An overtime power play win for the Arizona Coyotes is just what they needed coming off of their first road trip of the season. Though statistically the trip might not have looked great, there was obvious improvement in the Coyotes overall game. Goaltending was better, their defense was getting back to how they are known to perform, and their offense was just okay (more-so in the first game against Nashville). They were shutout in Minnesota against the Wild, but lost 4-3 in shootout to the Preds.
In the second home overtime of the season, Oliver Ekman-Larsson played hero for the team in the last seconds of a Power Play (and even the last minutes of the OT). When asked about the goal OEL jumped on the question saying “it’s great to get two points, so it was fun”. On a one-timer from the D-man OEL, Florida Panthers Roberto Luongo let one fall in glove-side, meaning the ‘Yotes got another one in OT. The initial pass was on a new play that Tippett has said that they were working on during practice. This specific play is where they switch sides, in this case with Yandle who “passed it down to Gagner” who passed it up to Ekman-Larsson who “just one-timed it”. There you have another OT beauty.
Post-game, everyone got a laugh about the fact that both of the defenseman’s goals of the season, were scored in the same situation. Apparently in overtime on the power play is where OEL thrives, and it has truly shown, statistically and visually. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is not going to let himself just score game winning goals, in fact he says, “I’m fine with that, but hopefully not”. He goes on to point out that it’s “fun to score goals”, but improving his game and “trying to help” his teammates are the bigger priority.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson is known for his defensive skill. The start of the season has been rough for him, but you can tell his hard work is getting him back up to the spot that he so proudly holds on the team. In his eyes, he still has a lot more work to get back to his original state. He went far enough to say that he “is not happy about [his] game”, but it did “feel better today”. He put more emphasis on working hard on his game and said that to get it to where he wants it (and his team wants it) he needs to “keep working hard and building up [his] game”.
Justin Hodgman, a player they brought up from the Portland Pirates after only playing 3 games down there, had a phenomenal night. He put the Coyotes on the board with his first NHL goal in his first NHL game. T
The game wasn’t perfect, and the team still has a far way to go, but they are headed in the right direction. The past three games have been evidence of this. Mike Smith is getting more comfortable and feeling his way back into being ready in goal is one of the biggest things. The team is not letting the blame fall on him; they are stepping up and taking full responsibility.
They know they need to be better. They know that they need to produce goals. This is something that the team has struggled with for a while now. They have a normally stellar defense, but offensively they lack. Coach Dave Tippett reiterated that that is still one of the main things that they need improvement on. He was very positive, though, with where they are headed, and for good reason. Martin Hanzal should be back and ready to play, and this means a lot for the offense. David Moss sounds like it is going to be a longer recovery, and he will not be traveling with the team during the road trip that starts on Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
Sam Gagner had the huge assist on the OEL goal, and his overall game at wing. This is a new position for him, considering he is usually at center. His adjustment to his new team has included the adjustment to being on the wing. His effectiveness over there has made a huge impact on the whole team. Gagner proved to the team tonight with a game-winning assist that he has what it takes to flow with the team.
Consistency has been lacking for the Coyotes thus far, but Gagner was one of the guys to say that they “need that consistency every night” and that it is essential to “take it on the (upcoming) road trip”.
Gagner on the game:
“[About being on the wing] It felt good. It felt like I adjusted. There’s still some different things in the d-zone and on the wall that you need to be aware of at the wing that I’m adjusting to. But I thought it was a great game. It felt like we were creating some things. Hopefully continue to do that.”
They powered through offensively with so many shots on goal tonight. They over shot the Panthers 41-24. It was fairly close during the first two scoreless periods, but once a goal to win the game was necessary, there were shots flying everywhere. The 8 power plays against Florida, sure didn’t help, considering both of the Coyotes goals were scored on the PP.
Overall, the game is getting to where it needs to be. The way that they are performing as of late shows signs of success. They have a very long way to go, but putting in the work like they say that they will is how things are going to get done.
