X75 Productions

Blog

  • Full Gameday Preview and Coverage – 11/1/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Montreal Canadiens

     

    Washington Capitals (5-3-2 12pts) v. Montreal Canadiens (6-3-2 14pts)

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    In a battle of two 4th place teams in their respective divisions, the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens are going to be looking to improve their standing within their divisions. The Capitals are coming off two lackluster games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, while the Canadiens will be looking for their 6th win in nine games.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Jakub Vrana

    Andre Burakovsky — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Chandler Stephenson — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nathan Walker, Aaron Ness

    Injured: Brooks Orpik (lower body), Travis Boyd (leg)

    Suspended: Tom Wilson

     

    Keys to the Game (Michael):

    1. Play a full 60 minutes

    The Capitals need to come into this game and play a full 60 minutes. They barely showed up in Edmonton, and they coasted through their game in Calgary, and it wasn’t acceptable. The Capitals need to play a full 60 minutes if they hope to win tonight in Montreal.

     

    2. Keep your feet moving

    The Capitals are going to need to keep their feet moving against the Canadiens. The Canadiens are much quicker team and the Capitals will need to utilize their speed to help neutralize Montreal’s.

     

    Montreal Canadiens:

    Projected Lineup:

    Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

    Jonathan Drouin — Max Domi — Charles Hudon

    Artturi Lehkonen — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Joel Armia

    Nicolas Deslauriers — Matthew Peca — Andrew Shaw

    Jordie Benn — Jeff Petry

    Mike Reilly — Noah Juulsen

    Xavier Ouellet — Victor Mete

    Carey Price

    Antti Niemi

    Scratched: Karl Alzner

    Injured: Paul Byron (lower body), Shea Weber (knee), David Schlemko (knee), Tomas Plekanec (back)

     

    Keys to the Game (Armand):

    1. Don’t give the Caps chances with the man advantage.
    2. Carey Price needs to play a solid game as both Braden Holtby and Price are two of the best netminders in the league.
    3. Fast start Montreal needs to get on the board early to gain momentum.
    4. Lastly No Stupid Turnovers Montreal has made too many boneheaded moves this season.

     

    First Period:

    Canadiens Goal – 2:28 – Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1) from Joel Armia (3)

    Capitals Goal – 6:16 – Lars Eller (2) from Matt Niskanen (4) and Chandler Stephenson (2)

    Canadiens Penalty – 8:23 – Brendan Gallagher 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 8:23 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Roughing

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       MON – 1

    Shots              13                18

    Faceoffs         06                06

    Hits               12                  10

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Analysis:

    Capitals (Michael) – This was an ok period for the Capitals. Definitely did not start this game well as they  looked overwhelmed by Montreal’s speed, and at one point was being out shot 10-3. However, with Braden Holtby’s stellar play and a solid shift by the 3rd line which resulted in a goal, and some really solid 4 on 4 play, the Capitals were able to get themselves back into this game.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Habs played a great period. Great on the forecheck. Getting tons of shots on Holtby.

     

    Need to Do:

    Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals need to start the next two periods much better than they started the first period. Also the Capitals need to continue to keep forcing the play in the Canadiens zone and clean up their own play in the front of Holtby and not let the Canadiens cut through the middle.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – From what I can see the Habs just need to keep doing what they did in the first.

     

    Second Period:

    Canadiens Goal – :32 – Brendan Gallagher (8) from Tomas Tatar (7)

    Canadiens Goal – 3:06 – Brendan Gallagher (9) from Tomas Tatar (8) and Phillip Danault (5)

    Capitals Goal – 6:49 – Alex Ovechkin (9) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (11) and Jakub Vrana (3)

    Capitals Goal – 7:59 – Lars Eller (3) from Brett Connolly (7)

    Capitals Goal – 12:53 – Alex Ovechkin (10) from Dmitry Orlov (2) and Matt Niskanen (5)

    Capitals Penalty – 16:16 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 19:57 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Interfernce

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 4        MON – 3

    Shots               26                 27

    Faceoffs          18                 13

    Hits                 16                  21

    PP                   0/0                  0/1 *2nd in progress

     

    Analysis:

    Capitals (Michael) – This period did not start well for the Capitals, but they finished it strong. The Capitals scored 3 unanswered goals after Brendan Gallagher scored back to back goals in the first 3 minutes of the period, and forced the play in the Canadiens zone.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Turnovers have killed the Habs Especially on the short handed opportunity Washington had.

