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Tag Archives: Stanley Cup
New York Rangers face Stanley Cup favorite Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday on NBC
In a possible first round playoff matchup, the New York Rangers will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Sunday on NBC (12:30 pm ET).
NHL Betting Odds have the Rangers at 35-1 to win the Stanley Cup while the Flyers are at 11-2.
Currently, the Rangers find themselves in a fight for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York and Buffalo are tied for the eighth spot with eighty seven points, three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes. Gaining two points in this contest may be crucial to New York’s chances of surviving the first round of the playoffs.
If the Rangers get matched up against the Flyers, not many people will be expecting the Rangers to win that series, especially after New York has won just one of five games so far this year against Philadelphia.
While this game is obviously important to New York for numerous reasons, the Flyers will be trying to get two points as well to help secure first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. That number one seed will allow Philadelphia to have home ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they have 21-11-6 record.
In addition to being in a division race with Pittsburgh, the Flyers are also trying to hold off a red hot Washington team for the best record in the Eastern Conference. With very few games left on the schedule, every chance to gain two points in the standings is amplified.
Weekend Clash Between Philadelphia Flyers And Dallas Stars
This weekend the Philadelphia Flyers will battle against the Dallas Stars. With a 43-19-7 record the Flyers are currently the top team in the Eastern Conference. In the Eastern Conference with a 37-25-8 record, the Stars are sitting in the 7th spot.
According to popular sports betting sites, the Flyers are among the top favorites to win the Stanley Cup at 8-1 in NHL Odds.
They will need a strong finish to ensure that they maintain their positioning, while these teams are in good positioning for the playoffs. In the Western Conference, there are several teams that are within reach of passing the Stars if they are unable to win games as the season comes to a close. With a poor finish meanwhile, the Flyers could lose their spot atop the Eastern Conference.
Even though the Flyers do have some weaknesses that the Stars may be able to exploit, they will certainly be the favorite going into this game. Their defense is not quite as dominant while their offense is among the elite of the NHL. To put the puck in the net early the Stars need to find a way and then collapse back on defense.
If the Flyers just play their normal style, they should be able to take this game. Even though the Stars are really just a middle of the pack team in most offensive and defensive categories, they are solid and they play well in close games.
For this game the Stars will be the home team. While playing at home this season Dallas has a record of 19-11-6. While playing on the road this season the Flyers are 22-9-3. In online free picks the Philadelphia Flyers are favorite to win this match.
Sunday Clash Between New York Rangers And Philadelphia Flyers
In the NHL game of the week, the Philadelphia Flyers traveling to New York to battle against the Rangers in a contest between two Atlantic Division rivals on Sunday.
At 5-1, the Flyers are a top favorite in NHL Future Odds to win the Stanley Cup.
Philadelphia looks like one of the dominant teams in the league poised to make a run at the Stanley Cup as they are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference with a five point lead over Boston. The Rangers are fighting for their playoff lives on a nightly basis while the Flyers continue to cruise through the regular season. New York, currently in seventh place is just three points ahead of Buffalo who is on the outside of the standings looking in and is only one point ahead of Carolina for the eighth playoff spot.
The same way it has all year long, the Rangers hope their strong goaltending and defensive play will carry them through the remaining month and a half of the season. As the Rangers cannot afford to miss any opportunity to gain a point or two in the standings, each game is extremely important for them.
The Philadelphia still have something to play for as the regular season winds down as well while they have their playoff ticket all but punched. As the Flyers are 20-8-3 on home ice this year, earning that number one seed in the Eastern Conference will be a big boost for them. Philadelphia which would secure home ice advantage throughout the playoffs also has a chance to catch Vancouver for the best record in the NHL. As they both try to get those coveted two points, except a hard fought battle between these two teams on Sunday.
Toronto Maple Leafs Will Take On Pittsburgh Penguins This Weekend
This weekend the Toronto Maple Leafs will battle against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even though the Penguins will be trying to overcome a series of injuries that have recently come up, they have one of the top records in the league at 36-20-5.
While Toronto is at 200-1 in NHL Odds, Pittsburgh, despite its injuries, are at 30-1 to win the Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs is currently out of the playoff picture as they are 26-27-7 on the season. If they hope to claw their way back towards relevance, they will need some big wins.
In Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby, the Penguins have two injured players. These players will need them to win games, as they are both important to their team. They will need a lot of production from their other players if they hope to walk away from this game with a win, if both of these players are unavailable for this game.
However the Maple Leafs are near .500 on the season, they are not very good offensively or defensively. As the Maple Leafs is the home team, they do play much better while in Toronto which will benefit them in this game. They are 28th in goals per game and 21st in goals allowed per game, this season. If they hope to compete against top level teams like Pittsburgh, they will need to improve on at least one side of the game.
In both goals per game and goals allowed per game, the Penguins are ranked within the top 10 teams in the league. Their penalty kill percentage has been the secret to their great defense. At 87.6 percent, they are tops in the league in that category.
New York Rangers Drury out four weeks due to injury: NHL
For the New York Rangers, it did not take long to suffer their first injury as NHL training camps opened on the weekend.
On Monday, Center Chris Drury was hit with a broken finger during a training-camp scrimmage and will be out at least four weeks, the NHL club said Tuesday.
The team captain, Drury is coming off a horrible season. In the 2009-10 season, he scored a career-low 14 goals and 32 points and the Rangers failed to advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
To the Flyers, a 2-1 shootout loss in the season finale left the Rangers in the Eastern Conference’s ninth spot.
According to the team’s website, Drury said last week, “The only thing worse than going through that as a team would be not learning from it. When you go through something bad as a team and you don’t learn from it, and you don’t come out better for it, then that’s strike three as far as I’m concerned.”
Drury, 34, as his left index finger heals, he will miss the regular season’s first four games.
Tagged Chris Drury, New York Rangers, NHL, Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup Finals: Game 3 Review and Game 4 Preview
On Wednesday, June 2nd, the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks played Game 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Philadelphia was playing at home, with their backs against the proverbial wall. They were down 2-0 and needed a win on Wednesday night. They got it, but it was far from easy.
Philadelphia defeated Chicago 4-3 in overtime in Game 3. Once again, they showed off one of their biggest assets, their depth, as four players scored a goal. Chicago played very well for most of the game, and carried a 3-2 lead before allowing Philadelphia to tie the game. Michael Leighton, goalie for Philadelphia, played a solid game, making 24 saves and allowing 3 goals. Chicago’s goalie, Antti Niemi, made 28 saves while taking the loss. Claude Giroux played the role of hero on Wednesday, scoring the winning goal in OT. Patrick Kane for Chicago had a good game as well, scoring a goal and making an assist.
While winning Game 3 has to boost Philadelphia’s confidence, now is not the time to slack off. Game 4 is Friday night in Philadelphia, and they have momentum on their side. If they are able to play as well in Game 4 as they did in Game 3, they have a real chance to head back to Chicago with the series all tied up at 2-2. If they make the mistake of becoming overconfident, though, they could easily head back to Chicago behind 3-1, which would be a tough deficit to overcome.
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.