It was announced on Friday that goaltender Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, defenseman Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames, and Defenseman Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks are the three finalists for the NHL Foundation Player Awards. According to the NHL, the award is presented to “an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey – commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community.” This years winner will receive $25,000 from the NHL Foundation to go towards the charitable organization chosen.
These three names are among many in the National Hockey League that dedicate their time and even their money to a charity that they call their own. Not only are all 30 NHL teams dedicated to making a difference in their community by getting involved, but many players also are as individuals. The first NHL Player Foundation award was given in 1998.
Henrik Lundqvist is not only an impact player on the ice, but also out in the community. Through his own charity the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation and the Garden of Dreams Foundation, he has aided in 28 different nonprofit charities. The Henrik Lundvist Foundations mission statement says, “The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation, through its fundraising efforts and community outreach, strives to create positive change in the lives of children and adults throughout the world through education and health services.”
The Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano has made his leadership clear in other places besides the ice. Giordano and his wife started a community program called “5-for-5” in 2011 which benefits the Habitat for Humanity. In three season, they’ve donated $25,000 to aid in the building of five homes in five different countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, India and the Philippines).“Having a home is something we can take for granted,” Giordano said when they launched the campaign, per the Calgary Flames website. On top of that, his other foundation Team Giordano, which was launched in the fall, supports three different Calgary schools. He has donated $100,000 to provide resources and support for the three local schools. Giordano also actively participates in team coordinated events such as visits to the Ronald McDonald House and Alberta Children’s Hospital.
30 year old San Jose defenseman Brent Burns is much more than a goofy looking guy with missing teeth, crazy hair and some funky suits. Burns has been heavily involved with different charitable organization supporting the military for the past nine years. His commitment to organizations such as Defending the Blue Line, Operation: Care and Comfort, and Folds of Honor show exactly why his candidacy is well-deserved. On top of his efforts with these other organizations, he has his own fundraising event called Burnzie’s Buzzcut. This benefits organizations such as defending the Blue Line, The Katie Moore Foundation-in support of fellow NHL’er Dominic Moore– and the San Francisco Zoo. This past year Chris Tierney, Barclay Goodrow, James Sheppard, Joe Pavelski and Mirco Mueller shaved their heads and beards and took place in the event. They raised over $15,000 this past year, and were able to donate over $5,000 to all three deserving charities.
The award winners will be announced on Wednesday, June 24, during the 2015 NHL Awards from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. All three are very deserving of the award, and their charities, even more so.
Game 1 of the second round is one the Calgary Flames hope to forget, and move on from. The Anaheim Ducks showed their supremacy and why they were the best in the West with their 6-1 conquest on Thursday night.
“To go far in the playoffs … You have to rebound from defeats.” – Bob Hartley
It was painful to watch for anyone rooting for Calgary. The first period gave a glimpse of the pace that Calgary was playing at. Staying scoreless until just passed the halfway mark, things didn’t look too horrible. Calgary obviously wasn’t playing well, but they were hanging in there. Anaheim’s first pair of goals came almost 3 minutes apart. The first goal was an obvious mistake by the defense; focusing all of their attention on only a few from Anaheim’s offense, and not noticing Matt Beleskey was open with an empty net. The second goal came from Anaheim’s most potent line: Maroon, Getzlaf, Perry. These three can move the puck, and they do it well. You can’t give them time or space in the offensive zone or they will score. The second goal seemed all too easy, a beautiful pass by Getzlaf in the corner to Maroon waiting right in front of the goal. After one, you still couldn’t count Calgary out.
They’ve come back from a bigger deficit, and two goals isn’t a lot when you are capable of producing offensively. The second period showed the Flames digging themselves deeper into a hole. A goaltending change was looming, especially so after Corey Perry notched another goal for the Ducks just over 2 minutes into the second. So backup Karri Ramo took the net, and starting goaltender Jonas Hiller was out of commission after playing just 22 minutes. Another simple goal was given up to Emerson Etem just passed the 10 minute mark, but Calgary was able to hold them at four goals.
