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  • News and Notes: October 3rd, 2018

     

    These are your News and Notes for Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018…

    There were no preseason contests yesterday.

    Today is the first day of the regular season in the NHL and there are four contests taking place.

    • The Washington Capitals will raise their Stanley Cup Championship banner tonight in a pre-game ceremony when they take on the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. TXHT has the preview of the game here.
    • The Montreal Canadiens take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, which will mark the official debut of John Tavares. Tavares joined the Maple Leafs as a free agent over the summer. For TXHT’s preview of this match-up, please check out Steve Gardiner’s game preview

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    • The Calgary Flames face off against the Vancouver Canucks. For the Canucks this marks the first season without Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who retired last season, since the 1999-2000 season.
    • The Anaheim Ducks face off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. For the Sharks this will mark the official debut of Erik Karlsson, who joined the team after a trade

    In NHL news today:

    • The Buffalo Sabres announced that Jack Eichel has been named team captain.
    • The Washington Capitals announced that Jayson Megna has been placed on waivers.
    • Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julian announced that Karl Alzner and Tomas Plekanec will be healthy scratches tonight. This will end Karl Alzner’s consecutive-games played streak at 622, which is the fourth longest activer streak in the NHL and the 12th longest in NHL history.
    • The NHL announced all 31 teams opening night 23-man rosters earlier today
    • Former NWHL player and United States captain Meghan Duggan married three-time Canadian women’s gold medalist Gillian Apps two weeks ago. Duggan played for the Boston Pride and the Buffalo Beauts. Gillian Apps would play in the CWHL with the Brampton Thunder (now Markham Thunder).
    • Washington Capitals RW Tom Wilson has been suspended 20 games for his hit on Oskar Sundqvist. For more coverage on the Tom Wilson suspension and the effects of the suspension, check out TXHT’s coverage here.You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
  • Gameday Preview – 10/3/2018 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 10/3/2018 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Network

    Preview:

    Tonight is the night the Washington Capitals have always dreamed for and that tonight they finally get to raise a Stanley Cup Champions banner into the rafters at Capital One Arena. But with all this excitement, it is also time to get back to work and strive towards their new goal to go back to back like their rival the Pittsburgh Penguins did the previous two seasons.

    Now for the Boston Bruins they are raring to go and spoil tonight for the Capitals. The Bruins are hungry to start their campaign back to the playoffs and are a heavy favorite in the Atlantic Division.

    Boston Bruins:

    Lineup:

    Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk – David Krejci – Danton Heinen

    Ryan Donato – Sean Kuraly – David Backes

    Joakim Nordstrom – Noel Acciari – Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara – Charlie McAvoy

    John Moore – Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk – Kevan Miller

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get the jump on the Capitals

    – The Capitals are going to have a great moment when they raise their Cup Banner tonight, and Boston will hope that it’ll serve as a minor distraction that they can take advantage of.

    2. Young kids need to step up

    – Last season the Bruins youngsters developed nicely, but now this time they will need to step up their game, and what a better start and motivator than facing the defending Cup Champions.

    Washington Capitals:

    Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Brett Connolly

    Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – TJ Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky – Lars Eller – Chandler Stephenson

    Nathan Walker – Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly

    Christian Djoos – John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik – Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get an early lead

    – As mentioned above, as great as the Banner Raising Cermony will be, it is also a distraction. If the Capitals can get the first goal, let alone quickly into the game, then they can set the tone in their favor and truly get a focus on this game.

    2. Fresh legs

    – The Capitals for the first time is experiencing a short summer that was filled with celebration. They will need to get their legs moving in this one as they will be pushed hard by the Bruins.

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

  • Tom Wilson Suspended 20 Games

    Today the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Tom Wilson has been suspended 20 games for his illegal hit to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist.

    You can see the video explanation here:

    https://www.nhl.com/video/t-277350912/c-6155600

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

  • Gameday Preview:  Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview:  Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    Time: Wednesday October 3rd 2018 at 7pm

    The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to get the John Tavares era off to a good start and that journey begins in game #1 in Toronto against the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens. Toronto and Montreal games have been historically hard fought, hard hitting, grind it out rivalries. You shouldn’t expect anything less from either of these teams.
    Toronto has moved on from the rebuild and has become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, while Montreal has fallen from favour and begins the hard task of a full rebuild. This game will show speed and skill.

    Toronto will boast the loaded powerplay of Marner, Tavares , Kadri, Matthews and Rielly, while the Canadiens will showcase newly draft rookie Jesper Kotkaniemi along with a totally revamped roster.

    Let’s begin by talking briefly about the Maple Leafs 2017/2018 season, roster for 2019, game day line up and injuries and finally some key game points.

    2017/2018 Season Review –

    The Maple Leafs had a brilliant regular season finishing 3rd in the Eastern Conference with a record of 49-26-7 and 107 points. Mitch Marner took his game to another level in the 2nd half of the season, while Anderson set a record for most wins by a Maple Leaf goalie.

