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  • April 7th, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 7th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, April 7th, 2019, and these are your news and notes covering the final day of the 2018-2019 Regular Season in the NHL.

     

    There were 15 contests yesterday across the NHL, with playoff implications on the line.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

    Tampa Bay 6, BOSTON 3


    *Images are the property of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Tampa Bay Lightning would get their 62nd win on the season, tying an NHL record with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, when they defeated the Boston Bruins with a 6-3 win yesterday afternoon.  Tampa Bay would get this win after being down 2-0 late in the second period and would score four unanswered goals before Boston would score in the third period to make it a 4-3 Tampa Bay lead. Tampa Bay would score two more goals, one being an empty netter late in the third, to give the Lightning a 6-3 win.

     

     

    Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov would set a record for points by a Russian NHL player with 128 points this season, when he registered his 41st goal on the season 53 seconds into the third period.

     

     

     

    ST. LOUIS 3, Vancouver 2 (SO)

     

    The St. Louis Blues would take down the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-2 win in a shootout and with the win, the St. Louis Blues would seal the third spot in the Central Division standings.

     

     

    Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson would score his 28th goal on the season and ended the season with 66 points, a rookie record for a Canucks player.

     

     

     

    MONTREAL 6, Toronto 5 (SO)

     

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 6-5 shootout win, thanks to a hat trick by Ryan Poehling in his first NHL game.

     

     

    In this back and forth contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs could not keep up with the upbeat Canadiens and would fall in the shootout loss.  However, despite the loss, the Maple Leafs would earn 100 points on the season, and it would be the first time Toronto would earn that mark in consecutive seasons.

     

     

     

    Columbus 6, OTTAWA 2

     

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would seal their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators yesterday.  This would also be a penalty free game from both teams.

     

    Buffalo 7, DETROIT 1

     

     

    The Buffalo Sabres would face off against the Detroit Red Wings and would end up crushing Detroit with a 7-1 win last night.

     

     

    Detroit’s lone goal in the contest would come on a power play goal in the first period with Anthony Mantha’s 25th goal on the season, setting a career-high.

     

     

     

    New Jersey 4, FLORIDA 3 (OT)

     

    Travis Zajac would score the game winner in overtime, his 19th goal on the season, to give the New Jersey Devils the 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers last night.

    New Jersey ends the season with 31-41-10 record, whereas the Florida Panthers end their season with a record of 36-32-14 0y 4 /8

     

    https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1114708929773174784

     

    Carolina 4, PHILADELPHIA 3

     

     

     

    Despite being outshot in the contest, the Carolina Hurricanes would go on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3.  With the win by the Carolina Hurricanes, they earned the top wild card spot and will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

     

    NY Rangers 4, PITTSBURGH 3 (OT)

     


    *Image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would fall to the New York Rangers yesterday, losing by the score of 4-3 in overtime last night.

     

    NY Islanders 3, WASHINGTON 0

     

    The Washington Capitals would fall to the New York Islanders with a 3-0 loss.  Despite the loss the Capitals will face off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Islanders will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

     

     

     

    NASHVILLE 5, Chicago 2

     

     

    The Nashville Predators would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks last night with a 5-2 win last night thanks to goals by five different Nashville skaters.

     

    With the Nashville win, they would go on to become back-to-back Central Division champions.

     

     

    DALLAS 3, Minnesota 0

     

    The Dallas Stars would defeat the Minnesota Wild with a 3-0 win, thanks to two goals from Dallas F Tyler Seguin.  Seguin would bring his regular season goal total to 33 goals, matching a mark he had in the 2015-16 season.

     

    The Minnesota Wild would be outshot throughout the entire contest and never could catch up to physicality and overall play of the Stars.

     

     

    Edmonton 3, CALGARY 1

    The Edmonton Oilers would defeat the Calgary Flames with a 3-1 win thanks to Leon Draisaitl’s 50th goal on the season as well as Alex Chiasson’s 22nd goal on the season.

     

    Calgary’s lone goal would come from Mark Jankowski, his 14th goal on the season, in the first period of the contest.  After that goal by the Flames, they would not any answer for the Oilers.

