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Archibald to have hearing for illegal check to head of Hartman

By Joey AlfieriNov 16, 2018, 11:11 AM EST
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Josh Archibald could be facing a suspension in the near future. The Arizona Coyotes forward will have a hearing for his illegal check to the head of Nashville Predators forward Ryan Hartman on Thursday night.

As you can tell from the video above, Archibald caught Hartman with a shoulder to the head right near the blue line. He was given a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head after the incident occurred late in the second period. Even though he’s not a repeat offender, You’d have to think that the obvious contact will result in him getting at least a one-game suspension.

After leaving the game momentarily, Hartman was able to return to the Predators bench during the third period.

Archibald has no goals, no assists and a minus-1 rating in nine games this season. The two penalty minutes he received for the high hit were his first two of the season.

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Predators have one big problem to solve

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By Joey AlfieriNov 16, 2018, 10:32 AM EST
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Some NHL teams are closer to being perfect than others, but no group of players is without flaw. The Nashville Predators are off to a great start. They’re tied for the best record in the NHL at 13-5-1, but the Preds have a huge issue they’re going to have to address sooner or later.

When it comes to goals scored, they’re currently ninth in the NHL with 62. When it comes to goals against, the Predators (44 goals allowed) only trail Winnipeg by one for top spot. So, what’s the glaring weakness? It’s the power play, which currently ranks dead-last in the NHL at 10.8 percent. No other team is below 12.7 percent this season. Yikes!

The Predators are heading into this weekend’s game against the Los Angeles Kings on a three-game losing skid. They’ve dropped one-goal decisions to Anaheim (shootout), San Jose and Arizona. During that stretch, they’ve gone 0-for-15 on the man-advantage. You think a power-play goal here or there would have made a difference in three one-goal games? Definitely.

A perfect example of that came on Monday night in Anaheim. The Preds went 0-for-7 on the power play in that one, including a 4-on-3 man-advantage in overtime. Sometimes scheme is the issue, but other times it’s just about the opponent’s aggressive penalty kill, or their goalie. In overtime, it was all about Ducks goalie John Gibson, who stoned Ryan Johansen right in front of the net.

As TSN’s Travis Yost pointed out earlier this week, one of the major issues might be how much ice time their defensemen are getting on the man-advantage. Many teams have opted to use four forwards on the power play this season, but the Preds aren’t typically one of them. Because they’re loaded with defensemen like P.K. Subban (now injured), Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis, they feel like those players are the best options in that kind of scenario. Now that Subban’s been placed on injured reserve, they could decide to hand more ice time to their forwards.

Of the eight power-play goals they’ve scored this season, three have come off the stick of Filip Forsberg. No other player has more than one. And just one of the eight goals has been scored by a defenseman, and that’s Josi.

“I thought we started to get some looks in the overtime,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after Monday’s game against Anaheim, per The Tennessean. “We could’ve won the game a bunch of times on the power play and it just didn’t go for us, so that’s where we’re at right now with it. It’s gotta be better.”

The good news for Nashville, is that they’re going to be home for the majority of the remaining days in November and early December, which means they’ll have ample practice time to work on this significant issue. Eight of the Predators’ next nine games will be at Bridgestone Arena. The only road game they’ll play between now and Dec. 3 will be in St. Louis.

Imagine how dangerous the Preds will be if they get their power play sorted out? That’s a scary thought.

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

PHT Morning Skate: Niederreiter’s slow start; Gritty’s first snowfall

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By Joey AlfieriNov 16, 2018, 9:05 AM EST
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Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• 16 teams made up of developmentally disabled hockey players are participating in a tournament that they’re dedicating to two people who died in the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• This Washington Capitals fan went all the way to Antarctica to remind the penguins which team won the Stanley Cup last season. (Washington Post)

• Who’s the bigger threat on the power play, Alex Ovechkin or Patrik Laine? (The Point)

• One month into the 2018-19 season, it looks like both the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens came away happy with the Max Domi-for-Alex Galchenyuk swap. (Featurd)

• Gritty got to enjoy his first snow fall on Thursday. Here’s what he had to say: “Zamboni dust! IT’S FALLING FROM THE SKY.” (NBC Sports Philly)

• Getting Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson’s name on the back of a jersey is not an easy accomplishment. (NHL.com)

• Since we just passed hall of fame weekend, Puck Junk decided to look at the bad hockey card hall of fame class for 2018. There’s some real beauties in here. (Puck Junk)

• The Oilers don’t like to put Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line unless they have to. But if Tuesday’s win over Montreal was any indication, those two will stick together. (The Score)

• Josh Ho Sang is clearly starting to get more comfortable in the AHL. Could an NHL call up be in the cards for him? (Trentonian.com)

• Cecilie Olsen is a 24-year-old woman that’s running a men’s professional hockey team in Norway. (ESPN)

• The Dallas Stars’ lack of scoring depth is well-documented. Their latest experiment consists of trying Brett Ritchie on the second line with Jason Spezza. (Defending Big D)

• Blackhawks forward Chris Kunitz has been through a mid-season coaching change that got off to a rocky start. Things ended up working out for that edition of the Pittsburgh Penguins though. Will the same thing happen for the ‘Hawks? (NBC Sports Chicago)

• Many of the Buffalo Sabres have shown remarkable improvement this season, but others, like Vladimir Sobotka, have regressed badly. (Die by the Blade)

• Rotoworld’s Gus Katsaros broke down Nino Niederreiter‘s slow start to the season. (Rotoworld)

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Wednesday Night Hockey: Golden Knights look to get back on track vs. Ducks

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By Joey AlfieriNov 14, 2018, 12:00 PM EST
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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Wednesday night’s matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

No team has been as consistently inconsistent as the Ducks. They’ve gone through some positive stretches, but they’ve also had to endure a seven-game losing skid already.

Like Vegas, the Ducks have also been hit hard by the injury bug. Ondrej Kase, who returned to the lineup on Monday, missed the first 18 games of the season, Corey Perry and Patrick Eaves have also missed a significant amount of time, and they also started the season without Ryan Kesler. They also lost Cam Fowler in the third period of Monday’s win against Nashville (he’s day-to-day).

The fact that they’re tied for a Wild Card spot (Colorado has two games in hand) is pretty impressive when you consider they had a long losing streak and they’ve been without key figures all season. So, how have they been able to keep their season on the rails? Simple, it’s because of John Gibson.

The 25-year-old has been extraordinary between the pipes for Anaheim. His 6-6-3 record and his 2.47 goals-against-average don’t do him justice, but his .931 save percentage shows just how efficient he’s been.

A win over the Golden Knights would allow the Ducks to string together back-to-back victories for the first time Oct. 14 and Oct. 17.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction, and hopefully something we can build off.” Gibson said after Monday’s shootout win over Nashville. “…It seems like we’ve been able to win one here and there, but not go on a run. Hopefully we can start stringing some together, take this as a stepping stone and build from it.”

What a difference a year makes for Vegas. At this time last year, the Golden Knights were the talk of the NHL because of how dominant they were. But as of right now, they’re closer to the bottom of the Pacific Division than they are the top.

Vegas has accumulated just 15 points in 18 games, which means only the Los Angeles Kings (11) are below them in the conference standings. Some of the magic seems to have worn off from last season, but it’s also important to note that they’ve dealt with some key absences. Paul Stastny (injured), Nate Schmidt (suspended), and now Erik Haula (injured) won’t be available for this game. The good news, is that Schmidt only has two games left to serve.

“You look at how our team is playing and what we did last year, playing fast was our No. 1 thing,” Schmidt said. “I think that’s something that we haven’t done as well lately. I really think that’s what it comes down to. When you’re playing fast, you have effort, you have guys buying in, you have discipline and you have all those other things. It is the underlying factor right now. If we get back to playing fast, the other things will take care of themselves.”

Max Pacioretty, who was the team’s biggest off-season acquisition, has gotten off to a rocky start. The 29-year-old has just two goals and no assists in his first 14 games as a Golden Knight. That’s not what they expected when they gave up Tomas Tatar, top prospect Nick Suzuki, and a second-round draft pick for him right before training camp. Something has to give with Pacioretty at some point.

Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with a special on-site edition of NHL Live outside of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, hosted by Kathryn Tappen alongside analysts Jeremy Roenick and Keith Jones, and NHL insider Darren Dreger. John Forslund (play-by-play), Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) and Roenick (reporter) will call Ducks-Golden Knights from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Wednesday Night Hockey: ‘Hawks look to end 8-game losing skid vs. Blues

By Joey AlfieriNov 14, 2018, 10:24 AM EST
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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Wednesday night’s matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues at 7:00 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The Blackhawks felt like they needed a coaching change, so they decided to let head coach Joel Quenneville go. They replaced him with 33-year-old Jeremy Colliton. A new, fresh face. Unfortunately for the ‘Hawks the results haven’t been new and fresh under their new coach.

Under Colliton, the team is 0-2-1, as they’ve lost games to Carolina (twice) and Philadelphia. That means that the Blackhawks have now dropped eight games in a row. They haven’t taken home two points since Oct. 25 when they beat the New York Rangers, 4-1. If they fail to win tonight, they’ll have gone more than three weeks without a victory.

“I believe we’re on the right track,” Colliton said after Monday’s loss to Carolina. “I believe we will turn this around. I think we’ve got really good players. When things are going against you over a long period of time, it’s not easy to get out of it. The circumstances are what they are. We’ve got to find a way to get it done. We can and we will.”

Chicago has a ton of issues to sort out, but lack of quality scoring options up front is definitely a pressing one. Of the 51 goals they’ve scored in 2018-19, 30 have been scored by either Patrick Kane (12), Jonathan Toews (9) and Alex DeBrincat (9). The only other player with more than two goals is Brandon Saad, and he only has four.

Things haven’t really gone much better for the Blues. At 6-6-3, they currently find themselves one point behind the Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings.

On a positive note, their big off-season acquisition, Ryan O'Reilly, has been rolling. He’s accumulated 17 points during a 10-game point streak that dates back to Oct. 17. In all, he has eight goals and 21 points in 15 contests with his new team.

The other intriguing storyline for the Blues in this game, is that they’ve been starting Chad Johnson over Jake Allen. Johnson has started three games in a row, and he’s given up just four goals during that stretch. He also won two of those three outings. Meanwhile, Allen has continued to struggle with consistency, as he has a 4-3-3 record to go along with a 3.99 goals-against-average and a .879 save percentage. Ugly.

“He’s been our best player,” O’Reilly said of Johnson. “You’ve seen countless times the big saves he’s making that are giving us a chance to win. He’s stood on his head and it’s helped a lot. It’s helped us find our groove and do some good things. We have to be better in front of him, though.”

If the Blues are going to prolong the Blackhawks’ misery, they’re going to have to do without Brayden Schenn, who will sit out fourth straight game because of an upper-body injury.

This will be the fourth matchup of the season between these two teams. Chicago won the first two in overtime, while the Blues managed to take home a decision the last time. The loser of this game will be in the basement of the Central Division.

Six-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk, and ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Brian Boucher will have the call from United Center in Chicago.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.