Down the Frozen River

Tag: NY

March 23 – Day 160 – Rubber game

It was an easy game plan for the Lightning in yesterday’s Game of the Day, as they used two goals a period to beat the Red Wings 6-2.

Tampa Bay earned the lead they would not yield after only 1:47 of play courtesy of a First Star of the Game Erik Condra wrister, assisted by Third Star Ondrej Palat (his 16th helper of the season) and Brian Boyle. Vladislav Namestnikov doubled that lead 8:08 later with a wrister of his own, assisted by J.T. Brown (his 14th helper of the season). Starting the formula, the Bolts held their at those two tallies for the remainder of the period.

Even quicker than they scored in the first period, Tampa scored their game-winning goal in the second. Steven Stamkos fired a wrister only 33 seconds after resuming play (his 34th tally of the season), assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Second Star Victor Hedman. Detroit began trying to stage a comeback, as they also scored two goals in the second – the first of which found the back of the net at the 8:08 mark on a Justin Abdelkader power play wrister, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg (his 32nd helper of the season) and Niklas Kronwall. With 4:35 remaining in the frame, the Wings pulled within a goal after Darren Helm fired a wrister assisted by Pavel Datsyuk (his 27th helper of the season) and Anthony Mantha, but Tampa scored their first of three insurance goals 2:17 later on a Kucherov power play wrister (his 28th tally of the season), assisted by Tyler Johnson and Stamkos to nip that in the bud. The 4-2 score held into the second intermission.

Another quick start gave the Lightning a two goal advantage, as Palat’s backhander only 1:03 after resuming play, assisted by Johnson and Hedman (his 34th helper of the season) extended their lead to three. The Bolts‘ final tally was Condra’s second of the game, assisted by Boyle at the 16:56 mark, setting the score at the 6-2 final.

Ben Bishop earns the win after saving 23 of 25 shots faced (92%), while Jimmy Howard takes the loss after saving 13 of 16 (81.3%). He was replaced after Stamkos’ second period goal by Petr Mrazek, who saved 15 of 18 (83.3%) for no decision.

Tampa Bay‘s win makes it two straight for the home sides, setting the DtFR Game of the Day series at 72-41-17, favoring the home sides by 33 points over the roadies.

I hope you enjoyed all the games yesterday, because this evening has only two matchups to offer. Even better, they’re both occurring not even five miles apart, so it’s doubtful they’re happening anywhere near you. The first drops the puck at 7 p.m. between Ottawa and the New York Islanders (TVAS/SN), followed an hour later by Boston visiting the New York Rangers (NBCSN/SN1).

Seeing as Ottawa trails Philadelphia by seven points for the final spot in the postseason, we’ve gotta keep an eye on the important battle for playoff position that will take place in Madison Square Garden.

Tonight’s game will be Boston‘s 18th in the Game of the Day series where they own a 7-9-1 record, with their most recent being their 4-0 loss in Anaheim on Friday. New York has been featured 19 times before tonight’s game, and own a 10-7-2 record such contests. Their most recent was March 13, a 5-3 loss on home ice to the Penguins.

The 39-26-8 Boston Bruins currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. It has been their offense that has gotten them there, as they’ve scored the third most goals, but also given up the 13th most scores. A more in-depth analysis of Boston‘s game can be found within Friday’s article.

A win tonight does two things for the Bruins, the less of which is expanding their lead over the Red Wings to five points for the final division qualifier. More important is catching the slipping Panthers for the second spot, and they would pull within a point of doing just that.

The 41-24-8 New York Rangers currently occupy second place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. They’ve also be a stronger offensive team, scoring the sixth most goals in the league, but give up the 15th most scores in the process.

Even with Derek Stepan’s 168 shots, the Rangers have fired the puck only 2084 times, but an incredible 9.8% have found the back of the net for 207 goals (led by Derick Brassard’s 25 tallies), the sixth most in the league. What is surprising about the Blueshirts‘ offensive success is that it is not very dependent on the power play, as their 18.37% success rate, good for only 36 extra man goals (led by Brassard’s eight power play tallies), ranks 15th worst in the NHL.

