Here's the second part of the conversation Tom and I had the other night.
It ends a bit abruptly but Tom agreeing with me seemed as good a spot to wrap it up as any. As I said in yesterday's post, it's a work in progress.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Behold! The First Ever Moron Hockey Podcast!
It's a work in progress. At some point, we'll add some production values and do some basic things like identify ourselves.
In this segment of our initial effort tmi3rd and I discuss "Things We Care About". That means Tom talking about the Predators and me talking Rangers.
In this segment of our initial effort tmi3rd and I discuss "Things We Care About". That means Tom talking about the Predators and me talking Rangers.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Goaltending Controversy On Broadway?
Not really but it's uncomfortably close. Henrik Lundqvist has been very King like lately, letting in some incredibly soft goals lately, but he's not about to get dumped for Marty Biron.
.
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Monday, November 15, 2010
Islanders Fire Coach Scott Gordon
Yes, the Islanders are still in the NHL. Just barely.
Gordon obviously isn't solely to blame for the Isles woes but as the saying goes...you can't fire all the players.
The shot term problem for the Islanders is the fact that the Kyle Okposo and the under rated Mark Streit haven't played this season. The Isles were working on a pretty thin margin to hang around the top half of teams that wouldn't make the play offs (somewhere between 9-12 in the conference). Take those players out, add in a lackluster start by John Tavares and...ladies and gentlemen, here are your 2010-2011 Islanders.
The bigger issues for the Islanders are an owner, Charles Wang who is holding the franchise hostage to a real estate deal and a GM, Garth Snow, who thought giving Rick DiPietro a 15 year deal was a great idea.
As someone who grew up in the NY area as a Ranger fan when the Islanders were dominating the league, I should enjoy this but it's sad what's happened to this once proud franchise. The best hope is either for Wang to sell the team or move it.
While the firing of Scott Gordon is big news in the Gordon home, it's not really here or there in the Islanders' list of problems. They'll be a new coach behind the bench at the Nassau Coliseum Wednesday for Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, it'll be the same guys in the ownership box and on the ice in blue and orange.
Scott Gordon is out as head coach of the Islanders.
Isles' GM Garth Snow announced today that Gordon was being replaced on an interim basis by Jack Capuano, the head coach of the team's AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. Gordon will remain with the organization as an advisor to Snow.
Gordon was in his third year as the Isles coach and after getting off to a solid start this season, the Isles are currently in a 10-game losing streak.
"We believe we need a change in direction and, with the majority of the regular season still ahead of us, our goal remains to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs," Snow said in a statement. "Scott has made tremendous strides with our team the past three seasons and I look forward to continuing our relationship in an advisory capacity."
Gordon obviously isn't solely to blame for the Isles woes but as the saying goes...you can't fire all the players.
The shot term problem for the Islanders is the fact that the Kyle Okposo and the under rated Mark Streit haven't played this season. The Isles were working on a pretty thin margin to hang around the top half of teams that wouldn't make the play offs (somewhere between 9-12 in the conference). Take those players out, add in a lackluster start by John Tavares and...ladies and gentlemen, here are your 2010-2011 Islanders.
The bigger issues for the Islanders are an owner, Charles Wang who is holding the franchise hostage to a real estate deal and a GM, Garth Snow, who thought giving Rick DiPietro a 15 year deal was a great idea.
As someone who grew up in the NY area as a Ranger fan when the Islanders were dominating the league, I should enjoy this but it's sad what's happened to this once proud franchise. The best hope is either for Wang to sell the team or move it.
While the firing of Scott Gordon is big news in the Gordon home, it's not really here or there in the Islanders' list of problems. They'll be a new coach behind the bench at the Nassau Coliseum Wednesday for Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, it'll be the same guys in the ownership box and on the ice in blue and orange.
Monday, November 1, 2010
What Did We Learn, Game 8: Pittsburgh 10, New Orleans 20
So we're about halfway through the regular season, and let's look at some bigger-picture things...
Of the six NFC playoff teams from last year (New Orleans, Minnesota, Dallas, Arizona, Green Bay, and Philadelphia), two are completely dead in the water, and the remaining four aren't exactly bathing themselves in glory.
The successful teams this year largely are playing good defense and have a solid running game. It seems at this point that if your quarterback throws for 300 yards, you're very likely to lose. As examples, I offer you Kansas City, the New York Giants, Baltimore, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, the New York Jets, New England... you get the idea.
Name me a quarterback who is having an awesome season. I can't do it- the usual suspects are not hitting a lot of dramatic deep balls for touchdowns.
We'll get to the AFC in a moment, but the sexy picks for the Super Bowl from the NFC- Dallas, San Francisco, Minnesota, Green Bay- are largely out of it. Green Bay still has a shot- as their defense really put it together yesterday- but it's hard to feel terribly good about anyone in the NFC other than Atlanta and the Giants at this point. Not just because I'm a Saints fan, by the way- Atlanta is showing a perplexing tendency to let teams hang around.
So let's consider what we saw yesterday in the NFC South.
Tampa did what the Saints couldn't against Arizona- play smart, ball-protecting football and minimize mistakes. The quarterback-challenged Cards threw an INT within tying field-goal range, and Tampa continues to build its confidence. They play the Falcons this coming week, and that will tell us a lot about what's going to happen in the NFC South.
Carolina hung in there with a coaching staff that's completely mailing it in, and lost to a rapidly-improving St. Louis team. They have the Saints this coming weekend in Charlotte, and this is dangerous territory for the Saints.
And now we get to the Saints.
Protect the football, from arguably the most physical defense in the NFL. Drew Brees threw one bad pick and fumbled a scoring opportunity on a safety blitz.
Enter the Saints' defense. One fumble recovery (by Darren Sharper, no less). One pick (career first by Leigh Torrence). One fourth-and-four from the Saints' 40, defeated. One 52-yard miss from Jeff Reed- and it led directly to the game-tying field goal from Garrett Hartley. And- most importantly- the Saints' D held the Steelers' offense out of the end zone from the six-inch line.
Finesse team, my ass.
Garrett Hartley had two must-make kicks. No problem- although I really wish he'd clean up that hook. Emmanuel Sanders was electric for the Steelers on a couple of big returns- one kickoff and one punt. The fake field goal call completely stunned the Steelers, forcing them to call timeout. On the opposite side, Jeff Reed missed a crucial 52-yard field goal (no shame in that) that changed the momentum of the game and led to the late 1st-half tying field goal.
The Steelers' defense is rated number one against the run for a reason. They demonstrated that ferocity against the Saints, who rushed for a total of 30 yards. The Saints' defense is ranked 16th against the rush, but held the Steelers to a total of 108 yards on the ground and one TD. The TD happened on the same call as the one that the Steelers won their overtime encounter with Atlanta on, and this one went for 38 yards.
The Steelers are not as impressive against the pass, ranked 25th, and gave up 305 yards to Drew Brees, as well as two touchdowns. They did recover a Brees fumble on a safety blitz, and intercepted him once. The Saints, on the other hand, are ranked 3rd against the pass. They gave up 195 yards to Roethlisberger, with one fumble recovery in the passing game and intercepting Roethlisberger once.
The story of this game comes down to turnovers, as ever. On the scoresheet, it only lists four, total- a fumble and an interception for each team. Add to that a missed FG, a blown fourth-and-four, and a goal-line stand, and you make a strong argument for the Steelers having left about ten points on the table.
What now? The Saints have what should be a tune-up game against Carolina in Charlotte. It ain't gonna be that way. This game will be annoyingly close, as ever. If the Saints can extend a lead on Carolina, I'll begin to believe they're really putting it together.
Finally, some thoughts on the AFC...
The class of the conference appears to be New England, the Jets, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. New England quietly keeps winning, the Jets (aside from the head-scratchingly poor offensive play this past week) have a solid winning formula, and Baltimore and Pittsburgh will beat themselves (and their opponents) silly each week.
Not to be overlooked are the Chiefs, Raiders, Indy, Houston, and Tennessee. The Chiefs have a shockingly good defense, the Raiders seem to have found themselves... Indy is, well, Indy, and Houston and Tennessee have delivered notice that they aren't going away either.
Who can say? It's easier to pick out the teams that are history- Buffalo, Denver, San Diego, Cincinnati, Cleveland- than to pick out a clear favorite. Everything from here on out in the AFC will depend on staying injury-free.
Anyway, we shall see. In the Who Dat Nation, however, there is a sigh of relief, as the ship is righted... for one more week.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Gary Bettman Has A Rather High Opinion Of Himself
The Commish knows exactly how to soothe the feelings of the Minnesota Wild fan who got into a bit of a thing with Vancouver forward Rick Rypien...take him out to dinner.
If I ever had to have dinner with Bettman, I'd sue for emotional distress. Besides, wouldn't most hockey fans rather spend time with someone from the NHL who actually likes hockey?
As for the incident itself. Six game for Rypien, fine. I mean, it's not like it got out of hand or anything.
An irate Rypien grabbed heckling Minnesota fan James Engquist while heading to the dressing room following a confrontation with Wild enforcer Rob Staubitz near the Vancouver bench. The two had fought earlier in the game. In addition to suspending Rypien, a 26-year-old Coleman, Alta., native who is in his sixth pro season, the NHL fined the Canucks US$25,000.
"It's a real eye-opener for me, so I think I'm going to come back real strong and better than ever," Rypien said in his first public comments since the incident occurred. "I think I'm going to be more focused and more determined to play the game that I love the most."
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reportedly offered to take Engquist to dinner and provide him with a pair of tickets for another Wild game. The move came after the fan told a Minnesota newspaper he was contemplating legal action against Rypien for the incident, which lasted a few seconds before Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault and teammate Manny Malhotra quickly intervened.
If I ever had to have dinner with Bettman, I'd sue for emotional distress. Besides, wouldn't most hockey fans rather spend time with someone from the NHL who actually likes hockey?
As for the incident itself. Six game for Rypien, fine. I mean, it's not like it got out of hand or anything.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
What Did We Learn: Game 7- Cleveland 30, New Orleans 17
For the second time in three weeks, the defending Super Bowl champions were done in by that which was one of their great strengths- their offense.
Four interceptions by Drew Brees. Two of those INTs were returned by defensive end David Bowens for touchdowns. Remove those scores from the game, and the Saints win. The same can be said of the Arizona game.
Colt McCoy didn't beat anyone. The defense, as ever, did their part.
On special teams, the Cleveland coaching staff dialed up a spectacular fake punt and a very impressive lateral on a punt return. Cleveland players reported some eye gouging and crotch punching by Saints players later in the game.
One can only say the same things over and over so many times. Yes, it helped that Scott Fujita was able to recognize formations and substitutions he'd seen with the Saints, but the fact remains that if the Saints don't turn the ball over, they win the game. Cleveland scored one offensive touchdown, much like the Cardinals previously.
Now Pittsburgh looms, with the strong probability of being 4-4 after eight games. Then comes a trip to Carolina, where the Saints seldom play well.
The fact of the matter is, there are no games that the Saints can count on winning for the rest of the way out. 9-7 may be enough to make the playoffs as a wild card, but it seems entirely likely that the Saints will suffer the embarrassing fate of not making the playoffs in their title defense. They may surprise us- predicated entirely on the offense rediscovering itself- but I wouldn't put any money on it.
Four interceptions by Drew Brees. Two of those INTs were returned by defensive end David Bowens for touchdowns. Remove those scores from the game, and the Saints win. The same can be said of the Arizona game.
Colt McCoy didn't beat anyone. The defense, as ever, did their part.
On special teams, the Cleveland coaching staff dialed up a spectacular fake punt and a very impressive lateral on a punt return. Cleveland players reported some eye gouging and crotch punching by Saints players later in the game.
One can only say the same things over and over so many times. Yes, it helped that Scott Fujita was able to recognize formations and substitutions he'd seen with the Saints, but the fact remains that if the Saints don't turn the ball over, they win the game. Cleveland scored one offensive touchdown, much like the Cardinals previously.
Now Pittsburgh looms, with the strong probability of being 4-4 after eight games. Then comes a trip to Carolina, where the Saints seldom play well.
The fact of the matter is, there are no games that the Saints can count on winning for the rest of the way out. 9-7 may be enough to make the playoffs as a wild card, but it seems entirely likely that the Saints will suffer the embarrassing fate of not making the playoffs in their title defense. They may surprise us- predicated entirely on the offense rediscovering itself- but I wouldn't put any money on it.
Early Western Conference thoughts...
Well, collectively not even ten games in, we have some genuine surprises in the West so far. We'll see over time what the longer-term trend is, but let's start in the Central Division.
Ladies and gentlemen, in first place and undefeated in regulation, I give you your Nashville Predators. They had a three-game stretch of overtime losses to Montreal, Washington, and Pittsburgh, but then righted the ship against Dallas and Pittsburgh on the road. They appear to have improved in net with the addition of Anders Lindback, and they're giving up a sterling average of 2 goals per game.
Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago all check in with at least four wins... a 1-0 overtime win for St. Louis over Pittsburgh was particularly noteworthy, and Detroit somehow just keeps cooking along. Chicago does not appear to have corrected their goaltending woes with Marty Turco... much like in Dallas, he seems to be solid in net until the waning minutes, and then fails to make that one key save.
Finally, Columbus is showing some interesting sparks with a pair of victories over Chicago. They're still wildly inconsistent, but if the season ended today, all five Central Division teams would be in.
