Vancouver Canucks
Coming Into Focus….
Serenity now! That was a familiar phrase uttered on Seinfeld many times. Well that serenity will not come for a few more days but last night’s action brought things into focus just a bit more. Some more teams got eliminated last night and the picture has become more clear. So very quickly….here are the in’s and out’s.
IN:
New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators
OUT:
Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks
BUBBLE:
Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins
The Reality:
The nice thing now is there are five teams and only four spots left. So this is really musical chairs…one team is going to get left out in the cold. The other four teams will have a place to go to in the first round which starts April 9th. If Ottawa gets a point tonight at all VS. Boston…they are in. Boston needs an outright win then help if they are to clinch tonight (Philly would have to lose). Philly has to win out to make the playoffs unless Washington and/or Carolina stumble. Then they would still need 3 out of a possible 4 points. So for all intents and purposes…it is possible that Ottawa, Carolina, and Boston could clinch tonight if all breaks right.
As for the West….the 1, 2, and 3 seeds are all locked up. Detroit (1), San Jose (2), Minnesota (3)…have spots locked in. The rest are up for grabs. If Dallas loses in regulation tonight…Anaheim sews up the four seed. A point for Dallas gives them no worse than the 5 seed but they would have to win their last game and hope the Ducks lose out if they want to gain the four seed. Nashville can do no better than 7th and they have to win tonight to have a shot at it. Calgary has to win and hope Colorado loses outright to gain the 6th seed. If not, they are the 7th or 8th depending on Nashville. The chaos of so many interrelated events….you have to love it as a hockey fan. No worries, it will play out tonight and tomorrow night.
Back to the East real fast…the Devils just need 3 out of a possible 4 points in their last two games (AT PHI, Vs. NYR) to seal the 4 seed. The Rangers need to likely win out and hope Jersey loses tonight. The Rangers have the Isles and Devils to end the season…just the way to settle it honestly. As for seeds 6-8, that should start to come into more focus tonight and tomorrow night when the dust settles.
The NHL Arena has been debating the playoff push for awhile now. For now I leave you with a moment of zen…..
Top 10 hockey saves of the year……
Decision Day Part One
Yes it is only Thursday but tonight’s action will go a long way of determining who gets in and who stays home come April 7th. There are still so many scenarios but I believe tonight should start to bring this whole thing into focus just a bit more. First up, the poor teams that are battling for their playoff lives. You can hear the paddles going off in the back of the ambulance right now.
First up is Buffalo who plays at Montreal tonight. Montreal has the #2 seed clinched but they are playing for tops in the East right now….so every game counts. A win for the Habs tonight outright eliminates Buffalo and keeps the Habs tied with Pittsburgh. Even worse for the Sabres…last night’s questionable point (the Zubrus goal that was in but Toronto somehow could not see it) by Boston puts Buffalo’s postseason hopes in the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning of all teams. Yes, the same Lightning that got blown out in Carolina 6-2 last night travel to Washington tonight to face the Washington Capitals. Basically if the Caps win…Buffalo’s hopes are almost over and done because Washington will have 92 points and the at the time be tied for 6th (if Ottawa loses in regulation). All those shootout and OT losses (12 total) will indeed have come back to haunt the Sabres. Needless to say, Ryan Miller will not be sending Martin Brodeur a gift basket at the end of the year. I said almost for this reason.*
There is even a possibility that the West could be all sewn up except for seeding by tonight. Chicago Blackhawk fans will be doing extensive scoreboard watching in Vancouver and Nashville. The Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville hosts the St. Louis Blues. With Hannu Toivonen (Legace out with hip flexor injury) getting the start for St. Louis….Nashville fans are probably drooling already (Hannu gave up 4 goals on 18 shots the last time out against the Preds). A Nashville win and Vancouver loss in regulation eliminates both Vancouver and Chicago all in one shot. A Nashville loss or even a loss in extra time leaves the door open for both Vancouver and Chicago. There are so many permutations that you may need a scientific calculator and a professor from M.I.T. for this one.
