HOCKEY NHL ARTICLES

There has been an undeniable Stanley Cup hangover with the Washington Capitals this season. The defending champions hoisted Lord Stanley’s chalice based in large part because of their willingness to play a full 200-foot game and be responsible on their back end. But head coach Barry Trotz departed right after the Cup was won and is leading the upstart New York Islanders as the top team in the Metropolitan Division ahead of the Caps. New Washington coach Todd Reirden had the unenviable task of fo... 

The Boston Bruins have emerged as one of the hottest teams on the pro hockey betting board as their goal scoring has picked up the pace for the stretch run. Further, the veteran goaltending tandem of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak has been one of the most effective in the NHL. But as hot as the Bruins have been the Tampa Bay Lighting have been even hotter. In fact, the Bolts are one of the most profitable teams on the board in any sport. Head coach Jon Cooper has built a team that plays a comple... 

The NHL Stadium Series has visited some interesting venues ranging from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Yankee Stadium in New York, and Solider Field in Chicago. Saturday night could be one of the best Stadium Series events ever as two rivals from the “Second Six,” also known as the “Class of ’67,” will renew their intrastate rivalry when the Pittsburgh Penguins face the Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh is a perennial Stanley Cup favorite that is fighting for a wild ... 

The Vegas Golden Knights stunned the sporting world last year when as a first-year expansion team they went on to win the Western Conference. It was natural that the Golden Knights would drop back a bit this year but they are currently the third and last playoff team in the Pacific Division. Vegas has not scored goals at the same rate as last year and that has proven to be a drag on their wagering value. The Boston Bruins are one of the hottest teams on the NHL board and have taken second place ... 

The New York Rangers deserve credit for truth in advertising and coming clean if for nothing else. One year ago, at the NHL trade deadline the Rangers sent out a letter to their fans that indicated their days as a top tier Stanley Cup contender were over and that a full rebuild and roster blow up was about to commence. While success has been fleeting since that time at least gamblers and Ranger backers knew what was coming. The Pittsburgh Penguins are not quite ready to make a similar concession... 

Just two years ago the Pittsburgh Penguins had won their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship and were looking primed for more. But last year the Pens slipped up in the second round of the playoffs when the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals finally upset their old nemesis en route to the title. At the time the Pens skated off the ice that failure was considered a mere blip. But the speed bump is now looking like a cliff that Pittsburgh may be driving off. Meanwhile the Edm... 

At the beginning of the season the Nashville Predators were rightfully considered a top tier contender to win the Western Conference. Indeed, the Predators still have their Stanley Cup window wide open but with the understanding that they will soon be out of time. Nashville has taken a share of the lead in the Central Division with a combination of defense and goaltending that is among the best in the NHL. The St. Louis Blues have done a great job digging themselves out of the ditch after gettin... 

About a year ago the New York Rangers waived the white flag of surrender and began trading off expensive assets in recognition of the fact that their Stanley Cup title window had closed. As a result, a year of misery and red ink was expected for the 2018-19 NHL season. However, head coach David Quinn and general manager Jeff Gordon have proven to be the young shot in the arm that the Broadway Blueshirts have responded well with. Indeed, the Rangers have been far more competitive and with much be... 

The Boston Bruins have long been one of the annual top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Boston’s method for success has always been a strong and physical defensive presence with excellent goaltending. This year it has proven to not be enough as a lack of consistency and secondary scoring on offense has offset the strong back end play. For the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, the opposite problems have been the case. Washington has no problem scoring with captain Alex Ovec... 

Certainly, the Pittsburgh Penguins are a franchise synonymous with Stanley Cup championship success as a perennial Eastern Conference contender. The Penguins are still fresh on the minds of gamblers for the Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. Add in their future Hall of Fame captain Sidney Crosby and you have one of the most “public” teams on the board for NHL gambling. However, this year has been a struggle for the Pens as they are currently in the eighth and final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference. Weak play on the back end and inconsistent goaltending have been the culprits. For the Tampa Bay Lightning this has been a season of flash. Tampa Bay has bolted to the top of the Eastern Conference with impressive dominance. ... 

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...