Barry Trotz was told very early he was going to be coach, not NHL player
Barry Trotz has won 560 games as an NHL coach, fourth amongst active coaches behind Joel Quenneville (Chicago), Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis) and Lindy Ruff (Dallas), and 13th most in league history but...
View ArticleShort Shifts: Tyler Myers stands tall again for Buffalo Sabres
Tyler Myers’s game in Buffalo has picked up considerably this year because Josh Gorges is mentoring him, but as one pro scout said, “how can a guy playing those minutes (24-1/2 per game) have no...
View ArticleThe new and improved Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin has 25 goals, in case you haven’t paid attention–nine in his last 10 games. The stat that jumps out at you, though, is plus 12. That’s a better plus/minus than Sidney Crosby (plus 8) or...
View ArticleCult of Hockey: Taylor Hall hammered in social media after fighting illness...
Taylor Hall almost didn’t play in Tuesday’s loss to Dallas. He missed the morning skate with illness, with head coach Todd McLellan saying at the time that he wasn’t feeling well but that the team...
View ArticleStanley Cup continues to elude Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin has five Rocket Richard trophies as the NHL’s top scorer, three Hart trophies as league MVP, and one asteroid named after him, but he has zero Stanley Cups. Does the 30-year-old...
View ArticleCapital's coach Barry Trotz is a big fan of Draisaitl and McDavid
Washington, D.C. Barry Trotz has been watching Leon Draisaitl and has been blown away by his play. “To come in when he did as a fill-in for (Connor) McDavid and to have 17 points in his first 10 games...
View ArticleJim Matheson: Oilers effort is strong, but goals can't be found against Capitals
On a night when Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby stopped everything, the game turned when he didn’t have to make a stop at all. The Edmonton Oilers had a gift two-on-nothing seven minutes into...
View ArticleHockey World: Patrick Kane top MVP candidate, but Jaromir Jagr has been amazing
This much is known with the NHL season half-over Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers is made from parts unknown to man. He needs six more goals to pass Brett Hull (741) for second place on the NHL’s...
View ArticleOilers Snapshots: Capitals' Alex Ovechkin virtually unstoppable on power play
Washington Capitals’ winger Alex Ovechkin, who came into the Edmonton Oilers’ matchup with 528 goals in just 844 games (nine in 12 games against the Oilers), always sets up shop on the power play on...
View ArticleClare Drake will once again wait to see if he gets into Hockey Hall of Fame
Clare Drake, who’s been a road map for a score of NHL coaches with his coaching foresight, keeps saying his storied life will be just fine, thank you, if he doesn’t get that elusive Hockey Hall of Fame...
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