Even with Dan Girardi’s 182 blocks, New York has allowed 2204 shots to reach 32-19-6 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 192 goals against, the 15th most in the league. Even worse than the power play has been the penalty kill, as the Rangers have neutralized only 76.89% of their infractions to allow 49 power play goals, the third worst rate in the NHL.

Seeing as the Capitals have already clinched both the division and the conference, New York is now focused on securing the second seed in the Metropolitan. A win tonight would help them do that by extending their lead over third place Pittsburgh to four points, although the Pens will have two games in hand.

The season series between these squads is currently tied at 1-1-0, with the most recent meeting occurring January 11 in the World’s Most Famous Arena, a 2-1 victory for the home Rangers.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Boston‘s Brad Marchand (34 goals [tied for fourth most in the league] and +22 [10th best in the league]) & New York‘s Lundqvist (32 wins [tied for fifth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for sixth most in the league] and .922 save percentage [tied for ninth best in the league]) and Ryan McDonagh (+25 [eighth best in the league]).

Boston has the better offense, power play and penalty kill, so I’m leaning towards the Bruins winning the season series with a road victory tonight.

March 23, 2016
March 17 – Day 154 – New York. Nashville. Nice.

No one can stop the Flyers! …Or, at least not the Blackhawks, as they fell on home ice 3-2 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

They may have lost, but the Hawks scored a rare shorthanded goal at the 8:18 mark of the first period compliments of a Marian Hossa snap shot, assisted by Artem Anisimov and Niklas Hjalmarsson (his 19th helper of the season). Philadelphia leveled with 1:12 remaining in the frame with a Ryan White power play slap shot (his ninth tally of the season) after assists from Andrew MacDonald and Sean Couturier, which held into the intermission.

Chicago took another lead 4:58 after resuming play with a goal from Jonathan Toews, assisted by Patrick Kane’s 52nd helper of the season. Once again, Philly leveled the game, this time with a Second Star of the Game Brayden Schenn snapper at the 13:02 mark, assisted by First Star Claude Giroux (his 41st helper of the season) and Wayne Simmonds.

The lone goal of the third was the Flyers‘ game winner, compliments of Radko Gudas with 10:07 remaining in regulation, assisted by Couturier (his 22nd helper of the season) and Michael Raffl.

Third Star Michal Neuvirth earns the win after saving 24 of 26 shots faced (92.3%), while Scott Darling takes the loss, saving 26 of 29 (89.7%).

It’s a wild Thursday schedule, and not just because Minnesota is playing. Three games drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Minnesota at New Jersey, Carolina at Pittsburgh and Detroit at Columbus) to get the night going, followed half an hour later by Florida at Toronto. The New York Islanders visit Nashville at 8 p.m. eastern, and the Tampa Bay at Dallas game gets started 30 minutes later. 10 p.m. eastern brings with it San Jose at Arizona, which is an appetizer for this evening’s nightcap, the New York Rangers at Los Angeles, at 10:30 p.m. eastern on NHLN.

Three of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Carolina at Pittsburgh, Florida at Toronto and San Jose at Arizona), and another set of three are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at Nashville, Tampa Bay at Dallas and New York at Los Angeles).

We haven’t caught the Predators in a while, so I’m going to be selfish and make us catch their game!

This will be New York‘s seventh appearance in the Game of the Day series where they own a 2-3-1 record. Their most recent showing under our observation was Monday in their 3-2 victory over the Panthers. Nashville has played eight games before tonight’s in our series, but not since their 5-0 beat down on the Blues on February 27 to set their series record at 4-3-1.

The 38-21-9 New York Islanders currently occupy third place in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. To get tot that position, they’ve played the fifth best defense in the league, backed by the ninth best offense. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within Monday’s article.

The Isles‘ most recent game was their 2-1 shootout loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. A win tonight paired with a Rangers loss would propel them past the Blueshirts for second in the division, but a loss could allow Pittsburgh to pull within a point of the final division qualifying spot.

The 35-22-13 Nashville Predators currently sit in fourth place in the Central Division and sixth in the Western Conference, good enough for the top wildcard spot. To get to that position, they’ve played the 10th best offense, paired with the 11th best defense.

