X75 Productions

Author: admin

  • Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

     

    Regular Season Series:

    CAR 1-0-1 (Playoffs 8-3)

    BOS 2-1-0 (Playoffs 8-5)

     

    How they got here:

    Carolina defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the first round, and then swept the New York Islanders 4-0 in the second round.

     

    Boston defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the first round, and then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 in the second round.

     

    A Deeper Look at the Series:

    Offense:

    For the Carolina Hurricanes this postseason they had a lot of players playing in the playoffs for the first time in their careers, and outside of the veteran leadership of Jordan Staal and Justin Williams they have also received contributions from their young stars of Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho. The biggest surprise this season has been the rise of rookie forward Warren Foegele who has recorded 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in the postseason so far.

     

    For the veteran Boston Bruins they have received contributions from all of their top players including Brad Marchand who leads the way with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points this postseason. However, despite their contributions this postseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets last round showed how you can keep the top players of the Bruins quite for an extended amout of time throughout the series. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets they faltered near the end and the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak would take over and lead the Bruins back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

     

    Defense:

    On defense for the Hurricanes they have been lead quietly by Jaccob Slavin who leads the team in points with 11 this postseason, but all 11 points have been assists for Slavin and it has shown as he has been a jolt for kick startig the Hurricanes offense. The Hurricanes have also gained contributions from Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk and Brett Pesce who combined have 19 points (4 goals and 15 assists) this postseason. With these four players firing on all cylinders, it makes the Hurricanes defense a dangerous one to contain in regards to moving the play up the ice and into the offensive zone.

     

    The Bruins major contributions offensively have come from Torey Krug (1 goal and 8 points) and Charlie McAvoy (1 goal and 6 points) from the blueline, but their overall core which is lead by captain Zdeno Chara has been solid throughout the majority of these playoffs. However, going into Game 1 the Bruins will be without McAvoy who will be serving a ome game suspension for his hit to the head of Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson in Game 7 last round, so the Bruins are going to need to step up in his absence for Game 1.

     

    Goaltending:

    For the Hurricanes they have relied on both of their horses from the regular season in Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Mrazek, who is the team’s number one goaltender has a 5-3 record with a 2.22 GAA and a .913 save percentage, while McElhinney has a 3-0 record with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage since coming in when Mrazek went down with a lower body injury. The Hurricanes hope to have Mrazek between the pipes for Game 1, but McElhinney is ready to answer the call when needed.

     

    For the Bruins they have their stalwart Tuukka Rask who in these playoffs have an 8-5 record with a 2.02 GAA and a .938 save percentage as he has been the backbone for the Bruins this postseason.

     

    Goaltending will be one of the biggest keys this series, and could also be the determining factor.

     

    Special Teams:

    CAR – PP 17.8%     PK 81.6%

    BOS – PP 25.9%     PK 79.9%

     

    For special teams this could be considered a wash as both teams are on the opposite end of the spectrum in regards to powerplay and penalty kill. During the regular season the Bruins had a better powerplay, but on the penalty kill the Hurricanes were the better team. One edge I would give to the Hurricanes would be their penalty kill as seeing it in person, against the Bruins for Hartford Whalers Night, they utilize their young, fast players along with their grizzled defenders to kill penalties, and with players like Teravainen and Aho on the kill that can score shorthanded, that can give the Hurricanes a slight edge.

     

    Prediction: CAR in 6

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Round 2 Game 7 – Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues

    Round 2 Game 7 – Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues

    Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues

    Game 7 – Series Tied 3-3

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading back to St. Louis after tying the series at three a piece the Blues look to close out the Dallas Stars in Game 7 at home, and to start the game the Blues would control the tempo of the game. However, it would be the Stars who would be doing the bulk of the shooting in the period, but it would be the Blues striking first as Vince Dunn would let a blast go that would get past a screened Ben Bishop to make it 1-0. Then the Stars would be the beneficiaries of a lucky bounce as a Blues pass behind the net and hit off of the referee’s foot and to the front of the net where Mats Zuccarello would get the puck and wrist it past a confused Jordan Binnington to tie the game at one to end the first period.

