Category: Nashville Predators

  • Gameday Preview – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Gameday Preview – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Washington Capitals (27-13-5 59pts) v. Nashville Predators (27-16-4 58pts)

     

    Time: 8p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, Fox Sports Tennessee, and SportsNet

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals head to Nashville for the second game of their back to back as they take on the Predators. The Capitals who are struggling are looking to turn the tide and do so against the Predators. Biggest question is will the Capitals come to play, or will they go through the motions like they did last night against St. Louis?

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Travis Boyd

    Chandler Stephenson — Andre Burakovsky — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Play motivated

    The Capitals need to come out and play with some urgency because lately they look like they’ve been going through the motions, and that’s not good enough. The Capitals need to play motivated and play their game seriously and not lackadaisically.

     

    2. Stop being predictable

    The Capitals right now are very predictable with how they are playing and teams are exploiting that to their benefit. The Capitals need to mix it up, especially on the powerplay, and challenge the Predators.

     

    Nashville Predators:

    Projected Lineup:

    Filip Forsberg — Ryan Johansen — Viktor Arvidsson

    Kevin Fiala — Colton Sissons — Craig Smith

    Calle Jarnkrok — Nick Bonino — Austin Watson

    Ryan Hartman — Frederick Gaudreau — Rocco Grimaldi

    Roman Josi — Ryan Ellis

    Mattias Ekholm — P.K. Subban

    Dan Hamhuis — Matt Irwin

    Juuse Saros

    Pekka Rinne

    Scratched: Anthony Bitetto, Zac Rinaldo, Phillip Di Giuseppe

    Injured: Yannick Weber (undisclosed), Kyle Turris (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (upper body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Force the play

    The Capitals have been struggling at all aspects of the game lately and the Predators will need to exploit that to their advantage.

  • January 14th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    January 14th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, january 14th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were six games that took place yesterday.

     

    CAROLINA 6, Nashville 3

     

    Carolina Hurricanes Sebastian Aho would go on to record a hat trick in the contest and Nashville Predators Filip Forsberg would go on to have a two goal performance in the Carolina’s 6-3 win.

    Aho would be the fourth player in the franchise history of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes to begin their career with the franchise and  have three seasons with at least 20 goals.

     

    Justin Williams would also extend his goal scoring streak to five games and be the sixth player to do this at the age of 37 or older.

     

    WINNIPEG 4, Anaheim 3 (OT)

    The Winnipeg Jets would win this contest with 11 seconds left to take down the Anaheim Ducks 4-3.  Winnipeg’s Bryan Little would score his 10th goal on the season with this game winner.

    Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine would join a rare company when he scored his 25th goal on the season.

     

    He would be the seventh player in League history to have at least three 25 goal seasons before their 21st birthday.

     

    COLUMBUS 7, NY Rangers 5

     

    Before the contest between both teams, Rick Nash, who had played for both franchises in his career, participated in the ceremonial puck drop.

     

     

    Columbus would go on to win its third game in four days in this contest when they went on to defeat the New York Rangers by the score of 7-5.

     

     

    NY ISLANDERS 5, Tampa Bay 1

    The New York Islanders faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning and would win the contest 5-1.  With the Islanders win, they would snap the Lightning’s 12 game win streak against Metropolitan division opponents.

     

    NY Islanders goaltender Thomas Griess would go on to have a 26 save performance in this contest to extend the hot streak that the Islanders have been on.  The team has won eight out of their last ten contests.

    The Lightning now has a record of 35-9-2 on the season, good for 72 points.

     

    VANCOUVER 5, Florida 1

    Vancouver’s Loui Eriksson would open up the scoring in the second period for the Canucks when he scored his eighth goal in the season, giving Vancouver the 1-0 lead at the 12:32 mark.

    Late in the third period, Brock Boeser and Jay Beagle would both score empty net goals, sealing the 5-1 win for the Canucks.

    Eriksson had a four-point night to top all scorers for points in the game.

     

    CALGARY 7, Arizona 1

    The Calgary Flames would take on the Arizona Coyotes last night and the Flames would drub the Coyotes, winning the contest by the score of 7-1.

    Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano would score twice in the contest and Johnny Gaudreau would score a goal and have an assist in the contest.

    Arizona’s lone goal would come on a power play from Jordan Oesterle late in the second period.  Arizona cold never get out of the box and would fall behind early.

    With this contest, the Flames would hold onto their best record in the Western Conference and now has a record of 30-13-4 (64 pts) Arizona has a record of 20-22-3 (43 pts).

