Coming off of a 3-game win streak is hard. Continuing it in back to back games, is even harder, especially against a team like the New York Islanders. The Arizona Coyotes faced that challenge, and unfortunately couldn’t make it to a fourth win.
The Coyotes arrived back in Arizona at 2:30 am on Saturday, November 8th. The team had a game against the Islanders, who were well-rested and ready to get out on the ice. The Coyotes were not so well rested, and you could tell in their play. It wasn’t sloppy, it just wasn’t the kind of game that they need to be out there playing, and a group of exhausted players is enough to not have a pristine game. Head coach Dave Tippett commented on the back-to-back games saying, “the guys show up and they go to work and you can tell there are times when your fore-check isn’t quite as crisp, the power play wasn’t quite as crisp, but you try to work through that to find a way to win”.
Both teams held strong, and the game stayed even with no goals until the very end of the third period. With 2:71 left in the third, the Isles Frans Nielsen got one behind Coyotes ‘tender Mike Smith. Even with a last-minute power play for the ‘Yotes, they couldn’t knock one in.
The Power Play
The Coyotes power play started out so well. Most of the goals produced during games were on the PP. This was actually something that they have been working on to not just limit themselves there. You can only rely on your PP for so long, until you need to produce on the 5-on-5. The Coyotes had lots of chances, they had 5 PP opportunities. The ineffectiveness was by no means from a lack of trying. The execution wasn’t there, though, and that’s what held them back from getting shots through. Out of the ‘Yotes 19 shots of the game, 9 of them came out of their 5 PP’s. Coach Tippet brought up the tired players again when asked about the PP saying, “We didn’t generate a whole lot, you can see that fatigue was a factor in our game a little bit, but that being said we hung around the game.”
There is still a lot of improvement to go on this, and they’re scoreless on the power play in the last three games they have played. This has been a work in progress all year, and while out on the ice, it looks like it’s getting better, they still don’t have the execution that Coach has been talking about the last couple of games.
Smith Holding Strong
With Mike Smith’s not-so-strong start to the season, there has been an immense improvement in his play. He looks comfortable, he’s getting the big saves, he’s playing the puck; these are the signs that he’s getting back in his groove. When the season started, especially after the first game, he was admittedly “not comfortable”in the net. This gave several opportunities for backup goalie Devan Dubnyk to have a chance, but Smith is now in the right groove.
Smith is a player that comes out of the net a lot. Watch any game, and you will see that he likes to play the puck a little bit more than most goalies. He makes passes, he comes out of the crease, at some points he might give you a heart-attack for staying out for too long. When he is working like this, that’s when you know he is feeling right. You see a lot of this in his last couple of games, and he has been incredibly effective.
There were some shots that the Islanders had that would have easily been a goal. Mike Smith was blocking them left and right. Those one-on-one breakaways were no issue, he looked like he could save those in his sleep. The Islanders had 33 shots on goal, and Smith saved all but one. The goal they scored looked like Smith didn’t even get a chance to react to who had the puck, before it was being shot at him. Some distractions in front of the net lead to him letting in a difficult goal to save.
His teammates are very impressed with his improvement, and are making it clear that the reason they are even getting close to wins is because of Smith. Forward Sam Gagner said that “if [Smith] he keeps playing like this he’s going to give us a chance to win every night so that gives us confidence.”
His performance keeps getting better, and it looks like there is indeed hope for the ‘Yotes starting goaltender.
Defensive Improvement
For a team that prides themselves in their defense, The Coyotes surely haven’t looked strong in the defending zone.The pressure surely can be a lot, especially when there are such high expectations from some players. The past several games have been a breakthrough for the team’s defense, because they are finally getting closer to where they need to be.
First, you have Keith Yandle who is actually +1 with 11 points on the season. His efforts have been a powerful factor in the Coyotes play, so far. He’s breaking through into their offensive zone, he’s getting shots on the net, and he’s blocking shots on his defending zone. He looks strong, and he’s actually tied for the most shots on the team at 53.
On the other hand, you have Oliver Ekman-Larsson who has been out on the ice for a lot of goals against. His +/- is -10, and it’s improved since the beginning of the season. His time on ice the games leading up to tonight have been close, and have even surpassed 30 minutes. His average TOI per game has been 26:30 going into the game against the Islanders. There hasn’t been a game recently where he wasn’t leading the team with minutes, every game (last night he just barely pushed past Yandle to get the most).
