NHL: 2017-2018 Season

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Nine games are slated for tonight. Among them...

* We got an Original Six match as the Detroit Red Wings will leave Hockeytown to meet the Boston Bruins.

* A Sunshine State Showdown pits the Florida Panthers at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

* Yahoo! Sports will show the Dallas Stars at the Nashville Predators.

* The surprising Vegas Golden Knights will be in Columbus, OH to meet the Columbus Blue Jackets.

* The Minnesota Wild will host the Carolina Hurricanes.


These matches and more are slated for tonight. In reading on Yahoo! Sports, I hear "Smashville" has themselves a teenager named Eeli Tolvanen who was ballin' in the KHL. How will this young man do in the NHL for the Predators? Again- go enjoy tonight's games!
 
This is the final Wednesday Night Rivalry under Standard Time. Set your clocks AHEAD one hour this weekend if you observe Daylight Saving Time. Meanwhile, get ready for these three matches tonight:

* CGY Flames at BUF Sabres
* PIT Penguins at PHI Flyers (NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry)
* ARI Coyotes at VAN Canucks

So this week's Wednesday Night Rivalry match is all about the Keystone State, as the two-time defending champion Penguins and take on their in-state foe Flyers.


Enjoy tonight's games.
 
It is very late, but congratulations on the successes of Alex Ovechkin of late.

March Madness may be in full swing for college basketball, but we got plenty of hockey madness going as the Push for the Playoffs continues. We got five games on this Wednesday Night Rivalry. So here is what your Wedneday night of hockey looks like this week:

* DAL Stars at TOR Maple Leafs
* PIT Penguins at NYR Rangers (NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry)
* SJ Sharks at EDM Oilers
* VAN Canucks at ANA Ducks
* NJ Devils at VGK Golden Knights

Enjoy the action, everyone!
 
Looks like my Wings are going all in for a chance at Dahlin. Went to the game against the Blues a couple weeks ago. I'm optimistic about the future but I'm not sure how long Blashill will last after two straight playoff misses. Just not the culture in Detroit (in hockey that is).
 
At the top of the hour, NBCSN will show the Los Angeles Kings at the Minnesota Wild. So if you're looking for a game on TV tonight, be sure to check out the Kings and Wild if you have NBCSN.
 
I learned yesterday on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" that Detroit had some 10-game losing streak heading into last night's tilt with the Philadelphia Flyers. Relax, Hockeytown... your boys did good with a 5-4 victory. This game couldn't be settled in regulation, so this one had to be settled in a Shootout. The boys representing the winged wheel won at home and snapping their losing streak.

Congratulations to all other winners from last night. What about tonight, though? Your first Spring Wednesday night of hockey looks like this:

* ARI Coyotes at BUF Sabres
* MON Canadiens at PIT Penguins
* BOS Bruins at STL Blues (NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry)
* ANA Ducks at CGY Flames


Enjoy some hockey tonight. Good luck to all of your favorite teams.



[OMISSION] I was going to say that nobody has yet clinched anything postseason-wise. Well, the following teams are IN:

---EASTERN CONFERENCE ---
* Tampa Bay
...Atlantic No. 2...
...Atlantic No. 3...
...Metropolitan No. 1...
...Metropolitan No. 2...
...Metropolitan No. 3...
...East Wild Card 1...
...East Wild Card 2...

--- WESTERN CONFERENCE ---
* Nashville
...Central No. 2...
...Central No. 3...
...Pacific No. 1...
...Pacific No. 2...
...Pacific No. 3...
...West Wild Card 1...
...West Wild Card 2...

Still plenty to play for. So keep playing hard to get to play for the Stanley Cup this season!
 
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Let's update that Playoff list, shall we? Teams "IN!" at this point...

! = clinched their division

* EASTERN CONFERENCE: Tampa Bay, Boston
* WESTERN CONFERENCE: Nashville, Winnipeg, Vegas

Congratulations to the Vegas Golden Knights on making the postseason in their inaugural season! If Wild Card races interest you, here are the current leaders heading into tonight's games:

* EASTERN WILD CARD (CURRENTLY): Philadelphia and New Jersey
* WESTERN WILD CARD (CURRENTLY): Los Angeles and Colorado

There are still a lot of slots to be filled out for the 16 teams hopeful to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup towards the end of the postseason. So keep on playing hard if your team still has a chance to make the postseason!
 
