On the Prowl: Week of 5/26

The Los Angeles Kings have now made three straight Western Conference Finals. As good as the Blackhawks have been since the onset of the salary cap era, the Kings have been the more dominant team over the past three years. Their core of players: Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, and Mike Richards show no signs of slowing down, and it wouldn't be surprising if Los Angeles continues their dominance over the next couple of years.

Playoffs

• Derek Stepan took a high hit from Brandon Prust, broke his jaw, and still finished the game; showcasing the toughness prominent in all hockey players.
• The Blackhawks offense has seemed stagnant at times in their series against the Kings. Eric T. may have the advanced statistics explanation for us.
• Los Angeles has a key to success, and they're using it to dominate the postseason.
• What deficiencies in the NHL rule book have been highlighted in this year's postseason, and how can they be fixed?

The Offseason

• The Islanders make things less complicated for the 2014 NHL Draft by retaining this year's pick.
• Jaroslav Halak is backstopping an NHL team for the next 4 years.
• The GM and coaching carousel this offseason looks like it's going to result in a plethora of activity come summer.
• The Rangers have a dominant defenseman in Ryan McDonagh. They also have one in Anton Stralman, a player the Panthers should look into this offseason.
• Is it possible that Pierre McGuire ends up as the GM of the Penguins?
• Gary Bettman feels the NHL is headed in the right direction.

Panthers News

• Though the debate over what the Panthers do with the first overall pick has been intense, Aaron Ekblad's case for going first overall is very strong.
• The Panthers have been a rebuilding team for a while; where do they stand now?/

Advanced Statistics

• The analytics community mourns the passing of JLikens, a true trail blazer in bringing the numbers game to the sport of hockey.
• Steve Simmons released his piece on the deficiencies of analytics in hockey. Tyler Dellow has a piece showing just where Simmons is wrong in his criticisms. Pension Plan Puppets also has there own piece showing the deficiencies of Simmons' arguments. Conclusion? Mr. Simmons is just plain wrong./