Kings vs. Devils Stanley Cup Preview

Show of hands how many of you picked the Stanley Cup final to be between the Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils? Now put your hands down and stop lying, no one saw these two teams making it to the Stanley Cup Finals. It wasn't until the Kings beat the Canucks that I knew they had a slight chance, and I never believed the Devils would make it all the way until they took the Rangers to game 7. Shoot, I was mildly surprised when they beat the Panthers.

Two teams that finished 8th and 6th are in the finals, just goes to show that once you make the playoffs anything can happen. So let's take a look back at each team's journey and then preview the match-up.

Los Angeles Kings
In their first series the 8th seeded Kings were up against the 1st seeded Canucks, not a place you want to be in to start off the playoffs. Many had the Canucks as the favorites to go all the way this year and prove they could win a cup. But the Kings had other plans and beat the favored Canucks in 5 games and possibly put an end to Roberto Loungo's tenure in Vancouver.

After upsetting the first seed team, they went on to face the #2 seeded St. Louis Blues. Once again the Kings were able to manhandle the Blues and knocked them off in 4 straight games. The coveted sweep made people start believing the Kings were the real deal.

Then in round three the Kings were up against Garry Bettman's team the Phoenix Coyotes. Despite some controversial overtime happenings in game 5, the Kings had little difficulty knocking off the desert dogs. They finished off the Coyotes in 5 games and won the series 4-1, and at this point you can't call it an upset anymore. The Kings have solidified themselves as the real deal.

Through the first 3 rounds of the playoffs the Kings have played in just 14 games, playing nearly flawless hockey.

New Jersey Devils
The Devils started their Stanley Cup run against the Florida Panthers, in a series that was mostly an afterthought Both teams play a rather boring style of game, making it painful to watch. None the less the Devils prevailed in 7 games, narrowly edging out the Panthers to win the series 4-3.

Next up for the Devils was the enormous task of the Philadalphia Flyers, who had come off a major win over the Penguins. Luckily for the Devils the Flyers left too much emotion in Pittsburgh and got overly happy with their first round win against their cross-state rivals, there wasn't much left for the Devils. To many people's surprise the Devils tore apart the Flyers fairly easily as they won the series in 5 games.

Next up was the first seeded team from the East, the New York Rangers. It was the battle of the goalies, Brodeur vs. Lundqvist, the old gaurd vs the new.Tthe 40 year old Brodeur surprised many a expert and played fantastic showing no signs of aging. In large part due to their goaltending the Devils were able to upset the Rangers in 6 games, winning the series 4-2.

Teeing up the series
These two teams met twice during the regular season with the Devils winning both games, so there is some familiarity between the two teams. But the Kings have changed a lot since last playing the Devils, a coaching change, acquiring Jeff Carter and having Jonathan Quick catch fire. It's likely to be a very close hard fought series that may very well go to 7 games (for the second final in a row).

Key factors


Goaltending:
This series, like many a finals before it, is likely to come down to goaltending. Arguably one of the best goalies in the league right now Jonathan Quick against a former best goaltender, an all-time great, the legend himself Martin Brodeur. This will likely be Brodeur's last playoff run/season in the league, while Quick is just beginning his career. Whichever goaltender performs better will end up winning the series for their team and perhaps skating away with the Conn Smythe trophy and well you know, the Stanley Cup. With the way these goalies play most games will likely be low scoring affairs, so expect some 2-1 games.
Edge Brodeur

A second chance:
Some players play hockey all their life, get drafted and play in the NHL but fail to reach the Stanley Cup finals, and even fewer make it back there for a second time. But for some former Flyers now on the Kings roster it's a second chance at glory. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were part of the Flyers run to the Cup Finals in 2010. They lost. But now they're back for another crack at winning proffesional sports most prized possession, and they aren't the only former Flyers looking to win big. Kings assistant coach John Stevens is a former Flyers head coach, Kings forward Justin Williams is a former Flyer, Simon Gagne is also a former Flyer, King GM Dean Lombardi is a former scout for the Flyers and assistant GM Ron Hextall is one of the Flyers greatest goaltenders.
But the biggest ex-Flyers Richards and Carter have all eyes on them, how will they perform, will the trade end up biting Philly in the butt?

Role Players:
Both teams have superstar players they are counting on to produce and help them win the Cup. Ilya Kovalchuck and Zach Parise must be huge for the Devils and Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar must come up huge for the Kings. But the Cup will be decided by secondary scoring from guys you don't expect a great deal of. For the Devils rookie Adam Henrique and veteran David Clarkson both have 3 goals in these playoffs, and are the type of players you win with. They play a hard 2 way game and aren't afraid to get physical.
For the Kings Dustin Penner is a guy who could really step his game up. He had a rough season, but it's time to put that behind him and help his team win the cup!
Edge Devils

Americans
For the first time since 1999 the Stanley Cup will be lifted by an American born captain, both Zach Parise and Dustin Brown are American.
Edge Kings

Parise's possible last games as a Devil
Devils Captain Zach Parise will become an un-restricted free agent at the end of the year (July 1) and he hasn't signed a new contract with the Devils. He is 6th in playoff scoring with 14 points in 18 games, and will be one of the, if not the, most sought after free agents. It's not every day a top-line talent like Parise becomes available. But if the Devils are able to win the Cup it may convince him to stick around.

