Chris Phillips started the scoring with a breakaway in the 1st period.
The Ottawa Senators got their season started on the right foot, as they beat the rival Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Chris Phillips was the surprise sniper in the 1st period, as he got a breakaway and stuffed it top shelf on Habs keeper Carey Price.
Price stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced, while Sens stopper Craig Anderson turned in an impressive 23 save shutout.
Phillips, Guillaume Latendresse, and Jakob Silfverberg found the net for Ottawa.
In the 1st, the Senators came out firing, as they recorded the first 5 shots of the period. Montreal nearly got the games first goal after Max Pacioretty whiffed on a shot, and the puck slid to an open Rene Bourque, but Anderson shut the door. With time winding down in the period, the Canadiens were caught on a bad line change. The puck rolled to an open lane, where Phillips swiped the puck and never looked back, going backhand-forehand on Price for the game's opening goal.
The 2nd frame didn't see as much action, but Latendresse got his first goal in an Ottawa Senators jersey. After Kyle Turris and Tomas Plekanec jostled for the puck and nobody could find it, Latendresse reached into the pile and got the puck. He waited, then wired a wrist shot on net. It bounced off Habs captain Brian Gionta and over Price's shoulder to give the Sens a 2-0 advantage.
The 3rd period saw Montreal take over in puck possesion, as they got 9 shots on net, all stopped by Anderson. The Sens failed to capitalize on a late powerplay after Habs forward Pacioretty took his second penalty of the game. With under a minute left, the Canadiens pulled Price for the extra attacker. Once again, a bad line change led to the puck rolling to an open lane. This time, offseason acquisition Marc Methot took the puck and rushed it up ice. He then sauced a perfect feed to rookie winger Jakob Silfverberg, who slapped home his first NHL goal, in his first regular season game. The Sens would hold on to preserve a 3-0 victory.
The Ottawa Senators continued their solid start to the 2012-2013 season, as they topped the Washington Capitals 2-1 in a contest that went to a shootout. This was a close and physical contest, highlighted by only 2 goals scored and lots of hitting. Jason Spezza scored Ottawa's goal, and also had 2 boarding penalties, including a nasty one on Caps defenceman Mike Green 12 seconds into the contest. Alex Ovechkin scored Washington's goal, on a power play. In the shootout, Erik Karlsson and Nicklas Backstrom traded goals in the 3rd round, before Kyle Turris scored the only goal after that to win the game. With the win, Ottawa improves to 2-0-0.
Scoring Summary 1st period: No scoring. 2nd period: No scoring. 3rd period:WSH - Alex Ovechkin (1) (Nicklas Backstrom, Karl Alzner) PP8:24 OTT - Jason Spezza (1) (Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Phillips) SH11:54 Overtime: No scoring. Shootout winner: Kyle Turris (OTT)
3 Stars
1: Michal Neuvirth, WSH
2. Craig Anderson, OTT
3. Jason Spezza, OTT
Dunno when to post next update, probably after some simming.
Last season, in what seemed to be a very grim looking season, the Rangers are really looking like winners now. after acquiring Corey Perry's rights for very cheap in March, the powerforward came in and helped make things look interesting for the Rangers late in the season. Even though they missed the playoffs, many young guys experienced significant growth, most notably Alex Galchenyuk, who is ready for 2nd line duties in only his second year after being drafted by the Habs.
Various needed signings led to the Rangers needing to let go of Derek Stepan's rights, as they could not sign him. Marian Gaborik was traded straight up for Loui Eriksson in order to bring in a more cap-friendly contract, as things are looking tight on the financial aspect of things.
However, Rangers fans were very excited when the Hawks' first rounder, which the Rangers got for Mats Zuccarello, turned out to be their golden ticket for drafting Seth Jones.
They went completely nuts and danced on the streets when they learned of Chris Kreider's exceptional development after one year with the CT Whale. (70 to 85.) Rangers fans are very excited for the young power forward's first full NHL season, which he will start with Alex Galchenyuk.
Some had to be taken to the hospital after learning the Wade Redden had retired from hockey.
NYR Lineup at the beginning of the 13-14 season:
Loui Eriksson (86)- B. Richards (87) - Corey Perry (88)
Chris Kreider (85) - Alex Galchenyuk (83)- Rick Nash (87)
Nicklas Hagman (77) - Dominic Moore (78) - Tom Pyatt (75)
Mike Rupp (75) - Brian Boyle (77) - Jarred Smithson (74)
Ryan McDonagh (87)- Dan Girardi (86)
Marc Staal (85) - Zach Bogosian (85)
Dylan Reese (77)- Mark Fayne (79)
Started a GM mode with the Oilers. Missed the playoffs the first season. During the season I traded Shawn Horcoff and two future 2nd round picks for Grigorenko. Drafted a 6'4 Power Forward Center named Fredrick Gauthier (4 stars) with the 12th overall pick. The last 4.5 star potential guy was picked just a few picks ahead of mine. Made a trade but I don't remember who I gave up but I got a 2nd round pick. Drafted D Jordan Subban and D Nikita Zadorov in the 2nd round. 3rd round I drafted C Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall. Can't remember who my other picks were. I really want Subban, Zadorov and Boyce-Rotevall to play for my NHL team but their overalls are so low and their potential isn't the greatest. I believe they're all 3.5 stars or so.
I decided to tank in the 2nd season because I wanted the #1 pick so I could add another great prospect to my team. Finished with the worst record in the league. Right now I'm playing the AHL playoffs with the Oklahoma City Barons since I have 5 defensemen prospects playing for them that I want to get as much playing time as possible. We're in the conference finals right now.
The Panthers finished the 2014/15 regular season with a 30-41-11 record.
To increase their scoring depth cup contenders and defending champions Toronto Maple Leafs offered their first round pick for Thomas Fleischmann at the deadline. They would then go on to win the cup for the 2nd year in a row.
Despite the poor record Jonathan Huberdeau scored 72 points.
2015 draft
Round 1
#3: Dave Gormley, 4.5* gold, 68 overall (LW) - PLY
#30: Tyson Staal, 3.5* gold, 61 overall (C) - SNP
It was a busy off season, with the Panthers outbidding a few other teams to sign Carl Hagelin to 5.8m cap hit until the 18/19 season, filling in the gap on the left wing. Brendan Morrow and Chad Larose were also signed to complete the third line. Patrick Killeen a Pittsburgh Penguins 6th round draft pick from 2008 was signed to a 1 year deal to back up Jacob Markstrom.
Sean Bergenheim was traded to the Bruins for a 2nd round pick in 2016.
Loui Eriksson (86)- B. Richards (87) - Corey Perry (88)
Chris Kreider (85) - Alex Galchenyuk (83)- Rick Nash (87)
Nicklas Hagman (77) - Dominic Moore (78) - Tom Pyatt (75)
Mike Rupp (75) - Brian Boyle (77) - Jarred Smithson (74)
Ryan McDonagh (87)- Dan Girardi (86)
Marc Staal (85) - Zach Bogosian (85)
Dylan Reese (77)- Mark Fayne (79)
2013-2014 Season Wrap-Up and Round One Matchup April 3, 2014
The 2013-2014 Dallas Stars have broken the Stars record for most wins with 52
The Dallas Stars have become the best team in the league earning the President's Trophy with a record of 52-16-14 good enough for 118 points! This lineup has earned the most points in one season in Stars history surpassing the 1998-1999 lineup's 114 points. "This has been the best year for this team that I have ever seen," said head coach Glen Gulutzan, "Honestly, I wasn't sure how would fair this year since only last year we were fighting for 8th, but now I have no doubts for this team." The key to this team was their new third line all formed by free agents signed this summer. The previous year, the team tried to make it more of an offensively based line but that was the problem. It was never meant to be like that. That is why over the summer GM Dan Murray made bold moves signing free agents Mike Santorelli, Oskar Osala, and Bud Holloway. These three men had never played together in their lives and some how found a good balance of offense and defense on that line becoming one of the most defensively productive lines in the NHL.
There were also some breakout performances this season in goal. Kari Lehtonen had the best year of his career earning the team 34 wins and posting a 2.29 GAA, .923 Save Percentage, and 6 shutouts. Mr. Rookie of the Year 2013 did amazingly also, showing why he was awarded the Calder earning the half of those wins with 18 and posting a 1.73 GAA, .943 Save Percentage, and 3 shutouts. These two star goalies with be important to the Stars winning in the playoffs.
Forwards wise it was a career-year also with many star forwards especially Loui Eriksson. For the first time in his career, Eriksson became points per game where in 79 games he totaled 81 points (35 goals, 46 assists). In points this was a career-high for him and he also tied his most assists. He also ranked 6th in the league in points and 9th in goals. Michael Ryder had a career year also shutting up all his critics with 77 points (35 goals, 42 assists) in 81 games while also having a +/- of +43, a +7 stranglehold on the next in line. Ryder also finished in top 10 in points coming in 8th and leading all right wingers in points. Lastly, Jamie Benn had a breakout season with 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists) in a full 82 games. He came in 10th in the league in points finishing off one of the most deadly lines in the league. Defensively Alex Goligoskkept up the scoring with 45 points (9 goals, 36 assists), in lack of scoring defensmen Ryan Murray and Philip Larsen who both sustained serious injuries this season letting them only play a total of 64 games. But they will be ready for Round One against the Calgary Flames, and this will be one of the few times this season the lineup has had everyone healthy.
The Round One Matchup is listed below:
Dallas Stars
Loui Eriksson "C" (86) - Jamie Benn "A" (88) - Michael Ryder (81)
Ray Whitney (79) - Derek Roy (86) - James Neal (84)
Jaromir Jagr (81) - Mike Santorelli (78) - Bud Holloway (79)
Oskar Osala (79) - Vernon Fiddler (75) - Cody Eakin (75)
Alex Goligoski "A" (83) - Stephane Robidas (83)
Trevor Daley (84) - Philip Larsen (78)
Ryan Murray (80) - Kevin Klein (78)
Kari Lehtonen (85)
Richard Bachman (81)
Calgary Flames
Alex Tanguay (83) - Mike Cammalleri (84) - Curtis Glencross "C" (81)
Dustin Penner (80) - Jiri Hudler (80) - Lee Stempniak (80)
Blake Comeau (79) - Max Reinhart (81) - Matt Stajan (80)
Sven Bartschi (71) - Gilbert Brule (79) - Tim Jackman (71)
Jay Bouwmeester "A" (86) - Cody Sarich (79)
Mark Giordano "A" (85) - Dennis Wideman (87)
T.J. Brodie (77) - Anton Babchuk (79)
Finished the last season with a 39-37-6 record which meant 12th in the Western Conference. At the trade deadline, we had exchanged our 1st-rounder with the one of Tampa Bay which is why we ended up drafting 3rd overall and picking Shinkaruk. Zherdev was a free agent pickup in the first season, we then claimed MacDonald on waivers. At the trade deadline, we picked up Semin and Staal for Johansen and Bobrovsky and got Bäckström (the center) in exchange for Jack Johnson. Since we weren't really happy with the efforts of the goalie tandem Mason/McElhinney, we signed Bäckström (the goalie) as a free agent in the summer.
It was an exciting year in Pittsburgh, the team experienced many high's and low's over the year and the team was hit hard with the injury bug. The team was off to a slow start with Vokoun and Fleury sharing a similar amount of starts, and 1/2 through the season Vokoun and Fleury had 11 and 12 wins respectively. Vokoun would then get injured and Fleury never looked back from there as he claimed the starting job. The team was hit hard with the injury bug experiencing massive injuries to James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Ben Lovejoy, and namely Brandon Sutter who was injured 7 times over the course of the season including the playoffs. With the trade deadline fast approaching the team new it had to find a winger for Crosby if they wanted to make it far, so the team traded Eric Tangradi and Phillip Samuelsson to the Calgary Flames in exchange for 35 year old Jarome Iginla. With the Flames struggling, the trade of Iginla was a no brainer and Pittsburgh always seemed like a likely destination. The team hoped that Crosby and Iginla would have the same chemistry they did at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and they did. Crosby went on to win the Rocket Richard, Art Ross, Bill Masterson and Hart trophies after an outstanding regular season. The only thing that mattered to the Penguins however was the Stanley Cup. The team swept the Canadiens in round 1, beat the Bruins in 5 games in round two, and were poised to take on the 1st place Buffalo Sabres. However the Sabres and Ryan Miller were able to effectively shut down the Penguins offence and limit them to 3 goals in 4 games, effectively sweeping them from the Playoffs. With the draft soon approaching the team was looking to move up into the top 5, but it wasn't meant to be. The team drafted C William Karlsson from HV 71 of the Swedish elite league, and he has exceeded expectations and will be the #1C for the team's AHL affiliate the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins. The team resigned Iginla to a one year $6M contract, and resigned Dupuis, Cooke, and Kennedy as well. With a little amount of cap-space left, the team signed UFA winger Mason Raymond. Because of the Raymond trade, the team then dealt LW Dustin Jeffrey and two other minor league players to the St.Louis Blues in exchange for the blues 1st round draft pick in the upcoming draft. Expectations are high heading into the 2013-2014 season but the penguins are hoping to live up to them.
Stars top Flames in 6 games, Next against the Wild April 28, 2014
Kari Lehtonen making an important save against Curtis Glencross
Stars are moving on to the Second Round after defeating a very formadable foe in Calgary. Most of the games were hard fought and low scoring since both teams had great goaltending performances especially from Kari Lehtonen who posted a 1.17 GAA and a .947 Save Percentage. He also posted two shutouts. "We stuck to our game, and pressed them. They started making stupid mistakes in the last two games that led to us getting early leads and then we just started playing harder defense," said Stars captain Loui Eriksson. The team sustained a big loss when they found out after Game 5 that Bud Holloway would be removed from the lineup until late May with a broken foot. Eric Nystrom has been called up to replace him.
The scores of the games and the lineups for the Second Round are listed below:
Round One: DAL vs. CAL
3-0 Win
1-2 Loss
2-1 Win
1-4 Loss
3-0 Win
3-1 Win
Dallas Stars
Loui Eriksson "C" (86) - Jamie Benn "A" (88) - Michael Ryder (81)
Ray Whitney (79) - Derek Roy (86) - James Neal (84)
Jaromir Jagr (81) - Mike Santorelli (78) - Oskar Osala (79)
Eric Nystrom (74) - Vernon Fiddler (75) - Cody Eakin (75)
Alex Goligoski "A" (83) - Stephane Robidas (83)
Trevor Daley (84) - Philip Larsen (78)
Ryan Murray (80) - Kevin Klein (78)
Kari Lehtonen (85)
Richard Bachman (81)
Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise "A" (90) - Mikku Koivu "C" (86) - Dany Heatley "A" (85)
Cal Clutterbuck (82) - Pierre-Marc Bouchard (82) - Devin Setoguchi (82)
Torrey Mitchell (77) - Kyle Brodziak (80) - Nick Palmieri (77)
Brett Bulmer (70) - Jason Arnott (77) - Carson McMillan (75)
Ryan Suter (88) - Jared Spurgeon (85)
Kurtis Foster (76) - Steven Kampfer (76)
Clayton Stoner (75) - Nate Prosser (75)
With the Penguins needing help at C, the team dealt Paul Martin, Zach Sill, a 2nd round pick and Steve Bernier to the Nashville Predators in exchange for David Legwand, Chris Campoli and a 3rd round pick. Legwand will fit in nicely as the team's temporary 2nd line C and will likely be moved to the wing once Sutter and Crosby return from their injuries.The team made a 2nd big move trading tyler kennedy, matt cooke, to the new jersy devils for samuel pahlsson and henrik tallinder. the team needed a 4th line C, and a replacement on D for martin and tallinder is the guy for now. the team is poised to make a run deep into the playoffs this season.
the Pittsburgh Penguins resigned Evgeni Malkin to a 6 year $69.6M contract that will see him earn $11.6M a season. The team also resigned D Kris Letang to a 5 year $34.5M contract that will see him earn $6.9M a season. Niskanen, Sutter, Legwand and Campoli were resigned as well. The team opted not to resign fan favorites Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, and Jarome Iginla in hopes that they would be able to find an elite talent in the UFA pool. The 2014 UFA market saw huge names like the Sedins, Datsyuk, Kessel, Gaborik, Lundqvist, and Thornton hit the market. The best d-man available was Andrej Meszaros. The Penguins announced the signing of Meszaros to a 4 year $20M deal that will see him make $5M a season. According to sources the team submitted an offer on Phil Kessel, but the winger opted to sign in Phoenix in what is being hailed a questionable move by the star winger. With Kessel opting for the desert, the Penguins then turned their attention to Marian Gaborik. The elite winger agreed to a massive 5 year $42.5M contract, that will see him make $8.5M a season. The team also had some surprises in training camp and the preseason. Defensive prospect Mark Raycroft who was drafted in the 4th round of the 2013 draft made the team ahead of guys like Morrow, Despres, Pouliot, Harrington, Matta and Subban. Karlsson has stepped up his game nicely, to the point where he will start the season on a line with Crosby and Gaborik. The team is poised to make a run to the stanely cup with it's star players leading the way.
Stars dominate Wild 4-1 and move to conference finals against Nashville May 10, 2014
Jamie Benn scoring on a breakaway against Niklas Backstrom
The Dallas Stars once again return to the Western Conference Finals. Their last appearance turned out to be a 4-2 loss to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Up until last year the club hadn't made the playoffs since the 2008 playoffs and is now looking to make the Finals, somewhere the club hasn't seen since 2000.
This Round was another strong one for the Stars with low-scoring and high intensity games. Though the Wild had a good scoring punch in Parise, it seemed it didn't phase the Stars who were on him as soon as he got on the ice. This left scoring to less experienced guys who could not find the back of the net. Though things did spice up in Game 3 when they tried doing this with star center Jamie Benn, but the Stars are not the Wild. Instead of losing an asset, they found another in Neal who scored 3 goals in this round which shows the depth of our scoring ability.
Next, Dallas faces the Nashville Predators. A team known for its good chemistry between between goalie and defensemen and also its deep core of forwards. Stay tuned for Round 3, Nashville vs. Dallas:
Round 2: DAL vs. MIN
3-2 Win
2-3 Loss
3-1 Win
1-0 Win
2-1 Win
Dallas Stars
Loui Eriksson "C" (86) - Jamie Benn "A" (88) - Michael Ryder (81)
Ray Whitney (79) - Derek Roy (86) - James Neal (84)
Jaromir Jagr (81) - Mike Santorelli (78) - Oskar Osala (79)
Eric Nystrom (74) - Vernon Fiddler (75) - Cody Eakin (75)
Alex Goligoski "A" (83) - Stephane Robidas (83)
Trevor Daley (84) - Philip Larsen (78)
Ryan Murray (80) - Kevin Klein (78)
Kari Lehtonen (85)
Richard Bachman (81)
Nashville Predators
Andrei Kostitsyn (83) - David Legwand (83) - Patric Hornqvist (81)
Sergei Kostitsyn (80) - Colin Wilson (80) - Martin Erat "A" (82)
Nick Spaling (78) - Michael Latta (82) - Matthew Halischuk (79)
Colin Greening (76) - Mike Fisher "A" (81) - Radek Dvorak (76)
Scott Hannan (81) - Shea Weber "C" (90)
Roman Josi (75) - Teemu Laakso (77)
Taylor Aronson (63) - Charles-Olivier Roussel (64)
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Made a trade but I don't remember who I gave up but I got a 2nd round pick. Drafted D Jordan Subban and D Nikita Zadorov in the 2nd round. 3rd round I drafted C Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall. Can't remember who my other picks were. I really want Subban, Zadorov and Boyce-Rotevall to play for my NHL team but their overalls are so low and their potential isn't the greatest. I believe they're all 3.5 stars or so.
48-27-7 2nd in the east
