Category: NHL

  • January 19th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, January 19th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 7 games on the NHL schedule yesterday.

     

    FLORIDA 3, Toronto 1

    After Toronto’s Ron Hainsey scored the first goal of the game, the Florida Panthers would score three unanswered goals to go on to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs.

     

     

    Montreal 4, COLUMBUS 1

    The Montreal Canadiens would face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a key game for Columbus in the Metro division standings.  However, the Montreal Canadiens would soundly defeat the Blue Jackets by the score of 4-1.

     

     

    NY Islanders 2, WASHINGTON 0

    In a key contest for Metropolitan Division standings, the New York Islanders faced off against the Washington Capitals.  The Islanders would go on to defeat the Washington Capitals 2-0, and with that win, the Islanders now hold first place in the Metro division.

    During a pre-game presentation the Capitals honoured Brooks Orpik who recently played in his 1,000th NHL contest as well as the Capitals showing a video tribute for former Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz, who stepped down from the position over the summer.  Trotz is now the Head Coach for the New York Islanders.

     

    TXHT was LIVE at the contest last night and you can check out the full recap of the contest at the following page.

     

     

    Ottawa 4, CAROLINA 1

     

    With the 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators last night, the five game winning streak on home ice came to an end for the Carolina Hurricanes.

     

     

     

     

     

    CALGARY 6, Detroit 4

    Infographic between the Calgary Flames and the Detroit Red Wings

     

     

    Pittsburgh 3, ARIZONA 2 (OT)

     

     

     

     

    VANCOUVER 4, Buffalo 3

     

    https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1086515611990077440

     

     

    Today’s schedule of contests across the NHL…

     

    This weekend’s NWHL Contests…

  • Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals , who are looking to end their three game losing streak, did not start well when Nicklas Backstrom would take a hooking penalty 10 seconds into the game. However the Capitals would kill the New York Islanders first opportunity. Then after some back and forth, Tom Wilson would draw a tripping call to give the Capitals their first powerplay opportunity, which had some good looks, but could not convert. Both teams would generate some good chances, but both Braden Holtby and Thomas Greiss would stand tall in net.

     

    To start the period, the Capitals would draw a penalty 57 seconds into the second period, however, they would not generate much with the opportunity. After a lot of back and forth, Nic Dowd would take a late tripping penalty, but with some key blocks by Brooks Orpik the Capitals were able to kill the penalty.

     

    The Capitals would start the period rocky as they had trouble maintaining the puck, and turnovers were a plenty. As a result Josh Bailey would tip in a Mathew Barzal point shot to get the Islanders the first goal of the game. Then not that long after, Cal Clutterbuck would score to make it 2-0 for the Islanders while on a 2 on 0 break. The Capitals, however, would never recover and drop their fourth straight game, and falling in the Metropolitan Division standings.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Michael Dal Colle — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa, Tom Kuhnhackl

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :10 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Islanders Penalty – 8:17 – Casey Cizikas 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYI – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              11                07

    Faceoffs         10                07

    Hits               08                  08

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Islanders Penalty – :57 – Adam Pelech 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 16:13 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – NYI – 0        WAS – 0

    Shots               20                 15

    Faceoffs          20                 12

    Hits                 12                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Islanders Goal – 5:08 – Josh Bailey (11) from Mathew Barazl (31) and Adam Pelech (6)

    Islanders Goal – 7:34 – Cal Clutterbuck (4) from Casey Cizikas (9) and Adam Pelech (7)

     

    End of 3rd – NYI – 2         WAS – 0

    Shots              25                   19

    Faceoffs        25                    21

    Hits               18                     20

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-14-5 59pts) @ Chicago (4-1-0 8pts)

    NY Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. San Jose (2-2-1 5pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 1/18/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

    New York Islanders (27-15-4 58pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-14-5 59pts)

     

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, MSG+, and SportsNet 1

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals host the New York Islanders as he makes his first trip back to DC after leading the Capitals to the Stanley Cup this past summer. The Capitals will look to end their three game losing streak and keep themselves atop the Metropolitan Division.

