Down the Frozen River

Tag: Ryan Getzlaf

  • April 9 -Day 172 – It all comes down to this

    It’s all come down to this: the last day of the 2016-’17 NHL regular season. Don’t cry that it’s leaving; instead smile and laugh at the memories.

    Oh yeah, and get amped for the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

    To close out the season, the league has scheduled 10 games for our viewing pleasure. A trio of them (New Jersey at Detroit [SN1], Buffalo at Tampa Bay and Ottawa at the New York Islanders [RDS2]) start at 5 p.m., followed by another pair (Colorado at St. Louis and Columbus at Toronto [SN/TVAS]) an hour later. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. marks the puck drop of three contests (Pittsburgh at the New York Rangers, Carolina at Philadelphia and Florida at Washington) and Los Angeles at Anaheim (SN1) waiting until 8:30 to get started. Finally, 9 p.m. brings with it the regular season nightcap: Vancouver at Edmonton (SN). All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • New Jersey at Detroit: The day many had hoped would never come. This is the final game to be played at Joe Louis Arena. I’ll forever consider the Wings a rival to my beloved Blues, but I hope Motown gives this incredible place one more victory for old times’ sake.
    • Columbus at Toronto: As long as the Leafs can avoid a regulation loss, they’ll win third place in the Atlantic Division and avoid the mighty Capitals.
    • Pittsburgh at New York: The last rematch of last season’s playoffs will be contested in Madison Square Garden.
    • Los Angeles at Anaheim: Though the Kings‘ season is complete after today, the Ducks still have something to play for: a Pacific Division banner.
    • Vancouver at Edmonton: As long as the Oilers don’t need a shootout to win, they can surpass Anaheim for the division title if it loses to Los Angeles.

    It’s such hard decision among the contests in Toronto, Anaheim and Edmonton, as all three could have a significant impact on how the postseason plays out. Since there’s so much at stake in the Pacific, I think we have to focus in on the Freeway Face-Off!

     

    I’ll start this article in a similar way I began yesterday’s:

    The 39-35-7 Kings enter this game in fifth place in the Pacific Division and 10th in the Western Conference, already eliminated from playoff contention. With Nashville’s regular-season campaign complete at 94 points, the best Los Angeles can do is finish seven points behind eighth place.

    This game is not about them (though they have more reasons to play spoiler than Pittsburgh did last night – more on that later).

    Instead, all eyes (specifically those in Southern California and Northern Alberta) are on 45-23-13 Anaheim, the club currently leading the Pacific Division with a day left of play.

    Notice the phrase currently leading. That is very intentional, as the Ducks have not ordered their division championship banner yet. The job tonight is simple: don’t lose in regulation. As long Anaheim earns at least one point, the second place Oilers cannot surpass them for the division title.

    Fortunately, the repercussions for not sealing the deal tonight aren’t too bad, at least immediately. If Edmonton could manage to surpass the Ducks for first in the division, Anaheim would host the third place Sharks in the first round instead of the wild card Flames.

    Either way, the Ducks retain home ice in the first round.

    Anaheim has definitely been trending upwards of late. In fact, the Ducks are tied with Washington for the best record in the NHL since March 12 with their 10-0-3 record.

    Just like its been all season, they’ve returned to winning ways by keeping the opposition off the board. Only 24 goals have been scored on the Ducks since mid-March, the fewest in the NHL in that time.

    Of course, that starts with the goaltending. Both 25-16-9 John Gibson and 20-7-4 Jonathan Bernier have been fantastic over this run, as both have save percentages and GAAs better than .93 and 2.0, respectively.

    Though Bernier was extremely impressive while filling in for Gibson during his injury, it seems the usual Number 1 has reclaimed his crease as Gibson has started the last two games. I expect the owner of the superior .96 save percentage and 1.32 GAA to take to the crease again tonight, as Gibson’s effort in his past three games has been third and second-best, respectively, among the 62 goalies who have played at least two games since mid-March.

    Much of the reason both goaltenders have found such success is they haven’t been overworked. Though the Ducks‘ blueline has been only slightly above-average at keeping pucks off the crease on the year (they average 29.8 shots allowed-per-game), the 395 they’ve allowed in their past 13 games is tied for fifth-fewest in the league.

    Both Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen have been a big part of that play, as they co-lead the team with 21 shot blocks since March 12. Jakob Silfverberg has also been instrumental with his 11 takeaways in that time.

    On the season as a whole, only two clubs have been better than the Ducks when faced with a penalty kill situation. Gibson has played a major role in that effort all year, as his .909 season save percentage against the power play is the fourth-best mark in the league among the 48 goalies with at least 25 appearances on the year.

    Doing their best to play spoiler tonight will be the visiting Kings, Anaheim‘s greatest rival. Though the postseason is out of their grasp, there is probably nothing more they would like to do than harm the Ducks‘ Stanley Cup playoff chances by declining them the opportunity to outright win the Pacific Division.

    Unfortunately, it’s been an up-and-down effort of late for Los Angeles. Since March 16, the Kings have matched every win with a loss for a 6-6-0 record. In fact, every game since March 31 has alternated results. The 31st was a win, the 2nd was a loss. The 4th was a win… you get the idea. April 8 was a win, so…. well, things aren’t looking good for Los Angeles if this trend continues.

    Offense has been Los Angeles‘ biggest struggle not only during this stretch, but for the entire season overall. On they year, the Kings have averaged only 2.42 goals-per-game, the sixth-lowest average in the NHL. Since mid-March, that number is down to 2.25, including two shutouts.

    The brightest star on the Kings‘ offense of late is easily Anze Kopitar. With 10 points in a dozen games, he’s the only forward that has contributed more than seven tallies in the past three weeks. That being said, Jarome Iginla has also been decent with his team-leading four goals during this run.

    Though far from a dominant force throughout the season, Los Angeles‘ power play has been especially shoddy of late, converting only 16.7% of its 36 most recent opportunities. Just like he’s been on the entire offense, Kopitar has been the most impressive during this skid with his four power play points.

    If anything positive can be said about Los Angeles‘ power play, it’s that it’s unpredictable. All six tallies since March 16 have come off a different stick, and those scorers are evenly split between the power play units.

    If the season series is any indication, we’re in for a fantastic game tonight. Both clubs have won two of the four previous games between them this campaign for copied 2-2-0 records. Making things even more interesting, both teams have gone 1-1-0 on home ice.

    The last time they met up was February 25 at the Staples Center. Speaking of home ice, that is the game the Kings scored four goals (including two from Tyler Toffoli) to give Jonathan Quick a 4-1 victory in his first full game of the season. He saved 32 shots faced in his first game back from his groin injury.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Ryan Getzlaf (55 assists [tied for third-most in the league]) and Gibson (2.22 GAA [fifth-best in the NHL] on a .924 save percentage [tied for fifth-best in the league], including six shutouts [sixth-most in the NHL]) & Los Angeles‘ Jeff Carter (32 goals for 66 points on 250 shots [all lead the team]) and Drew Doughty (+8 [leads the team]).

    The easy pick is obviously the Ducks, who have much more to play for, to win on home ice. The problem is you can never use such concrete logic when predicting a rivalry game of this magnitude. I’ll still take Anaheim to clinch the Pacific Division tonight, but I have no doubt in my mind that the Kings will make it as difficult as they possibly can.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Jimmy Roberts (1940-2015) – This skater spent most of his 15 seasons in Montréal, though he had a lengthy tenure with the Blues as well. He was a three-time All Star and, more importantly, has his name on the Stanley Cup five times as a player.
    • Michel Parizeau (1948-) – The Rangers selected this center 10th-overall in the 1965 NHL Amateur Draft, yet he never played a game with the Blueshirts. In fact, he spent only one season in the NHL, as he played most of his eight years with the Nordiques in the WHA.
    • Rick Tocchet (1964-) – Though a longtime Flyer – albeit in two stints – after being selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing won his lone Stanley Cup as a member of the 1992 Penguins.

    Three goals in the third period is exactly what the doctor ordered for Toronto, as it beat the Penguins 5-3 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day to secure its spot in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    It was not the start the Maple Leafs wanted to this game, though. Former Leaf Phil Kessel (Matt Cullen and Tom Kuhnhackl) buried a snap shot only 6:11 into the contest to give Pittsburgh an early 1-0 lead. That advantage didn’t last long though, as James van Riemsdyk (Tyler Bozak and Roman Polak) leveled with a snapper of his own only 29 seconds later. The one-all score held into the first intermission.

    Only 1:29 after Tom Sestito‘s goaltender interference penalty, Bozak (William Nylander and Jake Gardiner) scored a power play snapper at the 3:30 mark of the second frame. This time, it was the Pens who had the answer, as Sidney Crosby (Jake Guentzel and Justin Schultz) leveled the match at two-all 4:25 later with a power play slap shot.

