NHL

Canucks Stop Sweep as Schneider Replaces Luongo

• Frank Doyle
• April 19, 2012

It looks like the Luongo era is ending and the Schneider era beginning in Vancouver. Frank Doyle reports. Has the two year debate over Cory or Roberto finally reached its end game? With their backs to the wall and staring at the prospect of being the first President’s Trophy winners to get swept out of...

NHL

Torres' Hit on Hossa Another Headache for Shanahan

• Frank Doyle
• April 18, 2012

Another night, another stretcher case in the playoffs. Frank Doyle reports. In the NFL, they call it “clipping the dummy.” Every player on the field is fair game to get blocked once the ball is snapped. Mostly, they’re left alone, because what’s the point? There’s plenty of hits to made over the sixty minutes. But...

NHL

Flyers, Pens Fight Renew Violence in Hockey Debate

• Frank Doyle
• April 17, 2012

Frank Doyle drops his gloves and gets stuck in to another annual violence in hockey debate. The Rashomon effect is in full force in the NHL Playoffs. Rashomon is the Kurosawa movie from 1950 in which a violent crime is recounted from four completely different points of view. Everybody saw the crime, but nobody recounts...

NHL

NHL: Nail Yakupov has the Hunger of a Number One Pick

• Al Dannity
• April 16, 2012

With Columbus missing out on the top pick despite a valiant Fail for Nail campaign, Nail Yakupov’s status as the first player picked in the NHL Entry Draft went from ‘sure thing’ to ‘highly probable’. Hardly a staggering collapse but Al Dannity says Yakupov is doing all the right things to ensure his name is...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: Predators Keen To Clip Veteran Red Wings

• Joe LaTengo
• April 13, 2012

Before this series started, it was easy to frame this matchup: the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators are two teams who appear to be going in different directions. The Predators are young and strong and have a great goalie in net; the Red Wings are older and more experienced, and their goalie has...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: High-Flying Blues Meet Slumping Sharks

• Joe LaTengo
• April 13, 2012

Unlike other seasons, the San Jose Sharks had to scratch and claw their way into the playoffs this time. Previously, they were far more used to winning the Pacific Division and grabbing a top seed (usually third) and getting home-ice advantage on their various opponents. Even with those benefits, the Sharks have never won even...

NHL

NHL Playoffs – Toews' Return to Help Blackhawks at Coyotes?

• Frank Doyle
• April 12, 2012

Frank Doyle previews the Western Series between #3 Phoenix and #6 Chicago! So how about them ‘Yotes? Of all the surprising teams in the playoffs this year, Phoenix is the one that was hardest to see coming. All year, whenever people talk about a second Toronto franchise or a franchise in Hamilton or Quebec, people...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: Net Assets Will Fuel Canucks-Kings Matchup

• Joe LaTengo
• April 11, 2012

These guys have done this before: the last time they met in the playoffs, it was two seasons ago. The Vancouver Canucks tallied 103 points and won the Northwest Division title, while the Los Angeles Kings wrapped up their own tidy 101-point effort. It was a close series then, with the Canucks taking it in...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: Expect War In Penguins-Flyers Series

• Joe LaTengo
• April 11, 2012

Of all the matchups in the Eastern Conference, the best-of-seven between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers is anticipated to be the most acrimonious. Based on the bad blood spilled in the regular season between these divisional and state rivals, this Battle of Pennsylvania won’t be taking any prisoners. Accusations of dirty play were...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: New Jersey To Bedevil Underdog Panthers

• Joe LaTengo
• April 10, 2012

The last week of the NHL regular season contained some surprises for hockey fans, one of those being the unexpected result of the Florida Panthers capturing the Southeast Division championship and grabbing the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers hadn’t seen the post-season since 2000, yet here they are with their 94 points...

NHL

NHL: Draft Lottery has Teams Planning for Next Season

• Al Dannity
• April 10, 2012

We don’t know who is going to win the Stanley Cup but one winner will be crowned tonight. The NHL Draft Lottery will see one of five teams emerge with the brightest hope for tomorrow. Al Dannity explains what we can expect at tonight’s event. A quick primer Unlike its NBA equivalent, the NHL Draft...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: Capitals Face Defending Champion Bruins

• Joe LaTengo
• April 9, 2012

Most observers expected the Boston Bruins would be facing the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs. Then the Sens lost three in a row, the Washington Capitals scored back-to-back victories and the Florida Panthers won their way into the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Now it’s Washington which draws the unenviable...

NHL

NHL Playoffs: Rangers Must Confront Surprising Senators

• Joe LaTengo
• April 8, 2012

They came within a game of winning the President’s Trophy, but that doesn’t matter now. The New York Rangers proved themselves to be the class of the Eastern Conference, and in the first round of the playoffs they will face an Ottawa Senators team which has confounded almost all predictions. The Broadway Blueshirts benefited from...

NHL

NHL: Oilers, Canucks Conclude Regular Season

• Joe LaTengo
• April 7, 2012

The final day of the 2011-12 NHL regular season has arrived, and the 16 teams which will be in the playoffs are now known. What had yet to be decided at the time this article was posted is the seeding of the teams. This story is about two clubs going in different directions: one will...

NHL

NHL: Pugnacious Penguins Tangle With Bruising Bruins

• Joe LaTengo
• April 3, 2012

While this preview is supposed to focus on Tuesday night’s game in Boston between the Bruins and the Penguins, Pittsburgh’s clash with Philadelphia on Sunday is the talk of the hockey world. It even prompted analyst Mike Milbury to jump into the fray, calling Penguins captain Sidney Crosby “a little punk.” More on that later:...

NHL

NHL: Playoff-Seeking Kings Welcome Spoiling Oilers

• Joe LaTengo
• April 2, 2012

After having been shut out of the playoffs for most of the past decade, the Los Angeles Kings have qualified for the past two post-seasons. They’re currently tied for first place with the Phoenix Coyotes in the Pacific Division, and they’d like to be the third seed in the Western Conference this time. Keeping that...

NHL

NHL: Familiar Foes Face Off As Canucks Host Stars

• Joe LaTengo
• March 30, 2012

Sometimes it’s tough to know what the NHL schedule-makers are thinking. After the two teams had not seen each other all season, the people who plan these things decided the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks must play each other four times within the final seven weeks. This is the final meeting of the regular season...

NHL

Ballard Returns, Sedin Exits as Concussion Haunts Canucks

• Frank Doyle
• March 30, 2012

Concussion is the dark spectre that haunts modern day hockey. Frank Doyle reports. The Vancouver Canucks’ Keith Ballard has returned to the ice after seven weeks on the injured reserve list. The defenseman took a double whammy of hits over two games, at Colorado on February 4th and then three days later at Nashville, that...

NHL

NHL: Kings Meet Canucks In Presidents’ Trophy Hunt

• Joe LaTengo
• March 26, 2012

They’ve been confirmed as the Northwest Division champions once again (thanks to Calgary’s loss in Dallas on Saturday), and they will definitely be one of the top three seeds in the Western Conference. Now the Vancouver Canucks might even launch themselves back into the Presidents’ Trophy race. Currently the Canucks stand four points behind the...

NHL

NHL: Canucks Play Dallas After Brutal Night In Chicago

• Joe LaTengo
• March 22, 2012

The Vancouver Canucks haven’t done well lately even with winger Daniel Sedin in the lineup. What kind of effort will they be able to muster against the Dallas Stars because their top goal-scorer is unable to play? Sedin, who leads the Canucks with 30 goals, took an elbow to the head from Blackhawks defenseman Duncan...