Hockey Hall Makes Call

Hall of Famer. To be considered one, a group of individuals in a particular category (as a sport) who have been, or are selected as particularly illustrious. Up until now, there have been 388 people so highly honored at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. That elite group grew by four members on Monday. Eric Lindros, Sergei Makarov, Rogie Vachon and Pat Quinn are heading to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Four guys who are very deserving of getting the recognition for what they did for the sport and the game of hockey.

Lets start with Lindros, a member of the Legion of Doom line with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg in Philadelphia. vLindros, who played 13 NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars, but his best days where with the Flyers before concussions derailed his fantastic career. He made a splash when he was taken first overall by the Quebec Nordiques, but wasn't happy with the situation, so he forced a monster trade to the Flyers. During his time in the city of brotherly love, he totaled 659 points (290 goals, 369 assists) in 486 regular-season games from 1992-93 through 1999-2000. He had 56 points in 50 Stanley Cup Playoff games and helped the Flyers reach the Final in 1997. He was named to the League's All-Rookie Team in 1992-93 and won the Hart Trophy in the lockout-shortened 1994-1995 season, when he had 70 points in 46 games. The following season he had an NHL career-high 115 points in 73 games.

That's when it all went downhill has, towards the end of his time in Philly, he had seven concussions, the last one coming in the 2001 playoffs. His last good year in the league, Lindros scored 73 points with the Rangers in 2002. After the concussion problems, he just wasn't the same guy. But what made him so good was that he was a premire power forward in the 90s. He could skate, score, hit, fight, basically he could sort of do it all on the ice. Now throw all that together with the fact that he did it all standing at 6'4 and weighted 240 pounds. That's pretty impressive.

Then there's Sergei Makarov, a star in his native Russia, he was able to make a transition over to the North American game. Makarov spent the first 11 seasons of his hockey career in Russia, winning eight World Championship gold medals, two Olympic gold medals and two World Junior Championship gold medals as part of the Red Army team. During that time, he was huge star, winning the Soviet Player of the Year award (also known as Soviet MVP) three times, getting named to the Soviet League All-Star Team ten times, and leading the league in points nine times and goals three times. Together with Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov, they formed the KLM line, one of the most talented and feared lines ever to play hockey. He was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1984). That basically means he was the best on the planet at what he does at that time. Then the NHL came calling, as he was chosen by the Calgary Flames in the 12th round (No. 231) of the 1983 NHL Draft. He then made his NHL debut for Calgary in 1989, and won the Calder Trophy as the League's top rookie after scoring 24 goals and 86 points in 80 games. He had 384 points in 424 NHL games between 1989-97 as a member of the Flames, San Jose Sharks and Stars.

There was a couple of things about Makarov that changed the game. First was the Calder Trophy win. When he won the award, while having a very productive year for the Flames, he was 31 years old and already had 11 years of professional hockey experience. He wasn't a true rookie, whereas Mike Modano was (who finished 2nd in Calder voting that year), and many felt that Modano should have won the award. What he did in the NHL isn't what got him induction into the Hall, it what he did on the ice on the international level that brought him into the hallowed halls. He was one of the most gifted players to ever step foot on the ice at any level. He deserves induction into the hall.

Rogie Vachon gets a call that he has long waited for. He played in the NHL from 1962 to 1982, winning 355 games, Stanley Cup Championships in 1968, 1969, 1971 (with Montreal), a Vezina Trophy Win in 1968 (with Montreal), and he played in the 1973, 1975, 1978 NHL All-Star Games. The bulk of his career was played with the Los Angeles Kings where he holds several records. Some of those Kings records include most career games played by a goaltender (389), most minutes played (22,922), most career wins (171). (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick on March 22, 2014), most career losses (148), most career ties (66) (shared with Kelly Hrudey), most career shutouts (32) (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick on October 23, 2014), season lowest GAA (2.24 in 1975) (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick with 1.95 GAA in 2011-2012 season), most shutouts in a season (8 in 1977) (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick with 10 shutouts in 2011-2012 season).

Part of what made Rogie so great was how he played the game. Known for his great reflexes and quick glove hand, Vachon was considered one of the premier one-on-one goaltenders of his era. He never allowed a goal on a penalty shot in his entire career. He had the reflexes that made him one of the top goalies of his era. He may not have put up like Tony-O kinda numbers, but still was a very solid goalie in his own right.

Last but not least we have Pat Quinn, one of the greatest coaches to every step foot behind an NHL bench. Quinn, inducted in the Builders category, was a longtime NHL coach of the Flyers, Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. After nine seasons as a player, Quinn joined the Flyers as an assistant coach in 1977. Over the next 40 years he held coaching, managing and president positions in the League and with Team Canada. At the time of his death on Nov. 23, 2014, he was Chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on November 14th in Toronto!

Coaching Fraternity Lost Two Legands

Coaches. Men and women that are involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. A coach may also be a teacher. Today, the sporting world lost two legends in the coaching world. One at the college level and one at the professional level. There were so few in the coaching world who have set the course of history like these two did. Pat Summitt, head coach of the Tennessee Women's Basketball program, passed away at the age of 64. Buddy Ryan, former defensive coordinator and NFL head coach passed away at the age of 82.

There was nobody any better in the coaching world in college basketball, men or women, than Pat Summitt. Summitt stepped down as the head coach of the University of Tennessee women's basketball program in 2012 after announcing she was battling dementia, Alzheimer's type. What she did in the sport of basketball was outstanding, and this is some amazing numbers. She won 2 Medals at the Olympics (1976 Silver as a player and 1984 Gold as a coach). She took over the head coach position at Tennessee in 1974 and held that job until 2012, spanning 38 years. All the while setting the bar ever so high that I don't think its ever going to be touched.

Pat was named NCAA Coach of the Year seven times, she won eight National championships, appeared in the NCAA tournament 31 times, twelve of which resulted in final four appearances. She won 112 games in the NCAA tournament. She held an .841 winning percentage in the tournament, and during the regular season, Summitt won 1,098 games, the most victories for a head coach in division one history, that's including men's and women's basketball. Twelve of her players went on to become Olympians, 21 of her players became All-Americans. That right there speaks to how great a coach she was.

Summitt was widely reckoned as one of the toughest coaches in college basketball. She was best known for giving her players an icy stare in response to poor play. You knew, as a player, that you messed up bigtime if you got the stare. That stare that Pat had could burn a hole right through you. She was very intimidating when she needed to be. Sure she mellowed a little as her career went on, but she still carried that presence about her that drew so much respect that she could just look at you and you knew what it meant and that you had messed up. What she did over her career, she helped put not only Tennessee basketball, but women's basketball as a whole, on the map and really made it make major headlines. She really changed the landscape of basketball at the college level forever and there will never be another like her.

What Pat Summitt did at the college level, Buddy Ryan did for the defensive game in the NFL, he was that impactful. Ryan coached in the NFL for 26 seasons. He is best-remembered for building the famed 46 defense that led the Chicago Bears to a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Ryan also served as a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. He compiled a 55-55-1 record as a head coach.

Ryan started his career in 1961 as a defensive line coach with the University of Buffalo, and 33 years later he finally decided to hang them up. During that 33 year span, he changed the way people played defense Ryan built his reputation as a defensive specialist and was largely credited with implementing and perfecting the 46 defense. His career as a head coach was good, but he was more notable for what he did for the defensive side of the game and how he helped change the view of how to run a defense. He did for defense in the NFL what Summitt did for the overall game in college basketball.

Both are gone, but their impacts will be felt forever in the sports world!

Team USA Basketball Announced

Ah yes, the Olympics are right around the corner. There's still a lot of pride to take into pulling on a sweater for your country and play the greatest games in the world against the greatest athletes in the world. All of this going on with national pride on the line on the worlds grandest stage. To represent your country at these games has got to be one of the greatest thrills that any athlete can have in their athletic careers. Even if you don't come away with a medal (which is the goal of every country from the outset of the games), still being able to play for your home country has to come with a lot of pride. You can add twelve names to that list, as Team USA has announced their twelve man roster for the Olympics.

Here is the full twelve man roster for Team USA at the summer games:
Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks/Syracuse)
Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors/North Carolina)
Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls/Marquette)
DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings/Kentucky)
DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors/USC)
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder/Texas)
Paul George (Indiana Pacers/Fresno State)
Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors/Michigan State)
Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers/Duke)
DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers/Texas A&M)
Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors/Villanova)
Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors/Washington State).

There were a few notable names that were left off this list.Cleveland’s LeBron James, Golden State’s Steph Curry, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Houston’s James Harden and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard all decided to skip out on the Olympics this year. Nothing wrong with that. Throwing the Olympics into the mix this year, it makes the offseason even less for certain NBA Stars. Still, even without the guys listed here, the U.S. will again be favorites to win a third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

The roster that has been assembled for the Olympic games is still a very formidable force to deal with in Rio this summer. Think about it, Team USA has won three straight gold medals at the summer games, with a shot at a 4th this year. Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski does have a loaded roster to work with. There are nine players on this team that played in the NBA All Star game this past January. Those nine guys are Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, DeMarcus Cousins,  DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Draymond Green, Kyle Lowry and Klay Thompson. Oh yeah and Kyrie Irving, who was named MVP of the 2014 World Cup after helping lead the Americans to gold, recently helped Cleveland capture the 2016 NBA championship. Plus throw in the fact that Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant won gold in 2012 with USA, and five players who have been members of USA World Cup gold medalist teams; Cousins (2014), DeRozan (2014), Durant (2010), Irving (2014) and Thompson (2014).

