by Rory Boylen - May 2, 2010 12:00 AM EDT
With the second round underway, here is something each team has to be excited to see and something to be concerned about.
Through one game in each second round series, here are a few observations on one individual performance that has to have fans excited and one performance, individual or intangible, that will be a cause for concern.
by Rory Boylen - April 20, 2010 11:15 AM EDT
It's great to see the refs allowing position wars to take place, but as the playoffs advance, let's hope more consistency is found.
There’s been something creeping back into NHL games this post-season that just doesn’t fly in the regular season. In the first seven months these plays would be called as penalties more often than not, but in the playoffs the players are being given much more leeway.
by Rory Boylen - April 18, 2010 2:21 AM EDT
A too many men on the ice penalty was the icing on the cake for the Kings to even the series; and also matchups and players to watch.
Two games, two overtime thrillers. No room for error.
It was fitting Game 2 between Los Angeles and Vancouver ended on a power play goal by Anze Kopitar.
by Rory Boylen - April 13, 2010 12:45 PM EDT
Will the Kings turn to an unlikely goalie if they falter? Will Vancouver break out? Can Filppula and Krejci raise their games?
Forget spring; the Stanley Cup playoffs are in the air.
This tournament trumps the Olympic event from start to finish. It’s a whole new game, with unexpected turns, playing out in dramatic sporting theatre for two months.
by Rory Boylen - April 6, 2010 1:23 PM EDT
The team and many of its players is having a career year, but will this success transfer into the post-season?
Last season I thought the Canucks had enough to win the Stanley Cup, only to see them crumple in Game 6 of the second round to the Hawks. This season the Canucks are even better, so I want to pick them again, but all the while the little voice in my head is shouting, “Don’t do it!”
The Canucks are a deeper team this year than they have ever been before.
by Rory Boylen - March 23, 2010 10:40 AM EDT
Much like Brunnstrom, Leino and Gustavsson before him, Roman Cervenka is getting a lot of hype, but teams must be realistic about his impact.
Roman Cervenka made a little North American noise playing on a line with Jaromir Jagr for the Czech Republic at the Olympics. With two points and a plus-2 rating in five games, his numbers didn’t jump off the page, but given his coming out party in the Czech League, rumors began swirling about him joining Jagr in a trek to the NHL.
by Rory Boylen - March 16, 2010 11:47 AM EDT
Screaming for immediate rule changes without considering the trickle-down impacts isn't good for the long-term health of the sport.
In spite of what some people want you to believe, the sky is not falling in the NHL.
The day after a star player is injured by a devastating bodycheck, there’s always calls for rule changes to fix the horrible injuries that plague the league.
by Rory Boylen - March 9, 2010 11:08 AM EST
Quebec City's prodigal son didn't get the chance to play in his hometown, but he's relishing the opportunity to grow the game at the junior level.
It must have been tough for die-hard hockey fans from Patrick Roy’s hometown, Quebec City, to root for his bleu, blanc et rouge while their Nordiques hit a rough slide in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
by Rory Boylen - March 2, 2010 11:35 AM EST
The odds of a second-rounder making it are slim so why trade an NHLer for one? It's all about increasing your chances.
I’m not expecting this to be the most exciting trade deadline, but there’s always at least one big surprise that becomes the talk of the day and has its whats and whys broken down by everyone on TV and around the water cooler.
by Rory Boylen - February 23, 2010 12:15 PM EST
Plenty of people were calling out Yzerman and Co. for not including Green and Stamkos after losing to the U.S., but such derision is without base.
"To the people across Canada, we tried. We gave it our best. To the people who booed us, geez, all of us guys are really disheartened. We're disillusioned and disappointed.
by Rory Boylen - February 16, 2010 1:55 PM EST
Can you guess who is the USA's all-time leading Olympic scorer?; Kudos to Jack Johnson; and a run-in with the Sedins.
Did you know the all-time leading goal-scorer for the USA at the Olympics was actually born in Midland, Ont?
Herbert Drury, who played for the Americans at the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games (and who is a relative of mine) was born in 1895 and began his hockey career with Midland of the Ontario Senior League in 1914 and he played in that league until the 1916-17 season, when he moved to Pittsburgh.
by Rory Boylen - February 10, 2010 12:20 PM EST
Don Waddell's latest deal - Lehtonen to Dallas for Vishnevskiy - is another example of how this franchise has failed to develop.
We all recognize how important it is to build through the draft, especially in an age where teenagers make the direct leap more than ever. If you’re a team like the Atlanta Thrashers, who can’t afford to fill front-line roster spots through free agency, the draft is all the more important to keep the team competitive.
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"If we do pick first, we're leaning more toward one of those three forwards."
- Colorado's executive vice president of hockey operations, Joe Sakic, on what the Avalanche plan to do with the first overall pick at the June 30 entry draft. Many were expecting Colorado to take defenseman Seth Jones.
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