The European streak
The past two Stanley Cup champions started their season in Europe. The 09-10 Blackhawks played their first games in Finland, while last season's Bruins started in the Czech Republic. The Kings started this season in Europe as well, and are prepared to see the streak continue.

While this series doesn't hold the glamour a New York Ranger vs. Los Angeles Kings would hold, it still looks to be a pretty solid series. The series may get a little boring at times, but we should be in for an exciting finals.
My prediction Kings in 6

Malkin Disproving the Russian Stereotype

It's a popular discussion in the hockey world and a dilemma for NHL organizations, the great Russian stereotype. Are Russian players lazy? Do they only care about themselves? Are they as good as Canadians? It's an age old topic that was revamped when Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were the forerunners in the league and arguably the two best players in the world. But it's the new best player in the world (for now) Evgeni Malkin who is disproving the Russian stereotype.

There have been plenty of instances over the years that prove that the Russian hockey players are a completely different breed than the Canadians, and that they only care about themselves and the money they make. There's also a nasty rumor that they are famous for getting coaches fired.

Alexander Ovechkin
Sure Ovechkin is a phenomenal hockey player, he scores jaw dropping goals and brings fans out to the game. But when the game is on the line would you really want him on the ice? When first asked this question you want to say yes, but to fully answer the question you need to dive in deeper. Take this year's playoffs for example, sure the Capitals made it to the 2nd round but Ovechkin never really stepped up to the plate and is part of the reason they're not playing right now. Anytime you can take the top seeded team to the 7th game and have them on the brink of elimination it's something special, something Ovechkin should have been all over. In 14 playoff games, Ovechkin scored just 5 goals and had his ice time diminished, Kings forward Dwight King (who few have ever heard of, has 5 goals!) Bottom line was when Ovechkin's team needed him the most, he was nowhere to be found, he has now played 7 seasons in the league and has failed to make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs, his stock, like his ice time is slowly going down.

Team Russia
What has really puzzled a lot of people is why Russian teams with all their fire power have never been able to win medals or be dominant on the World Stage. Canada and the United States can't be that much better than Russia can they? Especially when you can combine Ovechkin, Semin, Malkin, Kovalchuk and Datsyuk some of the top players in the NHL. (2010 Olympics).
Many say it's because they're too lazy or too cocky, they care more about partying than playing hockey. Whatever the reason despite all the fire power the Russian's can cook up they're still unable to crack into the upper echelon of the World rankings.

Drafting Russians
Then of course you have to look at the NHL entry draft, a lot of teams are hesitant to pick Russian players as there is no guarantee they will leave Russia to come play in the NHL. Now that the KHL is ramping up in Russia, they're throwing large amounts of money to Russians so they will come back home and play in Russia. The 78th pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft, Sergei Andronov has never left Russian, he currently plays in the KHL despite being drafted by the Blues! The Russian players want all the glory but none of the responsibility that goes a long with playing in the NHL.

Evgeni Malkin

But they say it takes just one to change people's perspective; queue Evgeni Malkin.

In all honesty I have never been a fan of Malkin, I always thought Crosby was better and more valuable to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but this season really changed my mind about Malkin. He had a fantastic season both on the scoreboard and with his character.

As everyone knows the Penguins were without their star Crosby for the majority of the season. They started the year without him and only saw him a couple of times during the year. Yet they still had a fairly successful season and made the playoffs due in large part to the play of Malkin.
Not only did Malkin have to carry the team in the absence of Crosby, he also was without Jordan Staal, the Penguins virtually went from having the best top 3 centers in the league to having just 1.

Most teams that are dealt multiple injuries, especially to their top players fold up (Sabres, Wild) but credit to the Penguins and Malkin for battling through it. To sum up the Penguins regular season, Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins on his back and took them to the promise land. To be frank Malkin did something I'm not sure the great Sidney Crosby could have done, another thing he did that Crosby wouldn't have been able to do; keep quiet. Not once did you ever hear Malkin complain that he had to do it all himself, or that his team's lack of success was because of injuries. Malkin gave no excuses, when the team wasn't playing well he took it upon himself to play better.

Malkin absolutely dominated the league this year, finishing with 50 goals and 59 assists for 109 points not to mention he only played in 75 games. Steven Stamkos who led the league with 60 goals but had just 97 points played in all 82 games!
Not only did Malkin lead the league in points, he's also nominated for the MVP award and he also led Russia to an IIHF World Championship! Becoming only the second player ever to lead the NHL in scoring and lead the World Championships in the same season! He was also named the MVP and best forward of the World Championship tournament.

After Malkin's amazing season in the NHL and jaw dropping performance, there is no doubt he is the best player in the world right now. He showed he was hungry to win, was willing to battle and do whatever he had to, sure he didn't go far in the NHL playoffs but he went a long way in putting Russia back on the map for the IIHF.

Malkin elevated his game and showed just how special a hockey player he really is, there were stretches during the season where he was totally dominant, no one stood between him and scoring a goal. Evgeni Malkin deserves some major props for what he was able to do this season. He showed a lot of character and showed just how valuable a Russian player can be, not just by scoring goals but by playing a complete game. He was able to do what all great hockey players do, make his teammates better!
He was able to help disprove the Russian stereotypes of them being lazy, he wanted the responsibility of leading his team, he even remained humble during his play. He possessed many qualities that other Russians don't usually show. If Crosby has troubles in the future, Malkin would be more than capable of wearing the "C".

The way Malkin was able to transform the success of his team by putting them on his back is remarkable and should make scouts think twice about skipping over a Russian. You never know who will pay off in the long run, Russian or not!

40 going on 30

It's hard enough for any team to find a top notch goaltender who can help win them games, most teams are looking for young, tall goalies who drop to their knees every shot as apart of the "butterfly" technique. But the New Jersey Devils are relying on a old goalie who has his own unique way of stopping the puck, in fact they're doing a lot better than just getting by as they currently sit just 2 wins away from a trip to the Stanley Cup. In fact a Stanley Cup win would give their legendary goaltender his 4th ring!

Martin Brodeur is proving once again that age does not matter in sport, he can still make draw dropping  saves and win his team hockey games proving he is still a valuable commodity between the pipes. The legendary Brodeur turned 40 earlier this month and since turning 40 has held his opponents to less than 3 goals in 6 consecutive games. Upon turning 40 and still playing, Brodeur has become the first goalie to play a playoff game in his "teens" and to play a playoff game in his 40's. His first playoff appearance was in 1991-1992 where he played in 1 game and allowed 3 goals in 33 minutes and finished with a 5.62 GAA, clearly he's come a long way!

When the Devils made the playoffs not many including myself gave them the slightest chance to go far. But it's been a crazy unpredictable playoffs and Devils have made it all the way to the Eastern Conference championship and are actually outplaying the top seeded New York Rangers. A large part of their success is due to the unbelievable play of Brodeur, who is playing more like he's 30 rather than 40!

It has been a fantastic career for Brodeur who is finishing up his 19th full season in the NHL, he has made the playoff 16 times and has broken almost all the records for goalies both in the regular season and in the playoffs. In the first round match up against the Florida Panthers after a 3-0, he passed Patrick Roy's record for most career playoff shutouts with 24. On Monday night against the Rangers, Brodeur set a new record for the most points by a goalie in the playoffs with 4 assists. Despite all the records and trophies Brodeur has to his name, he has never won the Conn Smythe trophy for most valuable playoff player, could this be his year?

When the Rangers and Devils kicked off their series the story lines were all about the two masked men, the keepers of the crease Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur and whether the King could out duel the Legend. Both exceptional goaltenders and extremely valuable to their teams, both having exceptional playoffs, trading shutouts and proving just how valuable they are to their teams. Everyone expected Lundqvist to be on top of his game, but no one expected the guy at the other end to play nearly aswell as he has.

Sure Brodeur is going to have his off games, he's going to look old and tired almost every goalie has off games, but he doesn't look like he's 40. The saves he's been able to make are fantastic, highlight reel material and most importantly he's been able to move from side to side very fluidly. He's played 16 games these playoffs and has won 10 of them and is just 2 wins away from another trip to the Stanley Cup finals.

Brodeur is writing another chapter in his historic career, how will it end, only Brodeur himself can decided that!

Leaving the Capital

If their elimination from the second round of the Stanley Cup playoff wasn't tough enough, the Washington Capitals got word Monday they would be losing two of their players and their coach this off-season. Alexander Semin and Tomas Vokoun both came out and said they do not plan on returning to the Capitals, both, especially Vokoun, are expected to go to the KHL in Russian. While Dale Hunter came out and announced he was returning to London to be with his family, and resigned from his head coaching position.

Despite making it to the 7th game in the second round the season for the Capitals was yet another disappointment, anything less than a Stanley Cup meant the season was wasted. Lots of players including Semin had to make sacrifices this season under Hunter and clearly some weren't huge fans of the changes.

Semin on his way out:
Semin's agent announced on Monday that his client was going to try his hand at the free agency market, as he no longer felt the Capitals were the best fit for him.

"It just doesn't make any sense to him. He did the best he could under the circumstances and he earned his right to be a free agent. The club decided to change directions, Alex doesn't fit into that system obviously" - Alexander Semin's agent Mark Gandler.

The Capitals had told Semin to not expect anymore ice time next season if he were to resign with the Caps, he will not see time in the last minute of the game, nor when the team is shorthanded. Semin believes he is more valuable and versatile than that of a role player and can still be a superstar, and he has decided he wants to part ways with the Caps. Semin had become known as a player who didn't try hard to contribute to his teams success in the playoffs, but he stepped it up immensely in the playoffs this year but still was unable to produce when the Capitals needed him most.  As everyone knows Alexander Semin is Russian, and the Russians have started their own rival league the KHL, could Semin be loured away to join the KHL in his native land? He is heading to Russia for the World Championships, who knows what they'll be telling him to get him back to Russia! For the sake of the NHL hopefully Alexander Semin will stay!

Interesting twist:
On Tuesday Semin came out and said he has no plans on leaving Washington, and the media twisted the situation into something it's not. It's been less than 24 hours since his agent told ESPN that Semin will test free agency, but apparently that decision hasn't been made yet!

"This is all just talk. Words can get twisted. There was not talk at all that I am not going to sign with the Capitals for sure. I have not talked to them (the Capitals) about leaving. And please don't ask me questions about next season anymore."

