The Bruise Brothers: An examination in hockey!

So What Ails The Red Wings?

2011-11-07T00:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long layoff; enjoy this next piece.

So I was reading Yahoo! yesterday and they posted an article that featured 5 reasons why the Red Wings may be as bad as they seem and posed the hypothetical question: What ails the Red Wings? I left my comments yet instead of using it as an opportunity to plug the blog on someone else's medium, I'd rather just share them with you here. They went something to the effect of the following (though I have revised it slightly since posting there earlier):

- No more solid complement to Pavel Datsyuk or Hendrik Zetterberg: Tomas Holmstrom did this forever and a day; now he's reduced to being a spare forward (and there's nothing wrong with having a reserve forward who can act as an offensive specialist the way he can.) But who else can step up next to them and deliver? It isn't Danny Cleary or Todd Bertuzzi; and for that reason Detroit needs to either promote Tomas Tatar to start spending time on the first line or to start looking for players outside the organization that can handle duties on a first line.

- No secondary scoring: Only four players have scored more than 4 points after the first 11 games of the season; a scarier reality to that is that Zetterberg isn't one of them! Bertuzzi isn't looking like the dominant power forward he once was, Jiri Hudler's always been inconsistent, Cleary's better suited as a Number 7 forward (starting off on a checking unit and playing on a scoring unit at various times throughout the season), and everyone else doesn't have the proven offensive acumen to do better. If Bertuzzi can't hang anymore, then the team needs to find another power forward to play on a scoring line.

- Redundancy throughout the lineup: Though the team's immensely skilled and talented, there isn't a whole lot of diverse roles with the guys. Yes, Jonathan Ericsson and Justin Abdelkader are excellent as physical players, but who exactly took over for Kirk Maltby as the team's agitator? Who filled Aaron Downey's spot as the team's enforcer? No one. Instead they have guys like Hudler and Patrick Eaves on the lower lines; who could be sufficient at the jobs either occupied by Holmstrom or Cleary, but don't offer a whole lot of variety beyond what's already in the lineup. Opposing coaches can have an easier time adjusting to the same attack than they would if the lineup were a bit more diverse.

- Poor performance by the guys who have roles: Cory Emmerton is the team's fourth-line center and has a 34% Faceoff Win Percentage. That's no good for a guy who's playing on a defensive unit. Brad Stuart doesn't have a single point in 11 games; I understand his role is more defense-oriented but he's still receiving Top-four minutes. I'll cut Ian White a break, he's the new guy who's filling some big shoes, because the established veterans (or newbies from within the organization) aren't necessarily pulling their weight either.

- The organization's become complacent: Winning can get to your head; and frankly this losing streak could be the start of a renaissance for the Red Wings. It all depends on whether or not Ken Holland decides to shake things up or stand pat. I have a bad feeling about the latter.

- Though they aren't "old", age is still a factor: There's an upside to allowing prospect to "develop in the minors" in that you don't have to worry about confidence issues they way you do with kids that go straight from juniors to pros. The downside, however, is the lack of "spark" in the lineup. The Wings would do well with some young guys in the lineup and while I don't think it would be prudent to promote Smith until someone moves or retires, the Wings would do well to have a few guys in the 19-22 age range to give some genuine enthusiasm to the team.

It's not all doom and gloom for the team. Jimmy Howard's still a fantastic starter, I think Ty Conklin's ineffective appearances have been the fault of the coaches moreso than it being an issue of his own individual effort, and I think their defensive unit is pretty fantastic. However, you need to score to win hockey games and when your forward unit lacks balance, it effects everything. I think GM Ken Holland needs to shake a few things up to ensure that the team remains competitive without blowing up everything. Is it possible during the season? It's a lot harder for certain, but considering the issues lie moreso on the depth forwards than they do the top six, it could be a simpler issue of moving for the right role players in exchange for overall talent as opposed to trying to land a big fish. This especially holds true if Bertuzzi starts playing like his old self again.

Season Review: Detroit Red Wings

2011-05-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

Since we're at the conference finals, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from the playoffs: The Detroit Red Wings.

My prediction: First in the Central Division and having a nice run in the playoffs.

The truth: First in the Central Division and being a game short of making the Western Conference Finals, being eliminated in seven games by the San Jose Sharks after a nearly impossible comeback.

So what happened?: Sometimes it comes down to one game. For that game, the Red Wings went into battle without their top-six big man Johan Franzen while the Sharks had Ryan Clowe return. Within three minutes, the Red Wings other top-six big man Todd Bertuzzi goes down with injury. With the game being a goal apart early in the third period, a careless play by Jiri Hudler inadvertently injures the team's Number 7 forward Danny Cleary. No team can lose three forwards of that importance and expect to win against another team of equal and comparable talent. That's what happened.

So what's next?: This media hullabaloo about a rebuild is utter horseshit. The components are in place for next season so now the reinforcements are sought to be brought in. If Lidstrom comes back, great. If not, they'll land another top defenseman because they're the Detroit Red Wings. The team may opt to go with their current formula of puck-possession players but a few more chippy players would hurt more than not. Nevertheless, a healthy Wings squad is still dangerous and even if Lidstrom and Co. decides to retire, there's a whole lotta power left in that Red and White machine that will be an absolute bitch to contain.

Derek Boogaard passes away

2011-05-13T21:05:00.001-07:00

Straight out of the "fucking awful" department :-(

NEW YORK (AP)—New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment. He was 28.

The team announced Boogaard’s death on Friday night, but gave no details.

The Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis first reported Boogaard was found dead in his home by members of his family. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office in Minnesota confirmed those details and said an autopsy was pending.

“Derek was an extremely kind and caring individual,” Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said. “He was a very thoughtful person, who will be dearly missed by all those who knew him. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”

Boogaard signed a four-year, $6.5 million deal with Rangers in July and appeared in 22 games with them last season. He had a goal and an assist to go with 45 penalty minutes.

One of the most feared fighters in the league, Boogaard missed the last 52 games of the regular season with a concussion and shoulder injury and did not play in the playoffs.

Boogaard began his NHL career with Minnesota and appeared in 255 games with the Wild from 2005-10.

“The Minnesota Wild organization sends our deepest sympathies to the family of Derek Boogaard,” team said in a statement. “Derek was a fan favorite during his five seasons with the Wild and will be greatly missed here in Minnesota and throughout the NHL. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Boogaard family during this tragic time of loss.”

In 277 regular-season games with Minnesota and the Rangers over six seasons, he had three goals and 13 assists and 589 penalty minutes.

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native was Minnesota’s seventh-round choice, 202nd overall, in the 2001 draft.

Season Review: The Rest of the Quarterfinal and Semifinal Eliminations

2011-05-10T00:21:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, this is a one-man show and that one man just doesn't have the time he used to...

Conference Quarterfinals:

Chicago Blackhawks - Last year's cup champions kept their high-salary guys and rode the heck out of them... and they eventually were too tired because the components couldn't do the job (unlike last season.)

Montreal Canadiens - Give Carey Price kudos for being astounding this season, the rest of the team wasn't as effective against the Bruins in their series.

Pittsburgh Penguins - I thought they'd be out of the playoffs without Malkin and Crosby, so kudos to them for even getting that far. Alas, missing those two guys going up against LeCavalier and Stamkos simply left Pittsburgh with the short end of the straw.

Buffalo Sabres - You can't blame the goaltending in this one; Buffalo was simply outworked by Philadelphia's offensive hustle. Hopefully a full season with their new owner Terry Pegula can see them go deep in the playoffs next season.

Conference Semifinals:

Washington Capitals - The team's still very, very young and there's questions about how coach Bruce Boudreau motivates the team. After their third early season, what will the team with the league's best player do in the off-season?

Nashville Predators - I gave these guys no credit and they still persevered. They came up short against a team who spent to the cap. Would more money in player personnel make them a Cup favorite?

Philadelphia Flyers - The goalie carousel didn't help matters, but it was largely injuries to Jeff Carter and Chris Pronger that deflated the air out the team during the second round.

Season Review: LA Kings

2011-04-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well, as we're advancing toward the conference semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from the playoffs: The Los Angeles Kings.

My prediction: First in the Pacific Division and in the playoffs.

The truth: Fourth in the division and made the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They were eliminated in six games against the San Jose Sharks.

So what happened?:
1. Every team in the division has their big man at center: Phoenix has Martin Hanzal, San Jose has Joe Thornton, Dallas has Brad Richards, and Anaheim has Ryan Getzlaf. LA has Anze Kopitar, who is excellent but went down right before the playoffs. This absolutely affected their chances of going deep in the playoffs.
2. The Dustin Penner acquisition was an absolute bust so far, and unless he commits to better health (or if the Kings can get rid of him for something in return) then this is going to look like a very regrettable trade for the Kings.
3. Not everyone was as productive as the team would have hoped. Michal Hanzus and Wayne Simmonds topped out at 30 points while Alexei Ponikarovsky hadn't produced as few points has he has since the 2002-03 season. That all carried into the playoffs and stacked up against the Sharks, it just wasn't enough.

