Ultimate Hockey Warrior

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Sean Avery suffered a lacerated spleen in last night’s game, and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. He was taken to St. Vincent’s hospital after the game, and was admitted following a CT scan. He is expected to make a full recovery during the off-season.

ACCORDING TO THE NY DAILY NEWS. AVERY WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL UNCONSCIOUS AND NOT BREATHING AT 3 AM THIS MORNING.

I personally like Sean Avery and wish him well in this difficult time.  He apparently went into cardiac arrest and was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital at 3 am.  He is apparently still in unconscious in ICU, but is in stable condition.  Say a prayer, do a raindance, but either way I do wish Sean Avery a speedy recovery.

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The NHL has announced the 2008 finalists for the Hart trophy (NHL’s Most Valuable Player) and the three players are, Alexander Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla and Evgeni Malkin.  Iginla has been nominated twice for the award and both times finished as the runner-up.  This year it again seems as if Iginla will miss out on winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP, with two stronger candidates in Malkin and Ovechkin.  BOth Malkin and Ovechkin scored more points than Iginla this season, and both Malkin and Ovechkin arguably had less talent to work around than Jarome Iginla.  The winner for the 2008 Hart trophy will be announced during the 2008 NHL Award Show on June 12, 2008.

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Alexander Ovechkin has decided that he will play for Team Russia in the World Hockey Championships.  Ovechkin also played last year for Team Russia when the team finished with the bronze metal.  Ovechkin will not be allowed to play or practice for Russia until his contract is insured by the Russians.  The insurance process is expected to be completed before the World Hockey Championships start this Friday, May 2nd.

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The Calgary Flames were defeated in the 7^th game of their series against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. As soon as the game was over, Flames’ fans had to process the fact that their team’s season was abruptly over.

While looking around for some Calgary fans I stumbled onto a Flames Forum where I witnessed many distressed Calgary fans ponder why their team was unable to pull off the upset against the Sharks. In my opinion, the Sharks got pissed off after falling behind 2-1 and started playing with some heart. They began skating hard and drawing penalties and going hard to the front of the net scoring some dirty goals.

That is what it takes in the playoffs, is getting down and dirty in front of the net, your net and the opposition’s net. In the end, the Sharks spend a lot more time in front of the Calgary Flames’ net and they were rewarded for their efforts with a 5-3 victory and trip to the 2^nd round of the playoffs.

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The NHL has announced the finalists for the Rookie of the Year Award, the Calder Trophy. It is not surprising to see the 3 leading rookie scorers as the three finalists for the Calder Trophy. Patrick Kane led the rookies with 72 points, Backstrom led rookies with 55 assists and finished 2nd with 69 points and Jonathon Toews led rookies with 24 goals.

All 3 have solidified themselves as NHL players with great careers awaiting them. Kane and Toews of course both play for the Blackhawks, giving the team a very bright future for years to come with these two outstanding players.  I think all 3 players are deserving, but I would have to pick Nicklas Backstrom as the winner.  He is a solid all around player and will only get better playing with Ovechkin.

The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards Ceremony on June 12, 2008.

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The 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs have made it through the 1st round with some surprise upsets and some sound beatings, including the reigning Stanley Cup champs, the Anaheim Ducks getting beat up in the 1st round. The 2008 2nd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs should be filled with some great matchups and some exciting hockey. I will offer my 2008 2nd round Playoff predictions below, and my 3rd round predictions and Stanley Cup Final predictions as well, and we’ll see how well my predictions fare. Stay tuned to updates for the NHL Playoffs as well as NHL draft news by subscribing to the Ultimate Hockey Warrior:

Western Conference NHL Playoff 2nd Round MatchUps

1. Detroit Red Wings (defeated Nashville 4-2)
6. Colorado Avalanche (defeated the Minnesota Wild)

A series with 2 very old rivals and one of the main catalysts of the rivalry remains, Kris Draper. If you remember back many years ago when the Avs’ Claude Lemieux hit Draper from behind into the top of the boards face first wrecking Draper’s face and sparking a rivalry that continues to this day. Expect a very tight series, and depending on how Theodore plays, it could be a very low scoring series. In the end the Red Wings depth offensively and defensively wins out. Detroit wins the playoffs series 4-2

2. San Jose Sharks (defeated the Flames 4-3)
5. Dallas Stars (defeated the Ducks 4-2)

The San Jose Sharks were supposed to be the most dangerous team in the NHL coming in to the playoffs. San Jose played uninspired hockey against the Flames and barely escaped with the win in 7 games. The Stars slumped towards the end of the season, but started the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a bang, destroying the Ducks in 6 games. A couple of keys to this series. Can the Sharks show a spark and use their speed and skill to their advantage? Can the Stars keep getting timely goals from unexpected players? I think this series will go the full 7 games with the Stars coming out on top behind the strength of Marty Turco. Dallas wins the playoffs series 4-3

Eastern Conference NHL Playoff 2nd Round MatchUps

1. Montreal Canadiens (beat Bruins in 7 games)
6. Philidelphia Flyers (beat Capitals in 7 games)

The Canadiens started strong against Boston going 3-1 in the first 4 games. They allowed Boston to win 2 in a row before blowing out the Bruins in Game 7. The Flyers had a tough series against the Capitals after giving up a 3-1 lead, but won the 1st round playoff series in 7 games. I think the Flyers will outmuscle and outlast the Canadiens. Flyers wins the playoffs series 4-2

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (swept Ottawa 4-0)
5. New York Rangers (defeated the Devils 4-1)

Pittsburgh sure made it look easy against the Senators. They only allowed 5 goals in 4 games and scored at will against the Senators. The Rangers dismantled the New Jersey Devils and won easily in 5 games behind strong goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist and a balanced scoring attack from youngsters and veterans. Everyone wanted to see the matchup of Sidney Crosby vs Alexander Ovechkin, especially in a playoff setting. In the end, the Flyers beat the Capitals so we end up with the Rangers against the Penguins. The Penguins are too good of a team and too deep for the Rangers. Pittsburgh wins the playoffs series 4-3

Check out the complete 2nd round Playoff Schedule

Stay tuned to updates for the NHL Playoffs as well as NHL draft news by subscribing to the Ultimate Hockey Warrior.

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The NHL announced the 3 finalists for the Vezina Trophy yesterday, and now today the 3 finalists for the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman has been released.  The 3 finalists are Nicklas Lidstrom of Wings, Zdeno Chara of the Bruins and Dion Phaneuf of the Flames.

Lidstrom is already a 5 time winner of the Norris Trophy and has been a finalist 9 out of the last 10 seasons.  He had another stellar season leading the Red Wings to the Presiden’t Cup for the league’s best record, while amassing a league best for defenseman 70 points.

Dion Phaneuf earns his first nomination for the Norris Trophy, although I am sure it won’t be his last.  Phaneuf was a beast defensively this season and added 17 goals and 60 points to lead all Flame’s defensemen.

Zdeno Chara was the runner up for the Norris Trophy in 2004, losing to Scott Niedermayer.  Chara was a +17 on the year and racked up 17 goals and 51 points.

The NHL awards ceremony will be held on June 12, 2008.

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Game 7 for the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the 2008 NHL playoffs is underway.  The Bruins came in as the 8th seed, seen as a relatively weak team with no chance of beating a much faster and more skilled Canadien’s team.  The Canadiens went up 3-1 in the series, but have since lost the last 2 games to the Bruins, evening the series at 3-3 forcing a seventh game.

Now the two teams hit the ice tonight, the Bruins with upset on their mind, the Canadiens hoping for redemption.  Ever since Phil Kessel was inserted back into the Boston lineup, the Bruins have played much better.  In Game 6 in the playoff series, Kessel scored 2 highlight reel goals en route to a 5-4 Bruins’ victory.  Tonight the team’s battle it out in Montreal.  The winner moves on to the 2nd round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The loser gets to wipe down their golf clubs and wonder “what if”.  I am definitely a fan of rooting for the underdog so I will be rooting for Boston tonight.

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