Down the Frozen River

Tag: Pekka Rinne

  • Preds force Game 7 with 4-0 victory

     

    With First Star of the Game F Filip Forsberg and Third Star W Viktor Arvidsson splitting the goals and Second Star G Pekka Rinne posting a 34-save shutout, the Nashville Predators took Game 6 4-0 at Bell MTS Place against the Winnipeg Jets to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in three days.

    Arvidsson wasted no time in finding his first tally, but the path he took to scoring the game-winner could probably be cleaned up a little. Arvidsson advanced into the offensive zone with the puck along the left boards, but his drive towards G Connor Hellebuyck‘s net was cut short by D Dustin Byfuglien, who sent the Swede sliding into the boards from the goal line.

    F Ryan Johansen wound up with the puck, skating into the corner before slinging the puck back to D Roman Josi at the point. Josi slung a high snap shot towards the net, but before it could reach Hellebuyck, Arvidsson found a way to get involved in the play once again by falling to avoid the puck in the high slot. While it seemed like he was trying to avoid the shot and protect his face with the middle of his stick, he instead deflected the shot past Hellebuyck’s glove.

    Equipment near the face is usually evidence enough for officials to declare a shot was played with a high stick, and that’s the way this play was originally called. However, replay proved that Arvidsson had fallen in time to get his stick under the crossbar, giving Nashville the advantage only 1:02 into the tilt.

    After that, the first period was all about Rinne. Even though both sides fired 10 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, Predators skaters committed three penalties (including two within 2:28 of each other) to provide the Jets multiple shots at some stellar scoring opportunities. Rinne stood tall though, maintaining his club’s one-goal advantage into the first intermission.

    Assigned the role of scoring the insurance goals, Forsberg did his best to make his braces exciting to dissuade the Winnipeg Whiteout from reigniting the Jets. At the 8:06 mark of the second period, Forsberg (F Craig Smith and Johansen) blocked a D Tyler Myers slap shot into the left corner at the cost of his stick. Instead of staying in the defensive zone, he immediately reported to his bench to grab a fresh twig while making sure to stay behind the blue line.

    That attention to detail yielded incredible dividends, as he ended up on the receiving end of a breakaway pass from Smith, setting him up for a one-on-one against Hellebuyck that he capitalized on with a wrist shot from the slot.

    Instead of the goaltenders, defense proved to be the other major story of the second frame. Winnipeg yielded only six other shots on goal in that period other than Forsberg’s wrister, trailed only slightly by the Preds allowing nine Jets offerings.

    Nashville’s defense wasn’t very pretty, but it was certainly effective. Even though the Predators gave the puck away 16 times in this game (D Mattias Ekholm and Josi “leading” the way with four turnovers apiece), they blocked a whopping 23 shots, including Josi’s four.

    If Nashville hadn’t yet taken full control of the game, Forsberg’s (Arvidsson and Josi) second goal of the night – struck at the 5:55 mark of the final period -certainly did the trick.

    Remember back with me, if you will, to April Fool’s Day. That night, the San Jose Sharks visited the Vegas Golden Knights where C William Karlsson proceeded to score what will likely go down as the goal of the regular season by pulling the puck between his legs to flip a shot behind G Martin Jones.

    Forsberg did almost the exact same thing with this marker, but from a stationary position instead of sliding across the crease. That made the direction of where the can-opener shot would go even more unpredictable for Hellebuyck, who could only watch as the puck trickled past him.

    Arvidsson (Forsberg) completed the Preds’ scoring with 4:02 remaining, scoring a backhanded shot on an empty net to set the 4-0 final score.

    Of note in this game, former-captain C Mike Fisher played only five shifts in the first period before being forced to the dressing room with 5:43 remaining on the clock. Head Coach Peter Laviolette did not have an update on his condition during his post-game press conference, so his status for Game 7 is undetermined.

    The seventh and final game of this Western Semifinal will take place Thursday, May 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Fans have no excuse to miss this game, as it will be broadcast on CBC, NBCSN, SN and TVAS.

  • Jets fly away with 6-2 win in Nashville, can clinch spot in WCF at home

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    Snubbed for Calder Memorial Trophy consideration, rookie, Kyle Connor had his first career three-point Stanley Cup Playoff game en route to a 6-2 victory for the Winnipeg Jets on the road in Game 5 against the Nashville Predators.

    The Jets silenced the Bridgestone Arena crowd and can clinch a spot in the 2018 Western Conference Finals with a win on home ice in Game 6.

    Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck stopped 38 out of 40 shots on goal for a .950 save percentage in the win, while Pekka Rinne made 20 saves on 26 shots against for a .769 SV% in 46:23 time on ice before being replaced by Juuse Saros.

    Saros made six saves on all six shots against in 13:37 TOI in his relief appearance.

    There were no goals and no penalties in the first period, so the only thing you’ll need to know after 20 minutes of action in Game 5 is that the Predators outshot the Jets, 11-7.

    Almost midway through the second period, Patrik Laine ripped a wrist shot towards the goal and the puck deflected off of Paul Stastny’s hand past Rinne to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead. Stastny (4) was rightfully credited with the goal upon validation that he did not intentionally swat the puck in with his hand or anything.

    Laine (6) and Nikolaj Ehlers (4) notched the assists on the goal at 7:44 of the second period.

    Less than four minutes later, Nashville defender, Yannick Weber (1) crept in from the point, straight to the goal and elevated a shot past Hellebuyck to tie the game, 1-1.

    About a minute and a half later, Kyle Connor (1) notched his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal. Blake Wheeler (8) and Mark Scheifele (5) amassed the assists on Connor’s goal at 12:30 and the Jets had a one-goal lead, 2-1.

