- Home →
- Auston Matthews
Defenseman Morgan Rielly (foot) activated off injured reserve in time to help Leafs edge Lightning
Rielly, 26, one of Toronto’s alternate captains who missed 23 games because of a broken foot, had a shot on net in 27 shifts, occupying 21:47 on the ice. He was on the ice in the final minute, occupying crucial real estate in the Maple Leafs zone, as the Lightning had pulled goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, […]
Continue readingKraken? Sockeyes? Sasquatch? Sonics? What Seattle’s NHL team should be called
Remember when the Vegas Golden Knights were going to be the Desert Knights? Or the Red Hawks? The same sort of speculation has swirled around Seattle’s nickname over the past few years, as some names have gained traction and others have faded. Here’s some informed speculation on the name derby, from the best bets to […]
Continue readingNHL rookie rankings: Rays of hope in rough first seasons for Kaapo Kakko, Jack Hughes
Hughes has 21 points through 56 games, while Kakko has managed 20 points in 60 games. If you extrapolate that out to 82-game rates, Hughes is on pace for 31 points and Kakko 27. The most recent first overall pick to have so few points in his first season is Nail Yakupov, who finished with […]
Continue readingNHL Awards Watch: Hart Trophy race even more chaotic with one month left
Recency bias is very much a thing, considering that the ballots aren’t sent out until near the end of the season and the votes are sent in right up until the first game of the playoffs. This is especially true of the Hart Trophy race, for which players such as Taylor Hall, Corey Perry and […]
Continue reading700 and climbing: Alex Ovechkin’s ‘legitimate chance’ at Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals
The chase officially began the moment Alex Ovechkin‘s 700th NHL goal crossed the goal line behind the Devils’ Mackenzie Blackwood in Newark. Shattering Wayne Gretzky’s sacred record of 894 career goals is an ambition that has shifted from possibility to probability. Ovechkin is 34. He hasn’t missed a game to injury since 2016. The chase […]
Continue readingAnswering big U.S. hockey questions: Best moment, most underrated player, top women’s player and more
The best moment in U.S. hockey history (outside of the Miracle on Ice) The most underrated American player of all time Potential U.S.-born Hart Trophy winners on the horizon Challengers to Cammi Granato for the greatest American women’s player ever Winners of a theoretical 2020 international best-on-best men’s competition Let’s jump in. Greg Wyshynski, senior […]
Continue readingNHL Power Rankings: 1-31 poll, plus the most captivating U.S.-born player on every team
This week, we’ve taken a deep dive into Hockey Week in America. There was our attempt to identify the center of the U.S. hockey universe, a look at how Seattle is building a hockey town, a “future ranking” of the best U.S.-born players and a look at the enormity of the “Miracle on Ice” upset […]
Continue readingThe Auston Matthews Effect revitalized hockey in Arizona, but what comes next?
It’s nondescript, the brick painted white, the roofing a greenish-gray. At first glance, it looks like it could fit into any old business park. Then its sign explains the size: Black Rock Bouldering Gym. The marquee on this day is inspiring. It reads, “Resolutions don’t stop in February!” It was inside those walls, however, long […]
Continue readingUSA hockey hotbed heat check: What’s the center of the American hockey universe?
There are some large, gaseous planets with many moons, such as Boston and the Twin Cities. There are smaller planets, with the buoyancy of new life, such as Chicago or Washington. There are dimming, dying stars, and there are new ones that glow with the intensity of … well, the Las Vegas Strip. It’s been […]
Continue readingRanking the coolest NHL goals ever: Our top 10 and what creative move we might see next
Of course, it wasn’t the only wow-inducing move we’ve seen this season. But it made us pause and take stock of scoring innovation. How does the move commonly known as “The Michigan” rank among the coolest goals ever scored in the NHL? We turned to a panel of 13 NHL writers, analysts and editors and […]
Continue reading