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  • Game Day Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals

    Game Day Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals

    Montreal Canadiens (11-6-3) vs Washington Capitals (9-7-3)

    Gametime: 7:30

    The Montreal Canadiens come into tonight’s game riding a two game winning streak and taking two of the three on a west-coast trip that has hurt the Habs in the past. The biggest reason for these two wins is that Carey Price is playing like is old self. Max Domi is the Habs early season MVP coming into tonight. The Habs get lucky tonight as Pheonix Copley getting the start tonight for the Caps. Holtby owns an 11-2-2 record with a 1.79 GAA in 16 games and Copley has never played the Habs in his career. The Canadiens took the first game between these two teams on November first in a 6-4 win.

    Keys to the Game

    Don’t let the Caps Power-Play get to work:  The Habs have given up power play goals in each of their last two games. Alexander Ovechkin is killer on the power play if you let him take shots from the slot.

    Help out Carey Price: The Habs defense has been sub-par as they have given up 83 shots in their past two games. Against a team like the Caps who have multiple guys who can score giving up 40 shots isn’t gonna be the recipe to victory.

    Tonight’s Line-Up

    Forwards

    Tomas Tatar- Phillip Danault- Brendan Gallagher

    Andrew Shaw- Max Domi- Jonathan Drouin

    Kenny Agostino- Jesperi Kotkaniemi- Artturi Lehkonen

    Nicholas Deslauriers- Matthew Peca- Charles Hudon

    Defense

    Jordie Benn- Jeff Petry

    David Schelmko- Noah Juulsen

    Mike Reilly- Victor Mete.

     

     

  • Gameday Preview – 11/19/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Montreal Canadiens

    Gameday Preview – 11/19/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Montreal Canadiens

    Washington Capitals (9-7-3 21pts) v. Montreal Canadiens (11-6-3 25pts)

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals head into Montreal to close off their 4 game road trip, which also is the second straight 4+ game road trip that the Capitals will be concluding against the Canadiens. Coming off an overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche, the Capitals are looking to win their second game in a row, while Montreal is coming off of a win against the Vancouver Canucks and look to continue their hot start to this season.

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Injury News:

    *Pheonix Copley will be starting in goal tonight, with Braden Holtby as the backup. Ilya Samsonov was reassigned to Hershey this morning.

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Play a full 60 minutes

    The Capitals need to play a full 60 minutes, but most importantly they need to play a much more aggressive third period. There have been too many games where the Capitals have turtled into their own zone and played “not to lose” which has resulted in them being horribly outshot and blowing leads. If the Capitals can play a full 60 minutes, they have better opportunity to close out this road trip with a win.

    2. Keep your feet moving

    The Capitals will still be without both Evgeny Kuznetsov and TJ Oshie most likely, while it looks like Braden Holtby could be starting in goal, but with the missing key pieces of Kuznetsov and Oshie, it is going to put more onus on these depth guys to step up. The Capitals as a whole will need to keep their feet moving and use their speed to make it difficult for the Canadiens.

    Montreal Canadiens:

    Projected Lineup:

    * We expect the same lineup that was used against the Canucks.

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Utilize their speed

    Last game against the Capitals, the Canadiens were able to utilize their speed against the Capitals and create a moment that allowed them to overcome the Capitals and win the game 6-4 )including the NHL record of 2 goals in 2 seconds). The Canadiens will need to use their speed to cause the Capitals to make mistakes, especially in their own zone.

    You can watch TXHT Live tomorrow at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • William Nylander Rumors Swirling

    William Nylander Rumors Swirling

    Training Camp, Pre-Season and 19 games into the regular season and here we still sit awaiting any movement from the Leafs only contract holdout this season William Nylander. For a while now we’ve heard GM Kyle Dubas state he is not trading Nylander and they will come to terms on an agreement. But as the deadline looms rumors have squeeked through the cracks and it appears Dubas is still looking to sign Nylander but now has accepted that the young forward might either sit out or they can trade him for some value.