Over in the Pacific, Marc Crawford has the Stars up and humming... a couple of key victories over Detroit and St. Louis, along with what is currently the 6th-rated offense in the league have them off to an impressive start. I'm not convinced that their blue line is deep enough to sustain a run, but they're rocking so far.
Los Angeles is right there with the Stars, as key wins over Vancouver and Colorado have them rolling. They recently lost G Erick Ersberg to the KHL, but he wasn't exactly a favorite of the coaching staff. D Drew Doughty has a hand injury that will keep him out for a week.
San Jose, Anaheim, and Phoenix are kind of a mess right now... the Sharks have beaten up on some weaker sisters, Anaheim can't keep the puck out of its own net, and the Coyotes are just kind of all over the place. The Coyotes looked strong in their opener against Boston, then didn't win another game except for a strong win over the Kings.
Finally, the Northwest is pretty much the weakest division in hockey right now, more so than the Southeast. Calgary is on top of the division playing .500 hockey, followed closely by Colorado. Both are entertaining teams to watch, but have had some nightmarish games defensively. Vancouver, who should be running away with things, is also playing .500 hockey despite massive upgrades along the blue line.
Careful followers of the discussion here and at Ace of Spades HQ will know that I'm not much of a believer in Roberto Luongo, and I think that will play itself out this year as well. Much like the San Jose teams of recent years, goaltending is what stands between Vancouver and the Cup.
Finally, Minnesota and Edmonton are in rebuilding mode, though Edmonton's Jordan Eberle is exciting to watch. That said, the Oilers have dropped four straight as of this posting...
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see who can sustain the pace in the West. Any thoughts?
Ladies and gentlemen, in first place and undefeated in regulation, I give you your Nashville Predators. They had a three-game stretch of overtime losses to Montreal, Washington, and Pittsburgh, but then righted the ship against Dallas and Pittsburgh on the road. They appear to have improved in net with the addition of Anders Lindback, and they're giving up a sterling average of 2 goals per game.
Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago all check in with at least four wins... a 1-0 overtime win for St. Louis over Pittsburgh was particularly noteworthy, and Detroit somehow just keeps cooking along. Chicago does not appear to have corrected their goaltending woes with Marty Turco... much like in Dallas, he seems to be solid in net until the waning minutes, and then fails to make that one key save.
Finally, Columbus is showing some interesting sparks with a pair of victories over Chicago. They're still wildly inconsistent, but if the season ended today, all five Central Division teams would be in.
Over in the Pacific, Marc Crawford has the Stars up and humming... a couple of key victories over Detroit and St. Louis, along with what is currently the 6th-rated offense in the league have them off to an impressive start. I'm not convinced that their blue line is deep enough to sustain a run, but they're rocking so far.
Los Angeles is right there with the Stars, as key wins over Vancouver and Colorado have them rolling. They recently lost G Erick Ersberg to the KHL, but he wasn't exactly a favorite of the coaching staff. D Drew Doughty has a hand injury that will keep him out for a week.
San Jose, Anaheim, and Phoenix are kind of a mess right now... the Sharks have beaten up on some weaker sisters, Anaheim can't keep the puck out of its own net, and the Coyotes are just kind of all over the place. The Coyotes looked strong in their opener against Boston, then didn't win another game except for a strong win over the Kings.
Finally, the Northwest is pretty much the weakest division in hockey right now, more so than the Southeast. Calgary is on top of the division playing .500 hockey, followed closely by Colorado. Both are entertaining teams to watch, but have had some nightmarish games defensively. Vancouver, who should be running away with things, is also playing .500 hockey despite massive upgrades along the blue line.
Careful followers of the discussion here and at Ace of Spades HQ will know that I'm not much of a believer in Roberto Luongo, and I think that will play itself out this year as well. Much like the San Jose teams of recent years, goaltending is what stands between Vancouver and the Cup.
Finally, Minnesota and Edmonton are in rebuilding mode, though Edmonton's Jordan Eberle is exciting to watch. That said, the Oilers have dropped four straight as of this posting...
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see who can sustain the pace in the West. Any thoughts?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
NBA Contraction, and why you should care...
Hi, folks...
Just as a heads-up, we may have a new feature for you here at Moron Hockey in the very near future. That is, as soon as I can get out from under the organic chemistry dragon and some other things resolve themselves. We're very excited to do this, and thanks for joining us.
David Stern has openly spoken about NBA contraction in the interest of cutting overhead. No franchises were mentioned by name, but some obvious targets would be Sacramento (they want a new arena, and the city isn't budging), Memphis (you can hear the players rapping on the court during most games), Golden State (depending on the success of their proposed sale), and the Clippers (who can't give away tickets).
So how would that affect the NHL?
There are a lot of folks out there who feel like contracting the NHL would be a good thing. They feel like the talent pool is watered down (debatable, but not ridiculous), and that elimination of the Sun Belt teams would be a good thing (hotly contestable).
Nonetheless, the bottom line (pun unintended) is that though it's probably just hot air, it's still an open acknowledgment of the fact that the NBA is spending money that it doesn't necessarily have. The NHL has had a couple of franchises flirt with folding, although the landscape is substantially different in the NHL.
If the decision were made that any of the Sun Belt franchises were untenable, Canadian cities like Winnipeg, Quebec, Hamilton, and Saskatoon would be sitting there with arms wide open for them to relocate north of the border.
But let's remember something: two Sun Belt franchises have been in enough trouble that they publicly discussed moving. Two "traditional" markets- Pittsburgh and Buffalo- came just as close to moving. The Islanders have a hard time drawing fans to Nassau, and so forth.
Undeniably, franchises like Atlanta and Miami don't draw well at the gate, despite their significant TV markets. Part of that is directly related to their sometimes laughable on-ice product, but an equal problem is the oft-overlooked issue that hockey fans in their markets are often from other hockey markets- not homegrown fans.
So what is the solution?
To my way of thinking, the NHL doesn't do enough in its non-traditional markets to build the sport. Using the Dallas Stars as a model (where they built 7-10 rinks around the D/FW area), you have no equivalent market penetration in Miami, Phoenix, Tampa, Atlanta, or Nashville. In point of fact, Nashville (a previous residence of mine) had a total of two rinks. They drafted their first Nashvillian in the last couple of years (Blake Geoffrion, grandson of Hall of Famer Boom Boom Geoffrion), and celebrated by closing the rink in Franklin, TN, right as I was leaving.
The sport sold well in the early 90s because of aggressive market penetration by its existing franchises, along with a good contract with ESPN. The increased visibility led to the explosion of minor league teams around the country, and you had a boom in USA Hockey registry.
So it begs the question- is it time to abandon Versus and crawl back to ESPN (if they'll take the NHL back)? Under the circumstances, yes.
Opinions?
Just as a heads-up, we may have a new feature for you here at Moron Hockey in the very near future. That is, as soon as I can get out from under the organic chemistry dragon and some other things resolve themselves. We're very excited to do this, and thanks for joining us.
David Stern has openly spoken about NBA contraction in the interest of cutting overhead. No franchises were mentioned by name, but some obvious targets would be Sacramento (they want a new arena, and the city isn't budging), Memphis (you can hear the players rapping on the court during most games), Golden State (depending on the success of their proposed sale), and the Clippers (who can't give away tickets).
So how would that affect the NHL?
There are a lot of folks out there who feel like contracting the NHL would be a good thing. They feel like the talent pool is watered down (debatable, but not ridiculous), and that elimination of the Sun Belt teams would be a good thing (hotly contestable).
Nonetheless, the bottom line (pun unintended) is that though it's probably just hot air, it's still an open acknowledgment of the fact that the NBA is spending money that it doesn't necessarily have. The NHL has had a couple of franchises flirt with folding, although the landscape is substantially different in the NHL.
If the decision were made that any of the Sun Belt franchises were untenable, Canadian cities like Winnipeg, Quebec, Hamilton, and Saskatoon would be sitting there with arms wide open for them to relocate north of the border.
But let's remember something: two Sun Belt franchises have been in enough trouble that they publicly discussed moving. Two "traditional" markets- Pittsburgh and Buffalo- came just as close to moving. The Islanders have a hard time drawing fans to Nassau, and so forth.
Undeniably, franchises like Atlanta and Miami don't draw well at the gate, despite their significant TV markets. Part of that is directly related to their sometimes laughable on-ice product, but an equal problem is the oft-overlooked issue that hockey fans in their markets are often from other hockey markets- not homegrown fans.
So what is the solution?
To my way of thinking, the NHL doesn't do enough in its non-traditional markets to build the sport. Using the Dallas Stars as a model (where they built 7-10 rinks around the D/FW area), you have no equivalent market penetration in Miami, Phoenix, Tampa, Atlanta, or Nashville. In point of fact, Nashville (a previous residence of mine) had a total of two rinks. They drafted their first Nashvillian in the last couple of years (Blake Geoffrion, grandson of Hall of Famer Boom Boom Geoffrion), and celebrated by closing the rink in Franklin, TN, right as I was leaving.
The sport sold well in the early 90s because of aggressive market penetration by its existing franchises, along with a good contract with ESPN. The increased visibility led to the explosion of minor league teams around the country, and you had a boom in USA Hockey registry.
So it begs the question- is it time to abandon Versus and crawl back to ESPN (if they'll take the NHL back)? Under the circumstances, yes.
Opinions?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
What Did We Learn Game 5- New Orleans 20, Arizona 30
Hi, folks. Sorry about the delay with this post- it's been a bit of a weird week, with an organic chemistry exam today and a car to pick up later this week.
Anyway, as of this afternoon, John Carney and DeShawn Wynn have been cut, and replaced with safety Matt Giordano (no idea) and former Seahawk Julius Jones. This would seem to indicate that Pierre Thomas' ankle is in worse shape than we realized, and that Reggie Bush may not be back to action as quickly as hoped.
So let's settle down and review this cluster (expletive deleted) of a game...
First of all, Max Hall didn't beat anyone. He threw a pick, fumbled twice, and went 17 of 27 for 168 yards and a pick. The Cards' running game didn't beat anyone- they had 41 yards on 27 carries, and the only semi-offensive touchdown they had was a Levi Brown recovery of a Max Hall fumble in the end zone.
The Saints' defense kept the Arizona offense out of the end zone, even when given the ball at the Saints' 3-yard line. Touchdowns were scored on two fumble recoveries and an interception returned for a TD.
The defense did its job, pure and simple. Four sacks, five QB hits, and an interception. That said, four fumbles were put on the ground within reach of the defense, and nobody got to them. Yeah, the ball didn't bounce in their direction, but...
No, this game was lost in two phases: offense and special teams. Let's do the special teams first...
John Carney is gone today because he blew a 29-yard field goal. That FG would have given the Saints the lead at 16-13, and changed the complexion of the game. It also more or less counts as a turnover- a scoring opportunity was thwarted. As before, 29 yards needs to be automatic. Anything less is simply unacceptable.
The kickoff coverage team yielded two 50-plus-yard returns to LaRod Stephens-Howling. Each one led to a Jay Feely field goal. The punt coverage teams did their jobs.
And then there's the offense, and this is really the story...
Ladell Betts tipped a catchable ball at the Saints' 2-yard line directly to Arizona LB Greg Toler. The resulting touchdown tied the game at 10. For an encore performance, he fumbled the ball straight to Kerry Rhodes, who cheerfully scooted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Drew Brees threw three INTs on the day. The first was on the aforementioned tip, and the second and third were when he had to press with the Saints down ten-plus points. The third was the Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie return for a TD while the Saints were (on paper) still in position to tie the game.
Again, we come to drops... Colston dropped a couple of drive-extending passes, Betts had his great tip, Devery Henderson... you get the idea. Part of the problem is that teams don't respect the Saints' running game at all, and drop 8 into coverage. There were and have been remarkably few receivers uncovered or in single coverage. The one time there was that situation was when Robert Meachem got behind coverage late for a 38-yard desperation heave that turned into the Saints' second TD.
It is worth asking whether the interior line is capable of blocking anyone at this point. The bottom line is that there are no longer any even probable wins left on the schedule. Tampa Bay looks like they're for real... Cleveland nearly knocked off Atlanta... nobody really knows what to think of Seattle or St. Louis, and the other AFC North teams appear to be quite real.
So now what in the short term? Well, the Cardinals could see the bread-and-butter screen passes coming, and Brees often threw the ball away in those situations. In any event, the three field goals kicked by the Saints were red-zone field goals. Until they correct their red-zone offense, wins will be tough to come by. Looking at the upcoming four games (at Tampa, vs Cleveland, vs Pittsburgh, and at Carolina), it's hard to feel good about any of them.
The rushing game is carrying the day for most teams this season, and it will now be up to Sean Payton to adapt his offense to what the defense is allowing: short and middle passes until the defense tries to take those away. It will also require Reggie Bush to do something he has to date been unable to do: run effectively with 20-25 touches in a game until Pierre Thomas returns.
The Saints are 3-2, and trail Atlanta by two games and Tampa by half a game. The playoffs are still a possibility, but unlikely until significant offensive and special teams adjustments happen.
Anyway, as of this afternoon, John Carney and DeShawn Wynn have been cut, and replaced with safety Matt Giordano (no idea) and former Seahawk Julius Jones. This would seem to indicate that Pierre Thomas' ankle is in worse shape than we realized, and that Reggie Bush may not be back to action as quickly as hoped.
So let's settle down and review this cluster (expletive deleted) of a game...
