(Kessel joins Lupul and Phaneuf on Chara’s team) Phil Kessel insists that he doesn’t care, but the Leafs winger has to be ecstatic at having shaken the label of the last NHL All-Star draft pick that he involuntarily inherited a year ago. Based on his play this season, combined with having an ally in Toronto [...]
Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey News and Views
New York Rangers winger Marion Gaborik was taken in the 16th round of last night’s NHL All-Star fantasy draft. More surprising than how late a pick Gaborik was, he was selected by Team Chara.
Team Alfredsson, whose alternate captain is Marion Gaborik’s teammate Henrik Lundqvist, did not choose to pick him in the draft.
When Gaborik received his jersey from Chara, rather than just taking his seat on his side, he walked over to Lundqvist’s podium, winked at him, then walked back to his side.
Lundqvist laughed at this, and it all became clear why when one takes a look back at what transpired during the draft. When Alfredsson and Lundqvist were choosing their team, Alfredsson pointed to a name and Lundqvist said, “No, he wants to verse me,” or something to that effect.
When Gaborik came out and winked at Lundqvist, who did not pick him, it was clear that Gaborik wanted to face Lundqvist in the game one on one, something they obviously cannot do during the regular season.
This matchup is going to be one of the most interesting on Sunday in Ottawa.
Gaborik is the Rangers’ leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the league, while Lundqvist is without a doubt the Rangers’ best goalie, and one of the best (if not the best) in the league.
Gaborik has 39 points on the season, 25 of them from goals; Lundqvist has a 1.87 Goals Against Average, a .937 save percentage and a 22-10-4 record.
Gaborik is one of the most dangerous scorers in the league on the breakaway; Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the league in stopping the breakaway.
With that being said, it would be very interesting to see Gaborik on a breakaway against Lundqvist in the All-Star game, which I think would be the ideal situation for this friendly rivalry the two teammates have.
Gaborik wanted to face his teammate Lundqvist to prove to him he can score on him. Lundqvist did not choose him so Gaborik could have that chance.
Can the speedy sniper that is Marion Gaborik beat the patient brick wall that is Henrik Lundqvist? Only time will tell, and I hope we get to see the answer on Sunday.
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It’s going to be a quiet night in the NHL on Thursday as the teams head for the All-Star Break. That means there’s nothing to bet on…or is there? Lets take a look as some team prop odds that the sportsbook odds makers have on offer.
SBRForum Betting News and Gambling Info – NHL Betting Articles
OTTAWA (AP) —Phil Kessel(notes) probably won’t have to wait until the end of the NHL All-Star game draft to hear his name.
The Toronto forward was among the final 36 players added to the event by the league’s hockey operations department Thursday, joining teammates Joffrey Lupul(notes) and Dion Phaneuf(notes) for the Jan. 29 game in Ottawa.
Kessel’s participation last year in All-Star weekend is best remembered for him becoming the last selection in the inaugural draft – a somewhat embarrassing moment that included Washington star Alex Ovechkin(notes) chuckling and snapping a photo of Kessel sitting alone waiting to be picked.
“Hopefully, he’s not selected last two years in a row,” Lupul said Thursday. “But he got a car for it, so I mean it’s not all bad, right?”
Besides, no one is laughing now.
Kessel, a former University of Minnesota star, has been among the league’s most prolific players all season and entered play Thursday second overall in scoring with 48 points on 24 goals and 24 assists, two behind Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin(notes), another All-Star selection.
In fact, the top nine scorers so far will all be in attendance, a list that includes Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux(notes), Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos(notes), Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin(notes), Chicago’s Marian Hossa(notes), Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin(notes) and Ottawa’s Jason Spezza(notes), along with Henrik Sedin, Kessel and Lupul.
The other selections include Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews(notes), Corey Perry(notes), Zdeno Chara(notes), Pavel Datsyuk(notes) and Henrik Lundqvist(notes).
“I think it means a lot,” Henrik Sedin said. “It’s one of those things I think you’re going to look back at when you’re done playing (and feel proud) that you’ve been to one or a few of those. That’s something you can tell your grandkids.”
Last year, Kessel received $ 20,000 for charity and a Honda CR-Z hybrid for being the last player selected in the draft that determines the game rosters.
“I’ve still got it,” he said Thursday.
A similar bounty is expected to soften the blow for the final player selected this year.
The NHL Players’ Association worked in close consultation with league executive Rob Blake(notes) on the organization of the event and players were overwhelming in favor of keeping a last man standing.
The captains and assistants in charge of selecting the squads will be announced next week. One of them is expected to be Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson(notes), who fans previously voted into the game along with teammates Erik Karlsson(notes), Milan Michalek(notes) and Spezza.
The Senators are the best represented team. The Canucks, Leafs, Bruins, Rangers and Blackhawks all have three players.
The Sedin twins are joined by Canucks teammate Alexander Edler(notes) while Calgary will be represented by Jarome Iginla(notes), another potential choice to captain one of the teams. Montreal goalie Carey Price(notes) and Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien(notes) also will also participate.
Injuries kept Edmonton forwards Jordan Eberle(notes) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins(notes) from receiving an invite, while veteran Detroit defenseman Nick Lidstrom and Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne(notes) each asked to be overlooked.
“I’ve been there many times,” said Selanne, a 10-time All-Star. “I honestly think for the young players it’s a good opportunity.”
As much as NHL fans love to boo and berate Gary Bettman, they should give the commissioner at least some credit for deciding to televise the annual Winter Classic Alumni Game prior to the main event between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers.
The league announced last week that the Alumni Game, with the puck set to drop at 1 p.m. EST on New Year’s Eve, will be broadcast on Versus in the US and CBC in Canada, with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia providing a local broadcast in the City of Brotherly Love.
The game will feature a host of of legends for both franchises, with 59 former players and coaches currently scheduled to make appearances on the ice at Citizens Bank Park.
Pat Quinn is set to man the bench for a Flyers squad that will include the likes of Jeremy Roenick, Eric Lindros, Mark Howe, Bob Clarke, John LeClair and Reggie Leach. The Rangers, on the other hand, will be coached by Mike Keenan, who led New York to victory in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, and represented on the ice by Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Dave Maloney, Ron Duguay, Brian Leetch and Mike Gartner.Of course, the game won’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but, like the concept of playing a hockey game outdoors, having it on TV will add to the already tremendous entertainment value of the Winter Classic, which has become one of the coolest events in all of professional sports.
Between this and the 24/7 series on HBO, the NHL has done a magnificent job of marketing its most attractive regular-season product to a wide audience of puck-heads and casual fans alike.
The Winter Classic has become, in essence, what Christmas Day is to the NBA or what Thanksgiving is to the NFL, though with the added benefit of being staged in a unique way for all of North America to see.
And with college football enjoying the peak of its bowl season around New Year’s, it makes perfect sense that the NHL would do everything in its power to pump up the pageantry around the Winter Classic.
Putting the Alumni Game on TV only adds to the appeal of the main event, giving the league an opportunity to preface the actual game between the Flyers and the Rangers with a glimpse into the storied past of one of the NHL’s longest-running and fiercest rivalries.
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(pictured: Joffrey Lupul is fifth in the NHL scoring race) Toronto’s 5-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday was a near-perfect representation of both the team’s strengths that propelled them to the top of the NHL standings in October, and the club’s weaknesses that has seen their playoff position slip to a perilous [...]
Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey News and Views
Reimer or Gustavsson? Guessing game continues in Maple Leafs crease
TORONTO – James Reimer’s return from injury was supposed to stabilize the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending situation. But 10 days after making his way back into the lineup, the picture is no clearer than it was while he spent six weeks recovering from
Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 to continue NHL streak
The Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins, beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday. It was the Bruins‘ 13th victory in 14 games. Boston have lost once since 29 October – in a shoot-out to the Detroit Red Wings on 25 November 25 – to
The San Jose Sharks came into Monday night’s matchup with the division rival Los Angeles Kings with just one road loss in their last eight contests. They had just had a four-game winning streak broken and had not lost back-to-back games since the fourth game of the season.
The Kings lost the first matchup of the teams and had lost three of four. They were only 6-6-1 on the season at home.
Yet the hosts spent more that half of the game with a two-goal lead. That is why they play the games.
The Sharks were once again done in by their slow start, giving up eight of the first 11 shots on goal and 15 of the first 21 attempted. They have scored first in only about a third of their games this season.
L.A.’s seventh shot was from a sharp angle coming on the heels of a bad giveaway by Justin Braun just 8:37 into the game. It surprised Antti Niemi, and the resulting soft goal ended up being the game-winner. The Sharks played great from there; but it was too late.
In the last two and a half periods, San Jose attempted over half-again the shots L.A. but only put five more on goal because of the Kings shot-blocking. They had more than a fourth-again the ratio of blocks to attempts and more than half-again blocks to shots of the Sharks.
For the game, San Jose had 13 more possessions (11 more faceoff wins and two fewer giveaways) but the same number of shots. The extra possession time led to an appropriate number of additional hits for the Kings and resulted in two extra Sharks power plays, but no special teams goals were scored.
For the Sharks, it was the third time they were shutout. All have come against the division rivals they have dominated for four consecutive seasons.
One reason for this is the team’s lack of secondary scoring: Only seven players have double-digit point totals, and two players (Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau) have accounted for over a third of the team’s goals.
The loss technically dropped the Sharks out of first place and legitimately left them with the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. They have a couple days to prepare for an invasion of Eastern Conference teams, with the Montreal Canadiens coming to town Thursday and the surprising Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Being ready in the first half of the first period might go a long way to preventing the team’s first true losing streak since the fourth game of the season.
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