Down the Frozen River

Tag: Nikolai Khabibulin

  • Palat, Lightning strike Bruins with, 4-3, overtime win in Game 2, tie series, 1-1

    Ondrej Palat scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins, 4-3, in Game 2 of their Second Round series on Tuesday.

    Palat scored almost five minutes into the overtime period at Scotiabank Arena inside the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto to tie the best-of-seven game series, 1-1.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (7-3 in 10 games this postseason, 2.15 goals against average, .921 save percentage) made 22 saves on 25 shots against for an .880 SV% in the win for the Lightning.

    Bruins netminder, Jaroslav Halak (4-2 in six games this postseason, 2.50 GAA, .916 SV%) stopped 36 out of 40 shots faced for a .916 SV% in the loss.

    Bruce Cassidy made no changes to Boston’s lineup from Sunday’s, 3-2, win in Game 1 to Tuesday night’s matchup in Game 2.

    Zach Senyshyn, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Maxime Lagacé, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jack Studnicka, Jeremy Lauzon, Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman remained scratched for the Bruins.

    With Ryan McDonagh (unfit to play, undisclosed injury) out of the lineup for the Bolts in Game 2, Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper, dressed seven defenders– inserting Braydon Coburn and Luke Schenn on the blue line, while striking Carter Verhaeghe and McDonagh from the lineup.

    Tampa’s list of scratches on Tuesday included Mathieu Joseph, Verhaeghe, McDonagh, Jan Rutta, Mitchell Stephens, Steven Stamkos, Alexander Volkov and Scott Wedgewood.

    Stamkos remains out after core muscle surgery in March, then leaving practice in mid-July.

    Patrice Bergeron surpassed Wayne Cashman for participating in the third-most playoff games as a Bruins player in his 146th career postseason game.

    Only Ray Bourque (180 games) and Zdeno Chara (147) have played in more Stanley Cup Playoff games while wearing the spoked-B in their career. David Krejci is currently fifth in franchise history with 142 career postseason games with Boston.

    Early in the game the Bruins had the puck down low in the zone and worked the puck out from behind the net on goal when Nick Ritchie (1) banked a loose puck off of Vasilevskiy’s leg and trickled one through the five-hole to give Boston the game’s first goal.

    Anders Bjork (1) had the only assist as the B’s jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 3:14 of the first period.

    Less than a couple of minutes later, the Lightning thought they had tied the game when Barclay Goodrow tipped a shot off of Halak’s mask and into the twine, but Cassidy used a coach’s challenge on the basis that the Bolts entered the offensive zone offside prior to the goal.

    After review, the call on the ice was reversed as Brayden Point wasn’t fast enough to clear the zone before Tampa re-entered and had been offside before the goal was scored.

    Boston still had the, 1-0, lead after the stoppage at 5:04.

    About 30 seconds later, the two teams were struck with 4-on-4 action when Cedric Paquette and Matt Grzelcyk exchanged pleasantries after Halak froze the puck at 5:32.

    Paquette went to the box with a slashing minor, while Grzelcyk was dealt a roughing infraction.

    Midway through the opening frame, Zach Bogosian led Blake Coleman on a 2-on-0 rush after getting past Boston’s defense, subsequently feeding Coleman (2) for the redirection through Halak’s five-hole to tie the game, 1-1, at 12:42 of the first period.

    Bogosian (3) and Goodrow (2) tallied the assists on Coleman’s first goal of the game.

    About five minutes later, Alex Killorn caught Brad Marchand with a high stick and was sent to the box at 17:15, but the Bruins failed to convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Entering the first intermission, the game was tied, 1-1, despite Tampa holding the advantage in shots on goal, 11-9.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (5-2), hits (22-16) and faceoff win percentage (55-46), while the Bolts led in takeaways (2-1) and giveaways (7-1).

    Tampa had yet to see time on the skater advantage, while the Bruins were 0/1 on the power play heading into the dressing room after 20 minutes of play.

    Early in the middle frame, Sean Kuraly cut a rut to the sin bin for slashing Nikita Kucherov at 6:40 of the second period.

    The Lightning did not score on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Late in the period, Palat caught Connor Clifton with a high stick and was sent to the box at 14:14, yielding a power play to the Bruins.

    Almost 20 seconds into the power play, David Pastrnak sent an intentional shot pass to Marchand (5) for a redirection from the side of the crease past Vasilevskiy to give Boston a, 2-1, lead at 14:33 of the second period.

    Pastrnak (5) and Torey Krug (5) tallied the assists on Marchand’s power-play goal, but the B’s wouldn’t hold the lead for long.

    Less than a minute after giving up a goal on the penalty kill, the Lightning scored at 5-on-5 to tie the game, 2-2, when Kucherov (3) tipped a shot from Kevin Shattenkirk past Halak’s blocker side.

    Shattenkirk (3) and Point (7) nabbed the assists on Kucherov’s goal at 15:28.

    Moments later, Victor Hedman was sent to the box for holding at 17:40, but Boston wasn’t able to muster anything on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Through 40 minutes of play in Game 2, the game was tied, 2-2.

    Tampa led in shots on goal, 23-16– including a, 12-7, advantage in the second period alone– as well as in takeaways (3-2), giveaways (9-5) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    Entering the second intermission, the Bruins held the advantage in blocked shots (11-6) and hits (35-29).

    The Bolts were 0/1 and the B’s were 1/3 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Clifton was charged with an interference minor to kick off the final frame of regulation 35 seconds into the third period, presenting the Lightning with another power play, but the Bolts had no thunder on the skater advantage.

    Midway through the third, Coleman (3) broke through Boston’s defense with Clifton on his tail and fired a shot that plunked its way through Halak’s five-hole and trickled over the goal line to give Tampa their first lead of the night at 10:40 of the third period.

    Hedman (3) had the only assist on Coleman’s second goal of the night and the Bruins trailed for the first time on Tuesday, 3-2.

    Almost six minutes later, Marchand (6) notched his second goal of the game on a setup from Kuraly’s one touch pass across the slot to Marchand at the doorstep for the one-timer over Vasilevskiy’s outstretched leg pad.

    Kuraly (2) and Pastrnak (6) tallied the assists on Marchand’s goal– tying the game, 3-3, at 16:02.

    At the end of regulation, the game was even on the scoreboard, 3-3, while the Lightning held the advantage in shots on goal, 31-24, despite both teams recording eight shots on net in the third period alone.

    Boston led in blocked shots (23-18), while Tampa led in takeaways (5-4), giveaways (15-7) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    Both teams had 43 hits aside, while the Bolts were 0/2 and the B’s were 1/3 on the power play heading into overtime.

    From the drop of the puck in the extra frame, the Lightning dominated– a trend that had been apparent all night, despite whatever the scoreboard read.

    After the Bruins botched several attempts to clear their own zone or work a pass to one of their own teammates instead of giving it away, the Lightning thundered their way to the crease and scored on a loose puck after Palat (1) found a rebound and pocketed the rubber biscuit over Halak’s pad on the short side.

    Yannie Gourde (3) and Pat Maroon (2) had the assists on Palat’s game-winning goal at 4:40 of the overtime period as the Lightning came away with the, 4-3, victory in Game 2– tying the series, 1-1, in the process.

    Tampa finished the night leading in shots on goal, 40-25– including a, 9-1, advantage in overtime alone– as well as in giveaways, 15-10.

    Boston wrapped up Game 2 with the advantage in blocked shots (27-18), hits (47-43) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    The Bolts finished 0/2 and the B’s finished 1/3 on the power play Tuesday night.

    Meanwhile, all seven of Tampa Bay’s wins in the postseason have been by one-goal.

    Tuesday’s victory gave Vasilevskiy his 22nd career Stanley Cup Playoffs win– establishing a new Lightning franchise record in the process, having surpassed the previous record set by Nikolai Khabibulin and Ben Bishop (21 career playoff wins in a Bolts uniform).

    The Lightning improved to 3-0 in overtime this postseason, while the Bruins fell to 1-1, as well as 28-3 all time in the postseason when Marchand scores at least one goal.

    Boston also fell to 2-2 when tied after one, 1-2 when tied after two and 1-1 when tied after three periods in the 2020 postseason.

    Game 3 is set for Wednesday night with the Bruins designated as the home team at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is expected a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to NBCSN to catch the action, while those in Canada can view the game on CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

    DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

    Some firsts, 100s, broken fingers and pointing fingers– who should be concerned about their job security behind the bench? Plus Cap’n and Pete are back.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • DTFR Podcast #164- The Free Agency Mega-Hour

    DTFR Podcast #164- The Free Agency Mega-Hour

    Nick, Cap’n and Pete recap the last two weeks of trades and first few days of free agency 2K19.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Blues win first Cup in franchise history

    In a scene of poetic justice, if you will, the St. Louis Blues raised the 35-pound Stanley Cup high over their heads Wednesday night against the team that beat them the last time they were in the Final 49 years ago– the Boston Bruins.

