The NHL regular season opens tonight at 7pm with Washington at Boston and Montreal at Toronto, followed at 10pm by Vancouver at Calgary and San Jose at Colorado. The most interesting matchup of the nigh
t being Washington at Boston. Boston and Washington accounted for the No. 1 and No.2 seeds, respectively, in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season and both are favorites to win their division again this year.
Alexander Ovechkin is one of the most exciting players in NHL history, look no further than his goal in Game 5 of Washingtons playoff series against the New York Rangers last season. He has won two consecutive Hart Trophy’s as the leagues Most Valuable Player, the first player to do so since Dominik Hasek (’96-97, ‘97-98), and two consecutive Richard Trophy’s as the league leader in goals.
The Capitals also return several other key players, including Mike Green who missed several games last season with a shoulder injury. Green lead all defensemen in scoring, last season, while only playing in 68 games. Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin return on offense providing support to Ovechkin.
Jose Theodore is expected to start in the game tonight, but appears to be losing ground to Semyon Varlamov for the starting goalie position.
Newton’s Third Law states that for “every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.” If Ovechkin’s torrid offense is the action then the Boston Bruins rock-solid defense is its reaction. The Bruins were the
only team to allow less than 200 goals against last season and were one of only three teams to score more than 270 goals, the others being Washington (272) and league-leading Detroit (295).
Zdeno Chara is arguably one of the best defensemen playing in the league today. He is an all-around player with his size and strength on defense and the leaguest hardest slapshot on offense.
In goal, the Bruins have defending Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas who posted an impressive 2.10 GAA with a .933 save percentage and five shutouts leading to a 36-11 record.
So, what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? I guess we’ll find out tonight.
Извините, что не могу сейчас поучаствовать в дискуссии – очень занят. Освобожусь – обязательно выскажу своё мнение по этому вопросу….
The NHL regular season opens tonight at 7pm with Washington at Boston and Montreal at Toronto, followed at 10pm by Vancouver at Calgary and San Jose at Colorado…..