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NHL Photo of the Day

Feb 3

Posted by EB in NHL Photo of the Day | 2 Comments

Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

Quite a night for the Edmonton Oilers as they win 8 – 4 over the Chicago Blackhawks. The team is still a bottom dweller in the Western Conference, sadly, but they can celebrate a little bit.

Center Sam Gagne had a hand in everything last night with 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points. The feat has not been done since 1989 by Mario Lemieux against the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs. Lemieux also had the last regular season 8 point night which was on December 31, 1988.

If you happen to think Lemiuex is a big name, Gagne now joins the ranks of Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Peter Statsny, Bryan Trottier and Rocket Richard in having scored 8 points in a night.

A little bit of luck, a lot of skill, and crazy stuff like this happens.

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 31

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

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Trade rumors are starting to heat up with the trade deadline close approaching. The deadline, Monday, February 27 2012, will be an interesting one as in all years. Teams like the Carolina Hurricanes are nearly out of the playoff contention and are rumored to be looking to deal forward Tuomo Ruutu pictured above. The skilled winger has 14 goals and 21 assists 35 points in his 54 game splayed this season. A concern for teams may be that of his health, only finishing a full season in two of his eight years as a professional. It is rumored that the Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks are all interested.

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 19

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

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Chicago Blackhawks 20 year-old rookie Andrew Shaw celebrates after scoring on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth. Shaw was brought in to replace injured and suspended Daniel Carcillo. The young forward has played on all 4 lines since joining the team, scoring 5 goals and 1 helper for 6 points in his only 8 games played. It is unknown if he will play with the team for the remainder of the season as Carcillo wilnot return this year, but if you’re fantasy team is looking for some depth and you have a spot to mess with, Shaw may be worth picking up.

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Fantasy Friday: Goalie Stats

Jan 6

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

Today we are going to forgo The Hot List (although we still recommend looking into Daniel Alfredsson if you haven’t already) and will instead focus on more team-oriented stats and how they relate to goalies. Goalie stats are some of the hardest to predict in Fantasy Hockey. Now, the specifics may change from league to league, but overall goalies are usually rewarded for wins and punished for allowing goals. By looking at some of the overall team stats, managers may be able to better formulate a plan of attack and predict how their goalie may do on any given night.

Most leagues will punish goals allowed in some capacity. If you’re league does, then you may want to know which teams are more likely to score on any given night.

Eight teams in the league currently score, on average, three or more goals per game. If you’re goalie is facing one of those teams, you can pretty much expect at least three goals to slip through. Those eight teams are:

Boston (3.65)

Philadelphia (3.42)

Detroit (3.26)

Vancouver (3.24)

Chicago (3.20)

Toronto (3.15)

Pittsburgh (3.10)

Ottawa (3.0)

Leagues will also reward or punish goalies based on the number of shots faced. This may be a simple ‘shots faced’ stat, or represent itself in the form of save percentage or goals against average. These five teams lead the league in shots per game:

San Jose (34.8)

Pittsburgh (33.7)

Detroit (33.1)

Chicago (32.7)

Boston (32.5)

You’ll notice that three of the teams on the shots per game list are also on the goals scored per game list. Before starting your goalie against any of those teams, you may want to determine if you will gain more points by facing more shots or lose more points by letting in more goals.

One of the most popular goalie stats in Fantasy Hockey is wins. And, depending on how your league’s point system is set up, goalie wins can make or break your week in head-to-head matchups. So it’s important to know who your goalie is most likely to beat. These next five teams have the most losses in the NHL:

Columbus (24)

Anaheim (22)

Edmonton (21)

Carolina (21)

Calgary (19)

On the other side, these five teams lead the league in wins:

Boston (26)

NY Rangers (25)

Vancouver (25)

Detroit (25)

Chicago (24)

Taking all of these stats into consideration, the four teams that you will likely want to avoid playing your goalie against are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawk, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings. Not only are they likely to beat you, but they are likely to score three or more goals on you as well.

