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The 2015 NHL playoffs are drastically different than they have been in recent years, and it’s exciting! Five out of seven Canadian-based NHL teams are in the hunt this year. For the first time since 2007, a defending Stanley Cup champion failed to make the playoffs. Another big change – and without a doubt my favorite – the Boston Bruins have missed the playoffs.
Coming off a solid win against Detroit, Canucks are looking to continue their winning ways against the New York Islanders. Can starting goalie Eddie Lack redeem himself after last season’s brutal 7-4 loss to the Isles? Victoria Denault recaps the game in your tweets.
It looked for 40 minutes, didn’t it? They had a 3-0 lead entering the third period. I mean, how the hell do they blow a 3-goal lead in the first 3 minutes of the third period? Come on Torts. Don't leave so fast. You have to stay out, hear the boos and feel shame. #Canucks #TGATT — Bruce Ng (@transcendwebs) March 11, 2014
Photo credit: http://islanders.nhl.com How big were the Vancouver Canucks’ recent losses to the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes? Well, consider that with 16 games left in the regular season, the Canucks currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference, and wouldn’t you know it, the teams directly in front of them – the teams they’re chasing for the wild card playoff spots – are the Wild, Stars and Coyotes. Strength of Schedule If the Canucks have any aspirations to make the playoffs, now is the time to string together a few wins. Including tonight’s opponents, the New...
Last night’s game between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders was an eventful, see-saw game; both teams took turns taking the lead, and then blowing it, before the Canucks eventually between the Islanders 5-4 in overtime. David Booth was a scratch – in favor of Andrew Alberts, who played 1 shift and 37 seconds in the first 2 minutes of the game, no less. Ryan Kesler was elbowed in the head, though he didn’t miss a shift. Jannik Hansen was hurt, and missed the latter half of the game. And Kevin Bieksa – yes, Kevin Bieksa – continued...
On the eve of the start of the 2013/2014 NHL regular season, I preview the 30 teams, one division at a time. Photo credit: MLB Carolina Hurricanes The Good The top-line of Eric Staal, Alex Semin and Jiri Tlusty was one of the highest-scoring lines in the NHL last season, but the Canes have little scoring depth after that. Adding Jordan Staal last season helped address this, but at this point, Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner can’t reliably be counted on to stay healthy. The Bad I think it says enough when the addition of Mike Komisarek on defense is...
If any team can pull off a come-from-behind and out-of-nowhere unexpected victory or 7, it’s Detroit. And as the Capitals have proven time and time again, if any team can perform an epic playoff meltdown, it’s a team coached by Bruce Boudreau.
Another year, another season preview. As usual, we’ve ranked each team’s goaltending, defense, forwards and coaches based on expectations and past performance. However, given the shortened season, we’ve also taken a few other things into consideration.
As we wind down the 2011-12 NHL season, it’s only fitting to take a moment and pay our respects to the “dearly departed” – those teams we know will be golfing in a couple of weeks. Here now is a quick look at each of the teams looking ahead to 2012-13 already, in reverse order of today’s standings. Columbus Blue Jackets What went wrong: Pretty much everything. James Wisniewski’s 8-game suspension crippled the team out of the gate. Coach Scott Arniel tried switching his team’s approach from an aggressive to conservative style mid-season, but the results were too poor to save...
Yesterday we took at look at the “real” Western Conference standings after 40 games. Here now is a look at the East. Remember, to learn a bit more about an individual team’s strengths and weaknesses, each squad was ranked in six categories*: Goals for (GF) and shots-for (SHF) were chosen to evaluate a team’s offense; Shots-against (SHA) and goals against (GA) were chosen to evaluate a team’s defensive play; Five-on-five (5-on-5) was chosen to evaluate a team’s even-strength/system play; Save percentage (SVPCT) was chosen to evaluate the team’s goaltending performance. Teams were ranked and then put into groups of five,...
