Down the Frozen River

Tag: Philadelphia Flyers

  • Colby’s Corner: I Believe I Can Flyer

    By: Colby Kephart

    Whether you like the title or not, in this article I will be discussing the last wildcard spot in both the Eastern and Western conferences. Most teams are down to the final 10 or so games in the season and it’s make-or-break time.

    The Eastern Conference is up first, and there are four teams who are playing this thing down to the end. These teams are: Pittsburgh Penguins, 82 pts; Detroit Red Wings 81pts; Philadelphia Flyers, 80 pts, and Carolina Hurricanes 75 pts. The two Pennsylvania teams are my pick to hold these wildcard spots until the end. I don’t think the Penguins will play that badly down the stretch to have to really worry. Even though Detroit has a one point ahead of the Flyers, I see the Flyers taking and not giving up that last spot.

    The Flyers have been playing really good hockey at the moment: theyPhiladelphia Flyers Logo are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. They are doing all this without a key member of their team, Jakub Voracek, who has missed the team’s last 9 games. They have been able to do this because of a great play from Brayden Schenn, Michael Raffl and stellar rookie Shayne Gostisbehere. Schenn is having a career year with 24 goals and 24 assists, for a 48-pt total, including a huge goal Wednesday, March 16th versus the Chicago Blackhawks. 

    The Carolina Hurricanes are a far stretch, but it is still possible for them. Overall, I think both Carolina and Detroit will be on the outside looking in as the season concludes, ending Detroit’s playoff streak.

    The Western Conference is much clearer to me as two teams, the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche, are battling out for the final wildcard. The Avalanche have 76 pts and the Wild have 75 pts. These two teams will battle to the wire, I feel.

    I am going to pick Colorado on this side, I feel they added better at the Colorado Avalanche Logodeadline and I think it will pay off in the long run. I think Colorado would also be in a much better position if all their goalies weren’t hurt every other game this season.

    Even though I picked Colorado, I think Minnesota is playing better hockey at the moment. Ever since they fired Mike Yeo, the team stormed out the gate and put them in position to battle for this spot. I picked Colorado at the beginning of the season and I am sticking with them. I think Minnesota will regret not firing Yeo sooner, and I think they will join him in spending the offseason golfing while Colorado is still playing hockey.

  • March 16 – Day 153 – Fly off to Chicago

    In yesterday’s Game of the Day, Philadelphia used a quick two goals in the first seven minutes of play to propel them to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Red Wings.

    The Flyers‘ first tally found the back of the net at the 5:41 mark, scored on a First Star of the Game Michael Raffl backhander after assists from Mark Streit (his 14th helper of the season) and Nick Schultz.  Only 1:14 later, a Wayne Simmonds wrister crossed the goal line, assisted by Brayden Schenn and Claude Giroux (his 40th helper of the season).  The two goal shutout lead held into the first intermission.

    Detroit got one back only 2:14 into the second period when Andreas Athanasiou’s wrister squeezed past Steve Mason, assisted by Riley Sheahan and Gustav Nyquist (his 22nd helper of the season), but the Flyers returned their lead back to two scores with Raffl’s second of the night (12th tally of the season), assisted this time by Second Star Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde.  Scoring subsided until the 14:21 mark when Third Star Pavel Datsyuk earned Detroit‘s second goal, assisted by Tomas Tatar (his 22nd helper of the season), but once again Philadelphia had an answer, as Shayne Gostisbehere scored his 16th goal of the season, the eventual game winner, with 1:06 remaining in the frame to set the score at 4-2 going into the intermission.

    The lone goal of the third was scored by Tatar with 3:46 remaining in regulation, assisted by Datsyuk (his 26th helper of the season) and Mike Green, but they were unable to level the game.  With that win, Philadelphia pulls within a point of Detroit for the second wildcard spot with two games in hand.

    Mason earns the win after saving 34 of 37 shots faced (91.9%), while Petr Mrazek takes the loss, saving 42 of 46 (91.3%).

    With the second straight home victory, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 68-39-16, favoring the home squads by 30 points over the roadies.

    Usually Wednesdays have only two or three games – not tonight! There’s six games taking place this evening, starting with Montréal at Buffalo at 7 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by Philadelphia at Chicago on NBCSN.  St. Louis at Edmonton is the next game to drop the puck at 9:30 p.m. eastern, and two more follow half an hour later (Colorado at Vancouver and Winnipeg at Calgary).  Finally, the New York Rangers visit Anaheim at 10:30 p.m. eastern as this evening’s nightcap.

