Consequences Of A Long Night

The Vancouver-Nashville game last night looked as though it would go on for a long time before Matt Halischuk found a hole in Roberto Luongo's armor. It wouldn't have been a surprise to see these two teams, led by Vezina-nominee goalies and strong defenses that helped Vancouver finish first in goals-against average in the regular season and Nashville third, play in one of those classic marathon games that causes fans to sleep at the rink and local pizza parlors to get a surprise spike in business at two in the morning.

Winning those games is one of the toughest thing for a team to do. They are well beyond their usual physical fatigue levels and their mental fatigue is catching up quickly. They get through their shifts by sheer willpower and equipment managers work harder than ever in an effort to keep their equipment dry. The winning goal doesn't just mean a celebration for the win, it brings relief that the game is over and they can finally begin to rest as their next game is less than two days away.

Those long games go a long way towards helping to win a series. Both teams are equally exhausted, but the wining team gets a huge mental boost while the losers are dejected as the loss becomes too much to handle. Of the 10 longest games in NHL history, nine of the winners have gone on to win the series, proving there is a short-term boost from winning those games. It isn't until the next series that the games start to take a toll as those nine winner are a combined 4-5 in the following series and 4-7 through the rest of the playoffs. No team would ever throw a game on purpose, but in the long run it may be better to lose the game early in the overtime and have more reserves going forward than to win a long game and be too tired to continue the playoff run. Here are the results of what happened after the 10 longest games in NHL history:

Date: Round, game of series; winner-score over loser-score in time taken; how the winner fared in series; how they fared in series after.

3/24/36: 1, 1 of 5; Red Wings-1 over Maroons-0 in 2:56:30; won series 3-0; won next series (Cup final) over Maple Leafs 3-1.

4/3/33: 1, 5 of 5; Maple Leafs-1 over Bruins-0 in 2:44:46; won series 3-2; lost next series (Cup final) to Rangers 3-1

5/4/00: 2, 4 of 7; Flyers-2 over Penguins-1 in 2:32:01; won series 4-2; lost next series (conf. final) to Devils 4-3.

4/24/03: 2, 1 of 7; Mighty Ducks-4 over Stars-3 in 2:20:48; won series 4-2; won next series (conf. final) over Wild 4-0; lost next series (Cup final) to Devils 4-3.

4/24/96: 1, 4 of 7; Penguins-3 over Capitals-2 in 2:19:15; won series 4-2; won next series (conf. semifinal) over Rangers 4-1; lost next series (conf. final) to Panthers 4-3.

4/11/07: 1, 1 of 7; Canucks-5 over Stars-4 in 2:18:06; won series 4-3; lost next series (conf. semifinal) to Ducks 4-1.

3/23/43: 1, 2 of 7; Maple Leafs-3 over Red Wings-2; lost series 4-2

5/4/08: 2, 6 of 7; Stars-2 over Sharks-1 in 2:09:03; won series 4-2; lost next series (conf. final) to Red Wings 4-2

3/28/30: 2, 1 of 3; Canadiens-2 over Rangers-1 in 2:08:52, won series 2-0; won next series (Cup final) over Bruins 2-0.

4/18/87: 1, 7 of 7; Islanders-3 over Capitals-2 in 2:08:47; won series 4-3; lost next series (conf. semifinal) to Flyers 4-3.

The team that won the game have a combined 14-8 record (.636 winning percentage) in the rest of the series following the win, not counting the three series in which that win was in the deciding game. In the 11 series after the one featuring the game, the record drops to 29-29 (.500) for a total record of 43-37 (.538). This shows marathon games take too much out of teams to continue their runs to the Cup.

One of the biggest examples of this is with the Flyers. The third-longest game help them tie their second round series against the Penguins at 2-2 after they lost the first two games at home. Then, after building a 3-1 series lead against their arch-rival Devils, they managed only three goals in the final three games of the series and missed out on the Stanley Cup final.

The Devils benefited from an opponent's marathon again in 2003. After the Mighty Ducks won their series against the Stars, they swept their way through the Western Conference final against the Wild, only allowing one goal in the four games. But then they got the the Stanley Cup final and were shutout three times in a grueling series including a 3-0 loss in Game 7.

