The Stockton Heat took to pink ice over the weekend for the first Hot Pink 1, a weekend dedicated to raising awareness in the fight against breast cancer. Although this was the first time for the AHL franchise, it was the 10th time the ice has been pink out in Stockton to raise awareness for breast cancer and to aid the local St Joseph’s Foundation- Breast Health Services. Over the last nine seasons as the ECHL Stockton Thunder, over $247,085 has been donated through both a silent and live jersey auction.
The Bakersfield Condors came to town on Friday night and it was the first meeting of the season for the two teams. The rivalry runs deep with over ten years of history and 105 games played between the former ECHL teams. The parent clubs Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames have their own brand of rivalry with “The Battle of Alberta”, the two teams being a mere three hour drive between cities.
The Ontario Reign, AHL affiliate of the LA Kings, then visited Stockton Arena to conclude Hot Pink 1 on Saturday night. It would be another first meeting for the Stockton Heat and again no love lost between the two teams as they were former ECHL rivals.
Penalty Trouble, Turnovers and Goalie Changes
The Condors came out on Friday night and played a solid defensive game. The Heat looked flat and it took the team two periods to find their legs and get to the net, but by then it was too late to make a difference. Heat Forward Turner Elson captured the mood of the hockey game:
“We started off really slow the first two periods. We didn’t get our nose dirty, we didn’t play the body, we didn’t really do anything. In the third period we wanted to give this a shot and we started going to the net, shooting the puck and the whole game changed for us.”
The Condors applied good offensive pressure, particularly down low and tried to create as many scoring chances as they could by crowding the net in front of Heat netminder John Gillies. Bakersfield forced Gillies to make some challenging and awkward saves. After the puck took an odd bounce and Gillies went for the save, he appeared to injure himself and left the ice at the end of the first period.
Goaltender Kent Simpson came in relief and it was the first time he had seen AHL action this season. His last AHL start came back on March 20th where he played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a 3-1 win over the Springfield Falcons.
When asked how Simpson felt coming in during the second frame:
“It’s a little more adrenaline than usual but you just try to take a deep breath and know that the guys are banking on you to be sharp when you get in there. I felt pretty comfortable out there. I would have liked to have made a save out there somehow to keep the guys in the game and force overtime or something. The guys came out with a big push in the third and played really well, obviously we were pushing but we couldn’t get another one in, that is the way it goes sometimes.”
The Heat spent most of the second period managing penalty minutes and turning over the puck to the advancing Condors. They struggled to win face-offs, particularly defensive-zone face-offs. Heat Coach Huska knows his guys can compete on the face-off dots but he said, “Tonite was a night where we had a little bit of struggles in the face-off circle.You challenge your centermen every night to make sure you are tying or winning your draws. Tonite there wasn’t one guy that really stood out.”
The penalties, turnovers and face-off losses contributed to a Condors two-goal lead by the end of the second. Bakersfield holds the league lead for power play goals on the road ( 37.5% ) and they capitalized with defenseman Brad Hunt grabbing a goal with the man advantage.
Bill Arnold tries to tip the puck past Condors goalie Laurent Brossoit
The legs finally started working for the Heat in the third period. They got more pucks to the net and put their bodies on the line. Forward Freddie Hamilton made some solid plays all night. He is a player that consistently finds the open areas and is a playmaker, yet most of the time flies under the radar with his simple plays. Hamilton’s heads up play gave Markus Granlund the puck, who would net the only goal for the Heat in the third period and deny Condors goaltender Laurent Brossoit a shutout on the evening. The Stockton Heat would lose to the Condors 2-1.
More Penalty Trouble, Goalie Changes, Fights and a Shutout
After a lackluster performance on Friday night, the Heat were looking to split the Hot Pink Weekend and give their fans something to get excited about. The Ontario Reign have started their season hot (6-1-2-0) and sit at the top of the Pacific Division, so it would not be an easy win. Heat starting goaltender John Gillies was out and considered day to day with a lower body injury after Friday night’s loss, so Stockton signed ECHL Idaho Steelheads goaltender Eric Hartzell to a PTO to back up Kent Simpson. Hartzell has shown his netminding skill during the preseason with the Stockton Heat.