    Pittsburgh once again took a one-goal lead 6:51 into the third period courtesy of an unassisted Guenztel wrist shot, but that is what lit a fire under Toronto‘s belly. In all, the Maple Leafs fired a dozen shots on Marc-Andre Fleury‘s net in the final frame, and three got past him. Kasperi Kapanen (Matt Hunwick and Auston Matthews) leveled the game with 5:30 remaining in regulation with the first goal of his career, followed by Connor Brown‘s (Gardiner and Hunwick) game-winner 2:42 later. With four seconds remaining, Matthews scored his 40th goal of the season (only the fourth rookie under 20-years-old in NHL history to achieve that total) on an empty net to ensure the Leafs‘ victory.

    Curtis McElhinney earned the victory after saving 12-of-14 shots faced (85.7%). He replaced Frederik Andersen, who had saved three-of-four (75%), after the starter was struck in the head by Sestito. Fleury saved 25-of-29 (86.2%) in the loss.

    After 175 games in this 2016-’17 DtFR Game of the Day series, the 88-61-25 home teams have finally clinched the deciding victory in our featured series. The hosts have 201 points to their credit to create a five-point spread the visitors are incapable of surpassing.

  • April 1 – Day 164 – Ducks dominance or Oilers ownage?

    Eight games will be played this penultimate Saturday of the NHL regular season, starting with Florida at Boston (SN) at 1 p.m. The other matinee of the day drops the puck an hour later and features Minnesota at Nashville. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. marks the beginning of five contests (Ottawa at Winnipeg [SN], Toronto at Detroit [CBC/NHLN], Montréal at Tampa Bay [CITY/TVAS], New Jersey at Philadelphia and Dallas at Carolina), and tonight’s nightcap – Anaheim at Edmonton (CBC/SN) – gets underway at 10 p.m. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Toronto at Detroit: Not only is this one of the more historical rivalries in the game, but Alexey Marchenko also makes his first – and last – trip to Joe Louis Arena as a visitor.
    • New Jersey at Philadelphia: The Battle of the Jersey Turnpike rages on tonight on Broad Street.
    • Anaheim at Edmonton: Oh, you know, there’s nothing major on the line in this game. Just the lead in the Pacific Division, that’s all.

    There’s no joking about it, tonight’s festivities in Edmonton are going to have a significant impact on the race for the Pacific championship. Though we were just there a couple days ago, it’s off to Edmonton with us!

     

    The best way to complete our three-day stop in Alberta is by featuring the best two teams in the Pacific Division. Only a point separates the Ducks and Oilers from each other with five fixtures left on the schedule.

    What makes this game even more important is this is the last time they’ll run into each other this year – barring a postseason meeting. The reason for Anaheim‘s advantage can be found in their second run-in with Oilers of the year. On December 3 – ironically at Rogers Place, the same surface on which they’ll square off tonight – Edmonton needed overtime to best the Ducks 3-2.

    That overtime loss is the differential in the season series between these clubs. Since both have won two of the previous four meetings, Anaheim has a one-point advantage on the Oilers in both the series and the standings as a whole.

    The 42-23-12 Ducks have been playing some fantastic hockey since mid-March. They’re riding a nine-game point streak that has seen them go 7-0-2 and climb to the top of the Pacific Division.

    As has been the case all year, Anaheim has made this surge on the back of its defense and goaltending. The Ducks have allowed only 17 goals in their past nine games, which is the second-fewest in the league since March 12.

    Though normally bearing the title of backup, a main reason for the Ducks‘ surge is 19-7-4 Jonathan Bernier, who has been the only goaltender to take to the crease during this run. He’s played remarkably, as his .938 save percentage and 1.86 GAA over this stretch are (t)fifth and (t)seventh-best among the 42 goalies who’ve made at least four appearances since mid-March.

    What makes Bernier’s play even more impressive is he hasn’t had quite the defense that he and 23-16-8 John Gibson have grown accustomed to this season. Though not by much, Anaheim‘s blueline is under-performing by their standards as they’ve allowed 30.3 shots-per-game to reach Bernier’s crease in the past nine games, which is actually sixth-tenths more than their season average.

    That slight decrease in performance can’t be blamed on Hampus Lindholm or Sami Vatanen though. They’ve been playing out of their minds of late, as they both have 18 shot blocks to their credit since March 12.

    Perhaps the reason for the Ducks‘ almost indiscernible drop in defensive production is due to Cam Fowler‘s recent play.  Though he averages 1.7 shot blocks per game for the entire season, that rate has dropped to 1.3 in the last nine games.

    Like I said, almost indiscernible. We’re splitting hairs here; Fowler has still been excellent, as have Lindholm and Vatanen. The Ducks still have a defense to be reckoned with, not to mention the red-hot Bernier playing in net. In short, scoring against the Ducks is not an easy thing to do.

    The true mark of a good defense is a solid penalty kill, and Anaheim has one of those. It ranks fifth-best on the season and stops 85.1% of opponents’ power plays. As you’d expect, the reason for the Ducks‘ success is twofold – as in two fantastic goalies. Both Bernier and Gibson save over 90% of power play shots against. Of the 28 netminders who’ve faced 175 or more man-advantage shots this season, they’re the only two goaltenders in the league who can make that claim.

    Of course, every team has a hole. For the Ducks, that issue this year is the power play, and that’s especially been the case over the last 20 days. The Ducks have found the back of the net with the man-advantage only three times in the past nine games for a horrendous success rate of 10%. Only three teams in the NHL have been worse since March 12.

    43-25-9 Edmonton has also been playing incredible hockey since mid-March, especially when it has the puck on its stick. Since March 14, the Oilers have buried 37 goals – five more than Carolina, Chicago and Washington (incredible offenses in their own rights) to lead the NHL. That offensive explosion has led the Oil to a 8-1-0 mark in that time, which ties for second-best in the league.

    Just like it’s been all year, Todd McLellan‘s club has utilized a two-headed attack of none other than Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Both have 16 points apiece since the 14th to co-lead the league.

    Since both play a solid, unselfish game, they get credit for a lot of helpers. Patrick Maroon, the final third of Edmonton‘s top line, has been the man taking advantage of that of late, as he’s potted six beauties in the past 18 days to lead the squad.

    An offense of this caliber does not mess around. Since March 14, Edmonton has taken advantage of 29% of its man-advantage situations to score nine power play goals. Four of those have been a direct result of Draisaitl’s play, though they’ve all been apples. Half of those assists have gone to Mark Letestu and the other half to Milan Lucic, both of whom join Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with two power play goals apiece to headline the Oil‘s extra-man attack of late.

    Maybe the most impressive part of Edmonton‘s game during this impressive run is its effort on the penalty kill. Only two tallies have resulted due to an Oilers penalty for a 91.3% kill rate, the second-best in the league in that time frame.

    While 39-21-8 Cam Talbot has been good over the stretch, the real reason for Edmonton‘s success is McLellan’s leadership. The best way to succeed at the penalty kill is to avoid it, and the Oilers have been shorthanded only 23 times in their past nine games, which ties for sixth-fewest in the NHL.

    The last time these squads met was only 10 days ago on March 22 at The Pond. Both Ryan Getzlaf and Lindholm added three points to their season totals to lead Anaheim to a narrow 4-3 victory over the visiting Oilers.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Getzlaf (52 assists [fifth-most in the NHL]) and Gibson (five shutouts [tied for sixth-most in the league] and a 2.28 GAA [seventh-best in the NHL] on a .921 save percentage [10th-best in the league]) & Edmonton‘s Draisaitl (72 points [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]), McDavid (63 assists for 91 points [both lead the league] for a +26 [tied for eighth-best in the NHL]) and Talbot (seven shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] among 39 wins [third-most in the NHL]).

    Vegas has marked the Oilers a -125 favorite to win tonight’s game. I’m going to side with the odds-makers this evening, as I trust Talbot and Edmonton‘s defense more than the Ducks‘ offense. That being said, this should be an absolutely thrilling matchup.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Ken Reardon (1921-2008) – This Winnipeg-born defenseman played all of his seven-year NHL career in Montréal. Though a short career, the Hall of Famer played in three All-Star Games and hoisted the 1946 Stanley Cup.
    • Guy Trottier (1941-2014) – This right wing played only three season in the NHL, and another three in the WHA. His longest tenured NHL team was Toronto, with whom he notched 45 points in 113 games.
    • Darren McCarty (1972-) – Detroit selected this right wing 46th-overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s where he spent all but two of his 15 seasons in the NHL. As you’d expect from a tenured Wing, McCarty is the proud owner of four Stanley Cup Champion rings.
    • J.P. Dumont (1978-) – Selected third-overall by the Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, this right wing played most of his 12 seasons in Nashville. He found his game with the Predators, as he provided a defensive presence and focused his offensive efforts on assists, earning 174.

    Scoring three goals in a period is usually a formula for success. That’s the strategy Calgary employed in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day to beat the Sharks 5-2 at the Saddledome.

    Third Star of the Game Johnny Gaudreau (Second Star Sam Bennett) provided a sample of what was to come after the intermission by scoring a tip-in with 7:34 remaining in the first period. That was the lone goal of the frame, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead with 40 minutes remaining.

