John Tavares lifts Isles to playoff berth

John Tavares vs. Rangers' goalie - Robert Kowal - flickr.com

The New York Islanders have been plagued by bad luck for the past six years. After surprisingly making it to the playoffs in 2007, the Isles went back into a slump in which they wouldn’t make the playoffs for six years. This year, they were able to clinch the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and played the top seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Islanders went 8-0-3 in the month of April in order to earn a playoff berth. Only one of their three losses were in regulation, showing the resilience and determination of the young team. One player in particular who helped the Isles play astoundingly in April was John Tavares.

Tavares was drafted first overall in the 2009 draft from the London Knights. In his first two years his play wasn’t as consistent as it was in London. This year he has shown that he is an elite center and a contender for the Hart Trophy.

Tavares played 48 games in the regular season, ranking first in games played and in those games he scored 28 goals, constantly helping the team be competitive. He finished third in goals scored, only behind Alex Ovechkin and Steve Stamkos. Tavares is among the elite scorers of the league. Some may argue he’s only good at scoring, but he’s fifth overall in goals created which makes him a diverse offensive player. The one thing that Tavares must work on is his maturity level, as a 22-year-old he must gain experience and help the younger Islanders.

"We just keep getting better and that's the exciting part for us. We didn't seem to put any of our focus on the outside, we just worried about in here, the belief in here and knowing that when we play our game, we're a tough team to play against, no matter who we're playing,” said Tavares in a New York Newsday article.

Tavares is able to lead the team when he is on the ice due to his tenacity and heart. He can score in the first few minutes of the game or in overtime.  With Tavares playing well, the Islanders can be a top contender for the championship next season.

The two faces of social media

Social media is a convenient way to talk to others and stay connected even if you are miles away from them. It is great tool and people all over the world use it everyday, but athletes have to be on their guard whenever they post something. Social media can turn the player's life upside down in a second, but if the they learns how to use it effectively it will be one of their greatest weapons.

With amazingly fast internet speeds and fans that follow the player 24/7, any information the player releases will spread over the internet within a few minutes. A single misinterpreted post can lead to a world of trouble for athletes and it will usually end up in losing popularity.

Keeping feelings inside is actually not as easy as it looks especially when you are furious at someone else. A player may lose a game and just flip out on the other team and post insulting comments. Even if they just yell something insulting. someone in the stands might be recording the game and even post what they heard. Players have to be careful of what they say and post both on and off the field.

In high schools and colleges, the school and the coach will try to limit the use of social media. They aren't trying to stop the use of social media, but they will so what they can to stop it from becoming a problem. "We don't want to dictate to them what they can do on a daily basis," Coach Steve Pederson from Pittsburgh University said. "These are smart, young people we are dealing with. We just try to educate them on making good decisions, how to make good judgments."
 
In certain cases athletes are to download an app that allows the school/coach to see what they have been posting online. If something inappropriate is found on the athlete’s page he/she is usually asked to immediately take it down. Sometimes the coach will even take away the athlete’s privilege to use social media and ban him/her from using it at all.
 
Social media plays a huge role in an athlete’s life as it can both hurt and help him/her. Depending on how well the athlete can manage social media he/she can become more popular without any trouble. Kevin Long, the CEO of MVP Sports Media Training and U Diligence said "If it's not something that would be OK with your mother if someone sent her a link to what you wrote, then there is probably a better way of saying or not saying it at all.” Social media can be a helpful tool or it can be a life changing problem depending on how you look at it, but as long as athletes are smart and careful they won’t have any trouble using social media.

San Jose Sharks: No chance at all!

The San Jose Sharks started out with a high chance of winning against the St.Louis Blues. They had the first win in the series and led 1-0. Maybe they were just lucky because in the next game the Blues tied the series at 1-1. As the series, went on any chance of winning for the Sharks perished.

In Game 3 at the Compaq Center at San Jose, the Blues won with a score of 4-3 and took the lead at 2-1. The Sharks, at this point in the series, still had a likely chance to catch up with the Blues and win. A few days later, they lost another home game to the Blues.

A loss is a loss, but the most humiliating thing for any team in sports is to lose when they are playing home. This was humiliating for the Sharks because out of the five games they played with the Blues, two were home games and they had lost in both.

At this point in the series the Blues were leading at 3-1 and they only needed one more win to move to the next round. The Sharks just simply had no chance. The Blues went to take the win at the last game in the Scottrade stadium.

The Sharks were dominated and slaughtered by the Blues and lost the series at 4-1. A few reasons why they lost is the poor offense and lack of teamwork. They had a good defense over the St.Louis Blues and did not allow them to score that many points, but they lacked offense and were not able to penetrate the Blues defense and score points. The main reason why the Sharks lost was because they traded Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi in separate off-season deals to Minnesota. Too bad for the Sharks, but there's always next year.

Philadelphia Flyers is on their way to winning the Stanley Cup

Philadelphia Flyers - Rhys Asplundh - flickr.com

The Philadelphia Flyers concluded their first round series by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of their series on Sunday, April 22. The Flyers have a high chance of winning the Stanley Cup this year. 

In the series, the Flyers scored a remarkable 30 goals. In two different games the Flyers scored eight goals. Claude Giroux had six goals and Danny Briere had five goals. All of the players contributed to the game, leading to the series victory.

Even though the defense for the Flyers was not as strong because Chris Pronger and Andrej Meszaros were injured and Nicklas Grossmann was eventually knocked out with a concussion, they managed to succeed. During Game Six the defense blocked many of the Penguins' shots.

The Flyers set an amazing record by scoring 12 power play goals in this series. They had an outstanding average of two goals per game. The Flyers converted 50 percent of their power play chances, which is the most out of any other playoff teams. They also added three shorthanded goals.

Even though the games after this series are going to be tough because Grossmann is injured,  the Flyers can get through this and work hard to win the Stanley Cup this year.  

Predators preying for first Stanley Cup in franchise history

Predators' goalie Pekka Rinne- flickr.com- Photo Taken by Robert Claypool

All around the United States, and Canada, people are tuning in to the hockey games this season. The popularity of hockey has risen, with the thrilling game series and underdogs winning at this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. “The game has never been more popular, nor seemed so out of control,” Jim Litke of the Associated Press said in a recent column on MSN.com.

After crushing the Detroit Red Wings 4-1, the Nashville Predators seems like a legitimate contender to winning the NHL championship. Pekka Rinne, the goalie of the Predators, is undoubtedly playing his best game during the most important time of the season. During the first round, the goalie had stopped 35 or more shots from the Red Wings. Also stepping his game up is rookie Gabriel Bourque who scored three of the 13 goals scored by the team during the whole round. With these young talents, the Predators has an advantage of less chance of their players being fatigued.

For most of the round, the Red Wings had most of the possession of the puck, but the Predators came to win the series 4-1. The Predators take their opportunities and use them wisely. The Predators are also first in the whole league in power play percentage. Their next opponent is the Phoenix Coyotes. During their last meet, Predators beat the Coyotes 5-4. The Predators also have six more wins during the season compared to the Coyotes, outscoring them 13-9. The Predators should come in the series confident that they can win the the second round.

After beating the Coyotes, the Predators are likely to play the St. Louis Blues in the Conference Finals. The Predators managed to win Game three against the Red Wings with only 17 shots, and that's just spectacular. Although their Finals opponent seems unclear at the moment, the Predators seem to be on top of everything.It is likely that the Predators will win the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although they have some disadvantages as a team such as lack of experience, it seems as they're ready to win a championship for the first time in franchise history. "Nashville's depth, balance and basic lack of weaknesses makes them my pick to win this year's Stanley Cup," said Timothy Rapp in a Bleacherreport.com article.

Philly's Flyers soaring to the top

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Danny Briere #48- flickr.com- Rhys Asplundh

With a fantastic win over their cross town rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers are moving quickly to the Stanley Cup finals. The Flyers won the series 4-2. After winning three straight, they lost two and won their last game to move on to the Conference Semi-finals. Their key players have been playing well and their postseason success looks bright.

The Penguins led the season in most points scored and are widely known for their fantastic goal scoring and offensive prowess; they entered the playoffs at a record of 51-25-6. Sidney Crosby, a Penguin center, led the league in assists and is fifth in goals scored. The Flyers are known to have goal tending difficulties which was their downfall after three games. They finished the season at 47-26-9.

The Penguins got out to a great start in game one with a score of 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Flyers came out blazing on the ice and scored three goals to tie it up and send the game to overtime. During overtime, the Flyers scored a goal and won the game 4-3. In game two, the Penguins once again came out the locker rooms to gain an early advantage. At the end of the first period, the Penguins were up 3-1, but by the end of the second, the Flyers tied up the game at four. The third period is where the Flyers rallied and dominated the game. They scored four goals in the third period while the Penguins only scored one. The final score was 8-5 and the Flyers won their second game where the Penguins scored the first goals. At the end of the first two games, the Flyers scored 20 goals, more than enough to cancel out the 12 goals that goalie Ilya Bryzgalov gave up.

Game three was a game of penalties because there was 38 penalties that added up to 158 penalty minutes. Jordan Staal scored almost four minutes into the first period but the Flyers responded and had a 4-2 lead after the first period and a 6-4 advantage after the second. it took Claude Giroux all of 27 seconds to score and give the Flyers a 7-4 lead. Giroux's goal gave him a Gordie Howe hat trick in Game 3 after he had six points in Game 2. Maxime Talbot scored the final goal in the game and the Flyers went on to lead the series 3-0.

Games four and five were both similar in the fact that the Flyers defense did not show up. The defense wasn't there and the high scoring Penguins took advantage of the goalies. In game four, the Penguins outscored the Flyers 10-3, and game five they did it 3-2. The series was tied up 3-2 and the Penguins had a chance to make an upset victory, but the Flyers held out and won the game 5-1 and the series 4-2.

The Flyers are one of three teams to make it to the semifinals so far. They took down the giant Penguins and are on a roll going into the next round. The Flyers were doubted because of their bipolar goal tending abilities. Although they lack defense, they have a lot of offensive weapons that could step up, especially Giroux. "When the best player in the world comes up to you and says, 'I don't know who you plan on starting tonight, but I want that first shift,'" Peter Laviolette, head coach of the Flyers, said, "that says everything you need to know about Claude Giroux." As long as the Flyers can stay away from a lot of penalties, they can make it to the Stanley Cup finals and win the coveted trophy.

NHL’s new social media policy for players

The National Hockey League enforced a new policy approved by the National Hockey League Players’ Association, restricting the use of social media applications by its players. Taking effect for the 2011-2012 season, the policy includes a social media blackout period that starts two hours before the game, lasting until are post-game interviews are over.
The policy was created in order to make sure certain information isn’t leaked out to the public, as well as false information that could go against the NHL’s league rules. It was also made to prevent people from betting on the game using information that is not approved. Players are asked to be cautious of what they post online. Failure to follow the policy would result as a fine to the player. “The policy is sensible. It lets our players and clubs participate substantially in the opportunity of social networking while identifying and mitigating some of the risks. To date, our players and clubs have been exemplary in connecting with fans on social networks, and fans should not expect to see any material difference as a result of this policy," said Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on a CbsSports.com article.
The National Football League and the National Basketball Association have been using this policy for about two years. Major League Baseball has been using a social media policy for a shorter time. The NHL was one of the last leagues to implement a social media policy because they felt that their players don’t engage into social media, as much as the players from the other league.
One of the most active tweeters in the NHL, Paul Bissonnette, a left winger for the Phoenix Coyotes, does not seem to have a problem with it. “People asking about NHL’s new policy on Twitter. I think it’s good. I don’t even play much and I don’t tweet on game days. Plenty of off days,” he said to TheStar.com. New York Islander Michal Grabner also tweeted, “Heard there will be a social media policy in the NHL ... good thing most our my tweets are about food, napping or video games #dontwanttobefined.”
Though a policy has been administered, there should not be any changes in the way players communicate with the use of social media. Players are restricted from revealing certain information; however the public will continue hearing from them.

Why I like ice hockey

LeBlanc vs. Ponich/ArtBrom/Wikimedia Commons

1. Fighting: It is awesome because fighting is legal. Seeing a hockey match with a fight is like getting a 2-for-1 deal because you see a great (and funny) fight that involves two grown men trying to maintain their balance by grabbing each other's jersey with one hand and trying to rock the other person with the other. Furthermore, fighting in other sports, such as football, is highly illegal and looked down upon, where a fight on the field is a fineable offense of up to $50,000. In hockey, getting into a fight results in a five minute penalty in the penalty box, nothing more.

2. Energy: Being in Madison Square Garden during a big rivalry game, such as the Rangers vs. the Islanders is defeinitely a thing of beauty. There is more energy and "bad blood" in that building than any other event at Madison Square Garden. It is so intense that at times, you actually could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

3. Sudden Death Overtime: There is no time limit, and points are difficult to score. In soccer, you know that even if the game stays tied at the end of the overtime period, there is a shootout to determine the winner. Hockey is the opposite, where overtime ends only when someone scores. The stakes are high and the intensity higher. In basketball, there is a time limit and you do have a feeling when the game will end, regardless of who the winner is. In hockey, that feeling does not exist, as a split second separates complete jubilation and the sickening emptiness of defeat.

Stanley Cup at the NHL Hall of Fame/Wikimedia Commons

4. Integrity: Hockey is one of the only sports where most players are not paid an arm and a leg to play. In basketball, Kobe Bryant gets paid upwards of $20 million a year, regardless of whether or not he wins a playoff ring. Hockey players do not get paid that much, and they are mainly in it for the glory of becoming a Stanley Cup holder. Not only do they want to hold the Stanley Cup, they will do whatever it takes to win. They will block the puck with any body part, take big hits from large men, play with broken bones and deep bruises like it is nothing, all because of their desire to win.

In a recent playoff game, Ryan Smyth, a forward for the Edmonton Oilers, was hit in the face with a puck and lost several teeth. If this happened to a basketball or baseball player, they surely would not play for the rest of the game, and skip a few games/practices because of the pain and damaged image. In Smyth's case, the referee scooped the teeth off the ice, and within five minutes Smyth came back on the ice all stitched up and ready to play. They have an extremely high pain threshold, showing their determination and dedication to the sport they love to play.

5. Image: A hockey player's is against most of society's standards. In hockey, the more missing teeth you have, the more dedicated you are, and as a player you wear your lack of teeth with pride. Same thing with all the bruises and the deformed bones and cartiledge. In a society where everyone is into getting plastic surgery to fix the most minor mistakes and lacerations, I find it to be inspiring that NHL players live above the influence, ignore society pressure and ignore what is implied that they have to do.