(Photo Credit: AP)I think you’ll be surprised with Andrew’s prediction for the Columbus Blue Jackets…
The “second half” of the season began last night with 10 Eastern Conference teams thinking playoffs and all but Los Angeles and St. Louis out West still alive. The push for the Second Season should be awesome. Here’s who we think will be left standing once the regular season ends…
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 BOSTON: Chara + Savard + Kessel + Krejci + Thomas/Fernandez = no letdown. The Bruins will stay clear of Washington and everyone else to earn home ice throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
#2 WASHINGTON: Barring a Jose Theodore collapse in net, the Capitals will cruise to a second straight Southeast Division title.
#3 PHILADELPHIA: The Flyers are better than the Devils, even if Martin Brodeur returns on time March 1st and plays well. Plus, Peter Forsberg could be back in Philly by early February.
#4 MONTREAL: The Canadiens’ roster will change (probably dramatically) by the trade deadline, but all of Bob Gainey’s work will only be good enough for home ice in Round 1.
#5 NEW JERSEY: The Devils are one of the best stories of the first half. Their reward: a possible Game 7 in the Bell Centre.
#6 PITTSBURGH: Sidney Crosby + Evgeni Malkin + Marc-Andre Fleury = a playoff spot, even if the Penguins came out of the All-Star Break 10th in the conference.
#7 NY RANGERS: No team’s record is more misleading than the Blueshirts’. This team is just not that good – I’d love to keep them out of the playoffs. But Henrik Lundqvist and the boys are better than Buffalo, Carolina and Florida.
#8 FLORIDA: Why not the Panthers? They can certainly hold off Buffalo and Carolina. Let’s party like it’s 1996! Until Uew Krupp shows up and turns off the music.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
#1 SAN JOSE: The Sharks will be the #1 seed overall, but won’t the Red Wings still be the favorites to win the Stanley Cup?
#2 DETROIT: see above
#3 CALGARY: Someone has to win the Northwest Division
#4 CHICAGO: The renaissance in the Windy City goes to another level with home ice in the first round. And let’s say it now: the Blackhawks would beat San Jose in Round 2.
#5 ANAHEIM: Like the Penguins, the Ducks are too good to be this lackluster for a full season. Thanks to all the so-so teams around them, they will rally up the standings.
#6 COLUMBUS: The Blue Jackets have 21 home games left and a red-hot goaltender.
#7 PHOENIX: The Coyotes disastrous balance sheet will get some good news with at least 2 playoff games.
#8 EDMONTON: The Oilers’ young guns will hang on (barely) to earn the right to lose to the Sharks in the opening round.
Some final thoughts on our predictions…(1) Mats Sundin wasn’t worth it, Vancouver; (2) I really want to keep the Rangers out, but I just cannot see two of Buffalo, Carolina and Florida in this bracket; (3) Not only will the Blue Jackets make the playoffs, they’ll reach the second round; (4) I’ve already grown my playoff beard.
The Shootout…The NHL’s decision to “suspend” Red Wings Niklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk is an unfortunate one. While the players should have been in Montreal to be part of the festivities, there is nothing wrong with them skipping the All-Star Game to nurse injuries, even if they are minor. As important as the ASG is to the League, it is still just an exhibition, far less significant than any regular season game. Of course players will push themselves to dress for a game that counts – they should be allowed to miss one that doesn’t…
Which brings us to an All-Star alternative being pushed by NHLPA Director of Player Affairs Glenn Healy. Each February, Healy thinks the League should take a break for a rotation of major events: the Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey, and a traditional All-Star Game. The only issue at first glance is what the 85% of players not involved in such events do for 2 weeks every February…
Finally, back to Detroit, where the Red Wings are giving Henrik Zetterberg a 12-year extension worth just north of 72 million dollars. Leave it to Ken Holland to ink Zetterberg to a deal paying him less annually than Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Danny Briere...
As always, please direct your comments, critiques, and fan letters to boguschhockey@gmail.com
ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...
