NHL

The NHL at the Halfway Point

The All-Star Break is considered the unofficial ‘halfway’ point of the NHL. Yes, every team has played more than half of their games, but this point in the season really represents a turning point. When things resume on Monday, teams near the bottom of the standings will be more focused on selling off assets before the trade deadline while teams that are in the hunt for a playoff spot are entering the most important stretch of the season.

It’s a good time to look forward but also a good time to reflect on everything that has happened in the last four months around the NHL.

http://startuprewind.com/2016/09 BIGGEST SURPRISE

There really isn’t any debating the fact that the Columbus Blue Jackets are the biggest surprise in the NHL. About 11 months ago, Jarmo Kekalainen loaded up and unloaded significant future assets to acquire the likes of Ryan Dzingel and Matt Duchene at the trade deadline. The team then upset the Tampa Bay Lightning before losing out in the second round to the Boston Bruins.

In the summer, they lost both Duchene and Dzingel, along with Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin to free agency. To most, it looked like they had been gutted. Some projections had them not even cracking 60 points this season.

Well, that’s not even close to how things have played out. The Jackets currently hold the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and have an incredible record of 16-2-2 in their last 20 games.

They haven’t had an easy road either. Right now, they’re missing five regulars from their lineup and even when injuries have piled up, they haven’t missed a beat.

Who does the credit go to? Well, John Tortorella deserves a lot, but so does Jarmo Kekalainen. This team is incredibly deep up front with five players already passing the ten-goal mark and their blueline is no joke either. How many NHL teams have a top-pairing as skilled at moving the puck as Seth Jones and Zach Werenskui are? Not too many.

They consistently outshoot their opponents and are seldom outworked. Also, they rank 15th in the NHL when it comes to PDO which shows that this is far from a fluke. If the goaltending holds, then the Jackets are serious playoff contenders.

canadian pharmacy Lamictal TEAM TO WATCH RISE

It’s the Vegas Golden Knights and it has nothing to do with their recent coaching change. This team has fantastic underlying numbers but have just struggled through different problems all season.

Their division is very tight right now and honestly, may be filled with more pretenders than contenders so I could easily see Vegas winning the Pacific. Their top-six is wildly dangerous, they just need William Karlsson back in the lineup, and if Marc-Andre Fleury can return to form, they’ll be a tough team to beat.

The one concern is their blueline. They’ve allowed the sixth most high-danger corsi chances in the league. If they can knock that number down, Fluery will see his numbers go up and they’ll start to win more.

Also, keep an eye on the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky never starts the year strong and if he finds his elite form down the stretch, playoff hockey will return to Florida.

what is a good free dating site for mt. vernon il THREE STORIES

https://colentco.com/1725-dte35821-dating-a-girl-for-a-year-ideas.html

Can Connor McDavid get back into the playoffs? The best thing for a sport is to have its best players on the biggest stages. Having Connor McDavid playing in the postseason would be a massive positive for the NHL. Can the Oilers find a way to stay afloat in a very tight Pacific? I bet the NHL is hoping so.
How many does Ovechkin score? The guy is on pace for close to 60 goals and he has scored eight in his last three games. If he stays hot for the season, he could catch Pastrnak for the Rocket Richard Trophy and it will make the conversation about him catching Wayne Gretzky a lot more interesting.
Is this the year of the Lightning? Every year the Lightning are Stanley Cup favourites throughout the regular season. This season has been much different but I wonder if this could be a good thing for them. They’ve finally had to fight through some adversity and they won’t have the pressure of being ‘the favourite’. I’ll be keeping a close eye on them through the end of the regular season.

January 25, 2020 0 comment

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Germany: The Worlds Largest Resource of Untapped Hockey Talent

written by Adam Girard

The NHL has partaken in several initiatives over the last several years to attempt to grow the game of hockey into foreign markets.

However, the biggest untapped resource of talent may be a nation that’s not so foreign to the game.

The rise of top-tier NHL talent emerging from Germany is one that has not gone unnoticed by those around the NHL. But has the league taken notice of the potential to grow the game that comes with the injection of young German stars in the NHL?

The most effective way for the NHL to grow the popularity of the game is to heavily promote their new rise of German hockey stars in their home nation, which will increase the number of future talent at an exponential rate in comparison to marketing efforts in markets that are more foreign to the game of hockey such as China and Japan.

