Recent “Big” Trades Amount to Little

OK let’s get right into the “big trades” of the moment between Calgary/Anaheim and Toronto. Despite the headline grabbing the names involved result in and the size of the contracts of said names the ultimate net effect is ZERO. Look first at the move to send Jean-Sabastien Giguere to Toronto for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake; the winner of this trade? Anaheim, but barely. Although Giguere has an incredible track record with a Stanley Cup title and a Conn Smythe trophy on record he has been subpar at best for the better part of three seasons now and was supplanted as starting netminder in Anaheim by Jonas Hiller. Sure there have been some serious off-ice issues that would affect anybody’s job performance no matter what their career the point remains the same that Giguere is now average at best and adds just about nothing to the table anymore. As for the Ducks they get Vesa Toskala who has done nothing but spiral downhill after a stellar playoff run in San Jose in what now seems like centuries ago. Toskala has been a grave disappointment for Toronto who had extremely high hopes for him. In recent years Toskala has shown that flash of greatness everyone expected of him from time to time but overall he hasn’t been able to pick of the slack and his mental toughness surely comes into question. So with respect to the goaltending neither team “wins” in this trade. Give the slight edge overall however to Anaheim because of the acquisition of Jason Blake. Blake is a pretty good player who has simply seen his fortune (as well as the rest of the team’s) turn for the worst in Toronto; perhaps a change of scenery is all he needs to return to form. It’s not so much that his numbers were bad in Toronto for they stayed rather consistent; his plus/minus however took a nose dive which speaks volumes of the poor talent around him. If Blake can keep his numbers up it’s likely that a slightly better squad around him can make all the difference. The one caveat for Anaheim concerning Blake is that he’s 36 years old so conventional wisdom tells you that his numbers are bound to start declining very soon.

As for Toronto’s other trade with Calgary it’s basically a wash when it comes right down to it. Dion Phaneuf is the biggest name involved in the deal and while he’s been a solid player for many years the expectations for him have been extremely high; expectations he has yet to live up to. Perhaps it is unrealistic to foretell that someone will win a Norris Trophy and then expect him to do just that or be a failure but in many respects that’s exactly what has happened with Phaneuf. The size of Phaneuf’s contract proves that Calgary was expecting him to no t only be the anchor on their blueline, but to also lead the team come playoff time with the intangibles the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom has done in Detroit for so many years. That simply has not happened for Phaneuf and quite frankly is unlikely to happen in Toronto. Phaneuf’s style is much better suited for the Western Conference style of play in my opinion and as a result he is actually worse off playing for Toronto now. As for the rest of the players thrown into this deal it’s unlikely anyone will be able to say either team made a bad move in acquiring them; but by the same token it’s unlikely that any player will really make that much of an impact.

Lastly on the trade front is the movement of Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust from Calgary to the Rangers for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik. The big winner here is Calgary because Jokinen has been nothing but a disappointment since going to Calgary from Phoenix just two seasons ago. Jokinen was expected to help lead Calgary to the promised land with his incredible goal scoring prowess. Unfortunately it simply was not meant to be for Jokinen who for instance this year is making $5 million and has 11 goals to show for it. Scoring 11 goals is a great accomplishment for a 3^rd or 4^th line winger for a defensive minded defensemen, but too bad Jokinen is neither of those. While it’s uncertain how he’ll react to the move to New York one thing we know for sure, and that is Kotalik and Prust can do just about anything once they get to Calgary and they will still not be as much of a disappointment as Jokinen has been. The clear victor in this trade is the Calgary Flames. Of course like all things, only time will tell what happens with these teams but for now it seems like not much will change as a result of these moves.



Penguins Fly, Oilers Flop

Greetings puckheads, hope everyone in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving (and to you as well Canadian friends, although I’m about a month late eh?). I am back from my break and have a lot to cover so let’s get started.

Saturday night Sidney Crosby and the Penguins opened up a can on the New York Rangers with an 8-3 win vaulting Pittsburgh back into first place in the Atlantic Division (at least for the moment). Crosby netted his third career hat trick on free hat night in Pittsburgh (the ice was covered) while Sean Avery put up big numbers of his own jumping Ruslan Fedetanko midway through the third period yielding a 7 minute power play for Pittsburgh as Avery got two for instigating, five for fighting  and a ten minute game misconduct penalty. Quite a turn of events for Pittsburgh who just a short time ago had most of their starters sidelined with injury, and now they can focus on defending their title as most everyone returns to the lineup.