    Montréal at Buffalo is the only divisional game being played this evening, and New York at Anaheim is the only contest between teams current playoff qualifiers.

    I know we just watched them last night, but the game we’re most interested in here at the home office is the Philadelphia–Chicago matchup, as a surging Flyers teams catches the Blackhawks at arguably their worst play all season.  And it’s nationally broadcasted, which is always a plus!  To the Windy City we go!

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoUnknown-2

     

     

     

     

    Tonight’s game is Philadelphia‘s fifth in the Game of the Day series where, after last night’s contest, they have a 3-1-0 record.  Chicago has been featured a league-high 20 times before tonight’s game, and own a 10-8-2 record in such games.  Their most recent was their 5-2 loss in Dallas on March 11.

    The 33-23-12 Philadelphia Flyers currently occupy fifth place in the Metropolitan Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference, making them the first team left out of the Eastern playoff bracket.  To get to that position, they’ve played the 15th best defense, but its been backed by the ninth worst offense.  A more in-depth analysis can be found within yesterday’s article.

    Yesterday’s win is the main reason Philadelphia is being featured again today, as simply forcing overtime tonight propels the Flyers past the Red Wings for the second wildcard position.

    The 41-23-6 Chicago Blackhawks currently occupy third place in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference.  They’ve certainly earned that position, as they’ve played the seventh best defense paired with the eighth best offense.  A more in-depth analysis of the Hawks‘ game can be found within Friday’s article.

    Chicago is currently riding a three game losing skid, with their most recent being their five goal shutout loss on home ice to the Kings.  During this span, the Hawks have lost their conference lead and are now only five points removed from the first wildcard spot.

    Chicago already visited Philadelphia this season, but it wasn’t exactly a fun affair, as the Flyers won with a three goal shutout.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Patrick Kane (89 points [leads the league], 51 assists [second most in the league] and 38 goals [second most in the league]) and Philadelphia‘s Michal Neuvirth (.925 save percentage [fifth best in the league]) should he play.

    It is hard to tell how this game will go.  Philadelphia is playing the best they’ve played all season, and the Hawks are riding one of their longest losing skids all season.  Overall, Chicago is certainly the better team, but I don’t know if tonight is the night they get headed back in the right direction.

  • March 15 – Day 152 – Qualification battle

    The Panthers entered the third period with a two goal shutout lead, but the Islanders scored three unanswered goals to earn the win in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    The lone goal in the first period found the back of the net with 4:49 remaining in the frame, courtesy of a Third Star of the Game Aleksander Barkov wrister (his 22nd tally of the season), assisted by Alex Petrovic and Jonathan Huberdeau.

    8:03 into the second, Florida struck again to double their lead.  This tally was a Nick Bjugstad wrsiter, assisted by Barkov and Huberdeau (his 34th helper of the season).  The Panthers held their 2-0 lead until 7:10 remained in regulation.

    Second Star Kyle Okposo’s wrister finally got New York on the board, assisted by Frans Nielsen (his 26th helper of the season) and Travis Hamonic.  1:21 later, Josh Bailey leveled the contest with a wrister, assisted by John Tavares (his 29th helper of the season) and Casey Cizikas.  The Isles‘ game winner came courtesy of an unassisted First Star Cal Clutterbuck backhander, his 13th tally of the season.

    Thomas Greiss earns the win after saving 23 of 25 shots faced (92%), while Roberto Luongo takes the loss, saving 25 of 28 (89.3%).

    The first home win since Friday sets the DtFR Game of the Day series record at 67-39-16, favoring the home squads by 28 points over the roadies.

    It’s an exciting Tuesday of games this evening!  The action gets started at 7 p.m. eastern as usual with two games (the New York Islanders at Pittsburgh and Carolina at Washington), with four games following half an hour later (Detroit at Philadelphia [NBCSN], Tampa Bay at Toronto, Florida at Montréal and Minnesota at Ottawa).  8:30 p.m. eastern brings with it the puck drop of the Los Angeles at Dallas contest, and this evening’s nightcap, Boston at San Jose, gets going at 10 p.m. eastern on NBCSN.