Wow, talk about drama in Washington! Now it comes down to will he stay or will he go? The countdown to July 1 is on.

Dale Hunter Leaving:
 On Monday Dale Hunter also came out and said he was stepping down from his head coaching duties with the Washington Capitals, to return home and be with his family.

"I'm going home. I've got a good thing going there with the family, so I'll stay home"

Home, with his family is where Hunter wants to be. He is the co-owner of the London Knights (with his brother), his son is one of the assistant coaches, and his brother is holding down the head coaching job with the Knights while Dale was in Washington. Not to mention the London Knights are on their way to the Memorial Cup! Although he later came out and said he will not be behind the bench with the Knights right away, you know he'll be there watching every move the team makes. Hunter is a very smart businessman, he knows he'd make more money with the London Knights especially if they win the Memorial Cup. OHLer's are easier to coach, they don't have huge ego's and contracts they're still waiting to make it big and they are happy with any role they're given.

With Hunter's departure it brings back the discussion of Alexander Ovechkin being a coach killer. He was pretty instrumental in tuning out Bruce Broudreau and getting him axed. Since Ovechkin entered the league in 2005 the Capitals have undergone 3 coaching changes, Dale Hunter being the shortest after only staying for half a season. Every coach that's tried to alter Ovechkin's game seems to find his way out of Washington one way or another. If the Capitals go through too many more coaching changes it could be time for Washington to ship Ovechkin out of town!

Whatever the reason or motivation behind Dale Hunter leaving the Capitals, he did it in a very admirable and classy way. Stepping down politely and not pointing fingers or passing blame on anyone, and if we can take the man at his word; he just wants to be with his family!

Tomas Vokoun leaving:
The final bullet shot at the Capitals on Monday was Tomas Vokoun saying he will not be returning as the Capitals goalie next season, and after the way Brayden Holtby played who would come back?

"I wasn't planning on being back here anyways. So for me, a situation like that, I'm happy for him. For me, it was never my intention to be here more than a year."

There are talks that Vokoun will head over to the KHL to join the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to help them rebuild after the horrific plane crash that killed the whole team in Russian. His best friend Josef Vasicek was one of the players who died in the plane crash. There is no official deal done that will send Vokoun over to the Lokomotiv, but if he can't find work in the NHL he may be gone.

Monday was a pretty tough day for the Capitals; losing 1 player, possibly losing another and losing a coach. All decisions were made right after the Capitals elimination from the playoffs, some were probably made a little too quickly but right now the Capitals are in a tail spin.
Who knows who else they may lose once July 1 comes around!

Capital Elimination

Sabres fans can take a sigh of relief, the team who played a major role in them missing the playoffs have now been eliminated! The Washington Capitals lost game 7 at the hands of the New York Rangers and failed once again to make it to the Conference finals.

This may have been the last time fans will be able to see the Capitals as the Capitals they saw on Saturday night. Alexander Semin is likely on his way out, Alexander Ovechkin may be tired of listening to coaches trying to change his game, do they stick to their new defensive minded style, and does Dale Hunter return to the NHL or go back to the OHL?

Dale Hunter came in and immediately turned the Capitals into a defensive team, showing a ton of backbone by shorting Ovechkin's ice time. But when push came to shove they didn't score enough goals to get the job done, they scored just 29 goals in their 14 playoff games and 13 of 14 games were decided by 1 goal. Brayden Holtby played fantastic for the Capitals throughout the playoffs, he showed composure and skill far above his level and may have played himself into the Capitals starting goaltending at the beginning of next year. But when you have a young, rookie goalie you need scoring support. They're going to mess up at some point, let in some bad goals and when your team is always playing those tight 1 goal games its extremely tough for them!

Ovechkin is also at a crossroads, he has now played 7 NHL seasons and has failed to ever make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. He's dealt with coaches who have tried to "tame" him, turn him into a team player and make him more defensive minded, he's also tried to do things his own way. He needs to find which game works best for him, not just the Capitals but for him. When you're down by 1 goal in game 7 you need to be able to rely of your star players to get the job done and Ovechkin wasn't able to get it done! He also needs to take the time and find himself, forget what all the coaches have tried to tell him return to what brought you to the NHL. If Ovechkin doesn't figure out what works best for him he may become the greatest player to never win a cup, to be honest that's not something great to be remembered for, great players are supposed to win cups and make their teams better he has failed to do either.

3 reasons the Capitals lost
1. Too many 1 goal games: 
Some coaches really like to play in 1 goal games, Dale Hunter appears to be one of them. But it's a dangerous way to play hockey, it's like flipping a coin you never know which way the game can go. One bad bounce and you lose the game, with players like Ovechkin, Semin and Backstrom the Capitals had more than enough scoring power to get a 2 or 3 goal lead, but Hunter decided to hold his big boys back. The Capitals were able to get a 2 goal lead during a game just 5 times in 14 games, 6 of their games went to overtime. It was clear the Capitals (or at least Dale Hunter) wanted to play those close 1 goal games, it often keeps teams in games when they are clearly out of it. But it's like flipping a coin and game 7 at Madison Square Garden came up tails!

