The Fifth Liners

Once more fans of the Edmonton Oilers, will be celebrating as their side have received first overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery! Seems Connor McDavid will be spending some cold winters over in Alberta in years to come! Buffalo Sabres were no doubt disappointed to land the second overall pick, but will no doubt take consolation that this will probably mean Jack Eichel will be in the state of New York! In what could be one of the biggest depth quality drafts, it could well mean that each team has some great talent for the future. My only real doubt with this decision is that Edmonton has had its fair share of number one picks in the last few years, and still nothing has come of it! People paint McDavid as if he is the next Sidney Crosby of hockey, I just worry that this team is the wrong fit for his talents? Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are starting to show the leadership qualities required for the Oilers- but Nail Yakupov has only shown glimpses of what he is capable o...

Well today's NHL Trade Deadline didn't quite prove to be the Maple Leafs dominated affair that many expected. Princess Dion Phaneuf, Jonathan Bernier and Phil Kessel still remaining in Ontario (at least for now) so it appears Leafs fans will have to wait until summer time for any big changes. But there were still some interesting moves that could well shake up the mix come play off time. Keith Yandle ( Arizona Coyotes to New York Rangers ) At long last Keith Yandle is no longer playing desert hockey and moving to the Big Apple is the shot in the arm his career needs. A long time star of a continually dying franchise, Yandle has shown so much promise for nothing. The Rangers are keen to end their cup drought and grabbing a great blue liner like Yandle is key to that success. John Moore and Anthony Duclar have made the move across in place of this man- which is pretty fair quality for the Rangers to be giving back. We will see if this move pays off come play off time. Ant...

During the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 loss against Arizona Coyotes last night, goalie Jonathan Bernier experienced the kind of nightmare net tenders hope to avoid. Only seconds after the puck dropped to start the third period, Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored shorthanded on him from centre ice! Bernier will not be adding this moment to his treasured memories! See below to feel the pain of Leafs fans!

Appears the NHL is looking to promote cycling safety at the upcoming All Star game on Jan 25! Well that would be the only excuse for the new horrendous luminous jersey's they have selected for the leagues finest to wear. But unlike previous offenders, this one will warrant only a slap on the wrist! Here are some of the leagues more forgettable jersey inclusions. Vancouver Canucks (1982 Home Jersey)  As bigger fan as I am of the Canucks, this jersey along with the majority of their earlier ones, was a mess! Nothing went right with their original 1982 effort and for years Vancouver had one of the ugliest jerseys in the league!  Finally they have gotten things right with our current uniform, but that doesn't erase the nightmares of old! Phoenix Coyotes (1996 Inaugural Jersey)  Oh dear! This complete miss-match of teal, desert and cactus is like something your Dad would embarrass you with at a family gathering! As for the logo, it is a good thing the Coy...

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...

Oh dear...

The Vancouver Canucks battled to hard earned 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at the Rogers  Arena last night, despite two blowing a two goal lead! In the first, the ever consistent defenseman Jason Garrison blasted Vancouver ahead after 1.26 of the second period with a spectacular slap shot! But Phoenix goalie Mike Smith was as usual proving a wall in net and made several key saves to keep the scoreline respectable. But Canucks captain Henrik Sedin made it 2-0 with an impressive shot from an acute angle and on paper, the home side looked home and dry! Into the final period Smith continued to frustrate the Canucks offense and the fanbs were left wondering why the score line was not heavier! But mid way through the third period, Vancouver became unstuck as Antoine Vermette's crashing drive but the Coyotes back in contention and then David Moss seized on a rebound to unbelievably tie the scores at 2-2! Into overtime Chris Higgins settled affairs after 3.41 when he seized on a...

After shamefully forgetting to include the Phoenix Coyotes on my Most Improved Teams list recently, I thought I would make amends by recapping their impressive 6-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers Rexall Place last night! Mike Ribeiro was the stand out as he turned a 1st star performance with a goal and two assists! But it was Mikkel Boedker who put Phoenix ahead on a powerplay after 03:37 of the first period, but David Perron soon levelled the scores for the Oilers after 9 minutes after making the most of a breakaway. Into the second period and Ribeiro skillful set up Radim Vrbata to put Phoenix ahead after 06.58 played and then Shane Doan's tip in pushed then 3-1 ahead. Perron then pulled one back on a power play for Edmonton with 52 seconds left to give the home side hope! The Coyotes took control in the third period as they scored three without reply with Ribeiro putting them further ahead after 4 minutes and Keith Yandle then made sure of things when fired past Oilers goal...

