Tag: St. Louis Blues

NHL News and Notes from Monday, October 7th, 2019

NHL News and Notes from Monday, October 7th, 2019

 

News:

  • In a late night trade the Detroit Red Wings acquired defenseman Alex Biega from the Vancouver Canucks for forward David Pope.

 

  • Washington Capitals Forward Travis Boyd has cleared waivers and was loaned to Hershey of the AHL.

 

 

  • The NHL announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of October 2nd through 6th with Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers taking First Star honors. TXHT’s Report

 

  • Per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun is reporting that the Ottawa Senators have acquired Vladislav Namestnikov from the New York Rangers for a 2021 4th Round Pick and defender Nick Ebert. Garrioch is also reporting that the Rangers are retaining $750k of Namestnikov’s salary. TXHT’s Report

 

Game Recaps:

St. Louis Blues v. Toronto Maple Leafs – 7p EST Start Time

STL RoadTOR Home

The Toronto Maple Leafs host the St. Louis Blues as they look for their third win of the season, and after a scoreless first period the goals would come. The Blues would take the 1-0 lead with an Oskar Sundqvist goal, but then the Leafs would respond with two of their own as they would get goals from Frederik Gauthier and William Nylander in a 24 second span to take a 2-1 lead. However, with less than a minute left in the second the Blues would tie it at two when Brayden Schenn would score his second of the season. Then in the third period it would be Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo scoring his second goal of the season to give the Blues the 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs.

 

Buffalo Sabres v. Columbus Blue Jackets – 7p EST Start Time

BUF RoadCLB Home

Looking for their first win of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets would get two late goals to end the first period as Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson would both score in the final two minutes to give them the 2-0 lead against the Buffalo Sabres. Going into the second period the Sabres would storm back and tie the game at two after getting an early goal from Marcus Johansson (1:38) then a little over ten minutes later Jeff Skinner would tie the game at two with his second of the season. Then in the third period both team would trade goals as Nick Foligno would score for the Blue Jackets, but late in the third while on the powerplay Victor Olofsson would score to tie and send the game into overtime. However, it would Alexandre Texier scoring his first of the season as the Blue Jackets claim their first victory of the 2019-20 with the 4-3 overtime win.

 

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NHL News and Notes from Saturday, October 5th, 2019

MNHL News and Notes from Saturday, October 5th, 2019

 

News:

  • The Ottawa Senators announced that they will be retiring Chris Phillips’ number 4 on February 18th, 2020.

 

 

Game Recaps:

New Jersey Devils v. Buffalo Sabres – 7p EST Start Time

NJ HomeBUF 50

Scott takes a look at the New Jersey Devils game against the Buffalo Sabres which would see the Sabres score a touchdown in their home opener. TXHT Recap

 

Montreal Canadiens v. Toronto Maple Leafs – 7p EST Start Time

MON RoadTOR Home

The Toronto Maple Leafs would blow a three goal lead against the Montreal Canadiens, and would fall to the Habs 6-5 in the shootout after Paul Byron would score the lone goal of the shootout. The Leafs would get their goals from Alexander Kerfoot, Trevor Moore, William Nylander, and a pair from Auston Matthews, while the Canadiens would get their goals from Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry, and Phillip Danault.

 

New York Rangers v. Ottawa Senators – 7p EST Start Time

NYR RoadOTT Home

The New York Rangers would get a hat trick from Mika Zibanejad after he would score a powerplay goal, even strength, and shorthanded goal to help lead the Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Rangers also got a powerplay goal from Artemi Panarin, which Zibanejad assisted on, while the Senators got their lone goal Brady Tkachuk.

 

Tampa Bay Lightning v. Florida Panthers – 7p EST Start Time

TB RoadFLA Home

In a tightly contested matchup, the Florida Panthers would defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 after getting a hat trick from Mike Hoffman (2 PPG’s and 1 ESG) and a goal from Noel Acciari. The Lightning would get their goals from Gemel Smith, Steven Stamkos, and Mathieu Joseph.

 

Columbus Blue Jackets v. Pittsburgh Penguins – 7p EST Start Time

CLB RoadPIT Alt

The Pittsburgh Penguins would get two goal games from both Patric Hornqvist and Jared McCann to lead them to a 7-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins would also get goals from Marcus Pettersson, Kris Letang, and Teddy Blueger, while the Blue Jackets would get their two goals from Zach Werenski and Gustav Nyquist.

