What to know for the All Star Weekend

Sorry for the little delay in posts recently, but you should know that today 1/30/16 the Skills Competition is at 7:00 P.M (ET) and the game will be on NBCSN in the U.S. The competitions will be the fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting, skills challenge relay, hardest shot, and shootout. John Scott has put himself in the hardest shot so that should be good. All of the games will be on Sunday. The Eastern Conference game will be at 5:00 P.M (ET) and the Western Conference game will be at 6:00 P.M (ET). The two winners of those games will face each other for 1 million dollars and you can see that at 7:00 P.M (ET) The games will be 20 minutes of 3 on 3 action so plenty of goals should be scored. I don't think this game will be too competitive since this doesn't count in the standings, but expect them to try a little bit more this time. I'm most exited about seeing Jaromir Jagr play since he is  43 years old and still has it in him. John Scott is also something to look forward to since..... well you should know why by now. Who are you most exited about seeing? What Conference is going to win the tournament? What can we expect? stay tuned....

Season Review #2 Canadien Style

Right now as of January 27th 2016 all Canadien teams are not in a playoff spot and it seems like it will stay that way. The Montreal Canadiens have been on a slide since December and lost their best player and goalie Carey Price. They don't seem to be doing any better without him. The Ottawa Senators are tied with the Canadiens, but haven't been able to have consistency throughout the season even with Erik Karlsson and Bobby Ryan which are the studs on the team. The Maple Leafs who are tied for last in the NHL just lost James van Riemsdyk and can't do anything really with out him, but they are in a rebuilding stage this season anyways. The Winnipeg Jets most likely won't return to the playoffs and this offseason they have a tough situation with captain Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien, and that may be a distraction to the team since those are two of the best players on the team. The Canucks need a change since the Sedins brothers are old, but still producing for now and this era of the Canucks is clearly over since they barely made it to the playoffs last year and aren't even in the race so far this year., the have just an average team this year. The Flames have been up and down this year since the were low in the standings than rose a little, than dropped back down and can't go on a winning streak. There's plenty of hope since the Fames have plenty of young prospects to use in the future. The Oilers with no McDavid aren't doing so well since they're tied for last and don't have McDavid. I've heard the Oilers may trade away Ryan Nugent Hopkins for a top 2 defenseman. Will these Canadien teams step up? Can any of the make it to the playoffs? What trades may these teams do soon? stay tuned....

McDavid Nearing return

Rookie star Connor McDavid has been cleared for full contact and might be returning on  February 2nd. He even participated at the Oilers skill competition. For now he is practicing with the Oilers AHL team, but won't play in any of the games. When McDavid returns he should help the 43 point Edmonton Oilers get out of being last place in the Western Conference. The thing is he won't really have enough time to lift the team up in the standings. Or he will explode and be the best player on the team. So we know McDavid has been practicing while being injured so that hopefully should help him ease in pretty easily. He should hopefully make his team better in years to come. Will he be back on time? Will he produce when he comes back? Will the Oilers become better when he comes back? stay tuned....
 

Lucic Sucker Punch

https://youtu.be/LwmKb_UU-e0

Milan Lucic continues to make dirty play as he sucker punched Arizona's Kevin Connauton (Click the link above to see) This was so dirty in my opinion since Connauton only bumped around a little and Lucic punched him in the head. Then Lucic goes crazy on goalie Louis Domingue. The NHL announced that Lucic will receive a player safety hearing. This should be a multiple game suspension for him since he has had multiple dirty plays like this. I'm not even going to list them since there are plenty of them. I think he overreacted to the play and this will obviously put a dent in his chances of returning as a King this offseason since he is gonna become a free agent this offseason. Luckily for Lucic there was no injury on the play so that may save him from being suspended for very long, unless he doesn't get suspended. Will Lucic be suspended? Was this really a dirty play? Will he be resigned at the end of the year? stay tuned....

Falling Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens have been horrific without Carey Price in net for them for a while. They were on a slide for a while until they won the Winter Classic which was planned to turn the season around, but continued to lose after that. This proves that the Canadiens are not a good team without Price. On ice they've been playing well especially outshooting their opponents, but can't actually win a game. The Canadiens tried to goaltending depth by trading for Ben Scrivens, but that didn't help that much. The Canadiens went from 1st place to 16th place and out of a playoff spot. There have even been rumors that head coach Michael Therrien will be fired. This slide is the whole team's fault for not stepping up for their goalie and management for not making a trade earlier. This is not just a slump, this is a disaster that can be fixed, but that will require more offence and someone to step up for their team. Until their best player Carey Price recovers. Will the Canadiens get out of this? Will they make the playoffs? Is there a trade coming? stay tuned....

Blackhawks 12 game streak

Another streak to add to the list for the Chicago Blackhawks. They have been doing everything right with all 4 of their lines producing on this franchise record win streak of 12 games. Before they were a one line team with Kane, Anisimov, and Panarin, but they have been doing everything as a team lately. Kane is on fire and has 71 points, 30 goals, and 41 points. This team just keeps rolling and they don't look like they're going to stop as well. The first line has woke up after not really doing anything for a little while. The Hawks have also moved up to second place only 5 points behind the Capitals and obviously first in the Central Division and the Western Conference. Also Corey Crawford has been on fire lately and he leads the league with 6 shutouts. Will the streak continue? Are the Blackhawks going to win the Cup again? What's next for the Hawks? stay tuned....

John Scott is an All Star

John Scott will captain the Pacific Division All Star team. The league just announced that he would be a captain. That seems like the fair thing to do since fans wanted him in the game in the first place. This is good since this will make fans want to watch the game more. Even though the league will change the way the All Star voting is next year, it's good fans got to control it one last time. I think the trade originally was set up by the NHL to take him out of the game, but they finally rethought it and made a choice. This was a big deal to the fans to have him in the game so that could be a reason the NHL let him in so the fans would not go after them or become upset. Was this a good choice? Did the league set up the trade in the first place? What's next for John Scott? stay tuned....

Kopitar extension

The Los Angeles Kings have finally signed Anze Kopitar to a contract, and it's a big one as well. Kopitar got an 8 year 80 million dollar contract like the Kane/Toews one. This is good for Los Angeles since they now have their stud center for 8 more years and nobody has to worry about it anymore. With that Kopitar will probably play better with all the pressure relieved. This situation is kinda like the Steven Stamkos situation, but the Kings had enough money for this big contract. The down side is that this is a lot of money and the Kings may have to make a move to stay under the cap, but Vincent Lecavalier retiring this season that should help. This seems like the right move, but Kopitar will be getting paid this money when he's 36 years old and he has a no move clause. For now it should make him and the Kings a better team for years to come, but it may get interesting when he's 36 years old unless he continues to be good. Is this a good contract? Will Kopitar play better because of this? What will the Kings do when he's 36? stay tuned.....

John Scott and the All Star Game

The legend John Scott has been traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens possibly taking him out of the All Star game. People probably won't be too happy about this since this would've made the All Star game something worth watching. Scott can't be a captain of the Atlantic Division since that is already decided and he can't even be captain of the Pacific Division since he's in the Atlantic Division now, plus he's in the AHL. Apparently he was asked not to play in the game, but he refused so the trade fixed that up. This was actually weird since the trade was a three team trade with the Coyotes, Canadiens, and the Predators. This is kinda sad since Scott was one of the big reasons people wanted to see this game, but it could still be worth it since this'll be a 3 on 3 tournament for 1 million dollars. With all the skill on the teams there's no telling what'll happen. Did the Coyotes only trade him because of the All Star Game? Is Scott going to be in the game? Will people still want to watch it even without Scott? stay tuned...... (P.S I'm going to the Blackhawks game on January 17th so I might do a post on the game and what it was like, even though this is my 4th time going)

JVR injury

Leading point producer on the Maple Leafs is out 6-8 weeks with a foot injury. This will affect the teams success this season, but it will give other players the chance and step up and produce for the Maple Leafs. Remember the Leafs are a rebuilding team this year so maybe this is actually good. Or this could be a total disaster since he is the leading point producer. If the Leafs do start to do bad then maybe they can have a better chance at getting a higher draft pick. So Leaf fans don't panic since this is potentially a good thing. The Leafs are going to need him back so they can have goal scoring and depth in the years to come, meaning JVR will need to recover successfully and pick up right where he left off. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? What will the do about it? Will JVR play the same when he comes back?

Ovechkin and the Capitals

Alexander Ovechkin got his 499th career goal on a overtime winner against the New York Rangers Saturday evening. His 498th goal was a lucky one since Girardi attempted to pass to Moore, but instead got to Ovechkin for a goal. The 499th goal was amazing since Brandon Holtby robbed Stepan of a sure goal on OT and Ovechkin took it and scored the OT winner. Ovechkin looks like he won't stop ever right now as he continues to be consistent with his goal scoring. He and his Capitals have been on a roll as they take over first place with 65 points. Evgeny Kuznetsov has also been a huge part in their in their dominance this season. He has more points than Sidney Crosby which is usually tough. The Capitals this year will probably be serious Stanley Cup contenders this year especially with all the depth they have. Are the Capitals ready for a Stanley Cup run? Is this the year? Will they continue to dominate the NHL? stay tuned.....

Huge Trade

 

Ryan Johanson and Seth Jones have just been involved in a blockbuster trade minutes ago. The two players are both 4th overall picks in their drafts. Columbus gets a great D-man which will make a huge impact hopefully, Nashville gets a 30 goal scoring center. This is a huge risk for the Predators, but it could be worth it even though they lose a key part of their defense. Columbus has made also a risky move since that takes away their offense star on the team, but boosts their defense. I think a huge reason Johanson was traded was because of his relationship with John Tortorella and his not so great season. I think Jones was traded because the Predators already have good defenceman with Josi and Weber. This trade can go either way with Johanson continuing to not have a good season or playing better with a new team or Jones will be an average defenceman or he will be a great fit in for the Blue Jackets. This is a smart trade for Columbus since they are last place and need to do something with all of their young talent eventually instead of wasting it. The Predators need to be a Stanley Cup contender soon with all the talent they now have on their team. Is this a good step in the Blue Jackets rebuilt? Is this a fair trade? Who won the trade? Stay tuned.....

600 goals for Iginla

Jarome Iginla has scored his 600th NHL goal on a wacky bounce off of Las Angles Kings, Jake Muzzin. Iginla is now 19th on the all time list of goal scoring and is one goal away from Kirri. That is good since he was chasing the milestone for three games and he finally did it. Iginla had most of his goals in his 16 year career with the Flames, but added on in Pittsburg, Boston, and Colorado. He deserves it since he has had 19 year career and is now 38 years old and he still continues to add on to his Hall of Fame Career. If the Stars hadn't traded him so soon this could have been a whole different story, and this could've been higher or lower. Will Iginla continue to score goals? Is this all because of his teammate? Would he be where he is today if he didn't get traded from the Stars? stay tuned.....

Drouin trade request

The third overall draft pick in 2013 Jonathan Drouin has requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was a surprise to me since he got to play on a Stanley cup contender team last season and even got to play in the finals, but he didn't get a good chance. This year he has had some injuries and had six points at the beginning, but he was just assigned to the AHL. Plus he is the last top 10 pick in the 2013 draft in the AHL. This is supposed to be more playing time for him, but he never got a good chance to play in the NHL. This request was made in November, but released publically today so maybe he just doesn't fit in since Cooper continues to be causing problems in Tampa Bay. Drouin probably wants to go somewhere where he can play the whole year and learn so he can grow his skills in the NHL. He has a lot of potential so maybe the Lightning can get something out of him on the ice or in a trade. This is going to add on to the crazy offseason the Lightning will have. Will Drouin change his mind? Will he be traded? Should the Lightning
give him a shot? stay tuned.....

Winter Classic 2016

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 at Gillette Stadium in the 8th annual Winter Classic. The Canadiens dominated the first period with a goal from David Desharnais 1:14 into the game, the Canadiens could have easily had more goals if it wasn't for a good period from Tukka Rask. In the second period the Bruins woke up and had 14 shots in the period, but no goals. The Canadiens on the other hand had two goals from Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher who just returned from injury. That was more of a close period, but Mike Condon did great along with an amazing save at the end of the period. The third period started out good for the Bruins with a goal from Matt Beleskey, but the Canadiens came back with goals from Max Pacioretty and Paul Byron. The Canadiens were the better team and they took the lead in the Atlantic Division, (side note: the Canadiens won two of their last thirteen before this game). It was a dominating game for them and the Bruins will have to shake it off and move on. Could the Bruins have done anything differently? Did Tukka Rask just have a bad game? stay tuned.....