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Category: NHL

  • Game Recap – 4/4/2019 – Montreal Canadiens v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 4/4/2019 – Montreal Canadiens v. Washington Capitals

    Montreal Canadiens (43-29-8 94pts) v. Washington Capitals (47-25-8 102pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In the final stretch of the regular season the Washington Capitals host the playoff hungry Montreal Canadiens in a game that can decide some playoff fates. In the first 10 minutes of the game both teams would play with a very fast tempo, and would generate great opportunities on both ends of the ice, but goaltenders Carey Price and Braden Holtby have been solid. Then later in the period it would be Lars Eller opening up the scoring with a beautiful backhander that goes above Price’s leg pad and under the glove. However, a Nicklas Backstrom high sticking call would put Montreal on the powerplay and see Shea Weber tie the game at one going into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period the Canadiens would start the period with a little extra jump in their game, but it would be the Capitals striking to regain their lead when Nic Dowd netted his 8th of the season. The game would continue to display a lot of back and forth hockey between the two teams, but the Capitals would generate a few more chances by creating some odd man rushes.

     

    In the third period it would feature a lot of back and forth hockey. Both Carey Price and Braden Holtby played stellar in net keeping the game to a one goal affair. The Capitals would hold off the Canadiens however to win 2-1 and clinch their fourth consecutive Metropolitan Division title.

     

    Lineups:

    Montreal Canadiens:

    Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

    Artturi Lehkonen — Max Domi — Andrew Shaw

    Jonathan Drouin — Jordan Weal — Joel Armia

    Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Nate Thompson — Paul Byron

    Victor Mete — Shea Weber

    Brett Kulak — Jeff Petry

    Jordie Benn — Christian Folin

    Carey Price

    Antti Niemi

    Scratched: Nicolas Deslauriers, Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca, Ryan Poehling, Dale Weise, Mike Reilly, Charlie Lindgren

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Chandler Stephenson

    Injured: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 18:36 – Lars Eller (13) from Brett Connolly (24) and Carl Hagelin (14)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:57 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Canadiens PPG – 19:32 – Shea Weber (14) from Joel Armia (9) and Phillip Danault (41)

     

    End of 1st – MON – 1       WAS – 1

    Shots              14                09

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               07                  14

    PP                 1/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 2:58 – Nic Dowd (8) from Andre Burakovsky (13)

    Canadiens Penalty – 8:29 – Shea Weber 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 2nd – MON – 1        WAS – 2

    Shots               22                 20

    Faceoffs          18                 17

    Hits                 15                  25

    PP                   1/1                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    N/A

     

    End of 3rd – MON – 1         WAS – 2

    Shots              34                   31

    Faceoffs        26                    25

    Hits               22                     37

    PP                 1/1                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (48-25-8 104pts) v. NY Islanders (47-27-7 101pts)

    Montreal (43-30-8 94pts) v. Toronto (46-28-7 99pts)

  • April 3rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 3rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 10 games in NHL action yesterday.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Nashville 3, BUFFALO 2

     

    The Nashville Predators would take down the Buffalo Sabres with a 3-2 win.  With the win, the Predators are now 6-2-1 in their last nine contests.

     

    Nashville remains in a first place tie on points for the Central Division lead with the Winnipeg Jets.  However if the season were to end today, the Predators would be in second place in the Central Division based on ROW (regulation and overtime wins)

     

    Boston 6, COLUMBUS 2

     

    The Boston Bruins would defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets by the score of 6-2 and in doing so, the Bruins would snap Columbus’ five game win streak.

     

    Here is the infographic on Boston’s win over the Blue Jackets.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Boston Bruins, and their respective owners

     

    Carolina 4, TORONTO 1

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs by the score of 4-1 and in doing so, the Hurricanes are trying to stay in contention for a postseason spot.

     

     

    With the loss by the Maple Leafs, Toronto clinched the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

     

    MONTREAL 4, Tampa Bay 2

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would double up the Tampa Bay Lightning with a convincing 4-2 win.