    The Blues are your 2019 Stanley Cup champions after defeating the Bruins, 4-1, in Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final– capturing the series 4-3.

    For the first time in franchise history, a St. Louis captain skated out to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, shake Bettman’s hand, take a photo and accept the hardest silverware to win in professional sports.

    Alex Pietrangelo gets to be the first person in league history to say that he lifted the trophy as a member of the Blues.

    They were dead last in the league standings entering 2019.

    For the first time in their 52-year existence (51 seasons), the Blues are Stanley Cup champions thanks to Jordan Binnington’s NHL rookie record 16 wins in the postseason, as well as his 32 saves on 33 shots against en route to the win in Game 7.

    Binnington (16-10 record, 2.46 goals against average, .914 save percentage in 26 games played this postseason) also recorded an 8-2 record on the road in the postseason– tying Nikolai Khabibulin (2004), Miikka Kiprusoff (2004) and Ron Hextall (1987) for the most road wins by a goaltender in a playoff year.

    He made 187 saves on 205 shots against (.913 SV%) and had a 2.76 GAA in the series.

    Ryan O’Reilly took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP. He finished with a six-game point streak in the Final.

    Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (15-9, 2.02 GAA, .934 SV% in 24 GP this postseason) stopped 16 out of 20 shots faced in the loss.

    Rask finished the 2019 Stanley Cup Final with 176 saves on 193 shots against (.912 SV%) and a 2.46 GAA.

    Eight years after winning the Cup in the last Game 7 in a Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver, the Bruins will have to wait until another day to earn their seventh title in franchise history.

    For the first time in their 95-year franchise history, the Bruins hosted a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final (though the Final only became a best-of-seven series since 1939).

    Boston joined the Chicago Blackhawks as the only other team to lose the only Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final that they’ve ever hosted among the first six financially stable franchises from 1942-67– after the league’s inception in 1917 (otherwise referred to as the “Original Six” teams).

    The other “Original Six” teams have hosted at least one such contest with the Detroit Red Wings (3-2 in five Stanley Cup Final Game 7s on home ice) as the most successful team.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0), Montreal Canadiens (1-0) and New York Rangers (1-0) have all never lost a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final on home ice.

    St. Louis finished 10-3 on the road this postseason, while Binnington improved to 14-2 in games after a loss in the regular season and playoffs in his young career.

    The Blues became the fifth road team to win a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final– and third in-a-row since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and Bruins in 2011.

    Home teams are now 12-5 in 17 total Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Final.

    No home team has won the Cup since the 2015 Blackhawks.

    The Bruins fell to 14-9 in Game 7s on home ice (last loss prior to Wednesday night was against Montreal, 3-1, in the Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs).

    This postseason run wrapped up the longest season (regular and playoffs) in Blues franchise history as St. Louis participated in 108 games total (26 postseason games).

    It was the 2nd longest season in Bruins franchise history as Boston played 106 total games (82 regular season and 24 playoff games)– one game short of their 2010-11 record (107 games, 82 regular season and 25 playoff games).

    Boston is now 2-1 all time in a playoff series against St. Louis, winning the Cup in four games in 1970, sweeping the Blues in four games in the 1972 Semifinals and losing in seven games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters ahead of Game 7 that defender, Matt Grzelcyk, would be a game-time decision and was cleared from concussion protocol.

    After warmups, Grzelcyk was good-to-go and placed alongside John Moore on the third defensive pairing in place of Connor Clifton.

    Joining Clifton among the long list of healthy scratches for Boston Wednesday night was Chris Wagner, Lee Stempniak, Zachary Senyshyn, Peter Cehlarik, Zane McIntyre, Paul Carey, Ryan Fitzgerald, David Backes, Steven Kampfer, Jack Studnicka, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon, Anton Blidh, and Trent Frederic.

    Once again, Kevan Miller (lower body) remained out of the lineup for the final time this season due to injury.

    B’s captain, Zdeno Chara, set an NHL record for the most Game 7 appearances by a player with his 14th Game 7 on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, Blues interim head coach, Craig Berube had the services of Ivan Barbashev back in the lineup after Barbashev served his one-game suspension in Game 6 for an illegal hit to head of Boston forward, Marcus Johansson, in Game 5.

    Berube also scratched Robert Bortuzzo and re-inserted Joel Edmundson on his blue line for Game 7.