     

    It was reported on November 10th by Elliot Friedman that the Leafs have indicated that Nylander is available and have asked teams to put forward what is available and what is not.

    https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1061442109868134400

     

    With that being said I want to give everyone an idea of what the packages are that have been floating around recently for Nylander.

    I’ve heard 4 teams are in hard for Nylander. 2 of the 4 teams are basically all hands on deck for Nylander.

    The 4 teams are Carolina, St.Louis, Los Angeles, and Anaheim

    The 2 teams that are all in are Carolina and St.Louis

    I’ve heard as many as 7 other teams have kicked tires, a few of those being New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Philadelphia Flyers. But it appears the asking price is too much for these teams. The Leafs seem to be wanting a top 4 defender and a top 9 winger. I will tell you some of the deals flying around out their and do my best to explain what the Leafs will be getting in return.

     

    Offer #1 – Anaheim and Toronto

    To Anaheim: William Nylander

    To Toronto: Brandon Montour and Nick Ritchie

    Montour is a 2nd round pick of the Anaheim Ducks who stepped onto their defence and has made significant contributions. Montour’s style of play is most likely compared to Tyson Barrie, which shouldn’t be very interesting for Toronto. Barrie is a turnover machine who gets caught out of position all the time. But Montour’s offensive upside is huge, he’s a great skater and has great vision. Nick Ritchie doesn’t really make much sense for Toronto, he hasn’t shown much offensive upside since coming to the NHL and seems like more of a player built for the truculence era. To me this deal doesn’t make much sense. The Leafs don’t need grit they are a speed/skill team and Montour is a younger version of Jake Gardiner.

     

    Offer #2 – Los Angeles and Toronto

    To LA: William Nylander

    To Toronto: Jake Muzzin, Adrian Kempe and a draft pick.

    Jake Muzzin is your prototype 2way defencemen, good wrister, good passer and pretty hard nosed in the defensive zone. He will block shots and has a good stick. Kind of the defender the Leafs are looking for. One problem exists Muzzin is 32 and I’m pretty sure the Leafs would rather keep the defencemen they get young. Kempe is an intriguing piece, he has some serious upside but has yet to show a lot in his short time. But this could be possible to the structure that the Kings have played. Once again not a fan of this deal for the reason of the age of Muzzin.

     

    Offer #3 – Toronto and St. Louis

    To St.Louis: William Nylander & Martin Marincin

    To Toronto: Colton Parayko & Nikita Soshnikov

    This deal feels like it’s NHL 19 and I want to smash the accept button. Colton Parayko is everything the Leafs could want in a defender and more. Great shot, blocks shots, hits, great first pass, right handed shot and he’s 6’6 and only 26. Getting rid of Marincin and getting Soshnikov back would only add to this deal. Love this deal for Toronto and is my 2nd favorite offer.

     

    Offer #4 – Toronto and Carolina

    To Carolina: Williams Nylander

    To Toronto: Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen and a 1st round pick

    This deal is jaw dropping. Brett Pesce is considered by most scouts, and analysts to be an elite shutdown defender, who can skate and put some points on the board. Pesce is 6’3 and willing to do everything including block shots from Zdeno Chara. Teravainen offers some more scoring in the bottom 6 with potential to move up to the top 6 and the 1st round pick could be anything. This is my favorite deal as I am a huge fan of Pesce.

    But that’s all the information I got on the situation. If you have heard anything else be sure to hit me up in the comments or on twitter @gardskie.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Game Recap – 11/18/2018 – Whale Get First Win Of The Season

    Game Recap – 11/18/2018 – Whale Get First Win Of The Season

     

    The Whale came into today’s game looking for their first win of the season. They had to play against a tough Riveters team who were coming off a win against the Pride back on October 27th. It was a very tight game, with both defenses playing well and blocking shots. Ultimately it was the Whale who came out on top at the end of the game to earn them their first win of the season.

     

    The Riveters opened up the scoring in the fourteenth minute of the first period. A shot from Audra Richards bounced off of Räisänen’s glove and in the net. The Whale, in the last minute of the period, would get a great goal from Katerina Mrázová to tie up the game before the period ended. In the second period, there was no scoring but there was great back and forth play, and high energy between both teams. In the third period, it was more of the same, however with about a minute and a half remaining, a shot from the point by Shannon Doyle managed to find pay dirt and squeak past Katie Fitzgerald to give the Whale the lead. They would hang on from there to seal the win for the first time this season. Räisänen stood on her head and made some incredible saves that kept the Whale in the game and got them the win.

     

    The shots of the game were 28 for the Riveters and 20 for the Whale. It could’ve been more, but both teams were blocking shots all over the ice in their respective defensive zones. A huge shout out goes to the entire Whale penalty killers; they did a really good job of keeping the Riveters to the outside and not giving them any significant opportunities. They made sure that the Riveters went 0 for 5 on the power play.

     

    My 3 Stars of the Game

    Meeri Räisänen: Once again, she was absolutely spectacular. A bit of bad luck on the Riveters first goal, but she bounced back nicely; and she was a brick wall for the rest of the game. She made 27 saves on 28 shots.

     

    Katerina Mrázová: She has adjusted beautifully to the NWHL game and you can see that with every shift she takes. She moves the puck very well and she is always in the right areas in the offensive zone, as evidenced on the goal that she scored today.

     

    Shannon Doyle: Truth be told, before she scored the goal, I was going to put her here anyway. I was very impressed all game with how she was performing in the defensive zone. She also had some great blocks on the penalty kill and made life very difficult for the Riveters. However, it was icing on the cake, when she scored that shot from the point.

     

    The next game the Whale will be playing is again against the Riveters next Sunday at the Barnabas Health Hockey House at 2:00pm.

     

    Boxscore

    You can check out the boxscore of the game here:

    https://www.nwhl.zone/game/show/22207031?subseason=512423

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • November 18th, 2018 — News and Notes

    November 18th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, November 18th, 2018, and these are your news and notes..

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    There were 11 contests in the NHL and one contest in the NWHL yesterday

     

    Detroit 3, NEW JERSEY 2 (OT)

    The Detroit Red Wings had another comeback in their contest against the New Jersey Devils yesterday afternoon.  The Red Wings came back from a 2-0 deficit to win the contest..

    Tampa Bay 6, PHILADELPHIA 5 (OT)

    Brayden Point had consecutive multi-goal games for the first time in his career and joined three other players in Tampa Bay Lightning history to have such a mark.

    Despite the loss in overtime, the Philadelphia Flyers would score four goals in the span of 6:04 to tie the game against the Lightning.  Philadelphia also became the ninth club to score four goals in the final 10 minutes of the contest to tie a game.

    Buffalo 3, MINNESOTA 2

    The Buffalo Sabres would go on to defeat the Minnesota Wild and with the win, the Sabres now have 26 points in their last 2mi0 contests and the second best 20 game start since the overtime point era started.

    OTTAWA 6, Pittsburgh 4

    Ottawa Senators Mark Stone had a game with two goals on four shots to help lift the Ottawa Senators past the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 6-4 win.

    Matt Duchene would also reach the 500 point mark with a two goal, one assist performance in the win as well.

    NY RANGERS 4, Florida 2

    New York Rangers Filip Chytil became the only teenager in the long-history of the NY Rangers to score in three straight games in the win over the Florida Panthers yesterday.

    Columbus 4, CAROLINA 1

    Columbus Blue Jackets Cam Atkinson registered the fifth career hat trick in Blue Jackets history with the rout of the Carolina Hurricanes last night.

    Montreal 3, VANCOUVER 2

    Elias Pettersson scored to be the third player in Vancouver Canucks history to register 11 goals in 16 games in the Canucks 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens yesterday.

    Montreal Canadiens Max Domi became the tenth player to have a nine game point scoring streak in their first season with the franchise.

    NASHVILLE 5, Los Angeles 3

    Los Angeles Kings Dion Phaneuf became the seventh player this season to play in his 1,00th NHL game in the Kings 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators last night.

     

    Boston 2, ARIZONA 1

    Boston Bruins Forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson would score his first career goal in the Bruins win over the Arizona Coyotes.

     

    CALGARY 4, Edmonton 2

    Elias Lindholm would score twice to help the Calgary Flames double up the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-2 win.


    SAN JOSE 4, St. Louis 0

    San jose Sharks D Erik Karlsson scored his first goal as a member of the franchise and helped shutout the St. Louis Blues 4-0.

    Joe Pavelski would also score in the contest and this would also be his fourth consecutive game with a goal.

     

    NWHL

     

    The lone NWHL contest of yesterday pitted the Boston Pride against the Buffalo Beauts.

     

    Boston’s Jillian Dempsey and Gigi Marvin would both score twice to give the Pride a big win over the Buffalo Beauts at Warrior Ice Arena last night.

     

    Dempsey scored her goals in the first period and then sealed the win for the Pride with her second goal of the contest with 6:40 left in the third period.

     

    The Boston Pride would play strong defensively in this contest, giving up Buffalo’s lone goal at the 7:40 mark in the second.  Hayley Scamurra would get the goal for Buffalo.

     

    Hayley Scamurra has four goals and four assists on the season.

     

    Pride G Katie Burt registered 25 saves on 26 shots and Beauts G Nicole Hensley would have 22 saves on 26 shot attempts.

     

    With the win, Boston is now in second place in the NWHL standings at 3-1 with the Minnesota Whitecaps at 6-0, who return to NWHL action in two weeks.

     

    The Buffalo Beauts now sit at 2-3-0 in the standings, good for third place.  The Metropolitan Riveters are at 1-5-0 and rounding out the standings is the winless Connecticut Whale at 0-3-0.

     

    The Boston Pride and Buffalo Beauts will face off again at 2:30pm today at Warrior Ice Arena.

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of NHL contests:

     

    For more NHL news, notes, info, and stats:

     

     

    Today’s contests of NWHL games:

     

    TXHT contributor Christopher Vasilas has your preview of the contest pitting the Connecticut Whale against the Metropolitan Riveters at the following page.

     

    NWHL Gameday Preview – Whale Prep For Clash Against Riveters

     

    You can also watch the contest on Twitter as the NWHL’s Game of the Week.

     

     

    In NHL news…

     

    -The New York Islanders are hosting their Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness ceremonies tonight and will wear the special Hockey Fights Cancer warm-up jerseys today.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • NWHL Gameday Preview – Whale Prep For Clash Against Riveters

    NWHL Gameday Preview – Whale Prep For Clash Against Riveters

     

    Connecticut Whale (0-3-0 0pts) v. Metropolitan Riveters (1-5-0 2pts)

    Time – 2p EST

    Location – Barnabas Health Hockey House – Newark, NJ

    Watch Live on Twitter

     

    Preview:

    After what seems like a forever wait, the Connecticut Whale actually has a game against the Metropolitan Riveters today at 2:00pm at the Barnabas Health Hockey House. So as the schedule of games resume, let’s take a look back at how the Whale has done the past three games.

    Unfortunately, it has not been a good start of the year for the Whale. They have only scored two goals in three games. The goals came from captain, leader, legend Emily Fluke and Katerina Mrázová. Interestingly enough, both of the tallies have come in the second period. What also is unfortunate, in the three games, only five players have registered points; Mrázová, Fluke, Michelle Löwenhielm, Nina Rodgers, and Taylor Marchin. It is Mrázová leading the team with two points, a goal and an assist.

    Some bright spots that the Whale have had this season is that they boast a 90% penalty kill, as they have only allowed one powerplay goal in three games. And probably the biggest bright spot on the team this season is Meeri Räisänen. Who despite having a 0-3 record still has a .876 save percentage. This may not seem all that great but considering the amount of shots that she has faced this season, has been excellent.

    Things that I would like to see the Whale do is take more shots. They do a great job of moving the puck in the offensive zone, but at the same time, they don’t really shoot the puck. I have seen this team move the puck great low to high, but then the points don’t really shoot the puck in a timely manner.

    Hopefully they come out strong against the Riveters, as they look to avenge the playoff loss that they suffered at the hands of the champions last season.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • November 17th, 2018 — News and Notes

    November 17th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, November 17th, 2018, and these are your news and notes…

     

    There were six contests in action yesterday.

     

     

    DALLAS 1, Boston 0 (OT)

     

    Dallas Stars G Ben Bishop became the fifth player in franchise history to record a shutout over the Boston Bruins.

     

    Buffalo 2, WINNIPEG 1 (SO)

     

    Buffalo Sabres Jeff Skinner scored in the contest, his eighth goal since November 1st, to give the Sabres the shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets last night.

     

    Los Angeles 2, CHICAGO 1 (SO)

     

    Los Angeles G Calvin Petersen registered 34 saves in the contest and would turn aside two shots in the shootout give Petersen his first NHL win in the Kings contest over the Chicago Blackhawks.

     

    Washington 3, COLORADO 2 (OT)

     

    Alex Ovechkin has 681 goals (regular-season and playoffs combined) to tie Dino Ciccarelli for 17th place all-time.

     

    Nicklas Backstrom scored the game-winner just 22 seconds into the overtime to give the Washington Capitals the 3-2 win in Denver last night.

     

    Game Recap – 11/16/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Colorado Avalanche

     

    St. Louis 4, VEGAS 1

     

    St. Louis Blues Ryan O’Reilly has at least one point in 11 out of the last 12 games and leads the Blues with 23 points on the season.  O’Reilly also scored two goals in the contest.

     

    Toronto 2, ANAHEIM 1 (OT)

     

    For the second time in franchise history, the Toronto Maple Leafs ended up sweeping the California road-trip in the Maple Leafs overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks.

    Patrick Marleau scored his 539th career goal, passing Keith Tkachuk for 32nd place on the all-time list.

    TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs contributor Steve Gardiner has your recap of the game at the following page.

    Game Recap – 11/16/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Anaheim Ducks

     

    Today there are 11 games on the docket…

     

    There are two options for this week’s NHL European Game of the Week today.

    For more news, notes, info, and stats…

    In NHL news…

     

    -Arizona Coyotes F Josh Archibald was suspended for two games for his illegal check to the head of Nashville Predators F Ryan Hartman in Thursday night’s contest by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety yesterday evening.

     

    In the NWHL…

    The NWHL returns to action TODAY.

    This weekend’s schedule of NWHL games…

    This week’s NWHL Twitter Game of the Week is Sunday and pits the Metropolitan Riveters against the Connecticut Whale.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Game Recap – 11/16/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Anaheim Ducks

    Game Recap – 11/16/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Anaheim Ducks

    Time: Friday, Novemeber 16th , 2018

    Toronto: 13-6-0 for 26 points

    Anaheim: 8-9-3 for 19 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs come to Anaheim on a high. Going 2 for 2 against their western conference opponents so far. Anaheim is their final test and if they pass they will be crowned number 1 overall in the NHL.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Mitch Marner – 25 points (6 goals 19 assists)

    Morgan Rielly – 24 points (8 goals 16 assists)

    John Tavares – 23 points (12 goals 11 assists) 49% on face-offs

    Auston Matthews – 16 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-off

     

    Rickard Rakell –13 points (3 goals 10 assists)

    Ryan Getzlaf– 12 points (4 goal 8 assists)

    Jakub Silfverberg– 10 points (5 goal 5 assists)

    Cam Fowler– 10 points (3 goal 7 assists)

    Frederik Andersen

    11-5-0 2.08GAA .934SV%

    John Gibson

    6-7-3 2.59GAA .927SV%

    Probable Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Mitch Marner – Nazem Kadri– Patrick Marleau

    Tyler Ennis – Pars Lindholm – Connor Brown

    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

    Morgan Rielly – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

    Garrett Sparks

    Frederik Andersen
    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back), Auston Matthews (Shoulder)

    Suspension: None

     

    San Jose:

    Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf– Pontus Aberg

    Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler– Jakub Silfverberg

    Nick Ritchie– Adam Henrique – Ondrej Kase

    Brian Gibbons – Kalle Kassila – Keifer Sherwood

    Hampus Lindholm –Branden Montour

    Jacob Larsson – Josh Manson

    Marcus Petterson – Andy Welenski

    John Gibson

    Ryan Miller
    Scratched:

    Injuries: Corey Perry (Knee), Carter Rowney (Undisclosed), Maxime Comtois (Undisclosed), Came Fowler (Facial), Kevin Bieksa (Hand)

    Suspension: None

    Keys to Winning against Anaheim:

    1. Aggressive on the Anaheim Defence
      1. Young inexperienced and prone to make mistakes or give the puck away. Be fast and aggressive on the forecheck.
    2. Traffic in Front of Gibson
      1. Gibson has shown he’s the real deal and needs to have some pressure put in front of him. If he sees the puck he will stop it.
    3. Powerplay
      1. One of the best on the road against one of the better PK’s. Need to get some good reps against this team.

    Game Day Lineups:

    First Period:

    Toronto Goal – 5:42 – Patrick Marleau (4) from Jake Gardiner (9) and Nazem Kadri(7)

    End of 1st – TOR – 1       ANA – 0

    Shots              9                 12

    Faceoffs         10/18          8/18

    Hits               5                  4

    PP                 0/0              0/0

    Analysis:

    Leafs looked like they didn’t play last night. They had fresh legs and a jump in their game, which is what exactly what led to the first goal of the game by Patrick Marleau.

    Need to Do:

    Continue to play with urgency and continue to press the young defence of Anaheim.

    Second Period:

    Anaheim Penalty – 03:41 – Andy Welinski 2 minutes for Hooking

    Anaheim Penalty – 12:28 – Josh Manson 2 minutes for Holding

    Anaheim Goal – 18:35 – Pontus Aberg (6) from Nick Ritchie (2) and Adam Henrique (5)

    End of 2nd – TOR – 1        ANA – 1

    Shots               21                  22

    Faceoffs          20/38            18/38

    Hits                 7                       10

    PP                   0/2                  0/0

    Analysis:

    Leafs had many chances to put the game away, including 2 powerplays and couldn’t do it. Aberg scored to add insult to injury at the end of the period

    Need to Do:

    Kick the offence back into gear and attack

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 13:53 – Kasperi Kapanen 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    End of 3rd – TOR – 1         ANA – 1

    Shots              31                   37

    Faceoffs        27/57             30/57

    Hits               11                    14

    PP                 0/2                  0/1

     Analysis:

    Chances at both ends but nothing goes. Overtime we go

    OT:

    Toronto Goal – 03:17 – Morgan Rielly (9) assisted by Mitch Marner (20)

    End of OT – TOR – 2         ANA – 1

    Shots              35                   39

    Faceoffs        29/61             32/61

    Hits               11                    16

    PP                 0/2                  0/1

     Analysis:

    Leafs took over the OT and Morgan Rielly netted his 9th of the season with Mitch Marner on the beautiful pass.

    Next Up:

    Columbus (11-6-2 24pts) @ Toronto (14-6-0 28pts)

    Colorado (9-6-4 22pts) @ Anaheim (8-9-4 20pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

     

  • Game Recap – 11/16/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Colorado Avalanche

    Game Recap – 11/16/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Colorado Avalanche

     

     

    Washington Capitals (8-7-3 19pts) v. Colorado Avalanche (9-6-3 21pts)

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Lars Eller — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — Andre Burakovsky

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey

    Pheonix Copley

    Ilya Samsonov

    Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Braden Holtby (upper body), Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body), Brooks Orpik (lower body), T.J. Oshie (upper body)

     

    Colorado Avalanche:

    Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen

    Tyson Jost — Alexander Kerfoot — Colin Wilson

    Sheldon Dries — Carl Soderberg — Matt Calvert

    Sven Andrighetto — Vladislav Kamenev — Gabriel Bourque

    Samuel Girard — Erik Johnson

    Ian Cole — Tyson Barrie

    Mark Barberio — Patrik Nemeth

    Philipp Grubauer

    Semyon Varlamov

    Scratched: Marko Dano, Nikita Zadorov

    Injured: J.T. Compher (head), Matt Nieto (lower body)

     

     

    First Period:

    Avalanche Goal – 1:08 – Carl Soderberg (7) from Tyson Jost (2) and Tyson Barrie (15)

    Avalanche Penalty – 14:07 – Sheldon Dries 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       COL – 1

    Shots              13                09

    Faceoffs         05                15

    Hits               06                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/0

     

    Analysis:

    After a very rocky start to the game, the Capitals were able to settle in… kind of. The Avalanche did a very good job of playing between the blue lines and if the Capitals did get into the zone, forced the Capitals shots to the outside and allowed Philipp Grubauer to see everything.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to use their speed to force the Avalanche to make some mistakes. The Avalanche are playing with a swarm mentality and are utilizing picks to create issues for the Capitals. Also the Capitals need to do a much better job in the faceoff circle as the Avalanche are killing them in that department. And lastly, The Capitals need to generate some more scoring opportunities in the danger zones. They only had 2 in the first period.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :31 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking

    Avalanche Penalty – 6:20 – Gabriel Bourque 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 8:55 – Devante Smith-Pelly (3) from Chandler Stephenson (3) and Travis Boyd (3)

    Capitals Goal – 18:29 – Alex Ovechkin (13) from Nicklas Backstrom (17) and Tom Wilson (1)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        COL – 1

    Shots               25                 18

    Faceoffs          22                 23

    Hits                 12                  9

    PP                   0/2                  0/1

     

    Analysis:

    This was a much better period for the Capitals. They outshot the Avalanche, and they also dominated in the faceoff circle. Capitals also generated better scoring chances, and were able to score the only 2 goals of the period as a result.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to continue playing a solid defensive game and continue to contain the Avalanche’s speed. The Capitals also need to play the majority of the game in Colorado’s zone and not turtle into their own zone like we’ve seen quite a bit this season.

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 6:16 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Interference

    Avalanche Goal -17:16 – Colin Wilson (5) from Matt Calvert (4) and Ian Cole (6)

    Avalanche Penalty – 18:51 – Ian Cole 2 minutes for Interference

     

    OT:

    Capitals PPG – :22 – Nicklas Backstrom (5) from John Carlson (15) and Tom Wilson (2)

     

    End of OT – WAS – 3         COL – 2

    Shots              29                   26

    Faceoffs        31                    34

    Hits               17                     11

    PP                 1/3                    0/2

     

    Analysis:

    This was a huge win for the Capitals. Despite being out shot in the 3rd period, the Capitals defense only gave up one goal and needed only one shot to win it in overtime. The Capitals get two needed days of rest before they take on the Montreal Canadiens and with that rest we will see if they get back TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Braden Holtby from injuries.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (9-7-3 21pts) @ Montreal (10-6-3 23pts)

    Colorado (9-6-4 22pts) v. Anaheim (8-9-4 20pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.