Down the Frozen River

Tag: Roman Josi

  • Sharks Score 5 in the 3rd for 5-2 Win in Game 1

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe San Jose Sharks rallied in the third period on Friday night to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on home ice in Game 1 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Martin Jones made 29 saves on 31 shots against for a .935 SV% en route to the win, while Pekka Rinne made 33 saves on 36 shots against for a .917 SV% in the loss.

    Friday night began just the third postseason meeting between the Sharks and the Predators in Stanley Cup Playoff history. San Jose defeated Nashville in five games in the first round in both the 2006 and 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals. Heading into Game 1, Nashville defeated San Jose two out of the three times they played one another during the regular season.

    Craig Smith was out of the lineup for Nashville and Eric Nystrom was in his place instead.

    Almost five minutes into the first period, Melker Karlsson shot the puck wide of the goal that had just been dismounted by a crashing Predators defenseman. The play was reviewed to determine if the puck would have gone in the net, had it not been knocked off of its moorings. After some deliberation, the refs determined there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the ice, which was no goal, and thus the game remained scoreless.

    Karlsson would be involved yet another situation with a ref when he was called for tripping Nashville’s Filip Forsberg at 10:52 of the first period. The Preds were unable to convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    After twenty minutes of play, the Predators were leading in shots on goal (12-11) and giveaways (5-4), while the Sharks led in hits (18-14), takeaways (7-4) and blocked shots (7-3). Both teams won nine faceoffs in the first period.

    Matt Nieto put Nashville on the power play early in the second period when he was given a minor penalty for tripping Colin Wilson 2:45 into the 2nd.

    Just as the power play was about to expire, Mike Fisher capitalized on the man advantage with his 2nd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fisher’s goal was assisted by Ryan Johansen (3) and Mattias Ekholm (1) at 4:33 of the 2nd period and gave the Predators a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.

    Almost a minute later, Eric Nystrom provided San Jose with their first power play of the night when he was sent to the penalty box for interfering with Brenden Dillon. The Sharks first attempt on the power play was unsuccessful and yielded no results.

    With 40 minutes in the books, Nashville led 1-0 and led in blocked shots 15-11. But for not having played since April 22nd in Game 5 against Los Angeles, the Sharks were beginning to find their legs and led in shots on goal (25-22), hits (36-20), faceoff wins (23-19), giveaways (14-8) and takeaways (11-4) after two periods. Nashville had last played in Game 7 against Anaheim on Wednesday night and began to show signs of fatigue compared to the well-rested Sharks by the end of two.

    UnknownJust 50 seconds into the 3rd period Ryan Johansen took a holding penalty for tying up Sharks captain, Joe Pavelski, sending San Jose on their second power play of the game.

    Tomas Hertl beat Rinne with a wrist shot at 2:37 of the third period on the power play for his 2nd goal of the playoffs and tied the game at 1. Joel Ward (5) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2) picked up the primary and secondary assists on Hertl’s PPG.

    With a clear swing in momentum, Ward led a breakout a little past halfway in the third period that resulted in a breakaway and a dangle that led to a backhand goal past Rinne and 2-1 lead for San Jose. Ward’s first goal of the postseason was assisted by Joonas Donskoi (2) and Norris Trophy finalist, Brent Burns (7), at 11:49 of the 3rd.

    Calle Jarnkrok was sent to the sin bin for catching Donskoi with a high stick at 15:20 of the third period and the Sharks went to work once again on the ensuing power play. Twenty seconds on the man advantage was all it took for Logan Couture to receive a pass from Pavelski and fire a backhand behind Pekka Rinne. Couture’s 2nd goal of the playoffs gave San Jose a 3-1 lead with under five minutes remaining in regulation. Pavelski (2) and Burns (8) picked up the assists.

    When there was less than three minutes remaining in the game, Nashville head coach, Peter Laviolette motioned for Rinne to abandon his net in exchange for an extra attacker. It almost worked in the short run, as Johansen took a puck off his face that deflected past Martin Jones and pulled the Preds to within one at 18:11 of the third period.

    The Predators trailed 3-2 with Johansen’s 2nd goal of the 2016 postseason, assisted by Roman Josi (4) and Colin Wilson (4), however they could not keep the Sharks away from pressing in the closing minutes.

    Logan Couture found the back of the empty twine just 20 seconds after Johansen scored to put the Sharks back up by two goals. Couture’s 2nd goal of the night and 3rd of the playoffs was unassisted at 18:31 of the period. Tommy Wingels added another empty net goal at 19:10 of the third period to cement the 5-2 victory for San Jose in Game 1. The goal was unassisted and was Wingels first goal of the playoffs.

    For the last 50 seconds of the game, Carter Hutton replaced Rinne in net for Nashville in a message that Laviolette was clearly trying to send to his team that they can’t allow five goals in the third period and expect to win (or over rely on their netminder, for that matter).

    San Jose tied a franchise playoff record for most goals in a period with their five goal outburst in the third on Friday night. They had also scored five goals in the 2nd period of a 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinal game at Los Angeles.

