HOCKEY NHL ARTICLES

If for nothing else give the National Hockey League credit for the most unique All-Star Game format in all of professional sports. Realizing that the old format of Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference had grown stale the NHL blew it all up and started over three years ago with a new and exciting tournament format. Each of its four divisions would comprise an All-Star Team with a four-team tournament played in a single evening to follow. The results have proven to be a much-improved product ... 

Few teams in any sport have to deal with the high expectations that the Toronto Maple Leafs faced entering the 2018-19 season. With the NHL’s best coach in Mike Babcock, the 2016 number one overall draft pick in Auston Matthews, and the biggest free agent singing over the summer in John Tavares, the Leafs got off to a hot start that had their fans planning a Stanley Cup parade route. But since the start of the new year the Leafs have slumped badly which has cut deep into gambling bankrolls with ... 

It’s certainly harsh but the Chicago Blackhawks are yesterday’s news. Indeed, the days of glory are over for the franchise that won three Stanley Cups from 2010 through 2015 in the greatest era in the history of this team that began operations in 1926. ... 

It’s hard to believe that the Philadelphia Flyers were a playoff team last season that managed to finish third in the Metropolitan Division. This year began bad and has only gotten worse to the point that that the Flyers are now at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. When the Flyers fell to a record of 12-15-4 they decided to fire head coach Dave Hakstol, which was just a few days after they fired general manager Ron Hextall. Since Hakstol was shown the door Philadelphia has gone 4-8... 

The Boston Bruins have suffered from inconsistent goal scoring for most of the season and are splitting time with their two goaltenders. But a power play that is one of the best in the league and the strong play of both goalies has made them one of the hottest teams on any betting board in sports. And just for good measure the Bruins make bank at home like few other teams. The Montreal Canadiens are vastly improved after missing the playoffs last year. While the return of top goaltender Carey Pr... 

For the Chicago Blackhawks the 2018-19 season will go down as a lost one. Despite their recent improvement in their overall play the Blackhawks dug themselves an impossible hole to dig out of in the first two months of the season. For the Nashville Predators their Stanley Cup window appears to still be wide open. The Preds have the deepest defensive corps in the NHL and goaltender Pekka Rinne remains one of the elite netminders in the game. Nashville has recently gotten back on track after an ug... 

Since its inception in 2008 the NHL Winter Classic has become a vaunted New Year’s Day tradition for the league and for fans both hard core and casual. The aspect of playing a National Hockey League game outdoors at famous baseball and football stadiums has been clearly established as an undeniable success both at the venues involved and on the television ratings. This year offers everything a hockey fan could want with two of the NHL’s Original Six teams playing at Notre Dame Stadium, perhaps t... 

For some observers the Pittsburgh Penguins were looking like a team that may finally be finished as far as being a serious Stanley Cup title contender. But the Penguins have recently reasserted themselves as one of the hottest and most profitable teams on the NHL board as well as one of the elite contenders in the game. The New York Rangers early season success has proven to be fool’s gold as the young and rebuilding Broadway Blueshirts have had a recent face to face confrontation with reality. ... 

For the Philadelphia Flyers what was looking like a lost season has instead been jumpstarted after the firing of head coach Dave Hakstol. Hakstol was fired on December 17 after an uninspired four game Western Canadian road trip in which the Flyers went winless. Scott Gordon was called up from the minors to take Hakstol’s place and to try and save the season. Gordon led the Flyers to a pair of wins in his first three games but major challenges remain. Among those challenges is the first game after Christmas break at the explosive Tampa Bay Lightning. ... 

There are few rivalries in the NHL, not to mention all of sports, that can rank with the one between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. To start with their respective team captains are superstars that have had their own personal rivalry for the past decade. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin are destined for the Hall of Fame and still in their prime. Add to the fact that these teams have been the last two Stanley Cup champions and you have the makings of some... 

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not far removed from their back to back Stanley Cup championships of 2016-17 but have been sluggish this year with inconsistent play on the back end. Just as interesting is the fact that they have gotten better goaltending since Matt Murray, their two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender, has been sidelined. Casey DeSmith may not relinquish the job whenever Murray does return from injury. For the Chicago Blackhawks the glory is definitely over. Their run of three Stanl... 

In just two short years things have changed dramatically for both the St. Louis Blues and Ken Hitchcock. At this time in 2016 the Blues were one of the top contenders to win the Western Conference as the steady Hitchcock was behind the bench and in firm command. But just a couple of months later the Blues blinked and fired Hitch during a bad slump. St. Louis has since seen their franchise decline into one of the worst in the NHL. As for Hitchcock he presided over a horrific season ending collaps... 

Last year the Colorado Avalanche won the admiration and respect of the entire hockey gambling community with their transformation from the worst team in the Western Conference into a playoff team that gave the highly favored Nashville Predators a six-game scare. But while the Avalanche earned a lot of props from and money for gamblers there was plenty of skepticism about the Colorado being able to sustain success. After all they would no longer be catching teams off guard. In the same way Colora... 

There were plenty of “experts” that said the New York Rangers had zero chance of making the playoffs because of a massive roster remake and rebuild. The Rangers never denied that they were making over the team and basically waived the white flag last February when they sent a letter to fans stating that their days as a contender were long gone. The Philadelphia Flyers were expected to return to the playoffs this year after making it to the post season last spring. So far, the results of the Flye... 

There was once a time, including not that long ago, when a matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks would be appointment television. After all the Blackhawks have been a perennial Stanley Cup title contender while the Blues were always just a bit short of such status but a regular in the playoffs. But this year both teams are fighting to stay out of the basement of the Central Division. And Chicago is so desperate that they ended up having to fire three-time Stanley Cup winning... 

In last spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Washington Capitals scored what was considered to be one of the most significant triumphs in their 40+ seasons of existence when they upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. The Penguins were not only the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions but they also owned their rivalry series with the Caps to the point that everyone knew they were in Washington’s head. But the Capitals took the series in six games despite blowing the opener at home ... 

It is no surprise that Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is the favorite to again win the Rocket Richard Troiphy as the National Hockey League’s top goal scorer for the 2018-19 season. After all, Ovechkin has won the trophy in five of the last six seasons including last year. In fact, the only player to win it other than Ovechkin in that span is Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who is not even among the favorites for the 2018-19 campaign. The big question for gamblers is if Tyler S... 

Last spring the Nashville Predators were the favorite to repeat as Western Conference champions and understandably so. The Predators were actually a better team last year than the Western Conference championship team of 2017. But the Preds were eliminated on home ice in a seven-game series by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round last May because goaltender Pekka Rinne was out of sorts. Rinne is getting back into form as are the Preds, who lead the Central Division. Tuesday night the Predators w... 

The Toronto Maple Leafs have staked their claim atop the Atlantic Division standings with six wins in their first nine games. With the arrival of John Tavares from the New York Islanders this past off season it stood to figure that the Leafs would be among the top offensive teams in the NHL. Of major concern is a back end that is loose and goaltending that is unreliable. As expected the Winnipeg Jets are one of the top teams in the Central Division and are in quite a battle with the Colorado Ava... 

The Washington Capitals certainly exercised a lot of demons last year when they won the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. But just a few days after the Cup was handed out head coach Barry Trotz headed out the door for the riches of the New York Islanders. Trotz was coaching without a new contract last year and was facing the firing squad when the Caps went down 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Instead he rallied his team and cashed in as a S... 

Wednesday night offers one of the most enticing props lineups of the young National Hockey League season when the Washington Capitals host the Vegas Golden Knights in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final. Both teams bring the combination of scoring power, strong defense, and top tier goaltending. Each lineup includes players capable of putting points on the board. Few matchups at any time of the season would be able to match this one for props betting action.... 

Last February the New York Rangers raised the white flag of surrender for the entire world to see. Not only did the Rangers unload expensive and talented players to contending teams but they also issued a letter to season ticket holders fully admitting that their days as serious playoff contenders were over and that they were going to blow the whole thing up and start over with a rebuild. Meanwhile the Nashville Predators experienced the letdown of a second-round playoff elimination after making... 

Last spring in the eyes of many National Hockey League experts and gamblers it was supposed to be the Boston Bruins instead of the Washington Capitals who were supposed to hoist the Stanley Cup. But Boston proved to be no match in the second round for the Tampa Bay Lighting and went out in disappointing fashion. Perhaps the B’s were out of gas after nearly blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. But after the letdown end to the playoffs the Bruins are again expec... 

In most cases the defending champion of a major professional sport is the odds-on favorite to repeat as champion again. Yet this year in the National Hockey League that is certainly not the case. The Washington Capitals were an upstart and unexpected champion last year and while there is absolutely no doubt that they deserved the championship there is a sense that it is a one-off that will not occur again.... 

The Washington Capitals will try and clinch their first-ever Stanley Cup on Thursday night, as they visit the Vegas Golden Knights on NBC. The Golden Knights won the first game of this series but it has been all Washington since. History is not on the side of Vegas, as 31 of the 32 teams to hold a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the Cup. Let’s take a look at Thursday’s contest and Stanley Cup picks....