Randy Sportak
Site Editor and Reporter at The Hockey News
Covering the Calgary Flames and the NHL for The Hockey News and Field Level Media, continuing a dream career for more than two decades.
Articles
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6 days ago |
deadspin.com | Randy Sportak
Jun 15, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) skates with the puck defined by Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) in the first period in game four of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports Last year’s Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers was a seven-game thriller. This year’s rematch — the first time that has happened since 2009 — could be even better.
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1 week ago |
deadspin.com | Randy Sportak
“If you can’t beat ’em in the alley, you can’t beat ’em on the ice.”Conn Smythe, the original majority owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and a builder of the NHL, made that statement — and it’s the basis of the title of his autobiography, published posthumously. Smythe’s mantra may appear politically incorrect in this age, but he knew a thing or two about winning, including a stretch of six Stanley Cup victories in a 10-year span from 1942 through 1951.
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1 week ago |
deadspin.com | Randy Sportak
The last time the Stanley Cup Final featured the same opponents in consecutive seasons was the 2008 and 2009 playoffs, when the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins took turns partying at championship parades at each other’s expense. Brace yourself for it to happen again this year, with the Edmonton Oilers getting a shot at revenge against the Florida Panthers.
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2 weeks ago |
deadspin.com | Randy Sportak
Nov 29, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) checks Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the second period t Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images And Then There Were FourNow that we’ve seen the all-too-familiar Toronto Maple Leafs vanquished in a Game 7 and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning squad eliminated early (this time the Winnipeg Jets), the Stanley Cup Playoffs have reached the conference finals.
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2 weeks ago |
deadspin.com | Randy Sportak
Oil Canada. This season’s Edmonton Oilers have proven to be the best hope to end the Great White North’s Stanley Cup drought. As of now, three of the six squads still remaining in the chase for hockey’s holy grail are from north of the border. But let’s be real—of the Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs, which has the poutine-covered moxie to become the first Canada-based team since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens to sip from Lord Stanley’s mug?
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To take it further, the top three teams in the regular season, and three of the four division champs are down 3-1.
The top seeds in the each conference, Washington and Winnipeg, each trail 3-1 in their second-round series after losing two straight on the road.
Don't you just love how the NHL tries to cover its ass with an made-on-the-fly explanation when a goal is allowed that its own rule book says should not count?
That is a kick, but does the fact the puck bounced off a half-dozen other things before going into the net make it a good goal?
