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Tag: Washington Capitals

  • November 10th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Saturday, November 10th, 2018, and these are your news and notes

    There were six contests last night.

     

    TORONTO 6, New Jersey 1

    In the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game, the Toronto Maple Leafs would go on to rout the New Jersey Devils 6-1, thanks to a four-goal burst in the second period.

    Toronto’s Patrick Marleau would record his 600th career assist and Morgan Rielly would be the sixth defenceman in team history to have at least seven goals in the team’s first 16 games.

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

    New Jersey @ Toronto – 09/11/2018 – Game Preview and Recap
    Columbus 2, WASHINGTON 1

    This contest featured a re-match of last year’s Eastern Conference First Round match-up between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals.

    The three goals scored in this contest were all power-play goals, with the final goal being scored by Anthony Duclair, his seventh of the season.  With Duclair’s goal, he became the fourth player in franchise history to have seven goals in 16 games played.

    November 9th, 2018 — Columbus Blue Jackets at Washington Capitals Full Gameday Preview and Coverage
    DETROIT 3, NY Rangers 2 (OT)

    The Detroit Red Wings won their fifth contest in six games after being down by two going into the third period.

    Dylan Larkin would score the game-winner with five seconds left in the overtime frame.


    ST. LOUIS 4, San Jose 0

    Ryan O’Reilly is the first player in St. Louis history to have a nine game point streak since the 2014-15 season when David Backes and Alexander Steen accomplished the same feat.


    WINNIPEG 5, Colorado 2

    Blake Wheeler had a five point contest in the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.


    Minnesota 5, ANAHEIM 1

    The Minnesota Wild would win their fourth contest on their current road trip for the third time in franchise history as they would defeat the Anaheim Ducks 5-1.

    There are 11 contests on today’s slate…

    This week’s NHL European Game of the Week:

     

    In NHL news…

    The Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018 participated in the ceremonial puck drop before the contest between the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils.

    -In the Washington Capitals Hockey Fight Cancer Awareness night, Capitals commentator, Craig Laughlin and his wife, Linda, participated in the ceremonial puck-drop.

     

  • November 9th, 2018 — Columbus Blue Jackets at Washington Capitals Full Gameday Preview and Coverage

    November 9th, 2018 — Columbus Blue Jackets at Washington Capitals Full Gameday Preview and Coverage

    Washington Capitals (7-4-3 17pts) v. Columbus Blue Jackets (8-6-1 17pts)

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington

     

    Preview:

    In the first match-up between the two clubs this season, Washington looks to have their first three game win streak of the season.  In the last nine games for Columbus, the Blue Jackets are 4-4-1.

    Washington will be without the services of John Carlson tonight and in his place is Jonas Siegenthaler, who was recalled from the Hershey Bears earlier today.

    Columbus’ Cam Atkinson looks to get back on the scoring sheet with no points in the last five contests.

     

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Dmitrij Jaskin

    Chandler Stephenson — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Travis Boyd — DeVante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Dmitry Orlov — Christian Djoos

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

     

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Aaron Ness

    Injured: John Carlson (day-to-day), Brooks Orpik (LTIR)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Be consistent in the faceoff circle

     

     

    2. Keep your feet moving

     

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets:

    Projected Lineup:

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc DuBois — Cam Atkinson

    Nick Foligno — Boone Jenner — Josh Anderson

    Lukas Sedlak — Alexander Wennberg — Anthony Duclair

    Markus Hannikainen — Brandon Dubinsky — Riley Nash

    Ryan Murray — Seth Jones

    Markus Nutivaara — David Savard

    Zach Werenski — Scott Harrington

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Adam Clendening, Cam Atkinson, Dean Kukan

    Injured: None

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

     

     

    First Period:

    Columbus Penalty — Josh Anderson for Cross-checking — 2 min minor — 4:46

    Washington Penalty — Evgeny Kuznetsov for Interference — 2 min minor — 15:28

    Columbus PPG — Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) from Nick Foligno (5) and Alexander Wennberg (8)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       CLB – 1

    Shots              15                09

    Faceoffs         12               13

    Hits               03                  12

    PP                 0/1                 1/1

     

    Analysis:  The Washington Capitals came out shooting pretty well but started to fall midway through the first period.  Faceoffs throughout the contest have been virtually even and the Capitals need to continue playing their game in shooting the puck.

