Flames Back in the Penalty Box, Lightning Back in the Series
Monday May 31, 2004
Defense wins at playoff time. Even the supposedly high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning can slow the third period down to a crawl if a victory in the Stanley Cup Final is ... Read More
2004 NHL Free Agents
Sunday May 30, 2004
The list is not yet complete. Some restricted free agents will join the mob if they do not receive contract offers from their teams. Others will go on the market ... Read More
Iginla Punches, Passes and Scores as Calgary Shuts Out Tampa Bay
Saturday May 29, 2004
Not much spectacular playmaking in game three of the Stanley Cup Final, but Calgary and Tampa Bay delivered plenty of teeth-rattling hits. Jarome Iginla and Vincent Lecavalier set the tone ... Read More
Lecavalier and Lightning Hit Back Against Calgary
Thursday May 27, 2004
Game two of the Stanley Cup Final began with a flurry of suspect penalties called by overzealous officials. It closed with a series of fights and wrestling matches. The result ... Read More
Iron Mike and Stoic Jacques Take Over in Miami
Wednesday May 26, 2004
As expected, Mike Keenan has been named general manager of the Florida Panthers. Jacques Martin becomes the team's fourth head coach in less than seven months. Will this finally bring ... Read More
Stanley Cup Final: Another Road Win For Calgary
Tuesday May 25, 2004
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a couple of good stretches during game one of the Stanley Cup Final. But all they could manage was a power play goal in the ... Read More
2004 Stanley Cup Final Preview
Tuesday May 25, 2004
The Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning both want the puck. But who plays better without it? That could determine the 2004 Stanley Cup champion. Read more...
An Outbreak of Tampa-Bashing in the Media
Monday May 24, 2004
On the eve of the Stanley Cup Final, the hockey world is ganging up on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Reporters and columnists like the team well enough; it's the thought ... Read More
Panthers' Youth Movement Gets GM Fired
Monday May 24, 2004
Tired of seeing too much future and not enough right now, the Florida Panthers are starting over. Rick Dudley has been fired as general manager, with a replacement to be ... Read More
Lightning Finally Finish the Flyers
Saturday May 22, 2004
History shows that when a team goes all-out to stay alive in game six of a playoff series, it usually doesn't have much energy left for game seven. So it ... Read More
American Hockey Fans Get Their Game: NHL Signs New TV Deals
Friday May 21, 2004
In the last few years, media analysts have warned that the NHL was about to disappear from network television. Now comes news that the NHL has signed two American television ... Read More
Thriller in Philly Sends Flyers and Lightning to Game Seven
Thursday May 20, 2004
Tired of hearing about Keith Primeau? The Tampa Bay Lightning are. The captain of the Philadelphia Flyers took charge again Thursday night, dragging his team back from the brink. Tampa ... Read More
2004 World Cup of Hockey: Team USA Revealed
Thursday May 20, 2004
It will be the last international showcase for a generation of great American hockey players. The team representing the United States in next fall's World Cup will be one of ... Read More
Stanley Cup Final Schedule
Thursday May 20, 2004
The NHL is starting to figure out that hockey in June is a tough sell. If this year's Stanley Cup Final goes the full seven games, the 2003-04 season will ... Read More
Calgary Buries San Jose to Rule the West
Thursday May 20, 2004
The Calgary Flames did not take the easy path to the Stanley Cup Final. The sixth-place Flames knocked off three division champs to win the 2004 Western Conference title, finishing ... Read More
Flames and Lightning: One Win Away
Monday May 17, 2004
The Tampa Bay Lightning power play came to life at the best possible time, scoring three times to give the team a 3-0 lead on Tuesday. After that, the story ... Read More
Sharks Storm Back; Primeau Flies Again
Saturday May 15, 2004
The Calgary Flames looked unbeatable after taking two games on the road against the San Jose Sharks. But the Flames stumbled at home, turning the Western Conference Final into a ... Read More
Team Canada Gets Younger for 2004 World Cup
Saturday May 15, 2004
Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Rob Blake and Joe Sakic are back. But they will likely need a program to recognize all the new faces among their team mates. Canada is ... Read More
Goalies on the Rebound; Flyers Running Out of Defense
Friday May 14, 2004
Evgeni Nabokov and Nikolai Khabibulin spent a lot of time looking over their shoulders in game two. Both goaltenders recovered nicely on Thursday. Nabokov made 34 saves as the San ... Read More
Hockey's Teenaged Champions Gather for the 2004 Memorial Cup
Friday May 14, 2004
The best amateur hockey players in Canada are on display in Kelowna, British Columbia for the next ten days. The 2004 Memorial Cup tournament will decide the best team in ... Read More
Ovechkin Towers Over the 2004 Draft Prospects
Thursday May 13, 2004
As expected, Alexander Ovechkin is the top-ranked European skater going into the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. That's according to final prospect rankings released by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. The ... Read More
Will 2004 Mark the End of an NHL Era?
