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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Rypien Him a New One

Rick Rypien needs to be suspended for the rest of the season. Period.

Rick Rypien, if you're that upset that you're can't hang with the rest of the goons in the league - but also that your hockey-relevant skills are utterly sub-par - that you have to attack a fan that is SIMPLY CLAPPING that your sorry excuse for talent is being removed from the game, you have no place on the ice.

This is Todd Bertuzzi disgusting. Its not as violent as Todd Bertuzzi, but it is just as stomach-turning and game-tarnishing. Rick Rypien, if you want to attack the fans, grow about 9 inches and I'm sure The King will be glad to have your act on board his circus down in Southeast Miami.

... but wait, another thought just occurred to me. I've heard of this thing called "'roid rage." Maybe Rick Rypien and Alexander Ovechkin have the same hookup. Hmm... Nah, Rypien's not good enough to be suspected of being on the juice. He's just a whiny little [expletive deleted] that got his [expletive deleted] beat and felt the need to unleash his frustration elsewhere.

Once again, fighting reveals its true value to the game of hockey.

Monday, October 18, 2010

NHL Preview: Northeast Division Defense

Boston Bruins
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara - Andrew Ference
Dennis Seidenberg - Mark Stuart
Johnny Boychuk - Matt Hunwick

Goaltender
Tuuka Rask - Tim Thomas

This is the most consistent set of blueliners in an otherwise rather deep crop of Northeast defensemen. I gave the edge to Boston because Chara will be a Norris candidate, while Toronto has a few guys that might be and Tyler Myers may be some day. Additionally, Rask played very solidly as a young goalie and if he suffers a slump, the Bruins have a Vezina Trophy winner keeping the bench warm.

Buffalo Sabres
Defensemen
Tyler Meyers - Shaone Morrison
Jordan Leopold - Steve Montador
Andrej Sekera - Craig Rivet

Goaltender
Ryan Miller - Patrick Lalime

Tyler Myers is a young, up-and-coming stud and will likely be a Norris Trophy candidate some day. The only reason I don't have the Sabres up higher is because we have only seen one season of young Tyler. The other guys are very solid -- Morrison, Leopold, Montador, Sekera, and Rivet aren't going to hurt the Sabres.

That said, the Sabres have the best goalie in the division -- and one of the best in the NHL in Sparty the Goalie. The returning Vezina Trophy winner has a steady blueline in front of him. Expect another fantastic year from Sparty -- and keep an eye on Myers.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Defensemen
Tomas Kaberle - Dion Phaneuf
Mike Komisarek - Luke Schenn
Francois Beauchemin - Jeff Finger

Goaltender
Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Jonas Gustavsson

Toronto is starting to put together a very respectable team on the blueline and are decent in net. They should start to shut some teams down with these respectable defensive pairings and if Phaneuf and Schenn can find the game that they are capable of playing, this team could be very scary in the back -- and that's even with Jeff Finger on the team!
Note: Finger has been since waived.

Giggy and the Monster are both capable goalies who have even more upside. If either of these guys find their games, the Maple Leafs may have the most stout defense in the Northeast. However, if neither of these guys find their game (or injuries linger for the Monster), this could be a very bad team, especially without much scoring up top.

Montreal Canadiens
Defensemen
Jaroslav Spacek - Roman Hamrlik
Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban
Hal Gill - Ryan O'Byrne

Goaltender
Carey Price - Alex Auld

The Candiens defense is pretty respectable. P.K. Subban is an interesting blueliner. He's young with a rocket of a slap shot and could be a stud waiting in the wings. Hal Gill is Hal Gill, which really isn't all that bad for a third-pair guy. Spacek and Hamrlik have been top-pair guys for quite a while.

Now we get to the netminding situation. Umm.... Hmm... Yeah... Carey Price is apparently the man again in Montreal, and he needn't worry about Jaroslav Halak taking his net from him -- not from St. Louis. As a Carey Price fan, this must make you incredibly enthusiastic. As a Montreal Canadiens fan, this must make you incredibly worried. Price is going to get his shot...again. If not, I guess Alex Auld is okay -- nah, not so much. Price better man up.

Ottawa Senators

Defensemen
Sergei Gonchar - Chris Phillips
Chris Campoli - Matt Carkner
Erik Karlsson - Brian Lee

Goaltender
Brian Elliott - Pascal Leclaire

The Senators goaltending and blueline situation is just as precarious as the Canadiens goaltending situation. Gonchar is awesome if this were 1998 and you were in a bet with your best buddy that a Senators blueliner wouldn't add 20 power play goals this season. A more respectable bet might be Gonchar going minus-15 this season, though Chris Phillips is a respectable pairing for him.

