March of the Penguins...?

I know it's April, but this post season could be the start of a March of the Penguins to Lord Stanley's cup. The Pens looked dominant, with big Gino Malkin taking charge and leading his team with 3 points. The old man Gary Roberts also chipped in with 2 goals and Marc-Andre Fleury's critics were silenced as he posted his first career playoff shutout.

If they continue this drive through this series, the Sens don't stand a chance. No Alfie, Fischer or Kelly = big trouble for a struggling Senators squad. A very convincing win by the Pens tonight who look built for a playoff drive. They have a strong 3rd and 4th line and Fleury looked solid when he was tested. It's going to be hard to shutdown the offense when there's always powerhouses like Crosby, Malkin and Hossa to shutdown, and strong secondary scoring is present with the likes of Malone and Sykora as well.

As the opening night of the playoffs comes to an end, I'm really impressed with how entertaining the Flames and Sharks game was. Iginla's drive to the net for the winning goal was unreal. An all out Iginlaesque effort. Watch out this could be a long grueling series with the potential for many injuries.

I love playoff hockey. Those Pens I drafted in my playoff pool are looking pretty choice tonight too.

OMG!!! Makeover!

Of all the things to blog about... TSN's website has gotten a makeover! This may not be exciting to all of you but site redesigns are a big deal when you work in the industry of the "interweb".

Think of it this way, it's like the first day of school where everyone wears their brand new clothes. It's daunting right? Are you going to be considered cool because you're wearing whatever the latest trends are? Are your new kicks fly? Will the girls dig your popped collar?

Anywhos... not bad TSN not bad. I like it. I like a centered website and the neutral colours. It's very ESPN. Well the makeover looks good. I wonder what the rest of the kids at school think...

Lightning in a Bottle!

The hockey gods have deemed the Tampa Bay Lightning worthy of the winning the Steven Stamkos sweepstakes. Mind you they just played their way into it by having a league worst record of 31-42-9.

Time for one of those bounce back years. The Lightning will gain a player that can join an already formidable offensive pairing of Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. He can be the new "Brad Richards" minus the 7.8 million dollar contract.

The Lightning are in good shape after making a few key trades to solidify their goaltending, adding some key role players and some defensive prospects. Things are looking up for Feaster and Torts.

Stamkos scored 58 goals in 61 games with the OHL's Sarnia Sting this season. He also helped Canada win gold at the World Junior Championship.

"He's fun to watch and he's going to be a good one," MacInnis said of Stamkos before the lottery.

"He is a dominating force, a potential franchise player," agreed E.J. McGuire of the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau.

As for the other teams here's how the draft order shapes up:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Atlanta Thrashers
4. St. Louis Blues
5. New York Islanders
6. Columbus Blue Jackets
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
8. Phoenix Coyotes
9. Nashville Predators - from Florida
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Chicago Blackhawks
12. Anaheim Ducks - from Edmonton
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Carolina Hurricanes

I'm definitely looking forward to the NHL draft as I expect there will be some action on the trade front with teams looking to tinker and tool before free agency.

It feels like I haven't posted forever, which is kind of true. Been a little bit busy but I'll get into a playoff themed post next time. Same blog time, same blog channel.

Vancouver Bids Farewell to Trevor Linden

It was an emotional evening at GM place tonight. There were other stories to be told, Iginla scored his 50th goal of the season, and the Canucks got blown out 7-1 in a technically meaningless game.

But to fans of the Vancouver Canucks this game was far from meaningless. Bitterness put aside from the stretch drive meltdown, this game was most likely one of the last to be played by a great Vancouver hockey player and an even better person.

Although he has yet to announce it, in all probability he has played his last NHL game in a great 20 year career.

As great a hockey player Linden was, he was an even better person. He has contributed so much of his time to the community for charitable organizations such as Canuck Place. He has an amazing reputation as an outstanding member of this community.

Trevor Linden, has always been my favourite hockey player. He always will be. I grew up in the Linden and Bure era of the Vancouver Canucks. I saw him in his prime. I still remember the electricity of the 94 playoff run. He truly lead his team into the war that was the playoffs that year. By the end of it he had 2 broken noses and was battered and bruised but still fought valiantly scoring the 2 goals in game 7.

He always had the ability to elevate his game at the most important time of the year. Guess who tied for the team lead in points last year in the playoffs?

But as much of a hockey fan I am now, I didn't really follow along as the dark days of the Canucks loomed in after the lockout season in the mid-nineties, with Keenan and Messier. An era many of us would love to forget. In fact, I basically stopped watching hockey when I heard Trevor Linden was traded.

Low and behold, the revival of the Canucks came back in the early 2000's, and seemed to coincide with the return of Trevor Linden. Needless to say I was ecstatic. The Canucks were back. My Canucks were back. My obsession for hockey rematerialized.

It didn't ever matter who was captain of the team. Trevor Linden will always be Captain Canuck to me.

Crunch Time for Caps

The Drama doesn't get much better than this. All they need is a point.

Carolina lost to Florida last night which means the Caps need a point to clinch the division title and secure their spot in the post season.

Leading the way for Washington will be Hart Trophy hopeful Alexander Ovechkin, who has tallied 17 goals and 30 points in his last 17 games. His 112 points lead the NHL - six ahead of Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

Ovechkin scored his league-leading 64th and 65th goals on Thursday in a 4-1 win over Tampa, breaking Luc Robitaille's single-season mark for left wingers.

Washington has won three of its last four matchups with the Panthers, including last Saturday's 3-0 victory in Florida.

Mcphee's deadline deals are looking pretty good right now, and if they win tonight expect Ovechkin to clinch the Hart trophy.

I bet you want to watch this game as badly as I do... except CBC is playing a boring meaningless Habs vs. Leafs game.

It'll take a few programs to load, and unfortunately is only a windows thing but you can check out www.hockeywebcasts.com

Hockey needs this badly. Hockey fans want to be entertained. Playoff poolies are drooling at the prospect of having an Alexander Ovechkin. They'd be a darkhorse team for the ages.

UPDATE:

CAPS win and move into 3rd clinching a playoff spot and the South East Division Title. They also knock off the Carolina Hurricanes out of the post season.

My condolences to JB, the biggest Carolina Hurricanes fan I know.