Last Thursday began the First Round Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. After three intense games, the Wild currently lead the series two games to one. Many players on both of the teams have stepped up their games to playoff intensity, and the series should finish off with highly physical and exciting games.
The Wild took game one of the series in St. Louis by a score of 4-2. Jason Zucker of the Wild did not hesitate to jumpstart his team by giving them an early lead, as he scored just 2:47 into the game. Zucker’s goal was extremely important for the Wild as it gave them the quick start they needed in the series. Despite the score, the Blues were not discouraged as they seemed to control the rest of the first period, but could not find the back of the net. In the second period, the Wild appeared to take back the momentum of the game when young defenseman, Matt Dumba, scored his first career postseason goal to give the Wild a 2-0 lead. Neither team was able to score again until the third period, when Jaden Schwartz scored to cut the Blues’ deficit to one. Still down by a goal late in the third, Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock decided to pull goalie, Jake Allen, in attempt to tie the game. Mikael Granlund scored an empty-net goal, almost immediately, to give the Wild the 3-1 lead. After the goal, David Backesillustrated clear frustration when he crosschecked goal-scorer Granlund off of the faceoff, for which he received a penalty. Backes’ undisciplined and untimely penalty may have cost his team the chance to come back in the game. After scoring a shorthanded goal to cut the Wild lead back to one, while still killing off the Backes penalty, the Blues once again pulled Allen to even up the skaters to 5-on-5. Unfortunately for the Blues, Jason Pominville took advantage of the empty net and scored his first goal of the series, putting the game out of reach.
After dropping game one at home to the Wild, the St. Louis Blues were not discouraged, and came out strong for game two. The Blues were able to regain confidence and won by a score of 4-1, with Vladimir Tarasenko sending the St. Louis fans into a frenzy by netting a hat trick after producing no shots on goal in game one. Despite what the score suggests, the Wild played well, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Wild had several scoring chances where they just couldn’t finish, most notably when Charlie Coyle hit the crossbar, and Backes swept the puck off of the goal line, which allowed the Blues to keep their 2-1 lead. The game was tightly contested well into to the third period, with a win seeming within reach for the Wild until Patrik Berglund scored to give the Blues a 3-1 lead with just 1:58 left in the game. The Blues added an empty-net goal by Tarasenko to give him the hat trick and the Blues a game two victory.
After a tough second game, the Wild were excited to be back in Minnesota for game three, and gain their highly noted “home-ice advantage” at the Xcel Energy Center. The physicality of the series seemed to really rise in this game, as the Blues attempted to bring intimidation to St. Paul; a strategy that they had hoped would get the Wild off their game and result in a win. Unfortunately for the Blues, the Wild ignored the Blues’ players’ attempts to start fights after the whistle and were able to win game three in a dominating fashion, by a score of 3-0. The Wild’s first-line (Zach Parise, Granlund and Pominville), were a big factor in the Wild win, as Parise and Pominville both scored a goal, and Granlund added two assists. Although the Wild seemed to dominate the whole game, they were unable to score until Pominville found the back of the net with 5:52 remaining in the second period. Just two minutes later, the Wild were able to take a breather going into the second intermission when Parise scored the second goal of the game, igniting the crowd into a frenzy. Although the third period remained scoreless until Nino Niederreiter’s empty net goal, the Wild continued their dominance until the end of the game, shutting out the Blues for the first time since 2008; and gaining the 2-1 series lead.
The fourth game of the series will take place in Saint Paul at 9:30 p.m. ET on April 22. It can be viewed on NBCSN or Fox Sports North.
It’s that special time of year again when the weather warms up but inside the rink it’s still cold and filled with tension as AHL teams battle for the right to hoist the Calder Cup. As is the case with any season there are some story lines overshadowing others. This year, the main story line is the incredible amount of movement happening. Many teams are playing their last games in their current arenas before finding new homes or switching affiliations. But focusing on the here and now, the AHL playoffs kicked off Wednesday night and here is a look at the Eastern Conference side. The first round is a best of five but all subsequent rounds are best of seven.
