Tag: Stanley Cup Playoffs

  • NHL Playoffs 2019: Rd 1 Game 4: Isles Complete The Sweep

    NHL Playoffs 2019: Rd 1 Game 4: Isles Complete The Sweep

    The Pittsburgh Penguins squared off once again in Pittsburgh for Game 4 of the series. The Pens, looking to get the win, to try and extend the series one more game. While the Islanders just needed one more win to complete the sweep.

    In the first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins came out flying, as expected. They would get a goal not even a minute into the game. An early goal coming from Jake Guentzel beating Lehner top blocker. It would be the first goal of the series for Guentzel.

    Seemingly gathering the early momentum, the Penguins would look to capitalize on early chances, but the Islanders would answer back, scoring on a beautiful 2 on 1. The goal coming from man on fire Jordan Eberle, scoring his fourth of the series.

    Before the end of the period, the Islanders would add a second goal. This time coming from Brock Nelson. A beautiful chip play in front of the crease, beating Matt Murray upstairs. The goal was Nelson’s third of the series.

    In the second period, there was great back and forth chances, but the only big action to note of, in the period, was an altercation between Penguins forward Patrick Hornqvist and Islanders goalie Robin Lehner. A scrum that saw the Islanders go on the power play after the dust had settled, which they failed to capitalize on.

    In the third period, it was more of the same. A lot of great back and forth action, which saw both goalies make some incredible saves. Pittsburgh would get a wonderful opportunity to tie the game up while on the power play, a shot from Phil Kessel was saved off the line by Isles defensive Scott Mayfield. The icing on the cake though was the empty net goal that was scored by Josh Bailey, after a great defensive faceoff win by Valtteri Filppula.

    It should be pointed out that this is the second year in a row that Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz led his team to victory against the Penguins in the playoffs. Last year, he did it with the Washington Capitals in the second round. 

    The Yes Movement will be moving on to the second round, where they will be waiting for the winner of the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes series.

    Boxscore

    https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyi-vs-pit/2019/04/16/2018030144#game=2018030144,game_state=final

  • Gameday Recap: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (First Round: Game 4)

    Gameday Recap: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (First Round: Game 4)

    Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
    (Columbus leads the series 3-0)

    Game 4 Recap:

    The Tampa Bay Lightning, clinging onto life in the series, would be called with an early slashing penalty just 45 seconds into the period.  On that power play, Columbus would strike with a goal by Alexandre Texier, his first in the postseason.  Pierre-Luc Dubois would make the game a 2-0 game just a minute later and then at the 8:44 mark, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos would make it 2-1 contest.  At the 11:41 mark, Lightning F Nikita Kucherov would be called for a tripping penalty and it was thought that Cam Atkinson would make it a 3-1 contest before Tampa Bay would challenge the goal.  The challenge would turn out to be successful, as the Blue Jackets would be called offsides, with 7:37 left in the period.  Columbus would try several more times to get the lead back to two goals, but Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy would make several saves.  Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would make great saves as well and has played a great first 20 minutes, despite allowing the goal by Stamkos.

    The play in the second period would start out slow but both teams would get several shots off. Blue Jackets D Seth Jones make the score 3-1 with his second goal of the series at the 6:28 mark in the period, with Cam Atkinson and Matt Duchene registering their second and fourth assists, respectively, in the postseason.  Tampa Bay would get great looks and shots, but Bobrovsky would do everything he could to turn aside all the shots he faced, especially a great rebound shot from Brayden Point.  However, that shot would go wide from the net as well.  Tampa Bay has been fighting to stay alive not only in the period, but in this contest as well.  The Lightning in the next thirty minutes of the contest need to have more of their top players producing.  Cedric Paquette would bring the Lightning back to within a goal with his first goal of the postseason when the puck would bounce off the top of the crossbar and into the back of the net.  The Tampa Bay Lightning would tie the game at 3 when Brayden Point would score a power play goal, off of the David Savard penalty for Cross-checking.  Columbus would take back the lead with Oliver Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the playoffs just a minute after Point’s goal.