Eric Hartzell makes a stick save
The Heat came out physical and both teams were going heavy to the boards but penalty trouble and some bad luck put the Heat down in the first period in just a span of 30 seconds of game time. Reign goaltender Peter Budaj delivered a solid performance in net, stopping all 38 saves he faced and earned his league-leading fourth shutout on the season to defeat the Stockton Heat 4-0.
Special teams prevailed as penalties dominated the pace of the game for both teams. Reign Forward and power play points leader Sean Backman got the Reign on the board first during a 5-on-3 power play in the first period, receiving a pass from Nic Dowd to sneak the puck past Heat goaltender Kent Simpson. Jordan Samuels-Thomas doubled the lead at 16:41 of the first when, after taking a slashing penalty, sprung out of the box and received a pass from Justin Auger. Then just a few seconds later, Samuels-Thomas got a high tip-in off the stick of Scott Sabourin to give the Reign a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Jordan Samuels-Thomas recorded a natural hat trick early in the second period.
Reign Jordan Samuels-Thomas netted a natural hat trick to give the Reign a solid lead over the Stockton Heat in the early part of the second period and chase Heat netminder Kent Simpson from the net. Reign defenseman and Captain Vincent LoVerde earned his 100th career point with the secondary assist as he sent the puck to Ryan Horvat, who then sent it Samuels-Thomas’ way in front of the net. The Heat then brought in goaltender Eric Hartzell to turn a new page for the team. He delivered a solid performance in net, stopping all 17 shots he faced.
Vincent LoVerde and Turner Elson
“I made sure I was prepared for the game regardless of what happened,” said Hartzell. “I felt good out there. At the end there when it got a little chaotic I just tried to control the middle of the net. The defense did a great job of clearing out rebounds and they definitely helped me out.”
The game then got physical as the Heat battled for the puck along the boards and intensified their efforts to get past Budaj in net. Three altercations broke out in the period with Reign Sabourin mixing it up with Heat Dustin Stevenson, Reign Paul Bissonnette taking on Hunter Smith and Reign Kurtis MacDermid scraping with Colton Orr in the middle frame.
Peter Budaj makes a save as Garnrt Hathaway looks for the rebound
With more penalties, Heat Forward Drew Shore attempted a short-handed tally, but although the puck was sitting just behind Budaj, the goal was waved off due to a whistle. The Heat continued to pressure and pour on the shots but the solid netminding from Budaj kept Stockton off the scoresheet, losing to the Reign 4-0.
Coaches Thoughts
Heat Coach Huska on his teams’ effort despite the shutout:
“We didn’t get a save early on tonight. It might sound strange when you lose a game 4-0 but we played well tonight. We really did. I thought we did a lot of good things in regards to putting pucks to the net. I thought we were physical. It’s tough when you get yourself behind the 8-ball to a very good hockey club , but we competed and battled and played the way we want our guys to play.”
Reign Coach Mike Stothers on the game:
“It was kind of a weird game. I don’t think the score was indicative of, I don’t think we played very well at all. That’s not the way we play and somehow the pucks found their way into the back of the net. Not one of our shining moments as far as I’m concerned. We were uncharacteristic with our turnovers, uncharacteristic with our shots against, uncharacteristic with the time we spent in our end and uncharacteristic of me to not be very happy with our players.”
After three months of investigation in Erie County and speculation on the Internet, Erie County prosecutors announced Thursday they will not be charging Blackhawks‘ star winger Patrick Kane with rape.
“The totality of the credible evidence–the proof–does not sufficiently substantiate the complainant’s allegation that she was raped by Patrick Kane and this so-called ‘case’ is rife with reasonable doubt. Accordingly, the Office of the Erie County District Attorney will not present this matter to an Erie County Grand Jury,” District Attorney Frank Sedita, III announced Wednesday.
This came just two days after the alleged victim signed a non-prosecution affidavit, declining to go forward with criminal prosecution. Anonymous sources told The Buffalo News that she cited stress as her reasoning.