    Half of tonight’s (New York at Pittsburgh, Carolina at Washington, Tampa Bay at Toronto and Florida at Montréal) and three are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at Pittsburgh, Los Angeles at Dallas and Boston at San Jose).

    While that list is usually helpful, the game I’m most interested in is Detroit at Philadelphia, as both of these squads are competing for the second wildcard.

    UnknownPhiladelphia Flyers LogoTonight’s game will be Detroit‘s 10th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 6-2-1 record.  Their most recent appearance was the last day of February, a 3-2 overtime victory in Dallas.  Philadelphia has been featured three times before tonight’s game, and own a 2-1-0 record in such games, with their most recent being their 3-1 loss in Carolina on February 23.

    The 34-24-11 Detroit Red Wings currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wildcard position.  To get to that position, they’ve played the 15th worst defense, paired with the eighth worst offense.

    Led by Danny DeKeyser’s 92 blocks, the Wings have allowed 2037 shots to reach  26-14-6 Petr Mrazek and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for 182 goals against, the 15th most in the league.  The defense slightly improves when down a man, as their 80.7% kill rate, which has allowed 44 power play goals so far this season, ranks only 11th worst in the NHL.

    The offense has been even worse.  Led by Dylan Larkin’s 184 shots, Detroit has fired the puck 2055 times, but only 8.3% have found the back of the net for 173 goals (led by Larkin’s 20 tallies), the eighth fewest in the NHL.  The power play hasn’t done them any help either, as the 16.96% success rate, good for 38 power play goals (led by Pavel Datsyuk’s seven extra man tallies), ranks seventh worst in the league.

    Detroit‘s last game was Sunday night, a one goal shutout loss at home to the Maple Leafs.  A win tonight has the potential to propel the Wings back into the first wildcard position should Pittsburgh fall to the Islanders but a loss allows Philadelphia to pull within at least a point of qualifying for the playoffs in Detroit‘s place.

    The 32-23-12 Philadelphia Flyers currently occupy fifth place in the Metropolitan Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference, making them the first team outside the playoff cut.  They play the 14th best defense, but it is paired with the ninth worst offense.

    Even with Nick Schultz’ team leading 136 blocks, the Flyers have allowed 2067 shots to reach 16-15-8 Steve Mason and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for 180 goals against, the 14th fewest in the NHL.  Philadelphia‘s penalty kill has been even worse than the Wings‘, neutralizing only 79.65% of their penalties for 46 power play goals against, the ninth worst rate in the league.

    Led by Claude Giroux’ 190 shots, Philly has fired the puck a solid 2040 times, but only 8.4% have found the back of the net for 174 goals (led by Wayne Simmonds’ 24 tallies), the ninth fewest in the league.  In comparison to the overall offense, the Flyers‘ power play has been decent, successful on 18.94% of attempts, good for 43 power play goals (led by Simmonds’ 11 extra man tallies), the 13th best success rate in the league.

    Philadelphia‘s last showing was their 5-4 shootout loss in Florida on Saturday.  With a win tonight, they pull within at least a point of this evening’s opposition for the second wildcard position.

    This is only the second meeting between these two squads this season, with the first game on January 17 ending 2-1 in favor of Philadelphia after a shootout.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Detroit‘s Mrazek (2.17 GAA [tied for fifth best in the league] and .925 save percentage [tied for fifth best in the league]) and Philadelphia‘s Michal Neuvirth (.925 save percentage [tied for fifth best in the league]) should he play.

    The Flyers should be able to win this evening’s game, as both teams field terrible offenses, but Detroit‘s defense is much more prone to allowing scores.  The Broad Street Bullies are still alive for the playoffs!

  • TRADE: Hurricanes trade Versteeg to Kings

    By: Nick Lanciani

    The Carolina Hurricanes made their second trade of the day late on Sunday when they dealt forward Kris Versteeg to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Valentin Zykov and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    Unknown-3Versteeg is a 29-year-old native of Lethbridge, Alberta who has played for the Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs throughout a nine-year NHL career. He is a winner of two Stanley Cups with Chicago in 2010 and 2015.

    This season, Versteeg has played in 63 games with the Hurricanes, scoring 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) and notching 36 penalty minutes. In 535 career NHL games he has 308 points (127 goals, 181 assists), a plus-16 rating and 311 penalty minutes.

