My Sports News Digest

Prince George, B.C. (NHL/Kimelman) — Jujhar Khaira is proof that not all hockey players blossom at the same time. Playing minor-midget hockey, the Cloverdale, B.C., native went undrafted by the Western Hockey League. However, a scout from the Prince George Spruce Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League saw something in him, and over the last two seasons, the relationship has been beneficial to both sides. In his second season with Prince George, Khaira — a left wing who now measures in at 6-foot-2 and 182 pounds — finished 10th in the BCHL with 79 points in 54 games. He [...]

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NEW YORK (NHL/Rosen) — For the first time in a while, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s expectations don’t match those of his fans. The most faithful Blueshirts followers will tell you that Lundqvist, without question, should win the Vezina Trophy at the annual NHL Awards Show on Wednesday in Las Vegas. He’s a finalist along with the Kings’ Jonathan Quick and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne. Most of those same fans will also say he should win the Hart Trophy, despite the fact that just being a finalist for the League’s MVP award along with Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Tampa Bay’s [...]

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NEW YORK (NHL/Lozo) — The expectations at the start of the 2011-12 regular season for the New York Rangers were tepid at best. They were coming off a first-round exit and a complete whiff of the Stanley Cup Playoffs the previous two seasons, and top defenseman Marc Staal was out indefinitely with a concussion. Seven months later, the youthful Rangers were Eastern Conference champions and appeared at times to be a team of destiny during the playoffs. They rallied from a 3-2 series deficit in the first round, came back to win Game 5 in the second round against the [...]

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GLENDALE (NHL/Newsfeed) – The Nashville Predators made a series of changes at the trade deadline in order to beef up their offense and toughness — and transform themselves into a fairer fight with the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and the other elite teams in the Western Conference. And for one playoff series against the Red Wings, the plan worked to perfection. There was just one problem: The Blackhawks weren’t waiting for them in the second round. It was the Phoenix Coyotes, a team built more like the plucky Nashville teams of the past, who weren’t interested in matching [...]

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GLENDALE (NHL/Newsfeed) – The Nashville Predators made a series of changes at the trade deadline in order to beef up their offense and toughness — and transform themselves into a fairer fight with the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and the other elite teams in the Western Conference. And for one playoff series against the Red Wings, the plan worked to perfection. There was just one problem: The Blackhawks weren’t waiting for them in the second round. It was the Phoenix Coyotes, a team built more like the plucky Nashville teams of the past, who weren’t interested in matching [...]

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NEWARK, N.J. (NHL/Morreale) — The New Jersey Devils have been down but never out at any stage during the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring, from the benching of future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur to the incredible rally from a 3-2 series deficit with back-to-back overtime wins against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. Or, from the Game 1 overtime loss against the Philadelphia Flyers to the debilitating effect they’ve had on what was once a potent Flyers offense en route to three successive victories. Let’s face it — the Devils are building the kind of [...]

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PHILADELPHIA (NHL/Kimelman) — James van Riemsdyk might have been one of the most dominant players in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring seven goals in 11 games. He was so good, he finished tied for ninth goals without playing past the second round. After an injury-plagued 2011-12 season, that player finally made his reappearance. Van Riemsdyk had a goal, was a plus-3, took a team-high five shots on net and set the screen on Danny Briere’s overtime goal that allowed the Flyers to take a 1-0 series lead against the New Jersey Devils with a 4-3 victory Sunday in Game [...]

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MONTREAL (NHL/Newsfeed) — New general manager Marc Bergevin will be taking over a Montreal Canadiens team that finished No. 15 in the Eastern Conference and No. 28 in the League standings, so obviously he will be facing a number of challenges to right the ship. While that list will be an exhaustive one, here are five of the primary challenges the 17th GM in Canadiens history will need to tackle. 1. Choose a coach — Randy Cunneyworth currently is the coach, but he is not expected to be the man behind the bench for long. Aside from Cunneyworth’s inability to [...]

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