2. King Henrik
It was almost the perfect underdog story, rookie goaltender Brayden Holtby out duels the king Henrik Lundqvist key word almost. Endings like that are mostly written in Hollywood, yeah he came close to upsetting the king but when the series was on the line the king stepped up and the kid was not able too. Game 7 was Lundqvist's best game of the series and the second period was arguably his best 20 minutes in the entire series, the Rangers were able to get an early lead and then rely on their goalie for the majority of the game. When it comes down to it, it's better to have experience on your side!

3. Lack of stars
The Rangers 3 best players all stepped up in game 7 (Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, Michael Del Zotto. While Semin, Backstrom and Ovechkin were all fairly quite during the series and game 7. When you're in a do or die game 7 you need to be able to rely on your best players to get the job done, it worked for the Rangers while the Capitals came up short.

It's back to the drawing board for the Capitals, a big offseason at hand and perhaps one more season before things really fall apart. How much more heart-break can fans and Ovechkin handle, he has to be tired of losing, he wants to win, he wants to be the best player. But for now all the can do is ask; What If?
Good news for the rest of the league, we get to see more of John Tortorella's press conferences!

Playoff-Itis

Are you suffering from Playoff-itis?
It's time to dive right in and tackle the horrible disease which comes over all hockey fans at some point during their hockey watching.
If you're suffering from this terrible disease I am here to help!

What is Playoff-Itis-
Playoff-itis is a terrible thing which makes even the most die hard hockey fans not want to watch hockey, specifically in the playoffs! It's when you change the channel from a playoff hockey game to American Idol, where you'd rather chat to friends on Facebook/Twitter instead of watching the game. The most drastic of all, when you are willing to go to the washroom during a period of hockey! Playoff-Itis is most prevalent during the playoffs which usually kicks in around the 2nd round and can last for a whole round of playoff hockey!

Causes-
What causes you to have playoff-itis

• When your team has failed to make the playoffs, or have been eliminated in the first round causing you to be bitter towards the other teams.
• When the outcome of a hockey game is decided within the first two periods, giving you no reason to continue watching the game.
• When all the teams you sort of like lose and you hate all the other teams.
• When you have to jump from bandwagon to bandwagon during the playoffs. Constantly changing the team you support which becomes draining.
• Being chirped for jumping on another teams bandwagon!
• When you really could care less about the two teams that are playing, and secretly wish they could both lose.
• When all the other series' finish, and you're just waiting for that one series that decides they're going to go to 7 games and delay everything.
• When a goalie decides they're going to be all good and not let the other team score, making for a long game.
• When a rookie goalie is shutting down when of the best teams in the league.
• When you don't like the people who are commentating the game.
• When the game becomes boring.

Symptoms-

How to know you are suffering, if you find yourself doing any of the following symptoms you are likely suffering! 

• Changing the channel while the game is being played.
• Deciding it would be less painful to watch wannabe singers on American Idol
• When you'd rather talk to your friends during the game. (Not on intermission but during game action)
• When you're paying more attention to your twitter feed than the game.
• When you start listening to what your parents are saying to you during the game.
• When your mom asks you to find something more exciting on TV, and you agree.
• When you don't even turn on the hockey game.
• When you just can't get into a playoff series or the two teams playing in the series. 
• When you care less about a big save or a big hit that happened in the game.
• Doing homework instead of watching the game.
• Playing NHL 12 instead of watching the game. You decide to make you dream playoff match up while playing the game.
• When you start looking at who your team might draft and what moves they're going to make this offseason.
• When you fall asleep during the game. 
• When you start to think you can play better than the NHL players.
• When you STOP yelling at the TV when you disagree with a call.
• When you don't want the game to go to overtime. 

Treatment-

How to get over your Playoff-Itis before it's too late!

• Forse yourself to watch the game no matter how painful it may be.
• Do all necessary research on a team before you bandwagon the team, so you don't get made fun of.
• Watch YouTube videos of your favourite team (that failed to make the playoffs) to help get you in the mood.
• Remember that the playoffs are a such a high level of hockey, and your team wasn't up to that level. So this is an opportunity to watch top notch hockey.
• If you like a feel good story cheer for the underdog!
• Watch the game not from the perspective of a fan of the teams playing but more of a fan of the game of hockey.
• Make sure you get a good nights rest especially after a late OT game, or you will be to tired and un-enthused towards the next game. 
• Watch as many hockey highlights as you possibly can to put you back in the hockey loving mood.
• Convince some friends to watch the game with, whether they like hockey or not.
• When watching a hockey playoff game specify it with a specific food to get you excited. (Eat Nachos while watch series #1 and eat KD during series #2- @Sabrefreakydeak)
• Specifically root against the team one of your twitter friends are rooting for! This will add a little more excitement and add a little bit of a rivalry with your friend, not to mention bragging rights when your team kicks butt! (@LuvBuffaloSport)
• Or cheer for a team to make new twitter friends.
• Wager some friendly bets on twitter, (making the person who lost have to change their avi to the other teams, Shoutouts or just flat out bragging rights!)
• By a new jersey or t-shirt to up your team spirit. 
• Just remember your love for the game and why you love it.

If you or a loved one are suffering from this terrible disease please read this to get you back in touch with your hockey mojo. Playoff-Itis is a real and horrible thing that needs to be ended immediately, if we can save even 1 hockey fan from their suffering then the hockey community will be a better place!

I know how painful it is to not be able to watch your team play during the playoffs, but together we can enjoy watching playoff hockey and conqour Playoff-Itis!

*Note this blog is just for fun*

Flyers Eliminated

Tuesday night marked the end of the Philadelphia Flyers season, losing 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils who won the best of 7 series 4-1. Not a lot of fans or analysts saw this coming, the Flyers were supposed to clobber the Devils and advance to the next round without any issues. But the Flyers were unable to manipulate the Devils, like they did with the Penguins, the Flyers were the ones taking bad penalties, and losing their cool.


Now Ilya Bryzgalov can't shoulder all the blame for the loss, he didn't play his best but his team wasn't very helpful on most nights. But after watching him this entire series (making routine saves look impossible) it is becoming more clear that the Flyers only survived their series against the Penguins because Marc-Andre Fleury was off his game. Had Fleury been on his game it could have been an entirely different first round match up! Anyways I bring this up to show that the Flyers aren't as dominate as people thought after the first round, those people include the Flyers themselves. The players got a little full of themselves and thought they could beat anyone, they didn't give their opponents the respect they deserved (like what happened out West with Nashville and Phoenix).


So breaking down the series we'll look at 3 reasons the Flyers lost and 3 reasons the Devils won.


Flyers


1. Undisciplined hockey:

This is a big one you're not going to win playoff series' playing undisciplined hockey. Especially when your opponents refuse to stoup to your level, and take bad penalties. The Flyers just took too many bad penalties that put them behind the 8 ball. You have Brayden Schenn, Zach Rinoldo, Scott Harntell and Wayne Simmonds playing with no control and taking very stupid, costly penalties. Then you have the little moment of selfishness from Claude Giroux which earned him as suspension! Not only were these guys all over the place they weren't able to help their team out on the scoresheet; Schenn, Simmonds, Hartnell combined for just 2 goals, a far cry from their production in the first round. A lot of the penalties taken were at horrible times, the Flyers would score a goal and go up 1-0 then moments later they're down a man trying to kill off a 5 on 4 which made it impossible for them to get momentum!


2. Ilya Bryzgalov:
Not all the blame falls squarely on the shoulder of Bryzgalov but he definitely has to should some of the blame. He gave his team a chance to win night in and night out, but what he didn't do was come up with a big save when they needed it! He also let in far too many weak goals that deflated the Flyers team, I'm sure if truth be told the Flyers didn't have a ton of confidence in their 51 million dollar goalie near the end of the playoffs. Bryzgalov didn't play bad but at the same time he didn't play phenomenal and was out duelled by the legend himself Marty Brodeur.
Bryzgalov went 5-6 with a GAA 3.46 and a Save Percentage of .887 not the kind of numbers you need to endure playoff success. To be honest I was very surprised the Flyers left Bryz in a lot of the games as he just wasn't getting the job done, maybe pulling him could have sparked the rest of the team?
Forget Bears in the playoffs he looked like Bryzgalov was afraid of the pucks!
But often times when a teams goalie is struggling the defense isn't too stellar either. The Devils exposed the Flyers poor defencive system and were able to keep them hemmed in their own end with ofter 1 fore checker. The Flyers had a very weak "puck moving defence" the Devils caught onto that and were able to disrupt the breakout and force the forwards to play more in their defensive end!


3. Were too satisfied after the first round:
The way the Flyers and their fans reacted after round one you would have thought they had won the Stanley Cup, instead of just barely squeaking out a first round victory. The Flyers were so amped up and ready to win at all costs against the Penguins, then in round 2 they couldn't get amped up to play the Devils there was no emotion. They only emotion they showed was frustration something you do not want to expose to your opponents, they made it painfully obvious and once that happened the Devils had won the series. It was easy for the Flyers to get amped up against the Pens due to their intense rivalry, but they couldn't get anything out of the Devils. The Devils wouldn't engage in stuff after the whistle, and they played a clean game giving them nothing to get a spark from! 

"They didn't give us anything to be emotional about, they weren't in scrums and it seemed like they really didn't hit us. It wasn't there and that was their mindset and game plan" Scott Hartnell

Devils
1. Martin Brodeur:
If Ilya Bryzgalov is shouldering some of the blame than Brodeur has to be given tons of credit for out battling his opponent. He sure as heck did not look like a 40 year old goaltender contemplating retirement, he looked more like an elite 32 year old with 3 Stanley Cup rings and 16 years of prior playoff success. Brodeur is proving he can still get the job done when it matters most, with his win on Tuesday which eliminated the Flyers he became only the 4th goalie in history to win 8 playoff games at the age of 40! He has shown glimpses of his old self, his Hall of Fame legacy and if the Devils want to win the cup they will need Brodeur to be on the top of his game!
*Random Stat Brodeur becomes the first goalie to play a playoff game in his teens and start a playoff game in his 40's*


2. Everyone chipped in: 
The Flyers relied heavily on Briere and Giroux's production in the playoffs, if those two weren't scoring no-one else would be either. But the Devils were able to rely on multiple goal scorers, in the 5 games in the series they scored 18 goals and had 11 different goal scorers! They were even able to muster up a win without their star Ilya Kovalchuck. Their depth ultimately outplayed Philly's depth, while Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds were busy taking dumb penalties, Adam Henrique and David Clarkson were busy scoring goals! 