    He was a fifth round draft pick (134th overall) of the Boston Bruins in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but never has appeared in a Bruins jersey. Versteeg has played in 84 Stanley Cup Playoffs games in his career and has 16-26-42 totals, as well as 66 penalty minutes during that time.

    Carolina Hurricanes LogoZykov is a 20-year-old right winger who was in his first professional season with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL). He had 7-7-14 totals in 43 games played for the Reign prior to the trade.

    The 6’0″, 209-pound native of St. Petersburg, Russia spent three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with Baie-Comeau and Gatineau, amassing 84-100-184 totals in 162 career games. Zykov was a second round pick (37th overall) of the Kings in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and was the QMJHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2012-2013 after scoring 75 points (40 goals, 35 assists) as a 17-year-old.

    Internationally, Zykov has represented Russia in several tournaments, including the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship. Zykov will likely be assigned to the Charlotte Checkers.

    No salary was retained in the trade.

    The Hurricanes travel to New Jersey to take on the Devils on Tuesday night, while the Los Angeles Kings and their new addition, Kris Versteeg, face the Montreal Canadiens at home on Thursday night from the Staples Center.

     

  • NHL Trades Since January 1, 2016

    NHL Trades Since January 1, 2016

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Here’s a quick recap (and I mean really quick recap- more like a brief refresher) of every trade made in the league since January 1st. For anything before the 2016 calendar year, check out NHL.com’s Trade Tracker.

    This year’s trade deadline is Monday, February 29, 2016 (in other words- tomorrow). All trade calls must be made by 3:00 PM EST on Monday in order for any deal to potentially go through.

    On January 3rd, the Chicago Blackhawks traded F Jeremy Morin to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for F Richard Panik.

    January 6th saw two trades made across the league with the Philadelphia Flyers having traded F Vincent Lecavalier and D Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for F Jordan Weal and a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    That same day, the Columbus Blue Jackets acquired D Seth Jones and sent F Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators in a one-for-one trade.

    The Anaheim Ducks traded F Max Friberg to the Montréal Canadiens in exchange for G Dustin Tokarski on January 7th.

    On January 8th, the New York Rangers dealt F Emerson Etem to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for F Nicklas Jensen.

    The league saw several days off from trade action until January 14th when the Nashville Predators acquired D Patrick Mullen from the Ottawa Senators for D Conor Allen.

    January 15th witnessed two trades in the NHL, first with the Nashville Predators trading D Victor Bartley to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for D Stefan Elliott. This trade became part of the now infamous, John Scott trade, in which the Coyotes then traded D Victor Bartley and F John Scott to the Montréal Canadiens for D Jarred Tinordi and F Stefan Fournier.

    On January 16th the Pittsburgh Penguins traded F David Perron and D Adam Clendening to the Anaheim Ducks for F Carl Hagelin.

    The Chicago Blackhawks sent D Ryan Garbutt to the Anaheim Ducks for F Jiri Sekac on January 21st.

    Then on February 9th the Toronto Maple Leafs sent D Dion Phaneuf, F Matt Frattin, F Casey Bailey, F Ryan Rupert and D Cody Donaghey to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for D Jared Cowen, F Colin Greening, F Milan Michalek, F Tobias Lindberg and a 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    February 21st played a part in the day that the Toronto Maple Leafs traded F Shawn Matthias to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for D Colin Smith and a 4th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs followed up with another trade on February 22nd, sending D Roman Polak and F Nick Spaling to the San Jose Sharks for F Raffi Torres, a 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

    That same day (February 22nd) the Calgary Flames acquired F Hunter Shinkaruk from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for F Markus Granlund.

    The Washington Capitals sent a 3rd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for D Mike Weber on February 23rd.

    On February 24th the Edmonton Oilers traded the rights to RFA D Philip Larsen to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a conditional 5th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    The Winnipeg Jets traded F Andrew Ladd, F Matt Fraser and D Jay Harrison on February 25th, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for F Marko Dano, a 1st round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional 3rd round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft (if the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2016).

    The Chicago Blackhawks then traded D Rob Scuderi to the Los Angeles Kings for D Christian Ehrhoff on February 26th.

    Not to be outdone, the Montréal Canadiens sent F Tomas Fleischmann and F Dale Weise to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for F Phillip Danault and a 2nd round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft also on February 26th.

