Hockey

After one round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, last year’s two finalists are already gone. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998, and the 2006-07 champion Anaheim Ducks were sent packing by the Dallas Stars. The Ducks become the fifth consecutive Cup winner to either not make […]

It’s not one of those stories you want to read over breakfast, but the New York Times has an article on the time-honored hockey tactic of sticking a smelly glove in an opponent’s face to piss him off: The face wash is a baiting tactic that has been around since gloves were invented, or, as […]

One thing that distinguishes the National Hockey League from the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball is the fact that they play the game on ice. This means that the players' skates are going to come into play occasionally in such a physical sport, and not just in the case of New York Islander imbecile […]

Saturday is Hockey Day in Canada, the CBC’s annual daylong celebration of the sport, with special features and live broadcasts from towns across Canada, as well as a tripleheader of NHL games featuring the six Canadian teams. Unfortunately, the NHL returned from the 2005 lockout with an unbalanced schedule that resulted in some teams not […]

The high-ankle sprain suffered by Sidney Crosby on Friday night will keep the Pittsburgh Penguins' star out for six to eight weeks, the team said today. With teams so tightly bunched in the conference standings, it doesn't take a long losing streak for a team to drop a few places. This could be a huge […]

I never would have thought that I would spend the early part of New Year’s Day watching a hockey game instead of college football. But that’s how riveting the Winter Classic was in Buffalo, where the Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins outdoors before 73,000 in the snow and cold. The Penguins won, 2-1, in an […]

Late in Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders winger Chris Simon took down Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu with his leg along the boards between the team benches. Ruutu fell to his knees. Simon then stomped on the back of Ruutu's leg with his skate. Today the Islanders placed Simon on paid leave, and […]

The Washington Capitals had high expectations coming into this season but have the worst record in the league at 6-14-1, so head coach Glen Hanlon is now out of a job. Bruce Boudreau, coach of their AHL affiliate in Hershey, will take over on an interim basis starting with tomorrow's game. The Caps come to […]

Congratulations are in order for New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who picked up his 500th career win with a 6-2 victory at Philadelphia. Brodeur is the second goalie in NHL history, after Patrick Roy (who retired with 551 wins), to reach the 500-win mark. Although it took Brodeur four games to get from 499 […]

I previously discussed in this forum the New Jersey Devils' sad attendance in just their second game in the brand new Prudential Center (which some have now dubbed "The Rock" — mildly clever). In the comments that followed, one of the reasons given was that it was Halloween that night. Well, last night's announced crowd […]

On Wednesday Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold extended a midnight deadline for local investors, trying to buy the Predators and keep them in Nashville, to finalize the sale or lose exclusive negotiating rights. The local group is negotiating with Nashville city officials on more favorable arena lease terms they deem necessary for the sale to […]

Now that the opening games in London — London, England, not London, Ontario — between the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings are done, the NHL season gets under way in full beginning Wednesday night. There’s a doubleheader on Versus that night, with the Ducks visiting Detroit followed by Dallas at […]