Hi everyone, sorry I haven't had a chance to blog in a few days. Busy with the next season of Hockey Talk with Courtney. Not only has Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs been super exciting but the Men's World Championship is underway and countries are facing off and the seeding for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia is being determined by the results of the tournament. I will quickly recap a week in the Stanley Cup playoffs and then give you a quick breakdown of what is happening in Helsinki with the World Championships.
Below you can watch the longest playoff game so far this year and possibly in recent history. Game 3 of the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals last week went into not just 1st period OT, or 2nd period OT but it went into 3rd period OT! The game didn't end till after midnight in the east! Four of the six periods played were scoreless. Ryan Callahan scored for New York in the second followed by John Carlson in the second period as well. Then there was over 75 minutes played with not a single goal until Marian Gaborik snuck one past Braden Holtby for the win. You can bet shots on goal added up as the periods added up. King Henrik of the Rangers stopped 45 of 46 shots and Rookie Braden Holtby stopped 47 of 49. In nearly 120 minutes of hockey only 7 penalties were taken total. New York didn't take a single penalty in the OT periods and Washington took 2 of their 4 penalties in OT. Since this New York win, Washington went on to win game 4 tying up the series. Game 5 is tonight! Check out the Gaborik period 6 game winning goal below! Definitely a highlight in this run for the Cup!
Below you can watch the longest playoff game so far this year and possibly in recent history. Game 3 of the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals last week went into not just 1st period OT, or 2nd period OT but it went into 3rd period OT! The game didn't end till after midnight in the east! Four of the six periods played were scoreless. Ryan Callahan scored for New York in the second followed by John Carlson in the second period as well. Then there was over 75 minutes played with not a single goal until Marian Gaborik snuck one past Braden Holtby for the win. You can bet shots on goal added up as the periods added up. King Henrik of the Rangers stopped 45 of 46 shots and Rookie Braden Holtby stopped 47 of 49. In nearly 120 minutes of hockey only 7 penalties were taken total. New York didn't take a single penalty in the OT periods and Washington took 2 of their 4 penalties in OT. Since this New York win, Washington went on to win game 4 tying up the series. Game 5 is tonight! Check out the Gaborik period 6 game winning goal below! Definitely a highlight in this run for the Cup!
Nashville D with mohawks and a soccer ball!
The Nashville Predators may be behind in their series with Phoenix 3-1 but you can't beat a untied group of defensemen! Nashville's defense has not only done the traditional playoff beard but they have all shaved their heads and are sporting mohawks. I have to say it is fun watching them take their helmets off during a game for repair, the national anthem or what have you and you see a line of mohawks. Game 5 between these 2 teams is tonight and it is do or die for the PREDS! This series like any series where one team takes a dominating lead is usually because of the work of one amazing goaltender. Two words: Mike Smith! The goaltender for the Phoenix Coyotes. But enough about Phoenix. If I can mention just one player from Nashville who you have to admire for his hard work. Today I would choose David Legwand. Legwand has played his entire career with the Nashville Predators being drafted by Nashville in 1998, Legwand was the 2nd pick in the 1st round! Legwand knows what he is doing on the ice and below you can check out a beauty of a goal by Legwand! You can also watch the lone goal scored by Coyote Captain Shane Doan in game 4 to give Phoenix the 3-1 series lead.
A+ for not just going with the standard beard. Why not kick it up a notch with a mohawk and a beard. I like how things are done in Nashville. The handsome Kevin Klein rocking the Mohawk doesn't hurt either.
The New Jersey Devils have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers. Game 3 ended in OT and game 4 ended in a 4-2 final with Philly scoring the first two goal and New Jersey answering with 4! You can check out Alexei Ponikarovsky OT winning goal in game 3 below. Also New Jersey can thank Dainius Zubrus for not only the game winning goal at the end of the 2nd period but also for the insurance goal at the end of the 3rd period. Newark, New Jersey is going mad right now! Their team is one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals! Below check out the Ponikarovsky goal in game 3 and one of the two Zubrus goals in game 4!