 

Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals – 7p EST Start Time

CAR RoadWAS Home

The Carolina Hurricanes comeback from a two goal deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals in overtime 3-2 to spoil the Capitals Home Opener. TXHT Recap

 

Dallas Stars v. St. Louis Blues – 8p EST Start Time

DAL RoadSTL Alt

The St. Louis Blues would score two goals in the third period to comeback from behind to defeat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in regulation. The Blues would get their goals from David Perron, Brayden Schenn, and Sammy Blais, while the Stars goal scorers were Mattias Janmark and Miro Heiskanen.

 

Detroit Red Wings v. Nashville Predators – 8p EST Start Time

DET RoadNAS Home

The Detroit Red Wings would erupt for a three goal third period to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-3. The Red Wings would get a two goal game Tyler Bertuzzi, and goals from Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin, and Luke Glendening. The Predators would get goals from Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, and Mattias Ekholm.

 

Boston Bruins v. Arizona Coyotes – 9p EST Start Time

BOS RoadARI Alt

A late first period goal by Brad Marchand was all the Boston Bruins would need to put away the Arizona Coyotes in their home opener. This would be the second game of the Bruins four game road trip to start the season.

 

Minnesota Wild v. Colorado Avalanche – 9p EST Start Time

MIN RoadCOL Alt

The Colorado Avalanche would get a late second period goal from Gabriel Landeskog and an empty netter from Ryan Graves to seal a 4-2 victory of the Minnesota Wild. Mikko Rantanen would score his third of the season on the powerplay, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare would also score for the Avalanche, while the Wild would get goals from Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.

 

San Jose Sharks v. Anaheim Ducks – 10p EST Start Time

SJ RoadANA Alt

The Anaheim Ducks host the struggling San Jose Sharks as they look to add to the woes of the Sharks, and pile on they would as they would score three goals in the first two periods to have a 3-1 lead going into the third period. The Ducks would get goals from Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Getzlaf, and Adam Henrique to seal the deal for the Ducks as those three goals would be all they would need to down the Sharks whose lone goal was from Logan Couture.

 

Vancouver Canucks v. Calgary Flames – 10p EST Start Time

VAN RoadCAL Alt

In Calgary the Flames would host the Vancouver Canucks, and allit would require for the Flames is goals from Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, and Johnnny Gaudreau plus some stellar goaltending from David Rittich to secure a 3-0 shutout victory over the Canucks.

 

Los Angeles Kings v. Edmonton Oilers – 10p EST Start Time

LA RoadEDM Home

In a wild west matchup the Edmonton Oilers would host the Los Angeles Kings in what one would describe as a scoring festival. For the Kings they would get goals from Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis, Anze Kopitar, Michael Amadio, and Drew Doughty, while the Oilers would get a pair of goals from James Neal, and goals from Connor McDavid, Zack Kassian, Joakim Nygard, and Darnell Nurse. Once the dust settled and the final buzzer sounded it would be the Oilers holding off the Kings with a 6-5 victory.

 

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NHL News and Notes from Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019

NHL News and Notes from Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019

 

News:

Today the NHL announced all 31 team rosters going into the Opening Night of the 2019-20 Season.

 

Tonight also marked the Banner Raising Ceremony for the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues.

 

Today the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that John Tavares as the new captain for the 2019-20 season. Tavares became the 25th captain in Maple Leafs history with the announcement.

 

 

Game Recaps:

Ottawa Senators v. Toronto Maple Leafs – 7p EST Start Time

OTT RoadTOR Home

In the first game of NHL action for the 2019-20 season the Ottawa Senators would visit the Toronto Maple Leafs, and get on the board first to take a one nothing lead over the Leafs.

However, the Leafs would score two in the second followed by another Ottawa goal to tie the game back up. Ottawa would look to take the 3-2 lead but the play was ruled offsides on a coach’s challenge, and the Leafs would take advantage on an Auston Matthews goal for the 3-2 lead. Matthews would score again in the second to give the Leafs a 4-2 lead, and the game winner in a 5-3 win over the Senators.

 

Washington Capitals v. St. Louis Blues – 8p EST Start Time

WAS RoadSTL Home

In a battle between the last two Stanley Cup Champions, the Washington Capitals defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime to complete the comeback from an early two goal deficit. – – TXHT Recap

 

Vancouver Canucks v. Edmonton Oilers – 10p EST Start Time

VAN RoadEDM Home

Out west the Edmonton Oilers would host the Vancouver Canucks for their 2019-20 Home Opener, and it would be the Oilers striking first as Leon Draisaitl would score to give the Oilers the 1-0 lead. Then in the second period Alexander Edler would tie it up for the Canucks, but then in the third period the two teams would trade goals to make it a 2-2 tie. However with 5:23 left in the game Connor McDavid would score his first of the season to give the Oilers the 3-2 victory.