     

    Need to Do:

    Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals need to play a strong 20 minutes to close out the Canadiens. They need to kill off this late penalty by Lars Eller and use that momentum to take it to the Canadiens.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Habs need to come out strong after a poor period. Powerplay to start the period needs to be strong.

     

    Third Period:

    Canadiens Penalty – 13:01 – Charles Hudon 2 minutes for Tripping

    Canadiens Goal –  – Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2) from Artturi Lehkonen (7) and Victor Mete (1)

    Canadiens Goal – 19:38 – Max Domi (6) from Mike Rielly (3)

    Canadiens ENG – 19:40 – Joel Armia (3) from Phillip Danault (6)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 4         MON – 6

    Shots              31                   44

    Faceoffs        35                    25

    Hits               25                     32

    PP                 0/1                    0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Capitals (Michael) – What should have been a win for the Capitals became nothing more but a blown opportunity for them. All they needed to do was play a full 20 minutes and truly pressure the Canadiens in their own zone and and keep the play there, but instead this was a period dominated by the Canadiens and they were able to take this game from the Capitals in the final 3 minutes of this game including 2 goals in two seconds to seal the deal for the Canadiens. One of the biggest bright spots was the play of Braden Holtby, and his stellar play in net kept this game a lot closer than it would have seemed to be. The Capitals were out shot 17-5 in the third period alone.

     

    Canadiens (Armand) – Habs blow a 3-1 lead but like the time they played Washington in the playoffs the Habs storm back to get the win. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brendan Gallagher each pick up two goals as Max Domi had a goal that would be the decider. Carey Price looked a little shaky at times but made some key saves late in the game to keep the Habs in the game.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (5-4-2 12pts) v. Dallas (7-5-0 14pts)

    Montreal (7-3-2 16pts) v, Tampa Bay (8-3-1 19pts)

     

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

  • Gameday Preview & Recap:  Dallas Stars vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview & Recap:  Dallas Stars vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    Time: Thursday, Novemeber 1st, 2018

    Toronto: 8-4-0 for 16 points

    Dallas: 6-5-0 for 14 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs play their second game of the season against the Dallas Stars. Game 1 ended in the Leafs walking away victorious 7-4 in Dallas. But the Leafs have had their troubles on home ice this year going 3-4. This also marks the 2nd game without Auston Matthews, expect the Leafs to come out with a little more fire than they did against Calgary. Dallas is coming off a 4 -1 over the Montreal Canadiens and seemingly firing on all cylinders.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup
    Auston Matthews – 16 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-off
    Mitch Marner – 126 points (4 goals 12 assists)
    Morgan Rielly – 15 points (4 goals 11 assists)
    John Tavares – 13 points (7 goals 6 assists) 49% on face-offs

    Tyler Seguin –12 points (3 goals 9 assists) 59.6% faceoffs
    John Klingberg– 11 points (5 goal 6 assists)
    Alex Radulov– 11 points (5 goal 6 assist)
    Jamie Benn– 9 points (4 goal 5 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    6-4-0 2.53GAA .919SV%

    Anton Khudobin
    1-1 3.03GAA .898SV%

    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
    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks
    Scratched: Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

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

    Suspension: None

     

    Dallas:

    Justin Dowling – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov

    Jamie Benn – Jason Spezza– Mattias Janmark

    Valeri Nichuskin– Radek Faksa – Gemel Smith

    Devin Shore – Jason Dickinson – Blake Comeau
    Esa Lindell –John Klingberg

    Marc Methot – Miro Heiskanen

    Julius Honka – Roman Polak
    Anton Khudobin

    Ben Bishop
    Scratched: Connor Carrick

    Injuries: Martin Hanzal, Stephen Johns

    Suspension: None

    4 Keys to Winning against Dallas:

    1. Stay Out of the Box
      1. The Stars own one of the top power-plays in the league and the Leafs penalty kill has not been good.
    2. Puck Possession
      1. Puck possession is going to be something that the Leafs need to have during this game, don’t get into an offensive tug of war with Dallas.
    3. Nazem Kadri
      1. With the absence of Matthews, Kadri will be called upon to step up his game more offensively. Shouldn’t be an issue considering he is a former 30 goal scorer.
    4. Limit Turnovers
      1. No crazy turnovers, way too much talent on this Dallas roster. They will make you pay.

