X75 Productions

Tag: Stanley Cup Playoffs

  • 2019 NHL Playoffs – 2nd Round Preview – Columbus Blue Jackets v. Boston Bruins

    2019 NHL Playoffs – 2nd Round Preview – Columbus Blue Jackets v. Boston Bruins

    Matchup:

    Columbus Blue Jackets(47-31-4, 5th in Metro) vs Boston Bruins (49-24-9, 2nd in Atlantic)

    Regular Season Series: 3 – 1 Boston with 16 goals scored and 1-3 for Toronto with 10 goals scored

    Outlook:

    Boston:

    The Bruins walk into a new situation as they have never played the Blue Jackets in the playoffs. But you know what to expect from the Bruins hard in your face hockey. The only question that stands for Boston is how much will that affect this series as Columbus Player enjoy the physical aspects of the game.

    Columbus:

    The Blue Jackets went on a 7-3-0 run to end the season to solidify the last wild card spot in the East. From there, they walked into a series against the number one team in the league the Tampa Bay Lightning and shut them down. Let’s put it this way, the highest scoring team in the league scored 3 in the first game and then the Blue Jackets fought back with 4 to win the first game. Since the Lightning scored 3 in the first game they were held to 5 goals the rest of the series. The acquisitions of Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingle are paying huge dividends finally with Duchene leading the team in scoring and  Dzingle playing a pivotal role in the changing games.

    Game Changers:

    Brad Marchand – Marchand tallied 100 points for the first time in his career this season and he looks better than ever. His ability to annoy and put tremendous amounts of points make him the perfect playoff player.

    Nick Foligno – Foligno may not be a flashy goal scorer but he’s like Marchand in many ways. He comes to play every night plays physically and scorer dirty goals. Expect him to have a huge impact on this series.

    Advantage Overview:

    Goaltenders:

    Boston

    Tuukka Rask started the season off very low and seemingly lost the number 1 spot to backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak. But after a 19 game point streak where he truly regained his form, there were no more questions. Rask finished 27-12-5, with a 2.42 GAA and .912 save percentage. While Halak put in a solid effort when called upon to hold down the fort, finishing 22-11-4 with a 2.34 GAA and .922 save percentage.

    Columbus

    Sergei Bobrovsky shared the same kind of season that Rask did. Starting off slow and posting numbers much lower numbers than normal.  Bobrovsky’s final numbers were 2.58 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Despite Bobrovsky’s past poor playoff performances he had a bounce back and posted a .932 SV% and 2.01 GAA for Columbus against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Advantage: Goaltending overall goes to Boston with Rask. But If we’re talking head to head and this season only. I’d have to give the advantage to Bobrovsky here. This is in no way a knock on Rask but just based off this year’s performance.

    Forwards:

    Boston

    The Bruins are top line heavy after that players drop off considerably. The Bruins have Krecji who has had a revolving door of wingers this season. But rely heavily on that top line and it’s not to say that others are bad players they just aren’t on the level of reliance or scoring ability as Pastrnak, Marchand, and Bergeron. Scoring significantly tales off after the top line for the Bruins but their style of hockey is conducive to that. But during the Toronto series, the Bruins showed that their third line centered by newly acquired center Charlie Coyle can add some much-needed depth scoring to help the 1st and 2nd line.

    Columbus

    Columbus scorers have been flying high with new players Duchene and Dzingle finding their groove but adding those guys to a pretty strong offensive defense and 1st line that can score, a 3rd and 4th line that has shown they can pitch in offensively make this team offensively scary.

    Advantage – Boston, Only because that top line is so deadly offensively and their depth is top notch.

    Defense:

    Boston 

    Bruins have a good defense especially if you’re talking on the defensive side of the game. Offensively not the best but defensively one of the top defenses in the League. Anchored by Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy, through Torey Krug and Kevan Miller, then the 3 remaining in  Matt Grezelcyk,  Brandon Carlo and John Moore.

    Columbus

    Columbus brings a very young defense core, anchored by Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. Jones plays in every situation adding McQuaid to the mix helps on the defensive end. They’ve played tight in their own zone and been good at moving the puck.

    Advantage – Columbus – reasoning is in the Toronto series they were kind of on and off in Boston. One game the defense looked great, next game they looked a bit out of sort. So Columbus for now but this could change.

     

    Projected Lineups

    Bruins 

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Marcus Johansson

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Karson Kuhlman

    Sean Kuraly — Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer

    Injuries: Connor Clifton

     

    Columbus

    Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Olivier Bjorkstrand

    Ryan Dzingle — Matt Duchene — Cam Atkinson

    Alexandre Texier — Nick Foligno — Josh Anderson

    Riley Nash — Boone Jenner — Brandon Dubinsky

    Zach Werenski — Seth Jones

    Dean Kukan — David Savard

    Scott Harrington — Adam Clendening

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratched: Alexander Wennberg,

    Injuries: Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Adam McQuaid

     

    Winning Scenarios:

    1. Bruins win if the top line of Pastrnak, Marchand, and Bergeron can show the same ability to tear the Jackets defense apart.
    2. Columbus wins if Bobrovsky continues to play with the confidence he showed in the series against Tampa.

    Overall Edge: Boston, for experience and a team that never gives up

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

     

  • TXHT Announces 2nd Round Writers

    TXHT is proud to announce the writers for the 2nd Round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Round1-CBJvs-preview

    Steve Gardiner ( @gardskie11 ) will be the lead writer for the Boston Bruins v. Columbus Blue Jackets series. Steve will be backed up by Russell Hartman ( @russellhartman10 ).

     

    Round 2 - CARNYI - Preview

    Christopher Vasilas ( @shaggy901516 ) will be the lead writer for the Carolina Hurricanes v. New York Islanders series. Chris will be backed up by Michael Lindenbaum.

     

    Round 2 - DALSTL - Preview

    Aryan Weisenfeld ( @aew328123 ) will be the lead writer for the St. Louis Blues v. Dallas Stars series. Michael will also be the backup writer for this series.

     

    Round1-COLvsSJ preview

    Scott Fairchild ( @sfairchild92d98e75a8f0 ) will be the lead writer for the Colorado Avalanche v. San Jose Sharks series. Scott will be backed up by Dickson Kendrick ( @dkendrick4 ).

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 7 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 7 – Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

    Series Tied 3-3

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into the dreaded Game 7, both the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes head into Capital One Arena looking to finish the series with win, and move on to face the idle New York Islanders. To start the game the Capitals would force the play in the Hurricanes which would see Andre Burakovsky forc2 Brett Pesce to cough up the puck and Burakovsky would skate into the slot and rip the puck past Petr Mrazek to make it 1-0 less than three minutes into the game. Then it would be a highly motivated Alex Ovechkin undressing Dougie Hamilton while entering the zone, and Ovechkin would then feed Tom Wilson who would one time it past Mrazek to make it 2-0.

     

    Going into the second period both teams looked to swing the momentum their way, and for a good portion of the period the Capitals would force the play, however, while on the lone powerplay the Capitals would cough it up and Sebastian Aho would get it past Braden Holtby to cut the lead to one. But the Capitals would get their two goal lead back as Evgeny Kuznetsov and Carl Hagelin would team up to give Kuznetsov his first goal of the playoffs, but that too would be short lived as Teuvo Teravainen would get the loose puck in the slot and rip it past Holtby to make it 3-2 Capitals going into the second intermission.

     

    Heading into the third period it would be the Hurricanes buildimg upom the momentum they gained in the second period as less than three minutes into the third frame Jordan Staal would streak down the wing and let go of a beautiful wrist shot past Holtby to tie the game at three. After a lot of back and forth in thebperiod, the game would remained tied after 60 minutes of play.

     

    In the first overtime period of the game it would be all Hurricanes as they dictated the pace of the period and held the Capitals without a shot through the first half of the overtime period. However, the Capitals would escape the first overtime period.

     

    Then in double overtime the Hurricanes would continue their dominant play against the Capitals, and after killing a delay of game penalty it would be Mr. Game 7 himself Justin Williams throwing it on net where Brock McGinn would tip it in past Holtby to win the game and the series 4-3.

     

    Lineups:

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Brock McGinn — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele — Lucas Wallmark — Jordan Martinook

    Saku Maenalanen — Greg McKegg — Patrick Brown

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Haydn Fleury

    Injured: Andrei Svechnikov (concussion), Micheal Ferland (upper body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Jakub Vrana

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Jonas Siegenthaler — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Christian Djoos, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Parker Milner

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring), T.J. Oshie (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 2:13 – Andre Burakovsky (1) from unassisted

    Capitals Goal – 6:23 – Tom Wilson (3) from Alex Ovechkin (5) and Dmitry Orlov (3)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 13:39 – Greg McKegg 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 16:58 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 1st – CAR – 0       WAS – 2

    Shots              11                10

    Faceoffs         12                17

    Hits               15                  10

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 8:35 – Jordan Martinook 2 minutes for Tripping

    Hurricanes SHG – 9:51 – Sebastian Aho (2) from Brett Pesce (2) and Jaccob Slavin (7)

    Capitals Goal – 13:22 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) from Carl Hagelin (1)

    Hurricanes Goal – 16:37 – Teuvo Teravainen (3) from Brett Pesce (3) and Brock McGinn (3)

     

    End of 2nd – CAR – 2        WAS – 3

    Shots               19                 19

    Faceoffs          18                 27

    Hits                 30                  21

    PP                   0/1                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 2:56 – Jordan Staal (3) from Jaccob Slavin (8)

     

    End of 3rd – CAR – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              24                   31

    Faceoffs        22                    31

    Hits               42                     29

    PP                 0/1                    0/2

     

    Overtime:

    N/A

     

    End of OT – CAR – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              35                   35

    Faceoffs        30                    45

    Hits               51                     40

    PP                 0/1                    0/2

     

    Double Overtime:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 2:02 – Saku Maenalanen 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Hurricanes Goal – 11:05 – Brock McGinn (2) from Justin Williams (3) and Jaccob Slavin (9)

     

    End of 2OT – CAR – 4         WAS – 3

    Shots              42                   37

    Faceoffs        33                    47

    Hits               60                     43

    PP                 0/1                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Carolina Wins Series 4-3

    2nd Round v. NY Islanders

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • TXHT Opinion – 2 or a 5? You Decide.

    TXHT Opinion – 2 or a 5? You Decide.

    Last night in San Jose for Game 7 between the Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights, there was a moment in the third period where Sharks forward Joe Pavelski and Knights forward Cody Eakin would take the faceoff against each other in thr Knights zone.

     

    During the faceoff Pavelski and Eakin would battle eachother for the puck that saw Eakin get the physical advantage over Pavelski as he would cross check Pavelski in the chest which would foce him to lose his balance. While losing his balance Pavelski would then get tangled with Knights forward Paul Stastny who would slam Pavelski onto the ice.

     

    As Pavelski fell to the ice, he would hit his head on the ice and would require medical attention. As a result of this play Eakin would be assessed a five minute major for cross checking and a game misconduct. At the time of this play the Knights were up 3-0 and on their way to defeating the Sharks. On the five minute powerplay the Sharks would score four powerplay goals to guide them to their eventual victory.

     

    Now with all of that said, I have to agree with the Golden Knights fans that the call on the play was excessive and that Eakin should have been assessed only a two minute minor for cross checking. Eakin never targeted the head, and the point of contact was Pavelski’s chest, which is where Eakin hit Pavelski with the cross check.

     

    Now as for Stastny, one could argue for a roughing penalty to be called on the same play, but at the same time it looked like a wrong place, wrong time scenario for Stastny on this play. However, a roughing call would have been appropriate on this play.

     

    One of the biggest takeaways is this. Out of all of this, the Golden Knights defeated themselves in Game 7. Instead of focusing on the game and killing off the five minute powerplay to the best of their abilities, they imploded over the penalty call. At the end of the day, that is what costed the Knights the game and ultimately the series.

  • April 24th, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 24th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Wednesday, April 24th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were two contests in Stanley Cup playoff action.

     

     

    BOSTON 5, Toronto 1 (Boston wins series 4-3)

     

    Game 7. 4-3 BOS

     

     

    The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs last night by the score of 5-1 and would go on to win this series in 7 games.  The Boston Bruins will now face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round.

     

    Steve Gardiner has your full recap of the contest between the Bruins and the Maple Leafs here or at the following page.

     

     

    SAN JOSE 5, Vegas 4 (OT) (San Jose wins series 4-3)

     

    The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by the score of 5-4 in overtime and they would go on to win the series.  The San Jose Sharks will now face off against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round.

     

    Today in Stanley Cup playoff action is a win or go home for either the Carolina Hurricanes or the Washington Capitals.  The action kicks off at 7:30 p.m., ET.

     

     

    Second round action kicks off tomorrow (Thursday night).  The second round schedule is posted below with the either Carolina or Washington advancing.

     

     

    The full second round schedule will be made public later tonight.

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, you can check out the NHL’s Morning Skate report, which is posted below.

     

     

     

    For TXHT’s extensive 2019 Stanley Cup playoff action, please click here.

  • April 23rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 23rd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019, and these are your notes.

     

    There were two games in action yesterday.

     

    CAROLINA 5, Washington 2 (Series is tied at 3-3)

     

    Game 6. 3-3 Tie

     

    The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals yesterday to tie this series 3-3 with the win or go home game taking place tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., ET at Capital One Arena.

     

    Michael Lindenbaum has your full recap of the contest between the Capitals and Hurricanes here.

     

    DALLAS 2, Nashville 1 (OT) (Dallas wins series 4-2)

     

    The Dallas Stars would defeat the Nashville Predators last night 2-1 in overtime to win the series and the Stars will now go on to face the St. Louis Blues in the second round.

     

    Dickson Kendrick has your full recap of the contest between the Predators and the Stars here.

     

    Today’s schedule of games:

     

    *Note: All images are the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners unless otherwise noted.

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, check out the NHL’s Morning Skate report at the following link.

     

     

    For TXHT’s extensive 2019 Stanley Cup playoff coverage, please go to txhthockey.com/2019-nhl-playoffs/

  • Gameday Recap: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars (First Round: Game 6)

    Gameday Recap: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars (First Round: Game 6)

    Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars
    Game 6: Dallas Stars lead the series 3-2

     

    Game Recap:
    The first period starts out with Nashville’s Filip Forsberg getting a shot on goal early and had a great block save by Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop.  A few minutes later, Calle Jarnkrok breakout down the ice to try and score a early goal but Bishop takes the puck into the chest and getting a save to stop the clock for a faceoff in Dallas’ zone.  At the 5:47 mark, Nashville’s Austin Watson would score his first goal of the postseason, with P.K. Subban and Nick Bonino earning assists on the goal.  Dallas’ Jamie Benn would try to tie the contest, but the puck would bounce right off the crossbar.  After that, Nashville would spend time trying to keep the puck away from the Stars.  We get a whistle with 8:16 left in the period after a wrist shot by Jamie Benn, which would get a save from Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne.  WIth 6:42 left in the period, there would be a scrum in front of Dallas’ net after a hit from Nashville’s Brian Boyle, who is a little over a week removed from an appendectomy.  A majority of this period has seen the Nashville Predators get a lot of shots and scoring chances against the Stars.  At the 14:55 mark in the period, Nashville goes on the power play when Dallas’ Mats Zuccarello gets called for a tripping penalty.  Austin Watson would get called for with 2:07 left in the period for an illegal check to the head to send the Stars to their first power play of the game.  Dallas would spend the majority of the power play and the last last two minutes trying to get the puck past Pekka Rinne after several good looks.  Look for the Stars in the second period to attack the net and create as much havoc as possible for Rinne.  Going into the second period, Nashville needs to play a crisp game and get the puck past Bishop.

     

    The second period of this contest would have a bit of rough action with good hits and lot of post whistle jabs, but there would not be any penalties called because of that action.  After great shots by the Predators, the Stars break out down the ice with Comeau getting his second goal of the playoffs to tie the game at the 5:20 mark in the period.  After that goal, Dallas nearly took the lead before a kickout save by Rinne.  At the 8:02 mark in the period, Blake Comeau gets called for a Delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, giving Nashville their second power play of the contest.  On the power play, Nashville is unable to take advantage as the Stars will clear the puck.  Thus far, the Predators are the only team to not register a goal in the postseason.  The Stars are all over Nashville, as they are not letting the Predators get anything going.  The only player getting anything done in this game to this point is Rocco Grimaldi.  Dallas Jason Dickinson would later be called for an elbowing penalty, Nashville’s third of the contest.  The second period was a rather sluggish one, and look for the third period to be full of action.

     

    Going into the third, Dallas almost made it a 2-1 game but the puck would ring right off the crossbar and some Stars players thought that the puck would make it in the net but after a replay, the puck barely missed the net.  The action has gone fast in this period with a lot of whistles not being blown.  Action has been good with both teams getting good chances with a few odd-man rushes occurring as well.  Colton Sissons of the Predators would breakout down the ice, but would get stopped by Bishop.  In turn, Dallas would get a breakaway chance, but they would also miss another chance to make it a 2-1 Stars lead.  A clean period would be played until Dallas’ Blake Comeau would be called for tripping at the 18:03 mark, giving Nashville their fourth power play of the night.  The third period would come to an end with Nashville having 7 seconds left on the power play, going into overtime.

     

    In overtime, the Stars would kill the power play and they would get a couple looks at the net.  Overtime play in the first five minutes would see both teams get good shots at the net but there would also be great physicality between the two clubs at each other’s end of the ice.  Much like the third period, there would be a lot action, without a lot of whistles being blown to halt play.  The Dallas Stars would win the game with 2:58 left in the contest when John Klingberg would score, sending the Stars to the second round.

     

    Dallas now faces the St. Louis Blues in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

     

    Nashville Predators Lines and Defencive Pairings

    Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Viktor Arvidsson

    Mikael Granlund-Kyle Turris-Rocco Grimaldi

    Calle Jarnkrok-Colton Sissons-Craig Smith

    Brian Boyle-Nick Bonino-Austin Watson

    Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis

    Mattias Ekholm-P.K. Subban

    Dan Hamhuis-Dante Fabbro

    Pekka Rinne

    Juusa Saros

    Injured:  Wayne Simmonds (lower body)

    Scratched: Miikka Salomaki, Rem Pitlick, Zac Rinaldo, Cody McLeod, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber, Frederick Gaudreau

     

    Dallas Stars Lines and Defensive Pairings

    Jamie Benn-Tyler Seguin-Alexander Radulov

    Jason Dickinson-Roope Hintz-Mats Zuccarello

    Andrew Cogliano-Radek Faksa-Blake Comeau

    Justin Dowling-Jason Spezza-Valeri Nichushkin

    Esa Lindell-John Klingberg

    Miro Heiskanen-Roman Polak

    Jamie Oleksiak-Ben Lovejoy

    Ben Bishop

    Anton Khudobin

    Injuries: Stephen Johns (upper body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Brett Ritchie (hand), Mattias Janmark (lower body)

    Scratched: Julius Honka, Jason Spezza, Taylor Fedun, Landon Bow, Valeri Nichushkin

     

     

    First Period:

    Nashville Goal: Austin Watson (1) assisted by P.K. Subban (2) and Nick Bonino (3)  —  5:47

    Dallas Penalty: Mats Zuccarello for Tripping  —  2 min minor  —  14:55

     

    End of 1st – NSH – 1       DAL – 0

    Shots              19                10

    Faceoffs         10                09

    Hits                 09                15

    PP                   0/1                 0/1

     

     

     

    Second Period:

    Dallas Goal: Blake Comeau (2) assisted by Radek Faksa (1) —  5:20

    Dallas Penalty: Blake Comeau for Delay of game  —  2 min penalty  —  8:02

    Dallas Penalty: Jason Dickinson for Elbowing  —  2 min penalty  —  15:32

     

    End of 2nd – NSH – 1       DAL – 1

    Shots              32                23

    Faceoffs         25                23

    Hits                 22                23

    PP                   0/3                 0/1

     

     

     

    Third Period:

    Dallas Penalty: Blake Comeau for Tripping  —  2 min minor  —  18:07

     

    End of 3rd– NSH – 1       DAL – 1

    Shots              40                37

    Faceoffs         35                28

    Hits               32                  31

    PP                   0/4*              0/1

    *7 seconds remain in PP

     

    1st OT Period:

    Dallas Goal: John Klingberg (1) assisted by Alexander Raduolv (2) and Tyler Seguin (4)   —  17:02

     

    End of OT– NSH – 1       DAL – 2

    Shots              48                51

    Faceoffs         45                33

    Hits                37                 41

    PP                   0/4              0/1

     

    For TXHT’s extensive 2019 Stanley Cup playoff coverage, you can click here to check out game recaps and series previews.

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 6 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 6 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Capitals Lead 3-2

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals enter Game 6 looking to earn their first road win of the postseason as they also look to close out their series against the Hurricanes in Carolina. The Capitals would not need long as Brett Connolly would net his second of the playoffs when he would recieve a behind the night pass from Lars Eller, and Connolly would move to the front of the net area and roof over Petr Mrazek’s glove to make it 1-0. Then after a failed powerplay attempt, the Hurricanes would take advantage of a bad line change by the Capitals as Warren Foegele would score his fourth of the playoffs to tie the game at one. However, the Capitals would regaim the lead as Alex Ovechkin would dangle past a sliding Jaccob Slavin then rip the puck past Mrazek to make it 2-1 going into the second intermission.

     

    Going into the second period the Hurricanes would force the play in the Capitals zone, and after slashing Jonas Siegenthaler in the hands Sebastian Aho would do a nice dish to Teuvo Teravainen who would score his second of the playoffs to tie the game at two. As the period went on the Capitals would get two powerplay opportunities, but poor entry decisions would cost the Capitals on both powerplays.

     

    In the third period the Capitals would try to force the rush, but the Hurricanes would suffocate the Capitals and with the puck bouncing around in the slot area Jordan Staal would get the puck past Bradem Holtby to give the Hurricanes the lead for the first time in this game and also create the first lead change all season. Then the Capitals wouldvforce some good pressure to where they thought they scored, however, the goal would be waved off due to Alex Ovechkin’s contact with Petr Mrazek that pushed the puck in the net. Shortly after Justin Williams would tip a point shot from Brett Pesce past Braden Holtby to increase their lead to 4-2. Then on a very moronic decision by head coach Todd Reirden, Dougie Hamilton would score an empty net goal to ice this game and force a Game 7 with a 5-2 victory.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Carl Hagelin

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Jonas Siegenthaler — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Christian Djoos, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Parker Milner

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring), T.J. Oshie (clavicle)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Brock McGinn — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele — Lucas Wallmark — Jordan Martinook

    Saku Maenalanen — Greg McKegg — Patrick Brown

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Calvin de Haan — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Haydn Fleury, Clark Bishop

    Injured: Andrei Svechnikov (concussion), Micheal Ferland (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 5:06 – Brett Connolly (2) from Lars Eller (2) and Andre Burakovsky (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 8:30 – Nic Dowd 2 minutes for Hooking

    Hurricanes Goal – 10:35 – Warren Foegele (4) from Dougie Hamilton (3) and Jaccob Slavin (6)

    Capitals Goal – 15:12 – Alex Ovechkin (4) from Dmitry Orlov (3) and Matt Niskanen (2)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 2       CAR – 1

    Shots              07                15

    Faceoffs         11                14

    Hits               18                  20

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 1:56 – Teuvo Teravainen (2) from Sebastian Aho (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 2:36 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Slashing

    Hurricanes Penalty – 7:58 – Justin Williams 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 15:36 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 19:29 – Jordan Martinook 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Penalty – 19:29 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        CAR – 2

    Shots               13                 24

    Faceoffs          17                 26

    Hits                 37                  30

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 3:51 – Jordan Staal (2) from Brock McGinn (2) and Justin Faulk (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 6:15 – Chandler Stephenson 2 minutes for Tripping

    https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1120502427227127809?s=19

    Hurricanes Goal – 11:58 – Justin Williams (1) from Brett Pesce (1) and Jordan Staal (3)

    Hurricanes ENG – 16:54 – Dougie Hamilton (3) from Jordan Martinook (2)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:52 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Penalty – 18:52 – Alex Ovechkin – Misconduct

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 2         CAR – 5

    Shots              25                   36

    Faceoffs        28                    38

    Hits               45                     38

    PP                 0/2                    0/4

     

    Next Up:

    Game Seven – Series Tied 3-3

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

  • April 22nd, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 22nd, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, April 22nd, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were two games in Stanley Cup playoff action yesterday.

     

     

    Boston 4, TORONTO 2 (Series is tied 3-3)

     

    The Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs yesterday to send the series to a win or go home Game 7.

     

    Steve Gardiner has your full recap of the contest between the Bruins and the Maple Leafs here or at the following link.

     

     

    San Jose 2, VEGAS 1 (2OT) (Series is tied 3-3)

     

    The San Jose Sharks would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in double OT with a 2-1 to tie their series at 3-3.

     

     

     

     

     

    There are two games taking place today.  First, the Washington Capitals look to advance to the second round when they take ono the Carolina Hurricanes and the Dallas Stars also look to advance when they face off against the Nashville Predators.

     

     

    Don’t forget to check out all of TXHT’s extensive playoff coverage by clicking here.

     

  • April 21st, 2019 — News and Notes

    April 21st, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Sunday, April 21st, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were three Stanley Cup playoffs games  in action yesterday.  All the recaps are written by TXHT’s staff.

     

     

    Dallas 5, NASHVILLE 3 (Dallas leads the series 3-2)

     

    Game 5, 3-2 DAL

     

    The Dallas Stars are one win away from advancing to the second round after they defeated the Nashville Predators yesterday by the score of 5-3.

     

    Dickson Kendrick has your recap of the contest between Dallas and Nashville which you can read here or at the link below.

     

     

    ST. LOUIS 3, Winnipeg 2 (St. Louis wins the series 4-2)

     

    Game 6. 4-2 STL

     

    The St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets by the score of 3-2 and have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The Blues await the winner of the series between the Predators and Stars.

     

    Aryan Weisenfeld has your recap of the contest between the Blues and Jets here or at the link below.

     

     

     

    WASHINGTON 6, Carolina 0 (Washington leads the series 3-2)

     

    Game 5. 3-2 WSH

     

    The Washington Capitals crushed the Carolina Hurricanes last night with a 6-0 win and are one win away from facing off against the NY Islanders in the second round.

     

    Michael Lindenbaum was live from the contest between the Capitals and the Hurricanes and you can read the recap of the contest here or at the link posted below.

     

     

    There are two contests taking place today in Stanley Cup playoff action with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights looking to advance to the second round.

     

     

    For more news, notes, information, and stats, you can check out the NHL’s Morning Skate report posted below.

     

     

    You can catch up on all of TXHT’s 2019 Stanley Cup playoff coverage by clicking here.