 

San Jose Sharks v. Vegas Golden Knights – 1030p EST Start Time

SJ RoadVGK Home

In our final game of the night the Vegas Golden Knights hosted their rivals the San Jose Sharks. The Golden Knights would strike early on the powerplay and not look back as they would go on to defeat the Sharks 4-1. The Golden Knights received goals from Mark Stone, Reilly Smith (2), and Cody Glass. The Sharks lone goal would come from Marcus Sorenson.

 

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Game Recap – 10/2/2019 – Washington Capitals v. St. Louis Blues

Washington Capitals (0-0-0 0pts) v. St. Louis Blues (0-0-0 0pts)

 

Game Recap:

NHL hockey is back and the Washington Capitals start it up on the road as they visit the new defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues to start the 2019-20 campaign. The Blues would start everything off with their Banner Raising Ceremony before we would drop the puck.

 

Once the banner was raised and the puck was dropped it wouldn’t take long for the Blues to strike as 53 seconds into the game Sammy Blais would score the first goal of the 2019-20 season to give the Blues a quick 1-0 lead. Then a little later in the period on a Jonas Siegenthaler slashing penalty, Alex Pietrangelo would net one on the powerplay to give the Blues a 2-0 lead. However, the Capitals would not go quietly as Alex Ovechkin would shoot one past Jordan Binnington to cut the lead to one again, and have the first period end with a 2-1 Blues lead.

 

Then in the second period the Capitals would be given an opportunity on the powerplay as well as Dmitry Orlov would knuckle puck one past Binnington to tie the game at two a piece. The period would also feature some stellar goaltending from Braden Holtby especially in the opening minutes of the second period.

 

In the third period both teams would not score and would send this one to overtime, which a little three minutes would see Jakub Vrana score to seal the Capitals comeback and give them the 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The next game for the Capitals will be this Friday at 7p ET as they visit the New York Islanders.

 

Lineups:

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana – Lars Eller – TJ Oshie

Carl Hagelin – Chandler Stephenson – Richard Panik

Brandon Leipsic – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway

Jonas Siegenthaler – John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov – Nick Jensen

Martin Fehervary – Radko Gudas

Bradon Holtby

Ilya Samsonov

 

St. Louis Blues:

Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko

Sammy Blais – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron

Robby Fabbri – Tyler Bozak – Robert Thomas

Ivan Barbashev – Oscar Sundqvist – Alexander Steen

Alex Pietrangelo – Justin Faulk

Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn – Robert Bortuzzo

Jordan Binnington

Jake Allen

 

First Period:

STL Goal – :53 – Sammy Blais (1) from David Perron (1) and Ryan O’Reilly (1)\

WAS Penalty – 6:40 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Slashing

STL PPG – 7:55 – Alex Pietrangelo (1) from Justin Faulk (1) and Ryan O’Reilly (2)

STL Penalty – 11:05 – David Perron 2 minutes for High Sticking

WAS Goal – 15:37 – Alex Ovechkin (1) from John Carlson (1) and Lars Eller (1)

 

End of 1st – WAS – 1       STL – 2

Shots              05                 07

Faceoffs         10                 04

Hits                12                 09

PP                 0/1                  1/1

 

Second Period:

WAS Penalty – 1:54 – Martin Fehervary 2 minutes for Delay of Game

STL Penalty – 10:35 – Tyler Bozak 2 minutes for Tripping

WAS Goal – 12:28 – Dmitry Orlov (1) from Nick Jensen (1) and Lars Eller (2)

 

End of 2nd – WAS – 2       STL – 2

Shots              20                 15

Faceoffs         21                 17

Hits                19                 19

PP                 1/2                  1/2

 

Third Period:

STL Penalty – 3:29 – Jaden Schwartz 2 minutes for High Sticking

 

End of 3rd – WAS – 2       STL – 2

Shots              30                 22

Faceoffs         28                 28

Hits                25                 23

PP                 1/3                  1/2

 

Overtime:

WAS Goal – 2:51 – Jakub Vrana (1) from John Carlson (2) and TJ Oshie (1)

 

End of 3rd – WAS – 3       STL – 2

Shots              34                 22

Faceoffs         30                 31

Hits                25                 23

PP                 1/3                  1/2

 

