The first round of the NHL came to an end on Wednesday. Every tournament features a plethora of major successes but also comes with a share of disappointments. Here is a look at some of the teams and players that really disappointed in the first round of the 2013-14 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The New York Islanders have acquired the rights to sign UFA goalie Jaroslav Halak. Is this a good or bad thing for the franchise? Here are the pros and cons of the trade.
The Philadelphia Flyers did all they could to overcome the NY Rangers, but came up short in the fateful Game 7. The team had a roller coaster season and now it is time to look at the highs and lows of the 2013-14 Philadelphia Flyers.
Back in 2003, the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild went to overtime in Game 7 of their first round series. The Wild won that game in what would be goalie Patrick Roy's final game as a player. Eleven years later, Roy faced the same outcome in his first season behind the Avalanche bench. Here is a look at the highs and lows of Colorado's promising 2013-14 season.
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has come to an end and it is now time to keep stock of which players lifted their teams in the first round and are the early Conn Smythe contenders for playoff MVP. Here are the top contenders in no particular order.
Year after year, the San Jose Sharks are christened as a favorite to compete for the Stanley Cup. But year after year they disappoint and wind up knocked out of the playoffs in some embarrassing manner. The team has only made the Conference finals three times in its history but has been eliminated in rather woeful manners each time. In 2003-04, the team was bounced by a lower seeded Calgary Flames side in six games. In 2009-10, the team was swept out of the Conference finals by the Chicago Blackhawks and a year later the Vancouver Canucks took them down in five games. But the playoff embarrassment does not end there. Perhaps the team's biggest fail (before this season) took place in 2008-09 when it won the President's trophy but was eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks; Anaheim won the first two games in San Jose and took three wins in the first four games of the series.
The Columbus Blue Jackets saw the best season of their career come to an end on Monday when the team was defeated 4-3 in game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Here is a look at the highs and lows of the team's season.
The St. Louis Blues were eliminated from the NHL playoffs on Sunday afternoon. The team had a 2-0 lead in the series against the defending Champions Chicago Blackhawks but managed to lose four straight; the team replicated the same feat a year ago when it had a 2-0 edge on the then defending champion Los Angeles Kings, but lost four straight. Here is a look at the highs and lows of the team in 2013-14.
The Dallas Stars returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007-08, but their stay was a short one as they were eliminated in six games by the Anaheim Ducks. Here is a look at the highs and lows of Dallas' season.
On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The elimination was just the second time the team was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round since 2006-07. Here are the highs and lows of Detroit's 2013-14 season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning became the first team to be eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs after losing their fourth straight game against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Here is a look back at the highs and lows of the Florida-based team in 2013-14.
The NY Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers head to the city of brotherly love on Tuesday in Game 3 of the series tied up at 1-1. The Rangers are said to have the edge in goal, as they possess arguably the best goalie in the world in Henrik Lundqvist. However, the team needs to avoid a lengthy series if they hope to get the most out of their franchise star.
The Montreal Canadiens look to not only win an NHL-high 25th Stanley Cup, but they are also attempting to break the longest Stanley Cup drought in Canada's rich hockey history.
On Monday, the Montreal Canadiens put the Tampa Bay Lightning on the ropes by winning game three and taking a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven series.
