NHL History & News

The Eastern Conference is a wide open conference with some great battles at the top of the standings starting with two divisions, the Southeast Division and the Northeast Division.

The Southeast Division is even up with the favorite, the Washington Capitals and the long shot, the Florida Panthers. Both teams are cutting their way through the competition. The Caps expectations were high going into the season but the Panthers are surprising everyone. Both teams have 21 points and if the playoffs started tomorrow one of them would be heading home.

The Northeast Division is also in a dead heat. The Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs are neighbors just across the Niagra Falls from each other but the two teams are also neighbors in the standings. The two teams are identical except the Maple Leafs are have given up 19 more goals than the Sabres.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are leading the NHL in points, tied with the Western Conference leaders, the Blackhawks, with the 25 points. The Penguins are doing this despite their star player, Sidney Crosby, being out of commission with concussion issues.

There are several teams that are already eliminated from the NHL playoffs before we ever get to the month of December but only one team, the New York Islanders, is so far gone they can be considered a candidate for the No.1 draft pick.

Who is the favorite to win the Eastern Conference? Pittsburgh can win this conference easily if their star Crosby comes back but they will still win the conference without No. 87.

Which Eastern Conference team has the best odds to win the Stanley Cup?

This weekend the Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Boston Bruins in the first game of their 7 game series. These teams may be tired by the end of this series as they just got done playing in a couple of very difficult matchups.

In hockey betting lines the Flyers are a -135 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 5.5.

Both of these teams needed all 7 games to finish off their opponents in the first round of the playoffs despite being two of the best teams in the league. Against the Buffalo Sabres the Flyers were engaged in a difficult series for now. They managed to close out the series with a convincing 5-2 victory over Buffalo while the series was close.

In the Eastern Conference, during the season these teams were the 2nd and 3rd best teams. They should both be ready for a hard fought series as both of these teams were solid at home and even better on the road.

In terms of playing on both sides of the ice the Bruins are a slighting more well-rounded team. They are the 2nd best team in the NHL in goals against as they are the 5th best team in the league in goals per game. Even though the Flyers are just the 11th best team in the league in goals against, they are a slightly better team offensively, as they are the 3rd best team in the league in goals per game. If they hope to take the victory in this series they will need to buckle down defensively.

As both of these teams have all of the tools necessary to win this series this may be the best series in the playoffs this season.

On June 23, this year’s 2010 NHL Awards will be held in Las Vegas and there are several hotly contested categories. Below are the four most closely watched of the award.

For the Hart Memorial Trophy, this year’s finalists, which is awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, are Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, and Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins. To the President’s Cup, Ovechkin led his team and he is a two-time defending champion, but there are some who believe that Sedin played on a weaker team and thus was more valuable, overall to his team.

For the Vezina Trophy, which is given to the league’s best goalie as voted on by the NHL clubs’ general managers, are Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, Ilya Bryzgalov of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Ryan Miller, the goalie for the Buffalo Sabres, are the goalies vying. Miller is a sentimental favorite for his outstanding play for Team USA in this year’s Olympics games, even though, what happened in the Olympics shouldn’t be a factor in the awards.

For the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is given to the best defensemen as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association include Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Mike Green from the Washington Capitals, and the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Duncan Keith, are the nominees.

For the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is given to the best defensemen as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association include Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Mike Green from the Washington Capitals, and the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Duncan Keith, are the nominees. With 76 points, Green had an outstanding year and has the best plus/minus of the three with a plus 39.

For the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year, which is voted on by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, are Joe Sacco of the Colorado Avalanche, Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators, are vying for the award. After just plain ugly seasons last year, Both Sacco and Tippett unexpectedly brought their respective teams back into contention.

On June 23rd, the other awards presented include the Frank J. Selke Trophy for outstanding defensive forward. Detroit Red Wings‘ Pavel Datsyuk, Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Kesler, and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jordan Staal are included as nominees. Up for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct is Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings, Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars, and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, are the nominees. Nominees for the Calder Memorial Trophy for outstanding rookie are Colorado Avalanche’s Matt Duchene, Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, and Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres. Lastly, for the Masterton Trophy, which is awarded to a player for perseverance and sportsmanship is Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Kurtis Foster, the San Jose Sharks‘ Jed Ortmeyer, and the Washington Capitals’ Jose Theodore, are the nominees for the award.