The third period gave way for Anaheim’s last set of goals, both scored on the power play. With a teams power play unit is as good as the Ducks, it’s no surprise that they scored twice on the one man advantage. A beautiful mid period slap-shot goal from rookie Sam Bennett was the only reason the team was not shut out by Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf came out of the game with four points a piece, they are certainly the line to watch.
“They were physical but we can do that too … We have to come out way harder on Sunday.” – Mikael Backlund
Some injuries sustained during the game by key players could be a reason for Calgary’s disastrous game. Jiri Hudler only played 6:59 and left the game with an undisclosed injury. Top defenseman Micheal Ferland also left only played 5:24, and did not come back into the game. Losing these two in the series would be detrimental to the Flames playoff run.
Calgary and Vancouver are more comparable in skill. So going from a series such as that to playing a team that is at a whole different caliber of play is difficult. Going into this series the Flames knew that it would be tough to win. Anaheim swept the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, and had eight days off before they had to face their next opponent. While most teams come back from a break like that sluggish, the Ducks seemed well rested and obviously ready to play. Calgary had several days off, and they seemed to loose their pace.
Calgary seem to be the ‘Comeback Kids’, so if they can get it together and play up to the level of Anaheim, then the prospect of staying in the series and being serious contenders against the Ducks seems a little more plausible.
Five of the Rangers’ six playoff games so far have ended with a final 2-1 score. This was the first of those five that has ended in a loss.
It was a game between two teams who know each other all too well. The Capitals attacked with physicality, while the Rangers attacked with speed; the intensity is only going to escalate in the next few games. There were also countless scoring chances on both sides. The Rangers spent a good portion of the game in the Capitals’ zone, firing shot after shot at Braden Holtby, but Holtby stood tall in net. He stopped 31 of 32 shots on the night. Lundqvist saved 27 of 29.
Ovechkin opened the scoring with a power play goal at 18:13 in the first period. The puck rocketed into the top right corner of the net and immediately back out onto the ice. It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it goal; for a second, only Ovechkin and Lundqvist appeared to know it had even gone in.
Despite outshooting the Capitals throughout the entire game, the Rangers didn’t respond until late in the third period. Jesper Fast scored his first career playoff goal at 15:31 to tie the score at 1-1. Fast deflected a shot by Kevin Hayes in front of the net.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
3. Lundqvist
2. Ovechkin
1. Holtby
LOOKING AHEAD/OF NOTE:
-The Rangers played without Mats Zuccarello, who is out “indefinitely” with a suspected concussion after taking a puck to the head in Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
–Kevin Klein returned to the lineup, playing for the first time since March 11; he suffered a broken arm after blocking an Ovechkin slap shot during the regular season matchup. Klein led the team with six hits and had three shots on goal in Thursday’s loss.
-The Capitals’ penalty kill remains perfect in the postseason. They are currently 16-for-16.
NEXT GAME:
The Capitals currently lead the series 1-0. Game Two is Saturday, May 2, at 12:30pm on NBCSN. The Rangers will host the Capitals at Madison Square Garden.
The Minnesota Wild have defeated the number one seeded St. Louis Blues, and will move on to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Although their victory was seen as an “upset” by NHL experts, the series was evenly matched, and the Wild took control of the last two games after their embarrassing loss on home ice.
Even after a confidence boost as a result of their 3-0 victory during their first home game of the series, the Wild were unable to keep the momentum going for their second game in Saint Paul, and ended up dropping it by a score of 6-1. Everything was going wrong for the Wild, and the Blues were controlling every part of the game. Even Vezina finalist, Devan Dubnyk, was having an off day, as he was letting easy goals in, which is normally very unlike him. Dubnyk’s poor play lead to a goaltender change, with Darcy Kuemper having the chance to see the ice for the first time in the series. The first period ended with a score of 3-0, and it did not get any better from there for the Wild. Jared Spurgeon netted a shot early in the second period, but it would not ignite any others, and he would ultimately have the only Wild goal of the game. Young gun, Vladimir Tarasenko, had two goals in this game, while Ryan Reaves, David Backes, Paul Stastny and Patrik Berglund also found the back of the net. The game was a complete domination by the Blues, and was a horrible performance by the Wild in front of their home crowd. This would tie the series at 2-2, and allow for the Blues to attempt to get take series lead in St. Louis.
Coming into the game with a lot of embarrassment, the Wild hoped to gain their series lead back at the Scottrade Center. The Wild were quickly awoken when Tarasenko scored the first goal of the game, and his sixth of the series. This would have seemed to be discouraging for the Wild, but Marco Scandella answered just three minutes later, to knot up the game. The rest of this game was controlled by Minnesota, as St. Louis was never able to answer Scandella’s goal. As a result, the Wild kept their momentum, and Nino Niederreiter, Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle were each able to score a goal, resulting in a 4-1 win for their team. With this win, the Wild took the 3-2 series lead, and were given the opportunity to wrap up the series at home.
Sunday, April 26 marked both the Wild and Blues’ most important game of the series, as a Minnesota win would allow them to move on and play the Blackhawks, and a Blues win would result in a series tie, and a chance to clinch the series at home. Minnesota started the game right, with a first period goal coming from Zach Parise at an awkward angle. The shaky goal would foreshadow the rest of Jake Allen’s game, as he gave up a poor second goal to Justin Fontaine, before Ken Hitchcock gave Brian Elliot a chance to defend the St. Louis net instead. After the change to Elliot in the second period, the Blues appeared to be more confident, and this allowed TJ Oshie to get his first goal of the series. Unfortunately for the Blues, Oshie’s goal was not enough. Zach Parise answered almost right away in the third period, and Niederreiter scored on an empty net to destroy the Stanley Cup hopes for the Blues.
With the Blackhawks’ defeat of the Nashville Predators on Saturday night, they will also move on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This will be the third year in a row that the Wild will play the Blackhawks, and they are looking to finally beat them, as they have a lot more depth to their team this year than they have in the past; and may finally have the recipe for a series victory.
Five time Hart Trophy finalist, Alexander Ovechkin had a total of 81 points this season. Of those 81 points the forward had 28 assists and a league-leading 53 goals, which has secured him his third consecutive and fourth overall Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. The Capitals ended the season in second place in the Metropolitan division thanks in large part to Ovechkin’s contribution on offense. However, number “8” has proven to be more than just a goal-scoring power house, he has also become a great two-way forward effectively being able to make defensive plays and hits. After defeating the New York Islanders in game 7 this past week, The Capitals will begin their round two contest with the New York Rangers tonight at 7:30 PM, EST.
Montreal Canadiens star goalie, Carey Price has already locked in the William M. Jennings trophy for this season, and is a favorite for the Vezina. With 65 starts, earning 44 “W”s, getting nine shutouts, and with stats such as a 1.96 goal against average, and a .933 save percentage, the goaltender certainly has made a case for himself in the race for the MVP title. Price and the Canadiens are poised to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs; the first match between the teams taking place Friday, May 1 at 7:00 PM, EST.
This year John Tavares is a finalist for the Hart Trophy for the second time in three seasons. Although the Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention after the first round after taking the Washington Capitals to game 7, it was still a largely successful season for the New York Islanders and John Tavares. The young forward is often met by “MVP” chants when playing in front of a home crowd at Nassau Coliseum. Tavares lost out on the Art Ross Trophy during the final game of the season by just one point. The 24 year old captain is the pillar of the New York Islanders first line, and leads the young squad in points and appeared in every single one of the team’s 82 games this season.
The winner of the Hart Trophy will be revealed at the 2015 NHL Awards which will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV on Wednesday, June 24.
The Tampa Bay Lightning had their backs against the wall more than a couple times in the opening series of the 2015 NHL Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings. In fact, Tampa never held the advantage in the first round, and had to tie the series no less than three times after falling behind a game. That all changed last night, though, when after forcing a game seven, the Lightning rallied on home ice to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Goaltender Ben Bishop has gone through ups and downs this series, but his 31 save shutout last night was good enough to lift his team to a second round berth, and possibly silence the nay-sayers. He was sidelined with an injury last year when the Lightning were swept by the Montreal Canadiens, but now he has a chance to test his nerve against them in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Montreal defeated the plucky Ottawa Senators in the opening round in six games. After the game, Lightning coach Jon Cooper emphasized that Bishop may have been overlooked by the press in favor of Red Wings’ rookie goalie Petr Mrazek, but the time to disregard Bishop is over.
