Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/2/2024

A thrilling week of Stanley Cup Playoff action ended with two unexpected teams reaching the Finals.  It's not that they weren't great teams it was just that they were less traditional markets who probably played on a national broadcast once combined.  But good they were, especially Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers. With his team down 2-1 after three games, both losses in OT, Bobrovsky shut it down allowing only four goals in the last three games (two on desperation goalie pulls with a two goal lead).  Three straight wins for the Panthers.  With all the focus on Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers, it was his Russian countryman Bobrovsky that shut it down. The Panthers are balanced and not the least of which is their goaltending and the Edmonton Oilers will have their hands full as we go to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Sergie Bobrovsky is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

This is Sergei Bobrovsky's second Sportsman of the Week.

This is the third Sportsman of the Week for the Florida Panthers.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/5/2022

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue to march toward a champion, and the New York Rangers are a team that few expected to make a strong run yet are positioned to make their first Stanley Cup Finals since 2014.  And their strong point has been goaltending.  By Igor Shesterkin.  The Russian wall has kept opponents at bay, winning 3 games out of 4 this week.  It started with a clutch 6-2 victory in the Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 7 against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road in Raleigh, NC, where the Rangers had not won all series and were huge underdogs.  Then, starting Games 1 and 2 at home at Madison Square Garden, he held the two-time defending Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning to 2 goals in each game for clutch 6-2/3-2 victories in both.  Three wins on the week and a smooth 2 GAA with a save percentage over 94.5%.  Will the Rangers win their first Cup in over 25 years?  If so, it will be Shesterkin that will be the cornerstone, our Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 3/8/2020

A hat trick is one thing.  Five goals in a game is another.  But our Sportsman of the Week did just that.  Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers tormented Ilya Samsonov of the Washington Capitals for the quinfecta in 52 minutes to give the Rangers a key win in their playoff chase in the Eastern Conference.  Zibanejad scored 7 goals in 3 games over the week.  His 39 goals this year are a career high and he's hit the 20 goals in a season 5 of the last 6 seasons.  The Swede showed his mettle this week, and is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/8/2014

It's rare for our blog to reward a hockey skater for individual performance, but we think one is deserving this week.  The Los Angeles Kings are kicking butt and taking names in the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers and they have been led by RW Justin Williams.  Williams tallied one goal and four assists in Games 1 and 2, both razor thin Kings OT victories.  He was the first star in Game 1, second star in Game 2 with seven shots on goal over the pair of victories.  A worthy Sportsman of the Week for the team that just about secured Lord Stanley Cup for Tinseltown, Williams is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 5/18/2014

This blog usually focuses on action on the field/court/ice, but one individual went through a lot off of it, and his team has responded.  New York Rangers RW Martin St. Louis suffered a tragic loss on Thursday May 8 with the sudden passing of his mother.  Most of his teammates (and fans) expected him to miss Friday's game. He didn't.  He also didn't miss any of the next four games.  The result, Rangers are 5-0, outscored their opponents 20-6, and went from down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, to up 2-0 in the Conference Finals.  St. Louis scored 3 goals and 2 assists over the five games, but clearly his presence and triumph in the face of tragedy is worthy of being tabbed as the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week.