The Fifth Liners

I know this piece will probably seem a bit hypocritical to some seeing as I basically slated the St Louis Blues during the off season and implied that they better not hold their breath waiting for the glory days to come! Well after last night's 6-0 thrashing of Edmonton, it seems this year could well be the year that hockey goes big in Missouri! So far the Blues firm has been nothing short of exceptional and currently they stand 4th overall in the Western Conference with only four points separating them from previous cup champs Los Angeles and Chicago! Last season brought a similar result and despite their best efforts, they were eliminated by the Kings in the playoffs first round. It seems head coach Ken Hitchcock has been firmly wracking his brains in the off season. His solutions to plugging the gaps seem to be working as the Blues have the third most goals in the Western Conference with 125 goals and have been led by the free scoring forward Alexander Steen with 38 points!...

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 ...

OK that's not strictly true, the Blues took home the Presidents' Trophy 13 years ago but of the original six and the expansion six, the Blues are the only team never to have lifted the Stanley Cup. Why is that? Alex's most recent question (one that he's had to remind me several times) is: "St. Louis are an established team but they are still without a cup, what can they do?" St. Louis hasn't made a cup final appearance since the 69/70 season but until recently, would rarely miss a post-season. So what can the boys from Missouri do differently if they want to pick up the trophy this season? The frustrating thing about being a Blues fan is the the team is pretty good. I'd guess. Getting to the playoffs would be a good start. Of the last 10 playoffs, the Blues appeared in five of them; reaching the conference semifinals and losing the the LA Kings in 11/12. After exhaustive research (wikipedia mostly); I reckon there's two things St. Louis ...

Yesterday while deep in enjoyment watching robots fighting gigantic beasts in Pacific Rim, my phone buzzed and when opening it I was asked a question by Mike which struck close to home as the question read, "What's it gonna take for the Canucks to take home the Stanley Cup this season?" being a Vancouver fan this one that needs some serious analysis, so to work I go. The short answer to this question would be 'a hell of a lot!' and after reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup final, the last two season have been a massive disappointment under Alain Vigneault which lead to his dismissal this May. John Tortorella has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Franchise and I'm certain that journalists up and down North America are thrilled about more imminent explosions! Previously I have expressed both my delight and upmost fear about this appointment because although JT brings with him a Stanley Cup win, he has also failed to raise his game when need while coach o...

Last night saw a slightly sour end to an otherwise excellent regular season by the Vancouver Canucks as they were trounced 7-2 by Edmonton at Rexall Place! Derek Roy gave the Canucks the lead in the 1st period but Nail Yakupov was the star with an impressive 3rd period hat trick as the Canucks let in six goals in the final stretch and he was joined a brace from Jordan Eberle, Jordan Smithson and a first star performance from rookie defenseman Justin Schultz who contributed a goal and 3 assists! Tom Sissito gave Vancouver another solitary reply early in the 3rd- which gave us a tie game at 2-2 but the Oilers offensive would eventually prove too great. The Oilers have at least ended a misfiring season on a high and we new GM Craig Mactavish installed they can prepare for next year and with the talents of Yakupov and Taylor Hall in their ranks, perhaps next season will see them make a long overdue playoff appearence. The Canucks have been gi...

Vancouver Canucks were given a soft shock yesterday as the Dallas Stars gave them a 5-1 walkover at the American Airlines Center! Despite Stars old boy and our current mister consistent, Derek Roy giving the Canucks the lead in the first period- a third period meltdown proved their undoing as goals from Cody Eakin, Jamie Benn, Ray Whitney and Erik Cole paved the way for a Dallas demolition! Although this doesnt harm their playoff chances too much- it is a worrying reminder of what happens when form deserts us! Cody Schneider still notched up an impressive 30 saves, but Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen went one better with 38 saves! Let's hope we can put this minor blemish behind us and focus on the task ahead- for a full game report go to NHL.com

Last night during Vancouver's 5-2 win over Nashville (see Mike's article for the full story), Head Coach Alain Vigneault came up with an inspired solution of the teams second line and decided to pair Ryan Kesler at centre and surprisingly Derek Roy on the right wing! This choice proved to be inspired one as Kessler bagged a brace (impressively with his only two shots) and Roy grabbed a goal and an assist- together the two occupied the game's first and second stars! Kesler's return from injury after missing 31 games has come at a key time and his inclusion will aid the Canucks as we make our push for the playoff. Derek Roy however is proving to be an inspired piece of business and the former Dallas man is capable of playing in a variety of attacking positions. Seems a decent run in the playoffs may be not be impossible!

Vancouver Canucks have been given an offensive boost to their season as yesterday it was announced that Dallas Stars centre Derek Roy is heading to the Rogers Arena in exchange for a conditional second round pick and Defense Prospect Kevin Connauton. With the Canuck struggling to score even with two veteran centres during regular season play, Roy will certainly help improve stats and so far he has notched up 22 points with 4 goals and 18 assists while playing in Dallas. It is expected that Roy will help elevate the third forward line and together with Jannik Hansen and Chris Higgins, together this line could prove important. With Henrik Sedin finding form and Ryan Kesler expected to be playing again within a week, Roy signing has come at an important time and with other centre Maxim LaPierre anchoring the four line, the Canucks goal tally could be steadily increasing! Derek Roy relaxes during his Sabres days.

1.        Ron Hextall vs. Chris Chelios (1989 Eastern Conference Final- Game 6): Goalie Ron Hextall was never far from controversy during his career and his 699 penalty minutes are the kind of stats usual seen by season enforcers rather than a man in net! At times he could be brilliant but at times he was purely insane and it was never demonstrated better than when decided to get revenge on Montreal’s Chris Chelios 2. Patrick Roy vs. Mike Vernon (Red Wings vs. Avalanche 1997): After Claude Lemieux illegal hit on Red Wing’s Kris Draper the season prior, winger Darren McCarthy decided to get brutal revenge on Lemieux. Never one to back away from a fight, goalie Patrick Roy chose to join in and protect his team mate. Then veteran Red Wing’s goalie Mike Vernon tried to intervene which prompted Roy to challenge him to a scrap- here things became interesting!   3.        Matthew Barnaby vs. Garth Snow (Sabres v...