“It was a seven-game series, but Bish took command of this game. A lot of the press in this series was talking about [Mrazek] and nobody was talking about Bish. Well, now they are talking about Bish.’’
Goalies need nerves of steel to keep them on their toes through any game, let alone a game seven of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two scoreless periods with the opposition dominating the game can make than tension even greater. Detroit outshot Tampa 23-12 through two periods, and Bishop was equal to the task. The dam finally broke in the Lightning’s favor at 3:58 of the third period with a goal by Braydon Coburn. The goal helped bring mental focus to the nervous young Tampa squad who performed a 180 from the shaky first two periods. Suddenly the pressure was on Detroit, and the Lightning would even score again, only to have the goal waved off because of coincidental minors from Steven Stamkos and Riley Sheahan.
In the end they didn’t need that tally, though, as an empty-net security goal by Anton Stralman (with an assist from Ben Bishop) at 18:42 was enough for the Lightning to punch their ticket to the second round, and secure the rematch they were hoping for.
Game 1 of the second round series between Tampa Bay and Montreal will take place at 7:00 pm on Friday, May 1, at Bell Centre.
The Reading Royals may have met a tough defeat on Sunday night, but they came out with desperation last night. With the South Carolina Stingrays leading the series 3-2, the Royals knew they had to win this game. From the beginning of the first period, the Royals seemed to have picked up their game and were playing to their full potential. The first period went scoreless, but the Royals were just getting warmed up.
2nd
The second period, unfortunately, began with South Carolina’s forward Joe Devin scoring at just 1:27 into the period after goalie Connor Knapp rejected a shot from Sean Dolan. This didn’t seem to crush the Royals spirit one bit as they would quickly come back and score three goals in a matter of three minutes.
The first goal came from Cam Reid at 2:15 when he fired a snapshot on the short side that was too fast for Stingray goalie Jeff Jakaitis to stop. The Royals second goal came just 31 seconds later from forward Andrew Johnston. After a strong-willed attack on the net, Johnston picked up the rebound and fired the puck past Jakaitis for what would prove to be the game winning goal.
At 4:04 Stingray forward Patrick Gaul picked up a two minute minor for slashing. This gave the Royals an advantage that they quickly capitalized on. By 4:51 Cam Reid was picking up his second goal of the night by once again slipping one by Jakaitis.
From this point the Royals seemed to become a new power play team. Throughout the season the Royals have struggled to capitalize on many of their power play chances, but that was not the case last night. The Royals would pick up two more power play goals before the nights end.
At 17:06 and 18:26 Adam Comrie scored back-to-back nearly identical shots from the right point. This would bring the score to 5-1. Both of these goals were scored on power plays thanks to a hooking call on defenseman Drew MacKenzie and an interference call on defenseman Marcus Perrier.
The Royals outshot the Stingrays 18-5 in the second period and their efforts definitely paid off. Before the period’s end, South Carolina would also trade out goalie Jeff Jakaitis for Clay Witt. The impending doom of the Stingrays was in becoming apparent. According to the Reading Eagle Coach Larry Courville commented,
“I don’t know that we’ve ever scored five goals in a period all season. It was the response we wanted. It was the response we needed. We had our backs against the wall, we were down 1-0 in the game, down 3-2 in the series. I just like the way we were not going home today. I hope we have the same mentality (tonight).”
3rd
The Royals were not up by four, but they weren’t ready to say goodnight just yet. Although the beginning of the third was slower than the second, forward David Marshall would score one more goal before the nights end. After defenseman Mike Marcou’s shot was denied by Witt, forward David Marshall picked it up in the crease and backhanded it into the net for the final goal of the night.
