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  • 10/27/2018 – News and Notes

     

    Here is today’s News and Notes – EARLY EDITION!!

     

    Last night in the NHL we had four games:

     

    Today in the NHL we have a full day of action!!

     

    Which also features 2 games as the European Games of the Week:

     

    In NWHL action today we have two action packed games:

     

     

    In NHL Disciplinary News:

    Los Angeles Kings forward Kyle Clifford was fined for elbowing:

     

    Also in some sadder news, former NHL President John Ziegler passed away:

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • October 26th, 2018: News and Notes

    Today is Friday, October 26th, 2018 and these are your news and notes…

    There were ten games in action across the NHL yesterday…

    • Starting off in Boston, Zdeno Chara registered his first multi-goal game sine the 2013-14 season as the Boston Bruins shutout the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0. Bruins G Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves to help Boston improve to a record of 6-2-2 on the season and a 4-0-0 record at home.Chara would become the third defenceman in NHL history to register a multi-goal game when at 41 years of age or older and the first since Nicklas Lindstrom in the 2011-12 season.
    • The Pittsburgh Penguins went on to rout the Calgary Flames by the score of 9-1 and extended their win to three games. Pittsburgh became the first team this season to score nine goals or more in a contest.Sidney Crosby recorded three points in the contest and helped Pittsburgh register nine goals in a contest for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

      Phil Kessel played in his 700th consecutive game last night and is third-longest active streak. He currently sits in ninth place all time.

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    • Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild registered two assists to help the Wild defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1.This would be Suter’s 1,000th NHL game played.

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    • The Nashville Predators tied the game on three separate occassions and Kyle Turris would score the game winner in overtime as Nashville would defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime.Nashville has won eight out of their first ten games in a season for the second time and the first since the 2005-06 season.

      Nashville has also won their first five road contests and joins only Toronto as the only two clubs to hit this achievement.

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    • The Washington Capitals faced off against the Edmonton Oilers and would lose this contest 4-1.The lone goal in the contest would go to Andre Burakovsky, who would score his first goal of the season. Nic Dowd and John Carlson would be awarded assists on Burakovsky’s goal.

      TXHT has your breakdown and analysis of Washington’s contest against Edmonton here

    Yesterday’s results (Home team in CAPS):

    • BOSTON 3, Philadelphia 0
    • BUFFALO 4, Montreal 3
    • Nashville 4, NEW JERSEY 3 (OT)
    • Columbus 7, ST. LOUIS 4
    • MINNESOTA 4, Los Angeles 1
    • CHICAGO 4, NY Rangers 1
    • DALLAS 5, Anaheim 2
    • Pittsburgh 9, CALGARY 1
    • EDMONTON 4, Washington 1
    • ARIZONA 4, Vancouver 1

    Tonight’s contests:

    Oct_26th_Schedy-26125910

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

    For more news, notes, and info in the league…

    Today in NHL news…

    • Former NHL President John Ziegler passed away. Ziegler was the fourth President of the NHL before Gary Bettman became the NHL Commissioner in 1993.

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    • The Department of Player Safety announced earlier today that Los Angeles’ Kyle Clifford has been fined $4,301.08, the maximum allowed under the CBA for kneeing Minnesota’s Jordan Greenway last night.

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    • Wsahington Capitals F Tom Wilson will appeal the decision that Gary Bettman upheld the 20-game suspension that was given to him on October 3.The appeal will now be heard by a third party arbitrator.

      In case you missed it, TXHT has the breakdown of the hearing between Bettman and Wilson with full analysis here.

     

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Commissioner Bettman Upholds 20 Game Suspension

    Commissioner Bettman Upholds 20 Game Suspension

     

     

    [wpvideo G2gcK4JH]

    Source: NHL Department of Player Safety

     

    After a lengthy seven hour meeting between Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman last week in regards to Wilson’s 20 game suspension, which was announced on October 3rd, 2018 in the video above, it has been announced that Bettman has upheld 20 game suspension that was handed down by George Parros and the NHL Department of Player Safety.

     

    What does this mean for Tom Wilson?

    For Wilson, he still has to fulfill his 20 game sentence that was handed down by George Parros. However, Wilson and the NHLPA now have 7 days to submit an appeal to an arbitrator to have the suspension reduced.

     

    What message is Gary Bettman sending with this decision?

    In this scenario after reading the full 31 page explanation behind Bettman’s ruling it is clear that Bettman is sending multiple messages. One being to the NHLPA and their tactics to paint St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist as the player at complete fault for the hit and injuries he sustained. The other is fact that George Parros has actually had many conversations, some even in person, with Wilson throughout last season to discuss ways that Wilson can become a better player, but how in a sense has fallen on deaf ears.

     

    A more thorough look at Bettman’s ruling the Commissioner explains in great detail several reasons why he upheld the suspension and did not reduce it. For starters we look at the play in hand that took place. A point of arguement that the NHLPA took was that Sundqvist put himself into a “vulnerable” position, but as detailed in Bettman’s ruling below such was not the case:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-21-55-22-1

     

    So as detailed above, and evidenced in all video evidence we have seen, that was not the case, and while Sundqvist was elgible to be hit, the notion he put himself in a vulnerable position, that was proved to be invalid.

     

    Then next up is you have Oskar Sundqvist’s injuries which are listed below:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-21-57-57-1

     

    One of the biggest factors that lead to the 20 game ban is the fact that this was the second consecutive suspension doled out to Wilson that involved a player being injured and having to miss time as a resilt of Wilson’s hit. At the time of the hearing, and subsequent ruling, Sundqvist has not played a game yet this season due to his injuries from the hit by Wilson.

     

    Now let’s talk about the hearing as well. With the magnitude of this suspension, and the thorough testimonies that took place on October 18th, there were actually more people involved with this hearing than was known including former Washington Capitals defenseman Joe Reekie, and former NHL defenseman Mathieu Schnieder, both representing the NHLPA. It is also noted the Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan was in attendance and was also called upon to testify along side George Parros from the Department of Player Safety.

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-00-22-1

    The hearing lasted 7 hours and 15 minutes and yhe transcript, which undoubtedly was much longer than Bettman’s 31 page ruling, was delivered to the League office the very next day for review.

     

    In some of the more interesting notes in Bettman’s ruling are that from Tom Wilson’s testimony:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-12-15-1

     

    In Wilson’s testimony, he openly admits that he did make contact with Sundqvist’s head, but that he could not conclude if Sundqvist’s head was the main point of contact. However, as noted, Bettman from watching the video concluded that it was.

     

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-16-18-1

     

    The arguement above is found to be a very interesting one. While yes, Wilson is in fact backchecking in accordance to Washington’s defensive system, I doubt under Barry Trotz last season, and Todd Reirdon this season that he has been coached to play with the intent to hit on every opportunity when backchecking. Especially since we don’t see a lot of major hits when the Capitals are backchecking.

     

    Then Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan under testimony stated the following:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-30-12-1

    MacLellan openly admits in testimony that Wilson could have done something different to change the impact of the hit and where the main point of contact of the hit as well. This is a huge stressor right here as MacLellan, a former NHL player himself, understands thr nature of the game, and knows how to throw a hit qithout targeting the head.

     

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-33-06-1

    Now the above is strictly an explanation of the rule where “intent” is no longer something the League looks at when reviewing head hits  per Rule 48, which was amended five years ago. It gives a solid example as provided by Parros.

     

    And lastly, how did George Parros come to 20 games for Tom Wilson? The below note in Bettman’s ruling explains how:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-23-18-12-1

     

    It should also be noted that George Parros had two in person meetings with Tom Wilson last season just so they could watch footage and talk about how he could improve his play and decision making on the ice, plus also received additional warnings (mainly in the playoffs leading up to and after his suspension against Pittsburgh in the 2nd round) and guidance throughout last season as well.

     

    What’s next?

    Next thing is that we wait to see what Tom Wilson and the NHLPA do. Odds are they will appeal the suspension and look to get it reduced by an arbitrator.

     

    However, the biggest thing that comes up next for Wilson is when he does finally return to the Capitals lineup. He will need to play smarter and pick better spots on when to throw his hits. Physicality is a hige part of hockey, and Wilson should never shy away from it, but he does need to do a better job.

     

    *Source Notes – All images from Gary Bettman’s ruling are shown in full context and were not altered in any way. They are shown so people can read some of the key points in TXHT’s opinon were most import to be seen in full detail.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Full Gameday Preview and Coverage – 10/25/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Edmonton Oilers

    Full Gameday Preview and Coverage – 10/25/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Edmonton Oilers

     

    Time: 9p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    In the second game of their 4 game Western Canada trip, the Capitals take on an Edmonton Oilers team that is still looking for an identity. The Oilers had a strong showing in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins the other night, but is looking to build upon that game.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Andre Burakovsky

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Madison Bowey, Nathan Walker

    Injured: Travis Boyd (leg)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Push the Oilers in their own zone

    Last season the Oilers did not have a great season and it has kind of rolled into this season of sorts, and one of the key people that needs to be is goaltender Cam Talbot. The Capitals need to push the play in Oilers zone and make Talbot uncomfortable, and generate a lot of scoring chances on Talbot.

     

    2. Stay out of the penalty box

    The one thing that can revitalize the Oilers is their powereplay and with threats like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers could take any opportunity while on the powerplay to change the game in their favor.

     

    Edmonton Oilers:

    Projected Lineup:

    Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Kailer Yamamoto

    Tobias Rieder — Leon Draisaitl — Alex Chiasson

    Milan Lucic — Ryan Strome — Drake Caggiula

    Cooper Marody — Kyle Brodziak — Jujhar Khaira

    Oscar Klefbom — Adam Larsson

    Darnell Nurse — Kris Russell

    Evan Bouchard — Kevin Gravel

    Cam Talbot

    Mikko Koskinen

    Scratched: Jason Garrison, Jesse Puljujarvi

    Injured: Matt Benning (undisclosed), Ty Rattie (upper body), Zack Kassian (undisclosed)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Force the Capitals to take Penalties

    The Oilers will need to force the Capitals to take penalties in this game, especially with the fact that the Caps have taken some really bad penalties this season so far.

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 14:31 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Tripping

    Oilers PPG – 16:28 – Evan Bouchard (1) from Kailer Yamamoto (1) and Tobias Rieder (2)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       EDM – 1

    Shots              09                09

    Faceoffs         13                10

    Hits               10                  05

    PP                 0/0                 1/1

     

    Analysis:

    This was an ok period for the Capitals. They did well in the faceoff circle, and on a bad call by the officials, the Capitals looked to have killed the lone penalty of the period but the Oilers were able to get one past Holtby in the final seconds of the powerplay.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to do a better job with their zone entries. They did an ok job of it, but they were not able to create many opportunities with how they got into the zone. Also the Capitals need to clog up Edmonton’s speed in the neutral zone.

     

    Second Period:

    Oilers Penalty – 9:19 – Milan Lucic 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Oilers SHG – 10:06 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (3) from unassisted

    Capitals Goal – 12:21 – Andre Burakovsky (1) from Nic Dowd (1) and John Carlson (9)

    Capitals Penalty – 14:59 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Delay of Game

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1        EDM – 2

    Shots               18                 23

    Faceoffs          21                 18

    Hits                 16                  12

    PP                   0/1                  1/2

     

    Analysis:

    This was not a pretty period for the Capitals. A lackluster powerplay resulted in a shorthanded goal against (seriously, stop doing the slingshot!!), and the Oilers outshot the Capitals 14-9. Braden Holtby though has been on top of his game in this one.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to play their game and impose their will on the Oilers.

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 4:35 – Bench (Jaskin) 2 minutes for Delay of Game – Faceoff Violation

    Oilers Goal – 9:16 – Alex Chiasson (3) from Tobias Reider (3) and Adam Larsson (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 11:26 – Bench (Connolly) 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Oilers ENG – 18:43 – Connor McDavid (6) from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (8)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 1         EDM – 4

    Shots              32                   32

    Faceoffs        34                    26

    Hits               28                     16

    PP                 0/1                    1/4

     

    Analysis:

    This was not a great game for the Capitals. They did not play very well in any of the three zones and were not good at all on their lone powerplay. Their penalty kill was ok, but the penalties they took were also ridiculous too, and the officials need to be questioned on two the calls made against the Capitals, and about the ones that were obvious calls, but not called on the Oilers. All the Capitals can do now is regroup and prepare for Saturday when the visit Calgary to take on the Flames.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (4-3-2 10pts) @ Calgary (5-5-0 10pts)

    Edmonton (4-3- 9pts) @ Nashville (8-2-0 16pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • October 25th, 2018: News and Notes

     

    These are your news and notes for Thursday, October 25th, 2018.

    There were four contests in the NHL last night…

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Winnipeg Jets in the first of two match-ups this season.Six different first-rounders all scored in the contest and Toronto went on to defeat the Jets 4-2. Toronto’s scores were Kasperi Kapanen (2014), Tyler Ennis (2008), Nazem Kadri (2009), and John Tavares (2009) all found the back of the net and lifted Toronto to a 5-0-0 record in road games this season and ended Winnipeg’s point streak of home games at 15, dating back to March 2 of last season.

      23 players drafted in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft have played at least in one contest thus far on the season.

    • The Florida Panthers and team captain Aleksander Barkov registered an assist on a game-tying goal and assisting on Mike Hoffman’s overtime game-winner as the Panthers would defeat the New York Islanders 3-2. Hoffman has scored a goal in each of the last three contests for the Panthers.This contest marked the third consecutive day in which a team has mounted back from a multi-goal deficit in the third period and go on to win.

      Florida has also had 17 of these occurrences happen in franchise history, including this contest.

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    • The Tampa Bay Lightning would go on to shutout the Colorado Avalanche on the lone goal from Nikita Kucherov and Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy registerd 22 saves.Vasilevskiy now sits one road shutout shy of tying Ben Bishop for the franchise record at 10.

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    • Vancouver Canucks Bo Horvat scored the two lone goals in regulation and Markus Granlund netted the only goal of the shootout to give the Canucks a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

      This would be Horvat’s first multi-goal game on the season and the fourth in his career.

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

    • Florida 3, NY ISLANDERS 2 (OT)
    • Toronto 4, WINNIPEG 2
    • Tampa Bay 1, COLORADO 0
    • Vancouver 3, VEGAS 2 (SO)

    There are ten contests in the NHL tonight…

    Oct_25th_Schedy-25015901.jpg

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

    For other news, stats, and notes on tonight’s contests:

    In NHL news…

    • The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced yesterday that Ottawa Senators D Mark Borowiecki has been suspended one game for elbowing Boston D Urho Vaakanainen.
    • It was also announced yesterday New Jersey Devils C Brian Boyle’s cancer has gone into remission after having a blood test taken on Monday.
    • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada released his “31 Thoughts” article today. Main piece is on goalie equipment.
    • NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the 20-game suspension of Tom Wilson earlier today.

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      TXHT will have your analysis on the ruling of the appeal tomorrow.

    In the NWHL…

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • TXHT – 10/24/2018

    TXHT – 10/24/2018

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwsp8EgFHzE&w=560&h=315]

     

    Join Michael as he breaks down the past week for the Capitals, as well in the NHL and NWHL.

    Also TXHT Maple Leafs Writer Steve Gardiner joins the show to talk about the Leafs and so much more.

    Opening Music – “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

  • 10/24/2018 – Winnipeg Jets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    10/24/2018 – Winnipeg Jets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs (6-3-0 12pts) @ St.Louis Blues (6-2-1 13pts)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman

    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Martin Marincin – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Andreas Johnsson, Justin Holl & Travis Dermott

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Winnipeg:

    Patrik Laine – Mark Scheifle – Blake Wheeler

    Kyle Connor – Bryan Little– Nikolaj Ehlers

    Andrew Copp– Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev

    Brendan Lemieux – Jack Roslovic – Matthieu Perrault

     

    Josh Morissey – Jacob Trouba

    Ben Chiarot – Dustin Byfuglien

    Joe Morrow – Tyler Myers

     

    Connor Hellebuyck

    Laurent Brossaint

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None
    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Leafs Goal  – 14:38 – Kasperi Kapenan (5) Unassisted

    Jets Penalty – 16:09 – Patrik Laine, 2 mins for Slashing
    End of 1st – TML – 1         WPG – 0

    Shots              18                     14

    Faceoffs     7/20                       10/20

    Hits               2                           7

    PP                 0/1                       0/0

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs: 

    Analysis:

    Leafs came out of the gate flying and it paid off on the scoreboard as Kasperi Kapanen put another one in. Leafs outplayed the Jets in this period, out shot and out scored.

    Need to Do:

    Continue to attack the defence of the Jets and directing everything towards the net

    Second Period:

    Leafs Goal– 2:25 – Tyler Ennis (1), from Josh Leivo (2)

    Leafs Penalty – 3:49 – Kasperi Kapanen, 2 mins for Slashing

    Leafs Goal– 11:43 – Nazem Kadri (1), from Connor Brown  (3) and Nikita Zaitsev (2)
    End of 2nd – TML – 3         WPG – 0

    Shots              11                    4

    Faceoffs       20/40            20/40

    Hits               5                     14

    PP                 0/1                   0/1


    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Analysis:

    Leafs totally dominated this period, the Jets seemed sluggish and Leafs made them pay for it. Kadri got his first of the season was huge for Toronto in this period.

    Need to Do:

    Don’t get ahead of yourself with the 3 goal lead in the 3rd. The Jets can really score don’t give them room.

    Third Period

    Jets Goal – 04:57– Nikolaj Ehlers (1) from Jacob Trouba (6)  and Blake Wheeler (6)

    Leafs Penalty – 5:25 – Connor Brown, 2 mins for Hooking

    Jets PPG Goal – 06:28– Mark Scheifele (5) from Blake Wheeler (7)  and Kyle Connor (5)

    Leafs Goal – 08:28– John Tavares (7) from Mitch Marner (9)  and Pars Lindholm (2)

    Leafs Penalty – 9:46 – Igor Ozhiganov, 2 mins for Hooking

     

    End of 3rd – TML – 4        WPG – 2

    Shots              39                   40

    Faceoffs     29/64                35/64

    Hits               8                       21

    PP                 0/1                    1/3

     

    Toronto:

    Analysis:

    Probably the Leafs best game defensively. Third looked a little shaky but that’s why you have Andersen and why you went out to get a guy like Tavares.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (7-3-0 14pts) vs Winnipeg (6-3-1 13pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • News and Notes: October 24th, 2018

    These are your news and notes for Wednesday, October 24th, 2018

    There were eight games in action last night…

    • In a matchup of two of the highest-scoring player the last three seasons, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.Sidney Crosby netted the game winner in overtime to take down Edmonton 6-5. This contest would also feature a tie five times throughout the game.

      Crosby scored his first two goals of the season and would also net his first goals in a head-to-head matchup. Pittsburgh is 5-0-0 against Edmonton since the start of the 2016-17 season.

      In this contest, Crosby would also register the 14th career regular-season overtime goal, tying Los Angeles Kings Ilya Kovalchuk for second-most by an active player. Both trail Alex Ovechkin, who has 22.

      This contest would also make it the third time this season to feature five tying goals and the second involving the Penguins.

    • David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-1.Pastrnak would score two goals and two assists and would be only the sixth player in Bruins history to score at least 10 goals in the teams first nine games to start the season. Phil Esposito has the team record to start a season with 14 goals and did that in 10 games to start the 1973-74 season.

      Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak became the 15th and 16th different players to record at least 15 points or more in the first nine games of a season in franchise history.

    • Montreal Canadiens G Carey Price reached a tie for second place in franchise history for wins by a goaltender when the Canadiens defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2.Price is now tied with Hall of Famer Patrick Roy at 289.

      Price registered 21 saves in the contest.

      For more on this contest, TXHT and Last Word on Sports Armand Kilsvitch has your game recap here.

    • The San Jose Sharks had five different goalscorers as they took down the Nashville Predators 5-4.With the Sharks win, the Predators win streak at five has been snapped. Down by two goals with less than 10 to play, San Jose would score three times. Brent Burns would net the game winner with less than three minutes to play in regulation.

      Burns, who has points in the last six games, registered the 34th game-winner of his career.

    • Arizona Coyotes Christian Fischer achieved his first career hat trick as they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 4-1.Fischer’s hat trick is the 11th to occur thus far on the season.

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

    • NY RANGERS 5, Florida 2
    • Arizona 4, COLUMBUS 1
    • MONTREAL 3, Calgary 2
    • Boston 4, OTTAWA 1
    • San Jose 5, NASHVILLE 4
    • CHICAGO 3, Anaheim 1
    • DALLAS 4, Los Angeles 2
    • Pittsburgh 6, EDMONTON 5 (OT)

    There are four games taking place tonight:

    Oct_24th_Schedy-23083115.jpg

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

    For other notes on yesterday’s contests..

    In NHL news…

    • The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Ottawa Senators Mark Borowiecki will have a hearing today for his elbowing penalty on Boston’s Urho Vaakanainen last night.
    • The New York Islanders announced today that their contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 28th, 2019 has been moved from Barclays Center to Nassau Coliseum.

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets

     

    Time: Wednesday, October 24th 2018

    Toronto: 6-3-0 for 12 points

    Winnipeg: 6-2-1 for 13 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg meet in a Wednesday matchup. 2 teams with 6 wins and both having offences that can score lots of goals. The problem this year for the Jets has been the goaltending of Connor Hellebuyck. After having a phenomenal season last year he seems to have come out a little flat in the 2019 season. While the Leafs look to kick start the offence that has been sleeping for the last 2 games.

    Look for Auston Matthews to be more aggressive tonight, but also look for Dustin Byfuglien to be extra physical.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Auston Matthews – 16 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 14 points (4 goals 10 assists)
    John Tavares – 11 points (6 goals 5 assists) 49% on face-offs
    Mitch Marner – 12 points (4 goals 8 assists)

    Mark Scheifle –9 points (4 goals 5 assists) 47% faceoffs
    Kyle Connor– 8 points (4 goal 4 assists)
    Blake Wheeler– 7 points (2 goal 5 assist)
    Josh Morrisey– 7 points (1 goal 6 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    4-3-0 2.75GAA .910SV%

    Connor Hellebuyck
    4-2-1 2.84GAA .909SV%

    Lineups & Injuries

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau
    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman
    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey
    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

    Winnipeg:

    Patrik Laine – Mark Scheifle – Blake Wheeler
    Kyle Connor – Bryan Little– Nikolaj Ehlers
    Andrew Copp– Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev
    Brendan Lemieux – Jack Roslovic – Matthieu Perrault

    Josh Morissey – Jacob Trouba
    Ben Chiarot – Dustin Byfuglien
    Joe Morrow – Tyler Myers

    Connor Hellebuyck
    Laurent Brossaint

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

    4 Keys to Winning against Winnipeg:

    1. Stay Out of the Box
      1. The Jets own the 4th best Powerplay in the league, they will burn you.
    2. Win faceoffs
      1. Winnipeg is not a great faceoff team. Win more faceoffs the more time you will have with the puck.
    3. Kadri
      1. Something has got to give with Nazem Kadri, so far he has been held goal-less this season and he is what drives that 3rd Need to find a way to get him going.
    4. Force the Jets to take penalties
      1. 2nd best powerplay in the league and with the offence seemingly drying up over the past 2 games, this is the perfect place to kick start it.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live today at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

     

  • Will the real Maple Leafs please stand up!

    Will the real Maple Leafs please stand up!

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    Image by Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press via CBC Sports

    The Toronto Maple Leafs came into the season with some real hype. Most inside the hockey world said this team had a real chance of taking home the cup with the signing of John Tavares, while others said Auston Matthews had improved his shooting ability (which most would already rate as top notch) and had a chip on shoulder. Mitch Marner looked stronger and the young defensive core and core youth were a year old and ready to take another big step forward. The only thing that was looming over the Maple Leafs was the holdout of William Nylander.

    The William Nylander holdout didn’t seem to bother the Leafs out of the gate as they started the season 6-1, While Auston Matthews (16 points), Morgan Rielly (13 points), Mitch Marner (11 points) & John Tavaras (11 points) all were top 5 in points. Youngster Kasperi Kapanen, had been trying to prove to Mike Babcock that he was a top 6 forward and he got his chance with no William Nylander. Kapanen didn’t look back putting together 8 points in 7 games. The team looked like it was destined to be a high scoring juggernaught with good goaltending and mediocre defence.

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    Image by Matthew Gamber via Tacticsplatform.com

    Now before anyone says the typical hockey phrase “You can’t win in the playoffs without defence”, let me tell you that it’s not true. Just ask the Washington Capitals and The Pittsburgh Penguins. Now each one of those teams had their defensive anchor, Washington has John Carlson and Pittsburgh has Kris Letang. But after that it’s a lot of depth, Washington has Michal Kempny, Brooks Orpik, Dmitriy Orlov, Madison Bowey (will be a stud), Matt Niskanen and Christian Djoos. While Pittsburgh defence from their Stanley Cup run was even less then that, Olli Maatta, Brian Dumoulin, Ron Hainsey, Mark Streit, Trevor Daley and Ian Cole and Justin Schultz. In fact Pittsburgh played most of both Stanley Cup wins without Kris Letang. Meanwhile other teams such as the Los Angeles Kings have Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez and Dion Phaneuf in their top 4, or St. Louis with Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko, Jay Bouwmeester, Vince Dunn and Joel Edmundson are struggling to keep their heads above water and maybe the most insane of all San Jose with Brent Burns, Justin Braun, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic sitting at 4-3-1. Today’s game is much different, Los Angeles used to win by playing the style they’re playing now they’ve had to forfeit some defence for offence in the form of Ilya Kovalchuk.

    Back to what I was saying about the Maple Leafs. Toronto were displaying the high-octane offence through 7 games. There was no game they were out of and no problem they couldn’t score there way out of. But Game 8 rolled around the Leafs were playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in Toronto. Toronto fired 38 shots at Penguins goaltender Matt Murray and he stood tall to every shot. Toronto played a good game but made one mistake and ran into a hot goaltender. Leaf Nation had no reason to worry, well that was until Saturday Night at the St. Louis Blues. The offence was flat, they stayed on the perimeter and by the time the 3rd had comes around it was 3-0 St. Louis and the Leafs had mustered a whopping 8 shots. Morgan Rielly scored in the 3rd but it was the only glimpse of offence and it lasted all of a minute.

    So, the question lies who are the real Toronto Maple Leafs? Is this a team who will be inconsistent offensively all season long? Or will they continue to outscore all their defensive problems?
    I think the honest is a little of both.  Toronto has too many offensive weapons to completely drop off offensively, but they will have games where the scoring touch is gone, where they become the Alexei Kovalev or Alexander Semin’s of the NHL. If you don’t get that analogy Kovalev was widely consider one of the most talented but inconsistent players in the NHL and Semin could score on a dime but battled inconsistency his whole career, was scared of the corners and the traffic. The defence is young with the exception of Ron Hainsey, who in his late 30’s is playing over 23 minutes a game.  Morgan Rielly’s game has involved a lot and brings everything expected of him. Igor Ozhiganov and Travis Dermott have looked good this year and will continue to mature as the season goes on. Jake Gardiner’s game started the season slow but he has looked more like himself in the last few games, while Nikita Zaitsev’s game looks like it’s forming back into what it was in his rookie season. The defence is a work in progress right now but let them develop. Travis Dermott is looking like a top 4 defencemen, in fact the times that Babcock has moved him with Morgan Rielly he hasn’t looked out of place at all. The Leafs will average 4 goals a game and boast one of/if not the top powerplays in the league. I think the defence will tighten up over the season. But some games they will look like they did against St. Louis last night, an AHL team.

    kovalev-78533710-1           220px-Alexander_Semin_2011-05-01
    Image by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images via The Hockey News            Image by Getty Images via The Hockey News

    Some will scream for William Nylander, I’d say that it would be an enormous mistake for the Leafs to pay him anything more than he’s worth and Nylander isn’t worth 8.5 million a season for the next 7 years. Kapanen hasn’t looked out of place with Matthews. He’s insanely fast, plays a solid 2-way game and is not afraid to do the dirty work in the corners. I’d say we have a trading chip with Nylander and we need defence, it’s time the Maple Leafs use that to their advantage.

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    Image by AP Photo/Molly Riley via Yahoo Sports

     

    You can watch TXHT Live today at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.