Here’s why:

January 31, 2020 0 comment

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The Search for Canada’s Next Great Goalie Prospect

written by Adam Girard

The 2020 NHL Draft will mark eight years since a Canadian goaltender was taken in the first round. It was Malcolm Subban in 2012, going 24th overall to the Boston Bruins. He wasn’t even the top goalie selected in his draft class.

In that time, Canada has produced three first-overall picks (Connor McDavid, Aaron Ekblad, Nathan Mackinnon), and have had ten defencemen selected in the top-10 of the NHL Entry Draft.

Obviously, goalie prospects aren’t as prevalent at the draft tables by NHL teams as other positions, and it appears that selecting goalies in the first-round is a downward trend that continues to grow in that direction over the years. We have to consider that there is an entirely different dynamic to drafting goalies, and part of that falls into the unpredictability of their development trajectory.

However, with all the elite level forward and defencemen prospects Canada has produced, it raises the question: is there an underlying reason they aren’t producing goalies at a similar level? This article is going to take several different angles to explore that topic and look to when Canada will finally find it’s next great goalie prospect.

January 13, 2020 0 comment

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Three Things to Watch – The East

written by Tyler Yaremchuk

Last week, I took a look at three big topics from the Western Conference as the NHL slowly gets underway. Today, I’m shifting my focus to the East where I expect things will be vastly different than last year.

Big trades, big-name free agent signings, and the arrival of a pair of potential super rookies in the Metropolitan division could all drastically change the landscape. Here are my three stories to watch:

HOW FAR WILL THE JACKETS FALL?

At first, most people will point to the Columbus Blue Jackets and say that they’re the team most likely to a massive fall in the standings this season. I would tend to agree with that but I would like to add that I don’t believe they’ll be as terrible as some want to believe.

They still have some good young forwards in Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Alex Texier to go with some proven goal scorers like Cam Atkinson and Gustav Nyquist. They could still put together a pretty solid top six with depth pieces like Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno.

Their defense will still be a massive strength with future Norris winner Seth Jones, Zack Werenski, and David Savard (who was a beast in the playoffs). If Ryan Murray is healthy, it will help out as well.

The biggest question mark is between the pipes and that’s where they lost the most this summer. Downgrading from Sergei Bobrovsky to a combination of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins hurts and could be their downfall, regardless of the performance the group in front of them puts on.

We know that GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t afraid to make big moves, could he do something to bring in a goaltender before the regular season? Maybe he goes after Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh, who I’m very high on.

One more quick note: I think the Islanders might fall harder than some are projecting. They rode a hot goaltender and some strong offensive performances last season. I think they’re going to slip further down the standings than some expect.

HOW GOOD WILL THE RANGERS BE?

While the Blue Jackets lost the most this summer, the Rangers clearly gained the most. They added Kappo Kaako and Artemi Panarin to a forward group that already had a fair share of exciting young talent. They added Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox to the right side of their defense as well. Between the pipes, they have Henrik Lunquist and Alexandar Georgiev. I still think Lundquist can be a number one goaltender and based on what I saw from Georgiev last season, he’s more than capable of filling in should Lundquist falter or need a break.

Now the question is how will everyone gel? It can be hard to predict how a lineup with that many new faces will perform, but on paper, you have to be incredibly optimistic about their ability to make a massive jump this season. Enough for the playoffs? I don’t know, but that group will be entertaining.

THE LIGHTNING. THAT IS ALL.

It’s the same story every year with the Lightning. They make a bunch of astute moves over the summer and heading into the season, everyone sits and goes ‘how is anyone going to beat them?’ and then at some point, they lose in the playoffs.

Last season, they were nearly unbeatable in the regular season but then got picked apart by a pesky Columbus Blue Jackets team. They should be a highly motivated group this year because there’s no doubt that their first-round exit stung, a lot. The other thing: they’re a lot better this year, at least on paper.

They added Kevin Shattenkirk and Pat Maroon on bargain deals and got Curtis McElhenney to be their backup, which might allow Andrei Vasilevsky to be healthy and rested. They got young players who can be counted on for some improvements. Simply put: they’re stacked.

Is this the year that the Lightning go all the way? Nobody knows. They’re good enough, but they’ve been good enough for a long time.

September 17, 2019 0 comment

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Three Things to Watch – The West

written by Tyler Yaremchuk

(photos via nhl.com)

With training camps set to open up in just a few days, I figured I would begin the season by taking a look at each conference and identifying three stories I’ll be keeping an eye on for the upcoming season.

Starting with the Western Conference and one team that had a wildly successful offseason.

RISE OF THE COYOTES?

I really like what GM John Chayka did this summer. The big move was the acquisition of winger Phil Kessel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kessel has scored 70+ points in each of the last three seasons and now he’ll come to Arizona and be re-united with Rick Tochett who was called ‘The Kessel Whisperer’ during the pairs time in Pittsburgh.

Kessel will help so will the addition of Carl Soderberg, who should handle a lot of the defensive responsibilities and allow franchise centre Clayton Keller to thrive in an offensive role. They will also have Nick Schmaltz back in the lineup. After being acquired from the Hawks last season in the Dylan Strome trade, Schmaltz was almost a point per game player in his 17 games with the Coyotes before going down with an injury. I think he could be in a spot to have a really strong season.

The offence looks good, the d-core has some good veterans and a handful of younger players with upside, and perhaps most importantly they have two goalies who have shown that they can be starting NHL goaltenders at different points.

On top of all of that, they play in a division that I don’t expect will be very good in 2019/20. All signs are pointing to a return to the playoffs for the Arizona Coyotes this season.

WHO BOUNCES BACK?

Last season, we saw a handful of perennial Stanley Cup contenders take massive steps back. The Chicago Blackhawks, LA Kings, and Anaheim Ducks all struggled mightily at different points and missed the playoffs.

Is it simply the result of ageing cores? Or, will these teams find ways to bounce back in 2019/20?

I believe that with the league getting faster and younger, it will be incredibly hard for any of these teams to climb their way back into the playoffs this season but if I had to put money on one of them, it would be the Hawks.

The LA Kings hired Todd McLellan to be their new Head Coach, but apart from that, they really didn’t do anything substantial to improve their roster. They’ll be banking on rebound seasons from the like of Kovalchuk, Carter, and even Anze Kopitar.

The Ducks moved on from Corey Perry and might get Justin Faulk from Carolina but nothing they did this summer really inspires me to believe that they’ll be much better than they were last season. At the same time, they have some good looking young forwards and they’re playing in what I perceive to be a bad division. I give them a bit of a chance.

As for the Hawks, they did some interesting stuff. They gave themselves a hell of a one-two punch between the pipes by signing Robin Lehner to split time with Corey Crawford. They acquired Olli Maata and Calvin De Haan to freshen up their blueline as well. Up front, I worry a little bit about their ability to score goals but at the same time, it’s tough to doubt a team with Patrick Kane.

Out of the three teams that took steps back last season, the Hawks might be best positioned to return to the playoffs.

THE EFFECT OF RFA HOLDOUTS?

Now, there is a chance that all of Patrick Laine, Kyle Connor, Matt Tkachuk, and Mikko Rantanen return to their respective teams before the start of the season and this isn’t a storyline at all, but, all four of those teams are crucial to their team’s success. If they miss 10-20 games to start the year and take another 10 games to catch up to their competition, it could drastically change their teams playoff chances.

As of right now, it’s quite on the RFA front for all four of those names and while things can change quickly, the biggest story as camps open is the status of these four young stars.

(photos via nhl.com)

September 10, 2019 0 comment

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NHL Mock Draft 2019

written by Adam Girard

NHL 2019 Mock Draft

New Jersey: Jack Hughes – C – USNTDP

With the second easiest pick in the draft, the Devils will take the face of the 2019 draft class and the new face of their franchise; who they better hope can come on the horizon quickly if they want any chance of changing Taylor Hall’s mind about re-signing in New Jersey.

NY Rangers: Kaapo Kakko – RW – TPS-Liiga

Now if I had to guess one team that would pass on Kakko and go off the board with the 2nd overall pick, my guess would definitely be Jeff Gorton’s Rangers. However, with that said this is the easiest selection of the draft, and I think that even the Rangers won’t be tempted to look outside the box here.

June 18, 2019 0 comment

NHL

The Friday Three – Stanley Cup Edition

written by Wyatt Zieger

Who does the long rest benefit more, the Bruins or the Blues?

Tyler Yaremchuk

Im going to say the Bruins. We saw a long break actually hurt the Islanders in round two and then the Hurricanes in round three, but the Bruins are a different story. Veteran players like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci aren’t 100% and this long break gives them a good chance to rest there bodies. The only question mark: will Tuuka Rask be able to jump back to his historically good form?

The Blues will no doubt benefit from the rest, but I bet they would have preferered to just keep rolling and getting hot at the end of their series vs San Jose.

Ian Sheppard

The Bruins. Normally I think the rest can hurt a team and knock them out of rhythm while I think a team like the Blues can benefit from the quick turnaround and stay hot. But Boston’s biggest strength right now has been Tuukka Rask and his playoff leading 1.84 GAA and .942 SV%.

A rested and relaxed Tukkaa will only pay off for the Bruins as they continue to make this cup run behind their Finnish net-minder.

Wyatt Zieger

I’ll say the Blues. Every team that has swept a round in these playoffs have lost in the next round; Columbus, NYI, Carolina are all gone and combined for a lacklustre 2 wins.

The Bruins being an older team need the rest but getting out of rhythm can also be a very dangerous thing. St.Louis hasn’t turned the motor off since January and I believe the shorter rest is better for their momentum heading into the Stanley Cup final.

Who’s going to hoist the Cup

Tyler Yaremchuk

My head tells me to take Boston, but I will admit that I’m cheering for the Blues. There are some local connections on that team with St. Albert product Colton Parayko playing. Would be really cool to see The Cup come to my hometown. On top of that, the Blues are a great story. From being dead last in the NHL when the calendar flipped to 2019 and riding a rookie goaltender to the finals, to the “Play Gloria” theme, and of course, the story of young Laila Anderson.

Ian Sheppard

This is a tough one. As I mentioned earlier, Boston is riding their hot goaltender. St. Louis is heavy offensively with solid defence and a great young goalie. My heart wants to see the Blues take it but it’s really hard to bet against Rask right now. There’s obviously more to it than that with a deep roster on Boston’s bench.

Whether it’s Bergeron, Pastrnak, Marchand or young guys like Jake DeBrusk and Sean Kuraly the Bruins know how to put the puck in the net. But I always give the edge to the team with the better goaltending and that’s Rask right now.

Wyatt Zieger

This is a very conflicting series because both teams are so deep. It would nice to see the local boy Parayko win it (I wonder if he’d bring it to OJ’s) but I think the Bruins skate away champions.

They’re a team that knows how to win and once Tampa was eliminated I thought they had the best remaining roster. I think the series is close and most likely takes 7 games and will come down to who can out best who in between the pipes.

On a side note it would be such an incredible story for the city of Boston who have been starved of a championship for nearly 6 months now.

Who’s your MVP

Tyler Yaremchuk

My pick for MVP will be Jordan Binnington, with Jaden Schwartz being the close runner up. Pretty self explanitory.

Ian Sheppard

See questions 1 and 2. Tuukka Rask has been outstanding for Boston this postseason and has stood tall when needed most. He was the backbone for the team through a tough 7-game series with Toronto in round one, especially in a 5-1 win in Game 7. Then he held his own through six games against Columbus in Round 2 before giving up just five goals in four games in the sweep of the Hurricanes.

He has been the MVP of the playoffs much like Marc-Andre Fleury was for Vegas last year. The only question now is will he hold up in the Cup Final? I think so.

Wyatt Zieger

Smells like a “lets give it to the goalie” type year to me. Gotta have brilliant goaltending to win in the playoffs and both Rask and Binnington have been.

Unless we see a J.S. Giguere performance in a losing effort it goes to the winning goalie this year. For my money Tuukka is taking it home.

May 25, 2019 0 comment

NHL

The Friday Three – Final Four

written by Wyatt Zieger

WHO WILL WIN THE WEST

IAN SHEPPARD:

The Sharks. Ever since their series win over Vegas I’ve had them as my favourite to win the cup. Colorado gave them a good fight and St.Louis has been playing with a lot of momentum as of late but I’ve given San Jose the edge since that miraculous Game 7 win in round one. Now with their captain Joel Pavelski is back in the line up and lighting a spark I don’t know what stops them.

They have the top two leading scorers in the playoffs so far with Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl and as a team have had one of the higher powered offences in the postseason so far.

TYLER YAREMCHUK:

These playoffs have hardly made any sense. That’s why we love the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the West, I’m going to pick the Blues. They seem to be a team of destiny and if Jordan ‘Win-ington’ keeps up this level of play, then they’ll be fine. No disrespect to the Sharks, who are a wildly deep and dangerous team, but I just have a feeling about the Blues.

They’re also getting contributions from lower in their lineup, which is massive. If Tarasenko, Schenn, and Schwartz stay hot and their depth players continue to come through, the Blues can make the Stanley Cup Final.

WYATT ZIEGER:

The wild, wild, west as they call it. Much like the cowboy I was named after, I’m going to shoot from the hip and say the San Jose Sharks.

This is their second west final in four seasons and most of the core remains in-tact from the cup final loss to Pittsburgh.

I love the fire power that San Jose possesses; Couture, Hertl, Meier, Pavelski, Kane, the list goes on. It’s not only the offence though, Burns has been the best defensemen in these playoffs and even Karlsson on one ankle can dazzle you from shift to shift. Martin Jones is the achilles heel of this team and will need to continue to build off a “good” performance against Colorado in order to move on.

WHO WILL WIN THE EAST

IAN SHEPPARD:

Boston. We saw them dominate in Game 1 with the 5-2 win. Carolina has been a great cinderella stories this year making it all the way to Eastern Conference Final. The Bunch of Jerks has gone on a solid run but I don’t see it being enough to make it past the Bruins. Whether it be Brad Marchand and his postseason leading 15 points, or the amazing performances from Tuukka Rask, Boston just looks unstoppable right now.

And the latter is what I think makes them the best team in the playoffs right now. You need stellar goaltending to truly have a chance at the Cup and Boston has been getting that with Rask. I give them the edge over Carolina.

TYLER YAREMCHUK:

In the East, my pick was the Hurricanes and I’ll stick with them, but they blew a massive chance in game one. Petr Mrazek was nearly unbeatable through 40 minutes and the Bruins were missing Charlie McAvoy and didn’t have Chara for a chunk of the game. Add on the lead heading into the third and that opening game loss stings even more.

I like the Hurricanes defensive core and if Mrazek can return to form, I still like the Canes.

WYATT ZIEGER:

Somebody in Carolina better call an apiaries because the killer B’s are going to swarm.

In round 1 people said “can Rask out-duel Anderson?” He did. In round 2 they said “Can he out-duel Bobrovsky?” He did. Now when people look across and see Mrazek in net, I don’t think they write the same narrative.

Special teams will also play a huge part in the series as we saw in game one. Carolina comes into the season with worst PP of the remaining teams at 10.5% and is tied with St.Louis for the worst PK at 75%. Boston on the flip side has the most lethal PP of any postseason team with 28.6% and the best PK hovering at 84.8%.

The Hurricanes are going to need a lot of puck luck to get past a veteran Bruins squad that captured 1-0 series lead, without their best defenseman.

WHO’S WINNING IT ALL

IAN SHEPPARD:

San Jose. See answer to question one. I feel like the Sharks are riding a wave right now and have the perfect mix of of veterans and young stars who can contribute. As proven in the Game 7 of the semis with Joonas Donskoi coming up with the massive goal, this team is full of players who can land on the score sheet.

Goaltending has been shaky for them at times but I think it’s something they can overcome. If they are to face Boston in the Cup Final it will be tough going up against Tuukka Rask but I still give the edge to the Sharks.

TYLER YAREMCHUK:

My Stanley Cup winner will be the St. Louis Blues! Back in December in one of our Friday Three’s I called them bounceback team to watch. Well, look at them now! The story would be incredible for so many reasons. Patrick Maroon returning to his hometown, rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, and the fact they were dead last in the league on January 3rd. In a postseason that’s barely made any sense, the Blues winning the Cup seems perfect.

WYATT ZIEGER:

Your 2018-19 Stanley Cup winner is … The Boston Bruins.

Boston has the best goaltending left, a strong top 6 and more than capable D corps. The Bruins will lean heavily on the top line of Marchand – Bergeron – Pasternk as well as McAvoy off the backend.

Out of the remaining teams they have highest goal differential at 12, the best GAA, 2.08 and as I mentioned before the best special teams. The only question mark is how much gas does Chara have left in the tank, at times he as been a liability defensively off the rush. The game passes all eventually but can he lead this Bruins squad to another cup victory?

Sorry Jumbo Joe, you deserve a ring more than anyone but like every other year for San Jose “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”

May 10, 2019 0 comment

NHL

One Year of Being Champions | A Story

written by Arik Krause

The year is 2001. A young 6-year old Arik Krause is just like any curious kid and grabs a VHS tape and puts it into the VCR. The tape is titled “1990 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs”. Now if you don’t know, the Edmonton Oilers are in the midst of their dynasty and in these playoffs would face the Boston Bruins. A series which they would win for their fifth and final Stanley Cup this far. That series was famous for the Petr Klima goal in Game 1. Klima didn’t play at all during the third period or first two overtime periods, but he would slide the puck past Andy Moog in the third overtime and give the Oilers a win in Game 1.

May 9, 2019 0 comment

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The Friday Three – Wild Playoffs Stays Unpredictable

written by Tyler Yaremchuk

Which second-round matchup in the west has been most exciting for you?

IAN SHEPPARD: For me, we haven’t seen the same sort of excitement that came with the round one upsets but for me, the series I’m most interested in has been the Blues Stars series. With the series tied at 2-2, each game so far has been one or two goal games. Not to mention the exciting finish to Game 3 with Patrick Maroon scoring late to win it, and Dallas bouncing back in Game 4 to tie the series.

This Series has been the closest with a total of 24 goals through four games. This series will almost definitely go to seven games with the back and forth action we’ve seen so far.

WYATT ZIEGER: In the West, it has to be the Av’s and Sharks.

The old boys vs the new wave has lived up to the hype and is a rare 2nd-round series that has featured some goals in it. Each game is a coin toss and that’s why it’s my favourite. At this point either could win the series and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the cup final. Who can get steadier goaltending is the key in this one.

TYLER YAREMCHUK: I’ll break the tie here and go with the Blues and Stars series. There’s been thrilling finishes, games with lots of goals, games with great goaltending. It’s had a bit of everything. I also think the winner of this series will go to the Stanley Cup Finals so I’m really keeping a close eye on this one.

Which second-round matchup in the east has been most exciting for you?

IAN SHEPPARD: This one is a pretty easy one. The Islanders/Canes series has been really one-sided so far with the 3-0 series lead for Carolina, so I’ll have to go with Columbus and Boston. No one expected the Jackets to make it past Tampa, let alone sweep them. I for one didn’t think they’d have a chance to make it out of the second round after the first round upset.

They have found themselves in prime position to compete with Boston and potentially make a splash into the ECF and I’ll be tuning in all series long to see if they can do it! Excluding all of that, two games so far have gone into OT with three games being decided by one goal, and each team exchanging wins resulting in a 2-2 series tie. Talk about an exciting series.

WYATT ZIEGER: The East is an easy answer, Bruins/Jackets. Carolina has runaway on the Islanders but the other East matchup has been tighter than the lid on a pickle jar. Columbus has approximately 6 more wins than most would of thought to date and the Bruins who remain the most “obvious” cup pick haven’t pulled away at all.

This has all the makings of a seven-game series in what has been a sub-par 2nd round. I’m still excited to see how Carolina and New York plays out but I wouldn’t hold my breath Islanders fans.

BOSTON MA. – APRIL 25: Marcus Johansson #90 of the Boston Bruins puts a shot on Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets as the Bruins take on the Blue Jackets in Round 2, Game 1 of the NHL Playoffs on April 25, 2019 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

TYLER YAREMCHUK: It’s definitely Boston and Columbus. It’s fast and it’s hard hitting. Both of these teams have goaltending capable of stealing a game yet they’re both capable of giving up five or six goals on any given night. I love that element of unpredictability. Like the Dallas/St. Louis series, I believe the winner of this one is going to the Cup Final, so I got my eyes glued to this series.

Who’s been the MVP of the playoffs thus far?

IAN SHEPPARD: It’s tough to argue with what Logan Couture has done so far in helping his team make it past the first round and into a 2-2 series tie with Colorado while leading the playoffs with 9 goals. But for me, it’s Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon leads the playoffs in points with 13 and has been a one-man wrecking crew all playoffs.

His six goals are second in the postseason only behind Couture’s nine, but he almost singlehandedly took down the Calgary Flames in round one and has so far scored three goals in each round. He continues to be a playmaker and a leader for his team, one that much like Columbus has over excelled the expectations that were laid upon them.

WYATT ZIEGER: There are a few deserving players as of today; MacKinnon, Bobrovsky, Couture, but it has been Jacob Slavin who has impressed me most.

Whether it’s his incredible defensive play with his stick or the offense that’s come off of it, he has been the calming eye of the Hurricanes. His 12 points are one off the franchise record for most in a postseason (13 by Frantisek Kaberle) and he is the best D-man in these playoffs.

If Carolina is going to sneak their way into a 3rd cup final it’ll be on the broad shoulders of Slavin.

TYLER YAREMCHUK: I really like the way Logan Couture has stepped up with Joe Pavelski out of the lineup. He’s been the heartbeat of that Sharks team and that video of him yelling “that’s one” at the Sharks bench during their comeback against Vegas will be iconic in San Jose if they go all the way this year. He leads the playoffs in goals with nine like Ian mentioned so not only has he brought energy and leadership, he’s brought the offense to back it up.

May 3, 2019 0 comment

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