After a quiet first period, that saw neither team find the score sheet and the only action coming via some mid-period fisticuffs from Shawn Thornton and Robyn Regehr, the two squads went into the rooms in a zero-zero tie. It was at the 3:15 mark of the second period that Patrice Bergeron would find a wide open Tyler Seguin streaking towards goal for his team-leading 28th tally of the campaign.

“Look at my lineys (linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand), they’re easy to play with and I think if you look at some of my goals tonight, they set most of them up. Very fortunate to play with them and capitalize.” — Tyler Seguin

Late in the frame, the Sabres would draw even on former Bruins’ draft choice Brad Boyes‘ seventh tally of the season. The score would remain tied at one until the mid-point of the third and final frame when Boyes would collect his second goal of the night and eighth of the season. A mere 1:44 later, Buffalo would add to their lead when Jason Pominville corralled a lose puck out of a net-mouth scramble to give the Sabres a 3-1 advantage.

Boston would answer back seventy seconds later when Seguin blasted a slapshot past Sabres’ netminder Jhonas Enroth whilst on the power-play to cut the deficit to one. Saturday’s two-goal performance gives Seguin a total of 67 points (29G/38A) on the season, as he sets the record for being the youngest Boston Bruin in history to lead his team in scoring.

“It’s pretty amazing. It’s definitely an honor. Obviously again, like I was saying before my linemates make the game a lot easier for me.” — Tyler Seguin

With just under eight minutes to play in regulation, the B’s would even the score at three after Brad Marchand sent a backhand roof-job over the glove of Enroth for his 28th of the season.

After playing through a scoreless final seven minutes and through the five-minute overtime, the two squads would be forced to settle it in the shootout. It would be Patrice Bergeron — who enjoyed a three-point night of his own — that would score the only goal of the NHL’s skills competition, securing a 4-3 home-ice victory for the B’s.

My Thoughts

– Despite Saturday’s game not holding any tangible value when it comes to playoff positioning, the Boston Bruins third period effort was truly something to be applauded. In a game with nothing but personal pride on the line, and facing a two-goal deficit with less than ten minutes to play, it would have been easy for any team to “mail it in” so to speak. That didn’t happen at TD Garden on Saturday. The B’s fought and clawed their way back into the game, and eventually took home the two points. A victory like that –no matter the stakes — truly says a lot about a team’s character and resiliency and bodes well for a team poised to defend it’s Stanley Cup Championship.

“We wanted to finish on a good note. We had a tough start, digging out by a couple goals, but we showed the character that we need going into the playoffs. We battled back, and that’s what you have to do if you want to win games. We’re proud of what we accomplished tonight.” – Brad Marchand

“That’s just it. I think we weren’t just willing to just throw in the towel and say, ‘OK, it’s a nothing game. They’ve got a two-goal lead, let’s just finish this game.’ But our guys, after they scored that second goal, there was some life on the bench, some of that bitterness that we got accustomed to hearing, and guys talking about it not being good enough. We had to get ourselves back in this game, and we responded with two big goals and found a way to win in the shootout.” — Claude Julien

Ben’s Three Stars:

1)Patrice Bergeron (3 Assists/Plus-2 Rating)

2) Tyler Seguin (2 Goals/Plus-2 Rating)

3) Jhonas Enroth (38 Saves)

What’s Next?

– After completing the 82-game regular season slate, the Black and Gold will now kick off their Stanley Cup defense on Thursday evening, right back here at the TD Garden against the . The Sabres will return home to Buffalo for a locker clean out after missing the post-season for the first time since 2008-2009.

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Records: Buffalo 39-32-10 (88 Points) , Boston 48-29-4 (100 Points)

Location: TD Garden , Boston, Massachusetts

Time: 4:00 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Last Game: Sabres 1 , Philadelphia Flyers 2 ……. Bruins 3 , Ottawa Senators 1

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Lucic–Krejci–Caron

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Ference

Corvo–Mottau

Zanon–Krug

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Khudobin

Scratches– ….. Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg, Marty Turco, Adam McQuaid, Rich Peverley

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21. Number eighteen has begun skating on his own.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back up goaltender will remain absent from the lineup until Mid-April with a lower abdomen/groin injury.

Last Time We Met: Sabres 1 , Bruins 3

– The last time the B’s and Sabres made acquaintances was back on March 8 at the TD Garden. The Bruins utilized a two-goal third period to take home a 3-1 victory on home ice, that night.

Prediction: In what’s likely to be a snooze-fest, simply due to the game’s overall lack of importance for both squads, I would fetch a guess to say that Boston will provide their fans with something to cheer for on Fan Appreciation night by narrowly pulling out the victory.

Sabres  1 , Bruins 3

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Despite more than doubling the Sabres first period shot total, the Black and Gold found themselves down a goal as the two squads went to the rooms for the first intermission.

It was Buffalo captain Jason Pominville who would give his team a 1-0 advantage at the 16:39 mark of the opening frame when he beat Tim Thomas glove side with a slapshot from the left circle. The score would remain 1-0 through the end of the period despite a power-play for each team.

“I was able to let one go and it found a hole. It was nice to get the lead.” – Jason Pominville

The second frame would play out a lot like the first for  a Bruins squad that continued to dominate play, but simply could not solve Buffalo’s back-up netminder Jhonas Enroth for the better part of the period.

The Bruins were finally able to break through when fourth line pivot Gregory Campbell would deflect a Shawn Thornton slapshot past the Sabres’ Swedish ‘tender to even the score at one goal a piece. The game-tying tally came as a result of a blueline turnover from old friend and former Canucks’ pivot Cody Hodgson.

For Campbell, it was his seventh mark of the season and his first since January 22 in Philadelphia. The goal also snapped a nineteen-game pointless streak for the B’s gritty centerman out of London, Ontario.

“Scoring hasn’t been easy to come by this year and in games like tonight and a lot of games that we’ve been in over the past month, secondary scoring can be very useful. And we put of lot of pressure on ourselves. I guess we’ve been getting chances and that’s a positive sign.” – Gregory Campbell

Boston out-shot Buffalo by a slim 9-8 margin during the middle frame and held a 22-14 SOG advantage over the course of the first forty minutes of action.

In the third period, the B’s came out with a bit more pep in their step as they continued their quest for the ever-elusive two-game winning streak. At the 5:31 mark of the frame, it was sensational sophomore Tyler Seguin who would beat  Enroth upstairs, but was unfortunately denied by the stone cold iron of the crossbar. It was the second time of the game that the B’s had been denied a goal by one of the three metal bars surrounding the twine after a Dennis Seidenberg second period snapshot was also stopped by the left post.

After registering only three shots on goal in the first 11:32 of the third, Sabres bench boss Lindy Ruff opted to utilize his timeout. The timeout would not pay immediate dividends for Buffalo as only 1:24 later, the Bruins jumped ahead on Johnny Boychuk’s fourth tally of the season. The Edmonton native jumped on a loose puck in the Buffalo zone and blasted one past Enroth to give Boston it’s first lead of the night.

The B’s extended their lead 2:58 later when David Krejci capitalized on a 2-on-1 break to pot his 18th goal of the campaign.

Boston would hold on to their lead as time expired in the third to pick up a 3-1 victory and record their first set of back-to-back wins since early January.

“You know it’s been a long time, we finally got it. It feels good, I think we deserve it – we’ve played well in the last few games. Even in some of our losses, we played well. But, even if you got to play the same way, then the wins are going to come. We got two in a row so it feels pretty good.” – David Krejci

“Well it’s been over a month now so for us to string back-to-back wins together, it helps our confidence as a team because we have been playing real well the last couple of games, and stringing together a couple of wins here was critical for us.” – Johnny Boychuk

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Johnny Boychuk (1 Goal/4 Shots)

2) Gregory Campbell (1 Goal)

3) Jason Pominville (1 Goal)

What’s Next?

– The Bruins will be back in action on Saturday when they host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. The Sabres will also take the ice on Saturday when they take on the Senators at the ScotiaBank Center in Ottawa.

