Down the Frozen River

Tag: NHL

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: First day takeaways

    The first night of action in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the books and if you didn’t get a chance to watch, you missed out on some fun Saturday.

    First, the Winnipeg Jets rallied on home ice to beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-3, in Game 1 of their First Round matchup after trailing, 3-2, entering the third period at Canada Life Centre.

    Then the Colorado Avalanche took advantage of the Dallas Stars’ recent streak of bad luck in Game 1s and secured a, 5-1, victory on the road as the two teams opened up their series at American Airlines Center.

    Whiteout conditions

    Winnipeg takes a 1-0 series lead over St. Louis entering Game 2 Monday night (7:30p ET on ESPN2, CBC, TVAS2, FDSNSW) and is poised to take a commanding 2-0 series lead provided they– you know– maintain their home ice advantage.

    The Jets won 30 out of their 41 home games in the regular season and spread out their scoring pretty evenly in Game 1 with goals from Mark Scheifele, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Alex Iafallo, Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry.

    You may say “but, wait, three out of five of their goals came from the stereotypical first line forwards, isn’t that a little concerning?” and, well, you need your top six forwards to produce this time of year without question.

    Scheifele’s goal came on the power play and he later added an assist– giving him Winnipeg’s all-time leading playoff scorer status, having entered Saturday night tied with Blake Wheeler at 39 points.

    Scheifele now has 41 career Stanley Cup Playoff points with the Jets in 43 games compared to Wheeler’s 39 in 44 games.

    Meanwhile, Iafallo is getting off on the right foot and needs to continue to be a factor throughout the series. The Jets had an early exit in five games against the Avalanche in the 2024 First Round and Iafallo only had one assist in that span.

    Connor led the team in regular season scoring with 41-56–97 totals in 82 games– establishing career-highs in assists and points in the process– and is expected to be a point per game type of player.

    Lowry added an empty net goal from the third line and Anderson-Dolan picked up his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in Game 1 as a fourth line winger.

    Here’s hoping the positive momentum continues this time around against the Blues.

    If anything, the second line was quiet with clutch postseason scorer, Nino Niederreiter, and his linemates, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti recording just three shots combined– one for Niederreiter and two for Perfetti. But, hey, fourth line center, Morgan Barron, failed to record a shot on goal.

    At the other end of the rink, St. Louis got ahead at 9:31 of the first period courtesy of Robert Thomas opening up postseason scoring with a power-play goal and cast doubt in the minds of weary Jets fans that have watched countless Vezina Trophy-winning (and worthy) regular seasons from Connor Hellebuyck come to a screeching halt.

    Despite Oskar Sundqvist tying the game in the final two minutes of the middle frame and 26-year-old phenom, Jordan Kyrou, capitalizing on another power play to give the Blues a, 3-2, lead at 1:13 of the third period, St. Louis couldn’t hold on as Winnipeg played the long game.

    By the end of the night, the Blues became undisciplined and both teams engaged in sending and receiving messages ahead of Game 2.

    If there’s one thing St. Louis head coach, Jim Montgomery, can’t afford to do ahead of Monday night– it’s lose the room.

    Montgomery’s tenure in Boston saw the Bruins lose focus on the big picture time and time again as they lost in the 2023 First Round and 2024 Second Round to the Florida Panthers– blowing a 3-1 series lead in the former.

    While Joel Hofer had a .921 save percentage on the season against Winnipeg– turning aside 70 out of the 76 shots he faced in three matchups while Jordan Binnington turned in an .875 SV% stopping 21 out of 24 shots against in one game against the Jets back in October– Binnington has the proven track record of taking over a playoff series both in the stat lines and in the opponents’ heads.

    Whereas the last two years saw Montgomery and his players scrambling to wrap their minds around Florida’s antics, the Blues could be the Panthers this time around. All Montgomery has to do is not screw it up.

    And, unfortunately for U.S. hockey fans, there’s the “big game” factor for Binnington in that he did win the 4 Nations Face-Off as Canada’s goaltender back in February, so he’s bound to steal Hellebuyck’s thunder again if St. Louis can channel their antagonistic qualities for the better.

