NHL Preview for December 31st 2013 Games

Alex Ovechkin's race to 50 in 50

Today in Hockey History

 Penguins legend Mario Lemieux in 2000 scores 3 points in his first game back from a 3-year retirement.

Game of the Day - 1983 Stanley Cup Finals

1983 Stanley Cup Finals

Game 1

New York Islanders

vs 

Edmonton Oilers

Game of the Day - 12/30/1981 Edmonton vs Philadelphia

thanks Sports History Channel 

Philadelphia Flyers, decked out in their new cooperalls (introduced this season 81/82, not 82/83 as some claim) came into Edmonton trying to stop Gretzky. But, as the Flyers found out, there was, no one who can stop Wayne Gretzky. Previous 8 games, Gretzky had 14 goals, including 4 against his future team, Los Angeles, in the Oilers' previous game (12/27/81). Gretzky had also scored 4 against LA on November 25st, and 4 against Quebec October 31st. He would score just once against Philly Jan 14th, but 3 more times against them January 31st. 

Coming into this game, Gretzky had a remarkable 58 points in his last 17 games.

Season totals for Gretzky: 38GP, 45G, 57A, 102P. Calder Trophy winner Dale Hawerchuck would finish that year with 45 goals and 58 assists.

The Flyers would finish that season 8th overall, and certainly were not a bad team (38-31-11). The Flyers had won 12 of their last 15 games. They still had Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Reggie Leach and Jimmy Watson from their mid 70s dynasty, plus they had added Tim Kerr, Ken Linseman, Brian Propp, Ron Flockhart, Ray Allison and Behn Wilson and Paul Holmgren. My favourite all time Flyer, Ilkka Sinisalo, did not play and Darryl Sittler had not been aquired. In goal for the Flyers was another of my favs, regardless of what team he played for, Pete Peeters. This was Pete's first tour of duty with the Flyers (Brian Boucher fans take note, the Flyers LOVE their goaltenders! Peeters had sort of been Bernie Parent's successor in the Flyers goal, after the later suffered a career ending eye injury in 78/79. Peeters had actually done quite well for them, going 29-5-5 in 79/80 with a 2.73 GAA, good enough for 4th in the league. Pete was second in the league in wins that year. He took the Flyers all the way to game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals, where the dynasty bound New York Islanders beat them in a great final. Pete was having a bit of an off year this season, 23-18-3 with a GAA of 3.71, but next year, would lead the league for the first of two GAA titles. Pete was a regular in the top 10 in GAA from 79-91.

As for Edmonton, it's rookie Grant Fuhr. At this point, he was still proving he belonged in the NHL. Fuhr's specialty was allowing 4 or 5 goals when the Oilers scored about 7 or 8 goals, but allowing 1 or 2 and the odd time 0 if the Oilers scored 3 or less. You'd get some by him, but never quite that goal you needed for the tie or win.

The Flyers, btw, are coached by Pat Quinn, who goes down in the record book as the winning coach in the Oilers first ever playoff loss two seasons prior, and also helping the Flyers to establish a PROFESSIONAL SPORTS RECORD 36 game unbeaton streak in 79/80. Pretty much everywhere he went, Philly, Vancouver, Toronto, even LA (he seemed to help). He would be replaced later this season by Bob McCammon, however.

NHL Top Ten of the Year (2013)

NHL Top Ten Goals of the Year

                           NHL  Top Ten Hits of the Year

                           NHL Top Ten Saves of the Year

NHL Top 5 Plays from 12/23/2013

NHL Top Ten Goals of the Week 12/21/2013

Top 5 Goals of Jaromir Jagr

Rangers / Islanders rivalry: 1940

NHL Top 5 Plays from 12/17/2013

NHL Highlights (12/11/2013)

Today in Hockey History - December 8th

Source: Hockey Hall of Fame and Hooked on Hockey Magazine

December 8, 1967 – Just two months into their first NHL season, the California Seals officially changed their name to the Oakland Seals. I don’t know why that decision couldn’t have been made before the start of the season, but it is what it is. Apparently, though, organization didn’t like that name, so they changed the location name back to California three years later (1970). But they didn’t want the team name to be the same, because that would look silly…so they changed it to the Golden Seals. And they didn’t like that, either, so they did a complete overhaul and changed their name six years later to the Cleveland Barons. Also they moved to Ohio. They eventually decided that picking a name was too hard, so they disbanded the franchise two years later in 1978. Yeah, that’s probably the reason.

December 8, 1984 – Scotty Bowman led the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 win at Boston to give him 690 career victories, making him tied for first all time with Dick Irvin. Bowman wasn’t even close to finished though; he almost doubled that mark by coaching 13 seasons after 1984-85, and ended his career with 1,248 wins, the most all time. His nine Cups as a coach is also the most by a coach. Yeah, he holds lots of coaching records.

December 8, 1987 – In a 5-2 Flyers win over the Bruins, Ron Hextall became the first goalie to shoot and score into an empty net! It was actually the second goal scored by a goalie, Billy Smith was credited with the first goalie goal eight years earlier. Amazingly, Hextall would repeat the feat in the following season by again shooting and scoring! He actually holds the record for most goals scored in that fashion, but Marty Brodeur holds the record for total goalie goals with three (two own goals and one shot).

December 8, 1997 – The Toronto Maple Leafs played their 5,000th game in team history, and celebrated with a 3-0 win over the visiting Dallas Stars. The win gave the Leafs a record of 2,139-2,135-726, just over .500!

December 8, 1999 – Did you know that Paul Kariya had a brother that played in the NHL? Well you do now. Steve Kariya picked up in assist in the first game that featured both Kariya brothers, and Paul scored a goal. Steve’s Canucks tied Paul’s Mighty Ducks 2-2. Steve did not have an illustrious NHL career like his brother, picking up just 27 points in 65 games. Also there’s a third hockey-playing Kariya brother, Martin, who never made the NHL (he played 141 AHL games and 38 KHL games). Oh, and their sister, Noriko, is also sort of a hockey player, because she is a professional boxer. Pretty much the same thing, right? Well, at least she probably would have fit in with this next one…

December 8, 2001 – For the first time in history, the NHL experimented by combining a game with mixed martial arts. Well, not officially, but a pretty ugly game was played between the Flames and the Mighty Ducks. Here are some fun stats for you:

• Both teams combined for 309 penalty minutes. That’s five regulation games worth of penalties!
• The Flames set an NHL record by racking up 190 penalty minutes during a single period! The third got pretty nasty
• There were 19 fighting majors in the final 1:25 of play. Nineteen. That’s one more than half of the skaters on the ice! (Teams usually dress 18 skaters and two goalies per game). You may have noticed that it’s an odd number…obviously someone else didn’t know he was engaged in a fight, and that man was (presumably) Scott Nichol, who was assaulted by Anaheim goaltender J.S. Giguere
• Although the game ended 4-0 in favor of the Ducks, starter Giguere failed to record the shutout because he was ejected from the game in the final 30 seconds! (He picked up 12 PIMs.) That’s rough (Steve Shields took over)
• Four Flames players recorded 29 or more penalty minutes, topped out by Craig Berube, who accumulated 34, which, incidentally, was more than four times the time he actually played hockey. Danny Lambert led the Ducks with 27 (you can see the full box score here)
• By the time the smoke cleared, Calgary had just one player on their bench (You can read a breakdown of the events courtesy of Bleacher Report

NHL Top Ten of the Week

Top Ten Saves of the Week (12/08/2013)

Top Ten Goals of the Week (12/08/2013)

Top 10 Hits of the Week 12/6/2013

1992: Pens Epic Comeback in Game 1 vs. Hawks

Stat of Day

Daniel Alfredsson holds Ottawa Senators franchise records for:
games played (1,178) 
goals (426)
assists (682) 
points (1,108)

League Leaders

NHL League Leaders

( December 1st 2013)

Players

Goals - Alex Ovechkin (Washington) - 21

Assists - Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) - 28

Points - Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) - 36

Goaltenders

Wins - Corey Crawford (Chicago) - 17

Shutouts - Marc-Andre Fluery (Pittsburgh) - 3

Goals Against Average - Cam Talbot (NY Rangers) - 1.49

Save Percentage - Ben Scrivens (LA Kings) - .944

Teams

(Division Leaders)

Eastern Conference

Atlantic - Boston Bruins - 18/7/2  (38 Points)

Metropolitan - Pittsburgh Penguins - 18/9/1  (37 Points)

Western Conference

Central - Chicago Blackhawks - 20/4/4  (44 Points)

Pacific - San Jose Sharks - 18/3/5  (41 Points)

Georges Vezina

November 28, 1925

Playing in his 328th straight game, Canadiens goaltender Georges Vezina collapsed during a game against Pittsburgh. Prior to that game, he had lost 35 pounds in a span of six weeks and had a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit that game, but played in net anyways. He pitched a shutout in the first, but began vomiting blood during intermission and collapsed in the crease before the second started. It was the only period he played all season. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and he died four months later. His strong play and dedication to the game was honored with a trophy donated in his name, the Vezina Trophy: It was first awarded to the goaltender with the best goals against average, but was changed in 1946 to the goaltender who played the most games for the team that allowed the fewest goals, then changed in 1964 to the goaltending tandem that allowed the fewest goals, and finally changed in 1981 to the criteria we know today, which is the most “outstanding” goaltender. I guess it got less depressing as we went along (also like news).

Top 10 NHL Assists of All Time

Martin St. Louis 1,000th game ceremony

Today in Hockey History - November 23rd

courtesy Hookedonhockeymagazine.com

November 23, 1929 – Boston defenseman Eddie Shore set an NHL record by…recording five fighting majors. That’s good for 25 minutes, nearly half the game, which the Bruins won 4-3 over the Maroons. Apparently that was legal back then, but current NHL rules state that a player who engages in three fights in one game is automatically ejected. I’m sure they’d want to leave anyway with all the bruises and cuts they’d suffer, so I’m not sure how Shore managed to endure five fights. A few months later, he was actually challenged to a boxing match by baseball player Art Shires. Who knew that a baseball player in the 30s wanted to play hockey?

November 23, 1977 – The Kings celebrated their 300^th win in franchise history by setting a team record for the four fastest goals, scoring in a span of just 2:21 in the first in an 8-3 win over the visiting Blackhawks. Just a fun night all around for the home team.

November 23, 1980 – Obviously upset at their defeated three years ago, the Blackhawks set a team record of their own by scoring 11 goals in a home game against the Whalers, the most in their own building in their 54-year history. Hartford scored just three, making for an 11-3 blowout.

November 23, 1982 – Neal Broten and Steve Payne each scored hat tricks for the North Stars…but ended up tying the Islanders 8-8. Not one, but two players recorded a hat trick, and Minnesota couldn’t come up with the win! That’s both frustrating for those guys and embarrassing for the defense.

November 23, 1988 – Wayne Gretzky scored a goal and five assists to become the fifth player in NHL history to score 600 goals, as the Kings won 8-3 at Detroit. Gordie Howe, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, and Bobby Hull had done it before, but none of them came close to reaching that milestone in the 718 games it took Wayne (and he had also hit 900 assists). Exactly three years later, he’d pick up his 49^th career hat trick. Good day to be Wayne.

November 23, 1991 – The Rangers Brian Leetch began a team-record 17-game point scoring streak as New York beat the Blues 3-0. I’d like to take this time to remind you that Leetch was a defenseman (which is impressive for him as it is slightly embarrassing for the rest of the Rangers forwards throughout history). Mike Richter also recorded his first shutout in the win.

1976-77 Birmingham Bulls

The 1976-77 Birmingham Bulls finished 5th in the Eastern Division of the World Hockey Association.
 Led by right winger Mark Napier (top right) with 96 points (60 A, 36 A).
The first round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 1977,  Napier was the reigning WHA Rookie of the year, having won the Lou Kaplan trophy for the 1975-76 season with the Toronto Toros.   He would be part of 2 Stanley Cup champions, 1979 Montreal Canadiens and the 1985 Edmonton Oilers.

Fear the Mullet!

NHL Highlights 11/22/2013

NHL Top 5 Plays for November 22nd 2013

Top 5 Plays of November 22nd 2013

NHL Best of the Week 11/18/2013

NHL Highlights 11/16/2013

Top 10 Of The Week 11/16/2013

The Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2013

Steven Stamkos' Injury - 11/11/2013

Steven Stamkos, the NHL leading goal scorer so far in the 2013-14 season, will be out for possibly the season with a broken leg.

Here is the video of the injury suffered today in Boston

Mr. Hockey and The Great One

Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe meets the 11 year old phenom Wayne Gretzky

They meet again after Wayne breaks Gordie's career points record on October 15th 1989

1999 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner

Joe Nieuwendyk holds the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoff MVP.  

Joe had 11 goals and 10 assist for the Dallas Stars in the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  6 of those goals were game winners and he helped lead the Stars to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

He retired from the NHL in 2006 with career totals of 564 goals, 562 assist (1126 points) and 677 penalty minutes.  His career included 9 seasons and one Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989.  He played 7 seasons in Dallas, 2 with New Jersey, one with Toronto and 1 full season with the Florida Panthers before retiring with back problems.  His career also included a Gold medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics for Canada.

NHL Highlights 10/28/2013

NHL Highlights for October 28th 2013

NHL Best of the Week (10/28/2013)

WE LOVE HOCKEY!!!!!

Gordie Howe on the cover of Sports Illustrated from March 3rd 1964

The 1963-64 Redwings finished 4th overall in the league with 71 points.  They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4 games to 3 in the Stanley Cup Semi Final.  They would lose to the Toronto Maples, also 4 games to 3 in the Stanley Cup Final.

Gordie was second team all star right wing with 26 goals and 47 assist.  He finished 5th in scoring.

NHL Top 5 Plays (10/23/2013)

This Week's Top Ten (10/20/2013)

NHL Highlights (10/18/2013)

Just 2 games on a light friday night schedule, so I have included the NHL Network Week in Review.

2006 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner

Cam Ward, goaltender, Carolina Hurricanes hoist the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoff MVP.  He led the 'Canes to a 4 games to 3 win over western conference champions Edmonton Oilers.    This was Carolina's first Stanley Cup win and the third former WHA team to win the Cup.

Top 5 NHL Plays of the Week (10/12/2013)

NHL Highlights (October 11th 2013)

Top 5 NHL Plays of the Day (October 11th 2013)

NHL Top 5 Plays of the Night (10/09/2013)

NHL Opening Night 2013 (Chicago Raises Banner)

October 1st 2013 the defending Stanley Cup champions opened the NHL season 

NHL Photo of the Day

Sabres and Leafs Brawl (09/22/2013)

Last night the Leafs and Sabres had a brawl involving everyone on the ice including the goalies.  My personal opinion is that Phil Kessel is a coward and a prick for using his stick.  I would be happy to see him get suspended for the entire month of October and teach him a lesson.

As of today no suspensions have been handed down

2009-2010 NHL President's Trophy

Alex Ovechkin accepts the 2009-2010 President's Trophy for the Washington Capitals.

The Capitals finished that season with 54 wins 15 losses and 13 Overtime losses for 121 points.   The met the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs and lost 4 games to 3.

Ovechkin finished 2nd in goals with 50 behind the 51 of Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos, he was tied for 2nd in points with Sidney Crosby with 109.

1963-1965 Norris Trophy Winner - Pierre Pilote

Pierre Pilote of the Chicago Blackhawks won 3 consecutive Norris Trophies as the Best NHL Defenseman from 1963 to 1965 and was team Captain from 1961-1968.  He also was runner up for the Norris trophy in 1962,1966 and 1967,

Pilote was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975 and in 1998 he was ranked #59  on the Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

We Love the WHA

Indianapolis Racer's goaltender Michel Dion on the cover of the Racers 1976-77 media guide.  This was after Michele joined the team for the last 31 games of 1975-76 season and helped lead them to the Eastern Division title.  Michel would win the Ben Hatskin Trophy as the WHA's top goaltender for the regular season after getting 14 wins in those last 31 games.

The Ben Hatskin Trophy was named in honor of the founder of the Winnipeg Jets...Ben Hatskin

We Love Gretzky!

The Great One's career stats and NHL records he holds.

Buffalo Sabres 1983 Entry Draft

The Class of 1983 for the Buffalo Sabres

From left 

1st pick and 5th overall Tom Barrasso, John Tucker, GMScotty Bowman,  2nd pick and 10th overall Normand Lacombe and 11th overall Adam Creighton.

Tom Barrasso would start in net for the Sabres in 1983-84 and was the only goalie to ever play in the NHL direct from High school without playing in the major juniors, college or some other form of professional hockey.  He would win the the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year and the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender for 1983-84 with a record of 26-12-3 and a 2.84 GAA.

In 1985 he would win the Jennings Trophy for the team with the  fewest goals allowed (he shared with backup Bob Sauve) with 144.

2010 Men's Olympic Hockey Gold Medal Game

Men's Olympic Ice Hockey

Gold Medal Game

Canada Hockey Place

Vancouver,  BC

February 28th 2010

Canada

vs

United States

Penguins

Sid the Kid graces the cover of Sports Illustrated after the 2009 Stanley Cup Final win for the Penguins in Detroit.   The Pens took the final 4 games to 3 over the Red Wings to win the 3rd cup in franchise history.

We Love Hockey!

33 days until opening night for the Colorado Avalanche

We Love Old Time Hockey!

The Victoria Senators played in the first game of hockey on artificial ice in January of 1912.
The game was against the New Westminster Royals.  The Royals won by the score of 8-3.

WE LOVE HOCKEY!

Dennis and Bobby Hull played together for the Chicago Blackhawks 1964-1972

1991 Hart Trophy

Brett Hull the 1990-91 winner of the Hart Trophy as regular season MVP.   He is standing with his father Bobby Hull winner of the the 1965 and 1966 Hart Trophies.  This makes them the only father and son winners of the Hart Trophy.

Brett led the league in 1990-91 with 86 goals and was second to Wayne Gretzky in total points with 131 to Gretzky's 163.   Brett was followed closely in 3rd place by his St. Louis linemate, center Adam Oates who tallied 115 points with 90 assist.

1988 NHL Entry Draft

The first 2 picks of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft

#1 - Mike Modano - Minnesota North Stars

#2 Trevor Linden - Vancouver Canucks

A King's Ransom

Today in 1988 the sports world was rocked by the trade of "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers (who he led to 4 Stanley Cup wins in 5 tries) to the Los Angeles Kings.   He would take or drag the Kings to the top of the league and the 1993 Stanley Cup Final but Canada's national hero was going to try and bring hockey to the sunshine state.

The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "A King's Ransom" takes an in depth look at this momentous day in hockey history.

NHL National TV Schedule - October 2013

Here are the games that will be seen on NBC Sports Network and NHL Network (US) in the month of October

Opening Night

Oct 1st - NBCSN - Washington at Chicago  8pm

Oct 3rd - NBCSN - Los Angeles at Minnesota   8pm

Oct 5th - NHLN - Detroit at Boston  7pm

Oct 8th - NBCSN - Tampa Bay at Buffalo  730pm

               - NHLN -  New Jersey at Vancouver  10pm

Oct 9th - NBCSN - Chicago at St Louis  8pm

Oct 10th - NHLN - Phoenix at Detroit  730pm

Oct 11th - NHLN - NY Islanders at Chicago  8pm

Oct 12th - NHLN - Buffalo at Chicago  8pm

Oct 14th - NBCSN - Minnesota at Buffalo  730pm

Oct 15th - NHLN - Columbus at Detroit  730pm

                         - NBCSN - NY Rangers at Washington  8pm

Oct 17th - NHLN - Pittsburgh  at  Philadelphia  7pm

Oct 19th - NHLN - Vancouver at Pittsburgh  1pm

         - NHLN - Toronto at Chicago  7pm

Oct 21st - NBCSN - Colorado at Pittsburgh   730pm

Oct 22nd - NBCSN - Nashville at Minnesota  8pm

Oct 23rd - NBCSN - Boston at Buffalo  8pm

Oct 24th - NHLN - San Jose at Boston  7pm

Oct 25th - NHLN - Anaheim at Ottawa  730pm

Oct 26th - NHLN - NY Rangers at Detroit  7pm

Oct 28th - NBCSN - Montreal  at NY Rangers  730pm

Oct 29th - NBCSN - Tampa Bay at New Jersey  730pm

Oct 30th - NBCSN - Boston at Pittsburgh  8pm

Oct 31st - NHLN -  Anaheim at Boston  7pm

Gretzky 50 Goals in 39 Games FULL GAME - 1981 Oilers vs. Flyers

Top 10 Hilarious Hockey/ Hockey Related Moments

2001 Stanley Cup Final (Game 7)

2001 Stanley Cup Final

Game 7

Saturday June 9th 2001

Pepsi Center

Denver, Colorado

New Jersey Devils

(defending Stanley Cup Champions)

vs

Colorado Avalanche

Hartford Whalers Shane Churla vs. Buffalo Sabres Clark Gillies

1968 NHL Awards

The Award Winners for the 1967-68 NHL Season

Top Left

Stan Mikita 

(Chicago BlackHawks)

Hart Trophy (NHL Regular season MVP)

Art Ross Trophy (Top Scorer, Regular Season)

Lady Byng Trophy (Excellence and Sportsmanship)

Center

Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon

 (Montreal Canadiens)

Vezina Trophy (Best goaltending record, regular season)

Bottom right

Bobby Orr 

(Boston Bruins)

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)

Bottom Left

Derek Sanderson 

(Boston Bruins)

Calder Memorial Trophy (NHL Rookie of Year)

Top Right

Glenn Hall

(St. Louis Blues)

Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP,Stanley Cup Playoffs)