Tag: St. Louis Blues

April 15, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is April 15, 2019, and these are your news and notes

 

There were four Stanley Cup playoff games in action yesterday.

 

 

NY Islanders 4, PITTSBURGH 1 (NY Islanders lead the series 3-0)

 

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The NY Islanders are one game away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs after downing the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-1 win.

 

THXT has your full coverage at the link below

 

NHL Playoffs: Rd 1 Game 3 Review: Isles Take A Commanding Lead In The Series

 

Winnipeg 6, ST. LOUIS 3 (St. Louis leads the series 2-1)

 

Game 3. 2-1 STL

 

The Winnipeg jets defeated the St. Louis Blues last night, 6-3, and look to tie the series at 2 games a piece with game 4 taking place Tuesday night.

 

Game 3 Recap – Winnipeg Jets v. St. Louis Blues

 

COLUMBUS 3, Tampa Bay 1 (Columbus leads the series 3-0)

 

Game 3 - 3-0 CBJ

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 and with the win, Columbus is one win away from knocking out the Presidents’ Trophy winner.  If that happens when Game 4 takes place tomorrow night, the Lightning will become the first team to win the Presidents’ Trophy AND be swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

TXHT has your full recap of Game 3 between the Lightning and the Blue Jackets at the following link.

 

Game Three Recap – Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

 

VEGAS 6, San Jose 3 (Vegas leads the series 2-1)

 

The Vegas Golden Knights would win on home ice and take the series lead with the 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks last night.

Mark Stone would have a three goal game and Paul Stastny would have two goals of his own in this contest.

The Golden Knights would also go 2 for 5 on Power Play chances and would outshoot the Blues with 40 shots on goal to the Blues 28.

Vegas will look to take the commanding 3-1 series lead when the two teams face off for Game 4 Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m., ET.

 

 

Today’s schedule of games in Stanley Cup playoff action:

 

 

TXHT has all of your series previews and all of your game recaps at https://txhthockey.com/2019-nhl-playoffs/

 

 

In NHL news….

 

Today Toronto Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri will have his in-person meeting with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his cross-checking of Boston’s Jake DeBrusk.

 

 

In other hockey news….

 

The United States would take home the gold in the IIHF Women’s World Championships in a shootout win over Finland.  This game would not come without controversy after an initial game-winner by Finland was disallowed after a questionable penalty.

Game 3 Recap – Winnipeg Jets v. St. Louis Blues

Once again, the Winnipeg Jets came out playing much better than the St. Louis Blues, taking an 11-4 lead in shots. However, a timely shot by David Perron (who should be immortalized in STL lore because of his unwavering desire to keep coming back to the city), gave the Blues a 1-0 lead, with Jordan Binnington picking up the vaunted goalie assist (#assistington?).

It stayed that way until the second when Kevin Hayes scored a flukey goal that was tipped in by Alex Pietrangelo. Then Patrick Laine scored. Sure, why not – what’s a game between these teams without Laine scoring. His shoulder has to be tired by now, right? Kyle Connor then makes it 3-1 on a 4 on 3 PP.

The third period Brough two more goals for WPG – one a nice play, one a rather poor goal let up by Binnington (hopefully no more of those). The Blues managed one, but this was not their game. The final ended up being 6-3, but it was a lot more lopsided than that.

Connor Hellebuyck wasn’t there to bail them out this time. If the Blues play like this the rest of the way, expect WPG to win in 6.

I don’t expect the same play in Game 4, Wednesday at 9:30 PM Eastern.

April 13th, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Saturday, April 13th, 2019, and these are your news and notes.

 

There were four games in Stanley Cup Playoff action yesterday.

 

 

All of the recaps are written by the TXHT staff.

 

Columbus 5, TAMPA BAY 1 (Columbus leads the series 2-0)

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets crushed the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-1 win and took a 2-0 series lead.

 

Columbus will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead when Game 3 takes place tomorrow night.

 

 

 

NY Islanders 3, Pittsburgh 1 (NY Islanders leads the series 2-0)

 

The NY Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 and took a 2-0 series lead.

