The Stanley Cup Final heads back to Vegas with Carolina up 3-2, and the two teams left standing are a natural experiment in how to build a winner. Carolina has spread its 63 goals across 14 different scorers; its top two finishers, Logan Stankoven and Jordan Staal, account for just 30% of the offense. Vegas [...]
The first round saw a few unexpected results, as the panel ended up finishing 4-4 on the eight series. See the first-round picks here. The panel’s lifetime record is now 154-100 when it comes to postseason predictions. Without further ado, here are the Dobber writers’ picks for the second round: For the coin toss, heads [...]
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 [...]
The Washington Capitals expect to be without defenceman Rasmus Sandin to start the 2026-27 season, according to Sammi Silber. Sandin injured his knee late in the season and his recovery is going to take several months. The Caps also mentioned that this might make them look for a defenceman this offseason, and it also means [...]
Honestly, it's a surprise to most people that either of these teams even made the playoffs, let alone both. This matchup wasn't circled in August or even in December — it came together late, and now it's the Pennsylvania rivalry we didn't see coming. The City of Brotherly Love versus the Steel City. A Metropolitan [...]
With the season wrapping up I wanted to take a moment for what has become an annual tradition over here on Frozen Tools Forensics. We are using our regular season stats to look forward to playoff leagues and see if we can predict some unexpected playoff heroes. This all started back when I wrote the [...]
The Florida Panthers announced that forward Tomas Nosek has a broken leg and will obviously not finish the season. It just puts a cap on an incredibly injured year for the defending Stanley Cup champions, which naturally brings a lot of intrigue to how they’ll be viewed heading into the 2026-27 campaign. At the least, [...]
Here is Dobber's annual printable box pool template for you and your family, friends, and/or co-workers to set up your own playoff pool. The rules on how to use are simple: Download the Excel spreadsheet here: PlayoffBoxes2026-TwoOptions Pick one player from each box of centers, wingers, defensemen, and goalies/goalie teams. One sheet is provided for [...]
The Boston Bruins signed prospect James Hagens to his three-year entry-level contract. Hagens had signed a tryout contract to go play with Providence in the AHL, but after six games, he’s getting the call up. There is no information yet about when he’ll make his debut, but this is something that is important to track [...]
Alright, so this one’s a little different. Dallas and Minnesota are all but locked in as a first-round matchup. This is the first series of the 2026 playoffs that’s essentially confirmed. These two are seeing each other, and they both know it. They’ve got one more head-to-head left on April 9 in Dallas, the last [...]
