Love/Hate Relationships Down The Stretch

It's an exciting time in the NHL season with two weeks to go before the playoffs as points become that much more valuable. The playoff picture is still blurry as teams battle just to get in or those that have already clinched jockey to secure home ice advantage. It's a great time to be a fan as you essentially ride a roller coaster of emotions each night of play. With the good comes the bad and most nights you'll find yourself following the score of a big game or shaking your head in disbelief as you root for a division rival to win. It's a love/hate relationship down the stretch for many reasons, but it's these emotions that make Spring hockey that much better.

Kasperi Kapanen, Son of Sami, Dangles

Sami Kapanen's son, Kasperi, is slated to be a top pick in this year's NHL Draft and rightfully so with moves like this. That's the 17-year-old Finn backchecking from deep in the offensive zone to throw a big hit at his blueline before picking up the puck and making some magic happen. Kapanen scoops up the puck in his own zone and crosses centre on a 1-on-3 in which he promptly splits two d-men at the blueline with speed and quick hands. What happens next is a Dirty Dangle of the Year candidate as he puts his stick and the puck between his legs to bury it past the goalie while that 3rd defenceman attempts a stick check. Why the bench clear and gloves toss? This was the bronze medal game of the Finland's U-18 league and he had the balls to do that. The team must have celebrated in true Finnish fashion as we have no idea what the team was thinking by uploading this amazing goal in this perspective.

David Clarkson vs. The Worst Contracts

Everyday when I walk into work my co-worker is complaining about David Clarkson and how he is getting paid so much money to fall all over the ice. Of course he's unhappy with the 7 year/36.75M contract that Clarkson signed last July and rightfully so. Many Leafs fans were overcome with excitement at the news of signing Clarkson in the offseason as they believed they were basically getting a Wendel Clark circa 1993 (let's be honest, there will never be anyone like Wendel). There were also plenty of fans and media who shook their heads at this deal and have since been proven to be right. Clarkson's play and contract have been pretty bad, but for arguments sake, is his the worst contract in the NHL?

Beer League Referee Defines Beer League

"Are you fucking drunk?!?!" is a common saying to referees in beer league hockey and it appears as though this ref wouldn't have had to respond as his actions answered for him. Twirling around like a figure skater, stumbling around on faceoffs, and even pretending to be an airplane while waiving off an icing make this short video absolutely glorious. This zebra had to reek of booze and we wouldn't doubt it if he told a player he'd piss himself if someone ran into him. We hope this was a meaningless game and the players at least knew the guy as we'd be pretty pissed if we showed up for a big game and the ref was this gassed.

Sticktap to SB Nation for one of our favourite GIFs of all time.

Glass Banger Gets What They Deserve

One of our favourite things about this video is that the NHL actually uploaded it to their YouTube channel which clearly shows that they think fans that bang on the glass at games deserve to be laughed at too when karma strikes. As you can see in the video, the fan stands up to bang on the glass as the play comes towards them and gets put back in their seat as Corey Tropp finishes his hit on Travis Moen into the sideboards. We hope this fan wasn't hurt, but this asshole definitely got what they deserved. Really the only thing that could have made this clip any better were if the fan was wearing a jersey foul and turned around on their cellphone looking at the camera.

Ales Hemsky's Dangle Of The Year Candidate

Last night Ales Hemsky scored a goal to remember with a dirty dangle on Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman, Radko Gudas, before finishing on potential Vezina winner, Ben Bishop. Gudas is the victim here as he reaches out with with a pokecheck, but is quickly danced around by Hemsky who goes forehand-to-backhand through his legs. The crowd buzzes as Hemsky evades a stickcheck by Matt Carle and roars as he goes backhand-to-forehand on Bishop. What a goal. What a dangle. 

Connor Brown Makes Maple Leafs History As First To Win CHL Scoring Title

Back in June of 2012, the Toronto Maple Leafs took a chance and drafted a kid who was a -72 on an absolutely terrible Erie Otters team that year. It looks like that 6th round, 156th overall pick was a Detroit Red Wingian steal as Connor Brown not only dominated the OHL scoring race, but won the Canadian Hockey League's Top Scorer Award this week with 45 goals and 128 points in 68 games.

Late Season Fantasy Hockey Saviours

Who is this guy? He could be your fantasy hockey saviour.

The NHL season is winding down and that means fantasy hockey GMs are desperately looking to grab as many points as they can to try and win their pools. In the past few years I've seen 1st to 4th separated by 4.5 points in rotisserie pools and have even been knocked out of the playoffs in a head-to-head pool by a single powerplay point. Losing by that small of a margin sucks so make sure to give your waiver wire a looksie to find the potential difference maker for your team going forward.

Minnesota HS All Hockey Hair Team 2014

The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament is wrapping up this weekend which means YouTube user Pulltabproductions11 has compiled his All Hockey Hair Team for the fourth consecutive year. This guy is dedicated to finding the best hockey hair at the tournament and has done a tremendous job since 2011 highlighting the best flow in Minnesota high school hockey. The commentary is absolutely hilarious so give the videos a quick view and remember your high school hockey days when you rocked a similar shag.

OHLer Puts Up Dangle Of The Year Candidate

That's Sergey Tolchinsky of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds scoring on a breakaway last night against the Sarnia Sting. We knew right away it was a dirty dangle, but we had to watch it a few times just to grasp what the hell he actually did. With a clear cut breakaway, Tolchinsky does a half turn at the hash marks before putting the puck and his stick through his legs to roof it on the poor Sarnia Sting goalie, Taylor Dupuis. Really the only thing that could have made this goal better were if he popped the water bottle into the 7th row. 

2014 NHL Trade Deadline Day Drinking Game!

There's really only one thing that can make watching hockey analysts and ex-NHL scrubs talk about potential trades for 8+ hours and that's alcohol. Often a letdown, Trade Deadline Day is still a big deal in the hockey world as teams look to stock up before a playoff run or in Buffalo's case, stock the cupboard for the next two NHL Entry Drafts. There's already been a lot of trade action on the eve of Trade Deadline Day which means you're playing catch up to start the day so grab some beers, grab some liquor, fire up NHL 14 and order some Za to get you through the day! 

Remember, don't be an idiot and please drink responsibly.

Young Players That Need A New Home

Every team in the NHL has different organizational depth charts and depending on a team's needs young players could find themselves in a variety of career changing situations. One player could find himself jumping from junior right to the NHL because he plays a certain position while another could be stuck in the AHL for a few years because of the players ahead of him in the organization. Every team is different and sometimes players get opportunities while others are left waiting for their turn. Think of Nino Niederreiter wasting away with the New York Islanders and being misused by management the past few seasons. He needed a change of scenery and now it's not that surprising to see him finding success in Minnesota.