The Fifth Liners

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...

After last nights scathing attack by Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada, it appears that the critics are out on Winnipeg Jets winger Evander Kane ! In recent weeks, Kane has come under criticism from the hockey world due to his decision to go for shoulder surgery which will keep him out for over 4-6 months. Doesn't sound bad on the surface, but it appears there is indeed more to the story. After being a healthy scratch for Tuesday's game against Vancouver, Kane angered his team mates by turning up for a team meeting wearing a tracksuit instead of a suit and tie! Incensed by this apparent disrespect shown to the dress code, team mate Dustin Byfuglien allegedly threw Kane's clothes into a bath of cold water. Kane then left the rink in a rage and did not travel with the team for the pre game and did not inform the team until half an hour before game time that he would not play!After Kane's benching was made public knowledge, he has appeared to end his season premat...

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...

Making your NHL debut is always a special moments in any person careers, but tomorrow night when Philadelphia Flyers take on the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow, for 33 year old goalie Rob Zepp - this debut has been 13 years in the making! Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, Zepp never signed for the team and instead was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001. After that this followed a spells in both the AHL and ECHL from 2001 to 2005. Zepp then tried his fortunes in Europe, firstly in Finland with SaiPa in SM-liga. A seven year stint with Berlin in the German Hockey League would follow this. Zepp's post season performances in Europe however, impressed the Flyer's organization, who prompt signed him for their affiliate Leigh Valley Phantoms. Zepp played back up to Ray Emery in last nights 7-4 win over the Maple Leafs, but with Steve Mason injured, his long awaited debut has finally come forward. All the best Rob, no one can say that you haven't worked h...

Normally I wouldn't blog about the NFL or go within a mile of its stats or play, but it seems this week I shall be breaking an age old tradition! It's football time again, and as another season starts without Tim Tebow , is there a place in the NFL for the former Heisman trophy winner? Ah yes, that man! Tim Tebow has gained many column inches for his beliefs and actions rather than his play on the field. The former quarterback for the Denver Broncos , New York Jets and more recently the New England Patriots was once the poster boy for college football and many expected him to raise his game early. But less than four years in, his pro career has basically washed out and he now turns to TV punditry to keep him in the public eye! So does he deserve a place among the NFL elite?  Well it has been noted that the QB class for 2014 is worryingly thin on the ground and many teams could well look towards a guy with over 2,422 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 989 rushing yards. But ...

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...

Ice Hockey jerseys demonstrate unity and promote a brand. They're a source of income for teams and allow fans to show their allegiance. I surveyed one person (me) and this is my list of this season's awesome jerseys. It's in no particular order. Minnesota Wild (Third) I'm probably going to anger the Minnesota faithful here but the Wild's logo is possibly my least favourite logo in sport (after the Miami Dolphins). Luckily the third jersey omits the logo. I'm a sucker for any jersey with lacing at the collar and this one looks like it could have been lifted straight from a different era. The retro style doesn't alway work but this with its bold, yet muted colours works perfectly. The logo looks like it was lifted from the diner in Happy Days.  Detroit Red Wings (Home) Biased? Yes, but I still love this Jersey. Its simplicity is superb. Some jerseys try and cram in too many colours or patterns but this is two colours and two stripes. The la...

Very soon the Stanley Cup race shall be upon us and the bookies are currently making the Pittsburgh Penguins as their favourite to hoist the cup! But as we all know, this championship is far from straight forward and playoff time can always spring a surprise. Take for example last year where the LA Kings came from nowhere early season to being the team to beat as they swept all before them and were led by Captain Dustin Brown and goalie Jonathan Quick! Who will this year’s dark horses be? And more importantly, why shouldn’t we rule them out? Vancouver Canucks As a Canucks fan myself, I would like nothing better than a repeat of our run to the final in 2011 but this season has proven an up and down affair, not helped by the unclear goalie debate. But now things have been settled the Canucks are looking a more resurgent team and the Sedin brothers are showing the kind of form has made them a feared forward duo. Also they have been aided by the excellent play of Alex Burrows and n...

Boston Bruins Wins Senators 2-1 Losses Jets 3-1 Maple Leafs 3-2 Buffalo Sabres Wins Canadiens 3-2 Maple Leafs 5-4 Canadiens 2-1 Losses Carolina Hurricanes Wins Losses Rangers 2-1 Panthers 4-1 Devils 4-1 Florida Panthers Wins Hurricanes 4-1 Rangers 3-1 Losses Devils 2-1 Islanders 3-0 Montreal Canadiens Wins Islanders 5-2 Losses Sabres 3-2 Sabres 2-1 New Jersey Devils Wins Hurricanes 4-1 Panthers 2-1 Losses Rangers 3-2 NY Islanders Wins Panthers 3-0 Losses Senators 5-3 Canadiens 5-2 Penguins 4-2 NY Rangers Wins Hurricanes 2-1 Devils 3-2 Losses Panthers 3-1 Capitals 3-2 Ottawa Senators Wins Islanders 5-3 Lightning 5-3 Losses Bruins 2-1 Philadelphia Flyers Wins Losses Lightning 4-2 Penguins 2-1 Pittsburgh Penguins Wins Capitals 2-1 Islanders 4-2 Flyers 2-1 Losses Tampa Bay Lightning Wins Flyers 4-2 Losses Maple Leafs 4-2 ...

We've got about a quarter of this shortened season left and one thing that's jumped out is how the different divisions have performed. The chart below shows the average points per division and it's clear that the Southeast Division is under scoring compared to the others. Looking at the overall league (at time of writing, you know how quickly it changes) there isn't a Southeast team in the top 10. The Eastern Conference is being dominated by the Northeast Division with 4 of the 8 playoff places currently going to Northeast teams. Only Buffalo are currently looking at an extended post season break. Today we're going to look at a two different ideas.  Location, Location, Location This one is easy, Florida isn't known for its ice. If you want a game of football, soccer or baseball, you need a field. Plenty of those in the South east. Not so much ice. Hockey was first played on natural ice, that's how the sport evolved in the frozen north. When Gary...