     


    *Image is the property of the Calgary Flames, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Winnipeg 4, ARIZONA 2

     

    The Winnipeg Jets faced off against the Arizona Coyotes and would escape with a 4-2 win last night.

    There would be four different goal scorers for the Jets in the contest and it would be enough to clinch home ice for at least the first round of the playoffs.

     

    LOS ANGELES 5, Vegas 2

     

    The Los Angeles Kings would face off against the Vegas Golden Knights and escape with a convincing 5-2 win.

     

    Los Angeles Ilya Kovalchuk would score twice and with goals by Jeff Carter, Matt Roy, and Anze Kopitar, the Kings would end their season a win.

     

    For the Golden Knights, despite the loss to the Kings, their season will continue when they face off against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

     

     

    SAN JOSE 5, Colorado 2

     


    *Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The San Jose Sharks would go on to defeat the Colorado Avalanche by the score of 5-2 thanks to scorers from five different Sharks players in the contest.

     

     

    For more news, notes, information, and statistics, you can check out the NHL’s Morning Skate Report at the following link:

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019

     

    The First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff schedule was also announced earlier today.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     


    *Images are the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    TXHT will have a full playoff preview episode and articles to come so make sure to stay tuned.

  • AwesomeMania – 4/4/2019 – WrestleMania Oh WrestleMania *18+ Podcast*

    AwesomeMania – 4/4/2019 – WrestleMania Oh WrestleMania *18+ Podcast*

    Welcome to AwesomeMania!!

    Twitch Version:

    https://www.twitch.tv/videos/406308623

     
    This week on AwesomeMania Ben and Michael do their NXT TakeOver: New York and WrestleMania 35 Predictions!

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Thursday, April 4th, 2019

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Game Recap – 4/4/2019 – Montreal Canadiens v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 4/4/2019 – Montreal Canadiens v. Washington Capitals

    Montreal Canadiens (43-29-8 94pts) v. Washington Capitals (47-25-8 102pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In the final stretch of the regular season the Washington Capitals host the playoff hungry Montreal Canadiens in a game that can decide some playoff fates. In the first 10 minutes of the game both teams would play with a very fast tempo, and would generate great opportunities on both ends of the ice, but goaltenders Carey Price and Braden Holtby have been solid. Then later in the period it would be Lars Eller opening up the scoring with a beautiful backhander that goes above Price’s leg pad and under the glove. However, a Nicklas Backstrom high sticking call would put Montreal on the powerplay and see Shea Weber tie the game at one going into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period the Canadiens would start the period with a little extra jump in their game, but it would be the Capitals striking to regain their lead when Nic Dowd netted his 8th of the season. The game would continue to display a lot of back and forth hockey between the two teams, but the Capitals would generate a few more chances by creating some odd man rushes.

     

    In the third period it would feature a lot of back and forth hockey. Both Carey Price and Braden Holtby played stellar in net keeping the game to a one goal affair. The Capitals would hold off the Canadiens however to win 2-1 and clinch their fourth consecutive Metropolitan Division title.

     

    Lineups:

    Montreal Canadiens:

    Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

    Artturi Lehkonen — Max Domi — Andrew Shaw

    Jonathan Drouin — Jordan Weal — Joel Armia

    Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Nate Thompson — Paul Byron

    Victor Mete — Shea Weber

    Brett Kulak — Jeff Petry

    Jordie Benn — Christian Folin

    Carey Price

    Antti Niemi

    Scratched: Nicolas Deslauriers, Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca, Ryan Poehling, Dale Weise, Mike Reilly, Charlie Lindgren

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Chandler Stephenson

    Injured: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 18:36 – Lars Eller (13) from Brett Connolly (24) and Carl Hagelin (14)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:57 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Canadiens PPG – 19:32 – Shea Weber (14) from Joel Armia (9) and Phillip Danault (41)

     

    End of 1st – MON – 1       WAS – 1

    Shots              14                09

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               07                  14

    PP                 1/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 2:58 – Nic Dowd (8) from Andre Burakovsky (13)

    Canadiens Penalty – 8:29 – Shea Weber 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 2nd – MON – 1        WAS – 2

