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  • January 19th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, January 19th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 7 games on the NHL schedule yesterday.

     

    FLORIDA 3, Toronto 1

    After Toronto’s Ron Hainsey scored the first goal of the game, the Florida Panthers would score three unanswered goals to go on to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs.

     

     

    Montreal 4, COLUMBUS 1

    The Montreal Canadiens would face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a key game for Columbus in the Metro division standings.  However, the Montreal Canadiens would soundly defeat the Blue Jackets by the score of 4-1.

     

     

    NY Islanders 2, WASHINGTON 0

    In a key contest for Metropolitan Division standings, the New York Islanders faced off against the Washington Capitals.  The Islanders would go on to defeat the Washington Capitals 2-0, and with that win, the Islanders now hold first place in the Metro division.

    During a pre-game presentation the Capitals honoured Brooks Orpik who recently played in his 1,000th NHL contest as well as the Capitals showing a video tribute for former Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz, who stepped down from the position over the summer.  Trotz is now the Head Coach for the New York Islanders.

     

    TXHT was LIVE at the contest last night and you can check out the full recap of the contest at the following page.

     

     

    Ottawa 4, CAROLINA 1

     

    With the 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators last night, the five game winning streak on home ice came to an end for the Carolina Hurricanes.

     

     

     

     

     

    CALGARY 6, Detroit 4

    Infographic between the Calgary Flames and the Detroit Red Wings

     

     

    Pittsburgh 3, ARIZONA 2 (OT)

     

     

     

     

    VANCOUVER 4, Buffalo 3

     

    https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1086515611990077440

     

     

    Today’s schedule of contests across the NHL…

     

    This weekend’s NWHL Contests…

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 1/18/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 1/18/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs (29-15-2 60pts) v, Florida Panthers (17-20-8 42pts)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Zach Hyman– Auston Matthews – William Nylander

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Andreas Johnsson

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Connor Brown – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Garrett Sparks

    Frederik Andersen

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back),Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Florida:

    Frank Vatrano – Aleksander Barkov – Evgenii Dadonov

    Jonathan Huberdeau –Vincent Trocheck– Nick Bjugstad

    Mike Hoffman – Henrik Borgstrom – Denis Malgin

    Jayce Hawryluk –Jared McCann – Colton Sceviour

     

    Keith Yandle – Aaron Ekblad

    Michael Matheson – Mark Psysk

    Ian McCoshen – Mackenzie Weegar

     

    Roberto Luongo

    James Reimer

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Jamie McGinn, Derek Mackenzie

    Suspension: None

     

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Toronto Goal – 01:49 – Ron Hainsey (4) from Morgan Rielly (35) and Kasperi Kapanen (15)

    Toronto Penalty – 04:27 – Kasperi Kapanen, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Florida Penalty – 05:13 – Evgenii Dadonov, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Florida Goal – 09:02 – Mike Hoffman (23) from Keith Yandle (31) and Nick Bjugstad (7)

    Florida Goal – 14:59 – Mike Matheson (3) from Vincent Trocheck (12) and Jonathan Huberdeau (36)

     

    End of 1st – TOR –1        FLA – 2

    Shots              4                   13

    Faceoffs     10/20              10/20

    Hits               10                     7

    PP                 0/1                  0/2

     

    Analysis

    Leafs came out strong scored in the first 2 minutes of the game but them by the 9 minute mark had taken their foot off the gas pedal and let Florida take control.

    Need to Do:

    Keep Digging for pucks, and using your speed. Keep the pace up-tempo against the Panthers forwards and defence

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 15:38 –Andreas Johnsson, 2 mins for Hooking

    End of 2nd – TOR– 1          FLA – 2

    Shots              12                    22

    Faceoffs       19/38              19/38

    Hits              19                      14

    PP                 0/1                  0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs put on a solid period but still no pucks in the net.

    Need to Do:

    Need a big 3rd period.

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 02:15 –Jake Gardiner, 2 mins for Cross Checking

    Florida EN Goal – 18:14 – Frank Vatrano (14) from Mark Psysk (6)

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 1        FLA – 3

    Shots             21                   29

    Faceoffs     35/64                29/64

    Hits               21                        26

    PP                0/1                   0/3

     

    Analysis:

    Another disappointing effort from the Leafs after a huge win in Tampa Bay. Garrett Sparks held them in all game and they let him down.

    Next Up:

    Arizona (21-22-3 45pts) vs Toronto (29-16-2 60pts)

    Florida (18-20-8 44pts) at Nashville (28-17-4 60pts)

  • Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals , who are looking to end their three game losing streak, did not start well when Nicklas Backstrom would take a hooking penalty 10 seconds into the game. However the Capitals would kill the New York Islanders first opportunity. Then after some back and forth, Tom Wilson would draw a tripping call to give the Capitals their first powerplay opportunity, which had some good looks, but could not convert. Both teams would generate some good chances, but both Braden Holtby and Thomas Greiss would stand tall in net.

     

    To start the period, the Capitals would draw a penalty 57 seconds into the second period, however, they would not generate much with the opportunity. After a lot of back and forth, Nic Dowd would take a late tripping penalty, but with some key blocks by Brooks Orpik the Capitals were able to kill the penalty.

     

    The Capitals would start the period rocky as they had trouble maintaining the puck, and turnovers were a plenty. As a result Josh Bailey would tip in a Mathew Barzal point shot to get the Islanders the first goal of the game. Then not that long after, Cal Clutterbuck would score to make it 2-0 for the Islanders while on a 2 on 0 break. The Capitals, however, would never recover and drop their fourth straight game, and falling in the Metropolitan Division standings.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Michael Dal Colle — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa, Tom Kuhnhackl

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :10 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Islanders Penalty – 8:17 – Casey Cizikas 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYI – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              11                07

    Faceoffs         10                07

    Hits               08                  08

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Islanders Penalty – :57 – Adam Pelech 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 16:13 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – NYI – 0        WAS – 0

    Shots               20                 15

    Faceoffs          20                 12

    Hits                 12                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Islanders Goal – 5:08 – Josh Bailey (11) from Mathew Barazl (31) and Adam Pelech (6)

    Islanders Goal – 7:34 – Cal Clutterbuck (4) from Casey Cizikas (9) and Adam Pelech (7)

     

    End of 3rd – NYI – 2         WAS – 0

    Shots              25                   19

    Faceoffs        25                    21

    Hits               18                     20

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-14-5 59pts) @ Chicago (4-1-0 8pts)

    NY Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. San Jose (2-2-1 5pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, MSG+, and SportsNet 1

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals host the New York Islanders as he makes his first trip back to DC after leading the Capitals to the Stanley Cup this past summer. The Capitals will look to end their three game losing streak and keep themselves atop the Metropolitan Division.

     

    New York Islanders:

    Projected Lineup:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Tom Kuhnhackl — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, Luca Sbisa

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Keep up the quick starts

    The last two games the Islanders have jumped to 3 goal leads early, and with the struggles the Capitals have been going through lately it would benefit the Islanders to get a quick lead to start this game as well.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

    The Capitals need a good start to get their game going in a positive way. If the Capitals can score the first goal, or get an early powerplay which can get them generating offensively it will push away some of those negative vibes.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 18/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 18/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Time: Friday January 18th,  2019

    Toronto: 28-15-2 for 58 points

    Florida: 17-20-8 for 42 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to come into the second of back to backs and hope Garrett Sparks can pull them out a win.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –59 points (18 goals 41 assists)
    John Tavares – 50 points (29 goals 21 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 47 points (13 goals 34 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 42 points (20 goals 22 assists) 53% on Face-offs)

    Jonathan Huberdeau – 47 points (12 goals 35 assists)
    Aleksander Barkov – 44 points (17 goal 27 assist)
    Mike Hoffman – 41 points (22 goal 19 assists)
    Evgenii Dadonov – 37 points (18 goal 19 assists)

    Garrett Sparks
    6-2-1 3.01GAA .905SV%

    Roberto Luongo
    8-11-1 3.34GAA .892SV%

     

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Connor Brown – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Garrett Sparks

    Frederik Andersen

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back),Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Florida:

    Frank Vatrano – Aleksander Barkov – Evgenii Dadonov

    Jonathan Huberdeau – Henrik Borgstrom– Nick Bjugstad

    Mike Hoffman – Jared McCann – Denis Malgin

    Jayce Hawryluk – Juho Lammikko – Colton Sceviour

     

    Keith Yandle – Aaron Ekblad

    Michael Matheson – Mark Psysk

    Ian McCoshen – Mackenzie Weegar

     

    Roberto Luongo

    James Reimer

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Jamie McGinn, Derek Mackenzie, Vincent Trocheck

    Suspension: None

    Keys to Winning against Florida:

    1. Attack the Defence
      1. They are young and struggling. Attack them fiercely and dig pucks
    2. Puck Possession
      1. The Leafs need zone time.
    3. Powerplay
      1. Been struggling for a while. Gotta get it going again to make the Leafs dangerous

     

     

  • AwesomeMania – 1/18/2019 – Debut Episode!! *18+ Podcast*

    AwesomeMania – 1/18/2019 – Debut Episode!! *18+ Podcast*

    Welcome to AwesomeMania!!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    In our debut episode of AwesomeMania, cohosts Ben Taylor and Michael Lindenbaum talk about the world of professional wrestling and all of the happenings going on.

     

    To start both Ben and Michael talk about UK wrestling and how it has grown over the last few years with the likes of Progress, ICW, and now WWE NXT UK.

     

    Then Ben and Michael talk about the career of Nigel McGuinness. Also they discuss the journey Nigel has taken to get to the WWE, and the job he has done so far on commentary.

     

    Plus Ben and Michael take a look at All Elite Wrestling, and the impact they are having on the landscape of pro wrestling today. They also debate what AEW’s 5 year plan should look like moving forward.

     

    And lastly, Ben loves his fantasy booking, and we will take you on a ride as we some fantasy booking of some Survivor Series teams we would like to see.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Thursday, January 17th, 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.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 17/1/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 17/1/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs (28-15-2 58pts) v, Tampa Bay Lightning (36-9-2 74 pts)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Connor Brown – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back),Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Tampa Bay:

    Ondrej Palat – Steven Stamkos – Yanni Gourde

    Tyler Johnson – Brayden Point– Nikita Kucherov

    Mathieu Joesph – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn

    JT Miller – Cedric Paquette – Ryan Callahan

     

    Victor Hedman – Dan Girardi

    Ryan McDonagh – Anton Stralman

    Braydon Coburn – Mikhail Sergachev

     

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

     

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Tampa Penalty – 05:32 – Nikita Kucherov, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Toronto Penalty – 08:34 – Igor Ozhiganov, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Tampa PP Goal – 09:48 – Brayden Point (30) from Victor Hedman (25) and Steven Stamkos (30)

    Toronto Goal – 11:48 – Nazem Kadri (10) from Kasperi Kapanen (14) and Patrick Marleau (11)

    Lightning Penalty – 12:09 – Victor Hedman, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

     

    End of 1st – TOR –1        TBL – 1

    Shots              9                   10

    Faceoffs     10/25              15/25

    Hits               4                     13

    PP                 0/2                  1/1

     

    Analysis

    Leafs came look strong this game and came to play a bad defensive play led to a powerplay which led to a Brayden Point powerplay goal. But the Leafs fought back thanks to Kasperi Kapanen who used his unbelievable speed to break the defence and setup Kadri for a goal

     

    Need to Do:

    Keep Digging for pucks, and using your speed. Play hard against a bigger stronger defence in Tampa.

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 02:47 –Travis Dermott, 2 mins for Interference

    Toronto Goal–13:06 – Patrick Marleau (11), assisted by Nazem Kadri (18)  and Nikita Zaitsev (4)

    Lightning Goal–13:43 – Victor Hedman (6), assisted by Nikita Kucherov (54)  and Brayden Point (33)

    Toronto Goal–14:49 – Mitch Marner (19), assisted by John Tavares (22)  and Andreas Johnsson (12)

    Toronto Penalty – 16:26 –William Nylander, 2 mins for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – TOR– 3          TBL – 2

    Shots              17                    22

    Faceoffs       21/48              27/48

    Hits              8                      20

    PP                 0/2                  1/3

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs come to play in the 2nd period get goals from Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner, While Freddie Andersen stands on his head.

     

    Need to Do:

    Be prepared Tampa is going to come flying.

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 01:59 –Zach Hyman, 2 mins for Slashing

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 3        TBL – 2

    Shots             31                   38

    Faceoffs     31/70                39/70

    Hits               17                        30

    PP                0/2                    1/4

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs played a very solid game with some contribution from all over the lineup and a lot of players breaking goal-scoring slumps. Very good sign for Leafs Nation.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (29-15-2 60pts) vs Florida (17-20-8 42pts)

    San Jose (28-14-7 63pts) at Tampa Bay (36-9-2 74pts)

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 17/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 17/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning

    Time: Thursday, January 17th,  2019

    Toronto: 28-15-2 for 58 points

    Tampa Bay: 36-9-2 for 74 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to come back a two-game losing streak and avoid a three game losing streak for the first time all season as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –59 points (18 goals 41 assists)
    John Tavares – 50 points (29 goals 21 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 47 points (13 goals 34 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 42 points (20 goals 22 assists) 53% on Face-offs)

    Nikita Kucherov – 75 points (22 goals 53 assists)
    Brayden Point – 61 points (29 goal 32 assist)
    Steven Stamkos – 53 points (24 goal 29 assists)
    Tyler Johnson – 34 points (18 goal 16 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    20-10-1 2.54GAA .922SV%

    Andrei Vasilevskiy
    19-5-2 2.46GAA .925SV%

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Connor Brown – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back),Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Tampa Bay:

    Ondrej Palat – Steven Stamkos – Yanni Gourde

    Tyler Johnson – Brayden Point– Nikita Kucherov

    Mathieu Joesph – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn

    JT Miller – Cedric Paquette – Ryan Callahan

     

    Victor Hedman – Dan Girardi

    Ryan McDonagh – Anton Stralman

    Braydon Coburn – Mikhail Sergachev

     

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

     

    Keys to Winning against Tampa Bay:

    1. Tighten up the defence
      1. Struggles on the backend, have become a huge issue. Leafs need to tighten up or else they will be trampled.
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Keep the top line in their own zone.
    3. Nylander
      1. Needs to find some sort game. This team needs him to go.

