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  • WCF Game 4 Recap – San Jose Sharks v. St. Louis Blues

    WCF Game 4 Recap – San Jose Sharks v. St. Louis Blues

    San Jose Sharks v. St. Louis Blues

    Game 4 – SJ Leads 2-1

     

    Game Recap:

    Going into Game 4 the St. Louis Blues come into their home barn with a chip on their shoulder after how Game 3 ended in overtime in the San Jose Sharks favor, and it wouldn’t take long either for the Blues as Ivan Barbashev would get the puck on net and past Martin Jones to make it 1-0 35 seconds into the game. Then later in the period on their second powerplay opportunity the Blues would strike again as Justin Braun would inadvertently kick the puck between Jones’ legs to give the Blues a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Going into the second period both teams would share opportunities, and also featuring a Sharks powerplay that they could not do anything with. Both teams would get some godd chances at both ends, but the game would remain 2-0 going into the second intermission.

     

    In the third period it would be special teams striking again, but this time for the Sharks as Brent Burns would bomb a shot through Jordan Binnington and Tomas Hertl would tap the puck in to make it 2-1 on the powerplay. Then in the final two minutes of the game the Sharks would pull Jones for the extra attacker and they would force great pressure in the Blues zone, but the Blues would withstand the surge and take Game 4 2-1 to tie the series at two games a piece.

     

    Lineups:

    San Jose Sharks:

    Timo Meier — Logan Couture – Gustav Nyquist

    Evander Kane — Tomas Hertl — Joe Pavelski

    Melker Karlsson — Joe Thornton — Kevin Labanc

    Marcus Sorensen — Barclay Goodrow — Joonas Donskoi

    Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Brent Burns

    Brenden Dillon — Erik Karlsson

    Joakim Ryan — Justin Braun

    Martin Jones

    Aaron Dell

    Scratched: Micheal Haley, Dylan Gambrell, Tim Heed, Lukas Radil, Radim Simek, Antti Suomela

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Sammy Blais — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron

    Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas

    Ivan Barbashev — Oskar Sundqvist — Alexander Steen

    Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Carl Gunnarsson — Robert Bortuzzo

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Michael Del Zotto, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn, Chris Butler, Ville Husso

    Injured: Vince Dunn (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Blues Goal – :35 – Ivan Barbashev (1) from unassisted

    Sharks Penalty- 5:09 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Holding

    Sharks Penalty – 17:44 – Timo Meier 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blues PPG – 17:53 – Tyler Bozak (4) from Pat Maroon (4) and Vladimir Tarasenko (3)

     

    End of 1st – SJ – 0       STL – 2

    Shots              09                10

    Faceoffs         11                09

    Hits               11                  15

    PP                 0/0                 1/2

     

    Second Period:

    Blues Penalty – 5:41 – Sammy Blais 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blues Penalty – 8:24 – Brayden Schenn 2 minutes for Roughing

    Sharks Penalty – 8:24 – Marc-Edouard Vlasic 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 2nd – SJ – 0        STL – 2

    Shots               20                 18

    Faceoffs          18                 18

    Hits                 14                  24

    PP                   0/1                  1/2

     

    Third Period:

    Sharks Penalty – 4:35 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Blues Penalty – 6:01 – Alex Pietrangelo 2 minutes for Interference

    Sharks PPG – Tomas Hertl (10) from Brent Burns (11) and Erik Karlsson (14)

    Blues Penalty – 9:52 – Ivan Barbashev 2 minutes for Tripping

    Sharks Penalty – 12:33 – Bench (Kevin Labanc) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

     

    End of 3rd – SJ – 1         STL – 2

    Shots              30                   22

    Faceoffs        27                    32

    Hits               15                     29

    PP                 1/3                    1/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game 5 – Series Tied 2-2

     

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

  • ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game 4 – BOS Leads 3-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Game 4 with the potential to clinch the series in Carolina, the Boston Bruins will have to do it without their captain and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara who is listed as “day to day”.