 

The Islanders will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead with Game 3 shifting to Pittsburgh.  Game 3 takes place tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m., ET.

 

 

Below you will find the Pittsburgh Penguins infographic from yesterdays contest and the image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners.

 

 

St. Louis 4, WINNIPEG 3 (St. Louis leads the series 2-0)

 

The St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 yesterday and took a 2-0 series lead.

 

St. Louis will look to take the commanding 3-0 series lead with the series now shifting to St. Louis.  Game 3 takes place tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., ET

 

 

Vegas 5, SAN JOSE 3 (Series is tied 1-1)

 

The Vegas Golden Knights would go on to take Game 2 in the series after giving up a three goal lead in the first period and defeat the San Jose Sharks 5-3.

 

The Golden Knights will look to take the series lead with Game 3 taking place tomorrow (Sunday, April 14) at 10 p.m., ET.

 

 

Today’s Schedule of Games:

 

 

To see all of the THXT’s recaps and Stanley Cup Playoff previews, please check out our website linked below.

Game Recap – 1st Rd. Game 2 – St. Louis Blues v. Winnipeg Jets

The Blues experienced a much different start of the game in Game 2, with Oskar Sundqvist scoring early on to take a 1-0 lead. The Blues spent the majority of the first 10 minutes on the power play because of a few rather egregious cross-checks by the Jets, but  were not able to capitalize. When Colton Parayko was not aware that penalty time was expiring and had his shot blocked, Blake Wheeler took advantage and quickly scored to tie it at one. Overall, not a great period, given the opportunities the Blues had.

The Jets came out flying in the second, and basically dominated the first several minutes, but for a few spectacular saves from Jordan Binnington. After Robert Bortuzzo took a senseless, senseless interference penalty, the Blues, naturally, left Patrick Laine completely open for another goal to give the Jets a 2-1 lead. The Jets kept up their inexorable pressure after, but an incredible play by Robert Thomas led to a Pat Maroon goal to make it 2-2. Sundqvist’s second goal gave them a 3-2 lead – soft goal by Connor Hellebuyck, who has not been nearly good enough this series. Now seems like a good time for a friendly reminder that the Blues traded Ryan Reaves for Sundqvist and high-potential prospect Klim Kostin, which…wow.

Play evened out after that, with Hellebuyck making a tremendous (see: lucky) save on O’Reilly to keep the blues from taking a 4-2 lead. Shortly thereafter, a (weak) penalty call on Robert Thomas led to another WPG PP goal to tie it at 3.

WPG was controlling play pretty well at the beginning of the third, but another soft goal, this time by Ryan O’Reilly allowed the Blues to take a 4-3 lead. The rest of the game can pretty much be summed up with this: Jordan Binnington was incredible.

2-0. Back to STL Sunday at 7:30 Eastern

April 11th, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Thursday, April 11th, 2019 and these are your news and notes.

 

There were five contests yesterday in action for the first day of Stanley Cup Playoff action.

 

TXHT is going to have all of your coverage and you will our coverage in the games below.

 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) (New York Islanders lead the series 1-0)

The New York Islanders would take Game 1 in this contest by downing the Pittsburgh Penguins by the score of 4-3 in overtime, thanks to Josh Bailey scoring the game winner at the 4:39 mark in overtime.

 

Game 2 takes place Friday night at 7:30 p.m., ET, when the Islanders will look to take the 2-0 series lead.

 

TXHT’s Christopher Vasilas has your full recap of the contest at the following page.

 

Columbus 4, TAMPA BAY 3 (Columbus leads the series 1-0)

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets would take Game 1 from the Tampa Bay Lightning after being down 3-0 at the end of the first period, winning the contest by the score of 4-3.

 

Columbus looks to take the 2-0 series lead Friday night in Tampa.

 

TXHT’s Russell Hartman has your full coverage of Game 1 at the following page.

 

St. Louis 2, WINNIPEG 1  (St. Louis leads the series 1-0)

 

In a hard fought contest, the St. Louis Blues would take the home-ice advantage, downing the Winnipeg jets by the score of 2-1.  The St. Louis Blues lead the series 1-0.

