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The Penguins have been Eastern Conference contenders for a long time, they have defined retooling instead of rebuilding. In a crowded conference, the Penguins continue to stay in the upper echelon. Notable Players In: Alex Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun, Brandon Tanev, Samuel Poulin, Nick Bjugstad Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Matt Cullen (ret), Olli Maatta, Phil Kessel First Key Game: October 22nd, 2019 vs. the Florida Panthers. While the Penguins retooled, the Panthers took it to an extreme this summer adding talent from the net out. Odds to win the division 4:1 (2nd overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? Put someRead More →

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So, your favorite team has played their first game. You are most likely thrilled that your team exceeded expectations or trying to convince yourself that it’s not a rebuilding season. But does it actually matter? Is one game out of 82 any more valuable than another? Let’s look at what the numbers tell us. Looking back at the last two seasons, let’s start by looking at what winning your first game means. When we look at the 2016-17 and the 2017-18 seasons, 32 teams made the playoffs. Of those teams, 63% of them won their first game, as the table below shows. Won their firstRead More →

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In: Metropolitan Division, NHL
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The tilt of the Earth’s axis slowly moving away from the sun can only mean one thing; fall will soon be here and we can all rejoice at the impending return of the NHL. Here at 4th Line Towers we can’t wait to watch some proper hockey again. This year we’re approaching our previews in a different way; the word count for each team’s preview has been dictated by the number of points that team scored last season. To further mix things up, we’ve divvied up the teams between our writers. Let the Metropolitan division preview begin! Our other previews are: Central Division 2018/19 Preview PacificRead More →

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In: Metropolitan Division, Playoffs
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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 →

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In: Atlantic Division, Central Division, General, NHL
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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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In: Metropolitan Division, NHL
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If there was an NHL team that had the potential for a three-peat in recent history, the Pittsburgh Penguins would be it. Winning back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships after the firing of coach Mike Johnston in favor of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, after a miserable start to the 2015-16 season, had many thinking that it could be done. As then Assistant GM, Jason Botterill, accepted the GM vacancy for the Buffalo Sabres, Jim Rutherford would have to move forward from where the team left off. When reviewing certain moves by the Penguins, post-Botterill, one big move may have some wondering whether Rutherford has theRead More →

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In: General, NHL
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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby went into the boards head first in game six against the Washington Capitals. He labored getting back to the bench, yet, wasn’t taken out of the game. In fact he was back out on the ice a little while later. Further proving that the National Hockey League doesn’t care about their players safety enough. At the least, does as little as possible to protect them. This was the play that caused Crosby to labor back to the bench Sidney Crosby gets knocked headfirst into the boards by John Carlson pic.twitter.com/KawY5iZnT9 — Ian Oland (@ianoland) May 9, 2017 Crosby wasn’t pulledRead More →

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In: Atlantic Division, Central Division, General, Metropolitan Division, Pacific Division
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The dust has settled on the NHL’s transfer window, and it was by no means exceptional but there was still a mix of good/questionable/WTF trades made over the days leading up to the deadline on Wednesday. Many GM’s have complained that the upcoming expansion draft has left teams wary of big trades, but their phones were still pretty busy. Here are some of the trade winners. Washington Capitals The Caps are the strongest team in the league, but that regular season success never seems to translate to the playoffs. On Monday the team firmly  nailed their colours to mast by acquiring blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk and goalie PheonixRead More →

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There’s nothing like going into another team’s house and beating them on their own ice, in front of their fans. But road trips are a double-edged sword. Sometimes you can see the sights that a new city has to offer, other times it’s just a blur of airports, hotel rooms, buses and hockey rinks. Thousands of miles away from your fans, friends and loved ones. Some prolonged road trips are self inflicted. The New York Rangers started the 2013-14 season with a nine game road trip, as renovations to Madison Square Gardens were still being completed. The Rangers went 3-6-0 in a trip they’d probablyRead More →

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The 2016-17 season is a little over a week away, so today we’ll be sharing our Calder Trophy predictions, with a twist. This time we’re each going to pitch our nomination and let you decide. Last year’s Calder Trophy was won by the Chicago Blackhawks’ Artemi Panarin, edging out fellow rookies Connor McDavid and Shayne Gostisbehere. Joel Schnell If you feel like you don’t get enough Leafs gushing and love from when I talk about them on the podcast then you might want to skip this section and move on to the next pick.  Everyone knows that I am going to pick a Toronto Maple LeafRead More →