Bleacher Report - NHL
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Battered Blue Line to Blame for Montreal Canadiens Power Play Woes
It's unlikely that Jacques Martin and Bob Gainey wanted to see what their team looked like without power play quarterback Andrei Markov. Unfortunately for Martin and Gainey, Markov has been out since the first game of the season in Toronto.
...
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NHL
Montreal Canadiens
Andrei Markov
Detroit Red Wings Dilemma : Should this be Nicklas Lidstrom's Last Season?
Nov. 12, 2000. Anaheim, CA.
On our way to a (then, Mighty) Ducks-Red Wings game, my friend and I engage in a discussion about who the best players on either team are.
Halfway into the conversation, he mentions "Lidstrom" and "overrated" in the ...
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NHL
Detroit Red Wings
Nicklas Lidstrom
Canadiens and Wild Suffer the Same Problem: Farm Team Development.
A lot of teams in the NHL still have a hard time finding and drafting the right prospect. Or maybe it’s simply because they don’t have the tools to make them grow into stars? There is a plethora of talented prospects that never make a real impact at ...
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NHL
"Living the Hockey" Dream Captures the Magic of the Game
MONTEREY PARK, CA — Whether you played the game at any level or are just a spectator, if you truck the kids to hockey practice very early in the morning or just lie on the living room couch and watch games on television, just about everyone touched ...
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NHL
Devils Giving The Kids a Chance
This past July, many Devils fans (or people who watch the Devils) were alarmed when the Devils didn't really make much of an effort to re-sign John Madden or Brian Gionta. Two long-time guys were let go, and even though it isn't all that uncommon of ...
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NHL
Philadelphia Flyers: Flying High; Set to Harpoon Sharks
Written by Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Tonight’s tilt versus the San Jose Sharks, the NHL’s so-called “best team,” should be one for the ages. For the Philadelphia Flyers, tonight’s match is yet another litmus test, an opportunity to serve ...
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NHL
Atlanta's Russian Express
The National Hockey League has built a solid foundation on great teams and greater players. In past years the game has seen legendary performers and marvelous forward combinations. In the old six team NHL forwards lines that could work in concert ...
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NHL
Power Play Fuels Anaheim Ducks to Victory
Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning meant more to the Ducks than most will realize.
Typically, moral victories don't mean a thing. They don't win games and they mean squat in terms of standings.
However, when you're the team ...
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NHL
Chicago Blackhawks: Are The Senators Barking to Make a Deal?
As the tagging situation appears to be an issue the Chicago Blackhawks must address before putting the pen to paper with Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane , the rumors surrounding the team will undoubtedly start picking up.
Friday, ...
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NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs: A Look Ahead to the 2010 Season
With any hope of making the playoffs this year fading faster than a three goal lead, let's take a look ahead at what could be on the horizon for our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs have some "cornerstones" in place with Phil Kessel ...
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NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs
Hey Mr. Wilson, Show Us Less Poise, More Passion
Watching the Leafs fall to the Carolina Hurricanes last night was painful. Gut-wrenching. Agonizing. Excruciating. Okay, I think you get my point.
However, more disturbing than watching Brian Burke’s foot soldiers blow an early ...
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NHL
Minnesota Wild: Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures
Hockey sticks beware: The Minnesota Wild are on the prowl.
At least, that’s what yesterday’s practice showed, according to Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune.
At the X yesterday, the Wild underwent an extremely physical practice that caused ...
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NHL
Would a Single European League Challenge the NHL?
This morning, I ventured to ESPN.com to check out last night's scores. As I scrolled down the page I noticed a poll in progress that hasn't yet received a lot of response.
This was the question: Would a single pro league in Europe challenge ...
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NHL
Dallas Stars Trend of Failure on Home Ice Becoming Expected
After a well put together win in Detroit on Wednesday night, the Stars flew home to do battle with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Surprisingly, after the great play in Detroit, it appears after Thursday's performance a bad was left in the Motor City, the ...
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NHL
Dallas Stars
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Your Toronto Maple Leafs: A Pictorial.
Our Toronto Maple Leafs, Be Proud! Including My Take on the Potentials of Everyone from Colton Orr, to Phil Kessel and everyone In Between!
Love 'em or hate 'em, watching the Leafs is the only thing aside from my Wife that can make me laugh, cry, ...
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NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs
Colton Orr
Phil Kessel
Chicago-Calgary: Blackhawks Blow Out Flames 7-1
Ah, the Circus Trip.
Not only are the Chicago Blackhawks gone until December, but they get to start their annual Thanksgiving road trip against one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, the Calgary Flames.
Coming into Thursday ...
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NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs Take Bullet to the Head in Shoot Out
Blessed with a 3-0 lead after one period of play, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked poised to avoid having the Carolina Hurricanes leap frog them in the standings for the “coveted” 29th overall spot in the NHL, the position the Leafs occupied before ...
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NHL
Solid Coaching Often Not Sexy Enough for Young NHL Players
Columbus forward Nikita Filatov left the Blue Jackets, choosing to finish the season playing in Russia.
According to Puck Daddy , a huge part of the issue was coach Ken Hitchcock's defensive system, which apparently felt too constricting to the ...
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NHL
Columbus Blue Jackets
Ken Hitchcock
Contenders Or Pretenders: Could The Real Flames Please Step Up
They have shown they can beat Montreal.
They have shown they can beat St.Louis.
They have shown they can beat Edmonton.
But now it is time that the 12-5-2 Calgary Flames showed they can beat a good hockey club.
One who is above them in the ...
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NHL
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Know the Opposition: The School Up North
Dave and Drew Thurman (11:45 am) Mascot: Wolverine (AKA "Skunk Bear") Stadium: Michigan Stadium (106,201) Coach: Rich Rodriguez (2nd year at Michigan, 8-15; overall D-1, 68-41) 2008 Record: 3-9 2009 Record: 5-6 Base Offense: Spread ...
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NHL
Dallas Stars
Filatov Fiasco: The Departure of Hockey's Top Prospect
Well, I guess we all received the answer to the question of whether Nikita Filatov was going to log more Time On Ice—TOI.
Oh, there will be ice time logged, but, it won't be here in Columbus—heck, it won't be in North America, in the National ...
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NHL
Colorado Avalanche: David Jones Proving to Be Late Round Jem
Not many players drafted in the ninth round end up becoming top line forwards, but David Jones of the Avalanche is a rare exception.
In fact, Jones was almost never drafted; he was taken 288th overall out of 292 drafted players in the 2003 Entry ...
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NHL
Colorado Avalanche
Is Mike Richards Getting It Done in Philadelphia?
Having scored five goals in his first six games, Philadelphia Flyers forward Mike Richards was off to the hottest start of his short NHL career. However, over the next 12 games, Richards would score just three times, leaving some Flyers fans ...
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NHL
Wanna Bet-Daily Hockey Picks-November 19th
The NHL definitely has parity, and on any given night any team can win. But there are indeed trends and stats and other variables that make picking a winner less of a gamble.
I will try and give you a few of the reasons in a short analysis on the ...
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NHL
Minnesota Wild Must Rebuild
There is a long way to go until this year's trade deadline of March 3, 2010.
But with the Winter Olympics, general managers around the league are going to have to do their homework earlier than usual to work around the Olympic break from Feb. ...
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NHL
The Boston Bruins Have a Plan: Patience
First, let me be clear about one thing. This article is in direct response to Ryan Pickard 's recent postings about the Bruins' lack of offense.
Certainly as a fan of the team, the lack of scoring throughout the season has been extremely ...
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NHL
Is Ron Wilson's Line Shuffling Stacking the Deck Against the Maple Leafs?
By Louis "King of Roncesvalles" Pisano
Given that not much seems to be going the Leafs' way, changing up the lines and defensive pairings would usually be an acceptable solution as a coaching decision.
But have the Leafs really had any time this ...
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NHL
Enough Is Enough: NHL Officiating Is a Bad Joke, Requires Total Overhaul
The NHL has been in existence for over 80 years.
In that time, the game has changed tremendously.
From the number of players on a team to the equipment they use to play it, hockey today is vastly different than it was decades ago.
Save for one ...
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NHL
Road No Longer Unkind for the Tampa Bay Lightning
As the 2009-10 season began for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the road was not kind to the Bolts.
In their first five road games, the Lightning managed no victories and only one point.
Since the horrid start, the Lightning have turned it around on the ...
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NHL
Tampa Bay Lightning
Antero Niittymaki
Mike Smith
Quarter Way Mark
Ok, lets be honest now...The ending of last season wasn't a fluke and this team is amazingly fast and talented. The scary part—We still have a line that led the team in scoring last year that has eight goals combined on it. Imagine what is going ...
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NHL
Atlanta Thrashers
Gunning For a Spot: Leafs Carl Gunnarsson Proving He's Ready For The NHL
The Leafs have had some serious defensive issues this season. The kind of serious that calls for you to be air-lifted to the hospital with just minutes to live.
Yes, that serious, and the heartbeat continues to weaken as the season roles on.
...
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NHL
The Florida Panthers Find Their Wings in Buffalo
Panthers’ fans haven’t been spoiled with top-end offensive performances from their team this season. And there was nothing to suggest it would be different in Buffalo as the Cats took on the outstanding Ryan Miller and his Sabres last night.
...
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NHL
The Minnesota Wild Stumble Out Of The Gates; Fall To Phoenix 3-2
Coming off of a four point road trip that many considered a disappointment, the Wild desperately needed to right the ship on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.
To be fair, I really consider this loss to be my fault. The instant I got ...
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NHL
Colorado Avalanche Writer Fails Ethics 101, Flames Uncensored
"Off Limits | Staff Only"
There's an old-school sporting ideal which reserves a right to certain levels of privacy and professional discretion, especially within the insulated bowels and back offices of otherwise public forums. In this day of ...
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NHL
Rick Nash: The Best Player No One Is Talking About
Playing on consistently bad teams can sometimes have its advantages. For example, if you are a poor player, or just an otherwise good player having an off season, chances are you will face less scrutiny if everyone else around you is playing equally ...
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NHL
Angles Galore Out Of Wednesdays Win For The Oilers: Some Good, Some Bad.
After Wednesday's come-from-behind win over the Colorado Avs, a blogger like myself had a plethora of story lines to select from. Should I talk about Jeff Deslauriers finally getting some game action, only to start out poorly, worry the entire ...
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NHL
Edmonton Oilers
Ales Hemsky
Gilbert Brule
Colorado Avalanche
A Different Take On The Penguins
It is Thursday, November 19th, 2009. the Pittsburgh Penguins have completed 25.6 percent of their schedule and the only thing people can write about are the injuries.
For everybody's information, the Penguins have not lost the most "man-games" to ...
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NHL
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin
Sticking to the Program: Edmonton Oilers Come from Behind Against Avs
In the middle of the week when all the sports media could talk about was how much the they had been losing as of late, the Edmonton Oilers ground out a gritty, come-from-behind win against the Northwest-division leaders, the Colorado Avalanche.
...
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NHL
Edmonton Oilers
Colorado Avalanche
Sabres-Panthers: Florida Claws Their Way Past Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres tried to continue the winning streak tonight as they hosted the Florida Panthers at the HSBC arena.
Unfortunately for Buffalo the third period would prove to be their sticking point tonight as the Panthers rolled to a 6-2 ...
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NHL
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Ryan Miller
2010 Olympics: Canada vs. Russia for the Gold?
Every four years hockey fans get to enjoy their favorite game played on an international level.
If anything can match a hockey player's dream of winning the Stanley Cup, it would be the dream of winning gold at the Olympics.
This season, the NHL ...
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NHL
San Jose Sharks
Wild-Coyotes: Too Little Too Late
ST. PAUL, Minn - Despite a third period comback, Minnesota falls to Phoenix 3-2 at The Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Wednesday night.
A slow start and inconsistent play allowed Phoenix to jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the first throwing ...
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NHL
The Season of the Injuries in the NHL
This season has been downright weird.
It’s like the Canuck fans have been in holding pattern waiting for it to start. There hasn’t been much to get excited or rant about either.
I look around the league and it has similar problems with key ...
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NHL
Year Of The Sharks: Why San Jose Will Be 2010 Stanley Cup Champions
We all know this team's story, but a quick review of some of the highlights can't hurt.
So, after making some strategic draft, trade, and free-agent moves, they've emerged into a contender.
In fact, they're the odds on favorite at the beginning ...
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NHL
The Challenge for Florida's New Owners
The Florida Panthers have been floating at the bottom of the standings for a long time. It’s not the players that are losing these games, it’s the management. If you were to ask me, I would consider the Panthers to be the worst managed team in the ...
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NHL
Russians Worth The Risk? Draft Time Could Prove Answer
With Blue Jackets prospect Nikita Filatov skipping the country to return to native Russia to play in the KHL, does it serve as an example of a growing problem in the NHL?
It could be that Filatov is an isolated incident, and merely a player ...
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NHL
Will New York Islanders Send Marty Biron to Detroit Red Wings?
I've been seeing, as of late, a lot of talk and 'rumors' about how the Wings are interested in Marty Biron of the Isles.
When I first heard the rumor, I was kind of intrigued, thinking that maybe if Biron was in Hockeytown, he might do some good. ...
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NHL
Detroit Red Wings
Martin Biron
New York Islanders
Brandon Sutter Is the Player To Salvage the Carolina Hurricanes' Season
Nothing this season has gone well for the Carolina Hurricanes, and everyone involved with the team, and maybe even the league, knows that.
The special teams are bad, the injuries are hitting hard, there are major goaltending issues, troubles with ...
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NHL
Reunited and It Feels So Good: Forsberg and Naslund Rediscover Hockey
He was only gone for just over six months, but Markus Naslund is back.
The 36-year-old Swede has come out of retirement and is set to join his childhood friend Peter Forsberg, playing for their hometown team of MoDo of the Swedish Elite League ...
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NHL
Peter Forsberg
Vancouver Canucks
Markus Naslund
Chicago Blackhawks Contract Update: Tag, Someone's Out?
The Chicago Blackhawks are continuing to work with the agents for young stars Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith on new contracts to keep the three in Chicago for the better part of the next decade.
Many sites have reported that the ...
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NHL
The Blackhawks Great Gamble: Spending Vs. Revenue Generating
It’s true about any business: Cash is king.
In this economy, when businesses of all shape and size are losing money, making money is one of the great struggles in America. There are well-educated people all over this country trying to re-invent the ...
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