Posts by Alex:
2010-11 Pucking Awesome NHL Preview: Pacific Division
August 28th, 2010Only three teams have ever won the Pacific Division since the three division per conference re-alignment for the 1997-1998 NHL season. They are the Sharks, Ducks and Stars. The Coyotes and Kings both had remarkable seasons last year and both teams hope to build upon that success and perhaps clinch their first Pacific crown. This division also boasts two Stanley Cup wins in the past 12 years, with the Stars winning the cup during the 1998-99 season and the Ducks winning it during the 2006-07 season. Discounting overtime losses, each team in the Pacific was ten games over .500 at home except for the Kings and Coyotes who were nine over.
1.) San Jose Sharks
Rear-view Mirror: The Sharks rolled their way to a second straight Western Conference title and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004. They then lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.
The addition of Dany Heatley (39G-43A-82P) added to an already potent line consisting of Joe Thornton (20-69-89) and Patrick Marleau (44-39-83). On the backend Dan Boyle (15-43-58) paced the Sharks logging 26.12 of ice time per game, 4th in the league, and he was also 4th in the league for defensemen in scoring. The Sharks were the 4th highest scoring team in the league, they had the 4th best power play and the 5th best penalty kill at 85%.
Evgeni Nabokov recorded his best SV% (.922) of his ten year career and he also faced the most shots (2168) of his career. His GAA (2.43) was right around his career average but, along with backup Thomas Greiss , it was good enough as a team to finish 8th in the league.
In the playoffs the Sharks were led by Joe Pavelski (25-26-51) who had a breakout postseason with 17 points. A very welcome changed from a Sharks team that sometimes struggled to score in past postseasons. The Sharks pretty much owned the Avalanche peppering Craig Anderson with a barrage of shots. The series was only closer because of a few gaffes. The Sharks then almost swept the Red Wings pretty much demolishing them impressively. The Sharks run came to an end against the Blackhawks, where they seemingly couldn’t get much going. They were basically manhandled in the same way they manhandled their previous opponents.
Offseason Ins: Antero Niittymaki, Jamal Mayers
Offseason Outs: Evgeni Nabokov, Rob Blake (retired), Manny Malhotra
What Makes Them Tick: The Sharks are an experienced yet still somewhat youthful bunch. They have pretty much been through every scenario possible, except a Stanley Cup Final, while still being just below the average age for the league. They have two really talented scoring lines that rival any other teams. The Ryan Clowe (19-38-57), Pavelski and Devin Setaguchi (20-16-36) line is a great second option to the potent Thornton, Heatley and Marleau. Defensively Boyle will continue to log major minutes but expect Jason Demers to creep into more minutes. Demers just came off his 1st NHL season and along with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, both 23, they are the future of the Sharks defense. Vlasic led the Sharks in +/- with a +21. The Sharks were also the top faceoff team in the league, winning 55.6% of their faceoffs.
What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Sharks were looking to upgrade their goaltending, so the let Nabokov walk and signed experienced but somewhat unproven Antero Niittymaki. If he doesn’t perform well, there will be much second guessing in San Jose whether it was the right move to let Nabokov walk. They will also be under pressure for the move they didn’t make in not signing Antti Niemi. Niemi wasn’t available until after they signed Niittymaki but you have to believe that they wished they waited now, even though they would never admit that. More troubling for the Sharks is that Niittymaki only has two games worth of previous playoff experience. For a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, it is a lot of pressure to pin on an inexperienced playoff goalie. They also need to cut down on turnovers, as they were the 5th worst in the league with 810 giveaways.
Player to Watch: Joe Thornton is in the last year of his deal you have to assume the Sharks would like to retain him for at least three more years to anchor the Marleau and Heatley line. Depending on how he preforms in the regular season and playoffs, he might price himself out of the Sharks budget. But in order for any team to want him, including the Sharks, he will need to step-up his game in the playoffs. This postseason he lead all players with a -11, a dubious distinction no player would ever want.
Prediction: The Sharks hope to wrap up a 4th consecutive Pacific Division crown and a 5th consecutive 100+ point season. There really shouldn’t be any reason they won’t unless Niittymaki falters greatly. As always though, the Sharks season is measured but what they do or do not do in the playoffs. They didn’t really lose any significant pieces in the offseason other than Nabokov. It’s really up to how Nittymaki performs. Backup Thomas Greiss has played will in relief of Nabokov but obviously the Sharks do not have the confidence in him to be the number one goalie. But he may be given the chance to outshine Nittymaki similarly to what Antti Niemi did to Cristobal Huet. Similarly an extended injury to Dan Boyle would also be a huge blow to the Sharks.
2.) Los Angeles Kings
Rear-view Mirror: The Kings had their most successful season in awhile making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. They then lost to the Canucks in the 1st round in six games. During the regular season the Kings were one of only two teams, the Capitals were the other, that had eight players score 40 or more points each. The Kings were led by Anze Kopitar (34G-47A-81P) who set career highs in goals, assists, points, +/- and shots on goal. Kopitar also flirted with the league scoring title for a few weeks. Wayne Simmonds (16-24-40) in his 2nd season continued to develop into an all around player. While he was only 8th on the team in points, he almost doubled his point total from last season and he was 1st on the team in +/- with +22 and 2nd in PIM with 116.
On the defensive side Drew Doughty (16-43-59) emerged as one of the premier defensemen in the league and his hard work paid off with a Norris Trophy nomination in only his 2nd season. He was also second on the team in assists, +/- (+20) and points. Jonathan Quick became a workhorse goalie in his 2nd full season and played in 72 games, the 4th most of any goalie. None of Quick’s major stats (2.54 GAA, .907 SV%, 4 SO) were better than his previous season however.
Offseason Ins: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Willie Mitchell
Offseason Outs: Alexander Frolov, Sean O’Donnell, Randy Jones
What Makes Them Tick: The Kings boast an extremely talented and dynamic defensive group. Featuring young Olympians Doughty and Johnson paired with veterans Rob Scuderi and newly signed Willie Mitchell. With the young defensive stars having another year of NHL experience and the addition of another experienced veteran to learn off of, the Kings defense will only get better. Offensively the Kings have a very balanced attacked as alluded to above with eight players with 40+ points each. Kopitar almost had the breakout season everyone was expecting him too before he started to slump somewhat. He still had a great season but this year he should even top that. He should be a 100+ point player this season.
What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Kings will now have expectations for the first time in a long time. How they handle them mentally will determine how successful their season is. Kopitar will need to play more consistently as the Kings are 34-21 when he scores a point and 12-15 when he does not. Overworking Quick is also a potential problem discussed further below. The Kings could also work on turnovers, as they gave away the puck the 4th most with 815 giveaways.
Player to Watch: Jonathan Quick will be under a lot of pressure to preform this year, as the Kings have higher expectations. Quick faltered in the playoffs, where he had the 3rd worse (3.50) GAA and 3rd worse (.884) SV% of playoff goalies who stated at least four games. In order for the Kings to reach their full potential they must get good consistent goaltending from Quick. If Quick falters, the Kings do have a number of options. Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier are two such options. Bernier was sensational in the limited action he saw last season. It’s no doubt that the Kings view Quick, the third goalie on Team USA, as the long term option. It might be wise to play him less games this season, as fatigue was probably a big factor in his playoff slump and the Kings possess more than capable backups.
Prediction: The 6th youngest team in the league, the Kings are poised to improve upon last years balanced success. Frolov and O’Donnell are somewhat significant losses but it shouldn’t have much of an impact on a pretty deep team. O’Donnell is essentially replaced with the Mitchell signing anyway. The Kings should pretty much be a lock to make the playoffs. If Quick can improve his game and Kopitar can take his game to the next level, it’s very possible the Kings could win the division. With the available cap space, I wouldn’t be surprised the Kings add one or two veterans to make a strong playoff run during the season.
3.) Anaheim Ducks
Rear-view Mirror: The Ducks missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. A huge disappointment for a team that was a game away from making the Western Conference Finals the year before. Jonas Hiller emerged as the number one goalkeeper when the Ducks traded away fan favorite and former Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the Maple Leafs. Still he wasn’t as sharp as the year before and he had half as many shutouts (2) in 20 more games. In Scott Niedermayer’s swan song he showed that he still had it logging the 3rd most minutes per game in the league but he finished with his lowest +/- (-9) of his 18 year career.
Injuries also plagued the Ducks for most of the year. Ryan Getzlaf (19G-50A-69P) had various injuries at the beginning and end of the season and Teemu Selanne (27-21-48) broke his hand and then his jaw. Joffrey Lupul (10-4-14) started out the season playing in 23 games and fairly well until he had back problems that kept him out the rest of the season. Despite their injuries the Ducks managed to have the 5th best power play in the league, scoring on 21% of their chances.
Offseason Ins: Toni Lydman, Andy Sutton, Aaron Voros
Offseason Outs: James Wisniewski, Scott Niedermayer, Steve Eminger, Mike Brown
What Makes Them Tick: The re-signing of Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu (19-33-52) was a huge relief for the Ducks. Now if the Ducks can finally sign Bobby Ryan (35-29-64) and if Joffrey Lupul is healthy enough to play, the Ducks will be boast arguably the best top 6 forwards in the NHL. Even if Lupul can’t play the Ducks will still be loaded. The Getzlaf, Ryan and Corey Perry (27-49-76) line is one of the best in the league. There are also rumors of a reunion with former Duck and team captain Paul Kariya. But those rumors were squashed when Kariya announced he will need to sit out this season due to post-concussion syndrome. Hiller is still on of the top young goalies in the league. He had stretches where he just didn’t look that great last season. But as he has shown during the ouster of the Sharks in the 2009 playoffs and more recently with the Swiss Olympic team, Hiller is capable of raising his game to another level.
What Could Make Them Go Boom: Not signing Bobby Ryan would certainly be a huge blow but that’s unlikely to happen. Injuries and the defense were the downfall of the Ducks last season and it could very will be that way again. Keeping everyone healthy especially the 40 year old Selanne will be hard to do. GM Bob Murray decided to scrap the whole defense after Scott Niedermayer retired. It’s never easy for any team to lose a future hall of famer on defense two seasons in a row. The Ducks have now done that and are hoping the late season additions they made last year (Lubomir Visnovsky (15-30-45)) , coupled with the changes this offseason of Sutton and Lydman will yield them a competitive defense. The Ducks are always one of the most penalized teams in the league and last year was no exception. They racked up 16.1 PIM a game 3rd worst in the league. The Ducks faceoff winning percentage has been taking a tumble recently. They were 4th worst in the league at 48.1%.
Player to Watch: Ryan Getzlaf is an elite player who boasts a impressive resume. Among his accolades are All-Star appearances, Stanley Cup Champion, Olympic Gold medalist and World Juniors Gold medalist. However, he has yet to produce a 100 point season or more than 25 goals in a season. Now entering the prime of his career and his 6th full season, Getzlaf will be expected to step up his game and also his leadership role on the team. The team captaincy is currently vacant and Getzlaf, a current alternate captain, is the front runner to receive it. Other options include the only other former Ducks captain on the roster Teemu Selanne and current alternate captain and long time Canadiens captain Saku Koivu. If he stays healthy, this could very well be Getzlaf’s elite breakout year.