 

Next Up:

Washington (1-0-0 2pts) @ NY Islanders (0-0-0 0pts)

St. Louis (0-0-1 1pts) v. Dallas (0-0-0 0pts)

 

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2019-20 St. Louis Blues Preview

Last Season: 45-28-9 99 pts (2nd (tie) in Central Division; WON STANLEY CUP)

Key Additions: D Justin Faulk

Key Departures: F Pat Maroon, D Joel Edmundson

 

Top Questions Facing the Blues:

  1. Can Jordan Binnington keep up his unbelievable performance?

Last season, the Blues called up Binnington midway through the season to replace a struggling Jake Allen, and his performance was nothing short of historic. He posted a record of 24-5-1, which for whatever is said about goaltending wins, that’s still a rather impressive team stat that Binnington played a significant role in. He had a goals against average (GAA) of 1.89, which lead the league, and, astoundingly, finished in the top 10 for the MVP award. His performance continued into the playoffs, where he was the first rookie goaltender to win 16 games. He was not all out dominant (by any means) in the playoffs, but he performed well in big games (like Game 7 of the SCF). What does this mean for the regular season? We’ll see. If he performs like he did in the regular season last year, the Blues will probably win the President’s Trophy. If he performs like he did in the playoffs, the Blues probably are not going to win the division, but they will make the playoffs, and it’s important to have a goalie that is very even-keeled in performance than spectacular for 5 games and terrible for the next 5 (which the Blues have had far too often in their history).

 

2. Can the Blues improve their Power Play

No. Oh, what? This is an open question? Sorry – then I guess we will have to see. Ok, the Blues power play might not be THAT bad – they had a 16.4% conversion rate in the playoffs, and were 9th overall in the regular season. The problem is that it went through extreme hot and cold stretches, which, like goaltending, is not ideal. The Blues need to figure out a way to have a more consistent power play, and my hope is that the addition of Marc Savard as an assistant coach will help.

 

3. How will the young players do?

Just like last season, a hinges on the productivity of new and relatively new, young players. Fortunately, last season, guys like Robert Thomas, Sammy Blais, Ivan Barbashev, and Vince Dunn all played very well. With another season under their belts, as well as the grueling (both mentally and physically) march to the Cup, there is no reason to suspect they will not continue to get better (especially now that Robert Thomas’s wrist is healed). I also look for contributions from Klim Kostin later in thee season.

 

4. Can Craig Berube’s fiery leadership continue to inspire?

I was very critical of Craig Berube last season – he seemed to make a lot of tactical mistakes, and the players seemed to repeat the same mistakes if there was even one game between the last time they made said mistakes. That said, winning takes not only intellect and correct X’s and O’s, but also inspiration. It’s clear that Berube offered the latter in spades. What’s also clear – and across all sports – is that the effectiveness of these words dissipates over time. There will come a time when the Blues need more than nebulous ‘leadership’ from their coach, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can provide it.

 

5. How often should Blues fans be thanking Ryan O’Reilly?

Daily.

 

Ultimately, I believe the Blues can repeat as Stanley Cup champions. There is no other team that is decidedly better, though there are a handful of teams that the Blues are not decidedly better than. It will take focus, and probably a willingness to back of a little during the regular season to not become mentally and physically fatigued, but if they can maintain their focus and discipline, the Blues have a real shot at defending their title.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

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Wednesday Night Hockey: The Last Two Champs Face-off For the First Time.

Washington Capitals (0-0-0) v. St Louis Blues (0-0-0)

 

  Pre-Season Record Predicted Goaltender Stanley Cup Champions
Washington Capitals 5-1-0 Braden Holtby 2017-18
St. Louis Blues 4-3-0 Jordan Binnington 2018-19

It has been a long off-season for Caps’ fans, but we’re finally here. Does anyone else find it slightly more than coincidental that the two previous Stanley Cup Champions are facing off on the first day of the 2019-20 season? I know, I know, the schedule was made before the Blues won the cup, but raise your hand if you think that had something to do with the end result. The Capitals and Blues played each other twice during the preseason, splitting the games with one win a piece. Both teams won by just a single goal in each victory.

