Houston Renegades (Now in NHL20-o-Vision!)

[PFellah]

POSTCARDS FROM TRAINING CAMP

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian Baxter (GM)

I think in some ways, building the team on the ice is the easy part. You can look at a guy's performances and his past record and say "here's how he might fit in our lineup". This year we're focusing more on the organization. Making sure we have the right scouts in the right places to identify the best talent, making sure our coaching staff has the right people, continuing to build out that infrastructure that 31 other teams already take for granted.

Quote: Originally Posted by Joe Pavelski

Camp is a lot calmer this year. Last year, there was a lot of extra work figuring out how all the pieces fit. Of course there was the on-ice component of who's making the team, who's on which line, but also figuring out all the little off-ice stuff. Something like learning a brand-new city that you never even visited as a road team before. And not just one or two new guys, but every guy in the room. This year, it's a lot less hectic, and the problems that come up are the things that come up everywhere.

Quote: Originally Posted by Marcus Johansson

I'm not so superstitious as to think there's cause and effect. I know it's just a number. But I didn't have the year I wanted to have last year, and if going back to my old number serves as a symbolic turning of the page, and getting back in touch with my best game, I'll give it a shot.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mark Pysyk

Embracing change is part of the job description. If you're a Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, you get to have that stability of being in the same town for your whole career, but for most guys, if you want to have a career in this game, you have to be realistic that you're going to be the new guy in the dressing room once or twice in your career. Heck, some guys have to do it every year.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian Baxter (GM)

I know fans tend to view free agency through the lens of what their team did or didn't do, but it's never that simple. First, it ignores that other teams are making moves too -- it's like 32 people putting a jigsaw puzzle together, but the picture changes each time a piece is placed. It also overlooks that players have choice too. This isn't some auction where we bid on guys like livestock; we have to put offers out there, and then they get to choose what's right for them. And sometimes they decide in ways that aren't beneficial to you.

Before we start playing pre-season games, I decide to make a few changes on my AHL coaching staff. First, I decide to get a goalie coach with A+ teaching, since my current guy (Marco Blatter) is at a B-. Susanna Viitanen fits the bill and is willing to work cheap, so she gets an offer, which she accepts. I may also want to do something about the fact that my associate (Ralf Holzer) AND assistant coaches (Bedrich Elias) are both defense-oriented, so I’m worried my forwards won’t get enough attention. This one ends up being a little tougher to fill, but after playing around with a few offers (and also demoting Holzer to Assistant) we eventually land our second choice, Bradley Henrich, as our new Associate coach.

I also need to add some scouts, but that's just natural attrition -- I have three expiring contracts and cut one more who's a D- overall and bring in some replacements, including former NHLers Matt Cullen, and Johan Franzen, and Andy Greene.

Lastly, I get a nasty-gram from management about Zach Aston-Reese’s RFA offer. I decide to see what sort of offers I could get for him, since I’d probably only get compensated at the 3rd round level if he walks. I put him on the block, and there are multiple offers: contenders tend to offer a 4th this year and next; with rebuilders, one of the picks becomes a 5th or both picks move to 2022. Switching to open block tends to open up offers that include rookies. After playing around I settle on:

TRADE: Houston trades RW Zach Aston-Reese (unsigned RFA) to Philadelphia for RW Nathan Legare and the Flyers’ 4th-round pick in 2021.

Some of this is just Pens bias from real life, but I think I’d also rather have a guy who’s already in the pipeline than a 4th-rounder in 2022.

GAME RESULTS

9/26 vs Winnipeg – 4-0 W
Not sure an exhibition game is much revenge for getting bounced from the playoffs, but still, better to start off on a winning note than a losing one. Anthony Cirelli, Brent Burns, Nathan Legare, and Kyle Palmieri score in the win; Jimmy Howard stops 27 shots in his first appearance in the orange-and-black.

9/26 vs St. Louis – 4-3 W (SO)
St. Louis overcomes a 3-1 deficit in the final four minutes to force extra action, but Anders Lee salvages the two points in the shootout. Panarin (a pair) and Palmieri are the other goal scorers.

9/30 at Dallas – 2-1 L
Records don’t mean a lot in pre-season, but Dallas and Houston enter undefeated; Dallas is the team that leaves that way. Jamie Benn scores with 11:50 remaining to lock up the win for the Stars.

10/2 at Minnesota – 1-0 L
A low-scoring defensive affair between last year’s two top teams in the Central. New free agent signing William Karlsson beats Jimmy Howard on the power play with 4:47 left in the second, and Devan Dubnyk made it stand up, stopping 30 shots.

10/4 vs Nashville – 5-2 W
Daniel Sprong notches a hat trick and Houston shells Juuse Saros for 39 shots, against only 24 for the Predators.

10/5 at Chicago – 5-2 L
Houston gets out to a solid start with a 2-0 lead, but Chicago takes control and puts five pucks past Marcus Hogberg in the 2nd and 3rd periods. DeBrincat and Kane each score twice.

10/7 at Colorado – 5-3 L
Tough loss in the pre-season finale. Colorado builds a 3-0 lead, but Houston responds gamely and eventually ties it up at 3. But Tyler Jost scores with 9:35 left to break the tie, and Eric Johnson adds an empty netter. More troubling, Colorado wins the shots battle 37-21.