    Dustin Byfuglien (4) extended Winnipeg’s lead to two-goals as the Jets blueliner continues to make his offensive prowess known a la his 2010 Stanley Cup run with the Chicago Blackhawks. Brandon Tanev (1) and Adam Lowry (2) had the assists on Byfuglien’s goal at 14:35 of the second period.

    Just as quick as the Predators reemerged as a team that’s capable of going stride for stride with Winnipeg’s youth, the Jets surged in momentum and Connor (2) netted his second goal of the night— assisted by Wheeler (9) and Byfuglien (8)— to make it a 4-1 game late in the second frame at 17:01.

    It only took 22 seconds later for the first penalty to be called— Viktor Arvidsson for slashing Jacob Trouba— and the Jets went on their first power play of the night.

    Things didn’t go according to plan as Ryan Johansen (5) broke free on a shorthanded bid and buried one behind Hellebuyck to bring the Preds back to within two, 4-2, at 17:59 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Jets were in command of the scoreboard and leading in shots on goal, 22-20.

    Mark Scheifele (9) all but put things away 28 seconds into the third period with his goal that made it, 5-2, Winnipeg. Connor (4) and Wheeler (10) notched the assists and the Predators had their backs against the wall.

    Josh Morrissey handed Nashville their first power play of the night at 2:52 of the third period for holding the stick of Filip Forsberg, but the Predators would not score on the skater advantage.

    Instead, frustrated by their own lack of offense and ability to control the pace of the game in possession and the like, Ryan Hartman took a careless interference minor after the young Predators forward delivered a check to Scheifele, far away from the puck.

    Mathieu Perreault (1) collected his first goal of the postseason on the ensuing power play at 6:23 of the third period, burying the carom off the boards and putting the game out of reach with a four-goal lead for the Jets, 6-2.

    Ehlers (5) had the only assist on the goal.

    To put a stop to the bleeding, Peter Laviolette replaced his starter with backup, Juuse Saros.

    Mattias Ekholm cross checked Joel Armia almost halfway through the third period and the Jets did not score on the power play.

    At the final horn, Winnipeg had secured a 6-2 victory and 3-2 series lead heading back home for Game 6 at Bell MTS Place. The Predators led Game 5 in shots on goal (40-32), blocked shots (20-16), giveaways (21-10) and faceoff win percentage (59-41), while the Jets had an advantage in hits (27-23).

    Winnipeg finished the night 1/3 on the power play and the Preds went 0/1.

    With his three-point night (2-1–3 totals), Kyle Connor set a franchise record for the first three-point effort in a postseason game by a rookie in Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history.

    Puck drop for Game 6 in Winnipeg is scheduled for Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET and game coverage will be on NBCSN in the United States, as well as CBC and TVAS across Canada. The Jets can advance to the Western Conference Final with a win.

  • Preds down Jets, 2-1, in Game 4

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    For the first time since February 27th, the Winnipeg Jets have lost a home game. Interestingly enough, that was also a Nashville Predators win.

    Nashville evened their Second Round series matchup with the Jets in a 2-1 victory on Thursday night at Bell MTS Place.

    Predators netminder, Pekka Rinne, made 32 saves on 33 shots against for a .970 save percentage in the win, while Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck had 27 saves on 29 shots faced for a .931 SV% in 58:09 time on ice.

    Peter Laviolette inserted veteran forward, Scott Hartnell, into his lineup in place of Kevin Fiala and the Predators and Jets were just as physical as ever from puck drop on Thursday.

    On a delayed penalty to Roman Josi for cross checking Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine retaliated and received a roughing minor at 3:46 of the first period. As such, what was going to be a power play for Winnipeg suddenly evaporated into matching minors.

    Shortly thereafter, while the Jets were racking up scoring chance after scoring chance, Rinne— in desperation— stopped a shot with the knob of his stick and the game remained tied, 0-0.

    Late in the first period on a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Ryan Hartman (2) made Winnipeg pay on an individual effort for the game’s first goal. Nashville led, 1-0, at 17:20 of the first period.

    Through one period of action in Game 4, the Predators were leading, 1-0, on the scoreboard and trailing, 12-9, in shots on goal. Winnipeg led in blocked shots (2-1), giveaways (8-5) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while Nashville held an advantage in hits (12-10) and takeaways (4-2).

    Both teams had yet to appear on the power play entering the first intermission, though Craig Smith’s minor penalty for tripping Winnipeg defender, Adam Lowry, at 20:00 of the first period meant that the Jets would begin their first power play of the night starting from puck drop in the second period.

    The two Western Conference powerhouses swapped scoring chance for scoring chance in the second period after the Preds killed off Smith’s minor penalty, but the scoreboard did not change until Nashville got their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Jets blueliner, Dustin Byfuglien, slashed Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm and was sent to the box at 13:43 of the second period. Less than a minute later, the Predators converted on the man advantage.

    Filip Forsberg worked the puck back to the point where P.K. Subban (3) shot a rocket of a slap shot past Hellebuyck as the Winnipeg netminder was being screened by Viktor Arvidsson in front of the goal.

    Forsberg (7) and Ryan Johansen (6) notched the assists on Subban’s goal at 14:36 of the second period and the Predators amassed a two-goal lead.

    Late in the second, Lowry hooked Kyle Turris and Nashville went back on the power play, but the Predators were not able to score on the ensuing advantage heading into the second intermission. They did, however, have 39 seconds remaining on the power play to start the third period.

    After 40 minutes of play, the Nashville Predators led the Winnipeg Jets, 2-0. Winnipeg held a slight advantage in shots on goal (23-22), blocked shots (6-4) and giveaways (13-9). The Predators held an advantage in hits (20-17) and takeaways (6-2), while the Jets led in faceoff win percentage (53-47).

    Nashville was 1/2 on the power play while the Jets were 0/1 after two periods.

    The Predators held onto their 2-0 lead deep into the third period and were approaching a mark not seen in Winnipeg since March 11, 2017. That mark, of course, being the last time the Jets were shutout on home ice— regular season or postseason.

    With a little more than two minutes remaining in regulation, Paul Maurice pulled his goaltender for an extra skater. Shortly thereafter, things went from 6-on-5 to 6-on-4 for Winnipeg as Subban was penalized for cross checking Scheifele at 17:58 of the third period.

    Scheifele fanned on a one-timer on the ensuing power play and almost redeemed himself on a follow up, but Rinne worked his magic once again and covered it up with about a minute left in regulation.

    That’s when Maurice used his timeout to draw up a plan to avoid being shutout and attempt to score two quick goals.

    Paul Stastny won the ensuing faceoff back to Laine (3), who fired a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle through Rinne’s five-hole as the puck deflected off of a chunk of the Finnish goaltender.

    Stastny (7) had the only assist on Laine’s power play goal at 19:09 of the third period and Winnipeg cut the Predators lead in half, 2-1.

    After a couple more stoppages in play and a timekeeping adjustment, the Jets had an offensive faceoff with 1.2 seconds left in the game— plenty of time to win a faceoff and score a goal if they were to execute the perfect play.

    It did not go as perfect.

    Stastny won the attacking zone faceoff back to Laine, but Laine’s shooting lane was jammed, so the Jets winger had to throw the puck in front of the net as fast as possible as time expired and the Nashville Predators evened the series, 2-2.

    After 60 minutes, the Predators won the game, 2-1, and led in blocked shots (9-6) and hits (27-23). Meanwhile, Winnipeg led in shots on goal (33-29), giveaways (19-12) and faceoff win percentage (58-42). Both teams were 1/2 on the power play.

    With the series tied, 2-2, the series shifts back to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. ET for Game 5. Viewers in the United States can catch the action on NBCSN, while fans in Canada can tune in on CBC or TVAS. Game 6 will be back in Winnipeg on Monday night.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #104- Vigilantes, Speed & Skill

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #104- Vigilantes, Speed & Skill

    Bill Torrey, Thursday’s trade, finalists for three more awards, front office musical chairs (or lack thereof), Draft lottery, Tom Wilson and what’s a good save percentage these days? Nick and Connor review the latest news and notes from around the NHL thanks to our unofficial sponsor, Pepperidge Farm.

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

  • Crashville: Preds crumble after strong start, Jets take 2-1 series lead

     

    So, uh, which one of these teams is supposedly the one with the roster full of seasoned vets that have been there before and can’t be rattled, again?

    In a series that was just about as hyped as Avengers: Infinity War, we expected to see plenty of crazy, unexpected stuff. But, much like with the film, I’m not sure many people expected to see (spoilers) half of the cast crumble to dust. Or, at least not the half that did in this game.

    After answering an anomalous Game 1 drubbing by taking a thrilling double-overtime victory in Game 2, it looked like the Preds were back on track as the series shifted to Winnipeg’s raucous home ice. Clearly now with the early stumble in the past, the defending Western Conference champs would be able to rely upon their experience and battle-tested mental toughness to grab a hold of the series against a young, unproven Winnipeg roster.

    In the first period, that narrative seemed pretty well spot-on.

    Quickly and effectively quieting the thunderous atmosphere in the early going (shoutout to the crowd for a mid-anthem ‘TRUE NORTH’ that I’m pretty sure I felt here in Ohio), the Preds found paydirt just 4:53 into the game with a new-look fourth line featuring Ryan Hartman, Mike Fisher, and Miikka Salomaki (in for a banged up Calle Jarnkrok) when 37-year-old Fisher banged home a loose puck as it squeaked out from underneath of Connor Hellebuyck after he thought he had made the stop on a quick point shot set up by Hartman (who got buried by Dustin Byfuglien for his troubles).

    The Jets tried to answer a few minutes later, as Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny combined on a beautiful criss-cross play entering the zone, eventually setting up Stastny all alone behind the defense, but Pekka Rinne had the answer for his backhand attempt.

    Winnipeg’s momentum would be stifled shortly after, though, as the Predators would head to the power play. P.K. Subban (showered in the ever-present boos that I’m still not-at-all sure of the reason for) took a perfect one-time feed from Filip Forsberg at the top of the left circle and spanked it home through Hellebucyk. (It’s worth noting that the confusing boos became much less enthusiastic after this)

    The energy of the play seemed to follow the energy of the building for the next few minutes, with very little of note outside of an unsuccessful Viktor Arvidsson breakaway attempt and a nearly-successful fake dump-in by Patrik Laine the only real highlights until Austin Watson picked up the puck on a bad Winnipeg change, walked in one-on-one against Josh Morrissey, and let go a seemingly-harmless wrister from a tough angle that eluded Hellebuyck, caught the far post and went in to give the Preds the 3-0 lead with 2:24 to play.

    Rinne made a few solid stops in the waning minutes (including a stellar left pad stretch to deny Blake Wheeler as he picked up a deflected shot and tried to tuck it inside the left post) to preserve the lead and keep the crowd quiet heading into the first intermission. Predators leading 12-10 in shots after 20.

    In the second period the tone changed immensely, and it began very early.

    Jacob Trouba leveled Forsberg just inside the blueline in the first 30 seconds of the game to give the crowd some jump, and his team seemed to feed off of that. 3:38 into the period Winnipeg finally got on the board (although nobody besides Stastny noticed at the time) when a Byfuglien point shot caught Stastny’s skate and deflected past Rinne to bring the deficit to two goals.

