CFHL Update #8 and Playoff preview

 The regular season is over.  Playoffs are set.  It was a battle for the final playoff spot.  Here is what went down....

The Skull Crushers played spoiler to end an otherwise dismal season beating the USSR 4-2 and knocking them out of the playoffs, while the Crew just couldn't get anything going (which had been the case for weeks) against the Assassins losing 4-1-1.  At one point the Soviets and Skull Crushers were locked up at 3-3 and Crew/Assassins were 3-2-1, but by the end of the night the Assassins were in. 

 

Assassins led the league in assists with 24 and PPP with 10 in the process.  Zibanejad had 5 helpers and 3 PPP while John Carlson had 7 assists!  Skull Crushers got some surprising play between the pipes getting 3 wins and a league best .935 SV% for the week.  Markstrom led the Skull Crushers with 2 wins and .932 SV%.

Checkers recaptured the #1 seed with a 3-2-1 win over White Mambas with a league leading 13 goals and 69 hits.  Brad Marchand led the team with 4 goals while once again, Ristolainen had 20 hits.

Marchand leading the Checkers right to the playoffs

Krampus Carols played to a 2-2-2 tie with the Mayhem on Ice.  Both teams had 7 goals and 20 assists.  Mayhem did get 3 goalie wins led by the combination of Talbot and Hellebuyck, the hottest pair of goalies lately.  And by hot I mean in play...not looks...

Talbot key to the Mayhem run

Who Gives a Puck helped knock the Raisins out of the tops spot with a 4-2 win.  Ove had a big week with 3 goals, 2 assists, 4 PPP, and 8 hits for the Puck.

Ovechkin looking more and more like muscle for the Russian Mafia

Skater of the Week:  Artemi Panarin, Mayhem on Ice - 4 goals, 6 assists, 2 PPP and 1 hit

Goalie of the Week:  Jacob Markstrom, Skull Crushers - 2 wins, .932 SV%

Playoff Preview Round 1: (Checkers and Krampus with the Bye)

Assassins vs. California Raisins

Goals: 103 to 115

Assists: 216 to 209

PPP: 98 to 115

Hits: 448 to 462

Wins: 27 to 44

SV%: .899 to .920

Lots of skater stats close.  Assassins will hope that Zibanejad, Stone and Carlson keep up their play.  Raisins definitely stronger in net behind Jarry and Vasilveskiy.  

Prediction:  California Raisins 3-2-1

Who Gives a Puck vs Mayhem on Ice

Goals: 120 to 86

Assists: 211 to 232

PPP: 109 to 118

Hits: 512 to 584

Wins: 27 to 36

SV%: .902 to .919

Puck clearly have advantage in goals, led by Ovechkin.  Mayhem been riding Talbot and Hellebuyck all year and it could lead them to the Cup.  This one will be close

Prediction:  Mayhem on Ice 3-1-2

CFHL Update #7

 

Only one week to go in the regular season.  The playoff scene is just about set.  California Raisins lead the Checkers in the Cherry Division by only 1 point.   Winner of the division gets first round bye.  Krampus Carols will likely win Smythe Division with a 5 point lead and will get the other bye.  USSR is holding on to the last playoff spot, with the Crew and Assassins only 3 point behind.  

Here is last weeks action...

The California Raisins buried USSR 5-1 behind a week leading 13 goals and 4 goalie wins.  Ryan O'Reilly put 4 pucks in the net and Aleksander Barkov had 3 goals.  Vasilevskiy and Jarry both had 2 wins a piece.  USSR hanging on for their playoff life.

O'Reilly had 4 goals for the Raisins

Checkers are getting in Cherry Cup form hammering the Assassins 5-0-1 leading the league in assists with 27, hits with 86 and SV% of .935!  Marchand and Letang both had 5 assists.  Ristolainen led the team once again in hits with 20 and Vanacek had a .935SV%.  Checker's Bruin pair of Marchand and Bergeron combined for 7 goals, 6 assists, 3 PPP and 11 hits.

This pair has been lighting it up for the Checkers

Mayhem on Ice led the league this week in PPP with 13 in their win against the White Mambas.  They also had solid goaltending getting 4 wins.  Kirill Kaprizov had 3 PPP for the Mayhem and Hellebuyck notched 3 wins.  

Another good week for Kirill

The Crew came up flat in a big game for them to attempt to make the playoffs, losing 4-1-1 to Who Gives a Puck.  Bryan Rust led the Puck with 2 goals, 3 assists, 3 PPP and 4 hits.  Jack Campbell was big in net getting 3 wins for the Puck.

Campbell does nothing but win.

Krampus Carols had little trouble with the Skull Crushers winning 5-1.  Leon Draisaitl continues to lead this team with 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 assists and 2 hits for the Krampus.

Krampus MVP Draisaitl

Next week, the Crew and the Assassins face off in a big game that could determine their final playoff hopes as they are both only 3 points behind 6th place USSR.  However it might not even matter since USSR will be taking on the Skull Crushers who have given up on the season.  

Skater of the Week:  Auston Matthews, White Mambas - 6 goals, 2 assists, 1 PPP and 2 hits

Goalie of the  Week:  Connor Hellebuyck, Mayhem on Ice - 3 wins .938 SV% and 1 shutout

CFHL Update #6

 

The regular season end is quickly approaching.  Only 2 weeks to go in the regular season.  There are 4 teams battling for the final 2 spots, separated by only 4 points.  USSR and Who Gives a Puck sitting at spot 5 and 6 tied with 75 points.  Assassins at 73 points and the Goon Crew with 71.  

Big match up this week between the Puck and the Crew.  Crew needing a big week to improve playoff hopes.  USSR taking on top team Raisins, in a game where they will need to hold the teams below them at bay.  Assassins take on the Checker, after shutting out the Skull Crushers but then getting shut out by the Mayhem!

Here's a look at last week's action...

The White Mambas led the week surprisingly in goals with 14 beating the Skull Crushers 5-0-1.  Three players for the Mambas had 3 goals a piece; Auston Matthews, Mathew Barzal, and Bayden Point.  The Skull Crushers have apparently packed it in for the season.

Matthews scores 3 goals for the Mambas

Goon Crew were tops for the week in assists with 20 in their narrow victory over the Raisins 3-2-1.  Every player on the Crew had at least one assist with Brenden Dillon and Kyle Connor having 3 each.  Raisins still holding onto the number one spot by 2 points.

Connor had 3 helpers for the Goon Crew

Checkers are living up to their name leading the week again in hits with 53, but lose to Who Gives a Puck 3-2-1.  It was a violent game.  Puck almost matched the checkers in hits with 51! Ramus Ristolainen for the Checkers had 14 hits.

Ristolainen laying the wood for the Checkers

Mayhem led the league this week in PPP with 8 PPP in their shutout of the Assassins.   Guess it makes a difference when you play somebody other than the Skull Crushers.  Kirill Kaprizou and Cale Makar both had a pair of PPP.  They also led the league in goalie wins with 3, with Cam Talbot putting up good numbers again, with 2 wins and a SV% of .942.

Kaprizou having a fine rookie season

The USSR and Krampus Carols skated to a 3-3 tie.  Radko Gudas punished the Krampus however with 23 hits!!  Krampus managed 3 goalie wins all from Grubauer.  

Gudas is just a beast.

Skater of the Week:  Gabriel Landeskog, Raisins, 3 goals, 4 assists, 3 PPP and 6 hits.

Goalie of the Week: Sergei Bobrovsky, White Mambas, 2 wins, .963 SV% and 1 shutout 

CFHL Update #5

Only three weeks to go in the regular season and many teams are still fighting to get in the top 6 to make a run for the Cherry Cup!  We have a new team on top of the standings.  Raisins have passed the Checkers as top team in the league. 

Here is what happened last week...

The USSR led the league in goals this week  with 11 beating a Goon Crew team that had all kinds of issues, despite leading the league this week in assists with 20.  The Soviets push for the playoffs is paying off, as they have moved to the 5th spot.  Not that long ago they were on the outside looking in.  Carter Verhaeghe led the Soviets in goals with 3.  USSR also led all teams with 13 PPP with Ryan Strome leading the way with 6!

Strome had 6 PPP for USSR

Checkers fall to the Raisins 5-1 as the Raisins have moved to the top spot in the league by 2 points!  Checkers led the league in hits (wait, what?  not USSR??) with 69.  Leading the way for the Checkers was Nikita Zadorov with 17.

Mayhem on Ice had an incredible week between the pipes getting 6 goalie wins and a SV% of .967 against Who Gives a Puck, beating them 4-2.  Connor Hellebuyck had 3 wins and SV% of .966 including a shutout.  Cam Talbot had almost an identical week with 3 more wins and a SV% of .967 and a shutout. 

 Krampus had little trouble with the White Mambas.  Krampus goalie Philipp Grubauer had 3 wins and a .936 SV% in the 5-1 win over the Mambas.  

Grubauer had another great week for the Krampus

The Skull Crushers are a mess.  Easy win for the Assassins shutting them out 6-0.  Crushers team decimated  with injuries.  

Skater of the Week:  Mika Zibanejad, Assassins - 4 goals, 3 assists, 4 PPP and 4 hits

Goalies of the Week:  The Mayhem tandem of Hellebuyck and Talbot, 6 wins and .967 SV%, 2 shutouts

CFHL Update #4: The Week of the Krampus

 It was the week of the Krampus....Krampus Carols that is.  They dominated the week leading all teams for the week in goals, assists and goalie wins.  

So let's take a look at last week's action...

Like I was saying the Krampus led the league for the week in goals, scoring 12 of them in their defeat of the Puck 4-1-1.  Draisaitl had 6 of them!  They also tied the league with 20 assists for the week as Tyson Barrie led his team with 5 helpers.  Oh, and the Krampus tied for most goalie wins for the week with 4.  The Puck had a league leading SV% of .951 which was all Varlamov.

Now the Crew also had 12 goals, but instead of a win, they lost to the Mayhem on Ice 2-3-1, a disappointing loss for the Goon Crew looking to try to get in the top 6 for the playoffs.  They currently are tied with the Puck for the last playoff spot.  Mayhem are now one point ahead of them. 

Tied with the Krampus for the week in assists was the White Mambas, who surprised the Assassins 4-2.  Morgan Rielly led the White Mambas with 2 goals, 3 assists and 1 PPP.  Assassins are in the battle for the playoffs with a one point lead over the Crew and the Puck.

Morgan Rielly of the Mambas

The Soviets upset the league leading Checkers 4-0-2 with a big game from their Senators Tkachuk and Batherson on Sunday.  They, per usual, led the league in hits for the week with 63.  Brady Tkachuk had 22 hits!  The USSR are 5 points out of the playoffs, but this win went a long way to get them back in the hunt.

Apparently Tkachuk can score too

And also per usual the California Raisins were at the top of the league in goalie wins with 4 getting 2 each from Jarry and Vasilevskiy in their 3-2-1 victory over the Skull Crushers, who suddenly paid attention to their line up and was at least respectable this week...

Skater of the Week:  Leon Draisaitl, Krampus Carols, 6 goals, 3 assists, 4 PPP and 4 hits

Goalie of the Week:  Philipp Grubauer, Krampus Carols, 3 wins and .932 SV%