    Shots               22                 20

    Faceoffs          18                 17

    Hits                 15                  25

    PP                   1/1                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    N/A

     

    End of 3rd – MON – 1         WAS – 2

    Shots              34                   31

    Faceoffs        26                    25

    Hits               22                     37

    PP                 1/1                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (48-25-8 104pts) v. NY Islanders (47-27-7 101pts)

    Montreal (43-30-8 94pts) v. Toronto (46-28-7 99pts)

  • April 3rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 3rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 10 games in NHL action yesterday.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Nashville 3, BUFFALO 2

     

    The Nashville Predators would take down the Buffalo Sabres with a 3-2 win.  With the win, the Predators are now 6-2-1 in their last nine contests.

     

    Nashville remains in a first place tie on points for the Central Division lead with the Winnipeg Jets.  However if the season were to end today, the Predators would be in second place in the Central Division based on ROW (regulation and overtime wins)

     

    Boston 6, COLUMBUS 2

     

    The Boston Bruins would defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets by the score of 6-2 and in doing so, the Bruins would snap Columbus’ five game win streak.

     

    Here is the infographic on Boston’s win over the Blue Jackets.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Boston Bruins, and their respective owners

     

    Carolina 4, TORONTO 1

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs by the score of 4-1 and in doing so, the Hurricanes are trying to stay in contention for a postseason spot.

     

     

    With the loss by the Maple Leafs, Toronto clinched the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

     

    MONTREAL 4, Tampa Bay 2

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would double up the Tampa Bay Lightning with a convincing 4-2 win.

     

     

    DETROIT 4, Pittsburgh 1

     

    The Detroit Red Wings would win their sixth straight game with a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.

     

     

    The only goal scorer in the contest for the Penguins would be Phil Kessel, with his 25th goal on the season.

     

    Pittsburgh’s infographic from last night’s contest is pictured below


    *Image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    MINNESOTA 5, Winnipeg 1

     

    The Minnesota Wild would defeat the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-1 win last night and with the win, the Wild prevented the Jets from climbing further for the division lead.

     

     

    DALLAS 6, Philadelphia 2

     

    The Dallas Stars would take down the Philadelphia Flyers with a convincing 6-2 win last night.

     

     

    Alexander Radulov would score two goals in the contest, giving him 29 goals on the season,

     

    With Dallas’ win, they clinched a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

    COLORADO 6, Edmonton 2

     

    The Colorado Avalanche would beat the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-2 in last night.

     

    After being down 2-0 at the end of the first period, the Avalanche scored six unanswered goals to seal the win.  Also in this contest, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon would register his 400th NHL point.

     

    With Colorado’s win over the Oilers, the Minnesota Wild have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.  It will be the first time that the Wild are not in the playoffs since the 2011-12 season.

     

    VANCOUVER 4, San Jose 2

     

    Tanner Pearson would score twice in the contest to give the Vancouver Canucks a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.

     

     

    San Jose’s Joe Thornton is now tied with Nicklas Lidstrom for 12th place on the all-time games played list with 1,564 regular-season games played.

     

    San Jose’s infographic from the 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks last night.

     


    *Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Los Angeles 3, ARIZONA 1

     

    The LA Kings would take down the Arizona Coyotes with a 3-1 win.

     

     

    With the win by the Kings, the Coyotes postseason chances are now very slim as the remain four points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference

     

     

     

     

    Today’s Schedule of NHL contests:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, please check out the NHL’s Morning Skate report.

  • TXHT Podcast – 4/2/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 4/2/2019

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by our friend from The Hockey Writers Nate Oliver.

     

    Both Michael and Nate talk about the sudden announcement of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League ceasing operations effectively May 1st.

     

    Plus they discuss the impact that this will have on Women’s Hockey, and the recent announcements made today by the National Women’s Hockey League.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Three Stars and NHL Rookie of the Month (March 1-March 31) Announcements

    Three Stars and NHL Rookie of the Month (March 1-March 31) Announcements

    The National Hockey League yesterday announced the Three Stars of the Week and earlier today the Three Stars of the Month as well as the NHL Rookie of the Month was announced.

