Most of the NHL employs some manner of 1–3–1 power-play system where there is a single defender at the top of the formation either distributing the puck down low or shooting from the point. Whether in fantasy hockey or just plain old watch the games for fun hockey, these solitary…

I was watching Game 3 of the 1987 Canada Cup between the Soviet Union and Canada; because well, we have no live hockey and I wanted to watch something vintage. At some point in the first period the Soviets took a penalty, sending Team Canada to the power-play. …

Expansion Hockey Brackets: Quarantine Edition It feels like it’s been about a million days since we’ve had hockey, and everyone is making brackets to pass the time and maintain their sanity, so I figured I’d make one too. …

Far too often the Norris Trophy is awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman as sort of a lifetime achievement award, partly because defensive play has been notoriously hard to evaluate and partly because I guess we can’t give the award to Erik Karlsson every year. The lifetime achievement types have…

The Tampa Bay Lightning finished the regular season with 128 points with a (62–16–4) record. It’s been over 20 years since the NHL has seen this sort of regular season dominance; when the 95–96 Detroit Red Wings finished with 131. Tampa was so much better than the rest of the…

I previewed this event last year and it’s that time of year again, where, for two weeks out of the calendar year, much of the hockey world turns its eyes to its young stars of tomorrow for the U-20 World Junior Hockey Championship. Last year in Buffalo, Carter Hart backstopped…

The Nashville Predators have indisputably the best quartet of defenders in the league. I still contend this is true even after the San Jose Sharks acquired Erik Karlsson last week. All four members are returning from the previous season, ensuring that there won’t be any growing pains getting used to…

The older I get, the more I realize that my movie references go right over people’s heads. I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of the day talking to teenagers-ahh, the life of a teacher and a coach. Everyone’s going to recognize this one, though. If you’re over…

If there is any division in hockey that flies under the radar, it’s the Pacific Division. Not because the quality of play is poor, but because the damn games almost always start at 10pm Eastern time, with an occasional 10:30 thrown in there for reasons unknown. Any time a great…