FINAL RECORD: 3-4-0

FINAL ROSTER TWEAKS

Let's get right to the bad news… with full scouting, Jimmy Howard’s OVR is plummeting. I knew 86 was unrealistic, but it’s down to 80 and may yet sink further (I was hoping maybe 82 or 83). So now I’m staring down the barrel of bad choices – stick with Howard and hope he’s better than I think, roll the dice with Eric Comrie or Tristan Jarry as the starter, or try for a trade and probably get fleeced in the process. I’m not a big fan of panic-dealing, so we’ll at least give things a shot as-is, but I’ll keep an eye on the trade market.

PROSPECT REPORT

I don't think we're going to see any help from the rookies this year. Honka is showing 68 OVR and Burish 67, so they'll crack the San Antonio roster, but most of my rookies are down in the low 60s. In particular, 1st rounder Tim Bolland is at 62 OVR as is Markuss Nazarov (my Elite from the 2019 class).

2020 isn't looking great overall. Teemu Kuukka, the goalie is showing Elite, but everyone else has fallen off. Bolland is Top 6, Tuukka Hyvonen is Top 9, my two defensemen (Arkhipov and Bianconi) are showing as Top 6. But LWs Kristian Koules and Zain Rylee are showing Bottom 6 potential, Erick Hanes is showing as a 7th defenseman, and center Cameron Peters is showing as AHL talent.

OPENING DAY ROSTER AND LINES


LINES AND DEFENSE PAIRS

FORWARD LINES
9 Artemi Panarin – 95 Matt Duchene – 24 Kaapo Kakko
90 Marcus Johansson – 10 Joe Pavelski – 21 Kyle Palmieri
27 Anders Lee – 71 Anthony Cirelli – 11 Daniel Sprong
29 William Carrier – 93 Sam Bennett – 14 Justin Williams

DEFENSE PAIRS
56 Erik Gustafsson – 88 Brent Burns
8 Jake Muzzin – 26 Brandon Carlo
3 Caleb Jones – 15 Alex Petrovic

GOALTENDERS
35 Jimmy Howard
1 Eric Comrie

BENCH/SCRATCHES
28 RW Justin Bailey
13 D Mark Pysyk
19 LW John Quenneville

CAPTAINS
All three captains return -- Brent Burns with the C, Matt Duchene and Sam Bennett wear the A's.

[PFellah]

October 2020: Back To Work


Jimmy Howard faces an early test at the hands of Minnesota's Calder-winning rookie, Jack Hughes.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jimmy Howard

I get why fans might feel the way they do. Markstrom had a great year last year, winning the Vezina is a big thing, but I can't put that on myself. I just have to prepare properly and go out there and give us a chance to win.

10/13 at Las Vegas (0-0-0) – 3-2 W
Houston outshoots Las Vegas 39-27, but Marc-Andre Fleury is pretty stalwart until Kyle Palmieri sneaks the game-winner past him with 40 seconds remaining.
GOALS: HOU – Pavelski 1, Carrier 1, Palmieri 1. VGK – Miller 1, Pacioretty 1.

10/15 at Carolina (1-0-0) – 5-3 L
Daniel Sprong scored his second of the game to make it look closer than it was, but 5 goals on 27 shots is not a good sign for the Jimmy Howard Experiment.
GOALS: HOU – Duchene 1, Sprong 1, Sprong 2. CAR – Steckel 2, Aho 2, Steckel 3, Teravainen 1, Svechnikov 1.

10/17 at Washington (2-0-0) – 5-2 W
John Carlson scores with 9:32 to tie things up at 202, but Houston runs away with three goals in the final six(ish) minutes.
GOALS: HOU – Kakko 1, Panarin 1, Palmieri 2, Burns 1, Panarin 2. WSH – Stephenson 1, Carlson 1.

10/18 at Vancouver (1-2-0) – 6-3 W
Eric Comrie gets the start and rides three 2-1 periods to victory. Six different goal scorers, including Justin Williams and Alex Petrovic’s first tallies as Renegades.
GOALS: HOU – Williams 1, Palmieri 3, Burns 2, Petrovic 1, Duchene 2, Panarin 3. VAN – Gaudette 1, Eriksson 1, Pettersson 3.

10/20 at St. Louis (1-2-1) – 5-4 W (OT)
It was a good first and third period for the Renegades, marred by an ugly three-goal second. St. Louis built up a 4-2 lead before Houston pushed their way back into the game, scoring the tying and winning goals on the power play. Jake Muzzin had the game winner; Joe Pavelski chipped in two goals including a short-hander.
GOALS: HOU – Carrier 2, Pavelski 2, Bennett 1, Pavelski 3, Muzzin 1. STL – Barbashev 1, Fabbri 1, Parayko 1, Barbashev 2.

Quote: Originally Posted by Joe Pavelski

Consistency is the key. We have to be a little more consistent. I thought we outplayed them for big chunks of the game, but when we took our foot off the gas, we really opened the door for them. That's something we'll need to work on going forward.

10/22 vs Nashville (4-1-0) – 3-0 W
The Predators were one of the worst teams in the league last season, but they’re off to a hot start, which now includes a 3-0 shutout of the Renegades. Pekka Rinne and Jusse Saros combine to spin the shutout on 32 shots.
GOALS: HOU – NONE. NSH – Johansenu2, Forsberg 5, Smith 3.

10/25 at Detroit (1-4-1) – 3-2 W (OT)
Despite it being Jimmy Howard’s old stomping grounds, Eric Comrie gets the start in net. For 59 minutes and 50 seconds, it looks like the Red Wings are going to get the two points, but Matt Duchene scores with 10 ticks left on the clock, and then Joe Pavelski wins it in overtime.
GOALS: HOU – Pavelski 4, Duchene 3, Pavelski 5. DET – de la Rose 1, Cholowski 1.

10/28 vs Colorado (6-1-0) – 4-1 L
It’s a close 2-1 game headed to the third period, but Alex Chaisson and Tyler Jost score less than two minutes apart to give the Avalanche the victory.
GOALS: HOU – Pavelski 6. COL – Rantanen 3, MacKinnon 4, Chiasson 2, Jost 5.

10/29 vs Edmonton (5-3-0) – 4-2 W
Jacob Markstrom gets a warm reaction on his return to Houston as a member of the Oilers. Edmonton gets out to a 2-0 lead, but Houston roars back to take the lead in the middle of the second period, and then Brandon Carlo provides insurance in the third. Houston put 44 shots on Markstrom, so still a good effort from the defensing Vezina holder.
GOALS: HOU – Panarin 4, Lee 1, Sprong 3, Carlo 1. EDM –Khaira 1, McDavid 6.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jacob Markstrom

It was nice getting that sort of reception from the fans. I don't reallly want to get into the whole free agency and the business side of stuff, but we created a little history last year, and it's nice to know the fans appreciate it.

10/31 vs Minnesota (3-5-1) – 5-2 L
For most of the first two periods, it looked like Houston had the better of the action, building 1-0 and 2-1 leads. Unfortunately, Minnesota woke up with about three minutes left in the second, scoring two late second period goals and a third to open the third period and grab a 4-2 lead. Houston missed a chance to get back in the game, failing to convert on the power play, and then Hadyn Fleury scored a 5th goal on a slapper from the point, ending the game.
GOALS: HOU – Cirelli 1, Johansson 1. MIN – Donato 6, Donato 7, Staal 6, Parise 4, Fleury 1.

MONTHLY SUMMARY

STANDINGS REPORT

• MONTH: 6-4-0, 12 points. Still a winning month when the dust settles.
• YEAR-TO-DATE: 12 points, good for 5th in the division. COL 18, CHI 14, NSH 14, DAL 13, HOU 12, WPG 11, MIN 9, STL 7
• CONFERENCE: 7th in the conference at the moment. COL 18, ANA 15, CHI 14, NSH 14, SJ 13, DAL 13, HOU 12, EDM 12

TEAM LEADERS

• POINTS: Pavelski 13, Panarin 9, Duchene 7, Palmieri 6, Burns 6, Muzzin 6, Kakko 6
• GOALS: Pavelski 6, Panarin 4, Sprong 3, Duchene 3, Palmieri 3
• ASSISTS: Pavelski 7, Panarin 5, Muzzin 5, Kakko 5, Johansson 4, Duchene 4, Burns 4
• PLUS-MINUS:Carlo 7, Johansson 6, Pavelski 6, Palmieri 5, Muzzin 5

ON THE FARM
The Toros are off to a hot start, going 8-2-0 out of the gate, tops in the Eastern Conference and one point behind the Ontario Reign. Tristan Jarry is leading the way with a 1.47 GAA and a .941 save percentage. (At what point do I say screw it and let him play in the NHL? At least he has room to grow, unlike Howard.) On the skater side, Jordan Kyrou and Nic Kerdiles lead the offense with 8 points each; Kalle Kossila leads the team in goals with five.

[PFellah]

October 2020: Around The League

STANDINGS


Too early to draw too many conclusions, though the teams that did badly last year AND are off to a slow start this year (Vegas, St. Louis) may want to be a little worried.

LEAGUE LEADERS



CALDER WATCH


Pretty unimpressive crop so far, but it's early. Also, normally I don't bother with rookie goalies except a) with TB letting Vasilevskiy walk, Kahkonen is probably the starter, and b) with 8 games played, he's already going to qualify for November too.

[PFellah]

November 2020: Attack Of The Killer P's


Artemi Panarin had an OK first season in Houston, but is showing signs of finally being the elite sniper the Renegades thought they were getting.

11/3 at Montreal (4-6-0) – 3-2 L
A two-goal second period gives Montreal a cushion, and Carey Price makes it stand up. Kyle Palmieri makes it a one-goal game early in the third, but the Renegades never get the equalizer. Brandon Carlo also comes up injured in the losing effort.
GOALS: HOU – Pavelski 7, Palmieri 4. MTL – Gallagher 3, Tatar 7, Gallagher 4.

11/4 at Tampa Bay (6-4-1) – 4-3 W
Tampa lost Andrei Vasilevskiy, so they’ve turned the net over to rookie Kaapo Kahkonen. Houston actually draws backup Richard Bachman and put up four against him. Anthony Cirelli scores a pair against his former mates.
GOALS: HOU – Duchene 4, Muzzin 2, Cirelli 2, Cirelli 3. TB – Killorn 4, Palat 2, Miller 2.

Bad news between games – Brandon Carlo is going to be out all month. Anttoni Honka gets the call from San Antonio to fill the roster spot, since he doesn't have to pass through waivers when he goes back down.

