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  • Gameday Preview – 2/26/2019 – Ottawa Senators v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 2/26/2019 – Ottawa Senators v. Washington Capitals

    Ottawa Senators (22-35-5 49pts) v. Washington Capitals (35-21-7 77pts)

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals close off the end of February with a tilt at home against the Ottawa Senators, or what’s left of them that is. The Capitals will be looking to win their fourth game in five games, while the Senators will be looking to start anew after a very busy trade deadline.

     

    Ottawa Senators:

    Projected Lineup:

    Brady Tkachuk — Colin White — Anthony Duclair

    Rudolfs Balcers — Chris Tierney — Mikkel Boedker

    Zack Smith — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Bobby Ryan

    Brian Gibbons — Oscar Lindberg — Magnus Paajarvi

    Thomas Chabot — Dylan DeMelo

    Mark Borowiecki — Christian Jaros

    Ben Harpur — Cody Ceci

    Anders Nilsson

    Craig Anderson

    Scratched: Christian Wolanin

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Just play the game

    The expectations for the Senators are very low, and with that they should just play their game and see if they can steal one against the Capitals tonight.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Braden Holtby is expected to start in goal tonight.

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Don’t overlook the Senators

    The Senators may be at the bottom of the barrel, and traded away a lot of their key players, but thwy are still showing up to play. The Capitals need these two points more than the Senators do, and that is a scary thought.

  • Game Recap – 2/24/2019 – New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/24/2019 – New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals

    New York Rangers (27-26-8 62pts) v. Washington Capitals (34-21-7 75pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the Washington Capitals, they finally get to return home but it would be spoiled right away as Chris Kreider would score 21 seconds into the game to give the New York Rangers a 1-0 lead. However, the Capitals would respond late in the period as both Nicklas Backstrom and Michal Kempny would score to give the Capitals 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Then in the second period it would be a penalty affair that would see Tom Wilson score on the powerplay for his 17th of the season to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. But then later in the period Brady Skjei would do a blast from the point to beat Pheonix Copley to cut the Capitals lead to one going into the second intermission.

     

    The Rangers would open the period the same way they started the game with a goal 21 seconds into the period, this time by Jimmy Vesey with a knuckler from the point to tie the game. The Capitals would respond with back to back goals from Nic Dowd and Backstrom to give them their two goal lead back. However, on a Carl Hagelin hooking penalty the Rangers would get a weird bounce off of Vladislav Namestnikov for the powerplay goal and reduce the Capitals lead to one again. The with 30 seconds left in the period Skjei would score his second of the game to tie this game at 5 a piece and send the game to overtime.

     

    In overtime, this one would almost go the distance but it would be Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov connecting for the game winner with 40 seconds left in what was a mayhem filled sequence.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Rangers:

    Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Jimmy Vesey

    Vladislav Namestnikov — Ryan Strome — Jesper Fast

    Filip Chytil — Lias Andersson — Pavel Buchnevich

    Brendan Smith — Boo Nieves — Connor Brickley

    Brady Skjei — Fredrik Claesson

    Marc Staal — Neal Pionk

    Tony DeAngelo — Kevin Shattenkirk

    Henrik Lundqvist

    Alexandar Georgiev

    Scratched: Adam McQuaid, Kevin Hayes

    Injured: Brett Howden (knee sprain)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd, Christian Djoos

     

    First Period:

    Rangers Goal – :21 – Chris Kreider (26) from Jimmy Vesey (17) and Mika Zibanejad (35)

    Rangers Penalty – 4:19 – Brady Skjei 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Capitals Goal – 18:42 – Nicklas Backstrom (14) from John Carlson (47) and TJ Oshie (20)

    Capitals Goal – 19:03 – Michal Kempny (6) from Brett Connolly (18) and Andre Burakovsky (11)

     

    End of 1st – NYR – 1       WAS – 2

    Shots              07                07

    Faceoffs         10                05

    Hits               00                  00

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 1:24 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Rangers Penalty – 3:39 – Lias Andersson 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals PPG – 5:09 – Tom Wilson (17) from Jakub Vrana (20) and Lars Eller (20)

    Rangers Penalty – 6:01 – Bench (Chris Kreider) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Rangers Penalty – 12:47 – Lias Andersson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 12:47 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 15:50 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Slashing

    Rangers Goal – 18:18 – Brady Skjei (5) from Connor Brickley (2) and Lias Andersson (4)

     

    End of 2nd – NYR – 2        WAS – 3

    Shots               20                 20

    Faceoffs          17                 16

    Hits                 12                  13

    PP                   0/2                  1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Rangers Goal – :21 – Jimmy Vesey (15) from unassisted

    Capitals Goal – 2:25 – Nic Dowd (6) from Travis Boyd (12) and Brooks Orpik (4)

    Capitals Goal – 3:01 – Nicklas Backstrom (15) from unassisted

    Capitals Penalty – 4:54 – Carl Hagelin 2 minutes for Hooking

    Rangers PPG – 6:01 – Vladislav Namestnikov (8) from Neal Pionk (16) and Anthony DeAngelo (18)

