NHL Thumbs Up And Down

The NHL season is a quarter of the way done. At least 20 games have been played for most of the NHL teams. Is it safe to say that teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack? We’ve all been waiting for the other shoe to drop and see if teams are contenders or pretenders. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case so far. Let’s take a look at some of those teams.

Thumbs Ups

New York Islanders

Oh those Islanders. Traditionally a bad team, dwelling in the basement of the division, laughing stock of the league along with the Florida Panthers in previous seasons. Not this year, it appears. The team is sustaining their success . After their recent home and home sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Islanders find themselves tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division. A healthy John Tavares, players providing support such as Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelson, Frans Nielson, scoring from the blue line which includes Johnny Boychuck, Nick Leddy, and stability in net with Jaroslav Halak and Chad Johnson, it’s making for a very happy last season for the fans on Long Island. Since November 5, the Islandrs are 9-1, including two separate multiple game winning streaks. And their wins have been over Stanley cup contenders which include; Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Penguins. It doesn’t matter if a team is in the Eastern or Western Conference, the team is showing they can make some noise and unafraid to play with the big boys. Meanwhile, general manager Garth Snow is looking like a genius right now and making the doubters eat crow.

Montreal Canadiens

“Il est temps!” It’s time to show some love to the Habs. They’ve had a great start to their 2014-2015 campaign. Fiery, energetic, and team-oriented, this team could be the front-runner to go all the way. You have to like what this team brings every night: speed, imagination, and an arrogance that other teams may shy away from when stepping on the same ice. It stems from their head coach Michel Therrien. His image is infuriating, but effective, and the team feeds off of that. Since November 10, the Habs are 8-2 including convincing wins over the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins, shutting both out on home ice while scoring at least four goals. Perhaps, their most satisfying wins have been over the rival Boston Bruins . They are 2-0 against the Bruins facing them twice in their past 10 games, including a win Saturday night. With the calmness of Carey Price in net, and the flamboyant play of P.K. Subban, and veteran leadership up front, coupled that with a big home-ice advantage at the Bell Centre, that’s a recipe for success.

Thumbs Down

Toronto Maple Leafs

What can you say about the Leafs that hasn’t already been spoken yet? Last week was a whirlwind of news coming from Toronto. Both good and bad. First, there was another jersey tossed ontot he ice (didn’t we just write about that earlier this month?). Second there was an embarrassing, blowout loss to the Nashville Predators 9-2 on home ice, where a beach ball could have be tossed at the net and it would have made it through. Third, there was the so-called “snub” of the fan salute after a 5-2 win over the Lightning. Fourth, there was the reaction from fans, players, and media (which we won’t get into). Wow, ok, that was a mouthful. That is just bad press for a team and city that leaves and breathes hockey. I saw both sides being wronged. However, there was good news. First, a feel good moment came from the Toronto fans. Before the Nashville Predators game, the fans at the Air Canada Centre did the unthinkable. They finished the U.S. National Anthem, word for word. For further details, click on this link for the article written by our own Adam Savard. Second, the Leafs are on a two-game winning streak with their win Saturday night 4-1 over another Original Six team the Detroit Red Wings. And yes, the Leafs saluted their fans. Guess you could say the team and its fans kissed and made up that night. See not all things are bad coming out of Toronto. But it will be interesting to see moving forward what will happen if the struggles resurface?

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Thumbing Our Noses

Boston Bruins-Milan Lucic

Well, well, the baddest Bruin of them all got his clock rung. In a Friday Night Fight in the most untraditional of ways, Milan Lucic was layed out with one punch from Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton prout Friday night. Afterwards, social media erupted prompting a much-anticipated rematch. The ugly part, Lucic downplayed the knockout instead of giving credit where credit was due. He turned the tables when he asked by NESN.com:

“I didn’t like it…But the good thing is we get to play them two more times, so…There’s (been) many a time that I could have done the exact same thing, and I held off because a guy’s refusing to drop his gloves…I find it to be gutless. That’s my thoughts on it.”

I’ll leave you with this video and you can make your own interpretations:

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