    Game Day Lineups:

    First Period:

    Dallas Penalty – 07:28 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes from Holding

    End of 1st – DAL – 0       TOR – 0

    Shots              07                10

    Faceoffs         12/16          4/16

    Hits               17                  7

    PP                 0/0               0/1

    Analysis:

    Leafs came ready to be aggressive against the Stars. Pressing the Stars defence and forward even in the neutral zone. Not allowing the Stars much offensive zone time but forcing Dallas to take shots from the outside. All players are back checking hard, and clogging up the neutral zone. The 3rd and 4th lines are playing like they have something to prove and Travis Dermott is making sure he doesn’t give Babcock any reasons to take him out of the lineup again.

    Need to Do:

    Continue the pressure and get more bodies in front of the net.

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 09:53 – Par Lindholm 2 minutes for Holding

    Dallas Goal – 11:55 – Jamie Benn (5) from Tyler Seguin (10) and John Klingberg (7)

    Toronto Penalty – 12:41 – Justin Holl 2 minutes for Holding

    Dallas Penalty – 16:02 – Marc Methot 2 minutes for Tripping

    End of 2nd – DAL – 1        TOR – 0

    Shots               15                 16

    Faceoffs          21/31            10/31

    Hits                 28                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

    Analysis:

    Leafs took the foot off the gas pedal and look to be really struggling to find any offence. Scoring needs to come from somewhere question is who will step up.

    Need to Do:

    Leafs need to put together a full period. Attack and Attack!

    Third Period:

    Dallas Penalty – 01:12 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes for Holding

    Dallas Goal – 04:43 – Devin Shore (3) from Mattias Janmark (1) and Tyler Seguin (11)

    Dallas Penalty – 05:30 – Jason Dickinson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Dallas Penalty – 16:29 – Brett Ritchie 2 minutes for Tripping

    Toronto PPG Goal – 16:51 – Patrick Marleau (2) from Morgan Rielly (12) and John Tavares (7)

    End of 3rd – DAL – 2         TOR – 1

    Shots              18                   31

    Faceoffs        34                    18

    Hits               34/54             20/54

    PP                 0/2                    1/5

    Analysis:

    This game should have been a win for the Leafs, as they were the much better team for the majority of the game but a few posts and the realization of how much even the players relied on Auston Matthews for goals was at the forefront. Johnsson, Lindholm, Brown, Kapanen looked like they were there to play with speed and aggressiveness, which is a first all season for some of those guys. Take this as a building block for them to get the We Need Matthews to win games mentality out of their brain. Much better showing then against Calgary.

     

    Next Up:

    Toronto (8-5-0 16pts) @ Pittsburgh (6-2-1 13pts)

    Dallas (7-5-0 14pts) @ Washington (5-4-2 12pts)

     

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

     

  • November 1st, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Thursday, November 1st, 2018 and these are your news and notes.

    In the lone contest of the evening, the Vancouver Canucks would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.

    Jake Virtanen tied the game twice and then Brendan Gaunce would net the go-ahead goal with 10:37 left in regulation. With the win, Vancouver is now 8-6-0 on the season and is 5-0-0 in the last five contests against the Blackhawks dating back to March 21, 2017.

    Vancouver now sits in first place in the Pacific Division ahead of San Jose and Calgary with 16 points.

    In this contest, Jonathan Toews would take sixth place of the Blackhawks regular season goal-scoring list with his 299th career goal.

    Today in the NHL, the NHL Global Series games kickoff in Finland at 2 p.m. EDT on NBCSN and TSN3 in Canada when the Winnipeg Jets take on the Florida Panthers.

