NHL Playoffs to Feature No Canadian Team for First Time in 46 Years

The 2015-2016 National Hockey League season will mark the first time in 46 years that postseason will not feature a team from the land to the north.

All seven of the Canadian based teams were officially eliminated on Wednesday night, when the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the President’s Trophy winning Washing Capitals in shootouts. The Flyers 2-1 victory, put the final nail in the coffin of the last Canadian team standing, the Ottawa Senators, with 11 days left in the regular season.  

The last time that no Canadian team reached the NHL playoffs was in the 1969-1970 season. Back then, there were only 12 teams in the league and only the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens represented the Canadian markets in the NHL. 

With no Canadian market in this season’s playoffs, Commissioner Gary Bettman will presenting the silver chalice, known as the Stanley Cup, to the captain of a U.S. based team for the 22^nd straight year. Last season five Canadian market teams skated fro the chance to hoist the Cup, which was an improvement from 2013-2014, when only the Canadiens made it to the postseason. 

Not only is this the first time since the 1970 postseason without a team from Canada, it is also the second time in the history of the NHL that it has happened. In that season the New York Rangers won tiebreaker over the Canadiens on the final day of the season. 

The last time a Canadian market team hoisted the cup was in the 1992-1993 season when the Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings four games to one. The Vancouver Canuks came close in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but fell to the Boston Bruins four games to three.

While the teams that play their home games North of the Border may not be there in the playoffs, there are still many Canadian stars playing for teams on the US based teams to give hockey fans in Canada something to look forward to.  

New Jersey Devils & USA Hockey Hosted Girls Hockey Clinic at Prudential Center

The New Jersey Devils and USA Hockey held the team’s first girls only American Development Model Clinic at the Barnabas Health Hockey House earlier this month. 

The clinic was a third in a series of ADM events held at the team’s practice facility in Newark, New Jersey. More than 50 girls from around the Atlantic District of New Jersey, Delaware and Eastern Pennsylvania participated in the hour long event on March 18. 

The players between the ages of eight and 14 years old were able to hone their skills, from three-on-three cross ice hockey, to stickhandling skills, to passing drills and even kicking a soccer ball into the empty net, helping to emphasize balance at various stations throughout the clinic.

Devils Director of Grassroots and Amateur Hockey Operations and USA Hockey Associate Coach in Chief for the Atlantic District, Andy Gojdycz said, “When you think about it you are working on both edges of your skates. Footwork, balance and coordination though we present it as having fun.”

 

Gojdycz, who also serves as the New Jersey ADM Supervisor enlisted the help of an all-star cast of coaches to assist with the clinic. Some of those which included; Kiira Dosdall and Gabbie Figueroa of the New York Riveters of the National Women’s Hockey League, Olympian Josephine Pucci as well as other former NCAA players. 

For many of the coaches, all-girl clinics were not available as they began their hockey careers, which helped make the clinic extra special for them as they helped guide the young players. Dosdall said, “I was the only girl in Southern Connecticut that played, that was my age, maybe a couple of others, but we all played with boys.”

 

She explained, “When I was a kid I knew every other girl player within a 30-mile radius of me. Now there are dozens of programs within a 30 mile of New Jersey and Connecticut.” Dosdall added that it was a special feeling to help coach the kids in this growing segment of the game. 

The creation of this clinic represents the growing participation of girls in the sport of hockey. USA Hockey ADM Coordinator, Maureen Thompson-Siegel said, “The success of our Olympic teams and the success of our NCAA teams are just spreading the interest through the younger kids.” Roxanne Gaudiel, a four-year goaltender for Princeton University added, “It is really great to see so many girls out there and to really see the sheer number of girls at every age group.” She mentioned that growing up in Venice, Florida she never had the opportunity to attend an all-girls clinic. 

The clinic was the inaugural event held in the recently renamed practice facility at the Prudential Center. Just a week earlier the facility hosted the NWHL’s Isobel Cup Finals. Some of the participants even attended the championship series on March 11^th and 12^th. Gojdycz added, “You can see how circular it is.”

 

Natalie Peterson an 11-year who plays for the Bayonne Rangers, attended the clinic and the Isobel Cup aspires to play professionally one day and even said that it was “amazing” to be on the same ice as some of her heroes. 

Gojdycz said, “The Devils are fully committed to the growth of girls’ youth hockey and understand the significance the sport can have in a child’s development on and off the ice.”

 

Washington Capitals Clinch Presidents Trophy

The Washington Capitals clinched the President’s Trophy as top team in the National Hockey League on Monday night as the defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1. 

The victory, the 54^th of the season for the Capitals matches their single season record for wins set six seasons ago in 2009-2010. By capturing the top spot in the NHL the Capitals will have home ice throughout the playoffs. 

Caps coach, Barry Trotz said, “There is not going to be any champagne party or anything like that. There is a sense of fulfillment that we said we were going to do some things and we accomplished them so far and we have still got things to accompliish. The season is not over because we wrapped this up.”

The Capitals had some individual milestones in the game as well. Tom Wilson broke a 1-1 tie in the final frame as he notched what proved to be his first game winning goal of his career. Nicklas Backstrom added the empty netter helping him reach the 20 goal mark for just the third time in his career. 

Goaltender Braden Holtby turned away 21 shots helping become just the fifth netminder in NHL history to win 46 games in one season. He needs two more victories to tie future Hall of Famer and former New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur’s league best 48 victories, set back in 2006-2007.

Trotz added, “What I liked about us is that we did not give them much. This could have been a team shutout I did not think Holts was worked too hard.” 

 

T.J. Oshie said, “I think all of the guys are proud of what we did, it is a big accomplishment. I think everyone is kind of more eager to pat each other on the back and move on and keep growing our game for the playoffs.”  

The Capitals will now look to become just the ninth President’s Trophy winner to hoist the Stanley Cup in the same season. The last team to accomplish that feat was the 2012-2013 Chicago Blackhawks and before that the 2007-2008 Detroit Red Wings. 

The six other teams to accomplish the feat include; the 1986-1987 Edmonton Oilers, 1988-1989 Calgary Flames, 1993-1994 New York Rangers, 1998-1999 Dallas Stars, 2000-2001 Colorado Avalanche and the 2001-2002 Red Wings. 

In addition to the eight other President’s Trophy winners to hoist the Cup, three have fallen in the Stanley Cup Finals, six lost in the Conference Finals, six in the second round and six have failed to make it out of the opening round. 

This is the Capitals second time taking the top seed, the last time they accomplished the feat was in 2009-2010 when they finished the season with 121 points and a 54-15-13 record only to fall, in seven games, to the Montreal Canadiens during the Eastern Conference Finals.