    Meanwhile, in Dallas…

    The Colorado Avalanche are good. There’s a reason why they won the Stanley Cup in 2022, and remain a Cup contender from year-to-year since then.

    The Dallas Stars should be good. There’s a reason why they went out and added Mikko Rantanen ahead of the trade deadline last month and made it to the Western Conference Final in 2023 and 2024.

    All of this, of course, after losing in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Since that Cup Final, however, the Stars haven’t been able to get over the hump that is the Western Conference Final and, well, Game 1s.

    Dallas has now dropped eight consecutive series-opening games. The last time they won a Game 1 was actually that 2020 Stanley Cup Final against Tampa, when they had a, 4-1, victory in Edmonton during the pandemic-infused “bubble” playoffs.

    The bad news? Game 1 isn’t Dallas’ thing.

    The good news? History is on their side.

    The Stars dropped Game 1 against the Avalanche, 4-3, in overtime last year on home ice in their 2024 Second Round matchup. They went on to win the next three games before losing Game 5, but won Game 6, 2-1, in double overtime on the road in Denver– courtesy of former Colorado forward, Matt Duchene’s game-winner.

    Dallas also holds the 4-2 series advantage against the Avalanche in their lifetime having beaten Colorado in seven games in the 1999 Western Conference Final and 2000 Western Conference Final, as well as seven games in the 2020 Second Round and six games in the 2024 Second Round.

    Jake Oettinger is the type of goaltender that can get better as the series goes on. He nearly stole the 2022 First Round series against the Calgary Flames in a Game 7 on road ice.

    Oettinger faced 67 shots against and made 64 saves that night in the process before Johnny Gaudreau sent the Flames onto the Second Round with a game-winning overtime goal.

    We probably– and by probably, I mean we shouldn’t see Jamie Benn on a line with Rantanen again in this series and if Dallas can find a way to get by without Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen, the Stars will get better depth throughout the lineup as they return to full health by the Second Round.

    Well, assuming they get there. Rantanen should probably try not to have another minus-two plus/minus rating Monday night (9:30p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS-D, Victory+, ALT).

    Nathan MacKinnon notched two goals in Colorado’s, 5-1, victory Saturday night and usual playoff performers, Devon Toews and Artturi Lehkonen, found ways to get on the scoreboard as well– albeit Lehkonen in a rather unconventional, though unintentional manner.

    If the Stars can figure out how to (1) remain undisciplined because Cale Makar is a penalty drawing machine and (2) uh, stop MacKinnon and Makar while in the process shutting down Colorado’s heavily invested in depth at the trade deadline, then Dallas can go back to Colorado even in the series 1-1.

    The problem is that even if you shutdown MacKinnon’s line which includes Martin Nečas, the Avalanche still have Brock Nelson, Jack Drury and Charlie Coyle working their middle six while waiting for the potential return of Gabriel Landeskog for the first time in Colorado’s lineup since Landeskog raised the Cup above his head in late June 2022.

    Avs netminder, Mackenzie Blackwood, however, is largely untested.

    Both teams only managed 24 shots on goal aside in Game 1 and Blackwood is still new to playoff hockey even if he is now past his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut heading into Game 2.

    Dallas really has to come out on all cylinders Monday otherwise it could a short series.

    Even on an off night for MacKinnon– he’s still one of the top two, three or four best players in the world depending on whether or not Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or Nikita Kucherov are also playing that night for their respective teams.

  • Take that nerds! Oh, wait

    Kyle Davidson, Chris MacFarland and Eric Tulsky have a combined zero games played in the National Hockey League. Anyone can know puck.

    Before Davidson became general manager in Chicago, he joined the organization as an intern in 2010, and rose the ranks– becoming an assistant general manager in 2021, and later replacing Stan Bowman as interim general manager on October 27, 2021, after Bowman resigned in light of an independent investigation that revealed how the organization mishandled allegations from a former player who was sexually assaulted by then-video coach, Brad Aldridge, in 2010.

    Davidson had the interim tag removed on March 1, 2022, becoming the 10th general manager in Chicago’s franchise history in the process.

