Wednesday night hockey. What more could you ask for? The action you’ve been waiting all day for starts at 7 p.m. with two contests (Toronto at Florida [SN] and Carolina at Pittsburgh), followed half an hour later by Montréal at Tampa Bay (RDS/SN360). Philadelphia at St. Louis drops the puck at 8 p.m. (NBCSN), preceding tonight’s nightcap – Los Angeles at Vancouver (SN) – by two hours. All times eastern.
Although Florida and Toronto are separated by only a point in the standings, the game that attracts the most attention this evening is happening in the Gateway to the West.
Philadelphia comes to Mound City with a 20-12-4 record, good enough for fifth-place in the Metropolitan Division, and it has been their offense that has led the way.
The Flyers have buried the puck an impressive 106 times, the fourth-highest goal title in the league. Jakub Voracek can take credit for a lot of that success, as his 35 points are tops on the team. That being said, it’s been fellow right wing Wayne Simmonds who has personally lit the lamp the most times, with 16 goals.
As might be expected with such a potent offense, the Flyers‘ power play has been mighty impressive. They score on 22% of their man-advantage opportunities, the sixth-best mark in the NHL. That effort has been headed by Captain Claude Giroux and his 15 power play points, but Simmonds has once again been the final goalscorer, with eight extra-man goals to his credit.
Playing host this evening are the 18-12-5 Blues, the third-best club in the Central Division. Just like the Flyers, offense has been the name of the game in St. Louis, as the Notes have notched 97 goals so far this season – tying for 11th-most in the NHL.
Pull your favorite video game off the shelf. That guy on the front? Yeah, he’s pretty good for the Blues. Vladimir Tarasenko‘s 38 points is easily the best effort on the club. 16 of those have been goals, which is also the highest total in St. Louis by four tallies.
Just like Philly, the Blue Notes are also pretty good on the man-advantage. They’ve scored 21.3% of their power play opportunities, the seventh-best mark in the league. Who else to lead that charge than Tarasenko? He has 14 power play points on his resume this season, but it’s actually been Kevin Shattenkirk scoring most of the power play goals, with five to his credit.
The penalty kill has also been very impressive for the Notes. Rejecting opposing power plays 87.4% of the time, St. Louis is second-best in those regards. Captain Alex Pietrangelo is the headliner here, notching 14 shorthanded blocks so far this year.
Some players to keep an eye on include Philadelphia‘s Simmonds (16 goals [tied for fifth-most in the NHL]) and Voracek (24 assists [tied for fifth-most in the league] among 35 points [tied for sixth-most in the NHL]) & St. Louis‘ Jake Allen (16 wins [seventh-most in the league]) and Tarasenko (38 points [fourth-most in the NHL], including 16 goals [tied for fifth-most in the league]).
Vegas has already marked this game in the Blues‘ favor, placing a -140 next to their name, and I have to side with the wise folks in the desert this time. St. Louis provides an interesting challenge with their strong penalty kill, and are more than capable of keeping up with any other club offensively. Home ice should seal the deal for a Blues victory.
Hockey Birthday
- Terry Sawchuk (1929-1970) – This Hall of Fame goaltender played almost all of his 21 seasons in Detroit, where he won the 1951 Calder and three of his four Stanley Cups. He was an 11-time All Star and four-time Vezina winner.
- Harry Howell (1932-) – A longtime Ranger, this defenseman played 21 total seasons in the NHL en route to a Hall of Fame career. The seven-time All Star and 1967 Norris winner’s number three was retired in 2009.
- Ray Bourque (1960-) – The eighth-overall pick in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by Boston, this defenseman is the model for all defensemen who like to get involved on the offensive end. He owns the NHL record for goals, assists and points by blueliners, most of which with the Bruins. That being said, he won his only Stanley Cup title with Colorado in 2001.
- Rob Niedermayer (1974-) – A right wing drafted fifth-overall by Florida in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Niedermayer played NHL 17 seasons, scoring 469 points in the process. He hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2007 with Anaheim.
- Curtis Glencross (1982-) – Although undrafted, this left wing has enjoyed nine seasons in the NHL, most of which in Calgary. He notched 242 points over his career, but also made sure to make a positive impact on his community off the ice.
Brent Burns takes credit for the Sharks stealing the bonus point on The Pond in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day series. San Jose beat Anaheim 3-2 in overtime.
The first goal of the game, and the only tally of the opening period, was struck at the 6:30 mark off Paul Martin‘s (Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker) stick with a strong slap shot.
The Ducks leveled 8:22 into the second period when Ondrej Kase (Nick Ritchie and Antoine Vermette) buried a backhanded shot, but San Jose once again took the lead with a Melker Karlsson (Joel Ward and Burns) tally.
With 6:25 remaining in regulation, the orange-clad Ducks scored the overtime-forcing score, courtesy of First Star of the Game Jakob Silfverberg (Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano).
Burns (Joe Pavelski and Second Star Joe Thornton) waited until 2:46 had ticked off the clock before burying his game-winning backhander to end the game in the Sharks‘ favor.
Third Star Martin Jones earned the victory after saving 34-of-36 shots against (94.4%), with John Gibson taking the loss, saving 22-of-25 (88%).
San Jose‘s road victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day Series at 41-23-12 in favor of the home squads, who lead the roadies by exactly 10 points.
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