Prediction: The Ducks can easily go from a mid seeded playoff team to not making the playoffs at all. They will probably get in as the 7th or 8th seed. The forwards, especially the big guns, need to stay healthy, if they do that they will develop chemistry and score a lot of goals. On the back end Hiller needs to play better than he did last season. How the defense clicks will ultimately determine the fate of this team. Luca Sbisa, acquired in the Chris Pronger trade, will really need to develop into a top four defenseman in his first full season in the NHL. He is also looking to score his first NHL goal. The addition of Sutton will give the Ducks a gritty defenseman who will hopefully rub off on the rest of the defenders. Sutton was 2nd in the league in blocked shots with 204 and 21st overall in hits with 197. Though the Ducks as a team are physical themselves, as they finished 7th in the league in hits with 2050. But they could certainly use the help with blocked shots, as they were the 2nd worst in the league with 943.
4.) Phoenix Coyotes
Rear-view Mirror: The Coyotes had what you would call a magical season last year. They started the season unsure of whether they would stay in Phoenix and as such played to mostly empty arenas. But by the end of the season, they had flirted with the Western Conference’s best record, made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, recorded their first ever 100+ point season and played to packed “white out” crowds. Despite losing to the Red Wings in seven games in the 1st round of the playoffs, Phoenix accomplished a lot as a team and proved that hockey could make it in the desert.
Ilya Bryzgalov (2.29 GAA, .920 SV%) finally became a household name with his breakout season. He was 2nd in the league in shutouts (8), 3rd in wins (42) and he received a Vezina nomination. He helped the Coyotes to the 3rd best team GAA (2.39) in the NHL.
The Coyotes were an offensively challenged team, ranking near the bottom in goals scored. Shane Doan (18G-37A-55P) lead the Coyotes in points. Only the Bruins had a team leader with less points and the Maple Leafs leader (Phil Kessel) also had 55 points. Radim Vrbata (24-19-43) lead the team in goals, the only player on the Coyotes to crack the 20 goal plateau. On the backend Ed Jovanovski (10-24-34) and Zbynek Michalek (3-14-17) formed a formidable defensive one two punch.
Offseason Ins: Ray Whitney, Andrew Ebbett
Offseason Outs: Zbynek Michalek, Matthew Lombardi, Daniel Winnik, Lee Stempniak
What Makes Them Tick: Not really having a go to guy on the team means that opponents can’t really zero in on any one player to disrupt the flow of the team. Everyone chips in with their blue collar approach. The Coyotes do well in the shootout, where they had the most wins of any team at 14 and one of the higher winning percentages. They are a well disciplined team coming in with the 7th least PIM a game with 11.3. They also had the 2nd least amount of giveaways with 420. Wojtek Wolski (23-42-65) will now move to the center position and anchor the top line with Doan and Ray Whitney (21-37-58). Of course Ilya Bryzgalov is their biggest strength. Look for him to have another phenomenal season.
What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Coyotes didn’t really add enough players to make themselves a stronger contender in a very tough western conference. The offensive struggles of the Coyotes will more than likely continue which is not something you can realistically get away with two years in a row. Last season the Coyotes had the 3rd worst power play in the league but they did have the 6th best penalty kill. The addition of 18 year veteran Whitney will help, provided he can still prove his has some gas left in the tank. Michalek and his 9th best 156 blocked shots are also gone.
Player to Watch: Wojtek Wolski was the big acquisition last year by the Coyotes who gave up Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter. At the time it seemed like a steal, with Mueller struggling to fit in the with the Coyotes. However, Mueller flourished in the few games he played with the Avalanche and nobody is quite sure what the young Porter will develop into. The pressure is now on Wolski to have his break out season, especially on an offensively challenged team. Last season he set career highs in goals (23), assists (42) and points (65). Look for him to push towards a 30 goal 80 point season.
Prediction: It’s hard to imagine the Coyotes duplicating last years success. Teams will now take them as more of a threat. Key players like Doan and Jovanovski are now each a year older. The loss of Michalek will hurt the Coyotes without anyone really brought in to take his place. Still if any team can make it work and make a run for the playoffs the Coyotes could. Last year at this time things looked even bleaker for them. Kyle Turris the 3rd overall pick in the 2007 draft should see even more playing time this year. He is still low on the depth chart currently but could creep up fast. The Coyotes are also bullish on 8th overall pick of the 2008 draft Mikkel Boedker who only played in 14 games last season. How well these young guns can be integrated into the Coyotes, will determine their playoff fate.
5.) Dallas Stars:
Rear-view Mirror: After five consecutive seasons of making the playoffs, the Stars are currently on a two season streak of not making them. After an injury plagued year, Brad Richards (24G-67A-91P) played his first full season in a Stars jersey and lead them in assists and points. Defenseman Stephane Robidas (10-31-41) continued his exceptional level of play. He was 7th in the league in blocked shots (177) and 4th in the league in hits (269) but 1st overall for defensemen. Loui Eriksson (29-42-71) led the Stars in goals and was 2nd in points.
Marty Turco’s GAA (2.72) and SO (4) were pretty average but he had his best SV% (.913) since 2004. The Stars actually finished last in the Pacific Division for the first time since the NHL switched to the the three division format in the 1998-99 season.
Offseason Ins: Andrew Raycroft, Adam Burish, Brad Lukowich
Offseason Outs: Mike Modano, Marty Turco
What Makes Them Tick: The Stars are a very physical and great checking team. The lead the NHL in hits last season with 2338. Loui Eriksson is just coming into his prime and he should be able to produce another 30+ goal season. Paired with a healthy Brad Richards and gritty veteran and team captain Brenden Morrow (20-26-46) they make a formidable 1st line. The Stars have a lot of free cap space, so they should be in the market to make other improvements. Defenseman Mark Fistric (1-9-10) finished 4th in the league in +/- with a + 27.
What Could Make Them Go Boom: Kari Lehtonen is so far penciled in to be the starting goalie. Lehtonen is now entering his 7th season in the NHL and while he has played well, it’s nothing exceptional that you would want in your number one goalie in this day and age. So while he is not a bad option, he is probably only temporary anyway. The Stars have a few young goalie prospects that could come up this season or next. They include 2006 pick Richard Bachman, 2008 pick Tyler Beskorowany and the 11th pick overall in the 2010 draft Jack Campbell. Despite their physical nature of style, the Stars ended up with the 4th worst penalty kill. Like the Ducks, the Stars also struggle with faceoffs coming in at the 5th worst with 48.1%
Player to Watch: Jamie Benn was a relative unknown last season taken in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. However he was a standout player for the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL and was named to the all-star first team his last year there. He also helped Team Canada win a Gold at the 2009 World Junior Championships. Benn found a home on the 2nd line with the Stars in his first NHL season. He produced 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points and 3 game winning goals tied for 3rd on the team. Look for more out of Benn in his 2nd season. He has the potential to be a consistent 30+ goal scorer.
Prediction: It’s a transition season for Dallas as the team shed two veterans (Turco, Modano) who most identified as the faces of the franchise. Playing in a fairly strong division it is not likely the Stars will make the playoffs and they seem destined for last place for the 2nd year in a row. However the Stars didn’t miss the last playoff spot by much, like a lot of teams out West. They still boast two impressive scoring lines and one of the top defenseman in the league in Robidas. The team certainly is not an easy win especially in Dallas. If Lehtonen or one of the young prospects can perform well in goal, anything is possible.
Selanne, Kariya and the Ducks Defense
August 9th, 2010Teemu Selanne has officially rejoined the Ducks for another season at an estimated 3.25 million a year. It’s not really surprising that Selanne, coming off one of his best seasons ever despite battling injuries, would return. What’s more surprising is that he hinted in a Finnish newspaper that he wouldn’t mind playing for another two seasons. A strange statement from a player who retired after the Ducks won the Cup in 2007 only to un-retire and play the reaming 26 games of the season. Selanne has pretty much pulled a Brett Favre ever since then with his constant waffling on whether he will return or not for the following season. He at least has stuck to his word and is less dramatic about it. Additionally, the Finnish Flash has also hinted many times about his desire to be reunited with Paul Kariya. Selanne and Kariya were teammates with the Ducks from 1995-96 to 2000-01. They were briefly reunited with the Colorado Avalanche during the 2003-04 season, before going their separate ways again.
Though Kariya and the Ducks last go around did not end well, I always believe time heals all wounds. The Ducks have plenty of cap space to sign Kariya. It would be interesting to see if they will though, mostly because the Ducks are currently looking at a log jam at the forward position. A Kariya addition would only further clog it. Still it looks likely the Ducks will sign the free agent Kariya, especially if Selanne pushes for it.
As for the defense, General Manger Bob Murray continues to try and make it over. At the end of the 2008-09 season, the Ducks had made strong moves to have a top four of Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski. Three of the four went on to win Olympic medals. But now none remain. Pronger was dealt to Philadelphia because it was too expensive to keep him and Niedermayer and the Ducks were also looking to bolster their forwards, ironically something they now have too much of. Given that Niedermayer retired a few months ago, it might have been smarter to have kept Pronger and then either have traded Niedermayer (sacrilegious I know) or signed him to a really low offer, like they did with Selanne in the past. Whitney was traded for another Olympian in Lubomir Visnovsky who is a much better fit in the current Ducks system. The real head scratcher to all of this though is trading Wisniewski.
After the trade I was furious because I like the way Wisniewski plays. While still green in certain areas, he has a great upside and is only 26. Apparently after being rewarded more money in arbitration, the sticking point between Murray and Wisniewski was contract length. Murray said he offered Wiz a good four year deal that was not accepted. I can understand Murray not wanting to have to keep peddling out one and two year deals, so if Wiz doesn’t want to be here long term then you have to do what you have to do. My main problem is they traded him to the Islanders for basically next to nothing. A 3rd round pick in the next draft is hardly worth anything. More importantly it does nothing to help the Ducks currently as they give up one of their top defenseman for no defenseman in return. Murray says he has other things up his sleeve. He most certainly better, though it’s hard to imagine what that would be as most of the good defensemen are already gone.
The mostly likely scenario is that Murray raids the Canucks and their plethora of defensemen. The Canucks currently have nine D-men under contract, certainly way more than you need. At the top of Murray’s hit list is Kevin Bieksa who is signed only through the end of this year. The Ducks seem to be the front runner for Bieksa’s services but as more time drags on, one wonders if Murray will be able to put together a deal in order to acquire him. Currently the Ducks have three starters penciled in Visnovsky, Sheldon Brookbank and Toni Lydman. Andy Sutton, formerly of the Ottawa Senators, was also acquired but it’s not likely he will make the top six but you never know. Murray had said he was interested in leaving the last two spots open for the young talent. Other than Luca Sbisa, it’s highly unlikely any of the other young talent would be ready to step in. Here’s hoping that Murray is able to find another quality defenseman soon, also stayed tuned for any Kariya news.
