HOCKEY NHL ARTICLES

Last year the Carolina Hurricanes were the surprise team of the Eastern Conference. Carolina advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Final as a Cinderella team. Midnight struck, however, against the Buzzsaw known as the Boston Bruins. Indeed, the Killer B’s brought out the broom in a four-game sweep. But Carolina left the handshake line with restored respect for their franchise and renewed passion from their fans. Carolina and Boston will now have a playoff rematch that begins on Tuesday ... 

Last year the Columbus Blue Jackets stunned the hockey world with one of the biggest upsets in Stanley Cup Playoff history. As massive underdogs and eight seeded against the top seed Tampa Bay Lightning, the Blue Jackets won in a shocking four game series sweep. It was an utter humiliation for the Lighting, one that will never be forgotten. And the only way to make good for it would be to win their upcoming playoff rematch with the Blue Jackets. Tampa Bay is heavily favored once again but now ha... 

Two years ago, coach Barry Trotz led the Washington Capitals to the first and only Stanley Cup in their 46-year history. This landmark accomplishment came by way of Trotz orchestrating what no other coach of Alex Ovechkin was able to implement. Trotz was able to sell Ovechkin on committing to a complete game. The Great Eight worked hard on both ends of the ice. As team captain he led by example for his teammates. In sum, Ovechkin gave Trotz the respect and buy-in necessary to win a championship.... 

The Montreal Canadiens entered the NHL Hub of Toronto as the 12th and final seed in the Eastern Conference. The Habs were also considered to be the weakest of all 24 teams invited to the post season. But Montreal brought a goaltender that can steal a series almost on his own. Carey Price was stellar in the Habs first round series upset of the Pittsburgh Penguins. But most important of all he had plenty of help. The Philadelphia Flyers were perfect in the three-game round robin. As a result, they... 

The Chicago Blackhawks are playing with house money so their opponent in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs is only appropriate. Sitting in last place in the Central Division with 72 points when the regular season was halted, the new postseason format gave the Hawks a second lease on life. They made the most of it by downing the heavily-favored Edmonton Oilers in four games in the qualifying round. Now, the Hawks turn their attention to the West’s No. 1 seed Vegas Golden Knights, w... 

A trendy pick to contend for the Stanley Cup when the season started nearly a year ago, the Colorado Avalanche now get the chance to show what they’re all about when they take on the No. 11 Arizona Coyotes in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Colorado earned the second seed in the Western Conference by going 2-0-1 in round-robin play. Meanwhile, the Yotes upset Nashville in the qualifiers, a popular theme in that round. Colorado opened as a big favorite after producing 18 more po... 

If there’s one team that was happy to see the regular season end when it did it was the New York Islanders. Losers of seven straight games before the shutdown, the Isles built a big enough cushion thanks to a hot start to enter the reimagined playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The Florida Panthers, meanwhile, get a second chance. The club went all in before the start of the campaign signing netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to a lucrative deal and they were a few points out of a wild card spot prior to the sh... 

The Toronto Maple Leafs have home-ice advantage for every game of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Does that mean anything since there are no spectators allowed in the arena? And they still have to play the game, which is going to be a difficult chore in their best-of-five qualifying round matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even though both teams finished the regular campaign with 81 points in 70 games, the Maple Leafs were pegged as the -160 favorite. Toronto got the better of the regular ... 

Not many remember who came in second the previous season. Even fewer fans remember the other two in the final four. The Carolina Hurricanes have a chance to come out of the shadows when they open the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a qualifying round matchup with the New York Rangers from Toronto with oddsmakers pegging the Canes as a -145 favorite. The Canes advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last season getting swept by the Boston Bruins. They were an inconsistent bunch this season finis... 

With other leagues easing into their season after the COVID shutdown, the NHL is jumping right into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The qualifying round matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens might be the most one-sided of the eight series with the Penguins holding a 15-point bulge with nine more victories than their opponent during the regular season. Of course, the regular season was over four months ago and neither team has played a competitive game since the shutdown, so I ... 

For many years the Nashville Predators were known for their stout defense and goaltending which catapulted them to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. Since that time the Predators have declined on the back end and between the pipes. Ironically enough it has been increased goal scoring that has kept Nashville in the status of being a bona fide playoff team, though much more inconsistent than at the height of their glory. The Arizona Coyotes got off to a strong start through the first two months of the s... 

At the onset of the regular season, the Vancouver Canucks were one of the great surprises of the NHL. Vancouver peaked on February 1 to stand at 30-18-4. But from there the Canucks went into a tailspin that may have cost them a playoff spot had the season continued through its entirety. Vancouver’s thin blue line was unable to prevent enemy offenses from lighting the lamp as the season progressed. As ... 

By nearly all accounts the Western Conference preliminary round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames is expected to be the best of the eight matchups taking place. Gamblers have the Flames as a slight favorite in a matchup considered to be even on paper. Calgary is seen by most observers as an overachieving team while the Jets are seen as an underachiever, capable of far more than they showed in the regular season. Further Winnipeg has more impressive metrics. The Jets were also i... 

Not that long ago the Chicago Blackhawks were the marquee franchise of the NHL. Chicago won three Stanley Cup championships from 2010 through 2015. Additionally, the Blackhawks earned 100 or more points in seven out of eight full season schedules during that era. However, no dynasty lasts forever. Age and the tight NHL salary cap forced the Blackhawks to shed their roster of important role players. If not for COVD-19 the Blackhawks would be nowhere near the playoffs. On Saturday 12-seed Chicago will face the 5-seed Edmonton Oilers and their young superstar Connor McDavid, the best player in the NHL. ... 

The NHL has joined the NBA and MLB with a return to play plan, but unlike the other two sports, the NHL will forego the rest of their regular season and jump right into the playoffs. The NHL is letting 24 of their 31 teams into the Stanley Cup playoffs with eight teams getting first round byes, while the other 16 meet in what they are calling Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Games will be held in Toronto and E... 

The firing of Bruce Boudreau as Minnesota Wild coach was not popular but it has been effective. The Wild have played well enough under interim coach Dean Evason to get back into the NHL Playoff race. But the Nashville Predators are also perking up with the NHL lines and are back in playoff position. Both the Wild and Predators have changed their personalities. Minnesota used to be a shut-d... 

Alain Vigneault has done it again. First, he transformed the Vancouver Canucks from a Weakling of the West into champions of the Western Conference. Next, he inherited a discombobulated New York Rangers team and quickly led them to the Eastern Conference title. Now he is with a Philadelphia Flyers franchise that has been mired in mediocrity. But not anymore. The Flyers are the hottest team in hockey with the NHL lines and are looking like a viable threat for the Stanley Cup. On Tuesday night they will get the ultimate test with the defending Eastern Conference champion and current first place Boston Bruins coming to town. ... 

Last year the St. Louis Blues were a stunning Stanley Cup champion. The Blues were underdogs from the very start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet ambushed everyone that they faced to win the first Cup championship in their history. What is ironic about it all is that St. Louis was a last place team at the midway point of the 2018-19 schedule but this year they have been at or near the top of the Western Conference with the NHL odds. Yet the Stanley Cup is so difficult to win that even though the Blues are a better club than one year ago the odds are stacked against them for a repeat run. Sunday night St. Louis faces an old nemesis and arch rival. The Chicago Blackhawks are a former dynasty struggling through a rebuild. ... 

Last year the Washington Capitals suffered from a severe case of Stanley Cup hangover syndrome. Washington reverted back to its old run and gun habits that made them a perennial playoff failure, save for the 2018 season when then-coach Barry Trotz was able to keep a lid on things. But Trotz departed the scene a few hours after the Stanley Cup parade. And with his exit has come the disappearance of the responsible 200-foot type of hockey that is needed for sustained success. The Capitals will hos... 

Last year the Tampa Bay Lightning coasted with ease to the Presidents Trophy title, which goes to the team with the best regular season record in the NHL. And it was that lack of a serious regular season challenge that many believe was the reason for the Bolts being upset in a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the eighth-seed Columbus Blue Jackets. The monumental upset exposed Tampa Bay’s lack of playoff grit. Now the Lighting face the ultimate test. Team captain and second leading scorer Steven Stamkos is out of the lineup until late April due to surgery related to an abdominal issue. Tuesday night the Lightning will be facing the Eastern Conference defending champion and current first place leading Boston Bruins on NBCSN. ... 

In just their second full season of a fully committed rebuild the New York Rangers have shown remarkable strides, especially with goal scoring, to emerged as an upstart playoff contender in the Eastern Conference. One problem that the Rangers brass is yet to solve is how to turn three goaltenders into two. The odd man out is yet to be determined. The Rangers remain a work in progress on the back end, which is all that is keeping them out of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Philadelphia Flyers are playoff bound thanks in large part to their new coach, who was the Rangers old coach, Alain Vigneault. ... 

When the betting public considers what to do with the NHL lines the Dallas Stars are often an afterthought. Dallas is in the thick of the Western Conference race for first but has not enjoyed high profile playoff success that anyone remembers, at least since their 1999 Stanley Cup title. For the Boston Bruins perceptions are entirely different. The Bruins made the Stanly Cup Final last yea... 

The year 2005 remains a landmark for the history of the National Hockey League. As the NHL was returning to action after a lost season due to a labor lockout two young stars were taking to the ice for the first time. Sidney Crosby was the top overall pick and was tasked with literally saving the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise. In the same way Alex Ovechkin was picked to jumpstart a lethargi... 

While the New York Rangers are showing solid improvement, especially on the offensive end of the ice, they are yet to reach the status of a legitimate contender for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Broadway Blueshirts are still thin on the blue line and their goaltending remains unsettled. However, that strong goal scoring makes New York a threat with the NHL odds almost every time they take the ice. But the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins are even more of a threat for each... 

Four years ago, Coors Field in Denver, Colorado was the venue for a well-received Stadium Series matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings. As a matter of fact, the Avalanche were such great hosts that the NHL decided to employ their services yet again in 2020. This Saturday night the United States Air Force Academy and its Falcon Stadium, home of college football’s Air Force Falcons, will host the Stadium Series matchup between the Avs and visiting Los Angeles Kings. Colorado...