The Fifth Liners

Admittedly this year's Free Agency pool was only ankle deep and compared to previous seasons there was not the big names for bidding.  However, there were still some bargains to be had and there was flurry of signings come July 1st. Here are my personal top 3 picks Justin Williams  Although William's goal production had been slowing the last few years at LA, the Washington Capitals have got themselves a bargain. Williams at 33 is still an effective right wingers which can be used to anchored the second or third line. The Capitals with the exception of Ovechkin and Holtby are a team that still needs rounding out. Williams also have extensive experience of the post season, including three Stanley Cup wins. His Conn Smyth Trophy  win in 2014 shows just what an asset he can be to a team.  P A Parenteau  Things didn't end happily in his season in Montreal, but 32 year old Parenteau still has life left in him. Signing for the Toronto Maple Leafs is a smart mo...

If you want to join Alex and myself in the  Fifth Liners NHL Bracket Challenge , feel free to join our league. Good luck! Quarter Final Predictions St Louis Blues v Minnesota Wild For this one, I have go with Minnesota Wild purely for the fact that they have been a real surprise package in the latter half of this season and I think they will be eager to please come playoff time! St Louis on the surface appears to be a perfect package after being seeded first overall. But in previous seasons they have looked impressive in the regular season,, but typical fall short in the playoffs! Also a good playoff run would be the perfect ending for Wild goalie, Devan Dubnyk who has had a career season! This one will be tight and I am prepared to be proven wrong, but right now I have to go with the Wild! Prediction: Wild Nashville Predators v Chicago Blackhawks  The Predators have had nothing short of an amazing season and although they have made the playoffs 7 times in the la...

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.

Today it was announced that one of the bravest and more inspiring figures of the NHL has called it a day. Finnish player, Saku Koivu has retired after 18 seasons at the highest level which included stints with the Montreal Canadiens (where he served as the first European captain) and more recently with the Anaheim Ducks . Selected 21st overall at the 1993 Entry Draft, Koivu has amassed a record of 1,124 regular-season games and appeared in over 80 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has clocked up over 255 goals and had 832 points in the regular season alone, and has a playoff record of 18 goals and 59 points. Also he is a four time Winter Olympic Medalist with Finland, racking up three bronze medals at Lillehammer in 1994, Nagano in 1998  and Vancouver 2010 along with a silver medal in Turin 2006! But it was his courageous fight against Burkitt's Lymphoma back in 2002 that made him such an admired figure because only four months after being diagnosed, Koivu was back on the ice fo...

Every player wants his shot at the cup.  It's been a few days since Ottawa Senators' Captain Jason Spezza asked to be traded , and it's since emerged that he's given the Sens a list of ten teams he doesn't want to go to. The actual list hasn't been released, but which teams should be queuing up their cheque books to sign Spezza? Given the fact that Jason has never won anything of note with the Sens, he's going to be looking for a team that's had recent success. So that pretty much rules out all but one of the Canadian teams: Montreal Canadiens The Habs might not have lifted the Stanley Cup since 1993 but if Spezza wants to stay north of the border then the NHL's winningest team are the best option. The real question is are the Habs interested in Spezza? There's no doubt that he's a quality center, guaranteed to bring home at least a point per game, but unless he's willing to settle for a place on the third or fourth line, th...

Today it was announced who has been nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the three players considered to be the elite players of the NHL this season are as follows. Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins )  Ryan Getzlaf ( Anaheim Ducks ) Claude Giroux ( Philadelphia Flyers ) So which one of these fine players will be rewarded for the efforts? On paper it would appear to be Sidney Crosby who will walk away with the main price because he has had a fine regular season where he lead the league in point scoring. But however, his play off form has been fine to materialize and it was until last nights 2-0 over the New York Rangers that he finally scored his first play off goal. But year in and year out this man is nominated and feels like a far too safer bet- don't get me wrong I am not saying he doesn't deserve to be here, just it is becoming common. Personally I would prefer to see Ryan Getzlaf rewarded for his continually excellent form for Anaheim and this season in ...