Nystrom Just Can’t Get A Decent Bagel In Minnesota
August 3rd, 2010The Syosset (Long Island) Patch news did a feature on Eric Nystrom, who talked about what it was like growing up on the island with his famous father and four time Stanley Cup Champion Bobby Nystrom.
For the full article please go here:
The top eight things I miss about the hockey season
July 27th, 2010Here is a compilation of eight things I do/don’t miss when there is no hockey being played. None of these things have anything to do with the actual game, like the awesome saves, goals, hits and rivalries, because that is a given. This is a list of the other things we have grown to love or hate.
8. Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Okay I actually don’t really miss having the same two people constantly shoved down my throat by the NHL marketing machine. But I do miss all of the Sidney Crosby Haters vs. Alex Ovechkin Haters going at it. It’s just not the same on Twitter in the off-season as it is during the season. Of course neither camp really brings anything new to the table. It’s always the same, Ovechkin has never won anything important and Cindy Crosby is a whiner and a diver.
7. ESPN’s Hockey Coverage
Who am I kidding? ESPN’s coverage is just as nonexistent during the season as it is in the off-season. If they had to pick between airing “The Decision” or Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I think we sadly know which one they would pick. I remember when they used to have hockey doubleheaders on ESPN when I was a teenager. No, don’t sit there and try and figure out my age.
6. NBC’s NHL Coverage
Unlike ESPN at least NBC is trying, unfortunately it doesn’t always go well. Whether it’s missing goals to run promos, explaining basic rules or rotating the same seven teams into the “Game of the Week”, sometimes I just wished I could get CBC or TSN more easily than having to move near the Canadian/US border. Sure there’s online feeds but those aren’t always the best, reliable or in HD.
5. The Rink Experience
There is nothing like the NHL rink experience. It’s one of my favorite places to be and let’s face it there is nothing like experiencing an NHL game live. There are a few things I could do without though. For starters the outrageous prices of food and beverages. Although any rink/amusement place has those prices, not just an NHL rink, nine dollars for a bean and cheese burrito is a bit much. There’s that obnoxious fan you might have to sit next to, which is even worse if they are rooting for the other team. Also there’s something about being in a cold place that really makes me need to go to the restroom, a lot. I hate to go during the game, so I have to patiently wait until intermission to bolt out and beat the rush.
4. Cities That Believe They Can Win It All, But Never Do
You know which cities I am talking about. Cities like Vancouver, Philadelphia, and San Jose to name a few. They have teams that are pretty decent and generally make a long postseason run but they can just never put it all together. Some of them even plan Stanley Cup routes in advance. (See Canucks, Vancouver) I suppose it could be a lot worse though…
3. Don Cherry’s Suits
While I don’t see his suits as often as I would like to, you can’t help but not be interested in what he will wear next. All of his suits are custom made, a lot of the time from drapes. If the suits don’t do it for you, then you can always look forward to whatever will come out of his mouth next.
2. Being Disrespected as a Hockey Fan
Hockey, especially in the South, is still somewhat of a niche thing. I will admit the niche is certainly getting bigger. But there’s nothing like people making fun of you for watching hockey. My all time favorite quote was “Hockey? Do you watch the WNBA?” Of course! because the WNBA is JUST as exciting as the NHL.
1. The Opposite Hockey Sex
If you are a male fan
if you are a female fan (so I’m told)
I rest my case
2009-10 NHL Season Video Recap
July 19th, 2010Recap some of the best moments of the 2009-10 NHL season with this video set to Saosin’s Finding Home.
Chicago Blackhawks 2009-10 Season Recap Video
July 16th, 2010Anaheim Ducks Prospects Camp and Upcoming Season Outlook
July 12th, 2010People said that hockey would never make it in Southern California. It’s too warm, they don’t even have a winter. Well tell that to the packed house at Anaheim Ice who came in on a Saturday evening on the final day of prospects camp to watch a friendly scrimmage game between players who will more then likely not make the team this season. California hockey is alive and well so much so that two 1st rounders at this years NHL draft were born and raised in the area. Current Duck 1st round draft choices Cam Fowler and Californian Emerson Etem were at prospects camp. Late rounder Devante Smith-Pelly as well as previous years picks Peter Holland, Justin Schultz, Jake Gardiner, Ryan Hegarty, Nicolas Deschamps, Matt Clark, Scott Valentine and Justin Vaive to name a few. Also on hand was fan favorite Dan “Big Sexy” Sexton. The game ended 8-5 (including an empty netter) but it was a lot closer than it seemed.
The White team (guest) was led by Dan Sexton and Emerson Etem and the Black team (home) was led by Devante Smith-Pelly and Cam Fowler. The White team simple dominated the first 10 minutes of play as the puck was always in the Black end. But wouldn’t you know it the Black team led 2-1 after 10 minutes, basically converting on their only two scoring opportunities. The rest of the game was about even. Goaltending in this game was average at best, to put it nicely. Other than a couple of nice saves it wasn’t pretty. Despite being a mostly friendly game, there were a handful of really great hits. Justin Vaive, who had a few hits, is one big guy coming in at 6’5” and around 210 pounds. He could eventually replace George Parros as the enforcer on the Ducks. He would also bring a more offensive upside to the team than Parros does. Devante Smith-Pelly was a force around the net, hitting people and scoring. The star of the scrimmage and the only player that I can say for certain will be on the opening day roster is Dan Sexton. He was everywhere on the ice and had some nice slap shots and passes. He also scored I believe one goal. I particularly loved his heart and enthusiasm that in a pretty much meaningless scrimmage game, he was banging his stick on the ice in frustration on a missed play. All in all a great game and the Ducks have selected and signed a nice assortment of young players.
Let’s take a look at the possible opening day Ducks roster. The biggest question mark for the Ducks is obviously on defense. Just two years ago the top defensive pair boasted future hall of famers Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. Now with both gone, it’s time for the Ducks to turn a new page on the defensive end. The old men of the group are 10 year vets Lubomir Visnovsky and Toni Lydman. Visnovsky will assume the leadership rule of the defensive unit and Lydman while a great talent, was probably brought in more to coax Teemu Selanne into playing another year. Next is where the real question marks begin. The next spot up for grabs would more than likely be filled by James Wisniewski, who is headed for arbitration for the second year in a row. More than likely that will go well and he will be back. The 4th spot is more than likely going to go to Sheldon Brookbank who hasn’t really impressed me all that much in his short career. But maybe increased playing time and responsibility will improve his game. The last two spots are up for grabs. It’s rumored and a likely possibility that Luca Sbisa will get one of the remaining spots. Sbisa acquired in the Pronger trade, played eight games for the Ducks before being sent down. Coach Carlyle had wanted Sbisa to receive the maximum amount of playing time possible to further his development which he was not going to get in the Ducks lineup. With Niedermayer retired and the Ducks looking to shake things up, Sbisa should be ready to help fill the void. He was conspicuously absent from prospect camp, which I thought was quite odd. Hopefully this means the Ducks think he’s ready and he will definitely be in the starting six. I don’t think top draft pick Cam Fowler will be ready to grab the last spot so the ducks will more than likely look to acquire another player. There’s always Brett Festerling but I sure hope not.
Offensively, if things go correctly, you could be look at the most stacked offensive collection ever assembled on the Ducks and rivaling some of the all time great NHL teams. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry will return the question is will Bobby Ryan join them? Ryan and the Ducks have hit a standstill in their contract talks but eventually I have hope that it will work itself out. On the second line we may possibly see one of the best second lines ever. Saku Koivu is the only definite coming back to anchor the line. On the one side you could have future hall of famer and 600 goal scorer Teemu Selanne, who I think will come back. On the other side you could have Joffrey Lupul who skated for the first time in a long time the other week. His back looks like it may be fully recovered in time for the start of the season. I know the Ducks and Lupul both hope that it is. Underrated Todd Marchant would anchor the third line with probably Dan Sexton and Jason Blake. The 4th line is anyone’s guest at this point, until the Ducks management finishes making the roster. But the top three possible lines would give any opposing netminder and defense fits.
The goalie tandem of Jonas Hiller and Curtis McElhinney are as solid as they come. I believe McElhinney is an improvement over former back-up Justin Pogge, though Pogge never really played. I really think that Hiller will bounce from a fairly average year from him. After tearing it up in the Olympics most of that momentum carried over down the stretch for the Ducks. With the number one spot now firmly his and lower expectations coming into this season than last years, I think pressure will be a lot lower for Hiller and his focus will be a lot higher. I am looking forward to the Ducks getting better team chemistry and making a deep run into the playoffs.
Below are a few images from the scrimmage.
2009-10 NHL Season Recap
June 17th, 2010As you sit there in your favorite team jersey waiting for it to be October, let’s recap and vote on our favorite moments on the season that was. The 2009-10 NHL season was one of the most thrilling ever, featuring a Stanley Cup playoff race that was wide open. The 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs smashed many ratings records on the way to crowning the Chicago Blackhawks as Stanley Cup champions. Most, if not all, of the twitter tending topics that night were NHL related. Hockey is definitely on an upswing. Some of the points below I didn’t go into as much detail as I would like to have. However, I already wrote about most of it in previous columns, so sometimes it’s hard to re-write. There’s a lot to read and videos to watch, so I hope you enjoy it! (Trust me when I say it’s really long)
To break this article down, in the first part I recap the season of the Stanley Cup Champions, then I go into the biggest surprises, disappointments and awards of the season and other miscellaneous stuff. I end it with voting for the goat and the fight of the season, compiled from the best of those during the regular season from my weekly Between the Pipes column. Which I hope you all come back to read next season.
The 2009-10 Stanley Cup Champions
Chicago Blackhawks
What an unusual season it was for the Chicago Blackhawks. Their offseason certainly wasn’t boring. First you have Marian Hossa signing a huge contract worth 62.8 million dollars over 12 years. That alone brings up many questions like won’t he be 42 by the end of it? How do you even know how he will perform towards the end of the contract? Then the good/bad of the signing, Hossa wanted to play for a contending team and he viewed the Blackhawks as the team with the best chance to do so. Well that’s great but then you wonder, didn’t he think that with the Penguins and the Red Wings as well? How did that turn out? Next up you have Patrick Kane and his cousin assaulting a cab driver for 20 cents. Wait he what? There’s nothing like having one of your top players being involved in a ridiculous incident like that. Still the Blackhawks pressed on and opened the season a talented loaded team with one huge albatross around their neck, what about your goaltending?
Cristobal Huet was the number one goaltender by default, despite not being the number one last season, because the Blackhawks didn’t have enough money to sign Nikolai Khabibulin. As the starting goalie, Huet certainly didn’t make the regular season boring. First you had his 25.29 GAA average against the Flames in October, where he gave up three goals on five shots in seven minutes. Though to speak to the resiliency of the Blackhawks this season, Niemi actually came in and gave up two more goals in the 1st period to put the Blackhawks in a 0-5 hole at intermission. But the Blackhawks ended up scoring six unanswered goals to win the game in overtime. Then there was the game against the Stars in which Huet gave up four goals on ten shots. Finally he gave up 14 goals over a span of three games, when the Blackhawks finally said the hell with this and made Antti Niemi the starting goalie. He did have some high points, putting together a seven game win streak and posting four shutouts. But he will mostly be remembered for plays like this:
Despite their goaltending issues, Chicago came within one point of the best record in the West. They boasted a balanced scoring attack with six players each having 20+ goal seasons. They also boasted one of the top defensive pairs in the league in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Antti Niemi started to develop into a number one netminder, hopefully vanquishing the albatross in the process.
The Blackhawks opened the 1st round of the playoffs against the perennial stepping stone Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks lost the 1st game at home and then the 3rd game on the road to find themselves in a 1-2 hole. They seemed disinterested in the series and they weren’t getting the basics right. They managed to win Game 4 but then Game 5 happened. Game 5 was the kind of game that everything just went right, even when things looked bleak. It was the turning point of the series and the Blackhawks season. It was the game in which the Blackhawks got their swagger back. Let’s set the stage. Down in the important Game 5, 4-3, in the final minutes the Blackhawks try a final push only to have Marian Hossa get called for boarding. It appeared that Hossa was already working his curse magic. Instead it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the inexperienced Predators played aggressive on the power play, looking for the kill goal. The Blackhawks were able to get a lucky bounce on the rebound and storm the other way and then pull their goalie to make it five on five. Then in some eerie foreshadowing, Patrick Kane scored the game tying goal off of a rebound in what would be his second most important goal of the playoffs.
After opening the overtime period shorthanded the Blackhawks ended up in the Predators zone and Hossa jumps out of the box and sets up right where Patrick Kane scored the previous goal. The puck once again took a fortuitous bounce and Hossa capped off the impromptu comeback.
In the decisive Game 6 you could tell it would be the Blackhawks year after Brent Seabrook gets an unexpected goal against Pekka Rinne.
From there it was the highly anticipated rematch with the Vancouver Canucks. Personally I found the series to be disappointing, as most of the games were pretty one sided. It had some comical moments though, like when the Canucks self destructed in Game 5 and committed four penalties in the span of four minutes and 40 seconds. There was also Roberto Luongo being himself hot, a 1.00 GAA in the two Canucks wins and cold, 5.25 GAA in the four losses. The soon to be Conn Smythe winner, Jonathan Toews was simply sensational against the Canucks. He was also in the midst of a 13 game point streak in which he amassed 25 of his 29 points.
Next was the highly anticipated match-up between the number one seeded Sharks. The win total of the two teams far surpassed any of the other match-ups in the 2010 playoffs. Oddly enough, it was also the only sweep of the playoffs. I’ll write more about it below in the disappointing section.
Then it was onward to the Blackhawks first Stanley Cup appearance in 49 years to face the Philadelphia Flyers and their 35 year drought. The series was very good and each game had a point in the 3rd period, except for Game 5, where there was only a one goal differential. I don’t know about you but that’s hockey I want to see. Nobody on the Blackhawks had a truly remarkable series. They won as a team as it should be in hockey, the ultimate team sport. Some players did have remarkable games though, as Dustin Byfuglien did in Game 5 and Patrick Kane did in Game 6. The thing I love most about hockey is watching each player on the team hoist the Stanley Cup and skate around with it. You don’t see anything else like that in any other sport, period. Just the player, the Stanley Cup and the moment. It’s something every player in the NHL hopes to achieve but very few get too. An experience so awesome that it brings tears to those that didn’t get to achieve it, like Jeremy Roenick the great Blackhawk for eight seasons and 20 NHL seasons overall.
You shouldn’t be surprised that the Blackhawks won the series, as we still haven’t had a team with a regular season goal differential of less than a +25 win the cup in the past 20 years, maybe longer (This is my favorite hockey stat). The Flyers had no chance with their +11. It also wasn’t all bad for Huet. As many of you know, Niemi was the first Finnish goalie to win the Cup. Despite not really playing, Huet was also the first Frenchman to win the Cup. Here are some of the Blackhawks celebrating with Jay Leno, gag.
Finally for shits and giggles here are some of the best user comments on Yahoo by fans after the Blackhawks were down 1-2 to the Predators after their Game 3 loss.
A Yahoo! User Thu Apr 22, 2010 03:02 pm PDT
“I can’t wait next year for the Hawks 50 year anniversary since the last cup we won! We’re not gonna win it this year cause we won’t get out of the 1st round but when they bring those guys from the 1961 cup team come out on their rascals i will stand up and salute them. I hope they make snow tires for rascals. Maybe the Caps will let us borrow the cup next year for the ceremony. We probably won’t make the playoffs next year with a new coach and we play in a division with the Red Wings, Preds, (who are embarassing us) and the Blues and Jackets will be better next year so we might be last in the central. I also can’t wait to hang that central division banner next year. The Caps can have the cup we have the central division! That’s most important.” (This guy feels really stupid right now)
tom c Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:40 am PDT
“I don’t care who wins the cup if Detroit doesnt all I do know is it won’t be CHICAGO….1961…hahaha. Get used to it and the Wings will win another cup or two before you do if ever again…Love hossa now don’t ya…”
Biggest Surprises/Best of the Year
Teams
Phoenix Coyotes – How many of you had the Coyotes getting home ice in the 1st round and then coming within a game of knocking off the perennial contending Red Wings? Nope nobody did and if you said you did, you’re lying. Apparently Wayne Gretzky was holding them back. Kidding aside this plucky group gave it their all. They even did it with the possibility of being sold at any moment during the season and having to possibly relocate at the end of the season. Ilya Bryzgalov, who had a few previous outstanding seasons, finally became a somewhat household name. He was 2nd in the league with eight shutouts and he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy. The rest of the squad collectively overachieved. Shane Doan was the leading scorer with a whopping 55 points and only one other player had over 50 points (Matthew Lombardi). Radim Vrbata was the only Coyote to have over 20 goals during the season with 24. Despite losing in the 1st round, the season was definitely something to build on. More importantly it may have finally sold hockey in the Phoenix desert.
Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens magic season can be summed up with two words, Jaroslav Halak. If it wasn’t for his emergence the Canadiens would have had just another 1st round exit. But he did emerge out of the shadow of Carey Price. I’ll admit Carey Price doesn’t cast a very large shadow but Halak had mostly been his backup until this year when they evenly split time in the regular season. Come the playoffs Halak was named the starter but he really didn’t flourish until after he was benched for Game 4 and then he came back with a vengeance. He even faced 134 shots over a three game span against the Capitals, not an easy task. It wasn’t all Halak though, Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec led the Canadiens offensively in the regular season and postseason. Though Gionta and Cammalleri combined for almost half of the 46 postseason goal total with 22 goals. There was also the emergence of P.K Subban who stepped in for the injured Andrei Markov and perhaps even surpassed his level of play. Subban was loved in Montreal for his hustle, determination and skill and hated everywhere else for his big mouth. The 2009-10 Canadiens returned the storied franchise to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1993. Even a 1st round series win is celebrated like they just won the Stanley Cup in Montreal. I’ll leave with two videos, one the crazy but tame celebration and one not so tame.
Best Game 7
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens
I can’t think of a game that had me at the edge of the seat like this one, in quite some time. Despite the Canadiens winning the previous two games, I didn’t really give them much of a chance. First you had the Canadiens taking the early 1-0 lead on the power play, just 30 seconds into the game. But it was still early and the Capitals had plenty of time to come back. Only after the second intermission it was still 1-0 and then you start to wonder, maybe the Canadiens can pull it off. When Montreal scored with about four minutes left in the game to take a 2-0 lead, you realized you were watching history in the making. About a minute and a half later the Capitals finally score to cut it to 2-1 and then you think maybe they can come back. All you know is the final two minutes would be the most intense you’ve ever seen in your life. Then Montreal gets called for a penalty to make 5 on 4. The Capitals pull their goalie to make it a 6 on 4 and you think surely the number 1 offensive team can score a goal with a two man advantage to save their season. But no Halak comes up huge the time runs out and see Alex Ovechkin slumped over to end another season. Relive the final two minutes here.
Best Series
This one was really hard for me to pick so I decided I’ll name four and you can vote. I didn’t include the Stanley Cup Finals because well it’s the Stanley Cup Finals so it would be memorable even if it sucked, which in this case it did not.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
This was an awesome series that we were sadly deprived of a Game 7. It featured lots of open ice action, some high scoring and sometimes some great saves. Watching Doughty shut down the Sedin twins was also great to watch.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Phoenix Coyotes
This series was also great. The enthusiasm in the Jobing.com Arena (dumb name) was awesome and Detroit matched it. There was a ton of open ice as well in this series and high scoring. Game 7 took a little bit of the luster off of the series. Favorite moment is the Shane Doan face after his Game 2 goal, who could ever forget that.
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Game 1 was truly spectacular and featured a lot of pretty goals and an overtime win. Game 4 featured the same 5-4 score as Game 1 and another overtime. This series will mostly be remembered for the Flyers and their great series comeback and never give up attitude.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Hard to pick this series over the Canadiens vs. Capitals series but I did because you didn’t really know what you were witnessing at that point, plus I missed a lot of the games because there were so many other series going on. Other than Game 7 (more on that below) I thought this series was pretty evenly matched with great intensity and an always great Montreal crowd. Just love that atmosphere in the Bell Centre.
Biggest Disappointments/Worst of the Year
Teams
Anaheim Ducks – After coming within a game of the Western Conference Finals last season, Anaheim made the off season trade of sending Chris Pronger to the Flyers for Joffrey Lupul and Luca Sbisa. They had hoped to bolster their offense while securing another blueliner of the future for Pronger. They felt the addition of Lupul coupled with the signing of Saku Koivu would give them the offense they needed in order to make another run at the cup. Unfortunately while that looked great on paper, absolutely nothing worked out for the Ducks. Sbisa, while he will probably be on the Ducks blueline for the next decade, at only 19 was not ready for the big leagues especially with the crowded Ducks defenseman corp; he wouldn’t have cracked the top two pairs. Coach Carlyle felt it was important Sbisa received playing time, so down to the minors to dominate he went. Lupul was reunited with the team that drafted him but a happy reunion it was not meant to be. He ended up playing in only 23 games and was out the rest of the year with back spasms and a subsequent herniated disk surgery. While in the long run the trade might look kindly on the Ducks, they essentially traded Pronger and received nothing in return.
Koivu and Teemu Selanne, Team Finland linemates, never really developed the chemistry the team was hoping for when they acquired Koivu. Selanne also suffered two of his worst injuries in his career almost in succession, further dampening the Ducks hopes of a potent second line. Towards the last few weeks of the season, the duo finally blossomed and showed their potential but it was to late. But give credit where it’s due, Koivu was the Ducks MVP for the last two weeks racking up 11 points in the final five games. On the back-end the defensive core seemed to be okay with the trade of Pronger because the Ducks had acquired James Wisniewski and Ryan Whitney last season. Wisniewski played adequately but found himself suspended a few times, causing the group to not be at full strength. Ryan Whitney did not fit in well, especially at the power play point where the Ducks had hoped he would fill Pronger’s skates. He did not and the Oilers and Ducks swapped Olympians with the Ducks receiving Lubomir Visnovsky (further giving me another beyond complicated name to type when I recap the past weeks Anaheim Ducks games). Lack of chemistry and injuries really were the downfall of the Ducks. Next year looks promising though if they can bring back all of the key players next season.
Washington Capitals – There’s an old adage that goes “defense wins championships”. Apparently the Capitals have never heard of it. Coasting through the regular season playing in the weakest division and racking up goals like nobody’s business, these Capitals seemed destined for great things. They were the Goliath of the NHL. But unfortunately for the Capitals, there was also a David lurking named the Montreal Canadiens and their mighty stone Jaroslav Halak. Now don’t get me wrong the Capitals had a 3-1 series lead at one point, so it’s not like they played horribly throughout. It’s just when you play four series in three seasons and they all go to even games and you only win one of them, people start to wonder many things. I don’t blame the Capitals for only getting three goals by Halak in games five, six and seven, because lets face it, the line of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull in their primes probably wouldn’t have scored any more goals either. I more concerned with their lack of heart and their willingness to do whatever it takes to win. I’m also concerned with their defense. Mike Green is probably the premier offensive defenseman in the league but he’s nowhere near the top of defensive defenseman in the league. That’s really where the Capitals need him to be. He just completed his fourth season though, so barring something drastic on his part I really don’t think he will improve. The NHL really needs to do him a favor and stop nominating him for Norris Trophies he doesn’t deserve. The Capitals need to acquire better defensive talent and they need to become a more dynamic offensive team. I will give props to Semyon Varlamov who had a pretty good postseason. Unfortunately not many noticed it. Who knows though, the Sharks had a 1st round exit last year and made it to the Conference Finals this year. The same could happen to the Capitals.
Worst Game 7
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens
This Game 7 was somewhat reminiscent of last years 2nd round game between the Penguins and Capitals in which the Penguins destroyed the Capitals 6-2 in the 2nd round in a hugely disappointing game as well. This time the Penguins were on the losing end. I’m still not really sure how the defending Champions would show up so flat footed at home, but they did. They lost the game 5-2 and were even down in the 2nd at one point 0-4, yikes. As awesome as this series was, and it was one of the best of the playoffs, this game couldn’t have been anymore anticlimactic. It also showcased none of the things that made the series great, other than Halak playing well again. Marc-Andre Fleury was awful, the Penguins defense was awful, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had no points and the game wasn’t close.
Worst Series
Chicago Blackhawks vs. San Jose Sharks
I alluded to it in the Blackhawks season recap but this certainly was the most disappointing series in some time. Normally you don’t get the 1 vs. 2 match-up very often and considering what we got in the East, I expected so much more from this series. The Sharks had just come off a dismantling of the Detroit Red Wings and the Blackhawks looked strong coming off their Canucks series win. Now none of the final scores had more than a two goal win but you just got the vibe the whole series that the Sharks didn’t have much of a chance, especially after they dropped the first two games at home. The score in those games were a lot closer than the game actually was. Nobody on the Sharks came to play except Patrick Marleau and they never scored more than two goals in a game. You can’t expect to win the series when you average 1.75 goals a game in the series. The Sharks also took a bunch of dumb penalties in Game 4 when it was tied 2-2, basically handing the game to the Blackhawks on a silver platter. Evgeni Nabokov didn’t play well and now I hear the Sharks want to resign him, yikes. He’s a regular season goalie, not a playoffs goalie.
Miscellaneous
Can only happen in hockey
Duncan Keith loses seven teeth – Duncan Keith, or how he’s referred to on the internet Duncan Teeth, showed the world just how tough hockey players are. While trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone on the power play, Keith took a puck to his face from a clearing attempt by Patrick Marleau. Marleau ended up scoring a breakaway goal because Keith was taken out of the play. But showing the true hockey player that he is, Keith returned to the game minutes later. Here’s a nice video on the play and what happened afterwards.
You’ve got to be kidding me
The Philadelphia Flyers come back from an 0-3 series deficit – This feet was made all the more impressive by the fact that they only got into the playoffs on a shootout win in the final game of the season against the New York Rangers. But the Flyers became only the third team in NHL history to comeback, joining the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. Not only did they come back down from 0-3 in the series, they also came back down 0-3 in Game 7. Not to mention they had to switch stating goalies in the middle of the series due to injury and they lost their 2nd leading scorer, Jeff Carter, for a month due to injury. I can’t think of a team that had to battle so much to get so far. Many thought this might be a team of destiny but their destiny ran out in the Stanley Cup Finals. Special acknowledgment goes to Danny Briere for leading the whole NHL in postseason scoring and for having some pretty goals along the way.
Iron Man Award
Craig Anderson – Now here’s a guy that had never been a starter in the league before or played in more than 31 games. He played in 71 games this season for the Colorado Avalanche, almost the same amount of games he played combined in his first five years in the league. He didn’t stop there, as he faced the most shots of any goalie during the regular season with 2233. He was one of the primary reasons the Avalanche rebounded so quickly. In the playoffs he faced the highest shot total of any goalie to play six games and sometimes he faced more than those with a few more games played than him. He finished the playoffs with the highest SV% at .933. Here’s hoping he can keep up the pace next year.
Team on the Rise
Los Angeles Kings – Something is brewing in Los Angeles and it isn’t the latest motion picture. It’s the first legit team the Kings have put together since Wayne Gretzky left town. They’re a young and deep talented team. Anze Kopitar at only 22 has seemingly blossomed into an elite player leading the league in scoring for a good chunk of the time. He did severely cool off towards the end of the season. However, I think this season was just a little preview of what’s to come. The Kings have a great pair of young defenseman in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Doughty is something truly special and his skilled were acknowledged with the Norris Trophy nomination. While I don’t think he will win it this year, my vote is on Duncan Keith, I think Doughty might dominate the award in the future like Bobby Orr, Raymond Bourque and Nicklas Lidstrom have in the past. Doughty was simply sensational in the Canucks series. How quickly the Kings can ascend, falls mostly on the shoulders of Jonathan Quick. Quick was a workhorse this season and will probably need to be again next season. He will need to continue to hone his skill in his 3rd full season if the Kings hope to advance further in the playoffs.
The comeback that never was
Ray Emery – Nobody wanted to take a chance on Ray Emery because of his previous bad behavior but the Flyers desperate for goalie help decided it would be worth the risk. Emery started all of 29 games before suffering a torn muscle. He was later diagnosed with avascular necrosis and was out for the rest of the year. In his absence Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton led the Flyers all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. With the Flyers recently signing Johan Backlund and already having Brian Boucher under contract, its unlikely free agent Emery will return. I don’t think any other NHL team will give him a chance either and I’m not even sure if he is fully recovered to play.
Breakout of the year
Steven Stamkos – I gave it to Stamkos because he had struggled so much the previous year. It’s not easy to come into the league as the 1st overall pick in the draft. Expectations are high and you are expected to perform. Stamkos rose to the challenge in his second year. Playing along side Martin St. Louis certainly helps but Stamkos is a special talent in his own right. Leading the league in goals in your second season is also an impressive feat. Stamkos will only continue to get better. John Tavares was another number 1 pick this year that put up almost identical numbers to what Stamkos did in his first season. I suspect his second season will end up being his breakout year as well. Craig Anderson would have gotten this nod for the regular season but I gave him another award. Jaroslav Halak would defiantly have gotten this award for the postseason but I already wrote about him.
Rookie of the Year (Calder Trohpy)
Tyler Myers – Besides goalie I think defenseman is the hardest position to learn. It’s not easy to try and stop the speed and skill of the top wingers in the NHL on a nightly basis. Myers was also the only defenseman on the Sabres in the top 80 in defenseman scoring. It’s very rare that there aren’t at least two defenseman from each team in the top 60. Leading all players on your team in ice time is always an honor for any rookie. Myers should compliment Ryan Miller for years to come.
Goalie of the Year (Vezina Trophy)
Ryan Miller – Goaltending has only gotten better over the years and there were a lot of strong contenders. Tuukka Rask came in a strong second but he played in 24 fewer games so I’d like to see what he can do with a full season under his belt. Miller had the 2nd best GAA at 2.22 and the 2nd best SV% at .931. Both were behind Rask. He faced the 4th most shots and had the 4th most wins. So while he wasn’t first in any major statistical category, he was 1st in taking over a game. He isn’t perfect though as he did make a few of my Goat of the Week awards this season. But as the entire World witnessed in the Olympics, he can put on quite a good show. This past January I saw Miller play live against the Ducks. He didn’t start the game, Patrick Lalime did. But the Ducks chased Lalime after the first 10 minutes after he gave up four goals. Though the Ducks did manage to score one goal on Miller, the whole entire feel of the game seemed different when he came into it. It was if he told the Ducks this isn’t going to be easy anymore. It wasn’t. I hope that Miller doesn’t suffer the same fate Dominik Hasek did in Buffalo. That is to go cupless.
Player of the Year (Hart Trophy)
Sidney Crosby – Now before we start this, I am not a diehard Sidney Crosby fan. I think he is a great player but I do not worship the ground he walks on. Furthermore, I honestly don’t think he is the most talented player on his team. I think Evgeni Malkin is. Two years ago Malkin would have easily won my player of the year award (I know my award isn’t that prestigious). So why does Crosby get it when Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Sedin had just as good or even better seasons? Well first off, Malkin didn’t have the same year he had in the previous two seasons and a lot of that was due to injuries. So basically Crosby had to carry the Penguins on his back. The other important thing to remember is Crosby doesn’t really have anyone else on his line. Sure Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin are good players but they aren’t great. Sedin has his brother Daniel Sedin on the same line and Ovechkin has Nicklas Backstrom and sometimes Alexander Semin. Crosby is the line all by himself. He also scored 51 goals which was not only tied for 1st in the league but his own personal best. He had never even reached 40 goals in any of his previous seasons. He was also red hot in the 1st round of the playoffs before coming back down to earth against Halak. I don’t think he has reached his full potential yet but I felt he was the best player on the ice this season.
Vote for the best of the season
Some were hard cuts particularly in the Goat category, so many goats this season. But I narrowed it down to three fights and five goats. There is no playoff goats so no Dan Boyle own goal or Halak stupidly playing the puck way beyond his net.
Fight of the Season
Cam Janssen vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond
David Koci vs. Brian McGrattan
Goat of the Season
Nikolai Khabibulin misplays the puck in the final minute of the game against the Flames to give them the win.
Tim Thomas mishandles the puck allowing the Penguins to get the win in overtime.
Keith Ballard taking out his own unsuspecting goalie
Ivan Vishnevskiy loses the puck off his stick and into his own empty net
Antoine Vermette comes sweeping in and knocks it in his own goal.
2010 Stanley Cup Final Pivotal Game 5
June 6th, 2010The 2010 Stanley Cup Final is now tied at two games apiece heading back to the Madhouse in Chicago tonight. This of course sets up the pivotal must win Game 5, or does it? In the last five Stanley Cup Finals only one team that won Game 5 actually won the series. That would be the Anaheim Ducks who clinched the series in Game 5 in 2007. Of course a few of those teams were up 3-1, so winning Game 5 wasn’t all that crucial. But this Game 5 is not as important as you might think. Both the 04 Lightning and 09 Penguins lost Game 5 after being tied 2-2 and ended up winning the the next two to take home the Stanley Cup. One thing we can be sure of is that Game 5 will be close. Every game has been at only a one goal deficit or tied at some point in the 3rd period. The Flyers have not lost a game 5, 6 or 7 this postseason. They are 5-0 so far. Let us take a look at the reminder of the series by first reviewing the last two games.
Antti Niemi has really been the anchor of the Blackhawks of late. Though the numbers don’t back it up, he really has been the only Blackhawk playing well in the past few games besides Marian Hossa. Almost all of the goals he has let in as of late, have not been his fault. The defense of the Blackhawks, one of their strengths throughout this season, has been bordering on atrocious as of late. Their inability to get the puck out of their own zone and their constant turnovers in their own zone, has contributed to three goals in the last two games. If you want you can chalk up the goal off of Versteeg’s back as the defense’s fault as well in Game 4, as well as the empty net goal that Duncan Keith didn’t play properly off the boards and a Claude Giroux goal with nobody on him. Well shoot that’s six of nine goals or 2/3 of the goals in the last two games chalked up to sheer defensive stupidity. The defense must play better.
I’m still not really sure why they blew the whistle in overtime of Game 3 after the goal that wasn’t. It wasn’t a goal but the rebound by Jeff Carter was a goal. The refs should have let the play continue and then at the next stoppage, which in this case was the Carter goal, reviewed the previous action like they did earlier in the game when the no goal was overturned. Of course they wouldn’t have needed to review the initial no goal because Carter’s goal would have nullified that. This pretty much sums up the inconsistency of the officiating in this series. On the eventually game winning goal, what were the Blackhawks’ defenders doing? Two Flyers right in front of the net with nobody on them, enabling Giroux to net the game winner on a deflection. Then came the debacle known as Game 4 for the Blackhawks.
The first two Flyers goals were caused by bad plays by Niklas Hjalmarsson in the Chicago zone, who Niemi won’t be sending any Christmas cards to anytime soon. The next Flyers goal can be attributed to awesome passing on the Flyers end or horrible defense, again, by the Blackhawks with nobody anywhere near Giroux and Antti Niemi playing way to far out of his net. You can take your pick. Next was the goal off of Versteeg’s back to basically set-up a 1-4 deficit for the Blackhawks to try and overcome on the road. Certainly not impossible but not something you really want to have overcome.
From a Flyers point of view I say things are looking pretty good. While they lost the first two games, they only lost by one goal in each game. They went to overtime in Game 3 but they won and they basically crushed the Blackhawks in Game 4 except for a late rally by the Blackhawks in that game. The Flyers are just out hustling the Blackhawks on loose pucks and icings. It just seems like the Flyers want it more. Another thing the Flyers have done well is neutralizing the Blackhawks’ top line and Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien only has 1 assist so far in the series. He also has four PIM to Pronger’s only two (not including Pronger’s game misconduct). The four PIM for Byfuglien came all in Game 3 when the Flyers effectively got under his skin. Byfuglien’s main asset this postseason, especially in the series against the Canucks, was getting under the opponent’s skin and forcing them to take dumb penalties. He has not been able to do that this series, though I agree the refs have not been kind to the Blackhawks in regards to calling penalties. He also hasn’t been able to effectively get under Leighton’s skin and screen him. The majority of the Blackhawks’ goals this season has come from their net presence, which they have yet to establish in this series. In hindsight the 2-0 series advantage by the Blackhawks was probably more of an advantage for the Flyers. The Flyers seem to enjoy playing from behind and being the underdog. Where as the Blackhawks can get a bit cocky with a lead.
Keys for today and the rest of the series:
Blackhawks:
1. Continue to tinker with line changes to find the right combination. Coach Quenneville was successful in Game 4 as the 3rd period surge came as a result of the line changes in that game. Coach Q will continue to tinker in Game 5.
2. They must establish more of a net presence on all of their lines. Leighton needs to work harder and they need to be better positioned for rebounds.
3. The defense absolutely must play better. They need to not be so careless with the puck in their own zone. If they need to take icings to get the puck out of the net, then do so. It’s better than give it right to the Flyers.
Flyers:
1. Chris Pronger must continue to play as dominate as he has. He’s averaging major minutes and that likely won’t change.
2. Continue to get the balanced scoring from all lines. The Flyers have yet to have any player score more than one goal in a game. All lines and players are contributing.
3. Michael Leighton must continue to play better. His play and confidence has improved greatly since Game 1 but with Chicago’s line changes and with having two of the possible three games at Chicago, Leighton will be challenged more. He must rise to the challenge.
2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 1 Analysis
May 30th, 2010Game 1 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was nothing short of an awesome showcase for the excitement that is the NHL. It had everything you could possibly ask for. A rocking crowd, lead changes, lots of goals, a close game and little known players stepping into the spotlight. In fact no team ever had a lead greater than one goal, you really couldn’t ask for anything more. It also had some questionable things, such as a seemingly skewed refereeing job. The top story of the night however was goaltending.
I went back through the past 50 years of NHL history and unless I’m wrong, I could not find any other match-up where both (not one goalie, both) starting goalies had no playoff experience prior to their current playoff run. If that’s true you’re watching history in the making. It also explains why we had such a high scoring affair. Both Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton looked pretty shaky, especially early on. Some of the shots that went in, probably wouldn’t have been a goal in the earlier rounds. Niemi seemed to get better as the game progressed and made some critical saves later. To wit he allowed four goals in the 1st half of the game and only one goal in the 2nd half. I honestly couldn’t believe it when Niemi raced out of his net, almost to the top of the face-off circle, in the 2nd period with two Blackhawks and one Flyer chasing after the puck. It made me think of Halak’s huge blunder in Game 5 against the Flyers, which reversed the momentum in that game. Luckily for Niemi nothing bad happened but he really needs to not do that again.
The 1st goal of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final was a pretty lame goal to christen the series with. Niemi blocked the initial shot only to bat it off of Niklas Hjalmarsson’s head and into the net. I like that the Blackhawks didn’t let them phase them as they marched right back down to tie the game 1-1 on Troy Brouwer’s goal.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to me that the Blackhawks scored a shorthanded goal on only their 2nd shorthanded situation of the game. Chicago lead the league in shorthanded goals in the regular season and they currently do so in this postseason. They pretty much dominated this Flyers’ power play and I believe they had more scoring chances on it then the Flyers did. Dave Bolland got the short handed goal which Leighton probably should have stopped. The Flyers did get the equalizer on their next power play and knotted the game up at 2 a piece. Daniel Briere put the Flyers ahead in the closing seconds of the 1st period following up his own shot.
About a minute into the second Patrick Sharp led a breakaway down the ice but decided to keep it and scored on another shot that Leighton probably should have stopped. Sharp tied the game at 3-3. Then some guy named Blair Betts, seriously I’ve never head of him before, brought the Flyers back in front 4-3. This goal was on Niemi as he could have and should have played the puck behind the net better to give position to the Blackhawks. Instead a few seconds Betts had the goal off the post. Kris Versteeg tied the game at 4, by cleaning up in front of the Flyers’ net.
Hossa nets his second assist on the night, both on Brouwer goals, with a sick little pass from behind the net. Leighton then gets pulled for Brian Boucher after he hits that magic number five, the number most goalies seemed to get pulled at. The score was now 5-4. Danny Briere then emulates Hossa with his own little nifty pass to Arron Asham who ties the game 5-5 for our 5th tie of the night. Thomas Kopecky got the game winning goal after waiting out Boucher and with help from Brent Seabrook and Bolland keeping it in the offesnive zone.
Key Players: Briere broke his mini three game slump to have a huge game with a goal and three assists to pace the Flyers. Brouwer had two goals and an assist to lead the Blackhawks. Marion Hossa had two nice assists.
Not so Key Players: The Blackhawks top line of Jonathan Toews, Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Kane produced no points and a -9 rating. Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter were there own woeful -8 and also produced no points. I can’t even recall either captain, Richards and Toews, doing much of anything significant. Both will really need to step it up and get their lines out of their current funks.
Then there’s the referring. I like how there weren’t any calls in the 3rd period, just let them play. What I didn’t like is that the Blackhawks had four penalties and the Flyers had none in the game. Hard to believe the 2nd most penalized team in the league in the regular season did not commit a single penalty. I saw a few high sticks and holds that probably should have been called. The 20,000 or so “refs” in the stand sure saw some as well. I’m hoping we get better called games in the rest of the series.
As for the physicality of the game, I have to say I was expecting a little bit more. Early in the 1st period Byfuglien was mixing it up with Chris Pronger and Asham but they didn’t but heads as much later on. Part of it was it just being the 1st game, the other part was Chicago never really got their offense set, especially on the top line, for Byfuglien to do his thing and cause problems. Game 2 should be interesting to see how this dynamic progresses.
The goaltending is what really makes this series. Both of these teams are pretty even on all aspects of their game and they’re both really deep. If you want to see just how even these teams are, check out Game 1′s shots on goal. Both teams had 32 shots a piece. The team that ultimately wins Lord Stanley’s Cup is the team that gets the better goalie play between their two inexperienced netminders. Niemi got the better of the 1st game, but not by much. The Flyers have a slight advantage, as they believe they have two goaltenders that they can confidently insert into the game. The Blackhawks have to rely solely on Niemi, as I’m pretty sure they have no confidence in Cristobal Huet. The Flyers have a decision to make in who should start the next game. Personally I would go with Boucher as he played better and seemed more composed. It’s obviously not an easy decision for the Flyers to make. Game 2 is set for Memorial Day May 31st at 8pm ET.
This Day in Hockey History
May 29, 2002 Dominik Hasek recorded his 10th career playoff shutout in the Red Wings 2-0 win over the Avalanche at Colorado, in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.
2010 Stanley Cup Final Preview – Between the Pipes
May 27th, 2010Well that was fast, a sweep and a five game series in the conference finals. Of course last year it was a sweep (Penguins) and a five game series (Red Wings) so I guess I shouldn’t complain because the 2009 Stanley Cup Final was one of the most entertaining in some time.
In case you are wondering and I’m sure you aren’t, I correctly picked 2 of 7 series in the East and 6 of 7 in the West. So even if I get the Stanley Cup Finals prediction wrong, I will still finish above .500.
WCS 2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. ECS 7 Philadelphia Flyers
Season Series: 1-0 Flyers in a 3-2 win
Playoff History: 1-0 Blackhawks, the only time they ever met was in 1971 in the quarter finals which the Blackhawks swept.
Cup Drought: Flyers 35 years, Blackhawks 49 years
Past Stanley Cup Experience: Flyers (Chris Pronger) Blackhawks (John Madden, Marian Hossa) I don’t think I missed anyone.
GF/GA History: The Flyers were a +11 during the season and the Blackhawks were a +62. Since we haven’t had a team win the Stanley Cup in the last 20 years with a less than +25 differential, it doesn’t look good for the Flyers. This is also the largest differential since the Detroit Red Wings (+64) beat the Carolina Hurricanes (Even) 4-1 in the 2001-02 Stanley Cup Final.
Stars to Watch: I mentioned that Jonathan Toews would have to step it up big time in this playoffs for the Blackhawks to reach their Stanley Cup aspirations. So far he has, leading the team in assists and points and a few sick passes to boot. He will need to continue his current pace. For the Flyers I’m going with Danny Briere. It’s important for the Flyers to get secondary scoring and Briere had been providing a lot of that with an eight game point streak out of nine games. The last three games he had 0 points and a -1. He will need to step it up for the Flyers to have a chance.
X-Factor: Marion Hossa has so far been mostly productive with 11 points in 16 games. But he only has two goals so far. If he really thinks that “third times the charm” and he really wants to win a cup, I want to seem he prove that on the ice. His shooting percentage is a paltry .039%, 2nd worst on the team. For the Flyers I’d like to see how Jeff Carter’s foot holds up. He seems good so far increasing his ice time in Game 5 and scoring two goals. If he can continue that, it will be a huge boost to the Flyers.
Goalie Problem?: The funniest thing about this goalie match-up is that the biggest question for both the Blackhawks and Flyers over the years was can they find the right goalie to led them deep into the playoffs? Now it could be argued it’s one of their greatest strengths. Michael Leighton vs. Antti Niemi, two guys who were not the starting goalies at the beginning of the season. Heck Leighton wasn’t even on the team on opening day. But here they are, two of the hottest goalies around. The Flyers actually boasted two hot goalies this postseason with Brian Boucher as well. Leighton is 1st in playoff GAA and SV%, Niemi is 3rd and 5th respectively (I ignored goalies with only 1 game played). The looming question is can they keep it up? I think they both will. I still think Niemi is more tested seeing as how he has played more games but he has also faced more offensively skilled teams. The key though is how many bodies will be in front of them? Whatever defense can keep the zone more clear will obviously give their goalie the advantage.
Fun Facts: Only three Flyers and two Blackhawks were alive when the Flyers last won the cup. The 1974–75 Flyers were the last Stanley Cup champion to be comprised entirely of Canadian born players.
Prediction: I don’t like the Flyers that much but bias aside I really think the Blackhawks have the more talented team. It’s amazing the Flyers even made the playoffs limping in with a 5-8-2 record down the stretch. Of course the team they beat right before that 5-8-2 stretch was none other than the Blackhawks. Then again the reason that Chris Pronger was acquired was to lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals and he did that. Though it was also to shut down the likes of Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin, players he never ended up facing in the postseason. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. One thing this series will be is physical. I’m really looking forward to Byfuglien and Eager mixing it up with Pronger, Asham and Hartnell. Generally you don’t see many fights in the playoffs but I think this series will have a few. Dustin Byfuglien will need to continue to excel at the little things he does so well, in order for the Blackhawks to have the advantage. I’m thinking Blackhawks in five or six.
Numbers, Numbers
10 – The +/- rating for the Flyers’ Claude Giroux 2nd in the postseason
5 – Power play goals for Jonathan Toews tied for the postseason lead
9 – Power play assists for Mike Richards 1st in the postseason (Kane and Toews are 2nd with 8 each)
4 – Game winning goals for Danny Briere and Dustin Byfuglien 1st in the postseason
5 – The number of shutouts for the Flyers, almost half of the 11 total for the whole postseason
3 – The number of shots by defenseman Ryan Parent in 16 games played
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
May 24, 2000 Claude Lemieux scored his 80th career playoff goal and Alexander Mogilny scored the game-winner, his first career playoff game-winning goal in the Devils 2-1 win against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
May 25, 1989 Calgary Flames beat the Canadiens 4-2 to win the 1989 Stanley Cup Championship. It was the first time since 1928 that the Canadiens lost the final game of the Finals on home ice (Rangers won at the Forum against the Maroons in ’28).
May 26, 1966 Chicago’s Bobby Hull was named the winner of the NHL’s Hart Trophy, as the league’s MVP.
May 27, 1994 Stephane Matteau scored the winning goal at 24:24 of overtime to lead the Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Devils, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in New York. Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals vs Vancouver.
May 28, 2003 Goalie Parick Roy announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons with Montreal and Colorado. Roy retired as the NHL’s all-time leader with 1,029 regular season games 551 wins, 247 Stanley Cup games, 151 playoff victories and 20 playoff shutouts.
May 29, 1993 Wayne Gretzky set a Stanley Cup record, with his 8th career playoff hat trick, and added an assist to lead the Kings to a 5-4 win at Toronto, in Game 7 of the Campbell Conference Finals. The win advanced the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Between the Pipes – Conference Finals Recap
May 24th, 2010How do you say disappointing? – So the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs were shaping up to be some of the best playoff action in quite some time. The 1st round was just awesome. No sweeps and all games tied at 1-1. The 2nd round was for the most part pretty decent. Then we get to the Conference Finals where the awesome playoff momentum should surely carry over. I mean if the the previous rounds were close surely the next round would be the closest and most evenly matched right?
Wrong you are good sir. In the West San Jose looked nothing like the team that dismantled Detroit, not even close. Chicago looks like it was bored half the time in the 1st two games. San Jose now has the dubious distinction of four straight 100 point seasons and no Stanley Cup hardware to show for it. The only other team that did that would be the New York Islanders. Of course after their four years of ineptitude, they rattled off four straight championships. Something tells me that won’t be happening to the Sharks though, because there are simply way to many teams now.
In the East we got a match-up we weren’t expecting at all. But I was still excited because you had one team, the Flyers, coming off an improbable 0-3 comeback and another, the Canadiens, coming off of two straight thrilling Game 7 upsets. So naturally this would make for a great series right? Wrong again. The first two games weren’t even fun to watch unless you were a Flyers fan. Game 3 wasn’t much fun to watch either, unless you were a Canadiens fan. Game 4? Well that one was fun to watch except for the fact that the Canadiens signature this postseason, their defense, ended up costing them the game with two mistakes. One was a skate malfunction and really that’s just crappy luck, not much you can do with that. The other was a bad pass that Philly also converted.
Before we get into it congratulations go out to the Edmonton Oilers for getting Taylor Hall, he will be awesome for years to come. Yes they didn’t pick him yet but if they don’t, they have lost their minds.
7 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens
I wish I could write more on this series but for some reason I can’t recall much of it.
What we learned: You really can’t predict the East, so stop trying.
Things I like: I like the way the Flyers rebounded in Game 4. It was a really crucial game on the road that they weren’t really expected to win after getting shalaked in Game 3. The 2nd period was key for them as they out shot the Canadiens 13 to 1.
I find it ironic that the Flyers biggest problem the last few years (Martin Biron, Robert Esche, Ron Hextall) was finding a quality goaltender to lead them to the Finals. Yet this year they can plug in any washed up goalie and watch him play phenomenally, weird.
Things I don’t: Why does Halak have such problems playing in Game 1′s? He didn’t play in Game 1 against Washington but he was pulled in both Game 1′s in the 2nd and 3rd round. He gave up six goals each time too. I’d like to think he hasn’t played the team yet so he has to feel them out. The problem is he isn’t a rookie and he has played these teams before.
Montreal actually out shot the Flyers in every game but game 4, which is weird because they only out shot the Penguins in two of the seven games and only once in the seven games against the Capitals, but they aren’t scoring much. The main issue is they don’t have any bodies in front of Michael Leighton. As Dustin Byfuglien has shown for the Blackhawks, having a net presence is important and helps you score goals.
Montreal is a mind boggling 1 for 16 on the power play in this series, that’s just awful. You won’t win many games if you can’t convert on the man advantage. They even had a 5 on 3 which they didn’t convert. Of course a lot of this goes back to my point of establishing a net presence, the Canadiens haven’t so the power play is suffering.
Likely Winner: Flyers, of course I didn’t think Montreal would come back down 3-1 to the Capitals. I also didn’t think the Flyers would come back down 3-0 to the Bruins. So maybe I should pick the Canadiens.
1 San Jose Sharks vs. 2 Chicago Blackhawks
Normally I break down the series and give my prediction but it’s over so… let’s recap it. Congratulations to the Blackhawks for making their first Stanley Cup Final since 1992.
This series reminded me of the Stanley Cup final in 2008 when the Penguins just looked lost the 1st two games and then came out and played well in the rest of the series. The same can be said for the Sharks, who were lost in the 1st two games and found in the 2nd two games. The problem is they didn’t win either of the 2nd two games, so series over.
The Sharks never scored more than two goals in any game against the Blackhawks. Now a lot of that is because of the sterling performance put in by Antti Niemi. But regardless, you still won’t win many games if you average 1.75 goals a game. The Sharks total lack of composure in the 3rd period of Game 4 really hurt them. It was tied 2-2 but they took 3 fairly dumb penalties in the period while the Blackhawks took none. Wouldn’t you know it the game winner was scored on the power play by the Blackhawks.
I think it’s time for the Sharks to do a complete overhaul on Defense. Evgeni Nabokov while he didn’t play horribly is not the goalie who will lead you to the Stanley Cup. He is also not getting any younger. Speaking of which the Defense is not getting any younger either. Only two of the top six defenseman are under 30. Come playoff time, you really need some fresh legs back there. The secondary scoring was non existent. Joe Pavelski who was so great against the Avalanche and in the first half against the Red Wings, failed to really show up against the Blackhawks. Other than Patrick Marleau nobody really showed up against the Blackhawks offensively.
Let’s not take anything away from the Chicago Blackhawks though. This was a team rebuilt from nothing in the draft. Also let’s face it when one of your key pieces, Dustin Byfuglien, was drafted in the 8th round you have an eye for talent. The Blackhawks have a great defensive core and are three lines deep in scoring talent. The checking line can also score at times. The only thing they were missing was solid goaltending, but they have found that in Antti Niemi. Let’s not forget to mention Duncan Keith losing most of his teeth and coming back out on the ice. Now that’s a hockey player.
Numbers Numbers
-11 – Joe Thornton’s plus minus rating for the Stanley Cup playoffs
9 – Number of goals for Joe Pavelski in the first 8 games
0 – Number of goals for Joe Pavelski in the second 7 games
5,625,000 – Cristobal Huet’s salary this season
826,875 – Antti Niemi’s salary this season
.953 – Halak’s SV% in games 5 through 7
.877 – Halak’s SV% in games 1 through 4
1 to 1 – The ratio of points to penalty minutes for Chris Pronger, the first time it isn’t in favor of PIM in his postseason career
3 – The number of shutouts for Michael Leighton in four games against the Canadiens.
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
May 17, 1979 Ken Dryden became the first goalie in NHL history to score a point in the Stanley Cup Finals. He drew an assist on Jacques Lemaire’s goal at 17:10 of the third period, to give the Canadiens a 4-1 win over the Rangers in Game 3 of the Finals.
May 18, 1997 Wayne Gretzky extended his NHL record with his 10th playoff hat trick, and the Rangers scored three times on their first 4 shots for a 5-4 win at Philadelphia, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
May 19, 2000 Patrick Roy tied an NHL record with his 15th career playoff shutout (set by Clint Benedict in the 1920′s) and rookie Martin Skoula had 2 assists as the Avalanche won 2-0 over the visiting Dallas Stars, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
May 20, 2000 Craig Berube scored the game-winning playoff goal (his third goal in 86 playoff games) at 12:58 of the third period as Philadelphia won 3-1 at New Jersey, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
May 21, 1979 Montreal beat NY Rangers 4-1 in Game Five of the Finals, to become the 1979 Stanley Cup Champions. The win gave Montreal its 4th straight Cup, one short of their record five (1956-60).
If the Flyers win tonight then I’ll be back relatively soon with a Stanley Cup Finals preview.
Between the Pipes – Stanley Cup Conference Finals Preview and 2nd Round Recap
May 16th, 2010If you just want to read the Conference Championship previews then scroll about halfway down the first part is going to be a little bit of a 2nd round recap.
Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins Game 7 Recap
The biggest story is of course the Canadiens ousted another superstar laden team in the Penguins. After they ousted the Capitals you probably shouldn’t have been so surprised but this was the defending Stanley Cup champions we’re talking about. A young, yet playoff experienced team with back to back Stanley Cup Final appearances under their belt. So what went wrong? Well for starters Sidney Crosby took a penalty in the first 10 seconds of the game which really set the tone. The Canadiens took advantage of it and scored first and early. Most of the games they won against Pittsburgh the Habs scored in the first two minutes of the game. It’s hard mentally for a team to be down that early in a game. It’s almost like you start with a handicap. Also Fleury seems like a goalie who once he makes an early mistake lets that mistake overwhelm and take control of him mentally for the rest of the game. This leads to him playing poorly. Consequentially he wasn’t able to recover and he was pulled for Johnson. Game 5 was a game I thought the Penguins would win and they did. It was an important game because the series was now tied at two and the winner of Game 5 usually controls the series. I thought because the Penguins were the more experienced team and were at home, they would win. I thought the same thing would happen in Game 7 because the Penguins had the same things going for them in this game, wrong. It just didn’t seem like they showed up or really wanted to win the game. Maybe they were just tired because they have played the most hockey out of anyone the past three seasons. Whatever it was, the defense was just awful and once you get behind by a couple of goals against Halak you can pretty much kiss the game goodbye.
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers Game 7 Recap
The Bruins vs. Flyers series was just interesting on so many levels. First you have the Bruins going up 3-0 in the series and naturally you wouldn’t think it would be hard to win just one of the next four games. Of course since it’s the Bruins, you’d be wrong. Then in the decisive final Game 7 you have the Bruins going up 3-0 in the game, hard to lose that lead right? Wrong again, the Flyers rally back to win the game 4-3 and the series 4-3. Game 7 was essentially a microcosm of the whole series right down to the Bruins goal scoring problems. The Bruins scored the least amount of goals of all the playoff teams. Yet against the Flyers they had no problems scoring in the first three games they won and even game four which they lost. Then in the next two games they only scored one goal. In Game 7 they produced three goals in the 1st period, so perhaps all was well again. Unfortunately they didn’t score again after that period which was a problem because they Flyers did. The Bruins has more shots in the 1st period then they did in the 2nd and 3rd periods combined. You can’t win games like that and they didn’t.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks Wrap-up
The Canucks must be feeling some Deja Vu right about now. For the 2ndstraight year the Canucks were eliminated in the 2ndround by the Blackhawks. I guess some progress was made as instead of giving up seven goals Luongo only gave up five. However the Canucks were only able to muster up one goal as opposed to last years five. Either way the Canucks have some major problems. Despite backstopping team Canada to a goal medal, Luongo still has a monkey on his back. He has yet to win anything important in the NHL. Each year his playoff GAA average has gone up and his SV% has gone down. Next year, assuming the Canucks make the postseason again, is really a make or break season for Luongo. If he fails again, I think the Canucks should look for a new goalie. Of course the Canucks signed Luongo to a hefty 12 year deal with a no trade clause until the 7thyear, so they pretty much screwed themselves over. Good job.
7 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens
Some important things to note about this match-up. Neither of these teams would have made the playoffs in the West. They both would have been tied for 12th. Furthermore is how the Rangers play into all of this. The Flyers didn’t make the playoffs until the last day of the season and if the Rangers had beaten them they wouldn’t even have gotten in. The Canadiens wouldn’t have made the playoffs if the NHL used the Olympic scoring system. If the NHL did the Rangers would have gotten the last spot over the Canadiens. It just illustrates how crazy the East has been this year.
Season Series: split 2-2
Playoff History: 3-2 Canadiens. Most recent in 2008 when the Flyers defeated the Canadiens in the 2nd round.
Star to Watch: Well we all know how awesome Michael Cammalleri is, he will need to continue to be for the Canadiens Stanley Cup hopes, but I’m going with Tomas Plekanec. Despite having a three game assist streak currently I feel he has been rather quite. He also has scored a goal in the last eight games. He will need to step it up. For the Flyers I am going with mister dynamic Danny Briere. Briere had many key and pretty goals in the Bruins series. He started off slow against the Devils with no points in the first three games but he has come on as of late. He is a nice second fiddle to Mike Richards.
X-Factor: P.K. Subban who is essentially not even a rookie since he only has two regular season games under his belt. Despite the lack of experience and only being 21, Subban is leading all Canadiens in ice time for the playoffs. He is also one of the main penalty killers and currently has a +3.
Goalie Problem: Jaroslav Halak has simply been sensational. On the other side Brian Boucher had been pretty awesome in his own right, that is until he got injured. So the Flyers turned to Michael Leighton who was originally their 3rd string goalie. I wonder if there’s ever been another time where all three goalies on a team have been injured at some point in the season. Anyway Leighton has performed well so far posting a .943 SV% and a 1.54 GAA. Neither Halak or Leighton have prior playoff experience so it will be interesting to see how they handle the increasing pressure. But then again Patrick Roy was a rookie and he did alright for himself.
Fun Fact: The 7th and 8th seeds have never played each other in a conference final.
Prediction: Well I picked against the Canadiens twice and was wrong both times. So this time I am going to pick them in I’ll say six games. Halak is the better goalie and I like the style of defense the Canadiens play. I think the Flyers will take to many dumb penalties and the Canadiens will capitalize on this. In reality there’s no way you could have predicted anything that has happened in the East, I mean really there’s no way.
1 San Jose Sharks vs. 2 Chicago Blackhawks
Season Series: 3-1 Blackhawks, two wins were in overtime for the Hawks
Playoff History: Zippo
Star to Watch: Joe Pavelski who has been on fire for the Sharks had a six game point streak going. His last two games though, he posted no points and a -1. He will need to get it going again against the Blackhawks for the Sharks to have a chance. For the Blackhawks keep an eye on red hot Jonathan Toews who has a nine game point streak currently going. He is also a +7 during that streak which is a huge comeback from his first three games of 1 point and a -3.
X-Factor: The Sharks haven’t played in eight days. The good thing is they well be well rested the bad thing is they may be rusty. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t win Game 1.
Goalie Problem: Evgeni Nabokov still hasn’t impressed me all that much. Of the four starting goalies left Nabokov has the best winning percentage but he also has the worst SV% at .907. Niemi’s SV% isn’t much better at .909 but he’s had moments where he has really played well. He is also the playoff league leader in shutouts with two. Experience edge definitely goes to Nabokov having played 76 playoff games to Niemi’s 12.
Fun Fact: The last time the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup was in 1961. Of course the league was much different then. The last time they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals was in 1992 when they lost to the Penguins. I was hoping we would get a rematch but alas that was not to be, thanks Halak.
Prediction: As dominate as the Sharks have been so far, I think their run is up. I believe Chicago is the more dynamically skilled team and I like Niemi over Nabokov despite his inexperience. I think Dustin Byfuglien will again play a key part in the series with his net presence and his ability to get under everyone’s skin. The Sharks don’t really have anyone in particular to counter that. Blackhawks in six.
Goat of the Week
The Penguins Defense and Marc Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh Penguins
There’s obviously more than one blunder that can be written here but I think the 4th goal scored shorthanded by Travis Moen sums up the Penguins D or lack thereof for the night. After a bad turnover Moen rushes up the ice in what is essentially a 1 on 3 in favor of the Pens. So you wouldn’t think it be that hard to wrest away the puck but after assistant captain Sergei Gonchar’s lackadaisical hit on Moen and no one else really attacking him, Fleury completes the awful trifecta by letting in a weak goal. It’s a shame really because that was really the dagger in the Pens back. Had that not of happen after the Pens scored those two goals to close the 2nd, they would only have been down a goal in the third and may have had more confidence in mounting a comeback.
Numbers Numbers
14 – Number of points for Sidney Crosby in the Senators series
5 – Number of points for Sidney Crosby in the Canadiens series, which was also a game longer
7 – Number of times Jaroslav Halak has had a SV% of or over .949 out of 13 games played
14 – Shots on goal by the Bruins in Game 7 in the 1st period
11 – Shots on goal by the Bruins in Game 7 in the 2nd and 3rd periods combined
-1 – +/- for Michael Cammalleri the only player in the top 16 in scoring with a minus, maybe he isn’t so awesome after all
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
May 08, 2001 Mario Lemieux tied the game with 1:18 left in regulation and Martin Straka scored the winning goal at 11:29 of OT (and added two assists) in the Penguins 3-2 win against the visiting Buffalo Sabres, in Game 6 of the East. Conference Semi-Finals.
May 09, 1994 Rookie Martin Brodeur recorded his first career playoff shutout and Bob Carpenter scored a goal and added an assist in the Devils 2-0 win over the visiting Boston Bruins, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
May 10, 1984 Grant Fuhr recorded his first career playoff shutout to lead the Oilers to a 1-0 win over the Islanders, at Long Island in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Fuhr became the first goaltender to get a shutout in Oilers’ playoff history.
May 11, 1996 Colorado’s Patrick Roy became the NHL’s all time leader in playoff minutes by a goaltender, during a 4-1 Avalanche win over Chicago, in the Western Conf. Semi-Finals. Roy passed Billy Smith, who had played 7,645 career playoff minutes.
May 12, 1993 Steve Thomas scored twice and added two assists to lead the Islanders to a 7-5 playoff win over the Penguins in New York, forcing a 7th game in the Patrick Division Finals. Kevin Stevens scored two goals and an assist for Pittsburgh.
May 13, 2000 Patrick Roy recorded his 14th career playoff shutout as the Avalanche ended the Stars’ 8-game home winning streak in the playoffs with a 2-0 victory at Dallas, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
May 14, 1995 Quebec Nordiques beat the visiting New York Rangers 4-2, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals. It was the final NHL game played in Quebec City.
May 15, 1967 In one of hockey’s biggest trades, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield were traded from Chicago to Boston in exchange for Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin and Jack Norris.