Led by James Neal’s 219 shots, the Preds have fired the puck an incredible 2136 times, with 8.8% finding the back of the net for 192 goals (led by Filip Forsberg’s 28 tallies), the 10th most in the league. The scoring special team has followed suit, finding success on 19.03% of man-advantages for 43 power play goals (led by Shea Weber’s dozen extra man tallies), the 12th best rate in the league.

The defense is just a step behind. Led by Roman Josi’s 169 blocks, Nashville has allowed only 1905 shots to reach 28-19-10 Pekka Rinne and co., of which they’ve collectively saved only 91.1% for 179 goals against, the 11th fewest in the NHL. The biggest hole for the Predators has been their penalty kill, as they’ve only defended 80.19% of their infractions for 42 power play goals against, the 10th worst rate in the league. Although it is a poor kill rate, Nashville does help neutralize that with six shorthanded goals, one more than the league average.

Nashville‘s most recent game was their 3-2 victory in Edmonton on Monday. With Chicago‘s loss, a win by Nashville pulls them within three points of the third place Blackhawks.

Nashville has already made their yearly visit to Brooklyn, where they fell 4-3 on October 15.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Nashville‘s Neal (+22 [tied for eighth best in the league]) and Rinne (four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and 28 wins [10th most in the league]) & New York‘s Thomas Greiss (.928 save percentage [tied for second best in the league] and 2.25 GAA [ninth best in the league]).

Although it is a road game, I feel that the Isles are the better team in this contest and should be able to pull off the win.

March 17, 2016
March 14 – Day 151 – Panthers in Brooklyn

It was a back-and-forth game between the Penguins and Rangers, but a two goal third period helped Pittsburgh prevail 5-3 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

The Pens‘ first goal came as a result of a J.T. Miller holding penalty at the 11:18 mark, as Patric Hornqvist scored 38 seconds later, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. But, the Rangers would enter the intermission tied as Chris Kreider’s tip-in at the 18:06 mark, assisted by Second Star of the Game Derek Stepan (his 21st helper of the season) and Kevin Klein, set the score at one-all.

7:30 after resuming play, First Star Conor Sheary tipped-in Justin Schultz’ initial shot, giving him his ninth helper of the season, to give the Pens a 2-1 lead that lasted only 1:29 before Derick Brassard leveled the game yet again, assisted by Keith Yandle (his 35th helper of the season) and Stepan. Pittsburgh earned their third lead of the afternoon with Sheary’s second goal of the period, and fifth of the season, at the 15:55 mark, assisted by Tom Kuhnhackl and Eric Fehr. That lead held into the second intermission.

For the third time in the game, the Blueshirts scored a leveler, this time by Ryan McDonagh, who was assisted by Jesper Fast and Miller (his 18th helper of the season) at the 5:04 mark of the third period. Pittsburgh‘s game-winner found the back of the net with 8:51 remaining in regulation, scored by Third Star Matt Cullen, who was assisted by Dominik Simon and Brian Dumoulin (his 15th helper of the season). Crosby provided the lone insurance goal on an empty net (his 29th tally of the season) with only 39 seconds remaining, assisted by Kuhnhackl and Bryan Rust.

Marc-Andre Fleury earns the win after saving 24 of 27 shots faced (88.9%), while Henrik Lundqvist takes the loss, saving 28 of 32 (87.5%).

With the second straight road victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 66-39-16, still favoring the home sides by 26 points over the roadies.

We’ve got six games to watch this evening, so get excited! The action starts at 7 p.m. eastern with Florida visiting the New York Islanders, followed an hour later by Los Angeles at Chicago. 9 p.m. eastern brings with it two games (St. Louis at Calgary and Nashville at Edmonton), and this evening’s co-nightcaps trail an hour later (Winnipeg at Vancouver and New Jersey at Anaheim).

None of tonight’s games are between division rivals, but two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Florida at New York and Los Angeles at Chicago).

Although this evening will be Kyle Palmieri’s first visit back to Anaheim since since being traded to New Jersey this off-season, the most important game this evening is between the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders.

