All Entries Tagged With: "John-Michael Liles"
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 [...]
Tampa Bay Lightning Week in Review – Featuring The Quarterdeck Log
The Tampa Bay Lightning are 11-9-2 with 24 points through 22 games. After 22 games last season, the Bolts were 13-7-2 with 28 points. The Lightning are in third place in the Southeast Division four point behind the Florida Panthers and 10th in the Eastern Conference. After 22 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team [...]
Predators Win Ugly, Drop the Leafs 4-1
Sometimes, you win ugly. The Nashville Predators were the embodiment of ugly in defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bridgestone Arena by a 4-1 margin. The score belies the fact that at times, Toronto looked dominant and controlled the play for stretches at a time. Indicative of how the night went, the Leafs out [...]
Grind Line 2.0 Leads Red Wings To 4-2 Win Over Maple Leafs
When you think of a Red Wing who had a three-point night, the typical names that come to mind would be Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, but neither were in the lineup tonight at the Air Canada Centre. Members of the current version of the “Grind Line,” Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves were the offensive [...]
Toronto Maple Leafs Roster Battles, and What They Mean
With the season only two weeks away, and Ron Wilson saying that he hopes to get a full lineup into a few preseason games, it’s only a matter of time until we finally see the opening roster for The Toronto Maple Leafs. With the top six, and goaltenders virtually set, it will be interesting [...]
Clearing the Way for Captain Matt Duchene
Shortly after the Avs made the Chris Stewart for Erik Johnson trade, Avs GM Greg Sherman was on NHL radio to talk about it. One of the things he said that stood out the most to Avs fans was that the Avs were on track with the plan. Plan? Plan to lose as many games [...]
Not So Hot January | Blues vs. Avs Gamenotes | Is Erik Johnson Really Trade Bait?
January’s Missed Opportunity The month of January is proving to be a new low point for the St. Louis Blues. After a successful battle through a depth deprived December, the Blues looked forward to a big opportunity in the new year. Roman Polak was back. Long term injuries to key forwards could clear up. The [...]
Joe Sacco – Tough SOB
A. Dater said the other day in his Twitter feed that Sacco is a tough SOB. I’ve suspected as much for a long time now. Here and there I’ve seen interviews and such that made me think that he projects this persona, or perhaps it is not a persona, that you don’t want to mess [...]
Canadiens set to face former teammate Ryan O’Byrne
After losing 5-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and winning 4-3 against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, the Canadiens chartered a plane to Colorado yesterday, where they will visit the Avalanche and former teammate Ryan O’Byrne tonight at 8 PM Eastern time. O’Byrne, who was traded for forward Michael Bournival in early November, has [...]
Avalanche Retool the Blueline
I wrote earlier this year that I didn’t expect the defensive prowess of the Avs to improve this year because it was basically unchanged from last year except for the departure of Brett Clark. Yes, Ruslan Salei left for Red Wing territory but he was not a factor last season, logging most of his ice [...]
On the Defensive
Well I think I got one thing right recently. And Coach Sacco agrees. With the Colorado Avalanche no longer experiencing a dearth of defensemen it was time to decide who plays and who sits. Sacco sat Jonas Holøs and he has now been returned to the farm. And really the choice was only between Holøs [...]
Top 10 NHL defensive defensemen so far in 2010-11
Almost one quarter into the season, let’s have a look at the best defensive defensemen in the NHL this year. Those rearguards are often forgotten when looking at their team’s overall success, but they are key contributors nonetheless. The formula used for this list is the following: +/- differential + blocked shots + takeaways – [...]
Blues Lose 6-3 to Avalanche | Defense Cracking Under Pressure | Evil Emprire Next
The St. Louis Blues skid reaches four games as the defense cracks under pressure. It doesnt get any easier with Detroit next up. Blues News and Notes.
July 1st – Not Much Fun For Sabres Fans
If you are a Sabres fan who is excited for Thursday and expecting Darcy Regier to open the wallet to bring in a big time free agent, think again. That is not how the organization operates and most Sabres fans have come to that realization in the past few years or so. As much as [...]
Joe Sacco’s Party Trick
You know that friend of yours that tells the same joke or does that same cheesy trick at every party? Everyone knows a guy like that, right? And the thing about it: it’s one of those “funny-once” things. Joe Sacco is one of those guys. But it’s no joke and the trick isn’t working. Sacco’s [...]
John-Michael Liles in a No-Win Situation?
A few years ago Avalanche fans, the media and management, in other words everyone, couldn’t stop talking about the speed and scoring ability of the Avs young defenseman. JM Liles was going to be the new Sandis Ozolinsh. Who cared if his defensive skills were… shall we say, average? Eventually people care, especially after a [...]
Avs Slumping
The Colorado Avalanche are on a three game skid. No one seriously thinks that the wheels are falling off, at least no one that you should take seriously. But something’s just not right in Avs Country. Goalie Craig Anderson is looking ordinary. This team relies on Anderson to keep them in games on a regular [...]
Avs Hammer the Oil
After a great performance on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, Avs fans were wondering if this team would keep their foot on the pedal against the Oil or play down to the competition. Going into tonight’s game against the Oil I couldn’t help but be a bit surprised by this quote by Ethan Moreau, [...]
Who is Ryan Wilson?
Let’s just get the basic data out of the way, Wilson, a native of Windsor, ON shoots left and is listed on the Avs roster as 6’1” and 207, he is 22 years old. Wilson was an undrafted defenseman playing for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting when he was signed by the Calgary Flames in 2008 [...]
Tough Road Trip for Liles, Not Bad for the Avs
The Colorado Avalanche hit the road on a 3-game trip, facing Ottawa, Detroit and Columbus. But for John-Michael Liles, it was a road trip to forget. Youngster Kyle Cumiskey returned to the line up from an injury and Coach Joe Sacco found himself with too many healthy defensemen. Someone had to sit. Not too many [...]