11/7 vs Boston (7-4-1) – 5-3 W
Two late Boston goals pad the stat sheet and make this look closer than it really was. Houston got two goals in the first five minutes and never really looked back.
GOALS: HOU – Muzzin 3, Panarin 5, Palmieri 5, Bennett 2, Jones 1. BOS – Spezza 2, Forsbacka-Karlsson 5, Marchand 7.

11/8 vs Chicago (9-4-0) – 4-2 L
Jimmy Howard gets pulled after giving up three first period goals and letting another clang off the post. Eric Comrie mostly stops the bleeding, allowing only a replay-contested goal in the early 3rd, but the Renegades never really get things going on offense. Only one goal during the competitive portion of the game and a “too little, too late” tally by Panarin in the final minute.
GOALS: HOU – Sprong 4, Panarin 6. CHI – Wilson 2, Anisimov 5, Strome 4, DeBrincat 7.

11/11 vs Philadelphia (9-4-1) – 3-1 W
Last year’s Presidents Trophy winners have come back to earth a little but are still playing well. However, Houston outshoots the Flyers 35-24 and puts three pucks past Carter Hart to come away with two points in the Black and Orange Battle.
GOALS: HOU – Johansson 2, Panarin 7, Burns 3. PHI – Niskanen 1.

11/14 at Pittsburgh (5-7-3) – 3-2 W
After a scoreless first, Houston puts up three goals in the second, and Pittsburgh can only get two of them back in the third.
GOALS: HOU – Duchene 5, Palmieri 6, Lee 2. PIT – Kessel 5, Bourque 1.

11/16 vs Columbus (7-7-2) – 4-3 L
The Renegades seem poised to take two points when Artemi Panarin scores with 14:05 remaining to break a 2-2 tie. But Tomas Nosek ties the game with 4:50 left and Chris Wagner gets the game-winner with 2:02 on the clock.
GOALS: HOU – Johansson 3, Gustafsson 1, Panarin 8. CBJ – Milano 2, Anderson 10, Nosek 4, Wagner 5.

Quote: Originally Posted by Brent Burns

It's the sort of game that you hope you're not looking back at in March or April and saying, "man if we'd just had two more points". To be in control for most of the game and have it slip away... it's only one of 82, but it's frustrating.

Kyle Palmieri is out about a week, so Justin Bailey gets a sweater and we shuffle the lines a little. I also decide to give Anttoni Honka a few games just to see how he plays.

11/18 at Winnipeg (9-5-3) – 7-1 L
Last year’s first-round playoff opponents currently sit in the middle of a tight cluster between 3rd and 6th in the division, along with Minneota and Dallas. Believe it or not, it was actually a fairly even game after one period – Winnipeg had a 2-0 lead, but stats were fairly even, one of the goals was a power-play tally. But the last 40 minutes were just all-around ineptitude at both ends of the ice. The ONLY moral victory was Justin Williams putting his own rebound past Connor Hellebuyck to spoil the shutout with 7.4 ticks left.
GOALS: HOU – Williams 2. WPG – Ehlers 7, Lowry 1, Little 4, Perrault 5, Scheifele 7, Ehlers 8, Connor 5.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sam Bennett

There's 20 guys in this room, and I don't think anyone can feel good about how things went tonight. Maybe Comrie... he didn't play, so maybe 19 guys. But we just got dominated in every aspect of the game.

11/20 vs New York Islanders (9-6-3) – 3-1 W
For two periods, it looks like back-to-back flops for the Renegades, but Houston finds the net three times in the final 20 to salvage two points and some dignity.
GOALS: HOU – Cirelli 4, Duchene 6, Sprong 5. NYI – Nelson 7.

Revolving door on the injury front – Kyle Palmieri returns to the lineup, but now Marcus Johansson will spend some time on the shelf.

11/21 vs Anaheim (11-4-4) – 6-3 W
It’s 2-1 Anaheim after 1 and 3-3 tie at the second intermission, but the Renegades run away down the stretch. Artemi Panarin scores the final two goals to fill out a hat trick.
GOALS: HOU – Panarin 9, Pavelski 8, Jones 2, Petrovic 2, Panarin 10, Panarin 11. ANA – Sherwood 4, Henrique 4, Lindholm 4.

Quote: Originally Posted by Artemi Panarin

I was playing OK last year, and other guys were scoring, but the goals weren't coming for me. This year, I'm getting pucks into the net, and it's feeling much better out there.

11/23 vs New York Rangers (9-7-4) – 3-1 W
Joe Pavelski gets to play the hero in Madison Square Garden. Pavel Buchnevich scores with 13:55 to tie the game at 1-1. But then Pavelski gets the go-ahead at the 7-minute mark and adds an empty netter for insurance. John Quenneville also scores his first goal as a Renegade.
GOALS: HOU – Quenneville 1, Pavelski 9, Pavelski 10. NYR – Buchnevich 4.

(FYI, Johansson is on the same injury timetable as Carlo – back the first week of December.)

11/25 at Ottawa (7-11-3) – 3-2 L
For two periods, it’s looking good for the Renegades, as Panarin and Kyle Palmieri stake Houston to a 2-1 lead. But Ryan Strome and Bobby Ryan score in the early going of the final period, and Houston can’t find an equalizer.
GOALS: HOU – Panarin 12, Palmieri 7. OTT – Fantenberg 2, Strome 6, Ryan 6.