Sedita said the affidavit states, “That after fully discussing all the circumstances with my attorney, I have decided I do not wish to criminally prosecute the charges which stem out of the investigation. I do so of my own free will and without any promises or compensation.”
While a complainant’s willingness to move forward is an important aspect of pursuing criminal charges on behalf of the state, Sedita said it is not a sole determining factor.
“In other words, a complainant’s allegations, standing alone, do not trigger a criminal prosecution; nor does a complainant’s wish to withdraw charges, standing alone, determine whether a criminal case will be terminated,” he said.
Instead, investigations are evidence-based. And, despite investigating the rape claims since August, Sedita said the office didn’t have enough evidence for charges.
The statement cited several inconsistencies found in the “exhaustive” three-month investigation conducted by the Town of Hamburg Police Department and the Office of Erie County:
There are significant material inconsistencies between the complainant’s accounts and those of other witnesses.
The DNA results lend no corroboration whatsoever to the complainant’s claim of penetration, a required element of proof for a rape charge.
The physical evidence and the forensic evidence, when viewed in tandem, tend to contradict the complainant’s claim that she was raped on Kane’s bed.
Although Kane has exercised his constitutional right to remain silent (which prohibits questioning by law enforcement), he has made no known incriminating statements to any civilian, nor has he engaged in any conduct consistent with a consciousness of guilt.
Police searched Kane’s home the morning after the woman allegedly left his home in a panic and went to the hospital to have a rape kit performed.
The rape kit would make the case even more dramatic when the accuser’s mother presented her attorney with a torn evidence bag she claimed was left at her front door–possibly as a threatening statement or to hint at evidence tampering in the wake of claims DNA did not match Kane.
The alleged victim’s attorney, Thomas Eoannou, held a press conference regarding the bag only to later find out all evidence was accounted for and that the mother had been given the bag to bring some of the daughter’s clothing to add to her kit, but instead misrepresented it to her attorney. He showed the bag on television without censoring the alleged victim’s name.
Eoannou then recused himself, citing ethical reasons and claiming he could not trust his client.
In September, the Erie County District Attorney’s office convened a grand jury, but it was postponed when witnesses allegedly declined to participate. It never reconvened. And, Monday, the accuser signed the non-prosecution affidavit.
“Our investigation agrees with the District Attorneys’ and I am not surprised that they are not going forward,” Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, told NBC Chicago.
“We maintained Patrick’s innocence all along,” Cambria said. “It’s time to put this in the past.”
He said he has not ruled out the alleged victim filing a civil suit, though, as she has retained an attorney.
In a written statement with the Blackhawks today, Kane echoed his attorney.
“I have repeatedly said that I did nothing wrong,” Kane said. “I have respected the legal process and I am glad that this matter has now been closed and I will have nothing further to say going forward.”
No one but Kane and his accuser will ever know what happened that night, regardless of legal decisions, or even civil ones, should they later be pursued.
The state’s decision may be a relief–a relief, obviously, to Kane himself and his loved ones. It’s certainly a relief to the Blackhawks and the business that is the NHL.
It shouldn’t be thought of as a victory, though. No one wins here.
A lot of people have gone through hell for the past three months.
The accuser’s name has become public knowledge and she claims to have been stressed enough to back out of the case. Foul things are written about her all over social media.
Following notice of the investigation, Kane stayed at home until training camp. He canceled his Buffalo celebration day with the Stanley Cup, which included a visit to a women’s and children’s hospital, instead taking it to his grandfather’s grave and then having a lowkey event at his home with family and select friends.
In Kane’s awkward September Training Camp press conference, he noted how incredibly difficult the time had been for many people. He apologized to his family, teammates, the Blackhawks organization, and fans. He was steadfast in his confidence that the facts of the case would absolve him.
And, since then, he finished camp, participated in the Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony, and has been an active part of the Hawks roster so far this season.
“We respect the announcement today by the Erie County (N.Y.) District Attorney regarding Patrick Kane,” the Blackhawks said in a written statement. “The Chicago Blackhawks organization has taken this matter very seriously, and has tried to navigate a very sensitive situation while continually respecting the legal proceedings. At this time we will have no further comment.”
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league is reviewing the matter.
“In light of the statement issued today by the Erie County District Attorney’s office, as an internal league matter, we intend to promptly review the information that may now be available to us,” he said in a statement. “We will have no further comment until we have completed that review.
Today and Going Forward
Today, for many, is also just another reminder of rape. It’s another reminder–even if this case is not the exact representation–of the many rapists who remain free of charges and prosecution.
So, before name-calling or gloating, even in jest, I urge fellow Blackhawks fans to think about the seriousness of the allegations.
Think about the seriousness of rape. Remember that very few sexual assaults are violent attacks by strangers. It is usually someone known or somehow trusted.
Perhaps make a bigger gesture and talk to people you know, see for yourself how many are victims of sexual assault or abuse or how many know someone who is. If they’re willing to tell you the truth, it’s far more than you think.
Ask about how they handled it and why they did or didn’t pursue legal action.
Consider that a victim must surrender her (or his) body for photographs, internal and external exams, and lines of questioning about sexual history after experiencing the single-most violating invasion. The victim must then defend every choice in the past and leading up to that moment–previous relationships, wardrobe, flirting, drinking, etc.
So, no, many victims do not come forward. Many victims do not follow through the whole process. Many back out for any number of reasons.
And, today, many of these victims are seeing a high profile rape case fall out of the justice system. For the last three months, they’ve seen an alleged victim called all sorts of terrible things as rumors were leaked and/or fabricated. They may be feeling that another victim has been failed and that another celebrity has gotten away with something. Or, they may be feeling betrayed by someone who may have brought false rape charges forward in a high profile case.
The latter is, indeed, a rare occurrence. It’s one I don’t want to accept as a woman or as a sister. As a woman, I want to be able to stand behind victims. I want to support them and give them a voice–knowing how difficult it is to come forward. On the other hand, as a sister, I’m terrified the potential for that deception truly does exist.
Right now, whether this is being interpreted as a justice system fail or the ultimate betrayal, it makes it that much worse for future victims.
Out of respect to these people and those who care about them–consider quietly being grateful the case is over. Remember that rape isn’t funny, so “jokes” won’t be either.
If fans want to rally behind something, here’s a campaign where we can all work together to keep everyone safe.
It’s also my hope that in the near future Kane and the Blackhawks take a little extra initiative in movements against sexual assault or show support for crisis centers for victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. It never hurts to show you really do care.
Saturday night the Florida Panthers looked to end their three game home stand with a victory against the Washington Capitals. The Panthers had hopes Jaromir Jagr could return to the lineup after his presence was missed the previous night against Boston, but he was scratched once again.
Florida didn’t get the win, but the home crowd saw its first 3-on-3 overtime of the season. Evgeny Kuznetsov secured the victory for Washington at 3:44 of overtime, on pass from Alex Ovechkin after the Capitals won an offensive zone face-off. Al Montoya got the start in net after Roberto Luongo played the night before.
The game was chippy at times, and Montoya was forced to make several clutch saves, though neither he nor Washington’s rookie goaltender Philipp Grubauer were tested very often through the first period. Jussi Jokinen finally opened the scoring at 2:47 of the second with assists from Dave Bolland and Alex Petrovic.
Jay Beagle knotted things up at 1-1 with assists from Alex Ovechkin and Justin Williams at 2:23 in the third. The Panthers used their coach’s challenge as they felt Montoya had been interfered with. The goal was not overturned, however. Whatever contact was made with Montoya was deemed inconsequential to his goalkeeping abilities.
this was the basis for the interference challenge, but the goal is upheld. 1-1 game pic.twitter.com/bdHYIxyT7n
Montoya did feel that he was interfered with, but accepted the ruling
“-that’s the call. That’s hockey. It’s a quick game.”
While they thought they could have won, nobody was overly frustrated about the loss as the team did play well.
“We played another good game tonight. We take a big point out of tonight, but I thought we could have gotten a little bit better than that,” coach Gerard Gallant told Fox Sports Florida. “We competed, we battled. It was disappointing to lose in overtime, but it was fun. The overtime was fun.”
So far the impression of the new overtime format seems to be good. Montoya said he prefers it to the shootout, even if his first taste resulted in a loss.