On Sunday, the Washington Capitals rounded out their six-game preseason schedule with a tight 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. While many fans are hesitant about making associations between preseason performances the regular season, there are a couple of things we know for certain. Tom Wilson is about to have a heck of a year. In just 3 preseason matches, Wilson tallied two goals and an assist, including one short-handed goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. While Top Line Tom led the team in short-handed goals last season (2G), it is vital to remember he only played 63 games during the 2019-19 season. Setting a career-high of 22 goals last year, we anticipate he should set another personal record with at least 25 goals this coming season (TheScore, Wilson). Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin is prepared to win himself another Rocket Richard Trophy this year, and has expressed his desire, and ability to have another 50+ goal season (Gulitti). By a margin of 236 goals, Ovechkin only needs 5 more seasons of 50 goals, or 6 seasons of 40 goals to bypass the all-time goals leader of the Great Wayne Gretzky (894G). With the final year of his contract looming in not-so-distant future, the Capitals front office have already begun playing out some possible scenarios that will need to be played out in order to keep the Great 8 a Capital until retirement. But perhaps the biggest what-if many Caps’ fans are trying to answer involves defenseman Michal Kempny, whom had his season cut short last year due to a hamstring injury he suffered in a March 20th match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many, including head coach Todd Reirden, hoped Kempny would be ready in time to make the Opening Night roster for the Capitals, but that is still to be determined, as the blue-liner was still practicing in a non-contact jersey as of September 28th (Khurshudyan). In 71 games played with the Washington Capitals during the 2018-19 season,, Michal Kempny led the team with a +/- rating of 24, tallied 6 goals of his own, and racked up 19 assists, as a defenseman (TheScore, Kempny). However, a number of mid- and off-season acquisitions by the Capitals including Nick Jensen (DET) and Radko Gudas (PHI) and will bolster the Caps’ roster and hopefully this season will play out as well in reality, as it should on paper.

               The St. Louis Blues did not play their final scheduled preseason game due to a plane malfunction, but did beat the Caps’ on September 27 by a score of 4-3. For those not in the know, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup Championship in team history this past June, similarly to the feat the Capitals accomplished in 2018. In true underdog fashion, the Blues went from worst, to first, in a matter of months. Was it the change in bench bosses? The puppy? The mid-practice brawls? Will the Blues fall victim to the infamous Stanley Cup Hangover? St. Louis elected to play eight preseason games (only played seven, see above), and managed to win 4 of 7, including one overtime win versus the Winnipeg Jets. Those 3 losses came resulted from a 2-3 loss to the Capitals, a 1-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, and an especially-embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko (a.k.a. Vladdy) is expected to have a bounce-back season after a seemingly lack-luster 2018-19 season, where he managed to score 33 goals in 76 regular season games (NHL.com). While Tarasenko led the Blues in goals, and points, he has seen a downward trend in goal-scoring since the 2015-16 season, where he scored a career-high 40 goals, and tallied 34 assists. During the 2018-19 playoffs, he scored 11 goals of the teams’ 75 total goals, good enough for second most on the team, but accounted for just 14.6% of total goals scored (NHL.com).

While the St. Louis Blues and their fans are, of course, hoping to repeat their recent success, the Washington Capitals are out for blood (redemption) after a disappointing first round exit. It seems as though Caps’ PR is keeping on with the #ALLCAPS catch-phrase for this upcoming season, but #2Cups3Years sounds pretty good too.

Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop following the Blues’ Stanley Cup Banner Raising at Enterprise Arena in St. Louis, MO.

 

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Gulitti, T. (2019). Ovechkin talks 50-goal record, catching Gretzky, future with Capitals. https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-chases-wayne-gretzky-hopes-to-score-50-goals/c-308941324.

Khurshudyan, I. (2019). Michal Kempny doubtful for Capitals’ season opener at Blues because of hamstring injury. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/09/28/michal-kempny-doubtful-capitals-season-opener-blues-because-hamstring-injury/.

NHL.com. (2019). Vladimir Tarasenko. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/vladimir-tarasenko-8475765.

TheScore. (2019). Michal Kempny. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/5579.

TheScore. (2019). Tom Wilson. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/2592.

 

2019-20 NHL Previews – St. Louis Blues

2018-19 Record: 45-28-9  99pts – – 3rd Place in Central

Playoffs: 2019 Stanley Cup Champions

 

2019-20 Jersey Guide:

STL HomeSTL RoadSTL AltSTL Heritage

 

Key Additions: F – Nathan Walker, D – Jake Dotchin, D – Derrick Pouliot, D – Andreas Borgman, D – Justin Faulk

 

Key Departures: D – Michael Del Zotto, G – Jared Coreau, D – Chris Butler, F – Nikita Soshnikov, D – Jakub Jerabek, F – Pat Maroon, D – Jordan Schmaltz, D – Joel Edmundson

 

2019-20 Preview:

After winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history this past summer, the St. Louis Blues will look to repeat as champions with their roster very near intact. First major move, and the only one really, was the official signing of Craig Berube as head coach and removing the interim label.

 

For the Blues they went out and signed defensemen Jake Dotchin and Derrick Pouliot to add to their depth, as well as forward Nathan Walker who will be more of a fourth liner when in the lineup for the Blues.

 

One of the big questions that will face the Blues is will goaltender Jordan Binnington live up to the hype in his first full NHL season? While what he did in the second half of last season and in the playoffs was miraculous, but can he build upon it and become the long term number one guy for the Blues in the years to come?

 

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TXHT Podcast 2018-19 Season Finale

The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

 

Part 1:

 

Michael is joined by Russell Hartman and Aryan Weisenfeld as they talk about the St. Louis Blues, playing with injuries, the 2019 NHL Draft, and some rambling amongst friends.

 

Part 2:

 

For our final part of the 2018-19 Season Finale for the TXHT Podcast Michael is joined by Nate Oliver as they talk Women’s Hockey and the crazy offseason that it has had this Spring/Summer.

 

The TXHT Podcast will be returning in September.

 

This week’s episode was recorded on Tuesday June 25th, and Tuesday July 2nd, 2019.

Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

 

Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

St. Louis Blues – Stanley Cup Champions At Last

“It’s been a rough season to be a fan of the St. Louis *ahem* Blues, and at this point everyone either realizes that the team is in the middle of a rebuild or is in desperate need of one.” — some hack earlier in the season *checks notes*, oh, yes, me.

Well, well, well, look at who’s left standing at the mountain top. Before recapping this incredible playoff run, let me first just say that I absolutely cannot believe this finally happened. Growing up, watching great teams with great players like Brett Hull (more on him later), and watching them so often fail in the most comical ways – let’s just say, it jaded me.

This year was different – every round had at least one defining moment of adversity that the Blues had to overcome. Against the Winnipeg Jets, the Blues found themselves down 2-0 in the third period of a pivotal game 5, yet managed to erase that deficit with 3 goals in the third. Against the Stars, who quite honestly posed a very bad matchup for the Blues, they found themselves down 3 games to 2, before roaring back to thoroughly dominate them the next two games. But for Ben Bishop in Game 7, the scores of the last two games would have been incredibly lopsided. There was the infamous hand-pass against the Sharks, after which the Blues outscored them by a combined 12-2 mark the last three games. Even in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Blues came back after getting blown out in game 3, having multiple players suspended, and losing a chance to clinch at home.

There isn’t much to go over that TXHT has not covered in the game recaps, but my hope is to convey just how much this means to the city, to me. St. Louis is a nice city, but one people don’t necessarily need to visit. However, once you live there, once you experience the people, the day-to-day life, it becomes your home – forever. That’s why Brett Hull cares so much. That’s why greats like Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis, and Wayne Gretzky still live, at least partially, in the city and were there every step of the way for this run. There’s also a certain kinship people have with the Blues that they don’t have even with the Cardinals – maybe the Cardinals win too much it becomes old hat? I really don’t know. But I do know that records were set for viewership and ticket cost, and almost half the population showed up for the parade. Brett Hull might still be having his own parade right now.

But, as much as I try, I am certainly not a good enough writer to adequately convey its meaning in words, so please accept these two words as my final thought:

Thank you

Capitals Announce 2019-20 Preseason Schedule

Today the Washington Capitals have announced their 2019-20 Preseason Schedule which will feature six games against three opponents.

 

The Capitals will take on the Chicago Blackhawks, 2019 First Round rival Carolina Hurricanes, and the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues. For the Blackhawks they will be looking to continue thier turnaround under first time head coach Jeremy Colliton who went 30-28-9 in 67 games after taking over for Joel Quenneville last season.

 

Then there is the Carolina Hurricanes who will be looking to build upon their exciting 2018-19 season that saw them reach the Eastern Conference Finals, only to be swept by the Boston Bruins. The Hurricanes will be the only Eastern Conference test the Capitals will have in the preseason.

 

Lastly, the Capitals will be facing the newly crowned champion Blues in what will be the two most interesting games of the preseason given the what we have gotten the last two preseasons between these two teams. In a preview of the last two Stanley Cup Champions, there will now be some added value to seeing what both teams could look like going into the 2019-20 Regular Season.

 

The 2019-20 Preseason is very far away, but is a good reminder of what is coming up next.