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Category: TXHT

  • Arizona Coyotes vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 20/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Arizona Coyotes vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 20/1/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Time: Sunday January 20th,  2019

    Toronto: 29-16-2 for 60 points

    Arizona: 21-22-4 for 46 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs come back home as they look to come back from a bad loss to the Florida Panthers on the road.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –60 points (19 goals 41 assists)
    John Tavares – 52 points (29 goals 23 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 48 points (13 goals 35 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 42 points (20 goals 22 assists) 53% on Face-offs)

    Clayton Keller – 33 points (10 goals 23 assists)
    Alex Galchenyuk – 25 points (8 goal 17 assist)
    Oliver-Ekman Larsson – 25 points (6 goal 19 assists)
    Derek Stepan – 20 points (9 goal 11 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    21-10-1 2.53GAA .923SV%

    Darcy Kuemper
    9-11-4 2.69GAA .914SV%

     

    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

     

    Arizona:

    Clayton Keller – Jordan Weal – Christian Fischer

    Richard Panik – Derek Stepan– Vinnie Hinostroza

    Alex Galychenyk – Nick Cousins – Conor Garland

    Lawson Crowse – Mario Kempe – Josh Archibald

     

    Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Niklas Hjalmarsson

    Jakub Chychrun – Ilya Lyubushkin

    Jordan Oesterle – Alex Golgoski

     

    Darcy Kuemper

    Calvin Pickard

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Christian Dvorak, Jason Demers, Antti Raanta, Michael Grabner, Nick Schmaltz and Kevin Connauton

    Suspension: None

     

    Keys to Winning against Arizona:

    1. Attack the Defence
      1. Young defence and a lot of injuries on the backend. Forecheck hard and furious
    2. William Nylander
      1. It’s time for the scoring drought to end. If it happens it’s going to be now
    3. Powerplay
      1. Been struggling for a while. Gotta get it going again to make the Leafs dangerous
  • Is the Player Safety Bias when comes to suspending stars?

    Is the Player Safety Bias when comes to suspending stars?

    Last time we discussed the inconsistencies of the NHL Player Safety department and how if they are really worried about player safety they need to begin to call all hits that are recklessly dangerous to a players safety. This article we’re going to try to tackle a bigger subject, Is the NHL Player Safety Department Bias when it comes to star players? This is a subject that has been lingering for a long time in the NHL, let’s discuss why.

    I’m sure we’ve seen the aftermath of the Ottawa/ Pittsburgh game where Sidney Crosby’s slash across Ottawa Senators Defencemen Marc Methot’s hand almost left his finger hanging there. If you haven’t I’ll leave the link below so you can take a look for yourself.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HpS3ECqkdA

     

    Then the same week Crosby speared Ryan O’Rielly in a retaliation play. The most disturbing thing about this whole situation was Crosby never received a hearing or fine. I want you to listen to the Hockey News Matt Larkin on these same two issues and I quote “If you think Crosby should be suspended, you’re delusional.” (Larkin, 2017) he went on to mention that much worse has been done and if they weren’t suspended why should Crosby when there was no intent to injure. I don’t know about you but an intentional stick to the groin sounds like intent and a slash so hard that it messed up Methot’s finger so much through his glove, sounds like its suspension worthy. I will put the link to both incidents down below. Now let me say this isn’t a rag on Crosby article, this is just one of a few situations we will discuss. But to be fair I need to put everything in the open.

     

    We’ve seen the Brad Marchand shenanigans, licking people, punching players with gloves on that aren’t expecting It from behind. Yet Brad Marchand sits with a very slim record of any discipline, the league has had “stern” talks with Marchand and yet he continues. Another player is Corey Perry, the number of questionable hits that come from Perry is ridiculous. Yet Perry also has a slim record.

     

    Alexander Ovechkin has a mean streak and sometimes he throws hits that are quite questionable. Ovechkin though seems to be one of the few guys who actually gets suspended. Ovechkin has been suspended 3 times.

     

    Then there’s the mysterious Ryan Johansen. He tends to do things that are questionable and even things that are so far across the limit that you wonder if he’s thinking at all. Recently Johansen just got two games for what the league called “unintentionally slashing the Winnipeg Jets player over the head with his stick” or as wet line to call recklessness. I’ll such the video below so you can see for yourself.

     

    All this said is the NHL Player Safety Bias towards Stars? I’m going to say no. More lenient yes, but not bias. But do you blame them? We see the NHL as a sport, they see it as a business and their business is run and held together by these Star players. So yeah you kind of got to protect your investment a bit. I’m saying I agree with it. But it’s how a business works, always got to protect your investment.

    I believe as you probably do that the NHL Player Safety Department should call it fair for every player and I get annoyed if I see a player of star caliber get away with something that another player would easily get suspended for. But we’re looking at things as fans and lovers of the sport, we expect things to be fair allowing for better games and more parity. We just love the game. But the NHL is a business and at the end of the day they will run it like a business. It’s why the NHL has been able to expand and keep teams like the Arizona Coyotes or the Florida Panthers and even the Ottawa Senators and bring back the Winnipeg Jets. So yeah I guess you can call it a bias, like these guys still get suspended as I’ve shown you above. It comes across as more of a leniency then anything else.

     

    But let’s keep the conversation going, leave your thoughts. I would love to hear them.

  • 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…

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

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

    Toronto Maple Leafs (29-15-2 60pts) v, Florida Panthers (17-20-8 42pts)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Zach Hyman– Auston Matthews – William Nylander

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Andreas Johnsson

    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 –Vincent Trocheck– Nick Bjugstad

    Mike Hoffman – Henrik Borgstrom – Denis Malgin

    Jayce Hawryluk –Jared McCann – 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

    Suspension: None

     

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Toronto Goal – 01:49 – Ron Hainsey (4) from Morgan Rielly (35) and Kasperi Kapanen (15)

    Toronto Penalty – 04:27 – Kasperi Kapanen, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Florida Penalty – 05:13 – Evgenii Dadonov, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Florida Goal – 09:02 – Mike Hoffman (23) from Keith Yandle (31) and Nick Bjugstad (7)

    Florida Goal – 14:59 – Mike Matheson (3) from Vincent Trocheck (12) and Jonathan Huberdeau (36)

     

    End of 1st – TOR –1        FLA – 2

    Shots              4                   13

    Faceoffs     10/20              10/20

    Hits               10                     7

    PP                 0/1                  0/2

     

    Analysis

    Leafs came out strong scored in the first 2 minutes of the game but them by the 9 minute mark had taken their foot off the gas pedal and let Florida take control.

    Need to Do:

    Keep Digging for pucks, and using your speed. Keep the pace up-tempo against the Panthers forwards and defence

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 15:38 –Andreas Johnsson, 2 mins for Hooking

    End of 2nd – TOR– 1          FLA – 2

    Shots              12                    22

    Faceoffs       19/38              19/38

    Hits              19                      14

    PP                 0/1                  0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs put on a solid period but still no pucks in the net.

    Need to Do:

    Need a big 3rd period.

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 02:15 –Jake Gardiner, 2 mins for Cross Checking

    Florida EN Goal – 18:14 – Frank Vatrano (14) from Mark Psysk (6)

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 1        FLA – 3

    Shots             21                   29

    Faceoffs     35/64                29/64

    Hits               21                        26

    PP                0/1                   0/3

     

    Analysis:

    Another disappointing effort from the Leafs after a huge win in Tampa Bay. Garrett Sparks held them in all game and they let him down.

    Next Up:

    Arizona (21-22-3 45pts) vs Toronto (29-16-2 60pts)

    Florida (18-20-8 44pts) at Nashville (28-17-4 60pts)

  • 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)

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

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

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning

    Time: Thursday, January 17th,  2019

    Toronto: 28-15-2 for 58 points

    Tampa Bay: 36-9-2 for 74 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to come back a two-game losing streak and avoid a three game losing streak for the first time all season as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    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)

    Nikita Kucherov – 75 points (22 goals 53 assists)
    Brayden Point – 61 points (29 goal 32 assist)
    Steven Stamkos – 53 points (24 goal 29 assists)
    Tyler Johnson – 34 points (18 goal 16 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    20-10-1 2.54GAA .922SV%

    Andrei Vasilevskiy
    19-5-2 2.46GAA .925SV%

    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

     

    Keys to Winning against Tampa Bay:

    1. Tighten up the defence
      1. Struggles on the backend, have become a huge issue. Leafs need to tighten up or else they will be trampled.
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Keep the top line in their own zone.
    3. Nylander
      1. Needs to find some sort game. This team needs him to go.

     

     

  • 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.