     

    First, TXHT will take a look at the announcements made for the Three Stars of the Week (week ending March 31)


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The First Star of the Week went to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would be named the First Star of the Week thanks to a four wins on the week with two shutouts and would extend the Blue Jackets win streak to five games.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Second Star of the Week went to Detroit Red Wings F Tyler Bertuzzi.

     

    Tyler Bertuzzi shared the League lead with three goals and seven assists in four outings to power the Red Wings to a perfect week and their fifth consecutive victory overall.

    During the week, Bertuzzi would become the first Detroit player to record three consecutive three-point games since 1992-93.  Steve Yzerman achieved that feat twice during the 1992-93 season.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Third Star of the Week would go to Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

     

    Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper would achieve a record of 2-0-1 to keep the Coyotes in the hunt for a wild card spot and earn two shutouts over the week.

    Over the season, Kuemper has achieved a career high 26 wins in 53 appearances and ranks  in the top 10 in the NHL in goals-against average (6th place with a GAA of 2.34) and save percentage (9th place with a SV% of .924).


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

     

    Second, the National Hockey League earlier today announced the Three Stars of the Month (March 1-March 31).

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

     

    The First Star of the Month would go to Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    McDavid would have 20 assists over a 14 game span during the month of March and lead the Oilers to a record of 7-5-2 for the month.  McDavid would also have 11 multi-point games over the course of March.

     

    The Edmonton captain also scored seven times, including his seventh career
    overtime goal March 16 at ARI and 40th goal of 2018-19 March 28 vs. DAL.  McDavid also ranks second in the NHL with a career-high 74 assists and 115 points in 75 total contests this season as well as sharing the League lead with nine game-winning goals.

     

    The Second Star of the Month would go to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Bobrovsky topped the NHL in wins, tied with nine and had four shutouts in 13 appearances.  In those 13 appearances for the month, Bobrovsky would compile a
    1.74 goals-against average and .940 save percentage to give the Blue Jackets a 9-6-1 March record and to the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

     

    The Third Star of the Month would go to Boston Bruins D Brad Marchand.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Marchand placed third in the NHL with nine goals and 14 assists in 15 games to propel the Bruins to a 9-6-0 March and help the Bruins clinch their third consecutive playoff berth.

     

    Marchand would register three points in four games (March 7 vs. the Florida Panthers, March 12 at the Columbus Blue Jackets, March 21 at the New Jersey Devils, and March 27 at home against the New York Rangers.

     

    Finally, the NHL also announced the Rookie of the Month for the month of March.

     

    St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington named as the NHL’s Rookie of the Month

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The NHL earlier today would announce that St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington would be named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for the month of March.  This would also be the second consecutive month in which Binnington would earn Rookie of the Month honours.

    Binnington would compile a record of 6-3-0 with a GAA (goals against average) of 2.37 and a save percentage of .912.

    Binnington allowed three or fewer goals in eight of his nine appearances to spark the Blues (43-28-8, 94 points) to their seventh playoff berth in eight seasons and would help get the Blues from the bottom of the NHL standings on January 2nd to second place in the Central Division standings as of the completion of yesterday’s games.

    Binnington has also compiled a record of 22-5-1 since he made his first NHL career start on January 7th.

    Binnington joins Vancouver Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson as the only two rookies to earn Rookie of the Month honours twice during the 2018-19 campaign.

     

    One final note to close out this article…

    Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman released his “31 Thoughts” blog post for the week.

    One big highlight on this week’s “31 Thoughts” blog post is the news with the CWHL shuttering operations on May 1 and what the NHL needs to do to make a viable partnership with the NWHL.

    https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1113112788853972992

     

  • April 1st, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 1st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is April 1st, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were six contests in NHL action yesterday.

    Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

     

    NY Rangers 3, PHILADELPHIA 0

     

    The New York Rangers would take on the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon and would take down the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-0 win yesterday in downtown Philadelphia.

     

     

    ARIZONA 4, Minnesota 0

     

    The Arizona Coyotes would shutout the Minnesota Wild yesterday afternoon with a 4-0 win.