Coach Tippett seemed happy with what the team is coming to. When the game is tied scoreless going late into the game, there is obviously a hard-fought battle from both sides. Tippett said that he “liked the way we came back and overcame” the goal scored against them early in the third period.
Offensively, the Coyotes improved drastically, and that was evident with the 77 shots that went at the net. Tippett said that having that many shots at the net means they’re “going in the right direction”, but they could still improve on scoring off of the Power Play.
“Hopefully the odds are with you,” said Tippett. “You throw that many pucks at the net and the odds have to be with you. We had a lot on the power play, a lot of power play shots tonight which when they are power plays they can generate chances and generate shots and that’s one of the strengths of it so we have to keep pounding away at that”
The Coyotes are traveling this week to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the Florida Panthers, again on Thursday and they wrap it up in Carolina on Saturday. They play at home, next, on Tuesday, November 4th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Through the first 49 minutes or so, the game was really close and separated by only a goal. Nick Foligno‘s unfortunate run-in with a linesman kind of sucked the life out of the Columbus Blue Jackets who were obviously (and rightly) more concerned with the health of their teammate than the state of the game.
There is some good news following the game this afternoon. Head Coach Todd Richards told reporters that Foligno will travel home with the team. Jon Rosen has more here.
The first period was a little chippy with both the Kings and Jackets hitting everything in sight. Corey Tropp skated nearly the width of the rink to lay a hit on Justin Williams who was in a vulnerable position. Tropp wasn’t penalized on the play and Matt Greene took exception to the hit, earning himself 2, 5 and 10 minutes for instigating a fight.
A little later, the Jackets got on the board first with a power play goal while Drew Doughty sat in the box for interference. LA had a couple of chances to clear but just couldn’t seem to get a stick on it.
In the second period, the Kings answered back with a power play goal of their own when Columbus took consecutive penalties. Tyler Toffoli slipped the puck underneath a sprawling Sergei Bobrovsky who wasn’t able to cover it and Jeff Carter put it home after Anze Kopitar fanned on his attempt. Ten minutes later, Kopitar was injured on another power play and left the game with an upper body injury. But not to worry as Toffoli teamed up with Carter (no this isn’t a recording, honest) to give the Kings their first lead in the game when Carter (wisely) elected to pass instead of shoot and Toffoli went top shelf. Shortly after that, Dwight King ended up with the eventual game winner when he sniped the puck past Bobrovsky. Less than 30 seconds later, Mark Letestu answered back with a goal that Jonathan Quick would probably want back.
The goal set the scene for a tense, tight and highly energetic third. For the most part anyway. Quick was solid and shut the door after giving up a weak goal while the prolific “’70s line” exploded for an additional four points (two goals from Tanner Pearson and one assist each from Carter and Toffoli). In the midst of all this was Nick Foligno’s injury. In a board battle with Carter, Foligno ran into a linesman and subsequently injured his head or neck. He was down on the ice for several minutes and was eventually stretchered off the ice to a standing ovation at Staples Center. The good news, as mentioned above, was that Foligno appeared to be doing ok and is well enough to travel with the team back to Columbus.
The game returned but it was a little slow for a few minutes. Gradually, as the players got back to the task at hand, the crowd at Staples began to show signs of life as well. It wasn’t until Pearson won a footrace and beat Bobrovsky clean that the crowd really started to wake up.
Injuries and Resuming Game Action
When a player is so injured that he needs to be stretchered off the ice, it’s tough to see how people are expected to act like it’s no big deal, everything’s fine, including the professionals who are getting paid to play this game. This is different and has less gravity than the Rich Peverley situation given Foligno’s immediate prognosis, but many felt that it should be treated with the same respect. While Foligno was down on the ice, Staples Center was dead silent; you could hear a pin drop. It was a scary moment with 18,000 plus fans not really knowing what just happened and why there was someone on the ice. It was even scarier when the stretcher came out. However, in this case, with just over 11 minutes left on the clock, postponement probably wasn’t a real option as it could’ve been in other games. The other option was to just end the game, but that feels like it would’ve been denying Columbus a chance to collect two valuable points and win it for Foligno. So that just leaves picking up where the game left off.
