X75 Productions

Category: NHL

  • November 2nd, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is November 2nd, 2018 and these are your news and notes…

     

    Yesterday’s results and recaps:

     

    Recaps:

    -In the contest between the Florida Panthers and the Winnipeg Jets in the first NHL Global Series games in Finland, the Jets would defeat the Panthers 4-2.

    Jets F Patrik Laine recorded the first NHL career hat-trick in a regular-season contest outside of North America to outduel fellow countryman, Aleksander Barkov.

    Entering this contest, Laine only had three goals in 12 games. Laine scored two game-tying goals before he finished off the hat trick, the fifth of his NHL career.

    -The Montreal Canadiens would score a record of two goals in two seconds to defeat the Washington Capitals 6-4.

    Montreal Canadiens rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi would score his first two NHL career goals.

    Kotkaniemi would become the youngest player in League history born outside of North America at 18 years and 118 days to score at least two goals in a game since Patrik Laine accomplished the same feat at 18 years and 183 days.

    TXHT has all of your information on this contest here.

    With Kotkaniemi scoring, all four of the top draft picks have registered at least one goal.

     

    For other news, notes and stats:

     

    On tap for today:

    The Florida Panthers and the Winnipeg Jets conclude their games in the NHL Global Series in Finland today at 2 p.m. ET to kick off one of three contests.

    Print

     

    In NHL news…

    • The Tampa Bay Lightning and Yanni Gourde have agreed to a six-year contract with an AAV of $5.166 million.
    • NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced tentative plans to have NHL Global Series games in four countries next season.

     

    In NWHL news…

    The Connecticut Whale and Taylor Marchin have agreed to a contract after a strong showing during Marchin’s PTO.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Full Gameday Preview and Coverage – 11/1/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Montreal Canadiens

     

    Washington Capitals (5-3-2 12pts) v. Montreal Canadiens (6-3-2 14pts)

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    In a battle of two 4th place teams in their respective divisions, the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens are going to be looking to improve their standing within their divisions. The Capitals are coming off two lackluster games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, while the Canadiens will be looking for their 6th win in nine games.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Jakub Vrana

    Andre Burakovsky — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Chandler Stephenson — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nathan Walker, Aaron Ness

    Injured: Brooks Orpik (lower body), Travis Boyd (leg)

    Suspended: Tom Wilson

     

    Keys to the Game (Michael):

    1. Play a full 60 minutes

    The Capitals need to come into this game and play a full 60 minutes. They barely showed up in Edmonton, and they coasted through their game in Calgary, and it wasn’t acceptable. The Capitals need to play a full 60 minutes if they hope to win tonight in Montreal.

     

    2. Keep your feet moving

    The Capitals are going to need to keep their feet moving against the Canadiens. The Canadiens are much quicker team and the Capitals will need to utilize their speed to help neutralize Montreal’s.

     

    Montreal Canadiens:

    Projected Lineup:

    Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

    Jonathan Drouin — Max Domi — Charles Hudon

    Artturi Lehkonen — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Joel Armia

    Nicolas Deslauriers — Matthew Peca — Andrew Shaw

    Jordie Benn — Jeff Petry

    Mike Reilly — Noah Juulsen

    Xavier Ouellet — Victor Mete

    Carey Price

    Antti Niemi

    Scratched: Karl Alzner

    Injured: Paul Byron (lower body), Shea Weber (knee), David Schlemko (knee), Tomas Plekanec (back)

     

    Keys to the Game (Armand):

    1. Don’t give the Caps chances with the man advantage.
    2. Carey Price needs to play a solid game as both Braden Holtby and Price are two of the best netminders in the league.
    3. Fast start Montreal needs to get on the board early to gain momentum.
    4. Lastly No Stupid Turnovers Montreal has made too many boneheaded moves this season.

