Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
38-26-18 94 points 1st in Southeast Division, 3rd in Eastern Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The Florida Panthers couldn't beat Martin Brodeur.
Now a lot of NHL clubs have had the same problem over the years and this year things weren't any different.
Florida led the series three games to two and had a chance to close it out in New Jersey. Instead the Panthers fell behind early in the game 2-0.
Florida was able to tie the game at 2-2 thanks to goals by Kris Versteeg and Sean Bergenheim. The game would go into overtime where Travis Zajac would get the game winner for the Devils.
In game seven the same script would play out as New Jersey once again grabbed a 2-0 lead. Florida would score two goals in the 3rd period to tie the game 2-2 and force overtime once again.
The game would continue to be deadlocked until 3:47 into the 2nd overtime when Adam Henrique would score his second goal of the game, ending the Panthers magical season.
Where Do They Go From Here:
Florida has nothing to be ashamed about as they ended the longest playoff drought in the NHL this season. Now they have to capitalize on this.
Last summer GM Dale Tallon turned over half the roster. I don't think that will happen this off-season as most of their players are under contract. The Panthers do have a little over $23 million in projected cap space going into the summer. If they want to be a player in free agency they have the resources to do so.
My guess is Florida will worry about the restricted free agents on their roster and let their unrestricted free agents hit the open market on July 1st. The only UFA I can see the Panthers trying to re-sign is Mikael Samuelsson.
Florida surprised everybody by winning the Southeast Division but I'm not ready to say the Panthers are back. Eighteen of their points came as a result of losing in overtime or a shootout. I expect every team in the Southeast to be much improved next season.
I think Florida will have a hard time duplicating their success going into next season. The Panthers might contend for a playoff spot but their first division title may be their only one for a while.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thanks For Playing: Ottawa Senators
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
41-31-10 92 points 2nd in Northeast Division, 8th in Eastern Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The New York Rangers were a better team.
That's not to dismiss what Ottawa accomplished during the season. This was a team that many picked to be the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Instead the Senators overcame a 1-5 start to the season and manage to be the team that challenged Boston all season in the Northeast.
In the series against New York they were able to win twice in overtime to even the series at 2-2. The next game Craig Anderson was able to shut out the Rangers 2-0, giving Ottawa a 3-2 lead in the series.
However for as good as Anderson was in game five, he wasn't better than Henrik Lundqvist was in games six and seven. Anderson gave up a couple power play goals in game six that gave New York a lead they would not relinquish.
In game seven the Rangers scored first on a slap shot by Marc Staal. Dan Girardi scored nearly five minutes later to give New York a 2-0 lead.
Daniel Alfredsson would add a goal in the 2nd period to cut the deficit to 2-1 but it wouldn't be enough as the Rangers would win 2-1 and end the season for Ottawa.
Where Do They Go From Here:
While the Senators definitely overachieved this year the question has to be asked, was this for real or just an aberration? It's a fair question as the year before Ottawa was one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.
And to answer that the question the first thing we need know is what the status is of Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson going into next year.
Alfredsson will turn 40 years old next December and he is signed through the end of next season. My guess is he will return for another season in Canada's capital but he does decide to retire then Ottawa has to figure how they are going to replace his scoring ability as Alfredsson has reached the 20 goal mark in 13 of his 16 NHL seasons.
The good news is Ottawa has over $27 million in projected cap space going into next season. Now that doesn't mean the Senators will be front and center to sign Zach Parise or Ryan Suter but they have the flexibility to be active in the free agent market if they choose to.
I don't see Ottawa being very active in the free agent market as they has a good nucleus of young talent in their minor league system. I'm guessing a couple of those kids will get a chance in training camp to show what they can do.
Another reason why I don't think Ottawa will be busy in free agency is that Defenseman Erik Karlsson is a restricted free agent.
Karlsson had a career year scoring 19 goals. He finished with 78 points on the season. That's 25 points more than the next closest defenseman. With 27 million in cap space available the first priority for the Senators is to get him signed to a long term deal.
The future looks good for Ottawa. It's hard for them to lose in seven games to the New York Rangers but I would consider this a learning experience for the Senators.
They will take this lesson and be a better team going forward because of it.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
41-31-10 92 points 2nd in Northeast Division, 8th in Eastern Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The New York Rangers were a better team.
That's not to dismiss what Ottawa accomplished during the season. This was a team that many picked to be the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Instead the Senators overcame a 1-5 start to the season and manage to be the team that challenged Boston all season in the Northeast.
In the series against New York they were able to win twice in overtime to even the series at 2-2. The next game Craig Anderson was able to shut out the Rangers 2-0, giving Ottawa a 3-2 lead in the series.
However for as good as Anderson was in game five, he wasn't better than Henrik Lundqvist was in games six and seven. Anderson gave up a couple power play goals in game six that gave New York a lead they would not relinquish.
In game seven the Rangers scored first on a slap shot by Marc Staal. Dan Girardi scored nearly five minutes later to give New York a 2-0 lead.
Daniel Alfredsson would add a goal in the 2nd period to cut the deficit to 2-1 but it wouldn't be enough as the Rangers would win 2-1 and end the season for Ottawa.
Where Do They Go From Here:
While the Senators definitely overachieved this year the question has to be asked, was this for real or just an aberration? It's a fair question as the year before Ottawa was one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.
And to answer that the question the first thing we need know is what the status is of Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson going into next year.
Alfredsson will turn 40 years old next December and he is signed through the end of next season. My guess is he will return for another season in Canada's capital but he does decide to retire then Ottawa has to figure how they are going to replace his scoring ability as Alfredsson has reached the 20 goal mark in 13 of his 16 NHL seasons.
The good news is Ottawa has over $27 million in projected cap space going into next season. Now that doesn't mean the Senators will be front and center to sign Zach Parise or Ryan Suter but they have the flexibility to be active in the free agent market if they choose to.
I don't see Ottawa being very active in the free agent market as they has a good nucleus of young talent in their minor league system. I'm guessing a couple of those kids will get a chance in training camp to show what they can do.
Another reason why I don't think Ottawa will be busy in free agency is that Defenseman Erik Karlsson is a restricted free agent.
Karlsson had a career year scoring 19 goals. He finished with 78 points on the season. That's 25 points more than the next closest defenseman. With 27 million in cap space available the first priority for the Senators is to get him signed to a long term deal.
The future looks good for Ottawa. It's hard for them to lose in seven games to the New York Rangers but I would consider this a learning experience for the Senators.
They will take this lesson and be a better team going forward because of it.
Thanks For Playing: Boston Bruins
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
49-29-4 102 points 1st in Northeast Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference
What Went Wrong:
To paraphrase Barry Melrose "Boston's best players weren't their best players in this series." And that's why the Bruins are done for the spring.
Last year Boston's forwards were able to oppose their will against their opponents and wear them down en route to winning the Stanley Cup. This year that wasn't the case.
Look at the stats of their top forwards in the first round last year against Montreal compared to this post-season against Washington.
Milan Lucic: (0G, 2A) (0G, 3A)
Patrice Bergeron: (2G, 5A) (0G, 2A)
David Krejci: (1G, 0A) 1G, 2A)
Brad Marchand: (1G, 4A) (1G, 1A)
Chris Kelly: (3G, 3A) (1G, 2A)
Rich Peverly: (1G, 4A) (3G, 2A)
The only player that was better in the first round this year compared to last year was Peverly. Bergeron, Kelly & Marchand were nowhere as good as last year.
Lucic and Krecji were a little better statistically than last year but those two needed to be the best players for Boston especially with Nathan Horton out of the lineup due to a concussion. Between the both of them they had one shot on goal last night in game seven.
Because of the struggles of the Bruins forwards Boston's power play also struggled in the series. The Bruins were 2 for 23 against Washington with the man advantage. Only Chicago's power play has been worse in the playoffs.
I know last year the Bruins were able to overcome their inept power play to win the Stanley Cup but eventually it was going to catch up with them. In this series it finally did.
The other thing that hurt Boston was they weren't able to get to Braden Holtby early in the series. The 22 year old rookie was brilliant in the first two games of the series, turning away 71 of the 74 shots he faced.
Because of his performance in net Washington was able to gain a split in Boston. Not only that but Holtby's play in net gave the Capitals confidence, letting them believe they had a chance to win this series.
Where Do They Go From Here:
Despite losing in the first round things still look good for the Bruins going forward.
Boston has a little over $5 million in projected cap space going into next season and most of their core players are under contract.
Of all the forwards who are free agents (Chris Kelly, Daniel Paille, Greg Campbell) the Bruins will have to decided which of three will return.
My guess is Boston would love to re-sign Kelly but after making over a little over two million this past season he is due for a raise. For what it cost to bring back Kelly they could just re-sign Campbell and Paille and let Kelly hit the open market.
Of course one thing the Bruins could do to save cap space is trade Tim Thomas.
Now I know reading that last sentence sounds ridiculous after every thing Thomas has achieved but hear me out.
He is due to make $5 million next season in the final year of his contract. He'll be 38 at the start of next season and his no movement clause expires on July 1st.
Thomas's backup Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent who I expect the Bruins to re-sign. With their projected cap space just being over $5 million Boston has to decide if it's financially worth it to bring Thomas back for another season.
Whether Thomas returns or not next season the Bruins are still a pretty good team. They played a lot of hockey over the last two years and like every defending champion it finally caught up with them.
I expect them to rest up this summer and come into training camp next fall primed to make another Stanley Cup run.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
49-29-4 102 points 1st in Northeast Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference
What Went Wrong:
To paraphrase Barry Melrose "Boston's best players weren't their best players in this series." And that's why the Bruins are done for the spring.
Last year Boston's forwards were able to oppose their will against their opponents and wear them down en route to winning the Stanley Cup. This year that wasn't the case.
Look at the stats of their top forwards in the first round last year against Montreal compared to this post-season against Washington.
Milan Lucic: (0G, 2A) (0G, 3A)
Patrice Bergeron: (2G, 5A) (0G, 2A)
David Krejci: (1G, 0A) 1G, 2A)
Brad Marchand: (1G, 4A) (1G, 1A)
Chris Kelly: (3G, 3A) (1G, 2A)
Rich Peverly: (1G, 4A) (3G, 2A)
The only player that was better in the first round this year compared to last year was Peverly. Bergeron, Kelly & Marchand were nowhere as good as last year.
Lucic and Krecji were a little better statistically than last year but those two needed to be the best players for Boston especially with Nathan Horton out of the lineup due to a concussion. Between the both of them they had one shot on goal last night in game seven.
Because of the struggles of the Bruins forwards Boston's power play also struggled in the series. The Bruins were 2 for 23 against Washington with the man advantage. Only Chicago's power play has been worse in the playoffs.
I know last year the Bruins were able to overcome their inept power play to win the Stanley Cup but eventually it was going to catch up with them. In this series it finally did.
The other thing that hurt Boston was they weren't able to get to Braden Holtby early in the series. The 22 year old rookie was brilliant in the first two games of the series, turning away 71 of the 74 shots he faced.
Because of his performance in net Washington was able to gain a split in Boston. Not only that but Holtby's play in net gave the Capitals confidence, letting them believe they had a chance to win this series.
Where Do They Go From Here:
Despite losing in the first round things still look good for the Bruins going forward.
Boston has a little over $5 million in projected cap space going into next season and most of their core players are under contract.
Of all the forwards who are free agents (Chris Kelly, Daniel Paille, Greg Campbell) the Bruins will have to decided which of three will return.
My guess is Boston would love to re-sign Kelly but after making over a little over two million this past season he is due for a raise. For what it cost to bring back Kelly they could just re-sign Campbell and Paille and let Kelly hit the open market.
Of course one thing the Bruins could do to save cap space is trade Tim Thomas.
Now I know reading that last sentence sounds ridiculous after every thing Thomas has achieved but hear me out.
He is due to make $5 million next season in the final year of his contract. He'll be 38 at the start of next season and his no movement clause expires on July 1st.
Thomas's backup Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent who I expect the Bruins to re-sign. With their projected cap space just being over $5 million Boston has to decide if it's financially worth it to bring Thomas back for another season.
Whether Thomas returns or not next season the Bruins are still a pretty good team. They played a lot of hockey over the last two years and like every defending champion it finally caught up with them.
I expect them to rest up this summer and come into training camp next fall primed to make another Stanley Cup run.
Friday, April 27, 2012
2nd Round Predictions
The opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs are done and what an first round it was.
We saw sixteen games go into overtime, including two game sevens.
We saw the President's Trophy winner, Vancouver Canucks fall in five games to a Los Angeles Kings team that has great goaltending and know looks like they can put the puck in the net.
We saw the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins eliminated in game seven on their home ice by a Washington Capitals team that suddenly looks like it knows how to play defense.
We saw Philadelphia and Pittsburgh nearly kill each other on the ice before the Flyers advanced in six games.
We saw Western Conference powers the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks put away in five games with very little resistance by the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues respectively.
We saw the Phoenix Coyotes eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks in six games and win their first playoff series since 1987 when they were the Winnipeg Jets.
We saw the New York Rangers survive a scare from the Ottawa Senators to win their series in seven games and advance to the second round for the first time since 2008.
And we saw New Jersey and Florida battle to double overtime in game seven before Adam Henrique won it for the Devils.
Looking back at my predictions I went 3-5 in the 1st round. Not great but if you have followed the playoffs from year to year you know the opening round is a crapshoot where crazy things can happen and usually do.
I'll have my eulogies for Boston, Ottawa, and Florida later this weekend but with the second round beginning this evening I wanted to make my predictions starting with the series taking place tonight in the desert.
4. Nashville Predators vs. 3. Phoenix Coyotes
How They Got Here:
Nashville defeated Detroit in five games, Phoenix defeated Chicago in six games.
Why Nashville will win:
They have a Vezina candidate in goal in Pekka Rinne and a Norris candidate on the blueline in Shea Weber.
Rinne was solid against Detroit only giving up nine goals while facing 160 shots. His GAA is 1.81 and his save percentage is .944 which is 4th amongst active goaltenders in the playoffs.
While Weber is known more from ramming Henrik Zetterberg's head against the glass he does have two goals in the post-season and is a +2 on the ice.
As a team Nashville is a +6 on the ice, best of anyone in the playoffs. The nine goals the Predators have given up are second best in the post-season. Only St. Louis and Los Angeles have given up fewer.
Why Phoenix will win:
They have a good goaltender of their own in Mike Smith.
Smith gave up twelve goals while facing 241 shots in six games against Chicago. His GAA is the same as Rinne (1.81) and his save percentage is .950 which is better than Rinne.
Another thing that favors Phoenix is their penalty kill. The Coyotes only gave up one power play goal against Chicago. Because of that their penalty kill ranks first among playoff teams at 94.7 percent.
Their power play isn't bad either, scoring four time sin nineteen opportunities. That ranks them 3rd among active playoff teams at 21 percent.
Prediction:
I had my doubts about Smith going into the series against Chicago but he was the difference allowing the Coyotes to advance to the second round for the first time in 25 years.
However three of those wins came in overtime where just about anything can happen. I saw Rinne and the Predators make Detroit look like a team that was making their first playoff appearance in 21 years not a team that had made the post-season 21 years in a row.
Both teams shut down Detroit and Chicago who were tied for 6th in goals for this season with 248. The difference here is Nashville can also score having finished seventh in goals for with 237.
This will be a good series between two well coached teams but in the end I think the Predators are a deeper and more talented team and will make their first appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
Predators in 5.
8. Los Angeles Kings vs. 2. St. Louis Blues
How They Got Here:
Los Angeles defeated Vancouver in five games, St. Louis defeated San Jose in five games.
Why Los Angeles will win:
You can start in net with Vezina trophy candidate Jonathan Quick.
Quick came into the playoffs with the best GAA in the NHL (1.95) and a save percentage of .929. In the playoffs Quick's save percentage is .953, best of any active goaltender and his GAA is 1.59.
Simply put without Quick in net the Kings are probably done in five games instead of winning their series in five against Vancouver.
And while Los Angeles came into the post-season with the fewest goals scored amongst playoff team that stat is a little misleading.
Sixteen of those games came without Jeff Carter who the Kings acquired from Columbus. While Carter hasn't scored yet in the playoffs he does have two assists. I expect carter to find the back of the net in this series.
Another forward to keep an eye on is Kings captain Dustin Brown. Other than Quick he was the best player in the series scoring four goals and assisting on another. He'll have to continue to play that way against a stingy St. Louis Blues team.
One more thing to keep an eye on is Los Angeles's penalty kill. The Kings gave up three power play goals on 21 shots against Vancouver and scored two short-handed goals. If they can do that against the Blues they have a great chance to win this series.
Why St. Louis will win:
While they don't have a Vezina candidate in net the Blues do have two good goaltenders of their own.
Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott shared the job in net all year for St. Louis. Between the two of them the Blues goals against on the season was 1.89 which was the best in the NHL.
Elliott has seen most of the work in net since replacing Halak after he was injured in game two against San Jose. While in net Elliott has a GAA of 1.37, best of any goalie remaining in the playoffs and a save percentage of .949.
Up front St. Louis has a deep group of forwards led by Andy McDonald who has 8 points (4G, 4A) in the playoffs. With McDonald playing well I expect the production of David Perron (1G, 2A) and David Backes (1G, 0A) to improve this round.
And you can't talk about the Blues without mentioning the play of their blueline.
Both Alex Pietrangelo and Carlo Colaiacovo are +3 in the playoffs while Kris Russell is +2. Their two best defenseman, Kevin Shattenkirk (-1) and Barrett Jackman (-2) may be on the negative side of the plus/minus ratings but I expect that to change in the series.
Prediction:
If you like goaltending this is the series for you.
I picked against the Blues last round mainly because I wasn't convinced they were as good as they were in the regular season. After watching them through five games against San Jose I'm still not convinced they are that good.
St. Louis beat a Sharks team that they matched up well against. They'll have a much tougher time against a Kings team that has great goaltending and plays good defense.
Plus I think the Kings forwards are a lot better than what their stats indicate. This just feels like the type of series where Mike Richards makes his presence felt and frustrates the Blues forwards.
I like what Los Angeles did against Vancouver. I think they can do the same thing against St. Louis.
Kings in seven.
7. Washington Capitals vs. 1. New York Rangers:
How They Got Here:
Washington defeated Boston in seven games, New York defeated Ottawa in seven games.
Why Washington will win:
Because for once it's not all about Alex Ovechkin.
Not to rip on Ovechkin as he is the leading scorer for the Capitals in the playoffs (2G, 3A) but the engine that makes this Washington team go is goaltender Braden Holtby.
The 22 year old rookie was spectacular against Boston giving up only 15 goals in the series. His GAA is 2.00 and his save percentage is .940. His play in net reminds me of Felix Potvin when he played for Toronto in 1993.
Holtby has a calming presence in net and doesn't seemed to get rattled. If you can handle the Bruins for seven games there isn't much that is going to phase you.
Another reason to like Washington is they actually play defense.
For many years the Capitals would try to just outscore you. Now they are getting in the way of the shooter and are blocking shots on net. Their penalty kill is 91.3 percent, second best in the playoffs.
Why New York will win:
You can start in net with their Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist.
In the playoff Lundqvist has a GAA of 1.70 and a save percentage of .945. Most importantly like Holtby he provides a calming presence in net for the Rangers.
New York has only allowed 13 goals in the playoffs, best of any team in the Eastern Conference. While a lot of that is because of Lundqvist his defense in front of him deserves just as much credit.
During the season the Rangers gave up 187 goals. Only St. Louis and Los Angeles gave up fewer goals. A lot of that was due to the tandem of Ryan McDonogh (+25) and Michael Del Zotto (+20). I expect both players to be better in this series.
Up front Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan have provided their leadership on the ice by being the best forwards for New York. Richards leads all scorers with five points (2G, 3A) while Callahan is second with four points (2G, 2A)
Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik have also done well at forward for the Rangers. Stepan has one goal and three assist while Gaborik has a goal and two assists.
Prediction:
The last two times these teams have met in the playoffs Washington went on to win the series. In 2009 it took seven games while in 2011 it took five games.
While these teams are different this season compared to previous years there is one thing constant. The Capitals know how to beat Henrik Lundqvist.
I've thought all year the Rangers were one wing short of being a legit Stanley Cup contender. Their forwards will have to be at their best to beat Holtby.
Meanwhile on the other end I know the Capitals forwards can beat Lundqvist. If Washington can defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions then they have a good chance to knock out the number one seed in the East.
Capitals in six.
6. New Jersey Devils vs. 5. Philadelphia Flyers
How They Got There:
New Jersey defeated Florida in seven games, Philadelphia defeated Pittsburgh in six games.
Why New Jersey will win:
They have the best goaltender of our generation in net.
Martin Brodeur may not be the same goaltender he was twelve years ago but he is in the playoffs for the 16th time in his NHL career. There isn't much that is going to phase him.
His goals against is 2.06 and his save percentage is .922 after giving up 14 goals in the series against Florida. The fact that he won back to back overtime games tells me he still has enough for one more run.
Another thing people don't realize about the Devils is they can actually score goals. In the playoffs New Jersey has scored 18 goals. Only Philadelphia (30) and Pittsburgh (26) have scored more goals.
Leading the way in scoring for the Devils is Travis Zajac. Zajac missed 67 games during the regular season but has come back strong in the playoffs scoring three goals and assisting on three others.
Zajac didn't play in any of the games this year against Philadelphia. His presence in the lineup make the Devils a stronger team up front.
Why Philadelphia will win:
Have you seen their special teams?
Against Pittsburgh the Flyers were 12 for 23 with the man advantage. That's means their power play was functioning at 52.2 percent. That's unheard of in the playoffs.
While their penalty kill did give up nine goals, Philadelphia was able to score three short-handed goals, best out of any team in the playoffs.
And when you talk about the Flyers you have to mention Claude Giroux.
Giroux leads all scorers with 14 points (6G, 8A) in the playoffs. He is a +6 on the ice and his first shift on Sunday against Sidney Crosby tells you all you need to know about Giroux as a player.
Giroux's play right now reminds me of Mike Richards in 2010 and Eric Lindros in 1997 when they willed the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Prediction:
If you watched how the Flyers had their way with Pittsburgh you would think they are a lock to play in the Eastern Conference Finals.
So why do I like New Jersey in this series? Personal bias aside there are two reasons.
1. Philly's goaltending.
For as bad as Marc Andre Fleury was against the Flyers, Ilya Bryzgalov wasn't much better. He fell behind early in games one and two against Pittsburgh and looked shaky in game three before being pulled in game four after giving up five goals.
In all fairness Bryzgalov did play well in games five and six as the Flyers went on to win the series. The problem is Bryzgalov has been streaky for most of the season.
I realize that Martin Brodeur may be 40 years old but I don't expect him to be as bad as Fleury was against Philadelphia.
2. Lou Lamariello.
At the trade deadline the Devils GM had to make a decision, trade Zach Parise and get something in return for next season or keep Parise and try to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
One thing you need to understand about Lamariello, no GM has a better pulse of what his team is capable of.
The fact that he decided to keep Parise tells me he thinks the Devils can make a cup run.
There is a saying among Devils fans, In Lou We Trust. For this series I trust as well.
Devils in six.
We saw sixteen games go into overtime, including two game sevens.
We saw the President's Trophy winner, Vancouver Canucks fall in five games to a Los Angeles Kings team that has great goaltending and know looks like they can put the puck in the net.
We saw the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins eliminated in game seven on their home ice by a Washington Capitals team that suddenly looks like it knows how to play defense.
We saw Philadelphia and Pittsburgh nearly kill each other on the ice before the Flyers advanced in six games.
We saw Western Conference powers the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks put away in five games with very little resistance by the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues respectively.
We saw the Phoenix Coyotes eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks in six games and win their first playoff series since 1987 when they were the Winnipeg Jets.
We saw the New York Rangers survive a scare from the Ottawa Senators to win their series in seven games and advance to the second round for the first time since 2008.
And we saw New Jersey and Florida battle to double overtime in game seven before Adam Henrique won it for the Devils.
Looking back at my predictions I went 3-5 in the 1st round. Not great but if you have followed the playoffs from year to year you know the opening round is a crapshoot where crazy things can happen and usually do.
I'll have my eulogies for Boston, Ottawa, and Florida later this weekend but with the second round beginning this evening I wanted to make my predictions starting with the series taking place tonight in the desert.
4. Nashville Predators vs. 3. Phoenix Coyotes
How They Got Here:
Nashville defeated Detroit in five games, Phoenix defeated Chicago in six games.
Why Nashville will win:
They have a Vezina candidate in goal in Pekka Rinne and a Norris candidate on the blueline in Shea Weber.
Rinne was solid against Detroit only giving up nine goals while facing 160 shots. His GAA is 1.81 and his save percentage is .944 which is 4th amongst active goaltenders in the playoffs.
While Weber is known more from ramming Henrik Zetterberg's head against the glass he does have two goals in the post-season and is a +2 on the ice.
As a team Nashville is a +6 on the ice, best of anyone in the playoffs. The nine goals the Predators have given up are second best in the post-season. Only St. Louis and Los Angeles have given up fewer.
Why Phoenix will win:
They have a good goaltender of their own in Mike Smith.
Smith gave up twelve goals while facing 241 shots in six games against Chicago. His GAA is the same as Rinne (1.81) and his save percentage is .950 which is better than Rinne.
Another thing that favors Phoenix is their penalty kill. The Coyotes only gave up one power play goal against Chicago. Because of that their penalty kill ranks first among playoff teams at 94.7 percent.
Their power play isn't bad either, scoring four time sin nineteen opportunities. That ranks them 3rd among active playoff teams at 21 percent.
Prediction:
I had my doubts about Smith going into the series against Chicago but he was the difference allowing the Coyotes to advance to the second round for the first time in 25 years.
However three of those wins came in overtime where just about anything can happen. I saw Rinne and the Predators make Detroit look like a team that was making their first playoff appearance in 21 years not a team that had made the post-season 21 years in a row.
Both teams shut down Detroit and Chicago who were tied for 6th in goals for this season with 248. The difference here is Nashville can also score having finished seventh in goals for with 237.
This will be a good series between two well coached teams but in the end I think the Predators are a deeper and more talented team and will make their first appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
Predators in 5.
8. Los Angeles Kings vs. 2. St. Louis Blues
How They Got Here:
Los Angeles defeated Vancouver in five games, St. Louis defeated San Jose in five games.
Why Los Angeles will win:
You can start in net with Vezina trophy candidate Jonathan Quick.
Quick came into the playoffs with the best GAA in the NHL (1.95) and a save percentage of .929. In the playoffs Quick's save percentage is .953, best of any active goaltender and his GAA is 1.59.
Simply put without Quick in net the Kings are probably done in five games instead of winning their series in five against Vancouver.
And while Los Angeles came into the post-season with the fewest goals scored amongst playoff team that stat is a little misleading.
Sixteen of those games came without Jeff Carter who the Kings acquired from Columbus. While Carter hasn't scored yet in the playoffs he does have two assists. I expect carter to find the back of the net in this series.
Another forward to keep an eye on is Kings captain Dustin Brown. Other than Quick he was the best player in the series scoring four goals and assisting on another. He'll have to continue to play that way against a stingy St. Louis Blues team.
One more thing to keep an eye on is Los Angeles's penalty kill. The Kings gave up three power play goals on 21 shots against Vancouver and scored two short-handed goals. If they can do that against the Blues they have a great chance to win this series.
Why St. Louis will win:
While they don't have a Vezina candidate in net the Blues do have two good goaltenders of their own.
Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott shared the job in net all year for St. Louis. Between the two of them the Blues goals against on the season was 1.89 which was the best in the NHL.
Elliott has seen most of the work in net since replacing Halak after he was injured in game two against San Jose. While in net Elliott has a GAA of 1.37, best of any goalie remaining in the playoffs and a save percentage of .949.
Up front St. Louis has a deep group of forwards led by Andy McDonald who has 8 points (4G, 4A) in the playoffs. With McDonald playing well I expect the production of David Perron (1G, 2A) and David Backes (1G, 0A) to improve this round.
And you can't talk about the Blues without mentioning the play of their blueline.
Both Alex Pietrangelo and Carlo Colaiacovo are +3 in the playoffs while Kris Russell is +2. Their two best defenseman, Kevin Shattenkirk (-1) and Barrett Jackman (-2) may be on the negative side of the plus/minus ratings but I expect that to change in the series.
Prediction:
If you like goaltending this is the series for you.
I picked against the Blues last round mainly because I wasn't convinced they were as good as they were in the regular season. After watching them through five games against San Jose I'm still not convinced they are that good.
St. Louis beat a Sharks team that they matched up well against. They'll have a much tougher time against a Kings team that has great goaltending and plays good defense.
Plus I think the Kings forwards are a lot better than what their stats indicate. This just feels like the type of series where Mike Richards makes his presence felt and frustrates the Blues forwards.
I like what Los Angeles did against Vancouver. I think they can do the same thing against St. Louis.
Kings in seven.
7. Washington Capitals vs. 1. New York Rangers:
How They Got Here:
Washington defeated Boston in seven games, New York defeated Ottawa in seven games.
Why Washington will win:
Because for once it's not all about Alex Ovechkin.
Not to rip on Ovechkin as he is the leading scorer for the Capitals in the playoffs (2G, 3A) but the engine that makes this Washington team go is goaltender Braden Holtby.
The 22 year old rookie was spectacular against Boston giving up only 15 goals in the series. His GAA is 2.00 and his save percentage is .940. His play in net reminds me of Felix Potvin when he played for Toronto in 1993.
Holtby has a calming presence in net and doesn't seemed to get rattled. If you can handle the Bruins for seven games there isn't much that is going to phase you.
Another reason to like Washington is they actually play defense.
For many years the Capitals would try to just outscore you. Now they are getting in the way of the shooter and are blocking shots on net. Their penalty kill is 91.3 percent, second best in the playoffs.
Why New York will win:
You can start in net with their Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist.
In the playoff Lundqvist has a GAA of 1.70 and a save percentage of .945. Most importantly like Holtby he provides a calming presence in net for the Rangers.
New York has only allowed 13 goals in the playoffs, best of any team in the Eastern Conference. While a lot of that is because of Lundqvist his defense in front of him deserves just as much credit.
During the season the Rangers gave up 187 goals. Only St. Louis and Los Angeles gave up fewer goals. A lot of that was due to the tandem of Ryan McDonogh (+25) and Michael Del Zotto (+20). I expect both players to be better in this series.
Up front Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan have provided their leadership on the ice by being the best forwards for New York. Richards leads all scorers with five points (2G, 3A) while Callahan is second with four points (2G, 2A)
Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik have also done well at forward for the Rangers. Stepan has one goal and three assist while Gaborik has a goal and two assists.
Prediction:
The last two times these teams have met in the playoffs Washington went on to win the series. In 2009 it took seven games while in 2011 it took five games.
While these teams are different this season compared to previous years there is one thing constant. The Capitals know how to beat Henrik Lundqvist.
I've thought all year the Rangers were one wing short of being a legit Stanley Cup contender. Their forwards will have to be at their best to beat Holtby.
Meanwhile on the other end I know the Capitals forwards can beat Lundqvist. If Washington can defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions then they have a good chance to knock out the number one seed in the East.
Capitals in six.
6. New Jersey Devils vs. 5. Philadelphia Flyers
How They Got There:
New Jersey defeated Florida in seven games, Philadelphia defeated Pittsburgh in six games.
Why New Jersey will win:
They have the best goaltender of our generation in net.
Martin Brodeur may not be the same goaltender he was twelve years ago but he is in the playoffs for the 16th time in his NHL career. There isn't much that is going to phase him.
His goals against is 2.06 and his save percentage is .922 after giving up 14 goals in the series against Florida. The fact that he won back to back overtime games tells me he still has enough for one more run.
Another thing people don't realize about the Devils is they can actually score goals. In the playoffs New Jersey has scored 18 goals. Only Philadelphia (30) and Pittsburgh (26) have scored more goals.
Leading the way in scoring for the Devils is Travis Zajac. Zajac missed 67 games during the regular season but has come back strong in the playoffs scoring three goals and assisting on three others.
Zajac didn't play in any of the games this year against Philadelphia. His presence in the lineup make the Devils a stronger team up front.
Why Philadelphia will win:
Have you seen their special teams?
Against Pittsburgh the Flyers were 12 for 23 with the man advantage. That's means their power play was functioning at 52.2 percent. That's unheard of in the playoffs.
While their penalty kill did give up nine goals, Philadelphia was able to score three short-handed goals, best out of any team in the playoffs.
And when you talk about the Flyers you have to mention Claude Giroux.
Giroux leads all scorers with 14 points (6G, 8A) in the playoffs. He is a +6 on the ice and his first shift on Sunday against Sidney Crosby tells you all you need to know about Giroux as a player.
Giroux's play right now reminds me of Mike Richards in 2010 and Eric Lindros in 1997 when they willed the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Prediction:
If you watched how the Flyers had their way with Pittsburgh you would think they are a lock to play in the Eastern Conference Finals.
So why do I like New Jersey in this series? Personal bias aside there are two reasons.
1. Philly's goaltending.
For as bad as Marc Andre Fleury was against the Flyers, Ilya Bryzgalov wasn't much better. He fell behind early in games one and two against Pittsburgh and looked shaky in game three before being pulled in game four after giving up five goals.
In all fairness Bryzgalov did play well in games five and six as the Flyers went on to win the series. The problem is Bryzgalov has been streaky for most of the season.
I realize that Martin Brodeur may be 40 years old but I don't expect him to be as bad as Fleury was against Philadelphia.
2. Lou Lamariello.
At the trade deadline the Devils GM had to make a decision, trade Zach Parise and get something in return for next season or keep Parise and try to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
One thing you need to understand about Lamariello, no GM has a better pulse of what his team is capable of.
The fact that he decided to keep Parise tells me he thinks the Devils can make a cup run.
There is a saying among Devils fans, In Lou We Trust. For this series I trust as well.
Devils in six.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Thanks For Playing: Chicago Blackhawks
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
45-26-11 101 points 4th in Central Division, 6th in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
Quite simply Chicago couldn't find a way to finish.
The first five games of the series went to overtime with the Coyotes winning games one, three and four with the latter of the two being in Chicago. The Blackhawks meanwhile were able to win games two and five in Phoenix.
This series was so close that it could have easily been won by Chicago if a couple of bounces had gone their way in overtime.
Instead they found themselves down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination going into game six.
And in game six the worst fear by Blackhawk fans were realized, they couldn't beat Mike Smith.
Smith had played brilliantly down the stretch solidifying the position in goal and leading the Coyotes to their first division title. Last night he faced 39 shots and turned them all away.
How good was Smith in game six? Phoenix was getting out shot 28-8 after two periods and yet because of Smith's play in net the Coyotes had a 1-0 lead.
While Smith played good we must acknowledge the fact that the best players for Chicago failed to make an impact.
Jonathan Toews tied for the team lead in playoff goals with two. Patrick Sharp only had one goal in the series while Patrick Kane was not able to find the back of the net.
It's hard to win a series when three of your top four goal scorers during the regular season combine for only three goals during the series.
One thing that I think was a factor for the Blackhawks was the loss of Marian Hossa after the hit he suffered at the hands of Raffi Torres.
Hossa had no points in the series going into game three. I can't help but think that with a healthy Hossa Chicago gains at least a split at the United Center and probably ends up winning this series.
Instead with Hossa out of the lineup the Blackhawks were unable to fill his void in the lineup and are done in six games.
Where Do They Go From Here:
Last year Chicago clinched the final playoff berth on the last day of the season after turning over much of their roster due to salary cap issues.
This summer they go into free agency with nearly $7 million in projected cap space.
One thing I think the Blackhawks will do is try to add some depth at center.
Jonathan Toews missed the final 23 games of the season due to a concussion which left Chicago very thin at center. They have some young players in their system at center but I'm thinking the Blackhawks would like to add a veteran so they won't have to rely on Marcus Kruger or Andrew Shaw to carry the load should anything happen to Toews or Dave Bolland.
If Chicago does add a center I don't think any of their remaining free agents will return. The only one I can see them bringing back is defenseman Johhny Oduya and that is if only the price is right.
One more thing the Blackhawks need is consistent goaltending. Corey Crawford was shaky in net at times finishing with a GAA of 2.72 and a save percentage of .903. Ray Emery wasn't any better finishing with a GAA of 2.81 and a save percentage of .900.
Both goaltenders are signed through next season and Chicago is hoping one of them (Crawford) can bounce back from this past year.
This is a talented Blackhawks team that has been knocked out in the first round two years in a row. Last year they were beat by a Vancouver team that was better than them despite taking the series to a seventh game.
This year they were outworked by a Phoenix team that doesn't have as much talent as Chicago. If a first round exit happens again next year there will be massive changes in the Windy City.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
45-26-11 101 points 4th in Central Division, 6th in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
Quite simply Chicago couldn't find a way to finish.
The first five games of the series went to overtime with the Coyotes winning games one, three and four with the latter of the two being in Chicago. The Blackhawks meanwhile were able to win games two and five in Phoenix.
This series was so close that it could have easily been won by Chicago if a couple of bounces had gone their way in overtime.
Instead they found themselves down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination going into game six.
And in game six the worst fear by Blackhawk fans were realized, they couldn't beat Mike Smith.
Smith had played brilliantly down the stretch solidifying the position in goal and leading the Coyotes to their first division title. Last night he faced 39 shots and turned them all away.
How good was Smith in game six? Phoenix was getting out shot 28-8 after two periods and yet because of Smith's play in net the Coyotes had a 1-0 lead.
While Smith played good we must acknowledge the fact that the best players for Chicago failed to make an impact.
Jonathan Toews tied for the team lead in playoff goals with two. Patrick Sharp only had one goal in the series while Patrick Kane was not able to find the back of the net.
It's hard to win a series when three of your top four goal scorers during the regular season combine for only three goals during the series.
One thing that I think was a factor for the Blackhawks was the loss of Marian Hossa after the hit he suffered at the hands of Raffi Torres.
Hossa had no points in the series going into game three. I can't help but think that with a healthy Hossa Chicago gains at least a split at the United Center and probably ends up winning this series.
Instead with Hossa out of the lineup the Blackhawks were unable to fill his void in the lineup and are done in six games.
Where Do They Go From Here:
Last year Chicago clinched the final playoff berth on the last day of the season after turning over much of their roster due to salary cap issues.
This summer they go into free agency with nearly $7 million in projected cap space.
One thing I think the Blackhawks will do is try to add some depth at center.
Jonathan Toews missed the final 23 games of the season due to a concussion which left Chicago very thin at center. They have some young players in their system at center but I'm thinking the Blackhawks would like to add a veteran so they won't have to rely on Marcus Kruger or Andrew Shaw to carry the load should anything happen to Toews or Dave Bolland.
If Chicago does add a center I don't think any of their remaining free agents will return. The only one I can see them bringing back is defenseman Johhny Oduya and that is if only the price is right.
One more thing the Blackhawks need is consistent goaltending. Corey Crawford was shaky in net at times finishing with a GAA of 2.72 and a save percentage of .903. Ray Emery wasn't any better finishing with a GAA of 2.81 and a save percentage of .900.
Both goaltenders are signed through next season and Chicago is hoping one of them (Crawford) can bounce back from this past year.
This is a talented Blackhawks team that has been knocked out in the first round two years in a row. Last year they were beat by a Vancouver team that was better than them despite taking the series to a seventh game.
This year they were outworked by a Phoenix team that doesn't have as much talent as Chicago. If a first round exit happens again next year there will be massive changes in the Windy City.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Thanks For Playing: Vancouver Canucks
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
51-22-9 111 points 1st in Northwest Division 1st in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The Vancouver Canucks ended up getting the worst match up they could have had in the 1st round, playing a Los Angeles Kings team coached by Darryl Sutter.
I didn't give Sutter much credit going into this series mainly because of how his tenure ended in Calgary. What I forgot was during his time in Calgary, Sutter faced the Canucks on numerous occasions.
Sutter knew Vancouver's strengths and weaknesses and he knew how to coach against them. He finally had a talented roster that could do to the Canucks what he couldn't accomplish with the Flames.
The other problem for Vancouver is they couldn't score against Jonathan Quick who allowed eight goals while facing 172 shots.
I know three of those games came without Daniel Sedin but this is a deep and talented Canucks roster. Somebody should have been able to step up and fill that void with Sedin out of the lineup.
The other thing that did in Vancouver was special teams. The Canucks gave up two power play goals against the Kings in game one. In game two they not only gave up a power play goal but two shorthanded ones as well.
Because of that Vancouver found themselves down two games with the series going to Los Angeles. Once the Kings won game three 1-0 it proved to be too big of a hole for the Canucks to dig themselves out of.
Where Do They Go From Here:
When asking this question you have to start in net with Roberto Luongo.
Luongo started the first two games of the series only to be replaced by Cory Schneider in net in game three.
What needs to be mentioned is Luongo actually played well in the first two games, it was the defense in front of him that failed Vancouver.
That leaves the Canucks with an interesting dilemma going into the off-season.
Luongo is set to make $5.3 million over the next ten years and he has a no trade clause. Schneider meanwhile is set to become a restricted free agent.
Vancouver has just over $9 million in projected cap space for next season. If they stay with Luongo some team is going to make an offer to Schneider that the Canucks can't afford to match.
If Vancouver decides to go with Schneider they then have to first convince Luongo to accept a trade and then find a team that is willing to take on his contract.
My guess is Luongo stays and Schneider is playing elsewhere next year.
The good news for Vancouver is their core players are locked up through next season. The only free agents on the roster are role players that they should be able to bring back for a decent salary if they choose to.
I know a lot of Canuck fans are going to want massive changes on the roster and maybe even a change at head coach. I don't see that happening.
They are still the best team in the Northwest Division by a wide margin. That alone will get them a top three seed in the Western Conference.
I think this brief playoff appearance was an aberration. I still like them to win the Northwest next season and I expect them to come back and have a strong playoff run.
And if they are playing for the Stanley Cup next year, it wouldn't surprise me.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
51-22-9 111 points 1st in Northwest Division 1st in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The Vancouver Canucks ended up getting the worst match up they could have had in the 1st round, playing a Los Angeles Kings team coached by Darryl Sutter.
I didn't give Sutter much credit going into this series mainly because of how his tenure ended in Calgary. What I forgot was during his time in Calgary, Sutter faced the Canucks on numerous occasions.
Sutter knew Vancouver's strengths and weaknesses and he knew how to coach against them. He finally had a talented roster that could do to the Canucks what he couldn't accomplish with the Flames.
The other problem for Vancouver is they couldn't score against Jonathan Quick who allowed eight goals while facing 172 shots.
I know three of those games came without Daniel Sedin but this is a deep and talented Canucks roster. Somebody should have been able to step up and fill that void with Sedin out of the lineup.
The other thing that did in Vancouver was special teams. The Canucks gave up two power play goals against the Kings in game one. In game two they not only gave up a power play goal but two shorthanded ones as well.
Because of that Vancouver found themselves down two games with the series going to Los Angeles. Once the Kings won game three 1-0 it proved to be too big of a hole for the Canucks to dig themselves out of.
Where Do They Go From Here:
When asking this question you have to start in net with Roberto Luongo.
Luongo started the first two games of the series only to be replaced by Cory Schneider in net in game three.
What needs to be mentioned is Luongo actually played well in the first two games, it was the defense in front of him that failed Vancouver.
That leaves the Canucks with an interesting dilemma going into the off-season.
Luongo is set to make $5.3 million over the next ten years and he has a no trade clause. Schneider meanwhile is set to become a restricted free agent.
Vancouver has just over $9 million in projected cap space for next season. If they stay with Luongo some team is going to make an offer to Schneider that the Canucks can't afford to match.
If Vancouver decides to go with Schneider they then have to first convince Luongo to accept a trade and then find a team that is willing to take on his contract.
My guess is Luongo stays and Schneider is playing elsewhere next year.
The good news for Vancouver is their core players are locked up through next season. The only free agents on the roster are role players that they should be able to bring back for a decent salary if they choose to.
I know a lot of Canuck fans are going to want massive changes on the roster and maybe even a change at head coach. I don't see that happening.
They are still the best team in the Northwest Division by a wide margin. That alone will get them a top three seed in the Western Conference.
I think this brief playoff appearance was an aberration. I still like them to win the Northwest next season and I expect them to come back and have a strong playoff run.
And if they are playing for the Stanley Cup next year, it wouldn't surprise me.
Thanks For Playing: Pittsburgh Penguins
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
51-25-6 108 points 2nd in Atlantic Division 4th in Eastern Conference.
What Went Wrong:
Where do I start? I guess game one is as good a place as any as Pittsburgh blew a three goal lead and ended up losing in overtime 4-3. From that point on they trailed in the series and were never able to recover.
Game two repeated the same format as the Penguins raced out to an early two goal lead before Philadelphia came back to tie the game, eventually winning it in the 3rd period by scoring four goals.
That left Pittsburgh down two games to none and frustrated as the series moved back to Philly. Those frustrations carried over as the Penguins lost composure in a penalty marred game three which the Flyers ended up winning 8-4.
Pittsburgh did come back to win games four and five before Philadelphia closed out the series yesterday with a 5-1 win.
The biggest reason for the failure of the Penguins was their play on special teams. In six games they gave up twelve power play goals. That's almost unheard of by a team with as much talent as Pittsburgh.
To make matters worst they also gave up three shorthanded goals in the series. If you are counting at home that is fifteen special teams goals given up by the Penguins. It's almost impossible to beat any team when you do that.
Another thing that hurt Pittsburgh was they drew the one team in the NHL that was not going to be intimidated by their talent.
Philadelphia played them six times during the season going 4-2 with two of those victories having overcome a two goal deficit. When Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead in games one and two the Flyers didn't panic.
Peter Laviolette used his timeout to calm his team down. It worked as they were able to rally and take games one and two in Pittsburgh never looking back in the series.
Where Do They Go From Here:
I think the first question every Penguins fan has to ask is "What is the deal with Marc-Andre Fleury?"
Is this the goaltender that played brilliantly in 2009, leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup or is he the goaltender who looked shaky, giving up soft goals that hurt Pittsburgh in the series?
Fleury finished the playoffs with a GAA of 4.63 and a save percentage of .834, worst of any starting goaltender in the post-season.
It's a fair question as in the last three years since winning the Stanley Cup Fleury and the Penguins have lost in the 2nd round to Montreal and back to back 1st round exits against Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.
That's not an aberration, that's a trend.
Pittsburgh is committed to Fleury for three more years. He is due to make $5 million per season and has a limited no trade clause where he can designate a list of teams he will accept a trade to.
Needless to say I don't think Fleury is going anywhere.
If that is the case then the Penguins need to take a look at their blueline and see if there is a way to improve that. The only problem with that plan is three of their top four defenseman (Brooks Orpik, Paul Martin, Zybnek Michalek) all have limited no trade clauses. Any deal would require their approval.
The other issue for Pittsburgh is they have about $4.7 million in projected cap space for next year. That should be enough to replace some the depth players on your roster but it doesn't give you a lot of room to maneuver.
One thing they could do is trade Jordan Staal as he is set to become a free agent after next season. With him and Crosby due to hit free agency I have my doubts that Pittsburgh can re-sign both.
The only issue I have with that is Staal was your best player against Philadelphia. Plus Crosby and Malkin have missed time over the last few seasons with injuries.
That reason alone makes Staal a very valuable part of the roster. You could get a good package of players for him but I'm not sure the Penguins would be better if they dealt him.
Looking at this roster I'm not sure Pittsburgh needs to make any big changes. This is still a deep and talented team. What they need to do is build up Fleury's confidence and stay healthy.
This season may have ended in disappointment but there is no reason they shouldn't be in the mix next year.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
51-25-6 108 points 2nd in Atlantic Division 4th in Eastern Conference.
What Went Wrong:
Where do I start? I guess game one is as good a place as any as Pittsburgh blew a three goal lead and ended up losing in overtime 4-3. From that point on they trailed in the series and were never able to recover.
Game two repeated the same format as the Penguins raced out to an early two goal lead before Philadelphia came back to tie the game, eventually winning it in the 3rd period by scoring four goals.
That left Pittsburgh down two games to none and frustrated as the series moved back to Philly. Those frustrations carried over as the Penguins lost composure in a penalty marred game three which the Flyers ended up winning 8-4.
Pittsburgh did come back to win games four and five before Philadelphia closed out the series yesterday with a 5-1 win.
The biggest reason for the failure of the Penguins was their play on special teams. In six games they gave up twelve power play goals. That's almost unheard of by a team with as much talent as Pittsburgh.
To make matters worst they also gave up three shorthanded goals in the series. If you are counting at home that is fifteen special teams goals given up by the Penguins. It's almost impossible to beat any team when you do that.
Another thing that hurt Pittsburgh was they drew the one team in the NHL that was not going to be intimidated by their talent.
Philadelphia played them six times during the season going 4-2 with two of those victories having overcome a two goal deficit. When Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead in games one and two the Flyers didn't panic.
Peter Laviolette used his timeout to calm his team down. It worked as they were able to rally and take games one and two in Pittsburgh never looking back in the series.
Where Do They Go From Here:
I think the first question every Penguins fan has to ask is "What is the deal with Marc-Andre Fleury?"
Is this the goaltender that played brilliantly in 2009, leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup or is he the goaltender who looked shaky, giving up soft goals that hurt Pittsburgh in the series?
Fleury finished the playoffs with a GAA of 4.63 and a save percentage of .834, worst of any starting goaltender in the post-season.
It's a fair question as in the last three years since winning the Stanley Cup Fleury and the Penguins have lost in the 2nd round to Montreal and back to back 1st round exits against Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.
That's not an aberration, that's a trend.
Pittsburgh is committed to Fleury for three more years. He is due to make $5 million per season and has a limited no trade clause where he can designate a list of teams he will accept a trade to.
Needless to say I don't think Fleury is going anywhere.
If that is the case then the Penguins need to take a look at their blueline and see if there is a way to improve that. The only problem with that plan is three of their top four defenseman (Brooks Orpik, Paul Martin, Zybnek Michalek) all have limited no trade clauses. Any deal would require their approval.
The other issue for Pittsburgh is they have about $4.7 million in projected cap space for next year. That should be enough to replace some the depth players on your roster but it doesn't give you a lot of room to maneuver.
One thing they could do is trade Jordan Staal as he is set to become a free agent after next season. With him and Crosby due to hit free agency I have my doubts that Pittsburgh can re-sign both.
The only issue I have with that is Staal was your best player against Philadelphia. Plus Crosby and Malkin have missed time over the last few seasons with injuries.
That reason alone makes Staal a very valuable part of the roster. You could get a good package of players for him but I'm not sure the Penguins would be better if they dealt him.
Looking at this roster I'm not sure Pittsburgh needs to make any big changes. This is still a deep and talented team. What they need to do is build up Fleury's confidence and stay healthy.
This season may have ended in disappointment but there is no reason they shouldn't be in the mix next year.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thanks for Playing: San Jose Sharks
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
43-29-10 96 points 2nd in Pacific Division, 7th in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The best players in the regular season failed to show up in the playoffs.
The Sharks had three players (Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski) reach the 30 goal mark during the season. Of those three only Couture scored a goal during the series against St. Louis.
Joe Thornton and Martin Havlat each scored two goals in the series. The combined total by those two players matches the total goals scored by the rest of the Sharks in the series.
Special teams also failed San Jose as they gave up six power play goals to the Blues. Meanwhile the Sharks could never get their power play going, only scoring two times on seventeen chances.
It's hard to beat a team like St. Louis if you can't score goals.
Where Do They Go From There:
Last summer GM Doug Wilson traded for Brent Burns and Martin Havlat in separate deals hoping those two moves would be enough to push San Jose over the top after being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals two years in a row.
That didn't happen as the Sharks regressed finishing 7th in the West. For a team that has a projected cap space of $8 million there isn't much they can do in free agency.
The two players who are mostly linked to the playoff failures of San Jose, Thornton and Marleau have no movement clauses. Unless either one demands a trade both should return to the Silicon Valley next season.
The best hope for San Jose is that Havlat can stay healthy next season after playing in only 39 games this past season. As for free agents, I see them bringing back forwards Daniel Winnik, Brad Winchester, and Torrey Mitchell.
When looking at the Sharks roster I think this year was an aberration. San Jose missed the goal scoring ability of Dany Heatley and Devon Setoguchi. A healthy Havlat fixes part of that problem.
My guess is Doug Wilson will bring back most of this roster for another run at the cup. If it's a bad October then I expect the changes to come.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
43-29-10 96 points 2nd in Pacific Division, 7th in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
The best players in the regular season failed to show up in the playoffs.
The Sharks had three players (Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski) reach the 30 goal mark during the season. Of those three only Couture scored a goal during the series against St. Louis.
Joe Thornton and Martin Havlat each scored two goals in the series. The combined total by those two players matches the total goals scored by the rest of the Sharks in the series.
Special teams also failed San Jose as they gave up six power play goals to the Blues. Meanwhile the Sharks could never get their power play going, only scoring two times on seventeen chances.
It's hard to beat a team like St. Louis if you can't score goals.
Where Do They Go From There:
Last summer GM Doug Wilson traded for Brent Burns and Martin Havlat in separate deals hoping those two moves would be enough to push San Jose over the top after being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals two years in a row.
That didn't happen as the Sharks regressed finishing 7th in the West. For a team that has a projected cap space of $8 million there isn't much they can do in free agency.
The two players who are mostly linked to the playoff failures of San Jose, Thornton and Marleau have no movement clauses. Unless either one demands a trade both should return to the Silicon Valley next season.
The best hope for San Jose is that Havlat can stay healthy next season after playing in only 39 games this past season. As for free agents, I see them bringing back forwards Daniel Winnik, Brad Winchester, and Torrey Mitchell.
When looking at the Sharks roster I think this year was an aberration. San Jose missed the goal scoring ability of Dany Heatley and Devon Setoguchi. A healthy Havlat fixes part of that problem.
My guess is Doug Wilson will bring back most of this roster for another run at the cup. If it's a bad October then I expect the changes to come.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Thanks For Playing: Detroit Red Wings
Each spring 16 NHL teams play for
Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while
the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
48-28-6 102 points 2nd in Central Division 5th in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
To answer that you have to go back to March 4th, 2012. That night Detroit lost at home to Chicago 2-1.
Throughout the final seventeen games of the season the Red Wings would go 5-9-3, conceding the Central Division to St. Louis and home ice in the 1st round of the playoffs.
As a result of their late season slump Detroit drew a Nashville Predators team in the 1st round that split the season series with the Red Wings 3-3 and were not intimidated by them.
The best bet for Detroit was to gain a split in Nashville in the first two games and then come home to Joe Louis Arena where they had won 31 games this year and hope home ice was friendly to them in the playoffs as it was in the regular season.
The Red Wings were able to win game two in Nashville to gain the split but were unable to do anything at home as the Predators took both games at the Joe.
In Nashville, the Predators scored first as Alex Radulov got his first goal of the series. Detroit would tie the game in the 2nd on a goal by Jiri Hudler but Nashville retook the lead 13 seconds into the 3rd period as David Legwand beat Jimmy Howard in the top corner of the net.
From that point Nashville was in complete control as they would hold to win the game 2-1 and eliminate Detroit in five games.
Where Do They Go From Here:
One reason Detroit coach Mike Babcock felt Nashville won the series was they their depth up front was better than the Red Wings depth up front especially on the 3rd and 4th lines.
The loss of Darren Helm to an injury in game one swung that matchup in favor of Nashville and Detroit from that point was never to match up with Nashville's depth at forward.
With their projected cap space going into next season being around $20 million this problem will be addressed.
Detroit has five unrestricted free agents, the biggest name being Nicklas Lidstrom.
Lidstrom turns 42 later this month and there was a lot of speculation that he may retire after this post-season. My gut feeling tells me he will return for another year as he still can play at a high level.
The other free agents for the Red Wings are Forwards Tomas Holmstrom and Jiri Hudler, defenseman Brad Stuart and goaltender Ty Conklin.
I don't expect Conklin to return. Stuart sounds like he may return to the West Coast (San Jose) to be closer to his family and Holmstrom may retire.
That leaves Hudler. I think Detroit would like to re-sign him but I don't think they want to commit a lot of money to him. The reason being that two free agents that are scheduled to hit the market this summer are Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter and New Jersey forward Zach Parise.
If Stuart leaves like expected Suter would be plugged into his position on the blueline. If they sign Parise as well his presence in the top six would give Detroit the quality depth at forward that they lacked in this series.
If both do hit the open market Detroit will be contacting their agents about playing for the Red Wings next season. If either player is serious about winning a Stanley Cup they will listen and consider any offer Detroit makes.
If the Red Wings are unable to sign Suter and Parise look for former Wisconsin Badger Brendan Smith to become a regular on the blueline next season.
At forward Gustav Nyquist, and Riley Sheahan should have the opportunities to become regulars in the lineup depending on what happens with Holmstrom and Hudler.
Detroit has some good young players in their system. Their preference is to let them play a couple years at Grand Rapids before bringing them to the NHL. After the way this year ended that process may be accelerated.
How good the Red Wings are depends on whether Lidstrom returns next season. If he does Detroit are Stanley Cup contenders once again. If he doesn't then a result like this season may become the norm instead of an aberration.
This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.
How They Finished:
48-28-6 102 points 2nd in Central Division 5th in Western Conference.
What Went Wrong:
To answer that you have to go back to March 4th, 2012. That night Detroit lost at home to Chicago 2-1.
Throughout the final seventeen games of the season the Red Wings would go 5-9-3, conceding the Central Division to St. Louis and home ice in the 1st round of the playoffs.
As a result of their late season slump Detroit drew a Nashville Predators team in the 1st round that split the season series with the Red Wings 3-3 and were not intimidated by them.
The best bet for Detroit was to gain a split in Nashville in the first two games and then come home to Joe Louis Arena where they had won 31 games this year and hope home ice was friendly to them in the playoffs as it was in the regular season.
The Red Wings were able to win game two in Nashville to gain the split but were unable to do anything at home as the Predators took both games at the Joe.
In Nashville, the Predators scored first as Alex Radulov got his first goal of the series. Detroit would tie the game in the 2nd on a goal by Jiri Hudler but Nashville retook the lead 13 seconds into the 3rd period as David Legwand beat Jimmy Howard in the top corner of the net.
From that point Nashville was in complete control as they would hold to win the game 2-1 and eliminate Detroit in five games.
Where Do They Go From Here:
One reason Detroit coach Mike Babcock felt Nashville won the series was they their depth up front was better than the Red Wings depth up front especially on the 3rd and 4th lines.
The loss of Darren Helm to an injury in game one swung that matchup in favor of Nashville and Detroit from that point was never to match up with Nashville's depth at forward.
With their projected cap space going into next season being around $20 million this problem will be addressed.
Detroit has five unrestricted free agents, the biggest name being Nicklas Lidstrom.
Lidstrom turns 42 later this month and there was a lot of speculation that he may retire after this post-season. My gut feeling tells me he will return for another year as he still can play at a high level.
The other free agents for the Red Wings are Forwards Tomas Holmstrom and Jiri Hudler, defenseman Brad Stuart and goaltender Ty Conklin.
I don't expect Conklin to return. Stuart sounds like he may return to the West Coast (San Jose) to be closer to his family and Holmstrom may retire.
That leaves Hudler. I think Detroit would like to re-sign him but I don't think they want to commit a lot of money to him. The reason being that two free agents that are scheduled to hit the market this summer are Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter and New Jersey forward Zach Parise.
If Stuart leaves like expected Suter would be plugged into his position on the blueline. If they sign Parise as well his presence in the top six would give Detroit the quality depth at forward that they lacked in this series.
If both do hit the open market Detroit will be contacting their agents about playing for the Red Wings next season. If either player is serious about winning a Stanley Cup they will listen and consider any offer Detroit makes.
If the Red Wings are unable to sign Suter and Parise look for former Wisconsin Badger Brendan Smith to become a regular on the blueline next season.
At forward Gustav Nyquist, and Riley Sheahan should have the opportunities to become regulars in the lineup depending on what happens with Holmstrom and Hudler.
Detroit has some good young players in their system. Their preference is to let them play a couple years at Grand Rapids before bringing them to the NHL. After the way this year ended that process may be accelerated.
How good the Red Wings are depends on whether Lidstrom returns next season. If he does Detroit are Stanley Cup contenders once again. If he doesn't then a result like this season may become the norm instead of an aberration.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday Playoff Roundup
The Boston Bruins are in trouble.
Granted it's not as bad for the defending Stanley Cup Champions as it is for the other five teams that are down 3-1 in their respective series but there is cause for concern if you are a Bruins fans.
Last night was the fourth game in a row where the top forwards for Boston failed to score a goal. The only one to secure a point in the series is Patrice Bergeron who had an assist in game three.
In the meantime David Krejci and Milan Lucic have been both held off the scoresheet. In fact one of the reasons for the Capitals success is the ability to get under the skin of Lucic, causing him to take a bad penalty.
It hasn't cost Boston yet but they need Lucic to keep cool on the ice and stay out of the penalty box. He is one of their best forwards. The Bruins can't afford to have him serving penalties.
While Boston's top forwards are having trouble finding the back of the net that isn't the case with Washington.
Alexander Semin has two goals in this series to lead the Capitals while Alex Ovechkin has one goal and three assists. Their other top forward, Nicklas Backstrom has returned from injury and has a goal and an assist in the series. If this continues, Washington has an excellent chance to win this series.
The other reason the Capitals have a chance to win this series is the play of Braden Holtby in net.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are famous for having the unknown goaltender come out of nowhere to make an impact and lead his team farther that people expected.
This season it looks like Holtby could be that goaltender.
Through four games Holtby has only allowed seven goals while facing 148 shots. His GAA is 1.60 and his save percentage is .953. That is the best of any goaltender who has played in all four games.
The series moves back to Boston this weekend for game five. Right now this is anybody's series. The Bruins should still be considered the favorite to win this series but their top forwards need to start scoring.
I think whoever wins game five will end up winning the series.
Working Overtime:
Last night at United Center Chicago and Phoenix went to overtime for the fourth game in a row.
It was the first time since the 1951 Stanley Cup finals when the first four games of the series would go into overtime.
And for the third time in the series the Coyotes found a way to come out on top in the extra session as Mikkel Boedker scored the game winner for the second time in a row.
Boedker got control of the puck as Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy was trying to chip it back into the offensive zone. Boedker was then able to race down the ice and get a shot on goaltender Corey Crawford and slip it past him to secure the victory for Phoenix.
With the victory the Coyotes are now one win away from their first playoff series win since 1987 when they were the original Winnipeg Jets.
If it is any consolation to Blackhawk fans, three times since the Coyotes moved to the desert have they had a chance to close out a series on home ice (1997, 1999, 2010) and all three times they have failed.
With all four games having gone to overtime in my mind the series is still up for grabs. Chicago may be down but in no way are they out of this yet.
Sharks on the brink of elimination:
I can't say the same for the San Jose Sharks however.
Since surprising St. Louis by winning game one in double overtime the Sharks have not been able to do much else against the Blues.
Brian Elliott has done a great job in net since Jaroslav Halak was run over in game two, winning all three games and turning away 71 of the 75 shots he has faced.
The other reason this series is one game away from ending is special teams.
The Blues have scored six power play goals in sixteen opportunities. Only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have scored more power play goals. On the penalty kill, St. Louis has only given up two goals in fifteen chances.
With the Blues winning the battle on special teams it feels like it's just a matter of time before this series ends and st. Louis moves on to the second round.
Martin Brodeur:
I haven't been able to watch as much of the Florida/New Jersey series as I would have liked but from what I have seen whoever wins this series will depend on one thing.
The play of Martin Brodeur.
Now I realize that seems like an obvious thing to write but if you think about it you don't know which Brodeur you are going to get.
You could have the one in net that led the Devils to four Stanley Cup Finals, winning three of them in an eight year span.
Or you could get the Brodeur who has played subpar and been knocked out of the playoffs in the 1st round six times in his career.
We saw that Brodeur in game three against Florida as he was pulled in the 2nd period after giving up three goals on twelve shots.
The Brodeur we saw in game four is similar to the one that was dominant during the years the Devils played for the Stanley Cup, turning away all 26 shots en route to a 4-0 win for New Jersey.
The series is now tied 2-2 and as goes Marty Brodeur go the New Jersey Devils.
Granted it's not as bad for the defending Stanley Cup Champions as it is for the other five teams that are down 3-1 in their respective series but there is cause for concern if you are a Bruins fans.
Last night was the fourth game in a row where the top forwards for Boston failed to score a goal. The only one to secure a point in the series is Patrice Bergeron who had an assist in game three.
In the meantime David Krejci and Milan Lucic have been both held off the scoresheet. In fact one of the reasons for the Capitals success is the ability to get under the skin of Lucic, causing him to take a bad penalty.
It hasn't cost Boston yet but they need Lucic to keep cool on the ice and stay out of the penalty box. He is one of their best forwards. The Bruins can't afford to have him serving penalties.
While Boston's top forwards are having trouble finding the back of the net that isn't the case with Washington.
Alexander Semin has two goals in this series to lead the Capitals while Alex Ovechkin has one goal and three assists. Their other top forward, Nicklas Backstrom has returned from injury and has a goal and an assist in the series. If this continues, Washington has an excellent chance to win this series.
The other reason the Capitals have a chance to win this series is the play of Braden Holtby in net.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are famous for having the unknown goaltender come out of nowhere to make an impact and lead his team farther that people expected.
This season it looks like Holtby could be that goaltender.
Through four games Holtby has only allowed seven goals while facing 148 shots. His GAA is 1.60 and his save percentage is .953. That is the best of any goaltender who has played in all four games.
The series moves back to Boston this weekend for game five. Right now this is anybody's series. The Bruins should still be considered the favorite to win this series but their top forwards need to start scoring.
I think whoever wins game five will end up winning the series.
Working Overtime:
Last night at United Center Chicago and Phoenix went to overtime for the fourth game in a row.
It was the first time since the 1951 Stanley Cup finals when the first four games of the series would go into overtime.
And for the third time in the series the Coyotes found a way to come out on top in the extra session as Mikkel Boedker scored the game winner for the second time in a row.
Boedker got control of the puck as Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy was trying to chip it back into the offensive zone. Boedker was then able to race down the ice and get a shot on goaltender Corey Crawford and slip it past him to secure the victory for Phoenix.
With the victory the Coyotes are now one win away from their first playoff series win since 1987 when they were the original Winnipeg Jets.
If it is any consolation to Blackhawk fans, three times since the Coyotes moved to the desert have they had a chance to close out a series on home ice (1997, 1999, 2010) and all three times they have failed.
With all four games having gone to overtime in my mind the series is still up for grabs. Chicago may be down but in no way are they out of this yet.
Sharks on the brink of elimination:
I can't say the same for the San Jose Sharks however.
Since surprising St. Louis by winning game one in double overtime the Sharks have not been able to do much else against the Blues.
Brian Elliott has done a great job in net since Jaroslav Halak was run over in game two, winning all three games and turning away 71 of the 75 shots he has faced.
The other reason this series is one game away from ending is special teams.
The Blues have scored six power play goals in sixteen opportunities. Only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have scored more power play goals. On the penalty kill, St. Louis has only given up two goals in fifteen chances.
With the Blues winning the battle on special teams it feels like it's just a matter of time before this series ends and st. Louis moves on to the second round.
Martin Brodeur:
I haven't been able to watch as much of the Florida/New Jersey series as I would have liked but from what I have seen whoever wins this series will depend on one thing.
The play of Martin Brodeur.
Now I realize that seems like an obvious thing to write but if you think about it you don't know which Brodeur you are going to get.
You could have the one in net that led the Devils to four Stanley Cup Finals, winning three of them in an eight year span.
Or you could get the Brodeur who has played subpar and been knocked out of the playoffs in the 1st round six times in his career.
We saw that Brodeur in game three against Florida as he was pulled in the 2nd period after giving up three goals on twelve shots.
The Brodeur we saw in game four is similar to the one that was dominant during the years the Devils played for the Stanley Cup, turning away all 26 shots en route to a 4-0 win for New Jersey.
The series is now tied 2-2 and as goes Marty Brodeur go the New Jersey Devils.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Staying Alive
Going into last night's game 4's both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks were down 3-0 in their series and facing not only elimination but the embarrassment of getting swept.
Usually when being down 3-0 in a series one of two things happen. The team goes through the motions, mailing it in for the season or personal pride sets in and you play your heart out hoping to force at least one more game.
Last night both the Penguins and Canucks were successful in doing the latter.
In Philadelphia both the Flyers and Pittsburgh traded goals in the 1st period. That ended after Philadelphia took a 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh would score eight unanswered goals en route to a 10-3 win.
What worked for the Penguins last night was that for the first time in this series their best players were their best players.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assist while Evgeni Malkin scored his first two goals of the post-season. Leading all goal scores for Pittsburgh last night was Jordan Staal who recorded a hat trick.
Most importantly for the Penguins is that Marc Andre Fleury played a decent game in goal.
It didn't start out that way as he gave up a couple shaky goals in the first period but with his teammates being able to match the Flyers goal for goal Fleury was able to settle down and give his team a chance to win.
That's more than I can say about the combination of Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky in net for Philadelphia. I say combination because both got to play last night and both had a night they would like to forget.
Bryzgalov gave up five goals while facing eighteen shots before being pulled early in the 2nd period. Bobrovsky didn't fare any better also giving up five goals on eighteen shots.
So what does this mean in the series? It depends on which team you are rooting for.
If you are a Flyers fan you are telling yourself it's only one game. Your team has played well in the series until game four and you are going back to Pittsburgh where you have played well all season.
Your goaltender does concern you a little but no more so that it has the entire season. You have three more chances to close out the series. History tells you you should be able to do so.
If you are a Penguins fan you are telling yourself momentum is finally on your side. Your best players showed up on the score sheet last night and had a breakout game.
Fleury played his best game of the whole series and you are getting two of your key players, James Neal and Craig Adams back in the lineup for the next game.
Philadelphia still has the edge but if Pittsburgh wins game five then doubt starts to creep in and the pressure goes strictly on the Flyers to end the series in Philadelphia.
After watching their goaltending last night I don't think many Flyers fans are comfortable with that scenario.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the Vancouver Canucks were able to force a game five of their own, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 3-1.
It didn't start well for Vancouver as Los Angeles struck first when Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings in the 1st period.
The Canucks would get on the board in the 2nd period when Alexander Edler scored a power play goal. Vancouver would take their first lead of the game nearly five minutes later on a Kevin Bieksa slapshot.
An insurance goal in the 3rd period by Henrik Sedin would give Vancouver the 3-1 win and force a game five Sunday in British Columbia.
The two storylines to take away from this game is the return of Daniel Sedin and the play in net of Cory Schneider.
Sedin made his return to the lineup after missing the last 12 games due to a concussion after taking an elbow to the head from Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith.
In his return to the lineup Sedin played 19:33 and added an assist on the third Vancouver goal. He finished the night on the ice +1.
As for Schneider he was solid in net once again turning away 43 of the 44 shots he faced. More importantly it was the second game in a row where he has given up only one goal.
So now we go back to Vancouver for game five and like Pittsburgh the Canucks have a little momentum on their side.
Schneider has been just as good in net as Jonathan Quick has for Los Angeles. Even though it isn't Roberto Luongo's fault Vancouver lost the first two games at home I don't think we'll see him again in this series.
The bigger news is the return of Daniel Sedin to the lineup. Teams have had trouble scoring on Quick the entire season. Having Sedin back in the lineup can only help Vancouver.
There is still a lot of work for Pittsburgh and Vancouver to do and odds are against them in winning this series but for one night they gave their fans bases hope.
That's all you can ask for at this point.
Usually when being down 3-0 in a series one of two things happen. The team goes through the motions, mailing it in for the season or personal pride sets in and you play your heart out hoping to force at least one more game.
Last night both the Penguins and Canucks were successful in doing the latter.
In Philadelphia both the Flyers and Pittsburgh traded goals in the 1st period. That ended after Philadelphia took a 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh would score eight unanswered goals en route to a 10-3 win.
What worked for the Penguins last night was that for the first time in this series their best players were their best players.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assist while Evgeni Malkin scored his first two goals of the post-season. Leading all goal scores for Pittsburgh last night was Jordan Staal who recorded a hat trick.
Most importantly for the Penguins is that Marc Andre Fleury played a decent game in goal.
It didn't start out that way as he gave up a couple shaky goals in the first period but with his teammates being able to match the Flyers goal for goal Fleury was able to settle down and give his team a chance to win.
That's more than I can say about the combination of Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky in net for Philadelphia. I say combination because both got to play last night and both had a night they would like to forget.
Bryzgalov gave up five goals while facing eighteen shots before being pulled early in the 2nd period. Bobrovsky didn't fare any better also giving up five goals on eighteen shots.
So what does this mean in the series? It depends on which team you are rooting for.
If you are a Flyers fan you are telling yourself it's only one game. Your team has played well in the series until game four and you are going back to Pittsburgh where you have played well all season.
Your goaltender does concern you a little but no more so that it has the entire season. You have three more chances to close out the series. History tells you you should be able to do so.
If you are a Penguins fan you are telling yourself momentum is finally on your side. Your best players showed up on the score sheet last night and had a breakout game.
Fleury played his best game of the whole series and you are getting two of your key players, James Neal and Craig Adams back in the lineup for the next game.
Philadelphia still has the edge but if Pittsburgh wins game five then doubt starts to creep in and the pressure goes strictly on the Flyers to end the series in Philadelphia.
After watching their goaltending last night I don't think many Flyers fans are comfortable with that scenario.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the Vancouver Canucks were able to force a game five of their own, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 3-1.
It didn't start well for Vancouver as Los Angeles struck first when Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings in the 1st period.
The Canucks would get on the board in the 2nd period when Alexander Edler scored a power play goal. Vancouver would take their first lead of the game nearly five minutes later on a Kevin Bieksa slapshot.
An insurance goal in the 3rd period by Henrik Sedin would give Vancouver the 3-1 win and force a game five Sunday in British Columbia.
The two storylines to take away from this game is the return of Daniel Sedin and the play in net of Cory Schneider.
Sedin made his return to the lineup after missing the last 12 games due to a concussion after taking an elbow to the head from Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith.
In his return to the lineup Sedin played 19:33 and added an assist on the third Vancouver goal. He finished the night on the ice +1.
As for Schneider he was solid in net once again turning away 43 of the 44 shots he faced. More importantly it was the second game in a row where he has given up only one goal.
So now we go back to Vancouver for game five and like Pittsburgh the Canucks have a little momentum on their side.
Schneider has been just as good in net as Jonathan Quick has for Los Angeles. Even though it isn't Roberto Luongo's fault Vancouver lost the first two games at home I don't think we'll see him again in this series.
The bigger news is the return of Daniel Sedin to the lineup. Teams have had trouble scoring on Quick the entire season. Having Sedin back in the lineup can only help Vancouver.
There is still a lot of work for Pittsburgh and Vancouver to do and odds are against them in winning this series but for one night they gave their fans bases hope.
That's all you can ask for at this point.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Red Wings On The Brink
Going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs one thing the Detroit Red Wings had going for them was their record on home ice.
Detroit was 31-7-3 at Joe Louis Arena and hadn't lost consecutive home games all season. Despite conceding home ice in the 1st round by finishing the season with a 6-9-3 record the feeling was that if the Red Wings could get a split on the road in their first two games they could take control of the series when it returned to the Motor City.
Instead it was Nashville winning both games in Detroit. Because of that the Red Wings are now one loss away from being eliminated in the 1st round for the first time since 2006.
After last night's loss I received a text from my friend Shaban asking me "What up with the Red Wings?"
To answer his question in a simple way, Nashville has been the better hockey team.
Why have they been a better hockey team? I'll give you a few reasons.
The first and most obvious reason is the play of Pekka Rinne in net.
Rinne has been as good as he was expected to be only allowing eight goals in four games. He has a GAA of 2.01 and a save percentage of .942. Right now whenever Detroit shoots the puck on net it is finding Rinne instead of the back of the net.
Of course that only applies when a Red Wings shot doesn't hit a defenseman en route on goal.
One thing the Predators have done well in this series is take away Detroit's shooting lanes. It seems like every shot Detroit takes there is a Nashville player that is either in position to block the shot or force the Red Wing player to rush his shot so it doesn't get blocked.
Another reason why the Predators are up 3-1 in this series is the play from their defenseman.
Each Nashville defenseman are on the plus side of the plus/minus ratings with the exception of Ryan Suter and Roman Josi who are even right now at zero.
And while Suter and Shea Weber get the attention on the blueline the one player that has had the biggest impact in the series for the Predators is Kevin Klein.
Klein scored the 2nd goal in game three by joining the rush up the ice and beating Jimmy Howard top shelf to give Nashville a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Last night Klein made an impact again with the game tied at one.
As Martin Erat brought the puck into the zone three Red Wings players chased him off to the right of Jimmy Howard. That left the middle of the ice open.
All Erat had to do was leave the puck for a trailing Kevin Klein, who buried it into the empty net, giving Nashville a 2-1 lead en route to a 3-1 win.
Every year a player steps up unexpectedly and makes an impact. Right now for Nashville that player is Kevin Klein.
Because of this Detroit is down 3-1 in the series and facing elimination Friday night.
I can't say I'm surprised because I picked Nashville to win the series but I thought the series would go all seven games. It still can but Detroit needs to find a way to score on Rinne or else this series will be done in five.
It could be worse Detroit fans, you could be Pittsburgh or Vancouver.
Detroit was 31-7-3 at Joe Louis Arena and hadn't lost consecutive home games all season. Despite conceding home ice in the 1st round by finishing the season with a 6-9-3 record the feeling was that if the Red Wings could get a split on the road in their first two games they could take control of the series when it returned to the Motor City.
Instead it was Nashville winning both games in Detroit. Because of that the Red Wings are now one loss away from being eliminated in the 1st round for the first time since 2006.
After last night's loss I received a text from my friend Shaban asking me "What up with the Red Wings?"
To answer his question in a simple way, Nashville has been the better hockey team.
Why have they been a better hockey team? I'll give you a few reasons.
The first and most obvious reason is the play of Pekka Rinne in net.
Rinne has been as good as he was expected to be only allowing eight goals in four games. He has a GAA of 2.01 and a save percentage of .942. Right now whenever Detroit shoots the puck on net it is finding Rinne instead of the back of the net.
Of course that only applies when a Red Wings shot doesn't hit a defenseman en route on goal.
One thing the Predators have done well in this series is take away Detroit's shooting lanes. It seems like every shot Detroit takes there is a Nashville player that is either in position to block the shot or force the Red Wing player to rush his shot so it doesn't get blocked.
Another reason why the Predators are up 3-1 in this series is the play from their defenseman.
Each Nashville defenseman are on the plus side of the plus/minus ratings with the exception of Ryan Suter and Roman Josi who are even right now at zero.
And while Suter and Shea Weber get the attention on the blueline the one player that has had the biggest impact in the series for the Predators is Kevin Klein.
Klein scored the 2nd goal in game three by joining the rush up the ice and beating Jimmy Howard top shelf to give Nashville a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Last night Klein made an impact again with the game tied at one.
As Martin Erat brought the puck into the zone three Red Wings players chased him off to the right of Jimmy Howard. That left the middle of the ice open.
All Erat had to do was leave the puck for a trailing Kevin Klein, who buried it into the empty net, giving Nashville a 2-1 lead en route to a 3-1 win.
Every year a player steps up unexpectedly and makes an impact. Right now for Nashville that player is Kevin Klein.
Because of this Detroit is down 3-1 in the series and facing elimination Friday night.
I can't say I'm surprised because I picked Nashville to win the series but I thought the series would go all seven games. It still can but Detroit needs to find a way to score on Rinne or else this series will be done in five.
It could be worse Detroit fans, you could be Pittsburgh or Vancouver.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Playoff Weekend Roundup
What the hell is happening here?
Chances are if you are a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Vancouver Canucks you are asking yourself this question today.
While both team were picked by many hockey fans to represent their respective conferences in the Stanley Cup Final both are down 3-0 in their respective series and are one game from elimination.
There are many reasons why both teams are down 3-0 in their series and I'll have plenty of time to cover those in the team eulogies that I'll be writing later this week unless something changes.
What Pittsburgh and Vancouver need to do is just go out and win game four of the series and get it back to home ice. A 3-0 deficit is not impossible to come back from. Philadelphia proved that two years ago.
As long as they can play the style of hockey that was successful in the regular season and not get caught in the extra-curricular activities (I'm talking to you, Pittsburgh) they can extend their season by another game.
Bad Blood:
While the playoffs have not lacked drama there is a lot of bad blood between teams in their respective playoff series.
Some were to be expected (Pittsburgh-Philadelphia) and some weren't (New York-Ottawa). Either way the nastiness of these series is overshadowing what has so far been a pretty exciting post-season.
To me the fault lies at the hands of the NHL officials and Brendan Shanahan.
From what I saw yesterday's game between the Flyers and Penguins made the movie Slap Shot look like it was rated PG.
The referees let things get out of hand early on and but the end of the game had lost total control. I'm willing to bet that referees Eric Furlatt and Francois St. Laurent will not be working many more playoff games after the 1st round is finished.
As for Shanahan I blame him only because he had the chance to set the tone all season and failed to do so. He was inconsistent during the regular season about who was fined and who was suspended for their actions.
On the opening night of the playoffs he had the opportunity to send a message to all the players that on ice shenanigans would not be tolerated by suspending Shea Weber for taking Henrik Zetterberg's head and trying to shove it through the glass.
Shanahan decided to fine Weber instead. I guarantee every player in the playoffs took note of that. If Weber was suspended for the hit I think a lot of the chippyness and dirty play would not be happening.
I like a good fight as much as the next hockey fan but there is a point where enough is enough.
Panthers end drought:
Fifteen years.
That's how long it has been since the Florida Panthers won a playoff game.
On April 17th, 1997 Florida shut out the New York Rangers 3-0. They went on to lose the next four games, being eliminated in the 1st round. The Panthers would return to the playoffs three years later only to be swept by the New Jersey Devils.
On Thursday Florida hosted their first playoff game in twelve years against New Jersey. It was a game the Devils won 3-2 extending the Panthers post-season losing streak to nine games.
On Sunday Florida finally ended their playoff losing streak thanks to two goals by Stephen Weiss giving the Panthers a 4-2 win and tying the series 1-1.
Once Tomas Fleischmann scored the empty net goal to clinch the victory for Florida there was nothing left to do but break out the rats.
There still is a ways to go for the Panthers but for one night in Florida it felt like 1996.
Chances are if you are a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Vancouver Canucks you are asking yourself this question today.
While both team were picked by many hockey fans to represent their respective conferences in the Stanley Cup Final both are down 3-0 in their respective series and are one game from elimination.
There are many reasons why both teams are down 3-0 in their series and I'll have plenty of time to cover those in the team eulogies that I'll be writing later this week unless something changes.
What Pittsburgh and Vancouver need to do is just go out and win game four of the series and get it back to home ice. A 3-0 deficit is not impossible to come back from. Philadelphia proved that two years ago.
As long as they can play the style of hockey that was successful in the regular season and not get caught in the extra-curricular activities (I'm talking to you, Pittsburgh) they can extend their season by another game.
Bad Blood:
While the playoffs have not lacked drama there is a lot of bad blood between teams in their respective playoff series.
Some were to be expected (Pittsburgh-Philadelphia) and some weren't (New York-Ottawa). Either way the nastiness of these series is overshadowing what has so far been a pretty exciting post-season.
To me the fault lies at the hands of the NHL officials and Brendan Shanahan.
From what I saw yesterday's game between the Flyers and Penguins made the movie Slap Shot look like it was rated PG.
The referees let things get out of hand early on and but the end of the game had lost total control. I'm willing to bet that referees Eric Furlatt and Francois St. Laurent will not be working many more playoff games after the 1st round is finished.
As for Shanahan I blame him only because he had the chance to set the tone all season and failed to do so. He was inconsistent during the regular season about who was fined and who was suspended for their actions.
On the opening night of the playoffs he had the opportunity to send a message to all the players that on ice shenanigans would not be tolerated by suspending Shea Weber for taking Henrik Zetterberg's head and trying to shove it through the glass.
Shanahan decided to fine Weber instead. I guarantee every player in the playoffs took note of that. If Weber was suspended for the hit I think a lot of the chippyness and dirty play would not be happening.
I like a good fight as much as the next hockey fan but there is a point where enough is enough.
Panthers end drought:
Fifteen years.
That's how long it has been since the Florida Panthers won a playoff game.
On April 17th, 1997 Florida shut out the New York Rangers 3-0. They went on to lose the next four games, being eliminated in the 1st round. The Panthers would return to the playoffs three years later only to be swept by the New Jersey Devils.
On Thursday Florida hosted their first playoff game in twelve years against New Jersey. It was a game the Devils won 3-2 extending the Panthers post-season losing streak to nine games.
On Sunday Florida finally ended their playoff losing streak thanks to two goals by Stephen Weiss giving the Panthers a 4-2 win and tying the series 1-1.
Once Tomas Fleischmann scored the empty net goal to clinch the victory for Florida there was nothing left to do but break out the rats.
There still is a ways to go for the Panthers but for one night in Florida it felt like 1996.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Defending Todd Bertuzzi
Every sport has an athlete that is surrounded by a cloud of controversy.
Whether it is something they have done on or off the field of play, their controversial career has managed to overshadow the talents the athlete possess.
That is the case of Detroit Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi.
Regarded as one of the best power forwards in the NHL ten years ago Bertuzzi is more known for his assault on Avalanche forward Steve Moore which ended his NHL career.
Because of that hit, Bertuzzi has been vilified in NHL arenas during the later part of his career.
However after watching Detroit's win over Nashville last night I'm going to do something that a lot of hockey fans haven't done.
I'm going to give credit to Bertuzzi for what he did last night.
Game one of the series ended on Wednesday with Predators defenseman Shea Weber slamming Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg's head face first into the glass.
What should have been at least a one game suspension turned out to be a fine of $2,500 which is the maximum you can fine a player under the CBA.
With many feeling Weber got off easily we waited to see if he was going to have to answer for what he did to Zetterberg.
Ninety seconds into the game we got our answer as Bertuzzi dropped the gloves and fought Weber.
While the scrap turned out to be nothing more than your standard hockey fight it did give Detroit a spark that they didn't have in game one and it told Nashville that the Red Wings will not be pushed around in this series.
Detroit used that emotion to score two goals in the 1st period en route to a 3-2 win, tying the series at 1-1.
Coach Mike Babcock praised Bertuzzi by saying "I think he had to do the right thing and he did. I thought it was important for our team that that happened. I kind of expected that would happened and it did. Good for him."
As for Bertuzzi a lot of hockey fans feel he should not be allowed to play since he ended the career of Steve Moore. I understand how they feel and I won't say they are wrong.
But the NHL feels that his suspension for the rest of the 2004 season was punishment enough and he was cleared to resume play after the lockout was over. In my mind once the NHL cleared him that was the end of that and we move forward.
The goal each year is to win the Stanley Cup. If you can add a player to your roster that can make your team better you would be doing yourself a disservice not to look into it.
For all the negative things people have said about Bertuzzi one thing he has proven in his career is that he is loyal to his teammates and he is willing to stand up and battle for them.
As a hockey fan that's all you can ask of a player.
Whether it is something they have done on or off the field of play, their controversial career has managed to overshadow the talents the athlete possess.
That is the case of Detroit Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi.
Regarded as one of the best power forwards in the NHL ten years ago Bertuzzi is more known for his assault on Avalanche forward Steve Moore which ended his NHL career.
Because of that hit, Bertuzzi has been vilified in NHL arenas during the later part of his career.
However after watching Detroit's win over Nashville last night I'm going to do something that a lot of hockey fans haven't done.
I'm going to give credit to Bertuzzi for what he did last night.
Game one of the series ended on Wednesday with Predators defenseman Shea Weber slamming Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg's head face first into the glass.
What should have been at least a one game suspension turned out to be a fine of $2,500 which is the maximum you can fine a player under the CBA.
With many feeling Weber got off easily we waited to see if he was going to have to answer for what he did to Zetterberg.
Ninety seconds into the game we got our answer as Bertuzzi dropped the gloves and fought Weber.
While the scrap turned out to be nothing more than your standard hockey fight it did give Detroit a spark that they didn't have in game one and it told Nashville that the Red Wings will not be pushed around in this series.
Detroit used that emotion to score two goals in the 1st period en route to a 3-2 win, tying the series at 1-1.
Coach Mike Babcock praised Bertuzzi by saying "I think he had to do the right thing and he did. I thought it was important for our team that that happened. I kind of expected that would happened and it did. Good for him."
As for Bertuzzi a lot of hockey fans feel he should not be allowed to play since he ended the career of Steve Moore. I understand how they feel and I won't say they are wrong.
But the NHL feels that his suspension for the rest of the 2004 season was punishment enough and he was cleared to resume play after the lockout was over. In my mind once the NHL cleared him that was the end of that and we move forward.
The goal each year is to win the Stanley Cup. If you can add a player to your roster that can make your team better you would be doing yourself a disservice not to look into it.
For all the negative things people have said about Bertuzzi one thing he has proven in his career is that he is loyal to his teammates and he is willing to stand up and battle for them.
As a hockey fan that's all you can ask of a player.
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