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Tag: Buffalo Sabres

  • January 6th, 2019 — News and Notes

    January 6th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, January 6th, 2019, and these are your news and notes…

     

    There were nine contests yesterday

     

     

    Calgary 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 (OT)

    The Calgary Flames would come from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon with the 3-2 overtime win.  TJ Brodie would score the game winner for the Flames at the 1:59 mark in the extra frame.  Matthew Tkachuk would even the score at the 15:43 mark.  Tkachuk would also assist on Brodie’s overtime game-winner.

     

    https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1081669589589610497

     

    Minnesota 4, OTTAWA 3

    Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon would end up having a two goal performance and would help the Wild defeat the Ottawa Senators with the 4-3 win yesterday afternoon.

    The scoring would not start until 54 seconds left in the first period when Ottawa’s Matt Duchene would score his 17th goal on the season.

     

     

    BOSTON 2, Buffalo 1

    Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask would have a 31 save performance while David Backes and Chris Wagner would both score as the Bruins would go on to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1.  This would be Boston’s fourth consecutive victory.

     

     

     

    Buffalo’s lone goal scorer would be Rasmus Ristolainen at the 17:22 mark in the third period.  Buffalo goaltender Linus Ullmark would have 39 saves on 41 attempts in this contest.

     

     

     

    TORONTO 5, Vancouver 0

    The Toronto Maple Leafs would have a very strong performance in this contest as the Maple Leafs would defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-0.  There would be five different goal scorers for the Maple Leafs in the contest.

    John Tavares would open up the scoring in the first period with his 27th goal of the season.

    Auston Matthews would score his 20th goal on the season in the third period and with that goal, he would be the first player in Maple Leafs history since the 1993-94 season to have 20 goals in fewer than 27 personal games played on the season.

    Maple Leafs goaltender Michael Hutchinson would have a 28 save performance in this contest.

    TXHT’s Steve Gardiner has your coverage of this contest between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks at the following link.

    01/5/2019 – Vancouver Canucks vs Toronto Maple Leafs -Game Recap

     

     

    Nashville 4, MONTREAL 1

    Montreal Canadiens Shea Weber would score his second career goal against the Nashville Predators but it would not be enough for Montreal as they would fall to the Predators by the score of 4-1.

    Nashville’s Craig Smith would play a big factor as he would score twice in this contest.

     

    With this win, Nashville would extend their point streak to four consecutive games.

     

    Columbus 4, FLORIDA 3 (OT)

    For the Florida Panthers, Keith Yandle would get his 500th NHL career point.  However, the Florida Panthers would fall to the Columbus Blue Jackets by the score of 4-3 in overtime.

    Also, Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar would play in his 100th NHL contest last night.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets would net their seventh consecutive win over the Florida Panthers in this contest and Seth Jones would net the game-winner 18 seconds into the the overtime frame.

    NY Islanders 4, ST. LOUIS 3

    The New York Islanders would score twice in 11 seconds to seal the come from behind win and the Islanders would go on to defeat the St. Louis Blues to notch their  sixth consecutive win.

     

    All across the scoresheet, there would be seven different goal scorers (four for the Islanders, three for the Blues) in a statistical filled game.

     

    LOS ANGELES 4, Edmonton 0

    Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick would notch his 300th career NHL win, good fior fifth place all time for most wins by a U.S.-born goaltender.

     

     

     

    SAN JOSE 5, Tampa Bay 2

    The San Jose Sharks would snap the seven game win streak and the 16 game point streak for the Tampa Bay Lightning with their 5-2 win last night in San Jose.  Evander Kane would factor in this contest, scoring two goals for the Sharks.

     

     

     

    There are seven contests in action today

     

    For the Washington Capitals at Detroit Red Wings Gameday Preview, you can check out TXHT’s preview of that contest at the following link.

     

     

    NWHL

     

    Yesterday’s NWHL game featured the Boston Pride taking on the Buffalo Beauts in the NWHL Twitter Game of the Week

     

    In a contest with meaningful standings points, the Buffalo Beauts would take down the NWHL-leading Boston Pride with a 5-0 win yesterday afternoon.

    Buffalo’s Dani Camersani would score twice in the contest and Kelly Babstock would net her first goal as a member of the Beauts to have a two-point performance in the contest.