    After the final horn, nearly every skater on the ice participated in some face washing, resulting in numerous penalties to be handed out, officially at 20 minutes of the third period. Roman Polak picked up two roughing minors, while Barret Jackman notched a 10 minute misconduct and two roughing minors himself. As well, Colton Sissons was handed two roughing minor penalties of his own at the conclusion of the game.

    With their pleasantries exchanged, the Sharks went on to celebrate their win in Game 1, while the Predators sulked off the ice, soundly beaten.

    San Jose finished the night leading in shots on goal (38-31), hits (42-32), faceoff wins (34-29), giveaways (18-13) and takeaways (15-6), while Nashville ended the night leading in blocked shots (25-15). The Predators were 1/2 on the power play in Game 1 and the Sharks finished 2/3 on the man advantage.

    Game 2 is on Sunday night at 8 PM EST at the SAP Center in San Jose, California and can be seen on NBCSN in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

  • Nashville at Anaheim – Game 7 – Rinne stands tall, Preds advance

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    Pekka Rinne saved all but one of his shots faced to lead his Predators to a Game 7 2-1 victory in Anaheim.

    Colin Wilson scored the first goal of the night at the 6:19 mark on an unassisted backhander.  Mattias Ekholm started the play in Nashville‘s defensive zone.  After collecting the puck along the near boards, he flipped it through the neutral zone to Wilson at the far blue line.  Mike Fisher entered the zone with him and split the defensemen while trying to collect a pass from Wilson, but the trio ended up skating past, leaving Wilson the opportunity to collect, advance towards the crease and score over Frederik Andersen’s glove hand.

    Probably the most impressive feat of the period was actually Anaheim‘s defense, as they held the Predators off the board even through two overlapping penalties that caused a 40 second 5-on-3.

    No, it continued to be the even-strength goal chances that bit the Ducks.  With 4:07 remaining in the frame, Paul Gaustad scored his first goal of the playoffs after assists from Shea Weber and Viktor Arvidsson.  As Anaheim was unable to score in the remainder of the frame, Nashville took a two-goal lead into the dressing room.

    Arguably the strongest measure of Nashville‘s early success is the face-off dot, as they were victorious on 63% of puck drops.

    The first real opportunity of the second period was for the Ducks on a delayed penalty against Roman Josi, but David Perron was unable to both corral the puck and put it past First Star of the Game Rinne.  The ensuing power play only yielded three shots, including a Jamie McGinn attempt that ricocheted off the crossbar of a wide open net.  Nashville actually committed three penalties during the frame, but the Ducks were not able to capitalize.

    Once again, it was the Predators defense that stood tall.  Through two periods, Nashville had 18 blocks to their credit to Anaheim‘s nine, meaning that Rinne had faced only 22 shots.  In total, Josi had a game-leading seven blocks by the time the clock read zero.

    Second Star Ryan Kesler finally got the Ducks on the board at the 1:45 on a carryover power play from the second.  His slap shot was assisted by Jakob Silfverberg and Hampus Lindholm.  It was a tic-tac-toe play, as Lindholm passed to Silfverberg behind the net, who immediately centered the puck into the crease for Kesler to score, but that was all the Ducks had in them as they lost 2-1.

    It didn’t help that they didn’t play very aggressively.  The game almost effectively ended on a delayed penalty against the Ducks, as the Predators worked the clock for almost an entire minute before the play was ruled dead.  Although they put up a good fight during the remaining minute or so, Rinne continued his stellar night to secure the win.

    Rinne ended the night saving 36 of 37 shots faced (97.3%), while Andersen takes the loss, saving 18 of 20 (90%).

    With that win, Nashville earns a spot in the Western Conference Semifinals and a date with the San Jose Sharks.  That series will begin at 10:30 p.m. eastern on Friday, April 29.  Those games can be watched on NBCSN, SN or TVAS.

  • Nashville at Anaheim – Game 2 – Smith leads the Preds to a two-game lead

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    On Craig Smith’s two point night, the Nashville Predators have taken a two-game lead over the Anaheim Ducks by winning 3-2 before making the trip to Music City.

    Andrew Cogliano opened the scoring with 5:40 remaining in the opening frame with an unassisted backhander, but they couldn’t hold that lead into the intermission, as Mattias Ekholm, assisted by Colin Wilson and Smith, leveled the score on a backhander with 56 seconds remaining in the frame.

    Both sides certainly had their opportunity to find more offense, as a total of five penalties were committed for three power plays (favoring Nashville by a lone advantage).

    Smith liked being involved in the scoring, so he gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at the 9:55 mark on a wrister, assisted by Filip Forsberg and Third Star of the Game Roman Josi.  Josi passed the puck to Forsberg, who pulled the net behind John Gibson’s net.  As Smith advanced towards the crease, Forsberg put the puck on his stick, allowing Smith to find the left post.  Things leveled out following that tally, as neither team was able to effect that score.  With 2:30 remaining in the second period, David Perron was sent to the box for interference against Ryan Ellis, which proved to be costly, as Shea Weber’s slap shot, assisted by Josi and Forsberg, found the back of Gibson’s net at the 19:21 mark to set the differential at two tallies, and proved to be the eventual game winner.

