Down the Frozen River

Tag: San Jose Sharks

February 11 – Day 123 – It’s easy as…
Do your Sunday right with a full day of hockey.

Like yesterday, we’ll start our daily hockey schedule with group play in the women’s Olympic tournament. Scheduled for 7:10 a.m. Eastern time, Canada’s women will be squaring off against the Olympic Athletes from Russia in PyeongChang.

Back in North America, the NHL is raring to get its nine-game schedule underway, as Pittsburgh at St. Louis (NBC/TVAS) will drop the day’s opening puck at high noon. The next wave of matinees is scheduled for 3 p.m. (the New York Rangers at Winnipeg [NHLN] and Detroit at Washington [SN1/TVAS]), followed an hour later by Vancouver at Dallas. Three tilts (Colorado at Buffalo, Boston at New Jersey and Calgary at the New York Islanders [SN]) get underway at the usual 7 p.m. starting time, trailed 60 minutes later by tonight’s co-nightcaps: Philadelphia at Vegas and San Jose at Anaheim. All times Eastern.

To close out this list of games, we return our attention to South Korea in time to catch the 2:40 a.m. Eastern time puck drop of Switzerland vs. Japan in the women’s Olympic tournament.

My list of important matchups? I thought you’d never ask!
- Canada vs. OAR: The second and fourth-ranked women’s sides in the world are squaring off? No need to tell me twice.
- Pittsburgh at St. Louis: Penguins fans have a hot-cold relationship with RW Ryan Reaves, but he’ll be welcomed with open arms today in the Gateway City.
- New York at Winnipeg: Speaking of prodigal sons returning home, G Ondrej Pavelec – a 10-year resident of Manitoba’s capital – is back in town with the Rangers.
- Calgary at New York: Another return to a former home arena, D Travis Hamonic makes his Brooklyn debut in a Flames sweater.
- San Jose at Anaheim: No returns here; just a good, old-fashioned rivalry.
- Switzerland vs. Japan: This is an important game in the battle for playoff qualification from Group B, as the loser will probably end up in the consolation tournament.
What. A. List.

Let’s shoot for what should be the most important game of the day. That means we’re headed out to The Pond!

With only two points separating second-place San Jose and fifth-place Anaheim, it goes without saying that every game within the Pacific Division is huge.

Beginning with the visiting 29-18-6 Sharks, life has been a bit of a roller coaster since returning from the All-Star Break. San Jose has posted only a 3-3-1 record since January 30, but it’s been decent play in the defensive zone that has kept the Sharks in their spot in the division table.

Behind the efforts of D Justin Braun (1.9 hits per game since January 30), D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (averaging 2.3 blocks over his past seven showings) and F Barclay Goodrow and F Tomas Hertl (both averaging a takeaway-per-game over this run), the Sharks have limited their opposition to an average of 31.14 shots against since the All-Star Break, the 14th-best effort in the NHL.

While that performance may be little better than average in the league in that time, San Jose is fortunate enough to have the luxury of employing 15-14-5 G Martin Jones on an almost nightly basis. In his five starts since the break, Jones has played well to post a .922 save percentage and 2.39 GAA, improving his season numbers to .911 and 2.64.

Between those two efforts, San Jose’s collective defense has allowed an average of only 2.86 goals per game since returning from break, the 14th-best performance in the NHL in that time.

Meanwhile, 27-19-10 Anaheim has done little better than San Jose since returning to action, as the Ducks have posted only a 3-2-1 record over their past six games.

When the Ducks have earned those seven points, it would seem that they earned them on the offensive end. Since January 30, Anaheim has scored an 18th-best (also known as 14th-worst…) 2.83 goals per game.

Leading that charge has been none other than F Rickard Rakell. the 24-year-old Swede has posted 4-5-9 totals in his past six showings to average well over a point per game and improve his season numbers to a team-leading 22-23-45. He’s joined by W Corey Perry (3-4-7 since the All-Star Break, 11-21-32 overall) and D Cam Fowler (0-6-6 since the break, 6-18-24 overall) in averaging a point per game over this run.

In particular, Fowler and Rakell have had some incredible chemistry of late. All six of Fowler’s assists have involved Rakell in some way, including the defenseman providing a helper on half of the forward’s most recent goals.

Tonight’s game is the important finale of the four-game regular season series between these two clubs. Posting a 2-0-1 record against the Ducks, San Jose has a commanding lead in the series, but Anaheim can still level with a regulation win this evening. The Sharks won the first meeting 2-1 on November 4 thanks to a clutch save by Jones in the sixth round of a shootout, but Anaheim matched that shootout victory with one of its own 16 days later. F Antoine Vermette scored the game-winning goal in the ninth round of the shootout to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory. More recently, San Jose dominated Anaheim to a 6-2 victory in Southern California on January 21. 14-4-3 G Aaron Dell earned First Star honors with a .943 save percentage.

Though the Sharks did have to play last night at home to a 6-4 victory against the Oilers, I like their chances at upsetting the Ducks at Honda Center. Though Anaheim has sported a slightly better offense of late by comparison, the Sharks’ defense should be able to keep it contained to earn two points.

After raising C Vincent Lecavalier‘s sweater to the Amalie Arena rafters, the Tampa Bay Lightning successfully defended home ice against the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

On a night honoring a former captain, who else to register Tampa’s first goal than Second Star of the Game C Steven Stamkos (F Yanni Gourde and F Tyler Johnson)? His snap shot found the back of the net only 65 seconds into the game to give the Lightning an early lead. However, that advantage didn’t last long, as F Jonny Brodzinski (F Andy Andreoff and C Nick Shore) pulled the Kings even only 3:57 later. Thanks to F Alex Killorn‘s (Stamkos and D Braydon Coburn) wrist shot at the 9:45 mark, the Bolts were able to set the score at 2-1 to take a one-goal advantage into the first intermission.

The Lightning absolutely dominated the second period, as they scored both goals of the frame and out-shot Los Angeles 14-9. F Cedric Paquette (RW Ryan Callahan) provided the first tally with a wrister at the 3:12 mark, followed 11:31 later by a RW Nikita Kucherov (D Victor Hedman) power play wrister that eventually became the game-winner.

