The Fifth Liners

Slava Voynov will be prepping his legal team for one hell of a battle, as today his court date has been set for March 2, 2015. Monday at Los Angeles County Superior Court, Voynov plead not guilty to assaulting his wife on October 19th. Currently suspended from playing in the NHL, Voynov could be sentenced to up to nine years imprisonment if he is found guilty. Previously his wife had sent a letter stating that her injuries were accidental, but the judge dismissed the evidence at the preliminary hearing. The two time Stanley Cup winner with LA Kings , Voynov so far this season contributed only two assists from six regular season games played.

This week it was out with the old and in with the new this week in the state of Springsteen as New Jersey Devils sacked head coach Peter DeBoer and swiftly replaced with him former Capitals coach Adam Oates and former captain Scott Stevens . A storm of controversy soon followed as the Caps protested that NJ should have asked permission first, but the matter was quickly settled with the minimum of fuss. After leading the Devils to an unlikely Stanley Cup final appearence in 2012, DeBoer has struggled to bring consistency to his aging side and has left his side seventh overall in the Eastern Conference and over nine points adrift from the wild card slot! In his four years as coach, De Boer only registered a solitary playoff appearance. But his sacking doesn't appear to be been solely based on results. Since the departure of stars Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk , New Jersey has failed to replacement them with a consistent goal scorer. This season in particular has been a pretty

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Making your NHL debut is always a special moments in any person careers, but tomorrow night when Philadelphia Flyers take on the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow, for 33 year old goalie Rob Zepp - this debut has been 13 years in the making! Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, Zepp never signed for the team and instead was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001. After that this followed a spells in both the AHL and ECHL from 2001 to 2005. Zepp then tried his fortunes in Europe, firstly in Finland with SaiPa in SM-liga. A seven year stint with Berlin in the German Hockey League would follow this. Zepp's post season performances in Europe however, impressed the Flyer's organization, who prompt signed him for their affiliate Leigh Valley Phantoms. Zepp played back up to Ray Emery in last nights 7-4 win over the Maple Leafs, but with Steve Mason injured, his long awaited debut has finally come forward. All the best Rob, no one can say that you haven't worked h

This weeks question, comes from one of our devoted fans in the UK, ' James Neal is the first NHL player to be booked for diving. Will this put off other potential floppers or will it deter players who've been genuinely fouled from falling to ground?' IheartModano - Darn good question fellow European reader, let's take a closer look at this. Officially Neal is the first ever NHL player to be named and shamed for diving and has been fined $2,000 for his offense- pocket change really to these guys. On November 13th, Neal was given a warning for the same offense after a game against St Louis, but it appears he didn't think to tune in for that weeks episode. Cue exactly a month later against, San Jose, he then decided to try the very same act again! But what will be the result of this whole thing? Hockey is a tough and physical game, but there are times when you wonder how many others are flopping the getting away it? The punishments that have been set out are n

Tyler Myers  At 24 years old, Myers is one of the few sparks that this deplorable Buffalo Sabres team has to offer. Winner of the Calder Trophy in 2010, he has so far notched up so great numbers including 42 goals and 144 points. Buffalo has a player who is coming into the prime of his career, for Myers it seems unfair that he is stranded in oblivion and on this team he is not going to get a Stanley Cup rings any time soon! The problem for the Sabres other teams presenting a trade that would be equally balanced (they will have trouble finding willing candidates). Alex Ovechkin  Three Hart Trophies and no Stanley Cups? Alex Ovechkin is possibly the most dedicated man to his continually misfiring Washington Capitals team. How on earth he has stuck like out in DC remains a bigger mystery than who killed JFK! The Caps are a team with one Stanley Cup final to their name which predates even Ovi, this season his 23 points have been about the only exciting thing at the Verizon centre. At

Normally I wouldn't go a mile near this kind of stuff, but the San Jose Sharks christmas rap video 'Holiday Sweater' is a present that just keeps on giving! Expect this cringing piece line the halls of shame for years to come, take it away boys....

