The Bolts
Last night, Kendall Coyne Schofield made her NHL on NBCSN debut, and everyone loved it. Pierre McGuire decided to be himself and also do some things, to a less warm reaction from Twitter. Oh, and the Tamp Bay Lightning lost 4-2 to the Pitttsburgh Penguins. [Raw Charge]
The one ray of light on this Wednesday Night of Torture where the Tampa Bay Lightning lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their first game back from the Bye Week was Kendall Coyne Schofield, who made her NHL broadcasting debut on the NBCSN national broadcast. Don’t get me wrong, everything around her, including here coworkers, were especially cringe-worthy, but her smile and her absolute professionalism was a beacon of hope on an otherwise whitewashed night.
Lauren had more to say in an editorial she decided to write during the game. Things got pretty intense. [Raw Charge]
There was that appalling exchange during the pregame I mentioned earlier. She was asked a question about whether women’s hockey has defensemen who jump up into the rush. And perhaps the most cringeworthy (which is saying a lot) was McGuire’s comment about how he would “be [her] cage tonight” if the intensity of the play got too high. That came right after he compared a scuffle on the ice the physicality of USA-Canada’s gold medal game at the Olympics.
The Washington Post, among others, also wrote pieces on the Coyne Schofield/McGuire series of indicents. [Washington Post]
After contributing to the pregame coverage on NBC Sports Network’s “Wednesday Night Hockey,” Coyne Schofield joined McGuire at his familiar rink-side perch, between the benches, for the first period. McGuire got things off to a very questionable start by making a show of pointing out to her that “Tampa’s going to be on your left. Pittsburgh’s going to be on your right,” as if she wasn’t fully aware of that or couldn’t figure it out.
On a more positive note, even with a rough loss last night, the Lightning are still in good shape overall.
Presidents’ Trophy chances.#bellletstalk #highqualitycontent pic.twitter.com/uQhauQOmN3
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) January 30, 2019
Harry and @heds77 make quite the team on the putting green! ⛳️🐶 pic.twitter.com/672xTUWpvz
— NHL (@NHL) January 30, 2019
The Prospects
Trace was at the AHL All-Star weekend in Springfield and did a great rundown of the weekend’s affairs. Give it a look in case you missed anything that our Syracuse Crunch did. I especially liked the recap of the State of the League address. [Raw Charge]
-The current set up of 76 games for North, Atlantic, and Central teams, and 68 for Pacific teams, will remain in place for next year. The league would like to go to a universal 72 game schedule, but that change would require a 3⁄4 vote among the Board of Governors.
-Feedback for the new AHL TV service has been, to quote Andrews, “terrific.”
-Finally, for all of you that are into analytics:
WE (MEDIA) MIGHT GET TIME ON ICE INFO IN THE AHL SOON!
Andrews on data-tracking & stats shared with media says he thinks league is moving toward more data-sharing similar to NHL.
Whether or not it happens for next season remains to be seen.
— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) January 28, 2019
This is a thoughtful commentary on #BellLetsTalk from Connor Ingram:
Sometimes living “the dream” isn’t all people need in life. #BelILetsTalk
— Connor Ingram (@CBIngram1) January 30, 2019
The Game
More on women’s hockey, namely what’s next? What can the leagues and fans of hockey do to help grow the game on the women’s side. Hailey Salvian has a great take over at The Athletic. [The Athletic]
Women stole the show at #NHLAllStar weekend. Now how does it lead to something more for women’s hockey? Here are five ways to keep the momentum going:https://t.co/AT58zum1UA pic.twitter.com/8gHEicqzXQ
— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) January 30, 2019
This is really cute, Adler Mannheim of the DEL (Germany) asked for young fans to submit drawings, made custom jerseys with the artwork, and skated with them at warmups before a game. [Bar Down]
German hockey team @adlermannheim rocks 31 different jerseys designed entirely by children. PHOTOS @ https://t.co/GBO4uSzLf5 #BellLetsTalk pic.twitter.com/TIjQF8FpGQ
— BarDown (@BarDown) January 31, 2019
A trade! The Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils swapped a pair of players. One for one.
TRADE:
To Minnesota #Wild
D Michael KaplaTo New Jersey #Devils
D Ryan Murphyhttps://t.co/pOmLyOX15A#BellLetsTalk #BellCause— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) January 31, 2019
Finally, Dimitri Filipovic wrote a great thing at ESPN on how defensemen with high individual shot rates aren’t exactly helping their team as much as they think. [ESPN]
In the recent past, we’ve used this space to look at things like the best lines in hockey, the many advantages of riding shotgun alongside a true superstar and the effects of the Barry Trotz defensive system. This week, we’re going to focus in on defensemen by taking a look at the pros and cons of shooting the puck from the point, and the winners and losers of the Jake Muzzin trade. Any data referenced is mined from either Corsica or Natural Stat Trick.
Highlight of the Night: The Dallas Stars Twitter account.
Goodnight 🌙 pic.twitter.com/rocegS54Gs
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 31, 2019