Recently Alex observed that Phoenix look like a whole new team. He asked what that key ingredient was, and more importantly, can it last? Well, the Phoenix Coyotes are currently fifth in the Western conference, 7-3-2 is a respectable place to be for a team which, not long ago, thought it may have been playing its hockey in a different state. So what's led to this resurgence? Well firstly compare the team's performance to last season. After 12 games last season the Coyotes were 5-5-2. The difference being that so far, the team has won two more games than it did last season. Which is great, but it isn't groundbreaking. While the performances on the ice are to be admired, especially from the team's defenceman, I think it's maybe too early for the team to be planning its Stanley Cup victory party. Oliver Ekman-Larsson  is dominating and dictating the play and he's doing a damn good job.  However... It's still too early to bet the farm on the...

While the Phoenix Coyotes ' troubles off the ice seem to be resolved for now, any uncertainty about the team's future was definitely not reflected on the ice. The Coyotes really brought the game to the Rangers last night, ruining Alain Vigneault's debut. Kyle Chipchura netted first for Phoenix only a few minutes into the game after an error by Henrik Lundqvist allowed Rob Klinkhammer to set up Chipchura for the opener. The Jobing.com arena gave the Phoenix keeper a standing ovation after Mike Smith made a sprawling double save to keep the Coyotes in the lead.  The Rangers upped their game but the first period finished with the Coyotes leading 1-0. The second period brought more goals, Marc Staal cancelled out the Coyotes' lead during a Rangers powerplay. The game didn't stay tied for long though, Radim Vrbata was alert to a rebounding puck to fire past Lundqvist just before the halfway point of the game. The second period finished without inc...

Seem there well be no rising from the flames for the Phoenix Coyotes as it was announced by the NHL Board of Govenors yesterday that they have approved the sale of the Franchise to the IceArizona AcquisitionCo LLC group headed by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc which officially terminates league ownership of the team. The team will now be re-branded as the 'Arizona Coyotes' and will look to move the team in the near, for the coming season at least the team will stay in Glendale, AZ and play their current fixtures at the Jobing.Com Arena, upon securing the team, new owner LeBlanc was quoted as saying, "The Coyotes are here to stay and we will continue to work hard on and off the ice and have a strong presence in our community. Our ultimate goal is to bring a Stanley Cup championship to our tremendously resilient, passionate and dedicated fan base here in the Valley. We have a lot of work to do and we can't wait to get started." Looks like other cities ...

With the new schedules come the new divisions, instead of being three divisions in each conference, there's now only two. With the changes will come new rivalries, which Alex will talk about later.  Let's start with the Western Conference. The Western has 14 teams while the Eastern currently has 16. This accommodates for the expansion in the west that the NHL has been looking for. Detroit and Columbus have moved over to the Eastern while Winnipeg makes the sensible move west.  Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks Dallas leaves the old Pacific Division, but three of the Canadian teams; Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary have joined it from the disbanded Northwest Division.  Central Division Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets With Colom...

Finally some good new for Phoenix Coyotes fans.  The future of the team  might be unsure  but at least there'll consistency at the head of the organisation. General Manager Don Maloney has signed a long term extension to his contract.  Maloney has been with the franchise since 2007 and in that time was named NHL GM Of The Season and led the team to the playoffs on three occasions.  This news come two weeks after the Coyotes agreed a new two year contract with forward Rob Klinkhammer . 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has approved the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes in a move that could see the team move away from Glendale. The Coyotes were created in 1996 when the former Winnipeg Jets franchise was sold and the team was moved. The Franchise has been owned by the NHL since 2009 when the original owner declared the team was bankrupt. Ever since then it's been leaking money. At the time there was talk of the team moving to Ontario but the sale fell through when the City of Glendale and the NHL fought the sale in court. Although the sale was eventually approved, the NHL bought the franchise itself to ensure that hockey would remain in the desert. It looks like that's no longer going to happen. Although the NHL wants the team to stay put; the above mentioned court case ruled that the NHL cannot force a team to stay in a certain location. Despite the City pumping money into the team and recent good form, the dwindling attendances and escalating costs mean that we...

The Detroit Red Wings welcomed the Phoenix Coyotes to the Joe Louis last night, desperate for two points to keep them in the race for a placeoff place.  Super Swiss Damien Brunner tipped the puck to Johan Franzen to score in the third minute before then scoring himself just before the end of the first period.  Valtteri Filppula added a third goal late in the second period and Franzen stole another in the fourth period.  Jimmy Howard made 34 saves in his fourth shutout of the season. The win puts the Wings one point outside the playoff places with three games left.  Full report  here.

The unthinkable has happened. The Detroit Red Wings are 9th in the Western Conference.  It wasn't the Phoenix Coyotes but the Dallas Stars that have taken their place, those sneaky Texans have continued their quiet march up the table. The 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks sealed the deal. Although. Dallas, Detroit and the Columbus Blue Jackets are all tied on 45 points, the Stars have won more in regulation, giving them the edge. Columbus on the other hand, have played more games; earning them the 10th spot.  Detroit take on the Nashville Predators tonight. Make or break...

Vancouver gave more belief that they will be a force during the Western Conference playoffs with a dominant 4-1 win again over Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome last night. It was a win that also saw a rare appearence in net by Roberto Luongo, who made several important saves to deny the Flames forward line. Good to see the Canucks management is getting some use out of his $64 Million dollar contract! After a tight first period where the scores were tied at 1-1- the Canucks came alive in the 3rd period and aided by a flurry of goals by Maxim LaPierre, Mason Raymond and Daniel Sedin, another win was ensured and Vancouver are now sitting pretty at 3rd in the Western Conference. Elsewhere the Boston Bruins won a thrilling contest 5-4 against New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. After a stunning start the Bruins found themselves 4-0 up by the beginning of the second period! But after a brief fight back through Zajac and Elias, The Devils...

Confirmed by the Sharks' FaceBook page. San Jose Sharks now have Coyotes forward and man with a thorough  understanding of illegal hits Raffi Torres. Phoenix Coyotes get a third round pick in exchange. California here we come!

Last night saw a few cracking games in the NHL, which was led by a pulsating 6-5 win by shootout for Montreal over Boston at TD Garden. The Habs started brightly and were two goals to the good by the beginning of the 2nd period thanks to goals by Matt Ryder and the ever excellent Patrice Subban. But a four goal rally mid second period by the Bruins led them to be 4-2 down in the blink of an eye. This glut of goals led to starting goalie Carey Price being benched in favour of backup Peter Budaj.   But it was a move that paid off as despite a Tyler Seguin goal from Boston- Ryder and Gallagher then pulled the Canadiens back into the game in the third period to bring score back to 5-4. Then with 8.2 secs left on the clock, defensemen Andrei Markov hit a long ranger which skimmed off Bruins Captain Chara to level the scores at 5-5! In the shootout it was left to Gallagher to score past Rask and give the Habs a deserved away win and the extra point! Elsewhere Calgary Flames put...

New format, last time took ages. Here's a round up of the scores from the last 7 days. Anaheim Ducks Wins Sharks 5-3 Blackhawks 4-2 Losses Red Wings 5-1 Red Wings 2-1 Calgary Flames Wins Blues 3-2 Losses Stars 4-3 Predators 5-3 Blue Jackets 5-1 Chicago Blackhawks Wins Avalanche 5-2 Losses Ducks 4-2 . Colorado Avalanche Wins Stars 4-3 Losses Blackhawks 5-2 Stars 5-2 Canucks 3-2 Columbus Blue Jackets Wins Predators 4-3 Flames 5-1 Losses Predators 5-2 Dallas Stars Wins Flames 4-3 Kings 2-0 Avalanche 5-2 Losses Avalanche 4-3 Detroit Red Wings Wins Ducks 5-1 Ducks 2-1 Losses Wild 4-2 Edmonton Oilers Wins Losses Sharks 4-3 Blues 3-0 Los Angeles Kings Wins Coyotes 4-0 Coyotes 3-2 Losses Stars 2-0 Canucks 1-0 Minnesota Wild Wins Canucks 3-1 Red Wings 4-2 Sharks 2-0 Losses Nashville Predators Wins Flames 5-3 Bl...