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  • 10/13/2018 – Game Previews

    Toronto Maple Leafs v. Washington Capitals

     

    Pittsburgh Penguins v. Montreal Canadiens

  • Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Washington Capitals

     

    Time: Saturday, October 13th 2018

    Toronto : 4-1-0 for 8 points

    Washington: 2-1-1 for 5 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals meet for their first meeting of the season, in what has the making to be a HIGH OCTANE OFFENSIVE affair.  Toronto comes off back to back road wins in Chicago 7-6 in OT and Dallas 7-4. The first 4 games have shown that almost any defensive problem that the Leafs face they can outscore. It’s also been the Matthews, Marner and Tavares show, the 3 have combined for 24 points in the first 4 games.  Tonight will be a huge challenge for the young Leafs team.

    While Washington has come flying out of the gates after their huge Stanley Cup last season. The attack is led by none other than the Russian sensation Alex Ovechkin, and followed up by Evgeni Kuznetsov, TJ Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson just to name a few. The offence is going to come fast and hard from the Stanley Cup Champions. Brayden Holtby has been fantastic to open the season, opening with a shutout and after getting roughed up in the 2nd game against Pens, Holtby found his groove once again only allowing 2 to the Golden Knights.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Matthews – 12 points (9 goals 3 assists) 52% on Face-offs
    Rielly – 12 points (3 goals 9 assists)
    Tavares – 10 points (6 goals 4 assists) 51% on face-offs

    Kuznetsov –7 points (3 goals 4 assists)
    Oshie ,Carlson & Backstrom – 6 points (4 goals 2 assists, 2 goals 4 assists & 1 goal 5 assist)
    Ovechkin – 5 points (4 goals 1 assist)

    Frederik Andersen
    3-1-0 3.28GAA .893SV%

    Brayden Holtby
    2-0-1 2.98GAA .907SV% 1SO

    Lineups & Injuries

    Toronto:

    Patrick Marleau — Auston Matthews — Kasperi Kapanen

    Zach Hyman — John Tavares — Mitchell Marner

    Par Lindholm — Nazem Kadri — Connor Brown

    Josh Leivo — Frederik Gauthier — Andreas Johnsson

    Morgan Rielly — Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner — Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott — Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen

    Garret Sparks

    Scratched: Justin Holl, Martin Marincin, Tyler Ennis

    Injured: None

     

    4 Keys to Winning in Washington:

    1. Stop Ovechkin
      1. Ovi has been a Leaf killer his whole career, now if the Leafs are going to win this game they need to shut him down even a small amount. Watch the slapper from the circle and Ovi`s speed and stickhandling
    2. Do not get into a scoring showdown with the champs
      1. Don`t wanna play no defence and all offence again this team. I can almost guarantee you they win.
    3. Depth Scoring
      1. Leivo, Kadri, Brown, Gauthier, Ennis need to build off their performance in Dallas. Lots of zone time and scoring chances. I can`t repeat this enough every stinking game.
    4. Don`t Take Dumb Penalties & Draw penalties
      1. You can`t risk it against the Capitals power play, but make them work against your power play.

     

    For a preview of the Washington Capitals, please read Michael Lindenbaum’s preview here.

     

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

  • Gameday Preview – 10/13/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 10/13/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Washington Capitals

     

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    In their first matchup of the 2018-19 season, the red hot Toronto Maple Leafs come to visit the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. This will be a battle of two high powered offenses, but what will the defense be like? Both teams have been involved in scoring affairs overall, which while is exciting for the fans, can be troublesome for the coaching staff.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Chandler Stephenson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle

    Toronto has some very dangerous centers down the middle and if they win in the faceoff dot, the Maple Leafs will have complete control of the play. The Capitals need their centers to be at top form against the likes of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and Nazem Kadri.

     

    2. Play smart defensively

    The Capitals have been a part of two very high scoring affairs against both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils which saw the Capitals give up 6 plus goals in both games. The Capitals will have to make smarter plays in their own zone, and make more accurate clearing attempts to get the Capitals offense into the Maple Leafs zone.

     

    For a preview of the Toronto Maple Leafs, please read Steve Gardiner’s preview here.

     

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

  • Game Day Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins

    Game Day Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins

     

    Time: 7:00 PM

    Montreal Canadiens: (1-1-1) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0)

    The Montreal Canadiens will look to bounce back after a rough 3-0 loss on Thursday Night to the L.A. Kings. Pittsburgh is coming of a 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights. Last Saturday Montreal beat Pittsburgh on the road in a 5-1 win.

    Montreal will be switching up their line-up for the first time all season as Tomas Plekanec is expected to dress and take Matthew Peca’s spot in the line-up. The Habs lines for tonight look like this

    Forwards:

    Tomas Tatar-Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher

    Jonathan Drouin-Max Domi-Artturi Lehkonen

    Paul Byron- Jesperi Kotkaniemi- Joel Armia

    Charles Hudon-Tomas Plekanec- Andrew Shaw

    Defencemen

    Victor Mete- Jeff Petry

    Mike Reilly-Noah Juulsen

    Xavier Ouellet- Jordie Benn

    Carey Price will get the Start for the Habs between the pipes.

    Healthy Scratches:

    Keys to the Game for Montreal

    For Montreal the offense should stick to what they’ve been doing all season and that’s getting pucks to the net. The one thing the Habs didn’t do in Thursday’s game was to get traffic in front of the net and screen the goaltender. If the Habs are able to get chances with the man advantage they need to produce.

    On the defensive side of the game the Habs can’t turn the puck over, if they do this will kill them. The Penguins are another team who will be starting a back-up goaltender and for some reason the Habs can never figure out back-up goaltenders and they will have to find a way to figure out Casey Desmith who will most likely get the start for the Penguins between the pipes.

     

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

  • News and Notes: October 12, 2018

     

    Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, these are your news and notes for Friday, October 12th, 2018.

    In NHL action last night there were twelve contests.

    • The Washington Capitals were shutout by the New Jersey Devils. Kyle Palmieri scored twice to drub Washington 6-0 in the home opener for the Devils.For TXHT’s coverage for last night’s contest between Washington and New Jersey, please go here.
    • It was an eventful night for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-3. The quartet of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, and Mitch Marner all continued their record-setting start to the season. The Maple Leafs have scored at least five goals in four straight games. The quartet also is in the top four for league scoring with a combined 44 points.TXHT has your coverage of this contest as well. For coverage, please go here.
    • Phil Kessel recorded his sixth career hat trick to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. This would be Kessel’s first hat trick with the Penguins. Kessel has scored at least 20 goals in the past ten seasons and is one of only five players currently playing in the NHL to achieve this feat.
    • The Montreal Canadiens were shutout by the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 last night.TXHT and Last Word on Hockey’s Armand Kilsvitch has your coverage of the contest at the following page.

      Montreal Canadiens shutout at home

    Yesterday’s game results:

    • New Jersey 6, Washington 0
    • Boston 4, Edmonton 1
    • Colorado 6, Buffalo 1
    • Columbus 5, Florida 4
    • New York Rangers 3, San Jose 2 (OT)
    • Pittsburgh 4, Vegas 2
    • Los Angeles 3, Montreal 0
    • Toronto 5, Detroit 3
    • Vancouver 4, Tampa Bay 1
    • St. Louis 5, Calgary 3
    • Nashville 3, Winnipeg 0
    • Minnesota 4, Chicago 3 (OT)

    In NHL action tonight, there are no games on the schedule. Game action will resume Saturday.

     

    In NHL news…

    Nashville Predators Austin Watson’s 27-game suspension for domestic violence was reduced by NHL/NHLPA neutral arbitator Shyam Das to 18 games last night.

    In relation to the reduced suspension, the NHL released the following statement today:

     

    The Vancouver Canucks announced yesterday that Henrik and Daniel Sedin will have their numbers retired next season.

     

    In a pre-game ceremony in Montreal, the Canadiens honoured the 1993 Stanley Cup championship team.

     

    The Florida Panthers announced that F Micheal Haley will be away from the team to take part in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

     

    In NWHL news, the NWHL returns to action tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. ET when the Buffalo Beauts faceoff against the Connecticut Whale in the Twitter Game of the Week. At 7:30 p.m., the Boston Pride faceoff against the Metropolitan Riveters.

     

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

  • An Impact on Life: The Ryan Dzingel Story.

    I am a proud Toronto Maple Leafs fan, who loves the rivalry with the Ottawa Senators. I’ve been around when the Daniel Alfredsson and Mats Sundin stick throwing incident happened and when my Leafs enjoyed eliminating the Sens from the playoffs year after year. On good days I will say how the Sens have some nice pieces who could turn out great and make this rivalry interesting. On bad days your lucky to get that.

    But for this I will put all that aside because I strongly believe we all can learn something from Ryan Dzingel. In a world where negative media is all we see this will be different. I’ve always loved Dzingel’s game, plays fast with some grit and a good 2 way game. A late bloomer who was drafted in the 7th round in 2011 and has developed into a great centerman with a HUGE heart.

    It all started a few years back, 2 young Sens fans were walking out of a restaurant with their family and spotted Dzingel waiting to enter. Dzingel took the time out his day and talked with the 2 young fans for about 30 minutes and that was the beginning of an amazing bond.

    Let me give you a little background on these 2 fans. Jacob and Sophie both are fighting Brain Cancer. Things looked up in the family as a couple years ago the two went into remission but about a year and a half ago the family was informed that the cancer was back. Since then their lives have been spent in hospitals and has looked pretty sad. But this one conversation with hockey player changed everything.

    After the conversation Jacob posted a video saying how thankful he was for this moment. The video made it’s way back to Dzingel and he reached out and asked to meet up and hang out with the family. Dzingel then brought them all to a Sens game and helped them enjoy themselves. He took them to meet the team and into the locker room and just made all their dreams comes true.

    The great thing about this is it didn’t end there. After all of this that brought the family to tears. Dzingel gave the boy his cell phone number and told him to text him anytime or call him to hang and he would come. That he wasn’t just gonna be a guy who offered an experience but a guy who offered to be apart of Jacob and Sophie’s life.

    Below I’ll post the video of this where you will get to see it with your own eyes. Warning TEAR JERKER!

    But Dzingel deserves to be praised for this because his actions were not of donated money and leave but to make himself available to a family who was feeling worn and lacking any joy in their lives.

     

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

  • Game Recaps – 10/11/2018

    Washington Capitals v. New Jersey Devils

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs v. Detroit Red Wings

     

    Los Angeles Kings v. Montreal Canadiens

     

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

  • 10/11/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Detroit Red Wings

    10/11/2018 – Toronto Maple Leafs v. Detroit Red Wings

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs (4-1-0 8pts) v, Detroit Red Wings (0-2-2 2pts)

     

    Lineups:

    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Kasperi Kapanen — Auston Matthews — Patrick Marleau

    Zach Hyman — John Tavares — Mitch Marner

    Par Lindholm — Nazem Kadri — Connor Brown

    Josh Leivo — Frederik Gauthier — Tyler Ennis

    Morgan Rielly – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Martin Marincin – Travis Dermott

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Justin Holl, Andreas Johnsson, Martin Marincin

    Injured: None

     

    Detroit Red Wings:

    Abdelkader – Larkin – Mantha

    Nyquist – Anathansiou – Vanek

    Bertuzzi – Neilsen – Rasmussen

    Helm – Ehn – Glendening

    Dekeyser – Hronek

    Sulak – Hicketts

    Kronwall – Jensen

    Howard

    Bernier

    Scratched:

    Injured: Franzen (Concussion), Zetterberg (Back), Green (Virus), Cholowski (Upper-Body), and Daley (Upper-Body)

    Suspended:

    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Leafs Penalty – 4:45 –Nazem Kadri, 2 mins for Slashing