With LW Kyle Clifford in the penalty box serving W Dustin Brown‘s kneeing five-minute major penalty at the 14:30 mark against D Mikhail Sergachev (Brown also earned a misconduct on the play), the Lightning’s power play was quick to jump on the opportunity. After Kucherov reset the play to Hedman at the blue line, the puck was returned to the Russian above the right face-off circle. Kucherov advanced a few paces towards G Jonathan Quick‘s net before ripping a quick wrister over the netminder’s glove.

As good as Tampa Bay was in the second period to set the score at 4-1, Los Angeles was able to match that effort in the third. Clifford (Third Star C Anze Kopitar and D Derek Forbort) registered the frame’s first goal at the 3:17 mark, followed 10:48 later by D Christian Folin‘s (Andreoff and Shore) slap shot to pull the Kings back within a goal. However, the Kings were only able to match Tampa’s second period performance – not exceed it – as they failed to find a leveling goal in the remaining 6:55 of regulation.

First Star G Andrei Vasilevskiy earned the victory after saving 44-of-47 shots faced (.936 save percentage), leaving the loss to Quick, who saved 13-of-14 (.929). G Darcy Kuemper started the game for Los Angeles, put he was pulled after Paquette set the score at 3-1. Kuemper saved 11-of-14 (.786) for no decision.

The Bolts’ victory snapped a two-game losing skid by home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series, returning a 26-point advantage to the series’ 68-40-15 hosts.
February 11, 2018
Down the Frozen River Podcast #92- Our Canada Wins Gold

After NHLers were not allowed to participate in the 2018 Winter Games and due to the success of last week’s episode, Nick and Connor decided to create rosters with NHL players anyway for Team Canada. Also discussed, Alexandre Burrows, Max Domi and the New York Rangers plan for the future.

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

February 9, 2018
February 4 – Day 116 – The ocean is a dangerous place
This is it guys: the last day of the year that football can get in the way of hockey. It’s almost over.

Unfortunately, today’s football game just so happens to be the biggest of the year, so the NHL isn’t trying to compete too much with only three matinees on the schedule. The action begins at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time with Vegas at Washington, followed half an hour later by today’s extremely early co-nightcaps: Ottawa at Montréal (RDS/SN) and San Jose at Carolina.

Before the season even began, I had two of today’s three tilts circled on my calendar:
- Vegas at Washington: D Nate Schmidt is back in the capital city, and he’s bringing his new friends from the desert with him.
- Ottawa at Montréal: A rivalry game between two of the bottom-three teams in the Atlantic Division? Oh boy!
However, in an odd twist of fate, I’m actually leaning towards the activities taking place in Raleigh, N.C. today since we’ve highlighted the Capitals or Golden Knights in three of the past five featured games. To the Research Triangle!

No matter how often I keep doubting the Sharks, they just keep on finding ways to win. As such, they’ve earned 27-16-8 record that is good enough for second place in the Pacific Division.

At the start of the season, San Jose was priding itself on stellar play in the defensive zone while its offense struggled to find much traction. However, those roles have been swapped of late, as it’s been the attack that has led the Sharks to posting 3-2-2 record in their last seven games played.

Since January 20, San Jose has averaged a (t)seventh-best 3.29 goals per game, and it’s all due to the excellence of the first line. F Logan Couture and RW Kevin Labanc have posted respective 5-2-7 and 3-4-7 totals (improving their respective season marks to 22-17-39 and 7-22-29) to average a point-per-game over this run. F Tomas Hertl completes the line with his 2-4-6 effort.

They’ve also received some extra help from the blue line from the likes of D Brent Burns, who joins Couture and Labanc in averaging a point-per-game with his 1-6-7 totals in the past seven tilts, and D Marc-Edouard Vlasic‘s 3-3-6 surge.

Of course, this offensive explosion has been born mostly out of necessity, as San Jose’s defense has struggled to be much better than average lately, allowing 31.86 shots against per game over their past seven tilts ([t]13th-worst in the league).

That puts the onus on 12-4-3 G Aaron Dell – who will be starting this afternoon – to keep things under control in the defensive end, but if recent history is any indicator, the offense will need to keep up its stellar production. In Dell’s last four starts, he’s posted only a 2-1-1 record with an .882 save percentage and 3.52 GAA.

Speaking of average, there’s not a better word that describes the 24-20-8 Hurricanes of late. However, sometimes average is exactly what you need to win, and that seems to be the case for Carolina, a team that has won three of its past four games.

Of the three facets of the game that have struck me as average, the one that has definitely been the best is the Canes’ offense. Carolina has averaged 2.75 goals per game since January 25 (the [t]11th-best mark in the NHL in that time).

But don’t read too much into the word average. Even though the net result of the team’s effort may fit into that description, it doesn’t mean individual players haven’t shined brightly. In fact, a whopping four players are averaging at least a point-per-game since January 25, and that group is spearheaded by F Teuvo Teravainen‘s 2-3-5 effort over the past four games to elevate his season marks to 13-28-41 – the best in Raleigh. Behind him, C Victor Rask (1-3-4), RW Justin Williams (1-3-4) and D Noah Hanifin (0-4-4) have also helped keep the Canes ahead of the opposition.

For most of the season, Carolina has prided itself on stellar defense, but it seems the Hurricanes are still a little sluggish after the All-Star Break considering they’ve allowed 31.5 shots against per game since January 25 – the exact middle of the road for the NHL in that time.

Fortunately, it seems 15-6-2 G Cam Ward is more than up to the challenge, as he’s won all three of his most recent starts. In those showings, he’s posted a .932 save percentage and 2 GAA, and he might be just the edge the Canes need to pull off a victory today.

The Hurricanes have already made their annual visit to The Tank this season during a six-game road trip. They required an overtime goal from Burns, but the Sharks were able to comeback from a 4-1 second period deficit to knock off Carolina 5-4.

Though I think it’s safe to say San Jose’s offense has definitely been ticking at a better pace of late, the Sharks’ lackadaisical effort in the defensive zone is just too much of a liability for me in this game. I think Ward leads Carolina to a victory this afternoon.

The Dallas Stars showed no mercy in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, as they beat the Minnesota Wild 6-1 at American Airlines Center.

Making Dallas’ offensive explosion even more impressive is the fact that not a single goal was struck in the first period. Don’t think that it was for a lack of effort though, as a combined 19 shots were saved by Second Star of the Game G Kari Lehtonen and G Alex Stalock.

However, that narrative did not carry into the second period – at least not for Stalock. The Stars scored four goals in the frame in the span of only 5:08, meaning Dallas averaged a goal every 77 seconds.

F Mattias Janmark (D John Klingberg and C Jason Spezza) claimed the honor of breaking the scoreless draw with a power play tip-in 8:58 into the period, followed 39 seconds later by an unassisted slap shot from Third Star D Stephen Johns that proved to be the game-winner.

Johns ended up with the puck due to a sloppy attempt by RW Nino Niederreiter to dump the puck into the Wild’s offensive zone. With everyone headed that way, Johns advanced unimpeded into his own attacking zone before ripping a clapper from the right face-off dot past Stalock’s glove.

The third goal belonged to LW Jamie Benn (F Devin Shore and First Star F Tyler Seguin) with 8:11 remaining in the period, a power play snap shot struck 2:12 after Johns’ game-winner. Seguin (Benn and RW Alexander Radulov) completed the outburst 2:17 after the horn stopped blaring for Benn with a wrist shot.

5:40 into the third period, W Jason Zucker (F Mikael Granlund and D Jared Spurgeon) pulled the Wild back within a 4-1 deficit, but insurance goals from Radulov (Seguin) and D Dan Hamhuis (D Greg Pateryn and RW Brett Ritchie) eliminated any chance of a Minnesota comeback.

Lehtonen earned the victory after saving 30-of-31 shots faced (.968 save percentage), leaving the loss to Stalock, who saved 25-of-29 (.862). The Stars’ final two goals were charged to G Devan Dubnyk, who replaced Lehtonen for the third period. He saved seven-of-nine (.778) for no decision.

Four straight wins by the 64-37-15 hosts in the DtFR Game of the Day series has given them a 25-point advantage over the roadies.
February 4, 2018
Numbers Game: Flirting With [Trading] Partners
For those of you that don’t work for Hallmark, it’s February, so you all have to get your act together– unless you’re like me and you’re totally going to be hitting up that half-price candy at Target on February 15th for no reason whatsoever.

Anyway, it’s time we take a look at how the standings should look in April based on how all 31 NHL teams entered the month of February.

Now, in light of the trade deadline near the end of the month (Monday, February 26th to be exact), let’s keep this one brief, shall we?

Just for this time around.

If you’re dying to know more about the outlook of your team, your rival or others, then you should come back each week (Thursdays at 3p ET) leading up to the deadline (take a gander at the Pacific Division trade deadline preview that’s out now!).

Keep in mind the following projections do not take into account any of the action from Thursday night (“GP so far” = the number of games said team has played from October through January 31st).

2017-2018 Projected Standings after Four Months

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
1. z-Boston Bruins, 116 points (48 GP so far)
2. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 111 points (52 GP so far)
3. x-Tampa Bay Lightning, 106 points (50 GP so far)
4. Detroit Red Wings, 80 points (49 GP so far)
5. Montreal Canadiens, 79 points (50 GP so far)
6. Florida Panthers, 69 points (48 GP so far)
7. Ottawa Senators, 69 points (48 GP so far)
8. Buffalo Sabres, 63 points (50 GP so far)
Overall the Atlantic Division is rubbish.

Boston, Toronto and Tampa dominate the division, meanwhile the Senators are struggling to figure out that what they really need is to pay Erik Karlsson and rebuild (sooner rather than later). That being said, Detroit’s rebuild that they’re denying is actually a rebuild should look pretty good, considering the state of Montreal, Florida and Buffalo.

Are the Bruins really that good? Time will tell. Under Bruce Cassidy, Boston hasn’t gone through long streaks of highs and lows– in other words, they seem to always be peaking.

Will the Lightning cool off that much?

It’s possible, considering the Maple Leafs might not actually be trying that hard right now. It’s all part of a conspiracy theory pushed forth by @connorzkeith whereby head coach, Mike Babcock, is actually just toying with the league right now and teaching his young kids in Toronto how to play defense. Then one day *boom* Toronto’s offense goes off again.

Metropolitan Division
1. y-Washington Capitals, 104 points (50 GP so far)
2. x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 101 points (52 GP so far)
3. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 99 points (50 GP so far)
4. x- New Jersey Devils, 96 points (49 GP so far)
5. x-Philadelphia Flyers, 89 points (50 GP so far)
6. New York Islanders, 89 points (52 GP so far)
7. New York Rangers, 87 points (50 GP so far)
8. Carolina Hurricanes, 83 points (50 GP so far)
The Metropolitan Division is, at times, really exciting and at other times a crapshoot.

Barry Trotz’s Washington Capitals have figured out their game (like they always do) and should continue to hold onto the regular season division title (cue the cliché Second Round exit joke).

Pittsburgh is hitting their strides, despite shaky goaltending at times– though Washington has seen their share of that too. Speaking of goaltenders, Columbus has a not-so-secret weapon in net– it’s Sergei Bobrovsky and he’s here to keep the team out of a wild card spot.

New Jersey’s hot start was met by a cool middle before figuring out that yes, they can be a playoff team after all. Same thing for the Flyers, but not really. Philadelphia started slow and they’re looking to finish fast (in the 2nd wild card spot in the Eastern Conference).

Other than that, the Islanders and the Rangers look to retool, while Carolina looks to capitalize on selling Hartford Whalers merchandise in Raleigh, North Carolina for the first time at their team store.

Consider me a fan, Tom Dundon.

Western Conference

Central Division
1. y-Winnipeg Jets, 112 points (51 GP so far)
2. x-St. Louis Blues, 103 points (52 GP so far)
3. x-Chicago Blackhawks, 103 points (50 GP so far)
4. x-Nashville Predators, 101 points (48 GP so far)
5. Minnesota Wild, 96 points (50 GP so far)
6. Dallas Stars, 92 points (51 GP so far)
7. Colorado Avalanche, 91 points (48 GP so far)
In what might actually be the most exciting playoff push coming down the stretch, the Winnipeg Jets top the Central Division. Prepare for another whiteout at Bell MTS Place.

The St. Louis Blues cruise into the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs where it’s make or break– Cup or bust, the Western Conference’s Washington Capitals, except the Blues actually made a conference finals in the last decade.

As always, the Chicago Blackhawks season hasn’t actually started yet, so this whole “they’re last in the Central Division currently” talk is just talk. March comes around and the Blackhawks don’t lose another game until they get swept in the First Round.

Because of Chicago’s immaculate late season surge, Nashville slides into the first wild card spot in the West. No big deal.