    With 2:42 remaining in regulation, Second Star Nate Thompson’s backhander, assisted by Jakob Silfverberg and Cogliano made things interesting, as he connected to pull the Ducks within a goal.  But, even with the extra attacker from pulling Gibson, Anaheim was not able to defend their home ice and level the game.

    Although this was a fun, tight game to watch according to the scoreboard, the true story was being played out along the boards.  79 total hits were thrown in the game, with the majority (47) thrown by the losing Ducks, who also sat in the box three times as long as Nashville.

    First Star Pekka Rinne earns the victory after saving 27 of 29 shots faced (93.1%), while Gibson takes the loss, saving 24 of 27 (88.9%).

    These teams will meet up again in Nashville on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. eastern.  That contest can be viewed on SN360, TVAS2 or USA.

  • Predators Stun Heavily Favored Ducks in Game 1 at Honda Center

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Pekka Rinne, and the usual suspects for the Nashville Predators when it comes time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, stunned the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of their series, emerging victorious on road ice, 3-2. Rinne made 27 saves on 29 shots against for a .931 SV% while picking up the win, as Anaheim’s goaltender, John Gibson made 30 saves on 33 shots against for a .909 SV% in the loss.

    Gibson had appeared in four Stanley Cup Playoff games heading into Friday night at the Honda Center, having gone 2-2 with a 2.70 GAA, and entered the night as the regular season’s tied-for-2nd best goaltender in goals-against-average with St. Louis Blues goalie, Brian Elliot, with a 2.07 GAA behind only Tampa Bay Lightning goalie, Ben Bishop’s 2.06 GAA.

    UnknownJames Neal started the scoring for Nashville 35 seconds into the first period and gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with some help from Ryan Johansen.

    The Predators and Ducks then swapped minor penalties about four minutes apart nearly seven minutes and eleven minutes into the opening frame, with Nashville forward, Mike Ribero, being sent to the box for hooking at 7:08 and Anaheim defenseman, Simon Despres, sent to the sin bin for high sticking at 11:24 of the first period. Neither team was successful on their first power play opportunities of the night.

    At 16:15 of the first period, Nashville’s Anthony Bitetto was called for holding the stick of Ducks forward, Nate Thompson, giving Anaheim a power play. Less than 40 seconds later, the Ducks went on a two-man advantage with star defenseman, Shea Weber, going to the box for cross checking David Perron.

    Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf capitalized on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play with his first playoff goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs assisted by Cam Fowler and Corey Perry at 17:39 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. Shots on goal were even at 12-12 after the first twenty minutes of play and the Ducks were leading in hits (16-12), faceoffs (17-9) and giveaways (7-2), while the Predators led in takeaways (1-0) and blocked shots (8-4).

    The second period started with another quick goal, however, it was scored this time Anaheim Ducks forward, Ryan Kesler, to give the Ducks their first lead of the night at 2-1, 48 seconds into the 2nd. Kesler’s goal was assisted by Andrew Cogliano (1) and Hampus Lindholm (1).

    UnknownNashville responded to Anaheim’s goal with a goal from Colin Wilson at 7:55 of the 2nd period, with help from Ryan Ellis (1) and Roman Josi (1) to tie the game, 2-2.

    Both teams continued to swap chances as the rest of the second period went on and after forty minutes of play the Predators were leadings in shots on goal 25-20, takeaways (3-1) and blocked shots (12-11). Anaheim, on the other hand, led in faceoffs (26-17) and giveaways (12-6) after forty. Both teams had 27 hits aside.

    Twenty-five seconds past halfway in the third period, Filip Forsberg shot the puck towards Gibson and it appeared to have deflected off of Anaheim’s Shea Theodore and wound up behind Gibson. Forsberg’s fluke goal proved to be the game winner, as the Ducks could not answer the Predators tally, despite trailing 3-2 with almost half a period left in regulation.

    Anaheim used their timeout with 1:51 remaining in the game and had pulled their goaltender, but it was to no avail. Nashville kept the puck out of their zone and forced the Ducks to recover and retreat.

    After sixty minutes of play, the Nashville Predators had won 3-2 and took a 1-0 series lead on the home ice advantage, Anaheim Ducks. The Preds ended the game with 33 shots on goal compared to the Ducks 29. Nashville also led in hits (33-31) and blocked shots (20-17), while Anaheim dominated the faceoff dot (42-27), giveaways (20-11) and went 1/4 on the power play. The Predators failed to convert on all three of their power play opportunities and tied the Ducks in takeaways (5-5).

    This is just the 2nd time that the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators have met in a Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. The previous series between these two teams was back in the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals, where Nashville went on to win the series in six games (4-2). That same series was the first playoff series win in the Predators franchise history, before succumbing to the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals.

    Game 2 of this year’s 2016 Western Conference Quarterfinal between Anaheim and Nashville is slated for Sunday at 10:30 PM EST on NBCSN, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, before swinging to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for Game 3 on Tuesday.

  • Colby’s Corner Divisional MVP’s- part 2

    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 a goalies. This week, the two of us will discuss the Atlantic Division.

    Forward

    Connor– Patrick KaneUnknown-2

    I’m sure this was unexpected.  You know, it was a stretch with his league leading 103 points, composed of the second most goals (44) and third most assists.  It’s too bad the Hawks don’t have anyone else on their team…  Right…  These Blackhawks are really good, which almost makes Kane’s incredible numbers even better since he has such competition.

    Colby– Patrick Kane

    I don’t think it’s a question that this has to be given to Patty Kane. This man knew that this year he had to step up after losing Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad, well he sure did that. This man is one of the first Americans to ever hit 100 points in a single season. The game he hit 100 points in against the Bruins was pure destruction. He finished with 3 goals and an assist. This man can’t be stopped, only slowed down. Hopefully this continues in the World Cup of Hockey, so the United States stands a good chance in it.

    Defender

    Connor– Colton Parayko

    I know, leave it to the Blues fan to pick Parayko. Hear me out, though. I’m usually against picking rookies for these sorts of things, just because I think a few years of experience gives us a better gauge of what to expect.  That being said, this kid has a +29 on the entire season. Think about that. That doesn’t just lead his entire team, or even just all Central defenders, but is best in the division, regardless of position. He’s gotten to that position by scoring 33 points and blocking 115 shots. If he can continue this success, he could quickly become one of the top defensemen in the entire NHL.

    Colby– Roman JosiUnknown

    Okay Connor, you are nuts with this one. Parayko isn’t even going to be a finalist for Calder. I am not picking him for this division. I have to give it to Roman Josi. This man is 4th in points of defenseman with 61 points. Connor, that’s 28 points ahead of your man up there. He may be a minus on the season, but the difference is the team he has with him. James Neal isn’t Vladimir Tarasenko and it’s ultimately him and Weber out there playing defense. Josi is also 1oth in goals scored by defenseman. This was a good break out season, but I am taking Josi for my pick.

    Goaltender

    Connor– Brian Elliott

    This one is tough, as there is such a disparity in games played between the top two goaltenders in this division. That being said, Brian Elliott, who has played in 37 games for a 21-7-6 record, is deserving of this honor. With four shutout victories, he has a 93.2% save percentage and a 2.00 GAA, both tops in the league, for 24 quality starts (.706 QS%)Unknown-1

    Corey Crawford actually leads Elliott in a few stats, including wins and winning percentage, shutouts, and quality starts, but he also has 20 more games played to his advantage. Elliott has had to fight both injuries and Jake Allen for the starting job, which makes his efforts even more special.

    Colby– Corey Crawford

    It’s funny you mention Crawford because he is my pick for the goaltender MVP of this division. Just like you said, he edges Elliott including wins with Crawford having 35 wins thus far on the season. You look at it as fewer games giving Elliott an advantage, I disagree. Part of the NHL is staying healthy and Elliott couldn’t do that, just like he can’t keep the number one job there in St. Louis. Jake Allen and Elliott have split time and that proves he’s not good enough to keep the number one slot. If you want to bring Crawford’s backup Darling in this, remember Darling won Chicago a playoff, something neither goalie in St. Louis has done yet. Sorry Connor. Rant over.

  • March 17 – Day 154 – New York. Nashville. Nice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • February 27 – Day 135 – Goin’ Country

    Tampa Bay only needed one goal to win in New Jersey in yesterday’s Game of the Day, but they scored four to ensure the victory.

    Alex Killorn provided the game-winner, a wrister after 15:36 of play.  He was assisted by Second Star of the Game Steven Stamkos (his 22nd helper of the season) and Ryan Callahan.

    The first of two insurance goals in the second period found the back of the net at the 13:02 mark, courtesy of a Third Star Ondrej Palat wrister assisted by Tyler Johnson (his 16th helper of the season).  Stamkos scored his 27th goal of the season with 1:06 remaining in the second, assisted by Anton Stralman and Ryan Callahan.  The 3-0 Bolt lead held into the second intermission.

    The final goal of the game was struck at the 11:12 mark, scored by Matthew Carle, who was assisted by Palat and Andrej Sustr (his 14th helper of the season).

    First Star Ben Bishop earns the win after saving all 21 shots he faced, while Cory Schneider takes the loss after saving only 32 of 36 (88.9%).

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 60-33-12, favoring the home squad by 31 points over the roadies.

    We’ve got an exciting lineup of games taking place today, as 18 teams are in action.  The first puck drop is at 1 p.m. eastern, when Arizona visits Philadelphia.  Three games get started at 3 p.m. eastern (St. Louis at Nashville, Winnipeg at Pittsburgh and Florida at Columbus), followed an hour later by the New York Rangers at Dallas (NHLN).  Toronto visits Montréal at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern, trailed an hour later by Detroit at Colorado (NBC), the last outdoor game of the season.  When the clock strikes 10 p.m. eastern, the Ottawa at Calgary game will commence, trailed an hour later by this evening’s nightcap, Buffalo at Los Angeles.

    Two of tomorrow’s games are divisional rivalries (St. Louis at Nashville and Toronto at Montréal), while three are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (St. Louis at Nashville, New York at Dallas and Detroit at Colorado).  The Arizona at Philadelphia game is also the first return of Nicklas Grossmann back to the Wells Fargo Center since being traded in June.

    The game that sticks out most from those lists is the St. Louis–Nashville game, as win by the Predators would pull them within six points of the third-place Blues.

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    Tonight’s game will be St. Louis‘ 14th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 7-5-1 record.  Their most recent showing in the series was Monday’s 6-3 loss on home ice to the Sharks.  Nashville won their most recent game in the series, a 3-1 victory in Chicago on Thursday.  That win set their series record at 3-3-1.

    The 35-19-9 St. Louis Blues currently sit in third place in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.  It has been the defense that has earned that position, as it ranks ninth-best in the league, because the offense’s 157 goals is the 11th-fewest.  A more in-depth analysis of the Notes‘ game can be found within Monday’s post.

    St. Louis is currently riding a two-game losing skid, with their most recent being a 2-1 home loss to the Rangers on Thursday.  With a win this afternoon, the Blues pull into a tie with Chicago for second place in the division, but remain in third due to losing the games played tiebreaker.

    The 30-21-11 Nashville Predators currently occupy fourth-place in the Central Division and sixth in the Western Conference, good enough for the top wildcard spot.  They’ve achieved that position by playing a balanced game, with the 13th-best defense and the 14th-best offense.  A more in-depth analysis of Nashville‘s game can be found within Thursday’s article.

    The Preds are currently riding a three-game winning streak, with their most recent being their 3-1 victory in Chicago on Thursday.  While a win would pull them within six points of the Blues for third place, it more importantly maintains at least a three point lead over the Avalanche in the race for the higher wildcard spot.

    St. Louis has already won the season series 4-0-0 (winning the most recent meeting 1-0 on February 2), and given their current streak, will be very interested in completing the season sweep.  That being said, the Predators are playing some of the best hockey they’ve played all season, so they will not go down easily.

    Some players to keep an eye on in this afternoon’s game include Nashville‘s Roman Josi (44 points, 14 of which were power play assists, and 145 blocks [all lead the team]) and Shea Weber (11 power play goals and 133 hits [both lead the team]) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (five shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] and 2.17 GAA [seventh-best in the league]) and Vladimir Tarasenko (29 goals [sixth-most in the league]).

    Similar to their last meeting, I’m predicting a low scoring game.  The Blues‘ defense will easily take care of Nashville‘s scoring threats, but will probably find it difficult to score themselves.  That being said, I think the Blues can complete the season sweep.

  • February 25 – Day 133 – The Predator becomes the prey

    Although the scoring differential was a bit larger than I had predicted, the Boston Bruins did in fact beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in yesterday’s Game of the Day, by a score of 5-1.

    The first and only goal of the first period came at the 16 minute mark, courtesy of a First Star of the Game David Pastrnak wrister.

    The winner was another Pastrnak wrister, this time 3:12 after resuming play, his eighth tally of the season.  Only 55 seconds later, Tom Kuhnhackl earned a tip-in goal, assisted by Oskar Sundqvist and Trevor Daley (his 15th helper of the season), to get the differential back to a single score.  The 2-1 score held into the second intermission.

    Although Boston already had the game-winning goal in their back pocket, it was really three goals in under five minutes in the third period that ended this game, the first of which was scored at the 10:34 mark courtesy of a Jimmy Hayes tip-in, assisted by Ryan Spooner (his 30th helper of the season) and Third Star Adam McQuaid.  The second of the period found the back of the net at the 14:26 mark with a Landon Ferraro snap shot, assisted by Dennis Seidenberg (his 10th helper of the season), followed 1:01 later by Brad Marchand’s wrister (his 31st goal of the season), assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron.

    Second Star Tuukka Rask earns the win after saving 41 of 42 shots faced (97.6%), while Marc-Andre Fleury takes the loss by saving 24 of 29 (82.8%).

    After the second home in in a row, the homers have a 35 point lead over the roadies, as the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 60-31-12.

    It’s an exciting Thursday in the NHL, with 10 games taking place.  The first two drop the puck at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern (Minnesota at Philadelphia and New Jersey at Columbus), followed half an hour later by another couple of games (Carolina at Toronto and Arizona at Florida).  The third pairing of games drop the puck at the 8 p.m. eastern mark (the New York Rangers at St. Louis and Nashville at Chicago [NBCSN]).  The remaining four games all start by themselves, starting with Winnipeg at Dallas at 8:30 p.m. eastern, then the New York Islanders at Calgary half an hour later.  Ottawa at Vancouver begins at 10 p.m. eastern, and Edmonton at Los Angeles, acting as this evening’s nightcap, starts at half past 10.

    Four of tonight’s games are between division rivals (New Jersey at Columbus, Nashville at Chicago, Winnipeg at Dallas and Edmonton at Los Angeles), and two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (New York at St. Louis and Nashville at Chicago).  Lastly, Nashville at Chicago is also a rematch of one of last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinal matchups.

    Seeing as it qualifies for all three of those groups previously listed, it is hard to take our attention off the Predators–Blackhawks game!

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    Tonight’s game is Nashville‘s seventh in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 2-3-1 record.  Their most recent showing under our observation was a 4-3 overtime loss in Tampa Bay on February 12.  Chicago has been featured a series-high 19 times, and own a 10-6-2 record in such games.  Their most recent game in the series was February 17, a 5-3 victory in Madison Square Garden.

    The 29-21-11 Nashville Predators currently occupy fourth place in the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference, good enough for the top wildcard spot (which some could argue is very advantageous, seeing as they would avoid their highly competitive division foes until the Conference Finals).  The Predators have played a solid game to get them to that position, allowing the 13th-fewest goals and scoring the 15th-most.

    Thanks in part to Roman Josi’s team-leading 144 blocks, only 1617 shots have made their way to 22-18-9 Pekka Rinne and co., of which 90.8% have been saved for only 157 goals against, 13th-fewest in the NHL.  That effort slacks slightly on the penalty kill, as the Preds‘ 79.68% kill rate ranks 12th-worst, allowing 38 power play goals against.  That number is slightly improved though, when taking into account Nashville‘s six shorthanded goals.

    Led by James Neal’s 191 shots, Nashville has fired an incredible 1848 shots, and 8.4% have found the back of the net for 159 goals (led by Filip Forsberg’s 23 tallies), 15th-most in the league.  That offense has been spearheaded by the Predators‘ power play, with a 19.7% success rate for 39 goals (led by Shea Weber’s 11 extra-man tallies), which ranks 12th-best in the league.

    Nashville is currently riding a two-game win streak, with their most recent being a 3-2 victory in Toronto.  While potentially drawing within eight points of third place in the division is nice, a win this evening more importantly separates the Predators from the Avalanche by three points for the top wildcard spot.

    The 38-19-5 Chicago Blackhawks currently sit in second place in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.   To get to that position, they’ve played a top-five offense paired with a top-10 defense.

    Patrick Kane leads the way for the Hawks, accounting for 219 of the team’s 1913 shots, 9.1% of which have found the back of the net for 176 goals (led by Kane’s 35 tallies), fourth-most in the league.  The squad’s potency only increases when they have the man-advantage, as they connect on 22.63% of their opportunities for 43 power play goals (led by Kane’s 14 extra man goals), the second-best success rate in the league.

    The defense is only a step behind.  Even with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 115 blocks, 1911 shots have found their way to 32-15-3 Corey Crawford and co., 92.5% of which they’ve saved for only 148 goals against (seventh-fewest in the league).  The biggest whole in Chicago‘s game is their penalty kill, which neutralized 79.89% of their penalties for 35 power play goals against, 13th-worst in the league.  That being said, the Hawks‘ seven short-handed goals do make that rate a little bit more manageable.

    Chicago‘s most recent game was a 6-1 loss in Minnesota on Sunday.  In addition to securing second place for another day, a win also has the chance to propel Chicago to the top of the division and conference should Dallas lose in regulation.  A loss does put the Hawks at risk for falling to third, should the Blues beat the Rangers.

    Chicago has already won the season series, going 3-1-0 in the four previous games played.  These squads last met January 19 in Music City, where the Hawks won 4-1.

    This game is also another rematch of one of last season’s Western Quarterfinals.  As we know, Chicago won that series and every other one they were a part of en route to a Stanley Cup championship, but it did take the Hawks six games to defeat Nashville.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Crawford (seven shutouts [leads the league], 32 wins [second-most in the league] and .928 save percentage [tied for third-best in the league]), Kane (84 points [leads the league], 49 assists [second-most in the league], 35 goals [second-most in the league] and +21 [tied for sixth-best in the league]) and Artemi Panarin (57 points [seventh-most in the league]) & Nashville‘s Josi (44 points, 14 of which are power play assists, and 144 blocks [all lead the team]), Neal (+16 and 191 shots [both lead the team]) and Weber (11 power play goals and 133 hits [both lead the team]).

    Sometimes life isn’t fair.  For the Nashville Predators and their fans, this evening is one of those times.  The Chicago team they are facing is, plainly, just too good.  Nashville should consider themselves lucky if they escape the United Center with even a point.

  • February 12 – Day 120 – Wild card showdown

    Even though they gave up two goals in the third period, the Dallas Stars‘ four-goal first period was enough for two points in yesterday’s Game of the Day in Chicago.

    Only 3:19 into the game, First Star of the Game Patrick Eaves scored the first goal of the Stars‘ night with a slap shot, assisted by Jamie Benn (his 34th helper of the season) and Patrik Nemeth.  6:25 later, Second Star John Klingberg backhanded a nasty goal, basically from the goal line, assisted by Ales Hemsky (his 13th helper of the season).  Eaves scored his second of the night at the 16:26 mark with a wrister, assisted by Tyler Seguin (his 31st helper of the season), followed 3:18 later by Eaves’ third and final tally of the evening, assisted by Seguin and Klingberg (his 36th helper of the season).  Dallas‘ 4-0 lead held to the first intermission, and continued through the second period.

    Chicago finally got on the board 32 seconds after resuming play in the third period when Duncan Keith fired a slap shot, assisted by Third Star Jonathan Toews (his 18th helper of the season) and Andrew Shaw.  The Hawks continued the comeback at the 7:48 mark when Patrick Kane slap shot found the back of the net for his 33rd tally of the season, assisted by Toews, but Chicago could not score another goal and fell 4-2.

