X75 Productions

Tag: Stanley Cup Playoffs

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

    Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

     

    Game Recap:

    Game 2 resumes play tonight between the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames. The first period featured no scoring between the two teams but the physical and rough play certainly was there. There were five penalties between the two teams in the first period. Each team had their power play chances but were unable to convert. After one period of play, the game would be scoreless.

     

    In the second period, both the Avalanche and Flames each got on the scoreboard. While the Flames were on the power play, Matt Nieto of the Avalanche would pick the puck off near the boards and take it down the ice to score on a breakaway shorthanded. Calgary would even the score up on a power play goal by Rasmus Andersson. Heading towards the 3rd period, the score would be tied 1-1.

     

    The third period became very exciting overall. The Calgary Flames thought they had in the game in hand as Sean Monahan scored to give the Flames the lead at the 12:27 mark. However, the Avalanche battled back late in the game to tie the score up 2-2 on a goal by JT Compher at the 17:21 mark to force in overtime.

     

    During the first two minutes and nine seconds of overtime, Ian Cole of the Avalanche was called for cross-checking. The Avalanche were able to kill the penalty and gave themselves the opportunity to remain in the game. Moments later, Avalanche superstar and captain Nathan MacKinnon, scored the game-winning goal in overtime to help even the series at one game apiece. The Colorado Avalanche host the Calgary Flames on Monday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO.

     

    Lineups:

    Colorado Avalanche:

    Forwards:

    Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon- Alexander Kerfoot

    Mikko Rantanen-Carl Soderberg-Colin Wilson

    Matt Nieto- Derek Brassard- JT Compher

    Matt Calvert- Tyson Jost- Gabriel Bourque

     

    Defensemen

    Sam Girard – Erik Jonson

    Nikita Zadarov – Tyson Barrie

    Ian Cole – Patrik Nemeth

    Goalies:

    Starter- Phillip Grubauer

    Backup- Semyon Varlamov

    Scratches: Andrew Agozzino, Sven Andrighetto, Vladislav Kamenev, Mark Babeiro, Ryan Graves

     

    Calgary Flames:

    Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan- Elias Lindholm

    Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michal Frolik

    Sam Bennett – Mark Jankowski – James Neal

    Andrew Mangiapane – Derek Ryan -Garnet Hathaway

    Defensemen:

    Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie

    Noah Hanafin – Travis Hamonic

    Oscar Fantenberg – Rasmus Andersson

    Goalies:

    Starter- Mike Smith

    Backup- David Rittich

    Scratches: Austin Czarnik, Dillon Dube, Alan Quine, Oliver Kylington, Dalton Prout

     

    First Period:

    Calgary penalty-4:34- Mike Smith, 2 minutes for roughing

    Colorado Penalty-4:34- Derrick Brassard, 2 minutes for roughing

    Colorado Penalty-10:26- Derrick Brassard, 2 minutes for slashing

    Calgary Penalty-13:45- Derek Ryan, 2 minutes for holding

    Calgary Penalty-20:00- Sam Bennett, 2 minutes for roughing

     

    End of 1st – COL – 0       CGY – 0

    Shots             15                      10

    Faceoffs      12/25              10/21

    Hits               10                   11

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Colorado Penalty-5:30-Gabriel Bourque, 2 minutes for hooking

    Colorado Goal (shorthanded)-7:16- Matt Nieto (1) unassisted

    Calgary Penalty-9:31- Mike Smith, 2 minutes for delay of game

    Colorado Penalty-11:38- Derrick Brassard, 2minutes for tripping

    Calgary Goal (power play)-12:26-Rasmus Andersson (1) assisted by Sam Bennett (2) & TJ Brodie (1)

    Calgary Penalty-17:28- Rasmus Andersson, 2 minutes for holding

     

    End of 2nd – COL – 1       CGY – 1

    Shots            27                   20

    Faceoffs      19/42              23/42

    Hits                13                 14

    PP                 0/4                 1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Colorado Penalty-6:40-Patrik Nemeth, 2 minutes for holding

    Calgary Penalty-6:40- Johnny Gaudreau, 2 minutes for embellishment

    Colorado Penalty-9:21-Nikita Zadorov, 2 minutes for interference

    Calgary Goal-12:27-Sean Monahan (1) assisted by Sam Bennett (3) & Johnny Gaudreau (1)

    Colorado Goal-17:21- JT Compher (1) assisted by Grabiel Landeskog (1) & Mikko Rantanen (1)

    End of 3rd – COL – 2       CGY – 2

    Shots            37                   30

    Faceoffs      22/60           38/60

    Hits              19                  21

    PP            0/4                    1/4

    Overtime:

    Colorado Penalty-2:09- Ian Cole, 2 minutes for cross checking

    Colorado Goal-8:27- Nathan MacKinnon (1) assisted by Mikko Rantanen (2) & Ian Cole (1)

    End of OT – COL – 3       CGY – 2

    Shots            39                   37

    Faceoffs      25/71          46/71

    Hits              20                24

    PP            0/4                   1/5

     

    Next Up:

    Game Three – Monday April 15th, 2019 @ 10:00pm

    *Series is tied 1-1

     

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Capitals Lead 1-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Going into Game Two the Washington Capitals need to have a much better start to their game, and generate some scoring opportunities. And that they did as they would play with a much better pace to their game, and would create some really good chances in the Hurricanes zone. Less than four minutes into the game, it would be Alex Ovechkin feeding a really beautiful pass to Nicklas Backstrom for his third of the playoffs, and give the Capitals the 1-0 lead. Then after a failed powerplay attempt, it would be TJ Oshie with an amazing one-legged effort to score his first of the playoffs for a 2-0 lead. Then on a hard working shift for the Hurricanes, Lucas Wallmark would tip a Jaccob Slavin point shot to cut the Capitals lead to one. The Capitals would challenge for goalie interfernce, but it was ill advised as there was never any interference to Braden Holtby on the play. Alex Ovechkin would take an elbowing penalty, but the Capitals would kill off the penalty to finish the period.

     

     

    In the second period we would see a very undisciplined game from both teams starting with Micheal Ferland taking an offensive zone penalty, then Ferland again would take another penalty that would end his game for the day as he would receive a match penalty for illegal contact to Nic Dowd’s head, which also had Warren Foegele hook and high stick Dowd on the play with no calls made, but with some debate. While yes Ferland did in fact make contact with Dowd’s head (see tweet below), it doesn’t look like he went in with the intention to hurt Dowd. From the perspective of how the play unfolds, Dowd loses possession of the puck and is reaching to regain possession, while at the same time Ferland has already committed to the hit. Dowd is in a vulnerable position yes, but it does not look like Ferland’s intention was to hit the head, but due to Dowd’s posture, the head became the point of contact. Definitely a tough call to make.

    While on the Capitals five minute powerplay, they would not generate anything of substance. Also it would end prematurely as TJ Oshie would be called for hooking. Then the Capitals would go down two men when Dowd would be called for high sticking. While the Capitals were down, they were able to successfully kill both penalties. Then after another failed powerplay for the Capitals, Sebastian Aho would score to tie the game for the Hurricanes late in the period.

     

    Going into the third the Hurricanes would start off with some really solid chances, but Braden Holtby would stand tall in net. Then near the halfway point of the period Alex Ovechkin would feed Tom Wilson with the pass as he would blast it Petr Mrazek to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead. Then on a powerplay off of a Nic Dowd high sticking call, Jordan Staal would deflect a Dougie Hamilton point shot to tie the game at three a piece. The Capitals would get a couple chances before the end of the period, but Mrazek would holdnhis own and force overtime for the first time in this series.

     

    Going into overtime the Capitals would only need a little less than two minutes to close out this game and take a 2-0 series lead as Evgeny Kuznetsov would make a really crisp pass to Brooks Orpik who bombs it past Mrazek to win the game 4-3.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Justin Williams

    Micheal Ferland — Jordan Staal –Teuvo Teravainen

    Andrei Svechnikov — Jordan Martinook — Brock McGinn

    Saku Maenalanen — Lucas Wallmark — Warren Foegele

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Greg McKegg, Jake Bean

    Injured: Calvin de Haan (upper body)

     

     

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Ilya Samsonov

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring)

     

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 3:37 – Nicklas Backstrom (3) from Alex Ovechkin (1) and Dmitry Orlov (1)

     

    Hurricanes Penalty – 4:52 – Trevor van Riemsdyk 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Goal – 9:26 – TJ Oshie (1) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (2) and Matt Niskanen (1)

     

    Capitals Penalty – 10:32 – Brett Connolly 2 minutes for Interference

    Hurricanes Goal – 15:54 – Lucas Wallmark (1) from Jaccob Slavin (1) amd Warren Foegele (1)

     

     

    Capitals Penalty – 16:24 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Elbowing

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 1       WAS – 2

    Shots              12                07

    Faceoffs         10                06

    Hits               08                  16

    PP                 0/2                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:11 – Micheal Ferland 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 4:09 – Micheal Ferland Match penalty for Illegal Contact to Head

    Capitals Penalty – 8:18 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 9:11 -Nic Dowd 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 11:36 – Dougie Hamilton 2 minutes for Elbowing

    Hurricanes Goal – 16:49 – Sebastian Aho (1) from Justin Williams (1) and Jaccob Slavin (2)

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 2        WAS – 2

    Shots               18                 23

    Faceoffs          22                 14

    Hits                 14                  24

    PP                   0/4                  0/4

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – 8:55 – Tom Wilson (1) from Alex Ovechkin (2) and Nicklas Backstrom (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 14:24 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes PPG – 15:00 – Jordan Staal (1) from Dougie Hamilton (2) and Andrei Svechnikov (1)

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              28                   32

    Faceoffs        39                    22

    Hits               22                     33

    PP                 1/5                    0/4

     

    Overtime:

    Capitals Goal – 1:42 – Brooks Orpik (1) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (3) and Jakub Vrana (1)

     

    End of OT – CAR – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              28                   33

    Faceoffs        39                    23

    Hits               22                     34

    PP                 1/5                    0/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game Three – Capitals Leads Series 2-0

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • April 13th, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 13th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, April 13th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were four games in Stanley Cup Playoff action yesterday.

     

     

    All of the recaps are written by the TXHT staff.

     

    Columbus 5, TAMPA BAY 1 (Columbus leads the series 2-0)

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets crushed the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-1 win and took a 2-0 series lead.

     

    Columbus will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead when Game 3 takes place tomorrow night.

     

     

     

    NY Islanders 3, Pittsburgh 1 (NY Islanders leads the series 2-0)

     

    The NY Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 and took a 2-0 series lead.

     

    The Islanders will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead with Game 3 shifting to Pittsburgh.  Game 3 takes place tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m., ET.

     

     

    Below you will find the Pittsburgh Penguins infographic from yesterdays contest and the image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners.

     

     

    St. Louis 4, WINNIPEG 3 (St. Louis leads the series 2-0)

     

    The St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 yesterday and took a 2-0 series lead.

     

    St. Louis will look to take the commanding 3-0 series lead with the series now shifting to St. Louis.  Game 3 takes place tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., ET

     

     

    Vegas 5, SAN JOSE 3 (Series is tied 1-1)

     

    The Vegas Golden Knights would go on to take Game 2 in the series after giving up a three goal lead in the first period and defeat the San Jose Sharks 5-3.

     

    The Golden Knights will look to take the series lead with Game 3 taking place tomorrow (Sunday, April 14) at 10 p.m., ET.

     

     

    Today’s Schedule of Games:

     

     

    To see all of the THXT’s recaps and Stanley Cup Playoff previews, please check out our website linked below.

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – St. Louis Blues v. Winnipeg Jets

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – St. Louis Blues v. Winnipeg Jets

    The Blues experienced a much different start of the game in Game 2, with Oskar Sundqvist scoring early on to take a 1-0 lead. The Blues spent the majority of the first 10 minutes on the power play because of a few rather egregious cross-checks by the Jets, but  were not able to capitalize. When Colton Parayko was not aware that penalty time was expiring and had his shot blocked, Blake Wheeler took advantage and quickly scored to tie it at one. Overall, not a great period, given the opportunities the Blues had.

    The Jets came out flying in the second, and basically dominated the first several minutes, but for a few spectacular saves from Jordan Binnington. After Robert Bortuzzo took a senseless, senseless interference penalty, the Blues, naturally, left Patrick Laine completely open for another goal to give the Jets a 2-1 lead. The Jets kept up their inexorable pressure after, but an incredible play by Robert Thomas led to a Pat Maroon goal to make it 2-2. Sundqvist’s second goal gave them a 3-2 lead – soft goal by Connor Hellebuyck, who has not been nearly good enough this series. Now seems like a good time for a friendly reminder that the Blues traded Ryan Reaves for Sundqvist and high-potential prospect Klim Kostin, which…wow.

    Play evened out after that, with Hellebuyck making a tremendous (see: lucky) save on O’Reilly to keep the blues from taking a 4-2 lead. Shortly thereafter, a (weak) penalty call on Robert Thomas led to another WPG PP goal to tie it at 3.

    WPG was controlling play pretty well at the beginning of the third, but another soft goal, this time by Ryan O’Reilly allowed the Blues to take a 4-3 lead. The rest of the game can pretty much be summed up with this: Jordan Binnington was incredible.

    2-0. Back to STL Sunday at 7:30 Eastern

  • Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders – Round 1:Game #2 – Game Recap

    Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders – Round 1:Game #2 – Game Recap

    Pittsburgh Penguins (0-1) v. New York Islanders (1-0)

     

    Game Recap:

    Isles come to life in the third period to steal yet another game from Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Huge game from Jordan Eberle once again. Robin Lehner is showing why he should be in consideration for the Vezina this season. This series will resume in Pittsburgh for Game 3.

    Lineups:

    Pittsburgh

    Jake Guentzel- Sidney Crosby- Bryan Rust

    Jared McCann-Evgeni Malkin- Patric Hornqvist

    Dominik Simon-Nick Bjugstad- Phil Kessel

    Zach Aston-Reese – Matt Cullen – Scott Wilson

    Brian Dumoulin- Kris Letang

    Olli Maatta- Justin Schultz

    Marcus Pettersson-Erik Gudbranson

     

    Matt Murray

    Casey DeSmith

    Scratches: none

    Injuries: Chad Ruhwedel (Upper Body)

    Suspension: None

     

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee – Matthew Barzal – Jordan Eberle

    Josh Bailey – Brock Nelson – Tom Kuhnhackl

    Anthony Beauvillier – Valtteri Filppula – Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck

     

    Nick Leddy – Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toews – Scott Mayfield

     

    Robin Lehner

    Thomas Greiss

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Andrew Ladd

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

     

     

     

    First Period:

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 5:51 – Evgeni Malkin, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 8:23 – Evgeni Malkin, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    New York Penalty – 8:23 – Leo Komarov, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 13:38 – Jack Johnson, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 15:47 – Jack Johnson, 2 minutes for Interference

    New York Penalty – 16:42 – Anders Lee, 2 minutes for Hooking

    End of 1st – PIT – 0       NYI – 0

    Shots              7                11

    Faceoffs        6/25          19/25

    Hits               11                 11

    PP                 0/1                 0/3

     

     

     

    Second Period:

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 3:25 – Sidney Crosby, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 4:31 – Erik Gudbranson, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Pittsburgh Goal – 10:32 – Erik Gudbranson (1) assisted by Evgeni Malkin (2)

    New York Goal – 13:25 – Anthony Beauvillier (1) assisted by Matthew Barzal (2) and Jordan Eberle (2)

     

    End of 2nd – PIT- 1        NYI- 1

    Shots               18                 23

    Faceoffs        16/39           23/39

    Hits                 25                  30

    PP                   0/2                  0/5

    Third Period:

    New York Goal – 7:54 – Jordan Eberle (2) assisted by Matthew Barzal (2) and JJohnny Boychuk (1)

    Pittsburgh Penalty – 9:50 – Patric Hornqvist, 2 minutes for Tripping

    New York PP Goal – 11:38 – Josh Bailey (2) assisted by Anders Lee (2) and Devon Toews (2)

     

    End of 3rd – PIT – 1         NYI – 3

    Shots              33                   34

    Faceoffs      24/57             33/57

    Hits               36                     41

    PP                 0/2                    1/6

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – Columbus Blue Jackets v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – Columbus Blue Jackets v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Columbus Blue Jackets v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Blue Jackets Lead 1-0

     

    Game Recap:

    With the Columbus Blue Jackets leading the series going into game 2, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be looking to even up the series at one game a piece, however, the Blue Jackets would have other things on mind. A little over five minutes into the game Cam Atkinson would score his first goal of the playoffs to give Columbus an early 1-0 lead. The Blue Jackets aggressive play would force the Lightning to take two bad penalties. Columbus would not be able to capitalize on their first powerplay, but it would only take four seconds on the second powerplay as Zach Werenski would get the puck off a clean faceoff win from Matt Duchene and rip it right on net for his first of the playoffs and give Columbus a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    The second period would not start well for the Lightning as Alex Killorn would take a horrible interference penalty. As a result, the Blue Jackets would strike again. This time Duchene getting his first career playoff goal to give the Blue Jackets a 3-0 lead. The Lightning would get their first powerplay opportunity when Columbus would be called for too many men, however, they would not capitalize on the powerplay, but the Lightning would gain some momentum.

     

    For the third period, the Lightning would come out fired up and force the play against the Blue Jackets. The Lightning’s heavy forechecking would result in a Mikhail Sergachev goal to cut the Blue Jackets lead to two, but the Blue Jackets would respond as Riley Nash would snipe one past Andrei Vasilevskiy to give Columbus their three goal lead back. Not long after getting their three goal lead back, the Blue Jackets would strike again as Artemi Panarin would score his first of the playoffs to give the Blue Jackets a commanding 5-1 lead. Things would get ugly though as after Nikita Kucherov tripped up Makus Nutivaara, he would proceed to board Nutivaara while he was defenseless thus earning a 5 minute major and a game misconduct which should be reviewed by the League for supplementary discipline.

     

    Lineups:

    Columbus Blue Jackets:

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson

    Ryan Dzingel — Matt Duchene — Josh Anderson

    Alexandre Texier — Nick Foligno — Oliver Bjorkstrand

    Brandon Dubinsky — Boone Jenner — Riley Nash

    Zach Werenski — Seth Jones

    Markus Nutivaara — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Dean Kukan

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Keith Kinkaid, Eric Robinson, Andrew Peeke, Alexander Wennberg, Markus Hannikainen

    Injured: Adam McQuaid (upper body), Ryan Murray (upper body)

     

    Tampa Bay Lightning:

    Yanni Gourde — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov

    Ondrej Palat — Steven Stamkos — Tyler Johnson

    Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — J.T. Miller

    Adam Erne — Cedric Paquette — Mathieu Joseph

    Victor Hedman — Dan Girardi

    Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak

    Mikhail Sergachev — Jan Rutta

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

    Scratched: Braydon Coburn, Danick Martel, Ryan Callahan

    Injured: Anton Stralman (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Blue Jackets Goal – 5:15 – Cam Atkinson (1) from Matt Duchene (1)

    Lightning Penalty – 7:08 – Adam Erne 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Lightning Penalty – 11:40 – Ondrej Palat 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blue Jackets PPG – 11:44 – Zach Werenski (1) from Matt Duchene (2)

    Lightning Penalty – 15:11 – Brayden Point 5 minute major for Fighting

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 15:11 – Zach Werenski 5 minute major for Fighting

     

    End of 1st – CLB – 2       TB – 0

    Shots              10                08

    Faceoffs         08                12

    Hits               10                  21

    PP                 1/2                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :30 – Alex Killorn 2 minutes for Interference

    Blue Jackets PPG – 1:28 – Matt Duchene (1) from Artemi Panarin (2) amd Zach Werenski (2)

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 4:21 – Bench (Matt Duchene) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

     

    End of 2nd – CLB – 3        TB – 0

    Shots               17                 14

    Faceoffs          17                 22

    Hits                 14                  30

    PP                   2/3                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Lightning Goal – 5:00 – Mikhail Sergachev (1) from JT Miller (2) and Erik Cernak (2)

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 5:51 – Nick Foligno 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blue Jackets Goal – 9:06 – Riley Nash (1) from Boone Jenner (2)

    Blue Jackets Goal – 12:15 – Artemi Panarin (1) from Matt Duchene (3) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (1)

    Lightning Penalty – 15:34 – Nikita Kucherov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Lightning Penalty – 15:34 – Nikita Kucherov 5 minute major for Boarding

    Lightning Penalty – 15:34 – Nikita Kucherov – Game Misconduct

    Lightning Penalty – 15:34 – Victor Hedman – Misconduct

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 15:34 – Josh Anderson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 15:34 – Josh Anderson – Misconduct

     

    End of 3rd – CLB – 5         TB – 1

    Shots              27                   24

    Faceoffs        27                    33

    Hits               17                     37

    PP                 2/4                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Game Three – Blue Jackets Leads Series 2-0

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • April 12th, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 12th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Friday, April 12th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    In Stanley Cup Playoff action, there were three games last night.

     

    Below you will find all of the game recaps from our TXHT writers.

     

     

    Toronto 4, BOSTON 1 (Toronto leads the series 1-0)

     

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would take Game 1 in this series from the Boston Bruins, winning the game 4-1.

     

    Toronto will look to take Game 2 when the two teams face off Saturday night.

     

    TXHT’s Steve Gardiner has your full recap of the contest below.

     

     

    The following image is the Boston Bruins infographic from last night’s contest and is the property of the Boston Bruins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners.

     

     

    WASHINGTON 4, Carolina 2 (Washington leads the series 1-0)

     

    The Washington Capitals, defending their Stanley Cup championship, defeated the Carolina Hurricanes last night with a 4-2 win.

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes mounted a comeback after being down 3-0 at the end of the first period, coming within a goal, before Washington’s Lars Eller scored an empty net goal with less than a minute left in the third period.

     

    The Capitals will look to take the 2-0 series lead when the two teams face off tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m., and the game will be available on NBC.

     

    Michael Lindenbaum has your full recap of Game 1 between the Capitals and the Hurricanes below.

     

     

    CALGARY 4, Colorado 0 (Calgary leads the series 1-0)

     

    The Calgary Flames crushed the Colorado Avalanche last night with a 4-0 win adn took the 1-0 series lead.

     

    Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals and Flames goaltender Mike Smith registered 26 saves in the contest.

     

    The Flames will look to take the 2-0 series lead when Game 2 takes place Saturday night.

     

    Scott Fairchild has your full recap of the contest between Calgary and Colorado below.

     

     

    Calgary’s infographic from the 4-0 win is below and the infographic is the property of the Calgary Flames, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners.

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of games:


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

  • Colorado Avalanche vs Calgary Flames – Round 1 – Game #1 Recap

    Colorado Avalanche vs Calgary Flames – Round 1 – Game #1 Recap

    Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

     

    Game Recap:

    Calgary seemed to impose their will from the beginning of this game with very little push back from the Avalanche. The Flames couldn’t strike in the first period though, due in part to superb goaltending by Colorado goalie Philip Grubauer. As the second period rolled around the Flames kicked it up a notch again and rookie Andrew Mangiapane put one behind Grubauer to get the crowd rolling into it. Nothing other than a few penalties and more play in the Colorado end transpired until Matthew Tkachuk tipped one past Grubauer on the powerplay with just over a minute to go in the 2nd period. The Flames would go on to strike 2 more times in the 3rd period including an empty netter to convincingly defeat the Avalanche and take game 1.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Elias Lindholm

    Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik

    Sam Bennett – Mark Janokowski – James Neal

    Andrew Mangiapane – Derek Ryan – Garrett Hathaway

     

    Mark Giordano  – TJ Brodie

    Noah Hanifin – Travis Hamonic

    Oscar Fantenberg – Rasmus Andersson

     

    Mark Smith

    David Rittich

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

     

    Colorado:

    Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Alexander Kerfoot

    Colin Wilson – Carl Soderberg – Mikko Rantanen

    Matt Nieto – Derick Brassard – JT Compher

    Matt Calvert – Tyson Jost – Sven Andreighetto

     

    Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson

    Nikita Zadorov – Tyson Barrie

    Ian Cole – Patrick Nemeth

     

    Philip Grubauer

    Seymon Varlamov

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries:  Mark Barberio, Vladislav Kamenev

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Colorado Penalty – 6:38 – Erik Johnson, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Calgary Penalty – 11:02 – Mikael Backlund, 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Calgary Penalty – 15:58 – Noah Hanifin, 2 minutes for Holding

    End of 1st – COL – 0       CGY – 0

    Shots             7                  6

    Faceoffs         9/22          13/22

    Hits               11                  12

    PP                 0/2                 0/1

    Second Period:

    Calgary Penalty – 00:49- TJ Brodie, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Colorado Penalty – 10:05 – Carl Soderberg, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Colorado Penalty – 18:37 – Patrick Nemeth, 2 minutes for Holding

    Calgary Goal – 14:25 – Andrew Mangiapane (1) unassisted

    Calgary PP Goal – 18:58 –Matthew Tkachuk (1) assisted by Mark Giordano (1) and Elias Lindholm (1)

    End of 2nd – COL- 0        CGY- 2

    Shots               15                 19

    Faceoffs         15/47             32/47

    Hits                 22                  24

    PP                   0/3                  1/3

    Third Period:

    Calgary Penalty – 5:08- Oscar Fantenberg, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Colorado Penalty – 16:36 – Nikita Zadorov, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Calgary PP Goal – 17:01 –Mikael Backlund (1) assisted by Sam Bennett(1) and Rasmus Andersson (1)

    Calgary Goal – 17:55 – Matthew Tkachuk (2) assisted by Mike Smith (1)

    Colorado Penalty – 18:05 – Matt Calvert, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Calgary Penalty – 18:05- Travis Hamonic, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Colorado Penalty – 19:52- Gabriel Landeskog, 2 minutes for Slashing

    End of 3rd – COL – 0         CGY – 4

    Shots              26                   32

    Faceoffs       24/68              44/68

    Hits              33                     36

    PP                 0/4                   2/5

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals begin their Stanley Cup defense at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, and the start of the game would see the Capitals weather the storm from the Hurricanes for the first half of the period followed by Nicklas Backstrom going top shelf on Petr Mrazek on the first shot of the game for the Capitals to make it 1-0. Then Justin Faulk would be called for high sticking, and on the powerplay Evgeny Kuznetsov would do a beautiful pass across to slot to Backstrom for his second of the game. The Hurricanes would not do themselves any favors though as Micheal Ferland would be called for interference and with a mad scramble Alex Ovechkin would net his first of the playoffs to make it 3-0 goinf into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period both teams would trade scoring opportunities, and some penalties as well. While the Capitals would kill their lone penalty early in the period, Carolina would give the Capitals two more powerplay opportunities. However, this time the Hurricanes would keep the Capitals off the score board while on the penalty kill.

     

    In the third period the Capitals would get some really good scoring opportunities to start the period, but Petr Mrazek would stand tall to keep the deficit to three. Then Andrei Svechnikov would score back to back goals to cut the Capitals lead to one in a span of two minutes and nineteen seconds. The Capitals would then get themselves into penalty problems, but would successfully kill both penalties. Then Lars Eller would score the empty netter to seal the deal for the Capitaks as they take the 1-0 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Justin Williams

    Micheal Ferland — Jordan Staal — Teuvo Teravainen

    Andrei Svechnikov — Jordan Martinook — Brock McGinn

    Greg McKegg — Lucas Wallmark — Warren Foegele

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Saku Maenalanen, Jake Bean

    Injured: Calvin de Haan (upper body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Ilya Samsonov

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 9:58 – Nicklas Backstrom (1) from John Carlson (1) and Brooks Orpik (1)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 12:32 – Justin Faulk 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals PPG – 13:10 – Nicklas Backstrom (2) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) and John Carlson (2)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:31 – Micheal Ferland 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals PPG – 18:05 – Alex Ovechkin (1) from Tom Wilson (1) and John Carlson (3)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       WAS – 3

    Shots              10                09

    Faceoffs         13                09

    Hits               21                  18

    PP                 0/0                 2/2

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:46 – Andrei Svechnikov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 4:07 – Bench (Alex Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Hurricanes Penalty – 13:05 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Holding the Stick

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 0        WAS – 3

    Shots               21                 13

    Faceoffs          23                 21

    Hits                 32                  27

    PP                   0/1                  2/4

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 5:07 – Andrei Svechnikov (1) from Lucas Wallmark (1) and Dougie Hamilton (1)

    Hurricanes Goal – 7:26 – Andrei Svechnikov (2) from Lucas Wallmark (2) and Justin Faulk (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 11:14 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 16:29 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals ENG – 19:24 – Lars Eller (1) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         WAS – 4

    Shots              29                   18

    Faceoffs        39                    28

    Hits               37                     35

    PP                 0/3                    2/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game Two – Capitals Leads Series 1-0

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs – 1st Round Preview – Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

    2019 NHL Playoffs – 1st Round Preview – Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

    Colorado Avalanche (38-30-14 90pts) v.s. Calgary Flames (50-25-7 107pts)

     

    Ladies and Gentleman, the best time of year as a hockey writer or a fan has arrived in the Stanley Cup playoffs! My name is Scott Fairchild and I will be previewing this very intriguing first round match up between the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames. Let’s first take a look back and see how these two teams arrived to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

    https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1115388856734486528?s=19

     

    How did the Colorado Avalanche get here?

    The Colorado Avalanche had some ups and downs this season but ultimately were able to get into “the big dance”. At one point in the season, the Avalanche had to weather one of their best players and captain Gabriel Landeskog being out of their lineup for a significant amount of time with a lower body injury. The Avalanche had to battle the Minnesota Wild and the Phoenix Coyotes in the standings during the final month of the season to qualify for the playoffs. The Avalanche clinched a spot in the playoffs on Game 81 as they defeated the Winnipeg Jets in overtime. Looking back on the season, there were two driving forces that helped the Avalanche get to the playoffs. The first of the driving forces that got them where they are is the outstanding play of their top line of Nathan MacKinnon (41g-58a-99pts), Gabriel Landeskog (34g-41a-75 pts), & Mikko Rantanen (31g-56a-87pts). Also, the hot hand in goal as of late in Phillip Grubauer (18-9-5, 2.64 GAA, & .917 SV%) really helped propel his team into the playoffs. It’s no surprise to see this kind of play from Grubauer as he similarly did this to help the Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup championship last season.

     

    How did the Calgary Flames get here?

    It is no surprise to see the Calgary Flames in the position that they are. The Flames have been a promising, young, and up incoming Stanley Cup contender for a little bit now. Calgary features dynamic forwards such as Johnny Gaudreau (36g-63a-99pts), Sean Monahan (34g-48a-82pts), Matthew Tkachuk (34g-43a-77pts), & Elias Lindholm (27-g-51a-78pts) who was acquired in an offseason trade from the Carolina Hurricanes. Lindholm has fit in very well on the top line with Gaudreau and Monahan as that trio developed instant chemistry creating one of the best lines in hockey this year. The Calgary Flames also feature a very deep defensive core lead by captain Mark Giordano, Travis Hamonic, & Noah Hanafin who was also acquired along with Elias Lindholm from the Hurricanes. Giordano was one of the overall leaders in scoring in the NHL by a defenseman this season as well as his stellar defensive play. It would not be a surprise to see him winning the Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman. The Calgary Flames finished the season as the second best team in the league overall with a 50-25-7 record with 107 points.

     

    How do these teams match up?

    Goaltending: Colorado Avalanche (advantage)- the Avalanche have had solid goaltending all season from the tandem of Semyon Varlamov & Phillip Grubauer. Grubauer especially has been on fire and is one of the main reasons Colorado qualified. Calgary on the other hand, has not had at times very solid or consistent play in net especially with their number one goalie in Mike Smith. Goaltending is always a factor in the Stanley Cup playoffs and if you don’t have it, normally teams don’t go very far.

     

    Forwards: Calgary Flames (advantage)- Calgary has more than one solid and dependable scoring line besides just their top line featuring Johnny Gaudreau. The Flames also feature talented forwards such as Sam Bennett, Mikael Backlund, & sniper James Neal. Colorado on the other hand primarily relies on their top line for offense. For the reasons I listed above I would give the advantage to the Flames as you need as much primary and especially secondary scoring in the playoffs.

     

    Defenseman: Calgary Flames (advantage)- Calgary’s defense led by Mark Giodano (who lead the league in plus/minus with a plus 39 rating) is very solid up and down their defensive lineup. Travis Hamonic (plus 18) and Noah Hanafin (plus 21) are also very reliable and defensively responsible. Colorado has very solid defenseman but are not as deep as what the Flames defensive corps have to offer. Their defensive group is more prepared to shutdown the Avalanche’s top scoring line than the Avalanche stopping the scoring depth the Flames offer. Having the potential/most likely Norris Trophy winner also helps swing things towards the Flames way as well.

     

    Power Play: Calgary Flames (slight advantage)- both teams featured a top 10 ranked in the league power play respectively. I’m giving the Flames the edge as they don’t rely on one line for offense while the Avalanche primarily do. The Flames have the better second Power Play unit as well. Their forward depth and ability to score puts them over the top here.

     

    Penalty Kill: Calgary Flames (advantage)- having one of the best defensive corps in the league as well as the favorite to win the Norris Trophy helps make your penalty kill look fantastic. Colorado is no slouch here on the PK either but based on the overall defensive personnel, the Flames have what it takes to kill off the important penalty kills in the playoffs. Their defenseman and forwards are better equipped to get the puck out more quicker.

     

    3 Keys to the Series for Both Teams

    Colorado Avalanche

    1. Great Goaltending

    2. Secondary scoring

    3. Grind it out defense

     

    Calgary Flames

    1. Mike Smith steps his game up

    2. Shutdown Avalanche top line

    3. Your best players are your best players

     

    My Prediction: Calgary in 7 Games

    I see this going ALL the way to seven games with Calgary coming out on top in Game 7. The Flames great primary and secondary scoring as well as their defense should propel them onto the second round. However, there is the potential for a big time upset here if Mike Smith is not on his “A” game and playing well in between the pipes for the Flames. Colorado’s top line can be very scary and could take over a series as well as the great play from the Avalanche’s goalie tandem of Varlamov and Grubauer.