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Projected Standings: (Team–Projected Point Total–Point Differential From Last Season–Seed Differential From Last Season)

1) New York Rangers 115 Points –>+22 Points –> +7 Spots

2) Boston Bruins         102 Points –> -1 Point –> +1 Spot

3) Florida Panthers    93 Points –> +21 Points –> +12 Spots

4) Pittsburgh Penguins 106 Points –> EVEN –> EVEN

5) Philadelphia Flyers  102 Points –> -4 Points –> -3 Spots

6) New Jersey Devils 98 Points –> +17 Points –> +5 Spots

7) Ottawa Senators 94 Points –> +20 Points –> +6 Spots

8) Winnipeg Jets 88 Points –> +8 Points –> +4 Points

9) Washington Capitals 87 Points –> -20 Points –> -8 Spots

10) Buffalo Sabres 86 Points –> -10 Points –> -3 Spots

11) Tampa Bay Lightning 84 Points –> -19 Points –> -6 Spots

12) Toronto Maple Leafs 82 Points –> -3 Points –> -2 Spots

13) New York Islanders 81 Points –> +8 Points –> +1 Spot

14) Carolina Hurricanes 80 Points –> -11 Points –> -5 Spots

15) Montreal Canadiens 73 Points –> -23 Points –> -9 Spots

STATS:

–> Largest Points Improvement …..     New York Rangers (+22)

–> Largest Seeding Improvement …..  Florida Panthers (+12)

–> Worst Points Drop-Off           …..     Montreal Canadiens (-23)

–> Worst Seeding Drop-Off       …..      Montreal Canadiens (-9)

If Sidney Crosby (Above) makes a return to the Pittsburgh lineup, these number may change drastically.

–> Now, things can always change rapidly and a team could fall completely out of the playoff race or one could jump right into it by putting together a nice winning streak, making this system far from a perfect prediction tool.

–> Last season, it took 93 points from the New York Rangers to secure the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. This year it looks like 90 will once again be the magic number with one or two teams perhaps finishing below that mark and still sneaking into the dance.

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Records: Buffalo 31-28-8 (70 Points) , Boston 39-23-3 (81 Points)

Location: TD Garden , Boston, Massachusetts

Time: 7:00 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Last Game: Bruins 5 , Toronto Maple Leafs 4  ……. Carolina Hurricanes 2 , Sabres 3 (OT)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Marchand–Bergeron–Rolston

Lucic–Krejci–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Caron

MacDermid–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Mottau

McQuaid–Zanon

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Turco

Scratches– …… Mike Mottau

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21.

Rich Peverley (MCL) – Peverley will continue to sit as he rehabs an injury to his right MCL.

Andrew Ference (Lower Body)  — The B’s dependable D-man will miss his fourth game with what’s simply being called a “lower body” injury.

Daniel Paille (Undisclosed) — Boston’s gritty fourth liner has been absent from the lineup since leaving Saturday’s loss to the Islanders mid-way through the third frame.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — Rask will remain sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks with a lower abdomen/groin injury.

Last Time We Met: Bruins 1 , Sabres 2 (SO)

– The last time these two Northeast division rivals met up was back on February 24 at the First Niagara Center where the Sabres edged the Bruins by a 2-1 score in a shootout. Derek Roy‘s third period giveaway would lead to a Zdeno Chara game-tying tally, but the highly skilled Buffalo forward would make up for it with the shootout winner later in the evening.

Prediction: I can picture this one being another high-scoring affair as Tim Thomas continues to struggle and the Bruins’ offense begins to return to it’s November–December form. However, I also see the hottest team in hockey coming through with a close win over the division leading Bruins.

Sabres 4 , Bruins 3

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Both teams got off to a slow start as the two sides played to a scoreless tie through the first twenty minutes of action, while combining for only 15 shots on goal.

After a failed Bruins power-play midway through the second frame, the Sabres capitalized on a defensive zone breakdown by the B’s. Sophomore forward Tyler Ennis stickhandled around the Boston net before finding a wide open Andrej Sekera in the slot. The upstart offensive defenseman then fired a wrist shot past the blocker of Bruins’ netminder Tuukka Rask. Despite another second period power-play, the B’s were unable to get anything past Sabres’ goalie Ryan Miller as they went to the intermission with a 1-0 deficit. In four minutes of second period play with the man advantage, Boston could only muster one shot on net. That’s a statistic that surely drew the ire of head coach Claude Julien and was likely a topic of discussion when he spoke to his team during the break.

Early in the third, the B’s were recipients of yet another power-play opportunity after Christian Ehrhoff was whistled for delay of game. Less than a minute into the man advantage, Boston would even the score when captain Zdeno Chara blasted a slapper from the point that found it’s way through a screen and into the Buffalo goal.

The two squads played out the final sixteen minutes and a five-minute overtime period without either team being able to tickle the twine. For the second time in three games in Buffalo this between these two divisional foes, we were headed for a shootout.

Despite a goal in the first round from Krejci, Sabres veterans Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy both put the puck past Rask to give the Sabres the 2-1 win in the shootout. The loss extends the Bruins’ streak of games between consecutive wins to a whopping 19, dating back to January 10^th and 12^th.

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Ryan Miller (35 Saves)

2) Chris Kelly (6 Shots, EVEN Rating)

3) Jason Pominville (4 Shots, EVEN Rating)

What’s Next?

– Up next for the B’s as they continue their six-game road trip is a date with the Ottawa Senators at ScotiaBank Place tomorrow evening. The Sabres will be back in action on Saturday as well when they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

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Records: Boston 36-20-2 (74 Points) , Buffalo 26-27-7 (59 Points)

Location: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York

Time: 7:30 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Last Game: Bruins 4 , St. Louis 2 ……. New York Islanders 1 , Sabres 2

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Kelly–Krejci

Pouliot–Camper–Caron

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–McQuaid

GOALTENDER:

Rask

Thomas

Scratches– …… Andrew Bodnarchuk , Josh Hennessy

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21.

Rich Peverley (MCL) – Peverley will sit out his fourth consecutive game as he continues to rehab his MCL injury.

Last Time We Met: Bruins 0 , Sabres 6

– The B’s and Sabres last met back on February 8 when Buffalo laid a good old-fashioned beat down on the Black and Gold, hammering the B’s to the tune of a 6-0 victory at First Niagara Center. Sabres captain Jason Pominville lead the charge for Buffalo, notching a pair of goals in the win.

Prediction:  A noticeably upbeat Bruins’ captain Zdeno Chara spoke yesterday about the impact of Wednesday’s win in St. Louis yesterday and seemed to indicate that the confidence level in the room has skyrocketed. On that note, I cannot envision the B’s not being able to build off the victory against a very strong St. Louis squad. Tonight Tuukka Rask will get off the schnide and secure his first victory since January 16.

Bruins 4 , Sabres 1

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However, for as good as the Black and Gold looked on Sunday, they looked equally as bad on Wednesday night in Buffalo. In what was an evidently poor effort all night long, the B’s were shellacked by a hefty 6-0 margin at the First Niagara Center last night. The Sabres would score a pair of goals in each of the game’s three periods, en route to their biggest victory of the season, one I am sure they hope will help turn their season around.

It was Christian Ehrhoff and captain Jason Pominville who would get the scoring started in the first frame as each took advantage of a Boston defensive zone collapse to get their team on the board. Sophomore forward Tyler Ennis would chip home his fourth of the season less than two minutes into the second period, ending the night of B’s netminder Tuukka Rask. Unfortunately for Boston, Tim Thomas would not fare much better as he would allow Patrick Kaleta to score his fifth of the season as the second frame drew to a close. Jason Pominville would add his second of the night and Bruins-killer Drew Stafford would notch his ninth of the year as Buffalo ended the night with a commanding 6-0 win.

In what’s become a trend the B’s are struggling to kick, team defense has become a glaring issue during the team’s most recent slump. Tonight’s six-goal spot was a season worst for a Boston squad that has allowed three or more goals in six of their last eight games. Another alarming statistic for Black and Gold supporters: eleven of the B’s seventeen regulation losses this season have been against teams that are not in the playoff picture. If the B’s hope to have any chance at catching the New York Rangers for first place in the Eastern Conference, they will need to quickly work the kinks out of their game and learn to not play down to inferior squads.

They must regain the killer instinct that was so instrumental in their success during the months of November and December.

KEY STATS

Goals–                BOS (0)   BUF (6)

Shots–                BOS (36)   BUF (29)

Power-Play–    BOS (0-0)   BUF (0-2)

Penalty-Kill–   BOS  (2-2)   BUF (0-0)

Ben’s Three Stars….. 3.) Tyler Ennis …..2.) Jason Pominville …..1.) Ryan Miller

What’s Next?

The B’s are off until Saturday when they will host the red-hot Nashville Predators at TD Garden for a 1 PM matinee contest that will be broadcast on NESN. The Preds employ one of the best “team defense” philosophies in the entire NHL and will pose a tough challenge for the B’s.

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5.) Jackets Fail For Nail

– Without question the worst team in hockey through the first half of the season, the Blue Jackets have been an unmitigated disaster all year long. Entering the season most hockey journalists (including myself) had Columbus pegged for their second post-season appearance in franchise history. However, the aforementioned NHL pundits could not have been more wrong. With the acquisitions of Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski not panning out, look for the Blue Jackets to deal one of the two before the deadline. Purely based on Wisniewski’s massive contract, my guess would be Carter moves on for greener pastures elsewhere. The former Flyers’ standout should bring GM Scott Howson a decent haul and will help them continue to build for the future as they trudge along on the “Fail For Nail” campaign.

4.) Kessel Posts 90 Points, Finally Quiets Critics

– Perhaps the most talked about trade in recent Boston sports history, the Bruins–Leafs swap of September 2010 sent crafty winger Phil Kessel to the epicenter of hockey in exchange for three draft selections. Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli then used those picks to select forwards Tyler Seguin and Jared Knight as well as defenseman Dougie Hamilton. While Seguin has exploded onto the scene in the Hub, amassing 19 goals and 24 assists through 46 games this season Kessel has truly emerged as one of the league’s most prominent scorers. With 51 points (26G/25A) in 49 games, he and linemate Joffrey Lupul (20G/32A) have completely turned the Toronto franchise around, leading them to a top-eight position in the Eastern Conference. In the second half of this season, I believe that Kessel will easily reach the 40-goal marker and surpass his career high of 64 points to finally justify this trade and quiet the throngs of critics who have harassed the Minnesota native ever since he arrived on the scene in Toronto.

3.) Hitchcock, Blues Continue Magical Run

– Without doubt the biggest positive surprise of any team in the league this season has taken place underneath the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The Blues, who struggled mightily to begin the season under former coach Davis Payne, have been given new life since the arrival of veteran bench boss Ken Hitchcock. With no players in the NHL’s top-50 scoring leaders, the Blues’ team-first philosophy has shown through this season, leading them to the fifth seed in the Western Conference — a comfortable eleven points ahead of ninth place Colorado –. Captain David Backes seems to have his team — a seemingly perfect blend of youth and experience — poised for a deep run through the post-season. In the shocker of the season, I can see the Blues becoming this year’s NHL Cinderella story, upsetting a team or two and making it to the Conference Finals this spring.

2.) Sabres, Habs Continue Rapid Fall From Grace

– Mired in the basement of the Eastern Conference, this season simply has not gone the way fans in Buffalo and Montreal had once thought it would. Currently sitting eight and ten points out of the playoff picture, the Sabres and the Habs have been absolute train-wrecks on ice the entire season. In Montreal, things went awry immediately out of the gate and have only been trending downwards since then. In a year that’s seen the departure of both an assistant coach and a head coach, an unheard of mid-game trade and continuous public outcry for a French-speaking bench boss, the city of Montreal has been an absolute circus all year long. In Buffalo, fans and players alike had Stanley Cup aspirations after new owner Terry Pegula’s ill-advised off-season spending spree. Unfortunately for the hockey-mad folks in Western new York, it just hasn’t quite worked out this season as their beloved Sabres sit tied for dead last in the Eastern Conference. What’s worse? GM Darcy Regier is handcuffed by the insanely generous contracts of Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino.

1.) Bruins, Rangers Will Battle For Eastern Conference Crown

– Now I could be getting ahead of myself a bit here but right now all signs are pointing towards an Original Six showdown with a spot in the Cup Finals on the line. Without a doubt the two best teams in the East through the first half of the season, New York and Boston have put together the two best records in the Conference through the first half of the season. Armed with gritty, two-way players who aren’t afraid to put the team before themselves, the B’s and Blueshirts almost mirror one another in terms of playing style. After putting together an instant classic earlier this month at TD Garden, it’d be easy for one to expect three more beautifully played contests between these two squads this season. However, I’m going to take it a step further and say that New York and Boston will once again meet in the Eastern Conference Finals this spring for yet another chapter in the Boston  vs. New York rivalry.

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However, something happened on the way to making the NHL more palatable to the masses. You might have noticed that your favorite player or players have been missing in action quite a bit this season.As of Thursday, 51 NHL players have been lost to concussions this season. On that list is the player many believe is the league’s best, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has played in just eight NHL games since suffering a concussion on Jan. 5, 2011.

That list has become a gargantuan story this season, much to the alarm of the league and teams, who have in the past attempted to minimize what independent medical experts have been citing for years: hockey has a concussion epidemic on its hands.

< READ MORE ON CBS New York >

Other pieces on CBS by BD:

HOW PLAYERS, NOT THE ISLES COACH WILL WALK PLANK THIS SEASON

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE? TELL THAT TO NY ISLANDERS FANS! 

Forwards ($38.05 MIL)

Line 1:

Phil Kessel (Toronto) $5.4 MIL — Jason Spezza (Ottawa) $7.0 MIL — Joffrey Lupul (Toronto) $4.25 MIL

I like the chemistry shown between Lupul and Kessel up in Toronto; throw in Jason Spezza’s world class play-making abilities, and you’ve got one of the best first lines in the league.

Line 2:

Brad Marchand (Boston) $2.5 MIL — Tyler Seguin (Boston) $3.5 MIL — Max Pacioretty (Montreal) $1.65 MIL

Boston’s duo of sensational sophomores have proven themselves as legitimate top-six forwards in this league. Their speed, coupled with the size and strength of Montreal’s budding power forward would provide a difficult match-up for any D-pairing.

Line 3:

Nick Foligno (Ottawa) $1.2 MIL — Patrice Bergeron (Boston) $5.0 MIL — Clarke MacArthur (Toronto) $3.25 MIL

You have got to love the versatility of this line. All three of these players can be counted on in any situation, including on both sides of special teams.

Line 4:

Daniel Paille (Boston) $1.1 MIL — Gregory Campbell (Boston) $1.1 MIL — Zenon Konopka (Ottawa) $0.70 MIL

Konopka and Campbell are two of the best face-off men in all of the NHL, while Daniel Paille can be a very valuable asset on the penalty-kill. All come at a very reasonable price and provide the team with the necessary grit to excel in today’s NHL.

13th Forward: Nathan Gerbe (Buffalo) $1.4 MIL

Defense ($19.85 MIL)

Pair 1:

Zdeno Chara (Boston) $6.9 MIL — Erik Karlsson (Ottawa) $1.3 MIL

Easily the two biggest no-brainers on this team, Chara and Karlsson provide the perfect balance of defense and offense on the squad’s top pair.

Pair 2:

P.K. Subban (Montreal) $0.85 MIL — Dennis Seidenberg (Boston) $3.25 MIL

Subban and Seidenberg also provide a great mix of offense and defense. Seidenberg’s veteran savvy and poise should be able to assist the young Subban’s development.

Pair 3:

Luke Schenn (Toronto) $3.6 MIL — Andrej Sekera (Buffalo) $2.75 MIL

The youngest pairing of the three, both players should be good enough to one day become top-pair defensemen. Meanwhile, both come at relatively inexpensive cap hits.

7th Defenseman:  Jake Gardiner (Toronto) $1.20 MIL

Goaltenders ($7.75 MIL)

1.) Tim Thomas (Boston) $5.0 MIL

2.) Carey Price (Montreal) $2.75 MIL

Boston’s Tim Thomas is once again putting up Vezina-worthy numbers, furthering the notion that he truly ages like a fine wine. Meanwhile, Carey Price, who comes with a manageable price tag, has also asserted himself as one of the best netminders in the game.

