Before the Western Conference Final kicked off on Wednesday, the Buffalo Sabres announced a two-year extension for head coach Lindy Ruff. The Sabres are coming off their most successful season in over a decade so it makes sense that the coach be rewarded for that effort. * The Washington Capitals have signed defenceman Timothy Liljegren [...]
Our Expert Picks should be out soon for the Third Round, and since we have a nice gap with no games from last night, and the third round starting tonight, I figured I would preview the third round a little. First up, the matchup we have known for a little longer, Vegas versus Colorado. Though [...]
The Western side of the playoff bracket had some potential for drama, but neither series went the distance as the Colorado Avalanche dispatched of the Minnesota Wild in five games while the Vegas Golden Knights toppled the Anaheim Ducks in six. How did Colorado and Vegas managed to combine for just six losses and setup [...]
The Colorado Avalanche have advanced to the Western Conference Final and they did it in very dramatic fashion. After falling behind 3-0 in Game 5, Parker Kelly scored halfway through the second period, and then Jack Drury and Nathan MacKinnon scored in the final four minutes to tie the game 3-3. Then, the Avalanche finished [...]
Round 2 starts with even less margin for error than Round 1. Three of the four series are only one or two games old. The fourth — Carolina-Philadelphia — is already 3-0. The trick at this stage of the second round is harder than it sounds: separating what is actually structural from what is a [...]
Only one game last night, seeing game two played between the Wild and the Avs. The Minnesota Wild turned to Filip Gustavsson after Jesper Wallstedt allowed eight goals on 42 shots in the opener. Gustavsson hasn’t played since April 13th, where he allowed five goals on 21 shots against. In fact, he ended the season [...]
The Buffalo Sabres blew this one open, rolling to a 6–1 win over the Boston Bruins and taking firm control of the series at 3–1. Buffalo dropped four goals in the first period and never looked back, forcing Boston to chase the game the rest of the way. Peyton Krebs, Zach Benson, Bowen Byram, and [...]
The playoffs are still young, so the trick is separating what matters from what is just early-series noise. Two-game samples are not trends. Three games are not destiny. But usage moves, special teams gaps, goalie baselines, and shot volume can already tell us why a series is tilting one way. No shot maps here. The [...]
It seemed as if the Colorado Avalanche had already acquired their third-line centre for the playoffs when they added Nicolas Roy, but the team wasn’t done there. They are getting the band back together as Nazem Kadri – an integral part of the Colorado’s Stanley Cup win four years ago – was sent from the [...]
Good day to all! I played last night, because of course I did, and it is with the heaviest of hearts must admit to you all that I did not cash in my $1 single entry. In all seriousness, I enjoyed what I was able to watch from New Jersey versus Columbus (I did miss [...]
