hockey
We talk pucks and objects of that kind. We yell, complain, and analyze in the language of hockey fandom. Gretzky can do no wrong.
Kings Look to Go Further in Their Return to the Playoffs
The biggest surprise playoff team from the 2021-22 season has to be the Los Angeles Kings. Their appearance came just two years after they were one of the seven teams who missed out on the modified 2020 playoffs, which was the second of a three-year playoff drought that the team had suffered. I don't think anyone had the Kings being one of the NHL's Sweet 16 teams so quickly after being one of what I called the "Not-So-Magnificent Seven," but the 2021-22 season truly surprised a number of fans, myself included.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Oilers Clinch, but What Happens if They Fall Short Again?
The Edmonton Oilers had a chance to lock in a playoff spot on the last day of March; despite not playing that evening, a Winnipeg Jets loss would have put the Oilers in the playoffs. However, the Jets (who are struggling to stay alive) had other plans. Even after the Nashville Predators won in blowout fashion on the following day, all Edmonton needed to clinch was one solitary point. That's it. The Oilers decided to go for the throat against the lowly, lowly Anaheim Ducks; blasting them 6-0 to become the second team to qualify for the playoffs, as well as the eighth team overall--halfway filling the playoff field for 2023.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Lightning Look to Bounce Back from Thwarted Three-Peat
The Tampa Bay Lightning's recent run has been amazing and fun to watch, at least in the perspective of this hockey fan. We all know the story; after their 62-win season ended with them getting surprisingly mollywhopped by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Bolts bounced back in a big way. What did they do? Nothing much. Only won the Stanley Cup, that's all. They liked that feeling so much that they decided, "What the hell, let's do that again." This past season saw the Lightning with a great chance to do what hadn't been done in four decades: win three straight Cups. They managed to return to the Cup Final for the third straight year; the first team to achieve this feat since the Edmonton Oilers did so from 1983-85.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Vegas Returns to Playoffs, but Is Their Window Still Open?
We all laughed and had fun when the Vegas Golden Knights missed the playoffs last season, didn't we? For all of their bluster, for all of their pomp and circumstance in spite of not winning the Stanley Cup, for all of their arrogance and excuse-making, the Golden Knights completely missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 season--the first time that they missed the playoffs in their brief franchise history. Not a single tear was shed for them. I know I wasn't crying for them; I was too busy laughing. However, I also realized something right then and there: Vegas is going to strike back somehow.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Can the Rangers Go the Extra Mile in 2023?
The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't the only team who clinched a playoff spot without even playing. The Florida Panthers' regulation loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday, March 27, 2022, brought the New York Rangers one step closer. They still needed the Buffalo Sabres to lose, and that could come in any fashion. Buffalo's game against the Montréal Canadiens needed extra time, and eventually needed a shootout despite a Habs power play in overtime. It was scoreless entering the Habs' half of the shootout. If Montréal scored, the Rangers are in. Montréal scored. New York celebrates (maybe for the first of two times this season)!
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Maple Leafs, You Have One Job!. Top Story - March 2023.
On Sunday, March 26, 2022, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Nashville Predators, 3-2, behind two goals from their captain, John Tavares. On the following day, the Leafs were off, but they could clinch a playoff spot during their idle day with a loss from the Florida Panthers. Even better, because the Leafs picked up two points, Florida's loss didn't have to be in regulation. In a crazy scenario, the Panthers were in Ontario, but against the province's other franchise, the Ottawa Senators. This meant that the Leafs and their fans had to (for that night) pull for their provincial enemies to pull out the victory. The Sens did just that, winning 5-2 over the struggling Panthers, and that gave the Leafs another playoff appearance.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
The Devils are in the Details...and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
I still vividly remember when the New Jersey Devils were...well...the DEVILS! They won their first Stanley Cup back in 1995 and from that point on, they became this juggernaut who was always in the playoffs, reaching the Final three more times after that 1995 Cup, and adding two more Cups in 2000 and 2003. Those days are long gone; names like Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Bobby Holik, and of course, Martin Brodeur are enjoying retirement. Ken Daneyko has since gone from winning Cups with the Devils to calling their games as a color analyst (one of my current faves), and we have seen new stars shine for the Devils.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Hurricanes Return to Playoffs; Look to Avenge Elite Eight Loss
The best part of what I call "NHL March Madness" is seeing teams lock in their spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Boston Bruins became the first team to do so, but that was almost two weeks ago, because they were so far ahead of the second best team in the league, the Carolina Hurricanes. Twelve days after Boston locked in their spot, the Hurricanes had the chance to do the same. A win vs the New York Rangers would have done it, or just one point and outside help. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes were defeated, 2-1, on their home ice, but they could still get in with a Florida Panthers regulation loss. That's exactly what happened; the Panthers were soundly defeated, 6-2, by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and following the agony of defeat, the Hurricanes celebrated the thrill of joining the playoff party.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
A Look at the 2017-18 Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals entered the 2017-18 season as one of the most hard luck teams in the NHL, and it all started with their historically hideous inaugural season. Eight wins. 21 points. That's how the 1974-75 season went for the debuting Capitals. It would take them nine seasons to finally reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, and they needed Year 10 to finally win a series. The Caps' first trip to the Final Four didn't come until the 1989-90 season, and it was in the 1997-98 season that the Capitals finally reached the Stanley Cup Final, but they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Sharks Miss Playoffs for 4th Straight Year
16 teams will participate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but there are 16 teams that won't get that luxury. Every year, there has to be a first, and in spite of the immense ineptitude of the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Chicago Blackhawks, this season's first elimination ended up going to the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are 31st overall in the NHL, yet it was their overtime loss to the only team with a worse record--the Blue Jackets--that did them in. San Jose lost, 6-5, thanks to Johnny Gaudreau going beast mode with five points (two goals, including the OT winner, and three assists).
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Back-to-Back: A Look at the 2015-17 Pittsburgh Penguins
As a fan of Sidney Crosby, I was very elated when he and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009. It was a payback moment; they defeated the very team who bested them a year prior: the Detroit Red Wings. Also, it was inevitable; Crosby was already proving that the hype surrounding him prior to being drafted was immensely justified. However, as seasons passed, the Penguins wouldn't come close to retutning to that very pinnacle, and that led to some doubt from talking heads regarding Crosby's ability to win a second Cup. Even I started to wonder if 2009 would be his only hit.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
Bruins Become 1st Team to Clinch in 2023, but What's Next?
I am a huge fan of sports takes aging horrendously, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, that includes my own. During the last offseason, I looked up and down at the league, and when it came to the Boston Bruins, I flatly said that this team was not making the playoffs. Why? Because I felt that the team was relying solely on the Perfection Line. Because I thought their goaltending was reliable. Because I thought they had absolutely nothing behind the blue line. Also, they fired Bruce Cassidy as head coach, the very coach who took the Bruins to the Cup Final in 2019. I actually had the Bruins finishing in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
