Too Many Men on the Site - A NHL blog

December 5, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) on the ice against the Boston Bruins during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Bruins won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

“Not [feeling] bad. I’m not happy about watching. But I have to make sure with these sort of things that I’m careful and making sure I’m 100 percent before coming back. No timetable [for a return].” The question everyone has been asking is when will Sidney Crosby get back into the game? He has had problems since last seasons double-whammy hits in back-to-back games that sent him out with a concussion. When he returned for a few games in the early parts of the season, he left the ice for concussion symptoms. But, the doctor’s haven’t set a time table for when he will come back, until now. Continue reading this post »

In preparation for the week’s All-Star festivities, we’re going to take your pick-by-pick through the 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Player Draft.

First we’ll introduce the Captains, as Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson, the leading vote-getter amongst all players represents the host city and his Senators. The opposing captain is a man familiar to Senators fans and is the captain of the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, Zdeno Chara.

Now both captains already have selected assistant captains as well. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers joins Team Alfredsson, and Joffrey Lupul, a player who many dismissed because of a long-term back injury but is having a breakout season, is part of Team Chara.

The first selection of the draft went to Zdeno Chara and Team Chara and it was a bit of a surprise as Pavel Datsyuk went first overall.

The first selection for Daniel Alfredsson and Team Alfredsson was, not surprisingly, Alfie’s teammate and countryman Erik Karlsson. When asked if Jason Spezza might be angry about not going first, Karlsson responded with ‘Look at Spezza…he’s pissed.’

Second Round: Team Chara goes with teammate Tim Thomas. Team Alfie, looking to make amends with Spezza, takes Jason Spezza with their second pick.

Third Round: Can’t go wrong with talent. Team Chara takes another high-flier in Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin. Meanwhile, Team Alfie goes with a stopper in Jonathan Quick from L.A. Continue reading this post »

The Night that Was:

The only game in the NHL last night featured the best team in the NHL in the Detroit Red Wings visiting their Original Six foe, the Montreal Canadiens. It was not only a surprising start to the game, but a finish as well. Rene Bourque opened the scoring five minutes in with his second as a Canadien (15^th of the year), and that was followed up by Alexei Emelin’s first NHL goal five minutes later. David Desharnais (8) and Tomas Plekanec (10) also added goals for a 4-0 lead after one. Ty Conklin came out in the second to relieve Jimmy Howard (four goals on 12 shots), and it barely got better. Max Pacioretty scored his 17^th 1:52 into the second and David Desharnais added his ninth to make it 6-0 after two. Jiri Hudler would score two third period goals for the Wings but Erik Cole would add his 19^th to close out the 7-2 Canadiens win. Carey Price made 26 saves for his 17^th win, moving him to .500. Desharnais (2g/1a) and Cole (1g/2a) each had three points while Bourque, Pacioretty, and Tomas Kaberle (2 assists) each had two points. Nik Lidstrom didn’t play in the game, sitting it out with the flu, snapping his streak of 213 consecutive games played. It was just the 35^th game of his career he’s missed.

Despite the loss, Detroit retains first overall in the NHL at the All Star break with 67 points, one point ahead of the New York Rangers. The win meanwhile, gives Montreal 47 points and leaves them eight points out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Continue reading this post »

The one division that looks to be the best in NHL betting is the NHL Central Division as the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and Chicago Blackhawks were separated by 3 points top to bottom in what looks to be a race of thoroughbreds all the way to the wire.

Detroit was the first place team at the All-Star break as the Red Wings continue their NHL status as the ultimate traditional power. Detroit is nearing two decades of dominance in the NHL and their success is as reliable as a Rolex Watch. Detroit was 33-16-1 and won 8 of their last ten games heading into the All-Star Break. The Red Wings were one of the better balanced teams in the league ranking 5th for goal scoring and 6th for goals against. Goaltender Jimmy Howard has shown considerable improvement as he had a tidy 2.04 goals against average.

The St. Louis Blues have been completely revitalized with new coach Ken Hitchcock, who took over early in the season after the team got off to a lethargic start. St. Louis was 29-13-1-6 for their best record at this point in the season in well over a decade. The Blues are playing Hitchcock’s old defensive oriented system that won him a Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Dallas Stars. St. Louis lacks a great goal scorer or offensive depth and ranked just 20th for goals scored but was number one in the NHL for goals against. Goaltender Brian Elliott has an eye popping 1.64 goals against average.

Nashville was 30-16-3-1 and was also more of a balanced team as they ranked 12th in goal scoring and 9th for goals against. The Predators are no longer a surprise team but instead a regular contender and were also among the hottest teams in the league winning 9 of 10 games from January 7 through January 24.

Chicago was 29-15-3-3 and just two years removed from their Stanley Cup championship. The Blackhawks have what the other teams lack in a bona fide goal scoring threat with Jonathan Toews, who had 27 goals and Marian Hossa, who added 20. Patrick Sharp also had 20 goals for the Hawks. Chicago had the 4th ranked offense in the NHL but their defense is a worry and question mark as it ranked 20th for goals against.

In the new-look Central Division, the race to the top is just the first step towards the Stanley’s Cup!

Ottawa (Photo from the Ottawa Senators Twitter feed.)

The Senators home town, Ottawa, is the scene for this weekends All-Star game. When fans had voted for their favorite players, the stars were playing hard to earn a spot on the All-Star record. It’s an honor to be a part of the All-Star weekend, first a draft, then a fun-filled skill competition, and last a game. Since the roster has been released,  there have been a few changes Continue reading this post »

The Night that Was:

The Buffalo Sabres may not win a lot on the road, but to get their first win in 12 road games it only took them overtime, a shootout, and 14 shots total. Jordan Leopold opened the scoring in the first with his eighth and Patrik Elias tied it up in the second with his 18^th. The Sabres and New Jersey Devils moved through a scoreless third and overtime, to a shootout where Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the first round, Jason Pominville scored in the third round to extend things, and Nathan Gerbe won it. Ryan Miller made 27 saves for the win, his first since January 13^th.

John Tavares got the New York Islanders out to a quick start last night, scoring his 20^th 1:54 into their game with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Isles would add a shorthanded goal from Josh Bailey halfway through the second for a 2-0 lead before Clarke MacArthur made it 2-1. 1:47 into the third, Jake Gardiner’s first NHL goal made it 2-2, and Mikhail Grabovski scored with 3:31 left to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead. But PA Parenteau spoiled the party, scoring his 10^th with 13 seconds left. It was all for naught though as MacArthur’s second of the game (14^th) won it for the Leafs in OT. Grabovski finished the night with one goal and three assists, while MacArthur had three points and Gardiner and Nikolai Kulemin had two points each. Continue reading this post »

Scott Hartnell playing around

Sunday night seen a total of a whole 3 NHL games. These match-ups were Washington vs. Pittsburgh, Bruins vs. Philadelphia, and Colorado vs. Anaheim. Each and every game was a nail biter for fans everywhere. Scott Hartnell, above, is a possible for my 3 stars, but let’s get to the recaps.

Washington went for a visit to Pittsburgh and took on a flaming hot team. Captain-less, the Penguins have been doing pretty good, considering the fact that they have one guy who has stepped up, and most definitely put the team on his back. Continue reading this post »

The Night that Was:

The Boston Bruins were down 1-0 through the first two periods when Petr Sykora scored his 12^th late in the first, but four unanswered goals (Andrew Ference, Nathan Horton, Greg Campbell, and Chris Kelly) gave the Bruins the 4-1 win. Campbell and Shawn Thornton had two points each as Tim Thomas made 30 saves for his 19^th win. He needs one more win for his 5^th 20-win season.

It was a big third period for the Penguins in New York too. Chris Kuntiz (14^th) scored in the first and Carl Hagelin (8^th) tied it in the second, but Richard Park snapped the winner home on a 3-on-1 and Evgeni Malkin added two more for a 4-1 Pittsburgh win. Malkin, Kunitz, and James Neal all had two points as Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 in a losing effort and Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for win number 23.

After a scoreless first where the Islanders surprisingly outshot Philadelphia 12-8, the Isles started to outscore the Flyers in the second. Matt Moulson (22^nd) scored 28 seconds in and Josh Bailey (4^th-shorthanded) added another in the second, and Mark Streit (3^rd) and Michael Grabner (14^th) added two in the third for a 4-1 Isles win. Matt Read had the Flyers’ goal as John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau each had two assists in the win. Evgeni Nabokov made 40 saves, his highest one-game total of the year. Continue reading this post »

Toronto vs Minnesota

There were only 10 games on the night of January 19th. Out of these 10, there were two games that went into a shootout. Those teams were Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes and the Calgary Flames vs the Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings won with a turnaround goal by Todd Bertuzzi. Continue reading this post »

These are the Top 10 Saves of the Week for the week ending 1/13/12 according to NHL.com.