All of these stats are available on NHL.com and can be useful tools when trying to decide whether to play your goalie against a given opponent. Goalie stats are some of the toughest to predict, but having knowledge of these stats can help you determine the best course of action when it comes to goalie plays.

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Patrick Kane Shootout Goal vs. Minnesota

Dec 15

Posted by Matt in Media | 2 Comments

It’s still early in the season, but I think we may have found an early favorite for shootout goal of the year. Last night, Patrick Kane dazzled and amazed fans with his shootout goal against Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild. Kane’s game winner saw him put his lightning quick hands on display as he deked back and forth several times before finally baiting Backstrom completely out of position and slamming the puck home in a wide open net.

Back in September, Patrick Kane said he was ready to elevate his game to the next level. With shootout goals like this one, it looks like he is well on his way. Take a look at Patrick Kane’s shootout goal vs. Minnesota below and leave us a comment with your thoughts.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Chicago Blackhawks

Sep 26

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | 1 Comment

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will lead the offensive attack for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011-12

Key Offseason Additions: Steve Montador, Dan Carcillo, Andrew Brunette, Jamal Mayers, Ray Emery

Key Offseason Losses: Brian Campbell, Troy Brouwer, Chris Campoli, Tomas Kopecky,

Last Season Ranking: 8th in the West

Offense: The Chicago Blackhawks offense hopes to build on a productive season in 2010-11 and return this year with a bit more pop. Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews, along with winger Patrick Kane, both look to increase their output this season. Kane, specifically, has been saying this off-season he wants to take his game to another level. After a 15 point drop in production last season, you have to assume that Kane is looking to break the 90 point mark and help lead his team back to the playoffs.

Another huge bonus to the squad will be a healthy Marian Hossa. He posted 57 points in a mere 65 games last season, and if healthy, can contribute roughly a point per game to the Blackhawks potent offense. A full season by Hossa could also mean the difference between barely making the playoffs and perhaps winning the division.

Additionally, Patrick Sharp will continue to be a goal scoring threat for the Blackhawks. Sharp lead the squad in goals last season with 34, and will look to improve on his point totals after a career-high 71 points last season.

New to the offense are Andrew Brunette, Dan Carcillo, and Jamal Mayers. While Brunette will be expected to contribute heavily, look for Carcillo and Mayers to provide a physical presence above anything else.

The Blackhawks have a few young guys rounding out the offense. Be sure to keep an eye on Michael Frolik and Viktor Stalberg this season, as both have a tremendous upside. Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland will be counted on to provide additional depth scoring as well.

Defense: The departure of Brian Campbell places even more importance on Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, who will lead the Blackhawks defense this season. Both defenseman were huge on the power-play last season, and will continue to hold the blue line on the PP again in 2011-12.

The addition of Steve Montador on the blue line will add some veteran depth for the Blackhawks. He’ll be a great compliment to some of the young defenseman on the squad, such as Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy, and Sami Lepisto. Hjalmarsson should see upwards of 20 minutes per game this season, being used in more and more situations as he continues to gain experience.

Goaltending: After the Marty Turco experiment failed last season, the Blackhawks went with rookie Corey Crawford in goal. He played well enough to earn the starting job, and helped Chicago nearly come back from an 0-3 start against Vancouver in last season’s playoffs. Crawford returns this season with the number one spot from the beginning.

In an interesting scenario, however, the Blackhawks chose to sign Ray Emery in the off-season. He’s currently competing with Alexander Salak for the backup job, but you have to imagine he has his eyes on the starting role as well. Last season, after returning to game action with the Anaheim Ducks, Emery won his first six starts, before finishing the season 7-2 with a .926 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average. Emery is looking to prove everyone wrong and earn a starting spot in the NHL again, and Chicago could be the place if Corey Crawford begins to stumble during his sophomore campaign.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Blackhawks have what it takes to make it into the playoffs, and could earn another division championship if key players, such as Marian Hossa, stay healthy. Having their best players on the ice for 82 games will be the difference between a potential division win and barely sneaking into the playoffs.

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Patrick Kane ready to elevate game to the next level

Sep 19

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

At only 22-years-old, Patrick Kane has already done more in four seasons in the NHL than most hockey players accomplish in an entire career. But the former Stanley Cup champion and Olympic silver medalist still thinks he can do more and take his game to another level.

“It’s kind of crazy to think I’m still 22 and going into my fifth season,” Kane told the Chicago Tribune. “Time has been flying by. I think it’s about that time I really take the next step to the elite level.”

In 317 NHL games over four seasons, Kane has amassed 103 goals and 200 assists, good for almost a point-per-game pace that has catapulted him into the top tier of young talent taking over the NHL. But Kane hopes that better focus and more consistency can propel him to become one of the game’s elite talents.

“I’ve kind of been around that same pace the last two, three, maybe even four years,” said Kane, who had 27 goals and 46 assists in 73 games last season. “It would be nice to take that next step and really kind of put myself up in the best two, three, four or five offensive players in the league.”

Offseason surgery to repair a fracture in his left wrist limited Kane’s training this summer, but with the injury nearly healed Kane is using training camp to show his determination – even if it means skating in extra scrimmages if he doesn’t feel like he got enough of a work out.

That’s exactly what happened on Sunday when Kane didn’t feel like he got enough ice time during practices, so he approached his doctors about playing in a scrimmage that day. Kane promptly scored two goals and added an assist during the game, all while wearing a brace on his wrist to prevent further injury as his wrist heals.

“I’m a little bit more focused and I’m taking strides to be the best player I can,” Kane said. “I’m still not there yet, but hopefully I will be.”

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NHL 2011-12 Season Preview: Dallas Stars

Sep 19

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brad Richards, James Neal, Jamie Langenbrunner

Key Offseason Additions: Michael Ryder, Radek Dvorak, Vernon Fiddler, Jake Dowell, Sheldon Souray

Last Season Ranking: 9th in the West

Offense: It is hard not to think how the pending bankruptcy and sale of the Dallas Stars will negatively impact the overall play of the team. The Stars will be going through a lot of tough times this season, on the ice being a major one.

Two big players, Brad Richards and James Neal, both have found new organizations to play for. Together, the two scored 49 goals and assisted on 67 others. That is 22% of the teams overall goals scored and 19% of of the Stars’ overall points.

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen is actually a good goalie. Unfortunately for him, the Dallas Stars do not have the offensive firepower this year to help him out.

Making things worse, the team added only one superstar and a few depth players to fill the gaps. Michael Ryder is coming off of a long season winning the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins. Ryder is averaging 47 points over 7 seasons, but lackluster line mates on the second line may decrease his output. From a fantasy perspective, if he does get bumped up to the top line or plays along side Brendan Morrow or Mike Ribeiro, or if Ryder sees time on the power play, the odds of him reaching his average points greatly increases.

Radek Dvorak and Vernon Fiddler should be decent additions for depth on the third line, however, both players are in their 30′s in a game that has continually seen younger and younger players dominate.

Brendon Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson will continue to be called upon to lead the team throughout the season. Morrow seems to be healthy from his right knee surgery in 2009 that sidelined him for 64 games. Last season he played all 82 games. Ribeiro continues to be a point getter, assisting on 52 goals last year. The Stars hope he can improve upon his 20 goal range though. Lastly, Eriksson continues to become an elite athlete coming into his 6th season. Throughout his career, Eriksson has 257 points in 371 games, most recently, two seasons in a row over the 70 point mark.

Defense: The Stars need to better their defense to be any type of competitor this season. Top players Stephane Robidas and Alex Goligoski had excellent point production seasons, but the two need to better their overall plus/minus. Perhaps the two need to take some notes from Trevor Daley and Nicklas Grossman who both had a plus 7 rating over the season.

Dallas did pick up one more piece in the off-season, that being big named, hard slapshot, Sheldon Souray. Souray really upset people with the Edmonton Oilers’ organization, seeing his contract bought out and kicked to the curb. In part, it was his high cap hit that deterred teams from picking him up and instead saw him play in the AHL by being loaned to the Hershey Bears. At a modest 1.65 million 1-year contract from the Stars, if Souray wants to continue in the NHL, this year is a make or break for him.

Goaltending: Many fans were upset when Marty Turco left the team to go play for the Chicago Blackhawks, but in hindsight, where is Turco now? Kari Lehtonen takes the number one spot and is actually a solid netminder. A 34-24-11 record last year did not give any justice to his 2.55 goals against average. Not convinced? Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres had a 2.59 goals against average.

Playoff Prediction: Not making the playoffs. A pending bankruptcy and sale of the team, factor with a lack of offense, the Dallas Stars will come up short again this year.

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Jonathan Toews Checks a Kid at Hockey Camp

Sep 13

Posted by Matt in Media | 1 Comment

You might know Jonathan Toews as captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, but he’s also a co-founder of the Canadian Tire Hockey School. Well, while instructing at said school, Toews managed to dangle a few youngsters, and then completely steamroll another. Check out the video below, and let it be a lesson to you: always skate with your head up!

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Free Agency Opening Day Recap

Jul 2

Posted by Eddie in News | 1 Comment

Yesterday was one of the first day of NHL free agency. Several teams made a splash, none bigger than the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers not only win the Jaromir Jagr sweepstakes, but they also acquired defenseman Andreas Lilja and forward Maxime Talbot. Because of those moves, they had to part ways with Ville Leino, Sean O’Donnell, and Daniel Carcillo. Goalie Brian Boucher was the odd-man out when the team signed Illya Bryzgalov last week. Boucher signed with Carolina. Kris Versteeg was also traded to Florida after a short 27-game stint in the black & orange.

Joel Ward made $1.5 million in Nashville in 2010-11. He will average double that amount in Washington over the next four years.

In addition to the Flyers, the Washington Capitals overhauled their roster today as they parted ways with forwards Andrew Joudrey, Marco Sturm, and Boyd Gordon and upgraded with Joel Ward and defenseman Roman Hamerlik. Ward previously played with Nashville where he scored 13 points in 12 playoff games in 2011. He scored big with a four-year, $12 million deal. Hamerlik had 31 assists on the blue line in Montreal last season, and landed a two-year, $7 million contract in the District.

Two teams also added multiple goalies, with those being Columbus (Mark Dekanich and Curtis Sanford) and Colorado (J.S. Giguere and Semyon Varlomov). Other notable backstops that changed teams include Mike Smith (Phoenix), Brian Elliott (St. Louis), Jose Theodore (Florida), Mathieu Garon (Tampa Bay), and Peter Budaj (Montreal).

Coming off the best season of his career, 27-year-old James Wisniewski returns to the Central division after spending last season with Montreal and the New York Islanders. He signed a six-year, $33 million contract with Columbus after the Blue Jackets traded for his rights (similiar to Chrisian Ehrhoff earlier this week) from the Canadiens. The Habs traded his negotiating rights for a seventh-round draft pick in 2012 on Wednesday, but with the condition that if Wisniewski signs with Columbus the compensation would increase to a fifth-round pick.

Of teams in the Central, the Blackhawks made the most moves, as they signed O’Donnell and Carcillo from the Flyers to one-season deals. They also signed veterans Andrew Brunette and Jamal Mayers to one-year contracts as well. Brunette came from Minnesota where he scores 18 goals and recorded 28 assists. The team also signed 32-year-old Brett McLean, who spent the last two seasons in the Swiss League.

Detroit only added one player in forward Mike Commodore from down Columbus. The bizarre angle of this story is that Commodore and Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock were previously together when Babcock coached Anaheim’s AHL affiliate and had Commodore as a player. Back in ’09, Commodore, 31, publicly accused Babcock of having being an obstacle in Commodore’s career. Commodore told the Detroit Free Press Friday he spoke with Detroit’s bench boss and the issue is now currently water under the bridge.

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