Braden Holtby OK after scary practice collision, Capitals say Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby is playing on a different plane of existence in these playoffs.  He’s given up two goals on 93 shots for a .978 save percentage and a 0.67 goals-against average. He’s the primary reason why the Capitals are up 3-0 on the Philadelphia Flyers, and the primary reason It’s All Going To Be … [Read more...]

Mike Yeo interviews for Ottawa Senators coaching gig It’s pretty clear that the Ottawa Senators are going to go with a known commodity as their next head coach.  They fired Dave Cameron, who was an assistant coach that ascended to the big job after their miraculous run to the playoffs. Luke Richardson, their long-serving AHL coach who would have been an NHL rookie, was passed over again and … [Read more...]

Sharks fan celebrates LA Kings OT win, is extraordinarily confused (Video) The Los Angeles Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks in overtime, 2-1, on Monday night, pulling to within 2-1 in their best-of-seven series.  Sharks fan: “YEEEEEAHHHH! WOOO-HOOO! HOOOORAAAAY!” Um, what? This was the scene at the Kings’ bench when Tanner Pearson scored the game-winner at 3:47 of overtime. As you can … [Read more...]

Bob Murray's role in creating Ducks' goaltending nightmare ANAHEIM — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before … Bruce Boudreau has a goaltending problem. The regular season was nothing short of dramatic for the Anaheim Ducks, and the playoffs appear to be no different. After Sunday night’s loss to the Nashville Predators that put the Ducks in an 0-2 hole, Boudreau was asked to assess John … [Read more...]

Brooks Orpik exits Game 3 following Ryan White hit (Video) The Washington Capitals lost Brooks Orpik for the remainder of Game 2 after he was hit along the boards by Ryan White of the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period. Orpik played the puck up ice as White laid a clean, hard hit on the Capitals defenseman. Aside from their knees making contact, Orpik’s head appeared to bounce off the … [Read more...]

Can Ed Snider rally the Flyers vs. Capitals? A large banner hangs on the side of Wells Fargo Center. It has an image of the Philadelphia Flyers’ later owner Ed Snider, intertwined with the team’s logo. His signature is on it, along with the words “Flyer Forever.”  His initials are placed behind each goal on the ice, and appear on the Flyers’ sweaters as they have all series. Flyers fans will … [Read more...]

What We Learned: Evgeni Malkin and the risk of playing injured (Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.) Come playoff time, no one likes to miss games. Which is why you see so many guys playing a … [Read more...]

Ducks blame themselves for 'stupid penalties' in Game 2 loss ANAHEIM -- The best analysis of the Anaheim Ducks behavior in the 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators came from one of the youngest members of the team. "I think it’s [the Predators] getting under our skin and out working us, and us not being ready and prepared," said 22-year-old Hampus Lindholm after the game. "You’re never going … [Read more...]

NHL Three Stars: Elliott saves Blues; Red Wings shut down Tampa No. 1 Star: Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues The goaltender stopped 44 of 46 Chicago Blackhawks shots on goal to help his team to a 3-2, Game 3 win. Elliott improved to 2-1-0 with a 1.28 goal-against average and .963 save percentage in this postseason. His 44 saves were the most by a Blues goaltender in the playoffs since Curtis … [Read more...]

Coach’s challenge turning point for Islanders in Game 3 OT win BROOKLYN, NY – Thomas Hickey’s shot found its way through Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo at 12:31 of overtime, as the New York Islanders captured Game 3 of their division semifinal, 3-2, to go up 2-games-to-1. But that goal doesn’t matter if the Islanders don’t rally from a 2-0 deficit against the Panthers. And that rally … [Read more...]