Adrian Dater has an interesting question: do we really know what the big deal is about Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson?
I think the big deal is that he’s an unproven free agent, so you have the excitement of a rookie coupled with the track record of a veteran. A young veteran.
I’m pretty curious how he’ll pan [...]

The Penguins are going to the Stanley Cup finals thanks to last night’s impressive win over the Penguins. Puck Daddy had a nice look at how the Penguins did it. I’d like to add one other reason to the pile, though.
Penguins coach Dan Bylsma had the Penguins play an aggressive defense, with players pinching [...]

I’m shocked Washington’s Sergei Fedorov would leave the NHL for the KHL.
Sure, his best days are behind him, but he was a pretty important part of the Capitals playoff run, serving as a calming influence on the ice. I really thought Washington would try and keep him and Fedorov would try and stay. After all, [...]

Over in Chicago, Dan McNeil is already writing the 2008-09 Blackhawks’ eulogy. I guess he doesn’t want to be seen as jumping on the bandwagon if they lose to Detroit.
Len Ziehm is a bit more optimistic, writing some ways the ‘Hawks might mount a comeback.
Also, speaking of Chicago, former Blackhawk goalie Glenn Hall isn’t a [...]

Last night I went out with some friends to watch game seven, all of us thinking this could possibly be the greatest game seven we had ever seen.
Obviously, we were mistaken. Shocked and mistaken.
You can talk about the offensive explosion that was the Penguins 6-2 win. But I was shocked by the Penguins defense. [...]

Last night we saw two game threes go into overtime, with each game ending 3-2.
In Raleigh, the Bruins looked completely out of steam, yet still made it to OT before losing.
In Pittsburgh, the Caps seemed to spend the whole game on the penalty kill. And while the penalty kill was strong, it prevented Washington from [...]

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 considering [...]

Wow. Two crazy game sevens last night.
Down in DC, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made some stunning saves against the Capitals, but ended up giving up a soft game-winner, once again showing how vulnerable he is when you shoot shortside on him. For whatever reason, Lundqvist just does not fully hug the post.
The Rangers controlled the [...]

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 without defenseman [...]

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 a [...]