    Nearly halfway through the opening frame, St. Louis defender, Colton Parayko, sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game minor penalty at 7:57 of the first period.

    Though they moved the puck around with ease on the ensuing power play, Boston couldn’t muster a goal on their first skater advantage of the night.

    The Bruins fired three shots on goal on the power play– including a point-blank attempt by David Krejci to deke and stuff the puck through Binnington’s five-hole.

    Late in the period, after Boston’s fourth line couldn’t clear their own zone, Jay Bouwmeester let go of a shot from the point that O’Reilly (8) redirected through Rask’s five-hole to give St. Louis the fist goal of the game.

    Bouwmeester (7) and Pietrangelo (16) had the assists on O’Reilly’s goal and the Blues led, 1-0, at 16:47 of the first period.

    The goal came on just the third shot on goal for St. Louis after they got the first shot in the game 27 seconds into the action.

    For the first time since Wayne Gretzky did so in 1985, O’Reilly scored a goal in four consecutive Stanley Cup Final games. It was also his 22nd point of the postseason– establishing a Blues franchise record for points in a playoff year.

    With eight seconds left in the first period, Jaden Schwartz evaded an attempt by Brad Marchand to make a check while Marchand was a de facto defenseman on a botched line chance by the Bruins.

    Schwartz skated with the puck deep into the corner and dropped a pass back to Pietrangelo (3) whereby the Blues captain walked right into the slot, pulled the puck to his backhand and flipped it through Rask’s seven-hole to make it, 2-0, St. Louis.

    Pietrangelo’s goal officially came at 19:52 of the first period and was assisted by Schwartz (7).

    After one period of play at TD Garden, the Blues led, 2-0, on the scoreboard, while the Bruins dominated shots on goal, 12-4.

    The B’s also led in takeaways (5-2), giveaways (5-0) and face-off win percentage (61-39), while the Notes led in blocked shots (9-2) and hits (14-11).

    St. Louis had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the first intermission, while Boston was 0/1 on the power play entering the second period.

    Despite being badly outshot in the first period, the Blues emerged as hockey normally has its way swinging games back-and-forth for a full-press middle frame.

    Brayden Schenn had a shot midway in the second period that went off Rask’s stick, off the crossbar and stayed out of the twine thanks to Chara’s stick work keeping the puck out of the goal while chaos befell the rest of the players on the ice all around the crease.

    Through 40 minutes of play, St. Louis still led, 2-0, and trailed Boston in shots on goal, 23-10– including an, 11-6, advantage in shots on goal in the second period alone for the Bruins.

    The B’s led in takeaways (6-5), giveaways (12-4) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Notes led in blocked shots (15-7) and hits (27-21).

    The Blues still hadn’t seen any time on the power play entering the third period and the Bruins were 0/1.

    Midway through the final frame, Vladimir Tarasenko chased a loose puck in the attacking zone and threw a pass to Schenn (5) in the slot for the one-timer to give St. Louis a three-goal lead and all but assure themselves of their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

    Tarasenko (6) and Schwartz (8) tallied the assists on Schenn’s goal at 11:25 of the third period and the Blues led, 3-0.

    St. Louis capitalized on the scoreboard moments after Joakim Nordstrom was denied at the other end by Binnington’s right pad.

    Late in the period, the Blues did it again as David Perron threw the puck through the slot to Zach Sanford (1) for his first career Stanley Cup Playoff and Stanley Cup Final goal.

    The New Hampshire native made it, 4-0, St. Louis with a goal that was assisted by Perron (9) and O’Reilly (15) at 15:22 of the third period.

    With the secondary assist on the goal, O’Reilly boosted his own Blues franchise record for the most points in a single postseason to 23 points (8-15–23 totals).

    Cassidy pulled Rask with 3:54 remaining in regulation out of a desperate attempt to just get on the scoreboard and it worked.

    As the seconds counted down, Grzelcyk (4) sent a shot off the crossbar and into the back of the net over Binnington’s blocker side to cut St. Louis’ lead to three goals.

    Krejci (12) had the only assist on the goal at 17:50 of the third period.

    The Blues were still in command, 4-1, and even after Boston pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker again with about 1:48 left on the clock, that three-goal deficit was all St. Louis needed.

    At the final horn, the Notes had done it.

    They finally won their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

    This, despite trailing in shots on goal, 33-20, in Game 7. The Bruins also finished the night leading in giveaways (13-7) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Blues led in blocked shots (21-7) and hits (36-28).

