The Fifth Liners

This article was first posted on  the4thlinepodcast.com In the first article in this series, we looked at the NHL’s 1967 expansion, when the league doubled in size. 1970 brought the addition of two new NHL teams, and the divisions were shuffled. The Chicago Black Hawks (the name change came in 1986) moved over to the West, making space in the East division for the new boys. 1970 Vancouver Canucks The history of the Vancouver Canucks effectively starts in 1945, but ice hockey in BC’s largest city goes back much further than that. The Millionaires (later renamed The Maroons) represented Vancouver in the PCHA and WCHL for 15 years, and in that time brought home the Stanley Cup. A feat that to date, has not been repeated in Vancouver. In 1915 the winners of the PCHA and NHA competed for the cup, the Millionaires defeated the NHA’s Ottawa Senators (the original Senators) to lift the cup for the first and only time. In 1926 the team folded. Fast forward 19 years and hockey ret...

Playoffs are here!!!! What a crazy six months it's been in the NHL, Boston and LA failed to make the playoffs and we gathered in Columbus to watch two teams of all-stars go to battle in the most offensive neon jerseys seen in recent years. On a positive note, Washington delivered a superb Winter Classic, Jamie Benn finished top of the points table and the Vancouver Canucks BEAT teams from warm places, IN warm places to make the playoffs; but that's for another post. Let's look at the East! 1. Montreal Canadiens Vs 4. Ottawa Senators The Habs have been dominant all season, finishing the regular season with a 50-22-10 record, thanks in no small part to a squad depth that any team would be enviable of. Having megastar netminder Carey Price guarding the net is the reason I think Montreal will take this series in four games. This takes nothing away from the good work the Sens have done this season, 99 points is very respectable, but the squad can't match the fire...

Eastern Conference New York Islanders If someone had told you that the New York Islanders would be top of the Eastern Conference by this point the season- you would have requested a drugs test! So far this season thanks to some clever moves in the off season, the Islanders are giving the Nassau Coliseum a fine send off! After winning the Battle of New York against the Rangers the other night, they are looking like a team reborn. Unsurprisingly the main success has been Captain Marvel, John Tavares who leads the team scoring charts with 39 points. Kyle Okposo as usual is not hanging far behind and Brock Nelson has also been another strong team element. But it was the signings of Johnny Boychuk from the Bruins to anchor the blue line along with Nick Leddy and Nikolai Kulemin to bolster the lower lines that have made the key difference. Jaroslav Halak after playing for three different sides last season has found a new home in Long Island and his presence in net has been cruci...

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...

Last night after suffering a 6-0 to the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum, it appears that the Colorado Avalanche 's season is already turning into the thing of nightmares. There were signs of life last season as Patrick Roy 's Jack Adams winning debut season propelled them to new heights not seen since the days of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Roy himself keeping net. Currently the Avalanche lies stranded in 13th place in the Western Conference with a record of 3–5–5 and the problem seems to be that no one really understands what is causing this slide? Calder Trophy Winner Nathan MacKinnon 's slow sophomore season has been making headlines for the wrong reasons but currently he is still joint top offensively with Matt Duchene on 9 points. But Jarome Iginla has so far received the most flack as his age has appeared to have crept up with him. 2 goals and 8 points are not reflecting the $16 million that Colorado were willing to invest in the 37 year old! The p...

After looking like they had finally reached a break through, last season was nothing short of a disaster for the New York Islanders franchise. Mid season it looked as if GM Garth Snow had lost his mind after surprisingly trading star winger Matt Moulson to Buffalo in exchange for Thomas Vanek . Soon after Vanek became disgruntled and was then traded to Montreal! After limping across the finish line in 8th place in the Metropolitan Division, Islanders fans had only a move to the Barclays Centre to look forward to! But in the off season, a couple of moves have seen this team being pushed back into spotlight. Problem last season was that the Islanders were not a rounded team and aside from the star power of captain John Tavares and Kyle Okposo , the lower lines were not stocked with quality. In this off season alone they have in an amazing move acquired Boston D-Man Johnny Boychuk and Chicago Centre Nick Leddy who will aid both their scoring ability and will assist in adding qualit...

On June 27/28 all eyes will be on the 2014 NHL Draft  at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia and the big question to all experts will be who is going to be the first name called out by the Florida Panthers. All though there is huge speculation about which player it will, this is one event teams always need to think about carefully because they young men could well be the future of a franchise and will have to be chosen carefully- no one wants another Alexandre Daigle or Patrik Stefan after all! So as we analyse the top picks, which one will great;y benefit which team? Here I will look at the first six picks (partly to include Vancouver). 2014 NHL Draft Order 1. Florida Panthers Sam Bennett: The Panthers badly need an offensive spark as their goal numbers have still remained dangerously low, something that number 2 pick Aleksander Barkov has so far failed to raise. So far 18 year old Ontario kid Sam Bennett has been listed as the top North American prospect in the NHL draft...

This weeks question deals with a long standing hockey playoff tradition that slowly beginning to become a burden on teams- the multiple overtime periods. "Is the overtime system used in the playoffs flawed? Playing repeated 20 minute periods until someone finds twine is tough on the skaters, not to mention the fans and TV schedulers. Should the NHL adopt the same system used during the regular season? Or is it time for something completely different?" Last night during the St Louis Blues 4-3 win over the reigning champions the Chicago Blackhawks - Alexander Steen scored the winner 26 seconds into a third overtime period! Incredible result for this fixture, but there's no denying that fans were kept waiting for too long for a winner this tie, regardless of this being playoff time. I've never fully understood the need for continuing periods, because this can affect a team in the long run because your skaters are overworked and more likely make errors or even ...

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...

Last season the New York Islanders seemed to have reached a breakthrough. Speared by their main man John Tavares, they made the playoffs for the first time in over five years by finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference and they pushed Pittsburgh to six games in the playoffs first round! But so far this season it seems normal lousy service has resumed!  Currently the Islanders lie 15th in the Eastern and so far have a low 9 wins and a high 121 goals against! So what had caused this sudden drop in form? Well lack of goals hasn't been the cause, it's the lack of players scoring them! Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Frans Neilsen have been the Islanders' only really consistent players and their high points scores reflect their efforts, but the nearest player to them is Tomas Vanek with 13 points. Ah yes, that one, recently GM Garth Snow made the utterly bizarre decision to trade star winger Matt Moulson to the Buffalo Sabres for Tomas Vanek. While the hockey world sat in shock, the ...

Last night whilst sat high up in the stands of the Air Canada Center in Toronto, I was witness to an offensive feast as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 5-2 in an entertaining game. The Leafs got off to a flying start when Trevor Smith beat Isles goalie Kevin Poulin after only 22 seconds played after great work by 1st star Joffrey Lupul The score remain this way for the rest of the period remainder but Jonathan Bernier was forced to make several impressive saves in net for Toronto! Mid way through the second period, Phil Kessel put the Leafs 2-0 up before Casey Cizikas gave the Isles a lifeline with 11.5 seconds left. Mason Raymond put Toronto firmly in charge after scoring a rebound early in the third period before a first leafs goal for David Clarkson pushed them 4-1 ahead! Frans Nielsen briefly gave New York hope with a goal late in the third before Kessel scored his second with 2.43 remaining. Bernier made 35 saves in net in an impressive performance but ...

On Sunday, New York Islanders GM Garth Snow made a shock announcement when it was reveal that Islanders future star Matt Moulson had been traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a  Tomas Vanek! Despite the Islanders going 4-4-3 so far and gaining 8 points, Snow has decided the shake the tree and this decision has left widespread shock amongs each member of the Nassau Coliseum- particularly captain John Tavares who was close friend with Moulson. Moulson has made a great star to new life in upstate New York and last night he bagged two goals on his Sabres debut in a 4-3 loss to Dallas Stars! But Islander fans have been demanding an explanation for Snow's actions, finally now the GM has broken his silence. Click here to see Snows explanation

The Vancover Canucks came out smiling from the epic battle waged at the Nassau Coliseum last night as they claimed a 5-4 win over the New York Islanders - they provides the perfect bounce back after being beaten by Columbus on Saturday. From the very get go this game was action packed and in the first period the Islanders took an early advantage when rookie Brock Nelson scored his first NHL goal after less than 02.26 played and Matt Moulson then pushed them further in front as he scored a rebound off Roberto Luongo for a powerplay goal after 4.41. But Vancouver were not going down without a fight and only 16 seconds later, Ryan Kesler scored a rebound off Evgeni Narbarkov to put the Canucks back in contention. But incredibly after just 9 minutes played we were given a tie game when Daniel Sedin scored to bring things to 2-2! Second period started similar to the first when Matt Moulson scored his second again off the powerplay after 4.48 of the period. Zack Kassian had a goal waive...

Goaltender Martin Biron announced his retirement today. Martin Biron  ‏ @ martybiron43 After thinking about it it with my family, I've decided to retire as a player and move on to a new chapter. Thank you all for your support. Biron had most recently played for the New York Rangers but last week was placed on waivers and assigned to the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. The Quebec native first made his NHL debut in 1995 when he was drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres. He spent five years in the juniors and in 2000, became the Sabres main goalie once Dominik Hasek was traded to Detroit. After the 2004-05 lockout, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, finding success, especially in the postseason. Unfortunately for Biron, the Flyers had signed Ray Emery and Brian Boucher, leaving Biron surplus to requirements. Biron spent three seasons in Philly before being traded to the New York Islanders. After a mixed season at the Isles, he made the short journey to the Rang...

IThe New York Islanders won an entertaining 4-3 clash against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center last night which was only decided by a narrow shootout. New Devils recruit Damien Brunner (sorry Mike) gave New Jersey the lead with three minutes gone in the period but 1st star of the game Michael Grabner quickly levelled when he seized on a breakaway to score low underneath Martin Brodeur. Into the second period it was another new Devil who gave the home side the lead when Michael Ryder scored a wrap around to flag up his first NJ goal- but again the lead was soon pegged back when Grabner bagged his second after 13 minutes. The Islanders edged in front after only a minute of the third period when Frans Nielsen scored, but this time it was New Jersey who levelled the scores when Damien Brunner scored his second with only three minutes of the third left to bring the scores to 3-3! The shootout went six rounds without any scores, but finally Matt Moulson used some clever t...

Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere on one of Jupiter's moons, you'll know that John Tavares has been the best thing to hit the New York Islanders since Denis Potvin.  In a move that surprised nobody, Tavares was today named as the Isles' new captain. A position made vacant after Mark Streit was traded to the Flyers.  This is a pretty good move cos Tavares is a superstar. That is all. 

Ever since 1994 when the New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks over seven games to claim their first Stanley cup since 1940- glory has now been absent from the Big Apple ever since! The big question now is which team in this fine city has better shot at victory in the coming seasons as the Rangers are continually expected to push for it but their counterparts the New York Islanders have been dismissed as underdogs in previous seasons despite having more cup wins than their rivals. This question will require some big considerations as as always... Lets go to war! New York Rangers  This team is still held in high regard by many people and the Rangers are among the highest spending teams in the league. But money doesnt always guarantee success and for the Rangers this has been painfully true in recent seasons. Take for example last year when Rick Nash finally joined the team and alongside big scoring Marion Gaborik and Brad Richards, many expected this line to be the one t...

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

It appears that the New York Islanders have finally lost patience with goalie Rick Di Pietro and it has now officially been announced that they will use one of their two compliance buyouts on the remaining 8 years of DiPietro's 15 year deal. A former 1st overall pick back in the 2000 NHL Draft, DiPietro has struggled to stay injury tree during his time at the Islanders and hasnt been able to play more than 50 games per season over the last five years earning him the nickname 'Rickity DiPietro' and this season he only managed 3 games before being re-assigned to AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers - though he does stand second overall behind Billy Smith in terms of games started by a goalie with 318! Now officially a free agent it will be interesting to see how DiPietro rebuilds his career from this point

There are certain things you expect to see in the playoffs. Alex has already written about how the  Canucks fell to the Sharks  but did anyone actually predict a four-nil series whitewash? I didn't. I thought it was going to be much closer. After all, the Canucks had a decent season and the Sharks lost a few key players through trades. Who would have expected the Canadiens - Senators games to be so controversial? Competitive yes, but when the allegations of diving came out, things got nasty. Unfortunately for the Habs, too many big name injuries became the team's undoing. The biggest cupset that almost happened was in the Penguins - Islanders series. Although the series was sealed last night with a 4-3 overtime win for the Pens, the Iles were able to win two of the games in the series and quite often had the Pens on the back foot. The Pens, who firmly broadcast their intentions to win the Stanley Cup at all costs by making some big trades should have won this ...