The Fifth Liners

Winners Buffalo Sabres  In two short days, Dan Bylsma 's new reign in Buffalo already seems a lot brighter. Not only did they selected hot prospect Jack Eichel second overall, but they also pulled off an excellent trade with Colorado swapping Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn for Nikita Zadarov, Mikhail Grigorenko and J.T Compher. The day before they also acquired Robin Lehner and David Legwand in a trade with Ottawa for the 21st pick! Already their depth quality looks far more impressive than last season. With a top line included, Kane, Bogosian and Eichel, this might be a time to scale back on the Sabres related jokes on this blog. Edmonton Oilers Having the first overall pick, selecting Connor McDavid was a guaranteed high point. But new GM Peter Chiarelli also smartly acquired the services of goalie Cam Talbot for New York. While old team the Bruins (we'll get to them later) took a hit, Edmonton is now in the beginning stages of building a team that is actua...

1941 The Boston Bruins go 23 games unbeaten with a record of 15-0-8 which in doing so sets an NHL record. 1981 : In a game between Boston Bruins and the Minnesota North Stars ,  the record for most penalties in a game is set. In this game there were a total of 84 penalties that equaled 392 minutes.  2005: The Walt Disney company agrees to sell the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim franchise to billionaire Henry Samueli.

In the Boston Bruins 4-3 win over Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden last night, Lightning player Cedric Paquette discovered exactly the reason why you don't pick a fight with 6 foot 9 Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara ! Early in the 3rd period and the Bruins on a power-play, Paquette found that his fighting talk was about to land him in hot water! See below for the unfortunate aftermath!

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!

"Everyone in Hockey is asking just what went wrong with Boston's season? What exactly was the factor that made their series go wrong, was it poor planning or were Montreal just too much for them?" Good Question, let's have a look. The Boston Bruins always looked good to advance through the playoffs, especially after being drawn against Detroit in the first round. Wracked with injury and inexperience, the depleted  Detroit Red Wings did well to get a playoff spot and certainly poured heart and soul into the series, but ultimately the Bruins were always going to win. There's two main reasons why things fell apart against the Montreal Canadiens , the first is that the series wasn't managed properly. On the ice the Bruins showed a complacency up front. During the regular season Boston scored 3.15 goals per game, in the playoffs this fell to 2.5. Like in the regular season, Jarome Iginla has been most prolific, having netted five times, while  David Krejci...

Eastern Conference  Detroit Red Wings  v Boston Bruins   This is one of the more difficult series to predict because both teams are of equal quality. The Red Wings hold a 3-1 regular season record against the Bruins, but it has been Boston who tops the Eastern conference and they have been showing this season just why they are contenders. I predict this one to be a tight one, but based on form alone, I have to give this one to the Bruins, sorry Mike! Prediction: Boston Bruins Tampa Bay Lightning v Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay have been the one of this years real surprise packages, finishing 4th in the Eastern conference despite star Steven Stamkos being injured for a long period and currently holds a 3-1 record against Montreal. But the Canadiens are not a team that should be ruled out (unless Subban goes to the box) and I still think they could spring a surprise here. But overall, I think Tampa has just enough quality to see this one through. Prediction: Tam...

Vancouver Canucks Perhaps me being slightly biased being a Canucks fan, but this horn is one that brings back great memories of our Stanley Cup run in 2011. Even today when it sounds at the Rogers Arena, it still succeeds in raising the hairs on your neck! New York Rangers It is fitting that the Rangers still use the same goal horn from their 1994 cup winning season at Madison Square Garden, and it is a good thing to because it is one of the most distinctive and best sound horns in the league!  LA Kings This is one goal horn that is guaranteed to make you sit up and pay attention! Sounding like an oncoming goods train, every time it sounds at the Staples Center, it's a reminder the LA Express is coming. Detroit Red Wings One of the most legendary sounds of the league, the horn at the Joe Louis Arena has become the soundtrack to the Wings success over the years and even today it still stands out. Boston Bruins When the Bruins score at TD Garden, this...

At 41 years old, NHL great Jaromir Jagr shows no signs of slowing down and his selection in the Czech Republic Olympic team just demonstrates his versatility and after leading his side to the gold medal in the 1998 Nagano Olympics, you can count chickens that he will be one leading stars in this tournament proving that age comes before beauty! Recently while playing for New Jersey, Jagr has now surpassed Steve Yzerman to go seventh overall in the all time goals scored within incredible an 687, his plus his 1391 NHL games played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and recently New Jersey Devils make him the face of modern experience ! At this rate it wouldn't be a shock to see him included in 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea! Here is tribute to the great man!

This season's playoffs will be the first to be played under the new divisional structure. It's never too early to make playoff predictions. Of course I've no doubt that the teams below will change, especially with the wildcards. It'll be interesting to take a look at this post-season and see how it compares.  If you think I'm wrong, please comment below! Conference Quarter Finals Boston Bruins Vs Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction - Boston . The Bruins have won more games than the Leafs and will definitely be seeing the postseason. The Leafs have three teams three points behind so that wildcard spot is by no means safe.  Tampa Bay Lightning Vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction - Tampa Bay . The Bolts and the Habs are much more closely matched in season performance so far. While Carey Price is one of the best goalies in the league, offensive issues are letting the Habs down. Pittsburgh Penguins Vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction - Pittsburgh...

After last nights 7-2 steamroller over the Colorado Avalanche , it would appear that the Chicago Blackhawks are the public's favourite to retain their Stanley Cup crown this year! If they do succeed in taking back to back titles, it will make them the first team to achieve this since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings and will already make them one of the big successes of this decade alone! After their up and down start to their title defense, the Red Express has got back on the rails and it ain't going to stop any time soon! But as always with winning, things are never straight forward because across from our brothers in Illinois are another team who are equally hungry and have a burning desire not to repeat last years play-off nightmare in the shape of the Pittsburgh Penguins ! Both sides have an equally strong case as they possess offensive units to die for- Chicago this season have been led by free scoring winger Patrick Kane, whose 21 goals have pushed them to the top of the...

Pittsburgh Penguins winger James Neal is due to have a hearing today with the Department of Player Safety after appearing to knee Bruins player Brad Marchand in the head! The incident took play at 11.06 of the first period when Neal struck Marchand as he lay on the ice. A two minute minor was assessed and both players remained in the games. Meanwhile, Boston Bruins player Shawn Thornton is set to have an in person hearing after an ugly incident that occurred during their 3-2 win against the Penguins! Thornton in the midst of a scrum pushed defenseman Brooks Orpik to the ice and threw several punches which resulted in a match penalty being assessed. If you guilty, Thornton faces a potential ban of up to five games!

The Boston Bruins won a dramatic late 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden last night in real end to end game which included two goals in the last 90 seconds. The Penguins started out very much on top with Chris Kunitz continuing his excellent run of form to put Pittsburgh ahead when his shot deflected off Dennis Seidenberg and crept underneath Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask on 6.33! But Reilly Smith tied the game only four minutes later. However the game soured when Pens D-Man Brooks Orpik had to leave the game after being hit whilst down on the ice by Shawn Thornton after a scrap broke out, resulting in a match penalty for Thornton! Bruons forward Loui Eriksson also had to leave the fame after suffering a concussion. James Neal then put the Penguins back in front on 13 minutes, when after being released from the penalty box, he deflected in Matt Niskanen's speculative blue line shot. In the second period, the Penguons failed to capitalize on several chances to ex...

Boston have been playing well of late, quietly getting on with job. The result of which is a spot at the top of the Eastern Conference. Detroit's troubles this season have been well documented and last night the team had to go without superstar Pavel Datsyuk and dependable first-liner Todd Bertuzzi. On paper, this looked like another win for Boston. The first ten minutes were close, the Bruins looked dangerous when pushing and the Red Wings broke well, recently returned Darren Helm almost opened the scoring with a lightning fast breakaway, only to put the puck wide. Detroit's Johan Franzen then stepped up. The Mule set up the first and only goal of a penalty packed first period when his cross through the blue paint found Justin Abdelkader who tapped in the opener. This came straight after he stepped out of the penalty box after picking up a penalty for high-sticking on Zdeno Mt. Chara. Must have been a really high stick. The second period brought more goals for boys in ...

The Boston Bruins have extended the contract of GM Peter Chiarelli by another four years to the 2017/18 season. Chiarelli led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup win since 1972 in 2011 after beating Vancouver over seven games in the final. Also they currently possess a winning percentage of .596 under this man. Next season will be a busy season for Chiarelli as he will also be serving as assistant coach of Team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics- here's to the next four years Peter!

It appears Vancouver's chances of landing decent backup have taken a hit as according to TVA sports, 36 year old Canadian goalie Jose Theodore is on the verge of joining the Boston Bruins on a one year deal! Theodore would provide back up to Tuukka Rask in net and brings with him a Veniza Trophy win in 2002 and a Hart Trophy win in 2006 as well as 17 years NHL experience with 5 different teams. However Theodore's agent has stated that there is "No truth" in the reports- but I think we can all agree that which ever team lands him will be very fortunate- British Columbia is always nice this of year Jose- just a thought!

If you already know about the history of former Boston Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas  then you can relax and get on with your lives. Not much has changed, he's still looking for a team to ply his trade with next season. Sometimes an inspiring story comes along and it has to be shared. I recently read this article  by James Duthie and think you should read it too.

Mike's question this week was "Which Teams do you predict will top each Conference- Will your predictions be affected by the Conference shake up?" (Special thanks to Mrs Laybourne for suggesting this). Well that it is an interesting question as this years realignment could have big effects on each teams performance- ok let's go to work Eastern Conference  At first glance you would say that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be the out and out favourites to top this conference due to their free scoring offense and this year this could well be the case- but their inclusion in the newly formed Metropolitan Division with team such as the New Jersey Devils , New York Rangers , Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers could well prove a hard affair as each team possesses a unique mix of strength and skill and as we saw last year in the playoffs, the Penguins struggled against the Boston Bruins in these conditions.  In the Atlantic Division, the Bruins could well be ...

As Mike's previous two post pointed out, the NHL will be a very different place come the 2013-14 season with the Eastern and Western conference have undergone a dramatic re-alignment and now it has become far more simplied with the East sporting two separate divisions with the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions and the West also having two divisions with the Pacific and Central Division. With new leagues come new rivalrys are long gone are the days of the dull Southwestern Division and sadly Vancouver will not fight for a sixth straight Northwest Division. But what will the big match ups be? Let's take a look in more detail. Atlantic Division  This division promises plenty of thrills with the Detroit Red Wings , Boston Bruins , Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens doing battle for a playoff place- there is no love lost between Leafs and Habs fans and this fixture never fails to entertain. But the clash that will have everyone talking will be when the Ottawa Senators...

Here we looked at the teams in the Western Conference, now let's look at the Eastern. Detroit and Columbus move from west to east and Winnipeg makes the trip the other way. So what does this look like in reality? Metropolitan Division Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Atlantic Division Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs

The Boston Bruins re-shaping has just been given a big shot in the arm after it was announced that 35 year star winger Jarome Iginla has joined the team. Iginla has reportedly signed a 1 year contract with the Bruins as he seeks his first Stanley Cup win in his 16 year playing career. After many winless years at the Calgary Flames , Iginla decided to spread his wins last season and was courted by many big name clubs before finally decided to move to the Pittsburgh Penguins which at the time was seen by many as a good decision as the Pens possessed the leagues best offense. But after being swept in the Eastern Conference final, Iginla has once again decided to move on to a newer challenge and the Bruins are certainly getting a man who has a burning desire to add silverware of his impressive NHL record which currently stands at 530 goal in 1,232 games. Upon signing for the organisation, Iginla said "My family and I are very, very excited to be joining the Bruins organization...