by Ben on November 7, 2011
The St. Louis Blues haven’t made the playoffs for the last three seasons. They’re not taking any chances on making it four in a row.
Disappointed with the club’s 6-7-0 start to the 2011-12 season, the Blues fired head coach Davis Payne after just one full season behind the bench. In his place, the Blues have hired veteran coach Ken Hitchcock to a contract through next season.
While the 40-year-old Payne was the second-youngest coach in the NHL, the 59-year-old Hitchcock brings much more experience to a relatively young Blues team. In parts of 14 seasons as a coach with the Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, Hitchcock is 534-350-88-70, winning a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999-2000.
This is a preview of
Blues fire Davis Payne, Hire Ken Hitchcock
.
Read the full post (277 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)
by Ben on November 5, 2011
In the post-lockout NHL, having a solid netminder is a must. However, especially in recent years, backup goaltenders are becoming just as valuable of a commodity. Wins are hard to come by in this league, and if a team’s No. 1 guy in the crease goes down with an injury or just needs a break, it’s important that teams have a dependable backup to fill the void.
Here is a list of five backup goalies who have not only proved their worth thus far, but in some instances, have actually taken over the starting role.
Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers
by Ben on October 15, 2011
Concussions have been a real problem in the NHL over the last few seasons, and unfortunately that trend has already showed signs of continuing in the 2011-12 season.
The St. Louis Blues, a team that was hit hard by the injury bug last year, is feeling the effects of it once again when they received word that forward Andy McDonald suffered a head injury at the end of the second period of Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars.
by Ben on September 25, 2011
For the third straight season last year, the St. Louis Blues finished in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference. And while they finished all of those seasons with records above .500, only one of them (2008-09) was good enough to get them into the postseason.
However, last season may have been the most disappointing. Three large parts of the Blues‘ offense, David Perron, Andy McDonald and T.J. Oshie, missed significant time due to injury, with Perron and McDonald suffering concussions and Oshie going down with a fractured ankle. Despite having Jaroslav Halak in net, the Blues couldn’t manage to get over the hump of mediocrity without their three big guns on offense.
I am happy to announce a new promotion here at Hockey Tickets Online. Beginning in October 2011, we will giving away way two tickets each month to a regular season NHL game.
To enter, simply leave your name and email address below. Once you are entered into the contest, your will be eligible to win tickets every month.
Congratulations to Eric who is our October ticket winner. Eric gets two tickets to the Panthers v Penguins game in November.
This is a preview of
Giving Away Two Tickets To A Hockey Game Every Month
.
Read the full post (477 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)
Jonathan Toews has been given the monicker “Mr. Serious” for a reason.
No, it’s not just because he’s a no-nonsense type of guy. It’s because back on July 18, 2008, at just 20 years old, the Chicago Blackhawks made Toews the third youngest captain in the history of the NHL.
Wearing that “C” on your sweater is a huge honor, but it comes with an incredible amount of responsibility. Toews may not be the most vocal captain in the NHL, but the now 24-year-old is quickly learning when he needs to take a stand and give his squad a good tongue lashing.
I was among the majority who found it unfathomable when the Montreal Canadians decided to trade goaltender Jaroslav Halak—the centerpiece to the Habs surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season—to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a couple of players they never had heard of in Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.
So the burning question left in everyone’s minds: if goaltending is everything in the NHL, why would Canadians GM Pierre Gauthier basically give away the hottest goalie in the league for free?
by Ben on February 18, 2011
There are few hockey players who put as much time on the ice as they do in the weight room. And then there is one guy who would have made the bench press into a makeshift bed.
No, Rob Brind’Amour has never slept in a gym, but everyone you talk to who has ever played with the guy will tell you that he was the first guy to hit the weights in the morning and the last to leave the weight room following a game.
by Ben on October 11, 2010
In today’s NHL, players are expected to willingly throw their bodies to the ice and absorb 100 mph slapshots for the good of the team. It’s a rare art called shot-blocking that is becoming less and less rare with each passing season. The good teams have shot-blockers, the bad ones don’t. Unless you are defensive hockey team that doesn’t surrender too many shots to the opposing team, you either need guys who are willing to pay the price and sacrifice their bodies, or your goalie might as well start stacking bricks in front of his net. Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller is probably considering the ladder.