    There was only one penalty called in the game and thus St. Louis’ power play never saw a second of ice time, while Boston went 0/1 on the skater advantage– way back in the first period after Parayko sent the puck over the glass for an automatic infraction.

    The team that scored first won Games 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the series, while the home team only won two games in the entire seven game series.

    Boston finished 5-1 in elimination games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (won Games 6 and 7 in the First Round against Toronto, won Game 6 against Columbus, won Game 4 against Carolina and forced Game 7 against St. Louis by winning Game 6– then lost in the final game).

    Exactly 35 years ago, Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA Championship in the last Game 7 hosted in Boston.

    That was at the old Boston Garden (1928-95). Wednesday night’s action was at TD Garden (1995-present) and the opposing team won.

    The Bruins have not won the Cup on home ice since beating St. Louis on May 10, 1970. Bobby Orr scored his iconic– sports photography defining– goal in overtime to clinch the Cup for Boston for the first time since 1941 that night– ending a 29-year drought.

    In 2019, it was the Blues quenching their thirst by winning their first.

  • O’Reilly nets two, Blues even series in Game 4

    Ryan O’Reilly scored two goals and helped even up the series as the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2, on home ice Monday night

    It was the first home win in the Stanley Cup Final for the Blues at Enterprise Center and in their entire franchise history.

    Jordan Binnington (14-9 record, 2.52 goals gainst average, .909 save percentage in 23 games played this postseason) turned aside 21 out of 23 shots faced in the win for St. Louis.

    Meanwhile, Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (14-7, 1.96 GAA, .938 SV% in 21 GP this postseason) made 34 saves on 37 shots against in the loss.

    Binnington now has seven wins following a loss this postseason and trails only Nikolai Khabibulin (2004), Mikka Kiprusoff (2004) and Ron Hextall (1987) who all had eight wins following a loss in their respective playoff years.

    In the 25 instances in which the team that tied the series 2-2 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final format– prior to Monday night– that team has gone on to win the Cup 10 times.

    Three out of the last five instances have resulted in Cup championships, including 2015, 2013 and 2011 (Chicago, Chicago and Boston, respectively).

    Bruce Cassidy made no changes to his lineup for the Bruins, while Chris Wagner (upper body), Kevan Miller (lower body) and Matt Grzelcyk (undisclosed) remained out of the action for Game 4.

    Boston’s long list of healthy scratches including Lee Stempniak, Zachary Senyshyn, Peter Cehlarik, Zane McIntyre, Paul Carey, Ryan Fitzgerald, Steven Kampfer, Jack Studnicka, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon, Anton Blidh, Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman.

    Blues head coach, Craig Berube, had Oskar Sundqvist and Vince Dunn back in his lineup for Game 4. Sundqvist returned from his one-game suspension and Dunn made his first appearance in this series after being injured in the Western Conference Final and missing the last six games.

    Robert Thomas remained out for St. Louis, while Zach Sanford suited up in his place for the second straight game.

    O’Reilly (4) scored the game’s first goal in the opening minute of the action on Monday after jumping on a loose puck and wrapping around the goalframe.

    Boston couldn’t clear the zone and Sanford made just enough of a redirection to yield a rebound for O’Reilly to pounce on and bury in the twine as Rask was forced to go end-to-end in the crease.

    Sanford (2) and Dunn (6) tallied the assists on O’Reilly’s goal 43 seconds into the first period and St. Louis led, 1-0.

    With the secondary assist, Dunn collected his first point of the series in his first game back from injury.

    Midway through the opening frame, Danton Heinen absorbed a hit while bringing the puck into the attacking zone, whereby Zdeno Chara scooped up the rubber biscuit and sent it to the net– generating a rebound.

    Charlie Coyle (9) collected the puck and pocketed it in the twine to tie the game, 1-1, at 13:14 of the first period– his third goal in as many games, joining Devante Smith-Pelly (2018) and Jake Guentzel (2017) as the only players to score a goal in three straight games in the Stanley Cup Final in the last three years.

    Chara (4) had the only assist on the goal as the B’s got on the scoreboard.

    Almost a couple minutes later, Vladimir Tarasenko (11) banked in a rebound past Rask after Alex Pietrangelo kept the puck in the zone while entering fresh off the bench in the midst of a line change.

    Pietrangelo (12) and Brayden Schenn (7) notched the assists on Tarasenko’s goal and the Blues led, 2-1, at 15:30 of the first period.

