The first round came to an emphatic end last night with yet another game 7 overtime goal in Boston and a 1 - 0 nail biter in Pittsburgh. The past two weeks have epitomized the excellence of playoff hockey as we may have just witnessed the greatest and most exciting first round in NHL history. The 49 total games played in the first round as well as 9 straight days with an overtime game were both NHL records. Half of the series were pushed to a game 7, with 2 of those game 7's going into overtime, and 7 of the 8 series went at least 5 games with only the Detroit - Phoenix series finishing in a sweep. There is really no more fans could have asked for short of actually having some playoff hockey in Toronto, but that is a whole different story isn't it. Regardless, when the horn sounded on the Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 0 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the hockey world had officially set its Conference semi-finals. The four series bring with it some intriguing matchups as the East and West both have rematches of last years Conference semi-finals. I went 5 - 3 in the first round losing out on 2 game 7's and laying an egg on the Coyotes. Here is the way I see the second round shaping up.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 Vancouver Canucks VS 5 Nashville Predators (Winner - Vancouver Canucks)
If you were a hockey fan you were watching the Hawks-Canucks game 7. If you were a hockey fan with no affiliation to either team you were watching the Hawks-Canucks game 7. If you were not a hockey fan and you didn't have much to do on Tuesday, you were watching the Hawks-Canucks game 7. When Alex Burrows brought down Chris Campoli's horrible clearing attempt and slapped a rolling puck over the right shoulder of Corey Crawford you could literally feel a weight lift from wherever you were sitting, standing or jumping. The Vancouver Canucks had exorcised their Chicago demons and had avoided the most historic collapse of all time. Roberto Luongo had avoided, for now, the title of biggest choke artist and most overrated goaltender in the NHL. The Sedin twins were saved from an offseason of questions and concerns regarding how soft they play and their true leadership capabilities. Alain Vigneault's job itself was saved for at least one more series. Quite a lot was riding on that one fateful goal as you can see.
The reason I have gone on and on about the last series is because it fuels the reasoning for my pick in this series. The Canucks may be the loosest team coming into the 2nd round now. They have officially beaten their nemesis. I can sit here and shoot numbers out at you all day as to why the Canucks should win this series against Nashville now, but I won't because you already know they are far superior on paper. The simple fact is the Predators came into these playoffs with 1 thing on their mind: win a series. The Canucks came in also with 1 goal in mind: win the Stanley Cup. The Predators have accomplished their goal, the Canucks haven't yet. I believe we see the full coming of age of these Vancouver Canucks in this series. The Canucks win this series handily and await their opponent with their eyes fixed on the prize; Lord Stanley's mug.
2 San Jose Sharks VS 3 Detroit Red Wings (Winner - San Jose Sharks)
Our first rematch of the 2010 Conference semi-finals features 2 very different superpowers in the Sharks and Red Wings. The Sharks regular season success over the past several years has been overshadowed dramatically by their post-season failures. On the other hand, the Red Wings are 2 years off of a Stanley Cup win and have a long track record of knowing when to turn their game up a notch. However, this matchup doesn't seem to bode well for this particular Red Wing team. Last years 2nd round matchup saw the Sharks easily dispose of the Wings in 5 games and the Sharks followed that up by taking 3 of the 4 regular season games from the Wings this year. The Sharks clearly have the mental edge going into this series, but does that mean much against a veteran laden team like the Wings?
Both teams will be fairly well rested with the Sharks having 3 days rest and the Wings having a whopping 8 days off before the start of round 2. This could actually work in favor of the Sharks coming off a dramatic overtime game 6 win in Los Angeles on Monday to close out the Kings. The 8 days between games could allow the Wings to have a slight mental lapse which may end up costing them game 1 in San Jose. The Sharks are going to have to make sure their lacklustre power play from the first round, which was so good in the regular season, is firing on all cylinders against the Red Wings who allowed 6 power play goals in 4 games to the Coyotes. The goaltending battle should be fairly even with Niemi and Howard, so I look for this series to be high scoring and high intensity. We could be in for a 'whoever scores last wins' kind of series which should ultimately favor the Sharks. The slight edge in firepower and home ice advantage should carry the Sharks to the Conference final for a second year in a row.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1 Washington Capitals VS 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Winner - Washington Capitals)
The Caps - Lightning series seems to be flying under the radar slightly with the storylines coming out of the other 3 series. However, these two high octane offenses could prove to be one of the most exciting 2nd round matchups. The Lightning asserted themselves against the Penguins coming back from a 3 - 1 deficit to win the series in 7 games. Veteran Dwayne Roloson showed the hockey world why Steve Yzerman made the move to snag him from Long Island early in the season as he had the most saves of any goalie in the first round and had the best goals against average of any goalie that started every game for his team. This rock solid play in net combined with the stellar play of Hart trophy nominee Martin St. Louis and emergence of young superstar Steven Stamkos vaulted the Lightning past an injury depleted Penguins team. They are able to put up goals in a hurry and Roloson is a steadying force in net giving the Lightning a chance to win night in and night out.
The Capitals will pose quite a different threat to the Lightning than the Penguins. Without Crosby and Malkin in the linuep, the Pens relied heavily on positioning, defense and goaltending to win their series and the Lightning were able to exploit their offensive weaknesses. The Caps don't have the same weakness. Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom and even Mike Green's head seem to be just fine heading into the second round. The Caps easily disposed of the Rangers giving them ample rest before their clash with the Lightning whereas it took Tampa 7 gruelling games to get by Pittsburgh. I think the fatigue factor will come in to play in this series as it rolls along and favor Washington. Furthermore, the new look Caps attention to defense and ability to score should overwhelm Tampa Bay and give the Capitals the edge as they progress to the third round.
2 Philadelphia Flyers VS 3 Boston Bruins (Winner - Boston Bruins)
Well I'm going to use a quote by journalist Steve Rushin that I used when describing the Montreal - Boston series in the first round: "By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game One of the NHL playoff series". I don't like re-using material but this quote just seems so fitting once again to describe this series between 2 teams who are big, strong, physical and for all intense and purposes, mean. The Flyers made history last year and came back from a 3 - 0 deficit to beat the Bruins in 7 games. These two teams don't like each other and that will be very evident throughout this series. Chris Pronger is officially back for the Flyers which is great for Flyers fans especially with the problems they have in net. The three headed circus Philadelphia brought to the table in round one featuring Bobrovsky, Leighton and eventual game 7 winner Boucher will not fly against a much better Boston Bruin team. Pronger will definitely help out in the defensive end, but if their problems in goal continue the Flyers will have a tough time advancing.
On the other side, the Bruins came in as heavy favorites in round 1 against the Montreal Canadiens. Well, they didn't quite live up to the billing. The Bruins needed to comeback from a 2 - 0 series deficit and get an overtime goal from Nathan Horton in game 7 to advance to round two. Their power play was an abomination finishing without a goal in the first round, while Tim Thomas looked average at times. If the Bruins are going to win this series they will need to get leading scorer Milan Lucic going after Lucic was virtually non-existent against Montreal. They have the clear cut advantage in net with Thomas and I believe this is where the series will ultimately be won or lost. Thomas shows his Vezina form in round 2 and Chara wins the battle of the defensive beasts over Pronger as the Bruins get revenge for last years meltdown and move on to round three.
We are about half an hour away the start of round 2 and I think it should be a doozy. To recap I like the Canucks to assert their dominance against Nashville, the Sharks to continue their mastery over Detroit, the Caps to beat the Lightning and the Bruins to sneak by the Flyers. If the first round is indicative of how the rest of these playoffs are going to go, I can't wait! Let's do it now, turn on the TV's and let's watch some puck!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Canucks on the Verge Historic Collapse
Lord Stanley's glorious mug has circulated throughout the hockey world for over a century since the Lord Stanley of Preston donated the cup in 1892. The significance of having one's name inscribed on this magnificent trophy of trophies is far beyond words for the players who compete year in and year out at the highest level of hockey in the world. For the country who considers hockey to be 'our game', Canada has been starved for almost 2 decades as the Stanley Cup has not been presented to a Canadian team since Patrick Roy led the Montreal Canadiens to hockey glory in the '92 - '93 season. This insatiable lust for hockey glory that resides within many Canadians looked as though it had its best chance at being quenched this playoff season as our West coast brothers from Vancouver asserted their dominance over a remarkable regular season and continued that supremacy through the first 3 games of these playoffs. Now for the bad news. We may be witnessing the greatest collective collapse in the history of the National Hockey League.
I have heard for a few days now about the Chicago Blackhawks and their grit, determination and heart. I've listened as people have talked about their will to win and their ability to raise their game to another level and how their perseverance and courage will vault them into another class in hockey history. Well, frankly I am sick and tired of hearing about it. I don't want to talk about the Chicago Blackhawks of today, the Philadelphia Flyers of last year, the 1975 New York Islanders or the even the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. I want to focus my efforts on describing how tonight's game 7 will determine whether or not the Vancouver Canucks will live on in hockey lore as the biggest goats of all time. I want to talk about last years Boston Bruins, the 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins and the 1942 Detroit Red Wings who all suffered the same fate as the Canucks face tonight, and illustrate how a Canuck loss would put them front and centre as the most epic collapse in NHL history.
Going chronologically, the first team in NHL history to blow a 3 - 0 series lead was the 1941 - '42 Detroit Red Wings. Good on them for even being up 3 - 0 in the series is the way I look at it. The powerhouse Leafs came in 2nd in the NHL that year while the Wings finished 5th and were 8 wins and 15 points back of the Leafs. The Leafs were led that year by future Hall of Famers Turk Broda and Syl Apps and were clearly the more superior team to the Wings on paper. The meltdown by Detroit was not expected by any means, but can be forgiven in some respects when looking at the facts.
The 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins received the same rude awakening as the '42 Wings when Denis Potvin and company from Long Island stormed back down 3 - 0 to win their quarterfinal matchup. The Pens and Islanders were separated by only 1 point that year during the regular season and it was a tale of 2 very different teams. The offensively gifted Penguins went up against the defensive minded squad from Long Island in a battle of 2 separate hockey identities. The series was hard fought and the islanders prevailed after giving up 14 goals in their first 3 losses, the Isles clamped down defensively and gave up a mere 4 goals in their 4 wins. Even though the Pens arguably wear the crown as the biggest goat in hockey history to this point, the two teams were fairly evenly matched and lightning seemed to strike at the right time for the Islanders.
Finally, last years magical run by the Philadelphia Flyers encompassed a 2nd round 'upset' much to the chagrin of the Boston Bruins. The Flyers, led by Chris Pronger and playoff phenom Michael Leighton, stormed back down 3 - 0 to Boston and capped their epic series comeback by overcoming a 3 - 0 deficit in game 7 as well. The Flyers would continue on to the Stanley Cup and would only be stopped by, guess who, the Chicago Blackhawks. Once again, however, when breaking down the Flyers-Bruins series one can easily see how these two teams matched up well and the expectation was a hard fought and long series. The Bruins finished 6th in the Eastern Conference with the Flyers finishing only 3 points behind them in 7th. The Flyers actually had 2 more regular season wins than the Bruins and had a better goal differential. It's fairly obvious that much like the Pens-Isles series in '75 that these two teams were fairly evenly matched. This is not to devalue the accomplishments of the Leafs, Isles or Flyers teams that were able to come back from down 3 games because it has only happened 3 times in hockey history. But my point here is that the Vancouver Canucks meltdown will far exceed the previous 3 meltdowns.
Let's first discuss the hard facts in this years Hawks-Canucks matchup. The Canucks finished the regular season as President's Trophy winners and finished 10 full points ahead of the Washington Capitals for regular season supremacy. The Canucks led the NHL in goals for and goals against while boasting the NHL's number 1 ranked power play and number 2 ranked penalty kill. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, sat back and watched as an oddly inspired Minnesota Wild team beat the Dallas Stars in the last game of the NHL's regular season allowing the Hawks to backdoor into the playoffs with 20 points fewer than the Canucks. Furthermore, the Canucks possess the last 2 Art Ross trophy winners, most likely the last 2 Hart trophy winners and an Olympic gold medal winning goaltender. The Blackhawks counter with a rookie netminder and a team decimated by an offseason fire sale that saw many of its key playoff contributors move on to other teams. The series was really over before it started; or so we thought.
Getting past the numbers game this series becomes even more intriguing as most of us should already know the immediate history between these two teams. The Chicago Blackhawks are essentially the reason why the hockey world has ever questioned Roberto Luongo in his quest to become the premier goaltender in the NHL. The past 2 seasons, in animosity filled series I might add, the Hawks have sent the Canucks to the links. The undertone to the series this year, even if the Canucks didn't acknowledge it publicly, was to make the Hawks pay and taste the same sour taste of defeat that has been left in Vancouver in back-to-back years now. Unfortunately, Apollo Creed had Rocky on the ropes and just hasn't been able to throw the knockout punch.
