Blind Sight is 20/20

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Friday, November 16

2007-11-16T08:56:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Friday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Thrashers - Johan Hedberg vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Canadiens - Cristobal Huet vs Sabres - Jocelyn Thibault
Capitals - Brent Johnson vs Lightning - Johan Homlqvist
Avalanche - Jose Theodore vs Stars - Marty Turco
Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire vs Blues - Manny Legace
Wild - Josh Harding vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

How did I do last night?
18-18 for starters, 6-9 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Senators - Martin Gerber
Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Panthers - Tomas Vokoun
Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin vs Predators - Chris Mason
Wild - Nicklas Backstrom vs Oilers - Dwayne Roloson
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Coyotes - Alex Auld
Ducks - J.S. Gigeure vs Kings - J.S. Aubin

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Thursday, November 15 UPDATED

2007-11-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Thursday night:

UPDATES:

Changed Vesa Toskala to Andrew Raycroft
Changed Jason Labarbera to J.S. Aubin

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Senators - Martin Gerber
Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Panthers - Tomas Vokoun
Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin vs Predators - Chris Mason
Wild - Nicklas Backstrom vs Oilers - Dwayne Roloson
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Coyotes - Alex Auld
Ducks - J.S. Gigeure vs Kings - J.S. Aubin

How did I do last night?
8-10 for starters, 3-5 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Blackhawks - Patrick Lalime vs Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Hurricanes - ~~Cam Ward~~ John Grahame vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Stars - Marty Turco
Oilers - ~~Dwayne Roloson~~ Mathieu Garon vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Wednesday, November 14

2007-11-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Wednesday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Blackhawks - Patrick Lalime vs Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Stars - Marty Turco
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

How did I do last night?
9-10 for starters, 3-5 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Panthers - Craig Anderson vs Thrashers - Johan Hedberg
Red Wings - Dominik Hasek vs Blues - Manny Legace
Canadiens - Carey Price vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Wild - ~~Josh Harding~~ Niklas Backstrom vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff
Kings - Jason Labarbera vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Tuesday, November 13

2007-11-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Tuesday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Panthers - Craig Anderson vs Thrashers - Johan Hedberg
Red Wings - Dominik Hasek vs Blues - Manny Legace
Canadiens - Carey Price vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Wild - Josh Harding vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff
Kings - Jason Labarbera vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere

How did I do last night?
9-10 for starters, 5-5 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Predators - Chris Mason vs Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Panthers - Tomas Vokoun
Devils - ~~Martin Brodeur~~ Kevin Weekes vs Penguins - Dany Sabourin
Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Monday, November 12

2007-11-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Monday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Predators - Chris Mason vs Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Panthers - Tomas Vokoun
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Penguins - Dany Sabourin
Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

How did I do last night?
3-4 for starters, 1-2 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Red Wings - Chris Osgoode vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Minnesota Wild - ~~Josh Harding~~ Niklas Backstrom vs Colorado Avalanche - Peter Budaj

Last week in the NHL, Who's Hot

2007-11-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

The recent returns of Mathieu Schneider, Sean Avery and Dominik Hasek have made many a fantasy owner happy in the last two weeks. The double return of Dan Boyle from the IR and back onto the IR probably less so.

One good thing about early season injuries to top players is that you can often get them for nothing off of the waiver wire early in the season. I managed to add Mathieu Schneider, Dan Boyle and Shea Weber to my defence core in one league. Sure, my defence isn't so hot right now with 2 of those guys on the IR, but by the end of the season it will probably be the best in the league. Oh, and did I mention that I drafted Chris Pronger and Wade Redden before picking the other three off of waivers?

Top Players last week:
Center: Vinny Lecavalier leads all centers with 2 goals, 6 assists, +6 and 16 SOG. It would be nice if he took a few penalties and got some power play points too... but how much can you ask for?

Vincent Lecavalier: 2 goals, 6 assists, +6
Steve Reinprecht: 4 goals, 3 assists, +3
Cory Stillman: 4 goals, 3 assists, +0
Peter Mueller: 3 goals, 3 assists, +3
Sidney Crosby: 2 goal, 3 assists, +0

Wingers: Sean Avery's return from the IR has been an unqualified success. He has produced 2 goals, 3 assists, a +1, 16 PIMs and 12 SOG. Not bad for a guy you are counting on for your teams PIM total!

Vaclac Prospal: 2 goals, 6 assists, +6
Jere Lehtinen: 1 goal, 5 assists, +5
Martin St. Louis: 3 goals, 2 assists, +5
Sean Avery: 2 goals, 3 assists, +1
Ray Whitney: 1 goal, 4 assists, +1

Defensemen: Daniel Girardi... really? Don't get too excited, sure he put up 4 assists and a couple PIMs this week to follow up a goal last week but Girardi only managed 6 assists in 40 NHL games last year.

Sergei Zubov: 0 goals, 6 assists, +2
Daniel Girardi: 0 goal, 4 assists, +0
Sergei Gonchar: 2 goal, 2 assists, -1
Ed Jovanovski: 1 goal, 3 assists, -1
Mathieu Schneider: 1 goal, 3 assists, +0

Goaltenders: Martin Gerber is giving the best team in the league the kind of headache they would like to have. His brilliant start to the season hasn't been bothered one bit by the return of Ray Emery. 3 starts, 3 wins, a 0.97 GAA and a .963 save percentage, the only thing the guy didn't do was get us a couple shutouts. In one of my leagues some idiotic owner dropped Gerber in favour of keeping Cristobal Huet and Peter Budaj... Idiot. (Editors note: you're the idiot who made that move)

Martin Gerber: 3 wins, 0.97 GAA, 0.963 SPct
Johan Holmqvist: 3 wins, 1 loss, 2.01 GAA, 0.933 SPct
Rick DiPietro: 2 wins, 1.50 GAA, 0.941 SPct
Patrick Lalime: 2 wins, 1.89 GAA, 0.921 SPct
Roberto Luongo: 2 wins, 1.49 GAA, 0.952 SPct

Players to watch: Sid the kid has woken up and is producing across the board and don't look now but Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez are showing signs of life... now where did Chris Drury end up again?

In case you missed it Sean Avery and Darcy Tucker are both back from the IR, both of these super pests are highly valuable in leagues which reward PIMs. Hell, when they are hot they are useful in any league and Avery is hot right now.

Don't look now but Phoenix is proving to be more difficult than many teams expected this year. Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski are both contributing and could be worth a look on your team, especially if SOG and PIMs are a consideration in your league.

Roberto Luongo has been playing up to expectations lately and Ondrej Pavelec has taken over from veteran Johan Hedberg in Atlanta and won 2 of 3 with a respectable 2.32 GAA.

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Sunday, November 11

2007-11-11T08:13:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Sunday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Red Wings - Chris Osgoode vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin

Minnesota Wild - Josh Harding vs Colorado Avalanche - Peter Budaj

How did I do last night?
19-22 for starters, 9-11 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Canadiens - Cristobal Huet vs Senators - Martin Gerber
Rangers - ~~Henrik Lundqvist~~ Steve Valiquette vs Maple Leafs - Vesa Toskala
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Thrashers - ~~Johan Hedberg~~ Ondrej Pavelec
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fluery vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Lightning - Johan Holmqvist vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Blue Jackets - ~~Pascal Leclaire~~ Frederik Norrena vs Predators - Chris Mason
Oilers - ~~Dwayne Roloson~~ Mathieu Garon vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff
Coyotes - Alex Auld vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Stars - Marty Turco vs Kings - Jason Labarbera

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Saturday, November 10

2007-11-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Saturday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Canadiens - Cristobal Huet vs Senators - Martin Gerber
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Maple Leafs - Vesa Toskala
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Thrashers - Johan Hedberg
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fluery vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Lightning - Johan Holmqvist vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire vs Predators - Chris Mason
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff
Coyotes - Alex Auld vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Stars - Marty Turco vs Kings - Jason Labarbera

How did I do last night?
Another tough night for winners 12-12 for starters, 2-6 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Thrashers - Ondrej Pavelec vs Panthers - Tomas Vokoun
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire vs Red Wings - Dominik Hasek
Blues - Manny Legace vs Black Hawks - Patrick Lalime
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere
Avalanche - Jose Theodore vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Friday, November 9 UPDATED

2007-11-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Friday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Thrashers - Ondrej Pavelec vs Panthers - Tomas Vokoun
Maple Leafs - ~~Vesa Toskala~~ Andrew Raycroft vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Blue Jackets - Pascal Leclaire vs Red Wings - Dominik Hasek
Blues - Manny Legace vs Black Hawks - Patrick Lalime
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere
Avalanche - Jose Theodore vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

How did I do last night?
Tough night for winners
11-14 for starters, 3-7 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Lightning - ~~Marc Denis~~ Johan Holmqvist vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist
Flyers - Martin Biron vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig - Senators - Ray Emery
Canadiens - Carey Price vs Bruins - ~~Tuukka Rask~~ Tim Thomas
Stars - ~~Mike Smith~~ Marty Turco vs Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Flames - Mikka Kiprusoff

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Thursday, November 8

2007-11-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Wednesday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Remember these are expected starters and nothing is guaranteed here, just my best research and sometimes just a gut feeling.

Lightning - Marc Denis vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist
Flyers - Martin Biron vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig - Senators - Ray Emery
Canadiens - Carey Price vs Bruins - Tuukka Rask
Stars - Mike Smith vs Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Flames - Mikka Kiprusoff

How did I do last night?
13-16 for starters, 5-8 on winners
(bold is my predicted winner, the actual winner is in italics)

Flyers - Martin Biron vs Penguins - ~~Marc-Andre Fleury~~ Dany Sabourin
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Panthers - Tomas Vokoun vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Predators - Chris Mason - Red Wings - Chris Osgoode
Blue Jackets - Frederick Norrena vs Blackhawks - ~~Nikolai Khabibulin~~ Patrick Lalime
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Coyotes - Alex Auld vs Ducks - ~~J.S. Giguere~~ Ilya Bryzgalov
Stars - Marty Turco vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

Greatest hockey hits of all time contest

2007-11-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

So I was trolling the blogosphere this afternoon and I stumbled across a post on Orland Kurtenblog that got my juices flowing.

Their concept is that every week they will post video clips showing two of their favourite hockey hits and let their readers decide which is the best one.

Their first two clips are Wendel Clark ending Bruce Bell's career on a clean check in 1986 and Trevor Linden putting Jeff Norton through the glass in the first round of the 1995 playoffs.

If you like hard hitting hockey you have to watch these videos, make sure you read the comments (and vote). Thanks Kurtenblog for a good idea and a great post.

Oh, and almost forgot to send out a thanks to Deadspin for helping me find the post, keep up the good work guys.

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Wednesday, November 7

2007-11-07T10:10:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Wednesday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

All right, I am going to try to find time to continue my blog here. I have had an extremely busy year with a job relocation and change and it was extremely difficult to find any time to update my blog.

For now, back to posting daily starting goaltenders and we will see where it goes from there!

Flyers - Martin Biron vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Panthers - Tomas Vokoun vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Predators - Chris Mason - Red Wings - Chris Osgoode
Blue Jackets - Frederick Norrena vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Coyotes - Alex Auld vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere
Stars - Marty Turco vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

Much like last year I will update each day with today's probable starters and my record for both starters and winners from the previous night's games. Since this is my first post this season I have no record to post! See you tomorrow.

Bettman puts Boots to Balls

2007-06-28T08:09:00.000-05:00

I squish you!

According to the National Post, Jim Balsillie's US$238-million bid to purchase the Nashville Predators is about to be rejected by Predator's owner Craig Leipold. The Post's sources say that Leipold is planning to accept a less lucrative offer from California businessman William "Boots" DelBiaggio that would move the team to Kansas City. The last official offer from 'Boots' was in the US$190-million range.

Okay, enough of the bare facts.

First off, what kind of responsible businessman would seriously consider accepting an offer that is almost $40 million LESS than the one currently on the table? Not to mention one that is led by a guy named 'Boots'? It makes you wonder what kind of pressure is being applied to Leipold and by whom.

Anyone who has been following this story knows that Gary Bettman had his bluff called by Balsillie over the Pittsburgh Penguins deal earlier this year (which reportedly cost the Penguins $300,000 in legal bills from the NHL's lawyers). Balsillie followed that up by steaming ahead with plans to move the Predator's to Hamilton, even going so far as pre-selling seasons tickets through Ticket Master (7,200 season ticket sales in one day).

To put it mildly, Bettman is pissed. Bettman has been using every piece of leverage he has to slow down the Ballsy juggernaut and this latest development just looks like more gamesmanship to me. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we later learn that Ballsy does end up buying the Predators and moves them to Hamilton, but only after he commits ritual seppuku in public by kowtowing to Bettman. Oh... and agreeing to some sort of financial penalty to the Leafs and Sabres for moving into there market.

I do have just one other question...

Is there anyone in the entire universe (other than Bettman) who thinks that Kansas City is a better hockey market than Hamilton? To help out you folks south of hockey central, Hamilton is less than an hour away from Toronto in Southern Ontario and the surrounding population is larger than that surrounding Kansas City. Oh... and about 90% of them are hockey mad. As opposed to the 9% around KC who may be able to spell 'hockey'.

Does this confuse anyone else?

Major League Baseball trying to ruin the NHL

2007-06-19T15:21:00.000-05:00

You said what now?

The CBC sued MLB and won, but MLB is appealing this ruling and if they win you can say goodbye to Fantasy Hockey.

First off, CBC is not the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (not in this lawsuit anyway) and the implications of this lawsuit will directly affect the very existence of all Fantasy Sports Leagues, not just hockey.

CBC Distribution and Marketing Inc. last year won a lawsuit that they had filed against MLB when their license to run a Fantasy Baseball game was rescinded by the Major Leagues. CBC decided to take one for the team and sue MLB to prove that they (CBC) did not have to pay a licensing fee to MLB for the rights to use player names and statistics. Last year they won their lawsuit.

MLB is, of course, appealing this ruling. The NBA, NFL and NHL all participated in the original lawsuit and any ruling in this case will essentially hold true for these leagues as well. A U.S. Federal Appeal panel is currently ruling on MLB's application and it's implications are huge.

If Baseball is successful in appealing this ruling it would essentially give MLB (and the three other major sports) the ability to monopolize Fantasy Sports. Over the last few years MLB has reduced the number of licenses it has granted to Fantasy Sports game providers from over 50 to less than 8. If they so desired, MLB could refuse to grant any licenses whatsoever and keep full control of all the traffic and revenues derived from Fantasy Baseball to itself.

The most recent estimates place the total revenue from Fantasy Sports at over $1.5 Billion with as many as 8 million participants on a yearly basis. That's a pretty big piece of pie.

So again, what does this have to do with Fantasy Hockey?

Two things.

1) If MLB is able to control Fantasy Baseball do you think that the NHL will be far behind in taking complete control of Fantasy Hockey? Bye bye Yahoo, the NHL won't grant you the rights to use their statistics.
2) Speaking of statistics, you can forget looking in the newspaper (or the internets) for daily box scores. Unless someone is paying a fat licensing fee anyway.

Hmmm... speaking of which, if anyone happens to own any Yahoo stock I would suggest you keep an eye on this appeal. Yahoo has estimated that approximately 40% of it's total site traffic is a direct result (or derived from) it's Fantasy Sports products. If MLB decides to take away their Fantasy Baseball traffic Yahoo will take a serious dive.

Hamilton Predators sell 7,200 seasons tickets

2007-06-15T05:16:00.000-05:00

TSN.ca is reporting that Ticketmaster yesterday accepted deposits for close to 7,200 seasons tickets beginning at 10:00 AM yesterday morning. In contrast the Nashville Predators reportedly have a seasons ticket base of 8,500 and have dipped as low as 6,532 seasons tickets during the 2003-04 season.

The ticket sales include almost 60 $5,000 deposits for corporate boxes, 4,700 $1,000 deposits for lower bowl seats and almost 2,500 $500 deposits for upper bowl seats. By my calculations that means the Hamilton Predators have already gathered $6.25 Million in seasons tickets revenue and these are just deposits.

In my humble opinion both the city of Nashville and the NHL can say goodbye to the Predators franchise in Tennessee. The NHL cannot simply ignore this obvious demonstration of interest in a hockey franchise in Southern Ontario.

Mr. Balsillie has put the NHL in check, with mate coming in two moves.

In an intersting side note TSN.ca is also reporting that Buffalo is not 'at this time' opposed to a team in Hamilton. Is this Balsillie's next move? Or just a feint. It will be interesting to see if the Sabres become involved in Balsillie's pitch to the NHL in the near future.

Mighty Ducks headed to Disney Land

2007-06-07T09:16:00.000-05:00

Despite the fact that Daniel Alfredsson stepped up to the plate in game 5 for the Ottawa Senators it wasn't enough as the Anaheim Ducks rolled overtop of the Sens last night to win their first Stanley Cup.

Last Nights Recap:

Ottawa Senators 2 (1) at Anaheim Ducks 6 (4) : The no longer Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are now mighty again. They completely dominated the Ottawa Senators from the first drop of the puck last night and only Daniel Alfredsson seemed to show up for the Sens in game 5. The game of hockey breaks down into some fairly basic pieces, scoring, checking, defense and goal tending. Ottawa was beaten in all 4 areas in this series. J.S. Giguere downright outplayed Ray Emery (as expected) and the defensive core of Anaheim completely outclassed the Senators blue line corps. Wade Redden in particular was ineffective in the final round. Andy McDonald, Teemu Selanne and the rest of the scoring forwards for Anaheim soundly out performed the Senators scoring lines and except for standout Daniel Alfredsson the vaunted scoring touch that Ottawa displayed all season long disappeared against Anaheim. That is a strong testament to the power of the Ducks checking line. Travis Moen, Rob Niedermayer and Sammy Pahlsson completely dominated Ottawa's top line by both holding them off the score sheet and directly outscoring them.

