Tag: Washington Capitals

  • April 12th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    April 12th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Friday, April 12th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    In Stanley Cup Playoff action, there were three games last night.

     

    Below you will find all of the game recaps from our TXHT writers.

     

     

    Toronto 4, BOSTON 1 (Toronto leads the series 1-0)

     

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would take Game 1 in this series from the Boston Bruins, winning the game 4-1.

     

    Toronto will look to take Game 2 when the two teams face off Saturday night.

     

    TXHT’s Steve Gardiner has your full recap of the contest below.

     

     

    The following image is the Boston Bruins infographic from last night’s contest and is the property of the Boston Bruins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners.

     

     

    WASHINGTON 4, Carolina 2 (Washington leads the series 1-0)

     

    The Washington Capitals, defending their Stanley Cup championship, defeated the Carolina Hurricanes last night with a 4-2 win.

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes mounted a comeback after being down 3-0 at the end of the first period, coming within a goal, before Washington’s Lars Eller scored an empty net goal with less than a minute left in the third period.

     

    The Capitals will look to take the 2-0 series lead when the two teams face off tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m., and the game will be available on NBC.

     

    Michael Lindenbaum has your full recap of Game 1 between the Capitals and the Hurricanes below.

     

     

    CALGARY 4, Colorado 0 (Calgary leads the series 1-0)

     

    The Calgary Flames crushed the Colorado Avalanche last night with a 4-0 win adn took the 1-0 series lead.

     

    Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals and Flames goaltender Mike Smith registered 26 saves in the contest.

     

    The Flames will look to take the 2-0 series lead when Game 2 takes place Saturday night.

     

    Scott Fairchild has your full recap of the contest between Calgary and Colorado below.

     

     

    Calgary’s infographic from the 4-0 win is below and the infographic is the property of the Calgary Flames, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners.

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of games:


    *Image is property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 1 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals begin their Stanley Cup defense at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, and the start of the game would see the Capitals weather the storm from the Hurricanes for the first half of the period followed by Nicklas Backstrom going top shelf on Petr Mrazek on the first shot of the game for the Capitals to make it 1-0. Then Justin Faulk would be called for high sticking, and on the powerplay Evgeny Kuznetsov would do a beautiful pass across to slot to Backstrom for his second of the game. The Hurricanes would not do themselves any favors though as Micheal Ferland would be called for interference and with a mad scramble Alex Ovechkin would net his first of the playoffs to make it 3-0 goinf into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period both teams would trade scoring opportunities, and some penalties as well. While the Capitals would kill their lone penalty early in the period, Carolina would give the Capitals two more powerplay opportunities. However, this time the Hurricanes would keep the Capitals off the score board while on the penalty kill.

     

    In the third period the Capitals would get some really good scoring opportunities to start the period, but Petr Mrazek would stand tall to keep the deficit to three. Then Andrei Svechnikov would score back to back goals to cut the Capitals lead to one in a span of two minutes and nineteen seconds. The Capitals would then get themselves into penalty problems, but would successfully kill both penalties. Then Lars Eller would score the empty netter to seal the deal for the Capitaks as they take the 1-0 series lead.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Justin Williams

    Micheal Ferland — Jordan Staal — Teuvo Teravainen

    Andrei Svechnikov — Jordan Martinook — Brock McGinn

    Greg McKegg — Lucas Wallmark — Warren Foegele

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Saku Maenalanen, Jake Bean

    Injured: Calvin de Haan (upper body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Ilya Samsonov

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 9:58 – Nicklas Backstrom (1) from John Carlson (1) and Brooks Orpik (1)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 12:32 – Justin Faulk 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals PPG – 13:10 – Nicklas Backstrom (2) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) and John Carlson (2)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 16:31 – Micheal Ferland 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals PPG – 18:05 – Alex Ovechkin (1) from Tom Wilson (1) and John Carlson (3)

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       WAS – 3

    Shots              10                09

    Faceoffs         13                09

    Hits               21                  18

    PP                 0/0                 2/2

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:46 – Andrei Svechnikov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 4:07 – Bench (Alex Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Hurricanes Penalty – 13:05 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for Holding the Stick

