Down the Frozen River

Tag: T.J. Brodie

  • Bruins drop season finale on the road, 5-2

    Bruins drop season finale on the road, 5-2

    William Nylander scored a pair of goals in a, 5-2, victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Boston Bruins Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.

    Erik Källgren (8-4-1, 3.31 goals-against average, .888 save percentage in 14 games played) made 24 saves on 26 shots against in the win for the Leafs.

    Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (23-24-3, 2.41 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in 41 games played), stopped 22 out of 26 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston finished the regular season with a 51-26-5 record (107 points)– good enough for 4th in the Atlantic Division and the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

    The B’s will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result.

    Toronto improved to 54-21-7 (115 points) overall and finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 First Round.

    The Bruins went 25-13-3 on the road and 0-3-0 against the Maple Leafs this season after going 2-0-1 against Toronto in 2019-20.

    The two teams did not meet last season due to the temporarily realigned divisions in light of the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic.

    Boston’s list of injured players and healthy scratches got a bit of a shakeup heading into the final game of the regular season as Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) were joined by Hampus Lindholm, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Grzelcyk, Erik Haula, Brad Marchand, Taylor Hall, Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak among those held out of the lineup.

    Zboril missed his 62nd game this season due to an injury sustained on Dec. 2nd in Nashville, while Hall missed his first game of the season as a healthy scratch.

    As a result, Charlie Coyle was the only Bruin to suit up in all 82 games this season– marking the first time that anyone in a Boston uniform played in all 82 games in a full 82-game season since Pastrnak and Tim Schaller did so in 2017-18.

    Since then, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2019-20 regular season and kept 2020-21 limited to 56 games.

    Chris Wagner made his season debut on Friday after being recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) with Jack Studnicka, Oskar Steen and Jack Ahcan to fill in for the regulars.

    Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, opted to keep Trent Frederic, Coyle and Craig Smith together on the same line, while he moved Jake DeBrusk to the second line left wing with Studnicka at center and Marc McLaughlin on right wing.

    Curtis Lazar centered the third line with Nick Foligno and Steen on his wings, while Tomáš Nosek held the fourth line together– flanked by Anton Blidh and Wagner.

    On defense, Ahcan was paired with Brandon Carlo on the first pairing, while Mike Reilly and Josh Brown comprised the second pairing with Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton in their regular roles filling out the bottom pair.

    The Bruins struck first in quick fashion as Smith wrapped the puck around the back of the net and slipped a pass to Frederic (8) for the flub shot through Källgren’s five-hole.

    Smith (19) and Coyle (28) tallied the assists on the goal and the B’s led, 1-0, at 1:10 of the first period.

    Boston didn’t hold the lead for long, however as McLaughlin caught Mark Giordano with a high stick at 1:48 of the first period that was reviewed for an injury on the infraction– resulting in a four-minute double minor.

    Toronto made it a little past the midpoint of the skater advantage before Giordano sent a shot towards the net that Ilya Mikheyev (21) tipped past Swayman to tie the game, 1-1, at 3:51.

    Giordano (27) and Timothy Liljegren (18) notched the assists on Mikheyev’s power-play goal.

    Midway through the opening frame, William Nylander (33) got a breakaway and buried the puck in the twine on a forehand tuck after pulling Swayman to the right side of the crease.

    Nylander’s goal was unassisted and gave the Maple Leafs their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 13:16 of the first period.

    Late in the period, Morgan Rielly floated a shot towards Swayman that Nick Abruzzese (1) tipped for his first career National Hockey League goal.

    Rielly (58) had the only assist on the goal as a result and the Leafs extended their lead to two goals at 19:52.

    After one period, Toronto led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 10-6, in shots on goal.

    The Maple Leafs also led in blocked shots (10-2) and takeaways (2-0), while the Bruins held the advantage in giveaways (4-3), hits (20-15) and faceoff win percentage (56-44) entering the first intermission.

    The Leafs were 1-for-2 on the power play, while Boston had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    DeBrusk went hard into the boards early in the second period, but skated off on his own power and sat on the bench until his next shift without much discomfort despite play briefly coming to a stop while he laid on the ice.

    Late in the period, Foligno tripped Wayne Simmonds and presented the Leafs with a power play at 14:49 of the second period, but Toronto failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    Shortly thereafter, Nosek cross checked Liljegren and became entangled in a quick exchange of pleasantries with Rielly– resulting in minor infractions for both Nosek and Rielly for cross checking and roughing, respectively at 19:30.

    The two clubs skated at 4-on-4 into the third period as a result.

    Through 40 minutes of action Friday night, the Maple Leafs led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 20-15, in shots on goal– including a, 10-9, advantage in the second period alone.

    Toronto also maintained control in blocked shots (11-5), takeaways (8-3) and giveaways (8-7), while Boston led in hits (45-27) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Leafs were 1-for-3 and the Bruins were 0-for-0 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Nylander (34) collected his second goal of the night on a similar backhand-forehand effort from his first goal of the game and the Maple Leafs grabbed a, 4-1, lead at 8:00 of the third period.

    Moments later, Foligno thought he had his 500th career NHL point by scoring a would-be goal on the doorstep, but Toronto’s head coach, Sheldon Keefe, challenged the call on the ice on the basis that he believed Boston was offside entering the zone prior to the goal.

    Upon video review, it was determined that Lazar had gone over the blue line into the attacking zone before Steen broke the plane for a zone entry, rendering the call on the ice reversed. No goal.

    Toronto still led, 4-1, and Foligno will have to wait until next season for his 500th point.

    Shortly thereafter, T.J. Brodie cut a rut to the box for holding and Boston went on the power play for the first time at 11:55.

    Smith sent a shot on goal that DeBrusk (25) buried on the rebound past Källgren’s short side to give the Bruins their third power-play goal in their last two games.

    Boston trailed, 4-2, while Smith (20) and Reilly (13) picked up the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 12:49 of the third period.

    With about a minute left in the action, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker, but the B’s weren’t able to muster any last-minute comeback efforts.

    Pierre Engvall (15) capitalized on a turnover and buried the rubber biscuit in the empty twine for an empty net goal in addition to a three-goal lead at 19:50 of the third period.

    Engvall’s goal was unassisted and the Leafs finished their season with a, 5-2, victory on home ice.

    At the final horn, Toronto had won and wrapped things up leading in shots on goal, 27-26, despite trailing, 11-7, in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Maple Leafs finished the night leading in blocked shots (13-8) and giveaways (13-11), while the Bruins exited the ice with the advantage in hits (54-48) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Leafs went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the B’s went 1-for-1 on the skater advantage Friday night.

    Boston fell to 37-10-2 (19-5-1 on the road) when scoring first, 6-15-2 (2-8-1 on the road) when trailing after one and 4-20-2 (1-9-1 on the road) when trailing after two this season.

    Toronto improved to 19-15-4 (13-7-2 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 29-3-3 (17-0-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 40-1-3 (23-1-0 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    With the 2021-22 regular season in the rearview mirror, the Bruins look ahead to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and their First Round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

    Games 1 and 2 will be at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

  • Maple Leafs trample Bruins, 6-4, on the road

    Maple Leafs trample Bruins, 6-4, on the road

    The Toronto Maple Leafs had a, 4-1, lead in the second period at TD Garden and… …actually went on to win, 6-4, against the Boston Bruins Tuesday night.

    Ten different Leafs players recorded at least a point while Erik Källgren picked up the win in relief of Petr Mrazek, who left the game almost midway through the first period with an injury.

    Källgren (3-2-1, 2.65 goals-against average, .911 save percentage in six games played) made 23 saves on 26 shots against for the win in relief of Mrazek (12-6-0, 3.34 goals-against average, .888 save percentage in 20 games played), who stopped three out of four shots faced in 7:44 time on ice prior to being injured.

    Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (19-9-3, 2.24 goals-against average, .920 save percentage in 32 games played) made 19 saves on 25 shots against in the loss before he was replaced by Linus Ullmark (20-9-2, 2.70 goals-against average, .909 save percentage in 33 games played), who turned aside all seven shots in relief for no decision.

    The Maple Leafs improved to 42-19-5 (89 points) on the season and remain in command of 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, while Boston fell to 41-20-5 (87 points) overall and stuck in 4th place in the Atlantic.

    The B’s also fell to 0-2-0 against Toronto this season with one matchup remaining in their regular season series on April 29th at Scotiabank Arena.

    Boston went 2-0-1 against the Leafs in 2019-20.

    Jakub Zboril (right ACL) was the only injured Bruin out of the lineup against Toronto on Tuesday as the defender remains out for the rest of the season since sustaining an injury back on Dec. 2nd in Nashville.

    Meanwhile, Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lines and defensive pairings for the third straight game, rendering Mike Reilly, Jack Studnicka, Marc McLaughlin, Josh Brown and Anton Blidh as healthy scratches.

    Given the nature of the blowout against the Leafs, it’s very likely that either Reilly or Brown will see some action against New Jersey on Thursday.

    Connor Clifton misfired a pass towards Matt Grzelcyk before Jason Spezza intercepted the errant puck and worked it to the slot whereby Colin Blackwell (9) redirected it on a backhand from point blank to give the Maple Leafs a, 1-0, lead at 5:09 of the first period.

    Spezza (11) had the only assist on the goal.

    Less than a minute later, Michael Bunting tripped up Hampus Lindholm at 5:47, yielding the night’s first power play to the Bruins.

    It didn’t take long on the skater advantage for Boston to even up the score, 1-1, courtesy of a David Pastrnak (38) power-play goal special on a one-timer that deflected off of T.J. Brodie’s stick and past Mrazek after Pastrnak initially rang the crossbar seconds prior.

    Patrice Bergeron (30) and Charlie McAvoy (35) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as the B’s tied things up, 1-1, at 5:59 of the first period.

    Meanwhile, Mrazek skated off and went down the tunnel and would not return to the night’s action with an injury.

    Leafs head coach, Sheldon Keefe, replaced his starter with Källgren and the period continued without much else going wrong for Toronto.

    Bunting and Craig Smith exchanged pleasantries and unsportsmanlike conduct minors, yielding 4-on-4 action at 8:34 of the opening frame as a result.

    About a minute later, William Nylander drove to the net with speed and made his way around Brandon Carlo before setting up Morgan Rielly (8) for a goal on the rebound after Swayman couldn’t square up to the shot on the near post.

    Nylander (36) and John Tavares (40) tallied the assists on Rielly’s goal and the Leafs took a, 2-1, lead at 9:43 of the first period as a result.

    Late in the period, Pastrnak was penalized for boarding as he checked Rielly along the wall at 16:09.

    This time, however, there were no goals within the ensuing specials teams action, but Toronto caught Boston in the vulnerable minute afterwards anyway.

    Alexander Kerfoot (11) blocked a shot in his own zone and broke free on a breakaway as he raced the other way before going backhand-forehand around Swayman’s right pad on an unassisted effort to give the Maple Leafs a, 3-1, lead at 18:44.

    After one period, Toronto led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 11-10, in shots on goal.

    The Leafs also held the advantage in takeaways (4-1) and faceoff win percentage (55-45), while the Bruins led in giveaways (4-2) and hits (17-8).

    Both teams had two blocked shots each, while Toronto went 0/1 and the B’s went 1/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Ilya Lyubushkin kicked things off in the middle period with an interference infraction at 6:00 of the second period.

    The Bruins didn’t convert on the ensuing power play, however.

    Once more, Boston was caught in the vulnerable minute after special teams action– even though they had just been on the skater advantage.

    The B’s failed to muster anything in the attacking zone and struggled to get out of their own end, while Bunting made an interception around the neutral zone, setting up Auston Matthews for a quick pass to Mitchell Marner (28) for a one-timer goal from one knee– giving the Leafs a, 4-1, lead as a result.

    Matthews (36) and Bunting (31) had the assists on Marner’s goal at 8:28 of the second period.

    About five minutes later, Charlie Coyle and Spezza went to the box for holding the stick and hooking, respectively, rendering a couple more minutes of 4-on-4 action at 13:12.

    A few seconds after the two teams resumed 5-on-5 play, Lyubushkin hit checked Taylor Hall from behind, resulting in a bit of retaliation from Hall– earning the latter a roughing minor, while Lyubushkin ended up going down the tunnel.

    Hall may face supplemental discipline depending on if the league views his response as a sucker punch or not.

    Regardless, Hall cut a rut to the sin bin at 15:18 and the Leafs scored on the resulting power play at 16:00 of the second period as Matthews (49) hit the back of the twine with Tavares (41) and Marner (48) picking up the assists.

    Toronto had a, 5-1, lead and extended it to, 6-1, 47 seconds after Matthews’ goal on a shot from the point by Rielly that had eyes and deflected off of David Kämpf (9) past Swayman.

    Rielly (46) had the only assist as the Maple Leafs took a five-goal lead at 16:47 of the second period.

    Despite a brief cross check after the goal, Clifton evaded any further action.

    Late in the period, McAvoy riffled the puck towards the slot whereby Jake DeBrusk (17) redirected the rubber biscuit with his right leg past Källgren while gliding towards the net.

    As it wasn’t a distinct kicking motion, DeBrusk’s goal went unchallenged by Keefe, nor the on-ice officials, while McAvoy (36) and Brad Marchand (38) picked up the assists as the Bruins trailed, 6-2, at 18:19.

    Less than a minute later, McAvoy and Bunting each received unsportsmanlike conduct minors for… …perceived rising temperatures on the ice?

    Regardless, the two teams were skating at 4-on-4 once more at 18:44 of the second period.

    As the horn signaled the end of two periods, Marchand cross checked a Leafs skater on his way off the ice and exchanged some words with an on-ice official that ultimately deemed he had gone a step too far– assessing No. 63 in black and gold a 10-minute misconduct at 20:00 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Toronto led, 6-2, on the scoreboard and, 25-19, in shots on goal– including a, 14-9, advantage in the middle frame alone.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3), giveaways (10-3), hits (27-19) and faceoff win% (51-49), while the Maple Leafs held the advantage in takeaways (6-2).

    Both teams were 1/2 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Cassidy replaced his starting goaltender in Swayman with Ullmark to begin the third period, while the Maple Leafs announced that Justin Holl and Lyubushkin would not be returning to the night’s action– about 40 minutes after they already announced Mrazek’s departure for the night.

    Early in the final frame, Marner tripped McAvoy at 6:29 of the third period.

    Boston’s resulting power play was cut short when Erik Haula tripped Nylander at 8:20, but at least the Bruins’ penalty kill managed to kill off Haula’s infraction without issue.

    Midway through the third period, Curtis Lazar (7) pocketed a carom off the endboards past Källgren’s short side to bring the Bruins to within three goals.

    Clifton (6) and Tomáš Nosek (12) tallied the assists on Lazar’s goal and the B’s trailed, 6-3, at 13:02 of the third period as No. 20 for Boston established a career-high in goals.

    Moments later, Hall (15) drove to the net and clipped Källgren’s stick with his right leg as the puck trickled through the Leafs netminder’s five-hole, but the would-be goal was immediately washed out.

    Cassidy used a coach’s challenge and upon review, the call on the ice was overturned as it had not been sufficient incidental contact to interfere with Källgren’s ability to make a save, thereby rendering it a good goal.

    Pastrnak (30) and Derek Forbort (7) had the assists on Hall’s goal and the Bruins trailed, 6-4, at 17:38 of the third period as a result.

    With 1:54 remaining in the action, Ullmark vacated the crease for an extra attacker, but Boston wasn’t able to get anything else past Källgren as the Bruins struggled to setup dominant possession in the attacking zone.

    At the final horn, Toronto had won, 6-4, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-30, despite trailing, 11-7, in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Maple Leafs exited TD Garden with the advantage in blocked shots (8-5), while the Bruins left their own ice leading in giveaways (12-6), hits (35-27) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    Both teams went 1/3 on the power play on Tuesday, as Boston fell to 11-13-3 (7-7-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-13-2 (4-7-1 at home) when trailing after the first period and 4-15-2 (3-9-1 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    Toronto improved to 29-6-2 (15-5-2 on the road) when scoring first, 26-3-2 (12-3-2 on the road) when leading after one and 31-1-2 (15-0-2 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins wrap up the month of March and begin April by hosting the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday– rounding out their five-game homestand (2-1-0) in the process.

  • Bruins lose first game in Toronto in almost two years

    Bruins lose first game in Toronto in almost two years

    John Tavares and Auston Matthews each had a pair of goals in the Toronto Maple Leafs’, 5-2, victory over the Boston Bruins Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

    Saturday night marked Boston’s return to Canada in the regular season for the first time since the 2019-20 season due to the temporary realignment for the entire 2020-21 regular season in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    Jack Campbell (6-2-1, 1.88 goals-against average, .936 save percentage in 10 games played) made 42 saves on 44 shots against in the win for the Leafs.

    Meanwhile, Linus Ullmark (3-2-0, 2.60 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in five games played) stopped 31 out of 35 shots faced in the loss.

    The Bruins dropped to 5-4-0 (10 points) on the season and fell to 6th place in the Atlantic Division, while Toronto improved to 7-4-1 (15 points) overall and in command of 2nd place in the Atlantic.

    Prior to Saturday night’s matchup, it had been 722 day since the B’s beat the Leafs, 4-2, in Toronto on Nov. 15, 2019.

    Once again, Nick Foligno (upper body), Anton Blidh (upper body), Jack Studnicka and Jakub Zboril were out of the lineup for Boston, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup after Thursday night’s, 5-1, victory against the Detroit Red Wings.

    A few minutes into the action, a mad scramble in front of Boston’s own net led to a great scoring chance for Morgan Rielly, whereby the Leafs defender sent a shot at a mostly open net as Ullmark dove across the crease in desperation, but Patrice Bergeron stood tall behind his goaltender and blocked the rubber biscuit from entering the open twine.

    Bergeron may be in search of his fifth Frank J. Selke Trophy in his career, but he also might have just made the save of the season and could receive a vote or two towards the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 2021-22.

    Moments later, Connor Clifton was penalized for roughing and yielded the night’s first power play to the Toronto at 5:18 of the first period.

    The B’s made the kill on the ensuing infraction, however.