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - June 6th

2007-06-06T08:12:00.000-05:00

Work has been insane as of late, we had a bunch of layoffs and I have been busy trying to survive that and then pick up the slack from all the workers we no longer have. Good thing that tonight will be the last game in the NHL for a few months.

Last Game Recap:

Anaheim Ducks 3 (3) at Ottawa Senators 2 (1) : The Senators came out in the first period in a dominating fashion and pretty much carried the play for the entire period. With Chris Pronger out of the Ducks lineup it looked like Ottawa was poised to even up the series with a first period flurry. Apparently J.S. Giguere didn't get the memo and he ensured that the Senators got very little for their superior effort. Ottawa managed to squeak a goal in with only 3 seconds left in the first but came out in the second as a completely different team. The second period was all Anaheim as they pushed the Sens all over the ice prompting Daniel Alfredsson to take a cheap shot at Scott Niedermayer at the end of the second period. The fact that Ottawa was tied after a lackluster effort was a surprise, the end result of the game was not. Ray Emery was shaky behind an almost completely absent defense and the Ducks took a stranglehold on the series with the win.

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Tonights Game :

The Anaheim Ducks get their shot at the Stanley Cup tonight at home and with Chris Pronger back in the lineup you have to think that Ottawa is heading to the golf course. Ottawa's top line will certainly show up tonight in an effort to make a series out of it but I can't see them getting any more chances than they had in game 4. Andy McDonald has been a force in the Stanley Cup Final and he will continue that tonight with another stellar effort as the Anaheim Ducks take the Cup in convincing fashion with a 5-3 win.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 31st

2007-05-31T07:26:00.000-05:00

Got it right last night, although I didn't foresee the weak offensive effort that the Senators turned in. Perk up Ottawa fans, Saturday night at the Corel Centre will be a different story.

Last Nights Game:

Ottawa Senators 0 (0) at Anaheim Ducks 1 (2) : Samuel Pahlsson scored the game winner at 14:16 of the third period after a neutral zone turnover by Dany Heatley. Pahlsson sent a quick wrist shot through the legs of a seemingly lost Joe Corvo to ring off the post and in behind Ray Emery. For the most part the Senators played a better game last night but couldn't seem to generate much in the way of offense. They were outshot by the Ducks 31-16 and outside of their top line didn't couldn't generate much in the way of chances. They were stimmied on another 5-3 power play opportunity, this time in the second period. J.S. Giguere was huge in posting his second career shutout in the Stanley Cup finals, especially during the 5-3 man advantage and he gave his team what they needed in order to go up 2-0 in the series heading to Ottawa. Expect Ottawa to change things up a little for game 3 at home Saturday night.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 30th

2007-05-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

Tonights Game :

Ottawa Senators (0) at Anaheim Ducks (1)

Look for the Ottawa Senators to come out tonight with a renewed sense of energy. They are disappointed in their performance in game 1 and are looking to prove something tonight. On the Anaheim side look for them to continue their physical play in an effort to throw Ottawa off of their game. It worked in game 1 as they kept Ottawa off the scoreboard in 5 on 5 situations. The downside of this game plan is that they will spend time in the penalty box. Ottawa went 2-6 in power play situations and will look to improve that tonight.

My prediction, Anaheim goes up 2-0 in the series tonight with another squeaker win.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 29th

2007-05-29T07:05:00.000-05:00

Physicality was the name of the game last night as the Ducks did their best to physically intimidate the Senators. Ottawa wasn't having any of it and they replied with their fair share of open ice hits, battles in the corners and after the whistle scrums. But the Ducks came out on top at the end of the game to go up 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.

Last nights Recap:

Ottawa Senators 2 (0) at Anaheim Ducks 3 (1) : The Ducks got the game winning goal from their checking line (Travis Moen) with 2:51 left in the third period. In the final minute with Chris Pronger in the penalty box and Ray Emery on the Senators bench J.S. Giguere stopped Daniel Alfredsson on a mad scramble in front of the net to preserve the third period comeback win.

Great game, lots of hits and passion but the story of this game began over the weekend as the start of the series was delayed by three days because Anaheim had booked an Ice show in their building over the weekend. The extra three days rest was critical for a depleted Anaheim squad and deadly for a well rested Ottawa Senators team. Expect game two to be a different affair as the Senators shake off the rust and come out with something to prove.

Keep an eye on the penalties in this series, if Anaheim continues to march to the box Ottawa will make them pay. The Ducks took 7 penalites including a lengthy 5-3 deficit but managed to only give up 2 power play goals. What saved them last night was not giving up a single 5-5 goal.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

NHL Stanley Cup Finals - Previews and Predictions

2007-05-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, so life and work have combined to make it impossible for me to post for over a week here. My sincere apologies. I will try to get back on track for the remainder of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Playoff Prediction:

The Ottawa Senators top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza has managed to find an answer to everything opposing defenses have thrown at them and have scored almost half of Ottawa's points this post season. On the other hand, the Senators have not faced a defense as strong as the one that Anaheim will throw at them. The trio of Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin have been absolutely stifling against their opponents in the first three rounds.

The defensive depth of the Ducks will prove tough to overcome for the Senators. Couple that with a surging Teemu Selanne and I have to give this one to Anaheim in 6 games.

Tonights Game:

Ottawa Senators at Anaheim Ducks : This should be a tough, physical game. Expect Anaheim to try to physically dominate game 1 and set the tone for the rest of the series. The physicality and defensive depth of the Ducks is their best chance to win this series. I think game 1 is a bit of a toss up but I'm going to go with Ottawa in a 4-3 overtime win in game 1 as Anaheim spends a little too much time in the penalty box.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 16th

2007-05-16T07:12:00.000-05:00

An o'fer yesterday, okay I didn't make a prediction but I lost the transmission on my car and it's gonna cost me $2k. So I'd say that was an o'fer. The Sabres are on the brink of elimination and I can now see them heading quietly to the golf course. It looks like they have a transmission problem too, they can't get into 4th gear.

Tonights Game :

Buffalo Sabres (0) at Ottawa Senators (3) : Ottawa has managed to do everything that they identified as required to win this series. The Sabres have not. Simple as that. Much like my Taurus' transmission, Buffalo can't find their top gear and it is going to cost them a shot at the Stanley Cup. Ottawa will probably lose tonights game, merely as a point of pride for the Sabres. But rest assured, I screwed this prediction up, Ottawa will win the series in 5 games but lost tonight at home to Buffalo.

Last Nights Game :

Detroit Red Wings 5 (2) at Anaheim Ducks 0 (1) : Wow, Tomas Holmstrom and the Wings completely dominated the Ducks last night. Holmstrom had two goals before being crunched along the boards by Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Niedermayer received a 5 minute boarding penalty and was ejected from the game. To me it looked like it was Pronger who should have received the penalties and you can be sure that the NHL will be reviewing the play. I would expect Pronger to receive at least a 1 game suspension. Domink Hasek made 28 saves for his second shutout of this years playoffs and the 14th of his career.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Round 3 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 14th

2007-05-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

1-1 last night. The Ducks were in control of the puck for much of this game but still needed a disputed goal in overtime to win and even up the series before heading home. The Sabres play game 3 tonight in Ottawa and unless they can scratch out a win their season is pretty much done. So much for the vaunted depth of the Sabres.

Tonights Game :

Buffalo Sabres (0) at Ottawa Senators (2) : The Sabres are deep behind the 8 ball tonight. Unless the Sabres win tonight they will be going home, forget the 7 game series that most experts (and me) predicted this could be a very short series. Ottawa is winning all of the important battles and dominating on special teams. Buffalo is 0-12 on the power play and has given up a short handed goal. In losing game 2 at home the Sabres squandered a 2-0 lead for the first time this season, including both regular and playoff games. Watch tonights game closely, if Buffalo doesn't dominate for significant stretches tonight they are going home early. I pick Buffalo to win tonight just because I cannot see them getting swept.

Last Nights Game :

Anaheim Ducks 4 (1) at Detroit Red Wings 3 (1) : It took two reviewed goals and a Niedermayer brother hook up in overtime but the Ducks managed to split the opening games on Detroit's home ice. The Wings were dominated for most of the game by Anaheim but still managed to hang close throughout the game forcing the Ducks to win it in overtime. Domink Hasek was the reason that the Wings were even in this game, he made 29 saves including some vintage Hasek flopping and was dealing with traffic all night long without losing his cool. Game 3 in Anaheim on Tuesday should be fun to watch.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Round 3 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 13th

2007-05-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

0-1 last night. Buffalo seems determined to make these playoffs as difficult as possible for themselves. Meanwhile, Ottawa is simply concentrating on doing what they need to do to win.

Last Nights Game :

Ottawa Senators 4 (2) at Buffalo Sabres 3 (0) : The Sabres took an early 2-0 lead in the first period but decided not to compete in the second and third periods to require a goal from Daniel Briere with 5.8 seconds left to send the game to overtime. Joe Corvo ended the game at 4:58 of the second overtime period with a skipping shot that fooled Ryan Miller. Buffalo simply hasn't managed to show up for an entire game. Forget my past predictions, Buffalo is out in 5 and Ottawa plays Anaheim in the final, only to lose in 6 games.

Tonights Game :

Anaheim Ducks (0) at Detroit Red Wings (1) : The Wings managed to take control in game 1 but Anaheim is going to snap back tonight. Expect the Ducks to push the Wings tonight and take game 2 in Detroit to even the series up before it heads to Anaheim.

Round 3 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 12th

2007-05-12T08:20:00.000-05:00

1-1 last night and 1-2 for the first two games of round 3. Detroit managed to win game 1 with some inspired play by the Dominator and another dominating performance from Niklas Lidstrom. Tonight Buffalo is already desperate to win a game.

Tonights Game :

Ottawa Senators (1) at Buffalo Sabres (0) : Believe it or not it is already do or die time for the Sabres. If they go down 2-0 in the series at home their odds of getting to the final round are slim indeed. Tonight the Sabres need their leaders to step up. Keep an eye on Chris Drury tonight, he will lead the Sabres by example and Buffalo will post a convincing win in game 2.

Last Nights Game :

Anaheim Ducks 1 (0) at Detroit Red Wings 2 (1) : Detroit got great performances from key players last night. Dominik Hasek and Niklas Lidstrom stepped up and ensured that the Wings would win despite the fact that they only managed 19 shots on Anaheim. The Ducks tried to physically dominate the Wings last night but it didn't seem to work. Both of Detroit's goals were lucky deflections and both went off Francois Beauchemin before entering the net. Expect the Ducks to come after Detroit even harder in game 2.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Round 3 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 11th

2007-05-11T06:57:00.000-05:00

o'fer last night. Buffalo surprised me last night by not showing up for game 1 of their third round series with Ottawa. Ottawa did exactly what I expected and they got the win because of it. Tonight Detroit hosts Anaheim in the opener of the other semi-final series.

Tonights Game :

Anaheim Ducks (2) at Detroit Red Wings (1) :

The Red Wings are going to miss Mathieu Schneider on defense in this series. Anaheim has demonstrated some flashes of brilliance in the playoffs and is making a strong case why they should be the team to watch in the west. The Wings have home ice advantage and I have to go with them tonight for game 1. While Hasek remains healthy the Wings have a chance to upset my predictions for round 3 and they should start that off with a solid win tonight at home.

Last Nights Game :

Ottawa Senators 5 (1) at Buffalo Sabres 2 (0) : The Senators came out poised and ready and the Sabres were disorganized and lacking in focus last night. It cost them the game. Despite the lackluster effort Buffalo managed to make a game of it until Oleg Saprykin scored at 7:41 into the third to take the lead. The major difference in the game was special teams. Buffalo went 0-5 on the power play and gave up a short handed goal on their first PP to Mike Fisher. The Senators on the other hand went 2-6 on their power play opportunities. That is a 3 goal advantage to the Ottawa Senators, the same as the 3 goal difference in the final score.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Round 3 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 10th

2007-05-10T07:02:00.000-05:00

Ottawa wants revenge, but so does Buffalo. This could very likely be the best series of the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Both the Senators and the Sabres play a wide open counterattack style of hockey which could produce a high scoring (or at least high chancing) series. I'm looking forward to this one. Even if Ottawa has a good chance to screw up my predictions.

Ottawa Senators (4) at Buffalo Sabres (1) :

The series opens tonight in Buffalo and the Sabres need to find a way to shut down Ottawa's top line of Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza. If they can manage to limit Ottawa's top line in the scoring department over half of Ottawa's offence goes bye bye. Ottawa needs to forget the past and focus on this series. If the Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza line can overcome the checking of Drury et al. the Sens have a good chance of knocking out Buffalo. Regardless, the Sabres win game 1 at home as the crowd reacts to Ray Emery's recent comments about the Buffalo nightlife. Given Emery's penchant for womens shoes and flashy outfits (watch the video profile of Ray Emery below) it would be real nice to see him get pimp slapped tonight with a lopsided Sabres win. Probably won't happen though, grinding game with a close final score. I call it 3-2 for the home team.

Round 3 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

NHL Playoffs - Round 3 Previews and Predictions

2007-05-08T09:12:00.000-05:00

So Round 2 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs didn't go quite as I had envisioned it. I wrote a recap of each second round series below and a preview and predictions of the two third round series is below that. Oh, and the Buffalo Sabres win the Cup over the Anaheim Ducks in 7 games.

Eastern Conference Recaps :

Buffalo Sabres (1) vs New York Rangers (6): Despite a strong performance by the Rangers and a strangely lackluster performance by Buffalo this series ended up as expected. Buffalo wins in 6 games and Henrik Lundqvist gave the Rangers a chance to compete. Daniel Briere 1 goal, 5 assists. Chris Drury 3 goals, 2 assists, Tomas Vanek 3 goals. Vanek seemed to disappear a bit in the last 4 games of this series but Briere and Drury picked up the slack. Brian Campbell potted 1 goal and 2 assists and was a little disappointing offensively in round 2. I got this prediction dead right, Sabres in 6.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs Ottawa Senators (4) :

The Ottawa Senators didn't really surprise me much in round 2. Martin Brodeur certainly did though. Brodeur allowed an uncharacteristic 15 goals in 5 games for a lofty 3.00 goals against average and New Jersey was simply unable to contain the top scoring line of Daniel Alfredsson (3 goals, 2 assists) , Dany Heatley (3 goals, 7 assists) and Jason Spezza (3 goals, 5 assists). Ray Emery soundly outplayed Brodeur with 1 shutout and a 2.2 GAA, he even matched Marty's assist in game 4. I got this prediction half right, it took 6 games but Ottawa was the winner, not New Jersey.

Western Conference Recaps :

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs San Jose Sharks (5) :

The Western conference is determined to screw with my predictions. San Jose came out hot in Game 1 and pummeled the Wings but stumbled badly in game two by blowing a 2 goal to head home even in the series. Detroit showed their veteran presence by sticking close to San Jose and simply wanting it more than the Sharks. San Jose blew three early game leads and lost three straight games to go out with a whimper. Henrik Zetterberg scored 2 goals, 3 assists while Pavel Datsyuk continued to prove he is a playoff performer with 2 goals, 4 assists and Niklas Lidstrom continued his strong play with 1 goal and 2 assists. The return of Tomas Holmstrom to the Wings lineup helped them get out of round 2. Unfortunately they lost Mathieu Schneider for the remainder of the year with a broken wrist. I predicted San Jose in 7 games, Detroit took it in 6.

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs Vancouver Canucks (3) :

I told you that Vancouver would have difficulty scoring in round 2, but they surprised even me with just how poor their offence was. They managed only 8 goals in 5 games against the Ducks and went home without a whimper. The Ottawa Senators top line scored more goals than the entire Canucks team in round 2. Anaheim completely dominated this series and they look to be the healthiest and freshest team in the Western Conference this year. Andy McDonald (3 goals, 2 assists), Teemu Selanne (2 goals, 2 assists) and Chris Pronger (1 goal, 4 assists) led the Ducks in scoring and Scott Niedermayer was a little disappointing with only 1 goal and 2 assists in round 2.

Round 3 Predictions:

Eastern Conference:

Buffalo Sabres (1) vs Ottawa Senators (4) :

This is the toughest matchup for the Sabres in this years playoffs and probably the one with the highest entertainment value. This season saw a fair amount of bad blood between these two teams, most of it from Chris Drury's head. This should be a highly entertaining offensive series and I expect to see Ryan Miller and Ray Emery steal a game or two with some stellar performances between the pipes. Both teams have depth, speed and skill but I give Buffalo a slight edge in the depth department. Not many teams have their leading goal scorer on the third line. The Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza line will certainly make their presence felt but Tomas Vanek and the third line of the Sabres will make the difference here as they win this series in 7 games.

Western Conference :

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs Anaheim Ducks (2) :

The Red Wings surprised me by getting past the Sharks in round 2 and this throws the rest of my western conference predictions way off. I don't think that Detroit, despite it's veteran presence and stellar defense core, will make it past Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Final. Without Mathieu Schneider the Wings no longer have as much defensive depth as the Ducks. Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin provide defensive stability with a strong offensive upside that will carry the Ducks over the Wings in 6 games.

Stanley Cup Finals Prediction :

I originally predicted that the Buffalo Sabres would win the Stanley Cup in 6 games over the Nashville Predators. Obviously half of that prediction is no longer relevant. I stand by my prediction that the Sabres would win the cup but I now see them taking it in 7 games against the Anaheim Ducks. Tomas Vanek is still the MVP (in my eyes) but Chris Drury or Ryan Miller will actually win the award.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Video Highlights - May 8th

2007-05-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

0-1 last night, another ofer. The good news is that I knew that Detroit would win this series. What? What do you mean I predicted that San Jose (or Nashville) would go to the Finals this season? Are you sure? Dammit, you people aren't supposed to remember the things I say. Ah well, Anaheim will beat Detroit and face Buffalo in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Last Nights Game :

Detroit Red Wings 2 (4) at San Jose Sharks 0 (2) : I really expected more from the Sharks in this postseason. I was certain that they would make it past Detroit into the third round, right up until game 4 of round two. Detroit got a strong performance from Dominik Hasek last night and Chris Chelios and Nikals Lidstrom proved why they (not Niedermayer and Pronger) should be considered the best defensive 1-2 punch in the NHL. Mikael Samuelsson scored twice in the first period and the Red Wings shut down the Sharks in the remaining two periods to close this series out in the Shark Tank. Round three of this years playoffs will let us see the two most impressive defensive cores in the NHL go head to head.

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Detroit Red Wings 2 (4) at San Jose Sharks 0 (2) :

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 7th

2007-05-07T07:46:00.000-05:00

1-1 last night. The Sabres sent the Rangers home last night as predicted. We are left with just 1 second round matchup still in progress, San Jose hosts Detroit tonight and needs a win to keep that series alive.

Tonights Game :

Detroit Red Wings (3) at San Jose Sharks (2) : The Wings took control of the series with yet another come back win in game 5. San Jose has blown three leads in this series to give Detroit some life. The veteran presence on the Wings won't let that chance go to waste. Despite that San Jose will find a way to win game 6 on home ice tonight. Expect Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo to step up their games tonight and give the Sharks one more chance.

Last Nights Game :

Buffalo Sabres 5 (4) at New York Rangers 4 (2) : Buffalo's offence woke up in the second period with a 4 goal outburst as Chris Drury leads by example with a goal and an assist and Daniel Briere contributes with 3 assists. New York made it close with goal late in the third period but came up short in the game and the series. The Sabres have a tough task ahead of them when they meet Ottawa in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 6th

2007-05-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

1-2 last night. Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils were determined to screw up my predictions. Oh well, they got what they deserved, they are going home. Tonight Buffalo will send New York home. At home.

Tonights Game :

Buffalo Sabres (3) at New York Rangers (2) : Buffalo still hasn't performed as well as everyone had predicted this post season. I'm not suggesting that they will do it tonight, but they will play well enough to beat the Rangers and send them packing. New York has done a great job of playing with energy and containing Buffalo's forward lines. But it is over tonight.

Last Night Recaps :

San Jose Sharks 1 (2) at Detroit Red Wings 4 (3) : Home ice advantage seems to have turned the trick for the Red Wings last night as they again came back from a deficit to win their third game in this series. Detroit seemed to solve Nabokov last night as both Pavel Datsuk and Henrik Zetterberg managed a goal and 2 assists each to drive the Wings to victory. The bad news is that the Wings lost Mathieu Schneider to a broken wrist in the first period.

Ottawa Senators 3 (4) at New Jersey Devils 2 (1) : The Devils get sent home in 5 games as the Sens make it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row. Ottawa simply dominated this series and the vaunted EGG line of New Jersey just didn't perform. Not to mention Martin Brodeur who didn't play at the level that we have all come to expect. The Senators dominated much of this game and earned their birth to the next round.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 5th

2007-05-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

1-1 last night. Chris Drury left it until 19:52 of the third period but he did eventually provide the offence that I suggested he would. Tonight Ottawa has a chance to send New Jersey home at home. Home is the key here, the Devils will win tonight only to lose game 6 in Ottawa.

Tonights Games :

Ottawa Senators (3) at New Jersey Devils (1) : The Senators, and more specifically Ray Emery, have outplayed the Devils through this entire series. However, the Devils have been there and done that before and aren't thrown by being on the brink of elimination. The Devils are at home tonight and that should give them enough extra punch to win game 5.

San Jose Sharks (2) at Detroit Red Wings (2) : The Sharks have blown 2-0 leads twice in this series to allow the Red Wings to knot things up at 2. With the return of Thomas Homlstrom the Red Wings have a power play threat again and with game 5 being in Detroit I see the Wings taking a 3-2 series lead tonight.

Last Nights Recap :

New York Rangers 1 (2) at Buffalo Sabres 2 (3) : This series has definitley been a home affair but last night the Rangers did everything in their power to break that streak. Chris Drury scored the game tying goal with just 8 seconds left and Maxim Afinogenov scored the game winner in OT to preserve the home winning streak. Afinogenov was benched for parts of game 4 but came back last night to score the winner with a slapshot through Tomas Vanek's and Henrik Lundqvist's legs. Lundqvist was absolutely stellar stopping 36 shots in regulation time to give the Rangers a shot at the series lead. Unfortunately Buffalo's offence woke up late and took the game from the Rangers.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - May 3rd

2007-05-04T07:40:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Anaheim Ducks 2 (4) at Vancouver Canucks 1 (1) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 4th

2007-05-04T07:10:00.000-05:00

1-1 last night. As expected Vancouver went home last night after losing in double OT to Anaheim despite the heroics of Roberto Luongo. Tonight Buffalo will regain the lead in their series vs New York and we will see their vaunted offense wake up a little.

Tonights Game :

New York Rangers (2) at Buffalo Sabres (2) : Coming home is good and it should be enough to spark the Buffalo Sabres offense in game 5 of this round 2 series. Buffalo has managed only 2 goals in their last 2 games and lost both matches in New York by 2-1 scores. Henrik Lundqvist has arguably outplayed Ryan Miller so far this series but it won't be enough tonight. Chris Drury
has only managed 1 goal and 1 assist in this series (all in game 2) and tonight he will remind us why he is such a valuable player for Buffalo. Drury will be the most effective Sabre tonight on both the offensive and defensive ends and his inspired play will light a fire under the rest of the Sabres tonight as they take game 5 for a 3-2 series lead over the Rangers.

Last Nights Recap :

Anaheim Ducks 2 (4) at Vancouver Canucks 1 (1) : Vancouver was completely outplayed by Anaheim last night but Roberto Luongo decided his team was going to win anyway. Luongo made 63 saves in a bid to singlehandedly force game 6 in this series. Unfortunately the rest of the Canucks didn't hold up their end of the bargain and only managed 1 goal on just 27 shots. The Niedermayer brothers combined to end the game in the 2nd OT with a crunching hit and a quick wrist shot that Roberto Luongo missed because he was too busy trying to get the ref to make a penalty call on. Tough way to end a stellar performance for Luongo, but he should have many more chances in the post season. Despite the lackluster performance of the Vancouver Canucks as a whole Luongo has cemented himself as a playoff performing goalie with his play in the first and second rounds of this years playoffs.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 3rd

2007-05-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

1/2 last night. Martin Brodeur has been uncharacteristically human in round 2 of this years NHL Stanley Cup Playoff's. My prediction for the Ottawa vs New Jersey Series was the Devils in 6. With the play of Brodeur I don't think the Devils can beat the Senators. Sens in 6 as they make it to the Eastern Conference finals for the second year in a row.

Tonights Games:

Vancouver Canucks (1) at Anaheim Ducks (3) : Tonight the Canucks go home. Roberto Luongo has been solid in net for Vancouver but their front lines simply cannot provide him with enough offense to win a game. Despite Markus Naslund managing to find the score sheet recently the rest of Vancouvers offence seems to be asleep. Anaheim wins 3-1 tonight and advances to the third round.

Last Nights Recaps :

New Jersey Devils 2 (1) at Ottawa Senators 3 (3) : The Senators took another early lead and managed to protect it with two weak goals on Martin Brodeur. Dany Heatley scored an unassisted goal in the second period on an attempted pass across the net that went in off Brodeur's skate and Mike Fisher scored the game winner on a 40 foot wrist shot. Brodeur has seen a lot of rubber in this series and still has a strong .922 save percentage, but several of the goals against him have been suspect. Brodeur simply cant' do it all for the Devils (despite the fact that he also got an assist in this game) and they are not playing well enough as a team to get past the Senators.

Detroit Red Wings 3 (2) at San Jose Sharks 2 (2) : The San Jose Sharks squandered a 2-0 lead and lost in overtime to allow the Red Wings to even up the series at two games apiece. Robert Lang came out of his season long obscurity to score the game tying goal with 34 seconds left in the third period and Mathieu Schneider won it at 16:04 of the first overtime. At one point in the second period the Red Wings outshot the Sharks 20-1 but Evgeni Nabokov was stellar and only gave up the one goal to Tomas Holmstrom. I told you Holmstrom would help the Wings power play. With Holmstrom out of the lineup the Wings were 1-10 on the power play, last night they were 2-5.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 2nd

2007-05-02T07:36:00.000-05:00

1-2 last night. The Buffalo Sabres forgot to show up and ruined my predictions. Thanks Anaheim for a third period surge to keep me from an o'fer. Tonight both Detroit and New Jersey will attempt to tie their series at 2 games apiece.

Tonights Games :

New Jersey Devils (1) at Ottawa Senators (2) : The Devils have to come out swinging to even this series up in Ottawa. Brodeur played to expectations in Game 3 but the Devils forwards didn't give him any support. Expect the EGG line to push things tonight and regain their scoring touch as Martin Brodeur puts in a stellar performance to help the Devils even up the series.

Detroit Red Wings (1) at San Jose Sharks (2) : Tomas Holmstrom is expected to return tonight in San Jose which should help the Red Wings struggling power play. Detroit is 1-10 on the power play in this series and has lost two games by 1 goal. Change their power play conversion percentage to just 20% and the look of this series changes dramatically. Joe Thornton continues to be a major problem for Detroit but they need to focus more on generating their own offence tonight. Expect the Wings to knot this series up at two games apiece tonight.

Last Nights Recaps :

Buffalo Sabres 1 (2) at New York Rangers 2 (2) : Daniel Briere admitted that the disallowed goal in game 3 by Rangers defenseman Karel Rachunek should have been a goal and hoped that the NHL had not made a miscall two games in a row when they disallowed his game tying goal with 17 seconds left last night. Regardless, the Sabres played a lackluster first period in game 4 and despite 4 power plays in the second period (5 in the game) couldn't manage a single PP point in the game. The Sabres are only 3-25 on the power play in this series and they need to step it up if they expect to continue to round 3.

Anaheim Ducks 3 (3) at Vancouver Canucks 2 (1) : The Canucks found some offense early from their former stars in Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund to take a 2-0 lead into the third period. Then the wheels came off. Anaheim got timely goals from Chris Pronger and Teemu Selanne in the third to allow Travis Moen to score the OT winner just 2:07 into the extra frame. Vancouver just can't seem to get their act together in this series and offense has been a major issue, just like it was in the regular season. Bye bye Vancouver, your going home Thursday night.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

NHL Weekly Highlights April 24th

2007-05-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 30th

2007-05-01T07:32:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

New Jersey Devils 0 (1) at Ottawa Senators 2 (2) :

Detroit Red Wings 1 (1) at San Jose Sharks 2 (2) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - May 1st

2007-05-01T06:58:00.000-05:00

2-2 last night as Ottawa beats Brodeur on a disputed goal and San Jose holds on to beat Detroit. The Rangers and Canucks have a chance to even up their series at home tonight but neither will manage it.

Tonights Games :

Buffalo Sabres (2) a New York Rangers (1) : The Sabres still haven't turned on the afterburners in the 2007 NHL Playoffs, expect them to turn it up a notch tonight in New York as they win to take a 3-1 series lead. Tomas Vanek will continue to chip in offensively and Chris Drury will get on the score sheet tonight.

Anaheim Ducks (2) at Vancouver Canucks (1) : Vancouver can't score, they can't do it 5-5, they can't do it on the power play and in game 3 they couldn't manage it on 2 lengthy 5-3 man advantages. The Ducks will take a commanding lead in the series by winning tonight in Vancouver. Teemu Selanne's line is giving the Canucks fits and while his line hasn't put up a lot of points they are deflecting pressure from the second line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Dustin Penner who are picking up the offensive slack.

Last Nights Recaps :

New Jersey Devils 0 (1) at Ottawa Senators 2 (2) : The game winning goal came on a sharp angled shot by Tom Preissing immediately after Mike Fisher bumped Martin Brodeur. Lou Lamoriello was upset that the ref's didn't call goaltender interference on the play and looking at the replays it seems obvious that Brodeur was out of position on the shot. Regardless, Ray Emery was solid in net to get his second shutout of the playoffs. If New Jersey cannot find a way to generate more offense then even Brodeur can't help them win this series.

Detroit Red Wings 1 (1) at San Jose Sharks 2 (2) : The Red Wings dominated most of game 3 but the most dominant player on the ice all night was Joe Thornton. Only Niklas Lidstrom and Craig Rivet were on the ice longer than Thornton's 23:01 minutes. Thornton's presence paid off as he assisted on Ryan Clowe's game tying goal and drew the penalty that resulted in Jonathan Cheechoo's game winner. Good news for Detroit as Tomas Holmstrom has been cleared to play game 4 in San Jose on Wednesday night. San Jose's Bill Guerin has yet to score in the post season making his costly pickup at the trade deadline a questionable investment.

Round 2 Predictions:
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch
NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 30th

2007-04-30T06:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had some issues with a slippery tranny and was unable to post my usual. Hey, get your mind outta the gutter, the transmission in my car was acting up. The bad news is that I would probably have gone 0fer yesterday. Vancouver was a letdown at home and the Rangers showed some sign of life in New York.

Tonights Games :

New Jersey Devils (1) at Ottawa Senators (1) : The Devils squeaked one out in overtime in Game 2 as Martin Brodeur returned to form. Ottawa was the stronger team for much of the game and should come out hot tonight to take game 3 of the series.

Detroit Red Wings (1) at San Jose Sharks (1) : The Wings game back in the 3rd period to win game 2 and tie up the series. The Sharks are determined not to let what happened to them in last years playoffs occur this year. They will come out pressing the Wings tonight and take a 2-1 series lead with game 3 at home.

Last Nights Recaps :

Buffalo Sabres 1 (2) at New York Rangers 2 (1) : Game 3 in this series was beginning to look eerily like game 2 as the Rangers held a lead into the third period only to see Buffalo tie it up late. This time New York managed to hold onto the tie in regulation and force overtime finally winning the game in the 2nd OT on a hard shot by defenseman Mical Rozsival. The Rangers looked determined to win game 3 and the Sabres couldn't capitalize on a number of power play chances in the game. The Sabres went 1-7 on the power play in regulation and were blanked on 2 more PP chances in overtime.

Anaheim Ducks 3 (2) at Vancouver Canucks 2 (1) : The scoring problems that have plagued Vancouver all year are continuing into the playoffs despite the fact that they are getting some production from Markus Naslund. Vancouver was limited to 1 goal on 7 power play opportunities 2 of which were lengthy 5-3 advantages while Anaheim converted on 2 of 5 chances. That was the story as the Ducks weathered a late offensive storm from the Canucks to win game 3 in Vancouver. Vancouver is now a miserable 4-58 on power plays in the playoffs this year, that simply will not do as Vancouver looks to be heading to the golf course early this year.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 28th

2007-04-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

1-2 again last night. Despite missing both Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa from the lineup last night the Canucks pulled out a win and the Sabres showed up in the third period to win their game.

Tonights Games:

San Jose Sharks (1) at Detroit Red Wings (0) : Hopefully the Detroit Red Wings were woken up by their loss in game 1 of this series and come out swinging tonight. They will again be without Tomas Holmstrom who is out with blood in his eye and will continue to struggle on the power play without him. If this wasn't a home game for Detroit I would be picking the Sharks to win, but with the crowd involved (assuming one shows up!) I think the Wings even up the series tonight.

Ottawa Senators (1) at New Jersey Devils (0) : While the first period of game 1 was pretty scary if you are a Devils fan you had to like what happened in the remaining two periods. Tonight the Devils get captain Patrick Elias back and they will certainly be a little peeved at their performance in game 1. Expect the Devils to come out hard and take it to Ottawa with the series knotted up at 1-1.

Last Nights Recaps:

New York Rangers 2 (0) at Buffalo Sabres 3 (2) : The Buffalo Sabres showed off their character and their depth last night as they came from behind in the 3rd period to take game 2 of the series. Thomas Vanek again scored a game winner late in the third period and the Sabres weathered a two man advantage for the final two minutes of the game as the Rangers pulled Lundqvist while Daniel Briere was in the penalty box on a questionable call. Briere got the penalty shortly after the linesman studiously ignored New York having 7 men on the ice with about 4 minutes to go. There was some horrible officiating in this game, but give credit to the Sabres as they clawed back to take a 2-0 series lead.

Vancouver Canucks 2 (1) at Anaheim Ducks 1 (1) : The Canucks pulled another over time win out of their bag of tricks to even up the series before they head home for game 3. Markus Naslund actually found the back of the net and Roberto Luongo simply decided that he wanted to win this game. Travis Moen scored the only goal for Anaheim as he picked up a loose rebound after Teemu Selanne's breakaway chance. The defensive effort in front of Luongo was solid considering they are still missing two of their top defensemen. Great job by Vancouver last night.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 26th

2007-04-27T07:46:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Ottawa Sentors 5 (1) at New Jersey Devils 4 (0) :

San Jose Sharks 2 (1) at Detroit Red Wings 0 (0) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 27th

2007-04-27T07:08:00.000-05:00

1-2 last night as both home teams lost the opening game of round 2. Detroit couldn't muster any offence and Martin Brodeur played like Andrew Raycroft. Ah well.