Wednesday May 12, 2004
Trends on and off the ice suggest the NHL might be in for a major overhaul after the 2004 Stanley Cup is handed out. For fans, the biggest changes could ... Read More
No Saturday Night Hockey? Blame the Greaseballs.
Wednesday May 12, 2004
With so many weekend afternoon games scheduled during the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Canadian fans are deprived of their traditional Saturday night hockey fix. It must be an evil plot ... Read More
Can Anyone Stop the Flames?
Tuesday May 11, 2004
There's a headline nobody expected to see this season. But Calgary's astonishing playoff run continued in San Jose, where the Flames swept a pair of games from the Sharks and ... Read More
Canada Repeats as World Champs, USA Wins Bronze
Sunday May 9, 2004
Canada won the gold medal today at the 2004 World Hockey Championship, defeating Sweden 5-3 in the gold medal game. For the second straight year, Sweden failed to hang on ... Read More
Suspect Goal Sets Up Canada-Sweden Gold Medal Rematch
Saturday May 8, 2004
Canada will defend its title tomorrow in the Gold Medal Game at the 2004 World Hockey Championship. Sweden is back in the final as well, looking to atone for last ... Read More
2004 Stanley Cup: Conference Finals Preview
Thursday May 6, 2004
Leave it to Philadelphia to buck the convenient storyline. Among the NHL's final four teams, only the Flyers conform to the familiar big-budget model. They are the oldest and most ... Read More
2004 World Championship: Canada Escapes the Quarterfinals
Thursday May 6, 2004
The defending champs have not looked great in this tournament. But Team Canada managed to avoid disaster today, coming back from a poor start to salvage an overtime win against ... Read More
New GM in Vancouver; Same Old Coaches in Toronto and Colorado
Thursday May 6, 2004
There's still no word as to why Vancouver dropped Brian Burke as general manager. But they did not go far to find a new man. A former assistant to Burke, ... Read More
Shocker In Prague: USA Eliminates Czechs at World Hockey Championship
Wednesday May 5, 2004
The upset of the year? Never mind Calgary over Detroit. Look to the quarterfinals at the 2004 World Hockey Championship. After blowing away every opponent in round robin play, the ... Read More
Stanley Cup Conference Finals: The Complete Schedule
Wednesday May 5, 2004
The four surviving teams have until the weekend to prepare for the third round of the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The fun resumes Saturday in Tampa Bay and Sunday in ... Read More
Stanley Cup Digest: Flyers and Sharks Prevail, Leafs and Avs Drop Dead
Wednesday May 5, 2004
They could feel it coming at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. Their beloved Maple Leafs, down and out in the third period, roared to life to tie the ... Read More
Stanley Cup Digest: Detroit Goes Down In Flames
Tuesday May 4, 2004
Martin Gelinas ended the Vancouver Canucks' season with an overtime goal a couple of weeks ago. On Monday, he sent the Detroit Red Wings packing. It took almost 80 minutes ... Read More
So Long, Brian: Canucks Seek A New GM
Monday May 3, 2004
Brian Burke must be wondering what he has to do to keep a job. Drag a franchise from the gutter? Patiently build a young, exciting and competitive team? Fill every ... Read More
Has Steve Yzerman Played His Last Shift?
Sunday May 2, 2004
That's the obvious question, with news that the Red Wings' captain suffered a scratched cornea and multiple fractures to the orbital bone in his left eye during yesterday's game against ... Read More
Stanley Cup Digest: Red Wings Roasted; Sakic Does It Again
Sunday May 2, 2004
The Detroit Red Wings did not anticipate so much aggravation from the bottom half of the standings. The Nashville Predators made them look bad for a couple of games in ... Read More
The NHL Goalie Scam
Saturday May 1, 2004
Great goaltending! Fabulous saves! Astonishing stats! Goaltenders - a different one every night, it seems - are the talk of hockey, now more than ever. Is anyone getting tired of ... Read More
Stanley Cup Digest: Toronto on the Rebound
Saturday May 1, 2004
The Philadelphia Flyers came to Toronto in full control of their series against the Maple Leafs. 48 hours later, they head home surrounded by doubts. The Flyers managed just two ... Read More