11/27 at San Jose (16-5-1) – 5-2 W
After a quick stop home in Houston for Thanksgiving, the Renegades are out on the west coast against the Pacific-leading Sharks. Houston jumps on Martin Jones early, builds a 3-0 lead before San Jose even figures out there’s a game going on. The rest of the game is a formality.
GOALS: HOU – Lee 3, Duchene 7, Lee 4, Burns 4, Panarin 13. SJ – Schlemko 3, Couture 9.

New Injury to deal with: Daniel Sprong. Out for evaluation. On the other hand, Marcus Johansson is playable so we get some good news to go with the bad.

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt Duchene

It's a little bit of a challenge to have that revolving door where one guy comes back and another one goes down. I know the coaches have been trying to set up lines so there's some continuity, but still... it's just something you have to deal with in this sport. But we're all professionals in this room. You may have a comfort level skating with certain guys, but you shouldn't NEED that at this level.

11/30 at New Jersey (11-10-2) – 3-2 W
We end the month going up against the guy who was almost our starting goalie: New Jersey rests Andrei Vasilevskiy and puts Jordan Binnington between the pipes. Cirelli and Kaapo Kakko spot the Renegades to a 2-1 lead, which widens to 3-1 before contracting early in the 3rd. But that’s where it settles, and Houston ends the month on a winning note.
GOALS: HOU – Cirelli 5, Kakko 2, Palmieri 8. NJ – Nyquist 6, Sanheim 3.

MONTHLY SUMMARY

STANDINGS REPORT

• MONTH: 9-5-0, 18 points. The losses against divisional opponents sting a little more, but it was actually a decent month.
• YEAR-TO-DATE: There’s a four-way tie for 2nd through 5th; technically the CPU is ranking us 3rd, but I wouldn’t lose a lot of sleep over it. COL 36, CHI 30, HOU 30, DAL 30, WPG 30, MIN 27, NSH 23, STL 19
• CONFERENCE: Currently sitting 6th. COL 36, SJ 35, ANA 32, CGY 31, CHI 30, HOU 30, DAL 30, WPG 30

TEAM LEADERS

• POINTS: Panarin 26, Pavelski 24, Palmieri 19, Muzzin 18, Duchene 16
• GOALS: Panarin 13, Pavelski 10, Palmieri 8, Duchene 7, Sprong 5, Cirelli 5
• ASSISTS: Muzzin 15, Pavelski 14, Panarin 13, Kakko 12, Palmieri 11
• PLUS-MINUS:Muzzin 11, Palmieri 8, Carlo 7, Johansson 5, Pysyk 5

ON THE FARM
All is well on the farm – first in the division (16-6-1, 33 points), second in the conference behind the Springfield Thunderbirds. Third in goals per game, second best in goals allowed. None of our skaters are on the leaderboard; Jordan Kyrou is probably closest. But Tristan Jarry continues to have a great season, with a goals-against still under 2.00.

[PFellah]

November 2020: Around The League

STANDINGS


The general theme here is that the early stragglers (Vegas, St. Louis, Pittsburgh) are all starting to wake up to varying degrees. The other thing that jumped out at me is Boston -- when I played them early in the month, they were 7-4-1, so if they ended at nine wins, they must've had a ROUGH month.

LEAGUE LEADERS

Artemi Panarin is on the goal-scoring leaders, and Joe Pavelski isn't that far behind. The other oddity is Carter Hart -- he went from 2 shutouts to 5, but his rate stats didn't jump as much as you'd expect, so he must've gotten pasted a few times in other games.

CALDER WATCH


The top three really got their seasons moving, but the rest of the top 10 mostly just clicked along at a slow pace. From the 2020 class, Calgary is sitting Alexis Lafreniere/may have let him return to juniors, but #2 (Kaartinen), #3 (Steckel), and #4 (Latypov) are all in play. On the goalie side, Kahkonen is actually playing reasonably well, but probably not lights-out enough to be a Calder contender.

[PFellah]

December 2020: Hot Start, Cold Finish


Anders Lee and the puck ended up in the net at about the same time, but the goal stood up as the Renegades took care of the defending Stanley Cup champs.

12/3 vs Buffalo (5-17-2) – 5-2 W
Kaapo Kakko scores a pair of goals and Justin Bailey scores his first Houston goal to lead the Renegades to victory over the struggling Sabres.
GOALS: HOU – Palmieri 9, Kakko 3, Kakko 4, Bailey 1, Carrier 3. BUF – Ferland 5, Tanev 4.

On the injury front, Brandon Carlo is all the way back, Marcus Johansson is playable, but Daniel Sprong is sout another week or so.

12/5 vs Florida (12-12-1) – 6-5 W
Houston exploded out to a 4-1 lead after the first period, but the Panthers eventually crept back into it in the second, and then Evgenii Dadonov scored consecutive goals to tie it with time winding down in the 3rd. But then with 3:23 left, Sam Bennett beat Sergei Bobrovsky for the game-winner, salvaging two points.
GOALS: HOU – Lee 5, Cirelli 6, Bennett 3, Palmieri 10, Lee 6, Bennett 4. FLA – Savard 4, Yandle 3, Spooner 6, Dadonov 6, Dadonov 7.

12/7 vs Calgary (16-9-1) – 6-1 W
Houston scores two goals in each period, and hold Calgary to a miserly 19 shots while putting 42 on Craig Anderson. Noah Hanifin spoils Jimmy Howard’s shutout with 14:21 remaining, but it’s otherwise smooth sailing.
GOALS: HOU – Gustafsson 2, Palmieri 11, Duchene 8, Lee 7, Panarin 14, Palmieri 12. CGY – Hanifin 4.

(Sigh… Justin Williams is out, and Sprong isn’t back yet. Thin bench for a few games.)

12/8 at Toronto (18-6-3) – 3-1 W
The homestand ends, and we briefly hit the road with a trip up to Toronto to take on the defending Stanley Cup champs. Fortunately, the Renegades put together one of their most complete efforts of the year, with Eric Comrie standing tall in net, stopping 28 shots.
GOALS: HOU – Lee 8, Panarin 15, Kakko 5. TOR – Kadri 10.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jake Muzzin

Yeah, it's a little sweet. They've got the rings, so to come into their building and take two points. For now, they're the measuring stick, so it's pretty great.

12/10 vs Dallas (16-10-2) – 5-4 W
It’s a really swing-y game. Dallas scores the first two goals of the game, but Houston scores four in the second to take over the lead. Dallas closes to 4-3, setting up a wild finish where Miro Heiskanen scores with 18 seconds left to tie the game and seemingly send it to overtime, but then Matt Duchene takes the ensuing faceoff down to score with 9 seconds left and lock up the win.
GOALS: HOU – Pavelski 11, Panarin 16, Kakko 6, Lee 9, Duchene 9. DAL – Radulov 9, Seguin 16, Gurianov 5, Heiskanen 1.

12/12 at Los Angeles (17-12-0) – 2-1 L (SO)
The win streak ends at 7, as the Kings win in the shootout despite being outshot 39-21. Michael Del Zotto notches the deciding goal. The point streak, on the other hand, is alive and well at 8 games. That’s also the Renegades’ first overtime loss of the year, dirtying up that column of the scoresheet.
GOALS: HOU – Panarin 17. LA – Kovalchuk 16, Del Zotto SOW.

Quote: Originally Posted by Anthony Cirelli

You get on a roll like this, you get greedy and want to win them all. So now it's over, and the trick is to just put it in a box, put it on the shelf, and go out there and win the next one.

Things are getting messy on the injury front. Daniel Sprong is coming back, but Carlo, Williams, and Duchene are all out – Carlo and Williams until the new year. Probably time for some reinforcements from the minors – Anttoni Honka and Jordan Kyrou get the call from San Antonio for a few weeks.

12/14 at Arizona (12-15-3) – 3-1 W
The teams trade goals in the first period, but Houston pulls away with single goals in the 2nd and 3rd against Antti Raanta. Houston also wins the shots battle 37-32.
GOALS: HOU – Palmieri 13, Pavelski 12, Lee 10. ARI – Keller 12.

Duchene has a sprained ankle and will be out a week, and now add Kaapo Kakko, who got his bell rung and is out for a couple of days.

12/18 vs Las Vegas (14-12-5) – 3-1 W
That’s a point in 10 straight games, for a 9-0-1 record. Anders Lee gets the scoring going five minutes in and the game, the Knights forge a tie for about one minute, and then John Quenneville provides the eventual game-winner.
GOALS: HOU – Lee 11, Quenneville 2, Johansson 4. VGK – Latypov 6.

12/20 vs Carolina (17-13-2) – 3-2 L
Finally a clean regulation loss. Carolina breaks open a 1-1 tie with a Brock McGinn goal early in the 3rd, and then add insurance with about 4 minutes let. Mark Pysyk gets a late goal to make it a 3-2 game, but not enough time left for the equalizer.
GOALS: HOU – Johnansson 5, Pysyk 1. CAR – Svechnikov 10, McGinn 7, Zajac 5.

Duchene and Kakko get healthy in the days off between games, so it’s down to Carlo and Williams on the shelf.

12/25 vs Washington (20-11-2) – 5-0 L
We’ve got the Washington Capitals under the Christmas tree. For one period, it’s actually a fairly competitive game, but things fall apart for Houston, courtesy of a three-goal onslaught in the second. The Caps win the shot battle 42-24, and the Renegades never solve Braden Holtby.
GOALS: HOU – NONE. WSH – Kuznetsov 12, Kuznetsov 13, Orlov 5, Boyd 5, Backstrom 10.

12/26 vs Vancouver (11-20-3) – 3-0 W
All the goals the Renegades couldn’t score yesterday show up in the first period, and then both sides go scoreless the rest of the way. Jimmy Howard stops 27 pucks for the shutout.
GOALS: HOU – Quenneville 3, Kakko 7, Palmieri 14. VAN – NONE.

12/28 vs St. Louis (10-20-5) – 1-0 L
Ew. 41 shots, no goals. Lame. Ryan O’Reilly scores with 5:58 left in the first period and then nothing else happens. Ah well.
GOALS: HOU – NONE. STL – O’Reilly 6.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kyle Palmieri

I mean, you'd love it if all 20 guys could stay healthy for all 82 games, but this is a tough, physical game. At times like this, you try to see the glass as half full, and hope that gving more ice time to some of our younger guys will only make us stronger over the long haul. So it's not a good thing, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing as we can still go out there and grab two points more nights than not.

12/30 at Nashville (16-18-2) – 5-3 L
Unfortunate end to calendar year 2020. It’s the irregulars doing the damage – Carl Hagelin scores a pair, Brad Richardson scores one – even defenseman Roman Josi chips one in. Kye Palmeiri narrows it to 4-3 with 7:15 remaining, but an empty-netter by Michael Granlund polishes things off.
GOALS: HOU – Johansson 6, Cirelli 7, Palmieri 15. NSH – Hagelin 6, Hagelin 7, Josi 5, Richardson 6, Granlund 10.

MONTHLY SUMMARY

STANDINGS REPORT

• MONTH: 8-4-1, 17 points. Hot start, rough end, still a net positive overall.
• YEAR-TO-DATE: 23-13-1, 47 points
• DIVISION: Currently trailing Colorado by two points. COL 49, HOU 47, DAL 44, CHI 43, WPG 43, MIN 42, NSH 36, STL 27
• CONFERENCE: 4th in the conference -- EDM 50, ANA 49, COL 49, HOU 47, LA 46, SJ 46, DAL 44, CGY 43

TEAM LEADERS

• POINTS: Panarin 37, Pavelski 32, Palmieri 31, Muzzin 28, Burns 25
• GOALS: Panarin 17, Palmieri 15, Pavelski 12, Lee 11, Duchene 9
• ASSISTS: Muzzin 25, Burns 21, Panarin 20, Pavelski 20, Palmieri 16
• PLUS-MINUS:Muzzin 24, Palmieri 12, Panarin 11, Pavelski 11, Carlo 10, Burns 10

ON THE FARM
The Toros continue to roll along at 25-10-2, tops in their own division, and tied for the lead in the Eastern Conference. The offense is top-third; the defense, second only to the Ontario Reign (2.16 goals per game, compared to 1.57 for Ontario). With Jordan Kyrou up with the parent club, Kalle Kossila is driving the offense with 13 goals and 18 assists. Tristan Jarry is still doing pretty well (17-7-2, 2.13 GAA, .911 save percentage), but backup Connor Ingram is also doing well, with an 8-4-0 record, a 2.22 goals against, and a .908 save percentage.

[PFellah]

December 2020: Around The League

STANDINGS


LEAGUE LEADERS


CALDER WATCH

[PFellah]

January 2021: Divisional Wins Prove Elusive Despite Overall Success


The Renegades had a mixed month -- successful overall, but with specific struggles against division opponents. Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, and Winnipeg all handed the Renegades the L.

We start this month with a minor trade: Jordan Kyrou has shown enough to stick around, so I think I’m going to create a roster spot for him, even if it means playing him on a wing for now. Out of the trio of Justin Williams, Justin Bailey, and John Quenneville, Justin Williams emerges as the likely choice – he’s a free agent after the season ends, yet he’s also offering the most return (offers are generally a 3rd and a 4th, though the years vary). Dallas has the best offer, but I’m a little leery of trading in the division. Boston is offering a similar package, but doesn’t have a 4th in 2020 so their 4th is 2022.

TRADE: Houston trades RW Justin Williams to Boston for the Bruins’ 3rd-round pick in 2021 and 4th-round pick in 2022.

Quote: Originally Posted by Justin Williams

I understand they felt they needed to make a change to make some playing time for younger guys, and me being a little nicked up at times hasn't helped. But hey, Boston is a good team, so I'll just go there and contribute what I can.

1/2 vs Detroit (15-17-5) – 5-2 W
Jimmy Howard gets the start in net against his old mates. Detroit scores the first two goals of the game, but Houston scores… well.. all the rest. Jake Muzzin gets the eventual game-winner midway through the second, and Houston adds insurance in the final frame.
GOALS: HOU – Johansson 7, Cirelli 8, Muzzin 4, Burns 5, Johansson 8. DET – Veleno 7, Bertuzzi 6.

Between games, Tampa places defenseman Dominik Masin on waivers. He’s not great, but he’s sorta young (24) and cheap ($740k, two-way deal), so I’ll take a chance on him… what the heck?

1/4 at Colorado (25-12-1) – 8-4 L
It’s #1 vs #2 in the division, always an event. Even better, Matt Duchene’s injury is playable, so we’re back to full strength for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, three goals in the first six shots chased Jimmy Howard from the net and pretty much ended the competitive portion of the game. At one point, Houston started to show signs of life (including two short-handed goals on the same Colorado power play) and closed the gap to 6-4, but two late goals provided a painful bookend to the three at the start of the game.
GOALS: HOU – Carrier 4, Carlo 2, Pysyk 2, Duchene 10. COL – MacKinnon 23, Chiasson 14, Gardiner 3, Girard 3, Cizikas 6, Jost 14, Cizikas 7, Frk 5.

1/6 at Edmonton (24-13-2) – 1-0 W
It’s a shutout for Jimmy Howard, but the Houston defense makes it easy for him, holding the Oilers to 22 shots. Brent Burns finally cracks Corey Crawford for the game’s lone goal midway through the 3rd.
GOALS: HOU – Burns 6. EDM -- NONE

Quote: Originally Posted by Jimmy Howard

I'm not going to lie, it's always a little humiliating when you get pulled from a game. But you just gotta put it out of your mind and go out and play the next one, and fortunately I was able to rebound well and put us in a chance to win.

1/8 at Minnesota (19-15-6) – 5-4 L (OT)
Matt Duchene puts the Renegades up 4-3 with less than three to play, but Ryan Donato does him one better and ties it again with 1:23 on the clock. Then in overtime, Matt Dumba beats Eric Comrie to give Minnesota the win and the two points.
GOALS: HOU – Johansson 9, Burns 7, Palmieri 16, Duchene 11. MIN – Donato 15, Chara 6, Dumba 7, Donato 16, Dumba 8.

1/11 vs Montreal (19-17-5) – 5-2 W
Montreal answers Houston’s first and second goals of the game, but the third through fifth fall on deaf ears. Sam Bennett gets credit for the game-winner.
GOALS: HOU – Kakko 8, Palmieri 17, Bennett 5, Burns 8, Cirelli 9. MTL – Drouin 6, Tatar 15.

1/12 vs Tampa Bay (20-16-6) – 3-2 W (SO)
It’s not looking good for Houston after two periods, having fallen behind 1-0 and then 2-1. But Jake Muzzin scores the equalizer with 2:37 remaining in regulation, and in the shootout, it’s Brent Burns providing the winner.
GOALS: HOU – Palmieri 18, Muzzin 5, Burns SOW. TB – Point 16, Kucherov 21.

1/15 at Boston (24-16-3) – 4-3 W (SO)
The story of this game was almost the Renegades’ third period collapse, as the Bruins scored three times in a three-minute span of the third period to erase a 3-0 deficit. Fortunately though, Houston was able to regroup and take the W in the shootout.
GOALS: HOU – Lee 12, Lee 13, Bennett 6, Burns SOW. BOS – Pastrnak 10, Krejci 11, Sheahan 6.

1/16 at Chicago (26-16-2) – 3-2 L
Chicago scores twice in the second period to overcome an initial 2-1 deficit, and this time, there are no third-period heroics in store for Houston.
GOALS: HOU – Carrier 5, Lee 14. CHI – Saad 17, Wilson 7, Saad 18.

Quote: Originally Posted by Caleb Jones

It's starting to feel like a bit of a bad joke. We seem to be doing well against just about everyone else, but then we run into a team in our own division, and... I don't know what happens. And OK, wins are wins no matter who they come against, but you do want to take those chances to win head to head because it gives you that double-dip of helping yourself and making it harder for the other teams in the division.

1/19 at Philadelphia (24-19-2) – 8-2 W
Carter Hart has been one of the league’s elite goaltenders this year, but the Renegades clearly did NOT get the memo for one afternoon. Houston got all eight of its goals before Philly finally got a small measure of comptentence midway through the third period.
GOALS: HOU – Jones 3, Pavelski 13, Duchene 12, Gustafsson 3, Panarin 18, Cirelli 10, Palmieri 19, Palmieri 20. PHI – Giroux 13, Konecny 9.

1/21 vs Pittsburgh (23-17-6) – 4-3 L
Last game before the All-Star break is a back-and-forth affair as Houston erases 1-0 and 2-1 leads and then takes a 3-2 lead early in the third. But Dominic Kahun ties it with 10:28 remaining, and Phil Kessel gets the winner a little over a minute later.
GOALS: HOU – Panarin 19, Gustafsson 4, Pavelski 14. PIT – Kessel 22, Hornqvist 18, Kahun 6, Kessel 23.

1/28 at Columbus (18-26-3) – 3-0 W
After a week off, the Renegades start slow with a scoreless first, but pickup the pace the rest of the way and cruise to a 3-0 win. Eric Comrie stops 35 pucks for the shutout.
GOALS: HOU – Pavelski 15, Burns 9, Bennett 7. CBJ – NONE.

1/30 vs Winnipeg (25-18-5) – 5-1 L
An ugly one to end the month – despite outshooting the Jets 37-22, five pucks find the net behind Eric Comrie.
GOALS: HOU – Cirelli 11. WPG – Vesalainen 5, Wheeler 22, Dano 4, Scheifele 18, Wheeler 23.


MONTHLY SUMMARY

STANDINGS REPORT

• MONTH: 7-4-1, 15 points. Frustrating that most of our losses were the games within the division.
• YEAR-TO-DATE: 30-17-2, 62 points
• DIVISION: Sitting 4th in the division, but things are pretty close in the top four: CHI 65, DAL 63, COL 63, HOU 62, MIN 58, WPG 57, NSH 46, STL 39
• CONFERENCE: 5th in the conference, but we’d go in as a wild-card if the season ended today. ANA 65, CHI 65, DAL 63, COL 63, HOU 62, LA 62, EDM 61, MIN 58

TEAM LEADERS

• POINTS: Pavelski 44, Palmieri 43, Panarin 42, Muzzin 37, Burns 33
• GOALS: Palmieri 20, Panarin 19, Pavelski 15, Lee 14, Duchene 12
• ASSISTS: Muzzin 32, Pavelski 29, Burns 24, Panarin 23, Palmieri 23
• PLUS-MINUS:Muzzin 24, Burns 16, Pavelski 15, Panarin 13, Lee 13

ON THE FARM
I don’t know if it’s a ripple effect of Jordan Kyrou’s promotion, but the Toros have slowed down a little and now sit 5th in their division at 29-19-2 (60 points). First place is only 68 points, so they haven’t collapsed, but they’re facing stiffer competition this time around. Statistically, they’re not doing a lot worse, so maybe it’s other teams improving while we’re standing still. It looks like maybe Tristan Jarry was injured for a bit, and Ingram was a bit more “normal” in net, so that might also be part of the standings slump.