Tonights Games:

New York Rangers (0) at Buffalo Sabres (1) : The Rangers were simply outclassed by the speed and depth of the Sabres in game 1. I expect that to continue tonight. New York managed to limit the top two lines from Buffalo but couldn't handle the 3rd line and Thomas Vanek made them pay with two goals. The Rangers will likely be without defenseman Michal Rozsival who left game 1 with a leg injury. Expect Vanek to produce again and the Sabres to win this one tonight.

Vancouver Canucks (0) at Anaheim Ducks (1) : The size and strength of the Ducks was too much for a weary Canucks team in game 1. It didn't help that Vancouver was missing Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa, two of their more dependable defensemen, in game 1. Salo should be back tonight but Bieksa is day to day. Andy McDonald got his first career hat trick and will make his presence felt again tonight. The Ducks take a 2-0 series lead tonight.

Last Nights Recaps:

Ottawa Sentors 5 (1) at New Jersey Devils 4 (0) : The game certainly didn't start well as it looked like Brodeur simply misplayed a Tom Preissing shot 1:30 into the first period, replays later showed that Jason Spezza tipped the shot past Brodeur. The Devils were down 4-0 before they got on the board with a goal from Travis Zajac late in the first period and they made a game of it by clawing back to a 1 goal deficit. Wow, tough game, tougher call tonight. The Devils were blown out early but managed to gut it out and make a game of it. If Brodeur improves even slightly on Saturday, and I expect he will, the Devils will even up the series. The good news for the Senators is that they know they can get past Brodeur, the good news for the Devils is that they proved they can make a game of it even when Brodeur isn't sharp. Going forward this series is tough to call, the Senators could upset my predictions in round 2.

San Jose Sharks 2 (1) at Detroit Red Wings 0 (0) : The first shutout of round 2 should be awarded to the Sharks defensive core, San Jose blocked 18 shots in game 1 to help Evgeni Nabokov along in the 2-0 win in game 1. Detroit seemed at a loss without Tomas Holmstrom in front of the net and they simply were unable to compete with the size and strength of San Jose's forwards. This series could be over quickly.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 25th

2007-04-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

New York Rangers 2 (0) at Buffalo Sabres 5 (1) :

Vancouver Canucks 1 (0) at Anaheim Ducks 5 (1) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 26th

2007-04-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

As expected last night the Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks rolled over top of the two weaker teams left in the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Tonight the two tougher round 2 playoff series get underway, the difference maker in this years playoffs could be how long this second round lasts for the Sharks vs Wings and Senators vs Devils. Two long series could end up costing these teams a chance at the cup this year as they end up facing fresher teams in round three.

Tonights Games:

Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils: Which Martin Brodeur will show up tonight? Goaltending is the question in this series, Senators goalie Ray Emery left practice earlier this week with a bruised catching hand but has practiced for two straight days and intends to play tonight. We will see. Without any further information I have to go with the home team and Martin Brodeur tonight.

San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings: Tough call here but the Wings will be without Tomas Holmstrom due to an eye injury he received in game 6 against Calgary. Detroit will sorely miss Holmstrom's presence in front of the net on the power play. In my opinion they lose game 1 at home.

Last Nights Recaps:

New York Rangers 2 (0) at Buffalo Sabres 5 (1) : The first period was a little shaky as the Sabres didn't manage a goal in 5 power play attempts, but the speed and skill of the Sabres 4 lines wore on the Rangers defensive efforts and they continued to give Buffalo chances on the man advantage. 8 times in the game. The 5th goal was perhaps the most entertaining empty net goal I have ever seen as Drew Stafford fights the length of the ice with Jaromir Jagr in what would have been a penalty shot had the puck not ended up in the net on the play. Good news for New York, Jagr intends to play in this series. Bad news is so do the entire Buffalo team.

Vancouver Canucks 1 (0) at Anaheim Ducks 5 (1) : The Ducks pummeled the Canucks despite giving up the first goal by scoring 3 goals on the first 9 shots they put on Roberto Luongo. The Canucks only chance at getting to round three in this years playoffs is for Luongo to drag them there kicking and screaming. He certainly didn't do it last night as he was pulled in favour of backup Dany Sabourin in the 3rd period. Andy McDonald got a hat trick as the forward lines of the Ducks overpowered Vancouver, this may end up as a sweep by Anaheim.

NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Players to Watch

2007-04-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

All right, on April 11th I wrote a post about which players to watch in round 1 of the playoffs and my prognostications were pretty good.

I told you that Pavol Demitra and Alexei Yashin would disappear, that Pavel Datsyuk would figure out how to score in the playoffs and that Dominik Hasek would stay healthy through round 1. I also told you to stay away from Jaromir Jagr and that Scott Niedermayer would be at the top of the score sheet for defenseman. Hey, I can't always be perfect and I used up a lifetimes worth of luck by marrying my beautiful wife.

Here is my snapshot of players to watch at each position in Round 2.

My top 5 Center Picks:
Daniel Briere
Chris Drury
Scott Gomez
Joe Thornton
Pavel Datsyuk

Disappointments: The Sedin twins are pretty much the only scoring option that the Canucks have right now but don't expect much from them against Detroit.

Surprises: Jason Spezza was outscored by teammate Chris Kelly during round 1. This isn't really a surprise but expect him to rebound in round 2.

Stay away from: I am unsure just how well the EGG line of New Jersey will do against Ottawa's top defensive pairing of Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips. Not quite worried about the EGG line getting shutout, but I would expect a serious drop-off in point production. If it wasn't for the power play I would be wary of using any of these guys in my pool (in fact I didn't use any of them).

My top 5 Winger Picks:

Daniel Alfredsson
Thomas Vanek
Zach Parise
Milan Mihalek
Dany Heatley

Disappointments: Again I am suggesting that you stay away from New Jersey's top line of Elias, Gionta and Gomez. Ottawa will surely key in on these three in round 2.

Surprises: Zach Parise and Brendan Shanahan will provide some 2nd line scoring punch for the Devils and the Rangers respectively.

Stay away from: The Detroit vs San Jose series could be a wide open high scoring affair, or it could be tighter than a newly minted choir boys bottom. I would lean towards the top players in the other 3 series and stay away from this one if possible.

My top 5 Defenseman Picks:

Niklas Lidstrom
Chris Pronger
Brian Campbell
Brian Rafalski
Joe Corvo

Disappointments: Wade Redden again, I can also see Mattias Ohlund disappearing in round 2, not because of lack of talent, but simply because the Canucks are going to have difficulty scoring at all against Anaheim.

Surprises: Brian Campbell has already surprised with 2 goals and 2 assists, Joe Corvo and Anton Volchenkov stepped up for Ottawa in place of Redden. Look for Francois Beauchemin to pick it up for Anaheim and both Craig Rivet and Fedor Tyutin to continue to produce in round 2.

Stay away from: The entire Vancouver Canucks defense core. If the front lines aren't scoring the back end won't get any points either.

My top 2 Goaltender Picks: (because who needs 5?)

J.S. Giguere
Ryan Miller

Disappointments: Henrik Lundqvist will come crashing back to earth against the high powered Buffalo Sabres offense.

Surprises: Domink Hasek will stay healthy, again, but lose anyway.

Stay away from: Martin Brodeur and Ray Emery. What? Yeah I know, that's Martin Brodeur we are talking about here. But he didn't play true to form in round 1 and if Ray Emery forgets himself and plays out of his head you could see a round 2 upset. And don't forget that Ottawa has more than just 1 scoring line to throw at the Devils.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 23rd

2007-04-24T09:10:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Dallas Stars 1 (3) at Vancouver Canucks 4 (4) :

NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

2007-04-24T07:12:00.000-05:00

1-1 last night, thanks to Vancouver's 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars my first round predictions were respectable at 7 for 8. The lone miscall was in the Nashville vs San Jose series. Several times I mentioned that whichever team wins that series will win the West division. Looks like it will be San Jose instead of Nashville. Ah well, 7 of 8 is pretty good.

Round 2 Predictions:

Eastern Conference Matchups:

Buffalo Sabres (1) vs New York Rangers (6) : The Buffalo Sabres can play 4 scoring lines against the Rangers 1 and a half. The Rangers top line of Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Michael Nylander can cause some problems but other than Brendan Shanahan they don't have much depth up front. Their defense can be quite good and will give the Sabres fits, but the depth of Buffalo up front will win this series in the end. Assuming of course that Ryan Miller and Henrik Lundqvist continue to play as well as they have so far this postseason. If either goalie falls off the face of the earth it changes the outcome in this series. On April 10th I said Sabres in 5 games, I will have to change that prediction to Sabres in 6, Lundqvist has been more solid than I expected.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs Ottawa Senators (4) : The New Jersey Devils have Martin Brodeur. Enough said? The Senators have some decent depth at forward and an okay defensive core, but this entire series rests on the shoulders of Ray Emery. If Emery can be a steady presence in between the pipes then the Senators have a chance to steal this series. On the other hand, if Martin Brodeur plays like... well like Martin Brodeur the Devils win this one hands down. Back on April 10th I said Devils in 6 games over the Sens, I stick by that prediction, unless Brodeur proves human in round 2.

Western Conference Matchups:

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs San Jose Sharks (5) : The San Jose Sharks were my one miscall in round 1, they destroyed the Nashville Predators in 5 games and look to be one fearsome playoff team. The good news is that I also stated that the winner of the Preds vs Sharks series would also win the Western Conference. I'll stick by that prediction even though the Red Wings made a strong statement in round 1 against Calgary. The Sharks are big, strong and can roll two top scoring lines and the play of Evgeni Nabokov in round 1 makes them the team to beat in this series. Dominik Hasek was strong against Calgary but he is always a tweaked groin away from being a non-factor. On April 10th I predicted that the Predators would beat the Red Wings in 7 games. I'll stick with that prediction but substitute the Sharks. San Jose in 7 over Detroit.

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs Vancouver Canucks (3) : As expected the Ducks beat Minnesota. What was not expected was how quickly they would do it. The Wild tried to intimidate the Ducks and it simply did not work. Vancouver went to 7 games with Dallas and looked lucky at times to win the series. I don't expect them to hang around very long against Anaheim. On April 10th I predicted the Ducks in 7 games, I'll have to update that to the Ducks in 6. Vancouver's scoring issues are worse than I thought they would be.

Hit me with your stick? Fine, I boot you from the Playoffs

2007-04-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

Calgary Flames backup goaltender Jamie McLennan is probably crying in his beer at the first tee this morning as Johan Franzen gets the ultimate revenge.

The Hockey Herold posted the video of Calgary Flames backup Jamie McLennan swatting Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen repeatedly in Saturday nights game 5 matchup between the two teams. He also put up a nice summary of the NHL's response to the shenanigans.

I have placed the video below for your viewing pleasure.

Now why am I rehashing this issue?

Simple, forget the fines and the suspension, what hurts the most is that it was Franzen who scored the OT winner last night to send the Flames packing from the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Apparently the two handed slash to Franzen's midsection didn't faze him a bit.

Hey Jamie, stings a bit doesn't it?

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 22nd

2007-04-23T08:39:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

New Jersey Devils 3 (4) at Tampa Bay Lightning 2 (2) :

Detroit Red Wings 2 (4) at Calgary Flames 1 (2) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 23rd

2007-04-23T07:06:00.000-05:00

0/2 last night, my first o'fer of the playoffs (so far). New Jersey and Detroit eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Calgary Flames in their respective game 6 matchups. I may have gone 0-2 for the day but I am 2/2 on the series outcomes. Always look on the bright side of life... (sorry, I don't know how to write whistling?)

Tonights game:

Dallas Stars (3) at Vancouver Canucks (3) : Game 7 for the Stars and Canucks, Marty Turco has managed to drag his team back from a 3-1 series deficit by shutting out the high-powered (note the sarcasm) offence of Vancouver 3 times. I'm not quite sure which way to go on this game. Dallas completely outplayed Vancouver in game 6 at home and play game 7 on the road tonight. I've got to go with my 1st round prediction of Vancouver to win the series, if the Canucks can manage to score a few goals Roberto Luongo will get them the win.

Last night recaps:

New Jersey Devils 3 (4) at Tampa Bay Lightning 2 (2) :
Martin Brodeur won his 93rd post-season game to move into sole possession of 2nd place on the all time list just a little way behind Patrick Roy's 151. The All-star netminder rebounded from some sub-par performances in the first three games of the series to pull the Devils past a tough first round opponent in the Lightning. For Tampa Bay, the lack of balanced scoring across their roster hurt them despite above average performances from rookie goaltender Johan Holmqvist through most of the series. Tampa just didn't have the depth to beat Brodeur and the Devils.

Detroit Red Wings 2 (4) at Calgary Flames 1 (2) : The Red Wings finally won a game on the road in their first round playoff series against the Calgary Flames and it was the one that mattered most. The Red Wings won 4:23 into the second overtime period on a goal by Johan Franzen. Fitting since Franzen was the recipient of the slash by Calgary backup goalie Jamie McLennan in game 5 of the series. Forget the suspension and the fines, what has to hurt most is that Franzen was the one to end Calgary's stay in the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Detroit awaits the outcome of the Dallas Stars vs Vancouver Canucks series to find out who their round 2 series will be with. If Dallas wins the Wings will play them, if the Canucks pull it out Detroit will play San Jose.

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 22nd

2007-04-22T07:58:00.000-05:00

1/2 last night. Dallas managed to snap their losing streak at home in the playoffs partially because Vancouver forgot that they had to try to win. Dominik Hasek lost his shutout bid in the middle of the 3rd period on a disputed goal. The fact that I have him in my playoff pool has nothing to do with the fact that I thought it was a high stick. Really.

Tonights Games:

New Jersey Devils (3) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2) : With Martin Brodeur threatening to return to dominance as a goaltender the playoff lives of the Tampa Bay Lightning look a little less secure. Despite that I expect the Lightning to push hard tonight and get some production out of someone not named Vincent Lecavalier or Martin St. Louis. This series is going to 7 games back in New Jersey.

Detroit Red Wings (3) at Calgary Flames (2) : The Red Wings won an emphatic game 5 at home yesterday and have a chance to eliminate the Flames at the Saddledome tonight. The home team has won each game in this series and it is quite likely that this will continue. The Flames have to be embarrassed over their loss in Detroit yesterday and will come up all fired to win tonight.

Recaps Day11:

Calgary Flames 1 (2) at Detroit Red Wings 5 (3) : Dominik Hasek lost his shutout bid with 10 minutes left in the 3rd as the Red Wings completely dominated the Flames at home. Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Lidstrom combined for 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 series lead. Good news for the Wings as these are Zetterberg's first points since returning from injury just before the playoffs began.

Vancouver Canucks 0 (3) at Dallas Stars 2 (3) : The Dallas Stars returned from a 3-1 series deficit to win the last 2 meetings, in overtime and at home, to force game 7. Last night they won at home for the first time in 7 playoff games at home and Mike Modano got his first goal of the series to give the Stars a 1-0 lead just 3:05 into the game on a 5-3 advantage. Marty Turco made the goal stand up and recorded his 3rd shutout of this playoff series, a feat that only 12 other goaltenders have accomplished. Game 7 goes tomorrow night.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 21st

2007-04-21T06:37:00.000-05:00

2/3 last night. Can you take a guess which team let me down? The Islanders and the Predators are going home. Nashville simply got outworked by San Jose but the Islanders had a bigger problem, they simply didn't show up. Later tonight, Dallas gets sent home... at home.

Tonight's Games:

Calgary Flames (2) at Detroit Red Wings (2) : The Calgary Flames need to find a way to play their away games like they are home games. This series has seen the home team win each game and tonight will not be any different. Detroit will step up at home and take the lead in the series. This one is going to 7.

Vancouver Canucks (3) at Dallas Stars (2) : This series is a mirror flop of the Flames-Wings series. Dallas cannot win at home but has managed to steal two in Vancouver. Unfortunately for the Stars they are up for elimination again tonight, but this time at home. Wave goodbye Dallas, you need more than 1 point from your top 2 scorers, Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen, to get through round 1 of the playoffs.

Recaps Day 11:

New York Islanders 3 (1) at Buffalo Sabres 4 (4) : Congratulations on making the playoffs New York, it's too bad that you didn't show up for them. The New York Islanders just haven't gotten the production they needed from their #1 players to get through the Sabres. Not that they would have been able to get through them even if those guys had shown up. Buffalo got what they needed from all lines in this series and will now take a rest while their second round opponent is decided. It doesn't help that prior to the game Islanders defenseman Sean Hill was hit with a 20 game suspension by the NHL for violating the drug policy. Nice way to end the season.

Tampa Bay Lightning 0 (2) at New Jersey Devils 3 (3) : Martin Brodeur finally remembered why he is perhaps the best NHL goalie of all time and he simply decided that it was time for the Devils to remind everyone why they need to be feared in the post season. Brodeur got his first shutout of the 2007 NHL Playoffs to give the Devils a 3-2 series lead. If this means that Brodeur is back, goodbye Lightning.

San Jose Sharks 3 (4) at Nashville Predators 2 (1) : For the second year in a row the Nashville Predators are ousted from the playoffs in 5 games by the San Jose Sharks. Nashville managed to stake themselves to a 1 goal lead early in the second period but couldn't manage to stay out of the penalty box giving the Sharks 5 tries in the second period alone. This is truly bad news for the Predators and could spell the end of the franchise in Nashville, we'll have to wait and see as they wait to tee off.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 20th

2007-04-20T07:13:00.000-05:00

3/4 last night. The Wild had to go and get pummeled to screw up my predictions, both the Wild and the Penguins head to the golf course after last nights losses. 2 teams are on the brink of elimination tonight, the Islanders will be going home but the Predators will live to see another game, but only 1 more.

