1. Washington vs. 8. Montreal

Jaroslav Halak is the key to this series. All Halak has to do is keep Washington at bay, if he can manage to do that the Canadiens will get plenty of scoring chances against Washington’s swiss cheese defense.  Two things we know for sure: Montreal cannot stop Washington from scoring and Washington cannot stop Montreal from scoring. Number one key as I mentioned is Halak but also it is vitally important for Montreal to play extremely well disciplined hockey every minute of every game. Technical mistakes will be made that’s just the nature of the game but making bad decisions (bad passes, lazy puck pursuit, etc.) and taking bad penalties will be the end of Montreal’s playoff life. Washington has enough talent to overcome the mistakes it will make and the lack of adequate defense and spotty goaltending but Montreal does not. Many people think Washington is ripe for the picking—and that may be true—but if Montreal does not keep their mistake ratio compared to Washington’s very low the Capitals will blow them away. Even when Montreal does say take a bad penalty they have to rely on the playoff experience of the guys on their roster to take someone with them to the box, every little bit matters. If Montreal can do those things they’ll win; but that said I’m taking the Capitals in five.

2. New Jersey vs. 7. Philadelphia

Philadelphia will win this series. It has little to do with the Flyers’ abilities and more to do with New Jersey’s inadequacies. The Devils rely too heavily on scoring first then using the neutral-zone trap and Marty Brodeur to stifle the other team. New Jersey will not always score first and have a lead to protect, nor do they have the capacity to come back from being down 2 or more goals should Philly get that far ahead. It is not 1995 anymore and the new NHL is not conducive to New Jersey’s system yielding a great amount of post-season success. They have also put a proverbial wall in front of their biggest scoring threat in Ilya Kovalchuk. Every game will most likely be close because of how the Devils play but it’s Philly’s series to win.

3. Buffalo vs. 6. Boston

Ryan Miller is the best goaltender in the world today and the Boston Bruins cannot CANNOT score. Enough said, Sabres take the series.

4. Pittsburgh vs. 5. Ottawa

Crosby has been hot of late but that includes two games against the New York Islanders who have a really small defense and that results in a ton of scoring chances and many goals. The Penguins have had a hard time stopping team’s from scoring  while also not having the greatest scoring prowess themselves (granted Gonchar and Malkin have been hurt so that should sure itself up). It has been said that the Penguins simply needed to get to the playoffs and now that the time has come they will be more motivated to get their act together, build on the experience of the last few years, and go on to get back to at least the conference finals. However, I think the Ottawa Senators may have something to say about that. The Senators have been one of the best teams in the conference over the last month of the season and are playing incredibly well as a unit. Losing Alex Kovalev will be a setback for Ottawa but they still have Daniel Alredsson, Jason Spezza, and Mike Fisher so they will not be longing for scoring presents on the ice. Their defensemen are all pretty big so that will match-up relatively well with the Penguins’ lines from top to bottom. Scoring chances will require much more work for the Penguins against Ottawa than it was versus the Islanders.  Perhaps the biggest flaw for Ottawa is Brian Elliot’s lack of playoff experience. While experience matters at all positions it is most important for goaltenders unless you’re Ken Dryden or Patrick Roy. Nevertheless, with how the Penguins have been playing (inconsistent) they are ripe for an upset and I think the Ottawa Senators will do just that.

West Preview:

1.  San Jose vs. 8. Colorado

Being technical in analyzing how I think this match-up will go is perhaps a waste of time. San Jose has been here time and time again and Colorado is a team that has overachieved all season long. I think in time Colorado will be very good but it just is not in the cards for them this year. San Jose has more experience, are an overall better team, and will simply not lose to Colorado. San Jose takes this series.