Game resumption is something that should be taken on a case-by-case basis. In the end, though, no matter the decision, the health of the player is all that matters.
A Franchise Record And Looking Ahead
With Sunday’s win, the Kings set a franchise record of six consecutive victories at home. The defending champions got off to a slow start in the season but were fortunate to come up against weak possession teams in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Buffalo in the early part of the schedule. Only St. Louis and Minnesota gave them trouble in the corsi and fenwick statistics department but on the back of excellent goaltending and some timely goal scoring (though they were technically shutout by St. Louis), they managed to eek out enough (perhaps undeserved in a couple cases) wins to keep their streak alive.
Looking ahead, the Kings will need to find some production outside of their second line. Carter, Toffoli and Pearson have combined to score 16 of the team’s 21 goals this season. With Kopitar out of the lineup, that could loom large for the team that relies heavily on their number one center to kill penalties as well as provide offense. The team is still under the 33-day league mandate and are unable to call up any players on an emergency basis. They’re stretched to the max with Slava Voynov‘s cap hit still on the books due to his indefinite suspension, and Marian Gaborik still day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and Trevor Lewis on injured reserve with an upper body injury. The good news is that both Gaborik and Lewis have started skating and Lewis seems like he’s making progress.
They’ll face a tough test on the road with a battle of Pennsylvania and a back-to-back in Detroit where they’ve had little success over the years. From there they head to North Carolina and cap it off with a trip to the American Airlines Center where they’ve also faced little recent success.
Jonathan Quick won’t keep up his gaudy (albeit very small seven-game sample) .953 save percentage so the rest of the team will need to continue to step up their game and return to the possession monsters that they’re known for. It’ll be tough if Kopitar is out of the lineup for an extended period of time, but they are more than capable of doing it.
(Photo: Sarah Connors/Flickr)
Two and a half weeks into the NHL season, there is one player who stands out above all others in the league: Anaheim Ducks right-winger Corey Perry.
Perry leads the league with nine goals through the Ducks’ first eight games, and is tied for second across the NHL with 12 points. He’s the first player in franchise history to score nine goals that quickly, and one of six players to ever record multiple hat tricks in his team’s first seven games of the season.
On a team loaded with offensive weapons, for one player to stand out above the rest is an incredible feat. Six of Perry’s teammates have recorded multiple goals through eight games, and another two have scored a goal each, but Perry has still been able to find the back of the net in five games this season.
Perry’s two hat tricks – one in the season opener against Pittsburgh (a 6-4 loss) and one against Buffalo (a 4-1 win) – are just the sixth and seventh of his 10-year NHL career, proving that he’s starting this season on a level he’s never played before. So far this season, Perry has also been stellar on the Ducks’ power plays, scoring four goals while on the man advantage – the most of any player in the league.
This start is more than just a fluke for the 28-year-old winger. In 10 seasons with Anaheim, he’s scored at least 30 goals in four of those years, including a career-best 50 goals in 2010-11. He also boasted 98 points, including 14 power play goals, 4 shorthanded goals, and 11 game winners that season. Those numbers were good enough to earn him the Hart Memorial Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy, for most valuable player and most regular-season goals, respectively.
Perry is on track to have a career year this season. Barring any kind of injury, he could continue playing about 19 minutes per game for Anaheim. He scored 43 goals and missed only one game last year, and he can reach those numbers and then some in 2014-15 if he keeps playing the way he is right now.
Even if Perry was to slow down, which he inevitably will, the Ducks are certainly a team that will make some noise this season. Their starting goaltender, Frederik Andersen, has the best statistical start to his career of any NHL goalie – 26-5-0 in his first 31 starts. When he’s on the bench for a rest, backup John Gibson is solid as well, with a career save percentage of .923.
Anaheim also has a balanced offensive attack, with guys like Ryan Getzlaf, new addition Ryan Kesler, and Matt Beleskey making their marks early. Their defensemen have stepped up their play as well, led by Sami Vatanen’s 3 goals and Cam Fowler’s 5 assists and +5 rating.
The Ducks look like a very dangerous team early on, tied with Montreal for the best record in the league, and they look capable of rolling throught the Western Conference this season.
The Canadian Anthem is sung when a Canadian team is playing an NHL game. It doesn’t matter where the teams play.
This week, a killer ran amok in Canada’s capital and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillio. In Quebec, a Warrant Officer named Patrice Vincent also was killed. This week, Canada was hit with their first terrorist attack. This week the Canadian Anthem was sung in the U.S. as tribute to Canada and her lost men.
A moment of silence was observed at the Calgary Flames vs. Carolina Hurricanes game on Thursday in Calgary. The singer, George Canyon sang ‘O, Canada’ as a huge flag was unfolded on center ice. The Boston Bruins played the New York Islanders this week, and the Canadian Anthem was sung before the U.S. anthem. When the San Jose Sharks played the Columbus Blue Jackets, they also played the Canadian Anthem as a tribute to Canada.
Canadians and Americans are very much alike. Canada was there when terror hit the States. Now it is America’s turn. It is great to know that it doesn’t matter who wins the Stanley Cup or who comes in second place, it only matters that the NHL is a family.
The league mourns the loss of innocents. The pain is felt across the border. When it comes to terrorist attacks, both countries will never be the same.
Saturday night was alright for fighting as proven by the Royals home opener. Fur was flying as the Royals took on the Elmira Jackals after beating them 6-5 in a shootout on Elmira turf the night before. With 6,352 fans in the house, hoping to see what the new season and new affiliation would bring, the Royals put on a show and crushed the Jackals 5-1.
(Photo by: Erin Bradley)
Fans got their first glimpse of a new scoreboard and sound system tonight. Flyer’s alumni Brian Propp visited and signed autographs for appreciative fans. The Lancaster Firebirds and the Bristol Blazers Youth Amateur hockey teams also attended. They stood on the ice with the Royals during the National Anthem and played each other during the first intermission. The Royals also wore orange jerseys that were later auctioned off to celebrate their new affiliation with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Philadelphia Flyers.
(Photo by: Erin Bradley)
1st Period
As the puck dropped, fans started revving up the team with a “Let’s Go Royals” chant. Within minutes, the rivalries began. At two minutes and twenty-five seconds into the first period, penalties began with an unsportmanlike conduct call on Ryan Cruthers and a hooking call on Elmira’s Nick Tuzzolino. Less than two minutes later, Adam Comrie and Elmira’s Taylor Stefishen went at it and each received five for fighting. Barely a minute after that, Brett Flemming and Elmira’s Matt MacKenzie got five for fighting as well after some trouble near the bench. After that, Derek Mathers got a two minute penalty for roughing after some trouble with Matt Tassone from Elmira.
With only three minutes left in the 1st, Olivier Labelle gave the Royals a 1-0 lead with two assists from Adam Hughesman and Cam Reid. The Royals later returned to the locker room as Coach Larry Courville got the team fired up, “Well, the only thing we talked about after the first was a little more about execution. They players were a little nervous. We didn’t come out with as much jump as I would have liked to in the first. I asked the guys to play a little more defensive minded to protect our goaltender a little more; and I thought we did that. We didn’t create as many chances to score, but once we started executing at our peak, we went over little things that could help us offensively, and I thought the guys did a good job in the second.”
(Photo by: Erin Bradley)
2nd Period
(Photo by: Erin Bradley)
The talk in the locker room paid off in the second, as the Royals hit the ice fired up and ready to play. At four minutes and eighteen seconds in, Cam Reid made fans happy by winning them all Jr. Deluxe burgers from Sonic by scoring within the first seven minutes of the second period. Four minutes later, Brock Higgs snuck the puck in, just past Elmira’s goal line as fans hesitated a few seconds to find out whether the puck actually went in or not. Within the next two minutes, there were two close shots that almost went in. However, the third time was the charm as Pat Mullane shot one in while near the net.
With the Royals claiming a four point lead and Elmira feeling the pressure, the rivalries started up again near the end of the second period. Royal’s Brett Flemming and Jackal’s Lucas Bloodoff got another five minutes for fighting. This was one of the most intense fights of the night as the players fell to the ice. With that, the Royals headed back to the locker rooms with a striking four point lead.
3rd Period
(Photo by: Erin Bradley)
In the third period, the Jackals came back to the ice trying to catch up to the Royals. At seventeen minutes and twenty-five seconds, Elmira took a goal off of Royals goalie Connor Knapp. Shortly after however, they gave the Royals a power play after Jackal’s Zach Tolkinen received a two minute penalty for interference. The Royals quickly took up the opportunity as Zach Davies scored about a minute later making the score 5-1.
In the second half of the 3rd period, the Royals gained a two man advantage after Elmira’s Lucas Bloodoff was called for a high stick and Nick Tuzzolino got called for slashing and a ten-minute misconduct. The royals were not able to make use of this two man advantage, but still won the game with a final score of 5-1.
What’s Next?
Overall, Coach Larry Courville was happy with the win. He said “Well, I liked tonight as we played a better defensive game, I thought. We hadn’t been consistent all sixty minutes. I thought we had a lot better game in us, but I thought it was better than the first two games.” He also believes that this win helped to bring the team together. “I think winning gives you that intensity, team bonding and team togetherness. Being there for your teammate is important and that is what happened early in the first period with a few fights. Little things like that go a long way in the locker room. That’s what the team wants: a team that wants to bond. We want to get close together. We want to hang out, and so far it’s been pretty good.”
The three stars of the game were voted as Forward Cam Reid in first with one goal and two assists, Forward Olivier Labelle in second with one goal and one assist, and Goalie Connor Knapp in third with many great saves. Labelle later said, “Tonight was our best night as far as moving the puck. We’ll see what Larry wants, and so far, so good.”
(Photo by: Erin Bradley)
The Royals are sure to be getting tired of Elmira as they are set play the Jackals again Sunday evening. This will be the fifth time in a row they will be meeting with the Jackals. They played Elmira twice in the preseason and twice in the official season so far. Fans will also get a chance to meet the new team at a post-game skate.
Fans are sure to see another exciting game and rivalries are likely to show up once again. Flemming discusses the fans long time rivalry with Elmira, “I think they’ve hated them since I got here. It’s my third year, so I don’t know how long they’ve hated Elmira. I think they must play them a lot, and I mean it’s always nice to have your fans behind you. They were unbelievable. I think there was over 6,000 tonight, so we love that. They were nice and loud as always, and we look forward to having everyone out again.”
First games are rough, no matter who you are, no matter what level of play, it’s going to be nerve-wracking and it often isn’t going to be your best. That was surely not the case last night for center Justin Hodgman, who scored his first goal in his first NHL game. Not only did he score, but he scored the goal that ultimately got the game to even go into overtime to bring the Coyotes out over the Florida Panthers.
Hodgman has a lengthy resume with hockey. Between the OHL, SM-Liiga, IHL, ECHL, OPJHL, AHL, and KHL he has had a very diverse hockey experience. This summer, he signed with the Coyotes as a free agent, so he would undergo the gruesome training camp. Ultimately, the choice for him to get some game play down in the AHL with the Portland Pirates, won, and he was assigned down to the AHL. With the injuries of Martin Hanzal, and David Moss, the need to bring someone up was imminent. Hodgman was the lucky one, and just from seeing him jump into the boards after his goal, the excitement and appreciation illuminated out of him.
Watching him out on the ice you could see the drive he had to prove himself. When he made mistakes, he had a little hop in his skate, and it was almost his way of saying that he needed to recover from it. He was getting in there and trying to get the puck in the right place, which ultimately he did.
Talking to him post-game was like talking to a little kid who just got told he was going to live at Disneyland…. the smile was not wiped off of his face. He was so ecstatic, and even asked if he could keep the ‘Player of the Game’ wrestling belt (I’m pretty sure the answer was no). He said he was so happy he “didn’t even want to take his jersey off”.
Hodgman on the game:
“[On training camp] It was tough. To have that type of training camp and to be here was absolutely amazing. I don’t know if I expected it out of myself, I just knew I was going to put [forth] my best effort. You know, to get sent down, they know what’s best. They wanted me to play games. I think it helped. I didn’t have the best weekend, but it was good to get some competition and not just sit around here. So going into tonight, I felt very prepared and it was obviously the best decision. [On his goal, and celebration] Oh man, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ve got a bunch of phone calls to make and a bunch of text messages… The support from back home and all over the world has been unbelievable. I got a message from my coach in Russia when I made the team out of training camp, so the support’s been unbelievable and I make sure I reply to every message, and just go out and celebrate with the boys. [On his time in the KHL last year] There were some tough times being over there, but I just made the decision that I was going to come back and give it a go. No matter what the contract was, I’d come back here… I just figured this might be my last shot with my age getting up there. Right now it’s paying off and I’m just going to keep working and keep this thing rolling.”
The support’s been unbelievable and I make sure I reply to every message… – Justin Hodgman
His teammates were overall impressed about the milestone that he accomplished in only his first game, and his play throughout the game.
Teammates on Hodgman:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson:
“I thought he played a really good game. He’s obviously a skilled guy, but he works hard and he deserves it”
Sam Gagner on being on the ice for the goal:
“There’s nothing more exciting than that [scoring your first NHL goal] obviously you work your entire life to get to this level and Hodg has taken a long road. He’s been through a lot to get here, so, I know how excited he was and it’s obviously great to share in that moment”
Coach Tippett:
“Last year at this time he’s playing in Russia somewhere and he has a family back home watching that game probably and he’s feeling good, I mean those are stories, that’s why you play the game to be a NHL player and score a NHL goal and to get one in his first game at his age is pretty special.”
The Coyotes were able to pull out a win on an overtime PP goal. Justin Hodgman not only got to score his first goal, but he was able to experience his first NHL win. He is also able to say that he helped the team get that win.
Now Hodgman can officially add “NHL Game Scorer” to his lengthy list of hockey experience.
Click on the link below and you can hear Hodgman’s response about the game:
Hodgman on Game
(Photo: Heather Stebbins, The Pink Puck)
The Manchester Monarchs were among the last teams to have their home opener. Coming into the weekend, only the Monarchs and Hershey Bears were yet to play a home game. Manchester saw their first game on Friday, October 24th with a 5-2 win over the Portland Pirates.
Their Opening Weekend continued when they hosted the Providence Bruins last night. It was the first of twelve meetings between the teams and it was one that the Manchester Monarchs would like to put behind them without looking back. The next meeting will be Saturday, November 15th in Manchester once again.
“It’s one of those games you want to put behind you as quickly as possible. You almost wish you had another game tomorrow so you could put it behind you,” Head Coach Mike Stothers said after the game. “But we have a week before our next game, so we’ll take tomorrow off then get back to work on Monday.”
Providence opened the scoring and never looked back. Alexander Khokhlachev has his third of the season just 1:45 into the game. The assists went to 2014 first round pick David Pastrnak and free agency acquisition Chris Breen. Later during the first period, Ryan Spooner and Craig Cunningham had a nice give and go, only to miss beating Monarchs rookie goalie Patrik Bartosak. With traffic in front of the net, it seemed Cunningham had managed to net his first goal of the season. After a review, the goal was waved off. But, as the first period was expiring, Cunningham managed to get a first goal of the season that would stick with a snipe. Pastrnak got his second assist of the night.
The first excitement of the middle frame came from a fight instead of a goal. Veteran enforcer Josh Gratton and Bruins tough guy Tyler Randell dropped the gloves and duked it out. It was Randell’s second fighting major. For Gratton, it was the second night in a row where he had gotten into a fight. The two battled for far longer than fights usually last and each landed some good punches. In the end, it was Randell with a flurry that got the edge as Gratton finally lost his footing.
Just after the fight, the scoring for the Bruins resumed. Khokhlachev added his second of the game to give Providence the 3-0 lead. Pastrnak also notched his third assist of the game. The 18 year old now has 9 points in just 7 games. But the Bruins were not done with scoring in the second. Cunningham added his second of the season and the game.
The Monarchs’ struggles continued before the second period was over, though. Veteran defenseman Jeff Schultz attempted a pass to get the puck out of the Monarchs zone. Unfortunately, it ended up right on Ryan Spooner’s stick. Spooner neatly passed the puck to Cunningham. With that, Cunningham had the hat trick and his first three goals of the season. Spooner also assisted Cunningham’s second goal.
That resulted in a goalie change for Manchester. JF Berube came in to replace Bartosak and the score stayed at 5-0 for the rest of the game. After the game, Berube talked about what it is like to come in mid game like that.
“You always have to be prepared that you might come in during a game, even if you’re not playing. You have to pay attention,” Berube said. “You just want to see that first shot quickly so you can adjust.”
The third period did not feature any scoring, but it cannot be said that the Monarchs rolled over to accept their fate. They kept playing throughout the final period, but the closest they were able to come was when Jordan Weal rung two separate shots off the crossbar.
Bruins goalie Malcolm Subban played a strong game. Although he gave up a good amount of rebounds, his defensemen were always there to help clear out the puck. With 26 saves, this was his first shutout of the season. During 2013-2014, his rookie season, he only had one shutout.
Moving Forward
It was not a good game for the Manchester Monarchs. Following the game, Coach Stothers made it clear that he just wanted to put the game behind them. He also made it clear that any adjustments to lines during the game did not reflect anyone playing worse than anyone else.
“I can’t single anyone out as having played worse, that’s not why I changed lines. Nobody really played well.”
Manchester has a young team and a loss like this could actually end up being good for them. The Calder Cup is not won or lost in the first games of the season. Being that this was only game 5 of 76, there is time. The young players have an opportunity to learn from this.
The Monarchs are also still without defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. He is rehabbing from a knee injury that he suffered during a training camp practice in LA about a month ago. Coach Stothers was unable to provide a timeline for Bodnarchuk’s return.
“No, I know a lot of coaches say no to that question but no,” Stothers said when asked if he knew when Bodnarchuk would return. “He’s still got work to do.”
Manchester returns to action next weekend. They host the Hershey Bears on Friday, October 31st as well as Sunday, November 2nd. On Saturday night, they host the St. John’s IceCaps.
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The last time the New York Rangers (4-4-0) faced the Montreal Canadiens (7-1-0), there was a trip to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final on the line.
And though the stakes were relatively lower this time around, the two teams brought as much energy as ever to Saturday night’s game at the Bell Centre, which saw the Canadiens win in a 3-1 decision.
The night began with an emotional tribute to the Ottawa soldier shot at Parliament on Wednesday as well as the Quebec soldier attacked on Monday. There were three Canadian NHL teams playing last night–Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto–and the six teams involved in these games honored the fallen soldiers together during their respective pre-game ceremonies. Ottawa’s ceremony was presented as a livefeed on the scoreboards at the other two Canadian games, and the three crowds sang the Canadian national anthem as one in a powerful display of remembrance, pride, and honor for the country.
Then the puck was dropped, and solemnity became game-time intensity.
The Rangers and the Canadiens traded goals in the fast-paced, high-energy first period and went into the first intermission tied 1-1. These are two teams largely defined by their speed, and both goals in the first came as a result of this quickness on the ice. Montreal C Tomas Plekanec opened the scoring by converting a 2-on-0 shorthanded breakaway with LW Max Pacioretty at 12:06. Plekanec and Pacioretty made several quick passes back and forth and were able to outmaneuver G Henrik Lundqvist to put Montreal up 1-0.
“We could have executed better [on that penalty kill]. We had full control of the puck, and we just didn’t execute,” Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault told the media after the game.
Rangers LW Carl Hagelin answered with a goal of his own five minutes later, at 17:07, off a quick rebound from D Dan Girardi‘s shot. Girardi tallied the primary assist, and LW Anthony Duclair, playing in front of friends and family in his first NHL homecoming game, registered the secondary to give him four assists on the season so far. Duclair would go on to receive the third star of the game for being instrumental in setting up scoring chances and contributing a strong performance all around.
The score remained tied until midway through the second period, when Canadiens C Lars Eller found the back of the net for the eventual game-winner. The second also saw five-minute fighting majors for Rangers D Kevin Klein and Canadiens LW Brandon Prust following a hard hit by Prust on Rangers LW Mats Zuccarello. Let it never be said that the Rangers don’t stick up for one another; this team has shown repeatedly that it will fight for and defend its players on and off the ice.
The Canadiens’ offense struck again in the third with a goal from Pacioretty at 6:35. Trailing 3-1, the Rangers pulled Lundqvist with two minutes remaining. But despite their extra attacker, New York saw its 3-game winning streak come to an end. Two of the Rangers’ four wins this season have come from third-period rallies; tonight was not one of them.
“As a whole group, we can play better. We had won three games in a row, and we came back in two of those games. I thought we had a push in the third [on Saturday], but obviously it wasn’t good enough, and we weren’t good enough to get to the second opportunities,” said Vigneault.
“[Montreal was] quick to all the pucks–defensive zone, neutral zone, offensive zone–and we were trying to make those little plays. But they kept batting them down and kept pucks in, and that got us into trouble,” Girardi added. “Price was really big for them tonight. We just needed to get that second goal, and maybe it would have been a different game.”
Lundqvist (27 saves) and Canadiens G Carey Price (34 saves) both had strong showings in goal, and the Rangers looked to be on the verge of a comeback as the clock ran out. But had this game truly been the Eastern Conference Finals 2.0, Montreal would be moving on to the Stanley Cup Final, and New York would be going home for the summer.
Fortunately, it’s still early in the season. Though the Canadiens are red-hot right now, and the Rangers are looking at a current record of .500, it’s impossible to know what the standings will look like in the future. For now, both teams can put the past behind them and continue to focus on the season at hand.
The Rangers return to action on Monday at home against the Minnesota Wild.
Happy howl-o-ween! Over in Glendale, we’re celebrating Halloween early. I’m just going to use this as my excuse for wearing dark colors (and lipstick). I’ve got a dark vibe going on, but then again, when don’t I?!
It’s been a looooong week in between games. The ‘Yotes were on their first road trip of the season (they lost in shootout to Nashville, and lost 2-0 in Minnesota) this week, and for some reason, in between last weeks Saturday game, and this week has felt like an eternity… Maybe it’s because I’ve been thinking about what I was going to wear to the game since before last weeks game against St. Louis even started.
I must say, an impromptu shopping trip before the game lead to a whole different outfit than I was intending on. I picked up this skirt at Nordstrom Rack, and I’m in love with it. It’s comfy, and still professional with the length and style.
My hunt for a regular black blazer was inconclusive up until 15 minutes until I got to the arena (thank goodness there is an H&M across the street!). That being said, I finally have an outfit staple that I have wanted for so long, and the best part was that it was only $35.00!
Blazers and pencil skirts are such a professional look…If you’ve read any of my other stuff, then you know how much I love being professional.
I went with the dreaded black heels for this outfit, and they are already giving me a better experience than the first. They were essential to a polished and nice look. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to look cute. In my opinion, it’s not even a sacrifice because I would much rather look cute than wear flats (living vicariously through Victoria Beckham, always).
Press Level Tip: Make sure you have a bag big enough to fit all of your needs, but isn’t too heavy or bulky. First of all, you have to carry it around to the locker room, after, and you need to be able to hold it. Second of all, there are a lot of people huddled around one player, so you need to be able to maneuver your way through. You never know what you might need, so stay prepared. My bag tonight features: my little Kate Spade makeup bag for touchups, rollerball perfume, Laptop, Charger(s), folder to keep game notes, notebook, pens, gum (and mints), and flip flops.
Skirt: Nordstrom Rack, $25.00
Heels: Forever 21, $22.00
Blazer: H&M, $35.00
Tank: H&M, $15.00 (old)
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