Tonight's Games:

New York Islanders (1) at Buffalo Sabres (3) : The Isles get bounced tonight, they simply cannot deal with the speed and skill that Buffalo presents on their top 3 lines. Alexei Yashin will again see limited playing time as he proves once again that he is just not a clutch player. No shutouts, but the score should be lopsided in Buffalo's favour.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) at New Jersey Devils (2) : This series will very likely go to 7 games and the Devils will get the win tonight on home ice. The Devils are hoping to have Colin White back tonight to help control Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis who have scored 8 of the 12 goals that the Lightning have scored in this series. Martin Brodeur has yet to play at the level we expect of him in this series. If he doesn't find his form soon I will have to adjust my predictions and go with the Lightning to win this series, but tonight my pick is the Devils.

San Jose Sharks (3) at Nashville Predators (1) : Nashville is determined to screw up my predictions. San Jose has simply exerted their will on this series. They have out hustled and out worked the Predators so far. If game 5 was in San Jose I would be picking the Sharks here but I think home ice will give the Preds the extra kick they need to get past the Sharks tonight.

Recaps Day 10:

Pittsburgh Penguins 0 (1) at Ottawa Senators 3 (0) : The Sens were just too much for the Pens in round 1. The Penguins went 0-6 on the power play last night and had not managed a goal in 17 tries on the power play in this series. Ottawa's big defensive tandem of Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips were successful in shutting down Crosby for most of the series and Evgeni Malkin never became a factor. Still this season has to be considered a success for the Penguins, just making it into the playoffs was completely unexpected of this team. Regardless, it is now time to say goodbye to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Senators will face either the New York Islanders (not gonna happen), New Jersey Devils (my selection) or the New York Rangers in round 2 depending upon the outcomes of those series.

Detroit Red Wings 2 (b) at Calgary Flames 3 (2) : The Flames even up the series with another strong effort at home led by Miikka Kirprusoff and strong special teams play. If Calgary is going to survive round 1 they need to find a way to bring the team that played last night to Detroit.

Dallas Stars 1 (2) at Vancouver Canucks 0 (3) : Marty Turco gets his second shutout and his first overtime win in 7 tries in the playoffs. Vancouver was called for too many men on the ice in overtime and it cost them the game despite some stellar goaltending from Roberto Luongo. Again the Canucks low scoring offence shoots blanks and the Stars head back to Dallas in an effort to keep this series alive. Unfortunately that is probably the worst thing that could happen for Dallas, expect them to depart after Saturday's game 6.

Anaheim Ducks 4 (4) at Minnesota Wild 1 (1) : The Wild go home despite the strong play of rookie Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom throughout the series. The Anaheim tandem of Ilya Bryzgalov and J.S. Giguere have been stellar and managed to stifle the offense of Minnesota. As an example of how weak the offense for the Wild was in this series, regular season team points leader Brian Rolston only managed 2 points in this series while Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom managed 1, an assist on the Wild's only goal last night. This was a highly entertaining series, not because of fast paced offensive hockey, but because of the brutal physicality of the series. During warmups last night Derek Boogard and George Parros began pushing and shoving and Teemu Selanne took a puck in the face from some as yet undetermined source. By the end of the game Selanne was joking that he looked like Rocky as he had cuts over both eyes that required stitches. See ya Wild, unfortunately for you golf season has not quite started in Minnesota so you will have to sit on your hands for a week or so before you can hit the golf course.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 18th

2007-04-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

New Jersey Devils 4 (2) at Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (2) Game 4:

Atlanta Thrashers 2 (0) at New York Rangers 4 (4) Game 4:

Buffalo Sabres 4 (3) at New York Islanders 2 (1) Game 4 :

Nashville Predators 2 (1) at San Jose Sharks 3 (3) Game 4 :

NOTE: The full highlight package video for this game seems to be broken but the individual highlight videos for goals and such are working.

You can see more video highlights and weekly specials on NHL.com.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 19th

2007-04-19T07:45:00.000-05:00

3/4 last night. As expected the Rangers sent the Thrashers home early with a convincing 4-2 win last night. The Nashville Predators seem intent on screwing up all of my predictions as they went down last night in San Jose. 3 teams are on the verge of elimination tonight, but only the Pens get the boot.

Tonights Games:

Pittsburgh Penguins (1) at Ottawa Senators (3) : Unfortunately this is the end for Penguins fans. Ottawa found a way to shut down Sidney Crosby in their last game and they have effectively made Evgeni Malkin a non-factor in the series. Expect another solid game from Ray Emery as the Sens oust the Pens tonight.

Detroit Red Wings (2) at Calgary Flames (1) : Which Calgary Flames team will show up tonight? Calgary has been horrible on the road all season long but game 4 of this series is at home. Expect a tight, close fought game that Calgary will eventually win. In overtime.

Dallas Stars (1) at Vancouver Canucks (3) : This series is a mirror of the Wings vs Flames series. Dallas is horrible at home and their best bet is to win games on the road. That being said it is tough to bet against Roberto Luongo. I'm taking the Stars in a tight game to push the series back to Dallas.

Minnesota Wild (1) at Anaheim Ducks (3) : Anaheim forward Brad May received a three game suspension by the NHL after his attack on Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson in the last meeting between the two teams. I think we can expect Derek Boogard to get in as many faces as possible tonight. It is important to note that J.S. Giguere is likely to see his first start in the 2007 playoffs as Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled in the 3rd period of game 4 after letting in 3 goals on 6 shots. I like the guts and grit of Minnesota and I think they will pull this game out to live until game 6 back in Minnesota.

Recaps Day 9:

New Jersey Devils 4 (2) at Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (2) : i did not have the stellar game that I predicted he would but the Devils found a way to make it work anyways. Scott Gomez scored 12:54 into overtime to give the Devils back home ice advantage in the series. Zach Parise has been a godsend to the Devils in the post season and he responded with 2 goals again last night to give the Devils a two goal lead in the middle of the second period.

Atlanta Thrashers 2 (0) at New York Rangers 4 (4) : The first team to be eliminated from the 2007 NHL Playoffs is Atlanta as they got truly trashed by the Rangers in their first post season appearance in club history. The Thrashers top 3 scores, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and Slava Kozlov combined for a measely 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in this series. Undoubtedly this is a big reason why they are now headed to the golf course.

Buffalo Sabres 4 (3) at New York Islanders 2 (1) : The Sabres continued to roll along as they overcame a strong effort by the Islanders in game 4. Chris Drury scored twice to help drive the Sabres into a commanding lead in this series with game 5 going Friday night in Buffalo. Islanders coach Ted Nolan is livid about a goal called back with 1:42 left in the third which would have tied the game but officials in Toronto immediately reviewed the play and backed up referee Mike Leggo's on ice call that it was not a goal. Argue all you want Nolan, but shoving the goalie into the net with the puck does not count as a goal. Have you booked your tee times yet Teddie?

Nashville Predators 2 (1) at San Jose Sharks 3 (3) : The bounces all seem to be going San Jose's way, Milan Michalek's second goal of the game came off a lucky deflection from Nashville Predator's defenseman Kimmo Timonen. On the other side of things, Nashville had a chance to tie the game late in the third as the pucked bounced through Evgeni Nabokov's crease and off a defenders skate, twice. Unfortunately for Nashville it bounced away from the net both times. So long Nashville, San Jose just seems to want this one more than you do. Nashville should win game 5 at home on Friday but they won't make it past game 6. This will be my first prediction gone wrong from the 1st round but probably not last (where are you Martin Brodeur!).

1st Round and full Predictions:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap, Video Highlights and Predictions - Apr 18th

2007-04-18T07:19:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Flames head coach Bob Hartley ruined my predictions last night. Despite giving up 3 first period goals and 2 second period goals Hartley stuck with Kari Lehtonen all through the 7-0 pounding that the Rangers put on the Thrashers last night.

Tonights Games:

New Jersey Devils (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2) : If anything I would call this a classic playoff series. The two teams split the games on New Jersey's home ice and I expect them to do the same in Tampa tonight. Look for Brodeur to be sharp as the Devil's even the series up 2-2 to head home for game 5.

Atlanta Thrashers (0) at New York Rangers (3) : Here is the first sweep of the 2007 NHL Playoffs. The Thrashers have been absolutely horrible in the playoffs and they still have gotten only 1 point out of there top 3 scorers. Atlanta coach Bob Hartley will be starting Johan Hedberg in net tonight as the Thrashers try to stave off elimination.

Buffalo Sabres (2) at New York Islanders (1) : The Sabres dominated on the ice in game 3 and look to continue there momentum into game 4 tonight. Briere and Vanek will have another good game as Buffalo take a 3-1 series lead with the chance to close out the series on Friday night at home.

Nashville Predators (1) at San Jose Sharks (2) : The Sharks brought there game to a new level in game 3 and completely owned the Predators. I doubt the Preds are going to like that much. Nashville will get rookie Alexander Radulov back tonight after he served a one game suspension for hitting Steve Bernier from behind. I look for his return to spark the veterans in the Nashville dressing room as the Predators win their first playoff road game in 7 tries.

Recaps Day 8:

Atlanta Thrashers 0 (0) at New York Rangers 7 (3) :
(click image to watch)
This series is all but over now. I'm not sure what was more confusing last night? Bob Hartley's refusal to pull Kari Lehtonen even after 5 goals in the first two periods... Or the image of Ilya Kovalchuk dropping the gloves with super pest Sean Avery. I'm not sure what surprised me more, the fact that Kovalchuk was actually in a hockey fight, or that Kovalchuk was actually at the game. The fight was one of the few times I noticed him on the ice last night.

Ottawa Senators 2 (3) at Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (1) :
(click image to watch)

Pittsburgh played a committed game last night in an attempt to even up the series but the Senators squeaked one out partly due to a fluky goal by Jason Spezza 3.5 minutes into the first period. The second surprise of the night was a game winning goal by Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchnekov who scored only once in 78 regular season games this season. Ottawa managed to smother Sidney Crosby and have effectively quieted Evgeni Malkin all series long. So much for my 7 game series prediction, Ottawa will close this one out on Thursday at home.

Vancouver Canucks 2 (3) at Dallas Stars 1 (1) :
(click image to watch)

The Dallas Stars played a committed game last night and pushed the Canucks deep into the third period in a scoreless tie. Unfortunately for the Stars it was Vancouver who came out on top. A game saving goal line save by Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell preserved the win for Vancouver. Dallas is on the verge of being eliminated in the first round after 5 games for the third straight time, a problem that goes back to their inability to win on home ice. They have now lost 6 straight at home in the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks 1 (3) at Minnesota Wild 4 (1) :
(click image to watch)

The Minnesota Wild were determined not to be swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round this year. A complete team effort resulted in a convincing win on home ice for the Wild to stave off elimination. Jacques Lemaire combined the Wild's top 3 scorers on one line in an effort to produce the offense that had been lacking in the series first three games. It worked, as the trio combined for 2 goals and 5 total points in the do or die win.

Detroit Red Wings 2 (2) at Calgary Flames 3 (1) :
(click image to watch)

The Calgary Flames are a completely different team at home than they are on the road. The seven mile stares that we saw on Calgary's bench in game 1 and 2 were gone in game 3 and replaced with an intensity that was apparent in the outcome. Jarome Iginla scored the game winning goal in the third period as Calgary simply outworked Detroit. It will be interesting to see which Calgary Flames team shows up on Thursday night for game 4 of the series.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 16th

2007-04-17T09:11:00.000-05:00

From the NHL Highlight Machine

New Jersey Devils (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2) Game 3:

Buffalo Sabres (3) at New York Islanders (1) Game 4:

Nashville Predators (1) at San Jose Sharks (2) Game 3:

You can see more video highlights and weekly specials on NHL.com.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 17th

2007-04-17T06:54:00.000-05:00

3/3 on predictions last night, there must have been something in my coffee yesterday morning. As expected the Sabres took control of their series with 3 goals in the second period while San Jose pounded the Predators to take the lead at home in their series.

Tonights Games:

Atlanta Thrashers (0) at New York Rangers (2) : Atlanta coach Bob Hartley says that Kari Lehtonen will be back in goal for the Thrashers as they try to keep alive in their first playoff appearance. The problem for the Thrashers lies in the fact that top scorers Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov and Marian Hossa have managed only 1 point between them in the series so far. I expect the Rangers to take this game tonight and would not be surprised to see Lehtonen chased from between the pipes by the 3rd period.

Ottawa Senators (2) at Pittsburgh Penguins (1) : The Penguins have to be disappointed after letting the Sens regain momentum in game 3. I expect the Penguins to come out blazing tonight and specifically hope to see Evgeni Malkin pick up where he left off in game 3 by putting more shots on net (he took his first 4 shots on net in the series last game). Penguins even this series behind a stellar game from Fleury and some offensive production from Staal and Malkin.

Vancouver Canucks (2) at Dallas Stars (1) : The Dallas Stars are currently on a 5 game home playoff losing streak. That is a problem. The Stars looked to be on the way to ending that streak in game 3 but lost in OT. Look for Marty Turco to bounce back tonight with a strong effort between the pipes and the Stars to even this series up a 2-2 to head back to Vancouver for game 5.

Anaheim Ducks (3) at Minnesota Wild (0) : Wow, I really expected the Minnesota Wild to make this a more competitive series. The Wild are 1-15 on the power play and leading scorers Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik have been limited to 2 goals and 2 assists between them. That being said I ~~expect~~ hope that Minnesota will display some pride tonight and get at least 1 win in this series. Their last appearance in the post season saw them swept by the Mighty Ducks on 2003. Expect Ilya Bryzgalov in net again tonight for Anaheim.

Detroit Red Wings (2) at Calgary Flames (0) : Jarome Iginla has notched only 2 shots on goal during this series. If the Flames expect to win a game in this series they need this to change tonight. Miikka Kiprusoff has done everything he could to keep the Flames in this series by making 90 saves on 97 shots. In contrast Dominik Hasek has faced only 35 shots and allowed only 2 goals. Tough call but I'll pick the Wings to squeak one out tonight to go up 3-0 in the series.

Recaps Day 6:

New Jersey Devils 2 (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (2) : If I had told you that Martin Brodeur would post a GAA of 3.00 in this series and be outplayed by Johan Holmqvist you probably would have been asking me to share my pharmaceutical paraphernalia with you. However, that's exactly what has happened in this series so far. The Lightning seem to have realized that Martin Brodeur is going to make the first save almost everytime so they have been focusing on getting shots on him and crashing the net for garbage goals. That served them well last night as two rather fluky goals gave them the win at home and the lead in the series. Martin St. Louis managed 3 assists while Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards combined for a goal and an assist each.

Buffalo Sabres 3 (2) at New York Islanders (1) : The Sabres came out fired up in the second period and took a one goal lead into the third. The Sabres held the Islanders to just 1 shot in the third period (a 17-1 advantage) to hold onto the lead. Islanders captain Alexei Yashin was relegated to the 4th line and the power play in game 3. Apparently Ted Nolan has realized what everyone else has already, Yashin doesn't show up in April. Hell, even the Ottawa Senators were able to figure that out years ago.

Nashville Predators 1 (1) at San Jose Sharks 3 (2) : The Sharks outshot the Predators 41-20 in there game 3 matchup and completely overpowered the Preds to take the lead in the series. The Predators played stellar defense throughout the game, they kept the Sharks to 0-7 on the power play, but a brain fart by Paul Kariya may have cost them the game. As the Predators killed off the Sharks 5th penalty of the game Kariya left the penalty box and skated to the bench instead of joining the play in his own zone. Ryan Clowe made the Preds pay with the game winning goal at 12:18, 8 seconds after the penalty was over.

Past playoff posts:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

Leafs and Canadiens get a second chance at the cup

2007-04-16T14:27:00.000-05:00

David Martin of the Ottawa Citizen is reporting on a new NHL playoff format that sees the bottom 16 teams in the NHL playing for the Rabinovitch cup.

The second tier playoff series is the brainchild of the CBC which has named it the Rabinovitch Cup after their president Robert Rabinovitch.

The CBC is faced with a declining television audience with the absence of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers from the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. They are predicting a 30% loss in viewership over the length of the playoffs.

In a further brilliant move the Rabinovitch Cup sees the 9th seed teams in each conference go through to the second round automatically. This ensures that the Toronto Maple Leafs will make it to the second round and that at least one Canadian team will still be in the hunt for the new cup after the first series play themselves out.

Even Don Cherry was reported as being supportive of this new cup and says "This is great. I love it. At least my Leafs have a chance to win something for a change."

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are excited that they can finally be assured that the Leafs will make it past the first round... unless the team ends up being disqualified when they can't get enough players off the golf course to field a team when round 2 rolls around.

David Martin is an Ottawa humour writer and you can read his original article "One Cup the Leafs can win" here.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 16th

2007-04-16T07:21:00.000-05:00

50/50 last night. Calgary surprised me with a lackluster effort. Sidney Crosby and Daniel Alfredsson lead all playoff scorers with 3 goals and 2 assists with rookies Alexander Radulov and Evgeni Malkin close behind with 4 points each.

Tonights Games:

New Jersey Devils (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (1) : The series shifts to Tampa and the Lightning have to be happy with a split in New Jersey. Look for the big guns in Tampa to go after Martin Brodeur tonight. Tight game but Tampa will pull it off to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Preview

Buffalo Sabres (1) at New York Islanders (1) : The Islanders were rejuvenated by the return of Rick DiPietro and the Sabres looked a little weak in game 2. Expect the Sabres to come out hot and put this game away early. Preview

Nashville Predators (1) at San Jose Sharks (1) : The Predators won game 2 handily but will be missing rookie spark plug Alexander Radulov for game 3 in San Jose. Expect the Sharks to take game 3 and a 2-1 lead in the series. Preview

Recaps Day 5:

Calgary Flames 1 (0) at Detroit Red Wings 3 (2) : The Flames put themselves in a hole early as Detroit scored two power play goals within the first 4 minutes. Pavel Datsyuk is continuing to prove that he can perform in the playoffs and Nicklas Lidstrom pots the game winner.

Ottawa Senators 4 (2) at Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (1) : The Senators were determined not to repeat their third period collapse from Saturday night and pulled together to bury the Penguins in game 3. Colby Armstrong knocked Patrick Eaves out of the game with a shoulder to the head behind the Pittsburgh net. Even more shocking may have been Ottawa's Chris Phillips dropping the gloves with Evgeni Malkin? No that is not a typo, it happened.

Anaheim Ducks 2 (3) at Minnesota Wild 1 (0) : The last time the Minnesota Wild were in the playoffs they were swept in 4 games by Anaheim. History looks like it is going to repeat itself as the Ducks take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Minnesota's power play has been absolutely non-existent as the scored their first PP tally last night in 15 chances. So long Minnesota, as of now I doubt that you will push this series to 5 games, let alone the 7 I predicted.

Vancouver Canucks 2 (2) at Dallas Stars 1 (1) : Marty Turco still has some demons to excorcise. Coming off his first playoff shutout Turco saw his chance at two in a row disintegrate in the third to be followed by an overtime loss 7:47 into the first overtime period. Turco is now 1-9 in postseason over time games and has lost 5 straight home games in the playoffs. As easy as it would be to blame this loss on Turco the problem is likely up front for Dallas. Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen were the teams leading scorers in the regular season but have yet to tally a point in the postseason.

Past playoff posts:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 15th

2007-04-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

Once again my predictive powers are over powered by reality. Rick DiPietro returns for the Islanders and that carries them over top of the Sabres and the Thrashers start backup Johan Hedberg and get a win to even up that series.

Tonights Games:

Calgary Flames (0) at Detroit Red Wings (1) : 1:00 PM EST
I expect the Flames and Jarome Iginla to step up tonight and at the very least make it close. Look for a Flames win. Preview

Ottawa Senators (1) at Pittsburgh Penguins (1) : 6:00 PM EST
The Senators have to be upset about last night, expect them to come out fired up and thake game 3 of this series. Look for Heatley and Spezza to have good games. Preview

Anaheim Ducks (2) at Minnesota Wild (0) : 8:00 PM EST
Minnesota has got to be upset about the way their power play has performed over the first 2 games. A measly 0-10 they have also given up 1 shorthanded goal. Expect the faster ice in Minnesota the spur things along as Minnesota take their first game at home. Preview

Vancouver Canucks (1) at Dallas Stars (1) :9:30 PM EST
When I thought Turco was his usual playoff self this series was easier to predict. Now that Turco has broken through with a shutout it makes things a little dicier. I still think that Luongo will come back strong and that Turco will be merely normal. Vancouver takes it tonight on the road. Preview

Recaps Day 4:

New York Rangers 2 (2) at Atlanta Thrashers 1 (0) : The Thrashers decided to go with backup Johan Hedberg last night in the hopes that he could spark the team to victory. The good news is that Hedberg didn't let in any cheesy goals... well, except for the game winner that bounced off of the glass and into the net on a dump in.

Pittsburgh Penguins 4 (1) at Ottawa Senators 3 (1) : Pittsburgh comes out swinging in game 2 of the series and manages to take one at Ottawa. Crosby performs again and Gary Roberts chips in to help Pittsburgh over the Senators.

Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (1) at New Jersey Devils 2 (1) : Vinny Lecavalier scores the game winner and Johan Homqvist outplays Martin Brodeur to even up the series.

New York Islanders 3 (1) at Buffalo Sabres 2 (1) : The Islanders get Rick DiPietro back and that picks up there game enough to give them a split in Buffalo. Buffalo's vaunted offence barely shows up as their D scores both of Buffalo's goals in game 2.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 14th

2007-04-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

So much for last nights predictions. The only one I got right was Nashville over San Jose.

Each day during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs I will write a recap of each game from a fantasy perspective and make some predictions for the games to be played that day. I will also link to the official game recaps at NHL.com.

Tonights Games:

New York Rangers at Atlanta Thrashers, game begins at 3:00 PM EST
Tough call but I expect the Thrashers to pull this one out at home. Preview
Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators, game begins at 3:00 PM EST
Another tough call, originally I thought that Pittsburgh would split these games but after the pasting they got in game 1 I have to go with Ottawa tonight Preview
Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils, game begins at 7:00 PM EST
Brodeur again, the Devils win. Preview
New York Islanders at Buffalo Sabres, game begins at 7:30 PM EST
The Sabres take game 2 in grand fashion Preview

Recaps Day 3:

Nashville Predators 5 (1) San Jose Sharks 2 (1) : The Sharks came out looking for revenge on the Hartnell knee on knee collision with Cheechoo and things got worse from their. Alexander Radulov was ejected from the game in the second period as he elbowed Steve Bernier into the boards. The Sharks were unable to score during the 5 minute major. The Preds made a statement and took game 2 of the series to even things up.

Dallas Stars 2 (1) Vancouver Canucks 0 (1) : Who knew? Marty Turco put some ghosts to rest as he pitched shutout last night to even up the series with the Canucks. Good news for Vancouver as Dman Brent Sopel returned to the lineup after missing game one because he hurt his back picking up a cracker. Insert your own redneck joke here, I'm not going to risk pulling an Imus.

Minnesota Wild 2 (0) Anaheim Ducks 3 (2) : The Ducks win at home again but this game was much closer. Look for the Wild to come out swinging in game 3. Teemu Selanne notches another point and Francois Beauchemin gets two power play goals to win this one.

Past playoff posts:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 13th

2007-04-13T08:34:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention that Alexei Yashin would be invisible during the Islanders playoff series versus the Sabres. Why? Quite simply because I didn't notice he was even on their roster. After last night I wonder if he knows that he was supposed to show up?

Each day during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs I will write a recap of each game from a fantasy perspective and make some predictions for the games to be played that day. I will also link to the official game recaps at NHL.com.

Tonights Games:

Nashville Predators defeat the San Jose Sharks, game begins at 8 PM EST - Preview
Forsberg takes control of this one
Vancouver Canucks defeat the Dallas Stars, game begins at 9:00 PM EST - Preview
Luongo again, the Sedin twins provide the offense
Minnesota Wild defeat the Anaheim Ducks, game begins at 10:30 PM EST - Preview
Backstrom stays solid and Marian Gaborik shows his face

Recaps Day 2:

New York Rangers 4 Atlanta Thrashers 3: As expected the Rangers get the upset. Keep an eye on this one as the Thrashers have enough forward talent to steal this. Kari Lehtonen was not sharp at all. Nylander exploded for 3 points between Jagr and Straka. I missed him in my previews and I shouldn't have. Sorry. If I thought that the Rangers would get out of Round 2 I would have put him on one of my rosters. Where were the big guns for the Thrashers last night? Hossa, Kozlov and Kovalchuk were all held pointless and looked overmatched at times by the Rangers D.

Detroit Red Wings 4 Calgary Flames 1: The Wings came out hard and took the physical game to the Flames. If that keeps up the Flames will be out in 5 games. Alex Tanguay showed up and ruined Hasek's shutout bid with 5:05 left in the game (BASTARD!). Lidstrom and Datsyuk each got a goal and an assist. Told you that Datsyuk would show up, that was his first point in 26 playoff games. Let's hope he keeps it up. Zetterberg skated well and had a few chances but didn't notch any points. Don't worry, he will.

New Jersey Devils 5 Tampa Bay Lightning 3: The outcome was expected, the nature of it was not. Brodeur looked ordinary and Holmqvist gave it all away in a high-scoring (when Brodeur is involved an 8 goal game is huge!) affair. The EGG line of New Jersey put up 6 points and were involved in 3 of the Devils 5 goals. Check out Zach Parise with two goals and the game winner.

Buffalo Sabres 4 New York Islanders 1: The Sabres dominated this game from the get go, although the Isles did show some promise over the last half of the game. Dubie truly did get smoked last night in Buffalo. Not to many 4th line centers make an impact in fantasy hockey, but Tim Connolly proved that he is the exception to that rule. My excuse for not pointing him out prior to the start of this series is that he missed 80 games due to the concussion he suffered in last years playoffs and I quite simply forgot how effective he was quarterbacking the Buffalo power play. Campbell scored two goals and the PP unit of Chris Drury, Dainus Zubrus, Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell and Tim Connolly look positively frightening.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 12th

2007-04-13T07:31:00.000-05:00

I wrote this post yesterday but had some unexpected technical difficulties trying to get it online. To top it all off my cable box to my big screen crapped out as well and I was unable to watch anything but the end of the Nashville vs San Jose game. At least I was able to get to sleep instead of watching the Vancouver - Dallas marathon.

Each day during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs I will write a recap of each game from a fantasy perspective and make some predictions for the games to be played that day. Below are the recaps from Day 1 of the quest for the cup, I cut out the predictions for Day 2 since those games have already occured (I picked all 4 winners but was surprised a little by Atlanta's performance).

Day 1:

Ottawa Senators 6 Penguins 3: As expected the Sens roll over top of the Pens and the shaky youth of Pittsburgh shows through. Looking at the back-end I predicted that Redden would be a disappointment and that Preissing would step up, they are even at the moment but look at Joe Corvo with 2 assists. Who new?

San Jose Sharks 5 Nashville Predators 4 in OT: Uh oh, the Sharks lost Jonathan Cheechoo just minutes into the 2nd period, tough loss for the Sharks, even tougher for your playoff fantasy team. Thank god I advised you to stay away from anyone in this series. You did stay away didn't you? Except for Shea Weber who put up 2 assists.

Vancouver Canucks 5 Dallas Stars 4: 4 overtime periods, wow. And of course they had to put up 9 goals between them. Some very spread out scoring here, only the Sedin twins, Naslund and Ohlund managed a multi point effort.

Anaheim Ducks 2 Minnesota Wild 1: Close game, I expected Backstrom to play well and he did, the front lines of Anaheim are just to talented. Selanne gets a goal for the Ducks and Demitra decided to show up for game 1, let's see if he is there for game 2. I do have one question though, where is Marian Gaborik?

NHL Playoffs - Round 1 Players to Watch

2007-04-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

The 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs are under way this evening with 4 games on tap.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Ottawa Senators @ 7:00 pm
San Jose Sharks vs Nashville Predators @ 8:00 pm
Dallas Stars vs Vancouver Canucks @ 10:00 pm
Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks @ 10:30 pm

In round 1 of the NHL playoffs there are several tough matchup's which should produce some great games and some great scoring. I already went over my 1st round predictions here, today I will take a look at who I think will be the top 5 performers at each position as well as the disappointments, surprises and players/teams to stay away from in round 1.

Centers: I see the Penguins and Senators series as the one which will produce the most points. Sidney Crosby and Jason Spezza will probably lead all centers in scoring through round 1.

My top 5 Center Picks:
Sidney Crosby
Jason Spezza
Daniel Briere
Vincent Lecavalier
Chris Drury

Disapointments: Demitra almost completely disappeared through the last few weeks of the regular season, expect that to continue into the playoffs. Alexei Yashin will continue his lackluster play from past seasons as well.

Surprises: Pavel Datsyuk is not known as a playoff performer, expect that to change this season as he feels he has something to prove. Also keep an eye on Daymond Langkow in Calgary.

Wingers: Back to the Sens vs Penguins series, I look for Dany Heatley to continue his dominance here closely followed by Martin St. Louis of Tampa Bay.

Stay Away From: New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, the Devils won’t score and the Islanders won’t last.

My top 5 Winger Picks:
Dany Heatley
Martin St. Louis
Marian Hossa
Jonathan Cheechoo
Henrik Zetterberg

Disappointments: Ryan Smith of the Islanders is a clutch performer, but I see the Sabres knocking out the Islanders in 5 games which limits his production in round 1. The Canucks Markus Naslund has had a let down season, expect it to continue into the playoffs.

Surprises: Thomas Vanek will likely play on the Sabres 3rd line but he will put up some good numbers as will Jason Pominville. Paul Kariya in Nashville will have a resurgence as the Predators prevail in 7 over the Sharks.

Defensemen: There are some obvious choices here, Niklas Lidstrom, Sergei Gonchar and Chris Pronger will be at the top of this list.

Stay Away From: Alex Tanguay may show up, he may not. Jaromir Jagr, he will probably show up but who can guess who else on the Rangers will join him.

My top 5 Defensemen Picks:
Niklas Lidstrom
Sergei Gonchar
Chris Pronger
Sergei Zubov
Scott Niedermayer

Disappointments: Wade Redden will perform, but not at the level you are looking for from him and the Senators and Marek Zidlicky will continue his subpar season on the blue line.

Surprises: Brian Campbell will push the Dman scoring leaders and Tom Preissing will step up for the Senators in place of Redden.

Stay Away From: Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo, the Canucks scoring issues make them a scary bet. Matt Carle, tough series to call, could be a barn burner or a low scoring affair. Don’t gamble on any defensmen from either San Jose or Nashville… except maybe Shea Weber.

Goaltenders: Domink Hasek will remain healthy and single handedly pull the Red Wings over the Flames in Round 1. Expect this series to be low scoring as Hasek and Kiprusoff combine for a healthy number of shutouts.

My top 5 Goaltender Picks:
Dominik Hasek
Miikka Kiprusoff
J.S. Giguere
Roberto Luongo
Ryan Miller

Disappointments: Kari Lehtonen will crack under the pressure of his first NHL Playoffs, as will the rest of the Thrashers team. Ray Emery, yes he will win 4 games but his GAA and Save % will be horrendous.

Surprises: Johan Holmqvist will put up some good numbers, especially GAA and Save %, but will eventually lose against Brodeur and only get two wins. Niklas Backstrom will continue his strong play but it is not enough against Giguere and the Ducks, he will get 3 wins and probably 1 shutout though.

Stay Away From: The Nashville vs San Jose series. I picked Nashville to win the west but it could just as easily be San Jose, add that to the uncertain goaltenders issues in both cities and you want to stay away from both teams. Also keep away from the New Jersey vs Tampa Bay series, this is also a tough one to call and with the firepower up front for Tampa you could see Brodeur get shelled a few times.

Sports Blogs go to War with ESPN Radio Host

2007-04-10T09:43:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it an ESPN radio host named Colin Cowherd (is that really his name or a description of his dating preferences?) may have made a wee mistake in the past week.

Colin Nerfherder apparently stole a story idea from a wee little sports blog. The Real Wonderlic Test was a comedic spoof written by the guys over at The M Zone that this ESPN Shrutebag (who the hell came up with that nickname?) passed off as his own on his radio show.

Bad enough eh? Nope, it gets worse.

Mr. "I am a respected Sports Broadcaster DAMMIT" Cowherd got upset when he was called on his blatant plagiarism and called for a DDOS attack on The Big Lead.

The Big Lead is a blog that ~~occasionally~~ regulary criticizes ESPN and other traditional Sports reports when they screw up a story and for some reason they took the brunt of Colin "I was in a hurry!" Cowherd's wrath.

The Big Lead was knocked out of service for approximately 48 hours but has come back online (after having to upgrade to a new hosting service). You can read up on their responses to the hot air heifer here:
Do it Again and the Kitten Dies
On Cowherd, Our Site, and the Ombudsman's Swift Response

Deadspin chimes in with a great synopsis of the brouhaha and Kissing Suzy Kolber has an interesting collection of new nicknames (Shrutebag may have originated here) for everyone's favourite bovine-like radio personality.

Perhaps my favorite of the day however is over at Girls Gone Sports where they have decided that the term 'Asshat' is a fitting addition to our everyday sports terminology. (Note to self, do not piss off the ladies at Girls Gone Sports... even if they can't tell ice hockey from field hockey)

Why am I writing about this? What does it have to do with Hockey?

Cuz, and it doesn't. So there.

But damn did it make me laugh today. Hat's off to all the sports bloggers out there who helped stand up to the man. Sorry I caught on to the message a little late but here's my two cents (unfortunately it's in Canadian currency so it's really only worth 1.5 cents US).

Stanley Cup Playoffs - My Predictions

2007-04-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

Buffalo Sabres win the Stanley Cup Playoffs over the Nashville Predators in 6 games.

So today I am going to take a look at the Stanley Cup Playoffs and lay out my predictions for the outcome of every round and who will win the cup this year. Let's see how far off I can be.

Tomorrow I will review Round 1 of the playoff's and pick who I see as the top performers at each position in relation to their first round opponents. I will do the same thing as each round ends until the finals.

Western Conference Matchups

Round 1: one upset with Forsberg and the Predators ousting the Sharks in 7 games.
Detroit Red Wings vs Calgary Flames - Detroit in 6 games, Hasek outduels Kiprusoff
Anaheim Mighty Ducks vs Minnestota Wild - Ducks in 7 games, front lines from Anaheim wear down Backstrom
Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars - Vancouver in 6, Luongo is just too good
Nashville Predators vs San Jose Sharks - Nashville in 7, Vokoun and Mason combine to pull this one out

Round 2: the Predators remind the Red Wings why they haven't smelled success in a few years in the playoffs.
Detroit Red Wings vs Nashville Predators - Nashville in 7, Detroit runs out of gas in round 2
Anaheim Might Ducks vs Vancouver Canucks - Ducks take it in 7, Luongo is good but Vancouver just doesn't have the firepower up front

Round 3: Predators move on to the final as the Ducks run out of gas.
Anaheim Mighty Ducks vs Nashville Predators - Preds in 6, the Ducks run out of gas after two 7 game series and Forsberg makes good on the Preds investment

Eastern Conference Matchups

Round 1: the Rangers upset the Thrashers, New York has the experience.
Buffalo Sabres vs New York Islanders - Sabres in 5, Dubie gets smoked in the playoffs
New Jersey Devils vs Tampa Bay Lightning - Devils in 6, don't bet against Brodeur
Atlanta Thrashers vs New York Rangers - Rangers in 7, IF Lundqvist stays hot and Jagr shows up
Ottawa Senators vs Pittsburgh Penguins - Sens in 7, tough battle but Emery trumps Fleury, barely

Round 2: Senators wash out against Brodeur
Buffalo Sabres vs New York Rangers - Sabres in 5, I'm bullish on the Sabres this year.
New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators - Devils in 6, Brodeur is too good for Sens top guns

Round 3: Young and fast, the Sabres are too much for Brodeur and the Devils
Buffalo Sabres vs New Jersey Devils - Sabres in 6, sorry Brodeur, now is the time to bet against you

Stanley Cup Final

I can't see the old and fragile Predators (Kariya, Forsberg) being able to keep up with the youth and talent that Buffalo brings to the table this year. Thomas Vanek is the MVP of the playoffs for Buffalo.

