Which goalie can build the best roster of guys who scored their first goal on him?

Today, we’re going to play a roster-building game based on a relatively straightforward question: Which goalie can make the best six-man team out of players who scored their first career goal against them?

That’s it. Nice and simple. But first, a few ground rules™:

- Each squad will be made up of three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie. Other than that, position won’t matter.

- The forwards and defensemen must have all scored their first career goals against the same goaltender. That goalie will then complete the roster, joining the guys who scored on him.

- Once they’re on the team, you’re getting the peak version of that player.

Before we start, let’s all tap sticks for reader Billy G., who not only sent me this idea, but also included a massive spreadsheet of relevant research. Folks, I can’t emphasize this strongly enough: My favorite readers are the ones who do all the work for me. Way to go Billy. You’re like the anti-Bryce.

We’re going to crank up stathead’s goal finder and build out a dozen rosters, and then turn it over to you in the comments to see if you can beat them.

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NHL weekend rankings: On the Bruins, the Flyers, and a sternly worded letter

Many times, an NHL season comes to be defined by the dominance of a select group. Sometimes, it’s the Year of the Goaltenders. Others, it might be the snipers who take over. In the first half, this looked like it would be a changing of the guard season. But now, a new contender emerges.

Hockey fans, welcome to the Year of the PR Department Statement.

It started last week, when the Senators declared war on the trolls and sick people. This week, it was the Ranger, doing what they do best: Writing open letters to their fans about how bad they are.

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Celebrate recycled coaches by taking our "Who Didn't He Coach For?" quiz

NHL teams sure do love to recycle coaches. Sure, you can always make the case for somebody with a fresh set of eyes and a different, maybe even more modern approach. But when a GM is choosing the hire that could make or break his team’s chances, the temptation to go with an experienced hand who’s been around the league will always be there.

We saw that this week in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets moved on from Dean Evason. They replaced him with 71-year-old veteran Rick Bowness, who’s been behind benches since the 1980s and is now making either his seventh or eighth stop as an NHL head coach (depending on whether you correctly believe that the Jets are the Jets.)

That many stints from one coach is rare, even in the NHL. But we’re used to seeing coaches get multiple chances to ply their trade. So today, let’s break out our favorite quiz gimmick – “Who didn’t he play for?” – and flip it around on the guys in suits.

I’ll give you 16 coaches, and four teams for each. Your job is to tell me: Who Didn’t He Coach For?

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We were right doubt to the Jets, and other midseason lessons from the prediction contest

One of my favorite posts of every year is the annual prediction contest, in which I give you ten simple questions about how the upcoming season will go, and you get them wrong.

I love that for us, for two reasons. First, it helps me feel better about all of my own bad predictions. (The New Jersey Devils: maybe not elite Cup contenders after all.) But more importantly, it’s a way to remind us all about just how unpredictable the NHL has become. It’s easy to look back at any given season after its over and shrug about how nothing was all that surprising. That gets a little tougher when you have over a thousand fans putting their predictions on the public record.

Will this season be another collective swing-and-miss? Probably, although we’re not there yet. But now that we’ve crossed the halfway point of the season, it feels like a good time to check in and see how we’re doing.

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NHL weekend rankings: The Senators, and other tales of Eastern Conference misery

Last week, I committed a grave violation of the eastern sportswriter protocol by talking about the Pacific Division. Specifically, how comically bad it was.

Apparently, some Eastern Conference teams were jealous. And like a toddler who hasn’t quite grasped the distinction between good attention and bad attention, they responded by making a nasty mess all over the floor. Is that chocolate? I really hope that’s chocolate.

OK, fair’s fair. Let’s talk about a few of the utter disasters unfolding

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