The Good Point

Hockey Archives

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The Inseparable: Sport and Destiny

In sports, much like life, there are moments bound to live on forever. Whether it’s a moment filled with joy or heartbreak, an inspirational moment or a deflating one, experiencing glory in victory and agony in defeat is evidence of how inexorably linked sports and life have become. Sport is woven into the cultural fabric […]

Hockey

Daniel Alfredsson: History Made

The Ottawa Senators might not be the most decorated NHL franchise of our generation, but that doesn’t take away from the organization that team captain Daniel Alfredsson has built from the ground up. With 17 seasons under his belt, including 13 wearing the C, Alfredsson has risen to the occasion as one of the sport’s greats.

Hockey

The Triumphant Return of Home Cooking

Whether it’s the typical grinding marathon or this year’s furious sprint, every point earned during the regular season is gained with the hope of not just making the playoffs, but securing home-ice advantage. The Presidents’ Trophy is valuable not because anyone truly cares who won the regular season, but because it ensures the ever so important advantage in every round of the playoffs. This year, more than in year’s past, we’re seeing why it makes such a difference.

Hockey

Rangers Hit Panic Button Against Boston

Down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers are in a tight spot as they head into Game 4 at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. After blowing a third period lead in Game 1 then being embarrassed in Game 2, the pressure is on the Rangers who looked like they were a small step from making the final at the end of last season. Can they claw their way back from the brink?

Hockey

The NHL's Barnum and Bailey Act

By now you’ve probably seen the circus act that was Game 3 between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. Myriad opinions abound about the tactics used and the actions undertaken in that game, with some fans revelling in the “old-time hockey”-style of play, while others, such as Ken Campbell from The Hockey News, have denounced […]

Hockey

The Rebirth of the New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are showing everyone what kind of team they have the potential to be in the near future. With the exception of Game 1 when the Islanders were blown out of the CONSOL Energy Center by a final score of 5-0, they have matched the Pens goal-for-goal and outshot the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference 78-58 in Games 2 and 3. If they were playing against any other team, they could easily be leading the series.

Hockey

The necessary presence of NHL players at the Olympics

With fewer than eight months until the puck drops on the Olympic hockey tournament in Sochi, Russia on February 8, 2014, it is still undecided whether or not NHL players will be making the trip to represent their home countries. The NHL along with the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation have been making progress, but work still remains to be done, mainly hammering out details on travel and insurance, to see whether or not NHL players will participate as they have done since 1998.

Hockey

Steve Ott, Boos Brother

For those who follow the NHL, Steve Ott falls into one of two categories. He’s either a beloved player or a hated rival. Checking in at 6’0″, 193 lbs., Ott isn’t the most physically imposing player in the league, but he’s a “shift disturber” extraordinaire, the epitome of a “pest”, and until recently a player […]

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Jeff Halpern and the Tale of the Lost Draw

There’s something to be said for face-offs in hockey. But, then again, you already knew that. In a sport where puck possession is the name of the game, one who rules the face-off circle is considered king. Joe Scaringi takes a good, romantic and at times tragic, look at how one draw in particular sent an entire NHL playoff run crashing down.

Hockey

Sidney Crosby, Hart Trophy Favorite

Sidney Crosby was on pace to put forth one of the most impressive campaigns of his career – which, knowing the level of quality we’ve seen from him over the better part of the past decade, says a lot. One errant shot to the face later and the superstar is on the sidelines nursing a broken jaw. Will Crosby’s absence take him out of the running for the Hart Trophy? It shouldn’t.