     

     

    Need to Do:  Much like in the previous contest, the Capitals have to play more physically.  The Blue Jackets are dominating the Capitals when it comes to the hits.  In addition, the Capitals need to do a better job of hitting the net.  There were several missed opportunities to get goals.

     

     

    Second Period:

    Columbus Penalty — Alexander Wennberg for Hooking — 2 min minor — 6:51

    Washington PPG — Matt Niskanen (3) from Nicklas Backstrom (15) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (14) — 7:53

    Columbus Penalty — David Savard for Holding — 2 min minor — 11:08

    Washington Penalty — Michal Kempny for Holding — 2 min minor — 18:13

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1        CLB – 1

    Shots               25                 25

    Faceoffs          25                 21

    Hits                 10                  20

    PP                   1/3                  1/2*   :13 left in current power play

     

    Analysis:  The Power-play units have been very effective.  In the face-off circle, the Capitals were better and both teams continue to shoot the puck very well.

     

    Need to Do:  The Capitals must get better on the physicality.  Columbus is all over the Capitals on this aspect.  In the last 20 minutes, the Capitals need to attack the net to make Bobrovsky uncomfortable and take advantage of any open net chances that happen.

     

     

    Third Period:

    Washington Penalty — Dmitry Orlov for Roughing — 2 min minor — 4:04

    Columbus PPG — Anthony DuClair (7) from Artemi Panarin (12) and Zach Werenski (8)  —  5:09

    Columbus Penalty — Pierre-Luc Dubois for Holding the Stick — 2 min minor — 13:00

    Columbus Penalty — David Savard for Hooking — 2 min minor — 19:17

    End of 3rd – WAS – 1         CLB – 2

    Shots              34                   36

    Faceoffs        32                    29

    Hits               19                     24

    PP                 1/5                    2/3

     

    Analysis:  The Capitals fizzled out when it came to attacking the net until the last five minutes of the contest.  The Capitals physicality did not come out until the third period but still was not enough.

    The Capitals did not take enough shots on the power-play and must shoot the puck when it comes to the power-plays.

    In the faceoff circle, both teams were fairly even throughout the contest.  Both teams were also fairly even in shots on goal overall.

    Washington will look to fix some of these issues when they take on the Arizona Coyotes Sunday at 5 p.m., ET.

     

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (7-5-3 17 pts) vs. Arizona (7-6-1 15 pts)

    Columbus (9-6-1 19 pts) vs. New York Rangers (7-7-1 15 pts)

     

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

     

  • November 9th, 2018 — News and Notes

     

     

     

    Today is Friday, November 9th, 2018, and these are your news and notes…

    In action yesterday, there were nine contests…

     

    Vancouver 8, BOSTON 5

     

    Vancouver had eight goals in a contest for the first time in nearly a decade in the win over Boston at TD Garden last night.

     

    FLORIDA 4, Edmonton 1

     

    Florida’s Mike Hoffman extended his point scoring streak to 10 games when he registered two assists in the Panthers 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

     

     

    PHILADELPHIA 5, Arizona 4 (OT)

    Despite the Philadelphia Flyers win in overtime over the Arizona Coyotes, Arizona is the second team to have nine shorthanded goals in 14 games since 1933-34.

     

    They share the record with the 1975-76 St. Louis Blues franchise.

     

    Buffalo 6, MONTREAL 5 (OT)

     

    The Buffalo Sabres would win on an overtime goal by Rasmus Ristolainen, the fourth in franchise history in regular-season play by a defenceman.

     

    Vegas 5, OTTAWA 3

     

    Vegas’ fourth line would power the team through a hard-fought win over the Ottawa Senators and earn the season-sweep.

     

    TAMPA BAY 4, NY Islanders 2

     

    The Tampa Bay Lightning for the second straight season have 25 points through 16 games or less with the win over the Islanders last night.

     

     

    Carolina 4, CHICAGO 3

     

    Despite being down by four, Chicago’s comeback in the contest fell short when they were defeated by Carolina in the debut for Chicago’s new bench boss, Jeremy Colliton.

     

     

    DALLAS 4, San Jose 3

     

    San Jose’s Brent Burns became the fourth member in team history to record at least 20 points in 16 or fewer team games last night.

