Unnecessary Hitting in the NHL

        Over the past few weeks in the NHL, there have been some incredibly unacceptable hits by two repeat offenders. It comes as no surprise to me that this first suspension was given to Patrick Kaleta. Kaleta, who has been suspended 6 times in the last 4 seasons, has been suspended for 10 games on an illegal hit to the head on Jack Johnson. He will also be fined.

        It amazes me that someone who has been in the league for a while now, and has been suspended so many times, that he doesn't learn from his suspensions, and doesn't stop doing what he is doing. Kaleta, is supposedly one of the most annoying players in the NHL, and perhaps is one of the biggest "goons" in the NHL as well. What he is doing has to stop, because if he ends up doing it again, he could seriously put someone's NHL career in jeopardy. If he commits an act like this again, he should be thrown out of the league, in my opinion. This video below is Kaleta's hit on Jack Johnson.

   
         The next player who will receive a suspension and fine is Maxim Lapierre. He hit Dan Boyle from behind the other night, which made Boyle lay helplessly on the ice, and having to be carried off on a stretcher. Lapierre is also a repeat offender, who has been in the league for a while, as well.

         Lappiere, who has been in the league longer than Kaleta, should by now have learned his lesson, and not do what he did to Boyle. He knew better not to hit Boyle from behind. Lapierre is also known as a league "goon". He is definitely a possible threat to NHL players, and like Kaleta, he should be given a serious punishment to try and put an end to his unsportsmanlike play. The NHL does not deserve these types of players in the league, and both Lapierre and Kaleta should both clean up their act. The video below shows the hit Lapierre had on Boyle.

Alex Ovechkin, Possible MVP Repeat?

     

Ovechkin (28 years Old), has already won 3 league MVP's

       Alex Ovechkin has already gotten off to a hot start at the beginning of the 2013-2014 NHL season. He is tied for the league leading 9 points, and is in second place with 6 goals in only 6 games played. Last year, Ovechkin won his third MVP last season with a late season surge. He scored 32 goals last season and had 24 assists in a 48 game season. He tied the amount of goals he scored in a full 2010-11 season.

       The season still may be young, but for Ovechkin, anything is possible. With three MVP awards already under his belt, and only at age 28, Ovechkin still has a lot left in his tank. He definitely has enough to win at least one more MVP.

 

Ovechkin, is tied for the league lead in points. (9 points)

        In my opinion, Ovechkin doesn't have a lot of talent to help him out with his goals. He may have Niklas Backstrom to assist him, but other than that, he doesn't have really anybody to help him out with his goals. He is basically getting all of his goals by himself, without much help.

       Ovechkin may be an all star player; however, the team he is on is not that good. The Washington Capitals may have some talent, but their record doesn't show that. After 6 games played, the Capitals have 2 wins and 4 losses. If the Capitals keep this up, they definitely won't make the playoffs.

       Ovechkin may look strong now, but there's a possibility that he could cool down in the next couple of games. But knowing Ovechkin, that is out of the question for him. Ovechkin is always going be scoring this season, and that's why he has a really good chance win the league MVP for his 4th time, and his second year in a row.
 

Can Someone Help me Figure This Out?

   

          I've been watching the bruins first three games of the season now, and something really frustrating has stuck out to me. The Bruins star second line made up of Jarome Iginla, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic have been not producing at all! Now this may be just me, but I looked at the lines combined stats for the past 3 games, and they have combined stats for only one goal, and 4 assists. Now don't get me wrong, the season is still very young, but this is the Bruin's first line for the power play. They are expected to produce, and in my opinion, they haven't at all. Jarome Iginla hasn't even contributed to any goals or assists for the Bruins at all. He has ZERO points. Now, I may just be an overreacting, avid Bruins fan, who is just getting too ahead of himself, but I don't think I am. When I watch this second line, it seems that they just aren't gelling at all. They don't connect with their passes at all. They just look plain slow. I may be a bit hard on them, but c'mon. You're the second line, and first line for the power play for the Stanley Cup runner up Boston Bruins! You may be held to high expectations, but you have to produce! That's my opinion, I may be wrong, so I would like to hear other's as well.

Amazing 4 goal Rookie Performance

        

       San Jose Sharks rookie forward, Tomas Hertl, had an amazing performance last night against New York Rangers. With the total of four goals last night, capping off a 9 to 2 victory, Hertl is now seen by everyone as a possibility for winning Rookie of the Year. He schooled all star goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, twice on a deke and a one timer. He capped off his night with an amazing goal, shooting the puck between his legs, picking the upper left corner of the net. This could possibly be the goal of the year. Hertl, who is 19 years old, is the youngest player to score 4 goals since 1988 (Jimmy Carson, 19 years, 254 days). Hertl was the first star of the game. All you could see on his face was a ear to ear smile all night long. 

        Fantasy-wise, after last night, Hertl went from being owned by 3 percent of teams, to 63 percent of the teams. This is a once in a life time performance by an amazing rookie. If Hertl keeps up this production, he could easily win rookie of the year, and possibly MVP. Hertl will definitely be watched closely the rest of the season, to see if he is the real deal. He probably won't have another performance like this for the rest of the season, but after scoring these four goals, he's a confident young hockey player, and has the potential to be one of the best players in the NHL. He now leads the league with 6 goals, so anything is possible. This video shows the four goals he had last night against the Rangers.

NHL Biggest Hits 2013

      With the first week of the NHL season underway, there have been many highlights so far. One of favorite highlights for everyone is hitting. There are at least a few players who do get "wrecked" every week. Because the NHL season is still young, there isn't a video yet on the "biggest hits" of the 2014 NHL season; however, I did manage to find a video from last year. Every hit shown in this video is perfectly legal. It just so happens that these hits were conducted with perfect form, and with the use of great strength. Drew Doughty is seen twice in this video, with both hits included in the top 5 of last season. 

     Studies have shown that NHL players are 20 percent smaller than football players, but their hits are 17 percent harder than football players. Hitting isn't used as showing off, trying to "wreck" people all the time. It is used as a tool to move the opponent of the puck. Most hits aren't that eye catching, but it just so happens that some the hits shown on these videos involve a bit more bone crunching hits. Most people think that the biggest hits happen on the boards, but in this video, most of the hits happen in the open ice. These hits are the hardest ones to actually perform. The only time you can perform this hit is when the opposing players has his head facing down. If you want to see more top 10 videos on my blog, just let me know, but for now enjoy the 2012-2013 NHL season's biggest hits.

Sergei Bobrovsky: The Real Deal?

         Last year's Vezina Trophy winner, Sergei Bobrovsky, now enters the 2013-2014 NHL season with high expectations to uphold.  Because last season was really only half a season, many people seem to question whether Bobrovsky can continue his amazing goal tending for a full season, rather than just a half. Well, there are many factors that go into a prediction like this. Bobrovsky will have to remain more in shape this season, and take care of his body even more, for there are twice the amount of games this season than last season, so playing in net will be more physically strenuous for Bobrovsky, who will probably play in several games a week, for a seven month season. That takes a lot out of someone and it wears the body down. This is the first full season  Bobrovsky will be a starting goalie for a team, for he had been the backup on previous teams, so he will get a lot more starts than he is used to. 

         I believe Bobrovsky may be able to put up the same numbers like last season for the first half of the season, but after the all star break, Bobrovsky may have some trouble putting up the same numbers as the first half of the season, due to the physical strain and wearing down from the body. He definitely will get more wins this season than last season, not just because its a longer season, but because he has a better offense. Unlike last season, Bobrovsky could get away with giving up 3 or 4 goals in a game, and still getting the win, because of his better offense this season. Last season, Bobrovsky got most of his wins getting either shutouts, or giving up only 1 to 2 goals a game. That will not be the case this season.

         In conclusion, will Bobrovsky put up another Vezina trophy winner season? Probably not. He is still an extremely good goalie, however with being a starter for his first full season, and playing twice as many games this season, I just can't see Bobrovsky putting up numbers as good as last season due to the physical strain and wearing down of the body.