Jonathan Drouin No Goal

I must give credit where credit it due. The on-ice officials got this one right. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonatha Drouin thought that he'd scored his fifth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, after further review, it was not a goal. If you look at the video, you will see that Drouin was offsides at the Penguins blue line.

A Look at the NHL Standings

With the win against the Chicago Blackhawks last night, the Wild are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There's one spot remaining in the West. In the East, the Bruins, Pens and Senators are fighting for the remaining spot. It's going down to the wire.

Boston Bruins: Matt Fraser scores the game winning goal against Montreal in game four (Video)

Boston Bruins forward Matt Fraser was recalled yesterday, and this was only the fourth NHL goal of his career. His first in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You have to love his quote though.

“I said earlier today that I have played for the Stanley Cup 100 times,” Fraser said. “On an outdoor rink – on my buddy’s outdoor rinks, but to do it on a place like this is pretty amazing.”

Fraser special night congrats it's a series lets gooooooooo
— marc savard (@MSavvy91) May 9, 2014

Two Former UND Hockey players among 2014 Playoffs Points Leaders

You can check out all of the stats at the hockey-reference. It's a wonderful site.

Wild F Zach Parise (Bloomington, MN/@UNDMHockey) is second in points (13) and in assists (9) in the NHL Playoffs.
— Let's Play Hockey (@LetsPlay_Hockey) May 7, 2014

Note to the NHL Officials, Cross-Checking is a Penalty

#becauseitsthecup ... Even thought it's the playoffs, cross-checking your opponent in the head is still a penalty, right? It should be. This should be called, this is a dirty hit and should be a five-minute major in my opinion. Thoughts?

Let me clear, I am not a dove by any stretch of the imagination, and this is coming from a guy that has the nickname Goon, but this could be classified a deliberate attempt to injure your opponent. This is why the NHL players are suffering from concussions in high numbers.

Bruins vs. Red Wings game preempted by Meaningless Spring Football game

This isn't the first time this has happened, either. Not everyone is a fan of the Thundering Herd. In what world is a meaningless spring football game worthy of  preempting the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings? Seriously. This is the Stanley Cup Playoffs which actually means something. The Bison playing with/against themselves  is not important to NHL Hockey Fans.  I do wish that KVLY had two channels like ABC does (WDAZ and WDAY).

If NHL Playoffs Started Today....

With just two and a half weeks left in the NHL season lets have a little fun and see how the playoffs would match-up if they were to start right now. Remember, the playoff format has been changed from last season. The top three finishers in each of the four divisions will make the playoffs along with two wild card spots for each conference. The top division winner in each conference will play the second wild card team, as the other division winner plays the top wild card team. This then leaves the second and third place teams in each division. These two teams will meet in the first round, just enhancing the inner division rivalries.

We will start out east. Sitting at the top of the conference, and the Atlantic Division, the surging Boston Bruins look like they are the favorite to come out of the East. However, Pittsburgh is always tough and the Rangers seem to be finding their stride down the stretch, so things could be very interesting as the season out east begins to wind down.

As of right now, the three teams making it in the Atlantic Division would be the first place Bruins, second place Canadians, and third place Lightning. Tampa is on their longest point streak dating back to when they won the Stanley Cup in the 2003-2004 season. The Montreal Canadians made a splash at the trade deadline to grab scorer Thomas Vanek from the Islanders to add a little more depth to their line-up for the stretch run. No explanation is needed for the Boston Bruins. They are about as deep as they come from top to bottom. They are my favorite to come out of the East, but the competitiveness of the NHL today anything can happen.

In the Metropolitan Division, the Pittsburgh Penguins are leading the charge, like they have for much of the season. Making the late charge after a horrible start, the Flyers are now finding themselves in the playoff mix sitting in third place in the division. Captain Claude Giroux has found his scoring touch and the rest of the team has followed his lead. The New York Rangers are the hottest team in the division right now on a four game winning streak, and with the trade deadline addition of Marty St. Louis, they look for a little more playoff experience, and a little bit more scoring then Ryan Callahan provided.

Finally we have the two wild card teams. There are four teams tied with 80 points, but the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings are the two teams shown in the two slots. People laughed at me before the season started when I picked the Blue Jackets to make the playoffs, or just be in the playoff hunt. Lets just say I will take my apologies at anytime from all who laughed at me. Still in the hunt, however, are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and I will go as far to include the New Jersey Devils who are sitting at 75 points right now.

My pick to come out of the east needs to be the Boston Bruins. The only team that comes close in the east to match their depth is the Penguins. However, you can never count anyone out in the NHL.

Moving west, this is the superior conference in the NHL and it looks that barely anyone out east will be able to compete with anyone in the west. With three teams over 100 points, and likely to be four or five by seasons end, my Cup winner will be out of the west this year.

Starting in the ever so tough Central Division, we have the red hot St. Louis Blues leading the charge at 103 points. In a division where everyone thought that the Blackhawks, who are in second, would win outright this season after their amazing cup run last year, the St. Louis Blues are only a little bit of a surprise to the NHL community this season. Probably the biggest surprise coming out of the St. Louis camp would be the play of Alexander Steen this season. Having a career year, Steen, along with usual suspects in Backes and Oshie, are leading the charge. Probably the biggest surprise in this division is the third place Colorado Avalanche. New head coach, and my pick to win the Jack Adams award for coach of the year, Patrick Roy grabbed the bull by the horns and utilized this young and talented team, making their opponents look like fools this season.

In the Pacific, we have the usual suspects at the top with San Jose, LA and Anaheim. The Sharks currently occupy the top spot in the division, but the Ducks are breathing down their neck just two points back right now. At points of this season, the Ducks were considered the best team in the NHL and, in my opinion, are a very good favorite to come out of the west this year, or at least make it to the west finals. Finally, we have the Kings quietly doing their thing in third place in the division. With their cheap deadline deal with the Blue Jackets acquiring Marian Gaborik, this team is always a threat to score. If Gaborik can stay away from the injury bug that has plagued him for nearly his entire career, the Kings look to bring themselves back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Now for the two wild card teams in the west. First we have the streaky Minnesota Wild. The Wild would add Matt Moulson at the trade deadline to make what should be three complete lines that should be a threat to put the puck into the net. However, this is not the story. Coach Mike Yeo is having trouble in finding chemistry within his lines, but saw a ray of hope in their overtime victory Sunday night in Detroit. You also can't talk about the Wild without talking about Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper has taken over the number one role between the pipes with injuries to Josh Harding and Nik Backstrom and has ran with it. Sitting in the second wild card is the Phoenix Coyotes. With the Stars not too far behind, the margin for error is not that big for Phoenix. One thing that might trouble the Coyotes is the injury to their goalie Mike Smith. One can only wonder how far they can go without their number one.

As to who is coming out of the west, this is going to be very difficult. However, I am going to have to take the Chicago Blackhawks because with the majority of the team from last season, they know what they have to do to get the job done. They are also my pick to win the Cup and win the first back to back since the Red Wings did it in 1997-1998.

More Thomas Vanek

Deutsch: Alex Kotalik&Thomas Vanek beim Spiel Rangers Vs. Sabres (Madison Square Garden) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought this was a funny article, no really, it's me not you... Why doesn't Vanek just tell the Islanders, really it's you, and I don't want to play for you guys after the season is over.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Vanek is going to test the free agent market and he's set to make boatloads of money. 

Arthur Staple, Newsday - Thomas Vanek knows how it looks, turning down a seven-year contract believed to be around $50 million from the Islanders.

"I'm sure people will look at it and say, 'Wow, that's crazy by him,' or whatever," Vanek told Newsday Tuesday morning, a day after news broke that he had indeed rejected such a deal and will now almost certainly be traded before the March 5 deadline.

But it's not about the Islanders, he said.

"As I've told [general manager] Garth [Snow] before . . . It's like a breakup: It's not you, it's me. And it really is me wanting to explore this."

Vanek knows that his decision to head to July 1 free agency means the Islanders, a team that has been the punchline to plenty of hockey jokes over the past two decades, will get the short end once again. Big-time player says "no thanks" to struggling team, and so on.