The Islanders won the Easter Epic against the Capitals on Pat LaFontaine's turn-around shot from the blueline, then faced the Flyers in round two. That series went the full seven games and of the first six, five were decided by two goals or fewer. They would lose Game 7 5-1. The Stars also wrapped up a series with a history-making game, then dropped the first three games of the 2008 Western Conference final against the Red Wings. They battled back to force Game 6, but lost that game 4-1.

Even though the Canucks lost the game, surrendering home-ice advantage to the Predators in the process, the fact they didn't play all night may have helped them in the long run. Ultra-long overtime games just don't leave enough in the tank to continue playing at a high level

Playoff Implication Trends-Eastern Conference

It's my estimation the best thing for a team going into the playoffs is to be riding a hot streak. Every team goes through hot and cold streaks during the year and going in limping may spell doom for your favorite team. This is not a perfect formula, but you can bet the Philadelphia Flyers rode the momentum of their season-ending shootout win over the New York Rangers pretty far in their run to the Stanley Cup final last year. Here are some teams and players who are trending in a certain direction and how it may affect their playoff chances. I'll do the eastern Conference today and the West tomorrow.

Trending Up
Thomas Vanek: With Derek Roy done for the year just 35 games into the season, the pressure has been on Ryan Miller more than ever. After posting amazing numbers last year (41-18-8, 2.22 GAA, .929 SV%) he has become more pedestrian this year (29-20-7, 2.70 GAA, .912 SV%) leaving the Buffalo Sabres in a fight for one of the bottom seeds. In come the notoriously streaky Vanek who has two goals and eight points in his past five games, four of which have been Sabres wins. They are currently tied with the Rangers for eighth, four points over the Carolina Hurricanes. With six of their next thirteen games, including tonight's game against the Hurricanes, against teams within six points of catching the Sabres, it is important Vanek keep this hot streak up. they have seven games remaining against teams in the top-half in goals against and five (Nashville Predators, Montreal Canadiens , New Jersey Devils, the Rangers and Washington Capitals) are in the top 10 meaning goals are going to be very difficult to come by for the rest of the season. Should Vanek stay at at least a point per game, the Sabres should be in good shape to lock down one of the final spots.

Washington Capitals: The best thing that could have happened to the Capitals this season did. They struggled. They haven't been able to score, they faced a number of important injuries and their goaltending has been inconsistent. The transition towards a defensive game in the beginning of the season didn't go quite as smooth as planned, but they have righted the ship and are ready to soar in the playoffs. Winners of their past eight and 10 of 11 allowing only 19 goals (13 taking away their 6-0 loss to the Rangers) in that span, the Caps are playing well at the right time of the year. They have been so dominate the past two seasons, it may have caused them to think the playoffs would be a breeze, but they were sadly mistaken both times. A 50-24-8 record for 108 points (fourth overall in the NHL) and 54-15-13 record for 121 points (first overall) the past two seasons was followed by just one playoff series win and two Game 7 losses on home ice. Alex Ovechkin has seven goals and 17 points in his past 12 games and after facing adversity for the first time in three seasons, he appears ready to play a complete game and dominate in the playoffs.
Trending Down
Tim Thomas: Throughout most of the season, Thomas was on pace to obliterate records for goals-against average and save percentage. At the end of January, he was on pace for the third lowest GAA since the modern era began in 1947 with a 1.81 GAA (only Miikka Kiprusoff, 1.69 2003-04 and Marty Turco, 1.72 2002-03 have been lower) and the highest save percentage by far at .945 (Dominik Hasek, .937 1998-99). Those numbers, while still the best in the league by far, have slowly been dropping the in month-and-a-half since. His stats since the beginning of February are a 5-4-2 record, .915 SV% and 2.73 GAA. Unless he allows eight goals every game from now until the end of the season, he is all but guaranteed the Vezina Trophy. At the same time, the Bruins are starting to struggle to score goals, potting more than two just once in the past six games. It becomes even tougher to score in the playoffs as they found out last year when their offense suddenly went dry after game 4 against the Flyers in the second round and if Thomas' 2.73 GAA since February keeps climbing, the Bruins could be in trouble. Right now they are set to face the Canadiens, a team who has given them trouble throughout their long rivalry and has at least three goals in eight of their past nine. Thomas is still having a phenomenal season, but now is not the time for his game to start slipping.