    His early days before joining Chicago include growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Laurentian University in Sudbury, a stint as an intern with the Ottawa Senators in fan development and volunteering with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves, as Scott Powers detailed in The Athletic in February 2021.

    The now 36-year-old gets to say he was the one that drafted young phenom, Connor Bedard, handles contract negotiations, contacts other NHL GMs to stay in touch and work on all kinds of transactions and hasn’t even turned 40 yet.

    MacFarland grew up in the Bronx, New York, played college hockey at Pace University and received his bachelor’s degree in business in the process in 1992, before going through the university’s law school and graduating in 1998.

    Between his bachelor’s and law degree, however, MacFarland joined the NHL as an intern at the league’s New York office from 1993-94, and worked in the NHL Productions office.

    He joined the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to the start of the 1999-2000 NHL season– before Columbus even hit the ice during the 2000-01 season– and served as the Blue Jackets’ manager of hockey operations from 2001-07, prior to his promotion as an assistant to the general manager– Scott Howson– in July 2007.

    MacFarland, 54, became an assistant general manager for Columbus a year later in July 2008, ultimately overseeing their American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Falcons as Springfield’s GM in addition to every component of scouting and the usual hockey operations front office duties.

    Howson was ousted in February 2013, with Jarmo Kekäläinen becoming the first European-born general manager in NHL history in the process as Howson’s replacement. Kekäläinen lasted in Columbus until his firing in February 2024, with John Davidson serving as the interim GM before Don Waddell’s hiring later that year in May.

    In the meantime, MacFarland had already left Columbus after 16 years in the organization– moving on to become an assistant general manager with the Colorado Avalanche under Joe Sakic in May 2015.

    MacFarland had a knack for assessing talent that was on the verge of becoming a major factor in a team’s ability to move forward and maximize the potential of that player or their entire roster’s prime. His close-working relationship with Sakic helped Colorado turn things around from their 48-point 2016-17 season, to winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21, to obtaining their third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in 2022.

    During their Presidents’ Trophy and Cup runs, MacFarland had numerous interview requests around the league that would have offered a promotion to the general manager title in the process.

    Sakic– being the team-centric mastermind that he was as a player and GM– decided it was time to hand the reins over to MacFarland in a peaceful transition of power in July 2022, after winning the Cup less than a month prior. Sakic remains as president of hockey operations for the Avalanche to this day.

    Under Sakic’s keen guidance, MacFarland has been allowed to flourish as a proactive general manager in search of landing Colorado its fourth Stanley Cup ring in the 30 years that the Avalanche have existed since relocating from Québec after the 1994-95 NHL season.

    If he does, he’ll be the first Avalanche GM to do so without any NHL playing experience, unlike Sakic and Pierre Lacroix before him.

    Tulsky, the 49-year-old general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes has a fascinating background– the likes of which rival Billy Beane in his role of usurping the norms of Major League Baseball.

    The Philadelphia native has a B.A. in chemistry and physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He also conducted a two-year, post-doctoral study at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., worked in the high-tech industry for a dozen years doing things with nanotechnology, DNA sequencing, solar energy and more– you know, regular stuff– and holds 27 U.S. patents.

    Oh, and he was a Broad Street Hockey writer in 2011.

    That’s right, Tulsky was a sports blogger.

    In addition to the Philadelphia Flyers-centric blog, Tulsky wrote for NHLNumbers.com and launched his own website– Outnumbered— through SBNation.

    He joined the Hurricanes as a consultant in 2014, before being named as a hockey analyst for the team and leaving his blogging days behind in 2015.

    By 2017, Tulsky was named as Carolina’s manager of hockey analytics.

    In 2018, he was promoted to vice president of hockey management and strategy. That was quickly followed up with another promotion in 2020, when Tulsky became an assistant general manager of the Hurricanes.

    That same year, Tulsky became directly involved with all player personnel decisions– overseeing pro scouting and Carolina’s hockey information department, as well as assisting with player contract negotiations, salary cap compliance and other hockey operations-related duties.

    Back on April 28, 2014, Jim Rutherford– the only general manager to bring a Cup to the Hurricanes franchise dating back to their days as the Hartford Whalers in 1979– turned the keys over to Ron Francis and retained a role in Carolina’s front office as president.

    Francis attained the status of executive vice president and manager of the Canes in the process and later added president of hockey operations to his official roles with the franchise on March 7, 2018, shortly after Tom Dundon acquired majority ownership of the team.

    By April 30th of that year, however, the relationship with Dundon soured and Francis was fired.

    Before taking his current job in Columbus, Waddell spent 10 years with the Hurricanes organization. On July 1, 2014, Waddell was named as president and oversaw business operations for the organization before adding the role of general manager under his belt on May 8, 2018.

    Tulsky learned some scouting tips and tricks from Francis in their shared tenure with the organization, but Tulsky likely picked up on how to be a trading partner in the modern NHL from the wisdom of Waddell– especially as Waddell transitioned the Hurricanes from perennial basement dweller in the Metropolitan Division to winning at least one round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his six seasons in hockey operations with the club.

    On May 24, 2024, Waddell resigned from his roles with the Hurricanes and Tulsky was immediately tabbed as interim GM. Less than a month later, Tulsky assumed the position full-time on June 18th.

    Almost immediately, Tulsky made waves on June 30th, by trading Waddell’s 2024 trade deadline rental that Carolina hoped to extend long-term, Jake Guentzel, to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a third round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft after it became apparent Guentzel was going to unrestricted free agency.

    On August 16, 2024, Tulsky announced the hiring of fellow former analytics blogger, Tyler Dellow, as assistant general manager and the promotion of Darren Yorke to associate general manager and general manager of the Chicago Wolves– Carolina’s AHL affiliate.

    Dellow, of note, had spent the last five seasons in the New Jersey Devils’ front office– most recently serving as New Jersey’s senior vice president of hockey strategy and analytics after spending two seasons as an analytics consultant with the Edmonton Oilers from 2014-16. He also was a staff writer for The Athletic between stints in NHL hockey operations departments and has a law degree from the University of Toronto and founded mc79hockey.com— a once leading analytics-based hockey blog.

    If Carolina wins the Cup during Tulsky’s reign, Tulsky will become the first to live the life of every armchair GM’s ultimate dream.

    On Friday, these three GMs used their superpowers to rock the hockey world much in the same way Scott Stevens used to deliver bone-shattering hits on the ice.

    Analytics? Inevitably so.

    Nerds rule. Let more nerds run sports.

    Sure, this piece isn’t about getting into the nitty gritty of what each general manager has accomplished in their short time– let alone any sort of actual analysis in the Mikko Rantanen, Martin Nečas, Jack Drury and Taylor Hall trade– but it’s more of an observation of how all sports cycle through hiring minds “outside the game” which is really just a way of saying “not a former NHL player.”

    In a related story, I, too, have never played an NHL game and I am one job-contingent final capstone course shy of completing my master of sports leadership with a concentration in professional sports administration, as well as a decade in live sports production under my belt and over 20 years of watching hockey.

    Just saying.

  • Let’s get into it

    Let me start by saying this will be a short post. You’ll find that to be a rarity in most of the writing I do. Long reads? Give them to me. Feature stories that ask everyone involved from the main character to their parents to their NHL coaches right on down to the skate sharpening guy at their local rink that they played in as a kid? I love it.

    If I’m able to recreate this handcrafted, slow-burn, artisanal methodology in all of my writing while making it coherent and a hell of a ride, I’m going to do it as many times as possible without a word limit. Or maybe it’s just my conversational tone.

    In any case, welcome back to Down the Frozen River.

    It looks a bit different here since you last checked or if this is your first time, pay no attention to the stack of boxes over there. I’m still getting unpacked over a year since announcing I’d be working on some longer projects– those are stuck in the development hell known as the crossroads where my brain and a Word Document meet.

    I am working on an Arizona Coyotes piece. I’m working on a Vegas Golden Knights piece. I’m also working on a “history of the Boston Bruins goaltending since, like, 2005” piece for those of you that are interested.

    These would take a higher priority, admittedly, if someone was paying me to write and, thus, holding me accountable to deadlines for progress reports.

    I’ve also thought about being like FOX Sports and pivoting to video, where I’d change up some of what I’ve written already to fit more of a scripted format and do a series of YouTube videos with graphics and Secret Base inspired aesthetics. Jon Bois and/or Kofie Yeboah, if you’re reading this, hello.

    Then there’s Goalie Hugs. It’s a podcast from the Down the Frozen River family, but if you’ve noticed it’s a little different from the old Down the Frozen River Podcast. For starters, there’s more guests than on the old show. It’s more vibes and less structure. It’s organized chaos.

    We could do weekly episodes under the right circumstance– namely, a job that pays me enough to buy more storage for our show files on our podcast hosting service. Being committed to four episodes a month would tighten each episode up into a solid 60-minute effort instead of letting things breathe and run over anywhere from 75-minutes onward.

    For now, the goal remains set on gaining employment, finishing grad school, making fake magazine covers with Shawn (Brews News) for the Brews & Bruins folks and being back around the written form of hockey analysis between Goalie Hugs episodes.

    Think of the columns as a sort of extended edition of the podcast or any podcast I appear on, for that matter. You’re bound to see some more here as the trade deadline approaches on March 7th and I plan on making the website a bit more visually appealing again.

    First up, a few thoughts on the blockbuster three-team trade the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago wrapped up late Friday night…

  • Special announcement from the podcast department

    Down the Frozen River is proud to present a brand new podcast from the brand/blog/whatever we are these days. It is called Goalie Hugs. You may have already seen a few tweets about it, the Twitter account itself (we’ll never call it “X” because we don’t call our “exes”), the Instagram account and/or straight from the horse’s mouth.

    The first episode will be out in one week’s time (August 29th in case you’re not in front of a calendar).

    Nick and Dany are co-hosting with Shawn joining the fun from time-to-time if not on a regular basis. You may be wondering who those other guys are and you’ll learn soon.

    Episodes will be released biweekly throughout the season on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else snags our RSS Feed. Subscribe so you’ll always be the first to know (it’s free).

  • DTFR Podcast #253- Cam’s Birthday Bash (feat. Chris Gere)

    DTFR Podcast #253- Cam’s Birthday Bash (feat. Chris Gere)

    Nick and Cam reminisce on the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and talk about Jim Montgomery, offseason plans and free agency reactions so far.

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

  • 2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1 Recap

    2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1 Recap

    Round 1 of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft was held Thursday night at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec marking the first time since the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver that the selections were made in person in front of a live audience as the 2020 and 2021 editions of the draft were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Coverage of this year’s first round began Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and streaming on ESPN+ in the United States, as well as on SN and TVAS in Canada.

    Rounds 2-7 will be televised on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the U.S., while viewers in Canada can tune to SN or TVAS starting at 11 a.m. ET Friday morning.

    Here’s a quick recap of the First Round in case you had other things going on Thursday night.

    2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1

    1. Montréal Canadiens – LW Juraj Slafkovsky, TPS (Liiga)
    2. New Jersey Devils – D Simon Nemec, Nitra (Slovakia)
    3. Arizona Coyotes – C Logan Cooley, USA U-18 (USHL)
    4. Seattle Kraken – C Shane Wright, Kingston (OHL)
    5. Philadelphia Flyers – C/LW Cutter Gauthier, USA U-18 (USHL)
    6. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago) – D David Jiricek, Plzen (Extraliga)
    7. Chicago (from Ottawa Senators) – D Kevin Korchinski, Seattle (WHL)
    8. Detroit Red Wings – C Marco Kasper, Rögle BK (SHL)
    9. Buffalo Sabres – C Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg (WHL)
    10. Anaheim Ducks – D Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw (OHL)
    11. Arizona Coyotes (from San Jose Sharks) – C Conor Geekie, Winnipeg (WHL)
    12. Columbus Blue Jackets – D Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw (WHL)
    13. Chicago (from New York Islanders via Montréal Canadiens) – C Frank Nazar, USA-U18 (USHL)
    14. Winnipeg Jets – RW Rutger McGroarty, USA U-18 (USHL)
    15. Vancouver Canucks – RW Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    16. Buffalo Sabres (from Vegas Golden Knights) – C Noah Ostlund, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    17. Nashville Predators – RW Joakim Kemell, JYP (Liiga)
    18. Dallas Stars – D Lian Bichsel, Leksands IF (SHL)
    19. Minnesota Wild (from Los Angeles Kings) – LW Liam Ohgren, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    20. Washington Capitals – RW Ivan Miroshnichenko, Omsk Krylia (Russia)
    21. Pittsburgh Penguins – D Owen Pickering, Swift Current (WHL)
    22. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston Bruins) – C Nathan Gaucher, Québec (QMJHL)
    23. St. Louis Blues – RW Jimmy Snuggerud, USA U-18 (USHL)
    24. Minnesota Wild – RW Danila Yurov, Magnitogorsk (Russia)
    25. Chicago (from Toronto Maple Leafs) – D Sam Rinzel, Chaska (High School- Minnesota)
    26. Montréal Canadiens (from Calgary Flames) – RW Filip Mesar, Poprad (Slovakia)
    27. San Jose Sharks (from Carolina Hurricanes via Montréal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes) – C Filip Bystedt, Linköping HC (SHL)
    28. Buffalo Sabres (from Florida Panthers) – C Jiri Kulich, Karlovy Vary (Extraliga)
    29. Arizona Coyotes (from Edmonton Oilers) – D Maveric Lamoureux, Drummondville (QMJHL)
    30. Winnipeg Jets (from New York Rangers) – C Brad Lambert, Pelicans (Liiga)
    31. Tampa Bay Lightning – LW Isaac Howard, USA U-18 (USHL)
    32. Edmonton Oilers (from Colorado Avalanche via Arizona Coyotes) – LW Reid Schaefer, Seattle (WHL)

    Trades made during the first round of the draft:

    • The Montréal Canadiens trade D Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders for a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall).
    • Montréal traded a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall, originally belonging to the New York Islanders) and a 2022 3rd round pick (66th overall) Chicago for D Kirby Dach.
    • The San Jose Sharks traded a 2022 1st round pick (11th overall) to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 1st round pick (27th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (34th overall) and a 2022 2nd round pick (45th overall).
    • Chicago acquired G Petr Mrázek and a 2022 1st round pick (25th overall) from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2022 2nd round pick (38th overall).
    • The Arizona Coyotes acquired F Zack Kassian, a 2022 1st round pick (29th overall), a 2024 3rd round pick and a 2025 2nd round pick from the Edmonton Oilers for a 2022 1st round pick (32nd overall).

    Trades made earlier in the day prior to the first round of the draft:

    • The Colorado Avalanche acquired G Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick, a 2022 5th round pick and a 2023 3rd round pick.
    • The Ottawa Senators traded a 2022 1st round pick (7th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (39th overall) and a 2024 3rd round pick to Chicago for F Alex DeBrincat.
  • DTFR Podcast #252- Who’s Steering The Boat?

    DTFR Podcast #252- Who’s Steering The Boat?

    Nick and Cam talk about the ongoing 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals matchups and Bruce Cassidy’s dismissal from the Boston Bruins.

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

  • DTFR Podcast #251- Florida Men

    DTFR Podcast #251- Florida Men

    Nick and Sean talk about the ongoing 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchups. Subscribe to The ScorchStack (this isn’t an ad, we just like them).

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

  • Hurricanes advance to Second Round in Game 7 victory over Boston

    Hurricanes advance to Second Round in Game 7 victory over Boston

    19,513 fans watched the Carolina Hurricanes advance to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs after defeating the Boston Bruins, 3-2, in Game 7 of their First Round series at PNC Arena Saturday afternoon.

    Max Domi scored a pair of goals in the win as the Hurricanes entertained their largest crowd in franchise history, surpassing that of their 2019 Second Round series sweep of the New York Islanders in Game 4.

    Carolina awaits the winner of the New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins series (Game 7 is Sunday with the series tied 3-3).

    Meanwhile, Boston heads into a long offseason filled with decisions to make on their own amid a waiting game regarding the playing future of captain, Patrice Bergeron, as the 36-year-old is wrapping up his 18th National Hockey League season and is a pending-unrestricted free agent this summer.

    Bergeron indicated before the 2021-22 season began that he wouldn’t negotiate a new contract in season and is likely to begin signing one-year deals as he enters the twilight of his career, though opting to retire altogether remains an option.

    After 400 goals and 582 assists (982 points) in 1,216 career regular season games, as well as 49 goals and 78 assists (127 points) in 167 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, Bergeron has certainly had quite the career.

    He won a Stanley Cup ring in 2011 (scoring the game-winning goal in a, 4-0, win in Game 7 in Vancouver), could very well take home an NHL record fifth Frank J. Selke Trophy this season, is a member of the Triple Gold Club– and even more elusive Quadruple Gold Club and/or Quintuple Gold Club, depending on how you take into account World Junior Championships and World Cup of Hockey titles– and most importantly, is a loving husband and father to his wife and three children.

    After Saturday’s loss, Bergeron gave no indication as to whether he would play next season or retire as it’s much too soon to rush to any decision.

    Antti Raanta (3-2, 2.37 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in five games played) delivered a 27-save performance on 29 shots faced in the win for the Hurricanes, while Jeremy Swayman (3-2, 2.64 goals-against average, .911 save percentage in five games played) made 28 saves on 31 shots against in the loss for the Bruins.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, fell to 36-37 in 73 Stanley Cup Playoff games behind the bench with Boston as head coach since taking over in Feb. 2017, as well as 38-41 in 79 postseason games all time with Boston (2017-present) and Washington (2003).

    The B’s went 3-0 on home ice in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and failed to record a win in four road games this postseason.

    Saturday also marked the 13th career Game 7 for Bergeron, moving him to a tie for the second-most Game 7 appearances by a player in their NHL career with Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens.

    Bergeron, Roy and Stevens trail Zdeno Chara for the overall record (14).

    Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) remained out of the lineup for Boston due to injuries, while Cassidy made no changes to his lineup from Game 6’s, 5-2, victory in Boston to Game 7 in Raleigh.

    The B’s had a long list of healthy scratches and expanded playoff roster components on Saturday, including Chris Wagner, Jack Studnicka, Marc McLaughlin, Steven Fogarty, Troy Grosenick, Josh Brown, Joona Koppanen, Matt Grzelcyk, Cameron Hughes, Jack Ahcan, Tyler Lewington, Oskar Steen, Nick Wolff, Anton Blidh, Kyle Keyser and Jakub Lauko.

    Early in the opening frame, Craig Smith made a high hit on Anthony DeAngelo and was assessed a roughing infraction as a result, but rather than presenting Carolina with their first power play opportunity of the afternoon, Vincent Trocheck got in Smith’s face and also picked up a roughing minor.

    The two teams skated at 4-on-4 as a result at 4:42 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, however, Derek Forbort, was penalized for holding and yielded the first power play of the game to the Hurricanes at 7:41 of the first period.

    Carolina failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, though.

    Midway through the first, Connor Clifton tripped Andrei Svechnikov and Brett Pesce caught Taylor Hall with a high stick on the delayed call.

    As a result, Clifton and Pesce each went to the box at 10:48 and yielded another pair of minutes at 4-on-4 for both clubs.

    Late in the period, Domi shoveled a shot pass to Teuvo Teräväinen (2) in the slot for the redirection to make it, 1-0, Carolina– giving the Hurricanes the first goal in six out of seven games in the series.

    Domi (3) and Jaccob Slavin (5) had the assists on Teräväinen’s goal at 18:36 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, DeAngelo took a high stick from Hall and drew blood, resulting in a four-minute double-minor infraction on the Bruins forward and a lengthy power play for the Canes at 19:02.

    Entering the first intermission, the Hurricanes led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing the Bruins, 11-10, in shots on goal.

    Carolina held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (6-3) and hits (12-10), while Boston led in giveaways (6-3).

    Both teams went, 50-50, in faceoff win percentage after one period, while only the Hurricanes had seen any time on the power play and were 0-for-2 heading into the middle frame.

    The Canes had about 3:03 remaining on the skater advantage to begin the second period, however.