     

     

    DETROIT 4, Pittsburgh 1

     

    The Detroit Red Wings would win their sixth straight game with a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.

     

     

    The only goal scorer in the contest for the Penguins would be Phil Kessel, with his 25th goal on the season.

     

    Pittsburgh’s infographic from last night’s contest is pictured below


    *Image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    MINNESOTA 5, Winnipeg 1

     

    The Minnesota Wild would defeat the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-1 win last night and with the win, the Wild prevented the Jets from climbing further for the division lead.

     

     

    DALLAS 6, Philadelphia 2

     

    The Dallas Stars would take down the Philadelphia Flyers with a convincing 6-2 win last night.

     

     

    Alexander Radulov would score two goals in the contest, giving him 29 goals on the season,

     

    With Dallas’ win, they clinched a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

    COLORADO 6, Edmonton 2

     

    The Colorado Avalanche would beat the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-2 in last night.

     

    After being down 2-0 at the end of the first period, the Avalanche scored six unanswered goals to seal the win.  Also in this contest, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon would register his 400th NHL point.

     

    With Colorado’s win over the Oilers, the Minnesota Wild have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.  It will be the first time that the Wild are not in the playoffs since the 2011-12 season.

     

    VANCOUVER 4, San Jose 2

     

    Tanner Pearson would score twice in the contest to give the Vancouver Canucks a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.

     

     

    San Jose’s Joe Thornton is now tied with Nicklas Lidstrom for 12th place on the all-time games played list with 1,564 regular-season games played.

     

    San Jose’s infographic from the 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks last night.

     


    *Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Los Angeles 3, ARIZONA 1

     

    The LA Kings would take down the Arizona Coyotes with a 3-1 win.

     

     

    With the win by the Kings, the Coyotes postseason chances are now very slim as the remain four points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference

     

     

     

     

    Today’s Schedule of NHL contests:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, please check out the NHL’s Morning Skate report.

  • Three Stars and NHL Rookie of the Month (March 1-March 31) Announcements

    Three Stars and NHL Rookie of the Month (March 1-March 31) Announcements

    The National Hockey League yesterday announced the Three Stars of the Week and earlier today the Three Stars of the Month as well as the NHL Rookie of the Month was announced.

     

    First, TXHT will take a look at the announcements made for the Three Stars of the Week (week ending March 31)


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The First Star of the Week went to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would be named the First Star of the Week thanks to a four wins on the week with two shutouts and would extend the Blue Jackets win streak to five games.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Second Star of the Week went to Detroit Red Wings F Tyler Bertuzzi.

     

    Tyler Bertuzzi shared the League lead with three goals and seven assists in four outings to power the Red Wings to a perfect week and their fifth consecutive victory overall.

    During the week, Bertuzzi would become the first Detroit player to record three consecutive three-point games since 1992-93.  Steve Yzerman achieved that feat twice during the 1992-93 season.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Third Star of the Week would go to Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

     

    Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper would achieve a record of 2-0-1 to keep the Coyotes in the hunt for a wild card spot and earn two shutouts over the week.

    Over the season, Kuemper has achieved a career high 26 wins in 53 appearances and ranks  in the top 10 in the NHL in goals-against average (6th place with a GAA of 2.34) and save percentage (9th place with a SV% of .924).


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

     

    Second, the National Hockey League earlier today announced the Three Stars of the Month (March 1-March 31).

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

     

    The First Star of the Month would go to Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    McDavid would have 20 assists over a 14 game span during the month of March and lead the Oilers to a record of 7-5-2 for the month.  McDavid would also have 11 multi-point games over the course of March.

     

    The Edmonton captain also scored seven times, including his seventh career
    overtime goal March 16 at ARI and 40th goal of 2018-19 March 28 vs. DAL.  McDavid also ranks second in the NHL with a career-high 74 assists and 115 points in 75 total contests this season as well as sharing the League lead with nine game-winning goals.