OEL has the look of a super-star. He very well could be one of the best defenders in the league, one day. He has struggled getting into the groove, this season and Arizona Central’s Sarah McLellan has said that it’s probably due to OEL “trying to do too much”. She makes a great point, considering the pressure put on him to be the player that the team has seen him be. He’s been the deciding factor in two home overtime wins this season, and he’s put up 8 points. He is tied with Yandle with 53 shots on goal and his slap-shot is one that can’t be missed. Offensively, he’s been great, but defensively he has a long way to go.
The defense tonight blocked 13 shots, and besides some messiness, they helped Smith out a ton.
Offense Lacking
The Coyotes offense has never been one to make headlines. You have your good players, but no big named superstar. This is something that the Coyotes really lack. They don’t have the execution that some other teams have, and it is evident in games like this one against the Islanders.
When your defense is strong, and your offense can’t execute, then there is no way that the game is going to be won. The Islanders are a very underrated team, and they have some power-houses. They also gave the Coyotes a lot of opportunities to score on the PP, and they just couldn’t. When you only have 19 shots in a game and have 5 power plays, then there is obviously a missing piece.
Captain Shane Doan expounded upon the offensive lacking saying “You can play great defensively, but if you don’t score it doesn’t really help, so we need to find that balance and find a way to generate offense.” They need to find a way to produce full-strength, or it is going to be a really long season.
The team has produced 32 goals in 15 games, so far. The main thing right now is the execution of plays, and staying consistent in their game. Consistency is key, and they are starting to improve on it, but it’s still not quite there.
Overview
Overall, the team is improving. The mistakes that you saw at the beginning of the season have been fixed, or are improving every game. There are still key elements that are missing in the game like offensive performance, but it’s hard to judge after a game that you know they were physically exhausted.
The team has two days until their next game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, November 11th, and it’s surely going to be a nice break without games.
The San Jose Sharks began the 2013-2014 season with an impressive win streak, taking 6 straight right out of the gate before losing to the Dallas Stars. They continued to do well throughout October and November with their starting goalie, Antti Niemi between the pipes. However, by mid to late December and right before the Olympic break, it was clear that Niemi was no longer playing like he was when he was nominated for the 2013 Vezina trophy. The Sharks’ starting goaltender’s struggles continued after he returned from the Olympics in Sochi, where he was one of three goalies selected to represent Finland, alongside Kari Lehtonen and Tuukka Rask, but did not have a minute of ice time.
Despite inconsistent play from Niemi, head coach, Todd McLellan, started him over back-up goalie, Alex Stalock when last years play-offs rolled around. Stalock did get a start in goal in the postseason, but McLellan stuck with Niemi for the decisive game seven. Of course, the Sharks went on to lose that game to the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings.
At the end of a long offseason for the Sharks organization, McLellan announced that the position of starting goaltender would be up for grabs. Niemi got the call to start the season’s first game in Los Angeles, but for the several games following the season opener, Niemi alternated starts with Stalock. San Jose continued to rotate their netminders until a stretch of a few tough games. Since then, it seems as if Niemi has gained an edge on Stalock for the starting position.
So far, Niemi has been a strong in net for San Jose; out of his nine starts, he has won six with a save percentage of .923% and 2.49 GAA. The Finnish netminder is expected to make his fifth straight start for the Sharks on Thursday, October 6th against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are a hot team right now, and should give the three dominant California teams a run for their money throughout the season.
The number that sticks out the most, however, is that this will be Niemi’s fifth consecutive start. Sure, many goaltenders in the league could certainly start five games straight, especially after a few extra days of rest like the Sharks have had, but there is no reason to overwork Niemi. San Jose should make the most out of having a backup goalie who performs consistently. Stalock’s numbers have also been solid in the four starts he has made this season; he boasts a .924 save percentage with 2.22 GAA.
Though at this point, it may look like Niemi has secured the starting job for now, The San Jose Mercury reported on Wednesday that McLellan actually has yet to make a final decision. He did say, however, that the competition was still ongoing. If that is the case, then McLellan should not hesitate to give Stalock a start or two even while Niemi is doing well. Not only do the Sharks have chance to put a well-rested Niemi in goal more often, it encourages a friendly competition between him and Stalock that McLellan noticed improved both goaltenders’ play last season when it became apparent that Niemi’s starting job was in jeopardy.
Perhaps it isn’t as big of a deal that Niemi will start against the Canucks Thursday because the Sharks have gotten extra rest, but down the stretch, he should be getting the breaks he needs in order to perform his best between the pipes. Niemi is, without a doubt, a workhorse, but even he needs to watch a game from the sidelines every once in awhile.
San Jose has a lot to prove down the stretch with the disappointing way last season ended and both goalies will certainly be playing a big role in getting the team to the postseason. With a season full of tough competition ahead, the Sharks need both goaltenders in order to beat out the best of the best. Stalock needs to get more playing time, regardless of how Niemi is playing, in order for Niemi to stay sharp. The bottom line, San Jose has two reliable goaltenders, and if it so happens that Stalock gets named back-up, then the Sharks will have one of the best back-up netminders in the league and they need to use him if they want to be the best team they can be.
Click here for more statistics on Antti Niemi
and here for more on Alex Stalock
Image courtesy of NHL.com
When you need to go straight from work to the game, it’s a struggle. I went to work in pretty much what I was going to wear to the game because I knew that I wouldn’t have time to do a whole outfit overhaul. It was Hockey Fights Cancer night for the Coyotes, so I sported purple to show my support.
Shoes are my favorite part of any outfit, and these one’s have been on my eye for a couple months now…. I was waiting for them to go on sale, and it was worth it considering that I purchased them for $17.00! The best parts: they’re Steve Madden, super comfortable and pewter (a neutral that I definitely needed). Finally a pair of wedges that are both cute, and easy to get around in!
Tonight, I am very understated (by Allison standards) and actually really comfortable. I’ve worn skirts the last couple of games, so stretchy pants not only are more enjoyable to sit in, but they are much warmer. Topped off with my go-to leather jacket and a very simple necklace, my outfit is the perfect Saturday night game look.
Press Level Fashion Tip: Balance out your game look. Yes, it is nice to look put together, but you can still stay warm while doing so. You don’t have to be miserable the whole game, so if you are going to wear a skirt, go heavier on top with a blazer or jacket, and maybe even some tights on bottom. If you are sitting there shivering the whole night, it honestly isn’t going to look professional. Dress for the situation, and that includes being somewhat warm. Don’t suffer for fashion, when you can still look professional, cute and warm in other ways!
Shoes: Steve Madden c/o Nordstrom Rack, $17.00
Pants: J.Crew, $60.00
Shirt: J.Crew, $30.00 (On sale)
Jacket: Old Navy, $25.00
Necklace: Tiffany & Co.
(Photo: NHL.com)
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Carter Ashton has received a 20-game suspension on Thursday for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
Ashton will be suspended without pay and, based on his average annual salary, will forfeit $169,185. The Collective Bargaining Agreement dictates that his suspension will also include a mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation. Subsequent treatment may result from this referral as well.
Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan released the following statement regarding Ashton’s suspension:
“The Toronto Maple Leafs support the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program and today’s decision to suspend forward Carter Ashton. At this time, out of respect for Carter and the process involved, the Club will not comment any further.”
It took a shootout to determine a winner, but the Canadian women’s hockey team has won their 12th IIHF Four Nations tournament.
The win over the United States is the third in a row that resulted in a 3-2 score, and much like the overtime decision in Sochi, required extra minutes to determine a winner.
Jennifer Wakefield of Canada would notch the first of two goals in the contest in the first period, on the power play. Brianna Decker crashed the net hard throughout the game and found the back of the net in the second to tie it up. Momentum swung in favor of the United States when Hilary Knight put a puck behind Genevieve Lacasse on a breakaway to take the 2-1 lead.
Canada could not rally on a penalty shot from Jill Saulnier – who missed an open net, with goaltender Molly Shaus out of position – to tie the game. Instead, the game-tying goal would come in the form of an even strength goal for Wakefield, assisted by captain Natalie Spooner.
Canada had their chances to make it 3-2 in the third period, and almost did, but a goal was waved off due to a delayed penalty on the United States. Officials determined play should have stopped when Kacey Bellamy touched the puck right before the goal was scored. Canada could not capitalize on their power play following that determination.
The 20-minute, 4-on-4 overtime featured both teams killing one penalty each.
In the shootout, both goaltenders denied in the first round. Brianne Jenner beat Shaus in the second round, while Decker was denied by Lacasse. Neither Jamie Lee Rattray or Hilary Knight could find the back of the net in the third round, resulting in the win for Canada.
Lacasse, who was named Star of the Game, made 33 stops in regulation. Shaus made 26.
Both teams now look ahead to 2015 IIHF World Championships. The national organizations filled their Four Nations rosters with younger players, many of whom considered the tournament as a “tryout” for a spot on the national team in World Championships. For the U.S., it was also a tryout for Coach Ken Klee, who will be considered for the coaching job in 2015.
What we learned from the Four Nations tournament:
- It took a skills competition to decide a winner in the championship game – and while the bounce went Canada’s way, it could have been anyone’s game. And that’s good news for a rivalry that keeps drawing people into it and growing the game of women’s hockey. It fuels the fire for future contests.
- Canadian Goaltender and Providence College alum Genevieve Lacasse is good at hockey. She made a lot of key saves to keep her team in the game. She stopped 63 of 67 shots in the whole tournament and boasted a .940 SV% in the two games she played.
- U.S. Goaltender Molly Shaus is just as good, though. She stopped 42 of 44 shots in the tournament and had a .955 SV% with an .86 GAA.
- You don’t have to be big to be good at hockey. Kendall Coyne is 5’1″ and incredibly fast. She ended the tournament with one assist against Canada in the championships, but her stats do not reflect how important she is to the team. She hustled hard throughout the whole game.
- Younger players used Four Nations as an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of a spot in the World Championships. Non-Olympians Dani Cameranesi and Shiann Darkangelo came up huge this tournament. Cameranesi finished the tournament with two goals and two assists, with Darkangelo finished with one goal and three assists.
- We need to develop women’s hockey more in non-North American countries. This was discussed a lot around the Olympics time, but the tournament again proves it, because Sweden and Finland just can’t compete. North America out-scored Sweden and Finland a combined 13-1. Not a pretty picture.
(Photo: discoverlehighvalley.com)
The Manchester Monarchs hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the seventh game of their eight game homestand. This is one of only two meetings between the teams this season. The Phantoms are in their first season in the AHL. Last season, the franchise was in Adirondack. It was also the 4th annual Canadian Heritage night in Manchester with Canadian music and food along with bilingual announcements.
Manchester wasted no time in testing Phantoms goaltender Rob Zepp with two shots in the first 45 seconds. Tensions were also running high. The Phantoms defense seemed to do a good job at limiting the breakaways despite the difference in shots. There was a scary moment just under 8 minutes into the first period, Nick Cousins delivered a dangerous hit on Monarchs forward Zach O’Brien. The trainer was called out and O’Brien took a long time to get up. The trainer helped him off holding a towel to O’Brien’s face and O’Brien would not return. The Monarchs, who had gone with 7 defensemen and 11 forwards were now down another forward. Cousins ended up with a 5 minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. The Phantoms managed to kill off the penalty despite some good chances by the Monarchs.
“That’s a chance you always take when you play 7 defensemen instead of 6. But we had been doing well with that line-up and we didn’t want to change anything,” Head Coach Mike Stothers said. “O’Brien has been a great asset and we probably could have used him on the power play. I don’t think he’ll be ready to go for our next game but we hope he’s back soon.”
Despite putting up 15 shots in the first period, the Monarchs were kept off the board and the teams went to their respective locker rooms scoreless after the first.
Manchester got another power play chance at 3:30 into the second and this time they were able to get onto the board. Jamie McBain sent the puck over to Colin Miller at the top of the face-off circle and Miller was able to one-time it past Zepp. Sean Backman had the secondary assist. Shortly after the goal, the Monarchs head to the penalty kill themselves but Manchester is able to kill it off thanks to Berube standing tall.
Tensions finally reached the boiling point as rookie Monarchs forward Justin Auger takes on Phantoms defenseman Oliver Lauridsen. After a flurry of punches, both went down in what seemed to be a relatively even fight. Manchester seeming to take their foot of the pedal a little, being held without a shot for about 5 minutes, and it showed.
“I just wanted to get the boys going,” Auger said of his fight. “I’m a big guy, I play a physical game and I just wanted to do what I could to give us energy.”
The Phantoms found the back off the net when Andrew Gordon puts a nifty pass from Scott Laughton past JF Berube. With the score tied, another fight broke out. This time it is between veteran forwards Josh Gratton and Jay Rosehill. The Monarchs come away with the slight edge as Gratton downed Rosehill. Shortly after the second fight, the Monarchs go to the power play again. Despites a flurry of shots and Zepp losing his stick, the Monarchs cannot capitalize. It’s the Phantoms getting on the board again to take the lead. Shane Gostisbehere took a rocket of a shot that appeared to change direction and bounce awkwardly past Berube. Gordon ended up being awarded the goal for his second of the game.
