2008–09 Boston Bruins Season
The 2008–09 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 85th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Their regular season began on the road on October 9, 2008, in Denver versus the Colorado Avalanche and concluded on April 12, 2009, against the New York Islanders. The Bruins looked to improve upon the accomplishments of the 2007–08 season, which included Boston's return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 season. Marc Savard again led the team in scoring for the regular season, his 88 points good for ninth in the league. Tim Thomas led all goaltenders in both save percentage and goals against at season's end, while sophomore sensation David Krejci led the league in plus-minus, narrowly beating out rookie teammate Blake Wheeler. The Bruins claimed their first division title since 2004 and clinched top seed in the East for the first time since 2002. Season events Arguably the two biggest events to occur during the Bruins' off-season were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eastern Conference (NHL)
The Eastern Conference (french: Conférence de l'Est) is one of two conferences in the National Hockey League (NHL) used to divide teams. Its counterpart is the Western Conference. History Originally named the Prince of Wales Conference, it was created in 1974 when the NHL realigned its teams into two conferences and four divisions. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were removed. The Prince of Wales Trophy dates back to 1925, when it was donated to the League by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII and then the Duke of Windsor. It was originally given to the NHL's playoff champion. (Until 1926, the Stanley Cup was presented to the winner of a post-season playoff between the NHL and Western Hockey League champions.) Since 1926–27, the Stanley Cup has gone to the NHL's playoff champion. During the years when the NHL had no divisions, (i.e., 1925–26; 1938 to 1967), the Prin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the English Premier League (EPL). The National Hockey League was organized at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal on November 26, 1917, after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference, and is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, headed by Ted Leonsis. The Capitals initially played their home games at the Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland), Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, before moving to the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., in 1997. The Capitals were founded in as an expansion franchise, alongside the Kansas City Scouts, and struggled throughout its first eight years of existence. In , David Poile was hired as general manager, helping to turn the franchise's fortunes around. With a core of players such as Mike Gartner, Rod Langway, Larry Murphy (ice hockey), Larry Murphy, and Scott Stevens, the Capitals became a regular playoff contender for the next fourteen seasons. After purc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Ice Hockey
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003. The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale. and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940. The Gophers are currently coached by Bob Motzko. Under Don Lucia the Gophers earned a spot in the NCAA tournament in eight seasons during a nine-year time span, including five number 1 seeds and three appearances in the Frozen Four. The team's main rivalries are with the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Dakota, although several other schools claim Minnesota as their archrival. For much of the team's history, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Ryder
Michael Glen Wayne Ryder (born March 31, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Ryder played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, and New Jersey Devils. He was a member of the 2011 Stanley Cup-winning Bruins squad, scoring eight goals during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Boston to their first title since 1972. Playing career Junior Ryder played for the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL. Montreal Canadiens Ryder was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 8th round, 216th overall. He hired hockey agent Thayne Campbell before signing with Montreal. On May 30, 2003, Ryder scored the winning goal to end the longest game in American Hockey League history. His goal at 14:56 of the fourth overtime period gave the Hamilton Bulldogs a 2–1 win over the Houston Aeros in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals. In the 2003–04 NHL season, he played in the NHL YoungStars Ga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ' ( The Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs,Other nicknames for the team include ''Le Canadien'', ''Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge'', ''La Sainte-Flanelle'', ''Le Tricolore'', ''Les Glorieux'' (or ''Nos Glorieux''), ''Le CH'', ''Le Grand Club'', ''Les Plombiers'', and ''Les Habitants'' (from which "Habs" is derived). are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Since 1996, the Canadiens have played their home games at Bell Centre, originally known as Molson Centre. The team previously played at the Montreal Forum, which housed the team for seven decades and all but their first two Stanley Cup championships.Ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2001–02 NHL Season
The 2001–02 NHL season was the 85th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 3, and the playoffs concluded on June 13, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals in five games, winning their tenth Stanley Cup in franchise history. League business The cash-strapped Pittsburgh Penguins, desperate to dump payroll, could no longer afford perennial superstar Jaromir Jagr. He would be traded, along with Frantisek Kucera, to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Kris Beech, Ross Lupaschuk, Michal Sivek, and $4.9 million. Despite Mario Lemieux's return the previous season, the absence of Jagr proved devastating to the Penguins, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990. The Penguins did not return to the playoffs until they drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005. The Dallas Stars moved their home games from Reunion Arena to American Airli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blake Wheeler
Blake James Wheeler (born August 31, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, fifth overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Wheeler was born in Plymouth, Minnesota, but grew up in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. After failing to come to terms on a contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, he signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent. Playing career Amateur Wheeler attended Breck School his freshman year through his junior year. There, during his junior year, Wheeler had his breakout season, putting up a state-high 45 goals and 55 assists in 2003–04. He led his team to a Class A State Hockey Championship that season, and scored a hat trick in the final game. Wheeler opted to play his senior year in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Green Bay Gamblers. After playing one season with the Gamblers, Wheeler attended the University of Minnesota. In 2005†... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plus–minus (sports)
Plus−minus (+/−, ±, plus/minus) is a sports statistic used to measure a player's impact, represented by the difference between their team's total scoring versus their opponent's when the player is in the game. Ice hockey In ice hockey, the plus–minus measures a player's goal differential. When a team that is at even-strength or shorthanded scores a goal, all players on the ice on the scoring team will register a plus while all players on the conceding team on the ice will register a minus. When a goal is scored by a team on the power play, no plus or minus points are awarded to either team. Empty net situations are treated the same as even-strength unless the team that scores is on the power play. Penalty shot goals are excluded. A player's plus−minus statistic is calculated for each game played. The statistic is directly affected by overall team performance, influenced by both the offensive and defensive performance of the team as a whole. However, there ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2003–04 NHL Season
The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup champions were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series four games to three against the Calgary Flames. For the fourth time in eight years, the all-time record for total shutouts in a season was shattered, as 192 shutouts were recorded. The 2003–04 regular season was also the first one (excluding the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season) since 1967–68 in which there was neither a 50-goal scorer, nor a 100-point scorer. This was the final season that ABC and ESPN televised NHL games until 2021–22. It was also the final NHL season before the 2004–05 NHL lockout with games resuming in the fall of 2005 as part of the 2005–06 season, and the final season in which games could end in ties. League business The schedule of 82 games was revamped. The new format increased divisional games from five to six per team (24 total), and decreased inter-conference games to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, 2008, after the 2007–08 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The Buffalo Sabres became the second team to miss the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Trophy in the prior season. This would not happen again until 2015. The Finals ended on June 4, 2008, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two to win their eleventh championship and their fourth in eleven seasons. Red Wings winger Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player. Sidney Crosby and Zetterberg led the tournament with 27 points. Highlights The San Jose Sharks were the media's favorite to win the Cup going into the playoffs, having gone the entire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |