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Category: St. Louis Blues

  • NHL and NWHL News and Notes: September 29th, 2018

     

    These are your news and notes covering the NHL and the NWHL for Saturday, September 29th, 2018…

     

    In NHL preseason action last night there were seven contests that took place. Here are brief recaps on select games:

    • The Columbus Blue Jackets took on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena and would win this contest 7-6. Blue Jackets Artemi Panarin (two goals and two assists), Cam Atkinson (one goal and three assists), and Zach Werenski (four assists) were the noteworthy players with points in the contest. Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 23 saves.
    • The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury recorded 26 saves in the contest. Ryan Reaves and Brayden McNabb registered the two goals for the Golden Knights. The Kings were 0-for-5 on the power-play and the Golden Knights were 0-for-2
    • The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings with a 6-2 win at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto’s Jake Gardiner would score the first of three straight power-play goals for the Maple Leafs to give Toronto a 2-1 lead at 12:47 of the second period. John Tavares would score his fifth goal of the pre-season with a PPG at 14:58 and Patrick Marleau would score the third straight power-play goal at 15:25. Frederik Anderson would register 23 saves for Toronto.
    • The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals in a 5-4 overtime at Capital One Arena. Carolina’s Sebastian AHo would score the game winner 19 seconds into the overtime frame with his second goal of the contest. Hurricanes LW Teuvo Teravainen registered four points (one goal and three assists), which is 5-0-0 during the preseason thus far. Alex Ovechkin (two goals), Evgeny Kuznetsov (two assists), John Carlson (one assist), Aaron Ness (one assist), Tom Wilson (one assist), Lars Eller (one assist), Andre Burakovsky (one goal), and Jayson Megna (one goal) all registered points for the Capitals in the contest.
    • Rasmus Dahlin scored his first goal of the preseason to lift the Buffalo Sabres over the New York Islanders, 5-4, in a contest at General Motors Place in a contest that took place Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Dahlin, the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, gave the the Sabres the 3-1 with that goal at 3:42 in the second period.
    • The St. Louis Blues defeated the Dallas Stars with a 3-1 win at Enterprise Center. Blues Jaden Schwartz registered one goal and two assists in the contest. Ryan O’Reilly would score 31 seconds into the second period and Schwartz scored 1:30 into the third period. Blues Vladimir Tarasenko would score the third goal, an empty-netter, at 19:53 in the third period. St. Louis was 0-for-5 on power-plays and Dallas was 0-for-3.
    • The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild with a 4-3 overtime victory at Pepsi Center. Avalanche Mikko Rantanen scored a PPG 1:29 into the extra frame, which was upheld after a video review.

     

    In preseason action tonight:

    • Columbus at Chicago
    • Anaheim at Los Angeles
    • Calgary at Edmonton
    • Philadelphia at Boston
    • Toronto at Detroit
    • Tampa Bay at Florida
    • Montreal at Ottawa
    • Arizona at Vancouver

     

    In NHL news…

    The Montreal Canadiens confirmed that 18-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi will begin the season with the team.

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    In NWHL news, there was a contest for the Champions Cup earlier today. This contest pitted the NWHL’s Isobel Cup champion, Metropolitan Riveters and the SDHL’s LuleĂ„ Hockey. The Champions Cup weighs 25 pounds and is gold and silver to represent the founding leagues of the NWHL and SDHL. The cup is engraved with “Champions Cup” in eight different languages.

    In this contest, LuleÄ Hockey defeated the Metropolitan Riveters at Hobey Baker Rink by the score of 4-2. Noora Tulus scored late which ended up being the difference maker in the game.

    LuleĂ„’s Michelle Karvinen scored the first goal of the contest just 27 seconds into what was a penalty-filled second period. This lead for LuleĂ„ would be erased at the 14:16 mark of the second period with a goal by Riveters forward Kelly Nash, who is also the assistant coach at Princeton. This goal was the product of a deflected shot off of Alexa Gruschow.

