NHL

NHL Playoffs: High-Flying Blues Meet Slumping Sharks

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: April 12, 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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

• Last Updated: 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...

NHL

NHL: Western Playoff Contenders Clash In Calgary

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 13, 2012

Written off by some only a few weeks ago, the Calgary Flames have managed to get themselves back into the hunt for a postseason position. The San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, have been playing recently like they’ve been looking forward to golfing in April. So far in March 2012, the Sharks had played...

NHL

NHL: Red-Hot Emery Leads Blackhawks Vs. Blues

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 6, 2012

The Chicago Blackhawks have had an up-and-down season; Ray Emery has had a similarly chaotic career. Both of them have found a good time to be on the upswing. Emery has taken over in net for Corey Crawford, who has also had a roller-coaster season between the pipes. The youngster is now looking on from...

NHL

NHL: Oilers Should Expect Rude Welcome From Jets Fans

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: February 27, 2012

The Edmonton Oilers make their return to Winnipeg to play the Jets and renew one of the lesser-known but combative conflicts in the NHL, which began in the old World Hockey Association. As Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press notes, the Jets’ very first home game in major professional hockey was in 1972 against...

NHL

NHL: Fans Demanding Better Efforts From Sharks, Leafs

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: February 23, 2012

The San Jose Sharks and the Toronto Maple Leafs meet at the Air Canada Centre for the only time in this regular season, and they have similar goals: both are looking to end losing streaks, and both need some momentum to get back into their respective playoff races. The NHL betting line has the visiting...

NHL

NHL: Penguins, Rangers To Duel In Pittsburgh

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: February 20, 2012

The New York Rangers are running away with the Atlantic Division title and are also well ahead of the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference standings. Pittsburgh is hosting the Broadway Blueshirts on Tuesday night, and it seems like one of those times when taking the “over” on an over/under...