    After one period of play, St. Louis was leading on the scoreboard, 2-1, and in shots on goal, 13-9. The Blues also held the advantage in giveaways (6-4) and hits (24-16), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (5-0) and face-off win percentage (52-48).

    Both teams had four takeaways aside and neither team had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the first intermission.

    With 16:53 left in the second period, Chara took a shot that ricocheted off his own stick and into his mouth, causing the 6-foot-9 defender to bleed and leave the ice for repair.

    Early in the middle frame, Coyle caught Carl Gunnarsson with a high-stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 5:47 of the second period.

    St. Louis did not convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Gunnarsson, in turn, flipped the puck over the glass without any deflections, yielding an automatic minor penalty for delay of game at 8:31 of the second period.

    Though the Blue Notes almost scored a shorthanded goal, nothing happened on the special teams opportunity– Boston’s first power play of the game– and both teams resumed 5-on-5 action two minutes later.

    Shortly thereafter, Connor Clifton caught Tarasenko with an illegal hit to the head as Tarasenko attempted to back-check the Bruins defender.

    Clifton was sent to the penalty box with a minor penalty at 13:53 after finishing a shift that spanned 3:06.

    While shorthanded, Brad Marchand sent Patrice Bergeron up-ice in the attacking zone whereby the longest-tenured alternate captain in the NHL fired a shot and generated a rebound off Binnington.

    Brandon Carlo (1) buried the rebound for his first career Stanley Cup Final goal and tied the game, 2-2, with Boston’s first shorthanded goal of the series.

    Bergeron (8) and Marchand (13) had the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on Carlo’s goal at 14:19 of the second period.

    Carlo’s goal was also the first shothanded goal by a defender since Scott Niedermayer scored a shorthanded goal for the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final.

    No. 25 in black-and-gold scored the 19th shorthanded goal by a defender since the league began tracking the stat in the 1933-34 season.

    The Blues did not capitalize on the power play as both teams went to the second intermission tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard with St. Louis still ahead in shots on goal, 25-19 (including a, 12-10, advantage in the second period alone for the Notes).

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Blues maintained an advantage in takeaways (9-8), giveaways (9-6), hits (32-29) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (12-3).

    St. Louis was 0/2 on the skater advantage– while allowing a shorthanded goal– and the Bruins were 0/1 on the power play.

    Chara returned to the bench for the third period– wearing a fishbowl– but did not take a shift. He is one of the few remaining players that were grandfathered in after the mandatory visor rule was put in place prior to the 2013-14 season.

    Early in the final frame of regulation, Heinen tripped up Jaden Schwartz and was sent to the box at 2:08 of the third period.

    Once again, St. Louis was not able to capitalize on the power play, but at least the Blues didn’t allow a shorthanded goal against this time around.

    Jay Bouwmeester caught Coyle with a high-stick at 6:42 of the third period and was charged with a minor penalty.

    Boston did not score on the resulting power play.

    Midway through the third period, Pietrangelo sent a shot off of Rask’s blocker and generated enough of a rebound for O’Reilly (5) to bury for his second goal of the game.

    Pietrangelo (13) and Gunnarsson (2) had the assists on O’Reilly’s goal at 10:38 of the third period and the Blues took the, 3-2, lead thanks to O’Reilly’s eventual game-winning goal.

    Cassidy pulled Rask for an extra attacker with about 1:43 left in the action and Schenn (4) subsequently forced a turnover, then buried the puck in the empty net to seal the deal on St. Louis’ Game 4 efforts.

    Torey Krug and Bouwmeester got into a fracas that resulted in a slashing minor for Krug and an elbowing infraction for Bouwmeester at 19:34, yielding 4-on-4 action to finish the night.

    At the final horn, the Blues had won their first Stanley Cup Final game on home ice in franchise history with a, 4-2, victory over the Bruins and evened the series 2-2.

    St. Louis finished the night leading in shots on goal (38-23), giveaways (9-6), hits (44-41) and face-off win% (52-48), while Boston led in blocked shots (15-7).

    The Blues went 0/3 on the power play and the B’s went 0/2 on the skater advantage on Monday.

    The team that has scored first in each game has now won the last two games in the series as Boston took down St. Louis, 7-2, in Game 3 and St. Louis beat Boston, 4-2, in Game 4.

    Binnington improved to 13-2 after a loss in his career (regular season and playoffs), while the Blues improved to 7-2 when leading after one period this postseason.