     

     

    Arizona is still in postseason contention with three games left to play.,

     

     

    PITTSBURGH 3, Carolina 1

     

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would take down the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-1 win and would not let the Carolina Hurricanes climb in the standings.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Pittsburgh Penguins, and their respective owners

     

    Columbus 4, BUFFALO 0

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would defeat the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 4-0 shutout performance.

     

     

    Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would have a 38 save performance, earning his 36th win on the season.

     

     

    DETROIT 6, Boston 3

     

    The Detroit Red Wings would take down the Boston Bruins with a 6-3 win, thanks to a three goal performance by Anthony Mantha.

     

     

    Despite the loss by the Bruins, they still are holding on strong to the second seed in the Atlantic Division playoff spot.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Boston Bruins, and their respective owners

     

    Calgary 5, SAN JOSE 3

     

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, the Calgary Flames and their respective owners

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, San Jose Sharks, and their respective owners

     

    With the 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, the Calgary Flames clinched the Pacific Division, their first division crown since the 2005-06 season when they won the Northwest Division, and the top seed in the Western Conference, which last happened in the 1989-90 season.

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of contests:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
    *Image is the property of the NHL and their respective owners

     

    Today’s playoff clinching scenarios:

    -The Washington Capitals can clinch the Metropolitan Division if they defeat the Florida Panthers AND the New York Islanders lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation

    -The Toronto Maple Leafs will clinch a postseason spot if they get at least one point against the Islanders

     

    With the win by the Calgary Flames, we now know one confirmed first round match-up in the postseason.

    The San Jose Sharks will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

  • Women’s Hockey News – CWHL to Cease Operations on May 1st

    Women’s Hockey News – CWHL to Cease Operations on May 1st

    In shocking news, it was announced yesterday that the Canadian Women’s Hockey League will be ceasing operations effectively May 1st, 2019.

     

    A key note from the press release was this:

    “Unfortunately, while the on-ice hockey is exceptional, the business model has proven to be economically unsustainable.”

    This is an interesting note indeed given the recent success of the Clarkson Cup the weekend prior which brought in 175,000 viewers, a record for Professional Women’s Hockey.

     

    Since the announcement the NWHL has issued a series of statements starting with the following:

    IMG_20190331_202014

    A major takeaway from the statement is that it acknowledges the fact that the two leagues were meeting, and had more meetings planned for this month. However, with the recent announcement by the CWHL those meetings have been canceled.

     

    When reached for comment about the players and fans up in Canada, NWHL Commissioner and Founder Dani Rylan had the following to say:

    “We will pursue all opportunities to ensure the best players in Canada have a place to play. Those conversations have started already and have quickly become a priority.”

     

    With these comments a lot of speculation has begun in regards to what the NWHL will do. While a major theme to this past season was the players wanting one league, the more likely preferred scenario would have been for the two leagues to merge. However, given that both leagues have differing business models, logistically there would be a lot of hurdles both sides would have to overcome including the ultimate goal of having all of the players paid a living wage and how that would be accomplished.

     

    A while back during this past season comments by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman were made noting that both the CWHL and NWHL business models were not ideal to how the NHL would like and insinuated that if both leagues were to fold then the NHL would step in to create a professional women’s hockey league of their own. Obviously these comments, or at least the way the comments were made, did not sit well with many. It also shows how out of touch Bettman is when it comes to the women’s game and why their business models are constructed the way they are.

     

    Now with the NWHL as the only professional women’s hockey league, whether Bettman likes their business model or not, it is time for the NHL to embrace them and get behind them 100 percent to help them grow.

     

    Currently the NWHL has five teams based in Buffalo, Minnesota, Boston, Metropolitan (New Jersey), and Connecticut. Of the five, three have partnerships with NHL franchises while the Buffalo Beauts are owned by the Pegula Family who own the Sabres. The only franchise to not have a partnership with an NHL franchise is Connecticut.

     

    For the CWHL they have three teams with NHL partnerships that could come into the NWHL to make it an eight team league starting this upcoming season if the NWHL chose to. Those three teams would be Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary. It also helps as they are three of the four most marketable teams in the CWHL. The fourth being Markham.