Minnesota, Dallas and Colorado, despite missing the playoffs, are all exactly where they want to be. Far ahead of the atrocities in the Atlantic Division, such that Colorado becomes a destination location to land in July.

Pacific Division
1. p-Vegas Golden Knights, 119 points (49 GP so far)
2. x-Los Angeles Kings, 101 points (50 GP so far)
3. x-Anaheim Ducks, 98 points (51 GP so far)
4. x-San Jose Sharks, 97 points (50 GP so far)
5. Calgary Flames, 88 points (50 GP so far)
6. Edmonton Oilers, 80 points (49 GP so far)
7. Vancouver Canucks, 79 points (49 GP so far)
8. Arizona Coyotes, 57 points (50 GP so far)
The Vegas Golden Knights have already smashed so many records, why not break another one and win the President’s Trophy in their first season of existence as an expansion team?

They’ve already proven they’re the best expansion franchise in the history of the four major North American professional sports.

Los Angeles and Anaheim take advantage of the fact that the San Jose Sharks time is running out with their current core. Deadline moves cost the Sharks a legitimate shot in the playoffs, but at least they still made it as the second wild card from the Western Conference.

Calgary will get better, provided they take care of that defense first.

While disappointing, Edmonton’s misjudgment should be easy to overcome, but they’re going to have to ride out this mediocre season first.

Vancouver’s focus is on getting healthy and always giving Brock Boeser the puck.

Meanwhile, does anyone happen to know if Rasmus Dahlin likes getting his tan on? Because he’s probably headed to Arizona right now, where they might move on from a franchise defenseman (Oliver Ekman-Larsson) to draft… another franchise defenseman. Consider the rebuild over?

Not by a long shot.
February 2, 2018
2018 Trade Deadline Preview: Pacific Division

1. Vegas Golden Knights– 33-12-4 (70 points, 49 GP)

There isn’t really that much the Vegas Golden Knights need to do to improve down the stretch. Should they trade James Neal or Marc-Andre Fleury as some fans and media members alike wondered since the expansion draft last June? No. They shouldn’t.

These are the Golden Knights. They’re trying to win the Stanley Cup in their first season of existence. And they just might.

They’ve dismantled some of the league’s best teams on a night-to-night basis, while amassing a plus-38 goal differential through 49 games played– and oh yeah, they’re smashing inaugural season records by an expansion franchise. All of that has put them in position for making a stake as a leading horse in the Presidents’ Trophy race.

That said, if Vegas general manager, George McPhee, is presented with an offer he can’t refuse that would make his team better, by all means, he should pursue it. Addition without subtraction or whatever– they have roughly $8.100 million in salary cap space, they can afford it.

Potential assets to trade: F Cody Eakin, F David Perron

Potential assets to acquire: F Patrick Maroon (EDM), F Alex Galchenyuk (MTL), D Nick Holden (NYR), D Ryan McDonagh (NYR), F Mike Hoffman (OTT), D Ian Cole (PIT)

2. San Jose Sharks– 26-16-8 (60 points, 50 GP)

The San Jose Sharks sit in an uncomfortable position. Yes, they’re currently 2nd in the Pacific Division, but it’s a four-horse race for anywhere between two and four playoff spots in the Pacific Division.

No that’s not counting out the Edmonton Oilers (spoiler alert– they’ll be sellers), but let’s assume the Golden Knights lay claim to the regular season division title. Then it becomes a Battle of California and Calgary for two divisional spots and either one, two or no wild card positions in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Taking a look at the Central Division… yeah, odds aren’t great that they’ll be five teams from either the Pacific or Central clinching a playoff berth, considering the Dallas Stars (60 points), Sharks (60 points), Minnesota Wild (59 points), Kings (59 points), Ducks (59 points), Colorado Avalanche (58 points) and Flames (58 points) are all separated by a measly two-points.

There’s no room for error.

With only about $5.200 million in cap space currently and pending RFA forwards Tomas Hertl, 24, and Chris Tierney, 23, to re-sign along with pending RFA defenseman, Dylan DeMelo, 24, San Jose would be smart to lock up the future of their core while accepting that they’ll likely lose some guys via trade or free agency this offseason.

Joe Thornton, 38, is currently on IR and making $8.000 million on his soon to expire contract. Joel Ward, 37, has a $3.275 million cap hit on his deal that expires on July 1st.

Could this be a last hurrah?

Again, it all depends on how the Sharks approach everything moving forward– oh, by the way, backup goaltender, Aaron Dell, is a pending-UFA at season’s end too, but Troy Grosenick looks ready enough to settle into the backup role once Dell is either traded or probably makes a lot of money for the chance to be a starting goaltender elsewhere this July.

Potential assets to trade: F Mikkel Boedker, D Justin Braun, D Brenden Dillon, G Aaron Dell, D Paul Martin, F Joel Ward

Potential assets to acquire: Cap Relief, F David Desharnais (NYR), F Michael Grabner (NYR), D Ian Cole (PIT), F Klim Kostin (STL), F Jordan Kyrou (STL), F Thomas Vanek (VAN), F Nic Petan (WPG)

3. Los Angeles Kings– 27-18-5 (59 points, 50 GP)

The Los Angeles Kings are set. They don’t really need to add as long as elite-starting goaltender, Jonathan Quick, is healthy. General manager, Rob Blake, should take a page out of Vegas’s book and sit on his hands come February 26th, that way he won’t be tempted to make any phone calls he might regret later.

It’s not like the Kings should really consider dumping what’s left of 35-year-old forward, Marian Gaborik, but they very well could– just to get $4.875 million in salary cap off of their hands. Gaborik’s 7-7–14 totals in 27 games played are pretty telling (albeit due to injury and being scratched other nights).

F Nick Shore, D Kevin Gravel and G Darcy Kuemper stand out as the only “big” names Los Angeles will have to re-sign this offseason with veteran forward, Torrey Mitchell, either working out as a long-term, year-to-year, rental or a short-term, Cup focused, investment.

Similar to San Jose, however, the Kings don’t have a lot of cap space as things stand. Los Angeles has about $3.600 million in wiggle room and really doesn’t have any holes that need to be filled.