    There were eight penalties that occurred during the second period but the penalty issues would continue for LuleÄ going into the third. With two players in the penalty box, Karvinen finished on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush by putting the puck behind the 2018 Isobel Cup MVP Katie Fitzgerald to regain a one-goal lead. 51 seconds later, the Riveters would tie the game again at 2 with a goal from Riveters newcomer Kristin Lewicki.

    Noora Tulus would score at 12:05 in the second to give LuleÄ the lead for good at 3-2. Emma Nordin would score an empty-net goal with seconds left in the game to seal the 4-2 win for LuleÄ.

    Michelle Karvinen was later named the MVP of the Champions Cup. For the Riveters, this marked Shelley Picard’s first as the captain. Kristin Lewicki, Alexa Aramburu, Lexi Slattery, Audra Richards, Chelsea Ziadie, and Fiona McKenna also all donned the Riveters red for the first time.

    The Riveters have only one week to begin the defense of their Isobel Cup championship following this contest. The Riveters open the season with games against the NWHL’s newest franchise, the Minnesota Whitecaps, October 6 and 7 at TRIA Rink.

     

    In other news, CSA Shows made an announcement yesterday about the Washington Capitals with one of their upcoming events.

     

     

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

  • NHL News and Notes: September 27th, 2018

    NHL

     

    Here are your news and notes covering the NHL for September 27th, 2018…

     

    In preseason action last night, seven contests took place:

    • Montreal Canadiens F Jesperi Kotkaniemi has one assist and two shot on goal in just under 14 minutes of ice time. The Canadiens would lose 5-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bell Centre Wednesday night. This could have been just enough for Kotkaniemi, the third overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, to make the roster. Kotkaniemi, 18, has three points (one goal and two assists), a plus-5 rating and four shots on goal in five preseason contests.
    • The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 in overtime at TD Garden. Filip Zadina scored on a one-timer just 24 seconds in the overtime frame, his second goal in five preseason contests. Zadina is also attempting to become the first Red Wing player to play as an 18-year-old since Martin Lapointe in the 1991-92 season. Zadina, who is a native of the Czech Republic, was on loan to QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads last season and as such is eligible for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League.
    • The injury to Anaheim Ducks Corey Perry could be an opportunity for Max Comtois to make the Ducks roster. Comtois, the second round pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, scored two goals in Anaheim’s 7-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Honda Center. Comtois’ second goal was set up by Isac Lundestrom, the 23rd pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Lundestrom is also looking to make the Ducks roster with Ryan Kesler unliekly to begin the season as he recovers from offseason hip surgery.
    • Ryan Suter looks to be in season form after the Minnesota Wild’s 4-3 victory of the Winnipeg Hets at Xcel Energy Center. Suter registered 21:22 of on-ice time and had two shots on goal in his first action since he broke his right ankle on March 31.

     

    In preseason action last night:

    • Detroit 3, Boston 2
    • New York Islanders 4, New York Rangers 3 (OT)
    • Pittsburgh 5, Buffalo 1
    • Toronto 5, Montreal 3
    • Minnesota 4, Winnipeg 3
    • Dallas 3, Colorado 1
    • Anaheim 7, Los Angeles 4

     

    Tonight’s preseason schedule:

    • New York Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers
    • Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Amway Arena (Orlando, Florida)
    • New Jersey Devils at Winnipeg Jets
    • Ottawa Senators at Chicago Blackhawks
    • Arizona Coyotes at Edmonton Oilers
    • Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks

     

    St. Louis Blues Robert Bortuzzo has a hearing today for elbowing Washington Capitals D Michal Kempny in Washington’s 4-0 win Tuesday night.

    After a hearing with the DoPS, Robert Bortuzzo has been suspended for the remainder of the preseason and one regular season game for elbowing Washington Capitals D Michal Kempny

     

    There is a report of Philadelphia Flyers F Jori LehterÀ being a suspect in a Finnish cocaine ring.

     

    TXHT’s and Last Word on Hockey contributor Armand Klisivitch wrote an article about Jesperi Kotkaniemi expecting to start the season with the Montreal Canadiens.

     

    The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan wrote an article today about Jakub Vrana and his plans to keep his top-six spot but also how the Capitals have a void in high-end prospects that are after him. Washington GM Brian MacLellan also mentions that if given a chance, the team would want to trade prospects for more forward prospects.

     

    Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet released his new “31 Thoughts” podcast this afternoon.

     

    For TXHT’s coverage of the Carolina Hurricanes news on the Hartford Whalers throwbacks, please check out the following link here.

     

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

  • NHL and NWHL News and Notes: September 20th, 2018

     

    These are your NHL and NWHL news and notes for September 20th, 2018.

    In NHL preseason action last night, there were eight games scheduled.

    • The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-1 at PNC Arena. Hurricanes forward Martin Necas, the No. 12 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, scored a goal in the contest.
    • The youth movement in Detroit has begun and the focus of a Detroit Red Wings rebuild is centered around Red Wings forward, Dylan Larkin.  Two recent Detroit draft picks teamed with Larkin for the overtime victory, winning 3-2, against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena.  This was Detroit’s preseason opener.
    • The St. Louis Blues defeated the Minnesota Wild in a contest that took place in Des Moines, Iowa.  Des Moines is the location for the Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Iowa Wild.  St. Louis went on to win the game 3-2 after scoring two goals in 27 seconds in the final five minutes of the contest.

    In other NHL pre-season action:

    • Boston 3, Calgary 1 (split-squad)  (game at Beijing, China’s Cadillac Arena)
    • Carolina 6, Tampa Bay 1
    • Philadelphia 6, New York Rangers 4
    • Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 2 (OT)
    • Florida 5, Montreal 2
    • Toronto 4, Ottawa 1
    • St. Louis 3, Minnesota 2 (at Des Moines, Iowa)
    • Calgary (split-squad) 4, Vancouver 1

    Tonight’s pre-season action has:

    • Washington playing Montreal in Quebec City, Quebec
    • New Jersey at the New York Islanders
    • Chicago at Detroit
    • Dallas at Minnesota
    • Winnipeg at Edmonton
    • San Jose at Anaheim
    • Los Angeles (in a split-squad) at Vancouver
    • Vegas at Los Angeles (in a split-squad)

    In NHL and NWHL news…

    • Montreal’s Maxi Domi had a hearing scheduled for 12:30pm ET for a roughing and punch to an unsuspecting opponent last night against Florida’s Aaron Ekblad
    • At 3:40pm EST, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Max Domi has been suspended for the remainder of the pre-season.

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    Courtesy of TXHT’s Montreal Canadiens writer, Armand Klisivitch wrote this article detailing the Max Domi Suspension for Last Word on Hockey:

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    • Former New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec announced his retirement today.
    • In NWHL News, the Metropolitan Riveters announced from NHL player, Randy Velischek, as the new Head Coach.
    • Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada released his weekly “31 Thoughts” podcast with Henrik Zetterberg as a guest.

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

  • 2018-19 St. Louis Blues Preview

    STL

    Last Season: 44-32-6 94 pts (5th in Central Division; Did Not Make Playoffs)

    Key Additions: F Patrick Maroon, F Jordan Nolan, F Ryan O’Reilly, F Tyler Bozak, F David Perron, and G Chad Johnson

    Key Departures: F Scottie Upshall, F Patrik Berglund, F Vladimir Sobotka, F Kyle Brodziak, and G Carter Hutton

    Top Questions Facing the Blues:

    1. How is Robby Fabbri’s knee?

    It’s been a long road back for Robby Fabbri since first tearing his ACL on February 4, 2017, and re-injuring it in training campy prior to last season. The Blues missed Fabbri’s contribution on offense – even with the addition of Brayden Schenn, the team fell from 12th to 24th in scoring.

     

    While we won’t know how Fabbri’s knee is faring or how well it holds up until the season actually starts, nhl.com‘s Lou Korac reports that the team is optimistic about his level of effectiveness.