     

    With the World’s starting on April 4th, one would have to agree that the timing is horrible to announce this news. The CWHL has 25 players playing in the tournament, and now instead of being asked on ice World’s questions, instead they will be bombarded with off ice questions pertaining to the CWHL folding. It’s not fair to the women, the game, and their mutual growth.

     

    In due time we will see what both the NWHL and NHL will do in regards to this latest news, but one thing we must be is patient. There are a lot of moving parts right now, and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.

     

    As more information becomes available, we will report on it.

     

    We also highly recommend reading this amazing article by Michelle Jay of The Ice Garden:

  • March 31st, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 31st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, March 31st, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 12 contests in NHL action yesterday

     

     

    Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

     

    Florida 4, BOSTON 1

    Florida Panthers infographic from the contest between the Panthers and the Boston Bruins yesterday afternoon.

     

    CAROLINA 5, Philadelphia 2

    Highlights from the contest between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon.

     

    OTTAWA 4, Toronto 2

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would fall to the Ottawa Senators yesterday with a 4-2 loss yesterday.

    Ottawa would ruin Toronto’s chances to climb in the playoff picture with the win.

     

    Washington 6, TAMPA BAY 3

    The Washington Capitals would take down the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 6-3 win yesterday at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa Bay last night.

     

    Goal scorers for Washington included Alex Ovechkin, who would notch two goals, his 50th and 51st on the season, as well as two goals scored by TJ Oshie, a goal by Nicklas Backstrom and another goal by Jakub Vrana.

     

    Tampa Bay would go convert on two out of five power plays in the contest, but those conversions would not be enough as the Capitals would out shoot and out perform the Lightning to seal the 6-3 win for Washington.

     

     

    TXHT has your full coverage of the contest between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the following page.

     

     

    St. Louis 3, NEW JERSEY 2 (OT)

     

    The St. Louis Blues, who clinched a playoff berth on Friday, would take down the new Jersey Devils with a 3-2 win in overtime last night.

     

     

     

    NY ISLANDERS 5, Buffalo 1

     

    The NY Islanders would take down the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 5-1 win and with the win, the Islanders would clinch a berth for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

     

     

    Montreal 3, WINNIPEG 1

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would take an early lead in the contest against the Winnipeg Jets and come out with a 3-1 win over the Jets last night.

     

     

    There would be three different goal scorers for the Canadiens in the 3-1 win last night.

     

     

    Columbus 5, NASHVILLE 2

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would notch their fourth straight win and get two much needed points in the race for the one of the last two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

     

     

    Nashville, with the loss, would not gain any ground in the Central Division standings.  The Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators remain tied with 94 points atop the division.

     

    SAN JOSE 4, Vegas 3 (OT)

     

    The San Jose Sharks would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights last night at SAP Center last night with a 4-3 win in overtime.

     

     

     

    Anaheim 5, EDMONTON 1

     

    The Anaheim Ducks would take down the Edmonton Oilers yesterday with a 5-1 last night.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1112222361678278656

     

    Anaheim’s Richard Rakell would score three goals in the contest to seal the win for the Ducks in this contest last night.

     

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1112210962503761920

     

     

    VANCOUVER 3, Dallas 2 (SO)

     

    The Vancouver Canucks would take down the the Dallas Stars yesterday with a 3-2 win in the shootout frame.

     

     

    It would be the second consecutive game in which the Canucks would win a game in the shootout.  Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom would have a 38-save performance in the contest.

     

     

     

    LOS ANGELES 3, Chicago 2 (OT)

    In the final contest of the night, the Los Angeles Kings would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by the score of 3-2 in overtime last night.

