The Top 10 NHL Stories in 2011-12

The NHL season has ended, and a new season is upon us. But first, we look back at the top ten stories that defined the 2011-12 season.

10. Florida Returns to the Playoffs after 10 Years

For 11 years, Florida means futility. They fielded bad teams each and every year and were ridiculed by virtually everybody. But in 2012, the jokes were put to rest, as the Panthers won their first Southeast Division title in franchise history and ended the longest active Stanley Cup Playoff drought. New coach Kevin Dineen instilled discipline and hard work for the team, and it paid off. Despite losing to former coach Peter DeBoer and the New Jersey Devils in seven games, optimism began to bloom in South Florida.

9. Hockey Returns to Winnipeg

The former Atlanta Thrashers were sold to a Winnipeg-based ownership group and were moved to Winnipeg, putting the NHL back to the Canadian city after 15 years. Ironically, they were named the Jets, but did not adopt the original Jets'  (current Phoenix Coyotes) history. Nevertheless, the new Jets were immediately embraced in Winnipeg, and the MTS Centre was sold out in every game. Even though they missed out on the playoffs, the future appears to be bright for the Jets. 

8. Stamkos Snipes 60

It is rare that an NHL player scores 60 goals in a season. But for Steven Stamkos everything is possible. Though Tampa Bay missed the playoffs this year, Stamkos didn't miss a beat, becoming just the 20th player to score 60 goals in a season. His feat earned him the Rocket Richard Trophy at the end of the season. A lot will be expected of Stamkos next season, as the Lightning look to return to the playoffs after a sluggish and inconsistent 2011-12 that saw several players miss time due to injury.






7. The Bruins' Near-Invincible November

Despite failing to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins were able to achieve something else: a near-undefeated month. November saw Boston win earn points in each game; the only one-point game was a shootout loss on November 25 against Detroit. During the stretch, Tyler Seguin emerged as one of the elite players in the league, while Tim Thomas played superbly behind the pipes. The Bruins will bring back most of the band back next season except for Thomas, who announced he would sit out the season for personal reasons.


6. The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Tragedy

On September 7, a Russian airline crashed into the Volga River near Yaroslavl, killing the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team in the Kontinental Hockey League. Several of its players were NHL alumni, including Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei, Josef Vasicek, and assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. Several of the teams connected to the victims wore uniform or helmet patches during the season, while a majority of opening night games were preceded by a moment of silence for the victims.

5. 2012 NHL Winter Classic

The NHL Winter Classic was held in Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, and saw the New York Rangers defeat their arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers 3-2, as the winning goal was scored by Brad Richards. In the lead-up to the Classic, both teams were given access to their locker rooms, practice facilities, and even their life off the ice through the HBO 24/7 series. One of the most memorable episodes of the series saw Philadelphia goalie Ilya Bryzgalov humorously explain the universe and other aspects of Russian culture.


4. The 'Shanaban'

Former NHL player Brendan Shanahan took over as executive vice president of player safety before the season. Throughout the year, Shanahan suspended players left to right for a variety of illegal hits, body-checks and other major penalties. This was in response to high concussion rates that affected several players. He further explained the player penalties through a short 2-minute video, spawning the meme 'Shanaban' for his exploits.


3. Phoenix Makes History

The Phoenix Coyotes were once one of the NHL's struggling franchises, never winning a division title or a playoff series since leaving Winnipeg for the desert in 1996. However, in the 2011-12 season, the Coyotes were howling the competition, winning its first Pacific Division title, and advanced to the conference finals for the first. This despite lacking an owner for the past two seasons. A lot will be expected for the Coyotes next season as they try to build on that success.


2. Goals and Fights Galore in Pennsylvania

The Battle of Pennsylvania reached its boiling point during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flyers and the Penguins scored a total of 56 goals between them, but the Flyers won the series in six games. The most heated game of the series came in Game 3, in which three Penguins (Arron Asham, James Neal, Craig Adams) were suspended afterwards for illegal hits. During the penultimate meeting of the regular season, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette and Penguins assistant Tony Granato were involved in a shouting tussle, further fueling the rivalry in a lead-up to the playoffs.


1. The Kings are Kings

The eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings were given little chance of advancing deeper in the playoffs, but the way they blitzed past the competition en route to their first Stanley Cup baffled both critics and opponents alike. They took a 3-0 lead in each series, then took out the top three seeds in the West in dominating fashion, as Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix were shockingly defeated by the upstarts. In the Final, they stunned the New Jersey Devils in six games for their first Cup in the franchise's 45-year history. 

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview: Conference Finals

From 16 teams, we are down to the Final Four. Only two teams will claim the Prince of Wales and Campbell trophies as champions of the East and West, respectively. Welcome to the Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Sadly, we won't see Pekka Rinne, Brian Elliott or Braden Holtby in the playoffs. Neither will we see Claude 'greatest player in the world' Giroux in this level. Still we'll definitely see a lot of goal protection from Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur, Mike Smith and Jonathan Quick and some high-end scoring, hits and dimes. Here are the two playoff matchups in the East and West.

(1) New York Rangers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils

Regular Season: Series tied 3-3

For the first time since 1994, the Hudson River rivals meet for the right to win the Prince of Wales trophy. They split the six-game regular season series, which makes the matchup hard to predict. New York may be the top seed, but got into trouble in both playoff series with Ottawa and Washington before winning Game 7 each time. New Jersey, on the other hand, enjoyed a week's rest after disposing Philadelphia in five games, in a series they initially trailed 0-1 after disposing Florida in Game 7. 

Lundqvist and Brodeur have split two series against each other; Brodeur won in 2006, Lundqvist in 2008. This year will be the rubber series between Vezina-winning goalies, with both assured a place in the Hall of Fame soon. Youth vs. balance will play a role in the series. The Rangers' roster is generally young, with only a few of John Tortorella's troops have Cup rings (e.g. Brad Richards, Mike Rupp). Meanwhile the Devils still have remnants of past Stanley Cup-winning teams of 1995, 2000 and 2003 (e.g. Petr Sykora, Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur), and whose roster is stacked with both youth and experience. This despite Peter DeBoer enjoying just his first postseason appearance as coach. The Devils may have experience, but the Rangers have home ice, which will make the highly-touted regional rivalry interesting and dramatic similar to 1994.

(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

Regular Season: Series tied 3-3

The Kings have taken care of first seed Vancouver and second seed St. Louis to become the first team to do the trick. Meanwhile, the Coyotes won two playoff series in a year for the first time in team history, and now have a chance to add a third. Surely, the series promises to be more intense and physical as both teams' calling cards were on defense.

Unlike the goalie matchup in the East, the West matchup will see two unproven goalies with a chance to break out. Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith were the anchors for their respective teams, and their performance will dictate how their teams will fare in the series. The Kings are a roster of the young and the hungry, and whose knack for scoring with a man down has been well-documented. Phoenix, meanwhile, have thrived with a man advantage, and if they keep Los Angeles' penalty kill in check, then they'll succeed. Both teams are riding a wave of momentum after disposing Cup contenders Nashville and St. Louis, and whoever wins will have a chance to hoist their franchise's first Stanley Cup. 

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview: Conf. Semifinals

Gone are Stanley Cup champions of the past four years (Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston), as well as a two-time Presidents' Trophy winner (Vancouver), a two-time conference finalist (San Jose), and a pair of teams with little playoff history to tell (Florida, Ottawa). Now it's down to the final eight, and only four will advance to conference finals, for the right to earn the Campbell and Prince of Wales trophies. Here are the four second-round matchups, again with a story to tell.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) New York Rangers vs. (7) Washington Capitals

Regular Season: Series tied 2-2

Twice in the past three seasons the Capitals have eliminated the Rangers in the playoffs' first round, winning in seven in '09 and five in '11. They were all set to meet in the first round this year, until the Caps beat the Rangers in the final day to face the Bruins instead. And the Caps shocked the erstwhile champions with a physical, checking defense that is synonymous to the team's coach and franchise legend Dale Hunter. Now they have a chance to dispose another high-caliber opponent in the Rangers, who barely squeaked past the Senators in the first round.

Under Bruce Boudreau, Alex Ovechkin thrived in the free-flowing style of play. However, Hunter has sat him down in crucial stretches, to give way to grittier, physical players. The approach worked as Washington ousted the defending champion Bruins with their defense. Braden Holtby broke out in the Boston series, as he outplayed Tim Thomas. Now he faces another Vezina-worthy vet in Henrik Lundqvist, who will try to erase the Capital curse that eluded him in the past. The line of Carl Hagelin, Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards against Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom will be a good first line matchup, while top defensive roles will be played by defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi against Mike Green and Dennis Wideman. Both teams are also deep beyond the first line, which underscores the fact that both teams use 'we' instead of 'I' in their approach. The Rangers are hoping for redemption, while the Capitals are hungry for a breakthrough.

(5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils

Regular Season: Series tied 3-3

The last time Martin Brodeur faced the Flyers in the playoffs, he was outplayed by Brian Boucher, in what should have been a winnable series two years ago. Since then the Flyers had a revolving door of goalies, from Boucher to Sergei Bobrovsky to Michael Leighton. Now comes Ilya Bryzgalov, whose playoff futility with the Coyotes has been well-documented. In this year's playoffs, Bryzgalov wasn't himself in a high-scoring series with Pittsburgh, but stepped up in the Game 6 clincher. With the two teams resuming hostilities in the Stanley Cup race, can the 39-year old Brodeur redeem himself against a fired-up Bryzgalov?

Goalie battles aside, this should be a battle between two teams willing to mix it up physically. The new 'Broad Street Bullies' against the trapping and clogging Devils know how to play with blood. Claude Giroux outplayed both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and now will try to do the same against the Devils' trio of Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk. If Giroux fails, look for Jaromir Jagr, Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere to do the same. The Flyers also received a boost from their rookies Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Matt Read, and along with Wayne Simmonds and James van Riemsdyk, they will again play key roles in the series. On the other hand, New Jersey will counter with Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Steve Bernier, Ryan Carter and Stephen Gionta to do the same. The Devils look to give Brodeur a sweeter ending, while the Flyers look to recapture the magic of 2010 and hope to translate that to a third Stanley Cup.

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

Regular Season: Los Angeles won 3-1

Defense is their calling card, especially of their goalies. Jonathan Quick is, quick, while the two-headed monster in Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak are an opposing coach's nightmare. The Blues finished second because of their two goalies' impressive performances and their trap-door defense. While the Kings' defense was strong as well, they finished eighth because of poor scoring. Still, they were able to shut down Vancouver's free-flowing offense, and Quick was the reason why they sent the Presidents' Trophy winners home. Now what to do for an encore against the Blues?

Dustin Brown led the Kings' scoring attack in the opening round, even scoring two shorties in Game 2. Again he will play a key role, and will be supported by the likes of Dustin Penner, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll. The Blues' first line of David Perron, T.J. Oshie and David Backes struggled against the Sharks, but they compensated that with key offensive contributions from Andy McDonald, Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen. The Kings' defense corps, led by Rob Scuderi, Drew Doughty, Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell, didn't do too well against the Canucks, and again will be a problem against the Blues' defense crew, led by Alex Pietrangelo, Barrett Jackman, Kevin Shattenkirk and Roman Polak. Both are hungry for their first Stanley Cup, and all eyes will be on the goalie matchup to see which team goes farthest.

(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (4) Nashville Predators

Regular Season: Series tied 2-2

Shane Doan and the Phoenix Coyotes enter uncharted waters, reaching the second round for the first time in the desert. Doan has been through eight playoff series with the Jets/Coyotes franchise, and has not won any until this year, when they best the Blackhawks in six games. Now they face a team that won just their second playoff series, and both are raring to advance to the conference finals for the first time ever.

Age against youth will be the story of the series: The Coyotes' old crew vs. the Predators' young guns. The Predators' youth will be led by Gabriel Bourque, Alexander Radulov, the Kostitsyn siblings Andrei and Sergei, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. The Predators' veterans in David Legwand, Paul Gaustad, Hal Gill, Mike Fisher and Martin Erat will also lend a helping hand in giving the youngsters experience. Doan, Ray Whitney, Adrian Aucoin, Radim Vrbata, Daymond Langkow, and Taylor Pyatt will lead the aging Desert Dogs to action, and will be supported by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mikkel Boedker, Keith Yandle, Martin Hanzal and Antoine Vermette. On goal, Mike Smith facing Pekka Rinne will be an interesting matchup. Rinne is a Vezina candidate this year who shut down the Red Wings' prolific offense the first time around, while Smith broke out free after spending time as backup with the Lightning last year. Both have something to prove, as they look to tow their respective teams to the conference finals for the first time. It is going to be a tough series that is too close to call.