This year, 43 year old Finnish right winger, Teemu Selanne probably will not be listed for the Hart Trophy in what will  likely be his final season playing this great game. If this is to be a swansong though, then the 'Finnish Flash' is sure making it a memorable one. Since being drafted 10th overall back in 1990 by the Winnipeg Jets , his career has taken in two stints playing for the Anaheim Ducks (including their original Mighty Ducks guise) as well as the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche . He has notched up an incredible 1457 points in 1451 games! Which includes no less than 10 All Star Game appearances, a Rocket Richard Trophy and a Stanley Cup win in 2007 with Anaheim. The man's dedication and skill cannot be denied and his blinding speed along with his well noted goal scoring instincts have made him the highest scoring Finn in NHL history- here we would have to agree that California Hockey will be losing a true great. In tribute to his efforts, the ...

Over this weekend we saw an interesting experiment which seemed to go down very well with fans of the great sport of Hockey as we saw the Coors Light Stadium Series get under way with the Anaheim Ducks humiliating the LA Kings on their home turf as they won 3-0 win Dodger Stadium! Seems despite have Cee Lo Green among others as the warm up act, the Kings became yet another victim to the currently unstoppable Ducks side! The New York Rangers tie against the New Jersey Devils at Yankee Stadium proved to a far more entertaining affair as the Broadway Blues came out on top 7-3, which included come back from 3-1 down mid way through the first period, but thanks to a first star performance from Mats Zuccarello they clawed their way back into contention. Up next is the next New York instalment as the Ranger welcome fellow local rivals the New York Islanders on January 29th. But after that we have the potentially thrilling showdown between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh...

After being humiliated 9-1 by Anaheim and the 1-0 by the LA Kings in the space of a week, one burning hot question came over me, why can the Vancouver Canucks not win in California? Our trips to this state are frequently becoming a source of embarrassment and this year has been no exception because in the 8 trips made across, we have yielded only one victory against San Jose in November, which after nine consecutive losses to this team came as a source of relief to all the fans. But otherwise, it has been a horror show! California in the last two years has become very much a bogey state for the Canucks, particularly during playoff time. 2012 saw us swept in five games by eventual champions LA and last season saw us easily ripped apart by the Sharks in a four game sweep and saw the sacking of Alain Vigneault!  Is it the heat that's affecting their game or the constant travel involved? Either way a solution needs to be found because we look a shadow of our cup final team of 2011...

The Anaheim Ducks are enjoying a great start to their 20th anniversary year and last night they extended their winning streak to seven game after a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars at the Honda Center! Fan favourite Teemu Selanne coolly slotted the Ducks in front on a powerplay after only 2.38 of the 1st period, but then the Stars rallied with Ryan Garbutt getting them started when he hammered his shot past Jonas Hiller to make the scores 1-1 and then Brenden Dillon's shot from the point swerved into the net to push Dallas ahead after 14.38 played and finally Shawn Horcoff capped an impressive fight back for the Stars when he redirected a shot to put Dallas 3-1 up! But Anaheim had no intention of letting their fans down and Corey Perry pushed them back into contention only 54 seconds into the second period and then made the scores 3-3 with a tip in from a long range shot off Cam Fowler after 11.48. Emerson Etem then bundled in a short handed goal to finally give the home side t...

Patrick Roy's enjoyed the perfect start as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche last night as they routed the Anaheim Ducks 6-1 at the Pepsi Centre! Given a rapturous standing ovation before the game start, Roy repaid his fans faith with a stunning performance. But there was another debut that also caught the headlines as number one overall draft pick Nathan Mackinnon chipped in with two assists to help his team to a big win. Ryan O’Reilly got the party started in the first period when he seized on a defensive mistake to make the score one to nothing. The second period however was when the Avs really caught their stride as Stevie Downie and John Mitchell pushed their advantage to 3-0 mid way through the period. But with 17 minutes gone, Mackinnon was finally given his chance to shine as his pass set up Jamie McGinn for the teams fourth! The pair then combined again early in the second to incredibly push Colorado 5-0 ahead before Matt Duchene capped off an impressive ...