What’s Next?
This series has turned out to be a real roller coaster ride for both teams during this playoff series. After the 5th game of the series forward Ryan Cruthers commented, “It’s been a real playoff series. It’s been real good. It’s been a lot of fun. As far as the ups and downs, it’s part of it, but we’ve been really good at coming back the next day and putting things behind us” After a tough loss in game 5 and coming back with a powerhouse win like last nights, Cruthers words definitely seem to sum up this playoff series.
The Royals will face off against the Stingrays later tonight for the final game of the series. Whoever takes this game will advance to the next round and take on the Florida Everblades. The Everblades beat the Solar Bears in 6 games recent and finished second in the Eastern Conference. Tonight is sure to be an exciting game as two teams battle for a chance at the cup.
It wouldn’t be a Blackhawks playoff clincher without comebacks, heroics, and nail-biters. They took down the Nashville Predators in six games, closing the series on home ice Saturday night with a first period rally and a late third period game-winner.
The Blackhawks were prey for the first 10 minutes of the game. The Preds scored two goals in that time and dominated puck possession.
“It’s frustrating [to fall behind], but I mean, they scored off a couple quick plays that I don’t think they had to work too hard for,” Keith said. “We knew there was lots of time and we’ve got confidence in our offensive ability as a team. We showed that.”
Nashville led the first period in shots, 14-11. Chicago had two penalties in the first, while Nashville got away with one.
The second period was a scoreless battle, with 12 shots on goal for the Hawks and seven for the Preds. Chicago even killed a tripping penalty called on Richards.
The third period was, too. Both teams fought hard to earn the game-winner. Nashville killed two penalties.
But, Chicago had a sea of red cheering them on, shaking the floors with encouragement, willing them to win.
“It was the end of their shift and we’d had some chances before, so they were kind of reeling a little bit,” Keith said. “I just wanted to make it count.”
Per Elias: @NHLBlackhawks rallied from multi-goal deficit to earn series-clinching win for 1st time since 05/23/10 vs. SJ (4-2 W). #NSHvsCHI — NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 26, 2015
That he did. The teams were tied with face-off wins. Nashville led 53-36 in hits and 15-10 in blocked shots.
They took the series to be honored with cheers and the song “Sweet Home Chicago.”
Then, they closed with the best tradition of all–hockey handshakes.
In the series, Keith had two game winners and five assists. Toews had three goals and five assists. Sharp had three goals and two assists. Kane, returning from injury, had two goals and five assists. Hossa had five assists. Darling had a .936 save percentage and 2.21 goals-allowed average, and Crawford had a .850 save percentage, but stopped all 13 shots in his return Saturday night.
“If you want to get anywhere at this level, I think your best players have to be your best players,” Toews said. “Those are the guys you need to be your best players, and I think they want that more than anything. That’s a huge reason why this team’s had success in the last number of years.”
Now, the Blackhawks are fully aware of what’s next and they don’t expect it to be easy. They’ll be hosting the Minnesota Wild, who just knocked out the St. Louis Blues, for Round II.
“I’d say they’re coming in hot. They’re playing great hockey. They just beat a really, really good team,” Toews said of the Wild. “So, in some way, I think maybe it’s the other way around. Obviously, [people] want to say that we’ve beat them the last two years, but I don’t think there’s any favorite in this series.”
The Wild’s netminder Devan Dubnyk is 27-9-2 since he joined the team Jan. 14, with a playoff save percentage of .923 and goals-against average of .232.
In the regular season, Chicago beat Minnesota 5-3 Dec. 16 at home. The Blackhawks won again, 4-2, on Jan. 8 in Minnesota and then beat the Wild 4-1 Jan. 11 at the United Center. On Feb. 3, the Wild took the game 3-0 in Minnesota; and, on April 7, they defeated the Blackhawks 2-1 in Chicago to clinch a playoff spot.
The Wild has strength in defense, which is one of Chicago’s weaknesses aside from their interchangeable goaltenders.