So what's next?: Drew Doughty and other key RFAs need to be re-signed and the Kings would loved to bring in another first-line forward. The only way that's seemingly going to work is if Penner's moved or sent to the minors and paid over $4M to do so. Hanzus will either come back at a lower salary or will need to be replaced as well. I will say this though, they don't need to blow too much up. That's for certain.

Season Review: Anaheim Ducks

2011-04-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, as we're advancing toward the conference semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from the playoffs: The Anaheim Ducks.

My prediction: Fourth in the Pacific Division and out of the playoffs.

The truth: Second in the division and made the fourth seed in the Western Conference (this was thanks in part to a serious mid-season surge thanks to some key acquisitions.) They were eliminated in six games against the Nashville Predators.

So what happened?: The Ducks often played like two teams: The first was the highly-skilled squad that has sent numerous players to their respective countries' Olympic teams; the second was a team that completely lacked discipline and found themselves in the penalty box far too often. GM Bob Murray was able to correct defensive deficiencies by trading for Francois Beauchamin and goaltender Dan Ellis while signing goaltender Ray Emery to help replace the void left by Jonas Hiller's mysterious ailment best described as vertigo, but the team simply couldn't get past the Predators' defense-oriented system to advance beyond the first round. Not that their goaltending was overly stellar in the round but you can't expect much from two guys who weren't on the roster when the puck dropped back in October.

So what's next?: The team's got $9.6M to lock down six players next season, one of them will be Teemu Selanne if he decides to return for another year. All and all, they look to have the components in place to have a more balanced attack next year, but how well they perform next season largely rests on whether or not Hiller can return from whatever it is that's affecting him.

Season Review: New York Rangers

2011-04-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

Well, as we're advancing toward the conference semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from the playoffs: The New York Rangers.

My prediction: Fourth in the Atlantic Division and out of the playoffs.

The truth: Third in the division and made the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to a Carolina Hurricanes loss. The success was short-lived, however, as they were dispatched in 5 games by the Washington Capitals.

So what happened?: The backup goalie (Martin Biron) who was supposed to take playing time away from the oft-overworked Hendrik Lundqvist ended up injured, the defense looked awfully young after sending Wade Redden to the minors and Michal Rosival to the Phoenix Coyotes, and few forwards came to play on a consistent basis (I'm pretty certain that Marian Gaborik isn't making first-forward money to put up 2 points in 5 playoff games.) The team's got a flair for the dramatic but the most dramatic thing that's happened in the past two seasons was barely missing and barely making the playoffs, respectively. In summary: The team spent a lot on their roster but didn't necessarily spend well.

So what's next?: They've got nearly $15M available in cap-space going into next season but need to qualify Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Matt Gilroy, and Mike Sauer, not to mention have to wonder what they're going to do with veterans Valcav Prospal, Bryan McCabe, and Ruslan Fedotenko. In other words, it looks like they're going to have another season of exactly what they've been up to until some heavy duty contracts come off the books (like Chris Drury's disappointing $7M+ cap hit) but even then, these guys haven't shown that they can build a winning team within the confines of a salary cap; and that's very problematic for Rangers fans.

Season Review: Phoenix Coyotes

2011-04-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, as we're advancing toward the conference semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs: The Phoenix Coyotes.

My prediction: Second in the Pacific Division and going for a nice playoff run.

The truth: Third in the division and made the sixth seed in the Western Conference, where they were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.

So what happened?: In the end, GM Don Maloney built a formidable team on a shoe string budget (again) but the faces that left in the off-season due to the ownership fiasco cost them chemistry that couldn't be readily be replaced or replicated. Their regular season was best described as a .500 season that was dashed with winning streaks. They were able to get solid goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov until the post-season, where his GAA was well over 4 and his save percentage was well below .900. Shane Doan still managed to produce 60 points but at times looked to be the only person on the team who could play at both ends of the ice. Scottie Upshall and Wojtek Wolski were moved for Rostislav Klesla and Michal Rosival, respectively, and while it did help a defense that needed some shoring-up due to injury, the offense that was lost due to trading those two was never replaced no matter how badly the team wanted to lean on the young guys like Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker. Keith Yandle and Lauri Korpikoski did very well in contract years, though, so the team's hoping to lock them down with a deal that will be fair without breaking the bank. Of course, the threat of relocation looms...

So what's next?: ... seeing the last note, there's a realistic chance that there may not be a Phoenix Coyotes next season. Regardless of where the franchise ends up, the only way they're going to succeed from here on in is if they get an owner who'll spend what's necessary to not only make the team a playoff team but a Cup contender for years to come.

Season Review: The Rest of The Rest

2011-04-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

Haven't had time to give all the eulogies this season it's probably better to focus on the teams that were still in it to win it. That said, here's a rundown of the teams who didn't make the cut and why:

Eastern Conference:

Florida Panthers: Always ice a team that's average at best; this season they managed to finish off as the worst. Could get better if Dale Tallon can use the ridiculous amount of cap space on the team to build a squad that's competitive.

New York Islanders: Injuries, as well as a locker-room that was reportedly lackadaisical, were enough to mute the torrid second-half run they made. Could get better if owner Charles Wang cares to properly invest in the team.

Atlanta Thrashers: The successful first-half wasn't enough to allow them to overcome their rather pedestrian second-half; perhaps the team was more average than they cared to admit in the off-season. Could get better if they get those "marquee" players to come to Atlanta.

New Jersey Devils: Had the only coach to recently come from the AHL that turned out to be a dud. Kovalchuk's contract matters didn't help and this team might have sacrificed the future for one player. Rebuild?

Toronto Maple Leafs: Started getting it together in the second half but could only get so close; should be a playoff team again next season.

Carolina Hurricanes: Lost the game that would have made them a playoff team. They can be successful next season with the right cast and a heaping dose of fortitude.

Western Conference:

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jumped the shark after their only playoff season and rushed their goalie to the NHL too quickly. They don't ever seem to have a strategy that works.

Minnesota Wild: Despite a talented roster, the team came up short more often than not. It cost to coach his job but does it need to stop there?

St. Louis Blues: The team's too young and despite a promising pedigree, there's something that needs to be said about experience. The ownership issues affecting the club certainly didn't help matters.

Calgary Flames: On paper it should work so why doesn't it on the ice? There's going to be another year of this before they'll have the finances freed up to make the moves necessary for an appropriately-balanced roster; hopefully they learn to stop leaning on the same few people to carry them along.

Dallas Stars: Another team that needed to win to get into the playoffs and come up short, this wouldn't have been a problem if they hadn't been atop of the standings during the All-Star Break. Did trading James Neal away really lead to THAT monumental of a collapse?!?!

Season Review: Ottawa Senators

2011-04-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, as we're advancing toward the semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the third team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Ottawa Senators.

My prediction: Third in the Northeast Division and on the playoff bubble.

The truth: They were the first team in the Eastern Conference to be eliminated from playoff contention.

So what happened?: Remember that move a few seasons ago to essentially sink all their money into one line and hope the supporting cast could generate around 30 points a season if they were given second-line ice time? Remember that guy who became dissatisfied with being there and was traded to San Jose for Milan Michalek and a guy who's not in the league anymore? Yup. Essentially inconsistent offense, injuries, porous defensive play, and absolutely brutal goaltending had these guys being good in essentially one area: toughness. You'd think there would be a wholesale change in regards to management and coaches, but apparently GM Bryan Murray salvaged his job by bringing in two goaltenders who actually may work out for them beyond this season.

So what's next?:Cory Clouston and his staff have been shown the door. There appears to be a solid group of players in place going into next season; Murray will still have his work cut out for him to bring the right players in while finding a coach who's system will fit the team in place. They could turn it around but it's gonna take some work.

Season Review: Colorado Avalanche

2011-03-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Well, as we're advancing toward the semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the second team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Colorado Avalanche.

My prediction: I predicted the team would finish third in the Northwest Division at least on the playoff bubble.

The truth: They were the second team in both the Western Conference and in the league to be officially eliminated from playoff contention.

So what happened?: On one hand, the injury bug took a significant bite out of the team this season. Peter Mueller hasn't played a game this season while both the newly-acquired Tomas Fleischmann and former rookie sensation T.J. Galiardi will both close out the season on the IR: all of this has a significant effect on their scoring ability. Add Kyle Quincey and Kyle Cumiskey among those battling the injury bug and you start second guessing why you traded away one of the better defensive defensemen in the league...

... so how the team counter this? They gave up on the goaltender who carried them into the playoffs last season, as well as the totally excellent power forward who couldn't immediately find his scoring touch after breaking his hand, for a future backup goaltender in Brian Elliott and a potential all-around defenseman in Erik Johnson, who's decent but only effective at the offensive end of the rink. I understand sometimes to have to hit the rebuild button but unless they land that coveted goaltender and defensive defenseman in free agency; this is going to look really bad next season.

So what's next?: See above. This team still has Matt Duchene and Paul Stasny so they have two solid centers to build around. If Johnson can become everything they want and the right guys either stay or are brought in than it's not too unrealistic to expect them to be back in playoff contention next season. If they pull off the wrong moves, however, then maybe the Colorado to Quebec relocation rumors will swirl (kidding... sort of.)

