Author Archive
Musings: World Cup Edition
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Courtesy NHL/PA
With the playoffs potentially ending tonight, the focus will shift to the draft, free agency, and the World Cup. Rosters were finalized about two weeks ago, and can be found courtesy of Sports Illustrated here.
Since there is really no cohesive way to jump from team to team, I’ve assembled my thoughts in lazy summer Sunday bulletpoints: Read More→
Dominic Moore’s future with the Rangers
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Though the Stanley Cup finals are in full swing, it’s felt like ages since we have had some hockey in New York. Naturally, as the withdrawal sets in, fans cling to pieces of news frequently to play psychic about the future of the team.
This is what Rangers fans have been guilty of for the past 1-2 weeks, particularly with the Brooks article. The following tweet has ruffled a lot of Rangers Twitter feathers as well late last week:
McKenzie: Outside of Lundqvist, maybe McDonagh, I’ve got to believe Gorton ‘talking to a lot of teams about a lot of players.’ #NYR
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) June 3, 2016
Rangers game plan past Lundqvist
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Between the Pipes
Last night’s appearance by James Reimer in San Jose made it official: all eight goalies, starters and backups, have had playing time in each conference final series. Though not surprising — Martin Jones had given up four goals at the time of Reimer’s entrance, and Jake Allen got the nod in an attempt to wake up the sleeping Blues — it raises a question. Just how important are goalies in the playoffs?
It’s clear that goaltending can make or break a team; we’ve seen teams with loads of talent disintegrate in the playoffs, as with the Dallas Stars. Neither Kari Lehtonen nor Antti Niemi as primary goalies will lead to a Cup in Texas. However, the differential between elite goaltending and above average goaltending doesn’t make a great difference for teams to go far in the quest for the Cup. Read More→
Dear Lundqvist: An open letter to King Henrik
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AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
It’s now been a good amount of time since the Rangers have been eliminated, and the rest of the league has settled nicely into round two, which has allowed many of us fans to absorb the loss and perhaps move on with our lives.
Although I cannot speak for all fans, I feel confident that you’ll all agree with the following statement: Henrik Lundqvist deserves better. And so, I’ve written a short open letter to him on behalf of all fans.
BSB League Wide Playoff Predictions
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Who will win?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, kids! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it’s finally above freezing in the NY Metro area, and hockey is about to be on at all times. Really, what’s better?
Here on the blog, we’ve previewed each of the eight upcoming series, broken down by series and by each writer. Share yours in the comments and let us know how spot on / awful our predictions are.
Rangers clinch playoff spot with win over Columbus
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Courtesy @NYRangers
The Rangers had their third attempt to clinch a playoff spot last night against the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets, and with Dave missing half the game, it’s only fair that a half short paragraphed, half Twitter recap take his usually gif-filled space.
This game started with approximately six thousand references to the fact that the two teams have swapped players. As if our livers haven’t been damaged enough with the recent play by the Rangers.
Rangers get a feel-good 6-2 win over the Stars
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blueshirtsunited.com
Dave has the night off from doing game recaps cause he’s sick, so tonight is a gif-free, points-only night. There were lots of goals and, thankfully, most of them were scored by the home team.
Before we start, I wanted to throw something out there about the Stars’ goalies. To put it as concisely as possible, they’re not good. We spoil ourselves with great goaltending every night, so much so that when our defense lets us down and hangs Hank out to dry, we get angry at him. It’s abnormal. The Stars’ “number one” is Antti Niemi, who took the job from the sieve known as Kari Lehtonen. I personally despise Lehtonen since I failed to drop him last year, but that’s neither here nor there.
Gifts under the BSB tree
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Santa’s Sleigh
Merry Christmas, y’all! It’s a lovely day, whether you celebrate or not, because chances are, you’re not at work! If you do celebrate, you’re also feverishly unwrapping gifts and relieved that shopping madness is over. Bonus: it’s super warm in the Northeast, so if you’re not quite in the mood to watch Hour 14 of the Yule Log, you can go play outside and burn off some of that ham.
Tomorrow starts 10 day haul that is the IIHF World Junior Championships over in Finland, so our hockey withdrawal will slowly subside. Prelims on Saturday include Canada-USA at 1pm. We also get the return of NHL hockey tomorrow, so before then, let’s take a look at what the BSB crew is low-key hoping to get this morning from Santa.
On head shots
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It feels like every season I find myself writing a post scorning the dangerous play of a handful of NHL athletes, and this past week’s action by Flyers’ defenseman Radko Gudas. Gudas took liberties with a hit on Senators’ forward Mika Zibanejad, going for a clear head shot while playing the puck(???) last Tuesday:
Zibanejad to the locker room after this hit pic.twitter.com/boaupGEHaz
— Stephanie (@myregularface) December 2, 2015
The fun part of situations like this comes when you read people defending the actions of the Flyers’ “defenseman,” loosely quoted because between this year and last with Tampa, I can’t remember a positive hockey-related thing he has done. Or a positive thing at all, but I digress. Sure, it wasn’t charging or interference because Zibanejad had just passed the puck. However, instead of tracking the puck, Gudas feels the urge to introduce Zibanejad’s face to his forearm. Maybe he was feeling amicable, who knows.
World Cup of Hockey preview: Team USA
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The World Cup of Hockey will be back next September in Toronto, prior to the beginning of the 2016-17 NHL season. Scouting for the national teams has already begun, with GMs and coaches announced and the expectations of rosters being set sometime in March. We’ve seen snubs and surprises in the 2014 Olympics, so let’s go over some expected changes in the rosters.
Over the next few months, before the rosters are announced, we’ll take a look at the possible additions and subtractions to the World Cup teams, and how certain countries may look different than what we expect.
NOTE: For a complete outlook on the structure of the teams, please read this article from NHL.com. Read More→