All Entries Tagged With: "Ilya Kovalchuk"
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 [...]
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 [...]
Analyzing And Predicting The Eastern Conference Playoffs
It’s that time of year again, folks. The clocks have been pushed forward, the temperatures are rising and the kids have just enjoyed another wonderful visit from the Easter Bunny. But most importantly, it’s time to kick off the most exciting two month event in all of sports: The NHL Playoffs. With Saturday’s conclusion of [...]
Analyzing The Bruins’ Possible First Round Opponents
With the regular season drawing to a close faster than a Zdeno Chara 108.8 MPH slapshot, now is as good a time as any to take a look at the possibilities for the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL post-season. Under the assumption that the Black and Gold will indeed clinch the [...]
Avery And Out
After a tumultuous season , it appears that Sean Avery will be heading into permanent unrestricted free agency. A guest on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” online After Show last night, Avery declared that he was officially retired and that he threw his skates into the Hudson. Today Avery told Larry Brooks of The New [...]
B’s Fight Hard, But Are Beaten By Better Rangers Team
On Sunday afternoon the Boston Bruins (or what’s left of them) walked (or limped) into Madison Square Garden for a date with the number one team in the Eastern Conference. A Boston squad missing a full quarter of it’s regulars took on a tough Rangers squad in hopes or turning around their recent two-month-long slump. [...]
Krejci Turns The Trick As B’s Down Devils In OT
BOSTON – On Thursday, the Boston Bruins played their first of seventeen games on the slate for the month of March with one goal in mind: Finding consistency. Following a 5-7-1 February, which saw them shutout in five games, the B’s were looking to get things back on track with a strong effort against the [...]
Tampa Bay Lightning Week in Review – Featuring The Quarterdeck Log
The Tampa Bay Lightning is 28-28-6 with 62 points through 62 games. After 62 games last season, the Bolts were 37-18-7 with 74 points. The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out [...]
New Jersey Devils: Still Stuck with “Boring” Label? They Shouldn’t Be!
Since the 1990′s, the New Jersey Devils have had a label put on them about playing “boring” hockey. It all stems from the fact the Devils were known for playing the neutral zone trap and essentially taking away the middle of the ice from opponents and attempting to slow down the offensive rush of their [...]
Five Deals That SHOULD Be Made Before The Deadline
As the late February NHL trading deadline approaches rumors have began to surface in every corner of the hockey world. From buyers to sellers and rentals, a plethora of deals always seem to be made this time of year. This year, as a few top-tier players are slated to become Unrestricted free agents at year’s [...]
Thoughts on World U-17 Tournament
As a hockey fan living in Michigan, I have always been accustomed to watching the Detroit Red Wings, but it’s not the only hockey ticket in town. About 30 minutes northwest are the Plymouth Whalers and they are one of the premier teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). If you want to cross the [...]
Tampa Bay Lightning Week in Review – Featuring The Quarterdeck Log
The Tampa Bay Lightning are 14-16-2 with 30 points through 32 games. After 32 games last season, the Bolts were 18-10-4 with 40 points. The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference. After 32 [...]
The 20 most overpaid NHLers making more than $4.0M per year
More than one quarter into the 2011-12 NHL season, it’s time to have a look at the most overpaid NHLers who don’t contribute as much as their team and the general manger who signed them would like. Please note that I have not included players whose contract is buried in the AHL or oversees such [...]
Tampa Bay Lightning Week in Review – Featuring The Quarterdeck Log
The Tampa Bay Lightning are 9-8-2 with 20 points through 19 games. After 19 games last season, the Bolts were 10-7-2 with 22 points. The Lightning are in third place in the Southeast Division three points behind the Florida Panthers and 12th in the Eastern Conference. After 19 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in [...]
Unlikely Hero Leads B’s Past Devils For Sixth Straight Victory
The stark contrast between the play of the Boston Bruins during the first ten games of the 2011-’12 season, as opposed to their efforts over the next five has been absolutely astounding. Through the first ten games, Boston scored only twenty-two goals while struggling to post a conference-worst 3-7-0 record. Over the following five games, [...]
Five Devilish Things To Worry About in New Jersey
Well, the New Jersey Devils have hit their first “crisis” mode of the season. While it certainly isn’t time to panic, there are a few things to have general concerns about. The reason for worry goes beyond the fact they have lost the last two games, but more so how outbadly they were outplayed by [...]
Devils Defeat the Predators in a Shootout 3-2
The Nashville Predators fell to the New Jersey Devils in a shoot out 3-2 at the Bridgestone Arena. In this contest, there were aspects that were good, bad, and ugly. THE GOOD Unlike their previous effort, the Predators opened the contest with good jump and were able to solve the Devils trap game. The Devils [...]
Time for a Do-Over: A New Season for the New Jersey Devils Begins Tonight
Things changed greatly for the New Jersey Devils last season. Rookie Head Coach John MacLean was brought in to help the Devils continue their winning ways. After all, the team was coming off of 13 consecutive playoff appearances, and had reached the Stanley Cup finals three times during that span. Ilya Kovalchuk was signed to [...]
Getting Ready for the Season in New Jersey; Predicting the 23-man roster
The New Jersey Devils have now wrapped up their preseason games and despite not neccessarily getting the preferred results, they are closer to having their roster set for Opening Night. The first cuts came last week when they “cut” 19 players, sending five players to their junior team and 14 to their AHL affiliate in Albany. None [...]
