At last, the long 82 game season has ended and the most exciting 6 weeks in sports are here. The Stanley Cup Playoffs have arrived and over the next two days I’ll break down the East and Western conferences.

THE EASTERN CONFERENCE

First off I think the Rangers are going to sweep Washing-……oh wait….never mind….. :’(

Washington v.s. Montreal : The Capitals have without question been the NHL’s best team this year. They score nearly 4 goals a game and have the most exciting player in the sport. Ovechkin still has game 7 against Pittsburgh last year on his mind and he’s looking for revenge. If I’m a Canadien fan right now, I’m shaking thinking of Ovechkin desire to move on. Montreal just doesn’t have enough to keep up with the Caps’ pace. Maybe they can grab a game but don’t expect Halak to steal them the series.

Prediction: Washington Wins 4-1

New Jersey vs. Philadelphia: Oh boy! Two teams I hate with a passion! This is a lose lose scenario for me but I suppose I do have to pick a winner. Honestly I’d rather see the Flyers win because theyre a big underdog. The goalie match-up obviously favors the Devils however everything else is actually pretty close. The series is sure to be intense and expect tons on penalties. If Brian Boucher can hold his own expect the Flyers to cause some trouble. Kovalchuk still hasn’t fit in with the Devils system and they need him to be better. I personally don’t think he will in time. Expect Philly to steal the series in a long one.

Prediction: Philadelphia Wins 4-2

Buffalo vs. Boston: Well the main storyline of this matchup will be Tuukka Rask and his inexperience. Who would’ve thought after last year, Tim Thomas would be sitting on the bench to start the playoffs. However if Rask struggles early, expect Thomas to replace him. Buffalo’s had a good quiet season and with Ryan Miller between the pipes, they’re likely to eliminate Boston.

Prediction: Buffalo Wins 4-2

Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa: I’m going to be honest here. I have no idea how the Senators are where they are today. They never seemed like a threat to me and I’ll be shocked if they even make this a series to watch. I expect the Penguins to skate circles around the Sens and make them head home quickly. The Penguins are the defending Cup Champs which automatically makes them dangerous. With Crosby having an MVP type year, Pittsburgh might be even scarier this year.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Win 4-0

Well that’s it for the East, check back tomorrow for the West!

Well here I am. Sitting home in New York, just minutes since the Rangers were elminated by the Flyers from playoff contention. I’m angry, sad, annoyed and frustrated. If any of you were lucky enough to watch these two Flyer-Ranger games, you would all agree that the Rangers 2 days ago looked like a completely different team from the one you saw today. The Rangers gave up 47 shots prior to losing in a shootout. Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head and once again, was let down by his team’s offense. The Rangers horrendous offense made Brian Boucher look like Patrick Roy in net.

My heart goes out to King Henrik who year after year gives so much only to be let down. He had a career year and finished with an incredible performance and almost single handedly beat the Flyers twice. One of my biggest fears is that he asks for a trade but the truth is, if he did, I couldn’t be mad at him. Lundqvist deserves more than this. Chances are if he were on any other playoff team, he would go far into the playoffs and possibly even the finals. Instead he was once again let down and the frustration continues to build.

Henrik will be heading into his 6^th season next year and not once has he played in a 2^nd round game where he couldve advanced to the 3^rd round (2008 lost in 5 games to Penguins, 2007 lost in 6 games to Sabres). Sure he has his off days but days like today certainly out weigh them. Even though he lost, be proud Sweden, he’s one hell of a goalie.

The Rangers season ends on a sad and sour note and the Flyers are moving on. The NHL playoffs are around the corner and I’ll be sure to break down every match-up once they’re set.

I have not updated in quite a while because I just got back from Vancouver and unfortunately had my laptop break while I was out there.  Anyway, I was out west to see the Paralympics Which are the Olympics for disabled athletes.  I was lucky enough to attend the Gold Medal Sledge Hockey game between the U.S. and Japan Which we wound up winning 2-0.  Watching these athletes perform was truly an amazing experience.

Here in New York, things are not as exciting.  The Rangers find themselves 5 points out of a playoff spot with 9 games to go and most people do not believe they can make a run at it.  Henry is on his way to posting his best save percentage of all-time but he will not be happy if the Rangers do not find themselves in the Post-Season.  Last night the Rangers beat the Islanders 5-0 and most fans are all giddy saying that it was the best they played all year.  Must I remind everyone that they beat the Islanders!?  If they would’ve performed this way against say the Capitals or Penguins, maybe there would be a reason for hope.  But no, they crushed the Islanders!  Did everyone forget that just a few days ago they played horrible against the Bruins?  I personally do not feel that beating the Islanders in a decisive way is much of an accomplishment.  The Isles are on the rise and continue to improve every year but there’s no question they are not very good team right now. 

On another note, the Rangers and Islander game was the first sports broadcast here in America in 3-D.  Unfortunately I do not have the $ 3,956,201,343 to purchase a 3-D TV so I did not get to see it at home.  The Garden did host a viewing party but I was not Able to attend.  From what I here, the event was a success and fans were impressed.  I guess we’ll see how this changes the sports media world.

I’m not sure if any of you heard about this but I found it pretty funny.  On this past Tuesday, the Penguins resumed their NHL season after the 2 week Olympic break.  They opened up at home against Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabers.  Miller did not play because Sabers coach Lindy Ruff was giving him a day off after his amazing display for Team USA.  Prior to the game the Penguins introduced the players who played in the Olympics on both teams.  There were nice ovation for Brooks Orpik and Evgeni Malkin but Ryan Miller obviously had the biggest one.  The entire Pittsburgh Crowd Stood up and cheered for the Sabers Goaltender as he raised his arm to salute them.  And then there was Sidney.  You know, the best player in the league.  The guy who won the Cup for them last year.  The guy who literally saved their franchise from moving.  Well he was booed.  BY HIS OWN FANS!  It was a pretty funny sight to see Penguin fans booing Crosby.  Obviously they love him but now they know how it feels to play against him.  Something fans of the 29 other teams are accustomed to.  Anyway Crosby went on to record an assists as the Pens rolled over Buffalo and the fans did indeed cheer when he recorded that point.  I guess they have the ability to forgive quite quickly.

Many numbers have become immortal in hockey history. 99 for the great one. 66 for Lemieux. 87 for Sid. But now a new number has joined the club. And that number is 17.6. Seventeen-point-six is the television rating that the Olympic Gold Medal game got here in the United States. As the Americans faced off against Canada in the biggest game in hockey history, no one was quite sure how the game would do in the States. There was no question that everyone in Canada would be watching, but here in America, that was far from likely. Hockey has been by far the fourth sport here following Football, Baseball and Basketball respectively. However yesterday was hockey’s day. Yesterday Hockey was king. Yesterday everyone was watching a puck instead of a ball.

I wrote a blog a few months ago regarding the NHL sending their players to the Olympics. Rumors are still circulating that it won’t be done. That the league won’t let their players go. I still see why the league is afraid to send their players. Injuries and fatigue play big factors when the players return. But now my opinion has changed. The NHL MUST send their players. What yesterday’s game did was put hockey back on the map. The amount of skill on the ice was incredible. Patrick Kane, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla. The list goes on and on. The truth is the NHL needs the Olympics. People are suddenly interested in hockey which is great. If the players don’t go, the caliber of play won’t be as high and the names won’t be players we recognize.

The NHL has plenty of time to make a decision. I just hope it’s the right one.

Without any NHL action recently, there hasn’t been much for me to write about.  The funny thing about the lack of hockey here in NY is that for the first time in four years, hockey actually was on the back page of the newspaper!  It may be hard to believe but the last time hockey was the main sports story here in NY was back when Lundqvist won the gold for Sweden in 06.  The back of the newspaper read “King Henrik” and showed the King celebrating with the Swedish flag.  Unfortunately that was the last time hockey made it on the back.  The truth is, hockey just isn’t very popular here in the states.  However, after the thriller between Canada and the U.S., pictures of Rangers captain and American player Chris Drury were displayed on both the back of the New York Post and Daily News.  It was pretty cool to see if you happen to be one of the few hockey fans living here.

Anyway, the NHL resumes sooner than later and soon enough, I’ll be back giving you an insight of whats going on here in America.

Until then…

GO USA!

The Rangers were literally just slapped in the face by their arch-rivals.  Just a few days after trading for 11 goal scorer Olli Jokinen, the Rangers turned around to see the Devils acquiring one of the, if not best scorers in the league in Ilya Kovalchuk.  Let’s examine both Trades and see how they will Affect both teams.

