The Olympic break will give most of the league a well-earned respite for the next couple of weeks. But for now, I give you what you've all been waiting for for 7 whole days, The Power Rankin's - Vancouver Olympics Edition!
The Caps stumbled ever so slightly during the past week after a run bested in the modern day only by the 1993 Pittsburgh Penguins' 17-game win streak. Although the West's top teams could not capitalize to take over the top spot in the Rankin's, the top 3 positions in this week's edition are as close as we have seen them, statistically-speaking.
The Philadelphia Flyers take home this past week's Big Mover award, entering the Olympic Break on a 4-game winning streak and impressing with back-to-back home-and-home sweeps over New Jersey and Montreal. Calgary, on the other hand, fell 5 spots as teams like Ottawa and Philly surged.
Phoenix remains the only team in the NHL to hold a top-10 position in all five component indices of the Power Rankin's. San Jose, however, has crept up to grab the #1 overall spot in the Strength of Victory, Strength of Loss, and Goaltending Quality categories. Throw in Los Angeles, which ranks out of the top 10 in only Goaltending Quality, and Anaheim's and Dallas' battles for the final playoff spot in the West (currently straddling the playoff positioning bubble at 16 & 17 in the Power Rankin's, respectively), and you've got a Pacific Division that really sets up for an exciting finish.
1) (1) Washington
2) (4) San Jose
3) (2) Phoenix
4) (6) Colorado
5) (3) Chicago
6) (5) Los Angeles
7) (7) Buffalo
8) (8) New Jersey
9) (9) Vancouver
10) (12) Ottawa
11) (11) Nashville
12) (16) Philadelphia
13) (15) Detroit
14) (13) Pittsburgh
15) (10) Calgary
16) (14) Anaheim
17) (17) Dallas
18) (20) St. Louis
19) (22) Boston
20) (18) Minnesota
21) (19) Montreal
22) (21) Atlanta
23) (25) NY Rangers
24) (23) Tampa Bay
25) (24) Florida
26) (26) NY Islanders
27) (28) Columbus
28) (27) Carolina
29) (29) Edmonton
30) (30) Toronto
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Projected 2009-2010 Final Standings (Olympic Break/3-Quarters Poll Edition)
Take an NHL team's up-to-the-minute season performance, weight its remaining games by its remaining strength of schedule, and throw in a time-weighted extrapolation of that team's much-noted "Last 10 Games" performance and what do you get? Projections of the 2009-2010 NHL Final Standings.
At just about this time last year, I was able to correctly project that St. Louis would make the playoffs using this formula - even when they hadn't shown so much as a glimmer of hope throughout the bulk of the season at that point. I'll continue to hang my hat on that successful prediction for advertising's sake. This year, putting the Thrashers in at #8 in the East comes close, however they are only 2 points out of that spot as it is - speaking more to the erratic play of the Eastern Conference's middle tier teams than anything Atlanta itself has accomplished.
Eastern Conference
1) Washington Capitals (122 pts.; Southeast Division Champion; President's Trophy winner)
2) Ottawa Senators* (107 pts.; Northeast Division Champion)
3) Pittsburgh Penguins (102 pts.; Atlantic Division Champion)
4) New Jersey Devils (97 pts.)
5) Buffalo Sabres (95 pts.)
6) Philadelphia Flyers (94 pts.)
7) Boston Bruins (89 pts.)
8) Atlanta Thrashers (86 pts.)
---
9) Tampa Bay Lightning (85 pts.)
10) Carolina Hurricanes (84 pts.)
11) Montreal Canadiens (82 pts.)
12) New York Rangers (80 pts.)
13) Florida Panthers (73 pts.)
14) New York Islanders (68 pts.)
15) Toronto Maple Leafs (63 pts.)
Western Conference
1) San Jose Sharks (115 pts.; Pacific Division Champion)
2) Chicago Blackhawks (114 pts.; Central Division Champion)
3) Vancouver Canucks (100 pts; Northwest Division Champion)
4) Los Angeles Kings (110 pts.)
5) Phoenix Coyotes (104 pts.)
6) Colorado Avalanche (97 pts.)
7) Nashville Predators (92 pts.) -- tie-breaker over Dallas via wins
8) Dallas Stars (92 pts.)
---
9) Anaheim Ducks (89 pts.)
10) Calgary Flames (89 pts.)
11) Detroit Red Wings (89 pts.)
12) Minnesota Wild (88 pts.)
13) St. Louis Blues (86 pts.)
14) Columbus Blue Jackets (79 pts.)
15) Edmonton Oilers (56 pts.)
*Note: On September 29th, 2009, I emailed my fellow Bettman's Nightmare bloggers and took Ottawa to win the Northeast (purely based upon my exceptional hockey insight, rather than the formulaic predictions above).
At just about this time last year, I was able to correctly project that St. Louis would make the playoffs using this formula - even when they hadn't shown so much as a glimmer of hope throughout the bulk of the season at that point. I'll continue to hang my hat on that successful prediction for advertising's sake. This year, putting the Thrashers in at #8 in the East comes close, however they are only 2 points out of that spot as it is - speaking more to the erratic play of the Eastern Conference's middle tier teams than anything Atlanta itself has accomplished.
Eastern Conference
1) Washington Capitals (122 pts.; Southeast Division Champion; President's Trophy winner)
2) Ottawa Senators* (107 pts.; Northeast Division Champion)
3) Pittsburgh Penguins (102 pts.; Atlantic Division Champion)
4) New Jersey Devils (97 pts.)
5) Buffalo Sabres (95 pts.)
6) Philadelphia Flyers (94 pts.)
7) Boston Bruins (89 pts.)
8) Atlanta Thrashers (86 pts.)
---
9) Tampa Bay Lightning (85 pts.)
10) Carolina Hurricanes (84 pts.)
11) Montreal Canadiens (82 pts.)
12) New York Rangers (80 pts.)
13) Florida Panthers (73 pts.)
14) New York Islanders (68 pts.)
15) Toronto Maple Leafs (63 pts.)
Western Conference
1) San Jose Sharks (115 pts.; Pacific Division Champion)
2) Chicago Blackhawks (114 pts.; Central Division Champion)
3) Vancouver Canucks (100 pts; Northwest Division Champion)
4) Los Angeles Kings (110 pts.)
5) Phoenix Coyotes (104 pts.)
6) Colorado Avalanche (97 pts.)
7) Nashville Predators (92 pts.) -- tie-breaker over Dallas via wins
8) Dallas Stars (92 pts.)
---
9) Anaheim Ducks (89 pts.)
10) Calgary Flames (89 pts.)
11) Detroit Red Wings (89 pts.)
12) Minnesota Wild (88 pts.)
13) St. Louis Blues (86 pts.)
14) Columbus Blue Jackets (79 pts.)
15) Edmonton Oilers (56 pts.)
*Note: On September 29th, 2009, I emailed my fellow Bettman's Nightmare bloggers and took Ottawa to win the Northeast (purely based upon my exceptional hockey insight, rather than the formulaic predictions above).
Monday, February 8, 2010
I reiterate: The Code is Dead
In the "good ol' days," this fantasy called "The Code" supposedly protected superstar players and provided the ability for players to police themselves on the ice. If there was ever any truth to that thought, that day is long gone.
Now, I wouldn't say myself that Jeff Carter is a superstar, but he's not bad. Yet, in Monday night's action against New Jersey, he did illustrate yet another facet of why "The Code" in hockey is dead - if it ever existed at all beyond a providing a reason for bloodthirty neaderthal hockey fans to scream and shout in support of fistfights. You see, Jeff Carter would be one of those players that opponents wouldn't be allowed to hit without enduring retribution. However, when Jeff Carter himself delivers a targeted shot to Anssi Salmela's hat rack, he proves that the idea of self-policing in order to protect superstar players is an antiquated notion - the superstars themselves are delivering the knockout blows these days (literally).
But then again, it could simply be that Philadelphia is made up entirely of goons that collectively just happen to have some semblence of hockey skills. Yeah, that seems a far more likely explanation.
P.S. I'm embedding a video replay of the hit --- Matteau:
Now, I wouldn't say myself that Jeff Carter is a superstar, but he's not bad. Yet, in Monday night's action against New Jersey, he did illustrate yet another facet of why "The Code" in hockey is dead - if it ever existed at all beyond a providing a reason for bloodthirty neaderthal hockey fans to scream and shout in support of fistfights. You see, Jeff Carter would be one of those players that opponents wouldn't be allowed to hit without enduring retribution. However, when Jeff Carter himself delivers a targeted shot to Anssi Salmela's hat rack, he proves that the idea of self-policing in order to protect superstar players is an antiquated notion - the superstars themselves are delivering the knockout blows these days (literally).
But then again, it could simply be that Philadelphia is made up entirely of goons that collectively just happen to have some semblence of hockey skills. Yeah, that seems a far more likely explanation.
P.S. I'm embedding a video replay of the hit --- Matteau:
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Power Rankin's (week of 2/8/10)
First, if any of our millions of loyal readers are looking to hire an economist with boatloads of macroeconomic modeling expertise and international operations management experience, I'm your man.
The Capitals remain the unstoppable tide. Sunday's game against the Penguins demonstrated that no matter how badly things may seem for them during a game, they have the potential to storm back and make you look absolutely silly. Usually, my default position is to go with solid goaltending as the road to Lord Stanley's cup. This year, however, I'm willing to ignore convention and award the thing to The Great 8 and, with his recently inheriting the "C", what is now his crew.
Los Angeles deserves special mention this week as well. Having put together their own nine-game winning streak, the Kings get this week's Big Mover award, vaulting up the Rankin's four spots to crack the top 5, passing the likes of New Jersey, Vancouver, and Buffalo along the way.
The Atlantic Division as a whole continues to slide, and Dallas and Tampa Bay continue to scratch and claw their way about the middle of the pack as they attempt to keep post-season hope alive.
1) (1) Washington
2) (2) Phoenix
3) (3) Chicago
4) (4) San Jose
5) (9) Los Angeles
6) (6) Colorado
7) (5) Buffalo
8) (8) New Jersey
9) (7) Vancouver
10) (15) Calgary
11) (12) Nashville
12) (11) Ottawa
13) (10) Pittsburgh
14) (16) Anaheim
15) (14) Detroit
16) (13) Philadelphia
17) (18) Dallas
18) (17) Minnesota
19) (20) Montreal
20) (19) St. Louis
21) (23) Atlanta
22) (21) Boston
23) (26) Tampa Bay
24) (22) Florida
25) (24) NY Rangers
26) (25) NY Islanders
27) (27) Carolina
28) (28) Columbus
29) (29) Edmonton
30) (30) Toronto
The Capitals remain the unstoppable tide. Sunday's game against the Penguins demonstrated that no matter how badly things may seem for them during a game, they have the potential to storm back and make you look absolutely silly. Usually, my default position is to go with solid goaltending as the road to Lord Stanley's cup. This year, however, I'm willing to ignore convention and award the thing to The Great 8 and, with his recently inheriting the "C", what is now his crew.
Los Angeles deserves special mention this week as well. Having put together their own nine-game winning streak, the Kings get this week's Big Mover award, vaulting up the Rankin's four spots to crack the top 5, passing the likes of New Jersey, Vancouver, and Buffalo along the way.
The Atlantic Division as a whole continues to slide, and Dallas and Tampa Bay continue to scratch and claw their way about the middle of the pack as they attempt to keep post-season hope alive.
1) (1) Washington
2) (2) Phoenix
3) (3) Chicago
4) (4) San Jose
5) (9) Los Angeles
6) (6) Colorado
7) (5) Buffalo
8) (8) New Jersey
9) (7) Vancouver
10) (15) Calgary
11) (12) Nashville
12) (11) Ottawa
13) (10) Pittsburgh
14) (16) Anaheim
15) (14) Detroit
16) (13) Philadelphia
17) (18) Dallas
18) (17) Minnesota
19) (20) Montreal
20) (19) St. Louis
21) (23) Atlanta
22) (21) Boston
23) (26) Tampa Bay
24) (22) Florida
25) (24) NY Rangers
26) (25) NY Islanders
27) (27) Carolina
28) (28) Columbus
29) (29) Edmonton
30) (30) Toronto
A Pittsburgh Tradition
After watching the Steelers fall apart game after game in the 4th quarter during the 2009 season, it would really have been nice to tune in to see the Penguins play their respective sport hard for 60 straight minutes.
Pittsburgh's game against Washington on Sunday afternoon proved that to be a hollow dream.
Pittsburgh's game against Washington on Sunday afternoon proved that to be a hollow dream.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Burke and Giguere, Together Again
After a contract signing of Jonas Hiller, we all saw the departure of Giguere inevitable. And who else than a team that is in dire need of a goalie as well as a team with Giguere's ex-GM.
Ducks get:
-Jason Blake
-Vesa Toskala
Leafs get:
-J.S. Giguere
This trade is great; the Ducks get dead weight off their back and gain a great backup netminder and an old fart to play with the other geezers. Giguere needs a fresh start; he managed to pull a dead duck out of the water once upon a time, maybe this time he'll put the leaf back on the tree. Burke will restart his love affair with Giguere having traded away most of the Leafs' point-getters in return for an overrated D-man to "protect" Giguere. As for Toskala...what can I really say: "Whoop." As a Ducks fan I applaud Giguere and everything he did for the team.
Mr. January
Here at Bettman's Nightmare we like to make a shout out to those players on the ice who try their hardest at what they do all while sporting a stache. That's where I come in, sorting through every player for every game looking for the Lanny McDonald of each team.
I kick off the 2010 year with Mr. January: Bill Guerin
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