Archive for May, 2012
Nicklas Lidstrom Hangs ‘Em Up, Calls It a Career
After a legendary 20-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, team captain Nicklas Lidstrom made it official Thursday morning as he announced his retirement during a press conference at the Joe Louis Arena. Lidstrom, 42, will go down as not only one of the best defenseman, but one of the greatest players in NHL history. [...]
Boston Bruins Offseason Notebook: A Steal, A Deal And A Departure?
With the off-season in full swing here in Boston, news out of Causeway street has been few and far between since the B’s first round exit at the hands of the Washington Capitals. In the meantime, I hope you’ve all been enjoying my series of postseason report cards. Soon enough things will begin to heat [...]
Realistic Expectations a Must for Blackhawks Front Office
CHICAGO (FOX Chicago News) – Blackhawk rosters before the good fortune of selecting Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in the NHL Entry Draft had a few things in common. The clubs were not equipped with a strong enough core and too many players were asked to be something they were not capable of being. A [...]
Stanley Cup Finals 2012: One Man’s Preview of New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings
It’s been a magical ride for the two teams that now site just four wins away from hockey immortality and forever staking their claim in NHL history with their names on the Stanley Cup. It’s taken a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point, and now over the course of the [...]
Hockey Independent Playoff Roundtable: Stanley Cup Finals Predictions
— Welcome back to the Hockey Independent roundtable where five writers from the HI staff have come together once again to provide you all with our Stanley Cup Finals predictions. The contributing authors to today’s piece will be Cris Cohen (New York Rangers), Seth Levin (New Jersey Devils), Alex Muscat (Detroit Red Wings), Bill [...]
A Bittersweet End To A Surprise Season
Heading into Friday night’s game, fans and the media were talking about 1994. In a series of odd coincidences, it was the same 2 teams matching up in the Eastern Conference Finals. Like 18 years ago, the Rangers were heading into game six facing elimination. Even the date for the game six was identical – [...]
Boston Bruins Postseason Report Cards: Part III: The Defensemen
Throughout the month of May, I will be providing you all with a four-part Boston Bruins’ postseason review, grading the performances of each and every player that donned the eight-spoked “B” during the 2011-’12 campaign. The schedule looks like this: Part I –> Top Six Forwards Part II –> Bottom Six Forwards Part III –> [...]
Thoughts, Questions and Things that make you go Hmmm
Playoffs On Sunday, when Los Angeles dropped a 2-0 decision to the Coyotes, Kings head coach Darryl Sutter wasn’t happy. He was especially upset with his power play. In postgame comments, Sutter called out his point men for not getting shots on goal. Sutter didn’t pull any punches, which is his way for the most [...]
Running On Empty
So many times this season, the New York Rangers found a way to eke out a win with less than a 60-minute effort and Eastern Conference Final has followed suit. In games 1 and 3, the Rangers managed to hold on through the onslaught for 2 periods, thanks to the defense and, most importantly, the [...]
The King Reigns On Both Sides Of The Hudson
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the New York Rangers won game 1, lost game 2 and then won game 3. Their Eastern Conference Final series followed the same pattern for the first two and they were looking to continue that pattern and get a game 3 victory over the New Jersey Devils [...]
Are the Blackhawks pursuing Ryan Suter for the wrong reason?
CHICAGO (FOX Chicago News) – On July 1, 2008 The Blackhawks made a huge splash in the hockey world and signed free agentdefenseman Brian Campbell. The cost for Campbellwas steep, an eight year contract with an approximate $7.1 million salary cap hit per season. This was a bold move and was done for a couple [...]
Howard Making a Case for 2014 Sochi Olympics
Jimmy Howard and the rest of his Detroit Red Wings’ teammates were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 20, but that hasn’t stopped Howard from continuing his season by representing his country. Howard is currently the number one man between the pipes as a member of Team USA in the 2012 IIHF World [...]
In Game 1, Three Is The Rangers’ Magic Number
For the second series in a row, the New York Rangers took their playoff series to the limit, and for the second series in a row, got past their opponent to move on. For the first time since 1997, they are in the Eastern Conference finals, battling against an old nemesis, the New Jersey Devils. [...]
When will all be well in Blackhawk land?
Chicago (FOX Chicago News) – The teams which are left standing in the NHL post season play a consistent style and they look very comfortable doing so. That is probably why they are still alive in the quest for Lord Stanley. When the going gets tough they stick to their systems for the most part. [...]
Could Parise Become a Red Wing? Not so Fast!
The first day of NHL free agency begins on July 1, which is just weeks away, and expect the Detroit Red Wings to be in the middle of it all. Without a doubt, this will be the most crucial off-season in some time. The last time that the Red Wings struck it rich was in [...]
Hockey Independent Playoff Roundtable: Conference Finals Predictions
— Welcome back to the Hockey Independent roundtable where five writers from the HI staff have come together once again to provide you all with our Conference Finals predictions. The contributing authors to today’s piece will be Cris Cohen (New York Rangers), Seth Levin (New Jersey Devils), Alex Muscat (Detroit Red Wings), Bill Philp (Tampa [...]
This Seems Familiar
On Monday night, the New York Rangers were moments away from having to stave off elimination 2 days later. That is, until Joel Ward of the Washington Capitals took an ill-advised high-sticking double minor for cutting Carl Hagelin. With Henrik Lundqvist pulled for a 2-man advantage, Brad Richards connected with 7.6 seconds to spare to [...]
The Dustins – Brown and Penner – talk LA Kings playoff run
The Kings will finally return to a full practice today after getting some much deserved time off on Monday and Tuesday. Coming off their series sweep of the St. Louis Blues it was time to recharge and recoup. However, during the down time, we did speak by phone with team captain Dustin Brown and the [...]
Haviland Out, It’s All on Coach Q. Now
Chicago (FOX Chicago News) – Let’s start off with some good news which came out of Tuesday’s media conference call after the firing of assistant coach Mike Haviland. For all those worried about Joel Quenneville being dismissed as head coach to take the same position in Montreal, that’s not happening. Quenneville stated he wants to [...]
Boston Bruins Postseason Report Cards: Part II: The Bottom Six
Throughout the month of May, I will be providing you all with a four-part Boston Bruins’ postseason review, grading the performances of each and every player that donned the eight-spoked “B” during the 2011-’12 campaign. The schedule looks like this: Part I –> Top Six Forwards Part II –> Bottom Six Forwards Part III –> [...]
