By:
On:
In: NHL
With: 1 Comment

As a Canadian born in December, Drew Doughty’s chances of becoming a first round draft pick were slim. Malcom Gladwell’s book Outliers isn’t a hockey book, but it does open with a chapter about hockey players and ‘relative age effect’. The point the chapter makes is that players born at the start of the year are more likely to be successful, because they’re closest in age to the previous year’s eligibility cut-off in junior hockey. This quirk of fate means that players will get more attention from coaches and as such will develop into better players For more insight into this, and how nothing has changed sinceRead More →

By:
On:
In: World Cup
With: 0 Comments

The World Cup’s group stages are over and we’re now into the Round of 16. The last week has given us some surprises, some controversies and a few contenders for goal of the tournament. The Champs Are Out Only two teams have ever won consecutive World Cups, Italy in 1934 & 1938, and Brazil 1958 & 1962. Four-time winners and current title holders Germany were odds-on favourite to add their name to that revered list, but but instead fell at the final hurdle and failed to progress to the round of 16. Just like Italy in 2010 and Spain in 2014; the reigning champs couldn’tRead More →

By:
On:
In: Atlantic Division
With: 0 Comments

  Dan Byslma, former Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres head coach has joined the Detroit Red Wings. His addition as an assistant bolsters the Wings coaching staff and adds much needed experience to a team looking to halt the decline. It feels like Byslma has been brought in so that Detroit has an immediate replacement should current head coach Jeff Blashill be fired. Let’s face it, there’s a pretty solid chance of that happening if things don’t improve. The appointment of Byslma makes sense, he and Blashill worked together on Team USA’s coaching staff during the IIHF Championship earlier this year. Embed from Getty ImagesRead More →

By:
On:
In: World Cup
With: 0 Comments

We’re around the mid-point of the round robin part of the 2018 World Cup, some teams have already been eliminated and others are clinging on desperately. Here are some thoughts from the last week of the competition. Men’s World Cup: No Girls Allowed I can’t believe that in 2018 this is still a thing, but it is, and we should talk about it. International tournaments have always lit the fuse for small-minded bigotry based on foreign stereotypes, but the vocal minority have reached a new low. I assume/hope this is isolated to British fans only. International friends; your mileage may vary. To add a differentRead More →

By:
On:
In: World Cup
With: 0 Comments

They say when one door closes, another opens, and it’s clear that whoever said that was talking about the greatest* tournaments in sport. The hangover may be starting to set in on Alex Ovechkin’s phenomenal Stanley Cup bender, but in Ovi’s native Russia; the World Cup is in full swing. With three days and eight games under our belts, it’s time for some observations and naturally biased takeways: VAR Or to give its full name ‘Why The **** Do We Need VAR?’. Yup, it’s nobody’s favorite momentum killer, the Video Assisted Referee. Used for the first time ever in a World Cup Match; VAR wasRead More →

By:
On:
In: Metropolitan Division, Pacific Division, Playoffs
With: 0 Comments

On Monday May 28th, at 8pm, the puck will drop in Las Vegas to start the first game of an historic Stanley Cup Finals. Instead previewing the series in our usual, we invited each of a writers to contribute giving you a plethora of insights into what will undoubtedly be a superb swansong to the 2017/18 NHL season. Stanley Cup Predictions   Carl Landra My Pick: Capitals in 6 Full disclosure: I have a complicated relationship with the Washington Capitals. After being my bandwagon team of choice for seasons, I finally gave up on them this offseason. I just couldn’t handle being disappointed after suchRead More →

By:
On:
In: Atlantic Division, Metropolitan Division, Playoffs
With: 1 Comment

With the Tampa Bay Lightning’s game five win over the Boston Bruins, the Bolts stamped their ticket to the Eastern Conference final, where they will meet the Washington Capitals, avoiding a repeat of the 2015/16 Conference finals. The Bolts were knocked out of that tilt by Pittsburgh, so the team will definitely aiming to do better against Ovi & Friends. How did we get here? The Tampa Bay/Boston match-up in the second round was a bizarre affair, with the news being unfairly dominated by Brad Marchand‘s unsporting actions. Despite a 6-2 thumping in the opening game of the series, the Lightning were able pick apartRead More →

By:
On:
In: Atlantic Division, Playoffs
With: 0 Comments

It took seven games for one of Boston, but the final Second Round match-up in the Eastern Conference has been decided. The Tampa Bay Lightning will take on the Boston Bruins, with the winner heading to the Conference finals to face either Pittsburgh or Washington. How did we get here? When the Lightning drew the New Jersey Devils in the first round, many considered this to be the most one-sided match-up in the conference, if not the whole playoffs. The Bolts had just won the East, while the Devils, making their first appearance in the playoffs since the 2011/12 season, barely scraped into a wildcardRead More →

By:
On:
In: Metropolitan Division, Playoffs
With: 1 Comment

Round two of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs will soon be here, we’ve already previewed both match-ups in the Western Conference, now it’s time we turned our attention to the east! The first series to be decided in the east will be played between the perennially disappointing Washington Capitals, and the current Cup holders, Pittsburgh. How did we get here? Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, the Washington Capitals won the Metropolitan division, but only managed the same points as the Toronto Maple Leafs (105). History tells us that the Caps aren’t good in the playoffs, and the Columbus Blue Jackets took advantage of thatRead More →

By:
On:
In: Central Division, Playoffs
With: 0 Comments

The scene is now set in the for the second round games in the Western Conference, with the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets vying for a place in the Conference final. We’ve already previewed the Golden Knights Vs Sharks series, now it’s time for the Central division match-up: How did we get here? Before Jacob Trouba‘s game winning goal in the first period sealed the deal on Friday, the last time an NHL team in Winnipeg made the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was in 1987. That was with the original iteration of the Winnipeg Jets. The current franchise has never been ableRead More →