    Wheeler found himself staring at a yawning cage just under two minutes later when the puck came to him off of a Rinne misplay behind the net, but he fired the puck over the net trying to lift it over the top of a sprawling Rinne and Nick Bonino. As Wheeler tried to corral the puck along the boards, he was leveled by Watson, who got jumped by Mark Scheifele for his efforts. Both players went to the box, and just over 30 seconds into the resulting four-on-four it would be Big Buff blasting home the 3-2 goal after a beautiful zone entry and puck movement by Tyler Myers and Bryan Little. Then just 14 seconds later the roof came off of Bell MTS Place when Stastny, Wheeler, and Trouba connected for a gorgeous tic-tac-goal to tie the game at three with still over 14 minutes remaining in the second.

    With his team rattled, Rinne seemed to take it upon himself to settle things back down, first gloving down a laser from Laine on a two-on-one, then later denying Wheeler on a point blank attempt on a beautiful passing play.

    Despite the best efforts of the Nashville netminder, though, Winnipeg would take their first lead of the night with 44.7 seconds remaining in the period when Laine (locked and loaded taking a pass from Stastny who grabbed the puck on the rebound of a prior Laine shot) fooled everyone by firing the puck across the ice to Byfuglien who hammered home the one-timer from distance to put the Jets up 4-3. They’d carry that score (and a 16-6 shot advantage in the period) to the dressing room, looking to put away the Preds in the third.

    The third period started with quite a few bangs. Trouba and Bonino got into a shoving match early on that eventually became a fairly lengthy fight between the two. Byfuglien just missed erasing Arvidsson from existence, then made up for it by stapling Hartman to the glass as the Nashville forward went to clear the puck out of his zone while killing a Winnipeg power play.

    Unfortunately that hit would be about the only positive result for Winnipeg on their man advantage, and when Colton Sissons returned to the ice after serving his time, he immediately redeemed himself by drawing a penalty that would give the Predators the momentum swing they needed. Forsberg walked the line at the point before firing home a gorgeous wrist shot that beat a screened Hellebucyk and knotted the score at four with 12:20 remaining.

    Nashville looked to have an opportunity to regain the lead shortly after the power play goal when Trouba mishandled the puck at his offensive blueline, giving Arvidsson a clear-cut breakaway. But Hellebuyck confidently and emphatically snagged the puck out of the air with his glove, bringing the arena back to life.

    Byfuglien nearly had himself a hat trick a few minutes after the save (and resulting momentum switch), pouncing on a loose puck to create a two-on-one but having his bid denied by Rinne. He then once more narrowly missed demolishing a Predators player, this time being Subban who managed to avoid the hit at the last possible moment.

    Ryan Ellis‘ tough series continued, this time taking a Byfuglien shot to the side of his face that didn’t get hacked open by a skate blade in Game 1. Luckily it was just a high-rising wrist shot without a ton of power behind it, and he’d shake it off fairly quickly.

    Unfortunately for his team, though, it came when they were down a man and it took one of their best penalty killers off the ice. On the very next shift the Jets retook the lead for the final time when Wheeler buried the rebound of a Scheifele one-timer that he set up, giving Winnipeg the 5-4 lead with 4:59 to play.

    Rinne was upset, as earlier in the sequence he had take a shot to the mask that seemed to break one of the straps of the helmet, but play was not called. Shortly after the goal, Adam Lowry attempted to steal the puck away from Rinne behind the net, and the Predators’ goaltender responded with a claymore-swing of his goal stick to the back of Lowry, putting Nashville down a man for the third time in quick succession in the final minutes of the game, this time when they were down a goal.

    Bonino nearly played hero with a shorthanded goal, jumping on a loose puck in front of the Jets’ goal that no one but him seemed to be able to find, but Hellebucyk was able to blocker it away just in time.

    Nashville was unable to mount much of an attack with the extra man after pulling Rinne, and Wheeler and Brandon Tanev (who extended his goal scoring streak to four games) added a pair of empty netters to seal a 7-4 Winnipeg victory in front of the hometown faithful.

    In the end, it was Hellebucyk’s ability to settle down after a shaky start, and Nashville’s inability to counter momentum swings (and stay out of the box at crucial times) that played the biggest role in this one. It also didn’t hurt that Byfuglien may have played his best playoff game since his Cup run with the Blackhawks. What looks to be a very important Game 4 comes to you at 9:30 p.m. ET this Thursday (May 3) on NBCSN, and @nlanciani53 will have your DTFR recap coverage.

  • Fiala, Preds, even series with Jets in 2OT win

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    Kevin Fiala scored the game-winning overtime goal at 5:37 of the second overtime period Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena and the Nashville Predators topped the Winnipeg Jets, 5-4, in Game 2. The Second Round series is now tied, 1-1, heading into Game 3 on Tuesday.

    Predators netminder, Pekka Rinne had 46 saves on 50 shots against for a .920 save percentage in 85:37 time on ice in the win, while Jets goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, made 36 saves on 41 shots against for an .878 SV% in 84:50 TOI in the loss.

    Getting the first goal in a Stanley Cup Playoff game means (almost) everything. Ryan Johansen (3) scored the game’s first goal just 27 seconds into the action and the Predators had a 1-0 lead. Filip Forsberg (3) and P.K. Subban (4) had the assists.

    Matt Hendricks bumped into Rinne past the seven minute mark in the first period and received the game’s first penalty as Nashville went on the power play. The Preds did not convert on the man advantage.