    Kari Lehtonen earns the win after saving 44 of 46 (95.7%), while Corey Crawford takes the loss after saving only 14 of 18 (77.8%).  He was replaced after only one period of play by Scott Darling, who saved all 14 shots he faced.

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 53-27-10, favoring the home squads by 34 points over the roadies.

    A busy Thursday yields to a busy Friday, which is just the way we like it.  The action begins at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. eastern with three games (Montréal at Buffalo, Los Angeles at the New York Rangers [NHLN] and Pittsburgh at Carolina), followed half an hour later by another set of three (Colorado at Detroit, Nashville at Tampa Bay and St. Louis at Florida).  Finally, Calgary at Arizona, this evening’s nightcap, drops the puck at 9 p.m. eastern this evening.

    Almost half of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Montréal at Buffalo, Pittsburgh at Carolina and Calgary at Arizona), with four games being contested between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Los Angeles at New York, Colorado at Detroit, Nashville at Tampa Bay and St. Louis at Florida).

    The game that attracts my attention the most is the Predators–Lightning game, as both squads are currently only wildcard qualifiers that especially need to solidify and/or improve their position in the standings.

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    This will be Nashville‘s sixth appearance in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 2-3-0 record.  Their most recent showing in the series was February 2, a 1-0 loss on home ice to the Blues.  Tampa Bay has been featured nine times before this evening’s game, and own a 5-3-1 record in such games.  Their most recent was a 6-3 victory over the Penguins last Friday.

    The 25-21-8 Nashville Predators currently sit in fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference, good enough to qualify them for the second wild card position.  Even though they are qualifying for the playoffs, they play only an average game that slightly favors those offensive end.

    Led by James Neal’s 169 shots, the Preds have fired a solid 1650 shots, of which 8.4% have found the back of the net for 141 goals (led by Neal’s 19 tallies), 14th-most in the league.  Part of the reason for Nashville‘s mediocre offense has been the equally mediocre power play, which ranks only 12th-best in the league.  The special team has connected on 19.44% of attempts for 35 extra man tallies (led by Shea Weber’s 10 power play goals).  Fortunately, Nashville has only allowed one short-handed goal this season, so at least they aren’t giving up goals when they aren’t cashing in on prime opportunities.

    Led by Roman Josi’s 127 blocks, the Preds have allowed only 1420 shots to reach 20-18-7 Pekka Rinne and co., of which they’ve collectively saved only 90.4% for 145 goals against. 14th-most in the league.  Again, that ranking is a reflection of the Predators‘ lack of success on the penalty kill, which is seventh-worst in the league, killing only 78.44% of opposing attempts for 36 extra man goals against.  Those special teams numbers are slightly improved, though, when taking Nashville‘s five shorties into account, one more than the league average.

    Nashville‘s most recent game was a 5-3 loss to the Capitals on Tuesday.  A win today paired with a Colorado loss propels the Predators into the first wildcard position, which is preferable to playing the Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs.

    The 29-20-4 Tampa Bay Lightning currently sit in fourth in the Atlantic Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the first wildcard position.  They play one of the best defenses in the league, but it is paired with only an average offense.

    Victor Hedman may have only 92 blocks to his credit to lead the team, but only 1483 shots have found their way to 21-15-3 Ben Bishop and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 92.1% for only 130 goals against.  That success has continued on the penalty kill, where Tampa ranks 11th-best in the league, killing 81.99% for only 29 power play goals against.

    Steven Stamkos leads the charge with 149 shots to help lead the team to their 1543 total attempts, of which 9.1% have found the back of the net for 142 tallies, 13th-most in the league.  The power play is almost a direct mirror of that, as they’ve scored on 18.68% of attempts for 34 power play tallies (led by Stamkos’ 10 extra man goals).

    The Lightning have lost their last two games, with their most recent being a 4-2 loss in Montréal on Tuesday.  A win tonight propels the Bolts past Boston for third in the division and, should Detroit lose, all the way into second.

    As these teams represent opposing conferences, this is the second and final meeting between them this regular season.  The Lightning visited Nashville on October 20 to fall 5-4 in a shootout.  Judging from that score and both teams’ positions in the standings, this should hopefully be a competitive game.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Nashville‘s Josi (38 points, including 12 power play assists, and  127 blocks [all lead the team]) and Tampa Bay‘s Bishop (2.07 GAA [tied for third-best in the league] and 21 wins [tied for ninth-most in the league]).

    Not only will Tampa Bay be at home for this evening’s game, I believe that they are easily a better team than the Predators, and I expect them to get the win.

  • February 2 – Day 110 – If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we get two more months of hockey

    Let’s start the second half of the season with a bang!  A whopping 12 games are being played tonight, with five starting at 7 p.m. eastern (Toronto at Boston [TVAS], the New York Rangers at New Jersey, Minnesota at the New York Islanders, Montréal at Philadelphia [RDS] and Ottawa at Pittsburgh [RDS2]), with Florida at Washington (NBCSN) starting half an hour later.  8 p.m. eastern brings with it two games (St. Louis at Nashville [SN1] and Dallas at Winnipeg), and 9 p.m. eastern has three more (Chicago at Colorado, Columbus at Edmonton and Los Angeles at Arizona).  Finally, San Jose at Anaheim, this evening’s nightcap, drops the puck at 10 p.m. eastern.