    Wings Goal – 7:18– Nick Jensen (1) from Darren Helm (1) and Christoffer Ehn (1)

    Detroit Penalty – 7:38 – Danny DeKeyser, 2 mins for Interference

    Detroit Penalty – 9:49 – Danny DeKeyser, 5 mins for Fighting

    Leafs Penalty – 9:49 –Josh Leivo, 5 mins for Fighting

    Leafs Goal – 15:48– Morgan Rielly (3) from Mitch Marner (7) and John Tavares (1)

     

    End of 1st – TML – 1         DET – 1

    Shots              11                     6

    Faceoffs     8/19                11/19

    Hits               6                      9

    PP                 0/1                   0/1

    Analysis:

    Leafs dominated much of this period, outshooting out chancing but Howard held down the fort for Detroit. Toronto needs to get a cycle going and some pressure and traffic in front of Howard. But all in all a great opening period.

    Need to Do:

    The Leafs need to be better in the faceoff circle only winning 8 of 19 faceoffs. Keep the pressure on.

    Second Period:

    Leafs Goal – 2:00 – Mitch Marner (3) from Zach Hyman (4)

    Wings Penalty – 6:03 – Liber Sulak, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Leafs PPG – 7:30 – Auston Matthews (8) from Morgan Rielly (9) and Nazem Kadri (3)

    Leafs Penalty – 8:33 – Auston Matthews, 2 minutes for Holding

    Wings Penalty – 16:28 – Liber Sulak, 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – TML – 3          DET – 1

    Shots              26                    11

    Faceoffs       18/39              21/39

    Hits               9                     18

    PP                 1/3                    0/2

     

    Analysis:

    Leafs played the best period of the season. Solid defence, controlled the flow of the game and capitalized on all their opportunities.

     

    Need to Do:

    Leafs need to stay on attack. Do not play the trap in the 3rd.

    Third Period:

    Detroit Goal – 10:18 –  Nick Jensen (2) from Luke Glendening (1) and Anthony Mantha (1)

    Wings Penalty – 11:01 – Danny DeKeyser, 2 minutes for Holding

    Leafs Goal PPG – 11:11 –  Auston Matthews (9) from John Tavares (3) and Mitch Marner (8)

    Leafs Penalty – 11:50– Ron Hainsey, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Leafs Penalty – 15:38 – Martin Marincin, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Wings Penalty – 15:38 – Justin Abdelkader, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Leafs Empty Net Goal – 19:39 – Ron Hainsey (2) from Nikita Zaitsev (1)

     

    End of 3rd – TML – 5         DAL – 3

    Shots              35                   29

    Faceoffs     32/64                32/64

    Hits               16                     23

    PP                 2/4                    0/3

     

    Analysis:

    The Leafs offence showed up again, but the defence almost let them down again. The defence needs to find a way to play a more solid game or else they will give games away.

     

    https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1050572344719106049

    Next Up:

    Toronto (4-1-0 8pts) at Washington (2-1-1 5pts)

    Detroit (0-2-2 2pts) at Boston (3-1-0 6pts)

     

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

     

  • Montreal Canadiens Drop Home Opener

    Montreal Canadiens Drop Home Opener

     

    The Montreal Canadiens have lost their home opener to the L.A. Kings by a score of 3-0. Carey Price made 26 saves in the loss.

    When looking at tonight’s game there were times of greatness and times of struggle for the Habs

    The Positives:

    Jesperi Kotkaniemi continues to show that he deserves to stay in the NHL leading the Canadiens with five shots on goal.

    The Habs had no problem getting pucks on the net as they had 40 shots but couldn’t get any of those past Jack Campbell who recorded his first career NHL shutout.

    The Disappointments:

    The Habs had their chances to gain momentum and get the fans in the game but could never covert. They went 0-4 on the Powerplay. Their best chance in the game came on a shot from Tomas Tatar on a shot that rang off the post.

    Carey Price had an OK game. The first goal could have been stopped and ended up being a weak goal.

    The Defence needs to improve as the turnovers continue to haunt the Habs as a giveaway led to the Kings second goal of the game.

    The Habs are back at home on Saturday Night to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:00p EST.

     

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

  • 10/11/2018 – Washington Capitals v. New Jersey Devils

     

    Washington Capitals (2-0-1 5pts) v. New Jersey Devils (1-0-0 2pts)

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Nathan Walker — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Christian Djoos — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Michal Kempny (concussion), Travis Boyd (lower body)

    Suspended: Tom Wilson

     

    New Jersey Devils:

    Taylor Hall — Nico Hischier — Kyle Palmieri

    Marcus Johansson — Pavel Zacha — Stefan Noesen

    Miles Wood — Travis Zajac — John Quenneville

    Blake Coleman — Brian Boyle — Jean-Sebastien Dea

    Mirco Mueller — Sami Vatanen

    Andy Greene — Damon Severson

    Will Butcher — Ben Lovejoy

    Keith Kinkaid

    Eddie Lack

    Scratched: Steven Santini, Eric Gryba, Drew Stafford

    Injured: Jesper Bratt (jaw), Cory Schneider (hip)

     

    First Period:

    Devils Goal – 7:02 – Kyle Palmieri (3) from Nico Hischier (2) and Taylor Hall (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 9:59 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Hooking

    Devils Penalty – 12:13 – Miles Wood 2 minutes for Roughing

    Devils Penalty – 12:13 – Damon Severson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 12:13 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 17:43 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Hooking

    Devils PPG – 18:33 – Kyle Palmieri (4) from Will Butcher (2) and Travis Zajac (1)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       NJ – 2

    Shots              6                   13

    Faceoffs         7                  16

    Hits               10                   7

    PP                 0/1                 1/2

     

    Analysis:

    This was not a great first period for the Capitals. They were dominated by the Devils for the majority of this period. There were some great opportunities for the Capitals to get shots on goal but they were just too cute with the puck, or passed it too many times. Their lone powerplay was wasted with their inability to shoot the puck.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to shoot more. Plain and simple. You don’t shoot the puck, you don’t score. The Capitals also need to win more faceoffs and pass less. The Capitals also need to neutralize the Devils speed as they are just buzzing right now.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :47 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for Tripping

    Devils Goal – 2:54 – Marcus Johansson (1) from Sami Vatanen (2) and Mirco Mueller (2)

    Devils Penalty – 10:22 – Stefan Noesen 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        NJ – 3

    Shots               11                  25

    Faceoffs          12                 26

    Hits                 18                  14

    PP                   0/2                  1/3

     

    Analysis:

    Another poor period for the Capitals. They are letting the Devils buzz around them and dictate the pace of the game. The Capitals are not generating many shots, even though the opportunities have been there to shoot more, and the Capitals are being dominated in the faceoff circle.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to get to work and start taking it to the Devils. Pheonix Copley is doing everything he can keep the Capitals in this one, but he needs support, and the Capitals need to give it to him.

     

    Third Period:

    Devils Penalty – 1:00 – Stefan Noesen 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Penalty – 1:22 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Devils Goal – 5:49 – Blake Coleman (1) from Ben Lovejoy (1)

    Devils Goal – 11:35 – Jean-Sebastian Dea (1) from Brian Boyle (1)

    Devils Goal – 14:45 – Brian Boyle (1) from unassisted

    Devils Penalty – 17:52 – Damon Severson 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 0         NJ – 6

    Shots              21                   36

    Faceoffs        23                    37

    Hits               30                     19

    PP                 0/4                    1/4

     

    Analysis:

    This was an abysmal game for the Capitals. They were out shot, out hustled, and out played throughout this entire game. They were below par in the faceoff circle and this was an overall horrible game. People will blame the fact that this was the second game of a back to back, but that is no excuse as the Capitals should have been ready to play when the puck dropped. You have to feel bad for Copley, as he did play an amazing game, but got zero support from his team.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (2-1-1 5pts) v. Toronto (4-1-0 8pts)

    New Jersey (2-0-0 4pts) v. San Jose (2-2-1 5pts)

     

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