    February 27th began a long list of trades, first with the Edmonton Oilers sending G Anders Nilsson to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for G Niklas Lundstrom and a 5th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    Next the Toronto Maple Leafs traded G James Reimer and F Jeremy Morin to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for G Alex Stalock, F Ben Smith and a conditional 4th round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft (can become a 3rd round pick in 2018 if the Sharks reach this year’s Stanley Cup Final).

    The third trade on February 27th sent D Jakub Kindl from the Detroit Red Wings to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 6th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    The Calgary Flames then sent F Jiri Hudler to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and a 4th round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. 

    Also on the 27th, the Edmonton Oilers acquired a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and sent D Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    The sixth trade of the day saw the Oilers send F Teddy Purcell to the Florida Panthers for a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    Finally, the last trade on February 27th witnessed the Buffalo Sabres trade F Jason Akeson, F Phil Varone, D Jerome Gauthier-Leduc and a conditional 7th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for D Michael Sdao, F Eric O’Dell, F Cole Schneider and F Alex Guptill.

    On February 28th the Carolina Hurricanes dealt F Eric Staal to the New York Rangers in  exchange for F Aleksi Saarela, a 2nd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    The New York Rangers traded F Ryan Bourque to the Washington Capitals in exchange for F Chris Brown.

    In the third trade of February 28th, the Carolina Hurricanes acquired F Valentin Zykov and a conditional 5th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and sent F Kris Versteeg to the Los Angeles Kings.

    Finally, the Washington Capitals closed out trading on February 28th by sending F Brooks Laich, D Connor Carrick and a 2nd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for F Daniel Winnik and a 5th round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft (previously acquired from the Anaheim Ducks).

     

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #26- More 2016 Trade Deadline Previews

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #26- More 2016 Trade Deadline Previews

    The Down the Frozen River crew takes a look at whether teams in the Eastern Conference should sell, sell, sell or buy, buy, buy this year at the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline. The bottom five teams in the conference as of mid-day Thursday are explored in depth, as well as some other potential buyers and sellers. Loui Eriksson’s future is also discussed.

    This week’s episode got a little delayed by all the trades that happened between recording, editing and uploading this podcast, so sorry for being a little late. Stay tuned for next week’s show, but until then, hear what they have to say about the latest news and notes from around the NHL in this week’s #DTFRPodcast.

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!

  • TRADE: Capitals acquire Weber from Sabres

    By: Nick Lanciani

    On Tuesday evening the Washington Capitals acquired pending UFA defenseman Mike Weber from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a third round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    Washington Capitals LogoWeber is a 28-year old stay-at-home defenseman who had one goal and four assists in 35 games with Buffalo this season. He also had 32 penalty minutes as a Sabre in that same timespan.

    Since he entered the NHL in the 2007-2008 season with the Sabres, Weber ranked first among Buffalo skaters in hits (917) and blocked shots (666). The product of the second round (57th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft was drafted by the Sabres and had spent his entire career with the organization until this trade.

    Buffalo Sabres LogoThe 6’2″, 217-pound, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native served as an alternate captain for Buffalo during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons, playing in a career high 68 games during the 2013-2014 season.

    Weber established a career high in goals (4), assists (13) and points (17) in the 2010-2011 season. In 341 career NHL games with the Sabres, Weber registered 9-44-53 totals and 409 penalty minutes.

    He has one assist in seven career NHL playoff games going all the way back to Buffalo’s first round exit to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    The Sabres retained 50% of Weber’s remaining salary.

    Washington hosts the Montreal Canadiens on home ice on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center while Buffalo will take on the Anaheim Ducks on the road at the Honda Center. Weber is expected to join his new team and may be in the lineup as early as Wednesday’s night’s matchup with the Habs.

  • February 23 – Day 131 – Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina Canes: A lesson on alliteration

    A whopping nine goals were scored in yesterday’s Game of the Day, and the San Jose Sharks scored two-thirds of them to beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3.

    Second Star of the Game Tomas Hertl was responsible for the first tally of the evening, assisted by Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski (his 29th helper of the season) at the 4:44 mark.  5:34 later, Hertl scored again on Ryan Reaves’ five-minute major, assisted by Joonas Donskoi (his 17th helper of the season) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.  The score extended to 3-0 with a tip-in power play goal from First Star Logan Couture, who was assisted by Thornton (his 41st helper of the season) and Brent Burns.  The Blues got one back with 2:24 remaining in the period when David Backes scored a power play goal of his own, assisted by Jaden Schwartz and Third Star Vladimir Tarasenko, for his 15th tally of the season.  The 3-1 score held to the intermission.

