The Fifth Liners

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...

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...

Last night, Florida Panthers fans were given rare positive news when it was announce that they won the first overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft after their name was picked from the Draft Lottery. After another  poor season last year, the Panthers management should already been looking towards the next superstar of the franchise- and this draft year there is a lot of quality on show such as Canadian centre Sam Bennett, defenseman Aaron Ekblad or Sam Reinhart. Plus lets not forget top European prospect Kasperi Kapanen. But does one play change an entire franchises luck? In the case of the Colorado Avalanche the answer to that question is indeed yes as last years number one pick Nathan Mackinnon has proven to be an excellent choice and is one of the favourites for the Calder Trophy this year after an excellent rookie season. However, there is a flipside to that coin, and some teams have failed to raise their game even after more than one first overall picks- yes I am referri...

Today has finally seen an end to one of the longest and frankly most tedious sagas in the hockey world. The Vancouver Canucks have officially traded Roberto Luongo to his former side the Florida Panthers in exchange for goalie Jakob Markstrom and centre Shawn Matthias! Luongo has been a source of continuing speculation since the beginning of last season when he continually jostled for the number one spot with Cory Schneider. But when Schneider was traded to the New Jersey Devils earlier this season, it appeared the long time starter had at last reclaimed his place. However the emergence of young Swedish goalie Eddie Lack once again hindered his chances as the rookie has made a strong impression so far. The tipping point seems to have been since Luongo returned from warming the bench at the Sochi Olympics for Canada, Lack has been placed in net for every since then by coach John Tortorella. Tensions escalated further when after the 4-2 loss to Ottawa Senators in the Tim Horton...

Not unlike an actual avalanche, the Colorado Avalanche has been fairly unstoppable recently. But, also like an avalanche, once they've run out of momentum, progress will grind to a halt*. The boys from Denver have now lost their last three games in a row and in last night's surprise 4-1 home defeat to the Florida Panthers , Superstar center Matt Duchene has suffered an apparent oblique injury. No word yet on whether the injury is serious our not. Duchene, who's current the Av's leading goal scorer was unable to finish the game. Duchene has scored 12 goals and has 8 assists this season. Colorado's home stand continues when the teams hosts the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. We wish him a speedy recovery. *Maybe. I'm no scientist.

The Philadelphia Flyers, the Florida Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres aren't exactly having seasons to write home about. Going into last night's games, the teams had collectively only won 12 games (the same amount as the Phoenix Coyotes). Last night was a reminder that in the NHL, any team can beat any team on the night. Even Buffalo. Buffalo Sabres All three of the Buffalo Sabres' wins had come on the road and welcoming the in-form LA Kings to the First Niagra Center, it didn't look like a home win would be on the cards.  At the end of the first period, the 2012 Stanley Cup champions were a goal to the good after Justin Williams slipped the puck past Ryan Miller in the second minute of the game. The Kings held the lead until just over half way through regulation when Cody Hodgson found an equaliser for Sabres.  Hodgson became the Sabres two-goal hero when he took advantage of Justin Williams' hooking penalty to score a powerplay goal and give the Sab...

The Pittsburgh Penguins perfect start has hit a flat spot as their road trip ended in a surprising 6-3 lost to the Florida Panthers ! So far the Panthers form has been nothing to write home about, but their fans will be dancing in the streets after this result Brad Boyes got the ball rolling when he gave the Panthers the lead after 1.55 of the first period but soon the home side were pegged back when Evgeni Malkin's first goal of the year tied the scores at 1-1! Kris Versteeg then restored their one goal lead as he bagged his first goal in a Florida jersey off an assist from Scott Gomez (yes you heard that right!). But Craig Adams ensured the Pens went in level at the break when he poked in from a goal mouth scramble to make it 2-2! Into the second period and the Panthers offense truly came alive with goals on two successive powerplans, first Jonathan Huberdeau scored off an assist from Versteeg and then Panthers 2nd overall draft pick Aleksander Barkov scored to push the adva...

Tim Thomas will definitely be joining his tryout for the Florida Panthers after his release from the New York Islanders months before. Originally his invitation was met with a slightly negative response (which was shared by other invitees Jose Theodore and Ilya Brzygalov) but with starting goalie Scott Clemmenson currenly Florida only having one experienced goalie injured, Florida only has Jacob Markstrom in net. The two time Vezina trophy winner if successful will provide valuable experience and the former Bruins keeper will keen to get back in the spotlight after a non playing season last year- good luck Tim both of us here are routing for you!

Alex asked me this week for my divisional wooden spoon predictions. My immediate response was "Canucks!". August is a bad sports month for me. There's no NHL and no NFL. Sure there's the soccer, but I follow a team who quite honestly, suck right now. So after opening the season with a 4-0 loss (it really could have been a lot more), I've been in a serious sports funk. Alex's team won at the weekend. Just to rub salt in the wound. Anyway. I do not think that the Canucks will be propping up the Pacific Division next season. I was just angry at the world of sport. So. Who will be leaving the party early? It's tricky to say at this time but here goes. Metropolitan Division - Philadelphia Flyers Atlantic Division - Florida Panthers Pacific Division - Calgary Flames Central Division - Colorado Avalanche We'll revisit this halfway through the season and see how things are going.

Florida Panthers   fans beware:  Scott Gomez   is coming to a town near you!! Today it was announced that the flagging 33 year old center has joined the Panthers on a one year deal. A Calder Trophy winner after his impressive rookie season in 1999 with the New Jersey Devils , his initial career was successful and he won the 2003 Stanley Cup with the Devils. But after a disasterous spell with the Montreal Canadiens , he failed to live up his big bucks contract and was frequently criticised by the media and the Habs fans for lack of effort and goal scoring and posted only 108 points in his three year spell (including a career low 11 points in 2011-12) which also included a year long goal drought from February 2011 to February 2012. Annoyed by his low progress, he was promptly waived by the Canadiens in January this year and spent last season at the San Jose Sharks where he has faired little better posting only 2 goals and 15 points! Will this team bring about a redemp...

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

Alex's question of the week was "out of the top four draft picks, which team will benefit the most?" Damn good question Alex, so let's have a look. First of all, no team did badly in the draft. At least on paper. So who went where? 1st: Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche 2nd: Aleksander Barkov - Florida Panthers 3rd: Jonathan Drouin - Tampa Bay 4th: Seth Jones - Nashville Predators Colorado Avalanche The Avs need several good forwards and several good defencemen to be successful. MacKinnon definitely adds strength to Colorado's forward line but one man does not make a team. I think MacKinnon will struggle to post the sort of numbers he's currently scoring in the lower levels.  Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov has already played against the big boys in the Finnish SM Liiga so he'll have an advantage when he lines up for the Panthers. Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning will expect to do well with Drouin. With Stamkos and F...

My brain melted a little bit yesterday when I saw the news that Daniel Alfredsson had left the Ottawa Senators to move to the Detroit Red Wings . We've discussed on this  here blog  what the Gothenburg native would do when his contract came to an end. Although at the time the speculation was that he'd probably retire. Of course as part of the Detroit faithful, I'm pleased with the signing, although there are echoes of Mike Modano's final NHL season. While Modano lifted the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, Alfredsson has never lifted the cup and despite playing over 1000 games with the Sens, he's only been to the final once.  Hence why he's made the move to the Joe instead of hanging up his skates for good. Alfredsson wants his shot at getting his name engraved on Lord Stanley's Cup. The 1 year deal is worth 5.5 million. Like Daniel Alfredsson, Stephen Weiss  has also spent his whole NHL career at a single club. The 30 year old has been at t...

Nathan Mackinnon was selected as the 1st overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in New Jersey last night, after an impressive season with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior League it came as little surprise to many and capped an impressive comeback after a knee injury during the World Junior Championships had threatened to lower his ranking. Young Finnish centre Aleksander Barkov was chosen as the second selection by the Florida Panthers and Mackinnon's Halifax team mate, Jonathan Drouin was picked as the third overall choice by Tampa Bay Lightning . Biggest surprise of the night came when original number one prediction Seth Jones was only selected fourth by the Nashville Predators . Swedish centre Elias Lindholm was the fifth choice for the Carolina Hurricanes while Sean Monahan was added to the Calgary Flames at sixth overall. There was a shake up at  the 9th overall pick as the Vancouver Canucks unexpectedly traded Cory Schneider to the New Jersey...

Whilst enjoying my holiday time from work this week, Mike brought to my attention an interesting fact, it has now been nine years since a team from sunny Florida won a Stanley Cup and he posed an interesting question- can either Tampa Bay Lightning or the Florida Panthers could bring back glory to this state again next season- let's take a look at that theory! Tampa Bay has been the last team from this state to taste glory when in 2004 and engineered by the insane mastermind John Tortorella they beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 to clinch their first ever triumph. But since then it has been a rather dry desert since then, despite the scoring talents of Steven Stamkos the Lightning has seldom made the playoffs since then! This season has been no exception as they limped home in 4th place in the Southeast Division and a disappointing 14th overall in the Eastern Conference! Florida Panthers have also made an appearence in a Stanley Cup final when in 1996 they took on the might of Jo...

So... After a week which has seen transfers and sackings, here's 5 teams who've had a good week, and 5 who haven't. For a list of all results, click  here for the Western  and  here for the Eastern  Conferences. Good Week 1. Pittsburgh Penguins . Not only are the Pens top of the Eastern and only a point behind league leaders the Blackhawks, but they've now picked up Stars captain Brenden Morrow. 2. Detroit Red Wings . The good ship Detroit has been anything but steady but 2 wins against the Ducks has seen the Wings rise up to 5th in the Western Conference. Justin Abdelkader bagged his first career hatrick. 3. Minnesota Wild . 3 wins and 0 losses this week see the Wild sat comfortably in a playoff place. Captain Mikko Koivu and D-Man Ryan Suter are both playing superbly and lead the team on 26 points apiece. 4. Washington Capitals .The Caps may still be 2 places outside the playoffs but Alex Ovechkin is back on form. He scored in all four games last week as...

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...