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Tag: Austin Watson

  • 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.

  • November 26th, 2018 — News and Notes

    November 26th, 2018 — News and Notes

    Today is Monday, November 26th, 2018, and these are your news and notes.

     

    There were four contests yesterday in the NHL and one contest in the NWHL…

     

    Calgary 6, ARIZONA 1

     

    The Calgary Flames would register three shorthanded goals against the Arizona Coyotes in their 6-1 win last night.

     

    The three shorthanded goals are tied for the most in franchise history.

     

     

    TAMPA BAY 5, New Jersey 2

     

     

    Brayden Point would end the game with two goals.  He has 10 for the month of November and is tied for third place with 17 goals on the season.

     

     

    NASHVILLE 5, Anaheim 2

     

    Nashville’s Austin Watson would register a hat trick in the contest over the Anaheim Ducks, with Nick Bonino and Craig Smith registering the other two goals from the Nashville Predators.

     

     

    LOS ANGELES 5, Edmonton 2

    Los Angeles’ Matt Luff would be the fifth different rookie to have a four-goal streak or more in franchise history in the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 win last night.

     

    Kings captain Anze Kopitar would factor on three of the teams’ goals for the 53rd time in his career and the first on the season.

     

     

    Kings Dustin Brown would also register a hat trick in the game as well.

     

     

    There are five games on the NHL schedule today:

     

     

    In the lone National Women’s Hockey League contest from the weekend, the Metropolitan Riveters faced off against the Connecticut Whale.

     

    Audra Richards of the Metropolitan Riveters would net a hat trick as the Riveters would go on to defeat the Whale 4-3 in a shootout.

     

     

    Riveters’ Amanda Kessel would score in the shootout to help out with the victory.

     

     

    TXHT’s Christopher Vasilas has your recap of the match-up between the Riveters and the Whale at the following page.

     

    NWHL Game Recap – 11/25/2018 – Connecticut Whale v. Metropolitan Riveters

     

    In NHL News today:

    In a very shocking and surprising announcement, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that Executive Vice President and General Manager Ron Hextall has been fired.

     

    Flyers President Paul Holmgren and Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Dave Scott will have a press conference at 11:00am tomorrow (November 27th).

     

     

    TXHT has your thoughts and coverage on the news of Hextall’s firing at the following page.

     

    Flyers Fire Ron Hextall as GM in a Very Shocking Move

     

    The Winnipeg Jets announced that they will wear their Heritage jerseys for two games this season.  The jerseys will be available for purchase on Friday and will be worn on December 31st at the Edmonton Oilers and then again on the Winnipeg Jets Alumni Night on February 26th, 2019 when the Minnesota Wild visit Winnipeg.

     

     

    The NHL announced their Three Stars of the Week ending on November 25.

     

    In NWHL news, Audra Richards was named the VEDA NWHL Player of the Week.  Richards registered the first NWHL hat-trick of the season in the Metropolitan Riveters 4-3 shootout win yesterday.

     

     

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

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

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

    Differences:

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

     

    Similarities:

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

  • News and Notes: October 12, 2018

     

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

    In NHL action last night there were twelve contests.

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

      Montreal Canadiens shutout at home

    Yesterday’s game results:

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

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

     

    In NHL news…

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

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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