    Maple Leafs defender, Jake Muzzin, knocked his own net off its moorings and received a delay of game minor at 8:23, presenting the Bruins with their first power play of the night.

    It didn’t take Boston long to win the ensuing offensive zone faceoff, work the puck around the attacking zone from Brad Marchand to Bergeron for a one-timer that Taylor Hall (3) tipped past Campbell from point blank without any pressure in front of the net.

    Bergeron (4) and Marchand (9) tallied the assists on Hall’s power-play goal as the Bruins pulled ahead, 1-0, at 8:37 of the first period.

    Almost four minutes later, however, Tavares (5) inadvertently redirected a shot with his leg past Ullmark that Mitchell Marner originally fired towards the net– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Marner (7) and Rielly (7) had the assists on the goal, which had briefly been reviewed before being upheld as the officials checked to make sure there was a legitimate scoring chance imminent as Bergeron bumped into Tavares, thereby knocking the net off of its pegs immediately prior to the goal at 12:21.

    After one period of action in Toronto, the scoreboard was even, 1-1, despite the Bruins leading in shots on goal, 13-9.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (6-2), takeaways (3-1) and giveaways (3-1), while both teams managed to have 10 hits each and split the faceoff winning percentage, 50-50, in the first period.

    The Maple Leafs were 0/1 and the Bruins were 1/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

    Leafs head coach, Sheldon Keefe, couldn’t have been too pleased early in the middle frame when his skaters botched a line change and had one too many on the ice– resulting in a bench minor for too many men 40 seconds into the second period.

    This time, however, Boston’s power play was unsuccessful.

    Moments later, David Pastrnak was assessed a minor for boarding as he collided with T.J. Brodie awkwardly along the boards and presented Toronto with a skater advantage at 7:34 of the second period.

    The Leafs did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Matt Grzelcyk caught Marner with a high stick and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 14:35.

    Toronto made quick work of the ensuing power play as Marner worked a zone entry to Tavares, who sent the puck back to Marner off of Bruins defender Derek Forbort’s stick.

    While continuing to approach the slot, Marner sent a quick pass to Matthews for the shot off of Ullmark’s pad that rebounded right back to Matthews (4), who promptly pocketed the rubber biscuit in the twine under the bar to give Toronto a, 2-1, lead.

    Marner (8) had the only assist on Matthews’ first goal of the night at 14:59 of the second period.

    Minutes later, Marchand gave Timothy Liljegren a quick stick to the face, yielding an infraction for high sticking as a result and giving the Maple Leafs another chance on the power play at 18:03.

    Once more, Matthews (5) made Boston pay with a power-play goal on a one-timer from the faceoff dot off of Ullmark’s glove and into the back of the net.

    Rielly (8) and Marner (9) tabbed the assists on Matthews’ second goal of the night and the Leafs led, 3-1, at 18:54 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Maple Leafs led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 27-21, including an, 18-8, advantage in the second period alone.

    Toronto also held the advantage in takeaways (5-4) and faceoff win% (55-45), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (12-5), giveaways (12-4) and hits (20-16).

    The Maple Leafs were 2/4 on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage after two periods.

    Tavares hooked Pastrnak 32 seconds into the third period, but the Bruins were not successful on the ensuing power play.

    Instead, shortly after emerging from the penalty box, Tavares (6) slipped a rebound under Ullmark to give Toronto a, 4-1, lead at 2:53 of the third period.

    William Nylander (5) and Rasmus Sandin (4) had the assists on Tavares’ second goal of the game.

    Almost midway through the final frame, Pastrnak (3) rocketed a one-timer through Campbell’s six-hole after Marchand entered the zone, cut in and fed Pastrnak for the goal.

    Marchand (10) had the only assist on Pastrnak’s goal and the Bruins trailed, 4-2, at 8:29 of the third period.

    Michael Bunting tripped Clifton at 15:44, but Boston couldn’t take advantage of the resulting skater advantage.

    With 1:43 remaining in the game, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker, but things did not go as he planned as Marner (3) quickly pocketed an empty net goal to extend Toronto’s lead to three-goals once again.

    Tavares (6) and Alexander Kerfoot (4) tallied the assists on Marner’s empty net goal at 19:17 of the third period and at the final horn the Leafs had won, 5-2.

    The Maple Leafs finished Saturday night’s action leading in blocked shots (16-13), as well as in faceoff win% (51-49), while the B’s exited Scotiabank Arena with the advantage in shots on goal (44-36), including a, 23-9, advantage in the third period alone.

    Boston also wrapped the night up leading in giveaways (15-11) and hits (32-22).

    Toronto went 2/4 and Boston went 1/4 on the power play in Saturday night’s, 5-2, win for the Maple Leafs.

    The B’s fell to 5-2-0 (1-2-0 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 0-2-0 (0-2-0 on the road) when tied after one period and 0-3-0 (0-3-0 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, rose to 4-3-1 (3-1-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-2-0 (2-1-0 at home) when tied after the first period and 4-0-0 (4-0-0 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins return to TD Garden for a two-game homestand next Tuesday and Thursday against the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers, respectively, prior to going to New Jersey next Saturday for a road game against the Devils.

    Boston hosts the Montréal Canadiens for the first time since the 2019-20 season on Nov. 14th.

  • Habs force first Game 7 with Toronto in 57 years

    Habs force first Game 7 with Toronto in 57 years

    For the first time since 1964, there will be a Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montréal Canadiens as the Habs defeated the Leafs, 3-2, in overtime thanks to a game-winning goal from Jesperi Kotkaniemi late in the extra frame.

    After taking a, 2-0, lead in the third period, Montréal gave up a pair of unanswered goals before Travis Dermott turned the puck over in the Canadiens’ attacking zone and Paul Byron worked the puck to Kotkaniemi for the goal.

    Montréal’s Game 6 win tied the series 3-3 in front of about 2,500 fans at Bell Centre on Saturday night.

    It was the first National Hockey League game in Canada to feature fans in attendance since March 10, 2020– one day prior to when the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a global pandemic over a year ago.

    Monday night will be just the second time in league history (104 years) that the Maple Leafs and Canadiens are set to square off in a Game 7.

    Toronto defeated Montréal in seven games in the 1964 Semifinal, while the Habs swept the Leafs in four games in their most recent postseason series matchup in the 1979 Quarterfinal.

    Carey Price (3-3, 2.45 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in six games) stopped 41 out of 43 shots faced in the win for the Canadiens.

    Jack Campbell (3-3, 1.77 goals-against average, .937 save percentage in six games played) made 28 saves on 31 shots against in the Maple Leafs’ loss.

    Entering Game 7, Toronto has not won a playoff series since 2004, while Montréal has yet to win a round since 2015.

    Nick Foligno returned to the lineup for the Leafs in Game 6, while Jon Merrill and Tomas Tatar were out of the lineup for the Habs. Jake Evans, however, was reinserted among the forwards for the Canadiens.

    Josh Anderson tripped William Nylander and presented the Leafs with the first power play of the night at 1:57 of the first period. Toronto did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Moments later, Alexander Kerfoot caught Jeff Petry with a high stick and presented the Canadiens with their first chance on the power play at 7:24, but Montréal was not able to capitalize on their resulting advantage.

    Through one period of play, the game was still tied, 0-0, as the Habs outshot the Maple Leafs, 15-9.

    Montréal also held the advantage in blocked shots (6-5), giveaways (9-3) and faceoff win percentage (67-33), while Toronto held the lead in takeaways (3-2) and hits (14-13).

    Both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

    There were no goals and only one penalty in the second period as Shea Weber sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game minor at 3:53.

    The Maple Leafs did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the game remained tied, 0-0, as the Canadiens outshot the Leafs, 21-15, despite both teams managing to amass six shots on net each in the second period alone.

    The Habs led in giveaways (20-9), hits (29-18) and faceoff win% (55-45), while Toronto held the advantage in blocked shots (13-10) after two periods. Both teams had three takeaways each entering the second intermission.

    The Leafs were 0/2 and the Canadiens were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Phillip Danault was caught holding Auston Matthews’ stick and assessed a minor infraction as a result at 2:18 of the third period, but the Maple Leafs couldn’t convert on the ensuing advantage.

    A few minutes later, Nylander collided with Price and yielded a goaltender interference penalty, presenting Montréal with a power play at 5:16 of the third period.

    It didn’t take the Habs long to convert on the resulting 5-on-4 action as Corey Perry (1) buried a loose puck from the doorstep while everyone scrambled as Campbell was out of the crease.

    Perry’s individual effort made it, 1-0, for the Canadiens as the Habs struck first on the power play at 5:26 of the third period.

    Maple Leafs head coach, Sheldon Keefe, used a coach’s challenge on the argument that Campbell had been interfered with, but a quick review determined that the call on the ice was confirmed– no Montréal skater had impeded in Campbell’s ability to bring himself back into the crease.

    He was out of position of his own volition.

    As a result of the failed challenge, Toronto was assessed a bench minor for delay of game– served by Nylander– at 5:26.

    Seconds later, Mitchell Marner sent the puck over the glass and received an automatic delay of game minor at 5:45, presenting the Canadiens with a decent sized 5-on-3 opportunity.

