Will the Rangers continue to win at the Bell Centre and bring it back to Madison Square? Will the Blue Jackets get back to business and win a playoff game? How about the Sharks? Will they continue to stun the Oilers? Will Jake Allen continue his dominance in net for the Blues? Find out today! Eastern Conference: Western Conference: Yesterday's Scores: The Leafs may have not won but they sure gave the Caps a great fight and Andersen had 41 saves. He is who you want in the playoffs and I will not go back on what I said before. Wow. This is one huge game for the Predators' defense with 10 combined hits and 14 combined blocks compared to the Blackhawks' 4 hits and 7 blocks.
Two Original Six teams square off in their respective matchups today while some great expansion teams show off their worth too! Eastern Conference: Western Conference: Here's who I picked to win these games and why: Maple Leafs over Capitals in 6 games: Leafs have a great goalie made for the playoffs and their youth can quickly figure out how to play with the intensity that comes with the playoffs. Also, I believe in some curses like the President's Trophy curse. Will it be broken? Do not for sure think so... Blackhawks over Predators in 5 games: The Blackhawks looked great throughout the season, even when people counted them to take a backseat this year to Nashville. Did not happen at all. Nashville was good last year in the playoffs but they do not look like they could beat the Blackhawks this year like they could not beat the Sharks last year. Ducks over Flames in 5 games: Again, curses. This one is not a curse but Calgary has a tough time winning in Anaheim, to say the least. Anaheim has a tough time with Game 7 but in order to force that, Calgary needs to win in Anaheim. Will we see one thing get broken? How about both? Or none? Yesterday's Scores:
The dramatic title says it all... Today marks the beginning of the long and grueling race for the most coveted cup on the planet. The journey begins today with many teams, games, and cup dreams, so buckle up and enjoy all these teams while they last. Eastern Conference: Western Conference: I filled out the bracket challenge and I am not sure if my picks will be any good but maybe one will be right?
Okay, so for today's games I will share who I picked moving on in their series: Rangers over Canadiens in 6 games- This was hard because I like the Canadiens but I feel more comfortable with the Rangers, plus the Metropolitan is a hard division. The Rangers look better equipped for the playoffs but at least the Canadiens have a better coach now. Senators over Bruins in 7 games- Ottawa was here a few seasons ago and Erik Karlsson will be most likely back for Game 1. Also, the team will almost be completely healthy which is great timing and a healthy team in the playoffs is much better than the injured team that fought to be in this position. Penguins over Blue Jackets in 5 games- I feel bad because Columbus has such a nice story but picking experience in this series sounds more appropriate. Both captains are great but one is two-time Cup winner Sidney Crosby and you can't knock someone for picking him. The Jackets are still young and I hope we don't see the last of them here. Blues over Wild in 6 games- Blues look better only because the Wild have a coach who has trouble in the first round and beyond. They also lost steam during the season after having amazing stretches. The Blues are not perfect either since they fired their coach this year but their current coach knows Minnesota pretty well and he saw them lose last year, so he knows how to repeat that. Oilers over Sharks in 7 games- Picking youth over experience?! What is this?! The Oilers have speed, skill, and strength while the Sharks are much older but they can still play. The Sharks could surprise again but maybe it's the Oilers' year instead. Connor McDavid is ready to step up even more after a 100 point season at age 20 and as the captain. Edmonton also has veterans who have been in the playoffs or even won the cup who can help their teammates. This will be tough and that is why I put 7 games. Regular season ends THIS SATURDAY so these teams need to scramble to make it to the postseason that already have not clinched. Atlantic and North Divisions have not been decided so this will be interesting coming into the stretch.
Round 1 was just announced as the Pacific Division wrapped up earlier tonight for the final seedings. Here's where your teams are for the first round:
(Times are in Eastern Standard Time) All good things must come to an end as today is the final report of the regular season as today marks the last day of all teams playing and the last you will hear of some of these names as they graduate to second year status next season. Top 8 Rookie Forwards: Auston MatthewsGoals: 40- leads all rookies Assists: 29 Points: 69- leads all rookies Fun Fact: The last two players to score a high amount of goals on the Leafs include Phil Kessel (37) in 2011-12 & 2013-14 and Mats Sundin (41) in 1996-97 & 2001-02. Matthews has already become a Leafs legend in just his first season. Patrik LaineGoals: 36 Assists: 28 Points: 64 Fun Fact: Since the current Jets came from the Atlanta Thrashers, Laine technically holds the franchise rookie record for goals at 36. Laine is also the youngest rookie on the top forwards list, with his 19th birthday being 10 days from now (April 19, 1998). Mitch MarnerGoals: 19 Assists: 42- leads all rookies Points: 61 Fun Fact: Back in thr summer, there was a huge debate between GM Lou Lamoriello and Coach Mike Babcock on whether Marner would make the roster for the Leafs or go back to juniors for another season. One of the reasons was being his smaller size and the fact that he was thought to be on this year's World Junior team for Canada. Well, he sure proved them wrong and finished third in points for NHL rookies. William NylanderGoals: 22 Assists: 39 Points: 61 Fun Fact: Nylander faced his younger brother, Alexander, last Monday when the Leafs played the Sabres. Nylander grew up as the goalie for his younger brother when they would play hockey together growing up. Sebastian AhoGoals: 23 Assists: 25 Points: 48 Fun Fact: Out of all eight Finnish players to wear a Hurricanes jersey, Aho is ranked sixth and needs 92 more points to catch fifth place. He has ways to go but if he stays with this team for years and keeps up his production, fifth will be easily passed. Matthew TkachukGoals: 13 Assists: 35 Points: 48 Fun Fact: Tkachuk leads all rookies with 105 penalty minutes and is eleventh in the entire league. Brayden PointGoals: 16 Assists: 21 Points: 37 Fun Fact: Point is tied for second in the entire league for shootout goals with 5. His shootout percentage is 71.4% and he's scored 2 game-deciding goals. Mikko RantanenGoals: 19 Assists: 18 Points: 37 Fun Fact: Rantanen leads the entire team with 19 goals, a sign that he had the best season over everyone in Colorado. Top 10 Rookie Defensemen: Goals- Zach Werenski, Columbus (11) Jakob Chychrun, Arizona (7) Michael Matheson, Florida (7) Brandon Carlo, Boston (6) Esa Lindell, Dallas (6) Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg (6) Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia(6) Brady Skjei, New York (5) Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto (4) Troy Stecher, Vancouver (3) Assists- Zach Werenski, Columbus (36) Brady Skjei, New York (34) Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto (32) Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia (22) Troy Stecher, Vancouver (21) Derek Forbort, Los Angeles (15) Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg (14) Jakob Chychrun, Arizona (13) Esa Lindell, Dallas (11) Brandon Carlo, Boston (10) Michael Matheson, Florida (10) Points- Zach Werenski, Columbus (47) Brady Skjei, New York (39) Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto (36) Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia (28) Troy Stecher, Vancouver (24) Jakob Chychrun, Arizona (20) Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg (20) Derek Forbort, Los Angeles (17) Michael Matheson, Florida (17) Esa Lindell, Dallas (17) Plus-Minus: Zach Werenski, Columbus (+17) Brady Skjei, New York (+14) Brandon Montour, Anaheim (+11) Brandon Carlo, Boston (+10) Jake Dotchin, Tampa Bay (+10) Esa Lindell, Dallas (+8) Derek Forbort, Los Angeles (+7) Fredrik Claesson, Ottawa (+7) Markus Nutivaara, Columbus (+7) Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg (+6) Who's in the Playoffs? A look at some of the top rookies who we will continue to watch this year. Anaheim Ducks: Brandon Montour, D- Montour is one to watch in the playoffs because he has progressed so well at the NHL level after being called up midseason. His ice time has been more important lately as the Ducks suffered injuries on the blue line but he has managed to step up his game along with the other great defensemen left on the team. Boston Bruins: Brandon Carlo, D- One of the top defenseman on the team may not even be able to play at the beginning of the playoffs. The team is not yet certain about Carlo's injury status but hopefully he can make an appearance for them in the first round. Calgary Flames: Matthew Tkachuk, LW- Tkachuk has been discussed all season and we already know that he is capable of producing on offense with 48 points this year. Expect Tkachuk to be aggressive during the playoffs because he is the most aggressive in this rookie class. Other teams may target him by forcing him to draw a penalty on himself and hopefully he can avoid that or only do it in situations where he needs to step up for his teammates. He is very exciting to watch because he can be unpredictable. Columbus Blue Jackets: Zach Werenski, D- The best rookie defenseman is ready to take his +17 and franchise record high rookie points for the Jackets in their third playoff appearance. Werenski has been great for the Jackets defensively and offensively and has been there through it all this season. Expect to see him play solid defense and get his hand in on a goal or two or more. New York Rangers: Brady Skjei, D- Skjei is hardly talked about but he put up a great season with the Rangers and managed to put his name towards the top on the rookie defensemen lists above. He was very close to tying Werenski's assists and he could have (he once had 3 assists in one game). Skjei will learn from his teammates on how to handle the pressure because he is on an experienced team that even went all the way a few years ago. People will wish they talked more about him once the playoffs begin. Pittsburgh Penguins: Jake Guentzel, C- Guentzel has been HOT for the Penguins in his last five games to say the least. Guentzel has had at least one point in his last five and has a multipoint streak going for three games. He played only 40 games and managed 33 points already. Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner, C- This whole group of rookies makes me so excited for the playoffs because they finally got their team into the postseason again after picking first in the Draft Lottery last season. Marner was a great pick for them in 2015 because he is a fantastic playmaker and can be overlooked due to his smaller size, which is crazy because those who overlook him are missing out on a great player who has so much passion for the game. Marner will be able to spark the bench during the playoffs if there are ever moments of being down in the game and not getting through because his energy will lift his teammates up. Auston Matthews, C- Matthews is a complete legend already in Toronto with his 40 goal season and will be the offensive spark for the Leafs. Matthews goes big or goes home in games, just watch the Centennial Classic again (unless you are a Wings fan) and then of course his NHL debut. Everything he does is amazing and it is exciting to see what he is doing for Toronto right now after years of disappointment. I really hope he does well in the playoffs and on that bigger stage. William Nylander, C- Nylander had an offensive awakening in the second half of the season and will continue that into the playoffs. He definitely knows how to set up plays and follow through with others, as we've seen from his Rookie of the Month campaign in March and October. He also was a great pick in 2015 and he got experience playing in the AHL last year to get him ready for his great first NHL season. Nylander will definitely play a good role on offensive and will try to play a part in every goal. I will definitely miss some of the rookies who are not going to the playoffs but it was a pleasure getting to know them. I hope to keep watching them next year and then get to know next year's class. See you in the playoffs!
Quote of the Day: "The last time we played at home we lost to [Canada] in Vermont, and we didn't want that feeling again. The support we've had the last few weeks has been incredible, so we wanted to win this for the fans." -Kacey Bellamy, U.S. The tournament has concluded but not without a dramatic gold medal win for the U.S. They proved time and time again that they are worth more than what they are getting from USA Hockey for these tournaments. Without respect, this victory would not have been possible because they would have not been there. USA Hockey has to listen more to the needs of their players and it paid off for both parties. This is a huge victory for the women because they won it while being more respected by USA Hockey. They did not need this win to prove their dominance or worth but USA Hockey can now see that their investment is the 100% right choice. Yesterday's Scores:Congratulations to Switzerland on staying in the tournament! Best of luck to the Czech Republic as they go to Division I A next year.
Also, great job to Finland on winning bronze. It's sad to see Germany not win any medal for their work but they did better than they were predicted to. I hope they continue their resilience and grow more as a team for next year. See you soon, Germany! Championship day! Championship day! Hurray! Hurray! Our favourite rematch is back and I cannot wait to see if Canada actually defeats the U.S. for once or if the U.S. remains the dominant world power. Also, our underdog is playing Finland today, so there's another good story to watch! Enjoy the action because this year is truly special. Quote of the Day: "Any time we get a chance to wear a U.S. jersey on home ice, everyone gets so excited. [Today], we need to get better at every small aspect. Maybe eliminate one turnover or create one more shot block. Get more pucks to the net. Be better in every area." -Kendall Coyne, U.S. Today's Action:Looks like the Swiss did not want to give up and thanks to their efforts, they are playing today! Yesterday's Scores:It was a good run for Germany but the U.S. is unstoppable. I hope see them excel even more today and next year!
Maple Leafs Last playoff appearance: 2012-13 season. Option #1: Option #2: Game starts at 7:30 pm ET on TVA Sports, TSN4, Fox Sports- Florida, NHL.TV. Senators Last playoff appearance: 2014-15 season. Option #1: Option #2: Game starts at 7 pm ET on NBCSN, NESN, RDS, TSN5, and NHL.TV.
Quote of the Day: “I’m 43 years old now, and I’m playing with and against players 20 years younger, so I have to be 100 per cent focused on diet and training and daily life, eating, sleeping, everything.” -Riikka Valila, Finland. Today's Action:It's good to be back! Are you ready for some amazing action today? I sure am!
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ThoughtOne century of this game and League is a wonderful milestone to celebrate. Let's hope to do this in the next century! Archives
October 2017
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