0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 1/12/2017
1,000 points in 880 games. You don’t need me to tell you Alex Ovechkin is amazing. His play says so much by itself. His shot, his terrifying presence on the power play, his ability to get shots off from all over the ice, his combination of size and speed, of skill and physicality. He stands […]
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 1/1/2017
[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]The year is mercifully drawing to a close. The year 2016 wasn’t as unkind to the game of hockey as it was to celebrities, 3-1 leads or humanity in general. Still, there was plenty to complain about in the world of hockey this year. So naturally, there are a few things […]
BUFFALO, NY – MARCH 01: Evander Kane #9 of the Buffalo Sabres warms up to play the Edmonton Oilers at First Niagara Center on March 1, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Jen Fuller/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 12/9/2016
Just about 22 months ago, the Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres were the talk of the hockey world for a week or so after engaging in what was then considered a blockbuster trade. Less than two years later, the trade is looking more and more like a bust for both sides. It’s not a disaster […]
TAMPA, FL – MAY 24: Head coach Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning reacts against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 24, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Jason Behnken/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 11/18/2016
To start off with the obvious, it sucks for the Lightning to lose Steven Stamkos. There’s no doubt it hurts them. By any measure, he’s one of the league’s most prolific scorers. Since entering the NHL, he’s been second only to Alex Ovechkin in terms of scoring rate. Despite prior injuries, he reached 300 goals […]
in the second period at American Airlines Center on October 29, 2015 in Dallas, Texas.
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 11/5/2016
Unless you’re just coming out of a coma (in which case, welcome back and thanks for reading!), you’ve probably heard the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year World Series drought. The drought featured the worst types of sports cruelty – long stretches of irrelevance, broken up by fleeting periods of hope that often ended with crushing […]
ANAHEIM, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Jack Eichel #15 of the Buffalo Sabres looks on during the second period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on February 24, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 10/12/2016
The Buffalo Sabres announced Wednesday afternoon that second-year star Jack Eichel will miss the start of the season with a high ankle sprain. While the Sabres haven’t set a timetable for his return, the injury generally takes at least four to six weeks to heal. The injury occurred in practice Wednesday morning when got tangled up […]
SUNRISE, FL – JUNE 26: Kyle Dubas Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs talks on the phone as President Brendan Shanahan looks on during the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 9/19/2016
The summer of 2014 changed the state of hockey analytics forever. A slew of teams brought on full-time stats guys in hopes of either catching up or getting ahead of the competition. Since then, there’s been some well-documented cases of things not working out between traditionalists and numbers guys. Most prominently, analytics consultant Matt Pfeffer […]
EDMONTON, AB – APRIL 6: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers battles against Nikita Tryamkin #88 of the Vancouver Canucks on April 6, 2016 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The game was the final game the Oilers played at Rexall Place before moving to Rogers Place next season. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 7/8/2016
The 2015-16 NHL season wasn’t kind to Canada. For the first time since 1970, every team north of the American border missed the postseason. The good news is next season can’t be any worse. The bad news is things might stay exactly the same. By some stroke of awful luck, every Canadian team seems to […]
GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 26: Milan Lucic #17 of the Los Angeles Kings during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on December 26, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. The Kings defeated the Coyotes 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 6/21/2016
A flurry of activity has already been seen around the NHL this summer, but teams still have a long way to go before they’re ready to drop the puck in 2016-17. The PDL team is going to take a look around the league and examine each team to see where they’re coming from and what […]
PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 26: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in action against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on May 26, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 5/30/2016
The NHL Marketing Department finally had its wish fulfilled as Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Final. In the days leading up to Game 1, there is no shortage of storylines. You have the “Can the Sharks finally do it?” angle, the Thornton vs. Kessel angle (commonly referred to […]
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 4/30/2016
If you’re a sports fan, you’ve likely heard by now that ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico is leaving the network for NBC. Tirico has excelled at calling a wide variety of sports over the past two-plus decades, but what he’s most known for – and the likely reason he’s making this move – is football. […]
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 4/8/2016
It’s not fair to say the New Jersey Devils are hopeless because no team is truly hopeless. Time corrects the path of all wayward franchises and pushes them back toward relevance. But it might be a while before the Devils are interesting or competitive or good. I won’t call New Jersey boring, but the team ranks […]
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 12: at Joe Louis Arena on March 12, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 3/24/2016
There are a lot of ways to illustrate how impressive the Detroit Red Wings playoff streak is, but I believe one fact stands above the rest. Jaromir Jagr was not in the NHL the last time they missed the playoffs. That miss – in 1990 – was one of two times the Red Wings haven’t […]
<> at American Airlines Center on March 12, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 3/16/2016
The Dallas Stars have a problem. By extension, those who have put their hopes on the Stars winning the Stanley Cup as a sort of momentum-starting, change-springing event, eventually leading to teams valuing offense and playing less conservative have a problem. The Stars are the highest-scoring team in the NHL and play a fast-paced entertaining […]
at Pepsi Center on October 8, 2015 in Denver, Colorado.
0 comments by Taylor Nigrelli on 3/4/2016
Because of three-point games, the salary cap and increased parity, there tends to be a few NHL playoff races that come right down to the wire every year. But this year, even with five weeks to go, most of the playoff picture seems set. Sure, some races aren’t totally decided but does anyone think Carolina, New […]
