ICYMI
Welcome to the Raw Charge family, @iActium ! Our new writer debuts in the game preview on Wednesday.
— Raw Charge (@RawCharge) December 26, 2016
The Bolts
Tampa Bay Lightning G Andrei Vasilevskiy Has A Chance To Shine. “Over the course of the last few seasons, Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn’t received a whole lot of playing time. In the last three seasons, Vasilevskiy has started in a grand total of 48 games. In that amount of time, he’s maintained a 26-20-2 record with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.58 and a Save Percentage of .915.” [Fox Sports/Bolts by the Bay]
Tampa Bay Lightning: Prospects Who Have Made The Biggest Impact This Season. “Being completely honest, there are two names that come to the forefront when I think about the players who have really stepped it up as of late, defenseman Slater Koekkoek and forward Brayden Point.” [Fox Sports/Bolts by the Bay]
Lightning: Prospects on display at World Juniors in Toronto. “There are a record five Tampa Bay prospects on Team Canada, which opened tournament play Monday night in Toronto against Russia. Forwards Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Cirelli join Raddysh, Joseph and Ingram. Canada nearly had six Lightning prospects but forward Brett Howden got cut.” [Tampa Bay Times]
WJC
Raw Charge’s recap and preview for tonight will be out today at 9 AM!
Ilya Samsonov, Team Russia wear black armbands in honor of victims of Russian plane crash. [Russian Machine Never Breaks]
Team Russia is wearing a black band on their left arm in honor of the Russian plane crash on Christmas Day. @russiahockey #ForeverRemembered pic.twitter.com/mdMoOO15cQ
— IIHF WJC (@iihf_wjc) December 27, 2016
Strome leads Canada to WJC opening victory over Russia. “They’re a pretty fast team,” said Sergachev, a Montreal Canadiens prospect who scored the first Russian goal. “But we can beat them all the time because they get weak in the second and third periods. They’re just pretty good in the first.” [TSN]
Arizona Coyotes’ Clayton Keller Scores Two Goals For USA In WJC. “None of that please and thank you, maple syrup, maple leaf, and bitterly cold True North stuff. Nope. Just a 100% red-blooded, Missouri born star-in-the-making.” What? [Fox Sports Arizona]
Game highlights from @USAHockey‘s 6-1 win against Latvia (@lhf_lv). pic.twitter.com/BROKlFvydU
— IIHF WJC (@iihf_wjc) December 26, 2016
Canada-Russia WJC takeaways: Barzal Canada’s best by far. Good article about the nuts and bolts of Team Canada’s system. “One of the best things Canada did on the night was fore check. Russia was under constant pressure as Canada sent waves of attackers into the offensive zone looking to disrupt the Russian attack before it could even get started. This led to turnovers, which led to offensive zone pressure, which led to scoring opportunities.” [Sportsnet]
Nylander, Dahlin star as Sweden dispatches Denmark at WJC. “Swedish phenom Rasmus Dahlin didn’t take long to make an impression at the world junior hockey championship. The 16-year-old had a goal and an assist in limited ice time as Sweden routed Denmark 6-1 in the tournament opener before an announced crowd of 4,518 at the Bell Centre on Monday afternoon.” [Sportsnet]
The League
Steve Downie, Mike Peluso and the NHL’s “League of Denial” Moment. “Steve Downie calling out hockey culture needs to be a watershed moment in the conversation about the toxicity in the game.” [SCOC]
Secret to the Wild’s success: hottest second line in the NHL. The Wild are … good? [Twin Cities]
Penguins give head coach Mike Sullivan 3-year extension. Smart move. [CBC]
A nasty hit and kids taking over: 2016’s most memorable hockey moments. “But in the bigger picture, 2016 couldn’t be accused of being dull. The year was a lot of things – ridiculous, controversial, head-scratching – but it was rarely boring.” [The Guardian]
What We Learned: Are NHL playoffs really almost set? “We’re talking about maybe three playoff positions, all in the West, that are really up for grabs at this point. And that’s if we think Dallas and Nashville continue to struggle on the road as they have to this point.” [Puck Daddy]
NHL Awards: Sidney Crosby, Penguins rule 2016. “2016 might be Sidney Crosby’s most impressive season considering how terribly his 2015 ended.” [Fox Sports]