2. Chicago vs. 7. Nashville

Having Nashville in the playoffs is always nice because whatever helps hockey grow in non-traditional markets is a good thing for the game and the league. Nashville has been here before but has not managed to get past the first round (no shame in that since they’ve played Detroit in every playoff appearance in their short history). What gives Nashville the best chance at success in this series is that they don’t rely on any one person to provide all of their offense. Steve Sullivan, Patric Hornqvist, Martin Erat, Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont, and Shea Weber all had 40+ point seasons which is a very positive sign since Chicago cannot simply focus on one guy in hopes of keeping the Preds at bay. The problem for Nashville is that on the season they gave up as many goals as they scored which does not bode well when playing the likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and co. in a best four-of-seven series. While I root for hockey success in Nashville for the good of the game I think Chicago will be too much for the Preds and will move past Nashville on their way to the Cup Finals as I predicted at season’s opening.

3. Vancouver vs. 6. L.A. Kings

It is great to see the L.A. Kings back in the playoffs. I have been saying since the offseason that this team was for real and they certainly did not disappoint all season and here they are in the post-season.  Anze Kopitar has been phenomenal all year and Jonathan Quick has been solid in net wire-to-wire. I said before the year started that not only would the Kings make the playoffs but they would also win their first round series and I will not back down from that. Unfortunately for the Kings (and for me) they have to go up against arguably the best line in hockey all year—i.e. the Sedin twins with Alex Burrows and sometimes Ryan Kesler. Oh and that Roberto Luongo guy isn’t half bad either. A lot of people think this is the year for Vancouver to overcome what they’ve faced in the past and finally come out of the West.  I will go against my head in picking this one and say that the Kings will take the series, but they better rely heavily on Rob Scuderi’s cup winning experience from a year ago because they will need it.

4. Phoenix vs. 5. Detroit

Poor Phoenix. Ownership issues stemming back to the offseason, not knowing where they were going to play this year before the season started and even where they will be next year has not been finalized. Despite all of that the players banded together  and not only got themselves into the playoffs but home ice in the first round, great right!? Wrong. All of that hard work yields them the reward of playing the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, what a reward for a great season eh? We could break down match-ups until the cows come home but it would be silly for me to pick against Detroit. I hope Phoenix gives Detroit a great fight and even manages to beat them, but that is unlikely and that is why I am giving this series to the Red Wings.

Enjoy the start of the most wonderful time of the year!

With their 6-3 loss at the hands of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday the defending Stanley Cup Champions fell to a combined 0-10 against New Jersey and Washington this season. Despite that record the Penguins have managed to put themselves in position to have home-ice in the first round of the playoffs and still have a shot at winning the Atlantic Division. But that fact aside what does an 0-10 record against two of the best teams in the East mean for the Penguins in the playoffs? The numbers themselves don’t mean a whole lot since regular season head-to-head records do not carry over into the playoffs but it’s WHY they lost so many times to these teams that is the bigger story. Washington simply did to the Penguins what they’ve done to everyone all year and that is score score and score some more. There is nothing complicated about the Capitals’ game and many experts agree their lack of defense will be rather detrimental when it comes time to try to play and beat a team in a best-of-seven series. More alarming for the Penguins is their performances against New Jersey. The Devils used their neutral-zone trap to not only beat the Penguins but they dominated Pittsburgh in each of the six games they played. The Penguins managed only 5 goals in six contests—none of which were close including two shutouts. There seems to be something about the neutral-zone trap that as really given the Penguins headaches this year seemingly more than ever before. This style has affected them so much that the Tampa Bay Lightning utilized the same system against the Penguins recently to perfection beating Pittsburgh 2-0. If the Devils and now the Lightning have created a blue print for how to dominate the Penguins then it’s likely that other good teams in the playoffs could also use the same system and actually result in the Penguins being eliminated as early as the first round. Getting shut out by the trap on three different occasions against two different teams is no fluke and that’s why that 0-6 record against New Jersey is scary for Pittsburgh.

Lastly, it’s all over but the shouting out West! Every playoff spot has been clinched and now we simply wait to see what the match-ups will be. This year’s contest includes a few different faces from last season as the L.A. Kings, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and Phoenix Coyotes have all qualified for the post-season play after watching from home just a season ago. It’ll be great to see some new blood in the ranks out west but we cannot forget the frequent fliers in the Detroit Red Wings being present in the playoffs for the 19^th consecutive year. Can any of the new teams replace the Red Wings at the top of the Western Conference Mountain? Tune in next time when we preview the west and I give the reasons why Detroit will (or won’t) return to the Finals yet again.

April 14^th is almost here!

Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins were held in check yet AGAIN by the New Jersey Devils who have now swept the season series against the Penguins 6-0 and in a decisive manner every time. One team dominating another like this is not rare, but the difference in this case is that the Penguins have consistently been one of the best teams in the league all year and are even still fighting for the division crown with New Jersey despite having lost every game against them. It’s not very common to see a team get dominated by another team and yet still be so high in the standings. So what does this mean for the playoffs? Quite frankly as long as both teams make it (as they surely will) it doesn’t mean a whole lot should they match-up with one another until the first game is played. If Pittsburgh can manage to win the first of a best-of-seven series with New Jersey then the slate is essentially wiped clean. However, should New Jersey beat Pittsburgh and dominate them the same way they have all year then New Jersey will have affected the confidence of the Penguin team so much that the series would basically be over before it even gets started. There’s no real rhyme or reason for the Devils’ dominance over the Penguins it has simply been a matter of New Jersey playing their system soundly and the Penguins allowing too many chances and not creating enough of their own. We’ll see what happens from here but if nothing else this series of victories should give New Jersey a ton of confidence as the stretch run continues and transitions into the playoffs.

For you Western Conference fans, don’t look now but the Detroit Red Wings are in prime positions to qualify for the post-season yet again.  As of right now the Red Wings have a one point advantage over 9^th place Calgary with a game in hand and have defeated the Flames each of the last two times they’ve played. No matter how the regular season goes for Detroit they always seem to do away with any weaknesses they showed throughout the year and return to top form when April rolls around. Detroit is also getting healthier so the likelihood that they’ll flounder down the stretch diminishes with each player they get back. Should they make the playoffs it will likely be as the 7^th or 8^th seed; what a prize for the team who comes away with the conference regular season title. You work all year to put yourself in the best position possible and you’re rewarded with a first round match-up against the two time defending conference champions. There’s nothing like a date with Franzen, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, etc. and all of their Stanley Cup rings as a way of saying congratulations on claiming one of the top spots in the conference. Despite how the season has gone for Detroit, if they get in you have to peg them as one of the favorites to come out of the west.

Lastly, what were the Chicago Blackhawks thinking at the trade deadline? In large point their team is solid and needs no adjusting in order to sure up what should be a run to the Stanley Cup Finals (that is a reasonable goal at least). But one area that absolutely needed addressing was goaltending. No disrespect to Huet and Niemi  but they are not ready to lead a team to the promised land. Neither has any playoff experience of note and while you can only get experience by actually playing, when the rest of the team is ready to make a strong push that is NOT the time for your netminder to get his feet wet.  Kane, Keith, Sharp, Toews, Hossa, Byfuglien, Versteeg, Campbell (pre-injury), etc. are all poised to improve on last year’s run to the conference finals by taking their respective games’ to the next level and the last thing they need is goaltending to bring them down. Going after someone like Manny Legace who has some experience, or even J-S Giguere who despite falling out of favor in Anaheim has a decent track record and perhaps a change of scenery is just what the doctor ordered for him.  Either choice would have been worth at least trying because neither could do any worse than Niemi and Huet have been of late. In two Sundays in a row both Huet and Niemi have given up a plethora of goals in very short order causing their team to blow 2 and three goal leads respectively, blown leads Chicago was unable to rebound from both times. Sure that could happen to anybody on a given day, but twice in 7 days is unacceptable and it does not bode very well for Chicago this season if they play even close to that poorly in the playoffs.

Less than one month to go until playoff time!

