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Category Archive: Hockey
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Edmonton Oilers Clash With Tampa Bay Lightning On Friday
On Friday night the Edmonton Oilers will be back in action as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning in a game at Rexall Place. Game time is at 9pm ET and this game is the only time these two teams will meet this season with Edmonton winning their only match-up from last season, almost a year ago to the day.
A full 6 points behind the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay currently sit 2nd in the Southeast division. One peculiarity with the Lightning is that despite being one of the stronger teams in their division, they are just -12 in terms of goal differential.
With Simon Gagne, Vincent Lecavalier and Steve Downie among those missing games, the Lightning (15-10-3) have dealt with their share of injuries during the early part of this season.
By going just 4-6-2 from Rexall Place so far this season, the Lightning, however, have not been that bad of a road team this season as they have gone 8-8-1 as visitors so far while Edmonton have had significant home struggles on the year. Without Ales Hemsky or Shawn Horcoff, most will be writing the Oilers off for quite some time now but at least the young talent in Edmonton will be showcased more in upcoming games.
The Oilers, however, lost Captain Shawn Horcoff to a right knee injury. Horcoff, who has seven goals and eight assists in 24 games, is expected to miss up to eight weeks. Edmonton (10-12-5) also will likely not have forward Ales Hemsky (groin) for at least another month.
Nicklas Backstrom signed by Washington Capitals to a 10-year contract
The Washington Capitals shoring up one of their leading scorers for the next decade, made another move this week. A 10 year $67 million deal was signed to Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom had his best season ever scoring 33 goals and 68 assists. To place him 4th in the league in scoring his 101 points in 2010 was good enough.
It is a smart move by the Capitals to spend this kind of money on one of the best centers in the league, who is only 22 years old. They are getting a very durable player at a reasonable price as Ovechkin is signed for 10 more years as well, with this they ensure that they will have two of the best players in the world on their roster for the next decade. Backstrom has yet to miss a game over three NHL seasons.
Considering their team was just upset in the first round of the NHL playoffs by 8 seed Montreal, many Capitals fans might be worried that the team is overspending and committing too much money to just two players in Backstrom and Ovechkin. I do not agree with it however, while I do not blame some fans for thinking this way. Whenever you get the chance to lock up two players who combined for 210 points, easily making the top scoring teammate duo in the league, you have to make sure you do so. It appears that Washington Capitals will be competitive for many years to come with the signing of Backstrom.
Tagged NHL, Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin
NHL Playoffs – Preview – Game 2 – Red Wings vs. Sharks
In San Jose, on Thursday night, Pavelski led the San Jose Sharks to victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the first game of their second round series. Over the Red Wings, Pavelski scored three goals and San Jose was held on for a 4-3 victory.
For the Sharks in the first period, Pavelski scored a goal, as did Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi.
Within a span of seventy-nine seconds, three goals were scored. In one minute nineteen seconds, the three goals were the fastest in Sharks playoff history. Detroit made the score 3-2 but in the third period Pavelski scored his second goal, a five on three power play goal, and the Sharks would prevail 4-3. Brian Rafalski, Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary scored for the Red Wings.
On Sunday night, the second game is also in San Jose. Son Jose played without Patrick Marleau, their regular season leading scorer. He is still listed as day to day and was scratched because of an illness. If San Jose wants to finally advance past the second round, Patrick Marleau must get healthy. Sharks must produce as he plays on their top line.
Because of their playoff experience, some still consider Detroit the favorites. The San Jose Sharks, who have yet to make it past the second round, are considered playoff underachievers. If Detroit wants to win the series, they must improve their power play. On the power play, the Sharks were able to hold them 0 for 5.
Tagged Detroit Red Wings, NHL, San Jose Sharks
Canucks – Blackhawks – NHL Playoff – Preview
In Game 1 of the Western Conference, in what should be an entertaining contrast of styles, the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks hook up.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the high-flying Canucks have been one of the most electric offensive teams, scoring a league-best 25 goals in their 4-2 series win over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Chicago Blackhawks, with a 52-22-8 overall record, won their first-round series over the Nashville Predators with grit and solid defense, finished second in the Western Conference. Chicago held them to 15 goals in six games and killed 96.3 of the Predators’ power play opportunities, but managed just 17 scores of their own.
Mikael Samuelsson has been a revelation in the playoffs, for Vancouver. While teammate Daniel Sedin has chipped in with four goals, six assists and 10 points, Mikael Samuelsson led the Canucks’ offensive charge with seven goals — most in the playoffs — and 11 points.
Meanwhile, on goaltender Antti Niemi, who has two shutouts while allowing 13 goals in six games, the Blackhawks have leaned,
With the red-hot Canucks, how the Blackhawks’ defense contends, and how the free-wheeling Canucks manage to crack the hard shell of Chicago’s steady, efficient team game will go a long way in determining who moves on to the Western Conference finals. This NHL season, bet on sports is at all time high.
Tagged Mikael Samuelsson, NHL, Vancouver Canucks
The Legends of NHL: Brendan Shanahan
In NHL Hockey, Brendan Shanahan has had an incredible career. Brendan Shanahan was born in 1969 in Mimico, Ontario. When he entered into the 1987 draft as the second overall pick, he was 18 and was chosen by the New Jersey Devils because of this superb performance.
Shanahan scored 51 goals in the season, only in his second year into his contract with the Devils. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues after four seasons. Shanahan was shocked to find out that he was being traded to the ailing Hartford Whalers, in 1995. He asked to be traded again and opened up his options on choosing a team, only after a year with the team (and 44 goals).
The Red Wings signed Shanahan and it was history in the making. In 1997 the Red Wings obtained the Stanley Cup for the first time in over four decades with the help of Shanahan. They swept the Flyers in the championship and repeated the very next year as they swept the Washington Capitals.
During these years, Brendan played the best hockey of his life and even passed the 500 goal mark in the 2001-2002 season.
Shanahan helped the Red Wings to three Stanley Cups. Until in 2006 he signed a year-long contract of the Rangers in New York. Brendan was sent to the hospital after a collision with one of the Philadelphia Flyers players when he was halfway through his first season with the Rangers. His career was beginning to wind down, when he returned to the ice after the injury. He only scored 23 goals in the 2007-2008 season.
With the New Jersey Devils, he signed on as a free agent but he ended up opting for retirement and the deal was short lived. Shanahan also was able to represent his country in a few different championships including the World Cup and also the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, UT.
SAN JOSE vs. COLORADO
San Jose Sharks rival it out with Colorado Avalanche (10:00 PM ET, CBC) with San Jose Shark’s Regular Season Record: 51-20-11, 113 pts and Colorado Avalanche’s 43-30-9, 95 pts
The Sharks are a very capable unit and have a good balance of players who can deliver speed and power on defense. It often happens with the Sharks that they start of well but end up in the losing side and that too at a time when stakes are at its peak. The teams appear to be good on paper but everyone knows it well that on paper no one has ever won a championship. Even though they have a solid goaltender Evgeni Nabokov but the team’s management is concerned after he blew up badly at the Olympics. There is absolutely no reason to say that they are not the best team in the west, in fact in power play and penalty kill, they are ranked inside the top five in the league. This may be the year when the Sharks make a big breakthrough and prove their actual potential.
There is a youthful enthusiasm in the Colorado team which has enabled them to reach the top most spot in the West. People who have writing them off, may end up looking like fools this year. There are six rookies and they have brought crucial difference to the team’s outlook thereby helping the team to achieve success. One of the biggest bargains, goaltender Craig Anderson at just $1.5 million has proved to be one of the best season free agent. The team is young, full of energy, youthfulness makes the fun team to watch and support. People are finding it hard to believe that such a young team is doing so well. The form at which they had started has faded away. Head coach Joe Sacco should keep a check on the team’s nerves. Their key player Anderson is performing well all the season long and it will be very interesting pursue for Avalanche along the season ahead.
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Set yourself to watch an enthralling match between New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers (7:30 PM ET, TSN2). The New Jersey Devils have a regular season record of 48-27-7, 103 pts and Philadelphia Flyers with 41-35-6, 88 pts.
The Devils have been really performing consistently and have proved under Lou Lamoriello’s training the Devils have been continuously improving their game year after year. It is the dedication of the coach, the team management in drafting and developing players. Zach Parise look to be in great touch after the awesome performance at the Vancouver Olympics for Team USA. They also have a very experienced goaltender Martin Brodeur who would love to add another Stanley Cup under his belt. The Devils are strong in all three zones and the addition of Russian sniper Ilya Kovalchuk has given a totally new dimension to the team. They are also considered as the stingiest team, with 186 goals against, a league low.
The Flyers have seen quite a lot of ups and downs this season. They were the favorite in the start of the season with a perfect starts but went down to a slump. This took a toll on John Steven’s job. No lesser than five different netminders stood between the pipes this season after Peter Laviolette took over the charge.
Throughout their campaign in-fighting and locker-room discord news made rounds. With so many things going wrong with the Flyers, Stanley Cup will definitely help them in preventing a big off-season overhaul. With the likes of Mike Richards and Simon Gagne they are considered the league leaders. Flyers have a very good penalty killing ability and the team looks very talented as any team in the league. It is between the pipes that seem to fall apart for the Flyers. Boucher is the man for Flyers to re-create some magic for his team else failure awaits Philadelphia.
LOS ANGELES vs. VANCOUVER
This Saturday witness the big fight between Los Angeles vs. Vancouver (10:00pm ET, CBC). Sportsbook odds for Kings is +170 +1.5 (-190) Over 5.5 (even) and that for Vancouver is -200 -1.5 (+165) Under 5.5 (-120).
For Vancouver, Henrik Sedin and the Burrows have recorded more than an assist per game. They do have a bag reputation of not been able to perform at the time of need but with their heady play, built largely on cycling, they sure will give some very tough competition. There are a few players in the team who are new to a playoff game but have not looked shaky in Game 1. Their key players are Mikael Samuelsson for sure and he has the right mindset that Vancouver wants. Canucks defenseman Sami Salo is expected to play although he didn’t practice on Friday. Aaron Rome, the fellow defensemen is likely to miss the lineup. Canucks will try hard for sure to avoid a straight fourth straight loss.
With the Kings there are a lot of guys who will be playing their first playoff game like Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Even though they never looked shaky in Game 1 but for sure they will feel a lot more relaxed for the Game 2. The Kings went 4-3-3 in their last 10 games with only two of those victories came in regulation. In his last six games Ryan Smith recorded six points with Dustin Brown with four points. Alexander Frolov and Fredrik Modin are the two who struggled in their last three games. These players need to step up if they want beat powerful Canucks.
With inexperience coming into play, the Vancouver is more likely to win the game on Saturday.
Tagged LOS ANGELES, Mikael Samuelsson, VANCOUVER
Colorado Avalanche vs. Calgary Flames – Do or Die
The Colorado Avalanche continue to self destruct as they fell to the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Wednesday But worse for the Avs was the fact that the Calgary Flames won their game against the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1. The Flames’ win gives them 87 points, bringing them to within 2 points of the struggling Avs, which sets up a huge showdown on Friday, when the Flames face the Avalanche in Denver.
With the final playoff spot up for grabs, this will make Friday’s game one of the most important games of the year for both teams. The Avalanche have went 4-6-1 in their last 10 games, and have watched a virtual lock on a playoff spot slip away like their scoring has.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames, who have struggled along with a record of 5-5 in their last 10 games, have made it look like the final playoff spot will come down to the very last game be be decided. But regardless, this meeting in Colorado will be a greater importance than anyone had imagined even a few days ago.
If Calgary comes in and takes the two points on Thursday, Colorado will find themselves hard against the wall with only a few games left to bounce back. And since the Olympic break, the Av’s have shown no sign of having the ability to make that bounce.
Calgary will be coming into the Pepsi Center hot of a win against Phoenix, and ready to take the points away from the Av’s. Colorado will be coming off a big loss to the Ducks and desperate for the win. This will be a game to watch.
NHL Match Preview: Ottawa Senators vs. Buffalo Sabres
The Ottawa Senators, coming off a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, come into Buffalo to face the 39-22 Sabres and are standing at a very solid 39-30. Both teams cannot afford to lose this matchup as they are making a final push for the playoffs. Senators’ goalie, Brian Elliott, will be key for Ottawa, who look to capitalize on a two game win streak. On the other hand, in the NHL Eastern division, Buffalo is sitting rather pretty at 3rd place. Needless to say, both Ottawa and Buffalo need Lady Luck on their side.
The Senators will have to depend on Daniel Alfredsson, who scored against Philadelphia in his last game and the captain Jason Spezza, who is having a lackluster year. One can bet that the Ottawa will be ready for the Sabers come the 26th and they cannot afford to slip up with Brian Elliott riding a two-game shutout streak.
If the Sabers, slightly favorite over all NHL betting lines, who remain behind the Devils and the Capitals in the standings, expect to beat Ottawa, they will need strong performances from goalie Ryan Miller, who ranks 6th in the NHL in wins. However, allowing three goals in three of his past five games, Miller has struggled as of late. He will certainly have his hands full come Friday when Ottawa comes into town.