     

    First Period:

    Canadiens Goal – 2:28 – Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1) from Joel Armia (3)

    Capitals Goal – 6:16 – Lars Eller (2) from Matt Niskanen (4) and Chandler Stephenson (2)

    Canadiens Penalty – 8:23 – Brendan Gallagher 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 8:23 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Roughing

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       MON – 1

    Shots              13                18

    Faceoffs         06                06

    Hits               12                  10

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Analysis:

    Capitals (Michael) – This was an ok period for the Capitals. Definitely did not start this game well as they  looked overwhelmed by Montreal’s speed, and at one point was being out shot 10-3. However, with Braden Holtby’s stellar play and a solid shift by the 3rd line which resulted in a goal, and some really solid 4 on 4 play, the Capitals were able to get themselves back into this game.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Habs played a great period. Great on the forecheck. Getting tons of shots on Holtby.

     

    Need to Do:

    Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals need to start the next two periods much better than they started the first period. Also the Capitals need to continue to keep forcing the play in the Canadiens zone and clean up their own play in the front of Holtby and not let the Canadiens cut through the middle.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – From what I can see the Habs just need to keep doing what they did in the first.

     

    Second Period:

    Canadiens Goal – :32 – Brendan Gallagher (8) from Tomas Tatar (7)

    Canadiens Goal – 3:06 – Brendan Gallagher (9) from Tomas Tatar (8) and Phillip Danault (5)

    Capitals Goal – 6:49 – Alex Ovechkin (9) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (11) and Jakub Vrana (3)

    Capitals Goal – 7:59 – Lars Eller (3) from Brett Connolly (7)

    Capitals Goal – 12:53 – Alex Ovechkin (10) from Dmitry Orlov (2) and Matt Niskanen (5)

    Capitals Penalty – 16:16 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 19:57 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Interfernce

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 4        MON – 3

    Shots               26                 27

    Faceoffs          18                 13

    Hits                 16                  21

    PP                   0/0                  0/1 *2nd in progress

     

    Analysis:

    Capitals (Michael) – This period did not start well for the Capitals, but they finished it strong. The Capitals scored 3 unanswered goals after Brendan Gallagher scored back to back goals in the first 3 minutes of the period, and forced the play in the Canadiens zone.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Turnovers have killed the Habs Especially on the short handed opportunity Washington had.

     

    Need to Do:

    Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals need to play a strong 20 minutes to close out the Canadiens. They need to kill off this late penalty by Lars Eller and use that momentum to take it to the Canadiens.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Habs need to come out strong after a poor period. Powerplay to start the period needs to be strong.

     

    Third Period:

    Canadiens Penalty – 13:01 – Charles Hudon 2 minutes for Tripping

    Canadiens Goal –  – Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2) from Artturi Lehkonen (7) and Victor Mete (1)

    Canadiens Goal – 19:38 – Max Domi (6) from Mike Rielly (3)

    Canadiens ENG – 19:40 – Joel Armia (3) from Phillip Danault (6)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 4         MON – 6

    Shots              31                   44

    Faceoffs        35                    25

    Hits               25                     32

    PP                 0/1                    0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Capitals (Michael) – What should have been a win for the Capitals became nothing more but a blown opportunity for them. All they needed to do was play a full 20 minutes and truly pressure the Canadiens in their own zone and and keep the play there, but instead this was a period dominated by the Canadiens and they were able to take this game from the Capitals in the final 3 minutes of this game including 2 goals in two seconds to seal the deal for the Canadiens. One of the biggest bright spots was the play of Braden Holtby, and his stellar play in net kept this game a lot closer than it would have seemed to be. The Capitals were out shot 17-5 in the third period alone.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Habs blow a 3-1 lead but like the time they played Washington in the playoffs the Habs storm back to get the win. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brendan Gallagher each pick up two goals as Max Domi had a goal that would be the decider. Carey Price looked a little shaky at times but made some key saves late in the game to keep the Habs in the game.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (5-4-2 12pts) v. Dallas (7-5-0 14pts)

