The NHL’s MVP is awarded the Hart Trophy every summer, and this year’s race features three star players, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Long Island’s John Tavares, and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin.  It is important to note that all three of the finalists are from the Eastern Conference, which has earned a lot of criticism from Western Conference players.  Surely a player from the Blackhawks deserves to be i ...

Saying that hockey is a physical game is an understatement. Could you imagine if the NBA allowed Zach Randolph and Kendrick Perkins to start throwing punches in the middle of the second quarter? While fighting may be a necessary part of hockey, there is no spot for vicious hits against defenseless players. Over the past few years, the NHL’s Vice President of Hockey and Business Development and head discipli ...

We’ve seen it many times, the old New York-Boston rivalry. Yankees-Red Sox, Jets-Pats, and (just a few weeks ago) Knicks-Celtics. Amazingly, though, the Rangers and Bruins haven’t met in the playoffs since 1973. Sure, each team probably has teams they consider rivals, but make no mistake about it that these teams don’t like each other. Besides the New York-Boston history, if the regular season matchups are ...

.750, 75 percent, three out of four; any way you look at it my predictions aren’t bad after the first round. If only the Ducks could have pulled through in game seven, or game six for that matter. I still can’t believe how a team with two goalies boasting under 2.40 goals against averages manages to lose to a mediocre Red Wings squad, but, nonetheless, the playoffs continue and so do my predictions. Chicago ...

After successfully predicting the winners of the four first-round matchups, I’m looking to continue my streak going forward to who will make the Eastern Conference Finals. Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs. Ottawa Senators (7) [caption id="attachment_13910" align="aligncenter" width="638"] Photo via www.nhlsnipers.com[/caption] While Pittsburgh struggled a bit with the New York Islanders in the first round, the Se ...

Heading into the second round of the playoffs, here is an early look at some candidates to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (Most Valuable Player in the Stanley Cup playoffs). [caption id="attachment_13882" align="aligncenter" width="534"] Photo Credit: (Scott Rovak, USA TODAY Sports)[/caption] Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings: The defending Conn Smythe winner is at it again, single-handedly keeping the Kings al ...

The Calder Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year in the NHL every year, and this year’s finalists are Brendan Gallagher of the Canadiens, Jonathan Huberdeau of the Panthers, and Brandon Saad of the Blackhawks. Huberdeau is the easy choice for the trophy. He was the highest player of the three drafted, going third overall in the 2011 draft to the Florida Panthers. Huberdeau also led all rookies with 31 ...