans reside in Florida.

    Other Notes

    The Florida Panthers are still a young organization. I’m sure we’ll see them retire a number or two within the next ten years or in at least ten years- like Jonathan Huberdeau’s.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #11- The 2015-2016 Regular Season is Underway!

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #11- The 2015-2016 Regular Season is Underway!

    The Down the Frozen River crew talks about the first few days of the 2015-2016 regular season. Also discussed, Milan Lucic and Dustin Brown’s actions, John Tortorella, Raffi Torres, fighting in hockey, Zack Kassian, and some of the matches from week one of the 2015-2016 regular season.

    Surprisingly not mentioned this week- Zach Boychuk, Pete Blackburn, DJ Bean, and Brunch. Pardon our slight audio issue, we hope to have that fixed next time. As always, thanks for listening.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show (and we really mean it this time, because we’re going to have a new segment for your thoughts next time)! <– We said that last statement last week but this time we really, really, mean it. Please interact with us.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #10- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Central Division

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #10- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Central Division

    The Down the Frozen River crew wraps up their 2015-2016 season previews by analyzing all of the Central Division team’s offseason moves. Connor hosts the podcast for the first time ever, we get way off topic several times towards the end, and Colby and Nick profess their love for listening to Brunch (which has nothing to do with hockey, but we mentioned it anyway).

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show (and we really mean it this time, because we’re going to have a new segment for your thoughts next time)!

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #9- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Atlantic Division

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #9- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Atlantic Division

    The Down the Frozen River crew analyzes the offseason moves made by all of the teams in the Atlantic Division and provides their outlook for the 2015-2016 season. Cortana makes a special guest appearance (kind of) in this week’s episode. We’ve got some spaces available in our Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey league. If you’re interested, send us an email to downthefrozenriver@gmail.com, within the next day or two. We’ll be able to squeeze you in.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show!