Alex's question this week is " Anaheim are always a threat but have fallen short in recent years. What do they have to do in order to bring another cup home?" Since bringing home their first and only cup at the end of the 06/07 season, Ducks fans have been eager to lift the cup again, especially with close neighbours the LA Kings winning it so recently. A lot of the cup winning team have moved on, Chris Kunitz found further success with the Penguins, Rob and Scott Niedermayer have both retired from playing and Chris Pronger is currently signed to the Flyers. Although to be fair, he spent most of that winning postseason suspended for repeatedly elbowing people. The one thing that the Ducks don't have is consistency. Although the team has made appearances in five of the last seven postseasons, their performances have been variable at best. Offensively the team has been good. Scoring goals has never been an issue and Viktor Fasth and Jonas Hiller ...

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...

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...

Dustin Penner has officially joined his former team the Anaheim Ducks yesterday on a one year contract worth $2 million. He previously left the Honda Center back in 2007 to join the Edmonton Oilers on a five year deal but in February 2011 he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he won a Stanley Cup in 2012! A solid winger, Penner has so far amassed 137 goals and 275 points since his debut NHL season in 2006 and the 30 year has admitted that it was his desire to return to Anaheim as he never really wanted to leave in the first place. His return will aid the Ducks hope of another playoff place next year as he rejoins R yan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and together these three could make an interesting forward line!

I don't know if ducks can technically sink but writing catchy headlines is tough. Anyway. After twice being behind in the series, those plucky Detroit Red Wings have managed to bring it back twice to equalize and forced the Anaheim Ducks into a final game decider. Detroit Captain (and beard idol) Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring early in the first period, and goals from Justin Abdelkader and Valtteri Filppula sealed the victory. It wasn't all plain sailing though as Emerson Etem and Francois Beauchemin scored for the Ducks but it wasn't enough to top the Red Wings who now make the 300 mile journey to Illinois for the semi finals where they will meet conference champs the Chicago Blackhawks . Detroit made things difficult, giving Anaheim more powerplays than necessary. Zetterberg took the final powerplay of the game after launching the puck over the glass and receiving an Delay of Play penalty for his troubles. This allowed the Ducks the opportunity to ...

Tense times continue for Detroit Red Wings fans as Henrik Zetterberg's overtime goal means that the series will go to a seventh game decider. Zetterberg has performed well in the series so far but hadn't scored in the previous five games. The Wing's captain obviously wasn't happy with that and netted twice in last night's game at the Joe. The Anaheim Ducks the other hand put in a mediocre performance according to coach Bruce Boudreau who said that his team didn't have the hunger to win the game and started nervously. Allowing Detroit to capitalise. Game seven of the series is tomorrow.

The Detroit Red Wings are the team that refuse to lie down. Twice they've gone behind in the series and twice they've gone on to equalise. The Anaheim Ducks made their second playoff journey to the Joe Louis with the advantage after their previous 4-0 win.  Anaheim took the initial advantage with a first period goal from Matt Beleskey . Brendan Smith drew equal for the Wings before David Steckel gave the Ducks the lead again. It took a snapper from Pavel Datsyuk to draw the Wings equal again and force overtime where Damien Brunner was able to guarantee the win for Detroit Next game is tomorrow at Anaheim. 

Los Angeles is an amazing city, lots of great sports teams, stunning weather, Hollywood, beaches and lots more. Soon there'll be a new addition to the list of attractions. On January 25th next year, the Freeway Faceoff will move to the Dodger Stadium in LA. 56,000 lucky fans will be able to watch the LA Kings fight the Anaheim Ducks as part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. There might even be some hockey played. This is the first time that hockey has been played outdoors in California. Further games are expected to be announced soon.