Why I Woke Up at 4 AM to Watch Canada-US

June 11th, 2012.

That was the last time I watched a live hockey game.
It was a game where I saw my Devils lose the Stanley Cup to the Kings and while it was a tough pill to swallow, everyone had a feeling that it might be a while before the next hockey game.

It has been 202 days since then.

NHL Update; Rick Nash Injury

-The NHL announced that the NHL schedule will be cancelled up to October 24th. They could still manage getting an 82 game season if they cram in games and skip the All-Star break but it would require fast work by both sides. Donald Fehr doesn't understand, however, why they can't play while the bargaining continues. "If the owners truly cared about the game and the fans, they would lift the lockout and allow the season to begin on time while negotiations continue. A lockout should be the last resort in bargaining, not the strategy of first resort. For nearly 20 years, the owners have elected to lock-out the players in an effort to secure massive concessions. The players remain committed to playing hockey while the parties work to reach a deal that is fair for both sides." The sides haven't made progress in the last few meetings and it's pretty much obvious that there's no chance we see a full season. Oh well.

-Here is an updated list of NHLers in the KHL: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=775728491792774274#editor/target=post;postID=5269910157800819042

-Rick Nash was injured the other day in a hockey game in the Swiss League. Although several sites (most of them Swiss) said it was a major injury and he would miss the season, his MRI came back looking fine and he won't be out too long. While some suggested the "upper-body injury" was concussion-related, it turns out it was just a bone bruise. Exhale, city of New York.

-In just 5 games of lining together in the Swiss League, the combination of Jiri Tlusty, Tomas Plekanec, and Jaromir Jagr has produced 40 points. Wow.

-The KHL has done something the NHL hasn't in close to 10 years. Reach an agreement with ESPN. [Read]

-Do you like nice goals? I do. I already posted some nice goals from NHL players so far here but there are a few more to add to the list.
First up is Matthew Dumba of the Minnesota Wild playing for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL:

Dumba was knocked to his knees at the blue line but somehow kept with the puck and made a nice finish. Dumba was supposed to be a rookie this year but now has to stay in the lower level for a little longer. But holy smokes what a play.

Next we have Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues playing for SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL.

First of all, that was captain Ilya Kovalchuk on the assist. Also, it was sick how Tarasenko took the pass off the wall, deked it by the defenseman, and controlled it all in one motion. And then of course he beat the goalie while falling down, something Kovalchuk may have taught him.

And last but not least we have former NHLer Nikolai Zherdev with a saucy goal from the KHL.

Just nasty. Follows the sick dangle with a nice finish. What a beauty.

What Have We Missed So Far?

The ongoing NHL lockout has just been one huge headache. Honestly, I'm sick of writing about it. Apparently the sides have somewhat continued talks but people (including Dan Cleary) still think this thing will last a while.

So right now there are a plethora of NHLers playing in the various Europe leagues or the AHL (read my in-depth KHL post here).

While at this point, we'd only have seen a handful of preseason games, we've still missed some pretty amazing moments. This post is a reminder of what we're losing.

Your Jump-Start Guide to Following the KHL!

Many of you are probably in the same situation I'm in. With the NHL season in jeopardy (as it already begins cancelling games) I have a strong urge to watch some good quality hockey. The KHL has already had a solid reputation (aside from Kieth Jones who famously ripped into the league) and I decided to do some research.

Well I found out the hard way, how difficult it was to just pick up a new sport and I'm still having trouble following the new league. The team names mean nothing to me and I'm yearning for a sense of familiarity. So to help my readers get involved into the sport, I've decided to create some shortcuts to get right into the action.

NHL on Brink of Lockout; Now What?

Today seemed like the most important day for NHL CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) negotiations. The last several days or so wasn't exactly filled with constant negotiation or communication, a troubling sign during this time. But let's face it. We all pretty much knew that these talks would REALLY start getting serious a week or two before the NHL's deadline of September 15th. And with that date just 3 days away, the meetings today were pretty much all we could count on.

The main problems involved HRR (Hockey Related Revenue) percentage which both sides were trying to redefine and win over, and, of course, salary cuts. The current CBA was constructed by the owners who won the fight back in 2005 when we lost a season that year. But now that the league has been blossoming, the owners want a bigger cut of the pie (no, Dustin Byfuglien. Not that type of pie.) Things got even more interesting when there were some legal problems with the Labour Laws up in Canada which stated that no Canadian employees can be locked out without representation by a recognized Union. Coincidentally, the NHLPA isn't recognized, making a potential NHL lockout problematic. You can read about it here. The NHLPA stated that the NHL's planned lockout is "illegal in  Quebec" and that a hearing is scheduled for 10:30 AM Friday.

The players took some pay cuts in the first couple of proposals in these negotiations but the owners continued to ask for larger pay cuts by the players, something they were unwilling to forfeit. So with that in mind, we went into today just hoping that both sides can find some common ground and make progress.

Well the meeting began at around 12:00 PM. Donald Fehr, head of the NHLPA came to the meeting with players such as Chris Campoli (MTL), Mathieu Darche (MTL), Ron Hainsey (WPG), Manny Malhotra (VAN), George Parros (FLA), Cory Schneider (VAN), Kevin Westgarth (LAK), and Daniel Winnik (ANA).

So the NHLPA with Fehr and his men met with commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

When I heard that nearly three hours later, the talks were still going on, I was hopeful that they were at the least making progress. Reports surfaced that the PA made a revised proposal and then the NHL discussed it and then made a counter proposal.

The NHLPA's agreement had them taking a lower percentage than previously discussed. The players didn't want an absolute cut of share of revenue at the start but agreed that they would over time as the revenue grew.

Uh oh. Bettman's response was almost predictable.

Bettman said that their offer was "not much different" then their previous one. The NHL's counter offer was a tad bit more fair then their last one but not by much. They loosened up the amount of cash going to the players (a little bit) and gave them a bigger percentage of HRR (a little bit). Then they said that if no new deal was made by Saturday (doomsday, September 15th) then this proposal was coming off the table.

The main thing from today, though, was that the NHL wanted players to immediately reduce their salaries, something the players were not exactly for (they wanted to gradually lower it over time rather than do it immediately).

The length of the new deal was also an argument as the players were looking for a 3 year deal while the NHL was trying to strike a 6 year deal. However, the players ultimately said they'd go up to a 5 year deal.

Bob McKenzie, TSN analyst was grim about the future, pointing out how far apart both sides are. The NHLPA says it won't take an actual decrease in money spent on salary while the NHL is asking for an immediate and significant reduction. As McKenzie put it, "not even in the same universe."

The NHLPA had a meeting in the afternoon before Donald Fehr's press conference. Seemingly hundreds of hockey players showed up at the hotel including superstars like Zach Parise, Claude Giroux, and almost the entire Boston Bruins team (yes, including Chara). 

NHL players at meeting today in NYC

Fehr started off by saying that the league is still asking for a lot of financial givebacks by the players. Fehr said that it seemed that the NHL was going from asking for "an extraordinarily large amount" to just a " really very large amount." 

So based on the fact that the NHL is looking for the players to immediately take significant pay cuts and the fact that the players are entirely against that, things aren't looking too promising. Also, as Tom Gulitti pointed out, both sides are negotiating off of their own proposals. They aren't responding to the other party's proposal, but rather working off of their own previous offers, something that's essentially counter-productive. 

The teams have realized the depressing outcome also as a large amount of players have been placed on waivers to make them eligible to play in the AHL (more on this later) this season in case of a lockout. We will probably see some familiar names there this year.

So ya. This sucks. 

For more on this story read tom Gulitti's gloomy post here.

Well let's assume there is a lockout.

I want to discuss some other stuff.

First of all, the lack of media attention has been an outrage. I recall last summer watching ESPN (that was my first mistake) and being inundated with coverage of both the NBA and the NFL potential lockouts. The anchors spent upwards of 20 minutes an episode of their flagship show, Sportscenter, discussing the intrecacies of the deals and the possible fall backs of a lockout.

So you can all understand my dismay when they don't even spend a little bit of time on the NHL lockout. I've discussed the inadequacies of the hockey coverage in the past but this has been by far the most saddening. We're talking about an entire league being locked out again for the 3rd time in 17 years yet you wouldn't exactly know this if you spent your time watching subpar sport analysis from the self-proclaimed "World Wide Leader in Sports."

Tom Gulitti tweeted before the meeting that all of the players standing around were causing a large stir on the streets of New York outside of the offices. He said that a lot of people stopped on the street to ask what was going on but when told, they moved on unaffected. He even told a story that a woman got excited because she thought all the hubbub was for the NFL referee’s lockout (which DOES get a lot of coverage on ESPN) and was rather disappointed when told it was for the hockey one.

Back to my post about Bettman's comments, us fans will be back. The fact that you’re reading this means you care enough about hockey that you’ll be back to the NHL as soon as it returns. That’s the way us hockey fans are. But let’s take a trip back to 2005. The NHL was struggling in the world of sports. After the lockout, they tried to revamp the game to make it more exciting in an attempt to lure more fans to the sport. And frankly, that strategy has been fantastic. Although we still can’t keep up with the other major sports in America, the NHL has slowly gained ground on the other leagues. Major sporting markets have built excellent followings for hockey. Cities like Buffalo, Boston, New York, and many others have excelled with the fans. (Note: I’m only talking about American following. Canada is and always will be into the sport.) So what is troubling about this untimely lockout is the lost connections with these newfound fans. Many people fear that these fans will just abandon ship, never to return. I wish I could say that these casual fans will be eager to return but we don’t know for sure. Things don’t look too good right now.

So what about us? What about the diehards who have to endure yet another lockout? What do we do?

Well we have several options.

In the 2005 lockout, I was still a child so I wasn’t able to change over to a different league. So what worked for me was ES Sports NHL 2005. The EA franchise has been consistently releasing fantastic sporting video games and have won awards the last several years for their progress in the industry. This year’s game includes new features such as a complicated Power Skating Program and a new goaltending system. You can read the whole review here on PuckDaddy. The fact is, if you’re itching for some legit NHL action, this is the closest you can get and, trust me, you’ll be satisfied.

If not-real hockey doesn’t do it for you and you still want NHL-like action, you can start to follow the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia. That league has been growing for several years and many players from the NHL are going to play there if there is a lockout (and perhaps stay there when the NHL returns). Stars like Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and perhaps Sidney Crosby may go and play there overseas in the event of a cancelled season.
The positives are evident. The level of play and speed of the game are close to that of the NHL's so it'd be like your not missing anything.
The downside, however, are raher large. To begin with, there's an 8 hour difference from New York and Russia meaning that a 7:00 PM game there will begin at 11 in the morning here, a pretty big inconvenience for people. Also, the only way we could watch those games would be on cheap, blurry online internet streams, not the ideal way to watch a hockey game.
But if you want to watch some real, fast-paced action this year, the KHL may be your best choice.

If you don't really want to put up with the struggles of watching KHL hockey this season, this last idea may be for you. The American Hockey League (AHL) has been the development grounds for many of today's NHL stars. There's a great amount of young talent in the league, and as I mentioned earlier, there will be a good amount of young NHLers taking a step down this year to play there also.
The pros here are that the games are here in America and it's easy enough to follow. Some names may be familiar depending on how big of a hockey fan you are and the action is pretty good in the AHL. Additionally, this would be a great way of scouting the young talent for future years in the NHL.

So whatever way you look at this, things don't look too good. It's almost a certainty that we won't have a done deal by the September 15th deadline, an occurrence that the NHL claimed they'd shut down the season for. We can hope that the negotiations go past the deadline and eventually they'll come up with a deal. But until then, we have to just sit here and wait.

As for this blog, I'll find some good things to write about. I'll try to follow the success of some of the NHL players playing in different leagues. I also want to write up some of my favourite games, moments, and other important stories from NHL's history. As Greg Wyshynski and Jeff Marek say a lot on their blog (Marek vs. Wyshynski. You can find it in Itunes), in 2005, hockey survived on the internet. It was blogs like these that helped fans come back to the sport and hopefully I'll be in the fight this time around.

Good luck everyone.

Gary Bettman is Right, For Once

During the frustratingly fruitless labor disputes, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made a statement which caused some stir amongst the fans of the NHL. "We recovered last time because we have the worlds greatest fans," said the commissioner.

The reaction to this was pretty expected, given the way people view Bettman nowadays. At this point, the fans don't even think twice about going against what he says. And now that we're on the brink of yet another lockout, one that would be the third lockout in 19 years under Bettman, people hate him more than ever.

So when Bettman made that statement regarding the fans, people read it as "If you guys weren't such doormats, I might be worried" meaning that he knows we'll (meaning the fans) come back to the sport we love no matter what happens and there's nothing we can do about it.

Well I'm here to say that he's 100% right.

Sure, he didn't say it in the disrespectful way we took it as but let's think here for a second. If you're a die hard hockey fan who's glued to the television screen for every minute of televised hockey, what are the chances you're going to leave the NHL for, let's say, garbage online streams of KHL hockey or lower level of the AHL? I highly doubt that the real fans of the NHL won't be frustrated enough to make that horrible transition. If there is a lockout and a stoppage of play for any amount of time, it's almost expected that hockey fans will come right back to the NHL when it resumes almost as quickly as the real fans did after the 2005 lockout.

"Thank You Fans" after we all came back after the 2005 lockout

But let's be honest here. Fans are fed up.

But will it really accomplish anything if we start protesting the league? Will the NHL give a crap if we start unfollowing their Twitter page? Will they be concerned if several people start boycotting team sponsors? Will they begin to panic if we sign some online petition that's meant to somehow pressure Bettman and the owners? What about if we gather outside of the NHL store on September 15th in an @OccupyNHLStore movement?

None of these would accomplish anything.

I like the way Puck Daddy's analogy in his post about the matter. In this situation, we're the children in this relationship as our parents are fighting and going through a divorce. It's not our fault, we're not guilty, and, unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to stop it. If we run away from home (turn to a different hockey league) nothing's going to change.

What these attempts to get the league back shows is that we're desperate to get the league back. This proves Bettman's point that this league is too precious to us and we'll almost undoubtedly be back.

So all we can do now is just sit and wait and perhaps shake our heads until both stubborn sides agree on something. It's depressing but that's all we can do.

But I'm not going to lie. This video that protests the lockout is pure brilliance and is definitely worth a watch.

Let's get this league back soon

State of the 2012-2013 Season; What It All Means

I literally have no idea.

2012 NHL Awards Preview

Well on Wednesday, they are having the NHL Awards at 7 o' clock on NBC Sports Network, and although the show is a debate in itself, it's still fun to see these players off the ice. 

This years' awards are a little interesting. The nominees are all, for the most, good choices. Now while most awards can be narrowed down to 2 choices, there's still not really a sure-fired winner.

So I'll give my picks for the winners. Now many of you know already, but I'm not the best prognosticator out there, no matter how well informed you all think I am (curse you, second round!)

So while I don't have the best luck with predictions, I'm still pretty confident with my picks. So hopefully you tune in on Wednesday and enjoy the show!

Best Moments/Stories From the 2011-2012 NHL Season

Last summer, the hockey world had to deal with an intense load of grief. Several tragic occurrences left hockey fans wondering when it will all stop. It seemed every day there was another tragedy that rocked us and it seemed that it would take us all a while to truly recover from these terrible instances.

So going into the 2011-2012 NHL season, we needed a great year of hockey to help us forget about the past.

We got just that.

This past season we saw moments that kind of rallied around the hockey world. Every now and then, it seems that every fan in the country is just drawn to one event and we're all united by what has happened.

So I thought about this season as a whole and picked my 20 best moments/stories that I feel were just so awesome and what hockey is all about (Twitter helped because throughout the season, you know when something awesome happened just by looking at your twitter feed).

The following 20 are all events that warmed our hearts this year. They may not have been the most important moments but when you look at them, you can see why hockey fans adored over their uniqueness.

So sit back, relax, and relive these epic moments.

The Kings of Hockey

This post is a bit late. It took me a while, as a Devil fan, to cool off from Game 6. I got out all of my aggression here and this post will be dedicated solely on the Los Angeles Kings.

It took 45 years, but the Los Angeles Kings have finally won the Stanley Cup.

Wayne Gretzky, Rogie Vachon, Luc Robitaille Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer, and other stars of the past all looked on as the Kings of today accomplished what they couldn't.

Win the Stanley Cup.

Sure, we kid about the terrible media coverage in LA or the bandwagon fans there, but this teams' history is as deep as many others. When you see signs in the stands that read "The Kings won the Stanley Cup, Now I can die in peace", you know how important this team is to so many people in Cali and for them to see this team win the Cup is something special for them.

So the Kings Won the Stanley Cup, Big Deal; Devils Fans in Sorrow

Note: I'm about to do something that's frowned upon and avoided majorly in the blogging world. I'm about to do something no blogger should ever do if they care about their reputation and credibility. I'm about to do something I'll eventually regret.
I'm about to blog while upset.

I just finished watching game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals and there is a lot to write about. But tonight, I'll focus on my feelings as a Devils fan.

So I'll mock the Kings. I'll mock the LA media and the fans. I'll bash the officiating. And I'll make excuses for losing.

I'll probably get around to posting something legitimate tomorrow about the Kings winning.
So if you want to read that, come by tomorrow. If you want to nod your head in agreement as I unprofessionally degrade the Kings season, then read on!

What the Devils Must Do To Force Game 7

In NHL history, only 2 teams have ever rallied back from down 3 games to none to force a game 7. The Devils are trying to become to the third team to do this. After losing the first three games to the streaking Kings, the Devils have managed to put together two solid games and make this thing interesting. They've done this, in my opinion, by causing more traffic in front of Jonathan Quick, bumping him and whatnot, and keeping up their intensity, even while behind in the series. Martin Brodeur has also played huge in net for the Devils and people credit him with "stealing" games 4 and 5. Can they keep this up? If they believe, they might be able to. Here's why:

Devils Game 4 Win; Is Comeback Possible?

Everyone expected last night's game 4 to end with Dustin Brown lifting the Stanley Cup before a sellout in the Staples Center. The Devils had a different result in mind. And now, with the scene shifting back to New Jersey,   people are starting to toy with the idea that the Devils have a chance of playing with history. The question is, will they be able to do it.

As everybody knows, LA has been a very good hockey team in these Stanley Cup playoffs. There was this unanimous feeling that they would just win game 4 and make things easier for all of us. But to the surprise of everyone (excluding loyal Devils fans), the Devils played a strong game after a weak game 3 outcome. The Devils are now perfect in game 4's this postseason. It's not a significant stat but I just wanted to point it out.

This game was pretty much dissected into three parts, one for each period. Let's go through each one.

First period: This period was pretty back and forth but the Kings had quite a bit of trouble for the most of it. They were held shotless for just about 15 minutes in the middle and the Devils took advantage getting a lot of solid chances on net. Each team had their fair share of powerplays in the first but neither team was really able to capitalize. Both penalty kills did an acceptable job protecting the middle of the ice and was good getting the puck out. 

Devils superstar, Ilya Kovalchuk, looked stiff as a board out on the ice. He wasn't skating well, couldn't get anything behind his shots, wasn't getting the puck on his stick, and just wasn't playing with intensity, something we expect out of him at this point. The man is for sure playing through something tricky. But not only is the injury effecting him, but there's word that the pain medication that he's taking could be negatively impacting his play as well. This was evident in the first, and it was a sign for Devils fans that it'd be a long night for their 100 million dollar man. 

A good sign for the Devils early on was the fact that for the first time in the series, they were starting to get some bounces go their way. The first three games, we saw pucks bouncing over New Jersey sticks along with posts and crossbars galore (including chances to win games 1 and 2 by the end of regulation). In the first period Wednesday night, however, it was the Kings who got the tough breaks. Slava Voynov and Anze Kopidor Kopitar both hit the post in the first and it seemed things might start going in the Devils' favour.

Second Period: This period was more of the Kings domination. They outshot the Devils 7-3 in the middle frame and the Devils had just one shot on goal (coming with just over a minute left in the second) since 6 minutes in. But at the beginning of the period, the Devils did play solid hockey including one of those oh-my-goodness-how-the-hell-did-Ilya-Kovalchuk-miss-that-tap-in-from-one-inch-away-with-the-net-wide-open plays. I truly believe that the Kings could have won that game in the second period if it weren't for Martin Brodeur playing like it's his last chance for the Cup. The dude last night was unbelievable and pretty much stole the game for Jersey, specifically in the second period.

Third Period: This period was more back-and-forth, evenly matched play. 

One story going into game 4 was whether or not the Devils will score a legitimate goal this series. In game 1, their only goal was scored off of Slava Voynov's shoulder and their only goal in game 2 was a freak deflection from about 9 feet away from the net. After getting shut out in game 3, people were wondering if we'd see a clean goal for New Jersey.

Patrik Elias gave us our answer.

It was a wonderful shift by New Jersey's second line (more on that later) that pinned LA in their own zone. I mentioned in my series preview that Dainius Zubrus really had to use his size in this series in order to help NJ and he did so on this goal. His play behind the net, (staying strong on his feet, staying with the puck) was nothing short of clutch and exactly what the Devils were looking for, somebody to make a play. And then Elias was in perfect position to clean up the rebound giving the Devils their first lead of the series.

However, what happened next made me pretty upset.

Rarely do we see a call that EVERYBODY agrees upon. The Devils fans, the impartial fans, the analysts, and Barry Melrose. 

54 seconds after the Devils goal, David Clarkson was called for boarding (no, King bandwagoners. Boarding is NOT when someone rides a skateboard through the neutral zone). 

The video will be shown in a moment, but just to explain, David Clarkson literally brushes up along side Dustin Brown, gives him a bump, and the ref's arm shoots up to make the call. 

As I said, people were outraged by that call. Ex-Devil, current analyst Ken Danueko wrote on Twitter moments later: "Ref should be ashamed, in a Stanley Cup Final you call that, ridiculous!" The respected SI  writer, Peter King, also voiced his opinion after the hit, "The ref's name should go on the Cup when the Kings win it. He's the King's MVP so far tonight." This call would be atrocious even in a regular season game, rather than a Stanley Cup Final game, where the whistle is understandably swallowed.

And almost as if the hockey gods weren't watching the game (they weren't), the Kings scored just SECONDS after the powerplay started.

Brad Doty (WHY DO I KEEP DOING THAT?!?!) Drew Doughty picked up his 14th point of the playoffs on this hard shot through traffic. And yes, in case you're wondering, I DID flip the table in my TV room after this happened.

This was what impressed me most about the Devils though, last night. True, there play overall yesterday was pretty good especially considering that mostly everybody figured they'd crumple. But remaining your cool after a brutally awful call leads to a game-tying goal is tough. But the Devils did just that. They played great puck-control hockey after the Kings' gift goal and it paid off about 7 minutes after the Doughty tally.

This play was picture-perfect for the Devils. 

It all started with Mark Fayne's genius play at the red line. As the puck comes to Dwight Kings stick, Fayne steps up and rubs him off the puck. This was a great play by him because he knew how much support he had behind him and knew there was no harm in doing so. This, by and large, made up for the missed empty net Fayne had in game 1. Way to go, hockey gods!

Next, Alexei Ponikarovsky (more on him later) made the genius play of recognizing that Fayne needed support and dropped back to regather the puck and wasted no time in no-looking a backhand pass to a wide open David Clarkson sitting at the blue line.

Next Clarkson made the great pass over to Henrique, a big point for Clarkson after getting nailed for an undeserved penalty that led to the tying goal (hockey gods, again). As Martin Brodeur said, it was about time somebody made a play and made a nice pass entering the zone as opposed to just dumping it in as the Devils had been doing until then.

And then it was Calder finalist Adam Henrique (more on him later) who somehow kicked the not-so-perfect pass over to his stick before rifling it off of the post and in.

Every part of the play was perfect for the Devils and I feel the hockey gods turned on the TV just in time to make this happen. (yes, but then they shut it off after that as evident to the least deserving Devil on the ice, Ilya Kovalchuk, getting credited for the empty-netter)

So do the Devils actually have a chance of pulling this thing off?

We've seen the Devils build off of strong wins in the past couple of rounds. After a game 2 demolishing of the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, the Devils didn't lose another game, winning 4 straight. And in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers, the Devils won 3 straight games to close it out after a big game 4 win. So the question is, do the Devils have what it takes to make another run to close out a series after a big win?

Well to start, let's look at the dynamic of this series.

As Bob McKenzie pointed out last night, game 4 could have been between the Devils and Kings with the Devils up 2-1. Games 1 and 2 were so unbelievably close that the 3-0 series lead didn't exactly portray the story of the series. So all the Devils really have to do is continue playing the way they have been and they'll at least have a chance to win.

Now let's look at players who have some kind of experience in 3 games to none comebacks.

It's only been done 3 times in NHL history, once in the Stanley Cup Finals (Toronto in '42 (in the Finals), Islanders in '75, and Flyers in '10). Zach Parise's father, J.P. Parise, was on that New York Islanders squad who came back in 1975 against Pittsburgh. Zach talked to his Dad before game 4 about that series and got the vintage cliche', take it one game at a time. Zach said that it was helpful as his Dad pointed out that it was indeed possible and that he and Devils' Colour Commentator Chico Resch are walking proofs.

Two Los Angeles Kings players were on the 2010 Philadelphia team that came back just 2 short years ago. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter know what it took to make the comeback and have a chance of being on the other side of it if they don't change things.

And last, but certainly not least, Devils' rookie sensation and Mr. Clutch, Adam Henrique, did it back in 2009. The Windsor Spitfire of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) found themselves down 3 games to none to the hand of the Kitchener Rangers. Adam said that the team played by the "1 game at a time" rule and never really lost hope. Henrique was a big part of that Windsor team and even had a goal in the game 7 victory to advance.

This Devils team has done a great job all postseason in winning big games. They've had a short memory of losses and that has been huge for them up until now. This team plays with a lot of heart (thanks to captain Zach Parise who never gives anything less than 100% and leads by example) and will undoubtedly give it their all until one team has 4 wins.

Mostly everyone on the team has been saying the whole "1 game at a time" thing in press conferences and interviews but it feels that the players think they can really pull this off. When you look at their performance in game 4, you didn't see a desperate team or a hopeless team. You saw a team that was trying to win a hockey game. And that's what did it.

So don't count the Devils out yet. They still have a mountain to climb and I'm sure LA will come back stronger back in New Jersey and will do their best not to let the Devils back into the series. But this should be, and hopefully it will, for hockey's sake, an interesting battle from here on out.

Notes:

-The Kings now have a chance of breaking the all time road wins record in a playoff campaign. The record is shared at 10 road wins by Calgary in 2004 and New Jersey in 1995, and 2000. The Kings 10th road win came in game 2 in New Jersey and now have a chance to break the record.

-In the New Jersey Devils' 30 year history, they've been involved in 43 playoff series. Shockingly, they have never been swept in a single one, something that continued after their game 4 win last night.

-Everybody knows Ilya Kovalchuk is injured yet still playing, thus ruining the flow of their powerplay AND their top line. In last night things almost got worse when Zach Parise's foot got banged up pretty badly along the boards. He appeared to be better later on but this blow wouldn't be too good for the Devils who need healthy players.

-Simon Gagne, Trevor Lewis, and Dustin Penner, twice, all had breakaways last night for LA. Brodeur made a nice kick save on Gagne, forced Trevor Lewis to backhand it just wide of the net, stopped Penner the first time around and forced Penner to shoot wide the second time around. All failed opportunities that LA has GOT TO capitalize on.

-Going into game 4, most people expected LA to finish the job against New Jersey. The consensus was, however, that if Martin Brodeur stood on his head, New Jersey could win it. Brodeur did all that and almost better for them in, perhaps, his strongest game of the playoffs. Marty made HUGE, timely saves and gave the Devils the chance to win. Although he might return next season, this is most likely the legend's last run for the Cup and he's been enjoying it. Also, with this win, he's most likely the leading candidate for the Devils to win the Conn Smythe.

-Like I said earlier, the most important thing about the Devils last night was their composure in an elimination game. The King fans were loud the whole night but the Devils were not rattled by the pressure. They impressed me even more when they still played strong hockey after the awful penalty and powerplay goal and for that effort alone, deserved to win this game.

-The Devils made 2 lineup changes for last night. The first was that Petr Sykora, the leading, active Stanley Cup Finals goal scorer, was getting in the lineup after being replaced after game 3 in the series against New York. I felt the move was 1) a move to inspire the team and 2) to build a line up. It inspired the team because Petr Sykora was a tryout in training camp this season and impressed the squad enough to earn him a spot. The old vet had a solid season and now was placed in the lineup in a SCF game, something important to him. And now the point I want to get to, Sykora's line last night with Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus was just about the best line out there last night. They are a puck-control line who cycle the puck better than most other lines in the league and did their job last night and got a huge goal for them. Expect to see it again in game 5.

-The other lineup change was another emotional one for the Devils as Henrik Tallinder played his first game in many months after suffering a blood clot in his leg mid-season. Tallinder is a solid defenseman and is very strong defensively. I think it wasn't for a better fit in the lineup due to the fact that the man Tallinder replaced, rookie Peter Harrold, was doing a fine job on defense anyway. But the fact that Tallinder made an unexpected return was probably to spark a big game from the team. And as expected, Tallinder did a fine job (and thank god we didn't see this from him, as we did earlier in the season)

-It just seems that whenever the Devils need a big goal, they turn to Adam Henrique. Henrique has 4 goals this postseason, 3 of them being GWG's. Two goals were in game 7 in round one against Florida, one of them being in double OT. Then he scored one of the biggest goals in Devils' history, the OT clinching goal against the Rangers. And now he gets another big one, a game winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Devils. Henrique now has the most points in Devils history for a rookie in the playoffs (12). POWER OF THE STACHE!

-Alexei Ponikarovsky has continued his clutch play for the Devils last night. He has 7 points in these playoffs and has quietly been really clutch for the Devils. Out of those 7 points, 4 of them have been involved in a game winning goal (1 goal, 3 assists)

-The Kings powerplay, which was at 8.1% going into this series, has heated up recently. After going oh-for in the first two games, they netted 2 powerplay goals in game 3 and had a HUGE powerplay goal to tie up the game last night. They've started seeing some good chances and are now up to 10.8% and could be a good tool to use later on in the series.

-The hockey gods must have been surfing the channels last night as they were there at times and not there for the others. The hockey gods were nowhere to be found when LA capitalized on their undeserved powerplay. Next was Bryce Salvador getting 2 points on a night where he was almost the downfall for the Devils (refer to the next point). Then Ilya Kovalchuk, who looked like a cardboard cutout most of the night, scored the empty netter, something he didn't at all earn or deserve. But the hockey gods did some good when Mark Fayne made a big play, atoning for his empty net miss in game 1 and giving Clarkson an assist after he got nailed for that weak penalty call that led to the Kings' first goal. But most importantly, the hockey gave the Devils the W and sent the series back to Jersey.

-Last, but not least, Bryce Salvador's interesting playoff campaign has continued. Salvador had 2 ridiculously stupid, undisciplined penalties in a time when the Devils couldn't afford it. He was the one guy on the Devils who I was disappointed with, in that respect. Defensively, he had another solid game, now lining with Anton Volchenkov. But what's been the story with him, is the offense he's supplied. He tacked on another two assists last night. After having 9 points in 82 regular season games this year, he has 13 points in 22 games played in the playoffs. And guess what. Salvad'Orr is just 1 point behind Drew Doughty for the lead in defenseman scoring. (Salvador's a free agent this summer. Look for him to cash in, big time)

Can Anybody Stop the LA Kings?

The Los Angeles Kings are now just 1 victory away from lifting perhaps the most prized possession in all of sports. Whatever it was, something sparked them in the final weeks of the season and they never turned back. Since March 11th, the Kings went 9 wins and 5 losses entering the postseason and had a legitimate chance to be the third seed. Who got them into the position for the late season push? Jonathan Quick. But once the team really started playing good hockey, that's what got things going for them.

And then they got to the playoffs. That combination of a hot goaltender and a team that was rolling, was just too much for the opposition. As Vancouver fans, Blues fans, and Coyotes fan (singular tense intended) can tell you, this team was going to be a tough handle for the upstart team from Jersey.

But they sure as hell tried.

So, as a Devils fan, I have two choices. I can either take the easy route and blame this tough series on the Kings being nearly unbeatable. Or I can take the just-as-easy route and blame it on the fact that the Devils didn't show up to play.

I'll save the latter one for a future post.

Holy crap, the Kings are good.

Los Angeles Starting to Notice the Kings?

The Los Angeles Kings are in a pretty good position right now. They are just 2 home victories away from winning the Stanley Cup in impressive fashion. Their overall playoff record is now 14-2 and they are undefeated on enemy ice (10-0) as well as games that go into overtime (4-0). They're also the second 8 seed to ever make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and could be the first 8 seed to actually win it all.

And yet the people in Los Angeles are not quite watching.

Game 1 Summary

Kings forward, Anze Kopitar, celebrates after scoring the OT winner in game 1 against New Jersey

Tonight we saw a glimpse of this series true potential. Like I said in my series preview both of these teams play well when they are in control of the puck. So it was only natural that half of the game tonight was played in the neutral zone with neither team really being able to gain control. This was because both teams strategy is to get the puck out of their zone and into the other one. That went on back and forth for most of the night.

The first five minutes of the game was a case of both teams trying to find their rhythm against an uncommon opponent. The problem for the Devils was that they continued playing like that for the next 10 minutes while the Kings played like they were supposed to. Hard on the forecheck. Good passing....wait a minute. I just described the first goal:

This was a great effort by the LA fourth line who played great tonight for the Kings. They got in the Devils' faces all night and were really effective. Darryl Sutter used them wisely and they were able to cash in about halfway through the first on a bad Devils' turnover.

This kind of play by the Devils ultimately stopped with about 5 to go in the third when they finally started putting on pressure. But multiple missed opportunities throughout the game proved to be their downfall. Clarkson and Fayne both suffered bad open net misses and they came back to haunt Jersey in this one.

The Kings went on to control much of the 2nd period. They weren't really giving up too many quality chances and it took until about 5 minutes left in the 2nd for the Devils to get their first shot on net, that being a soft roller off the stick of Zach Parise shorthanded. But the Devils stuck around and started throwing shots on net and soon enough they caught a break with Volchenkov's first goal of the post season

That goal late in the second really presented a momentum shift in this contest. The Devils all of a sudden were controlling play and putting on pressure. The start of the third was pretty great for them as LA had no answer for their relentless play. Zach Parise had a golden chance right in front and with the net wide open but just shanked it wide. And then the sly little devil (no pun intended) tried to jam it in with his glove (it was waved off).

As a matter of fact, it took the Kings about 13 minutes to get a decent chance against the Devils as they were really pressed back in their own zone for the main part of the third. And somehow, Martin Brodeur made an incredible two-pad stack save on LA defenseman Drew Doughty.

Both teams went on to split their chances the rest of the way (in a cautious way, in my opinion) and that landed this game in overtime.

There's no other way of saying it besides the Devils outplayed the Kings in overtime. We won the battles along the boards. We outhustled the Kings to the puck. Think of a common cliche' in hockey in hockey, and the Devils probably did it.

But then one play got out of hand for them. 

Zach Parise somehow almost got a feed to the stick of Travis Zajac but the puck went over his stick and wrapped around the boards. You can guess what happened next.

Marek Zidlicky pinched, couldn't quite get the puck deep, and got taken out.

A gorgeous bank pass towards centre ice by Doughty.

Another great pass, no look backhand, by Justin Williams, after drawing in a risky pinch by Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador.

Which gave the one player on the Kings who the Devils don't want to be in all alone on the goaltender, Anze Kopitar, a breakaway.

And oh boy, does that man have a nice set of hands.

Anze Kopitar has shown time and time again why he's one of the best players in the NHL. For some reason he's underrated and not as well known, but he's got a wonderful list of sick plays and highlight reel goals to display.

And tonight he has another one.

So just to go over what happened tonight:

-The Kings literally outplayed the Devils in the first period and 2 quarters. They were physical and smart with the puck while the Devils were laid back, passive, and all around unremarkable. Devils' forward Patrick Elias said, "Honestly, we didn't deserve to win tonight...we've got to be a lot better than this". So the team realized their weak efforts. They did pick up their play in the 3rd and in OT but it just was not enough.

-The Devils arena was jumping tonight. A few of my buds made the trip down and they said the atmosphere was incredible.

-The ice at the Prudential Center tonight was disastrous. The building has a history of bad ice conditions and they usually do their best to make the ice as good as possible but tonight it wasn't very good. We constantly saw pucks bouncing, rolling off sticks, and ruining play. It's pretty hot this time of year, both in Jersey and in LA, and it'll be interesting to see how this progresses.

-The fourth line of the LA Kings really had a great game tonight. They were really able to move their legs and establish a forecheck and physical game. Their one goal tonight definitely showed their great play and coach Darryl Sutter rewarded them with at least 3 more minutes of ice time than they normally got. They deserved it and played a great game and will certainly play a factor later in the series.

-I alluded to it in my preview. In order for the Devils to succeed this round, they were going to need big play out of their big men. And sure enough, Dainius Zubrus stepped up with perhaps one of his best efforts this post season. He was skating hard and throwing his body around, something the smaller-sized Devils had to do. He didn't cash in on a goal but came pretty damn close. I said it before, but Zubrus and Alexei Ponikarovsky are both important pieces in this matchup.

-Although the Kings first line cashed in last night to make it 3 goals and 6 assists even strength for first lines against the Devils D in 19 games so far, I still don't think they played their best game. Dustin Brown wasn't really a factor and, for the most part, the Kings top unit was quiet last night. But then they stepped up and scored the one that mattered.

-The Devils shook up their lines a little again tonight. Ilya Kovalchuk was an MIA as, like I've said numerous times already, appears to be injured. Their fourth line, again, was very good.

-This game was unpredictably pretty physical. Both teams were really throwing big hits left and right and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a shortage of ice packs in either locker room. Each team was going for the big hit and many of them connected. The Devils won the hitting contest 44-35, a surprising victory given the height disadvantage. The hitting will certainly keep up through game 2 and will hopefully spice up this series even more.

-Brodeur was really strong tonight stopping 23 of 25 shots and didn't really have a prayer on either goal (people were saying that he shoulda had the first one but I don't put the blame on him for the turnover and the one timer shot). He made several big saves and for the most part looked steady out there. Jonathan Quick also had a steady game for LA. He stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced and although he gave up several sloppy rebounds and appeared to be fighting off the puck at times, he was one of the reasons LA had a chance to win it in OT after the Devils' third period surge.

-As a Devils fan I've seen it a lot. It usually happens against frustrating games against the Rangers. We play a tough game and get several great chances but fail to capitalize. And then we can't quite get the next goal and look up to the scoreboard and see a disappointing loss. This was pretty much the case tonight. Clarkson, Parise, and Fayne all missed wide open nets and failed to put the game away. This happens pretty frequently to the Devils, but they're a good bounce-back kind of team so let's see how they respond in game 2.

-Just to talk about game 2 for a moment. The Devils are indeed a good bounce-back team and respond well to losses by putting it in their rear view mirror. This will be crucial for them in game 2 because if the Kings take the series back to Los Angeles up 2-0, there's no telling how high their confidence would be. The Devils are well aware of their lack of energy early on and will make it a point to start game 2. It's unfortunate for them that they're going to have to wait an extra day but I can see them starting out strong. They're going to have to if they want to make this things a series.

Stanley Cup Finals Preview!!

Third round results:
I said Devils in 6
Devils won in 6
1

I said Coyotes in 7
Kings won in 5
0

After 3 rounds of mediocre predicting, I'm a wonderful 6/14. But that's what has made these NHL playoffs special. We have teams that play well when most people don't have faith in their chances. And these finals display that. The Devils and the Kings had been told round after round that they didn't really have any business advancing. And now they're the only two teams left in what should be a stellar matchup (TV schedule found here). Let's take a look.

6. New Jersey Devils vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
Devils won regular season series 2 games to none

Conference Finals Preview!!!

Second Round Results: (feel free to skip this part. it get's disgusting)
I said Capitals in 7
Rangers won in 7
0

I said Flyers in 6
Devils won in 5
0

I said Blues in 5
Kings won in 4
0

I said Predators in 7
Coyotes won in 5
0

Nobody likes predicting series, but it's a necessary evil in the blogging world. People look to you for your expertise (or lack thereof, in this case) for no other reason than they have internet access. So after 2 rounds, I'm a meager 5/12 including a whopping 0/4 in the second round.

So here is the TV schedule for this round. Considering what we've seen thus far, it should be one helluva round for the NHL.

1. New York Rangers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
Rangers won the regular season series 3-2-1

Oh boy. This is the series we've all been waiting for. The Battle of the Hudson. The rematch of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final. The teams that created the Avery Rule. The teams that saw 3 fights in 2 seconds this season. And we're about to see another classic between these two teams.

Now a lot has changed. The Rangers no longer employ Stephane Matteau, Sean Avery, and there's a very slim chance we'll see many more cases of 3 fights at once. But this series should still be an intense, physical battle.

At this point, these teams have flipped flopped their roles. The Devils have been playing with an uber aggressive forecheck system which has been giving their opponents fits while the Rangers have been using the "Trap" defensive style, something the Devils have been faulted for ruining hockey with in the '90's (ironic, eh?)

Additionally, the Rangers have just won 2 consecutive 7 game series, something done only 8 times in NHL history. None of those teams went on to win the next round. Assuming it was due to fatigue, I think this NY team is different in the sense of the type of team they are. They're a hardworking team and they have a lot of fight in them so I'm not so sure about saying this'll be an issue for them.

The Rangers are 5-3 on home ice this postseason, including 2 game 7 victories at the Garden. Their fans have been wonderful but teams haven't been too intimidated playing on their ice so far.

In New Jersey, the Devils have enjoyed their home ice. After losing a big lead in their first game at the Rock,  the Devils went on to win their next 4 home games. The often-criticized-for-being-empty arena has been insane during the postseason and has been an electric atmosphere (I had the privilege of going to one of those games). But I've noted before about the invasion of Ranger fans in Newark and I'm sure it will be pretty much the same this round. But we shall see.

The Rangers in these playoffs are 7-0 when scoring the first goal. This is for sure credited to the defensive-minded hockey they play and the stellar goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils, on the other hand, are 5-0 when surrendering the first goal. This is for sure credited to their determination, hard forechecking, and Ilya Bryzgalov being a sieve. So something has to change this series.

The Rangers offense has been at times anemic this postseason. They've played 2 hot goalies for the first 2 rounds and they've been struggling (at times) to put the puck in the net. After making his presence felt in his first couple of games, rookie phenom Chris Kreider has fallen off the face of the earth (aside from a gorgeous assist in game 4). The Rangers were successful against the Devils this season when using their speed and Kreider and, other rookie, Carl Hagelin will have to step up their game for that.
Also, I feel like the Brad Richards will play a big role for the Rangers if they were to advance. In 2004 he was the heart and soul of the Tampa Bay Lighting and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his efforts. I feel that he's going to want to push his team to get things going offensively in a lead-by-example kind of way.

The Devils have been scoring from numerous sources. Their game winning goal scorers are Ryan Carter, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac Adam Henrique, David Clarkson, Alexi Ponikarovsky, Dainius Zubrus, and Bryce Salvador. That's 8 different goal scorers. None of them are Ilya Kovalchuk. This just shows the depth of this New Jersey team. Their first line has gotten things going and their fourth line (Stephen Gionta-Steve Bernier-Ryan Carter) has been remarkable. Coach Pete DeBoer chooses the perfect moments to put this line in and they have done a wonderful job causing pressure, being physical, and scoring big goals.
The Devils have also benefited from mediocre-at-best goaltending. At times, the Florida and Philly netminders have been sieves and it definitely benefited the Devils. I'll talk about Henrik Lundqvist later on, but I'll say it now, the Devils won't be receiving any gifts from him at this stage. But if the Devils continue "Swarming It Up!", maybe it'll be enough to get by NY and finally get revenge for '94.
(It should be noted, that the Devils haven't played enforcers Cam Janssen or Eric Boulton yet in the playoffs and the team hasn't gotten into a single fight yet so it should be interesting what the Devils do regar ding that)

The Rangers defense has to be smart against Jersey. The Devils' forwards' forechecking has been fast and effective so far this postseason thanks to opposition defenses losing the puck in their own end. The Rangers have perhaps the best puck-moving defenseman in the NHL. Ryan McDonagh, Michael Del Zotto, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi are all capable defenseman and all could be top defenders in the league. But here's where the issue comes up. The third defensive unit is not so trustworthy, and their time on ice reflects that. In game 3 of their series with Washington, Stu Bickel played just 3 minutes of the 114 minutes played. Him and Anton Stralman have played significantly less than the other 2 top lines. This may wear the top two pairings down a bit and it should be interesting to see how they progress. But one things for sure. When the games are in New Jersey and the Devils have the last line change, they will for sure take advantage of this. And did I mention how good they are at shot blocking.

The Devils defense has gotten better over the postseason and quietly did a great job against Philly. They surprised many people, myself included, in the coverage they put on. Guys like Marek Zidlicky and Andy Greene have been eating big minutes and have looked pretty good out there. Rookie Adam Larsson made his postseason debut this past round against Philly and looked adequate while other rookie Peter Harrold was a healthy scratch since starting (and playing well) in their first round against Florida. Again, their one issue has been defending against a fast team. Florida's young talent and speed dominated the Devils when it was there, and like I said earlier, Carl Hagelin's speed in the regular season gave the Devils trouble as well.

Martin Brodeur has finally put together a solid series for the Devils in which he didn't give up an untimely weak goal. After about game 5 of the series with Florida, the all time wins leader played strong hockey for the Devils as they went 6-1 in that stretch. His puck playing ability has been solid. His rebound control has been solid. But Devils fans fear that he may go back to his last-four-playoff-seasons Marty in which we saw bad goals given up at bad moments. The word on the block is that if you throw pucks, from sharp angles towards his feet, they have a good chance of going in. We haven't seen too much of that in the last round or so and I'm sure the Rangers will start that up again.

Henrik Lundqvist was finally given a supporting cast. And with them, he's in the Eastern Conference Finals. Henrik has always been the guy with the bad luck of playing for the team with little offense or defense. He's had to struggle through some pretty tough seasons and playoff campaigns but he's finally one step away from the Stanley Cup Finals. He's been playing great for the Rangers all year and the well-rested Lundqvist continued his strong play into the postseason. However, we saw his one *slight* weakness exposed in the Washington series. Everyone always talks about that the way you beat Henrik is top glove side. And the Capitals pounded the pucks top glove side at every possible moment. And what we saw were a few goals off of his glove and in. I'm not saying it's a sure way to beat Lundqvist. But it may be the one hope the Devils have against the King considering his track record against Jersey.

The Rangers penalty kill has been pretty average in these playoffs. They have been great at getting their body in front of shots and clearing rebounds away from the middle of the ice. But at times they've tried to do a bit too much. Like in game 6 when they left Alex Ovechkin wide open in the slot. So if the Rangers avoid chasing the puck too much, they should be good. The Rangers powerplay has been very shaky and has their fans pretty upset. Aside from their 2 goal powerplay in game 5 (you know, the one that actually prevented them from getting eliminated), they were pathetic. From what I see, they like to pass the puck along the point in a 3 man rotation, looking for a shot on net. And then they wait some more. And before you know it, they make a stupid pass and the puck gets cleared. If the Rangers simplify their approach and get the puck to the net, maybe better things will happen. Washington gave them several opportunities but NY squandered them. As John Tortorella put it "It sucked (our powerplay). It kills ya. It sucked."

The Devils had a special teams turnaround in the second round. Their penalty kill stopped one of the best powerplays in the game. The Devils statistically had the best penalty kill in NHL history in the regular season but were awful in the first round against Florida. But they seemed to get back to their old ways in the second round. Their powerplay also was somewhat solid. Their PP started clicking a little bit and it's definitely helped their game. They do pass the puck between the point men looking for a shot. And then they have a triangle down low in which they play with from time-to-time as well. It's a pretty predictable powerplay but it has been working for the past few games. But let's see how the Devils do once their shooting lanes have been taken away by the Rangers shot blocking.

Both teams have been pathetic in the faceoff circle. They each have a guy or two who can be good (like John Mitchell and Travis Zajac) but I don't see either team taking a significant advantage in this department.

In the end, I think this series is going to come down to several things. The emotional level of the Rangers after 2 emotionally draining series. The discipline of the New Jersey Devils, not taking stupid penalties or retaliations in the heat of the moment (like they avoided against Philly). The stamina of the Rangers first two defensive pairings and their ability to move the puck. And most importantly, Martin Brodeur, keeping the games close for the Devils to take advantage of. The Devils have yet to face a legitimate playoff netminder so it should be interesting to see how they react when things don't work out as well as they have been as of late.

So when predicting this series, I'm presented with a dilemma. If I pick the Rangers, then I'd be bashed for going against the Devils, my favourite team (something that happened with last round's predictions). If I pick the Devils, I'm criticized for being a homer. So before I write anything, let me tell you that what I write is just my gut feeling and NOT  something that should be taken seriously. If I'm correct, then I'm a genius. But more often than not, it's just a guess that comes up empty. So ya.

In my opinion, I feel the Rangers will come out empty for a couple of the games. We saw in game 6 against the Capitals a terrible effort put together by NY as they literally did nothing all night. I feel if the Devils keep up their game, they could tire out the Rangers and take advantage of any bad effort out there. This is no doubt going to be a physical series in which the most physical team will most likely win. I can see the Rangers being too aggressive at times and landing in the box and I feel that this is a special-teams battle that suits the Devils well. The games will be close. But I think the Devils depth on offense tires out the already-exhausted Rangers team.


DEVILS IN 6


3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
Regular season series (essentially) tied 3-3

Let me begin by saying this. If you're an American reader, you've most likely seen one or two 30 second specials on ESPN's sportscenter about how the "Cinderella" 8th seeded Kings defied all odds and made an attempt to run the table in the NHL playoffs.

Pfft.

The Kings, in the last week of the season, still had a chance of winning the Pacific Division. Meaning this could easily be a matchup between the 3. Los Angeles Kings against the 8. Phoenix Coyotes. But it's not.

The Kings have proved that they're not the 8th seeded team people are making them out to be. They defeated the other 2 division champions and they now face their own. They got here by playing good disciplined hockey with solid defense and unbelievable netminding. They literally walked all over their first 2 opponents and now they have one team left in their way to make it to the finals.

The Coyotes had a sick evening last week. Not only did they defeat the Nashville Predators to make it to the Western Conference Finals, but they also had a media event in which they announced they pretty much have a buyer enabling them to stay in Phoenix.
You see, it's been that type of season in Phoenix. Everybody doubting you and ignoring you. And before you know it, you're in the Western Conference Finals.

The Coyotes have played such a controlled way of hockey all season long. Great goaltending. Stellar defense. Big contributions. In the playoffs under head coach Dave Tippett, the Coyotes continued their success and showed everyone why hockey belongs in the desert.

The Kings offense had an awakening this postseason as guys like Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards as they both have done great things offensively for this squad. But the heart and soul of this team has been captain Dustin Brown. He was so-so in the regular season (he was even briefly on the trading block for about a week). But he has been sick in these playoffs including 2 goals in the clinching game in round 2 against St. Louis (one of which being a snipe from the circle). To win the series, the Kings will need for Dustin Brown to continue to lead by example AND for his teammates to follow.

The Coyotes offense is almost unexplainable. They have a core of players (several of whom originated from the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, by the way) who have been quietly putting the puck in the net in key moments. Antoine Vermette leads the team with 9 points. Mikkel Boedker has 2 consecutive OT game winners. The ageless Ray Whitney has been producing offense as well, as has Martin Hanzal. For Phoenix, there's no one big piece of this offense. And you will continue seeing this until they get eliminated or win the Cup. This team is 4 lines deep and ready to chip away with their respectable offseason stat of 2.64 goals per game.

Defensively, I don't think there's a team out there that can match Phoenix's star power AND depth on defense. Firstly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson has to be one of the best defenseman in the league. In these playoffs he's showed his true potential. He's a superb skater, has a physical presence, has an above average shot, and has good puck handling abilities. Sounds a little like Kieth Yandle, no? And then throw in Rusty Klesla and Derek Morris things are a little unfair. These guys have been superb all postseason and the Coyotes love the fact they have these three pairings of Dmen.

The Kings defense is also a pretty dominating force. Drew Doughty has stepped up in the playoffs and has been playing well. Slava Voynov has chipped in as well. For the Kings defense has been a big factor and is a reason they've gotten this far. They are pretty good at clearing out the front of the net after Jonathan Quick saves. I think they'll have to continue that work with Phoenix's pesky offense skating around in front.

Let's be real here. The one thing that sets this series apart from any other series in any other round this year is the goaltending matchup.

Jonathan Quick is a Vezina Finalist for league's top goalie as he literally put the Kings on his back down the stretch. He led the league in shutouts and his style of play has been sick to watch. He was unbeatable in the first 2 rounds of play and he made many dandy desperation stops. He's the reason the Kings are here and the team finally started helping him out more and now they are in the Western Conference Finals after needing juts 9 games to get there. He's not the tallest guy but he makes up for it with his reflexes, flexibility, and his Quickness (sorry about that one). When screened, however, he goes down to the ice and tries to spot the puck through the feet of the traffic in front of the net. The Coyotes are hoping that maybe if they cause traffic, it'll open up the top half of the net more for shots from the point. They have to hope for a lot though because Quick has the lowest GAA out of any goalie left and he'll certainly continue this into the next round.

On the other end, Mike Smith has done pretty much just as well. He's been sensational for the 'Yotes all year and gave them what they really needed, goaltending in the playoffs. His play under coach Dave Tippett has improved his abilities and he's been zoned in during the playoffs. He's on top of the world in Phoenix and  would have caused an earthquake had he scored in game 5 vs. Nashville with the net empty. He's a big body in front of the net and plays pretty deep  in his crease and reacts very well to shots  which allows him to stay down more. This combination has been deadly for his opponents. His calmness and composure is incredible and like Mr. Quick, his play will continue into the next round.

The powerplay has been weak for both teams.
The penalty kill has been great for both teams.

The Kings powerplay has literally been embarrassing this postseason. And I mean actually horrendous. Their  8.5 conversion rate is something that's seriously wrong for a Conference Finals team. I'd imagine they may resort to simplifying their approach by just shooting pucks towards the net through traffic. They need to come up with something though. Because it's sad that they have the same amount of Shorthanded goals (4) as they do powerplay goals (4). Speaking of shorthanded, the Kings have a +1 differential on the penalty kill. They clog the neutral zone and pick off passes at their own blue line and they have incredible speed the other way. It's definitely something to look for this round.

The Coyotes powerplay has pretty mediocre as well. Not as bad as 8.5, but still low at 16.1, the Coyotes have failed to capitalize on oppositional mistakes. But the key for them this round will be being mistake free on the PP. Like I noted, the Kings are money on the kill so Phoenix has to be perfect and well disciplined when they have the puck on the man advantage. Once they do that, then they can start to figure out how to score. On the penalty kill, Phoenix has been superb. They've been just about as good as LA has aside from the shorthanded goals. Their shot blocking ability has been fantastic and Mike Smith plays big in net to counter the traffic in front.

One of my favourite stats, specifically when it comes to the postseason, is the faceoff %. It's a big advantage (on special teams, late in a game, etc.) when you are able to start the play off with possession of the puck.
In this series, Phoenix has a pretty big advantage here. Their % is considerably larger than that of any team remaining and this could play a role in their series with Los Angeles. A faceoff can at times decide a game. Just ask the Washington Capitals.

Logic would dictate that the Kings are the better team. They've won in more convincing ways. They have a more explosive offense and a goalie just as good if not better than anyone else in the league. The Coyotes on the other hand, don't have a significant goal scorer.

But I'm compelled to choose Phoenix in this one for a couple of reasons. I feel that the Mike Smith-Jonathan Quick matchup will ultimately be even. I think that the depth of Phoenix will overwhelm the Kings' defense and eventually get them tired out. Quick will most likely be facing more shots than Mike Smith and maybe eventually 1 or 2 might trickle in. I also think that Phoenix will ever so slightly win the special teams battle.

"But the Kings dominated their first 2 round opponents!" you might say. Well I'd like to point out (and this is in no way discrediting LA's play up until now) that the Kings benefited mightily from injuries. The Canucks were NOTHING without Daniel Sedin. They had no offense. They had no powerplay. Their chemistry was messed up. Then, the Blues were without Alex Pietrangelo and Jaroslav Halak, something that helped the Kings close out the series in a sweep. I'm not saying this is why LA won. I'm saying that this could be why LA won in 5 games and then in 4.

So I'm picking  Phoenix to beat Los Angeles because I like their depth. I'm picking Phoenix to beat Los Angeles because I like their defense. And, most importantly, I'm picking Phoenix to beat Los Angeles because, up until now, nothing in these playoffs have made any goddamn sense.

COYOTES IN 7

How Not To Play Hockey, Featuring the Flyers

I'm a Devils fan who is jazzed about this beautiful series win vs. a heated opponent. As I try to do with most posts, I'll be leaving my Devils bias out of it. Here's just a case of me losing it on an entire organization, something I've only done with Boston. Enjoy

Going into game 5 in Philadelphia, all eyes were on how the Flyers would react. After a solid game 1 victory, Philly lost all sense of what to do and got man handled by Jersey and dropped 3 straight. Included in those games was a ridiculously stupid penalty by Flyers leader Claude Giroux.

And to noone's surprise (Flyers fans excluded), Giroux earned a 1 game suspension from the headshot.

So the Flyers had to face a game 5 on home ice, without their star forward.

Here's what everyone was saying. Either:
A) the Flyers realize their own impending doom and they look horrid against the Devils who wipe them out of the building
or
B) they're inspired to win on home ice as their teammate watches from the bleachers and come out firing and win the game.

But what actually happened never really crossed my mind. I expected a physical game but what I saw was a game in which one team lost all sense of control.

What I saw tonight embarrassed me as a hockey fan.