Jonathan Toews Versus. James Neal

Former Fighting Sioux All-Amerian Jonathan Toews isn't paid to get into fights, but he isn't afraid to defend himself either. Especially, if he's getting cheap shotted. Last night, Toews had enough of James Neal and agreed to fight.   According to Hockey Fights, Toews has been in 6 NHL hockey fights.

Central Division Preview

With most training camps about to begin, I thought it would be appropriate to preview each division in the NHL. I will highlight a little about each team in the division, highlight key players on their teams, and how I think each team will end up come April.

Lets start off by giving praise to the surprise division champs of last season, the Colorado Avalanche. Forward Matt Duchene was plagued with injury last season, and was not much help in the playoffs because of this. He now is at 100% and ready to lead this team into another division title battle. This, however, will be done without the liking of Paul Stastny due to him moving on to St. Louis this upcoming season. This young team lead by Patrick Roy behind the bench will be a tough match up for anyone in the NHL and are once again a threat to win the division once again. However, one question I have on my mind, is will Nathan MacKinnon have the sophomore slump, or will he shine like his amazing rookie season? The Avalanche open up the season October 9th in Minnesota against their heated division rival.

Moving east, we have the team that fell and went splat at the end of the season, and in the first round of the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues. With the addition of Paul Stastny, the Blues hope that all of the pieces are now in place for a legitimate Stanley Cup run. With the leadership of David Backes

and TJ Oshie, the team is looking for a rebound after a terrible end to last season. The goalie situation is also solidified as well with the net belonging to Brian Elliot. St. Louis did bring in Ryan Miller for the stretch run last season, but didn't turn out too well for them. This is one of the deepest teams on paper in the entire NHL with the likes of Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, among many others and will post a legit threat to a division crown, if not a Stanley Cup crown. The Blues open up the season October 9th at home against the New York Rangers.

Finishing third in the standings last season, the Chicago Blackhawks are looking to make their way back to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in the last five years. As if this team couldn't find any more offensive depth, the Blackhawks went out to sign Brad Richards during free agency. However, he is a wild card. Will he play to his full potential, or will he be the inconsistent player the New York Rangers had seen the past couple seasons? One constant will be that no matter which line is on the ice, there always will be a threat to score. Whether it is Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Andrew Shaw, I think you get the point, there are 20 players on that bench who can step up and score when called upon.

That is what makes this team one of the most dangerous teams in the entire NHL. The Blackhawks open up the season by heading to Dallas to play the Stars on October 9th.

Finishing fourth was a very young, but surprisingly talented, Minnesota Wild team. It seemed like this team played with a grit after their dreadful six game losing streak midway through the season, that solidified them as a playoff team. With the addition of Thomas Vanek, and a healthy Jason Zucker, going into this season, the Wild are on the verge of being considered one of the NHL's elite teams. It's time to earn that honor by proving it on the ice with the young talent that has earned their right to play by working their way up through the AHL system. Coach Mike Yeo has all the pieces in place, so it seems, for a very memorable year in Minnesota, but that question mark in goal could be the one thing that holds them back from a possible trip to the Cup Finals. Can Josh Harding cope with his MS medications and be able to play a full season as the number one goalie? Will Niklas Backstrom stay healthy enough to stay in a strong back-up role? Then there is young

Darcy Kuemper, who still remains as an unsigned RFA, who proved that he is NHL ready to be a number one goalie. Where does he stand? If a deal is done, does he start in Iowa, or trade one of our other goalies to give him a spot with the big club? Things in Minnesota are going to be very exciting this season, but only if that goalie question mark gets solved, and fast. The Wild open up at home October 9th against the Colorado Avalanche.

Finishing fifth, and squeaking into the Western Conference's final playoff spot last season was the Dallas Stars. Tyler Seguin was a great addition to this team last season as he, and the rest of the Stars look to become a playoff contender for many years to come. Two major off season signings this season were those of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky, giving the Stars a little more offensive punch in this very tough Central Division. In all honesty, I have absolutely no clue on where this team will end up, or how

competitive they will be in the division, or the NHL, but I will say the Stars shouldn't be a team the league overlooks. This is a team that may once again sneak into the playoffs, and possibly play spoiler to someone's playoff hopes and dreams come April. The Stars open up at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 9th.

Finishing just three points behind the Dallas Stars was the Nashville Predators. The Predators are a team that always seem tough to play no matter where they are in the standings, but that could be because of Shea Weber on the blue line, who knows. Seth Jones had a decent rookie campaign last season as well, and learning from one of the best defenders to ever play in this league, could he be

Weber's next Ryan Suter like prodigy? Another thing looking good for Nashville is the addition of James Neal. While in Pittsburgh, Neal sat back to the likes of Crosby, Letang, and Malkin, but will he be the number one offensive threat in Nashville? I say yes. Playing with key veterans like Mike Fischer, Derek Roy, Mike Ribeiro, and Matt Cullen, he has the potential to find the net a lot this season. Finally, they also have a healthy Pekka Rinne. One of the top goalies in the league will likely be a strong backbone to this up and coming Nashville roster, and they will need him if they want to contend for a playoff spot come March and April. Nashville opens up the season on October 9th as well at home against the Ottawa Senators.

Last, but not least, the Winnipeg Jets. Finishing off last season with 83 points, the Jets look to become a more competitive team within the division and fight for a playoff spot. This Jets roster is one that reminds me a lot of the 2002-2003 Minnesota Wild, in that they really don't have any superstar players on it, but have the pieces to be a playoff contender if they play simple hockey and each player plays their role well. Now some may argue that Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler have that potential to break out and be that dynamic superstar that the Jets are looking for, but I don't think the pieces are there on this current roster for them to do that. I see a team that is average, to just above average at best, and fans in Winnipeg are going to be very restless when the product on the ice won't be able to keep up in the Central as well as everyone else in the division.

As for will the Jets climb out of the cellar this year? No. They didn't do anything to impress me in the off season to make me think that and with this roster, I see the team being around 80 points again this season by the time it is all said and done. The Jets open up against the team formerly known as the Winnipeg Jets, the Arizona Coyotes, on October 9th.

Fitting Penguins Humor; Sidney Crosby crying about the officiating already

Haha this is funny @jroadsreal @goon48 twitter.com/bergcar5/statu…
— gretchen berg (@bergcar5) June 2, 2013

Someone put this on twitter last night, I know it's old but it fits with the current Pittsburgh Penguins, especially with Sidney Crosby whining about the officiating after last night's game. Apparently, Sid bad mustache and all didn't watch the game between the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette --- Before Marchand's hit on Neal, Matt Cooke sent Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid into the boards in the second minute of the second period, earning a major penalty for hitting from behind, a game misconduct and a review from the NHL, which could decide to suspend Cooke.

Some of the Penguins' discontent stemmed from Marchand getting a two-minute boarding penalty for the hit on Neal, not something similar to Cooke's penalties. "I don't see the difference, really," Crosby said.

Crosby, rarely one to publicly criticize officiating, said the way referees Chris Rooney and Brad Watson called the game contributed to the overflow of emotion.

"It's tough," Crosby said. "They're letting a lot go out there, and the more it gets like that, the more it's going to escalate. You can only control and channel that stuff so much. You keep letting guys do that stuff, you're just going to push the envelope. That's something we obviously want to stay away from, but it's kind of a natural thing when it gets like that."

Asked if it was also a matter of the Bruins trying to get under the Penguins' skin, Crosby didn't back down.

Look, I don’t think anyone is questioning whether the hit that Brad Marchand put on James Neal was worthy of a five or not – I get that – the call probably should have been a five minute major and I was surprised that it wasn't. Now were going to have to put up with Crosby's excessive whining the rest of the series every time his team doesn't get a call.

Marchand boards James Neal: Dust up at the end of the period, Malkin vs Bergeron fight

I thought that Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was lucky to remain in the game after his hit on Penguins forward James Neal. This could have been a five minute major. There could be two suspensions coming from this game, when it's all said and done. Probably not though. This was not a good hit, dangerous hit. Marchand is a repeat offender as well.

Video of dust up at the end of the period included as well.

Malkin and Bergeron fighting is why the playoffs are rad. Also, I like fighting.
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) June 2, 2013

Sorry but Crosby has no right to go after Rask, Crosby cut into Rask's path and gave him a bit of an elbow
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) June 2, 2013

Marchand takes a bad penalty. Not worse than Cooke but still a stupid penalty, only gets 2 minutes, luckily #DailyLive
— Bruins Daily (@BruinsDaily) June 2, 2013

Shanny has his work cut out for him part II

Arron Asham should be gone for the rest of the NHL playoffs for this cross check and then punch on Brayden Schenn. There was nothing wrong with Schenn's hit on Paul Martin, yet Asham attacks Schenn. If you don't like the way that Schenn hit your fellow teammate challenge him to a fight the old fashion way.

I think that the NHL will not look too kindly on this play by Asham; this will also give Brendan Shanahan a chance to make a statement because Asham is a goon and suspending him won't really affect the series that much. 


Penguins forward James Neal should have been thrown out of the game for this questionable blindside on Sean Couturier. The refs really blew this call and their inaction probably lead to this chain of events. That's right pulling of hair by Craig Adams, how very Vancouver Canucks like, Alex Burrows and Max Lapierre would probably approve of this act.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, this was a very emotional and hard fought game and I could see a few fines and probably a suspension or two for some of the offending players.  Loved the drama and the extra drama that came out of this game today.

Related articles

• VIDEO: Arron Asham Jumps Brayden Schenn In Penguins Vs. Flyers Game 3 (sbnation.com)
• VIDEO: Penguins-Flyers Fight And Aaron Asham-Brayden Schenn Hit (pittsburgh.sbnation.com)
• NHL Playoffs: Flyers hammer Penguins for 3-0 series lead (theglobeandmail.com)
• NHL Playoffs 2012: Aaron Asham Likely to Be Suspended for Brutal Cross Check (bleacherreport.com)