    Maddie Elia would go on to have two assists in the contest herself.  Buffalo Beauts goaltender Shannon Szabados would have a 30 save performance in the contest and Boston’s goaltender Katie Burt would have a 35 save performance of her own.  Brittany Ott would allow the Beauts fifth goal in the contest.

    Both Szabados and Burt would have miraculous saves throughout this contest as well. however it would not be enough on Boston’s side.

    In the second period, the Beauts would have to kill off a major penalty when Emily Pfalzer was issued a five minute major penalty as well as a 10 minute game misconduct for a checking from behind penalty at the 3:26 mark.

    Toward the end of the second period, Boston’s Kaleigh Fratkin would be assessed a tripping minor at the 19:15 mark.

    Buffalo Beauts 5, Boston Pride 0

     

     

    Today in the NWHL…

     

    Upcoming games in the NWHL include:

    • January 6: Connecticut Whale at Metropolitan Riveters
    • January 12: Metropolitan Riveters at Buffalo Beauts; Minnesota Whitecaps at Boston Pride
    • January 13: Minnesota Whitecaps at Connecticut Whale
    • January 19: Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps
    • January 20: Boston Pride at Metropolitan Riveters; Connecticut Whale at Minnesota Whitecaps

     

     

     

    TXHT would like to congratulate Team Finland on their Gold Medal victory over the United States in the championship game of the 2019 World Junior Championships last night.  Finland would go on to win the game 3-2.

     

  • January 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    January 4th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Friday, January 4th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were eight games in action today.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Minnesota 4, TORONTO 3

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Minnesota Wild would take on the Toronto Maple Leafs yesterday afternoon in the “Next Gen Game” in Toronto and the Maple Leafs would fall to the Wild by the score of 4-3.

    Toronto’s Mitch Marner would open up the scoring in the first seven seconds of the contest.  With that goal, he tied a mark set back in 1932 for the quickest goal by a Maple Leaf in the storied history of the Maple Leafs franchise.

     

     

     

     

     

    Mitch Marner would score again at the 5:38 mark in the contest and became the first Maple Leaf player to have two goals in the opening six minutes of the contest since Phil Kessel achieved the same feat back on January 30th, 2010.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    William Nylander would net the final goal for the Maple Leafs, his first of the season, at the 8:16 mark in the second period.

     

    Despite playing a strong first six minutes in this contest, Toronto would virtually fall flat for the duration of the contest with costly turnovers and being outshot the entire game.  On four Power-Play chances for Toronto, they would fail to take advantage of the extra-man on all four chances.

     

     

    Steve Gardiner, TXHT’s Maple Leafs writer, has the full recap of the contest at the following page.

    01/3/2019 – Minnesota Wild vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    BOSTON 6, Calgary 4

    The Boston Bruins, fresh off their win against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Winter Classic two days ago, would continue their winning ways with the 6-4 win over the Calgary Flames on home ice last night.

     

    For Calgary, they would register a League-high 13th shorthanded goal and this would be the ninth time that they would register at least 13 shorthanded goals in a season.

     

    Jake DeBrusk scored in the game twice, including the eighth game-winner in his career, and helped the Bruins win their third consecutive game.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Johnny Gaudreau would tie Bob MacMillan for the fewest games played (42) to reach the 60-point mark in franchise history in this contest for the Flames.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    BUFFALO 4, Florida 3

    Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner would score his 27th goal of the season to take over sole possession of second place in League goals.  He only trails Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, who has 30 goals thus far on the season.  At the time of Skinner’s goal, Ovechkin has 29 goals.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Carolina 5, PHILADELPHIA 3

    Carolina Hurricanes phenom Sebastian Aho would reach the 40-point mark in his 39th game on the season with two assists in the contest.  Carolina would go on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 5-3 in downtown Philadelphia last night.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    NY ISLANDERS 3, Chicago 2 (OT)

     

    The New York Islanders faced off against the Chicago Blackhawks at Nassau Coliseum and would go on to defeat Chicago 3-2 in overtime.

     

    Devon Toews would net the game winner in the overime frame, Toews’ first NHL goal.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    MONTREAL 2, Vancouver 0

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Jordie Benn and Jonathan Drouin would be the lone goal scores for the Canadiens in the contest and goaltender Carey Price would earn his 42nd career regular-season shutout in the contest and is four shy of tying the all-time franchise mark of 46 set by Ken Dryden.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ST. LOUIS 5, Washington 2

    The St. Louis Blues would face off against the Washington Capitals last night and would come away with the 5-2 victory at Enterprise Center last night.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo would score his fifth goal of the season in the contest and now has possession of second place all-time for most goals by a defenceman in St. Louis Blues history with 85 goals.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Washington’s Alex Ovechkin would go on to score his 30th goal on the season in the contest and now has had 14 seasons of scoring at least 30 goals.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    TXHT has your recap of the contest between the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues at the following page.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Tampa Bay 6, LOS ANGELES 2

     

    Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov would register his seventh straight multi-point game to become only the second player to have seven consecutive multi-point games and the first since Vincent Lecavalier had an eight-game streak during the 2007-08 season.

    Kucherov would also become the sixth different player since the 1993-1994 season to have at least 69 points through 41 team games.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    With Tampa Bay’s win, they now have a 12 point lead in the overall NHL standings and also marks the first time since the NHL’s expansion era (1967-68) that a team holds a 12 point lead at the mid-point of their season.

     

     

     

    Today there are seven games on the schedule…

  • December 30th, 2018 — News and Notes

    December 30th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, December 30th, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 15 contests in the NHL yesterday.

     

    NEW JERSEY 2, Carolina 0

    In the NHL European Game of the Week yesterday, the New Jersey Devils would go on to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes by the score of 2-0.  Mackenzie Blackwood became the third youngest goaltender in the history of the Devils franchise to record his first NHL shutout.

     

    VEGAS 4, Los Angeles 1

     

     

    San Jose 7, EDMONTON 4

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Minnesota 3, WINNIPEG 1

     

    Boston 3, BUFFALO 2 (OT)

     

     

    NY Islanders 4, TORONTO 0

    In the 4-0 win by the Islanders over the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York’s Mathew Barzal registered a hat trick in the contest.

     

     

     

    Washington 3, OTTAWA 2

     

    In a night of firsts for two Washington Capitals players, the Capitals would go on to defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2.  Washington’s Tyler Lewington and Madison Bowey would go on to score their first career NHL goals in the contest.  Lewington would also go on to register a “Gordie Howe hat trick” in the contest as well.

     

     

    You can see the complete recap of the contest between the Capitals and the Senators at the following page.

    Game Recap — 12/29/2018 — Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators

     

     

    TAMPA BAY 6, Montreal 5

     

    FLORIDA 2, Philadelphia 1

     

     

    Pittsburgh 6, ST. LOUIS 1

     

     

     

    NY Rangers 4, NASHVILLE 3

     

     

    DALLAS 5, Detroit 1

     

     

    Chicago 3, COLORADO 2

     

     

     

    Arizona 5, ANAHEIM 4

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1079251791877820418

     

    Vancouver 3, CALGARY 2

     

     

     

     

    NWHL

    In the lone NWHL contest of the day, the Buffalo Beauts took on the Minnesota Whitecaps.

    The Minnesota Whitecaps would get back in the win column when the Whitecaps would go on to defeat the Buffalo Beauts at KeyBank Center yesterday afternoon in downtown Buffalo.

    Minnesota’s Lee Stecklein would be the difference maker when she scored the game winner with 1:17 left in the game to seal the win for the Whitecaps.

    Kendall Coyne Schoefield would be responsible for the Whitecaps tying the score at 1 in the second period thanks to a power-play for the Whitecaps.

    With Minnesota’s win, they move to a record of 7-2 and Buffalo falls to a record of 4-4 on the season.

    Minnesota Whitecaps 2, BUFFALO BEAUTS 1

     

    The Whitecaps and Beauts face off again today at 1:30 p.m., ET.

    Also today, the Boston Pride visit the Connecticut Whale at 3 p.m., ET.

    Both games can be seen at NHWL.zone.

     

     

     

    In Day 4 of the 2019 World Junior Championships,

     

     

    Day 5 of competition has two games and that is Switzerland taking on Russia at 5 p.m., PST. and then Kazakhstan taking on Slovakia at 7:30 p.m., ET.

     

    Today there is only one NHL contest and that is the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the Arizona Coyotes.

     

     

  • Game Recap – 12/21/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 12/21/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Buffalo Sabres (20-10-5 45pts) v. Washington Capitals (20-10-3 43pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals defeat the Buffalo Sabres in a tightly contested game that saw Braden Holtby make 36 saves on 37 shots, and Tom Wilson clinch the game with the game winning goal 7 minutes left in regulation.

     

    Lineups:

    Buffalo Sabres:

    Jeff Skinner — Jack Eichel — Sam Reinhart

    Conor Sheary – Vladimir Sobotka — Evan Rodrigues

    Zemgus Girgensons — Casey Mittelstadt — Kyle Okposo

    Remi Elie — Johan Larsson — Tage Thompson

    Rasmus Dahlin — Zach Bogosian

    Lawrence Pilut — Rasmus Ristolainen

    Marco Scandella — Jake McCabe

    Carter Hutton

    Linus Ullmark

    Scratched: Brendan Guhle, Matt Hunwick

    Injured: Jason Pominville (undisclosed), Nathan Beaulieu (upper body), Casey Nelson (upper body), Scott Wilson (ankle)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd, Tyler Lewington

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

     

    First Period:

    Sabres Penalty – 4:32 – Jeff Skinner 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 8:28 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 1st – BUF – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              09                08

    Faceoffs         07                09

    Hits               03                  10

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Analysis:

    This was a very fast paced and very even first period for both teams. Both the Capitals and Sabres are doing a very good job of taking care of the neutral zone and keep the the slot area clear for their goalies.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to keep their feet moving and continue playing really good team defense against the Sabres. The Capitals also need to do a better job in reducing the amount of giveaways. They had 7 to Buffalo’s 4 in the first period.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 2:37 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals SHG – 2:50 – Chandler Stephenson (3) from Nic Dowd (9)

    Sabres Penalty – 7:12 – Evan Rodrigues 2 minutes for Holding

    Sabres Penalty – 9:38 – Casey Mittelstadt 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – BUF – 0        WAS – 1

    Shots               19                 16

    Faceoffs          14                 19

    Hits                 03                  19

    PP                   0/2                  0/3

     

    Analysis:

    This was another very good back and forth period between both teams. The Capitals were better than the Sabres on special teams as they held Buffalo shotless on their lone powerplay of the period, and the Capitals scored while shorthanded. The Capitals powerplay was buzzing on both opportunities and with some controversy to the first one.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to continue playing strong team defense and limit the scoring chances for the Sabres. Also the Capitals need to cut down on their giveaways. They almost shot themselves in the foot a few times this game with their giveaways.

     

    Third Period:

    Sabres Goal – 9:01 – Johan Larsson (3) from Tage Thompson (3) and Rasmus Ristolainen (19)

    Capitals Penalty – 9:24 – Matt Niskanen 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Goal – 13:00 – Tom Wilson (10) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (25)

    Sabres Penalty – 14:23 – Vladimir Sobotka 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 17:48 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 3rd – BUF – 1         WAS – 2

    Shots              37                   24

    Faceoffs        23                    28

    Hits               06                     19

    PP                 0/4                    0/4

     

    Analysis:

    A good solid period. Both teams scored hard earned goals, but it would be the Capitals penalty kill that would upset the Sabres and not allow them to get any quality chances on the powerplay.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (21-10-3 45pts) @ Ottawa (15-16-4 34pts)

    Buffalo (20-11-5 45pts) v. Anaheim (19-13-5 43pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 12/21/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 12/21/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Buffalo Sabres (20-10-5 45pts) v. Washington Capitals (20-10-3 43pts)

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington, SportsNet, and NBCSN

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals host the Buffalo Sabres for the second time in 6 days as they start another backmto back weekend before they go into the Holiday break. For the Capitals, they will be looking to bounc3 back from their loss Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Meanwhile, the Sabres will be looking to get back to their winning ways after winning one of their last three.

     

    Buffalo Sabres:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Full team effort

    The Sabres need to get contributions from their depth players, and not just from their stars. Jack Eichel, and Jeff Skinner have neen on fire for the Sabres, bur they can’t win every game for them.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Capitals Notes:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Mix up the powerplay

    The Capitals need to change up their powerplay a little bit. Not a complete overhaul, but some changes here and there. In their game against the Penguins, Pittsburgh did a really great job of taking away the passing lanes, ans we have seen other teams play the Capitals more aggressively with their penalty kills. Do a few tweaks, maybe even change some of the personnel on the two units and see how that shakes things up.

     

    2. Clean defensive game

    The Capitals need to play a much better defensive game, especially in their own zone. They need to do better passes to get out of their zone and make sure the passes are clean tape to tape ones too.

  • December 17th, 2018 — News and Notes

    December 17th, 2018 — News and Notes

    It is Monday, December 17th, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were seven contests across the NHL yesterday…

     

    Vegas 4, NY RANGERS 3 (OT)

    The Vegas Golden Knights would defeat the New York Rangers in overtime yesterday afternoon with Vegas’ Alex Tuch would score the game-winner at 2:11 in the overtime frame.

     

     

     

    CAROLINA 3, Arizona 0

    Carolina Hurricanes G Petr Mrazek would go on to have a 23 save performance to seal the shutout victory for the Hurricanes.

     

    Calgary 7, ST. LOUIS 2

    The Calgary Flames would score a shorthanded goal for the third consecutive game for the eighth time in franchise history and would go on to defeat the St. Louis Blues 7-2 in St. Louis last night.

     

    Buffalo 4, BOSTON 2

     

    Buffalo’s Jack Eichel now has five regular-season games of at least four points before his 23rd birthday and joins four other Buffalo Sabres for this mark in franchise history.

     

     

    San Jose 7, CHICAGO 3

    San Jose Sharks D Brent Burns became the 38th player in League history to be listed as a defenceman to register at least 600 points in the contest against the Chicago Blackhawks.

     

     

     

    WINNIPEG 5, Tampa Bay 4 (OT)

     

    Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele would score the game-winner in the overtime frame with 42 seconds left to seal the 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

     

    VANCOUVER 4, Edmonton 2

     

    Vancouver’s rookie Elias Pettersson extended his point streak to seven games and now leads all rookies with 35 points on the season in 30 games played.

     

    There are five games taking place tonight in the NHL…

     

     

    Today in NHL news…

     

    The NHL today announced the Three Stars of the Week for the week ending December 16th.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Philadelphia Flyers announced earlier today that Head Coach Dave Hakstol has been relieved of his duties effective immediately and that Scott Gordon will be the head coach on an interim basis.

     

  • December 16th, 2018 — News and Notes

    December 16th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, December 16th, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were 10 contests on the NHL slate yesterday.

     

    Calgary 2, MINNESOTA 1

    In a penalty filled contest between the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild, the Calgary Flames would come away from Minnesota with the 2-1 victory yesterday afternoon.

    Flames D Mark Giordano became the first player in Flames history to have shorthanded goals in consecutive games with his short-handed goal at 12:03 in the first period.

     

     

    Despite being outshot, Calgary would have the most important side of the stat sheet with their 2-1 win.

     

    MONTREAL 5, Ottawa 2

     

    This would be the Canadiens third win over the Senators in 12 days.

     

     

    The Montreal Canadiens, with their win, would give head coach Claude Julien his 600th NHL win.

     

    NY ISLANDERS 4, Detroit 3 (OT)

     

    NY Islanders Matthew Barzal would net the winner in the shootout frame to give the Islanders the win over Detroit.

     

    PITTSBURGH 4, Los Angeles 3

    With the overtime winner by Phil Kessel, Kessel now ties Hall of Famer Mike Modano, Bill Guerin, and David Legwand for the second most regular season overtime winners by a  U.S.-born player with nine goals.

     

    ANAHEIM 2, Columbus 1

    The Anaheim Ducks would seal the 2-1 win, holding off a late rally from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    Anaheim’s Daniel Sprong would score the only two goals for the Ducks.  Anaheim has won 10 out of their last 12 contests with this win over Columbus.

    https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1074153104877076480

     

    FLORIDA 4, Toronto 3 (OT)

    With the Florida Panthers over the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime, the Panthers Aleksander Barkov would become the first player in the 25-year history of the franchise to complete the hat-trick with an overtime goal.

    Barkov, with his three goals in the contest, now has 114 goals as a Panther.  He moved past Radek Dvorak, who had 113 goals as a Panther.

    Despite Toronto scoring three goals in the third period, two by Mitchell Marner and other by John Tavares, the Maple Leafs were unable to take advantage in the overtime frame.

     

    TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs contributor, Steve Gardiner, has your recap of the contest between the Maple Leafs and the Panthers at the following page.

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers – 15/12/2018 – Game Day Recap

     

    WASHINGTON 4, Buffalo 3 (SO)

    Washington Capitals F Alex Ovechkin would extend his point-scoring streak to 14 games, a career-high, with his League-leading 29th goal on the season.

    Alex Ovechkin now sits one goal away from having his 14th consecutive season in which he has scored at least 30 goals in a season.

     

    Rasums Dahlin, last June’s number one overall pick, became the fifth different rookie defenceman in Buffalo Sabres history to record at least three points in a contest.

     

    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1074113761626218497

     

    TXHT has your full recap and analysis of the match-up between the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres at the following page.

    Game Recap – 12/15/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

     

    NASHVILLE 2, New Jersey 1 (SO)

    Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen would seal the winner in the shootout frame to give the Predators a of 22-10-1 (45 pts), moving back the top of the Western Conference standings.

     

    Nashville would also move to a record of 10-0-0 against Eastern Conference opponents during the 2018-19 campaign with the win over the New Jersey Devils.

     

    https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1074157670662373376

     

    COLORADO 6, Dallas 4

     

    In this contest, Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen would become the fifth set of teammates to reach the 50-point plateau since the 1981-1982 season.

     

     

    VANCOUVER 5, Philadelphia 1

    Philadelphia’s lone goal in the contest would be scored by Scott Laughton at 16:29 in the first period to bring the

     

    Meanwhile for the Vancouver Canucks, rookie sensation Elias Pettersson continues to find his way onto to scoring sheet.

    Pettersson has extended an assist and point streak to six games, amassing three goals and nine assists (12 points) and this matches a Vancouver Canucks rookie record for longest assist streak.

     

    The longest assist streak belongs to J.J. Daigneault during the 1984-85 season.

     

    The longest rookie point streak belong to Pavel Bure, who had a point in at least eight straight contests during the 1991-92 season.

     

  • Game Recap – 12/15/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 12/15/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Buffalo Sabres (19-9-4 42pts) v. Washington Capitals (19-9-3 41pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the second night in a row the Washington Capitals go to the shootout to continue their winning streak at five games. However it showed some of the same problems the Capitals had the previous night as they did in Carolina when they took on the Buffalo Sabres. The Capitals continue to have problems taking penalties, especially early in the game/period that they need to fix, plus their penalty killing is still a weakness that needs to be fixed.

     

    Lineups:

    Buffalo Sabres:

    Jeff Skinner — Jack Eichel — Sam Reinhart

    Conor Sheary — Casey Mittelstadt — Kyle Okposo

    Tage Thompson — Vladimir Sobotka — Jason Pominville

    Evan Rodrigues — Johan Larsson — Zemgus Girgensons

    Rasmus Dahlin — Zach Bogosian

    Lawrence Pilut — Rasmus Ristolainen

    Nathan Beaulieu — Matt Tennyson

    Carter Hutton

    Linus Ullmark

    Scratched: Remi Elie

    Injured: Marco Scandella (upper body), Jake McCabe (lower body), Casey Nelson (upper body), Scott Wilson (ankle), Matt Hunwick (neck)

    Suspended: Patrik Berglund

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Madison Bowey

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Andre Burakovsky, Dmitrij Jaskin, Tyler Lewington

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :41 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Sabres Goal – 2:41 – Jack Eichel (11) from Sam Reinhart (20) and Rasmus Dahlin (13)

    Capitals Goal – 3:39 – Brett Connolly (7) from Devante Smith-Pelly (3)

    Capitals Goal – 9:41 – Jakub Vrana (10) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (24)

    Sabres Penalty – 10:12 – Evan Rodrigues 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – BUF – 1       WAS – 2

    Shots              08                10

    Faceoffs         05                12

    Hits               06                  10

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Analysis:

    The Capitals did not have a good start to this game by taking a penalty in the first minute of the game, and then just as the penalty ended gave up the first goal of the game, but the way the Capitals was responded was really good. Pressuring Carter Hutton to cough up the puck so the Capitals could tie the game was very well done and then Evgeny Kuznetsov feeding Jakub Vrana with a beautiful pass to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to stay out of the penalty box. The Sabres are playing very good hockey and you don’t want to give them any chances. Also the Capitals need to clean up their passing and the play in their own zone. Lastly, the Capitals need to cut down on the fancy passing and get the pucks to the net.

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :50 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

    Sabres PPG – 2:25 – Jack Eichel (12) from Rasmus Dahlin (14) and Rasmus Ristolainen (18)

    Capitals Penalty – 6:10 – Madison Bowey 2 minutes for Hooking

    Sabres PPG – 7:21 – Rasmus Dahlin (3) from Jeff Skinner (11) and Sam Reinhart (21)

    Sabres Penalty – 8:12 – Tage Thompson 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals Penalty – 11:51 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Roughing

    Sabres Penalty – 11:51 – Sam Reinhart 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Goal – 13:46 – Alex Ovechkin (29) from Nicklas Backstrom (30) and Dmitry Orlov (10)

    Sabres Penalty -14:42 – Zach Bogosian 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – BUF – 3        WAS – 3

    Shots               17                 25

    Faceoffs          19                 21

    Hits                 13                  19

    PP                   2/3                  0/3

     

    Analysis:

    Once again not a good start the period as the Capitals took another penalty in the first minute of the period that resulted in a goal, this time while the penalty was still being served. Then with sloppy play in their own zone, the Sabres would capitalize and score to give themselves the lead. Good job by Dmitry Orlov to pinch in an force the turnover and have it lead to an Alex Ovechkin goal.

     

    Need to Do:

    The Capitals need to stay out of the penalty box. They have had three penalties against them and all 3 have resulted in goals against. Also the Capitals need to mix up their powerplay unit a bit.

     

    Third Period:

    Sabres Penalty – :16 – Marco Scandella 2 minutes for Delay of Game

     

    End of 3rd – BUF – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              21                   35

    Faceoffs        25                    30

    Hits               16                     30

    PP                 2/3                    0/4

     

    OT:

    Sabres Penalty – 3:29 – Evan Rodrigues 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 3:29 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Roughing

     

    End of OT – BUF – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              28                   38

    Faceoffs        27                    31

    Hits               16                     32

    PP                 2/3                    0/4

     

    Shootout:

    WAS – TJ Oshie – Save

    BUF – Jack Eichel – Miss

    WAS – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Goal

    BUF – Tage Thompson – Save

    WAS – Nicklas Backstrom – Miss

    BUF – Casey Mittelstadt – Goal

    WAS – Alex Ovechkin – Goal

    BUR – Jason Pominville – Save

     

    End of SO – BUF 3     WAS 4

     

    Analysis:

    Overall it was an ok period for the Capitals, but they were a little too fancy with the puck. In OT the Sabres were the dominant team.

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (20-9-3 43pts) v. Pittsburgh (15-11-6 36pts)

    Buffalo (19-9-5 43pts) v. Boston (17-11-4 38pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 12/15/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 12/15/2018 – Buffalo Sabres v. Washington Capitals

    Buffalo Sabres (19-9-4 42pts) v. Washington Capitals (19-9-3 41pts)

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington and MSG Buffalo

     

    Preview:

    The Washington Capitals return home to finish off their back to back as they face the much improved Buffalo Sabres. The Capitals will look to win their fifth straight game, and do so in a much more better effort than they did last night against the Carolina Hurricanes where they won in the shootout.

     

    Buffalo Sabres:

    Projected Lineup:

    Jeff Skinner — Jack Eichel — Sam Reinhart

    Conor Sheary — Casey Mittelstadt — Kyle Okposo

    Tage Thompson — Vladimir Sobotka — Jason Pominville

    Evan Rodrigues — Johan Larsson — Zemgus Girgensons

    Lawrence Pilut — Rasmus Ristolainen

    Rasmus Dahlin — Zach Bogosian

    Nathan Beaulieu — Matt Tennyson

    Carter Hutton

    Linus Ullmark

    Scratched: Remi Elie

    Injured: Marco Scandella (upper body), Jake McCabe (lower body), Casey Nelson (upper body), Scott Wilson (ankle), Matt Hunwick (neck)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Control the tempo

    The Sabres have the luxury of not having to have played last night, so they will want to go into this game and control the tempo of it right off the bat.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Jonas Siegenthaler — Madison Bowey

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Andre Burakovsky*, Chandler Stephenson, Tyler Lewington

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

    * Andre Burakovsky is rumored to be in the lineup tonight, but it is unknown as to who will come out for him to replace.

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Play a full 60 minutes

    Last night the Capitals were outplayed and did not control the tempo very well, and going into tonight’s game, the Capitals will need to do that. The Buffalo Sabres are a much improved team and will be wanting to prove themselves against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Capitals have to be ready to play the full 60.

     

    2. Special teams needs to improve

    The Capitals need to stay out of the penalty box. Last night they took 6 penalties and the Carolina Hurricanes scored on three of them. The Capitals need to generate more powerplay opportunities for themselves as well, but with their powerplay they need to mix it up a bit. Get Tom Wilson out there a bit more, as he will create space on the powerplay. Also the Capitals need to get their penalty killing figured out. How they have performed lately is not acceptable.