    About a minute later, Tyler Toffoli (1) buried one from the doorstep to give Montréal a two-goal lead with another power-play goal at 6:43.

    Nick Suzuki (1) and Petry (1) had the assists on Toffoli’s goal as the Canadiens took a, 2-0, lead early in the third period.

    Ben Chiarot slashed Marner moments later, yielding a power play to Toronto at 8:25.

    Though the Maple Leafs didn’t manage to convert on the ensuing power play, Toronto caught Montréal in the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Jason Spezza (3) cut the Canadiens’ lead in half, 2-1, at 11:35.

    Kerfoot (5) had the only assist on Spezza’s goal as the Leafs grabbed momentum midway through the third.

    Late in the period, as the minutes started to wind down, the Habs turned the puck over in their own zone, leaving Pierre Engvall with a chance to slide a pass back to T.J. Brodie (1) for a catch and release slap shot off of Petry and underneath Price’s blocker through the seven-hole to tie the game, 2-2, at 16:49.

    Engvall (1) tallied the only assist on Brodie’s goal as the Leafs forced overtime.

    After regulation, the score was tied, 2-2, though Toronto led in shots on goal, 30-29, including a, 15-8, advantage in the third period alone.

    As there were no penalties called in the extra frame, the Maple Leafs finished Saturday night 0/4 on the power play, while Montréal went 2/4 on the skater advantage.

    Toronto dominated the overtime period, so naturally, on their second shot of the extra frame, Kotkaniemi (3) gave the Canadiens the victory with the game-winning goal– glove side on Campbell.

    Byron (1) had the only assist after Dermott turned the puck over to the Montréal forward.

    Kotkaniemi’s goal ended it for Montréal, 3-2, at 15:15 of the overtime period, while Toronto finished the night leading in shots on goal, 43-31, including a, 13-2, advantage in the extra frame alone.

    The Maple Leafs finished Saturday night’s action leading in blocked shots (22-21) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Canadiens wrapped up the night leading in giveaways (38-16) and hits (44-27).

    Montréal became the first team in NHL history to surrender multi-goal leads in the third period in consecutive games and win each of them when facing elimination.

    As a result of the Habs’ victory in Game 6 and the series tied 3-3 as a result, the Canadiens have forced a Game 7 back in Toronto on Monday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the action on CNBC, while those in Canada can tune to CBC, SN or TVAS for coverage.

    The winner will advance to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and face the Winnipeg Jets in the next series.

  • Flames burn Bruins, 5-2

    The Calgary Flames erupted for five goals (including one empty net goal) against the Boston Bruins on home ice Wednesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome to improve to 4-2-0 (8 points) on the season. Calgary remains 2nd in the Pacific Division standings, while the Bruins fell to 3rd in the Atlantic with a 4-2-0 (8 points) record of their own.

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    Mike Smith stopped 24 shots out of the 26 shots he faced for a .923 save percentage in the win, while Boston netminder, Tuukka Rask turned aside 24 shots on 28 shots against for an .857 SV% in the loss.

    Michael Frolik had two goals as part of Calgary’s victory, while Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each recorded a goal for the Bruins.

    Boston travels to Rogers Place Thursday night to take on the Edmonton Oilers before Saturday’s matchup at Rogers Arena against the Vancouver Canucks to round out the Western Canada portion of their four-game road trip.

    Bruce Cassidy made no changes to his Bruins lineup from Saturday’s 8-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings as Boston was unable to put together their fifth consecutive win Wednesday night. The Bruins are now 1-2-0 on the road this season, suffering a 7-0 loss in Washington, D.C. at the hands of the Capitals on Opening Night (Oct. 3rd) in addition to Wednesday’s loss to the Flames.

    The B’s shutout the Buffalo Sabres, 4-0, in Buffalo on Oct. 4th.

    Frolik (2) opened the game’s scoring 5:34 into the first period on a one-timed shot past Rask thanks to the setup from Matthew Tkachuk to Mikael Backlund before the puck reached Frolik’s stick.

    Tkachuk’s spin and pass to Backlund freed up enough space for Frolik to sneak in down the right side and catch Rask lagging in time behind the play as his defenders in front of him were catching up themselves.

    Backlund (2) and Tkachuk (7) had the primary and secondary assists on Frolik’s goal, respectively, and the Flames led, 1-0.

    Midway through the opening frame, Tkachuk again had a great break-in, dropped a pass for the one-timer, but Rask made the sprawling save from one end to the other side of the crease with about 8:24 remaining in the period.

    Moments later, Johnny Gaudreau (3) recorded the 100th goal of his NHL career on a rebound off Rask that bounced wide left to Gaudreau as the Bruins netminder was attempting to cover the loose puck up.

    Sean Monahan (3) and Noah Hanifin (2) had the assists on Gaudreau’s goal and Calgary jumped out to a 2-0 lead at 15:20.

    Less than a minute later, Juuso Valimaki (1) threw a shot on net that got a chunk of Rask, deflected high, then landed just behind the Boston goalie with enough force to trickle in behind the goal line for his first career NHL goal and a 3-0 lead for the Flames.

    Mark Jankowski (1) had the only assist on Valimaki’s goal at 16:08 of the first period.

    The Bruins lacked effort in their own end throughout the first period and thought they had a quick response to going down by three goals, but David Pastrnak‘s would-be goal was overturned by Calgary’s head coach, Bill Peters’ intelligent use of the coach’s challenge for offside as Patrice Bergeron had just barely entered the zone ahead of John Moore‘s initial dump-in.

    Moore later received a minor penalty for holding Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson at 19:39 of the first period.

    The Flames power play would carry over into the middle frame.

    After one period of play, Calgary had a 3-0 lead over the Bruins and led in shots on goal, 14-10. Blocked shots were even, 7-7, but the Flames also led in takeaways (3-2), giveaways (9-7), hits (8-6) and face-off win percentage (63-38). Boston had yet to see any time on the skater advantage, while Calgary was technically 0/1 after 20 minutes.

    Bergeron caught Flames blue liner Mark Giordano with a high-stick 24 seconds into the second period and gave Calgary a 5-on-3 advantage for about 1:16.

    The B’s successfully managed to go unscathed and killed off the minor penalties, yielding a scoring chance as David Krejci worked the puck to Bergeron fresh on a rush out of the box in the low slot.

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    No. 37 in black-and-gold spin and batted the puck out of the air past Smith to put Boston on the board, making it 3-1, in favor of the Flames. The goal was Bergeron’s 6th of the season and assisted by Krejci (5) at 2:40 of the second period.

    Not to be outdone, Calgary responded less than a minute later, as Frolik (3) added his second of the night on a forced turnover by Backlund that led to the one-timer opportunity with Frolik in the low slot charging in to the right of Rask.

    Backlund (3) had his second assist of the night as the Flames lead– once-again– grew to three goals.

    Despite the initial turnover from the Bruins’ first line in their own end, Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy looked dumbfounded as Calgary worked the puck past the Boston defenders for the 4-1 lead at 3:32 of the second period.

    Flames defender, Michael Stone, got in some hot water of his own when he interfered with Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, at 4:48 of the middle frame.

    The ensuing power play for Boston was largely powerless as Calgary forced two incredible shorthanded breakaway opportunities of their own– including one in which Frolik was on the hunt for the hat trick completing goal, but sent the vulcanized rubber biscuit high and wide of the 4-by-6 net.

    Bruins rookie, Ryan Donato, tripped up Gaudreau while trying to avoid knee-on-knee contact– inadvertently going knee-on-knee but not as bad as it would’ve been. Regardless, Donato went to the box on a tripping minor after a small scrum ensued post-whistle, at 7:00 of the second period.

    Calgary did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Brad Marchand (2) brought the B’s to a two-goal deficit at 13:45, after Pastrnak entered the zone and left the puck for Bergeron to dish to his longtime left wing wearing No. 63.

    Bergeron (7) and Pastrnak (3) notched the assists on Marchand’s 8th goal against the Flames in his last 12 games versus Calgary.

    Garnet Hathaway tripped up Joakim Nordstrom at 14:04, but the Bruins didn’t score on the power play and Nordstrom would draw another penalty about four minutes later– this time, T.J. Brodie for holding.

    Once again, however, Boston didn’t score on the power play, but Backlund took a hooking minor against David Backes at time expired on the second period, resulting in 58 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage for the Bruins to start the 3rd period.

    The Bruins trailed the Flames, 4-2, after 40 minutes of action and did not convert on the two-skater advantage in the third period.

    Instead, nearly midway into the final period of regulation, Gaudreau found a crazy carom off the boards that ended up on his stick, leading to a fast breakout with McAvoy trailing– ultimately diving to poke check the puck away from the Flames forward.

    Rask stoned Gaudreau with the right pad and the young Bruins defender demolished the smaller Flames skater after he got the shot away.

    McAvoy was given a minor for interference after a scrum at 8:29 of the third.

    Keeping with the theme of the night, Calgary did not convert on the power play.

    Cassidy pulled his goaltender with about 2:12 remaining in the game, opting for the an extra attacker to try to knot things up, but Tkachuk (2) would find the open twine at 19:09 to put the game away, 5-2.

    Stone (3) recorded the only assist on Tkachuk’s empty net goal.

