The Fifth Liners

Despite last night's comfortable win over the Carolina Hurricanes , the Washington Capital's remaining games are purely for pride. This week's question talks about the Caps' failure to qualify for the playoffs: " Alex Ovechkin has just notched up his 50th goal for the Washington Capitals this season- but they still seemed destined to miss the playoffs this year! Does this team have any other qualities apart from Ovi? Or are they just a one man band?" The Washington Capitals' 2013/14 campaign is headed for an early bath. Although they beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets ' win over Dallas and the Detroit Red Wings ' overtime point in Pittsburgh hammered the nail in Washington's coffin. Columbus and Detroit advance to the playoffs, Washington to the golf course. So the post-mortem into the Caps' season begins and 13/14 was a season of absolute polar opposites. Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin has reason...

Josh Harding is having quite a season in net for Minnesota Wild and currently is top goalie in league stats wise with a GAA of 1.65 and a save percentage of .933. He may not have caught the eyes of hockey fans this season like Carey Price or Tuukka Rask but on merit alone, surely this man deserve a shot at the Vezina Trophy? So far this season in 29 games played, Harding has 18 wins including three shut out victories and has conceded only 46 goals- doesn't sound impressive if you like your stats and currently he only sits 22nd overall on the list of best goalies in the league- but when you consider what a journey this man has had to get here, your mind will swiftly be changed. Back on November 2012, Harding was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and because of his condition, many thought he would never again don the Wild jersey. But incredibly since then the man has played on and has delivered some sterling displays, particularly during their playoff lost to last season's ...

48 saves from James Reimer gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a much needed 2-1 shootout win over the Washington Capitals at the Air Canada Center last night. David Clarkson got the ball rolling when he deflected in Jake Gardiner's long shot after 10:08 of the second period. But Alexander Ovechkin then tied the game with 5 minutes remaining of the third to send matters to overtime! After an uneventful overtime, the game was pushed to a shootout where Grant Fehr gave the Caps an initial advantage when he deeked past Reimer but James Van Reimsdyk scored to level the shoot out. Niklas Backstrom then had his penalty shoot saved by the glove of Reimer which allow Joffrey Lupul to seal the win for the Leafs!

The Washington Capitals should no signs of fading in the absence of star player Alexander Ovechkin last night as they hammered the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 at the Wells Fargo Center! Things almost got off the wrong start for the visiting capitals when Steve Downie, who was making his debut after arriving from the Colorado Avalanche in mid week, almost beat Capitals goalie Braden Holtby in the opening seconds! But Niklas Backstrom got the party started when after he rifled a shot past Steve Mason after 17.28 to put the away side in front! But it was in the second period that the Capitals should their offensive capabilities and a five goal flurry would soon follow- Joel Ward pushed the advantage to 2-0 after less than 1.24 of the second before Jim Chimera made it three on a breakaway! After Steve Mason's poor display, he was pulled from net shortly after the third goal and replaced by back up Ray Emery. Sadly Emery would fare just as worse when Backstrom grabbed his second off...

The Chicago Blackhawks stuttering start to their new campaign continued with a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the United Centre last night- this defeat leaves the Hawks record as 6-1-3 which after their glorious start last year, is making them look slightly awkward. Zach Parise got the Wild started after he scored a rebound on a powerplay after 12.39 of the 1st period played after Corey Crawford had saved the initial effort! But then Niklas Backstrom made an excellent save from Marion Hossa on the break away with six minutes remaining! Minnesota's lead was then increased to 2-0 when after only 1.03 of the second period, Kyle Brodziak tipped in Marco Scandella's shot to leave Hawks fans bewildered! Their frustration grew when Backstrom denied Jonathan Toews and then the post denied another potential goal to still leave Chicago behind, they also had a goal waived off for a high stick before Bryan Bickell finally smashed one in for the home side to reduce the scores to 2-1 ...

1. Jarome Iginla  After a decade as captain of the Calgary Flames, Jarome Iginla this year made the decision to pack his bags and leave the Saddledome with his team at the bottom of the Western Conference standings to join championship chasing Pittsburgh Penguins who acquired him in exchange for one their first round draft picks in this years draft! But after a good start scoring 11 points in 13 regular season games- the Penguins were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final with Iginla failing to step up when needed and this leaves his Pittsburgh future in doubt. At 35 Iginla still has some miles left in him and no doubt there will be a stampede of offers for him because each franchise needs a frequent goal scorer like him (take note of this Tortorella) 2. Nathan Horton  This man has been at the helm of the Boston Bruins recent success since his arrival from Florida in 2011, but recently Horton has run into trouble with Bruins management over an ar...

Washington Capitals are currently top of the Southwest Division, from Mike's previous post about this seemingly mundane division, we have learned it is one that is far from excitement. But this team does boast an impressive roster and based on their 6-5 win over Tampa Bay Lightning- we have learned that this team has plenty of fight in them and this is what counts come playoff time! Led by notorious Captain Alexander Ovechkin- the Caps have been a regular feature in the Eastern Conference playoffs over the last four years and this year their forward line has clocked up some impressive stats- Centre Nicklas Backstrom currently sits on 44 points while Mike Ribeiro has contributed 41 points and along with wingers Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer- we have some offensive lines crying out for progress! Former NHL player Adam Oates was installed as Head Coach earlier this season and so far the results seems to be paying off and with a true star in Ovechkin leading the way, we could well see...

By Alex Watson Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators) Since being traded to Ottawa in 2010, Craig Anderson has proven himself to be mister consistent and this season has been no exception and as it stands Anderson currently has the highest save percentage and currently has a GAA average of 1.49. His great goaltending has put him in line for a potential Hart Trophy and has also contributed to the Senators ever improving form and they are now firmly in line for a place off spot. Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators) Nashville’s form so far this season has been very stop- start, but the one thing that hasn’t been is the goaltending of Finland’s Pekka Rinne who currently has already registered 5 shut out victories alone this season and has prove a bright spot in the Predators season and if his form continues, they could prove to be the wildcard of the playoff race! Nikolas Backstrom (Minnesota Wild) The Wild’s fortunes are ever improving this season due to some smart acquisiti...