                The Kovalchuk trade is obviously the bigger one of the two so we’ll start with that one.  It’s no secret that the Devils have never been an offense first type of team.  They’ve built their team around Marty Brodeur and have put defense first.  It’s worked for them for years so there’s no reason why they would stop.    However adding a player of Ilya’s caliber will only benefit them.  Kovalchuk is tied for 5^th in the league with 31 goals and leave a team, In which he has spent his entire career in.  Not only does the trade benefit the Devils but it helps Kovi too.  He’s leaving a weak Atlanta team to join one of the best clubs in the conference.  While doing so he’s not joining a team that polishes him in the spotlight like New York or Toronto would.  Fans do not have to worry about him feeling the pressure because the fan base in NJ is not any bigger than the one in Atlanta.  The only negative about this trade is the fact that Kovalchuk is on the last year of his contract and who knows if the Devils Will Be Able to re-sign him.  Either way, the Devils are playing to win the cup this year and acquiring the Russian superstar will help their chance dramatically.

                Olli Jokinen is not the same player that was playing in Florida a few years ago.  When he joined the Flames Began his stats to drop and his reputation as a high scorer Began to fade away.  With all that said, this is surprisingly a good trade for New York.  They send Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik to Calgary for gates Brandon Prust and of course Jokinen.  The reason the trade works for the Rangers is because of the contracts they’re getting rid of.  They shipped Kotalik away who was making $ 3,000,000 dollars a year for the next 3 seasons.  Jokinen will be a free agent after this season so the Rangers will have more flexibility when it comes to signing free agents.  Now do not get me wrong, Jokinen is not bad player.  In fact he’s an upgrade on Kotalik and Higgins but there’s no question that the Rangers made this trade because of money reasons.

Oh and by the way.  The two will battle tonight in a classic Rangers-Devils match-up.  Should be fun.

The first blockbuster trade of the season has taken place.

While working at the NHL Store yesterday I was shocked when I was told to make a Dion Phaneuf jersey.  Since the store is in New York, Ranger jerseys sell the most and I find myself making Lundqvist, Callahan and Gaborik jerseys all the time.  Every so often we get an order for a player on another team.  The players ordered are usually players who are playing well at the time.   A good example would be Henrik Sedin.  Prior to this season H. Sedin jerseys weren’t very popular but thanks to his success this year, he’s one of the top selling non-rangers we have.   It’s fair to say Phaneuf has had an off year so it’s strange to hear that someone wants his jersey now.  I was then told that his name wouldn’t be going on a Flames jersey, but a Maple Leafs jersey instead.  Now it made sense.

                Over the course of the past few seasons, Dion Phaneuf has established himself as one of the leagues top d-men.  Though he is having a bit of an off year this season, the trade to Toronto certainly benefits the Leafs more than the Flames.  Included in the trade was Freddy Sjostrom who will be one of Toronto’s top PK men.  Toronto has obviously been struggling over the past few years but this trade might start to turn things around.   He may be able to teach sophomore defensemen Luke Schenn a few things and in a few years the two may turn into one of the elite pairings in the league.

                The Leafs also acquired former Stanley Cup winning goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Ducks.  The move was bound to happen eventually since Anaheim has been stuck with two #1 goalies for the past few years (Jonas Hiller being the other).  This is another great move for Toronto since it gives them a goalie they can truly rely on.  Unfortunately for Sweden, Jonas Gustavsson’s playing time is going to decrease dramatically.

                Check back tomorrow when I discuss rumors about the Rangers attempt to acquire Finnish all-star Olli Jokinen and what in the world is going on up in Calgary.

Last night the Rangers failed to score a goal and were shut out by their rival Philadelphia Flyers 2-0.  After the game Rangers Coach John Tortorella spoke to the media about the loss.  New York Post writer Larry Brooks asked him about why no Ranger player was there to help out Marian Gaborik when he was in a fight.  Brooks and Torts have had a bad history over the past year due to some of the things Larry has written when discussing the Rangers.  After Brooks posed the question, Tortorella snapped at him saying he wouldn’t discuss such matters.  To Brooks’ credit he defended himself instead of keeping quiet like most members of the media would’ve done.  The coach and writer would get into a feisty argument that was actually caught on tape.

                I’m not a big fan of Tortorella and don’t like the way he treats the media at times.  I understand that his job is to coach the Rangers and not to be friendly to the media but he still could do a better job.  I read Brooks’ articles often and don’t always agree with them but he is entitled to write whatever he likes so when he put Torts in a negative light this morning, it was to no one’s surprise. 

                It shall be interesting to see how the loving relationship between John and Larry works out throughout the rest of the season.  Will Tortorella answer the next question Brooks asks?  Only time will tell.