NHL

NHL: Canucks Can Take Big Step on Saturday Night

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

An emotional Game 1 caused tension around Canada before the Vancouver Canucks finally claimed victory late on. Al Dannity says the Canucks must raise their game on Saturday night to ensure a 2-0 lead before the series moves to Boston. You may now exhale It’s been 48 hours since Vancouver took a 1-0 lead in...

NHL

NHL: Canucks and Bruins Ready for Historic Stanley Cup Finals

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

The wait is finally over. The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks will start the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals tonight with both teams riding a wave of emotion. Al Dannity looks ahead to what promises to be an epic series. Hungry for glory The Canucks have never lifted the Stanley Cup in their 40 year history,...

NHL

Judgement Day for Atlanta, Winnipeg

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: May 20, 2011

Frank Doyle tries to separate truth from fiction in the will they/won’t they breaking news of Winnipeg being the new home of the Atlanta Thrashers. The people of Winnipeg have taken to the streets. Revellers spilled out into the night to celebrate the return of big time hockey to Manitoba. They gathered at the corner...

NHL

NHL: Canucks and Lightning Look to Strike Hard

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

Having taken the opening games of the two Conference Finals, Vancouver and Tampa Bay will look to build commanding leads in the best of seven series. Al Dannity looks ahead to the second set of games. Can Boston bounce back? It took one 85 second spell for Tampa Bay to wrap up the first game...

NHL

NHL: Bruins and Lightning are Restless and Ready for Battle

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

Tampa Bay and Boston have waited long enough to get the Eastern Conference Finals under way. Two success starved franchises will finally get their series under way on Saturday night. The mental factor Both of these teams enter this series in a strange situation. Tampa Bay and Boston swept the Capitals and Flyers respectively. While...

NHL

NHL: Sharks and Red Wings Ready for Final Showdown

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

Having fallen 3-0 behind in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, the Detroit Red Wings are now just one win away from an historical turnaround. Al Dannity says get ready for an epic battle in the HP Pavilion tonight. This is going to be tense Things got heated on more than one occasion during an emotional Game...

NHL

NHL: Canucks Can Taste Conference Finals

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

It’s been a far from stress free post-season for Vancouver fans. Thursday night’s victory in Nashville has left the Canucks just one win away from returning to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1994. Even the Green Men are taking nothing for granted ahead of Game 5 on Saturday. 40 years of...

NHL

NHL: Fresh Start for Sharks Against Red Wings

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

While Detroit fell at the hands of San Jose last season, it will be the Sharks looking to start anew after struggling to put away the Kings in the opening round of the playoffs. Al Dannity breaks down their series and looks ahead to the two Eastern Conference Semi Finals games coming up this weekend....

NHL

NHL: Canucks Face Nervous Game 7 Against Blackhawks

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

The Vancouver Canucks led 3-0 but saw that lead pared back to 3-1, then 3-2, before the Blackhawks tied the series at 3-3. Now with a crucial Game 7 in Vancouver tonight, Al Dannity wonders if the Canucks can finally close the deal at the fourth time of asking. Momentum means something but not everything...

NHL

NHL: Montreal and Boston Ready for Epic Battle

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

The Canadiens hold a 2-1 lead entering tonight’s battle with the Bruins. With momentum in the series at stake before returning to Boston, Al Dannity expects nothing short of high drama on the ice in Montreal. Halpern returns for Habs After missing the last four games of the regular season and the first three match-ups...

NHL

Bombing Bruins and Can-Do Canucks Talked About Teams of the NHL Playoffs

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Frank Doyle looks at what NHL bettors have learned from the playoffs so far. You Don’t Have to be a Shark to Choke In noting how reliable the Sharks are to letting themselves down in the playoffs one throaty team was omitted from the role of honour. Step forward the big, bad Boston Bruins, the...

NHL

NHL: It’s Finally Playoff Time

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

While the regular season provided plenty of drama right up to the end, the real business of the NHL calendar kicks off tonight. The first set of first round playoff games get under way, with some huge match-ups to whet the appetite. Early highlights Phoenix and Detroit duelled in a seven game slugfest in last...

NHL

Canucks the Team to Beat in NHL Western Conference

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: April 12, 2011

Frank Doyle looks at the NHL Western Playoffs, where the Canucks look set to sweep down from British Columbia and conquer all before them. Vancouver is the best team in the league. From back to front, the Canucks are solid as a rock. Roberto Luongo in goal, a solid blue line and the forked terrors...

NHL

Somewhere, Ovi the Rainbow – Caps Look Good in NHL East

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: April 12, 2011

Frank Doyle weighs up the contenders in the NHL Eastern Conference. The Eastern Conference looks like a straight fight – and I choose my words carefully – between Washington and Boston. Washington is the NHL betting favorite to win the East, +225 at time of writing, while Boston is fourth favorite at +450. Philadelphia and...

NHL

NHL: Blackhawks and Canucks Ready to Dance Again

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

The Chicago Blackhawks have beaten the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Al Dannity says the Canucks will be favored to prove third time is the charm when these teams meet in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. A perfect match-up The NHL really couldn’t...

NHL

Ducks, 'Canes Still in the Chase for the NHL Playoffs

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: April 8, 2011

Frank Doyle looks at some matchups from the final weekend of the NHL regular season as the playoff chase goes down to the wire, and a rare win against the fun police in the Bell Centre on Tuesday. One of the great things about the NHL is how long the regular season stays live. Not...

NHL

Calgary Can Still Edge Chicago in NHL Playoff Race

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: April 5, 2011

Frank Doyle crunches the numbers to see who’s still worth betting on in the final week of the NHL regular season. It’s the end of the road. This is the final week of the regular season and if anybody wants to get on the bus, they’ve got to get on now. Calgary did the Flames’...

NHL

NHL: Canucks Celebrate While Flyers Re-Group

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: October 4, 2017

Vancouver claimed the President’s Trophy for their first time ever last night guaranteeing home ice throughout the playoffs. Things aren’t so clear cut over in the Eastern Conference however as Philadelphia struggle to keep hold of first place. Worth waiting for After four decades of futility, the Vancouver Canucks have reason to celebrate. The franchise...

NHL

Will Montreal Headhunt Chara at Boston Tonight?

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: March 24, 2011

Frank Doyle anticipates strife when Montreal and Boston renew acquaintances in Beantown tonight. There’s always been something of a frontier spirit about hockey. A feeling that due process is all very well but sometimes you’ve just got to shoot a man a down to keep the peace in Dodge. This will be a source of...

NHL

Matt Cooke Suspension More Grief Than Pittsburgh Needs

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: March 21, 2011

Frank Doyle looks at Mario’s misery, the devil in New Jersey and happy times in the Sad Song Capital of the world. What a fun game that was yesterday between the Rangers and the Penguins. Mario Lemieux’s comments about headshots in the light of the Max Pacioretty situation came back to haunt him with a...