Los Angeles should sit this trade deadline out and instead work on a plan for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in June where they’ll have to make some moves (unless the cap rises, which it’s expected to). Then again, Drew Doughty ($7.000 million cap hit) will need a new contract in 2019…

Potential assets to trade: F Marian Gaborik

Potential assets to acquire: draft picks, maybe a prospect or two

4. Anaheim Ducks– 25-17-9 (59 points, 51 GP)

Every now and then there are teams that seemingly destroy their opponents in more ways than one while quietly existing and carrying their own weight. Injuries amounted early, but these days the Anaheim Ducks are the ones handing out the bruises– and winning… significantly.

The Ducks are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, which won’t mean anything by February 26th (unless they go on a significant winning/losing streak).

Anaheim might creep up in the standings, but what will set them apart from the rest of the Western Conference?

This is where the Ducks can shine at the trade deadline if they just add one more piece to the puzzle. It doesn’t have to be a permanent piece, but one that’ll hold them over in the event of injuries.

Let’s face it, regardless of the physical brand of hockey Anaheim plays, there will be an injury or two down the stretch that could impact their chances of postseason success.

The Sami Vatanen-for-Adam Henrique trade with the New Jersey Devils has paid off in much needed scoring throughout their lineup, but the Ducks could get more if they wanted to.

A return of Patrick Maroon to The Pond or a rental like Thomas Vanek or Michael Grabner just might put Anaheim on the fast track to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. Filling out their bottom-six depth and scoring prowess, while continuing to center their game around size and skill is exactly what they could add at the end of the month.

With only about $3.100 million in cap space available, the right move might be hard to make.

Potential assets to trade: G Reto Berra, D Steve Oleksy, draft picks, prospects

Potential assets to acquire: D Cody Franson (CHI), D Mike Green (DET), F Patrick Maroon (EDM), F David Desharnais (NYR), F Michael Grabner (NYR), D Nick Holden (NYR), D Erik Gudbranson (VAN), F Thomas Vanek (VAN)

5. Calgary Flames– 25-17-8 (58 points, 50 GP)

When the Calgary Flames are hot, they’re red hot. When the Flames are cold they’re cooler than being cool (shouts OutKast).

Of all the teams in the Pacific Division, Calgary is the most Jekyll and Hyde of the two Alberta teams. Goaltender, Mike Smith, has saved the season (literally) multiple times on nights where Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames’s offense hasn’t gotten going.

Conversely, Gaudreau has propelled his team on nights when Smith has struggled. Some nights the Flames are on their “A” game. Some nights their porous defense shows. A lot.

Calgary is too young to give up on. Guys like Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan and Kris Versteeg provide a veteran presence both on the ice and in the locker room, but are harder to move given their modified no-trade clauses. Not that anyone’s in a rush to move them. Just being mindful of July 1st and the plethora of youth that could steal some roster spots next year, provided the Flames don’t do anything crazy in free agency.

The Flames have to get better if they want to play longer. Whether or not they decide to take action now or let things develop on their own, well, hasn’t it been long enough?

If they want to make a deep playoff run they have to manage their cap situation a lot better (and fix their defense with, say, six new defensemen?). With a little more than $2.200 million to play with in cap space come deadline day, Calgary isn’t doing this whole “let’s be buyers on February 26th” thing right.

Potential assets to trade: F Mikael Backlund, D Matt Bartkowski, F Michael Frolik, D Travis Hamonic, D Michael Stone

Potential assets to acquire: F Sam Reinhart (BUF), D Nick Holden (NYR), D Ian Cole (PIT)

6. Edmonton Oilers– 22-24-3 (47 points, 49 GP)

If you had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, where would you expect to be in the standings?

It’s a trick question, because no matter how many Art Ross Trophies those two players combined win in their careers, you still need to fill out the rest of the roster so you can be salary cap compliant and thus able to compete in the first place.

Fortunately for the Edmonton Oilers, Peter Chiarelli is at the reins.

Check that. It’s pretty dire.

The Oilers aren’t the worst team anymore, so at least they have that going for them, but once again we’re approaching yet another trade deadline where Edmonton has a lot of cargo to jettison into the void that is the rest of the league.

While McDavid and Draisaitl will eat up $21 million in salary starting next season, the Oilers have plenty of pending free agents to sort out– which also means they have a lot of rentals to sell at the deadline.

With the right moves, Chiarelli can redeem himself in Edmonton. All it requires is a swift retool. Too bad there’s a couple of no movement clauses on the blue line, because they’re eating $9.500 million in salary that the team will probably need to re-sign Rasmus Dahlin in a few years after they win the draft lottery.

Potential assets to trade: F Mike Cammalleri, D Brandon Davidson, F Mark Letestu, F Patrick Maroon

Potential assets to acquire: F Zemgus Girgensons (BUF), F Sam Reinhart (BUF), F Luke Glendening (DET), F Alex Galchenyuk (MTL), F Andrew Shaw (MTL), D Nick Holden (NYR), F Derick Brassard (OTT), F Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT), F Klim Kostin (STL), F Jordan Kyrou (STL)

7. Vancouver Canucks– 20-24-6 (46 points, 50 GP)

Similar to the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks had high hopes for this season. Okay, not that high, but still.

Things haven’t exactly gone as planned, thanks in part to Bo Horvat‘s injury, yet the Canucks have one of this season’s most pleasant surprises in the league– the emergence of Brock Boeser.

Vancouver has about $1.000 million in cap space currently. For a team that’s massively under-performing with a minus-31 goal differential through 50 games played, that’s horrendous.

Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin are both pending-UFAs earning $7.000 million through the end of this season. Their playing days are safe in a Canucks uniform, given their no movement clauses and the fact that the traditional “honorary” $1.000 million (with a bunch of bonuses tied to performance) year-to-year contract extensions forthcoming– if they choose to play another year in the NHL.

There’s a lot of youth in Vancouver, so that’s promising.

Guys like Thomas Vanek and Erik Gudbranson have been the subject of those expected to be on the move from the Canucks organization and surely at least one of them will be out the door come February 26th.

As much as Sam Gagner has turned around his game, he may fall victim to the tight cap situation with pending RFAs Jake Virtanen, Markus Granlund and Sven Baertschi on the cusp of seeing pay raises. Then again, maybe Gagner’s future with the Canucks will be saved by whatever the Sedin’s decide to do (take less money).

Short of some adjustments on the blue line and letting their young forwards gain experience, Vancouver really doesn’t need that much. Full health and finding the right starting goaltender should be the main focus going into the deadline and beyond.

Potential assets to trade: D Alex Biega, F Sam Gagner, D Erik Gudbranson, G Jacob Markstrom, G Anders Nilsson, F Thomas Vanek

Potential assets to acquire: F Zemgus Girgensons (BUF), G Robin Lehner (BUF), F Sam Reinhart (BUF), G Petr Mrazek (DET), F Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT), G Aaron Dell (SJ), F Klim Kostin (STL), F Jordan Kyrou (STL)

8. Arizona Coyotes– 12-29-9 (33 points, 50 GP)

Just exactly how long will we go before recognizing that the Arizona Coyotes are in a state of denial?

The perpetual rebuild has hit its lowest point so far and general manager, John Chayka, has nothing to show for some of his seemingly brilliant acquisitions in the offseason (namely, Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta from the New York Rangers, as well as Niklas Hjalmarsson from the Chicago Blackhawks).

Look, neither of the trades the Coyotes made around the 2017 NHL Entry Draft were going to make them contenders for the Cup, but they should’ve at least made them move out of the basement and onto the first floor of the league.

Arizona will be selling once again and unless your last name is Hjalmarsson, Raanta or Stepan and you’re over the age of 24, there’s a good chance you could be packing a bag out of the desert (unless you get traded to Vegas, in which case, you’ll still be in the desert– only cooler because of all of the attractions around T-Mobile Arena, oh and the whole “Cup in one” mentality currently for the Golden Knights).

Potential assets to trade: F Brad Richardson, F Tobias Rieder, F Jordan Martinook, F Nick Cousins, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D Kevin Connauton

Potential assets to acquire: Draft picks, F Zemgus Girgensons (BUF), F Sam Reinhart (BUF), D Tyson Barrie (COL), G Petr Mrazek (DET), F Alex Galchenyuk (MTL), F Max Pacioretty (MTL), D Nick Holden (NYR), D Ryan McDonagh (NYR), F Mike Hoffman (OTT), F Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT), G Aaron Dell (SJ), F Klim Kostin (STL), F Jordan Kyrou (STL), F David Perron (VGK)

February 1, 2018
Down the Frozen River Podcast #90- Standing All-Stars

Nick and Connor breakdown the news and notes from the latest week in the NHL leading up to the 2018 NHL All-Star break. Mike Smith is going back to the All-Star Game and we’re celebrating with #DTFRMissionAccomplished.

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

January 26, 2018
January 21 – Day 106 – I-5 has never been rougher
Now that all the byes are done, we have one last week of action before the All-Star Break starts on Friday. Let’s mash as much hockey into these five days as possible!

We have a nice sampling of five games on tap today. The first, Philadelphia at Washington (NBC/TVAS), drops the puck at 12:30 p.m. Vegas at Carolina is next up at 6 p.m., followed two hours later by Vancouver at Winnipeg (SN). 9 p.m. marks the start of San Jose at Anaheim, while the New York Rangers at Los Angeles (SN1) – tonight’s nightcap – waits until 10:30 p.m. to close out the evening. All times Eastern.

There’s nothing more fun than rivalry games, and we have two on today’s schedule: Philly at Washington and San Jose at Anaheim. Of those, I have higher expectations for the contest in California, so it’s off to The Pond with us!

The 25-14-6 Sharks enter this rivalry game having won four of their last five contests and – as a result – in second place in the Pacific Division.

Even though San Jose hasn’t exactly been the shining example of offensive efficiency by averaging an 11th-worst 2.78 goals-per-game for the entire season, scoring has been the trendy thing of late inside the Sharks’ dressing room. Since January 13, the Sharks have averaged 3.4 goals per game, the eighth-best mark in the NHL in that time.

This has been far from a banner year for D Brent Burns, but he’s been a big reason for the San Jose goal-explosion. He’s managed only .82 points per game this season (a decline from his last two campaigns), but this five-game stretch has seen him post a team-leading seven assists.

However, not all passes are created equal: someone has to score for Burns’ passes for them to become assists. Lately, that man has been Joe Thornton, who’s been just as good as Burns during this run. Jumbo Joe has posted solid 4-2-6 totals since January 13 to improve his season effort to 12-21-33 marks, the second-highest point total on the squad.

Of note, 11-3-2 G Aaron Dell started yesterday’s 2-1 home victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, with 14-11-4 G Martin Jones being listed day-to-day, Dell will complete the back-to-back with another start today. Dell’s 2.18 GAA and .928 save percentage are fourth and (t)fifth-best in the league, so there is very little drop-off between him and Jones.

G Troy Grosenick, who has a 5-7-2 record with the Barracuda in the AHL, will serve as the Sharks’ backup.

While San Jose was busy knocking off the Pens, the 22-16-9 Ducks, who currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference and two points behind the second wild card, had the luxury of being dormant during yesterday’s action-packed Saturday schedule.

The story surrounding the Ducks since their bye week has been the return of their star forwards – and duly so. However, since January 13, the Ducks have posted a 3-1-0 record on the back of their defense that has allowed a 10th-best 2.25 goals against-per-game in that time.

Whether it’s the leadership of D Josh Manson‘s 2.3 blocks per game or LW Nick Ritchie‘s four hits per game since January 13, the defensive zone has been a stronghold lately for the Ducks. Anaheim has allowed an average of only 27.75 shots against per game over its last four contests (the sixth-best mark in the NHL in that time), making life very easy for 16-13-5 G John Gibson.

Of course, what else should we expect from Manson? After all, his +20 rating on the season is the eighth-best in the entire NHL.

Anyways, speaking of Gibson, he’s riding a three-game winning streak thanks to the impressive work of his defensive corps. In his last three starts, he’s managed a .927 save percentage and 2.01 GAA, pulling his season numbers up to .923 and 2.59.

The Ducks and Sharks were scheduled for a four-game regular season series this year, but there was an odd quirk with how the games were arranged: the first two contests took place in San Jose, while the remaining two (tonight and February 11) will be played at Honda Center. Both games in The Tank required a shootout to determine a victor, with the Sharks claiming the first meeting 2-1 on November 4 and the Ducks taking the second 3-2 only 16 days later.

In what has the potential to be a very nasty, physical matchup, the better defense should end up with two points to their credit following the final horn. Considering how the Ducks have been performing lately and the fact that they are playing at home after a day off, I’m leaning towards Anaheim being that winning team tonight.

With a 2-1 shootout victory in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the Winnipeg Jets snapped the Calgary Flames’ seven-game winning streak.

D T.J. Brodie (RW Troy Brouwer) seems to have a knack for scoring against the Jets, because he provided the Flames’ lone regulation goal. He registered his fifth point against the Jets of the season by burying a wrist shot 8:17 into the game for the Flames’ lone goal of regulation.

Winnipeg found its leveling goal with 9:13 remaining in the second period. F Mathieu Perreault (F Bryan Little and First Star of the Game W Nikolaj Ehlers) sneaked a tip-in past Second Star G Mike Smith, tying the game at 1-1.

In the remaining 29:13 of regulation, neither the Flames nor the Jets could find another goal. Both defenses performed solidly, as neither allowed more than nine shots on goal in the third period. Similarly, only a combined five shots on goal were registered in the five minutes of three-on-three overtime. With none tickling the twine, the contest advanced into the shootout.

As the home team, the Flames elected to shoot second…
1. That sent Little to center ice first, and he did not disappoint. He beat Smith to give Winnipeg an early 1-0 lead in the shootout.
2. C Mark Jankowski was called on to level the shootout for the Flames, but he sent his shot wide of Third Star G Connor Hellebuyck‘s net.
3. Still with a 1-0 advantage, RW Patrik Laine tried to force a miss-and-lose situation for the Flames. However, his backhanded shot was saved by Smith.
4. C Sean Monahan performed better than Jankowski, but only because his wrister was saved by Hellebuyck.
5. A goal is all the Jets needed to end the game, and F Blake Wheeler did just that to earn Winnipeg the bonus point.
Hellebuyck earned the victory after saving 30-of-31 shots faced (.968 save percentage), leaving the shootout loss to Smith, who saved 34-of-35 (.971).

In addition to snapping Calgary’s seven-game winning streak, the Jets’ road victory also snapped a four-game winning streak by home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day. The 59-34-13 hosts now have 23-point advantage over the visitors.
January 21, 2018
NHL Power Rankings: “Better Late Than Never” Edition

Apologies for being a day late with our NHL Power Rankings this week, as I’m sure so many people were looking forward to it… *Crickets*

Ok, moving on!

Things get a little tricky with bye weeks in play, but we still gave you the latest and greatest in terms of games played this past week. We’re rolling with the theme of this week’s edition because many of these teams were not in this position earlier in the season. As one might say, it’s better late than never, someone just be sure to remind them that the NHL season starts in October. With that said, let’s take a look at who made our top ten this week:

#1 Calgary Flames (59)

Current Record – 25-16-4

Last Ten Games – 7-2-1; Streak – W7

Don’t look now, but the Flames are on some kind of run. We’re a bit afraid to talk about it because that usually means it will come to a screeching halt. Jokes aside, Calgary is our top team for a reason. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten, with all of those wins coming in a row. Mike Smith is in pure beast-mode, which has helped his team crawl into the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. Maybe scratching the ageless wonder was the answer after all.

#2 Pittsburgh Penguins (47)

Current Record – 24-19-3

Last Ten Games – 6-4-0; Streak – W4

A few weeks ago, the Penguins seemed in really bad shape. It was almost as if they had lost their identity because they really didn’t look like the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions. As of late, they have picked up their play and are now back in playoff position. They were never really that far out, as the Metropolitan Division may very well be the tightest race in the NHL. Although just 6-4-0 in their last ten, Sidney Crosby and his crew seems to have turned the corner to get out of their slump.

#3 Colorado Avalanche (46)

Current Record – 24-16-3

Last Ten Games – 8-1-1; Streak – W7

The phrase “better late than never” could not be truer for the Avalanche. They started playing great hockey a few weeks ago and haven’t looked back. Winning seven games in a row, they are within striking distance of a playoff position. Colorado will look to make it eight-straight when they take on the Sharks tomorrow night.

#4 Minnesota Wild (45)

Current Record – 24-17-5

Last Ten Games – 6-2-2; Streak – OT1

The Minnesota Wild are back in the conversation, as they ride the shoulders of Devan Dubnyk. They downed the Blackhawks and the Jets, but came up short in overtime against the Canucks. It doesn’t get any easier for them, as they take on the Lightning and Penguins in two of their next three games. They are currently just a point shy of a Wild Card position in the Western Conference.

#5 New York Islanders (27)

Current Record – 23-19-4

Last Ten Games – 4-6-0; Steak – L1

You may be reading this thinking, really, Islanders in the top five? Keep in mind before a weak performance against the Devils, they were riding a string of three wins. What is more impressive is their stellar offense. During those three games, they scored 17 goals. For John Tavares and his teammates, when it rains, it pours. If the Islanders can rebound during this next stretch, they should be able to propel themselves to a playoff spot, at least for now.

#6 Nashville Predators (25)

Current Record – 26-11-6

Last Ten Games – 5-3-2; Streak – W3

The Predators are right back on track, winning key games against the Kings, Oilers, and Golden Knights. Although offense is usually the story for this squad, they are playing well at the other end of the ice. They were able to hold Edmonton to just one score, while shutting out Vegas (albeit a 1-0 barn-burner). The Coyotes and Panthers are up next, before a marquee matchup with the Lightning.

#7 Washington Capitals (20)

Current Record – 28-14-3

Last Ten Games – 6-2-2; Streak – W1

More of the same this week for the Capitals, as they continue to skate through their schedule. Although not making up much ground in the Presidents’ Trophy race, they are still sitting atop the Metropolitan Division. A loss to the Hurricanes is their only blemish in the last five games.

#8 Edmonton Oilers (20)

Current Record – 20-23-3

Last Ten Games – 3-6-1; Streak – W2

The Edmonton Oilers may be among the bottom ten teams of the league, but don’t tell them that. As of late, they have picked up their play a bit. The offense led by Connor McDavid is improving, but they need to do something about that defense. Before winning their last two games, they allowed 15 goals in their last five games, with nine of those coming in back-to-back contests. They will need a big run to make up ground in the Wild Card race.

#9 Vegas Golden Knights (11)

Current Record – 29-11-3

Last Ten Games – 7-2-1; Streak – L1

Isn’t it more fun when the Golden Knights win? They have been up and down as of late, winning just two of their last five games. Two of those are one-goal losses to the Blues and Predators, which is obviously nothing to be ashamed of. They need a big rebound against a strong Tampa Bay team, or they could fall into a bit of a slump. They might not want to do that, as everyone would immediately jump off the bandwagon.

#10 San Jose Sharks (11)

Current Record – 24-13-6

Last Ten Games – 6-2-2; Streak – W3

The Sharks are wedged between the Flames and the Golden Knights (honestly, didn’t think I would be saying that one this season), as they continue to push toward the playoffs. With only two regulation losses in their last ten games, including winning their last three contests, they are fairly safe moving forward.

January 17, 2018
January 15 – Day 100 – Battle of California

Though the number of games on the schedule is normal for this day of the week, this particular Monday is nothing close to normal.

In addition to it being the 100th day of the season, the NHL is joining in on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations by playing three matinees this afternoon. The first – Dallas at Boston (SN) – drops the puck at 1 p.m., and it is followed two hours later by Anaheim at Colorado and San Jose at Los Angeles (NHLN/SN) at 4 p.m. Finally, the lone contest of the night is the New York Islanders at Montréal (NBCSN/RDS/TSN2), which gets underway at 7:30 p.m. All times Eastern.

Teams on the bye: Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, Ottawa, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington and Winnipeg.

There’s only two contests that really stand out to me, but since the Kings and Sharks have a little bit of animosity between them, we have to take in that matchup.

Road trips can be tough, but 22-13-6 San Jose, which currently trails Dallas by a point for the second Western Conference wild card, managed to make the best of the situation to earn a 2-2-2 record over its past six games.

However, it’s surprising the Sharks were able to even post that record given their defense. Since December 31, the Sharks have allowed 24 goals against in six games played, and their four per-game average is (t)fourth-worst in the NHL in that time.

But the question is this: is it D Brent Burns‘ defense that is responsible for this letdown, or 13-10-4 G Martin Jones?

I’m leaning towards Jones. San Jose’s defense, led by D Justin Braun and D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (both with two blocks per game since New Year’s Eve), Burns (team-leading eight takeaways in the last six games) and D Brenden Dillon (2.8 hits-per-game since December 31) has allowed only 30.83 shots against per game since New Year’s Eve, the 10th-lowest mark in the league in that time.

Unfortunately for San Jose, the little that has gotten to Jones has given him major issues. He’s posted only an .859 save percentage and 4.04 GAA in his past four starts (both bottom-10 marks in the NHL since December 31) to earn only one point in the standings. He’ll be looking to rebound tonight against a Kings offense that fires an average of only 30.7 shots on goal per game.

Speaking of the 24-14-5 Kings, who currently occupy third place in the Pacific Division, they are one of the few teams in the league currently jealous of the Sharks’ current run.

Wait, what?

That’s right, 2-2-2 is way better than the three-game losing skid Los Angeles is currently suffering. The Kings are averaging four goals against since January 4, the (t)sixth-worst in the league in that time.

In a similar question to the one we had about the Sharks, does the blame fall on 19-14-2 G Jonathan Quick or his defense?

The comparisons between the Kings and Sharks continues, as Quick has to bear the load of this losing skid. Led by F Adrian Kempe (two takeaways since January 4), D Kurtis MacDermid (3.7 hits per game since January 4) and D Alec Martinez (3.3 blocks per game in his last three games played), Los Angeles has limited its opposition to only 27.67 shots per game, the second-fewest since January 4.

Even though he’s had the luxury of a lighter work load, Quick has been absolutely miserable over his last three game. He’s managed only an .866 save percentage and 3.75 GAA during this losing skid, and he squares off against an offense that averages 32.8 shots per game.

Barring a postseason matchup, today’s game is the finale of the four-game Battle of California series. Though the Kings won the first meeting 4-1 in The Tank on October 7, San Jose has emerged victorious from the previous two games. The Sharks beat the Kings 2-1 in Los Angeles on November 12, and then 2-0 on December 23.

With two teams in a bit of a rough patch, a good rivalry victory can do a lot to get them back on track. Personally, I’m leaning towards the Kings winning this afternoon’s game with their superior defense.

With four unanswered goals, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2 at PPG Paints Arena in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

At the start of the first period, it seemed like Pittsburgh was well off to a good start. Only 3:14 into play, Patric Hornqvist (Second Star of the Game Carl Hagelin and Kris Letang) buried a backhanded shot to give the Pens a 1-0 advantage. However, it was the Rangers that entered the first intermission with the advantage, as Michael Grabner scored an unassisted backhander with 4:43 remaining in the frame to level the score, and Brendan Smith (Vinni Lettieri and Paul Carey) registered his first goal of the season 3:49 later to give New York a one-goal advantage.

The Penguins’ offense apparently didn’t take too kindly to being outplayed by New York’s recently struggling corps, because they registered a whopping 34 shots to the Blueshirts’ 15 over the course of the remaining two periods.

But more shots doesn’t always lead to immediate success. Pittsburgh needed 13:15 of play in the second period before it leveled the game at two-all courtesy of a wrist shot from First Star Dominik Simon (Brian Dumoulin and Sidney Crosby), the first goal of his NHL career.

75 seconds after the goal horn stopped blaring for Simon’s marker, Third Star Phil Kessel (Conor Sheary) buried what proved to be the game-winner. The goal itself was nothing to write home about, as Kessel took advantage of Sheary’s quick pass from the corner to rip a wrister past G Henrik Lundqvist before he could even blink. However, the goal marked the 700th point of Kessel’s career.

Just think if he got a hot dog for every point to his name…

Pittsburgh’s offense continued to dominate possession in the third period and eventually added on two extra tallies. Crosby (Kessel and Jamie Oleksiak) tacked on an insurance tally with 7:27 remaining in regulation, and Hagelin (Oleksiak) scored an empty netter with 5:28 later to set the 5-2 final score.

G Tristan Jarry earned the victory after saving 26-of-28 shots faced (.929 save percentage), leaving the loss to Lundqivst, who saved 42-of-46 (.913).

The Penguins’ home victory snapped a four-game winning streak by road teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series. The 55-33-12 hosts in the series now have a 20-point advantage on the visitors.

January 15, 2018
Down the Frozen River Podcast #88- The Undesirables

The Original Trio reunite for a very fun-filled podcast. The Carolina Hurricanes were sold, Jaromir Jagr is soon to be unsigned, All-Star Rosters were scrutinized, US and Canada men’s national teams were analyzed and more in this action packed episode. #HealthBeforeHockey

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

January 12, 2018