Season Review: Edmonton Oilers

2011-03-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Now that people are talking playoffs, we'll review the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Edmonton Oilers.

My prediction: At the beginning of the season we figured Edmonton would finish fifth in the Northwest Division and out of the playoffs.

The truth: They were the first team eliminated from playoff contention and are fighting not to finish last in the league.

So what happened?: It was a rebuild year where anything that could have gone wrong did. Yes youth was served and they were able to get many exciting prospects onto the roster, but many of them ended up injured or currently battling injuries (see: Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Sam Gagner, and Theo Peckam.) Leave additional injuries to Ryan Whitney, Ales Hemsky, and Nikolai Khabibulin and you have a not-ready-for-prime-time team being supported by guys who're, for all intents and purposes, supporting players. I don't know why the team was so adamant about not giving Martin Gerber a fair shot in net while Khabibulin got his life together in the minors (probably the money but either way...) but the organization seemed completely committed to losing this season, which is sad because some of those guys on the ice took some significant steps forward, too. Oh, and remember that guy they gave up their first three picks in the 2008 draft over? He's no longer with the club.

So what's next?: Remember the 80's when the two best teams were the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders? 30 years later they're at the opposite end of the spectrum. The difference is that the Islanders improved this season while the Oilers stood pat. The team will be exciting to watch next season, but they're still seasons away from even being a playoff team, let alone close to what they used to be.

Midseason Observations

2011-01-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

Darn we've been as bad as absentee parents lately. Nevertheless, we look back at the season from the little-over-halfway finished mark of the NHL season and note the following:

The Good...

Sergei Bobrovsky: One of the big questions coming out of analysts everywhere was "Is the Philadelphia Flyers goaltending good enough to be competitive this season?" In fairness, many analysts expected them to go with the tandem of Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher with Johan Backlund pressing them for the Number 3 spot. But in the middle of September while training camp was underway, the preseason victories were starting to mount for this Russian kid who put up solid individual numbers on a losing Metallurg Novokuznetsk squad in the Kontinental Hockey League. With Michael Leighton on the shelf due to injury and with neither of the other two aforementioned goaltenders looking worlds better than Bobrovsky, "Bob" was able to secure the starting job at the beginning of the year and catapulted them in front of the standings. While he cooled slightly, he is still the Number 1 of the 1/1A tandem he's formed with Boucher (who, in his own right has been marvelous) and is a lock to win the Calder Trophy for the league's best rookie. And he doesn't even speak English yet...

The Pittsburgh Penguins: As a Red Wings fan and Flyers supporter, I can't help but hate this team. Yet Sidney Crosby was absolutely fantastic until suffering a concussion and the team is managing to lead the league in fighting majors. You can love 'em and you can hate 'em but dammit they're playing some inspired hockey right now. And while I'm certain many people believed Kris Letang would be a great player this season, who the hell woulda thought he'd be going to the All-Star game?

HBO 24/7 and The Winter Classic
Hockey players may not be as colorful on the playing surface as some of the athletes in other sports, but the HBO series really took away the "Be-polite-for-the-cameras-kids" feel that many hockey games have presented themselves as such lately and replaced it with a cold, honest look as to how things were going; no matter how awesome or awful it was. The guys (especially Bruce Boudreau) readjusted after they saw how they looked and it really set the stage for this season's Winter Classic. With the puck-drop moved to nighttime and the pageantry stripped away, the game was exciting and featured something for everyone.
Also, I've seen last seasons' tilt but this one was waaaaaaay better...

Emerging hockey teams in the South: With a major brain-drain heading south of the Mason-Dixon line, many of the southern teams are seeing a renaissance or are still improving from last season. In the Southeast Division, Steve Yzerman's Tampa Bay Lightning is currently sitting atop of the heavily-favored Washington Capitals while new Atlanta Thrahsers GM Rick Dudley was able to acquire Dustin Byfuglien among others to fortify an emerging squad to make them genuinely competitive for the first time ever (and the local fans have started to notice too.) The Carolina Hurricanes are young but definitely nothing to sneeze at with a better-than-.500 record while the Florida Panthers are literally a game shy of the .500 mark (woulda been nice if Steve Reinprecht had worked out for them but...) In the Pacific Division, The Dallas Stars have rebounded from bottom-of-the-division territory and back into being a top-seeded playoff team (with a goaltending tandem of Kari Lehotnen and Andrew Raycroft nonetheless) while the Phoenix Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, L.A. Kings, and San Jose Sharks are fully competitive in what's probably the closest thing to a five-horse race in the league as you'll see in any other division. If you live in any of those hockey markets you've been lucky to not only witness some entertaining hockey, but have likely done so without having to shovel a driveway to get to the game!

