Ducks dig in for redemption

Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2020 by WCHL Hockey

Anaheim looks to rebound after strong season doesn't result in playoff success



Anaheim Next Season Line combos

1st Line (C) Patrice Bergeron ------(LW) Pavel Zacha --------- (RW) Ryan Couture
2nd Line (C) Ryan Strome -------(LW) Alexander Radulov ---- (RW) Anthony Duclair
3rd Line (C) Mikeal Backlund ---(LW) Michael Grabner --------(RW) Jonathan Drouin
4th Line (C) Curtis Lazar ------- (LW) Sven Baertschi ----------(RW) Richard Panik

Defensive Pairings

1st Pair Victor Hedman -------- Ryan Graves
2nd Pair Sami Vatanen --------- Jake Muzzin
3rd Pair Sea Theodore --------- Marcus Pettersson
4th Pair Victor Hedman --------- Kevan Miller

FORWARD LINES

The 1st line has great offensive potential with the ability to play defense when needed. They have youth sandwiched between our two top veteran forwards. This is our go to unit.

The 2nd line has great speed with youth and a healthy dash of veteran presence. This line has scorers that have good puck handling and passing abilities. This group has some bite and can sneak up and bite you in the ass.

The 3rd Line Has a little of everything They have a Defensive specialist along with forwards that have scoring, passing, and puck handling ability. Two of these players are capable of playing on the 1st or 2nd lines if need be.

The 4th Line Is made up of players that can hold their own against almost any line. Their main purpose is not to give up any goals and to score an occasional goal themselves. We feel they are more than capable of doing just that.

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

1st Pair, Has a Star defenseman and a shutdown defenseman. Hedman can jump in the play and carry the mail knowing that Graves has his back and will be there to shutdown any attempted breakaways by their opponents. Both have good speed, size and a strength.

2nd Pair, This defensive pair know each other well. They have been playing together as a pair for several seasons with the Ducks. They are both great all-round defensemen that can move the puck for breakouts and play good defense. They are always there for their goalie and seldom leave their goalie out to dry.

3rd Pair, These guys have lots of offensive skill and they play their best defense by playing offense and keeping the puck in their opponents end on the ice. They also have enough speed to get back on defense when needed.

4th Pair, Our top defenseman logs extra minutes with the 4th Pair. Hedman does everything he does so well on the 1st Pairing when paired with Miller who is capable of playing the role that Graves fills on the 1st Pairing.

All in all, most of the faces are the same as last seasons but this is the season for the young players to step up and show their stuff.

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Capital success

Posted on Monday, May 18, 2020 by WCHL Hockey

Washington reflects on season 30



The Washington Capitals completed season 30 with 40 wins and 103 points which was good enough for 3rd in the Metropolitan and 4th in the Eastern conference. The Caps finished with a +44 goal differential.

Scoring. The Caps offence was led by Vladimir Tarasenko (84 points in 82 games played) and Brent Burns (79 points in 77 games played) who both scored at more than a point per game pace. Ten more players – Rickard Rakell (66 points), Steven Stamkos (64 points), Mikko Koivu (54 points), Zach Hyman (49 points), Oscar Klefbom (46 points), Erik Gustafsson (44 points), Nick Bonino (43 points), Jack Johnson (42 points), Brad Richardson (41 points), and Shea Weber (40 points) – recorded at least one point every two games. Tarasenko also led the team in goals (35) and shots (385), Rakell had the most game-winning goals (6), and Burns was the team lead in assists (56).

Various Stats. Johnson led the team with a +22 (+12 with the Caps and +10 with the Buffalo Sabres) and was among 12 players with a positive +/- rating (minimum 10 games played). Johnson also led in other categories: shots blocked (132), penalty minutes (93 PIM), and hits (93). Koivu finished with the top face-off winning percentage of 60.49% (minimum 750 draws taken).

League Leaders. The Caps had the best power play (23.68%) and face-off winning percentage (56.24%) in the WCHL, and were respectably top five in Goals For, Shots Against, and PIM/GP. Koivu and Burns also led the league in face-offs and defenceman production respectively. Both Tarasenko and Burns cracked the top scorers list.

Transactions. The Caps were relatively quiet this season on the trade front but made a couple of deadline deals in bringing back Johnson and shipping out Marco Scandella. Both deals were for picks and Scandella was acquired earlier in the year for Valtteri Filppula. Three defencemen – Burns, Weber, and Jake McCabe – were re-signed.

MVPs. The MVP (Offence) is Tarasenko who was productive and steady all season. The MVP (Defence) is Burns who averaged the most minutes played (23.32) for a blueliner and fueled the power play.

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Flying into the playoffs

Posted on Monday, May 4, 2020 by WCHL Hockey

Philadelphia sets sights on long post-season run



This Week in Philadelphia- Playoff Edition

The regular season is over, the Philadelphia Flyers have finished 2nd in the Met Division with 51 wins and 106 points. Carried by their offense, which scored the 3rd most goals  and had the #1 power play for the season. The Flyers finished the season with a loss to Washington and an OT loss to Carolina. The Flyers received an injury to PK specialist Jay Beagle who will miss the start of the first round. Worse news Captain Zdeno Chara the teams best defensive dman received a 6 game suspension in game 81 and will miss the first 5 games of the first round.

Gm Bourque
" The loss of Jay and Zdeno right out of the gate, hurts the team in a number of areas, leadership and defense among the very top of that list, we are going to have to pull together to weather the storm."

Assist Captain Alex Ovechkin
" Zdeno is our leader and Captain, he got that 6 game suspension sticking up for his team and team mates, we have to play well enough to give him a chance to get into the series, Jay too, we are going to see what we are made of thats for sure."

The Match Up

The Philadelphia Flyers will play Division rival the Washington Capitals. The teams mirror each other in many respects, both a very strong offensive teams, you wouldn't want to try and make a living based on the two teams differences, both have tremendous offensive talent, both have survived on middle of the pack goaltending and wicked power plays, Philadelphia finished 3rd in goals scored, Washington 4th, Philadelphia had 106 points, Washington 103, both teams have been 1-2 on the power play all season long, both teams play in the toughest Division in the WCHL. The difference may be on defense, at the deadline Washington made a move to get a veteran rental dman, Philadelphia had a deal in place but failed to get it in before the deadline add to that Chara's 6 game suspension, 5 games remaining and this could be where the rubber hits the road. The series begins tonight in Philadelphia, the Flyers one of the league's best home teams, Washington is the league's best road team. The season series belongs to Washington at 3-2, they also won all three games after the addition of that all important rental dman. So even though the Flyers have the home ice, most pundits would suggest that a slight edge goes to the Capitals based on the above. Either team that makes it through should be trouble in the 2nd round. Go Flyers Go !

see you at the Wachovia Center.....out for now...peace

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It's Always Sunny in Philaldelphia

Posted on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 by WCHL Hockey


A look at the week that was in Philadelphia

Bo Knows Hockey

Bo Horvat has missed eight games over the last two weeks and the Flyers have really missed his leadership and work ethic, Bo is the consummate team player, no matter what his role, he accepts and always is productive. Bo finally made it back last night as the Florida Panthers came a visiting at the Wachovia Center. The Flyers were a little flat to say the least, even after Bo in his return to the line up, set up James Neal and  gave the home team a 1-0 lead. The Flyers would not score again and lost 5-1.

Bo Horvat
" I am really happy to be back in the line up, life without ice is no life at all, hockey is all I know, I can't remember a time when I wasn't involved in hockey, you know really know how much you miss it until its taken away from you, the team has been just fine without me, but I know I can contribute and help the team, and now that we have moved Ryan, I think I will be playing in other situations."

What Bo is referring to in case you missed it was a blockbuster trade with San Jose to finally provide Bo Horvat with a dynamic top line winger. Jonathan Huberdeau fits that to a tee, the 26 year old former 3rd overall pick has been steadily rounding into a superstar, Huberdeau and Ovechkin may give the Flyers the best top two left wingers in the business and that's important when your centers are Horvat and Duchene, both probably better suited to C2 than C1. Don't get me wrong they are both fine center-men with good upsides, both can drive a line and both are reliable.

The Trade:

To San Jose: Ryan Getslaf, William Nylander and Jacob Chychrun
To Philadelphia: Jonathan Huberdeau

The is the second big trade that Philadelphia has made, involving multiple pieces of youth from the farm, last deal was for Colton Parayko. Both players look to be key blocks in the Philadelphia wall. The deal for Parayko did not involve a pro roster player, this time Ryan Getslaf and important cog in the wheel is moving. Now Getslaf was playing 3rd line center and Huberdeau will play top line left wing, so there is that, Huberdeau is a better offensive weapon and then there's that too.

GM Bourque
" This is an upgrade offensively Huberdeau is one of the game's best players and he appears to be just getting better and he is only 26, Ryan is a terrific player and person with rare leadership skills. Part of this deal was finance as well, we were having a hard time getting Nylander and Chychrun into the line up and Ryan's 9 million dollar price tag was going to have to be moved next season for sure, the timing just seemed right as the team is playing well and looking to try and be a playoff team this season, well you know best laid plans, sometimes its better to just leave things alone, but we think Huberdeau is worth it."

The Games:
835 Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs Minnesota Wild (2)
852 Florida Panthers (2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (3)
871 Philadelphia Flyers (3) vs Colorado Avalanche (4) - OT
881 Philadelphia Flyers (3) vs Detroit Red Wings (1)
892 Florida Panthers (5) vs Philadelphia Flyers (1)

....out for this week....peace ya'all

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Rangers ready for strong finish

Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2020 by WCHL Hockey



As we hit the 2/3's mark of the WCHL season, an annual trend continues; The Eastern Conference standings are mayhem. 7 points separate the 4th seed in the East, to the 12th seed in the east. Each night, teams jump into the playoff picture, or plummet a few spots out of the playoff picture. The Rangers have been lucky enough to stay a bit ahead of the group for most of the season. With a current streak of 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, the blue shirts have moved into 1st place in the overall standings with 80 points in 55 games.

The Rangers have done this with a very balanced attack. Unlike in year's past, where they have had mainstays in the top 10 in scoring, top 10 in defensive scoring, or having Lundqvist up near the top of goalie stats. The Rangers are the lone team in the league to have 14 players who have reached the 20 point plateau so far to date. Leading the charge are Anze Kopitar with 60 points and Mark Scheifele with 59 points. The defense is led by Matt Dumba with 44 points, followed closely by Rasmus Ristolainen with 41 points, and Alex Pietrangelo with 39 points. In goal, Henrik Lundqvist has had a solid, not spectacular season. In fact, Lundqvist's backup, Carter Hart, has put up far superior numbers. Lundqvist has had a 2.41 GAA and a 0.916 save %. While Carter Hart has a 1.96 GAA and a 0.932.

The Rangers have also recently signed 2 big pieces of their future, extending both Jake Guentzel and Patrik Laine for 5 years. They join a top 6 are all signed long term, including Anze Kopitar, Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Landeskog and off season signing, TJ Oshie. The Rangers also re-signed their 3rd line center, Dylan Strome, to a long term contract.

Looking ahead to next season, the Rangers will have some tough decisions to move on from some of their bottom of the lineup veterans.

The Rangers got a jump on the trade deadline, and solidified their defense by acquiring Alex Goligoski. The Rangers will likely stand pat on deals the rest of the season, and will go forward from here with the following lineup:

Gabriel Landeskog - Anze Kopitar - TJ Oshie
Jake Guentzel - Mark Scheifele - Patrik Laine
Erik Haula - Dylan Strome - Thomas Vanek
Marcus Granlund - Chris Mueller - Jason Pominville

Alex Pietrangelo - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam Fowler - Matt Dumba
Joel Edmundson - Alex Goligoski

Henrik Lundqvist
Carter Hart

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Flyers keep making moves

Posted on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 by WCHL Hockey


This Week in Philadelphia

We are 28 games into the Flyer season, here in S 29. The Flyers currently sit in the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-10-3 for 33 points. The Philadelphia Flyers went 4-2 for this past week. The team is playing solid two way hockey emphasis on defense one would think, but the Stats to date tell a wider lensed story. The Flyers do have the 4th best goals against in the league, which is also the best GA in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers boast the league's best PK unit at 90.12 %. They are also 9th in the league in shots against. They are the 4th least penalized team in the league at 7.29 PIM per game. Their face off win percentage is 11th at 52.03 %. But the Flyers have been playing offense, they are #1 in the league in shots for at 39.0 per game. The teams GF and GA differential is at 123,53%, while the teams shot differential is at 126.36%. The PP is only 17th in the league at 15.24%. What do the numbers say? The top thing that stands out is although the teams top scorers at 90 or better are shooting only about 8% and that has held the team back on some nights, which has in turn cost the Flyers valuable points in the standings. The team is playing outstanding hockey generating almost 40 shots a night, but are averaging just 3.0 goals a game. If they can start generating at 9 or 10%, the Flyers could be a dangerous team.

The Flyers are trying to make some moves, this week they traded Frankie Vatrano to LA for a future 2nd round pick as the try to improve their draft capital to make a move or two.

Gm Bourque
" We are out there making calls trying to see what is available, we thought we had closed a deal to bring in a power forward but our trade partner is having cap issues and the deal fell through, but we are still very active and will keep looking at what is possible."

The Games

1.(342) The last place Edmonton Oilers traveled to Philadelphia for the first tilt of the week. They gave the Flyers everything they could handle, shots were equal at 38. However David Backes gives 3 point performance and Grubauer makes 37 of 38 saves and Philadelphia escapes a trap game with a 3-1 win.

2.(362) The Flyers are on the road heading west to San Jose. The Flyers fired 47 shots at San Jose and received 33. The Flyers never trailed but this was a tight game Raanta stops 31 of 33 and the Flyers manage a 3-2 win against a very good team.

3.(374) Columbus comes to Philadelphia and once again for the 3rd time it is the Jacob Markstrom show. He stops 30 of 31 and the Blue Jackets down the Flyers yet again, 3-1.

4.(391) Philadelphia travels to Motown to take on an extremely good Detroit Red Wings team. Once again the Flyers hit the 40 shot mark, out shooting the Wings 42-32. Detroit opens the scoring in the first, but the Flyers get a shooting % close to 10 and drive 4 past Detroit, numbers 9,10 for Parise. Grubauer has a strong game stopping 31 of 32 shots.

5.(401)Philadelphia travels to Toronto for the first leg of a home and home.The Flyers out shoot the Leafs a whopping 44-17. Including 30-5 in the 1st period. The Flyers escape the 1st period with a 3-2 lead, as Grubauer has an off night giving up 3 goals on just 17 shots. The Flyers need a 3rd period Kessel PP goal to escape with a 4-3 win.

6.(418) It Toronto's turn to travel to the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The shots were much more even at 36-28 in favor of the Flyers. Brendan Perlini scores twice for the Flyers, regulation end with a 2-2 tie. Overtime solves nothing and Toronto wins it in a shoot out. Flyers take the loss but get a loser point.

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Rangers revamp roster

Posted on Monday, May 13, 2019 by WCHL Hockey

Club focused on rebound after first round defeat



Well it has been an eventful offseason for the Rangers, as is the case for all teams when it is an offseason involving the draft. The Rangers had more selections in this 2017 draft, than they have ever had previously, in any other draft, but we will talk about the draft at another time. 

For the immediate future, the Rangers made a few moves, but nothing earth shattering. The Rangers will return next season with the same top 6 forward group, the same top 4 dmen, and the same starting goalie. It was the bottom 6 and the bottom pairing that received some tinkering, after the Rangers were eliminated in the 1st round of the playoffs last season. 

The Rangers first moves off the offseason saw them shore up the backup goaltender position, which is essentially a door opener, in Jeff Glass. Glass will likely see under 60 minutes of action this season, and for 650k, how do I sign up for that job? The Rangers have been notorious for calling up Juuse Saros when Henrik Lundqvist needs a breather, leaving Glass to sit and watch both the present, and future goalie of the team. 

The other move was for the Rangers to sign Chris Conner to Hartford, to replace the veteran leadership on the farm, which the Wolfpack lost with Erik Condra moving along. 

The Rangers then dipped into the trade market, acquiring Markus Granlund from the Flyers and Dan Hamhuis from the Capitals, both in exchange for 4th rd picks. Granlund will see limited minutes at 5v5 on the 4th line, but should see a bunch of PK time. Hamhuis will be the veteran stay at home defenceman on the 3rd pairing for the Rangers. 

Finally, the Rangers added 2 more pieces near the tail end of free agency, securing Jason Pominville and his veteran presence for the bottom 6, as well as Cal O'Reilly, who will likely be the 13th forward on the Rangers. When all is said and done, the Rangers will likely be icing an opening day roster which looks like the following: 

Gabriel Landeskog / Anze Kopitar / Patrik Laine 
Jake Guentzel / Mark Scheifele / Alex Steen 
Alex Tuch / Erik Haula / Jason Pominville 
Markus Granlund / Ben Street / Troy Brouwer 

Alex Pietrangelo / Rasmus Ristolainen 
Cam Fowler / Matt Dumba 
Dan Hamhuis / Brad Hunt 

Henrik Lundqvist 
Jeff Glass 

There wasn't too much turnover on the Hartford Wolfpack either, although the teams 2 leading scorers, Devin Shore and Alex Tuch, have either been promoted, or moved along. The goaltending should be extremely strong with Juuse Saros and Carter Hart between the pipes. There is still some tinkering to be done by Wolfpack management, as there will likely be players brought in on tryouts, but here is a rough idea of what fans can expect down on the farm. 

Ivan Barbashev / Dylan Strome / Jack Roslovic 
Chris Conner / Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson / Aleksi Saarela 
Marcus Power / Chris Mueller / Dmitry Sokolov 
Brett McKenzie / Mitch Hults / J.J. Piccinich 

Samuel Girard / David Makowski 
Olli Juolevi / Kyle Wood 
Peter Stoykewych / Louis Belpedio 

Juuse Saros 
Carter Hart

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