Tonight’s game will be Florida‘s eighth in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 4-2-1 record. Their most recent featured game was their 5-4 overtime loss on home ice to the Bruins exactly a week ago. New York has been featured five times before tonight’s game, and own a 1-3-1 record in such contests, with their most recent occurring February 18, a 3-2 overtime loss on home ice to the Capitals.

The 38-21-9 Florida Panthers currently occupy second place in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the sixth best defense, paired with the eighth best offense, making them a formidable foe.

Led by Dmitry Kulikov’s 100 blocks, the Panthers have allowed only 1999 shots to reach 29-16-6 Roberto Luongo and co., of which they’ve saved a solid 92.1% for only 167 goals against, the sixth fewest in the league. Although a step back for the Panthers, the penalty kill still ranks on the better side of the league average, as they neutralize 81.5% of their infractions for 42 power play goals against, the 12th best rate in the NHL.

The offense is only a step behind, as although they’ve fired only 1926 shots, a cool 9.6% have found the back of the net for 192 goals, the eighth most in the league. The biggest hole for Florida has been their power play, which seems to be a trend for teams from the Sunshine State. The Panthers have capitalized on only 16.67% of opportunities for 39 power play goals (led by Aleksander Barkov’s nine extra man tallies), the sixth worst rate in the NHL.

Florida is currently riding a two game winning streak, with their most recent being their 5-4 shootout victory over the Flyers on Saturday. Should they keep their winning ways going tonight, or even if they lose in overtime, they will succeed Boston for the Atlantic Division lead, but a regulation loss would cause the Panthers to fall into third in the division to their in-state rivals.

The 37-21-8 New York Islanders currently occupy third in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. They’ve gotten to that position by playing the fifth best defense, paired with the ninth best offense.

Even with injured Calvin de Haan’s 145 blocks, the Isles have allowed 1993 shots to reach 18-7-4 Thomas Greiss and co., of which they’ve saved a great 92.3% for only 166 goals against, the fifth fewest in the league. That defense has been partially led by an incredible penalty kill that ranks third best in the league, neutralizing 85.42% of opposing opportunities for only 28 power play goals against (13 fewer than the league average). Further improving on that stat, New York has also scored six shorthanded goals, one more than the league average.

Just like the Panthers, New York‘s offense is only a step behind. Led by John Tavares’ 207 shots, the Islanders have fired the puck 1991 times, with 9.3% finding the back of the net for 190 goals (led by Tavares’ 26 tallies, the ninth most in the league. New York‘s power play has also been decent, successful on 20% of attempts for 38 power play goals, the 11th best rate in the NHL.

New York is currently riding a two game losing skid, with their most recent being a 3-1 loss in Boston on Saturday. A win tonight is important for the Isles, as it would not only pull them within a point of their crosstown rivals in second place, but it would also extend their lead over Pittsburgh to two points for third.

Florida has already won the season series 2-0-0, but would like to earn the sweep with a win this evening. Their most recent meeting was December 15, a 5-1 Panthers victory in New York.

Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Florida‘s Brian Campbell (+22 [tied for eighth best in the league]) and Luongo (four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and 29 wins [tied for sixth most in the league]) & New York‘s Greiss (.928 save percentage [tied for second best in the league] and 2.26 GAA [eighth best in the league]).

Florida may have had the upper hand so far this season over the Islanders, but I’m feeling a New York winner this evening. Although the power play isn’t necessarily important to the Panthers‘ success, I think New York‘s ability to quickly neutralize any threat could lead to some excitement, maybe even a shorty.

March 14, 2016
March 13 – Day 150 – Yup, Pittsburgh-New York again

They needed overtime, but the Blues beat the Stars 5-4 in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

Troy Brouwer scored St. Louis‘ first goal at the 8:47 mark of the first period with a snap shot, assisted by Robby Fabbri (his 16th helper of the season) and Paul Stastny, but the Stars leveled the game 2:19 later with a Cody Eakin backhander, assisted by Jamie Benn (his 43rd helper of the season) and Kris Russell. The one-all score held into the intermission.

Only 1:37 after resuming play, the Blues again took a lead, this time off a Vladimir Tarasenko wrister (his 33rd tally of the season), assisted by Jay Bouwmeester and Third Star of the Game Alex Pietrangelo, but once again Dallas leveled quickly, as Second Star Jason Spezza’s wrister (his 27th tally of the season), assisted by Tyler Seguin and Russell, found the back of the net 1:01 later. The Notes took control of the final 10 minutes of the second period, scoring two goals. The first crossed the goal line at the 10:19 mark, compliments of a First Star Kevin Shattenkirk wrap-around shot (his 11th tally of the season), assisted by Stastny and Jaden Schwartz. With 46 seconds remaining in the frame, Shattenkirk scored his second of the night on a slap shot, assisted by Schwartz and Tarasenko (his 28th helper of the season). The 4-2 score held into the second intermission.

Dallas responded to the Blues‘ two unanswered goals in the second with two of their own in the third, the first of which came courtesy of Spezza at the 6:02 mark, assisted by Ales Hemsky and Alex Goligoski. The lone power play goal of the night found the back of the net with only 1:12 remaining in regulation off a Benn tip-in, assisted by Seguin (his 39th helper of the season) and Goligoski. Neither team was able to break the tie before regulation, so the game moved into three-on-three overtime.

It took only 2:11 of overtime before Pietrangelo’s wrister, assisted by Stastny (his 28th helper of the season) and Fabbri, found the back of the net for the Blues‘ winner.

Jake Allen earns the win after saving 34 of 38 shots faced (89.5%), while Antti Niemi takes the overtime loss, saving 31 of 36 (86.1%).

After St. Louis‘ win, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 66-38-16, favoring the home teams by 28 points over the roadies.

With such a busy hockey Saturday, you probably need a rest. But, luckily for us, the people in charge of NHL scheduling are addicted to the game just as much as us and can’t just take a day off, so they gave us three games to watch today. The first of those games, Pittsburgh at the New York Rangers, drops the puck at 12:30 p.m. eastern on NBC. Game Two gets started at 3 p.m. eastern between Tampa Bay at Columbus, and this evening’s nightcap, Toronto at Detroit (NBCSN) goes underway at 7:30 p.m. eastern.

Two of today’s games are between division rivals (Pittsburgh at New York and Toronto at Detroit), but Pittsburgh at New York is the only game between teams currently qualifying the playoffs.

In addition to qualifying for both of those groups, the Pittsburgh–New York game is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchups, so you know we’re watching that one!

This afternoon’s game will be Pittsburgh‘s 13th in the DtFR Game of the Day series, where they own a 4-7-1 record. Their most recent appearance in such games was March 3, a 4-1 home victory over these Rangers. New York was featured again the day later in their 3-2 victory in Washington, their 18th showing in the series which set their record in such games at 10-6-2.

The 35-24-8 Pittsburgh Penguins are currently the fourth best team in the Metropolitan Division and eighth best in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wild card. To get to that position, the Pens have played the ninth best defense, paired with the 14th best offense.

Even with Kris Letang’s team-leading 94 blocks, the Penguins have allowed 2030 shots to reach 28-16-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.2% for 170 goals against, the ninth fewest in the league. Pittsburgh‘s defense especially clamps down when short a man, defending 83.65% of their penalties, allowing only 34 power play goals against, the sixth best rate in the NHL. Further improving on that rate, the Pens have also scored six shorthanded goals this season (led by Eric Fehr’s three shorties), one more than the league average.

The offense had a slow start to the season, but has grown throughout the season to become what we typically expect from Pittsburgh. Led by Phil Kessel’s 221 shots, the Penguins have fired the puck 2188 times, of which 8.3% have found the back of the net for 183 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 28 tallies), the 14th most in the league. The biggest struggle for the Pens seems to be the power play, as they are successful on only 18.31% of attempts, earning 39 extra man goals (led by the injured Evgeni Malkin’s 11 power play tallies), the 13th worst rate in the league.

Pittsburgh‘s last game was Friday, a 3-2 victory in Columbus. As long as the Penguins do anything better than losing in regulation, they will move ahead of Detroit for the first wildcard position, but Pittsburgh would prefer to earn two points to pull within two points of the Islanders for the final division qualifier.

The 39-22-7 New York Rangers currently occupy second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, the Rangers have played the seventh best offense, backed by the 12th best defense.

Even with Derick Brassard’s 150 shots, the Blueshirts have only fired the puck 1925 times, but 9.8% have found the back of the net for 192 goals (led by Brassard’s 24 tallies), the seventh most in the NHL. Just like the Penguins, New York‘s offensive special team has not been indicative of their scoring success, as they are successful on only 18.23% of attempts, good for 33 power play goals (led by Brassard’s seven extra man tallies), the 14th worst rate in the league.

Dan Girardi’s 162 blocks have helped lead the Blueshirts to allowing only 1990 shots to reach 31-17-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92% for 173 goals against, the 12th fewest in the league. The biggest hole in New York‘s game has been their penalty kill, whose 77.39% kill rate that has allowed 45 power play goals ranks fourth worst in the league.

The Rangers‘ most recent game was a 3-2 overtime loss in Detroit yesterday. Currently, the Blueshirts have only a three point lead over their Brooklyn-based rivals, but a win today would improve that spread to five points.

The season series is currently tied 1-1-0, but this is the first visit by the Penguins to Madison Square Garden this campaign. The last time these teams met was 10 days ago, when the Penguins beat the Rangers 4-1. Last postseason, these two squads met in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Rangers easily took care of the opposition in five games before eventually falling in the Eastern Finals.

Some players to keep an eye on in this afternoon’s game include New York‘s Lundqvist (31 wins [fifth most in the league], four shutouts [tied for fifth most in the league] and .923 save percentage [tied for seventh best in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (67 points [sixth most in the league] and 28 goals [10th most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for second most in the league] and 28 wins [tied for seventh most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+28 [tied for second best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+26 [tied for fourth best in the league]).

We’ve covered both of the previous games between these two squads, and both times I predicted the Rangers to win. While the Blueshirts are the better team overall, their poor special team play, specifically the penalty kill, always allows other teams the chance to beat them. Should Pittsburgh get under New York‘s skin, this one could go the way of the visitors.

March 13, 2016
February 10 – Day 118 – It’s been 9.5 months…

So, I predicted a fantastic game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins in yesterday’s Game of the Day. Turns out, I was way off with that prediction, as the Kings won 9-2.

The first of the Bruins‘ two goals was scored after 5:03 of play on the power play, scored by Brad Marchand (his 25th goal of the season), assisted by Matt Beleskey and Zdeno Chara. Los Angeles leveled the score 13:18 later with a power play goal of their own via a Second Star of the Game Jeff Carter wrister, assisted by Jake Muzzin and First Star Drew Doughty (his 22nd helper of the season) and later took the lead with only 16 seconds remaining in the period when Marian Gaborik backhanded the puck into net (his 11th goal of the season), assisted by Vincent Lecavalier. The Kings‘ 2-1 lead held into the intermission.

Los Angeles continued their goal streak 2:42 after resuming play when Andy Andreoff scored his fourth tally of the season off a wrister, which eventually became the game-winner. 9:27 later, the score became 4-1 when Doughty backhanded power play goal into the net, assisted by Third Star Milan Lucic (his 19th helper of the season) and Gaborik. LA‘s third goal of the period occurred at the 12:42 mark when Dwight King tipped the puck into goal, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Carter (his 23rd helper of the season). 1:04 before the Bruins were saved by the bell, the Kings scored their fourth and final goal of the period, courtesy of Trevor Lewis off assists from Muzzin (his 25th helper of the season) and Kyle Clifford. The 6-1 score held into the second intermission.

The Kings struck quickly again at the beginning of the third period, when Lucic scored off assists from Anze Kopitar (his 34th helper of the season) and Dustin Brown. Boston scored their second and final goal of the night 1:03 later when Tyler Randell connected on his snap shot, assisted by Kevan Miller (his 12th helper of the season) and Max Talbot. The Kings returned to the offensive at the 13:50 mark when Luke Schenn scored a snap shot power play goal of his own, assisted by Christian Ehrhoff and Toffoli (his 17th helper of the season). The Kings had one more goal in them, which Brown scored with 3:03 remaining in the game, assisted by Schenn and Ehrhoff (his ninth helper of the season), setting the score at the 9-2 final.

Jonathan Quick earns the win after saving 35 of 37 (94.6%), while Tuukka Rask takes the loss after saving 27 of 32 (84.4%). He was pulled after 32:29 of play (King’s goal) and replaced with Jonas Gustavsson, who saved 21 of 25 (84%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 53-25-10, favoring the home squad by 38 points over the roadies.

As usual, it’s a light Wednesday schedule for the NHL this week. The first puck drops in Detroit, who is hosting Ottawa at 7 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh (NBCSN). This evening’s nightcap starts at 9:30 p.m. eastern, featuring Vancouver in Arizona.

All of today’s games are divisional rivalries, but New York at Pittsburgh is the only game between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs, as well as a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tonight’s game will be New York‘s 14th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 7-4-2 record. Their most recent showing in the series was January 17, a 5-2 loss in Washington. Pittsburgh has been featured eight times before tonight’s game, and own a 3-4-1 record in such games. The last time they were featured was last Friday, when they fell 6-3 in Tampa Bay.

The 30-18-5 New York Rangers currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played one of the strongest offenses in the league, but what makes the Blueshirts most dangerous is their seemingly continuous improvement on the defensive end.

Led by Rick Nash’s 149 attempts, the Rangers have fired 1564 shots, of which a solid 9.6% have found the back of the net for 153 goals, sixth-most in the league. The most intriguing thing about this offense, though, is that most of their success is at even-strength. In fact, New York‘s 15.89% success rate, good enough for only 24 extra-man goals (led by Mats Zuccarello’s five power play tallies), ranks third-worst in the league. Making matters worse, the Rangers have also allowed five short-handed goals, one more than the league average.

Thanks in part to Dan Girardi’s 104 blocks, the Blueshirts have allowed only 1560 shots to reach 26-14-4 Henrik Lundqvist and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for 137 goals against, 13th-fewest in the league. Just like on offense, this success is with no help to the special teams unit, as New York has killed only 78.13% of opposing power plays and allowed 35 extra-man goals, fifth-worst in the league.

New York is currently riding a three-game win streak, with their most recent being a 2-1 victory over the Devils on Monday. A win tonight expands their lead over the Islanders to five points and gets them within 15 points of the league-leading Capitals.

The 27-18-7 Pittsburgh Penguins currently occupy fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. They’ve played a very balanced game to get to this position, with both ends of the ice ranking above average against the rest of the league. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within Friday’s post.

The Penguins are currently riding a two-game win streak, with their most recent victory occurring Monday with a 6-2 win over the Ducks. A win today bumps Pittsburgh back into third place in the division, even if it is only by a point. Additionally, they would only trail the Rangers by two points for second, an important goal for the Pens as they try to avoid the wild card.

These squads met last year in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Pittsburgh did little than act as a speed bump on the Rangers‘ path to the Eastern Conference Finals, as New York won the series 4-1.

Somehow, division rivals New York and Pittsburgh have avoided each other since that deciding Game Five almost 292 days ago (nine months and 16 days), making this game the first of four meetings this regular season. In addition to their playoff success against the Penguins, the Rangers won last season’s regular season series 3-0-1.

Some players to watch include New York‘s Lundqvist (26 wins [fourth-most in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Sidney Crosby (53 points [sixth-most in the league] and 24 goals [tied for eighth-most in the league]), Marc-Andre Fleury (four shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the league] and 21 wins [tied for ninth-most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+23 [fourth-best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+21 [tied for seventh-best in the league]).

Judging by overall numbers alone, it is hard to pick against New York‘s offense, but until their special teams improve, they will always be suspect to even the worst teams. Too bad for them the Penguins are not the same team that started the season 0-3-0. Since the game is in Pittsburgh, I give the edge to the Pens.

February 10, 2016