#1 Manchester Monarchs vs. #8 Portland Pirates
In their final season in Manchester, the Monarchs wanted to make things count. Where they missed leading the league in points last season by one, they clinched the Kilpatrick Trophy this year with games to spare and finishing with 109 points and the best winning percentage in team history. They also finished with the league leader in points who was named MVP in Brian O’Neill.
The Pirates battled their way into a playoff spot with just a minute to go in their final game of the regular season. After the Falcons finished strong, the Pirates desperately needed a point to slide into the 8th and final playoff spot. They managed to get two points with a 5-4 win against the Sharks as time ticked down for what could have been their final game.
These two teams promise to be an interesting match-up. During the regular season, they met 12 times and competed in something called the “VIP Cup” which awarded a trophy to the winner of the 12 game series. Manchester came out as the clear winners, but the series was filled with goals, close games, and plenty of hard feelings. This playoff series has all the makings of being even more emotionally charged and exciting. Neither teams parent club made the playoffs resulting in having a few extra players around.
#2 Hershey Bears vs. #7 Worcester Sharks
The Hershey Bears have a history of playoff appearances year after year. After finishing 9th and just barely out of the playoffs last season, they were ready to make their presence known once again. Their success seemed to come from a great group of core veterans at forward along with a young goaltender in Philipp Grubauer. However, Grubauer will be unavailable for the start of the playoffs while he plays with the Washington Capitals.
The Worcester Sharks have been a team that could be best described as having two different sides. They have had some really impressive streaks this season where the goals have been flowing freely. Something has just seemed to click for them between their infusion of new faces and those returning. However, they have also had stretches where they could not buy a goal. This will be their last season in Worcester though before the team moves to San Jose and that is sure to play a role.
The teams met four times during the regular season and split the wins but in some very close games. The two teams seemed to match up well against each other despite the difference in ranking. It will likely come down to which version of the Sharks show up as well as how far the Washington Capitals make it in the playoffs as Grubauer has already seen a game (which he won). Conversely, the San Jose Sharks did not make the playoffs and sent a few players back to Worcester.
#3 Hartford Wolfpack vs. #6 Providence Bruins
The Hartford Wolfpack return to the playoffs after having not made it since the 2011-2012 season, when they were known as the Connecticut Whale. Despite having to rotate through a few goaltenders, they finished atop their division and earned a 3rd spot in the playoffs. They also suffered from a lot of rotating skaters, but their core group was solid and managed to lead the team. In his first year back in North America, Chris Bourque led the team in scoring and had a familiar face in his younger brother, Ryan, who has been a staple in Hartford.
The Providence Bruins seemed to be plagued by injuries both in Providence and up in Boston throughout the season. It left them filling holes often but they always seemed to find a way to do it. Although he spent much of his time in Boston, rookie sensation David Pastrnak made his presence known when he was in Providence, scoring 28 points in just 25 AHL games. The Bruins were also led by sophomore forward Alexander Khokhlachev who followed up an impressive rookie campaign. With Boston not making the playoffs, Providence got several players back that could be the difference makers.
The two teams squared off four times during the regular season. Although Providence won the first match, Hartford went on to win the other three, ultimately outscoring the Bruins 11-5 over the four games. However, everything can change in the playoffs. With the addition of faces like Pastrnak and defenseman Zach Trotman to Providence and Hartford not getting players back, things could get interesting. The New York Rangers are currently leading a playoff series against the Penguins.
#4 Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins vs. Syracuse Crunch
It is never wise to credit one player with the success of a team in hockey, but in the case of the Penguins much of their success fell on the shoulders of their rookie goaltender. Matt Murray was named AHL Rookie of the Year as well as Top Goalie. He and Jeff Zatkoff also won the Harry “Hap” Holmes award presented to the team with the fewest goals allowed. The 20-year old had an impressive 1.58 GAA and .941 save percentage amid a Penguins roster dealing with call-ups.
The Syracuse Crunch were led by what some might have considered an unlikely scoring duo. Two small forwards from Quebec led the way. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault has a history of scoring despite his size and came to Syracuse last season in a trade between the Blue Jackets and Lightning. Yanni Gourde was a late season signing for the Lightning last year that has proved his worth this season.
These teams also played each other four times during the season and each game was only decided by a goal, with two going into OT. Syracuse ended up winning three of the four games, but with close games and the added pressure of the playoffs, anything can happen. Despite being in different divisions, there is a definite rivalry between these teams that promises to be interesting to watch.
The Chicago Blackhawks took a 3-1 series lead with a 3-2 win in triple overtime in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
After nearly five hours of hockey, Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook‘s shot from the blue line past Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne was a merciful end for players and spectators alike.
It was the longest game in Predators history, and, though the Hawks have a history of multiple OTs, Tuesday’s late start led to a particularly late finish.
Seabrook and goaltender Scott Darling were deemed heroes in the nail-biter, with Seabrook’s game-winner and Darling’s level-headed though acrobatic saves on 50 out of 52 shots.
In that close first period, the Predators would barely edge the Hawks in shots–13-11. But in the second, the Preds’ recent second period slump would be broken by the Blackhawks’ sloppy second. Nashville would outshoot Chicago 14-7.
Neither team would score through the remainder of regulation or the first two full overtimes. Darling would stop a tortuous 18 shots while Rinne would shut down 20.
Then, finally, after 100 minutes of play and a day after his 30th birthday, Seabrook would end it with the 100th shot of the game.
“We were hoping for a hero,” Saad said. “Seabrook’s done it before. It was a big shot.”
“(The Predators) have done a great job all series long of getting in our lanes and I think I had four or five shots (Tuesday night) hitting sticks and bouncing off knee pads and skates and whatnot,” Seabrook said. “Kaner made a great play coming up the boards and laid it in there for me and I just tried to put it on net as hard as I could.”
“He’s had some big ones,” Quenneville said of Seabrook’s shot. “Great play around. Bick nice play to Kaner, Kaner put it on a tee, Bick gets back to the net and I think that’s probably how everyone scripted it: shot, traffic, it goes in. Great shot, great traffic, great pass.” Seabrook is no stranger to coming up clutch.
That’s NINE OT game winners for Brent Seabrook in his NHL career. 6 in regular season, 3 in playoffs. #Blackhawks — Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) April 22, 2015
Darling was credited with the “number one star of the game” and has already been named the starter for Game 5.
#Blackhawks@SDarling_33 said last triple OT game he was in, was Illinois pee wee hockey … and he lost — Peggy Kusinski (@peggykusinski) April 22, 2015
“Overtime’s crazy: every shot is do or die. Guys kept the chances outside in overtime and made it easy on me,” Darling said. “I’m thrilled we won. It was a real war, great hockey game, a classic. I’m a little tired but excited to get to bed.”
Quenneville acknowledged how tight the game was–with momentum shifts varying as often as shift to shift–and that the Blackhawks will be facing a team prepared to battle harder and harder.
“The series has been close. My whole team is playing hard. We just can’t seem to get that bounce,” Predators Coach Peter Laviolette said. “Pekka (Rinne) was really good. He made some big saves when we needed him to. I thought our team played hard. I thought we played well. We had more than enough looks, more than enough opportunities to end the game.”
In addition to Darling as the likely starting goalie Thursday, the Blackhawks are expected to stick with their lineup.
The Predators have not yet given an update on injured Shea Weber or (day-to-day) Mike Fisher.
The Predators host the Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m. CT Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. It will be broadcast on CSN-CH+, NBCSN, SN360, FS-TN and TVA3.
(Author’s note: As always, check the bold links for videos and other tidbits.)
While Detroit had home ice advantage, the Lightning had felt confident going into the game, hoping their physical strategy would continue to spark offense.
Instead, that hard-hitting team did not show up and fell behind early, 1-0 after the first period, after Pavel Datsyuk beat Bishop.
“They got an extremely fortunate bounce on their first goal, and now we’re behind,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “That was the only bounce they got, and it’s the only one they ended up needing. We didn’t get the bounces. We worked our tail off to get them, but Datsyuk’s goal, he doesn’t see it. It hits off the back of his leg and it’s an inch inside the post. We had open nets that (were) an inch outside the post.”
The Lightning outshot Detroit 22-21 and failed to capitalize on six power play opportunities, including one 5-on-3 in the beginning of the second period.