    Of note, as a result of Carlo’s goal, the Bruins have now had 20 different goal scores in this postseason– the most in franchise history, surpassing the previous record (19) established in 1988.

    The series shifts back to Boston for Game 5 at TD Garden on Thursday. Puck drop is expected a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the game on NBC. Fans in Canada can tune in on CBC, SN or TVAS for the action.

    Whoever wins on Thursday will have a chance to win the Cup back in St. Louis in Game 6.

  • DTFR Podcast #146- Cory In The [Win Column]

    DTFR Podcast #146- Cory In The [Win Column]

    The St. Louis Blues just keep on winning (11 straight, to be exact). Can they win it all? The Tampa Bay Lightning are not Stanley Cup favorites according to Nick– nobody is! Did the Edmonton Oilers win a trade? Cory Schneider won a game! and other milestones from the last week, as well as whatever happened in the Boston Bruins vs San Jose Sharks game on Monday.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #110- Re-Recordings

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #110- Re-Recordings

    For the first time in show history, Nick and Connor had to re-record an entire episode because GarageBand deleted the original recording seconds after the duo finished recording. In this edition, more movie madness, top-10 goaltenders in our lifetime and Ilya Kovalchuk.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • January 13 – Day 90 – Ready for an Original Six game?

    It’s finally Friday, so sit back and watch some hockey after that stressful business week. The action gets started at 7 p.m. with two games (Toronto at the New York Rangers and Chicago at Washington [NHLN]), followed half an hour later by two more (the New York Islanders at Florida and Buffalo at Carolina). Columbus at Tampa Bay (SN/TVAS) drops the puck at 8 p.m., trailed an hour later by tonight’s co-nightcaps (New Jersey at Calgary and Winnipeg at Arizona).

    Short list:

    • Toronto at New York: It’s another Original Six game this evening, this one taking place at Madison Square Garden.
    • New York at Florida: Last postseason, the Islanders upset Florida in the Eastern Quarterfinals before falling to Tampa Bay.

    Don’t tell anybody, but Toronto is only four points out of playoff position, and tonight’s game in the Big Apple will be a good test to see if they’re capable of acting  on the opportunity.

    UnknownNew York Rangers Logo

     

     

     

     

     

    The Leafs make their lone trip of the season to Manhattan with an 18-13-8 record. The main problem for Toronto has been their defense and goaltending, which has allowed 111 goals against – only the 15th-fewest in the league.

    With the exception of six games, 17-9-7 Frederik Andersen has always been the man in charge of the crease for the Maple Leafs this season. So far, he’s saved .918 percent of shots faced for a 2.69 GAA, which ties for 18th and 27th-best among the 44 goalies with 17 or more appearances.

    While Andersen has been far from impressive, he can’t shoulder the entire blame. The Leafs have allowed an average of 32.6 shots-per-game to reach Andersen’s crease, tied for the fourth-worst in the league. Morgan Rielly has given all he can and more to Toronto, as he leads the club with 67 shot blocks.

    If the Leafs truly want to make a playoff push, I’d expect them to be active at the trade deadline to bring in a quality defenseman.

    Although the Leafs have tied for the seventh-best effort on the penalty kill with a 83.6% kill rate (led by Roman Polak‘s 16 short-handed blocks), percentages can be deceiving. Toronto averages 11:35 penalty minutes per game, the second-highest in the NHL, and Andersen has struggled mightily. He’s allowed 19 power play goals to slip past him, which ties for the seventh-most in the league.

    Fortunately, Toronto has been very successful on the power play. Led by William Nylander and his 15 power play points, the Maple Leafs bury the puck 22.4% of the time with the man-advantage, the seventh-best rate in the league. Nazem Kadri has been the one responsible for most of those situational goals, with eight to his credit (tied for the fourth-most in the NHL).

    You know you’re in a tough division when you’re riding a two-game winning streak and have the fifth-best point percentage in the NHL, yet you’re still only in a wild card spot. That’s the position the 28-13-1 Rangers find themselves in, although that can change with a win tonight, as they could take advantage of Pittsburgh‘s two-game losing skid and jump into third place in the division. As they have been all season, they’ll be led by their dominant offense that has accounted for a league-leading 144 points.

    Although it’s more than a two-headed assault, the main pair getting a lot of the praise right now in New York are Kevin Hayes and Derek Stepan, both of whom have an impressive 31 points to their credit. Of course, they’ve mostly been facilitators. The striker on this team is still Michael Grabner with his 19 tallies.