There is also a certain level of delight in three Eastern Conference cities who have not seen (or had much success) in the playoffs the last few years. As I write this the Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers, and Tampa Bay lightning occupy the final three playoff spots which few expected. Most new Ottawa could be good but not be able to put things together so well so quickly as they have. We all knew Atlanta could score with Ilya Kovalchuk, but now he has a supporting cast in Rich Peverley, Maxim Afinigenov, and Nik Antropov. We also knew that there was a ton of talent in Tampa but it never produced anything last year so there was little reason to think otherwise this year but so far so good. It is my contention that NONE of these teams (that’s right zero) will make the playoffs, simply because there is too much talent in the East; but all of these teams can hang their hats on the amount of success they’ve had to date and possibly parlay that success into a playoff run proving me wrong.

The news is not so good in Edmonton as the team continues to struggle they have officially lost their second leading scorer Ales Hemsky for the year with a shoulder injury that will require him to have surgery to repair. It has really been tough going for Edmonton since making it to game 7 of the finals in the first year after the lockout.  Mediocrity has plagued this hockey crazed city and this year was finally supposed to be different. There was a new coach, a seemingly a brand new Dustin Penner , and they went out to get a big time netminder in Nikolai Khabibulin, all of which coming together nicely for the Oilers. Despite their great start to the season the month of November has been a disaster where Edmonton has only been able to muster three wins in 13 attempts dropping them not only out of a playoff spot but into 14^th in the conference ahead of only the Minnesota Wild.  With Ales Hemsky the Edmonton Oilers had a chance to rebound from this rough stretch, but with him out they will need more than just Penner to push this team into playoff contention and I simply do not believe they have the fire power on their roster to do that as it stands today. As a result the mediocrity will probably continue in hockey crazed Edmonton.

There is so much more to talk about but so little time. But I will say that the season has been incredibly entertaining so far and it’s only going to get better with the Winter Classic and Olympics right around the corner!

Hockey Hodgepodge

A few random thoughts for the moment:

After most NHL teams have played in the neighborhood of eight games it is important to note (as should be said every year about this time) that no top team is as good as they seem and no bottom teams are as bad as they seem.  So Pens and Rangers fans keep your lids on and Leafs fans it really will get better.

The L.A. Kings are for real. There has been some debate whether they’re ready to be good now or are still a year off. Well after a very strong start there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that they are ready to compete now. So to those of you on the east coast if you do not watch any other games for west coast teams all year make sure to catch L.A. in a home game if you can it’s worth it to watch a team just beginning to bloom.

Early signs point to the Atlantic Division in the east and the Pacific Division in the west as being the most competitive division in each conference. As a result they will probably have the most teams in the playoffs come April.

The Washington Capitals are in the bottom third of the conference in terms of goals allowed. As exciting as that offense is to watch they can forget about winning anything other than the division if they don’t play better defensively (and that’s not entirely on the goaltender).

The Ottawa Senators have been playing well. Enjoy it while it lasts Sens fans because they are a fraud.

Credit to the Phoenix Coyote players who have not allowed any of the off-ice drama from the summer affect them. They are playing very well right now and the team is going to be solid all year of they can remain focused on hockey. Playoffs? Doubtful, but they are no easy W for anyone. Kudos to the players and keep up the good work.

As much as many puckheads might hate to admit it the Detroit Red Wings are the favorites to win the West until they are officially eliminated from playoff contention or knocked out of the playoffs themselves.

Enjoy your weekend of hockey everyone, all teams in play Saturday, should be a good one.

Defending Champs Sitting Pretty

The Pittsburgh Penguins could not have asked for a much better start to their championship defense as they are 6-1-0, undefeated on the road, have a starting netminder who has yet to lose, and are seeing Jordan Staal ride last year’s playoff wave by becoming a major force in the middle. Crosby and Malkin are of course still leading the team, (and Sergei Gonchar continues to play extremely well) but they are also getting strong play from the likes of Tyler Kennedy who has four goals and an assist which equals Crosby’s total to date. Defenseman Alex Goligoski is very much taking advantage at his first chance to play a full season at the top level for he has been brilliant. Not only does Goligoski have five points but he has been working extremely hard to get to loose pucks and to make other teams pay for every inch of ice they gain against him; Goligoski is also in the top twelve in the league in terms of blocked shots (see: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/statistics?stat=nhlscoring&league=nhl&sort=bs&order=true&qual=true&season=2009&seasontype=2&pos=r for more blocked shot numbers among other stats). The season is still young and as the Ottawa Senators (of two years ago) and New York Rangers (of last year) will tell you a fast start does not carry you throughout the season. It never hurts to get off to a great start and few would doubt that the Penguins have the team that can sustain their early success but their energy level has to remain high. The Stanley Cup hangover certainly has not been an issue thus far but they must also hold off the complacency bug as the season rolls on.

Eastern Conference Outlook

As the hour draws closer and the puckheads continue to salivate over the tease that is the hockey preseason it is time to supplement the appetizers before the hockey fest begins.

Eastern Conference Preview:

I’ll start by predicting who I think will make it to the playoffs (in no particular order) then we’ll look at least briefly at where each team stands. So here are the top eight teams in no particular order:
Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers (Carolina Hurricanes?), New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and the Washington Capitals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins should probably be the favorites going into the season because their team is a lot the same and they are the champs until someone else wins the title. They did lose Rob Scuderi but overall you have to like their chances to defend their conference title.

The New York Rangers lost Scott Gomez but have added Marian Gaborik who—if he can stay healthy—will add scoring power to a pretty solid but not spectacular line-up. The nice thing about the Rangers is that even if they do not score a ton of goals Henrik Lundqvist will keep them in most games, will steal a few, and will overall give them a chance to win most every contest they are involved in. Having a chance to win every game is not actually winning them however and that’s where Gaborik is going to be important for them. If Gaborik stays healthy he scores enough goals to get them enough points to get them into the playoffs. In the event that Gaborik does get hurt that will leave New York on the outside looking in and will open the door for the Carolina Hurricanes to sneak into a playoff spot. Carolina too is a solid team but Cam Ward cannot do it alone and they will not be able to rely on Jussi Jokkinen to play all year the way he did in the playoffs. But if any team should fall off at all (i.e. the Rangers) that opens the door for the Canes. Either way, neither team will be a serious Stanley Cup contender.

The New Jersey Devils are channeling their inner 1995 by bringing Jacques Lemaire back to captain the ship. Nothing has changed for the Devils since 1995 and as a result they can continue like a well-oiled machine with their new, old, coach. New Jersey is very much a system team so with Martin Brodeur playing behind that system you have to pencil them into the playoffs and as championship contenders. Some players have changed since last season’s first round exit to Carolina but it matters not as the methodical Devils will be back in the playoffs again.

In each of the last two years the Philadelphia Flyers have put very good teams on the ice but have run into a freight train headed to the finals in the form of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers got tougher by adding veteran Chris Pronger  but their folly has arguably been in goal and that is an issue that still has yet to be worked out. Philadelphia went across the pond to lure Ray Emery back to North America so the verdict is still out on whether the goaltending problem is fixed (one might argue that Emery’s attitude will cause more problems than it will solve). Bottom line, the Flyers talent will get them to the playoffs and at that point all they’ll need is solid (not spectacular) net play to put themselves in a position to win the Stanley Cup.

Boston’s future is bright because their talent level is a lot the same as last year. Phil Kessel was traded for some draft picks which speaks to how confident Boston is with their team from top to bottom. They still have Chara manning the blueline and they can score at the drop of a hat. There were a lot of questions about Tim Thomas last year and he’ll have to answer those same questions again this year. If Thomas is able to play consistently well the Bruins will learn from their experience last year and should be considered favorites to at least reach the east finals.

The key for the Buffalo Sabres is to stay healthy. Last season Buffalo was a clear playoff team until injuries struck them like a wrecking ball and their playoff hopes came crashing down. So if the Sabres’ stars stay healthy they will be a force, if they do not then Buffalo is not a force… it’s that simple.

The Washington Capitals can score like none other. In the offensive zone 5-on-5 and on the power play they are just about unstoppable. The Caps are greatly lacking defensively but certainly score enough to make up for that over the course of a long season. The biggest downfall of Washington last year was in net and that is their greatest unknown once again. Semyon Varlamov was certainly much better than anyone could have expected in the playoffs last season but is he the answer long term? There is no doubt that Varlamov has talent but he is still young and with being young come growing pains that every player experiences. If Varlamov grows quickly then there’s reason to believe the Caps can win it all, but if he doesn’t then it the fans in DC will be “rocking the red” to the second round of the playoffs and no further.

The Montreal Canadiens did three very good things in the offseason: let Kovalev go, picked up Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez, and got rid of Kovalev (did I mention that already). Alexi Kovalev is a very talented player but he was too inconsistent and caused too much drama in a place that creates enough drama on its own.  Gionta and Gomez provide stability as leaders on the ice and can put points on the scoreboard. Both players spent time in New Jersey so each know how to play a role to perfection. As long as Carey Price can keep his confidence up and the fans give this team a chance they can be very dangerous.

As for the rest of the conference there is very little to talk about. The New York Islanders are clearly rebuilding so the best anyone can hope from them is that John Tavares and company just improve from game to game. In my estimation the Islanders have far more problems off the ice (on the business end) than they do on it. The isles know they are rebuilding and are taking steps toward becoming a good team in time. This is in contrast to the Lightning, Thrashers, Senators, Maple Leafs, and Panthers.

Tampa has a lot of talent but did nothing with is last year and do not have a goaltender that can take them anywhere. Atlanta is just plain bad and probably will not improve very much in all likelihood. Ottawa keeps changing coaches, do not gel as a team, have lost one of their best players in Dany Heatley, and decided that adding Kovalev was the best way to stabilize/improve their team (very dumb). Toronto cannot decide whether they want to try to win now or build for the future. Last year they had enough talent to stay at the top of the non playoff teams for most of the year and this year they are in about the same spot. Lastly are the Florida Panthers who do not have a whole lot of talent (after having lost bouwmeester ) do not get much fan support which makes for a very bad situation.

So that’s the east in a nutshell (believe it or not). Tune in next time for the west preview as well as my Stanley Cup Finals pick and winner.

Team Cohesion = Championships, Not Amount Spent

When free agency began there were a lot of teams with a lot of needs and as a result the early hours have seen plenty of shuffling around. It’s funny to see how quickly teams respond to players leaving, for instance there is the news that Dwayne Roloson is heading to Long Island and shortly thereafter Edmonton makes a deal to acquire Stanley Cup winning netminder Nikolai Khabibulin. Teams spend a lot of money trying to improve their rosters and to play a bit of cat and mouse with their rivals. There are even GMs who learn from other GMs how to circumvent the salary cap to get their man; last year Detroit signs the likes of Zetterberg to long term deals and low and behold the rival Blackhawks do the very same thing when they signed Marian Hossa to a 12 year deal. So does spending all of this money, playing mind games, etc. really result in better chances at winning the Stanley Cup? Ask the pre-salary cap Detroit Red Wings and the answer will be yes but that system has not lended itself to very much success otherwise. Consider the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers of the past few years; so much money spent on those considered to be big stars but yielded very little success compared to expectations.

A great example of what it takes the win is the current Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Sure they have the superstars in Malkin and Crosby but anyone who watched the playoffs knows their performances alone were not enough. Guys like Staal (a star perhaps in the making but not their yet), Kennedy, and Talbot played key roles in bringing the Penguins the title and clearly would not have won without them. Picking up a few pieces along the way (not to mention a timely coaching change) and the Penguins had the cohesion needed to take home the Cup. We will know more about the makeup of the teams come training camp but in the meantime if you’re keeping a close eye on your teams moves in free agency be looking at the whole picture. It’s not just about signing the big scorer or even a big time goalie; what you should look for is if your team is putting together a cohesive unit. Make sure there is a role for every superstar signed and look to see if every role that needs to be filled is done so and you don’t have a bunch of guys all signed to do the same thing. If there is a place for everyone the deals work, and if there isn’t Championships become a pipe dream.

Dream Match-Up Highlights Round Two

Round one could not have gone out on a better note with two game seven’s (Devils-Hurricanes and Caps-Rangers) that did not disappoint in drama and excitement. I couldn’t possibly say anything to sum the two games that are surely both instant classics; as a result we’ll just turn to round two now that we know the match-ups. So far the sportsroids predictions have yielded a 4-4 record which I’ll be looking to improve upon in round two.

Eastern Conference:

1. Boston Bruins vs. 6. Carolina Hurricanes
The Bruins breezed through the first round sweeping the hated rival Canadiens right out of the playoffs. Despite picking Montreal to win (in the interest of not flip-flopping from my preseason Eastern Conference Champ) I had serious doubts about their performance down the stretch and how they would fair in the playoffs and sure enough they laid an egg. Although Boston swept the series the lame duck Canadiens probably would have made any team look like juggernauts. Nevertheless, the Bruins are very well rested and do have a lot of fire power, enough to have swept the season series from the Hurricanes anyway (not to mention the top seed in the East). So far Tim Thomas has continued his stellar play despite the doubts surrounding his style of play and his lack of consistent success in his career before this year. In front of Thomas are the likes of Zdano Chara who has been unbelievable for the Bruins all year and it continued in round one. Pair Chara’s dominance at the blue line with a very strong core of forwards and the Bruins have all the makings of what could be a very special playoff run.
Opposite the Bruins are the Carolina Hurricanes who are very much a different team today from the one Boston saw in the regular season. Ryan Whitney, Chad LaRose, and Eric Staal have played incredibly well thus far in the post-season each with at least five points against the best goalie in the game today in Martin Brodeur. The Canes also have a world class netminer of their own in Cam Ward who came up huge for them all season and certainly in the playoffs keeping them in game seven in particular. This team has a lot going for it on the ice with their talent but also their experience with key members from their Stanley Cup winning team of a few years ago still around. So what can we expect from this series? Well the goaltending for both will most likely be stellar but beyond that the comparisons end. Boston is more of a big bruiser type club that loves to slug it out and play a hard hitting, defensive type game. Whereas the Canes are a smaller, quicker club who will generate a lot of offense and as a result rely heavily on Ward defensively. Carolina is on an emotional high at the moment by they just finished a grueling back-and-forth seven games with New Jersey. The Canes experience will keep them in the series but the Bruins will simply out class the Canes and send them packing in six.

3. Washington Capitals vs. 4. Pittsburgh Penguins
From one rivalry to another for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they plan to travel to Washington not long after deposing of the much hated Philadelphia Flyers in six. This is certainly the dream match-up for hardcore and casual hockey fans alike with both teams possessing an enormous amount of talent—namely Malkin and Crosby for Pittsburgh and Ovechkin and Semin for Washington among many others for both. So what can we expect from this series? Well the Caps took the season series from the Penguins 3-1 but three of the four contests were very close and filled with lots of intensity. The spotlight will certainly be on the Ovechkin/Crosby rivalry but those two alone will not determine the series. Both teams are going to need to get a lot out of their third and fourth lines as well as goaltenders. The top players for both teams will in all likelihood neutralize one another as they match up pretty well player for player both up front and on the blueline. So we turn to the third liners and it’s the Penguins who have the advantage in that regard as they are the deeper team by far. Guys like Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal create a lot of energy for the Penguins as third liners and have been known to generate a lot of offensive zone action and that Caps simply don’t have an answer for them. Washington had the advantage in the “toughness”category before Donald Brashear was suspended for six games and will not be able to play for Washington until game six of this series if there is one. There will certainly be a lot of up and down play in this series with a lot of passion coming from both teams and their fans. The buildings will be rocking, the media will be buzzing, and the tension/excitement amongst all parties involved should make this one of the best series of the playoffs. In the end the Penguins depth advantage will lead them to a six game series victory over the high flying Capitals.

Tune in next time (Thursday) for a preview of the Western Conference Semis.

Hello Caps, Au Revoir Canadiens

The Washington Capitals sprung back to life Monday night entering Madison Square Garden down 0-2 but leaving with a 4-0 shutout and their first win of this post-season. Alexander Semin led the way with the first two goals of the game and the Caps never looked back. Alexander Ovechkin finally made his presence known by assisting on the first two goals by Semin and making an unbelievable back-checking play to prevent a possible breakaway goal for New York. The stars stepped up for Washington on Monday but they weren’t the story; instead rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov stole the show stopping all 33 Ranger shots to post his first career shutout. Coming into this series many felt the glaring weakspot for Washington was between the pipes but if Varlamov can keep this up the Rangers fast start in this series may be negated by the weekend. The Caps may have lost the first two games at home, but after their performance in game three we may have the makings of a very long and entertaining series.

The story is a bit different for the Montreal Canadiens who followed a poor performance in game two with a fast start but slow ending in game three against Boston. The Canadiens fed off of the home crowd energy to take a 1-0 lead (their first of the series) but that was neutralized soon thereafter. As the game settled in it unfolded more like game one with the Canadiens hanging in there until the very end with a chance to tie and/or win late. The Bruins however stayed the course and showed why so many people picked them to steamroll the Canadiens. Boston is by far the superior team with stellar skill accompanied by dominating size. Montreal tried to get bigger in the offseason but as the season unfolded they ended up once again relying on skill and speed to carry them to success. That philosophy did not work last year and is not working this year. Boston may not be heads and shoulders ahead of all the competition in the Eastern Conference but they are proving that to be so when it comes to the Canadiens.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Make Grand Entrance

Well the playoffs are now in full swing as every series will have played two games by the end of Saturday. So let’s take a look and how the respective series are unfolding:

Eastern Conference

1. Boston Bruins VS 8.Montreal Canadiens
The final score of game one was about what everybody expected but the level of competition between the two clubs was probably higher than most thought. Boston roared out to a 2-0 lead but the Canadiens battled back to tie the game at two before ultimately going down 4-2. But the rivalry is hot and despite the perception of a major mismatch it doesn’t seem likely to be over anytime soon. Game 2 is tonight before the series shifts back to Montreal so we’ll see what surprises are in store for us.