     

    The Second Star of the Month would go to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Bobrovsky topped the NHL in wins, tied with nine and had four shutouts in 13 appearances.  In those 13 appearances for the month, Bobrovsky would compile a
    1.74 goals-against average and .940 save percentage to give the Blue Jackets a 9-6-1 March record and to the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

     

    The Third Star of the Month would go to Boston Bruins D Brad Marchand.


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Marchand placed third in the NHL with nine goals and 14 assists in 15 games to propel the Bruins to a 9-6-0 March and help the Bruins clinch their third consecutive playoff berth.

     

    Marchand would register three points in four games (March 7 vs. the Florida Panthers, March 12 at the Columbus Blue Jackets, March 21 at the New Jersey Devils, and March 27 at home against the New York Rangers.

     

    Finally, the NHL also announced the Rookie of the Month for the month of March.

     

    St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington named as the NHL’s Rookie of the Month

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The NHL earlier today would announce that St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington would be named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for the month of March.  This would also be the second consecutive month in which Binnington would earn Rookie of the Month honours.

    Binnington would compile a record of 6-3-0 with a GAA (goals against average) of 2.37 and a save percentage of .912.

    Binnington allowed three or fewer goals in eight of his nine appearances to spark the Blues (43-28-8, 94 points) to their seventh playoff berth in eight seasons and would help get the Blues from the bottom of the NHL standings on January 2nd to second place in the Central Division standings as of the completion of yesterday’s games.

    Binnington has also compiled a record of 22-5-1 since he made his first NHL career start on January 7th.

    Binnington joins Vancouver Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson as the only two rookies to earn Rookie of the Month honours twice during the 2018-19 campaign.

     

    One final note to close out this article…

    Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman released his “31 Thoughts” blog post for the week.

    One big highlight on this week’s “31 Thoughts” blog post is the news with the CWHL shuttering operations on May 1 and what the NHL needs to do to make a viable partnership with the NWHL.

    https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1113112788853972992

     

  • Game Recap – 4/1/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Florida Panthers

    Game Recap – 4/1/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Florida Panthers

    Washington Capitals (47-24-8 102pts) v. Florida Panthers (35-32-12 82pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In their final road game of the regular season, the Washington Capitals visit the Florida Panthers with a chance to clinch the Metropolitan Division title for the fourth season in a row. However, the Panthers would have different ideas as they would strike first to put the Capitals in an early 1-0 deficit on a Frank Vatrano goal.

     

    Then in the second period, the Panthers would continue to push the play as Jonathan Huberdeau would bank in the loose puck past Pheonix Copley to make it 2-0. Then while the Capitals were on the lone powerplay of the period Vincent Trocheck would blast a shot five hole on Copley to give the Panthers a three goal lead while shorthanded. And to end the period for the Panthers it would be former Capital Troy Brouwer getting the goal off of a beautiful Aleksander Barkov pass to make it 4-0 going into the second intermission.

     

    Halfway thru the third period the Capitals would come alive as Evgeny Kuznetsov would get the Capitals on the board with the hopes of a late comeback victory. Then after a failed powerplay opportunity the Capitals would strike again as Nicklas Backstrom would be the recipient of a TJ Oshie pass in front of the net to cut the Panthers lead to two. And Oshie would not be done there as with Copley pulled for the extra attacker, Oshie would find an open Jakub Vrana to cut the Panthers lead to one. However, despite their best efforts, Vincent Trocheck would ice the game for the Panthers with an empty net goal in the final minute to win the game 5-3 for the Panthers.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Nick Jensen — Brooks Orpik

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd

    Injured: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    Florida Panthers:

    Jonathan Huberdeau — Aleksander Barkov — Evgenii Dadonov

    Mike Hoffman — Vincent Trocheck — Jayce Hawryluk

    Frank Vatrano — Riley Sheahan — Troy Brouwer

    Dryden Hunt — Henrik Borgstrom — Colton Sceviour

    Mike Matheson — Aaron Ekblad

    Keith Yandle — MacKenzie Weegar

    Mark Pysyk — Josh Brown

    Roberto Luongo

    Sam Montembeault

    Scratched: Jamie McGinn, Denis Malgin, Ian McCoshen, Brady Keeper, James Reimer

    Injured: Derek MacKenzie (shoulder)

     

    First Period:

    Panthers Goal – 13:48 – Frank Vatrano (24) from Colton Sceviour (10) and Henrik Borgstrom (10)

    Capitals Penalty – 16:30 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       FLA – 1

    Shots              05                14

    Faceoffs         11                10

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Panthers Goal – 3:34 – Jonathan Huberdeau (28) from unassisted

    Panthers Penalty – 11:48 – Frank Vatrano 2 minutes for Holding

    Panthers SHG – 12:01 – Vincent Trocheck (9) from Aleksander Barkov (58) and Mike Matheson (19)

    Panthers Goal – 17:57 – Troy Brouwer (12) from Aleksander Barkov (59) and Dryden Hunt (7)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        FLA – 4

    Shots               19                 24

    Faceoffs          21                 16

    PP                   0/1                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :41 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 10:55 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (21) from John Carlson (57)

    Panthers Penalty – 11:45 – Vincent Trocheck 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 16:25 – Nicklas Backstrom (22) from TJ Oshie (28) and Alex Ovechkin (38)

    Capitals Goal – 17:39 – Jakub Vrana (24) from TJ Oshie (29) and Matt Niskanen (17)

    Panthers ENG – 19:33 – Vincent Trocheck (10) from Evgenii Dadonov (41) and Aleksander Barkov (60)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 3         FLA – 5

    Shots              30                   34

    Faceoffs        32                    29

    Hits               35                     29

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (47-25-8 102pts) v. Montreal (42-29-8 92pts)

    Florida (36-32-12 84pts) v. NY Islanders (46-27-7 99pts)

  • April 1st, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 1st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is April 1st, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were six contests in NHL action yesterday.

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

     

    NY Rangers 3, PHILADELPHIA 0

     

    The New York Rangers would take on the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon and would take down the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-0 win yesterday in downtown Philadelphia.

     

     

    ARIZONA 4, Minnesota 0

     

    The Arizona Coyotes would shutout the Minnesota Wild yesterday afternoon with a 4-0 win.

     

     

    Arizona is still in postseason contention with three games left to play.,

     

     

    PITTSBURGH 3, Carolina 1

     

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would take down the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-1 win and would not let the Carolina Hurricanes climb in the standings.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Pittsburgh Penguins, and their respective owners

     

    Columbus 4, BUFFALO 0

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would defeat the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 4-0 shutout performance.

     

     

    Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would have a 38 save performance, earning his 36th win on the season.

     

     

    DETROIT 6, Boston 3

     

    The Detroit Red Wings would take down the Boston Bruins with a 6-3 win, thanks to a three goal performance by Anthony Mantha.

     

     

    Despite the loss by the Bruins, they still are holding on strong to the second seed in the Atlantic Division playoff spot.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Boston Bruins, and their respective owners

     

    Calgary 5, SAN JOSE 3

     

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, the Calgary Flames and their respective owners

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, San Jose Sharks, and their respective owners

     

    With the 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, the Calgary Flames clinched the Pacific Division, their first division crown since the 2005-06 season when they won the Northwest Division, and the top seed in the Western Conference, which last happened in the 1989-90 season.

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of contests:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
    *Image is the property of the NHL and their respective owners

     

    Today’s playoff clinching scenarios:

    -The Washington Capitals can clinch the Metropolitan Division if they defeat the Florida Panthers AND the New York Islanders lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation

    -The Toronto Maple Leafs will clinch a postseason spot if they get at least one point against the Islanders

     

    With the win by the Calgary Flames, we now know one confirmed first round match-up in the postseason.

    The San Jose Sharks will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

  • March 31st, 2019 — News and Notes

    March 31st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, March 31st, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 12 contests in NHL action yesterday

     

     

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

     

    Florida 4, BOSTON 1

    Florida Panthers infographic from the contest between the Panthers and the Boston Bruins yesterday afternoon.

     

    CAROLINA 5, Philadelphia 2

    Highlights from the contest between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon.