    Sean Monahan (Matthew Tkachuk and Kris Versteeg) provided Calgary‘s first tally of the second with a power play wrist shot. That goal was answered 4:46 later by Marc-Edouard Vlasic (Michael Haley and Marcus Sorensen), but there was no Sharks response for what the Flames did next. Matt Stajan (Michael Stone) scored what came to be a game-winning snap shot with 7:22 remaining in the period, followed 5:31 later by an Alex Chiasson (Versteeg and T.J. Brodie) backhander. After having a one-goal lead for much of the game, Calgary entered the second intermission with a 4-1 advantage.

    Melker Karlsson (Joe Pavelski and Paul Martin) pulled San Jose back within two tallies with 6:54 remaining in regulation, but even that tally was erased by Bennett’s (Chiasson and Brodie) wrister on an empty net with 34 seconds remaining in the game.

    First Star Brian Elliott saved 36-of-38 shots faced (94.7%) to earn the victory. That left the loss to Martin Jones, who saved 18-of-22 (81.8%) before being pulled after Chiasson’s tally. Aaron Dell saved all 12 shots he faced for no decision.

    Currently riding a two-game winning streak, home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series now have an 83-58-25 record, which is two points better than the visitors.

  • March 26 – Day 158 – Mats point

    There’s only one more day before you have to go back to work. Make it worth it.

    I assume that doing so requires hockey, so you have five games to choose from. Today’s action starts at 12:30 p.m. with Minnesota at Detroit (NBC), followed by Dallas at New Jersey at 5 p.m. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. brings with it Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (NBCSN), followed an hour later by Vancouver at Winnipeg (SN). Finally, tonight’s nightcap drops the puck at 9 p.m. with the New York Rangers at Anaheim. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Philadelphia at Pittsburgh: If anything can spark a late playoff push for the Flyers, it’d be a victory in the Battle for the Keystone State.
    • New York at Anaheim: Seeing as Brandon Pirri only played nine regular season games with the Ducks last year, it’s hardly a momentous return. Yet, this contest promises to be the best of the day.

    Since the Flyers–Penguins rivalry’s zest is diminishing outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, let’s feature the Big Apple for the third-straight day.

     

    Games between Eastern and Western Conference opponents are always weird this time of year. Sometimes both teams can be fighting for their playoff lives or scrapping for a better seed, while other teams are simply playing one of the remaining fixtures on their increasingly unimportant schedule.

    Of course, the weirdest situation of all is the one we have tonight, when one club has little to nothing to gain from an inter-conference matchup since they are effectively locked into their playoff position, while the other is still fighting for the best of four spots available.

    Tonight, the 46-25-4 Rangers own the role of the “little to gain, little to lose” character. They trail Pittsburgh by seven points for third place in the Metropolitan Division, and a dozen points separate them from the second wildcard.

    This may be a weird metaphor, but I imagine New York as a retired elderly gentleman, sitting in a rocker in his screened-in porch. He does not care if it is hot and the bugs are out – he has a fan and the screen keeps the bugs away. He does not care if it rains – he will stay dry and appreciate the ambiance of the rain shower. He does as he wishes and prepares for the next thing he knows he has on his to-do list.

    If that doesn’t give away that I live in the South, I don’t know what does.

    For those wondering, the next thing for the Rangers to do is gel in anticipation of the playoffs. Of course, they’ve shown they can do that already this year – especially on offense, as their 235 goals is tied with Minnesota for the third-highest total in the NHL.

    Mats Zuccarello has been on an absolute tear of late. If it weren’t for his pointless effort at New Jersey on Tuesday, the wing would be riding a seven-game point streak, including two games with two points. In fact, he’s been so impressive that he’s taken over New York‘s clubhouse points lead from J.T. Miller.

    Of course, it would be unwise to ignore Michael Grabner. Though he hasn’t buried a goal since March 13, he still leads the squad with his 27 tallies. His lead has certainly slimmed during his dry spell, as he has only one more marker than Chris Kreider.

    Much of the reason for Zuccarello’s surge has been his success on the power play. Since his hot streak has began, the Rangers‘ 29.4% power play ranks third-best in the NHL, and he’s been at the forefront of it all. The wing has earned four of his points with the man-advantage in this run, including two goals (both are the highest totals on the team during this stretch).

    The one thing the Blueshirts have not been able to figure out all season has been their penalty kill. No matter what Alain Vigneault does, he cannot get his club to do any better than its 79.6% season kill rate – the eighth-worst in the league, and second-worst among clubs currently in playoff position.

    Meanwhile, any result from tonight’s game can drastically effect 40-23-11 Anaheim‘s postseason. Currently, the Ducks are in a three-way tie with both Edmonton and San Jose atop the Pacific Division, and the Ducks win the games-played tiebreaker with their game-in-hand.

    Since the Oilers and Sharks are both inactive this evening, that un-played contest takes place tonight and provides the opportunity to either take a true lead or drop the Anaheim to second place in the Pacific behind San Jose (the Ducks lead the season series against Edmonton 2-1-1, but have fewer regulation+overtime victories than the Sharks).

    Defense is the name of the game on The Pond, as the Ducks have allowed only 179 goals against, which ties for third-fewest in the league. Usually, the crease has belonged to 23-16-8 John Gibson, but he’s been fighting a lower body injury for two weeks.

    Instead, it’s presumed the Ducks will turn to 17-7-3 Jonathan Bernier, who currently has them riding a three-game winning streak. Since Gibson went down, Bernier has been in net for all of Anaheim‘s games and has allowed only nine goals against – tied for the fewest in the league in that time among the 14 goaltenders with six or more appearances. In addition, his .947 save percentage and 1.48 GAA over that stretch is second-best and tops in the NHL, respectively, among those 14 aforementioned netminders.

    Part of the reason Bernier has been able to find such success is because his defense has stepped up to make his job easier on him. While Anaheim‘s blueline has been good for the entire season (their 29.5 shots-against-average is ninth-best in the NHL), they’ve allowed only 169 total shots to reach Bernier since Gibson went down, the lowest mark in the league.

    Hampus Lindholm is certainly deserving of much praise for those solid results, but he’s joined by an unlikely aide: center Ryan Getzlaf. Both skaters have blocked 13 shots apiece since Gibson’s injury, and they’re joined by six others that have blocked at least five or more shots in that time. The entire squad is buying in and sacrificing their bodies for the greater good of the club, and their efforts are paying off in the win column.

    More on Getzlaf: he actually has blocked the most shots all season among Western Conference forwards, and the third-most overall. Add in the fact that he has 55 takeaways this year, and we just might have ourselves a Frank J. Selke Trophy candidate.

    Making the defense’s performance even more impressive, it has been put under additional strain to perform by the Ducks‘ power play. Instead of taking advantage of teams when they’re shorthanded, Anaheim has scored only one power play goal in the past two weeks for a 4.8% success rate – the second-worst mark in the NHL.

    Though he leads the club in power play goals (seven) and co-leads in power play points (18, tied with Corey Perry), Ryan Kesler has not buried a goal with the man-advantage since December 4. That’s almost four months ago! If the Ducks are not careful, this man-advantage slump will, not can, bite them in the butt.

    The Ducks made their annual trip to Madison Square Garden on February 7, but it was a visit they’d sooner forget. Between Grabner’s two-goal third period performance and Henrik Lundqvist‘s 43-save effort, it was all Anaheim could to do avoid a four-goal shutout by notching only one tally.

    Some players to keep an eye on during tonight’s game include Anaheim‘s Getzlaf (48 assists [tied for fourth-most in the league]) and New York‘s Lundqvist (30 wins [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]).

    Anaheim is marked as a -140 favorite to win tonight, which is actually the narrowest line I’ve found in a quick search. The matchup tonight is simple: can the Ducks‘ defense shut down Zuccarello? If they can, they’re on their way to two points. If not, their remaining seven games just got even more important than they already were.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Roger Leger (1919-1965) – A Quebec-native is never happier than when he’s playing for the Canadiens. That’s what this defenseman got to do for four of his five seasons in the league, though he must be one of the few Habs during the Original Six Era to retire without winning a Stanley Cup.
    • Ulf Samuelsson (1964-) – In comparison, this longtime Whalers defenseman played in the NHL for 16 seasons and twice hoisted the most coveted trophy in sports – though not with Hartford, of course. Instead, he was a member of both Penguins squads that etched their names into the Stanley Cup in the early 90s.
    • Michael Peca (1974-) – Selected by Vancouver 40th-overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, this center is similar to Samuelsson in the sense that he won one trophy twice, but it was the Selke Trophy instead of the Stanley Cup. Playing most of his 14-year career with Buffalo, he notched 217 points while wearing the blue-and-gold.
    • Jimmy Howard (1984-) – This goaltender was selected by Detroit with the 64th-overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s where he’s played each and every one of his 396 career games in the league. In total, he’s earned a 197-121-54 record and made one All-Star Game appearance.

    Every once in a while, a player refuses to lose a particular game. In yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, that player was First Star of the Game Riley Nash, who scored both Bruins goals to lead them to a 2-1 victory over the Islanders.

