The Tampa Bay Lightning came into existence in 1993 and have won one Stanley Cup, back in 2004. The Chicago Blackhawks are an Original Six team, born in 1927 and with three Stanley Cups before the Lightning were even born. Now the Blackhawks seek their third Cup in six years. These very different heritages collide […]
The Game 7s of the NHL’s conference finals weren’t as exciting as the each series overall was, particularly Chicago-Anaheim, which went for thrill-a-minute to Game 7 clunker. But Tampa Bay-NY Rangers produced a good game, and in the end the Blackhawks and Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. Tampa Bay won 2-0 in Madison […]
The drama throughout May has been provided by the NHL rather than the NBA, so it’s fitting that both of hockey’s conference finals are going to a Game 7, promising a weekend of heart-stopping drama on both coasts. The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road in Game 6, meaning the […]
The Golden State Warriors are going to the NBA Finals for the first time since their back-to-back championship years of 1974-75. A 104-90 win over the Houston Rockets last night sewed up the Western Conference Finals in five games. Here’s a look at how the Warriors did it… *The stars were close to a wash […]
The city of Cleveland closed in on its first professional sports championship since the Browns won an NFL title in the pre-Super Bowl era of 1964. On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers concluded an Eastern Conference finals sweep of the Hawks with a 118-88 win. Conventional reporting of this series is saying it boiled down to […]
The cities of Tampa Bay and Anaheim don’t exactly jump to mind when you think of great hockey towns, but there’s no disputing the quality of the talent each franchise puts on the ice. And the Lightning and the Ducks are now each within a victory of the Stanley Cup Finals after taking Game 5 […]
Cleveland barely survived at home in overtime, while Golden State put its foot on the gas and turned in a road blowout. Two different paths, but each team put itself on the brink of a conference finals sweep with Game 3 victories this weekend. The Cavs’ 114-111 win over the Hawks was by far the […]
The NHL conference finals are providing springtime the drama that the NBA has mostly failed to give us. The New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks each tied up their series at 2-2, with the Blackhawks again going multiple overtimes to get the W, and this time turning back a stunning third period surge from Anaheim. […]
The Houston Rockets are putting up noble fights and coming up just short on the road to the best team in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks are playing poorly, getting hurt and losing big at home to a team playing without its second-best player. But what they have in common is more notable than what […]
Anaheim went into the United Center in Chicago and got a win, while Tampa Bay held serve at home. Both teams took 2-1 series leads. Here’s a look at how they did it… Anaheim 2 Chicago 1: I thought the Ducks were very fortunate to get out of this one with a win. It’s not […]
If you’re just waiting for a Golden State-Cleveland matchup in the NBA Finals then the conference finals openers of the last two nights didn’t give you any reason for pause. The Warriors got a stiff challenge from Houston, who played as well as you can expect on the road. The Cavs were tied at the […]
The Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning have each evened up their NHL conference finals series, both winning road Game 2s. And it’s tough to imagine Chicago’s 3-2 triple-overtime win over Anaheim being much more dramatic. The simple fact the game went three extra sessions—and deep into the third OT no less, with less than […]
