Sam Gagner has record night

Sam Gagner did what only two Edmonton Oilers had done before, and both are legends of the game… Gagner tallied 8 points in an 8-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night, tying Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky’s team record. It was an unbelievable night for Gagner, and one he’s sure to never forget. After nothing in the first period, Gagner started to heat up in the second by assisting Taylor Hall on a beautiful saucer pass, then tallying the first of his four goals five minutes later. After one more assist, Gagner ended up going crazy in the third period with three goals and two assists to cap off an amazing night. For Gagner and the Oilers, it was the perfect game, for the Blackhawks, put this one behind em and come back next game with better defense.

Three cups in 11 years, Rafalski retires from NHL

Brian Rafalski, defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings, retired Wednesday after an 11-year career that saw him be a part of three Stanley Cup winning teams. Rafalski won two with the New Jersey Devils and one with the Red Wings, played for the U.S. hockey team and had a stellar career being +178 over the course of his 11-year, 833 game career. The decision from Rafalski was to spend more time with his wife and three kids instead of making $6 million next year. Obviously anytime money is a factor it’s a tough decision but to Rafalski it wasn’t. He has done everything he set out to accomplish in his career, and family is the most important part of his life. Cheers to Brian and it was a pleasure watching him play in the NHL.

Darren

Montreal at the All-Star break

At the NHL All-Star break the Montreal Canadiens are currently 7th in the Eastern conference with 59 pts. Last season we all witnessed the beautiful run Montreal made as the 8th seed and I believe Montreal could do a similar run once again. The Habs seem to be one player away from being a top tier team, but I don’t see them making a significant move before the deadline. Tomas Plekanec has done a good job so far this season, leading the team in points (40), assists (24), and is tied for the team lead in goals with 16. Carey Price has finally grown up and has been solid in net posting solid numbers between the pipes. Defenseman PK Subban and Roman Hamrlik have been solid as well has wingers Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri. With many ultra important matchups down the stretch, Montreal must win to fend off Carolina and Buffalo, both of who have been playing better hockey of late.

If the playoffs started today, Montreal would face the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team Montreal is winless against in two matchups this season. In the end it doesn’t too much matter in my opinion, as anyone can knock off anyone in the playoffs. However, Montreal could end up being the 5th or 6th seed as both Washington and the New York Rangers are within reasonable reach. Montreal just needs to continue crashing the net and being stingy on defense and the Canadiens can reach it to the Stanley Cup.

Darren

Montreal trades playoff hero to the Blues

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5298330

After leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Finals, goalie Jaroslav Halak was traded earlier today to the St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Halak was going to be a restricted free agent July 1st and had not yet signed a deal but Montreal dealt him and this is a sign that Carey Price needs to step up and produce. As a Canadiens fan, im upset to see Halak go, but excited to see Price back in net.

Darren

Habs fend off Caps; stay alive

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/gamecast?gameId=300423023

After coughing up a lead in game 3 and losing game 4 to go down 3-1, the Montreal Canadiens got a big win in game 5 to fend off the Washington Capitals and giving them another shot at pulling off the upset. Goals from Moen and Cammalleri and a great game in goal from Halak (37 saves on 38 shots) and the series is now 3-2 Caps. The Habs will need to bring the same energy in game 6 if they want to stay alive. They’ve done a solid job of locking up Ovechkin, despite his 2nd period goal friday night, and will need to keep the pressure on goalie Varlamov. The Habs look like they could win this series but will have to take it one game at a time.

Darren

NHL thoughts 6/3/09

-First off I have to start off with the NHL playoffs as a whole. I was once a hardcore fan, then I lost alot of interest in the game with rules changes and the lockout but now im back into the game and man I must say these have been one of the best NHL playoffs ive ever witnessed. From Ovechkin and Crosby going heads up for 7 games, to Anaheim upsetting San Jose to now watching Pittsburgh and Detroit duke it out for the Stanley Cup. Its been exciting every game and im glad ive been able to watch it all unfold.

-With Detroit up 2-1 in the Stanley Cup finals, I must say my pre-series pick of Detroit in 6 seems exactly like whats going to happen. The Penguins have been outstanding at home this year and I expect them to even the series up at 2 but I think Detroit is too deep,too experienced, and too strong to lose this series. In order for the Penguins to win, Fleury has to be able to withstand the onslaught of shots Detroit likes to put up game after game. If, and thats a huge IF, he can stop 98% of shots, then they have a chance. But with the way Osgood is playing at the other end and with how deep Detroits lines are I still see the Red Wings handing Sid the Kid another finals loss.

-Today the Avalanche fired coach Tony Granato. No suprise here as the Avalanche stunk up the show pretty much all year. Do I think he should have been fired? Probably not because its not all his fault, but ownership wants wins no matter how bad the talent,or lack there of, there is on the ice.

-In a couple weeks everybody will be done playing and GMs around the league will be trying to wheel and deal as well as outbid other teams for that star free agent. This offseason I believe quite a few big names will change uniforms. Keep an eye out on where these guys ends up: Sergei Federov,The Sedin brothers, Marion Gaborik,Jay Boumeester,Nikolai Khabibulin,Marion Hossa and my favorite player Keith Tkachuk. There are many other big names out there so expect alot of shuffling this coming offseason

 

Darren