In reading the news, it doesn't appear that Thomas Vanek is going to sign with the Islanders and it doesn't sound like he's going to be an Islander after the trade deadline either. I would imagine, the Islanders will trade Vanek to a team that needs a rental player for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  I would say, don't count on the Wild trading away prospects for Vanek. Maybe the Wild can entice the Islanders to take Dany Heatley? They will wait and sign him after July 1st, if he's still available. Just a hunch. 

Pierre LeBrun, ESPN.com --- Once news got out Monday via Arthur Staple of Newsday that Vanek had rejected a contract offer from the Islanders -- and Vanek's agent, Stephen Bartlett, confirmed to ESPN.com that his client was very likely going to the July 1 UFA market -- Isles GM Garth Snow's phone began to light up.

The early word around the league is that the cost to snag Vanek would be a three-asset haul, whether those assets are first-round picks or prospects or a player. It could be any combination. And if one of the assets is high-end enough, perhaps a two-asset package could do it.

Reached by ESPN.com Tuesday, all Snow would say is that he valued Vanek's presence on Long Island.

"I hope Thomas Vanek retires an Islander," Snow said. "I still hope to re-sign him."

Catching up and moving forward

Well the NHL playoffs are over. Finally, we can move forward, the College Hockey season is roughly three months away.  The Stanley Cup Playoffs were exciting and a grind as well.

Moving forward, I close one chapter and open another one. Last September, I was invited to write for the Hockey Writers Combine by the former editor Andrew Eide.  The Hockey Writers Editor Bruce Hollingdrake decided that he no longer wanted to have a number of 'off shoot' sites connected to THW.  I was invited to write for the Hockey Writers and I can now be found here as a lead college hockey writer.  Below are two of my latest submissions. 

Should Puck Over Glass be an Automatic Penalty?

Calgary Flames Acquire Smilin’ Corban Knight

I was also invited to write for the Hockey Wilderness by Bryan Reynolds on his way out the door as editor of the Hockey Wilderness …. So, now I will write a weekly college hockey column or two during the regular season as some Wild related stuff.  Currently, during the summer months, every Saturday afternoon have been writing a weekly column that’s published at 2:00 p.m..

This was one of the latest. Stupid Penalties: Two minutes for taking your helmet off during a fight

I have also continued to write for the new hockey blog Get Real Hockey which is owned by Former NHL great Bernie Nicholls. Click to view 

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Zdeno Chara gets hit in the face by Ryan Callahan, no call on the play

The Officiating has been poor in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, there is no doubt about it. This is an obvious high stick by Rangers forward Ryan Callahan on Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara that went uncalled, that should drawn a double minor penalty. Four officials on the ice and no one saw it. The Officials did manage to call a very weak penalty on Jaromir Jagr that was much less serious than this.

(Video) Torey Krug scores his second goal in two games for the Bruins

Make that two goals in two games for Boston Bruins rookie defenseman, Torey Krug. The Livonia, Michigan product has played in a grand total of five NHL games and has two NHL goals, both in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

05:28 BOS T. KRUG (2) SNAP - ASST: N. HORTON (5) AND D. KREJCI (10)

With an assist on Krug's goal, Krejci put himself back in first in playoff scoring with 15 points (5g, 10a), one ahead of Evgeni Malkin ^CS
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 19, 2013

Don Cherry talks about Josh Harding on HNIC Coach's Corner

On tonight's Coach's Corner, Don Cherry mentioned Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding. I thought it was a nice touch by Don Cherry. I was talking to someone the other day, and it would make a nice story if the Minnesota Wild were able to make it out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Obviously, it's a tall order, especially against the Presidents Trophy winning Blackhawks and with a goalie that hasn't played very much the last few years. No matter what happens to the Wild going forward, I think that Josh Harding has played pretty well.

Jamal Mayers vs. Raffi Torres

This is one of the things that I like about the NHL. The players sort things out on the ice and settle things like men.

Last season, during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Raffi Torres steam rolled Marian Hossa with a dirty and dangerous hit. Hossa suffered a concussion and Torres was suspended for 25 games.

Torres appealed the suspension, and the NHL reduced his suspension to 21 games. Torres is now back playing with the Coyotes after serving his long ban.

I guess you could say that we all knew that this day would come, and the first time that the Phoenix Coyotes played the Chicago Blackhawks, Torres would have to answer the bell against the one of the Blackhawks players. The hockey code demanded it. 

 Torres didn't turtle, he answered the bell, and did quite well against Jamal Mayers.

Kings take 2-0 lead in series against Devils

Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter scored the game winning goal at the 13:42 mark in overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 2-0 series lead against the New Jersey Devils. The Kings have gone an impressive 14-2 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and have not lost since the first round of the playoffs. What is even more impressive is that the Kings have not lost on the road during this years Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let me just say - I think the Devils will be hard pressed to win four of the next five games against the Kings. I wouldn't be surprised if the Kings sweep the Devils at home. With their win on the road the Kings have now won 10 out of 10 games on the road - that's an impressive feat and only three other teams have done that during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But to go a perfect 10-for-10 away from the land of the rich and famous, well, that seemed like a dream, or a Hollywood script. Nevertheless, that's just what the Kings did with Jeff Carter's game winner 13 minutes and 42 seconds into overtime for a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on Saturday.

The Kings not only extended their record to 10 consecutive wins to start a postseason, they became only the fourth team to win 10 road games in a playoffs, matching the 1995 and 2000 Devils as well as the 2004 Calgary Flames. [Tim Wharnsby, CBC]

NHL to re-look at their obstruction fouls in off-season

When I saw this tweet from TSN's Darren Dreger today, I thought it's a little late to the party but I welcome the discussion in the off-season.  This is a long time coming and some tweeks need to be made to the NHL game.

In my opinion there has been way too much obstruction, hooking, holding and stick fouls in this seasons Stanley Cup Playoffs and the officiating has degraded from last year to this season. The later in the game the more a players can get away with on the ice

Other items on the agenda:

Hooking, holding and interference: Instead of holding a research and development camp this year, the NHL will hold a meeting of GMs, coaches, players and referees in August in Toronto. It will focus on the standard of enforcement of hooking, holding and interference penalties.

Some GMs complained the standard slipped this season, but Campbell said they needed to discuss the matter in the off-season, when people could put aside their self-interest and speak in more detail. [Nick Cotsonika, Puck Daddy ]

Open Thread - Stanley Cup Finals - Who do you like and why?

Finally the Stanley Cup Finals kick off tonight between the Eastern Conference Champion the New Jersey Devils (48-28-6 – 12-6 SCP) against the Western Conference Champion the Los Angeles Kings (40-27-15 – 12-3 SCP) – both teams include at least one ex-Fighting Sioux hockey players; Devils (Travis Zajac and Zach Parise) Kings (Matt Greene).

My Prediction – I think that the Los Angeles Kings are going to win the Series in six games; I believe that the Kings fore-check and their defense is going to give the Devils forwards fits like the other teams that were defeated by the Kings in the earlier round.

Feel free to chime in with your predictions…

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NHL looking into Coyotes' antics

Phoenix Coyotes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You had to wonder after listening to some the comments that were made by the Phoenix Coyotes - during post game interviews - if there was going to be repercussions from the NHL. I understand that the refs weren't as good as they could have been.

Pierre LeBrun, ESPN.COM --- The NHL is further investigating the postgame actions and comments of some Phoenix Coyotes players after their season-ending, overtime loss in the Western Conference finals, league executive vice president Colin Campbell told ESPN.com on Thursday.

The league is not pleased with some of what happened after Dustin Penner's overtime winner Tuesday night for the Kings, including Coyotes center Martin Hanzal skating aggressively toward a referee and making a gesture, goalie Mike Smith throwing his stick and Keith Yandle's postgame comment in which he suggested it was no surprise the calls didn't go his team's way given the similar colors of the refs' and Kings' uniforms.

"Their actions were unprofessional and unacceptable," Campbell told ESPN.com

Most of us that watched the games this season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs realize that there have been a lot of questionable calls made on the ice in "all" of the series to date. That being said, there is a level of professionalism that NHL hockey players are supposed to exhibit and some of the Coyotes' post game comments were over-the-top and questionable.

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Can Mike Smith be fined for his post game comments?

After listening to Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith's post game comments the first thing that came to mind was, the NHL could levy a fine against Smith for his post game comments about the officials. 

I will be the first one to admit that the NHL on ice officiating has been really poor during this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, but everyone has has had to play through it. In this series, the Kings were the better team, the Coyotes had no answer for the Kings speed through the neutral zone. The Kings also played a high pressure game and gave the Coyotes little in the way of offensive chances maybe Smith should give credit where credit is due.  There is a time to just say congrats to the other team and move on with your life and not look like a whiner. 

You can listen to the audio of the post game interview, you will hear that Smith was highly critical of the on ice officials in this game and series. I always said, win with class and you lose with class as well. 

"It's even more disappointing," Smith said. Not only did we get beat by them [Kings]... "We got beat by the officials too." 

[click to listen to his post game comments]

Remaking Burrows' image

Last season a major American Newspaper from Pittsburgh wrote a newspaper article that tried to remake Matt Cooke's  tattered image after the Penguins bad boy was suspended by the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety for the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I guess we could say this article some similar to that one. This article by the Vancouver Providence wants us to look at one of the players in a different light.

Enter Alex Burrows, while me might be a "great" hockey player statically; his unsportsmanlike on ice antics makes him one of the most unlikable players/characters in the NHL. Burrows also happens to be a team member on one of the most unlikable teams in the NHL, the Canucks are the poster boys of poor sportsmanship. As we have seen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs that last few years, the Vancouver Canucks are a team full of driving frauds and cry babies that are as light on their skates as any team in the NHL.  Everytime someone touches one of the Canucks they throw their heads back like they have been shot.

The Providence --- Burrows has done himself no favours in the past. He is not known as a hockey player but as a finger-biting, hair-pulling, head-snapping diver who gets to play the role of fire-hydrant, standing in front of the net while the Sedins bank shots in off him.

It’s a shame because Burrows is a hell of a hockey player.

Consider that he’s averaged 30 goals a season over the past four campaigns.

But then add to the consideration the fact he gets next to no power-play time.

When it comes to even-strength goals, he had 23 this season – more than Rick Nash, more than Matt Moulson.

Burrows is the poster boy for everything that is wrong with the Vancouver Canucks, first he comes off as clownish character and an unlikable buffoon that I can only imagine that an opposing player would rather pound into the boards or  cross check in the mouth, rather than to have to watch their on ice antics. This past post season the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks Alain Vigneaul had to tell Canucks forwards Alex Burrows and Max LaPierre to shut their mouths.

Burrows biting of Patrice Bergeron during the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals was an atrocious and unpunished childish act that should have resulted in Burrows being give a suspension.

If I was a general manager in the NHL I would take a pass on this clown, I don't care how many goals that he scores - while Burrows has a serious upside offensively - he is also a poor sport and a distraction to the rest of the Vancouver Canucks and there are a lot of other unlikable characters on that team. If I was the GM of the Vancouver Canucks I would try to package a deal that includes Alex burrows and  Max Lapierre to any Eastern Conference team that would take these two clowns. Losing those two players would help save the image of that once great franchise.

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Brandon Prust suspended for Game 4

The New York Rangers forward Bandon Prust was suspended for his elbow on New Jersey Devils forward Anton Volchenkov at the 2:31 mark of the second period of yesterday's game.

I predicted that this play would warrant a suspension from the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety yesterday. The NHL has set a precedence if you hit someone where the head is the principle point of contact you will be suspended, it no longer matters if you're a repeat offender or not. In this case, Prust is not a repeat offender - yet he will become the 13th player to be suspended by the NHL during this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Rangers forward Brandon Prust has no one to blame but himself on this play and I just don't think you can really defend this hit. A player is responsible for his actions on the ice at all times and I think that going forward all of these hits need to be punished consistently.

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