The Los Angeles Kings slayed the Presidents Cup winner in the first round. They’re pounding the St. Louis Blues in the second round with a tough physical style that many thought the Blues would use against them.
There’s no doubt the Kings are for real, and oddsmakers are taking notice.
Bovada’s Stanley Cup Futures are favoring the Kings to win the Cup at 3/1. Bovada lists the Philadelphia Flyers with second-best odds at 7/2 followed by the New York Rangers at 5/1. Continue reading
It’s pretty clear who Martin Brodeur is going to keep his eye on this series, if it wasn’t apparent already. James van Riemsdyk annoyed the New Jersey Devils goaltender all night Sunday and wore him down in Philadelphia’s 4-3 overtime win in Game One.
Despite recovering from a broken foot, Riemsdyk, a former second overall selection, used his big frame to bully Brodeur all night and it paid off in the extra period. He had a goal himself, but made his most important play in when shielded teammate Danny Briere’s game winner in overtime. Continue reading
The Los Angeles Kings sent a clear message in series opener against the St. Louis Blues: the first round was no fluke.
The Kings, seeded eighth in the Western Conference playoffs, continued their impressive streak with a 3-1 win over the heavily-favored Blues on Saturday and look like an intriguing team going forward. Continue reading
Chris Kreider seems to be getting a hang of this hero thing.
Just a week after playing hero in the New York Rangers’ opening series against Ottawa, Kreider again came up big in the second round, scoring the defacto game-winner in Game One against the Washington Capitals. The rookie who played in just the sixth NHL game of his life heard his name chanted after scoring in the third period Saturday. Continue reading
The Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators have become the feel-good stories of the Western Conference playoffs, finally breaking through with big victories over storied franchises in the first round.
Both teams were underdogs in the first round but shut down their opponents in impressive fashion. They proved they can both score, hit and defend as well as any team left in the field. Continue reading
The New York Rangers finally figured out Ottawa’s Craig Anderson, and now carry all the momentum into Thursday night’s critical Game 7 Thursday night. After a 145-minute scoreless streak, the Rangers poured three goals in the second period of Game 6 in a 3-2 win.
It only promoted the notion that home ice just hasn’t been kind to the majority of teams in the NHL playoffs so far.
But the Rangers are hoping that trend stops tonight. New York has never lost a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Continue reading
This is a familiar place isn’t it?
Just last year the Boston Bruins made a remarkable run through the NHL Playoffs, becoming the first team in NHL history to win three Game 7s en route to the Stanley Cup championship.
We’re about to find out how much that really matters now as the Bruins square off against the Washington Capitals in another Game 7 Wednesday night. Continue reading
About time for Ilya Kovalchuk to show up, wouldn’t you say?
The New Jersey Devils’ best player has been relatively quiet this postseason, scoring just twice in the series against the Florida Panthers and battling a mystery ailment. The Devils need him more than ever Tuesday night as they battle for their playoff lives in Game Six.
New Jersey has been bounced from the first round of the playoffs four of the last five years, and are in danger of that happening again down 3-2. Of course, the plan isn’t for Kovalchuck to hold the puck all night, and he has spent the last day focusing the attention on the team instead of himself. Continue reading
It hasn’t been good to be on top of the charts to win the Stanley Cup so far.
The Pittsburgh Penguins started out as favorites to win the championship, were bounced from the playoffs in just the first round. The Vancouver Canucks were second-favorites to win the cup, but were eliminated over the weekend 3-1 by the Los Angeles Kings. Continue reading
The Detroit Red Wings had the best home record in all of hockey, but that did little to help them against the Nashville Predators. Now they have to bail themselves out on the road in Game Five of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Predators snapped Detroit’s 23-game home win streak and now have a chance to snap its championship hopes at home on Friday. Getting surprise performances from some of their younger players, the Predators can close out the series tonight. Continue reading