Playoff Observations 4/16/12

1. Don Cherry absolutely hit the nail on the head tonight. Best Coach's Corner in a good long time.

2. How come the St. Louis Blues have this magical gift for scoring pretty goals in the 2012 playoffs when no one else can?

3. The Shark tank exploding in cheers when their team climbs within 2 with 3 minutes left made me make this face: =/

4. I'd like to point out how miffed I am about the fact that the best goaltending matchup in the CQF round of these playoffs is Braden Holtby (22 year old rookie) vs. Tim Thomas (Defending Vezina/Conn Smythe/Stanley Cup Winner)

5. Matchup two is Henrik Lundqvist (Vezina frontrunner) vs. Craig Anderson (Who?)

6. And the other good matchup has been Jon Quick (Horrendously underrated goaltender the past few years) vs. Roberto Luongo (Horrendously overrated goaltender the past few years) or Cory Schneider (Horrendously underrated goaltender the past few years)

7. The New York Rangers from '06 to '10 have graduated 3 of their 5 NCAA draft picks to the NHL with the Kreider contract, compared to 1 of their 18 Major Junior picks.

8. Tim Thomas was the only Bruin to have his bags searched by government officials upon arrival in DC. Truly not sure how I feel about it. Part of me just finds it hilarious, the other part of me wonders if that's going a bit too far to mess with the opposing goalie.

9. That said, the layer of Obama pictures behind Thomas' net in this game was absolutely hilarious, regardless of loyalty, that's just quality chirping.

10. After Tortorella flipped out about Peter DeBoer playing games about his game time roster, he had John Scott out for the warmup chirping Zenon Konopka, and then had him out in the press box watching the game.

An Open Letter to the Vancouver Canucks

Enough is enough.

At what point will you take responsibility for the damage you have done to our proud sport? How is it that one team can be so insufferable in every way, that someone who prides himself on his grasp of the English language and his ability to coherently express his thoughts through his writing was rendered speechless by two and a half playoff hockey games?

There is absolutely nothing about your organization that you have a right to be proud of. Your fanbase is quick to call the Kings a team who has accomplished nothing while a grand total of zero Stanley Cup banners hang from your rafters, replaced instead by Roberto Luongo’s jock, which has yet to be retrieved from the ceiling following his hilarious performance in game 7 of last year’s Cup finals.

In a sport which is touted by its proud fans as the toughest sport to play, a sport characterized by such pride that any injury which lacks blood, broken bones, concussions or a torn anything wouldn’t even faze even the most pedestrian of participants, your team has become synonymous with countless acting performances worthy of Academy Awards for best supporting actor (only Alexandre Burrows and the Sedins could be considered lead actors, and it would be the only time Henrik Sedin has been able to be a leader in any category.)

And it isn’t even simply the diving, embellishing and absolutely disgraceful faking of injuries that has turned every other Canadian against you.

It’s the combination of the fact that any contact of an opponent’s stick to your shins becomes a trip, yet your elbows fly faster than Tony Jaa, and your fanbase finds no fault in your ridiculous interpretation of how hockey should work.

It’s that you believe that Burrows (finally) being called for a diving call is a conspiracy against your team.

It’s that when Brad Marchand goes low on your guy, he ought to be booted from the league, but when Sami Salo commits an identical offense less than two minutes previous, it was a clean hit.

It’s that Jim Hughson pumps up tires more than my local mechanic.

It’s that your city looked like New Orleans circa 2006 after your team lost a hockey game.

It’s that 40 years of futility somehow granted you some sense of entitlement that makes fans of the other 29 NHL teams just laugh at you.

It’s the fact that your incredulous fans shout “Luuuu!” after a shot goes ten feet wide.

It’s because of everything that @LOLVancouver has retweeted.

It’s because after you lost game one because of multiple delay of game, over the glass penalties, your team thinks that a deflection over the glass ought to grant you a powerplay.

It’s that even Mike Milbury cannot vilify the same Dustin Brown that your entire city wants suspended.

I feel that your list of offenses is long, even if the one presented to you here now is nowhere near exhaustive.

You are a joke. You are the worst.

Enough is enough.

Playoff Observations 4/14/12

1. Those who say goons and tough guys have no place in hockey might want to watch highlights from OTT/NYR game 2

2. I really hope that the Washington Capitals have a party in Braden Holtby’s honor after every game.

3. I would love to see a Spike Lee/Zenon Konopka rivalry kind of like his rivalry with Reggie Miller.

4. It looks like Brian Boyle took fighting lessons from Sean Avery.

5. If the NHL wants to get rid of diving, it needs to start punishing players who dive by fining them.

6. Brandon Dubinsky couldn’t handle fighting the Sens but the Gatorade barrel is a whole different story.

7. If WSH/BOS ends within 5 or 6 games, it very well may be the lowest scoring playoff series in recent memory.

8. Shades of 2010 versus Colorado, San Jose in a pickle as Vlasic mimics Dan Boyle by just scoring on his own net.

9. The greatest hockey related Twitter feed may have been discovered this morning.

10. For a man who had plenty to say about the legitimacy of the NHL, John Tortorella’s team spent quite a bit of game 2 disgracing our great sport

11. Rangers displaying in period 2 of game 2 that shot blocking does in fact lead to goals. Karlsson on the board.

12. NBC/CNBC/NBCSN seem to have some sort of conspiracy to force us to listen to the most insufferable announcers all night during the playoffs. (I mean, really, that's not a headshot to you? Bugger off.)

13. Mike Smith had his head hit on a play that I don’t think was dirty by Shaw but could have been avoided.

14. The league is in a weird spot when fans honestly cannot tell if a player is legitimately hurt or selling an injury. Better enforcement of embellishment and stricter regulations for injury evaluation need to be implemented.

15. Brent Seabrook.

16. Yes, that’s nice Coyotes fans, it’s nice to see Jobing.com Arena sold out for a playoff series. Again. But where were you all during the regular season?

2011-2012 NHL PLAYOFFS: Round 1

Yep, this post is a few days late, get over it. The long awaited playoffs are here, and here's a quick prediction of each series by me, and all of the writers guesses at the results:

Eastern Conference
1. New York Rangers vs. 8. Ottawa Senators - Should be a good matchup, considering the Sens manhandled the Rangers in the regular season, but the Rangers are hoping golden free agent Richards will finally shine alongside surprising all-star Dan Girardi.
Rusty - Ott in 6

Brian - Ott in 6

David - Ott in 7
Fitz - Rangers in 7
Josh - Rangers in 5
Celebrity Josh - Rangers in 5

2. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Washington Capitals - Reigning Stanley Cup champs looking to defend the title versus a finally healthy Washington squad. Ovechkin finally started looking like the Ovechkin everyone knows near the end of the season, and Boston is missing a few big pieces, namely Nathan Horton.
Rusty - Boston in 5
Brian - Boston in 6
David - Boston in 6
Fitz - Boston in 6
Josh - Boston in 6
Celebrity Josh - Boston in 6

3. Florida Panthers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils - Two teams glad to be back in the playoffs, whether its been 1 or 12 years since their last appearance. Pete DeBoer is facing his old team, even though their high flyers aren't familiar to him. See: Versteeg, Fleishmann, Campbell. Kovalchuk looks as hungry as ever, and the Devils are rolling into the playoffs with a 6 game win streak.
Rusty - NJ in 4
Brian - Florida in 7
David - Florida in 7
Fitz - Florida in 7
Josh - NJ in 7
Celebrity Josh - NJ in 4

4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 5. Philadelphia Flyers - The matchup everyone has been waiting for, which is being advertised on TSN.ca as a potential bloodbath. I keep saying that Philly is probably the only team in the NHL that can beat the Pens this year, so you don't want to miss this series.
Rusty - Pittsburgh in 7
Brian - Pittsburgh in 6
David - Pittsburgh in 7
Fitz - Pittsburgh in 6
Josh - Pittsburgh in 6
Celebrity Josh - Pittsburgh in 6

Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings - Without Daniel Sedin, and having to face Jonathon Quick and Drew Doughty is going to be trouble. Sometimes I wonder if the collective will of every hockey fan outside British Columbia will have any effect on the series. Watch for some depth guys for LA to chip in more than the Canucks, and that will be the key.
Rusty - LA in 6
Brian - LA in 7
David - Vancouver in 7
Fitz - LA in 6
Josh - LA in 7
Celebrity Josh - Vancouver in 4

2. St Louis Blues vs. 7. San Jose Sharks - Is there much more to say than Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak will be responsible for the same crease? St. Louis has been this good for years, but it took until 2011-12 for all of their key elements to stay healthy together. This team is scary. After allowing 168 goals in 82 games this year, hard to imagine what's going to change in this series.
Rusty - STL in 6
Brian - STL in 5
David - STL in 5
Fitz - STL in 6
Josh - STL in 6
Celebrity Josh - STL in 6

3. Phoenix Coyotes vs 6. Chicago Blackhawks - Toews is back, but Mike Smith never left. Under-appreciated Phoenix goaltender should be able to survive the onslaught, but Phoenix still needs to score more. That lack of remarkable scoring will extend the series, but unless Toews can come in after missing so much time and be in prime playoff form, it's hard to call this one for the boys in bright red. (Edit @ 10:19pm 4/12/12: Well, don't I look like an idiot.)
Rusty - Phoenix in 7
Brian - Phoenix in 6
David - Phoenix in 7
Fitz - Chicago in 7
Josh - Chicago in 6
Celebrity Josh - Chicago in 6

4. Nashville Predators vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings - The flailing Red Wings will be forced to go into Smashville for 4 of the 7 games in this series. Vezina contender Pekka Rinne has scarcely let a game get away from him over the last several years. While Detroit's firepower could threaten, the addition of prodigal son Alexander Radulov should give Nashville just enough firepower to keep the Red Wings down, even when healthy.

Rusty - Nashville in 6
Brian - Nashville in 6
David - Nashville in 7
Fitz - Nashville in 6
Josh - Nashville in 7
Celebrity Josh - Nashville in 7

Draft-Eligible Swedes Pt. 1 - Pontus Åberg

I've been posted in Sweden for about three months now while going to school, and as a result have had a chance to see some of the better prospects for the 2012 NHL Draft play in person. It's difficult to find consistent online video or comprehensive highlights of any of the players over here, so it's nice to get a chance to watch them for a whole game.

This past weekend I had a chance to catch winger Pontus Åberg of Djurgårdens IF face off against Rögle in the last game of the 2012 Kvalserien, which pits the tier-two Allsvenskan's three regular-season leaders and playoff champion against the two teams that finished at the bottom of the top-tier Elitserien. It's round-robin format with two games vs. each opponent. Six teams enter, two teams leave.

One of the better collections of young talent in Sweden, Rögle defied the odds to become the first Allsvenskan team to not only survive the league's playoffs but also secure promotion. Guess who they'll be replacing next year? With everything settled before the puck drop, the game lacked intensity, but the celebrating crowd provided an unbelievable atmosphere.

This is part one of a three-part series.

#46 PONTUS ÅBERG
Left Wing, Djurgårdens IF, Elitserien

SEASON STATS: 47GP – 8G – 7A – 15P – 6 PIM
KVALSERIEN STATS: 7GP – 1G – 0A – 0 PIM
STATS ON THE NIGHT: 0G - 0A - 0P - +/- EVEN - 5 SOG - 0 PIM

Djurgårdens IF @ Rögle BK (Lindab Arena, Ängelholm, Sweden)
6/4/2012 (16:00)
FINAL SCORE: DIF 2-1 RÖG
BY PERIOD: 0-1, 0-0, 1-1

The Final Week of The Season (Part II)

The last week, for some of us it begins the forming of a true brotherhood where fans, players, and cities alike come together under the banner of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's also a time for all of us to reflect on some of the highlights from the 2011-2012 Regular Season, like the Ducks's re-enactment of the '10-'11 Devils, Stamkos still pushing for 60, Florida a point away from making it back into the playoffs after a 12 year drought, and the Maple Leafs, with another joke of a season. While the West still has a lot of seeding to sort out, the East is just about ready to get the playoffs started, even with 4 more days of the regular season to go.

Eastern Conference
Even though teams are a lot more settled than the west, there's a lot needed to be done in the rest of the week to get teams ready and fired up for the first round.

- New York Rangers = Locked in the first seed in the East, they have their eyes on the President's Trophy. With games against Pit and Washington, those 4 points may not be as easy as Vancouver's. Saturday's game vs Washington could possibly decide the Ranger's first round opponent if the all of the right cards fall for Buffalo.

- Boston Bruins = Locked in second, the Bruins have a game against their probably first round opponent Senators and Buffalo, which again has the slim chance to be a do or die game for Buffalo. Thursday's game will set the stage for next week, though, and with Boychuk still up in the air and a question mark for Thomas's backup in the playoffs, Boston needs to make sure they can bring their A+ game next week.

- Florida Panthers = They can't seem to put the lock on the 3rd seed just yet, but Thursday will be the true test, against the team fighting for that seed, the Caps. A finale vs the Hurricanes rounds out their regular season, and then the biggest surprise of this year's playoffs will most likely take on the Devils and Pete DeBoer.

- Pittsburgh Penguins = Concussions are not the Penguins' biggest worry anymore! They've taken a back seat to the Philadelphia Flyers, who seem to be in the Penguins' heads these days. Division matchups against the Rangers and Flyers will be sure to keep the Pens on their toes through the playoffs, where we may see one of the best 1st round series this year.

