The 2013 World Men’s Hockey Championships will commence this weekend with Canada playing two games in Stockholm. The first will be against Denmark on Saturday (TSN, 8:00 a.m.) and the second will be against Switzerland on Sunday (TSN2, 8:00 a.m.).
There are four Oilers and one Flame on Team Canada. Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz, Devan Dubnyk and Taylor Hall are the Oilers, while T.J. Brodie is the lone Calgary Flame.
Other notable players representing Team Canada are Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, Carolina Hurricanes sniper Eric Staal, Florida Panthers defenceman Brian Campbell (defending Lady Byng winner) and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos, who was second in the NHL in scoring with 29 goals and 57 points. (more…)
Henrik Lundqvist (Robert Kowal, Wikimedia Commons)
The 2012 NHL Award Ceremony takes place tonight in Las Vegas with Nickelback performing.
Let’s see how well I do:
HART–The question here is should the Hart Trophy go to a goalie? The answer this season is yes. Henrik Lundqvist was the primary reason the New York Rangers led the Eastern Conference in points. You can’t give the Hart to a player that missed the playoffs (Steven Stamkos) and in Pittsburgh, when healthy Sidney Crosby is just as valuable to the Penguins as Evgeni Malkin.
VEZINA–If Lundqvist wins the Hart, he’ll win the Vezina too.
NORRIS–Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators had more assists than Zdeno Chara and Shea Weber had points.
The Phoenix Coyotes are off to the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The Winnipeg Jet-almosts beat the Chicago Blackhawks convincingly in Chicago Monday night by a score of 4-0.
The Blackhawks were the better team in the series in every area except one–the position of goaltending.
The bottom line was that Mike Smith was completely brilliant, compared to the shaky Corey Crawford who needless to say was horrible at specific times when the games were tight.
Last night, after the Blackhawks dominated the first half of the game but couldn’t beat Smith, the Coyotes dominated the third period. Former Oiler Gilbert Brule, Westlock’s Kyle Chipchura and Oliver Ekman-Larsson all notched a goal and assist as Phoenix will now play the Nashville Predators in round two.
In other hockey news, Oilers forward Jordan Eberle has been nominated for the Lady Byng. This season he had 34 goals and 42 assists and only 10 penalty minutes. He’ll be up against Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers and Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders. Campbell will try to become the first defenceman to win the Lady Byng since Red Kelly of the Detroit Red Wings in 1954.
Eberle meanwhile is being joined by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is being nominated for the Calder. No Edmonton Oiler has won a major award since Mark Messier won the Hart and Bill Ranford won the Conn Smythe in 1990.
One of the greatest coaches in Canadian hockey history is planning to retire.
If you haven’t heard of Brian Kilrea, then you don’t know much about junior hockey in Canada. Kilrea’s 1,193 coaching wins with the Ottawa 67′s from 1975-2009 is the most in Canadian Hockey League history.
Over the last two seasons, Kilrea has been exclusively the 67′s General Manager.
Chris Byrne, who has been the 67′s head coach the last two seasons will take on the managerial duties as well. Kilrea will stay on as a scout for the 67′s.
Kilrea, who is currently 76 years of age, won two Memorial Cups as the head coach of Ottawa– in 1984 and 1999. Some of the more high profile players Kilrea has coached over time are Bobby Smith, who was drafted first overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1978, Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers, Kris Draper, who recently retired with the Detroit Red Wings, Jim Fox, who had 478 points in a nine year career with the Los Angeles Kings, faceoff specialist Michael Peca, who spent time with the Edmonton Oilers, long-time defenceman Doug Wilson, who is currently the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks, and Gary Roberts, who won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989.
Due to some technical difficulties, this week’s episode of 15 Minutes of Fame is coming at you a day later than usual, but it’s better late than never right?
This week, we’re breaking down some of the biggest moves of the NHL Free Agent season, including the handful made by the Oilers and Panthers, and we look at the NBA lockout. In the GABBYs: The LA Dodgers, NY Mets Grand Slams, Cliff Lee shutouts, Major League steroids, and more!
The weekend was headlined by the Oilers reacquiring Ryan Smyth, the Flames trading Robyn Regehr, and the two blockbuster deals involving the Philadelphia Flyers.
But there were some others. Let’s take a look at the other moves.
On Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets traded left winger Nikita Filatov to the Ottawa Senators for a third round draft pick. Filatov is overrated. He never fit into Columbus’ offensive game plan, so why would I think he could fit in to any other team in the NHL? He only has six goals and seven assists in 44 games. If he couldn’t play for Ken Hitchcock or Scott Arniel, he won’t for Paul MacLean.
The New York Islanders traded defenceman Bruno Gervais to the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations. I think a lot more about Gervais than Filatov. Even though he is a career -60, he has played six seasons with the struggling Islanders. I like his ability to block shots. He has 182 of them in the last two years.
The Florida Panthers acquired defenceman Brian Campbell from the Chicago Blackhawks for right winger Rostislav Olesz. Campbell has played in 626 career games, and at one time was considered an elite NHL defenceman. Despite reduced offensive production the last two years, he still was a +46 on a solid Blackhawks’ team. Olesz only had six goals and 11 assists last year, and I don’t see his production improve significantly in Chicago.
Once again, Kerrzy & Geoff are here to sort through what was another exciting stretch in the world of sports – this week: Did the Oilers make the right call on Draft Day? We also take a look at the Ryan Smyth deal and some of the other trades that happened around the NHL, including the one that led to a huge contract for Ilya Bryzgalov. As well, we discuss Jose Canseco’s visits Edmonton and we look ahead at the upcoming CFL season.
In the GABBYs: Big week for Big Papi, huge bar tabs, Gold Cup meltdowns, name changes & more!
Out of all of the players that have been injured over the last couple of months, I don’t think many expected that there would be significant talk of David Bolland’s first game back with the Chicago Blackhawks.
But on Tuesday night in Chicago, Bolland was clearly the best player on the ice. He scored one goal and three assists in Chicago’s 7-2 win over Vancouver. More importantly, he was instrumental in Chicago avoiding elimination. Vancouver still leads the series 3-1.
Bolland, who played his first game since March 9 because of a concussion, scored Chicago’s fourth goal. It is unfortunate that injuries have plagued Bolland’s career because when he is on the ice he is a dynamic force. A 6’0″, 180 pound center, Bolland plays more like a power forward, even though you wouldn’t know it by his weight.
Bolland also won five of six faceoffs, was a +4, with three shots and two hits.
Another major reason why Chicago has prolonged the series is because they have got outstanding offense from their defense Tuesday. Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell put the puck in the back of the net.
Did the Chicago Blackhawks do enough to change the momentum in the series or by down 3-1 is it too late to mount a comeback? Let us know at anysportanytime!
The 2013 World Men’s Hockey Championships will commence this weekend with Canada playing two games in Stockholm. The first will be against Denmark on Saturday (TSN, 8:00 a.m.) and the second will be against Switzerland on Sunday (TSN2, 8:00 a.m.).
Loading ...
