For fans and players of the NHL this has been a long and stressful summer up to this point. With the CBA still not signed for the 2012-2013 season it has made everyone tense. And with the decision from Commissioner Gary Bettman last week saying that if there is no deal signed before September 15th there will be a lockout things have gotten worse.

This is a nightmare for both fans and players alike because of what happened in 2004 when the entire league was shut down for an entire season because of the lockout. That year saw a huge loss in money and players, after over 350 of them went to play over in Europe because of this decision. Now with the KHL having many elite teams with elite players (including a lot of former NHL players) it poses an even bigger threat that players will once again leave.

The NHLPA submitted a proposal yesterday afternoon to the NHL in their offices in New York City. After a two hour meeting which included high profile players such as Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos the NHL and Gary Bettman decided they were going to need another day to digest everything that happened yesterday. So the wait continues, until around noon this afternoon when they will meet again to go over the current proposal which includes the players taking a hit in terms on revenue aspect of the deal. Everyone just wants to start the season on time and everyone hopes both sides come to an agreement quickly. But for now we wait…

The New Jersey Devils are in the midst of an adjustment and it is not something the fans or owners want to go through. This has been one of the craziest offseasons for the Devils after playing a season not many thought they could do just yet. The 2011-2012 season saw the Los Angeles Kings win their fist Stanley Cup in their 45 year history. But it also saw a strong New Jersey Devils team force a game 6 in the finals after having their backs against the wall being down 0-3. That team proved to everyone that they deserved to be in the finals after beating the Florida Panthers in 7, the Philadelphia Flyers in 5 and the New York Rangers in the Conference Finals in 6. Everything was clicking for a team many wrote off before the playoffs started, but one player put the team on his back and played his heart out to shut everyone up and prove they were a cup contending team for a reason. Zach Parise.

The captain of the Devils was a franchise player, a leader and a homegrown guy, after the Devils drafted him in the first round of the 2003 NHL draft (17th overall). That is until he, along with Nashville Predators forward Ryan Suter, shocked everyone by signing 13 year deals worth $98 million with the Minnesota Wild. Devils fans were shocked, their captain and heart and soul guy for years signed a deal with another team, after making it to the finals a few weeks prior. Everyone knew he was going to test the waters of free agency after not signing a contract extension during the regular season, but Devils fans thought he would just test the waters, not dive in smiling.

But the worst part is Parise isn’t the only guy who left Newark, NJ this summer. Forwards Alexi Ponikarovsky signed with the Winnipeg Jets and Eric Boulton signed with the New York Islanders while defenseman Matt Taormina signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. And from the coaching standpoint both of the assistant coaches left. Adam Oates left to become head coach of the Washington Capitals and Larry Robinson is now an associate coach of the San Jose Sharks. Yes the Devils signed some guys (including two new assistant coaches) during the summer but the additions don’t add up to the losses the Devils suffered within the span of about a month. The loss of two assistant coaches, a defenseman, three forwards, one of whom was the captain, and losing the Stanley Cup in 6 games…The Devils will have a lot to prove when the 2012-2013 season starts in October.

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has looked anything but solid in these playoffs. In the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins the offense and high emotions carried them in a 6 game defeat of the Pens. The fire seems to have vanished from these Flyers and they are on the verge of elimination tonight. After Giroux threw a hissy fit after being frustrated in Game 4 Brendan Shannahan decided to suspend him for tonights game. Giroux will be forced to watch from the press box tonight. The Devils came off a 7 game series with the Florida Panthers and have only seem tired in Game 1. A game they took to overtime. Goalie Martin Brodeur celebrate his 40th birthday in style with a Game 4 defeat. Brodeur became the first goalie to win a playoff game in his teens and in his 40’s. After riding their emotions to the win over the Penguins the Flyers seem lifeless and destined to finish their season tonight in front of their home fans.

Sunday night, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup finals. After letting up three goals in the first period, the Flyers put in backup goalie Brian Boucher to try to stop the bleeding. However, he had just as much failure as Leighton had.

So far, each game has been won by the home team. On Tuesday night, the series heads to Philadelphia, where the Flyers look to take back control.

Dustin Byfuglien tallied two goals and two assists for Chicago. For Philadelphia, Chris Pronger had a +/- of –5, which is the worst of his career, counting both playoffs and the regular season.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Entering Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers found themselves in a 2-0 series deficit against the Chicago Blackhawks. While the Flyers became the third team in history to come back from a 3-0 series lead just two rounds ago, losing game three would have essentially sealed the Stanley Cup going to Chicago.

With the game all tied up, Patrick Kane scored quickly in the third period, which sent the Philadelphia crowd into panic. However, Ville Leino answered a mere 20 seconds later, sending the crowd into a frenzy. In overtime, it looked as if Simon Gagne won the game for the Flyers. With the red light on and the players celebrating, the puck never crossed the line, and thus the potential game-winning goal was taken away. With the Philadelphia crowd in a nervous state, Claude Giroux sent that nervousness away when he scored in overtime, which gave the Flyers a 4-3 victory.

Now down 2-1 in the series, Philadelphia looks to even it up. If they do not, Chicago is in serious command.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

For years, the National Hockey League has been searching for answers. While there are many hardcore hockey fans, unfortunately, the casual fans are decreasing as time goes on. Only a few games a year get respectable television ratings. Simply, the answer to their problem is Versus. This year, it looks as if the Stanley Cup is going to feature Chicago and Philadelphia; two big sports markets. However, this will not really do anything for the NHL. On May 24th, the Flyers have a chance to win the Eastern Conference Championship. Is the game on a legitimate television network? No, it is not on regular cable, which is a complete joke. The NHL continues to dig themselves into a hole, and Versus is a big reason. It is impossible to garner the interest of fans when they cannot even watch the league’s games. The NBA (except for this year, because Lakers-Celtics has a great chance of happening), NFL, and MLB would be more than happy with the idea of Philadelphia vs. Chicago. But for the NHL, it won’t change anything, if nobody can even watch it.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Jeff Carter and Danny Briere ended their playoff scoring droughts in a big way. One more win and the Philadelphia Flyers can erase the New Jersey Devils from the playoffs — and put a jarring piece of postseason history behind them.

Carter scored two goals and Briere had one to snap scoring funks and lead Philadelphia to a 4-1 victory over New Jersey on Tuesday night and a commanding 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

“Everybody wants to chip in, everybody wants to do their part,” Briere said. “It was frustrating in a sense that when you lose and you don’t participate, you feel more responsible. It feels good, definitely, to help out the team.”

The Flyers have won 17 of 19 playoff series when they hold a 3-1 lead. One of those blown leads came in the 2000 Eastern Conference finals in goalie Brian Boucher’s rookie season. Ten years later and in his third stint with the organization, Boucher has them on the brink of advancing to the conference semifinal.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

He usually hears cheers from Flyers fans after another fight has riled them up.

Buried under a pile of his teammates with nothing to see but a blur orange jerseys, Daniel Carcillo never heard noise like what vibrated throughout the arena. Carcillo, a fighter with squatters rights on the penalty box, morphed from puncher to postseason star with the biggest goal of his career.

Carcillo scored 3:35 into overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night and a 2-1 advantage in the Eastern Conference series.

He looked left, right, then all he saw was a face-full of flying Flyers. A week after earning a playoff spot in a shootout against the New York Rangers in the regular-season finale, it was time for another wild Philly pileup.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com