     

    New York Islanders:

    Projected Lineup:

    Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

    Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

    Tom Kuhnhackl — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

    Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield

    Thomas Greiss

    Robin Lehner

    Scratched: Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, Luca Sbisa

    Injured: Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Keep up the quick starts

    The last two games the Islanders have jumped to 3 goal leads early, and with the struggles the Capitals have been going through lately it would benefit the Islanders to get a quick lead to start this game as well.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

    The Capitals need a good start to get their game going in a positive way. If the Capitals can score the first goal, or get an early powerplay which can get them generating offensively it will push away some of those negative vibes.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 18/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 18/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Time: Friday January 18th,  2019

    Toronto: 28-15-2 for 58 points

    Florida: 17-20-8 for 42 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to come into the second of back to backs and hope Garrett Sparks can pull them out a win.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –59 points (18 goals 41 assists)
    John Tavares – 50 points (29 goals 21 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 47 points (13 goals 34 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 42 points (20 goals 22 assists) 53% on Face-offs)

    Jonathan Huberdeau – 47 points (12 goals 35 assists)
    Aleksander Barkov – 44 points (17 goal 27 assist)
    Mike Hoffman – 41 points (22 goal 19 assists)
    Evgenii Dadonov – 37 points (18 goal 19 assists)

    Garrett Sparks
    6-2-1 3.01GAA .905SV%

    Roberto Luongo
    8-11-1 3.34GAA .892SV%

     

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Connor Brown – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Garrett Sparks

    Frederik Andersen

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back),Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Florida:

    Frank Vatrano – Aleksander Barkov – Evgenii Dadonov

    Jonathan Huberdeau – Henrik Borgstrom– Nick Bjugstad

    Mike Hoffman – Jared McCann – Denis Malgin

    Jayce Hawryluk – Juho Lammikko – Colton Sceviour

     

    Keith Yandle – Aaron Ekblad

    Michael Matheson – Mark Psysk

    Ian McCoshen – Mackenzie Weegar

     

    Roberto Luongo

    James Reimer

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Jamie McGinn, Derek Mackenzie, Vincent Trocheck

    Suspension: None

    Keys to Winning against Florida:

    1. Attack the Defence
      1. They are young and struggling. Attack them fiercely and dig pucks
    2. Puck Possession
      1. The Leafs need zone time.
    3. Powerplay
      1. Been struggling for a while. Gotta get it going again to make the Leafs dangerous

     

     

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 17/1/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 17/1/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs (28-15-2 58pts) v, Tampa Bay Lightning (36-9-2 74 pts)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Connor Brown – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back),Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Tampa Bay:

    Ondrej Palat – Steven Stamkos – Yanni Gourde

    Tyler Johnson – Brayden Point– Nikita Kucherov

    Mathieu Joesph – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn

    JT Miller – Cedric Paquette – Ryan Callahan

     

    Victor Hedman – Dan Girardi

    Ryan McDonagh – Anton Stralman

    Braydon Coburn – Mikhail Sergachev

     

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

     

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Tampa Penalty – 05:32 – Nikita Kucherov, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Toronto Penalty – 08:34 – Igor Ozhiganov, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Tampa PP Goal – 09:48 – Brayden Point (30) from Victor Hedman (25) and Steven Stamkos (30)

    Toronto Goal – 11:48 – Nazem Kadri (10) from Kasperi Kapanen (14) and Patrick Marleau (11)

    Lightning Penalty – 12:09 – Victor Hedman, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

     

    End of 1st – TOR –1        TBL – 1

    Shots              9                   10

    Faceoffs     10/25              15/25

    Hits               4                     13

    PP                 0/2                  1/1

     

    Analysis

    Leafs came look strong this game and came to play a bad defensive play led to a powerplay which led to a Brayden Point powerplay goal. But the Leafs fought back thanks to Kasperi Kapanen who used his unbelievable speed to break the defence and setup Kadri for a goal

     

    Need to Do:

    Keep Digging for pucks, and using your speed. Play hard against a bigger stronger defence in Tampa.

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 02:47 –Travis Dermott, 2 mins for Interference

    Toronto Goal–13:06 – Patrick Marleau (11), assisted by Nazem Kadri (18)  and Nikita Zaitsev (4)

    Lightning Goal–13:43 – Victor Hedman (6), assisted by Nikita Kucherov (54)  and Brayden Point (33)

    Toronto Goal–14:49 – Mitch Marner (19), assisted by John Tavares (22)  and Andreas Johnsson (12)

    Toronto Penalty – 16:26 –William Nylander, 2 mins for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – TOR– 3          TBL – 2

    Shots              17                    22

    Faceoffs       21/48              27/48

    Hits              8                      20

    PP                 0/2                  1/3

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs come to play in the 2nd period get goals from Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner, While Freddie Andersen stands on his head.

