Today is the day!  The 2009-2010 NHL season begins tonight!  Are you pumped!?  I’m so excited.  I’ve already written about my predictions for this year (and, yes, they aren’t perfect and they are just guesses) so I’m definitely ready for the real action to start!

Here are the scheduled games for tonight:

Montreal @ Toronto – 7pm ET
Washington @ Boston – 7pm ET
Vancouver @ Calgary – 10pm ET
San Jose @ Colorado – 10pm ET

This marks the first time in a decade that the Habs will take on the Leafs in their season openers and, while I would normally put my money on …read more

Seriously, it feels like the Pittsburgh Penguins just won the Stanley Cup a few weeks ago and already we’re getting ready for the pre-season.  I don’t know about you but this summer just flew by (the crappy weather in my area certainly didn’t help) and, while I hate to see it end, I am looking forward to the new season. 
So many changes have been made to the rosters in the last coup le months so some teams are going to look really different.  Should be interesting!  When it gets closer to the season opener, I’ll do an overview and …read more

With the NHL Entry Draft and the free-agency deadline behind us, it’s time to start looking towards next season.  The NHL has made some announcements and has released the full 2009-2010 NHL schedule. 
In addition to the 2010 Winter Classic being held at Boston’s Fenway Park, the schedule shows that six Canadian teams will be playing when the new season begins on October 1, 2009.  John Tavares will play in his first NHL game on October 3, 2009 when the New York Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Also, the NHL will have to work around the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games …read more

The Washington Capitals will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins today and, while the teams matter, what people really care about is the showdown between two of the league’s hottest stars.

Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will meet up in the ultimate Stanley Cup playoff pairing (I swear I can hear Gary Bettman drooling).  Both of the players have incredibly impressive stats but only one of them will emerge from this series with bragging rights (and we all know that Ovie knows how to brag).
Here’s the schedule (all in Eastern Time):

Saturday, May 2, 1pm – Penguins at Capitals
Monday, May 4, 7pm – …read more

The Boston Bruins easily beat the Montreal Canadiens in the first round but will they do as well against the Carolina Hurricanes?  Only time will tell since this is yet another surprising pairing in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

I was expecting the New Jersey Devils to eliminate the Hurricanes and was thoroughly shocked by the results of Game 6.  After they came back and won that game with less than 90 seconds left in the third, I felt a deep sense of respect for them.  They won the cup back in 2006 and then things just went downhill …read more

Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings will host the Anaheim Ducks for what could be a very interesting series.  The Ducks have already surprised a lot of people by eliminating the top seeded team in the league in the first round and now the 2007 Stanley Cup Champions will take on the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions.  Who will advance to the next round?

I can’t even make a prediction about how this is going to go down but I do have a feeling that, like so many other series, this one could be determined by goaltending.  Both teams have their strengths (Detroit …read more

The Vancouver Canucks eliminated the St. Louis Blues in four games and have been on a nice, long break waiting for the second round to begin.  Meanwhile, the quarterfinal series went all the way to Game 6 for the Chicago Blackhawks who, ultimately, beat the Calgary Flames.  Now, they will face off in the semi-finals and I think this could end up being a very interesting pairing.

Both teams are very annoying to play against.   The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel (Vancouver), have an undeniable chemistry on the ice and really have the ability to score.  Meanwhile, Patrick Kane and …read more

I have had many American friends complain that the coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t as good in the States as it is in Canada.  Fortunately, VERSUS is trying to improve things during its fourth season as the exclusive cable television network of the NHL outside of Canada (it’s also the fastest growing US cable sports network!).
I checked out their schedule and it’s pretty impressive.  They plan to kick off things off tonight with a special playoffs preview Hockey Central show at 6:30 p.m. ET. 
This will be followed by the series opener for the Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh …read more

The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin today with the first of the quarterfinal games and I can’t believe this day has finally arrived.  Honestly, this season went by so quickly that it’s hard to believe we are at the end.  I look at the teams that have made the playoffs and I truly cannot predict who will win this thing. 
On the one hand, it’s easy to assume that teams like the Boston Bruins or San Jose Sharks, who have clearly dominated throughout the season, will take home Lord Stanley but you really can’t underestimate a good underdog. 

Here’s the …read more

Just a reminder for everyone – today the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship officially begins.  With the preliminaries behind us, the real action starts today.  The overwhelming favorite for the gold medal is Team Canada.  Since the games are being hosted in Ottawa, Ontario, our nation’s capital, I have to admit it would be pretty amazing to see Team Canada bring home the gold.
For more information about which games are going to be played each day, check out the World Junior Championship game schedule.
image: TSN