Spring Madness starts tonight. The NHL playoffs combine the length of the NBA postseason with the anything-goes feel of the NCAA Tournament. A lot of leagues talk about their playoffs being a “second season”, but the NHL truly lives it. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. There’s a chaotic fluidity in the bracket that makes […]
I’m sure no one at NBC is complaining, because what the league does have are the three biggest American markets, along with a team from Canada that is only the most storied organization in the history of the sport. As conference finals go, you could do worse than Chicago, Los Angles, New York and Montreal as your foursome.
The Boston Bruins won the President’s Trophy, given to the team with the most regular season points, and the Bruins then ousted the Detroit Red Wings in five games to open the playoffs. But it all came undone in the second round, as Boston lost Game 7 last night at home to the Montreal Canadiens by a 3-1 count. How did it happen?
Is there a goalie in the NHL with a better knack for coming up small in a big moment than New York Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist? New York has a goalie that is consistently one of the best in the NHL through the regular season. His presence looms over a playoff series because you know that if he gets locked in, he can personally carry his team. And yet it never happens. Last night was the latest case in point.
It would be a stretch to say the Boston Bruins are in a life-or-death spot in their NHL playoff series with the archrival Montreal Canadiens, trailing 2-1 in games after last nights’ 4-2 loss in Game 3. But the Bruins certainly need to have alarm bells going off and the biggest is the fact they’re most valuable asset—goaltender Tuuka Raask—is simply not getting it done in this series.
The Penguins, a team with immense offensive talent, can usually be relied on to fold up like a tent if they’re hit hard and forced into defensive games, which is usually what a postseason series against a genuinely good team amounts to. But after dropping Game 1 to the New York Rangers, the Penguins have won two straight games of the kind they usually blow
The Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers bounced back, the Los Angeles Kings did not, and the Montreal Canadiens moved to within a game of advancing. Here’s a look back on the four games of Easter Sunday in the NHL playoffs…
Seven of the eight first-round series in the NHL playoffs played Game 1 over Wednesday and Thursday night. Here’s some thoughts on each of those games, plus a look at what’s ahead…
This is part of a series of posts previewing each of the four quadrants of the 2014 NHL playoffs. Below are the four teams that comprise the NHL Pacific Division bracket. We open with a big-picture look at each team and then close with brief comments on each first-round series matchup individually.
This is part of a series of posts previewing each of the four quadrants of the 2014 NHL playoffs. Below are the four teams that comprise the NHL Central Division bracket. We open with a big-picture look at each team and then close with brief comments on each first-round series matchup individually.
This is part of a series of posts previewing each of the four quadrants of the 2014 NHL playoffs. Below are the four teams that comprise the NHL Metropolitan Division bracket. We open with a big-picture look at each team and then close with brief comments on each first-round series matchup individually.
This is part of a series of posts previewing each of the four quadrants of the 2014 NHL playoffs. Below are the four teams that comprise the NHL Atlantic Division bracket. We open with a big-picture look at each team and then close with brief comments on each first-round series matchup individually