    Moments later, Ryan Hartman tripped Paul Stastny and the Jets went on their first power play of the night. Winnipeg’s power play was short lived, though, as Blake Wheeler promptly tripped Colton Sissons 52 seconds into Winnipeg’s man advantage opportunity.

    As Nashville’s abbreviated power play was wrapping up, Viktor Arvidsson, was guilty of a minor penalty for interference.

    Seconds later, after winning a faceoff in the offensive zone, the Jets worked the puck along the wall, around the boards and back to the point, where Dustin Byfuglien was sneaking his way in towards the goal.

    Byfuglien (1) fired a shot from close range and snuck the puck through Rinne’s five-hole for his first goal of the postseason and tied the game, 1-1. Mark Scheifele (2) had the only assist on the goal at 12:47 of the first period.

    Just 29 seconds after Byfuglien scored, Winnipeg converted on their abbreviated power play with Arvidsson in the box for Nashville.

    Scheifele (7) was in the right place at the right time as Stastny collected a rebound that caromed off the glass behind the net and dished a pass to the young Jets forward standing point blank in the slot. Stastny (4) and Patrik Laine (4) notched the assists on the goal that made it, 2-1, Winnipeg at 13:16.

    As momentum shifted in Winnipeg’s favor, Laine rang the post about a minute later and almost had what would’ve been three unanswered goals for the Jets.

    Instead, after 20 minutes of play, Winnipeg had a one-goal lead as shots on goal were even, 9-9. The Jets led in blocked shots (9-7) and takeaways (4-2), while the Preds led in hits (9-7) and giveaways (3-2). Winnipeg was 1/2 on the power play and Nashville was 0/2 after one period.

    Bryan Little tripped up Sissons 4:01 into the second period and the Predators went on the power play for the third time Sunday night.

    Subban (1) fired a clapper past Hellebuyck while Arvidsson provided the perfect jump screen in front of the goal to tie the game, 2-2, at 5:04 of the second period. Forsberg (4) and Arvidsson (2) amassed the assists on Subban’s goal.

    Mattias Ekholm slashed Wheeler almost midway into the second period, but the Jets were not able to score on the ensuing power play. Neither did the Predators on their own power play six minutes later when Hendricks took another trip to the sin bin for interference.

    On a burst of speed into the offensive zone Arvidsson (3) let go of a cannon of a shot that beat Hellebuyck to give Nashville a, 3-2, lead at 18:41 of the second period. Forsberg (5) and Ryan Ellis (5) had the assists on the goal.

    At the end of the period, Ellis delivered a cross check to Scheifele in the midst of a scrum and Nick Bonino mixed things up a bit with Scheifele himself. Three penalties were assessed at 20:00 minutes of the second period; Ellis (a minor for cross checking), Bonino (roughing, minor) and Scheifele (roughing, minor).

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Preds led the Jets, 3-2, on the scoreboard and were outshot, 22-18, by Winnipeg. Nashville led in hits (18-10) and giveaways (13-7), while Winnipeg led in blocked shots (18-11) and takeaways (8-7). The Jets were 1/3 on the power play and the Predators were 1/4 on the man advantage after two periods.

    Brandon Tanev (3) forced his way through the neutral zone on a chip pass from Little and beat Rinne on a breakaway, tying the game, 3-3 at 5:11 of the third period. Little (3) had the only assist on Tanev’s goal.

    Johansen (4) scored on a breakaway of his own— destroying Toby Enstrom with one move and beating Hellebuyck bar-down— 34 seconds later, giving the Predators the one-goal lead, once again. Arvidsson (3) had the only assist on Johansen’s second goal of the game and Nashville led, 4-3, at 5:45.

    For the longest time, the Predators were leading, 4-3, in the third period, but Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets had more fight in them as time ticked down. Maurice pulled his goaltender for an extra skater with under two minutes remaining in regulation and it quickly paid off as Scheifele (8) nabbed his second goal of the night.

    Wheeler (6) and Byfuglien (6) notched the primary and secondary assists on the game-tying goal at 18:55 of the third period.

    With the score tied, 4-4, after 60 minutes of regulation, Game 2 went into overtime.

    Entering overtime, Winnipeg was leading in shots on goal (36-25), while Nashville led in hits (21-19), takeaways (11-9) and giveaways (15-11). Both teams were 1/4 on the power play.

    The Predators peppered the Hellebuyck with a ton of shots in the first half of the first overtime period and were in complete control of the chaotic flow of the game. Then Winnipeg caught the Jetstream and hightailed the rest of the period, generating numerous scoring chances that were tossed aside by Rinne.

    After 20 minutes of overtime and 80 minutes of play, the score remained, 4-4, but the Jets led in shots on goal (48-38) and blocked shots (28-26). Nashville kept up with their physical play, leading in hits (26-23) and controlled the faceoff dot— winning 61 percent of all faceoffs taken after the first overtime.

    Winnipeg had surpassed their previous longest postseason game in franchise history (dating back to their days as the Atlanta Thrashers) and would quickly pass the record for longest postseason game by any Winnipeg NHL franchise (new or old— a.k.a. the current day Arizona Coyotes) in the second overtime period.

    Another milestone passed by the Jets that’s not to be overlooked (given the emergence/existence of the Vegas Golden Knights in Vegas’s inaugural season/postseason) is the fact that entering Sunday night, Winnipeg/Atlanta was the only active NHL franchise that had yet to play a game that required multiple overtimes.

    Anyway, Kevin Fiala (3) converted in a two-on-one whereby Craig Smith tossed the puck across the ice, Fiala received it, stickhandled, made Hellebuyck commit, then pulled the puck to his backhand and scored on a largely left open 4×6 frame.

