Leaders of the pack set the bar high going into the final third of the season
It seems like this year more resembles a Michael Phelps race than the normal NHL season with all of its ebbs and flows, as the leaders in five of the six divisions have lead practically wire to wire dominating in the process. Starting with the Caps who at one point in the season were 2-2-2 with the jury still out on which way they would go. Then they went on an 11-4 tear to take the outright lead in the Southeast and never looked back. Then, after hitting a pothole by losing 3 straight, they rolled off another 11-4 stretch, and just to make sure no one got any crazy ideas of catching them down the stretch with 26 games to go, they on another 11 game winning streak. With the bitter taste of the semi-finals lost to Pittsburgh, the eventual hoisters of Lord Stanley’s Cup, a series in which they held a 2-game lead, the Caps are focused and determined to get back to where they were before and take it one step further. On the left coast it’s business as usual as well as the Sharks, who always treat the teams they play in the regular season as their personal practice squad, once again are among the leagues best sitting at 81points just 1 behind the afore mentioned Caps. Unlike the Caps the Sharks haven’t lead from start to finish despite another great start of the season and huge home ice advantage at the ‘Shark Tank’. This year they don’t have the best home record and actually let LA have a penthouse view for 2 games before closing the drapes and extending to an 8 point lead. Although they haven’t looked as dominant as they have in previous years and have shared the spotlight, this may be their best chance ever to make it to the finals, as shakeup has made them a lot less dependant on home ice as in the previous seasons the crucial home loss in the series has proved to be too much to overcome. Almost equally as impressive as Washington’s bee line back to the complete some unfinished business has been Chi-town’s determination to meet them there. Opening up the largest point lead of any division leader (14), the Blackhawks have followed the formula of being dominant at home while playing .500 hockey on the road. Actually they’ve gone .761 at home and .533 on the road, and have proven that they can match up with anyone. The key to the ‘Hawks success this season has been consistency as they have not lost 3 consecutive games all season, which is a great harbinger for them going into the playoffs as they know if they can get the first two in a series where they have home ice they’ll be really tough to beat. Who looks the best to you going into the final third of the season? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
Is the NHL’s “Winder Showcase” going to be the Ambassador it’s supposed to be?
As the NHL prepares for it’s annual marketing windfall, by definition its ‘showcase’ game, and I will preface this by stating as a true sports fan I appreciate each one for its individually, uniqueness of the athletes that play them, and do not want to see them transform to become universal. Thatsaid as a fan of the NHL there are a couple of changes I wish Gary Bettman would make. Firstly, I complement him because as far as venues go, I can’t think of any sports facility in the country that is more storied than FenwayPark in Boston. It’s in the same class as Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Soldier Field, among others, and no other place to hold a sports inaugural game. However, he should take notice to what the NBA, NFL, and MLB have done for years. If the NBA has a day where they are have a marquis such as Christmas Day where their sport will carry the day, you can bet their best players and teams will be on the court. On Christmas day EVERY top NBA player was in action, LeBron, Kobe, Shaq, Carmello, KG, all names that even a Hockey fan would know. And look at the teams that were on the schedule Lakers, Celtics, Cavs, Magic, Nuggets, their most storied programs. Outside of the Stanley Cup this is the NHL’s chance to take advantage of the center stage and promote their sport and increase their fan base. It also should have its most marketable players on the ice. Now Boston and Philly are two of the most notable franchises in the NHL but they don’t have the superstar power that would carry the day if the games do not. Grant it you’ve got a 2nd and 3rd place team playing in the showcase, and you can’t tell at the beginning of the season which teams will be at the top of the divisions, but Wednesday the 29th of December, was by far the best in recent memory for intriguing match ups: San Jose/Washington (1 vs. 1), NJ/Pittsburgh (1 vs. 2 same divison), Boston/Atlanta (2 vs. 2), and Colorado/Ottawa (1 vs. 3), so why not push one or two of those games back to New Year’s Day and have two venues and give viewers something else to watch other than college football? Put your best product on Center Stage for the nation to see, and they’ll be back for more. Additionally, you’re increasing the odds of showing them a good game as the weather forecast for the Boston area on New Year’s Day is not good for Hockey as it is supposed to rain and will slow the game down. A second game could actually increase the hype by adding a second venue such as Veteran’s Stadium in Philly, or the afore mentioned Wrigley, and give fans either a long day of Hockey, or the option of catching 1 of 2 as the NFL does on Thanksgiving day. As it stands now, I’ll still be watching and hoping for a good game to possibly bring some fans that we normally wouldn’t see and get them to come back. Would you change anything about the “Winter Showcase”? if so, what? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
What has happened to the powerhouse that was Canadian hockey? As a hockey fan I have seen some strange things over the years, and I’m still homeless for betting the “house and the farm” that the ‘Great One’ would never leave Edmonton for Los Angeles, but I gotta admit, once again as a hockey fan, even though I’m living on a park bench in Santa Monica, the hockey is better out here than it is north of the border. Despite my failure in my previous gambling endeavors I was ready to double down on the fact that I would never see all of the Canadian clubs in the bottom of their respective divisions in my lifetime. Calgary being the exception of course, but if Vancouver loses one more game I may be 6-feet under my park bench in So Cal. Starting with the Great Northeast spots 3,4, and 5 belong to Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto respectively. In the Northwest spots 3 and 5 are proudly occupied by Vancouver and Edmonton. Only the Wild with their 35 points (3 behind Vancouver) are keeping me above ground right now. However that may soon change as they are 8-2 in their last 10. So, how did we get here? That’s a questions I’ve been asking myself repeatedly over the last month. You can’t blame in on the doctor because look what the Devils are doing with their ‘make shift’ shifts. Can’t blame it on the home ice advantage not meaning anything any more, Ottawa and Vancouver are among the best in the NHL. What I do think is happening is a collapse fundamental consistency that was a trademark of Canadian hockey. I realize it’s a continental game, and just because you club resides in one country doesn’t mean all of the players do, but what made the Canadian Clubs such a force just 2 decades ago is no longer the envy of the south. Also, where’s the aggressive management that simply would do whatever it took to put a winner on the ice, of has all of that intestinal fortitude been purchased by the Yankees as well? If so, is there a cap on that? In short, they have let the rest of North America catch up. It’s a third period collapse of the worst kind and I for one, can not imagine an NHL playoff without a Canadian representative, but then again, it’s my unwillingness to recognize the obvious that made me homeless in the first place. What are your thoughts on the Canadian Clubs in the NHL this year? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
Dude! There’s some good hockey being played out West
This may be breaking news to the majority of the hockey world particularly those above longitude 124, and those that reside along the East Coast but the best hockey in the NHL is being played in places that had the Thanksgiving holiday outside. The West coast suddenly has become a hotbed of high scoring, good defense, and consistency. Three things that have not been synonymous with cities like San Jose, LA, and Phoenix unless you’re talking about the Cardinals, Trojans, or Lakers. However the Sharks have consistently had the best home ice record for three years running, and are off to a similar start this year even though they’ve dropped more than they did in over half the season last year, including one to the LA Kings, who have brought back the 80’s as they sit just one win out of the top spot for the first time since the ‘Great One’ graced So Cal and ‘oldies music’ was called “neu wave”. Oh, and that bankrupt Coyotes team has more points (37) than their high powered football counterparts that are the NFC defending champions average per game, and are only 7 points out of first. Strangely, if Phoenix played in Northeastern division they would be in first place and making sure they didn’t have any MMA on the schedule come playoff time. By the way the 4th and 5th place teams are only the quarterfinalist from 08’ (Stars), and Stanley Cup Champions from 07 (Ducks), so rest assured this division is tough top to bottom with no days off. Moreover their playing and exciting brand of hockey that is putting cheeks in the seats, as the Sharks and Kings are two of the top three scoring teams in the league at 108 and 100 points respectively, exactly what slumping attendance from last year needed. Just the same the 07’ victory by the Ducks has long since been written off as an aberration and it will be up to the top teams in the Pac to go deep into the 2010 playoffs to prove this isn’t the Pac-5 of the NHL. Are the teams in the Pacific division for real? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
Sharks doing their annual early season dominance, Pens keep winning but for how long?
This is our third NHL season doing the blog and every year at this time we’ve opened the season and commented on how unbeatable the Sharks look and every season they have made us look bad by folding in the second half. In fact last year San Jose was busy setting records for home ice dominance and the daily poll was asking when/if they would lose. Where here we are again and although they have tasted defeat on the road they’re doing it again at home (5-0-1) with the best record in the NHL again at 12-4-2, but we’re not falling for it again. So this year we’re asking what will be the Sharks undoing? Lack of clutch goalkeeping, defense, inconsistency at the center position? After a 5-0 shutout of the Pens it seems like the pundits are ready to hoist the cup for them before the season is 20% done, but we know better. Or do we? I’ll tell ya the front line players Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau look awesome with 22 points each in only 18 games, by far the most formidable tandem in the league so far, and we’re waiting for someone to step up and keep us from jumping on the bandwagon again this year, the only question is will there be any takers?
On the other side of the Mason-Dixon are the Pittsburgh Penguins who seem to keep winning even though Crosby is in the midst of his worst scoring slump as a professional, and the injuries are piling up as fast as the wins. Going into this week the Pens list of injuries reads like an all-star team: Max Talbot, Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy, and now Kris Letang? If they can manage to stay above the cut line by the time they get healthy they’ll be shooting par for the course. Then again, we know everyone remembers how far they went when they snuck into the final 8 when they were on the outside looking in with just under two weeks to go in the season. Don’t count them out, and don’t count the Sharks in. Now that we’ve had a chance so see a few rotations, who do you think will be around in the end? Let us know here and in any of the quick links: _________________________________________________________________________
Time to put the New Year's resolutions to practice as the year kicks off
The new year’s promises have been made as the season gets under way and in the West it’s the cellar dwellers from last year that have gotten out of the blocks the quickest, attempting to put all of the resolutions to practice, while in the East it’s business as usual. Phoenix, is splitting time between bankruptcy court appearances and the ‘thin’ ice to take the lead in the Pacific, with fellow non-playoff participant LA right behind them. Columbus and St. Louis have both gotten out to a 2-0 start in the Central with the Blues splitting the net 9 times in two games. On the other side, the last teams standing were are the first ones rising as the Flyers are off to a 3-0 start and putting up 13 goals in three games and the Pens are right behind them at 2-0. Montreal is out to an early lead in the Midwest and the Caps seem to have an offensive juggernaut scoring 15 goals in 3 games but their defense hasn’t caught up yet, yielding 11 at the same time. It’s still the first round so we’ll see how things look when everyone comes back from the European showcase games and gets back to business. Who has gotten off to the start they needed to set the tone for the year? Who do you think will be the last unbeaten team in the NHL this year? Let us know here and in the NHL team rooms and chat rooms.Use the quick links to get all of the up to date information:
What has happened to the powerhouse that was Canadian hockey? As a hockey fan I have seen some strange things over the years, and I’m still homeless for betting the “house and the farm” that the ‘Great One’ would never leave Edmonton for Los Angeles, but I gotta admit, once again as a hockey fan, even though I’m living on a park bench in Santa Monica, the hockey is better out here than it is north of the border. Despite my failure in my previous gambling endeavors I was ready to double down on the fact that I would never see all of the Canadian clubs in the bottom of their respective divisions in my lifetime. Ok, with the caveat that Calgary is out of the equation, but if Vancouver loses one more game I may be 6-feet under my park bench in So Cal. Starting with the Great Northeast spots 3,4, and 5 belong to Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto respectively. In the Northwest spots 3 and 5 are proudly occupied by Vancouver and Edmonton. Only the Wild with their 35 points (3 behind Vancouver) are keeping me above ground right now. However that may soon change as they are 8-2 in their last 10. So, how did we get here? That’s a questions I’ve been asking myself repeatedly over the last month. You can’t blame in on the doctor because look what the Devils are doing with their ‘make shift’ shifts. Can’t blame it on the home ice advantage not meaning anything any more, Ottawa and Vancouver are among the best in the NHL. What I do think is happening is a collapse fundamental consistency that was a trademark of Canadian hockey. I realize it’s a continental game, and just because you club resides in one country doesn’t mean all of the players do, but what made the Canadian Clubs such a force just 2 decades ago is no longer the envy of the south. Also, where’s the aggressive management that simply would do whatever it took to put a winner on the ice, of has all of that intestinal fortitude been purchased by the Yankees as well? If so, is there a cap on that? In short, they have let the rest of North America catch up. It’s a third period collapse of the worst kind and I for one, can not imagine an NHL playoff without a Canadian representative, but then again, it’s my unwillingness to recognize the obvious that made me homeless in the first place. What are your thoughts on the Canadian Clubs in the NHL this year? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
Dude! There’s some good hockey being played out West
This may be breaking news to the majority of the hockey world particularly those above longitude 124, and those that reside along the East Coast but the best hockey in the NHL is being played in places that had the Thanksgiving holiday outside. The West coast suddenly has become a hotbed of high scoring, good defense, and consistency. Three things that have not been synonymous with cities like San Jose, LA, and Phoenix unless you’re talking about the Cardinals, Trojans, or Lakers. However the Sharks have consistently had the best home ice record for three years running, and are off to a similar start this year even though they’ve dropped more than they did in over half the season last year, including one to the LA Kings, who have brought back the 80’s as they sit just one win out of the top spot for the first time since the ‘Great One’ graced So Cal and ‘oldies music’ was called “neu wave”. Oh, and that bankrupt Coyotes team has more points (37) than their high powered football counterparts that are the NFC defending champions average per game, and are only 7 points out of first. Strangely, if Phoenix played in Northeastern division they would be in first place and making sure they didn’t have any MMA on the schedule come playoff time. By the way the 4th and 5th place teams are only the quarterfinalist from 08’ (Stars), and Stanley Cup Champions from 07 (Ducks), so rest assured this division is tough top to bottom with no days off. Moreover their playing and exciting brand of hockey that is putting cheeks in the seats, as the Sharks and Kings are two of the top three scoring teams in the league at 108 and 100 points respectively, exactly what slumping attendance from last year needed. Just the same the 07’ victory by the Ducks has long since been written off as an aberration and it will be up to the top teams in the Pac to go deep into the 2010 playoffs to prove this isn’t the Pac-5 of the NHL. Are the teams in the Pacific division for real? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