    Chicago, with the loss, has been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

     

     

    Today’s Schedule of Games:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Today’s Stanley Cup Playoff clinching possibilities:

    -The Calgary Flames will clinch the Pacific Division AND the Western Conference if they defeat the San Jose Sharks

    -The Dallas Stars will clinch a berth in the playoffs if the Arizona Coyotes lose in any fashion

  • Game Recap – 3/30/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Game Recap – 3/30/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Washington Capitals (46-24-8 100pts) v. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-14-4 122pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In their final meeting of the regular season the Washington Capitals head down to Tampa Bay with hopes of grounding the League leading Lightning. Early in the game it would be the Capitals gaining the advantage as Tom Wilson would feed Nicklas Backstrom for his 20th of the season to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Then TJ Oshie would net a pair goals both at even strength and on the powerplay to give the Capitals a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period the Capitals would continue their strong play as Dmitry Orlov would put forth a strong individual effort to feed Backstrom for his second goal of the game to grow the Capitals lead to four. However, in the final minutes of the second period, JT Miller would tip in a Mikhail Sergachev point shot to cut the Capitals lead to three going into the second intermission.

     

    In the third period the Lightning would cut the Capitals lead to two when Tyler Johnson would net his 28th of the season. After that the fireworks would explode as Brooks Orpik and Anthony Cirelli would drop the gloves followed by a heavyweight tilt between Tom Wilson and Erik Cernak. Then the “Great Eight” Alex Ovechkin would score his 50th of the season, and then on a Nikita Kucherov penalty, Ovechkin would net his 51st of the season to give the Capitals a commanding 6-2 lead. However, in the final minute Nic Dowd would take a penalty for hooking and Kucherov would score to cut the Capitals lead to three, but it would be too little too late for the Lightning as the Capitals would go on to win 6 to 3.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Andre Burakovsky

    Travis Boyd — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Nick Jensen — Brooks Orpik

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Brett Connolly (illness), Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    Tampa Bay Lightning:

    Tyler Johnson — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov

    Ondrej Palat — Steven Stamkos — J.T. Miller

    Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Mathieu Joseph

    Adam Erne — Cedric Paquette — Yanni Gourde

    Victor Hedman — Mikhail Sergachev

    Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak

    Braydon Coburn — Jan Rutta

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

    Scratched: Cameron Gaunce, Ryan Callahan, Danick Martel

    Injured: Anton Stralman (lower body), Dan Girardi (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :21 – Andrei Vasilevskiy (Yanni Gourde) 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 7:24 – Nicklas Backstrom (20) from Tom Wilson (18) and Christian Djoos (9)

    Capitals Goal – 10:45 – TJ Oshie (24) from Nick Jensen (18) Carl Hagelin (13)

    Lightning Penalty – 14:12 – Anthony Cirelli 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals PPG – 16:00 – TJ Oshie (25) from John Carlson (55) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (50)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 3       TB – 0

    Shots              13                05

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               08                  05

    PP                 1/2                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 7:53 – Nicklas Backstrom (21) from Dmitry Orlov (26)

    Lightning Penalty – 9:31 – Braydon Coburn 2 minutes for Boarding

    Capitals Penalty – 13:44 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Lightning Goal – 17:25 – JT Miller (13) from Mikhail Sergachev (23) and Ryan McDonagh (34)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 4        TB – 1

    Shots               27                 14

    Faceoffs          18                 14

    Hits                 13                  13

    PP                   1/3                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :47 – Mikhail Sergachev 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Lightning Goal – 3:36 – Tyler Johnson (28) from unassisted

    Lightning Penalty – 9:26 – Anthony Cirelli 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 9:26 – Brooks Orpik 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 9:26 – Brooks Orpik (Alex Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Roughing

    Lightning Penalty -12:13 – Erik Cernak 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 12:13 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

    https://twitter.com/NBCSCapitals/status/1112164578589376512?s=19

    Capitals Goal – 14:35 – Alex Ovechkin (50) from TJ Oshie (27) and Nicklas Backstrom (52)

    Lightning Penalty – 15:30 – Nikita Kucherov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 16:15 – Alex Ovechkin (51) from Johm Carlson (56) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (51)

    Capitals Penalty – 19:14 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Hooking

    Lightning PPG – 19:32 – Nikita Kucherov (39) from Mikhail Sergachev (24) and JT Miller (32)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 6         TB – 2

    Shots              35                   28

    Faceoffs        33                    28

    Hits               18                     22

    PP                 2/5                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (47-24-8 102pts) @ Florida (35-32-12 82pts)

    Tampa Bay (59-15-4 122pts) @ Ottawa (28-44-6 62pts)