3. The forecheck:
Something all teams use some not as well as others, but the Devils brought their "A game" with their forecheck and gave the Flyers a lot of trouble getting out of their end! Besides game 1 the Devils due to their relentless forecheck outshot the Flyers in every game. They were faster to lose pucks, harder on the puck, got more scoring opportunities and capitalized on them. The Devils may be the dark horse of the Eastern Conference!


Well the Flyers are out and the Devils are on to the Eastern Conference Championships something not a lot of people saw coming. The Flyers will now have to sit at home and watch their former teammates Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in the Western Conference Championships who stand a solid chance of going to the Stanley Cup Finals. Ilya Bryzgalov also must watch his former team battle against the Kings in the Western Conference Finals (Phoenix Coyotes). 


The Devils will await their opponent either the Washington Capitals or the New York Rangers, these playoffs have been so unpredictable there is no use predicting the outcome of any series'. 

Niagara Ice Dog Trevor Petersen interview

Despite not being drafted in the OHL draft Trevor Petersen has found a home with the Niagara Ice Dogs in the OHL. Peterson was determined to work hard and show the OHL what they had missed by passing home over, he worked hard and was able to get the attention of the Ice Dogs. Petersen and the Ice Dogs are battling it out for the OHL championship against the London Knights.
Trevor will have one more season in the OHL before his NHL draft year and will look to have a bigger role with the Ice Dogs next season and solidify his chance of getting drafted. Trevor is a solid two way player who has the ice and the skill to compete against the best. He's making a name for himself on a star studded Niagara Ice Dogs team!
I had the opportunity to interview Trevor Peterson.

1. Who has had the biggest influence on your life?

The biggest influence has been my parents, they have always been there for me whether things are going my way or not. They have taught me so much about growing up and being a good person outside of the rink which has really helped my character!

2. What are your plans for next season?
Next season I see myself having a bigger role with the ice dogs as the majority of the top 6 forwards are leaving. It is also my draft year next season (as I have a late birthday) so I am aiming for a 30-40 point season next year.

3. Your first fight in the OHL was against your high school friend Joseph Blandisi, what was it like fighting a former friend? Did you win?
Joe and I planned that fight as we both wanted to get our first OHL fight out of the way. It wasn't much of a fight, more of a wrestling match as we are still good buddies.

4. Looking back was not getting drafted in the OHL better for your career? (many players who had gotten drafted have yet to make their teams).
Not getting drafted was really difficult at the beginning, a lot of the teams were talking to me and telling me they would take me in one of the first 5 rounds. After not getting drafted I refocused on getting a NCAA school to take me on for next season Maine, UNH, and Quinnipiac all contacted me. Robert Morris ended up offering me a spot on the Niagara Ice Dogs and I felt coming to Niagara would be the best fit for me. So yes not getting drafted originally opened up more roads for me.

5. Whats it like playing/hanging out with players like Dougie Hamilton, Mark Visetin and Ryan Strome?
These guys are players who I can admire both on and off the ice. They are really great guys to have around and have taught me so much this season: From leading by example to giving me little tips here and there. Most importantly these gentleman have taught me to be mature and that you need to be loyal both on and off the ice.

6. At what age did you know hockey was your sport?
My dad laced me up around the age of 5 but my first year of house league hockey was pretty rough. That summer I enrolled in hockey schools and power skating lessons, the next season I came back and was a superstar from that moment I knew I wanted to play at the highest level of hockey possible! Hockey is such a unique sport, whenever I'm on the ice it just clears my mind and I feel so relaxed while doing what I love for a living.

7. What is your greatest hockey memory?
There have been a lot of great memories, but the ones that I remember the most are playing shinny with the buddies during summer break and skating on the out door rinks during the Christmas holidays. There's nothing better!

8. What is your favourite NHL team?
My favourite NHL team is the Chicago Blackhawks. Patrick Kane.

9. If you could meet any player past or present who would it be?

Wayne Gretzky, he is considered to be the best player to ever play the game. So I think it would be cool too meet him and hear what he would say about his greatest moments and memories throughout his career.

10. If you could play for any NHL which would it be and why?
Honestly playing for any NHL team would be a huge honour! My agent and I have already been contacted by a few teams and whenever a new team contacts us I get really excited and it just motivates me to work that much harder. Playing in the NHL would be a dream come true, and right now I'm all about making my dreams become a reality!

I'd like to thank Trevor for the opportunity to have an interview with him. We'll be following his progress right to the draft next season to see where he ends up! Good luck Trevor!
check out Josh Edwards version of the interview here!

Changing the Gaurd

Since the Montreal Canadian let go of their General Manager Pierre Gauthier March 29th, the GM role for the Canadians sat empty waiting for someone to come down and rescue the historic franchise. Who better to retain the role of the Canadians than a former Montreal Native, so after nearly 3 decades of time spent away from home Marc Bergevin is returning home as the new GM of the Montreal Canadians. 