-Kris Letang and Petr Sykora each scored two goals while Sidney Crosby showed no signs of rust with a goal and three assists as the Penguins (24-21-4) kicked the door down in the 3rd period to beat the Rangers (29-17-4) 6-2. This could be one of those wins that gets the Penguins back on a roll.
-Mike Cammalleri’s hat trick made the difference in the Flames (29-14-4) 5-2 win over the Sabres (25-19-5). We saw the difference between a very good Western Conference team and a mediocre Eastern Conference team as Calgary completely outplayed and outscored Buffalo in the 3rd period 3-0
-The Blackhawks (26-12-8) skated by the Ducks (24-22-5) 3-2 thanks to goals from Adam Burish, Patrick Kane (PPG) and Jonathan Toews. Nikolai Khabibulin made 36 saves for the Blackhawks. The Ducks are in a slump and a shake up needs to come in some form to save this team before they sink too far down the West standings.
-In a see-saw game at the GM Place, the Canucks (22-20-7) would score three goals early in the 2nd period to take a 3-1 lead, and then would proceed to blow that lead. Martin Erat, Jason Arnott, and JP Dumont would all score power play goals to give the Predators (21-23-3) back the lead for good in a 5-3 win.
OTHER HEADLINES
-Alex Ovechkin was given Wednesday off, an excused absence from practice that Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said had nothing to do with the "stinger" the league's reigning MVP got from a shoulder-first crash into the boards. "He's fine," Boudreau said. "I wanted to give him today off to rest. He's probably a little stiff, I would think, but I mean, he's fine. And I asked him how his shoulder was. He says he's OK, no problem." During Tuesday night's 3-2 loss at Boston, Ovechkin - who leads the NHL with 31 goals - hit the boards with his head and right shoulder, then remained motionless on the ice for about 15 seconds before rolling over and rubbing his face with his glove. Although he left the ice a few minutes later, he was doubled over and flexing his right arm. He sat on the bench for a few minutes before walking off through the tunnel and slamming his gloves and helmet to the ground. But he returned for the start of the third period.
-The Detroit Red Wings recalled forwards Ville Leino and Aaron Downey from Grand Rapids of the AHL and placed defenceman Brad Stuart on injured reserve. Stuart, who has an injured rib, will miss a minimum of one week. The 25-year-old Leino is second on the Griffins in scoring with 37 points in 44 games. He had six points in eight pre-season games for Detroit, which signed him as a free agent on May 10. Downey has six points and 71 penalty minutes in 44 games for Grand Rapids this season. The 34-year-old had three points and a team-high 116 penalty minutes in 56 games for the Red Wings in 2007-08. Stuart has eight points and 18 penalty minutes in 45 games with Detroit this season. He signed a four-year contract in July.
-The news keeps getting worse for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Back-up goaltender Olaf Kolzig will miss 3-4 months with a distal biceps tendon rupture in his left arm. Kolzig is scheduled for surgery on Saturday and unless the Lightning make the playoffs, his season is over. In eight games this season, Kolzig has a record of 2-4-1 with a 3.66 goals-against-average. Mike Smith will continue to carry the bulk of the load with Karri Rammo, who was recalled from Norfolk of the AHL on Monday, serving as the back-up.
RUMOR MILL
-The Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators are talking. The names involved would be Jason Spezza heading to Edmonton with Erik Cole and D prospect Taylor Chorney heading back to Ottawa. This would be one of those rare deals that would work out well for both sides.
-Nik Antropov’s name is back in the rumor mill (big shock) Philadelphia seems to want him real bad, but Boston and San Jose are in the mix as well.
TONIGHTS ACTION:
%New Jersey @ Boston – 7PM
Tampa Bay @ Carolina – 7PM
Montreal @ Florida – 7PM
NY Islanders @ Atlanta – 7PM
Dallas @ Detroit – 7:30PM
Ottawa @ St. Louis – 8:30PM
Toronto @ Colorado 9:30PM
Chicago @ Los Angeles – 10:30PM
Phoenix @ San Jose – 10:30PM
*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out Mondays
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch will move to Thursdays
TO EMAIL FTS, EMAIL FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment