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Ilya Kovalchuk Gordie Howe Hat Trick

Feb 5

Posted by Chris in Media, News | No Comments

Ilya Kovalchuk proved to the Philadelphia Flyers last night why he is one of the most dangerous players in the game right now – in more ways than one.

Kovalchuk had a big three point effort with a goal and two assists en route to a 6-4 victory over the Flyers. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night came midway through the third period, however, when Kovalchuk capped off the Howe Hat Trick and dropped the gloves with Flyers forward Brayden Schenn. This was Schenn’s second fight of the season and Kovalchuk’s first. However, for being one of the best snipers in the game, Kovalchuk is no stranger to dropping the gloves as he averages at least one fight per season according to HockeyFights.com.

The two pull away from a scrum at 11:38 of the third period and immediately drop the gloves. It doesn’t take long for the two players to engage each other to establish a dominant position. Kovalchuk appears to be the much stronger player as he throws Schenn around a bit and then lands several solid blows to Schenn’s head before finally landing a solid right hook to Schenn’s jaw that drops him for the count. Check out the full video below that highlights not only the fight, but Kovalchuk’s power play assist and dirty two-on-one snipe for his lone goal of the night. Stick around to the end of the video for a slow-motion replay of Kovi’s right hook on Schenn.

 

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Brighthouse to Offer Free NHL Center Ice Preview

Feb 4

Posted by Matt in News | No Comments

NHL Center IceBrighthouse customers will be excited to hear that a free preview of the NHL Center Ice package is coming their way in the middle of February. Beginning on Monday, February 13th, and running through Sunday, February 19th, 14 channels of NHL hockey will be available for your viewing pleasure. As part of the free preview, Brighthouse customers will be able to see more than 40 out of market NHL games, many of them in high-definition.

Several exciting games will be on tap during the free preview week, and we’ve got a list of some of the most intriguing games each night below.

Monday, February 13th: San Jose @ Washington – Big Joe Thornton and the Sharks battle against a struggling Capitals team loaded with talent, but unable maintain consistency this season.

Tuesday, February 14th: New York @ Boston – Original six matchup, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Sounds like a good matchup.

Wednesday, February 15th: Ottawa @ Florida – Two teams fighting to stay in the playoff race in the East. If Florida loses their division lead, they could find themselves outside of the playoff picture at the end of the season.

Thursday, February 16th: New York @ St. Louis – The Islanders have on of the hottest players in the league in John Tavares, but the St. Louis Blues have been on a tear since hiring Ken Hitchcock. St. Louis looks to keep their hot pace, while the Islanders want to make their way into the playoff hunt.

Friday, February 17th: Nashville @ Detroit – The Central Division is the best and most competitive in the NHL. The Red Wings and Predators will prove why in this matchup,  but give Detroit the early advantage due to their incredible home record.

Saturday, February 18th: Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia – These division rivals feature some of the top talent in the league. Evgeni Malkin and a healthy Kris Letang helped the Penguins to an eight game winning streak in January, but Claude Giroux and the Flyers hope to earn a win and eventually a division title.

Sunday, February 19th: St. Louis @ Chicago – Another Central Division matchup which promises great hockey. The Blackhawks have been struggling recently, piling up a five game losing streak, but they’ll be on their A game against the division rival Blues.

There’s still time to sign up for the NHL Center Ice package for the remainder of the season. Two different options are available to those who are interested: the half season and the race to the Stanley Cup. In the half season offer, available through February 12th, you’ll pay $123.80 for tons of hockey action. The race to the Stanley Cup offer, available from February 13th – May 15th, will only cost $79.90, but will give you the best hockey of the season as teams battle for crucial playoff spots. Visit Brighthouse.com for more information.

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New York Rangers trade Erik Christensen to Minnesota Wild

Feb 3

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

The New York Rangers traded forward Erik Christensen and a conditional 7th round draft pick in 2013 to the Minnesota Wild for forward Casey Wellman, who will be immediately assigned to the minors.

The move was announced around noon by the Rangers via their official Facebook page.

Christensen, a depth forward, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season barring a contract extension with the Minnesota Wild. He had five points in only 20 games with the Rangers this season.

This will be Christensen’s fifth team in his short NHL career, with previous stops in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Anaheim and most recently with the Rangers. His most productive season came in 2006-07 when he split time between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Christensen posted 18 goals and added 15 assists for 33 points in 61 games with the Penguins that season. He contributed 11 goals and 16 assists for the Rangers last season in 63 games.

The move could be the first of many for both teams, as the Rangers are rumored to be looking to add offensive depth to their roster before the trade deadline. This could be tricky as the Rangers only have a little bit of wiggle room with roughly $1 million in available cap space. Christensen’s contract frees up another $925,000, and more moves could be on the way to help free up space.

While not a huge move, Chistensen gives Minnesota some depth and could be a signal that the Wild, who are currently clinging to the 8th and final playoff seed in the Western Conference, could be buyers at the trade deadline as they look to secure a playoff berth. There have been suggestions that the Wild could look to deal defenseman Marek Zidlicky before the trade deadline as well.

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Could Seattle Lure Coyotes from Desert?

Feb 2

Posted by Eddie in News | 1 Comment

If it weren't for the Ontario Reign of the ECHL, the Seattle Reign would be a nice play on words should an NHL Franchise play in Seattle.

With one NHL relocation out of the way, the next target that for potential movement is the Phoenix Coyotes. We already know this, considering the NHL owns the team. With no ownership group lining up to buy the team with plans to keep them in Phoenix, something has to be done to get them either a new city or a new ownership group.

There has been old news and rumors of them being moved to Quebec City (which won’t happen unless a new arena is 100% privately funded) or Kansas City (Why?)… the new hot rumor, at least according to a post on Pro Hockey Talk, is Seattle, Washington.

While Seattle has never had a NHL franchise, they could be appealing to an NHL franchise to take advantage of the northwestern United States and media markets of Seattle (13th largest in the country) and Portland, Oregon (22nd largest) in a similar fashion that Major League Soccer did with recent expansion teams Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers.

The NHL had the opportunity to play in Seattle, as they were awarded a franchise to begin in 1976-77. The deal was pulled as the potential owners were unable to secure a $180,000 deposit and a $6 million franchise fee by the deadline.

However, there are a couple of problems that could stand in their way before a puck drops in Seattle:

The Vancouver Canucks: While separated by three hours driving time and 141 miles, there could be some sort of interference between the Canucks with an attempt to move a team into their television and media market.

The Western Hockey League: This isn’t the only instance of major junior hockey in the same local area as an NHL franchise. The Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League could be affected by this move. Other teams in the umbrella of the CHL that share the same hockey market with an NHL franchise in the OHL are the Plymouth Whalers and Windsor Spitfires (Red Wings), Ottawa 67′s (Senators), and Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (Maple Leafs).

Teams in the WHL that are in the same situation are the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, and the Vancouver Giants. Coincidentally, the Hitmen and Oil Kings share the same arena as their NHL counterparts while the Giants skate out of the Canucks former home the Pacific Coliseum.

No Modern Arena: It’s going to be hard to convince the casual or diehard hockey fan that hockey will work in a city that couldn’t support a somewhat successful NBA franchise in the Seattle Supersonics. In 2006, the ownership group wanted the Washington state government to kick in money to improve and modernize Key Arena. The government balked at the move and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sold the team to Oklahoma City businessman Clayton Bennett. Bennett tried to have a new arena built in the city in an attempt to keep the team in the city but after those attempts were unsuccessful, he moved the franchise to Oklahoma where they are now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. After one playoff appearance in their last six seasons in Seattle, the Thunder played in the conference finals in their third season in Oklahoma last year. However, the city did hire a sports-facilities consultant at $19,500 per month in an attempt to determine the feasibility of having an NBA (or NHL) franchise in Seattle.

It will be interesting to see what happens this summer when the league will start shopping around a home for the Coyotes.

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 27

Posted by EB in Media, News, NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images

Captain Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins show a little love after Chara left Seguin among the final four to be chosen in the 2012  NHL All-Star Draft. Seguin, once picked, was greeted with a smiling Chara asking, “Want to hug it out?”. One of the funnier moments of the night.

It looks to be a good lineup for both teams. Anyone else hoping for a Pavel Datsyuk / Evgeni Malkin line?

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 26

Posted by EB in Media, News, NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson

Montreal Canadiens’ Rene Bourque celebrates with Tomas Plekanec after netting a goal in the first period. Bourque was recently acquired in a highly publicized trade that saw Mike Cammalleri being traded after making negative comments about the club.

The Canadiens won by a landslide, a 7 – 2 final score that ran Red Wings’ netminder Jimmy Howard from the net. The win ended the Red Wings 7 game winning streak and has given the Canadiens a little lift as the NHL breaks for the All-Star weekend. Currently sitting in 11th spot in the Eastern Conference, 8 points out of 8th seed, more wins like this one are needed if they hope to make the playoffs.

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James Neal added to NHL All-Star Game roster

Jan 25

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

In a move that should have been a no-brainer from the beginning, Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal was deservedly added to the NHL All-Star Game roster today as a replacement for Alexander Ovechkin, who decided yesterday that skip this year’s All-Star Game festivities because of his suspension.

Neal will join teammates Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang as representatives for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the festivities this weekend in Ottawa, which kick off this Thursday at 8 p.m. with the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft and continues Saturday night with the Skills Competitionand the All-Star Game on Sunday afternoon.

This will be the first All-Star appearance for the 24-year-old Neal, who was traded from Dallas to Pittsburgh last season. However, this will be Neal’s second appearance at the NHL All-Star Weekend as he played in the YoungStars Game in 2009 in Montreal.  

Neal should have been on the roster from the get-go thanks to a season that will certainly end with personal bests in nearly every stat category. With 27 goals on the season, Neal has already tied his personal best in goals and will likely surpass his personal best in assists and total points within the next month. He currently ranks second on the Penguins in points, behind only Evgeni Malkin, and ranks 13th in the league in points with 47 and third in the league in goals.   

It will be interesting to see if All-Star captains Daniel Alfredsson or Zdeno Chara attempt to draft both Malkin and Neal in order to give their team a competitive advantage by having two players on a line together who already have chemistry.

 

 

 

 

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 25

Posted by EB in Media, News, NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images

Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers picked up his 5th shutout of the season with a 3 – 0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Rangers are on top of the Eastern Conference with 66 points and 3 points up in the Atlantic Conference. Playoff bound indeed, but can Head Coach John Tortorella get pass the first round? In his years with the Rangers, Tortorella has missed the playoffs once with the other two years being knocked out by the Washington Capitals.

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Ovechkin to Skip All-Star Game

Jan 24

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

News is circulating that recently suspended Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is choosing to pass on this year’s All Star game in Ottawa, Ontario.

Washington Capitals’ General Manager George McPhee commented on the choice, saying, “He really doesn’t feel like he deserves to be there and doesn’t want to be a distraction. When he came in this morning, he said, ‘I’m a suspended player and I don’t deserve to be there.’”

The choice by Ovechkin will come under scrutiny, be it that he is somewhat protesting his suspension or that he truthfully feels that he is not deserving. It’s tough to argue that he is intentionally sticking it to the NHL for his suspension, but, the timing is not perfect. Still, being a fan favorite of most, he should get the benefit of the doubt that his decision is in earnest.

Fans will and should be disappointed in the decision. Ovechkin, although struggling this year in comparison to his normal pace, is still one of the elite athletes of the NHL. Not only is his skill one to be in awe of, his playful, love of the game will be missed in the skills competition.

Part of me feels this decision will be revoked. What are your thoughts?

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 24

Posted by EB in Media, News, NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

Patrik Berglund of the St. Louis Blues takes a shot which is stopped by Detroit Red Wings’ netminder Jimmy Howard. Howard had 21 saves of the night, allowing only 1 goal in as the Wings beat the Blues by a 3 – 1 score. Must of been those Vaughn pads.

The game had a playoff like atmosphere, and rightfully so. The two teams are some of the top teams in the Western Conference; the Wings currently in 1st place while the Blues in 4th.

The win is the Red Wings’ 17th straight home win—the NHL’s longest single-season streak in 36 years.

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