    After 60 minutes, the Flames defeated the Bruins, 5-2, and led in shots on goal, 29-26. Boston held onto an advantage in blocked shots (19-15) and face-off win% (54-46), but trailed Calgary in giveaways (22-17). Hits were even 16-16 and both teams went 0/4 on the power play Wednesday night.

    Among other stats from the action…

    No Bruins skater recorded more than two hits, while Noel Acciari, Jake DeBrusk (who turned 22-years-old on Wednesday) and Grzelcyk were all a minus-two for Boston.

    Bergeron led the way for the Bruins in shots on goal with seven, while Pastrnak was the next closest player for Boston with three shots on net. Moore blocked four shots, while McAvoy blocked three.

    Hathaway took credit for the most hits in the game for Calgary with six, while no other member of the Flames had more than two. Frolik led the way for the flaming-C’s as a plus-three in plus/minus and Backlund, Gaudreau, Frolik and Valimaki all had three shots on goal.

    Derek Ryan led the Flames in blocked shots with three.

  • Calgary Flames 2018-19 Season Preview

    Calgary Flames

    37-35-10, 84 points, 5th in the Pacific Division

    Additions: F Austin Czarnik, D Noah Hanifin, F Elias Lindholm, RW James Neal, RW Anthony Peluso, C Alan Quine, C Derek Ryan, LW Kerby Rychel

    Subtractions: RW Troy Brouwer, LW Micheal Ferland, LW Tanner Glass, D Cody Goloubef, D Dougie Hamilton, C Rod Pelley, C Matt Stajan, RW Chris Stewart, RW Kris Versteeg

    Re-signed: G Jon Gillies, RW Garnet Hathaway, C Mark Jankowski, LW Morgan Klimchuk, D Brett Kulak, G David Rittich

    Offseason Analysis: Armed with one of the most potent top line/top defense pairing combos in the league, and with newly-acquired Mike Smith in net, hopes were high for the Flames to make some noise coming into the ’17-’18 campaign. Unfortunately, the noises they made were somewhat akin to a fish flopping around on the deck of a boat.

    In a season that the term ‘streaky’ could possibly be defined by, Calgary often swung from appearing unbeatable to looking as if they had no idea what they were doing (and anywhere in between) on a game-by-game, week-by-week, and month-by-month basis. Managing to hang around in the wild card conversation through February, they’d finish the year with a dismal 6-13-1 record in their last 20 games, missing the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years.

    Head coach Glen Gulutzan (along with assistants Dave Cameron and Paul Gerrard) was promptly sacked at season’s end and replaced with the newly-resigned Hurricanes coach Bill Peters. It wouldn’t be the only Carolina-linked theme of the offseason, either.

    Faced with a draft stock that featured no picks until the 4th round, GM Brad Treliving had to use the phone at his table rather than his scouting staff to try and make an immediate impact on his team on draft weekend in Dallas. In one of the bigger trades in recent memory, Calgary dealt blue-chip defender Dougie Hamilton, hard-nosed winger Michael Ferland, and prospect Adam Fox to Carolina in exchange for young d-man Noah Hanifin and versatile scoring forward Elias Lindholm.

    Now, I was one of few to take a stand in defending this trade as equal (most found it to be heavily in Carolina’s favor on face value). While I admittedly know little about Fox (I’m told he projects as possibly a decent complimentary player at the NHL level), everyone else in this trade is a fairly proven commodity. Hamilton is admittedly probably the better all-around defenseman, but Hanifin might be a better fit for Calgary, as his game is traditionally a bit more reliable. With Ferland’s departure, they do lose some grit and complimentary goal scoring, but they still have no shortage of snarl, and it’s doubtful his 21-goal, 41-point campaign last year will ever be bettered. Lindholm, while not a natural goal scorer, is a skilled playmaker and has already twice surpassed Ferland’s career-best numbers, while being three years his junior. His ability to play the right side if needed also bolsters a thin depth chart at the position.

    Treliving would make another splash soon after the draft, snagging sniper James Neal on the opening day of free agency, and signing him to a five-year, $5.75 million contract. The contract is probably a bit long for a 31-year-old already showing signs of losing foot speed, and Neal’s production has dipped a bit in recent years, but he’s still a near-lock for 25 goals and 45-50 points. Plus, playing alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau never hurt anybody.

    The Flames would nab a few other pieces in free agency, in particular bolstering their center depth with adds like Tyler Graovac, Alan Quine, and Austin Czarnik. Perhaps their biggest under-the-radar move was acquiring another former Hurricane in Derek Ryan. The 31-year-old journeyman center finally found an NHL home in Carolina the past few years, blossoming into a solid 3C capable of consistent ~35 point production in addition to reliable PK work and a sublime faceoff record. With the departure of Matt Stajan, the Flames took advantage of Peters’ prior experience with Ryan to fill the hole. They also added some depth on the wings in Kerby Rychel (via trade) and Anthony Peluso, along with notable re-signings Garnet Hathaway, Morgan Klimchuk, and Mark Jankowski.

    The prospect pool is a bit thin, but Morgan Klimchuk stands out as a threat to potentially grab himself a roster spot with a strong camp.

    I have the forward corps looking something similar to this:
    Gaudreau – Monahan – Neal
    Tkachuk – Backlund – Lindholm
    Bennett – Ryan – Frolik
    Jankowski – Quine – Hathaway
    Extra forwards Curtis Lazar and Austin Czarnik

    On defense, things have shaken up a bit with the breakup of one of the league’s best pairings. Fleet-footed T.J. Brodie looks poised to grab the No. 2 defense slot next to captain Mark Giordano, though his sometimes-risky style of play could be of concern for top pair minutes.

    Outside of the Hanifin/Hamilton deal, the Flames changed little about their defense corps in the offseason. Brett Kulak being awarded a one-year deal in arbitration was probably the biggest news. Longtime SHL stalwart Marcus Hogstrom was signed to a one-year, two-way deal to add some depth, and towering Viktor Svedberg, who saw some time with the Blackhawks last year, is heading to training camp on a PTO.

    The defensive prospect pool is much deeper and more intriguing than the forwards. Juuso Valimaki is a highly touted prospect and Calgary’s ’17 1st round pick, but has yet to play North American pro hockey, so it’s likely he’ll spend the year in Stockton getting adjusted. Josh Healey brings a solid defensive game, but struggled to find the offensive touch he had at Ohio State in his first pro season last year. Oliver Kylington is a smart, if slightly undersized two-way defender that has shown well so far in the AHL. My personal pick to sneak his way onto the opening night roster, though, is Rasmus Andersson. He’s had no trouble adapting his offensive game to the pro level (nine goals and 39 points in Stockton last year) and his 215-pound frame bodes well for holding up to the rigors of the NHL. His right handed shot and offensive abilities bode well as a potential Hamilton replacement should the Flames find themselves in need of some extra defensive scoring.

    The defense looks a little something like this:
    Giordano – Brodie
    Hanifin – Hamonic
    Kulak – Stone
    Extra defender either Dalton Prout or the aforementioned Andersson

    In net the depth chart looks to remain the same as last year after the re-signing of backup David Rittich to a one-year deal. Calgary will likely just hope for steadier play from Mike Smith (really from the entire team in general) to improve their fortunes as they continue to groom all-world prospect Jon Gillies for the eventual No. 1 job. Smith will turn 37 this year and is in the last year of his contract, so expect another year in the AHL for Gillies before taking the reigns in ’19-’20.

    Offseason Grade: C-

    They made a coaching change. They fired the coach of their 21st-place team and hired the coach of the 20th place team. C-

    They got Noah Hanifin. They probably gave up a bit too much to get him. C-

    They signed James Neal. They signed him for too long. C-

    They didn’t lose most of their expiring contracts. They were all pretty average players. C-

  • February 8 – Day 120 – Fire and brimstone

    Welcome to the best day of the hockey work week!

    Like it usually does, the action begins at 7 p.m. this evening with three games (the New York Islanders at Buffalo [TVAS], Calgary at New Jersey and Montréal at Philadelphia [RDS/TSN2]), followed half an hour later by two more (Nashville at Ottawa [RDS2] and Vancouver at Tampa Bay). Another pair of fixtures (Colorado at St. Louis and Arizona at Minnesota) find their starts at 8 p.m., while Dallas at Chicago waits 30 minutes before getting underway. Finally, tonight’s nightcap – Vegas at San Jose (SN360) – drops the puck at 10:30 p.m. to close out the evening. All times Eastern.

    Two games were circled on my calendar…

    • Nashville at Ottawa: C Kyle Turris called Ottawa home for seven years, but that all changed in November when he was traded to Nashville.
    • Vegas at San Jose: I circled this one to celebrate the return of F Ryan Carpenter to The Tank, but I think the standings will be a bigger deal in this contest.

    We just featured the Predators yesterday, so we’re not going to follow them east. Additionally, we just featured the Golden Knights two days ago and we’re not going to hop on their flight west.

    Instead, I say we head to Newark to check in on a Devils team that has been a bit streaky of late as they square off against the Kings of the Streak, the Calgary Flames.

     

    The 27-17-8 Devils are holding on to third place in the Metropolitan Division, but they’re certainly not making life easy on themselves of late. Jersey is only 2-2-0 in its last four home games (including a loss to the Red Wings) and 3-5-0 overall in its last eight contests (including a loss in Ottawa).

    However, it we just look at what has happened since the All-Star Break, it seems the Devils were just running a little bit low on steam. Before Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the Senators, the Devils had won all three of their first games since resuming play.

    The reason for Jersey’s return to form lies squarely on its defense, which has been playing incredibly over its last four games. Led by the efforts of F Blake Coleman (3.5 hits per game since January 30) and D Andy Greene (2.5 blocks per game during this run), the Devils have allowed only 25.25 shots against per game since the All-Star Break, the best mark in the league.

    As a result, that stellar play has made 17-11-6 G Cory Schneider‘s groin injury far less noticeable. While he’s been gone, 10-5-2 G Keith Kinkaid has assumed starting duties. Though he’s only posted an .899 save percentage in his last four starts, the fact that his defense is playing so marvelously has kept his GAA at 2.59, good enough to earn him three victories.

    Currently in 10th place in the Western Conference (well, technically a three-way tie for ninth, but the Flames’ 53 games played are one more than Colorado’s and two fewer than Anaheim’s), 27-18-8 Calgary has all but assumed the title of the NHL’s streakiest team. Since their well-documented seven-game winning streak, the Flames proceeded to lose six-straight games – albeit four required extra time.

    However, it seems the Flames are back on the upswing, as they swept the Blackhawks in a home-and-home series. Even more in their favor, the Flames have traveled exceptionally well lately, posting a 5-0-1 record in their last six games away from the Saddledome.

    But let’s keep our comparisons constant: How have the Flames fared since the All-Star Break?

    Considering Calgary has only posted a 2-2-0 record since the break, I suppose the answer is simply “average,” if not arguably worse.

    The most glaring hole in the Flames’ play since resuming play has been on the defensive end, where they’ve allowed a 12th-worst 32.5 shots against per game and (t)fourth-worst goals against per game in that time.

    The defensive effort is basically a given at this point in the season. Calgary has averaged 32.1 shots against per game for its entire campaign, 22-15-6 G Mike Smith is seeing no more work lately than he’s seen all season.

    However, that means that the biggest decline in the defensive end actually belongs to him. Having averaged a .922 save percentage and 2.5 GAA for the season, Smith has not been impressive in his last four starts, managing only an .888 save percentage and 3.7 GAA.

    With that in mind and the fact that the Flames play in Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, Smith will take the night off this evening and cede his crease to 4-1-2 G David Rittich, who’s posted a .926 save percentage and 2.23 GAA in eight appearances this season.

    Fortunately for Rittich, he has two things going for him in tonight’s game. The first is, thanks to Schneider being out, Jersey is pulling back to play stellar defensive hockey, meaning he may see fewer shots this evening.

    The second is his own offense is pretty handy with the puck, able to score with regularity to earn him wins.

    Since the All-Star Break, Calgary has posted a (t)12th-best 3.25 goals-per-game. That success is thanks in large part to LW Johnny Gaudreau (2-3-5 totals since the break, 17-45-62 overall), D T.J. Brodie (0-5-5, 3-22-25 overall), C Sean Monahan (3-1-4, 25-22-47 overall) and D Dougie Hamilton (1-3-4, 9-18-27 overall). All four have averaged at least a point per game in their last four showings, and they’ll need to continue their success tonight against a stingy Jersey defense for a chance to win their third-straight game.

    The Flames have already hosted the Devils this season, and the fans in attendance at the Saddledome were treated to a heck of a game. The November 5 contest went back-and-forth before reaching the end of regulation with a 4-4 tie. That eventually forced a shootout that LW Matthew Tkachuk won in the final round, earning the Flames the bonus point.

    For me, this game boils down to which goaltender can perform better. Can Rittich do his best Smith impression tonight, or will it be Kinkaid that makes the few saves his defense requires him to make? I’m leaning towards the Kinkaid option as being the more probable.

    However, that pick does come with a caveat: if Calgary can force overtime, I think the Flames’ offense can earn the bonus point.

    After a seven-round shootout, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally knocked off the Nashville Predators 3-2 at Air Canada Centre in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Let me be the first to say that if we get a Stanley Cup Finals between these teams, we’ll all be glued to our televisions for every second. This game had everything: goals, solid defense, superb goaltending… all the things you want in the final round of a championship.

    As for the goal scoring, that started with 3:54 remaining in the first period when Second Star of the Game LW James van Riemsdyk (RW Connor Brown and D Travis Dermott) buried a slap shot to give the Maple Leafs a one-goal lead.

    Goal number 2 also belonged to Toronto, but this one was a shorthanded wrist shot struck by RW Kasperi Kapanen (F Dominic Moore and D Ron Hainsey) 9:38 into the second frame. Facing a 2-0 hole, the Predators finally found their scoring prowess with 1:50 remaining before the second period. C Colton Sissons (LW Pontus Aberg and D Ryan Ellis) took credit for the late period charge, burying a snap shot.

    Whatever motivational speech Head Coach Peter Laviolette gave in the dressing room obviously worked, because the Predators leveled the game only 25 seconds after returning to the ice when W Viktor Arvidsson scored an unassisted wrister.

    Arvidsson’s game-tying effort proved to be the final goal scored in regulation, and none were added to the total in five minutes of three-on-three overtime. That forced every hockey fan’s favorite thing: the shootout.

    As home team, Toronto had the option of going first or second. Head Coach Mike Babcock elected to go first.

    1. C Auston Matthews usually seems like a good first choice in these shootout situations, but not when he’s squaring off against Third Star G Pekka Rinne. The Finn made the save.
    2. That provided Turris an opportunity to give the Preds an advantage, but he sent his shot wide of the net.
    3. F William Nylander apparently saw what Turris did and liked it, because he also didn’t force Rinne to make a save.
    4. Once again Nashville was provided with a major opportunity, but W Kevin Fiala‘s snap shot was saved by First Star G Frederik Andersen to keep the shootout tied at zero.
    5. Finally, someone found a goal! C Tyler Bozak scored in the third and final round, setting up a miss-and-lose situation for the visiting Preds.
    6. Ellis apparently likes these situations where his club is trailing, because he duplicated his success from regulation to even the shootout and force sudden death.
    7. F Mitch Marner was the fourth Leafs shooter to approach Rinne’s goal, but he found the same fate as Matthews: saved by the Finn.
    8. F Craig Smith tried to get a little too fancy for his own good, as Andersen was able to make the save on his backhanded shot.
    9. Get in line, F Patrick Marleau. You’re not the first to get stopped by Rinne today.
    10. Another Predators backhander – this one from D Roman Josi. Another Andersen save.
    11. Rinne just wasn’t a very nice house guest, was he? Brown’s snapper was also saved by the visiting netminder.
    12. In the same turn, Andersen wasn’t exactly a benevolent host. F Ryan Johansen tried to beat him with a backhander (Nashville’s third in a row), but the former Duck was more than up to the challenge.
    13. Apparently, van Riemsdyk saw that it was almost his bedtime, so he decided to do something about it. He beat Rinne to set up a miss-and-lose situation for the Preds.
    14. Though Arvidsson was the one that got this game into the shootout, he couldn’t extend it as his snapper was saved by Andersen.

    Andersen earned the victory after saving 44-of-46 shots faced (.957 save percentage), leaving the shootout loss to Rinne, who saved 30-of-32 (.938).

    The 67-38-15 home teams are flexing their muscles in the DtFR Game of the Day series, as they’ve now won seven of the past eight games. Toronto’s shootout victory gives the hosts a 28-point lead over the roadies in the series.

  • January 20 – Day 105 – Break out your synthesizer music

    Every team’s bye has come and gone, so let’s get back to playing some hockey!

    There’s four matinees on the schedule today: one pair (Dallas at Buffalo and New Jersey at Philadelphia) drop the puck at 1 p.m., and the other two (the New York Rangers at Colorado and Winnipeg at Calgary [CBC/NHLN/SN]) will follow suit two hours later. The next three tilts (Boston at Montréal [NHLN/SN/TVAS], Toronto at Ottawa [CBC/CITY/TVAS2] and Carolina at Detroit) drop the puck at the usual 7 p.m. starting time, followed by three more (Pittsburgh at San Jose, Arizona at St. Louis and Florida at Nashville) an hour later. 8:30 p.m. marks the beginning of the New York Islanders at Chicago, while Tampa Bay at Minnesota waits until the top of the hour to get underway. Finally, Vancouver visits Edmonton (CBC/SN) at 10 p.m. to close out the evening’s festivities. All times Eastern.

    It’s so nice having the whole gang back together again. With so many games, I’m back to having at least four rivalry games that stand out above the rest.

    • New Jersey at Philadelphia: The Battle of the Turnpikes is never a dull affair, and tensions will only be heightened by the Flyers’ current hot streak.
    • Winnipeg at Calgary: Back in the 1980s, this was one of the best rivalries in the Western Conference. Perhaps more sparks will fly today.
    • Boston at Montréal: For the third time in basically one week, these historic rivals will tangle. This could get nasty.
    • Toronto at Ottawa: The Battle of Ontario rages on between Canada’s capital and its biggest city.

    Somehow, the Jets have not been featured in the DtFR Game of the Day series since the holiday break. Let’s resolve that by seeing how they handle a red-hot Calgary club.

     

    The streaky 25-16-4 Flames have jumped in and out of playoff position all season, and this seven-game winning streak they were riding before their five-day bye has propelled them all the way into third place in the Pacific Division.

    Calgary has been dominant on both ends of the ice during this run. Since New Year’s Eve, the Flames have employed the league’s third-best offense – averaging 3.86 goals per game – and the (t)fourth-best defense – averaging only two goals against per game.

    On the defensive end, the answer is simple: 20-13-3 G Mike Smith. The (t)eighth-most winningest goaltender of the season started all but one of the Flames’ past seven games, posting an impressive .941 save percentage and 1.99 GAA. Those numbers are already good in comparison to his season marks of .924 (the [t]eighth-best mark in the league) and 2.46, but what makes his effort in his last six starts really stand out is the fact that his defense is allowing a fifth-worst 35.43 shots against per game during this winning streak. Without Smith playing at the top of his game, this Flames team is a totally different – and far uglier – product.

    However, it’s not just Smith that is performing above expectations. With the offense managing only 2.87 goals per game for the entire season, Calgary is producing a full goal better thanks to the positive energy of its goaltender.

    It shouldn’t be a surprise, but the Flames’ leader during this surge has been none other than LW Johnny Gaudreau. The very player that has 39 assists ([t]third-most in the league) and 54 points ([t]fourth-most in the league) to his credit has continued his play-making ways to post 2-11-13 totals during this seven-game winning streak, averaging almost two points per game.

    Gaudreau makes everyone around him better, which makes sense why linemates W Micheal Ferland (19-10-29 totals) and C Sean Monahan (21-21-42) have both posted four goals since New Year’s Eve. However, the scorer that really takes the cake during this run is sophomore LW Matthew Tkachuk (13-18-31). The 20-year-old has already matched his goal total from his rookie season, and that’s due in large part to his team-leading five tallies in the last seven games.

    As Calgary is proving, when both the top lines are firing on all cylinders, this club is a very tough out. After all, the Flames just handled the Lightning in Tampa Bay on January 11, winning 5-1.

    Of course, one of the toughest outs all season has been 26-13-7 Winnipeg, the second-best team in the Central Division. Today marks the Jets’ first game after their six-day bye week, and they’ll be looking to get back to their winning ways.

    Though Winnipeg was technically riding a two-game losing skid going into the bye, the Jets are actually 6-2-1 in their last nine games. A major reason for that success is Winnipeg’s offense, which has averaged 3.56 goals per game since December 27.

    Just like Gaudreau has led his team both during its winning streak and the overall season, the same can be said for F Blake Wheeler. The captain has posted impressive 5-7-12 totals in the last five games to improve his season marks to 14-39-53, the (t)third-most assists and (t)seventh-most points in the NHL.

    Making Wheeler’s performance even more impressive, he’s been able to maintain his performance even while C Mark Scheifele (15-23-38 totals) has been on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Of course, what should we expect when the captain has linemates like RW Patrik Laine (20-17-37), who’s filling in for Wheeler as the top-line right wing while he slides into Scheifele’s vacated center position, and LW Kyle Connor (15-13-28)? Both Connor and Laine have provided eight points over the last nine games, and Wheeler has provided six primary assists since December 27.

    On the defensive end, no name is greater in Manitoba than G Connor Hellebuyck. He’s posted a 23-6-6 record this season (the third-most wins in the league) that includes three shutouts – the (t)fourth-mots in the NHL. He’s started all but one of the past nine games, posting a .93 save percentage and 2.24 GAA in the process to raise his season numbers to .922 and 2.4 (the ninth-best GAA in the league).

    Calgary and Winnipeg have tangled only once before this season, and it was at the Saddledome – the site of today’s matchup – way back on October 7. The Flames performed perfectly to defend home ice, as D T.J. Brodie registered a 2-2-4 night to lead Calgary to a 6-3 victory after it had trailed 3-1 through the first period.

    With both teams coming into this game well-rested, it’s hard to tell which will have the upper hand. Since the Flames have home ice, I’m leaning towards Calgary taking this one, but I truly believe its anyone’s guess.

    Thanks to First Star of the Game D Aaron Ekblad‘s overtime game-winner, the Florida Panthers beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 at BB&T Center in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    W Jamie McGinn (F Nick Bjugstad) opened the scoring for the Panthers, burying a backhanded shot only 3:15 into the contest. That 1-0 advantage lasted 11:07 before W David Perron (D Brad Hunt and F Erik Haula) leveled the game with a snap shot, but Second Star C Aleksander Barkov (F Vincent Trocheck) would return the lead to Florida with 4:05 remaining in the frame on a shorthanded backhander.

    Vegas would once again tie the game, but C William Karlsson (D Shea Theodore and W Reilly Smith) would not score his tip-in until the 6:54 mark of the second period. That tally proved to be the lone marker of the middle frame, meaning the score read 2-2 through the second intermission.

    Staying true to the pattern, the Panthers were next up to tickle the twine. W Evgeni Dadonov (Barkov and D Keith Yandle) was the guilty party, burying a wrist shot 3:35 into the third period. Third Star W James Neal (Haula) waited until 2:09 remained in regulation to score his wrister and level the game at three-all. As neither the Golden Knights nor Panthers could level the game in the remaining time, their final tilt of the regular season advanced into three-on-three overtime.

    As stated before, Ekblad (Barkov and F Jonathan Huberdeau) provided the game-winner (his first winner of the season), but it’s arguably more notable that he needed only 40 seconds to score it. The Panthers dominated the overtime frame to out-shoot Vegas 2-0, and that was no more noticeable than when Ekblad fought off D Nate Schmidt in his own defensive zone to eventually set up Huberdeau for a breakaway opportunity. The forward raced into the offensive zone, passing around Smith to Barkov. Barkov’s backhander couldn’t beat G Malcolm Subban, but the puck flew into the air and eventually ended up in the high slot – perfectly centered for Ekblad. The defenseman one-timed a slap shot over Subban’s glove, earning the bonus point for the Panthers.

    G James Reimer earned the victory after saving 33-of-36 shots faced (.917 save percentage), leaving the overtime loss to Subban, who saved 22-of-26 (.846).

    There’s no stopping the 59-34-12 home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series lately. They’ve won four-straight contests to reclaim a 24-point advantage over the roadies in the series.

  • Weekly Bumblings for Week 8 with Special Guest Host, Cap’n Cornelius

    While Peter is out enjoying a trip to see some hockey games in person, I’m filling in with a recap of the past week’s NHL action.

    Player of the Week:  Blake Wheeler

    Wheeler has been the definition of streaky, of late, but this week was the good side of the coin.  He broke a four-game pointless drought last Monday against Minnesota, getting one goal and two assists.

    After being held without a point against Colorado, he put in another three-point performance (all assists) against Vegas.

    But he would save his best for Sunday against the Ottawa Senators.  In a game that saw the Jets beat the Senators 5-0, Wheeler had a point on all but one of the goals, putting up one goal and three assists.  He had a beautiful cross ice pass to set up Mark Scheifele on the first goal of the night and the Jets never looked back tallying three of their goals on the power play.

    Wheeler has passed Steven Stamkos to take the league lead in assists with 28 and has helped power the Jets to the top of the Western Conference, something few expected as the season began.

     Team of the Week: Los Angeles Kings

    Just when it looked like the Kings might be fading after a hot start, they went 4-0 this week and moved six points ahead of the second-place Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division, exactly as the media expected before the season began, right?  The Kings won the first three of those games by three goals each.

    After one period of play in their Tuesday game in Detroit, the Kings found themselves down 1-0, but Dustin Brown, who has had a heck of a comeback season, evened it up at 1 and Anze Kopitar then put them ahead 2-1 before the second period was over.  LA would add two more in the third on goals from Adrian Kempe and Kopitar’s second of the night.

    Next up for the Kings was another road game against the Caps.  Again, the Kings gave up an early lead on a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Marian Gaborik would even it up, only for Kuznetsov to get a second goal.  Jonny Brodzinski would tie it again and nine seconds later Jussi Jokinen would put the Kings ahead.  After that, it was all Kings.

    The Kings continued their road trip Friday with a visit to play the St. Louis Blues, one of the best teams in the league to this point in the season.  This time the Kings got the early lead on a Tyler Toffoli tally. Kopitar would then bang home a rebound to make it 2-0.  Before it was over, Kempe and Toffoli would add goals and the Kings would win 4-1 despite being outshot 40-28 on a stellar performance by backup goaltender, Darcy Kuemper.

    The Kings finished their week and their road trip in Chicago on Sunday.  Through two periods the game was scoreless.  Christian Folin finally put the Kings up with just over 10 minutes left in the game.  Then things got a little weird with just over two minutes left in the game.  First, Brown would get an empty net goal.  Then the Hawks would answer on a goal from Jonathan Toews with 1:46 left to end Quick’s shutout bid.  But Kopitar would put the final nail in the coffin with 51.5 seconds left in the game with a final empty net goal.

    As long as the Kings continue to get these types of performances from Brown, Kopitar and solid goaltending, they will have a very good chance to lock down the Pacific Division.

