The Fifth Liners

Slava Voynov will be prepping his legal team for one hell of a battle, as today his court date has been set for March 2, 2015. Monday at Los Angeles County Superior Court, Voynov plead not guilty to assaulting his wife on October 19th. Currently suspended from playing in the NHL, Voynov could be sentenced to up to nine years imprisonment if he is found guilty. Previously his wife had sent a letter stating that her injuries were accidental, but the judge dismissed the evidence at the preliminary hearing. The two time Stanley Cup winner with LA Kings , Voynov so far this season contributed only two assists from six regular season games played.

This week it was out with the old and in with the new this week in the state of Springsteen as New Jersey Devils sacked head coach Peter DeBoer and swiftly replaced with him former Capitals coach Adam Oates and former captain Scott Stevens . A storm of controversy soon followed as the Caps protested that NJ should have asked permission first, but the matter was quickly settled with the minimum of fuss. After leading the Devils to an unlikely Stanley Cup final appearence in 2012, DeBoer has struggled to bring consistency to his aging side and has left his side seventh overall in the Eastern Conference and over nine points adrift from the wild card slot! In his four years as coach, De Boer only registered a solitary playoff appearance. But his sacking doesn't appear to be been solely based on results. Since the departure of stars Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk , New Jersey has failed to replacement them with a consistent goal scorer. This season in particular has been a pretty...

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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...

This weeks question, comes from one of our devoted fans in the UK, ' James Neal is the first NHL player to be booked for diving. Will this put off other potential floppers or will it deter players who've been genuinely fouled from falling to ground?' IheartModano - Darn good question fellow European reader, let's take a closer look at this. Officially Neal is the first ever NHL player to be named and shamed for diving and has been fined $2,000 for his offense- pocket change really to these guys. On November 13th, Neal was given a warning for the same offense after a game against St Louis, but it appears he didn't think to tune in for that weeks episode. Cue exactly a month later against, San Jose, he then decided to try the very same act again! But what will be the result of this whole thing? Hockey is a tough and physical game, but there are times when you wonder how many others are flopping the getting away it? The punishments that have been set out are n...

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...

Normally I wouldn't go a mile near this kind of stuff, but the San Jose Sharks christmas rap video 'Holiday Sweater' is a present that just keeps on giving! Expect this cringing piece line the halls of shame for years to come, take it away boys....