    The playoffs were a different story, the Leafs were heavy favorites against the Bruins. But the physicality of the Bruins along with shady defensive and shotty goaltending at times lead to the Leafs being eliminated in the first round.

    The Leafs needed to find a way to fix or add to this team. So this offseason they targeted John Tavares and they got their man. Now with a bunch of youth infused into the lineup and Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Kadri , Marleau and Taveras on the top 6, this team is to be feared.

    2019 Roster –

    As it stands now here is the season opening roster for the Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards:

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

    – William Nylander (If he signs)

    Defence:

    Travis Dermott
    Justin Holl
    Jake Gardiner
    Ron Hainsey
    Martin Marincin
    Igor Ozhiganov
    Morgan Rielly
    Nikita Zaitsev

    Goalies:

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Opening Night Line Up & Injuries –

    This is the lineup for opening night that I believed will be used

    Defensive Pairing:

    Rielly – Hainsey
    Gardiner – Zaitsev
    Dermott – Ozhiganov

    Odd men out – Marincin and Holl

    Injuries: None
    Forward Lines:

    Ennis –Matthews – Marleau
    Marner – Tavares– Hyman
    Leivo – Kadri – Brown
    Johnsson – Lindholm – Kapanen

    Extra:

    Injuries: Gauthier

    Goalies :

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    4 Keys to Winning in Montreal:

    1. Attack the Montreal defence.
      • Ouellet, Mete, Juulsen are all young guys who haven’t played a lot and Weber and Schlemko being injured means they are going to be thrust into more minutes. If the Leafs 4 lines can fore-check hard and not let the defence have any time to make decision the inexperience of this blue line may cough up some pucks.
    2. Bodies in front of Carey Price.
      • Price is an elite goaltender no matter his struggles last season, the Leafs need to make sure that there is always someone in front of the net making his life difficult. Because if Price catches fire, this could be a long long long night for the Leafs offensive players.
    3. Speed Speed Speed
      • ULeafs have tons of it through their 4 lines. They must keep the tempo high and maintain that all game. Forcing the young Canadiens team to keep up and play at that pace.
    4. Leafs defencemen need to limit the time spent in their own zone.
      • Crisp passes, smart plays off the boards. Anything that limits the time spent in their own zone. Puck Possession is a big part of getting the win.

     

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

  • TXHT – 10-02-2018

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWbMRx2lxMA&w=560&h=315]

     

    This week on TXHT Michael previews the Washington Capitals Home Opener, plus a preview of the NWHL.

     

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

  • NHL News and Notes: October 2nd, 2018

    NHL

     

    These are your news and notes for Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018…

    There was one preseason contest that happened yesterday. The New Jersey Devils faced off against SC Bern in the NHL Global Series Challenge at PostFinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland. New Jersey went on to win the contest 3-2 in overtime.

    There are no preseason contests today.

    In NHL news:

    • Final 23-man rosters must be submitted to the NHL offices by 5 p.m., ET today.
    • The Washington Capitals received their Stanley Cup championship rings in a private ceremony last night. The Washington Capitals also released the Stanley Cup with the new engravings, representing the 2017-18 Washington Capitals.For more information on the ceremony, please go here.
    • The Washington Capitals also released the schedule for their opening night ceremonies tomorrow.
    • The Washington Capitals also claimed Dmitrij Jaskin off of waivers from the St. Louis Blues today.
    • Washington also announced that Michal Kempny has been put on Injured Reserve and Travis Boyd has been put on Long-Term Injured Reserve.
    • The Seattle contingent is expected to hear back today if the NHL Board of Governors will go ahead in December for an expansion vote. Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, say that the NHL executive committee is recommending expansion in Seattle.
    • Carolina Hurricanes goalie is expected to miss a couple of weeks due to an injury. In a corresponding move, the Hurricanes have claimed Curtis McElhinney off of waivers.
    • The Professional Hockey Writers Association announced that Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan was the winner of the 2018 Red Fisher award. The Red Fisher award recognizes the top beat writer from the 2017-2018 season, as voted on by her peers.

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

  • NWHL 2018-19 Minnesota Whitecaps Preview

    MIN

     

    This Season is the First Year for the Minnesota Whitecaps in the NWHL.

     

    Key Additions: Hannah Brandt, Amanda Leveille, Sydney Rossman, and Lee Stecklein

     

    Top Questions Facing the Whitecaps:

    1. How will the Minnesota Whitecaps adapt to the NWHL?

    While the Whitecaps are an established franchise in the hockey world, however, this will be their inaugural season in the NWHL. Having some NWHL veterans like Hannah Brandt and Amanda Leveille will help the Whitecaps with their transition, but one has to wonder many of the other who have not had an opportunity to play in this league will handle the transition.

     

    2. How will the rest of the league transition to the Whitecaps?

    For the first three seasons the NWHL has always been a four team league, and now with the Whitecaps it has grown to five. We know that every team will play eachother 4 times for a total of 20 games which is an increase from 18 last season, but a reduction from 6 games played against each team. Also one has to wonder how the travel can affect the teams. Before the furthest team was the Buffalo Beauts, and now it is the Whitecaps.