With less than two minutes to go in the middle frame, the Phantoms pull out further in the lead. Taylor Leier lifted the puck to easily put it over Berube’s left shoulder. The momentum definitely changed in the middle frame with the Phantoms showing speed and determination. With the time expiring in the second period, the Monarchs seem to find some energy and lodge a couple quick shots.
When the teams came back out for the third period, they were both skating hard. Just over seven minues ito the game, rookie Shane Gothisbehere, who had a great game, went down in the corner. The trainer had to help him off the ice and he went down the tunnel immediately. With that, the momentum seemed to swing back to the Monarchs. Nic Dowd impressively found a way past Zepp for his first of the season. The assists went to Backman and Gratton.
“It’s good to get that first one out of the way,” Dowd said of his first goal of the season. “I think we’re all at the point, though, where we want to win. It doesn’t matter who scores and we support each other. But yeah, it’s good to get that first one of the season out of the way.”
Manchester brought strong pressure again in the second half of the third but lost another player to the boards. This time it was Colin Miller, who had the first goal of the game, who went down after a check by veteran Zack Stortini. Stortini went to the box for a 5 minute major for boarding. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, Brian O’Neill was called for high-sticking just 32 seconds into the major penalty. On a more positive note, Miller reappeared during the 4-on-4 stint. After having only a short period of a powerplay for the boarding major, the Monarchs end up with another penalty as this time Miller sits for slashing.
Towards the end of the game with just over 2 minutes to go, the MOnarchs get a final chance to go on the power play when Brandon Alderson goes off for hooking. The Monarchs had one great shot with a wide open net when Zepp got caught behind his net but the Phantoms defense collected it and the Phantoms would hold on for the win. Zepp ended up with an impressive 42 saves as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms picked up a win for the second game of their road trip.
“We needed to make the power plays count, that’s what went wrong,” Stothers said. “That’s going to be what we need to work on. To have the chances we had and not be able to convert on more of them was frustrating.”
The Monarchs will be home again tonight when they host the Springfield Falcons. Lehigh Valley continues their road trip facing off against Portland.
(photo: Dinur Blum)
After a long road trip, the Los Angeles Kings finally returned home to take on the visiting New York Islanders who played their second game in as many nights. The Islanders were 30 miles outside of LA last night where they outscored the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime. Despite coming into the game on short rest, the Islanders outlasted the Kings, winning 2-1 in a matchup that went all the way to a shootout.
Coming into this game, the Kings had owned home ice, winning 6 straight at the Staples Center. LA’s regulation win streak will continue, but their home record will now stand at 6-1-1. Jonathan Quick started in net for the Kings while Chad Johnson was between the pipes for the Islanders.
Kings’ right-winger Justin Williams missed tonight’s game; he was out with an eye injury which was the result of contact with Brenden Dillon’s stick under Williams’ visor in LA’s game on November 4th against the Dallas Stars in Texas. Reports so far have indicated that his injury is not serious. Williams’ was out, but Jordan Nolan returned to the line-up after serving a two game suspension for boarding Red Wings’ forward, Darren Helm, in Detroit last Friday.
Each team scored in the first period and shots on goal were about even. Brock Nelson netted his 7th goal in the first for the Islanders and Dwight King got his 2nd of the season later into the period. Neither team had a significant shot advantage in the second, although LA did have a few good chances on a power play, but could not convert.
The Islanders and Kings continued to play hard into the third, but despite a number of good chances, neither team took the lead and the game headed into overtime. Both goaltenders, Quick for LA and Johnson for the Islanders, made some stellar saves to keep the score tied at 1-1 when the buzzer sounded.
Heading into OT, the Kings were out shooting the away team by just a handful of shots. Quick made some incredible saves in OT to keep his team in the game, which helped to send the game into a shootout. But the Islanders got the last word in the shootout. Johnson was able to stop both Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter’s shots and both Islanders’ shooters got the green light. Kyle Okposo’s backhand got past Quick and Frans Nielsen’s snapshot won it for the Isles.
Quick had 32 saves on the night, while Johnson stopped 30 shots.
It was a competition of endurance for the Islanders and Kings. Neither team out shot the opposition by much. LA did a terrific job of keeping it close, but just couldn’t hold on in the shootout. Both teams played a face paced game which was impressive for the Isles who showed little to no signs of fatigue after playing just one night prior.
The Islanders will continue their road trip out west, making stops in Colorado and Arizona before they head back to Nassau Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The United States Women’s hockey team will face rival Canada tonight at 10 p.m. ET in the gold medal game at the IIHF Four Nations Tournament.
The U.S. Women blanked Sweden yesterday, 3-0, with goals from power forward Hilary Knight, Emily Pfalzer (power play), and Brianna Decker (short-handed). Brianne McLaughlin-Bittle stopped 11 shots in the victory. She and Molly Shaus have now both recorded shutouts at the tournament.
“You’re always looking for the U.S./Canada rivalry and hopefully you get it, but no matter who we play, we are in it for the gold medal and will hopefully bring it back to the U.S.,” said Knight. “Our goal is to play a full, solid 60 minutes of hockey and we didn’t play that the other night. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play again.”
Coach Ken Klee said he is confident his squad is ready for Canada.
“Anytime you get a chance for the U.S./Candaa game, it’s fun, so it’ll be a good atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a hockey game and when there’s energy in the building you feel it.”
The team does have some unfinished business against Canada to take care of, though, he said.
“We played 55 great minutes last time, and that’s hockey, sometimes things like that happen and we have obviously moved on past it and learned from those things and we keep going,” he said.
In Canada’s final preliminary game, they cruised past the Fins, 3-1. Goals came from Jennifer Wakefield, Haley Irwin and Rebecca Johnson. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 11 of 12 shots in the contest. Riikka Valila netted the only goal for Finland.
The set-up between the U.S. and Canada is certainly an expected one. Here is what it will take for the U.S. to come out with a win:
- Concentration on special teams. In their first game against Canada, the U.S. scored a power play goal but gave up two, and gave up two in one period despite out-shooting them in that period. They’ve proved they can be successful on the power play, and even successful short-handed. Special teams really need to be, well, special.
- Goaltending. Now that Shaus and McLaughlin-Bittle have both posted shutouts against Finland and Sweden respectively, who will get the starting nod against Canada? Either would be a good choice tonight and would give the U.S. a great chance at winning.
- Give a 60 minute effort. It was the difference in the first match-up, and it will be the difference in this one. Canada’s starting goaltender, Genevieve Lacasse, is really good. She has only played one game in the tournament (and it was against the U.S.) but has a .938 SV%. That means the U.S. needs to find a way to keep getting pucks to the net, and never sit back on a lead, which unfortunately they have a habit of doing against Canada. In their last match-up, the U.S. outshot Canada 32-31. As an unrelated side-note, the U.S. out-shot Finland 40-14 and out-shot Sweden 50-11. As if we needed more evidence that these two teams just can’t compete with the North American hockey powerhouses.
Watch the game tonight live on FastHockey.com at 7 p.m. local time, 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
(Photo: @NYRangers)
For the third consecutive game, Madison Square Garden hosted an overtime thriller.
Unlike the previous two games, however, Wednesday’s game ended with the New York Rangers receiving 2 points instead of 1. After 1:50 of overtime, Rangers center Derick Brassard netted a loose puck during a Rangers power play. Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson had just blocked a shot by Dan Girardi on the opposite side, subsequently leaving a corner of the goal exposed, and Brassard capitalized on this opportunity. By successfully closing out the game, New York (6-4-2) took the 4-3 victory and tallied their fifth straight win against Detroit (6-3-4).
On paper, Wednesday was a good night for a win: it was the Rangers’ day for Hockey Fights Cancer, Alain Vigneault coached his 900th career game, and NBCSN featured the Rangers/Red Wings matchup as its weekly “Wednesday Night Rivalry” game.
On the ice, this win was a fight to the very end.
The Rangers shot out to a 1-0 lead when Rick Nash registered his 10th goal of the season, a deflection off Brassard’s shot 6:36 into the first period. This rare Rangers power play goal was one of New York’s 9 shots in the opening half of the period, during which they controlled the game completely. But though Detroit’s first shot on goal did not come until the latter half of the first, the Red Wings gathered momentum and took control of the closing minutes of the period. The Rangers went into the locker room holding onto their 1-0 lead, but the Red Wings had leveled the playing field in terms of shots and energy.
The second period saw the Rangers’ 1-0 lead turn into a 2-0 lead as Martin St. Louis found the back of the net on a breakaway after 6:36 of play. This goal followed an impressive save by Henrik Lundqvist on a penalty shot by fellow Swede Gustav Nyquist at 5:51.
Lundqvist’s penalty save (via @myregularface)
This was Lundqvist’s first penalty shot save since 2012; before Wednesday night’s save, he had allowed four consecutive goals in such situations. The Red Wings found a way to score midway through the period, however, and put in 2 shots in 13 seconds to tie the game 2-2 at 12:15. These goals constituted the first time the Red Wings had scored on the Rangers since October 26, 2013.
“At the time, it felt like a big save,” said Lundqvist about his save on Nyquist. “Obviously it was a little frustrating there when they got [the tying goals]…but I think we responded in a good way.”
The score remained 2-2 until 12:10 into the third period. Dominic Moore found Lee Stempniak on the right wing during a 2-on-2 rush, and Stempniak converted Moore’s saucer pass to make the score 3-2. The Red Wings pulled Gustavsson with almost 3 minutes still remaining in the period for the extra attacker, but it wasn’t until the final 8 seconds of the game that Detroit found a way to score again. This final goal in regulation came as the result of ill-timed penalties by the Rangers and persistent shooting by the Red Wings.
Tied at 3, the game headed into overtime, where Brassard would eventually net the game-winner.
“Sometimes you’re going to come back and score when you’re down, and sometimes you’re going to have the lead and they’re gonna tie the game late like [Detroit] did,” Brassard said after the game. “When they got that tying goal we just stayed positive, talked to each other on the bench, and got it done in overtime.”
“I feel like our game is coming,” Lundqvist added. “We’re getting more and more consistent.”
The Rangers now travel to Toronto for a game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.
(photo: USAHockey.com)
Wednesday night marked the first re-match between the Canadian and United States women’s hockey teams since the heartbreaking overtime decision in Sochi, the game’s familiar 3-2 final score leaving a sour taste in the U.S. women’s mouths.
The night’s contest was all too similar to that gold medal game for the U.S. National team, many of whom were on the 2014 Olympic team less than nine months ago.
The U.S. held a 2-1 lead until late in the game with goals from Dani Cameranesi and Shiann Darkangelo. The tables turned when the U.S. had to call on special teams, and they could not kill their penalties.
Canada’s Haley Irwin found the back of the net with 4:57 left in the third period, on the power play, to tie the game at two-all. It was the game-changer Canada needed, mirroring Marie Phillip Poulin‘s game-tying goal with 55 seconds left in regulation in the 2014 gold medal game in Sochi.
Rebecca Johnson would put a puck behind U.S. goaltender Alex Rigsby on the power play, just one minute and 27 seconds later, to take the 3-2 lead for Canada. It would be the game-winner, despite the U.S. going on the power play with one minute left in the third period. Brianna Decker nearly tied the game on that power play, but her shot hit the post, leaving the U.S. unable to convert.
U.S. defenseman Monique Lamoureux said the notion of the big re-match wasn’t so much on their minds during the game, despite the similar unfortunate bounces.
“The positive we can take is that the mistakes were made are all fixable,” she said. “Simple things, getting pucks out, making the first play. I know I made my fair share of mistakes. Blocking shots, picking up sticks, it’s things everyone can do. It’s not out of our skill realm. We definitely had our chances, especially at the end there, and we hoped a few calls would go our way… I thought we finished well, we definitely had chances to tie it up.”
Cameranesi, whose goal was her first as a part of the U.S. National Team, said she would have liked to see more of a 60-minute effort.
“I thought it was a pretty awesome game to be a part of,” she said. “I think we sat back on our heels a little bit but it’s always going to be a competitive game with Canada. We’ll get back into practice and hopefully the next game, we’ll come out with a win. It’s a goal for us to apply relentless pressure through the entire time so we got chances off that, but I think we need to put more into the opportunities that we get.”
Head Coach Ken Klee expected an exciting game, and despite the U.S. shortfall, said he was happy overall with the effort.
“We just need to manage the puck a little better, be a little smarter. We played a great game. When you out-shoot 16-5 in a period usually you don’t give up two and don’t get any, but we competed hard, and it was a good game,” he said.
The U.S. will face Sweden Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern. It is the final game in preliminary play in the tournament. The third place game and championship game will take place Saturday.
Prev1...204205206...412Next 
Page 205 of 412
