Blittner’s Blue Line: The Curse Of The Presidents’ Trophy

Hockeyology

by Matthew Blittner - April 2, 2024April 2, 20240

Eight! That’s it. Just eight! What’s eight you might ask? It’s the number of teams to win the Presidents’ Trophy AND The Stanley Cup in the same season. Eight out of 37. That’s approximately 22%. (21.6% if you want to be more precise). While those aren’t miniscule odds, they’re certainly not

Well Coached Lightning Make a Statement

Hockeyology

by Russ_Cohen - June 29, 2021June 29, 20210

Tampa - - The Tampa Bay Lightning beat down the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Nikita Kucherov, who had an injury last series seems completely over it! He had two goals and an assist. “We have a system. A plan and we stick to it.

Andrei Vasilevskiy Will Be The Reason Tampa Can Win Again

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by Russ_Cohen - June 27, 20210

Andrei Vasilevskiy was drafted 19th overall in 2012. I had the pleasure of covering his first NHL game. That was against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Lightning got a 3-1 win. During that game, I noted that he sparked the team. “I was very nervous. In a couple of moments, I

The 20 Best NHL Draft Values of the Decade

Hockeyology

by Russ_Cohen - December 28, 2019December 28, 20190

This is my list. The reader will surely think others are better and that’s fine. I had to project a few, and they aren’t in order. Here are the top 20 in my opinion: Ryan O’Reilly – 33rd overall in 2009 – Colorado – 532 points in 772 games and one

Andrei Svechnikov Could Light Up Buffalo

Hockeyology

by Russ_Cohen - December 26, 2017July 29, 20180

Andrei Svechnikov is a 2018 draft eligible star who currently plays for the Barrie Colts. He’s had quite the season even though he suffered a broken hand early on. In 16 games, he has 14 goals and 21 points. He was once thought of as the potential first overall selection

Like The Islanders, Tavares Goes Down Meekly

Hockeyology

by Leslie Monteiro - May 9, 2016May 9, 20160

This isn’t surprising the Islanders lost in their elimination game yesterday. What’s surprising is the way the Islanders and John Tavares played. They both laid down. There was no fight by both of them in the Islanders’ 4-0 loss to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals yesterday afternoon at Amalie Arena.

Reality is Setting in for the Islanders

Hockeyology

by Leslie Monteiro - May 7, 20160

It was déjà vu all over again for the Islanders. Just like Game 3, the Islanders had a victory snatched from the Lightning when Nikita Kucherov (who else!) tied the game in the third period of Game 4 last night. Just like Game 3, the Islanders lost in overtime last night

The Islanders Will Bounce Back

Hockeyology

by Leslie Monteiro - May 6, 2016May 6, 20160

Game 3 loss was disappointing for the Islanders. They had this game won with 38.4 seconds to go until Nikita Kucherov fired a shot that landed in the net that Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss had no chance of catching. That went to overtime, and the Islanders took a 4-3 loss

Islanders Punch Lightning In The Mouth and Take Game One

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by Russ_Cohen - April 28, 2016April 29, 20160

Leslie Monteiro liked what he saw from the underrated New York Islanders. The Tampa Bay Lightning found out the hard way that they are not playing the Red Wings anymore. They realized they are playing a team that is better defensively and offensively in the Islanders after last night. They also found