     

    For more information on the NWHL go to NWHL.zone.

     

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

  • Leafs trade defenceman to Stars

    Leafs trade defenceman to Stars

    Early this afternoon the Maple Leafs faced a waivers crunch, deciding to keep goaltender Garret Sparks, Defencemen Justin Holl, and Igor Ozhiganov. While placing goaltenders Calvin Pickard, Curtis McElhinney and Defenceman Connor Carrick on waivers.

    But in a move that has been rumored since Friday, the Leafs just after placing Carrick on waivers, dealt the 24 year-old Carrick to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2019 seventh round draft pick that could become a sixth-rounder If Carrick plays in 50 games for the Stars this season.

    The 24 year old right handed defenceman from Orland Park, IL has played in a 167 games, scoring 9 goals and 21 assists. While racking up 116 penalty minutes.

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

  • Washington Capitals Go Cup Crazy

    WAS Champions

     

    Today it was unveiled that the Washington Capitals names have been placed on the Stanley Cup and the pictures couldn’t be prettier.

     

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    And for those who want to see all of the names in their magnificent glory:

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

     

    But everything got so much sweeter when the Capitals along with Jostens unveiled the Stanley Cup Rings that will be given to the players.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

     

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

     

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    Plus the comments by Majority Owner Ted Leonsis is all that needs to be said about these rings:

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

     

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

  • NHL and NWHL News and Notes: October 1, 2018

     

    Here are your news and notes covering the NHL for Monday, October 1, 2018.

     

    There were four preseason contests that happened yesterday.

      • The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks with a 5-3 win at T-Mobile Arena. Tomas Nosek would score two of the Golden Knights three shorthanded goals. Max Pacioretty would also score the other shorthanded goal. Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury registered 33 saves to give Golden Knights six wins out of seven on the preseason campaign. Erik Karlsson scored his first goal for the Sharks, which were 2-for-6 on the power-play. Sharks goalie Martin Jones recorded 27 saves in the contest.
      • The Nashville Predators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes with a 5-4 in overtime at PNC Arena. Nashville’s Ryan Johansen scored the GWG 21 seconds into the overtime frame, his second of the game. Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling recorded 20 saves before leaving the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Petr Mrazek came in for relief for Carolina and recorded 10 saves. Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros registered 14 and 16 shots respectively for Nashville.
      • The Washington Capitals defeated the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 victory at Capital One Arena. Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie scored goals 49 seconds apart early in the third period. Ovechkin scored his fourth goal of the preseason 38 seconds into the third period to give Washington a 2-1 lead and then Oshie scored at 1:27. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby recorded 21 saves. Tom Wilson was given a match penalty for his hit on Blues F Oskar Sundqvist at 5:22 in the second period. There is more to come on that later.
      • The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars in a 6-5 victory at American Airlines Center. Colorado’s Nathan Landeskog had two goals and assist in this contest. Mikko Rantanen registered one goal and two assists, Tyson Jost and Matt Calvert each had two assists, and Colorado goalie Seymon Varlamov recorded 32 saves.

     

    There is one preseason contest today…

      • New Jersey Devils vs. Bern SC in the NHL Global Series Challenge in Switzerland

     

    Here are your news and notes covering the NHL…

    • As discussed yesterday, Washington Capitals F Tom Wilson will have an in-person hearing for his hit on Oskar Sundqvist yesterday. For our coverage, please go here and here.
    • NHL rosters for opening night on Wednesday must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET tomorrow (October 2nd).
    • The Edmonton Oilers traded Jakub Jerabek to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-round draft pick in 2020

     

     

    • Scott Hartnell announced his retirement today from the NHL. Hartnell played 17 seasons and registered 707 points in 1,249 games with three teams.

     

     

    • Shea Weber was announced as the 30th captain in Montreal Canadiens team history today. Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher were also announced as the alternate captains.

     

     

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs finalized their 23-man roster (13 forwards, eight defenceman and two goalies) today.

     

     

    • 19 years ago today, the Edmonton Oilers officially retired Wayne Gretzky’s number.

     

     

    • The New York Islanders unveiled their new third jerseys today. These thirds are identical to the last few third jerseys they have had over the past few seasons.

     

    Additional looks at the Islanders third jersey

     

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Connor Carrick to the Dallas Stars for a conditional seventh-round draft pick which will turn into sixth rounder if Carrick plays at least 50 games.

     

     

    • Radim Vrbata announced his retirement today from the NHL.

     

     

    • The Montreal Canadiens acquired Brett Kulak from the Calgary Flames, who will report to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. In return, the Calgary Flames, will get Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev.

     

     

    In the NWHL, the Connecticut Whale announced that they have signed Meeri Räisänen. Räisänen, a Finnish goalie, joins Russian national team goalie Maria Sorokina to give the Whale a strong and talented goaltending tandem.

     

     

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