The Bolts
Victor Hedman and Kikhail Sergachev made their respective returns last night, but it wasn’t enough to stop the good Winnipeg Jets roster (18-3-1 at home). [Raw Charge]
“he top line of Namestnikov-Stamkos-Kucherov was simply bad tonight. They received 7 offensive-zone starts and only 2 in the defensive zone. With that lopsided amount of easy ice, they were able to put up an utterly shameful shot share (Stamkos and Kucherov were out-shot 7-1 while they were together on the ice at 5v5). I’m no expert but that’s kind of bad.”
Just the one, but it was a beauty.
Peca’s slick moves are tonight’s @SonnysBBQ goal of the game. #TBLvsWPG pic.twitter.com/8ZSumzYDBY
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 31, 2018
Erik Karlsson to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s have a good, honest look at this shall we?
From @loserpoints: “If we accept the above to be true, then any Lightning trade would be to rent Karlsson for a season and a half. As appealing as that might be, it seems impossible that the price the Lightning would be willing to pay for a rental would be more than teams who could also extend him long term.” [Raw Charge]
Fanpost by ChiefsLightningTwins: “In conclusion, yes, Tampa Bay probably overpaid but at least they get something in return. They get a bona fide Top 3 offensive defenseman and possibly an upgrade offensively even giving up a forward for a defenseman. Yes, the Lightning will give $1.5 million in cap space this year and next year but the difference in talent between Johnson and Karlsson is greater than $1.5 million.” [Raw Charge]
It’s good to know that the Lightning love us, even when no one else will.
Hey @TBLightning fans, Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away! Which means it’s time for you to book one of my special Valentine Deliveries. Let me surprise your special someone with roses, plush doll, Valentine card and $50 @AckermanJewels gift card!!! >:) https://t.co/HDOWlif81E pic.twitter.com/l8EprJPLC6
— ThunderBug (@ThunderBugTBL) January 30, 2018
More from Hedman’s return to action after missing 19 days with a knee injury. [Tampa Bay Times]
“Hedman looked his usual self, skating a team-high 25 minutes over a team-high 26 shifts in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to the Jets at the Bell MTS Place. He played on the power play and killed penalties. Some of that ice time was because defenseman Dan Girardi left the game for a time in the first period. The rest was because Hedman is Hedman.”
The Prospects
The ECHL Adirondack Thunder had themselves a pretty good week dropping only one point out of a possible six. [Raw Charge]
“Three games coming up for the Thunder, all within the North Division. On Tuesday, Adirondack closes out January—and their homestand—with a visit from Reading. Then, the Thunder start a 5 game road trip, and the month of February, in Worcester on Friday night, followed by Manchester on Saturday.”
After being traded to contenders, Libor Hajek and Taylor Raddysh both continue to light up their leagues. [NHL dot com]
“RW Taylor Raddysh, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Drafted 58th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Raddysh recorded five points in three games over the weekend (2g-3a) and has flourished in his start with the Soo, posting 14 points in the eight games he’s played with them so far. He was named Second Star with a goal and an assist in their win over Windsor on Friday.”
Beat Laval, beat Belleville, lost to Toronto. Not a bad week for the Syracuse Crunch. [Syracuse Crunch]
“Syracuse won two of three games in Week 17 to head into the All-Star Break with four out of a possible six points. The Crunch sit at 26-15-2-2, third in the North Division coming out of the All-Star Break with a 0.622 points percentage, four points behind second-place Rochester.”
Mat Bodie leads #SyrCrunch defenseman with 22 points (4g, 18a) and is one of two players to appear in all 45 games this season.
Weekly No. 17 → https://t.co/3CGjCkklNB pic.twitter.com/HqIEHJeaUM
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) January 30, 2018
You probably couldn’t stop the rookies from producing even if you tried.
Forward @MathJoseph7 put up five assists in his last three games on his way to @Toyota Player of the Week. pic.twitter.com/BGe1QkrF4J
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) January 30, 2018
The Game
January 31st is #BellLetsTalk day in support of mental health awareness and fund raising. Bell Canada is a major telecom company in the great white north and they will be donating $0.05 for every tweet with the hashtag, Facebook post/Instagram post/Snapchat snap with their filter, or if you watch their awareness video. [More info]
#BellLetsTalk Day is officially here! To encourage a more open discussion about mental health, Bell will donate 5 cents to Mental Health Initiatives for each of the #BellLetsTalk interactions listed below.
Join the conversation. pic.twitter.com/VWXPlWItmT
— BarDown (@BarDown) January 31, 2018
Relating back to hockey, TSN released the story of former Bolt Paul Ranger and his battle with mental illness. I highly recommend that you watch, it is a very powerful video.
If you would like to view The Mystery of Paul Ranger, a @TSN_Sports Original, here is a non-geo locked link that can be viewed 🌎🌍🌏. Powerful stuff, great job by @DarrenDreger and, of course, Paul Ranger. #BellLetsTalk https://t.co/E6HbiyVaMa
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 31, 2018
Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon injured his shoulder in last night’s Colorado Avalanche loss to the Vancouver Canucks and did not return to the ice. [USA Today]
Nathan MacKinnon, the #NHL‘s second-leading scorer, has left tonight’s game in Vancouver with a shoulder injury because of this play. https://t.co/KqxehVrs4z
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) January 31, 2018
Jared Bednar said he has no idea right now, the prognosis for MacKinnon. More tomorrow. I’m hearing it’s left shoulder @BSNDenver
— Adrian Dater (@adater) January 31, 2018
The Vegas Golden Knights won once again. This particular win, their 33rd, ties the record for most wins by an expansion team in NHL history. It’s January. [CBC]
“In recording its 33rd win, Vegas ties both the 1993-94 Florida Panthers and 1993-94 Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the most wins in a season by a first-year expansion team. The Golden Knights still have 33 games remaining.”
”We’re a good team and we deserve a lot of the things that we’ve gotten,” said Haula. “We try to play hard night after night and we have one of the best goalies in the league.”
Highlight of the Night: I know that it was against Rasmus Ristolainen, Robin Lehner, and the Buffalo Sabres but this goal is still pretty slick. Man..Risto is really slow for a 23-year-old.