    As you might expect, the Blueshirts‘ power play is no slouch. In fact, they’re third best in the league, successful on 23.2% of their opportunities. Ryan McDonagh has been at the forefront of that effort with nine power play points, but hasn’t been the one scoring the goals. That duty has been shared by Chris Kreider, Rick Nash, Brandon Pirri and Jimmy Vesey, all of whom have four power play goals.

    Even the penalty kill has been impressive, refusing to yield to the opposition’s man-advantage 83% of the time, the 10th-best effort in the league. Kevin Klein gets to take a lot of responsibility for that ranking, as his 16 shorthanded blocks are tops on the club.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include New York‘s Grabner (+22 [fifth-best in the NHL]), Nick Holden (+20 [tied for seventh-best in the league]) and Henrik Lundqvist (18 wins [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]) & Toronto‘s Andersen (17 wins [10th-most in the league]) and Auston Matthews (21 goals [tied for third-most in the NHL]).

    Vegas has put a -137 next to the Rangers‘ name to indicate they’re the favorites this evening. It’s hard to argue with, given their success regardless of who they’re playing. Until Toronto can put together a full game on a regular basis, they will not be able to stand up to talented teams like New York.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Art Ross (1886-1964) – It’s nearly impossible to fully summarize all Ross did. The defenseman won two Stanley Cups as a player, and tacked on an additional three as a coach or general manager for Boston. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949, and the yearly award for the season’s leading scorer is named in his honor.
    • Cesare Maniago (1939-) – This goaltender played 568 games over 15 seasons in the NHL, mostly with the North Stars. He completed his career with a 190-257-97 record on a 3.27 GAA.
    • Kelly Hrudey (1961-) – Another netminder, the Islanders drafted Hrudey 38th-overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. That being said, he spent most of his 15 seasons in Los Angeles en route to a 271-265-88 career record.
    • Nikolai Khabibulin (1973-) – Drafted in the ninth round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the original Jets, this goaltender would’ve been a steal 100 picks earlier. The Bulin Wall finished his 18-season career with a 333-334-97 record, four All Star selections and a 2004 Stanley Cup title while in Tampa Bay.
    • Sergei Brylin (1974-) – The 42nd-overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft played his entire career with the club that drafted him – New Jersey. During that time, he notched 308 points to win three Stanley Cups.
    • Marc Staal (1987-) – The middle Staal brother was the 12th-overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Rangers, and that’s where he’s played every since. Over his entire career, he’s notched a +40.
    • Connor McDavid (1997-) – In only 88 career games, the first pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Edmonton has already notched 96 points. There’s no ifs about it: he will be the next superior player, if he’s not already.
    • Ivan Provorov (1997-) – The seventh-overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Philadelphia, this defenseman has finally joined the Flyers this season. He’s made quite the impact, tying Shayne Gostisbehere with 19 points for most by a Philly blueliner.

    Talk about an evening of comebacks. First, Third Star of the Game Taylor Hall made his return to Edmonton. Then, the Oilers scored a game-tying goal with 7:24 remaining in regulation to force overtime, which they used to beat the Devils 3-2 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    The lone goal of the first period belonged to Travis Zajac (Kyle Palmieri and Michael Cammalleri) and the visiting Devils. He tipped-in his shot with 1:54 remaining in the frame to put New Jersey ahead going into intermission.

    Edmonton pulled the game back even almost immediately after returning to the ice. 16 seconds after the initial puck drop, Andrej Sekera (Second Star Leon Draisaitl and Adam Larsson) scored a snapper to tie the game at one-all. That draw lasted until 51 seconds remained in the second period, when Steven Santini (Hall and P.A. Parenteau) scored the first goal of his career. Once again, Jersey took a one-goal lead into the dressing room.

    As stated before, the Oilers tied the game with 7:24 remaining in regulation off a wrister from First Star Patrick Maroon (Draisaitl and McDavid). Neither side was able to break the knot, so the game advanced into three-on-three overtime.

    Only 1:50 into the five-minute period, Draisaitl (McDavid and Oscar Klefbom) ended the game in the home club’s favor with an impressive slap shot, his 16th goal of the season.

    Cam Talbot earned the victory after saving 16-of-18 shots faced (88.9%), leaving the loss to Cory Schneider, who saved 31-of-34 (91.2%).

    The Oilers‘ victory is the second-straight by a home club in the DtFR Game of the Day series, improving the hosts’ record to 49-29-14, 10 points better than the visitors.