    Smith (1) and Kyle Turris (3) had the assists on Fiala’s second career postseason overtime goal and the Predators had won, 5-4, at 5:37 of the second overtime.

    Winnipeg finished the night leading in shots on goal (50-41) and blocked shots (30-26). Nashville led in the final scoreboard, 5-4, and in hits (26-23) after 85:37 elapsed time.

    With the win, Rinne is now 7-6 all-time in postseason overtime games and Hellebuyck is 0-1 in his first career overtime Stanley Cup Playoff game.

    The series is tied, 1-1, heading into Game 3 on Tuesday night at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Viewers in the United States can tune to CNBC at 8 p.m. ET, while fans in Canada can catch the action on CBC or TVAS.

  • Hellebuyck steals Game 1 for Winnipeg

     

    With 47 saves from First Star of the Game and Vezina finalist G Connor Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg Jets beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 at Bridgestone Arena in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinal.

    Hockey is a bizarre, incredible game in that one side can absolutely dominate play by out-shooting the opposition 20-4 (yes, you read that correctly: only four shots on goal) in one period, yet it only takes one player to completely neutralize that assault.

    Enter Hellebuyck, who came into the Second Round on the coattails of two consecutive shutouts to close out the Jets’ series against Minnesota.

    Hellebuyck rejected every single offering that came his way in that first frame, including three power play shots while W Nikolaj Ehlers was in the penalty box for tripping Third Star W Kevin Fiala.

    Admittedly, he benefited from the Predators failing to connect on at least two passes that would have provided the recipient a prime scoring opportunity on an open net, but it could also be argued that the Jets defense, though porous, did stand up at the biggest moments to help Hellebuyck keep the Preds at bay – especially by clearing most rebounds off the netminder’s pads.

    Making things even better for the Jets, their fourth shot on goal of the game ended up being the first marker of this highly anticipated Central Division showdown series. With 5:09 remaining in the frame, W Brandon Tanev (F Bryan Little) collected the rebound of Little’s shot off G Pekka Rinne‘s stick and right skate, beating the netminder’s blade to the near post to give the Jets a one-goal lead.

    A similar storyline continued in the second period. Hellebuyck was charged with making 16 more saves after the first intermission, and he performed beautifully – albeit with the help of his right post when F Filip Forsberg should have buried a power play slap shot on a gaping cage.

    And just like in the first frame, the Jets rewarded him with goals at the other end of the rink. 9:01 into the second period, C Paul Stastny (RW Patrik Laine and Ehlers) completed Ehlers’ powerful drive into the offensive zone by scrapping out a wrister in the slot after two Rinne saves.

    And only 1:22 after Forsberg missed his opportunity to snap Hellebuyck’s shutout, C Mark Scheifele (RW Blake Wheeler and LW Kyle Connor) turned Winnipeg’s successful penalty kill into a wrister with 2:09 remaining in the period. This goal was a stellar example of Winnipeg’s counterattack, as Wheeler sped into the offensive zone to give the Jets a three-on-three opportunity. After dropping a pass to Scheifele, it was all the center could do but rip his wrister past Rinne’s blocker for the Jets’ third goal.

    Following the second intermission, Head Coach Peter Laviolette elected to lift Rinne – who’d saved 13-of-16 shots faced (.813 save percentage) through two periods – in favor of G Juuse Saros to try and send a message to his club.

    That message was more than received, as Fiala (C Kyle Turris and D Ryan Ellis) finally squeaked a wrister past Hellebuyck 1:23 into the third frame to end his perfect run. Fiala was the recipient of a stellar centering touch pass from Turris along the goal line, quickly potting his second goal of this postseason to set the score at 3-1.

    However, Nashville couldn’t build any positive energy from that tally. Even though the Preds fired another 10 shots at Hellebuyck in the remaining 18:37 of regulation, they simply couldn’t replicate that winning formula to pull any closer to Winnipeg.

    That led to Saros departing his crease for an extra attacker, which allowed Scheifele (Wheeler) to close out the match by burying an empty-netter with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.

    Statistically, there’s few things the Predators did wrong in this game. They dominated the face-off dot (Nashville won 66 percent of draws) and threw more hits (29-22) even though they easily out-shot Winnipeg 48-19.

    Instead, Nashville’s focus should be on duplicating Fiala’s goal if it wants any chance of besting Hellebuyck and his 47-of-48 (.979 save percentage) in Game 2.

    Speaking of, that contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, April 29. For those that don’t have the pleasure of being in attendance at Bridgestone Arena that night, they may view the game on CBC, NBCSN and TVAS.

  • Preds beat Avs, 5-0, win series, 4-2

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    Nick Bonino and the Nashville Predators reached the top of the mountain in their series with the Colorado Avalanche, defeating their opponent, 5-0, in Game 6 and, 4-2, in the series to advance to the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Predators goaltender, Pekka Rinne, stopped all 22 shots he faced for a shutout in the win, while Colorado netminder, Andrew Hammond, made 32 saves on 37 shots against for an .865 save percentage in the loss.

    For the second game in a row in the series, the Predators got on the scoreboard first. Even after they thought they had scored, but it was waved off.

    With a little over 13 minutes remaining in the first period, Nashville thought they had made it, 1-0, after a puck got past Hammond. But in the eyes of the officials, Kyle Turris was guilty of having interfered with Hammond’s ability to get back and make a save— even though Hammond was outside of the crease and Turris was nudged by Colorado blueliner, Samuel Girard.

    The call on the ice was confirmed after review. No goal. No penalty. No harm, no foul. Except for the loss of a timeout for the Predators, since it was technically a coach’s challenge on behalf of Peter Laviolette.

    Nonetheless, Nashville didn’t back down.

    Just 16 seconds later, Mattias Ekholm (1) fired a slap shot past Hammond and gave the Predators their first legitimate 1-0 lead of the night. Ekholm’s goal was the first by a Preds defender in the series and came as Austin Watson was screening Hammond.

    Colton Sissons (3) and Nick Bonino (2) notched the assists on the goal after Sissons found Ekholm in open ice for the shot.

    A few minutes later, the Sissons-Bonino-Watson line was making waves again for the road team.

    Hammond challenged Sissons and dove to poke check the puck away, but the Avalanche netminder’s futile efforts resulted in Sissons easily wrapping himself around the outstretched goalie with a wide open net to aim for.

    Sissons hit the post, but Watson (4) buried the rebound and Nashville went up, 2-0. Sissons (4) and Bonino (3) each picked up their second assists of the night on the goal at 10:19 of the first period.

    Late in the period, Colorado captain, Gabriel Landeskog was guilty of slashing Predators defender, P.K. Subban. Nashville went on their first power play of the night that would last into the second period, given the official assessment of the penalty at 18:07 of the first period.

    After one period, the Predators led, 2-0. Nashville also led in shots on goal (14-7), blocked shots (8-3) and faceoff win percentage (58-42). Colorado finished the first period leading in takeaways (2-1) and had yet to see any time on the power play. The Preds were 0/1 on the man advantage through 20 minutes played.

    Colorado successfully killed off the minor penalty to Landeskog seven seconds into the second period, but then allowed Filip Forsberg and the Predators to enter the offensive zone on a two-on-one.

    Forsberg (4) sent a laser of a shot past Hammond for his fourth goal of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, 38 seconds into the second period. Nashville went ahead, 3-0, as a result of Forsberg’s unassisted goal.

    Shortly thereafter, Nikita Zadorov was penalized for interfering with Nashville forward, Viktor Arvidsson. Sven Andrighetto swiftly cross checked Arvidsson after the whistle and Arvidsson received a minor penalty for embellishment. Zadorov’s penalty was questionable, considering the timing and where the puck was relevant to Arvidsson, but Andrighetto’s cross check was rather balatant.

    All three penalties were assessed at 6:13 of the second period and the Predators ended up with a power play as a result. Nashville failed to convert on the man advantage.

    Bonino (2) wired one into the twine 13 seconds after the power play concluded for the Preds and gave Nashville a four-goal lead. Calle Jarnkrok (1) and Ryan Ellis (3) had the assists on the goal that made it, 4-0, Predators at 8:26 of the second period.

    Zadorov thought he scored with a little over two minutes remaining in the period, but Carl Soderberg had entered the crease well ahead of the puck and the goal was waved off immediately.

    Avalanche head coach, Jared Bednar, used his coach’s challenge, but the call on the ice was confirmed after review. No goal, no penalty. Colorado lost their timeout. Rinne’s ongoing shutout remained in tact.

    Ellis tripped Mikko Rantanen in a leg-on-leg collision with 29 seconds left in the second period and was promptly jumped by Zadorov after the whistle. In addition to a roughing minor, Zadorov received a ten-minute misconduct at 19:31 of the second period.

    Instead of being on the power play, Colorado ended up on the penalty kill.

    After 40 minutes of play, the Predators led, 4-0, on the scoreboard. Nashville also led in shots on goal (25-16), blocked shots (11-9), hits (28-26), takeaways (3-2), giveaways (3-1) and faceoff win percentage (68-32). The Avs had not been on the man advantage through two periods and the Preds were 0/2.

    Arvidsson (2) caught an aerial pass from Subban at center ice and drove to the net, scoring a highlight reel goal, given his low placement of his hands on the stick (as though it were a mini-stick game in someone’s basement). Subban (3) picked up the only assist on the goal that made it 5-0 Nashville at 2:36 of the third period.

    Colorado’s Mark Barberio interfered with Predators forward, Craig Smith, around the halfway point of the third period. Nashville failed to convert on the ensuing power play.

    At the final horn, the Predators had won the game, 5-0, and led in shots on goal, 37-22. Blocked shots were even at 13 blocked shots apiece. Meanwhile, Nashville finished the night leading in hits (36-30) and faceoff win percentage (63-37). Neither team was successful on their respective special teams play after 60 minutes (Colorado finished 0/1 on the power play and Nashville went 0/3).

    With the First Round series win, the Nashville Predators will play host to the Winnipeg Jets in the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

  • No quit, Avalanche beat Predators, 2-1, force Game 6

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    Andrew Hammond, Gabriel Landeskog, Sven Andrighetto and the rest of the Colorado Avalanche stole Game 5 from the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Friday night. Hammond was making just his first Stanley Cup Playoff start since he did so in 2015 with the Ottawa Senators.

    Oh, and by the way, Hammond was part of November’s Matt Duchene trade. Advantage, Joe Sakic.

    Hammond made 44 saves on 45 shots against for a .978 save percentage in his first NHL win in two years, while Nashville’s netminder, Pekka Rinne, made 25 saves on 27 shots faced for a .926 SV% in the loss.

    Early in the first period, Nashville’s Kevin Fiala tripped up Colorado’s Alex Kerfoot and gave the Avalanche the first power play of the night. Colorado was not able to convert on the ensuing man advantage.

    Both teams swapped chances back and forth, but neither side was able to put a goal on the scoreboard as the first period ended, 0-0.

    J.T. Compher picked up a minor penalty for holding Craig Smith at 20:00 of the first period after the Avalanche failed to touch the puck between when the incident occurred and when time expired. The Predators would begin the second period on their first power play of the night.

