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Take a Match to Quenneville's Matchups

Chris Johnston, Sportsnet Magazine

Bruins' Major Goal: Don't Give Many Up

Matt Kalman, Boston Herald

Julien the Rock Behind Bruins' Success

Jackie MacMullan, ESPN Boston

Bruins Blank Blackhawks, Lead Series

Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune

Paille, Rask Bookend Bruins' Domination

Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant

So far, this has been entirely too easy for Claude Julien. On a night where the Boston Bruins coach likened the line matching during the Stanley Cup final to a chess match, it loo...(full article)

His team was about to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals last Saturday when Bruins coach Claude Julien incredulously responded to a question abou...(full article)

BOSTON -- If you carved the Mount Rushmore of Boston's recent championship coaches into stone, Claude Julien would occupy the space chiseled for Teddy Roosevelt.   Washington wou...(full article)

When the Stanley Cup Final is tied after two games, the winner of the third game historically goes on to win the whole thing 84 percent of the time. The Chicago Blackhawks' chanc...(full article)

The T-shirt in support of one of Boston's great role players is as clever as it is profane. "Yippee Paille … !" There's another word following Paille, of course, but this is...(full article)

More Recent Articles

Call It the National Heart Attack League

"Old people don't watch it, because you might die just watching." -- Jaromir Jagr, on the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final    Jaromir Jagr is exaggerating for effect, of...

Don't Blame Quenneville, Or Bollig

Go ahead and question Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville for having Brandon Bollig on the ice for overtime of Saturday night's 2-1 loss to the Bruins in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup F...

Stanley Cup Comes Down to Lucky Bounce

CHICAGO—The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks have proven, through 185 minutes and 56 seconds' worth of hockey, that they are evenly matched. Both teams have scored five goal...

Bruins Win This OT Thriller to Get Even

These Boston Bruins are one resilient bunch. Daniel Paille scored at 13:48 in overtime and the Bruins shrugged off a sluggish start to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Saturday ...

$76 Million Man Leaves Cash on Table

Believe it or not, Evgeni Malkin’s asking price could probably have grown even more just by waiting a little longer to sign his massive extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins. ...

Malkin Getting Nearly-Crosby Money

Let’s get the big question out of the way first, as Evgeni Malkin commits to the Pittsburgh Penguins for eight additional seasons at $76 million, beginning in 2015 and runnin...

Blackhawks Win Chicago Marathon

What we had, playing out in front of us on a continuous loop, was crazed, energy drink hockey. Ferocious hockey. It was the first overtime Wednesday night, and players were gladl...

A Generation Later, Jagr an Original

Back on the biggest stage in hockey for the first time in more than two decades, Jaromir Jagr looked like a younger man. The 41-year-old Boston Bruins winger arrived at United Cent...

Final Offers Some Original Six Appeal

If this Stanley Cup Final lives up to the expectations many people have for it, we could witness a series that we'll remember for years to come. It has all the ingredients of a t...

Stanley Cup Promises to Be Annoying

Brad Marchand is called “The Little Ball of Hate,’’ which is just about the greatest nickname ever. It’s borrowed from former NHL player Pat Verbeek, but that’s OK. It f...

Denver Teams Victims of Penny Pinching?

Would the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup or the Nuggets still have George Karl as coach, if the family of billionaires that owns the teams wasn't so darn cheap? Is money the root o...

New Bruins Looking a Lot Like Old Bruins

The Boston Bruins are back in the Stanley Cup Final two years after winning the NHL championship. Comparing the current Bruins to the 2010-11 edition:   Roster changes: With 17 r...

NHL Was Facing Deep Freeze, Then Caught Fire

The season that almost wasn’t has turned out better than anyone dared expect.   The NHL still ranks fourth among North America’s five major professional sports leagues, but d...

With Penguins on Brink, Crosby Shrinks

The last 14 images CBC viewers saw before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, set to the wistful tones of Radiohead's "Karma Police," all involved Sidney Crosby. There was C...

They Are the Champions - and Here's Where

Each time a city wins a sports championship, the local fans’ hearts swell with pride. With Slate’s comprehensive championship map, you can tell exactly how swollen they are. ...

What's Wrong With the Penguins?

When a fighter is outmatched by his opponent, steady jabs are eventually replaced by a desire to land one haymaker that’ll injure his body and his pride, and make him recons...

Jagr's Not Ready for AARP Quite Yet

Jaromir Jagr lost the battle last night. Then he won the war and maybe the Eastern Conference finals for his new team the way he once did for the old one whose heart he broke just...

Visors a Welcome Move for NHL Safety

No one really needed to see the sight of Marc Staal flailing around violently on the ice at Madison Square Garden to know that hockey players should protect their eyes with a vis...

Greatness? Not for Penguins

The greatest players get it done. For all the blood and guts, the broken sticks and gutted psyches, the every single sinew strained to exhaustion between the Penguins and Bruins i...

Penguins Set Up for Epic Fail

So, this is how it's going to go down, right? This chance-of-a-lifetime collection of talent Ray Shero has amassed, fronted by the world's two best players, supported by some of ...

Bruins Didn't Need Iginla After All

PITTSBURGH — It was a great big, fat Boston cream pie mushed directly into the collective yaps of Bruins fans far and wide.   They went to bed one night believing the B...

With No Goals, No Hope for Kings

The Los Angeles Kings have set the standard for hard-to-play-against, grinding out 24 playoff wins over the last two springs. But does it matter today, if the Kings can’t score...

Chicago's Crawford Saving Goals and Himself

CHICAGO—If the story sounds familiar, that's because it is. It's the one about a goaltender whose first two playoff campaigns as a starter ended with first-round exits, foll...

Why Canada Can't End Stanley Cup Drought

The N.H.L.’s conference finals will begin on Saturday, and fans in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh can still dream of a Stanley Cup championship. But this year is...

How NHL Final 4 Can Navigate Obstacles

The rarity of having the last four Stanley Cup champions as the remaining teams left in the playoffs means the field is filled with experienced combatants who know what it takes ...

Top 10 Events Dominated by Foreigners

Home-field advantage is one of the most talked-about intangibles in sports, but for some events it’s a home-field curse. It’s no surprise that with the rapid shrinking of the ...

Does Anyone Think the Bruins Can Win?

WLIMINGTON — The only thing missing from Bruins practice yesterday morning at Ristuccia Arena was a hysterical Mrs. Rocky Balboa bursting into the locker room and, with arms fla...

This Sharks Team Worth Preserving

Yes, it seems a little odd to praise and defend the Sharks now, after one more postseason full of hope ended with a frustrating exit. I'm going to do it, anyway -- within the prop...

Tortorella Got Exactly What He Deserved

You didn’t have to do anything but watch the Rangers in the playoffs to see that in the end they wanted to play for John Tortorella about as much as Carmelo Anthony and the ...

Blackhawks Create Instant Classic

If you want to know exactly how Brent Seabrook scored the game-winning goal in overtime Wednesday night, don’t ask him. But if you want to experience hockey’s fog of ...

Rangers Better Off Minus Classless Boor

John Tortorella can be a jerk. Maybe he hugs kids and pets dogs and supports charities away from the rink, but that doesn’t make him misunderstood. Far too often he chooses to ...

A Generation's Playoff Thoroughbreds

The Detroit Red Wings and the San Antonio Spurs play different sports in different leagues on different surfaces in different states, but make no mistake: They're the same team....

NHL Could Mandate Visors Next Season

It has long been thought that when visors were eventually mandated in the NHL the rule would only apply to new players entering the league. But might everyone be forced to wear on...

Penguins Favored, But Bruins Can Win

Talk to some NHL scouts and the general feeling about the Bruins-Penguins Eastern Conference title series is that the B’s can beat the super-talented Pens — but only i...

Iginla's Plan Working to Perfection

Jarome Iginla approved a trade to the Penguins in late March because he hoped to win a Stanley Cup. He already has gotten closer to achieving that goal than he had in all but one o...

Blackhawks' Incredible Shrinking Captain

There was something a tad much about what Jonathan Toews said Thursday morning. Something overboard, something overdone. Something too too, if you know what I mean. “When y...

Roy, Sakic Make Avalanche Matter Again

What had become almost a doormat (dormant?) NHL franchise now has life again. First, Joe Sakic agreed last month to become more of a factor in the day-to-day running of the Colora...

Talk a Bit About the Cliches You Overuse

We’re big believers that your best columnists have to step it up for the playoffs. We just gotta hope Scott can get it going. Q: Talk about the column so far. A: Getting that fir...

Not a Question of If, But When Bruins Will Win

NEW YORK — The Bruins propped up an accommodating collection of players to speak with the media following yesterday’s optional skate at Madison Square Garden, but it w...

With Free Agency, Trading Sparse

The last Primanti Brothers sandwiches and Iron City brews have been consumed and we’re left with one nagging question from NHL draft weekend in the Steel City. Where the he...

Draft Weekend Winners, Losers

Every team in the NHL is happy with the draft picks they made this weekend. To hear the early projections and future scouting reports of the 211 players that were selected in Pit...

Penguins to Chase Parise, Suter

Armed with salary cap space — and a captain they believe can serve as hockey’s finest pitchman — the Penguins aim to go nuclear when NHL free agency opens July ...

Flyers Reunite Schenn Brothers

Brayden Schenn was watching the NHL Draft on Friday night in Saskatchewan when he heard the news about Penguins forward Jordan Staal being reunited with his older brother, Eric, in...

Kings Can Reload Under Cap

As hard as it is to repeat as Stanley Cup champs these days, the Los Angeles Kings may be better positioned than any other recent winner to pull it off. For one, this was a team ...

Goalie Quick Wins Conn Smythe

Jonathan Quick held the Conn Smythe Trophy for as long as he could, through a live television interview, and then swapped it for his 2-year-old daughter, Madison. His grip was a...

Smart Trades, Draft Built Kings

There will probably be more attention paid to who signs where on July 1 when hockey’s silly season begins anew, but the Los Angeles Kings are the latest example of why what h...

Brown Delivers Knockout Punch

Dustin Brown wasn't sure how to express himself with the celebration around him after the game. He had handed off the Stanley Cup to teammate Willie Mitchell a good 20 minutes ea...

Kings Controlling Play, Missing Target

The Los Angeles Kings hardly sounded daunted on Sunday. Sure, they had lost two games in a row and allowed the New Jersey Devils back into the Stanley Cup finals, but they were a...

Brodeur Hopes to Stay With Devils

Martin Brodeur will play again next season and he thinks it will be for the Devils. Nevertheless, the 40-year-old goalie who silenced some doubters, said he will become an untrestr...

Devils Suspect Kings Are Frustrated

It's not that Kings can't handle adversity in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's that they haven't really faced it until the Stanley Cup Final against the New Jersey Devils. For thre...

Devils Plant Doubt; Kings Fight It

Jonathan Quick was in a corner of the room, hemmed in, and he all but growled when asked a perfectly reasonable question. Is it natural that, after whipping through the West like...

Kings Searching for Answers

After seven weeks of waltzing through the Western Conference and to within one win of the Stanley Cup, the Los Angeles Kings have arrived at their biggest challenge to da...

Devils Chipping Away at History

Only two teams that trailed 0-3 in a Stanley Cup Final have ever pushed the series to six games: the Detroit Red Wings in 1945 and the famed '42 Toronto Maple Leafs, who won the ...

NHL Positive Despite Dip in Ratings

The front office of the NHL might have been almost as disappointed as NBC, fans at the Belmont Stakes and the owners of I’ll Have Another. The prospect of a Triple Crown rac...

Kings Look to Brown to Make Impact

Kings captain Dustin Brown has had a huge impact on the team's march to the Stanley Cup Final, making his mark by scoring clutch goals and delivering game-changing hits that left...

Brodeur, DeBoer Have Devils Focused

After 1,394 combined NHL regular season and playoff games, there is not a whole lot that Martin Brodeur has not seen or done. Still on the list: coming back from a 3-0 deficit in...

Devils' Lineup Shift Pays Off

When you’re down three games to none in the Stanley Cup finals, lineup adjustments are to be expected. And as he has done all playoffs, Devils coach Pete DeBoer made the ri...

With Henrique, Devils' Future Secure

As the New Jersey Devils fell into that darkest of playoff holes, a 3-0 series deficit, it was hard not to imagine them as they might be. Captain Zach Parise is almost certainly he...

Why Stanley Cup Ratings Are Terrible

The NHL's ratings for the Stanley Cup Final are continuing to suffer after an NHL playoff season that started out so well for the league. Game One was down by 25%. Game Two on Sat...

Kings Comfortable on the Road

On the road again. It's a ballad better suited for a team in a country and western city. It could work in Dallas or Nashville, but the L.A. Kings will at least feel comfortable b...

Brodeur's Play Boosts Teammates

All Martin Brodeur wants to do is his job. It's all he's really ever wanted to do. If because he does it so well that means people are going to fawn over all of the spectacular sa...

Kings Remain Businesslike

Don’t put the champagne on ice just yet. That was the mindset a day after the Los Angeles Kings snowplowed the New Jersey Devils, 4-0, in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Th...

Depth Has Kings on Brink of Title

The only number that matters to the Los Angeles Kings is 16. They're one win away from it. The number that has helped them get closer to win No. 16 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs tha...

Devils Can Find Hope in 93-Year-Old

The last man alive who knows how it feels for a team to dig itself out of the deepest of craters will not be watching to see if these Devils can accomplish the feat. Wally Stanows...

Parise's Last Game With New Jersey?

The clock is not only ticking on the Devils’ season, but on Zach Parise’s career in New Jersey, for when the puck is dropped tonight for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Fin...

Devils Must Give Better Effort

See, here’s the thing: If the Devils truly believe they worked to maximum effort last night, if they believe that other for a break or two they could have won this Game 3 t...

Penalty Kill Stellar for Kings

Defense in hockey means more than punishing hits, acrobatic saves and blocked shots. As the Los Angeles Kings are demonstrating in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, effective...

Why Isn't U.S. Watching Stanley Cup?

The Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils were going to be a tough sell as a Stanley Cup Final. Neither team has the enormous national fan support that Pittsburgh, Detroit, Phil...

Vokoun Should Ease Fleury's Load

A potentially busy offseason for the Penguins began with general manager Ray Shero making a move to bolster a weakness. The Penguins acquired goalie Tomas Vokoun to replace Brent J...

Devils Confident Despite Deficit

To win the Stanley Cup, the New Jersey Devils have to win four of the next five games against a team that has lost only twice in 16 games this postseason. The New Jersey Devils are...

Kings on Verge of 16-2 Finish

The Los Angeles Kings made some history on Monday night. They're ready to make even more on Wednesday. The Kings' 4-0 victory against New Jersey in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final...

Lineup Changes Unlikely for Devils

Perhaps some coaches would feel the need to make lineup changes after losing the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final on home ice, but Peter DeBoer doesn't appear to be one of...

Kings Fans, Get Ready to Celebrate

The Kings got this. Got it? The Kings are two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup. It's time to shed those 45 years of disappointments and heartache and let it all go. The Kings...

Doughty Comes Up Big on Defense

The best defenseman on the top pairing on the hottest team in the N.H.L. logged the most ice time in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night, just as he did in the series...

Brodeur Good, Needed to Be Great

Martin Brodeur tried planting his stick on the ice to stop Jeff Carter’s shot from the high slot, but Brodeur made his move a split-second too late. The Los Angeles Kings th...

Many Peers Learn From Lamoriello

Jerry Reese grew up in rural Tennessee, not exactly a hotbed for ice hockey. So he isn’t being modest when he sums up his knowledge of the sport in four words: “I don...

Devils Rue Missed Opportunities

Zach Parise sat his locker, head hung low, recounting how close he and his teammates came to grabbing a late lead Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings o...

Kings' Domination by the Numbers

It was not the start the New Jersey Devils wanted. On home ice to start the Stanley Cup finals, the Devils were tentative in the first period and overwhelmed in the second, with t...

Offensive Stars Struggle for Devils

There was Zach Parise sprawling around the Kings net, desperate for any chance to finally make his mark on the opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Devils’ captain h...

Kings Take 1st Step Toward Cup

There are passes. And then are passes. Anybody with two eyes could see that the Kings, who had smoked Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix to get to their first Stanley Cup Final in ...

Could NHL Lose Another Season?

(Today's festival of overwriting, tortured logic and mangled syntax is brought to you by Craig Stanke, who whipped them all in his day and still had the time and stre...

Comes Down to Brodeur vs. Quick

The NHL's lion in winter is back in the spring. Martin Brodeur turned 40 this month. He should be in his anecdotage -- because there are few players who can tell a story about th...

Kings Gear for Devils' Potent Offense

The Devils and Kings will meet Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and though past Devils’ Cup-winning teams were defensive-minded, this New Jersey squad p...

Keys to the Series

So here’s the Stanley Cup Final no one could have anticipated in early April. Kirk Penton of The Winnipeg Sun figured out that this is the “worst” match-up in 20 ...

Analyzing the Finals through Stats

To say that the 2011-12 Stanley Cup Final between the Los Angeles Kings versus the New Jersey Devils was predicted by advanced analysis would be folly — even the most ardent ...

Kings Feed Off Penner's Humor

Humor is often used as a coping mechanism to deal with life's stresses. It's no wonder Dustin Penner is the jokester of the Kings locker room. Even when he scored more pancakes th...

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