Faceoff Against Autism

Autism Speaks and NHL team up to help raise money for autism. With the playoff's going on, each team involved has a player made up as a puzzle and are sold for donations to help autism. So far this has raised $11,433, and hopes to continue further donations. So if you are interested, purchase a puzzle and help support research for autism.

Heres the link. (click)

Playoff Preview Round 2

After the wild first round playoffs ended. Round 2 is just about to set launch with the last eight contenders left to battle for the Stanley Cup. With four games leading to game seven this week, the next match-ups are more interesting as usual. The major round two game will feature the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins. With Philadelphia winning four straight being down three games last season, Boston will now have chance for revenge. The other games are listed below.

Western Conference

San Jose Sharks Vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Sharks will be facing the Wings for the second time in two years in the playoffs, Detroit wants revenge from the loss last year.

Nashville Predators Vs. Vancouver Canuks

The fifth place Predators want to upset the best team in the NHL, as the Black Hawks almost did last week.

Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals Vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Will the Lightning take down the best team in the East?

Philadelphia Flyers Vs. Boston Bruins

Boston wants the Flyers to pay for last year.

My Third Round Predictions

San Jose Vs. Vancouver

Philadelphia Vs. Tampa Bay

The NHL and the rules of fighting

When watching a hockey game, many fans expect fights. But should fighting be banned? This topic has been brought to the league many times each year but no positive answer has been declared. Since the NHL has been around, fighting has been present. Many players have been remembered and famous for such acts. One of the most memorable fighters were a part of the Philadelphia Flyers, known as the Broad Street Bullies. This group was around in 1972-1978 and intimidated many players when out on the ice. One of the most memorable moments with this group was when they played the Red Army, a Russian hockey team which led to the Army skating off the ice because of how brutal they were during the game (click to watch) . When games like this start to brew, fighting in my opinion should be stopped. The question I bring is when is it too much?

Hockey fights help keep the fans entertained, and players more excited to play at times. It helps teams play harder, and more aggressively. Fighting also sells, believe it or not if hockey banned fighting fans would not attend as many games as often. Fighting is a major part of the game. As the NHL has become older in years, fighting has seemed to be controlled more. Especially during the playoffs because of how long a game can be lagged out. With the playoffs happening as I write this many of the fights that have been starting they have been controlled. I think that this is a good way to control fighting, but to not ban it completely in the NHL. Fighting in the NHL will always be around, and if it is stopped, I see the NHL losing fans and money quick. A good article to relate to mine is by John Buccigross from ESPN. His article is about fighting and is the best document I found on this topic. If further interested here is the link provided.

Buccigross' article

The Hockey News

When going onto a website for hockey NHL.com is usually the first choice among them all, yet there is another site which offers just as much information for hockey lovers called Thehockeynews.com. The hockey news is a hockey site not only covering the NHL, but also the hockey world throughout everywhere. They have many different stories on their site making it perfect for every fan to surf through when wanting current hockey updates. Placed on the sites toolbar, they have a blog section you can click on and read through their writers columns. One story which i thought was interesting was Justin Bourne's latest article entitled Why some NHL players struggle through the playoffs. With the Playoffs happening as this column is being typed, a story about playoff struggle is a interesting topic to talk about.

The article Bourne's wrote was put together well, keeping the reader's attention without losing interest while reading. The wording of the site was made for not just hockey fans, but normal language everyone can understand which is good for an everyday sports fan. Bourne's outlook on the player playoff struggle is not one-sided, and brings up many different points to look at when watching a playoff game with the players doing good/bad.

(Click to read)

A major part about this article i enjoyed was that Bourne is a former hockey player for the ECHL. When writing an article like this and being a former hockey player who has been in the playoffs, it brings past experience and more knowledge then most writers. The best way to experience something is first hand, which helps readers understand a story better in my opinion.

In conclusion, The Hockey News is a site providing up-to-date hockey information with updates on their sites at all times. The blogs are well written and the site is organized well and easy to navigate. I highly recommend this website for any hockey fan.

Countdown towards the playoff's

With high anticipation building up, the NHL playoff's is right around the corner. With only three games left in the regular season. A couple teams are in the fight to stay on top, and to make the last spot in the playoff tree. In the East, the Philadelphia Flyers in first place at the moment, if they lose tonight the Washington Capitals can land in first place playing the last seed team first round. The Carolina Hurricanes are only three points behind the Buffalo Sabres which could lead to Carolina hopping into the eighth seed spot. In the West, Calgary Flames are one point away from taking the former Stanley Cup champion's Chicago Blackhawk's eighth seed spot, and Dallas is not to far from taking Chicago's spot either with only three points behind. With the closing of the season happening this up coming week, the playoff teams have to make sure they stay in the spots they want to be in for the chance to be the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions.

Click Here for the playoff bracket as of today.

NHL, USA Hockey "Lets Move" Campaign

Dealing with steep declines and local tax revenues, many school districts and community organizations are denying sports programs for kids regardless on how they are good for the children. With many schools dealing with violence, poor education, and many other problems; it is good to have a sports program to provide positive outlets for the kids to compete with each other, learn different skills, and most importantly have a good time.

The NHL and USA Hockey are teaming up with Michelle Obama and the Let's Move campaign to help address these issues to schools and community centers around America to show why it is important to have sports in their organizations. Since the Let's Move program is teaming up with the two hockey organizations, hockey would be the sport they are promoting to girls and boys. Although hockey is the sport they are teaching, they also are combining fun and healthy exercises in the mix to keep the kids more interested, and most importantly healthy.

The Let's Move campaign will be including NHL alumni players, coaches in the sport, current players, and industry leaders. With this special event going on, the hockey leagues hope to show kids why hockey is not only fun, but also good for learning and development skills. Click here for a video of Michelle Obama talking about Let's Move.

Good links for Hockey lovers

As all hockey fans know, watching the games live or just on TV is not enough. For further info on upcoming events, games, players, and hockey news; Fans click onto hockey sites providing them with the most efficient information possible. A major site providing fans with the most up-to-date information is NHL.com. NHL is the main source of news for the entire National Hockey League covering all teams and stories happening daily in the league. The site also shares many links on their page including all the team sites, player sites, and fan base sites. A site which links perfectly with the NHL site is NHL fans. NHL fans is a interactive site for fans to chat and connect with hockey fans around the world. NHL fans encourages you to create a profile, along with chat in message boards, and to check out some national hockey blogs that are linked through the fan site. Being connected with this fan website is a good social networking tool because you can meet fellow fans that like the same teams, along with rival teams. Photos and videos are encouraged to be uploaded onto the site which shows interest into the user to contribute more. As a hockey fan myself, I have never used this site but will create a profile this upcoming week, and encourage any hockey fan to create a profile also, because of the same interest each person on this site has in common, the love for hockey.

Using Your Head

On Thursday March 10th, Toronto Maple Leaf's player Mikhail Grabrovsky scored a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers like no other. With a shot from his teammate Dion Phaneuf, Grabrovsky hit the puck with his head to score a goal. Of course the head hit was by accident, yet the goal counted and Grabrovsky was ok.

Not so "Fly" at the moment

The hottest team in the Eastern Conference has been on a losing streak in their past 4 games. The past teams they have played were all teams the pack has played well against during the season. With only 18 games left in the regular season the Flyers should try their best to stay in first place, as they did well making sure of that during the season. Tuesday March 8th at 7p.m. will be their next game against the Edmonton Oilers. With the Oilers being in last place in the Western Conference, this will be a big upset if the Flyers lose, along with lowering the teams confidence.

Hockey 101

A good link that i provided on the side of my page is in collaboration with the NHL. This site is Flexxcoach.com . The website includes much information for every type of hockey fan. Wheter you are player, a fan, a coach, or new to hockey this site will be quite the treat for you. On the site, for players, flexxcoach shows tactics on how to improve your performance, also with walk through videos by NHL players. For coaches, flexxcoach shows ways to improve your team, along with new plays and practice drills. For fans, the site shows them "how to get inside the game" by learning about players, and a more in depth view about the sport. So if you are a hockey fan, flexxcoach is a right site for you.

Flyers overcome Lightning

Flyers fans are finally relieved because their team overcame the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first time this season. Tuesday night on February 15, Flyers Defenseman Kimmo Timonen saved the flyers by scoring in the seventh round of the shootout in overtime making the final score 4-3. By gaining this win against Tampa, the flyers confidence is more then ever since loosing to Tampa the first three meetings. “They had our number three times this year and we definitely wanted to make sure we pushed back a little bit just to prove they didn’t have our number completely “(Flyers player John Van Riemsdyk). Both teams are at the top rankings of the Eastern conference, and will not play again till the playoffs, if they meet.

Finally Biting Back

A powerful team in the NHL, especially in the Western Conference is the San Jose Sharks. With a record of 30-19-6, they are placed fourth in the Western conference, and tied for first in the pacific below the Dallas Stars. As for the most part, the Sharks have gained three division titles in the past three seasons but were in a slight slump in January. A six –game-loosing streak almost caused the sharks season to crash. “Maybe the fans and the media have come to expect us to be a top team every year, each year is different”. (Defenseman Dan Boyle). After the first half of the season though, the sharks won nine games with one overtime loss. The past teams in the last ten were tough competitors, and for the rest of the season to follow. “Every team has hit a bump in the road along the way”, (Forward Devin Setoguchi) and it seems that San Jose is finally biting back in the NHL.

-Tim Reardon

(Below is a recap of the Sharks vs. Capitals February 8th.)