     

    Joe Thornton would, in fact, play in his 1500th NHL game, the most ever for a number one overall pick in League history.

     

    Minnesota 3, LOS ANGELES 1

     

    -Minnesota’s Zach Parise registered his 700th career point and leads all active U.S. born players with 339 goals.

     

    There are six games on tap tonight…

    nov_9th_schedy-09022104

     

    In NHL news,

     

    -The Washington Capitals will host their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness night.

     

     

    -Yesterday, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks unveiled the jerseys that they will wear for the 2019 NHL Winter Classic.

    There is more on the unveiling here:  2019 NHL Winter Classic Jerseys unveiled

     

    -With the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame induction happening Monday night, the new inductees received the rings as a part of festivities.

     

     

    Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New Jersey Devils in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Scotiabank Arena.

    There will be more on the Hall of Fame induction ceremony Tuesday.

     

    -The Chicago Blackhawks and 2018 first round pick, defenceman Nicolas Beaudin, agreed to a three-year, entry level deal.

    Beaudin will remain with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltiguers.

     

    -Vegas Golden Knights D Nate Schmidt, who is still suspended for a violation of the League’s Substance Abuse Policy, participated in practice earlier today.

    Also with the Golden Knights, the team today announced that they will hold their Military Appreciation night on November 14th.

     

    -John Carlson of the Washington Capitals will miss tonight’s contest.  In a corresponding move, the Washington Capitals recalled Jonas Siegenthaler from the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears.

    -The Montreal Canadiens announced earlier today that Tomas Plekanec has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of buying out his contract.

     

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

  • November 8th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Thursday, November 8th, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were three contests in League action yesterday…

    WASHINGTON 2, Pittsburgh 1

     

    The Washington Capitals went on to defeat their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.

    Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby would open up the scoring, and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin would score his 235th career power-play goal.  Ovechkin now has sole possession of seventh place in that category.

    Washington F T.J. Oshie would net the game-winner with 1:14 left in regulation.
    This would mark the ninth time in 47 contests in the regular-season in which Crosby and Ovechkin would find the net in the same contest.

    TXHT’s coverage of the contest:
    Game Recap – 11/7/2018 – Pittsburgh Penguins v. Washington Capitals
    Nashville 4, COLORADO 1

     

    Nashville’s Colton Sissons recorded his second career regular-season hat-trick and helped lift the Predators back into first place in the NHL standings at 12-3-0 and 7-0-0 on the road.

    Sissons last hat-trick in the regular-season was during the 2016-17 season.

    ANAHEIM 3, Calgary 2

    Calgary would tie the game at 2 a piece with F Mark Jankowski’s goal in the third period but Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf would score the eventual game-winner 27 seconds later to give Anaheim the win.
    Calgary has been behind in three out of their last four games, and would win those contests.
    So far on the season, Getzlaf is averaging one point per game.

    Anaheim G Ryan Miller would win his 372nd game, two away from tying John Vanbiesbrouck for most all-time among U.S. born goalies.


    Today’s Schedule of Games:
    nov_8th_schedy-08013129
    In NHL news…
    -The Boston Bruins unveiled their 2019 Winter Classic jerseys this morning.  They will take on the Chicago Blackhawks, who will unveil their Winter Classic jersey today at 5:30 p.m. CT, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana on January 1st, 2019.

     

    -With Sissons hat-trick in last night, it marked the fourth consecutive day of game action in which a hat-trick was achieved.

    -In a bit of tragic news, the Minnesota Wild and the NHL announced that former Wild chairman Robert O. Naegele passed away due to complications from cancer.


    -Tonight when the Vancouver Canucks take on the Boston Bruins in Boston, Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson looks to be the fourth player since the 1920-21 season to register at least 11 goals through 11 career games.

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

  • November 6th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Tuesday, November 6th, 2018, and these are your news and notes..

    There were five contests yesterday…

     

    Boston Bruins Brad Marchand recorded his 13th overtime goal to give the Bruins a record of 8-4-2 thus far on the season. Marchand sits at a five-way tie for 10th place in NHL for overtime winners.

     

     

    Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello became the third general manager in League history to reach the 2400 game plateau. He trails only David Poile and Glen Sather in the 2400+ game mark. Lamoriello won three Stanley Cup championships as the GM of the New Jersey Devils.

     

     

    For the Montreal Canadiens, Joel Armia was the only player to score in the shootout and with the win, Montreal is now 8-4-2 on the season.

     

     

    Brian Boyle netted a hat trick in the contest, the first in his career. Boyle, who recently announced that his cancer is in remission, netted this hat-trick on Hockey Fights Cancer night in Pittsburgh.

     

     

    Washington Capitals F Alex Ovechkin netted his 234th career power-play goal to give the Capitals the victory. This would be Ovechkin’s fifth power-play goal in the season. Since Ovechkin’s debut in the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin has 99 more power-play goals than the next closest player.

     

     

    Connor McDavid in the contest would extend his point streak to eight games, six shy of his personal best at 14 games.

     

    TXHT’s Full Recap

     

     

    Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux registered at least three points in a contest for the 49th times in his career. The franchise record is held by Bobby Clarke who had 110 games of at least three points.

     

     

    There are nine contests tonight…

    skeddy-06123417

    In NHL news…

    -Earlier today, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that Joel Quenneville has been relieved of his coaching duties and announced Jeremy Colliton as the 38th head coach in the franchise’s history.

     

    -The Tampa Bay Lightning will host their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness night tonight when Tampa Bay takes on the Ottawa Senators.

     

    -The Ottawa Senators released a statement about the group of Senators players who mocked coaches and laughed about their play.

     

     

    TXHT has a great article on what a team is and you can read that article here.

     

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

  • November 5th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, November 5th, 2018 and these are your news and notes…

    There were three contests last night.

     

     

    Brayden Point had a stellar game in netting the game-tying goal with less than 30 seconds left in regulation and recorded an assist on Yanni Gourde’s game-winning goal in the overtime frame to move the Tampa Bay Lightning to a record of 10-3-1.  Tampa Bay is now the second team so far this season to have won at least 10 games with Nashville winning 11 games so far.

    Tampa Bay has won each of their first seven contests against foes from the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history.

    The League record for this mark is 12 contests.

     

     

    The New York Rangers scored two goals in 19 seconds and G Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves to give the Rangers their third consecutive win.  This was the fifth time the Rangers would score two goals in the first minute of the contest and the first since March 24, 1982, when they did it against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    For Lundqvist, he earned his 435th career win and moved within two wins of tying Jacques Plante for 437 career wins.

     

     

    Cam Fowler in this contest recorded his first career hat-trick, scoring the game-winner just 39 seconds into overtime. Fowler became only the seventh defenceman in NHL history to complete the hat trick with an overtime winner.

    These goals would move him into a second-place tie with Francois Beauchemin on the franchise all-time list among defencemen.

    More news, notes, and stats…

    Today’s schedule of games:

    nov_5th_schedy-05122030

    In NHL news, the Three Stars of the Week were announced…

    -FanDuel and the NHL announced earlier today that the two have entered an agreement for FanDuel to become the official daily fantasy partner and an official betting partner of the NHL.

    -In reference to the note in Saturday’s news and notes, Winnipeg’s Brendan Lemieux had his hearing today in regards to the illegal check to the head in Friday’s contest to Florida Panthers F Vincent Trochek.

    Lemieux was suspended for two games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety hearing today.

    -Tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins will host their Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness night.

    -In Wednesday’s contest when the Washington Capitals face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom will be honoured for achieving the 600 career assists plateau.

    -In Women’s Hockey, the Four Nations tournament kicks off tomorrow.

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

  • Gary Bettman and Suspensions – Why you should stop blaming him for everything

    So before I go into this, because this will probably be one of the most “controversial” topics I’ll ever write about, I’d like to start with a quote that my father always says and that is “11 out of 10 people are stupid”, and right now I’m going to try to fix the stupid so please wish me luck.

     

    So in the hockey world one of the hottest topics is that of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the “controversy” surrounding him in regards to the suspensions of Auston Watson, for domestic abuse off the ice, and Tom Wilson, for an illegal check to the head during a game. Now these are two completely separate matters and I’d like to take deeper looks into both suspensions and explain why both of these cases need to be considered as such.

     

    First let’s take a look at Auston Watson of the Nashville Predators. During this past offseason Watson and his girlfriend had a domestic dispute that lead to some physicality and Watson being arrested for the incident. When all was said and done Watson pleaded no contest to the charges that were put against him. As a result of this off ice matter Commissioner Gary Bettman had a hearing with Watson, and then handed him a 27 game suspension for conduct detrimental to League. As a result of this ruling made by Bettman, per the CBA, Watson had the right to appeal this suspension, and since Bettman was the one handing out the suspension, to a neutral arbitrator. When Watson’s appeal was heard by the neutral arbitrator, the arbitrator reduced the suspension from 27 games to 18 games.

     

    Now let’s look at Tom Wilson’s suspension. During a preseason game Wilson delivered an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist which resulted in a match penalty and game misconduct. Wilson had a Player Safety hearing with George Parros, the head of the Department of Player Safety, and was given a 20 game suspension given his recent history in the previous 12 months, and several sit down conversations and warnings that was given to him during that time. Recently Wilson and the NHLPA appealed the suspension which, per the CBA, was heard by Gary Bettman. This past Thursday Bettman upheld the suspension, and Wilson is now appealing to a neutral arbitrator that will hear the case on Wednesday October 31st.

     

    So now that the back story on both cases have been established, let’s look the similarities and differences of both cases.

     

    Differences:

    • Auston Watson’s suspension was a result of an off ice matter.
    • Tom Wilson’s Suspension was a result of a play on the ice.
    • Watson’s suspension was given to him by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
    • Wilson’s suspension was was given to him by George Parros from the Department of Player Safety.
    • Watson’s suspension could only be appealed to a neutral arbitrator per the CBA.
    • Wilson’s suspension has to be appealed to the Commissioner first, then, if upheld, can then be appealed to a neutral arbitrator per the CBA.

     

    Similarities:

    • Watson’s original suspension handed to him by Bettman was 27 games.
    • Wilson’s suspension handed to him by Parros is 20 games.
    • Per the CBA, any suspension six (6) or more games can be appealed.

     

    As you can tell the only similarity that these two have is that both suspensions were 20 or more games, but it’s what the differences are that matter here because this is where everyone is getting this confused. Auston Watson was suspended for an off ice offence and Gary Bettman handed down a punishment that he deemed appropriate for Watson’s particular case, whereas Tom Wilson was suspended for an illegal check to the head and has a history, and Bettman upheld the suspension originally given by George Parros.

     

    So what is the issue here? The correct answer is there is none, but people are making an issue of it anyways.

     

    Now there is the crowd that is going after Bettman and the League because there is no Domestic Violence policy in the NHL, which yes that is an issue and needs to be addressed in the next CBA talks with the NHLPA as there should be a Domestic Violence Policy with strict guidelines and penalties for when those types of matters occur, but right now there isn’t and we need to accept that fact that as of right now, and until a new policy can be put in place, this is how it works when it comes to Domestic disputes off the ice. The Commissioner reviews the off ice matter, and then he makes a ruling on the matter. Also let’s keep in mind that Slava Voynov is still considered suspended indefinitely, and if he were able to be allowed to return to the United States, which by the way per US law he can’t, then the League has made it known that more punishment would be coming his way as his Domestic Violence case is much more gruesome than the one concerning Auston Watson (and in no way are we saying that Watson’s case is minor, we are just stating that Voynov’s is a much more serious case as his wife beaten bloody, and hospitalized).

     

    Now with the above stated let’s get right to it. Stop blaming Gary Bettman for what is going on right now, but most importantly, stop comparing off ice matters as if it were an on ice matter. They are completely different, and they can’t be compared. What was handed out by the League to Auston Watson and to Tom Wilson can’t be compared because they happened under different circumstances. Gary Bettman is handling these situations the best he can, and has done so with respect.

     

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

  • Commissioner Bettman Upholds 20 Game Suspension

    Commissioner Bettman Upholds 20 Game Suspension

     

     

    [wpvideo G2gcK4JH]

    Source: NHL Department of Player Safety

     

    After a lengthy seven hour meeting between Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman last week in regards to Wilson’s 20 game suspension, which was announced on October 3rd, 2018 in the video above, it has been announced that Bettman has upheld 20 game suspension that was handed down by George Parros and the NHL Department of Player Safety.

     

    What does this mean for Tom Wilson?

    For Wilson, he still has to fulfill his 20 game sentence that was handed down by George Parros. However, Wilson and the NHLPA now have 7 days to submit an appeal to an arbitrator to have the suspension reduced.

     

    What message is Gary Bettman sending with this decision?

    In this scenario after reading the full 31 page explanation behind Bettman’s ruling it is clear that Bettman is sending multiple messages. One being to the NHLPA and their tactics to paint St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist as the player at complete fault for the hit and injuries he sustained. The other is fact that George Parros has actually had many conversations, some even in person, with Wilson throughout last season to discuss ways that Wilson can become a better player, but how in a sense has fallen on deaf ears.

     

    A more thorough look at Bettman’s ruling the Commissioner explains in great detail several reasons why he upheld the suspension and did not reduce it. For starters we look at the play in hand that took place. A point of arguement that the NHLPA took was that Sundqvist put himself into a “vulnerable” position, but as detailed in Bettman’s ruling below such was not the case:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-21-55-22-1

     

    So as detailed above, and evidenced in all video evidence we have seen, that was not the case, and while Sundqvist was elgible to be hit, the notion he put himself in a vulnerable position, that was proved to be invalid.

     

    Then next up is you have Oskar Sundqvist’s injuries which are listed below:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-21-57-57-1

     

    One of the biggest factors that lead to the 20 game ban is the fact that this was the second consecutive suspension doled out to Wilson that involved a player being injured and having to miss time as a resilt of Wilson’s hit. At the time of the hearing, and subsequent ruling, Sundqvist has not played a game yet this season due to his injuries from the hit by Wilson.

     

    Now let’s talk about the hearing as well. With the magnitude of this suspension, and the thorough testimonies that took place on October 18th, there were actually more people involved with this hearing than was known including former Washington Capitals defenseman Joe Reekie, and former NHL defenseman Mathieu Schnieder, both representing the NHLPA. It is also noted the Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan was in attendance and was also called upon to testify along side George Parros from the Department of Player Safety.

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-00-22-1

    The hearing lasted 7 hours and 15 minutes and yhe transcript, which undoubtedly was much longer than Bettman’s 31 page ruling, was delivered to the League office the very next day for review.

     

    In some of the more interesting notes in Bettman’s ruling are that from Tom Wilson’s testimony:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-12-15-1

     

    In Wilson’s testimony, he openly admits that he did make contact with Sundqvist’s head, but that he could not conclude if Sundqvist’s head was the main point of contact. However, as noted, Bettman from watching the video concluded that it was.

     

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-16-18-1

     

    The arguement above is found to be a very interesting one. While yes, Wilson is in fact backchecking in accordance to Washington’s defensive system, I doubt under Barry Trotz last season, and Todd Reirdon this season that he has been coached to play with the intent to hit on every opportunity when backchecking. Especially since we don’t see a lot of major hits when the Capitals are backchecking.

     

    Then Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan under testimony stated the following:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-30-12-1

    MacLellan openly admits in testimony that Wilson could have done something different to change the impact of the hit and where the main point of contact of the hit as well. This is a huge stressor right here as MacLellan, a former NHL player himself, understands thr nature of the game, and knows how to throw a hit qithout targeting the head.

     

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-22-33-06-1

    Now the above is strictly an explanation of the rule where “intent” is no longer something the League looks at when reviewing head hits  per Rule 48, which was amended five years ago. It gives a solid example as provided by Parros.

     

    And lastly, how did George Parros come to 20 games for Tom Wilson? The below note in Bettman’s ruling explains how:

    Screenshot_2018-10-25-23-18-12-1

     

    It should also be noted that George Parros had two in person meetings with Tom Wilson last season just so they could watch footage and talk about how he could improve his play and decision making on the ice, plus also received additional warnings (mainly in the playoffs leading up to and after his suspension against Pittsburgh in the 2nd round) and guidance throughout last season as well.

     

    What’s next?

    Next thing is that we wait to see what Tom Wilson and the NHLPA do. Odds are they will appeal the suspension and look to get it reduced by an arbitrator.

     

    However, the biggest thing that comes up next for Wilson is when he does finally return to the Capitals lineup. He will need to play smarter and pick better spots on when to throw his hits. Physicality is a hige part of hockey, and Wilson should never shy away from it, but he does need to do a better job.

     

    *Source Notes – All images from Gary Bettman’s ruling are shown in full context and were not altered in any way. They are shown so people can read some of the key points in TXHT’s opinon were most import to be seen in full detail.

     

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

  • Game Recap – 10/22/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Vancouver Canucks

    Game Recap – 10/22/2018 – Washington Capitals v. Vancouver Canucks

     

     

    Washington Capitals (3-2-2 8pts) v. Vancouver Canucks (5-3-0 10pts)

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Andre Burakovsky

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Madison Bowey, Nathan Walker 

    Injured: Travis Boyd (lower body)

    Suspended: Tom Wilson

     

    Vancouver Canucks:

    Nikolay Goldobin — Bo Horvat — Brock Boeser

    Sven Baertschi — Adam Gaudette — Jake Virtanen

    Antoine Roussel — Brandon Sutter — Loui Eriksson

    Tim Schaller — Mikael Granlund — Tyler Motte

    Alexander Edler — Christopher Tanev

    Derrick Pouliot — Troy Stecher

    Ben Hutton — Erik Gudbranson

    Anders Nilsson

    Jacob Markstrom

    Scratched: Michael Del Zotto, Brendan Leipsic

    Injured: Elias Pettersson (concussion), Jay Beagle (broken arm)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty –  :52 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Roughing

    Canucks Penalty – :52 – Antoine Roussel 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Goal –  2:20 – John Carlson (5) from Jakub Vrana (2) and Christian Djoos (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 3:55 – Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for Tripping

    Canucks Penalty – 15:28 – Bo Horvat 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       VAN – 0

    Shots              13                6

    Faceoffs         8                  9

    Hits               8                    7

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Analysis:

    This was a good start to the game for the Capitals. They brought the physicality early and on a great break out play the Capitals were able to give themselves an early 1-0 lead. The Capitals also are doing a great job of clogging up the neutral zone, and making it difficult for the Canucks to enter the zone and create a presence.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to continue clogging up the neutral zone, and making smart plays to generate offense in the Canucks end. Also the Capitals need to shoot some more when they have the opportunity to do so.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 3:22 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Tripping

    Canucks Goal – 7:30 – Troy Stetcher (1) from unassisted

    Canucks Penalty – 8:47 – Erik Gudbranson 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Capitals PPG – 9:29 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (5) from John Carlson (7) and Alex Ovechkin (4)

    Capitals Goal – 19:34 – Alex Ovechkin (7) from Nicklas Backstrom (9) and TJ Oshie (4)

    Capitals Penalty – 19:45 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 3        VAN – 1

    Shots               25                 18

    Faceoffs          16                 21

    Hits                 15                  18

    PP                   1/2                  0/2 *3rd in Progress

     

    Analysis:

    Not the best start to this period, but the Capitals rebounded beautifully, and were able to come out of the second period with a two goal lead. However, they have put themselves in some tough spots as they have taken some bad penalties.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to start the 3rd period strong and kill off the Nicklas Backstrom penalty, and then they need to force the play in the Canucks zone and not allow the Canucks any opportunities to get back into this game.

     

    Third Period:

    Canucks PPG – :20 – Sven Baertschi (3) from Brock Boeser (4)  and Bo Horvat (2)

    Canucks Penalty – 1:52 – Alexander Edler 2 minutes for Interference

    Canucks Penalty – 4:31 – Troy Stetcher 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals PPG – 5:35 – Alex Ovechkin (8) from John Carlson (8) and Nicklas Backstrom (10)

    Capitals ENG – 18:19 – TJ Oshie (5) from Alex Ovechkin (5) from Nicklas Backstrom (11)

    Canucks Penalty – 19:29 – Sven Baertschi 2 minutes for Delay of Game

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 5         VAN – 2

    Shots              33                   24

    Faceoffs        25                    28

    Hits               19                     21

    PP                 2/5                    1/3

     

    Analysis:

    This was a good game for the Capitals overall as they played a hard fought game against the Canucks. The Capitals responded very well when the Canucks scored, and the Capitals, while wasying at least one powerplay opportunity, untilized their powerplay very well. The Capitals also did a very good job of controlling the tempo and clogging up the neutral zone against the Canucks, and will need to do the same Thursday night in Edmonton against the Oilers.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (4-2-2 10pts) @ Edmonton (3-3-0 6pts)

    Vancouver (5-3-0 10pts) @ Vegas (4-4-0 8pts)

     

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