Now for the other teams that could clinch. Simply…the Rangers and Senators can win and they are in. The Rangers have two cracks against the Isles (tonight and tomorrow night). The Sens play at Toronto and Toronto is without Mats Sundin (groin tear). The Rangers could even lose both in extra time and be in with 95 points total. Minnesota simply needs a point and they win the Northwest and the 3 seed. Calgary just needs a point to make the playoffs. Detroit just needs a point at home against Columbus tonight to win not only the West but the overall #1 seed in the league or a Sharks loss (whether it be in OT, SO or regulation don’t matter).
Tonight will go in a big way to tell the playoff fates of more teams…now seeding is a different matter entirely. I did want to thank ESPN for their concise tiebreaking procedures on their page. Now of course they are all chasing one thing and that is the only thing that ultimately matters. There is that nice, shiny, silver thing called the Stanley Cup.
Thank You Wikipedia for the pic.
So with ten big games tonight….may the DVR’s work some OT and so may your eyes as the regular season comes firing all guns a blazing to the end. The end is definitely very near…and for some more near than they hope.
* Editor’s Note: Thanks to my friend Andrew from The NHL Arena. If Washington wins tonight, that doesn’t eliminate the Sabres. Buffalo can jump Philly into 9th, and then jump Boston for 8th based on the THIRD tiebreak. They would be tied in wins, tied in head to head record (4-2-2), but Buffalo would actually win the tiebreak based on goal differential.
April Fools Day…..A Day Of Hockey
It is the one day of the year where it is more than okay to be a little zany. The strangest thing is this has to be one of the most insane postseason races in history and one of the biggest days of the season is today of all days. This includes what will probably be the game of the year in the Southeast Division. Also a couple more teams have the chance to clinch division titles and playoff berths. This has the makings of being a great hockey night.
However, just to show a little sense of humor…it is time to sidetrack a little into the world of hockey pranks. Everyone has a favorite prank to pull on someone today. I wonder who has pulled one off today and how did it go. I know with some of the hockey players…the traditional pie in the face gag was so overused that we wound up going to a different standby. The place that we practice at down in Palm Desert has a helium tank in it…so yesterday we pulled an early prank on one of the guys. He thought he was blowing air into balloons when really he was blowing helium. Needless to say it not only changes your voice but the balloons did some pretty funny things when we popped them. I swear one smacked him in the head. He didn’t look all that pleased but it was hilarious to see the look on his face.
Another classic was the rubber cement hockey puck. Take rubber cement on an inline floor and put it around the rolling hockey puck. We literally had dozens of people trying to pull the puck off the floor and a couple even fell down. I was laughing so hard I almost spit out my soda when one of the guys tried firing a slap shot and the stick smacked his helmet so hard that the helmet came flying off. One girl nearly fell head over heels when she tried to pull too hard. After ten minutes, we just had to tell people in good conscience that this was an April Fools’ Day prank. I can only imagine how many more would have tried to get the puck off the ground…after all who wants to slip on it?
Finally there is the cold roller…or that’s what I call it….Fill a small kitchen garbage can 3/4 of the way with water and a little ice and lean it on any door….then wait for the hilarity to ensue. We left the door at the office of the guy that runs the place….waited for him to finish his lunch then placed the small kitchen can leaning on the door. When he opened it…I swear he jumped 20 feet…that water was really cold. Considering it was nearly 80 degrees out…that is one nasty chill but damn it sure is funny!!!
Well on the funniest day of the year, there is nothing better than some big hockey games. Tonight’s Capitals-Hurricanes clash more than transcends the funny stuff. This is an absolute must win for both teams. The Caps have to win out to hope and make the playoffs either as a division winner or an 8 seed…they may even get 6th or 7th who knows. The Canes have to win tonight to keep their division lead…at the worst lose in OT or a shootout. It will be Cristobal Huet Vs. Cam Ward in the nets and both have been rather good of late. Huet won the last meeting but both goalies were amazing in that game and I expect more of the same in this one. A low scoring, high intensity duel that can be seen if you have Fox Sports South, Comcast DC Sportsnet or simply Center Ice….though I wonder if VS. somehow finds a way to get this game on the airwaves.
Here is why. Last week’s game was a 3-2 Washington win in Carolina via the shootout….Huet was particularly outstanding in the extra frame and shootout stopping an onslaught that came at him. Cam Ward was no slouch in this game and the physicality was intense. When was the last time you saw a goalie check someone into the boards…it happened in the last meeting. No doubt this is the game of the night and probably week.
In other action….the Devils play the Islanders at Nassau Colosseum . A win clinches a playoff birth for the Devils but so does a regulation loss by the Capitals. Martin Brodeur will be looking for his 42nd win but only his 2nd against the Isles this season as the Devils for whatever reason have a hard time beating this team no matter who is in net for the Islanders. Whether it be bad luck or worse, the Isles and the Rangers for that matter have the Devils’ number this year and that is unusual for a team who feasts on the Atlantic year in and year out. Four games in six nights will be a nasty stretch for New Jersey to end the season but if any team can pull it off…it is New Jersey. For more on the Devils side of things…check out 2 Man Advantage later on in the day.
There was a tie for the third most important matchup of the day…between Montreal-Ottawa and Vancouver-Colorado. Both are very essential to playoff seedings in the West. Montreal can tie for the lead in the East and Ottawa can virtually clinch a playoff berth. Montreal has controlled most of the Northeast all season and sprinted out to a 7-1 lead in their last meeting before Ottawa made a game of it late scoring 4 times before falling short 7-5. Ottawa’s goalies don’t seem to do well against Montreal and really the Habs’ depth and team speed are a killer for any team…when they are playing on their game. Ottawa counters with the most dangerous first line in hockey…Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. So expect either a low scoring barnburner or a shootout…no one really knows till these two drop the puck…what is going to happen.
Lastly, there is Vancouver Vs. Colorado. Vancouver has to win this game for Nashville is playing St. Louis and SHOULD get 2 points tonight. Luongo has been good for the most part lately but has thrown a few clunkers into the mix. He has to be on his game from the outset tonight as Colorado is very dangerous at the Pepsi Center. Hell the first ten minutes of this game will pretty much tell the tale on this one. If Vancouver can hold firm early….they should be able to take this game late. If they don’t, Colorado will be able to score and force the Canucks to play catch up…something they do not like to do at all. Comfort zone is essential and whoever comes out of theirs first will lose. An oh by the way….if Minnesota wins tonight and Colorado and Calgary lose…Minnesots wins the Northwest crown and the 3 seed.
So aside from all the funny stuff….hockey is still serious business. As the playoffs get closer and closer…more teams will find their bubble bursting or their seeding plummet. Good fight….good hockey…and good night!
Remembering 60…..
Alexander Ovechkin’s 50th goal got me wondering tonight a bit. Well wait he just scored his 51st as I started typing some more. Ovechkin just nearly got the hatter but Auld stopped him on an opportunity in close. So now the drive for 60 commercials will pour on Versus like really cheap beer. But hey remember when 60 was a little more common?? Yes I surely do.
So if Ovechkin doesn’t score any more tonight…he will need 9 goals in 15 games. That is very doable for a guy who can score in bunches very much like the Caps do on Versus for whatever reason. The last time we had a 60 goal scorer in the NHL was Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1995-1996 season with 69 tallies. Sure some guys have ventured close like Pavel Bure (59) in 2000-01 and Jonathan Cheechoo (56) in 2005-06. Even Vinny Lecavlier has scored moer than 50 but you think with his talent he would get to 60 but no so my friend!
Just an update folks…Ovechkin has scored the hat trick off a pretty feed and Ovechkin is wide open to tap it in from Semin and it is 5-0 Washington. Ovechkin is 8 away from 60 now.
Ovechkin is the prototypical 60 goal scorer if there ever was one…a pure sniper who is big enough to be durable and skilled enough to put it in the net with solid frequency. At 6 foot 2 and 215 pounds, I really can’t think of anyone else that can do it better at this point. Now I have heard all the stories about free skating undersized snipers but I really think a guy like Ovechkin who can score at will can lead a new trend even with scoring on a downturn in the NHL. Mario Lemieux was a big boy to say the least…why can’t Ovechkin?
Ovechkin now has players that can pass him the puck other than just one playmaker which has plagued most of the guys that were close to 60 in the last 10 years. That is a huge key in netting 60. Time to take a look back at some other 60 goal scorers not named Lemieux or Gretzky.
Mike Bossy — I still consider him probably the best scoring sniper ever…period!! In just 10 seasons…he had 573 goals in just 752 games. To top that off he produced 1.48 points per game….project that over 1200 or 1300 games and you get something downright sick. But as far as putting the puck in the back of the net…he could see the twine like no other. He was called La Machine in Quebec for a reason. Bossy was at the right place at the right time all the time. He never scored less than 50 goals any year in the NHL except his last.
Pavel Bure — The Russian Rocket had the moves and the skills of an assassin. He not only topped 60 goals twice in his first two full seasons but he did it with reckless abandon. The problem was that reckless speed could not always be harnessed right. Combine that with his uncanny nature of bad injuries also derailed one of the greatest pure goal scorers of all time. Many times I would go to a game just to see Bure play. His two full seasons with Florida produced 58 and 59 goals respectively…which was something special in an era that was considered a dead era as far as snipers. He was truly a guy to be feared by every goalie when he came rushing up the ice.
Brett Hull — The Golden Jet was fast…real fast on skates but you would never know it off the ice. He scored 741 times in the NHL but from a period from about 1989 to 1994…you couldn’t stop this guy. Hull had 339 goals in those five seasons.  Granted, the rest of his career wasn’t quite at that pace…but as far as pure shooters went…if Hull was in the slot and the one timer was open…a lot of times it would find its way in the net. That three season of run of 70+ goals for me was one of the best achievements I have ever seen in hockey.
So the key to remembering back when 60 goal scorers were more common were great playmakers, skill, and durability. Ovechkin is a guy that fits this mold….with a passer like Backstrom and good team chemistry…he may hit 60 several more times…although so may a guy in Pittsburgh named Malkin or a guy in Atlanta named Kovalchuk but for now Ovechkin is the one most primed to accomplish the feat.
For more regular season records…do check out Couch Potato Hockey.
48 Hours Since The Deadline….
Honestly we haven’t learned much from the deadline yet and really we won’t for weeks but it is fun to take a look back and see what happened and didn’t happen. The strangest things may be what didn’t happen may have resulted in a more interesting deadline…although it was so quiet most of Tuesday morning.
The NTC players in Toronto made a hell of a stand against Ottawa on Tuesday night. Sundin and Tucker scored and even Kaberle and Kubina played outstanding in a 5-0 whitewashing. Toronto won again last night so it makes you wonder. Even though most of the hockey media has lambasted Cliff Fletcher for how he has handled things…they are now winning. Toronto is at .500 and only 6 points out of a playoff berth. I suppose anything is possible.
Things in Montreal took a stranger turn as they expected to get Hossa and all they really got was a 2009 2nd round pick for trading Cristobal Huet. Coach Carbonneau and GM Gainey have clashed all season on whether Carey Price was ready..well now he is going to have to be. It turned out Pittsburgh got Hossa in a last minute deal and a player like Michael Ryder wasn’t dealt. Ryder helped lead the Habs past Atlanta the other night in an impressive 5-1 victory. Maybe not getting Hossa won’t hurt Montreal as much as people think.
The New Jersey Devils were surprisingly cautious and did not trade players like Gionta and Elias like some had expected. Instead, they traded Cam Janssen to St. Louis for Bryce Salvador. Sure that gives the Devils yet another defenseman, but they needed someone to clear players out of the crease besides Colin White and Salvador fits the bill. The Devils could have used Salvador and his solid play Tuesday night as they fell 2-1 to Carolina in overtime on a play that never should have been a goal. Andy Greene tried to play the puck and forgot the person. Sergei Samsonov slipped by just enough to shovel his own rebound in. Greene will be benched tomorrow for Salvador….consider it lesson learned.
Teams like Calgary and Vancouver were more or less content on staying put…though Vancouver did move Matt Cooke for Matt Pettinger. Both teams have well established goalies and appear to be willing to ride out what they have in their quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. So why does a team like Boston get such a hard time in media circles? Because they had the deal in their grasp and lost it…over 1 contract year…that has to bite. Then to do nothing to help your team because of it…I call that a double whammy. I really do think Boston may be in danger of missing the playoffs entirely due to the lack of activity.
Lastly, I wrote a little while back on the fact that I wasn’t that impressed with Detroit…well what do you know…the injury bug hit the vets. Chelios, Rafalski, Hasek…etc…have all gone down with various ailments. Age can creep up on you but luckily they have enough time to get healthy but the age and goaltending remains an issue. I wonder if Holland goes after a #1 netminder in the offeseason. Well, all in all, it was a very interesting trade deadline maybe more for what didn’t happen than what did.
Roberto Luongo Vs. Martin Brodeur
Well this is truly an early Christmas present if I could ever ask for one. The Devils play at Vancouver tonight at 10pm ET. It turns out that Roberto Luongo will indeed be back after missing several games due to a rib injury. Thanks to the schedule makers, the hockey fans get this rare treat. Yes, I did circle this date in my calendar and I surely will tape it.
Some will even say this is a game that kind of passes the torch. Last I checked Brodeur is only 35 and Luongo is 28. So as Luongo enters his prime….Brodeur has entered what some call the French-Canadian prime for goalies. The mid 30’s has been kind to such guys as Plante and Roy. Their numbers are mind boggling in that time span. Brodeur is well on his way to even surpassing their gaudy numbers as he stalks some of the game’s greatest goaltending records. Who knows how many wins Martin will end up with, how many shutouts, etc.
Luongo has 175 wins right now..and will probably have over 200 when the season is done. He is about the only goalie that I think can come to close to Marty’s records. He is one of the few goalies that can start 70-75 games a season in this league and not be tired come playoff time. He has that “it”. The “it” being a rare quality of being able to bounce back with very little ill effects from the wear and tear of playing so many games. The only drawback with Luongo if there is any, is he is a hair more injury prone but that is slicing a bit fine…I’ll admit it.
So is this game really a passing of the torch? Hell no! Most may widely accept that Roberto Luongo is the best goalie in the game…but I will take the more consistent goalie that is the cornerstone of the team’s defense. Brodeur still handles the puck better (though he will say it has slipped a bit) than Luongo and that does help the D out. Luongo has gotten some of his bad habits out of the way (rebound direction, etc.) and now is in the elite class of goalies. To see two of the top goalies at the top of their game is rare. Now if only they would meet in the playoffs…..that has the makings of one hell of a series. But for now, tonite’s game will have to do. Enjoy!!
Coach Crawford Ordered Hit on Steve Moore? So What!!
If you haven’t seen the hit by then Canuck Todd Bertuzzi on Steve Moore in 2004 check it out here first (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz9RE9RGrVY) . This week, court documents from the on-going litigation revealed that Crawford, now coach of the LA Kings, ordered the hit on Steve Moore in a pre-game chalk board session, specifically calling out his number. All I have to say is so freakin’ what?
Anyone who has played hockey above the peewee level knows retaliation and fighting is part of the game and you will not find a bigger advocate than this guy. I am sure Crawford at one point or another told his guys that someone needs to lay a hit on Moore for a vicious blind-side elbow the previous game on Canucks star Markus Naslund. These teams are inter-division rivals that play eachother 6 to 7 times a year. This game polices itself, you lay an elbow on the head of a team’s star, you know full well a fight is coming in this game or the next. As Barry Merose puts it here (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3143906) every coach has sent a fighter out after someone before. It is and always has been a part of the game. If you can’t protect yourself, then you don’t play cheap. If you play cheap, you better be able to fight. End of story!
 By no means am I saying Moore deserved a broken neck, but the blame here lies no where but on the goon Todd Bertuzzi.  What do you think, Crawford said “chase him around the ice, sucker punch him from behind, and then pile drive his face into the ice breaking his neck and ending his hockey career?” Come on, these isolated incidents (Bertuzzi, McSorley’s slash on Brashear, Dale Hunter’s chop on Lafontaine, etc) are over-played by the media and picked up by the casual fan who can’t seperate them from every other fight that happens for a damn good reason.
 Crawford was right, Bertuzzi is an idiot, and Steve Moore is a very unfortunate soul. By no means should Crawford (or the Canucks and the NHL for that matter) be involved in any legal action especially for the $38mm+ Moore is asking for. Moore knew what he was doing, prepared himself for the fight that happened and then Bertuzzi commited a criminal act seperate from anything else, that simple. Bertuzzi should have to pay all medical bills as well as an arbitrator appointed sum as to what Moore could have made in the NHL over his career and be done (though I think jail and banishment from the NHL would be more appropriate than the 17 month suspension).