    11:25 after resuming play, Tarasenko scored his 29th tally of the season to get St. Louis within a goal, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Jori Lehtera.  That energy was short-lived though, as Couture scored his second of the night only 20 seconds later, assisted by Melker Karlsson and Vlasic (his 27th helper of the season), which ended up being the game winner.  The 4-2 score held into the third period.

    Thornton extended the differential back to three goals with an unassisted backhander at the 7:26 mark, his 13th tally of the season.  2:24 later, Jay Bouwmeester’s slap shot found the back of the net after being assisted by Tarasenko (his 25th helper of the season) and Lehtera.  The final goal of the game was en empty netter compliments of a Thornton backhander, assisted by Couture, to set the score at the 6-3 final.

    Martin Jones earns the win after saving 25 of 28 (89.3%), while Jake Allen takes the loss after saving 15 of 17 (88.2%) in his first action since being on the Injured Reserve for nearly two months.  He replaced starter Brian Elliott (12 for 15, 80%) after 12:59 of play, who sustained a lower-body injury after the Sharks‘ third goal severe enough to send him to the dressing room.

    After tonight’s game, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 58-31-12, favoring the home squads by 31 points over the roadies.

    It’s a busy Tuesday schedule in the greatest hockey league in the world, with nine games taking place.  The action gets started at the usual 7 p.m. eastern starting time with two contests (the New York Rangers at New Jersey and Philadelphia at Carolina), followed half an hour later by three more (Nashville at Toronto, Columbus at Detroit [NBCSN] and Arizona at Tampa Bay).  The next phase of games drop the puck at 8 p.m. eastern (the New York Islanders at Minnesota and Dallas at Winnipeg), with Ottawa at Edmonton trailing an hour behind.  Finally, Calgary at Los Angeles, this evening’s nightcap, drops the puck at 10:30 p.m. eastern.

    Four of tonight’s games are divisional matchups (New York at New Jersey, Philadelphia at Carolina, Dallas at Winnipeg and Calgary at Los Angeles), and none feature two teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.

    The game I’m most interested in actually features no teams currently qualifying for the playoffs, but two teams with postseason aspirations.

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoCarolina Hurricanes Logo

     

    This will be Philadelphia‘s third time featured in the Game of the Day series, and their first appearance since October 21, a 5-4 overtime win in Boston.  The Flyers also won their first appearance, so they own a perfect 2-0-0 record in our series.  Carolina has been featured three times before this evening, and own a 0-1-2 record in such games.  Their most recent was a 2-1 shootout loss in Montréal on February 7.

    The 26-21-11 Philadelphia Flyers currently occupy seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference.  They’ve played the 15th-worst defense in the league and, to make matters worse, have scored the fifth-fewest goals.

    Even with Nick Schultz’ team-leading 119 blocks, the Flyers have allowed a whopping 1844 shots to reach 13-15-7 Steve Mason and. co., of which a solid 92.1% have been saved for 158 goals against, 15th-most in the league.  Philadelphia has done well at even-strength, but rank seventh-worst in the league on the penalty kill, where they’ve neutralized only 78.82% of their penalties for 43 extra-man goals against.

    The offense ranks even worse, although it isn’t for a lack of effort.  Led by Jakub Voracek’s 171 shots, the Flyers have fired the puck 1751 times, but only 8.1% have found the back of the net for 144 goals (led by Wayne Simmonds’ 21 tallies), fifth-fewest in the league.  In comparison, Philadelphia has been moderately successful on the power play, as they’ve connected on 18.23% of their extra-man opportunities for 35 power play goals (led by Simmonds’ 10 power play goals), 13th-worst in the league.

    Philadelphia‘s last game was a 5-4 overtime victory in Toronto on Saturday.  A win tonight in Raleigh will propel the Flyers past the Canes in the standings and, if paired with a New Jersey loss, would position them as first-team-out for the Eastern Conference playoffs.  Should they lose and Ottawa win, they would fall back to 12th in the conference.

    The 27-23-10 Carolina Hurricanes enter the night sitting in sixth in the Metropolitan Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference.  Similar to Philadelphia, they play a slightly below-average defense paired with a lackluster offense.

    Thanks in part to Ron Hainsey’s 93 blocks, the Canes have allowed only 1578 shots to reach 17-12-7 Cam Ward and co., of which 90.5% have found the back of the net for 160 goals against, 14th most in the league.  Although the defense as a whole has not played as well, they certainly clamp down on the penalty kill, where they rank 12th-best, killing 81.88% of opposing penalty kill for only 27 extra-man goals against.

    Led by Jeff Skinner’s 171 shots, Carolina has fired the puck 1819 times, of which 8.1% have found the back of the net for 148 goals (led by Skinner’s 21 tallies), seventh-fewest in the league.  Too bad for Carolina, this special team has not been as effective, as they only connect on 17.49% of extra-man opportunities for 32 power play goals (led by Justin Faulk’s 12 extra-man tallies).

    Carolina‘s last game was a 4-2 loss to the Lightning on Sunday.   Should the Hurricanes win this evening, they could move ahead of New Jersey for ninth in the Eastern Conference if they fall to the Rangers.  Should Carolina lose, they would swap spots with the Flyers regardless of Ottawa‘s result.

    Philadelphia may lead the season series 3-0-0, but it hasn’t been anywhere near as dominant as that record would imply.  The Canes have taken the Flyers to overtime in all three of those games, with their most recent meeting ending 4-3 in Philly on December 15.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Carolina‘s Jordan Staal (38 points, of which 23 are assists [17 of those were at even-strength and two short-handed], 114 hits and a +9 [all lead the team]) and Philadelphia‘s Michal Neuvirth (.93 save percentage [tied for league lead] and 2.17 GAA [tied for sixth-best in the league]).

    These teams are very evenly matched for each other, made evident by their previous meetings.  Given Philadelphia‘s ability to get the winner against the Canes in the past, I think I’m leaning towards the Flyers, but wouldn’t be surprised if the game required more than 60 minutes of play.

  • Colby’s Corner: No, McDavid Can’t Win the Calder

    Hockey Hall of Fame
    Hockey Hall of Fame

    I hope everyone is ready for a rant, as I have been reading speculation around the Calder Memorial Trophy this year. The Calder is given to the rookie of the year, and with the high level of talent from the rookies this year, the race will go to the end of the season. If I were to rank the top five rookies today, they would go as followed.

    1. CHI Artemi Panarin G 22 A 35 GP 60
    2. DET Dylan Larkin G 19 A 20 GP 57
    3. PHL Shayne Gotisbehere G 12 A 22 GP 40
    4. AIZ Max Domi  G 17 A 24 GP 58
    5. BUF Jack Eichel G 17 A 24  GP 60

    DNQ: Connor McDavid G 10 A 17 GP 23

    Artemi Panarin deserves to win the Calder this year; this man has 57 points thus far this season. At his current points-per-game pace, it has him around the high 70’s this season for a rookie. Yes, I understand that he is on the best team out of all of the rookies and he plays with Patrick Kane, but you can’t argue with the point total. The second closest players in points are Max Domi and Jack Eichel with 41.

    Dylan Larkin is second because of the impact he has for Detroit. This team has rallied around him in hopes of keeping the playoff streak alive. Another reason is because of his phenomenal plus-minus stat: plus 21 on the season. This is incredible and shows how dynamic his game is, both offensively and defensively.

    Another name that might surprise a few (and shouldn’t) would be Shayne Gotisbehere of the Flyers. He makes my list at number three because of his 16-game point streak and his 34 points by a defenseman in just 40 games played. He has been a great change for Philly and I think the longer his game streak continues, I could see him jumping past Larkin at the number two spot.

    Max Domi and Jack Eichel round out my final five as they are both tied on points. I placed Domi above Eichel because he has the same amount of points in two fewer games. Sorry Sabres fans, don’t hurt me.

    Now for the rant section. Connor McDavid did not qualify in my book and it is not his fault at all. When he broke his collarbone and missed all those games, I wrote him off as all of you should have, but most didn’t. I understand the kid was the first overall pick and he is very talented, but you can’t give a rookie of the year to a player who can only play 45 games on the season. He has great numbers with 27 points in 23 games played, but the Oilers only have 22 games left.

