Hockey Rambling

Here are my favorite unrestricted free agents; Also thoughts on the Leafs…and more... *** Being a fan of the Leafs, I find that it's killed my sense of…I guess "hope" would be the best describer. And this realization was never more clear than on Saturday during the Blackhawks - Ducks game. When Chicago scored to [...]

Game 3 healthy scratches pull Blackhawks even, Babcock/Leafs chatter, and Memorial Cup Day 2 It was a good thing that Joel Quenneville inserted Antoine Vermette into the lineup for Game 4 on Saturday. After he was one of the prizes of the trade deadline, Vermette has been used sparingly by the Hawks, averaging just 13 [...]

Rangers-Lightning Game 4, Henrik Lundqvist, All-RFA team and breakout defensemen. *** The Rangers grabbed a 1-0 lead in Game 4, and then they went absolutely rope-a-dope in the second period. Tampa Bay peppered Henrik Lundqvist with 19 shots in the second and only scored once. Lundqvist robbed Steven Stamkos early on a wrap-around opportunity, which [...]

Ducks-Hawks Game 3, Anaheim's new D duo, Hossa and Babcock. *** Was it just me, or did the marathon Game 2 between Anaheim and Chicago return a killer hangover? Game 3 was sloppy, and while there were plenty of chances, the puck always seemed at odds with everyone. Honestly, at times my own head hurt [...]

Rangers-Lightning combine for 11 goals, Stamkos is just fine, Babcock to Toronto, and Blackhawks-Ducks Game 3.  **** Game 3 between the Lightning and the Rangers was one of the most entertaining yet these playoffs. Sometimes games are entertaining because they are goalie duels. Sometimes it’s for the physical nature. This game had two blown two-goal [...]

Thoughts on Babcock, McLellan, Babcock, Nash, Babcock and more Babcock ... *** A tight game, so it's telling when you see the players with low ice time at the end of regulation. Those are the players who are trusted the least, and in the case of Chicago there are some interesting names. (Not that it [...]

Lightning hammer Rangers, Tyler Johnson stays hot, Kevin Hayes, and looking ahead to Anaheim-Chicago Game 2.  **** It was a drubbing that wasn’t really one until the third period. The Lightning were up 3-2 through 40 minutes, but managed to make it 4-2 early in the third period, and then the nail in the coffin [...]

Thoughts on Simon Despres, Finnish star Joonas Donskoi, the Worlds and more ... *** In Canada, we love our Saturday hockey. Sunday night hockey? Bonus. Afternoon hockey? Pfffft. The dinosaurs at NBC are swinging too big a stick. Sportsnet is paying the NHL $433.3 million for rights. NBC is paying the NHL $200 million per season. [...]

Rangers draw first blood, Canada/Russia meet in final, and more… * The Conference Finals kicked off on Saturday with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Rangers and the Lightning. I kind of wished this was a Hockey Night in Canada game instead of a Hockey Day in Canada game, or for me [...]

    Ducks-Hawks, Paul Stastny and more playoff performances of note.     ***     After looking at the Rangers-Lightning series in yesterday's ramblings, a peek at the Western Conference Final is on tap today.   There will be offense, as Anaheim and Chicago have averaged 3.89 goals and 3.2 goals per game, respectively. [...]