“It could have gone either way and that’s great. I like it better than the shootout, I guess, even though we were at the losing end of that. We had our chances, they had their chances. Those points would be huge, but it’s good to get that one point we needed to get.”
The three stars of the game simply went to the overtime hero and both goalies for their impressive performances in such a tight match.
Tonight the Panthers begin their three game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks. Jaromir Jagr is expected to be back in the lineup after missing both games this weekend, which is great news for the Panthers who have desperately needed the offense the 43 year-old provides. Last season Florida had Anaheim’s number in both contests, but that’s no indicator of how tonight will go. Hopefully the team will be able to stay out of penalty trouble, shake off the last two losses, and gather enough energy from the return of Jagr to kick off their road trip with a W.
The Hawks are also teaming up with Make-A-Wish Illinois and the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation to acknowledge six local children on-ice in a special pregame ceremony. More children have been invited to ride the Zambonis during intermission and those chosen to “Shoot the Puck” at intermission are fighting cancer themselves, cancer survivors, or persons working to find a cure, according to the Blackhawks Web site.
Eight-year-old Brock Iverson from Cary, Ill., who is fighting Acute Lymphoid Leukemia, will do the game’s ceremonial puck drop.
(Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, helping them maintain their spirits during incredibly difficult medical treatments. Bear Necessities, a national organization focused on eliminating pediatric cancer and maintaining hope and support for those impacted by the illness, has two programs–the Bear Hugs Program and Bear Discoveries. Bear Hugs focuses on uplifting experiences for children battling cancer. It also provides financial support to families.)
On a grander scale, purple is the official NHL/NHLPA Hockey Fights Cancer color. The league’s charitable partners are the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Prostate Cancer Canada, Zero–The End of Prostate Cancer, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and the Movember Foundation. Donations can be made here.
Also, team/league Hockey Fights Cancer merchandise is for sale online–with the following disclaimer: When the NHL’s online store purchases Hockey Fights Cancer products from its licensee partners to sell on shop.nhl.com, NHL Enterprises, LP and the licensee partners donate funds to the National Hockey League Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) tax-exempt private foundation, toward the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Your purchase tells us that you support the NHL’s efforts to raise awareness in the fight against cancer.
Players throughout the league have made statements professing why they “fight.”
For tonight’s game, players will wear special lavender jerseys for warmups, while coaches and broadcasters will don lavender ties.
All jerseys and ties will be auctioned, along with signed photographs, to fans on chicagoblackhawks.com beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and running through 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to Chicago Blackhawks Charities, with portions being distributed to various local cancer awareness organizations.
The Game
Tonight the 7-5-0 Blackhawks, sixth in the Central Division, take on the 8-3-1, second place Blues. Each team’s most recent game was against the Los Angeles Kings, with the Hawks winning 4-2 in a third period comeback Monday night and the Blues falling in a 3-0 shutout last night.
The teams are tied at 2.17 in goals-against per game, but St. Louis has Chicago beat 2.50 to 2.33 in goals-for and 31.6 to 31.2 in shots-taken. They also have the edge in shots-against, 26.8 to 28.5. However, the Hawks have the lead for the power play, 19.5 to 9.5 percent, likely thanks to their puck-possession style of play, as well as the penalty kill–84.4 to 83.0 percent.
Blues Captain David Backes has a three-game point streak against the Hawks, while Alex Pietrangelo had five assists in five games-against last season. The Blues won three of the five games.
The Hawks are 6-1-0 at home this year, while St. Louis is 4-2-0 on the road.
Puck drops at 7:00 p.m. CT on NBCSN and TVAS.
Sure, it’s Rivalry Night. And, sure, there’s not much love between Chicago and St. Louis–two talents with very different styles of play.
But it looks like tonight the Blackhawks are turning NBC’s “night we love to hate” into a night we can’t help but love.
What did the Boston Bruins learn from their game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, November 3? First, their coach was right when he pointed out this morning that the Stars would look to bounce back after their loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. Second, Tyler Seguin can shoot and he has apparently solved Tuukka Rask, because all three of his goals came from the left circle, two beating Rask glove side and the third looked like it caught him on the short side. Third, they continue to struggle at home where they are currently 1-4-1 in their six home games. Fourth, it’s not the quantity of shots that matter but the quality of those shots.