    Montreal (7-3-2 16pts) v, Tampa Bay (8-3-1 19pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Gameday Preview & Recap:  Dallas Stars vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview & Recap:  Dallas Stars vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    Time: Thursday, Novemeber 1st, 2018

    Toronto: 8-4-0 for 16 points

    Dallas: 6-5-0 for 14 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs play their second game of the season against the Dallas Stars. Game 1 ended in the Leafs walking away victorious 7-4 in Dallas. But the Leafs have had their troubles on home ice this year going 3-4. This also marks the 2nd game without Auston Matthews, expect the Leafs to come out with a little more fire than they did against Calgary. Dallas is coming off a 4 -1 over the Montreal Canadiens and seemingly firing on all cylinders.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup
    Auston Matthews – 16 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-off
    Mitch Marner – 126 points (4 goals 12 assists)
    Morgan Rielly – 15 points (4 goals 11 assists)
    John Tavares – 13 points (7 goals 6 assists) 49% on face-offs

    Tyler Seguin –12 points (3 goals 9 assists) 59.6% faceoffs
    John Klingberg– 11 points (5 goal 6 assists)
    Alex Radulov– 11 points (5 goal 6 assist)
    Jamie Benn– 9 points (4 goal 5 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    6-4-0 2.53GAA .919SV%

    Anton Khudobin
    1-1 3.03GAA .898SV%

    Probable Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Mitch Marner – Nazem Kadri– Patrick Marleau

    Tyler Ennis – Pars Lindholm – Connor Brown

    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo
    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), Auston Matthews (Shoulder)

    Suspension: None

     

    Dallas:

    Justin Dowling – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov

    Jamie Benn – Jason Spezza– Mattias Janmark

    Valeri Nichuskin– Radek Faksa – Gemel Smith

    Devin Shore – Jason Dickinson – Blake Comeau
    Esa Lindell –John Klingberg

    Marc Methot – Miro Heiskanen

    Julius Honka – Roman Polak
    Anton Khudobin

    Ben Bishop
    Scratched: Connor Carrick

    Injuries: Martin Hanzal, Stephen Johns

    Suspension: None

    4 Keys to Winning against Dallas:

    1. Stay Out of the Box
      1. The Stars own one of the top power-plays in the league and the Leafs penalty kill has not been good.
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Puck possession is going to be something that the Leafs need to have during this game, don’t get into an offensive tug of war with Dallas.
    3. Nazem Kadri
      1. With the absence of Matthews, Kadri will be called upon to step up his game more offensively. Shouldn’t be an issue considering he is a former 30 goal scorer.
    4. Limit Turnovers
      1. No crazy turnovers, way too much talent on this Dallas roster. They will make you pay.

    Game Day Lineups:

    First Period:

    Dallas Penalty – 07:28 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes from Holding

    End of 1st – DAL – 0       TOR – 0

    Shots              07                10

    Faceoffs         12/16          4/16

    Hits               17                  7

    PP                 0/0               0/1

    Analysis:

    Leafs came ready to be aggressive against the Stars. Pressing the Stars defence and forward even in the neutral zone. Not allowing the Stars much offensive zone time but forcing Dallas to take shots from the outside. All players are back checking hard, and clogging up the neutral zone. The 3rd and 4th lines are playing like they have something to prove and Travis Dermott is making sure he doesn’t give Babcock any reasons to take him out of the lineup again.

    Need to Do:

    Continue the pressure and get more bodies in front of the net.

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 09:53 – Par Lindholm 2 minutes for Holding

    Dallas Goal – 11:55 – Jamie Benn (5) from Tyler Seguin (10) and John Klingberg (7)

    Toronto Penalty – 12:41 – Justin Holl 2 minutes for Holding

    Dallas Penalty – 16:02 – Marc Methot 2 minutes for Tripping

    End of 2nd – DAL – 1        TOR – 0

    Shots               15                 16

    Faceoffs          21/31            10/31

    Hits                 28                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

    Analysis:

    Leafs took the foot off the gas pedal and look to be really struggling to find any offence. Scoring needs to come from somewhere question is who will step up.

    Need to Do:

    Leafs need to put together a full period. Attack and Attack!

    Third Period:

    Dallas Penalty – 01:12 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes for Holding

    Dallas Goal – 04:43 – Devin Shore (3) from Mattias Janmark (1) and Tyler Seguin (11)

    Dallas Penalty – 05:30 – Jason Dickinson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Dallas Penalty – 16:29 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes for Tripping

    Toronto PPG Goal – 16:51 – Patrick Marleau (2) from Morgan Rielly (12) and John Tavares (7)

    End of 3rd – DAL – 2         TOR – 1

    Shots              18                   31

    Faceoffs        34                    18

    Hits               34/54             20/54

    PP                 0/2                    1/5

    Analysis:

    This game should have been a win for the Leafs, as they were the much better team for the majority of the game but a few posts and the realization of how much even the players relied on Auston Matthews for goals was at the forefront. Johnsson, Lindholm, Brown, Kapanen looked like they were there to play with speed and aggressiveness, which is a first all season for some of those guys. Take this as a building block for them to get the We Need Matthews to win games mentality out of their brain. Much better showing then against Calgary.

     

    Next Up:

    Toronto (8-5-0 16pts) @ Pittsburgh (6-2-1 13pts)

    Dallas (7-5-0 14pts) @ Washington (5-4-2 12pts)

     

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

     

  • November 1st, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Thursday, November 1st, 2018 and these are your news and notes.

    In the lone contest of the evening, the Vancouver Canucks would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.

    Jake Virtanen tied the game twice and then Brendan Gaunce would net the go-ahead goal with 10:37 left in regulation. With the win, Vancouver is now 8-6-0 on the season and is 5-0-0 in the last five contests against the Blackhawks dating back to March 21, 2017.

    Vancouver now sits in first place in the Pacific Division ahead of San Jose and Calgary with 16 points.

    In this contest, Jonathan Toews would take sixth place of the Blackhawks regular season goal-scoring list with his 299th career goal.

    Today in the NHL, the NHL Global Series games kickoff in Finland at 2 p.m. EDT on NBCSN and TSN3 in Canada when the Winnipeg Jets take on the Florida Panthers.

    Print

    nov_1st_schedy-31083023

    For more news, notes, and stats:

    In NHL news…

    The NHL announced today that all 31 teams will take part in the 20th anniversary of the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Hockey Fights Cancer has been uniting hockey communities in support of cancer patients for the last 20 years.

    All 31 teams across the league will host Hockey Fights Cancer awareness nights and will feature all teams wearing lavender jerseys, dasherboards, decals on all players helmets, and “I Fight For…” cards.

    cut

    In addition, all youth hockey leagues across North America have the option to host their own Hockey Fights Cancer nights via their community rinks via the HFC Assist programs.

    In tonight’s contest when the Washington Capitals take on the Montreal Canadiens, it will be C Nicklas Backstrom’s 826th career game, passing Michal Pivonka for sixth place on the Capitals franchise games played list.

    Navy Federal Credit Union and the NHL announced that the two have entered a multi-year U.S. partnership to recognize and support veterans, active-duty service members and their families.

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

    In addition, Navy Federal Credit Union will serve as a presenting sponsor of the first NHL Veterans Appreciation Night on November 7th on NBCSN.

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

    Slava Voynov has officially applied for NHL reinstatement per NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

    Elias Pettersson was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month and currently leads all rookies with seven goals and 10 points in eight contests.

    The NHL also announced the Three Stars of the Month today.

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

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • TXHT – 10/31/2018

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQyrcBE8Yi4&w=560&h=315]

     

    Join Michael as he breaks down the past week in for the Washington Capitals, NHL, and NWHL.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • October 31st, 2018 — News and Notes

    These are your news and notes for Wednesday, October 31st, 2018.

     

    There were 11 NHL contests last night…

    • Brayden Point had a five-point night for the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa Bay’s 8-3 rout of the New Jersey Devils.  In Point’s first five-point game of his career, Tampa scored eight goals for the second time this season and moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

    By scoring eight goals for the second time this season, this marked the third season in the last 25 to feature six or more times in which a team has registered at least eight goals in a game before play in October has come to an end.

    • In Arizona, the Coyotes would win their fourth consecutive game when five different players registered goals in the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 defeat of the Ottawa Senators.  The Coyotes have 27 goals in their last six games, making it the highest in that span. The Coyotes also registered 27 goals in a six-game span during the 2006-07 season.
    • David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron played critical roles in the Boston Bruins 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Boston is now 11-0-5 in their last 16 contests against the Hurricanes dating back to the 2013-14 season. Pastrnak has 16 points on the season and is now tied with Chicago’s Patrick Kane for 11 goals on the season.

    Pastrnak joins Phil Esposito and Charlie Simmer as the only players in Bruins history to register double-digit goals in the month of October.

    In this same contest, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho recorded an assist and joined Wayne Gretzky and Ken Linseman as the only players in League history to have a season-opening assist streak of 12 games.

     

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

    For more news, notes, and stats, please refer to this:

     

    There is one contest in action tonight…

    Oct_31st_Schedy-31014433

    Image courtesy of the NHL and NHL Public Relations.

     

    In NHL news:

    • Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman released his “31 Thoughts” article today and it discusses the new agreement between the NHL and MGM Resorts in regards to gambling.

     

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

  • October 30, 2018 — News and Notes

     

    These are your news and notes for Tuesday, October 30th, 2018.

     

    There were two contests last night in the NHL.

    • The Vancouver Canucks took on the Minnesota Wild and went on to win the contest 5-2.Elias Pettersson scored two goals to give him 10 points thus far and would help snap the Wild’s five game win streak.Pettersson went on to become the 21st player in league history to register at least seven goals in their first seven career games and only the eighth in the NHL’s Modern era dating back to the 1943-44 season.
    • In the other contest of the evening, the Calgary Flames went on to rout the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1, and defeated the Maple Leafs for the first time on the road since the 2010-11 season.

      With the win, the six-game slide in Toronto is no more. Calgary scored two goals in 55 seconds in the third, including the game-winner registered by Elias Lindholm. Lindholm leads all Calgary skaters with eight goals and trails six others for the League lead.

      Lindholm also became the first Flames player to score eight goals in 12 games played since the 2007-08 season when Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow also hit the mark of eight goals in 12 games.

     

    There are 11 contests happening tonight.

    Oct_30th_Schedy-30121638.jpg

    Image courtesy of the NHL and the NHL Public Relations.

     

    For more news, notes, and stats…

     

    In NHL news…

    -The Pittsburgh Penguins announced earlier today that the team will wear a “Stronger Than Hate” patch on their jerseys tonight in memory of the Tree of Life tragedy that happened this past Saturday.

    -The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced yesterday that Ottawa Senators D Mark Borowiecki has been suspended three games for his illegal check to the head of Vegas Golden Knights F Cody Eakin.

     

    In the NWHL…

    -In case you missed it, TXHT’s Christopher Vasilas wrote an article about the start of the Minnesota Whitecaps season thus far and how good they are.

    Check out the article here.

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

  • Montreal Canadiens Game Day Preview

    Montreal Canadiens Game Day Preview

    Montreal Canadiens: 6-2-2

    Dallas Stars 5-5-0

    Referees: #29 Ian Walsh, #17 Frederick L’Ecuyer

    Linesman: #88 Tyler Baker, #87 David Berg

    The Canadiens return home after embarking on a short two game road trip into Buffalo and Boston. During the trip the Habs went one and one. The Habs most recent game came with a 3-0 shutout of the Boston Bruins and Carey Price passing Patrick Roy for 2nd all-time on the Canadiens win list. The Stars are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings on Sunday.

    The Habs will be facing a Dallas team who has gotten off to a rough start but will get one of their top wingers back tonight in Alexander Radulov. The Habs will stick with the same line-up as they did on Saturday night in Boston. Max Domi will look to extend his point streak to eight tonight.  The Habs will look to finish a strong first month of the season with another W in the win column after tonight. Carey Price will get the start between the pipes for the Habs.

    Keys To The Game:

    Dallas comes into tonight ranked third in the NHL in face-off percentage at 52.8 percent. Montreal has done a nice job lately on improving in this category but could end up being a very important factor in tonight’s game.

    Goaltending should play a vital part in tonight’s game as Carey Price and Ben Bishop have been solid in their last few starts. If both goaltenders continue to be on their game it should be a very low-scoring game.

     

    Forwards:

    Tomas Tatar-Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher

    Jonathan Drouin-Max Domi-Artturi Lehkonen

    Paul Byron-Jesperi Kotkaniemi- Joel Armia

    Nicolas Deslauriers- Matthew Peca- Charles Hudon

    Defensive Pairings:

    Jordie Benn- Jeff Petry

    Mike Reilly- Karl Alzner

    Xavier Ouellet- Victor Mete

     

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

  • October 29th, 2018 — News and Notes

     

    These are your news and notes for Monday, October 29th, 2018

     

    There were six games in action last night…

     

    Tonight, there are only two games in action…

    Oct_29th_Schedy-29120536.jpg

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

     

    For more news, notes, and stats…

     

    In NWHL action…

    In the lone NWHL contest yesterday, the Minnesota Whitecaps defeated the Buffalo Beauts 2-1 and moved the Whitecaps to a 6-0-0 record on the season.  Minnesota’s Amy Menke scored the game winner in the third period.

    Minnesota entered the weekend undefeated with Buffalo and the Boston Pride, but with the two wins over the Beauts and Boston’s loss to the Metropolitan Riveters on Saturday, Minnesota remains the lone undefeated team in the NWHL.

    Minnesota would score the first goal of the game just 19 seconds into the contest with Kate Schipper scoring. This was Schipper’s second goal of the weekend.

    Buffalo would be awarded a penalty shot when the puck was covered in the crease with Dani Cameranesi scoring into the top left corner to tie the game at 1.

    Minnesota Whitecaps remain undefeated with 2-1 win over Buffalo Beauts.

     

    Coming up next on the NWHL Schedule:

    The league will be taking a break for the upcoming Four Nations tournament and will return on November 17th.

    • November 17th: Buffalo Beauts at Boston Pride
      November 18th: Connecticut Whale at Metropolitan Riveters
      November 18th: Buffalo Beauts at Boston Pride

     

    The Minnesota Whitecaps return to NWHL action December 1st and 2nd when they take on the Boston Pride TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota.

     

    In NHL news…

    The NHL announced the Three Stars of the Week today.

     

    The NHL announced today that the league has entered a landmark sports betting partnership with MGM Resorts International.

     

    The Department of Player Safety announced that Ottawa Senators D Mark Borowiecki will have a hearing today for his illegal check to the head of Vegas Golden Knights Cody Eakin

     

    In NWHL News…

     

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

  • Gary Bettman and Suspensions – Why you should stop blaming him for everything

    So before I go into this, because this will probably be one of the most “controversial” topics I’ll ever write about, I’d like to start with a quote that my father always says and that is “11 out of 10 people are stupid”, and right now I’m going to try to fix the stupid so please wish me luck.

     

    So in the hockey world one of the hottest topics is that of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the “controversy” surrounding him in regards to the suspensions of Auston Watson, for domestic abuse off the ice, and Tom Wilson, for an illegal check to the head during a game. Now these are two completely separate matters and I’d like to take deeper looks into both suspensions and explain why both of these cases need to be considered as such.

     

    First let’s take a look at Auston Watson of the Nashville Predators. During this past offseason Watson and his girlfriend had a domestic dispute that lead to some physicality and Watson being arrested for the incident. When all was said and done Watson pleaded no contest to the charges that were put against him. As a result of this off ice matter Commissioner Gary Bettman had a hearing with Watson, and then handed him a 27 game suspension for conduct detrimental to League. As a result of this ruling made by Bettman, per the CBA, Watson had the right to appeal this suspension, and since Bettman was the one handing out the suspension, to a neutral arbitrator. When Watson’s appeal was heard by the neutral arbitrator, the arbitrator reduced the suspension from 27 games to 18 games.

     

    Now let’s look at Tom Wilson’s suspension. During a preseason game Wilson delivered an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist which resulted in a match penalty and game misconduct. Wilson had a Player Safety hearing with George Parros, the head of the Department of Player Safety, and was given a 20 game suspension given his recent history in the previous 12 months, and several sit down conversations and warnings that was given to him during that time. Recently Wilson and the NHLPA appealed the suspension which, per the CBA, was heard by Gary Bettman. This past Thursday Bettman upheld the suspension, and Wilson is now appealing to a neutral arbitrator that will hear the case on Wednesday October 31st.

     

    So now that the back story on both cases have been established, let’s look the similarities and differences of both cases.

     

    Differences:

    • Auston Watson’s suspension was a result of an off ice matter.
    • Tom Wilson’s Suspension was a result of a play on the ice.
    • Watson’s suspension was given to him by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
    • Wilson’s suspension was was given to him by George Parros from the Department of Player Safety.
    • Watson’s suspension could only be appealed to a neutral arbitrator per the CBA.
    • Wilson’s suspension has to be appealed to the Commissioner first, then, if upheld, can then be appealed to a neutral arbitrator per the CBA.

     

    Similarities:

    • Watson’s original suspension handed to him by Bettman was 27 games.
    • Wilson’s suspension handed to him by Parros is 20 games.
    • Per the CBA, any suspension six (6) or more games can be appealed.

     

    As you can tell the only similarity that these two have is that both suspensions were 20 or more games, but it’s what the differences are that matter here because this is where everyone is getting this confused. Auston Watson was suspended for an off ice offence and Gary Bettman handed down a punishment that he deemed appropriate for Watson’s particular case, whereas Tom Wilson was suspended for an illegal check to the head and has a history, and Bettman upheld the suspension originally given by George Parros.

     

    So what is the issue here? The correct answer is there is none, but people are making an issue of it anyways.

     

    Now there is the crowd that is going after Bettman and the League because there is no Domestic Violence policy in the NHL, which yes that is an issue and needs to be addressed in the next CBA talks with the NHLPA as there should be a Domestic Violence Policy with strict guidelines and penalties for when those types of matters occur, but right now there isn’t and we need to accept that fact that as of right now, and until a new policy can be put in place, this is how it works when it comes to Domestic disputes off the ice. The Commissioner reviews the off ice matter, and then he makes a ruling on the matter. Also let’s keep in mind that Slava Voynov is still considered suspended indefinitely, and if he were able to be allowed to return to the United States, which by the way per US law he can’t, then the League has made it known that more punishment would be coming his way as his Domestic Violence case is much more gruesome than the one concerning Auston Watson (and in no way are we saying that Watson’s case is minor, we are just stating that Voynov’s is a much more serious case as his wife beaten bloody, and hospitalized).

     

    Now with the above stated let’s get right to it. Stop blaming Gary Bettman for what is going on right now, but most importantly, stop comparing off ice matters as if it were an on ice matter. They are completely different, and they can’t be compared. What was handed out by the League to Auston Watson and to Tom Wilson can’t be compared because they happened under different circumstances. Gary Bettman is handling these situations the best he can, and has done so with respect.

     

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