     

    Need to Do:

    Be prepared Tampa is going to come flying.

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 01:59 –Zach Hyman, 2 mins for Slashing

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 3        TBL – 2

    Shots             31                   38

    Faceoffs     31/70                39/70

    Hits               17                        30

    PP                0/2                    1/4

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs played a very solid game with some contribution from all over the lineup and a lot of players breaking goal-scoring slumps. Very good sign for Leafs Nation.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (29-15-2 60pts) vs Florida (17-20-8 42pts)

    San Jose (28-14-7 63pts) at Tampa Bay (36-9-2 74pts)

  • TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by our friend from The Hockey Writers Nate Oliver, and TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    TXHT starts off with NWHL talk with Michael and Nate as we review the partnership between the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the NWHL’s Boston Pride. Plus a recap of last weekend’s action, as well as a preview for this upcoming weekend’s games. Also we talk about some other news and notes throughout the NWHL.

     

    Then Michael opens up the forum to Nate and Steve as they ask him questions about Alex Ovechkin, Madison Bowey, and the Capitals future on defense.

     

    Plus Michael and Steve talk about the Maple Leafs and the situation with the fans booing defenseman Jake Gardiner, and the slippery slope that is the growing negativity of “fans” on social media. Also all three geek out over hockey cards and some of their prized items in their memorabilia collections.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Wednesday, January 16th, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • The Meltdown – Jared Bednar and Nathan MacKinnon

    The Meltdown – Jared Bednar and Nathan MacKinnon

    Let me set the stage for you. Last Wednesday evening, The struggling Colorado Avalanche get ready to play the extremely hot Calgary Flames. The Avalanche look to dig themselves out of a hole that they have dug themselves out of. To make things more interesting the Avalanche haven’t even played all that bad, their offence has been firing on all cylinders with the highest scoring line in the league doing the majority of the work as always. But some bad turnovers and bounces that led to goals have left them down.

    3-2 Flames heading into the 3rd and the Avalanche are all over them shot after shot and save after save for David Rittich. 9:14 into the 3rd period and Mark Giordano takes a point shot and directs it at all the traffic in front of the net, it hits Michael Frolik’s knee and bounces in behind Semyon Varlamov the Avalanche netminder. Nathan MacKinnon looks enraged as he skates back to the bench and begins to lose it. Multiple sports news outlets such as TSN and SportsNet report that MacKinnon came back to the bench in a rage and told the Jared Bednar, the Colorado Coach to and I quote “Do your F*****g job”. Fans have chimed in all over social media. There has been 3 different thoughts on this process. Let’s talk about them.

    1. Keep it in the Locker Room
    • Don’t let your emotions get the best of you on the ice. If you have a problem with your coach, teammate or any other part of the organization, keep it off the ice and handle it off camera away from the media. This prevents the media from making a showcase of your actions and feeding more into the situation
    1. Finally someone shows some passion
    • The anger on the ice directed towards the team in whatever way expresses how much passion you have for the game and how much you want your team to win. Therefore express your emotions whenever you feel necessary and at whatever time, who cares if the media sees it. They will just see your passion.
    1. Express your emotion through your game
    • Take the anger and frustration and turn it into something on the ice. Go out and make something happen show you passion, dedication and how you care for the team and winning by going out and making every play you do count on the ice.

    Now let me add something. There has been rumors that Bednar had said something to MacKinnon as he came back to the bench. But every angle of the video I watched was you can’t see Bednar until the very end of  MacKinnon’s tirade. So there is not proof of Bednar saying anything.

    I fall into a little of each of these 3 categories. I think all levels of sports should pay attention to this, because a lot of sports is reputation and how you handle yourself. So here are my thoughts.