    Game of the Week: Edmonton Oilers 7 @ Calgary Flames 5, Saturday, December 2, 2017

    One of the first NHL games I can remember watching on TV was Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers against Lanny McDonald’s Flames.  This game was a throwback to that era when goalies for some reason spent much of their time standing up and, consequently, watching pucks go past them.  This is the type of game you hope to see with all of the offensive talent on these two teams and the reason you stay up to watch the late game on Hockey Night in Canada if you live in the Eastern Time Zone.

    Connor McDavid skated around the Flames zone early and his persistence led to Jesse Puljujarvi cashing in on the rebound. The Oilers then had what looked like their second goal of the night from Patrick Maroon taken off the board as the goal was kicked.  Eric Gryba then set up Puljujarvi for his second of the night on a redirection of Gryba’s point shot.

    Mikael Backlund then forced a turnover on the penalty kill that set up Michael Frolik for a short-handed goal to pull the Flames within one goal.  But the Oilers scored again before the first period ended to go up 3-1.  In the second period, Mark Letestu scored on a short-handed breakaway to expand Edmonton’s lead.  Gryba made another shot from the point which was tipped in, this time by Milan Lucic, to go up 5-1.

    As the third period started, Mike Smith was replaced in net by David Rittich.  Unfortunately for the Flames, Rittich bungled a handoff behind the net and the Oilers capitalized to go up 6-1.  One might assume this is where the Flames might call it a night.  But Sam Bennett made a tough angle shot to get the score to 6-2.  Next, Micheal Ferland notched a power play goal to bring the Flames within three goals.  Bennett added a second goal on a 2-on-1 where he took the puck top shelf.  Suddenly the score was 6-4 with a lot of time left in the game.  Johnny Gaudreau then made another tough angled shot off a stretch pass, taking advantage of young Oilers netminder, Laurent Brossoit.  The impossible seemed possible with the score 6-5.  But Brossoit would make a key save on Gaudreau on a two-on-one to prevent the tying goal.

    With 1:01 left, the Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tried to center a pass, but it bounced into the net off T.J. Brodie’s stick to salt away the win for Edmonton by a final of 7-5.  While the Flames couldn’t quite finish their comeback, it was the sort of game that reminded you why the Battle of Alberta was once such a big deal.

    News, Notes, & Nonsense:

    Trade Rumors seem to be starting earlier than normal and we have already seen one blockbuster and several smaller trades.

    This past week saw Anaheim and New Jersey make a significant hockey trade if not a true blockbuster.  The Ducks sent right-handed defenseman Sami Vatanen and a conditional pick to the Devils in exchange for Adam Henrique, Joseph Blandisi and a third round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.  The move was a much-needed improvement on the back end for the Devils, who are one of the surprises of the early season.  As for the Ducks, with Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler still out, Henrique can help at center and, when they return, he can provide forward depth.

    Who is next?

    Well, the name that seemed to be coming up repeatedly during the past week was Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole.  The left-handed defenseman was a healthy scratch and several sources had stated that his relationship with Mike Sullivan had been rocky, leading the Pens to consider a trade.  However, their asking price may be higher than what a willing buyer will give them for Cole—Pittsburgh is still seeking an improvement at center for their third line after Riley Sheahan has failed to impress.  Toronto is a destination that has been mentioned with Tyler Bozak falling out of favor and the Leafs wanting to upgrade their defense, but to this point nothing seems imminent.

    The Edmonton Oilers have also been frequently mentioned in trade rumors.  While Ryan Nugent-Hopkins name has probably been mentioned the most, more recently the Oilers have been mentioned in connection with smaller trades that might see them shipping out the likes of Pat Maroon.  It is hard to see how Maroon would produce the sort of return that might get the Oilers back into contention in the Western Conference.

    Another name that has been brought up repeatedly is Evander Kane.  Buffalo is one of the few teams clearly out of the hunt at this early date, but it seems most likely they will wait until the deadline to move Kane when they might extract the highest possible return for the wing, who will be a free agent this summer.

  • 2017 NHL Expansion Draft: Protected Lists

    30 of the NHL’s 31 teams submitted their protected lists on Saturday by 5 p.m. ET. The protected lists were made public at 10:30 a.m. ET (originally scheduled for 10 a.m.) on Sunday. Additionally, the available lists of players to choose from were released.

    The Vegas Golden Knights will now spend the next few days constructing their roster, with the full reveal set for Wednesday night during the NHL Awards Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

    To recap, here’s all of the protected players:

    Anaheim Ducks

    Forwards: Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Antoine Vermette

    Defensemen: Kevin Bieksa, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm

    Goaltender: John Gibson

    Arizona Coyotes

    Forwards: Nick Cousins, Anthony Duclair, Jordan Martinook, Tobias Rieder

    Defensemen: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Connor Murphy, Luke Schenn

    Goaltender: Chad Johnson

    Boston Bruins

    Forwards: David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner

    Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller

    Goaltender: Tuukka Rask

    Buffalo Sabres

    Forwards: Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane, Johan Larsson, Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo

    Defensemen: Nathan Beaulieu, Jake McCabe, Rasmus Ristolainen

    Goaltender: Robin Lehner

    Calgary Flames

    Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferlund, Michael Frolik, Johnny Gaudreau, Curtis Lazar, Sean Monahan

    Defensemen: T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton

    Goaltender: Mike Smith

    Carolina Hurricanes

    Forwards: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Elias Lindholm, Brock McGinn, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen

    Defensemen: Trevor Carrick, Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy

    Goaltender: Scott Darling

    Chicago Blackhawks

    Forwards: Artem Anisimov, Ryan Hartman, Marian Hossa, Tomas Jurco, Patrick Kane, Richard Panik, Jonathan Toews

    Defensemen: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook

    Goaltender: Corey Crawford

    Colorado Avalanche

    Forwards: Sven Andrighetto, Blake Comeau, Matt Duchene, Rocco Grimaldi, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Nieto

    Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Nikita Zadorov

    Goaltender: Semyon Varlamov

    Columbus Blue Jackets

    Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg

    Defensemen: Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, David Savard

    Goaltender: Sergei Bobrovsky

    Dallas Stars

    Forwards: Jamie Benn, Radek Faksa, Valeri Nichushkin, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza

    Defensemen: Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell

    Goaltender: Ben Bishop

    Detroit Red Wings

    Forwards: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg

    Defensemen: Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Nick Jensen

    Goaltender: Jimmy Howard

    Edmonton Oilers

    Forwards: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Zack Kassian, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

    Defensemen: Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Andrej Sekera

    Goaltender: Cam Talbot

    Florida Panthers

    Forwards: Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck

    Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, Keith Yandle

    Goaltender: James Reimer

    Los Angeles Kings

    Forwards: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli

    Defensemen: Drew Doughty, Derek Forbort, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin

    Goaltender: Jonathan Quick

    Minnesota Wild

    Forwards: Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker

    Defensemen: Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter

    Goaltender: Devan Dubnyk

    Montreal Canadiens

    Forwards: Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw

    Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Jeff Petry, Shea Weber

    Goaltender: Carey Price

    Nashville Predators

    Forwards: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Johansen

    Defensemen: Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban

    Goaltender: Pekka Rinne

    New Jersey Devils

    Forwards: Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac

    Defensemen: Andy Greene, John Moore, Mirco Mueller, Damon Severson

    Goaltender: Cory Schneider

    New York Islanders

    Forwards: Andrew Ladd, Anders Lee, John Tavares

    Defensemen: Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock

    Goaltender: Thomas Greiss

    New York Rangers

    Forwards: Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello

    Defensemen: Nick Holden, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal

    Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist

    Ottawa Senators

    Forwards: Derick Brassard, Ryan Dzingel, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris

    Defensemen: Cody Ceci, Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf

    Goaltender: Craig Anderson

    Philadelphia Flyers

    Forwards: Sean Couturier, Valtteri Filppula, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek

    Defensemen: Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning

    Goaltender: Anthony Stolarz

    Pittsburgh Penguins

    Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin

    Defensemen: Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Justin Schultz

    Goaltender: Matt Murray

    San Jose Sharks

    Forwards: Ryan Carpenter, Logan Couture, Jannik Hansen, Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Chris Tierney

    Defensemen: Justin Braun, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

    Goaltender: Martin Jones

    St. Louis Blues

    Forwards: Patrik Berglund, Ryan Reaves, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Sobotka, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko

    Defensemen: Jay Bouwmeester, Joel Edmundson, Alex Pietrangelo

    Goaltender: Jake Allen

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    Forwards: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos

    Defensemen: Braydon Coburn, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman

    Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards: Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, James van Riemsdyk

    Defensemen: Connor Carrick, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly

    Goaltender: Frederik Andersen

    Vancouver Canucks

    Forwards: Sven Baertschi, Loui Eriksson, Markus Granlund, Bo Horvat, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter

    Defensemen: Alexander Edler, Erik Gudbranson, Christopher Tanev

    Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom

    Washington Capitals

    Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson

    Defensemen: John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov

    Goaltender: Braden Holtby

    Winnipeg Jets

    Forwards: Joel Armia, Andrew Copp, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry, Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler

    Defensemen: Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba

    Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck