Hockey Page 489 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Gabriel Landeskog Had To Get His Hands Dirty
In hockey as in few other sports, things rarely play out like they’re supposed to. (If they did, the Avalanche wouldn’t have made it to this series, let alone be headed for a Game 7 in San Jose after a wild 4-3 OT win on Monday night.) The storyline/scouting report for Avs-Sharks was supposed to be ...
Bruins' Charlie McAvoy Given Minor Penalty After Leveling Josh Anderson With Brutal Illegal Check
Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy lowered his shoulder and plowed it into the jaw of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson in the final 20 seconds of the second period of Monday night’s Game 6. For good measure, Anderson’s head recoiled directly into the fist of Zdeno Chára, before he cr...
Ken Holland Comes To Edmonton With Something To Prove
Ironically, the Edmonton Oilers’ signing of Ken Holland as their new GM has all the hallmarks of Holland’s recent moves in Detroit. You know, the ones that made Red Wings fans so excited to see Steve Yzerman arrive back home last month. Edmonton giving so much money—a reported $25 million over the n...
Blues Drop Stars Goalie Ben Bishop With Puck To The Collarbone, Score Over His Writhing Body
Even with the final score being 4-1, Game 6 between the Blues and Stars on Sunday was not without controversy. With about 12 minutes remaining in the third period, Blues defenseman Colton Parayko slapped a shot on goal. The puck made its way directly onto Stars goalie Ben Bishop’s collarbone, and th...
Don Cherry Is Not Going To Let His Blood Feud With The Hurricanes Die That Easily
Back in February, Don Cherry took a brave stand against the encroaching forces of fun and entertainment that were descending upon the world of hockey led by the Carolina Hurricanes. He famously called the Hurricanes a “bunch of jerks” for the elaborate choreographed celebrations they’d perform after...
Well, Here's Another Type Of Call That Needs To Be Reviewable Now
The Boston Bruins can’t be too bent out of shape about it, because they still ended up beating the Blue Jackets 4-1 to even the series at two-all. But they did get their shutout ruined by a goal that shouldn’t have counted, and now we have another video review controversy in the NHL....
The Penalty-Box Breakaway Is The Coolest Goal In Hockey
This relatively rare type of goal, like the one Justin Faulk scored on Wednesday night, is its own subgenre of breakway goals. But the one that specifically still sticks out in my mind is P.K. Subban getting out of the penalty box behind the Boston defense, deking out Tuukka Rask, and scoring on a b...
Jordan Binnington Finally Looks Nervous
He’s played in fewer than 50 NHL games, but St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has already become famous for his unflappability. His call-up from the AHL and run as the starter beginning in January was the spark that completely turned the Blues’ awful season around. The 25-year-old was magic f...
Hurricanes' Justin Faulk Waltzes Out Of Penalty Box And Directly Into All Kinds Of Glory
Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk was hit with a two-minute hooking penalty at the 9:51 mark of the second period of Wednesday’s Game 3 of the Islanders-Hurricanes series, with the score tied a one goal apiece. The Canes successfully killed the ensuing Islanders power play, which functionally ended...
Brad Marchand Has Given Up Being Creatively Annoying And Just Punched A Guy In The Back Of The Head
The truly frustrating thing about Brad Marchand is that he’d be a star without all the bullshit. He’s on the top line of the team with the best odds to win the Cup because he’s really, really good at hockey, not because of the other stuff. It’s just that the other stuff—“pest” feels insufficient to ...
Esa Lindell Kept Diving And Diving And Then Suffered Cosmic Justice
Let us stipulate that diving, or flopping, is not so common in hockey as it is in some other sports we could name, nor is it generally treated with anything but outright contempt. It does exist, and it does, unfortunately often, work, but it’s not regarded with the grudging respect for its value it ...
The Islanders' Best Hope Against The Hurricanes Is A War Of Attrition
A team playing its ninth game in 18 days on Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes, were struck by disaster in the very first minute of Game 2 against the Islanders. Carolina defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk got checked hard against the boards by New York’s Cal Clutterbuck, knocking him out for the whole ga...
Now The Sharks Want An Apology From The NHL For A Controversial Call
The Sharks watched, amused, as some rough officiating in the first round led to their improbable Game 7 comeback, and as the league quietly apologized to the still-salty Golden Knights. Not that it did Vegas any good; they’re still golfing. (The Sharks’ general reaction to that kerfuffle could be su...
Vladimir Tarasenko Remains The Best Reason To Watch The Blues
Goaltender Jordan Binnington is getting the overwhelming share of attention during this dominant run the Blues have enjoyed since putting him in net halfway through the season, and it’s not hard to see why. The team sucked before he showed up, and now they’re in the second round of the playoffs with...
It's Not Really The Playoffs Until There's A Brad Marchand Controversy
The most irritating man in hockey had returned for the second round of the playoffs after lying relatively dormant in the first, as Bruins forward Brad Marchand is back to inventing petty tricks to get in his opponents’ heads....
Vegas Says NHL Apologized For Game 7's Bad Call, And Those Referees Won't Work The Next Round
The San Jose Sharks are in the second round of the playoffs, and it’s mostly because of a third-period Cody Eakin major penalty. In the Golden Knights–Sharks Game 7 on Tuesday, Eakin crossed-checked Sharks forward Joe Pavelski on a face-off with Vegas leading 3-0 and 10 minutes remaining. Pavelski h...
The Hurricanes Are Still Here, And We're All Better For It
The Carolina Hurricanes pulled off the last in a string of crazy first-round playoff series upsets on Wednesday night, disrespecting the far more experienced Capitals by wearing them down over two overtimes for a 4-3 win. It was going to be extremely tough for the Canes and the Caps to match the hij...
The 8 Deadly Sins Of The First Round
All your brackets are dead. Every prediction model is forfeit. Does the regular season have any meaning whatsoever? (Does life?) Does chance play too great a role in this slippery sport? Does the best team ever win the Stanley Cup?...
Justin "Mr. Game 7" Williams Does It Again, Helps The Hurricanes Knock Out The Capitals
The Carolina Hurricanes refused to play their part in their opening-round series against the defending champion Washington Capitals. Arriving in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, the Hurricanes were not the inexperienced youngsters who got taught a lesson about the difficulties of the post...
The Golden Knights Are Furious Over How Their Season Was "Stolen"
Let’s get this out of the way right at the outset: Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights could have avoided all of this controversy—and their elimination—by simply not allowing allowing four goals in 4:01. One of the weirdest and wildest comebacks in recent memory, a Game 7 eventually won by the Sharks 5-4 ...