The Stars didn’t just bounce back; they stomped around TD Garden’s ice like they owned it. The Bruins got into their own heads and totally forgot the most important thing about the strength of their game: keep the game simple. So while the Stars made almost every shot on goal count, the Bruins outshot them 39 to 19 and had only a loss to show for it at the end of the game.
Perhaps it was the emotions that were stirred up having watched assistant captain Chris Kelly go down just three seconds into his first shift with what was later confirmed to be a broken left femur on which he will have surgery Wednesday before being sidelined for six to eight months. Perhaps it was Seguin’s putting the Stars on the scoreboard first just 5:46 into the first period. Perhaps it was the number of penalties they took and how the Stars capitalized on so many. Perhaps it was none of these things. When it comes down to it, it doesn’t really matter what the cause or causes were. What’s most important is that the Bruins need to recognize what happened and solve the issues sooner than later.
The team seemed to be fine going into the first intermission, as they carried a 2-1 lead off of a Loui Eriksson power play goal scored just 25 seconds before the horn ended the first period. However, the players who emerged back on the ice to start the second period, albeit shorthanded from a crosscheck called on Matt Beleskey at the 20-minute mark of the first, seemed to have their focus elsewhere.
“I don’t know where our team went. We just kind of lost our focus and we weren’t the same team again,” head coach Claude Julien said after the game. “Instead of trying to dig it in, I think the way they were playing us, our guys were getting more and more frustrated and the more we got frustrated the more we got away from our game.”
Couple this with the fact that Dallas scored three of their five goals on the man advantage, and some time needs to be spent looking at what changed for the Bruins on the penalty kill.
Tuukka Rask
“Well, I mean, it’s pretty obvious. It’s way too porous and too many holes,” Patrice Bergeron told media. “Obviously it’s going to be really hard for [Tuukka Rask] to stop those kind of shots. We definitely got to be a lot better.”
One thing is sure, the Bruins will examine their game tonight. They will silently review their individual contributions, or lack thereof, internally. They will review tape of the game and analyze it. They will look to see if they can pinpoint where they checked out of the game as a team.
For those who are undoubtedly ramping up to point out how the Bruins wouldn’t have lost had they still had Seguin on their roster, it is unlikely that anyone can change that belief. However, a lot of Seguin’s current success has to do with his maturity and change in mindset coupled with the chemistry he has been able to create with his line mates. Even his ability to play center—his natural position—contributes to the success he is having, as does the system employed by the Stars coaches. By the way, the booing only serves to motivate him.
“You don’t know how they’re going to be. I find sometimes when you’re getting booed it makes you play better,” Seguin said amidst the media clamoring to question him. “I mean, I get booed in Winnipeg, where I have no idea why, but it gives you a little more jump in your step. But again, we’ve got to put this behind us. Great win for us, and we’re ready to move on.”
Seguin may be ready to move on but the Boston media will be waiting for his next visit to ask him many of the same questions they ask him every time he comes to Boston. Perhaps they should take a cue from him: Time to move on.
Colin Millter
On a positive note, defenseman, and acquisition in the Milan Lucic trade with the LA Kings, Colin Miller, scored his first career NHL goal when he got the Bruins on the board less than two minutes after Seguin’s first goal to tie the score. It was clear from his joy that he was very pleased with that.
“Yeah, it was pretty good for me, obviously. Nice to get that out of the way so now I don’t have to worry about it anymore,” Miller said after the loss. “I think [my teammates] were just happy. I was happy too so I just kind of blacked out a bit there, jumped on them and that’s all I really remember.”
He actually catapulted himself onto Torey Krug who managed to catch him. And it was great to see how happy he was. It is just a shame that the end result was not a happy win.
The most devastating thing in the game has to be the injury to Kelly. His leadership in the locker room, his veteran maturity on the bench and his hockey IQ on the ice will definitely be difficult, if not impossible, to completely replace. To a man who was interviewed after the game, all commented on the tremendous loss to the team. But more importantly they were worried about their friend. It was clear that Kelly suffered severe pain when the injury occurred. Hockey players are some of the toughest athletes and to see him writhing on the ice undoubtedly shook some of his teammates.
“It’s huge, a veteran that is really important for us on and off the ice. He brings so much to the team, especially as a leader,” Bergeron said. “As soon as I saw him go down it didn’t look good and kind of felt like it was going to be a pretty bad injury and unfortunately, that’s exactly what it is and I’m definitely thinking of him right now. Hopefully the pain is not too bad.”
The team head out on the road and will take on the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on Thursday and then will head north where they will battle the Montreal Canadians on Saturday night in the second of four tilts against their oldest and biggest rivals. While they certainly did not want to start this road trip off with the home loss, they will have to put that behind them, after they learn where they went wrong, and see if they can continue to get those wins on the road.
McDavid recorded his first NHL goal and points on October 13 against the Dallas Stars. His first multi-goal and point game was October 17 against the Calgary Flames. He had two goals, one assist and three points. McDavid scored his first game-winning goal in Edmonton on October 21 while playing the Detroit Red Wings. He also had a seven game point streak which stretched from October 17-October 29.
He can skate with the puck. He also has the ability to make big plays while in full flight. McDavid has good offensive awareness, and can either score goals or set up his teammates. He needs to continue to get stronger, but he is just 18-years-old.
The early season hasn’t been without some struggles for McDavid. It took him two games to get his first point of the season. It has been four games since he last scored a goal, which came against the Washington Capitals on October 23. He has also been kept off the score sheet in four games this season, and the Oilers have been outscored 14-7 in those games. In his three multi-point games this season, the Oilers have outscored opponents 13-12.
McDavid came into the league with a lot of hype and expectations put on him by the fans. He seems to be doing a good job of living up to that hype.
The Grand Rapids Griffins may have made an appearance in Toronto on Friday night, but it was just that, an appearance.
The Griffins, currently sitting at the bottom of the AHL’s Western Conference Central Division with only 1 win in 7 games, were simply no match for the Eastern Conference North Division top seed.
The 2nd Period fared no better for the west-Michigan team as Nylander again found space between Coreau and the pipes to slide one in for the first goal of the period at 11:49 (assists: Leivo, Panik). Five minutes later, Toronto’s T. J. Brennan again scored, and the Marlies left the period up by 4.
The Griffins took to the ice to start the 3rd Period with the power play advantage, created when Marlies defender Rinat Valiev #61 was sent to the penalty box for interference at the 19:55 mark of the 2nd period. Grand Rapids took full advantage of the power play opportunity and scored 18 seconds in. The goal by center Andreas Athanasiou #12 (assists: Miele, Ouellet) marked the first, and only, scoring drive by the Griffins. The Marlies answered late in the game with two more goals: the first at 16:23 by Josh Leivo #14 (assists: Panik, Leipsic), and the last at 19:08 by Brendan Leipsic #19 (assists: Frattin, Valiev).
The game was very physical and tensions ran high. Perhaps spurred by Grand Rapids defeat of the Marlies in game five of the Calder Cup quarterfinals last spring, or just born out of the natural competition between the two primary affiliates of Original 6 teams, the penalty box was an active place during the game, with Toronto amassing a total of 10 penalties and Grand Rapids 11. While the majority of these penalties were the “standard” roughing, boarding, high sticking, etc., two definitely fell into the realm of serious. At 14:14 in the 3rd Period, Griffins Center Andy Miele #21 grabbed a 10-minute major for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Four and half minutes later, Griffins left-winger Tyler Bertuzzi #39 received a match penalty for slew-footing. On the same play, Toronto center Sam Carrick #16 received a 10-minute major for physical abuse of officials.
The real work of the night however, had to be the solid performance of Toronto net minder Garret Sparks #40 who allowed only one goal on 39 shots. Grand Rapids Jared Coreau #31 allowed 6 goals against 34 shots.
This game was a solid performance by the top-seated Marlies, while the performance by Grand Rapids shows that work still needs to be done to bring this 2013 Calder Cup champion back into contention at this early point in the season.
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