NHL playoff race

The Pittsburgh Penguins: Is There Life After Crosby?

Dan Flaherty Uncategorized Eastern Conference playoff race, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jonathan Towes, Marian Hossa, NHL playoff race, Patrick Kane, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby

Pittsburgh Penguins’ star Sidney Crosby doesn’t look to be any closer to re-taking the ice due to recurring problems with a concussion. Could the Penguins make a run at duplicating their back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008-09, including a championship the latter season, without their top dog? It’s hard to see how, but the Penguins closed January on a tear, winning eight straight games. Even though they’ve dropped two of the last three, those have all been on the road and the win was a not-as-close-as-it-sounds 2-1 win in Boston. TheSportsNotebook goes inside the win streak to see if it’s sustainable.

NHL All-Star Break Report

Dan Flaherty Uncategorized Evgeni Malkin, NHL All-Star break, NHL contenders, NHL playoff race, NHL Playoffs

The NHL All-Star Game takes place in Ottawa on Sunday (4 PM ET, NBC), so today the TheSportsNotebook takes a complete look at the NHL playoff picture. Teams are broken into three categories—the elite contenders, solid playoff teams and fighting for survival. THE ELITE CONTENDERS While anything is possible in the hockey playoffs, more so […]

Vancouver & San Jose Chase Rematch In NHL’s Western Conference

Dan Flaherty Uncategorized NHL playoff race, NHL Western Conference, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Western Conference playoff race

A year ago, San Jose and Vancouver met in the Western Conference Finals, with the Canucks winning in six games. Both teams are leading their divisions again this year as the NHL approaches All-Star Weekend. The Canucks, hungry to get back to the Finals after losing in seven games to Boston, are atop the Northwest […]

Hot Winter Race In The NHL Central Division

Dan Flaherty Uncategorized Jaroslav Halak, Jimmy Howard, Marian Hossa, NHL Central Division, NHL playoff race, NHL Western Conference, Nicklas Lidstrom, Patrick Kane

The race of the NHL’s Central Division title is red-hot, with St. Louis, Detroit and Chicago all within one point of each other. All three teams are right near the top of the conference overall, with only Vancouver joining them among the West’s leaders. With the Midwest trio likely to battle this all the way […]

NHL Winter Classic: NY Rangers-Philly

Dan Flaherty Uncategorized Atlantic Division NHL, Marian Gaborke, New York Rangers, NHL playoff race, Sidney Crosby

The NHL’s Atlantic Division has a hot three-team race right now with the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins all within two points of each other going into Friday’s games, and the Flyers-Rangers game on Monday will be this year’s edition of the NHL’s annual Winter Classic, as they play outdoors in Philadelphia’s […]