The continued dominance of the Vancouver Canucks and the Detroit Red Wings
This was looking like Vancouver's year and it has been exactly that. Despite an ugly incident toward the beginning of the season (which we'll get to later), Vancouver's been so balanced that they could afford to make Keith Ballad their seventh defenseman... and he's played in all 82 games for 4 of the past 5 seasons! The Sedin Brothers are producing over a point per game, Ryan Kesler's just a hair off (.98), and they've got constant production from their secondary scoring forwards as well as their offensive defensemen (and the third-line's pretty productive too.) With a solid blend of technicality and toughness to go with two excellent goaltenders, the Canucks look poised to be at the Western Conference Finals this season.

As for the other team poised to be at the Western Conference Finals this season, the Red Wings have been the model of excellence and continue to prove why they're the benchmark for what all other hockey organizations wish to be. Their defensive production is simply incredible with Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafaskii being close to a point per game (mind you, as defensemen!) while their offensive production's been as good as Vancouvers, possibly even better. Injuries are now a concern and the goaltending is starting to look somewhat average with Ozzy hurt and Howard somewhat slumping, but just when you thing they're down...

Babcock's hair and death stare guides them back into winning territory!

The Bad...

The New Jersey Devils Wow, who woulda thought these guys would have poo'ed the bed as badly as they have? I figured they would have been one of the best teams going into the season but instead, Ilya Kovalchuk's monster contract created the wrong kind of distraction for the team while injuries, ineffective goaltending and defense, insufficient point production, and inexperienced coaching lead to one of the biggest disasters since the Hindenberg. Players (like Jamie Langenbrunner) are getting moved while coaches are getting axed (Jacques Lemaire came back; can it work again?) but they've essentially made their bed for the season. But hey, for an organization that's somewhat short on prospects, they're definitely going to land a solid draft pick this season!

The Calgary Flames What a mess. Going into this season these guys looked like they'd have something of a return back to respectability. Now they're basically standing atop of the Edmonton Oilers in the basement of the Western Conference. Things aren't looking good when the only prayer of re-signing the guy who's second on your team for point production (Alex Tanguay) hinges on whether or not another player can return from what may be a career-ending spinal injury (Daymond Langkow). The guys on the team who can score can't play defense while the guys who defend can't find ways to produce. Combine that with the amount of immovable contracts given to under-performing players and you've essentially got a recipe for disaster. Too bad because I was kinda hoping they'd do better.

The Rick Rypien Incident Early in the season in a contest between the Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild, things got a little out of hand after the refs broke up a fight between Rick Rypien and Brad Staubitz...

Since then the fan has threatened legal action and Rypien was suspended for 6 games; eventually returning only to be granted a personal leave of absence since the beginning of December (with no estimated time to return.) He's battled a lot of physical injuries and it wouldn't be surprising if that's finally effected his mental state to some degree as well. In spite of everything I hope he gets well; hockey's a more boring place without him.

The continued poor play of the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers: To a certain degree I can't help but feel both teams deserve this. In the case of the Edmonton Oilers, the team is frightingly young while the cast selected to support them just isn't up to snuff either by assignment or by choice. The Oilers are stuck with Nikolai Khabibulin's contract (which looks worse and worse each day) while they're forced to keep a less expensive and more effective Martin Gerber in the minors. The team does have a solid young cast of emerging talent in the likes of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Devan Dubnyk, Magnus Paajarvi, Linus Omark, and Theo Peckham; but they'll need to get the right cast of characters in place to support them if they're looking to have any hope of contention in the near future.

In the case of the New York Islanders, they don't seem to have their stuff together and are only breaking the salary cap floor thanks to buying out Alexei Yashin's contract and giving Rick DiPietro a 15-year deal that may never be truly realized. Charles Wang hasn't done much to invest in the team and instead of trying to give local government a reason to go forward with the Lighthouse Project he looks like a guy who's simply waiting out the terms of the lease so he can sell off the team to an investor elsewhere. Yeah the team has some solid young prospects and a collection of lunchbox players surrounding them but it's all at a minimum and very incomplete. Injuries have taken out top contributors to the group and anonymous sources have eluded to the fact that their dressing room is a whole lot lighter than it should be for a team that's constantly losing. Boy oh boy, if a team isn't concerned over whether they win or lose, you can't expect immense support from outside the community.

The decline of the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks:
The Chicago Blackhawks were in playoffs-or-bust mode last season and with good reason. After winning the championship, the Blackhawks management had to move many of their component players in favor of keeping their stars around to work with a new group of emerging depth players. The end result? Decreased production throughout and the same type of symptoms affecting the Flames where the scorers can't defend and the defenders can't score along with ineffective goaltending from Marty Turco and unproven goaltending in Corey Crawford. They're in significant danger of becoming the 3rd team in 16 years to have missed the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, the Sharks brass decided that the way of the future was to let go of their star goaltender (Evgeni Nabokov) along with his emerging backup (Thomas Greiss) and to go with a less expensive platoon cast off from other teams (Antti Niemi and Antero Niittymaki). While Niemi has taken the brunt of the losses, neither goaltender has proven to be spectacular or a gamechanger in the ways that the team needs them to be. Combine that with the fact that the team's scoring lines aren't effectively producing points or defending and you have the reason why they've went from perennial division winner to sitting in the basement of the Pacific Division. They may have a chance to catch up to Anaheim, but Phoenix and L.A. are a winning streak away from being untouchable while an unmitigated disaster will bring Dallas' season down.

Clip of the Day: November's Rookie of the Month - Sergei Bobrovsky

2010-12-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

Not necessarily action-related, but who in the hell thought this guy would be a successful starting goaltender in the NHL prior to the preseason?

Clip of the Day: Ducks 5, Florida 3...

2010-12-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

... and when was the last time you saw George Parros score two goals in the same game? Probably not since he was in college...

Clip of the Day: Datsyukian Dangles Still Give Goalies Erectile Dysfunction

2010-11-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

Clip of the Day: Corey Perry Puts It In His Own Net

2010-11-21T22:16:00.000-08:00

Tom Gilbert got credited for the goal. I was so hoping that it would have at least gone to Devan Dubnyk.

Clip Of The Day: Milan Lucic Gordie Howe's It.

2010-10-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

The assist...

... The goal...

... And the fight...

... In that order.

Clip Of The Day: Ryan Smyth's Dirty Goal Ignites The Kings.

2010-10-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

Being down 1-0 going into the third period of their home opener, the Los Angeles Kings really needed something to go right for them so they could beat the Atlanta Thrashers. The Kings stopped trying to be fancy and started just putting the puck to the net. This was the first of three goals the Kings scored in the third (with Smyth picking up two of them and getting an assist on the other) to get the Kings to a 3-1 victory. Kudos to Smyth for working his tail off and making it happen.

Clip Of The Day: James Wisniewski guesses Sean Avery's orientation

2010-10-11T12:17:00.001-07:00

You can't expect the biggest pest in the league not to have to withstand insults now that his fascination with women's fashion has come to light, but did The Wiz (who's also a Detroit native) go perhaps too far?

Update: Wisniewski earned a two-game suspension for his gesture. No Avery's no angel, but Wisniewski's own status as a "repeat offender" certainly didn't help the cause.

Clip Of The Day: Tyler Seguin gets his first NHL point before Taylor Hall does.

2010-10-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yeah it's against the Coyotes (who are beloved on this blog as far as Mike's concerned) but give it up to Seguin for popping his NHL goal cherry.

Clip Of the Day: Vernon Fiddler and Greg Campbell show off the "North American" game

2010-10-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Playing in the Czech Republic for the NHL season opener, these two had a chance to show off why fighting should be penalized with majors and only majors (unlike European leagues, who usually kick players out altogether for fighting.)

Clip Of The Day: Pavel Datsyuk Serves Corey Perry

2010-10-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

No it wasn't a win for Datsyuk, but it wasn't a win for Perry either so it, by proxy, is a win for Datsyuk...

Clip Of The Day: Steve MacIntyre KO's Raitis Ivanans

2010-10-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

We're fans of Ivanans here but give MacIntyre credit; he's fighting not to get sent down to the minors (no pun intended) so this really helped solidify his chances as the team's resident enforcer (at least over Zach "huggy bear" Stortini)

Season Preview: Washington Capitals

2010-09-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

We're barreling down the stretch now with our season previews as camps are establishing their rosters. Jobs will be won, hearts will be broken, and some interesting developments can occur out of injury and necessity. Before you know it, the puck will drop on regular season hockey and we'll see how close to the mark (or how far off) we were with our predictions.

And finally, the Washington Capitals.

Team M.O.: The team boosts an exciting attack of offense, offense, offense lead by one of the most dynamic players in the game. Though interest in the franchise has been revitalized, they've not quite had the level of success that, say, the Pittsburgh Penguins have enjoyed in that same timeframe. Nevertheless, this is an exciting group of young players to watch; yet who knows what will happen following this season.

Last Season: First in the League and President's Trophy winners. They appeared to have an easy series victory ahead of them facing the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Seven games later, they were left scratching their heads and asking themselves what went wrong once they were eliminated.

Offense: It's no secret that Alexander Ovechkin is the face of the team; while debate still ensues over whether or not he's better than Sidney Crosby, fantasy poolies know it's been Ovechkin who's constantly been the first overall pick for about the past 3 or 4 seasons now. His main setup man Nicklas Backstrom has been locked up for as nearly as long as he is and will continue to rack up the assists in addition to being a 30+ goal scorer. Alexander Semin's a UFA this upcoming season and while the Capitals will definitely be looking for a way to keep him locked into the team, they're going to have to have a remarkable season so they don't end up entirely disappointed if they let a point-per-game player walk away for nothing come season's end. Tomas Fleischmann's also entering a contract year and if his previous season left any indication as to where he's heading, he too will be seeking decent money as a solid scoring forward provided he can keep his rate of production climbing. Mike Knuble didn't seem to miss a beat last season; silencing the critics who feel his age could prevent him from producing points. Brooks Laich broke the 50 point barrier for two consecutive seasons in a row (and last year, he darn near broke 60), ensuring that the Capitals have a prolific second line to work with their first. Eric Fehr's also and equally effective point producer and will likely jostle with the other wingers for time in the scoring units (with the other player playing on a checking unit.)

Speaking of the checking units, David Steckel provides the team with a solid face-off specialist and penalty killer while Jason Chimera provides leadership with a solid, if not unspectacular, all-around level of play. Boyd Gordon missed some time last season with injury but is able to give the team yet another forward who excels at all of the defensive aspects of the game. Matt Bradley's got the wheels and the mouth to be an effective agitator, but he's not necessarily enforcer material. In fact, the team brought over D.J. King from the St. Louis Blues because that was one thing they lacked (and eventually missed) through last season. Matt Hendricks was signed from his try-out contract and gives the team a reliable depth forward. While there's solid competition for another forward spot, prospects Marcus Johansson and Cody Eakin have put up the best results in camp so far and are pushing hard to make the roster come opening night.

Offense is great, do not change a thing.

Defense: Mike Green is a tremendous talent and was the only defender last season who managed to break the point-per-game mark (come to think of it, I don't think there was another defender who reached a point per game, let alone was close to exceeding it.) The team managed to lock up Tom Poti to an extension and while he isn't as prolific as Green is when it comes to production, he can still log the ice time when it counts and is a solid performer in all three zones. Jeff Schultz led the league in plus/minus last season and while he has offensive tools, he's stellar when it comes to providing defense. John Carlson did well in his rookie season last year; he too has a great deal of offensive potential and doesn't embarrass himself in his own end. John Erskine doesn't necessarily enforce as so much as he give the team that physical defenseman that teams need to succeed in the NHL. Karl Alzner has been on the plane between D.C. and Hersey, PA for the past two seasons now; it appears as if he's going to develop as a full-time NHLer at this point. Tyler Sloan looks like he'll finally secure a full-time NHL job; he's a solid energy player who can play defense or wing and doesn't complain about it.

Would I love to have that Number Seven defender be a true defender? Perhaps, but is that really the Washington Capitals way? Absolutely not. They're golden and good to go with what they're entering the season with.

Goaltending: Washington picked two goalies at Number 23 and 34 in the 2006 Draft and that's who's going to be their tandem for the upcoming season. Semyon Varlamov was electric when he got his shot in 2008-09 yet posted some pedestrian (yet still respectable) numbers in his follow-up season. The sophomore slump's behind him so now he's gotta go out and win. Working with him will be Michal Neuvirth, who's had some inconsistency in the pro ranks yet has found that level to his game that makes him ready to compete in the NHL. I don't see a starter/backup in that situation as so much as there's two guys ready to platoon. Should something happen to them the team has Dany Sabourin ready to come up from the minors; he's as good of a third-string goaltender as you're going to find.

Management: GM George McPhee set out to rebuild the Washington Capitals through the draft once they were in the toilet by 2004 and wouldn't you know, every player he's drafted or moved for has only made the team better. Coach Bruce Boudreau has this season to figure out how to make them win; I expect him to get the axe if this season ends anytime before the Eastern Conference Finals.

Prediction: First in the Southeast Division and in the playoffs.

Yes that's all for now. Despite all-world ability, this team hasn't lived up to the playoff expectations they've set for themselves. They're a playoff team. Now they need to prove they're championship caliber. This might be the last season for some of the players in a Capitals jersey so now's the time more than ever to make it count.