Detroit’s second unanswered goal came from Justin Abdelkader on the power play.
“We just seemed like the plays were there, it was just the puck bounced or it was just a bit inside or the guy couldn’t get the shot off he wanted,” Bolts Captain Steven Stamkos said. “We did have some chances but probably didn’t deserve to win. They battled hard. They didn’t give us much.”
“We’ve got to stay confident, but we have to also realize that we have to play the way we did in the first two games in order to give ourselves a chance to win because that’s a good hockey team over there,” Stamkos said.
Bishopmade 18 saves in the contest.
The Lightning will look to tie the series on Thursday in Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit at 7 p.m.
“We just weren’t very good today. We have to find a way to dig a little deeper and win the next game,” said Stamkos.
If you were watching the Winnipeg Jets hosting their first playoff game in nineteen years on Monday night then you saw nothing but white in the stands. It was a shame that the NHL couldn’t have let the Jets wear their white jerseys, as sometimes happens when a visiting team wants to wear a third jersey. However, the enthusiasm that filled the arena was powerful. And while the Jets couldn’t get the win they at least forced the Anaheim Ducks to go to overtime.
The decibel levels at the MTS Centre reached the 120s on Monday night and with each move of their beloved team, the rally tallies were going and the chants were palpable. It was no doubt part of this energy that ensured that as the Ducks got one in the net the Jets responded.
The energy generated by the fans is not simply a cliché mentioned by the players at moments in the season when they feel they should acknowledge them. There are barns in which it is extremely difficult to win if the crowd is involved—and often a key to the game for the visiting team is to try and silence that crowd and thus take that energy away from the home team. Home ice offers more than just the advantage of knowing how the pucks bounce off the boards. It’s having that hometown crowd willing its team to score and win.
After the Jets got on the board first with the wrist shot by Lee Stempniak that got past Frederik Andersen at 9:38 of the first, the crowd showed their appreciation. It looked like the Jets would get out of the first period with the lead when Cam Fowler’s wrister got past Ondrej Pavelec with just seven seconds remaining on the clock. Never the way either team wants to go to the locker room, having allowed the opposition to score within the last few seconds. Usually it results in that scoring team having the momentum when the game resumes.
Such was the case when Corey Perry’s slapshot put the Ducks up by one just 3:08 into the second period. Much was said by the announcers as to how important it was for the Jets to respond. And those in MTS Centre were noticeably quieter.
Of all the goals that were scored Monday night, only the Jets tying goal at 6:40 of the second from the wrist shot of Tyler Myers would be a power play goal. The second period would also see the most goals scored in a period of the game with the back and forth of five goals—two for Anaheim and three for the Jets.
After tying the score, the Jets would get the go ahead goal from Blake Wheeler’s snap shot at 9:37 of the period and the score would stall there until 16:04 when Jakob Silfverberg’s snap shot would again tie the game –three apiece. The Jets would answer though just 2:14 later off the stick of Bryan Little who had a slapshot to again put the home team up by a goal.
Once again the score would stall and it looked like perhaps the White Out would have its chance to truly embrace a win in its first home playoff game, when the Ducks refused to back down. Ryan Kesler tied the score at 17:46 of the third and the game would end up going to overtime, where a deflection by Rickard Rakell would give the Ducks the win and a three game lead in the series.
As has been seen in recent years, a three game lead is no guarantee that the leading team will continue on in the playoffs. The Ducks will again be forced to play against the Jets while dealing with the energy of the fans on Wednesday for game four of this series, which will air on USA at 9:30 ET. And as often happens with a team facing elimination, it is likely that the Jets will pull out all the stops and do whatever they can to ensure they don’t lose the series in a sweep in their home arena.
This was par for the course during game three of the Penguins/Rangers first-round series. The New York Rangers had been able to generate solid offensive rushes and scoring chances all night. During this particular possession, the puck went to Marc Staal, who shot it intentionally wide of the net. Using his size to his advantage, Chris Kreider then found himself in perfect position to bat the rebound in off the boards midway through the second period. It was an all but impossible angle. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead.
The lead almost became 3-0 later in the period, when Derek Stepan had a breakaway toward the net. This time, Marc-Andre Fleury was able to make a sprawling save and prevent the goal. But even this stop wasn’t enough to give the Penguins the momentum they so desperately needed.
The Rangers defeated the Penguins 2-1 at CONSOL Energy Center on Monday night to take a 2 games-to-1 lead in the series. From the start, the Rangers dominated offensively and defensively. They pressured the Penguins in their zone throughout the entire game while limiting the home team to just three shots in the first period; in fact, the Rangers scored their first goal–a breakaway down the middle of the ice by Carl Hagelin at 8:43 in the first–almost seven minutes before the Penguins even registered their first shot on goal.
The Rangers’ defense also stepped up huge, particularly Dan Girardi, who would go on to earn the Broadway Hat for the night. Girardi, who also assisted on both goals, was able to continuously clear the puck out of the Rangers’ zone on the penalty kill to keep the Penguins at bay, especially in the closing minutes of the game. The Penguins cut the Rangers’ lead to 2-1 at 13:12 in the third with a goal by Patric Hornqvist; that goal sparked the Penguins’ offense for the rest of the game, and their compete level picked up significantly. After having played a near-perfect 50 minutes on the road, the Rangers suddenly had to fight to close out the win.
The physicality of this game was amplified as well; Hornqvist and Maxim Lapierre remained thorns in the Rangers’ sides throughout the game. Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz both made clear contact with Henrik Lundqvist within a few minutes of each other (though Lundqvist did his best to sell the first hit). The Rangers fought back just as hard, and between the two teams, there were 80 hits over 60 minutes of play.
Look to see the tension between these two teams increase even more in Game Four.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
3. Kreider
2. Hornqvist
1. Lundqvist
LOOKING AHEAD/OF NOTE:
-There is still no timetable on Kevin Klein, although he has been skating with the team. He also participated in the optional practice on Tuesday, according to the NY Rangers Twitter.
As the AHL wrapped up their regular season this past weekend, my season as a “Sponsorship Services Intern” with the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning) also came to a culmination. This past weekend, the team had a stint of back to back home games, as we head into the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs. Celebrating the fans and the end of the regular season, it seemed appropriate to pay homage to our primary team color – blue, by wearing it.
On Friday April 17th, the Syracuse Crunch faced off against the Adirondack Flames and hosted “fan favorite” Eric Neilson Bobblehead Night. The limited-edition giveaway featured the enforcer in a familiar pose. Neilson was also selected as the winner of the 2014 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the 2013-14 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.
My first #BelieveInBlue look featured a cozy, navy blue knit dress, that I paired with a bright multi-colored scarf, both from Anthropologie. For jewelry, I put together an arm party featuring silver and gold bracelets from Alex and Ani, Tiffany’s, and Free People. I kept it simple with a pair of gold and diamond stud earrings from a local jeweler and my men’s two-toned watch from Citizen. To complete the look – and since it is still chilly in the arena – navy blue opaque tights, brown leather booties from Anthropologie and a brown leather clutch by Ruehl 925, from Abercrombie & Fitch.
Saturday, April 18, when fans came to watch the Syracuse Crunch take the ice with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the evening was focused on appreciating their support throughout this season. Fans in attendance received a 2014-15 Syracuse Crunch team photo and cowbell. A pregame ceremony featured a special fan appreciation video on the scoreboard, followed by a presentation of team awards. In addition to these activities, after the game the team signed autographs and took pictures with fans on the ice.
My second #BelieveInBlue look of the weekend featured a navy blue leather skirt from Kenneth Cole that I paired with a cobalt blue blouse from Anthropologie. I broke up the look with a beaded belt from a boutique and completed the look with stockings, navy blue leather heels from Anthropologie and a navy blue leather vintage clutch. For jewelry, I added in a vintage gold and turquoise broach and ring and gold and diamond stud earrings from a local jeweler. I completed the look with my gold Nixon watch and bangle bracelets from J Crew, Coach and a vintage gold piece.
With roaring red welcoming them back to Chicago, the Blackhawks took a 2-1 series advantage over the Nashville Predators Sunday afternoon. They have another battle ahead Tuesday night.
“For 82 games we grind, we battle, we will ourselves to win,” Captain Jonathan Toews narrates. “To compete for a championship. It’s one goal. To win the Stanley Cup.”
With that and a traditional chill-worthy national anthem, home looked mighty nice for the Hawks.
Speaking of the anthem, it’s become a matter of contention for those who haven’t experienced it or don’t understand it.
Chicago fans are not quiet while the stunning and powerful voice of opera singer Jim Cornelison performs.
“It’s great that the crowd gets involved the way they do,” Cornelison said. “They become part of the performance. They show what they’re feeling and what they’re thinking. To have the fans come up to you afterwards and high-five you — it’s a tremendous experience.
“I have to stay emotionally even but, I have to say, a couple moments in the anthem, particularly before I do the hand gesture where I know the crowd is just going to explode, I always get a rush.”
It isn’t a sign of disrespect–not to the singer, the flag, the song, or the military. In fact, it’s the opposite. The Blackhawks roll out a red carpet for Cornelison and members of the armed services (typically an active service member and at least one veteran) and fans cheer along as he sings The Star-Spangled Banner.
Then, in 1991, when Chicago hosted the All-Star Game, the United States had just announced its attacks in the Persian Gulf War. The crowd held flags and signs supporting the troops and the showing of patriotism was broadcast overseas by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
The rest is history. But it continues to inspire players, fans, and troops alike in this barn.
“It gives me goose bumps,” forward Bryan Bickell said. “I can’t imagine a better way to start a hockey game.”
Hometown ‘Tender
The Blackhawks were clearly inspired returning to Chicago 1-1 in the series.
Though the backup goalie has moved to the forefront for now, he’s received nothing but support from team starter Corey Crawford.
“He’s gone through a lot to get here and he’s been playing awesome. How can you not feel good for him?” Crawford told Comcast Sportsnet. “I have to encourage him, keep pushing him to be his best.”
In the meantime, Crawford, who hasn’t been happy with his own performance, must be prepared to step in. “The only thing I can do now is be ready in case I go back in,” he said. “Other than that, encourage the guys, stay positive and make sure the body language is good. Everything’s positive around here. There’s a nice feel around the room, nothing negative.”
Home Ice
Seemingly empowered by their return to the Windy City, the Blackhawks struck first.
“We put a lot of attempts at the net and lots of shots and lots of quality scoring chances,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “[Darling] made some big saves, some we probably wished we had another look at. They played a fast game [today]. I think it caught us a couple of times, even when we had pucks on the walls. It seemed like their speed from behind caused some quick turnovers, and they were able to come back at us.”
Toews’ one goal and one assist performance gave the captain his 23rd multipoint playoff game; there are only three players with more since 2009–teammate Patrick Kane (26) and the Penguins‘ Evgeni Malkin (28) and Sidney Crosby (30).
Hossa also had a multi-point game. the 36-year-old has four points (all assists) and is a plus-two in the three playoff games so far.
Seabrook on Hossa: “Every season he gets older but he looks younger out there on the ice.” #Blackhawks
Mike Fisher remains day-to-day (lower body) for the Predators and Captain Shea Weber did not make the trip to Chicago. His status will be updated Wednesday.
The Blackhawks’ lineup is expected to be the same as Sunday.
The two teams face-off again at 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday at the United Center before the best-of-seven series heads back to Nashville. The game will be broadcast on CSN-CH, NBCSN, SN, and TVA3.
(Author’s note: Be sure to check out the bolded links for videos and other tidbits.)
With a crowd of almost 20,000 cheering them on at home ice, the Calgary Flames took the ‘W’ for game 3 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in their first playoff game in six years. Offensive domination stemming from early in the first period lead to the Flames eventual victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
Calgary stayed consistent in game 3. They never lost the lead, and instead continued to build upon it. This is key for any team, and the Flames have shown perfect execution in their offensive production. They know what they do well, and they expound upon their positives, rather than dwelling on solely the negative. A bevy of players offering up their production talents has led to their overall success in production. Being able to rely on many players, rather than just a few is what the Flames have somehow perfected, and it is working heavily in their favor.
Getting some help from the younger players on the team not only makes for entertaining hockey, but it’s a huge morale boost for the team. Eighteen year old Rookie Sam Bennett scored his very first NHL goal to add some cushioning to their lead in what, at the time, was a one goal game. Twenty year old Sean Monahan scored his first NHL career playoff goal with an assist from 22 year old rookie Johnny Gaudreau. Big night for the young guys.
Some unlikely heroes have stepped up to the plate in times of need. Michael Ferland is one of those aforementioned players, and he’s been a bit of trouble for the Canucks. While his offensive production is not astronomically superb, his aggressiveness has proven to be a thorn in Vancouver’s side. Kevin Bieksa lost his cool Sunday night after Ferland served out 8 huge hits on Vancouver players. Eighteen hard hits have been served from Ferland in the series so far, and it is far from over. He’s going to continually be a pain for Vancouver to deal with, and I would expect more rowdy behavior (and large brawls) to take place throughout the rest of their games.
Another player to watch is Kris Russell, who has consistently put up praise-worthy numbers for the Flames this series. He has half the amount of goals that he put up in a span of 79 games this season in just three games during the playoffs. With three points in total so far, he is definitely one to watch. Russell has been just one of the players to stick up for a teammate. A roughing call on Russell and Alexandre Burrows in the second period eventually boiled over into a fight in the third period after Burrows had a dirty hit on Johnny Gaudreau. This eventually lead to Burrows’ ejection on an ‘instigator penalty,’ and a fighting major for Russell.
There’s still a whole lot more hockey to play, and it’s surely going to be exciting. In the upcoming games, it will be interesting to see who will be the next game-changer.
Welcome to the glorious Western Conference! The earlier Keepin’ Up With The Goalies, the Atlantic & Metropolitan divisions, were in the Eastern Conference, where men are men and Twitter complains when west coast games end at 1 AM. Here in the Central Division (or Conference III) this goalie news does not include playoff hockey. For playoff coverage though, continue to follow @ThePinkPuck and The Pink Puck for all that heart-pounding, nail-biting, ‘furiously making 5 lbs of fudge at 2 AM because you are sure that you just watched Hossa be murdered on the ice in 2012’ playoffs fun!
Western Conference: Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks: Even with missing a few months earlier in the year due to an off-ice injury, Corey Crawford has been as consistent as ever. He even won the William Jennings Trophy (given to goaltenders whose team allows the fewest goals during the regular season) for the second time in his career, sharing it with Carey Price. And he used a new mask that supports the USA Warriors and former Blackhawks equipment manager Clint Reif. It was only worn once and then auctioned off to the Clint Reif memorial fund.
As of April 1st, Scott Darling (@SDarling_33) was 8-3-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, which normally would be a pretty good backup goalie story, but he is also the team’s Masterton Nominee for so much more. After playing in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) while battling alcoholism — he has now been sober since 2011 — while playing for his home team (he’s from Lemont, IL a suburb of Chicago) and this is the first season he’s been able to show what he can do in the NHL.
Colorado Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov finished the 2014-2015 season with a record of 28-20-8 with a 2.56 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage. His 20 losses made him 10th in the league.
Calvin Pickard, the 22-year-old rookie, debuted this season in October when Reto Berra went down with an injury during a game against Ottawa. He ended the season 6-7-3 with a 2.35 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage and was in goal for 895 mins. That last stat is important because this season was his third straight season of playing in 40 or more AHL games.
Reto Berra didn’t play that often this season, as Varlamov’s backup, but the 26-year-old Swiss goalie, in his second year on the Avs, came into the game on March 25 after Varlamov let in 3 goals. The next night, Patrick Roy started him against Winnipeg, where he had a 41-save shutout in a 1-0 shootout victory. He also finished the season 5-4-1 with a .918 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against-average which isn’t all that bad.
Dallas Stars: As mentioned in the Keepin’ Up With The Goalies’ Atlantic article, Anders Lindback was the backup for most of the season. Kari Lehtonen’s season was pretty much a continuation of his career of frustrating fans (‘sup, Atlanta Thrashers). From the Dallas Morning News:
Kari Lehtonen’s season baffles even Kari Lehtonen.
The 31-year-old goalie tied a career high in wins and ranked ninth in the NHL at 34-17-10. However, he posted near career worsts in goals against average (2.94) and save percentage (.903).
Among the 42 goalies who played enough games to qualify to be among the NHL leaders, Lehtonen ranked 36th in GAA and 39th in save percentage.
Jhonas Enroth, who learned he was traded to Dallas while he was on his couch watching a soccer game, saw his save percentage go from .903 (in Buffalo) to .873 at the end of March (though, he finished with .906 in his 13 games played for the Stars) Also, his Stars mask glows in the dark, which is awesome.
Minnesota Wild: There might be other goalies for the Minnesota Wild (Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom), but Devan Dubnyk is the best. When he was in the Edmonton Oilers system, it seemed as if the Oilers messed up his confidence in being a goalie by the end of his five years in Edmonton. He was ‘mentored‘ by Nikolai Khabibulin and Ilya Bryzgalov and bounced to Nashville where he lost the starter/backup job to Carter Hutton after Pekka Rinne was injured in 2014 and then was traded for magic beans for future considerations to the Montreal Canadiens, who sent him to their AHL team, even when they needed goal support in the playoffs with a Carey Price injury. At the start of this season, he signed a 1-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes where he allowed former NHL goalie Sean Burke to tweak his style. On Jan. 15th he was traded to the Wild and is an extremely large reason why the Wild are in the playoffs.
Nashville Predators: Pekka Rinne is the Preds Masterton nominee (making the Central division amount of goalies in the running for the Masterton, the most at 3), because last season he had hip surgery that then became infected and this season, he’s having a career year with his second 40-win season. Rinne, 32, of Finland is the son of a constructor, and one of the 3 tallest starting goaltenders in the NHL at 6’5″ (his former backup and still very good friend, Anders Lindback is 6’6″ and Ben Bishop is 6’7″). During a game in early March, a puck went off Pekka’s stick and when he saw that it hit a young girl, he asked questions and found out that she was at the game to celebrate her 11th birthday. He signed one of his sticks for her with the note “To Mia, Happy Birthday! Sorry” because goalies are the best.
Carter Hutton, his backup from the true NHL capital of Canada, Thunder Bay (Hutts30 on IG/@CarterHutton) during the regular season would talk to the Predators announcers from the bench during almost every game and was on the Blackhawks in 2013 (he’s not on the Cup or the Official Photo, but does have a Stanley Cup ring). He’s got a very unique playing style, which occasionally gets him press for ‘saves of the year‘ types of saves.
St. Louis Blues: Did you hear that Martin Brodeur was a St. Louis Blue from December 2014 – January 2015? Blues’ goalie Brian Elliott was injured and Marty ended with a 3-3-0, 1 shutout, 2.87 GAA, and a .899 save percentage record as well as a front office job in St. Louis.
Otherwise, Elliott, who has been the starting goalie for the Blues since Jaroslav Halak was injured in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, was the Blues 2015 All-Star representative (after Bobrovsky was injured). He also surpassed Halak for Blues’ franchise record in shutouts on March 17th with 21. Of course, this is where I mention Martin Brodeur’s New Jersey Devils’ franchise record of 124 shutouts.
Jake Allen, 24, finished the regular season as the NHL’s winningest rookie at 22-7-4. He’s one of three Blues rookie goaltenders in their history to ever lead the NHL in wins.
Winnipeg Jets: Ondrej Pavelec is now in his eighth year in the NHL (weird how the time flies when you still miss the Thrashers) and he’s the Jets’ Masterton nominee. For the first time in those years, he’s playing really good hockey. As of April 3rd, in 46 games, he’s had career bests with a 2.41 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. And then on April 7th, he had his 15th career shutout, making it a franchise record for the Jets (Kari Lehtonen held the record previously when in Atlanta at 14). Pavelec (or Pavelectric if you would) also has a beautiful mask with Bruce Springsteen on it.
His backup, Michael Hutchinson, besides having the best ‘so close to being a rock & roll name,’ ends his second NHL season on a very high and hot note at 21-19-5 with a 2.39 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
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