    If you have a problem with the coaching staff, a teammate or anything else for that matter. Save your comments for behind close doors, away from anyone who might hear and make a bigger deal out of it. Keep your reputation intact trust me it will pay dividends. If your known as a good teammate and you have the ability to express your frustration in a respectful discipline matter you’ll be more intriguing to teams. Especially in professional sports and later on in your career. I will add this, showing some raw emotion such as throwing a water bottle in frustration or slamming a door is not a bad thing but comments directed at teammates or coaching staff will not help, but only escalate the situation save those for private. Finally, Let your play do the talking. Never give a foot to teammates, or coaching to say you didn’t give your all.

    Nathan MacKinnon showed emotion, and his play on the ice speaks itself. The problem is now he’ll forever have a little blackmark on his resume. Because MacKinnon let the words slide out. If Bednar gets fired MacKinnon will probably hear the words coach killer not because they’re true but because you always get reminded of the one dumb thing you did by the media.

    Let me end by saying, Nathan MacKinnon is hands down one of the best players in the league and I know for sure emotions got the best of him. In an interview after the big blow up he apologized for his comments and said that he should have never talked to his coach that way. Even Jared Bednar stated that he loved the fire shown by MacKinnon that it shows he cares. So a mistake yes, but unfortunately in this NHL those blackmarks remain.

    Is their a rift you ask? Well both are downplaying it if there is. I guess we will have to see what happened in the near future.

  • Game Recap – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

    Game Recap – 1/15/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Nashville Predators

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

     

    Game Recap:

    To start this game, there was some good pace between both the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators, but it would be the Predators who would strike first when they pick off a pass from Tom Wilson to Alex Ovechkin and Mattias Ekholm sends Viktor Arvidsson streaking into the Capitals zone for the first goal of the game. The Capitals would respond well with a couple shifts, but their aggressiveness caused them to give up a few too many odd man rushes and the Predators would capitalize as Nick Bonino would score to make it 2-0 on a 2-1 break with Colton Sissons. The rest of the period would show some more good back and forth, but the Predators were very good at creating odd man rushes, and breaking up the Capitals plays in the offensive zone.

     

    To start the second period, the Predators would strike fast as Arvidsson would deflect a PK Subban point shot for his second goal of the game. Then some frustration would boil over as Jakub Vrana would get called for Slashing in the neutral zone behind the play to give the Predators the first powerplay of the game. Once the penalty was killed the Capitals would surge with a really strong shift that featured Wilson almost scoring but getting the post instead, and eventually drawing a penalty against the Predators for their first powerplay of the game. On the powerplay the Capitals would make the penalty killers move around and scramble, and then it would be a point blast from John Carlson that would go wide on purpose for Nicklas Backstrom to tip in for the powerplay goal. The Capitals would keep that fire burning as they would dominate at 5 on 5 for the next few shifts, and draw another tripping penalty on the Predators to go back on the powerplay. However, a horrible zone entry by Backstrom would result in Ryan Johansen chipping the puck up to Arvidsson who would score his second breakaway goal for the hat trick. Then on a one on one play into the zone, despite Jonas Siegenthaler’s best efforts, Rocco Grimaldi would make a really good move and an even better backhand shot to beat Pheonix Copley to make it 5-1. Then in the wanning seconds of the second period, Nick Bonino would tip in a point from Mattias Ekholm to make it 6-1.

     

    The 3rd period happened. Cool if we don’t talk about it? Yea… Thanks for understanding.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Devante Smith-Pelly, Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Nashville Predators:

    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 — P.K. Subban

    Mattias Ekholm — Ryan Ellis

    Dan Hamhuis — Yannick Weber

    Juuse Saros

    Pekka Rinne

    Scratched: Zac Rinaldo, Matt Irwin, Anthony Bitetto

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

     

    First Period:

    Predators Goal – 3:45 – Viktor Arvidsson (15) from Mattias Ekholm (29) and Filip Forsberg (9)

    Predators Goal – 10:33 – Nick Bonino (10) from Colton Sissons (12)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       NAS – 2

    Shots              08                09

    Faceoffs         10                07

    Hits               09                  05

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Predators Goal – 1:21 – Viktor Arvidsson (16) from PK Subban (14) and Ryan Johansen (33)

    Capitals Penalty – 1:55 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for Slashing

    Predators Penalty – 6:01 – PK Subban 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 7:07 – Nicklas Backstrom (12) from John Carlson (37) and Alex Ovechkin (19)

    Predators Penalty – 11:41 – Calle Jarnkrok 2 minutes for Tripping

    Predators SHG – 12:08 – Viktor Arvidsson (17) from Ryan Johansen (34)

    Predators Goal – 14:57 – Rocco Grimaldi (4) from unassisted

    Predators Penalty – 16:08 – Austin Watson 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 16:08 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 17:05 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Predators Goal – 19:54 – Nick Bonino (11) from Mattias Ekholm (30) and Ryan Hartman (7)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1        NAS – 6

    Shots               18                 20

    Faceoffs          17                 21

    Hits                 17                  10

    PP                   1/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 4:54 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Slashing

    Predators Goal – 7:56 – Calle Jarnkrok (8) from Kevin Fiala (20)

    Capitals Penalty – 7:56 – John Carlson 2, 10, and Game for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Predators Penalty – 15:24 – PK Subban for Misconduct

    Capitals Penalty – 15:24 – Tom Wilson for Misconduct

    Capitals Goal – 16:11 – TJ Oshie (14) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (30) and Jakub Vrana (11)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:58 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 2         NAS – 7

    Shots              28                   29

    Faceoffs        30                    28

    Hits               27                     12

    PP                 1/2                    0/5

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-14-5 59pts) v. NY Islanders (26-15-4 56pts)

    Nashville (28-16-4 60pts) v. Winnipeg (30-14-2 62pts)

  • 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 15th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    January 15th, 2019 — News and Notes

    These are your news and notes for Tuesday, January 15th, 2019.

     

    There were six contests in action yesterday.

     

     

     

    Colorado 6, TORONTO 3

    Colorado Avalanche’s Carl Soderberg would record a hat trick and in doing so would become the fourth player to have a hat trick in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history against the Maple Leafs.

     

    Colorado would go on to win the contest by the score of 6-3.
    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1085003568422273024

    The Maple Leafs were down 3-2 at the end of the 2nd period but a comeback would not be in the cards as Toronto would fall to the Avalanche 6-3.

    Steve Gardiner, TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer, has your recap of the games events at the following page…

    St. Louis 4, WASHINGTON 1

    Washington Capitals F Alex Ovechkin would score his 33rd goal of the season and would tie Dave Andreychuk for 14th place all time on the NHL’s goal list and score his 237th power-play goal.  With the power-play goal, he now has sole possession of sixth place.

     

    Washington would end up falling flat, allowing the Blues to score four unanswered goals and the Capitals would fall to the Blues by the score of 4-1.

     

    Washington’s Brooks Orpik would also go on to play in his 1,000th NHL game in this contest.

     

    St. Louis Blues David Perron would score his 16th goal on the season and in doing so he would become the first player to have at least a point in at least 11 consecutive games since Alexander Steen.

    TXHT has your full recap of this contest between the Blues and the Capitals at the following page.

     

    NEW JERSEY 8, Chicago 5

    The New Jersey Devils exploded for eight goals and would go on to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by the score of 8-5.  The Devils are 4-1-0 in their last five home contests.

     

    Chicago’s Brent Seabrook would score his 100th career goal in this contest.

     

     

     

    Montreal 3, BOSTON 2 (OT)

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would face off against their rival, the Boston Bruins, and would come away with the 3-2 win in overtime.

     

    Montreal’s Jeff Petry would score the game winner, just 15 seconds into the overtime frame.

     

     

    PHILADELPHIA 7, Minnesota 4

    The Philadelphia Flyers would face off against the Minnesota Wild and they would come away with the 7-4 win.

     

    The Flyers James van Riemsdyk would net a hat trick and Wayne Simmonds and Nolan Patrick would both have two goals each in the contest.

     

    Stats graphic in the contest between the Flyers and Wild

     

     

     

    EDMONTON 7, Buffalo 2

    Edmonton’s Milan Lucic would have two goals in the contest and help the Edmonton Oilers crush the Buffalo Sabres 7-2.  This would be Lucic’s first multi-goal game in nearly two years.

    Edmonton goaltender Mikko Koskinen would have 41 saves in the game, good for a .953 save percentage.  Five other skaters would score in an overall good offensive effort for the Oilers.

     

    There are 10 games on the NHL schedule today…

     

     

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats…