So all you genius that had Michael Cammalleri in your playoff pools are looking pretty good right now, as the winger now sits atop the goal leaders alone with 11 goals in 13 games. The “Mule” Johan Franzen finally woke up this postseason with a four goal outburst in Game 4 vs Sharks, than bowed out afterwards. And Sidney Crosby finally scored his first goal of the Eastern Conference semifinals to tie him for the league lead in points. With those scorers in mind the Pucking Awesome Top Shelf, or snipers we have our eye on this week, breaks down some heavy action in both the Stanley Cup playoffs and upcoming Memorial Cup.

Game 7:

We have said it many times on this site that nothing is better in sports than a Game 7 do or die. Now the Candiens face their second consecutive game 7 when they travel to the defending Stanley Cup champions’ house on Wednesday. Scott Gomez has the most experience in Game 7’s with playing in seven in his career with a 5-2 record; he added his second career assist in these pivotal games in a 2-1 win over Washington. Ironically the leader in goals in these games is Andrei Kostitsyn, who had two goals in 2008.

The Penguins faced two game 7’s in their run towards Lord Stanley’s Cup last season winning both of them on the road (Capitals and Red Wings). Their last home Game 7 was a 1996 decisive loss to the Florida Panthers. They are led in goal scoring by Pascal Dupuis, Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin who all have three career goals in game 7’s.

Showing those stats tell you that usually a unheralded player comes through in the clutch for a team in these critical games like Maxime Talbot, who had two goals in the Stanley Cup clincher last year or like Dominic Moore and Marc-Andre Bergeron who had the only two goals in the massive upset of the Capitals. Keep one eye on the top players like Crosby, Malkin, Cammalleri and Gionta but don’t be surprises if a Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke, Maxim Lapierre or Benoit Pouliot ends up scoring the big goal.

Blackhawks Up:

The Blackhawks march towards back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances has had a different feel about it and the biggest change has been Jonathan Toews reclamation as a big time player. Toews is tied with Crosby for the league lead with 19 playoff points and has 11 points in the series vs the Canucks. Though Patrick Kane has gotten most of the press around the league for his flashy goal scoring and smile, it had been the captain Toews lead by example that has driven this team to be one win away from the Western Conference Finals.

Remember this is a kid that was named the captain at 20-years-old becoming the third youngest ever to be named captain and he once scored three times in a shootout for the Canadian team in the 2007 World Junior Championships and was awarded Best Forward in this years Olympics. Toews has made a knack of coming up big in the biggest situations and will continue to as the Blackhawks march to their first Stanley Cup final in 18 years.

Memorial Cup:

The 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup begins in Brandon on May 14. The teams this season are the host Brandon Wheat King, the WHL Champion Calgary Hitmen, the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats, and the OHL Champion Windsor Spitfires. The tournament will obviously put more pressure on predicted top draft pick Taylor Hall, playing for Windsor, but will feature other top Juniors scorer.

For the host Brandon, they will be led by Kings first pick, fifth overall Brayden Schenn, who followed a 99 point regular season with 19 playoff points in 15 games.

The Hitmen have two prolific scorers who were both fifth round picks, Brandon Kozun was picked by the Kings 179th overall in 2009 and had back-to-back 100 point regular seasons. Joel Broda, picked 144th overall in 2008 by the Capitals, had 39 goals this regular season and added 13 more in the Hitmen run towards the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Moncton has been led in scoring by two mid-season pickups. Nashville’s 5th round pick in 2009 Gabriel Bourque, not related to Ray, but led all the QMJHL with 19 goals in the postseason and Kelsey Tessier, an Avalanche 4th round pick in 2008, who has 30 point in 21 games.

That brings us last but certainly not least Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires. All the top prospect has done this postseason is lead the league in points (35 pts in 19 GP), dispatch Tyler Seguin, the other top prospect, in a head-to-head matchup and win the Robertson Cup as OHL Champions for the second straight season. Another top scorer to keep your eye on is the Devils 3rd round pick of 2008, Adam Henrique who lead the team with 20 goals and won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.

One team has punched their ticket for the Final Four, the San Jose Sharks, but there are three more spots out there.

Two more can be sewed up Monday as the defending cup champion Penguins look to dispatch the “Cinderella” Canadiens in Montreal, while the No. 6 seed Bruins try to not take a page out of the Blackhawks playbook (losing Game Five at home when up 3-1) and instead send the Flyers to the golf courses Monday in Beantown.

So three more spots is perfect for this week’s “Pucking Awesome Hat Trick,” or the top three things I am looking forward to this week.

No. 6 Seed Magic:

In the Eastern Conference, for two straight playoffs, the No. 6 seed has made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In 2008, the Philadelphia Flyers upset the No. 3 seed Washington Capitals and No. 1 seed Montreal Canadiens on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

While last season, the Carolina Hurricanes dispatched of the No. 3 seed Devils and No. 1 seed Bruins on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Both teams eventually succumbed to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and this week I will be watching for history to repeat itself again, as the No.6 seed Boston Bruins are one game away from facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

 So for all those NHL fans that do not have a team still playing, root for your team to finish No. 6 next season.

Comeback City:

The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 New York Islanders are the last two teams to come back from a 3-0 hole in a NHL playoff series.

Both of those team’s records will be tested this week as the Flyers aim to put their lure up there with the ranks of those miraculous teams.

But another comeback is in the works The Canucks took a giant leap towards coming back from a 3-1 deficit when they defeated the Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday with a score of 4-1.

The scene now shifts to Vancouver for a historic Game Six.

One would think the momentum is on the side of Vancouver who will be playing at home, and that the Blackhawks will need to find someone other than Jonathan Toews to score goals (11 points in this series).

In the Eastern Conference, the Bruins have been ravaged by injuries in their quest for one more win, but have still been getting contributions from older and wiser heroes.

Mark Recchi, 42 years young, has three goals in this series. While 35-year-old Miroslav Satan also has three goals in this series, including the game-winner in the pivotal Game Three

As the Bruins IR list grows, they will need to keep depending on these unlikely heroes and good goal tending if they don’t want to be on the opposite side of what Boston’s own Red Sox did to the Yankees in 2004.

Calling All Americans:

I know most of the hockey world does not pay attention to the World Championships considering it is played during the most important time for the NHL, but come on America! LETS GO! 

The Americans, fresh off their Silver Medal showing in this year’s Olympics, have now dropped to 0-2 in the 2010 IIHF World Championships.

They lost to the host Germany in overtime, 2-1, in front of a record 77,803 crowd to open the tournament, and now they lost again, 2-1, in overtime to Denmark! 

This team has Scott Clemmensen in net instead of Ryan Miller, and offensively, they are led by Kyle Okposo and Brandon Dubinsky.  I am looking forward to this week as this team tries to salvage the preliminary round versus Finland, and continue their march towards medaling.

Scoring a goal in the regular season is one thing, but scoring a goal in a must-win triple OT game for your season is another.  That is why here at Pucking Awesome we are bringing back the Tuesday Top Shelf column, or some top scorers around the NHL, AHL and Major Juniors.  Remember it was in this column last year that we introduced a young Tyler Myers, and he has become a major player in the race for the Calder. 

Surpise Leaders

The league leaders of lamp lighters in the post-season has some major surprise candidates; with Joe Pavelski (9 goals), Michael Cammalleri (8 goals), and Mikael Samuelsson (8 goals). 

The 25-year-old Pavelski, who already has the Sharks franchise record for goals in a single post-season, already was known as a goal scorer coming into the playoffs with 83 career goals in 275 games, but only had six career playoff goals in 25 games. 

One stat that stands out for the speedy center has been his knack to shoot the puck at opportune times as he is second in the league with 41 shots, if he continues to fire at this rate he will have led the Sharks into unfamiliar territory. 

Cammalleri was one of the prize free agent acquisitions as the Canadiens transformed their roster this offseason.  The 27-year-old broke out with 34 goals for the Kings in 2006-07 and again proved it not to be a fluke with a 39 goal campaign last year in Calgary. 