Coming into the Olympics, Team USA have some big shoes to fill. In every Olympics that USA basketball has participated in, which is up to 17 Olympics they have competed in, they have medaled in ever one of them. Those medals included 14 gold medals, one silver and two bronze. Team USA is a very impressive 130-5 (.963 winning percentage) all-time in Olympic action, and since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 45-3 in six Olympics, capturing five gold medals and one bronze medal.

The Olympic games will be taking place in Rio this summer, with the games going from August 5th  through August 21st!

NBA Draft Winners And Losers

We're about a week away from the start of free agency in the NBA, which means one thing. That's right, its time for the Draft. Sixty guys waited around at the Barclays Center to see if their name was going to get called and see their dream come true of playing in the greatest basketball league in the world. Going into the draft, and even during the draft, some major trades were made that helped shape franchises as to how they were going to draft players and what moves they were going to make during free agency. The fact that Derrick Rose got traded to the Knicks helped them out with not having a pick in this years draft. Serge Ibaka was the biggest name moved during the draft, with the Thunder trading him to the Orlando Magic, with the Thunder getting Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to big man Domantas Sabonis. This move benifits the Magic, getting a three time defensive player of the year, while the Thunder get good players in his place. This deal could be big in determining whether or not Kevin Durant stays in OKC, but we can discuss that next week when free agency kicks off. Lets get back to the draft in Brooklyn last night. I know its early to be able to tell now but we will give it a shot now. Here's some of the winners and losers from last nights NBA Draft!

Winner:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Talk about a team on the move. Kevin Durant is going to be a free agent in a week, something that the team is hoping to change and bring him back into the fold. While that is being taken care of on the side, management did a great job of trying to add pieces to the mix. Remember this is a team who less than a month ago blew a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors, so you know good and well they are going to want to get revenge and make a statement next season. They've already started to do that. Thunder general manager Sam Presti made a stunning trade that also sent a message to the rest of the league that Oklahoma City is serious about not letting go of its best player. They did get rid of three time defensive player of the year in Serge Ibaka, trading him to the Magic. But in return they got younger and more talented. They added a solid prospect in Domantas Sabonis from Gonzaga (he was taken 11th by the Magic). They think that adding size to their team will help against the likes of the Warriors (it did for the Cavs in the finals). Oh yeah, they did also manage to add the ultra-athletic Victor Oladipo (acquired from Orlando) on the wing and the Thunder enter next season as the favorites out West (along with taking Daniel Hamilton from Connecticut in the 2nd round).

Loser:
Orlando Magic
There may be a little bit of a debate here as to whether or not this team is going to be a winner from the draft, based on the trade. They did pick up a player with the 11th overall pick, taking Domantas Sabonis from Gonzaga. Then flipped him for Ibaka, who is a good defender. But they gave up a lot to get him. Orlando finished last in their division this past season. I know they want to try and move up in the East, which is still entirely possible. But by giving up on Oladipo and Sabonis in favor of a big man it may cost them.

Winner:
New York Knicks
I know the Knicks didn't have a draft pick so I'm not really claiming them winners for the actual draft. I'm putting them in the winners bracket for the Derrick Rose pickup and getting a draft pick for next year. There are still some critics of the Knicks for picking up Rose, because the team has a tendency to get players like this in the past. But there is still a positive upside to picking up Rose if he can manage to stay healthy. So I'd still say that the Knicks are winners for being able to manage to get a move like this pulled off. As far as the actual draft goes, then yes they shouldn't be on this list for not making a pick. But still on the whole you could put the Knicks in the winners circle for what they have managed to do.

Loser:
Sacramento Kings
The Kings missing the playoffs had them in a good spot in the draft, as they had the 8th overall pick but vice president Vlade Divac elected to trade down with Phoenix so that he could acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic and two more big men, Georgios Papagiannis from Greece and Kentucky's Skal Labissiere, with picks Nos. 13 and 28, respectively. They had a chance to keep a stud in Marquiss Criss, but the team dropped the ball for a big guy who they may or may not need in the tough Western Conference.

Winner:
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns had their pick of two of the most intriguing players in the draft at No. 4, it was either going to be Dragan Bender or Marquese Chriss, so they had to make a choice. They took Bender with the 4th pick, but before the night was over, they ended up with both of them. First, they took Bender, and 25 minutes later, they put themselves in a position to grab Chriss, which they did in the trade with the Kings. Bender and Chriss both project as versatile power forwards, but they could not be more different players. Bender has great instincts in just about every aspect of the game, and he should at the very least be a playmaking 4 who can switch onto smaller players in the NBA. Chriss is an athletic marvel who has as much upside as anyone in the draft, but did not pass much or show much discipline on defense in college. These two will make Phoenix fun to watch, even if it takes them a few years to figure it out.

Loser:
Boston Celtics
Yes this draft class did seam a little bit weak, but the Celtics had a chance to really build on something. They did make the playoffs last year and had a chance to really build upon that setting. Management hasn't really managed to pull off a huge move at or around the draft since getting the big three of Garnett Pierce and Allen a few years ago. The fans of the Celtics are still waiting. Boston had eight picks during the draft, but didn't really make much nosie with those picks. Boston selected California swingman Jaylen Brown third overall, French power forward Guerschon Yabusele and Croatian center Ante Zizic, those are fine selections, but not the type of players who will have the kind of immediate impact Boston needs to move up in the Eastern Conference. Coach Brad Stevens has proven that he can put a highly competitive team on the court, regardless of the names on the back of those storied uniforms, but the Celtics need stars to be anything more than a first-round flirtation.

NHL Awards Announced

That time of year has come again. Once the season ends for the National Hockey League, they honor the best of the best from the year that was in the NHL. Every year the top players gather in Las Vegas to see who walks away with the highest individual honors in this great team sport. So here's how the Awards were dished out and if they got the winners right or not.

NHL Foundation Player Award (Awarded to the player who applies the core values of hockey to enrich the lives of people in his community) Winner: Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames

King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community) Winner: Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Mark Messier Leadership Award (Awarded to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season, awarded by Mark Messier, himself). Nominees: Alex Ovechkin, Shea Weber, John Tavares WINNER: SHEA WEBER

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey) Nominees: Jaromir Jagr, Mats Zuccarello, Pascal Dupuis WINNER: JAROMIR JAGR

-Have to give big props to Jagr here. He cracked 60 points on the year (finished with 66 points, good enough to lead the Panthers in scoring for the year). Oh and he's also 44 years old. He's moved up the milestone list on the NHL all time list, and he's at the age where most NHLers have already hung up the skates. How the guy keeps doing it I have no idea, but he is amazing.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Awarded to the player who exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability) Nominees: Anze Kopitar, Aleksander Barkov, Loui Eriksson WINNER: ANZE KOPITAR

-During most of his playing career in Los Angeles, Kopitar has put up high scoring numbers. He's never produced less than 60 points during an NHL season. This year, he scored 74 points, which lead the Kings in scoring. Oh and he was able to play at that high of a level while only spending a total of 16 minutes in the penalty box, one of the lowest totals among top scorers in the NHL. Barkov and Eriksson both had good offensive numbers and low penalty numbers, but they weren't as productive as Kopitar was.

Frank J. Selke Trophy ( Awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game) Nominees: Anze Kopitar, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Kesler WINNER: ANZE KOPITAR

-Kopitar becomes the first Kings forward to win the Selke. The Los Angeles captain has been a top-five vote-getter in the category in four consecutive years. Much like winning the Byng for sportsmanship, the Selke award winners need to have quality to their play and a guy like Kopitar delivers that for Los Angeles. He's a top scorer, who plays a clean game and can shut down the oppositions best forwards. Kopitar can do that better than most players in the league, which is why he walked away with the award this year.

Ted Lindsay Award (Awarded to the NHL's outstanding player as selected by the members of the NHL Players Association, once called the Lester B. Pearson Award from 1971 to 2009) Nominees: Patrick Kane, Jamie Benn, Braden Holtby WINNER: PATRICK KANE

-Kane is the first Blackhawks player and first American-born player to receive this award. getting this award means your are the best player in the league as decided by other players. The fact that the players select Patrick Kane of the Hawks speaks volumes as to how good of a hockey player Kane was this past season.

NHL General Manager of the Year Award(Awarded to the top National Hockey League General Manager) Nominees: Jim Rutherford, Brian MacLellan, Jim Nill WINNER: JIM RUTHERFORD

-OK lets be fair here. MacLellan built a good team in Washington, they did win the Presidents Trophy after all. Jim Nill was able to assemble a group in Dallas that had the best record in the West and was the highest scoring team in the NHL. Both did a fantastic job with their teams. Jim Rutherford was just better. Rutherford's key additions of Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Eric Fehr, Carl Hagelin, Trevor Daley and head coach Mike Sullivan helped the Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship. He made better moves and made them at the right time compared to what the other two did. See Washington and Dallas had been sitting in playoff spots all year long. Pittsburgh was out of the playoffs by Christmas, but Rutherford made the moves needed to help turn the team around and they did in a big way.