     

    The third period in the contest would contain a few chances for both teams and there would be a lot of hacking and whacking for control of the puck around the boards for possession of the puck.  Five minutes into the period, Anthony Cirelli of the Lightning would breakdown the ice before losing possession of the puck and Tampa would regain possession but it would not be enough as Columbus would regain puck possession.  Throughout the first seven minutes of the third period, there would be a lot of turnovers due to the high action of plays going on from both teams.  In the final five minutes, Artemi Panarin had a great chance to make it a 5-3 Columbus game but the shot would  miss the net by a couple of feet and then Tampa Bay would come racing down the ice to try and make it a 4-4 game but Bobrovsky would freeze the puck and we get the whistle stop play with 3:58 left in the period.  Tampa Bay would pull Vasilevskiy with 2:10 left in the period to give the Lightning an extra skater but that would prove to be costly as Artemi Panarin would score the empty netter to give the Columbus a 5-3 lead with 1:53 left in the contest.  19 seconds later, Alexandre Texier would score an empty netter to seal the win for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Matt Duchene would score the third empty net goal with nine seconds left to give Columbus the 7-3 win over the Lightning.

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets win their first playoff series, sweeping the Lightning, and now await the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs v. Boston Bruins.

     

    With the loss by the Tampa Bay Lightning, they become the first team in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy AND get swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

    Tampa Bay Lightning Lines and Defensive Pairings:

    Steven Stamkos-Anthony Cirelli-Nikita Kucherov

    Ondrej Palat-Brayden Point-Tyler Johnson

    Mathieu Joseph-Cedric Paquette-J.T. Miller

    Alex Killorn-Yanni Gourde-Ryan Callahan

    Ryan McDonagh-Erik Cernak

    Mikhail Sergachev-Dan Girardi

    Brayden Coburn-Jan Ruuta

    Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Louis Domingue

    Injured: Victor Hedman (Upper Body), Anton Stralman (Lower Body)

    Scratched: Cameron Gaunce, Adam Erne, Danick Martel

     

    Columbus Blue Jackets Lines and Defensive Pairings:

    Artemi Panarin-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Oliver Bjorkstrand

    Ryan Dzingel-Matt Duchene-Cam Atkinson

    Alexandre Texier-Nick Foligno-Josh Anderson

    Brandon Dubinsky-Boone Jenner-Riley Nash

    Zach-Werenski-Seth Jones

    Dean Kukan-David Savard

    Adam Clendening-Scott Harrington

    Sergei Bobrovsky

    Joonas Korpisalo

    Scratches:  Markus Hannikainen  , Lukas Sedlak  , Eric Robinson, Alexander Wennberg, Zac Dalpe, Markus Nutivaara (questionable), Adam McQuaid (injured), Andrew Peeke, Vladislav Gavrikov; Keith Kinkaid, Elvis Merzlikins 

     

     

    First Period:

     

    Tampa Bay Penalty: Ryan McDonagh for Slashing  —  2 min minor  — :45

     

    Columbus PPG: Alexandre Texier (1) assisted by Seth Jones (2) and Pierre-Luc DuBois (1)  —  2:26

     

     

    Columbus Goal: Pierre-Luc DuBois (1) assisted by Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) and Adam Clendening (1)  —  3:48

     

     

    Tampa Bay Goal: Steven Stamkos (1) assisted by Nikita Kucherov (1) and Anthony Cirelli (1)  —  8:44

     

     

    Tampa Bay Penalty: Nikita Kucherov for Tripping  —  2 min minor  —  11:18

     

    Tampa Bay Challenge on Cam Atkinson Goal is Successful (score remains 2-1)  —  12:23

     

    End of 1st – TBL– 1       CLB– 2

    Shots              07                08

    Faceoffs         10                09

    Hits                 13                10

    PP                   0/0               1/2

     

