Another chapter was added to the Staal family story last night when Marc and Jordan met up in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

It came during the first period with Pittsburgh leading 1-0. Jordan went along the boards looking to clear the puck out of his own zone, but at the same time Marc was pinching in and leveled his younger brother. It was a huge hit that sent Jordan to the ice and into the boards.

The older brother certainly won the battle along the boards, but Jordan was able to skate away with a win at the end of the game. Check out the hit below and let us know what you think.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

On the day he was nominated as one of the finalists for the Hart Trophy, Evgeni Malkin went out and showed that the nomination was completely justified and then some.

Malkin, or "Geno" as his teammates call him, scored two power play goals, including the game winning goal and also picked up an assist.

With the Pens up 2-1 in the first, Malkin fired home a rocket from the point to increase the lead by 2. Then in the 2nd period, with the game tied at three, Malkin again ripped a slapper just inside the right post to give Pittsburgh the lead for good.

Malkin now has five goals and eight assists in the playoffs for a total of 13 points in seven games. Pretty impressive numbers. He has scored the game winning goal in two of the three games in the series and will be looking to finish off the Rangers when they take to the ice on Thursday night. The Penguins are an unbelievable 7-0 in the playoffs, which ties the 1994 New York Rangers as the last team to start the playoffs with that record.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

NBH would like to congratulate Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Patrick Kane, Nicklas Backstrom and Martin St. Louis for being nominated as finalists for respected awards.

Malkin and Iginla were nominated for the Hart Trophy, which is awared to the NHL's most valuable player.

Malkin had a career season and led the Penguins in scoring with 47 goals and 59 assists for a total of 106 points. He was second in league in scoring and was instramental in leading the Penguins to their first division title in 10 years. During the second half and during the push towards the playoffs, Malkin had an incredible 48 points in 31 games, including 20 goals and 28 assists. It's easy to say that the Pens would not be where they are today without their young Russian superstar.

Iginla once again put up huge numbers and proved he is still one of the best talents in the game. After the Flames got off to a bit of rough start, Iginla led the team back and found themselves in the playoffs. He finished the season with 50 goals and 48 assists for a total of 98 points. The goal total led the Western Conference and gives him his second career 50 goal season. At one point during the season, he scored an amazing 19 goals in 17 games and became the Flames all-time leading goal scorer when he recorded his 365th career goal.

Patrick Kane and Nicklas Backstrom were both nominated as Calder Trophy finalists. The Calder Trophy is awarded to the league's top rookie.

Kane came into the league with some high expectations and he certainly was able to live up to them. Kane, the number one pick in the draft, led all rookies in scoring with 21 goals and 51 assists for a total of 72 points. His 51 assists set a new Blackhawks record for most ever recorded by a rookie.

Backstrom finished a close second behind Kane in scoring with 69 points. He scored 14 goals and led all rookies with 55 assists. He also had a strong playoff debut as he scored four goals and two assists during the Capitals seven game series against the Flyers.

Martin St. Louis has been nominated as a finalist for the Lady Byng award. The award is given to the player who has "exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." This is St. Louis' third nomination for this award. Despite the fact that his team did not have the type of year they would have like, St. Louis continued to put up impressive numbers. He totaled 25 goals and 58 assists for a total of 83 points. He has now scored 25 or more goals in his last five seasons.

The winners of the awards will be announced at the NHL's awards show up in Toronto on June 12th.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

Listen to Erik Cole talk about the new Supreme ONE95 skates and what he enjoys the most about them. There are more interviews and pictures of the new skate under the Supreme ONE95 Skate Feature on nikebauer.com

Make sure to check it out and let us know what you think. Hope everyone is enjoying watching the playoffs. I'll check back in soon.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

Not sure if you all were able to see the Frozen Four Skills Challenge on ESPNU, but the Nike Bauer team was out there putting together a great event for the country to see. The video below gives you an idea of the event and shows off the highlites of a great night of hockey and fun. Let us know what you think. Hope you enjoy.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

With the Bruins facing a win or go home scenario on Saturday night, Phil Kessel turned in arguably his best performance of his young career.

Kessel scored 2 goals, the first of which was one of the sickest moves you will see, as he beat the defenseman and then fired home the goal to tie the game at one. His second goal put the Bruins up 4-3 in the third period, as the B's would go on to win 5-4 and force a series deciding Game 7 on Monday night up in Montreal.

Kessel has now scored 3 goals in his last 2 games, and has points in all three playoffs games in which he has played.

"The way he's played the last two games has been unreal," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.

Kessel will certainly be looking to keep up his recent spectacular play when the puck drops on Game 7.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

The Boston Bruins were on the edge of elimination last night, but they responded with an effort that helped propel them to a 5-1 win against the Canadians. The win forces a game six which will be played in Boston on Saturday night.

Last night the B's were led by three NBH athletes. Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots, Phil Kessel, who returned to the lineup, tied the game at one when he scored his first career playoff goal, and Zdeno Chara gave the Bruins a huge 3-1 lead in the third period when he fired home a slapper from the right point. The goal was Chara's fourth career playoff goal and it could not have come at a better time.

Chara and Boston's defense continued to play well, as they shut down Montreal's high powered offense and power play once again. For the series, the Canadians are just 2 for 25 on the power play.

Chara summed up the night and the effort put forth by the gritty B's. "We knew what we were facing tonight," Chara said. "We had our backs against the ropes. That's how we approached it. We played desperate. We played hard. And we never gave up."

Posted By: Luke Ventura

I think it's easy to say that last night was one of Marc Staal's most memorable moments in his young NHL career.

In game three of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup, New Jersey scored the game winning overtime goal when the puck deflected off Marc's skate and into the net. Last night though, Marc let his stick decide how the game would end.

With the game tied at three with 3:13 left in the game, Marc fired home a slapper from the left point to beat Martin Brodeaur for his first career playoff goal which in turn, sent the New York crowd into a frenzy. It's ironic that Marc's first career NHL goal came against Brodeaur and the Devils earlier this season.

"I was thinking shoot right away," Staal said. "I tried to shoot it to the far post and it just went in."

After the unlucky bounce in game three, Marc said he received some encouraging text messages from his brothers. "They said don't worry about it, all the guys were understanding about what happened and what kind of goal it was," Staal said.

Marc and the Rangers will be looking to eliminate New Jersey and advance to the semi-finals when they take on the Devils on Friday night. You can be sure that Marc would much rather end game five the same way he did game four.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

NBH would like to congratulate Sergei Samsonov on his new three year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Samsonov, a 10-year veteran, signed a three year, 7.6 million dollar contract to stay with the team he joined midway through last season.

"From day one, I felt welcome and have been getting a great opportunity. I felt like it's a very good fit for me, personally, and I'm glad things worked out," Samsonov said. "It's nice to get a long-term contract with a team that wants you."

Samsonov was picked up off of waivers during the season and immediately began to produce for the 'Canes. He scored 14 goals and picked up 18 assists during his 38 games with the club.

After struggling with a few teams, Samsonov is happy to have found a new home where he feels like he can succeed and contribute. "Sometimes you go to a team and you struggle, and sometimes it fits right away," Samsonov said. "You just never know what's going to happen, and I'm glad things turned out pretty good. I was struggling for the most part the last two years. Then, I got to Carolina and you just want -- not that you don't believe in yourself anymore -- but you want to make sure you that you do well if you get the opportunity to play."

Samsonov certainly made the most of his opportunity in Carolina and will look to continue his recent success when the season gets under way.

Posted By: Luke Ventura

Check it out! Listen to the developers and designers of the new Supreme ONE95 skates. Tomorrow is the day that you can get them, so make sure to get to your Nike Bauer retailers and check them out. Also, let us know what you think of the videos and the new Supreme ONE95 skate feature on nikebauer.com

Hope you Enjoy.

Posted By: Luke Ventura