Two Man Forecheck

Episode 0060: The Playoffs, Blake Wheeler, Staal and the Wild, Twitter Poll, John Tavares, NY Market Without Playoffs, Evander Kane, Brad Marchand, Goal Scoring Is Up and Add One!

Can you smell it?  Can you feel it?  That’s right…The NHL Playoffs are just around the corner!  Here at the Two Man Forecheck we are thinking playoffs all the time.   And we start this week’s show with a brief touch on the very near future tourney.  Transitioning into a recent topic, Blake Wheeler was sent to the dressing room at practice yesterday after an altercation with a teammate.  Is this really an issue?  We talk about the Minnesota Wild and their leading scorer, Eric Staal.  Is he in line for some hardware at the end of the season?  The Forecheck Twitter Poll this week involved the latest Bruin addition, Ryan Donato, and the respondents felt that, by a 55% margin, his addition was brought on by the injuries suffered in Boston.  The Forecheckers discuss John Tavares and various scenarios that could play out before transitioning to the NY market and the possibility of not having any teams in the playoffs.  One of our favorite topics is Evander Kane, and we discuss his resurgence and pure enjoyment of the game now that he is in San Jose.  Is it open season on Brad Marchand?  Pucksage and the Bruins feel that it might be.  Goal scoring is up around the league…why is that?  All this and Add One!  We packed a lot into this show so please give it a listen and let us know how you feel.  Questions, comments and even criticisms are always welcome.

Episode 0059: Hockey East Tournament and Awards, Ovechkin Scores 600, CORSI Is Dead, Backes' Bad Month, the Jets Chances and Western Conf. Dark Horses, eSports Gaming and Ms. Daryl Watts!

Here we are, another week in the books and the playoffs are looming large on the horizon.  The puck drop gives us the announcement of two prospects for the Boston Bruins signing their entry level contracts, both from the University of Wisconsin.  Sticking with the college theme, the Forecheckers talk about the Hockey East tournament and awards given with a touch of underclassmen who have received Rookie awards.  The Two Man Forecheck want to congratulate Alexander Ovechkin on hitting the 600-goal plateau in his career and we discuss just how far can he go.  CORSI is dead, and David Backes has had a rough month.  The Forecheck show has been a fan of the Vegas Knights, and we really like the Predators, but the one team that could vault ahead of them is Winnipeg.  We also talk about dark horse teams L.A. and Anaheim.  We briefly touch on eSports gaming as the NHL has created a tournament and we talk about Ms. Daryl Watts, a freshman at B.C. who has won the NCAA Player of the Year award (Patty Kazmaier) as well as the Cammi Granato award (Hockey East Player of the Year) and Hockey East Rookie of the Year for women’s hockey.  Congrats to Daryl!  Have a listen, please leave us your thoughts and questions, and enjoy!

Episode 0058: Caps One and Done, Coaching Hot Seat, Backes Suspension, The Nash/Spooner Deal...Who is Winning, Jack Edwards Tweeting, Flyers' NHL Awards Chances and Add One!

Here we are in March and one month away from the NHL Playoffs.  The Two Man Forecheck is gearing up…We start this week’s show talking about the Capitals and their playoffs being one and done.  Braden Holtby is not the Vezina candidate he has been in the past but is he the sole reason?  This leads into a discussion about coaches on the hot seat and who could replace them.  David Backes has been suspended for 3 games but has never been punished by the NHL in the past.  Was he deserving?  The Bruins and Rangers made a splash at the trade deadline, but who won the Rick Nash deal?  The Forecheckers believe that Spooner may be the winner.  Jack Edwards, the television voice of the Bruins tweeted about the Brad Marchand hit against Anthony DuClair, picking on NBC Sports in the process.  The Flyers may have multiple players in line for season awards, we discuss two of them.  All this and Add One as well as the NHL telling coaches and players to stop complaining about goaltender interference.  Enjoy the show, drop us a line to query, complain or congratulate our opinions but don’t miss this week’s episode.

Episode 0057: The Boston Bruins 7th Player Award, the New York Rangers, Trade Deadline Winners and Losers, Overpayments and the Ryan McDonagh Deal, The Calgary Flames Stadium Situation and Add One!

Here we are the week after the trade deadline and the winners/losers are starting to surface.  That being said, we begin this week at the local level, with a discussion of the Boston Bruins 7^th Player Award, given to the player that exceeds expectations voted on by the fans.  Charlie McAvoy is the likely winner, but should he be?  We also talk about the New York Rangers and the moves made at the deadline, which leads us into a frank conversation about the winners and losers.  Tampa Bay would be an obvious choice, but there are other teams to consider such as Columbus and Winnipeg.  The Forecheckers wax poetic about the new love in the NHL, the Golden Knights and their deal for Tatar.  Did they overpay?  Did other teams overpay (as most do at the deadline)?  Mike and I like to surprise you so we do this week by agreeing with Gary Bettman regarding the state of the Calgary Flames.  All this and Add One is back!!  Listen, comment, send your questions and enjoy!

Episode 0056: Breaking Rick Nash News, The Olympics, Marco Sturm, The Trade Deadline and What's Still to Come Around the League

 Hello Everyone and Welcome!  To steal a line from Michael Buffer..."Let's Get Ready to Rumble!!".  The Two Man Forecheck began this week's show with breaking news just before the red record light came on...Rick Nash became a Bruin.  The Forecheckers discuss and commiserate over the acquisition.  How much was paid and overpaid.  Other possibilities rather than Rick Nash.  To bring things to a positive side, we change topics to the Olympics.  How impressive were the women!  Congrats on the gold medal!  We talk about the men and specifically about the possibility of Marco Sturm reappering in the NHL behind some team's bench.  We talk trade deadline and potential landing spots for players the likes of Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson.  So much content that we missed Add One for a second week, but you won't notice either as this show is packed!  Give a listen and let us know how you feel about the new teammates!  Until tomorrow...gonna steal one more line here..."Who has more fun than us?!"  Thanks for listening!

Episode 0055: Boston Bruins, Beanpot Tournament, Kings/Senators Trade, N.Y. Rangers Selloff, E. Kane, Patrice Bergeron, Jaroslav Halak, Eichel and Buffalo, The Office of Player Safety

After a one week absence due to the flu with a stomach bug chaser for The Offwing, the Forecheckers are back with another rivetting episode packed with local team discussions among other topics.  Start with the Boston Bruins and their not so impressive loss at Vancouver.  We knock around ideas as to why this happened and the possibility of this pattern continuing.  We then move on to one of the most underrated tournaments, the Boston Beanpot Tournament.  B.C., B.U., Northeastern and Harvard play for the priviledge of hoisting a small pewter Beanpot the way the NHL teams hoist a slightly larger silver cup.  Some of the most entertaining hockey a fan could ever hope to see.  We discuss the puzzling trade between the L.A. Kings and Ottawa Senators and whether there was actually a winner in this deal.  Spoiler...Mike thinks the Kings won...The forecheckers then move on to the N.Y. Rangers and their impending selloff.  Who should they move?  Is there anyone they should keep?  We talk Evander Kane and potential landing spots, Patrice Bergeron and potential hardware, Jaroslav Halak and his future with the Islanders and Jack Eichel and how his injury affects the Buffalo Sabres.  The show closes with a discussion about the Office of Player Safety (which is or is located directly next to the Office of Accounts Receivable).  Have they lost touch with reality a little?  The number of games given for a suspension appears to be random, and in some cases, too little to fit the crime.  So join us...Add One will return next week.  Leave us some comments, queries and topics you would like to hear on a future podcast.  Enjoy the show!

Episode 0054: John Tavares, Mike Green, Jack Johnson and the Trade Deadline, Tampa Bay and the Deadline, Las Vegas' Trademark, Mike Fisher, Zdeno Chara and Add One!

Episode 54, also known as Year 2 Week 2, sees the Forecheckers venturing into the recent past with an exciting discussion about the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.  Celebrate with us the players that were not only taken in the first round, but the late picks such as Connor Hellebuyck who are now succeeding.  Could this be the best draft since 2003?  Isn’t it fun to hash out.  We also talk trade deadline and how it would affect the decision of one John Tavares to stay with his current club.  How will Jack Johnson and Mike Green celebrate the deadline?  Are they moving on?  Will Tampa pull off some move to acquire Erik Karlsson? 

Shorter topics include the trademark battle continuing between the Golden Knights and the U.S. Army, Mike Fisher’s return to the Nashville Predators and Zdeno Chara hitting another milestone in his career.  1400 games is nothing to balk at.  Could he reach 1000 with the Bruins?

We close the show with another rousing episode of Add One!  Join us for all the mirth and mayhem, or just listen for the enjoyment.  Drop us a line and let us know which draft is your favorite, or any of the other topics we discuss weekly.  Look forward to hearing from all of you…and go Patriots.

Episode 0053: A.S. Skills Competition, Jim Benning & the Canucks, Jason Demers/Rick Tocchet, Louis Domingue, N.Y.R. Dealing?, Listener Comments, B's Prospect Notes, The New P/O/D Segment and Add One!

Hello all and welcome to a new year of the Two Man Forecheck!  We start out with a discussion of the All Star Skills Competition, which saw a number of new winners and a couple of new competitions.  Which did we like? Who surprised us?  Listen and find out.  We then move to a frank conversation about Jim Benning and the Vancouver Canucks.  Is it his fault that the Canucks are in the position they are in?  Based on the article we quote, it is, but we feel differently.  Are the New York Rangers going to be sellers at the deadline?  We found a story that says they absolutely should be selling.  We delve into some listener comments from the last show regarding trading Krug or McQuaid, as well as some Bruins prospect updates.  The Forecheckers have started a new segment, the P/O/D segment.  Stands for Player/Organization/Division.  For this week the target is the New Jersey Devils.  And of course we close the show with Add One!  Join us for the start of another exciting year and let us know how we are doing or what we can talk about.  Enjoy the second half of the season.

Episode 0052: THE ANNIVERSARY SHOW, Krug and McQuaid On The Move, Buyers and Sellers, Spooner and Mr. January and Add One!

Here it is, our one year anniversary!  What a trip its been so far!  For today's show the Forecheckers discussed the possibility (or lack thereof) of the Boston Bruins moving Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid or both.  And for good measure, could they possibly move Ryan Spooner?  Mike and Chris offer differing opinions.  We then stretch out the discussion to include who should be buying and who should be selling their wares.  Spoiler alert:  Arizona appears on one of these lists.  The conversation turns back to Boston and their very own Mr. January...Patrice Bergeron.  His January statistics far exceed any other month of the hockey season.  This topic also expands to team leadership and other possible players that are leaders on their respective teams...whether they sport a letter on their jersey or not.  Then, as most episodes go, we close with another ringing episode of Add One!!  Can you figure out the theme before Chris did?  

Its been a year, and we would like to thank those that have listened right along with us!  And for those that haven't, jump on in, give us a listen.  And let us know what you would like to hear, or let us know how we are doing.  This show is as much for you the listeners as it is for us.  So we celebrate one year and look forward to many more!  Thanks for listening!

Episode 0051: Hurricanes New Majority Owner, Surprise Statistics, The Duclair Trade & Its Effect on Chicago and Arizona and the TMF Poll Question!

Hello all!  One more week til our one year anniversary episode, but first the Forecheckers start out this week with a deep discussion of the new majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and his wishes for the fan base of the franchise.  His (apparent) somewhat hands off approach to the talent will give him the opportunity to give time to improving the experience for Hurricanes fans, along with his commitment to the Raleigh area.  We then delve into a discussion about the surprise statistical rise and fall of the top players in the NHL.  How many listeners out there predicted that Nathan MacKinnon would be third in scoring at this point in the season?  That the likes of Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin would be outside the top ten?  Chris and Mike talk long and loquacious regarding the Anthony Duclair trade and its impact on both the Blackhawks and Coyotes.  What does Richard Panik bring to the Arizona franchise?  Finally, the Two Man Forecheck Poll Question regarding the growth of the NHL had three choices...and the winner was Rebuilding Rivalries.  Those who know the Forecheckers know that this is the concensus choice of both, but 75%...obviously the fans want to see more of their archrivals.  Next week is big...one year!  Any questions, comments, suggestions for topics or guests...don't hesitate to let us know.  As the Great One said..."100 percent of the shots not taken don't go in".  100% of the comments, etc. not made don't get talked about...unless we get lucky!  Until next week...