Down the Frozen River

Tag: Pittsburgh Penguins

Miller and Brassard lead the Rangers in game 2

The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-2 in game 2. The Rangers were lucky that, Henrik Lundqvist was able to keep his playoff streak of 112 in this game. The Penguins also got a boost as Evgeni Malkin returned to their lineup after missing a lot of time due to injury.

The first period saw chippy play from the opening whistle with Chris Kreider and Patric Hornqvist pushing one another before the game even started. This was a sign of things to come as the Rangers were throwing their weight around.

The Rangers ended the period outhitting the Penguins 22-4. Both teams exchanged chances the best chance of the period went to Derek Stepan, who got a breakaway to only see it turned aside by Jeff Zatkoff.

The second period saw the first goal of the game 3 minutes in as Pittsburgh forward, Phil Kessel scored. The game stayed like this and a big glove save on Rust got the Rangers into the game. Keith Yandle scored on a backdoor play from Derick Brassard and J.T. Miller picked up the assists on the play.

The Rangers continued as they capitalized on a lucky bounce and Brassard put one past Zatkoff. The Penguins challenged the play for offside and they lost on a very close call.

J.T. Miller continued his strong night with his 3^rd assist of the night coming on a backdoor play to Mats Zuccarello with about 3 minutes left in the second period.

The 3^rd period saw the Rangers continue strong play as Chris Kreider got his first goal of the playoffs. Derick Brassard picked up his 3^rd point of the game with an assist on the goal.

The Penguins weren’t going to be blown out as Kessel struck on the powerplay again to cut the lead back down two. Evgeni Malkin picked up an assist on the goal earning his first point of the playoffs in his first game.

J.T. Miller and Derick Brassard both had 3 point nights and were the game changers in my eyes. I joked around in saying J.T. Miller thought he was a point guard tonight creating the plays and racking up the assists. The Rangers were able to hunker down and not allow another goal

Game 3 will be New York Tuesday April 19^th at MSG with the series tied at 1-1.

April 16, 2016
Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s -Metropolitan

Colby’s Corner meets Connor for divisional MVP’s. It will be a four part series, where Connor Keith and I (Colby) will pick, by division, the MVP of the forwards, defensemen and goalies. This week, the two of us will discuss the Metropolitan division.

Connor: Forward – Sid the Kid or Ovi? Sid the Kid or Ovi? Who to choose as the Metro forward MVP?

Personally, I’m leaning towards Crosby. I know, go figure, the Pens fan leans that way. But here’s the thing: Crosby led the Metro in points with his 85, which is 14 more than the Alex Ovechkin. Sure, Ovi has the goals lead by over a dozen, and Crosby doesn’t have the division assists lead (that one actually belongs to Evgeny Kuznetsov). But, the fact that Crosby is a versatile player is what sets him apart. He has the second most goals in the division, and the same is true of assists – hence the points lead. That unpredictability of not knowing whether he’s going to take the shot or dump it off makes him an invaluable weapon.

Colby: Alex Ovechkin

I have to agree with Connor on this one, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were the best two forwards in this division. Although I’m giving advantage to Ovechkin because Crosby had a horrible start to the season and only really turned it on the final few months of the season. I understand that’s a great time to be hot, but I can’t give a season MVP to a player who didn’t do much in the first half of the year.

Not to mention what Ovechkin did this year: he had a 50 goal season and 70 point year also. Yes, he was on the best team in the league, but a lot of the reasons players like Justin Williams and TJ Oshie are successful is because other teams are trying to focus on Ovechkin. This man had a strong season and ended on a hat-trick in his final few games.

Connor: Defender – Ryan McDonagh

I’m not picking him just because he was a star for my fantasy team this season (But seriously though, he was. Like, fifth highest scorer all season, good for the team that won our league’s President’s Trophy.). Of the three candidates I had for this title, he far and away had the best season. His main competition was Olli Maatta, as Maatta had a +27 on the year to McDonagh’s +26. The thing is though, not only does the Blueshirt lead the Penguin in blocks – in my opinion the primary way of gauging a true defenseman’s efforts – but he also helped himself out by scoring 34 points, including nine goals. Even better than that, not only did he take more shots, but he also connected on 1.7% more of those attempts. What a stud.

The other man that had his hat in the ring was Karl Alzner. I sort of hinted at it before, but I like blocks. A lot. Alzner fits that bill, as he has over 60 more than McDonagh, and even scored more points and assists than Maatta, but you simply can’t look past his +14 rating. I know, what a terrible stat. What some teams wouldn’t give to have that consistency. But, it pales to McDonagh and Maatta’s efforts, eliminating him from contention.

Colby: Kris Letang

I am really surprised Connor didn’t pick this Penguin, so I will. Kris Letang may not be my favorite person but he had a solid year. Letang had 51 assists and 67 points on the year. We also can point out he is 3^rd in points by a defenseman. Among those top 3 defensemen, he had the best plus minus of +9. If we gave Erik Karlsson an MVP in Atlantic, we have to consider Letang for Metro. There, I reached my quota for nice comments about the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Connor: Goaltender – Braden Holtby

This one should be a lot easier than I made it, but I think I’m going to have to go with Holtby. I started out with a tough list of five goaltenders to choose from (Marc-Andre Fleury, Thomas Greiss, Holtby, Michal Neuvirth and Cory Schneider), all goaltenders I consider to be very good. Yes, I’m fully aware I did not include Henrik Lundqvist, but I think it’s safe to say that this was not the best season of his incredible career, as the Rangers had 217 goals against, barely below the league average.

Anyways, back to Holtby. There’s obviously the 48 wins to his credit, although with an offense like Washington’s, I don’t think that’s where you fully gauge him. What really sets him apart from Schneider in this instance is his nine losses. Yes, nine, after taking the decision in 64 games. Schneider? 25 losses, only two fewer than his wins (which, just like Holtby, can be partially attributed to New Jersey’s poor offense).

To close things out, I’m most impressed by Holtby’s success given his age. Whether or not you buy into the theory that goaltenders typically peak around the same age, I think it’s safe to assume that experience will improve your game. Schneider is showing that at the ripe age of 29. Holtby is only 26. If he continues improving until that point, God save the Metropolitan Division. Martin Brodeur to Lundqvist to Holtby is definitely not what those teams were hoping for.

Colby: Braden Holtby

I don’t think this is even a question at this point, when you tie the record for most wins in single season and your name is now with Martin Brodeur, you deserve a trophy. He is a big reason the Caps are as good as they are. I think this was a break out year for him and I think after this season you have to consider him an elite goalie in the NHL. He was the best goalie in the whole league and at this point I hope it just translates to the playoffs.

April 16, 2016
Hornqvist’s Hat Trick Helps Penguins Win 5-2, Take 1-0 Series Lead on Rangers

By: Nick Lanciani

Patric Hornqvist tallied a hat trick in the midst of a 4-point night and 5-2 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup. Antti Raanta suffered the loss for the Rangers, having made 16 saves on 19 shots for a .842 SV% in 39:54 time on ice.

Wednesday night’s action was Jeff Zatkoff’s first career NHL playoff appearance and first career Stanley Cup Playoff win. He made 35 saves on 37 shots on goal for a .946 SV%. Zatkoff had a .896 SV% in his last five appearances during the regular season, dating back to January 18^th. He took to the ice for warmups with Tristan Jarry as his backup as Marc-Andre Fleury was unavailable due to his ongoing recovery from a concussion.

New York Rangers goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, was injured late in the 1^st period, after receiving a stick in the eye from his teammate and defenseman, Marc Staal. Lundqvist stayed in the game until the end of the period and made 10 saves on 11 shots against for a .909 SV% through 20 minutes.

During this final minute of play in the first, Patric Hornqvist (1) went hard to the net and received a pass from Conor Sheary (1) and sent the puck past Lundqvist to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead with 17.6 seconds to go in the period. Kris Letang (1) picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

The second period was similar in nature to the first period in that both teams swapped a couple of power play opportunities. Pittsburgh’s special teams weren’t able to capitalize on consecutive penalties to Rangers forwards, Chris Kreider and Dominic Moore, at nine seconds into the period and at 10:02, respectively. Meanwhile, New York’s power play was powerless on Trevor Daley’s tripping penalty with 8:14 to go in the 2^nd.

At 18:56 of the second period, Sidney Crosby snapped a quick wrist shot past Raanta on a breakaway to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Crosby’s first goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs was assisted by Hornqvist (1).

After forty, the Penguins were leading 2-0 on the scoreboard, but trailing 21-18 in shots on goal to the Raners.

Pittsburgh began the third period playing a little catch-up hockey after amassing six penalty minutes just 2:08 into the period. Karl Hagelin was given a four minute double minor penalty for high sticking Rangers forward, Kevin Hayes, while Pittsburgh defenseman, Ian Cole, was sent to the box with a two minute minor for interfering with Eric Staal in front of Zatkoff.

New York was quick to capitalize on their 5-on-3 advantage, with Derek Stepan scooping up a power play goal on the rebound and cut the Penguins lead in half. Stepan’s first of the playoffs was assisted by Rick Nash (1) and Derick Brassard (1). But the Penguins were quick to answer back in a hurry, notching a short-handed goal scored by Tom Kuhnhackl (1) on a two-on-one from Nick Bonino (1) and Kris Letang (2). The goal was Kuhnhackl’s first career Stanley Cup playoff goal and gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.

Patric Hornqvist followed up with a power play goal at 8:02 of the third period with his second of the night, assisted by Phil Kessel (1) and Sidney Crosby (1). Hornqvist poked the puck into the net before Raanta could figure out that it had slid behind him and gave the Penguins a 4-1 lead. Rangers head coach, Alain Vigneault, used his coach’s challenge to review the goal for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice was upheld after Hornqvist had clearly allowed Raanta a chance to play the puck.

With lots of time left in regulation, Stepan netted his second of the night at 10:11 of the third, pulling the Rangers to within two once again. Dan Boyle picked up an assist on the goal. New York had been outshooting Pittsburgh 34-27 at the time of Stepan’s goal to trail 4-2.

Finaly, Patric Hornqvist completed his first career playoff hat trick with under three minutes to go in regulation on an empty net goal. The goal was assisted by Crosby and Trevor Daley. Hornqvist became the first Penguins player to score a hat trick in the team’s playoff opener and the first player to do so for any team since Alexander Mogilny did so with the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 9, 2003, per the NHL’s public relations department.

After 60 minutes of play, the Pittsburgh Penguins rejoiced in a 5-2 win and a 1-0 series lead over the New York Rangers.

This is the seventh time- third straight season in a row- that the Rangers and the Penguins have met in the postseason. New York was 1-2-1 in four games against Pittsburgh during the regular season. Having earned their only win in a 3-0 shutout by Henrik Lundqvist on February 10 at CONSOL Energy Center.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM EST in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and can be seen on NBC, before the series heads up to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday for Game 3.

April 14, 2016
Down the Frozen River Podcast #32- Playoff Predictions

The Down the Frozen River crew (Connor and Nick) present their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff predictions by each round and pick their 2016 Stanley Cup winners. As always, hear about the latest news and notes around the NHL every week on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

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!

April 13, 2016
How the Flyers Got Here (and Where They’ll Go)

Frank Fanelli officially joins Down the Frozen River with his first post and explains what it felt like for Philadelphia Flyers fans heading into this weekend’s action and how far he thinks the Flyers will be able to go in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

By: Frank Fanelli

As the Flyers geared up for their playoff push, for us Flyers fans, it felt like the 2009-2010 season all over again. That season, the Flyers were very shaky- going up and down in the standings battling for a playoff spot with the New York Rangers. In their last 12 games, the 2009-2010 Flyers went 2-10, which was terrible down the stretch, but somehow it all came down to the very last game of the regular season against the Rangers. Philadelphia eventually won 2-1 in a nerve-wracking shootout.

This year is very much just like that year in all aspects of the season. In their first 20 games the Flyers went a disappointing 6-14 to start the season. When I first saw this start to the season I thought to myself “Oh boy, here’s to another disappointing season with no postseason play” I was livid with their start because this year I thought it was going to be so much different.

Well, their mid-season form took to full affect just like always, going back and forth with win after win then a string of loss after loss. It really wasn’t a promising sight. I mean the Flyers were still in contention but I thought nothing of it because they never showed any potential to creep into a playoff spot. Now that has completely changed!

On March 3^rd the Flyers sat at 29-34, just out of a playoff spot and got a huge wakeup call by getting thrashed 4-0 to the mediocre Edmonton Oilers— AT home nonetheless! This, without a doubt in my mind, was a call to action for the Philly squad, coming back the next game and demolishing the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0 and kick started this team’s push to the playoffs.

The Flyers then went on a resurgent 10-7 run in their next 17, leading up to their record at 39-27-13 with 91 points entering Friday— barely hanging on to that last Wild Card spot. From then, I believed the Flyers would make the playoffs because of the way they had been playing lately. They had 3 games remaining on their schedule, against the below average Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins (who are on fire), and a strong New York Islanders team to end their season.

*Editor’s note: The Flyers lost, 4-3, in overtime to the Maple Leafs, and then beat the Penguins and Islanders to cap off their season, if you’ve been under a rock. Although by now, hopefully you know they’re in and the matchups have been determined.*

Prior to clinching, I believed that if the Flyers wanted to make the playoffs, they were going to have to realize they needed to pick up their play! The Flyers would make the playoffs because they have played very solid as a whole team and they would realize this and push to the end.

Philadelphia will play the Washington Capitals, who locked up the President’s Trophy with the best record in the NHL, in the first round of the playoffs. These two teams split the 4-game season series 2-2, with both teams trading wins back and forth. These 4 games were always a constant battle with the Capitals outscoring the Flyers 12 goals to 10. Also 3 of the 4 games were separated by only 1 goal with 2 of the games going past regulation. Philadelphia won both of those games. The Flyers are 110-78-19 overall against the Capitals. Going 2-2 against them in 4 playoff series matchups dating back to 1984, with 3 of the 4 series matchups going to 6 or 7 games!

So clearly the facts are all there for it to be a very close and intense playoff matchup, which any hockey fan will love to watch. I think the Flyers will battle the Capitals in an intense 6 game series favoring the Flyers in the end, but this is where I think their “Cinderella” type season will come to an end.

I just do not see the Flyers making a long run in this year’s playoffs, especially with how hot the Penguins, Lightning, Panthers and even the Rangers have been playing lately. Even with Michal Neuvirth projected to be back in the lineup, ready and healthy for the playoffs. The Flyers simply do not have enough fire power in their offense.

For example, their star captain Claude Giroux through 79 games only had 66 points when he was projected to reach 81. Their second in “command” Jakub Voracek only had 53 points through 70 games when he was originally projected to have 73. These two players are clear examples on why Philadelphia will go out in the second round because they do not have enough offensive prowl.

Let alone their very shaky defense, which has a very hard time scoring as well. Their top scorer, rookie sensation Shayne Gostisbehere, who had an astonishing 43 points in 61 games up to Friday, which ranked 7^th in scoring among rookies. Other than “Ghost” they have no offensive production from their defense, who also can be exploited for a good amount of goals which is very risky.

Michal Neuvirth (Left) with Steve Mason (right) (USA Today Images)

Last but not least their goalies are sub-par to say the least. Their “rock” Steve Mason, as of late, in his last 15 games leading up to Friday, went 9-4-2 with a .950% SV and a 2.10 GAA. He has had to fill in for Neuvirth, because before Neuvirth got hurt, he was basically the starter. So Mason has been a HUGE part of the Flyers success in their recent games, but I do not see Mason being a productive starter in the postseason.

The reason why is because of his measly playoff record, going 2-6 with a .907% and a 3.11 GAA in 8 starts with Columbus and Philly. Even if Michal Neuvirth is able to come back in time (which he is, as of Sunday) for the playoffs— his playoff record is 4-5 with a .914% and a 2.30 GAA in 9 starts with Washington.

Clearly, as you can tell, both of these goalies have proven that neither of them are a reliable playoff starter. With the Flyers low offensive production, shaky defense, and unreliable goaltending, these are just a couple of prime examples as to why the Flyers will bow out in the second round of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

April 10, 2016
Talking About Playoffs!?!?! (Clinching Scenarios)
By: Nick Lanciani

After the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, on Thursday night at TD Garden, the Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3, in overtime— further complicating playoff clinching scenario matters (well, not really). Two key things to remember are 1) each team is ultimately in control of a portion of their own destiny and 2) the formula is simple, just win.

So with that in mind, if you are a Red Wings fan, you either want your team to:

– Win in regulation or overtime versus the New York Rangers on Saturday.

– Win in a shootout against the Rangers and hope that Boston does not win in regulation or overtime on Saturday, OR for Philadelphia to go 1-0-1 or worse in their last two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders (respectively).

– Lose in overtime or a shootout to the Rangers and hope that Boston gets 1 point of less against Ottawa on Saturday, OR for the Flyers to go 1-0-1 or worse in their last two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders (respectively).

Of note, Boston holds the second tiebreaker over Detroit, by virtue of having won the season series against the Red Wings.

If you are a Bruins fan, you either want your team to:
- Win in regulation or overtime against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and
  - Hope that Philadelphia goes 1-0-1 in their last two games to clinch a wild card spot.
  - Hope that Detroit loses to the Rangers in regulation or wins in a shootout against New York (and the Bruins will finish 3^rd in the Atlantic Division).
  - Hope that the Red Wings win in regulation or in overtime against New York (and Boston will finish in the final wild card spot).
- Win in a shootout against the Senators on Saturday and
  - Clinch the wild card spot if Philadelphia goes 1-0-1 in their final two games as the Bruins hold the tiebreaker.
  - Hope that Detroit suffers any type of loss to the Rangers (in regulation, overtime or a shootout) and Boston would finish 3^rd in the Atlantic Division.
- Lose to Ottawa in overtime or a shootout and:
  - Hope Philadelphia would go 1-1-0 (and the Bruins would claim the wild card, based on the tiebreaker of ROW- regulation-plus-overtime-wins).
  - Hope that Detroit would lose in regulation against the Rangers for the Bruins to finish 3^rd in the Atlantic.
- Lose to Ottawa in regulation and:
  - Hope that Philadelphia would lose at least one of their two remaining games in regulation. Detroit would finish 3^rd in the Atlantic win or lose against the New York Rangers, because of their ROW tiebreaker with Boston.
And if you’re a Flyers fan and the following plays out…

A Red Wings loss to the Rangers in regulation or a Detroit win in a shootout over New York, while the Bruins win in regulation, would ensure that the Red Wings would fall to the wild card spot.

At 94 points and 39 ROW Detroit would have to hope that the current 92 point, 36 ROW Flyers go 1-1-0, thereby finishing with 94 points and losing the tiebreaker on ROW.

OR Flyers fans would hope that…

PHI goes 1-0-1, finishing with 95 points and ahead of DET for the wild card, or PHI goes 2-0-0 and finishes with 96 points, thereby ahead of DET for the wild card regardless of the Red Wings result on Saturday.

Finally, as a friendly reminder, Detroit has a 41-29-11 record, totaling 93 points and 39 ROW’s with 1 game remaining this season. Boston is 42-30-9 this season with 93 points and 38 ROW’s with 1 game remaing and Philadelphia is 39-27-14 on the year with 92 points and 36 ROW’s with 2 games remaining.

This weekend is sure to be fun, so you should probably contact those people that invited you to things and tell them you have other plans now.
April 8, 2016
April 2 – Day 170 – Would Barclays give a loan to a penguin?

With three goals in the second period, the Bruins exacted the payback they’ve been wanting to dish to the Blues since December, winning in St. Louis 6-5.

It goes down as a comeback victory for the Bruins, as it was Jaden Schwartz and the Blues that scored first at the 14:04 mark, assisted by Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko (his 31st helper of the season). Boston leveled only 41 seconds later with a Loui Eriksson wrister (his 28th tally of the season), assisted by John-Michael Liles and Zdeno Chara. With 3:25 remaining in the first period, First Star of the Game David Krejci gave Boston the lead, assisted by Second Star Matt Beleskey (his 22nd helper of the season) and Liles. The Bruins‘ 2-1 lead held into the intermission.

5:39 after resuming play, Paul Stastny connected on a backhander for his 10 goal of the season, assisted by Magnus Paajarvi to tie the game at two a-piece. Nine seconds before the halfway point of the period, Beleskey fired a pure slap shot (his 15th tally of the season), assisted by Krejci. Things really began falling apart for the Blues with 4:33 remaining in the period, as Frank Vaatrano fired a snap shot assisted by Lee Stempniak and Ryan Spooner (his 35th helper of the season). The final goal of the second also belongs to Boston, courtesy of Krejci after assists from Torey Krug (his 35th helper of the season) and Eriksson. The Bruins‘ 5-2 lead held to the second intermission.

St. Louis tried to stage a valiant comeback in the first, but to no avail. Their first goal came only 3:56 after returning to the ice from intermission from Robert Bortuzzo, assisted by David Backes and Stastny (his 36th helper of the season). 3:42 later, Alex Pietrangelo connected on a backhander after assists from Third Star Alexander Steen (his 33rd helper of the season) and Troy Brouwer. The eventual game-winner for the Bruins finally found the back of the net at the 16:36 mark on a power play wrister from Patrice Bergeron, assisted by Krug and Krejci (his 43rd helper of the season). It became a game winner because of a goal from Kevin Shattenkirk, assisted by Backes (his 23rd helper of the season) and Brouwer, with only 21 seconds to go, but the Blues were not able to avoid losing 6-5.

Tuukka Rask earns the win after saving 25 of 30 shots faced (83.3%), while Jake Allen takes the loss after saving 4 of 5 (80%). He replaced starter Brian Elliott after during the second intermission after he saved 18 of 23 (78.3%).

Boston‘s win snaps the home winning streak at four games, but the home team still has a 78-44-18 record over the road squads in the DtFR Game of the Day series, leading them by 37 points.

Happy Saturday hockey fans! With only a week remaining, there’s not only a lot of games, but a lot of important ones on the schedule! Today’s action gets underway nice and early at 1 p.m. eastern with two contests (Pittsburgh at the New York Islanders [SN] and Ottawa at Philadelphia [RDS]), with Dallas at Los Angeles (SN1) at 4 p.m. eastern being the only other matinee of the day. Five games drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Detroit at Toronto [NHLN/CBC/CITY], New Jersey at Tampa Bay, Montréal at Florida [TVAS/SN], Buffalo at the New York Rangers [BELL TV] and Columbus at Carolina), with San Jose at Nashville trailing an hour later. Tonight’s co-nightcaps drop the puck at 10 p.m. eastern (Washington at Arizona and Calgary at Edmonton [CBC/SN]).

There’s five divisional rivalries being played today (Pittsburgh at New York, Detroit at Toronto, Montréal at Florida, Columbus at Carolina and Calgary at Edmonton), while three are being contested between playoff qualifiers (Pittsburgh at New York, Dallas at Los Angeles and San Jose at Nashville).

Only one of those games was in both lists, so you know where we’re headed!

Today’s game is Pittsburgh‘s 16th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 7-7-1 record. Their most recent appearance was Sunday, when they won 3-2 in overtime at the other arena in the Big Apple. New York was last featured March 25 when they fell 7-4 in Tampa Bay. That loss set their series record at 2-5-1 in eight appearances.

The 44-25-8 Pittsburgh Penguins are currently the second best team in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the fourth best offense in the league, backed by the seventh best defense. A statistical breakdown of the Pens‘ game can be found within Sunday’s article.

The Penguins are currently riding a four game winning streak, with their most recent being a 5-2 win over the visiting Predators Thursday night. A Pittsburgh win today ensures that the Rangers cannot succeed them for second place in the division for at least another day, as the Pens must plan for New York beating Buffalo.

The 42-25-9 New York Islanders currently rank fourth best in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played a very well rounded game, as they rank 10th best on either end of the ice.

Led by John Tavares’ 237 shots, New York has fired the puck 2261 times, with 9.2% finding the back of the net for 214 goals (led by Tavares’ 29 tallies), the 10th most in the league. The special teams haven’t provided too much help towards that cause, successful on 19.34% of attempts for 41 power play goals (led by Anders Lee’s eight extra man tallies), the 15th worst rate in the NHL.

Even with Calvin de Haan’s 189 blocks, the Islanders have allowed 2295 shots to reach 21-11-4 Thomas Greiss and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.2% for only 196 goals against, the 10th fewest in the NHL. New York‘s true special team strength has been on the penalty kill, where they neutralize 85.51% of their infractions for only 31 power play goals against, the second best rate in the league.

New York enters today’s game riding a three game winning streak, with their most recent being Thursday’s 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. With a win today, the Islanders have a chance to jump the Rangers for second in the division, but they will need some help from the Sabres for that to happen.

Pittsburgh leads the season series 2-1-0 before this deciding Game 4, with the last meeting occurring March 15 in Pittsburgh, a Penguins 2-1 shootout victory.

Some players to keep an eye on include New York‘s Greiss (.924 save percentage [tied for fifth best in the league]) or Jaroslav Halak (2.3 GAA [10th best in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Sidney Crosby (80 points [third most in the league], 48 assists [seventh most in the league] and 32 goals [tied for ninth most in the league]), Marc-Andre Fleury (35 wins [tied for fourth most in the league], five shutouts [tied for fourth most in the league], .921 save percentage [tied for eighth best in the league] and 2.29 GAA [ninth best in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+30 [third best in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+27 [tied for fourth best in the league]).

I know that this game is taking place in Brooklyn, but I’m feeling a Penguins winner today. They are peaking at the right time, and have played just short of unstoppable.

April 2, 2016
March 27 – Day 164 – The Pens have risen

I picked the Lightning to beat the Panthers in yesterday’s Game of the Day. Florida‘s five goals proved me wrong.

Tampa Bay took the initial lead only 5:52 after play on a Tyler Johnson power play wrister, assisted by Nikita Nesterov and Ondrej Palat (his 20th helper of the season). 7:44 later, Vincent Trocheck leveled the score after an assist from Jussi Jokinen, his 41st helper of the season. Third Star of the Game Jaromir Jagr gave the Panthers a lead they would not yield on the power play with 1:58 remaining in the period, assisted by Aleksander Barkov and Second Star Jonathan Huberdeau (his 36th helper of the season). The 2-1 score held into the intermission.

Only one goal was scored in the second frame, and it belongs to Florida. With 4:07 remaining in the period, Jiri Hudler gave the Panthers their third goal, the game-winner, assisted by Alex Petrovic and Nick Bjugstad (his 17th helper of the season).

The score became 4-1 4:02 after resuming play from the second intermission after a Huberdeau wrister, assisted by Barkov and Jagr (his 33rd helper of the season). Tampa finally scored their second goal with 3:12 remaining in regulation when Steven Stamkos connected on a power play wrister for his 36th tally of the season, assisted by Brian Boyle and Nesterov. Jokinen closed the scoring for the evening with 25 seconds remaining, a shorthanded wrister on an empty net for his 17th goal of the season.

First Star Roberto Luongo earns the win after saving 33 of 35 shots faced (94.3%), while Andrei Vasilevskiy takes the loss, saving 22 of 26 shots faced (84.6%).

Florida‘s win sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 74-43-17, favoring the home sides by 33 points over the roadies.

After such a busy Saturday, we need a little break, but the Easter Bunny still brought along three games for our viewing pleasure. The action starts at 5 p.m. eastern when New Jersey visits Carolina, followed by Pittsburgh at the New York Rangers at 7:30 p.m. eastern (NBCSN/TVAS). Finally, Chicago visits Vancouver at 8 p.m. eastern (SN) to round the evening out.

Two of today’s games are divisional rivalries (New Jersey at Carolina and Pittsburgh at New York), and Pittsburgh at New York is the only game between playoff qualifiers.

In addition to the reasons listed above, we’ll head to Madison Square Garden as it is also a rematch of one of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

This will be Pittsburgh‘s 15th appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 6-7-1 record, with their most recent being March 19’s 4-1 win in Philadelphia. New York has been featured 20 times before tonight’s game, and they own a 11-7-2 record in such instances. Their last time featured, they beat the visiting Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday.

The 41-25-8 Pittsburgh Penguins currently occupy third in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. To get to that position, they’ve played the fifth best defense in the league, paired with the 11th best offense.

Led by Ian Cole’s 106 blocks, the Penguins have allowed 2175 shots to reach 32-17-6 Marc-Andre Fleury and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for 182 goals against, the fifth fewest in the league. That success has carried into the penalty kill, where the Pens have successfully defended 83.77% of opposing power plays for only 37 extra man goals against, the seventh best rate in the league. Further improving on that rate, they’ve also scored six shorthanded goals (led by Eric Fehr’s three shorties), one more than the league average.

Led by Phil Kessel’s 236 shots, Pittsburgh has fired the puck a whopping 2408 times, with 8.3% finding the back of the net for 204 goals (led by Sidney Crosby’s 31 tallies), the 11th most in the NHL. The biggest hole for the Pens continues to be their power play, as their 17.45% success rate, good for 41 power play goals (led by the injured Evgeni Malkin’s 11 extra man tallies), the 12th worst in the league.

Pittsburgh‘s last game was yesterday’s 7-2 victory in Detroit. With another road win tonight, Pittsburgh would pull within at least three points of second place in the Metropolitan Division.

The 43-24-8 New York Rangers currently rank second best in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. To get this far, they’ve played the sixth best offense, paired with the 14th best defense. A more in-depth analysis of the Blueshirts‘ game can be found within Wednesday’s article.

The Blueshirts have won their last two games, with their most recent victory being Wednesday over the Bruins. Should the Rangers hold home ice for the win, they will improve their lead over Pittsburgh to six points for second in the division.

Pittsburgh currently leads the season series 2-1-0, but this final game could level the series at .500. These squads met last season in the first round of the playoffs, where the Rangers won the series 4-1.

Some players to keep an eye in tonight’s game include New York‘s Henrik Lundqvist (33 wins [tied for fifth most in the league], .922 save percentage [tied for seventh best in the league] and four shutouts [tied for seventh most in the league]) and Ryan McDonagh (+28 [fourth most in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Crosby (77 points [third most in the league], 46 assists [tied for seventh most in the league] and 31 goals [tied for ninth most in the league]), Fleury (five shutouts [tied for third most in the league] and 33 wins [tied for fifth most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+31 [leads the league]) and Olli Maatta (+27 [tied for fifth best in the league]).

Although New York enters tonight’s home game riding a winning streak, I’m still leaning towards the Penguins, who have been riding a tremendous surge in the past couple months.

March 27, 2016
March 19 – Day 156 – Battle of Pennsylvania

Anaheim heard that the Big Bad Bruins were coming to the Pond and didn’t really seem to be too impressed, beating them with a four-goal shutout.

Within 4:07 of play, Anaheim had a two goal lead. Jamie McGinn scored the first and eventual game winner at the 2:51 mark, assisted by Corey Perry (his 23rd helper of the season) and Ryan Getzlaf. 1:16 later, Ryan Kesler’s wrister found the back of the net, assisted by Andrew Cogliano and Third Star Jakob Silfverberg. However, after those two quick scores, neither team was able to find any other opportunities, giving the Ducks the 2-0 lead going into not only the first intermission, but also the second.

It must be a thing about odd-numbered periods for the Ducks, as only 58 seconds into the final frame Hampus Lindholm’s slap shot found the back of the net after an assist from Getzlaf (his 44th helper of the season). The final goal of the night belongs to Rickard Rakell, as David Perron (his 24th helper of the season) and Lindholm assisted him to his slap shot with 5:32 remaining in regulation to ensure the the Bruins had no hope for a comeback.

First Star Frederik Andersen earns the shutout victory after saving all 38 shots faced, while Jonas Gustavsson takes the loss, saving 22 of 26 (84.6%).

The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 70-40-16, favoring the home sides by 32 points over the roadies.

It’s a busy Saturday in the greatest hockey league in the world, with 11 games being played before the day ends. The day opens with Pittsburgh visiting Philadelphia at 1 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by Carolina at Minnesota. The final matinee occurs at 4 p.m. eastern between the New York Rangers and San Jose. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. brings with it four puck drops (Buffalo at Toronto [CBC/City], Montréal at Ottawa [TVAS/SN], Detroit at Florida [NHLN] and New Jersey at Columbus), with the New York Islanders visiting Dallas an hour later. Two more games drop the puck at 10 p.m. eastern (St. Louis at Vancouver [CBC/SN] and Tampa Bay at Arizona), and Boston at Los Angeles, this evening’s nightcap, goes underway 30 minutes later.

Almost half of today’s games are divisional rivalries (Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, Buffalo at Toronto, Montréal at Ottawa, Detroit at Florida and New Jersey at Columbus), and another set of four are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at San Jose, Detroit at Florida, New York at Dallas and Boston at Los Angeles).

I know we’ve already watched them twice this week, but the Battle of Pennsylvania is beyond the most important game of the day, as it is not only a rivalry, but also another opportunity for the Flyers to get back into the playoffs.

This will be Pittsburgh‘s 14th appearance in the Game of the Day series, and they own a 5-7-1 record in such games. Their most recent appearance was Sunday, when the Pens visited Madison Square Garden and won 5-3. Philly has been featured five times before today’s games, with their most recent being Wednesday’s 3-2 victory in Chicago to set their series record at 4-1-0.

The 38-24-8 Pittsburgh Penguins currently occupy fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the first wildcard spot. To get to that position, they’ve played the seventh best defense, paired with the 11th best offense. A more in-depth analysis of their game can be found within Sunday’s post.

Pittsburgh comes into today’s game riding a two game win streak, with their most recent being their 4-2 win over the Hurricanes on Thursday. A win today paired with an Islanders loss propels the Pens into the third division spot, but a loss could leave them with only one point of wiggle room between them and the second wildcard.

The 34-23-12 Philadelphia Flyers are currently the fifth team in the Metropolitan Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference, making them the first team outside the playoffs. To get to that position, they’ve played the 13th best defense, but its been paired with the 10th worst offense.

Even with Nick Schultz’ 142 blocks, the Flyers have allowed 2130 shots to reach 17-15-8 Steve Mason and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.9% for 185 goals against, the 13th fewest in the league. The success has not continued to the penalty kill, as Philly has only neutralized 80.09% of their infractions for 46 power play goals against, the ninth worst rate in the NHL.

Led by Claude Giroux’ 196 shots, Philadelphia has fired the puck a whopping 2115 times, with 8.5% finding the back of the net for 181 goals (led by Wayne Simmonds’ 25 tallies), the 10th fewest in the league. More effective has been the power play, where the Flyers are successful on 18.72% attempts for 44 extra man goals (led by Simmonds’ 11 power play tallies), the 15th best rate in the league.

Philadelphia is also riding a winning streak, although it is only two games, with their most recent being their 3-2 victory in Chicago on Wednesday. A win tonight paired with a Detroit loss would propel the Flyers back into the second wildcard position.

These squads have met only once so far this season, with Pittsburgh hosting the Flyers to a 4-3 victory on January 21.

Some players to keep an eye on include Philadelphia‘s Michal Neuvirth (.925 save percentage [fifth best in the league] and 2.28 GAA [10th best in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Sidney Crosby (72 points [fifth in the league] and 31 goals [ninth in the league]), Marc-Andre Fleury (five shutouts [tied for second most in the league] and 30 wins [tied for sixth most in the league]), Chris Kunitz (+28 [fourth in the league]) and Olli Maatta (+24 [tied for seventh in the league]).

It is my opinion that Pittsburgh should win this game. In addition to already earning a victory against the Flyers, they are simply the better team.

March 19, 2016
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: they 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 16^th 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 deadline 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 18, 2016