  • 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…

  • Colorado Avalanche vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 14/1/2019 – Game Day Preview & Recap

    Colorado Avalanche vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 14/1/2019 – Game Day Preview & Recap

    Gameday Preview:  Colorado vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Time: Saturday, January 14th,  2019

    Toronto: 28-14-2 for 58 points

    Colorado: 20-17-8 for 48 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to come back from a close loss and a game full of giveaways and jump back into the winning column against the struggling Colorado Avalanche

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –58 points (17 goals 41 assists)
    John Tavares – 50 points (29 goals 21 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 46 points (13 goals 33 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 39points (20 goals 19 assists) 53% on Face-offs)

    Mikko Rantanen – 68 points (20 goals 48 assists)
    Nathan MacKinnon– 66 points (26 goal 40 assist)
    Gabriel Landeskog- 51 points (27 goal 24 assists)
    Tyson Barrie – 32 points (5 goal 27 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    20-9-1 2.50GAA .923SV%

    Philipp Grubauer
    9-5-3 3.29GAA .895SV%

    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

    Michael Hutchinson

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back), Garrett Sparks (Concussion), Tyler Ennis (Leg)

    Suspension: None

     

    Colorado:

    Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

    JT Compher – Alexander Kerfoot– Colin Wilson

    Matthew Nieto – Carl Soderberg – Matt Calvert

    Tyson Jost – Sheldon Dries – Sven Andrighetto

     

    Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson

    Ian Cole – Tyson Barrier

    Ryan Graves – Mark Barberio

     

    Philipp Grubauer

    Semyon Varlamov

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Vladislav Kamenov, Nikita Zadorov

    Suspension: None

     

    Keys to Winning against Colorado:

    1. Hard Forecheck
      1. The defence ha been a weak spot for the Avalanche, attack them hard and furious
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Hem the big line of the Avs in their own zone so they can’t hurt you
    3. Johnsson, Kapanen, Matthews
      1. They built a great game in Boston they need to continue

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Colorado Penalty – 06:47 – Nikita Zadorov, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Leafs Penalty – 19:20 – Travis Dermott, 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 1st – COL –0        TOR – 0

    Shots             12                  6

    Faceoffs     7/18              11/18

    Hits               8                     4

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Analysis

    Leafs played slow and sloppy in the first period. They couldn’t get a solid forecheck going.

     

    Need to Do:

    Get on the forecheck hassle the weak defence of Colorado

    Second Period:

    Leafs Goal–02:14 – Igor Ozhiganov (3), assisted by Morgan Rielly (34) and Auston Matthews (21)

    Leafs Goal–03:28 – Kasperi Kapanen (15), assisted by Andreas Johnsson (11)

    Colorado Goal–06:33 – Gabriel Landeskog (28), assisted by Tyson Barrie (28)

    Colorado Goal–09:56 – Mikko Rantanen (21), unassisted

    Colorado Penalty – 12:40 – Nikita Zadorov, 2 minutes for Boarding

    Colorado SH Goal–14:29 – Carl Soderberg (13), unassisted

    Toronto Penalty – 19:59 – John Tavares, 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – Colorado– 3          TOR – 2

    Shots              25                    12

    Faceoffs       14/36              22/36

    Hits              16                      8

    PP                 0/2                  0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs come alive in the 2nd but once again thanks to the Jake Gardiner and giveaways the Leafs end up down at the end of the period.

     

    Need to Do:

    Buckle up defensively

     

    Third Period:

    Toronto Goal–06:00 – Mitch Marner (18), assisted by Travis Dermott (11) and Auston Matthews (22)

    Colorado Penalty – 06:20 – Nathan MacKinnon, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Toronto Penalty – 06:20 – Zach Hyman, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Colorado Goal–11:45– Carl Soderberg (14), unassisted

    Colorado Goal–17:09 – Matt Calvert (7), assisted by JT Compher (9), Colin Wilson(6)

    Colorado EN Goal–18:12 – Carl Soderberg (15), assisted by Ian Cole (9),

     

    End of 3rd – COL– 6       TOR – 3

    Shots             38                   20

    Faceoffs     21/54                33/54

    Hits               25                       13

    PP                0/2                    0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs blow a 2-0 lead and look like a team that is struggling hard.

     

    Next Up:

    Colorado (21-17-8 50pts) vs Ottawa (17-24-5 39pts)

    Toronto (28-15-2 58pts) at Tampa (35-9-2 72pts)