hockey
We talk pucks and objects of that kind. We yell, complain, and analyze in the language of hockey fandom. Gretzky can do no wrong.
Kings Clinch 1st Playoff Spot in Four Seasons
The evening of Tuesday, April 26, 2022 saw 26 teams playing, but the Los Angeles Kings were one of the six who took that evening off. Despite this, the Kings were one point away from locking in a playoff spot, and that opportunity was connected to the game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. The game went to overtime tied at 2, and then went to a seven-round shootout, which Dallas finally won with Miro Heiskanen's goal, followed by a stop by Jake Oettinger. The Vegas loss not only placed the Nashville Predators in the playoffs, but it gave a spot to the Kings as well.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in Unbalanced5 Years Removed From Cup Final Appearance, Predators Return to Playoffs
A wild Tuesday evening in the National Hockey League saw 13 games played, and so much to be decided. This included all of the final three playoff spots--all in the Western Conference. The Nashville Predators entered Tuesday's action with many ways to get in the playoffs, but the simplest way was a regulation win. Their game against the Calgary Flames was back and forth, but the Preds were up 4-3 late, and it looked like victory was going to come in the minimum 60 minutes.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedA Pair of Burning Questions as Oilers Clinch Playoff Spot
On Friday, April 22, the Edmonton Oilers joined the playoff party with their 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. This is their third straight playoff appearance, and their fourth with their young star, Connor McDavid. The Oilers are one of four teams to crossover from the World Hockey Association in 1979, and they are the most successful of the four, having won five Stanley Cups in a seven-season span from 1984 to 1990. They have not won since then, and they haven't been to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006. In fact, after falling one win short of the Cup in 2006 (losing to fellow WHA crossovers, the Carolina Hurricanes--formerly the Hartford Whalers), they went 11 years without a postseason.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedThe Elite History of the Conn Smythe Trophy
One of the many things that makes the NHL stand out over other leagues is their collection of individual trophies, mainly the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy. It's an MVP trophy, but it's different from the other leagues. The NBA's trophy only covers the Finals, the NFL has the Super Bowl MVP, and while MLB is a bit more well-rounded, they only award MVPs in their two League Championship Series and the World Series. Regarding the NHL, the Conn Smythe Trophy goes to the MVP of the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not just the Stanley Cup Final--the full playoffs; from Round 1 to the finish. The reason is simple: it is most grueling to go through four rounds and get 16 wins in order to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup, and the NHL awards the player who did the most during that difficult quest.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in Unbalanced- Top Story - April 2022
Capitals Return to Playoffs; East Playoff Field Complete
The eight playoff teams in the NHL's Eastern Conference had actually been set for months, but it finally became official on Sunday, April 17. On that evening, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Islanders, 4-2, and with that result, the Islanders were eliminated, and the Washington Capitals (who were idle) received the Eastern Conference's last remaining playoff spot. For Washington, this is their eighth straight playoff appearance, which is the 2nd-longest current streak in the NHL, with the Pittsburgh Penguins' streak being twice as long.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in Unbalanced Wild Clinch Playoff Spot For 3rd Straight Season
On Saturday, April 16, the Minnesota Wild had the opportunity to lock in a playoff spot, and after coming back from a 4-1 deficit to force overtime, it looked like they would get it done, but the St. Louis Blues (especially Brayden Schenn) had other plans. With the overtime loss, the Wild entered Sunday's game against the San Jose Sharks needing only one point to earn a spot in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They would get it when regulation ended in a 4-4 tie, and they picked up a bonus when Jared Spurgeon's tip-in goal won it for Minnesota.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedFlames Clinch Playoff Spot With Help from an Unlikely Ally
Hours before the Calgary Flames took the ice for their game against the Arizona Coyotes, they received the good news that they are in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs! The Flames entered Saturday's action needing one point to clinch, but one of the other scenarios also involved the Vegas Golden Knights. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. The Vegas Golden Knights lost 4-0 to the Edmonton Oilers, and with that, the Flames are playoff bound for the 3rd time in four seasons. Yes, you read that right. The Edmonton Oilers actually helped the Calgary Flames get into the playoffs. Isn't hockey wonderful?
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedBlues Clinch Playoff Spot Against Potential Playoff Opponent
Eleven days after the Colorado Avalanche locked in a playoff spot, the NHL's Western Conference finally has another spot sealed. The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild faced each other in a Central Division battle where both teams entered with chances to clinch spots. The Blues had their destiny in full control; all they had to do was win. However, the Blues went from leading 4-1 to being tied at 5 after regulation, but Brayden Schenn's OT goal not only gave the Blues their 100th point of the season, it also gave them their fourth straight playoff appearance.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedBoston Bruins Clinch; Is This Their Last Chance?
The Boston Bruins are back in the playoffs; they entered Saturday's action needing only one point to clinch, and they ended up getting two with their 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the Bruins, it has been a season of questions, inconsistency, and uncertainty, especially when it comes to their chances of winning another Stanley Cup. It was in 2011 that the Bruins won a seven-game Stanley Cup Final over the Vancouver Canucks, but with every season that has passed, that Cup becomes more and more of a distant memory. The Bruins made two additional Cup Final appearances in 2013 and 2019, but even the latter year's appearance was seen as an aberration, with some saying that the Toronto Maple Leafs should have defeated them in Round 1 that year.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedCan the Tampa Bay Lightning Strike Three Times in the Same Place?
It is immensely hard to win the Stanley Cup--20 of the NHL's 32 teams have done so, that's only 62.5% of the league. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning are one of those 20 teams who have hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup. It is even harder, especially nowadays, to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, but the Lightning are the most recent team to do so--winning in 2020 and 2021. The Lightning won 4-3 in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, April 14, but prior to Anthony Cirelli's overtime goal, they had already clinched a playoff spot when the New York Islanders lost in regulation. With that, the Lightning now have a chance to do something that no team has done in 40 years: three-peat.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedSweet 16: The Penguins' Playoff Streak Continues
There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins had a chance to clinch a spot on Tuesday with a regulation win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday, April 12, but the game went to OT and later a shootout, with the Islanders winning. With the point, the Penguins entered Thursday's rematch with the chance to clinch with a win of any kind, but they took care of it in regulation. A 6-3 victory over the Isles, and once again, the Penguins are playoff bound.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in UnbalancedLeafs Return to Playoffs and Auston Matthews Can't Stop Scoring
For the sixth straight season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, becoming the fifth team to lock in a spot, and the first Canadian club to do so this season. The last part means that the pressure is on for a Canadian club to win a Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993, but that's another story. The central focus is this team's goals; of course, the main one is the Stanley Cup, but they have to do something they haven't done in 18 years: win a playoff series.
Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago in Unbalanced