“They know how to shut things down and play that defensive game,” Crawford said. “And then when it almost seems like they’re just going to do that, then they turn it on and they start, not cheating, but attacking a little bit more. I feel like they kind of switch it up a little bit.”
The Blackhawks will have to keep their stars working and charging the net to stay on top of a team determined to go beyond the second round this year.
“We know them really well,” said Wild winger Zach Parise. “They’re a much more puck possession style team.”
But with that possession, the Hawks will have to rely on gritty goals and redirections with net-front presence from guys like Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell.
Bickell, coincidentally, has 15 goals against the Wild in the 23 games he’s played since the 2013 playoffs. He is due for some standout playing time.
Crawford is expected to start in net and Teuvo Teravainen has seen some practice time with Sharp and Antoine Vermette–likely meaning he’ll have a spot as well.
“I think we have a pretty good combination there,” Teravainen said. “We have some speed. We can shoot the puck. Really smart guys. If we play together, it’s going to be good.”
The series starts Friday in Chicago and continues as scheduled below.
Friday, May 1
8:30 p.m. CT
Minnesota at Chicago
NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Sunday, May 3
7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago
NBCSN, CBC, SN360 TVA Sports
Tuesday, May 5
7 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota
NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
Thursday, May 7
8:30 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota
NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
(If needed)
Saturday, May 9
TBD
Minnesota at Chicago
Monday, May 11 TBD
Chicago at Minnesota
Wednesday, May 13 TBD
Minnesota at Chicago
(As always, click the bold links for video clips or other information.)
This has been an amazing season for a very young group of players. The New York Islanders have a lot to be proud of as they exit the playoffs, although it is sooner than they and their fans would have liked. The team had a strong season as they closed out the last year of the team’s 43 year history at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders, who have not won a playoff series in the past 22 years lost to the Washington Capitals in their first game 7 since 2002. The team was playing without half of their starting defenseman due to injuries, instead relying on players who have been scratched or played in Bridgeport most of the year such as, Griffin Reinhart, Matt Donovan, and Scott Mayfield to step up. The injuries are not an excuse though; the team was outplayed in their 2-1 loss last night. They were outshot 26 to 11, this is the lowest shots on goal the team has had all season. In his post-game interview, Head coach, Jack Capuano pointed out that the team with the fewest shots wound up with the loss each game of the series. The team lacked aggression both, on offense and defense as Captain, John Tavares noted, it seemed as though the team didn’t want to make a mistake.
Of course, fans and players alike were looking forward to making it deep this year, however, this is a young team, many players under 25 years old; it will be an exciting few years for the Islander as they continue to gain experience and momentum.
While the team is good, there is still room for improvement, many of the issues that plague the team are ones that can be fixed before next year. Obviously when a team is eliminated from the playoffs in round one the coach often takes a lot of the blame. While the players did not play effectively last night, coaching is certainly a factor. This is a young team, and Capuano is not as seasoned as other head coaches, especially those who have had teams make it past the first round year after year. Capuano has in a sense grown with this young team, and may have reached the limit with them. The team who now has more playoff experience may need a veteran coach to take them to the next level. Jack Capuano has made quite a few questionable moves in terms of setting the roster each game throughout the season, and while he must have had his reasons, some of which may not be visible to an outsider, it looked as though the lack of consistency hurt the team’s productivity.
Coaching will only take a team so far though; in the end it’s still up to the team to be effective on the ice. The Islanders, who averaged nearly 30 shots on goal per game, need to work on scoring and being more direct in getting the puck on net. The team has a star center in John Tavares, but cannot seem to find the solid winger he needs. Last off-season, Islanders GM, Garth Snow brought in defensemen, Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy who have proven to be an integral part of the team’s core. Hopefully this trend will continue, perhaps acquiring someone on par with Chicago’s Patrick Sharp to play wing for Tavares.
The other issue that the team needs to work on, as made glaringly obvious by this playoff series, is their power play. The Islanders were the only team to not score a power play goal in the first round of the playoffs. The team ranks 16th on the power play with only a power play percentage of just 18.7. Last night, the Islanders were given a power play with just under three minutes left in the game, they need to take advantage and convert on those opportunities if they want to continue to grow and be successful.
In addition to their power play, their penalty kill has proven to be a struggle, ranking 26th in the league on the kill. This issue could be helped by a change in coaching, as Jack Capuano at times failed to put his strongest D pair out on the penalty kill, however, it is also up to the team to be aggressive and focused.
Overall, the team’s final season at Nassau Coliseum was a successful one, and is one that fans and players can be proud of. It will be interesting to see what moves are made in the off season as the team prepares to start its 15 year contract playing at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
1st
With the first round of the series tied at 2-2, the Reading Royals knew they were in for a tough battle against the South Carolina Stingrays Sunday night. The night started off in favor of the Royals when defenseman Mike Marcou slipped one past South Carolina goalie Jeff Jakaitis at 8:10 into the first.
The Royals kept the pressure on South Carolina and eventually Brandon Alderson would sink another one in the net just after Jakaitis knocked the net off its moorings. The ref immediately waved off the goal and received some jeering from the crowd. After some arguing from the players, the officials met to discuss the call. Without an instant replay, they eventually re-ruled no goal sparking more criticism from the crowd.
Before the period’s end, South Carolina would even the score when forward Wayne Simpson snuck one past Royals goalie Connor Knapp. With the score tied 1-1, the two teams hit the locker room to plan for the second period.
2nd
Early in the second, the Royals took advantage of a power play after forward Derek DeBlois was called for tripping. The Royals saw their chance and took it by firing shot after shot at Jakaitis. Within seconds forward Cam Reid would swoop in, nab the puck and shoot it over Jakaitis for his first of the post-season.
It wasn’t long before South Carolina struck back. Less than two minutes later at 4:08, Stingray forward Joe Devin stole the Royals second lead of the night. After his teammate Frankie Simonelli passed it from the right wing to the mid-slot, Devin skated in unguarded and beat Knapp for his third goal of the playoffs.
Not long after, the Royals would receive their chance to reclaim their lead for the third time. South Carolina’s Marcus Perrier was given a double minor for a high stick that struck Olivier Labelle in the face. LaBelle fled to the locker room to get fixed up, but was back before the penalty expired. The Royals were fired up, but could not capitalize on the opportunity. Fourteen seconds later, however, forward Sean Wiles took the puck and deflected it under the legs of Jakaitis. With a score of 3-2 the period ended with the Royals in the lead.
3rd
The game was looking promising for the Royals as they were given many chances to extend their lead. Unfortunately, they could not sink any into the net. The beginning of their downfall came at the 7:10 mark when South Carolina’s forward Andrew Rowe once again re-tied the game. With a Reading defender down and sliding across the ice, Rowe’s teammate Wayne Simpson slipped him the puck where he was able to chip enough of the puck to send it flying over Knapp’s arm.
With the game tied at three, the time ticked down and many fans were predicting that the game would head into overtime. These fans were proved wrong when South Carolina managed to score with just 1:21 left in the period. The Royals called time out and pulled their goalie, but were not able to nab another goal before the clock ran out. The game ended with a score of 4-3 in favor of the Stingrays.
Although they lost, the Royals felt they played a good game. When asked what could have went better, forward Ryan Cruthers commented, “Capitalizing on a couple chances, being a little stronger defensively, those plays out in front, just baring down, but it’s just a little bit more effort, a little bit more attention to detail, but I thought we played a pretty good game.”
What’s Next?
With the Stingrays up 3-2 in the series, both teams are headed back to South Carolina for games 6 and 7. Game 6 is on Tuesday night and the Royals need to win this game to stave off elimination. If the Royals do win, the series will go to game 7 and whichever team comes out a winner will advance.
Forward Sean Wiles explains what the team needs to do to return home with a win,
“I think we’ve got to get down there, we’ve got to get ready. We have to prepare ourselves. And we just have to come out and play our game. We’ve got to stick to our game plan and I really do think we will be fine.”
The Royals have a tough road ahead of them, but they seem confident and ready to play hard. In the end it will come down to who has the most luck and who wants it more.
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