2. Washington Capitals VS 7. New York Rangers
Jose Theodore didn’t make it past the first game as he was benched for rookie back up netminder Simeon Varlamov after Washington’s 4-3 loss at home to the Rangers. Again many people felt the Rangers were completely outmatch by the fire power of the Capitals and that the only chance the Rangers had offensively is if Theodore didn’t play well. Theodore did not play all that well in game one and the Rangers stole one from Washington but surely things would be different now that Theodore was benched. Varlamov did indeed play very well in net for Washington Saturday afternoon as the Rangers were only able to net one behind the rookie netminder. Unfortunately for the Caps Henrik Lundqvist was up to the challenge and shut Ovechkin and company out. Now the series shifts back to New York with the Rangers having a commanding lead and looking for the sweep. Sportsroids when against the grain in predicting a Rangers win in this series and so far the Rangers have no disappointed.

3. New Jersey Devils VS Carolina Hurricanes
In a series that many felt would be evenly matched has surely turned out to be that way. After game one the Canes looked to be greatly overmatched; but after Carolina took game two in overtime we’ve got ourselves a series. The two teams are so similar in every aspect of the game and that makes the series a virtually toss up on paper. Sportsroids said Carolina in five and although that seems unlikely now we are sticking to our guns! Regardless of what happens there is a lot of great hockey ahead of us in this series.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins VS 5. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers seemed greatly outmatched after game one but game two was an entirely different story. Philly took the earlier lead but Pittsburgh battled back to tie. Then the Flyers took another lead only to see penalties allow the Penguins back into a game seemingly headed to the win column for the Flyers. But take nothing away from Pittsburgh, they dominated game one and although were largely outplayed in game two they took advantage of Flyer mistakes and now have a strangle-hold on the series. Don’t expect the Flyers to quit though as they move home to play in front of their rowdy and very unforgiving fans at Wachovia center. Sportsroids told you this would go seven games, and although that is still possible if Pittsburgh wins either of the games in Philadelphia the Flyers will be in serious trouble. The Flyers won’t fold but don’t expect Pittsburgh to take their proverbial foot off the gas.

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks VS 8. Anaheim Ducks
People were wondering if the Sharks were finally ready to take it to the next level or if the same old Sharks would show up again in the playoffs. One game does not a series make but for at least one night it’s the same old Sharks. Granted, the Ducks are not far removed from a Stanley Cup Championship but the Sharks at least need to score a goal. There is still a long way to go but if San Jose continues to play like they did in game one they will be making an early exit.

2. Detroit Red Wings VS 7.Columbus Blue Jackets
As I write this post the Red Wings are leading the Blue Jackets 3-0 at the second intermission, this after winning game one 4-1. The Blue Jackets have been a great story all season but the playoffs are too much for them and so they are done.

3. Vancouver Canucks VS 6. St. Louis Blues
The Blues were another good story going into the playoffs but after making a pretty good showing in game one they were completely shut down by Vancouver in game two losing 3-0. Like Columbus, St. Louis is an up and coming team with great goaltending but they appear to be severely overmatched by the Vancouver Canucks.

4. Chicago Blackhawks VS 5. Calgary Flames
Game one of this series was probably the most entertaining game of the first round so far. Game one had everything you could want in a playoff hockey game: lead changes, scrums, great individual battles, fantastic goaltending and overtime! Sure Martin Havlat ended the party early by scoring only 12 seconds into the overtime period but if game one was any indication of how the rest of the series will go then this and the Carolina-New Jersey series have the potential to become classics.

Like you, we at sportsroids will be watching intently to see how the rest of round one unfolds. Enjoy the ride hockey fans!

Sportsroids.com’s NHL Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

The playoff match-ups are all set and read to launch Wednesday evening. To start the first of two playoff previews I will take a look at the Eastern Conference match-ups, give you some notes about them and make a pick. This is the BEST part of the year by far so let’s get right to the previews.

1. Boston Bruins VS 8. Montreal Canadiens
Well it’s a year later and the seedings have been swapped but the first round match-up is the same as the Canadiens and Bruins throw more gasoline on the burning rivalry between the two. The teams are slightly different but the key pieces have gone unchanged. Carey Price and Tim Thomas are both back and bring with them playoff experience which neither of them had last year. Each netminder had stretches of brilliance and ineptitude in the series last year and with that experience under their respective belts they should each be relatively solid in net. Zdano Chara had a fantastic year on defense while Marc Savard, David Krejci, and others showed that you can score a lot of goals in a Claude Julien system. Montreal lost Mark Streit and last year’s version of Alexi Kovalev but they gained some size and toughness in Ryan O’byrne and Georges Laraque (something they desperately needed against Philadelphia last season). There are plenty of other things to consider and we can talk all day and night about this series… so who has the advantage? The Bruins had a great season but really sputtered toward the end including a 6-1 loss to a Sabres team spending another April on the golf course. Montreal did not have the best end of the season either but despite falling so far so quickly they are in and that’s what separates them from the Bruins, despite all odds the Canadiens end up where they want to be. Series outcome: Montreal in six.

2. Washington Capitals VS 7. NY Rangers
This is a battle of goaltenders, plain and simple. Despite the Caps star power when it comes down to a shooting contest I’ll take Henrik Lundqvist over Jose Theodore any day. Washington can score so they’ll steal a game or two but in the end the Rangers will advance in five or six.

3. New Jersey Devils VS 6. Carolina Hurricanes
How far can Martin Brodeur take the Devils? New Jersey did so well without him and once he returned it’s like the team reverted back to the old days of play defense and rely on Brodeur to win 1-0. Those days are over, and if they play that against one of the league’s hottest teams and a Conn Smythe winning goaltender they will lose. Ward has been unbelievable and with Eric Staal and Erik Cole in front of him the Devils are in serious trouble. All-in-all it’s an even match-up on paper, but once you reach the playoffs if Pittsburgh taught us anything last year you go with the hot team. The hot team is Carolina, therefore the Canes take it in five.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins VS 5. Philadelphia Flyers.
It’s the battle of Pennsylvania, division rivals, and the home of the “Crosby is a diver!” Tie that in with revenge on the minds of the Flyers after last year’s playoff thrashing at the hands of the Penguins what else could you want in a series? Crosby and Malkin more than likely have to play well for the Penguins to advance but it’s possible to see Pittsburgh in round two without top-notch play from their two stars. What the Penguins can’t afford to have is inconsistent play from netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. When Fleury is on he’s one of the best goaltenders in the league and shows flashes of what made him such a highly touted amateur player. But when Fleury is off the rest of the team is usually not good enough to bail him out. The same goes for Marty Biron on the other side of the ice. Even if Richards, Carter, Knuble, etc. are amazing if Biron is off the Flyers are done. So the key to this match-up is the goaltending; whoever wins the battle of the goalies will lead their team to round two. So who wins? Marc-Andre Fleury won last year and will win again this year. Both teams will have their moments but the Penguins will win in seven…(the Flyers will be kicking themselves for having lost home-ice on the last day of the season).

Therrien Out. Schneider to Habs. Rangers Seek Avery?

Every now and then I do a sweep around the league commenting on various topics and I think now is the time for one of those sweeps.

Therrien out – Michel Therrien has paid the price for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season of gravely underachieving. Despite having the league’s top two scorers in Malkin and Crosby respectively, the Penguins are in 10 in the East and are coming off losses to out-of-contention Toronto and the lowly New York Islanders. Therrien is hardly to blame for Pittsburgh’s struggles but coaches are usually the ones to take the blow when a team is struggling because firing players is hardly an option. Baby Penguins (Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate) boss Dan Bylsma has been called up to lead the team for the remainder of the season. Therrien stated he believes the now Bylsma led team will make the playoffs but now having lost two in a row to teams they should have beaten it certainly seems unlikely. The good news for Pittsburgh is that a lot of teams in front of them have been struggling to win games as of late keeping the Penguins in contention.

Rangers sliding – The New York Rangers have hit a bit of a rut lately losing eight of their last nine, including a five game losing streak and a 4 game slide that was extended Monday night with a loss to home-standing St. Louis. Tom Renney’s job is in jeopardy and the Rangers are considering making a move for Sean Avery of all people to help turn them around. When a team looks to Sean Avery to “right the ship” that team is probably in a hole they will never dig out of.

Mathieu Schneider to Canadiens – The Canadiens—another team in a free-fall—have acquired defensemen Mathieu Schneider from the Atlanta Thrashers for two draft picks. Schneider, now in his 20^th season, returns to the Canadiens after being a part of their last Stanley Cup team in 1993. Perhaps Schneider’s presence will serve as a morale boost but not much more than that. The defense may be sured-up slightly with him in the lineup, but in the end the Canadiens’ problems stem from Carey Price’s collapse, not being able to score on the power play, losing Robert Lang, and Kovalev having an extremely average season. If those pieces don’t shape up then it won’t matter what Schneider does because he cannot carry this franchise to the promised land alone.

Mid-Season Reflection

Every team in the NHL has now played at least 41 games which means the halfway point has officially been surpassed so sort of mid-season review is in order to see where things have gone and where we are headed as the stretch run approaches. Boston, Detroit, and San Jose are clearly the three best teams in the league each achieving high marks each by adding their own flavor. The second tier of teams includes the likes of the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers who can all make a ton of noise in the playoffs and should not be forgotten about.

The halfway point’s biggest disappointments have to be Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Dallas in no particular order. Edmonton was picked to win the Northwest division by many and now sit tied for last place with 45 points. Their expected top players are underachieving not scoring very much and although defensively they aren’t terrible, good is not a good adjective either. Last year’s East champions are floundering in Pittsburgh currently sitting in the 8^th spot and are losing players like crazy seemingly on a nightly basis. The Penguins have suffered a number of injuries this season (and even before the season began) including superstar Sidney Crosby who is out with a knee injury (see http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/injuries?teamAbbrev=pit for a complete list of their injuries). This has resulted in a large number of AHL players having to skate for Pittsburgh but nevertheless they are not playing well and look far from last year’s finals form. As for Dallas, well last season’s conference finals appearance and subsequent thrashing by Detroit seems to be having a lasting effect. To follow the 4-2 series loss the Stars signed trouble free agent Sean Avery (who has been dismissed by the team), are getting unusually poor play from Marty Turco with subpar defense in front of him and oh by the way they are in 12^th in the West.

Enough doom and gloom there are some brighter points to perhaps balance these sob stories and they are the reemergence of the Chicago Blackhawks and the stellar play of the sleeper Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes may be in financial trouble by they are playing like a team bound for the playoffs and ready to ruin another team’s cup chances. Meanwhile the Blackhawks have evolve into quite a formidable team who can certainly do more than spoil the cup dreams of other teams come mid April. There is so much more to talk about and so little time but sit back and buckle up ladies and gentlemen for the second half of the season is sure to entertain men, women, and children alike. Just sit back and enjoy the ride as we watch the world’s greatest athletes charge toward sports’ most coveted trophy.

Patience Needed in NHL

The Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and San Jose Sharks are the only three teams in the NHL that have shown any amount of consistency all year. The Pittsburgh Penguins once upon a 6 game winning streak, and now it looks like they cannot play defense or hold a lead for the life of them. At times Toronto has looked very strong at times and at others look very much like the young team they are. The New York Rangers started hot out of the gate and since have settled down a bit but are still playing well. Anaheim started pretty sluggish but now they look great and Phoenix was awful at one point but have seemed to put it together to become a much better team since the beginning of the year. Ottawa was up and down for a while got hot for a moment and now they are looking to have a fire-sale. The list of teams and stories to accompany them goes on and on, the point being, save for the three teams mentioned in the first sentence above we don’t know anything about anybody. There is Panic in Pittsburgh with how the team has stumbled, there are rumblings in Montreal with how poor their power play is and how well the Bruins are playing. Bottom line is for players, coaches, front office managers, analysts and fans alike what is needed most in the NHL is to have patience with a team and that’s what there seems to be the least of. See where your team is come late January early February and then start to Panic.

Surprising Stretch for Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have been mediocre at best and unbearable at worst so far this season. Their power play ranks 22^nd in the league accompanied by a better but still very average penalty kill coming in at 16^th in the league. Although they are giving up a respectable 2.75 goals per game which is 13^th overall they are tied for 25^th in goals scored. Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson have put up very good numbers both posting save percentages north of 90% but have been given very little support in front of them. With these numbers, opening the month of December against top teams like the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres was surely not going to bode well for the struggling Panthers. To borrow a line from Lee Corso, not so fast my friend. The Panthers defeated all three teams outscoring them 10-4 including a shutout of the then east leading Rangers at MSG; a team they had lost to only two days prior at home. While this only improved the Panthers record to 11-11-3 on the season they are at least showing some signs of life and finally scoring goals to accompany stellar goaltending. I would hardly expect Florida to keep up this sort of streak because they do not exactly have the talent to sustain it over the course of the season. However, if the Panthers can manage to keep up the scoring both Anderson and Vokoun have shown they are consistently good between the pipes which means they could be viable contenders in a very weak Southeast Division.

Are the Leafs Back?

On Saturday night (11/1) the Toronto Maple leafs were down by 2 against the New York Rangers at Air Canada Center. The Leafs had been dominated for the greater part of two-and-a-half periods not generating very much offense and showing very little signs of life as it appeared the Rangers would continue their amazing start to the season. Then with 7:56 remaining in the third period Toronto exploded scoring 5 goals in the next 5+ minutes of the game sending the Rangers home with a 5-2 loss. Is this the turning point for the Leafs that will send them steamrolling toward the playoffs? Probably not. But what it told us about Toronto is that these are not the same old Leafs. Toronto is slowly making their way back to being a playoff caliber team. It means that these are a bunch of guys who care enough about each other and have enough pride in the club and fans that they keep playing hard despite everything going against them. This is fight we have not seen in the Leafs for quite some time and credit that not just to the players but also to coach Ron Wilson. People do not always like his style but all the man does wherever he goes is win. Now while the Leafs are probably going to be watching the playoffs from home yet again—a first round exit at best—they are finally moving in the right direction and will soon be consistently in contention.