NHL History & News

In what could be a potential first round playoff matchup, the Detroit Red Wings will skate into Chicago on Sunday afternoon to do battle with the Blackhawks. Detroit is at 8-1 to win the Stanley Cup in NHL Odds and NHL Betting. The Blackhawks are at 18-1 in NHL Picks. This game will actually be the second of a home and home series to close out the 2010-2011 regular season for both teams.

Surprisingly, with only two games remaining for both clubs there is still a lot left to be decided when it comes to playoff berths and seeding. Chicago helped its chances of making the playoffs again this year with a crucial victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. That overtime victory puts the Blackhawks in seventh place in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Dallas who is in ninth place and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Chicago will really help secure its playoff status with at least one point during the weekend series with Detroit. On the other hand, the Red Wings are already locked into a playoff position after winning the Central Division last weekend.

With this year’s playoff berth, the Red Wings have made the postseason for a record twenty years in a row. This streak is also the longest streak for any team in all of the four major sports. While the Red Wings are gearing up for another long playoff run, Detroit still has a chance to jump into the number two seed in the Western Conference. Currently, the Red Wings trail San Jose by one point in the standings, and if the Red Wings would like to secure home ice for the first two rounds, they will need to try their best to win these last two remaining games against Chicago over the weekend. 

When the NHL resumes its schedule after the holiday break on Sunday, hockey fans will be treated to another great Central Division matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Chicago Blackhawks. Right now the Blackhawks are tied for eighth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Kings, while the Columbus Blue Jackets trail Chicago by 2 points in the standings and sits tied for 9th with Phoenix and St. Louis. In hockey betting lines, NHL betting odds have not yet posted for this matchup.

When looking back at the season, the teams that miss the playoffs by just a few points always kick themselves for losing those interdivision games. Because of this fact, Chicago and Columbus realize this upcoming game could loom large in the standings come April.

On paper this game looks like a bit of a mismatch for the Blue Jackets as the Blackhawks have plenty more offensive firepower than Columbus. However, with Chicago not having played its best hockey of the season yet and Columbus playing fairly well defensively, this game should be a close one between the two Central Division foes. Chicago will be looking to capitalize on their recent success having beaten both Detroit and Los Angeles as part of their 5 games home stand. Columbus will be looking to get a fresh start while traveling on the road to break out of a month long slump that has seen them win only three games in their last 13.

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.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers met up in Chicago for the 5th game of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, on Sunday, June 6th. The home team had won each time, in the first four games. Philadelphia was hoping to change that, but they were unsuccessful, as Chicago beat them 7-4. As Chicago nor Philadelphia had much luck stopping the other, Philadelphia was hoping to change that, but they were unsuccessful. However, it did not matter in the end, as Chicago simply overwhelmed Philadelphia with their offensive attack.

Antti Niemi, goalie for Chicago and Stanley Cup odds star, made 23 saves and allowed 4 goals. Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, Philadelphia used two goalies and each allowed three goals, though Boucher got the loss. On the offensive side of things, Dustin Byfuglien was the unlikely hero for Chicago, as he scored twice and added two assists as well. 6 different players had scored for Chicago, including Patrick Kane, by the end of the Game 6. Four different players scored for Philadelphia, and Kimmo Timonen was the standout player for them, as he scored a goal and added an assist as well.

One thing was crystal clear, by one thing was crystal clear. In a defensive struggle, if Chicago were not able to beat Philadelphia, they would beat them by playing a non-stop, action-packed style of hockey. They managed to do that perfectly, and all they need now is a victory on Wednesday, June 9th, to seal the deal and clinch the 2010 Stanley Cup.

On Saturday, on May 29th, the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers kicked off the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Chicago was hoping to shutdown Philadelphia‘s offense and had the advantage of playing at home. While Chicago managed to win the game 6-5, it was far from the clean, dominant victory they were hoping.

In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in history, the 11 goals that the teams combined for was the highest number of goals. Antti Niemi picked up the win for Chicago by managing 27 saves, while none of the goalies that played in the game was impressive. The starting goalie for Philadelphia, Michael Leighton, was pulled and Brian Boucher was put in as the backup. In the loss, he picked up 11 saves.

As 5 different players scored a goal, Philadelphia did manage to show off their impressive depth. Including Troy Brouwer who scored twice, five different players scored for Chicago as well. The last goal of the game came from an unexpected source, as Tomas Kopecky, who had not played in the last five games, managed to score a very tough goal on Brian Boucher. Andrew Ladd suffered an injury and because of which Kopecky was playing.

In the Stanley Cup Finals is to expect the unexpected, the one thing that always holds true. Game 1 of 2010 Finals continued to prove that. It delivered plenty of excitement, while the game may have lacked the pure technical skills expected from the final two teams.

With a solid 44-19-6 record, the Chicago Blackhawks are leading the Central Division and currently sit second in the NHL Western Conference standings. In order to stay within the top four playoff spots, the Blackhawks really need to finish strong down the stretch.

The San Jose Sharks, the number one team for Stanley Cup betting in the Western Conference, are better at home than on the road, for the Blackhawks this difference is even more demonstrative. The Blackhawks have been much weaker on the road, putting up an 18-12-3 record thus far on the season but they have been nearly unbeatable at home, posting a 26-7-3 record.

The Blackhawks have no secret to success. On the offensive and defensive ends of the ice, they simply outwork their opponents. They have been able to cash in 224 goals on the offensive end and have given up a mere 174 goals this season and.

They have been solid defensively against the power play, only allowing conversion at a rate of 15.8 percent of the time but they have not been fantastic offensively on the power play, converting 19.5 percent of the time.

Their ability to capitalize on the power play and to use that advantage to start scoring some goals will be the key to their success down the stretch and in the playoffs. Right Wing Patrick Kane (26 goals and 51 assists) has been leading the team in scoring and assists and he has been a one man show for the Blackhawks. They’ll need him to continue to be dominant in order for this team to move up to the Sharks for the number one seed.