     

    https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1084696525958144000

     

    Today’s Schedule of Games…

     

     

     

    NWHL

     

    Saturday in the two NWHL contests…

     

    BOXSCORE: Buffalo Beauts 5, Metropolitan Riveters 1

     

     

    For the first time since the 2018 Isobel Cup Final last March, the Buffalo Beauts and Metropolitan Riveters faced off and the Beauts would walk away with a dominant 5-1 win over the Riveters at HarborCenter yesterday afternoon in the NWHL Twitter Game of the Week.

    Buffalo’s Hayley Scamurra would score twice and by doing so would tie teammate Maddie Elia for the lead in NWHL goals with nine on the season.

     

    BOXSCORE: Boston Pride 5, Minnesota Whitecaps 4

     

     

    In the contest between the Boston Pride and the Minnesota Whitecaps, The Pride went on to defeat the Whitecaps by the score of 5-4.

    This was a contest for the battle for first place overall in the NWHL standings and this contest was playded before a sold out crowd at the Warrior Ice Arena.

    This was the first contest since the Pride announced the new partnership with the NHL’s Boston Bruins.

    The scoring in this contest would be fast and furious as the Whitecaps would open up the scoring in the first period when Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield would score at the 3:25 mark.  Then Boston would even the score just 35 seconds later when Kaleigh Fratkin scored her second goal on the season.

    Then at the 6:24 mark, Boston’s Amanda Pelkey would score her fourth goal on the season.  Almost two minutes later, Minnesota’s Amanda Menke would even the score at 2 a piece.  After that, the Pride would score three unanswered goals to give the Pride a 5-2 lead at the end of the first period.

    The second and third periods were quiet on the scoring front for the Pride but the Whitecaps would score a goal in each period.  However, that would not be enough as the Minnesota Whitecaps would fall to the Pride in their first game on the weekend.

     

     

    Yesterday’s action in the NWHL…

     

    BOXSCORE: Minnesota Whitecaps 4, Connecticut Whale 1

     

     

    After falling to the Boston Pride 5-2 on Saturday night, the Minnesota Whitecaps would have a dominant performance against the Connecticut Whale and would defeat the Whale by the score of 4-1.

    Minnesota’s Janna Curtis would open up the scoring for the Whitecaps with her goal at the 6:58 mark in the first period, her sixth on the season.  Then about six minutes later, Hannah Brandt would score a goal on the power play to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead.

    Minnesota goaltender Amanda Leveille would once again have a contest with great saves and would register 26 saves in the contest.

    Amy Menke would have a great game, registering two assists before getting a goal of her own about halfway through the second period.

    Despite having four minutes of power play time in the third period, the Whale would not convert on the chances given and would fall to the Whitecaps.

     

    Upcoming games in the NWHL:

     

    • January 19: Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps (Twitter Game of the Week)
    • January 20: Boston Pride at Metropolitan Riveters; Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps
    • January 26: Boston Pride at Buffalo Beauts (Twitter Game of the Week)
    • February 2: Buffalo Beauts at Metropolitan Riveters (Twitter Game of the Week); Connecticut Whale at Boston Pride
  • January 8th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    January 8th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 and these are your news and notes

     

    There were five games in action last night.

     

    Nashville 4, TORONTO 0

    Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne would have an 18 save performance and Toronto’s goaltender Michael Hutchinson would have a 28 save performance on 32 attempts.

    TXHT’s Steve Gardiner has your full recap of the contest at the following link.

    Nashville Predators vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 01/07/2019 – Game Day Preview and Recap

     

    St. Louis 3, PHILADELPHIA 0

     

    St. Louis Blues goaltender in this game, Jordan Binnington, would become the 35th different goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his first career NHL start and the second to have a shutout in a debut joining Rich Parent back on January 26th, 1999.

     

    Minnesota 1, MONTREAL 0

    In a very ugly and penalty-filled game, the Minnesota Wild would go on to defeat the Montreal Canadiens by the score of 1-0.

    Minnesota’s Nick Seeler would be assessed a two-minute instigator, a five-minute major for fighting, as well as a 10-minute misconduct penalty and Montreal’s Kenny Agostino would be duelled out a five minute major for interference, a five minute major for fighting, as well as a 10-minute game misconduct penalty.

     

    This major chain of events came off of the two-minute interference penalty when Agostino was called for interference on Minnesota’s Eric Fehr.

     

    With the Wild’s win, this would be Devan Dubnyk’s second shutout on the season and the 38th for his career.

    Also with this win, this would be Minnesota’s ninth consecutive win against the Canadiens, matching franchise records for longest win streaks against an opponent.

    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1082473382162169858

     

     

    Calgary 4, CHICAGO 3

    Calgary Flames Johnny Gaudreau would have a two-goal performance, continuing his hot streak and help the Flames take down the Chicago Blackhawks by the score of 4-3.

    The Flames would also become the first team to have four players with at least 50 points in their first 45 games of a season since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins with Ron Francis, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Toms Sandstrom.

     

    Chicago’s goalscorers would be Patrick Kane with his 24th goal on the season, Alex DeBrincat with his 20th goal of the season and Brandon Saad would score on the power play late in the third period with his 12th goal of the season, however that would not be enough as the Blackhawks would fall 4-3.

     

    SAN JOSE 3, Los Angeles 1

    San Jose Sharks D Erik Karlsson would register an assist in his 13th consecutive game and would be one of only six other players to do so.  Karlsson would go on to have three assists in the contest.

    The San Jose Sharks would go on to defeat the Los Angeles Kings last night by the score of 3-1.

    In NHL News…

     

    Yesterday the NHL announced the Three Stars of the Week (week ending January 6th)

    The first star went to Calgary Flames Johnny Gaudreau, who had an 11 point week in four games played.  Included was a back-to-back four-point performance which had not happened for a Flames player since Doug Gilmour back in November of 1988.

    The second star of the week went to San Jose Sharks Brent Burns.  Burns had a nine-point week across three multi-point outings over the weeks and leads the NHL among all defenceman for points with 47 points in 43 games played.

     

    The third star of the week would go to New York Islanders goaltender Robin Lehner.  Lehner would go 3-0-0 during the week and has a record of 7-0-0 since December 18th.  Lehner would become the fourth different Islanders goaltender to have a personal win streak of at least seven games and is the first the 2014-15 season when Jaroslav Halak had a similar mark.

     

     

    NWHL

     

    This week the NWHL announced co-players of the week.  Buffalo Beauts goaltender Shannon Szabados and Metropolitan Riveters Madison Packer were named the VEDA Co-Players of the Week.

    Szabados had a 30 save performance in the Beauts 5-0 shutout win over the Boston Pride on Saturday.  That contest was scoreless for the first 25 minutes until Buffalo opened up the scoring.  Szabados would also go on to have miraculous saves in the contest.

    Packer, in Sunday’s contest against the Connecticut Whale, had one goal and three assists to close out the regular-season series between the Riveters and Whale.  The Riveters had a six-goal outburst in the contest to give Metropolitan a 6-3 win.  Packer, a four-year veteran of the NWHL, led the league in goals last season and she will be playing in the NWHL All-Star Game next month in Nashville.

     

  • Nashville Predators vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 01/07/2019 – Game Day Preview and Recap

    Nashville Predators vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 01/07/2019 – Game Day Preview and Recap

    Time: Monday, January 7th , 2019

    Toronto: 27-12-2 for 56 points

    Nashville: 25-15-3 for 53 points

    After getting their first win of 2019 the Leafs invite Nashville into Toronto. The Leafs look to keep the offence clicking, but will have it tested against one of the best defensive teams in the League. Nashville gets their top player back in Filip Forsberg tonight.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner – 55 points (15 goals 40 assists)

    John Tavares – 47 points (27 goals 20 assists) 54% on face-offs

    Morgan Rielly – 45 points (13 goals 32 assists)

    Auston Matthews – 39 points (20 goals 19 assists) 51% on Face-off

     

    Ryan Johansen–36 points (8 goals 28 assists)

    Roman Josi – 30 points (7 goals 23 assists)

    Mattias Ekholm – 28 points (4 goals 24 assist)

    Craig Smith – 24 points (14 goal 10 assists)

     

    Michael Hutchinson

    1-1-0 2.05GAA .923SV%

    Pekka Rinne

    15-10-2 2.31GAA .919SV%

     

    Probable Lineups:

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – William Nylander

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Patrick Marleau

    Kasperi Kapanen – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown

    Trevor Moore – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Michael Hutchinson

    Kasimir Kaskisuo

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back), Zach Hyman (Ankle), Frederik Andersen (Groin), Garrett Sparks (Concussion), Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Nashville:

    Calle Jarnkrok – Ryan Johansen– Viktor Arvidsson

    Kevin Fiala – Colton Sissons – Craig Smith

    Ryan Hartman– Nick Bonino– Auston Watson

    Filip Forsberg – Gaudreau –Rocco Grimaldi

     

    Roman Josi –Ryan Ellis

    Mattias Ekholm – PK Subban

    Dan Hamuis – Matt Irwin

     

    Pekka Rinne

    Juuse Saros
    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Miika Salomaki, Kyle Turris, & Yannick Weber

    Suspension: None

     

    Keys to Winning against Nashville:

    1. Traffic in front of Rinne
      1. Leafs need to get bodies in front of Rinne. Rinne won’t let easy stuff through.
    2. Speed
      1. Speed have to use it force the defence back. Force Rinne to win the game.
    3. Travis Dermott
      1. He will be the key as I expect Rielly not to be open much this game unless on the powerplay

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Nashville Penalty – 19:42 – Ryan Johansen, 2 mins for Tripping

    End of 1st – NSH – 0        TOR –0

    Shots              9                     7

    Faceoffs     12/15              3/15

    Hits               13                     9

    PP                 0/0                   0/1

     

    Analysis:

    Momentum seemed to flow back and forth. First 8 minutes was all Toronto, 2nd 8 minutes all Nashville and the last 4 all Toronto again. Toronto hit 2 posts one by Matthews and one by Kapanen. Leafs start the 2nd on the powerplay and look for them to continue the offensive possession in the 2nd period.

     

    Need to Do:

    Play a full period strong. Speed, Shots and defensively.

    Second Period:

    Leafs Penalty – 3:11 – Nikita Zaitsev, 2 mins for Interference

    Nashville PPG Goal– 4:08 – Mattias Eklholm (5), assisted by Craig Smith (11) and Kevin Fiala (17)

    Nashville Penalty – 8:12 – Matt Irwin, 2 mins for Holding

    Nashville Goal– 13:11– PK Subban (4), assisted by Matt Irwin(4) and Nick Bonino (10)

    End of 2nd – NSH– 2          TOR – 0

    Shots              24                   16

    Faceoffs      21/37             16/37

    Hits               25                       16

    PP                 1/2                   0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs failed to capitalize on their chances and paid the price at the other end. On top of a goal called back against Matthews

    Need to Do:

    Need a big period

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty –4:33 – Par Lindholm, 2 mins for Interference

    Nashville Penalty –6:58 – Roman Josi, 2 mins for Hooking

    Nashville Goal – 17:23 – Colton Sissons (8) from Calle Jarnkrok (8)

    Nashville Goal – 19:22 – Kevin Fiala (8) from Colton Sissons (10) and Mattias Ekholm (25)

     

    End of 3rd – NSH – 4        TOR – 0

    Shots              31                   18

    Faceoffs     25/45               20/45

    Hits               31                       18

    PP                 1/2                  0/3

    Analysis:

    Bad defensive game for Toronto , along with some bad luck.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (27-12-2 56pts) at New Jersey (16-18-7 39pts)

    Nashville (25-15-3 53pts) at Chicago (16-21-7 39pts)

     

  • January 6th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    January 6th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, January 6th, 2019, and these are your news and notes…

     

    There were nine contests yesterday

     

     

    Calgary 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 (OT)

    The Calgary Flames would come from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon with the 3-2 overtime win.  TJ Brodie would score the game winner for the Flames at the 1:59 mark in the extra frame.  Matthew Tkachuk would even the score at the 15:43 mark.  Tkachuk would also assist on Brodie’s overtime game-winner.

     

    https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1081669589589610497

     

    Minnesota 4, OTTAWA 3

    Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon would end up having a two goal performance and would help the Wild defeat the Ottawa Senators with the 4-3 win yesterday afternoon.

    The scoring would not start until 54 seconds left in the first period when Ottawa’s Matt Duchene would score his 17th goal on the season.

     

     

    BOSTON 2, Buffalo 1

    Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask would have a 31 save performance while David Backes and Chris Wagner would both score as the Bruins would go on to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1.  This would be Boston’s fourth consecutive victory.

     

     

     

    Buffalo’s lone goal scorer would be Rasmus Ristolainen at the 17:22 mark in the third period.  Buffalo goaltender Linus Ullmark would have 39 saves on 41 attempts in this contest.

     

     

     

    TORONTO 5, Vancouver 0

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would have a very strong performance in this contest as the Maple Leafs would defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-0.  There would be five different goal scorers for the Maple Leafs in the contest.

    John Tavares would open up the scoring in the first period with his 27th goal of the season.

    Auston Matthews would score his 20th goal on the season in the third period and with that goal, he would be the first player in Maple Leafs history since the 1993-94 season to have 20 goals in fewer than 27 personal games played on the season.

    Maple Leafs goaltender Michael Hutchinson would have a 28 save performance in this contest.

    TXHT’s Steve Gardiner has your coverage of this contest between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks at the following link.

    01/5/2019 – Vancouver Canucks vs Toronto Maple Leafs -Game Recap

     

     

    Nashville 4, MONTREAL 1

    Montreal Canadiens Shea Weber would score his second career goal against the Nashville Predators but it would not be enough for Montreal as they would fall to the Predators by the score of 4-1.

    Nashville’s Craig Smith would play a big factor as he would score twice in this contest.

     

    With this win, Nashville would extend their point streak to four consecutive games.

     

    Columbus 4, FLORIDA 3 (OT)

    For the Florida Panthers, Keith Yandle would get his 500th NHL career point.  However, the Florida Panthers would fall to the Columbus Blue Jackets by the score of 4-3 in overtime.

    Also, Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar would play in his 100th NHL contest last night.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would net their seventh consecutive win over the Florida Panthers in this contest and Seth Jones would net the game-winner 18 seconds into the the overtime frame.

    NY Islanders 4, ST. LOUIS 3

    The New York Islanders would score twice in 11 seconds to seal the come from behind win and the Islanders would go on to defeat the St. Louis Blues to notch their  sixth consecutive win.

     

    All across the scoresheet, there would be seven different goal scorers (four for the Islanders, three for the Blues) in a statistical filled game.

     

    LOS ANGELES 4, Edmonton 0

    Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick would notch his 300th career NHL win, good fior fifth place all time for most wins by a U.S.-born goaltender.

     

     

     

    SAN JOSE 5, Tampa Bay 2

    The San Jose Sharks would snap the seven game win streak and the 16 game point streak for the Tampa Bay Lightning with their 5-2 win last night in San Jose.  Evander Kane would factor in this contest, scoring two goals for the Sharks.

     

     

     

    There are seven contests in action today

     

    For the Washington Capitals at Detroit Red Wings Gameday Preview, you can check out TXHT’s preview of that contest at the following link.

     

     

    NWHL

     

    Yesterday’s NWHL game featured the Boston Pride taking on the Buffalo Beauts in the NWHL Twitter Game of the Week

     

    In a contest with meaningful standings points, the Buffalo Beauts would take down the NWHL-leading Boston Pride with a 5-0 win yesterday afternoon.

    Buffalo’s Dani Camersani would score twice in the contest and Kelly Babstock would net her first goal as a member of the Beauts to have a two-point performance in the contest.

    Maddie Elia would go on to have two assists in the contest herself.  Buffalo Beauts goaltender Shannon Szabados would have a 30 save performance in the contest and Boston’s goaltender Katie Burt would have a 35 save performance of her own.  Brittany Ott would allow the Beauts fifth goal in the contest.

    Both Szabados and Burt would have miraculous saves throughout this contest as well. however it would not be enough on Boston’s side.

    In the second period, the Beauts would have to kill off a major penalty when Emily Pfalzer was issued a five minute major penalty as well as a 10 minute game misconduct for a checking from behind penalty at the 3:26 mark.

    Toward the end of the second period, Boston’s Kaleigh Fratkin would be assessed a tripping minor at the 19:15 mark.

    Buffalo Beauts 5, Boston Pride 0

     

     

    Today in the NWHL…

     

    Upcoming games in the NWHL include:

    • January 6: Connecticut Whale at Metropolitan Riveters
    • January 12: Metropolitan Riveters at Buffalo Beauts; Minnesota Whitecaps at Boston Pride
    • January 13: Minnesota Whitecaps at Connecticut Whale
    • January 19: Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps
    • January 20: Boston Pride at Metropolitan Riveters; Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps

     

     

     

    TXHT would like to congratulate Team Finland on their Gold Medal victory over the United States in the championship game of the 2019 World Junior Championships last night.  Finland would go on to win the game 3-2.

     

  • January 5th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    January 5th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, January 5th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

    There were seven games on tap yesterday.

     

    PITTSBURGH 4, Winnipeg 0

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would go on to shutout the Winnipeg Jets and with the win, they would extend a personal win streak at home to 18 contests against the Jets/Thrashers franchise and this streak dates back to March 24, 2007.

    This win streak the second longest since the Anaheim Ducks would have a 25 game win streak at home against the Calgary Flames from April 4, 2007 through April 4, 2017.

    Four different Penguins would all score the goals and Penguins goaltender Matt Murray would turn aside all 33 shots he faced in the contest.

     

     

     

     

    DETROIT 4, Nashville 3 (OT)

    The Detroit Red Wings would take on the Nashville Predators and come away with the 4-3 win in overtime in downtown Detroit at Little Caesars Arena.

    Dylan Larkin would score the game-winner in the overtime frame for the Red Wings.

     

     

     

    CAROLINA 4, Columbus 2

    Carolina’s phenom Sebastian Aho would net an empty net goal with two seconds left in the contest as well as assisting on Micheal Ferland’s goal in the first period.

    Aho would play in his 200th NHL game since being drafted with the 35th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

    Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovksy would have 13 saves on 16 shot attempts before being pulled in the second period for Joonas Korpisalo who turned aside all of the 14 shots he faced.

     

    DALLAS 2, Washington 1 (OT)

    The Washington Capitals losing streak would reach three ass they would fall to the Dallas Stars in overtime, losing 2-1.

    Stars Tyler Seguin scored in the overtime frame to extend Dallas’ winning streak at home against the Capitals to 17 games.  This win streak dates back to October 8, 1996.

     

    Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin would have a great performance, recording 36 saves.

     

     

    TXHT has your coverage of the contest between the Washington Capitals and the Dallas Stars at the following link.

    Game Recap – 1/4/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Dallas Stars

     

    COLORADO 6, NY Rangers 1

    The Colorado Avalanche would face off against the NY Rangers last night and would defeat the Rangers by the score of 6-1.

     

    Colorado’s Ryan Graves would score his first NHL goal in this contest in the third period.

    Colorado’s trio of Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen would all score a goal in the contest for the fifth time and whenever this trio has scored in the same game, they are 5-0-0.

    At the same time, whenever this trio at least collects one point in a game, they have a record of 18-3-5 on the season.

     

    New York Rangers Alexander Georgiev had 41 saves on 47 shot attempts in this contest.

     

    New Jersey 3, ARIZONA 2 (SO)

     

    New Jersey’s Drew Stafford netted the winner in the shootout to give the Devils the 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

     

     

     

    Vegas 3, ANAHEIM 2

    The Vegas Golden Knights would extend their point streak to eight games on the season as well as extending their win streak to five games.

    Vegas’ goalscorers included Max Pacioretty, Nate Schmidt and Tomas Nosek.

     

    Today in NHL news…

     

    This week there will be two NHL European Games of the Week.

     

    For today’s news, notes, information, and other stats…

     

    Finally in NHL news, the coaches for the 2019 NHL All-Star Game were announced.

    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1081607129126064128

     

    Today in the NHL, there are nine games in action.

     

    In the NWHL, there are key points on the line when the Buffalo Beauts take on the Boston Pride in this week’s NWHL Twitter Game of the Week at 1:30 p.m., ET.

     

    The medal games of the 2019 World Junior Championships take place later this afternoon.

     

    Finally, TXHT has a brand new episode of The Xperience: Hockey Talk, which you can check out at the following link.

    TXHT – 1/5/2019 – We’re BACK!!!

  • Game Recap – 12/31/2018 – Nashville Predators v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 12/31/2018 – Nashville Predators v. Washington Capitals

    Nashville Predators (22-15-2 46pts) v. Washington Capitals (24-10-3 51pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals end 2018 with a thud as the Nashville Predators come to town and end their losing skid at 6 games. The Capitals took a 3-1 lead midway through the 2nd period, but then the Predators would score 5 unanswered goals to secure the victory.

     

    Lineups:

    Nashville Predators:

    Ryan Hartman — Ryan Johansen — Viktor Arvidsson

    Kevin Fiala — Calle Jarnkrok — Craig Smith

    Miikka Salomaki — Nick Bonino — Austin Watson

    Zac Rinaldo — Frederick Gaudreau — Rocco Grimaldi

    Mattias Ekholm — P.K. Subban

    Roman Josi — Ryan Ellis

    Dan Hamhuis — Anthony Bitetto

    Pekka Rinne

    Juuse Saros

    Scratched: Matt Irwin

    Injured: Kyle Turris (lower body), Filip Forsberg (upper body), Colton Sissons (lower body), Yannick Weber (undisclosed)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Dmitry Orlov

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Nic Dowd

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Matt Niskanen (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 4:33 – Michal Kempny (4) from Nicklas Backstrom (34)

    Capitals Penalty – 5:35 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals Goal – 8:45 – Jakub Vrana (12) from John Carlson (32) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (27)

    Predators Goal – 9:08 – Rocco Grimaldi (2) from Zac Rinaldo (1) and Mattias Ekholm (21)

     

    End of 1st – NAS – 1       WAS – 2

    Shots              11                09

    Faceoffs         13                12

    Hits               08                  06

    PP                 0/1                 0/0

     

    Analysis:

    This was a good period for the Capitals that saw them strike first. Also after a very strong penalty kill they would strike again to give themselves the 2-0 lead. However, 23 seconds later the Predators would score to cut the Capitals lead by one. This period had really good pace to it, and some really good opportunities for the Capitals.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to continue putting the pressure on the Predators in their zone, and see if they can force the Predators to take some penalties so the Capitals can get their powerplay unit out on the ice.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 8:22 – Chandler Stephenson (5) from Devante Smith-Pelly (4) and Braden Holtby (2)

    Predators Goal – 9:57 – Miikka Salomaki (3) from Nick Bonino (9) and Mattia Ekholm (22)

    Predators Goal – 11:59 – Ryan Johansen (7) from Roman Josi (22)

    Predators Goal – 14:30 – Frederick Gaudreau (3) from Rocco Grimaldi (2) and Craig Smith (10)

     

    End of 2nd – NAS – 4        WAS – 3

    Shots               26                 19

    Faceoffs          26                 18

    Hits                 13                  17

    PP                   0/1                  0/0

     

    Analysis:

    This period started good for the Capitals by getting the first goal of the period and their 2 goal lead back, but then the Predators would storm back with three unanswered goals to erase the Capitals lead and take one of their own. Another thing that hurt the Capitals this period is the fact that the Predators are dominating in the faceoff circle and also making very difficult for the Capitals to get in the offensive zone with 1-4 defensive system at the neutral zone.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to do a much better job of forcing the play. After their 3rd goal the Predators just took over and imposed their will onto the Capitals. Also the Capitals need to do a much better job in the faceoff circle, plus the Capitals need to get to the front of the net and create some traffic in front of Pekka Rinne. Also the Capitals need to force the Predators to take a penalty or two to try to stymie the Predators momentum and swing it back their way.

     

    Third Period:

    Predators Penalty – 4:57 – Mattias Ekholm 2 minutes Cross Checking

    Predators Goal – 10:35 – Ryan Ellis (4) from Ryan Johansen (26) and Viktor Arvidsson (6)

    Capitals Penalty – 16:29 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals Penalty – 16:29 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Roughing

    Predators PPG – 18:00 – Viktor Arvidsson (9) from Ryan Johansen (27) and Kevin Fiala (14)

     

    End of 3rd – NAS – 4         WAS – 3

    Shots              34                   25

    Faceoffs        34                    24

    Hits               14                     29

    PP                 1/3                    0/1

     

    Analysis:

    A very rough period for the Capitals. The Predators shut things down and made it very difficult for the Capitals to play in the neutral and offensive zones. The Predators also exposed the Capitals defensively and exploited them to score two more goals for the win.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (24-11-3 51pts) @ St. Louis (15-17-4 34pts)

    Nashville (23-15-2 48pts) v. Philadelphia (15-17-5 35pts)

  • December 31st, 2018  —  News and Notes

    December 31st, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is December 31st, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There was one contest yesterday in the NHL.

     

    Vegas 5, ARIZONA 1

     

    Arizona Coyotes Oliver Ekman-Larsson would collect his 312th career point to surpass Keith Yandle for the most points in Coyotes history as a defenceman since the club relocated to Arizona in 1996-97.

    However , he still trails Fredrik Olausson and Dave Babych in the long history of the Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes history for most points as a defenceman.

     

     

     

    Marc-Andre Fleury would move to 6-0-3 in his last nine contests with the win over the Coyotes.

     

     

    With the Vegas’ win, they are the first team in League history to have at least 50 points in the standings in their first two seasons before January 1.  The Golden Knights are also now tied for first place in the Western Conference standings.

     

     

    There is a 13 game slate today and that kicks off with the Washington Capitals taking on the Nashville Predators at 12:30 p.m., ET.  You can read TXHT’s preview of that contest at the following page.

    Gameday Preview – 12/31/2018 – Nashville Predators v. Washington Capitals

     

     

    Yesterday there were two contests in the NWHL.

     

     

    For the fourth and final time on the NWHL season, the Buffalo Beauts would go on to shutout the Minnesota Whitecaps by the score of 4-0.

    Buffalo’s Maddie Elia would have a hand on all four of the goals scored by the Beauts in this contest with two goals and two assists.

    With three minutes left in the first period, the Beauts would open up the scoring when Elia would re-direct a pass from Emily Pflazer from the top of the face-off circle to get the puck past the Whitecaps goaltender, Amanda Leveille.

    In the second period at the 3:15 mark, Pflazer would score off of asssits from Elia and Dani Cameranesi and then Hayley Scammura would make the score 3-0 with her goal at the 11:47 mark.

    Elia would score the final goal of the contest at the 12:35 mark in the third period.

    Buffalo’s win would prevent the Minnesota Whitecaps from sweeping the season series.

    The contest would not be without a penalty filled game, however.

     

    Buffalo Beauts vs. Minnesota Whitecaps Box Score

     

    The Boston Pride would go on to defeat the Connecticut Whale 2-1 thanks to Haley Skarupa scoring the game winner 37 seconds into the overtime frame yesterday afternoon.

    The Pride would open up the scoring when Toni Ann Miano netted her second goal of the season in the first period.  The contest would stay at 1-0 until Michelle Lowenheim scored the first NWHL goal of her career with less than five minutes left in the second period.

     

     

    Upcoming contests in the NWHL:

    • January 5th, 2019: Boston Pride at Buffalo Beauts (NWHL Twitter Game of the Week)
    • January 6th, 2019: Metropolitan Riveters at Connecticut Whale
    • January 12th, 2019: Metropolitan Riveters at Buffalo Beauts (NWHL Twitter Game of the Week)
    • January 12th, 2019: Minnesota Whitecaps at Boston Pride
    • January 13th, 2019: Minnesota Whitecaps at Connecticut Whale

     

    Day 5 of the the 2019 World Juniors had two contests…

     

     

    Today for Day 6 of the 2019 World Junior Championships, there are four games on tap.

  • Gameday Preview – 12/31/2018 – Nashville Predators v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 12/31/2018 – Nashville Predators v. Washington Capitals

    Nashville Predators (22-15-2 46pts) v. Washington Capitals (24-10-3 51pts)

     

    Time: 1230p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, Fox Sports Tennessee, Sportsnet, NHL Network

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals will look for their fifth consecutive victory as they host the Nashville Predators for a New Year’s Eve matinee. The Predators come to DC with the hopes of ending their six game losing streak, and regain some ground in the Western Conference.

     

    Nashville Predators:

    Projected Lineup:

    Ryan Hartman — Ryan Johansen — Viktor Arvidsson

    Kevin Fiala — Calle Jarnkrok — Craig Smith

    Miikka Salomaki — Nick Bonino — Austin Watson

    Zac Rinaldo — Frederick Gaudreau — Rocco Grimaldi

    Mattias Ekholm — P.K. Subban

    Roman Josi — Ryan Ellis

    Dan Hamhuis — Anthony Bitetto

    Pekka Rinne

    Juuse Saros

    Scratched: Matt Irwin

    Injured: Kyle Turris (lower body), Filip Forsberg (upper body), Colton Sissons (lower body), Yannick Weber (undisclosed)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get their game back on track

    The Predators are looking to end their losing streak and in order to do that they will need to get their game back on track. They need to play a solid team game and try to work themselves out of this  rut they are in.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Madison Bowey

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Tyler Lewington

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee), Matt Niskanen (upper body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Start strong, finish strong

    Against the Ottawa Senators the Capitals started strong, but in the second period they let off the gas after their third goal and let the Senators back into the game. The Capitals are facing a very hungry Predators team who wants to end their losing streak, and they need to play a full 60 minutes to look to keep their winning streak alive.

  • December 30th, 2018  —  News and Notes

    December 30th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, December 30th, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 15 contests in the NHL yesterday.

     

    NEW JERSEY 2, Carolina 0

    In the NHL European Game of the Week yesterday, the New Jersey Devils would go on to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes by the score of 2-0.  Mackenzie Blackwood became the third youngest goaltender in the history of the Devils franchise to record his first NHL shutout.

     

    VEGAS 4, Los Angeles 1

     

     

    San Jose 7, EDMONTON 4

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Minnesota 3, WINNIPEG 1

     

    Boston 3, BUFFALO 2 (OT)

     

     

    NY Islanders 4, TORONTO 0

    In the 4-0 win by the Islanders over the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York’s Mathew Barzal registered a hat trick in the contest.

     

     

     

    Washington 3, OTTAWA 2

     

    In a night of firsts for two Washington Capitals players, the Capitals would go on to defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2.  Washington’s Tyler Lewington and Madison Bowey would go on to score their first career NHL goals in the contest.  Lewington would also go on to register a “Gordie Howe hat trick” in the contest as well.

     

     

    You can see the complete recap of the contest between the Capitals and the Senators at the following page.

    Game Recap — 12/29/2018 — Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators

     

     

    TAMPA BAY 6, Montreal 5

     

    FLORIDA 2, Philadelphia 1

     

     

    Pittsburgh 6, ST. LOUIS 1

     

     

     

    NY Rangers 4, NASHVILLE 3

     

     

    DALLAS 5, Detroit 1

     

     

    Chicago 3, COLORADO 2

     

     

     

    Arizona 5, ANAHEIM 4

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1079251791877820418

     

    Vancouver 3, CALGARY 2

     

     

     

     

    NWHL

    In the lone NWHL contest of the day, the Buffalo Beauts took on the Minnesota Whitecaps.

    The Minnesota Whitecaps would get back in the win column when the Whitecaps would go on to defeat the Buffalo Beauts at KeyBank Center yesterday afternoon in downtown Buffalo.

    Minnesota’s Lee Stecklein would be the difference maker when she scored the game winner with 1:17 left in the game to seal the win for the Whitecaps.

    Kendall Coyne Schoefield would be responsible for the Whitecaps tying the score at 1 in the second period thanks to a power-play for the Whitecaps.

    With Minnesota’s win, they move to a record of 7-2 and Buffalo falls to a record of 4-4 on the season.

    Minnesota Whitecaps 2, BUFFALO BEAUTS 1

     

    The Whitecaps and Beauts face off again today at 1:30 p.m., ET.

    Also today, the Boston Pride visit the Connecticut Whale at 3 p.m., ET.

    Both games can be seen at NHWL.zone.

     

     

     

    In Day 4 of the 2019 World Junior Championships,

     

     

    Day 5 of competition has two games and that is Switzerland taking on Russia at 5 p.m., PST. and then Kazakhstan taking on Slovakia at 7:30 p.m., ET.

     

    Today there is only one NHL contest and that is the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the Arizona Coyotes.