The 2020 NHL playoffs officially begin on Tuesday, as the 24-team tournament — with five-game qualification round series and round-robin seeding matchups — has moved on to a more recognizable, 16-team version. This round includes several matchups where revenge will be on the mind of one team (or both, for separate reasons), and based on […]
Continue readingJones pulled one of the jerseys out of the box, poured lighter fluid on it and lit it on fire in his driveway. He continued to burn jerseys from the box, documenting the process in a series of Instagram videos posted Wednesday. “I opened up my mailbox today, and I had these jerseys in my […]
Continue readingPlayoffs? Yes, you can now actually say that these are the 2020 NHL playoffs. The tournament is now officially in the first round, with only 16 teams left. Day 1 brings us a slate of four games, though none before 3 p.m. ET. We miss morning/noon hockey already. Check out the ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs […]
Continue readingThe NHL’s postseason is officially underway with the most unconventional Stanley Cup tournament in the trophy’s 127-year history. With five games staggered throughout Saturday between the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, we have a March Madness-style buffet of hockey. Here’s a primer of what to look for in this edition of ESPN Stanley […]
Continue readingUnlike the traditional playoff format, the league is running a 24-team tournament, with 12 teams from each conference playing in fan-less arenas in Toronto (for the East) and Edmonton, Alberta (for the West). The top four teams in each conference are in the round of 16, and seeds 5 through 12 will square off to […]
Continue readingIn 2016, the winger was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round, but after two years, they didn’t sign him to an entry-level contract. He went back to his junior team in Red Deer for his age-20 season a bit deflated. Hagel had already been to three NHL training camps — two in […]
Continue readingIt wasn’t just that the lowly Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators lost out on the No. 1 pick. Everyone must cope with the fact that “Team E” — a squad that plays in the NHL’s 24-team postseason — gets the chance to draft No. 1 prospect Alexis Lafreniere. The eight losers in the qualifying […]
Continue readingThe Blackhawks entered this game clinging on to the playoff bubble. They were in the second of a five-game Western Canadian swing, and desperately in need of points. The Oilers were in decent shape with a dynamite offense, but would have to play this game without Connor McDavid. Why? Don’t worry, you’ll hear plenty about […]
Continue readingThe stress of the NHL trade deadline is over, and it has been replaced with a completely different kind of pressure: trying to excel in the stretch run of the 2019-20 season. In this week’s NHL power rankings, we look at some of the players under the most pressure as the games tick down to […]
Continue readingPart of the process is to try not to be too reactionary to short-term success. These rankings are for the rest of the season, so a recent hot streak technically doesn’t play into them other than to help develop the go-forward prognosis for a player. St. Louis Blues winger Zach Sanford moved into our rankings […]
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