T-Ruff

Don't get protecting Howard over Mrazek, really hope McPhee doesn't take him, hope he's more interested in someone else... He does have a modified NTC but I believe only NMC's apply to the expansion draft.

Lets go Preds, hold serve and you got one more shot for redemption in Pittsburgh, hope Ellis is good to go, but hope they don't put him in unless he's 90%+

Awesome... The Blackhawks won as many playoff games as the Wings did this year The Blackhawks become the first #1 seed to be swept by a #8 seed Preds are going deep!

Blue Jackets and Bob have been a major disappointment, can't even beat Pittsburgh without their best defensemen. Pittsburgh keeps finding great clutch guys to fill their roster though such as Guentzel, Sheary, and Rust. The Capitals will play them in round 2 and have a good chance at taking out Pittsburgh, if they can get over the psychological barrier they have with the Pens

Possibly the series I'm most looking forward to, great regional rivalry. For the good of Hockey Columbus needs to win, but I think it'll go to 7

"Making room for Stammer" doesn't necessarily mean acquiring at the deadline, he probably meant making more cap space. Saw a tweet that said they'll have $29 million next season.

Always look forward to these, Thanks!

The Ducks went through a similar phase last year but it wasn't the beginning of the season so it wasn't blown up like this. Firing Bruce would be a huge mistake, the numbers will average out and they'll still be a very good playoff team.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this.. it's not an arena ban, it's a premium club ban. They're just making it more enjoyable for their own fans in that area of their own arena. It's not like a Wings fan couldn't still come in either, they just wouldn't be able to have Wings apparel. This is a non-issue.

The gold standard of hockey podcasts is Marek vs Wyshynski. That's Jeff Marek of Sportsnet and Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy i.e. Yahoo. It's very casual and intimate with the audience, they go in with a basic overview of stories/news to discuss as well as guests most often and then call the rest in the ring. And no annoying sponsor interruptions, they do it for free. They probably won't have one every weekday this season as in the past because Sportsnet has the national rights now which means Mr. Marek's schedule is a bit crazier. You can listen to it live and find it on iTunes, soundcloud, and any podcasting app. I also listen to HockeyCentral at Noon but it's very Leafs heavy most of the time. and Millard is a dolt, Marek once and a while steps in for him and the show is much better, and they also bring in other Sportsnet personalities when the main guys aren't available but it's usually Millard with Kypreos and Doug MacLean.

No because it's possible two teams from our division are the wildcard (i.e. Wings and Leafs) or that the Wings finish in the last wildcard spot. Wings will get the Penguins if they finish in the 2nd wildcard because the best team in the East gets the worst wildcard regardless of division. In theory the Wings could come out of the Metropolitan Division to meet the Atlantic Division winner in the East Conference Final. I believe the BoG wants to address this next year so that teams stay in their divsion if possible (i.e. if it's not two wildcard teams from the same division).

The bottom line is that the Habs winning increases the Wings chances of the playoffs, that's the most important thing, getting in the top 3 has been a long shot for a while now

3rd becomes a 2nd if the Wings make the playoffs according to Khan

A term that's always annoyed me; it's the winning team that get's the extra point not the losing team. There were always points for ties. (A 3 point for a regulation win system is almost certainly coming though)

I'll trust NBC in 2013, the fact that he was the runner up for the Wild GM job a couple years ago, and the fact that TSN jumped at the opportunity to bring him back for their draft show this year as a greater judge of character than an article from 1994 which isn't even that incriminating: He wanted to win, hated losing, was confident in his ability, and was disliked by some players and personalities in the organization. WOAH

Uhh wat.. Vancouver and Toronto... Absolutely more of a microscope than Detroit

Yep 8pm EST confirmed by ESPN/NHL.com

Very well done!

I just completely blanked on the that one haha... Chara can move down the rotation as he gets older and less effective though, I'd stick with it and maybe work Dats in the same way on the bottom 6 somewhere. That'd work for sure, It's so hard to narrow it down to 12 forwards, perhaps a cap compliant team would make this easier as others have mentioned.

At 34 he was a little bit above my age criteria... If I was building team concerned with winning only this year, he'd be on the team without a doubt.

I'd build my team with the best combination to win now and later (i.e. young players with lots of prime left). Of course no concern for the cap, and I'll try to build it not like an all star team, but with "bottom 6" type players in the bottom 6 (i.e. good defensively and/or hard hitters). Here we go: Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Patrick Kane Anze Kopitar - Steven Stamkos - Claude Giroux Mike Richards - Jonathan Toews - Dustin Brown Milan Lucic - Patrice Bergeron - David Backes John Tavares, Jordan Staal - On line one you have the big power forward Nash, the flashy and speedy Kane, and the of course Crosby who's very good defensively if needed. The opponents will never be able to focus on one threat on this line as they can all score and pass more or less - Line two is all centres but the wingers have experience playing there. Kopitar's defensive strengths will cover for Stamkos' pure offensive focus. All 3 of these guys are electric when on their game. - Line three has two centres for important faceoffs, captain serious in between two other captains who are gritty and can hit hard. Richards is also one of the best in his own zone and on the PK - Line 4 also has two centres, with one excellent defensive forward in Bergeron surrounded by two huge bruising forwards. You're gonna be hurting when you're out against this line. - With Tavares and Staal in the press box you have two guys who can step into the top and bottom 6, respectively, if necessary due to injury Zdeno Chara - Erik Karlsson Duncan Keith - Shea Weber Drew Doughty - Kris Letang Alex Pietrangelo You won't have to worry about matchups with this D-corps, roll them evenly as they can go head to head with the best in the business. Karlsson's offensive inclination is balanced by Chara's defensive one, but that's not a huge lean for either of them who are both very good at both ends. Keith and Weber are basically the perfect balance of top tier ability at both ends of the ice, as is Doughty and Letang. Pietrangelo is one of the league's best as well and he can slot in to replace anyone if necessary with minimal disruption. Henrik Lundqvist Jonathan Quick Simply the two best goalies in the league today so it's an easy choice. However, If you're looking for a goalie who is more suited to the backup role, slot in Craig Anderson or Roberto Luongo instead as both have played 2nd fiddle for long periods and performed well when called upon.

Turn it up and enjoy because they're the best hockey broadcast team in the league. Yes Eddie might be annoying, but just concentrate on Doc and Pierre and you'll be in for a good time.

Tootoo-Emerton-Eaves was so good down the stretch, why not keep them together. The Ducks are certainly better than I thought they would be (i.e. more depth and better D and goaltending) but if the Wings play like they did down the stretch in must win games, they can still take it.

Alfredsson as a rental if the Sens are out of the picture makes a lot of sense