    What seemed to spur Nash was Third Star John Tavares‘ (Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson) snap shot with 9:55 remaining in the first period. It proved to be New York‘s lone goal of the game, but that was all the spark Nash needed. He buried an unassisted wrist shot only 36 seconds later to tie the game at one-all.

    The draw held until the 4:12 mark of the third period when Nash (Dominic Moore) scored only his seventh tally of the season and sixth game-winner of his NHL career on a snapper.

    Not all heroes wear capes, as Nash’s solid effort ended Boston‘s four-game losing skid and moved it into the second wildcard in the Eastern Conference.

    Second Star Anton Khudobin earned the victory after saving 18-of-19 shots faced (94.7%), leaving the loss to Thomas Greiss, who saved 16-of-18 (88.9%).

    It’s a perplexing situation, but road teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series now have a combined 81-56-23 record, which is three points better than the series’ hosts.

  • March 22 – Day 154 – Wait, there’s other divisions?

    There may only be three games being played this evening, but they are three good ones. The action starts at 7 p.m. with Toronto at Columbus (SN/TVAS), followed an hour later by the New York Islanders at the New York Rangers (NBCSN). Finally, Edmonton at Anaheim drops the puck at 10 p.m. to close out the night. All times eastern.

    Like I said, a great lineup tonight.

    While I would love to feature the city rivalry taking place in Manhattan this evening, there’s some serious business taking place in the Pacific Division that we simply must keep an eye on.

     

    I can only assume that regular readers of the DtFR Game of the Day series forgot that divisions outside the Atlantic existed. That’s probably my fault since I chose rivalries from that group of teams for the last four days. Whoops.

    I also assume that every SoCal sports fan that didn’t get tickets to the Team Puerto Rico vs Team USA World Baseball Classic championship game at Dodger Stadium tonight will be in attendance at the Honda Center this evening.

    Of course, we all know what they say about assumptions.

    Anyways, tonight’s game in Anaheim is absolutely huge. Both clubs are tied at 87 points for second place in the Pacific Division. They’re on track to face each other in the Western Quarterfinals (they trail San Jose by four points, but lead Calgary by only one), so earning the two-seed is of the utmost importance for home ice.

    So who’s winning the games-played tiebreaker? After tonight’s game, they’ll both have played 73 games. Next?

    Who has more regulation+overtime wins? What do you know, we’re tied again. Both teams have won 35 games without the shootout this season. Next?

    The third tiebreaker involves the season series between the tied clubs. This is finally where we find our answer, as Edmonton has won two of three games against the Ducks this year, in comparison to the three points Anaheim has earned against the Oilers.

    Although it was a while ago, the most recent game was the one the Ducks would like need back. The Oilers came to the Honda Center – the very surface they’ll play upon tonight – and destroyed the Ducks with a four-goal shutout performance by Cam Talbot.

    This time around, the Oil comes to Anaheim winners of their past four games and with a 39-24-9 record, their most wins since their 2007-’08 campaign that ended at 41-35-6.

    You might call me crazy, but I’d venture to say that what is truly propelling the Oilers this season is actually their defense and goaltending. Yes, I know Connor McDavid is on the team, but Edmonton has allowed only 181 goals against, the eighth-fewest in the league. That starts with 37-20-8 Talbot.

    Since a goaltender isn’t in complete control of their own record (they can post a shutout every game, but if their skaters don’t score they don’t get wins), we’ll just have to approach this statistically. How good has Talbot been? His .922 save percentage and 2.32 GAA are seventh and ninth-best in the league, respectively, among the 36 goaltenders with at least 33 appearances.

    Having a top-10 goaltender is made only better by Todd McLellan‘s defensive corps. Led by Kris Russell‘s team-leading 177 shot blocks (he also leads the league in blocks-per-game), Edmonton‘s blueline has allowed only 29.9 shots-per-game to reach Talbot’s crease, which ties for 10th-fewest in the league.

    And you thought all the Oilers could do is score.

    Well, you would be right to say the Oil‘s defense could still use work. That’s no more apparent than when they take to the penalty kill, as their 79.6% success rate is the ninth-worst in the league. The main culprit? A defense that allows 289 power play shots to reach Talbot’s crease (the highest total in the league). Russell has tried his hardest with his 30 shorthanded blocks, but the rest of the team needs to increase its effort. Andrej Sekera is the only other skater with more than 22 penalty kill blocks to his credit.

    Fortunately for Edmonton, it’s more than capable of getting goals allowed on its opponent’s power play back when it earns a man-advantage of its own. With his 25 power play points, Leon Draisaitl has led his club to a 22.5% success rate with the extra man, the third-best effort in the league. Draisaitl has been extremely impressive on the power play, as he leads the team in not only points, but also goals. He has 10 to his credit, but hasn’t notched one since Valentine’s Day.

    That hasn’t stopped him from making an impact though. He’s currently riding a four-game streak of notching at least two points. In addition to an even-strength assist in all those games, he’s also earned a power play helper in each of those contests too.

    Playing host this evening are the 38-23-11 Ducks, another club that doesn’t like to yield many scores. Four three-straight games, Anaheim has allowed only one goal – win or lose – to set the season total at 175 tallies against, the fourth-fewest in the league.

    Usually, 23-16-8 John Gibson is charged with that responsibility, but he’s still suffering from a lower body injury. Instead, it looks like 15-7-3 Jonathan Bernier will earn his fifth-straight start. A former first-rounder by rival Los Angeles, his .918 season save percentage and 2.49 GAA is (t)19th and (t)20th-best in the league, respectively, among the 60 netminders with at least 13 appearances.

    Ducks fans: if it makes you feel any better, Bernier – in his limited time – has actually been better than 29-15-14 Frederik Andersen this season. You may not like it, but it seems like Bob Murray made the right move, because you’d rather get something out of him than wasting him in the AHL.

    Of course, it’s not hard to be good when a goaltender has one of the better defenses in the NHL playing in front of him. Led by Cam Fowler‘s 122 shot blocks, Anaheim allows only 29.7 shots-per-game to reach their netminders’ crease, the ninth-best average in the NHL.

    Experience matters in this league, and Anaheim shows it with their penalty kill that ties for third-best in the game. Fowler continues his impressive ways with 24 shorthanded shot blocks to lead the team to an 85% success rate when short a man.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Ryan Getzlaf (45 assists [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]) & Edmonton‘s McDavid (82 points [leads the league] on 57 assists [tied for most in the NHL]) and Talbot (37 wins, including seven shutouts [both tied for second-most in the league], on a .922 save percentage [eighth-best in the NHL] and a 2.32 GAA [10th-best in the league]).

    The odds-makers in Vegas has marked Anaheim a -115 favorite to win tonight, but I’m not so convinced. Not only do the Oilers have the season series on their side, but they also have their starting goaltender and one of the better offenses in the league. It may not be another four-goal shutout, but I’m taking Edmonton in the upset.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Dave Keon (1940-) – Wanna talk hardware? This seven-time All-Star center spent almost his entire 18-year NHL career with Toronto, where he won four Stanley Cups, two Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, the 1961 Calder and the 1967 Smythe. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986.
    • Todd Ewen (1966-2015) – Edmonton selected this right wing in the eighth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent most of his 11-year career in Montréal (he actually never played a game for the Oilers). His biggest claim to fame is being a member of the Canadiens‘ 1993 Stanley Cup-winning club.
    • Tom Poti (1977-) – Another pick by the Oil, this defenseman was selected 59th-overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He actually played most of his 824 career games in Edmonton, but he spent more of his years with the Capitals organization. He made his lone All-Star Game appearance in 2003 in the midst of a 48-point season – a career best.

    The Bruins‘ game in Toronto Monday night has now cost them twice, as they didn’t have enough in the tank to fend off the Senators at the TD Garden in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Tom Pyatt (Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman) got the scoring started relatively quickly, as his tip-in gave the Sens a one-goal lead only 4:09 after the initial puck drop. That advantage lasted only 4:48 though, as David Krejci (Ryan Spooner and Third Star of the Game Torey Krug) leveled the score with a power play slap shot that proved to be the final tally of the period.

    Only one goal was struck in the second frame, and it belonged to Second Star Kyle Turris (Erik Karlsson and Hoffman). It was another power play slap shot, this time only 1:34 after the teams returned from the dressing rooms.

    Once again, the Bruins had an answer to to tie the game. Krug scored an unassisted power play wrist shot only 17 seconds into the third period to tie the game at two-all. Turris (Dion Phaneuf and Chris Wideman) was not going to be denied his sixth game-winning goal of the season though, so he scored on a tip-in 3:47 later to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead the Bruins could not surmount.

    First Star Craig Anderson earned the victory after saving 34-of-36 shots faced (94.4%), leaving the loss to Tuukka Rask, who saved 19-of-22 (86.4%).

    Not only does Ottawa‘s road win snap the two-game winning streak by home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series, it improves the 79-55-22 visitors’ advantage over series hosts to three points.

  • March 17 – Day 149 – Killing two birds with one stone, even though there’s only one bird team here

    In preparation for Saturday’s action there’s not too many games happening tonight – four, to be exact. Half of those contests drop the puck at 7 p.m. (Florida at the New York Rangers [NHLN/TVAS] and New Jersey at Pittsburgh [SN360]), followed two hours later by Dallas at Calgary. Finally, Buffalo visits Anaheim at 10 p.m. to complete the night’s festivities. All times eastern.

    Unfortunately, the action this evening, in addition to not being high-volume, is not expected to be exceptionally noteworthy. Since it’s been a while since we’ve featured either Anaheim or Buffalo, let’s kill two birds with one stone and catch their matchup at the Honda Center.

     

    This season has not treated the 28-31-12 Sabres how they would’ve liked. Many fans came into the campaign dreaming of making the playoffs, but with the club currently sitting in 14th-place in the Eastern Conference, it seems those dreams will be dashed for the sixth year in a row.

    Much of the reason for that is an offense that has managed only 177 goals in 71 games, which ties for the seventh-worst rate in the league. Of course, much of that is due to Jack Eichel‘s lower body injury suffered in a practice only a day before Buffalo‘s season got underway. Even though he’s missed 22 games this year, he still leads the team in points with 48, but Buffalonians can only dream of what he could have done playing a full 82-game season.

    Another players who’s missed considerable time but has still produced is Evander Kane. He’s had to sit out a dozen contests, but his 25 goals still top the squad.

    Believe it or not, the season’s injury list actually continues. In total, the top four forwards (Eichel, Kane, Ryan O’Reilly and the currently injured Kyle Okposo) have all missed a combined 41 games. With Kane and O’Reilly both playing on the top line, it’s proven difficult for the Sabres to maintain consistency and build chemistry.

    But when Buffalo fights through the injuries and manages to put a quality roster on the ice, it’s more than proven what it’s capable of. That’s no more apparent than when the Sabres take to the power play, as their 23.4% success rate is second-best in the league. Rasmus Ristolainen, coincidentally one of the big-names on the Sabres‘ roster that hasn’t missed a game yet this year, has been at the head of that attack with his 24 man-advantage points.

    Ristolainen has made a hobby of setting up linemates, as most of those are assists. Instead, it’s Matt Moulson who has scored the most power play goals on the team, with 10 to his credit.

    Unfortunately, special teams giveth, and special teams taketh away. As great as the Sabres have been on the power play, they’ve been equally terrible on the penalty kill. Buffalo defends only 76.4% of its penalties, the second-worst rate in the league even though Josh Gorges has done all he can with his 34 shorthanded shot blocks (11th-most in the NHL).

    Even with that effort, 19-22-8 Robin Lehner has still faced 255 shots against when his club is shorthanded, the third-most in the league. He saves a more-than-respectable .886 of those, but has not been rewarded with improved defensive play in front of him. Until Buffalo can improve on that defensive effort, it will not be a true Cup-contender. We will have to wait and see what Tim Murray has planned for the offseason.

    Hosting the Sabres this evening are the 37-23-10 Ducks, winners of their past two games that currently occupy second place in the Pacific Division. Defense is the name of the game in Anaheim, as the Ducks have allowed only 173 goals against this season, which ties for the sixth-lowest total in the league.

    At the core of that defense is 23-16-8 John Gibson, Anaheim‘s first-year starter. He’s done admirably in his new position, but recently suffered a lower body injury. In his stead, the Ducks are expected to start 14-7-2 Jonathan Bernier, whose .913 season save percentage and 2.62 GAA rank 29th-best in the league among the 60 netminders with at least a dozen appearances.

    Randy Carlyle and Bob Murray prescribe to a decent philosophy: an under-worked good goalie becomes a great goaltender. That’s where Cam Fowler‘s group comes into play. Thanks in part to Fowler’s team-leading 118 shot blocks, the Ducks allow only 29.6 shots to reach Gibson’s (now Bernier’s) crease per game, the ninth-lowest average in the league.

    The solid defensive effort continues when Anaheim is forced to defend a penalty. 85.1% of the time the Ducks are forced into a shorthanded situation, they do not yield a goal, which ties for the third-best rate in the NHL. Just like he is at even-strength, Fowler is very responsible for the Ducks‘ penalty kill success as he has a team-leading 24 shorthanded blocks.

    With only 24 days remaining on the NHL calendar for the regular season, it’s not a surprise that this is the last time the Ducks and Sabres will meet this year. The Ducks visited Buffalo on February 9 and exploded for a 5-2 victory.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Ryan Getzlaf (44 assists [tied for sixth-most in the league]) and Buffalo‘s Ristolainen (38 assists and 154 blocks [both lead the team]).

    A -210 line is never a good sign for the road team, and it’s definitely discouraging me from picking against the Ducks. Not only are they on The Pond, where they’ve won all but 11 of their contests, but they also have a defense that can cover for an injured goaltender (Exhibits A and B: the last two games). Anaheim should have another two points after tonight’s game is complete.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Craig Ramsay (1951-) – This longtime Sabres left wing saved his best for the last season of his career. Selected by Buffalo 19th-overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, he retired immediately after winning the 1985 Frank J. Selke Trophy.
    • Andrew Ference (1979-) – Pittsburgh may have selected this defenseman in the eighth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, but he’s spent most of his career with Boston. He was a member of the Bruins‘ 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, and also earned the 2014 King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
    • Ryan Parent (1987-) – It simply never panned out for this defenseman, the 18th-overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by Nashville. He played 106 career games in the league – 102 with Philadelphia – and only had three points to show for it.
    • Bobby Ryan (1987-) – Anaheim selected this left wing second-overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s where he spent the first six years of his career. Since 2013, he’s called Ottawa home, where he’s registered 182 points.
    • Ryan White (1988-) – This center was selected 66th-overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by Montréal, and that’s where he’s spent a majority of his eight-year career. That being said, he currently plays for the Wild after being traded from the Coyotes at this season’s deadline.

    If I had to guess, the best way to break the resolve of a team is by by scoring four unanswered goals in a period. The Maple Leafs did just that to best Tampa Bay with a five-goal shutout in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Since Third Star of the Game Roman Polak (Tyler Bozak) was the first Leaf to score a goal – a slap shot 9:19 into the game – he gets to take credit for the game-winning tally. It’s a special statistic for a defenseman, as this is only the sixth of his 11-year career, and his first of the season.

    Where Toronto truly won the game was in the second period. In the span of 13:17, Second Star Morgan Rielly (Nazem Kadri and Alexey Marchenko), Matt Martin (Matt Hunwick and Nikita Soshnikov), Connor Brown (Leo Komarov and William Nylander) and James van Riemsdyk (Rielly and Mitch Marner) all scored to set the score at the 5-0 final.

    Frederik Andersen earned his First Star award in the final 40 minutes of the game. The Lightning fired a total of 26 shots in the second and third frames, but Andersen did not let a single one by to earn his fourth shutout of the season.

    In all, Andersen saved all 33 shots he faced for the victory, while Andrei Vasilevskiy takes the loss after saving 11-of-15 (73.3%) shots faced. He was replaced following Brown’s power play goal (the score read 4-0 then) by Peter Budaj, who saved five-of-six (83.3%) for no decision.

    For two days in a row now, the 76-53-22 road teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series have scored five goals en route to a victory. Those offensive explosions has given the visitors in the series a three-point advantage on the hosts.

  • January 8 – Day 85 – Are Wild Ducks much different than the domestic variety?

    Happy Sunday to you. As you might guess, us here at Down the Frozen River encourage you to sit back and watch some hockey.

    The action starts at 5 p.m. with two matinee games (Boston at Carolina and Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh [NHLN/SN360[), followed an hour later by Philadelphia at Columbus. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. brings with it a pair of contests (Nashville at Chicago and Edmonton at Ottawa [SN/TVAS]), with tonight’s nightcap – Minnesota at Anaheim (NBCSN) – waiting 60 minutes before dropping the puck. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh: It took seven games for the Penguins to advance past the Lightning to the Stanley Cup finals a season ago.
    • Minnesota at Anaheim: Bruce Boudreau makes his return to the Pond.

    It’s been a while since we’ve made our way out to the Honda Center, and today’s contest should be fantastic. To Anaheim!

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    Let’s start with Boudreau getting fired from Washington on November 28, 2011, his first head coaching gig in the NHL. He had led the Capitals to four-straight Southeast Division titles, but no playoff success. It’s a theme that follows Gabby, so much that he should probably take up a career in soccer. He’s very successful in the regular season, but never got Washington past the Eastern Semifinals.

    He never had a chance to collect on unemployment, as only two days later he had traversed the country to Orange County to take over as the Ducks‘ skipper, the quickest turnaround for a coach in NHL history. Barring that initial 2011-’12 season when he was hired, Boudreau got all his Ducks in a row and returned them to glory once again. Starting with the 2012-’13 season, he again went four-straight years with a division title.

    Uh oh, we’ve seen that before…

    Unfortunately for Anaheim and Boudreau, even though they made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2015, they made zero trips to the Stanley Cup Finals – not to mention the most important piece of hardware the the league.

    Making matters worse, all the Ducks‘ season-ending games were on the very surface they’re playing tonight. Four straight years the Ducks hosted a Game 7 at the Honda Center, and four-straight years they cleaned our their lockers the next morning.

    Bob Murray, Anaheim‘s GM, ain’t about that life, so two days later Boudreau was again on the job search. That’s how he wound up in the State of Hockey, where he is well on his way to creating another dominant team. Recently, they were involved in the fabled game against Columbus (who would’ve thought that phrase would exist five years ago?) that featured two teams with 12-game or better winning streaks. The Wild simply hope he can keep that success up into the postseason.

    Boudreau and his 24-9-5 Wild have full command of second place in both the Central Division and the Western Conference. They’ve been able to find that success by playing some phenomenal goaltending, allowing only 82 goals so far this season, the second-fewest in the NHL.

    20-7-3 Devan Dubnyk has done more than his share to get Minnesota into their current position. He has a season .939 save percentage and 1.82 GAA, easily the best effort in the league.

    Dubnyk’s play has been beyond impressive since his defense has done little to help him out. Even with Jared Spurgeon‘s team-leading 68 blocks, the Wild have allowed 30.7 shots to reach their netminder per game, the 11th-highest average in the league.

    Even without the help, Dubnyk keeps pucks out of his net regardless of the circumstances. Minnesota is the home of the fifth-best penalty kill in the NHL, preventing 85.5% of opposing power plays to score. Spurgeon is joined by Mikael Granlund for the mark of best shorthanded defenseman, as both have 10 penalty kill blocks to their credit.

    Playing host this evening are the 21-12-8 Ducks, the second-best club in the Pacific Division. Winners of their last three games, and point-earners in their last seven, they’ve found that success on an impressive offense that has already scored 110 goals this season, the 13th-highest total in the league.

    Ryan Kesler has been the man in charge of the offense, notching 34 points in 41 games. That being said, the man striking fear in goaltenders across the Pacific is Rickard Rakell, the proud owner of 16 goals in only 30 games. He hasn’t netted a puck yet this calendar year, which should worry Dubnyk.

    Much of that success has been on the back of an intimidating power play. The Ducks score on 22.7% of their opportunities, the fourth-best mark in the NHL. Kesler has been just as productive on the man-advantage as he is at even-strength. He’s notched 15 power play points so far this season, just short of his entire point total. Seven of those points have been power play goals, the highest total in Anaheim.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Ryan Getzlaf (25 assists [most on the team]), Kesler (34 points [most on the team]), Rakell (16 goals [most on the team]), Nick Ritchie (133 hits [most on the team]), Jakob Silfverberg (+12 [best on the team]) and Sami Vatanen (74 blocks [most on the team]) & Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (1.82 GAA on a .939 save percentage [both lead the NHL], including five shutouts [tied for most in the league] for 20 wins [tied for second-most in the NHL]), Granlund (+20 [tied for seventh-best in the league]), Mikko Koivu (+20 [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]), Spurgeon (+21 [tied for fifth-best in the league]), Ryan Suter (+23 [tied for the NHL lead]) and Jason Zucker (+23 [tied for the league lead]).

    I like Anaheim to win tonight’s very competitive match, even if I don’t have statistics to back my claims. Anaheim is rolling right now with their seven-game point streak. Pair that with some home cooking on The Pond, and I see a Ducks winner no matter how good Minnesota is.

    Thanks to First Star of the Game Mark Letestu‘s overtime slap shot, the Oilers were able to escape New Jersey with a 2-1 victory in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    The game’s first goal actually belonged to the Devils, compliments of a backhander from Third Star Miles Wood (Travis Zajac and Steven Santini) at the 9:44 mark of the first period. New Jersey‘s lead lasted a full 33:49 before Edmonton pulled even.

    With his first goal of his career, rookie Matthew Benning (Andrej Sekera and Anton Lander)  takes credit for that game-tying tally. As neither team was able to breakthrough for a winning goal in regulation, this game advanced into three-on-three overtime.

    Letestu (Oscar Klefbom and Connor McDavid) struck with 61 seconds remaining before a shootout with a fantastic slap shot. He was aided by a Zajac slashing penalty against McDavid that forced a four-on-three power play.

    Cam Talbot earns the victory after saving 19-of-20 shots faced (95%), leaving the loss to Second Star Cory Schneider, who saved 41-of-43 (95.3%).

    Edmonton‘s road victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 47-26-14 in favor of the hosts. Home teams lead the visitors by 13 points.

  • December 27 – Day 73 – Pacific Powerhouses

    The worst thing about Christmas is that there was no hockey for three days. The world can be so cruel.

    Fortunately, the NHL makes it all better by scheduling 10 games this evening, starting with four contests (Pittsburgh at New Jersey [TVAS], Washington at the New York Islanders, Ottawa at the New York Rangers [RDS2] and Boston at Columbus [SN]) at 7 p.m. and Buffalo at Detroit half an hour later. Minnesota at Nashville drops the puck at 8 p.m., with Winnipeg at Chicago waiting 30 minutes. Another wave of games gets underway at 9 p.m. (Calgary at Colorado and Dallas at Arizona), followed an hour later by tonight’s nightcap: San Jose at Anaheim (SN). All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Washington at New York: It’s rivalry night in the Barclays Center!
    • San Jose at Anaheim: Same goes for the Honda Center!

    Sorry Isles fans, but the biggest game of the night is happening on The Pond, and we’d be remiss to not give it our attention!

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    The Sharks return from Christmas break riding a two-game winning streak with a 21-12-1 record, the best mark in the Pacific Division. They’ve found that success on an impressive defense and great goaltending that have combined to allow only 75 goals, tying for the fourth-fewest in the league.

    Only two goalies have taken a turn between the pipes for San Jose this season, and most of the time it is 18-11-1 Martin Jones. He’s earned that record on a .919 save percentage and 2.08 GAA – the (t)17th and eighth-best marks, respectively, among netminders with 15 or more appearances this season.

    I’ve said it multiple times this season, but most of Jones’ success this season has been a direct result of the impressive play of the blueline in front of him. Led by Marc-Edouard Vlasic‘s impressive 63 blocks, the Sharks have allowed only an average of 26.2 shots to reach Jones’ crease per game, the second-lowest average in the NHL. Justin Braun, Brent Burns and Paul Martin have also been very important in this effort as well.

    This success has carried into the penalty kill, where San Jose ties for ninth-best with a 83.5% kill rate. Braun has truly been on his game when down a man, as his 15 shorthanded blocks are the best on the team.

    Playing host this evening are the 17-12-6 Ducks, the third-best team in the Pacific Division. The offense has led the Ducks‘ charge so far this season, scoring 95 goals – the 12th-most in the NHL.

    Hockey’s version of the Ryan brothers has found far more success than their football counterparts. Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler have 28 points to their credit to co-lead the team. Tag on Rickard Rakell‘s team-high 14 goals, and you have a potent Anaheim offense.

    The Ducks‘ success has been almost entirely due to their power play. Successful on 24.3% attempts, Anaheim is tops in the Western Conference, and second-best in the league as a whole. Who to lead that charge than Kesler? He has 14 power play points, not to mention his seven man-advantage goals, for tops in the Ducks‘ clubhouse.

    This is the second time we’ve featured this matchup this season, and this series is already three games deep going into this evening. The last time this matchup was featured was also the last time these teams saw each other, a 3-2 Ducks victory on the Pond 18 days ago. Anaheim leads the season series 2-0-1.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Anaheim‘s Getzlaf (24 assists [tied for third-most in the league]) and San Jose‘s Jones (18 wins [tied for second-most in the NHL] on a 2.08 GAA [eighth-best in the league], as well as two shutouts [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]).

    Even though it’s the Sharks with the winning streak, it’s hard to pick against the Ducks given their recent success against their rivals. I expect another good game on The Pond between these clubs.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Mickey Redmond (1947-) – This right wing only played nine seasons, but he won two Stanley Cups during his time in Montréal. That being said, he spent more of his career in Detroit.
    • Bryan Smolinski (1971-) – The 21st-overall selection in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by Boston, this center played 1056 games over his career. He spent most of his career in Los Angeles, where he notched 191 of his 651 career points.
    • Jay Pandolfo (1974-) – This left wing was the 32nd-overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by New Jersey, he won two Stanley Cup titles – both with the Devils.
    • Fernando Pisani (1976-) – A right wing drafted by Edmonton in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, he would have been a lifetime Oiler if not for a season spent in Chicago.
    • Patrick Sharp (1981-) – Although drafted in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by Philadelphia, this left wing is playing his second season in Dallas. He is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, all with Chicago.
    • Paul Stastny (1985-) – The 44th-overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, was this center to Colorado. He played eight seasons in Denver before moving to St. Louis in 2014.

  • December 19 – Day 68 – Carlyle Cup

    It’s a’ight though, the NHL has you covered with five games to take your mind off going back to work. The action begins at 7 p.m. with two contests (Nashville at Philadelphia [TVAS] and Detroit at Carolina), followed half an hour later by Anaheim at Toronto. Edmonton visits St. Louis at 8 p.m., and tonight’s contest – Calgary at Arizona – drops thee puck an hour after that.

    We’ve featured tons of players returning to their old home arenas this season, but tonight the focus is the man behind Anaheim‘s bench: Head Coach Randy Carlyle.

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    Carlyle’s first stint with the Ducks began before the 2005 season, followed only a season later by Anaheim‘s first Stanley Cup victory. He held onto the job until November 30, 2011 when Bob Murray pulled the plug after a 7-13-4 start.

    He was only unemployed a little over three months before accepting the job in Toronto on March 2, 2012. He took over a 29-28-7 Leafs team that was only five points out of a playoff position, but he failed to spark the turnaround necessary to get the Leafs into the postseason.

    Carlyle managed that turnaround only a season later, qualifying his club for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in nine seasons. With a 4-1 lead in Game 7, the Leafs got within 10 minutes of advancing to the Eastern Semifinals, but the Bruins stormed back by scoring three goals in the final 10:42 of the third period to force overtime – including two goals in the final 1:22 – and then Patrice Bergeron sealed the victory to eliminate Toronto from contention.

    Since then, Carlyle’s club amassed a 59-52-11 before he was relieved of his duties on January 6, 2015. After a year and a half out of the game, he’s back where it all began to head the Ducks to a 16-11-5 record, good for second place in the Pacific Division. His team has found that success with a solid offense that has notched 90 goals already this season, the eighth-most in the league.

    It’s been all about the Ryans for the Ducks so far this year, as both Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler have 27 points to their credit to co-lead the squad. That being said, it’s been Rickard Rakell who has arguably been most impressive, as he has lit the lamp 14 times to lead the team, and in only 21 games.

    Much of that success is due to an impressive man-advantage. Anaheim is tied for the second-best power play in the league, finding success on 24.3% of their attempts. Kesler has truly been dominant with the extra man, as his 13 power play points and seven power play goals are both best on the squad.

    Carlyle’s ex-club wishes they were having such success. After a hot start to the season, the Leafs have regressed to where most expected them to be: seventh place in the Atlantic Division. At 12-11-7, Toronto has struggled more on their defensive end having allowed 86 scores for the 11th-highest goals-against average in the NHL.

    12-7-6 Frederik Andersen (yes, Ducks fans. That Frederik Andersen.) has been in net for all but seven of Toronto‘s games, and has earned a .919 save percentage and 2.63 GAA – the (t)18th and 25th-best effort, respectively, among the 43 goaltenders with 13 or more appearances.

    While Lou Lamoriello was certainly expecting more from Andersen when he traded for him, the goaltender cannot shoulder all the blame as his blueline allows a whopping 32.3 shots-per-game to reach his crease, the fourth-highest rate in the game. With his team-leading 52 blocks, Morgan Rielly has done all he can to help his goalie out, but he and Nikita Zaitsev are the only two defensemen who have more than 40 shot blocks to their credit. Andersen has already proven in the past that he is a capable goalie when he is not overworked, so Toronto‘s next step in their rebuild should be to improve their defensive corps.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Getzlaf (24 assists [second-most in the NHL]) and Rakell (14 goals [tied for seventh-most in the league]) & Toronto‘s Auston Matthews (14 goals [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]).

    Given Anaheim‘s proclivity to score is matched with Toronto‘s willingness to concede, I’m liking the Ducks to earn Carlyle a win in his old stomping grounds. Of course, that’s all provided Matthews doesn’t try to screw up another one of my predictions.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Doug Harvey (1924-1989) – 14 of Harvey’s 19 seasons were spent in Montréal, and he was not your average defenseman. A 13-time All Star, he hoisted six Stanley Cups with his seven Norris Trophies. He capped his career in 1973 when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Habs also retired his number two in 1985.
    • Eric Weinrich (1966-) – Another defenseman, Weinrich was drafted 32nd-overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft by New Jersey. He ended up playing 1157 games over 17 seasons with eight different teams. He spent most of his time in Chicago.
    • Matt Stajan (1983-) – A second-round pick by Toronto in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, this center is in the midst of his eighth season with Calgary. So far in his career, he’s notched 390 points, including 139 goals.

    It wasn’t the walk in Central Park I expected it to be for the Rangers, but they were able to defeat New Jersey 3-2 in the shootout in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Not a single score was struck until 24:37 had passed. Helped by a Marc Staal delay of game penalty, P.A. Parenteau (Kyle Palmieri and Damon Severson) got the Devils on the board with a power play tip-in. It was the lone goal of the second period.

    8:10 into the final frame, the Rangers leveled when Chris Kreider (Mats Zuccarello and Brady Skjei) buried a snap shot. With 9:28 remaining in regulation, the Devils again stole the lead when Miles Wood (Adam Henrique and Palmieri) buried a snapper of his own, but the Blueshirts once again leveled, this time via Derek Stepan (Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Klein) with only 73 seconds to spare in regulation.

    As neither team was able to break the tie in that time nor the five minute three-on-three overtime period, the game advanced to the shootout, where the Rangers elected to go first.

    1. Zuccarello made good on that decision when he scored, putting New York up 1-0.
    2. Parenteau tried to counter, but failed. His shot was saved by First Star of the Game Henrik Lundqvist.
    3. Jimmy Vesey was up next, but his attempt was rejected by Second Star Cory Schneider.
    4. Taylor Hall was called on next for the Devils, but his shot met the same fate Parenteau’s did.
    5. With the opportunity to win the game, Stepan tried to do too much and blatantly missed the net, leaving the door open for Jersey.
    6. Michael Cammalleri took advantage by beating Lundqvist to force the shootout to extra frames.
    7. Kevin Hayes must perform well under pressure, as he handled sudden death with ease. He improved the Rangers‘ shootout score to 2-1 to force the Devils into a miss-and-lose situation.
    8. Unfortunately, Severson did just that, failing to put his shot on frame.

    Lundqvist earned his second win in as many nights by saving 29-of-31 shots faced (93.5%), leaving the shootout loss to Scheider, saving 25-of-27 (92.6%).

    Not only was it our second-straight shootout contest, but it was the first home winner in the DtFR Game of the Day series since last Sunday. The home squads now have a 37-22-11, favoring them over the roadies by seven points.

  • December 15 – Day 64 – Goals on Gold on Goals

    Thursdays are usually good days for hockey, and today is no different. The first of eight games drop the puck at 7 p.m. (Anaheim at Boston and Chicago at the New York Islanders), followed half an hour later by two more (Arizona at Toronto and Los Angeles at Detroit). 8 p.m. marks the beginning of a trio of contests (New Jersey at St. Louis, Minnesota at Nashville and Florida at Winnipeg), with the New York Rangers at Dallas, this evening’s nightcap, waiting 30 minutes before getting underway.

    I know we just featured the Bruins Monday, but I like this little West vs. East thing we’ve been doing the last couple days. Let’s keep it going in the TD Garden.

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    The 15-10-5 Ducks make their yearly trip to Beantown in second place in the Pacific Division. They’ve earned that position with an offense that has already scored 82 goals this season, the eighth-most in the NHL and second-most in the division.

    Much of that success can be attributed to Corey Perry, who has a team-leading 26 points to his credit. However, most of those have been assists, which has left the door open for Ryan Kesler to lead the club with 12 goals.

    The Ducks have truly been a juggernaut when they have a man advantage. In that situation, Anaheim has found the back of the net 23.5% of the time, the third-best rate in the NHL. Kesler and Perry both have a dozen power play points to their credit to lead the club, but Kesler’s have been more impressive as he’s potted seven man-advantage tallies – the most in Anaheim.

    The Ducks still struggle on the penalty kill, as their 80.6% neutralization rate is tied for eighth-worst in the league. If it weren’t for Sami Vatanen and his squad-leading 12 shorthanded blocks, nobody in Anaheim would have more than nine shot blocks in that situation. That is indicative of the effort the Ducks have put into their kill, and is also what will hold them back from making a deep playoff run if they leave it unresolved.

    Playing host tonight are the 16-12-3 Bruins, the third-best club in the Atlantic Division. They provide a good matchup for the Ducks tonight, as their strength has been on the defensive end where they’ve only allowed 74 goals, which ties for the ninth-fewest in the NHL.

    15-5-3 Tuukka Rask has been in net for all but one of Boston‘s point-earning games. While that might be cause for concern for his stamina going forward, it certainly makes his success so far this season even more impressive. His .93 save percentage and 1.9 GAA are ninth and fifth best among the 41 netminders with 12 or more appearances.

    I know I say it every time we feature the Bruins, but the main reason Rask has bounced back from such a poor season last year is due to the defense playing in front of him that has allowed only 27.5 shots-per-game, the fourth fewest in the league. Rookie Brandon Carlo deserves much of the credit, as his 52 blocks lead the Bruins.

    That success has bled into the penalty kill, where Boston‘s 86.4% kill rate is third-best in the NHL. The rookie continues his impressive debut campaign in this department as well, as his 16 shorthanded blocks lead the Bruins.

