WINTER CLASSIC PREVIEW BEGINS TONIGHT

My Checklist of Storylines for HBO's 24/7 Winter Classic to be a success in no particular order:

 (Over the course of the 4 episodes)

-How much goes in to getting the stadium ready for the Winter Classic

-The rivalry between the Capitals and Penguins

-Profiles of Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Bruce Boudreau, Dan Bylsma, Mario Lemiuex, Ted Leonsis, Ray Shero, Semin or Backstrom -all varying in length

-Evgeni Malkin's escape from the KHL

-Obligatory Jordan Staal from a hockey family piece

-George McPhee's hunt for a goalie

-Quick review of the Penguins being in the first Winter Classic

-Recap of the Penguins-Capitals game right before the Winter Classic

-Recap of the Winter Classic

-Pittsburgh being a football town but loves its hockey

-Crosby living at Lemiuex's property

-A brief history of the Winter Classic/Herritage Classic

-Penguins winning streak (if it continues in to the airing of the series)

-The Capitals losing streak

-Penguins-Capitals Conference Semifinals series from 2 seasons ago

A review of each episode will be posted every Thursday

Plight of the Pacific

 Jaime Benn and Mike Ribiero celebrate a goal in last night's 3-2 road win for the Stars in San Jose last night (Ben Margot - AP)

We're about 30 games in to the NHL Season and the Dallas Stars are in 1st place in the Pacific Division while the San Jose Sharks are in last place. Granted, 1st place and last place are separated by 4 points, but the order is practically upside down. A brief recap of each team's season in the NHL's tightest division:


Dallas - Goalie Kari Lehtonen has benefited from a change in scenery (13 wins 2.59 GAA before his back injury) and head coach Marc Crawford is executing his style of play well. The blueline could use one another Top 3 guy, but the top 2 lines are producing and the bottom two lines are grinding it out and wearing down the other team. As great as the Stars are at home (11-3-1), they need to improve on the road (6-7-1) and on special teams (22nd ranked PP, 27th ranked PK)


Anaheim - When you're getting production from where you're supposed to (their top 5 scorers are Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan, Lubomir Visnovsky), solid production on the blueline (Tony Lydman 's +18 is good enough to hover around the league lead, rookie Cam Fowler has chipped in with 15 points), solid goaltending (Jonas Hiller's 14 wins are 3rd best in the league); and have leadership (Saku Koivu, Todd Marchant, Jason Blake), that all adds up to being a tough out each game.


Los Angeles - The team went in to a really bad funk for most of November, but was one of the hottest teams out of the gate and it looks like they are finding their form again. Goalie Jonathan Quick has stepped up this season and played very well. Getting D Willie Mitchell back from injury provides the blueline with experience and leadership. It will be interesting to see what type of role newly acquired winger Marco Sturm takes on this team. Getting that 27th ranked PP going would help the Kings get back on track.

San Jose - The optimistic Sharks fan can say that the Sharks are pacing themselves this year instead of dominating the regular season to fall short in the playoffs. That could be the case, but this team is struggling no matter how you slice it. Ryan Clowe and Logan Coture are the only two guys on the roster to have scored multiple goals this month. Clowe is the team leader in assists and Coture is the leading goal scorer...this is a problem when you have guys like Thornton, Heatley (the team leader in points, at least) and Marleau (an ugly -17 on the season) on your roster. G Antti Niemi has hardly looked like the most recent Stanley Cup winning goalie but Antero Niittymaki has been serviceable. The 6th ranked PP is one of the bright spots this season.

Phoenix - The surprise team of the West last season is hanging tough this season. They've lost 4 of 7 after winning 7 in a row and rank in the middle of the pack of goals scored (13th), goals against (13th), power play (12th) , and penalty kill (18th). Off-season acquisition winger Ray Whitney has panned out nicely and leads the team in assists (16) and points (20). Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is shouldering the load between the pipes and is as reliable as usual (12-5-6, 2,54 GAA, .922 Save%). I'd like to see someone distinguish himself as a top goal scorer on this team as the season hits the midway point (Lee Stempniak, Lauri Korpikoski, and Scottie Upshall each lead the team with 8 goals - none of which are household names).

NHL Weekly TV Viewer Guide

Sidney Crosby travels across the Keystone State for the NHL's Game of the Week on Tuesday

NHL Viewers Guide for the week of 12/13/10

MONDAY - Kings @ Red Wings - 7:30PM - Versus

Why you should watch: The best in the West are hosting a Kings team that is turning it around as of late. After spending much of the season near the top of the Western Conference, LA went through a stretch where they lost 8 of 9 and dropped to the bottom of the Pacific Division. However, they've won 3 of 4 and this team is much better than their record. The Red Wings have won 2 in a row after dropping 3. This is their 2nd meeting of the season (Kings won at the Staples Center last Saturday 3-2 in OT)

TUESDAY - Penguins @ Flyers - 7PM - Versus

Why you should watch: This is the game of the week in the NHL. These are the top 2 teams in the league points-wise. The Penguins are looking for their 13th win in a row while the Flyers have earned points in 5 straight games since a 3 game losing streak to end November. This is their 4th meeting of the season with Philly winning 2 of the 3 games so far.

WEDNESDAY - No nationally televised game

THURSDAY - Bruins @ Canadiens - 7:30PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: This classic Original 6 rivalry always provides for entertaining hockey. The Canadiens lead the Northeast Division but the Bruins only trail them by 2 points. Montreal won the only prior meeting of the season back on Veterans Day. The Canadiens set off on a 7 game road trip to close the calendar year after this game.

FRIDAY - Red Wings @ Blackhawks - 8:30PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: Another classic Original 6 rivalry that always provides entertaining hockey. The Hawks trail Detroit by 6 points in the Central Division and this is only their 2nd meeting of the season (Detroit spoiled the Blackhawk's banner-raising party on Chicago's opening night). Keep an eye on Blackhawks rookie goaltender Corey Crawford, who is starting to heat up.

SATURDAY - Maple Leafs @ Canucks - 10PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: This cross-Canadian match-up features the 2nd best team going against the worst in the Northeast. While this seems like a mismatch on paper, both teams can score goals quickly and have strong bluelines. Vancouver has earned at least a point in 7 of their last 8 games. The Canucks beat the Leafs 5-3 in their previous match-up and this will be the last time these two play each other this season.

SUNDAY - Kings @ Blackhawks - 7PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: Both of these teams play a fast-paced game and like to get the puck up the ice quickly. Common sense says this would be a high scoring match-up, but Chicago has won the prior 2 match-ups this year 3-2 and 2-1 respectively. These teams have one more meeting in LA after Sunday's game.

A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST ROUND

(Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images Sport)

By Chris Carrano

Three Stars Of the 1st Round

1st- Jaroslav Halak, G, Montreal- Halak proved that old hockey cliché true that a hot goalie can steal a series away. In his case however, it was more like highway robbery. With his eighth seeded Montreal Canadiens trailing the overall number one seed Washington Capitals three games to one in their series, the supposedly “shaky” Halak was anything but. He came through with 37 saves in Game 5, 53 in Game 6 and 41 more in Game 7. Of those 131 shots, Washington only managed to put three past Halak; one in each game.

2nd- Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh- You knew Crosby’s name would’ve crept up in here somewhere. Crosby is the leading points getter through the first round with 14 total points (5 G, 9 A). When he’s not selling soft penalties, he can also play goalie, as evidenced by his swiping the puck out of the crease when goalie Marc Andre-Fleury couldn’t see it behind him.

3rd- Henrik Zetterberg, C/LW, Detroit Red Wings- Zetterberg had six goals and five assists during the Wing’s seven game first round series with the Phoenix Coyotes. That’s 11 points in six games and six goals in five games after not getting on the score sheet in the series opener.

Team That Needs The Heimlich Maneuver…

…The Washington Capitals. Not only did the President Trophy winning Capitals exit in the first round of the playoffs, they became the first number one seed to lose to a number eight seed when having a 3-1 lead. The Capitals, who practically clinched a playoff spot around Christmastime, have another off-season to ponder just what the heck happened. In their last four playoff series, all which went seven games, the Caps managed only one series win and that was after being down 3-1 against the New York Rangers. A very disappointing season for a team that has all that offensive firepower and a top scorer and playmaker as its captain. Washington is on the fast track to winning another award: the San Jose Sharks of the East. However, another team may take a crack at that title and they are….

…The New Jersey Devils. It was another disappointing season for the Devils as they couldn’t live up to their high expectations yet again. Every single year New Jersey somehow manages to put a legitimate Stanley Cup contender on the ice, but once the calendar turns to April, the Devils look more like figure skaters in Rockefeller Center than a playoff hockey team. Even though they were ousted in the first round for the third straight year, I’m sure they’ll be back in the post-season next year.

Team looking over its shoulder…

…the San Jose Sharks. As if facing the Detroit Red Wings isn’t a big enough challenge, not beating themselves will be another obstacle that the Sharks will have to over come. The only two games the Colorado Avalanche “won” against the Sharks, came when San Jose’s players scored in their own net. Maybe they were just making it more suspenseful and exciting for their tortured fan base, but rest assured, the Red Wings will not need “own goals” to beat San Jose.

Biggest Disappointment of the First Round...

...There will be no Crosby vs. Ovechkin Round 2. After watching the NHL’s two mega stars go head-to-head in last year’s playoffs, I couldn’t wait till they met again this year. Looks like I’ll have to keep waiting. It was almost a certainty, that the way the regular season went, we were going to be treated to another Penguins-Capitals series. The stakes would have been much higher this year, as it would have come in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ponder that for a second: Game 7 between the Penguins and Capitals with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line. Instead, the NHL doesn’t get it’s ratings bonanza, and while us hockey fans will still see some great hockey, we’ll have to wait for the next Winter Classic to see these two teams square off again.

Best Game Of The 1st Round

Game 5- Chicago vs. Nashville-With the game winding down and the Nashville Predators nursing a 4-3 lead, the Chicago Blackhawks were pressing for the equalizer when all of a sudden, Marian Hossa drew a major penalty, five minutes to be exact, for shoving Dan Hamhuis into the boards. With only 1:03 left in regulation, the penalty couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Chicago had no choice but to pull goalie Antii Niemi for an extra skater and with 13.7 seconds left on the clock, Patrick Kane found himself in the right place at the right time, and put the puck in the net for a clutch goal that he described as the “best of his carreer.” After Chicago killed off the remaining 3:57 of Hossa’s penalty in overtime, Hossa came out of the box and raced up the ice and found himself in the perfect position to score the game winner. A shot from teammate Brent Sopel was deflected to his stick and Hossa was able to slide the game-winning puck into Nashville’s goal. After their come from behind win, the crowd in the United Center erupted and two nights later, Chicago went on to win the series in Nashville.

Honorable mention: Game 5- Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa- Ottawa’s Matt Carkner scored in the games 107th minute (7:06 of the third overtime) to force a Game 6 against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Anytime an NHL game goes into overtime it’s must see TV. Unfortunately, the Senators lost the series in six games, but they had a nice run this year and played a lot better against the Penguins than most people thought they would have.

Who’s Gets the Humble Pie In His Face?

Alexander Ovechkin. I wonder if Ovechlin still thinks Halak is “shaky” now. After the loss Ovechkin had this to say, "I'm in shock right now. It was great going up 3-1 in the series. But it's only one step. We didn't do it."

Second Round Predictions

I didn’t do too well with my first round picks, so maybe I’ll do better now. Here they are:

Red Wings vs. Sharks- Wings in six.
Blackhawks vs. Canucks- Blackhawks in six.
Penguins vs. Canadiens- Penguins in six.
Bruins vs. Flyers- Bruins in seven.