Matt Niskanen has been suspended one game for his cross-check to Brendan Gallagher’s face during Game 5 on Wednesday. This is no doubt a light suspension if you consider that the time that Gallagher would likely be out. However, I’ve heard that one game in the playoffs is considered to be worth at least two [...]
The NHL’s return to play has begun. Not only has the league completed the play-in round, but the 16-team (actual?) playoffs are now well underway. So far, so good. Because of the small sample size of games, and the fact that not all players have returned to play, the number of changes for August has [...]
Saturday started with a bombshell with the announcement of Tuukka Rask’s decision to opt out of the NHL’s postseason. This announcement came just hours before the Bruins were set to face Carolina in Game 3. From a human standpoint, I completely understand this decision. Rask has a newborn at home as well as two other [...]
Let’s jump right into the five games that were played on Friday. Colorado 3, Arizona 2 (Colorado leads series 2-0) The Coyotes played a better game in Game 2 than they did in Game 1. In fact, the shots were actually in Arizona’s favor 32-28 after they were outshot 40-14 in Game 1. However, a [...]
Before diving into game action, we’ll start with a few news items. Claude Julien was hospitalized with chest pains on Wednesday night. Kirk Muller is expected to serve as the Canadiens head coach for the remainder of the series against Philly. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery. Nicklas Backstrom is expected to miss Game 2 [...]
After a four-month layoff, the play-in round and round-robin turned out to be as unpredictable as they could have been. The panel as a whole took it on the chin as far as majority rankings went, only choosing two of the eight play-in series (NY Islanders over Florida, Vancouver over Minnesota) correctly. Three series in [...]
After Friday’s six-pack of must-watch elimination games (with five resulting in the elimination of a team), Saturday’s pair of round-robin games may have seemed like a letdown for hockey fans looking to get their fix. Yet these games had playoff matchup implications, which made them worth checking out if you had the chance. In the [...]
It was a hockey fan’s dream on Friday, as games started early and went well into the evening. These games saw multiple teams enter the 16-team playoffs (playoffs for sure now), while some surprise teams will be entering Monday’s lottery for the first overall pick. Teams that won their series on Friday: NY Islanders, Arizona, [...]
It was hockey hockey hockey all day long on Saturday. You may have found it impossible to watch the entire quintupleheader, as other commitments and the nice weather of August might have gotten in the way. But at least when you were ready to watch hockey, there was probably a game on. Let’s dive into [...]
It all starts today! Or tomorrow, if you’re a night owl reading this not long after I’ve posted it. Either way, the 2019-20 postseason that we’ve been waiting so long for is about to begin! Think back to when this whole pandemic hit and the league shut down. The pause went from days to weeks [...]