Buffalo Sabres vs Nashville Predators - Sabres in 6, Forsberg runs out of gas and Kariya is no where to be seen in the final

NHL Weekly Wrapup - Who's Hot and Who's Not

2007-04-09T07:03:00.000-05:00

Well the regular season is over and the playoff match ups are set and now you are thinking about how to set your rosters for your upcoming Playoff Pool. So this weeks Hot or Not will only focus on the teams that made the playoffs. So what if Joe Sakic leads all centers with 2 goals, 7 assists and 2 game winners in the last week, the Avalanche missed the playoffs so we won't matter in your upcoming pool. In fact, of the top 3 scoring centers in the last week of the NHL regular season (Sakic, Koivu and Stastny) none of them will be going on to play in the post season.

Stanley Cup Final Prediction: Buffalo Sabres vs Nashville Predators

Centers: Derek Roy is on a 6 game point streak with 4 goals and 3 assists in that span including two game winners. The Sabres and Senators have to be favorites coming out of the Eastern conference and you might do well stocking up on a few of their roster players.

My top picks: Daniel Briere and Peter Forsberg

Derek Roy: 4 goals, 1 assist, 2 GWG
Joe Thornton: 1 goal, 4 assists
Stephan Yelle: 1 goal, 4 assists
David Legwand: 3 goals, 1 assist, 1 GWG
Jason Spezza: 3 goals, 1 assist

Who's Not: Evgeni Malkin. Not only is it unlikely that the Penguins will get past the first round but Malkin closed out the season with pointless games and only 4 shots over that stretch. Yes he is a future fantasy star, but not in this years playoffs.

Wingers: The hottest winger in the NHL last week was Thomas Vanek with 4 goals and 3 assists and considering that I predict the Sabres to reach the finals this year that also makes him my top pick at the wing for your playoff pool. In Vanek's last 6 games he managed 6 goals, 4 assists, 1 GWG and 4 multi point games. He is a rising star in the NHL and he should be high on your list of draft targets in this years playoffs. He could be a good middle round steal as the big names fly off the board early.

My Top Picks: Thomas Vanek and Dany Heatley

Thomas Vanek: 4 goals, 3 assists, 1 GWG
Mikael Samuelsson: 2 goals, 3 assists
Dany Heatley: 2 goals, 3 assist
Daniel Alfredsson: 2 goals, 3 assist
Marian Gaborik: 1 goal, 4 assists

Who's Not: Pavol Demitra has not tallied a point in 5 straight games and sat out the Wild's last contest with a strained leg muscle. Considering that the Wild would have to pull off a huge upset over the Ducks to get out of the first round I would stay away from just about anyone from their roster.

Defensemen: Tom Poti put up 1 goal and 4 assists last week as the Islanders squeaked into the playoffs with a shootout win over the New Jersey Devils. Don't get too excited, they won't make it out of the first round.

My Top Picks: Brian Campbell and Chris Pronger

Tom Poti: 1 goal, 4 assists
Sami Salo: 1 goal, 2 assists
Kurtis Foster: 1 goal, 2 assists
Marc-Andre Bergeron: 3 assists
Joe Corvo: 3 assists

Who's Not: Shea Weber is currently on a 5 game pointless streak, I might still recommend him as a later round pickup just because he is a key component of the Predators power play.

Goaltenders: Tough pick here actually. Niklas Backstrom posted three wins and two shutouts in the past week but Wade Dubielewicz single handedly dragged the Islanders into the playoffs with 4 wins. I gotta give it to Dubie just because he is the 3rd string goalie.

My Top Picks: Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur (because you should never bet against Brodeur)

Wade Dubielewicz: 4 wins
Niklas Backstrom: 3 wins, 2 shutouts
Ryan Miller: 3 wins, 2 shutouts
Martin Brodeur: 2 wins
Tomas Vokoun: 2 wins

Who's Not: With 2 losses and 1 win last week Ray Emery was looking a little shaky. His only win came in a 6-3 drubbing of the Boston Bruins and he was out-dueled by Marc-Andre Fleury who he will face in the first round of the playoffs.

Leaf fans pray for Brodeur's swollen head

2007-04-08T10:11:00.000-05:00

Last night I posted a story about the upcoming New York Islanders vs New Jersey Devils game today and the implications that it has for the continuation of the Toronto Maple Leafs season into the playoffs.

I had heard and read hints that the New Jersey Devils were planning to sit many of their star players today in order to give them some extra rest prior to the playoffs since the game against the Islanders meant nothing in respect to either the regular or post season.

Well, things have changed.

Martin Brodeur holds the record for the most goaltender wins in a single season at 48, but as of last night he holds that record in tandem with Roberto Luongo. Who incidentally grew up a mere stones throw from the Brodeur home in St-Leonard, Quebec. Luongo and the Canucks play Phoenix tonight and I am sure that everyone is willing to bet that Vancouver will get Luongo the win.

That means Brodeur will lose his record to Luongo later today.

So Leaf fans, pray today and pray hard that Marty Brodeur's ego gets the best of him and he wants to play, and win, against the New York Islanders today in order to keep ahold of this NHL record. If he does, and they do, the Leafs make the playoffs. God help us all.

On a side note, this Leafs fan is pulling for the New York Islanders, the sooner we realize that this team will never be good enough to win the Stanley Cup and gut it in order to rebuild the better.

Why? Three words. 2009, Julian Tavares (Editors Note: His name is John Tavares, not Julian! Julian Tavarez is a relief pitcher for the Boston Redsox). By 2009 we need to be one of the worst teams in the League so that we have a chance at Tavares. Probably the most exciting prospect in the NHL since some guy named Sidney Crosby (or Evgeni Malkin, or Jordan Staal, or Alexander Ovechkin).

So, GO Isles GO!

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Sunday, April 8

2007-04-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Sunday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Tonight is a tough night as few teams are left with meaningful games. The Islanders are trying to bull their way into the playoffs and both Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur have chances to singlehandedly own the record for most wins in a season (they are currently tied at 48). Bad news for the Islanders.

Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin vs Stars - Mike Smith
Sabres - Ty Conklin vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz vs Devils - Martin Biron
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist
Flames - Jamie McLennan vs Avalanche - Jose Theodore

How did I do last night?
20-28 for starters, 10-14 on winners

Ouch, horrible night on starters, it is tough to figure out who starts at the end of the year as players get rested for the playoffs.

Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz vs Flyers - ~~Martin Biron~~ Antero Niittymaki
Blackhawks - ~~Nikola Khabibulin~~ Patrick Lalime vs Red Wings - ~~Domink Hasek~~ Chris Osgood
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Coyotes - Curtis Joseph vs Kings - Mathieu Garon
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Lightning - ~~Marc Denis~~ Johan Holmqvist vs Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen
Panthers - ~~Mikael Tellqvist~~ Craig Anderson vs Hurricanes - John Grahame
Canadiens - ~~Jaroslav Halak~~ Cristobal Huet vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Senators - Ray Emery vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Ducks - ~~J.S. Giguere~~ Ilya Bryzgalov vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Blues - ~~Jason Bacashihua~~ Curtis Sanford vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Predators - Tomas Vokoun vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff

Maple Leafs make the playoffs? Don't be too sure

2007-04-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

So the Toronto Maple Leafs pull off a miracle tonight and win their final game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. Woohoo! The Leafs make the playoffs... wait a sec. Not yet.

I am a Leaf fan, have been since I was I wee nipper. If you look at my picture at the top of the page you will notice my Mike Palmateer jersey. Anyone who was a fan of those Leaf teams is a die hard fan. So I know exactly where I come from when I tell you that at least 80% of the Leaf fans in this city now think that the Leaf's are in the playoffs.

I hate to be the one to break it to you Leaf fans, but if the Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils tomorrow we will be eliminated from the playoffs. Sounds like a good deal doesn't it?

I mean, what are the odds of the New York Islanders beating Martin Brodeur, Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta and the rest of the Atlantic leading New Jersey Devils.

There is only one problem with that, rumors around town are saying that Lou Lamoriello is planning on sitting as many as 7 of the Devils usual starting lineup, including Martin Brodeur, Patrick Elias and Brian Gionta.

This scenario sounds likely to me and if it does turn out to be the case, I would put my money on the Islanders beating the Brodeur-less Devils.

So Maple Leaf fans, stop your celebrating and make sure that you are in good enough shape to head out to church on Easter Sunday to pray for the New Jersey Devils.

And just in case my cousin's are reading this. Ok Ok... The Leafs actually pulled out the win. But they will still miss the playoffs when the Islanders beat the Devils tomorrow... so.

Nah nah nah nah nah naaaaahhhh.

UPDATE: Since the Vancouver Canucks (and Roberto Luongo) won tonight it is very likely that you will see Martin Brodeur in net tomorrow as he tries to hold off Luongo for the wins record. He has already been quoted as tell Looney Lou that he wants to play, and if he wants to play he wants to win. Strangely enough, the Leafs should thank Vancouver for winning tonight as it may get them in to the playoffs!

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Saturday, April 7

2007-04-07T07:21:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Saturday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Blackhawks - Nikola Khabibulin vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Coyotes - Curtis Joseph vs Kings - Mathieu Garon
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Lightning - Marc Denis vs Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen
Panthers - Mikael Tellqvist vs Hurricanes - John Grahame
Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Senators - Ray Emery vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Blues - Jason Bacashihua - Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Predators - Tomas Vokoun vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff

How did I do last night?
5-6 for starters, 1-3 on winners

Thrashers - Johan Hedberg vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Ducks - ~~J.S. Giguere~~ Ilya Bryzgalov vs Stars - Marty Turco

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Friday, April 6

2007-04-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Friday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Thrashers - Johan Hedberg vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Stars - Marty Turco

How did I do last night?
21-24 for starters, 6-12 on winners

Stars - ~~Marty Turco~~ Mike Smith vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist
Bruins - Hannu Toivonen vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Senators - Ray Emery
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz
Oilers - Jussi Markannen vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Red Wings - Chris Osgood vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo
Kings - ~~Mathieu Garon~~ Sean Burke vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Sharks - ~~Vesa Toskala~~ Evgeni Nabokov

Oilers and Hurricanes go from top to slop

2007-04-05T02:34:00.000-05:00

Back at the end of February I wrote a post about Parity in the NHL and how the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers are making a case for it this season.

Well lo and behold! I make a prediction that actually comes through. The Hurricanes and Oilers will miss the playoffs this year marking the first time in the history of the NHL that the two teams who contended for the Stanley Cup both missed the playoffs the following year.

In fact, if I remember this correctly, the last Stanley Cup winning team that missed the playoff's the following year was the 1996 New Jersey Devils. (Okay, so I looked it up on the 'net to make sure I was right).

The Oilers have been pretty much horrible all year long but considering that they were a last minute add-in to the playoffs last year AND the first 8 seed to ever make it to the Stanley Cup final it is not too surprising that they ended up missing the dance this year.

The Carolina Hurricanes came out of the gate strong this season and for a time were one of the highest scoring teams in the league. In fact, according to ESPN they still rank 12th in the League in team scoring posting an average of 2.94 goals per game. The big problem is on the other side of the coin. The 'Canes goaltending has been erratic to say the least and they average 3.00 goals against per game. Anyone with grade 3 math can see the problem that disparity causes.

As we enter a new era in the NHL I wonder if this type of thing will happen more often?

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Thursday, April 5: Updated

2007-04-05T02:19:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Thursday night:

NOTE: Life intruded yesterday and I was unable to post last night's starters, since there were only two games I figure you were able to work it our for yourselves.

More Notes: Updated Boston and Detroit starters... oh yeah and today's date!

I will continue to update today as more news is available.

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Stars - Marty Turco vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist
Bruins - Hannu Toivonen vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Senators - Ray Emery
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz
Oilers - Jussi Markannen vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Red Wings - Chris Osgood vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Sharks - Vesa Toskala

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Tuesday, April 3: UPDATED

2007-04-03T06:38:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Tuesday night:

NOTE: Ed Belfour has been replaced by Craig Anderson

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Panthers - Craig Anderson vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Senators - Ray Emery vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Flyers - Martin Biron vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist - Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz
Bruins - Hannu Toivonen vs Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak
Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena vs Red Wings - Dominik Hasek
Oilers - Jussi Markkanen vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin vs Predators - Chris Mason
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Flames - Miikka Kirprusoff
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph

How did I do last night?
2-2 for starters, 0-1 on winners

Blues - Curtis Sanford vs Stars - Marty Turco

NHL Weekly Wrapup - Who's Hot and Who's Not

2007-04-02T07:08:00.000-05:00

This week the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers have been hot lately and are getting production from their 2nd and 3rd lines. Scan the waiver wires for guys like Mike Comrie, Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan for some key additions in the last week of the regular season.

Centers: Mike Comrie snapped a 5 game pointless streak on Friday by contributing a goal and two assists and followed it up on Saturday with 2 goals. He potted the game winners on both nights.

Ollie Jokinen: 1 goal, 6 assists, 1 GWG
Saku Koivu: 1 goal, 5 assists, 1 GWG
Vincent Lecavalier: 2 goals, 4 assists
Sidney Crosby: 2 goals, 4 assists
Michael Nylander: 2 goals, 4 assists

Who's Not: Other than my entire center corps? How about Pavol Demitra, and yes he is on my roster. Demitra is pointless in 4 games, at this point in the season drop him for a hot replacement... or a bag of pucks.

Wingers: Peter Schaefer had back to back multi-point games and managed 5 assists last week.

Jaromir Jagr: 3 goals, 3 assists
Daniel Sedin: 3 goals, 2 assists
Zach Parise: 2 goals, 3 assists
Simon Gagne: 1 goal, 4 assists
Evgeni Malkin: 1 goal, 4 assists

Who's Not: Paul Kariya is on a 4 game pointless streak and has only 1 point in 8 games as the Predators have lost 5 of their last 8.

Defensemen: Don't look now but Mark Streit is on another streak, he has 5 points in his last 5 games as the Canadiens make a push for the last playoff spot in the East. And in case you missed it, super prospect Jack Johnson was called up by the Kings and will play the remainder of the season. If you are hurting for points from your d-men take a chance on Jack.

Tomas Kaberle: 2 goals, 3 assists
Ryan Whitney: 3 goals, 1 assist
Mark Streit: 2 goals, 2 assists
Chris Pronger: 2 goals, 2 assists
Brian Rafalski: 4 assists

Who's Not: Brian Campbell is on a 4 game pointless streak. Don't panic, he should snap out of it.

Goaltenders: Miikka Kiprusoff has singlehandedly kept the Calgary Flame in the last playoff spot in the West and put up 3 wins and a shutout last week. An interesting side note, Niklas Backstrom posted 0 wins and 1 shutout last week, he got the shutout in a 1-0 shootout loss to Kiprusoff and the Flames. How often do you see two shutouts in 1 game?

Miikka Kiprusoff: 3 wins, 1 shutout
Martin Brodeur: 3 wins
Evgeni Nabokov: 3 wins
Marty Turco: 2 wins, 1 shutout
Roberto Luongo: 2 wins

Who's Not: Dwayne Roloson lost twice last week and let in 6 goals on 48 shots. However, if you are desperate enough to be starting an Edmonton Oiler goalie at this point in the season you obviously have nothing to lose by continuing to start him.

Who to watch this week: Any New York Ranger. The Rangers seem to be on a mission and their lines are clicking right now. For some reason Martin Straka was available in my league this morning and I dumped Pavol Demitra for him. Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan and Michael Nylander all put up multiple points last week. On the defensive side, as noted above, Jack Johnson has been called up by the L.A. Kings, if you need some help on the back end this may be a good gamble.

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Monday, April 2

2007-04-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Monday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Blues - Curtis Sanford vs Stars - Marty Turco

How did I do last night?
10-12 for starters, 4-6 on winners

Red Wings - Dominik Hasek vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Oilers - ~~Jussi Markkanen~~ Dwayne Roloson vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Hurricanes - ~~John Grahame~~ Cam Ward vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Sunday, April 1

2007-04-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Sunday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Red Wings - Dominik Hasek vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Oilers - Jussi Markkanen vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Hurricanes - John Grahame vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist

How did I do last night?
15-20 for starters, 7-10 on winners

Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Bruins - Joey MacDonald
Wild - ~~Niklas Backstrom~~ Josh Harding vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Sabres - ~~Ryan Miller~~ Ty Conklin vs Canadiens - ~~Cristobal Huet~~ Jaroslav Halak
Senators - Martin Gerber vs Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Blues - ~~Curtis Sanford~~ Jason Bacashihua
Stars - Marty Turco vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Saturday, March 31

2007-03-31T09:07:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Saturday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Bruins - Joey MacDonald
Wild - Niklas Backstrom vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Sabres - Ryan Miller vs Canadiens - Cristobal Huet
Senators - Martin Gerber vs Islanders - Wade Dubielewicz
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Lightning - Johan Holmqvist
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Blues - Curtis Sanford
Stars - Marty Turco vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

How did I do last night?
13-16 for starters, 6-8 on winners

Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Senators - Ray Emery
Flyers - Martin Biron vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Lightning - Johan Holmqvist vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Capitals - ~~Olaf Kolzig~~ Brent Johnson vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Stars - Mike Smith vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek
Islanders - Mike Dunham vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Blue Jackets - Brian Boucher vs Black Hawks - ~~Nikolai Khabibulin~~ Patrick Lalime
Coyotes - ~~Mikael Tellqvist~~ Curtis Joseph vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

NHL East: Leafs, Hurricanes, Islanders miss playoffs

2007-03-30T07:35:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I wrote a post about the tight Eastern conference playoff race that broke down as follows:

3 playoff spots + 5 points + 6 teams = priceless

Well 4 days later, and 6 out of the 39 games remaining for these teams, the race has become tighter than a devout nun.

