Senators and Canadiens Disappointment

There will be no Canadien teams in the playoffs this year and that shouldn't be good for T.V this year. This was a disappointing year for the Senators and Canadiens. The Senators had weak goal tending and defense issues which caused them to be just an average team. They unfortunately were not able to recreate the magic at the end of the season which had Andrew Hammond aka the "hamburglar" steal the show. People say changes will be made for the Senators and they should be able to draft high this off season. The Canadiens lost their best player and #1 goalie Carey Price to an injury and the Canadiens once again proved that they are nothing without Carey Price. They won the Winter Classic against their rival the Boston Bruins which was supposed to turn their season around, but it didn't help. They had similar seasons with weak goal tending and it seems like these two teams are nothing without solid goal tending.  Will these teams rebound next season? Will they draft high? Will changes be made for the Senators this off season? stay tuned....

Stralman Out Indefinitely

The Tampa Bay Lightning have suffered a huge blow as they lost defenseman Anton Stralman for a while with a non-displaced fracture of his left fibula against the Islanders on Friday. This is a tough break since he has had a good year with the Lightning with 34 points. He is a solid top two defenseman with Victor Hedman so the Lightning have to really dig deep. This is an amazing team who should be Stanley Cup contenders this year and if they get far in the playoffs, they could have him back. They just lost to the Panthers 5-2 last night which puts the Panthers first in the Atlantic Division, but that doesn't mean the Lightning still can't get first place. They also have the Bruins only 3 points behind them with 88 so this injury could ruin their home ice advantage in the playoffs, but should have them in the playoffs. Will this be costly? How long will Stralman be out for? Is this the year for the Lightning? stay tuned....  P.S  To see the injury click the link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kz5RxFy0EU Also happy Easter!

Struggling Bruins

The Bruins have been losing lately at the wrong time. They are only 1 points ahead of the Red Wings and the Wings have 1 game in hand so Boston really has to step up. This sets up for the Wings to make the playoffs by passing the Flyers in the Wild Card race or beat the Bruins. There was a terrible call when the Bruins played the Panthers when the Bruins scored it got called off when on an instant replay you could clearly see the puck was in the net. That blew the chances for the Bruins to beat the Panthers as they went on to lose 4-1. They are on a 5 game losing streak which is the longest they've had all season at the worst time. You have to remember that they missed the playoffs last year by two points so it could easily be the same thing this year. There has been word that head coach Claude Julien will be fired, but that most likely won't be happening. They have to step up and make the playoffs this year because if they don't make it for the second straight year, changes could be made. Luckily today they play the last place Maple Leafs so they should break their losing streak or it will continue. Will the Bruins make the playoffs? How long will their losing streak last? Will major changes be made this offseason? stay tuned....

Avalanche Costly Injuries

Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon the two leading scorers on the Avalanche are both injured at the worst time. We don't know how long the injuries are, but we do know that they will both be out for sure on Saturday when the play the most important game of the year for them against the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are currently 1 point ahead of the Avalanche with 81 and the Avalanche have 80 , but they do have one game in hand. The Avalanche have to really play like it's the playoffs right now especially since we don't know how long the two studs will be out for. On the bright side they went out and acquired  Mikkel Boedker at the trade deadline who has 11 points with the Avalanche and they do have depth like Shawn Matthias, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Jarome Iginla, and a good goalie Semyon Varlamov to potentially hold off for now. The Avalanche decide their fate, they either come up big and win some games or fall down without their leading scorers. How long will Duchene and MacKinnon be out? Will their depth step up? Will they make the playoffs? stay tuned....

Playoff Update

The two wild card spots are being battled for fiercely and it's getting crazy. The Wild and Avalanche are neck and neck for the second spot and the Avalanche have the spot right now with 80 points and the Wild have 79. The two teams are just taking it one game at a time hoping to outlast the other. The East is also in a crazy situation with the Flyers making a run for the playoffs and the Red Wings playoffs streak is at stake, in fact they aren't in a spot right now with 83 points and the Devils are approaching with 77 points. The Penguins just took third place in the Metropolitan Division with their winning streak which means the Islanders in their losing streak dropped to the first spot with 85 points. It has not been looking good for them since Halak got injured, but luckily for them they have one game in hand to everyone else which means one less game. Side note: The Predators are sneaking up on the falling Blackhawks with one game in hand and 87 points, and the Hawks in third in the Central division have 91. It is going to be an even crazier finish than last year so pay close attention to the standings especially since the playoffs start in early April. Who will make it to the playoffs? Will the Avalanche and Wild both make it? Is Detroit's streak ending this year? stay tuned....

Seguin Injury

Stars superstar forward Tyler Seguin has partially sliced his achilles and will be out for 3-4 weeks which is the rest of the regular season. Click the following link to see his cut Achilles, but I warn you, it's super gross. http://deadspin.com/tyler-seguin-shows-his-gross-achilles-injury-to-everyon-1765793988 The injury happened at the end of the game where Anton Stralman collided with him and his skate hit his Achilles. Stars fans should not be too freaked out since they are first in their division with 93 points and only have 12 games remaining until the playoffs. He has 73 points which is amazing so their offence shouldn't be as good, but they have Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, and two good goalies to hold them off for 12 games. They are really lucky this is only 3-4 weeks since this could have been a devastating blow to the Stars who have had an amazing year. Hopefully this injury doesn't have an impact on the way Seguin plays in the future. Sorry I couldn't get a picture of the injury so just click the link above. Will the Stars do good without him? Will this effect Seguin in the future? Is this the year for the Stars? stay tuned....

Struggling Blackhawks

The Blackhawks have lately been losing big games lately and it seems like Ladd isn't making things too much better. Kane is on a 3 game point drought, Hossa came back, but is 0-2 since returning to the Blackhawks, Crawford has had a record 57 starts in a season, and Toews isn't being "captain clutch". The Blackhawks are in a tight race to be in first in the Central Division, but have lost to the Blues and Stars who are also competing with them. Lets break this down, they have been playing poorly since Hossa's injury and the first line has been invisible during this slump. The bad thing is, the Hawks haven't beat a western conference team in a whole month as well. Last night they lost to their rival Kings 5-0 and former Blackhawks Kris Versteeg scored the first goal of the game. The real problem is, they just have to get used to each other since all these new guys like Andrew Ladd, Thomas Fleishmann, and Dale Weise have come in. Luckily the Hawks are only two points behind in the race for 1st and have 1 game in hand so one win would be huge to get out of their losing streak. Also I've noticed the Blackhawks have been in the same situation before so this should be ending soon. Also they don't seem to be scoring 5 on 5 as much anymore, instead they score on power plays or empty nets. Will the Hawks get out of this slump? Can they win the cup again? Is Ladd going to be a good fit for the Blackhawks? stay tuned.... (P.S thank you to everyone who reads this blog! Thanks for 1,500 page views!)

Malkin Injury

Penguins star forward has been injured for 6-8 weeks after getting hit awkwardly on his left arm by defenseman Dalton Prout. This is his second injury of the year since in February he had missed 10 games due to a lower body injury.  The Penguins are only 3 points ahead of Philadelphia for the second wild card spot and it looks like that won't last. The bad thing is, Malkin is having a good year since he's second on the team with 58 points, and the Penguins are not having a good year. Malkin will be out for the rest of the regular season and could be back potentially on April 23 if the recovery goes smoothly. The biggest concern should be how the Penguins will cope without him and if they will maintain a playoffs spot. This era of Penguins seems to be coming to a close so they are just going to have to play it out., and maybe make some moves this offseason, but that's for another time.  Will the Penguins be in the playoffs? Is this ere of Penguins over? When will Malkin return? stay tuned....

Halak Injury

Another goalie has been injured and this time it's Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak against the Penguins while trying to stop a shot from the point, He is going to be out for at least 6 weeks so that means Thomas Greiss will have to be their starter and start for them in the playoffs. He is a capable goalie who has won 18 of 26 games he has been in, but that means the Islanders will have to step up for him. They are third in the Metropolitan division with 82 points and a 6 point lead over the Penguins, and the Penguins have been good lately so the Islanders aren't for sure in the playoffs yet. The injury should slow down the Islanders for sure, but they have to have other people step up. There is nothing too much to worry about as an Islander fan since Thomas has had an amazing year so far for the Islanders and can hold them off for a while. He isn't a true starter, but he can get the job done. Probably. Will Halak play again this year? Will Greiss be good for the Islanders? Will the Islanders make the playoffs this year? stay tuned....

Predators Point Streak

Nashville Predators are on a 13 game point streak and have not lost in regulation since February 9th against the Capitals. They have an 8 point lead on the Wild who are in the second wild card spot, and by this point it seems that they'll be in the playoffs for sure. Their chemistry has been good as a team, and that's what make a team good. The Predators season so far has been good and it got better after they acquired Ryan Johansen who has been good for them with 19 points since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackes. Of course Filip Forsberg leads the team with 28 goals, 24 points, and 52 points so he's having a good season. The Predators are good, but they should be a Stanley Cup contender this year as long as the team stay together. They are good enough to make it to the second round of the playoffs at least, and they have had bad luck the past few times. Will the streak continue? Are the Predators a playoff contender? Is this the year for them? stay tuned....

Schneider Injury

Devils goalie Corey Schneider has been injured for 2 weeks with a knee sprain. With 15 games remaining and six points behind the Red Wings for the second wild card spot, their playoff hopes seem to be dying. Their backup goalie Keith Kincaid can do fine for the Devils, but they do need a legit goalie to take them to the playoffs. The have recently been playing bad with Schneider, and imagine what will happen with a backup goalie who doesn't have that much experience. The only way they can make the playoffs is if their studs and stars step up for their injured goalie. The Devils definetly had potential for the playoffs, but this isn't the year so next year has to be the year. They have to just play the season out and just move on. Will Schneider be back this year? Will the Devils be in the playoffs this year? Is Schneider going to be good when he returns? stay tuned....

Sorry

Sorry for lack of posts recently, ever since the trade deadline there has been nothing I can write about except for game reviews. Please bare with me and the second I see news come out worthy to be posted about I will write away. I promise new content is coming so stay tuned.....

Trade Deadline Review

This year's trade deadline had plenty of trades and I'm going to break down the most notable trades. (Note: I already did the Andrew Ladd trade) There was a simple defenseman swap with the Kings and Blackhawks. The Kings gave away Christan Ehroff for Rob Scuderi. This was a minor trade that shouldn't affect the two teams except for a salary cap dump for the Blackhawks. Next the Canadiens got Phillip Danault and a second round pick for Dale Weise and Thomas Fleischman. This is perfect depth for the Blackhawks who are prepping for the layoffs. Phillip Danault will be a good boost in the future. The Blues got backup goalie Anders Nilsson for Niklas Lundstrom and a 5th round pick. The Blue needed an extra goalie since they have so many injuries. The Sharks goalie Maples Leafs goalie James Reimer and Jeremy Morin for goalie Alex Stalock, Ben Smith, and a 4th round pick. The Leafs are continuing to rebuild and get picks and prospects, but the Sharks got a great second goalie. The Panthers got Jiri Hudler for 2nd and 4th round picks. The Flames had to dump Hudler, but they didn't get anything good in return so the Panthers won the trade I'd say. The Penguins got Justin Schultz which is good defensive depth for a 3rd. He should help the Penguins for a few years. The Rangers got Hurricanes captain Eric Stall for two seconds and Aleski Saarela. Stall left Jordan Stall on the Hurricanes and joined his younger brother Marc Staal. This is a nice boost for theRangers, but will have to find a way to sign him later. The Kings got Kris Versteeg for Valentin Zykov and a 5th round pick. This is a mostly even trade that should benefit both teams, and Versteeg should be perfect depth for the Kings. The Capitals got Daniel Winnik and a 5th for Brooks Laich Connor Carrick and a second. The Leafs continue to pile up draft picks and the 1st place Capitals got a depth forward to help them to a Stanley Cup. A big one is Mikkel Boedker to the Avalanche for Alex Tanguay, Connor Bleackey, and Kyle Wood. The Avalanche won this trade for sure since Tanguay is an old veteran who can still score and should fit well for the Coyotes, but Mikkel Boedker is a younger guy with the same skill. Lee Stempniak was traded to the Bruins for a 2nd and a 4th round pick. Stempniak has 16 goals and 25 assists on the year so that should work out well for the Bruins, but the Devils should have tried to get a player out of it. The Devils acquired Devante Smith-Pelly from the Canadiens for Stefan Matteau, DSP only has 7 goals this year, but is only 23 so he can be good for the Devils in the future. The Oilers got Patrick Maroon from the Ducks for Martin Gernat and a 4th round pick, he should be perfect depth for the Oilers next year. Was this a good trade deadline? Who won these trades? Will these trades have a huge impact on their teams? stay tuned....