    Unless McDavid can put up 60 points in 45 games, I don’t see how you can reward a player who didn’t play most of the schedule. Players like Eichel and Panarin who haven’t missed a game deserve to be rewarded for that. Injuries are part of the game and the challenge is staying healthy all year long. If McDavid had only missed 10-15 games I would allow him in the race, but he missed 30 plus games and that doesn’t deserve the Calder. Sorry, kid.

    I think my ranking from 2-5 will change, but I don’t see Panarin losing the top spot, as he has a 16 point lead over everyone. If you disagree and want to tell me why, shoot me a message or comment.

  • Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Tampa Bay Lightning

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Many teams chose to retire (or honor) jersey numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status. With that in mind, what will retired numbers look like around the league in the future? Let’s explore what each team around the NHL might do in the coming seasons for former and/or current players that should see their numbers raised to the rafters someday.

    Feel free to speak your mind and drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

    Unknown-1Tampa Bay Lightning

    Current Retired Numbers- None

    Recommended Numbers to Retire

    4 Vincent Lecavalier

    Prior to being bought-out by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2013, Vincent Lecavalier was crucial to the heart and soul of the franchise. Lecavalier’s leadership and craft left quite an impact on the Lightning, having won a Stanley Cup in 2004 with the franchise. Throughout Lecavalier’s storied career he has had eight 60-points- or more- seasons, all with Tampa, as he has recently battled a rash of injuries and healthy scratches with the Philadelphia Flyers.

    Regardless, Lecavalier remained faithful to the Lightning during his time in Tampa. Rumors had swirled and a trade was nearly complete in 2009, that would have sent him to his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, but Lecavalier was determined to stay in Tampa for the rest of his career. He wore number 4 with the Lightning out of respect for two of his all time favorite players- Montreal’s Jean Béliveau and Boston Bruins defenseman, Bobby Orr.

    In Tampa, he made number 4 his own. When the time comes for Lecavalier to call it quits, the Lightning will undoubtedly call it quits on using the number 4 and raise it to the rafters of Amalie Arena.

    The 1st overall selection of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the first success story of all things regarding scouting and player development in Tampa and preceded the 1st overall selection, ten years later, that is the current face of the Lightning- and another center- Steven Stamkos.

    26 Martin St. Louis

    St. Louis spent so much of his career proving people wrong about size in hockey. When many were calling for the sport to get bigger, taller, and quite possibly stronger (by default), Martin St. Louis with his 5’8” frame and dominated the game in so many underrated ways. We all know how much of a stale taste was left in the mouths of everyone after the way he left Tampa, but we all know that Lightning fans would be the first to welcome him back for his number retirement ceremony. I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long before number 26 is hanging from the rafters of Amalie Arena.

    The native of Laval, Quebec did not disappoint over the years. In fact, in the years after winning the Cup in 2004, St. Louis put up some even more impressive regular season scoring numbers. It’s too bad we only got to see this phenomenal advocate of the game play in 9 Stanley Cup Playoffs out of his 17-year career. St. Louis was always the underdog you’d root for, because his foundation of class was taller than anyone else on the ice at all times. His clutch performances with the New York Rangers in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, although ultimately disappointing in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, will never be forgotten.

    19 Brad Richards

    Richards spent the most amount of time with the Tampa Bay Lightning in his entire career and would surely receive consideration for retiring his number in Tampa, where his game stood out better than any other place he’s been since. While his connection between the Lightning and everything he did for them is surely fading, it is important to remember how much of a role he played for Tampa on the road to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship.

    Until this year, Brad Richards held many playoff records for the Lightning. His 12-14-26 totals in 23 games played in the 2004 playoffs were never seen before by the franchise and not replicated until Tyler Johnson had 13-10-23 totals in 26 games played in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Ultimately the question that will be asked when considering retiring the number 19 in Tampa will look something like this- does being a valuable member of the franchise’s first championship, merely a little more than a decade in existence, translate into having your number retired regardless of how the rest of your career panned out?

    91 Steven Stamkos

    There is little question that number 91 will be retired one day by the Lightning. That is as long as they can keep Stamkos around long enough. The only thing that might put retirement celebrations on hold in Tampa is the looming contract extension agreement that may or may not still occur between Steven Stamkos and the Lightning. Again, as long as they have him for longer than the seven years he’s already been with the club, his number is a shoe in someday to be retired by the organization.