by Ben on December 3, 2011
His return probably won’t garner the level of national media attention that Sindey Crosby received with his first game back, but don’t think the city of St. Louis isn’t ecstatic to see David Perron back in the lineup.
After missing 97 games with a concussion dating back to last season, the St. Louis Blues forward is set to make his return tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Perron will play left wing on a line with Patrik Berglund and Matt D’Agostini and has said that although he is nervous, he is prepared for contact.
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Perron Returns to Blues’ Lineup, Reimer to Start for Leafs
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by Ben on November 17, 2011
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke was his usual, trite, no-nonsense self when asked about the possibility of signing veteran goaltender Marty Turco.
“No interest.”
Reporters in Toronto know by now that to ask Burke to elaborate is pointless.
But the rumors of Turco possibly coming to Toronto seemed unfounded. It is true that starting goaltender James Reimer has been sidelined since Oct. 22 after he suffered a concussion—err…“whiplash-like” symptoms, according to those within the Maple Leaf organization. It is also true that backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has struggled and rookie Ben Scrivens isn’t quite ready to lead an NHL team between the pipes.
by Ben on November 1, 2011
If there was one theme in the month of October in the NHL, it was to expect the unexpected.
With that in mind, as hard as it may be to believe, the current NHL standings are in fact correct.
So, where to begin?
How about over in the Northeast Division, where the last team you would expect to be at the top would be the Toronto Maple Leafs (7-3-1). However, the only thing that might be more surprising within that division is that the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are dead last (4-7-0)—not only in the division, but in the entire Eastern Conference.
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Plenty of Surprises Through the First Month of the NHL
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by Ben on October 21, 2011
Heading into Thursday night’s game against the surging Toronto Maple Leafs, the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins posted a somewhat disappointing 2-4 record, displaying some signs—as much as they wouldn’t like to admit it—of obvious Stanley Cup hangover.
Not to mention, the B’s were coming off an embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, a game in which Boston’s early-season frustrations boiled over to the tune of 72 penalty minutes.
Needless to say, Thursday’s game with Toront
o was an important one, and the Bruins finally appeared to be ready for the 2011-12 season. The Bruins got goals from six different players as they handed the Leafs their first regulation defeat of the season with a 6-2 win at TD Garden.
by Ben on October 19, 2011
It may still be early, but prior to every new NHL season, a whole host of predictions are made before the puck drops. Naturally, many of these predictions, by both experts and fans alike, come up short. Quite often, not only do our Magic 8-balls fail us, but several surprises come out of nowhere, ultimately blowing our predictions out of the water. Here are a few of those early-season surprises.
Phil Kessel’s Hot Start
Phil Kessel is a good hockey player. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke knew that when he traded away a first-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft (which ended up being Tyler Seguin) to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Kessel.
by Ben on September 27, 2011
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have come up short this offseason in the Brad Richards sweepstakes, but GM Brian Burke was determined to still shake things up for a club that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since the 2003-04 season.
They picked up a pair of skilled forwards in Tim Connolly and Matthew Lombardi and made a deal with the Colorado Avalanche to acquire defenseman John-Michael Liles in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2011 entry draft.
Although the Stanley Cup Playoffs have everyone in the hockey world captivated at the moment, the other 28 teams in the league aren’t wasting any time in preparing for next season.
On Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Ilya Bryzgalov’s negotiating rights from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for left wing Matt Clackson, a third-round pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick.
The Flyers are hoping that Bryzgalov can finally be the answer to the goaltending woes that have plagued the team for the better part of the last decade. The carousel of goaltenders in Philly continued this past season, with rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher having all split time between the pipes.
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.
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Giving Away Two Tickets To A Hockey Game Every Month
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With only three games left in the season for the majority of teams, it’s hard to believe that there are still eight playoff spots that have yet to be clinched. However, tonight there are two divisions and four playoff spots on the line. Here is a look at a handful of games with playoff-clinching implications.
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Playoff Possibilities for Several Teams in Action Tonight
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Coming off a rough 6-2 home loss to Tampa Bay on Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs knew they couldn’t afford to let another crucial two points slip away in Wednesday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The good new for the Leafs is that following the beatdown from the Lightning, they fled Toronto as soon as possible to hit the road where they are 5-0-2 in their last seven road games.
