I Watched This Game: Lake Tahoe Edition, Part 2

 

Welcome back to another edition of I Watched This Game, and we're still at Lake Tahoe for a matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins. This is a matchup of two of the top teams in the East, and like most non-Canadian teams, both have had games postponed. They are no strangers to each other, with Boston having the upper hand thus far in their meetings this season. 

Originally scheduled for 2 PM CST, it was moved up an hour, but because of the Vegas-Colorado game having issues with the sun, the Flyers-Bruins game is now playing at 6 pm CST.

Due to more delays, the game finally begins at 7 pm CST. Pentatonix sings the national anthem, and now, I finally understand the hype surrounding them.

First period

• Carter Hart and Tuukka Rask are in net to start the game.
• 34 seconds in, Brad Marchand Carrie's the puck into the zone and finds David Pastrnak cutting towards the net. A picture perfect pass and shot put Boston up 1-0. The play gets set up by a strong defensive effort by Patrice Bergeron.
• A dump and chase finds a carrom from the corner, and Joel Farabee charges in to slide one past Rask to tie it. James van Riemsdyk and Sean Couturier get assists at 6:41.
• A Couturier trip of Marchand leads to a Boston power play at 12:34. Nothing comes of it.
• However, Couturier hustles out of the box in time to begin a mad scramble in front of the net. He eventually finds the puck again, and back doors it to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Kevin Hayes and JVR get the assists at 14:48.
• The previous goal was helped by a Charlie McAvoy broken stick that essentially left Boston short handed. He gets a shot at redemption, as Marchand goes around the Flyers net, feeds McAvoy, who lets one fly from the point to tie it at 2. Connor Clifton has the other assist at 15:27.

An entertaining first period ends all tied at 2. Boston gets some bad news, as Jeremy Lauzon left after his first shift due to injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Second period

• Boston wastes no time scoring again, as Nick Ritchie carries the puck into the zone. He finds Pastrnak, who threads the needle over Hart's glove side to give Boston a 3-2 lead. Urho Vaakanainen also gets an assist at 46 seconds.
• Philadelphia shoots themselves in the foot, as they are whistled for too many men on the ice at 6:18.
• This is where the wheels fall off for the Flyers, as they have a bad turnover, and one Craig Smith to Charlie Coyle connection later, it is 4-2 Bruins at 16:14.
• It gets worse for the Flyers, as Andy Andreoff cross checks a Bruins player after the goal, a big no-no.
• At 16:47, the Bruins score again, this time, before the previous goal could be announced, as Trent Frederic scores from the point to make it 5-2. John Moore and Clifton get the power play helpers.
• Just as that goal gets announced, you guessed it, Boston scores again. Moore's shot from the point gets tipped by Ritchie and past Hart to make it 6-2. Smith also gets an assist at 17:53.
• At 18:16, Anders Bjork gets called for holding. 

Boston broke this one open, thanks to both a 15-3 shots on goal advantage and the Flyers bring undisciplined. This would also spell the end of Hart's night, as he gets pulled after the period.

Third period

• Brian Elliott takes over in goal for the Flyers.
• Bjork goes into the box again, this time, for hooking at 9:31.
• Interference from Brandon Carlo at 12:37 leads to a Flyers power play. Seven seconds later, JVR redirects a shot past Rask to cut the deficit to 6-3. Ivan Provorov and Hayes with the assists.
• At this point, the Flyers should be opening a bakery because they love making turnovers. Jack Studnicka capitalizes on this, and finds Pastrnak at the dots. Hat trick, 7-3 Bruins at 17:04.

7-3 is the final, and the Bruins go home with 2 points. Yes, the Flyers were without their entire top line and a couple of other key forwards due to protocols, and yes, neither team got in practice before the game. That doesn't excuse the undisciplined play the Flyers showed. Boston minimized their mistakes, and Pastrnak was dominant on the scoresheet. 

Boston plays the Islanders on Thursday and Philadelphia gets the Rangers on Wednesday. 

I (Sort of) Watched This Game: Lake Tahoe Edition, Part One

 Even though the regularly scheduled outdoor games were scrapped this season, that doesn't mean there won't be any outdoor games. Two games are happening at Lake Tahoe, with Vegas and Colorado playing today, and Philadelphia and Boston playing tomorrow. That means another return of I Watched This Game. 

The first game sees the Colorado Avalanche take on the Vegas Golden Knights in a reverse retro game for both teams. Heavy favourites to win the Stanley Cup this year, it happens that they are also in the same reworked West Division and both had games postponed due to protocols. Colorado only resumed play last Sunday in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Golden Knights. That sets the stage for the first puck drop of the afternoon. 

Update: the second and third periods of the game play at 11 pm CST due to sun causing ice issues. I will post what I'm able to catch, so minimum, you're getting first period observations. 

First period:

• The starting goalies are Philipp Grubauer and Marc-Andre Fleury. Given the sun being in full effect, it was a good thing Vegas didn't go with the metallic gold helmets.
• Three minutes into the game, Colorado shows off some excellent passing, highlighted by Nathan MacKinnon spotting Sam Girard at the point, followed by a laser that finds its way past Fleury to make it 1-0 Avalanche. 
• Mark Stone raised his stick a little too high on Mikko Rantanen, and because it drew blood, that means he must sit for four minutes. 
• Vegas forgot that they only needed four men on the ice, and they get busted with too many men on the ice, to be served by Keegan Kolesar. That means 5-on-3 hockey for the rest of the period, with at least 37 seconds carrying over if Colorado doesn't score.

At the end of the first period, Colorado leads 1-0. They dominated most of the first half offensively, but Vegas would get their chances in the middle of the period. The Stone penalty was unfortunate, but the too many men penalty is an inexcusable lapse in judgement. 

At this point, the 18-minute clock for intermission had not started, and by the time the announcement was made to resume play at 11 pm, over an hour had lapsed.

From this point, everything is gathered from both the box score and video highlights.

Second period

• Colorado does not convert the power play to begin the period...eight hours later.
• William Carrier clears the puck over the board about three minutes into the period. He's in the box for that.
• At 7:37, Alex Pietrangelo fires the puck from the blue line, and after a scramble, Alec Martinez finds the loose puck and puts it past Grubauer to tie it at one. Jonathan Marchessault also touched the puck, so he gets an assist, as well.
• 4-on-4 action happens for two minutes, as Chandler Stephenson and Tyson Jost both sit, Stephenson for cross checking and Jost for interference. 
• MacKinnon makes a great defensive play on Stone, and going from end to end, he snipes one past Fleury stick side, giving the Avalanche the lead once again.
• A series of penalties occurs to end the period, with Joonas Donskoi interfering with Fleury at 16:15, Alex Tuch interfering with Grubauer at 17:44, and Andre Burakovsky high sticking Pietrangelo at 18:09.

This was a back and forth period that saw both teams show what they can do.

Third period

• More penalties begin the period, as Nazem Kadri tripped Keegan Kolesar at 1:59, and Cale Makar delays the game at 2:37 with a clear over the boards.
• Off a faceoff in the Vegas zone, MacKinnon drops a pass to a waiting Devon Toews, who proceeds to rip a shot from the blue line that gets past Fleury, thanks to traffic in front. Rantanen also touched the puck prior to the shot, so he also gets an assist. 3-1 Avalanche. 
• Zach Whitecloud keeps the puck in the Avalanche zone, finds Tuch along the boards. Tuch makes a beautiful spin move from the corner to the front of the net and backhands one past Grubauer to get the Golden Knights within one at 14:25.
• The Avalanche hang on for the rest of the game, and take this one 3-2.

Even with the prolonged break, this was still everything as advertised. MacKinnon showed why he is one of the best players in the league right now, contributing to all three Avalanche goals in the game. Both teams will get to do this again Monday in Colorado.

The Unsung Hero

 

I know I haven't posted in a while, and yes, much has changed in the world. The 2021 NHL season has been as chaotic as you think, given the interruptions both in and out of teams' control, but there have been some pleasant surprises. 

The Chicago Blackhawks were widely thought to be rebuilding this year, given their depth, or lack thereof. As of this writing, they are tied for first in the reworked Central Division, albeit, with some schedule luck. They are playing with at least 5-6 newcomers, and until recently, had major questions in goal. So, who is the guy pictured? Kevin Lankinen, a 25-year old Finn who is playing his first season in the NHL. He currently has a 7-2-3 record and a 2.29 GAA, with his first shutout coming in last night's 2-0 win at Detroit.

Lankinen is as close to an out-of-nowhere story as it gets, as he wasn't even drafted by an NHL team. In fact, he was considered an afterthought, as he didn't start regularly until the 2014-15 season, when he played with HIFK. It wasn't until 2018, when Chicago signed him to a two-year entry level deal. He was named as the Rockford Ice Hogs' representative in the AHL All-star game in 2020. At the start of the season, it was unclear where he would be, as his competition included Malcolm Subban and Colin Delia. Lankinen has impressed thus far, and in the process, may have finally answered the call to be the successor to Corey Crawford.