 

The St. Louis Blues will look to take the 2-0 series lead when the two teams face off for Game 2 on Friday night.

 

TXHT’s Aryan Weisenfeld has your coverage of the contest between the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets at the following page.

 

Dallas 3, NASHVILLE 2 (Dallas leads the series 1-0)

 

The Dallas Stars would take Game 1 from the Nashville Predators with the 3-2 win.  Dallas’ defenceman Miro Heiskanen would score two of the Stars goals in the contest, after being down 1-0 early in the contest.

 

Mats Zuccarello would go on to score his first postseason goal as a member of the Dallas Stars organisation and Nashville’s defenceman P.K. Subban would bring Nashville within a goal but Nashville could not tie the game late in the third period.

 

Dallas looks to take the 2-0 series lead when the two teams face off Saturday night at 6 p.m., ET.

 

TXHT’s Dickson Kendrick has your full coverage of the contest at the following page.

 

SAN JOSE 5, Vegas 2 (San Jose leads the series 1-0)

 

The San Jose Sharks would get five goals past Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to down the Vegas Golden Knights by the score of 5-2.

 

Five different goal scorers in total emerged in the contest on the Sharks side whereas Mark Stone would register the only two goals for the Golden Knights.

 

TXHT’s Michael Lindenbaum has your full recap of the contest at the following page.

 

Today there are three games in Stanley Cup Playoff action…

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

TXHT will have your full previews and gameday recaps of all three contests so make sure to stay tuned for all of your Stanley Cup playoff coverage.

2019 NHL Playoffs – 1st Round Preview – St. Louis Blues v. Winnipeg Jets

“When I look at [the Stanley Cup], I also see lots of magic moments. I see the dreams of thousands of young people who, at least once, have pictured themselves at hockey’s ultimate moment of triumph, hoisting the Stanley Cup.” — Ken Dryden, 6-time Stanley Cup Winner, lawyer.

 

We sit here today, a far cry from my last article, impelling St. Louis Blues’ executives to rid the team of Doug Armstrong – architect of a team full of effete players with a poor attitude spreading like a pestilence through the locker room. Blues fans were consigned to ennui and despair with, at best, a chance to draft Jack Hughes.

 

But I was wrong (though you’ll never get me to admit it). Today, April 10, this new, resurgent version of the Blues begins their quest for the Cup against the Winnipeg Jets. Both teams finished the regular season at 99 points, with the Blues having a record of 1-2-1. That might not seem particularly lopsided, but it was with the Jets winning 5-1, a laughable 8-4, and, what might have been the Blues’ worst loss of the season, a 5-4 OT loss when leading 3-1 going in to the third.

 

All that said, the firing of Mike Yeo marked an important epoch in the Blues’ season. Since taking over, the Blues have gone 38-19-6 under new coach Craig Berube, good for a .651 points percentage. Contrast this to the Jets, who have posted only 35 wins during that time, and the disparity only grows once a grace period is accounted for to give Berube time to implement his system. Since January 1, the Blues have been one of the, if not the, best teams in the league. Unfortunately, the Blues and Jets have not matched up since December 7 (thank you, NHL?), so it is hard to use results of head-to-head matchups to offer predictive value for the playoffs.

 

Regardless, one key for the Blues to win this series is to contain Patrick Laine. As one of the game’s elite scorers, he torched the Blues for 6 goals in 4 games, including a 5 goal performance. Even looking outside of this season, Laine has scored 13 goals against the Blues in his short, three-year career.

 

As far as offensive production, the Blues season stands or falls on the production of the top line of Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Brayden Schenn. According to Murat Ates, who covers the Jets for The Athletic (a great follow on Twitter for those looking for a perspective from the Jets, @WPGMurat), 5 on 5, O’Reilly, Tarasenko & Schenn have a mark of 55.8 xG% and 22-9 lead in goals scored. Their+13 goal differential is 8th best line in the NHL. As a comparison: Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler finished the year as a -6 as a line.

 

Simply put: Line 1 bad = loss.

 

A wildcard to some, though not to me, is rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. Binnington who has put up an out-of-this world 1.89 GAA, .927 save percentage, and 24-5-1 (!!!) record this season, but has yet to start a playoff game. Fresh in the mind of all fatalistic Blues fans (myself included), is the disastrous performance of playoff neophyte Roman Turek back in 2000. A series of unfortunate events, too numerous and disheartening to rehash, led to an early exit and a shortened career for Turek because he was never able to fully, and consistently, recover. My hope is that even if some minor things go wrong for Binnington, he has an unyielding calmness that gives me great confidence that he will be able to weather any storm and play valiantly regardless of circumstance.

 

So here we go. One more year. One more chance. I’ll watch. I’ll hope – just as I’ve done every year since 1993 – that the Blues can muster the strength to string together 16 wins. I’ll predict that they’ll be the one team left at the top of the mountain at the end, and tell you all that I am but simply part of the clerisy if they are.

 

And if not, I don’t want to talk about it.

April 7th, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Sunday, April 7th, 2019, and these are your news and notes covering the final day of the 2018-2019 Regular Season in the NHL.

 

There were 15 contests yesterday across the NHL, with playoff implications on the line.

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

Tampa Bay 6, BOSTON 3


*Images are the property of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The Tampa Bay Lightning would get their 62nd win on the season, tying an NHL record with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, when they defeated the Boston Bruins with a 6-3 win yesterday afternoon.  Tampa Bay would get this win after being down 2-0 late in the second period and would score four unanswered goals before Boston would score in the third period to make it a 4-3 Tampa Bay lead. Tampa Bay would score two more goals, one being an empty netter late in the third, to give the Lightning a 6-3 win.

 

 

Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov would set a record for points by a Russian NHL player with 128 points this season, when he registered his 41st goal on the season 53 seconds into the third period.

 

 

 

ST. LOUIS 3, Vancouver 2 (SO)

 

The St. Louis Blues would take down the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-2 win in a shootout and with the win, the St. Louis Blues would seal the third spot in the Central Division standings.

 

 

Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson would score his 28th goal on the season and ended the season with 66 points, a rookie record for a Canucks player.

 

 

 

MONTREAL 6, Toronto 5 (SO)

 

 

The Montreal Canadiens would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 6-5 shootout win, thanks to a hat trick by Ryan Poehling in his first NHL game.

 

 

In this back and forth contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs could not keep up with the upbeat Canadiens and would fall in the shootout loss.  However, despite the loss, the Maple Leafs would earn 100 points on the season, and it would be the first time Toronto would earn that mark in consecutive seasons.

 

 

 

Columbus 6, OTTAWA 2

 

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets would seal their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators yesterday.  This would also be a penalty free game from both teams.

 

Buffalo 7, DETROIT 1

 

 

The Buffalo Sabres would face off against the Detroit Red Wings and would end up crushing Detroit with a 7-1 win last night.

 

 

Detroit’s lone goal in the contest would come on a power play goal in the first period with Anthony Mantha’s 25th goal on the season, setting a career-high.

 

 

 

New Jersey 4, FLORIDA 3 (OT)

 

Travis Zajac would score the game winner in overtime, his 19th goal on the season, to give the New Jersey Devils the 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers last night.

New Jersey ends the season with 31-41-10 record, whereas the Florida Panthers end their season with a record of 36-32-14 0y 4 /8

 

 

Carolina 4, PHILADELPHIA 3

 

 

 

Despite being outshot in the contest, the Carolina Hurricanes would go on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3.  With the win by the Carolina Hurricanes, they earned the top wild card spot and will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

 

NY Rangers 4, PITTSBURGH 3 (OT)

 


*Image is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The Pittsburgh Penguins would fall to the New York Rangers yesterday, losing by the score of 4-3 in overtime last night.

 

NY Islanders 3, WASHINGTON 0

 

The Washington Capitals would fall to the New York Islanders with a 3-0 loss.  Despite the loss the Capitals will face off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Islanders will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

 

 

NASHVILLE 5, Chicago 2

 

 

The Nashville Predators would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks last night with a 5-2 win last night thanks to goals by five different Nashville skaters.

 

With the Nashville win, they would go on to become back-to-back Central Division champions.

 

 

DALLAS 3, Minnesota 0

 

The Dallas Stars would defeat the Minnesota Wild with a 3-0 win, thanks to two goals from Dallas F Tyler Seguin.  Seguin would bring his regular season goal total to 33 goals, matching a mark he had in the 2015-16 season.

 

The Minnesota Wild would be outshot throughout the entire contest and never could catch up to physicality and overall play of the Stars.

 

 

Edmonton 3, CALGARY 1

The Edmonton Oilers would defeat the Calgary Flames with a 3-1 win thanks to Leon Draisaitl’s 50th goal on the season as well as Alex Chiasson’s 22nd goal on the season.

 

Calgary’s lone goal would come from Mark Jankowski, his 14th goal on the season, in the first period of the contest.  After that goal by the Flames, they would not any answer for the Oilers.

 


*Image is the property of the Calgary Flames, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

Winnipeg 4, ARIZONA 2

 

The Winnipeg Jets faced off against the Arizona Coyotes and would escape with a 4-2 win last night.

There would be four different goal scorers for the Jets in the contest and it would be enough to clinch home ice for at least the first round of the playoffs.

 

LOS ANGELES 5, Vegas 2

 

The Los Angeles Kings would face off against the Vegas Golden Knights and escape with a convincing 5-2 win.

 

Los Angeles Ilya Kovalchuk would score twice and with goals by Jeff Carter, Matt Roy, and Anze Kopitar, the Kings would end their season a win.

 

For the Golden Knights, despite the loss to the Kings, their season will continue when they face off against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

 

 

SAN JOSE 5, Colorado 2

 


*Image is the property of the San Jose Sharks, NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The San Jose Sharks would go on to defeat the Colorado Avalanche by the score of 5-2 thanks to scorers from five different Sharks players in the contest.

 

 

For more news, notes, information, and statistics, you can check out the NHL’s Morning Skate Report at the following link:

 

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The First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff schedule was also announced earlier today.

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 


*Images are the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

TXHT will have a full playoff preview episode and articles to come so make sure to stay tuned.

Three Stars and NHL Rookie of the Month (March 1-March 31) Announcements

The National Hockey League yesterday announced the Three Stars of the Week and earlier today the Three Stars of the Month as well as the NHL Rookie of the Month was announced.

 

First, TXHT will take a look at the announcements made for the Three Stars of the Week (week ending March 31)


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The First Star of the Week went to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

 

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would be named the First Star of the Week thanks to a four wins on the week with two shutouts and would extend the Blue Jackets win streak to five games.

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The Second Star of the Week went to Detroit Red Wings F Tyler Bertuzzi.

 

Tyler Bertuzzi shared the League lead with three goals and seven assists in four outings to power the Red Wings to a perfect week and their fifth consecutive victory overall.

During the week, Bertuzzi would become the first Detroit player to record three consecutive three-point games since 1992-93.  Steve Yzerman achieved that feat twice during the 1992-93 season.


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The Third Star of the Week would go to Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

 

Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper would achieve a record of 2-0-1 to keep the Coyotes in the hunt for a wild card spot and earn two shutouts over the week.

Over the season, Kuemper has achieved a career high 26 wins in 53 appearances and ranks  in the top 10 in the NHL in goals-against average (6th place with a GAA of 2.34) and save percentage (9th place with a SV% of .924).


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

 

 

Second, the National Hockey League earlier today announced the Three Stars of the Month (March 1-March 31).

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

 

 

The First Star of the Month would go to Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid.

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

McDavid would have 20 assists over a 14 game span during the month of March and lead the Oilers to a record of 7-5-2 for the month.  McDavid would also have 11 multi-point games over the course of March.

 

The Edmonton captain also scored seven times, including his seventh career
overtime goal March 16 at ARI and 40th goal of 2018-19 March 28 vs. DAL.  McDavid also ranks second in the NHL with a career-high 74 assists and 115 points in 75 total contests this season as well as sharing the League lead with nine game-winning goals.

 

The Second Star of the Month would go to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

Bobrovsky topped the NHL in wins, tied with nine and had four shutouts in 13 appearances.  In those 13 appearances for the month, Bobrovsky would compile a
1.74 goals-against average and .940 save percentage to give the Blue Jackets a 9-6-1 March record and to the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

 

The Third Star of the Month would go to Boston Bruins D Brad Marchand.


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

Marchand placed third in the NHL with nine goals and 14 assists in 15 games to propel the Bruins to a 9-6-0 March and help the Bruins clinch their third consecutive playoff berth.

 

Marchand would register three points in four games (March 7 vs. the Florida Panthers, March 12 at the Columbus Blue Jackets, March 21 at the New Jersey Devils, and March 27 at home against the New York Rangers.

 

Finally, the NHL also announced the Rookie of the Month for the month of March.

 

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington named as the NHL’s Rookie of the Month

 


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

The NHL earlier today would announce that St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington would be named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for the month of March.  This would also be the second consecutive month in which Binnington would earn Rookie of the Month honours.

Binnington would compile a record of 6-3-0 with a GAA (goals against average) of 2.37 and a save percentage of .912.

Binnington allowed three or fewer goals in eight of his nine appearances to spark the Blues (43-28-8, 94 points) to their seventh playoff berth in eight seasons and would help get the Blues from the bottom of the NHL standings on January 2nd to second place in the Central Division standings as of the completion of yesterday’s games.

Binnington has also compiled a record of 22-5-1 since he made his first NHL career start on January 7th.

Binnington joins Vancouver Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson as the only two rookies to earn Rookie of the Month honours twice during the 2018-19 campaign.

 

One final note to close out this article…

Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman released his “31 Thoughts” blog post for the week.

One big highlight on this week’s “31 Thoughts” blog post is the news with the CWHL shuttering operations on May 1 and what the NHL needs to do to make a viable partnership with the NWHL.

 

March 31st, 2019 — News and Notes

Today is Sunday, March 31st, 2019, and these are your news and notes

 

There were 12 contests in NHL action yesterday

 

 

Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

 

Florida 4, BOSTON 1

Florida Panthers infographic from the contest between the Panthers and the Boston Bruins yesterday afternoon.

 

CAROLINA 5, Philadelphia 2

Highlights from the contest between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon.

 

OTTAWA 4, Toronto 2

The Toronto Maple Leafs would fall to the Ottawa Senators yesterday with a 4-2 loss yesterday.

Ottawa would ruin Toronto’s chances to climb in the playoff picture with the win.

 

Washington 6, TAMPA BAY 3

The Washington Capitals would take down the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 6-3 win yesterday at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa Bay last night.

 

Goal scorers for Washington included Alex Ovechkin, who would notch two goals, his 50th and 51st on the season, as well as two goals scored by TJ Oshie, a goal by Nicklas Backstrom and another goal by Jakub Vrana.

 

Tampa Bay would go convert on two out of five power plays in the contest, but those conversions would not be enough as the Capitals would out shoot and out perform the Lightning to seal the 6-3 win for Washington.

 

 

TXHT has your full coverage of the contest between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the following page.

 

 

St. Louis 3, NEW JERSEY 2 (OT)

 

The St. Louis Blues, who clinched a playoff berth on Friday, would take down the new Jersey Devils with a 3-2 win in overtime last night.

 

 

 

NY ISLANDERS 5, Buffalo 1

 

The NY Islanders would take down the Buffalo Sabres yesterday with a 5-1 win and with the win, the Islanders would clinch a berth for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

 

 

Montreal 3, WINNIPEG 1

 

The Montreal Canadiens would take an early lead in the contest against the Winnipeg Jets and come out with a 3-1 win over the Jets last night.

 

 

There would be three different goal scorers for the Canadiens in the 3-1 win last night.

 

 

Columbus 5, NASHVILLE 2

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets would notch their fourth straight win and get two much needed points in the race for the one of the last two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

 

 

Nashville, with the loss, would not gain any ground in the Central Division standings.  The Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators remain tied with 94 points atop the division.

 

SAN JOSE 4, Vegas 3 (OT)

 

The San Jose Sharks would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights last night at SAP Center last night with a 4-3 win in overtime.

 

 

 

Anaheim 5, EDMONTON 1

 

The Anaheim Ducks would take down the Edmonton Oilers yesterday with a 5-1 last night.

 

Anaheim’s Richard Rakell would score three goals in the contest to seal the win for the Ducks in this contest last night.

 

 

 

VANCOUVER 3, Dallas 2 (SO)

 

The Vancouver Canucks would take down the the Dallas Stars yesterday with a 3-2 win in the shootout frame.

 

 

It would be the second consecutive game in which the Canucks would win a game in the shootout.  Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom would have a 38-save performance in the contest.

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES 3, Chicago 2 (OT)

In the final contest of the night, the Los Angeles Kings would defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by the score of 3-2 in overtime last night.

Chicago, with the loss, has been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

 

 

Today’s Schedule of Games:


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

 

5802__stanley_cup_playoffs-wordmark-2019
*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

Today’s Stanley Cup Playoff clinching possibilities:

-The Calgary Flames will clinch the Pacific Division AND the Western Conference if they defeat the San Jose Sharks

-The Dallas Stars will clinch a berth in the playoffs if the Arizona Coyotes lose in any fashion

March 30th, 2019 — News and Notes

After a lengthy absence, today is Saturday, March 30th, 2019, and these are your news and notes from yesterday.

 

There were six NHL games yesterday.


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

Yesterday’s Results (Home team is in CAPS):

 

NY RANGERS 4, St. Louis 2

The New York Rangers would take down the St. Louis Blues with the 4-2 win last night.

 

Despite the Blues loss, St. Louis has reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Per the NHL, St. Louis is now the 35th team in NHL history to reach the postseason after being last in the overall league standings at the 20th game played.

 

Nashville 3, PITTSBURGH 1

 

Highlights for the Nashville Predators at the Pittsburgh Penguins

 

 

Infographic for the Pittsburgh Penguins game from the 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators

 

 

DETROIT 4, New Jersey 0

 

 

The Detroit Red Wings shutout the New Jersey Devils yesterday with a 4-0 win last night.

 

 

COLORADO 3, Arizona 2 (SO)

The Colorado Avalanche would take down the Arizona Coyotes by the score of 3-2 in the shootout frame yesterday.  The win for Colorado puts them at 3 points ahead of the Coyotes for the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff picture.

 

With the win by the Avalanche, goaltender Philipp Grubauer is now 6-0-1 in his last seven consecutive starts and would reach a career high with 17 wins on the season.

 

 

CALGARY 6, Anaheim 1

 

Calgary’s Sean Monahan led all Flames skaters last night with two goals and two assists to establish a new career high with his 32nd and 33rd goal on the season.

 

 

The infographic for the Calgary Flames 6-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks last night in Calgary.

 

 

 

Minnesota 3, VEGAS 2

 

The Minnesota Wild would take down the Vegas Golden Knights with the 3-2 win.

 

 

Minnesota’s goaltender Devan Dubnyk would reach the 30 win mark for the fifth consecutive season with the win last night.

 

Despite the loss, the Vegas Golden Knights will return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

 

 

 

Today’s NHL Schedule of Games:


*Image is the property of the NHL, NHL Public Relations, and their respective owners

 

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*Image is the property of the NHL and their respective owners

 

Today’s NHL playoff clinching scenarios are as follows:

-Toronto will clinch a playoff berth if they get at least a point against the Ottawa Senators OR if the Montreal Canadiens lose to the Winnipeg Jets

-The New York Islanders will clinch a playoff berth with the following scenarios:

  • They get a win over the Buffalo Sabres OR
  • They get a point AND Montreal loses OR
  • Montreal loses in regulation

 

-The Calgary Flames, who are not playing tonight, will clinch:

  • The Pacific Division if the San Jose Sharks lose to Vegas Golden Knights in regulation
  • The Western Conference if the San Jose Sharks lose AND the Winnipeg Jets also lose

-The Dallas Stars will clinch a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs if they defeat the Vancouver Canucks