    After one period, Nashville led in shots on goal (11-8), blocked shots (10-3), takeaways (4-0) and faceoff win percentage (71-29). Meanwhile, Colorado was 0/1 on the man advantage. Both teams had nine hits aside and four giveaways entering the first intermission.

    Much like the first period, there wasn’t a lot happening in the second period.

    Nashville started the second frame of the game on the power play, but didn’t convert on the man advantage. Both teams then continued to swap chances until things got uneasy towards the end of the period.

    With about three minutes remaining in the second period, Hammond went to play the puck— except he mishandled it. The Predators were not able to capitalize on the Avalanche netminder’s error, but they did sustain the pressure in the offensive zone and got a couple of tremendous rebound opportunities.

    The Preds even had a clear sightline to the puck while Hammond was down, but nobody could get it to hit the twine.

    Finally, at 17:47 of the second period, Nikita Zadorov slashed Predators captain, Roman Josi, and the crowd at Bridgestone Arena went from already elevated (based on the last few minutes of frantic play) to berserk.

    Colorado’s penalty kill, however, was too much to handle for Nashville’s special teams and the score remained, 0-0.

    After 40 minutes of play, Nashville led in shots on goal (25-17), blocked shots (15-8), hits (14-13), takeaways (6-0) and faceoff win percentage (71-29). For the lack of a better word, the Predators were dominating in every possible way, except for on the scoreboard. Both teams had ten giveaways each and neither team had yet to convert on the power play (Colorado was 0/1 and Nashville was 0/2 through two periods).

    Fiala was again guilty of a minor penalty early in the third period— this time for holding Colorado forward, Blake Comeau at 1:39.

    The Avalanche bungled a line change in the midst of their ensuing power play and were penalized for too many men on the ice. Colin Wilson served the bench minor in the box for Jared Bednar’s Colorado crew.

    There would be 20 seconds of 4-on-4 action until the Predators would then see an abbreviated power play. But Nashville’s special teams were to no avail as Hammond stood tall.

    Just past the halfway mark of the third period, Mattias Ekholm sent a shot on Hammond that appeared to rebound right into the pathway of an oncoming Predators forward who looked like he kicked the puck into the open goal.

    That Predators forward was Nick Bonino (1) who was crashing the net on what was not exactly a rebound, but rather a deflection to the open space to the side of the net— though not a good one— by Hammond.

    Bonino’s goal was immediately waved off and reviewed.

    Fans inside Bridgestone Arena began singing “Let It Be” by The Beatles in unison while the refs reviewed the play, which, in hindsight, could’ve been bad if the home fans had any influence on officiating. Maybe don’t sing “Let It Be” if you actually want the call on the ice to be the exact opposite (unless Preds fans were implying the refs to “let [the leg motion] be [called a goal on the ice]”).

    Upon replay, everyone in attendance and watching from home, could see Bonino shifted his leg into a prime redirection motion and kept skating into the puck. Or at least, that might be a loose explanation for something that many fans assumed wouldn’t be reversed given the track record of NHL officiating and review this season.

    But that didn’t happen.

    The call on the ice was reversed and Bonino had scored his first goal of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the assists credited to Ekholm (5) and Austin Watson (3). Nashville was in command of a 1-0 lead at 10:18 of the third period.

    Colorado didn’t let the party in Nashville last too long, though.

    Nathan MacKinnon held onto the puck in the offensive zone for just long enough to get Rinne to overcommit and bump into his own defender, failing helplessly to the ice, while MacKinnon slid a loose puck over to Gabriel Landeskog.

    Landeskog (4) pocketed the loosed puck on the doorstep of the crease into the gapping goal into front of him to tie the game, 1-1, at 15:49. The Avalanche bulldozed Nashville’s momentum.

    MacKinnon (3) and Mikko Rantanen (4) had the primary and secondary assists on the goal and Colorado kept trucking.

    Less than three minutes later— on a similar play— Sven Andrighetto (1) found a rebound and Rinne out of position to score on what was otherwise an empty net and give the Avalanche their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 18:32 of the third period.

    Compher (3) and Tyson Barrie (4) had the assists on Andrighetto’s first goal of the series and suddenly the Predators were facing a loss on home ice in an elimination game.

    Peter Laviolette pulled his goaltender with about a minute remaining in regulation after calling a timeout to instruct his Predators roster what to do as time ticked down.

    It did not matter. Colorado held off elimination for at least one more night.

    At the final horn, the Avalanche had won Game 5 by a score of 2-1 despite being outshot (45-27). Nashville led in blocked shots (18-14), giveaways (14-13) and faceoff win percentage (61-39), but never got as physical as they have in previous games in the series. In fact, Colorado led in hits (17-16) after 60 minutes.

    The Avalanche finished the night 0/2 on the power play, while the Predators went 0/3 on the man advantage.

    For the first time since Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, the Nashville Predators lost a postseason game at home. Not just to anyone, but to the Colorado Avalanche— last year’s worst team in the league that only amassed 48 points on an 82-game regular season.

    But this year’s Avalanche team is different. They had a 47-point increase in standings between last season and this season (tied for 4th best in NHL history) and they’re looking to play spoiler.

    The Predators take a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 on the road Sunday night at Pepsi Center. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 7:00 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the action on NBCSN. Meanwhile, fans interested in watching the game in Canada can do so on Sportsnet or TVAS.

    Dating back to their days as the Québec Nordiques, the Colorado Avalanche are 0-3 lifetime in a series where they have trailed 3-1.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #102- Carolina, Calgary, Vezina and Selke

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #102- Carolina, Calgary, Vezina and Selke

    Nick and Connor discuss Bill Peters’s future as a head coach, what the Calgary Flames should do, who should take home the Vezina Trophy and Selke Trophy, as well as revisit the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights advancing to the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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