    In the first period both teams would trade chances, and both teams would get at least one powerplay opportunity each, but neither would capitalize on their opportunities.

     

    Going into the second period the Carolina Hurricanes would shoot themselves in the foot when they would take a too many men on the ice penalty, and the Bruins would take advantage as David Pastrnak would get the puck past Curtis McElhinney to make it 1-0 less than five minutes into the period. Then much later in the second period, Carolina would get themselves into penalty trouble again as Patrice Bergeron would score from the slot area as McElhinney did not have a chance on the shot.

     

    Going into the third period it would be do or die for the Hurricanes, and despite their best efforts a turnover in their own zone midway through the period would push the game more out of reach as David Pastrnak would exhibit great patience to feed Patrice Bergeron for his second goal of the game to make it 3-0.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari

    Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    John Moore — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman

    Injured: Chris Wagner (right arm), Kevan Miller (lower body), Zdeno Chara (day to day)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Micheal Ferland — Greg McKegg — Saku Maenalanen

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Curtis McElhinney

    Petr Mrazek

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Jordan Martinook (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:18 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes fot Tripping

    Hurricanes Penalty – 10:35 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 12:19 – Charlie Coyle 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 0       CAR – 0

    Shots              10                13

    Faceoffs         12                10

    Hits               08                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 4:26 – Bench (Justin Williams) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Bruins PPG – 4:46 – David Pastrnak (7) from Brad Marchand (11) and Torey Krug (11)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:10 – Greg McKegg 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

    Bruins PPG – 18:34 – Patrice Bergeron (7) from David Pastrnak (7)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 2        CAR – 0

    Shots               18                 18

    Faceoffs          25                 23

    Hits                 15                  19

    PP                   2/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 10:32 – Patrice Bergeron (8) from David Pastrnak (8)

    Bruins ENG – 17:43 – Brad Marchand (7) from Patrice Bergeron (5) and David Krejci (10)

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 4         CAR – 0

    Shots              23                   24

    Faceoffs        35                    31

    Hits               17                     33

    PP                 2/3                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Stanley Cup Finals – Boston v. STL/SJ

     

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

  • WCF Game 3 Recap – San Jose Sharks v. St. Louis Blues

    WCF Game 3 Recap – San Jose Sharks v. St. Louis Blues

    The St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks started out about the same way all the games these playoffs have for the Blues – without them. The Blues mustered only four shots the entire period en route to a 2-0 deficit. Erik Karlsson scored the first goal (unassisted), followed by Joe Thornton’s first of the game.

    The second period was entirely different. Alex Steen opened the scoring to cut the lead to 2-1. Thornton netted his second of the game to increase San Jose’s lead back to 2, but the much maligned (unfairly, to this writer), Vladimir Tarasenko brought the Blues back to 3-2. Now, the game got really fun. David Perron committed what should have been a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, but it was missed by the referees (of note, it is very fun to see Peter DeBoer’s incredulous face). He then proceeded to score the next two goals to give the Blues a 4-3 lead entering the third.

    The Blues generally outplayed the Sharks in the third, with no team scoring until about 1 minute left, where Couture tied the game at 4, after a series of laughable, contemptuous icings by Alex Pietrangelo, then a poor defense play by him. I generally think Petro is a wonderful player, but he has been simply bad this series.

     

    Hey everyone! Michael here. Aryan asked me to take over and cover the overtime period(s) of this tightly contested Game 3 between the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues.

     

    In overtime both teams would trade chances in the first five minutes of the extra period, but then on a controversial play that saw Timo Meier bat the puck with his hand in front of the Blues net to Gustav Nyquist who would then pass it to Erik Karlsson who would shoot the puck past Jordan Binnington to win the game 5-4 in overtime and take the 2-1 series lead.

     

    Clearly a hand pass by Meier, but unfortunately this is not a reviewable play and the fact that all four officials missed this call the goal cannot be reversed. St. Louis got the short end on this one and will be motivation going into Game 4.