- Philadelphia Flyers = Can drive the nail in nail in the coffin for Buffalo, then start a possible 8 game series versus Pittsburgh on Saturday. A continuously hurt defense will cause them problems, but if Bryz can stay on top of his game, it'll be one hell of a series. There's always that slim chance that Philly and New Jersey switch seeds, but who doesn't want to see whats going to happen between Rinaldo and Asham?

- New Jersey Devils = It hasn't been a 12 year drought, but the Devils sure are glad to be back in the playoffs. Detroit and Ottawa means it won't be as big of a week for the Devils as some other teams, but they want to keep hot to take on the DeBoer's old team. Injuries to Josefson and Tallinder may stretch them a bit, and who remembers DeBoer vocalizing his want for a victory the first matchup of the year vs the Panthers, followed by the Devils blowing a 3-0 lead in the 3rd period? No one, probably, because who watches either team?

- Ottawa Senators = Not as big of a surprise as Florida, but definitely a big one. Spezza is on top of his game, and Karlsson has really become the superstar he was drafted to be. They have an "exhibition" match vs the Bruins on Thursday, followed by the Devils.

- Washington Captials = Here's where it gets fun... the Caps have a good lead over the Sabres for 8th, but can't seem to find much consistency. They have two big matchups vs the Panthers and their possible first round opponent Rangers, and really need to figure things out in net. They're finally healthy, so let's see if they can turn it on.

Outsider: The Buffalo Sabres had an amazing comeback against the Leafs on Tuesday night, and hope their luck continues this week. They have the Flyers and Bruins, two playoff bound teams, so there's a chance those teams may rest some starters (see: Tim Thomas). Washington has the tiebreaker, so in their 2 remaining games they need to edge Washington out with at least 1 more point.

The Final Week of The Season

The last week, for some of us it begins the forming of a true brotherhood where fans, players, and cities alike come together under the banner of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After having a team eliminated from contention some fans walk away until the Draft comes up in June while others look for a hot team to follow in the playoffs to try and rally behind as an undergod..of course your their happiness and not our own. The final group lies in those just wanting to watch excellent hockey played over two months while ripping on any mishaps they stumble up along the way. Hey if our regular seasons gave us drinking problems then it is only fair we include you in our misery. Before this begins next week April 11th we still have a mess of standings, teams, and matchups to analyze.

Western Conference
As of right not getting into specific matchups is a bit premature because they change rapidly overnight. Rather, it would be more beneficial to see what the remaining teams must do to afford themselves a playoff fate.

-Vancouver Canucks = locked down in the 1 or 2 seeds and fighting for the Presidents Trophy with New York (and maybe the Blues). The Canucks must gain a higher point total as they cannot catch the ROW stat category as a tie breaker. Ending the year on a back to back with Calgary/Edmonton is not a difficult schedule but both teams will want to hurt their divisional foe in any way they can, possibly costing them the first seeding.

-St. Louis Blues = The Blues have a busy rest of the week with games against Detroit, possible first round opponent Phoenix, and scuffling Dallas. Those are all winnable and it will be interesting to see what their compete level is during the week and more importantly how their play affects the standings of the lower seeds.

-LA Kings = These guys are in trouble but control their own destiny. Carter is out with an apparent deep bone bruise on his ankle and they will need him sooner than well, later might be training camp. Home and home against San Jose to end the year and likely decide who takes 3rd overall in the West. LA wins out and they are golden, they lose out and either miss the playoffs entirely or get a dangerously low seed.

-Nashville Predators = Nice position for them, overtook 4th place tonight and have an easy schedule this week with DAL/COL. Both teams are fighting for their lives but neither poses much of a threat to Nashville on their game.

-Detroit Red Wings = Wings are 1 point back on Nashville but have one game in hand. They also have a tougher final schedule of the Blues, Devils, and Blackhawks which leads me to think they finish 5th

-Chicago Blackhawks = Could sneak into a higher seed than 6th with a favorable matchup with the Wild and an always tough game against Detroit. Their fate may already be set however, merely awaiting that 3rd seed opponent.

-Phoenix Coyotes= They could climb all the way up to third if they and San Jose sweep their games this week, they could still fall shy of the playoffs

-San Jose Sharks = Speaking of SJ, if they lose out to LA and remain at 92 points, Colorado winning out would have them jump them in the standings (max 92 points, but higher ROW for Avs.)

Outsiders: For Dallas and similar to the Avs, winning out (despite giving points away to the Sharks tonight) puts them at 93 points, this allows for SJ to get 1 point out of 4 possible and the Avs can knock them (SJ) out. Phoenix is a little safer from Dallas, only needing 1 point to make the playoffs. The Avs can only catch the 8 seed at 92 points and that itself looks slim.