Hockey Page 473 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
You’ll never believe this, but everyone’s losing their mud about the Maple Leafs
If you looked up and to the north this morning and thought you could make out a noxious cloud in the distance, don’t worry, it’s just the usual October phenomenon. The NHL season is two weeks old and the Toronto Maple Leafs have not awarded the Stanley Cup due to the majesty of their excellence and ...
Vladimir Tarasenko is on the warpath
Let’s watch Vladimir Tarasenko ether something called Mikey Anderson during the Blues’ 3-0 win last night over the Kings, shall we:...
Alex Ovechkin is in a hurry, because he has to be
One of the pleasures of getting back to a normal NHL schedule is that we pick up perhaps the biggest record chase in North American sports, and that’s Alex Ovechkin’s quest for 895 goals. He seems to recognize the urgency, as he’s scored five goals in five games so far this season. But if you’re Ove...
Someone please explain San Jose’s hot start for me
I know it’s early, but how in the world are the San Jose Sharks 4-0? There is nothing about this team that jumps off the page when you look at their roster. In fact, their roster looks filled to the brim with huge, unfulfilling contracts attached to players way past their prime, unproven youngsters,...
Can we make a ‘Habs-not’ joke real quick?
It was no secret that this season was going to be tougher for the Montreal Canadiens. They had to sneak into the playoffs last year when all they had to do was beat out the rest of the trash Canadian teams, and then went on a run because Carey Price was able to channel 2014 for a few weeks. ...
NHL suspends Evander Kane for 21 games
Speaking of assholes getting the heave-ho, Evander Kane got suspended by the NHL for 21 games for faking a vaccination card and violating COVID protocols the league had set up. We knew the league wasn’t fucking around when it came to this kind of thing, and this kind of suspension proves it. ...
They say your twenties are the best years of your life...
Jack Hughes played 117 games in the NHL as a teenager over the course of two pandemic-shortened seasons, and he scored 18 goals with 34 assists. Not a star performance, by any means, but good for a teenager — especially since he showed lots of improvement in his second campaign....
The NHL returned to ESPN, so here’s what it lacked
The NHL returned to ESPN on Tuesday night, with the self-proclaimed World Wide Leader celebrating itself and especially the old ESPN hockey theme....
2021 NHL Previews: Flyers haven’t made a good move since acquiring Gritty
The Metro Division is jam-packed with teams who could disappoint. Sid and Geno are back for their 16th season in Pittsburgh, and the bottom has to fall out eventually. Similarly, Alex Ovechkin is 36 and coming off a career-worst 24-goal season. Carolina was one of the darlings of hockey last year, b...
Catching up with the NHL (We hardly had time to miss ya!)
The NHL is back on its regular schedule after two straight pandemic-curtailed seasons, and that means it kicks off right now, even though it still doesn’t feel like hockey season outside in most of North America....
2021 NHL Previews: Fifty-four years between Cups for Toronto, going on 55
The Toronto Maple Leafs have now crossed the Rangers Line. The most famous Stanley Cup drought in history belonged to New York, which for years had to hear “1940” chants until Mark Messier, Mike Richter, and company finally broke the hex in 1994....
2021 NHL Previews: The Canucks will upset you deeply
Look, I had to pick someone. This division is sadness. If the NHL had relegation, at least three-quarters of the league would probably be booted before the season started, just to save the time and travel costs. So, really, no one has expectations that I can bust. Vegas doesn’t even really have to b...
2021 NHL Previews: Don’t believe the media, it’s over in Nashville
I’m not even sure the Preds are that highly thought of this year. It definitely feels that whatever cycle they were on has come to an end, and there was a temptation to put the Avalanche here, who look set for goalie-related heartbreak come May. But I’ve never missed an opportunity to completely sh...
Robin Lehner decided he didn’t want to burn down the NHL after all
Robin Lehner unleashed fury and chaos over the weekend, but he’s had a change of heart after a talk with the NHL....
Another black eye for hockey
It’s not so surprising that hockey could step on a few rakes before its season even starts. It’s just surprising how not surprising it is. It would have been bad enough for the sport to deal with Robin Lehner’s accusations of NFL-like painkiller distribution among its teams, trainers, and players. Y...
Vegas goalie Robin Lehner in stunning Twitter attack on Vigneault, Flyers
As a goalie, Robin Lehner is used to having shots fired at him, but on Saturday night, he was the one unloading, as the Golden Knights goalie accused Flyers coach Alain Vigneault of… well, it’s not entirely clear, but the implication was pushing drugs on players....
The last thing we need is a Maple Leafs docuseries
The whole behind-the-scenes docuseries has been a bit played out. Hard Knocks started it, and it came to hockey almost a decade ago with the 24/7 series that tracked the two teams in that given year’s Winter Classic for the month leading up to the New Year’s Day game. Some of it was compelling stuff...
Sabres start over without ever having finished
Can you technically rebuild something if you never built anything in the first place? It’s just a “build” then, right? This being the Buffalo Sabres, it’s even arguable that anything gets constructed in the first place. It’s just that building in your neighborhood that’s been four or five different ...
Roberto Luongo still hangs over the Canucks
While I do love the image of Roberto Luongo stalking the rafters in the Rogers Arena in a dark robe, perhaps slung over half his face (and Luongo himself might be tempted to actually act this out given the goofball he is) it’s not quite that simple. It’s not even totally the fault of either Luongo o...
Free Connor McDavid (and other stars)
Simply by the numbers, Connor McDavid had one of the more incredible seasons in NHL history last year. 105 points in just 56 games, which would have averaged out to 154 points over a full, 82-game season. His 1.87 points-per-game was the best rate seen in 25 years. It came with the caveat of the uni...