On this final Wednesday of March 2018, this is what your Wednesday night of NHL hockey looks like:

* FLA Panthers at TOR Maple Leafs
* NYR Rangers at WAS Capitals (NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry)
* PHI Flyers at COL Avalanche
* ARI Coyotes at VGK Golden Knights

Keep making that Playoffs push! Enjoy tonight's games, and good luck to all of your favorite teams.
 
Let's update the Playoffs "in!" list. Latest Playoff teams (! = clinched division):

* CURRENT EASTERN PLAYOFF TEAMS: Boston, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington, Pittsburgh (defending champions)
* CURRENT WESTERN PLAYOFF TEAMS: Nashville, Winnipeg, Vegas!

So it looks like a lot of the Eastern Conference is filling up its postseason contenders. The Western Conference is still fairly wide open as of this point. Keep playing hard if you can still make the playoffs! If you're already in the Playoffs, try to sweeten the offer.


Meanwhile, enjoy today's games and tonight's games.
 
I would like to wish twin brothers Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin the best in their retirement. The Vancouver Canucks will not be in the postseason this season, so the Sedin twins will hang it up together after 18 seasons. It is rather interesting when siblings retire together. Again, all the best to the Sedin twin brothers.


So Vancouver will not be in the postseason. Who IS in at this point? The latest current Playoff teams:

! = clinched division
!! = home advantage

* CURRENT EASTERN PLAYOFF TEAMS: Boston, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington!, Pittsburgh (defending champions)
* CURRENT WESTERN PLAYOFF TEAMS: Nashville, Winnipeg, Minnesota, Vegas!, San José

The current Wild Card race is as follows:
* CURRENT EAST WILD CARD: Philadelphia and New Jersey
* CURRENT WEST WILD CARD: Anaheim and Colorado

The Playoff action begins on April 11, I believe. Still some hope left for teams trying to make the postseason. About the only changes between this post and the previous one is that Washington won their division and that Minnesota clinched a Playoff berth.


Enjoy tonight's nine-game schedule. Yahoo! will show Vegas at Vancouver online if you are looking for a game to see tonight.
 
I believe this is the final Wednesday Night Rivalry of 2017-2018. With playoff positioning on the line, this is what your Wednesday night of hockey looks like tonight:

* OTT Senators at BUF Sabres
* CHI Blackhawks at STL Blues (NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry)
* MIN Wild at ANA Ducks

You know you love hockey. Otherwise, why would you be here? Go enjoy tonight's games.
 
The Playoffs are set! 31 teams all had a chance to make the Playoffs, and 16 got in. Now the quest to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup begins this Wednesday. Here are your matches. The Home team for each Game 1 is listed at the front of each match:

--- 2017-2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs: East Bracket ---
* PIT Penguins vs. PHI Flyers (Wed) <<< PIT two-time defending champions
* BOS Bruins vs. TOR Maple Leafs (Thu)
* TB Lightning vs. NJ Devils (Thu)
* WAS Capitals vs. CBJ Blue Jackets (Thu)

--- 2017-2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs: West Bracket ---
* WPG Jets vs. MIN Wild (Wed)
* VGK Golden Knights vs. LA Kings (Wed)
* NSH Predators vs. COL Avalanche (Thu)
* ANA Ducks vs. SJ Sharks (Thu)

The Stanley Cup is beautiful. Winning it is even more beautiful. Who'll win it all this season? The quest begins Wednesday. Good luck to all of these teams in trying to win the Stanley Cup. Better luck next season if your team(s) didn't make the playoffs.


We got some time before the puck drops on the postseason. Do you see any early favorites to advance? Or do you maybe have a prediction of who will win the championship? Tell it, GTPlanet!
 
Tonight and tomorrow night begin the quest to play for this:

latest

^ (Source: althistory.wikia.com)

That is the Stanley Cup. Arguably, the most beautiful trophy of the top four American sports. Sixteen teams will play for the honor to hoise this trophy for the world to see after going through the Playoff grind. Sixteen teams were worthy enough (or maybe lucky) to reach this far. Now, you have the honor of doing Lord Stanley proud by winning this championship trophy.

Gear up. Suit up. Lace 'em up. Hit the ice. And most importantly- go like you've never gone before.

Tonight's schedule:

* PIT Penguins at PHI Flyers
* MIN Wild at WPG Jets
* LA Kings at VGK Golden Knights

These are the teams that will begin their quest for the Stanley Cup.

I know news can be slow and the Sports forums can be a bit slow, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the horrible bus crash that killed 14 people from the Humboldt Junior Hockey team as the bus was heading to a playoff game site. My condolences go out to all who were affected in that crash days ago.


Having said this, congratulations to all playoff teams, and good luck to the 16 playoff teams this postseason. Better luck next season for the teams that didn't make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
 
Since I'm still seeing articles about it 5 years on and I can understand why people don't like it, but I think the reformatting of the matchups is great! This has been some really exciting and chippy hockey in the first rounds. It's served it's intended purpose of livening up the rivalries!

With the Wings in the dumpster and the Blues just missing out, I'm all in for Vegas! What a story for the team and what a great thing for the NHL in a tough hockey market.

As much as I hated him back in '09, Fleury's still got it! What a performance by him and Quick on Friday night!
 
How do you all folks like the Playoffs so far? I still feel incredibly awed at Vegas being this talent-laden. No matter how far Vegas goes, you just can't help but either applaud or be impressed with how well of a team the Golden Knights have been.
 
If you're a Washington Capitals fan, you're probably thinking, "if not now, then when?" It seems redundant to have such a great team in the regular season but fail in the postseason. A lot of my Houston teams are like this at times. I probably wouldn't be surprised if WAS gets 86ed from the Playoffs.

Only game in progress as of this post is the only Original Six match- Toronto at Boston. Currently scoreless.
 
If the Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Los Angeles Kings tonight, they will be the first NHL expansion team to sweep a postseason series in its inaugural season. Kings fans, however, are hoping to start a reverse sweep to save their postseason. Much like that reverse sweep that got them the Stanley Cup a few years ago. VGK leads this series 3-0 and could knock out the Kings with one more win.

Other games tonight: Columbus at Washington (CBJ leads series 2-0), and Winnipeg at Minnesota (WPG leads series 2-1).


Enjoy tonight's playoff action!
 
*** cue WipEout ***

Los Angeles Kings = CONTENDER ELIMINATED!

The Vegas Golden Knights became the first expansion team in NHL history to sweep a team in their inaugural season. Vegas is just too good. Can you believe it? So with this win, the Golden Knights will get the winner of the WPG/MIN series. And as I learned, WPG is ahead 3-1 in the series now.
 
Here is the updated list of teams eliminated after Round 1 heading into today's games:

* Los Angeles (defeated by VGK 4-0 in series)
* Minnesota (defeated by WPG 4-1 in series)
* Anaheim (defeated by SJ 4-0 in series)
* New Jersey (defeated by TB 4-1 in series)

Hope you're enjoying the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
 
Heads up! We got a Game 7 tonight in the Stanley Cup Playoffs! In mere moments, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at the Boston Bruins in the only Original Six series in this Round of 16.

Congratulations to others who advanced to the Quarterfinals. And one little rant... even if you aren't experts at hockey, at least have some kind of respect and professionalism in mentioning hockey. Not everyone is all into just the NFL Draft or the NBA Playoffs. I'm directing this at ESPN mostly. Don't treat hockey like some sports journalists treat motorsports. Even I don't know everything there is to know about hockey, but I still watch and enjoy the sport.


Anyhow, enjoy tonight's action!
 
Did you know the playoffs are still going on? It's been quiet here for this thread. Anyhow, I read that Jim Montgomery will be the new Dallas Stars head coach.

It's the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals going on. A little recap of the Round of 16...

--- WESTERN CONFERENCE: Rd. of 16) ---
* NSH vs. COL (NSH won series 4-2)
* WPG vs. MIN (WPG won series 4-1)
* VGK vs. LA (VGK won series 4-0)
* ANA vs. SJ (SJ won series 4-0)

--- EASTERN CONFERENCE: Rd. of 16) ---
* TB vs. NJ (TB won series 4-1)
* BOS vs. TOR (BOS won series 4-3)
* WAS vs. CBJ (WAS won series 4-2)
* PIT vs. PHI (PIT won series 4-2)


So now it's the Quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Heading into tonight's games...

--- WESTERN CONFERENCE: Quarterfinals ---
* NSH vs. WPG (WPG leads series 2-1)
* VGK vs. SJ (VGK leads series 2-1)

--- EASTERN CONFERENCE: Quarterfinals ---
* TB vs. BOS (series tied at 1)
* WAS vs. PIT (WAS leads series 2-1)

Who will be hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup when it's all said and done? We'll find out together! The quest continues...
 
Sounds good, mate. Enjoy the NHL draft, Sanji Himura!

Meanwhile last night, I saw most of the game between Nashville at Winnipeg. "Smashville" won 2-1 to tie this series at 2-2. One Yahoo! commenter thought the winner of this series will win the Stanley Cup. Not sure if that will stand, but this is no doubt a fierce series.

Has Midnight struck on Las Vegas finally? After getting whacked 4-0 by San José, the Vegas Golden Knights are home tonight for Game 5 of this series tied at 2-2. Vegas had been undefeated until Game 2 of this SJ/VGK series. My story all season long has been on how the Vegas Golden Knights would fare in their inaugural season. They have NOT disappointed in the least sense. If anything, Vegas has been absolutely surprising. Almost as if they are an expansion team, but almost like an all-star team. The Sharks, meanwhile, hope to dash Vegas' potential Stanley Cup aspirations.

There is also Tampa Bay at Boston tonight. The Tampa Bay Lightning lead this series 2-1.


Sadly, we lost Bill Torrey recently. He was the General Manager responsible for the New York Islanders' fame as a dynasty. Bill Torrey won four Stanley Cups under his tenure with NYI. My condolences go out to Bill Torrey and all whom have known and loved him.

Other than this, enjoy tonight's games and this weekend's games.
 
CONTENDER ELIMINATED! Guess who, though? The twice-defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins are DONE. The Washington Capitals are through to the Eastern Conference Finals having taken the WAS/PIT series. So your Eastern Conference Final is the Washington Capitals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

We are assured a new champion after Pittsburgh's stranglehold the past two seasons.
 
I read Winnipeg defeated Nashville to advance to the Western Conference Final. So "Smashville" got... smashed. They lost at home 5-1 to the visiting Jets. The only remaining Canadian team in this postseason remains the Winnipeg Jets. Their next opponent- the Vegas Golden Knights.

So for the honor to play for the Stanley Cup, here are your matches:

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: Vegas vs. Winnipeg
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: Tampa Bay vs. Washington


Enjoy the Conference Final matches!
 
Take it from someone deep in Jets country: the hype is real. I don't think I've seen a Canadian team and it's fans be so jubilant and so sure in it's chances since Vancouver in 2011, and it brings back warm memories.

That being said, I don't care until the Caps win the East. At that point, if the Jets win the West, I'm gonna love being dead man walking in Jets country.
 
Last night saw the Washington Capitals won 4-2 in Tampa Bay to take a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final. Alex Ovechkin banged in two goals to help the Caps' cause.

Tonight is the first game of the Western Conference Finals. It's the Vegas Golden Knights at the Winnipeg Jets for Game 1. Vegas has been the story all season long. Winnipeg is Canada's last hope for an NHL champion for this season. The last Canadian team to win it all was the Montreal Canadiens back in 1993. The 1992-1993 Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in the Stanley Cup Final that season. For Canadian NHL fans, this wait has been too long for a Canadian team to finally hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. As for Vegas, the improbable is still at state- an expansion team winning it all in their first season in one of America's top four major sports.


Just getting started! Soon enough, we'll fill out the two teams who will play for the Stanley Cup.
 
Tonight is Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. How are the teams doing so far? Both the WPG/VGK and TB/WAS are both 2-1. Vegas leads Winnipeg 2-1, and Washington leads Tampa Bay 2-1. We are slowly building the Stanley Cup Finals.

Tonight, though- Tampa Bay at Washington (WAS leads series 2-1).
 
Checking in here as a Vegas fan. This is so crazy for us. Finally get a pro team and it's brand new, not a transfer like the Raiders. They also took no public money.

People say we're all new hockey fans but we supported the Vegas Wranglers well, which were an ECHL team. Now we get the Knights and this happens?! Just crazy. Can't believe we're this close to going to the Stanley Cup finals.

The Jets are really making this series a tough one. It's so taxing to watch, the speed and close calls are ridiculous. We'll see how it goes now that they're going to Winnepeg.
 
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