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The Nashville Predators came into the NHL playoffs expected to be a real contender for the Stanley Cup, and many believed that they were poised to make a return to the Stanley Cup Final.  They won the President’s Trophy; they had a historic season where they dominated on their home sheet of ice, and on the road. The Preds were the big tough schoolyard bully, and they came into the 2018 NHL Playoffs ready to shakedown some opponents and take their allowance. That is not what’s happened. Shakedown Street? The Preds rolled into the first round looking to annihilate the wounded Colorado Avalanche. A teamRead More →

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Zach Parise has had an excellent career by just about any standards. He’s played 13 seasons, garnering votes for several major awards including the Selke Trophy (Defensive Forward), Lady Bing Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship), and the Hart Trophy (MVP) throughout. Though Parise has never taken any of these awards home, not every player gets that kind of recognition across the board. He has even been to a Stanley Cup Final (2011-12), though his New Jersey Devils succumbed to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. Zach Parise: The American Dream Parise has also played on one All-Star team (2009 while a member of the New JerseyRead More →

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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 →

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The Colorado Avalanche roster has seen better days. With season ending injuries to goalie Semyon Varlamov, and defenceman Erik Johnson; the Avs’ playoff hopes now rest on the young shoulders of Nathan Mackinnon and slighty less young Jonathan Bernier. This has some Avs fans in a panic: Great. Awesome. It's over https://t.co/pcsJ4JBbha — Carl Landra (@CarlLandra) March 31, 2018 Is it over, Carl? Is it? With just a handful of games left in the regular season, the Avs are still in the fight for the playoffs, but only just. Colorado, St. Louis and Anaheim are separated by just a few points and the difference betweenRead More →

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Amateur Scouting for the NHL is far from an exact science despite improvement in player rankings over the past decade. Technology continues significantly impact player evaluation across the board, providing access to talent outside of North America. If Pavel Datsyuk were draft eligible in 2018, he would be a top-three prospect. Potential first overall selection, Rasmus Dahlin, would have fallen through the cracks back in the 90’s. Scouting staffs have nearly unlimited access to upcoming talent and it continues to drive Central Scouting reports. The Draft Pick Even with advances in talent evaluation, did Nashville Predators’ GM, David Poile, expect the impact that Viktor ArvidssonRead More →

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Taylor Hall. Nikita Kucherov. Nathan MacKinnon. These three are currently the front runners to win the Hart Trophy this season as the league MVP. But who will win it? Chace, Joe and Carl make their case for each. Taylor Hall (by Chace McCallum) The NHL’s Hart Trophy goes to the”player judged most valuable to his team“. This is an important caveat in Taylor Hall’s MVP case. He has fewer points per game than Nathan Mackinnon and Nikita Kucherov, his biggest opponents. This likely knocks Hall out of the most outstanding player debate, however in terms of value to their team, it’s Hall and it’s not close.Read More →

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Growing up in the Buffalo area exposes one to every opinion on tanking for the best draft odds. The local media shares contrasting views as the Sabres were in last place, for two consecutive years. As Buffalo is close to last in the NHL again, the debate is ongoing. The 2015 race for 30th achieved the desired result: a franchise center. Before you comment; yes, Jack Eichel is a franchise center despite the suckfest that is the Buffalo Sabres. Lacking significant improvement since then, certain media claims that tanking leads to a losing culture. Just look at Twitter and notice the heated discussions about theRead More →

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Welcome back to the third edition of deadline deals. A series where I break down what I think is best for each team as they approach the trade deadline. Today’s focus is on the Central division as we move out West! If you missed it, you can check out the Metro and Atlantic editions! #1 Chicago Blackhawks: The Hawks find themselves in a position they really have not been in years. A team really on the outside looking, with slim shots at the playoffs. MoneyPuck currently has them at a 20% chance at playoffs. With no Corey Crawford for maybe the rest of the year,Read More →

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At this point of the season, the playoff picture is all but clear. Some teams aren’t going anywhere but some teams. have all but cemented their spots and other teams won’t go down without a fight. The teams that are in a position to lose their seat and the teams still clawing away to make the playoffs, all need a little tweaking if they want to get/stay there. New York Rangers 6th in the Metropolitan division, one point behind the Islanders who hold the second wild card spot, but the Rangers still have one game at hand . Second last in the NHL for SA/GPRead More →

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Welcome to the newest series on the 4th Line! This is a series where I will be looking at the top 5 draft steals. Now these won’t always just be the 6th and 7th rounders of a draft. My aim here is to find some of the best players of the draft that weren’t taken where they should have been. This means there may be late first rounders, or second rounders included. With this in mind let’s start our first draft, 2010! Honourable Mention – Petr Mrazek, Round 5, 141st Overall: I am giving Petr Mrazek an honourable mention here because finding a possible starterRead More →