Flying Forward: Weekly Preview 2/25/18-3/3/18

The Philadelphia Flyers look to continue extend their five game win streak this week as they take on some Eastern Conference opponents.

The Flyers start the week off with a rare Monday night game on the schedule. They will take on a disappointing Canadiens team in Montreal. On Thursday night, the Flyers return to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Philly will finish out the week on Saturday afternoon against the Lightning in Tampa Bay.

The Flyers will want to make sure that they establish the forecheck and cycle game early and often against the Canadiens. The Orange and Black will want to make sure that they take advantage of their power play opportunities since the Habs aren't exactly the best penalty killing team in the NHL. The Flyers will want to have a strong even strength game against Montreal since the team actually has a decent power play and can put some pucks in the net while on the man advantage. Philly should get some shots on goal since the rookie goalie will be starting tonight for the Habs.

The Canadiens have struggled mightily this year and have been one of the more disappointing teams in the League. They will want to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking because the Flyers have been finding ways to win games lately. The Habs should set the tone early whether it be physically or spending time in the offensive zone. Montreal wants to play discipline since they have a weak penalty kill, and the Flyers have good power play. The Canadiens need to play a consistent game and take advantage of being up a man on the ice since the Flyers have one of the worst penalty kills in the League.

On Thursday night, the Flyers take on Metropolitan Division foe, Carolina Hurricanes. The Orange and Black will need to play well at even strength, while still being discipline. Philly needs to take advantage of their power play opportunities since the Hurricanes seem to allow a lot of power play goals. The Flyers should use their speed to create chances and draw some penalties. The Orange and Black need to be aware of where Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho are on the ice since they are the leading point getters for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes will want to be discipline and not give the Flyers too many chances on the power play. Carolina needs its goaltender to have a big game and not allow any soft goals. The Canes should try to get the first goal of the game and keep putting the pressure on the Flyers since they will turn the puck over. The Hurricanes need to win the special teams battle if they want to have a chance at winning the game. Carolina should be aware of the speed and creativity of forward Travis Konecny and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who has killed them in his brief career.

Philly ends their week with an afternoon game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning. The Flyers will need to find a way to stop the balanced attack of the Lightning by spending some time in their offensive zone. The Orange and Black are going to want to play a solid road game and keep the defensive gap pretty small. Philly wants to make sure that they get a ton of traffic in front of the net for deflections and to take the goalie's eyes away from the puck. The Orange and Black want to limit their mistakes and get some solid goaltending.

The Bolts need to play with discipline since their one weakness has been the penalty kill this year. Tampa Bay should get the first goal of the game to keep the home crowd in the game and have the momentum. The Lightning want to win the special teams battle since both teams play a solid even strength game. The Bolts goaltender will need to make some big saves throughout the game and make the easy saves too. Tampa Bay is going to need to find a way to stop the balanced attack of the Flyers by making them defend in their own zone.

Sabres Slashes: Weekly Preview 2/11/18-2/17/18

The Buffalo Sabres will look to keep playing the role of spoiler and try to win some games against teams that are in the playoff race.

They may have to play some games without their leading scorer, Jack Eichel, who was injured in last night's game against the Boston Bruins. Eichel went to stop, lost his footing and went awkwardly into the boards. He left the game and did not return.

The Sabres have a busy week and will play four games in seven days. They'll start off the week against the Colorado Avalanche, who are battling for a playoff spot, but have been struggling lately. The Tampa Bay Lightning then come to town and that will be a tough game. The Sabres will then go to Ottawa to take on the Senators, who have been struggling all season long. Buffalo ends the week back at home to face the Los Angeles Kings.

Buffalo starts the week off against a struggling Avalanche. The Sabres are coming off of a big win against the Bruins, and need to ride the momentum of that win into this game. Buffalo could be without Jack Eichel, who was injured last night. The Sabres will want to get off to a fast start and try to get the first goal of the game. Buffalo needs to win the battle at even strength since the Avs penalty kill is one of the best in the League. The Sabres are going to need someone to step up if Eichel is out and that someone could be Ryan O'Reilly.

The Avalanche should take advantage of a weak penalty kill of the Sabres. Colorado needs to get the first goal of the game and have the lead entering the final period of the game. The Avs want to spend some time in the offensive zone so they should get the forechecking and cycling game early in the game. The Avalanche will want to keep an eye on Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane since they can really skate and put the puck in the net.

The Sabres will have to play their best game of the season if they want to take two points away from the Lightning. Buffalo needs to stop the balanced lineup of the Bolts, which includes Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman, by playing in the offensive zone. The Sabres will likely need the goaltender to have a spectacular game and steal the game for them. Buffalo should play with some discipline since they have one of the worst penalty kills in the League, while the Bolts have one of the  best power plays in the League. The Sabres need to use their speed to draw penalties, and take advantage of a weak penalty kill of Tampa Bay.

The Bolts will want to have a good start to the game and not play down to their opponent. The Lightning need to play their game and attack in the offensive zone. Tampa Bay should play with some discipline because the penalty kill is the one weak area of this team. The Bolts should try to force some turnovers for quality scoring chances. Tampa Bay is going to need to be aware of Rasmus Ristolainen when he is on the ice since he has started to pile up the points from the blue line. 

Buffalo will visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. The Sabres need to keep an eye on Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson when they are on the ice since the are two of the leading scorers for the Sens. Buffalo needs to set the tone early to take the home crowd out of the game. They'll need to get the forecheck and cycle game going early and often. The Sabres want to get off to a better start since they have been outscored by a wide margin in first period of games. Buffalo needs the goaltending to come up big since the Senators have some speed.

The Senators will need to play a 60 minute game, which has been difficult for the to do this season. Ottawa needs to win the battle at even strength since the Sabres have not been good in this area. The Sens will need to play with discipline since they don't have the best penalty kill in the League. The Senators will need to be aware of when Ryan O'Reilly and Sam Reinhart are on the ice since they both can produce. Ottawa wants to get the first goal of the game and build off of it.

The Sabres end their week with a visit from the Los Angeles Kings. Buffalo needs to get what they early in the game because the Kings tend to get better defensively as the game goes on. The Sabres need to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking. Buffalo will want to find a way to stop the top six forwards of the Kings, which include Anze Kopitar and Tanner Pearson. The Sabres need to find a way to force turnovers and take advantage of mistakes that the Kings make. 

The Kings need to get off to a better start and not give up too many goals in the first period. Los Angeles will want to find a way to get their power play going against one of the worst penalty kills in the League. The Kings need to keep an eye on Evander Kane when he is on the ice for the Sabres since he is one of the leading producers on the team. Los Angeles needs to win the battle at even strength and play a smart game by not making mistakes and turning the puck over. 

Rapid Review: All-Star Edition

It's that time of the year again where teams across the NHL go on their bye week, and the NHL announces its All-Star rosters. The game will once again be played in a 3-on-3 tournament to decide who wins the $1 million prize. As usual, every team must be represented by one player so there were definitely some snubs.

Here are the players selected for the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs.

1.) BUFFALO SABRES- JACK EICHEL

Jack Eichel being the lone All-Star representative for the Sabres was the easy and right choice. He will be on the Atlantic Division All-Star Squad. This is Eichel's first All-Star selection of his young career. He leads the Sabres with 17 goals, 22 assists and 39 points. The selection of Eichel was an easy one especially since the Sabres have been struggling and are one of the worst teams in the NHL.

2.) DALLAS STARS- JOHN KLINGBERG & TYLER SEGUIN

The Dallas Stars will have two representatives in Tampa Bay for the All-Star Game. This will be John Klingberg's first time at the All-Star game while Tyler Seguin gets the nod for the fifth time in his career. Klingberg leads all NHL defensemen with 39 points and is first on the Stars with 33 assists. Seguin leads the Stars in goals with 21 and points with 40. He is having another good year and is on pace for just under 80 points. Since being traded to Dallas, he has been nothing but consistent and has developed a nice chemistry with Jamie Benn.

3.) NASHVILLE PREDATORS- PETER LAVIOLETTE, PK SUBBAN & PEKKA RINNE

The Preds will be represented by two players and their coach. Peter Laviolette will coach the Central Division All-Stars, while PK Subban was the fan elected captain. Pekka Rinne has had an outstanding season for the Predators and will be an All-Star for the second time in his career. Subban is second on the Preds with 32 points while leading the team in assists with 23. Subban is ranked fourth among all NHL defenseman with 32 points and third in goals with nine. Rinne ranked eighth in save percentage, sixth in wins (21) and 10th in goals against average in the NHL.

4.) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS- CLAUDE GIROUX

The lone Flyers representative is their captain, Claude Giroux. The center moved to the left wing to start the season and it has paid off. He is 5th in the NHL in scoring with 52 points. Giroux leads the Flyers in points with 52 and is second on the team in assists (38) and goals (14). The forward is taking part in his fifth All-Star Game in his career. He should have been joined by, at least, one other teammate as Jake Voracek has 51 points, Sean Couturier is having a break out season and Shayne Gostisbehere has bounced back with 32 points, which is fifth among NHL defensemen.

5.) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING- JON COOPER, VICTOR HEDMAN, NIKITA KUCHEROV, STEVEN STAMKOS & ANDREI VASILEVSKIY

The Lightning have four players and one coach going to the All-Star game so the hometown fans will have plenty to cheer about. The Bolts are the best team in hockey so it makes sense that they are sending four players. Hedman has been outstanding on the defensive side of the puck and is a +24 while putting up some points (33). Kucherov leads the NHL in points (60) and goals (27). Stamkos has managed to stay healthy so far this year, and is a big part of the success of the Lightning. Vasilevskiy leads the NHL in wins (27), is second in save percentage (.933), and second in goals against average (2.10).

6.) TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS- AUSTON MATTHEWS

The lone player going for the Leafs is Auston Matthews. This is his second selection and he will be playing with the Atlantic Division All-Stars. Matthews hasn't had to be the man in Toronto this year so his numbers are a bit lower than most, but he has had help with the balanced scoring. He leads the Leafs in goals (19) and points (33).

Lightning Strikes: Weekly Preview 11/12/17-11/18/17

The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to continue their hot start to the season. They will finished their West Coast swing and then come home for two games.

The Bolts will finish up their West Coast swing when they face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night. They will then have three days off before facing the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. The Lightning finish off the week with a game at home against the New York Islanders.

Tampa Bay will face an Anaheim lineup that has been depleted by injury in the early season. The Bolts will need to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. The Lightning will need to stop the top six forwards of the Ducks since they do most of the damage on the offensive side of the puck for the team. Tampa Bay will need to get pucks on net with traffic in front. The Bolts will need to have a strong even strength game since the Ducks have a decent penalty kill. The Lightning will need to make quick decisions with the puck since the Ducks do block a lot of shot attempts.

The Ducks are going to need to stop the top line of the Lightning, who have combined for 77 points through 17 games so far this year. Anaheim is going to need to get some traffic in front of Tampa Bay's net to get some dirty goals on rebounds and second chances. The Ducks will need to be physical and establish a forecheck early in the game to spend some much needed attack time in the offensive zone. Anaheim needs to make sure that they have the lead after two periods since they don't have a regulation loss if they have the lead entering the third period. The Ducks will need to be aware of the Lightning defense joining the play in the offensive zone, which they have been know to do.

The Lightning have three days off before facing the Dallas Stars at home. The Bolts will need to figure out a way to keep Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin off the board since they have decent career numbers against the Lightning. Tampa Bay will need to play solid defense since the Stars can score and in bunches. The Lightning need to get the first goal of the game since the Stars play better with the lead as opposed to when they are trailing. The Lightning will also need to stay out of the penalty box since the Stars have the best power play in the League at 31.3%.

The Stars are going to need to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. Dallas will need to make sure that it plays a good even strength game, but also need to play stellar special teams like they have all season. The Stars are going to need to have the lead entering the third period since they don't have a third period comeback yet this year. Dallas will need to take advantage of a weak home penalty kill by the Lightning. The Stars need to figure out a way to stop the balanced attack of Tampa Bay.

The Lightning will take on the New York Islanders on Saturday night to end their week. Tampa Bay will need to get some traffic in front of the net because Jaroslav Halak has been very good this year. The Bolts will need to get the first goal of the game since the Isles are 5-0-0 when they get the first goal of the game, and 4-6-2 when the opposition scores first. Tampa Bay will need to be sure that they play a strong even strength game since the Isles are a good team when playing 5-on-5 hockey. The Lightning need to be area of when John Tavares is on the ice since he leads the team in points with 19.

The Isles need to get the first goal of the game since they are 5-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the game. New York needs to get off to a fast start and establish the cycle and forecheck game early to spend some time in the offensive zone. The Islanders need to stop the balanced attack of the Bolts. New York will need to find a way to slow down Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, who have gotten off to hot starts this season.

Lightning Strikes: Weekly Preview 10/8/17-10/14/17

The Tampa Bay Lightning picked a bad time to be struggling defensively with the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Vladimir Tarasenko coming to town. 

The Bolts will look to use the home crowd to is advantage this week. They'll take on the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues. 

The Lightning will try to slow down the red hot Alex Ovechkin, who has seven goals in two games to start the season. Evgeny Kuznetsov has assisted on all seven of Ovechkin's goals, so Tampa Bay is going to need to keep a close eye on the duo. They'll need to get traffic in front of the net because if a goalie can't see a puck then he can't stop it. They need to be better defensively, avoid sloppy play in their own end and  not cough up the lead, if they get it. The Bolts need to get the lead, establish a forecheck and spend as much time as they can in the offensive zone since that's the best way to slow down the Caps offense. The goalie, whether it be Andrei Vasilevskiy or Peter Budaj, needs to steal this game. Tampa Bay is also going to want to keep an eye on Nicklas Backstroke and T.J.Oshie since they both have decent career numbers against the Lightning.

The Caps need to bring its balanced attack and have all four lines and the defense involved in the game. They'll need to stay out of the penalty box since the Bolts have a pretty decent power play. The top line of Vladislav Namestnikov-Steven Stamkos-Nikita Kucherov has been off to a good start for the Bolts so the Capitals need to keep them in-check. Washington will also need to have a solid road effort and keep the mistakes to a minimum.

On Thursday night, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Bolts. Tampa Bay needs to stay out of the penalty box and play a discipline game since the Pens have a really good power play. The Lightning need to get plenty of shots on goal and just attack the Penguins since they have struggled to start the season. The Bolts should try to establish an early forechecking game and cycling game to spend as much time as they can in the offensive zone. Tampa Bay needs to get the defensive involved in the offense and keep the top six of the Penguins off the scoreboard. The Lightning will also need to keep an eye on Kris Letang since he has good career numbers again them and likes to join the play in the offensive zone. 

The Penguins haven't had the best start to its season and have given up 15 goals against in three games. Pittsburgh needs to get shots on goal, and make Vasilevskiy or Budaj work since either have particularly good career numbers in limited time against the. They'll want to attack the defense and keep attacking since the Bolts are having some defensive problems early in the year. The Penguins need to get its big guns going like Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. If the Pens can have a solid road effort and limits its mistakes then they'll have a chance on stealing a win on the road.

The week ends with a visit from the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. The Bolts are going to have to watch the Blues' defensemen since they have contributed to the offense early on. Tampa Bay will need to keep the top six forwards to a minimum amount of damage. The team will also need to get a ton of traffic in front of Jake Allen or Carter Hutton. The Bolts need to keep the turnovers to a minimum and not make this game as wide open as a game of pond hockey.

The Blues will need to keep an eye on Brayden Point, who has five points in two games. St. Louis should try to establish a good forechecking and cycling game from the start of the game. The Blues will also want to pressure the Lightning puck carrier to force some turnovers. The Blues will need to stay out of the penalty box since they've had a rough go of it on the penalty kill. St. Louis has given up some goals and chances in the third period through two games and they need to be better defensively in the final period. 

Lightning Strikes: 2017-18 Season Preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to get back to the postseason after missing out last year by one point.

In the offseason, they made some upgrades with the signings of Dan Girardi and Chris Kunitz. The Bolts also managed to re-sign its own restricted free agents to contacts. Tampa Bay made a splash when they traded forward Jonathan Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Sergachev was given every opportunity to make the team in the preseason, and that is exactly what he did.

The key to the Bolts rebounding this season is the goaltending. Andrei Vasilevskiy is the undisputed number one goaltender for the team this year. The biggest question is going to be will he be able to handle the pressure that is going to be on him to help lead this team back to the postseason. Vasilevskiy is going to need to be good this season because the defense will give up its chances against. The goalie will need to make the easy save and he has shown the ability to make the spectacular save. Peter Budaj will be in the back up role and he will need to be ready when he gets the call off the bench or to give Vasilevskiy a game off.

The x-factor to the Bolts season is going to be the health of Steven Stamkos. Yes, the Lightning are deep enough that they could battle and make the playoffs if Stamkos should get hurt, but there is no Drouin to help Kucherov pick up the slack this year. Stamkos has been hurt the past few seasons, and just needs to get through this one as healthy as he can. The center is an integral part of the offense especially the power play since he has a great shot that can beat any goalie.

The surprise player is going to be defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Sergachev made the team out of camp and preseason, and I think he is going to stick around for the entire season. He can move the puck and skate, which is something that the defense could use in the lineup. Sergachev is slated to be in the top four to start the season so Jon Cooper is giving him every chance to succeed, and he even is giving him power play time. I wouldn't be surprised if he is playing in all situations by the end of the season since he is a solid all around defenseman, who has a good hockey IQ.

Tyler Johnson needs a bounce back season after last season where he struggled to produce. He should bounce back since he is playing with Alex Killorn on a line. Johnson will also spend some time on the second power play unit. Yanni Gourde should have a break out season this year for the Bolts. He had six goals in the 20 games that he played with Tampa Bay last season. If he can play a full season on the third line with Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat plus get some time on the power play then there is a good chance that he scores at least 15 goals, maybe more. Jon Cooper is under pressure to lead this team back to the playoffs and go deep into the postseason.

The offense is a balanced one and has guys that can produce on every line. They have the talent and the ability to put the puck in the back of the net. Some of the kids may be a little on the younger side, but they have game experience from last year. Vladislav Namestnikov-Steven Stamkos- Nikita Kucherov could be a very dangerous top line since every one has the ability to score and dish the puck to his line mates. If the lines aren't producing then Cooper has the luxury of being able to switch some guys up since they have all played throughout the lineup.

The defense is loaded with veterans and guys that have been around the block. I'm not so sure about the idea of putting Dan Girardi on the top pairing, but that could be because Jake Dotchin sat out most of the preseason for violating a team rule. Victor Hedman is going to have another great season because he can move the puck, quarterback the power play and get the puck through to the front of the net for some deflection chances. The Bolts are going to have its struggles on defense this season, but hopefully the goalies can bail them out when that happens.

The Lightning will get back to the playoffs this year even having to contend with an Eastern Conference. The veteran team knows how to win and will find a way to get back to the postseason, and possibly have a deep run.