3 playoff spots + 3 points + 6 teams = even more priceless

In fact you could argue that there are now 8 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots if you include Atlanta, which could conceivably be caught by Tampa Bay, and Florida who are only 6 points out of that final playoff spot.

As of today there are 31 games remaining for the 6 teams, 14 of which are head to head matchups between the contenders for the final three spots.

Rangers - 87 points in 6th - 5 remaining, 3 head to head, a possible 16 point swing
Lightning - 86 points in 7th - 5 remaining, 2 head to head, a possible 12 point swing
Canadiens - 86 points in 8th - 5 remaining, 2 head to head, a possible 12 point swing
Maple Leafs - 85 points in 9th - 5 remaining, 3 head to head, a possible 16 point swing
Islanders - 84 points in 10th - 6 remaining, 2 head to head, a possible 14 point swing
Hurricanes - 84 points in 11th - 5 remaining, 2 head to head, a possible 12 point swing

Looking over the above numbers it looks like the teams with the best chance to make the playoffs are the Rangers, Lightning and Leafs if you only look at the numbers.

If I had to predict the outcome of the remaining games in the East they would end up as follows (assuming that Rick DiPietro is gone for the remainder of the regular season!):
Rangers - 3 wins (PHI, NYI, MON), 1 loss (PIT), 1 IT/SO Win (TOR) for 8 points
Lightning - 3 wins (CAR, WAS, FLA), 2 losses (CAR, ATL) for 6 points
Canadiens - 2 wins ( BOS, TOR) , 3 losses (OTT, BUF, NYR) for 4 points
Maple Leafs - 2 wins (PHI, NYI), 2 losses (PIT, MON), 1 OT/SO loss (NYR) for 5 points
Islanders - 1 win (PHI), 5 losses (BUF, OTT,NYR,TOR,NJD) for 2 points
Hurricanes - 3 wins (FLA,FLA,TAM), 2 losses (TAM, ATL) for 6 points

This leaves the standings as follows:
6 - Rangers - 95 points
7 - Lightning - 92 points
8 - Canadiens - 90 points
8 - Maple Leafs - 90 points
8 - Hurricanes - 90 points
9 - Islanders - 86 points

Giving us a threeway tie for 8th place. The tiebreaker is number of games won putting Montreal in 8th (and the playoffs), Carolina in 9th and Toronto in 10th.

Interesting no?

As pivotal as the head to head matchups will be in the final days of the season the real clincher is likely to be games against Florida, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia. Each of the teams in the race for the East have at least 1 game against these weaker teams. Missing out on those two points will decide the season for more than 1 team in this years playoff race.

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Friday, March 30: UPDATED

2007-03-30T07:08:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Friday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Senators - Ray Emery
Flyers - Martin Biron vs Devils - Martin Brodeur
Lightning - Johan Holmqvist vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Stars - Mike Smith vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek
Islanders - Mike Dunham vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Blue Jackets - Brian Boucher vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

How did I do last night?
14-16 for starters, 6-8 on winners

Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Thrashers - Johan Hedberg
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Red Wings - Chris Osgood vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Flames - Miikka Kirprusoff vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Oilers - Jussi Markkanen vs Blues - ~~Curtis Sanford~~ Jason Bacashihua
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Kings - ~~Mathieu Garon~~ Sean Burke

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Thursday, March 29 : UPDATED

2007-03-29T07:33:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Thursday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Thrashers - Johan Hedberg
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Red Wings - Chris Osgood vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Flames - Miikka Kirprusoff vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Oilers - Jussi Markkanen vs Blues - Curtis Sanford
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Kings - Mathieu Garon

How did I do last night?
6-8 for starters, 2-4 on winners

Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Hurricanes - John Grahame vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Panthers - ~~Ed Belfour~~ Craig Anderson
Ducks - ~~J.S. Giguere~~ Ilya Bryzgalov vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin

Hockey Goaltenders make good short stops - Video

2007-03-28T10:23:00.000-05:00

Well, except for hitting and running the bases anyway.

Thanks to Dave Smith a dedicated reader of Eric McErlain's Offwing Opinion I just spit coffee all over my double LCD monitor and wireless keyboard setup.

Eric provides a link to perhaps the greatest hockey movie (or greatest short movie anyway) since Slapshot (ok, maybe Slapshot 2).

Clark, the Canadian Hockey Goalie is a short video about Clark (a Canadian Hockey Goalie strangely enough) who decides to give up hockey to take a shot at Major League Baseball... as a short stop. Watch the video here.

This video is well worth the couple of minutes it will take you to watch it. But be warned, go to the john just before watching it and DO NOT under any circumstances drink anything while watching.

My favorite moment from the video? When Clark jersey's his 3rd baseman for calling him a 'hoser'.

P.S. For Eric McErlain and other sports/hockey bloggers out there, I tried to link this directly to the post on OffWing Opinion but he seems to be having some issues with his site. In fact it freezes my browser every time I look at anything but the main page.

And Eric, thanks for the post, I spit my drink everywhere, almost pissed myself and had to get a new keyboard.

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Wednesday, March 28

2007-03-28T07:23:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Wednesday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Hurricanes - John Grahame vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin

How did I do last night?
18-28 for starters, 7-12 on winners
Sorry about the horrible predictions on starting goalies, that's what I get for writing the post at 6am and not being able to update throughout the day.
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Lightning - Marc Denis
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Islanders - ~~Rick DiPietro~~ Mike Dunham
Bruins - ~~Tim Thomas~~ Joey MacDonald vs Senators - Ray Emery
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Tomas Vokoun
Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena vs Blues - ~~Jason Bacashihua~~ Curtis Sanford
Coyotes - ~~Curtis Joseph~~ Mikael Tellqvist vs Stars - Marty Turco
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Avalanche - ~~Peter Budaj~~ Jose Theodore
Kings - ~~Mathieu Garon~~ Sean Burke vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Tuesday, March 27

2007-03-27T05:32:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Tuesday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Capitals - Olaf Kolzig
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Lightning - Marc Denis
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Senators - Ray Emery
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Tomas Vokoun
Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena vs Blues - Jason Bacashihua
Coyotes - Curtis Joseph vs Stars - Marty Turco
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Avalanche - Peter Budaj
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov

How did I do last night?
2-2 for starters, 0-1 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)

Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek

NHL Weekly Wrapup - Who's Hot and Who's Not

2007-03-26T07:29:00.000-05:00

It's all about the hot line combo's. The San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek are redhot and all 3 appear in the top 5 lists for their positions. In Minnesota it is the combo of Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra have combined for 66 points in the Wild's last 24 games. These two are centered alternately by Mikko Koivu or Pierre-Marc Bouchard, if you look at the center rankings Demitra, Koivu and Bouchard are all in the top 5 for the week. If any of these players are on your waiver wire, now is the time to pick them up.

Centers: Joe Thornton led all centers with 1 goal and 7 assists in the past week and is currently on a 10 game point streak to challenge Sidney Crosby for the NHL points race.

Joe Thornton: 1 goal, 7 assists
Pavol Demitra: 2 goals, 3 assists
Mikko Koivu: 2 goals, 3 assists
Pierre-Marc Bouchard: 1 goal, 4 assists
Tyler Arnason: 5 assists

Who's Not: Rod Brind'Amour was blanked in the Hurricanes two games last week and has been on a steady decline since leading all scorers earlier in the season. He has still produced a solid 75 points on the season but there are definitely better choices out there. I know I just dropped him from my roster for the home stretch.

Wingers: Jonathan Cheechoo seems to have found his way back to prominence as he put up 6 goals and 2 assists in the past week and 13 points in his last 7 games.

Jonathan Cheechoo: 6 goals, 2 assists
Marian Gaborik: 3 goals, 3 assists, 1 GWG
Milan Michalek: 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 GWG
Daniel Sedin: 2 goals, 3 assists, 1 GWG
Pavol Demitra: 2 goals, 3 assists

Who's Not: Martin Havlat managed only 1 point in 4 games last week and has not scored a goal in 12 straight games. Coincidentally the Black Hawks have lost 8 of 12 in that span.

Defensemen: Christoph Schubert put up a goal and 3 assists last week, but before you rush out to add him to your lineup note that 3 of those points came in 1 game. In fact, 7 of his 22 points this year have come in only 3 games.

Christoph Schubert: 1 goal, 3 assists
Dion Phaneuf: 4 assists
Joe Corvo: 1 goal, 3 assists
Dan Boyle: 2 goals, 3 assists
Bryan McCabe: 1 goal, 2 assists

Who's Not: Kevin Bieksa may have 38 points on the year for the Canucks but he has none in his last 7 games.

Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist? Yep, the Rangers are perhaps the hottest team in the NHL right now and Lundqvist snatched 4 wins and 1 shutout last week.

Henrik Lundqvist: 4 wins, 1 shutout
Jaroslav Halak: 3 wins, 1 shutout
Frederik Norrena: 3 wins
Miikka Kiprusoff: 3 wins
Roberto Luongo: 2 wins, 1 shutout

Who's Not: Martin Biron and the Flyers are sinking fast. Biron has lost three straight and last week managed a paltry GAA of 4.04 and a save percentage of only .882

Who to watch this week: Mikko Koivu has 10 points in his last 8 games with 3 multi-point games in that stretch. The Wild play 3 times this week, twice against free falling Calgary and once against the surging Avalanche. I'm heading to the waiver wire right now to exchange him for Rod Brind'Amour.

3 Spots open in the East for 6 teams

2007-03-26T07:05:00.000-05:00

This week in the NHL: The Eastern conference playoff race is tightening up as 6 teams are within 5 points of the final three playoff spots in the East. The Rangers, Lightning and Montreal have 6 games remaining while the Hurricanes, Islanders and Leafs each have 7 games remaining. It should be an interesting week in the NHL as these teams face each other frequently over the remainder of the season.

The Rangers play 4 of their remaining 6 games against the 6 teams in the playoff race
The Lightning play only 2 of their remaining 6 games against teams in the race
The Hurricanes play 3 of their remaining 7 games against teams in the race
The Islanders play only 2 of their remaining 7 games against teams in the race
The Canadiens play 3 of their remaining 6 games against teams in the race
The Maple Leafs play 4 of their remaining 7 games against teams in the race

Looking at the schedule we can see that the Rangers and the Maple Leafs hold their playoff destiny in their hands. Winning the remaining games against their conference rivals could propel these two teams into the playoffs. The Rangers are perhaps the hottest team in the NHL right now and have won 5 straight. The Leafs on the other hand haven't been able to decide which type of team they are, a contender or a pretender. The coming weeks will show us which.

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Monday, March 26

2007-03-26T06:59:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Monday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Ducks - J.S. Giguere vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek

How did I do last night?
10-10 for starters, 4-5 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)

Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

NOTE: Tim Thomas was pulled at the beginning of the 2nd period in favor of Joey MacDonald and Peter Budaj was pulled in the first period in favor of Jose Theodore

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Sunday, March 25

2007-03-25T10:31:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Sunday night:

(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Bruins - Tim Thomas vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo

How did I do last night?
20-24 for starters, 6-12 on winners (maybe I should have warned you I was hung over when I wrote this yesterday? Take note, I am hung over again today)
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)

Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Bruins - Joey MacDonald
Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Penguins - Jocelyn Thibault
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak
Sabres - ~~Ty Conklin~~ Ryan Miller vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Senators - Ray Emery vs Lightning - Marc Denis
Kings - ~~Sean Burke~~ Mathieu Garon vs Wild - Josh Harding
Predators - Tomas Vokoun vs Oilers - Jussi Markkanen
Stars - ~~Mike Smith~~ Marty Turco vs Coyotes - ~~Mikael Tellqvist~~ Curtis Joseph

Islanders vs Rangers: The Throwdown

2007-03-24T12:41:00.000-05:00

This is it, what they have been waiting for. The Islanders and the Rangers play Sunday for the first time since the Chris Simon stick swinging incident.

This was the first incident in recent memory (followed quickly by the Jordin Tootoo sucker punch) that occured outside of Vancouver. Both the Marty McSorley and Donald Brashear attach and the Todd Bertuzzi ambush on Steve Moore both occured in Vancouver.

Why is this important? For a few reasons:
1) If you own or can grab Aaron Asham, Brendan Witt, Colton Orr or Ryan Hollweg off of your leagues waiver wire you are likely to get a few PIMs out of tomorrow's game
2) The NHL and the entire hockey world will be watching to see what happens.

In case you missed it, Chris Simon is out for the rest of the season so the remaining tough guys on both teams are Aaron Asham and Brendan Witt for the Islanders and Colton Orr and Ryan Hollweg for the Rangers. After Colton Orr's demolition of Todd Fedoruk and Ben Eager last week I pity anyone who steps up to the plate with Orr.

This game has larger implications than just who will fight who. The plethora of incidents over the last several weeks include: Wade Belak fighting Cam Janssen, Colton Orr fighting Todd Fedoruk and Ben Eager in retaliation for incidents which occured weeks in the past. Not to mention the Jordin Tootoo sucker punch that sent Stephan Robidas to the hospital with a concussion.

Todd Fedoruk was removed from the ice on a stretcher after being KO'd less than a minute into the game on Wednesday night and the following night John Sim was sent to the hospital with a fractured orbital bone after tangling with Mark Bell.

This rash of fighters injuries and retaliation has prompted Directory of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell to suggest that the NHL needs to take a look at fighting in the game and implement procedures to limit it.

So the question becomes... will there be a fight in tomorrow's game? And if there is, what will be the repercussions?

Perhaps even more importantly, if a hockey fight occurs in New York in the middle of the day and no one is watching... does it make any noise?

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Saturday, March 24

2007-03-24T12:16:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Saturday night:
(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Bruins - Joey MacDonald
Islanders - Rick DiPietro vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Penguins - Jocelyn Thibault
Blues - Jason Bacashihua vs Red Wings - Domink Hasek
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Hurricanes - Cam Ward
Capitals - Olaf Kolzig vs Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak
Sabres - Ty Conklin vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Senators - Ray Emery vs Lightning - Marc Denis
Kings - Sean Burke vs Wild - Josh Harding
Predators - Tomas Vokoun vs Oilers - Jussi Markkanen
Stars - Mike Smith vs Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist

How did I do last night?
8-8 for starters, 2-4 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Oilers - Dwayne Roloson
Stars - Marty Turco vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere

Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Friday, March 23

2007-03-23T07:35:00.000-05:00

Below are the reported starters for Friday night:
(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)

Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Black Hawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Oilers - Dwayne Roloson
Stars - Marty Turco vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere

How did I do last night?
18-20 for starters, 5-9 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)

Capitals - Brent Johnson vs Hurricanes - John Grahame
Sharks - Vesa Toskala vs Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen
Senators - Ray Emery vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena vs Red Wings - Chris Osgood
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Lightning - ~~Johan Holmqvist~~ Marc Denis
Blues - Curtis Sanford vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Predators - Chris Mason vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff
Ducks - Ilya Bryzgalov vs Coyotes - ~~Mikael Tellqvist~~ Curtis Joseph

Does Ray Emery wear women's shoes

2007-03-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

This is a bit of a strange trip, but trust me and follow along.

For some strange reason I decided to type the words 'puck bunnies' into Google and see what happened. I am at the office today so I wasn't trying to find pornographic pictures of amorous hockey females.

Oh, wait, for those of you who don't know what a puck bunny is...

According to Wikipedia: "A puck bunny is a female ice hockey fan, often one whose interest in the sport is primarily motivated by sexual attraction to the players rather than enjoyment of the game itself."

So, back to my original train of thought.. a naked blonde walks into a bar with a foot long salami under one arm and a poodle under the... wait, wrong conversation.

I type puck bunnies into Google and the first result I get is to an online forum for puck bunnies... no really this actually happened. (Check out http://www.voy.com/193541/)

So I get sucked in and start to troll around reading posts from various puck bunnies, puck bunny haters and puck bunny wannabees. Oh, yeah, and the venerable retired puck bunnies (aka gray hares). I must admit that I probably spent close to an hour reading about the exploits and conquests of various puck bunnies. Did you know that Wojtek Wolski is very well hung but has an extremely hairy ass? Neither did I, and I apologize for putting that information into your brain.

Back to the point... I stumbled across a thread about Ray Emery here. The discussion begins around Ray Emery's shoe collection, apparently he has around 500 pairs of shoes, and one pair of women's boots! I became entranced with their discussion about why Emery would have a pair of ladies boots in his closet. Opinions ranged from an ex girlfriend leaving them behind to his penchant for wearing women's shoes.

Just let me say that it was an enjoyable afternoon spent rolling around in the dirt with a bunch of puck bunnies. I hope you enjoy it too.