     

    In the second period it would be all St. Louis as the Blues would control the tempo of the game for the majority of the second period that saw them outshoot Dallas 18-1. Also the Blues would draw two penalties against the Stars, but Dallas would play a very tight penalty kill that would prevent the Blues from getting any quality scoring chances.

     

    Going into the third period the Blues would continue playing with the momentum and hem the Stars in their own zone, but Dallas have a couple good shifts against the Blues but could only muster 3 shots the entire period compared to the Blues 13 shots. Neither team would score thus forcing overtime.

     

    In the first overtime period both teams would generate chances on net but both Ben Bishop and Jordan Binnington would stand tall in their respective nets.

     

    Going into double overtime the Dallas Stars would start strong and come close on a Jamie Benn wrap around, but could not get it in the net. Then Robert Thomas would drive the net and ring the pick off the post then would take a fortunate bounce off of Bishop’s back and land in the crease for Pat Maroon to tap in to win the game and the series for the Blues as they head to the Western Conference Finals.

     

    Lineups:

    Dallas Stars:

    Jason Dickinson — Tyler Seguin — Mats Zuccarello

    Jamie Benn — Roope Hintz — Alexander Radulov

    Andrew Cogliano — Radek Faksa — Blake Comeau

    Brett Ritchie — Justin Dowling — Jason Spezza

    Esa Lindell — John Klingberg

    Miro Heiskanen — Roman Polak

    Taylor Fedun — Ben Lovejoy

    Ben Bishop

    Anton Khudobin

    Scratched: Valeri Nichushkin, Tyler Pitlick, Gavin Bayreuther, Dillon Heatherington, Landon Bow, Mattias Janmark

    Injured: Stephen Johns (upper body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Jamie Oleksiak (lower body), Joel Hanley (upper body)

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Sammy Blais — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron

    Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas

    Ivan Barbashev — Oskar Sundqvist — Alexander Steen

    Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn — Carl Gunnarsson

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Robert Bortuzzo, Michael Del Zotto, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn, Ville Husso

     

    First Period:

    Blues Goal – 13:30 – Vince Dunn (1) from Alex Pietrangelo (9) and Robert Thomas (3)

    Stars Goal – 15:55 – Mats Zuccarello (4) from unassisted

     

    End of 1st – DAL – 1       STL – 1

    Shots              13                10

    Faceoffs         15                10

    Hits               07                  12

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Stars Penalty – 7:07 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes for Tripping

    Stars Penalty – 11:02 – John Klingberg 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – DAL – 1        STL – 1

    Shots               14                 28

    Faceoffs          24                 20

    Hits                 14                  18

    PP                   0/0                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    N/A

     

    End of 3rd – DAL – 1         STL – 1

    Shots              17                   41

    Faceoffs        32                    36

    Hits               22                     29

    PP                 0/0                    0/2

     

    Overtime:

    N/A

     

    End of OT – DAL – 1         STL – 1

    Shots              26                   52

    Faceoffs        41                    46

    Hits               23                     33

    PP                 0/0                    0/2

     

    Double Overtime

    Blues Goal – 5:50 – Pat Maroon (3) from Robert Thomas (4) and Tyler Bozak (4)

     

    End of 2OT – DAL – 1         STL – 2

    Shots              30                   54

    Faceoffs        44                    52

    Hits               24                     33

    PP                 0/0                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Western Conference Finals STL v. COL/SJ

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Boston Bruins vs Columbus Blue Jackets – Round 2 – Game 6 Recap

    Boston Bruins vs Columbus Blue Jackets – Round 2 – Game 6 Recap

    Lineups:

    Bruins 

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Marcus Johansson

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Karson Kuhlman

    Sean Kuraly — Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, John Moore

    Injuries:

     

    Columbus

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Olivier Bjorkstrand

    Ryan Dzingle — Matt Duchene — Cam Atkinson

    Alexandre Texier — Nick Foligno — Josh Anderson

    Riley Nash — Boone Jenner — Brandon Dubinsky

     

    Zach Werenski — Seth Jones

    Dean Kukan — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Adam Clendening

     

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Alexander Wennberg,

    Injuries: Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Adam McQuaid

     

    GameDay:

     

    First Period:

    Columbus Penalty – 6:46 – Pierre – Luc Dubois, 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

    End of 1st – BOS – 0      CBJ – 0

    Shots              12               10

    Faceoffs         9/15          6/15

    Hits                7                  17

    PP                 0/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Boston Penalty – 2:42 – David Pastrnak, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Boston Goal – 12:13 – David Krejci (2) assisted by Jake DeBrusk (3) and Connor Clifton (2)

    Boston Penalty – 9:22 – Brad Marchand, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Boston Penalty – 19:40 – Charlie McAvoy, 2 minutes for Illegal Check to the Head

    End of 2nd – BOS – 1      CBJ – 0

    Shots               26                 17

    Faceoffs        21/39           18/39

    Hits                17                  36

    PP                   0/1                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Boston Penalty – 4:58 – Joakim Nordstrom, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Boston Goal – 8:58 – Marcus Johansson (2) assisted by Charlie Coyle (3) and Danton Heinen (4)

    Boston Goal – 10:39- David Backes (1) assisted by Torey Krug (7) and Krejci (6)

    Boston Goal – 18:32 – David Pastrnak (6) assisted by Brad Marchand (8) and Brandon Carlo (1)

    End of 3rd – BOS – 3         CBJ- 0

    Shots              29                29

    Faceoffs      31/63         32/63

    Hits              19                  43

    PP                 0/1                0/4

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Niagara Ice Dogs story gets more intriguing…

    Niagara Ice Dogs story gets more intriguing…

    For those of you who don’t know the background to this story let’s set the stage for some new found information.

    Niagara Ice Dogs Co-Owner Bill Burke in 2016 had been found by the Ontario Hockey League to be making side deals with players (outside of their contracts) in order to recruit players to play for the Ice Dogs and not to leave for the NCAA. Burke was fined $125,000 and lost a draft pick after a short investigation by the OHL.

    Skip forward to today, where after more allegation over the past 2 years have come forward and a thorough investigation had been done and the findings are saddening.

    Found was more information on older cases and new cases altogether. Back in 2015, Zach Wilkie was a highly touted defensemen who was set to head to the NCAA but Niagara needed to catch a break. So they made a side deal with Jeff (Zach’ Father) and Zach that when his time was done in the OHL and he wouldn’t be eligible to play anymore that team would pay for him to go to college at a school of his choice. When Zach finished and emailed Mr.Burke to ask about the withstanding agreement Burke pretended as if it hadn’t happened.

    In 2016, there was a young boy who had a choice between the NCAA or the OHL. Liam Ham was his name and the team entered into a deal – outside of his contract – to pay Mike Ham (Liam’s father) $2,000 cash a year so that his son would play in Niagara. Burke insisted that it was only inflation protection but the OHL found no evidence of this in emails and forms. Marty Williamson coach at the time of this whole fiasco and was fired right after that season, says he has documentation that shows a deal between Ham and himself.  Williamson turned it over in the investigation and since then Burke has changed his story stating that he did on a “compassionate basis” as Mr. Ham was dealing with an illness.

    This is just 2 of players that were seemingly offered side deals to join the Niagara Ice Dogs. The report says that there are at least several more European players who received the same offers from Mr. Burke.

    Expect the OHL to have more sanctions put against Burke and the Niagara Ice Dogs, as the investigation continues into the rest of the recruitments stories.

    To see the full story – Click Here

  • Round 2 Game 6 – St. Louis Blues v. Dallas Stars

    Round 2 Game 6 – St. Louis Blues v. Dallas Stars

    St. Louis Blues v. Dallas Stars

    Game 6 – DAL Leads 3-2

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Dallas for Game 6 the Stars look to close out the St. Louis Bluesat home, but it would be the Blues controlling the play off the opening faceoff as they would get the Dallas crowd out of it early as Alex Pietrangelo would score 63 seconds into the game for an early 1-0 lead. The Blues would continue to control the play, but the Stars gain some momentum after killing the first powerplay of the game for the Blues and would result in them forcing a powerplay of their own which would see Tyler Seguin tap in the loose puck over the goal line to tie the game at one.

     

    In the second period both the Stars and the Blues would play a tightly contested chess match against eachother, but it would be the Blues breaking the tie as Oskar Sundqvist would fees David Perron in front of the net for a redirect into the net to make it 2-1 for the Blues going into the second intermission.

     

    Going into the third period the Blues would go back to how they played in the first period as the Blues would score two goals 33 seconds apart. First it would be Jaden Schwartz redirecting an Alexander Steen shot on net after Colton Parayko injured Ben Bishop with a really hard point shot. Then Sammy Blais would score his first career playoff goal while on a 2 on 0 that would chase Bishop out of the net and bring in Anton Khudobin as the Blues increase their lead to 4-1. The Blues would hold on and force Game 7 on Tuesday night.

     

    Lineups:

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Ryan O’Reilly — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Brayden Schenn — Oskar Sundqvist — David Perron

    Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas

    Sammy Blais — Ivan Barbashev — Alexander Steen

    Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn — Carl Gunnarsson

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: Robert Bortuzzo, Michael Del Zotto, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn, Ville Husso, Robby Fabbri

     

    Dallas Stars:

    Jason Dickinson — Tyler Seguin — Mats Zuccarello

    Jamie Benn — Roope Hintz — Alexander Radulov

    Andrew Cogliano — Radek Faksa — Blake Comeau

    Mattias Janmark — Justin Dowling — Jason Spezza

    Esa Lindell — John Klingberg

    Miro Heiskanen — Roman Polak

    Dillon Heatherington — Ben Lovejoy

    Ben Bishop

    Anton Khudobin

    Scratched: Valeri Nichushkin, Brett Ritchie, Tyler Pitlick , Gavin Bayreuther, Landon Bow

    Injured: Stephen Johns (upper body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Jamie Oleksiak (lower body), Joel Hanley (upper body), Taylor Fedun (undisclosed)

     

    First Period:

    Blues Goal – 1:03 – Alex Pietrangelo (2) from Joel Edmundson (3) and Jaden Schwartz (3)

    Stars Penalty – 3:06 – Mattias Janmark 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Blues Penalty – 10:58 – Vince Dunn 2 minutes for Slashing

    Stars PPG – 11:35 – Tyler Seguin (4) from Mats Zuccarello (7) and Jamie Benn (8)

    Stars Penalty – 13:07 – Alexander Radulov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blues Penalty – 13:13 – Brayden Schenn 2 minutes for Tripping

    Stars Penalty – 17:29 – Blake Comeau 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blues Penalty – 19:06 – Pat Maroon 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

     

    End of 1st – STL – 1       DAL – 1

    Shots              10                07

    Faceoffs         11                09

    Hits               11                  11

    PP                 0/3                 1/2* 3rd in progress

     

    Second Period:

    Blues Goal – 15:24 – David Perron (3) from Oskar Sunqvist (3) and Ivan Barbashev (2)

     

    End of 2nd – STL – 2        DAL – 1

    Shots               14                 16

    Faceoffs          14                 20

    Hits                 23                  22

    PP                   0/3                  1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Blues Goal – 7:37 – Jaden Schwartz (8) from Alexander Steen (1) and Colton Parayko (6)

    Blues Goal – 8:10 – Sammy Blais (1) from Ryan O’Reilly (7)

    Stars Penalty – 15:58 – Alexander Radulov 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 3rd – STL – 4         DAL – 1

    Shots              25                   23

    Faceoffs        21                    34

    Hits               34                     35

    PP                 0/4                    1/3

     

    Next Up:

    Game 7 – Series Tied 3-3

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Bettman: Player safety isn’t that important

    Bettman: Player safety isn’t that important

    This morning, to the shock of many (sarcasm) Gary Bettman shoved his proverbial foot in his mouth. Bettman made a statement that was reported by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun that was related to the concussion issues that are surfacing.

    I swore we lived in the 20th century but I guess not according to the commissioner of the NHL. Now physicality is part of the sport and it shouldn’t be taken away but this is a different beast. This sounds like the NHL trying to separate themselves from any liability when it comes to the repercussions of continuous concussions.

    The real question that lies is, is it true? Are the links from head hits to CTE inconclusive.

    CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy defines as – Here’s the full link to read more

    According to the Boston University CTE Center, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Most of what we have learned about CTE has come from the research of Dr. Ann McKee, director of the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, who has revolutionized our understanding of CTE.  In CTE, a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells. CTE has been seen in people as young as 17, but symptoms do not generally begin appearing until years after the onset of head impacts. (Concussion Legacy, 2018)

    Links:

    In a study published in The Brain: The Journal of Neurology in February of 2018, found that repetitive head hits – ones that don’t cause concussions – actually seemingly cause more longterm damage than the ones diagnosed as concussions. Results showed that the hits that usually go undiagnosed or show no signs of any brain trauma are the main cause of CTE.

    Here is a glimpse into the studies results: Here is the full study link

    We examined post-mortem brains obtained from teenage contact sport athletes who died in the acute-subacute period (1 day–4 months) after closed-head impact injuries and compared results to control brains from an age-matched control cohort of contact sport athletes without recent head injuries. Neuropathological analysis revealed a spectrum of post-traumatic pathologies, including astrocytosis, axonopathy, microvasculopathy, neuroinflammation, and phosphorylated tauopathy. The presence of haemosiderin-laden macrophage, reactive astrogliosis, and perivascular microgliosis is consistent with traumatic microvascular injury, blood–brain barrier disruption, and secondary neuroinflammation (Cherry et al., 2016; Jullienne et al., 2016; Kenney et al., 2016; McKee et al., 2016). Notably, two of four brains showed evidence of phosphorylated tauopathy and one case qualified for neuropathological diagnosis of early stage CTE (McKee et al., 2016). Clinicopathological correlation suggested mechanistically causal linkage between early CTE brain pathologies, including phosphorylated tauopathy, and antecedent closed-head impact injury (Goldstein et al., 2012; McKee et al., 2013; Kondo et al., 2015; Kenney et al., 2016). (The Brain: Journal of Neurology, 2018)

    This proves a link between “head hits” and CTE. Linkage proves that even the smallest of head contact can have serious ramifications on your future mental health and even now. The lead researcher on this study Dr. Lee Goldstein puts it this way.

    “We’ve had an inkling that subconcussive hits — the ones that don’t [show] neurological signs and symptoms — may be associatedwith CTE,” says Dr. Lee Goldstein, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine and the lead investigator on the study. “We now have solid scientific evidence to say that is so.”

    And this evidence, he says, leaves researchers “terrifically concerned.” (National Public Radio, 2018)

    he continues…

    “The concussions we see on the ballfield or the battlefield or wherever — those people are going to get attention,” Goldstein says, “because it’s obvious they’ve had some sort of injury. We’re really worried about the many more people who are getting hit and getting hurt — their brain is getting hurt — but are not getting help because we can’t see the evidence on the outside that their brain is actually hurt. It’s a silent injury.” (National Public Radio, 2018)

    Finally, Dr. Goldstein and Legacy Concussion Director Chris Nowinski want to be clear on something.

    “I want to be very clear on this,” Goldstein says. “This is in no way to minimize concussions.” (National Public Radio, 2018)

    “We’re not taking concussions out of the equation,” Nowinski says. “Concussions are still very bad.” They can still cause acute brain injury that leads to long-term symptoms, he says, independent of whether they spark a neurodegenerative disease. (National Public Radio, 2018)

    “We still have to respect and address [concussions], even more than we have in the past.” (National Public Radio, 2018)

    For Gary Bettman to even insinuate that there is no link between head hits and CTE is quite embarrassing for the NHL and where they’ve come from. This study proves and it’s just one of many that even head hits in repetition – and not being concussions – have long-lasting effects on the brain and that effects how players live long after this game is done.

    The NHL has taken a stance on headshots and trying to get intentional first-contact with the head out of the game. But the Gary Bettman’s comments one must wonder just how much they’re committed to that if it costs them some money. Player Safety is seemingly becoming quite a joke under the reign of Gary Bettman and players are paying the price. Just ask Derek Boogaard, Wade Belak, Rick Rypien and many more who put themselves on the line for the NHL every night…..wait we can’t and how sad is that.

    The link for the full article where most of the quotes came from will be left at the bottom of this article. If you want more info on CTE and the links with repetitive head hits and concussions – take a full read of the study done by Dr. Goldstein – it has been linked above.

    Here is the full article by National Public Radio and Tom Goldman

  • Columbus Blue Jackets vs Boston Bruins – Round 2 – Game 5 Recap

    Columbus Blue Jackets vs Boston Bruins – Round 2 – Game 5 Recap

    Game Recap:

    Columbus came to play at the beginning of the game settling into their physical puck possession style of game and Bruce Jenner seemed to be in the middle of it all. No goals here but a few failed powerplays.

    Bruins elevated their game and scored a quick one just over a minute into period 2 and Columbus held their own but couldn’t seemingly get their offense to click at all. Frustrating period for the Blue Jackets. But they’re still in it.

    the Third period would begin with Boston looking like they were gonna put the game away with chance after chance and would even score to make it 2-0. But a strange goal that was ruled a goal by a review as it did cross the line would change the makeup of this game. 2-1 nine minutes remaining Columbus pressing but a bad pinch would allow the Bruins to gain back the 3-1 lead. The game was far from over as the Jackets would fire back and get 2 goals in under 30 seconds to tie the game at three. But another bad turnover would lead to a brilliant goal by David Pastrnak to make it 4-3 with a minute remaining. Matt Duchene would hit the post in the dying seconds on a brilliant tip and Brandon Carlo would make a huge block on an Artemi Panarin bomb, to seal the 4-3 win.

    Lineups:

    Bruins 

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Marcus Johansson

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Karson Kuhlman

    Sean Kuraly — Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer

    Injuries: Connor Clifton

     

    Columbus

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Olivier Bjorkstrand

    Ryan Dzingle — Matt Duchene — Cam Atkinson

    Alexandre Texier — Nick Foligno — Josh Anderson

    Riley Nash — Boone Jenner — Brandon Dubinsky

     

    Zach Werenski — Seth Jones

    Dean Kukan — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Adam Clendening

     

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Alexander Wennberg,

    Injuries: Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Adam McQuaid

     

    GameDay:

     

    First Period:

    Columbus Penalty – 9:03 – Cam Atkinson, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Boston Penalty – 11:35 – Charlie McAvoy, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Columbus Penalty – 13:43 – Ryan Dzingel, 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    End of 1st – CBJ – 0       BOS – 0

    Shots              8               9

    Faceoffs         8/13          5/13

    Hits                13                  10

    PP                 0/1                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Boston Goal – 1:39 – David Krejci (2) assisted by Jake DeBrusk (2) and David Backes (3)

    Boston Penalty – 9:52 – Torey Krug, 2 minutes for Holding

    End of 2nd – CBJ – 0       BOS – 1

    Shots               23                 21

    Faceoffs        15/29           14/29

    Hits                31                  23

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Boston Goal – 4:51 – Brad Marchand (5) assisted by Connor Clifton (1) and Patrice Bergeron (3)

    Columbus Goal – 10:33 – Seth Jones (3) assisted by Zach Werenski (5) and Cam Atkinson (6)

    Boston Goal – 11:16 – David Pastrnak (5) assisted by Brad Marchand (7)

    Columbus Goal – 12:07 – Ryan Dzingle (1) assisted by Matt Duchene (5) and David Savard (2)

    Columbus Goal – 13:58 – Dean Kukan (1) assisted by Artemi Panarin (6) and Josh Anderson (2)

    Boston Goal – 18:32 – David Pastrnak (6) assisted by Brad Marchand (8) and Brandon Carlo (1)

    End of 3rd – CBJ – 3         BOS – 4

    Shots              36                36

    Faceoffs      29/54          25/54

    Hits              42                  32

    PP                 0/2                0/2

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • May 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    May 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, May 4th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were two contests yesterday in Stanley Cup playoff action.

     

     

    CAROLINA 5, NY Islanders 2 (Carolina wins series 4-0)

     

    Round 2 - CARNYI - Game 3 - 4-0 CAR

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders last night by the score of 5-2 and in doing so, the Hurricanes have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and now await the winner of the Columbus Blue Jackets v. Boston Bruins series.

     

     

    TXHT has your recap of that contest at the following page, which you can find here or at page below.

     

     

    Dallas 2, ST. LOUIS 1 (Dallas leads the series 3-2)

     

    Round 2 - DALSTL - Game 5 -3-2 DAL

     

    The Dallas Stars are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals after their 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues last night.

     

    TXHT has your coverage of the contest between the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues here or at the link posted below.

     

     

    Game 6 of this series takes place tomorrow (May 5th) afternoon at 3 p.m., ET.

     

    Today in Stanley Cup playoff action, there are two games taking place.

     

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Boston Bruins, with the series being tied at 2 games a piece.  The action starts at 7:15 p.m., ET.

     

     

    In the other contest tonight, the Colorado Avalanche visit the San Jose Sharks with this series also being tied at 2 games a piece.

     

     

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

     

     

     

     

  • Round 2 Game 5 Recap – Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues

    Round 2 Game 5 Recap – Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues

    Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues

    Game 5 – Series Tied 2-2

     

    Game Recap:

    Going into Game 5 both the Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues look to gain the advantage in their now best of three series, and it would be the Stars who would get things started as Jason Spezza would net his third of playoffs in the first three minutes of the game to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

     

    To start the second period the Stars would come out buzzing and kill the Blues powerplay, and then a little over six minutes into the period Alexander Radulov wouldnfeedva beautiful pass to Esa Lindell who would backhand it off of Blues defender Jay Bouwmeester to make it 2-0. The Blues would get two more powerplay opportunities, but would squander both of them as the Stars would play very toght hockey to prevemt amy opportunities.

     

    Then going into the third period the Blues would force the play, and it would pay off as while attacking the net Jaden Schwartz would find a loose pick and throw it towards the goal past Ben Bishop to cut the Stars lead to one. Then 21 seconds after scoring, Jamie Benn would be called for hooking, but the Stars penalty kill was perfect once again. The Blues would keep pushing, but the Stars woild hold on to win the game 2-1 to take a 3-2 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Dallas Stars:

    Jason Dickinson — Tyler Seguin — Mats Zuccarello

    Jamie Benn — Roope Hintz — Alexander Radulov

    Andrew Cogliano — Radek Faksa — Blake Comeau

    Jason Spezza — Justin Dowling — Mattias Janmark

    Esa Lindell — John Klingberg

    Miro Heiskanen — Roman Polak

    Dillon Heatherington — Ben Lovejoy

    Ben Bishop

    Anton Khudobin

    Scratched: Valeri Nichushkin, Gavin Bayreuther, Brett Ritchie, Taylor Fedun, Landon Bow, Tyler Pitlick

    Injured: Jamie Oleksiak (lower body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (upper body), Joel Hanley (upper body)

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Ryan O’Reilly — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Brayden Schenn — Oskar Sundqvist — David Perron

    Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas

    Robby Fabbri — Ivan Barbashev — Alexander Steen

    Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn — Carl Gunnarsson

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: Robert Bortuzzo, Michael Del Zotto, Sammy Blais, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn, Ville Husso

     

    First Period:

    Stars Goal – 2:42 – Jason Spezza (3) from Tyler Seguin (7) and Mattias Janmark (2)

    Blues Penalty – 6:57 – Brayden Schenn 2 minutes for Hooking

    Stars Penalty – 19:24 – Roman Polak 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 1st – DAL – 1       STL – 0

    Shots              00                00

    Faceoffs         00                00

    Hits               00                  00

    PP                 0/1                 0/0* 1st in progress

     

    Second Period:

    Stars Goal – 6:13 – Esa Lindell (1) from Alexander Radulov (5) and John Klingberg (7)

    Stars Penalty – 9:47 – Blake Comeau 2 minutes for Hooking

    Stars Penalty – 17:14 – Andrew Cogliano 2 minutes for High Sticking

     

    End of 2nd – DAL – 2        STL – 0

    Shots               22                 24

    Faceoffs          22                 27

    Hits                 11                  24

    PP                   0/1                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Blues Goal – 8:26 – Jaden Schwartz (7) from unassisted

    Stars Penalty – 8:47 – Jamie Benn 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blues Penalty – 20:00 – Brayden Schenn 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 3rd – DAL – 2         STL – 1

    Shots              27                   39

    Faceoffs        31                    33

    Hits               14                     30

    PP                 0/1                    0/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game 6 – DAL Leads 3-2

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Round 2 Game 4 Recap – New York Islanders v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Round 2 Game 4 Recap – New York Islanders v. Carolina Hurricanes

    New York Islanders v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game 4 – CAR Leads 3-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Game 4 the Carolina Hurricanes look to complete the sweep at home as they take on a desparate New York Islanders team trying to remain alive. The Islanders would get an early break as Andrei Svechnikov would take an early high sticking penalty that would lead to a Mathew Barzal powerplay goal for quick 1-0 lead two and a half minutes into the game. However, the Hurricanes would respond on a powerplay of their own as Sebastian Aho would jam it in past Robin Lehner to tie the game at one.

     

    Going into the second period it would be the Hurricanes unleashing a storm early on as Warren Foegele, Sebastian Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen would connect on a tic, tac, toe play as Teravainen scores his sixth of the playoffs. Then Greg McKegg knocks in a loose puck in the slot area to make it 3-1 for the Hurricanes and chase Robin Lehner out of the crease and put in Thomas Greiss for the Islanders. Then after killing a Brock McGinn penalty, Jordan Staal would throw the puck into the slot area and Justin Williams would bat it out of mid air and past Greiss to make it 4-1.

     

    Coming into the third period the Hurricanes would choke up this game and kill the clock, and then Andrei Svechnikov would score his third of the playoffs to give the Hurricanes a commanding 5-1 lead. Brock Nelson would score, but it would be too little, too late as the Hurricanes would go on to defeat the islanders 5-2 to sweep the 2nd round series 4 games to none.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Jordan Eberle

    Josh Bailey — Brock Nelson — Tom Kuhnhackl

    Anthony Beauvillier — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Thomas Hickey

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Robin Lehner

    Thomas Greiss

    Scratched: Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston

    Injured: Johnny Boychuk (lower body), Tanner Fritz (hand), Andrew Ladd (torn ACL)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Warren Foegele — Sebastian Aho — Justin Williams

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Teuvo Teravainen

    Andrei Svechnikov — Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Patrick Brown

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Haydn Fleury

    Curtis McElhinney

    Alex Nedeljkovic

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Clark Bishop

    Injured: Petr Mrazek (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (upper body), Saku Maenalanen(upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:13 – Andrei Svechnikov 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Islanders PPG – 2:30 – Mathew Barzal (2) from Devom Toews (3) and Jordan Eberle (5)

    Islanders Penalty – 4:02 – Leo Komarov 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes PPG – 4:44 – Sebastian Aho (4) from Teuvo Teravainen (3) and Justin Faulk (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 6:33 – Jordan Martinook 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Islanders Penalty – 6:33 – Scott Mayfield 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYI – 1       CAR – 1

    Shots              10                05

    Faceoffs         06                08

    Hits               16                  14

    PP                 1/1                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 2:11 – Teuvo Teravainen (6) from Warren Foegele (4) and Sebastian Aho (5)

    Hurricanes Goal – 3:17 – Greg McKegg (1) from Brett Pesce (6) and Jordan Martinook (3)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 5:38 – Brock McGinn 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Goal – 8:51 – Justin Williams (3) from Jordan Staal (5) and Nino Niederreiter (3)

    Islanders Penalty – 9:54 – Scott Mayfield 2 minutes for Interference

    Hurricanes Penalty – 14:47 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

    Islanders Penalty – 17:40 – Casey Czikas 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – NYI – 1        CAR – 4

    Shots               16                 17

    Faceoffs          15                 14

    Hits                 25                  20

    PP                   1/3                  1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Islanders Penalty – 5:02 – Leo Komarov 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Goal – 15:13 – Andrei Svechnikov (3) from Justin Faulk (5)

    Islanders Goal – 18:51 – Brock Nelson (4) from Scott Mayfield (2) and Devon Toews (4)

     

    End of 3rd – NYI – 2         CAR – 5

    Shots              28                   21

    Faceoffs        23                    24

    Hits               33                     28

    PP                 1/3                    1/4

     

    Next Up:

    Carolina v. Boston/Columbus – Game 1 Eastern Conference Finals

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.