    Print

    nov_1st_schedy-31083023

    For more news, notes, and stats:

    In NHL news…

    The NHL announced today that all 31 teams will take part in the 20th anniversary of the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Hockey Fights Cancer has been uniting hockey communities in support of cancer patients for the last 20 years.

    All 31 teams across the league will host Hockey Fights Cancer awareness nights and will feature all teams wearing lavender jerseys, dasherboards, decals on all players helmets, and “I Fight For…” cards.

    cut

    In addition, all youth hockey leagues across North America have the option to host their own Hockey Fights Cancer nights via their community rinks via the HFC Assist programs.

    In tonight’s contest when the Washington Capitals take on the Montreal Canadiens, it will be C Nicklas Backstrom’s 826th career game, passing Michal Pivonka for sixth place on the Capitals franchise games played list.

    Navy Federal Credit Union and the NHL announced that the two have entered a multi-year U.S. partnership to recognize and support veterans, active-duty service members and their families.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    In addition, Navy Federal Credit Union will serve as a presenting sponsor of the first NHL Veterans Appreciation Night on November 7th on NBCSN.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Slava Voynov has officially applied for NHL reinstatement per NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

    Elias Pettersson was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month and currently leads all rookies with seven goals and 10 points in eight contests.

    The NHL also announced the Three Stars of the Month today.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

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

  • TXHT – 10/31/2018

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQyrcBE8Yi4&w=560&h=315]

     

    Join Michael as he breaks down the past week in for the Washington Capitals, NHL, and NWHL.

     

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

  • October 31st, 2018 — News and Notes

    These are your news and notes for Wednesday, October 31st, 2018.

     

    There were 11 NHL contests last night…

    • Brayden Point had a five-point night for the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa Bay’s 8-3 rout of the New Jersey Devils.  In Point’s first five-point game of his career, Tampa scored eight goals for the second time this season and moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

    By scoring eight goals for the second time this season, this marked the third season in the last 25 to feature six or more times in which a team has registered at least eight goals in a game before play in October has come to an end.

    • In Arizona, the Coyotes would win their fourth consecutive game when five different players registered goals in the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 defeat of the Ottawa Senators.  The Coyotes have 27 goals in their last six games, making it the highest in that span. The Coyotes also registered 27 goals in a six-game span during the 2006-07 season.
    • David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron played critical roles in the Boston Bruins 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Boston is now 11-0-5 in their last 16 contests against the Hurricanes dating back to the 2013-14 season. Pastrnak has 16 points on the season and is now tied with Chicago’s Patrick Kane for 11 goals on the season.

    Pastrnak joins Phil Esposito and Charlie Simmer as the only players in Bruins history to register double-digit goals in the month of October.

    In this same contest, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho recorded an assist and joined Wayne Gretzky and Ken Linseman as the only players in League history to have a season-opening assist streak of 12 games.

     

    Yesterday’s results (Home team is in CAPS):

    For more news, notes, and stats, please refer to this:

     

    There is one contest in action tonight…

    Oct_31st_Schedy-31014433

    Image courtesy of the NHL and NHL Public Relations.

     

    In NHL news:

    • Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman released his “31 Thoughts” article today and it discusses the new agreement between the NHL and MGM Resorts in regards to gambling.

     

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

  • The Matthews Effect

    The Matthews Effect

    https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/1056339487368904704

     

    As we’ve all come to hear the last few days Leafs star centremen Auston Matthews hurt his shoulder at the beginning of the 2nd period, in what would become a comeback win for Toronto(Video above). The Leafs found out the next day that their star centre would be out 4 weeks, and oh boy did LeafsNation begin to cry. The Chatter of William Nylander has already begun, but GM Kyle Dubas stated “The injury changes nothing”. I believe Dubas is right.  The Leafs showed they can score still without Matthews in a comeback win over the Winnipeg Jets, the same night of Matthews injury. Scoring goals 3 goals in the 3rd period and 2 in less than a minute to seal the game. Monday night the Leafs were flat, but because of Matthews injury we act like the team is doomed.