     

    OTTAWA 4, Toronto 2

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would fall to the Ottawa Senators yesterday with a 4-2 loss yesterday.

    Ottawa would ruin Toronto’s chances to climb in the playoff picture with the win.

     

    Washington 6, TAMPA BAY 3

    The Washington Capitals would take down the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 6-3 win yesterday at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa Bay last night.

     

    Goal scorers for Washington included Alex Ovechkin, who would notch two goals, his 50th and 51st on the season, as well as two goals scored by TJ Oshie, a goal by Nicklas Backstrom and another goal by Jakub Vrana.

     

    Tampa Bay would go convert on two out of five power plays in the contest, but those conversions would not be enough as the Capitals would out shoot and out perform the Lightning to seal the 6-3 win for Washington.

     

     

    TXHT has your full coverage of the contest between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the following page.

     

     

    St. Louis 3, NEW JERSEY 2 (OT)

     

    The St. Louis Blues, who clinched a playoff berth on Friday, would take down the new Jersey Devils with a 3-2 win in overtime last night.

     

     

     

    NY ISLANDERS 5, Buffalo 1

     

    The NY Islanders would take down the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 5-1 win and with the win, the Islanders would clinch a berth for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

     

     

    Montreal 3, WINNIPEG 1

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would take an early lead in the contest against the Winnipeg Jets and come out with a 3-1 win over the Jets last night.

     

     

    There would be three different goal scorers for the Canadiens in the 3-1 win last night.

     

     

    Columbus 5, NASHVILLE 2

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would notch their fourth straight win and get two much needed points in the race for the one of the last two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

     

     

    Nashville, with the loss, would not gain any ground in the Central Division standings.  The Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators remain tied with 94 points atop the division.

     

    SAN JOSE 4, Vegas 3 (OT)

     

    The San Jose Sharks would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights last night at SAP Center last night with a 4-3 win in overtime.

     

     

     

    Anaheim 5, EDMONTON 1

     

    The Anaheim Ducks would take down the Edmonton Oilers yesterday with a 5-1 last night.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1112222361678278656

     

    Anaheim’s Richard Rakell would score three goals in the contest to seal the win for the Ducks in this contest last night.

     

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1112210962503761920

     

     

    VANCOUVER 3, Dallas 2 (SO)

     

    The Vancouver Canucks would take down the the Dallas Stars yesterday with a 3-2 win in the shootout frame.

     

     

    It would be the second consecutive game in which the Canucks would win a game in the shootout.  Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom would have a 38-save performance in the contest.

     

     

     

    LOS ANGELES 3, Chicago 2 (OT)

    In the final contest of the night, the Los Angeles Kings would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by the score of 3-2 in overtime last night.

    Chicago, with the loss, has been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

     

     

    Today’s Schedule of Games:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Today’s Stanley Cup Playoff clinching possibilities:

    -The Calgary Flames will clinch the Pacific Division AND the Western Conference if they defeat the San Jose Sharks

    -The Dallas Stars will clinch a berth in the playoffs if the Arizona Coyotes lose in any fashion

  • Game Recap – 3/30/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Game Recap – 3/30/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Washington Capitals (46-24-8 100pts) v. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-14-4 122pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In their final meeting of the regular season the Washington Capitals head down to Tampa Bay with hopes of grounding the League leading Lightning. Early in the game it would be the Capitals gaining the advantage as Tom Wilson would feed Nicklas Backstrom for his 20th of the season to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Then TJ Oshie would net a pair goals both at even strength and on the powerplay to give the Capitals a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period the Capitals would continue their strong play as Dmitry Orlov would put forth a strong individual effort to feed Backstrom for his second goal of the game to grow the Capitals lead to four. However, in the final minutes of the second period, JT Miller would tip in a Mikhail Sergachev point shot to cut the Capitals lead to three going into the second intermission.