Drew Doughty scored his 1st of the playoffs in Game 4.
The first team in the 2nd round to be cleared for the 3rd round would be the Los Angeles Kings! The Kings not only bumped out top seeded Vancouver in the 1st round but they bumped out 2nd seeded St. Louis in 4 games! For the 1st time since 1993 the Los Angeles Kings are heading to the conference finals. They will play the winner of the Nashville/Phoenix series. King Captain Dustin Brown has done a fantastic job of leading his team to 8 victories in 9 playoff games! That is a huge accomplishment! Again not only is it the Captain leading the way but an amazing netminder. Jonathan Quick is basically unstoppable. Nothing gets past him and when a puck does hit the back of his net his team starts hitting the back of the opposing teams net more. Quick is #1 in stats for playoff goalies. Winning 8 of 9 games, 1.55 goals allowed on average during a game, and his save percentage is .949. Not only that Quick has stopped 274 shots in the playoffs alone. Wow! Below you can check out Quick doing what he never does: letting in a goal and Dustin Brown's empty netter to seal the deal and send his team to the western conference finals! Interesting fact: in the 4 games LA played against St. Louis they were only behind in goal for a total of 7 minutes and 42 seconds. Big Wow!
Good Canadian Girl Rachel McAdams watching Game 4! I am not sure who she cheers for? Toronto possibly because she was born in Ontario or LA because that is her second home? Who knows, but it great having her watch! Go Kings!
Tonight there are only 2 games being played:
The New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals play at 4:30pm (series tied 2-2)
The Nashville Predators play the Phoenix Coyotes at 7:00pm (Phoenix leads series 3-1)
The New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals play at 4:30pm (series tied 2-2)
The Nashville Predators play the Phoenix Coyotes at 7:00pm (Phoenix leads series 3-1)
Finally you might have heard about the Men's World Championships being held in Helsinki. Yes it is true they are well under way. This is a fun tournament to watch because Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars is playing with Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks and Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks. Canuck Jannik Hansen is playing for Denmark while Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen of the Detroit Red Wings are playing for team Sweden. It makes for a lot of fun to watch NHL teammates go head to head against each other for their countries! This tournament is determining the seeding for the 2014 Olympics. Here is a quick breakdown on Poole A and Poole B.
| Poole A GP W L OTW OTL PTS Sweden 3 3 0 0 0 9 Russia 2 2 0 0 0 6 Czech Republic 3 1 1 1 0 5 Latvia 2 1 1 0 0 3 Germany 2 1 1 0 0 3 Italy 2 0 1 1 1 2 Norway 3 0 2 0 1 1 Denmark 3 0 2 0 1 1 | Poole B GP W L OTW OTL PTS Switzerland 2 2 0 0 0 6 Finland 2 2 0 0 0 6 Canada 3 2 0 0 1 7 USA 3 1 1 1 0 5 Slovakia 3 1 2 0 0 3 France 3 1 2 0 0 3 Belarus 2 0 2 0 0 0 Kazakhstan 2 0 2 0 0 0 |
Legend for Men's World Championships:
GP: Games Played
W: Wins
L: Loses
OTW: Overtime Wins
OTL: Overtime Loses
PTS: Points
Don't forget to register for the Scotiabank Marathon and support the Canucks Autism Fund! For more information check out the website at http://canucksautism.ca/get-involved/scotiabank-half-marathon-and-5k-charity-challenge/ Enjoy X
GP: Games Played
W: Wins
L: Loses
OTW: Overtime Wins
OTL: Overtime Loses
PTS: Points
Don't forget to register for the Scotiabank Marathon and support the Canucks Autism Fund! For more information check out the website at http://canucksautism.ca/get-involved/scotiabank-half-marathon-and-5k-charity-challenge/ Enjoy X
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