Last Word on Sports is proud to present their hockey podcast, On the Powerplay with Ben and Dave. Join Ben Kerr and Dave Gove each week as they take a look around the Hockey World focusing on the big issues of the NHL and elsewhere.
Ben and Dave are back and ready to look at another week of exciting hockey action.
The NHL Final Four is set, as the Anaheim Ducks have home-ice advantage when they face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final, while the New York Rangers have home-ice advantage against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Ducks steamrolled through the Calgary Flames in five games, after sweeping the Winnipeg Jets. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks swept the Minnesota Wild and took out the Nashville Predators in six games. Now these two western juggernauts will go head to head. Will it be Getzlaf and Perry or Kane and Toews who have the edge in superstars? How will the Hawks matchup against Ryan Kesler, and how will the Ducks neutralize Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp on the wings? Will James Wisniewski or Antoine Vermette finally show why they were big trade deadline acquisitions for their team? Can Francois Beauchemin, Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen match the Hawks studs of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook? Who has the edge in goal? In coaching?
Meanwhile the Eastern Final revisits last year’s blockbuster trade of Ryan Callahan for Martin St. Louis, which marked the first time in NHL history that captains were traded for one another. It also sees Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle face their former team in the Rangers. Meanwhile Dan Boyle was part of the Lightning’s Stanley Cup winning 2004 squad. How healthy is Steven Stamkos, and can Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov keep up their great play? Can Derrick Brassard keep up his play, and will Rick Nash finally start scoring? How do the defences match up? Can Ben Bishop match King Henrick Lundqivst? Can Jon Cooper match wits with Alain Vigneault.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are great but they aren’t the only high level hockey being played as the IIHF World Championships are down to the final four.
Canada has dominated the tournament with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Jason Spezza, Tyler Seguin, and more. However they face their stiffest test yet in the semi-finals as the host Czech Republic, and emotional fan favorite Jaromir Jagr are waiting. Is this a storybook upset in Prague for Jagr and the Czechs, or will Canada continue on their path to the gold medal game.
Meanwhile the young, up and coming team representing the United States take on a Russian team with the best goalie left in the tournament in Sergei Bobrovsky, and an offence that features Evgeni Malkin, Vladimir Tarasenko, and will be adding Alex Ovechkin for this semi-final showdown. Can the Americans pull off another Miracle?
All this and more when we go on the powerplay.
On The Powerplay – NHL Final Four, IIHF Final Four
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