If the Canucks are able to complete this disastrous meltdown tonight and are sent home for a third time in three years it would be the most catastrophic happenstance in Vancouver hockey as well as the greatest collapse of any hockey franchise in NHL history. Tonight's game 7 means so much more than just who advances to the second round. Tonight is a career defining game for Roberto Luongo. After the shame of being pulled in back-to-back games, followed by not starting game 6 and still giving up the game winner, Luongo and his decade long contract will be a tough sell in Vancouver. This loss will follow the Canadian tender for the rest of his career and will be an enormous burden to carry. The Sedin twins can throw their hat in the mix with Luongo as reports have surfaced that they travelled to Sweden after game 3 and have yet to return this series. These 3 marquee players must step up for themselves, their teammates, the franchise, the city of Vancouver and Canadians alike who are starved for a Stanley Cup winner on home soil (yes I know the Habs are still in but I am being realistic). No pressure though. Good luck Vancouver. May your sticks be solid, your gloves be quick and God forbid you come out on the wrong end of the score sheet tonight, don't bother coming back.
I have heard for a few days now about the Chicago Blackhawks and their grit, determination and heart. I've listened as people have talked about their will to win and their ability to raise their game to another level and how their perseverance and courage will vault them into another class in hockey history. Well, frankly I am sick and tired of hearing about it. I don't want to talk about the Chicago Blackhawks of today, the Philadelphia Flyers of last year, the 1975 New York Islanders or the even the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. I want to focus my efforts on describing how tonight's game 7 will determine whether or not the Vancouver Canucks will live on in hockey lore as the biggest goats of all time. I want to talk about last years Boston Bruins, the 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins and the 1942 Detroit Red Wings who all suffered the same fate as the Canucks face tonight, and illustrate how a Canuck loss would put them front and centre as the most epic collapse in NHL history.
Going chronologically, the first team in NHL history to blow a 3 - 0 series lead was the 1941 - '42 Detroit Red Wings. Good on them for even being up 3 - 0 in the series is the way I look at it. The powerhouse Leafs came in 2nd in the NHL that year while the Wings finished 5th and were 8 wins and 15 points back of the Leafs. The Leafs were led that year by future Hall of Famers Turk Broda and Syl Apps and were clearly the more superior team to the Wings on paper. The meltdown by Detroit was not expected by any means, but can be forgiven in some respects when looking at the facts.
The 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins received the same rude awakening as the '42 Wings when Denis Potvin and company from Long Island stormed back down 3 - 0 to win their quarterfinal matchup. The Pens and Islanders were separated by only 1 point that year during the regular season and it was a tale of 2 very different teams. The offensively gifted Penguins went up against the defensive minded squad from Long Island in a battle of 2 separate hockey identities. The series was hard fought and the islanders prevailed after giving up 14 goals in their first 3 losses, the Isles clamped down defensively and gave up a mere 4 goals in their 4 wins. Even though the Pens arguably wear the crown as the biggest goat in hockey history to this point, the two teams were fairly evenly matched and lightning seemed to strike at the right time for the Islanders.
Finally, last years magical run by the Philadelphia Flyers encompassed a 2nd round 'upset' much to the chagrin of the Boston Bruins. The Flyers, led by Chris Pronger and playoff phenom Michael Leighton, stormed back down 3 - 0 to Boston and capped their epic series comeback by overcoming a 3 - 0 deficit in game 7 as well. The Flyers would continue on to the Stanley Cup and would only be stopped by, guess who, the Chicago Blackhawks. Once again, however, when breaking down the Flyers-Bruins series one can easily see how these two teams matched up well and the expectation was a hard fought and long series. The Bruins finished 6th in the Eastern Conference with the Flyers finishing only 3 points behind them in 7th. The Flyers actually had 2 more regular season wins than the Bruins and had a better goal differential. It's fairly obvious that much like the Pens-Isles series in '75 that these two teams were fairly evenly matched. This is not to devalue the accomplishments of the Leafs, Isles or Flyers teams that were able to come back from down 3 games because it has only happened 3 times in hockey history. But my point here is that the Vancouver Canucks meltdown will far exceed the previous 3 meltdowns.
Let's first discuss the hard facts in this years Hawks-Canucks matchup. The Canucks finished the regular season as President's Trophy winners and finished 10 full points ahead of the Washington Capitals for regular season supremacy. The Canucks led the NHL in goals for and goals against while boasting the NHL's number 1 ranked power play and number 2 ranked penalty kill. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, sat back and watched as an oddly inspired Minnesota Wild team beat the Dallas Stars in the last game of the NHL's regular season allowing the Hawks to backdoor into the playoffs with 20 points fewer than the Canucks. Furthermore, the Canucks possess the last 2 Art Ross trophy winners, most likely the last 2 Hart trophy winners and an Olympic gold medal winning goaltender. The Blackhawks counter with a rookie netminder and a team decimated by an offseason fire sale that saw many of its key playoff contributors move on to other teams. The series was really over before it started; or so we thought.
Getting past the numbers game this series becomes even more intriguing as most of us should already know the immediate history between these two teams. The Chicago Blackhawks are essentially the reason why the hockey world has ever questioned Roberto Luongo in his quest to become the premier goaltender in the NHL. The past 2 seasons, in animosity filled series I might add, the Hawks have sent the Canucks to the links. The undertone to the series this year, even if the Canucks didn't acknowledge it publicly, was to make the Hawks pay and taste the same sour taste of defeat that has been left in Vancouver in back-to-back years now. Unfortunately, Apollo Creed had Rocky on the ropes and just hasn't been able to throw the knockout punch.
If the Canucks are able to complete this disastrous meltdown tonight and are sent home for a third time in three years it would be the most catastrophic happenstance in Vancouver hockey as well as the greatest collapse of any hockey franchise in NHL history. Tonight's game 7 means so much more than just who advances to the second round. Tonight is a career defining game for Roberto Luongo. After the shame of being pulled in back-to-back games, followed by not starting game 6 and still giving up the game winner, Luongo and his decade long contract will be a tough sell in Vancouver. This loss will follow the Canadian tender for the rest of his career and will be an enormous burden to carry. The Sedin twins can throw their hat in the mix with Luongo as reports have surfaced that they travelled to Sweden after game 3 and have yet to return this series. These 3 marquee players must step up for themselves, their teammates, the franchise, the city of Vancouver and Canadians alike who are starved for a Stanley Cup winner on home soil (yes I know the Habs are still in but I am being realistic). No pressure though. Good luck Vancouver. May your sticks be solid, your gloves be quick and God forbid you come out on the wrong end of the score sheet tonight, don't bother coming back.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Pipe Dreams - Where Have All the Goalies Gone?
So I wasn't sure if anyone was actually reading these blogs or not, but after my post regarding the monotony of game 1's in the NHL playoffs I am starting to believe I may have an avid following of NHL players, coaches and, more specifically, goaltenders alike. Here is an excerpt from that particular post: "if the eight game 1's are any indication of what is to come we may be in for a low scoring and borderline monotonous opening round of the playoffs." Boy oh boy did I not fully anticipate what was to come in the near future. Since I took my stand against the dull and lifeless opening of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, teams have combined to score 223 goals in 34 games. That works out to be almost 6.6 goals per game on average. Now please, don't get me wrong, I don't deserve all of the credit for revitalizing playoff hockey and rescuing it from the depths of borderline boredom. I shouldn't be praised either for waking up any sleeping giants and salvaging the NHL from being compared to an offensively explosive and riveting game of soccer. So what can account for this offensive barrage at a time when fans fully expect the games to be lower scoring and tighter checking? Ummm, I can think of one fairly obvious explanation; the goaltending has been awful!
This April has got to be the worst display of goaltending in recent playoff memory. Only one series is complete at this point and already we have managed to see 10 different games in which a starting goaltender has been pulled from a game. There have only been 42 games played people. I think you can do the easy math and figure out that a goalie pulled once in every four games isn't quite synonymous with playoff hockey is it? Here is the quick and dirty list of playoff performances to forget this year.
At this point we can look to only 2 series where the goaltending has been consistently decent: Washington - New York and Boston - Montreal. All 6 other series have either had goaltenders pulled, starters changed, or in the case of Ilya Bryzgalov a failure to change the starter may have been the downfall in Phoenix. Any way you look at it, it feels as though we are witnessing the emergence of some old time hockey. The death of the goaltender era, a changing of the guard from defense to offense, however you want to put it; it may in fact be upon us. No longer are we seeing Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour of the 90's carry teams year after year to playoff glory. It is beginning to feel like the Oiler's of the 80's where Grant Fuhr won a Vezina trophy with a 3.43 gaa and an .881 save percentage. Are you serious?
If you look at the previous 10 winners of the Vezina trophy, 6 different goaltenders have received the award with the only repeat winner being the aforementioned Brodeur who has claimed 4 of those. With Brodeur seemingly being at the end of his storied career, I'm not sure if there is a legitimate threat to take over the claim as the greatest goalie in the NHL. Is it Roberto Luongo? Bobby Lou has all the numbers and a gold medal to his name, but can he win in the playoffs? Well judging by Cory Schneider's start in game 6 it doesn't seem like Canucks upper management thinks so. Is it Tim Thomas? Well let's just say this guy wasn't even allowed to start in between years where he could possibly win 2 Vezina's, go figure. How about Carey Price? See similar reasoning to Tim Thomas and Roberto Loungo, combine them both and you have Carey Price.
The bottom line is this revolving door of masked men has severely changed the complexion of playoff hockey. A decade ago the Hasek's, Belfour's, Brodeur's and Roy's captivated us with a constant onslaught of stellar regular seasons and deep playoff runs. Today's fan is merely looking for the next Michael Leighton or Antti Niemi, someone to get hot and give their team just enough to win. Where does this flaw in hockey logic stem from? Isn't it clear that better goaltenders will always be better goaltenders? Or is it possible the game itself has changed so much that goaltending can be in a constant state of flux and a team can still be successful? We've watched as the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers have been two of the more successful teams over the past few years and I don't have enough fingers or toes to count all the tenders they have used combined. The shift in today's game seems clear: substitute goaltending for offensive firepower and bring in more fans. It was clear with last year's Stanley Cup winners as the Blackhawks went to arbitration with Niemi and declined to pay him what seemed to be a reasonable amount for a young and talented goaltender who has just won a Stanley Cup.
I'm not sure if I am biased because I grew up with the game of the 90's watching the Jersey trap and Hasek's acrobats, but I love the 2 - 1 nail biters. The gritty game where every mistake looms so large because getting pucks past the tailors of the tangled twine (to steal a quote from Joe Bowen) was virtually impossible. Today you sometimes need a calculator and your own score book to keep up. I realize high octane offenses bring in fans, but I still can't help but feel we lose something from within the game when we lose faith in the last line of defense. Confidence levels must be at an all time low for goaltenders around the league with the knowledge that this game could be their last. That's how I feel the games changed, the hockey world seems to have lost faith in goaltending itself, and consequently it seems that goaltending has lost faith in hockey.
This April has got to be the worst display of goaltending in recent playoff memory. Only one series is complete at this point and already we have managed to see 10 different games in which a starting goaltender has been pulled from a game. There have only been 42 games played people. I think you can do the easy math and figure out that a goalie pulled once in every four games isn't quite synonymous with playoff hockey is it? Here is the quick and dirty list of playoff performances to forget this year.
- Bobrovsky in game 2 -- 3 goals on 7 shots
- Boucher in game 5 -- 3 goals on 11 shots
- Leighton in game 6 -- 3 goals on 8 shots
- Fleury in game 5 -- 4 goals on 14 shots
- Luongo in game 4 -- 6 goals on 28 shots
- Luongo in game 5 -- 4 goals on 12 shots
- Niemi in game 3 -- 4 goals on 10 shots
- Niemi in game 5 -- 3 goals on 4 shots
- Ellis in game 1 -- 4 goals on 24 shots
- Rinne in game 4 -- 6 goals on 29 shots
At this point we can look to only 2 series where the goaltending has been consistently decent: Washington - New York and Boston - Montreal. All 6 other series have either had goaltenders pulled, starters changed, or in the case of Ilya Bryzgalov a failure to change the starter may have been the downfall in Phoenix. Any way you look at it, it feels as though we are witnessing the emergence of some old time hockey. The death of the goaltender era, a changing of the guard from defense to offense, however you want to put it; it may in fact be upon us. No longer are we seeing Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour of the 90's carry teams year after year to playoff glory. It is beginning to feel like the Oiler's of the 80's where Grant Fuhr won a Vezina trophy with a 3.43 gaa and an .881 save percentage. Are you serious?
If you look at the previous 10 winners of the Vezina trophy, 6 different goaltenders have received the award with the only repeat winner being the aforementioned Brodeur who has claimed 4 of those. With Brodeur seemingly being at the end of his storied career, I'm not sure if there is a legitimate threat to take over the claim as the greatest goalie in the NHL. Is it Roberto Luongo? Bobby Lou has all the numbers and a gold medal to his name, but can he win in the playoffs? Well judging by Cory Schneider's start in game 6 it doesn't seem like Canucks upper management thinks so. Is it Tim Thomas? Well let's just say this guy wasn't even allowed to start in between years where he could possibly win 2 Vezina's, go figure. How about Carey Price? See similar reasoning to Tim Thomas and Roberto Loungo, combine them both and you have Carey Price.
The bottom line is this revolving door of masked men has severely changed the complexion of playoff hockey. A decade ago the Hasek's, Belfour's, Brodeur's and Roy's captivated us with a constant onslaught of stellar regular seasons and deep playoff runs. Today's fan is merely looking for the next Michael Leighton or Antti Niemi, someone to get hot and give their team just enough to win. Where does this flaw in hockey logic stem from? Isn't it clear that better goaltenders will always be better goaltenders? Or is it possible the game itself has changed so much that goaltending can be in a constant state of flux and a team can still be successful? We've watched as the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers have been two of the more successful teams over the past few years and I don't have enough fingers or toes to count all the tenders they have used combined. The shift in today's game seems clear: substitute goaltending for offensive firepower and bring in more fans. It was clear with last year's Stanley Cup winners as the Blackhawks went to arbitration with Niemi and declined to pay him what seemed to be a reasonable amount for a young and talented goaltender who has just won a Stanley Cup.
I'm not sure if I am biased because I grew up with the game of the 90's watching the Jersey trap and Hasek's acrobats, but I love the 2 - 1 nail biters. The gritty game where every mistake looms so large because getting pucks past the tailors of the tangled twine (to steal a quote from Joe Bowen) was virtually impossible. Today you sometimes need a calculator and your own score book to keep up. I realize high octane offenses bring in fans, but I still can't help but feel we lose something from within the game when we lose faith in the last line of defense. Confidence levels must be at an all time low for goaltenders around the league with the knowledge that this game could be their last. That's how I feel the games changed, the hockey world seems to have lost faith in goaltending itself, and consequently it seems that goaltending has lost faith in hockey.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
First Round Marred By Suspension Debate
Playoff hockey is in full gear and this year's group of sixteen hasn't disappointed thus far. We've witnessed magnificent goals, stunning goaltending, suffocating defense and hard hitting action throughout the first half of round one. The Blackhawks and Coyotes are on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs while the other six series are locked in entertaining and heart stopping battles. Unfortunately, the common fan may not bear witness to all these tremendously positive storylines as the first week of the playoffs has been seemingly overrun with negativity. Daily headlines haven't surrounded winners and losers, great goals or saves, but rather have focused in on injuries and suspensions.
The first round of this years Stanley Cup playoffs has already seen four separate players receive disciplinary action adding up to a total of 5 lost games, with a fifth player narrowly and controversially avoiding a suspension. The epidemic that has become the National Hockey League must be stopped before our children and our children's children fall victim to this wicked tyrant. Air Canada, as we speak, is pulling the plug on their sponsorship and has even gone as far as to say they will cease flying in or out of North America if the league does not step in and put in place concrete preventative measures for their players safety.
Is anyone still reading this? If you are, I think you can clearly see how ridiculous all this sounds, but I sometimes feel this way when reading people's comments about suspensions and 'vicious' hits in hockey. The bottom line is there are millions of people who believe they should be in charge of disciplining players in the NHL (most of which have never strapped on a pair of skates) and feel Colin Campbell and company aren't doing it properly. Well, when we get past all the whining and outlandish statements, I may tend to agree to a certain extent with some of them. The subjectivity of suspensions seems to be front and centre in this years playoffs, so I wanted to take a look at each suspension, and the one non-suspension, to see if I could figure out the rationale behind the decisions.
Jarret Stoll on Ian White
I thought I would start with the Stoll hit as it was the first that received any disciplinary action in these playoffs. I also believe it was arguably the worst of all the hits. For those who didn't see the hit, during game 1 of the Sharks-Kings series Stoll ran Ian White from behind and drove his head into the end boards with his elbow. I say this was arguably the worst of the hits because of the nature surrounding hits from behind in the NHL and really throughout all of hockey. The damage that hitting a defenceless player from behind can inflict far exceeds most instances of body contact which is why minor hockey has placed large red stop signs on the backs of all jerseys. The NHL has gone to vast lengths to try and remove hits from behind from hockey and this check was clearly from behind as White had his back to Stoll for several seconds and Stoll took several steps before drilling White behind the net.
The other issue here is the idea that the punishment should fit the crime. This is where the real subjectivity comes to play when comparing suspensions but for now we will just look at the Stoll hit. Ian White was clearly hurt after this hit as he was barely able to get up under his own power and looked very shaken up. White did not return to the game and was ruled out of game 2 as well with what can only be assumed to be a concussion. The notion that a severe hit from behind causing injury can only render a one game suspension does not seem to add up in the minds of many people. As we move forward and look at the other suspensions and hits it becomes even more glaring how this hit was given leniency possibly because of the time of year.
Steve Downie on Ben Lovejoy & Chris Kunitz on Simon Gagne
The second and third hits are out of chronological order but they go along with the subjective nature of suspensions in the NHL and possible leniency based upon the time of year. Steve Downie and Chris Kunitz both received one game suspensions following game 3 of the Penguins-Lightning series for their hits on Ben Lovejoy and Simon Gagne respectively. Neither Lovejoy nor Gagne appears to be injured following their hits which are about the only positive thing one could say about them. The Downie hit happened behind the Pittsburgh net as Ben Lovejoy went to retrieve the puck; Downie came full speed from the hash marks and obliterated Lovejoy while leaving his feet to do so. Leaving your feet when checking an opposing player is illegal and brings with it a charging penalty, however, the vicious nature of this particular hit brought with it a one game suspension. We will see the difference between leaving your feet and not doing so when we look at the Raffi Torres hit as there are many similarities between the two other than having one's feet on the ground. This all seems fairly standard until you consider Downie's history:
The other suspension coming from game 3 in that series goes to Chris Kunitz of the Penguins for his elbow to Simon Gagne's head. Kunitz also received a 1 game suspension which once again seems far too lenient when looking at the hit. Gagne came across the edge of the crease and as he lost the puck Kunitz, who was a foot or two away from Gagne, reached out his elbow into Gagne's head as the two crossed paths. I'm not sure what Kunitz is thinking at this point, but this hit can only be considered a blatant attempt to injure another player. The two weren't close enough for an actual body check and Kunitz made no attempt with any other part of his body other than his elbow to make contact with Gagne. For a league that has continuously discussed protecting their players from headshots it is hits like these, the blatant attempts on another player's head, which should be made examples of. Both Kunitz and Downie, for different reasons, should most definitely have been given harsher disciplinary penalties. Unfortunately, during playoff time in the NHL it seems there are a slightly different set of rules inside and outside the game.
Raffi Torres on Brent Seabrook
The Raffi Torres hit on Brent Seabrook is the only one being looked at that did not garner a suspension. The hit was reminiscent of Steve Downie's hit on Ben Lovejoy as Torres wiped out Seabrook behind the Blackhawks net as he was playing the puck. The crucial difference between the two hits was Torres keeping his feet on the ground and leading with his shoulder. Whether you agree with the rules put in place by the National Hockey League or not, you cannot argue that Torres' hit was not a legal one. The unfortunate nature surrounding the hit is that Seabrook eventually had to leave the game and subsequently missed game 4 as well. But people have to keep in mind that this is a physical game and injuries are going to be a part of it. I compare this hit to Scott Stevens on Eric Lindros in the '99-'00 playoffs which put Lindros' career in severe peril. However, hockey players have to understand where they are on the ice and must be aware of their surroundings. It is imperative not only for the player throwing the check, but for the player receiving the check to have a heightened sense of awareness of who is around him. The old saying goes 'never skate with your head down' for a reason, because that is when injuries occur. If the league wants to address hits where a player is 'legally' blindsided then that is something to do in the future. In this instance, Raffi Torres was well within the rules of the game leading with his shoulder and hitting a player from the front. It is just an unfortunate repercussion that Brent Seabrook was injured on the play.
Bobby Ryan on Jonathan Blum
The final suspension I want to discuss doesn't even involve a body check and yet Ryan received the most games (2) out of all the players suspended so far. Ryan was suspended for stomping on the foot of Jonathan Blum behind the Nashville net. Now, I am in no way condoning what Bobby Ryan did whatsoever. I believe it was pure stupidity that Ryan thought, out of frustration or not, that using a blade in a stomping motion would be alright. Furthermore, there is some severe precedent that has already been set for issues of stomping as Chris Simon and Chris Pronger have both had suspensions of 30 games and 8 games respectively for stomping on players. Granted, Ryan's particular stomp was not as comparable to those two, but there still have been examples set. What I don't understand is how Colin Campbell is able to justify that Bobby Ryan's stomp, which rendered no penalty or injury to Blum, is more serious than Jarret Stoll's brutal hit from behind which left Ian White injured, Steve Downie's best torpedo impression or Chris Kunitz's blatant attempt to injure with his elbow?
The issue is not whether all of these hits and stomps deserved disciplinary actions, but rather the justifications behind the suspensions that were handed down. I think fans and players alike are constantly confused by the NHL and the methods they are using to hand down punishments. It clearly is not a black and white profession and I respect Campbell and anyone else in a similar position, however, there needs to be some parody in respect to these punishments in order to rectify the situation itself. If the NHL continues to place such an emphasis on removing head shots and blatant attempts to injure from the game then they must be responsible for handing out punishments worthy of the crime. It's just one guys opinion I know, but I find it hard to see the logic in some of these suspensions especially when compared to each other. Other then that though I am loving this first round! Keep it coming boys!
The first round of this years Stanley Cup playoffs has already seen four separate players receive disciplinary action adding up to a total of 5 lost games, with a fifth player narrowly and controversially avoiding a suspension. The epidemic that has become the National Hockey League must be stopped before our children and our children's children fall victim to this wicked tyrant. Air Canada, as we speak, is pulling the plug on their sponsorship and has even gone as far as to say they will cease flying in or out of North America if the league does not step in and put in place concrete preventative measures for their players safety.
Is anyone still reading this? If you are, I think you can clearly see how ridiculous all this sounds, but I sometimes feel this way when reading people's comments about suspensions and 'vicious' hits in hockey. The bottom line is there are millions of people who believe they should be in charge of disciplining players in the NHL (most of which have never strapped on a pair of skates) and feel Colin Campbell and company aren't doing it properly. Well, when we get past all the whining and outlandish statements, I may tend to agree to a certain extent with some of them. The subjectivity of suspensions seems to be front and centre in this years playoffs, so I wanted to take a look at each suspension, and the one non-suspension, to see if I could figure out the rationale behind the decisions.
Jarret Stoll on Ian White
I thought I would start with the Stoll hit as it was the first that received any disciplinary action in these playoffs. I also believe it was arguably the worst of all the hits. For those who didn't see the hit, during game 1 of the Sharks-Kings series Stoll ran Ian White from behind and drove his head into the end boards with his elbow. I say this was arguably the worst of the hits because of the nature surrounding hits from behind in the NHL and really throughout all of hockey. The damage that hitting a defenceless player from behind can inflict far exceeds most instances of body contact which is why minor hockey has placed large red stop signs on the backs of all jerseys. The NHL has gone to vast lengths to try and remove hits from behind from hockey and this check was clearly from behind as White had his back to Stoll for several seconds and Stoll took several steps before drilling White behind the net.
The other issue here is the idea that the punishment should fit the crime. This is where the real subjectivity comes to play when comparing suspensions but for now we will just look at the Stoll hit. Ian White was clearly hurt after this hit as he was barely able to get up under his own power and looked very shaken up. White did not return to the game and was ruled out of game 2 as well with what can only be assumed to be a concussion. The notion that a severe hit from behind causing injury can only render a one game suspension does not seem to add up in the minds of many people. As we move forward and look at the other suspensions and hits it becomes even more glaring how this hit was given leniency possibly because of the time of year.
Steve Downie on Ben Lovejoy & Chris Kunitz on Simon Gagne
The second and third hits are out of chronological order but they go along with the subjective nature of suspensions in the NHL and possible leniency based upon the time of year. Steve Downie and Chris Kunitz both received one game suspensions following game 3 of the Penguins-Lightning series for their hits on Ben Lovejoy and Simon Gagne respectively. Neither Lovejoy nor Gagne appears to be injured following their hits which are about the only positive thing one could say about them. The Downie hit happened behind the Pittsburgh net as Ben Lovejoy went to retrieve the puck; Downie came full speed from the hash marks and obliterated Lovejoy while leaving his feet to do so. Leaving your feet when checking an opposing player is illegal and brings with it a charging penalty, however, the vicious nature of this particular hit brought with it a one game suspension. We will see the difference between leaving your feet and not doing so when we look at the Raffi Torres hit as there are many similarities between the two other than having one's feet on the ground. This all seems fairly standard until you consider Downie's history:
- Suspended 5 games in the OHL for cross checking teammate Akim Aliu during practice and knocking out 3 teeth because Aliu would not participate in a hazing tradition.
- Suspended 20 games in the 2007 preseason for deliberate attempt to injure by leaving his feet and hitting Senators forward Dead McAmmond behind the net.
- Suspended 20 games in 2009 for slashing a linesman while playing for the Norfolk Admirals after a controversial empty net goal
The other suspension coming from game 3 in that series goes to Chris Kunitz of the Penguins for his elbow to Simon Gagne's head. Kunitz also received a 1 game suspension which once again seems far too lenient when looking at the hit. Gagne came across the edge of the crease and as he lost the puck Kunitz, who was a foot or two away from Gagne, reached out his elbow into Gagne's head as the two crossed paths. I'm not sure what Kunitz is thinking at this point, but this hit can only be considered a blatant attempt to injure another player. The two weren't close enough for an actual body check and Kunitz made no attempt with any other part of his body other than his elbow to make contact with Gagne. For a league that has continuously discussed protecting their players from headshots it is hits like these, the blatant attempts on another player's head, which should be made examples of. Both Kunitz and Downie, for different reasons, should most definitely have been given harsher disciplinary penalties. Unfortunately, during playoff time in the NHL it seems there are a slightly different set of rules inside and outside the game.
Raffi Torres on Brent Seabrook
The Raffi Torres hit on Brent Seabrook is the only one being looked at that did not garner a suspension. The hit was reminiscent of Steve Downie's hit on Ben Lovejoy as Torres wiped out Seabrook behind the Blackhawks net as he was playing the puck. The crucial difference between the two hits was Torres keeping his feet on the ground and leading with his shoulder. Whether you agree with the rules put in place by the National Hockey League or not, you cannot argue that Torres' hit was not a legal one. The unfortunate nature surrounding the hit is that Seabrook eventually had to leave the game and subsequently missed game 4 as well. But people have to keep in mind that this is a physical game and injuries are going to be a part of it. I compare this hit to Scott Stevens on Eric Lindros in the '99-'00 playoffs which put Lindros' career in severe peril. However, hockey players have to understand where they are on the ice and must be aware of their surroundings. It is imperative not only for the player throwing the check, but for the player receiving the check to have a heightened sense of awareness of who is around him. The old saying goes 'never skate with your head down' for a reason, because that is when injuries occur. If the league wants to address hits where a player is 'legally' blindsided then that is something to do in the future. In this instance, Raffi Torres was well within the rules of the game leading with his shoulder and hitting a player from the front. It is just an unfortunate repercussion that Brent Seabrook was injured on the play.
Bobby Ryan on Jonathan Blum
The final suspension I want to discuss doesn't even involve a body check and yet Ryan received the most games (2) out of all the players suspended so far. Ryan was suspended for stomping on the foot of Jonathan Blum behind the Nashville net. Now, I am in no way condoning what Bobby Ryan did whatsoever. I believe it was pure stupidity that Ryan thought, out of frustration or not, that using a blade in a stomping motion would be alright. Furthermore, there is some severe precedent that has already been set for issues of stomping as Chris Simon and Chris Pronger have both had suspensions of 30 games and 8 games respectively for stomping on players. Granted, Ryan's particular stomp was not as comparable to those two, but there still have been examples set. What I don't understand is how Colin Campbell is able to justify that Bobby Ryan's stomp, which rendered no penalty or injury to Blum, is more serious than Jarret Stoll's brutal hit from behind which left Ian White injured, Steve Downie's best torpedo impression or Chris Kunitz's blatant attempt to injure with his elbow?
The issue is not whether all of these hits and stomps deserved disciplinary actions, but rather the justifications behind the suspensions that were handed down. I think fans and players alike are constantly confused by the NHL and the methods they are using to hand down punishments. It clearly is not a black and white profession and I respect Campbell and anyone else in a similar position, however, there needs to be some parody in respect to these punishments in order to rectify the situation itself. If the NHL continues to place such an emphasis on removing head shots and blatant attempts to injure from the game then they must be responsible for handing out punishments worthy of the crime. It's just one guys opinion I know, but I find it hard to see the logic in some of these suspensions especially when compared to each other. Other then that though I am loving this first round! Keep it coming boys!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Game 1's - The Good, The Bad and The Boring?
We are two days into the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and it's blatantly evident that there is a tremendous emphasis early in this playoff season on goaltending and defense. What's new you ask? I understand playoff time is a different animal completely from the regular season as each game is viewed as monumental and a virtual must-win. The games themselves feature tighter checking, a more physical style of play and usually a more fierce attention to detail on defense. However, if the eight game 1's are any indication of what is to come we may be in for a low scoring and borderline monotonous opening round of the playoffs.
Consider the fact that four of these eight series have opened with a shutout, compared to last years first round where we saw a total of five shutouts and none in the opening games. The Eastern Conference matchups have tallied a total of nine goals combined throughout the four games, an average of less than 2.5 goals per game. Another mind-blowing stat is other than Brian Gionta's goal against Boston a mere 3 minutes into the game, there was not one goal scored in the first or second period of any Eastern Conference matchup. We watched as 3 games went into the third period deadlocked at 0 - 0, while the Habs had a 1 - 0 lead heading into the final frame. Now, I love a hard nosed defensive game just as much as anybody, but that's a little ridiculous don't you think? If you include the Vancouver - Chicago game with the 4 games in the east then we've watched 9 of 15 scoreless regulation periods thus far. Of those 6 periods that a goal has been scored in regulation, only 2 of them saw multiple goals as the Pens tallied 3 in the third against the Lightning and the Rangers and Caps traded 3rd period goals. It's safe to say we are hoping the Nashville - Anaheim and Detroit - Phoenix series' aren't going to carry the majority of the offensive prowess through the rest of this first round.
Aside from the lack of offensive firepower, the opening set of games has created a few more storylines to follow as we progress through the first round. Beginning out west where the last of the 8 game 1's was played late last night, the Sharks and Kings are playing only the third series all time featuring two teams from California. However, that story, along with the Sharks gutsy overtime win, was overshadowed today by the suspension of Kings forward Jarret Stoll for his hit on Sharks defenseman Ian White. Stoll drove White's head into the boards behind the San Jose net on an obvious hit from behind which forced White to leave the game and not return. White immediately fell to the ice after the hit and needed help getting up and skating off the ice as it looked like the Sharks defenseman may have a concussion. There was no penalty called on the play which seemed to further escalate the issue. The following face-off saw Sharks forward Ben Eager take his frustration out on Kyle Clifford as the two fought in the Sharks zone which ignited an intense battle that carried on throughout the game between the two teams and spilled into an overtime period before Joe Pavelski ended it for the Sharks. These two teams play in the same division all year and already have a rivalry brewing, but Stoll's hit may have just pushed this series into a new dimension. I'm looking forward to game 2 on Saturday!
On the topic of physical series and intense animosity towards one another, game 1 of the Bruins - Habs series didn't quite have the hostility and anger many of us expected. In fact, I thought I was watching a rerun of games 5, 6, and 7 of last year's series with Washington until I saw the big bear on Zdeno Chara's chest. The Habs did exactly what they did last year, they played dull, boring and a fundamentally sound defensive game while relying heavily on their goaltender. They also did one other thing; they won again. Fault them or not, the Habs have created a playoff system that they seem to be able to execute almost to perfection. Anyone who watched that game could see that Carey Price had just about the easiest 31 save shutout a goalie could have. Now, just to clarify, I am not by any means taking away from how Price played. However, the Habs did an excellent job getting into shooting lanes and getting rid of traffic in front of Price. The Bruins shot puck after puck directly into the chest of a well positioned Price as the Habs took the opener in Boston. For anyone hoping to see a repeat of that incredible February brawl between these two teams, I wouldn't hold your breath. But, a flicker of hope in this case came late in the third when public enemy number one Zdeno Chara tried to see if Montreal's leading scorer Tomas Plekanec would fit through the ice. The 6'9 beast Chara clearly looked frustrated after Brian Gionta's second goal of the night and decided to try and take these frustrations out on the 5'11 Plekanec. One can only hope we will see some of that edginess leak through tomorrow for game 2.
The third storyline that I wanted to take a look at which is emerging in these playoffs is one nobody would have dreamed of coming into the 2010-2011 season. The Washington Capitals are a defensive minded juggernaut that can clamp down and play dirty. Yes, it is true, the Capitals and Bruce Boudreau re-worked their team philosophy and became a much better team defensively then in years past. It is also true that they came into the playoffs as the second best defensive team in the east next to only the Vezina frontrunner Tim Thomas and his Bruins. But, come on, this is the playoffs and the run and gun Caps will once again surface and the system will come crashing down in DC. Well, granted it's only been one game and nobody won anything in one game, but the Caps looked pretty darn good defensively on Wednesday night. The Caps blocked an astonishing 32 shots in game 1 which more than doubles their season average of 15.3 per game. They held the Rangers to 25 shots in nearly 4 periods (they went almost to the end of the first OT) and Michael Neuvirth looked comfortable in his first playoff start. I've said it before and I'll say it again; defence wins championships. The Caps will score with all the talent they have, so if they can continue this defensive minded trend then we may be seeing a lot more of Ovi and company in the next month or so.
Well as I said before, I realize it's just game 1 and nothing is ever won in the first game, but there definitely are some emerging stories to keep an eye on as we move forward. Miller Time was front and center in Philadelphia as the Flyers will need to solve Buffalo's Ryan Miller if they have any hopes of repeating as Eastern Conference champs. The goaltending debacle in Anaheim cost them game 1 and they will have a new starter for game 2 as Ray Emery gets the nod. The Detroit - Phoenix and Pittsburgh - Tampa Bay openers were pretty uneventful and I hope to get a little more out of both those series as they progress. Finally, the Canucks won game 1 for the third straight year against the Hawks, so Canucks fans don't start planning any parades just yet until there able to win 3 more. Game 1's are in the books, hopefully we see a few more goals and some intensity levels increase as these series continue to develop.
Consider the fact that four of these eight series have opened with a shutout, compared to last years first round where we saw a total of five shutouts and none in the opening games. The Eastern Conference matchups have tallied a total of nine goals combined throughout the four games, an average of less than 2.5 goals per game. Another mind-blowing stat is other than Brian Gionta's goal against Boston a mere 3 minutes into the game, there was not one goal scored in the first or second period of any Eastern Conference matchup. We watched as 3 games went into the third period deadlocked at 0 - 0, while the Habs had a 1 - 0 lead heading into the final frame. Now, I love a hard nosed defensive game just as much as anybody, but that's a little ridiculous don't you think? If you include the Vancouver - Chicago game with the 4 games in the east then we've watched 9 of 15 scoreless regulation periods thus far. Of those 6 periods that a goal has been scored in regulation, only 2 of them saw multiple goals as the Pens tallied 3 in the third against the Lightning and the Rangers and Caps traded 3rd period goals. It's safe to say we are hoping the Nashville - Anaheim and Detroit - Phoenix series' aren't going to carry the majority of the offensive prowess through the rest of this first round.
Aside from the lack of offensive firepower, the opening set of games has created a few more storylines to follow as we progress through the first round. Beginning out west where the last of the 8 game 1's was played late last night, the Sharks and Kings are playing only the third series all time featuring two teams from California. However, that story, along with the Sharks gutsy overtime win, was overshadowed today by the suspension of Kings forward Jarret Stoll for his hit on Sharks defenseman Ian White. Stoll drove White's head into the boards behind the San Jose net on an obvious hit from behind which forced White to leave the game and not return. White immediately fell to the ice after the hit and needed help getting up and skating off the ice as it looked like the Sharks defenseman may have a concussion. There was no penalty called on the play which seemed to further escalate the issue. The following face-off saw Sharks forward Ben Eager take his frustration out on Kyle Clifford as the two fought in the Sharks zone which ignited an intense battle that carried on throughout the game between the two teams and spilled into an overtime period before Joe Pavelski ended it for the Sharks. These two teams play in the same division all year and already have a rivalry brewing, but Stoll's hit may have just pushed this series into a new dimension. I'm looking forward to game 2 on Saturday!
On the topic of physical series and intense animosity towards one another, game 1 of the Bruins - Habs series didn't quite have the hostility and anger many of us expected. In fact, I thought I was watching a rerun of games 5, 6, and 7 of last year's series with Washington until I saw the big bear on Zdeno Chara's chest. The Habs did exactly what they did last year, they played dull, boring and a fundamentally sound defensive game while relying heavily on their goaltender. They also did one other thing; they won again. Fault them or not, the Habs have created a playoff system that they seem to be able to execute almost to perfection. Anyone who watched that game could see that Carey Price had just about the easiest 31 save shutout a goalie could have. Now, just to clarify, I am not by any means taking away from how Price played. However, the Habs did an excellent job getting into shooting lanes and getting rid of traffic in front of Price. The Bruins shot puck after puck directly into the chest of a well positioned Price as the Habs took the opener in Boston. For anyone hoping to see a repeat of that incredible February brawl between these two teams, I wouldn't hold your breath. But, a flicker of hope in this case came late in the third when public enemy number one Zdeno Chara tried to see if Montreal's leading scorer Tomas Plekanec would fit through the ice. The 6'9 beast Chara clearly looked frustrated after Brian Gionta's second goal of the night and decided to try and take these frustrations out on the 5'11 Plekanec. One can only hope we will see some of that edginess leak through tomorrow for game 2.
The third storyline that I wanted to take a look at which is emerging in these playoffs is one nobody would have dreamed of coming into the 2010-2011 season. The Washington Capitals are a defensive minded juggernaut that can clamp down and play dirty. Yes, it is true, the Capitals and Bruce Boudreau re-worked their team philosophy and became a much better team defensively then in years past. It is also true that they came into the playoffs as the second best defensive team in the east next to only the Vezina frontrunner Tim Thomas and his Bruins. But, come on, this is the playoffs and the run and gun Caps will once again surface and the system will come crashing down in DC. Well, granted it's only been one game and nobody won anything in one game, but the Caps looked pretty darn good defensively on Wednesday night. The Caps blocked an astonishing 32 shots in game 1 which more than doubles their season average of 15.3 per game. They held the Rangers to 25 shots in nearly 4 periods (they went almost to the end of the first OT) and Michael Neuvirth looked comfortable in his first playoff start. I've said it before and I'll say it again; defence wins championships. The Caps will score with all the talent they have, so if they can continue this defensive minded trend then we may be seeing a lot more of Ovi and company in the next month or so.
Well as I said before, I realize it's just game 1 and nothing is ever won in the first game, but there definitely are some emerging stories to keep an eye on as we move forward. Miller Time was front and center in Philadelphia as the Flyers will need to solve Buffalo's Ryan Miller if they have any hopes of repeating as Eastern Conference champs. The goaltending debacle in Anaheim cost them game 1 and they will have a new starter for game 2 as Ray Emery gets the nod. The Detroit - Phoenix and Pittsburgh - Tampa Bay openers were pretty uneventful and I hope to get a little more out of both those series as they progress. Finally, the Canucks won game 1 for the third straight year against the Hawks, so Canucks fans don't start planning any parades just yet until there able to win 3 more. Game 1's are in the books, hopefully we see a few more goals and some intensity levels increase as these series continue to develop.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
First Round NHL Breakdown - Beasts of the East
Here we are a little more then 24 hours away from playoff hockey, can you feel the excitement building? It's been a long and arduous journey through the course of the regular season but sixteen of the thirty NHL franchises managed to stamp their ticket to challenge for Lord Stanley's illustrious mug. We looked at the four matchups from the Western Conference yesterday, so today I'd like to take a look at how the Beasts of the East measure up against each other and determine who will continue to play for hockey glory and who will be pulling out their 9 iron sooner then expected.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1 Washington Capitals VS 8 New York Rangers (Winner - Washington Capitals)
The David and Goliath matchup in the east pits the other number 8 seed to clinch a playoff spot on a loss against the revamped and defensive minded Washington Capitals. The Rangers, who have essentially been playing playoff hockey since early March, looked as though the grind was taking its toll on them as they dropped 3 of their last 6 games with losses to bottom feeders Atlanta and the Islanders. They required a Carolina Hurricanes meltdown in their final regular season game against Tampa Bay to backdoor into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The loss of Ryan Callahan also puts the Rangers at a severe disadvantage even though Captain Chris Drury is back for the playoff drive. Callahan was third in scoring for the Rangers and led the team in power play points and game winning goals while bringing an edginess needed in the playoffs. Rangers tender Henrik Lundqvist will be asked to do everything and more if New York is going to make a series out of this, much less move on to the second round.
The Capitals, meanwhile, have been transformed by Bruce Boudreau into a defensive juggernaut? Yes, I put a question mark after that statement because I can't believe I wrote it with a straight face. But the Capitals, with Ovechkin, Semin, Backstron, Green and company, have turned in an inspired defensive regular season led by their overbearing coach. The Caps come in ranked second in the east defensively and still roll out an offensively charged unit that can turn a series into a laugher quickly. The Caps dropped 3 of 4 to the Rangers this year, getting pummelled 6 -0 and 7 - 0 in two of those games, but don't expect that trend to continue. New York is the only team the Caps have beaten in the playoffs since the Ovi era began, expect history to repeat itself and the Capitals to advance to the second round.
2 Philadelphia Flyers VS 7 Buffalo Sabres (Winner - Buffalo Sabres)
It took the Flyers a final game shootout win over the New York Rangers last season just to make the playoffs. Their magical playoff run to the Stanley Cup finals came as a surprise to many, especially seeing as how they did it with a virtual nobody in Michael Leighton between the pipes. This season, however, the Flyers aren't sneaking up on anyone. They led the Eastern Conference for much of the regular season and finished just 1 point out of winning the conference to the Washington Capitals. Their prize? A date with arguably the hottest team in the NHL over the last month in the Buffalo Sabres. Philly comes in losing 13 of their final 20 games and with a young struggling goaltender. Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, another off the radar guy, went winless in his final 5 decisions and has drummed up some controversy in the Philadelphia net once again. Combine this with the questionable status of Chris Pronger and his hand injury, and the Flyers are not sailing into playoff time on a high note by any means.
The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, couldn't be playing much better hockey then they are right now. The Sabres finished the season winning 13 of their final 20 games and doing it with a complete team effort. The Sabres, even with the early season loss of Derek Roy, seem to be hitting their stride offensively at the right time as they've scored 4 or more goals in 4 of their final 5 regular season games. That trend does not bode well for the Flyers and Bobrovsky as the Sabres will counter with one of the elite goaltenders in the game, Ryan Miller. Miller time in Buffalo seems to be in full tilt as the Sabres goalie posted his 5th straight season with at least 34 wins and had 5 shutouts. This all boils down to the Flyers capability to protect Bobrovsky and keep the puck out of their own net. With Pronger less then 100% and a young Bobrovsky looking like he is wearing down a little, the Flyers look like they may be the one to have the early exit this season.
3 Boston Bruins VS 6 Montreal Canadiens (Winner - Boston Bruins)
Well, well, well, the hockey God's took everything into consideration and bestowed upon us possibly the most anticipated, hostile and bitter series one could hope for in the first round. I think this series can be summed up with a quote by journalist Steve Rushin: "By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game One of the NHL playoff series". One can only hope Steve, one can only hope. For those of you who need to catch up, the Bruins and the Habs don't like each other. In fact, they hate each other. The Northeastern division rivals will further their animosity for each other which has already seen a bench clearing brawl and a man sent to the hospital with virtually a broken neck this season. Did I mention these two teams don't like each other very much? Sorry, other then that obvious fact I don't like any storylines coming out of this series. It looks lopsided on paper and in reality. The Habs are the lowest scoring team in the playoffs. Their blueline is decimated with injuries and they have a goalie with a less then stellar 5 - 11 playoff mark in the last 3 seasons. Yes, I know Carey Price had a good season and he may not be the same goaltender he was a year ago, but he isn't superman people.
I really can't say much more then Tim Thomas when I look at this series from a Bruins standpoint. Let me reiterate this point, Tim Thomas is good, he's really good. He is going to be the Vezina trophy winner this season and he is arguably the best tender in hockey today. Best goalie in hockey versus the lowest scoring team in the playoffs? I don't think anyone has to be a genius to figure this one out. But, if you need some more information, here it is. The Habs are also the worst road team in the playoffs and they'll have to win in Boston in order to win this series. Montreal took the season series 4 - 2 and many of those games were of the high scoring variety. But playoff time is a different monster, the games are tighter checking and every shift looms larger and larger as the game progresses. I think the Bruins overwhelm the Habs with a much more potent offensive attack and frustrate them with their sasquatch Zdeno Chara on defence and their brick wall in net.
4 Pittsburgh Penguins VS 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Winner - Pittsburgh Penguins)
The series I wanted to see the least in the first round has unfortunately come to fruition. The Penguins and Lightning alike have had my eye all season long and I would have loved to see both advance deeper into April. With great regret, however, we will see one of them fall by the wayside by next week. In Tampa Bay, Steve Yzerman has taken a team that had 80 points last year and hadn't seen a playoff game since the '06-'07 season, and turned them into a team that was in the mix to win the east all season long. Yzerman went out and grabbed Simon Gagne, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and Dominic Moore in the offseason and then snagged veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson from the Islanders earlier in the regular season. This mix of role players and top 6 talent has led the Lightning to a playoff birth and seems to have restarted the dead engines of stars Marty St. Louis and Vincent Lecavelier. The Lightning boast the 6th best power play and 8th best penalty kill in the NHL yet come into the playoffs as the worst defensive team in the east. They will have to rectify this if they hope to beat the Penguins.
The Penguins have had to overcome possibly the most adversity with the best results in the NHL this season. The losses of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should have been monumental blows to a Pittsburgh team with aspirations of winning their second cup in 3 seasons. However, the team excelled without the likes of Crosby and Malkin and went on to post their highest point total since the duo came to Pittsburgh. Their number 1 ranked penalty kill exemplifies how the concept of team is far beyond any superstar in the Penguins locker room. Dan Bylsma has done a phenomenal job in keeping this team on track and they still have a plethora of young and talented personnel. The key in this series I think will end up being experience and goaltending. The Penguins have made deep playoff runs in 2 of the past 3 seasons with many of these same players, as opposed to a relatively inexperienced Lightning team. Marc-Andre Fleury is a proven winner and has a Stanley Cup ring to prove it. This one should go to 7 games and I hate to see either team take the early exit, but the Penguins experience and fundamentally sound system will eventually win out.
That officially concludes our 2011 first round NHL playoff breakdown. To recap it looks like the Caps take out the Rangers again, Miller time takes Philly by storm, the Bruins beat down the Habs and the Pens sneak by the Lightning. It's the most wonderful time of year to be a hockey fan and a Canadian in general. We live and breathe hockey and there is no better hockey then playoff hockey. May your beers be cold, your couches be warm and your TV's be on tomorrow, the playoffs are here!
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1 Washington Capitals VS 8 New York Rangers (Winner - Washington Capitals)
The David and Goliath matchup in the east pits the other number 8 seed to clinch a playoff spot on a loss against the revamped and defensive minded Washington Capitals. The Rangers, who have essentially been playing playoff hockey since early March, looked as though the grind was taking its toll on them as they dropped 3 of their last 6 games with losses to bottom feeders Atlanta and the Islanders. They required a Carolina Hurricanes meltdown in their final regular season game against Tampa Bay to backdoor into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The loss of Ryan Callahan also puts the Rangers at a severe disadvantage even though Captain Chris Drury is back for the playoff drive. Callahan was third in scoring for the Rangers and led the team in power play points and game winning goals while bringing an edginess needed in the playoffs. Rangers tender Henrik Lundqvist will be asked to do everything and more if New York is going to make a series out of this, much less move on to the second round.
The Capitals, meanwhile, have been transformed by Bruce Boudreau into a defensive juggernaut? Yes, I put a question mark after that statement because I can't believe I wrote it with a straight face. But the Capitals, with Ovechkin, Semin, Backstron, Green and company, have turned in an inspired defensive regular season led by their overbearing coach. The Caps come in ranked second in the east defensively and still roll out an offensively charged unit that can turn a series into a laugher quickly. The Caps dropped 3 of 4 to the Rangers this year, getting pummelled 6 -0 and 7 - 0 in two of those games, but don't expect that trend to continue. New York is the only team the Caps have beaten in the playoffs since the Ovi era began, expect history to repeat itself and the Capitals to advance to the second round.
2 Philadelphia Flyers VS 7 Buffalo Sabres (Winner - Buffalo Sabres)
It took the Flyers a final game shootout win over the New York Rangers last season just to make the playoffs. Their magical playoff run to the Stanley Cup finals came as a surprise to many, especially seeing as how they did it with a virtual nobody in Michael Leighton between the pipes. This season, however, the Flyers aren't sneaking up on anyone. They led the Eastern Conference for much of the regular season and finished just 1 point out of winning the conference to the Washington Capitals. Their prize? A date with arguably the hottest team in the NHL over the last month in the Buffalo Sabres. Philly comes in losing 13 of their final 20 games and with a young struggling goaltender. Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, another off the radar guy, went winless in his final 5 decisions and has drummed up some controversy in the Philadelphia net once again. Combine this with the questionable status of Chris Pronger and his hand injury, and the Flyers are not sailing into playoff time on a high note by any means.
The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, couldn't be playing much better hockey then they are right now. The Sabres finished the season winning 13 of their final 20 games and doing it with a complete team effort. The Sabres, even with the early season loss of Derek Roy, seem to be hitting their stride offensively at the right time as they've scored 4 or more goals in 4 of their final 5 regular season games. That trend does not bode well for the Flyers and Bobrovsky as the Sabres will counter with one of the elite goaltenders in the game, Ryan Miller. Miller time in Buffalo seems to be in full tilt as the Sabres goalie posted his 5th straight season with at least 34 wins and had 5 shutouts. This all boils down to the Flyers capability to protect Bobrovsky and keep the puck out of their own net. With Pronger less then 100% and a young Bobrovsky looking like he is wearing down a little, the Flyers look like they may be the one to have the early exit this season.
3 Boston Bruins VS 6 Montreal Canadiens (Winner - Boston Bruins)
Well, well, well, the hockey God's took everything into consideration and bestowed upon us possibly the most anticipated, hostile and bitter series one could hope for in the first round. I think this series can be summed up with a quote by journalist Steve Rushin: "By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game One of the NHL playoff series". One can only hope Steve, one can only hope. For those of you who need to catch up, the Bruins and the Habs don't like each other. In fact, they hate each other. The Northeastern division rivals will further their animosity for each other which has already seen a bench clearing brawl and a man sent to the hospital with virtually a broken neck this season. Did I mention these two teams don't like each other very much? Sorry, other then that obvious fact I don't like any storylines coming out of this series. It looks lopsided on paper and in reality. The Habs are the lowest scoring team in the playoffs. Their blueline is decimated with injuries and they have a goalie with a less then stellar 5 - 11 playoff mark in the last 3 seasons. Yes, I know Carey Price had a good season and he may not be the same goaltender he was a year ago, but he isn't superman people.
I really can't say much more then Tim Thomas when I look at this series from a Bruins standpoint. Let me reiterate this point, Tim Thomas is good, he's really good. He is going to be the Vezina trophy winner this season and he is arguably the best tender in hockey today. Best goalie in hockey versus the lowest scoring team in the playoffs? I don't think anyone has to be a genius to figure this one out. But, if you need some more information, here it is. The Habs are also the worst road team in the playoffs and they'll have to win in Boston in order to win this series. Montreal took the season series 4 - 2 and many of those games were of the high scoring variety. But playoff time is a different monster, the games are tighter checking and every shift looms larger and larger as the game progresses. I think the Bruins overwhelm the Habs with a much more potent offensive attack and frustrate them with their sasquatch Zdeno Chara on defence and their brick wall in net.
4 Pittsburgh Penguins VS 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Winner - Pittsburgh Penguins)
The series I wanted to see the least in the first round has unfortunately come to fruition. The Penguins and Lightning alike have had my eye all season long and I would have loved to see both advance deeper into April. With great regret, however, we will see one of them fall by the wayside by next week. In Tampa Bay, Steve Yzerman has taken a team that had 80 points last year and hadn't seen a playoff game since the '06-'07 season, and turned them into a team that was in the mix to win the east all season long. Yzerman went out and grabbed Simon Gagne, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and Dominic Moore in the offseason and then snagged veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson from the Islanders earlier in the regular season. This mix of role players and top 6 talent has led the Lightning to a playoff birth and seems to have restarted the dead engines of stars Marty St. Louis and Vincent Lecavelier. The Lightning boast the 6th best power play and 8th best penalty kill in the NHL yet come into the playoffs as the worst defensive team in the east. They will have to rectify this if they hope to beat the Penguins.
The Penguins have had to overcome possibly the most adversity with the best results in the NHL this season. The losses of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should have been monumental blows to a Pittsburgh team with aspirations of winning their second cup in 3 seasons. However, the team excelled without the likes of Crosby and Malkin and went on to post their highest point total since the duo came to Pittsburgh. Their number 1 ranked penalty kill exemplifies how the concept of team is far beyond any superstar in the Penguins locker room. Dan Bylsma has done a phenomenal job in keeping this team on track and they still have a plethora of young and talented personnel. The key in this series I think will end up being experience and goaltending. The Penguins have made deep playoff runs in 2 of the past 3 seasons with many of these same players, as opposed to a relatively inexperienced Lightning team. Marc-Andre Fleury is a proven winner and has a Stanley Cup ring to prove it. This one should go to 7 games and I hate to see either team take the early exit, but the Penguins experience and fundamentally sound system will eventually win out.
That officially concludes our 2011 first round NHL playoff breakdown. To recap it looks like the Caps take out the Rangers again, Miller time takes Philly by storm, the Bruins beat down the Habs and the Pens sneak by the Lightning. It's the most wonderful time of year to be a hockey fan and a Canadian in general. We live and breathe hockey and there is no better hockey then playoff hockey. May your beers be cold, your couches be warm and your TV's be on tomorrow, the playoffs are here!
Monday, April 11, 2011
First Round NHL Breakdown - How the West was Won
As fans and players alike shed a tear or two in Carolina and Dallas, there are sixteen NHL teams who have fulfilled the first part of their quest and reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The regular season came to an end on Sunday in a rather anticlimactic fashion with both number 8 seeds seemingly backing into the playoffs with losses by Carolina and Dallas. However, those losses have created some intriguing matchups and hockey fans across North America are going to get what they have been craving since Patrick Kane slid an overtime goal by Michael Leighton, some playoff hockey. The good ol' hockey game officially begins its real season on Wednesday as the pursuit of Lord Stanley's mug commences. This year we have a plethora of storylines, animosity and great matchups heading into the first round, so let's take a look at each matchup beginning with the Western Conference and see who has the edge.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 Vancouver Canucks VS 8 Chicago Blackhawks (Winner - Vancouver Canucks)
Oh boy! It seems the Dallas Stars evaluated their situation and determined that their own happiness was far less important than the overall happiness of hockey fans in general. Whether you are a Canuck fan, Blackhawk fan, or just a hockey lover in general, you wanted to see this matchup for the third time in as many years. The President Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks' journey to Lord Stanley will once again have to go through Chicago, a happenstance that is becoming more commonplace as the years go by. However, this particular matchup is unlike the last two in which the Blackhawks sent the Canucks to the golf course earlier then planned. This year the Canucks come in locked and loaded as the undisputed best team in hockey and with a chip on their shoulder.
The Canucks finished the regular season as the NHL's only 50 win team, had 117 points (10 more than Washington), have the best power play and second best penalty kill in the NHL, and lead the league in goals for and against. Wow! Compare that with a Blackhawk team that really doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs if it were not for an inspired Minnesota Wild effort on Sunday evening against the Stars. The Blackhawks roll out the 25th ranked penalty kill and a rookie net minder in his first playoff run (and yes I realize Antti Niemi was in the same boat last year, but this isn't last year), which shouldn't be able to compete with Vancouver's special teams. Furthermore, the Hawks of today are not the Hawks of last year as the losses of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, John Madden, Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager have proven borderline debilitating at times for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blackhawks should give an inspired effort and it may take the Canucks 6 or even 7 games, but in the immortal words of Ace Ventura the Canucks will most definitely 'exorciiiiiiiiiiise the demons'!
2 San Jose Sharks VS 7 Los Angeles Kings (Winner - San Jose Sharks)
Alright, I think this matchup may be the most lopsided one in the entire first round so I am going to keep it fairly brief. The Los Angeles Kings come in as the lowest scoring Western Conference playoff team (tied with Nashville) and are without their leading scorer as Anze Kopitar has been lost for the season due to torn ligaments in his right ankle. They also could be without their second leading scorer in Justin Williams as he remains questionable, but regardless he shouldn't be 100%. Sharks goalie and recent Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi closed the season with a 9-1-1 mark and looks primed for another deep playoff run, this time in a Sharks uniform. The Sharks also boast 7 different players who have reached or surpassed the 50 point marks this season which doesn't bode well for the offensively challenged Kings. The numbers don't lie, this one shouldn't be much of a series and I wouldn't be shocked if it was a sweep, but I will give the Kings some credit and call the series in 5 games to San Jose.
3 Detroit Red Wings VS 6 Phoenix Coyotes (Winner - Phoenix Coyotes)
Going from what is likely to be the most lopsided first round matchup to what could end up being the best first round matchup as the Red Wings and Coyotes meet for a second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs. The Coyotes took the Wings to the brink last year but fell in 7 games to the mighty Red Wings leaving a sour taste that Phoenix would love to avenge. During this years regular season the two teams split four games with 3 of those 4 going into overtime, so you know this series is going to be gruelling. The x-factor could be the health of Wings superstar Henrik Zetterberg as the sniping Swede will not be available when the playoffs begin and their is no timetable as of yet for his return. What this ultimately does is allow the Coyotes to focus more of their efforts into shutting down the Wings other superstar, Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk and company will have to have significant production especially on the Wings 5th ranked power play, as the Coyotes have been subpar all year on special teams.
The Coyotes, meanwhile, come into this series with what can affectionately be known as the poor man's superstar. Shane Doan, the Coyotes captain and only 20 goal scorer, leads a very well balanced offensive attack in Phoenix. The Coyotes have 11 players that have scored in double digits, despite Doan being the only 20 goal scorer, which means they come at you in waves. This balance is hard to defend and should cause problems for a Red Wing team that has given up the most goals against of any playoff team. The goaltending battle should also go to the Coyotes as Ilya Bryzgalov put together another fantastic season and gives his team a chance to win every night. This series should go 7 no matter who wins and I know it is tough to ever bet against the Red Wings come playoff time, but I like the Coyotes to avenge last years heartbreaking loss and advance to the second round.
4 Anaheim Ducks VS 5 Nashville Predators (Winner - Nashville Predators)
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack! The Ducks are back in the playoffs after a one year absence and their bringing with them some hardware. Corey Perry sewed up his first Rocket Richard trophy with a hat trick last Wednesday, edging out last year's winner Steven Stamkos, and became the only player to reach the 50 goal plateau this season. Perry has been unconscious in the last month scoring 19 goals in the final 16 games of the season to send the Ducks bursting into 4th place in the conference and taking home ice advantage in the first round. Alongside possible Norris trophy winner (my predicted winner) Lubomir Visnovsky, the Ducks have the 3rd best power play in the NHL. However, the achilles heel of this Duck team has to be between the pipes where Jonas Hiller is still out with vertigo and Ray Emery has a lower body injury, so Dan Ellis may end up starting the series against Nashville. If the Ducks don't get solid play in net they'll be working on their putting by next week.
Nashville, on the other hand, has no problems in net. Pekka Rinne should get a nomination for the Vezina and has stymied opponents all year long posting a 2.12 GAA and .930 save %. The Preds need every bit of what Rinne gives them as they, along with the Kings, are the lowest scoring playoff teams in the west. The great concern for the Predators is always offensive production as Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn tied for most points on the team with 50. But Barry Trotz has built a phenomenal worker bee system where each player works in unison to suffocate opponents. The Predators seem to have become an annual playoff team but still haven't been able to win that elusive first round. Well here is too Nashville in 2011, your dreams of a 2nd round birth should come to fruition.
There is the first round in the Western Conference put into a little package for you now. The powerhouse Canucks should finally hand the Hawks an early exit, the Sharks will cruise past the Kings, the Coyotes edge the Zetterbergless Red Wings and the Predators finally win their first playoff series. I can't wait until Wednesday when the fun begins! Stay tuned for tomorrow's article where I'll take a look at the Eastern Conference matchups.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 Vancouver Canucks VS 8 Chicago Blackhawks (Winner - Vancouver Canucks)
Oh boy! It seems the Dallas Stars evaluated their situation and determined that their own happiness was far less important than the overall happiness of hockey fans in general. Whether you are a Canuck fan, Blackhawk fan, or just a hockey lover in general, you wanted to see this matchup for the third time in as many years. The President Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks' journey to Lord Stanley will once again have to go through Chicago, a happenstance that is becoming more commonplace as the years go by. However, this particular matchup is unlike the last two in which the Blackhawks sent the Canucks to the golf course earlier then planned. This year the Canucks come in locked and loaded as the undisputed best team in hockey and with a chip on their shoulder.
The Canucks finished the regular season as the NHL's only 50 win team, had 117 points (10 more than Washington), have the best power play and second best penalty kill in the NHL, and lead the league in goals for and against. Wow! Compare that with a Blackhawk team that really doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs if it were not for an inspired Minnesota Wild effort on Sunday evening against the Stars. The Blackhawks roll out the 25th ranked penalty kill and a rookie net minder in his first playoff run (and yes I realize Antti Niemi was in the same boat last year, but this isn't last year), which shouldn't be able to compete with Vancouver's special teams. Furthermore, the Hawks of today are not the Hawks of last year as the losses of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, John Madden, Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager have proven borderline debilitating at times for the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blackhawks should give an inspired effort and it may take the Canucks 6 or even 7 games, but in the immortal words of Ace Ventura the Canucks will most definitely 'exorciiiiiiiiiiise the demons'!
2 San Jose Sharks VS 7 Los Angeles Kings (Winner - San Jose Sharks)
Alright, I think this matchup may be the most lopsided one in the entire first round so I am going to keep it fairly brief. The Los Angeles Kings come in as the lowest scoring Western Conference playoff team (tied with Nashville) and are without their leading scorer as Anze Kopitar has been lost for the season due to torn ligaments in his right ankle. They also could be without their second leading scorer in Justin Williams as he remains questionable, but regardless he shouldn't be 100%. Sharks goalie and recent Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi closed the season with a 9-1-1 mark and looks primed for another deep playoff run, this time in a Sharks uniform. The Sharks also boast 7 different players who have reached or surpassed the 50 point marks this season which doesn't bode well for the offensively challenged Kings. The numbers don't lie, this one shouldn't be much of a series and I wouldn't be shocked if it was a sweep, but I will give the Kings some credit and call the series in 5 games to San Jose.
3 Detroit Red Wings VS 6 Phoenix Coyotes (Winner - Phoenix Coyotes)
Going from what is likely to be the most lopsided first round matchup to what could end up being the best first round matchup as the Red Wings and Coyotes meet for a second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs. The Coyotes took the Wings to the brink last year but fell in 7 games to the mighty Red Wings leaving a sour taste that Phoenix would love to avenge. During this years regular season the two teams split four games with 3 of those 4 going into overtime, so you know this series is going to be gruelling. The x-factor could be the health of Wings superstar Henrik Zetterberg as the sniping Swede will not be available when the playoffs begin and their is no timetable as of yet for his return. What this ultimately does is allow the Coyotes to focus more of their efforts into shutting down the Wings other superstar, Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk and company will have to have significant production especially on the Wings 5th ranked power play, as the Coyotes have been subpar all year on special teams.
The Coyotes, meanwhile, come into this series with what can affectionately be known as the poor man's superstar. Shane Doan, the Coyotes captain and only 20 goal scorer, leads a very well balanced offensive attack in Phoenix. The Coyotes have 11 players that have scored in double digits, despite Doan being the only 20 goal scorer, which means they come at you in waves. This balance is hard to defend and should cause problems for a Red Wing team that has given up the most goals against of any playoff team. The goaltending battle should also go to the Coyotes as Ilya Bryzgalov put together another fantastic season and gives his team a chance to win every night. This series should go 7 no matter who wins and I know it is tough to ever bet against the Red Wings come playoff time, but I like the Coyotes to avenge last years heartbreaking loss and advance to the second round.
4 Anaheim Ducks VS 5 Nashville Predators (Winner - Nashville Predators)
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack! The Ducks are back in the playoffs after a one year absence and their bringing with them some hardware. Corey Perry sewed up his first Rocket Richard trophy with a hat trick last Wednesday, edging out last year's winner Steven Stamkos, and became the only player to reach the 50 goal plateau this season. Perry has been unconscious in the last month scoring 19 goals in the final 16 games of the season to send the Ducks bursting into 4th place in the conference and taking home ice advantage in the first round. Alongside possible Norris trophy winner (my predicted winner) Lubomir Visnovsky, the Ducks have the 3rd best power play in the NHL. However, the achilles heel of this Duck team has to be between the pipes where Jonas Hiller is still out with vertigo and Ray Emery has a lower body injury, so Dan Ellis may end up starting the series against Nashville. If the Ducks don't get solid play in net they'll be working on their putting by next week.
Nashville, on the other hand, has no problems in net. Pekka Rinne should get a nomination for the Vezina and has stymied opponents all year long posting a 2.12 GAA and .930 save %. The Preds need every bit of what Rinne gives them as they, along with the Kings, are the lowest scoring playoff teams in the west. The great concern for the Predators is always offensive production as Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn tied for most points on the team with 50. But Barry Trotz has built a phenomenal worker bee system where each player works in unison to suffocate opponents. The Predators seem to have become an annual playoff team but still haven't been able to win that elusive first round. Well here is too Nashville in 2011, your dreams of a 2nd round birth should come to fruition.
There is the first round in the Western Conference put into a little package for you now. The powerhouse Canucks should finally hand the Hawks an early exit, the Sharks will cruise past the Kings, the Coyotes edge the Zetterbergless Red Wings and the Predators finally win their first playoff series. I can't wait until Wednesday when the fun begins! Stay tuned for tomorrow's article where I'll take a look at the Eastern Conference matchups.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Who Gets the Hardware? - 2011 NHL Awards Preview
With the NHL regular season coming to a close this week the hockey world is quickly turning their attention towards a highly anticipated playoff season. The playoff races are all but wrapped up, excluding a flicker of hope in Carolina and a dash of desperation in Dallas, and the opening playoff rounds look to have some intriguing matchups coming to fruition. However, one last piece of the regular season puzzle won't be finalized until June: the NHL awards. In a game where no player or coach is above the concept of team, the NHL awards are the one time in the year where individuality is brought to the forefront and players and coaches alike are honoured for their individual accomplishments throughout the regular season. Here's a look at who might have the inside track on some of the major awards this June.
Vezina Trophy - awarded to the best goaltender during the regular season.
I wanted to start with the Vezina because I believe it's the one award that could be given out right now without much debate. Boston Bruins net minder Tim Thomas has regained his Vezina winning form of '08-'09 after losing his starting job last season to Tuukka Rask. Thomas has dominated the NHL this season while backstopping the Bruins to the Northeast division crown and home ice through the first round of the playoffs at least. Thomas should easily end the season as the NHL's leader in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage as well as finish top 3 in shutouts (he currently sits 2nd, 1 ahead of Carey Price and 2 behind Henrik Lundqvist). Furthermore, despite playing only 56 games so far this season because of the aforementioned Rask, Thomas still sits just 3 wins behind league leader Roberto Luongo with 34 so far this season. His numbers are reminiscent of his Vezina winning year two seasons ago as Thomas has posted a better GAA, Save % and 4 more shutouts this year then in '08-'09. Not to demean the accomplishments of Price, Lundqvist or Pekka Rinne, but Thomas is the elite of the elite as far as NHL goaltenders are concerned this season. The numbers speak for themselves; Thomas is the man in the Vezina race this year.
Winner: Tim Thomas
Runner-up: Pekka Rinne (Rinne sits tied for 2nd in GAA, 2nd in Save % and tied for 5th in shutouts while leading an average Nashville team to the playoffs this season)
Jack Adams Award - awarded to the best coach during the regular season.
The Jack Adams award, in my humble opinion, may be the most wide open race out of all the 2011 NHL awards. There will ultimately only be 3 coaches nominated when June comes rolling around, but I believe this is actually a four horse race. Dan Bylsma, Barry Trotz, Jacques Lemaire and Alain Vigneault can all make legitimate cases why they should be considered coach of the year this season. Let's begin with Vigneault, the coach of the President trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. I understand Vigneault was blessed with twin phenoms and a gold medal winning goaltender, but 113 points and counting can't be disputed. If you're team is the only one in the NHL with 50 plus wins I think that gives you an automatic bid at coach of the year.
To understand Jacques Lemaire's argument, just take a look at the New Jersey Devils pre- and post - Lemaire. Since Lemaire took over a team that was 9-22-2 and sitting alone in the basement of the Eastern Conference, the Devils have gone 28-16-3 and made a legitimate run at a playoff spot. Unfortunately, I think people will find it tough to give Lemaire this award based on just over half a season, but he deserves a look nonetheless. Another coach who deserves a look (and frankly has deserved one for a few years now) is Nashville's Barry Trotz. Nashville has once again clinched a spot in the playoffs and can reach 100 points this season if they can get 3 out of a possible 4 points. The Predators, minus defenseman Shea Weber and goalie Pekka Rinne, are severely lacking in star power which shows in their numbers. With two games remaining the Preds have only one player with 50 points and only one 20 goal scorer, yet sit 5th in a highly competitive Western Conference. How? Well, Trotz has created a system where all 19 players on any given night wearing a Nashville uniform buy into wholeheartedly, and for that, he should get strong consideration for the Jack Adams.
Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins currently sit with 102 points (1 behind Philly) and a chance to finish second in the Eastern Conference. This doesn't seem like such a great feat until you realize they have been without their two superstars, and arguably 2 of the top 5 players in hockey, for half of the season. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have played a combined 83 games this season and yet Pittsburgh finds themselves among the beasts of the east and are charging into the playoffs playing a fundamentally sound brand of hockey that Dan Bylsma has embedded in each Penguin.
Winner: Dan Bylsma (You lose Crosby and Malkin for half a season and still have 100 plus points - good on you)
Runner-up: Barry Trotz (How they keep winning year in and year out is a mystery to everyone but Trotz)
Calder Trophy - awarded to the player who had the best rookie season.
Ok Leaf fans, let's get the honourable mention out of the way early. If James Reimer had 10 more games we may be talking about him winning this award instead of someone else. But sadly, he did not, so we give Reimer a tip of the cap and look forward to many years of strong play out of the young net minder, but he is not going to claim the Calder this year. Instead, another young tender might have a shot at rookie of the year this season. In a season where the Chicago Blackhawks came in with a lot of questions and concerns, one major one being in net after not re-signing Antti Niemi, rookie Corey Crawford leads the Blackhawks back to the playoffs hoping to be the second Hawk tender in as many years to surprise people come playoff time. Crawford seemingly came out of nowhere to steal the starting job from veteran Marty Turco and has posted 32 wins in just 53 starts alongside 4 shutouts and a 2.27 GAA. Even though team success isn't really criteria in the Calder vote, you can't ignore what Crawford has meant to the Blackhawks which should give him an opportunity to win this award.
Winner: Corey Crawford
Runner-up: Jeff Skinner (Skinner leads all rookies in points and has been a huge asset in Carolina's playoff chase)
Norris Trophy - awarded to the best defenseman during the regular season.
Six of the last nine times this award was handed out it was given to the ageless wonder, Nicklas Lidstrom. The Red Wings defenseman probably put together another season this year where a Norris trophy nomination is in the cards, but I'm not sure a win is in store. The smooth skating Swede who ranks second in points and first in power play points among defenseman has posted a minus 3 thus far, which doesn't really scream Norris trophy does it? Well, not with the numbers Lubomir Visnovsky is putting up out in Anaheim. Visnovsky has been a force on the Ducks defense all season as he ranks 2nd in goals, while leading all defenseman in assists and points. His 30 power play point's rank 2nd only to Lidstrom and he boasts 4 game winning goals as well. The offensive numbers clearly are impressive, but what seems to set Visnovsky apart this year is the plus 17 he maintains. I've always felt the best defenseman are those who keep the puck out of their own net, while having the ability to put the puck in the opposing net (I realize that seems straightforward but it isn't as easy as it seems). Visnovsky encompasses all the necessary assets a great defenseman should have and has put together a stellar campaign deserving of a Norris trophy nod.
Winner: Lubomir Visnovsky
Runner-up: Nicklas Lidstrom (Don't worry he's only 40, he still has at least a decade to rack up some more hardware)
Hart Trophy - awarded to the player deemed most valuable to his team throughout the regular season.
Arguably the most anticipated award, the Hart trophy epitomizes the term Most Valuable Player. One flaw in this award is it doesn't usually recognize goaltenders, mostly because they have their own category. In fact, only 7 times in the history of the Hart trophy has a tender come away with the prestigious award (most recently Jose Theodore in 2002). So for this reason, I will mention Tim Thomas here but will not really consider him for the Hart unfortunately. With Thomas on ice, I think we've narrowed it down to a twin and a Duck. Daniel Sedin and Corey Perry should both get great consideration for the Hart as they've both put together masterful seasons. The comparison between the two is astounding: Sedin should win the Art Ross trophy for most points in a season with Perry currently sitting second. Perry will win the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in a season with Sedin currently sitting fourth. Both players have double digit game winning goals with Perry leading Sedin by 1. Sedin is tied for first in power play points and ranks top 10 in plus/minus while Perry is top 10 in power play points and boasts a solid plus 9 for the season. Either way you look at it, both these players are deserving of at least a nomination.
Winner: Corey Perry (because he doesn't have twin mindreading abilities with Ryan Getzlaf or Bobby Ryan and still managed to put up the numbers)
Runner-up: Daniel Sedin (Has all the numbers but I think having his brother all season will actually hurt his cause as it helped Henrik's last season)
We will see how it all turns out in June I guess. For now, let's just be thankful the Stanley Cup Playoffs are but a week away from starting. Any good Canadian can feel the intensity building and can't wait for the meaningful games to start!
Vezina Trophy - awarded to the best goaltender during the regular season.
I wanted to start with the Vezina because I believe it's the one award that could be given out right now without much debate. Boston Bruins net minder Tim Thomas has regained his Vezina winning form of '08-'09 after losing his starting job last season to Tuukka Rask. Thomas has dominated the NHL this season while backstopping the Bruins to the Northeast division crown and home ice through the first round of the playoffs at least. Thomas should easily end the season as the NHL's leader in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage as well as finish top 3 in shutouts (he currently sits 2nd, 1 ahead of Carey Price and 2 behind Henrik Lundqvist). Furthermore, despite playing only 56 games so far this season because of the aforementioned Rask, Thomas still sits just 3 wins behind league leader Roberto Luongo with 34 so far this season. His numbers are reminiscent of his Vezina winning year two seasons ago as Thomas has posted a better GAA, Save % and 4 more shutouts this year then in '08-'09. Not to demean the accomplishments of Price, Lundqvist or Pekka Rinne, but Thomas is the elite of the elite as far as NHL goaltenders are concerned this season. The numbers speak for themselves; Thomas is the man in the Vezina race this year.
Winner: Tim Thomas
Runner-up: Pekka Rinne (Rinne sits tied for 2nd in GAA, 2nd in Save % and tied for 5th in shutouts while leading an average Nashville team to the playoffs this season)
Jack Adams Award - awarded to the best coach during the regular season.
The Jack Adams award, in my humble opinion, may be the most wide open race out of all the 2011 NHL awards. There will ultimately only be 3 coaches nominated when June comes rolling around, but I believe this is actually a four horse race. Dan Bylsma, Barry Trotz, Jacques Lemaire and Alain Vigneault can all make legitimate cases why they should be considered coach of the year this season. Let's begin with Vigneault, the coach of the President trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. I understand Vigneault was blessed with twin phenoms and a gold medal winning goaltender, but 113 points and counting can't be disputed. If you're team is the only one in the NHL with 50 plus wins I think that gives you an automatic bid at coach of the year.
To understand Jacques Lemaire's argument, just take a look at the New Jersey Devils pre- and post - Lemaire. Since Lemaire took over a team that was 9-22-2 and sitting alone in the basement of the Eastern Conference, the Devils have gone 28-16-3 and made a legitimate run at a playoff spot. Unfortunately, I think people will find it tough to give Lemaire this award based on just over half a season, but he deserves a look nonetheless. Another coach who deserves a look (and frankly has deserved one for a few years now) is Nashville's Barry Trotz. Nashville has once again clinched a spot in the playoffs and can reach 100 points this season if they can get 3 out of a possible 4 points. The Predators, minus defenseman Shea Weber and goalie Pekka Rinne, are severely lacking in star power which shows in their numbers. With two games remaining the Preds have only one player with 50 points and only one 20 goal scorer, yet sit 5th in a highly competitive Western Conference. How? Well, Trotz has created a system where all 19 players on any given night wearing a Nashville uniform buy into wholeheartedly, and for that, he should get strong consideration for the Jack Adams.
Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins currently sit with 102 points (1 behind Philly) and a chance to finish second in the Eastern Conference. This doesn't seem like such a great feat until you realize they have been without their two superstars, and arguably 2 of the top 5 players in hockey, for half of the season. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have played a combined 83 games this season and yet Pittsburgh finds themselves among the beasts of the east and are charging into the playoffs playing a fundamentally sound brand of hockey that Dan Bylsma has embedded in each Penguin.
Winner: Dan Bylsma (You lose Crosby and Malkin for half a season and still have 100 plus points - good on you)
Runner-up: Barry Trotz (How they keep winning year in and year out is a mystery to everyone but Trotz)
Calder Trophy - awarded to the player who had the best rookie season.
Ok Leaf fans, let's get the honourable mention out of the way early. If James Reimer had 10 more games we may be talking about him winning this award instead of someone else. But sadly, he did not, so we give Reimer a tip of the cap and look forward to many years of strong play out of the young net minder, but he is not going to claim the Calder this year. Instead, another young tender might have a shot at rookie of the year this season. In a season where the Chicago Blackhawks came in with a lot of questions and concerns, one major one being in net after not re-signing Antti Niemi, rookie Corey Crawford leads the Blackhawks back to the playoffs hoping to be the second Hawk tender in as many years to surprise people come playoff time. Crawford seemingly came out of nowhere to steal the starting job from veteran Marty Turco and has posted 32 wins in just 53 starts alongside 4 shutouts and a 2.27 GAA. Even though team success isn't really criteria in the Calder vote, you can't ignore what Crawford has meant to the Blackhawks which should give him an opportunity to win this award.
Winner: Corey Crawford
Runner-up: Jeff Skinner (Skinner leads all rookies in points and has been a huge asset in Carolina's playoff chase)
Norris Trophy - awarded to the best defenseman during the regular season.
Six of the last nine times this award was handed out it was given to the ageless wonder, Nicklas Lidstrom. The Red Wings defenseman probably put together another season this year where a Norris trophy nomination is in the cards, but I'm not sure a win is in store. The smooth skating Swede who ranks second in points and first in power play points among defenseman has posted a minus 3 thus far, which doesn't really scream Norris trophy does it? Well, not with the numbers Lubomir Visnovsky is putting up out in Anaheim. Visnovsky has been a force on the Ducks defense all season as he ranks 2nd in goals, while leading all defenseman in assists and points. His 30 power play point's rank 2nd only to Lidstrom and he boasts 4 game winning goals as well. The offensive numbers clearly are impressive, but what seems to set Visnovsky apart this year is the plus 17 he maintains. I've always felt the best defenseman are those who keep the puck out of their own net, while having the ability to put the puck in the opposing net (I realize that seems straightforward but it isn't as easy as it seems). Visnovsky encompasses all the necessary assets a great defenseman should have and has put together a stellar campaign deserving of a Norris trophy nod.
Winner: Lubomir Visnovsky
Runner-up: Nicklas Lidstrom (Don't worry he's only 40, he still has at least a decade to rack up some more hardware)
Hart Trophy - awarded to the player deemed most valuable to his team throughout the regular season.
Arguably the most anticipated award, the Hart trophy epitomizes the term Most Valuable Player. One flaw in this award is it doesn't usually recognize goaltenders, mostly because they have their own category. In fact, only 7 times in the history of the Hart trophy has a tender come away with the prestigious award (most recently Jose Theodore in 2002). So for this reason, I will mention Tim Thomas here but will not really consider him for the Hart unfortunately. With Thomas on ice, I think we've narrowed it down to a twin and a Duck. Daniel Sedin and Corey Perry should both get great consideration for the Hart as they've both put together masterful seasons. The comparison between the two is astounding: Sedin should win the Art Ross trophy for most points in a season with Perry currently sitting second. Perry will win the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in a season with Sedin currently sitting fourth. Both players have double digit game winning goals with Perry leading Sedin by 1. Sedin is tied for first in power play points and ranks top 10 in plus/minus while Perry is top 10 in power play points and boasts a solid plus 9 for the season. Either way you look at it, both these players are deserving of at least a nomination.
Winner: Corey Perry (because he doesn't have twin mindreading abilities with Ryan Getzlaf or Bobby Ryan and still managed to put up the numbers)
Runner-up: Daniel Sedin (Has all the numbers but I think having his brother all season will actually hurt his cause as it helped Henrik's last season)
We will see how it all turns out in June I guess. For now, let's just be thankful the Stanley Cup Playoffs are but a week away from starting. Any good Canadian can feel the intensity building and can't wait for the meaningful games to start!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
UCONN Claims National Title by Default
I actually debated blogging about last night's National Championship game, but I figured a record breaking game is a record breaking game regardless of the records that fell. For those of you who were unfortunate enough to watch the entire UCONN - Butler debacle last night, myself included, we will never get those two hours of our lives back. In front of a record breaking crowd (the first record broken last night and really only positive one worth mentioning) the UCONN Huskies and Butler Bulldogs put on arguably the worst display of basketball a National Championship game has ever witnessed. If nothing else, last night's game fuels the argument college football makes in having a computer program inform us who will play in the National Title game each year. I don't agree with it, but by halftime last night I was crying out for the Kansas' and Ohio St's of college basketball to please come forth and give me the title game I so desperately wanted to see.
Before I actually get to Butler's numbers, I created a hypothetical last night with about five minutes remaining in the game. If I told someone that there are five minutes remaining in the National Title game and UCONN's point total is hovering in the low 40's, their shooting approximately 34% for the game, losing the turnover battle and they've hit one three ball all game long, what would be your reaction? Well I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that they have a double digit lead now would it! Here are some of the astonishing numbers Butler threw up last night:
Before I actually get to Butler's numbers, I created a hypothetical last night with about five minutes remaining in the game. If I told someone that there are five minutes remaining in the National Title game and UCONN's point total is hovering in the low 40's, their shooting approximately 34% for the game, losing the turnover battle and they've hit one three ball all game long, what would be your reaction? Well I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that they have a double digit lead now would it! Here are some of the astonishing numbers Butler threw up last night:
- Butler's 18.8% shooting was the lowest in National Championship game history and third lowest in NCAA tournament history.
- Butler's leading scorer Matt Howard shot 7.6% draining only 1 field goal in 13 attempts.
- Butler was blocked a whopping 10 times by UCONN, returning the favour only twice.
- Of the 64 shots Butler bricked up last night, 33 of them were from behind the arc and they hit only 9.
- The Bulldogs bench combined for a masterful 2 points last night.
- Butler shot 57.1% from the free throw line going 8 - 14 in the game.
- Butler became only the 4th team in NCAA history to lose back-to-back National Title games.
- UCONN made 1 three pointer last night which ties the record for the fewest made in a National Championship game
- The 19 points UCONN had at halftime were the fewest by a team in a National Championship since 1960
- The 53 points UCONN finished with was the lowest total for a Championship winner since 1949.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Electric Atmosphere Fuels Jays Opening Day Win
Well what more could we have possibly asked for out of opening day in Toronto; the mighty Red Sox were taken down a peg in Texas, the Rays fell at home to the Orioles and 47 thousand plus looked on as the Blue Jays pounded out twelve hits and embarrassed the Twins in their season opener. The Jays are officially tied for first place in the AL East with the Yankees, October baseball here we come! Ok, so I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but if yesterday's game is any indication of what's to come then Jays fans have reason to be excited.
The atmosphere inside and around the Rogers Centre was electric last night and the Jays didn't disappoint. The crowd was deafening at points during the game and a sea of white could be seen all throughout the Rogers centre as fans passionately pumped their rally towels. I realize it was opening day and this won't be an everyday occurrence (at least not unless were in a pennant race in September), but I had shades of the early 90's last night as a young talented group of Blue Jays treated a sold out Rogers Centre to a great night of baseball.
The Jays almost immediately squashed any notion that the offseason losses of Vernon Wells, John Buck and Lyle Overbay would create a power shortage in their lineup. The blue birds lit up Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano and ended up with four homers and thirteen runs when it was all said and done. JP Arencibia belted two of those four homeruns, while Jose Bautista and Adam Lind went back-to-back in the 5th inning for the other two. The power was nice to see, but maybe a bigger story was manager John Farrell's aggressive style of baseball shining through. The Jays have preached throughout spring training that they don't want to rely solely on the long ball this year. Well, mission accomplished so far. Making his Blue Jays debut, starting center fielder and leadoff hitter Rajai Davis made an immediate impact by beating out an infield single and then leading a double steal after Yunel Escobar had singled to follow Davis. That kicked off a four run first and the Jays were well on their way to an easy 13 - 3 opening day victory.
Farrell has made it clear that he wants to see a more aggressive approach on the base paths this year to try and put more pressure on defenses and give the opposing pitchers something extra to think about. A big part of that approach will center on Davis and Escobar at the top of the order as their expected to be the primary table setters for the likes of Bautista, Lind and Aaron Hill. But it wasn't just the two speedsters at the top of the order following through on their managers promise to be more aggressive as young catcher JP Arencibia legged out a triple to go along with his two long bombs. This sort of style of play should significantly help the Jays get to the next level as we have seen the Tampa Bay Rays wreak havoc on the base paths the last few years and give opposing teams fits.
Arencibia made a huge splash in his first game with the Blue Jays last year going 4 for 5 with two home runs against the Tampa Bay Rays. Well, his first opening day wasn't much different. Arencibia went 3 for 4 and drove in five runs as the young catcher showed why the Jays felt they were able to let John Buck go after last season. Arencibia's handling of opening day starter Ricky Romero was also worth noting as there were concerns about whether he would be able to handle this young Jays rotation for an entire season. The influence and veteran presence of Jose Molina will definitely further Arencibia's progress, but you have to like what you see so far from the twenty-five year old backstop.
With one game in the books (well 2 now that the Jays have just completed a 6 - 1 victory today) optimism and hope can continue to run rampant throughout Toronto as the Blue Jays have given us some early signs that they may be the real deal this year. It's clearly too early to start planning any parades or printing the World Series t-shirts, but I love the makeup of this team from top to bottom, and if they can continue to produce like they did last night I believe we are all in for a special year of baseball in Toronto. All in all I'd have to say that day one was a success, now let's hope we can have another 161 of them just like it!
The atmosphere inside and around the Rogers Centre was electric last night and the Jays didn't disappoint. The crowd was deafening at points during the game and a sea of white could be seen all throughout the Rogers centre as fans passionately pumped their rally towels. I realize it was opening day and this won't be an everyday occurrence (at least not unless were in a pennant race in September), but I had shades of the early 90's last night as a young talented group of Blue Jays treated a sold out Rogers Centre to a great night of baseball.
The Jays almost immediately squashed any notion that the offseason losses of Vernon Wells, John Buck and Lyle Overbay would create a power shortage in their lineup. The blue birds lit up Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano and ended up with four homers and thirteen runs when it was all said and done. JP Arencibia belted two of those four homeruns, while Jose Bautista and Adam Lind went back-to-back in the 5th inning for the other two. The power was nice to see, but maybe a bigger story was manager John Farrell's aggressive style of baseball shining through. The Jays have preached throughout spring training that they don't want to rely solely on the long ball this year. Well, mission accomplished so far. Making his Blue Jays debut, starting center fielder and leadoff hitter Rajai Davis made an immediate impact by beating out an infield single and then leading a double steal after Yunel Escobar had singled to follow Davis. That kicked off a four run first and the Jays were well on their way to an easy 13 - 3 opening day victory.
Farrell has made it clear that he wants to see a more aggressive approach on the base paths this year to try and put more pressure on defenses and give the opposing pitchers something extra to think about. A big part of that approach will center on Davis and Escobar at the top of the order as their expected to be the primary table setters for the likes of Bautista, Lind and Aaron Hill. But it wasn't just the two speedsters at the top of the order following through on their managers promise to be more aggressive as young catcher JP Arencibia legged out a triple to go along with his two long bombs. This sort of style of play should significantly help the Jays get to the next level as we have seen the Tampa Bay Rays wreak havoc on the base paths the last few years and give opposing teams fits.
Arencibia made a huge splash in his first game with the Blue Jays last year going 4 for 5 with two home runs against the Tampa Bay Rays. Well, his first opening day wasn't much different. Arencibia went 3 for 4 and drove in five runs as the young catcher showed why the Jays felt they were able to let John Buck go after last season. Arencibia's handling of opening day starter Ricky Romero was also worth noting as there were concerns about whether he would be able to handle this young Jays rotation for an entire season. The influence and veteran presence of Jose Molina will definitely further Arencibia's progress, but you have to like what you see so far from the twenty-five year old backstop.
With one game in the books (well 2 now that the Jays have just completed a 6 - 1 victory today) optimism and hope can continue to run rampant throughout Toronto as the Blue Jays have given us some early signs that they may be the real deal this year. It's clearly too early to start planning any parades or printing the World Series t-shirts, but I love the makeup of this team from top to bottom, and if they can continue to produce like they did last night I believe we are all in for a special year of baseball in Toronto. All in all I'd have to say that day one was a success, now let's hope we can have another 161 of them just like it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)