    Over half of tonight’s games are between divisional rivals (Toronto at Boston, New York at New Jersey, St. Louis at Nashville, Dallas at Winnipeg, Chicago at Colorado, Los Angeles at Arizona and San Jose at Anaheim), and four are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Florida at Washington, St. Louis at Nashville, Chicago at Colorado and Los Angeles at Arizona).

    I have three reasons for choosing today’s Game of the Day.  You choose which one you most agree with.

    1. It’ll be my little way of honoring the All-Star Game.
    2. Judging by the standings, it should be the most competitive game of those listed in both groups above.
    3. It’s my birthday, so I can do whatever game I want.

    (.Gif posted by D I O S)

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    Tonight’s game is St. Louis‘ 11th in the Game of the Day series, where they own a 5-4-1 record.  Their most recent appearance was a two-goal shutout loss in Chicago on January 24.  Nashville has been featured four times before tonight’s game, with their most recent also being a loss in Chicago, but they played a more respectable 3-2 game.  They own a 2-2-0 record in the series overall.

    The 28-16-8 St. Louis Blues are currently third-best in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.  So far this season, their defense ranks 13th best in goals against, while the offense has the 15th most goals scored.

    Even with Alex Pietrangelo’s team-leading 98 blocks, the Blues have allowed 1540 shots to reach 18-10-3 Jake Allen and co.  Fortunately for St. Louis, they’ve had some solid goaltending, as the group has collectively saved 92.5% for only 125 goals against.  The penalty kill has also been exceptionally strong (third-best in the league), as they’ve killed 85.21% for only 25 goals against.

    Led by Vladimir Tarasenko’s 184 attempts, the Notes have fired the puck 1551 time, 8.1% of which have found the back of the net for 126 tallies (led by Tarasenko’s 25 goals).  The Blues also have the 11th-best power play in the league, successful on 19.58% of attempts for 28 extra-man tallies (led by Tarasenko’s eight).

    Before the All-Star Break, the Blues were riding a two-game losing skid that they intend to end after nine days of rest.  A win tonight has the potential to pull St. Louis within a point of the Stars, pending Dallas‘ result in Winnipeg.

    The 24-18-8 Nashville Predators currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference, good enough for the second wildcard spot.  The Predators host the 15th best offense in the league, paired with the 15th-worst defense, as measured by goals scored and against, respectively.

    Led by James Neal’s 158 attempts, Nashville has fired 1538 shots so far this season, 8.3% of which have found the back of the net for 127 goals (led by Neal’s 18).  The offense also hosts the eighth-best power play, successful on 20.37% of attempts for 33 goals (led by Shea Weber’s nine extra-man tallies).  This special team has also done well to prevent opposing short-handed goals, allowing only one so far this season.

    Led by Roman Josi’s 121 blocks, the Predators have allowed only 1326 shots to reach 19-15-7 Pekka Rinne and co., but Nashville‘s struggles haven’t lied in the defenders.  Collectively, the goaltenders have saved only 90.7% of shots for 130 goals against.  The penalty kill has also struggled, killing only 79.08% (sixth-worst in the league) for 32 power play goals against.  The effects of the special teams have been slightly improved though, with four short-handed goals to their credit.

    The Preds entered the break strong, winning their last four games, all on the road.  A solid start to the last two months of the season is exactly what Nashville needs, as they are in the midst of a tough wildcard battle between themselves, Colorado and Minnesota.  A win tonight has the potential to propel the Predators past the Avalanche into the first wildcard spot, but they’ll need Colorado to lose, either in regulation or overtime, for that to happen.

    With a  3-0-0 record in the season series, St. Louis has already won the best of five against the Predators this year.  Their last meeting was December 29 in the Gateway to the West, by far the best showing for Nashville against the Blues this season, as they managed to get the game to overtime before ceding the 4-3 OT victory.

    Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Nashville‘s Josi (35 points, 25 of which have been assists, and 121 blocks [all lead the team]), Neal (18 goals on 158 shots, 15 of which have been at even-strength, and a +15 [all lead the team]), Mike Ribeiro (17 even-strength assists [leads the team]) and Weber (nine power play goals and 106 hits [both lead the team]) & St. Louis‘ Allen (five shutouts [second-most in the league]) or Brian Elliott (.927 save percentage [tied for eighth-best in the league]), Colton Parayko (+18 [tied for seventh-best in the league]) and Tarasenko (25 goals [tied for fourth-most in the league]).

    After the break, it is tough to get a gauge on how these teams are going to perform, but I’ll get a slight edge to Nashville for playing with their streak on home ice.

    *Disclaimer: Blues-bias is now on, because, you know, birthday privileges and stuff.*

    Screw that.  Go Blues.  Basically, at the end of the day, what we’re looking for is me singing this (video uploaded by patokaman)…

    Instead of this (video uploaded by ZoSO282).