First of all, Max Hall didn't beat anyone. He threw a pick, fumbled twice, and went 17 of 27 for 168 yards and a pick. The Cards' running game didn't beat anyone- they had 41 yards on 27 carries, and the only semi-offensive touchdown they had was a Levi Brown recovery of a Max Hall fumble in the end zone.
The Saints' defense kept the Arizona offense out of the end zone, even when given the ball at the Saints' 3-yard line. Touchdowns were scored on two fumble recoveries and an interception returned for a TD.
The defense did its job, pure and simple. Four sacks, five QB hits, and an interception. That said, four fumbles were put on the ground within reach of the defense, and nobody got to them. Yeah, the ball didn't bounce in their direction, but...
No, this game was lost in two phases: offense and special teams. Let's do the special teams first...
John Carney is gone today because he blew a 29-yard field goal. That FG would have given the Saints the lead at 16-13, and changed the complexion of the game. It also more or less counts as a turnover- a scoring opportunity was thwarted. As before, 29 yards needs to be automatic. Anything less is simply unacceptable.
The kickoff coverage team yielded two 50-plus-yard returns to LaRod Stephens-Howling. Each one led to a Jay Feely field goal. The punt coverage teams did their jobs.
And then there's the offense, and this is really the story...
Ladell Betts tipped a catchable ball at the Saints' 2-yard line directly to Arizona LB Greg Toler. The resulting touchdown tied the game at 10. For an encore performance, he fumbled the ball straight to Kerry Rhodes, who cheerfully scooted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Drew Brees threw three INTs on the day. The first was on the aforementioned tip, and the second and third were when he had to press with the Saints down ten-plus points. The third was the Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie return for a TD while the Saints were (on paper) still in position to tie the game.
Again, we come to drops... Colston dropped a couple of drive-extending passes, Betts had his great tip, Devery Henderson... you get the idea. Part of the problem is that teams don't respect the Saints' running game at all, and drop 8 into coverage. There were and have been remarkably few receivers uncovered or in single coverage. The one time there was that situation was when Robert Meachem got behind coverage late for a 38-yard desperation heave that turned into the Saints' second TD.
It is worth asking whether the interior line is capable of blocking anyone at this point. The bottom line is that there are no longer any even probable wins left on the schedule. Tampa Bay looks like they're for real... Cleveland nearly knocked off Atlanta... nobody really knows what to think of Seattle or St. Louis, and the other AFC North teams appear to be quite real.
So now what in the short term? Well, the Cardinals could see the bread-and-butter screen passes coming, and Brees often threw the ball away in those situations. In any event, the three field goals kicked by the Saints were red-zone field goals. Until they correct their red-zone offense, wins will be tough to come by. Looking at the upcoming four games (at Tampa, vs Cleveland, vs Pittsburgh, and at Carolina), it's hard to feel good about any of them.
The rushing game is carrying the day for most teams this season, and it will now be up to Sean Payton to adapt his offense to what the defense is allowing: short and middle passes until the defense tries to take those away. It will also require Reggie Bush to do something he has to date been unable to do: run effectively with 20-25 touches in a game until Pierre Thomas returns.
The Saints are 3-2, and trail Atlanta by two games and Tampa by half a game. The playoffs are still a possibility, but unlikely until significant offensive and special teams adjustments happen.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
What Did We Learn Game 4- Carolina 14, New Orleans 16
First of all, a warm welcome to my small legion of readers over at Facebook. Catherine E. made a remark that I should go ahead and put this up at a blog where it's publicly available, as opposed to hiding it over at Facebook, so here we are.
For those of you who haven't been here before, Moron Hockey is a satellite blog of Ace of Spades HQ (ace.mu.nu), where Drew M. and I both offer political prognostications. You won't get politics here, unless it directly affects professional hockey or football. There's plenty of political stuff out there, and I'd hope that sports allows us a respite from a rather heated time in our nation.
As the season progresses, you'll see more posts on both football and hockey- as the title of the blog suggests, this is supposed to be primarily a hockey blog, but it makes no sense to have it go dark while the NHL isn't playing. I hope you'll make this a regular stop, and get involved in the discussion. If you'd like us to cover other teams (Geoff, that means you with the Bengals), please let us know in the comments, and we'll see what we can do. If you are so inclined, please follow us on Twitter, and you'll be alerted to any new posts we publish.
So about Sunday's game with the Panthers...
Let me preface this by saying that here in Kansas City, we were treated to the Green Bay-Detroit game, while most of the rest of the country got Panthers-Saints. If the NFL Network decides to show it on NFL Replay, there may be a follow-up to this post.
First of all, the Saints were 3-7 in the last five years against the Panthers coming into today's game. John Fox (who seems the odds-on favorite to replace Tom Coughlin with the Giants) just seems to know how to play Sean Payton, and it doesn't matter what the situation is. I would challenge anyone to name me a time the Saints have won comfortably over the Panthers in the Sean Payton era.
As many have pointed out, the Saints are getting everyone's best effort from their opponents, and the winless Panthers were no exception. Fumbles by Lance Moore (stretching for the goal line) and Chris Ivory (rookie mistake) denied the Saints a chance at at least ten points. Two plays- the blown coverage to Jonathan Stewart, and the well-diagnosed but poorly-defended DeAngelo Williams run- provided the scoring for Carolina.
Drew Brees protected the ball well today, and was the victim of drops by Devery Henderson (2), Robert Meachem (1), and Jeremy Shockey (2). He went 33 of 48 for 275 yards and a TD, which is uncharacteristically below 70% completion for him. Again, if the drops aren't dropped...
There was a stretch in the game where deep in Carolina territory, Payton called for three straight passes, despite a very respectable rushing attack on the day. Chris Ivory rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries, and Ladell Betts had 47 yards on 13 carries. The Saints ran for 121 yards on 29 attempts, and it can be argued that Payton kind of outsmarted himself on a few possessions.
The offense had 79 plays to Carolina's 47, and held the ball for 38:22.
And still, the Saints only just eked out the victory.
The Saints are winning games on the strength of the mojo they picked up last season: they still expect to win every game, and I will remind you that they'd be 4-0 save for the Hartley miss in OT. As of this evening, the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers have fallen from the ranks of the unbeaten, leaving only the Kansas City Chiefs (!) as the remaining unbeaten team. Given that they face a pissed-off Indianapolis Colts team next week, I don't expect any unbeatens to remain after week 5.
As ever, the three victories the Saints have are ones they would have given away in the past. This is a team that knows how to win in pretty much any situation, except being down by double digits. With Pittsburgh looming in the distance, they have four weeks to figure out how to get the offense untracked. With any luck, the upcoming games at Arizona, Tampa, and then home with Cleveland will assist in that regard.
It would appear that Sean Payton has a pair of power rushers on the team- if he'll use them. It is a Payton trademark to use his smaller, shiftier backs to spread the defense out and beat them with the screen pass. At the same time, the thing that has been most noticeably missing from the Saints this year is the downhill running that Mike Bell and Lynell Hamilton brought to the table last year. If (and I emphasize if) he's willing to use Ivory and Betts in that fashion, the smash-mouth football element has a chance of working.
Some of that also depends on the interior linemen (Goodwin, Nicks, Evans) getting their acts together as well. The Saints have given up sacks up the middle, and that's on them. These guys are the strength of the Saints' offensive line, and they're not acting like it right now.
I don't know how you get the receivers to stop dropping balls. I haven't seen enough of Brees this year to know if he's throwing with the same accuracy he had last year. That said, based on the past years, if he puts up 50 throws, it is reasonable to expect him to complete 36-40 of those. At this level, if the receiver makes contact with his hands, you kind of have to expect them to catch the ball.
Defensively, a tip of the cap has to go to Sedrick Ellis. Yes, the Panthers are defensively challenged, but Ellis defended two passes, had a sack, and had another key tackle for a loss. The Saints sacked Jimmy Clausen (who for the moment won't be mistaken for Peyton Manning) three times and held him to 11 of 21 for 146 yards and a TD. Two of those sacks came on the crucial last drive.
On the ground, DeAngelo Williams (who is an elite back, despite his team) picked up 86 yards on 13 carries, including his 39-yard TD run. The Carolina rushing attack was largely held in check by the defense, and is worthy of praise.
The story of the day, of course, was the special teams play- 46-year-old John Carney comes in off the street and kicks three field goals (32, 32, and 25 yards), and Courtney Roby was the beneficiary of a colossal hit by Jason Kyle (second week in a row) that forced a fumble on a punt deep in Carolina territory.
The good thing is that the Saints can improve, and not losing is an improvement. The bad thing is that the Saints need to quit screwing around and get it together. This should have been a thirty-point day. Instead- as it always seems to be with Carolina- it was a nailbiter.
Next Sunday, it's off to Glendale, Arizona, to take on the Cards. It appears that rookie Max Hall will start at QB, so this is another should-win for the Saints. The Cards did their part by getting the crap stomped out of them by San Diego, 41-10. The Saints would do well to make things happen out there.
Updates- Reggie Bush feels like he's going to be back after four weeks. That would put him back in the lineup for the Cleveland game.
No word on Pierre Thomas' ankle. Roman Harper was already sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Chris Reis and Pierson Prioleau (his replacements) were both injured.
Finally, an odd fact- Tulane, LSU, and the Saints all won on the same weekend. This is an incredibly rare feat unto itself, but would you believe that Tulane outscored both LSU and the Saints? Yep, 17-14 over Rutgers. Now about whether or not Les Miles should be coaching even middle school football...
For those of you who haven't been here before, Moron Hockey is a satellite blog of Ace of Spades HQ (ace.mu.nu), where Drew M. and I both offer political prognostications. You won't get politics here, unless it directly affects professional hockey or football. There's plenty of political stuff out there, and I'd hope that sports allows us a respite from a rather heated time in our nation.
As the season progresses, you'll see more posts on both football and hockey- as the title of the blog suggests, this is supposed to be primarily a hockey blog, but it makes no sense to have it go dark while the NHL isn't playing. I hope you'll make this a regular stop, and get involved in the discussion. If you'd like us to cover other teams (Geoff, that means you with the Bengals), please let us know in the comments, and we'll see what we can do. If you are so inclined, please follow us on Twitter, and you'll be alerted to any new posts we publish.
So about Sunday's game with the Panthers...
Let me preface this by saying that here in Kansas City, we were treated to the Green Bay-Detroit game, while most of the rest of the country got Panthers-Saints. If the NFL Network decides to show it on NFL Replay, there may be a follow-up to this post.
First of all, the Saints were 3-7 in the last five years against the Panthers coming into today's game. John Fox (who seems the odds-on favorite to replace Tom Coughlin with the Giants) just seems to know how to play Sean Payton, and it doesn't matter what the situation is. I would challenge anyone to name me a time the Saints have won comfortably over the Panthers in the Sean Payton era.
As many have pointed out, the Saints are getting everyone's best effort from their opponents, and the winless Panthers were no exception. Fumbles by Lance Moore (stretching for the goal line) and Chris Ivory (rookie mistake) denied the Saints a chance at at least ten points. Two plays- the blown coverage to Jonathan Stewart, and the well-diagnosed but poorly-defended DeAngelo Williams run- provided the scoring for Carolina.
Drew Brees protected the ball well today, and was the victim of drops by Devery Henderson (2), Robert Meachem (1), and Jeremy Shockey (2). He went 33 of 48 for 275 yards and a TD, which is uncharacteristically below 70% completion for him. Again, if the drops aren't dropped...
There was a stretch in the game where deep in Carolina territory, Payton called for three straight passes, despite a very respectable rushing attack on the day. Chris Ivory rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries, and Ladell Betts had 47 yards on 13 carries. The Saints ran for 121 yards on 29 attempts, and it can be argued that Payton kind of outsmarted himself on a few possessions.
The offense had 79 plays to Carolina's 47, and held the ball for 38:22.
And still, the Saints only just eked out the victory.
The Saints are winning games on the strength of the mojo they picked up last season: they still expect to win every game, and I will remind you that they'd be 4-0 save for the Hartley miss in OT. As of this evening, the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers have fallen from the ranks of the unbeaten, leaving only the Kansas City Chiefs (!) as the remaining unbeaten team. Given that they face a pissed-off Indianapolis Colts team next week, I don't expect any unbeatens to remain after week 5.
As ever, the three victories the Saints have are ones they would have given away in the past. This is a team that knows how to win in pretty much any situation, except being down by double digits. With Pittsburgh looming in the distance, they have four weeks to figure out how to get the offense untracked. With any luck, the upcoming games at Arizona, Tampa, and then home with Cleveland will assist in that regard.
It would appear that Sean Payton has a pair of power rushers on the team- if he'll use them. It is a Payton trademark to use his smaller, shiftier backs to spread the defense out and beat them with the screen pass. At the same time, the thing that has been most noticeably missing from the Saints this year is the downhill running that Mike Bell and Lynell Hamilton brought to the table last year. If (and I emphasize if) he's willing to use Ivory and Betts in that fashion, the smash-mouth football element has a chance of working.
Some of that also depends on the interior linemen (Goodwin, Nicks, Evans) getting their acts together as well. The Saints have given up sacks up the middle, and that's on them. These guys are the strength of the Saints' offensive line, and they're not acting like it right now.
I don't know how you get the receivers to stop dropping balls. I haven't seen enough of Brees this year to know if he's throwing with the same accuracy he had last year. That said, based on the past years, if he puts up 50 throws, it is reasonable to expect him to complete 36-40 of those. At this level, if the receiver makes contact with his hands, you kind of have to expect them to catch the ball.
Defensively, a tip of the cap has to go to Sedrick Ellis. Yes, the Panthers are defensively challenged, but Ellis defended two passes, had a sack, and had another key tackle for a loss. The Saints sacked Jimmy Clausen (who for the moment won't be mistaken for Peyton Manning) three times and held him to 11 of 21 for 146 yards and a TD. Two of those sacks came on the crucial last drive.
On the ground, DeAngelo Williams (who is an elite back, despite his team) picked up 86 yards on 13 carries, including his 39-yard TD run. The Carolina rushing attack was largely held in check by the defense, and is worthy of praise.
The story of the day, of course, was the special teams play- 46-year-old John Carney comes in off the street and kicks three field goals (32, 32, and 25 yards), and Courtney Roby was the beneficiary of a colossal hit by Jason Kyle (second week in a row) that forced a fumble on a punt deep in Carolina territory.
The good thing is that the Saints can improve, and not losing is an improvement. The bad thing is that the Saints need to quit screwing around and get it together. This should have been a thirty-point day. Instead- as it always seems to be with Carolina- it was a nailbiter.
Next Sunday, it's off to Glendale, Arizona, to take on the Cards. It appears that rookie Max Hall will start at QB, so this is another should-win for the Saints. The Cards did their part by getting the crap stomped out of them by San Diego, 41-10. The Saints would do well to make things happen out there.
Updates- Reggie Bush feels like he's going to be back after four weeks. That would put him back in the lineup for the Cleveland game.
No word on Pierre Thomas' ankle. Roman Harper was already sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Chris Reis and Pierson Prioleau (his replacements) were both injured.
Finally, an odd fact- Tulane, LSU, and the Saints all won on the same weekend. This is an incredibly rare feat unto itself, but would you believe that Tulane outscored both LSU and the Saints? Yep, 17-14 over Rutgers. Now about whether or not Les Miles should be coaching even middle school football...
Monday, May 31, 2010
2-0, Blackhawks...
...and this was playoff hockey tonight. Each team gave up a hardworking goal (Marian Hossa makes his annual appearance in the playoffs, Simon Gagne scores his 8th on the power play), and Ben Eager scores the game-winner for his first playoff goal.
Both goaltenders played well- the Eager goal was an unfortunate misplay on Michael Leighton's part, and it just beat him high and wide of his glove. This came 28 seconds after the first one, and proved to be the game-winner.
Hits were aplenty in this game... Chris Pronger and Dustin Byfuglien treated each other like pinatas, and Daniel Carcillo just about obliterated Jeff Carter with a hit intended for Tomas Kopecky.
Scanning the box score, it looks like Eager and Pronger each took a 10-minute misconduct at the end of the game. Game 3 goes back to Philadelphia, and the Flyers have their work cut out for them.
So far, Chicago's had the luckier bounces of a fairly even series... it will be interesting to see what the home crowd does for the Flyers.
Here's a link to the box score and recap. Have at it!
Both goaltenders played well- the Eager goal was an unfortunate misplay on Michael Leighton's part, and it just beat him high and wide of his glove. This came 28 seconds after the first one, and proved to be the game-winner.
Hits were aplenty in this game... Chris Pronger and Dustin Byfuglien treated each other like pinatas, and Daniel Carcillo just about obliterated Jeff Carter with a hit intended for Tomas Kopecky.
Scanning the box score, it looks like Eager and Pronger each took a 10-minute misconduct at the end of the game. Game 3 goes back to Philadelphia, and the Flyers have their work cut out for them.
So far, Chicago's had the luckier bounces of a fairly even series... it will be interesting to see what the home crowd does for the Flyers.
Here's a link to the box score and recap. Have at it!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Turning points... (updated)
Well, it would appear we have a series in the East, after Montreal laid a whoopin' on the Flyers in the Bell Centre. Jaroslav Halak was superb, Chris Pronger looked old, slow, and confused, and the Flyers' offense was completely out of sync. Mike Cammalleri led off the scoring for Montreal, and P.K. Subban had three assists.
A series that looked like it would be a laugher for Philadelphia is now very much in question, but not to require panic if you're a Flyers fan. Nonetheless, Game 4 may very well decide the series. It is quite plausible to expect an overtime game, with the winner going on to take the series. Game 3 brought the momentum to even- quite a feat when you consider what an easy time Philly had with Montreal in the first two games.
The Habs kicked the Flyers' butts up and down the ice, and the Flyers must have a bounce-back game, or risk getting stomped out of the playoffs in short order.
In the meantime, Chicago played one of the least-inspired third periods I've ever seen, and Antti Niemi demonstrated himself to be a playoff goaltender. He single-handedly kept Chicago in a game they should have lost badly. Patrick Marleau emerged from his usual playoff doldrums to score two (and didn't miss a hat trick by much), and Evgeni Nabokov played rather well.
Dustin Byfuglien scored on a textbook play in overtime to send San Jose to the hotel down 3-0, and likely out of the playoffs on Sunday.
What to make of the situation? Evgeni Nabokov is going to cement his reputation as being unable to win the big one (and fuel discussion that the Sharks should have traded Nabokov as opposed to Bryzgalov), and we will hear much more about the reliable playoff disappearance of Joe Thornton.
Chicago was assumed to have weak goaltending- and has in several games- but Niemi is playing well enough to carry things, and Chicago's offense will likely hand them the Stanley Cup... but then again, that's what everyone said about Washington and Pittsburgh against Montreal.
5/22/10, 6:15 EDT
Well, that should settle that. Philadelphia just owned Montreal in the Bell Centre, and would seem to be setting up a Philadelphia-Chicago showdown. We shall see...
A series that looked like it would be a laugher for Philadelphia is now very much in question, but not to require panic if you're a Flyers fan. Nonetheless, Game 4 may very well decide the series. It is quite plausible to expect an overtime game, with the winner going on to take the series. Game 3 brought the momentum to even- quite a feat when you consider what an easy time Philly had with Montreal in the first two games.
The Habs kicked the Flyers' butts up and down the ice, and the Flyers must have a bounce-back game, or risk getting stomped out of the playoffs in short order.
In the meantime, Chicago played one of the least-inspired third periods I've ever seen, and Antti Niemi demonstrated himself to be a playoff goaltender. He single-handedly kept Chicago in a game they should have lost badly. Patrick Marleau emerged from his usual playoff doldrums to score two (and didn't miss a hat trick by much), and Evgeni Nabokov played rather well.
Dustin Byfuglien scored on a textbook play in overtime to send San Jose to the hotel down 3-0, and likely out of the playoffs on Sunday.
What to make of the situation? Evgeni Nabokov is going to cement his reputation as being unable to win the big one (and fuel discussion that the Sharks should have traded Nabokov as opposed to Bryzgalov), and we will hear much more about the reliable playoff disappearance of Joe Thornton.
Chicago was assumed to have weak goaltending- and has in several games- but Niemi is playing well enough to carry things, and Chicago's offense will likely hand them the Stanley Cup... but then again, that's what everyone said about Washington and Pittsburgh against Montreal.
5/22/10, 6:15 EDT
Well, that should settle that. Philadelphia just owned Montreal in the Bell Centre, and would seem to be setting up a Philadelphia-Chicago showdown. We shall see...
Friday, April 30, 2010
Eastern Conference Semis
Montreal v. Pittsburgh
The worst part of the Montreal win over Washington is that it makes it more likely the Penguins will make it back to the finals for the 3rd straight year.
I didn't give the Canadiens nny chance against the Caps an look how well that worked out. That said, I still think the Penguins have too much talent for the Habs.
Obviously Halak has to play out of his mind again. I doubt he he'll be able to play as well, nor will they be able to strangle the Pittsburgh power play the way they did to the Caps. Penguins in 5.
The worst part of the Montreal win over Washington is that it makes it more likely the Penguins will make it back to the finals for the 3rd straight year.
I didn't give the Canadiens nny chance against the Caps an look how well that worked out. That said, I still think the Penguins have too much talent for the Habs.
Obviously Halak has to play out of his mind again. I doubt he he'll be able to play as well, nor will they be able to strangle the Pittsburgh power play the way they did to the Caps. Penguins in 5.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Why I Can't Stand Todd Bertuzzi
It's one of the worst moments in hockey. Not only does Bertuzzi sucker punch Moore, he drives his face into the ice. Moore never palyed in the NHL again.
Hockey is a violent, contact sport but that was not hockey. It was an assault.
Yes, I know about Moore and Naslund but there was no penalty or sublimental discipline handed down for it.
The reenstatement of Todd Bertuzzi is one of the blackest marks against Gary Bettman and his stewardship of the game.
I respect the Wings as a team and an organizatin but I can't root for them with Bertuzzi on their roster.
Hockey is a violent, contact sport but that was not hockey. It was an assault.
Yes, I know about Moore and Naslund but there was no penalty or sublimental discipline handed down for it.
The reenstatement of Todd Bertuzzi is one of the blackest marks against Gary Bettman and his stewardship of the game.
I respect the Wings as a team and an organizatin but I can't root for them with Bertuzzi on their roster.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Western Conference preview...
Well, all the drama seemed to happen in the East. I remain convinced that lack of good goaltending is going to cost someone a Cup in the West as well, so let's do a rundown...
#1 San Jose vs #5 Detroit
San Jose let Colorado hang around much longer than was acceptable. Evgeni Nabokov did improve as the series went on, and the Sharks did get their offense together. Nonetheless, Colorado was minutes away from a 2-0 lead going home to Pepsi Center (or "The Can" if you're a Denverian). Joe Pavelski has more or less carried the Sharks thus far, and to his defense, Nabokov really only had one bad game.
Detroit are certainly not the Detroit of yesteryear, but when the chips were down in Game 7 versus Phoenix, the usual suspects stepped up. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom... just sort of seemed to say "hey, wait, we're the Red Wings" and crushed the life out of the Desert Dogs with startling ease. Jimmy Howard has been everything the Wings could hope for in net, and the league's hottest team down the stretch seems to be awakening in a new fashion in the playoffs.
San Jose has more firepower, at least on paper, and seems at first blush to have better depth.
Irrelevant. Wings in six.
#2 Chicago vs #3 Vancouver
The story of the playoffs for Vancouver has without question been Mikael Samuelsson... the Sedin twins have been impressive thus far, but the clutch, key goals have been Samuelsson's. Roberto Luongo has been steady, but against a Los Angeles team that held on for dear life to make the playoffs, steady may not hold up against the firepower-heavy Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks, on the other hand, have benefited from timely scoring (particularly Patrick Kane) and a relatively punchless Nashville squad being unable to organize on the power play. Defensively, the shutouts seemed less a function of Antti Niemi and a star-heavy Blackhawk defensive corps and more a function of Nashville ineptitude offensively (boy, it pains me to say that).
In any event, Chicago has better firepower and more depth defensively. Niemi has had a couple of shutouts in these playoffs, and Chicago seems eager to repeat last year's annihilation of Roberto Luongo.
Luongo will have one of his classic meltdowns, which will propel Chicago to the conference finals in five games.
#1 San Jose vs #5 Detroit
San Jose let Colorado hang around much longer than was acceptable. Evgeni Nabokov did improve as the series went on, and the Sharks did get their offense together. Nonetheless, Colorado was minutes away from a 2-0 lead going home to Pepsi Center (or "The Can" if you're a Denverian). Joe Pavelski has more or less carried the Sharks thus far, and to his defense, Nabokov really only had one bad game.
Detroit are certainly not the Detroit of yesteryear, but when the chips were down in Game 7 versus Phoenix, the usual suspects stepped up. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom... just sort of seemed to say "hey, wait, we're the Red Wings" and crushed the life out of the Desert Dogs with startling ease. Jimmy Howard has been everything the Wings could hope for in net, and the league's hottest team down the stretch seems to be awakening in a new fashion in the playoffs.
San Jose has more firepower, at least on paper, and seems at first blush to have better depth.
Irrelevant. Wings in six.
#2 Chicago vs #3 Vancouver
The story of the playoffs for Vancouver has without question been Mikael Samuelsson... the Sedin twins have been impressive thus far, but the clutch, key goals have been Samuelsson's. Roberto Luongo has been steady, but against a Los Angeles team that held on for dear life to make the playoffs, steady may not hold up against the firepower-heavy Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks, on the other hand, have benefited from timely scoring (particularly Patrick Kane) and a relatively punchless Nashville squad being unable to organize on the power play. Defensively, the shutouts seemed less a function of Antti Niemi and a star-heavy Blackhawk defensive corps and more a function of Nashville ineptitude offensively (boy, it pains me to say that).
In any event, Chicago has better firepower and more depth defensively. Niemi has had a couple of shutouts in these playoffs, and Chicago seems eager to repeat last year's annihilation of Roberto Luongo.
Luongo will have one of his classic meltdowns, which will propel Chicago to the conference finals in five games.
Montreal Beats Washington, 1st Round Is Over
So, I didn’t see that coming. In fact, I predicted a Washington sweep. The Canadiens winning in 7 wasn’t even a remote thought for me. Oops.
tim3rd were talking about a week ago about the lack of a standout goalie during the first round. Needless to say that was before Jaroslav Halak decided to go Dominik Hasek on us.
What do the Caps do from here? This isn’t their first playoff flop but the reality is sometimes in hockey you just run into the hot goalie that steals a series. It’s one of the charms of the sport, so long as it’s not your team getting hitting the wall.
Right now you look at the Capitals and you see the start of an Atlanta Braves run…awesome regular seasons followed by playoff flops. A one seed (the President’s Trophy winner) losing to an eight seed after taking a 3-1 series lead? That’s an epic FAIL.
Do they rip the team apart? Find a new coach? It’s a lot easier when you are a bad team, at least you know what to fix. What do you with a team that wins a lot of games in the regular season (dominates it really) only to flop like this? The moves aren’t so obvious.
Tonight’s game marks the end of the first round that has seen some great hockey. Other than the NJ-Philly matchup, every other series featured great play, dramatic finishes and entertaining hockey. It’s time like this I feel a certain moral superiority for being a hockey fan. Most sports fans in the US don’t watch hockey and it’s there loss.
Quick look ahead to Round 2-
Red Wings v. San Jose: San Jose nearly choked up their opening round series against a very young but talented Colorado team. Have they overcome their jinx or did they just delay it? I say they delayed it. Red Wings looked good in closing out a pesky Phoenix team. Howard should settle down now in goal with a series in his pocket. I think the Red Wings will be too much for Nabakov. Wings in 6
Vancouver v. Chicago: I predict lots of scoring in this series. Vancouver is such an odd team. Louongo keeps winning but you feel it’s a high wire act about to go all wrong at every turn. Chicago also has a lot of premiere talent up front and while Antti Niemi was played reasonably well in the first round it was agains defensively a solid but not scary Predators team (with apologies to tmi3rd). The Sedin twins along with Mikael Samulesson are going to scorch the Hawks. Luongo will do what he always does…just enough not to lose. Blackhawks in 6
I was going to do the east but it’s late and I have a few days until it starts.
The complete Round 2 schedule is here.
tim3rd were talking about a week ago about the lack of a standout goalie during the first round. Needless to say that was before Jaroslav Halak decided to go Dominik Hasek on us.
What do the Caps do from here? This isn’t their first playoff flop but the reality is sometimes in hockey you just run into the hot goalie that steals a series. It’s one of the charms of the sport, so long as it’s not your team getting hitting the wall.
Right now you look at the Capitals and you see the start of an Atlanta Braves run…awesome regular seasons followed by playoff flops. A one seed (the President’s Trophy winner) losing to an eight seed after taking a 3-1 series lead? That’s an epic FAIL.
Do they rip the team apart? Find a new coach? It’s a lot easier when you are a bad team, at least you know what to fix. What do you with a team that wins a lot of games in the regular season (dominates it really) only to flop like this? The moves aren’t so obvious.
Tonight’s game marks the end of the first round that has seen some great hockey. Other than the NJ-Philly matchup, every other series featured great play, dramatic finishes and entertaining hockey. It’s time like this I feel a certain moral superiority for being a hockey fan. Most sports fans in the US don’t watch hockey and it’s there loss.
Quick look ahead to Round 2-
Red Wings v. San Jose: San Jose nearly choked up their opening round series against a very young but talented Colorado team. Have they overcome their jinx or did they just delay it? I say they delayed it. Red Wings looked good in closing out a pesky Phoenix team. Howard should settle down now in goal with a series in his pocket. I think the Red Wings will be too much for Nabakov. Wings in 6
Vancouver v. Chicago: I predict lots of scoring in this series. Vancouver is such an odd team. Louongo keeps winning but you feel it’s a high wire act about to go all wrong at every turn. Chicago also has a lot of premiere talent up front and while Antti Niemi was played reasonably well in the first round it was agains defensively a solid but not scary Predators team (with apologies to tmi3rd). The Sedin twins along with Mikael Samulesson are going to scorch the Hawks. Luongo will do what he always does…just enough not to lose. Blackhawks in 6
I was going to do the east but it’s late and I have a few days until it starts.
The complete Round 2 schedule is here.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Rangers To Sign Olympic "It" Boy Mats Zuccarello-Aasen
Zuccarello-Aasen got as much coverage for his name as he did for his fiesty play for Norway during the Olympics and now it looks like the Rangers have beat out several teams for the diminutive winger.
Personally I'd like to see the Rangers get bigger and faster, not smaller and faster but for a team that desperately needs more scoring, it's something.
Listed at 5'7", Zuccarello-Aasen starred for Norway at the Vancouver Olympic Games and led the Swedish Elite League in scoring this season with 64 points in 55 games (23 goals, 41 assists) while playing for MODO.I loved the skating, scoring touch and attitude he displayed in the Olympics and the Sweedish Elite Legaue scoring is something but still, the guy is ...5'7". Not sure how that translates to the NHL. Well, actually I am, iit translates into the current group of forwards for the Montreal Candaiens.
The 23-year old was reportedly heavily pursued by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks. The Maple Leafs offered Zuccarello-Aasen a two-year entry level contract.
Personally I'd like to see the Rangers get bigger and faster, not smaller and faster but for a team that desperately needs more scoring, it's something.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Night 3
What a great playoff season this has been already. 7 games, all decided by 1 goal, including 2 in overtime. The eight seeds in both conferences are up 1-0 .
Tonight, the Chicago-Nashville series finally gets underway, be sure to check out tmi3rds' preview.
You never want to really think of Game 2 in a 7 game series as a must win but it's pretty close. Being tiedd 1-1 is a very different situation than gowing down 0-2. Expect to see some desperate hockey tonight from teams looking to bounce back from their opening defeats.
Pittsburgh and New Jersey are the two teams that simply did not play with enough intensity in their first games.
NJ wasn't physical enough, as evidenced by the Chris Pronger PPG where he was able to camp out in front of the net. That has to change. They also need to create more problems for Boucher in the Flyers' net. He was able to see the puck all night long and was only beat on a crazy deflection in the game's final minutes (with their goalie pulled). They need more of that early on.
The other big game is San Jose. Given their recent playoff meltdowns, the last thing they wanted was to fall behind to the kids from Colorado. The Sharks needed a strong effort to put the Avs away and not let that talented but young team have any reason to believe they could win the series. Now the Avs absolutely believe they can the Sharks have to have it in the back of their mind that this could get ugly and spiral out of control.
Phoenix and Detroit round out tonight's slate of games. I really thought the Wings were on too much of a roll but the Coyotes just kept coming at them and coming at them. Given everything they've been through this year (Who owns the Coyotes? Owns...) they certainly deserve it. Besides, how funny would it be to see NHL Commissioner Gary Betman present the Cup to....himself.
Enjoy the games!
Tonight, the Chicago-Nashville series finally gets underway, be sure to check out tmi3rds' preview.
You never want to really think of Game 2 in a 7 game series as a must win but it's pretty close. Being tiedd 1-1 is a very different situation than gowing down 0-2. Expect to see some desperate hockey tonight from teams looking to bounce back from their opening defeats.
Pittsburgh and New Jersey are the two teams that simply did not play with enough intensity in their first games.
NJ wasn't physical enough, as evidenced by the Chris Pronger PPG where he was able to camp out in front of the net. That has to change. They also need to create more problems for Boucher in the Flyers' net. He was able to see the puck all night long and was only beat on a crazy deflection in the game's final minutes (with their goalie pulled). They need more of that early on.
The other big game is San Jose. Given their recent playoff meltdowns, the last thing they wanted was to fall behind to the kids from Colorado. The Sharks needed a strong effort to put the Avs away and not let that talented but young team have any reason to believe they could win the series. Now the Avs absolutely believe they can the Sharks have to have it in the back of their mind that this could get ugly and spiral out of control.
Phoenix and Detroit round out tonight's slate of games. I really thought the Wings were on too much of a roll but the Coyotes just kept coming at them and coming at them. Given everything they've been through this year (Who owns the Coyotes? Owns...) they certainly deserve it. Besides, how funny would it be to see NHL Commissioner Gary Betman present the Cup to....himself.
Enjoy the games!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Western Conference, the sequel...
Well, I didn't check the schedule closely enough, so there's only one game on the docket this evening, and it's going to overtime as I write this.
#3 Vancouver vs #6 Los Angeles
Vancouver is easily the least impressive of the home seeds in the playoffs. Roberto Luongo is the key in this series... the Olympics showed in no uncertain terms that he'll make that first save, but somehow, the puck keeps getting away from him. Without some very aggressive backchecking, as well as some real defensive hyper-awareness, Vancouver is going to have trouble. They've seemed to be rather weak down the stretch, but you can't overlook the scoring capability of the Canucks. The Sedins have been very impressive, and Vancouver has very solid depth up and down the lineup. If they play defensively responsible hockey, they'll take care of business.
That said, Los Angeles will have plenty to say about the outcome of this series... and Mikael Samuelsson just scored for Vancouver to finish the game. Jonathan Quick is very good in net, Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty are excellent on the backline, and the Kings have a solid group of forwards (Michal Handzus, Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll, et cetera).
Coming off of tonight's game, where Vancouver outshot LA 44-27, you pretty much saw what you can expect... a lot of shots out of Vancouver and a decent night out of Los Angeles, taking the game to overtime.
Bottom line? Jonathan Quick can steal some games for LA... it took Vancouver many more shots to get the winner past Quick. The Modin goal on Luongo (goal #4 in the game) was a stoppable shot... low on the glove side, far post. Luongo may get them past LA, but against any teams with better scoring punch, you have to wonder. I'll go Vancouver in six, but not with much confidence.
#2 Chicago vs #7 Nashville
Oh, this kills me. Of all the teams in the playoffs, this is the group my Predators match up with most poorly, as the 4-2 head-to-head record demonstrates.
Chicago has dazzling firepower. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa... Duncan Keith, Dustin Bfyuglien, Brent Seabrook on the blue line... and yet- how solid are they in net? Antti Niemi will get the nod over Cristobal Huet, but the question marks are there. There was a movement in hockey this year that seemed to not worry about net presence (Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, and so forth), and the magic question becomes whether or not Chicago's torrid scoring pace can overcome their defensive deficiencies over a seven-game series.
Nashville is the polar opposite. Pekka Rinne will get the start in net, and there were more than a few raised eyebrows when he didn't get a nod for the Finnish Olympic team. In his last playoff appearance, he struggled a bit, and Dan Ellis came in to put the fear of God into the Red Wings.
Nashville's great strength is its defensemen... Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Dan Hamhuis- they round out what challenges for the best defensive six in the league. Suter just missed out on a 20-goal season, and their size is actually a very good matchup against the small but fast Chicago forwards.
Nashville has a 30-goal scorer in Patric Hornqvist, and has some interesting options in JP Dumont, Jason Arnott, Steve Sullivan, and Martin Erat. They don't have the size necessary to beat up on the Chicago backliners (the days of Vernon Fiddler et al are by the wayside), but if they get good production from their defensemen, there is enough size up front to pick up the garbage.
My pick? Reluctantly, Chicago in six, but this one's a close one. I figure an overtime game will largely determine the momentum of this series.
#3 Vancouver vs #6 Los Angeles
Vancouver is easily the least impressive of the home seeds in the playoffs. Roberto Luongo is the key in this series... the Olympics showed in no uncertain terms that he'll make that first save, but somehow, the puck keeps getting away from him. Without some very aggressive backchecking, as well as some real defensive hyper-awareness, Vancouver is going to have trouble. They've seemed to be rather weak down the stretch, but you can't overlook the scoring capability of the Canucks. The Sedins have been very impressive, and Vancouver has very solid depth up and down the lineup. If they play defensively responsible hockey, they'll take care of business.
That said, Los Angeles will have plenty to say about the outcome of this series... and Mikael Samuelsson just scored for Vancouver to finish the game. Jonathan Quick is very good in net, Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty are excellent on the backline, and the Kings have a solid group of forwards (Michal Handzus, Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll, et cetera).
Coming off of tonight's game, where Vancouver outshot LA 44-27, you pretty much saw what you can expect... a lot of shots out of Vancouver and a decent night out of Los Angeles, taking the game to overtime.
Bottom line? Jonathan Quick can steal some games for LA... it took Vancouver many more shots to get the winner past Quick. The Modin goal on Luongo (goal #4 in the game) was a stoppable shot... low on the glove side, far post. Luongo may get them past LA, but against any teams with better scoring punch, you have to wonder. I'll go Vancouver in six, but not with much confidence.
#2 Chicago vs #7 Nashville
Oh, this kills me. Of all the teams in the playoffs, this is the group my Predators match up with most poorly, as the 4-2 head-to-head record demonstrates.
Chicago has dazzling firepower. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa... Duncan Keith, Dustin Bfyuglien, Brent Seabrook on the blue line... and yet- how solid are they in net? Antti Niemi will get the nod over Cristobal Huet, but the question marks are there. There was a movement in hockey this year that seemed to not worry about net presence (Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, and so forth), and the magic question becomes whether or not Chicago's torrid scoring pace can overcome their defensive deficiencies over a seven-game series.
Nashville is the polar opposite. Pekka Rinne will get the start in net, and there were more than a few raised eyebrows when he didn't get a nod for the Finnish Olympic team. In his last playoff appearance, he struggled a bit, and Dan Ellis came in to put the fear of God into the Red Wings.
Nashville's great strength is its defensemen... Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Dan Hamhuis- they round out what challenges for the best defensive six in the league. Suter just missed out on a 20-goal season, and their size is actually a very good matchup against the small but fast Chicago forwards.
Nashville has a 30-goal scorer in Patric Hornqvist, and has some interesting options in JP Dumont, Jason Arnott, Steve Sullivan, and Martin Erat. They don't have the size necessary to beat up on the Chicago backliners (the days of Vernon Fiddler et al are by the wayside), but if they get good production from their defensemen, there is enough size up front to pick up the garbage.
My pick? Reluctantly, Chicago in six, but this one's a close one. I figure an overtime game will largely determine the momentum of this series.
The Rest Of The East And Last Night's Games
The remaining two Eastern Conference series get underway tonight:
Washington Capitals v. Les Canadiens de Montréal
How to put this politely? The Canadiens don't have a chance to win. I'm not talking about the series, I'm talking about a game. They will score some goals but that's mostly because the Capitals don't care since they will score more. A lot more.
Washington is too big, too physical, too fast and too skilled. There's no shame in this since that's pretty much the scouting report for them against any team. The Caps D isn't great defensively but they aren't really asked to be. Green, Poti and Corvo are puck moving defensemen who are an important part of the offense.
Their weakness is in goal but against the Canadiens that's not going to matter.
The Canadiens on the other hand have a solid goalie in Jaroslav Halak but he's going to be under early and constant pressure from the Caps. It's going to take heroic measures to steal a game, let alone the series.
Up front Plekanec, Gomez, Gianta and Cammalleri are okay but they are undersized for the most part compared to the Caps. They can't out physical the Caps and they can't outskate them, so I'm not sure what exactly there plan is.
The Canadiens have some size on the blue line with solid players like Hal Gill but here's what Ovechkin did to him in the middle of the season.
Gill is 6' 7" 240lbs.
There's still talk around the NHL that Russians don't care all that much about winning the Cup. Maybe so in some cases but does anyone doubt Ovechkin desperately wants to win it? That may or may not be enough to win it all but it if their talent fails them (and I doubt it will) it's enough to get them by the Canadiens.
One bit of fun, Tomas Plekanec did do a bit of ill-advised trash talking.
I'm taking the Caps in the sweep.
Buffalo v. Boston
My sure fire predication about this series: No one outside of these two cities cares about this series.
The main draw in this series is Ryan Miller. We all know what he did in the Olympics but the odds are Buffalo would have struggled for a playoff spot without him. With him they are the 3 seed. He plays well, they win. Fortunately for Buffalo he plays well most nights.
Boston was up and down but mostly down this season. They lost one of their best forwards, Marc Savard, to injury a few weeks back and haven't seemed quite right since then and they struggled to a 6 place finish.
My prediction for this old school Adams Division matchup? Buffalo in 6.
A couple of quick thoughts about last night's games:
• So much for home ice advantage. Only the Coyotes could make it stand up.
• All the games were decided by one goal. You have to love playoff hockey.
• Phoenix is a scrappy little team. They just keep coming at you on the forecheck. I think Detroit will figure it out in the end but that's going to be a fun series.
• Pittsburgh wasn't ready to play last night. There were some bad bounces against them but they need to get in gear. Quick.
• The Devils need to crank up the intensity. They just let Pronger stand in the crease on the 1st goal. Ilya Kolvachuck really wants to do well but tried to do way too much last night, it hurt his game. Marty wasn't bad but he wasn't great on the Richards goal and Boucher was good when he had to be early on. The Devils didn't sustain much offense until the final minute of the game
• The Sharks are no doubt talking about how they came back to tie it in the 3rd and lost on a fluke goal but you know deep down (maybe not that deep) they are thinking "oh God, not again". They of all teams needed to get off to a fast start and not give the kids on the Avalanche any sniff of winning the series. Well, it didn't work out that way. I thought they'd wait until the 2nd round to choke but I wouldn't be so sure now.
With home ice already gone in 3 of these series, game 2 in each of them is going to be huge. Can't wait.
Washington Capitals v. Les Canadiens de Montréal
How to put this politely? The Canadiens don't have a chance to win. I'm not talking about the series, I'm talking about a game. They will score some goals but that's mostly because the Capitals don't care since they will score more. A lot more.
Washington is too big, too physical, too fast and too skilled. There's no shame in this since that's pretty much the scouting report for them against any team. The Caps D isn't great defensively but they aren't really asked to be. Green, Poti and Corvo are puck moving defensemen who are an important part of the offense.
Their weakness is in goal but against the Canadiens that's not going to matter.
The Canadiens on the other hand have a solid goalie in Jaroslav Halak but he's going to be under early and constant pressure from the Caps. It's going to take heroic measures to steal a game, let alone the series.
Up front Plekanec, Gomez, Gianta and Cammalleri are okay but they are undersized for the most part compared to the Caps. They can't out physical the Caps and they can't outskate them, so I'm not sure what exactly there plan is.
The Canadiens have some size on the blue line with solid players like Hal Gill but here's what Ovechkin did to him in the middle of the season.
Gill is 6' 7" 240lbs.
There's still talk around the NHL that Russians don't care all that much about winning the Cup. Maybe so in some cases but does anyone doubt Ovechkin desperately wants to win it? That may or may not be enough to win it all but it if their talent fails them (and I doubt it will) it's enough to get them by the Canadiens.
One bit of fun, Tomas Plekanec did do a bit of ill-advised trash talking.
"It's not as though we are facing (Martin) Brodeur or (Ryan) Miller," Plekanec told La Presse. "They don't have a dominant goaltender. When you look at the goaltending matchup in this series it favours our team. I just believe that our goaltending is more solid than theirs."
"I'm not saying their goalies are bad. I'm just saying our goalies are better."
I'm taking the Caps in the sweep.
Buffalo v. Boston
My sure fire predication about this series: No one outside of these two cities cares about this series.
The main draw in this series is Ryan Miller. We all know what he did in the Olympics but the odds are Buffalo would have struggled for a playoff spot without him. With him they are the 3 seed. He plays well, they win. Fortunately for Buffalo he plays well most nights.
Boston was up and down but mostly down this season. They lost one of their best forwards, Marc Savard, to injury a few weeks back and haven't seemed quite right since then and they struggled to a 6 place finish.
My prediction for this old school Adams Division matchup? Buffalo in 6.
A couple of quick thoughts about last night's games:
• So much for home ice advantage. Only the Coyotes could make it stand up.
• All the games were decided by one goal. You have to love playoff hockey.
• Phoenix is a scrappy little team. They just keep coming at you on the forecheck. I think Detroit will figure it out in the end but that's going to be a fun series.
• Pittsburgh wasn't ready to play last night. There were some bad bounces against them but they need to get in gear. Quick.
• The Devils need to crank up the intensity. They just let Pronger stand in the crease on the 1st goal. Ilya Kolvachuck really wants to do well but tried to do way too much last night, it hurt his game. Marty wasn't bad but he wasn't great on the Richards goal and Boucher was good when he had to be early on. The Devils didn't sustain much offense until the final minute of the game
• The Sharks are no doubt talking about how they came back to tie it in the 3rd and lost on a fluke goal but you know deep down (maybe not that deep) they are thinking "oh God, not again". They of all teams needed to get off to a fast start and not give the kids on the Avalanche any sniff of winning the series. Well, it didn't work out that way. I thought they'd wait until the 2nd round to choke but I wouldn't be so sure now.
With home ice already gone in 3 of these series, game 2 in each of them is going to be huge. Can't wait.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
...and from the Western Conference...
Hi, folks... sorry this is running a little late. As many of you know, Mrs. tmi3rd (yes, some of us morons actually suckered someone into marrying us) just delivered tmi4th, but let's get you going on tonight's Western Conference games...
#4 Phoenix vs #5 Detroit
Of all the teams nobody wants to play, it has to be Detroit. Remember that going into the Olympics, it didn't even look like they'd make the playoffs. They are arguably the hottest team in hockey right now.
Jimmy Howard has played himself into Calder Trophy consideration with a torrid finish, Nik Lidstrom seems to have thrown off the Rip Van Winkle disease, and the typical brilliance of the Detroit forward lines seems to be working again. Throw into that a Brian Rafalski (who carried Team USA offensively during the Olympics), Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen... what a nightmare for opposing teams.
Phoenix, on the other hand, has been nice and consistent all year... Dave Tippett is a lock for the Jack Adams trophy, Ilya Bryzgalov arguably should have been the goalie of choice for Team Russia, and there are no real names on the team! They're wards of the state for the NHL (and seem to have resolved their lease issues in Glendale), and were supposed to be average at best this year. Instead, a defensively responsible team with surprising scoring punch challenged for the Pacific Division.
This should be a very good series, but it's hard to pick against the Red Wings under the circumstances. This series could go seven, but I'm going to take the Red Wings in six.
#1 San Jose vs #8 Colorado
Colorado did the outrageous thing of giving their youngsters a lot of ice time and asking them to produce. And, produce they did! Craig Anderson played out of his mind this year, Matt Duchene is a Calder candidate, and guys like Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk were reliable. Colorado seems a bit tired going into this series, but remains a dangerous team and kind of saw San Jose coming from a mile away.
San Jose seems like an obvious Stanley Cup contender... but they're San Jose. Plenty of depth... if Joe Thornton decides to show up, and if Dany Heatley can get going. Good in net- assuming Evgeni Nabokov doesn't have his classic meltdown somewhere in there. You have to love their blueline with Niclas Wallin, Dan Boyle, Rob Blake... and yet, they seemed to limp into the playoffs.
It may just be because I haven't had a good night's sleep since the baby came, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be a colossal upset. Let's go with Colorado in six.
Chicago-Nashville and Vancouver-Los Angeles tomorrow... and hopefully better rested.
#4 Phoenix vs #5 Detroit
Of all the teams nobody wants to play, it has to be Detroit. Remember that going into the Olympics, it didn't even look like they'd make the playoffs. They are arguably the hottest team in hockey right now.
Jimmy Howard has played himself into Calder Trophy consideration with a torrid finish, Nik Lidstrom seems to have thrown off the Rip Van Winkle disease, and the typical brilliance of the Detroit forward lines seems to be working again. Throw into that a Brian Rafalski (who carried Team USA offensively during the Olympics), Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen... what a nightmare for opposing teams.
Phoenix, on the other hand, has been nice and consistent all year... Dave Tippett is a lock for the Jack Adams trophy, Ilya Bryzgalov arguably should have been the goalie of choice for Team Russia, and there are no real names on the team! They're wards of the state for the NHL (and seem to have resolved their lease issues in Glendale), and were supposed to be average at best this year. Instead, a defensively responsible team with surprising scoring punch challenged for the Pacific Division.
This should be a very good series, but it's hard to pick against the Red Wings under the circumstances. This series could go seven, but I'm going to take the Red Wings in six.
#1 San Jose vs #8 Colorado
Colorado did the outrageous thing of giving their youngsters a lot of ice time and asking them to produce. And, produce they did! Craig Anderson played out of his mind this year, Matt Duchene is a Calder candidate, and guys like Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk were reliable. Colorado seems a bit tired going into this series, but remains a dangerous team and kind of saw San Jose coming from a mile away.
San Jose seems like an obvious Stanley Cup contender... but they're San Jose. Plenty of depth... if Joe Thornton decides to show up, and if Dany Heatley can get going. Good in net- assuming Evgeni Nabokov doesn't have his classic meltdown somewhere in there. You have to love their blueline with Niclas Wallin, Dan Boyle, Rob Blake... and yet, they seemed to limp into the playoffs.
It may just be because I haven't had a good night's sleep since the baby came, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be a colossal upset. Let's go with Colorado in six.
Chicago-Nashville and Vancouver-Los Angeles tomorrow... and hopefully better rested.
GAME ON! Playoff Edition
Okay, so the post Olympics debut of Moron Hockey was a little premature. Consider it a soft open.
As I'm supposed to be doing the Eastern Conference preview, consider this, a well, soft preview...
Pittsburgh over Ottawa in 5
New Jersey over Philadelphia in 6
A fuller look at these series and the rest of the east (as well as a wrap up of the disaster that was the NY Rangers' season) soon.
Enjoy the games.
Added: Okay, both games are underway but I wanted to get my predictions on record before that. As for why I made the picks...
Pittsburgh over Ottawa:
4-5 matchups tend to be toss ups but not this year. The Eastern Confernece is really 4 teams deep with a bunch of meh teams mucking around after that.
Offense, defense, special teams and goaltending, Pittsburgh simply outclasses the Senators in every facet of the game.
New Jersey over Philadelphia:
I think this will be a better series, though not by much. Philly dominated the regular season series (5-1) but that a few bucks will buy you a coffee.
I watched the Flyers last two games against the woeful Rangers and they simply don't score much at all. They have talent up front with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter (coming off a foot injury, was invisible during the last two games, they need him to get better. Now) leading the way for players like Daniel Briere and Simone Gagne and rookie James van Riemsdyk. They also have the aging but still good Chris Pronger on defense.
As much as I hate to admit it, for all of his reputation as a fighter, Jeff Carcillo is a decent player. If he can pick a target and get them off their game or goad them into a bad penalty, he could make a difference in a game or two. The problem is players like Carcillo and Sean Avrey is that while they are great when they are on but they can easily cross the line and cost their team in terms of penalties. That's ok in February but in April, May and June, one failed penalty kill at the wrong time can be death.