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 0        WAS – 3

    Shots               21                 13

    Faceoffs          23                 21

    Hits                 32                  27

    PP                   0/1                  2/4

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 5:07 – Andrei Svechnikov (1) from Lucas Wallmark (1) and Dougie Hamilton (1)

    Hurricanes Goal – 7:26 – Andrei Svechnikov (2) from Lucas Wallmark (2) and Justin Faulk (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 11:14 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 16:29 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals ENG – 19:24 – Lars Eller (1) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 2         WAS – 4

    Shots              29                   18

    Faceoffs        39                    28

    Hits               37                     35

    PP                 0/3                    2/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game Two – Capitals Leads Series 1-0

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs – 1st Round Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    2019 NHL Playoffs – 1st Round Preview – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes (46-29-7 99pts) v. Washington Capitals (48-26-8 104pts)

     

    Regular Season Series:

    CAR: 0-3-1

    WAS: 4-0-0

     

    Preview:

    For the first time in both franchise’s history, the Washington Capitals will face the Carolina Huuricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the Capitals they will be looking to defend the title as Stanley Cup Champions and are looking to this series as the beginning of their championship defense.

     

    Meanwhile for the Hurricanes, they will be participating in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The Hurricanes will be looking to replicate past successes when the team has made it into the playoffs, and view the Capitals as a solid test as to what they are made of going into this playoff run.

     

    Offense:

    For the Hurricanes they had five 20 goal scorers with only one of them hitting the 30 goal mark and that being Sebastian Aho. Compare this to the Capitals who have seven 20 goal scorers, with one 50 goal scorer in Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals are a bit deeper than the Hurricanes are in regards to scoring depth, but it will be a matter of sysytems that will dictate how much scoring will happen in this series.

     

    Defense:

    For defense, both teams will be looking to play responsible hockey in both the neutral zone and in their own zones. The last two games these two had against eachother, both teams played defensively responsible, but it would the Capitals high powered offense eventually pushing through for victories in both games.

     

    Key players that both teams will be looking to to have an impact in these playoffs will be Dougie Hamilton and Justin Faulk for the Hurricanes, and John Carlson for the Capitals. With Michal Kempny out until next season, the Capitals will be looking to both Christian Djoos and Jonas Siegenthaler to step up in Kempny’s absence.

     

    Goaltending:

    For the Capitals, Braden Holtby will be tasked once again to carry the Capitals to the promised land. This time though Holtby will be starting the series instead of his backup like last postseason.

     

    For the Hurricanes, they have a one-two punch in Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. While Mrazek is slated to be the starting goalie for this series, McElhinney can steal some games if called upon.

     

    Special Teams:

    CAR Powerplay: 17.8% 20th Overall

    WAS Powerplay: 20.8% 12th Overall

    The 2018-19 season was a dip in the Capitals powerplay, despite a hot start to the season. However, the Capitals were able to remain consistent throughout the season despite drought spurts.

     

    For the Hurricanes they were right around everyone expected them to be this season despite the dangerous duo of Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.

     

    CAR Penalty Kill: 81.6% 8th Overall

    WAS Penalty Kill: 78.9% 24th Overall

    This season under first time head coach Rod Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes were able to improve on their penalty kill, and the use of both Aho and Teravainen brought speed to the penalty kill unit.

     

    However, for the Capitals they dropped excessively this season after the departure of Barry Trotz and Lane Lambert. Also the loss of Jay Beagle during the offseason took away one of their biggest faceoff threats. The Capitals can get hot with their penalty killing as we have seen at times this season, but they need it to be consistent throughout the entire series and playoffs.

     

    Prediction: WAS in 6

  • Game Recap – 4/6/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals – Regular Season Finale

    Game Recap – 4/6/2019 – New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals – Regular Season Finale

    Washington Capitals (48-26-8 104pts) v. New York Islanders (48-27-7 103pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    Tonight, both the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders conclude their regular season against each other as they prepare for the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning next week.  The first period was a very sleep one between both teams as it ended with a 0-0 tie going into the 2nd.

     

    In the second period, the Islanders got on the board first with a goal by Valteri Filpula at the 2:55 mark.  That would be the only goal for the period.  After two periods, the Islanders would lead 1-0 over the Capitals.

     

    Valteri Filpula of the Islanders would add his second goal of the game to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead at the 10:54 mark.  Matt Martin would seal the victory for the Islanders as he scored an empty net goal to make it 3-0.  Up next for the Capitals and Islanders is the Stanley Cup playoffs which begin next week.  The Capitals this past week clinched the Metropolitan Division and will square off against the Carolina Hurricanes as they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins gaining one point to lock up the third spot in the division.  The Islanders will square off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round as a result of the Penguins gaining an additional point in the standings.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin-Lars Eller-Brett Connolly

    Jakub Vrana-Travis Boyd-Dmitrij Jaskin

    Andre Burakovsky-Nic Dowd-Chandler Stephenson

    Dmitri Orlov-Matt Niskanen

    Jonas Siegenthaler-Nic Jensen

    Brooks Orpik-Christian Djoos

    Starter: Phoenix Copley

    Scratches: TJ Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson

     

    New York Islanders:

    Anders Lee-Mathew barzal-Jordan Eberle

    Josh Bailey-Brock Nelson-Tomas Kunhackly

    Anthony Beauvillier-Valteri Filpula-Leo Komarov

    Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck

    Nic Leddy-Johnny Boychuk

    Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock

    Devon Toewes-Scott Mayfield

    Starter- Robin Lenher

    Backup- Thomas Greiss

    Scratches: Michael Dal Cole,Ross Johnston, Thomas Hickey, Dennis Seidenberg,Luca Sbisa, Andrew Ladd 

     

    First Period:

    N/A

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       NYI – 0

    Shots              8                     8

    Faceoffs         7/12                5/12

    PP                 0/0                    0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Washington Penalty-4:50- Carl Hagelin, 2 minutes for Hooking

    New York Goal-2:55- Valteri Filpula (16) assisted by Devon Toewes (13) & Anthony Beauvillier (10)

    New York Penalty-13:23- Devon Toewes, 2 minutes for Holding 

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        NYI- 1

    Shots             18                     14

    Faceoffs        16/27             11/27

    PP                 0/1                    0/1

     

    Third Period:

    New York Penalty-6:30- Ryan Pullock, 2 minutes for Hooking

    New York Goal-10:54- Valteri Filpula (17) assisted by Adam Pelech (16) & Leo Komarov (20)

    New York Goal (empty net)-17:27- Matt Martin (6) assisted by Casey Cizikas (13) & Cal Clutterbuck (15)

    End of 3rd – WAS – 0         NYI- 3

    Shots              24                   29

    Faceoffs        22/46              24/46                    

    PP                 0/1                    0/2

     

    Next Up-Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1:

    Washington Capitals v.s Carolina Hurricanes

     

    New York Islanders v.s Pittsburgh Penguins

     

  • April 7th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    April 7th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, April 7th, 2019, and these are your news and notes covering the final day of the 2018-2019 Regular Season in the NHL.

     

    There were 15 contests yesterday across the NHL, with playoff implications on the line.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

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

    Tampa Bay 6, BOSTON 3


    *Images are the property of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Tampa Bay Lightning would get their 62nd win on the season, tying an NHL record with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, when they defeated the Boston Bruins with a 6-3 win yesterday afternoon.  Tampa Bay would get this win after being down 2-0 late in the second period and would score four unanswered goals before Boston would score in the third period to make it a 4-3 Tampa Bay lead. Tampa Bay would score two more goals, one being an empty netter late in the third, to give the Lightning a 6-3 win.

     

     

    Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov would set a record for points by a Russian NHL player with 128 points this season, when he registered his 41st goal on the season 53 seconds into the third period.

     

     

     

    ST. LOUIS 3, Vancouver 2 (SO)

     

    The St. Louis Blues would take down the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-2 win in a shootout and with the win, the St. Louis Blues would seal the third spot in the Central Division standings.

     

     

    Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson would score his 28th goal on the season and ended the season with 66 points, a rookie record for a Canucks player.

     

     

     

    MONTREAL 6, Toronto 5 (SO)

     

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 6-5 shootout win, thanks to a hat trick by Ryan Poehling in his first NHL game.

     

     

    In this back and forth contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs could not keep up with the upbeat Canadiens and would fall in the shootout loss.  However, despite the loss, the Maple Leafs would earn 100 points on the season, and it would be the first time Toronto would earn that mark in consecutive seasons.

     

     

     

    Columbus 6, OTTAWA 2

     

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would seal their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators yesterday.  This would also be a penalty free game from both teams.

     

    Buffalo 7, DETROIT 1

     

     

    The Buffalo Sabres would face off against the Detroit Red Wings and would end up crushing Detroit with a 7-1 win last night.

     

     

    Detroit’s lone goal in the contest would come on a power play goal in the first period with Anthony Mantha’s 25th goal on the season, setting a career-high.

     

     

     

    New Jersey 4, FLORIDA 3 (OT)

     

    Travis Zajac would score the game winner in overtime, his 19th goal on the season, to give the New Jersey Devils the 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers last night.

    New Jersey ends the season with 31-41-10 record, whereas the Florida Panthers end their season with a record of 36-32-14 0y 4 /8

     

    https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1114708929773174784

     

    Carolina 4, PHILADELPHIA 3

     

     

     

    Despite being outshot in the contest, the Carolina Hurricanes would go on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3.  With the win by the Carolina Hurricanes, they earned the top wild card spot and will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

     

    NY Rangers 4, PITTSBURGH 3 (OT)

     


    *Image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would fall to the New York Rangers yesterday, losing by the score of 4-3 in overtime last night.

     

    NY Islanders 3, WASHINGTON 0

     

    The Washington Capitals would fall to the New York Islanders with a 3-0 loss.  Despite the loss the Capitals will face off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Islanders will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

     

     

     

    NASHVILLE 5, Chicago 2

     

     

    The Nashville Predators would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks last night with a 5-2 win last night thanks to goals by five different Nashville skaters.

     

    With the Nashville win, they would go on to become back-to-back Central Division champions.

     

     

    DALLAS 3, Minnesota 0

     

    The Dallas Stars would defeat the Minnesota Wild with a 3-0 win, thanks to two goals from Dallas F Tyler Seguin.  Seguin would bring his regular season goal total to 33 goals, matching a mark he had in the 2015-16 season.

     

    The Minnesota Wild would be outshot throughout the entire contest and never could catch up to physicality and overall play of the Stars.

     

     

    Edmonton 3, CALGARY 1

    The Edmonton Oilers would defeat the Calgary Flames with a 3-1 win thanks to Leon Draisaitl’s 50th goal on the season as well as Alex Chiasson’s 22nd goal on the season.

     

    Calgary’s lone goal would come from Mark Jankowski, his 14th goal on the season, in the first period of the contest.  After that goal by the Flames, they would not any answer for the Oilers.

     


    *Image is the property of the Calgary Flames, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Winnipeg 4, ARIZONA 2

     

    The Winnipeg Jets faced off against the Arizona Coyotes and would escape with a 4-2 win last night.

    There would be four different goal scorers for the Jets in the contest and it would be enough to clinch home ice for at least the first round of the playoffs.

     

    LOS ANGELES 5, Vegas 2

     

    The Los Angeles Kings would face off against the Vegas Golden Knights and escape with a convincing 5-2 win.

     

    Los Angeles Ilya Kovalchuk would score twice and with goals by Jeff Carter, Matt Roy, and Anze Kopitar, the Kings would end their season a win.

     

    For the Golden Knights, despite the loss to the Kings, their season will continue when they face off against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

     

     

    SAN JOSE 5, Colorado 2

     


    *Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    The San Jose Sharks would go on to defeat the Colorado Avalanche by the score of 5-2 thanks to scorers from five different Sharks players in the contest.

     

     

    For more news, notes, information, and statistics, you can check out the NHL’s Morning Skate Report at the following link:

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019

     

    The First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff schedule was also announced earlier today.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     


    *Images are the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    TXHT will have a full playoff preview episode and articles to come so make sure to stay tuned.

  • Game Recap – 4/4/2019 – Montreal Canadiens v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 4/4/2019 – Montreal Canadiens v. Washington Capitals

    Montreal Canadiens (43-29-8 94pts) v. Washington Capitals (47-25-8 102pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In the final stretch of the regular season the Washington Capitals host the playoff hungry Montreal Canadiens in a game that can decide some playoff fates. In the first 10 minutes of the game both teams would play with a very fast tempo, and would generate great opportunities on both ends of the ice, but goaltenders Carey Price and Braden Holtby have been solid. Then later in the period it would be Lars Eller opening up the scoring with a beautiful backhander that goes above Price’s leg pad and under the glove. However, a Nicklas Backstrom high sticking call would put Montreal on the powerplay and see Shea Weber tie the game at one going into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period the Canadiens would start the period with a little extra jump in their game, but it would be the Capitals striking to regain their lead when Nic Dowd netted his 8th of the season. The game would continue to display a lot of back and forth hockey between the two teams, but the Capitals would generate a few more chances by creating some odd man rushes.

     

    In the third period it would feature a lot of back and forth hockey. Both Carey Price and Braden Holtby played stellar in net keeping the game to a one goal affair. The Capitals would hold off the Canadiens however to win 2-1 and clinch their fourth consecutive Metropolitan Division title.

     

    Lineups:

    Montreal Canadiens:

    Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

    Artturi Lehkonen — Max Domi — Andrew Shaw

    Jonathan Drouin — Jordan Weal — Joel Armia

    Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Nate Thompson — Paul Byron

    Victor Mete — Shea Weber

    Brett Kulak — Jeff Petry

    Jordie Benn — Christian Folin

    Carey Price

    Antti Niemi

    Scratched: Nicolas Deslauriers, Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca, Ryan Poehling, Dale Weise, Mike Reilly, Charlie Lindgren

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Chandler Stephenson

    Injured: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 18:36 – Lars Eller (13) from Brett Connolly (24) and Carl Hagelin (14)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:57 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Canadiens PPG – 19:32 – Shea Weber (14) from Joel Armia (9) and Phillip Danault (41)

     

    End of 1st – MON – 1       WAS – 1

    Shots              14                09

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               07                  14

    PP                 1/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 2:58 – Nic Dowd (8) from Andre Burakovsky (13)

    Canadiens Penalty – 8:29 – Shea Weber 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 2nd – MON – 1        WAS – 2

    Shots               22                 20

    Faceoffs          18                 17

    Hits                 15                  25

    PP                   1/1                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    N/A

     

    End of 3rd – MON – 1         WAS – 2

    Shots              34                   31

    Faceoffs        26                    25

    Hits               22                     37

    PP                 1/1                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (48-25-8 104pts) v. NY Islanders (47-27-7 101pts)

    Montreal (43-30-8 94pts) v. Toronto (46-28-7 99pts)

  • Game Recap – 4/1/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Florida Panthers

    Game Recap – 4/1/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Florida Panthers

    Washington Capitals (47-24-8 102pts) v. Florida Panthers (35-32-12 82pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In their final road game of the regular season, the Washington Capitals visit the Florida Panthers with a chance to clinch the Metropolitan Division title for the fourth season in a row. However, the Panthers would have different ideas as they would strike first to put the Capitals in an early 1-0 deficit on a Frank Vatrano goal.

     

    Then in the second period, the Panthers would continue to push the play as Jonathan Huberdeau would bank in the loose puck past Pheonix Copley to make it 2-0. Then while the Capitals were on the lone powerplay of the period Vincent Trocheck would blast a shot five hole on Copley to give the Panthers a three goal lead while shorthanded. And to end the period for the Panthers it would be former Capital Troy Brouwer getting the goal off of a beautiful Aleksander Barkov pass to make it 4-0 going into the second intermission.

     

    Halfway thru the third period the Capitals would come alive as Evgeny Kuznetsov would get the Capitals on the board with the hopes of a late comeback victory. Then after a failed powerplay opportunity the Capitals would strike again as Nicklas Backstrom would be the recipient of a TJ Oshie pass in front of the net to cut the Panthers lead to two. And Oshie would not be done there as with Copley pulled for the extra attacker, Oshie would find an open Jakub Vrana to cut the Panthers lead to one. However, despite their best efforts, Vincent Trocheck would ice the game for the Panthers with an empty net goal in the final minute to win the game 5-3 for the Panthers.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Nick Jensen — Brooks Orpik

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd

    Injured: Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    Florida Panthers:

    Jonathan Huberdeau — Aleksander Barkov — Evgenii Dadonov

    Mike Hoffman — Vincent Trocheck — Jayce Hawryluk

    Frank Vatrano — Riley Sheahan — Troy Brouwer

    Dryden Hunt — Henrik Borgstrom — Colton Sceviour

    Mike Matheson — Aaron Ekblad

    Keith Yandle — MacKenzie Weegar

    Mark Pysyk — Josh Brown

    Roberto Luongo

    Sam Montembeault

    Scratched: Jamie McGinn, Denis Malgin, Ian McCoshen, Brady Keeper, James Reimer

    Injured: Derek MacKenzie (shoulder)

     

    First Period:

    Panthers Goal – 13:48 – Frank Vatrano (24) from Colton Sceviour (10) and Henrik Borgstrom (10)

    Capitals Penalty – 16:30 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       FLA – 1

    Shots              05                14

    Faceoffs         11                10

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Panthers Goal – 3:34 – Jonathan Huberdeau (28) from unassisted

    Panthers Penalty – 11:48 – Frank Vatrano 2 minutes for Holding

    Panthers SHG – 12:01 – Vincent Trocheck (9) from Aleksander Barkov (58) and Mike Matheson (19)

    Panthers Goal – 17:57 – Troy Brouwer (12) from Aleksander Barkov (59) and Dryden Hunt (7)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        FLA – 4

    Shots               19                 24

    Faceoffs          21                 16

    PP                   0/1                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :41 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 10:55 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (21) from John Carlson (57)

    Panthers Penalty – 11:45 – Vincent Trocheck 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 16:25 – Nicklas Backstrom (22) from TJ Oshie (28) and Alex Ovechkin (38)

    Capitals Goal – 17:39 – Jakub Vrana (24) from TJ Oshie (29) and Matt Niskanen (17)

    Panthers ENG – 19:33 – Vincent Trocheck (10) from Evgenii Dadonov (41) and Aleksander Barkov (60)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 3         FLA – 5

    Shots              30                   34

    Faceoffs        32                    29

    Hits               35                     29

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (47-25-8 102pts) v. Montreal (42-29-8 92pts)

    Florida (36-32-12 84pts) v. NY Islanders (46-27-7 99pts)

  • April 1st, 2019  —  News and Notes

    April 1st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is April 1st, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were six contests in NHL action yesterday.

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

     

    NY Rangers 3, PHILADELPHIA 0

     

    The New York Rangers would take on the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon and would take down the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-0 win yesterday in downtown Philadelphia.

     

     

    ARIZONA 4, Minnesota 0

     

    The Arizona Coyotes would shutout the Minnesota Wild yesterday afternoon with a 4-0 win.

     

     

    Arizona is still in postseason contention with three games left to play.,

     

     

    PITTSBURGH 3, Carolina 1

     

    The Pittsburgh Penguins would take down the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-1 win and would not let the Carolina Hurricanes climb in the standings.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Pittsburgh Penguins, and their respective owners

     

    Columbus 4, BUFFALO 0

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would defeat the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 4-0 shutout performance.

     

     

    Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would have a 38 save performance, earning his 36th win on the season.

     

     

    DETROIT 6, Boston 3

     

    The Detroit Red Wings would take down the Boston Bruins with a 6-3 win, thanks to a three goal performance by Anthony Mantha.

     

     

    Despite the loss by the Bruins, they still are holding on strong to the second seed in the Atlantic Division playoff spot.

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, Boston Bruins, and their respective owners

     

    Calgary 5, SAN JOSE 3

     

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, the Calgary Flames and their respective owners

     


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, San Jose Sharks, and their respective owners

     

    With the 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, the Calgary Flames clinched the Pacific Division, their first division crown since the 2005-06 season when they won the Northwest Division, and the top seed in the Western Conference, which last happened in the 1989-90 season.

     

     

     

    Today’s schedule of contests:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
    *Image is the property of the NHL and their respective owners

     

    Today’s playoff clinching scenarios:

    -The Washington Capitals can clinch the Metropolitan Division if they defeat the Florida Panthers AND the New York Islanders lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation

    -The Toronto Maple Leafs will clinch a postseason spot if they get at least one point against the Islanders

     

    With the win by the Calgary Flames, we now know one confirmed first round match-up in the postseason.

    The San Jose Sharks will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

  • March 31st, 2019  —  News and Notes

    March 31st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, March 31st, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were 12 contests in NHL action yesterday

     

     

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

     

    Florida 4, BOSTON 1

    Florida Panthers infographic from the contest between the Panthers and the Boston Bruins yesterday afternoon.

     

    CAROLINA 5, Philadelphia 2

    Highlights from the contest between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon.

     

    OTTAWA 4, Toronto 2

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would fall to the Ottawa Senators yesterday with a 4-2 loss yesterday.

    Ottawa would ruin Toronto’s chances to climb in the playoff picture with the win.

     

    Washington 6, TAMPA BAY 3

    The Washington Capitals would take down the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 6-3 win yesterday at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa Bay last night.

     

    Goal scorers for Washington included Alex Ovechkin, who would notch two goals, his 50th and 51st on the season, as well as two goals scored by TJ Oshie, a goal by Nicklas Backstrom and another goal by Jakub Vrana.

     

    Tampa Bay would go convert on two out of five power plays in the contest, but those conversions would not be enough as the Capitals would out shoot and out perform the Lightning to seal the 6-3 win for Washington.

     

     

    TXHT has your full coverage of the contest between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the following page.

     

     

    St. Louis 3, NEW JERSEY 2 (OT)

     

    The St. Louis Blues, who clinched a playoff berth on Friday, would take down the new Jersey Devils with a 3-2 win in overtime last night.

     

     

     

    NY ISLANDERS 5, Buffalo 1

     

    The NY Islanders would take down the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 5-1 win and with the win, the Islanders would clinch a berth for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

     

     

    Montreal 3, WINNIPEG 1

     

    The Montreal Canadiens would take an early lead in the contest against the Winnipeg Jets and come out with a 3-1 win over the Jets last night.

     

     

    There would be three different goal scorers for the Canadiens in the 3-1 win last night.

     

     

    Columbus 5, NASHVILLE 2

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would notch their fourth straight win and get two much needed points in the race for the one of the last two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

     

     

    Nashville, with the loss, would not gain any ground in the Central Division standings.  The Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators remain tied with 94 points atop the division.

     

    SAN JOSE 4, Vegas 3 (OT)

     

    The San Jose Sharks would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights last night at SAP Center last night with a 4-3 win in overtime.

     

     

     

    Anaheim 5, EDMONTON 1

     

    The Anaheim Ducks would take down the Edmonton Oilers yesterday with a 5-1 last night.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1112222361678278656

     

    Anaheim’s Richard Rakell would score three goals in the contest to seal the win for the Ducks in this contest last night.

     

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1112210962503761920

     

     

    VANCOUVER 3, Dallas 2 (SO)

     

    The Vancouver Canucks would take down the the Dallas Stars yesterday with a 3-2 win in the shootout frame.

     

     

    It would be the second consecutive game in which the Canucks would win a game in the shootout.  Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom would have a 38-save performance in the contest.

     

     

     

    LOS ANGELES 3, Chicago 2 (OT)

    In the final contest of the night, the Los Angeles Kings would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by the score of 3-2 in overtime last night.

    Chicago, with the loss, has been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

     

     

    Today’s Schedule of Games:


    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

     

    5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
    *Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

     

    Today’s Stanley Cup Playoff clinching possibilities:

    -The Calgary Flames will clinch the Pacific Division AND the Western Conference if they defeat the San Jose Sharks

    -The Dallas Stars will clinch a berth in the playoffs if the Arizona Coyotes lose in any fashion

  • Game Recap – 3/30/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Game Recap – 3/30/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

    Washington Capitals (46-24-8 100pts) v. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-14-4 122pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    In their final meeting of the regular season the Washington Capitals head down to Tampa Bay with hopes of grounding the League leading Lightning. Early in the game it would be the Capitals gaining the advantage as Tom Wilson would feed Nicklas Backstrom for his 20th of the season to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Then TJ Oshie would net a pair goals both at even strength and on the powerplay to give the Capitals a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    In the second period the Capitals would continue their strong play as Dmitry Orlov would put forth a strong individual effort to feed Backstrom for his second goal of the game to grow the Capitals lead to four. However, in the final minutes of the second period, JT Miller would tip in a Mikhail Sergachev point shot to cut the Capitals lead to three going into the second intermission.

     

    In the third period the Lightning would cut the Capitals lead to two when Tyler Johnson would net his 28th of the season. After that the fireworks would explode as Brooks Orpik and Anthony Cirelli would drop the gloves followed by a heavyweight tilt between Tom Wilson and Erik Cernak. Then the “Great Eight” Alex Ovechkin would score his 50th of the season, and then on a Nikita Kucherov penalty, Ovechkin would net his 51st of the season to give the Capitals a commanding 6-2 lead. However, in the final minute Nic Dowd would take a penalty for hooking and Kucherov would score to cut the Capitals lead to three, but it would be too little too late for the Lightning as the Capitals would go on to win 6 to 3.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Andre Burakovsky

    Travis Boyd — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Nick Jensen — Brooks Orpik

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Brett Connolly (illness), Michal Kempny (lower body)

     

    Tampa Bay Lightning:

    Tyler Johnson — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov

    Ondrej Palat — Steven Stamkos — J.T. Miller

    Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Mathieu Joseph

    Adam Erne — Cedric Paquette — Yanni Gourde

    Victor Hedman — Mikhail Sergachev

    Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak

    Braydon Coburn — Jan Rutta

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

    Scratched: Cameron Gaunce, Ryan Callahan, Danick Martel

    Injured: Anton Stralman (lower body), Dan Girardi (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :21 – Andrei Vasilevskiy (Yanni Gourde) 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 7:24 – Nicklas Backstrom (20) from Tom Wilson (18) and Christian Djoos (9)

    Capitals Goal – 10:45 – TJ Oshie (24) from Nick Jensen (18) Carl Hagelin (13)

    Lightning Penalty – 14:12 – Anthony Cirelli 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals PPG – 16:00 – TJ Oshie (25) from John Carlson (55) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (50)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 3       TB – 0

    Shots              13                05

    Faceoffs         08                09

    Hits               08                  05

    PP                 1/2                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 7:53 – Nicklas Backstrom (21) from Dmitry Orlov (26)

    Lightning Penalty – 9:31 – Braydon Coburn 2 minutes for Boarding

    Capitals Penalty – 13:44 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Lightning Goal – 17:25 – JT Miller (13) from Mikhail Sergachev (23) and Ryan McDonagh (34)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 4        TB – 1

    Shots               27                 14

    Faceoffs          18                 14

    Hits                 13                  13

    PP                   1/3                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Lightning Penalty – :47 – Mikhail Sergachev 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Lightning Goal – 3:36 – Tyler Johnson (28) from unassisted

    Lightning Penalty – 9:26 – Anthony Cirelli 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 9:26 – Brooks Orpik 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 9:26 – Brooks Orpik (Alex Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Roughing

    Lightning Penalty -12:13 – Erik Cernak 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 12:13 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

    https://twitter.com/NBCSCapitals/status/1112164578589376512?s=19

    Capitals Goal – 14:35 – Alex Ovechkin (50) from TJ Oshie (27) and Nicklas Backstrom (52)

    Lightning Penalty – 15:30 – Nikita Kucherov 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 16:15 – Alex Ovechkin (51) from Johm Carlson (56) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (51)

    Capitals Penalty – 19:14 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Hooking

    Lightning PPG – 19:32 – Nikita Kucherov (39) from Mikhail Sergachev (24) and JT Miller (32)

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 6         TB – 2

    Shots              35                   28

    Faceoffs        33                    28

    Hits               18                     22

    PP                 2/5                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (47-24-8 102pts) @ Florida (35-32-12 82pts)

    Tampa Bay (59-15-4 122pts) @ Ottawa (28-44-6 62pts)