Round 1 Winding Down: Caps Advance

The Washington Capitals defeated the New York Rangers yesterday by a score of 3-1 and go on to win the series 4 games to 1.  The Caps join the Detroit Red wings as the only other team so far to win their series.  Detroit swept Phoenix 4-0.

Andrew Ference Gives Canadiens an All-American Salute

Tonight the much heated Montreal-Boston series continued with an exhilarating 5-4 overtime comeback win for the Bruins. However tomorrow it won't be Michael Ryder's OT goal that the papers will be talking about. Instead it'll be this:

Bad-ass central.

After scoring a huge goal contributing to the comeback, defensive defenseman Andrew Ference simply flipped off the Montreal fanbase. In postgame interviews, Ference, apparently unaware that there are cameras at NHL games, claimed that it wasn't what it looked like and he merely tried to "fist pump"...

Fist pumpin' like a champ?

Right. Ference should expect a fine, but no suspension. I like Ference. He's not a bad guy and he brings a solid defensive game to a team, so its nice to see him score, even if he's such an... impulsive celebrator.

Jake's Take: Violence in the NHL

If you've been paying attention to the hockey world (I would assume you have considering the site) than you know of the unfortunate accident between Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty. As an objective fan of hockey and as someone who has played the sport for most of his life, I can tell you one thing I have learned throughout all of my experiences.

Shit happens.

It is a terribly unfortunate accident that Max Pacioretty broke a vertebra and may be out for the rest of the season, let alone his career, however, after watching the video countless times, Chara showed no intention of hitting Pacioretty into the meridian. It was an unfortunate circumstance that is all too familiar in hockey.


Which brings me to my next point.

Violence in the NHL sure has seemed to be getting a lot of attention in the NHL ever since the season hit midway through this year. Now, as some of you know, I am a die-hard Penguins fan. I love the team, the organization and just about everything about them. I’ve grown up with them; my father has grown up with them and as most of you know my brother has grown up with them. So, while I may have a few certain biases to the Penguins, I leave them at the door when I am either on Ice Talk or on this site. I tell you this because of the subject we’re on.

Make the jump for more of my take

Chara Thugs it Up in Montreal (UPDATED)

Tonight in the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, the Canadiens hosted the Boston Bruins for a much anticipated Original Six matchup, but with 20 seconds left in the second period the focus quickly shifted from the game at hand to the health of Montreal forward Max Pacioretty.

Boston captain Zdeno Chara delivered a controversial hit to Pacioretty in front of the Bruins bench which pushed the forward headfirst into the divider between the team benches.

The only question now is if Chara will face suspension, and if so, how many games could he miss? Personally, I don't think Chara had the full intention of putting Pacioretty into the divider, but still he is expected to be more responsible with his hitting as a captain and a respected veteran of the league.

UPDATE: Chara will receive no suspension or fine for the hit.

Habs Acquire Mara

Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens traded their 5th round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Paul Mara.

Mara hasn't played for the Ducks since January 18th and he became even more expendable since Anaheim traded for Francois Beauchemin.

All in all this trade doesn't mean too much.  You can check all the other trades to go down here.