An even bigger problem for the Flyers is the fact that management decided they didn't need a goaltender. They went into the season thinking Ray Emery would be their number one. Personally, that would have freaked me out but the Flyers seemed to think it was a workable plan. When Emery was injured and knocked out for the season, they kept moving down the depth chart until they got to...Brian Boucher. Apparently Zombie Pelle Lindbergh wasn't availible and Ron Hextal didn't return their calls. You're not winning a Cup or even a playoff series with Brian Boucher in goal, especially if you aren't scoring.
As for the Devils, well, they are the Devils. A lot of good players who buy into a system and execute it well. Martin Brodeur hasn't been the all time great goalie we've come to expect but he's still Brodeur and he's still light years better than Brian Boucher.
Guys like Colin White, Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene are solid on defense as you'd expect from any Devils team. Paul Martin had a short season due to injury but was scheduled to play for Team USA in the Olympics.
Up front the Devils are led by Zach Parise who had his coming out party at the Olympics. He along with Travis Zajak, Jamie Langenbruner and Patrick Elias will provide scoring while minding their defensive assignments...always a key during the playoffs.
The big question will be the play of mid-season rental Ilya Kovalchuk. He's a world class offensive talent but has limited playoff experience (4 games with ATL when they were swept by the Rangers in '07). If he plays well, including on the point on the power play, the Devils will have an even easier time than I already think they will.
This will likely be an old school, physical Patrick Division series. The difference will be the Devils have the more consistent scoring and the edge in net.
Tomorrow: Washington v. Montreal and Buffalo v. Boston
As I'm supposed to be doing the Eastern Conference preview, consider this, a well, soft preview...
Pittsburgh over Ottawa in 5
New Jersey over Philadelphia in 6
A fuller look at these series and the rest of the east (as well as a wrap up of the disaster that was the NY Rangers' season) soon.
Enjoy the games.
Added: Okay, both games are underway but I wanted to get my predictions on record before that. As for why I made the picks...
Pittsburgh over Ottawa:
4-5 matchups tend to be toss ups but not this year. The Eastern Confernece is really 4 teams deep with a bunch of meh teams mucking around after that.
Offense, defense, special teams and goaltending, Pittsburgh simply outclasses the Senators in every facet of the game.
New Jersey over Philadelphia:
I think this will be a better series, though not by much. Philly dominated the regular season series (5-1) but that a few bucks will buy you a coffee.
I watched the Flyers last two games against the woeful Rangers and they simply don't score much at all. They have talent up front with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter (coming off a foot injury, was invisible during the last two games, they need him to get better. Now) leading the way for players like Daniel Briere and Simone Gagne and rookie James van Riemsdyk. They also have the aging but still good Chris Pronger on defense.
As much as I hate to admit it, for all of his reputation as a fighter, Jeff Carcillo is a decent player. If he can pick a target and get them off their game or goad them into a bad penalty, he could make a difference in a game or two. The problem is players like Carcillo and Sean Avrey is that while they are great when they are on but they can easily cross the line and cost their team in terms of penalties. That's ok in February but in April, May and June, one failed penalty kill at the wrong time can be death.
An even bigger problem for the Flyers is the fact that management decided they didn't need a goaltender. They went into the season thinking Ray Emery would be their number one. Personally, that would have freaked me out but the Flyers seemed to think it was a workable plan. When Emery was injured and knocked out for the season, they kept moving down the depth chart until they got to...Brian Boucher. Apparently Zombie Pelle Lindbergh wasn't availible and Ron Hextal didn't return their calls. You're not winning a Cup or even a playoff series with Brian Boucher in goal, especially if you aren't scoring.
As for the Devils, well, they are the Devils. A lot of good players who buy into a system and execute it well. Martin Brodeur hasn't been the all time great goalie we've come to expect but he's still Brodeur and he's still light years better than Brian Boucher.
Guys like Colin White, Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene are solid on defense as you'd expect from any Devils team. Paul Martin had a short season due to injury but was scheduled to play for Team USA in the Olympics.
Up front the Devils are led by Zach Parise who had his coming out party at the Olympics. He along with Travis Zajak, Jamie Langenbruner and Patrick Elias will provide scoring while minding their defensive assignments...always a key during the playoffs.
The big question will be the play of mid-season rental Ilya Kovalchuk. He's a world class offensive talent but has limited playoff experience (4 games with ATL when they were swept by the Rangers in '07). If he plays well, including on the point on the power play, the Devils will have an even easier time than I already think they will.
This will likely be an old school, physical Patrick Division series. The difference will be the Devils have the more consistent scoring and the edge in net.
Tomorrow: Washington v. Montreal and Buffalo v. Boston
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The end of an era...
We've seen one announced retirement this week; that of Blues winger Keith Tkachuk, and one would have to expect, after the Saturday season finale in Minnesota, that of Stars center Mike Modano.
Particularly after Thursday night's heroics at the American Airlines Center in Dallas (the game tying goal, a gorgeous assist on the first goal, and the shootout-winning goal), it is worth a quick retrospective on Modano and his impact on hockey not only in Texas, but in the American South in general.
Drafted first overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, he led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh in 1991. The North Stars would remain in the MSP area for another season before departing for Dallas.
Hockey had begun to gain a footing in warmer climates, as the Los Angeles Kings had established a solid fan base... but hockey had already failed in Atlanta and Kansas City, and a move to the Sun Belt was regarded as a very risky move. The San Jose Sharks had been established in 1991, but no further south than going to Denver.
In 1992-93, the league also welcomed the Ottawa Senators (a good move) and the Florida Panthers (regarded as a questionable move) to the league, but watched a franchise in a somewhat cornerstone city move to a decidedly huge market, but in a part of the country where hockey had a spotty minor-league footing at best, and certainly no tradition.
Modano wasted very little time in becoming an iconic player, overshadowing 1980 Team USA hero Neal Broten, Oiler/Bruin stalwart Andy Moog, Mark Tinordi, and so forth... his GQ good looks and his torrid scoring pace quickly vaulted him into the hype machine that is the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
So what did this set up? Dallas' quick success at the gate and on ice (winning the 1999 Stanley Cup), combined with a strong marketing campaign (establishing a series of ice rinks in the DFW area called Dr. Pepper StarCenters) made the NHL believe that Sun Belt hockey could work. Within the next few years, there were teams established in Tampa and Nashville, the Hartford Whalers moved to the Raleigh/Durham area, the Nordiques left Quebec for Denver, and the Winnipeg Jets departed Manitoba for Phoenix. Not long after that, Columbus, Minnesota, and Atlanta entered the league.
In addition, hockey (helped by the visibility of the NHL on ESPN) utterly detonated across the Deep South. At its peak, the minor leagues of hockey boasted 7 teams in Louisiana, 3 teams in Mississippi, 3 teams in Alabama, 10-plus teams in Texas, something like 8 teams in Florida, another handful in Georgia, three more in Tennessee, one in Arkansas, and so forth.
Obviously, the fire went out with the combination of the NHL lockout in 1994 and ESPN giving up their contract, and teams began to fold through the end of the 1990s. Many of the Sun Belt teams have struggled at the gate, and there are perpetually rumors of teams folding or being moved to Canada (much of that being wishful thinking by Canadian press, mind you).
Nonetheless, let us return to Modano for the discussion. There are many good teams out there who win a lot of games, score a lot of goals, and enjoy a certain amount of success, but never quite become a household name in their cities. ESPN's John Buccigross chalks that up to a lack of a key iconic player- in whatever role. Mike Modano was and is that guy in the South, and here's the acid test on that. Name me a guaranteed Hall of Famer, an iconic player, for any of the following franchises: Phoenix, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Florida... did I miss anyone?
Vincent Lecavalier? Sure- but how much national press does he get? Martin St. Louis? Same story. Pavel Bure was that guy in Florida, but made the vast majority of his impact with Vancouver. Paul Kariya could have been that guy in Nashville, but ultimately, same story. Why? Probably the small-market factor- no national coverage, no visibility. You've had some iconic players in Carolina- Rod Brind'Amour, Cam Ward, Eric Staal, Erik Cole- but transcendent?
Jumping to larger markets (Phoenix is #12 in the Nielsen DMA index, Dallas-Fort Worth is #5, and Atlanta is #8), few players have made a Hall of Fame impact in these cities. Dallas has boasted Derian Hatcher, Modano, and Brett Hull... Keith Tkachuk made some impact in Phoenix, but didn't make a name for himself above the Coyotes there. And in Atlanta- with no offense intended to Atlanta sports fans- Atlanta is a distinctly underwhelming sports town.
Modano transcended the sport in football-mad Texas. With his regional appeal in the South, he helped export the sport to a new group of people, and more of the nation got at least some exposure to the sport.
It's not worth popping up numbers of goals and assists for him, as he has one game left, but it's definitely time to pay homage to one of the greatest U.S.-born players in the game, and to thank him for his service to the game and to his fans.
Thanks, Mike. Good luck in the future.
Particularly after Thursday night's heroics at the American Airlines Center in Dallas (the game tying goal, a gorgeous assist on the first goal, and the shootout-winning goal), it is worth a quick retrospective on Modano and his impact on hockey not only in Texas, but in the American South in general.
Drafted first overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, he led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh in 1991. The North Stars would remain in the MSP area for another season before departing for Dallas.
Hockey had begun to gain a footing in warmer climates, as the Los Angeles Kings had established a solid fan base... but hockey had already failed in Atlanta and Kansas City, and a move to the Sun Belt was regarded as a very risky move. The San Jose Sharks had been established in 1991, but no further south than going to Denver.
In 1992-93, the league also welcomed the Ottawa Senators (a good move) and the Florida Panthers (regarded as a questionable move) to the league, but watched a franchise in a somewhat cornerstone city move to a decidedly huge market, but in a part of the country where hockey had a spotty minor-league footing at best, and certainly no tradition.
Modano wasted very little time in becoming an iconic player, overshadowing 1980 Team USA hero Neal Broten, Oiler/Bruin stalwart Andy Moog, Mark Tinordi, and so forth... his GQ good looks and his torrid scoring pace quickly vaulted him into the hype machine that is the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
So what did this set up? Dallas' quick success at the gate and on ice (winning the 1999 Stanley Cup), combined with a strong marketing campaign (establishing a series of ice rinks in the DFW area called Dr. Pepper StarCenters) made the NHL believe that Sun Belt hockey could work. Within the next few years, there were teams established in Tampa and Nashville, the Hartford Whalers moved to the Raleigh/Durham area, the Nordiques left Quebec for Denver, and the Winnipeg Jets departed Manitoba for Phoenix. Not long after that, Columbus, Minnesota, and Atlanta entered the league.
In addition, hockey (helped by the visibility of the NHL on ESPN) utterly detonated across the Deep South. At its peak, the minor leagues of hockey boasted 7 teams in Louisiana, 3 teams in Mississippi, 3 teams in Alabama, 10-plus teams in Texas, something like 8 teams in Florida, another handful in Georgia, three more in Tennessee, one in Arkansas, and so forth.
Obviously, the fire went out with the combination of the NHL lockout in 1994 and ESPN giving up their contract, and teams began to fold through the end of the 1990s. Many of the Sun Belt teams have struggled at the gate, and there are perpetually rumors of teams folding or being moved to Canada (much of that being wishful thinking by Canadian press, mind you).
Nonetheless, let us return to Modano for the discussion. There are many good teams out there who win a lot of games, score a lot of goals, and enjoy a certain amount of success, but never quite become a household name in their cities. ESPN's John Buccigross chalks that up to a lack of a key iconic player- in whatever role. Mike Modano was and is that guy in the South, and here's the acid test on that. Name me a guaranteed Hall of Famer, an iconic player, for any of the following franchises: Phoenix, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Florida... did I miss anyone?
Vincent Lecavalier? Sure- but how much national press does he get? Martin St. Louis? Same story. Pavel Bure was that guy in Florida, but made the vast majority of his impact with Vancouver. Paul Kariya could have been that guy in Nashville, but ultimately, same story. Why? Probably the small-market factor- no national coverage, no visibility. You've had some iconic players in Carolina- Rod Brind'Amour, Cam Ward, Eric Staal, Erik Cole- but transcendent?
Jumping to larger markets (Phoenix is #12 in the Nielsen DMA index, Dallas-Fort Worth is #5, and Atlanta is #8), few players have made a Hall of Fame impact in these cities. Dallas has boasted Derian Hatcher, Modano, and Brett Hull... Keith Tkachuk made some impact in Phoenix, but didn't make a name for himself above the Coyotes there. And in Atlanta- with no offense intended to Atlanta sports fans- Atlanta is a distinctly underwhelming sports town.
Modano transcended the sport in football-mad Texas. With his regional appeal in the South, he helped export the sport to a new group of people, and more of the nation got at least some exposure to the sport.
It's not worth popping up numbers of goals and assists for him, as he has one game left, but it's definitely time to pay homage to one of the greatest U.S.-born players in the game, and to thank him for his service to the game and to his fans.
Thanks, Mike. Good luck in the future.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Musings from March 7th...
The matinee had the Red Wings at the Blackhawks, and Chicago, after jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, let in five in the second.
And on a more personal note, the Predators hosted Vancouver this afternoon... going up 2-1 before succumbing 4-2. Roberto Luongo had a fairly solid game, letting in only two on 35 shots.
Why is this noteworthy? Because the top three teams in the Western Conference can't be bothered to find consistent goaltending. Sure, make the arguments that the Blackhawks imploded- but if you watch the highlights, Cristobal Huet (who got torched for four of the five goals) let in at least two shots early in the second that he's got to have at this level.
San Jose has showed that regular season faith in Evgeni Nabokov is warranted... at least until he has his Olympic-style meltdown.
And for Vancouver, the story on Luongo is exactly what we saw in the Olympics- shots make it into his glove but never seem to stay there.
So, the hopes of the Western Conference at some point will seem to be in the hands of Ilya Bryzgalov (PHX), Jonathan Quick (LA), or Craig Anderson (COL). Meanwhile, perfectly solid goaltending has been seen in the East from Martin Brodeur (NJ), Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), and Ryan Miller (BUF). It will be entertaining to see whether Jose Thedore (WAS) does his usual El Foldo routine in the playoffs to the point where the Caps' scoring can overcome it.
And on a more personal note, the Predators hosted Vancouver this afternoon... going up 2-1 before succumbing 4-2. Roberto Luongo had a fairly solid game, letting in only two on 35 shots.
Why is this noteworthy? Because the top three teams in the Western Conference can't be bothered to find consistent goaltending. Sure, make the arguments that the Blackhawks imploded- but if you watch the highlights, Cristobal Huet (who got torched for four of the five goals) let in at least two shots early in the second that he's got to have at this level.
San Jose has showed that regular season faith in Evgeni Nabokov is warranted... at least until he has his Olympic-style meltdown.
And for Vancouver, the story on Luongo is exactly what we saw in the Olympics- shots make it into his glove but never seem to stay there.
So, the hopes of the Western Conference at some point will seem to be in the hands of Ilya Bryzgalov (PHX), Jonathan Quick (LA), or Craig Anderson (COL). Meanwhile, perfectly solid goaltending has been seen in the East from Martin Brodeur (NJ), Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), and Ryan Miller (BUF). It will be entertaining to see whether Jose Thedore (WAS) does his usual El Foldo routine in the playoffs to the point where the Caps' scoring can overcome it.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Turco continues his lackluster play... and Crawford gets to handle it.
Well, we've got our own soap going on here in DFW.
Marty Turco was rumored to be on his way out when Dallas acquired G Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta in their fire sale. Alex Auld had been playing rather well for the Stars, and the signs all pointed to Turco's exit.
To everyone's surprise (and the Rangers' benefit), Dallas let Auld go. He was promptly picked up by the Rangers, and everyone went on their Olympic break. Upon return, Turco (playing in his 500th game as a Star) gave up five goals to Los Angeles, and then four more against St. Louis.
He also left the bench against STL and didn't return.
Now look- he has been a good goaltender in the league for a long time, but he's toast here in DFW. If you watch him play, he's almost back up against the goal line, and he's not out challenging the shooter. He's off his angles badly in most cases, and under the circumstances, he needs a change of scenery- assuming anyone would want him.
Bottom line- a tough fall for a guy who was projected to be a big player for Hockey Canada. Now Marc Crawford gets to put out a fire on a team that probably could make the playoffs with solid goaltending. Of course, it doesn't get any easier on Saturday, with a visit to Pittsburgh...
Marty Turco was rumored to be on his way out when Dallas acquired G Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta in their fire sale. Alex Auld had been playing rather well for the Stars, and the signs all pointed to Turco's exit.
To everyone's surprise (and the Rangers' benefit), Dallas let Auld go. He was promptly picked up by the Rangers, and everyone went on their Olympic break. Upon return, Turco (playing in his 500th game as a Star) gave up five goals to Los Angeles, and then four more against St. Louis.
He also left the bench against STL and didn't return.
Now look- he has been a good goaltender in the league for a long time, but he's toast here in DFW. If you watch him play, he's almost back up against the goal line, and he's not out challenging the shooter. He's off his angles badly in most cases, and under the circumstances, he needs a change of scenery- assuming anyone would want him.
Bottom line- a tough fall for a guy who was projected to be a big player for Hockey Canada. Now Marc Crawford gets to put out a fire on a team that probably could make the playoffs with solid goaltending. Of course, it doesn't get any easier on Saturday, with a visit to Pittsburgh...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
NHL Trade Deadline Day
Lots of moves but with the big deals done before the Olympic roster freeze, no real big names moved today.
The Capitals were active today adding some depth on defense for what they no doubt expect to be a deep playoff run.
The Blue Jackets dumped some expiring contracts for whatever they could get in return.
Sometimes the most interesting thing is the dog that doesn't bark. Personally, I was a little surprised that the Flyers didn't go and try and find a goalie now that Ray Emery is out for the season. Maybe there was no one available (Vesa Toskala doesn't count) or Paul Holmgren really believes Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher can carry them through.
I don't think anyone is looking at a move today and said, 'ah, that's going to push someone over the hump'. Of course, those deals aren't always clear except in retrospect. Will some 3rd line guy traded for the draft equivalent of a bag of pucks wind up scoring a game winning goal in the playoffs? Maybe. That's what makes sports so much fun, you never know where the hero or goat will come for.
So with this behind us...Game On. Vs has Caps @ Sabres (7pm eastern) and it's free preview week for NHL Center Ice, be sure to check your local guide for out of town games you might not normally see.
The Capitals were active today adding some depth on defense for what they no doubt expect to be a deep playoff run.
The Blue Jackets dumped some expiring contracts for whatever they could get in return.
Sometimes the most interesting thing is the dog that doesn't bark. Personally, I was a little surprised that the Flyers didn't go and try and find a goalie now that Ray Emery is out for the season. Maybe there was no one available (Vesa Toskala doesn't count) or Paul Holmgren really believes Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher can carry them through.
I don't think anyone is looking at a move today and said, 'ah, that's going to push someone over the hump'. Of course, those deals aren't always clear except in retrospect. Will some 3rd line guy traded for the draft equivalent of a bag of pucks wind up scoring a game winning goal in the playoffs? Maybe. That's what makes sports so much fun, you never know where the hero or goat will come for.
So with this behind us...Game On. Vs has Caps @ Sabres (7pm eastern) and it's free preview week for NHL Center Ice, be sure to check your local guide for out of town games you might not normally see.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
It's alive...
Chelios signs with Thrashers
That said, he's likely to stay with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL.
It's kind of an odd signing- Chelios seems to be more of a player-coach in its most classic form, and may be being groomed for a more formal role in Atlanta. In any event, you've got to marvel at a guy who's 48 years old and still carries a +35... in any league!
That said, he's likely to stay with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL.
It's kind of an odd signing- Chelios seems to be more of a player-coach in its most classic form, and may be being groomed for a more formal role in Atlanta. In any event, you've got to marvel at a guy who's 48 years old and still carries a +35... in any league!
A Night In The "A"
A local newspaper (trying to stay relevent by branching out into video) mics up a referee during an AHL matchup between the Portland Pirates and the Albany River Rats.
It's amzaing how much communication there is on the ice that you never hear unless you are down there.
It's amzaing how much communication there is on the ice that you never hear unless you are down there.
Monday, March 1, 2010
News of interest...
Pens acquire Jordan Leopold from Panthers
An interesting move... they got him for fairly cheap (a second-round pick), and Leopold (the '01-'02 Hobey Baker winner) has some skills, although he's fairly injury-prone. The Pens' blue line seems fairly well-off, so it's hard to figure out why they'd need more depth there.Thoughts from any Pens fans?
Looking back on the 2010 Olympics...
Hi, folks. Some of you are familiar with Drew and myself from over at Ace Of Spades HQ.
For the rest, we're glad you're here, and welcome you to our cozy little chats. Obviously, we'rave e here to talk hockey... we're still making up our minds on content, but we hope that we can bring some new fans to the game while entertaining the lifers as well.
Anyway, as some of you may have noticed, a rather entertaining tournament just wrapped up yesterday in the best way possible- an overtime goal, and no ridiculous Olympic shootout.
Let me qualify that- given that most of my experience comes from working in the minor leagues, I have no problem with the shootout- in the regular season. I can appreciate that the Olympics need to wrap up by a certain time due to programming considerations, but the notion of a championship being wrapped up in a shootout makes my teeth itch. I'm also not a big fan of four-on-four for championship overtime- just play the damn game.
Anyway, some questions going forward:
1) If you're Canada, do you go forward saying Roberto Luongo is your goalie of the future?
2) If you're the US, what do you change? Frankly, do you change anything?
3) If you're Bettman, are you really going to shoot the sport in the crotch by saying the NHL won't be in Sochi?
You'll find that I throw a lot of questions out there for discussion- after all, this is supposed to be interactive. One of the things we'll try to do down the road is have a wrap-up of the Olympic teams individually... should make for some good discussions.
For the moment- I'm just grateful that the tournament was filled with as much good hockey as it was. I think the pinnacle of things in recent memory was the '96 World Cup, but mine is not the most objective opinion there. Give me a few days to get the bitter taste out of my mouth from losing and we'll go from there.
For the rest, we're glad you're here, and welcome you to our cozy little chats. Obviously, we'rave e here to talk hockey... we're still making up our minds on content, but we hope that we can bring some new fans to the game while entertaining the lifers as well.
Anyway, as some of you may have noticed, a rather entertaining tournament just wrapped up yesterday in the best way possible- an overtime goal, and no ridiculous Olympic shootout.
Let me qualify that- given that most of my experience comes from working in the minor leagues, I have no problem with the shootout- in the regular season. I can appreciate that the Olympics need to wrap up by a certain time due to programming considerations, but the notion of a championship being wrapped up in a shootout makes my teeth itch. I'm also not a big fan of four-on-four for championship overtime- just play the damn game.
Anyway, some questions going forward:
1) If you're Canada, do you go forward saying Roberto Luongo is your goalie of the future?
2) If you're the US, what do you change? Frankly, do you change anything?
3) If you're Bettman, are you really going to shoot the sport in the crotch by saying the NHL won't be in Sochi?
You'll find that I throw a lot of questions out there for discussion- after all, this is supposed to be interactive. One of the things we'll try to do down the road is have a wrap-up of the Olympic teams individually... should make for some good discussions.
For the moment- I'm just grateful that the tournament was filled with as much good hockey as it was. I think the pinnacle of things in recent memory was the '96 World Cup, but mine is not the most objective opinion there. Give me a few days to get the bitter taste out of my mouth from losing and we'll go from there.
NBC Scores With US-Canada Gold Medal Game
Via the NHL Twitter Feed...
In a perverse way this must bother Gary Bettman and the crew in NY and Toronto. Had the game been between Slovakia and Sweden, the numbers wouldn’t have been anything like this. That would have made it easier for him to sell the idea that shutting down the league for two weeks was a mistake that won’t be repeated in 4 years. Now the argument from outside will be, “Look at the numbers! Of course the NHL has to go to Sochi!”.
Let’s face facts…yesterday’s game was a perfect storm. An upstart and surprising US team against the world’s hockey powerhouse (on their own soil, er, ice) in a game that was broadcast live across the entire continent.
Again, imagine Sochi is not Vancouver but Turin (I refuse to say Torino unless we are talking about classic cars). In that case the game will feature Sweden and Finland with an 8 hour time difference. Bang up numbers in Stockholm, not so much in Peoria.
I don’t doubt that the NHL will go to Sochi, once Bettman and company extract their pound of flesh from the KHL but it won’t be a slam dunk and Vancouver won’t be a reason to do it either.
More importantly, what will the NHL be doing the rest of this season to capitalize on this high? How about trying to get Vs to carry tomorrow’s Sidney Crosby-Ryan Miller rematch and supporting it with a national print ad buy?
Nah, never happen.
Update: I just looked at the Vs. lineup this week. They have Flyers-Lightning and Devils Sharks tomorrow. More to the point they have Sabres-Caps on Wednesday and Penguins Rangers on Thursday. There's no way they could do Penguins and Sabres tomorrow as well.
Too bad but it's an odd quirk of scheduling fate.
NBC for Gold medal game averaged 27.6 million viewers, 15.2 rating and 30 share. Audience peak at 34.8 million viewers
...Sunday's game is the single most-watched hockey game in 30 years, highest since #TeamUSA & Finland in 1980.
In a perverse way this must bother Gary Bettman and the crew in NY and Toronto. Had the game been between Slovakia and Sweden, the numbers wouldn’t have been anything like this. That would have made it easier for him to sell the idea that shutting down the league for two weeks was a mistake that won’t be repeated in 4 years. Now the argument from outside will be, “Look at the numbers! Of course the NHL has to go to Sochi!”.
Let’s face facts…yesterday’s game was a perfect storm. An upstart and surprising US team against the world’s hockey powerhouse (on their own soil, er, ice) in a game that was broadcast live across the entire continent.
Again, imagine Sochi is not Vancouver but Turin (I refuse to say Torino unless we are talking about classic cars). In that case the game will feature Sweden and Finland with an 8 hour time difference. Bang up numbers in Stockholm, not so much in Peoria.
I don’t doubt that the NHL will go to Sochi, once Bettman and company extract their pound of flesh from the KHL but it won’t be a slam dunk and Vancouver won’t be a reason to do it either.
More importantly, what will the NHL be doing the rest of this season to capitalize on this high? How about trying to get Vs to carry tomorrow’s Sidney Crosby-Ryan Miller rematch and supporting it with a national print ad buy?
Nah, never happen.
Update: I just looked at the Vs. lineup this week. They have Flyers-Lightning and Devils Sharks tomorrow. More to the point they have Sabres-Caps on Wednesday and Penguins Rangers on Thursday. There's no way they could do Penguins and Sabres tomorrow as well.
Too bad but it's an odd quirk of scheduling fate.
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