The Blackhawks are now down two games in the Western Conference finals, but they really look better each game, even though they’ve yet to notch a win. Last night, Chicago lost on a brutal Brian Campbell turnover, but the Wings haven’t quite looked like themselves in the series. It’s never a great sign when Dan [...]

Ha! The Penguins are really selling the seven defenseman concept. Philippe Boucher, the Penguins seventh defenseman scored last night’s game-winning goal. This is par for the course for the Hurricanes, though. They’ve lost game one of every playoff game this season. Tonight is game two of Detroit-Chicago. The Blackhawks aren’t hitting the panic button yet, [...]

Greg Logan has a great post on Michael Farber taking Islanders GM Garth Snow to task for letting fans vote on who the Islanders should draft with the first overall pick. First of all, I don’t think Snow is actually letting the fans decide. I look at it as more of a straw poll. But [...]

I love when people say hockey is a team sport and one person really never has the ability to dominate a game, unlike the NBA. If anyone says that, show them last night’s Caps-Pens game, where Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin each had a hat trick. It’s funny to watch Washington play Pittsburgh so well [...]

How can you not be impressed by the poise and maturity of the Chicago Blackhawks? Going into Calgary in game seven, you would think a young team like Chicago would collapse under the pressure and expectations. Instead, they went in and won the first round of the playoffs. The Blackhawks were aided by Calgary playing [...]

In a lot of ways, it’s kind of a relief for a coach to be down 4-1 in a game. It frees the coach up to make riskier decisions, since the game is pretty much gone anyway. Last night, down 4-1 to the Flames, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville rode his third and fourth line to [...]

Everyone made a big deal about Alex Ovechkin sitting on the Caps bench to watch the Rangers practice before game three. Maybe he caught some of a passing drill and decided he wanted to pass the puck, too. After spending the first two games almost pathologically refusing to pass up a shot, Ovechkin spent game [...]

Be honest. How many people even remembered Martin Havlat still played for the Blackhawks? I think even people in the Blackhawks organization didn’t remember Havlat was on their roster. Now, it’s tough to forget, given his two huge goals in a 3-2 win over the Flames. Chicago basically held on against Calgary, but it was [...]

When I saw the Isles won the draft lottery, my first thought was that the NHL should step in and not let them trade it, as the Islanders are a little bit like Jack from JACK AND THE BEANSTALK. If any other GM offers them some beans for the pick, the Islanders are all in. [...]

I just can’t get psyched for the All-Star Game. I don’t see what separates it from a pre-season game. Obviously, at this time of year, teams, like the Blackhawks, need a break from the grind of the NHL season. But couldn’t the league just stagger a break, so half of the NHL is off for [...]