    Boston somehow managed to kill off Hall’s double-minor, then promptly gave up a goal in the vulnerable minute after special teams play as a shot from Jordan Staal bounced off of Hampus Lindholm’s leg right to where Domi (1) was heading before guiding the loose puck into the twine behind Swayman.

    Staal (3) and Brady Skjei (1) tallied the assists as a result and the Hurricanes took a, 2-0, lead at 3:14 of the second period.

    Less than a couple minutes later, Carolina won a faceoff in their own zone but couldn’t get through the neutral zone as Charlie McAvoy made a play to steal the puck and move it up to Bergeron as the Bruins re-entered the attacking zone.

    Bergeron spun and flung a pass intended for McAvoy as the B’s defender pinched in from the point, but the puck was just a touch too hot to handle as McAvoy instead deflected it towards the high slot where Jake DeBrusk (2) gathered a quick shot over Raanta’s glove side– cutting Carolina’s lead in half in the process.

    McAvoy (4) and Bergeron (4) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal and Boston trailed, 2-1, at 5:04 of the second period as a result.

    Midway through the middle frame, however, the Hurricanes answered and re-extended their lead to two-goals.

    After Trent Frederic rang the iron in the other end, the Canes worked the puck deep into their attacking zone before Teräväinen worked a pass to Domi (2) for a one-timer goal.

    Teräväinen (5) and Slavin (6) notched the assists on Domi’s second goal of the game and the Hurricanes took a, 3-1, lead at 10:33 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Carolina led, 3-1, and was in control with a, 21-18, advantage in shots on goal, including an, 11-7, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Hurricanes also led in blocked shots (13-4), takeaways (11-4) and faceoff win% (51-49), while the Bruins led in giveaways (14-6) and hits (27-24).

    Carolina was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Boston had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Brendan Smith sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game minor at 13:33 of the third period.

    The Bruins promptly went 6-for-29 on the power play this postseason as they failed to convert on skater advantage while Smith was in the box.

    With 2:55 remaining in the action, Carolina thought they scored though the call on the ice was “no goal” and video review was inconclusive, thereby rendering the call on the ice as canon.

    With 2:41 left in the game, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker.

    Boston tried and tried, but they couldn’t establish zone time for long enough until a pass that was almost intercepted shattered the stick blade of a Hurricanes defender and bounced off the far boards.

    Hall worked the puck to McAvoy before McAvoy setup David Pastrnak (3) for the one-timer blast on Raanta’s blocker side to bring the Bruins to within one with 21.7 seconds remaining.

    McAvoy (5) and Hall (2) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as Boston trailed, 3-2, and used their timeout at 19:39 of the third period.

    They didn’t have enough to muster an improbable tie to end regulation, however, despite several attempts in the dying seconds.

    At the final horn, the Hurricanes had won, 3-2, and clinched the series in seven games, 4-3.

    Carolina left their own ice leading in shots on goal, 31-29, despite Boston outshooting the Canes, 11-10, in the third period alone.

    The Hurricanes finished Saturday’s effort leading in blocked shots (16-14) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Bruins left PNC Arena leading in giveaways (18-11) and hits (40-35).

    Neither team managed to score a power-play goal in Game 7 as the Hurricanes went 0-for-3 and the Bruins went 0-for-1 on the skater advantage.

    Boston fell to 2-27 when trailing a best-of-seven series 2-0.

    The B’s also fell to 15-14 in 29 Game 7 appearances, as well as 1-5 in six Game 7 appearances on the road.

    The Canes, meanwhile, improved to 6-3 in nine Game 7 appearances overall, as well as 3-0 in three Game 7 matchups on home ice and 6-0 in a Game 7 since relocating from Hartford.

    The Hurricanes advanced to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs after eliminating the Bruins in seven games.

    This will be Carolina’s second appearance in the Second Round in as many years which is a first in franchise history— dating back to their time as the Hartford Whalers from 1979-97.

  • DTFR Podcast #250- Is This The Leafs’ Year (To Get Out Of The First Round)?

    DTFR Podcast #250- Is This The Leafs’ Year (To Get Out Of The First Round)?

    Nick and Cam present cases for James Norris Memorial Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy finalists and predict how the rest of the 2022 First Round should go.

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