     

     

    That said, there isn’t a whole lot of data regarding NHL players coming back from one, let alone two ACL tears within a year, and a study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine concludes that hockey players coming back from ACL injuries experience reduced total games and decreased offensive output in subsequent seasons. However, Fabbri is significantly younger than those analyzed in the study and has rehabbed diligently. Much of the success of the Blues upcoming season hinges on just how effectively Fabbri can slot in to a top 6 or top 9 role.     

     

    2. Can Jake Allen play consistently for a full season?

    This is the big one. I’m not here to knock Jake Allen – he has played exceptionally well for long stretches of seasons past, as well as almost single-handedly carrying the Blues past Minnesota in the 2015-2016 playoffs. That said, the Blues cannot ignore (yet ostensibly did) the fact that Allen has had extreme meltdowns for significant stretches each of the last two seasons. While it has become quite fashionable amongst Blues fans to try to shed the “blame goalie for everything” moniker, last season Jake Allen posted career lows (excluding abbreviated call-up/first season) in save percentage, goals against average, and shutouts. This is not an insignificant reason as to why the Blues missed the playoffs.  To his credit, after a string of woefully bad games between December and February last season, Allen put up generally strong (enough) performances the rest of the season, albeit at a time when scoring was at a dearth for the Blues.

     

    Regardless, having a two month stretch where your starting goalie cannot be relied upon to be even mediocre is going to eviscerate any team’s playoff chances. While Allen was certainly not to be blamed completely, he was simply not good enough last year, and the Blues do not have the luxury of falling back on Carter Hutton (who led the league in save percentage at .931). The Blues must hope that Allen can play consistently throughout the entire season, and that the lows are not too low, otherwise they will have to rely on either untested Ville Husso, or career backup Chad Johnson.    

     

    3. Can the Blues have an effective power play?

    There is no way to sugar-coat this, last season the Blues’ power play was awful. After finishing near the top quarter of the league the previous season, the Blues substantially regressed to second to last with a paltry 15.4% rate. The new additions of Ryan O’reilly (15 power play goals last season) and David Perron (18 power play points), as well as Robby Fabbri’s return should help the Blues execute more efficiently on the power play.  

     

    The real question that coach Mike Yeo has to evaluate is not do the Blues have the players for an effective power play, rather why it was so bad last season. With a team composed of offensively-minded players like Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko, the ever-improving Joel Edmundson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz,  and Brayden Schenn, there is no reason the power play should have been as bad as it was. This speaks not to the quality of players, but to the inability of the coaching staff to utilize the players effectively and build a power play strategy that fits within the strengths of the team. Let’s hope, now that they have even more offensive talent, that the coaching staff remedies this deficiency. There is no reason the team should not have a top quarter power play, or better.

     

    4. How will the young players fare?

    This is the question most Blues fans are most looking forward to having answered. The two most likely rookies to get a shot at the NHL level are 2017 first round draft pick Robert Thomas and 2016 second round draft pick Jordan Kyrou. While both are listed as centers, likely only Thomas will be played at that position. Tim Taylor, Director of Player Development, had some high praise for Thomas, stating he hoped he develops into a Jonathan Toews type player. While that is a lofty comparison, one that may turn out to be unachievable, it shows just how high the team is on Thomas’s potential. If Thomas can add the type of defensive prowess Toews brings, along with a high-ceiling offensive upside, the Blues are going to finally get their 1C they’ve been seeking. While Thomas seems to be more of a sure-fire contributor, the jury is still out on Jordan Kyrou. While Kyrou has dazzled fans with sleek goals, and received notoriety as the OHL’s Player of the Year, it still remains to be seen whether his style of play will transfer to the bigger, faster, NHL level. If it does, a Thomas-Kyrou combination can be a formidable duo for years to come.   

     

    Ultimately, this season presents of great optimism for the Blues and their fans. If all goes well with the emergence of the younger players, return of Fabbri, and integration of the new players, this team is poised to contend with the likes of Nashville and Winnipeg for the top spot in the Central Division and maybe the Western Conference.