    Capitals Penalty – 6:23 – Matt Niskanen 5 minute major for Fighting

    Rangers Penalty – 6:23 – Dylan Strome 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 6:23 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Rangers Penalty – 6:23 – Ryan Strome 2 minutes for Roughing

    Rangers Penalty – 6:23 – Anthony DeAngelo 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 6:23 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Capitals Penalty – 16:17 – Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for Roughing

    Rangers Penalty – 16:17 – Connor Brickley 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 16:17 – Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Rangers Goal – 19:29 – Brady Skjei (6) from Kevin Shattenkirk (18) and Mika Zibanejad (36)

     

    End of 3rd – NYR – 5         WAS – 5

    Shots              30                   32

    Faceoffs        29                    28

    Hits               16                     20

    PP                 1/4                    1/3

     

    OT:

    Capitals Goal – 4:20 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (16) from Alex Ovechkin (28)  and Dmitry Orlov (15)

     

    End of OT – NYR – 5         WAS – 6

    Shots              31                   35

    Faceoffs        30                    28

    Hits               16                     20

    PP                 1/4                    1/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (35-21-7 77pts) v. Ottawa (22-34-5 49pts)

    NY Rangers (27-26-9 63pts) v. Tampa Bay (47-11-4 98pts)

  • African American NHLers: A Huge Impact

    Black History Month has been a reminder of the unfortunate past and the awakening to the impact that African Americans have had in the world today. Today TXHT ventures into a series of articles called “A Huge Impact: a review of the impact of nationality on Hockey”. Each article will discuss the unique impact each nationality has had on the game of hockey. Starting with African American Hockey Players.

    Willie O’Ree:

    First African American player to play in the NHL. Most call him the Jackie Robinson of Hockey. O’Ree Started off in the Boston Bruins organization as a winger, where he played 45 games for the Boston Bruins over his career. O’Ree spent his whole career and post-career breaking barriers in Hockey. O’Ree has served as the NHL’s Director of Youth Development and Ambassador for NHL Diversity since 1998 – Where his impact has become more about making sure everyone gets to play on the ice no matter the barrier. Willie O’Ree was rightfully inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

    Anson Carter:

    Carter was a special breed of player – a tenacious, hard-hitting, goal scorer who wasn’t afraid to mix it up with the fists. Carter was a breed of players who sometimes dealt with racial slurs at games. But Carter like Willie O’Ree was a player who broke down barriers and showing that a kid no matter the color of your skin, you can do whatever you want – that for Anson Carter was playing hockey.

    Jarome Iginla:

    Iginla was such a talented player and leader. Willing to do anything for his team – the ultimate teammate and captain. On top of hockey, Iginla played baseball and was a catcher on the Canadian national junior team. Iginla says that if it wasn’t for his grandfather he would have never even been able to play hockey – as his father and mother were always working. Iginla grew up admiring other black hockey players – his favorite being Grant Fuhr – which made Iginla start off as a goalie before turning into a right-winger. Iginla impacted hockey not by his skill only but how he carried himself as a person, which was a role model for all players. Iginla is well known for his kind-hearted nature. Former Flames General manager Craig Button called Iginla grounded:

    “He doesn’t carry himself with any attitude or arrogance. He’s confident in his abilities. He’s self-assured. He’s genuine. He’s a better person than he is a player, and we all know what kind of player he is.”  (Button, 2010)

    Iginla always strived to be an example to all,  but his heart was to make sure young black kids had a role model. A story is told during the 2002 Winter Olympic in Salt Lake City, Iginla started a conversation with 4 young men from Calgary and found out they were sleeping in their car outside of the hotel. He excused himself and went to book hotel rooms for the young men for the duration they were there on Iginla’s expense.

    Iginla is now an ambassador with the NHL Diversity program, which supports youth hockey organizations that offer economically disadvantaged kids the opportunity to play. Since 2008, he has been a hockey spokesperson for Scotiabank, appearing in commercials and at events supporting its grassroots hockey programs.

    Grant Fuhr:

    Widely considered one of the best goalies ever to play the game, if not the best. Fuhr revolutionized the goalie position with his play and being one of the very first black goalies. Fuhr struggled with addictions during his career, He was suspended on occasions but more as punishment. Fuhr helped revolutionize the way addiction would be treated in the NHL. From punishment to help.

    “It’s like night and day now because the NHL now will help players, where when I got suspended it was about punishment,” Fuhr said. “It wasn’t about rehabilitating players or helping them get better in life, it was about punishing them. I think the NHL has gone leaps and bounds in getting better at that where they’ve got programs in place now and they actually will help players, and they’ll help players before they get themselves in trouble.” (Fuhr, 2011)

    PK Subban:

    Subban is an interesting character, some people love him others hate him. But that doesn’t change the way Subban has impacted the game. Subban came into the NHL with a bigger than life personality, but there are a few things no one knows about Subban. This is how he impacted the game, Subban greets everyone he meets by name, he takes time to get to know your name and then always makes sure you are called by that. Subban has always leveraged his fame for good. That was proven when he received his first HUGE contract, he donated his whole first year’s salary – $10 million. Subban impacted by bringing swagger to the ice and with his 2-way game, but also by his work off the ice – just like Jarome Iginla. Subban shows that money and fame mean nothing but it’s how you live. Subban spends a lot of his free time with underprivileged children, especially in black communities, helping them with sport and trying to help them have better lives.

    These are just a few African American players who have impacted the game of hockey whether on or off the ice. Some of the greatest players to ever step on the ice were African American and there impact on the game will go on for years.

     

  • February 24th, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 24th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, February 24th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 11 contests in NHL action yesterday…

    BUFFALO 5, Washington 2

    The Washington Capitals would end their six game road trip with a thud, losing to the Buffalo Sabres with a 5-2 loss.

    TXHT has your complete coverage between the Capitals and the Sabres at the following page.

     

     

    NY RANGERS 5, New Jersey 2

     

    ST. LOUIS 2, Boston 1 (SO)

     

    The Boston Bruins would fall to the St. Louis Blues with a 2-1 loss in the shootout frame.

     

     

    FLORIDA 6, Los Angeles 1

    There would be six different scorers for the Florida Panthers in this contest and would crush the Los Angeles Kings with the 6-1 win last night.

    With the Panthers win, goaltender Roberto Luongo would go on to tie Ed Belfour for third place on the NHL’s all-time lead for wins.

     

    COLUMBUS 4, San Jose 0

     

     

    The San Jose Sharks would get crushed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, losing 4-0 in Columbus last night.

     

     

    Carolina 3, DALLAS 0

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes would visit the Dallas Stars and win the contest 3-0.  With the Hurricanes win, the team would move to 18-6-1 in their last 25 contests.

     

     

    Colorado 5, NASHVILLE 0

     

    The Nashville Predators would continue their slide with the 5-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday.

     

     

    Toronto 6, MONTREAL 3

     

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would take on the Montreal Canadiens and double up Montreal with a 6-3 win last night.

     

     

    PHILADELPHIA 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) – 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series

    The Philadelphia Flyers would take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series and would escape with the 4-3 win in overtime, after being down 3-1 late in the contest.

    TXHT has your complete coverage of the contest at the following page.

     

    EDMONTON 2, Anaheim 1

     

    NY Islanders 4, VANCOUVER 0

     

    Today’s NHL Schedule of Games

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats….

     

     

    NWHL

     

    In the NWHL yesterday…

    BUFFALO BEAUTS 4, Metropolitan Riveters 1

     

    The Buffalo Beauts would register their sixth consecutive win with the 4-1 win over the Metropolitan Riveters yesterday afternoon.

    Despite the loss, Riveters goaltender Katie Fitzgerald would register 33 saves on 36 shots in the contest.

    The first ten minutes of the contest was fast paced and both teams generated chances.

    Buffalo’s Kelly Babstock would open up the scoring in the contest with her goal at the 15:21 mark in the first period with her third goal on the season.

    Buffalo’s Taylor Accursi would score her third goal on the season at the 4:19 mark in the second period followed by Buffalo’s third goal in the contest, scored by Emily Janiga at the 12:36 mark in the second.

    The Riveters would score their lone goal in the contest when Rebecca Russo scored her fourth goal on the season at the 6:24 mark in the third period.  Emily Janiga would score her second goal of the season, an empty net goal at the 18:21 mark in the third period.

    Buffalo moves to 10-4-0 on the season, tied with Boston Pride for best record in the league and the Metropolitan Riveters are now 3-12-0 on the season.

    Buffalo Beauts Final Regular Season Games:

    March 2nd: at Connecticut Whale
    March 3rd: at Metropolitan Riveters

    Metropolitan Riveters Regular Season Finale:

    March 3rd: vs. Buffalo Beauts

  • 2019 NHL Stadium Series Recap – 2/23/2019 – Pittsburgh Penguins v. Philadelphia Flyers

    2019 NHL Stadium Series Recap – 2/23/2019 – Pittsburgh Penguins v. Philadelphia Flyers

    Pittsburgh Penguins (32-22-7 71pts) v. Philadelphia Flyers (28-26-7 63pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The 2019 Stadium Series has arrived to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and the Flyers would cough up the puck in their own zone and it would be Sidney Crosby scoring to give the Pittsburgh Penguins the early 1-0 lead. However, the Flyers would respond when Sean Couturier would walk right up the slot to make it a 1-1 game. Then we would have some fireworks after a very clean hit by Wayne Simmonds on Brian Dumoulin.

     

    The second period would see the Flyers buzzing in the Penguins zone, but would not be able to convert. Especially after Jack Johnson kneed Nolan Patrick to give the Flyers the first powerplay of the game, which should have been a 5 minute major and a game misconduct, the Flyers would continue to buzz despite not capitalizing on the powerplay. Then Justin Schultz would blast a shot past Brian Elliott to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.

     

    The Flyers would start the third period with some jump in their step again, but still would be stone walled by Matt Murray and the lack of whistles from the officials (another story for another day). However, the Penguins would benefit for a very fortunate bounce as an Evgeni Malkin shot would take a flukey bounce off of Elliott’s skate and in to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead. Then later in the period James van Reimsdyk would crash the net and bat in the rebound to cut the deficit to one on the powerplay. And then with 20 seconds left in regulation Jakub Voracek would shoot the puck on a bad angle and beat Murray to tie the game at three and send the game to overtime.

     

    In overtime it had a vibe that the Penguins were going to win it with the mistakes the Flyers were making, but it would be Claude Giroux who would score the game winner two minutes into overtime to cap off the Flyers comeback victory.

     

    Lineups:

    Pittsburgh Penguins:

    Jake Guentzel — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust

    Zach Aston-Reese — Evgeni Malkin — Phil Kessel

    Jared McCann — Nick Bjugstad — Patric Hornqvist

    Tanner Pearson — Matt Cullen — Dominik Simon

    Brian Dumoulin — Kris Letang

    Jack Johnson — Justin Schultz

    Marcus Pettersson — Chad Ruhwedel

    Matt Murray

    Casey DeSmith

    Scratched: Garrett Wilson, Juuso Riikola, Teddy Blueger

    Injured: Olli Maatta (upper body)

     

    Philadelphia Flyers:

    Claude Giroux — Nolan Patrick — Travis Konecny

    Oskar Lindblom — Sean Couturier — Jakub Voracek

    Michael Raffl — Scott Laughton — Wayne Simmonds

    James van Riemsdyk — Phil Varone — Justin Bailey

    Ivan Provorov — Travis Sanheim

    Shayne Gostisbehere — Philippe Myers

    Robert Hagg — Andrew MacDonald

    Brian Elliott

    Cam Talbot

    Scratched: Corban Knight

    Injured: Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Carter Hart (lower body)

    Suspended: Radko Gudas

     

    First Period:

    Penguins Penalty – 5:47 – Garrett Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Flyers Penalty – 5:47 – Robert Hagg 2 minutes for Roughing

    Penguins Goal – 7:59 – Sidney Crosby (26) from Kris Letang (38)

    Flyers Goal – 12:06 – Sean Couturier (25) from Oskar Linblom (13) and Jakub Voracek (36)

    Flyers Penalty – 16:23 – Wayne Simmonds 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Penguins Penalty – 16:23 – Kris Letang 2 minutes for Unsportsmalike Conduct

     

    End of 1st – PIT – 1       PHI – 1

    Shots              18                08

    Faceoffs         06                08

    Hits               09                  14

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Penguins Penalty – 1:03 – Jack Johnson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Penguins Goal – 10:01 – Justin Schultz (1) from Sidney Crosby (49) and Patric Hornqvist (12)

     

    End of 2nd – PIT – 2        PHI – 1

    Shots               30                 17

    Faceoffs          18                 20

    Hits                 26                  25

    PP                   0/0                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Penguins Goal – 6:29 – Evgeni Malkin (19) from Phil Kessel (42) and Zach Aston-Reese (8)

    Penguins Penalty – 14:51 – Evgeni Malkin 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Flyers Penalty – 14:51 – Robert Hagg 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Penguins Penalty – 15:40 – Matt Cullen 2 minutes for Slashing

    Flyers PPG – 16:56 – James van Reimsdyk (16) from Jakub Voracek (37) and Claude Giroux (45)

    Flyers Goal – 19:40 – Jakub Voracek (16) from Sean Couturier (33)

     

    End of 3rd – PIT – 3         PHI – 3

    Shots              40                   35

    Faceoffs        29                    37

    Hits               34                     29

    PP                 0/0                    1/2

     

    OT:

    Flyers Goal – 1:59 – Claude Giroux (18) from Nolan Patrick (12) and Travis Sanheim (19)

     

    End of OT – PIT – 3         PHI – 4

    Shots              43                   37

    Faceoffs        31                    40

    Hits               35                     30

    PP                 0/0                    1/2

     

    Next Up:

    Philadelphia (29-26-7 65pts) v. Buffalo (29-24-8 66pts)

    Pittsburgh (32-22-8 72pts) @ Columbus (35-23-3 73pts)

  • Bad Weather is Coming – Should the NHL Stadium Series Game Be Played?

    Bad Weather is Coming – Should the NHL Stadium Series Game Be Played?

    It’s Saturday, February 23rd and it game day for the NHL Stadium Series featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins against their rival Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. However, the number one thing everyone is talking about is the fact that the weather is going to look very problematic tonight for the game.

     

    With the Philadelphia forecast predicting rain for the area tonight the NHL released the following statement:

    “PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Feb. 23, 2019) – The National Hockey League announced today that the start time of tonight’s 2019 Coors Light NHLStadium Series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins at Lincoln Financial Field will remain at 8 p.m. ET. While we are expecting a chance of a relatively light amount of precipitation in and around the game window, current forecasts are indicating that we will have playable conditions. We will continue to monitor weather conditions throughout the day and if a different determination becomes necessary due to the weather conditions being worse than anticipated, we will adjust accordingly.”

     

    Now how does the league plan to “adjust accordingly”? Well we’ll tell you, and let’s be honest, it’s very radical.

     

    The following are the weather-related GAME procedure contingencies for the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins:

     

    ·Once the game has begun, it may be subject to one or more temporary stoppages due to unplayable weather conditions, at the discretion of the Commissioner.

    • This is how all outdoor games work so this isn’t very surprising.

     

    ·Period and game format may be reconfigured to accommodate temporary stoppages as determined appropriate by the Commissioner.

    • Sounds logical… maybe?

     

    ·In the event of high winds at the ice surface, the clubs will switch ends at the 10:00 minute mark of the third period as signaled by a “hard whistle.” The face off will take place where the play was whistled dead. This identical procedure will take place at the 2:30 minute mark of an overtime period, if needed.

    • Again this is how all outdoor games work so this is status quo.

     

    · In the event of a shootout, each club will determine what end they prefer to defend, which could be the same end.

    • Also status quo.

     

    ·If the game is started, then stopped permanently due to unplayable weather conditions, it will be deemed “official” once two periods have been played. The team leading at the time play is stopped will be declared the winner and will be awarded two points in the standings.

    • So I don’t know if this is something that has ever happened before in the NHL, but if it has I don’t ever recalling a time when it did.

     

    ·If the game is tied at the time play is stopped permanently, any time after two periods of play, each team will be awarded one point in the standings, with an opportunity to earn an additional point in a standard shootout format.

    • Read thoughts under the next contingency.

     

    ·If weather conditions permit, the shootout will be conducted at Lincoln Financial Field immediately after regulation play has been stopped. If weather conditions make it impossible to conduct a shootout safely at Lincoln Financial Field, the shootout will take place at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, March 17 prior to the regularly scheduled Philadelphia-Pittsburgh game, with Philadelphia deemed the home club for shootout purposes only.

    • So to touch on the first point above, if the weather permits the game from being played after two periods and it’s tied, then both teams will get a point in the standings but they will do a shootout to determine a winner, but if they are stopping the game due to the weather then how can they do the shootout? You can’t unless you want to try to force it.
    • Secondly, why should these two teams have to wait for March 17th to do the shootout if they can’t do it tonight? Just award it as a tie. Remember those? I do.

     

    ·If the game is started, and stopped permanently due to unplayable weather conditions, and fewer than two periods of regular time has been played, the game will be officially “postponed” and, if possible, will be played in its entirety at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Feb. 24. If the game cannot be replayed at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Feb. 24, it will be rescheduled at Wells Fargo Center on a date to be determined later in the season.

    • So we’re going to try to play this game, but if the weather conditions make it unplayable and you know that this is going to be like that then why even try? Is it really worth putting the players at risk when you know tomorrow is supposed to be rain and 60 degrees? Philadelphia Flyers rookie goalie sensation Carter Hart was injured yesterday at practice in Lincoln Financial Field because of the ice and will miss 10 days at minimum, so why risk anyone else?

     

    The idea that this game is going on and that so many contingencies have been put in place, and with so many at the commissioner’s discretion (another story for another day) one has to beg the question of what is really going on?

     

    TXHT will be covering the Stadium Series tonight, but we will be curious to see how this really goes.

     

    *All contingencies posted are posted in full as presented by the National Hockey League.

  • Game Recap – 2/23/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Buffalo Sabres

    Game Recap – 2/23/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Buffalo Sabres

    Washington Capitals (34-20-7 75pts) v. Buffalo Sabres (28-24-8 64pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals head into Buffalo to conclude their six game road trip, but it would be the Sabres who would get the jump on the Capitals as Jason Pominville would bury one in front of the net to give the Sabres the 1-0 lead. Vladimir Sobotka would then be called for tripping, but the Capitals would not be able to capitalize on the powerplay opportunity. The Sabres would find a breakdown in the Capitals and Sam Reinhart would make it 2-0 for the Sabres. Jakub Vrana would be called for hooking late in the period, but the Capitals would be able to kill the penalty off.

     

    The Capitals would start the second period on fire as they would generate some solid chances, but it would be a mishandling of the puck by the Sabres defense that would lead to an Alex Ovechkin break and score his 44th goal of the season to cut the Sabres lead to one. Then there would be a scary moment when Jeff Skinner and newly acquired Carl Hagelin would get tied up leading to Skinner going down awkwardly and leave the ice with the assistance of the trainer. Hagelin would be called for tripping, and the Capitals would kill the penalty. The Capitals would get another powerplay opportunity as Nathan Beaulieu would be called for delay of game, but the Capitals would not take advantage of it. Then Nic Dowd would take down Beaulieu in the corner to give the Sabres their third powerplay opportunity and Jack Eichel would find Rasmus Dahlin on the point for the powerplay goal and regain their two goal lead late in the second period.

     

    The Capitals came into the third period down by two, and they were flying to create chances, but Nicklas Backstrom would get called for holding to halt that rush. However, the Capitals would kill off the penalty and would get some traffic in front of Carter Hutton as Andre Burakovsky would deflect a Christian Djoos point shot to pull the Capitals within one, but would be down by two once again when Sam Reinhart would tip in a Matt Hunwick point blast for his second of the game to give the Sabres their two goal lead back. And then with the goalie pulled, Reinhart would score his 3rd of the game to ice it for the Sabres 5-2.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd, Nick Jensen

     

    Buffalo Sabres:

    Jeff Skinner — Jack Eichel — Evan Rodrigues

    Conor Sheary — Casey Mittelstadt — Sam Reinhart

    Zemgus Girgensons — Johan Larsson — Jason Pominville

    C.J. Smith — Vladimir Sobotka — Tage Thompson

    Jake McCabe — Rasmus Ristolainen

    Rasmus Dahlin — Zach Bogosian

    Nathan Beaulieu — Matt Hunwick

    Carter Hutton

    Linus Ullmark

    Scratched: Casey Nelson, Danny O’Regan, Scott Wilson

    Injured: Marco Scandella (upper body), Kyle Okposo (concussion)

     

    First Period:

    Sabres Goal – 3:40 – Jason Pominville (14) from Jeff Skinner (19) and Jack Eichel (46)

    Sabres Penalty – 5:53 – Vladimir Sobotka 2 minutes for Tripping

    Sabres Goal – 12:51 – Sam Reinhart (15) from Evan Rodrigues (14)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:02 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       BUF – 2

    Shots              10                13

    Faceoffs         11                08

    Hits               09                  06

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 2:28 – Alex Ovechkin (44) from Evegny Kuznetsov (40)

    Capitals Penalty – 4:42 – Carl Hagelin 2 minutes for Tripping

    Sabres Penalty – 13:56 – Nathan Beaulieu 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Capitals Penalty – 17:44 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

    Sabres PPG – 19:29 – Rasmus Dahlin (8) from Jack Eichel (47) and Rasmus Rstolainen (32)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1        BUF – 3

    Shots               25                 26

    Faceoffs          25                 18

    Hits                 15                  10

    PP                   0/2                  1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 1:26 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 4:16 – Andre Burakovsky (8) from Christian Djoos (6) and Michal Kempny (14)

    Sabres Goal – 5:43 – Sam Reinhart (16) from Matt Hunwick (1) and Conor Sheary (16)

    Sabres ENG – 19:05 – Sam Reinhart (17) from Carter Hutton (1)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 2         BUF – 5

    Shots              33                   38

    Faceoffs        34                    25

    Hits               19                     12

    PP                 0/2                    1/4

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (34-21-7 75pts) v. NY Rangers (27-26-8 62pts)

    Buffalo (29-24-8 66pts) @ Toronto (36-20-4 76pts)

  • The Implosion – Edmonton Oilers

    The Implosion – Edmonton Oilers

    The Edmonton Oilers have been widely considered one of the most historic franchises in the NHL. Having players such as the Iconic Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Craig MacTavish, Ryan Smyth, and Kevin Lowe – just to name a few.

    But this team over the last few years has underachieved in so many ways. They now have probably the best player in the world on their team and still can’t put it together. Who’s to blame, Management? Coaching? Owners? All of it?

    It’s time to take a close look at the Implosion of the Edmonton Oilers and why this team can’t put it together. Really only a couple of names to talk here: Craig MacTavish, Kevin Lowe, and Peter Chiarelli

    Craig MacTavish:

    This is where the implosion begins.

    Goaltending:

    Out:

    MacTavish let starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, now Khabibulin was at the tale end of a solid career but he was Edmonton’s starter and they let him go.

    Devan Dubnyk was also traded away to Nashville for Matt Hendricks. Dubnyk eventually went on to leave Nashville and for the Arizona Coyotes where he found his game and was acquired by the Minnesota Wild where he’s been nothing short of brilliant.

    In:

    Viktor Fasth was brought in for a 3rd and 5th round pick – based on one good season in Anaheim. Ben Scrivens was also brought in at the cost of a 3rd round pick. This experiment went bad fast, as both goalies combined for the worst save percentage in the league – 885 save %.

    Defence:

    Out:

    Ladislav Smid, Nick Schultz, Corey Potter, Mark Fistric, Ryan Whitney, and Theo Peckham. MacTavish didn’t get blessed with a good defence line but as you’ll see he didn’t make it any better.

    In:

    Andrew Ference signed a 4 year 13 million dollar deal to become the captain of the Edmonton Oilers – was eventually demoted to the minors.

    Mark Fayne signed a contract after playing the majority of his short career in New Jersey. MacTavish said he loved the way he played – Fayne was eventually demoted to the minors as well.

    Nikita Nikitin rights were acquired from Columbus but was signed to a ludicrous 2-year deal worth $9 million but never lived up the expectations.

    Keith Aulie didn’t see much ice time after being acquired never found a groove. Spent a lot of time in the minors.

    Staying:

    Justin Schultz was said to have Norris Candidate written all over him, but he struggled after signing in Edmonton and was eventually traded to Pittsburgh where he’d win 2 Cups.

    Jeff Petry never really lived up to the expectation Edmonton had for him, was supposed to be a solid 2 way defencemen but couldn’t find a rhythm in Edmonton. Was traded to Montreal at the trade deadline and has been something special for the Canadiens.

    Martin Marincin was given a chance but never really developed into what was expected. He now spends time in the Toronto Marlies with the odd call up here and there.

    Oscar Klefbom took some time to develop but has been a pretty solid defenceman.

    Forwards:

    Out: Shawn Horcoff, Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky, Ryan Jones, Magnus Paajarvi, Mike Brown, Eric Belanger, Jerred Smithson, Anton Lander, Ryan Smyth.  Majority of the core was moved or just moved on from the team. This was the majority of MacTavish’s work and would become his legacy, not a great one.

    In:

    David Perron was acquired in the off-season for Magnus Paajarvi, Can’t argue with that deal.

    Benoit Pouliot never amounted to anything after coming in.

    Boyd Gordon became a decent 4th line option

    Teddy Purcell came with high hopes, and they diminished fairly quick.

    The real shocker was the Oilers deciding to keep Leon Draisaitl up and burning one year of his contract. He played center and never found a groove there. You’ll hear more of him later in the article.

    Others who joined the team Steven Pinzzotto and Luke Gazdic. Nothing to talk about there.

    Staying:

    Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov

    That ends the MacTavish Era, as you can see a lot of mistakes made here and not much brought in to fix it. On to the Kevin Lowe Era.

    Kevin Lowe:

    Trades, Signings, Draft Picks show just how bad was the Kevin Lowe era.

    1. Jesse Niinimaki – probably never heard the name unless you’re an Oilers fan. 1st round pick 15th overall in 2002. Never played an NHL game. Alexander Steen was picked at 24 by Toronto.
    2. Alexei Mikhnov – 1st round pick 17th overall in 2000. Played a whopping 2 NHL games and soon was in the AHL for good. Brooks Orpik, Steve Ott, Justin Williams, or Niklas Kronwall – to name a few – could all be Oilers till this day.
    3. Marc-Antoine Pouliot – Selected 22nd overall in the 1st round of the draft in 2003. Immediately before Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, oh an All-Star Corey Perry. Pouliot did play 200 NHL games but never really stuck.
    4. Shawn Horcoff Extension – Horcoff came off a season where he had 50 points in 53 games but had his season cut short by injury. Lowe didn’t have to resign Horcoff that season as he still had one year remaining on his old contract. Lowe decided to get it done and signed Horcoff to a 6 year $33 deal – 5.5 a season – Horcoff would never scored more than 36 points since.
    5. Sheldon Souray – this was a real gong show on the Lowe era was the Souray situation. Souray was probably the best defencemen on the Oilers at this time, but things were not great with him and management. Souray eventually had enough and went to the media to express how the team had demanded he play when his hand was not fully healed yet. Souray was wrong in how he handled it but Kevin Lowe reacted even worse. Lowe stated that he didn’t want at next seasons training camp. The Oilers would never apologize or let their best defencemen play again, instead they would banish him to the minors.
    6. Mike Comrie – Lowe had a deal lined up that would have sent Mike Comrie to Anaheim for Corey Perry (just drafted) and 1st round draft pick. Comrie wanted out of Edmonton and the Oilers and Lowe were looking for the best possible deal. Lowe instead turned this down and tried to get Comrie to pay back his bonus. Lowe basically handed the Ducks 2007 Stanley Cup
    7. Inept Drafting – 6th overall they draft Sam Gagner, he never lived up to expectations and soon was traded for Teddy Purcell. The next few 1st rounders Lowe had his hands on were Alex Plante (bust) and Riley Nash (Decent NHLer). But the salt in the wound is the fact that Max Pacioretty was the very next pick after Nash.
    8. Even after he stepped down as GM, Lowe was still causing trouble he hired the most ridiculous GM’s starting with Steve Tambellini and all the way down to Craig MacTavish and Peter Chiarelli.
    9. Ryan Smyth – Lowe and Smyth had been negotiating all season on a contract. Smyth asked for fair value on this contract, as he had taken a discount on every other contract. Fans began to get worried and eventually the day came that everyone thought would never come happened. The Oilers traded Ryan Smyth to the Islanders for spare parts.

    Peter Chiarelli

    1. Milan Lucic’s Contract – Chiarelli handed Lucic a 7 year 42 million dollar deal in 2016. Significant red flags about term and money already arose when the realization that Lucic can’t keep up with the NHL already and his production had slipped off significantly already – will only get worse from here. Now he has handcuffed the Oilers in a bad contract for many years. Unless the Oilers are willing to send a 1st or 2nd pick with his contract – which is unlikely – Lucic may either be bought out or serve out his term
    2. Leon Draisitl’s Contract – Signed to be the number 2 centerman in Edmonton 8.5 million sits way above what is considered normal for players who have played equal or better then Draisaitl. Pastrnak makes 2 million less. To make it worst Draisaitl struggled driving his own line and was moved back to McDavid’s wing once again leaving the big hole down the middle and financially strapping the Oilers.
    3. Benoit Pouliot Buyout – Coming off a terrible season Chiarelli decided to buyout Pouliot. Not the greatest decision – his numbers were good shot wise and possession-wise – and could have probably had a bounce-back season. If he didn’t they could have then bought him out for a year less.
    4. Kris Russell extension – All stats, any numbers coaches, GM’s or the NHL uses say Russell was a bottom pairing defencemen and after the loss to Anaheim in the 2nd round Chiarelli said the main point to upgrade this off-season was the defence. But then Chiarelli signed Russell to a 4 year $16 million contract doubling down on Russell and putting him into the Oilers top 4. No scout, GM in the NHL thinks Russell is a top 4 defencemen except Chiarelli himself.
    5. Taylor Hall Trade – what a catastrophic failure this was. Peter Chiarelli’s attempt to fix the defence was, in fact, to trade away his best offensive player at the time for Adam Larsson who all the stats guys loved. The problem was those stats were skewed by the system that was played in New Jersey. Larsson came in and never lived anywhere near expectation that the Oilers had when the traded Hall. Funny thing is now they struggle offensively other than McDavid, you can put Draisaitl in there but the majority of his points come from being with McDavid and getting passes from probably the greatest player in the game right now.
    6. Jordan Eberle – This deal is exceptionally stupid Eberle was coming off his worst season offensively with 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points and struggled in the playoffs. So Chiarelli went and traded him for Ryan Strome. Ryan Strome never ever worked out and was traded for Ryan Spooner, who ended in the minors and then just last week was traded to the Canucks for Sam Gagner. Eberle is loving it on the Island right now as they are one of the top teams in the league and Eberle is a huge part of it.
    7. Griffin Reinhart – The Islanders love the Oilers. Just after taking over for MacTavish, Peter Chiarelli decided to send the 16th OA and 33rd OA draft picks 2015 to the Islanders for big hulking defenceman Griffin Reinhart. Reinhart now sits in the minors never been able to crack the NHL roster, while the 16th OA draft in 2015 turned into none other then phenom Matthew Barzal. For a team struggling to find offence that’s kind of hilarious.

    Between these 3 GM’s and their moves have impacted the Oilers financially – Strapping them up against the cap – Players wise, – by giving up better assets then what they are receiving – and finally by their draft choices. Edmonton is in the bind they are because they don’t have competent leadership. Leadership that expanded down to coach, player, draft and financial choice, all of which lead them here.

  • February 23rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    February 23rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, February 23rd, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were five contests that took place yesterday.

     

    Columbus 3, OTTAWA 0

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would take on the Ottawa Senators last night and would come away with another shutout victory on the season.  The Blue Jackets would go on to outshoot the Senators in this contest with 40 shots on goal to Ottawa’s 22.

    This would be the Senators third consecutive loss and in their last ten games, Ottawa has a record of 3-7-0.

     

    Minnesota 3, DETROIT 2

    In a hard fought contest last night in Detroit, the Minnesota Wild would go on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings with the 3-2 win last night.  The win for the Wild movers them to a record of 29-27-6, while the Red Wings fall to a record of 23-30-9.

     

    Colorado 5, CHICAGO 3

    In another hard fought battle last night, the Colorado Avalanche would face off against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Avalanche would escape with a 5-3 win.  Chicago would tie the game a 3 a piece at the 10 minute mark in the third period but would be able to mount a comeback against Colorado.

    Colorado would move to one point behind the Minnesota Wild and Chicago with the loss is now three points behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

     

    CALGARY 2, Anaheim 1

    The Anaheim Ducks woes on the season would continue with the loss last night to the Calgary Flames.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1099171779682086914

    With Calgary’s win, they continue to hold the top spot in the Pacific Division with a record of 38-16-7, good for 83 points.

     

    Winnipeg 6, VEGAS 3

    The Winnipeg Jets would go on to double up the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3, thanks to two goals from Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine.

    Winnipeg holds on to a slim lead in the Central Division standings thanks to the win.

    The Golden Knights hold on to the third spot in the Pacific Division, despite the loss to the Jets last night.

     

     

    There are 11 games on the NHL schedule today including the 2019 NHL Stadium Series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tonight at 8 p.m.

     

    *schedule image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and the respective owners

    For more news, notes, information, and stats….

     

    Today in the NWHL…

    The Metropolitan Riveters travel to the HarborCenter to take on the Buffalo Beauts at 5 p.m., ET.  This contest can be seen, as all NWHL games, on NWHL.zone/watch

  • Capitals sign Jensen to 4 year deal

    Capitals sign Jensen to 4 year deal

    Mere hours after trading defenseman Madison Bowey and their 2nd round pick in 2020 to the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Nick Jensen and Buffalo’s 2019 5th round pick, the Washington Capitals have announced that they have signed Jensen to a 4 year contract extension worth $10 million.

     

    Jensen will carry an average annual value of $2.5 million Cap hit the next four seasons.

     

    Jensen, 28, was averaging 20:48 minutes of ice time this season with the Red Wings, and is also a solid penalty killer.

     

    What are your thoughts on the trade and this signing? Tell us in the comments below.