The Hockey Stop

The National Hockey League's second season is about to begin and while many of the match-ups are repeats of previous playoff battles, there are some intriguing stories heading into the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs that will drop the puck this Wednesday night at 7:30 on Versus with the No. 1 seed Washington Capitals versus the No. 8 seed New York Rangers.

• For the first time all three California teams made the playoffs at the same time. That means there will be more teams competing in the postseason from the Golden State then the entire country of Canada. The No. 4 seed Anaheim Ducks will take on the No. 5 seed Nashville Predators, while cross-state rivals the No. 2 seed San Jose Sharks will face off against the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Kings.

• The No. 4 seed Pittsburgh Penguins and the No. 5 seed Tampa Bay Lightning will see each other in the playoffs for the first time. In an interesting turn of events for the Pens, the biggest stars won't be on their side because of injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Instead, they will have to hold off the Lightning's Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

• Caps fans are anxious to see if their team's major mid-season adjustment from a high flying, offense first style to a more defensive, playoff-style structure will pay dividends after three straight painful years of Game 7 exits, including last year's heartbreaking first-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Ironically, the system change was instituted after a 7-0 thrashing by the Rangers at MSG that was caught by the HBO cameras for the reality series "24/7."

• Another big question mark is whether the Presidents Trophy winners, the No. 1 seed Vancouver Canucks, can translate their regular-season success to a Stanley Cup victory. Their first big test will be the defending champion No. 8 seed Chicago Blackhawks, who needed the Dallas Stars to lose their finale in order for them to sneak into the playoffs only a year removed from hoisting the Cup.

Here is the full schedule courtesy of NHL.com.

2011 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

SERIES A

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 New York Rangers

Wednesday, April 13 at Washington, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS (JIP)

Friday, April 15 at Washington, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

Sunday, April 17 at New York, 3:00 p.m. NBC (HD), TSN

Wednesday, April 20 at New York, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

*Saturday, April 23 at Washington, 3:00 p.m. TSN, NBC (HD)

*Monday, April 25 at New York, TBD TSN

*Wednesday, April 27 at Washington, TBD TSN

SERIES B

#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #7 Buffalo Sabres

Thursday, April 14 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS-JIP

Saturday, April 16 at Philadelphia, 5:00 p.m. TSN

Monday, April 18 at Buffalo, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

Wednesday, April 20 at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

*Friday, April 22 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS (JIP)

*Sunday, April 24 at Buffalo, 3:00 p.m. NBC (HD), TSN

*Tuesday, April 26 at Philadelphia, TBD TSN

SERIES C

#3 Boston Bruins vs. #6 Montreal Canadiens

Thursday, April 14 at Boston, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), RDS, VERSUS

Saturday, April 16 at Boston, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), RDS, VERSUS

Monday, April 18 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. CBC (HD), RDS

Thursday, April 21 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), RDS, VERSUS

*Saturday, April 23 at Boston, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), RDS, VERSUS

*Tuesday, April 26 at Montreal, TBD CBC (HD), RDS

*Wednesday, April 27 at Boston, TBD CBC (HD), RDS

SERIES D

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Wednesday, April 13 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD)

Friday, April 15 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD)

Monday, April 18 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS (JIP)

Wednesday, April 20 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. CBC (HD)

*Saturday, April 23 at Pittsburgh, TBD CBC (HD), VERSUS (JIP)

*Monday, April 25 at Tampa Bay, TBD CBC (HD)

*Wednesday, April 27 at Pittsburgh, TBD CBC (HD)

2011 WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

SERIES E

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #8 Chicago Blackhawks

Wednesday, April 13 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

Friday, April 15 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

Sunday, April 17 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

Tuesday, April 19 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

*Thursday, April 21 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

*Sunday, April 24 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC (HD)

*Tuesday, April 26 at Vancouver, TBD CBC (HD)

SERIES F

#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #7 Los Angeles Kings

Thursday, April 14 at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

Saturday, April 16 at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

Tuesday, April 19 at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

Thursday, April 21 at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. TSN

*Saturday, April 23 at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS

*Monday, April 25 at Los Angeles, TBD TSN

*Wednesday, April 27 at San Jose, TBD TSN

SERIES G

#3 Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 Phoenix Coyotes

Wednesday, April 13 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

Saturday, April 16 at Detroit, 1:00 p.m. NBC (HD), CBC (HD)

Monday, April 18 at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

Wednesday, April 20 at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

*Friday, April 22 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. CBC (HD), VERSUS

*Sunday, April 24 at Phoenix, TBD CBC (HD)

*Wednesday, April 27 at Detroit, TBD CBC (HD)

SERIES H

#4 Anaheim Ducks vs. #5 Nashville Predators

Wednesday, April 13 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. TSN

Friday, April 15 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. TSN

Sunday, April 17 at Nashville, TBD TSN

Wednesday, April 20 at Nashville, TBD TSN

*Friday, April 22 at Anaheim, 10:00 p.m. TSN

*Sunday, April 24 at Nashville, TBD TSN

*Tuesday, April 26 at Anaheim, TBD TSN



- * denotes if necessary

- All Times are Eastern Standard Time

Next month I am moving from the land of the Kings and Ducks to the place the Capitals call home.

After nearly nine eventful years covering hockey in Southern California I'm heading back to my hometown of Washington, D.C. where I will continue to post the latest news and analysis from the world of professional hockey.

It's been a wild ride reporting on hockey here in SoCal. Until I lived here for a while I had no idea how popular the sport is in this "non-traditional" market. There are so many Californians who came of age during the Gretzky era and have instilled the love of the game in their children that hockey will continue to get bigger and bigger here. Plus there is a constant influx of people from cold climes such as Canada, the Midwest and Northeast who bring their love of hockey here.

I started out covering the now defunct Long Beach Ice Dogs minor league team for a community newspaper called The Beachcomber and what struck me the first time I entered the Long Beach Ice Arena was how many fans were in the stands and how passionate people were for this scrappy Montreal Canadiens affiliate. It was a pleasure writing about the ups and downs of the Dogs.

But the passion in Anaheim for the Ducks and L.A. for the Kings is something I'll never forget. Despite the stereotype of laid-back and apathetic sports fans in Southern California, the Kings and Ducks followers are some of the most loyal fans in the entire National Hockey League.

It was incredibly exciting living in SoCal in 2007 when the Ducks brought the first Stanley Cup to the Golden State. And it has been awesome witnessing the rise of the Kings to playoff contenders.

There is also a very active grassroots youth hockey community across California that is going to breed some future NHL players. That is one reason why the league decided to locate this year's NHL Entry Draft at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. I'll be there this Friday for the first round and will be live-blogging the event so check in to The Hockey Stop this Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for instant draft results for each team.

I will also miss playing street hockey every Sunday with my crazy Canadian buddies as part of the Hangover Hockey League. We started out playing on the basketball court at Veterans Park in Westwood and then alternated between roller hockey rinks in North Hollywood and Mar Vista. I usually went home after a game bruised and sore for the next week but it was all worth it. Good luck to all my street hockey comrades!

While I'll be blogging from the draft this Friday, if my blog posts are less frequent the next couple of weeks it is because I'm busy preparing for my move. But as soon as I'm settled in D.C. I'll be ramping up the posting again.

There are a couple of stories of note from today's news.

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer, 36, retired today after 18 NHL seasons. The Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy winner is the only hockey player in the world to win the Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal, World Championship, World Junior Championship, World Cup and Memorial Cup.

Also, the NHL released the 2010-2011 regular season schedule. Click here for each team's complete 82-game schedule.

Lastly, a reminder that the NHL Awards will be televised live from Las Vegas on Versus tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST.

At the quarter point of the NHL season there is an interesting role reversal taking place in Southern California.

Despite two recent losses, the once woeful Los Angeles Kings find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division standings with a record of 13-9-2 for 28 points. Meanwhile, the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks are facing something relatively new -- sitting in last place in their division at 7-11-3 with 17 points.

And the frustration in famously laid-back Orange County is perhaps finding its way into the stands.

Following a recent 4-3 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Honda Center, Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermeyer tossed his game stick into the front row after being announced as the number one star because of his overtime winner against the Bolts.

The stick was intended for a little girl, but instead a fight broke out which was caught on camera and became a viral video sensation. Pro skateboarder Mike Vallaly, 39, of Long Beach, was arrested for public fighting. Apparently he fought another dad in the stands for the stick that Vallaly claims was intended for his daughter.

Here is the video of the fight:



Now, while this is an isolated incident and in no way reflects the normally friendly and well-behaved Ducks fans, it is still reflective of a disappointing season thus far for the Ducks on the ice.

And it doesn't get any easier for Anaheim following their most recent 3-2 loss to San Jose at home. Their seven-game homestand continues as they face the red-hot Flames Monday night followed by a desperate Carolina Hurricanes and unstoppable Chicago Blackhawks who will have Marian Hossa back in the lineup.

The Kings are looking at the turmoil down south on Interstate 5 with the unusual position of being considered a potential playoff contender. There is genuine excitement at Staples Center that this will be the year the young, talented team will return to the postseason.



With the NHL's new top gun Anze Kopitar playing out of his mind and Jonathan Quick stonewalling the opposition most nights, there is good reason to believe the billboards across the sprawling city -- "Passion=Pride."

The Slovenian superstar is the current NHL scoring leader. Not only does Kopitar have 33 points (14 goals; 19 assists) through 24 games, but he also has a plus 5 rating in his third season as a pro. Kopitar was minus 15 his rookie year and minus 17 last year so this is an overlooked improvement.

Quick is standing tall in net with 12 wins, a goals against average of 2.79 and a save percentage of .894%.

Despite losing left winger Ryan Smith for a month with an upper body injury and Rob Scuderi for an undisclosed amount of time, the Kings are poised to end their six-year playoff drought and bring some of that Gretzky-era magic back to the City of Angels.