Author: Patrick Hoffman
Patrick covers the NHL for Inside The Rink. He has previously covered the league for The Ultimate Hockey Fan Cave, WTP Sports, Sportsnet.ca, Kukla’s Korner, Spector’s Hockey, NHL Network Radio blog, TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Stan Fischler’s “The Fischler Report”, as well as a slew of others.
Opinion: Rangers Performance In Loss to the Flames Alarming At This Time of the Season
In a game that the New York Rangers needed to win in order to stay in a wild card spot in a very competitive Eastern Conference, they instead never showed up. On Tuesday night, March 18th, against the Calgary Flames, they were outplayed, outhustled, and outworked in a 3-1 loss at Madison Square Garden. To […]
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Opinion: The Penguins Have a Goaltending Problem
There is no doubt that the Pittsburgh Penguins have what it takes to be a good hockey team when it comes to offense. As of this writing (Tuesday night, March 4th), the Penguins are 15th in the league in goals scored with 182 goals in 63 games. That means that the team is close (2.89) […]
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Opinion: Lightning’s Vasilevskiy Quietly One Of League’s Top Goaltenders This Season
When it comes to the top goaltenders in the NHL this season, only one name is consistently mentioned: Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. This should not come as a surprise, considering what he has done so far this season. As of this writing (Monday night, February 24), Hellebuyck, 31, is 34-7-0-2 with a 2.06 goals-against […]
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Canada’s Binnington Shines When It Matters Most
There were a lot of naysayers when Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper picked Jordan Binnington as his starting goaltender for the 4 Nations Face-Off. A lot of people pointed out how his numbers are not very good, how he allows a lot of soft goals, and that his temperament might not be right for […]
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There is a New Connor in Town: Toddler Connor “Macdangles” MacMillan
When it comes to hockey, everyone knows who Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard are. Well, it is time to introduce the hockey world to another Connor in hockey. He may only be two years old, but this Connor looks like he could end up being a heck of a hockey player! His name is Connor […]
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Talking Hockey and Metal with Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel
There is no doubt that hockey and metal go together. They are both loud, exciting, fun to watch and listen to, and have been around for a long time. No one knows this better than Brian Slagel. Slagel is the founder and CEO of independent record label Metal Blade Records and helped put a little-known […]
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Opinion: MacKinnon Is The Engine That Drives that Avalanche
There is no doubt that when it comes to the Colorado Avalanche, Nathan MacKinnon is the engine that drives them year in and year out. MacKinnon’s strong play this season has the Avalanche fourth in the Central Division, in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, sixth overall in the Western Conference, and […]
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Opinion: Rangers Making Things Interesting
When the New York Rangers were in the thick of things in December, it seemed like the team would never come out of it. They had trouble keeping the puck out of their net, putting the puck in the net, making simple plays, making smart plays, and doing all the little things that are necessary […]
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Opinion: Devils’ Markstrom More Than Getting The Job Done Between the Pipes
After a terrific 2022-23 season, the New Jersey Devils struggled mightily last year due to their goaltending. Jacob Markstrom is changing that narrative. Just look at what the Devils goaltending did last season: In looking at the above, it is clear that the Devils got a lot of inconsistent goaltending and went through way too […]
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Opinion: Has Goaltender Logan Thompson Found a Home with the Capitals?
Not long ago, current Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson thought he had found a home with the Vegas Golden Knights. After getting off to a great start in the 2022-23 season, Thompson, 27, suffered several injuries and, in the process, lost the starting goaltending job to Adin Hill. Hill would go on to help the […]
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