HPT 3 Stars: Carter's trick leads Jackets past Sharks

The Columbus Blue Jackets are likely going to have a fire sale sometime between now and Feb. 27 and, while it’s assumed that their star players might be a part of it, Jeff Carter is making a statement with his play of late. 1) Jeff Carter, Columbus Blue Jackets – Carter’s...

Blake Benzel | News/HPT Blogs | Wednesday, February 22 2012 Tags: NHL, hockey, hockeyprimetime.com, HPT.com, Three Stars, Columbus, Blue Jackets, Dallas, Stars, Phoenix, Coyotes, Jeff Carter, Kari Lehtonen, Radim Vrbata

Delving into the Deadline

Six days, countless rumors. Welcome to the NHL Trade Deadline. As the NHL heads to its final on-ice personnel gorging period of the 2011-12 season, the amount of speculation as to which athletes may have new employers has grown exponentially. Perhaps you've heard the rumors regarding Rick...

HPT Staff | News/Columns | Tuesday, February 21 2012 Tags: Steve Downie, Kyle Quincey, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Steve Yzerman, Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Dwayne Roloson, Anaheim Ducks, Bob Murray, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Rick Nash, Glen Sather, Jim Dolan, Carmelo Anthony, Pittsburgh Penguins, Brian Burke, Corey Perry, Los Angeles Kings, Dean Lombardi, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Rick Nash, Scott Howson, Jay Feaster, Jarome Iginla |1 comment

HPT 3 Stars: Karlsson, Anderson lead Sens

We’re as surprised as anyone but, with 21 games left in their season, the Sens are just two points away from the top spot in the Northeast Division. If you saw that coming, you might want to buy a lottery ticket. 1) Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators – Karlson continued his terrific...

Blake Benzel | News/HPT Blogs | Tuesday, February 21 2012 Tags: NHL, hockey, hockeyprimetime.com, HPT.com, Three Stars, Ottawa, Senators, Carolina, Hurricanes, Erik Karlsson, Eric Staal, Craig Anderson

NCAA Rankings: Remembering the early thrills

As in every sport, some teams just don't live up to expectations during the course of the season. This week's power rankings remembers those teams and looks at the teams that have lived up to or surpassed their expectations. We will start this week’s power rankings with a premature...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Tuesday, February 21 2012 Tags: NCAA, hockey, hockeyprimetime.com, HPT.com, Power Rankings, Boston College, Michigan, Chris Kreider, Steve Wozniak

Zidlicky saga far from over for Wild

Marek Zidlicky wants out of Minnesota. So badly, in fact, that he made a public and unsolicited display of waiving his no-trade clause. But it seems that the problem could be far from resolved on either side. There is an elephant in the Minnesota Wild’s locker room. It wears No. 3. ...

Blake Benzel | News/Northwest | Tuesday, February 21 2012 Tags: Marek Zidlicky, Minnesota, Wild, Chuck Fletcher, Mike Yeo, Trade deadline, Blake Benzel, Hockey, NHL, hockeyprimetime.com, Northwest Division

Power Rankings: Looking ahead to the deadline

Sure, we’ve given some fairly comprehensive looks at each division’s trade deadline outlook already, but here’s a different take on it, looking at each of the 30 teams in the NHL. The answer? There are a whole lot of teams competing for just a few players. 1) Detroit Red...

Blake Benzel | News/Features | Monday, February 20 2012 Tags: Detroit, Red Wings, Vancouver, Canucks, New Jersey, Devils, New York, Rangers, Rick Nash, trade needs, power rankings, NHL, hockey, hockeyprimetime.com, Blake Benzel

Coyotes eye playoff spot and more

Having had to surmount a number of injuries, particularly on defense, and bear the brunt of eight back-to-back sets in December and a road-heavy winter, the Phoenix Coyotes now have designs on a playoff spot and quite possibly a Pacific Division crown. LOS ANGELES – That the Phoenix Coyotes...

Andrew Knoll | News/Pacific | Monday, February 20 2012 Tags: NHL, Pacific Division, notebook, HPT.com, hockeyprimetime.com, Andrew Knoll, featuring, Phoenix, Coyotes, stellar, February

HPT 3 Stars: Goalies rule the Day

The longtime adage is that a hot goaltender can get a team through the playoffs. It worked for the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks in 2003 when they met for the Western Conference finals. Nine years later, the Ducks have a hot goaltender in Jonas Hillier while the Wild are hoping Niklas...

Larry Fleisher | News/HPT Blogs | Monday, February 20 2012 Tags: Niklas Backstrom, Jonas Hillier, Blake Wheeler, Henrik Zetterberg, Derek Roy, Joey MacDonald, Ryan Miller, Gary Carter, Minnesota, Wild, Anaheim, Ducks, Winnipeg, Jets, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit, Red Wings, Montreal, Canadiens, HPT, 3 stars, hockey, NHL, Larry Fleisher

HPT 3 Stars: Past and current Canucks shine

It was a good night if you are a Vancouver Canucks fan. For two players associated with the franchise's recent past and current state, it was just as good. The day began with Matt Cooke scoring twice for Pittsburgh in Philadelphia and that was followed by Alex Burrows doing the same for the...

Larry Fleisher | News/HPT Blogs | Sunday, February 19 2012 Tags: Matt Cooke, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Radim Vrbata, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Pittsburgh, Penguins, Vancouver, Canucks, Tampa Bay, Lightning, Hockey, HPT, 3 stars, Larry Fleisher

Cashing In or Cashing Out?

The Boston Bruins have the advantages of having a good salary cap situation. Does that mean one of the Eastern Conference's best teams is ready to engage in the high-stakes game of acquiring high end talent at the trade deadline? Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli found himself...

Denis Gorman | News/Columns | Saturday, February 18 2012 Tags: Boston Bruins, Peter Chiarelli, New York Rangers, Claude Julien, Johnny Boychuk, Tuukka Rask, Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell, Shawn Thornton, Chris Kelly, Rich Peverley, Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Rick Nash, Jeff Carter, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers, Lou Lamoriello, Ilya Kovalchuk, Philadelphia Flyers, NHL.