Recap:

Total Salary: $65.65 MIL

Cap Space: $0.00

Representation: Boston 8 , Toronto 5 , Ottawa 4 , Montreal 3 , Buffalo 2

General Manager: Peter Chiarelli (Boston)

Head Coach: Claude Julien (Boston)

– It’s hard to argue with the defending Stanley Cup champion head coach and GM combo.

Home Arena: Bell Centre (Montreal)

– One of the loudest buildings in the league, this one was an easy choice.

– NHL salary cap information courtesy of CapGeek.

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People are always asking me, do I know about Brian Burke?

It was right in everyone’s face Brian and I just made it visible, it was right on the tip of everyone’s tongue, Brian and I just gave it a name, it was an event searching for a venue and we gave it a barn by Lake Placid

Gentlemen, welcome to NHL Fight Club

The first rule of NHL Fight Club is you do not tweet about NHL Fight Club.

The 2nd Rule of NHL Fight Club is you do not retweet BizNasty’s tweets about NHL Fight Club.

3rd Rule: If someone says “stop” or goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Unless they’re a little fake artist.

4th Rule: is the Third Man in Rule … huh maybe we should make that the third rule

5th Rule: Only one fight at a time fellahs, unless NFL Fight Club is also running, then no fights allowed at all.

6th Rule: No shirts, No shoes …… jesus Rob Ray put your pants back on.

7th Rule: Fights will go on as long as the linesmen think they have to

8th Rule: If this is your first night at NHL Fight Club … you have to fight. Lay off Konopka, this is your 9th ‘first night’ in a row

What’s that Smell?

As I said yesterday, the best revenge for the Buffalo Sabres for the infamous Lucic–Miler incident back on November 12 would have been on the scoreboard. To have stopped Boston’s nine-game winning streak and takeover first place in the division while doing so would have accomplished much more than any Sabre player dropping the gloves with Lucic.

After one period of action, it looked as if the Sabres were going to get their way. After Lucic and Sabres third line centerman Paul Gaustad immediately squared off before the Boston winger could even skate a shift, it would be Bruins’ captain Zdeno Chara who wouldd engage in the fisticuffs with first-year Sabre Robyn Regehr.  Buffalo would then capitalize on Chara’s five-minute absence from the ice by registering  two power-play goals, courtesy of Christian Ehrhoff and Thomas Vanek.

In the second, the B’s would answer as Tyler Seguin would blast a slapshot past Jhonas Enroth to make the score 2-1. However, a mere 7:25 later, Buffalo’s rookie defenseman TJ Brennan would pot his first career NHL goal and once again extend the Sabres’ lead to two. The score would remain that way until the 16:00 mark of the second period when the B’s agitating winger Brad Marchand would notch his 7th  goal of the season on a Patrice Bergeron rebound to cut the Boston deficit back to one.

Early in the third, Buffalo center Derek Roy would take an untimely hooking penalty and would give Boston their 5th chance with the extra man of the night. Captain Zdeno Chara would make the Sabres pay by blasting home his 3rd of the season to knot the game at 3.

After both teams would have numerous opportunities to score through the end of the final frame, we entered overtime with the score still 3-3. Luckily for Boston, they’d be able to successfully kill off the remaining  0:57 of a David Krejci hooking penalty.

As the shootout began, both teams’ offenses were stymied by the netminders, as it took until Claude Julien rolled out the much-maligned Benoit Pouliot for any goals to be scored. Pouliot was able to go upstairs and under the bar on Enroth to lead Boston to it’s tenth straight victory.

Despite a horrendous 3-7-0 start to the season, the Boston Bruins have now regained first place in the NorthEast division; As great a spot as any to be in on Thanksgiving Day.

KEY STATS

Goals–                        BOS (4)           BUF (3)

Shots–                       BOS (39)          BUF (34)

Power-Play–           BOS (2-5)         BUF (2-4)

Penalty-Kill–           BOS (2-4)        BUF (3-5)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) TJ Brennan  ….. 2.) Benoit Pouliot    ….. 1.) Tyler Seguin

Have a great holiday everyone!

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In what is being built up a lot like a certain game that took place back on March 18, 2010, many believe that the Sabres will be looking to exact some revenge against the Bruins. The game I speak of was of course the “Matt Cooke Revenge Game” between the Bruins and Penguins at the TD Garden. It was a mere eleven days prior that gutless Penguins’ winger Matt Cooke took an elbow to the blindside  of B’s top-line pivot Marc Savard and knocked him out indefinitely with a severe concussion. Unfortunately, what we saw on March 18 was not what fans in Boston were hoping to see. A mere two minutes into the game, B’s enforcer Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves with Cooke to the delight of the TD Garden crowd. However, after the fight, both sided remained cool-headed and the Penguins routed the Bruins 3-0.

Tonight it will be interesting to see exactly how Buffalo handles this situation. Will they take the “eye for an eye” approach and try to run Tim Thomas? Will they attempt to injure one of Boston’s top forwards like Tyler Seguin or Patrice Bergeron? Will they simply send someone out to drop the gloves with Lucic?

At this point, it’s hard to imagine Buffalo being able to do much damage to Boston by physical means, purely based on their personnel (or lack there of). Apart from the injury-saddled Cody McCormick, the Sabres don’t employ any other  players who can match the brute strength of Milan Lucic. Yes, Paul Gaustad has been known to drop ‘em when necessary, but would he really be much of a challenge for an Adam McQuaid, Gregory Campbell or Shawn Thornton? Something tells me that answer is no.

While many Boston fans will likely disagree with me here, If I were Buffalo, my approach would be to focus solely on winning the game. Yes, it does not look good for their image to have not responded to the injuring of their star netminder but they need to realize that ship has sailed. The best way for the Sabres to exact revenge on the Bruins would be to end Boston’s nine-game winning streak.

What will it be Buffalo?

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Following a successful sweep of a five-game home-stand that featured wins over the Islanders, Oilers, Sabres, Devils and Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruins departed the Hub for a three-game road swing, with stops in Long Island, Montreal and Buffalo.

Standings

The Bruins currently sit in a tie for second place in the NorthEast division with the Buffalo Sabres, as both squads have secured 24 points on the season. The B’s and Sabres are both two points behind the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston also sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, three points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Team Leaders

Despite rapidly cooling off over the past week, Bruins sophomore sensation Tyler Seguin continues to lead the team in all of the major offensive categories. The 6’1″ Brampton, Ontario native has matched his career-high of eleven goals, while adding ten assists and potting three game winners in nineteen games played. Seguin is also second in the entire NHL (Shea Weber is first (+18)) with a plus/minus rating of +17. Rugged fourth line winger Shawn Thornton has restored his place atop the stat sheet when it comes to PIMs, registering 39 of them through 19 games of action. Boston’s top two shut-down defenseman Zdeno Chara (25:16) and Dennis Seidenberg (24:35) are numbers one and two respectively when it comes to average time on ice per game.

Through 13 starts this season, B’s netminder Tim Thomas has shown no signs of slowing down. The 37-year-old Flint, Michigan native has posted a 1.77 GAA and a .938 save percentage, while winning nine games for Boston this season. Meanwhile, Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask has been nothing short of stellar in the pipes for Boston as well. Rask has posted a 2.32 GAA and a .919 save percentage and has won his last three starts.

The Boston power-play sits at 18th in the NHL, scoring at a 16.4% clip. On the flip side of that, the B’s penalty-kill is currently 8th in the league, stopping their opponents 86.5% of the time.

Boston 6 , New York Islanders 0 (F)

This past Saturday evening, the Boston Bruins paid a visit to the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island for a date with the New York Islanders.  Sparked by a two goal performance from Chris Kelly, the B’s steamrolled the Isles to the tune of a 6-0 victory. Saturday’s game was not much of a contest, as the Bruins put three past Rick DiPietro in the first period and three behind Anders Nilsson in the third and ran away with it. The Isles never had much of an answer for the B’s throughout the night, and Boston was able to win their 8th in a row.

Boston 1 , Montreal 0 (F)

On Monday night, the B’s paid a visit to the team that last beat them, back on October 29, the Montreal Canadiens. Late in the first period it was Boston defenseman Andrew Ference who would score a goal for the second straight game. This would be the first 2-game goal streak of Ference’s 14-year NHL career. As it turns out, Ference’s goal would be all Boston needed as they skated away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a 33-save shutout from Tim Thomas.

Three Stars Of The Week

1.) Tim Thomas – Back-to-back shutouts for the defending Vezina trophy winner has lowered his GAA to 1.77. Thomas is simply not slowing down.

2.)  Chris Kelly – Two goals and two assists in the past three games for Kelly; Continues to prove his value and durability.

3.) Adam McQuaid – Scored his first  goal of the year last Thursday against the Blue Jackets, while playing top-pair minutes and shutting down Rick Nash and Jeff Carter.

What’s Next?

As mentioned above, the Bruins will be taking on the Buffalo Sabres toninght in Western New York, prior to returning home for a brief two-game home-stand. The home-stand will feature a matinee contest against the Detroit Red Wings on Black Friday followed by the first ever visit to TD Garden from the new-era Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.

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Buffalo Sabres young goaltender Jhonas Enroth is no different. Enroth was drafted by the Sabres with the 46th overall selection (2nd Round) in the 2006 NHL Entry after posting a 2.17 GAA and a .922  save percentage for his Sodertalje SK “J-20″ league team in Sweden in the 2005-’06 season. The 5’11″ native of Stockholm, Sweden would then play three more seasons in his home country, working his way up to the top league in the nation, the Elitserien. In 2007-08 –his final season in Sweden– , after posting splits of 2.13 (GAA) and .932 (Save Percentage) Enroth was given the honor of being one of three candidates for the Elitserien league’s Rookie Of The Year award.

Leaving Sweden after the 2006-’07 season, Enroth would sign his entry level deal with the Sabres on May 31, 2008 and was assigned to Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. Enroth would go on to play three seasons in the American Hockey League, posting a 2.63 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 147 games for the Pirates, Enroth would finally break through in February of 2011, when he became the full-time back-up to Ryan Miller, supplanting veteran netminder Patrick Lalime. Jhonas would go on to make 14 appearances in the 2010-’11 season, earning a 9-2-2 record with one shut-out while posting a 2.73 GAA and a .907 Save Percentage. Despite only seeing 14 games of action in 2010-’11, the opportunity to be around and learn from a proven NHL all-star like Ryan Miller is something that can be a great benefit to any young player.

Following Saturday’s 6-2 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins, a game in which Enroth came in to relieve Miller after the second period — “I knew pretty much right after the 2nd period. Ryan didn’t feel very well there so they told me pretty much right after the second period.” said Enroth — I had the  chance to speak with the Sabres’ 23-year old Swedish netminder about  how he has benefited from the guidance of Ryan Miller, over the course of the past two seasons:

“It’s a great opportunity for me to see him practice and prepare for games and play games everyday. It’s been great to learn from him.” – Jhonas Enroth

Entering the 2011 season, as Lalime was no longer a part of the organization, it was clear that Enroth had earned the right to the no. 2 job in Buffalo. As the season began, expectations of a championship ran rampant through the streets of Buffalo after the off-season acquisitions of high-profile d-men Robyn Regehr and Chritian Ehrhoff and former Flyer forward Ville Leino. It was also expected that former Olympic Silver medalist Ryan Miller would return to his 2009-’10 form after a relatively down season (by his standards) in 2010-’11. Unfortunately for the 31-year-old Miller, that has simply not been the case. Despite his 2.86 GAA and .909 save percentage, his team just has not performed for him this season, posting a below average 5-6-0 record in the 11 starts made by the East Lansing, Michigan native. On the other end of the spectrum is Jhonas Enroth, who has posted a 1.75 GAA and a .944 save percentage this season, while sporting an undefeated 5-0-0 record.Prior to the season, Enroth was not expected to see much playing time, and was only slated to spell Miller once in a great while. However, it is only logical to play the hot-hand and right now, the hot goalie is Jhonas Enroth.

“I didn’t think I’d be playing as much. That wasn’t the plan I think but obviously, but I’ve been winning a couple of games. It’s been fun playing a couple games in a row there.” – Jhonas Enroth

The play of Jhonas Enroth, who currently holds a 14-3-2 career record in 22 NHL appearances, seems to have caused quite the stir in Buffalo. Now with Miller shelved due to a concussion suffered on Saturday against Boston, now is the time Jhonas Enroth to step-up and take the reigns as starting goaltender of the Buffalo Sabres. If Enroth can take advantage of the increased playing time and keep up the stellar play that he has enjoyed thus far in his brief NHL career, there could be a once unthinkable goaltending controversy brewing in Buffalo.

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“Our team got a lot better after that” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien during his post-game press conference on Saturday evening. “That”, which Julien spoke of was at 13:13 of the 1st period when B’s winger Milan Lucic knocked over Sabres’ netminder Ryan Miller in a hard collision  after the 6’2″ Buffalo goaltender left his crease to chase a loose puck and prevent Lucic from a breakaway opportunity.

At that point in the game, Buffalo was ahead ahead 1-0, thanks to an early tally from noted B’s killer Thomas Vanek, and had dominated play throughout most of the first frame. When a loose puck slide down towards Miller, it was Lucic who was barreling full-speed towards the Buffalo net. Miller proceeded to skate to the puck and toss is away from the Bruins’ winger. Unfortunately for Miller, Lucic didn’t stop skating, even after the puck had been cleared. After contact was made, and Miller was laid out on the ice surface, a group of Sabres chased Lucic into the corner. Despite having no. 17 cornered behind the Buffalo net, no Sabre player ever made an attempt to retaliate against Lucic. The Sabres’ failure to come to the defense of their all-pro goalie was truly a shock, and perhaps provided extra motivation for the Bruins. Lucic had this to say when asked what his team would do to respond if the roles were reversed and it was Tim Thomas who was knocked to the ice:

“Definitely. You know, we wouldn’t accept anything like that. We would have (taken) care of business. But we’re a different team than they are.” – Milan Lucic

Saturday’s Lucic–Miller incident has perhaps sparked a fire between a once classic rivalry between two former Adams Division foes. Following the game, Miller poured Kerosene on the fire by making this comment, prior to storming out of the Buffalo locker room in disgust:

“I’m not going to really get into that. I just stuck around because I just want to say what a piece of (expletive) I think (Milan) Lucic is. Fifty pounds on me, and he runs me like that. It’s unbelievable. Everyone in this city sees him as a big, tough, solid player. I respected him for how hard he played. That was gutless. Gutless, piece of (expletive).” – Ryan Miller

Well folks, we could be in for some fun over the course of this season, as the B’s and Sabres are slated to meet five more time before year’s end.

After the hit, the ice tilted completely in the favor of Boston, as they went on to score 6 consecutive goals, en route to their 5th consecutive victory. B’s players spoke of how they were able to feed off the energy from the Lucic–Miller incident:

“The crowd got into it, you know, everyone was cheering pretty loud after that. So it was good to see all the guys step up and get into it.” – Milan Lucic

“First of all we controlled the play for quite a while after that, so the puck never really got near me. And we have a pretty tough team. If you start playing that game, we’re a pretty tough team to play that type of game against.” – Tim Thomas

Early in the 2nd, it was B’s winger Rich Peverley –Playing in his first game since 11/3 — who would cash in his 4th goal of the season as he slid the puck through Miller’s 5-hole after using some nifty puck-work to get through the Buffalo defense. Not long after Peverley’s goal, it was the Bruins sensational sophomore, Tyler Seguin, who would knock home his 10th of the year as he and linemate Brad Machand were able to connect and capitalize on a 2-on-1 opportunity. It was only a mere 0:16 seconds later that Nathan Horton would extend Boston’s lead to 3-1 as the B’s continued their recent streak of scoring 2 goals in under a minute of play. Allowing back-to-back goals can clearly be a huge detriment to any team trying to win a hockey game.

“It really takes a lot of wind out of your sails when a team can get a couple goals.  We really want to focus on that right now.  If we get a goal we want to bounce back and get another one right away.  Looch’s line did a great job on following up on our second goal and getting a third one.  It brought a lot of momentum to our side.  The game was over after that.” — Brad Marchand

Despite it only being a 2-goal margin entering the final period, Sabres’ head coach Lindy Ruff opted to pull Ryan Miller at the start of the 3rd in favor of Swedish ‘tender Jhonas Enroth. As the 3rd frame began,  it was Rich Peverley again showing why he is so valuable to this Bruins team, as he made a picture-perfect back-door pass to Chris Kelly to make it a 4-1 game. Less than 2 minutes later, Seguin would tie his goal total from last season as he notched his 11th of the year on a beautiful drop pass from Patrice Bergeron. Seguin, who has been on an absolute tear as of late (4-game goal streak/6-game point streak) would once again show his skill as he would thread the needle on a pass to linemate Brad Marchand who would beat Jhonas Enroth for the B’s 6th goal of the game. Despite d-man Marc-Andre Gragnani’s late-period power-play goal, the Sabres would fall 6-2 as the Bruins improved to 3-0-0 on their current home-stand.
For the B’s, the chemistry between fellow sophomores Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand simply continues to grow and impress. In Saturday’s game they were able to combine for two goals and four assists. Seguin managed to extend his point-streak to 6 games while Marchand extended a point streak of his own to four games. After the game, Seguin spoke to the confidence and chemistry the two Canadian forwards have with one another:

“I mean he’s fast. Obviously Bergy (Patrice Bergeron)’s fast too but when Bergy’s in his own zone and he’s playing his good defensive zone you know we’re there and then if the puck pops out I know that Marchy (Brad Marchand)’s flying down the other boards or Marchy knows I’m going and you know, it just works out with our speed” – Tyler Seguin

Throughout this 5-game win streak, the Bruins have proved their ability to once again play to the level of champions as they continue to shake off the dreaded “Stanley Cup Hangover”.

KEY STATS

Goals–                        BUF (2)          BOS (6)

Shots–                       BUF (23)          BOS (35)

Power-Play–           BUF (1-4)        BOS (0-3)

Penalty-Kill–           BUF (3-3)        BOS (3-4)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) Brad Marchand   ….. 2.) Rich Peverley   ….. 1.) Tyler Seguin

What’s Next?

The Boston Bruins will continue their lengthy 5-game home-stand this week as they prepare to host Zach Parise and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday evening. After that, the B’s will conclude their home-stand on Thursday when Rick Nash and the hapless Columbus Blue Jackets pay a visit to Boston. Next on the docket for the Sabres is a trip north to the Bell Centre for a Monday evening clash with the Montreal Canadiens.

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GOON:

In our support of the lack of hockey movies, comes this info from the movie company to us.

“We have a great throwback hockey movie coming out and we would love to get your support. Its violent and insanely funny.”

Starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill and Liev Schreiber
Written by Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg (SUPERBAD and  PINEAPPLE EXPRESS)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Synopsis
Labelled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of underperforming misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

The film opens on VOD on 2/24 and In Theatres 3/30

Based from the book “Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey”

www.goonthemovie.com

Official Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/GoonFilm

Some more on the movie comes from Slash Film

HOCKEY LEGENDS PAT LAFONTAINE AND STEVE WEBB TO RIDE 550 MILES FOR W20
FOUNDATION AND COMPANIONS IN COURAGE FOUNDATION

NEW YORK (September 19, 2011) –NHL alumnus Steve Webb and Hockey Hall
of Fame inductee Pat LaFontaine began a 550-mile bike ride this morning
from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in route to the NHL Powered by
Reebok Store in New York City in support of their respective charitable
efforts, the W20 Foundation and the Companions in Courage Foundation. Both
are expected to complete their historic ride on Wednesday, September 21 at
12:00 p.m. ET with a special celebration at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store
in midtown Manhattan.

“The NHL is proud to support these two hockey legends as they embark
on this epic charitable ride. On behalf of the NHL family we proudly salute
Pat and Steve, and wish them the best of luck” said Ken Martin, Jr., NHL
Vice President of Community Affairs.

LaFontaine’s Companions in Courage Foundation is an official
philanthropic partner of the National Hockey League (NHL) and helps to
create “Lion’s Den/NHL Legacy Classrooms” featuring Cisco System’s online
conferencing system, WebEx, which allows young patients to connect to
family, friends, schools and teachers anywhere in the world during a
hospital stay.

The Foundation has now opened 12 Lion’s Den rooms throughout North
America, including two with the NHL in Boston, Calgary and Montreal. The
NHL unveiled the first fully functional “NHL Legacy Classroom” at North
Carolina Children’s Hospital to commemorate the 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Plans for an “NHL Legacy Classroom” in Pittsburgh were unveiled during the
2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic to commemorate the outdoor game.

Webb’s W20 Foundation provides young student ice hockey players with
partial academic scholarships to continue the pursuit of their hockey
dreams. Now the organization also highlights athletes as influential agents
of change and creates opportunities for athletes to give back in their
communities. Webb will also commit a portion of the ride’s proceeds to fund
Alzheimer and dementia research in Ontario.

The riders will be joined by a support team that includes Graham
Fraser, founder of Centurion Cycling, host of North America’s premier
series of distance bicycling events.

For more information on how you can support this please visit
www.CiC16.org
or www.w20Foundation.org.  To follow the progress of the ride, fans are
encouraged to visit www.W20Foundation.blogspot.com. ]]> http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/bdgallof/38698/feed/ 0 http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/bdgallof/36662/ http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/bdgallof/36662/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:12:49 +0000 BDGallof http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?p=36662

Participants: Fred Poulin, Cris Cohen, Lawrence Duchenski, John Scott Moore, Jeremy Scriven, Alexander Monaghan, Jamie Fraser, Andre Garabedian, WB Philp, Al Cimaglia, Adrian Fung, Gordon Fall, Kevin Vanstone, Su Ring

Round 1
LAWRENCE 1 Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are proud to select, from the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
We believe that Ryan will be an elite player in this league for years to come. He has both the vision and the passing ability to centre our first line and we are happy to bring him into the organization.

JOHN 2 Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are proud to select, from Skelleftea HC in Sweden, Adam Larsson. The Avs most pressing issue besides a net-minder is defense. Larsson is the big man on the blue line that this team needs to be competitive. With newly acquired Erik Johnson and veteran John-Michael Liles, Larsson will complete a core of defense that should last for years. Larsson’s highly rated skating for a 6-3, 200 pound blueliner is just what the team needs. Also noted is his poise and patience with the puck, a good quality to see this early.

JAMIE 3 Panthers
The Florida Panthers select Gabriel Landeskog of the OHL’s Kitchener Ranger. Gritty. Determined. Physical. Tough. Mean. These are characteristics not common to the average Swedish hockey player. Gabriel Landeskog is truly a made in Canada Swede. He’s physical mature player who’s the most NHL ready in the draft. Landeskog is pure leadership material, he’s a difference maker every time he’s on the ice. This past season he scored 66 points (36-30) in 53 games. Here’s Landeskog take on his style “I’m a powerful guy who likes to play rough and tough,” “But I do see myself as a skilled guy but it still comes down to hard work and being gritty and being in your face. That’s what I want to do.”

JAMIE 4 Devils
The New Jersey Devils select 4th overall Jonathan Huberdeau of the Saint John Sea Dogs. Huberdeau an excellent two-way forward recently won the Memorial Cup with Saint John. He draws comparisons to Jason Spezza but with a better defensive hockey mind. Huberdeau has assets that you can’t teach such as vision, his 6’1″ frame and his ability to play under pressure. Truly a great fit for a Devils trap system. Scoring 105 points(43-62) this season in the QMJHL he has the offensive abilities to command at 1st/2nd line duties in the future.

ANDRE 5 Islanders
With the 5th selection of the 2011 entry draft, the NY Islanders are proud to select, from the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Sean Couturier. This was a very tough choice. Hamilton, Couturier, Strome, Murphy are all gifted players who can help fill a need for the Islanders and were right there for us, but the feeling was that adding a player of Couturier’s skill set, combined with his size made him a sensible choice. Not only is he a top player, but he also fills a need for size on a relatively small Islander team. He is gifted offensively, but also has displayed a commitment to the defensive side of the ice making him a solid 2-way prospect. Much of his time was spent against opposing top lines — giving him the oppor tunity to dominate at both ends of the ice. He is size speed and skill — all of the tools the Islanders need.

The “knock” on Sean was that he was coasting this season, and does not have the “commit” level that he should. We feel Sean is committed to both ends of the ice, and we are sure he will be a proud part of the Islander family for many years to come. We feel Sean is an excellent player that adds to a dynamic core of players in our development system.

JAMIE 6 Senators
With the 6th pick overall in the NHL 2011 entry draft the Ottawa Senators select Ryan Strome. Ottawa needs help for that 2nd line centre position. Ryan Strome lacks the size of Sean Couturier, but this kid put up 106 points(33-73) with the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs. He draws similar skill sets to Patrick Kane. Strome is a player who is at his biggest part of his game with the puck on his stick and will often make opposing defenders look absolutely ridiculous in YouTube highlight reel moments. While many of his goals belong on highlight reels, Strome has a great shot and excellent hockey sense. Make sure to follow Ryan Strome on twitter @strome18

FRED 7 Thrashers (Winnipeg Jets)
The Winnipeg team is proud to select, from the Niagara Ice Dogs of the OHL, defenseman Dougie Hamiilton. His strong and smooth st aking abilities allow him to skate out of trouble in own zone. Can quarterback the power play thanks to great vision and accurate shot. The team also needs more size on defense to complement Dustin Byfuglien. Hamilton scored 12 goals and added 46 assists for 58 pts in 57 games this season. The 6’4” 195 lb rearguard could very well become a top-2 defenseman in a near future.

FRED 8 Flyers from the Blue Jackets
The Philadelphia Flyers are proud to select from Djurgarden of the Swedesih Elite League, centre Mika Zibanejad. After trading two quality centers in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter on Thursday, the Flyers need to restock their middle lane with top-end prospects. A very intelligent two-way player with a great shot, Zibanejad has an above-average sense of hockey and anticipation. He uses his 6’2”, 190 lb frame to his advantage and his strength to battle pucks along the boards. He is not afraid to play physically and likes to initiate contact. He has excellent faceoffs skills and great skating abilities. He draws some comparisons to Ryan Kesler and Mike Fisher.

FRED 9 Bruins from the Maple Leafs
The Boston bruins are proud to select from the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, defenseman Ryan Murphy. An exceeding talented puck-moving defenseman, the diminutive Murphy draws comparisons to Ryan Ellis and former NHLer Brian Rafalski. In 63 games last season, the offensive defenseman scored an impressive 26 goals and 53 assists for 79 points. A good fit for the Bruins as the team really needs a power play quarterback, Murphy is an outstanding skater and puck carrier a la PK Subban. He is very agile, possesses soft hands and boasts a hard and accurate slapshot. The 5’11, 175 lb will be a steady fixture on the Bruins’ blueline for years to come.

CRIS 10 Wild
The Minnesota Wild take, from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, Sven Bartschi. The Wild, after being a defense-first team under Jacques Lemaire their first 7 seasons and losing Marian Gaborik to Free agency in 2009, this team needs offense. Havlat with 22 goals was their leading scorer this past season and no other Wild hit the 20-goal plateau. Bartschi, and excellent skater possesses good passing and stickhandling skills and a good, quick shot. He will need to work on the defensive side of his game, though.
JOHN 11 Avalanche from the Blues
With the 11th pick the Colorado Avalanche are proud to pick Duncan Siemens of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The 6’3″, 192 lbs defenseman is just too good for the Avs to pass up. Despite needs on offense, the big D-man will be an asset to the Avs in the future and possibly forming a formidible defensive core for years. Naming Scott Stevens as his favorite player, Siemens will lay a hit and even fight. But better yet he is a shutdown defenseman with mobility.

SUE 12 Hurricanes
With the 12th pick, the Carolina Hurricanes are proud to select Joseph Morrow of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. We like Morrow for his strong skating, great speed and talented two-way game. He has the uncanny ability to see the entire ice and create smart plays and scoring chances.
He’s also very strong on both the power play and penalty kill and uses his size to every advantage on the ice. He played a key role in helping the Winterhawks clinch the WHL’s US Dvision and Western Conference titles during the regular season and helped propel the team to the WHL Championships, which they lost to the Kootenay Ice.

SUE 13 Flames
With the 13th pick, the Calgary Flames are pleased to select Mark McNeill from the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. McNeill can play Center but he also has experience at Right Wing. He’s big, smart and an accurate shot, whether it comes to scoring or passing. His size also makes him strong defensively- this kid is not afraid to go after the puck. McNeill led the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since the 2006-2007 season.

ALEXANDER 14 Stars
With the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Dallas Stars take Rocco Grimaldi, Center, USA Under-18-USHL. After losing a great player like Brad Richards, we felt our organization took the best player available and added a great deal of skill. If not for his size, Grimaldi likely could have gone in the top 10 as he displays an excellent amount of agility, top speed and overall skill. In addition, we find Rocco to be a hard-working, determined individual who can eventually play on our top line. Picking at number 14, we are quite pleased to select a player of his stature.

CRIS 15 Rangers
With the 15th pick the New York Rangers select from the USHL Tyler Biggs. He brings a size (6′ 2″, 210) that most of the forwards in the Rangers’ system do not possess. He’s willing to hit opponents and fight when necessary. While not overly impressive from an offensive standpoint (19G, 12 A in 55 games) and not speedy, his size and strength should provide more room for offensively skilled teammates he could be paired with to be free to do their thing.

The second part of the mock draft will be posted later today. Stay tuned!

Jakub Voracek, 1st round pick, and....3rd round pick...(Opens Envelope) Name 3 things traded for Jeff Carter!

This year, once again with the assistance of my good friend Andrew R (and some Bitches Brew…..both the beer and the music), I sat down to do my NHL Mock Draft.  As per usual, trades were considered, and by a phenomenal stroke of luck we called Carter to Columbus for Voracek and the 8th pick….so we’re ready to go.

This was fun and challenging, as always, but especially this year, because it’s such a fluid draft and people are seriously all over the place.  I’ve seen guys ranked top 10 in some drafts and out of the 1st round in others.  I’m sure some of these picks will sound stupid, but I’m sure I’ll be wrong a lot….but hey, nobody thought Dylan McIlrath would go before Cam Fowler last year.

Without further ado, here we go…

1. Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, Red Deer (WHL)

I think there are a few question marks about Nugent-Hopkins, specifically his size and willingness to go to the dirty areas, but despite this the Oilers think he’s too good to pass up at #1.  They hope he and Taylor Hall form a dynamic duo for years to come.

2. Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog, W, Kitchener (OHL)

We agonized over this pick, but we thought at the end of the day the Avalanche would be seduced by the size, heart, grit, and NHL readiness of Landeskog.  He’s a Chris Stewart type – the kind of player you hold on to, and never trade, come hell or high water!  Wait….what?

3. Florida Panthers: Sean Couturier, C, Drummondville (QMJHL)

Dale Tallon is a well-known fan of big players, and he overlooks the “analysis paralysis” in the scouting community to jump on Sean Couturier.  Back-to-back 96-point seasons (despite having mono at the start of this year), experience at the WJC, winning the Mike Bossy Award, and his size (6’4) make him the right move for the Panthers.

4. New Jersey Devils: Adam Larsson, D, Skelleftea (SEL)

The Devils, by most accounts, should have lost their 1st round pick this year in the Kovalchuk chicanery.  Instead, they won the draft lottery, and Lou Lamoriello looks like the cat who ate the canary after Larsson falls to him at 4.  He had a sub-par year in the SEL by most standards, but Larsson’s talent and hockey sense will make him the best Devils blueline prospect since Scott Niedermayer.

5. New York Islanders: Ryan Strome, C, Niagara (OHL)

I can already hear the Dougie Hamilton fans sharpening their knives, but hear me out.  In addition to resembling Mr. Burns (according to Niagara fans), I believe Strome is the best long-term fit for the Islanders.  He projects as a top center with playmaking ability and creativity, and the Islanders justify this pick by citing his higher projection.  At the end of the day, when you pick 5th, you want the guy who will be the better player down the road, not the biggest positional need or the guy who will calm Josh Bailey’s nerves about being replaced.  I’ve had a hunch about Strome for a while, and I will not back off from it like I did last year with Nino Niederreiter.

Here’s a Strome highlight reel goal:

Highlight Reel Goal From Strome

6. Ottawa Senators: Jonathan Huberdeau, C, St. John’s (QMJHL)

Huberdeau slips to Ottawa despite his incredible playoff run with the Memorial Cup champions, and Bryan Murray is glad he did (especially since Brian Burke is nowhere to be seen and can’t take the pick out of spite).  Huberdeau projects as a flashy offensive player, and he’ll be a good one for Ottawa.

7. Winnipeg Not Yet Jets: Dougie Hamilton, D, Niagara (OHL)

Gary Bettman was much like the father in this famous Simpsons scene recently:

The NHL has indeed gone back to Winnipeg, and they bring this hulking (6’4) d-man with them.  Hamilton is a smart player who will be a good fit on this team.

8. Philadelphia Flyers (From Columbus): Duncan Siemens, D, Saskatoon (WHL)

I had this as a mock trade, and now it’s a real trade.  Siemens is big (6’3), mean, and a hard hitter….just the kind of kid the Flyers love.  They pick him over my other option here, Mika Zibanejad, and hope Chris Pronger’s influence helps him become a star.

9. Boston Bruins (From Toronto): Ryan Murphy, D, Kitchener (OHL)

Fresh off their Cup win, the Bruins add Ryan Murphy, whose suspect D is more than balanced out by skilled offense.  He could be a true difference-maker on the Bruins PP for years to come, and they could always hide him with a defensive d-man in even strength situations to mask his weakness.

10. Minnesota Wild: Nathan Beaulieu, D, St. John’s (QMJHL)

The Wild step up to grab mobile but raw D prospect Nathan Beaulieu, whom some scouts have ranked above Hamilton, continuing a run on defense in this part of the draft.  Beaulieu is a few years away but the Wild fans will cheer this one tomorrow night at the Xcel Energy Center.

11. Colorado Avalanche (From St. Louis): Jamieson Oleksiak, D, Northeastern University (NCAA)

The Avalanche have their forward and possible future captain in Landeskog.  Now, playing with house money, they feel like they can reach just a bit for the hulking (6’7) defender Oleksiak, and give him time to develop at his own pace that he might not have received if he were a team’s top pick.  He may leave Northeastern to play major junior next year; let’s keep an eye.

12. Carolina Hurricanes: Mika Zibanejad, President of Iran C/W, Djurgarden (SEL)

Zibanejad finds a home with the Carolina Hurricanes, who still need depth at every position and grab the best player available.  Some teams have him ranked top 5, but he slips due to being 2nd choice for a few of the teams above (Islanders, Winnipeg, Flyers, Avalanche).  The Canes are glad to have this tough, hard-nosed player, and their fans will be as well.

And I ran......I ran so far away....

13. Calgary Flames: Joel Armia, W, Assat Pori (FIN)

The Flames go for the home run by picking Armia, one of the more talented Finnish forward prospects in the last 10 years.  There are some questions about his work ethic, but the Flames love his talent too much to let him slip away.

14. Dallas Stars: Sven Bartschi, W, Portland (WHL)

The Stars jump on The Other Swiss Winterhawk, Sven Bartschi, who was a force of nature in this year’s Memorial Cup playoffs.  Some are surprised to see him slip so far, but he was again second choice for many teams, and the Stars practically pinch themselves on the way to the podium.

15. New York Rangers: Nicklas Jensen, RW, Oshawa (OHL)

The Islanders have a Dane, and now the Rangers have one too. Jensen’s hockey sense is off the charts, and the Rangers, after targeting D in the first round in previous years, think he’s the right move at 15 this year.

16. Buffalo Sabres: Oscar Klefbom, D, Farjestad (SEL)

The Sabres go for the BPA with Oscar Klefbom, a mobile, agile, and incredibly smart Swedish defenseman.  He has the potential to be the steal of the 1st round at this slot.

17. Montral Canadiens: Rocco Grimaldi, F, US NTDP

The Canadiens have trouble finding a forward taller than 5’3, and this does not get better with Grimaldi, who would be the shortest player in the NHL should he make it (yes, even smaller than Nathan Gerbe…who is a gnat).  However, he may be the most skilled player in the whole draft, and you can’t doubt his will to make it.  The Habs will look for size elsewhere….or not…

18. Chicago Blackhawks: Matt Puempel, W, Peterborough (OHL)

Puempel is a pure goal-scorer, and the Blackhawks go for the home run in continuing the rebuild of their farm system.  There are questions about his consistency, but Puempel is a great call here.

19. Edmonton Oilers: John Gibson, G, US NTDP

The Oilers have many goaltenders in the system, including Devan Dubnyk and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, but none project as a solid #1 goaltender.  Therefore, with Nugent-Hopkins in the fold, the Oilers jump up and take Gibson, hoping he will stabilize the crease for years to come.

20. Phoenix Coyotes: Mark McNeill, C, Prince Albert (WHL)

McNeill is strong in the corners, kills penalties well, and generally drives hard to the net.  The Coyotes have some danglers in the system, and McNeill projects as a strong, safe pick….they’re glad to have him.

21. Ottawa Senators (From Nashville): Brandon Saad, LW, Saginaw (OHL)

Ottawa is also playing with house money after nabbing Huberdeau at 6, and they can afford to take a flyer on Brandon Saad.  Saad will either be a home run power forward or a groundout, but with Huberdeau hogging all the attention as a top pick the Senators can let the Pennsylvania native find himself without a lot of pressure.

22. Anaheim Ducks: Joe Morrow, D, Portland (WHL)

Joe Morrow rocketed up the draft board due to his hockey sense, tenacity, and offensive potential.  The Ducks grab him and hope he’ll anchor the blueline for years alongside Fowler and Sbisa.

23. Pittsburgh Penguins: Tyler Biggs, RW, US NTDP

Even though the Penguins absolutely deplore violence in all its forms, they can’t resist another boom or bust type in Biggs.  He has size and a great net-front presence, and they hope he develops into his full potential.

24. Detroit Red Wings: Jonas Brodin, D, Farjestad (SEL)

This is almost too easy.  Smooth-skating, intelligent but raw d-man out of Sweden?  The Red Wings live for picks like this.  Brodin oozes talent and potential, and in Detroit he may have the best chance to harness them.

25. Toronto Maple Leafs (From Flyers): David Musil, D, Vancouver (WHL)

At a time, the hulking Musil was rated a potential top 5 pick in this draft.  His performance steadied, and he fell amid concerns his ceiling is not as high as originally thought.  He still plays a mean game and has offensive potential beyond that of his father, Frank, and he’s just truculent enough to fit Brian Burke’s bill.

26. Washington Capitals: Alexander Kochlachev, C, Windsor (OHL)

This is another almost no-brainer, as we know the Capitals LOVE their Russians.  Kochlachev oozes skill and pure offense, making him a potential home run pick this late in the draft.

27. San Jose Sharks: Mark Schiefele, C, Barrie (OHL)

The Sharks pick Schiefele as best player available, slightly ahead of J.T. Miller from the US NTDP.  Schiefele has discipline, playmaking ability, and  great net-front presence, making him a good complement to the current crop of prospects in the South Bay.

28. Tampa Bay Lightning: Connor Murphy, D, US NTDP

Murphy is a big, competitive 2-way winger who will do a little bit of everything for Steve Yzerman’s club in Tampa.  He’s best available for them.

29. Vancouver Canucks: Scott Mayfield, D, Youngstown (USHL)

He’s big, he’s smooth, he’s poised with the puck, and he’ll be a great fit in Vancouver.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs (From Boston): Zach Phillips, C/W, St. John’s (QMJHL)

Toronto closes out the pick by making it a trio from the Memorial Cup champions.  Phillips is a smart player with great puck skills and an ability to score.  Good fit for what they’re building in Toronto.