In their first matchup of the 2018-19 season, the red hot Toronto Maple Leafs come to visit the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. This will be a battle of two high powered offenses, but what will the defense be like? Both teams have been involved in scoring affairs overall, which while is exciting for the fans, can be troublesome for the coaching staff.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Chandler Stephenson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Keys to the Game:
1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle
Toronto has some very dangerous centers down the middle and if they win in the faceoff dot, the Maple Leafs will have complete control of the play. The Capitals need their centers to be at top form against the likes of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and Nazem Kadri.
2. Play smart defensively
The Capitals have been a part of two very high scoring affairs against both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils which saw the Capitals give up 6 plus goals in both games. The Capitals will have to make smarter plays in their own zone, and make more accurate clearing attempts to get the Capitals offense into the Maple Leafs zone.
For a preview of the Toronto Maple Leafs, please read Steve Gardiner’s preview here.
You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, these are your news and notes for Friday, October 12th, 2018.
In NHL action last night there were twelve contests.
The Washington Capitals were shutout by the New Jersey Devils. Kyle Palmieri scored twice to drub Washington 6-0 in the home opener for the Devils.For TXHT’s coverage for last night’s contest between Washington and New Jersey, please go here.
It was an eventful night for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-3. The quartet of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, and Mitch Marner all continued their record-setting start to the season. The Maple Leafs have scored at least five goals in four straight games. The quartet also is in the top four for league scoring with a combined 44 points.TXHT has your coverage of this contest as well. For coverage, please go here.
Phil Kessel recorded his sixth career hat trick to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. This would be Kessel’s first hat trick with the Penguins. Kessel has scored at least 20 goals in the past ten seasons and is one of only five players currently playing in the NHL to achieve this feat.
The Montreal Canadiens were shutout by the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 last night.TXHT and Last Word on Hockey’s Armand Kilsvitch has your coverage of the contest at the following page.
In NHL action tonight, there are no games on the schedule. Game action will resume Saturday.
In NHL news…
Nashville Predators Austin Watson’s 27-game suspension for domestic violence was reduced by NHL/NHLPA neutral arbitator Shyam Das to 18 games last night.
#preds statement: “Our organization was not involved in the appeal of Austin Watson’s 27-game suspension, but we are aware of its reduction to 18 games. As previously stated, our focus has and will continue to be the health and well-being of Austin and his family.”
In relation to the reduced suspension, the NHL released the following statement today:
The National Hockey League released the following statement today regarding an arbitrator’s decision in the NHLPA’s appeal of Nashville Predators’ forward Austin Watson’s League-imposed suspension for domestic assault: pic.twitter.com/bB0UFl3YGs
The Vancouver Canucks announced yesterday that Henrik and Daniel Sedin will have their numbers retired next season.
2️⃣2️⃣ & 3️⃣3️⃣ set to join 1️⃣2️⃣, 1️⃣6️⃣, 1️⃣9️⃣ & 1️⃣0️⃣ in the rafters @RogersArena during Sedin jersey retirements next season. https://t.co/yYudo0J81V
In a pre-game ceremony in Montreal, the Canadiens honoured the 1993 Stanley Cup championship team.
Si vous n’êtes pas au Centre Bell avec nous ce soir, jetez un coup d’oeil à la cérémonie d’avant-match honorant nos champions de la Coupe Stanley 1993.
If you’re not at the Bell Centre with us tonight, here’s a look at the pregame ceremony that honored our ‘93 Cup Champions. pic.twitter.com/ZZGCyhImmT
In NWHL news, the NWHL returns to action tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. ET when the Buffalo Beauts faceoff against the Connecticut Whale in the Twitter Game of the Week. At 7:30 p.m., the Boston Pride faceoff against the Metropolitan Riveters.
NWHL hockey returns to Buffalo tomorrow, and you can catch it live on @Twitter!
These are your news and notes for Thursday, October 11th, 2018…
There were three contests in the NHL last night.
The Washington Capitals faced off against the Vegas Golden Knights in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin would both find the scoring sheet and lead Washington to a 5-2 victory over Vegas at Capital One Arena.Ovechkin would net career goals 610 and 611 to pass Bobby Hull for 17th place on the NHL’s career goal scoring list. This would also be Ovechkin’s first multi-goal game on the season and the 121st time he has multi-goal games in his NHL career.
The Philadelphia Flyers went on to defeat the Ottawa Senators 7-4. Jakub Voracek had a five point contest (two goals and three assists) to establish a career high. He joined Mike Richards and Claude Giroux as the only players in the last ten years to register five points in a regular season game.
Jakub Voracek is the third @NHLFlyers player in the last 10 years to record five points in a regular-season game, joining Mike Richards on Feb. 19, 2009 (2-3—5 vs. BUF) and Claude Giroux on Feb. 16, 2012 (0-5—5 vs. BUF). #NHLStats#PHIvsOTTpic.twitter.com/8a06DNXiGn
For the Ottawa Senators, rookie Brady Tkachuk scored his first two goals of his NHL career and became the quickest among his family to score his first NHL goal.
Brady Tkachuk of the @Senators required the fewest games among his family members to score his first career NHL goal, two less than his brother Matthew and three fewer than his father Keith. #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/lt499tEWwe
The Arizona Coyotes went on to defeat the Anahiem Ducks 3-2 in a shootout. This gave Arizona their first win of the season.Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta registered 23 saves and would deny three shooters in the shootout. Raanta now owns a .922 career save percentage which is go for third-highest among goalie who have appeared in at least 100 games.
On this day in 2015, we dropped the puck for our inaugural season! What an incredible three years it’s been! Thank you to our fans and supporters! pic.twitter.com/LSCQ4rSvc1
In their first matchup since facing each other in the last regular game of the 2017-18 season, the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils look to renew their rivalry tonight. The Capitals will be playing in their fourth game which also happens to be the 2nd of a back to back for the Capitals once again, while the Devils will be playimg in their second game of the season.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Brett Connolly
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – TJ Oshie
Chandler Stephenson – Lars Eller – Andre Burakovsky
Dmitrij Jaskin – Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly
Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos – Brooks Orpik
Pheonix Copley
Braden Holtby
Keys to the Game:
1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle
Last night the Capitals did a much better job in the faceoff circle, and should look to keep that consistency going into tonight.
2. Keep your feet moving
I know it sounds like a broken record already, but this is the second time now in these very early stages that the Capitala are playing in the 2nd game of a back to back. They will need to keep their legs moving, and play a much better defensive game than they did last week against Pittsburgh.
New Jersey Devils:
Projected Lineup:
Taylor Hall – Nico Hischier – Kyle Palmieri
Marcus Johansson – Pavel Zacha – Stefan Noesen
Miles Wood – Travis Zajac – John Quenneville
Brian Boyle – Blake Coleman – Jean-Sebastian Dea
Mirco Mueller – Sami Vatanen
Andy Greene – Damon Severson
Will Butcher – Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Eddie Lack
Keys to the Game:
1. Get a good start
Being how this is only the second game for the Devils this season, they will want to get a good start on the Capitals who played last night. The Devils have a better team and is looking to improve upon last season. Starting strong agaimst the defending Stanley Cup Champions would be a good start this early in the season.
You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
This was a good fast paced first period for the Capitals. They were making slick passes and made great breakouts out of their zone. They played with great hustle and they drew two penalties late in the period, which the second one resulted in a power play goal. Jakub Vrana definitely had a great first period, but I’d like to see him keep that consistent throughout the night.
Need to Do:
The Caps need to keep pressing on the Golden Knights and make them uncomfortable in their own zone. Also despite scoring on their second power play opportunity, the Caps need to be better with their possession on the powerplay.
Capitals Penalty – 11:20 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Interference
End of 2nd – VGK – 1 WAS – 2
Shots 20 17
Faceoffs 24 21
Hits 16 22
PP 0/2 1/2
Analysis:
This was a better period for the Golden Knights than it was for the Capitals. Vegas doubled up the Capitals on shots 16-8 in the 2nd period and won 17 faceoffs to the Capitals 10 in the period too.Penalty Kill has been a highlight for the Capitals in this game when they have been needed.
Need to Do:
The Capitals need to get back to playing the way they were in the first period. Vegas out shot the Capitals, and were better in the faceoff circle. The Capitals need to get back that hustle and continue to outwork the Golden Knights.
Third Period:
Golden Knights Penalty – :20 – Colin Miller 2 minutes for Slashing
Golden Knights Penalty – 4:07 – Erik Haula 2 minutes for Tripping
Capitals ENG – 18:05 – TJ Oshie (4) from Matt Niskanen (2) and Dmitry Orlov (1)
End of 3rd – VGK – 2 WAS – 5
Shots 31 29
Faceoffs 38 36
Hits 19 31
PP 0/3 2/4
Analysis:
This was a good solid game for the Capitals. Not the best second period, but the Capitals overcame and out played the Golden Knights in the third period to solidify the victory. Also great game by Brooks Orpik who left late in the first period and returned early in the second period. He played with a lot of snarl when he returned to the game. Jakub Vrana showed some very good hustle, and generated some good scoring chances, and Dmitrij Jaskin in his Capitals debut was not that bad. You can tell Jaskin was getting his legs under him in this game, but as the game progressed, Jaskin got better.
Next Up:
Washington (2-0-1 5pts) at New Jersey (1-0-0 2pts)
Vegas (1-3-0 2pts) at Pittsburgh (1-1-0 2pts)
You can watch TXHT Live this Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, these are your news and notes for Wednesday, October 10th, 2018…
There were six contests in the NHL.
Auston Matthews and John Tavares would both score two goals for the second consecutive game to defeat the Dallas Stars 7-4. Matthews and Tavares are the sixth set of teammates in League history, and the third in the modern era (1943-44), to score six or more goals in a team’s first four games. Matthews has also gone on to collect at least two points in all of Toronto’s contests thus far.
Auston Matthews is the sixth @MapleLeafs player to score at least one goal in each of the franchise’s first four games of a season.
The others:
Corb Denneny (1921-22)
Babe Dye (1925-26)
Sweeney Schriner (1944-45)
John Anderson (1981-82)
Clarke MacArthur (2010-11)#NHLStatspic.twitter.com/18TNnYpgqs
Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane would score multiple goals each to lift the San Jose Sharks in a 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers. With Pavleski scoring two goals, he remains one point shy of becoming the third player to record 700 points in San Jose Sharks franchise history. Patrick Marleau (1082 pts) and Joe Thornton (974 pts) are the other two players to reach the 700 point plateau.
Five different skaters scored last night for the Carolina Hurricanes would would go on to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3. With the victory, the Hurricanes extended their season-opening point streak to 7 (3-0-1). The Hurricanes have a combined 13 goals in their last two contests, matching a total for consecutive games since April 6-8, 2010.Sebastian Aho would extend his point streak to four games and this game marked the third time in the last four games in which a Carolina player would record at least one point in each of the team’s first four games.
TXHT has your preview of the Washington Capitals playing host to the Vegas Golden Knights. To read the game preview, please go here.
In NHL news…
Washington Capitals beat writer Isabelle Khurshudyan released an article about a conversation that happened between Brett Connolly and Devante Smith-Pelly and what that did. Also in the article is how new acquisition Dmitri Jaskin could be a good reclamation project.
A year ago, Brett Connolly told Devante Smith-Pelly, “If there’s any organization where you can go in and reinvent yourself, it would be here.” The Caps like a good reclamation project, and Dmitrij Jaskin is their next one https://t.co/5RJy3WD2tn
Also in Capitals news, F Tom Wilson is scheduled to have his hearing about his suspension with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sometime next week.
The NHL announced a time change for the Boston Bruins versus Detroit Red Wings game on Saturday. The game will now start at 3 p.m. to accommodate the Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros Game 1 of MLB’s ALCS.
In a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Finals, the Vegas Golden Knights visit the Washington Capitals as they renew their rivalary from this past summer. The Capitals will not have a very different looking lineup compared to the last time these two faced, but Michal Kempny will be making his regular season debut, and Dmitrij Jaskin will be making his Washington Capitals debut. Vegas on the other hand have some new faces in their lineup, but will be without free agent addition Paul Stastny for tonight’s game.
Vegas Golden Knights:
Projected Lineup:
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty – Erik Haula – Tomas Nosek
Ryan Carpenter – Cody Eakin – Oscar Lindberg
William Carrier – Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare – Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb – Colin Miller
Deryk Engelland – Shea Theodore
Jon Merril – Nick Holden
Marc-Andre Fleury
Malcolm Subban
Keys to the Game:
1. Get a good start
The Golden Knights are looking tonstart this game strong. This is their 4th game of the season already, and their first 3 games have been met with mixed results. If Vegas can get their legs moving early, they can give themselves a chance to a strong game.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Brett Connolly
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – TJ Oshie
Chandler Stephenson – Lars Eller – Andre Burakovsky
Dmitrij Jaskin – Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly
Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos – Brooks Orpik
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Keys to the Game:
1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle
In the Capitals season opener, they were abysmal in the faceoff circle against Boston, but the next night in Pittsburgh they were much better. Tonight against Vegas the Capitals will want to repeat how they did in the faceoff circle against Pittsburgh.
2. Keep your feet moving
Against Boston the Capitals did everything right, and they benefited from it. However, against Pittsburgh they did not and the sloppy play costed them. Vegas will be looking for vengeance for being defeated in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Capitals will need to play their game, and keep their feet moving.
You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
