The Fifth Liners

In the wake of his investigation for alleged sexual assault, the Chicago Blackhawks could well be shifting one of its best. Patrick Kane  has been at the centre of trade talk in the last few days and the Hawks are apparently willing to listen. Despite his off-ice trouble, Kane has been one of the key figures of a tremendously successful team. Should Chicago offload him after three cup wins?  On the one hand I can understand Chicago wanting to be rid of Kane. This sort of rumor can destroy a man's reputation and should things be pressed further it could lead to a lot of lost ice time for him. Kane hasn't coated himself in glory, that is plainly obvious but does he really deserve to be ostracized already? The Blackhawks have been busy off loading their veteran players recently so how would losing a top line player really help at this point?  Another point to consider is that would any team in the NHL really touch a player who could be in...

Goalie: Ben Bishop He may have missed out on a Stanley Cup ring, but Bishop was the glue that held Tampa Bay Lightning together during their play-off run. Notching up 13 wins including 3 shutouts, a save percentage of .921 and a GAA of 2.18, Bishop was remarkable in net.  Defense: Duncan Keith The rightful Conn Smyth Trophy winner, Keith was remarkable on the blue line. Scoring the first goal in game 6 was a tribute to his dominance. Scoring 21 points which included a staggering 18 assists, Keith had the highest plus minus rating of +16. The Chicago Blackhawks have been well served by this man and his importance was truly demonstrated in this final. Defense: Victor Hedman   Behind Keith, Hedman was the second highest plus/minus rating of +11. His great defensive quality helped back up Bishop in net. During this series, Hedman broke the record for the most points scored by a Lightning player in a single playoff year with 13. Heavily favored to win the Jam...

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...

This season's Stanley Cup playoffs have been one of the best and most unpredictable of years gone by, the Boston Bruins; almost everyone's favourite for the cup have been dumped out by the Habs. The Rangers, riding high under the stewardship of Alain Vigneault have put out the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last night also saw another sting in the tail, as the LA Kings put an end to an impressive Anaheim Ducks with a 6-2 win at the Honda Center! We've now arrived at the conference finals. During the regular season you never would have predicted these line ups. But who will triumph here? Western Conference Chicago Blackhawks v LA Kings The Blackhawks have done well to salvage some pride after an indifferent regular season and players such as Jonathan Toews, Marion Hossa and Brent Seabrook have impressed during this time. I have no doubts they will fight to the bitter end to bring the cup by to Illinois for a second year running. They are not as dominant as last season, but th...

Last season the Chicago Blackhawks as celebrated Dave Bolland's goal to seal the 2013 Stanley Cup against the Boston Bruins, you could be forgiven for thinking for thinking that the good times were only just getting started! This season the Blackhawks seemed to be suffering for a severe case of post cup winning hangover and after last night's 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, this once destructive Illnois crew seems have run out of petrol! But what has caused this team to decline so quickly? With the playoffs looming, Chicago currently lies 5th overall in the Western Conference, over 8 points drift of surprise leaders the St Louis Blues and they have racked up a whopping 15 losses so far! This is more than double the amount than during the 2012-13 regular season where they only recorded an incredible 7 losing games. Also their defence is leaking goals faster than the faulty pipe in my boiler at home and their goals against figure stands at 182 conceded! Compared to last se...

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...

Today the Olympic Ice Hockey rosters for the upcoming Sochi 2014 games have been officially confirmed, after much speculation surrounding them there has been some interesting selections made and no doubt this will spark furious debate among hockey fans, let's take a look at the main contenders. Canada  The 25 man Canadian squad certainly isn't lacking in depth, and this year they will be the team to beat and 11 of 2010 Gold Medal team will make a return journey! The defensive selection is one I highly commend as they have mixed youth of players like PK Subban along with defensive quality like Jay Bouwmeester. The St Louis pairing of JB along with Pietrangelo could well be a wise selection! Offensively the star count is ridiculously high with Crosby, Toews, Perry, Stamkos and Kunitz among others being featured and Canada will rely on this goal power to see them through! There are few surprise selections with Marc-Andre Fleury missing out in favour of Roberto Luongo and the ...

After last nights 7-2 steamroller over the Colorado Avalanche , it would appear that the Chicago Blackhawks are the public's favourite to retain their Stanley Cup crown this year! If they do succeed in taking back to back titles, it will make them the first team to achieve this since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings and will already make them one of the big successes of this decade alone! After their up and down start to their title defense, the Red Express has got back on the rails and it ain't going to stop any time soon! But as always with winning, things are never straight forward because across from our brothers in Illinois are another team who are equally hungry and have a burning desire not to repeat last years play-off nightmare in the shape of the Pittsburgh Penguins ! Both sides have an equally strong case as they possess offensive units to die for- Chicago this season have been led by free scoring winger Patrick Kane, whose 21 goals have pushed them to the top of the...

The Ottawa Senators are having a tough time of it recently. With each loss, that playoff spot keeps slipping away. Coming off the back of two homes losses (San Jose and Anaheim), the team needed to rekindle the same spirit that beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-1 a week ago. Current Stanley Cup holders Chicago aren't exactly having a walk in the park either. A few overtime losses means that the Blackhawks trail the Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division chase. Last night the Blackhawks welcomed the Senators to the United Center and the high scoring affair meant that for either team to take the edge, the game would require something a bit special. Step up Jonathan Toews . Last night Toews earned the right to drink for free in any tavern in Chicago. Except that one in Chicago Fire, cos it isn't real. Andrew Shaw opened the scoring early in the first to give Chicago the lead, only for Milan Michalek to restore parity with one minute left on the clock. The game stayed tigh...

The Chicago Blackhawks stuttering start to their new campaign continued with a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the United Centre last night- this defeat leaves the Hawks record as 6-1-3 which after their glorious start last year, is making them look slightly awkward. Zach Parise got the Wild started after he scored a rebound on a powerplay after 12.39 of the 1st period played after Corey Crawford had saved the initial effort! But then Niklas Backstrom made an excellent save from Marion Hossa on the break away with six minutes remaining! Minnesota's lead was then increased to 2-0 when after only 1.03 of the second period, Kyle Brodziak tipped in Marco Scandella's shot to leave Hawks fans bewildered! Their frustration grew when Backstrom denied Jonathan Toews and then the post denied another potential goal to still leave Chicago behind, they also had a goal waived off for a high stick before Bryan Bickell finally smashed one in for the home side to reduce the scores to 2-1 ...

The St Louis Blues clinched a dramatic late 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Scottrade Center last night to continue the reigning champions indifferent start to the 2013/14 season. Vladimir Tarasenko put the Blues in front after 15 minutes when he scored a high shot past Corey Crawford, but Patrick Kane tied the scores at 1-1 only two minutes later. After 7 minutes of the second period Alex Pietrangelo's long shot deflected off Blues captain David Backes to put the home side 2-1 in front on a powerplay! But yet again the Blackhawks levelled the scores again when Jonathan Toews scored on their own powerplay to bring things to 2-2. But with only 21 seconds remaining in the third period, Alexander Steen seized on a 3 on 1 breakaway chance to slot the puck underneath Crawford and give the Blues the win! To see the celebrations erupt among the home fans, you would have thought this was the playoffs! Jaroslav Halak was to thank for keeping the champions out and his fi...

Spoiler. Chicago win. Anyway, how did it happen? First Period After Rene Rancourt's belting national anthem, the Bruins really took the initiative, letting the Blackhawks know that today would not be a formality. The first test for Tukka Rask came three minutes in when Nick Leddy fired a laser from center ice forcing Rask to knock the puck away. Less than a minute later Jonathan Toews linked up with Patrick Kane from behind Rask's net but Kane fired wide. The Blackhawks have been working on their link up play as Alex's man-crush Michal Handzus may have struggled in the faceoff spots but his passing was on target. The Handzus-Sharp pairing proving to be one of the best in the league. The Bruins' third line kept Chicago under pressure but for what seemed like an age, couldn't find the net. That was until the seventh minute when Tyler Seguin found the 'Hawks D-men sleeping and passed the puck in front of Corey Crawford to Chris Kelly who found t...

Patrick Kane continued his impressive playoff performance and put in a first star performance to gain the Chicago Blackhawks an impressive 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins at the United Center last night and as a result they take a 3-2 lead in the series and lie just one game away from the ultimate prize! Kane struck late in the first period and bagged his eight goal of the playoffs 17 minutes in when he backhanded the puck into the bottom left corner of Tuukka Rask ’s net when Johnny Oduya ’s shot shattered Dennis Seidenberg ’s stick and fortuitously slid into his path! The Blackhawks skilfully used their pace and made use of the extra space available to frustrate the Bruins defence- meanwhile Corey Crawford was proving a wall in a net and it would prove to be that way for the remainder of this fixture. Chicago fans didn’t have long to wait for Kane’s ninth goal as after less than 5 minutes played, he scored high into the Boston net put the Hawks 2-0 to good! But the per...

Brent Seabrook was the overtime hero once again; as the Chicago Blackhawks came from behind in an exhilarating 6-5 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in game 4 to level the series at 2-2! After Tuukka Rask ’s shutout in game 3 on Monday, the Blackhawks have come back strong. The Hawks began the first period strongly when Brandon Saad set up Seven Days in Hockey favourite Michal Handzus on a 2 on 1 after 7 minutes, but Saad became the enemy soon after as his giveaway led to a long range leveler on a Power Play by Rich Peverley . But the game burst into life in the second period when Chicago skipper Jonathan Toews scored a tip after 6 minutes to put them in front 2-1, this goal was Toews first goal since the Western final against the Red Wings and two minutes later the in-form Patrick Kane pushed them further ahead!   Milan Lucic however, put the Bruins back in the game when he scored a backhand rebound off a Zdeno Chara shot before Marcus Kruge...