     

    Last season the Leafs went through a very difficult stretch without Matthews and put up a very decent 11-7-2 record without Matthews. Now let me explain something, the Leafs are 100x more prepared for the injury this season then they were last season. Last year Patrick Marleau, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri all split the top 2 center duties, with Kadri and Marleau getting the majority of the duties, due to their defensive abilities. That didn’t sound promising at all. This season one of the top centers in the NHL in John Tavares will take on the number one role with Nazem Kadri easily fitting back into his role last season in the number 2 slot. Kasperi Kapanen’s speed, and scoring ability will be put to the test, which I think Kapanen will have no problem taking on the role. People need to remember the reason why the Leafs went out and signed John Tavares was for situations just like this. Situations like these are where Tavares shined, his whole career his played in New York making wingers that just weren’t on his level look better and on top of that when it came to game time Tavares always had a little extra in the tank.

     

    Let me offer you 5 reasons why the Leafs will miss Matthews, but be just fine.

    1. John Tavares – As I mentioned before the Leafs went out and got a player of Tavares caliber to ensure that they were a deep team at the most important position in hockey. Now with the injury the depth will pay off.
    2. Kasperi Kapanen – In the last couple years Kapanen would pour it on for a few games and take his foot off the gas pedal. This season he looks like he’s not giving his spot up on this Leafs roster or in the lineup. What Kapanen brings to the table is a fantastic 2-way game, absolutely off the charts speed and was looks to be a revamped shot. But the one thing that Mike Babcock has praised Kapanen for is his willingness to engage even when he’s not scoring. Babcock has said he was always noticeable and never gives up on a puck.
    3. Zach Hyman – This may be a bit weird for some people to see as a reason why the Leafs will be fine without Auston Matthews but let me explain. Hyman is your prototype power forward but with a lot more speed. Hyman will help Tavares get the puck quicker and allow him to do what he was signed to do. Score! People often underestimate the value of Hyman but ask the players who have played with him the few years, mainly Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Marner what he brings to that lineup.
    4. Frederik Andersen – The guy is going to win you some games, in fact probably steal you a few. Let Anderson do his job, because he’s one of the best at it.
    5. Mitch Marner – I think this is the biggest reason. Marner has proven he can drive his own line and has the most amazing vision I’ve seen since Joe Thornton is his prime and even dating back to Ron Francis and Adam Oates. Just take a few games and watch him. The IQ is so high, the vision is off the charts, and his defence is starting to round together. What I love about Mitch Marner is he’s relentless. Always go go go.

    Will Auston Matthews injury hurt Toronto was never in question, the answer to that is YES EMPHATICALLY! But around Toronto it sounds like the world is coming to a slow crash in Leaf Land, which is so far from the truth. To call Auston Matthews injury a crash and burn to the Maple Leafs is an offence to all the other talented players on this roster.

     

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

  • OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! – TXHT Severs Ties with the DCHL

    TXHT Logo

     

    “The Xperience: Hockey Talk”, aka TXHT, has officially severed all ties to the DCHL and will no longer associate with the league.

     

    TXHT is committed to Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans, and we will be working diligently on looking for a new opportunity to bring you live local hockey games here in the DMV area.

     

    In the meantime, we will be removing our Street Sharks content for the time being until we have clear direction on where things will be heading for TXHT.

     

    We are excited to move away from the toxic atmosphere of the DCHL, and we looking forward to the future and what is to come.

     

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

     

  • October 30, 2018 — News and Notes

     

    These are your news and notes for Tuesday, October 30th, 2018.

     

    There were two contests last night in the NHL.

    • The Vancouver Canucks took on the Minnesota Wild and went on to win the contest 5-2.Elias Pettersson scored two goals to give him 10 points thus far and would help snap the Wild’s five game win streak.Pettersson went on to become the 21st player in league history to register at least seven goals in their first seven career games and only the eighth in the NHL’s Modern era dating back to the 1943-44 season.
    • In the other contest of the evening, the Calgary Flames went on to rout the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1, and defeated the Maple Leafs for the first time on the road since the 2010-11 season.

      With the win, the six-game slide in Toronto is no more. Calgary scored two goals in 55 seconds in the third, including the game-winner registered by Elias Lindholm. Lindholm leads all Calgary skaters with eight goals and trails six others for the League lead.

      Lindholm also became the first Flames player to score eight goals in 12 games played since the 2007-08 season when Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow also hit the mark of eight goals in 12 games.

     

    There are 11 contests happening tonight.

    Oct_30th_Schedy-30121638.jpg

    Image courtesy of the NHL and the NHL Public Relations.

     

    For more news, notes, and stats…

     

    In NHL news…

    -The Pittsburgh Penguins announced earlier today that the team will wear a “Stronger Than Hate” patch on their jerseys tonight in memory of the Tree of Life tragedy that happened this past Saturday.

    -The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced yesterday that Ottawa Senators D Mark Borowiecki has been suspended three games for his illegal check to the head of Vegas Golden Knights F Cody Eakin.

     

    In the NWHL…

    -In case you missed it, TXHT’s Christopher Vasilas wrote an article about the start of the Minnesota Whitecaps season thus far and how good they are.

    Check out the article here.

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

  • Montreal Canadiens Game Day Preview

    Montreal Canadiens Game Day Preview

    Montreal Canadiens: 6-2-2

    Dallas Stars 5-5-0

    Referees: #29 Ian Walsh, #17 Frederick L’Ecuyer

    Linesman: #88 Tyler Baker, #87 David Berg

    The Canadiens return home after embarking on a short two game road trip into Buffalo and Boston. During the trip the Habs went one and one. The Habs most recent game came with a 3-0 shutout of the Boston Bruins and Carey Price passing Patrick Roy for 2nd all-time on the Canadiens win list. The Stars are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings on Sunday.

    The Habs will be facing a Dallas team who has gotten off to a rough start but will get one of their top wingers back tonight in Alexander Radulov. The Habs will stick with the same line-up as they did on Saturday night in Boston. Max Domi will look to extend his point streak to eight tonight.  The Habs will look to finish a strong first month of the season with another W in the win column after tonight. Carey Price will get the start between the pipes for the Habs.

    Keys To The Game:

    Dallas comes into tonight ranked third in the NHL in face-off percentage at 52.8 percent. Montreal has done a nice job lately on improving in this category but could end up being a very important factor in tonight’s game.

    Goaltending should play a vital part in tonight’s game as Carey Price and Ben Bishop have been solid in their last few starts. If both goaltenders continue to be on their game it should be a very low-scoring game.

     

    Forwards:

    Tomas Tatar-Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher

    Jonathan Drouin-Max Domi-Artturi Lehkonen

    Paul Byron-Jesperi Kotkaniemi- Joel Armia

    Nicolas Deslauriers- Matthew Peca- Charles Hudon

    Defensive Pairings:

    Jordie Benn- Jeff Petry

    Mike Reilly- Karl Alzner

    Xavier Ouellet- Victor Mete

     

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

  • How Good Are The Whitecaps? Scary Good.

    How Good Are The Whitecaps? Scary Good.

    When we were doing our previews for the NWHL teams, we asked how well the Whitecaps would transition into the league. Just a quick reminder, the Whitecaps were already an established franchise, and that this was their first season in the NWHL. It’s pretty fair to say, after six games, that they are one of the best teams in the league and are playing like legit Isobel Cup title contenders.

     

    They are currently in first place, having won all six games that they have played. They have put up the most goals for with 23 and have only allowed nine goals against, for a goal differential of +14. Breaking down their scoring by period, they have scored seven goals in the first period, six goals in the second period, and 10 goals in the third period. So they are getting pretty balanced scoring throughout the game.

     

    Already this season eleven players have found the back of the net for the Whitecaps. Leading the team in scoring is actually a tie with Jonna Curtis and Katie McGovern, both having scored four times. Another 14 players have also found the score sheet, with Lee Stecklein leading the team with six assists. However, it is Jonna Curtis leading the team in points, with nine.

     

    Complimented with their good play, their goaltending has been nothing short of phenomenal. It is Amanda Leveille leading the way having won all six games that she’s played. She has also put up some stellar numbers in all six games, she currently has a 1.50 GAA, a .947 Save Percentage, and she has also posted one shutout. She has truly picked up where she left off having already been named NWHL Goaltender of the Year for 2018.

     

    Currently the Whitecaps have a nice long break, as their next game will be on Saturday December 1st against the Boston Pride in Minnesota.

     

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