As a Pens fan, I occasionally like to st roke my own ego by reading about how amazingly the team is doing (admit it, we all do it with our teams of choice). But amidst the comment section for a post discussing Evgeni Malkin’s apparent birthright as league MVP this season, I read an interesting comment that got me thinking. I can’t remember the exact phrasing but the heart of it was this: Malkin’s absurdly strong team negates his personal […]
Cold as Ice
Cold as Ice: Knowing When To Call it Quits
The current saga of Peyton Manning, the surefire Hall of Fame quarterback who’s planning to continue his playing career despite a serious neck injury, certainly resonates with fans of the NHL. Not so much the specific injury, but the situation. When is the right time for an athlete to retire? The NHL has seen several versions of this scenario play out in recent years. Most notably, the case of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, the league’s best player, who has been out […]
Cold as Ice: The Nash Clash
The trade deadline has come and gone, and while I could summarize the comings and goings here, it would be rather redundant, since NHL.com has already assembled a fantastic chart to show how the teams have fared. If I had to pick which teams did the best, I’d probably say Vancouver in the West (they added some much needed grit) and Tampa in the East (if only because of how many trades they made, even if their draft pick fire sale could come […]
Cold As Ice: Goalies Face Unrelenting Pressure On and Off ice
Hockey is the ultimate team sport, but more often than not, a team’s fortunes rest on the last line of defense: The goalie. You need more than just a good goalie to win, but things get much tougher for your team if your goalie can’t stop the puck. As the NHL season moves into its stretch run and teams battle for playoff spots, every game is crucial and immense pressure is placed on goalies. Several goalies have had outstanding seasons […]
Cold as Ice: The Curious Case of Scott Gomez
Among all the numerous sports headlines last week (the birth of “Linsanity” , the ongoing Peyton saga, the record setting home victory streak by the Red Wings), it was easy to miss Montreal’s Scott Gomez and his game winning goal against the New York Islanders. It wasn’t particularly flashy, nor did it seal a particularly important game. What it did do, however, was snap Gomez’s calendar year long goal drought, which began on February 5, 2011. Scoring funks are nothing new […]
Cold as Ice: Gearing Up for the Trade Deadline
Cynics love to complain about how the NHL regular season is meaningless, but for teams battling for a playoff spot, every game from now until the end of the season is huge. Every night, teams shuffle up and down the standings fighting to finish in the top eight in their respective conferences. The season ends April 7, but a much more immediate date looms for many teams: the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 27. As a result, teams are busily […]
Cold as Ice: The Popblerd Rivalry, Part 2
For the vast majority of the NHL season, column writers Jay and I are on pretty good terms, following the action, dividing the writing, and commenting on the league’s many stories, players, and events. But for a few nights each season, the fellowship must be broken. And this week, it was rendered asunder for two straight days. Why? Because his Toronto Maple Leafs and my Pittsburgh Penguins met for a rare back-to-back series, one at each team’s arena. This is […]
Cold as Ice: The Popblerd Rivalry, Part 1
For the vast majority of the NHL season, column writers Jay and I are on pretty good terms, following the action, dividing the writing, and commenting on the league’s many stories, players, and events. But for a few nights each season, the fellowship must be broken. And this week, it was rendered asunder for two straight days. Why? Because his Toronto Maple Leafs and my Pittsburgh Penguins met for a rare back-to-back series, one at each team’s arena. This is […]
Cold As Ice: Oh Great, It’s The All-Star Game
The NHL is in the annual mid-season lull known as the All-Star break. It’s a time for the league to celebrate itself with a skills competition, fan festival and of course, the All-Star Game itself. There’s just one problem: The NHL All-Star Game sucks. The game is designed to highlight the best players in the NHL, but it inevitably looks nothing like an NHL game and more like a game of pond hockey. There’s no defense, no hitting and the […]
Cold as Ice: Midseason Review, Part 2
Believe it or not, half of the NHL season is officially behind us. To commemorate the milestone, and look at both things past and to come, Cold as Ice co-editors Stephen and Jay sat down to discuss the season so far. In part two, they talk about the Winter Classic (including HBO’s series 24/7), the growing concussion problems of the NHL, and our predictions for the second half. Stephen: Speaking of hockey’s growing popularity, the Winter Classic has really been […]
Cold as Ice: Midseason Review, Part 1
Believe it or not, half of the NHL season is officially behind us. To commemorate the milestone, and look at both things past and to come, Cold as Ice co-editors Stephen and Jay sat down to discuss the season so far. In part one, they talk about their biggest surprises, both among teams and players, as well as what to think about the recently announced and even more recently delayed realignment. Jay: Okay, cool. So it’s hard to believe we’re […]
Cold as Ice: Montreal Dealing With “Un Grand” Coaching Headache
It’s hard out here for a pimp. It’s even harder if you’re the new coach of the Montreal Canadiens and you can’t speak French. The Habs (aka “Les Habitants”) are the NY Yankees of hockey, with more Stanley Cup championships (24) than any other team by far (Toronto is next with 13). The franchise’s storied history is peppered with the exploits of legendary players like Rocket Richard, Bill Durnan, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Ken Dryden and Howie […]