     

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

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 3 Game 3: Bruins Win In Raleigh; Take Commanding Lead In The Series

    2019 NHL Playoffs: Round 3 Game 3: Bruins Win In Raleigh; Take Commanding Lead In The Series

    The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Boston Bruins in Raleigh tonight. The Bruins came into the game with a 2-0 lead in the series, and both victories were in convincing fashion. The Hurricanes came to tonight’s game to try and take advantage of their home ice; as coming into tonight, they are undefeated at PNC Arena.

     

    In the first period, the Hurricanes came out flying, trying to capitalize on the momentum of home ice, but the Bruins weathered the storm. The first period would have no scoring, but the Hurricanes out-shot the Bruins 20-6. The period also featured a ton of penalties between the two teams. The Bruins took six penalties and the Hurricanes took four penalties, with both team’s PK units taking care of business.

     

    All the scoring in this game happened in the second period. The Bruins would quickly strike first in the period, at a little over a minute in. It would be Chris Wagner, who would notch his second goal of the playoffs.

     

    The Bruins would proceed to take a 2-0 lead in the game about five minutes later, when everyone’s favorite hockey player Brad Marchand would notch his sixth goal of the playoffs. A back hand shot in the slot, beating McElhinney.

     

    The Hurricanes would get one back, as seven minutes later Calvin de Haan would notch his first goal of the playoffs with a nice slap shot goal from the circle, beating Rask five hole. The goal would be de Haan’s first career playoff goal. The period would end 2-1 in favor of the Bruins.

     

    In the third period the Bruins held on as the Hurricanes would throw 10 more shots at Rask, who stopped them all. As Boston’s defense again made the difference in seeing out the 2-1 victory and the win would give the Bruins a commanding 3-0 series lead. For the Hurricanes this loss represents the first loss at home for them in the playoffs.

     

    Game 4 will be on Thursday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, where the Hurricanes will look to avoid the sweep.

     

    Boxscore

    https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-car/2019/05/14/2018030313#game=2018030313,game_state=final

     

    3 Stars of the Game

    Tuukka Rask

    Chris Wagner

    Calvin de Haan

     

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

  • St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks – Round 3 – Game 2 Recap

    St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks – Round 3 – Game 2 Recap

    Game Recap:

    The Blues came out from the gate determined to not hang their goalie Jordan Binnington out to dry like they did some many times in game one and it worked. The Blues came out and pressured in the first part of the period and scored the only goalie thanks to Blues potential Conn Smythe Candidate Jaden Schwartz. But the Blues couldn’t keep the Sharks at bay and they stormed back in the second half of the period with some pressure but couldn’t solve Binnington who I am sure was determined not to have another game like game 1.

    The 2nd period would be the Logan Couture show as the penalties would begin to ramp up against San Jose, St.Louis would score once via Vince Dunn but Couture would score a goal Short-Handed to get the Sharks on the board and then would score less than 2 minutes later to tie the game at two apiece in the second period. But the Blues wouldn’t just lay down and die with less than 4 minutes left in the second tough guy defencemen Robert Bortuzzo would score to reinstate the St. Louis Blues lead heading into the 3rd period.

    The 3rd period would be a swapping of penalties for both teams as they would both end up with no powerplay goals on the night. But with the Sharks pressing for the tying goal late the Blues Oskar Sundqvist would give the Blues some insurance with just over 3 minutes remaining and eventually seal the series tie at one apiece.

    Lineups:

    St. Louis

    Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko

    Sammy Blais – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron

    Pat Maroon – Tyler Bozak – Christian Thomas

    Ivan Barbashev – Oskar Sundqvist – Alex Steen

     

    Joel Edmundson – Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn – Robert Bortuzzo

     

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Carl Gunnarsson (Upper Body)

     

    San Jose

    Scratched:  None

    Injuries: Radek Simek

     

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    St.Louis Goal – 2:34 – Jaden Schwartz (10) assisted by Vladimir Tarasenko (2) and Joel Edmundson (4)

    San Jose Penalty – 4:04 – Tomas Hertl, 2 minutes for Tripping

    St. Louis Penalty – 6:34 – Jay Bouwmeester, 2 minutes for Tripping

    San Jose Penalty – 15:46 – Evander Kane, 2 minutes for Tripping

    End of 1st – STL – 1      SJS – 0

    Shots              6                  9

    Faceoffs        6/17          11/17

    Hits                12                9

    PP                 0/2                 0/1

    Second Period:

    St. Louis Goal – 4:16 – Vince Dunn (2) assisted by Ryan O’Reilly (8) and David Perron (5)

    San Jose Penalty – 4:42 – Marcus Sorenson, 2 minutes for Interference

    San Jose SH Goal – 4:55 – Logan Couture (12) unassisted

    San Jose Goal – 6:54 – Logan Couture (13) assisted by Timo Meier (8)

    St. Louis Goal – 16:34 – Robert Bortuzzo (1) assisted by Joel Edmundson (5) and Tyler Bozak (5)

    San Jose Penalty – 19:31- Brendan Dillion, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    End of 2nd – STL – 3      SJS – 2

    Shots               15                15

    Faceoffs       15/36           21/36

    Hits                24                  18

    PP                   0/4                  0/1

    Third Period:

    St. Louis Penalty – 10:37 – Robert Thomas, 2 minutes for Hooking

    San Jose Penalty – 12:42 – Joe Thornton, 2 minutes for Tripping

    St. Louis Goal – 16:52 – Oskar Sundqvist (3) assisted by Alex Steen (2) and Alex Pietrangelo (10)

    End of 3rd – STL – 4         SJS- 2

    Shots              25                26

    Faceoffs      23/54         31/54

    Hits              35                 28

    PP                 0/5                0/2

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

  • ECF Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    ECF Game 2 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Game 2 – BOS Leads 1-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Coming into Game 2 this afternoon the Carolina Hurricanes look to tie the series at one and take away the home ice advantage from the Boston Bruins. The first half of the period saw the tempo change hands between the two teams, and we alao saw a Hurricanes powerplay that did not generate much offense. Then in the last five minutes of the period Matt Grzelcyk would get one through Petr Mrazek and just over the goal line to score the first goal of the game. The Bruins would not be done there as they would get a late powerplay opportunity and would need only six seconds as Jake DeBrusk would knock in her own rebound and give the Bruins a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Going into the second period the Bruins would get themselves into penalty trouble as Patrice Bergeron would take a tripping penalty, but the Hurricanes would squander their opportunity and moments later the Bruins would capitalize as Marcus Johansson would exhibit great patience as he feeds Connor Clifton with the pass for Clifton to bury the puck into a wide open net for his first career playoff goal. Then late in the second period Matt Grzelcyk would strike again, this time on the powerplay to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead going into the second intermission.

     

    Going into the third period the Hurricanes would stick with Petr Mrazek between the pipes, but the Bruins would continue their assault as David Backes would score 70 seconds into the period. Then after killing off their second Patrice Bergeron tripping penalty of the game, it would be Bergeron out of the box and setting up Danton Heinen to make it a commanding 6-0 lead. The Hurricanes would eventually end Tuukka Rask’s shutout bid when Justin Williams would deflect a Justin Faulk poimt shot to make it 6-1. Then the Hurricanes would build on that as they would catch Tuukka Rask cheating to play the puck as he would accidently shoot the puck into Teuvo Teravainen who would shoot it into the wide open net to make it 6-2, but it would be to little too late as the Bruins take Game 2 and the 2-0 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Micheal Ferland

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Saku Maenalanen (upper body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman, John Moore

    Injured: Kevan Miller (lower body), Noel Acciari (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 11:56 – Zdeno Chara 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 15:22 – Matt Grzelcyk (2) from Marcus Johansson (5) and Charlie Coyle (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:26 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins PPG – 18:32 – Jake DeBrusk (3) from David Pastrnak (6) and Torey Krug (8)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       BOS – 2

    Shots              06                11

    Faceoffs         08                13

    Hits               14                  20

    PP                 0/1                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:09 – Patric Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 3:46 – Connor Clifton (1) from Marcus Johansson (6) and Danton Heinen (5)

    Bruins Penalty – 13:36 – Chris Wagner 2 minutes for Holding

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:07 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Holding

    Bruins PPG – 17:56 – Matt Grzelcyk (3) from Charlie Coyle (5) and Torey Krug (9)

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 0        BOS – 4

    Shots               17                 21

    Faceoffs          18                 21

    Hits                 26                  27

    PP                   0/3                  2/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 1:10 – David Backes (2) from David Krejci (8) and Torey Krug (10)

    Bruins Penalty – 2:22 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 4:32 – Danton Heinen (2) from Patrice Bergeron (4) and Charlie Coyle (6)

    Hurricanes Goal – 11:17 – Justin Williams (4) from Justin Faulk (6) and Sebastian Aho (6)

    Hurricanes Goal – 17:32 – Teuvo Teravainen (7) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         BOS – 6

    Shots              23                   25

    Faceoffs        22                    31

    Hits               27                     35

    PP                 0/4                    2/2

     

    Next Up:

    Game 3  – Boston Leads 2-0

     

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

  • St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks – Round 3 – Game 1 Recap

    St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks – Round 3 – Game 1 Recap

    Game Recap:

    The Sharks opened the game with putting it all on the table as Logan Couture put the Sharks on board early. Schwartz would reply later on in the 3rd tying the game at one. But the Sharks would reply again on the powerplay thanks to the Captain Joe Pavelski. Making the score 2-1 Sharks after one.

    The 2nd period would be another bad one for the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks would score 3 more goals to the Blues 1 and then the Blues would take a few more penalties. The same seemed so much out of reach.

    The 3rd period would be a swapping of goals between the Blues and Sharks. A brawl would ensue at the end of the game and a lot of penalties. Expect the Blue to come out with a big game 2.

    Lineups:

    St. Louis

    Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko

    Sammy Blais – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron

    Pat Maroon – Tyler Bozak – Christian Thomas

    Ivan Barbashev – Oskar Sundqvist – Alex Steen

     

    Joel Edmundson – Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn – Robert Bortuzzo

     

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Carl Gunnarsson (Upper Body)

     

    San Jose

    Scratched:  None

    Injuries: Radek Simek

     

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    San Jose Goal – 3:31 – Logan Couture (10) assisted by Gustav Nyquist (8) and Timo Meier (8)

    St.Louis Goal – 9:13 – Jaden Schwartz (9) assisted by Vladimir Tarasenko (1) and Brayden Schenn (4)

    St. Louis Penalty – 9:36 – Jay Bouwmeester, 2 minutes for Interference

    San Jose PP Goal – 11:24 – Joe Pavelski (4) assisted by Brent Burns (10) and Erik Karlsson (13)

    St. Louis Penalty – 10:33 – Colton Paryako, 2 minutes for Slashing

    End of 1st – STL – 1      SJS – 2

    Shots              10              9

    Faceoffs        11/27          16/27

    Hits                22                13

    PP                 0/1                 1/2

    Second Period:

    St. Louis Penalty – 2:57 – Tyler Bozak, 2 minutes for Hooking

    San Jose Goal – 7:41 – Kevin Labanc (4) assisted by Joe Thornton (5)

    St. Louis Goal – 8:58 – Ryan O’Reilly (3) assisted by Logan Couture (6)

    San Jose Goal – 10:24 – Timo Meier (4) assisted by Joe Thornton (5)

    San Jose Penalty – 13:23 – Melker Karlsson, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    San Jose Goal – 17:34 – Timo Meier (5) assisted by Marc-Edouard Vlasic (4) and Gustav Nyquist

    End of 2nd – STL – 2      SJS – 5

    Shots               19                20

    Faceoffs        21/51           30/51

    Hits                35                  25

    PP                   0/1                  1/3

    Third Period:

    St. Louis Goal – 13:01 – Tyler Bozak (3) assisted by Pat Maroon (2) and Vince Dunn (5)

    San Jose Goal – 17:39 – Logan Couture (11) assisted by Joe Pavelski (4) and Evander Kane (6)

    St. Louis Penalty – 17:55 – Robert Bortuzzo, 5 minutes for Fighting

    San Jose Penalty – 17:55 – Barclay Goodrow, 5 minutes for Fighting

    St. Louis Penalty – 17:55 – Robert Bertuzzo, 2 minutes for Roughing

    San Jose Penalty – 17:55 – Brandon Dillion, 2 minutes for Roughing

    St. Louis Penalty – 17:55 – Robert Bortuzzo, Game Misconduct

    San Jose Penalty – 17:55 – Barclay Goodrow, Game Misconduct

    End of 3rd – STL – 3         SJS- 6

    Shots              31                25

    Faceoffs      31/73         42/73

    Hits              41                 35

    PP                 0/1                1/4

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

  • Western Conference Finals Preview – St. Louis Blues v. San Jose Sharks

    Western Conference Finals Preview – St. Louis Blues v. San Jose Sharks

    After a wild seven game series with the Dallas Stars, the Blues emerged victorious. Saturday, they continue their inexorable march to the Cup against the San Jose Sharks. Before breaking down the series, I’ll have to admit (though often considered a sacrilegious act to hockey fans), that I am a baseball fan and ardent supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals. As such, I noticed a quite interesting parallel between the World Series of 2011 against a Dallas-based team and the second round series with the Stars. Each series had game winners in this order: STL, DAL, STL, DAL, DAL, STL, STL.

    So, instead of recalling the vituperative memories of the last time the Blues and Sharks played in the playoffs, let’s focus on the last time the STL and SF baseball teams played for a premonition:

    Oh. Right.

    Anyway, back to the better sport – the Blues and Sharks finished the regular season with similar point totals, though the Sharks finished two points ahead with 101 and will start the series at home.

    The two teams met three times during the season, with the Blues going 1-1-1, including a 4-0 win and 4-0 loss in November (which, as we’ve seen before, does not really matter because that was before the team learned how to play hockey), as well as a 3-2 overtime loss, in a game without Vladimir Tarasenko.

    Like with any series, there are a number of factors that could be ‘keys to the series’, but quite honestly, there really is only one important one – Martin Jones. Jones is about as bad as Ben Bishop is good, so if the Blues cannot win this series, and score a fair amount of goals, it is completely on them. Though San Jose sports Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson on defense, neither is particularly adept at defense these days. Since Burns, Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture are quite skillful offensively, the Blues simply need to play as strong of a game defensively as they did in game 7 against Dallas, and bide their time until they get their offensive chances.

    To put how mediocre Jones is in perspective, let’s compare him to the much maligned Jake Allen, who absolutely was not good for the Blues during the season and a major reason for their stodgy start to the here. According to NaturalStatTrick, Martin Jones has a save percentage of .896, while Allen’s is .905. Allen has a GSAA of -5.91, while Jones has an astounding -22.87. GSAA is a metric that basically measures goals saved above average. While -5.91 isn’t great, it’s much better than -22. The only part where Jones beats Allen is in High Danger Save Percentage, with a paltry .806 to .796 edge.

    Of course more goes into an evaluation of a goalie than simply his raw stats, most notably team defense, but at minimum we can conclude that San Jose is not good at keeping the puck out of their own net, and Jones himself is not good when facing high danger shots. If the Blues do not score against Jones, the last thing anyone should be doing is valorizing him, because in all likelihood it will be the shooters that are taking bad shots, as opposed to Jones making great and timely saves.

    That’s basically it. Score goals. Just score goals. Play solid defense. And, above all else, don’t throw the puck in your own net:

    Blues in 6.

  • ECF Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    ECF Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Game 1

     

    Game Recap:

    Shipping off to Boston for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals the Bruins play host to the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time since the 2009 Semi Finals, and they would also be doing it without the services of star defenseman Charlie McAvoy as he is serving a one game suspension stemming from his illegal hit to the head of Josh Anderson in Game 7 against the Columbus Blue Jackets a few nights ago. However, no McAvoy, no problem as his replacement in the lineup Steven Kampfer would step up early as he would bury his first career playoff goal off of a Marcus Johansson pass after a spectacular defensive play to create the offensive rush leading to the Kampfer goal. Then on the next shift Sean Kuraly would throw a retaliatory punch at Brock McGinn to get a two minute roughing penalty, but the Hurricanes would only need three seconds as Andrei Svechnikov would get the puck right off the faceoff and throw it on net for a Sebastian Aho redirect past Tuukka Rask to tie the game at one a piece.

     

    Going into the second period both teams would remain tied at one, but halfway through the period after the Hurricanes would get their third powerplay opportunity of the game, and fail to convert on it, it would be Greg McKegg who would drive down the wing and wrist the puck past Tuukka Rask to give the Hurricanes the 2-1 lead. However, the goal was not called a goal right away on the ice as the referee did not signal that is was a goal initially as there was also a collision that happened in the crease as well due to Steven Kampfer also cross checking McKegg into Rask after being burned by McKegg when going down the wing towards the net, but the war room in Toronto called in the goal as the replays showed the puck going into the net prior to the collision taking place.

     

    In the third period the Hurricanes would unravel a little bit in the first three minutes of the period as they would take two really bad penalties that would come to cost them as on the first powerplay opportunity of the period for the Bruins it would be Marcus Johansson knocking in a loose puck in the slot to tie the game at two a piece, then 28 seconds later on another powerplay the Bruins would score again as Patrice Bergeron would score his 6th of the playoffs to give the Bruins the 3-2 lead before the three minute mark of the third period. Then in the final three minutes of the game the Bruins would score two goals in a span of 11 seconds starting off with an empty net goal, and then a goal on a breakaway by Chris Wagner as the Bruins would put this game out of reach to win Game 1 5-2.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Jordan Martinook — Greg McKegg — Micheal Ferland

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Injured: Saku Maenalanen (upper body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Connor Clifton

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk — Steven Kampfer

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Zane McIntyre, Karson Kuhlman, John Moore

    Injured: Kevan Miller (lower body), Noel Acciari (upper body)

    Suspended: Charlie McAvoy

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Goal – 2:55 – Steven Kampfer (1) from Marcus Johansson (4)

    Bruins Penalty – 3:39 – Sean Kuraly 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes PPG – 3:42 – Sebastian Aho (5) from Andrei Svechnikov (2) and Jordan Staal (6)

    Bruins Penalty – 14:37 – Charlie Coyle 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:55 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 1       BOS – 1

    Shots              10                08

    Faceoffs         13                09

    Hits               09                  07

    PP                 1/2                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 4:08 – Sean Kuraly 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Goal – 9:18 – Greg McKegg (2) from Jordan Martinook (4) and Micheal Ferland (1)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:56 – Micheal Ferland 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 2        BOS – 1

    Shots               25                 18

    Faceoffs          24                 18

    Hits                 19                  17

    PP                   1/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – :49 – Jordan Staal 2 minutes for Boarding

    Bruins PPG – 2:26 – Marcus Johansson (3) from Brad Marchand (9) and David Krejci (7)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 2:41 – Dougie Hamilton 2 minutes for Roughing

    Bruins PPG – 2:54 – Patrice Bergeron (6) from Brad Marchand (10) and Jake DeBrusk (4)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 5:29 – Dougie Hamilton 2 minutes for Interference

    Bruins ENG – 17:47 – Charlie Coyle (6) from Brandon Carlo (2) and Sean Kuraly (2)

    Bruins Goal – 17:58 – Chris Wagner (1) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         BOS – 5

    Shots              30                   28

    Faceoffs        31                    28

    Hits               27                     25

    PP                 1/3                    2/5

     

    Next Up:

    Game 2 – Sunday at 3p EST – BOS Leads Series 1-0

     

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

  • Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

    Eastern Conference Finals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Boston Bruins

     

    Regular Season Series:

    CAR 1-0-1 (Playoffs 8-3)

    BOS 2-1-0 (Playoffs 8-5)

     

    How they got here:

    Carolina defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the first round, and then swept the New York Islanders 4-0 in the second round.

     

    Boston defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the first round, and then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 in the second round.

     

    A Deeper Look at the Series:

    Offense:

    For the Carolina Hurricanes this postseason they had a lot of players playing in the playoffs for the first time in their careers, and outside of the veteran leadership of Jordan Staal and Justin Williams they have also received contributions from their young stars of Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho. The biggest surprise this season has been the rise of rookie forward Warren Foegele who has recorded 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in the postseason so far.

     

    For the veteran Boston Bruins they have received contributions from all of their top players including Brad Marchand who leads the way with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points this postseason. However, despite their contributions this postseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets last round showed how you can keep the top players of the Bruins quite for an extended amout of time throughout the series. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets they faltered near the end and the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak would take over and lead the Bruins back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

     

    Defense:

    On defense for the Hurricanes they have been lead quietly by Jaccob Slavin who leads the team in points with 11 this postseason, but all 11 points have been assists for Slavin and it has shown as he has been a jolt for kick startig the Hurricanes offense. The Hurricanes have also gained contributions from Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk and Brett Pesce who combined have 19 points (4 goals and 15 assists) this postseason. With these four players firing on all cylinders, it makes the Hurricanes defense a dangerous one to contain in regards to moving the play up the ice and into the offensive zone.

     

    The Bruins major contributions offensively have come from Torey Krug (1 goal and 8 points) and Charlie McAvoy (1 goal and 6 points) from the blueline, but their overall core which is lead by captain Zdeno Chara has been solid throughout the majority of these playoffs. However, going into Game 1 the Bruins will be without McAvoy who will be serving a ome game suspension for his hit to the head of Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson in Game 7 last round, so the Bruins are going to need to step up in his absence for Game 1.

     

    Goaltending:

    For the Hurricanes they have relied on both of their horses from the regular season in Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Mrazek, who is the team’s number one goaltender has a 5-3 record with a 2.22 GAA and a .913 save percentage, while McElhinney has a 3-0 record with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage since coming in when Mrazek went down with a lower body injury. The Hurricanes hope to have Mrazek between the pipes for Game 1, but McElhinney is ready to answer the call when needed.

     

    For the Bruins they have their stalwart Tuukka Rask who in these playoffs have an 8-5 record with a 2.02 GAA and a .938 save percentage as he has been the backbone for the Bruins this postseason.

     

    Goaltending will be one of the biggest keys this series, and could also be the determining factor.

     

    Special Teams:

    CAR – PP 17.8%     PK 81.6%

    BOS – PP 25.9%     PK 79.9%

     

    For special teams this could be considered a wash as both teams are on the opposite end of the spectrum in regards to powerplay and penalty kill. During the regular season the Bruins had a better powerplay, but on the penalty kill the Hurricanes were the better team. One edge I would give to the Hurricanes would be their penalty kill as seeing it in person, against the Bruins for Hartford Whalers Night, they utilize their young, fast players along with their grizzled defenders to kill penalties, and with players like Teravainen and Aho on the kill that can score shorthanded, that can give the Hurricanes a slight edge.

     

    Prediction: CAR in 6

     

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