Blog

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vegas Golden Knights – 15/2/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vegas Golden Knights – 15/2/2019 – Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs (35-18-3 73 points)v, Vegas Golden Knights ( 31-23-4 66 points)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Patrick Marleau  – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Connor Brown – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Andreas Johnsson – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Jake Muzzin

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Ron Hainsey

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Tyler Ennis

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Vegas:

    Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Rielly Smith

    Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny  – Alex Tuch

    Brandon Pirri – Cody Eakin – Valentin Zykov

    William Carrier – Pierre-Edouard Bellemore – Ryan Reaves

     

    Brayden McNabb – Nate Schmid

    Deryk Engelland – Shea Theodore

    Jon Merrill – Colin Miller

     

    Marc-Andre Fleury

    Maxime Legace

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Erik Haula, Malcolm Subban, Ryan Carpenter

    Suspension: None

     

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Vegas Penalty – 11:23 – Shea Theodore, 2 minutes for Cross-Checking

    Toronto PP Goal – 13:14 – Andreas Johnsson (15) assisted by Jake Gardiner (26) and William Nylander (9)

    Vegas Penalty – 14:39 – Colin Miller, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Vegas Penalty – 17:33 – Jon Merrill, 2 minutes for Cross-Checking

     

    End of 1st – TOR –1        VGK – 0

    Shots              14                   11

    Faceoffs     10/22              12/22

    Hits               6                    12

    PP                 1/3                  0/0

     

    Analysis

    Leafs came to play today and seem to have all their weapons clicking including their powerplay. Johnsson scored at the 13-minute mark to make it a 1-0 Toronto lead which would be carried into the 2nd period.

     

    Need to Do:

    Keep controlling the pace and playing your game.

    Second Period:

    Vegas Penalty – 01:28 –Brayden McNabb, 2 mins for Kneeing

    Vegas SH Goal–2:46 – Paul Stastny (7), assisted by Reilly Smith (22)

    Toronto Penalty –04:49 – Travis Dermott, 2 mins for Interference

    Vegas Goal–07:22 – Oscar Lindberg (3), assisted by Cody Eakin (15) and Shea Theodore (17)

    Toronto Goal–08:52 – Patrick Marleau (13), assisted by, Auston Matthews (26) and Kasperi Kapanen (17)

    Vegas Penalty –12:28 – Oscar Lindberg, 2 mins for High-Sticking

    Toronto PP Goal–13:25 – Auston Matthews (26), assisted by, Morgan Rielly (42) and Nazem Kadri (20)

     

    End of 2nd – TOR– 3          VGK – 2

    Shots              28                   22

    Faceoffs       20/44              24/44

    Hits              6                        24

    PP                2/5                    0/1

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs struggle in the first 8 minutes of the 2nd but then come right back with 2 goals to take back the lead from the Golden Knights.

     

    Need to Do:

    Tighten up in the defensive end

    Third Period:

    Vegas Penalty – 01:28 – Paul Stastny, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Vegas Goal– 04:12 – William Karlsson (18) assisted by Jon Merrill (7) and Jonathan Marchessault (21)

    Toronto Penalty – 06:41 – Jake Muzzin, 2 minutes for Holding

    Toronto Goal – 10:01 – Morgan Rielly (15) assisted by Mitch Marner (48) and John Tavares (30)

    Toronto Goal – 10:56 – Auston Matthews (27) assisted by Kasperi Kapanen (18) and Jake Muzzin (20)

    Toronto Penalty – 15:12 – Bench, 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Toronto SH Goal – 16:33 – Mitch Marner (21) assisted by Connor Brown (15) and Jake Muzzin (21)

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 6      VGK – 3

    Shots             43                      33

    Faceoffs     32/68                36/68

    Hits               18                       38

    PP                2/6                    0/3

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs give up one in third but fight back with 3 goals to seal the win in Vegas.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (36-18-3 75pts) vs Arizona (25-27-5 55pts)

    Nashville (34-21-5 73pts) at Vegas (31-21-4 66pts)

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vegas Golden Knights – 14/2/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vegas Golden Knights – 14/2/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vegas Golden Knight

    Time: Thursday, February 14th  2019

    Toronto: 35-18-3 for 73 points

    Vegas: 31-23-4 for 66 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to keep the month of February going strong as they head to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. Expect two fast teams to go at it.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –67 points (20 goals 47 assists)
    John Tavares – 62 points (33 goals 29 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 55 points (14 goals 41 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 50 points (25 goals 25 assists) 53% on Face-offs

    Alex Tuch – 40 points (16 goals 24 assists)
    Jonathan Marchessault– 39 points (19 goal 20 assist)
    William Karlsson-36 points (17 goal 19 assists)
    Max Pacioretty – 30 points (16 goals 13 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    26-11-2 2.56GAA .923SV%

    Marc-Andre Fleury
    29-17-4 2.54GAA .909SV%

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Patrick Marleau  – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Connor Brown – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Andreas Johnsson – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Jake Muzzin

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Ron Hainsey

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Tyler Ennis

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Vegas:

    Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Rielly Smith

    Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny  – Alex Tuch

    Brandon Pirri – Cody Eakin – Valentin Zykov

    William Carrier – Pierre-Edouard Bellemore – Ryan Reaves

     

    Brayden McNabb – Nate Schmidt

    Deryk Engelland – Shea Theodore

    Jon Merrill – Colin Miller

     

    Marc-Andre Fleury

    Maxime Legace

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Erik Haula, Malcolm Subban, Ryan Carpenter

    Suspension: None

    Keys to Winning against Colorado:

    1. Crisp Passing
      1. Don’t be sloppy with your passes. Make crisp on the tape passes to avoid turnovers
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Don’t let them dictate the pace of the game, control the tempo, the cycle and hem the big line in their own zone.
    3. Nylander
      1. Must continue to rebuild his game, tonight should be another stepping stone

     

  • AwesomeMania – 2/14/2019 -The Looming Elimination Chamber *18+ Podcast*

    AwesomeMania – 2/14/2019 -The Looming Elimination Chamber *18+ Podcast*

     

    Welcome to AwesomeMania!!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:


    This week on AwesomeMania Ben and Michael talk about Darby Allin/Randy Orton/AEW and what type of impacts that could be made if either sign with AEW, plus they discuss the RAW Tag Team Division now that The Revival are the tag team champions. Also Jimmy Uso was arrested, and it has a very familiar feel to it.

     

    Michael and Ben answer their first ever Fan Question, and they discuss what independent promotions they like to watch outside of the main promotions.

     

    Plus we are days away from the Elimination Chamber that will be taking place this Sunday on the WWE Network, and Ben and Michael make their predictions on the card.

     

    Lastly, Michael and Ben do some fantasy booking with a little Valentine’s Day appeal.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Thursday, February 14th, 2019

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Gameday Preview – 2/14/2019 – Washington Capitals v. San Jose Sharks

    Gameday Preview – 2/14/2019 – Washington Capitals v. San Jose Sharks

    Washington Capitals (31-19-7 69pts) v. San Jose Sharks (34-16-7 75pts)

     

    Time: 1030p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports California

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals start the California portion of their six game road trip when they take on the San Jose Sharks. The Capitals will be looking to bounce back from their 3-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, while the Sharks will be without defenseman Erik Karlsson.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Chandler Stephenson — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Madison Bowey, Travis Boyd, Nic Dowd

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Be consistent for a full 60 minutes

    The Capitals need to come out with full energy and they need to play a consistent game. The Capitals looked flatter than a pancake in skillet, and they need to bring that high tempo pace.

     

    San Jose Sharks:

    Projected Lineup:

    Timo Meier — Logan Couture — Joe Pavelski

    Evander Kane — Tomas Hertl — Joonas Donskoi

    Marcus Sorensen — Joe Thornton — Kevin Labanc

    Lukas Radil — Barclay Goodrow — Melker Karlsson

    Radim Simek — Brent Burns

    Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Tim Heed

    Brenden Dillon — Justin Braun

    Martin Jones

    Aaron Dell

    Scratched: Joakim Ryan, Dylan Gambrell

    Injured: Erik Karlsson (groin)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

    This should be the key for every team who plays against the Capitals right now who are struggling, despite having a good start to February. If the Sharks can get the first goal, then they have all of the momentum.

  • A Whale Of A Time In Nashville

    A Whale Of A Time In Nashville

    The NWHL hosted their All Star festivities in Nashville, TN this past weekend. The best players from all five teams came down and showcased their talents in front of an electric Nashville crowd. The skills competition was held at the Ford Ice Center, the practice facility for the Predators; while the All Star Game itself was at the Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville.

    The Whale had originally sent five players down, but Meeri Räisänen could not attend as she was called up to the Finnish National Team. [Congrats are in order for her!]

    The four players that did go to the All Star game were Shannon Doyle, Emily Fluke, Michelle Löwenhielm, and Katerina Mrázová.

    Doyle and Mrázová played for Team Szabados; Fluke and Löwenhielm played for Team Stecklein.

    NWHL-ASG2019-Roster-4_large

    Photo from nwhl.zone

     

    Skills Competition

    Only two skills competition events were needed for the Whale players as it was Mrázová vs Fluke in the trick shot challenge, and it was Löwenhielm vs Doyle in the hardest shot competition.

     

    At the end of the six events, it was tied at three apiece. A best two out of three shootout was required between Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados and Whitecaps defender Lee Stecklein. Szabados stopped all the attempts by Stecklein, giving Shannon Doyle and Katerina Mrázová the bragging rights so far over the weekend.

     

    All Star Game

    The All Star Game took place at Bridgestone Arena after the Blues v. Predators game, in which the St. Louis Blues proved victorious in overtime.

    Predators Game.jpg

    Also, it wouldn’t be Nashville without someone throwing a catfish on the ice that landed right by Shannon Doyle just before the opening faceoff.

    Catfish Opening Faceoff.jpg

     

    The All Star game was two 25 minute halves of four on four hockey. The Whale had a really spectacular showing in Nashville. After Riveters forward Audra Richards gave Team Szabados the 1-0 lead, Whale defender Shannon Doyle had a great rush up the left side of the ice. She got to the left circle, she made a great drop pass to Katerina Mrázová, who then roofed it over Nicole Hensley’s shoulder to give Team Szabados the 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

    https://twitter.com/WSportHilites/status/1094711430144774145

     

    After some halftime music by a live band at Bridgestone Arena, the second half began with Team Stecklein chasing a 2-0 lead. Team Stecklein would get a goal back when Beauts forward Lisa Chesson redirected a shot from Pride forward Gigi Marvin which found the back of the net. A few shifts would go by without a goal, but during that goalless break, we got to see some pretty spectacular defending at the blue line from Michelle Löwenhielm. Later in the half, Emily Fluke would net a five hole goal that tied the game at two. We also got to see an awesome celly between the Team Stecklein players:

     

    At the end of the second half, the game was tied at two. Just like yesterday’s skills competition, the game would require a shootout to determine a winner. In the shootout, there would only be one goal, and it came from Riveters forward Amanda Kessel. It would give Team Szabados the victory and the sweep for the weekend!

     

    It was a pretty historic All Star weekend, the best part about it was the attendance by the Nashville faithful. The recorded attendance was 6, 120, which set a record for largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in the United States!

     

    Not to mention that All Star MVP and Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados talked about the amazingness of nearly ONE MILLION people that watched over the weekend!

     

    Here is my favorite photo from the weekend!:

     

     

    The Whale have three games left on the season, all of them will be home games. The first game will be against the Boston Pride on February 24th at Terry Conners Rink. Puck drop for that game will be 3p EST. The game will be a Twitter Game of the Week, and you can watch that here: https://twitter.com/nwhl

     

    Tweets from Women’s Sports Highlights and Anya Battaglino were used with their permission. You can follow them here: @WSportHilites and @battaglinoa

  • Player Safety – Your Bias is Showing

    Player Safety – Your Bias is Showing

    Last night in Pittsburgh’s 4 -1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, there were three stories. One Carter Hart loses for the first time in 8 games. Two Matt Murray puts on a clinic and steals the game for the Penguins and finally, the headline that would steal the night – Evgeni Malkin takes up playing baseball and takes a swing at Michael Raffl’s head. Take a look at the video below for a better look at the play.

    As you can see Raffl gives Malkin a cross-check and then a punch to the back of the head, to which Malkin responds with a one-handed baseball swing directed at the head of Raffl. Malkin was assessed a match penalty and tossed from the game. Leaving the Penguins short-handed for the rest of the game.

    Player Safety immediately stated there would be a phone call hearing. Meaning, less than a five-game suspension. Rules actually state otherwise though:

    Match Penalty

    Rules from the NHL state that the referees must hand their report over to the NHL Player Safety Department in order to help in determining a reasonable discipline. But a twitter post by the NHL Player Safety – shown below –  shows that less than 2 hours after the game Player Safety had made up their mind about a hearing and according to most reports a phone hearing – comes with either a fine or under 3 games most of the time.

    The Rap Sheet:

    Now Malkin doesn’t have the cleanest of records. In fact, he’s widely considered one of the more dirty players in the league.

    Malkin’s Record:

    1. February 1st, 2008 – Malkin hits Chris Phillips from behind – No Suspension/Fine
    2. May 1st, 2008: Malkin slew foots Paul Mara twice in one sequence of play. No suspension/fine.
    3. March 21st, 2009: Malkin headshots Wayne Simmonds with 14 seconds left in the 3rd. Malkin is fined, and when questioned indicated that he promised the NHL he would not repeat that kind of hit. “I’m saying, ‘Not more,’ ” he said. “I play not the same.”
    4. January 16th, 2010: Malkin hits Willie Mitchell from behind, giving him a season/playoff-ending concussion. No suspension/fine.
    5. March 12th, 2012: Malkin hits Johnny Boychuk from behind, Boychuk would return later in the game. No suspension/fine.
    6. April 18th, 2012: Malkin blindside hits Nicolas Grossmann behind play, Grossmann missed the final two games of the first round with a concussion. No suspension/fine.
    7. April 20th, 2012: Malkin blindsides Sean Couturier the next game. No suspension/fine.
    8. January 31st , 2013: Malkin one hands Marc Staal in the head while scrumming behind the net. Very similar to the stick swing against Raffl. No suspension/fine.
    9. November 15th, 2014: Malkin blindsides Dan Girardi behind the net, Girardi would return later in the game. No suspension/fine.
    10. February 16th, 2017: Malkin gives Blake Wheeler a high hit, Wheeler would return to the game. No suspension/fine.
    11. November 18th, 2017: Malkin clips Crawford’s head after going for the puck. Not an inherently dirty playa reckless play. Crawford came back later that game, and would go on to miss portions of the 2017/18 season with vertigo symptoms.
    12. January 18th, 2018: Malkin uses his stick to sack Dustin Brown. Is fined $5,000 by the NHL
    13. November 7th, 2018: Malkin hits T.J. Oshie with a headshot, Oshie would return later during the game. No suspension/fine.
    14. February 11th, 2019: Most recently Malkin one handing Raffl with his stick. 1 Game suspension

    Quite a rap sheet for a guy who is considered one of the most skilled players in the league. Today Malkin received a one-game suspension for swinging his stick viciously at Raffl’s head. Now Raffl did start the play with a pretty vicious cross-check and a punch to the back of the head. But it in no way warrants a baseball swing with a weapon – in this case a hockey stick – to the head.

    The Comments:

    Players Safety gave its reasoning for only handing down a one-game suspension to Malkin and it was as follows:

    “The stick did not make contact with the face of Michael Raffl’s face and did not cause injury to the player.”

    Ryan Johansen did the exact same thing as Malkin only difference was Johansen made contact to the face of the Winnipeg Jets player. Johansen was assessed a 2 game suspension and has nowhere near the rap sheet as Evgeni Malkin. The actions were identical both extremely dangerous and intentional.

    Malkin even backed up his intent with his stick with a quote that actually mind-numbing.

    “I didn’t hit him in the face,” Malkin said. “If I had touched him in the face, for sure, I would get suspended. It’s a high stick, but it’s not like I broke his face. I think I won’t get suspended.” (Josh Yohe, 2019)

    “I’m not trying to hit his face… I know it’s dirty, but I missed, my stick (did) not touch his helmet or shoulder” Malkin said. “He just like dived and the referee give me five minutes. Nothing like dangerous, (he’s) not bleeding, nothing. I know I gave them a five-minute power play, but it’s my fault for sure. Play smart next time.” (Bardown, 2019)

    Malkin seems to act as if he did nothing wrong because the stick never hit Raffl. These comments are worrisome because it seems to show Malkin’s mindset. That suspensions are only for hurt players, or players that have drawn blood. Not players that have the intention to hurt but just missed.

    The NHL’s Decision/Superstar Bias

    The decision here is kind of puzzling one on the NHL’s part. When everything is taken into account the evidence is pretty overwhelming against Malkin.

    1. The referees felt it was severe enough to offer a match penalty – which comes with an automatic hearing for a suspension or a fine.
    2. Player safety make a quick judgment – Determining a phone hearing over in-person – before seemingly receiving any reports from the Refs
    3. Malkin’s Rap Sheet
    4. The footage from Johansen who did identically what Malkin did and got a lengthier suspension
    5. Malkin’s Comments. Which prove his intent.

    But there’s one more thing that plays into the decision. That would be the reluctance to suspend superstar players. If this was Tom Wilson, Ryan Johansen, Nazem Kadri, Max Domi, Mike Matheson, Paul Byron, Milan Lucic, Zach Hyman – all of who were suspended in the last 2 years – this decision would have been lengthier. Probably 3-5 game range.

    Malkin’s Past history alone shows that the NHL refuses to suspend him. Heck, they won’t even take his money. Player Safety has once again shown by their own rulings and the evidence that was left, that they don’t really care about player safety. They serve the almighty dollar and if the player being possibly suspended is a money maker for them, you can bet they will find a way to make sure he is on the ice as soon as possible.

     

  • Game Recap – 2/12/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Game Recap – 2/12/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Washington Capitals (31-18-7 69pts) v. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-20-3 65pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals would come out flat against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and put themselves into penalty trouble as the Blue Jackets dominated the Capitals in the first period. However, Braden Holtby would hold down the fort and keep this a 0-0 game.

     

    In another lackluster period for the Capitals, the Blue Jackets would get the lone goal on a 3 on 1 break against the Capitals with Anthony Duclair scoring his 11th of the season. Capitals would be dominated in almost every aspect of the game. Blue Jackets through 40 minutes have held the Capitals to 7 shots and 9 faceoff wins.

     

    The Capitals would play a better third period, but Sergei Bobrovsky would be lights out as he would shut out the Capitals surge, and the Blue Jackets would get goals from Nick Foligno and Artemi Panarin to seal the deal for the Blue Jackets.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets:

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson

    Nick Foligno — Boone Jenner — Josh Anderson

    Anthony Duclair — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand

    Markus Hannikainen — Riley Nash — Lukas Sedlak

    Seth Jones — Ryan Murray

    Zach Werenski — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Markus Nutivaara

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Dean Kukan, Eric Robinson

    Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (hip)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 8:33 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 15:36 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 15:36 – Artemi Panarin 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 18:38 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       CLB – 0

    Shots              04                11

    Faceoffs         06                09

    Hits               04                  07

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Blue Jackets Goal – 6:31 – Anthony Duclair (11) from Oliver Bjorkstrand (9) and Zach Werenski (21)

    Capitals Penalty – 8:24 – Bench (Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        CLB – 1

    Shots               07                 24

    Faceoffs          09                 19

    Hits                 08                  10

    PP                   0/0                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Blue Jackets Penalty – 3:24 – Riley Nash 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 4:52 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Slashing

    Blue Jackets Goal – 16:13 – Nick Foligno (14) from Seth Jones (28) and Ryan Murray (25)

    Blue Jackets ENG – 19:50 – Artemi Panarin (22) from Josh Anderson (10)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 0         CLB – 2

    Shots              20                   32

    Faceoffs        18                    33

    Hits               14                     15

    PP                 0/1                    0/4

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (31-19-7 69pts) @ San Jose (34-16-7 75pts)

    Columbus (32-20-3 67pts) v. NY Islanders (33-17-6 72pts)

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche – 13/2/2019 -Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche – 13/2/2019 -Game Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs (34-17-3 71 points) v, Colorado Avalanche (22-22-11 55 points)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Patrick Marleau  – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Connor Brown – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Andreas Johnsson – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Jake Muzzin

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Ron Hainsey

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Tyler Ennis

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Colorado:

    Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

    Alexander Kerfoot – JT Compher  – Colin Wilson

    Matthew Nieto – Carl Soderberg – Matt Calvert

    AJ Greer – Sheldon Dries – Sven Andrighetto

     

    Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson

    Patrick Nemeth – Tyson Barrie

    Ryan Graves – Nikita Zadorov

     

    Semyon Varlamov

    Philipp Grubauer

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Toronto Goal – 03:17 – Kasperi Kapanen (17) assisted by Auston Matthews (24)

    Toronto Penalty – 12:09 – Kasperi Kapanen, 2 minutes for Slashing

    Colorado Goal – 15:16 – Ryan Graves (3) assisted by Alexander Kerfoot (19) and Samuel Girard (14)

    Colorado Penalty – 15:39 – AJ Greer, 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – TOR –1        COL – 1

    Shots              10                    14

    Faceoffs     11/21              10/21

    Hits               7                     8

    PP                 0/1                   0/1

     

    Analysis

    Leafs came out strong in this one with Kasperi Kapanen scoring his 17th of the season and looked to control the pace of the game but then the Avalanche took momentum to the dressing room when Ryan Graves tallied his 3rd of the season to tie it at one a piece.

     

    Need to Do:

    Keep controlling the pace and playing your game.

    Second Period:

    Colorado Penalty – 04:30 –Tyson Barrie, 2 mins for Tripping

    Toronto PP Goal–5:19 – Auston Matthews (25), assisted by John Tavares (28) and Mitch Marner (47)

    Colorado Penalty –06:19 – JT Compher, 4 mins for High Stick

    Toronto PP Goal–6:46 – Nazem Kadri (14), assisted by John Tavares (29) and Auston Matthews (25)

    Toronto PP Goal–7:08 – Kasperi Kapanen (18), unassisted

    Colorado Penalty –16:33 – Nikita Zadorov, 2 mins for hooking

     

    End of 2nd – TOR– 4          COL – 1

    Shots              21                    27

    Faceoffs       23/44              21/44

    Hits              13                      11

    PP                 3/5                    0/1

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs powerplay is finally alive and kicking scoring 3 powerplay goals in the 2nd period.

     

    Need to Do:

    Tighten up in the defensive end

    Third Period:

    Toronto Goal– 05:42 – Nazem Kadri (15) assisted by William Nylander (15) and Andreas Johnsson (16)

    Toronto Penalty – 06:08 – Travis Dermott, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Colorado Goal – 8:14 – Alexander Kerfoot (10) assisted by Samuel Girard (15)

    Colorado Penalty – 19:41 – Sven Andrighetto, 2 minutes for Roughin

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 5       COL – 2

    Shots             28                      36

    Faceoffs     26/56                30/56

    Hits               20                       19

    PP                3/6                    0/3

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs give up one in third but get one of their own and lockdown the rest of the period. Full game effort by the Leafs. Impressive all around the ice.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (35-18-3 73pts) vs Vegas (31-23-4 66pts)

    Colorado (22-23-11 55pts) at Winnipeg (36-18-3 75pts)

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche – 12/2/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche – 12/2/2019 – Game Day Preview

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche

    Time: Tuesday, February 12th, 2019

    Toronto: 34-17-3 for 71 points

    Colorado: 22-22-11 for 55 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs look to jump back into the win column and keep the Colorado Avalanche struggling tonight. Look for Auston Matthews to have a big game.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner –66 points (20 goals 46 assists)
    John Tavares – 60 points (33 goals 27 assists) 54% on face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 55 points (14 goals 41 assists)
    Auston Matthews – 47 points (24 goals 23 assists) 53% on Face-offs

    Mikko Rantanen – 75 points (24 goals 51 assists)
    Nathan MacKinnon– 74 points (29 goal 45 assist)
    Gabriel Landeskog- 57 points (29 goal 28 assists)
    Tyson Barrie – 40 points (6 goal 34 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    25-11-2 2.57GAA .923SV%

    Semyon Varlamov
    13-13-8 2.91GAA .906SV%

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Patrick Marleau  – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Connor Brown – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Andreas Johnsson – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Jake Muzzin

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Ron Hainsey

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl & Tyler Ennis

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Colorado:

    Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

    Alexander Kerfoot – JT Compher  – Colin Wilson

    Matthew Nieto – Carl Soderberg – Matt Calvert

    AJ Greer – Sheldon Dries – Sven Andrighetto

     

    Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson

    Patrick Nemeth – Tyson Barrie

    Ryan Graves – Nikita Zadorov

     

    Semyon Varlamov

    Philipp Grubauer

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Vladislav Kamenov, Mark Barberio

    Suspension: None

    Keys to Winning against Colorado:

    1. Hard Forecheck
      1. The defence has been a weak spot for the Avalanche, attack them hard and furious
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Don’t let them dictate the pace of the game, control the tempo, the cycle and hem the big line in their own zone.
    3. Johnsson, Kapanen, Matthews
      1. Three individual players who need to be big tonight.

     

  • Gameday Preview – 2/12/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Gameday Preview – 2/12/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Washington Capitals (31-18-7 69pts) v. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-20-3 65pts)

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington and Fox Sports Ohio

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals hit the road for the first time since returning from the bye week as they take on Metropolitan Division rival Columbus Blue Jackets for their second game of their back to back, and first game of their six game road trip. The Capitals are coming off a 6-4 win last night over the Los Angeles Kings.

     

    The last time these two teams faced off the Blue Jackets would win in overtime and mock Evgeny Kuznetsov’s “Bird” celebration. The motivation is there, as well as the fire in this rivalry.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Be consistent all 60 minutes

    The Capitals need to be consistent for a full 60 minutes if they look to defeat the Blue Jackets. If the Capitals can continue a steady pace throughout, they will have a legitimate chance of winning.

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets:

    Projected Lineup:

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson

    Nick Foligno — Boone Jenner — Josh Anderson

    Anthony Duclair — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand

    Markus Hannikainen — Riley Nash — Lukas Sedlak

    Seth Jones — Ryan Murray

    Zach Werenski — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Markus Nutivaara

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Dean Kukan, Eric Robinson

    Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (hip)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Rattle the Capitals

    The Blue Jackets mocked Evgeny Kuznetsov last time these two teams faced with hopes of rattling the team, but to no affect. An early lead though, that can rattle the Capitals.