     

    Second Period:

     

    Columbus Goal: Seth Jones (2) assisted by Cam Atkinson (2) and Matt Duchene (1)  —  6:28

     

     

    Tampa Bay Goal:  Cedric Paquette (1) assisted by Braydon Coburn (1) —  13:03

     

     

    Columbus Penalty: David Savard for Cross-checking  —  2 min minor  —  16:43

     

    Tampa Bay PPG: Brayden Point (1) assisted by Steven Stamkos (1) and Nikita Kucherov (2)  —  17:52

     

    Columbus Goal: Oliver Bjorkstand (2) assisted by Scott Harrington (2) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (2) —  18:46

     

     

    End of 2nd– TBL– 3       CLB– 4

    Shots              20                20

    Faceoffs         19                19

    Hits                 21                17

    PP                 1/1                 1/2

     

     

    Third Period:

     

    Columbus ENG: Artemi Panarin (2) unassisted  —  18:07

     

     

    Columbus ENG: Alexandre Texier (2) assisted by Zach Werenski  —  18:26

     

     

    Columbus ENG: Matt Duchene (3) assisted by David Savard (1) and Scott Harrington (3)  —  19:51

     

     

    End of 3rd– TBL– 3       CLB– 7

    Shots              33                25

    Faceoffs         29                24

    Hits               32                  30

    PP                   1/1                1/2

     

     

    Three Stars of the Game:

     

    First Star:  Columbus F Alexandre Texier (2 goals)

     

    Second Star:  Columbus G Sergei Bobrovsky (30 saves)

     

    Third Star:  Seth Jones (goal)

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 3 – Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 3 – Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

    OGame Recap

    Tonight, Game 3 takes the Colorado Avalanche back home to the Pepsi Center to square off against the Calgary Flames. The first period certainly was very interesting for the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice on the power play. However, the biggest story of the first period featured rookie Cale Makar scoring his first National Hockey League goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It has been a crazy and interesting last few days for the rookie as he won the Hobey Baker award on Friday night as the top college hockey player. On Saturday, Makar appeared in the NCAA Championship game v.s eventual champions Minnesota Deluth. Sunday, Cale Makar signed his entry-level deal with the Avalanche so he could play and replace the injured defenseman, Sam Girard. After the first period, the Colorado Avalanche would lead 3-0 over the Calgary Flames.

    In the second period, the Avalanche kept their scoring up as they struck twice. Matt Nieto scored his second shorthanded goal of these series and Mikko Rantanen added his first goal of the playoffs. Calgary would get on the board on a Sam Bennett power play goal. After two period, the Avalanche would lead 5-1 over the Flames.

    The third period saw each team trade goals as Erik Johnson scored for the Avalanche and TJ Brodie scored for the Flames. The Avalanche shut down the Flames for the remainder of the game and claimed the victory 6-2. The Avalanche now lead the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night.

     

    Lineups:

    Colorado Avalanche:

    Forwards:

    Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon- Alexander Kerfoot

    Mikko Rantanen-Carl Soderberg-Colin Wilson

    Matt Nieto- Derek Brassard- JT Compher

    Matt Calvert- Tyson Jost- Gabriel Bourque

    Defensemen

    Ian Cole – Erik Jonson

    Nikita Zadarov – Tyson Barrie

    Cale Makar – Patrik Nemeth

     

    Goalies:

    Starter- Phillip Grubauer

    Backup- Semyon Varlamov

    Scratches: Andrew Agozzino, Sven Andrighetto, Vladislav Kamenev, Mark Babeiro, Ryan Graves, Sam Girard

     

    Calgary Flames:

    Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan- Elias Lindholm

    Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michal Frolik

    Sam Bennett – Mark Jankowski – James Neal

    Andrew Mangiapane – Derek Ryan -Garnet Hathaway

    Defensemen:

    Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie

    Noah Hanafin – Travis Hamonic

    Oscar Fantenberg – Rasmus Andersson

    Goalies:

    Starter- Mike Smith

    Backup- David Rittich

    Scratches: Austin Czarnik, Dillon Dube, Alan Quine, Oliver Kylington, Dalton Prout

     

    First Period Highlights

    Colorado Goal-16:02-Cale Makar (1) assisted by Nathan MacKinnon (1) & Alex Kerfoot (1)

    Second Period Highlights:

    3rd Period Highlights:

    Final Stats:

     

    Next Up:

    Game 4- Wednesday April 17th, 2019 @ 10pm

    (Colorado leads the series 2-1)

  • April 16th, 2019  —  News and Notes

    April 16th, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is Tuesday, April 16th, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were four games in Stanley Cup playoff action yesterday

     

     

    TXHT, as they will for all 2019 Stanley Cup playoff games, has all of your recaps from last night’s contests.  Each of the contests and there you can check out all of TXHT’s recaps.

     

    CAROLINA 5, Washington 0 (Washington leads the series 2-1)

    Game 3. 2-1 WSH

     

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 3 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

     

    TORONTO 3, Boston 2 (Toronto leads the series 2-1)

    Game 3. 2-1 TOR

     

    Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #3 Recap

     

    Nashville 3, DALLAS 2 (Nashville leads the series 2-1)

    Game 3, 2-1 NSH

     

    Gameday Recap: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars (First Round: Game 3)

     

    COLORADO 6, Calgary 2 (Colorado leads the series 2-1)

    Game 3 - 2-1 COL

     

     

    Today there are four games in action


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

     

     

    In NHL news…

     

    It was announced yesterday that Toronto Maple Leafs C Nazem Kadri has been suspended for the remainder of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

     

     

    TXHT has your break down of the news and our reaction here.

     

    In addition, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that San Jose Sharks F Joe Thornton has been suspended for one game for his Illegal Check to the Head of Vegas Golden Knights F Tomas Nosek in Sunday’s contest.

     

     

     

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

     

     

    Don’t forget to check out all of TXHT’s extensive 2019 Stanley Cup playoff previews and recaps here.

  • Gameday Recap: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars (First Round: Game 3)

    Gameday Recap: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars (First Round: Game 3)

    Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars
    Series Tied 1-1

    Game Recap:

    In Game 3 of this match, the first period would be a fast-paced period both teams going on the power play.  There would be a lot of puck possession between both squads and there would be a lot of excellent chances for the teams to score.  Both teams would lay out their fair share of hits in the contest, with the Stars having 20 hits in the first period to Nashville’s 10.

    In the second period, Rocco Grimaldi would get his second goal in the series when the puck would bounce off of Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop at the 3:29 mark.  Dallas would get a few chances to tie the score in the next couple of minutes after Grimaldi’s goal but Rinne would stop those shots with great saves.  Nashville would then kill off a 5 on 3 penalty, with the Stars getting several chances at the net.  Possession would then swing back Nashville’s way before they would turn over the puck to the Stars who would then hold on before an offsides call was made midway through the period.  Filip Forsberg would make the contest 2-0 Nashville with 5:25 left in the period.  After a great set-up play, Mats Zuccarello would get the Stars on the board with under 3 minutes to play in the period, and the goal would inject some life into the Stars bench.  Austin Watson would be called for a  tripping penalty with 25 seconds remaining in the period, giving the Stars a chance to tie the game with an extra man when they have 1:35 left on the power play going into the third period.

    Going into the third period, Nashville would be successful in killing off the penalty and Nashville would get some chances to get a comfortable lead.  The period would have the puck go back and forth until Dallas would score at the 8:15 mark in the period with Tyler Seguin getting the goal to tie the game a 2.  Nashville would get the lead back after a faceoff and the puck would bounce off of Dallas D Miro Heiskanen’s stick at the 11:41 mark in the period and Nashville Mikhail Granlund would be awarded the goal.  Dallas would get several chances in the front of the net, however, Pekka Rinne would makes several saves after the hacks and whacks at the net.  Dallas would pull Ben Bishop with 2:11 left in the contest to add six attackers to try and tie the score but it would not help out and Nashville would escape with a Game 3 win, and the 2-1 series lead.

