The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup over a week ago, but the season has still been going strong. There were the NHL Awards, a few big trades and the draft. Let's start with the awards.
Here are the winners, along with who I had picked.
Award - Winner - My Pick
Norris - Nicklas Lidstrom - Shea Weber
Selke - Ryan Kesler - Ryan Kesler
Jack Adams - Dan Bylsma - Barry Trotz
Calder - Jeff Skinner - Jeff Skinner
GM - Mike Gillis - Steve Yzerman
Ted Lindsay - Daniel Sedin - Corey Perry
Masterton - Ian Laperriere - Ray Emery
Lady Byng - Martin St-Louis - Nicklas Lidstrom
Vezina - Tim Thomas - Tim Thomas
Hart - Corey Perry - Martin St-Louis
Messier Leadership - Zdeno Chara
Jennings - Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider
Art Ross - Daniel Sedin
Rocket Richard - Corey Perry
King Clancey - Doug Weight
There are no really surprises here, other than Perry winning the Hart Trophy. While I wanted St-Louis to win, I wrote a post on that a while back, I expected it to go to Sedin. He was consistent all season while Perry got the majority of his points in the final quarter of the season and I think being there all season is more important than being there for the stretch run. Though that is not to say that wasn't important, because he was a huge reason the Ducks went on a last-season surge and were able to take hold of the fourth spot.
I was also surprised to see Laperriere win the Masterton Trophy since he didn't play at all this season. But I'm really happy he won it. If there is one person who is more dedicated to hockey more than anyone else, its Lappy. Why else would he get right back out every time he got hit with the puck or punched in the face. But he is more than a role player, he is a consumate professional and one of the best teammates in all of sports. Wayne Fish said of him in 2009 "You get a lot of P's with Ian Laperriere: Penalty-killer. Pest. Physical force. Perfect teammate." He was so loved in Philadelphia after just one season, his introduction led to one of the best moments of a thrill-a-game 2010 playoff run.
One final thought about the awards. Having random celebrities at the show is fine, but they should try to keep it more hockey related. Are there really that many people out there who like hockey and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? It seems unlikely to me, so let's get someone who is capable of remembering the correct pronunciation of three names. Pronouncing Martin St-Louis' name Saint Lewis isn't the worst thing ever, but it shows they really weren't interested in being there. Even the host, Jay Mohr, wasn't perfect saying WHYzerman instead of EYEzerman when talking about Best GM nominee Stevie Y.
The Flyers shocked me a few days later, trading Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, two first-round picks from what is going to be one of the best draft classes ever. I thought they should get rid of Carter, but I never thought they would trade, or even be able to trade, Richards. I was upset over that, but the more I look at the return, the better the trades look. They now have top-rated prospect Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek and three picks in the draft, including the eighth overall which they used to select Sean Couturier (Full draft results can be found here). These trades have caused a major stir in the forward unit so let's take a look at what the line could look like next season.
van Riemsdyk Giroux Voracek
Hartnell Briere Leino
Simmonds Schenn Versteeg
Carcillo Betts Powe/Nodl
I was expecting Adam Larsson to go first overall to the Edmonton Oilers, but they went with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins allowing Larsson to be taken by the Devils in the fourth slot. This worked out great for the Devils as they now have a solid prospect to rebuild their defense around. It was a strength of theirs before the lockout, but has since been pulled apart, mainly through free agency and retirement, and the talent level now is nowhere near what it was. Larsson is certainly as good a start as any to become a dominate defensive team again.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Saturday, 18 June 2011
I'm Back!
Well, it's been a long time...49 days to be exact. I can't believe how much time has passed since I last posted. I was just starting to get really into it too, but due to the events at The Hockey News, I began writing for The Hockey Writers, so anything I would have written here I had to post there since I have been busy the past few weeks. Its a pretty good site, so check it out. You can see my work in my archive, along with a fellow intern with THN, Jeff Blay.
Around starting to work for THW, I finished my internship, played more hockey in one day than I ever have before and (very nearly) graduated. I drove over 1,100 miles in just over a week, including 800 miles in three days when I drove from Toronto to New Jersey on May 14 then to Massachusetts on May 16. Add another 1,200 going to a music festival in Maine and camping in Connecticut and I've been really busy.
I guess I'll start with the end of my internship. The final weeks were pretty fun. I finished my favorite story I have ever written of Zach Bennett, an 11-year-old from Albany who has had both his legs removed in surgery. The Charlotte Checkers, formerly the Albany River Rats, are now paying for his family to relocate to North Carolina so he can get better medical care and be close to his favorite team again. Look up the story, it is quite inspiring. It's a shame my internship is over, but the guys at THN were fantastic. I was rewarded with a few free lunches, a nice bag of gifts and a great evaluation (leading to an A for the semester). So once again, a huge thanks to Jason Kay and everyone else who works at THN; it really is a first class organization.
My last day of interning was one of the most exhausting of my life. I represented THN in the Business of Hockey Cup on May 13 at the Mastercard Center where the Maple Leafs practice which is a tournament between representatives of different hockey companies including TSN, The Hall of Fame and the CHL. The day featured eight 20-minute games as well as a skills competition. I tried my hand in the shooting accuracy, but that didn't go so well. I nailed the first shot, hitting the top-right corner, but then went zero for the next seven. Fortunately I wasn't the only person to hit one target, so it wasn't terrible. By far the most interesting part of the day though, was the first game we played. It was against the Buffalo Sabres and most of the THN guys had made it out to warm up while no one from the Sabres was out yet. The first guy skated out and after a few double takes, I noticed it was Rob Ray. Here's a little bit of what's on his resume.
Then I had my senior week back at Endicott which was pretty fun. I'm glad I got to see some people before leaving. While I had a great time in Toronto there were still some people I wish I could have seen. I finally got time to relax going to The Way Life Should Be music festival then camping the next weekend. I'm back in the swing of things, working 40 hours a week cleaning out old warehouses and doing some construction.
Enough about me, back to hockey.
Congratulations to the Bruins on winning the Stanley Cup. That was a tremendous group assembled by Peter Chiarelli who made a bold move building the team around Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. I don't think anyone has gone through a longer road to become a Cup champion than Thomas and it was great to watch him lift it (it was also funny how he had no idea what to do with the Conn Smythe Trophy). Mark Recchi went out on top and he will be in the Hall of Fame in three years. He never won any individual awards, was only a second team all-star once, in 1992 and he was an Olympian once (in 1998 when Canada finished fourth). The only downside to the celebration was Gary Bettman handing out the awards. They really need to take him out of the Stanley Cup presentation, to constant booing really puts a damper on the whole occasion.
I'll post again soon. Like I said you can read my stuff at The Hockey Writers, so check that out and follow me on Twitter.
Around starting to work for THW, I finished my internship, played more hockey in one day than I ever have before and (very nearly) graduated. I drove over 1,100 miles in just over a week, including 800 miles in three days when I drove from Toronto to New Jersey on May 14 then to Massachusetts on May 16. Add another 1,200 going to a music festival in Maine and camping in Connecticut and I've been really busy.
I guess I'll start with the end of my internship. The final weeks were pretty fun. I finished my favorite story I have ever written of Zach Bennett, an 11-year-old from Albany who has had both his legs removed in surgery. The Charlotte Checkers, formerly the Albany River Rats, are now paying for his family to relocate to North Carolina so he can get better medical care and be close to his favorite team again. Look up the story, it is quite inspiring. It's a shame my internship is over, but the guys at THN were fantastic. I was rewarded with a few free lunches, a nice bag of gifts and a great evaluation (leading to an A for the semester). So once again, a huge thanks to Jason Kay and everyone else who works at THN; it really is a first class organization.
My last day of interning was one of the most exhausting of my life. I represented THN in the Business of Hockey Cup on May 13 at the Mastercard Center where the Maple Leafs practice which is a tournament between representatives of different hockey companies including TSN, The Hall of Fame and the CHL. The day featured eight 20-minute games as well as a skills competition. I tried my hand in the shooting accuracy, but that didn't go so well. I nailed the first shot, hitting the top-right corner, but then went zero for the next seven. Fortunately I wasn't the only person to hit one target, so it wasn't terrible. By far the most interesting part of the day though, was the first game we played. It was against the Buffalo Sabres and most of the THN guys had made it out to warm up while no one from the Sabres was out yet. The first guy skated out and after a few double takes, I noticed it was Rob Ray. Here's a little bit of what's on his resume.
Then I had my senior week back at Endicott which was pretty fun. I'm glad I got to see some people before leaving. While I had a great time in Toronto there were still some people I wish I could have seen. I finally got time to relax going to The Way Life Should Be music festival then camping the next weekend. I'm back in the swing of things, working 40 hours a week cleaning out old warehouses and doing some construction.
Enough about me, back to hockey.
Congratulations to the Bruins on winning the Stanley Cup. That was a tremendous group assembled by Peter Chiarelli who made a bold move building the team around Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. I don't think anyone has gone through a longer road to become a Cup champion than Thomas and it was great to watch him lift it (it was also funny how he had no idea what to do with the Conn Smythe Trophy). Mark Recchi went out on top and he will be in the Hall of Fame in three years. He never won any individual awards, was only a second team all-star once, in 1992 and he was an Olympian once (in 1998 when Canada finished fourth). The only downside to the celebration was Gary Bettman handing out the awards. They really need to take him out of the Stanley Cup presentation, to constant booing really puts a damper on the whole occasion.
I'll post again soon. Like I said you can read my stuff at The Hockey Writers, so check that out and follow me on Twitter.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
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
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
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Saturday Recap - 4/30
Boston at Philadelphia
First Period
1:52: David Krejci scores the first goal of the series early in the game. Last year it was his injury, coupled with Simon Gagne's return, that swung the series in the Flyers' favor. Brian Boucher bit too early and Krejci was easily able to go around him for the goal. Milan Lucic, while he didn't get an assist on the goal, started it with strong play down low which is a good sign for Boston as he was largely invisible during the first round against Montreal. The crowd which was raucous just moments ago is really quiet at the moment.
11:02: Danny Briere answers back, putting home a rebound for his seventh of the playoffs, going around Tim Thomas for a goal similar to the Krejci one. Ville Leino made a nice play entering the zone, leaving the puck at the blueline for Braydon Coburn to pick it up and get a shot on net.
12:20: Leino proves he doesn't let anyone get in the way of a loose puck as he knocks down the referee on his way to the corner.
12:55: Thomas makes a great save on James van Reimsdyk on a pass from Claude Giroux and the Flyers have been putting on a lot of pressure since the Briere goal. Those two are starting to become one of the top duos in the league as they gain more and more experience.
16:06: The Flyers kill off a goalie interference penalty on Zac Rinaldo who is playing in his first career NHL game. It was a curious call as both Rinaldo and Dennis Seidenberg both ran into Thomas on a rush it it looked as if Rinaldo was trying to stop, but couldn't because Seidenberg was draped all over him.
19:24: Nathan Horton continues his strong play during his first career playoff run with his fourth goal in the dying seconds of the first period. Seidenberg made another great pinch as he did on the first goal. Horton was given plenty of room to get two whacks at the puck before scoring and the Flyers defense aren't working the front of their net with their usual bravado.
End of period: Both teams spent the period feeling each other out. Neither team was rushing or trying to force plays that weren't there and there weren't any big hits. Both goalies were alright, all three goals were on rebounds and scrambles in front of the net.
Second Period
2:34: Mark Recchi gets enough on a shot to put the puck just over the goal line. The Flyers do not look good in their own zone as nobody was able to pick up Recchi or clear any rebounds. Right now they are on pace for their fourth goalie change of the playoffs.
5:11: Kris Versteeg takes an unnecessary slashing call as the Bruins are starting to dominate Game 1. The Flyers have no sense of urgency whatsoever and the Bs are taking advantage.
7:42: The Flyers kill off the penalty as the Bruins power play continues to be their weak spot. But they are right back on it as Briere takes another bad penalty, this time for tripping Seidenberg in the Flyers zone. The Flyers don't appear to be focused and it is hurting them right now.
9:58: Briere gets a great chance coming out of the box, but shoots just wide. The Flyers penalty kill is doing a great job as the Bruins are having trouble entering the zone and cannot get set up. They will now get their chance on the power play that went 5-for-35 against Buffalo as Brad Marchand takes a slashing call.
12:37: The penalty is killed off as Thomas was strong, making four tough stops. The Flyers get another power plays Johnny Boychuk high sticks Nikolay Zherdev.
15:26: Boucher doesn't even react as a shot by Adam McQuad that is going well wide is deflected by Horton back towards the net and in. Right now the build is as quiet as it can get as nothing is going right for the Flyers.
17:14: Brad Marchand seals the deal in the second period. He scores on a rebound and he was left open in front as the Bruins have been all game. The Flyers are flat and Sergei Bobrovsky comes in to see his first action since Game 2 of the Buffalo series.
17:30: van Reimsdyk scores right off the faceoff on a wrist shot over Thomas' glove. It was a clean win by Giroux and a nice little pass by Sean O'Donnell to put the puck right in the wheelhouse for the quick snipe.
End of period: The Flyers looked absolutely horrendous this period. Their forwards were ineffective and their defense looked lost. The Bruins have buried all of their chances and aren't giving the Flyers anything right now. The Flyers have taken a lot of stupid penalties and have been careless in their own zone. They have been making everything easy for the Bruins.
Third Period
3:50: Bobrovsky makes a good glove save on a Seidenberg shot from in close as he gets into the game. Best thing for the Flyers to see is he made it look easy and was able to hold on to it.
8:30: Giroux show some amazing stickhandling as he turn Chris Kelly inside out and sends van Reimsdyk in alone then almost scores himself before being hauled down by Andrew Ference who takes a hooking penalty.
10: 57: The Bruins kill off that penalty easily as neither team has threatened at all. the Flyers PP unit goes back to work as Krejci takes a slashing call.
12:01: The Flyers will have plenty of room as Marchand takes a penalty to give them a 5-on-3.
13:02: Mike Richards gets his first of the playoff just after the first penalty expires. He walks out of the corner then rips a short-side shot by Thomas. The Flyers are playing much better this period, showing the Bruins Game 2 will not be nearly as easy as this one. It is his first goal since April 5, a span of 10 games.
14:59: Marchand scores a goal as the puck is cleared from the crease before Patrice Bergeron knocks the puck off a defenseman's stick right to Marchand for the tap in.
Greg Campbell scores to make it 7-3. Coburn does nothing to tie up Campbell's stick as he glided in unimpeded.
Final score: Boston-7 Philadelphia-3
Story of the game: The Flyers did not play smart at all today. Almost all seven of the Bruins goals were on player where the goalscorer was able to get behind the defense without anyone noticing. Even when there were four Flyers in deep, they didn't seem to communicate with one another and spent a lot of time running aorund instead of playing the sound positional game they need to in front of the goaltending backing this team. They were also undisciplined, taking five slashing calls away from the play. Even though the Bruins power play has been dreadful throughout the playoffs, this didn't allow the Flyers to get any consistent attack.
Player of the game: Dennis Seidenberg made two risky pinches early in the game and they both led to Boston goals as they got the advantage early. He quietly played very well in his own end, leading all players with a plus-4. David Krejci did a lot of the scoring with two goals and four points, but a lot of that was getting lucky bounces while Seidenberg was consistently making his own plays and getting the puck away from danger.
Nashville at Vancouver
First Period
7:19: Martin Erat records the Predators fifth shot on goal which is as many as they had the entire first period of Game 1. The Preds are doing a much better job forechecking and taking the puck to the net, showing the urgency that was lacking the first game when they seemed to forget you can't win if you don't score at least one goal.
10:30: Nashville gets Roberto Luongo scrambling as they send a flurry of shots on net and were getting to the rebounds. They had two shots on net, one blocked and a few just wide for their best scoring chances of the series so far.
15:07: Vancouver kills of an interference penalty on Mikael Samuelsson. After getting a number of quality chances early in the game, Nashville has a hard time just entering the zone. When they did get a clean entry, Vancouver was winning all the battles and clearing the puck every time.
19:36: Patric Hornqvist takes a hard hit from Alex Edler, but doesn't let it faze him as he gets right back up and get a shot on net.
End of period: Once again, there were no goals at the end of one period. Nashville has looked way better and has as many quality chances in period one as they did in Game 1. They outshot Vancouver 12-6, more shots than they had the first two periods of Game 1 when they were out shot 16-5 in the first and 30-20 in the game.
Second Period
2:00: Alex Burrows opens the scoring shorthanded. He went on with Ryan Kesler, tried to center a pass only to have it go off a skate and take a fortunate bounce right back to him. Pekka Rinne was sliding across to take the shot from Kesler only to leave the side of the net wide open.
2:35: Martin Erat takes a Shea Weber shot off the side of the head after it deflects off a stick while he was jumping out of the way. To give you an idea of how much that sucks, watch this.
2:56: Vancouver gets another chance shorthanded, this time on a 3-on-1, but the puck slid off Keith Ballard's stick and the chance was nullified. Vancouver gets a third chance as the penalty expires, but Kesler shoots it high as the penalty benefits Vancouver more than Nashville.
7:33: Jordin Tootoo takes a bad tripping penalty and Ballard is lucky he wasn't seriously hurt on the play. Going back for the icing call, Tootoo taps the back of ballard's knee just enough to send him crashing into the base of the boards. Nashville likks off the penalty however to keep the deficit at one.
19:18: Rinne makes a fantastic save on Kesler on a wraparound, getting to the glove side of the net in an instant as Kesler made a quick turn and got off a pretty good shot.
End of period: A much closer period saw Nashville out shoot Vancouver for the third consecutive period, but they have yet to score. Vancouver had plenty of chances to extend their lead with Kesler leading the charge most times, but a lot of their shots were blocked or sent wide.
Third Period
5:41: Luongo makes a great glove save on Blake Geoffrion. The line of Tootoo, Nick Spaling and Jerred Smithson has been the best of the game so far and they had a great shift right before and their strong forechecking is leading to some quality chances.
10:46: The Preds go in offside after the best shift of the game. They has possession of the puck inside the Vancouver zone for about a minute and had all their players running around. The Sedins looked awful and they haven't done much all game. Meanwhile the line of Mike Fisher, Sergei Kostitsyn and Patric Hornqvist were making plays at will.
11:15: Tootoo gets a breakaway and Luongo answers with a great leg save. A very similar play to the Fisher breakaway in Game 1.
18:53: Ryan Suter finally scores for Nashville on a goal Luongo would love to have back. With Rinne pulled, Suter went into the corner and in desperation, threw the puck to the front of the net where it when off Luongo's stick, caromed off his left skate and into the net.
End of period:Nashville outplayed Vancouver all period and it finally broke through for them. The shots were 15-5 in the period, 36-15 in regulation and the way Rinne and Luongo are playing, the fans in Vancouver better get comfortable. The edge going into overtime definitely goes to Nashville who have been by far the better team and they will certainly get a jump from the tying goal.
Overtime 1
0:18: Kevin Bieksa takes a hit from Kostitsyn and goes down awkwardly, jamming his hand into the boards. This could be bad because not only is he a quality shut-down defenseman, but if they have to play only five D-men they will get tired much quicker and mental fatigue leads to a lot of overtime goals.
4:18: Rinne makes an amazing save on Daniel Sedin on his best opportunity of the game. A takeaway at the blueline by Henrik led to the glorious chance at the doorstep on a rebound.
6:57: Nashville gets the power play when Vancouver has too many men on the ice. In overtime penalties are rarely called as refs generally let the players decide things, but this is one they have to call.
17:45: Rinne makes one of the best save you will ever see, this rivals the Thomas save in overtime of Game 6. Daniel Sedin fakes a slapshot then sends the puck over to Bieksa for the one-timer. He had the whoile cage to shoot at, but Rinne manages to get his stick on that. Even ESPN has to give him credit for that one on tomorrow's top 10. But it's hockey so they probably won't.
End of period: Both goalies came up big a few times as we have now played 80 minutes without a winner. Vancouver had the better chances, out shooting Nashville for the first time in five periods. They could have had even more chances, but they had a lot of offside calls against them as they seem too eager to try and get those 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 rushes. The Sedins have played their best hockey of the series in that period. The Nucks will need them to be better if they hope to solve Rinne more than once a game.
Overtime 2
5:45: Rinne channels his inner Dominic Hasek, rolling on his back and getting a glove on a shot by Daniel who went around the crease and had a wide open net.
6:20: Vancouver takes another penalty the referees have to call. It is a delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass. This is one rule I really wish they would get rid of. It should really be treated as an icing call as both plays are made for the purpose of resting tired players on the ice. Why one gets the player two minutes is beyond me.
14:51: When it was looking like both goalies were in a zone and this game may not come to a conclusion anytime soon, Matt Halischuk ends the game, firing a wrist shot into the top corner. Luongo doesn't make a good play on the goal at all as he was on his knees before the puck was even shot, leaving Halischuk plenty of room over the glove to put it where mom hides the cookies.
Final score: Nashville-2 Vancouver-1
Story of the game: For the second straight game, it's the goalies. They combined for a .962 save percentage this game and are .969 in the series (.970 for Luongo, .968 for Rinne). While each team played well on the defensive side of the puck, they each had their chances to put the game away, especially Nashville who had two power plays in the extra frames. As strong as Luongo was, he made two mistakes that cost the Canucks a 2-0 series lead by letting a shot go in from behind the goal line and biting way too early on the overtime goal. The Predators now have home ice advantage as they need three more wins and they have three games at home. The Sedins showed up for the series in overtime, but they will have to be much better at creating chances and finishing as scoring is going to come at a premium. Like Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and every other sniper, they have to learn to crash the net and score on scrambles in front. They can score those pretty goals in the regular season, but it doesn't work often in the playoffs.
Player of the game: It was Ryan Kesler through regulation who despite not scoring a goal, got an assist on the Burrows goal and created chances throughout the game. He was solid defensively, giving the Predators little room to work with in the Vancouver zone. He deserves a mention, but Rinne stole the show in overtime as the Canucks had four or five opportunities where they could have easily ended the game. He faced nearly as many shots in overtime (11) as he did in regulation (15) and they were much better quality, especially once the Sedins got going.
First Period
1:52: David Krejci scores the first goal of the series early in the game. Last year it was his injury, coupled with Simon Gagne's return, that swung the series in the Flyers' favor. Brian Boucher bit too early and Krejci was easily able to go around him for the goal. Milan Lucic, while he didn't get an assist on the goal, started it with strong play down low which is a good sign for Boston as he was largely invisible during the first round against Montreal. The crowd which was raucous just moments ago is really quiet at the moment.
11:02: Danny Briere answers back, putting home a rebound for his seventh of the playoffs, going around Tim Thomas for a goal similar to the Krejci one. Ville Leino made a nice play entering the zone, leaving the puck at the blueline for Braydon Coburn to pick it up and get a shot on net.
12:20: Leino proves he doesn't let anyone get in the way of a loose puck as he knocks down the referee on his way to the corner.
12:55: Thomas makes a great save on James van Reimsdyk on a pass from Claude Giroux and the Flyers have been putting on a lot of pressure since the Briere goal. Those two are starting to become one of the top duos in the league as they gain more and more experience.
16:06: The Flyers kill off a goalie interference penalty on Zac Rinaldo who is playing in his first career NHL game. It was a curious call as both Rinaldo and Dennis Seidenberg both ran into Thomas on a rush it it looked as if Rinaldo was trying to stop, but couldn't because Seidenberg was draped all over him.
19:24: Nathan Horton continues his strong play during his first career playoff run with his fourth goal in the dying seconds of the first period. Seidenberg made another great pinch as he did on the first goal. Horton was given plenty of room to get two whacks at the puck before scoring and the Flyers defense aren't working the front of their net with their usual bravado.
End of period: Both teams spent the period feeling each other out. Neither team was rushing or trying to force plays that weren't there and there weren't any big hits. Both goalies were alright, all three goals were on rebounds and scrambles in front of the net.
Second Period
2:34: Mark Recchi gets enough on a shot to put the puck just over the goal line. The Flyers do not look good in their own zone as nobody was able to pick up Recchi or clear any rebounds. Right now they are on pace for their fourth goalie change of the playoffs.
5:11: Kris Versteeg takes an unnecessary slashing call as the Bruins are starting to dominate Game 1. The Flyers have no sense of urgency whatsoever and the Bs are taking advantage.
7:42: The Flyers kill off the penalty as the Bruins power play continues to be their weak spot. But they are right back on it as Briere takes another bad penalty, this time for tripping Seidenberg in the Flyers zone. The Flyers don't appear to be focused and it is hurting them right now.
9:58: Briere gets a great chance coming out of the box, but shoots just wide. The Flyers penalty kill is doing a great job as the Bruins are having trouble entering the zone and cannot get set up. They will now get their chance on the power play that went 5-for-35 against Buffalo as Brad Marchand takes a slashing call.
12:37: The penalty is killed off as Thomas was strong, making four tough stops. The Flyers get another power plays Johnny Boychuk high sticks Nikolay Zherdev.
15:26: Boucher doesn't even react as a shot by Adam McQuad that is going well wide is deflected by Horton back towards the net and in. Right now the build is as quiet as it can get as nothing is going right for the Flyers.
17:14: Brad Marchand seals the deal in the second period. He scores on a rebound and he was left open in front as the Bruins have been all game. The Flyers are flat and Sergei Bobrovsky comes in to see his first action since Game 2 of the Buffalo series.
17:30: van Reimsdyk scores right off the faceoff on a wrist shot over Thomas' glove. It was a clean win by Giroux and a nice little pass by Sean O'Donnell to put the puck right in the wheelhouse for the quick snipe.
End of period: The Flyers looked absolutely horrendous this period. Their forwards were ineffective and their defense looked lost. The Bruins have buried all of their chances and aren't giving the Flyers anything right now. The Flyers have taken a lot of stupid penalties and have been careless in their own zone. They have been making everything easy for the Bruins.
Third Period
3:50: Bobrovsky makes a good glove save on a Seidenberg shot from in close as he gets into the game. Best thing for the Flyers to see is he made it look easy and was able to hold on to it.
8:30: Giroux show some amazing stickhandling as he turn Chris Kelly inside out and sends van Reimsdyk in alone then almost scores himself before being hauled down by Andrew Ference who takes a hooking penalty.
10: 57: The Bruins kill off that penalty easily as neither team has threatened at all. the Flyers PP unit goes back to work as Krejci takes a slashing call.
12:01: The Flyers will have plenty of room as Marchand takes a penalty to give them a 5-on-3.
13:02: Mike Richards gets his first of the playoff just after the first penalty expires. He walks out of the corner then rips a short-side shot by Thomas. The Flyers are playing much better this period, showing the Bruins Game 2 will not be nearly as easy as this one. It is his first goal since April 5, a span of 10 games.
14:59: Marchand scores a goal as the puck is cleared from the crease before Patrice Bergeron knocks the puck off a defenseman's stick right to Marchand for the tap in.
Greg Campbell scores to make it 7-3. Coburn does nothing to tie up Campbell's stick as he glided in unimpeded.
Final score: Boston-7 Philadelphia-3
Story of the game: The Flyers did not play smart at all today. Almost all seven of the Bruins goals were on player where the goalscorer was able to get behind the defense without anyone noticing. Even when there were four Flyers in deep, they didn't seem to communicate with one another and spent a lot of time running aorund instead of playing the sound positional game they need to in front of the goaltending backing this team. They were also undisciplined, taking five slashing calls away from the play. Even though the Bruins power play has been dreadful throughout the playoffs, this didn't allow the Flyers to get any consistent attack.
Player of the game: Dennis Seidenberg made two risky pinches early in the game and they both led to Boston goals as they got the advantage early. He quietly played very well in his own end, leading all players with a plus-4. David Krejci did a lot of the scoring with two goals and four points, but a lot of that was getting lucky bounces while Seidenberg was consistently making his own plays and getting the puck away from danger.
Nashville at Vancouver
First Period
7:19: Martin Erat records the Predators fifth shot on goal which is as many as they had the entire first period of Game 1. The Preds are doing a much better job forechecking and taking the puck to the net, showing the urgency that was lacking the first game when they seemed to forget you can't win if you don't score at least one goal.
10:30: Nashville gets Roberto Luongo scrambling as they send a flurry of shots on net and were getting to the rebounds. They had two shots on net, one blocked and a few just wide for their best scoring chances of the series so far.
15:07: Vancouver kills of an interference penalty on Mikael Samuelsson. After getting a number of quality chances early in the game, Nashville has a hard time just entering the zone. When they did get a clean entry, Vancouver was winning all the battles and clearing the puck every time.
19:36: Patric Hornqvist takes a hard hit from Alex Edler, but doesn't let it faze him as he gets right back up and get a shot on net.
End of period: Once again, there were no goals at the end of one period. Nashville has looked way better and has as many quality chances in period one as they did in Game 1. They outshot Vancouver 12-6, more shots than they had the first two periods of Game 1 when they were out shot 16-5 in the first and 30-20 in the game.
Second Period
2:00: Alex Burrows opens the scoring shorthanded. He went on with Ryan Kesler, tried to center a pass only to have it go off a skate and take a fortunate bounce right back to him. Pekka Rinne was sliding across to take the shot from Kesler only to leave the side of the net wide open.
2:35: Martin Erat takes a Shea Weber shot off the side of the head after it deflects off a stick while he was jumping out of the way. To give you an idea of how much that sucks, watch this.
2:56: Vancouver gets another chance shorthanded, this time on a 3-on-1, but the puck slid off Keith Ballard's stick and the chance was nullified. Vancouver gets a third chance as the penalty expires, but Kesler shoots it high as the penalty benefits Vancouver more than Nashville.
7:33: Jordin Tootoo takes a bad tripping penalty and Ballard is lucky he wasn't seriously hurt on the play. Going back for the icing call, Tootoo taps the back of ballard's knee just enough to send him crashing into the base of the boards. Nashville likks off the penalty however to keep the deficit at one.
19:18: Rinne makes a fantastic save on Kesler on a wraparound, getting to the glove side of the net in an instant as Kesler made a quick turn and got off a pretty good shot.
End of period: A much closer period saw Nashville out shoot Vancouver for the third consecutive period, but they have yet to score. Vancouver had plenty of chances to extend their lead with Kesler leading the charge most times, but a lot of their shots were blocked or sent wide.
Third Period
5:41: Luongo makes a great glove save on Blake Geoffrion. The line of Tootoo, Nick Spaling and Jerred Smithson has been the best of the game so far and they had a great shift right before and their strong forechecking is leading to some quality chances.
10:46: The Preds go in offside after the best shift of the game. They has possession of the puck inside the Vancouver zone for about a minute and had all their players running around. The Sedins looked awful and they haven't done much all game. Meanwhile the line of Mike Fisher, Sergei Kostitsyn and Patric Hornqvist were making plays at will.
11:15: Tootoo gets a breakaway and Luongo answers with a great leg save. A very similar play to the Fisher breakaway in Game 1.
18:53: Ryan Suter finally scores for Nashville on a goal Luongo would love to have back. With Rinne pulled, Suter went into the corner and in desperation, threw the puck to the front of the net where it when off Luongo's stick, caromed off his left skate and into the net.
End of period:Nashville outplayed Vancouver all period and it finally broke through for them. The shots were 15-5 in the period, 36-15 in regulation and the way Rinne and Luongo are playing, the fans in Vancouver better get comfortable. The edge going into overtime definitely goes to Nashville who have been by far the better team and they will certainly get a jump from the tying goal.
Overtime 1
0:18: Kevin Bieksa takes a hit from Kostitsyn and goes down awkwardly, jamming his hand into the boards. This could be bad because not only is he a quality shut-down defenseman, but if they have to play only five D-men they will get tired much quicker and mental fatigue leads to a lot of overtime goals.
4:18: Rinne makes an amazing save on Daniel Sedin on his best opportunity of the game. A takeaway at the blueline by Henrik led to the glorious chance at the doorstep on a rebound.
6:57: Nashville gets the power play when Vancouver has too many men on the ice. In overtime penalties are rarely called as refs generally let the players decide things, but this is one they have to call.
17:45: Rinne makes one of the best save you will ever see, this rivals the Thomas save in overtime of Game 6. Daniel Sedin fakes a slapshot then sends the puck over to Bieksa for the one-timer. He had the whoile cage to shoot at, but Rinne manages to get his stick on that. Even ESPN has to give him credit for that one on tomorrow's top 10. But it's hockey so they probably won't.
End of period: Both goalies came up big a few times as we have now played 80 minutes without a winner. Vancouver had the better chances, out shooting Nashville for the first time in five periods. They could have had even more chances, but they had a lot of offside calls against them as they seem too eager to try and get those 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 rushes. The Sedins have played their best hockey of the series in that period. The Nucks will need them to be better if they hope to solve Rinne more than once a game.
Overtime 2
5:45: Rinne channels his inner Dominic Hasek, rolling on his back and getting a glove on a shot by Daniel who went around the crease and had a wide open net.
6:20: Vancouver takes another penalty the referees have to call. It is a delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass. This is one rule I really wish they would get rid of. It should really be treated as an icing call as both plays are made for the purpose of resting tired players on the ice. Why one gets the player two minutes is beyond me.
14:51: When it was looking like both goalies were in a zone and this game may not come to a conclusion anytime soon, Matt Halischuk ends the game, firing a wrist shot into the top corner. Luongo doesn't make a good play on the goal at all as he was on his knees before the puck was even shot, leaving Halischuk plenty of room over the glove to put it where mom hides the cookies.
Final score: Nashville-2 Vancouver-1
Story of the game: For the second straight game, it's the goalies. They combined for a .962 save percentage this game and are .969 in the series (.970 for Luongo, .968 for Rinne). While each team played well on the defensive side of the puck, they each had their chances to put the game away, especially Nashville who had two power plays in the extra frames. As strong as Luongo was, he made two mistakes that cost the Canucks a 2-0 series lead by letting a shot go in from behind the goal line and biting way too early on the overtime goal. The Predators now have home ice advantage as they need three more wins and they have three games at home. The Sedins showed up for the series in overtime, but they will have to be much better at creating chances and finishing as scoring is going to come at a premium. Like Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and every other sniper, they have to learn to crash the net and score on scrambles in front. They can score those pretty goals in the regular season, but it doesn't work often in the playoffs.
Player of the game: It was Ryan Kesler through regulation who despite not scoring a goal, got an assist on the Burrows goal and created chances throughout the game. He was solid defensively, giving the Predators little room to work with in the Vancouver zone. He deserves a mention, but Rinne stole the show in overtime as the Canucks had four or five opportunities where they could have easily ended the game. He faced nearly as many shots in overtime (11) as he did in regulation (15) and they were much better quality, especially once the Sedins got going.
Flyers/Bruins Roster Changes And Ruff Times Continues in Buffalo
I'm channeling my inner NHL.com puns with that headline.
Some are wondering if the Boston Bruins' historic collapse to the Philadelphia Flyers last year will have any effect on their semifinal series this year. That would be the case if the same two teams were playing each other, but that is not the case as there have been 16 roster changes between Game 7 last year and the end of the series this year including 10 for Boston.
The core of the Flyers is still the same, but the have added even more depth. Their third pairing has been upgraded from Ryan Parent and Lukas Krajicek to Sean O'Donnell and Andrej Meszaros. Up front they lost veteran sniper Simon Gagne and grinder Arron Asham who have been replaced by Kris Versteeg, who came out on the right side of Game 6 last year, and inconsistent (that's being generous) Nikolay Zherdev. In goal, Michael Leighton finished up the series after Brian Boucher went down with an injury, but it is Boucher who will once again be starting the series.
The Bruins have made many changes throughout the roster. They have replaced an injured and largely ineffective Marc Savard with Nathan Horton who had three goals including two overtime winners in his first playoff series. There is a lot more sandpaper on the forward lines as Vladimir Sobotka, Miroslav Satan and Blake Wheeler were replaced by Greg Campbell, Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand, players who are much better at mucking it up and winning battles in the corners which is exactly what you need to win in the playoffs. Tim Thomas brings his experience back to the net over Tuukka Rask.
There are some similarities too. Both teams have a monstrous defenseman to punish anyone willing to get into their territory. But while Chris Pronger is coming into the series relatively rested and is still one of the meanest and nastiest players to go up against while Zdeno Chara doesn't use his size to his advantage nearly enough and tries to poke check too often when he could easily take the body. Mike Richards and Milan Lucic have both underachieved as neither have a goal so far in the playoffs after showing how clutch they can be last year.
The Bruins will certainly remember the collapse last year, but they have had enough turnover so that it doesn't matter as this is a completely revamped team.
Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has received a contract extension. Ruff, while failing to lead the Sabres to the Stanley Cup, has gotten a lot out of his teams. Only once in 14 years have the Sabres gone below 82 points. That was the 2002-03 season when only one player who finished the season in Buffalo had more than 35 points. With the exception of the first two season after the lockout, he has had little offense to work with, but the Sabres have remained competitive. Their leading scorers in each year and their finish since Ruff took over goes as follows:
Now that Terry Pegula is the GM and is committed to spending money to build a champion, Ruff will have the best opportunity to coach a contender in his career. When he had the elite players, the Sabres were contenders, going to the 1999 Stanley Cup final and winning the 2006-07 Presidents' Trophy for the best regular season record. But Dominic Hasek, Briere, Chris Drury, Mike Peca and Brian Campbell have all left for greener pastures, leaving Ruff second liners and backup goalies to try and win with. If they can keep their star players for a change, they certainly have the coach to lead them.
Some are wondering if the Boston Bruins' historic collapse to the Philadelphia Flyers last year will have any effect on their semifinal series this year. That would be the case if the same two teams were playing each other, but that is not the case as there have been 16 roster changes between Game 7 last year and the end of the series this year including 10 for Boston.
The core of the Flyers is still the same, but the have added even more depth. Their third pairing has been upgraded from Ryan Parent and Lukas Krajicek to Sean O'Donnell and Andrej Meszaros. Up front they lost veteran sniper Simon Gagne and grinder Arron Asham who have been replaced by Kris Versteeg, who came out on the right side of Game 6 last year, and inconsistent (that's being generous) Nikolay Zherdev. In goal, Michael Leighton finished up the series after Brian Boucher went down with an injury, but it is Boucher who will once again be starting the series.
The Bruins have made many changes throughout the roster. They have replaced an injured and largely ineffective Marc Savard with Nathan Horton who had three goals including two overtime winners in his first playoff series. There is a lot more sandpaper on the forward lines as Vladimir Sobotka, Miroslav Satan and Blake Wheeler were replaced by Greg Campbell, Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand, players who are much better at mucking it up and winning battles in the corners which is exactly what you need to win in the playoffs. Tim Thomas brings his experience back to the net over Tuukka Rask.
There are some similarities too. Both teams have a monstrous defenseman to punish anyone willing to get into their territory. But while Chris Pronger is coming into the series relatively rested and is still one of the meanest and nastiest players to go up against while Zdeno Chara doesn't use his size to his advantage nearly enough and tries to poke check too often when he could easily take the body. Mike Richards and Milan Lucic have both underachieved as neither have a goal so far in the playoffs after showing how clutch they can be last year.
The Bruins will certainly remember the collapse last year, but they have had enough turnover so that it doesn't matter as this is a completely revamped team.
Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has received a contract extension. Ruff, while failing to lead the Sabres to the Stanley Cup, has gotten a lot out of his teams. Only once in 14 years have the Sabres gone below 82 points. That was the 2002-03 season when only one player who finished the season in Buffalo had more than 35 points. With the exception of the first two season after the lockout, he has had little offense to work with, but the Sabres have remained competitive. Their leading scorers in each year and their finish since Ruff took over goes as follows:
- 1998-98: Miroslav Satan - 46 points - 89 points, third in division, lost conference final
- 1998-99: Miroslav Satan - 66 points - 91 points, fourth in division, lost Stanley Cup final
- 1999-2000: Miroslav Satan - 67 points - 85 points, third in division, lost round 1
- 2000-01: Miroslav Satan - 62 points - 98 points, second in division, lost round 2
- 2001-02: Miroslav Satan - 73 points - 82 points, fifth in division, missed playoffs
- 2002-03: Miroslav Satan - 75 points - 72 points, fifth in division, missed playoffs
- 2003-04: Danny Briere - 65 points - 85 points, fifth in division, missed playoffs
- 2005-06: Maxim Afinogenov - 73 points - 110 points, second in division, lost round 3
- 2006-07: Danny Briere - 95 points - 113 points, first in division, lost round 3
- 2007-08: Derek Roy - 81 points - 90 points, fourth in division, missed playoffs
- 2008-09: Derek Roy - 70 points - 91 points, third in division, missed playoffs
- 2009-10: Derek Roy - 69 points - 100 points, first in division, lost round 1
- 2010-11: Tomas Vanek - 73 points - 96 points, second in division, lost round 1
Now that Terry Pegula is the GM and is committed to spending money to build a champion, Ruff will have the best opportunity to coach a contender in his career. When he had the elite players, the Sabres were contenders, going to the 1999 Stanley Cup final and winning the 2006-07 Presidents' Trophy for the best regular season record. But Dominic Hasek, Briere, Chris Drury, Mike Peca and Brian Campbell have all left for greener pastures, leaving Ruff second liners and backup goalies to try and win with. If they can keep their star players for a change, they certainly have the coach to lead them.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
A Little Guy With A Big Hart
The NHL announced the nominees for the Hart Trophy today, with Corey Perry, Daniel Sedin and Martin St-Louis being the finalists for league MVP. The general consensus is the award will go to either Perry or Sedin while few have mentioned St-Louis.
While Steven Stamkos had another great year in Tampa Bay, save for the final 28 games in which he had five goals, that was due in large part to St-Louis. The winger assisted on 25 of Stamkos' 45 goals, a whopping 55.6%. And other than Stamkos, coach Guy Boucher had few others he could put on the ice to produce any offense. Vincent Lecavalier had a decent season with 25 goals and 54 points in 65 games, but the majority of his totals came at the very end of the season when he totaled 17 goals and 33 points in the final 32 games. Other than that spurt, he was largely invisible this season with eight goals and 31 points in the other 33 games while missing 17 due to injury including 15 in a row from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11 with a hand injury.
The Bolts have other guys to help out, but they were big this season in name only. Simon Gagne had 17 goals in five more games than it took him last year and he looked nothing like the 30-goal scorer he used to be. Ryan Malone had 14, down from 21 and Steve Downie's 10 was less than half his production from last season.
Sedin had a lot more to work with, including his brother Henrik who won the Hart Trophy last season. Ryan Kesler tied Sedin for the team lead with 41 goals and since they don't play on the same line it means there was even more offense because they weren't getting all their points together. Alex Burrows had 26 goals and while Mikael Samuelsson's 18 goals were down from the 30 he scored last year, that total represents an anomaly as he has only reached the 20-goal mark one other time and he averages 17.6 goals every 82 games.
Perry has the benefit of playing on the best line in hockey with Ryan Getzlaf (76 points in 67 games) and Bobby Ryan (34 goals, 71 points). He also has the legendary Teemu Selanne (80 points in 73 games) and Lubomir Visnovsky (68 points, leading all defensemen) to provide support.
St-Louis's offense was also way more important to his team as Tampa's goaltending situation was much shakier than that of Anaheim and Vancouver. The Lightning had four goalies combine for a 2.73 goals-against average and .903 save percentage, while the Canucks' Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider combined for a 2.14 GAA and .928 sv % and the Ducks had five goalies combine for a 2.72 GAA and .915 sve % and those stats would have been better had Hiller not missed 33 of the final 34 games, including the playoffs with vertigo.
Both St-Louis and Sedin were consistent all season while Perry had half of his points in the final 30 games (25 goals, 47 points). While those totals are impressive, I would like to see the MVP be consistent all season, not just have one good stretch. Had Perry played better in the beginning of the season, they wouldn't have been in such a fight to make the playoffs in the first place.
Sedin had the best team around him and it shows in points percentages when these players didn't score. When St-Louis was held without a point, the Lightning went 7-11-3, taking 17 of 42 possible points for a .405 points percentage and Perry had a very similar number as the Ducks went 10-15-1 taking 21 of 52 points for a .405 points percentage. Sedin's Canucks had a much better record when he didn't score, going 8-10-0, taking 16 of 36 points for a .444 points percentage.
The most valuable player is the one the team simply can't afford to loose. Each of these players played an important role, but Sedin had others around him who could get the job done when he didn't and Perry was really only good for a portion of the season. Those two can make some cases, but St-Louis is the only one who consistently shows unmitigated value to his team. Last year it should have been Ryan Miller or Sidney Crosby. This year it should be St-Louis.
While Steven Stamkos had another great year in Tampa Bay, save for the final 28 games in which he had five goals, that was due in large part to St-Louis. The winger assisted on 25 of Stamkos' 45 goals, a whopping 55.6%. And other than Stamkos, coach Guy Boucher had few others he could put on the ice to produce any offense. Vincent Lecavalier had a decent season with 25 goals and 54 points in 65 games, but the majority of his totals came at the very end of the season when he totaled 17 goals and 33 points in the final 32 games. Other than that spurt, he was largely invisible this season with eight goals and 31 points in the other 33 games while missing 17 due to injury including 15 in a row from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11 with a hand injury.
The Bolts have other guys to help out, but they were big this season in name only. Simon Gagne had 17 goals in five more games than it took him last year and he looked nothing like the 30-goal scorer he used to be. Ryan Malone had 14, down from 21 and Steve Downie's 10 was less than half his production from last season.
Sedin had a lot more to work with, including his brother Henrik who won the Hart Trophy last season. Ryan Kesler tied Sedin for the team lead with 41 goals and since they don't play on the same line it means there was even more offense because they weren't getting all their points together. Alex Burrows had 26 goals and while Mikael Samuelsson's 18 goals were down from the 30 he scored last year, that total represents an anomaly as he has only reached the 20-goal mark one other time and he averages 17.6 goals every 82 games.
Perry has the benefit of playing on the best line in hockey with Ryan Getzlaf (76 points in 67 games) and Bobby Ryan (34 goals, 71 points). He also has the legendary Teemu Selanne (80 points in 73 games) and Lubomir Visnovsky (68 points, leading all defensemen) to provide support.
St-Louis's offense was also way more important to his team as Tampa's goaltending situation was much shakier than that of Anaheim and Vancouver. The Lightning had four goalies combine for a 2.73 goals-against average and .903 save percentage, while the Canucks' Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider combined for a 2.14 GAA and .928 sv % and the Ducks had five goalies combine for a 2.72 GAA and .915 sve % and those stats would have been better had Hiller not missed 33 of the final 34 games, including the playoffs with vertigo.
Both St-Louis and Sedin were consistent all season while Perry had half of his points in the final 30 games (25 goals, 47 points). While those totals are impressive, I would like to see the MVP be consistent all season, not just have one good stretch. Had Perry played better in the beginning of the season, they wouldn't have been in such a fight to make the playoffs in the first place.
Sedin had the best team around him and it shows in points percentages when these players didn't score. When St-Louis was held without a point, the Lightning went 7-11-3, taking 17 of 42 possible points for a .405 points percentage and Perry had a very similar number as the Ducks went 10-15-1 taking 21 of 52 points for a .405 points percentage. Sedin's Canucks had a much better record when he didn't score, going 8-10-0, taking 16 of 36 points for a .444 points percentage.
The most valuable player is the one the team simply can't afford to loose. Each of these players played an important role, but Sedin had others around him who could get the job done when he didn't and Perry was really only good for a portion of the season. Those two can make some cases, but St-Louis is the only one who consistently shows unmitigated value to his team. Last year it should have been Ryan Miller or Sidney Crosby. This year it should be St-Louis.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Top Stay-At-Home Defensemen
Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara and Shea Weber were announced as Norris Trophy candidates on Monday. As they are every year, these are some of the top offensive-minded defensemen in the game; Lidstrom finished second among defensemen with 62 points, Weber was tenth with 46 and Chara was 19th with 44. Should Weber or Chara win it, it will be the first time since 1983-84 someone won it while scoring fewer than 50 points when Rod Langway had 33. He remains the only true defensive defenseman to win the award as all others have had the offensive edge to their game.
Some feel there should be an award for best defensive defenseman, something I would be for as they are seriously underrated. Players such as Kevin Lowe, Adam Foote, Scott Stevens (later on in his career) and Vladimir Konstantinov were instrumental to their teams' success. They award the top defensive forward, it only makes sense to reward those who are supposed to be concentrating on the back end. Here are the top defensive defenseman on each team, the guys who contributed less than half a point per game and still made a major impact on their team.
Anaheim Ducks - Toni Lydman
Lydman only had 25 points, but still finished second among defensemen with a plus-32. His rating was 14 points higher than the next closest Duck, Lubimir Visnovsky who had 68 points this season. His 141 hits were second on the team and his 178 blocked shots were sixth in the league. Of his 22:10 played per game, 3:43 was spent shorthanded.
Atlanta Thrashers - Ron Hainsey
No Thrashers defenseman had more combined hits and blocked shots this season as Hainsey had 51 and 173 respectively. He was the only member of their defense to have a positive plus-minus rating at plus-3.
Boston Bruins - Dennis Seidenberg
Seidenberg only finished at a plus-three, but he made thing very difficult for opposing players.
He led the Boston blueline with 161 hits and 174 blocks and was third with 12 steals. Only Chara played more shorthanded than Seidenberg's 2:14.
Buffalo Sabres - Tyler Myers
Myers overcame a terrible start and was a plus-15 from Jan. 21 to the end of the season. At 6-foot-8 he is able to take up a lot of room in the defensive zone, which is why he plays 2:41 shorthanded each game. His 98 blocks were fewer than last year, but he played more physical raising his hit total to 107.
Calgary Flames - Robyn Regehr
If there was an award for best defensive defenseman, Regehr would be nominated every season. He was 13th among defensemen with 180 hits and was second on the Flames with 143 blocks. He finished 19th in the league among D-men with 3:12 shorthanded time on ice per game. Jay Bouwmeester played more, but Regehr played way more physical while finishing with a slightly better plus-minus.
Carolina Hurricanes - Tim Gleason
No defenseman on the Hurricanes was more physical than Gleason who had 215 hits and 141 blocked shots while playing 20:57 per night, 2:43 of which is spent shorthanded. He finished the season with a minus-11 rating, but with only 16 points and Carolina finishing 18th in the league in goals for/against ratio, that is a respectable total.
Chicago Blackhawks - Niklas Hjalmarsson
In only his second full season Hjalmarsson led the Hawks blueliners with 166 blocks, was second with 32 steals and was fourth with 46 hits. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were the only other defenders to play more than 2:00 a game shorthanded.
Colorado Avalanche - Adam Foote
In his last season, Foote was still one of the best defensemen for the Avs. That may not mean as much as it did 10 years ago, but no one who played more than half a season killed of penalties as much as Foote who was out there 2:50 per game. Colorado had the second worst plus-minus ration in the league at minus-40, but Foote at a minus-nine with only eight assists wasn’t at fault for that.
Some feel there should be an award for best defensive defenseman, something I would be for as they are seriously underrated. Players such as Kevin Lowe, Adam Foote, Scott Stevens (later on in his career) and Vladimir Konstantinov were instrumental to their teams' success. They award the top defensive forward, it only makes sense to reward those who are supposed to be concentrating on the back end. Here are the top defensive defenseman on each team, the guys who contributed less than half a point per game and still made a major impact on their team.
Anaheim Ducks - Toni Lydman
Lydman only had 25 points, but still finished second among defensemen with a plus-32. His rating was 14 points higher than the next closest Duck, Lubimir Visnovsky who had 68 points this season. His 141 hits were second on the team and his 178 blocked shots were sixth in the league. Of his 22:10 played per game, 3:43 was spent shorthanded.
Atlanta Thrashers - Ron Hainsey
No Thrashers defenseman had more combined hits and blocked shots this season as Hainsey had 51 and 173 respectively. He was the only member of their defense to have a positive plus-minus rating at plus-3.
Boston Bruins - Dennis Seidenberg
Seidenberg only finished at a plus-three, but he made thing very difficult for opposing players.
He led the Boston blueline with 161 hits and 174 blocks and was third with 12 steals. Only Chara played more shorthanded than Seidenberg's 2:14.
Buffalo Sabres - Tyler Myers
Myers overcame a terrible start and was a plus-15 from Jan. 21 to the end of the season. At 6-foot-8 he is able to take up a lot of room in the defensive zone, which is why he plays 2:41 shorthanded each game. His 98 blocks were fewer than last year, but he played more physical raising his hit total to 107.
Calgary Flames - Robyn Regehr
If there was an award for best defensive defenseman, Regehr would be nominated every season. He was 13th among defensemen with 180 hits and was second on the Flames with 143 blocks. He finished 19th in the league among D-men with 3:12 shorthanded time on ice per game. Jay Bouwmeester played more, but Regehr played way more physical while finishing with a slightly better plus-minus.
Carolina Hurricanes - Tim Gleason
No defenseman on the Hurricanes was more physical than Gleason who had 215 hits and 141 blocked shots while playing 20:57 per night, 2:43 of which is spent shorthanded. He finished the season with a minus-11 rating, but with only 16 points and Carolina finishing 18th in the league in goals for/against ratio, that is a respectable total.
Chicago Blackhawks - Niklas Hjalmarsson
In only his second full season Hjalmarsson led the Hawks blueliners with 166 blocks, was second with 32 steals and was fourth with 46 hits. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were the only other defenders to play more than 2:00 a game shorthanded.
Colorado Avalanche - Adam Foote
In his last season, Foote was still one of the best defensemen for the Avs. That may not mean as much as it did 10 years ago, but no one who played more than half a season killed of penalties as much as Foote who was out there 2:50 per game. Colorado had the second worst plus-minus ration in the league at minus-40, but Foote at a minus-nine with only eight assists wasn’t at fault for that.
Columbus Blue Jackets - Jan Hejda
Hejda was a force this season with 152 hits and 158 blocks; he also won 100% of his draws (he only took one, but still…). Of players who finished the year in Columbus and played at least 41 games this season, Hejda was second in total and shorthanded time on ice and plus-minus, while only accumulating 28 PIM.
Dallas Stars - Stephane Robidas
Robidas was 14th in the league with 3:17 shorthanded ice time per game and always played against the other teams’ top lines. He also ranked fourth in the league with 216 hits and was second on the team with 135 blocks.
Detroit Red Wings - Brad Stuart
This could have easily gone to Kronwall, but Stuart has been very reliable and underrated all season. He out hit Kronall (131 to 113) and played more shorthanded (3:32, seventh among all D-men, to 2:55). Stuart’s plus-4 rating was one point shy of Kronwall’s mark even though he had 17 fewer points.
Edmonton Oilers - Theo Peckham
Pechkam’s minus-5 rating was the best of any Oilers defenseman who played a full season. He was a bull, finishing eighth among all defensemen with 196 hits while piling up 198 PIM.
Florida Panthers - Mike Weaver
The only full-time Panthers blueliner to finish the year with a positive plus-minus, Weaver led the team in blocked shots (132) and takeaways (47, 12th among D-men). Almost 16% of his time on ice was with the Panthers down a man (3:15 of 20:48 per game).
Los Angeles Kings - Willie Mitchell
Though he missed 25 games to injury, Mitchell was outstanding on the back end, playing 3:24 shorthanded per game (11th in the league). He had 35 hits, 85 blocks and 12 take aways. Those numbers prorated over a full season become 50 hits, 122 blocks (second on the team) and 17 takeaways.
Minnesota Wild - Greg Zanon
Zanon led all Wild D-men in hits (169, 36 more than Brent Burns) and blocks (212, 80 more than Nick Schultz) by a wide margin while playing the third-most minutes (21:32). He is also the only one to spend over three minutes (3:02) killing penalties.
Montreal Canadiens - Jaroslav Spacek
The Canadiens had different defensemen lead them in almost ever category, but Spacek was their most consistent. In 59 games Spacek led the Habs blueliners with a plus-nine. He also had the most take aways per game (0.51).
Nashville Predators - Kevin Klein
Klein was a wall in the defensive zone, leading all Nashville blueliners with 173 blocked shots, 60 more than captain Shea Weber. He also finished third with a plus-nine and played on the penalty killing unit more than any other Pred (3:10).
New Jersey Devils - Anton Volchenkov
Lo and behold! A Devils player actually finished with a positive plus-minus. Volchenkov actually finished fourth with a plus-three. Had he played a full season, he would have been in the top-25 in hits and blocks.
New York Islanders - Andrew MacDonald
Picking the best Islanders defenseman is a bit of an oxymoron, but MacDonald had a solid season. He led the Islanders backend with a plus-nine rating, 160 blocks and 49 steals while leading them with 23:24 per game in his first full season.
New York Rangers - Dan Girardi
Getting a puck past Henrik Lundqvist is hard enough, but opposing shooters have to get it past Girardi first. One of only two players this season to combine for over 400 hits and blocks, Girardi got in the way of a league-high 236 shots, 24 more than Zanon, while also registering 195 hits. He was 18th in the league playing 3:12 shorthanded a game.
Ottawa Senators - Filip Kuba
The Senators choice is just like the Islanders, no choice is wrong mainly because no choice is right. He only had 23 hits in 64 games, but 104 blocks (133 over a full season) and 22 steals (28) and was second on the team with 2:29 shorthanded per game.
Philadelphia Flyers - Andrej Meszaros
Meszaros experienced a revival in Philly this year after two miserable years in Tampa. He delivered 189 hits (11th among NHL D-men) and blocked 139 shots. He led the league in plus-minus for most of the year finishing in a tie for fifth (plus-30) with teammate Matt Carle, Adam McQuaid and Daniel Sedin.
Phoenix Coyotes - Adrian Aucoin
Aucoin's steady presence allowed Keith Yandle to develop into one of the highest scoring blueliners in the league. His plus-18 paced the team and he added 134 hits, tops among their defense. He was called on nearly threes minutes each game to kill penalties.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Brooks Orpik
One of the most physical players in the league, Orpik had 194 hits in just 63 games, prorated to 253 over a full season which would have led all D-men. At 3:44, he averaged just two seconds per game less on the penalty kill than Zbynek Michalek.
San Jose Sharks - Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Pickle had 147 blocks and 30 steals this season while finishing second among Sharks defensemen with a plus-14. Only Dan Boyle played more each game and no one played more shorthanded.
St. Louis Blues - Barret Jackman
Jackman was the only defenseman to play an entire season with the Blues and finish with a positive plus-minus (plus-3). He had 78 hits and 114 blocks in only 60 games, he would have been in the top-20 in blocks had he played a full season. He values is clearly in the defensive zone as he played 2:49 per game shorthanded and 0:02 on the power play.
Tampa Bay Lightning - Mattias Ohlund
Ohlund was a calming presence on a shaky Tampa blueline. He led their defense with 135 hits and had 136 blocked shots. A big reason he was a minus-seven was he only had five points and Lightning goaltending was terrible early in the season.
Toronto Maple Leafs - Luke Schenn
The other player with 400 combined hits and blocks, Schenn led the league's D-men with 251 hits and added 168 blocks. Only Dion Phaneuf played more overall and no one was on the ice with a man disadvantage more often.
Vancouver Canucks - Kevin Bieksa
In just 66 games, Bieksa posted a plus-32, good for second overall. He was second on the team with 104 hits and third with 93 blocks, while leading with 50 take aways. He played the fourth most minutes on the Vancouver blueline (22:28) and third most shorthanded (2:40).
Washington Capitals - Karl Alzner
This was difficult as there was plenty of capable defenders in America'a capital. Alzner finished second to offensive-minded John Carlson with a plus-14. One of only two defenders to play all 82 games, Alzner had 98 hits, 132 blocks and 24 take aways while playing exactly one period a game.
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