After their 4-3 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks on home turf at the Canadian Tire Centre last night, the Ottawa Senators have dropped a bombshell. Today was announced that head coach, Paul MacLean has been dismissed after three seasons! So far there has been an massively negative reaction to this decision. Particularly by Senators fans who dearly loved the coach with the most impressive facial hair in the league! Winner of the Jack Adams Award in 2013 (albeit a lockout shortened season), MacLean has been highly praised for his development of Senators and has guided them to the playoffs twice in only three years, making the second round in 2013. Last season was one to forget in Ottawa as they finished 5th in Atlantic Division with a record of 37-31-14. This season there has been signs of life such as the form of new captain Erik Karlsson and the surprising goal scoring of Clarke MacArthur . Overall the Senators lie 6th in the Atlantic and 10th in the Eastern Conference where

Today it was finally announced that the long standing issue of Martin Brodeur returning to the NHL has been resolved as he has signed a 1 year deal with the St Louis Blues after a successful tryout. After regular starter Brian Elliott was sidelined through injury, Brodeur has been signed to provide cover during this crisis. But after a less than successful final year at his old side New Jersey, does the most winning goaltender in NHL history still deserve a shot? On a sentimental level, I think it is great to see Marty still wanting to prove his worth at the top level rather than being forced into retirement. But sadly we have to look at the facts for this whole deal, firstly at 42 years old he is no spring chicken! Also his age caught up with him in dramatic fashion during a lackluster 2013-14 season as he recorded only 19 wins from 39 games with a GAA of 2.51- his worst since 2006! The season prior he had guide the Devils to an unexpected Stanley Cup Final appearance! But in 20

The Toronto Blue Jay s off season activity just got another major shot in the arm last night when it was announced that third baseman Brett Lawrie along with Kendall Graveman , Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto have been traded to the Oakland A's in exchange for Josh Donaldson ! One of the best in the game at third base, this trade marks both an offensive and defensive rise for the Blue Jays! Impressively, the Jays didn't have to trade away a great depth of quality to acquire their man. Donaldson is coming an All Star season where he hit a. 301 average and an .883 OPS. He also slugged his way to 29 home runs and 98 RBI's to push Oakland to a post season appearance! The trade caught the A's man off guard, but he has insisted that he holds no grudge against his old side. This man could play an important role in the rebuilding of Toronto and along with the Free Agency capture of Russell Martin, runs maybe more frequent at the Rogers Centre this season. Lawrie struggl

Among the numerous surprises in the Nashville Predators brilliant start to this season, has been the unexpected form of 20 year old Swedish winger, Filip Forsberg . This young gun is no stranger in the NHL, but so far this season he is sure making an impression with 9 goals and 22 points already! Baring no relation at all to Avalanche legend Peter Forsberg, Filip has shown his true qualities this year and this is marking him as a possible candidate for the Calder Trophy. Originally drafted 11th overall by the Washington Capitals back in 2012, Forsberg spent the majority of his first season playing back in Sweden for his old side Leksands IF. But a blow came when he was unexpected traded to the Predators in 2013. His progress there to start with was slow and last season he notched up only 5 points from a mere 13 NHL games (4 of which were assists). For development he was assigned to the team's AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals where he fared better scoring 34 points in 47 gam

A few weeks ago it was well noted in the media that Sean Avery had quit the off-Broadway production, 'Positive is Negative' in a typically fiery fashion after an argument involving pizza! No stranger to controversy, Avery forever made headlines during his 11 year NHL career for all the wrong reasons, but this meltdown was something else entirely. Many of us after picking ourselves off the floor from the laughing fit that ensued suddenly realized this was actually serious! So if Mr Avery is intending treading the NYC boards, here some ideas to produce his own Broadway shows. Screening Brodeur  A two man play which involves a young yet troublesome hockey player attempting to screen a rival goalie during a key playoff game and using all manner of tricks in which to achieve it! Whether Martin Brodeur will agree to star will depend on some good negotiations. Sloppy Seconds: Or How I Spent My 6 Game Suspension Angered that his former flame is dating another hockey player, o

Today's question comes from a reader in Canada.  Jakub Voracek is currently top of the points scoring table- is he really valuable to the Flyers? Or is he just having a lucky season? - Tortorella4eva. Thanks for the question Tortorella4eva, the Philadelphia Flyers might be languishing at the lower end of the Metro division, but that's certainly not through lack of effort. Despite conceding 60 goals, the team from the city of brotherly love has scored 57, only the Penguins and Islanders have scored more in the same division.  Questions need to be asked about the Flyers' defensive performances but there's definitely no issues with the forward lines. Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux have 29 and 24 points respectively. Enough to see them both in the NHL's top five point scorers. To be up with Stamkos, Seguin and Crosby is always something to be proud of. Is Voracek valuable to the flyers? Definitely. There's not a team in the league that wouldn't h

In the Boston Bruins 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, it included a rare but ultimately hilarious error from Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky . On 1.28 of the 3rd period played, the Jackets goalie allowed Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to score on him from centre ice! This season you will not see many goals like this scored in the NHL this year- Bobrovsky should avoid errors like this if the Blue Jackets have any play off aspirations!