Philadelphia Flyers: As I stated above, each team goes through slumps and the Flyers are in theirs right now. A 4-4-2 record in their past 10 isn't terrible until you see who they are losing to. Three of the losses are against teams out of a playoff spot (Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Thrashers) and two of them are against the two teams tied for eighth (Sabres, Rangers). Two of those losses are really embarrassing, dropping a 7-0 decision against rival Rangers and blowing 3-0 and 4-2 leads in the third period to lose in overtime to the Thrashers. Their 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers doesn't really count because, well, its the Oilers. This does not bode well because since the lockout, four of the five Stanley Cup winning teams (assuming they make it that far) have had a better record in their last 10 games than their counterpart. Last season, only three of eight series was won by the team that had a worse record in their last 10 games. The team with the worst record to win a playoff series was the Canadiens who went 3-4-3 before upsetting the Capitals. It took them overtime to beat the Islanders and the two games against the Leafs were close and not very well played. They still have 14 games to get this trend turned around, but with their goaltending starting to falter and their history with that position, it doesn't look so good right now.

These Are Almost Done, Hooray!

There was a great article on the Puck Daddy Blog on Yahoo Sports that defended The Guardian Project. It made some good points, including how this venture may help attract new hockey fans and how the target market is not for people who are already hockey fans. It does make sense though, and you have to give the NHL credit for trying new ways of attracting fans and spreading interest in the game. Anyway, time to laugh at the heroes presented in the past week.

I think they made up the powers of The Capital as they went along. He's the Jason Bourne of super heroes, not sure whether or not he has spent his life working as a spy. A giant man-eagle with a 14 foot wingspan, he can blend in anywhere. The creators needed an excuse for him to be able to fit in so why not shape-shifting? He has telescopic sight which makes me believe he is The Flyer's pet and I hope he never cheers a goal when the other heroes are around because his voice can destroy objects and people. Along with The Wild, they need to start being careful around each other of this league will get depleted quickly.

This guy just looks silly. The Red Wing is part transformer, part fighter jet, part formula one racer. For whatever reason, the creators made him resemble a hawk, without realizing the 'Hawks are their biggest rival. They are starting to get too many heroes with the same traits, they have a few too many leaders so I don't know who all the others will  listen to. Especially if The Red Wing and The Blackhawk has two different ideas. I'd hate to choose between them and have to deal with that decision in their layer later on. I have been looking and I do not understand what is going on with his wheels. They look like a bicycle attached to his feet so he must be tripping over a lot. They are also useless because he can fly, they just needed to add something to represent The Motor City so threw that in.

I love throwback and vintage stuff, I really do. But who in their right mind is going to fight a modern day war with weapons from 1857? The Blue Jacket, that's who. His entire body is covered in 19th century weaponry and has the ability to communicate with Civil War generals. He is the first hero with a unique ability, his astral plasma Ohio flag has the ability to "cocoon his victim with the flag, giving the illusion the victim has disappeared when in reality, the victim is temporarily suspended in time." Umm...what?

Good news. The Flame is "completely resistant to heat." Whew! For a minute there there, I was worried a man comprised completely of fire would be unable to take himself. Basically, he's the Human Torch with out the back story and added wings. He likes to ski but I wonder how he's allowed on the mountain a second time after melting all the snow on his first run. Keep him away from The Sabre; he's just another hero whose purpose seems to be to destroy the other Guardians.  

The Star is nothing if not confident, so much in fact that any little idea he comes up with he thinks is original and the greatest thought anyone has ever had. I now people like that. They're called pricks. His catch-phrase is an unoriginal cliche and sounds like something this guy would say. He uses nuclear fusion as a weapon to create something he like to refer to as a "solar flare." Yeah, just him and the thousands of scientists who have studied the sun.

All in all, The Coyote seems like a pretty decent guy for a hobo. This poor man's Wolverine can conjure up spirits who apparently appear in the form of a T-Rex in order to give him advice. To me though, fortune cookie seem like a much less scary way to get some good guidance. He just needs to find some new apparel, dusters should be reserved for one badass, and one badass only. 

Another guy resembling Mr. Freeze, The Avalanche has a real problem with, well, everyone he works with. He not only has a problem has a problem with authority, but he takes meaningless risks "not because he actually believes that he can accomplish the act in question, but simply because he wants to see if it's possible." Just what I'm looking for in a superhero. He can create an avalanche at will, "provided of course that conditions allow for it." Yet another hero who is only useful only under the perfect circumstances. 

Even Rain Can't Damper Spirits at the Winter Classic

Some people a few years ago were worried about over-saturation. As long as there is only one per year (plus the occasional all -Canadian Heritage Classic), I don't see there being a problem at all. For the fourth consecutive year I, along with my dad, have brought in the new year with an unbelievable hockey game. This year would mark the most bitter rivalry to be shown in the Winter Classic so far. Detroit and Chicago certainly have a long-standing feud, but the two Original Six franchises have a mutual respect for one another. Washington and Pittsburgh absolutely hate each other. That scorn would make for a hard fought, physical game. Captains Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are able to show respect towards each other, but you know deep down inside they are only happy when the other is losing.

This would also be the first time the game would be played at night, as the warm and soggy weather conditions caused it to moved from its original 1:00 PM starting time to 8:00 PM. With the game in prime time, going head to head against college bowl games, including the Granddaddy of them all, The Rose Bowl. The result were some of the best television ratings in a long while. The Winter Classic was conceived in part to grow the game in the United States, an effort that is clearly working. A few years ago nobody paid attention to the sport at all and now it can go head-to-head with with other major sporting events and hold its own weight.

The scene in the stadium was spectacular, the mixture of red and blue in the stands created a wonderful atmosphere. The fans get more and more into this game each year and with the exception of the jackass Caps fan behind me who had no respect for, and little knowledge of, the game at all, I loved the roars and cheers. One of the more interesting aspects came during the national anthem. All the Caps fans shouted in unison the words red during "The rocket's red glare" and O in "O say does that star spangled banner yet wave," regarding the color of their uniforms and their star Ovechkin.They also had a C-A-P-S Caps, Caps Caps chant, an annoying cheer I thought, and hoped, was limited to Jets fans. Countering "Let's go Caps" and "Let's go Pens" chants also echoed throughout Heinz Field all night.

Even though there was no scoring in the 1st period as players got used to the ice conditions, there were fireworks. John Erskine and Mike Rupp set the tone with the second fight in Winter Classic history. Both goalies were tested early and often and each were on their game as Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 12 shots and Washington's Semyon Varlamov was perfect on 16 shots. Jordan Staal, playing in his first game of the season, showed he was in game form, holding off a Caps defenseman and getting a good shot on Varlamov. The wet ice didn't appear to be much of a problem. I watched the puck the entire game, waiting to see if it would slow down or get stuck in a puddle. It never did and despite the rain that came down later in the game, the ice seemed to get better and better as it went on. I felt there should have been a penalty shot awarded to Sidney Crosby when he was hauled down in the slot. The Penguins would have to settle for a power play.

In the 2nd period, it was the other Russian, Evgeni Malkin, who opened the scoring on a breakaway just moments after Ovechkin was denied by Fleury. Former Flyer, and a personal favorite of mine, Mike Knuble tied the game a few minutes later in typical Knuble fashion, jamming in a loose puck in a scramble in the crease. With a little over five minutes to go, Eric Fehr would break the deadlock with his first of the game, capitalizing on Fleury's misplay on a dump-in. The lead after two periods was huge as rules for the game stated it could be called official after two periods if the weather did not hold up.

Despite steady rain falling in the third period, the game was able to be played in full without any problems. Fehr would score again to seal the win for the Caps, sniping a shot over Fleury's glove on a breakaway. The win would mark the third time in four games (four out of five including the Heritage Classic in 2003) the away team has skated away victorious. The 3rd period may have been highlighted by some for the lack of handshakes after the game. I think this was a little over blown though. While this is a major event, it is only a regular season game between two teams with nothing but contempt for each other, and handshakes are a tradition that should be left to the playoffs. All in all, it was another magical New Year's Day.

Pictures of my trip can be found here. There aren't too many of the actual game itself simply because I'd rather watch the game than watch my camera. Here are some other great pics of the game.

Freaking THUNDER?! Are you kidding me?!

As it stands now, we are set to have by far the worst weather of any of the Winter Classics so far. After a month  of freezing temperatures in Pittsburgh, they are set to have a heat wave strike just in time for the New Years Day tilt between the Penguins and Washington Capitals. The forecast is now a high of 49 degrees, a 70% chance of rain, and thunder. Yeah, you read that correctly; I looked at the page on weather.com for several minutes to make sure I wasn't going mad. This had to happen eventually, its just too bad it has to happen during what may to the most anticipated Classic thus far. The weather will surely make for less than perfect ice conditions regardless of when the game is played which, as of now, looks like it will be better suited for early on January 2nd. The ice conditions are going to make for an interesting game. The game might just actually look like that commercial where Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are staring at each other during a monsoon (seriously, this has to be the most boring commercial for a hockey game I have ever seen).

The NHL has certainly been lucky with the weather in what has become a signature game for the league. The last two have been just about perfect, cloudy and near freezing. The cooler that makes the ice can keep it frozen in temperatures in the upper 50s, but that's not something the ice crew would really want to test. Boston had beautiful, calm weather last year while Chicago had frigid blasts of wind to deal with (though what else would you expect from the Windy City?). The weather in Buffalo was definitely interesting. The snow falling during the game added to the atmosphere and personality of the game, casting the fans into a real world snow globe. While the atmosphere was great and the fans loved it, it doesn't make for a good game when the Zambonis were on the ice just as much, if not more, than Crosby. The snow may have been annoying, but rain would be disastrous. As anybody who has participated in a pre-game skate after some jackass who has no idea what they are doing dumps too much water while cutting the ice can tell you, wet ice is shitty ice. Skating is difficult, equipment gets soaked and heavy, and the puck gets stuck to the ice like a suction cup.

Sunday looks like a good day to play, the forecast is 34 degrees and mostly cloudy, and I fully expect the game to be postponed a day. For the fourth year in a row, I'll be there, this time wearing my now famous Joe Sakic Quebec Nordiques jersey. I would love to be able to give live updates on here during the game, but I don't have a smart phone to be able to do that. However, I do have a new camera and will be posting pictures of the event on Facebook, so look for those at the end of the weekend. Whatever happens, this is sure to be an exciting game when it eventually gets underway. A few years ago, Ovechkin and Crosby both had hattricks in the same playoff game and one can only hope they, along with their talented supporting casts, give us another hard fought, exciting game in what has become the best player and team rivalry in the NHL.

Bad Nicknames, The Devils' Chances and Caps in the Final

• Enough is enough, I've had it with NHL nicknames these days. The Hockey News website has a quote of the day on their page and in the most recent one, Christ Drury refers to Rangers teammate Derek Stepan as "Steps." Read the Getting To Know You features on the THN website and most of the nicknames are God-awful. Brandon Prust's is "Prusty," Chris Campoli's is "Camper," Todd Bertuzzi's is "Bert," Chris Niel's is "Neiler," Kevyn Adams' is "Ads," Adam Oates' is "Oatesy," and the list goes on. I think too many players are getting hit in the head too often for them to come up with anything more complex than adding an "s," "y," or "er" to the end of someone's name or even just shortening it all together and calling it a day. Head injuries must be an even bigger problem than anyone else thought if these are the best players can come up with. What the hell happened to the creativity of the old days? What happened to Walter "Turk" Broda, named after the fact he looked like a turkey egg because of his freckles when he was younger; Georges Vezina the "Chicoutimi Cucumber," named for his hometown and the fact he was cool under pressure; Yvan "The Roadrunner" Cournoyer; Ken Dryden, the "Thieving Giraffe;" Martin "The Eliminator" Gelinas; Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, the inventor of the slap shot named for the sound of his stick hitting the puck and the puck hitting the boards; Pat Verbeek, the "Little Ball of Hate" and don't forget the Rockets, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard, and Pavel "Russian Rocket" Bure. There are tons of other classic old nicknames, each infinitely better than the ones today. Even the ones that took part of their names showed some creativity. There was "Super Mario" Lemieux, Stu the "Grim Reaper" Grimson, Curtis "Cujo" Joseph, and "Burnaby Joe" Sakic just to name a few. A pretty good list of nicknames can be found here. And as a plea to all NHLers, the next time you're asked if you have a nickname and the best you can come up with is something to the effect of "Kaner" or "Prongs," just say no. 
• The Devils have finally done the expected and fired John MacLean. He made it 33 games and and led (more like watched) the Devils to a 9-22-2 record, good for last overall in the NHL. Some growing pains should have been expected with the new look roster, but a drop in the standings like this would have been impossible to predict. Jacques Lemaire has re-taken over as head coach and has quite the uphill battle in front of him. The Devils remind me of the Carolina Hurricanes last year who, after 33 games, had a record of 8-19-6 mainly due to injuries, most notably Eric Staal and Cam Ward. They weren't able to turn things around and by game 41, they had a record of 11-23-7. They were able to turn things around and became one of the hottest teams during the second half of the season, but going 24-14-3 was only good enough to get them to 11th place and eight points out of a playoff spot. A survey on The Hockey News website asked if the Devils have a chance at making the playoffs but it appears highly unlikely. At this point the deficit is too great but they can still have a god second half to the season and begin preparing for next year. The search for a coach is going to be critical though, I don't know how long Lemaire will want to stay on as it seems he was enjoying his retirement. There are a lot of qualified coaches out there but I think Ken Hitchcock would be a good fit. He stresses defense which is how the Devils have always won, and is a great motivator. A good kick in the ass may be exactly what the Devils need. 
• The fact the Capitals are the visiting team in this year's Winter Classic in Pittsburgh is a reason why they are struggling this season. If recent history is any indication, the Capitals are destined to make the Stanley Cup Final, an appearance that will ultimately end in a loss. In the inaugural Classic in 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins made the trip up to Buffalo to face the Sabres in a snow globe-like atmosphere that saw Sidney Crosby pot the game winner against Ryan Miller (sound familiar?) in the shootout. The Penguins would go on to lose to the Detroit Red Wings in that season's Cup Final. The next year, those Red Wings would visit Chicago to take on the Black Hawks at Wrigley Field, a game they would take 6-4. The Wings would then lose in a rematch to the Penguins for the Stanley Cup. Last season's Classic involved the Philadelphia Flyers taking on the Boston Bruins in a physical battle in which the Bruins squeaked out a 2-1 overtime win. The Flyers said fine, take the Winter Classic, we'll take the epic playoff series comeback. They rode that momentum all the way to the Cup Final where the Black Hawks were inevitably too much to handle. This year the Caps will take the trip to Pittsburgh to take on the hated Penguins in hopes of continuing the trend of advancing to the Final. The Caps, while not playing bad, are not playing up to the lofty expectations they have set for themselves the past few years. Fortunately for them, each team goes through highs and lows and the Caps still have plenty of time to go on a hot streak. If things go right for them, it will happen in time for the playoffs. Captain Alex Ovechkin has the ability to go on fire for extended periods of time. Will this be the year that includes an extended run through the playoffs?

Offseason Recap-Southeast Division

Finishing up the Eastern Conference, here is a look at the Southeast Division. Expect a few teams other than the Capitals to make the playoff from the Southeast this season.


Washington Capitals - 1
Key Signings
7/2: G Dany Sabourin (BOS) 1 year
7/7: D Jeff Schultz (re-signed) 4 years
7/7: LW Kyle Greentree (CHI) 2 years
7/8: RW Eric Fehr (re-signed) 2 years
7/14: RW Brian Willsie (COL) 1 year
7/15: RW Andrew Gordon (re-signed) 1 year
7/15: D Patrick McNeill (re-signed) 1 year
7/27: LW Tomas Fleischmann (re-signed)
Trades
7/28: F D.J. King from STL for F Stefan Della Rouvere
Departures
D Milan Jurcina (NYI)
D Joe Corvo (CAR)
D Shaone Morrison (BUF)
C Brendan Morrison
G Jose Theodore
RW Scott Walker
C Eric Belanger
What To Expect
Not many changes were made this summer in Washington, a team that should once again take advantage of a weak division to help them finish on top of the conference. The Capitals have a great cast of support players to complement the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green and GM George McPhee spent the summer re-signing them. Major changes have all come in the form of subtractions, most notably veteran goalie Jose Theodore which will leave to door open for youngsters Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth to fight for the starting job. There really isn't much left to prove in the regular season, as the Capitals really need to focus all their attention to April and beyond.


Tampa Bay Lightning - 7
Key Signings
7/1: G Dan Ellis (NAS) 2 years
7/2: D Pavel Kubina (ATL) 2 years
7/5: D Brett Clark (COL) 2 years
7/6: RW Teddy Purcell (re-signed) 1 year
7/6: D Mike Lundin (re-signed) 1 year
7/15: C Blair Jones (re-signed)
7/16: C Paul Szczechura (re-signed) 1 year
7/16: C Nate Thompson (re-signed) 1 year
7/25: LW Chris Durno (COL) 1 year
7/29: D Mathieu Roy (CLB) 1 year
7/30: C Dominic Moore (MON) 2 years
8/11: LW Juraj Simek (re-signed) 1 year
8/17: LW Sean Bergenheim (NYI) 1 year
8/25: RW Steve Downie (re-signed) 2 years
8/25: D Randy Jones (LA) 1 year
Trades
7/1: 2nd round draft pick (2012) from PHI for D Andrej Meszaros
7/19: LW Simon Gagne from PHI for D Matt Walker and 4th round draft pick (2011)
8/16: G Cedrick Desjardins from MON for G Karri Ramo
8/27: F Alex Berry and F Stefano Giliati from TOR for D Matt Lashoff
Departures
LW Alex Tanguay (CAL)
G Antero Niittymaki (SJ)
D Kurtis Foster (EDM)
F Zenon Konopka (NYI)
D David Hale (OTT)
What To Expect
Rookie GM Steve Yzerman has had quite a summer in his first time away from Detroit. Stability in the front office combined with some key new faces should go a long way towards bringing Tampa Bay back into the playoff picture. The addition of Simon Gagne came relatively risk free, acquired for Matt Walker and with one year left on his contract. Should he stay healthy the Lightning will have two solid scoring lines. Dan Ellis will challenge Mike Smith for the starting job; the two former Stars should push each other and provide the team with solid goaltending. On defense Andrej Meszaros and Kurtis Foster are gone, replaced by Pavel Kubina, a member of their 2004 Stanley Cup team, and Brett Clark.


Carolina Hurricanes - 8
Key Signings
7/1: LW Jonathan Matsumoto (PHI) 2 years, two way, $1.025 M/$210,000
7/5: G Justin Peters (re-signed) 2 years, two way, $1.05 M/$210,000
7/7: D Joe Corvo (WAS) 2 years, $4.5 M
7/7: D Casey Borer (re-signed) 1 year, two way, $500,000/$65,000
7/12: C Nick Dodge (re-signed) 1 year, two way, $500,000/$55,000
7/15: D Bryan Rodney (re-signed) 1 year, two way, $525,000/$105,000
7/20: D Brett Carson (re-signed) 1 year, two way, $500,000/$105,000
Trades
5/13: RW Jared Staal from PHO for 5th round draft pick (2010)
6/26: C Riley Nash from EDM for 2nd round draft pick (2010)
6/26: D Bobby Sanguinetti from NYR for 6th round draft pick (2010) and 2nd round draft pick (2011)
6/26: C Jonathan Matsumoto from PHI for 7th round draft pick (2010)
Departures
LW Ray Whitney (PHO)
C Rod Brind'Amour
G Manny Legace
D Brian Pothier
What To Expect
The Hurricanes are going to benefit, more than anything else this season, from a healthy lineup. Injuries and a slow start (that's putting it lightly) were what caused Carolina to miss the playoffs last season. Heart and soul leader Rod Brind'Amour has retired and offensive linchpin Ray Whitney moved on to Phoenix making this 100% Eric Staal's team. Joe Corvo is back with the team after being traded to Washington during last season's trade deadline.


Atlanta Thrashers - 12
Key Signings
7/1: G Chris Mason (STL)
7/7: LW Eric Boullton (re-signed)
7/22: G Ondrej Pavelec (re-signed) 2 years
7/28: LW Ben Eager (CHI)
7/29: LW Andrew Ladd (CHI) 1 year, $2.35 M
8/19: D Freddy Meyer (NYI) 1 year
8/23: RW Bryan Little (re-signed)
Trades
6/23: LW Dustin Byfuglien, D Brent Sopel, LW Ben Eager, and RW Akim Aliu from CHI for 24th overall draft pick (2010), 2nd round draft pick (2010), C Marty Reasoner, LW Jeremy Morin, and RW Joey Crabb
6/24: Future Considerations from SJ for D Mike Vernace, LW Brett Sterling, and 7th round draft pick (2010)
7/1: Andrew Ladd from CHI for D Ivan Vishnevsky and 2nd round draft pick (2011)
8/2: F Patrick Rissmiller and LW Donald Brashear from NYR for C Todd White
Departures
RW Colby Armstrong (TOR)
G Johan Hedberg (NJ)
D Pavel Kubina (TB)
LW Vyacheslav Kozlov
LW Clarke MacArthur (TOR)
What To Expect
Many GMs try to take the style of the former Stanley Cup winner, Atlanta GM Rick Dudley just takes the players from them. Four players from the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks are now members of the Thrashers. Defenseman Brent Sopel will take a spot in place of Pavel Kubina who bolted back to Tampa Bay. Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, and Ben Eager combine to add depth throughout the forward lines. The signing of Chris Mason and the re-signing of Ondrej Pavelec should give the Thrashers stable goaltending, an upgrade over the injury plagued Kari Lehtonen who was traded to Dallas last season.


Florida Panthers - 14
Key Signings
7/2: Chris Higgins (CAL) 1 year
7/7: D Jason Garrison (re-signed) 2 years
7/7: D Nathan Paetsch (CLB) 1 year
8/3: D Mike Weaver (STL) 2 years
8/19: LW Andrew Peters (NJ) 1 year
Trades
6/22: D Dennis Wideman, 15th overall draft pick (2010), and 3rd round draft pick (2011) from BOS for RW Nathan Horton and C Gregory Campbell
6/25: RW Steve Bernier, RW Michael Grabner, and 1st round draft pick (2010) from VAN for D Keith Ballard and RW Victor Oreskovich
7/22: C Marty Reasoner from CHI for F Jeff Taffe
Departures
None
What To Expect
For a team that didn't lose anyone without a return, the Panthers did not get any better this season. Dennis Wideman replaces Keith Ballard and Chris Higgins replaces Nathan Horton, but otherwise the team remains largely the same. They will benefit from having David Booth on the ice, provided he keeps his head up when Mike Richards is around. Tomas Vokoun return as starting goalie, but he can only do so much. The rebuild continues.

Sources: NHL.com Free Agent Tracker, TSN.ca Trade Center, The Hockey News Yearbook

Classic Rivalries and Next Season's Final

I'm starting to think that Gary Bettman has a time machine and knows who is going to the Stanley Cup final before the season begins. He gives little hints just to mess with us.

With the announcement of this season's Winter Classic, it became official that the Washington Capitals would visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for this year's version of the widely popular event. Washington now joins Pittsburgh (2008), Detroit (2009), and Philadelphia (2010) as visiting teams in the Winter Classic. Each of those teams went on to represent their respective conferences in the Stanley Cup Final.

There's also the error engraved into the Prince of Wales Trophy recently that had the Capitals listed as the winner of the Eastern Conference this past season. He probably assumed the Capitals would go to the Final last season, hence all the speculation of Boston hosting the Capitals before a sudden switch to Philadelphia. The shocking combination of Washington's first round loss coupled with Philly's run to the Final gave plenty of people a shock last season but it seems as though Bettman's got it right this year. Now let's see what Alex Ovechkin can do once the calendar shifts to April.

Speaking of the Winter Classic, I have a few suggestions for all future games. First, if the game is scheduled to start at 1:00, then start the game at 1:00. one of the reasons for this game in the first place was to attract non-hockey fans to the sport using a combination of intrigue and wonderment , albeit for a regular season game. The hour or so of pregame festivities if fine for those at the game, but if I'm a casual sports fan I'm thinking "When is this going to start? Screw it I'll just watch a bowl game." People waving flags, drumming, and marching is all well and good, but that can start at 12:00 can't it? Besides the Dropkick Murphys, was there really anything worth delaying the game for?

Spread out the games.I don't just mean other parts of the country besides the North East, but other teams as well. Counting the Heritage Classics, the Penguins and Montreal Canadiens will have played twice each in six games. The kinks have been largely worked out, now its time to spread the wealth. Heck, just for laughs, the NHL can pit the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Florida Panthers.

An increase in rivalries could go a long way towards garnering even more hype for the game. Chicago vs. Detroit was the right idea, now let's get more teams that hate each other. Montreal has the richest history of any team in the game, something they couldn't have accomplished without making a few enemies, namely Boston and Toronto. However, the best matchups they can get are Edmonton and Calgary, two teams with good histories in their own right, but neither has much to do with Montreal. The game in Calgary is an excellent chance to introduce many unknowing hockey fans south of the border to the Battle of Alberta. A showing of the Battle of Ontario would also give Toronto fans something to cheer about for the first time since the lockout.

With pond hockey championships taking place in Minnesota every year, why not introduce the Winter Classic there as well, with Colorado as the visiting team. Dallas would be fun too with their North Stars history. An all New York Classic would also be of major interest, especially if played at Yankees or Meadowlands stadium. (Meadowlands may have better sight lines but that would only add to New York teams taking over New Jersey) Rangers fans still show distaste towards Denis Potvin, even though its been over 20 years since his retirement. Once the Islanders improve, the bad blood running between those teams would offer fans, diehard and casual, an opportunity to watch a great game.