In net, Brian Elliott might as well be Billy Elliott and Pascal Leclaire has a lot of questions to answer.

Northeast Division Defense Rankings
1. Boston Bruins
2. Buffalo Sabres
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Montreal Canadiens
5. Ottawa Senators

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Pens' Net Outcome

The Scene: I'm sitting in my living room, wearing my baby-blue Marc-Andre Fleury jersey, watching (with great satisfaction) Simon Gagne come 'home' to Philly and beat the Phlyers 3-2.

The Situation: Marc-Andre Fleury will sit for Friday night's game against the New York Islanders, and quite possibly - according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report on Thursday - for Saturday's tilt against the hated Phlyers.

I'm here to tell you that this is not a long-term problem. Pittsburgh fans, for some reason, go all Philadelphia when it comes to Marc-Andre Fleury. They look for problems no matter what when it comes to the Pens' netminder. I can't think of another Pittsburgh sports figure that has drawn this much active searching for criticism since maybe Kordell Stewart. But, like (the original) Slash, Fleury has done his best to earn Pittsburgh fans' ire in the early stages of this year.

Despite his slow start, I maintain that this is the transition year for Fleury. He's already shown his ability to come up enormous when it matters most. But, while my BN colleague Weagz' pointed out earlier today that Fleury should already be "grown up," I think this year's growing pains are intended - they are being prompted by the Pens' front office and coaching staff because Fleury clearly has more potential than he is living up to at present.

Everyone knows that goaltenders are odd creatures. They are said to mature into their true selves as they get closer to age 30. Fleury, at age 25, is getting there, but has also been a starter from a very early age. Now, the guys paying the bills have put the pressure on him to lift his game. He's changed his practice and gameday regimens in response, and his relationship with goaltending coach Gilles Meloche has been tweaked. All of this change is bound to wreck havoc on even the sturdiest-minded netminder (a contradiction in terms, I know). The point, though, is that by early December, Marc-Andre Fleury will emerge a stronger presence between the pipes, and then look 'aht, Atlantic Division!

My Philadelphia phan counterparts can attest to my "tolerance" of Marc-Andre Fleury to this point. I have been on record for the past several years for combining Fleury's potential and skill with his inconsistency, pretty much guaranteeing that if he were to give up one goal, he'd give up four. It has been either a shutout level of play, or something that leaves Pens fans thanking the hockey deities for a high-powered offense to overcome his play (especially his playing of the puck behind the net).

So, remember. You heard it hear first. Fleury's (apparent) benching is not unexpected by this Pens fan. But neither will his second-half dominance be a shock to me. Marc-Andre Fleury will be this year's Conn-Smythe Award winner.

Note:  I'm adding some graphics for Rankin's argument.  Cam Ward, a goalie many agree has played well for the Hurricanes, is a useful comparison for Fleury because they both became regulars at roughly the same time.  The save percentages shown are split between even-strength and penalty-kill save percentages.  The win percentages are of games started during this period.  Click on the pictures for larger/clearer images.  --- Matteau



Kinda Preseason Predictions

Well, it’s time once again (at least it was last week) to make our ridiculous predictions for this season’s preseason prediction. Being the stout hockey observer that you obviously are, you can tell that the season has already started. Ya know what, I’m working with a bunch of monkeys here--so it took me a while to compile this half-cooked predictions. All predictions are based on equal parts hockey insight and homerism. It should be noted that all predictions were made during week 1. Thus, MTWRA wanted to make it abundantly clear to you guys that his Toronto prediction was made when they were 0-0, not 3-0. I, personally, really like the Leafs chances to win at least 4 games this year.

Regular Season
There are some consistent themes in our regular season predictions (VERY FEW). But, we have all made similar observations.
· We all have the Washington Capitals as the top seed in the East
· We all have the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, though not all of us agree that each team is going to win their division.
· We all have the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, and New York Islanders missing the playoffs.
· We all have the San Jose Sharks winning the Pacific Division (although not all of us agree that they will earn the top seed out west).
· We all agree that the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes, and Vancouver Canucks will make the playoffs, although the position to which they place is very much in the air.
· We all agree that the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Minnesota Wild will not make the playoffs.
Note: Click on the photos to see an enlarged version.
This means that we all see the last few playoff spots shaking out this way.
· In the East, the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs will be battling it out for 4 playoff spots. Based on a weighted ranking of places, the four gurus of Bettman’s Nightmare expect the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Carolina Hurricanes to fill these four spots.
· In the West, the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues will be battling it out for 2 playoff spots. Based on a weighted ranking of places, the four gurus of Bettman’s Nightmare expect the Los Angeles Kings, and the St. Louis Blues to fill these two spots.
Postseason:
The only real consistent theme is that two of our gurus expect the Colorado Avalanche to win the west, but lose to their eastern conference counterpart. Our gurus see any of the following teams winning the east: New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Out west, our gurus like the aforementioned Colorado Avalanche, the San Jose Sharks, and the Vancouver Canucks.

Awards:
In keeping with the cooperation that is Bettman’s Nightmare--none of us see the post-season awards shaking out the same way.
Stanley Cup: New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and San Jose Sharks
President’s Cup: Washington Capitals (4)
Hart Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin (2), Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos
Vezina Trophy: Craig Anderson, Ilya Bryzgalov, Roberto Luongo, and Ryan Miller
Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, Christian Ehrhoff, Mike Green, Chris Pronger
Calder Trophy: Sergei Bobrovsky, John Carlson, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Seguin
Selke Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, Joe Thornton
Adams Trophy: Joe Sacco (2), Guy Boucher, Ron Wilson
Conn Smythe Trophy: Marc-Andre Fleury, Claude Giroux, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski

Individual Picks (click on photo to enlarge):



Wednesday, October 6, 2010

NHL Preview: Pacific Division

The NHL’s Pacific Division is two years into the reign of the San Jose Sharks. From where I sit, this has no chance of changing in the 2010-2011 season. While the Division on the whole will be more competitive than in years passed—perhaps even generating four of eight playoff spots in the West—San Jose will have little competition for its top spot.


The big question for San Jose this year will be leadership. The “C” remains unassigned for the Sharks. I suspect that Joe Thornton will resume the post he once held in Boston. But then, given Jumbo Joe’s tendency to disappear come the post-season, my suggestion that the team will lack leadership is given that much more weight. The Sharks are as talented a group as they come, and they upgraded their goaltending in the offseason by bringing in Antti Niemi. But the best they seem capable of is baby steps during their perennial visits to the playoffs. True to this template, maybe I’ll give them a 7-game loss in the West Finals this season.

Finishing second for the 2010-2011 season, we will have the no-longer-surprising Phoenix Coyotes. The Desert Dogs have the netminding to carry a sub-par offensive team to a run at the preseason, as Ilya Bryzgalov did with Phoenix’s 2.57 goals scored per game last year. The Coyotes’ addition of scoring winger Ray Whitney for this year should help the offensive effort, though. Outside of San Jose, the Pacific Division simply does not boast enough offensive firepower to knock Phoenix from its newfound success.

On the strength of goaltending, I’m going to take the Anaheim Ducks to move up to third place in the Pacific after missing the playoffs last year. Jonas Hiller had a solid 2008-2009 season in his first shot at significant NHL playing time, and had an even more impressive run in the post-season that year. With last year came the Olympics, and Hiller’s mind would likely have been a bit scattered as he represented his native Switzerland in international play (and we all know what slaves them goaltenders are to habit and routine). Look for Hiller to have a strong year in 2010-2011, with the help of newly signed Andy “Big & Filthy” Sutton and Paul Mara playing in front of him on the blue line.

Because Dallas is looking more and more like a candidate for the NHL’s upcoming European expansion, we have the Los Angeles Kings placing fourth in the Pacific for 2010-2011. I’m not sold on Jonathan Quick as a “bull by the horns” type of netminder. And neither does Anze Kopitar seem like he is every going to emerge as a truly reliable scoring threat. The Kings may well compete for a playoff spot again this year, but I think it is just as likely that they sink back into relative hockey obscurity by the end of the coming season.

Which leaves only Dallas to round out the Pacific. The Stars bring nothing to the table offensively, and they are chock full of backup goaltenders to start the season. I’m thinking sub-500 for Dallas in 2010-2011.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

NHL Preview: Central Division Forwards

Ahh, the Central Division. Home of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. I just puked all over my new Hextall t-shirt.