    Boston‘s power play also ranks third in the league, but unfortunately it’s third-worst. They’ve found the back of the net on only 13.2% of opportunities, even though they’re led by three players (David Krejci, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak) with five man-advantage points apiece. Pastrnak has been the most impressive with the extra man, as he’s scored four power play goals.

    Some players to keep an eye tonight include Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf (22 assists [second-most in the NHL]) & Boston‘s Pastrnak (19 goals [second-most in the league] for a +17 [tied for third-best in the NHL]) and Rask (three shutouts [tied for second-most in the league] among 15 wins [tied for third-most in the NHL] on a 1.9 GAA [fifth-best in the league] and a .93 save percentage [ninth-best in the NHL]).

    I’ve never bet on sports, much less a spread or line, but if I understand correctly the Bruins opened a -127 favorite, but Vegas has since pulled the contest off the board. I like the Ducks to earn the road victory for no other reason than Boston played an overtime game in Pittsburgh yesterday.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Mario Marois (1957-) – Although he was originally drafted by the Rangers in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, this defenseman spent much of his career in his hometown with the Nordiques. After 955 games over 15 seasons, he retired with a career +10 on 433 points.

    For every punch in yesterday’s Game of the Day, the opposition had a counter-punch. That forced a shootout, where the Sharks were able to steal a 4-3 victory in Ottawa.

    Only 5:57 into the game, Joe Pavelski (Logan Couture and Joe Thornton) buried a snap shot to give San Jose an early lead, but Bobby Ryan (Ryan Dzingel and Second Star Dion Phaneuf) and the Senators were able to answer 64 seconds later with a wrister to tie the game at one-all.

    The Sharks took the lead once again with 8:30 remaining in the second period with a wrist shot from First Star Brent Burns (Brenden Dillon), but Ottawa was able to answer 5:57 later when Kyle Turris (Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman) buried a snap shot to tie the game a second time.

    Phaneuf (Erik Karlsson and Stone) gave the Senators their first lead of the night when he scored a power play snapper with 3:46 remaining in regulation, but San Jose stole a page out of their book when Chris Tierney (Burns and David Schlemko) netted a wrister 1:18 later, knotting the game a third time. Neither club was able to manage another goal in regulation or three-on-three overtime, which forced a shootout.

    The Sens took the first attempt…

    1. …but Turris’ shot was saved by Martin Jones.
    2. Mikkel Boedker failed to take advantage, and his miss did not even test Mike Condon.
    3. Ryan met the same fate as his teammate, once again leaving the door open for the Sharks.
    4. Pavelski failed to take advantage though, as Condon was able to make the save.
    5. Karlsson was up next, and Jones gobbled up his third-straight shot.
    6. San Jose‘s Burns couldn’t end the shootout, but he probably would have had a better chance if he’d put his attempt on frame.
    7. Jones seems to have a hobby of saving Senators‘ shootout shots, as Chris Neil met the same fate as the three previous Sens.
    8. Third Star Kevin Labanc earned that distinction for a reason: he earned the bonus point for the Sharks by scoring the lone shootout goal.

    Jones earns the victory after saving 28-of-31 (90.3%) shots faced, leaving the shootout loss to Condon, saving 26-of-29 (89.7%).

    The third-straight victory by the visiting team in the DtFR Game of the Day series as pulled the roadies within 11 points of the hosts, who still have a 36-20-10 record.

  • December 9 – Day 58 – The Tank empties into The Pond

    You made it through another week of work, so you deserve to watch some hockey. Washington at Buffalo gets things started at 7 p.m., followed half an hour later by a pair of contests (Columbus at Detroit and St. Louis at New Jersey). 8 p.m. marks the puck drop of Edmonton at Minnesota, with the New York Rangers visiting Chicago (NHLN) 30 minutes later. San Jose at Anaheim (SN) acts as this evening’s nightcap, getting underway at 10 p.m. All times eastern.

    Short list

    • New York at Chicago: It’s an Original Six matchup between two of the top teams in the league.
    • San Jose at Anaheim: This rivalry may not have existed 25 years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching.

    It’s been a long time since we’ve checked in on the Ducks, so let’s head out to the Honda Center!

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    The reigning Western Conference Champion San Jose Sharks are well on their way to making their second-straight playoff appearance, as their 15-10-1 is third-best in the Pacific Division. They’ve gotten to that position by playing some good goaltending and even better defense, yielding only 55 goals so far this season – the third-fewest in the NHL.

    Martin Jones has only had three days off, but that hasn’t affected him much. He has a 13-9-1 record with a .92 save percentage and 2.04 GAA to rank (t)14th and seventh-best among the 36 netminders with 12 or more appearances.

    An impressive GAA paired with a less-impressive save percentage is almost always due to an impressive defense. San Jose is definitely one of those cases. Led by Justin Braun and Brent Burns‘ co-leading 48 blocks, the Sharks‘ blueline has allowed only 25.8 shots to reach Jones’ crease per game, the best rate in the league.

    Hosting that strong defense this evening are the 13-9-5 Ducks, the club sitting in fourth place in the Pacific Division. Anaheim is a well-rounded team, but I’m more impressed by their offense that has scored 72 goals this season, a total that ties them for 14th in scoring.

    Ryan Kesler has been the man in charge of the Ducks offense so far this season, leading the club with his 23 points as well as his 12 goals. But, it hasn’t been just him. Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry join Kesler in the 20+ point club.

    One of the main reasons for this success has been the Ducks‘ opportunistic play. Kesler’s 11 power play points has led Anaheim to converting 22.1% of their man-advantages, the sixth-best rate in the league. The incredible center has completed a lot of those attacks, taking credit for seven of the 19 extra-man tallies.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Anaheim‘s Getzlaf (20 assists [tied for second-most in the league]) and San Jose‘s Jones (13 wins [tied for fourth-most in the NHL], including two shutouts [tied for seventh-most in the league], on a 2.04 GAA [ninth-best in the NHL]).

    Vegas has marked Anaheim a -112 favorite, but I like the underdog in tonight’s contest. San Jose has a superior defense going against a slightly above-average offense. Unfortunately, I’ve been wrong in my last few picks, so we’ll have to see if it’s the Ducks or Sharks that are grateful I’ve sided with NorCal.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Germain Gagnon (1942-2014) – This left wing may have only played five seasons, but he played for four different clubs in that relatively short amount of time. Although he appeared on three Chicago teams, he played most of his 259 games for the Islanders.
    • Pit Martin (1943-2008) – 1101 games were played over 17 NHL seasons by this center, most of which with the Blackhawks. Although he never won a Stanley Cup, he did claim the 1970 Masterton Trophy.
    • Dana Murzyn (1966-) – Hartford selected this defenseman fifth-overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent most of his days in Vancouver. After playing his amateur days in Calgary, he joined the Flames in 1988 and played on the 1989 Stanley Cup winning team.
    • Petr Nedved (1971-) – Nearly half of this center’s career was spent playing with the Rangers, but he was drafted second-overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by Vancouver. By the time his NHL days came to a close, he’d played for seven teams.

    For the second time in four days, and coincidentally the same statecommonwealth, goaltending took the night off in the DtFR Game of the Day in favor for a barn-burner as Philadelphia beat Edmonton 6-5.

    Only one goal was struck in the first period, and it belonged to the visiting Oilers. Third Star of the Game Leon Draisaitl (Jesse Puljujarvi and Kris Russell) scored a snap shot 4:39 into the game to give Edmonton an early lead.

    That lead doubled 4:35 into the second period when Connor McDavid (Draisaitl and Milan Lucic) buried a power play snap shot, but Philly reeled them in when Mark Streit (Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov) buried a slap shot 7:56 later to set the score at 2-1. The Flyers leveled the score with 6:36 remaining in the frame when Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (Andrew MacDonald and Chris VandeVelde) scored his first goal of the season with a snapper. Philadelphia scored again 19 seconds later to take their first lead, courtesy of a flying First Star Claude Giroux (Second Star Jakub Voracek) slap shot. The Oilers didn’t like that very much, so Andrej Sekera (Mark Letestu and McDavid) buried a shorthanded slap shot to tie the game at three-all going into an exciting final period.

    As crazy as the second period was, the third was even more wild. With goals from Benoit Pouliot (Draisaitl and Sekera) and Oscar Klefbom (Jordan Eberle and Drake Caggiula) at the 3:07 and 5:12 marks respectively (Klefbom’s was on the power play), the Oilers had a strong 5-3 lead. But it would end up not even yielding a point. A Voracek (Shayne Gostisbehere and Giroux) power play snap shot pulled the Flyers back within a goal at the 6:31 mark, followed 5:40 later by a Giroux (Radko Gudas and Voracek) snap shot to tie the game. The game stayed tied until 89 remained – that’s when Michael Raffl (Voracek and Streit) buried his game-winning snap shot.

    Steve Mason took the victory after saving 28-of-33 shots faced (84.8%), leaving the loss to Jonas Gustavsson, saving 25-of-31 (80.6%).

    Philadelphia‘s home victory is the fourth-straight in the DtFR Game of the Day series. They join with previous home teams to set the hosts’ record at 33-19-8 in that series, leading the visitors by nine points.