Bergevin who is 46 grew up in Montreal watching the Habs win many a Stanley Cup, now it is his job to get the Habs back to the Stanley Cup. He brings 20 years experience as a former defenceman who played for 8 different teams and 7 years of scouting and management with the Chicago Blackhawkes (including the year they won the cup). But dealing with the Canadians (and the media) will be no easy task for Bergevin.

"I took this job first of all because I know I'm ready. If I wasn't ready for the challenge I wouldn't be here today"- Marc Bergervin

 A challenge it will be, the Canadians had a dismal 2011-2012 season that ended with them in 15th in the Eastern Conference, 3rd last in the league and in a lottery pick situation. But Bergevin is staying true the current roster and refuted any possibly of a complete "rebuild" in Montreal.

"I believe the pieces are really good. Obviously finished 15th in the conference, it's a lot of work that needs to be done but you have a good base."- Marc Bergevin

Bergevin's first order of business was letting interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth know that he is no longer the head coach but instead and interim assistant coach, where the new head coach can decide whether they want to keep Cunneyworth or not. Even if you're not a fan of the Canadians you have to feel somewhat sorry for him, put in an awkward position by former GM after Gauthier came out and said they would look for another head coach who was bilingual. Cunneyworth did the best job he could in his situation and now he may lose his job all together! 


The next order of business for the new GM is negotiating contract extensions with the likes of; Carey Price and P.K Subban. Two cornerstone players for the Habs who need to be locked up long term. He also needs to decide what to do with Scott Gomez, a rumour came out shortly after news broke about the new GM that the Canadians would buy out the remaining 4 years on Gomez's contract. 


After he works out all the contract situations he still has one last daunting task, finding a new head coach. Many have pointed to the possibility of Patrick Roy returning to Montreal, while others speculate they will look for a new coach with no former ties to the Canadians looking for a fresh start. 


Marc Bergevin is a fun loving guy with a great sense of humour which will serve him well in Montreal and in the media. Right now he's taking it all in stride and getting used to his new GM job. But expect lots of movement from the new GM who will be looking to make a splash this offseason and put a winning Canadians team on the ice for the start of next season!
  

Benching Ovechkin

Everyone knows that Alexander Ovechkin is a top tier player in the NHL and arguably one of the top 5 players in the world. Normally when you have a player with the skill sets like Ovechkin you want him on the ice the majority of the night right? Not in Washington! Since Dale Hunter took over the coaching job for the Capitals he has given Ovi a back seat role and surprisingly the Capitals are winning!

Hunter's benching of his big players (Semin, Backstrom, Ovechkin) has gotten a lot of attention in the media. Now normally this works for a few games, then the team starts to lose and the coach freaks out and goes back to playing his stars, but that won't happen with Hunter. A part from the fact that Hunter has quite a backbone, he really doesn't care if he loses his coaching job with the Capitals and that's due to his lifetime position in the OHL. Hunter is the co-owner of the London Knights major junior hockey club, where he coached the team for 11 seasons before getting the call to come in to Washington. So unlike the majority of NHL coaches who really don't want to lose their jobs and be out of work for a couple seasons, Dale Hunter has his job already set for him back with the Knights.
Anytime you have a coach that isn't really afraid of getting fired (or could walk away on their own at the end of a season) it's a Catch-22 scenerio. They can light a fire under their star players and get them playing well or things can go completely down hill and the players can just quit on the coach.

Most coaches wouldn't dream about benching Ovechkin or cutting back his ice time, but that's what Hunter is doing in Washington with Ovechkin playing just 13:36 in the last game his all time lowest for a playoff ice game. It's even more rare when a role player like Jay Beagle plays 19:36 and has 10 more shifts than your superstar! But the Capitals are winning and maybe that's just what they need to win playoff games, they are 6-2 in the playoffs when the great 8 plays less than 20 minutes a night, so if it's helping them win who cares?

The Capitals have failed to reach the 3rd round of the playoffs in the last 4 seasons, in each of those past years Ovechkin was averaging 23-25 minutes a night. Dale Hunter was brought in to change their playoff luck and what better way to do that then completely changing Ovechkin's role and ice time? Why stop at just Ovechkin's ice time, Backstrom played just 16:18 in the last game while Semin played a career low 12:27. But perhaps the most remarkable thing to come out of all this reduced ice time, is the fact Dale Hunter is turning Ovechkin into a team player. If you look at the captains reaction after teammate Jay Beagle scored the other night you can see that he is starting to really get happy for his teammates when they have success as well. Sure he wants more ice time (If he didn't there would be a problem) but right now he's playing a team game.

Most people remember the Capitals playoffs of late being barn burner type of games where 5 goals are scored and you win 5-4 or 7-5 but now the Capitals are starting to play the close one goal games which secretly Hunter prefers. He likes to keep the game at 0-0 for as long as possible and play for the one shot win! Which is why players like Ovechkin and Semin are seeing so little ice time, he doesn't trust them to play his style of close knit hockey!

Who knows if Hunter will return next season as the coach of the Washington Capitals, a large part of that will be based on whether he really wants to stay at the NHL with the divas or go back to the OHL where he can do whatever he wants and not be questioned. But one thing's for sure he's doing things his way, whether the Capitals win or lose he's making sure it's done his way! But if the Capitals wind up losing to the Rangers (I think they will) then it will be interesting to see what old Hunter has to say about his "benching" Ovechkin strategy!