In only 65 games this season Cammalleri chipped in 26 goals in his first season of a five-year contract.  The 5’9″ winger also has a knack of scoring goals in the clutch. In the five Canadiens’ wins this post-season he has two game winning goals. In his career he has 24 career game winning goals.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Canucks Mikael Samuelsson who has moved on up to the Sedin’s line and has taken advantage of it.  The 33-year-old had a career high 30-goals this season, and that was with missing eight games in March.  The former Red Wing was not only brought in this offseason to bring some veteran Stanley Cup winning experience, but to give this team some secondary scoring past the Sedin’s, little did they know in the post-season he would combine with them for a Swedish elite line that has been one of the most productive lines so far.

Out of Nowhere

We have all heard of the stories of guys who came out of nowhere to become big playoff scorers.  John Druce, who scored 14 goals for the Capitals in the 1990 post-season, and Chris Kontos, who had 9 goals for the Kings in 1989 playoffs.  Well, the latest candidate is a former All-Star who did not sign with a team until after the new years.

Miroslav Satan was signed for the rest of the season on January 2^nd . At that time he was just signed as a warm body to help an injury and goal deficient Bruins team.  The 34 year old was last seen skating with the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh, even though he was relegated to the AHL that season.  Satan then played well in the Olympics for the surprising Slovaks, helping them to a fourth place finish. 

All the former 40-goal scorer has done is score big goals, as the Bruins are two wins away from the Eastern Conference Finals.  Of his four goals this post-season, two of them have been of the game winning fashion including an OT goal in a pivotal Game 4 victory over his former team, the Sabres.

Down on the Farm

The rich get richer. If there is any solace in the Capitals disappointing early exit is that down on the farm Hershey is building some pieces for the team to rebound next year.  The Bears have the top four scorers so far in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs, including a former 7^th round pick that could make some noise for the Capitals next season. 

Andrew Gordon was the 197^th overall pick of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, all he has done since was score goals for the Bears.  In the regular season the 23-year-old winger led Hershey with 37 goals and has followed that with a very successful playoffs with nine goals. 

Hershey has been so dominant that they have not played a game since they closed out a sweep of the Albany River Rats on April 29^th , they still await their Eastern Conference Finals opponent.  Whomever it will be they will have their hands full of scorers to defend, so at least Capitals fans have that to look forward to.   

It’s back and better than ever, the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick is back after a couple of month’s hiatus as I traveled the world to find the answers to life’s biggest questions.  The Stanley Cup Playoffs started off with a bang as we saw the top-3 seeds all fall in the Eastern Conference, road teams won 27 games the most ever in the first round and comebacks galore as a team trailing in the third period came back to win nine times. 

The first week of the second round we have already seen the surprising Canadiens steal home ice, Sharks exercising some earlier demons, and an OT thriller in Beantown.  Now let’s break it down Pucking Awesome Hat Trick style as we look examine the top three things I am looking forward to this week.    

SHARK ATTACK:

The ever scrutinized San Jose Sharks have quiet some skeptics by coming back from a 2-1 deficit to win a first round series and avoid a second straight 8 vs 1 upset.  Now they have stormed ahead to a 2-0 series lead over the veteran back-to-back Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings.  

I am not saying the series is over, but you have to be impressed on the way the Sharks have won both games and took care of home ice.  “Little” Joe Pavelski already has a Sharks franchise record with nine goals has stepped up in the absence of the other big three, but guess who scored the game winning goal in Game 2? 

None other than “Big” Joe Thornton, and it was assisted by mysteriously injured Dany Heatley.  I will be looking forward to see if this a sign of good things to come for the Sharks, who if they want to contend for the cup will need the likes of Thornton, Heatley and Pavelski to step up their game as their beards grow longer.

BRUINS CANADIENS FOR REAL:

Probably the biggest storyline to hit the Eastern Conference are the two teams from the lower half of the Northeast Division.  The Canadiens have been playing a successful model of sit back let our goalie dominant and pick a spot to score a key goal, led by Michael Cammalleri (8 goals this postseason). 

The Bruins have had the same formula with good special teams backed up by great goaltending.  The Canadiens have stolen home ice from the mighty defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins, and seemed to have find a replacement for the injured Andrei Markov in the hot shot rookie PK Subban, while don’t you think the Pens wish Hal Gill was on their side of the ice? 

The Bruins rode a hot first period and ended the OT with a flurry and got the perfect Hollywood ending when Marc Savard scored the game winning goal in his first game back from a concussion.  I will be watching both of these Northeast underdogs and see if they are for real and can keep this magic carpet ride going as they both deal with major injuries (Markov and Marco Sturm). 

If you predicted a Canadiens vs Bruins Eastern Conference Finals please send me your lottery numbers for this week also.

CANUCKS DEPTH:

Many people were shocked when they saw the Canucks come storming out to beat the Blackhawks 5-1 on their home ice in Game 1, I was not one.  The Canucks were my pre-season pick for the Stanley Cup and for one reason; they have more depth than any team in the league.  Yes, the team they are matched up against are pretty close on paper but look at the stats this postseason. 

The Canucks in their first seven postseason games have had 14 different players score a goal; the Blackhawks in their first seven postseason games have 10.  18 different Canucks have a point, while the Blackhawks have only 14.  I will be looking forward to this matchup of depth players, we all know the main players in this series but we need to start to get to know the depth players as well. 

Also, a cool tidbit I saw about this series that I just had to mention was when Patrick Kane shook Roberto Luongo’s hand at the end of the classic Gold Medal game in Vancouver he was quoted as saying “I’ll see you in the playoffs.”  This matchup of Kane vs Luongo will also be fun to watch as Kane made Bobby Lou look silly last postseason and scored against him in that Gold Medal game.       

The last weekend of the regular season has four Eastern Conference teams fighting for three spots and still seeding to be determined in both conferences.  This set up for one wild weekend and gut check time for some warriors and some much needed rest for others.  The biggest matchup this weekend is a home and home play-in series between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.  Not only have these two teams’ division rivals both taken similar inconsistent paths to this mini playoff series so players from these games will be heavily featured in this week’s Weekend Warriors    

Teams with 2 games this weekend: Ducks, Thrashers, Bruins, Sabres, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Red Wings, Oilers, Panthers, Kings, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Lightning, Capitals

FORWARDS:

Daniel Briere, Flyers C/W:  The big ticket free agent is having a subpar offensive season with 51 points in 73 games but has amazing career numbers against the Rangers, 33 points in 35 games.  The 32-year-old has been shifted from center to winger and back to center but lately has seem to regain a chemistry with Simon Gagne with 11 points in last 20 games (4G, 7A).  Briere will always be the ire of of Flyers fans for he is the highest paid player on the team and not the ice time leader or points leader but he could become a city savior if he has a big weekend to clinch the Flyers a playoff berth.

Henrik Sedin, Canucks C:  Can the 29-year-old Vancouver to the unthinkable and hold off the high scoring Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crobsy to win the Art Ross Trophy.  The high scoring Swede has now broken the 100 point barrier for the first time in his career and leads Ovechkin by two points and Crosby by four but only has one game to the others having two this weekend.  If Sedin holds off the NHL poster children from winning their second Art Ross he will become only the second Swedish born player to win this award, the other Peter Forsberg who won it the 2003-04 season.

Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin F:  The senior forward had a big decision to make last year, make the jump to the NHL and play for the Predators or come back and finish what he started, his decision has seemed to pay off.  The 6-2 captain has now led his Badgers to one win away from an NCAA Championship as his Wisconsin Badgers will face the Boston College Eagles in the NCAA Hockey Championship on Saturday. He could add a Hobey Baker to his resume as he led his team with 28 goals this season (2^nd in the nation).  Geoffrion comes from an impressive hockey lineage. His dad Danny played for the Montreal Canadians and the Winnipeg Jets. His grandfather, Benny “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, is in the Hockey Hall of Fame for helping the Canadiens win six Stanley Cups. Most important will leave Wisconsin with his college degree as he is only the second of his family to accomplish that feat.

DEFENSE:

Zdeno Chara, Bruins:  The Boston Bruins defensive corp. has been ravaged by injuries, so much that they were force to dress three rookies in Thursday’s game vs the Sabres, but they still have the Big Z back there to keep things calm.  Fashioning a steel cage to protect his recently broken nose Chara will be huge for the Bruins as the still try to clinch a playoff spot with two games this weekend.  The Bruins offensive woes without Marc Savard have been highly publicized and Chara is third in the teams in points and has 10 points in his last 19 games.  With the injuries to the Bruins backline watch for his already inflated ice time to increase as the Bruins try to position themselves against a first round matchup vs Capitals.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings:  Lidstrom turns 40 at the end of April and already people are asking him the retirement question of which he is deflecting the decision until the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The 6-time Norris Trophy winner needs one goal this weekend to allow him to reach double digit goals the 16^th time in his 17 year career and one point to reach 50 points for the fifth straight season, but more importantly his Red Wings are still trying to position themselves for another deep playoff run. 

Brendan Smith, Wisconsin:  Sorry BC but you will get your due in the goalie section but this Wisconsin defensive unit is stacked and led by the high scoring Brendan Smith.  Smith is one of four Badger defenseman drafted in the first or second round and is their leader in points with 52 points.  The Junior Red Wings prospect had a career-best five assists in the NCAA Semifinals and now will  face one of highest scoring teams in the nation in the Championship game Saturday.

GOALIE:

Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers:  Most say goaltending becomes most important in the playoffs, and none more exemplifies this then the Rangers net minder.  Lundqvist has been a workhorse for the Rangers push to the playoffs, staring 15 straight games and has started 23 of the last 24 Rangers games, but more impressive he has shown minimal signs of slowing down.  The 28-year-old is 12-8-3 in those games and now faces a team he has had some success against as in 24 games against the Flyers he is 13-7-2 with a 2.88 GAA and 2 shutouts, get another donut or two this weekend and the Blue Shirts are in the playoffs.

Antti Niemi, Blackhawks:  You could of went with either this kid or the goalie situation in Washington for this pick but more pressure has seemed to fall of the shoulders of the 26-year-old Niemi.  This is mostly because the Blackhawks seemed to be more poise to win now making the Hossa move this offseason and the team make up.  Niemi has grabbed a strangle hold on the number one position and has started seven straight games and is currently on a five-game winning streak as the Blackhawks try to catch the Sharks for the top seed and home ice in the Western Conference.  They have two games verses possible playoff opponents this weekend first the visit the Avalanche and can concrete them into the eighth seed then finish up with division rival Red Wings.

John Muse, Boston College:  The Junior net minder has a National Championship to his name as a freshman and the school’s single-season record for saves (1,171; 2007-08) and now he is on the brink of leading the team to his second Championship in three years.  Muse had a decent regular season with an 18-8-2 record, 2.48 GAA and a .908 save percentage and will have to have a huge game for Boston College to defeat the offensive juggernaut that is Wisconsin.  

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

1960 Squaw Valley Olympics

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

1996 World Cup of Hockey

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

2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics

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

2004 U20 World Championship 

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

2007 U20 World Champions

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

2010 U20 World Championship

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

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

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

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

8.  Switzerland (1-1-1 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

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

 Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 1 %

Silver – 5 %

Bronze – 7 %

 7.  Slovakia (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

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

Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 10%

Silver – 15%

Bronze – 20%

6.  Canada (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

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

Play To Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 75%

Silver – 80%

Bronze – 85%

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

How They Got Here:

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

Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 15%

Silver – 45%

Bronze – 50%

4.  Finland (2-1-0 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

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

Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 20%

Silver – 40%

Bronze – 45%

3.  Russia (2-0-1 in Group Play)

How They Got Here:

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

Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 70%

Silver – 75%

Bronze – 80%

2.  Sweden (3-0-0 in Group Play)  

How They Got Here:

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

Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 80%

Silver – 85%

Bronze –  90%

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

How They Got Here:

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

Player to Watch:

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

Chances to Medal:

Gold – 72%

Silver – 82%

Bronze – 87%    

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

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

Home Ice Advantage:

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

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

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

U.S. Youth Movement:

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

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

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

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

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

The Other Teams:

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

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

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

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

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