Top 25 Under 25: #16 Johnathan Toews

Born: April 29, 1988 (age 24)
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Position: Center

For a 24 year old this kid has certainly already accomplished a lot in his career. He is the captain of the Blackhawks (after only 64 games), he has already won a Stanley Cup, while winning the Stanley Cup he won the Conn Smythe (MVP for finals), he is the youngest person ever to be part of the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal, World Championship Gold Medal), voted best forward in the 2010 Olympics, voted 3 times to the NHL All-Star game, and already has 144 goals and 180 assists in his career.

Yea, that's pretty damn good for a 24 year old. We could be talking about a future Hall of Famer here. He has the size (6 foot 2, 208 pounds), and obviously has the skill with everything I listed above.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 9

The Western Conference quarterfinals are complete and the semifinals are set. But the East is still very much up in the air. The 1 and 8 seeds will be going to Game 7. As will the 2 and 7. And maybe even the 3 and 6.

RANGERS 3, SENATORS 2 - (Series tied 3-3)

Daniel Alfredsson returned but the Senators couldn't stop New York's Power Play. The refs called a very soft game, though. Ottawa scored after a weak roughing call. New York scored after a weak goalie interference call. I hate seeing games won and lost on Power Plays. Chris Kreider did score an even strength goal for the Rangers in his 4th game as a pro. He was playing for Boston College in the NCAA Championship just 16 days ago. Now he already has an NHL playoff goal.

Game 7 Thursday night in New York.

COYOTES 4, BLACKHAWKS 0 - (Coyotes win series 4-2)

Chicago started this game on fire, backed by a very vocal home crowd. They ran into a wall, though. And that wall was named Mike Smith. The Phoenix goalie stopped 16 shots in the 1st period, and 39 overall. Eventually, the Coyotes scored some Power Play goals and won their first playoff series since moving to Phoenix.

They'll face Nashville in the semis. And LA will face St. Louis. So that's Mike Smith vs. Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick vs. Eliot/Halak. Don't expect many high scoring games in the next round.

Tonight's game:
7:30pm - Panthers @ Devils - NBC Sports - Panthers lead 3-2

-The Captain

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 7

More overtimes, more injuries, more suspensions. I can't decide if these playoffs are the best I've ever seen or the worst.

PANTHERS 4, DEVILS 3 - (Panthers lead series 2-1)

What makes the NHL Playoffs so compelling to watch is their unpredictability. Everyone figured New Jersey had the easiest draw in the playoffs. They'd roll over the 94 point Panthers. People were even pointing to this matchup as a reason to change the playoff system. But the game isn't played in theory, or by "experts." It's played by players on ice.

The Panthers were down in 3-0 less than 7 minutes into this game. They came back thanks to 3 Power Play goals. The Panthers are 6 for 10 on the PP. 6 Power Play goals against the best PK in the regular season (89.6%). The Devils only allowed 27 PP goals all season long, or about 1 every 3 games. Now they've allowed 6 in 3 games.

Game 4 Thursday night in Jersey.

PREDATORS 3, RED WINGS 1 - (Predators lead series 3-1)

Another example of how regular season trends mean nothing in the playoffs. Detroit had the best home record in the NHL, with 31 wins. They've lost to Nashville twice on their home ice.

All the scoring occurred in the 3rd. The Predators have preyed on Detroit's defensive lapses. The Red Wings are all chasing the puck carrier, not protecting the area in front of the net or covering other players. The Wings outshot Nashville 41-17, but Pekka Rinne did his job, stopped 40 shots, and gave the Predators a chance to win.

Game 5 Friday night in Nashville.

COYOTES 3, BLACKHAWKS 2 (OT) - (Coyotes lead series 2-1)

All three games of this series have gone into overtime but the big story of this series have been the hits to the head and the suspensions. In this game, Chicago's Marian Hossa was wheeled off the ice on a stretcher after Raffi Torres checked him in the skull. Here's the hit:

He targeted the head, he launched himself, and it could be argued that it was a late hit and a charge. Torres has an extensive history of dirty play. Exactly one year ago to the day, he did this:

Torres was suspended once already this season. Last year he was suspended for 5 games at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. Given the nature of this hit combined with his history, he should be banned for the remainder of the playoffs.

Honestly, I don't think players like Raffi Torres belong in the National Hockey League. I don't think the League should tolerate them, merely slapping them on the wrist as they repeatedly misbehave.

Game 4 Thursday night in Chicago.

Tonight's games:
7:30pm - Rangers @ Senators - CNBC - Rangers lead 2-1
7:30pm - Penguins @ Flyers - NBC Sports - Flyers lead series 3-0
10:00pm - Canucks @ Kings - NBC Sports - Kings lead series 3-0

-The Captain

Stanley Cup Preview: Blackhawks vs. Coyotes

The Coyotes won the Pacific Division, but finished dead last in the NHL in attendance. When will the NHL take this prospering team and move it to a city where people actually give a damn about hockey?

Chicago led the League in attendance, by the way.

The Blackhawks should get Jonathan Toews back from a concussion, but who knows how long it will take him to play to form. He's going from rehab to playoff hockey, so he's going from 0 to 100 in half a second.

The Coyotes have a slight edge in goaltending, as well. The generically named Mike Smith had a breakout year with a 2.21 GAA and a .930 SV%.

Chicago gives up a lot of goals (2nd most goals allowed by a playoff team), so if Smith can slow down the Blackhawks' prolific offense just a little, the Coyotes could take advantage of Chicago's inability to prevent goals, and edge out a few games.

Both these teams have struggling PP units, but Phoenix is adept at killing penalties, and Chicago's PK was 27th in the League. That might be bad enough for Phoenix to score a few man-advantage goals.

I can see Phoenix winning this series in several ways. And the only way I see Chicago winning it is if goalie Corey Crawford plays like he did in last year's playoffs. But he hasn't been able to do that since, well, last year's playoffs.

Coyotes in 6.

Series schedule:
1: Thursday 4/12 - 10:00pm - CHI @ PHX - NBC Sports
2: Saturday 4/14 - 10:00pm - CHI @ PHX - NBC Sports
3: Tuesday 4/17 - 9:00pm - PHX @ CHI - CNBC
4: Thursday 4/19 - 8:00pm - PHX @ CHI - CNBC
5: Saturday 4/21 - 10:00pm - CHI @ PHX - NBC Sports
6: Monday 4/23 - tba - PHX @ CHI - tba
7: Wednesday 4/25 - tba - CHI @ PHX - tba

-The Captain