Archive for February, 2010

« Older Entries

Fantasy Focus: NHL Fantasy Rankings Wingers

Sunday, February 28th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

You should never be comfortable with your fantasy team, always be looking for ways to improve your squad as you gear up for a long playoff run.  As the NHL hits their Olympic Break it is a perfect time to sit back and examine what we come in the final six weeks of action. 

Many fantasy leagues break up the wingers and many do not, so here we will break them up and examine each side of the ice.  It is hard to pin point the side a winger plays on because most players can play on both side and with that are eligible for both sides in a fantasy lineup.  With that in mind we will use what NHL.com lists a player as in our rankings.

As we saw in the NHL Fantasy Rankings for Goalies, defensemen and centers there were some surprise players who will make a huge fantasy impact down the stretch.  That is the same feeling among the best right and left wingers in the league as time winds down on the NHL and Fantasy seasons

Here are the Olympic Break rankings for Right Wings:

  1. Rick Nash, Columbus:   28-29-57-20 Power Play Points
  2. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay:  22-49-71-28 Power Play Points
  3. Marian Gaborik, Rangers:  35-34-69-13 Power Play Goals
  4. Patrick Kane, Chicago:  25-42-67-+19-21 Power Play Points
  5. Bobby Ryan, Anaheim:  28-21-49-57 PIM-10 Power Play Goals
  6. Corey Perry, Anaheim:  22-37-59-88 PIM-15 Power Play Points  
  7. Marian Hossa, Blackhawks:  17-17-34-+17-5 SHG
  8. Jarome Iginla, Calgary:  27-30-57-51 PIM-18 Power Play Points
  9. Shane Doan, Phoenix:  17-30-47-4 GW Goals
  10. Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa:  17-32-49-19 Power Play Points
  11. Kyle Okposo, Islanders:  13-27-40-18 Power Play Points  
  12. Jamie Langenbrunner, New Jersey:  15-37-52-+10-4 SHP
  13. Phil Kessel, Toronto:  21-20-41-6 Power Play Goals  
  14. Mike Knuble, Washington:  23-19-42-+24-6 Power Play Goals  
  15. Steve Downie, Tampa Bay:  15-21-36-+17-163 PIM-5 Power Play Goals
  16. Patric Hornqvist, Nashville:  23-14-37-+10-8 Power Play Goals
  17. Dustin Penner, Edmonton:  24-23-47-7 Power Play Goals
  18. Wayne Simmonds, Los Angeles: 14-21-35-+19-89 PIM
  19. Chris Stewart, Colorado:  19-23-42-55 PIM-4 GW Goals
  20. Daniel Briere, Philadelphia:  21-19-40-13 Power Play Goals
  21. Mikael Samuelsson, Vancouver:  21-19-40-6 Power Play Goals
  22. Niclas Bergfors, Atlanta:  16-15-31-8 Power Play Goals
  23. Troy Brouwer, Chicago:  18-14-32-57 PIM-12 Power Play Points
  24. Nathan Horton, Florida:  17-29-46-9 Power Play Points

Here are the Olympic Break rankings for Left Wingers:

  1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington: 42-47-89-+43-28 PP Points 
  2. Dany Heatley, San Jose:  32-34-66-8 GW Goals-14 PP Goals
  3. Alex Semin, Washington: 30-35-65-+25-22 PP Points
  4. Iyla Kovalchuk, New Jersey: 32-31-63-10 PP Goals
  5. Alex Burrows, Vancouver: 26-25-51-+28-86 PIM-4 SHG
  6. Rick Nash, Columbus: 28-29-57-9 PP Goals
  7. Zach Parise, New Jersey: 28-33-61-+24-18 PP Points
  8. Patrick Sharp, Chicago: 19-33-52-+20-18:08 ATOI
  9.  Lou Ericksson, Dallas: 23-31-54-6 PP Goals
  10. Jussi Jokinen, Carolina: 23-26-49-20 PP Points
  11. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver:  16-38-54-+26-7 GW Goals
  12. Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit:  16-32-48-215 SOG
  13. Andrew Brunette, Minnesota:  17-30-47-22 PP Points
  14. James Neal, Dallas:  24-21-45-48 PIM-4 GW Goals
  15. Ray Whitney, Carolina:  19-29-48-17 PP Points
  16. Ryan Malone, Tampa Bay:  21-22-43-57 PIM-7 PP Goals
  17. Mason Raymond, Vancouver:  22-21-43-18 PP Points
  18. Niklas Hagman, Calgary: 21-15-36-4 PP Goals
  19. Milan Michalek, Ottawa:  20-10-30-7 PP Goals
  20. Kristian Huselius, Columbus:  17-30-47-20 PP Points
  21. Alexei Ponikarovsky, Toronto:  19-22-41-4 PP Goals
  22. Ryan Smyth, Colorado:  19-19-38-14 PP Points
  23. Rene Bourque, Calgary:  18-23-41-74 PIM-3 SHG
  24. Ryane Clowe, San Jose:  15-25-40-90 PIM-11 PP Points
  25. Michael Cammalleri, Montreal:  26-22-48-15 PP Points

Posted in Fantasy | 1 Comment »

USA Canada Top Moments

Saturday, February 27th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

Before the big Gold Medal showdown between the Americans and Canadians let’s look back at some of the more memorable moments of the series.

1960 Squaw Valley Olympics

The “Forgotten Miracle” team wins 7 games in 10 days which includes a 2-1 win over Canada to capture first gold medal for US hockey, Canada got silver for 6-1 record

1996 World Cup of Hockey

USA def Canada in a best of three series, after going down 1-0 win last two games in Montreal. In 3rd and decisive game US down 2-1 score next 4 goals as Mike Ritcher named MVP of tournament.

2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics

Canada def USA 5-2 in Gold Medal Game clinches first Olympic gold medal in 50 years for the Canadian ice hockey team.

2004 U20 World Championship 

USA def Canada 4-3 in Gold Medal Games US team beats Canada team features current Olympians Sidney Crosby, Marc Andre Fleury, Dion Phaneuf, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Seabrook and Mike Richards.

2007 U20 World Champions

Canada def USA 2-1 in Semifinals, game went to a 14 shooter shootout with current Olympian Jonathan Toews scoring the game winner.

2010 U20 World Championship

USA def Canada 6-5 in OT to win Gold Medal victory stops Canada six straight gold’s in U20 World Championships

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

 USA def Canada 5-3 to clinch top seed of tournament, Ryan Miller 42 saves

Posted in Analysis | 1 Comment »

Fantasy Focus: NHL Fantasy Rankings Centers

Friday, February 26th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

You should never be comfortable with your fantasy team, always be looking for ways to improve your squad as you gear up for a long playoff run. As the NHL hits their Olympic Break it is a perfect time to sit back and examine what we come in the final six weeks of action.

The center pivots the entire offense and is a deep pool with many teams only having spot for three or four centers on a fantasy team. Having a center that creates for others is ideal but one that contributes on special teams both power play and shorthanded is one that should take precedent over just plan scorers.

As we saw in the NHL Fantasy Rankings for goalies and defensemen there were some surprises, which will make a huge fantasy impact down the stretch. That is the same feeling among the best centers in the league as time winds down on the NHL and Fantasy seasons

Here are the Olympic Break rankings for Centers:

1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh: 42-36-78-12 Power Play Goals

2. Nicklas Backstrom, Washington: 26-50-76-+32- 29 Power Play Points

3. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver: 25-55-80-+27-20 Power Play Points

4. Patrick Marleau, San Jose: 38-26-64-19 Power Play Points-3 SHP

5. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay: 35-35-70-30 Power Play Points

6. Joe Thornton, San Jose: 16-59-75-25 Power Play Points

7. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh: 21-44-65-5 GW Goals

8. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles: 28-36-64-28 Power Play Points

9. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim: 17-41-61-7 Power Play Goals

10. Mike Richards, Philadelphia: 24-22-46-13 Power Play Goals

11. Mikko Koivu, Minnesota: 16-40-56-24 Power Play Points

12. Eric Staal, Carolina: 20-30-50-20 Power Play Points

13. Jeff Carter, Philadelphia: 27-25-52-6 GW Goals

14. Jonathan Toews, Chicago: 19-30-49-7 Power Play Goals

15. Stephen Weiss, Florida: 21-27-48-8 Power Play Goals

16. Ryan Kesler, Vancouver: 16-38-54-58 PIM- 10 Power Play Goals

17. Mike Fisher, Ottawa: 20-24-44-7 Power Play Goals

18. Paul Stastny, Colorado: 12-42-54-15 Power Play Points

19. Travis Zajac, New Jersey: 19-32-51-+19-16 Power Play Points

20. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit: 17-32-49-+13-7 Power Play Goals

21. Brad Richards, Dallas: 17-49-66-7 Power Play Goals

22. Matt Stajan, Calgary: 18-27-45-7 Power Play Goals

23. Brooks Laich, Washington: 20-26-46-8 Power Play Goals

24. Jason Spezza, Ottawa: 15-18-33-13 Power Play Points

25. Andy McDonald, St. Louis: 19-19-38-15 Power Play Points

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fantasy | No Comments »

Fantasy Focus: NHL Fantasy Rankings Defensemen

Thursday, February 25th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

You should never be comfortable with your fantasy team, always be looking for ways to improve your squad as you gear up for a long playoff run.  As the NHL hits their Olympic Break it is a perfect time to sit back and examine what can come in the final six weeks of action.

Having a defensemen, though does not produce the point totals of a forward, that contributes in the fringe categories (plus minus, power play points, PIM) is usually the difference between a good team and a championship team.  Although most of the top list players are taken, they are still targets for your team to acquire during your leagues trade deadline.  It might even be worth to trade a scoring depth forward for a top line defender.

As we saw in the NHL Fantasy Rankings for Goalies there were some surprise goalies, which will make a huge fantasy impact down the stretch.  That is the same feeling among the best blue liners in the league as time winds down on the NHL and Fantasy seasons

Here are the Olympic Break rankings for defensemen:

  1. Mike Green, Washington:  14-46-60-+28- 29 Power Play Points
  2. Duncan Keith, Chicago:  11-42-53-+23-26:47 TOI/G
  3. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles:  11-34-45-24 Power Play Points
  4. Chris Pronger, Philadelphia:  8-34-42-+22-63 PIM
  5. Dan Boyle, San Jose:  11-34-45-22 Power Play Points
  6. Tomas Kaberle, Toronto:  6-40-46-24 Power Play Points
  7. Christian Ehrhoff, Vancouver:  11-20-30-+24-19 Power Play Points
  8. Tobias Enstrom, Atlanta:  6-36-42-+7-16 Power Play Points
  9. Shea Weber, Nashville:  11-24-35-17 Power Play Points
  10. Joe Corvo, Carolina:  12 Pts in 33 GP-25:13 TOI/G
  11. Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh:  8-29-37-35 PIM-21 Power Play Points
  12. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit:  6-29-35-+20-25:43 TOI/G
  13. Mark Streit, Islanders:  8-23-31-40 PIM-6 Power Play Goals
  14. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto:  10-14-24-54 PIM-5 Power Play Goals
  15. Keith Yandle, Phoenix: 10-20-30-+11-15 Power Play Points
  16. Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim:  6-31-37-21 Power Play Points
  17. Anton Stralman , Columbus:  6-23-29-20 Power Play Points
  18. Stephane Robidas , Dallas:  10-23-33-7 Power Play Goals
  19. Cameron Barker, Minnesota:  5-10-15-7 Power Play Points
  20. Lubomir Visnovsky , Edmonton:  10-22-32-17 Power Play Points
  21. Kurtis Foster , Tampa Bay:  7-21-28-32 PIM-16 Power Play Points
  22. Andrei Markov, Montreal:  3-15-18-11 Power Play Points
  23. Mark Giordano, Calgary: 10-15-25-63 PIM-12 Power Play Points
  24. Zdeno Chara , Boston:  5-28-33-72 PIM-175 SOG
  25. Filip Kuba, Ottawa:  3-25-28-11 Power Play Points

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fantasy | No Comments »

The Olympic Experience: From Special Correspondent Laura Borden

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT LAURA BORDEN:   VANCOUVER, British Columbia

Is it possible to even compare Olympic hockey to NHL hockey? I don’t think so. I’ll start with the superficial differences before exploring the question of whether NHL players should be playing in the Olympics. This year, the Olympic committee decided not to change the size of the rink for Olympic play. It remains NHL size, rather than the bigger size, better suited for the more open and quick style of European hockey.

There is no trapezoid behind the goalie, so good stick handlers, such as Martin Brodeur, supposedly gain an advantage. Finally, icings are called automatically with no touch-ups. But those rules don’t even start to compare to biggest difference I have noticed – the fans.

Even before entering the arena, there were mobs of fans draped in their country’s flags. Every fan was representing their homeland. Every fan was fully engaged in the game. There were no groups of people in business suits, trying to impress clients instead of watching the game. No one went for a walk in the middle of a period to take a break. And everybody screamed, rang their cowbells, and sat on the edge of their seats for the whole game. Don’t even think about leaving early to avoid the crowd!

It was amazing to be in the middle of such a super-charged atmosphere. As a supreme lover of hockey, this is the best environment one can hope for. The preliminary games have had the excitement of NHL conference final games. I can’t imagine what the finals will be like. Each player and fan is fighting with all their energy for the honor of their countries.

What would this be like without the NHL players? My opinion is that it would not be as entertaining to the casual fan. There have been a few ugly hits and injuries, but this would happen in any game. Is it worth sacrificing the excitement of the games for the perceived safety of the NHL players? I definitely don’t think so. The fans root for their countries, but I think they also appreciate the games more when they recognize more of the players. The NHL is the center stage for professional hockey. Current rivalries have translated to the Olympic stage. The promotions for today’s Canada/Russia game all show Crosby against Ovechkin. In the United States, we are familiar with this same matchup watching Pittsburgh versus Washington.

I interviewed some of the Philadelphia Flyers going to the Olympics before they traveled to Vancouver. They were all excited about the trip and couldn’t imagine a better honor than playing for their country. When I asked Kimmo Timonen about the differences between playing for Finland and the Flyers, he said about his Olympic team, “They speak in Finnish.” Ok, I probably could have figured that out. But he was proud of his team and keeps his medals at his Mom’s house. Chris Pronger keeps his medals in a bank vault, but being a previous winner doesn’t make this trip any less special, as he plays for the host country.

There has been a lot of debate about allowing NHL-ers to play in the Olympics. But remember, hockey is not the only sport that allows its professional athletes to compete for country in the Olympics. In fact, hockey was one of the last sports to allow professionals to compete. Professional hockey players have been able to participate in the Olympics since 1988, but they did not stop the NHL schedule for the Olympics until 1998 in Nagano, Japan (insert Soviet Union definition of “professional” and “amateur” here). By allowing these players, I feel that the fans are getting the highest quality of play.

The competitors have been staying in the Olympic Village and are living the true Olympic experience. This may cause a disruption in NHL play, but every team gets a well needed mid-season break. The level of play has been incredible and I can’t imagine it being as exciting if I didn’t know the familiar names of the players I see every night at the NHL games.

Tags:
Posted in Analysis | No Comments »

Fantasy Focus: NHL Fantasy Rankings Goalies

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

You should never be comfortable with your fantasy team, always be looking for ways to improve your squad as you gear up for a long playoff run.  As the NHL hits their Olympic Break it is a perfect time to sit back and examine what we come in the final six weeks of action.

So as the break hits here at Pucking Awesome as the teams hit the Olympic break, we will break down the rankings of goalies, defensemen, centers and wingers.  The first position to look at is the most important position to a fantasy team down the stretch, the goaltender.

This season has seen many goalies shuttle from the bench to a starter role or even like in Michael Leighton’s case from the waiver wire to one of the hottest goalies headed into the Olympic break.  Now let’s examine the top netminders as time winds down on the NHL and Fantasy seasons

Here are the Olympic Break rankings for goalies:

  1. Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose:  34-9-9, 2.26, .928
  2. Ryan Miller, Buffalo:   30-14-7,2.16 GAA, .930 SV%
  3. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey:   34-20-3, 2.32, .915
  4. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver:   31-17-2, 2.35, .919
  5. Craig Anderson, Colorado:   31-16-5, 2.42, .924
  6. Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix:   32-17-4, 2.30, .920
  7. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh:   29-16-4, 2.65, .908
  8. Tomas Vokoun, Florida :  19-21-10, 2.36, .931
  9. Antti Niemi, Chicago:   17-4-1, 2.16, .913
  10. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles:   35-17-3, 2.53, .907
  11. Miikka Kipprusoff, Calgary:   27-19-9, 2.18, .925
  12. Brian Elliott, Ottawa:  22-13-2, 2.59, .910
  13. Jonas Hiller, Anaheim:   26-17-2, 2.70, .919
  14. Tuukka Rask, Boston:   14-7-4, 2.08, .928
  15. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers:  25-22-6, 2.41, .920
  16. Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota:   23-18-4, 2.74, .901
  17. Jean-Sebastian Giguere, Toronto:   6-10-5, 2.90, .907
  18. Jimmy Howard, Detroit:   21-1-8, 2.28, .927
  19. Pekka Rinne, Nashville:   20-12-4, 2.80, .902
  20. Jaroslav Halak, Montreal :  17-10-2, 2.56, .923
  21. Chris Mason, St. Louis:  20-17-8, 2.53, .907
  22. Antero Niittymaki, Tampa Bay:  16-10-5, 2.55, .917
  23. Michael Leighton, Philadelphia:   13-7-1, 2.73, .905
  24. Marty Turco, Dallas:  19-15-9, 2.63, .915
  25. Kari Lehtonen, Dallas:  (AHL) 1-1-2, 2.67, .899

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fantasy | No Comments »

The Hat Trick: Breaking Down The Olympics

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

It was not quite the Miracle on Ice of the 1980’s but it was a big win for the Americans to defeat the Canadians in their home turf to secure the top seed of the Medal round, but before we can focus on the big dash toward gold comes the qualification round starting tomorrow.  So for this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick we will break down the top eight teams and their chances at gold.

 

8.  Switzerland (1-1-1 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

The Swiss team is led by a talented goalie in Anaheim Ducks Jonas Hiller and a dominant captain in New York Islanders Mark Streit.  Switzerland clinched the eight seed with a thriller 5-4 shootout win over Norway and can had a moral victory by taking mighty Canada to a shootout, but most likely will have to play the US team in the Medal Round. 

 Player to Watch:

Jonas Hiller got the big contract pre-Olympics and showing his worth by being the driving force for the Swiss team.  Hiller in the three group play games had a 3.20 GAA and .893 save percentage.  If they have a shot to upset any team in the medal round Hiller will have to be the main factor just like his predecessor Martin Gerber in the Swiss upset of Canada in 2006.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 1 %

Silver – 5 %

Bronze – 7 %

 

 7.  Slovakia (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

The Slovaks followed up an undefeated group play in 2006 with a inconsistent showing in group play.  They started the tournament with a tough 3-1 loss to the Czech but followed that a night later with an impressive shootout win over Russia.  Scoring winger Marian Gaborik, a question mark health wise heading into the Olympics, has been disappointing with only one goal.  Marian Hossa has paced the Slovaks with two goals and three points in the three games.  Jaroslav Halak has played all three games with an impressive 1.30 GAA and .915 save percentage.

Player to Watch:

Marian Gaborik injured himself in practice right before the Olympics, a thigh laceration that required stitches when he ran into teammate Henrik Lundqvist.  One could call it sabotage to try to decrease the medal chances for Slovakia, cause the talented scorer needs to be dominant if the Slovaks want to finish on the podium.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 10%

Silver – 15%

Bronze – 20%

 

6.  Canada (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

The Canadians already had pressure coming into an Olympics on their home turf and a team some experts called the most talented team ever, but now the pressure is 10 folds knowing the route they will have to go to get to the gold medal game.  The team survived a flashback scare by beating the Swiss in a shootout but could not hold back the young Americans in a 5-3 loss.  The sixth seed Canadians now will have to most likely play the Russia’s in the quarterfinals.  

Play To Watch:

Roberto Luongo would be the easiest choice since because of Brodeur’s  subpar numbers in group play caused coach Mike Babcock to make a switch of goaltenders for the medal round.  With that in mind I will go with Joe Thornton, the power forward who only has one point in three games.  What made this Canadian team scary to play against was the familiarity that many teams do not have as they took the entire Sharks first line, and throw Dan Boyle on the power play and they have four fifths of one of the top rated power plays.  The team is getting production from Thornton’s teammates Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau but need Big Joe to finally come through in a big game.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 75%

Silver – 80%

Bronze – 85%

 

5.  Czech Republic (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

The Czech team is a hard team to figure out as they have only a +3 goals differential, the closest by any of the top six teams.  They have spread out the scoring wealth and surprisingly are led in scoring by defensemen Marek Zidlicky (5 assists).  They had a huge win over the rival Slovaks but fell up short in their quest for a bye by losing a hard fought game against the Russians and I don’t think Jaromir Jagr has gotten up from the Alex Ovechkin hit yet.

Player to Watch:

David Krejci has only one goal in these Olympics, but has looked like the best player on the ice for the Czech team.  Head coach Vladimir Ruzicka will have to think heavily about moving the speedy center to top line minutes, maybe with a Patrick Elias (2G-2A) and Jagr (2G-1A).

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 15%

Silver – 45%

Bronze – 50%

 

4.  Finland (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

The Finnish team has quietly put up a good Olympic showing, maybe it is because most of their games were pass midnight east coast time.  Teemu Selanne became the most prolific scorer in Olympic history with his two assist, the Finnish Flash in his fifth Olympics has 37 career Olympic points.  Playing in an easier group they took care of business beating Belarus and Germany by the combined score of 10-1, but failed to capture the third seed by getting shutout by rivals Sweden.  

Player to Watch:

Top defensive pairing of Kimmo Timonen and Sami Salo have already played a combined 139.17 minutes, and 18 shots this tournament and that is against lesser of talent.  These two defenders will be relied on heavily as the competition get fiercer and now with news that Joni Pitkanen will be suspended for one game the pressure on these two intensifies as the Finnish team looks to medal in back-to-back Olympics.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 20%

Silver – 40%

Bronze – 45%

 

3.  Russia (2-0-1 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

The high flying Russians with 13 goals for were only outscored by the Canadians and Americans (each with 14 goals).  Alex Ovechkin has not only been a point machine (4 points) but has been handing out bone crunching game changing hits.  Evgeni Malkin, has also not disappointed by leading the Russians in both goals (3) and points (5).  The only thing keeping the Russians from the top seed was a surprising 2-1 shootout loss to the Slovaks that saw Alex Ovechkin take two of the four shots taken.

Player to Watch:

Alex Ovechkin has continued his dominant play from the NHL into the International stage and would be the obvious choice on the player to watch for Russia to not only beat Crosby and the Canadians but to win the gold, but I think it will come down to the play of goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.  The Kazakhstan native who petitioned to play for the Russia team was the reason they won the gold in the 2008 World Championships and will have to be the difference maker in their quest for gold.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 70%

Silver – 75%

Bronze – 80%

 

2.  Sweden (3-0-0 in Group Play)  

How They Got Here:

I think people forget that the Sweden team is the defending Gold Medalist as they went through group play undefeated and loss out on the top seed by a tie breaker.  The main reason they won the gold in Turino is the same reason they went undefeated as goalie Henrik Lundqvist has yet to allow a goal in these Olympics in two starts including a big shutout of group rival Finland.

Player to Watch:

As much as I want to select Peter Forsberg since he was not able to help the Swedes win gold in 2006, or go with the goaltender who seems like a brick wall right now, but I will pass the pressure to Daniel Alfredsson.  The 37-year-old forward was the key offensive component in Turino with 5 goals and 5 assists in the 8 games.  Alfredsson will have to come up big again for the Swedes to repeat as champions.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 80%

Silver – 85%

Bronze –  90%

 

1.   United States (3-0-0 in Group Play)    

How They Got Here:

The youngest team in the tournament has made some noise by capturing the top seed in group play.  They came out firing in this tournament with a dominant 3-1 win over the defensive Swiss and shocked the hockey world with a 5-3 win over Canada.  Ryan Miller has stopped 66 of the 71 shots he has faced and Brian Rafalski, of all people, has scored four goals in the three games, tying Dany Heatley for the Olympic lead in group play.

Player to Watch:

No one will deny that Ryan Miller is a main reason that the USA team defeated Canada and clinched the top seed, and Rafalski’s scoring magic is the other top reason, but the continuing aggressive play of Ryan Kesler, I think will be the difference maker as the tournament goes on.  Watching the US Canada game one would of thought it was game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals the way the teams were hitting each other.  In the end it came down to an empty net aggressive play by Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler.  For the Americans to match up against the quick forwards of Finland, Sweden and Russia they will need to rely on a physical presence to slow them down and the likes of Kesler, Dustin Brown, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik will become more important.

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 72%

Silver – 82%

Bronze – 87%    

Posted in Analysis | No Comments »

Between the Pipes – NHL Recap Week 20

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 Written by: Alex Mueller

This will be the last Between the Pipes until the Olympics are over. Russia is expected to dominate, so naturally they won’t win. That’s how it usually works in team sports, the favorite almost never wins.

Goal Controversy – The Washington Capitals franchise record streak came to an end against the Canadiens. They only lost in overtime but apparently the Capitals thought it should never have gone to overtime, as they had a goal that was disallowed. I don’t really care what the initial call was, if you’re going to plow the opposing team’s players into their own goalie, you’re going to score goals all the time. Of course you can’t do that, nor should you be allowed to. I have no idea what Ovechkin was thinking on that play or why anyone on the Capitals actually thought that goal should have counted.

Minor Trades – A few minor trades happened before the Olympic roster freeze. The best trade was the one the Blackhawks made with the Wild. The Blackhawks received Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy and the Wild received Cam Barker. Advantage goes to the Blackhawks for sure in this deal. Barker has been a disappointment and Blackhawks want to clear space for next season. Johnsson has a higher salary but he is a free agent next year so the Blackhawks will definitely let him walk. They also get a prospect in Leddy, not to shabby. As for the Wild well they better hope Barker’s change of scenery improves his game, especially if Leddy becomes a decent talent.

Goalie Spotlight

Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh Penguins

Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft. His nickname of flower is a derivative, fleuri, of his last name.  Fleuri means flower in French. He started his career playing for QMJHL for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2000. In 2003 he was named to the All-Star second team and he helped lead Canada to a Silver medal in the World Junior Championship. This was enough success for the Penguins to make him the first pick. Cape Breton later retired Fleury’s number. Fluery was the youngest NHL goaltender in the league in 2003 and he was named rookie of the month. Due to financial difficulties Pittsburgh did not want to pay Fluery his bonus. Since they didn’t want him getting the chance to earn it they let him play in the 2004 World Junior Championship. He led Canada to another Silver medal and then he was sent back to Cape Breton where he tore it up. After that he was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) where he only played in the playoffs. Since the 04-05 NHL season was canceled, Fluery stayed playing in the AHL.

Fleury got his chance to be the starter in the 05-06 season when Jocelyn Thibault was injured. He ended up beating out Thibault and Sebastien Caron to become the number one goalie. All was not well however, as the Penguins finished last in the conference and allowed a league worst 316 goals. Despite this the Penguins saw his talent and rewarded him with a two year extension. The 06-07 season featured a much improve Penguins team that made the playoffs. Fleury was able to post his first NHL SV% above .900 (.906) and his first GAA below 3.00 (2.83) behind a better team. He became the only other goalie besides Tom Barrasso to win 40 games for the franchise. The Penguins ended up losing to Stanley Cup Finalist Ottawa in the first round in five games.

Fleury sat out most of the 07-08 season with an ankle sprain allowing Ty Conlkin to start much of the year. When he came back from the injury he was 22-4-1 including the playoffs up until the Stanley Cup Final. Fleury’s career moment, up until this time, was probably his 55 save effort in triple overtime that forced a game 6. In game 6 he ended up sitting on the game winning goal and accidentally pushed it in, which was his lowest career point. He signed a seven year deal in the off-season. In the 08-09 season Fleury was able to stay healthy and start a majority of the games. His numbers dipped from the previous season but they were still an improvement over the 06-07 season. He picked up his game in the postseason and was instrumental in most series particularly the opening round series against the Flyers. The Penguins found themselves with a rematch against the Red Wings in the Finals. Fleury made many huge saves including a diving stop in the final seconds of game 7 to help the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.

So far the current season has not been one of Fleury’s strongest, though he did start out the year 8-0. He has yet to record a shutout this season, which would be a first for his NHL career if he doesn’t end up posting one. However, the Penguins are at the top of the standings and fighting the Devils for the division crown. Even if he hasn’t played his best hockey, Penguin fans know Fleury always saves his best for the postseason.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Colton Orr vs. Cam Janssen

These two fought briefly in the 1st period before being thwarted by the refs. They came back with a vengeance in the 2nd. Some decent shots in between the filler.

Nate Thompson vs. Matt Martin

A decent fight between two guys who don’t fight all that much. Martin gets the slight edge.

Aaron Rome vs. James Sheppard

Rome is a pretty good fighter when he can’t see. I’m surprised the refs didn’t break up the fight immediately because of that.

Goat of the Week

Steve Montador – Buffalo Sabres

Montador, a former Duck, loses an edge playing the puck behind the net and coughs it up in overtime. Brandon Sutter had a pretty pass to Sergei Samsonov who puts it behind a not ready Ryan Miller. You have to be more alert Miller even if it was Montador’s fault.

Things I like

1. Earlier in the year we thought we would get two or three teammates in the top 6 scoring at the end of the year. We still might but instead of it being a couple of Sharks it looks like it will be a couple of Capitals. Ovechkin is in 1st and Backstrom is in 3rd. Fellow teammate Semin isn’t too far behind in 12th place.

2. Jonathan Quick is leading the league in wins. I don’t think anyone could see that coming. He tied the Kings franchise record for wins in a season with 35. He should easily shatter that before the season is done. He also gets a trip to Vancouver. It’s unlikely he will play much being the 3rd goalie but he will pick-up some valuable experience. In four years he will probably be the number 2 guy behind Miller.

3. The Kings and Oilers ten round shootout. I’ve written about the shootout here before and I know many fans have their arguments of why they do and don’t like it. But watching a ten rounder is always fun and suspenseful.

4. The top eight players in +/- consists of five Washington Capitals and three Vancouver Canucks. I think that says a lot about top teams and lines in the league.

Things I don’t

1. The Devils are still slumping and Ilya hasn’t been the goal scoring machine the Devils had hoped, with only one goal in six games. He does have four assists though. The Devils struggles can also be attributed to Martin Brodeur struggling as of late. In the month of February his SV% was .871 which is lower than his career and regular season averages. He even got pulled in the regular finale before the Olympics against Carolina. Both Ilya and Brodeur are heading to Vancouver, so much needed rest is not what they will be receiving.

2. Giguere’s good fortune lasted only two games in Toronto. He lost his next two games, after his two game shutout streak, giving up a combined 7 goals. No more games until after the break so he should be able to get in plenty of practice with his favorite goalie coach.

3. No NHL hockey for two weeks. Sure there is Olympic hockey but it’s not the same.

Stat Line of the Week

02/14/10 Anaheim 7 vs. Edmonton 3

Skater

TOI

G

A

+/-

SOG

PIM

R. Getzlaf

19:28

2

2

+1

6

2

Getzlaf returned from his ankle injury and was the main catalyst for the Ducks big victory of the Oilers. Scoring two powerplay goals he helped reverse the trend of the Ducks struggling with their powerplay on the road. He also sent a strong message to Steve Yzerman of Team Canada to keep him on the Olympic squad.

Did You Know?

In honor of the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team drubbing Slovakia 18-0, I give you the most lopsided NHL game. In 1944 the Detroit Red Wings beat the NY Rangers 15-0. Syd Howe would record a hat trick in the final six minutes of the game. The Rangers only won six games that season and will go down in history as one of the worst teams ever.

Numbers, Numbers

2.08 – GAA of Tuukka Rask the current league leader and currently a back-up goalie

43 – Alex Ovechkin’s +/- the current league leader

163 – PIM for Cam Janssen, number two in the league currently

0 – Points scored by Cam Janssen so far this season

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

February 11, 1988 Toronto’s Borje Salming became just the fifth defenseman in NHL history to get 600 career assists. The milestone came in a 4-3 Maple Leafs win over the visiting New York Islanders.

February 12, 1929 Montreal Canadiens’ goalie George Hainsworth recorded his 15th shutout of the season (and the 42nd of his career) in a 2-0 against over the Pirates at Pittsburgh.

February 13, 2002 Dominik Hasek recorded his 60th career shutout, and Scotty Bowman became just the 2nd coach to win 400 games with Detroit, in the Red Wings 2-0 win over the Wild at Minnesota.

February 14, 1994 Wayne Gretzky picked up two assists to record a 100-point season for the 14th time in his career (extending his NHL record) as the Kings lost 3-2 to the Bruins at the Forum.

February 15, 1989 Chicago’s Jeremy Roenick tied a club record for rookies, with four points (a goal and three assists) as the Blackhawks won 7-4 over the visiting Washington Capitals.

February 16, 1980 Boston’s Jean Ratelle picked an assist to give him 1,220 career points, passing Jean Beliveau and moving up to No. 7 on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. Bruins won 5-3 over the Rockies, at Colorado.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Los Angeles
2. Washington
3. Ottawa
4. Carolina
5. Phoenix

Bottom 5

30. Toronto
29. NY Islanders
28. Edmonton
27. Florida
26. Detroit

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks got the win at home against the Oilers in a much closer than it should have been game 3-2. This was the 11th straight win for the Ducks at home, a franchise record. Bobby Ryan had two goals and Marchant had the game winner.

If a goal is scored and no one notices does it still count? The answer is yes, as Toronto noticed that Tory Bodie tipped in Scott Niedermayer’s shot. The refs counted the goal and rewound the clock. Of course it didn’t really matter as the Flames basically dominated the rest of the game and scored three goals, led by Jerome Iginila, after that. Real nice of the Ducks to show up to a hugely important playoff type game.

The Ducks then played the Oilers again, this time at Edmonton. The Ducks erupted for seven goals in the 7-3 win. The powerplay was clicking scoring four goals. Ryan Getzlaf made his return to the lineup with authority, scoring two goals and two assists. The Ducks made a statement in this game and it’s a good thing, since they won’t be playing again for awhile. I’d like to think the Ducks have a good chance to make the playoffs. The problem is there are seven teams within seven points of each other, all vying for the last two playoff spots. Or five teams within four points. Even if the Ducks get hot, there is no guarantee two other teams won’t.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Features | 1 Comment »

NHL Breakdown Radio Show

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

Make sure to check out Matt Sitkoff from PuckingAwesome.com on the 2/15/10 NHL Breakdown Radio Show

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nhl-breakdown

Posted in Announcements | No Comments »

FANTASY FOCUS: Assessing The Goalie’s and Defenseman

Monday, February 15th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

With the Olympic break comes a time for a fantasy hockey owner to sit back and enjoy some hockey without worrying about plus minus, PIM or how many power play minutes my players is receiving.   Although with this break comes a chance to look ahead at the stretch drive for the playoffs and the much discussed trade deadline that will be effect many fantasy teams.  During the Olympic break here at Pucking Awesome Fantasy Focus we will give three names at each position that should be on your radar to either acquire at the trade deadline or pick up off the waiver wire.  First we will examine the most important position, the goalie, and their defenders, while, next week we will look at the centers and wingers.

GOALIES:

Steve Mason, Blue Jackets:

Last year’s Calder Trophy winner has been a huge disappointment to many fantasy owners who selected the 21-year-old in the first couple of rounds.  Mason struggled out of the gate, even spent some extended time on the bench and was near the bottom of the league in GAA and save percentage causing fantasy owners to pull out their hair.  That has all change as Mason has been on fire lately.

When a team fires a coach usually that causes a spark and that did for Columbus who relieved Ken Hitchcock on February 3 with Assistant Coach Claude Noel.  In the four starts since the change, Mason is 3-1 with a 1.26 GAA, 0.960 save percentage and TWO shutouts.  Even before the change in his last nine starts Mason is 5-4 with a 2.52 GAA and .916 save percentage.  Looks like the sophomore slump is starting to subside for the 6-4 big goalie and as the calendar turns in March the Blue Jackets only play on back-to-back nights once, and seven of the 14 games are against teams currently not in the playoffs.  So after the break look for Mason to be between the pipes for the duration.

Marty Turco, Stars:

The most talked about pending UFA on the trade market has to be on this list.  Rumorville went haywire the day the Dallas Stars acquire Kari Lehtonen, more on him later, as teams lined up to see what it will cost to acquire a veteran goalie for the stretch run.  All Turco has done is feed more fire to the rumors by playing spectacular.  In his last eight starts the 34-year-old has five wins with a minuscule 1.74 GAA and amazing .952 save percentage with two shutouts.

Now I am not a rumor website but my hockey knowledge would say that there are a couple of teams right now playing with unproven number one goalies that could take a chance on the pending UFA.  The one snag is his contract for some of those teams are right up against the salary cap.  This situation will be important to many fantasy teams as it won’t just effect owners of Turco, but owners of goalies of whichever team he gets traded to.

Kari Lehtonen, Stars:

Kari Lehtonen was the second overall pick of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, had a breakout year in the AHL during the NHL lockout, and in 2006-07 led the Thrashers to their only playoff berth in franchise history.  That year the Finnish goaltender played in a career-high 68 games, but missed some time at the end of the season and playoff’s due to an ankle injury.  Then came the groin injuries that sideline him for all but 48 games in 2007-08.  Then came the back injuries that sideline him for all but 46 games in 2008-09 and the entire first of this season.

Injury-prone is a good way to describe this talented net minder who now gets a fresh start with a new organization.  The 26-year-old is a restricted free agent this off-season and made $3 million this year to not play for the Thrashers and with the Stars having both goalies being UFA at season’s end and no heir apparent knocking on the door it seems that they will roll the dice with this former first round pick.

With the impending trade of Turco, as discussed above, and the Stars playing 16 games in the 31 day month of March, once would speculate that Lehtonen will see his first NHL action since April sometime this month to allow the Stars to gauge what they acquired.

DEFENSE:

Cam Barker, Wild:

We all knew something had to give with the Blackhawks defense corp and the team being so up against the cap and owing some big contracts to players next season.  The thread was a little unraveled when Cam Barker was traded to the Minnesota Wild for pending UFA Kim Johnsson and prospect Nick Leddy.  This will be a breath of fresh air for the former 3rd overall pick of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, for he was dropped heavily in the depth chart for the Blackhawks.  Now the 23-year-old ascends to the top of the Wild depth chart seen already in his season-high 19:38 played in his first game with the Wild.

The 6-3 Barker was coming off a career-year last season that saw him compile 40 point in just 68 games played but was pass by the likes of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook along his development and missed some games due to injury.  Already signing a new contract that kicks in a hefty raise next season the Blackhawks needed to trade the asset and he has found a perfect home in Minnesota where he will be seeing top power play time and extended minutes in Minnesota.

Joe Corvo, Hurricanes:

I always stress here on Fantasy Focus that you can’t forget the teams out of the playoff race for they usually have some fantasy gems that can be the difference in a championship team and a good team.  One example is Joe Corvo, a forgotten man who missed most of the season due to a horrific injury to his leg but is back in the lineup and ready to contribute.

Although sluggish so far since missing 28 games due to the leg injury, the Olympic break will help this offensive defenseman to gain back his strength as his place as a premier scoring defenseman in this league.  We cannot forget that last season he tied a career-high with 14 goals, with eight of them on the power play and six game winning goals.  A pending UFA his name could be on the trade market which would also help his fantasy value, but he is also important to the Hurricanes as he is averaging almost 23 minutes a game since returning from injury.

Andrei Markov, Canadiens:

The All-Star defenseman for the Canadiens has not been able to stay healthy for the first half of the season as he missed 35 games due to left ankle surgery.  Although he missed the last two games before the break he has proclaimed he is healthy enough to play for the loaded Russian Olympic team.  This is good news for Markov owners for as the Olympic break ends the 31-year-old defenseman will be key in the Canadiens run to the playoffs.

Markov is a perfect buy-low candidate as you try to look for a trade to upgrade your defense. All the slick skating defenseman has done is average 11 goals and 60 points his last three seasons.  Although he has missed most of the season he still leads the Canadiens defensemen in power play time per game and has 11 power play points in his 26 games played.

Posted in Fantasy | 1 Comment »

THE HAT TRICK WEEK 20: Olympic Preview

Sunday, February 14th, 2010 Written by: Eric Sutter

With the opening ceremonies done and the last NHL games being played, I must remind you that the Olympic break is not a break from hockey.

It doesn’t’ matter what your opinion is on the subject of the NHL taking a break during the season, the next couple of weeks will give the hockey fan some exciting action.  The Swedes are the defending champions winning the tournament in Torino after defeating the Finnish team in the gold medal game, while the Czech team won the bronze medal game over the Russians. Now let’s get to the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick or the top three story lines I will be watching in Vancouver.

Home Ice Advantage:

The pressure is always on Canada to win gold but none more apparent when the team is the host country. After a gold medal performance in the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, the Canadians fell to a dismal seventh place finish last year in Torino. Steve Yzerman is the executive director this season and has put together a formable 23-man team—not including taxi-squad.

Who will mind the nets will be the biggest question heading into the games.  Martin Brodeur is having a bounce-back year and has been the man in the previous two Olympics. While, home-town hero Roberto Luongo got to see two contests in last Olympics, many think it is his time to shine and lead Canada to the golden promise land.

This year’s squad is filled with past winners who know what it takes to go through a tournament like this as a champion. In fact only Duncan Keith on the current roster is the only Canadian player that has not won either a Stanley Cup or a gold medal at the Olympics, World Championships, World Juniors or World Cup of Hockey.  In other words, this team is loaded for a big run in front of the home crowd.

U.S. Youth Movement:

When Brian Burke, Team USA General Manager, was putting together his squad for this years Olympics, his thought had to be, give the young kids a chance.

The 2010 team is comprised of 17 players yet to reach their 30th birthday and 13 that are 25-or-younger. Although no word has come out if the NHL will compete at Sochi in 2014, it seems that Burke is planning for the future, having only three players with previous Olympic experience on the roster (Brian Rafalski, Chirs Drury and Jaime Langenbrunner). 

What if the future is now for the United States?  Can this team of upstarts and youth follow the path of the most famous US Olympic team? The 1980 team was of course amateurs, thus young guys trying to go up against the mighty Russians. This year’s team will not be favored to medal but does have a strength in the most important position needed in a short tournament, goaltending.

The rise of Ryan Miller to a top goaltender in the NHL has been steadily, and good news for Team USA. The East Lansing native was passed over in 2006 for the likes of Robert Esche and John Grahame on his way to the taxi-squad for that team.

Flash forward to four years and it is almost laughable that those two made it over Miller, who this season has been near the top of all NHL goaltending categories. The 29-year-old Miller will be the key to US success, although US and Sabres fans hope that fatigue does not set in. Miller has played in 52 of the Sabres 60 game so far this season.

The Other Teams:

We can’t forget that the Swedes won the tournament, the Slovaks went undefeated in Pool play last time, the Russians are stacked offensively, and we will have a Jaromir Jagr sighting for the Czech’s. So many storylines surround the ice of the Olympics.

The Swedish Olympic team has brought back 13 of 23 players from the gold medal team. That will include Olympic hero Peter Forsberg but not team leader Mats Sundin, who had eight points in the eight games played in 2006. They will be backstopped by Henrik Lundqvist again. Lundqvist posted five wins and a 2.33 goals-against average in Torino.  With the Sedin twins up front, with Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson—who had ten points in last Olympics—and break out star Nicklas Backstrom, the Swedes are primed to defend their Olympic gold.

Alex Ovechkin not only captured the Calder Trophy his rookie year but exploded on the Olympic scene with five goals in Russia’s fourth place finish. All Alex the Great has done since his rookie year is score 209 goals and dominant the sport of hockey.

Combine Ovechkin with the scoring likes of Iyla Kovalchuck—329 career goals in 600 GP), Evgeni Malkin (368 points in 296 GP), and Pavel Datsyuk (571 career points in 585 GP) and you will have a frightening offensive attack. Not to mention that Ovechkin’s teammate Alex Semin is having a breakout season with 30 goals and 65 points already. And don’t forget Sergei Federov is on the Russian roster. 

Speaking of former NHL stars playing in the Olympics, these games will give us a chance to see Jaromir Jagr against NHL players.  he 37-year-old former NHL MVP left the league in 2008 to play for the KHL where he has 95 points in 104 games played for Omsk Avanguard. It will be interesting to see this talented player amongst NHL players again.

Posted in Analysis | No Comments »

5 for Friday – Olympic Edition

Friday, February 12th, 2010 Written by: Phil

Hello, fellow Hockey fans!

I am delighted to be the newest blogger to join Pucking Awesome, and I will be blogging every Friday with my “5 for Friday” column, where in addition to my musings about the sport, as well as a somewhat uncool play on the phrase “5 for Fighting”, I will have a “Top 5 of” whatever I choose to discuss each week.  The upcoming week signifies the beginning of the Winter Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey tournament, which promises to be ultra exciting.  Everybody is picking a Canada-Russia Gold Medal game, but will there be a surprise challenger in the midst of it all?  I’ll briefly break down the competing teams below, and then at the end of the column, give you the Top 5 Storylines of the Winter Olympic Ice Hockey tournament to watch out for.

 

GROUP A (OR GROUP EH?)

CANADA

Key Players: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks), Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks)

Outlook: Is there ever been more pressure on a Canadian team to win the Gold Medal than the current incarnation?  Home country, the best Canadian NHL players on the roster, and a stiff challenger ahead in the Russians; it’s almost mind boggling.  I could’ve listed every Canadian on the roster as a key player, but I settled for those three.  Roberto Luongo will be under the most pressure out of all the players, being the Captain of the Canucks, and being required to backstop his country to Gold Medal glory, which means that the Vancouver and the CANADIAN media will be all over him like white on rice.  I don’t envy being Mr. Luongo for the next couple of weeks, that’s for sure.  Not that Canada are too worried…should he slip up, Martin Brodeur is there to back him up, who’s pretty darn good, so I’ve heard. I like the balance in the Canadian team.  There are two solid scoring lines, and two good checking lines, with guys like Mike Richards and Brendan Morrow in the squad.  It shows you how deep the Canadian’s are that they can leave guys like Jeff Carter of the Flyers off the roster.

Prediction: Silver Medalists

 

UNITED STATES

Key Players: Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Phil Kessel (Toronto Maple Leafs), Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres)

Outlook: This is a scrappy American team who are looking for another, pardon the cliche, Miracle on Ice.  Only instead of Herb Brooks, we (I am American) have Ron Wilson and Brian Burke running the show.  The two men are also the brain trust of the floundering Toronto Maple Leafs, so it’s no surprise that Phil Kessel made the roster, as did Mike “Cement Skates” Komisarek before he went down to injury.  There are some holes on the team though, that will prevent the US from winning gold.  Outside of Kessel, Parise, and Kane, who will provide the secondary scoring for the Americans?  David Backes of the St. Louis Blues had 31 goals last season, but currently only has 13 in 57 games.  Ryan Callahan isn’t really a bonafide goal scorer, but can put in a solid shift, while his NY Ranger teammate Chris Drury has done little more than fade into a shadow of the player he once was.  And is Brooks Orpik really Olympic material?  The only way I can see the USA putting up a fight is with goaltending.  Tim Thomas is backing up Tukka Rask in Boston these days, so the onus is on Ryan Miller to stand on his head each night and single handedly win the US some games.  NHL Wins leader Jonathan Quick of the Kings is waiting in the wings.

Prediction: The USA put up a valiant fight, but do not medal.  I see a quarterfinal exit looming

 

SWITZERLAND

Key Players: Jonas Hiller (Anaheim Ducks), Mark Streit (NY Islanders)

Outlook: Switzerland enter the tournament with very few NHL players, but do not overlook them.  Jonas Hiller is a quality goalie, good enough to run former Stanley Cup winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere out of Anaheim.  Should Hiller get hurt, former Ottawa Senator Martin Gerber will back him up…YIKES!!!  Mark Streit is a solid defenseman with the NY Islanders, and isn’t intimidated by the challenges ahead.  On the scoring side, former Calgary Flame/Atlanta Thrasher Hnat Domenichelli is a point scoring star in the Swiss league, and he’ll be backed up by Andreas Ambuhl of the Hartford Wolf Pack.  Yes, their second leading scorer plays in the AHL.  My lip is quivering!

Prediction: They probably will win only one game, but don’t be shocked if Hiller steals a win off of the US for the Swiss.

 

NORWAY

Key Players: Patrick Thoresen (Salavat Yulaev – KHL), Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Detroit Red Wings)

Outlook: Admittedly, I know nothing of the Norwegian team.  Tollefsen is a penalty minute magnet, while Thoresen was last seen in the NHL nearly getting his balls blown off by a Mike Green slapshot.  Nowadays, he’s averaging nearly a point-per-game in the KHL, so he should be the main scoring threat.  In goal, Ruben Smith seems to be the only goalie on the Norwegian roster to post a save percentage about .870 whenever he suits up for the Norwegian team!

Prediction: Ruffle some feathers, but exit early.

 

GROUP B:

RUSSIA

Key Players: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings), Evgeni Malkin & Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh Penguins), Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose Sharks)

Outlook: Russia, just like Canada, posses a SCARY line up!  They contain the most dymanic player in the world (Ovechkin), as well as fantastic secondary scoring (Malkin, Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Semin).  The roster is littered with lots of KHL players as well; those Penguin fans out there will remember Alexsey Morozov, who had one solid year with the Pens, returned to Russia after the NHL lockout, and is now averaging nearly 1.5 points-per-game in the KHL the last three seasons.  Gonchar and Andrei Markov of the Canadiens will make a solid first line defense paring, and I am really scared for any team that gives Russia a power play opportunity.  They’ve got solid goaltending, with Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov backing him up, who’s been lights out this season in Phoenix.  What’s stopping this team from winning the Gold Medal?  Perhaps the lack of depth, but we shall see.  Viktor Kozlov has one good game, and then takes 3 or 4 off (us Capital fans can attest to that), and Sergei Federov can put in a solid two-way shift and offer defensive help as well, even though he’s older than dirt!  Any Nashville Predator fans watching can get another chance to “cheer” on their favorite whipping boy, Alexander Radulov.

Prediction: I really wanted to pick Canada for the gold, but this is an Olympic tournament, not the NHL, so Chris Pronger will not be allowed to freely throw his elbows around.  Russia win the Gold Medal

 

CZECH REPUBLIC

Key Players: Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils), Martin Havlat (Minnesota Wild), Jaromir Jagr (Avangard Omsk – KHL), Tomas Kaberle (Toronto Maple Leafs), Tomas Vokoun (Florida Panthers)

Outlook: The Czechs have plenty of NHL experience on their roster, including players on the team who used to play in the league (Jagr, Josef Vasicek, Petr Cajanek), and solid scoring with the forwards and some of the D-men.  Jagr returns to North America to showcase his limitless talents, especially when the Czech’s go on the power play, but the goaltending for me is a concern.  You’re not really going to win the Gold Medal with both your goalies coming from the NHL’s Southeast Division (Vokoun & Ondrej Pavelec), but don’t underestimate the Czechs.  They have the ability to beat any team on their day.

Prediction: I initially wanted to say Bronze medalists, but I’m not sold.  4th place at best, although Slovakia or Sweden will have something to say about that.

 

SLOVAKIA

Key Players: Marian Gaborik (New York Rangers), Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins), Marian Hossa (Chicago Blackhawks), Jaroslav Halak (Montreal Canadiens)

Outlook: Man, are the Slovaks a solid bunch of players or what.  They can score bunches when Gaborik and Marian Hossa are on the ice, and they’ve got Chara and Lubo Visnovsky marshaling the blue line, while Halak has been a revelation in goal for the Canadiens this season thus far, so much that there have been rumors of Montreal supposedly looking to jettison Carey Price out of town.  There are loads of NHL experience on the roster, but from either average players (Marcel Hossa, Jozef Stumpel, Lubos Bartecko anyone?) or guys who used to be good goal scorers once upon a pre-lockout-time (Ziggy Palffy, I’m looking straight at you).  And seriously…Milan Jurcina???  Don’t even get me started

Prediction: They lose the Bronze Medal game to Sweden.

 

LATVIA

Key Players: Karlis Skrastins (Dallas Stars), Oskars Bartulis (Philadelphia Flyers)

Outlook: Again, similar to Norway, I know very very little of the Latvians.  Their so-called best forward plays for the Binghampton Senators (Kaspars Daugavins), and they have a defenseman (Arvids Rekis) plays for a team called GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG!!  Yes, a German team that’s named after THAT Grizzly Adams.  I hope that gets brought up at some point during the coverage.

Prediction: Latvia make up the numbers, but come on, how can they beat anyone in this tournament?  They battle with the Germans for last place.

 

GROUP C:

SWEDEN

Key Players: The Sedin Twins (Vancouver Canucks), Henrik Zetterberg & Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings), Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals), Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers), Douglas Murray (San Jose Sharks)

Outlook:  The Swedes are solid from top to bottom, and realistically, they are the only nation that I can foresee preventing a Canada-Russia Gold Medal game.  Of course, part of that depends on Henrik Lundqvist.  When he’s on his game, the Rangers goalie can be arguably the best in the world.  Last season in the playoffs, he frustrated the free scoring Alexander Ovechkin enough to get inside of Ovechkin’s head, which I’ve never seen a goalie do before.  And speaking of shutting down Ovechkin, that responsibility will fall to Douglas Murray, should Sweden encounter Russia.  Ovechkin likes to hit, but doesn’t like to BE hit, and Murray seems to be the only player in the league that loves to hit Ovechkin all the time.  That should be a battle.  On the scoring side, The Sedins…everyone knows about them already, but the wild card here is Nick Backstrom.  The Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau got inside Backstrom’s head earlier this season and told him to SHOOT more, and the results have been devastating.  Backstrom already has a new career high in goals (26 at time of writing), and it’s not even the 2nd week of February.  He’s one of the top 5 passers in the NHL, and now you can almost add 30 goal scorer to that list.  He’s an excellent complimentary player to the roster.  And then there’s the ancient Peter Forsberg, who’s always dangerous with the puck.  But how well will he play in these Olympics?

Prediction: They win Bronze

 

FINLAND

Key Players: Teemu Selanne (Anaheim Ducks), Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild), Valtteri Filppula (Detroit Red Wings), Olli Jokinen (New York Rangers), Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers), Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames)

Outlook: The Finns can be dangerous, but I’m worried about their depth in defense, which I fear could lead to them leaking goals.  Not a ton of goal scoring, although look for Koivu to lead the Finnish attack.  Olli Jokinen has been an enigma everywhere he’s played, and I don’t really trust him to consistently produce, but he could prove me wrong, although I don’t really count on it.  Kimmo Timonen is a terrific shutdown defenseman in front of the key man for the Fins, Miikka Kiprusoff.  The outstanding Flames goaltender is good, but players a lot better when you play solid D in front of him.  And I’m sorry, but guys like Lasse Kukkonen and Sami Lepisto don’t really scare me!

Prediction: If this was 2006, I’d say they challenge for Bronze.  But this isn’t, so I say maybe 5th place.

 

BELARUS

Key Players: Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn (Montreal Canadiens), Ruslan Salei (Colorado Avalanche), Mikhail Grabovski (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Outlook: The surprise 2002 4th place finishers didn’t qualify for the 2006 games, but return to the Vancouver games looking to similarly shock the world yet again.  Will it happen?  Not likely, but they will not be a push over, that’s for sure.  Grabovski spearheads the attack on the back of a nice 20 goal season last year for the Leafs, although this year he is struggling with just 7 tallies to his name.  The Kostitsyn’s can be solid players when they’re not hanging around Montreal with European gangsters!

Prediction: Maybe they will beat Germany in the prelim’s, but that’s about it.

 

GERMANY

Key Players: Marco Sturm (Boston Bruins), Christian Ehrhoff (Vancouver Canucks), Dennis Seidenberg (Florida Panthers)

Outlook: Former NHLer Uwe Krupp will be head coach of Die Mannschaft in the Vancouver Games, with a limited amount of talent on the roster.  Marco Sturm, he who scored the winning goal in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic, will be required to lead the way in the goal scoring department.  And let’s be honest here, he’s not a GREAT goal scorer; he’ll get you about 20-25 a season, but not an ideal first line forward.  They will struggle on all 3 phases of the game.

Prediction: Maybe one tie at best for the Germans.

 

 

And now without further ado, the TOP 5 STORYLINES OF THE WINTER OLYMPIC ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT:

1.  How well will the Canadian team handle the pressure from the media and Canadian citizens?  No team at the Vancouver games will be under a bigger microscope than Canada.  And no athlete’s every move will be more scrutinized than Roberto Luongo, regardless of how hard the American media big up’s Lindsey Vonn.

2.  How infuriated will American hockey fans be at NBC’s coverage of the games?  Put it this way: NBC already bumped off the February 21 match between Canada and the USA off of regular NBC and put it on MSNBC to show figure skating.  Really?  It’s bad enough that they only market 4-5 NHL teams on their weekly games as it is.  Every game during the 2009-2010 NHL season on NBC has featured the Red Wings or Penguins.  I’m just saying…

3.  Forsberg and Jagr:  The former magicians of the NHL world return to the North American hockey spotlight after playing the last few seasons overseas in Sweden and Russia respectively.  They are older, but do they still have the talent to inspire their nations to glory.  Or an even better question, do they NEED to inspire their nations, or can they just sit back and contribute.

4.  Does Russia have the depth?  They first two lines are solid as can be, and their top defensive pairing of Gonchar and Markov, should they play together, will be unbeatable.  But what about the rest of the team?  Do they have the goaltending to win the Gold?  Can the KHL players hold their own against the world’s elite?  I predicted Gold for Russia, but will Canada (or even Sweden?) prove me wrong?

5.  Television ratings in the US.  If enough people watch the games here (you know Canada will already get the audience), will the prompt a rethink from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to allow NHL players to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia?  Prominent Russian players like Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin have already said that they’re risk long term NHL suspension to play for their country on home soil in 2014.  Do high TV ratings in the US for hockey help to better Ovechkin and Malkin’s case?  If you think the Canadian antipathy towards the Russians in these games will be bad, could you imagine 4 years from now when the script is flipped?

 

In the meantime, enjoy the Winter Olympics, and I’ll be back next Friday with another edition of 5 for Friday.

 

~Phil

Tags:
Posted in Analysis | No Comments »

Between the Pipes – NHL Recap Week 19

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 Written by: Alex Mueller

IIya found a home… for now – Well the IIya Kovalchuk watch can officially end, until this season is over. Of course this is old news by now, but it happened and I’m recapping the week so deal with it! A great pick-up by New Jersey they really didn’t give up much except for that number 1 pick. If they can re-sign Ilya they made out like gangbusters. If they can’t well even though they didn’t give up much, giving up something for nothing is never a good thing. Even if they win the cup this year and he leaves, I still think it’s a waste. They probably have a good chance of re-assigning him but they will have to pay. As of now the move hasn’t really paid off. The Devils are 1-2 since acquiring him and it could very well have been 0-3 if it wasn’t for their three goal 3rd period rally against Toronto. It will probably take awhile for Kovalchuk to adjust to his new linemates.

As for the Thrashers, well what can you say; this team bleeds talent like no other. I still can’t wait for them to leave Atlanta. I think that will solve most of their problems. But that’s a topic for another discussion. It’s great they will have two 1st round picks in this year’s draft. Let’s hope they get some quality talent they can actually keep in Atlanta, for once.

Goalie Spotlight

Tomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

So who are the league leaders in shutouts? That would be Martin Brodeur and Tomas Vokoun each with seven so far. Vokoun is one of those unheralded guys in the league. He doesn’t get much fanfare but goes out and puts up some decent numbers.

The Czech born Vokoun was drafted in 1994 by the Montreal Canadiens, he played only one game for them and gave up four goals in one period. Between 1994 and 1994 he played in Czechoslovakia, for the ECHL and AHL. He was then chosen by the Predators in the 1998 expansion draft. He split time between the Predators and the IHL his first two seasons, though he mostly played for the Predators. It wasn’t until the 2002-03 season, after Mike Dunham was traded, that Vokoun became the starter.

After he became the starter he posted solid numbers on a regular basis and set many franchise records. Of course at this point the franchise was only about five years old. He holds the franchise record for wins in a season (36), all-time wins (134), all-time losses (147) and goaltender games played (340). During the lockout year he went to play for the Finnish league SM-liiga. He led HIFK Helsinki to an 11-4-4 record with a .940SV%. However in the playoffs he folded big time with an .846SV%, worst in the league.

From 2006 on Vokoun suffered health issues ranging from blood-clotting to thumb surgery. During this time back-up Chris Mason emerged as the starter. Subsequently Vokoun was traded to the Florida Panthers, for draft picks, right before the 2007 draft. He made the All-Star team his first year with the Panthers and 2nd time overall he was selected. Vokoun made headlines this season when he was hit in the head with his own teammates, Keith Ballard, stick. Vokoun is posting decent numbers again this season and he is hoping to backstop the Panthers into the playoffs this year, a feat he almost accomplished last season.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Rick Rypien vs. Chris Neil

I good high intensity battle one of the few fights Rypien hasn’t dominated that he was in.

Tanner Glass vs. Matt Carkner

Carkner makes Glass his punching bag.

Dominic Moore vs. Zach Bogosian

Bogosian gets in a sneaky upper cut and that was the end of that.

Jody Shelley vs. Colton Orr

Shelley knocks out Orr with his 2nd punch.

Goat of the Week

Patrick Lalime – Buffalo Sabres

Lalime doesn’t play much backing up Ryan Miller and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon after this play. The puck did take a funny bounce off the boards but you have to be prepared, Lalime wasn’t and it bounced off his skate into the net.

Things I like

1. Great game between the Penguins and Capitals before the Super Bowl. Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick and assisted on the game winner in overtime and Sidney Crosby had two goals. Despite NBC’s constant drooling over Crosby and Ovechkin, they managed to mention former Hart trophy winner Evgeni Malkin. Hey NBC doesn’t winning the Hart Trophy mean your some kind of skilled hockey player?

2. Speaking of Ovechkin he notched his 500th point this week in 373 games the fastest to 500 since Eric Lindros did it in 352 games. You remember Lindros right?

3. There are only two teams that have 7 players above 35 or more points each. One of them is the Washington Capitals which I’m sure most of you would guess but I bet you can’t guess the other one. I’ll give you the answer later in the column.

4. The Maple Leafs are getting Jiggy with it. After debuting in Toronto with a shutout, Jean-Sebastien Giguere decided to follow that up with another shutout. He made 30 saves again. His shutout streak came to an end against San Jose though, as he gave up three goals in a losing effort. If he had shutout the Sharks, I’m sure they would be celebrating in Toronto like they just won the super bowl, jk.

Things I don’t

1. NHL scheduling quirks, the Maple Leafs and Devils played each other in three of the last four games. Is that really necessary? How about a little more space in between games NHL?

2. NBC explaining why you fight in a hockey game during the Penguins vs. Capitals. Please stop NBC. Next NBC will explain why you try and score goals, ugh.

3. I’d like to give my condolences to Brian Burke who lost his son Brendan Burke. He died in a car accident driving on a snowy road. As a former Mid-Atlantic resident, I know how difficult it can be to drive on snow and ice. A person should never have to outlive their children.

Trivia: The answer to the other team besides the Capitals would be the Los Angeles Kings.

Stat Line of the Week

02/06/10 Toronto 5 vs. Ottawa 0

Skater

TOI

G

A

+/-

SOG

PIM

L. Schenn

21:40

2

1

+4

4

2

Well there were many fine performances this week but I chose to highlight Schenn’s performance. A 5th overall selection, by the Maple Leafs, in his second season he is starting to develop into what the Maple Leafs had hoped when they drafted him. He was on the ice for four of the Maple Leaf’s five goals and he scored two of them himself.

Did You Know?

Patrick Roy is the only net minder to give up an opponent’s 500th career goal more than once. The players who have scored their 500th on Roy are: Steve Yzerman in 1996, Joe Mullen in 1997 and Brendan Shanahan in 2002.

Numbers, Numbers – the streak edition

14 – The Washington Capital’s current winning streak.

11 – The winning streak by the Ottawa Senators which came to an end against Toronto.

10 – The losing streak by the Boston Bruins which came to an end against Montreal.

16 – Would be the games points streak by Alex Ovechkin if he scored against the Islanders on 1/26 but he didn’t so it’s now six games.

10 – The current winning streak for home wins for the Anaheim Ducks

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

February 04, 1987 Wayne Gretzky scored his 50th goal of the season, to lead the Oilers to a 6-5 win over the North Stars at Minnesota. It was Gretzky’s eighth straight 50 goal season.

February 05, 1996 Colorado’s Patrick Roy became the 4th goaltender in NHL history to win 10 or more games with two teams in one season, when the Avalanche had a 4-2 win over the visiting Canadiens. Roy had won 12 games with Montreal before being traded.

February 06, 1993 Mike Gartner scored four goals and an assist (including a first period hat trick) to lead the Wales Conference to a 16-6 win over the Campbells, at the All Star Game in Montreal. Pierre Turgeon had three goals & two assists in the game

February 07, 1987 Cam Neely scored his first career NHL hat trick as the Bruins won 8-5 over the Maple Leafs in Boston.

February 08, 2004 Joe Sakic scored a hat trick to lead the Western Conference to a 6-4 win over the East, in the NHL All Star game played in Minnesota. Daniel Alfredsson led the East with two goals and an assist.

February 09, 1971 Vancouver Canucks ended their team-record 11 game home winless streak (0-10-1) with a 6-3 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Rosaire Paiement led the Canucks with a team-record four goals (his first career hat trick).

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Ottawa
3. Los Angeles
4. San Jose
5. Vancouver

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Boston
28. NY Islanders
27. Buffalo
26. NY Rangers

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks seem to have the Red Wings number at home lately and Wednesday was no different. They Jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, prevailing 3-1. Hiller was sensational stopping 46 of 47 shots. The Ducks were firing on all cylinders with Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf leading the charge.

Next though they had to play the Kings in back to back games. They haven’t won the 2nd game in any of the back to backs this year and this time was no different. They quickly feel behind 4-1 only to crawl back and tie the game 4-4. Dustin Brown scored the game winner on a wide open net, a goal that was poorly defended by Anaheim. They gave up another goal after that and ended up losing 6-4. Memo to NHL book teams playing back to back games as little as possible. I’m pretty sure it can be done.

Next up was the Kings, wait didn’t I just type that, o wait that’s right the NHL doesn’t know how to schedule; either that or this is baseball. It was a great fast paced game with lots of chances. After the 1st which was tied 1-1 and saw Teemu Selanne net number 597, the Ducks dominated the 2nd period. Saku Koivu netted the game winner when he scored the puck and then himself. Surprisingly there was no scoring in the 3rd and the Ducks prevailed 4-2 and got those much needed two points. Unfortunately Ryan Getzlaf sprained his ankle and it didn’t look pretty. X-rays at this point are negative and I hope they stay that way.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Features | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries