The Fifth Liners

There was a sense of relief all around the Rogers Arena last night as the Vancouver Canucks beat the St Louis Blues 1-0 to end a seven game losing streak and to hopefully to kick start our failing play-off campaign! Jannik Hansen scored the games only goal after 11 minutes of the 3rd period to send the home fans into an overdue rapture. But it was young goalie Eddie Lack who was the true star and his 20 saves helped blank the free scoring St Louis offense and give Vancouver a priceless win! But the big question remains, has the damage already been done to their campaign? This could be the case this year as under John Tortorella, the Canucks have looked a shadow of their former selves and even the usually consistent Sedin twins haven't been hitting the high notes (Henrik especially) and this maybe one year where the play-offs desert us. However there is still a great deal of hockey to be played and if Detroit showed us anything last year, when all is lost- just go for broke an...

After some great hockey so far and most surprisingly host nation Russia dumped out an impressive Finland team and Austria conceding a worrying amount of goals, here is how the semi finals match up! Sweden v Finland: Both sides have been playing fluid and solid hockey, Finland have been the higher scoring team and anchored by their veteran captain Teeume Selanne, they have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament and Tuukka Rask as always have been impressive in net! Sweden were dealt an early blow with the loss of Henrik Zetterberg, but the team has rallied well in his absence and so their offense has been one of their key factors. For this Scandinavian match up, I would love Finland to progress to the final as it would be a fitting tribute to their dedicated performance, but my head says that Sweden is just too strong for this tie! Prediction: Sweden  Canada v USA: This is the one tie that has everyone in hockey talking as a rematch of the 2010 final commences. B...

In the opening days of Ice Hockey in Sochi 2014 , we have seen a vast array of goals being scored (50 the count so far in case you were wondering) and we have seen some impressive team performances. It may be early doors so far, but we are beginning to get an idea of who might be in contention for medals soon! Here is a review of the action so far: Group A   The USA started strongly with a 7-1 win over an uninspired Slovakia team who lacked any real threat. Phil Kessel was the star man with a goal and two assists, Ryan Kesler and James Van Riemsdyk also impressed. Goalie wise, the Slovaks had a torrid time with St Louis' Jaroslav Halak being yanked on from net with the score at 5-1, only for backup Peter Budaj to be beaten on his very first shot faced! But with Jonathan Quick looking impressive in net and an offense that could do some damage, it appears my initial thoughts about the US could be proven wrong! Hosts Russia began strongly with a 5-2 win over Slovenia in a game...

The question this week focuses on one of this years most improved sides, the Phoenix Coyotes , but rather than praising their play (which was done already!), my fellow blogger Mike's question focuses on something rather different. "After 58 games, the Phoenix Coyotes are looking good for a wildcard playoff spot. This is testament to the reasonably strong season the team has had, especially compared to previous seasons. However the team is last in the attendance leagues, averaging just  13,269  for home games. Phoenix has always struggled to fill the Jobing.com Arena and the teams' financial struggles have never been secret. Despite Gary Bettman's desire to see hockey in the desert, does the team need to move to better hockey market area in order to survive?" There is a lot for me to consider on this one so away we go! This team has the heart of a lion, there is no questioning that this year, but it seems no matter how hard they try, the fans just don't...

Once again it seems an age old tale has reared its head again in British Columbia, the Vancouver Canucks goalie crisis! This year has been far from excellent at the Rogers Arena and under the vastly decreasing effect of John Tortorella's leadership (though his attempt to fight the entire Calgary Flames team was just hysterical!), our play off hopes now hang by a thread! Roberto Luongo was once again restored to starting status in net this year after the bizarre trade of future star Cory Schneider to New Jersey and so far this year he has put up some reasonable numbers including 22 wins, but again he has looked vulnerable shot stopping and his confidence will no doubt have been affected by the emergence of his new backup, Eddie Lack and after the young Swede's star performance in our 2-0 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings, it appears that we might have a problem on our hands as both goalies are of equal quality. So far in his 22 games in net, Lack has managed 8 wins, inclludin...

This week's question is: 'Should Sidney Crosby win a Hart Trophy? Does most points mean he's best?' First of all, let's clarify that Crosby already won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2006/07 when he finished with 120 points, six more than Joe Thornton. As it stands right now, Sidney Crosby leads the NHL in points scored with 71. This means that he is favourite to win the Art Ross trophy, awarded to the player who finishes the regular season with the most points. He's already won the trophy once, back in 2006/07 when he totaled 120 points. Of the last ten Hart Trophy winners, seven won the Art Ross Trophy the same year. To answer the second part of the question, most points does not necessarily equal the best player. The difficulty being that picking the league's MVP is subjective. The Hart Trophy winner is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA), with individual voters submitting five names, these names are ranked in order of ...

Mike's question for this week focuses on a defenseman who is currently the talk of the league, " PK Subban has great skills, but he's also guaranteed to see the inside of the penalty box. Is Subban a liability? Or will he become the franchise player he can?" Damn good question as always mike, let's go to work! Subban is currently the hot sensation of the Montreal Canadiens and since being drafted in 2007, he has become one of the key elements of this side and last season he was awarded the James Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman! This is season his impressive streak has continued and currently he sits on top of the Montreal points scorers list with 33 points which for a D-Man is mighty impressive and currently this ranks him as the 6th high scoring defensive player in the league. Following his selection for the Canadian Olympic Team for Sochi 2014, he certainly has the the flair and presence that has earned him his shot and thus far he is set to be...