     

    Nashville Predators Lines and Defencive Pairings

    Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Viktor Arvidsson

    Mikael Granlund-Kyle Turris-Craig Smith

    Colton Sissons-Nick Bonino-Austin Watson

    Miikka Salomaki-Calle Jarnkrok-Rocco Grimaldi

    Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis

    Mattias Ekholm-P.K. Subban

    Dan Hamhuis-Dante Fabbro

    Pekka Rinne

    Juusa Saros

    Injured: Brian Boyle (appendix procedure), Wayne Simmonds (lower body)

    Scratched: Brian Boyle, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber, Rem Pitlick, Zac Rinaldo, , Cody McLeod, Frederick Gaudreau, Niclas Westerholm, Wayne Simmonds

     

    Dallas Stars Lines and Defencive Pairings

    Mats-Zuccarello-Tyler Seguin-Alexander Radulov

    Jamie Benn-Roope Hintz-Justin Dowling

    Blake Comeau-Radek Faksa-Jason Dickinson

    Mattias Janmark-Jason Spezza-Valeri Nichushkin

    Esa Lindell-John Klingberg

    Miro Heiskanen-Roman Polak

    Jamie Oleksiak-Ben Lovejoy

    Ben Bishop

    Anton Khudobin

    InjuriesStephen Johns (upper body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Brett Ritchie (hand)

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

     

    First Period:

    Dallas Penalty: Alexander Radulov  for Roughing  —  2 min minor  —  4:18

    Nashville Penalty: Filip Forsberg for Hooking  —  2 min minor  —  8:14

     

    End of 1st – NSH – 0       DAL – 0

    Shots              14                11

    Faceoffs         07                12

    Hits               10                  20

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

     

    Second Period:

    Nashville Goal: Rocco Grimaldi (2) assisted by P.K. Subban (1) and Miikka Salomaki (1) —  3:29

    Nashville Penalty: Viktor Arvidsson for Interference  —  2 min minor  —  5:38

     

    Nashville Penalty: Nick Bonino for Tripping  —  2 min minor  —  6:09

     

    Nashville Goal: Filip Forsberg (1) Nick Bonino (2)  assisted by —  14:35

     

     

    Dallas Goal: Mats Zuccarello (1) assisted by John Klingberg (2)  —  17:11

     

    Nashville Penalty: Austin Watson for Tripping  —  19:35

    End of 2nd – DAL – 1       NSH – 2

    Shots              27                  20

    Faceoffs         25                  18

    Hits                 17                  34

    PP                 0/4*                 0/1

    *1:35 left in 4th PP

     

     

    Third Period

    Dallas Goal: Tyler Seguin (1) assisted by Jamie Benn (2) and Alexander Radulov (1)  —  8:15

     

     

    Nashville Goal: Mikhail Granlund (1) assisted by Dante Fabbro (1) and Kyle Turris (1)  —  11:41

     

     

     

    End of 3rd – DAL – 2       NSH – 3

    Shots              42                28

    Faceoffs        36                27

    Hits               42                 23

    PP                 0/4                 0/1

     

    My Three Stars of the Game:

    First Star: Nashville G Pekka Rinne with 40 saves

    Second Star: Dallas F Tyler Seguin with a goal and 11 Shots on Goal

    Third Star: Nashville F Mikhail Granlund with the GWG for Nashville

     

     

    Game 4 of the series takes place Wednesday night in Dallas at 8 p.m., ET

  • Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 3 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 3 – Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Washington Capitals v. Carolina Hurricanes

     

    Game Recap:

    In the first game in ten years in North Carolina, the Washington Capitals come to town looking to extend their series lead to three, but the Carolina Hurricanes have other things in mind as Warren Foegele would score the first goal of the game to give the Hurricanes their first lead of the series. Then tensions would boil over as Alexander Ovechkin and Andrei Svechnikov would get into a rare playoff fight that would see Ovechkin knock Svechnikov out of the game.

    Both teams would trade powerplay opportunities, but neither would be able to capitalize.

     

    Then in the second period, it would be the Hurricanes building on their lead as Foegele would score his second of the game. Then on the powerplay thanks to a Nicklas Backstrom penalty, Dougie Hamilton would score to make it 3-0 and continue to build the Hurricanes surge. The Hurricanes would also hold the Capitals to a franchise low one shot in the second period.

     

    In the third period the Hurricanes would continue their surge on the Capitals as they would abuse and frustrate the Capitals. After killing off two penalties, the Hurricanes would draw a penalty against Lars Eller which would then result in another Dougie Hamilton powerplay goal to make it 4-0. And to put the nail in the coffin, Brock McGinn would score the fifth and final goal to seal the victory for the Hurricanes as they cut the Capitals series lead in half to one.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    John Carlson — Nick Jensen

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Vitek Vanecek

    Injured: Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Nino Niederreiter — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Andrei Svechnikov — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Micheal Ferland — Lucas Wallmark — Jordan Martinook

    Warren Foegele — Greg McKegg — Brock McGinn

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Trevor van Riemsdyk

    Petr Mrazek

    Curtis McElhinney

    Scratched: Saku Maenalanen, Jake Bean

    Injured: Calvin de Haan (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 9:43 – Warren Foegele (1) from Justin Faulk (2) and Brock McGinn (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 10:59 – Alex Ovechkin 5 minute major for Fighting

    Hurricanes Penalty – 10:59 – Andrei Svechnikov 5 minute major Fighting

    Hurricanes Penalty – 11:46 – Jordan Staal 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals Penalty – 17:03 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 0       CAR – 1

    Shots              09                15

    Faceoffs         12                11

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Goal – 6:09 – Warren Foegele (2) from Sebastian Aho (1) and Teuvo Teravainen (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 9:48 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Interference

    Hurricanes PPG – 11:40 – Dougie Hamilton (1) from Jordan Staal (1) and Jaccob Slavin (3)

    Capitals Penalty – 15:38 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes Penalty – 15:38 – Warren Foegele 2 minutes for Slashing

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 0        CAR – 3

    Shots               10                 33

    Faceoffs          23                 22

    PP                   0/1                  1/2

     

    Third Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 1:22 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Interference

    Hurricanes Penalty – 5:31 – Hayden Fleury 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Capitals Penalty – 8:19 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes PPG – 9:47 – Dougie Hamilton (2) from Jaccob Slavin (4) and Warren Foegele (2)

    Capitals Penalty – 13:01 – Brett Connolly 2 minutes for Roughing

    Hurricanes Goal – 15:35 – Brock McGinn (1) from Jordan Staal (2) and Jordan Martinook (1)

    Capitals Penalty – 15:46 – Jakub Vrana 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Hurricanes Penalty – 19:22 – Dougie Hamilton 2 minutes for High Sticking

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 0         CAR – 5

    Shots              17                   45

    Faceoffs        36                    30

    Hits               34                     52

    PP                 0/4                    2/5

     

    Next Up:

    Game Four –  Capitals Leads Series 2-1

     

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

  • Breaking News-Opinion-Maple Leafs Center Nazem Kadri suspended for the remainder of the 1st round v.s Boston Bruins (5 games)

    Breaking News-Opinion-Maple Leafs Center Nazem Kadri suspended for the remainder of the 1st round v.s Boston Bruins (5 games)

    Since Saturday night Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and hockey fans have been waiting to see what kind of discipline Nazem Kadri would receive after his wreck-less and inexcusable cross check to the face of Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk. Well, the NHL has decided to suspend Nazem Kadri for the remainder of the first round or essentially a 5 games suspension.

     

    How did we get here?

    Nazem Kadri is a repeat offender and has been suspended five times since 2013. Kadri has been suspended for things such as Interference (taking a deliberate run at then Minnesota Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom), illegal check to the head, boarding, and similarly cross checking Red Wings player Luke Glendening in the face. He has also even had a team imposed suspension for being late to team meetings. Kadri has also been fined for poor behavior such as a throat slashing gesture, & diving/embellishment.

    Earlier in Saturday nights game, Kadri took exception to what he felt were some hits that went unpenalized. Late in the second period, DeBrusk was lining up Kadri for a huge open ice hit. Kadri tried to jump out of the way, which produced a leg-on-leg hit that went unpenalized. Later on DeBrusk checked Leafs forward Patrick Marleau into the Bruins curved glass at the end of their bench. Kadri became upset, saw red, and cross checked DeBrusk in the face which resulted in a major penalty and a game misconduct.

     

    Thoughts on the suspension

    I wholeheartedly agree with that NHL department of player safety suspending Nazem Kadri for the rest of this series or essentially 5 games. In fact, I wouldn’t have been opposed to it if it were longer. What happened on Saturday night was not the first time Nazem Kadri has done this or other forms of negative behavior on the ice. He continues to hurt his team as a result of his actions and is only thinking of himself. Essentially, I’m saying he’s being very selfish. When is he going to learn that the actions he takes on the ice at times are not acceptable and effect other people? His team needs him right now in the playoffs and not being suspended. When he’s not involved in negative on ice behavior, Kadri is a very solid two-way Center-man with exceptional offensive and defensive capabilities. The Maple Leafs really need a player of his caliber in the lineup at this point in the year as it’s the Stanley Cup playoffs. It doesn’t help your team who have serious Stanley Cup aspirations when you keep getting in trouble over silly and ridiculous shenanigans. It would have been better for Kadri to challenge DeBrusk to fight and stand up for his teammates then to do what he did. Kadri needs to adapt, start doing better, and put his team first.

     

    Feature image courtesy of TSN.

  • April 15, 2019  —  News and Notes

    April 15, 2019 — News and Notes

    Today is April 15, 2019, and these are your news and notes

     

    There were four Stanley Cup playoff games in action yesterday.

     

     

    NY Islanders 4, PITTSBURGH 1 (NY Islanders lead the series 3-0)

     

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    The NY Islanders are one game away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs after downing the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-1 win.

     

    THXT has your full coverage at the link below

     

    NHL Playoffs: Rd 1 Game 3 Review: Isles Take A Commanding Lead In The Series

     

    Winnipeg 6, ST. LOUIS 3 (St. Louis leads the series 2-1)

     

    Game 3. 2-1 STL

     

    The Winnipeg jets defeated the St. Louis Blues last night, 6-3, and look to tie the series at 2 games a piece with game 4 taking place Tuesday night.

     

    Game 3 Recap – Winnipeg Jets v. St. Louis Blues

     

    COLUMBUS 3, Tampa Bay 1 (Columbus leads the series 3-0)

     

    Game 3 - 3-0 CBJ

     

    The Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 and with the win, Columbus is one win away from knocking out the Presidents’ Trophy winner.  If that happens when Game 4 takes place tomorrow night, the Lightning will become the first team to win the Presidents’ Trophy AND be swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    TXHT has your full recap of Game 3 between the Lightning and the Blue Jackets at the following link.

     

    Game Three Recap – Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

     

    VEGAS 6, San Jose 3 (Vegas leads the series 2-1)

     

    The Vegas Golden Knights would win on home ice and take the series lead with the 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks last night.

    Mark Stone would have a three goal game and Paul Stastny would have two goals of his own in this contest.

    The Golden Knights would also go 2 for 5 on Power Play chances and would outshoot the Blues with 40 shots on goal to the Blues 28.

    Vegas will look to take the commanding 3-1 series lead when the two teams face off for Game 4 Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m., ET.

     

     

    Today’s schedule of games in Stanley Cup playoff action:

     

     

    TXHT has all of your series previews and all of your game recaps at https://txhthockey.com/2019-nhl-playoffs/

     

     

    In NHL news….

     

    Today Toronto Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri will have his in-person meeting with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his cross-checking of Boston’s Jake DeBrusk.

     

     

    In other hockey news….

     

    The United States would take home the gold in the IIHF Women’s World Championships in a shootout win over Finland.  This game would not come without controversy after an initial game-winner by Finland was disallowed after a questionable penalty.

  • Game Three Recap – Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

    Game Three Recap – Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

    The unthinkable has happened in this series folks. The Columbus Blue Jackets continued their dominance of the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 3-1 win and now lead their best of seven series 3-0. If you asked any analyst, any hockey fan, anyone who knew the sport at all a few weeks ago and they all would’ve told you the same thing: The Lightning were going to win this series. Now? The Blue Jackets are making us all eat crow and they are shocking the entire world. Game Three Recap. Let’s do this.

    After a scoreless first period where the Blue Jackets poured ten shots on in front of their home crowd, they got them out of their seats early in the second period when Matt Duchene would break the ice. After a big shot from the point, Duchene jumped on the rebound and backhanded it into a basically open cage for a 1-0 Blue Jackets lead. The Nationwide Arena crowd was getting into it now and the Lightning were still unprepared for the storm to come.

    Later in the second period, Oliver Bjorkstrand, who is having a nice resurgence since the second half of the season, would strike and give the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead midway into the second period. After a solid cross-ice dish from Seth Jones, Bjorkstrand would snipe the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy with a absolute laser of a shot. The Blue Jackets were rolling and they weren’t backing down. But the Lightning found a bit of a spark.

    Early in the third period, Ondrej Palat would give the Lightning a much needed goal. A net-front redirection would cut the Blue Jackets lead to 2-1 and cause a little panic to run through Nationwide Arena. The third period would see the Lightning fail to score again though and the Blue Jackets would get an empty-net tally from Cam Atkinson to go up 3-1 late in the third period. The Blue Jackets would tae game three and send Nationwide into a frenzy.

    They are shocking the hockey world. They are shocking the entire sports world. Could the Blue Jackets close out the series in game four at Nationwide on Tuesday? It’s entirely possible. The Jackets are proving us wrong every day; they are making fools out of their doubters. Jarmo Kekalainen made some power moves at the deadline in hopes of the Cup making it’s way to Columbus. His dream looks more like a reality than it has all season.

    See you for game four.

  • Game 3 Recap – Winnipeg Jets v. St. Louis Blues

    Game 3 Recap – Winnipeg Jets v. St. Louis Blues

    Once again, the Winnipeg Jets came out playing much better than the St. Louis Blues, taking an 11-4 lead in shots. However, a timely shot by David Perron (who should be immortalized in STL lore because of his unwavering desire to keep coming back to the city), gave the Blues a 1-0 lead, with Jordan Binnington picking up the vaunted goalie assist (#assistington?).

    It stayed that way until the second when Kevin Hayes scored a flukey goal that was tipped in by Alex Pietrangelo. Then Patrick Laine scored. Sure, why not – what’s a game between these teams without Laine scoring. His shoulder has to be tired by now, right? Kyle Connor then makes it 3-1 on a 4 on 3 PP.

    The third period Brough two more goals for WPG – one a nice play, one a rather poor goal let up by Binnington (hopefully no more of those). The Blues managed one, but this was not their game. The final ended up being 6-3, but it was a lot more lopsided than that.

    Connor Hellebuyck wasn’t there to bail them out this time. If the Blues play like this the rest of the way, expect WPG to win in 6.

    I don’t expect the same play in Game 4, Wednesday at 9:30 PM Eastern.