     

    In the third period the Lightning would cut the Capitals lead to two when Tyler Johnson would net his 28th of the season. After that the fireworks would explode as Brooks Orpik and Anthony Cirelli would drop the gloves followed by a heavyweight tilt between Tom Wilson and Erik Cernak. Then the “Great Eight” Alex Ovechkin would score his 50th of the season, and then on a Nikita Kucherov penalty, Ovechkin would net his 51st of the season to give the Capitals a commanding 6-2 lead. However, in the final minute Nic Dowd would take a penalty for hooking and Kucherov would score to cut the Capitals lead to three, but it would be too little too late for the Lightning as the Capitals would go on to win 6 to 3.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Andre Burakovsky

    Travis Boyd — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Nick Jensen — Brooks Orpik

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Brett Connolly (illness), Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    Tampa Bay Lightning:

    Tyler Johnson — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov

    Ondrej Palat — Steven Stamkos — J.T. Miller

    Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Mathieu Joseph

    Adam Erne — Cedric Paquette — Yanni Gourde

    Victor Hedman — Mikhail Sergachev

    Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak

    Braydon Coburn — Jan Rutta

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

    Scratched: Cameron Gaunce, Ryan Callahan, Danick Martel

    Injured: Anton Stralman (lower body), Dan Girardi (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :21 – Andrei Vasilevskiy (Yanni Gourde) 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 7:24 – Nicklas Backstrom (20) from Tom Wilson (18) and Christian Djoos (9)

    Capitals Goal – 10:45 – TJ Oshie (24) from Nick Jensen (18) Carl Hagelin (13)

    Lightning Penalty – 14:12 – Anthony Cirelli 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals PPG – 16:00 – TJ Oshie (25) from John Carlson (55) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (50)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 3       TB – 0

    Shots              13                05

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               08                  05

    PP                 1/2                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 7:53 – Nicklas Backstrom (21) from Dmitry Orlov (26)

    Lightning Penalty – 9:31 – Braydon Coburn 2 minutes for Boarding

    Capitals Penalty – 13:44 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Lightning Goal – 17:25 – JT Miller (13) from Mikhail Sergachev (23) and Ryan McDonagh (34)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 4        TB – 1

    Shots               27                 14

    Faceoffs          18                 14

    Hits                 13                  13

    PP                   1/3                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :47 – Mikhail Sergachev 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Lightning Goal – 3:36 – Tyler Johnson (28) from unassisted

    Lightning Penalty – 9:26 – Anthony Cirelli 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 9:26 – Brooks Orpik 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 9:26 – Brooks Orpik (Alex Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Roughing

    Lightning Penalty -12:13 – Erik Cernak 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 12:13 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

    https://twitter.com/NBCSCapitals/status/1112164578589376512?s=19

    Capitals Goal – 14:35 – Alex Ovechkin (50) from TJ Oshie (27) and Nicklas Backstrom (52)

    Lightning Penalty – 15:30 – Nikita Kucherov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 16:15 – Alex Ovechkin (51) from Johm Carlson (56) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (51)

    Capitals Penalty – 19:14 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Hooking

    Lightning PPG – 19:32 – Nikita Kucherov (39) from Mikhail Sergachev (24) and JT Miller (32)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 6         TB – 2

    Shots              35                   28

    Faceoffs        33                    28

    Hits               18                     22

    PP                 2/5                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (47-24-8 102pts) @ Florida (35-32-12 82pts)

    Tampa Bay (59-15-4 122pts) @ Ottawa (28-44-6 62pts)

  • Game Recap – 3/28/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game Recap – 3/28/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Washington Capitals (46-24-8 100pts) v. Carolina Hurricane (42-28-7 91pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals tonight conclude their season series against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Each teams traded goals in the first period.  Goals were scored by Nino Niedereitter of the Hurricanes and Brett Connolly of the Capitals.  The first period would end with both teams 1-1.

     

    In the second period, we did not see much action until the 12:30 mark when Warren Foegel scored a highlight reel worthy goal to take the lead for the Hurricanes.  The Capitals would have an opportunity on the power play later on in the period but were unable to convert.  After two periods, the Hurricanes would take a 2-1 lead going into the third period.

     

    Period three saw a lot of action as each team traded scoring chances.  The Capitals would tie it up early in the period at the 1:35 mark on a Jakub Vrana goal.  At the 15:04 mark, the Capitals would take the lead on a Nic Dowd goal which was deflected in front of the net on a Nic Jensen shot.  The Hurricanes came close to tying the game towards the end but, the Capitals were able to hold on and get the victory with the final score being 3-2.  As a result of tonight’s victory over the Hurricanes, the Capitals officially clinched a playoff spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The Capitals continue their road trip on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Forwards

    Alex Ovechkin- Nicklas Backstrom- Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin- Evgeny Kuznetsov- Andre Burakovsky

    Jakub Vrana- Lars Eller- Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson- Nic Dowd- Travis Boyd

    Defenseman

    Christian Djoos – John Carlson

    Dmitri Orlov – Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik – Nic Jensen

    Goalies:

    Starter- Braden Holtby

    Backup- Phoenix Copley

    Scratches:

    Dmitry Jaskin, TJ Oshie (illness), Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injury: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Forwards

    Nino Niedereiter- Sebastian Aho- Justin Williams

    Andre Svechnikov- Jordan Staal- Teuvo Terravainen

    Michael Ferlund- Lucas Wallmark- Jordan Martinook

    Warren Foegele – Greg McKegg- Brock McGinn

    Defenseman

    Jacob Slavin – Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce – Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan – Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Goalies

    Starter- Curtis McElhinney

    Backup- Petr Mrazek

    Scratches: Saku Maenalanen

     

    First Period:

    Carolina Goal-4:31- Nino Niedereiter (22) assisted by Justin Williams (28) & Sebastian Aho (51)

    Washington Goal-5:13- Brett Connolly (22) asssited by Brooks Orpik (7)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1      CAR – 1

    Shots              7                    5

    Faceoffs         7/16                9/16

    Hits                6                    10

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Carolina Goal-12:30- Warren Foegele (8) assisted by Justin Faulk (24) & Brett Pesce (20)

    Carolina Penalty-16:01- Justin Williams 2 minutes for tripping

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1       CAR- 2

    Shots               16                    16

    Faceoffs          10/31             21/31

    Hits                 10                  20

    PP                   0/1                  0/0

     

    Third Period:

    Washington Goal-1:35- Jakub Vrana (23) assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov (49) & Christian Djoos (8)

    Washington Goal-15:04- Nic Dowd (7) assisted by Nic Jensen (17)

    Washington Penalty-15:45- Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for tripping

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 3         CAR – 2

    Shots              20                     26

    Faceoffs        18/46              28/46

    Hits               19                     25

    PP                 0/1                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington Capitals (45-24-8 98pts) v.s. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-14-4 122pts)

    Carolina Hurricanes (42-28-7 91pts) v.s. Philadelphia Flyers (37-32-8 82pts)

  • TXHT Opinion – Gambling and the Issues it WILL Bring

    TXHT Opinion – Gambling and the Issues it WILL Bring

    So I’ve been holding off on this because this is a topic I have not wanted to tackle, but with the continued poor decisions by the National Hockey League and now the Washington Capitals I feel that now is the best time to talk about it.

     

    Today Capitals owner Ted Leonsis announced that the Green Turtle at Capital One Arena would be getting replaced with a sportsbook for sports gambling. I for one think that this is a disgrace and I’m disgusted that Leonsis even considered doing this in the first place.

     

    Now according to the release you will be able to place your bets outside of the arena, and inside depending on the sport taking place that night, whatever that means as it’s not very clear what sports will not allow gambling in the arena. In the release Leonsis also states that there will be an operator in place to create distance from the gambling venue and Monumental Sports and Entertainment ownership. But let’s be honest, you just added gambling to your venue. You really think that an outside operator is really going to make a difference?

     

    Now I am going to be blunt and honest. I’m 100 percent against gambling in all forms, and the fact that the Capitals do a Casino Night every season makes me sick, and now adding a sportsbook to Capital One Arena is even more sickening. I had a family member who had a gambling addiction, and from what both of my parents told me that if it weren’t for constant interventions the issues with his gambling addiction would have been devastating, and from what has happened as a result of his gambling it was really bad.