Last night, it was announced that Miami Marlins star right fielder, Giancarlo Stanton had been signed to a 13 year $325 million dollar contract! This deal is the largest that baseball has ever seen and will no doubt settle the fears of Marlins fans. But is Stanton really deserving of being the richest man in the game? So far his career stats read well with .271 batting average along with 619 hits, 154 home runs and 399 runs batted in. Since his first at bat in the Sunshine State back in 2010, Stanton has been a bona-fide star for a flagging Miami franchise which last saw success with World Series wins in 1997 and 2003 while still branded the Florida Marlins. His current deal goes above the $277 million deal for Dodgers pitcher, Clayton Kershaw . But while Kershaw is now a three time Cy Young winner and last seasons NL MVP, Stanton has little show to command such an enormous deal. Last season he won both the Silver Slugger and was the leagues Home Run Champion- but one good season

Seems like the Toronto Blue Jays have a massive stride forward in the free agency market today as according to Sports Net, they have netted Pittsburgh catcher Russell Martin on a five year deal worth $82 Million! This deal if completed would become the second largest in club history, as well as being the largest ever handed out by GM Alex Anthopoulos . Melky Cabrera recently turned down a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays which along with the perhaps unwise trade of Adam Lind seemed to limit Toronto's hitting options. Martin could prove to be an excellent signing for the Blue Jays due to his great power hitting skills and his superb handling of pitchers. He also boasts a good record on playing on winning teams and  has been to the post season over seven times in nine years! As well, Martin provides a similar offensive threat to that of Cabrera! But with Dioner Navarro already a skilled catcher, could this prove problematic in the club house? In April last season Martin rec

As rumors continue to circulate about a new possible expansion team for the NHL, Las Vegas seems intent on throwing its hat into the ring. For years now there has been talk about Hockey coming to the Nevada desert and ever since 1997, the city has hosted the annual pre-season game 'Frozen Fury which has proven popular with fans. But although Vegas makes for a very glamorous backdrop, should Gary Bettman bring this great game here? Positives Would Make Fine Main Event: Promotion in Las Vegas is second to none and if an NHL franchise came to town, the advertising possibilities are endless. Bringing this kind of game to Nevada would make it the hottest ticket in town along and the kind of spin it could gain may make an ultimate Vegas experience.  Land for development: The big open space of the desert could open up some big opportunities for Arena's, according to Emily Sadler's fine SN article a new 18,000 seat arena is in the pipeline which will cater for a multitude of

Last night after suffering a 6-0 to the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum, it appears that the Colorado Avalanche 's season is already turning into the thing of nightmares. There were signs of life last season as Patrick Roy 's Jack Adams winning debut season propelled them to new heights not seen since the days of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Roy himself keeping net. Currently the Avalanche lies stranded in 13th place in the Western Conference with a record of 3–5–5 and the problem seems to be that no one really understands what is causing this slide? Calder Trophy Winner Nathan MacKinnon 's slow sophomore season has been making headlines for the wrong reasons but currently he is still joint top offensively with Matt Duchene on 9 points. But Jarome Iginla has so far received the most flack as his age has appeared to have crept up with him. 2 goals and 8 points are not reflecting the $16 million that Colorado were willing to invest in the 37 year old! The p

This week Vancouver Canucks winger Alex Burrows received a three game ban for this hit on Montreal Canadiens winger Alexei Emelin  But it appears that after the Canucks 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place last night (thanks Derek Dorrsett!) it seems that Oilers captain Andrew Ference will be hearing the phone ringing from the League quite soon in the coming days after his frankly awful hit on Canucks player Zack Kassian ! See below... Now when you consider that Burrows got a three game ban for his offense, should the league be tougher on Ference who is a previous offender? Burrows' hit was admittedly a careless one as he went in late and this type of extremely hard contact could have resulted in some serious damage to Emelin. Receiving a three game suspension though seemed slightly rash by league standards as we have seen more serious hits only receiving a one game ban. But Ference however, had been scrapping with Kassian all through the match and his inte

Here's some stories and thoughts from the world of sport this week. Baseball The San Francisco Giants only went and won the World Series for the third time in five years. Congratulations San Francisco. Hockey Detroit Red Wings legend and Hall of Famer Gordie Howe suffered a significant stroke on Sunday while staying with his daughter in Texas. The 86 year old is said to be recovering but has a tough journey ahead. Mr Hockey and his family are definitely in our thoughts. The Carolina Hurricanes continue to suck harder than anyone expected. The 2006 Stanley Cup champions are 0-6-2 for the season so far. Luckily for the 'Canes (and fans hoping to cash in on that free BoBerry biscuit), the team has a few games against division rivals Columbus soon, another team that seems happy to give points away. Washington goalie Braden Holtby might not be having much success on the ice, but his beard is top-notch. We also learnt a lot about P.K. Subban's intense personal groomi