Chicago Blackhawks
Tomas Kopecky - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Troy Brouwer - Patrick Sharp - Patrick Kane
Viktor Stalberg - Dave Bolland - Fernando Pisani
Bryan Bickell - Jake Dowell - Jack Skille

While the "core" group of forwards remains for the defending champs, we saw plenty of departures up front from this group over the summer. Specifically, the Hawks come into this season without the services of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, John Madden, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, and Adam Burish. Hmm, who's left to call Pronger funny names? Despite these departures, the Blackhawks are dangerous up front. Toews and Kane lead the way in this department with Sharp and Hossa rounding out most of the scoring. Two guys that are going to have to step it up this year are Troy Brouwer and Dave Bolland. Brouwer put up a decent regular season last year (40 points), while Bolland got hot during the playoffs (16 points in 22 games). It looks like there's a void for a scoring winger on that 2nd line. Overall, this is still a dangerous group of forwards but they lack depth compared to last season.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Kristian Huselius - Antoine Vermette - Rick Nash
Nikita Filatov - Derick Brassard - Jakub Voracek
Ethan Moreau - Samuel Pahlsson - R. J. Umberger
Jared Boll - Andrew Murray - Chris Clark

While Antoine Vermette and Kristian Huselius had good statistical years last season (27G, 38A and 23G, 40A, respectively), I can't help but look at this lineup and think once again that Rick Nash doesn't have an adequate supporting cast around him. What would prove me wrong? Well, there are plenty of young developing forwards in the top 6 here, so one could always play the "potential" card. For example, 3rd-year man Jakub Voracek looks to improve on a 50-point campaign last year while leading what is a young and talented 2nd line. R.J. Umberger will likely be moved around a bit throughout this lineup. He's a guy who can fill in on top-line duty if needed, provide secondary scoring on a 2nd line, or be in more of a defensive checking role on the 3rd line. Long-time Oiler Ethan Moreau will provide a veteran presence to this lineup. Overall, we can expect this group to perform similarly to last year's group, unless the young forwards develop faster than expected. Columbus fans should just be happy that the Fat Man didn't eat Nikita Filatov before his departure.

This burger could have been Nikita Filatov.

Detroit Red Wings
Henrik Zetterberg - Pavel Datsyuk - Tomas Holmstrom
Johan Franzen -Valtteri Filppula - Todd Bertuzzi
Dan Cleary - Mike Modano - Jiri Hudler
Patrick Eaves - Kris Draper - Darren Helm

I know that our resident editor hates the Red Wings, but it's hard to look at this lineup and not be at least a little intrigued. Coach Babcock has the freedom to mix and match throughout this entire lineup, and he probably will. It remains to be seen how much gas is left in the tank for newcomer Mike Modano (prediction: not much), but that won't matter very much. The Red Wings got Jiri Hudler back from the KHL, where he had a point-a-game campaign last year. The guy still looks like a mutant, though. Overall, this is a group with plenty of scoring ability, well-roundedness, and depth, and Matteau hates that.

Nashville Predators
Steve Sullivan - Cal O'Reilly - Patric Hornqvist
Colin Wilson - Matthew Lombardi - Martin Erat
J.P. Dumont - David Legwand - Joel Ward
Sergei Kostitsyn - Marcel Goc - Jordin Tootoo

Let's be clear about this lineup: I hate it. They don't have a legit first line, the middle of the lineup seems disjointed, and there's a Kostitsyn on the 4th line. But, let's also be clear about the fact that Barry Trotz will prove me wrong by once again making due with a mediocre group, waving his magic wand, and allowing this team to be competitive. Realistically, this isn't a group that's going to score a ton of goals. They were 18th in goals scored last year, and I don't see many reasons to think that will improve. However, they might get decent scoring support throughout the lineup, but the strength of their team clearly lies outside of the forward department.

St. Louis Blues
T.J. Oshie - Andy McDonald - Patrik Berglund
David Perron - David Backes - Brad Boyes
Alex Steen - Jay McClement - B. J. Crombeen
Brad Winchester - Vladimir Sobotka - Cam Janssen

Warning: here's where my bias will be apparent. Whenever you have a guy tell the media that in preparation for the Olympics, he's trying to fight every Canadian from the Olympic roster he can, that guy jumps to "elite" status. I don't care if David Backes finishes with 4 goals and 8 assists this year. He's awesome. He'll be joined by T.J. Oshie, a scrappy little guy who will look to improve upon a 18G, 30A 2nd year. Brad Boyes had a disappointing season last year compared to his previous 2 seasons of 33 and 43 goals. He'll need to have a rebound season to help along youngsters Patrik Berglund and David Perron. One acquisition I like is Vladimir Sobotka. He was fiesty for the Bruins in the playoffs last year, and I think his rough upbringing along the docks in Baltimore will do him well in the NHL. Overall, this is still a young group that has some growing to do. But, if the pieces come together, they might surprise some people.

Central Division Forward Rankings
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. St. Louis Blues
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Nashville Predators