NHL Playoffs

It’s mid-may – the weather is heating up and so Is the NHL, where round three of the playoffs, the Conference Finals, are underway.

In the Western conference, the Anaheim Ducks are battling the Chicago Blackhawks, in a series currently tied 1-1. In the first game of the matchup, Anaheim defeated Chicago, 4-1. The Ducks scored a goal in each of the first two periods and closed out the game with two more goals in the final period. Chicago scored its single goal in the second period. In Game 2, Chicago came out strong, scoring two goals in the first period. Anaheim scored one goal in each of the first two periods. The third period was scoreless and therefore the game went into overtime. And not just one overtime – the game proceeded to triple OT! There are no ties in hockey playoffs so the show had to continue. Despite Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen making 53 saves in the game, it just wasn’t enough. In the third period of OT, Marcus Kruger was able to score for Chicago, allowing the Blackhawks to come out victorious. The first two games were in Anaheim and the next two in the best-of-seven series will be in Chicago. Game three will take place on Thursday, May 21st.

In the Eastern conference, the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning are also tied 1-1. The first two games were held in New York and the series has now moved to Tampa. In Game 1, the Rangers won 2-1, as the Lightning were only able to score one goal in the final period. In Game 2, Tampa Bay creamed New York, winning 6-3. The Lightning scored two goals in the first period, one in the second and finished the game with three goals in the third period. New York scored a goal in the first period and again in the second, but were no matchup for the Lightning’s offense. A key to victory for the Rangers in Game 3 will be to stay out of the penalty box. The Lightning had decent success in the second game as a result of power play opportunities. The Rangers must also find a way to stop Tampa Bay’s line that includes Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, who have scored half of the Lightning’s post season goals thusfar. For Tampa Bay to come out victorious, the team will need to play strong in the middle as they did in the last game, and will also need to play physical. Game 3 takes place Wednesday night and Game 4 is scheduled for Friday, May 22nd.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the NHL playoffs earlier this week. This series went the full seven games as neither team could gain enough momentum for back-to-back wins until the final two.

In Game 1, the Red Wings defeated the Lightning, 3-2. In Game 2, Tampa Bay won with a score of 5-1. The victory for Game 3 went back to the Red Wings, where goalie Petr Mrazek was able to shutout the Lightning. The Red Wings won, 3-0. In Game 4, the Lightning defeated Detroit, 3-2. Detroit had similar results to Game 3 in Game 5, where Mrazek was able to execute another shutout. In Game 6, the Lightning came out victorious with a final score of 5-2. In Game 7, the Lightning were able to repeat success, winning the game 2-0. Lightning goalie, Ben Bishop made 31 saves in the final game. Defensemen Braydon Coburn scored the game winning goal and defensemen Anton Stralman followed that up with the game-sealing goal.

Despite being the second leading scorer in the NHL’s regular season (43 goals), Lightning Center Steven Stamkos was shutout from scoring in the Detroit series. With so much focus on defending him from Tampa Bay’s opponents, opportunities have opened for other Lightning players to make big plays, not just in the Detroit series, but throughout the season. With a strong combination of young, energetic players and experienced veterans including recent player acquisitions, the Lightning are in a good position to continue advancing through the playoffs.

The Lightning begin the second round of the playoffs on Friday vs. the Montreal Canadiens. The Lightning went 5-0 when facing the Canadiens in the regular season this year. Bishop was in goal for each of these five matchups. Each team had to work hard to earn its place here playing past the first round. The biggest key to victory for the Lightning is to keep Stamkos and Bishop playing at their full potential.

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are 41-20-2, making them 1st in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division with a two-point lead over the 2nd place New York Rangers. New York is 22-8 at home this season. The team has reached the 40-win mark for the 1st time since 2006-2007. Earlier in February, the Islanders won eight games in a row and have won 19 of their past 25 home games. Talk about hot streaks!

The Islanders are one of metropolitan New York’s three NHL teams, whose primary fan base is Long Island. The team has not made a playoff appearance since 1992-1993, and last won a Stanley Cup in 1983. The team will be moving into the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, beginning with the 2015-2016 season.

Earlier this week, the team defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 5-1. In the 3rd period, the Islanders scored four unanswered goals in just under six minutes to break a tied game. After a scoreless opening period, Anders Lee scored the Islanders’ 1st goal in the 2nd period. Phoenix’s Mark Arcobello scored next to tie the game. The team’s four unanswered 3rd period goals were scored by: Matt Martin, Johnny Boychuk, Kael Mouillierat and Brock Nelson.

On Tuesday, the Islanders announced that defenseman Nick Leddy agreed to terms on a seven-year contract through 2021-2022, reportedly worth over $38 million. Leddy is 23 years old and has scored eight goals this season so far. The Islanders acquired him in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in October 2014 along with goalie Kent Simpson. Leddy was with the Blackhawks when they won the Stanley Cup in 2013.

The Islanders also defeated the Calgary Flames at home on Friday night, 2-1. Ryan Strome scored New York’s initial goal in the 1st period and after a scoreless 2nd period, Cal Clutterbuck scored the 2nd in the final period. The Islanders have seven home games out of their upcoming thirteen through the month of March.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues are currently 2nd in the NHL’s central division with a record of 38-18, nine points behind the division’s 1st place leader, the Nashville Predators.

The Blues were one of six expansion teams added to the NHL in 1967. As a result of the playoff format in place at the time, the Blues made it to three straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances from 1968-1970, although their opponents in each of these series swept them. Hockey greats Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan played for St. Louis in the 1980s and ‘90s and from 1980-2004 the Blues continued to maintained a playoff presence. In 2005-2006, the team finished with their worst season record in more than 26 years. The next playoff appearance for the Blues came in 2009, where they faced off against Vancouver Canucks, but did not advance to the 2nd round. In 2013-2014, the team reached the 100-point mark for the 6th time in franchise history and also obtained 52 wins, a franchise record.

On Thursday of this week, the Blues announced their acquisition of Adam Cracknell, a forward from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for future considerations. Cracknell actually spent his 1st four years in the NHL with the Blues from 2010-2014 and with this trade, will initially report to the Chicago Wolves, the Blues’ AHL affiliate team.

The Blues have lost three of their last four games and will play 11 of their next 14 games on the road. With that said, the team is 16-10-2 on the road, currently making them the 6th best team on the road in the NHL. The Blues face off against the Winnipeg Jets Thursday, February 26th. The Blues have won their last five games against the Jets. To extend that streak to six, the Blues will need to get back to their strong style of play that led them to success earlier in the season. This is something the team has been struggling with recently and the players must continue to stay healthy and free of injuries as the playoffs are approaching in the near future.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are 8-4-3 this season so far, most recently beating the Vancouver Canucks last Saturday night, 5-1 at home. The Kings got off to a strong start, scoring 3 of their goals in the 1st period. Another goal was scored during the 2nd period and a final goal was scored by the Kings during the 3rd. Vancouver scored its only goal of the game during the 3rd period. Scoring 3 goals in 1 period is impressive enough, but even more impressive, the Kings were able pull off this victory with only 5 defensemen playing in the game, which helped to give them an edge early on. Tyler Toffoli scored a goal and had 2 assists, Alex Martinez had a career high 3 assists, and goalie Jonathan Quick had 18 saves.

Because of their shortage of defensemen, the Kings will sign Jamie McBain who has been playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. Robyn Regher has been suffering from an injury and Slava Voynov is currently suspended from play due to off-ice issues, although he skated with assistant coach John Stevens on Monday and is allowed to work out with the coaches. He has missed 9 games so far and a decision on whether he will be charged for domestic violence is expected by December 1.

The Kings are familiar with the taste of success, having won 2 Stanley Cups in the past 3 years. In 2012, the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in 6 games to claim hockey’s most coveted title. They did it again last year, defeating the New York Rangers in 5 games.

The Kings will next face the Anaheim Ducks, their closest opponent, in Orange County on Wednesday night before hosting 4 home games over the next week. While it’s early on in the season, every game counts and the Kings will need to stay healthy and focused in order to repeat their appearance in the finals.

Boston Bruins

It’s back! The air is cold, the ice is fresh and the fans are pumped. Yes, it’s hockey season!

The Boston Bruins are 5-6 so far this season, most recently losing to the Minnesota Wild, 4-3. The Bruins had a 2 goal lead but lost their edge in the 3rd period as the Wild made their comeback, scoring 3 goals. Bruins forward Seth Griffin scored twice in the game but it wasn’t enough.

Boston’s team captain, defense-man Zdeno Chara is currently out for at least a month due to a knee injury he recently suffered. The Bruins were able to win their 1st game without him against Toronto, defeating the Maple Leafs 4-1. In addition to losing Chara in their lineup, the B’s must adjust to fill his void as their great leader. It has been reported that Chara is still showing his quality character to teammates off the ice despite this recent injury. Chara has been with the B’s since 2006 but has played in the league since 1997. He is the tallest player in the NHL, standing at 6’9”.

In 2011 the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games to win the coveted championship. This was the Bruins’ 1st Stanley Cup victory since 1972. In 2012, the team made it to the 1st round of playoffs, but was defeated by the Washington Capitals in a 7-game series, 4-3. Each of the 7 games was decided by just 1 goal and 4 of the games went into overtime!

Last season, the Bruins advanced to the playoffs defeating the Maple Leafs 4-3 in the 1st series followed by their victory over the New York Rangers, 4-1. The B’s then moved on to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins, sweeping the series 4-0 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals where they faced the Chicago Blackhawks, who had most recently won a Stanley Cup in 2010. Last year was the 1st Stanley Cup meeting between these 2 teams and the Blackhawks came away victorious, winning the series 4-2.

Fresh Ice, Old Traditions

The ice is fresh, the fans are pumped and the playoff beards are growing long. It’s down to the last four teams, the Conference Finals. Let’s play hockey! The New York Rangers lead the Montreal Canadiens (3-2) (best of 7) in the Eastern conference and the Los Angeles Kings lead the Chicago Blackhawks (3-1) in the Western conference. Winners move on to the championship, playing for the coveted Stanley Cup.

In addition to playoff beards, hockey is full of unique and long-lasting traditions. These include: throwing hats on to the ice when a player scores a hat trick (three goals by the same player in one game), taunting the opposing goalie in an effort to distract him, the sudden death format of overtime and more recently, the Winter Classic. The Winter Classic is a hockey game that takes place on or around New Year’s Day in outdoor stadiums in cities that are in close proximity to NHL teams. It began in 2008, where the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins faced off at Ralph Wilson Stadium (where the Buffalo Bills play home football games).

No hockey tradition, however, is greater than that of the Stanley Cup itself. The Stanley Cup is different than other professional sports trophies. It’s traveled farther than any other trophy and is updated each

Following each season, all players and staff from the winning organization get to spend 24 hours with the trophy. The possibilities are endless! Players have taken it to all corners of the earth, posing for pictures and cheering with pride. No other professional sport can claim the same. The Stanley Cup has also made stops at various military bases across the globe, supporting America’s Finest and offering them a chance to share in the excitement.

Can the Chicago Blackhawks (who most recently won the Stanley Cup in 2012-2013) get back into the series and defeat the Kings, champions of 2011-2012? The Kings have won the last 3 straight in this series. Can the Rangers pull out a win in the 6th game, avoiding a Game 7 against the Canadiens? In this series, arguably two of the most recognized franchises have battled head-to-head. These final few games are sure to be thrillers! The Stanley Cup finals are set to begin June 4.

year to include engraving of the latest roster of champions. It takes 13 seasons to fill each ring of the trophy. Once a ring is full, an older ring is removed for display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, making way for new champions.