2009 NHL Season

Two great commercials debuted on Saturday night for the playoffs, with the campaign this year called "History Will Be Made"

Here's a link with the first two videos, featuring Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr.

 

So the Leafs are pretty much out of the playoff picture. Realistically, based upon what you know about Brian Burke, what do you think the Leafs can look forward to adding during the off season? Rumour had it that at the deadline the Capitals were offering Fleischmann, Alzner and a pick for Kaberle, which I would not mind seeing considering we are going for a youth movement and Gunnarsson has proved himself to be a capable puck moving defenseman.

Rumour also swirls around Anaheim Ducks Bobby Ryan. The Toronto Star proposed a trade of Luke Schenn and Mikhail Grabovski for Ryan IF the Ducks couldn't get him resigned. With Burke's positive history with Anaheim, I could see this deal working out well for both teams, ESPECIALLY if Saku Koivu retires.

Anyways, what do you think the Leafs do? Habs fans, offer something up other than Leafs suck.

 

What I found funny about the Cooke fight is how he wouldn't take off his helmet. If you go watch Coaches Corner on the CBC website from Saturday they show the full clip from when Thornton Challenges all the way to the end of the fight. Take off the visor, Cooke.

 

Winter Classic at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh between the Pens for Caps Jan 1, 2011 a possibility.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't Pittsburgh v Washington next year. I kind of thought the NHL might try and get Beaver Stadium though. Obviously large seating capacity, but the major drawback being that it is 3 hours from any major city.

 

I'd be surprised if Pittsburgh got back in so quickly. Washington/NYR is makes more sense but that article made it sound very close to being a sure thing. We will see.

 

One of the worst shootout attempts ever:


Also, conflicting reports about whether the NHL is looking into moving the Coyotes back to Winnipeg.

 

We're back in the game and coming home hard. 6 on the trot anyone else think the Wings can pull the Hawks down for the Division title?

 

Sports Club Stats has it at a 0% chance.



Kinda interesting to see what's going on with Shane O'Brien right now.

Last year he was in Vigneault's doghouse on and off, but this year he had played extremely well and became a reliable top 4 d-man with Mitchell and Bieksa out with injuries. But then the Canucks get Alberts at the deadline and want to see what he can do so they make O'Brien a healthy scratch a few times in a row and all of a sudden there's issues inside the locker room?

Late to practice*** so he was sent home Monday morning, and there's rumors that he gained about 10 pounds just recently. He's been benched until Sunday and the team has a "plan" in place to get him back on track. He skated with Pavol Demitra (left the team for a bit because his wife is in the hospital) this morning, separate from the team.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes.

***Deadspin apparently uncovered the reason for his tardiness. Kinda funny because I know the guy and girl he's sitting beside.

**Edit: Just found out that that picture was actually taken over a year ago, not on Sunday night. Kinda funny that they're using it now as "proof" that O'Brien was out drinking.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, your GLENDALE COYOTESSSSSSSSS.
Basically, both groups trying to buy the Yotes are requesting permission to change the name. The article also has some good details on the specifics of their financing and proposed deals.

We're almost at the end of the regular season. Biggest surprises of the year for me:
- Just how powerful the Caps' offense has been.
- Surprise teams in the west: Colorado, LA, and Phoenix. They were the last 3 teams in the conference last year and now all 3 are going to the playoffs.
- Likewise, I really expected more out of St. Louis and Anaheim. Anaheim was my Western Conf. Stanley Cup pick, obviously a bad one in hindsight. They just started out so poorly though.
- Penguins get swept by both Jersey and Washington. 0 for 10 against the top two contenders in your conference does not bode well.
- Henrik Sedin making a run for the Art Ross trophy.
- Sidney Crosby turning into a (possibly) 50 goal scorer.

If you missed the end of the Rangers/Flyers game last night you did yourself a disservice. Now one game left and they play each other for the final playoff spot? Exciting!

 

1. The whole Coyotes name thing is quite possibly the dumbest thing ever. Move the Yotes to Winnipeg, Florida to Ontario, and Atlanta to Quebec City and you're in my perfect NHL world.

2. LA will only be better next season, they are a really fun team to watch. If the Avs get past the first round I'll be surprised. Their play is finally coming down to the expected level.

3. I think the Ducks will bounce back next year, and for some reason I like the Blues a lot.

4. I hope the Pens choke big time.

 

Patrice Bergeron shows what hustle really is.


Also, the Bruins scored THREE short-handed goals in 64 seconds. That beat the old record for 3 shorties in a row by more than 3 minutes. Jeez.

 

It was a little overdue, and it didn't come at the hands of a Bruin, but someone managed to knock Matt Cooke out cold. Too bad for Cooke it was completely clean and nobody can say shit.



Even when he played for the Canucks I didn't like him and and soooooooo happy someone finally called him on his shit and knocked him the fuck out. That piece of shit runs around throwing dirty hits and slew foots and never backs it up. Well finally he thought he had found someone he could go toe to toe with. Too bad for him it looks like Kane got a few points from Lucic back during their days as Vancouver Giants.

 

That's awesome. I officially love Evander Kane.

I'm pumped as fuck for the playoffs. Sabres/Devils play today for the 2 seed. Rangers/Philly, winner makes the playoffs. And the Kings play so they can possibly avoid the Hawks in the first round and get the...Canucks? Eesh, not great either way for the Kings. But I digress.

My favorite quote from the second intermission of this Caps/Bruins game from, as always, Pierre McGuire. "NOBODY is talking about Mike Babcock's Red Wings as a contender." Uh, Pierre, that's ALL anyone is fucking talking about now. Trust me, no one is forgetting that the Red Wings are in the playoffs thanks to you and every other NHL writer/analyst. I'll hold off the predictions until it's all official but is anyone doing any playoff pools or know a good site for one?

 

What a great way to end the season. First it was how all the dominos would fall for the Western matchups. As a Canucks fan, I just wanted to avoid Detroit. LA was losing 1-0 late in the 3rd and Detroit was up 2-1 midway through the 3rd, so it seemed pretty simple - we'd get Nashville. Then all of a sudden LA ties it and wins in overtime, and Chicago ties it up with Detroit. I went from praying Chicago could finish it in regulation, to immediately switching my allegiance when the final whistle went and begging the Wings to win in OT. And they did...after all that, we get LA. I like.

Then, it was the Rangers/Flyers. A shootout for a playoff spot is fucking intense. The puck was jumping on everyone, but Lundquist just couldn't come up big when it counted, and neither could Olli Jokinen (as usual). Flyers get in, and Montreal gets stuck playing the Caps in the first round.

Sedin has the Art Ross all but locked up. Crosby needed 8 points today to tie. After the first it's 3-1 Pens, and...Crosby has 3 points. I wouldn't put it past Sid to do the unthinkable and get the points. And as of right now, it's a 3 way tie for the Richard trophy, which is kinda cool too.

EDIT - Crosby just scored again. I'm getting scurred.

 

Crosby has 5 points (3 behind Sedin now) with about a period and a half left and the gameplan just seems to be "feed the puck to Sid." He's also at 51 goals now and in line to win the Rocket unless Stamkos can turn it on.

The Rangers / Flyers game was pretty awesome. It's a shame one team had to go home losing a shootout instead of continuing overtimes, but NY was playing conservative hoping to win that way. They wanted to let Lundqvist win it for them in the shootout. So they reaped what they sowed. Also, why they didn't have Gaborik as one of their first three shooters in the shootout is beyond me.

 

- I'm part of the camp that doesn't think a so called "Skills Competition" should decide a game, but damn. A shootout to get into the playoffs is exciting as fuck. Briere's dangle was something else there. I was cheering for NY down the home stretch of the season, but by the third period of the game I had for some reason switched to Philly.

- I can't explain how thankful I am for technology. The only game on TV here was a (other than the scoring title) mean nothing game between Washington and Boston. But thanks to atdhe.net, channelsurfing.com and justin.tv I was able to watch Wings-Hawks and Rangers-Philly, and could have watched all the other games going on.

- On a side note regarding the NHL awards, who would have predicted at the start of the year that there would be a definite possibility of Ovechkin getting shut out of the Hart, Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies?

-Those involved in the board's fantasy pool: What does the winner get? Control over the losers' avatar and/or signature for the playoffs?

 

Playoff matchups are up.

Predictions:
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington over (8) Montreal
(7) Philly over (2)Jersey
(6) Boston over (3) Buffalo
(4) Pittsburgh over (5) Ottawa

(1) Washington over (7) Philly
(4) Pittsburgh over (6) Boston

(4) Pittsburgh over (1) Washington

Western Conference
(8) Colorado over (1) San Jose
(2) Chicago over (7) Nashville
(3) Vancouver over (6) LA
(5) Detroit over (4) Phoenix

(2) Chicago over (8) Colorado
(5) Detroit over (3) Vancouver

(2) Chicago over (5) Detroit

Stanley Cup
Pittsburgh over Chicago

 

My predictions:
East
(1) Washington over (8) Montreal
(2) New Jersey over (7) Philly
(3) Buffalo over (6) Boston
(4) Pittsburgh over (5) Ottawa

(4) Pittsburgh over (1) Washington
(2) New Jersey over (3) Buffalo

(4) Pittsburgh over (2) New Jersey

West
(1) San Jose over (8) Colorado
(2) Chicago over (7) Nashville
(3) Vancouver over (6) LA
(5) Detroit over (4) Phoenix

(1) San Jose over (5) Detroit
(3) Vancouver over (2) Chicago

(1) San Jose over (3) Vancouver

Finals
San Jose over Pittsburgh in 6 games

 

Since everyone's posting there's heres mine:

1. San Jose vs. 8. Colorado
2. Chicago vs. 7. Nashville
3. Vancouver vs. 6. LA
4. Phoenix vs. 5. Detroit

I just don't see any major upsets happening. San Jose are the first round choke artists, but Colorado fell into the playoffs face first. Good on Phoenix for getting into the playoffs in a good position, but Detroit is just too strong right now.

1. San Jose vs. 5. Detroit
2. Chicago vs. 3. Vancouver

This is where the Sharks will falter. Better than previous years, but not as good as they should be doing.
Last year Chicago took out Vancouver in the second round, but this year the Canucks have 3 lines scoring, and Chicago doesn't have a goalie anymore.

3. Vancouver vs. 5. Detroit

If Vancouver can get rolling and Luongo gets his game to a reasonable level of play, then they'll be able to take Detroit.

1. Washington vs. 8. Montreal
2. New Jersey vs. 7. Philadelphia
3. Buffalo vs. 6. Boston
4. Pittsburgh vs. 5. Ottawa

No upsets here.

1. Washington vs. 4. Pittsburgh
2. New Jersey vs. 3. Buffalo

I think Washington has it over Pittsburgh this year. Pittsburgh just isn't as convincing as last year.
The other series is a goalie battle to me, and Brodeur started to falter after he set his records. Miller played amazing in the Olympics under pressure and I think he can do it again here.

1. Washington vs. 3. Buffalo

Milller played amazing in the Olympics, but even he couldn't stop the Canadians. Same thing, but replace Canadians with Washington.


I'd like to say Vancouver over Washington in the finals, but that's a 100% homer decision.

 

Every breakdown I do has Vancouver reaching the finals. I don't want to post my predictions because I want nothing to do with Vancouver winning a cup. In the east I moderately dislike Washington (Bruce Boudreau sucks, I don't care how many goals his team scores or how many points they gather), Pittsburgh (Tank! Tank! Tank!), Jersey (Parise AND Kovalchuk? Are you serious?) and Boston. The rest I don't mind, and of course I love Montreal, no matter how bi-polar the team gets. Will we see the clutch, quick and lethal Habs or the retarded, lets-eat-paste Habs?

In the West I can't see Detroit getting past the 2nd round without breaking down, Lidstrom's getting old and Howard is unproven. Vancouver is a really solid team. Chicago is even better but I'm not really sold on their offense, yes they have crazy depth but other than Hossa and Toews, no gamebreaking players (Kane, I'm not sold). Pheonix doesn't have the talent. Colorado neither. San Jose will either be amazing or be horrible. I hope they do well but not SC-Finals well.

So no, no predictions from me, just biased opinions. Montreal for the cup. (pfft)