     

    Also when my mother was growing up in Atlantic City, NJ, she worked at the casinos, and saw first hand what devastation gambling addiction can bring upon people. According to The Oaks at La Paloma approximately 2.6% of the US population has some type of gambling issue. That’s about 10 million people who struggle with gambling addiction.

     

    This issue also adds up to about 6 billion dollars each year which impacts both the US economy and us as citizens. Also did you know that ten States plus the District of Columbia do not offer any publicly funded gambling assistance programs (2016-PG-Services-Survey-Executive-Summary)?

     

    So Mr. Leonsis I have a series of questions to ask you sir, and starting off with the big one. Are you prepared for when things do get devastatingly bad? Are you prepared for when people who have gambling addictions hit rock bottom and that patrons are being victimized by the scalpers who will gladly by the tickets off of someone so they could feed their addiction? What are you going to do to help bring awareness to the dangers of gambling?

     

    But most importantly good sir, how are you going to keep it away from the game so it doesn’t drive the people who are there for the game, and only the game?

     

    When I come to Capital One Arena, I’m there for the Capitals and the game that they play. I don’t want to be pestered with the gambling nonsense, and if you can’t keep it away from the game, then I just won’t come anymore. Plain and simple. Which is a shame because I’d rather be at a hockey game in person, than watch it on tv.

     

    Mr. Leonsis, the door is open for a conversation, and I’m more than willing to sit down with you to discuss this topic with you. So I invite you to have one with me. Will you accept?

  • Game Recap – 3/26/2019 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 3/26/2019 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes (42-26-7 91pts) v. Washington Capitals (44-24-8 96pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    As the Washington Capitals wind down their regular season with the playoffs in the horizon, the Capitals take on prospective first round opponent Carolina Hurricanes in their first game of a back to back with them. The first half of the game would be very fast paced, but then as the period progressed the Capitals would start to break out against the Hurricanes as TJ Oshie would get his 23rd of the season to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    For the second period, you would have another fast paced period that saw the Capitals generate some better scoring chances than they had in the first, but it would be Dougie Hamilton of the Hurricanes who would score while having an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty to tie the game at one.

     

    In the third period it would be the Capitals on the attack against the Hurricanes as the Capitals would regain their lead when Tom Wilson would feed Alex Ovechkin for a one timer to score his 49th of the season. Then it would be John Carlson tipping in a Dmitry Orlov slap pass from the point to give the Capitals a two goal lead. Then to ice the game, Nicklas Backstrom would increase the lead to three as the Capitals defeat the Hurricanes in the first game of their back to back 4-1.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Justin Williams

    Andrei Svechnikov — Jordan Staal — Teuvo Teravainen

    Micheal Ferland — Lucas Wallmark — Jordan Martinook

    Brock McGinn — Greg McKegg — Saku Maenalanen

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Warren Foegele

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Chandler Stephenson, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 10:21 – Sebastoan Aho 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 16:29 – TJ Oshie (23) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (46) and Carl Hagelin (12)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       WAS – 1

    Shots              10                10

    Faceoffs         15                07

    Hits               09                  09

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 8:57 – Petr Mrazek (Justin Williams) 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Goal -15:38 – Dougie Hamilton (15) from Justin Williams (27) and Nino Niederreiter (27)

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 1        WAS – 1

    Shots               17                 21

    Faceoffs          26                 15

    Hits                 14                  13

    PP                   0/0                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – 4:31 – Alex Ovechkin (49) from Tom Wilson (17) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (47)

    Capitals Goal – 11:16 – John Carlson (13) from Dmitry Orlov (25) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (48)

    Capitals ENG – 17:33 – Nicklas Backstrom (19) from Alex Ovechkin (37) and John Carlson (54)

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 1         WAS – 4

    Shots              27                   28

    Faceoffs        36                    26

    Hits               25                     20

    PP                 0/0                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (45-24-8 98pts) @ Carolina (42-27-7 91pts)