     

     

  • TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

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

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by our friend from The Hockey Writers Nate Oliver, and TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    TXHT starts off with NWHL talk with Michael and Nate as we review the partnership between the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the NWHL’s Boston Pride. Plus a recap of last weekend’s action, as well as a preview for this upcoming weekend’s games. Also we talk about some other news and notes throughout the NWHL.

     

    Then Michael opens up the forum to Nate and Steve as they ask him questions about Alex Ovechkin, Madison Bowey, and the Capitals future on defense.

     

    Plus Michael and Steve talk about the Maple Leafs and the situation with the fans booing defenseman Jake Gardiner, and the slippery slope that is the growing negativity of “fans” on social media. Also all three geek out over hockey cards and some of their prized items in their memorabilia collections.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Wednesday, January 16th, 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.

  • The Meltdown – Jared Bednar and Nathan MacKinnon

    The Meltdown – Jared Bednar and Nathan MacKinnon

    Let me set the stage for you. Last Wednesday evening, The struggling Colorado Avalanche get ready to play the extremely hot Calgary Flames. The Avalanche look to dig themselves out of a hole that they have dug themselves out of. To make things more interesting the Avalanche haven’t even played all that bad, their offence has been firing on all cylinders with the highest scoring line in the league doing the majority of the work as always. But some bad turnovers and bounces that led to goals have left them down.

    3-2 Flames heading into the 3rd and the Avalanche are all over them shot after shot and save after save for David Rittich. 9:14 into the 3rd period and Mark Giordano takes a point shot and directs it at all the traffic in front of the net, it hits Michael Frolik’s knee and bounces in behind Semyon Varlamov the Avalanche netminder. Nathan MacKinnon looks enraged as he skates back to the bench and begins to lose it. Multiple sports news outlets such as TSN and SportsNet report that MacKinnon came back to the bench in a rage and told the Jared Bednar, the Colorado Coach to and I quote “Do your F*****g job”. Fans have chimed in all over social media. There has been 3 different thoughts on this process. Let’s talk about them.

    1. Keep it in the Locker Room
    • Don’t let your emotions get the best of you on the ice. If you have a problem with your coach, teammate or any other part of the organization, keep it off the ice and handle it off camera away from the media. This prevents the media from making a showcase of your actions and feeding more into the situation
    1. Finally someone shows some passion
    • The anger on the ice directed towards the team in whatever way expresses how much passion you have for the game and how much you want your team to win. Therefore express your emotions whenever you feel necessary and at whatever time, who cares if the media sees it. They will just see your passion.
    1. Express your emotion through your game
    • Take the anger and frustration and turn it into something on the ice. Go out and make something happen show you passion, dedication and how you care for the team and winning by going out and making every play you do count on the ice.

    Now let me add something. There has been rumors that Bednar had said something to MacKinnon as he came back to the bench. But every angle of the video I watched was you can’t see Bednar until the very end of  MacKinnon’s tirade. So there is not proof of Bednar saying anything.

    I fall into a little of each of these 3 categories. I think all levels of sports should pay attention to this, because a lot of sports is reputation and how you handle yourself. So here are my thoughts.

    If you have a problem with the coaching staff, a teammate or anything else for that matter. Save your comments for behind close doors, away from anyone who might hear and make a bigger deal out of it. Keep your reputation intact trust me it will pay dividends. If your known as a good teammate and you have the ability to express your frustration in a respectful discipline matter you’ll be more intriguing to teams. Especially in professional sports and later on in your career. I will add this, showing some raw emotion such as throwing a water bottle in frustration or slamming a door is not a bad thing but comments directed at teammates or coaching staff will not help, but only escalate the situation save those for private. Finally, Let your play do the talking. Never give a foot to teammates, or coaching to say you didn’t give your all.

    Nathan MacKinnon showed emotion, and his play on the ice speaks itself. The problem is now he’ll forever have a little blackmark on his resume. Because MacKinnon let the words slide out. If Bednar gets fired MacKinnon will probably hear the words coach killer not because they’re true but because you always get reminded of the one dumb thing you did by the media.

    Let me end by saying, Nathan MacKinnon is hands down one of the best players in the league and I know for sure emotions got the best of him. In an interview after the big blow up he apologized for his comments and said that he should have never talked to his coach that way. Even Jared Bednar stated that he loved the fire shown by MacKinnon that it shows he cares. So a mistake yes, but unfortunately in this NHL those blackmarks remain.

    Is their a rift you ask? Well both are downplaying it if there is. I guess we will have to see what happened in the near future.