After being humiliated 10-0 by the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Game 6, the San Francisco Giants captured their third World Series title in five years with a 3-2 victory in Game 7! Madison Bumgarner proved to be the difference in this game and his decisive pitching limited the Royals attacking options. He entered the game in the second inning when Giants starter was pulled by Bruce Bochy for allowing two runs. From that point onwards, Bumgarner was ice cold through out and Missouri was left weeping. The scoring opened in the second inning off an RBI by designated hitter Michael Morse , which gave San Francisco a 2-0 lead. But the Royals were soon back in contention and dragged the score back to a tie game at 2-2! The game however hinged on a play by San Francisco rookie outfielder Joe Panik , who turned in an excellent double play by making a catch in the third inning and followed up with a glove toss to second base. Initially the runner was declared safe at second b

The Pittsburgh Penguins have today announced that defenseman Olli Maata will be undergoing surgery for a tumor in his neck. According to NHL.com , this type of tumor an 85% chance of being lower type thyroid cancer. Maatta is not expected to undergo chemotherapy for this condition and the Penguins have suggested they expect him to be back with the team within four weeks after surgery. The 20 year old has been cleared to play up until then and has shown some great form this season so far and currently stands on 1 goal and five points in seven games. The Penguins have advised that they were aware of his condition pre season, but Maatta wished to keep this news to himself. They have also praised his attitude and sheer concentration during this period. The Finn was quoted as saying "I feel healthy and I feel fine,the only thing that's different is that now I know that I maybe have cancer. And you know what? That's tough, but I don't think it's affected me much.

Last night, the San Francisco Giants look advantage of a minor implode by the Kansas City Royals to level the scores of the 2014 World Series at 2 games a piece after 4 games played! This match up between Missouri and California might not have been predicted by many fans at the beginning of the post season, but so far both are making a good show of things. After being humiliated in game one by the Giants, the Royals' recovery has been nothing short of a masterstroke! Watching starting pitcher James Shields stumble his way through 4 very nervy innings while Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner held Kansas to only 4 hits in a one sided 7-1 victory made the air go out of Kauffman stadium! Also aided by a Hunter Pence home run, things were already looking bleak and the Royals impressive 8-0 post season record lay in ruins. Game 2 brought about a dramatic change and the Royals looked more fired up and ready to counter the Giants threat. After being held 1-1 in the opening innings, Om

The Montreal Canadiens 3-1 win over the New York Rangers tonight at the Bell Centre was very impressive one and aided by the excellent saves of Carey Price in net, they continue to prove they are worth a shot at the cup this year! But it was this excellent play between Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty in the first period that caught everyone's attention. You are unlikely to see a better example of passing play between teammates this season.

The trade rumour mill has been grinding vigorously of late and one name that has been at the centre is that of Carolina Hurricanes captain, Eric Staal .  Word has been that Staal would be happy to waive his no trade cause and join the Toronto Maple Leafs instead. At 30 years old and with only one year left on his contract, this would certainly help lift $8 million off the Hurricanes salary cap. But the real question is, what would be the long term effect of letting one of their stars leave? Ever since their remarkable run to the 2006 Stanley Cup win, the Hurricanes have struggled to be any where near competitive and Raleigh, North Carolina is unlikely to see another cup banner raised any time soon. Eric Staal since being a second overall pick in 2003 has been a solid player for them over the years. His 690 points from just 770 NHL games reads very well, but his plus/minus figures have been consistently dropping recently. Last season amidst a lengthy knee injury, Staal c

The time has come at last Tampa Bay Lightning fans! 2013 3rd overall draft pick Jonathan Drouin will at last make his anticipated NHL debut this week. This event has been a year in the making, but will this man live up to the hype? Last season Drouin was surprisingly sent back to his old team the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL after training camp. Clearly Tampa Bay wanted to ensure this was one gem that was thoroughly polished. This meant that this young man was the only top 6 pick that didn't go on to make an appearance in the NHL. Despite the disappointment, Drouin went on to have another productive season with Halifax and finished with 29 goals and 108 points! Another blow would come when the 19 year old broke his thumb before training camp even began and it looked as if he would be confined to another year of obscurity when Lightning again sent him down. Drouin was sent to AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch for a conditioning assignment. Fans in Florida were again left in lim

After looking like they had finally reached a break through, last season was nothing short of a disaster for the New York Islanders franchise. Mid season it looked as if GM Garth Snow had lost his mind after surprisingly trading star winger Matt Moulson to Buffalo in exchange for Thomas Vanek . Soon after Vanek became disgruntled and was then traded to Montreal! After limping across the finish line in 8th place in the Metropolitan Division, Islanders fans had only a move to the Barclays Centre to look forward to! But in the off season, a couple of moves have seen this team being pushed back into spotlight. Problem last season was that the Islanders were not a rounded team and aside from the star power of captain John Tavares and Kyle Okposo , the lower lines were not stocked with quality. In this off season alone they have in an amazing move acquired Boston D-Man Johnny Boychuk and Chicago Centre Nick Leddy who will aid both their scoring ability and will assist in adding qualit

Seems that Anaheim Ducks legendary Finnish winger, Teemu Selanne has been inspiring creative juices recently, as 22 year artist Timo Ranto has made a Lego mosaic of the 'Finnish Flash'! This 5 ft 8 piece took over 10,000 pieces of Lego to assemble and the result you would have to say is pretty darn impressive! Check out the video below Selanne retired last season as the highest scoring Finn in NHL history with 684 goals and 1,457 points in 1,451 games. His number 8 jersey is to be retired by Anaheim later in this upcoming season.

It has proven to be a big day for the Ottawa Senators so far as they have re-signed star right winger Bobby Ryan to a brand new seven year contract reportedly worth over $50.75 million and finally they have announced a new captain in the shape of defenseman Erik Karlsson . Debate has been raging today about whether the 24 year old Swede is the best man for the job? Ever since former captain and longtime Ottawa star Jason Spezza was traded to Dallas, the Sens management has been taking their time over announcing his replacement. In retrospect I think the selection of Karlsson is a fine one because he is a young man who is coming into his own and is fast becoming considered one of the leagues finest defensemen. So far Karlsson has spent six seasons in Ottawa, he has 63 goals and 237 points scored in 315 games, also he was awarded the James Norris Trophy in 2012. On these kind of stats alone combined with his committed play, I can think of no other candidate who was more qualified

Prior to arriving in Canada I was aware of the existence of the game of baseball, but being European I never quite grasped its appeal! The games seemed like 'The Never Ending Story' and I marveled at the fact that their main championship was named the World Series when in fact no other nations participated. But watching baseball films such as Bull Durham, Moneyball, Eight Men Out and Major League perked my interest in this game and I found myself reading more. The Toronto Blue Jays were a franchise I had been aware of for some years as they were Canada's only MLB franchise who had not only claimed back to back World Series wins in 1992-93 but had also not reached the playoffs again since then. As I was facing a long wait until Hockey season rolled around and the 2014 World Cup really wasn't peaking my interest this time, I decided to immerse myself in the beautiful game that Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle and Cal Ripken Jr have made so popular. Arr

We're one game into week four of the NFL and so far only three teams have maintained perfect records. The Cincinnati Bengals are the only team from the AFC to have no losses to their name.  The Baltimore Ravens were the first to fall, followed by the Atlanta Falcons and most recently the Tennessee Titans . Andy Dalton is the only Quarterback in the league to have not been sacked this season, testament to the strength of the pocket. The defense is also playing its part. The Bengals have only allowed an average of 11 points per game. The best in the NFL.  So why should the Bengals deserve your support? The world loves an underdog. Cincinnati may be top the AFC now but they've never lifted won a Super Bowl, they've only made it to the final twice and there's still 13 games left to play.  Off the field the Bengals have also made the headlines for right reasons. Defensive tackle Devon Still was dropped from the squad at the start of the season, but the Bengals

Last night, one of the modern greats of the game of Baseball, Derek Jeter retired in style as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. Fitting it was the Captain himself who delivered the game winning hit in front of a sea of emotional fans! As final games go, Jeter couldn't have asked for a better end to a stunning career. Winner of 5 World Series titles, including the MVP award in 2000, the renowned Shortstop has made no less than 14 All Star appearances, won 5 Golden Glove awards, 5 Silver Sluggers, 2 Hank Aaron Awards along with a career batting average of .309. One of the deadly men on planet earth with a bat, Jeter has notched up an incredible 3,461 hits which includes 260 home runs and 1,307 runs batted in! Globally this man is unmistakable and has succeeded in bring the Yankee franchise to a global audience. This has been one career has been anything but ordinary, baseball will miss you DJ! Thank you for the memories.