Jack Adams Award (Awarded to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success) Nominees: Lindy Ruff, Barry Trotz, Gerard Gallant WINNER: BARRY TROTZ

-Gallant I think deserved a little more consideration for this award then he got (I know he finished in 2nd place but it should have been closer). He did help turn the Panthers around and into division winners. Same argument can be made, to a degree, for Lindy Ruff. He did turn the Stars into a top flight team in a top loaded Western Conference. But Trotz deserves this award, leading the Capitals to the Presidents Trophy for the best record in the league. This is Trotz's first Jack Adams award. He led the Capitals to a Presidents' Trophy and became the 10th coach in NHL history to hit the 1,300-game milestone.

Calder Memorial Trophy (Awarded to the league's most outstanding rookie player) Nominees: Shayne Gostisbehere, Artemi Panarin, Connor McDavid WINNER: ARTEMI PANARIN

-No surprise that it went to Panarin. He managed to lead all NHL rookies in scoring this season. His play was just that much better than everybody else. I know Gostisbehere had the scoring streak for rookie defensemen. But he missed time at the start of the year (due to being in the minors) so I think had he played a full year, his numbers and chances might have been better And yes Conor McDavid really made a name for himself in the league this year, but missing all that time with the shoulder injury limited his playing time. Panarin was the leading scorer among rookies in the league this year, totaling 77 points, which was the 9th best point total in the league. Panarin becomes the first member of the Blackhawks to win the Calder since his Chicago teammate Patrick Kane won it in 2008.

James Norris Memorial Trophy (Awarded to the defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position) Nominees: Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns WINNER: DREW DOUGHTY

-Erik Karlsson put up awesome offensive numbers this year, leading the league in assists with 66 and had 82 points. He was by far the best offensive defenseman in the year and was the winner of this award last year. But Ottawa was one of the weaker defensive teams in the league this year. Brent Burns was a good all around defender this year, but wasn't as good as Doughty. Drew Doughty, despite having the lowest defensive numbers he's personally had in his career, still had a better year on defense than the other two guys. Los Angeles had one of the best defensive teams in the entire league, and Doughty was a major reason for that. Doughty the second player in Kings franchise history to win the Norris Trophy. Rob Blake is the other. He did it in 1998.

Vezina Trophy (Awarded to the league's top goaltender) Nominees: Braden Holtby, Ben Bishop, Jonathan Quick WINNER: BRADEN HOLTBY

-Yes I know that Quick had the best goals against and save percentage in the league and was a big reason why the Kings finished as high as they did in the Western Conference. Ben Bishop too had a fantastic year with the Lightning, keeping them afloat in the Eastern Conference when the Bolts struggled during the year. Holtby, though, had the best year of the three. Why? Because he tied the single season record (along with Martin Brodeur) by winning 48 games during the year. On some nights, Braden pulled the rabbit out of the hats for the Capitals. Washington doesn't win the Presidents Trophy if this guy wasn't in net. He was in the zone most of the year, a very deserving winner of the award this year. This was a runaway win for the Capitals' netminder. Holtby got 26 first-place votes from the 30 total votes cast by NHL GMs.

Hart Memorial Trophy (Awarded to the league's most valuable player) Nominees: Patrick Kane, Jamie Benn, Sidney Crosby WINNER: PATRICK KANE

-How Crosby was a finalist for this award leaves me scratching my head. He had a good year don't get me wrong, but not good enough of a year to finish second in voting for the Hart this year. He was good, I'm not denying that fact, but he wasn't at that high a level as he had been in years past. Jamie Benn also had a very good year, making an impact on the Stars and helping them become a power in the Western Conference. But to me, it was almost a no brainer that it should have gone to Kane. He lead the NHL in scoring with 106 points. Nobody else in the NHL topped 90 points on the year (finishing 2nd and 3rd in the league in scoring were Benn, who had 89 points, and Crosby who had 85 points). Kane recorded a 26-game point streak between October and December, during which he tallied 16 goals and 24 assists. This was the longest streak by any US-born skater, and the longest point-streak in Blackhawks history. Kane reaching 100 points became the first Blackhawks player to do that in a season since Jeremy Roenick in 1993–94, and the first American NHL player to reach 100 points since Doug Weight in 1995–96. There was nobody who was better in the NHL this year, to his team or to the league, than Patrick Kane. Kane becomes the first American to lead the NHL in scoring and the first Hart Trophy winner on the Blackhawks since Stan Mikita did it back in 1968.

So there you have it, the NHL Award winners for the 2016-17 season!

NHL Schedules Announced

We know, we know, it wasn't all that long ago that the NHL season came to an end. As you know, things change quickly in the world of sports. Yesterday, the National Hockey League announced the schedules for the 2016-17 season. There's going to be way too many fantastic hockey games to take a look at here. Before we get into the local teams, here's a couple of dates that, as a hockey fan, you might need to know.

Opening night is October 12th and the last day of the regular season falls on April the 9th. All-Star weekend goes from Friday, Jan. 27 - Monday, Jan. 30 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, while the league hosts four outdoor games this season, the NHL Heritage Classic on October 23rd between the Oilers and Jets at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, the NHL Centennial Classic between the Leafs and Red Wings in Toronto January 1st, the NHL Winter Classic between the Blues and Blackhawks at Bush Stadium in St. Louis on January 2nd and finally the Stadium Series between the Penguins and Flyers at Heinz Field on February 25th.

So, we will make things a little easier. We are going to list the entire schedule for the New York area hockey teams, so you can start planning your fall and winter schedule now. So here we go.

Here's the schedule for the New York Rangers:
THU OCT 13, 2016 ISLANDERS 7:00 PM
SAT OCT 15, 2016 @ BLUES 8:00 PM
MON OCT 17, 2016 SHARKS 7:00 PM
WED OCT 19, 2016 RED WINGS 8:00 PM
SAT OCT 22, 2016 @ CAPITALS 7:00 PM
SUN OCT 23, 2016 COYOTES 7:00 PM
WED OCT 26, 2016 BRUINS 8:00 PM
FRI OCT 28, 2016 @ HURRICANES 7:30 PM
SUN OCT 30, 2016 LIGHTNING 7:00 PM

TUE NOV 1, 2016 BLUES 7:00 PM
THU NOV 3, 2016 OILERS 7:00 PM
SAT NOV 5, 2016 @ BRUINS 7:00 PM
SUN NOV 6, 2016 JETS 7:00 PM
TUE NOV 8, 2016 CANUCKS 7:00 PM
SAT NOV 12, 2016 @ FLAMES 10:00 PM
SUN NOV 13, 2016 @ OILERS 9:30 PM
TUE NOV 15, 2016 @ CANUCKS 10:00 PM
FRI NOV 18, 2016 @ BLUE JACKETS 7:00 PM
SUN NOV 20, 2016 PANTHERS 5:00 PM
MON NOV 21, 2016 @ PENGUINS 7:00 PM
WED NOV 23, 2016 PENGUINS 7:00 PM
FRI NOV 25, 2016 @ FLYERS 1:00 PM
SUN NOV 27, 2016 SENATORS 7:00 PM
TUE NOV 29, 2016 HURRICANES 7:00 PM

THU DEC 1, 2016 @ SABRES 7:00 PM
SAT DEC 3, 2016 HURRICANES 1:00 PM
TUE DEC 6, 2016 @ ISLANDERS 7:00 PM
THU DEC 8, 2016 @ JETS 8:00 PM
FRI DEC 9, 2016 @ BLACKHAWKS 8:30 PM
SUN DEC 11, 2016 DEVILS 7:00 PM
TUE DEC 13, 2016 BLACKHAWKS 7:00 PM
THU DEC 15, 2016 @ STARS 8:30 PM
SAT DEC 17, 2016 @ PREDATORS 8:00 PM
SUN DEC 18, 2016 DEVILS 7:30 PM
TUE DEC 20, 2016 @ PENGUINS 7:00 PM
FRI DEC 23, 2016 WILD 7:00 PM
TUE DEC 27, 2016 SENATORS 7:00 PM
THU DEC 29, 2016 @ COYOTES 9:00 PM
SAT DEC 31, 2016 @ AVALANCHE 8:00 PM

TUE JAN 3, 2017 SABRES 7:00 PM
WED JAN 4, 2017 @ FLYERS 8:00 PM
SAT JAN 7, 2017 @ BLUE JACKETS 7:00 PM
FRI JAN 13, 2017 MAPLE LEAFS 7:00 PM
SAT JAN 14, 2017 @ CANADIENS 7:00 PM
TUE JAN 17, 2017 STARS 7:00 PM
THU JAN 19, 2017 @ MAPLE LEAFS 7:30 PM
SUN JAN 22, 2017 @ RED WINGS 3:00 PM
MON JAN 23, 2017 KINGS 7:00 PM
WED JAN 25, 2017 FLYERS 8:00 PM
TUE JAN 31, 2017 BLUE JACKETS 7:00 PM

THU FEB 2, 2017 @ SABRES 7:00 PM
SUN FEB 5, 2017 FLAMES 2:00 PM
TUE FEB 7, 2017 DUCKS 7:00 PM
THU FEB 9, 2017 PREDATORS 7:00 PM
SAT FEB 11, 2017 AVALANCHE 7:00 PM
MON FEB 13, 2017 @ BLUE JACKETS 7:00 PM
THU FEB 16, 2017 @ ISLANDERS 7:00 PM
SUN FEB 19, 2017 CAPITALS 12:30 PM
TUE FEB 21, 2017 CANADIENS 7:00 PM
THU FEB 23, 2017 @ MAPLE LEAFS 7:30 PM
SAT FEB 25, 2017 @ DEVILS 5:00 PM
SUN FEB 26, 2017 BLUE JACKETS 5:00 PM
TUE FEB 28, 2017 RANGERS 7:00 PM

THU MAR 2, 2017 @ BRUINS 7:00 PM
SAT MAR 4, 2017 CANADIENS 7:00 PM
MON MAR 6, 2017 @ LIGHTNING 7:30 PM
TUE MAR 7, 2017 @ PANTHERS 7:30 PM
THU MAR 9, 2017 @ HURRICANES 7:00 PM
SUN MAR 12, 2017 @ RED WINGS 12:30 PM
MON MAR 13, 2017 LIGHTNING 7:00 PM
FRI MAR 17, 2017 PANTHERS 7:00 PM
SAT MAR 18, 2017 @ WILD 7:00 PM
TUE MAR 21, 2017 @ DEVILS 7:00 PM
WED MAR 22, 2017 ISLANDERS 8:00 PM
SAT MAR 25, 2017 @ KINGS 10:30 PM
SUN MAR 26, 2017 @ DUCKS 9:00 PM
TUE MAR 28, 2017 @ SHARKS 10:30 PM
FRI MAR 31, 2017 PENGUINS 7:00 PM

SUN APR 2, 2017 FLYERS 7:30 PM
WED APR 5, 2017 @ CAPITALS 8:00 PM
SAT APR 8, 2017 @ SENATORS 12:30 PM
SUN APR 9, 2017 PENGUINS 7:00 PM

Here's the Schedule for the New York Islanders:
THU OCT 13, 2016 @ RANGERS 7:00 PM
SAT OCT 15, 2016 @ CAPITALS 7:00 PM
SUN OCT 16, 2016 DUCKS 6:00 PM
TUE OCT 18, 2016 SHARKS 7:00 PM
FRI OCT 21, 2016 COYOTES 7:00 PM
SUN OCT 23, 2016 WILD 6:00 PM
WED OCT 26, 2016 CANADIENS 7:00 PM
THU OCT 27, 2016 @ PENGUINS 7:00 PM
SUN OCT 30, 2016 MAPLE LEAFS 6:00 PM

TUE NOV 1, 2016 LIGHTNING 7:00 PM
THU NOV 3, 2016 FLYERS 7:00 PM
SAT NOV 5, 2016 OILERS 7:00 PM
MON NOV 7, 2016 CANUCKS 7:00 PM
THU NOV 10, 2016 @ LIGHTNING 7:30 PM
SAT NOV 12, 2016 @ PANTHERS 7:00 PM
MON NOV 14, 2016 LIGHTNING 7:00 PM
FRI NOV 18, 2016 PENGUINS 7:00 PM
TUE NOV 22, 2016 @ DUCKS 10:00 PM
WED NOV 23, 2016 @ KINGS 10:30 PM
FRI NOV 25, 2016 @ SHARKS 4:00 PM
MON NOV 28, 2016 FLAMES 7:00 PM
WED NOV 30, 2016 PENGUINS 8:00 PM

THU DEC 1, 2016 @ CAPITALS 7:00 PM
SUN DEC 4, 2016 RED WINGS 6:00 PM
TUE DEC 6, 2016 RANGERS 7:00 PM
THU DEC 8, 2016 BLUES 7:00 PM
SAT DEC 10, 2016 @ BLUE JACKETS 7:00 PM
TUE DEC 13, 2016 CAPITALS 7:00 PM
THU DEC 15, 2016 BLACKHAWKS 7:00 PM
FRI DEC 16, 2016 @ SABRES 7:00 PM
SUN DEC 18, 2016 SENATORS 7:00 PM
TUE DEC 20, 2016 @ BRUINS 7:00 PM
FRI DEC 23, 2016 SABRES 7:00 PM
TUE DEC 27, 2016 CAPITALS 7:00 PM
THU DEC 29, 2016 @ WILD 8:00 PM
SAT DEC 31, 2016 @ JETS 7:00 PM

FRI JAN 6, 2017 @ AVALANCHE 9:00 PM
SAT JAN 7, 2017 @ COYOTES 8:00 PM
WED JAN 11, 2017 PANTHERS 7:00 PM
FRI JAN 13, 2017 @ PANTHERS 7:30 PM
SAT JAN 14, 2017 @ HURRICANES 8:00 PM
MON JAN 16, 2017 @ BRUINS 1:00 PM
THU JAN 19, 2017 STARS 7:00 PM
SAT JAN 21, 2017 KINGS 7:00 PM
SUN JAN 22, 2017 FLYERS 6:00 PM
TUE JAN 24, 2017 BLUE JACKETS 7:00 PM
THU JAN 26, 2017 CANADIENS 7:00 PM
TUE JAN 31, 2017 CAPITALS 7:00 PM

FRI FEB 3, 2017 @ RED WINGS 7:30 PM
SAT FEB 4, 2017 HURRICANES 7:00 PM
MON FEB 6, 2017 MAPLE LEAFS 7:00 PM
THU FEB 9, 2017 @ FLYERS 7:00 PM
SAT FEB 11, 2017 @ SENATORS 1:00 PM
SUN FEB 12, 2017 AVALANCHE 6:00 PM
TUE FEB 14, 2017 @ MAPLE LEAFS 7:30 PM
THU FEB 16, 2017 RANGERS 7:00 PM
SAT FEB 18, 2017 @ DEVILS 7:00 PM
SUN FEB 19, 2017 DEVILS 6:00 PM
TUE FEB 21, 2017 @ RED WINGS 7:30 PM
THU FEB 23, 2017 @ CANADIENS 7:30 PM
SAT FEB 25, 2017 @ BLUE JACKETS 5:00 PM

THU MAR 2, 2017 @ STARS 8:30 PM
FRI MAR 3, 2017 @ BLACKHAWKS 8:30 PM
SUN MAR 5, 2017 @ FLAMES 4:00 PM
TUE MAR 7, 2017 @ OILERS 9:00 PM
THU MAR 9, 2017 @ CANUCKS 10:00 PM
SAT MAR 11, 2017 @ BLUES 8:00 PM
MON MAR 13, 2017 HURRICANES 7:00 PM
TUE MAR 14, 2017 @ HURRICANES 7:00 PM
THU MAR 16, 2017 JETS 7:00 PM
SAT MAR 18, 2017 BLUE JACKETS 1:00 PM
WED MAR 22, 2017 @ RANGERS 8:00 PM
FRI MAR 24, 2017 @ PENGUINS 7:00 PM
SAT MAR 25, 2017 BRUINS 7:00 PM
MON MAR 27, 2017 PREDATORS 7:00 PM
THU MAR 30, 2017 @ FLYERS 7:00 PM
FRI MAR 31, 2017 DEVILS 7:30 PM

SUN APR 2, 2017 @ SABRES 3:00 PM
TUE APR 4, 2017 @ PREDATORS 8:00 PM
THU APR 6, 2017 @ HURRICANES 7:00 PM
SAT APR 8, 2017 @ DEVILS 6:00 PM
SUN APR 9, 2017 SENATORS 5:00 PM

So there you have it, the local hockey schedule for the 2016-17 season!

Cavs Rule Basketball World

The time has finally come. After 52 long years of waiting, the city of Cleveland finally has a championship in town. For the first time in the history of the franchise, the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship, beating the Golden State Warriors in game seven, by a 93-89 final score. This series had been decided in by ten points or more in the first six games, but game seven was a total nailbitter coming down to the wire. Golden State, a team who had won more games than any other team in history, at least during the regular season, also held a 3-1 lead in the finals, only to see it evaporate. It marks the first time ever in finals history that a team has erased a 3-1 deficit to claim the NBA Crown.

LeBron and company had really gotten into the heads of the Warriors during games five and six of this series, with that trend continuing into game seven. Lebron and the boys kept the Splash Brothers quite in this basketball game, as Stephen Curry, who is also the two time reigning and defending league MVP, was held to just 17 points, while Klay Thompson had 14 points. Golden State's best player in this game was Draymond Green, who just so happen to drop 32 points to lead all scorers in this basketball game, on either team. The only quarter in which Golden State controlled the play was in the 2nd, where they outscored the Cavaliers 27-19, and if you combine that with their first quarter totals, Golden State had a 49-42 lead going into halftime. This is a complete changeup from game five, which saw a 61-61 score at halftime. It goes to show just how tight a basketball game this seventh game was.

Golden State managed to be able to stay around in this basketball game, thanks in large part, as mentioned before, to the hot shooting of Draymond Green. He played like a man possessed for the Warriors. He helped keep Golden State in the game, because the Splash Brothers really didn't show up. Sure, both guys produced, but not at the level that Green did and nowhere near the same impact that Green did. Golden State couldn't contain the Cavs at the start of the 2nd half. As a matter of fact, the Warriors shooting went ice cold at the end of the basketball game. Golden State went scoreless over the final 4:39 of the basketball game. Which is what lead to two of the most lasting images of the entire season.

First comes courtesy of LeBron. Golden State was threatening to put the game away, when out of nowhere, this happened:

LeBron comes flying back to make the block on Iguodala. IF that block doesn't happen, the Warriors may be celebrating a title right now to cap off the season that was in California. This play goes to show just how locked in LeBron was to bring the title back to his home state. That block by LeBron would go on and set the stage. Just moments after he makes that huge play, this happens:


Kyrie Irving has never, and may never again, hit a shot any bigger than this one. He finished the night the 2nd leading scorer on the Cavs, behind LeBron, with 26 points. None of them are going to be any bigger than those three points right there. LeBron's block would be the dramatic setup to Kyrie's even more dramatic shot to win the title for the Cavs.

The biggest story to take from this series, from a Cleveland perspective, was how well LeBron played. He dropped a triple double in game seven, with 27 points 11 assists and 11 rebounds, becoming only the 3rd player ever to drop a triple double in a game seven in the finals. The other two guys to do that in the finals are Jerry West in 1969 and James Worthy in 1988. Lets also take another look at the numbers that LeBron put up in the finals. Just in the finals, LeBron had 208 points, 79 rebounds, 62 assists, 18 steals and 16 blocks. All of those numbers lead both teams in the finals, and its the first time ever in the NBA playoffs, in any round, to lead outright or tie for the lead among all players from both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for an entire series. Oh and that performance LeBron had in the entire series, he was voted a unanimous Finals MVP (he also won the award in 2012 and 2013). By winning his third finals MVP, LeBron joins some pretty elite company. He joins Michael Jordan (1997-98, 1996-97, 1995-96, 1992-93, 1991-92, 1990-91), Tim Duncan (2004-05, 2002-03, 1998-99), Magic Johnson (1986-87, 1981-82, 1979-80) and Shaquille O'Neal (2001-02, 2000-01, 1999-00). That's some pretty good company to keep. It wasn't all LeBron though, Kyrie Irving had a big series as well, which is something that the Cavs didn't have last year.

Now lets look at this from a Golden State point a view. Their time had just run out on them. They got lucky to pull off the comeback against Oklahoma City in the West Finals, and had momentum on their side at the start of the NBA finals. But somewhere along the way, I think it was in game five, they lost their mojo. Cleveland really took over the series in game five and Golden State never found their groove again. I said this after game six that the Cavs had gotten into the Warriors heads, and started to beat them up physically. The Splash Brothers  were held in check by some great Cavaliers defense over the last three games of the series. Steph Curry showing his emotion in game six is a perfect example of just how much the Cavaliers had gotten into the Warriors heads and threw them off their games. Golden State will go down in the books as the best regular season team ever, winning 73 games. But that all means nothing when you can't get that elusive ring on the finger. Golden State had a fantastic year no doubt about it, but it wasn't their time come the finals.

Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2016 NBA Champions!

Cavaliers Force A Game Seven

What has happened to the Warriors? They had a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, with a chance to close out the series at home in game five and win the 2nd straight NBA Crown. Then something happened. Draymond Green was suspended for game five. Golden State got outplayed by Cleveland, with both Lebron and Kyrie dropping 41 points each. Now they go into game six with two players hurt, Kevon Looney and Andrew Bogut. Things went from bad to worse for the Warriors in game six, as they were outplayed again by the Cavaliers. Cleveland took game six by a 115-101, to pull even in the NBA Finals and force a 7th game. This marks the 11th time in NBA playoffs history that a team has done this. The other times were: Boston vs. Philadelphia, 1968 (BOS in 7), L.A. Lakers vs. Phoenix, 1970 (LA in 7), Washington vs. San Antonio, 1979 (WSH in 7), Boston vs. Philadelphia, 1981 (BOS in 7), Houston vs. Phoenix, 1995 (HOU in 7), Miami vs. New York, 1997 (MIA in 7), Detroit vs. Orlando, 2003 (DET in 7), Phoenix vs. L.A. Lakers, 2006 (PHX in 7), Houston vs. L.A. Clippers, 2015 (HOU in 7), and Golden State vs. Oklahoma City, 2016 (GS in 7). If Cleveland can pull it off this will be the first time its done ever in the finals.

Golden State was really thrown off their game to start off game six. Cleveland had a 31-11 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, the lowest scoring output by the Warriors in one quarter this season, a year in which they shattered records. Lebron and company dominated Golden State at the start, the Warriors not really being able to hit from the outside, which is where the team has made its living all season long. Cleveland had the ability to drive the lane, it was available more times then the Warriors should have made it available, and they took full advantage of it to take a twenty point lead after the opening quarter.

As the game wore on, Golden State showed a few signs of life. Yes Stephen Curry did drop 30 points. However he really didn't look like his normal self during this basketball game. The best players in the game really play their best games during the biggest moments. Curry hasn't really done that in this series, especially in game six. He had 30 points, sure, but he was getting frustrated as the game wore on. Here's how you know things were going bad for Curry as the game wore on. With 4:22 left of the 4th quarter, Stephen Curry was so upset that he threw his mouthpiece into the stand after receiving his 6th foul and was fouled out of the game. Curry then received a technical foul and was ejected from the game. He is the 1st MVP to foul out of an NBA Finals game since Shaquille O' Neal in 2000 Finals. Not only did Curry get tossed from the game, he ended up getting fined $25,000 by the NBA for throwing his mouth guard in the crowd. That was a sign of the frustration of the team as the night wore on. Golden State had plenty of good looks from deep, but they weren't really falling with the ease that they were during the first few games of the series.

Curry had 30 points in this game, Klay Thompson dropped 25 points and Leandro Barbosa had 14 points, the only three Warriors players to hit double digits in points. A lot of people were critical that not having Draymond Green in game five as one of the reasons why the Warriors aren't NBA champions right now. But he wasn't really much of a factor in this game. In just over 40 minutes he had only eight points (but he did pull down ten rebounds) and ended up fouling out of the game, just like Curry did. Anybody who watched that game, and the series for that matter, can tell you that the Warriors are becoming unraveled as the series has moved along. It really started to show through in what happened here in game six in Cleveland.

Cleveland has had solid outings the last two games, King James is at the top of that list. For the 2nd straight game, he dropped 41 points, becoming just the 5th player in league history to do that, and its a pretty impressive list including Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan Magic Johnson and Jerry West. LeBron has been playing like a man possessed the last few games, just like he did last year. The difference between last year and this is, last year he didn't have much support around him. This year he looks like he has a support staff. JR Smith had 14 points, Kyrie Irving had 23, and Tristian Thompson dropped 15 points as well. Cleveland really had good looks all game. A big sign of how well things were going was with 4:23 left, when LeBron made a HUGE block on Steph Curry. That was LeBron making a statement to Curry that, while Curry has won back to back NBA MVP awards, LeBron is still the best player, and maybe even the best all around player, in the entire league.

Now that we have a game seven on Sunday, this begs the question. Who has more pressure on them to pull out the win, Golden State or Cleveland? It's almost about even. Cleveland has pressure on it to deliver the first championship of any kind to the city of Cleveland since the Browns won an NFL championship (pre Super Bowl era) in 1964. This would also mark the first time ever that the Cavs have won a title. For LeBron, its a personal statement of redemption. It shows that he can win a title in his hometown. For Golden State, they have double pressure. They have to try and stop the bleeding of blowing a 3-1 lead in the finals and lose the title. Plus they just set the single season wins record, which is a pretty big deal. If they can't capture the title for the 2nd year in a row, then that wins record could all be for nothing.

Game Seven takes place at Oracle Arena Sunday night, with tipoff set for 8PM

Championship To Pittsburgh

It's been a few years for the Steel City since they've seen a title. In fact, the last title for the city, was the Penguins in 2009. It's been a long, very interesting year for the Penguins to reach this point in time right now. They were a team that was floundering at Christmas, they were an average team at best. Then Mike Sullivan comes in and takes over as head coach of this team. Some players get call ups from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The team finally clicked, took off during the second half of the year and went 33–16–5 down the stretch. They went rolling right into the playoffs. They rolled passed the Rangers, had a few bumps in the road against the Capitals and Lightning. Then got to the finals, dominating the Sharks. Pittsburgh capped the season off with a 3-1 triumph in game six, taking home the fourth Stanley Cup in Franchise history.

One of the overriding themes of this series was the fact that the Pens had used their footspeed. Pittsburgh was faster than San Jose all series long, thus leading to them outshooting and outplaying San Jose from start to finish. Same thing happened in game six. In the opening frame, Pittsbugh had a 9-4 shots advantage and got the only goal of that period. It came on a powerplay. Dainius Zubrus went off for tripping at the 7:50 mark. It took only 16 seconds for the Penguins best weapon to go to work. Justin Schultz fed the puck back to the point. Brian Dumoulin made a great fake on his first shot, took his second one and it found the back of the net. It came at the 8:16 mark of the 1st and it was his 2nd goal of the playoffs. San Jose had a few opportunities in that opening period, but nothing found the back of the net. San Jose's best chance came when Joel Ward had a break away with 7:20 left in the frame, but he couldn't get the shot off because of a diving stop by Chris Kunitz.

San Jose went into the 2nd period and they finally decided to show up. They managed to fire 13 shots on net, outshooting the Penguins 13-11. Pittsburgh had a great chance about a minute into the middle frame, when Nick Bonino was left alone in front but Martin Jones managed to make another unreal kick save on him (as he did the same thing to him in game five the other night). That save kept the Sharks afloat. San Jose would eventually cash in and bury one past Matt Murray. It came at the 6:27 mark of the period. Brent Burns flagged down a high pass and brought it over the line. He then sent a cross ice pass to Logan Couture who got to the top of the circle and ripped a shot past Matt Murray. The goal was the 10th of the playoffs (and 30th point) for Couture in the post season. Those 30 points shattered the old record for most points in the playoffs by a Sharks player (old record was 18 points by Igor Larionov in 1994). There was more energy and jump in the building that was provided by that Couture goal. It didn't last long however. It took just 79 seconds after the Couture goal for this to happen:



Kris Letang took the feed from Crosby and buried it short side for his third of the playoffs. It would be the game winner. As a matter of fact, Letang had a hand in every Penguins game winning goal in this series. He set up Bonino for the winner in game one, then set up Conor Sheary for the overtime winner in game two, had the secondary assist on Evgeni Malkin's game winner in game four, and finally scored the cup clincher in game six. The only other goal that was scored in this hockey game was by Patric Hornqvist, who buried his 9th of the playoffs into an empty net with 1:02 to go to seal the championship.

Before we get more into the Penguins taking the title, how about the no-show from the Sharks. I mean think about it. They had plenty of chances in the 2nd period of this game, but only managed to get one puck passed Murray. As the 2nd period moved along, San Jose spent so much time trying to get an open look that they weren't getting an shots off on goal. It was mind boggeling that they couldn't get the puck in the general direction of the net. To make this even more maddening, San Jose had just two shots in the 3rd period. TWO SHOTS ON GOAL IN THE 3RD PERIOD. Its the Stanley Cup Finals, that can't happen at all. Shame on San Jose for not showing up and getting that badly outplayed. It was a fantastic run by the Sharks, making it to the finals for the first time in the 25 year history of the franchise. It was a great run that came up just short. For head coach Peter DeBour, it means a lot. It seems like every time he gets into the playoffs, it means a trip to the finals. It happened in 2012 with the Devils, and now this year with San Jose. Hats off to the Sharks for a great year.

Now back to the Penguins winning the championship. Sidney Crosby was named the Conn Smythe trophy winner as MVP of the Playoffs. Crosby finished with 19 points in six goals and thirteen assists in 24 games played. HE had a fantastic all around game, I will give him that, but at the same time I don't think it should have gone to Crosby. It should have gone to Phil Kessel, who had a way better playoff year then Crosby did, and lets face facts, Kessel was a bigger reason why the Penguins won the cup then Crosby did. Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history, and third Penguin, to win both the Hart Memorial Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy. The rest of the list, a pretty exclusive list at that, includes Jean Beliveau, Wayne Gretzky, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Messier, Bobby Orr, Joe Sakic, and Bryan Trottier. Sidney now joins Joe Sakic as the only to guys in hockey history to win a World Junior Championship, World Championship, Olympic Medal, Stanley Cup, Conn Smyth Trophy and Hart Trophy as league MVP.

For the Penguins, this marks the 4th Stanley Cup Championship in their history. Those Stanley Cup Titles were won on May 25th 1991 (In Minnesota, won in six), June 1st 1992 (In Chicago, they swept), June 12th, 2009 (In Detroit, won in seven) and June 12th 2016 (In San Jose, won in six). Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins, your 2016 Stanley Cup Champions!

Mr. Hockey's Lasting Legacy

There are so few people in the world of sports who can transcend their field of play. Gordie Howe was one of those people. He was the king of kings in the game of ice for a long time. Twenty Five years in a sport, a playing career that spanned from his first year in 1946 till his final season of pro hockey in 1980. Nobody played harder or with a more consistent scoring touch than Gordie. You know you've made a name for yourself in the sport if you have a hat trick named after you. The Gordie Howe hat trick is a goal an assist and a fight in the same game. One of hockey's all time greatest players has passed away at the age of 88 on Friday.

There are so many things that Mr Hockey did and did well, that made him such a legend in the game. His most productive seasons came during an era when scoring was difficult and checking was tight. A big surprise here is that Howe never scored 50 goals in a single season, as his single season high was 49, which he scored in 1953. Despite that fact, Howe ranks fourth in NHL history with 1,850 total points (Only Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr have more), including 801 goals (only Gretzky has more with 894) and 1,049 assists (now sits 9th in league history in this department). When career regular season goals from both the NHL and the WHA are combined, he ranks first in goals with 975. To make those numbers more astounding, consider this. At the time of his retirement, Howe's professional totals, including playoffs, for the NHL and WHA combined, were shocking. He finished with 2,421 games played, 1,071 goals, 1,518 assists, and 2,589 points. Later on, however, Wayne Gretzky would pass him in goals (1,072), assists (2,297), and points (3,369), but not in games played or games played with one team. Gordie also goes into the record books as the oldest player to ever play in a game, at 52 years, 11 days (no other player has played past the age of 48).

His list of awards and accomplishments, aside from what we've listed above, are outstanding. There's the Hockey Hall of Fame induction in 1972. There's the point totals listed above. Howe was a 23-time NHL All-Star(12-time NHL First All-Star Team and 9-time NHL Second All-Star Team), he's a 4-time Stanley Cup champion (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955),a 6-time Art Ross Trophy winner (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963), a 6-time Hart Memorial Trophy (1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963), a Lester B. Patrick Award winner (1967). He finished in the top 5 in NHL scoring for 20 consecutive seasons. He has the most games played for a single franchise (1,967, Detroit Red Wings), the most goals and points with a single franchise (786 and 1,809, respectively, Detroit), the ,ost NHL games played (1767). The biggest surprise stat of all is that he is the only player to play in the NHL in five different decades (1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s). Nobody is going to even come close to matching that level again in not only hockey but in all of sports. To be that good for that long at what you do is simply amazing.

Then there's what he did for the sport away from the rink. In retirement, he became one of the sport's most-loved ambassadors, although his public appearances were few in recent years as he dealt with cognitive impairment, a form of dementia. Still nobody showed as much passion for the game, both on and off the rink, than Howe did. He was a little understudied as to the business side of things, as it was later revealed that he had been vastly underpaid during the bulk of his playing days in Detroit. In addition to his on-ice accomplishments, Howe will be widely remembered for his active participation in numerous charities. The most notable is the Howe Foundation, which Colleen founded in 1993 with the aim of improving the lives of children and helping underprivileged youth learn about and play hockey. They were active in building rinks in Michigan and raising money and awareness for more than 150 nonprofit and charitable organizations in North America, according to the couple's website, mrandmrshockey.com. Their efforts included a 65-city tour in honor of Gordie's 65th birthday in 1993, during which the Howes thanked fans for their support and raised money for charity, ultimately pulling in nearly $1 million for various causes. Such tireless work has ensured that Howe will be remembered as much for his off-ice efforts as for what he did in his playing days.

Gordie Howe will forever be known as Mr. Hockey and for good reason. He will be dearly missed.

Sharks Survive To Extend Series

Pittsburgh was trying to do something they have never done before, win the Stanley Cup on home ice. They've won three Cups in the history of the franchise. They on in Minnesota in 1991, won in Chicago in 1992 and in Detroit in 2009. All three previous Cups were won on the road. This was their chance to win the cup at home for the first time ever. They had San Jose on the ropes and had a chance to finish the Sharks off. But somebody forgot to tell that to the Sharks. San Jose came out like a house of fire, then let Martin Jones stand on his head to help keep them in this series. San Jose staved off elimination, coming up with a huge 4-2 win in game five, forcing the series back to San Jose for a game six.

One of the biggest knocks on the Sharks the entire series. at least to this point, was the fact that they haven't been able to play with a lead at all. It took 1:04 into the hockey game to dispel that thought. Brent Burns scored his 7th of the playoffs, set up by Melker Karlsson and Logan Couture, on a wraparound play that beat Murray short side. To put this goal into perspective, it looks a lot like the overtime winner that Joonas Donskoi scored in game three. Both guys scored on a wraparound, with both shots coming short side with Matt Murray dropping down too early to take away the low part of the net. San Jose kept the pressure up, and at the 1:49 mark, Logan Couture scored his 9th of the playoffs, deflecting a Justin Braun shot to give the Sharks something they haven't really experienced in this series: a lead. This marks the first time that Pittsburgh has trailed during a game since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 20 (NHL). One thing you need to know about the Penguins, if you didn't know it already, is never count them out.

Pittsburgh came to life when they got a powerplay about five minutes into the hockey game. Danius Zubrus got called for shooting a puck over the glass. Then twenty three seconds later, at the 4:44 mark, the Pens got back into the game when Evgeni Malkin scored his 6th of the playoffs. Malkin took a pass from Phil Kessel and tried to go back to Crosby at the far post but it hit off a Shark defender and went into the net. But wait, the Penguins weren't done yet. twenty Two seconds after Malkin got the Penguins on the board, this happened:


It was the 6th goal of the playoffs for Carl Hagelin, who has had an impact all playoffs long with Bonino and Kessel as the HBK Line. This game remained deadlocked at two, until the 14:47 mark of the opening period. San Jose got a rush up the ice, Brenden Dillon fed Logan Couture , who then sent a pretty pass to Melker Karlsson who fired home his 5th of the playoffs to finish off a pretty passing play and give the Sharks a lead they would not relinquish.

Once the 2nd period got rolling, so to did the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens outshot the Sharks 31-15 over the final two periods of play. That's been one of the major themes of this finals series is that the Penguins have been controlling the game and the pace of play with their pure speed. Martin Jones, once again, had to stand on his freaking head to keep the lead in tact for the Sharks. Don't believe me, fine look at what happened in the 2nd period. One of the best chances for the Pens came with 4:52 left in the middle frame. The HBK line was buzzing again for the Pens. Hagelin took a shot, Jones made a save, but left a big rebound. Nick Bonino jumped all over it but Jones somehow made a HUGE kick save and covered the puck, leaving Bonino wondering what the hell just happened.

As much as the Pens kept pressing, San Jose held the fort down. Joe Pavelski finally put the game away at the 18:40 mark of the 3rd period when he scored an empty netter, his 14th of the playoffs and first of this series. Maybe that will help get a guy like him going. Still the Sharks kept the Penguins quite the rest of the night, forcing the series back to San Jose for a sixth game.

For the first couple minutes of the hockey game, San Jose had a game plan and it worked to perfection. They found a way to cancel out the speed of the Penguins. San Jose played a very sound, technical dump and chase game, sending the puck in deep, beating the Penguins up physically, getting the puck and putting it on goal. That's what lead to the three Sharks goals they scored on Matt Murray. That's what worked for them in the Western Conference Finals against the Blues. San Jose got away from that, thus leading to Martin Jones standing on his head the rest of the hockey game. If they want to have a chance to win the Cup, San Jose needs to keep doing that for a full sixty minutes.

The Sharks became the 15th team, out of 32, to force Game 6 when trailing a Stanley Cup Final 3-1 (since the best-of-7 format started in 1939). Six of those teams forced Game 7, with one winning the championship (the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Game Six is back at the SAP Center in San Jose Sunday night at 8PM!

Remembering The Greatest

There are so few athletes that can transcend their sports the way that he did. Nobody brought you out of your seats more than Muhammad Ali. He could talk the talk and then walk the walk. Whatever he said, he went out into the ring and backed it up. Nobody had hands that were any faster than Ali. He will go down in the books as not only one of the greatest fighters ever, he will go down as one of the greatest people ever. Ali passed away over the weekend at the age of 74.

There were so many things that Ali did, both in and out of the ring, that made him a very popular and polarizing figure. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay on Jan. 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, to middle-class parents, Ali started boxing when he was 12, winning Golden Gloves titles before heading to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight. He turned professional shortly afterward, supported at first by Louisville business owners who guaranteed him an unprecedented 50-50 split in earnings. His knack for talking up his own talents — often in verse — earned him the dismissive nickname "the Louisville Lip," but he backed up his talk with action, relocating to Miami to work with top trainer Angelo Dundee and build a case for getting a shot at the heavyweight title. After changing his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, his career really took off. He had some of the greatest fights in the ring on record. He's bouts with Sonny Liston (who he beat for the title in 1964 in one of the greatest fights of all time), Joe Fraser (was 2-1 against lifetime) Ken Norton (1-1 lifetime) and George Foreman were legendary. Same thing too for the fights with Leon Spinks at the end of his career. Ali and Joe Louis are generally regarded as the two greatest fighters to ever step foot in the ring. Muhammad Ali defeated every top heavyweight in his era, which has been called the golden age of heavyweight boxing.

Ali had a highly unorthodox boxing style for a heavyweight, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". Never an overpowering puncher, Ali relied early in his career on his superior hand speed, superb reflexes and constant movement, dancing and circling opponents for most of the fight, holding his hands low and lashing out with a quick, cutting left jab that he threw from unpredictable angles. His footwork was so strong that it was extremely difficult for opponents to cut down the ring and corner Ali against the ropes. One of Ali's greatest tricks was to make opponents overcommit by pulling straight backward from punches. That's what made him so great in the ring. He may not have been the hardest hitter in the history of the ring, but he may have been one of the smartest fighters to ever step foot inside a boxing ring. He made people look silly, which is a real talent that so few people in the world of sports had.

As good as Ali was at running his mouth in the ring, he was just as talented at backing it up. Same argument could be made of him outside of the ring as well. One of the biggest things that he will forever be rememberd for was holding out of Military service. At the height of the Vietnam War, Ali was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army. He'd said previously that the war did not comport with his faith, and that he had "no quarrel" with America's enemy, the Vietcong. He refused to serve. "My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, some poor, hungry people in the mud, for big powerful America, and shoot them for what?" Ali said in an interview. "They never called me nigger. They never lynched me. They didn't put no dogs on me." Released on appeal but unable to fight or leave the country, Ali turned to the lecture circuit, speaking on college campuses, where he engaged in heated debates, pointing out the hypocrisy of denying rights to blacks even as they were ordered to fight the country's battles abroad.

That was what made Ali so powerful outside of the ring, when he saw something that wasn't right, he went out and fought against it. He could do a little bit of everything in and out of the ring. he could talk the talk and walk the walk Ali was just that good. He wil;l be forever missed

Penguins One Win Away From Championship

After Joonas Donskoi's heroics in game three, it gave the San Jose Sharks hope. It game them signs of life, making it look like they might come back in the series and that they can protect home ice. They hadn't really shown much consistent life all series but they got the job done to make it a competitive series. Well any chance of that was snuffed out in game four. Thanks to the performance of Matt Murray and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins came away with a 3-1 win and set themselves up to clinch the Cup at home ice on Thursday night.

Evgeni Malkin isn't the only Penguins forward who was a force in this hockey game, Phil Kessel deserves a lot of credit and consideration for being playoff MVP with the way he's played so far in the playoffs. He and Malkin helped get the scoring started in the first. With seven minutes passed in the opening period, Malkin hit the center red line and found Phil Kessel, who used his speed to bust into the San Jose end. Kessel wired a shot that Martin Jones made the save on, but Jones left a gigantically juicy rebound that found its way to a streaking Ian Cole. Cole wasted no time and buried the puck into the back of the net at the 7:26 mark for his first of the playoffs. It was Cole's first goal in 105 games, regular season and playoffs, dating to March 26, 2015 (against the Hurricanes) (NHL). For Malkin, the assist was his first point in the playoffs. For Kessel, it was his 10th assist and 20th point in the playoffs.That number not only leads all Penguins scorers, it makes him only the 11th player in Penguins history to record at least 20 points in a single postseason, and the first since Malkin and Sidney Crosby did it during the 2009 run to the Stanley Cup. San Jose's crowd had been loud, as they had been all playoffs long, but that goal took them right out of it. As a mater of fact, Pittsburgh has not trailed in 435:46 of playing time, dating to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final (NHL).

Things got better for Malkin and company in the 2nd period. About halfway through the period, the Penguins got a poerplay. Up until that point, the Penguins had been 0 for 7 in the series against San Jose on the Man advantage. Pittsburgh did a great job of moving the puck around the rink, with Kessel getting a great look. He walked off the wall, threw it towards the net with a great pass, it found Malkin, hit off his stick and went into the back of the net to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. For Malkin, that goal must have been a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and helped pad the Penguins lead (which would eventually turn out to be the game winner). San Jose again got limited shots off in the 2nd period, finishing with only four shots in that middle frame. The fact that Tomas Hertl has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury has started to show its hurting San Jose a little, because they have to try and fill a major hole on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. That's been hurting San Jose all series, the fact that their top line simply hasn't been producing. Sure Thornton has had one point in the entire series, but after putting up prolific numbers in the West finals against the Blues, he has been held really quite in the Finals, which is something that can't happen come this time of year.

So now Pittsburgh carries a 2-0 lead going into the final period. San Jose finally flipped the switch and showed up in the 3rd period, firing 12 shots on Matt Murray, who had to be really sharp. San Jose finally got on the board at the 8:07 mark when Melker Karlsson scored his 4th of the playoffs, and first of the finals, to get the Sharks back in the game. It was off a wild scramble in front and the puck bounced to Karlson in the slot who got the shot away as he was getting knocked down. San Jose kept the pressure up, including a fantastic chance for Joe Pavelski. The leading goal scorer was left alone in the right circle and ripped one on net, but Matt Murray was able to get a pad on it and turn the shot away. despite all the pressure that San Jose was getting, Eric Fehr put the game away:


That one broke the back of the Sharks in game four and sealed the win for Pittsburgh. Could not have been any sweeter a goal for Eric Fehr.

Lets give a little bit of credit where its due here, San Jose has found their legs in this game. They finally outshot the Penguins over the course of the game, finishing with a 24-20 advantage in shots including a 12-7 edge in the 3rd period. That is all well and good but if they can't finish those great scoring chances, then what good will it be doing them in the rest of the series. San Jose showed a little more life, but as mentioned earlier, they've had to play catch up in the entire series. The Sharks have never really been able to get any kind of consistent pressure on Matt Murray. Sure they've managed to be able to find the back of the net, but they have been badly outplayed in the entire series. For San Jose, they really need to get this thing figured out, otherwise they will have to stand there and watch the Penguins skate around with the Cup Thursday night.

Game five will take place at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, this Thursday night at 8PM!

Draymond Green Huge In Game Two

Game one, the story was how well the bench played for Golden State. Shaun Livingston had twenty points and the bench for the Warriors combined for a total of 45 points in the 104-89 win in the opener. Some lead to wonder if the Splash Brothers were going to show up in game two. Well, they did play better in game two, but the story of the game was Draymond Green. Green lead the charge with 28 points with five 3-pointers, seven rebounds and five assists as Golden State cruised to a 110-77 win in Oakland to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA finals.

The 33-point win was the Warriors' most lopsided ever in a finals game - and they have won the first two by a combined 48 points (NBA). It took a little while for the Splash brothers to find their groove, but once they did Cleveland had a lot of trouble trying to keep up and they were totally outplayed the rest of the night. Cleveland took a two point lead at the end of the opening quarter, which made you think if the Cavs may have the gumption to take this game and send the series. Lebron had another solid game finishing with 19 points, which snapped the streak he had of 25 straight playoff games with 20 or more points. While Lebron had trouble finding his handle in this game, Klay Thompson eventually found his. Thompson got hot after halftime to finish with 17 points as Golden State became the first team to go ahead 2-0 in the finals since the Lakers in 2009 against Orlando (NBA).

One of the bigger storylines was the injury to Kevin Love, who got hurt in the 3rd quarter and left the game with concussion like symptoms. He went up for a rebound got smacked in the head and went down in a heap. He left the game and did not return. Cleveland had a lot of trouble trying to rebound for the loss of Kevin Love in the ball game, really showing no life after he got hurt. Now I give Kevin Love credit for trying to gut it out, he did drill a big three pointer on his next possession after he got hit, but that was all he was really able to do. If Love has to miss significant time here in the finals, Channning Frye is the Cavs only option at the Forward/Center position at the moment, which could spell a little bit of trouble for the Cavs.

Love getting hurt last year and missing the finals could be viewed as a reason why Cleveland lost in last years finals. Now he's out again and it may start to creep back into the minds of Cavs fans that this could happen again this year. Lebron was getting smothered late in the ball game and was not really getting good looks all night. He did score 14 of his 19 points in the 2nd quarter but that was about it. What Cleveland couldn't do that Golden State did, was they really moved the ball around well. I've never really seen a team move the ball around the perimeter any better then what I saw the Warriors do on Sunday night. Don't believe me, here's a small sample of that sick ball movement:


That is really what separates the Warriors for the Cavaliers. Cleveland really relied on Lebron and small ball when Love left the game, which is something that wasn't really working. Cleveland isn't really built to be that kinda team, where as the Warriors are. Golden State is a fast paced basketball team, one that plays its best game when they're moving the ball well and finding the open man to hit their shots. That's what great teams do, they find the open guy who has the best angle to shoot at. Cleveland has trouble doing that.

With the series returning to Cleveland for the next two games, the Cavaliers have a lot of defensive problems and rotation issues to sort out if they want to keep their Finals hopes alive. Game 3 will be played at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, June 8.

Warriors Bench Clutch In Game One

Doesn't matter what sport you follow, come playoff time, champions always find a way to get it done. There's a reason why the Golden State Warriors are the defending NBA Champions. Sure they have the Splash Brothers in Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. Yes they also have Draymond Green to round out their big three. Sure Curry and Thompson had a solid game, as they combined for 20 points, numbers that are well below the standards they had set for themselves. Oh on this night it would be the bench, in particular Shaun Livingston, who would carry Golden State to the game one victory.

What was the biggest surprise out of this entire basketball game was the fact that the All-Star back court that has been so good all year, turned in its weakest performance of the playoffs. It drove head coach Steve Kerr crazy. No matter. The rest of Steve Kerr’s roster plowed forward as if nothing was the matter. It really was a thing of beauty, depending on how you look at it, that there was such one-sidedness in the battle of the supporting cast. Cleveland's best players outplayed that of Golden State. Kyrie Irving had 26 points to lead all scorers. Lebron dropped 23 points and Kevin Love chipped in 17 points. The high powered big three for Golden State wasn't as effective. Klay Thompson had just nine points, Stephen Curry dropped eleven and Draymond Green dropped 16. Golden State's bench outscored their Cavaliers counterparts by a 45–10 margin, with Shaun Livingston scoring a season-high 20 points to double up Cleveland’s reserves all by himself. Livingston hit eight of his 10 shots, peppering the Cavaliers with his signature mid-range jumpers. All of this really started late in the basketball game.

Golden State held a four point lead at the end of the 1st quarter, which makes a statement that Cleveland was able to hang around. Golden State started to pull away in the 2nd quarter and went into halftime with a 52-43 lead. Then something happened. The wheels started to fall off a little bit for the Warriors. Cleveland managed to find their game a little bit in the 3rd quarter. They came out like a house of fire, played good defense and by the end of that 3rd quarter, the Cavaliers actually had a lead in the basketball game. Cleveland outscored Golden State 25-22 in the 3rd and carried a 74-68 lead into the final frame. You know things were going wrong for the Warriors when Steve Kerr shattered his white board in half with a karate chop, he was so angry.

Then the Warriors managed to flip the switch in the 4th quarter, thanks to Shaun Livingston. Golden State outscored Cleveland 30-21 in the final quarter. What sold it for the Warriors was, unlike against Oklahoma City, they were able to get more open looks against the Cavs. Yes I know Curry and Thompson both struggled in game one but the Warriors bench more than made up for it. With Cleveland, they got the huge start from their big boys, but their bench disappeared, which is something that hadn't really happened during the first three rounds of the playoffs. Offensively, a no-show from J.R. Smith (three points on 1-of-3 shooting in 36 minutes) and most of his bench, including Channing Frye and Matthew Dellavedova, made it easier for the Warriors to pay extra attention to James and Kyrie Irving without fear of reprisal.

Golden State did what all great teams do and they made adjustments on how to be able to contend with what the Cavaliers were doing in the 3rd quarter. A lot of credit is going to go to the Warriors offense, as it should. But at the same time the Golden State defense deserves credit as well. Golden State forced 17 Cleveland turnovers, which the Warriors turned into 25 points. Cleveland was making mistakes in the late stages of the game and Golden State capitalized all over it. Andre Iguodala was fantastic again on the defensive side of the ball, making life in the paint miserable for Cleveland in this basketball game.

Cleveland did a fairly good job of keeping the Splash Brothers in check. But if they want to have a chance to steal game two of the series, which is Sunday night in Oakland, they need to cut down on turnovers, move the ball better, knock down open shots, limit Golden State’s easiest opportunities. Easier said than done I know, but that will be the focus of the Cavaliers heading into Sunday night!

Conor Sheary Overtime Heroics

Every once in a while, a hero will emerge in the playoffs from a most unlikely source. It can be a goalie making a big save at the right time, it could be a big gun scoring when its needed most. In this case it was a kid playing in his first season in the big league that proved to be the difference. Conor Sheary found the back of the net three minutes into overtime to give the Penguins a 2-1 win and a 2-0 lead in the series heading back out West.

Everything started off on pretty even footing. San Jose actually found their skating legs early in this hockey game, something that they didn't really manage to do in game one. Pittsburgh still held an 11-6 advantage in shots in the opening period, but San Jose hung around and made a game of it. Both starting goalies, Matt Murray of the Penguins and Martin Jones of the Sharks, had to be good at the start. San Jose forward Tomas Hertl had the best chances for the Sharks, ringing a puck off the post on three different occasions in that opening period alone. San Jose got their chances early, but weren't able to connect and find the back of the net. So we headed into the opening intermission without a goal being scored.

To the 2nd period we go, things opened up a lot more. Pittsburgh once again took control of the hockey game, outshooting the Sharks 12-5 in the middle frame. Martin Jones had to make some fantastic saves, really keeping the Sharks in the hockey game. It's been pretty well documented that the "HBK" line has been really clicking for the Penguins all playoffs. They struck again in the 2nd period.  San Jose had trouble holding onto the puck leading to the Penguins goal. Roman Polak of the Sharks lost the handle on the puck, but got it back. He tried passing it ti Brenden Dillon, but Dillon got stripped of the puck by Carl Hagelin who gave it to Nick Bonino, who fired the puck on goal. The shot was tipped by a diving Polak, who tried to re-direct the puck away. He defelcted it but right to a crashing Kessel, who tapped the puck into the open cage at the 8:20 mark of the middle frame to give the Penguins the 1-0. For Kessel, it was 10th of the playoffs.

Moving into the 3rd period, San Jose finally found there skating legs again. The Sharks controlled the play, outshooting the Penguins 9-6 in the final frame. Scoring chances were abound for both teams, with each one hitting a goal post in the final frame. Malkin hit one for the Penguins, and Joe Pavelski rang one off the pipes for San Jose. The Sharks finally broke through with 4:05 left in the hockey game when Justin Braun bagged his first goal of the playoffs. It was a slapper from the top of the circle that beat Murray high over the glove. Murray never saw the shot, as he had bodies in front of him. Keep that fact in mind. Nobody else scored again and we went to overtime.

For the fifth time in the last six years, game two of the finals went into overtime. It took two minutes and thirty five seconds for this to happen:


For Conor Sheary, it was his fourth goal of the playoffs. Same thing happened on this goal that it did on the Braun goal, the goalie never really saw the shot, as they had bodies in front of the net. Pittsburgh now has a 2-0 series lead heading back to San Jose for game three on Saturday.

As mentioned before, this was the fifth time in the last six years that game two went to overtime:
2016 – SJS 1 at PIT 2 (Conor Sheary, 2:35 of OT)
2014 – NYR 4 at LAK 5 (Dustin Brown, 10:26 of 2OT)
2013 – BOS 2 at CHI 1 (Daniel Paille, 13:48 of OT)
2012 – LAK 2 at NJD 1 (Jeff Carter, 13:42 of OT)
2011 – BOS 2 at VAN 3 (Alexandre Burrows, 0:11 of OT)

Since the Final went to the best-of-seven format in 1939, teams that have taken a 2-0 series lead have gone on to capture the Stanley Cup 89.8% of the time (44 of 49 series), including each of the past two instances (2012 and 2014, LAK).