The Fifth Liners

Tyler Seguin  Currently the beating heart of what is a patchy Dallas Stars team, Seguin currently sits second in the points standing with 59. He has a keen eye for goal and seems to score at will which if the Stars management can work out a plan promises great things. Seems inconceivable now that Boston traded him back in 2012 for Loui Eriksson- see how well that deal worked out boys! At only 23 years of age, Seguin is looking like he could be something remarkable! Jacob Voracek The biggest surprise of this season so far, Voracek has already scored an amazing 59 points, which nearly equals his entire season total of 62 points last season! The Philadelphia Flyers have endured a lacklustre season, from which the Czech winger has one of the few highlights. Many will say he have a fluke season and this will never again continue. They maybe right, but this season Voracek has deserved all the praise that has come his way and his name of the trophy would be fitting! Pekka Rinne...

Tyler Myers  At 24 years old, Myers is one of the few sparks that this deplorable Buffalo Sabres team has to offer. Winner of the Calder Trophy in 2010, he has so far notched up so great numbers including 42 goals and 144 points. Buffalo has a player who is coming into the prime of his career, for Myers it seems unfair that he is stranded in oblivion and on this team he is not going to get a Stanley Cup rings any time soon! The problem for the Sabres other teams presenting a trade that would be equally balanced (they will have trouble finding willing candidates). Alex Ovechkin  Three Hart Trophies and no Stanley Cups? Alex Ovechkin is possibly the most dedicated man to his continually misfiring Washington Capitals team. How on earth he has stuck like out in DC remains a bigger mystery than who killed JFK! The Caps are a team with one Stanley Cup final to their name which predates even Ovi, this season his 23 points have been about the only exciting thing at the Verizon c...

Despite last night's comfortable win over the Carolina Hurricanes , the Washington Capital's remaining games are purely for pride. This week's question talks about the Caps' failure to qualify for the playoffs: " Alex Ovechkin has just notched up his 50th goal for the Washington Capitals this season- but they still seemed destined to miss the playoffs this year! Does this team have any other qualities apart from Ovi? Or are they just a one man band?" The Washington Capitals' 2013/14 campaign is headed for an early bath. Although they beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets ' win over Dallas and the Detroit Red Wings ' overtime point in Pittsburgh hammered the nail in Washington's coffin. Columbus and Detroit advance to the playoffs, Washington to the golf course. So the post-mortem into the Caps' season begins and 13/14 was a season of absolute polar opposites. Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin has reason...

This week's question is about the Colorado Avalanche's young superstar: "Statistically Nathan MacKinnon is having a better rookie season that Wayne Gretzky, is this kid the future of Colorado hockey? Or is this just beginners luck?" When the Avs snapped up MacKinnon at the 2013 Draft, they knew they had something special. MacKinnon, tore the junior leagues apart with his incisive and unselfish play. He may only be 18, but his hockey brain is fully developed. He knows when to shoot and when to pass. MacKinnon takes chances, but will happily provide assists when a colleague has a better chance. It's no surprise he was the first overall draft pick. So far, MacKinnon has 58 points from 75 games (0.77 per game). If this stays the same and he plays all 82 regular season games, then he'll finish on 63 points. This is a pretty good total for a rookie season, although it doesn't quite match up to Sidney Crosby (102) and Alexander Ovechkin (106). Still, ...

In the opening days of Ice Hockey in Sochi 2014 , we have seen a vast array of goals being scored (50 the count so far in case you were wondering) and we have seen some impressive team performances. It may be early doors so far, but we are beginning to get an idea of who might be in contention for medals soon! Here is a review of the action so far: Group A   The USA started strongly with a 7-1 win over an uninspired Slovakia team who lacked any real threat. Phil Kessel was the star man with a goal and two assists, Ryan Kesler and James Van Riemsdyk also impressed. Goalie wise, the Slovaks had a torrid time with St Louis' Jaroslav Halak being yanked on from net with the score at 5-1, only for backup Peter Budaj to be beaten on his very first shot faced! But with Jonathan Quick looking impressive in net and an offense that could do some damage, it appears my initial thoughts about the US could be proven wrong! Hosts Russia began strongly with a 5-2 win over Slovenia in a game...

In the Washington Capitals dominant 5-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Center last night, we were privileged to see a moment of special Alexander Ovechkin magic! In the second period, the Caps took control and Ovechkin's goal to put them 2-0 was an act rarely accomplished by many- after 1.46 played, the Russian juggled the puck on his stick, before scoring past Price to put Washington 1-0 up! That's the reason why this man has won three Hart Trophies! Check out the video below to view:

Next month Russia will have a contagious case of Winter Olympic fever as the 2014 games roll into Sochi! While many if us will be routing for the returning Jamaican Bobsled Team or praying that Team GB wins any kind of medal! But to us hockey fans, there us only one event that matters! But which of the great teams on display will take home the gold medal? And more importantly, can the thrill level go beyond the epic Canada v USA final of Vancouver 2010? Here are my main contenders, Gold - Canada: The clear early favourites and my personal pick for the games! Their roster alone gives us goosebumps with the sheer level of quality and with offensive starlets Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toes and Corey Perry among others on display- they will be a sure bet to rack up the goals and assists. But they have also defensive quality by the bucketful, and although goalie selection has raised a few eyebrows, Carey Price will be a great starter. On paper, this team will be hard to stop! Silver - S...

48 saves from James Reimer gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a much needed 2-1 shootout win over the Washington Capitals at the Air Canada Center last night. David Clarkson got the ball rolling when he deflected in Jake Gardiner's long shot after 10:08 of the second period. But Alexander Ovechkin then tied the game with 5 minutes remaining of the third to send matters to overtime! After an uneventful overtime, the game was pushed to a shootout where Grant Fehr gave the Caps an initial advantage when he deeked past Reimer but James Van Reimsdyk scored to level the shoot out. Niklas Backstrom then had his penalty shoot saved by the glove of Reimer which allow Joffrey Lupul to seal the win for the Leafs!

The Washington Capitals should no signs of fading in the absence of star player Alexander Ovechkin last night as they hammered the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 at the Wells Fargo Center! Things almost got off the wrong start for the visiting capitals when Steve Downie, who was making his debut after arriving from the Colorado Avalanche in mid week, almost beat Capitals goalie Braden Holtby in the opening seconds! But Niklas Backstrom got the party started when after he rifled a shot past Steve Mason after 17.28 to put the away side in front! But it was in the second period that the Capitals should their offensive capabilities and a five goal flurry would soon follow- Joel Ward pushed the advantage to 2-0 after less than 1.24 of the second before Jim Chimera made it three on a breakaway! After Steve Mason's poor display, he was pulled from net shortly after the third goal and replaced by back up Ray Emery. Sadly Emery would fare just as worse when Backstrom grabbed his second off...

The Vancouver Canucks won a closely fought battle against the Washington Capitals last night win a 3-2 win at the Rogers Arena to make it four wins straight under John Tortorella! The home side were given a lucky break after Alex Ovechkin was given a penalty shot for the Capitals after less an a minute played, but Roberto Luongo was on hand to save it and save Vancouver from going behind! Zack Kassian then put the home side in front after 11.31 played but the Canucks were quickly pegged back when Jason Chimera made things a tie game after 14.36. In the second period there were no more goals, but both Luongo and Capitals goalie, Michal Neuvrith were kept busy making several excellent stops- Ovechkins bad luck in front of goal in this game continued when he hit a post! After only 1.52 of the third period played, Mikhail Grabovski scored to edge Washington in front, but Vancouver had no desire to the fans going home disappointed and Ryan Kesler hit home a rebound to make things a ...

Only joking. He's still got eight years left on his monster contract. But today I was asked the following question by our own Alex: "Would Ovechkin be better served leaving the Caps? Three Hart Trophies but no Stanley Cup" Short answer: Yes. Slightly longer answer: Yes. Ovechkin has now won his third well deserved Hart Trophy. There's no arguing that. However he's also won a hell of a lot more. Click  here  for the full list. Alex raises a good point, how often do you see a player with so many decorations who doesn't have his name on the Stanley Cup? Well the Caps have never won the cup and have only made the final once in the franchise’s history. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 1998. The real kicker though is that Ovechkin isn't going anywhere. He's five years into a 13 year contract. I wonder if he regrets that? Alex 's Edit: I know I've probably made a lot of enemies in Washington for suggesting their favourite (adop...

It was a big night for Alexander Ovechkin on Saturday at the NHL awards as he beat Sidney Crosby and John Tavares to claim a third Hart Memorial Trophy in 10 years! He also took home the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard scoring trophy after scoring an amazing 24 goals in his final 23 games! Sergei Bobrovsky edged out Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Niemi for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie- the Russian has proven to be a wall for the Columbus Blue Jackets this year but it would seem his future there is currently in doubt! Montreal Canadiens , rookie defenseman P.K Subban won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenseman in the league, his form this year has proven impressive and it would seem the Habs have an interesting prospect on the horizon. The Florida Panthers’ dire season was given a ray of light as Jonathan Huberdeau claimed the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. Sidney Crosby was awarded the Ted Lindsay trophy by his fellow profess...