With the Olympics now behind us we transition from one set of great hockey to another as the NHL stretch run goes into full swing. As it stands today spots 6 through 11 in the Eastern Conference are separated by a total of four points while the battle for the 7^th and 8^th spots in the West is an even tighter race. Over the next few weeks we’ll find out who made the right moves at the trade deadline and who should have done more. We’ll see if upstart Phoenix can Colorado (back to glory days depicted above?) can keep their level of play high enough to maintain playoff positions as it is a new concept for both of these teams as assembled today. Can the Detroit Red Wings manage to solidify a playoff spot or will they be left out for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the earth? Did the Pittsburgh Penguins add enough new faces to their lineup to sure up any deficiencies they may have had to put them into the team to beat in the East? Have the Washington Capitals finally addressed their defensive woes enough to catapult themselves into the category of serious cup contenders? Why didn’t Boston—who was top seed in the East last year—not do more to address their inability to score? All the while who will score more goals before season’s end Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby? Each of these questions will be answered over the next month  and that means hockey fans are going to be spoiled from now until the end of the Stanley Cup Finals in June. So gear up puckheads because this is going to be awesome!

For the Penguins it’s obvious why they are in such a good position. Pittsburgh has star power in Crosby and Malkin, a stellar up and coming star in Jordan Staal, savy veterans like Bill Guerin and Sergei Gonchar, an incredible netminder in Marc-Andre Fleury, and oh yeah they’ve been to the finals each of the last two years (did I mention they won the Stanley Cup last year?). The future for the Penguins seems to be going very much the same way as their recent past. The one major hurdle the Penguins have had to overcome is the injury bug and even that has worked out quite well for them. Despite losing a lot of players for long stretches they have been able to get a lot of production out of the guys they’ve had to call up from their AHL affiliate which is what has kept them afloat. The experience these guys are getting is invaluable and it only bodes well for the Penguins not only for the rest of the regular season but also in the playoffs should they need someone to step up in a tight spot. SO despite some rough patches the Penguins have gone through this year you still have to consider them one of the favorites two in the Eastern Conference again this year.

The Sabres do not have the big flashy stars like Pittsburgh but if you’re going to be a team that has arguably only one big star you want that start to be in net and that’s what they have in Ryan Miller. There is no doubt that Miller is one of the best netminders in not only the NHL but in the entire world. Miller’s career numbers speak for themselves but let us focus on this season alone. Miller has appeared in 47 games posting a 2.10 GAA (tops amongst goaltenders with at least 20 appearances), a .932 save percentage (best in the league) and five shutouts (second in the conference behind Marty Brodeur). Having a goaltender with numbers like that is an incredible launching point for any team, and although they do not have the star power in front of him one might like they have a bunch of players who as a group are incredibly consistent. Tim Connolly leads the team in points but he cannot carry the entire load himself and that’s when a plethora of other players pick up the slack. It seems like every night another person is stepping up to make a difference including but not limited to Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek,  and Jason Pominville; in fact some nights guys like Drew Stafford or Tim Kennedy will step up big when they need to. By not having a big time star on their team the Buffalo Sabres need a number of guys to step up in the clutch and that’s exactly what they have been able to do thus far this year. This will keep teams off balance because they cannot simply shut down one guy and know the game is theirs for the taking. This is especially important come playoff time and that’s why I think the Buffalo Sabres are in prime position (as long as they stay healthy) to make a serious run at the Conference Title.

In on ice news the Edmonton Oilers are not having the best year. There are many reasons why Edmonton has been struggling but there is also no doubt that no one has lost more heartbreakers than the Oilers. Edmonton’s matchup against the Dallas Stars on Friday night is the perfect example of such a heartbreaking loss. With just over a minute to go down a goal the Oilers pulled their goaltender in favor of a sixth attacker and with 1:02 left on the clock tied the game at three. The players were elated, the fans were psyched and it looked like Edmonton was going to at least steal a point from their Western Conference foes.  However, not even a minute later heartache struck Edmonton once again as James Neal banged home a rebound with just 23 seconds later to put Dallas ahead for good. Say what you want about the way Edmonton lost and how they’ve been losing games like this all season, but for one night it seemed like everyone in Edmonton would have reason to celebrate a valiant comeback rather than a last second defeat and yet…it was not meant to be. Feeling bad for professional athletes under any circumstance is hard but in this instance I feel bad for the Oiler organization and their fans, can they buy a victory?

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not mention the incredible amount of the success the upstart New York Islanders are having. Last season this was one of the worst teams in the league on the ice and dealing with a ton of turmoil off the ice in regards to its future on Long Island. Despite the continuing off ice issues the Islanders are putting together quite a season on the ice and are in prime position to make the playoffs. The credit could go to guys like John Tavares who was picked number one overall this past offseason or to hidden gems like Matt Moulson who has exceeded everyone’s expectations. There is also the stellar play of netminder Dwayne Roloson who despite his age has performed very admirably all season long. No matter what the answer is the Islanders have put together a team that works hard every game, continues to get better as the season goes on, and use their work ethic combined with their skill to perhaps steal games they should not otherwise win. Stealing a win every now and then is bound to happen with any young and overmatched team. In the case of the Islanders however beating teams like New Jersey and Detroit in very short order in quite convincing fashion (having shut both teams out) is not by accident. You do not win games against top teams but shutting them out unless you’re good, and believe it or not people the New York Islanders are a good team. I mentioned last year and early this season that I loved the way this team battles night in and night out and it’s finally starting to pay off for them. It’s possible that the Islanders will still fall short of the playoffs this year but if they keep playing the way they are the team will have nothing to be ashamed of and have something great to build on for next season. There have been a lot of feel good stories for teams who are seemingly overachieving thus far this season but none better than this New York Islander team. If you get a chance to watch them on any given night check them out, it’s a lot of fun.

Enjoy your weekend of hockey everyone!

Refocusing on NHL news this is the perfect time to welcome the Philadelphia Flyers back to the contenders table. I’ve been particularly critical of this team thus far because they had way too much talent to be playing so poorly. Michael Leighton has provided some much needed stability for them in net posting a 7-0-0 record with an astounding 2.14 GAA; any team with a netminder playing like that has a chance to win every night. The rest of the team has uped their level of play as well but tactics and strategy do not explain why the Flyers have all-of-a-sudden returned to respectability. In a game against Pittsburgh last week the Flyers defeated the Penguins 7-4; throughout the game there were many opportunities that the old Flyers would have taken to win the “battle of the tough guys” causing their team precious penalty minutes in the process and ultimately losing the game. But these new Flyers kept their cool, stayed focus on the real task at hand and that was winning the game on the scoreboard. It’s a fundamental change that should be credited to Peter Laviolette as well as the on-ice leadership of the Flyers.  If they keep their focus (while managing to stay healthy) and continue to get decent goaltending the Flyers will not be a team people want to play down the stretch and into the playoffs.

On the flipside are three teams who haven’t played well and do not seem likely to turn things around anytime soon; those teams are the Carolina Hurricanes (not much to say about them, they are embarrassingly bad in every way), St. Louis Blues, and Columbus Blue Jackets. All three teams made it to the playoffs last year and were expecting big things this year but so far have flopped. St. Louis may be the most intriguing of these teams because they actually have a very good road record at 12-5-4 but are terrible at home going 6-14-3. Traditionally in hockey it is a little “easier” play games on the road because players worry about getting and protecting leads rather than entertaining the fans but in the case of St. Louis it is pretty extreme. Perhaps their new coach can inspire them to translate their road game play into a few extra home wins but for the moment their home performance and overall record as a result are embarrassing. St. Louis is much too talented to be in such a big hole at this point in the season.

As for Columbus what’s happening to them is what many people feared might prior to the season—that is that Steve Mason would not be able to play up to the level he did last year and the team would suffer as a result—that has come to fruition. Mason’s GAA is a deplorable 3.31 and while there is plenty of blame to go on the defense in front of him the team is built to basically rely on Mason night in and night out. Maybe it is unfair to place so much blame on Mason but that is the situation the powers that be in Columbus have structured the team that way. It isn’t that their plan all along was to have Mason be the cornerstone of the team, but with how he performed last year management seemed to make the determination that they would make him that piece and did little to sure up their defense. So either Mason (or Garon) step it up or Columbus will be a lost cause until they get better defensemen and defensive forwards.

In the meantime the other big news to come out over the holidays was the announcement of the various Olympic team rosters set to take the ice next month. At the moment the easy favorites to win the Gold Medal are Canada and Russia with the Canadians possibly holding a slight edge over Russia because the tournament will be held on the smaller North American size ice along with the fact that the games will be held in Canada which instantly gives them a boost. On the other hand, one might say that the games being held in Canada yields a slight advantage to the Russians because Canadians traditionally have a ton of pressure on them to win the Gold Medal anyway but now that pressure is intensified since Team Canada will be playing on home ice. Although there is a fair amount of pressure on the Russians as well there will no doubt be a lot less on them than on the Canadians which will allow them to simply relax and play hockey without worrying about any other distractions. Despite those factors it is still a virtual toss-up between the two teams in trying to pick the favorite but you can’t really go wrong either going for gold and everyone else likely battling for the bronze.

On the rest of the NHL front there are a number of teams streaking in both the right and wrong direction. The San Jose sharks are currently the hottest team in the league as the smoked Edmonton 4-1 on Saturday to improve their win streak to eight. Despite the streak the fans in San Jose are cautiously optimistic as they’ve been down this road before. In each of the last three years the Sharks have posted over a hundred points—winning the President’s trophy last year—and faltered come playoff time. This year’s teams is by far the best they’ve ever had but the question is can they finally carry over this success into the post-season.

Another team enjoying recent success is the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite losing to Boston in the Winter Classic on Friday, the Flyers have won four out of five and have earned at least a point in five straight. There is a long way to go for the Flyers who have dug themselves quite a hole but it seems they have managed to turn things around and make a legitimate push toward the playoffs almost overnight.

The Calgary Flames are also in the midst of a four game winning streak after coming from behind to defeat Toronto 3-1 on Saturday. This is a team in a situation similar to San Jose in that they have had a decent amount of regular season success that they have not been able to translate into the post-season. Strong goaltending has always been there for Calgary but what separates them from last year’s squad is a much stronger blueline with the addition Jay Bouwmeester in the offseason who is a plus 13 to date. It is his presence that has helped Dion Phaneuf up his game a bit and also takes some pressure off of Kiprusoff which is why this year is probably Calgary’s best chance they’ve had in years to advance deep into the playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are streaking as well but in the wrong direction. With their 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon the Penguins have lost four in a row, scored only one goal in two games, and blew a 3-0 lead to the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the week. In a long season there are many ups and downs but the alarming thing for Pittsburgh is the way they’ve been losing. There is a long way to go and the Penguins have too much talent for such a streak to continue but they’ve got to find a way to score more consistently and protect leads when they get them.

The worst of the losing streaks belongs to the Atlanta Thrashers who have lost 8 games in a row after a great start to the season. There’s really no surprise it’s simply Atlanta being Atlanta until they show me otherwise.

Well that’s a run around the league a little bit. I hope everyone enjoyed the Winter Classic and have a great time ringing in the New Year! Have a great 2010 everybody!

There is no doubt that the Devils talent level is amongst the best in the league but when lesser teams faceoff against them come playoff time New Jersey’s style of play does not squash any hopes that a lesser team can beat them. Instead, by trying to protect small leads, the other teams start to believe they can actually beat New Jersey. As a result such teams grow in confidence yielding better on ice play and ultimately the elimination of New Jersey from the playoffs. Last year is a great example of that; all due respect to Carolina they were not on the same  level talent wise as New Jersey but for the entire series they were able to just keep hanging around until eventually Carolina ousted the Devils from the playoffs. In contrast to that—after Carolina got by Boston under similar circumstances—when Carolina went to play a highly talented Penguin team that could score Carolina was completely outmatched and swept out of the playoffs. Until New Jersey can figure out a way to put teams away in the post-season by crushing their will a cycle of early round exits will continue indefinitely with this year being no exception.

1. The Philadelphia Flyers fired John Stevens after four seasons in which he had experienced quite a bit of success. In the 2006-2007 season the Flyers were awful and Stevens followed up that season by leading the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals where they were eliminated by the Penguins. Then of course last season Stevens had the Flyers in the playoffs again only to see their cross-state rivals once again eliminate them from the playoffs.  Granted, there is nothing good about losing but there is really no shame in getting eliminated from the playoffs by one of the best and eventually the best team in the league. Thus far this season the Flyers have been mediocre but are hardly out of playoff contention currently sitting in 13^th in the East but it games in hand on every team in front of it so if it wins those games in hand a playoff spot would belong to the Flyers. It remains to be seen what will happen with this early season coaching change—and I was forced to eat my words about midseason coaching changes last year by Pittsburgh who made a coaching change then went on to win the Stanley Cup—but I do not think it will make one bit of difference for Philadelphia. There is a fair amount of talent on the team and Ray Emery has been pretty good in goal but the Flyers problems focus more on trying to win a fight on skates rather than a hockey game. Physical play is in fact important and it’s a significant piece toward becoming a championship team but being undisciplined is a dagger in the heart of victory. They also have to play much better defense in front of whoever is in net because in their last nine games they have given up at least three goals on seven different occasions. No offense to new coach Peter Laviolette but the Flyers are who they are and so I don’t think the season will go any differently with him than it would have with Stevens. (please see the following link for my preseason thoughts on the Flyers http://sportsroids.com/2009/09/27/eastern-conference-outlook/)

2. As much as I enjoy watching Alex Ovechkin play he is really making a name for himself as a dirty player. All of North America saw his knee-on-knee hit on Sergei Gonchar is last year’s second round playoff series, and now Ovechkin has served a suspension for doing the same thing to Hurricane defensemen Tim Gleason (Ovechkin also sustained an injury on that same play). There are some other questionable plays on Ovechkin’s record and if they continue to build up it will taint his image. No other player in the league can impact the game any more than Ovechkin can with his incredible offensive presence but hockey is a game of honor and if Ovechkin continues his dirty play he will have to answer to some pretty tough guys who will not go quietly. So if I’m Caps coach Bruce Boudreau I am making it clear to Ovechkin that has to keep better control of himself and stop with the dirty play for otherwise the Caps championship aspirations will be in serious jeopardy.

3. The Carolina Hurricanes got their first road win of the season in 14 tries by defeating the defending champion Penguins. Why the Hurricanes are so bad is a headscratcher but a sarcastic congratulations from me to them on their first road victory of the year. Here’s to many more road wins… or at least one more anyway.

4. Despite having recently lost two-in-a-row the Buffalo Sabres are quietly having a very successful season led by the incredible play of Ryan Miller. Anytime your netminder is posting an incredible 1.90 GAA you’re more than likely going to win a lot of games. But despite such great numbers Miller cannot go it alone and thus far he certainly is not. Tim Connolly and Derek Roy are leading the way with 21 points (6 goals 15 assists for each) with wingers Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek not far behind with 19 and 18 points respectively. Buffalo is not a flashy team but they are very consistent and find themselves ahead on the scoreboard come the end of the game and that’s all that matters. Their power play is less than stellar putting them 21st “best” in the league but they counter it with a penalty kill that is 3^rd best in the league and that is very important/impressive—it also helps that the Sabres stay out of the penalty box. The Sabres were very good last year before being crushed by injuries in the stretch run but so far this team is better than last year’s and if they keep this up the East needs to be on notice because fore you know it you’ll be shaking the hands of the Sabres and wishing them good luck in the next round.

There’s much more to talk about but it will have to wait for next time…

P.S. To everyone making comments, thank you so much and please continue to do so. Many of them have not been posted to the site (as you may have noticed) but I do not have control when those are posted so please keep the comments coming for they will be posted shortly. Thanks everyone.