Bruins Acquire Recchi, Montador

The Boston Bruins have acquired Mark Recchi from the Tampa Bay Lightning reports ESPN. The Lightning have also given Boston their 2010 2nd round draft pick. In exchange, the Lightning acquired rearguard Matt Lashoff and forward Martins Karsums.

Well, I suppose it's a solid deal for Boston. Recchi's an unrestricted free against on July 1st, so the 41-year-old will likely be a brief rental for the B's. Still though, he adds loads of experience and leadership, not to mention a left-handed shot that the Bruins have desperately needed on offense.

It'll be interesting to see who he plays with tomorrow night against Phoenix.

The Bruins have also traded for an Anaheim Ducks defenseman, though probably not the one most people would have pegged them as getting. The B's sent forward Petteri Nokelainen and his injured eye to the Ducks for gritty Steve Montador.

Montador is a tough, physical player and looking over the B's backline, I'm not quite sure where Montador is going to fit in. Does Hunwick get sent back to Providence? When I first heard the news of this signing, along with the Recchi signing, I thought maybe the B's were using the two players as pieces to further their agenda for someone else. However, it appears as though I was wrong.

These are certainly curious acquisitions for Boston and it'll be interesting to see how they fare tomorrow evening. I'm mostly curious to see how Montador is going to fit into the team, but Julien must have a plan if he wanted the player.

Ducks v. Bruins LIVE!

Okay, so shoot me for completely missing the Bruins/Panthers encounter. I dropped the ball, got a little busy, but things happen. Besides, Bruins fans should see it as a blessing. They haven't had that kind of offensive explosion since I started writing about them. Silver lining perhaps.

Byron Bitz had the fans chanting "We Want Bitz" during the 6-1 thrashing of the Panthers. Yes, he's been solid since coming up and maybe he'll keep his spot when everybody gets healthy, at least I think he should. However, Bitz needs to play at a high level of physical play each and every night out. He's got the body, there's no reason why he can't dominate battles along the boards and behind the net.

Also, nice to see Mr. Ryder back.

Looking at Mike Millbury's pregame plan. Physical play is number one on his list. Shocking. I remember mentioning that about 50,000 times over the past two weeks.

No Aaron Ward, out with an injury. Matt Hunwick has been recalled from Providence. Probably for the better all around.

Let's see if Milan Lucic's physicality cna spur the team on like it did against Florida. Once he started hitting people, everyone else quickly followed suit.

I'm also hoping Bergeron is not on the power play point with Zdeno Chara. Lost hope is good.

Why does Jack Edwards always have to make a reference to "buzzing around" when he mentions the B's? They're Bruins, Jack. They don't buzz. They maul, rip and maim.

I had to add this in, NESN has a Jack Edwards bingo game. You get a spot when he uses some of his oft-uses spaces. I may have to play along with the live blogs. Just for the fun of it.

To prove I'm not joking...


I'm not sure I know what to say with things like He Bangs Him, Blows a Tire and Cocks and Fires on here, but Jack will be Jack. (Not to mention Reaches Around...)

First Period
And we're underway...

18:50 - Savard breaks into the zone with Kessel, 2 on 0, couple of slick passes between them, but Bret Hedican recovers well to break up a pontential shot.

16:20 - Getzlaf makes a brilliant pass ahead to Perry who's wrister from the right is saved by Timmy Thomas. Good flow so far, Bruins dominating the neutral zone and generally looking livelier.

13:36 - Things moving fast but not really a lot to comment on. Thomas makes a nice save and there will be a face off to his right.

13:11 - Bruins Seventh Player voting for fans is back. How can Tim Thomas not win this award?

11:56 - Lucic has Selanne lined up for a hit and whiffs into the Ducks bench. Good stuff. However, Lucic is looking to hit people here and he has caused a couple of turnovers.

10:50 - Mark Stuart's slapper, headed for J.S. Giguere, careens off Bitz's skate. Tough luck shot there for the B's.

10:12 - Delayed call on the Ducks, Yelle has a tough angle shot and rings through the post! Penalty call is slashing on Sheldon Brookbank.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


9:30 - You'd swear the Ducks are on the power play here...

8:20 - Bruins have a couple of chances, Wideman drifted into the slot and had the puck on the tape. Giguere saved the slap shot high off his forearm. Krejci then can't handle a cross-seam pass and the Ducks kill the penalty.

6:45 - Savard sets up in... Gretzky's Office. Ugh.

5:00 - High stick on David Krejci as he crushes Perry in the glass. Maybe not a penalty, hard to tell if the stick made contact. Bruins boo birds are out on the call. Rightly so lads.

2:28 - Bruins kill the penalty, Stephane Yelle made a ballsy move to block the puck off his hip early on in it.

2:06 GOAL! 1-0 Bruins - And it's Matt Hunwick! Recalled from Providence and he makes it happen! Krejci forces a turnover in the neutral zone, passes it to Ryder, kicks it off his skate to himself, backhands it across the seam, Wheeler has a good screen on and Hunwick is to follow it through to goal.

0:00 - Yelle down in the wall throws the puck in front and it just gets by an outstretched Bitz. Giguere's glove side was wiiiiiiiiiide open if Bitz had gotten a stick on it.

To quote Jack Edwards, after the first period, the B's are buzzing. Bzzzz.

A lot of scoring chances for the Bruins, against a lesser goalie they'd probably have a couple in the back of the net at the first intermission.

Second Period

18:33 - Bruins layering extremely well at the defensive end. They denied Selanne on a wrap around chance and ended with their own scoring chance at the other end.

18:01 GOAL 2-0 Bruins - Michael Ryder with this one! Hnidy waits it out in the back, gets it to Wheeler who finds Krejci, skates into the zone, finds Ryder in stride on the tape, drags a snapper and the Ducks look to be sitting. (Har.)

16:38 - Gotta love the effort Shawn Thornton puts in night in night out. It's too bad his talent doesn't match his effort.

16:17 GOAL 3-0 Bruins - Chuck Kobasew and birthday boy PJ Axelsson have a 2 on 1. Kobasew smartly keeps it himself and rips a snap shot past Giguere.

JS Giguere has been pulled from the game, Jonas Hiller will take his place.

Bruins have three goals on just eight shots.

14:20 - Bruins smell blood. Wheeler is called for tripping and the Ducks need to score a goal here.

11:40 - Shawn Thornton and George Parros! Two heavyweights banging lefts and rights. Parros has Thornton manhandled, but Thornton fights and fights and gets the takedown! Score one for Shawn Thornton! It started when Parros laid a huge hit into Marc Savard, it was clean, but Thornton felt the need to stick up for his teammate.

10:00 - I feel like I'm watching a completely different hockey team from the one I saw on the road trip.

6:05 - It's been a dull four minutes, though I have been amusing myself with Jack Edwards bingo. So far I've got Off Glass, In Gretzky's Office, D to D, Wing to Wing and Mid-Air Fungo Job. Nothing close to giving me the ole Jack Bingo though.

5:38 - Huge save from Thomas as he stops Parros and squeezes the puck between his legs. A near melee ensues before the ref points to the dot for a face off.

Parros has an epic mustache/soul patch combination. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

5:11 - Mike Brown sucker punches Milan Lucic and that is the end of his world. Lucic unleashes right handed barrels on Brown, knocks him to the ice and continues to wail on him.

Sheldon Brookbank has been ejected for going after Lucic had taken care of business.

Lucic has some bloody knuckles. Well worth the effort I'm inclined to think.

Jack is speculating that Lucic meant to go after Brookbank, but Brown happened to be in the wrong place and the right time.

And there's a Bruins power play after an instigating call. I guess it worked out pretty well for all involved.

4:27 - Savard and Scott Neidermayer jousting for position along the blue line. Savard takes exception, off comes the gloves and Neidermayer plants him to the ice. Say hello to Milan for me, Marc.

3:35 - Montador called for a leg trip on David Krejci. Things are getting extremely chippy here toward the end of the second. Bruins have a 5 on 3 for... well they screwed up on the scoreboard, so nobody is quite sure of how long.

1:59 GOAL 4-0 Bruins - It's a power play goal for Phil Kessel! Thomas turns it cross eyes, gets Ryder onside, drags it across the left circle and the shot bounces off Kessel's skate! Timmy Thomas pitching a shut out and adds an assist to his sheet.

:52.7 - George Parros is angry as he's called for a hold on Chara. No reason to be upset, it's very obvious. Parros jaws with the ref and is lucky it's only a two minute penalty.

:15.6 GOAL 5-0 Bruins - It's a power play goal for Chuck Kobasew! Chuck's second goal comes from the umbrella, Wideman gets it over to Kobasew who slots it past Hiller on the short side. The Bruins are on a feeding frenzy.

At the end of two and the Bruins have scored four goals, have gotten into a couple of scraps and are firing on absolutely every single cylinder. With the Ducks having little to play for in the third I could see some fisticuffs as things get tenser than they were in this period.

All I know is that I'm excited for it. I'm also sick of hearing Zombie Nation, so the B's can stop scoring any time.

Third Period

19:20 - I think Chara has put Corey Perry on the ice about 15 times tonight.

15:37 - Thomas robs Bobby Ryan! What a save.

Bruins have 19 players who have registered a point between tonight and the Florida game.

13:15 - Mark Stuart to the box for cross-checking. Can the Ducks claw their way back!?

11:33 - And Bitz "Pounds it down the river." Mark it off on your bingo scorecards, kids.

The Bruins are 3/3 killing the penalty tonight.

10:12 - Kessel skates through and glides across the zone, takes a nice shot that's covered by Hiller.

Won't it be pathetic when we're looking at Bingo cards and hoping Jack says one of his ridiculous phrases? Oh NESN! You've sucked us in!

6:19 GOAL 6-0 Bruins - It's Byron Bitz! Ference makes a long pass to Bitz, uses his strength to beat the skater, Neidermayer's poke check is avoided and he wrists it past Hiller.

3:40 - Jack just made a good point. Chara will be in studio for an interview with Shoe-Bangin' Millbury after the game and Jack goes "the man who traded Chara from the Isles." Wonder if that's why Mike's got a cushy NESN job these days.

And in 62 games this year the Bruins have won 42 games. They won 41 all of last season.

The B's were confident, intense, physical, everything you could have wanted from them tonight. They executed the game plan, the defense stepped up huge in the offensive aspect of the game.

Michael Ryder has 5 points in his first two games back, you've got to think that is huge for the Bruins who will need all the confidence they can get with the Capitals coming to town on Saturday afternoon.

Twelve goals and two games, let's see if the tempo remains on Saturday...

Pens Send Whitney To Anaheim For Kunitz

I just saw the news that the Penguins have traded Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi.

Part of me feels that this is a good trade because it clears some cap space, and by some I mean $250K. The good news is that Kunitz is signed through 2010-2011.

So far this season Kunitz has 16 goals and 19 assists, which makes me wonder why he's being paid $3.75 million when his career high in points is only 60.

What Kunitz gives the Pens is a more reliable wing for Sidney Crosby. I still think the Pens could have gotten a better winger, but something tells me Ray Shero isn't done and that something big is going to go down in the next week.

Perhaps Jordan Staal is heading out of town as has been discussed in a variety of places.

As for Tangradi at 6-4 221, this could be a stud in the making, He's second in the OHL in scoring with 87 points in 52 games. Only highly touted John Tavares is ahead of him.

This kid has the makings of a true power forward and that excites me.

By getting rid of Whitney, the Penguins have eased the logjam on defense and it will allow Kris Letang to get back into the lineup. Letang is rounding into a very solid offensive defenseman, but still needs work in his own end.

The top 6 defensemen are:

Sergei Gonchar - Brooks Orpik
Rob Scuderi - Hal Gill
Kris Letang - Mark Eaton

The Penguins also have Alex Goligoski waiting in the wings, but there are some rumors out there that he could be dealt as well. If that's the case, we better get a lot back.

Now as for new line combos up front let's shake things up a bit. I've suggested before moving Staal to a wing to better utilize his scoring ability. With that said, here's my suggested lines:

Kunitz - Crosby - Dupuis
Sykora - Malkin - Staal
Satan - Talbot - Fedotenko
Cooke - Kennedy - Godard

If the Penguins still want to keep Staal as a center, move him to the 2nd line center and move Evgeni Malkin out to a wing. It's not like he hasn't proven that he can play wing or anything.

Ideally, the Penguins can find a way to move Miroslav Satan to free up his $3.5 million contract heading into the offseason. Ruslan Fedotenko probably won't be back either at $2.5 million, so that already would free up six million in cap space by either dealing those two or letting them walk.

It's also pretty safe to assume that Philippe Boucher won't be back. Yes, he's still on the roster and making $2.5 million. He had foot surgery in January is is out indefinitely. He's also a UFA after the season, so he can walk too.

There's $8.5 million you free up just from letting those three guys walk. That should be more than enough to go out and get a couple of solid wingers to help out the depth up front, but that's also assuming Shero is fully happy with the now current roster.

Something tells me he's not.

Top 5 Disappointments Of The Playoffs (So Far)

I was sitting around thinking the other day about some of the biggest surprises of the first round so far and why I'm giddy as a Pens fan. I figured that would be good for a later post and started thinking about the flip side of that scenario being the biggest disappointments of the playoffs so far. After running this by Gopher and bouncing off my few ideas and with some of his own I narrowed the list down to a cool five. Here they are:

#5 - Martin Brodeur's Play Against The Rangers

Has he ever played a worse playoff series in his career? I don't think so. Go back to the two blunders he had in Game 1 on home ice. With the score tied in the third period and on the power play, Brodeur either had a massive brain lapse or was his typical cocky puck playing self. (Yes, he's one of the best puck handling goalies in the league, but he gets a little over-confident some times.)

With Ryan Callahan curling around the net, Brodeur drops the puck in his crease about a foot from the goalline thinking that the man coming around the net was his defenseman only to see Callahan hack it into the net for a backbreaking shorthanded goal.

As if it wasn't bad enough, later in the same period Brodeur overplays Scott Gomez on a 2-on-1. Gomez was practically in the 5th row of the crowd when he realized Brodeur was staring him in the face and not in the crease when he passed it out front to Sean Avery for an easy tap in goal to pad the lead.



These are just two examples of his poor play in this series. A majority of the goals he allowed in this series were pucks he should have stopped or were pucks that had no business being in the net. Did Avery's antics really get into his head that bad, or is this just the first signs of an aging goaltender in the new NHL? Time will only tell, but needless to say this was not the Brodeur we are all used to seeing at this time of year.

#4 - The Dominator Becomes The Dominated

This is pretty self explanatory, but can you really blame Mike Babcock for turning to Chris Osgood this soon? I think I saw Hasek filling out his AARP membership info during Game 6 against Nashville.

He was brutal in Games 3 and 4 in Nashville. He singlehandedly put Hockeytown into a state of panic not seen since the Sharks upset them many a moon ago. I enjoyed watching Hasek play during his career, but I hate seeing athletes hang on too long. Look at Jerry Rice, does it get much worse than seeing a Hall of Famer be cut and no one pick him up and then see him have success on "Dancing With The Stars?" I don't think so.

This needs to be Hasek's last season. Yes he put up great numbers this season, but honestly put a pylon in net and the wings still win at least 48-52 games. That team is loaded and is a well oiled machine. The Wings have a very capable goalie in Jimmy Howard waiting in the wings for his turn. He's the future of this franchise and has proven that he can play at the NHL level when he filled in for the osteoporosis-ridden Hasek earlier this season.

#3 - Carey Price Is Either On Or Can't Stop A Beachball

I hate to see someone struggle like this and for me to have to come on here and say "I told you so," but here it is. I TOLD YOU SO.

Carey Price looked great for five of the seven games against Boston. Games 5 and 6 were terrible where he gave up 10 goals in those two games and allowed Boston to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-1 in the series. Now I haven't been able to figure out if his shutout in Game 7 is anything to be overly excited about as the Bruins had absolutely nothing left in the tank for that game. Price did have some great saves in the game, but his team had already spotted him a 3 goal lead before anything he did mattered.

Flash ahead to the current series against Philadelphia. He hasn't looked solid in any of the first three games and was pulled in Game 3 after the second period. He let up three goals on 12 shots and was replaced by Jaroslav Halak who didn't allow a goal in the third period as the Habs almost forced overtime after heading into the final period down 3-0.



Who will be in net for Game 4? If I'm running the show I go with Halak. You can't waste time waiting for a kid to show up and play like we all know he's capable of playing. I've said this before. I like Price. I really do, but the inexperience of a 21-year-old kid playing in Montreal with the hopes of all of Canada on his shoulders right now to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada, is starting to show.

The backbreaking goal he allowed in Game 2 in the third period had no business being scored. On a floating puck in the air he nonchalantly put his glove out to catch it only to see it batted out of his glove and then into the net. You have to fight for that puck at all times as a goalie. Maybe he'll turn it around, but he's got to do it quick if the Habs are going to keep advancing in the playoffs.

#2 What's Up With San Jose?

I felt obliged to put this in near the top of the list since I picked them to win the Stanley Cup.

I don't quite get it. This team was the hottest of any team heading into the playoffs, but has been just good enough to advance. The one game that sticks out in my mind was when they ran Kipper from the net in Calgary with three goals in less than four minutes. Things looked great for the Sharks in that game and then it all fell apart as they went on to lose the game.

You can't blow three goal leads in the playoffs and expect to win. Ask the Rangers about how Game 1 against Pittsburgh turned out after they did the exact same thing.

Now they find themselves down 0-2 against the Stars and heading BACK TO DALLAS for the next two games. The Stars have completely dominated the first two games of this series and I wonder if San Jose is feeling some fatigue from playing a very physical seven game series against the Flames.

This team has no business losing like this. They are too deep and too good of a team to be tossed around like this.

#1 - Anaheim Ducks Made The Playoffs?

Boy I bet Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne are glad they came out of semi-retirement for this splendid Stanley Cup defense.

What a pathetic showing from the defending champs against the Stars who were one of the coldest most out of sync teams heading into the playoffs. It was almost like the Ducks expected to win and didn't put any effort into doing so.

J.S. Giguere was solid in only two games and those were the two they ended up winning.

The Stars controlled this series from the opening puck drop and the added boost of knocking off the defending champs has carried over into their series with the Sharks. I can't believe how the Ducks rolled over in this series. You can't take anything for granted in the playoffs even as the defending champs. With the way the Ducks played in the first round, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Lightning could have knocked them out. (Yeah, it's a bit of a stretch, but come on this was almost as bad as how the Senators played against the Penguins.)

The only thing I can come up with is that someone had really good tee times at Pebble Beach that making a run at defending the Stanley Cup was an afterthought.

Western Conference Quarterfinals Playoff Breakdown

As promised yesterday, here is the breakdown of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

The Western Conference in my opinion is going to be a little harder to predict as almost any team could represent the West in the Stanley Cup Finals, but let's get right into it.

#1 Detroit Red Wings vs #8 Nashville Predators

I can't believe I'm actually sitting here staring at this matchup. I thought for sure that with losing guys like Paul Kariya Kimmo Timmonen and Tomas Vokoun that this team wouldn't even be relevant, but here we are.

Why The Wings Win:

Better question is why don't they win, but we'll get there. This has been the most complete and dominant team in the NHL this season. Yes, the Sharks are probably the hottest team in the world right now, but look at this from a season standpoint.

If the Wings haven't been the number one seed from game one of the season, it had to have taken them at most three or four games to claim that spot and they haven't given it up since.

The play of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk has been incredible and guys like Johan Franzen have stepped up and performed well above expectations.

Why They Don't Win: Told you we'd get to this. Anyway, it's hard to find a flaw in this team. The only thing that jumps to mind is that the combined age of their goaltending is just shy of triple digits. Not to mention Chris Osgood has either been great, or terrible. Yeah, his save percentage is impressive, but come on a pylon could've put up solid numbers for the Wings this year.

They're that good.

Onto the Predators

Why They Win: Dan Ellis has been on fire recently. He hasn't given up more than three goals since Feb. 23 against Dallas in a 6-3 loss.

Since then he's 8-4-1 with two shutouts.

The Predators have been playing well down the stretch going 6-3-1 in their final ten games to catch and hold off the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot.

If the Predators are going to win Ellis is going to have to channel the spirit of Dwayne Roloson and J.S. Giguere from playoffs past.

Why They Don't Win: I just don't see the Preds pulling off the upset. Don't get me wrong, I'll be rooting for it, but Detroit has the complete package.

The Predators aren't exactly a deep team and that is going to be what hurts them. They have played the Wings well only losing the season series 5-3, but this is the playoffs and the Wings are very much built for the playoffs.

Bottom Line: Nashville as an organization should feel good about defying odds and making the playoffs at least, but don't blink because this one is going to be over quick. Red Wings in 5.

#2 San Jose Sharks vs #7 Calgary Flames

By far one of the most intriguing goaltending matchups we'll get in the playoffs. Evgeni Nabokov against Miikka Kiprusoff. Both capable of stealing a series.

Why The Sharks Win: This team has been the most dominant team in the league down the stretch. Before losing in regulation of their last game of the season, the Sharks hadn't lost in regulation in 21 straight games. Are you kidding me? A pace like that and they couldn't even catch the Wings who had built up a huge lead all season.

Joe Thornton may be the best passer in the game and in the top 5 all-time. Big Joe didn't reach 100 points this season falling just three shy, but he still logged 67 helpers. I really like this team's chances to represent the West.

Why They Don't Win: This is a team that doesn't get out and score many goals. If they face a team that can figure out a way to get past their incredible defense and get some pucks behind Nabokov, the Sharks are going to be in trouble.

Onto the Flames

Why They Win: Jarome Iginla and Kipper are going to have to put this team on their back and carry them. Calgary has been one of the streakiest teams in the league this season. They'll go from scoring at will to not being able to hit the broad side of a barn. From a fantasy standpoint, that fact killed Gopher all year long as he had Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Daymod Langkow. When that line was hot, he was unbeatable. When it was cold, he was still tough to play against, but easier to knock off, unless you had my team which whooped him even with them scoring.

But I digress.

Kipper is obviously capable of carrying this team in the playoffs. He did in during the 2004 playoffs and in my opinion won the Stanley Cup in overtime in Game 6. If he plays solid and the Iginla line plays like it can, the Flames have a shot. Let's not forget that they won the season series with the Flames 3-1.

Why They Don't Win: I wouldn't exactly say the Flames are living up to their name as they went 5-5 in their final ten games. Kipper was pulled against the Canucks on March 30 after giving up four goals on 13 shots.

The Flames also haven't scored more than three goals in a game sin March 22 against Minnesota in a 5-4 win, a span of six straight games.

Bottom Line: If the Flames would have played better down the stretch, I could see myself taking them in this series based on their record against San Jose. However, San Jose is the hottest team in the league as noted above and should have no trouble advancing to the second round. Sharks in 6.

#3 Minnesota Wild vs #6 Colorado Avalanche

This series could go on for a while. With Colorado's win on the last day of the regular season, they earned the 6-seed and the right to play the Wild in the first round.

Why The Wild Win: The Wild always seem to be in every game they play. They hang around like no other and have the potential to explode for goals at any minute.

For them to win this series Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra are going to need to step up. Not to mention, Brian Rolston has been fantastic over the last couple of months. I nearly dropped him in my fantasy league, but he quickly turned it around and finished the season with 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 points. If he had been on the same line as Gaborik for the entire season, hes over 75 points.

Let's not overlook goaltender Niklas Backstrom who has been phenomenal this season going 33-13-8 with a 2.31GAA and a .920 save percentage. He's also on a personal four-game winning streak that he's only allowed a total of four goals and has one shutout.

Why They Don't Win For a team that was built around a defensive standpoint, they have given up 218 goals this season. Only three other Western Conference playoff teams have given up more.

The team has also scored 223 goals giving them a goal differential of +5 which is only better than #7 Calgary (+2) and #8 Nashville (+1). You could look at that two different ways: On one hand, they've shown they can win close games which the playoffs are known for. On the other hand, it shows that they can be scored on which has to worry the fans and coaching staff.

Onto The Avalanche:

Why They Win: Well this is pretty easy, they reassembled the Stanley Cup champion team from 2000-01. The only notable players missing are Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque, Chris Drury and Alex Tanguay. The rest of the roster is pretty close.

Peter Forsberg is the X-Factor in this series to me. When he's healthy, and not that often, he is one of the best players in the world hands down. Like any great player, Forsberg makes the other guys around him better.

I would say the Avs have played better since the trade deadline and that's true. They were hovering around the 8-seed all season long and at least managed to jump up a couple spots down the stretch even if it was on the last day of the season. They suffered a lot of injuries this season to key players, namely Joe Sakic who only played in 44 games this season. The team is healthy again and that makes them dangerous.

Why They Don't Win: Will the real Jose Theodore please stand up? Is he hot right now, yes. He's 5-0-1 in his last six games with a shutout. The problem here is that if you look at his game log from this season, this isn't the first time he's gone on a streak like this.

By my count this is the 5th win streak he has totaled this year of at least three games. Every time after the streaks? Multiple loss streaks of at least 3. For example, from Feb. 26 - March 8 he went 6-0. Immediately following that streak he went 1-4 over his next six starts. He was yanked from the cage in the sixth game after allowing three goals on eight shots in 14 minutes. He got off the hook as the Avs ended up losing 7-5 to Edmonton.

There is a pattern with him and if looks shaky at all, Peter Budaj is going to have to step up huge.

Bottom Line: If the last game of the season series on April 6 was a precursor to what we are in store for, this is going to be a fun series to watch. There may not be a lot of goals scored, but I'm thinking we'll see a lot of 3-2 games. Based on goaltending, Wild win in 7.

#4 Anaheim Ducks vs #5 Dallas Stars

Oh baby this is going to be a good one. Giguere vs Marty Turco. The defending champs taking on one of the most complete teams in the league.

Why The Ducks Win: The Ducks may have figured out how to build a cup contender from year to year. If you look back to the Stanley Cup Finals last year against Ottawa, they completely shutdown the high flying Sens by pounding them into the ice every chance they got. I'm not saying they Ducks are just a bunch of goons, though they do have two that jump to mind in Todd Bertuzzi and Chris Pronger.

The thing with the Ducks is that they are a group of huge individuals who can skate like the wind and hit like a Mack truck. Let's also not forget they have a Conn Smythe winner in net.

Since Teemu Selann and Scott Niedermayer decided to return from a retirement of sorts, the team has responded and looked much like the same team as last year. They go their identity back and have been a force down the stretch. They're 8-2-0 in their last ten games which you like to see if you're a fan heading into the playoffs.

Why They Don't Win: The only way this team loses in the first round, is if they beat themselves. I'm not just talking about showing up to the rink and playing for 60 minutes. Guys like Pronger and Bertuzzi need to keep their emotions in check. Pronger was jut suspended for eight games for stomping on Ryan Kesler and he was suspended during last year's cup run for an elbow which was debatable.

The Ducks need to show up and play the bruising style of play we know they are capable of playing. It won them the cup last season and it could very well do it again this year.

Onto the Stars:

Why They Win: On paper I like this team a lot. I loved the addition of Brad Richards at the trade deadline and he appeared to be fitting in quite nicely.

He's going to have to step up as a former Stanley Cup champion and bring his A-game if the Stars are going anywhere. Other guys like Mike Modano are going to need to step it up as well.

In net, the time is now for Marty Turco. Stars management entertained offers for him in the offseason and chose to stick with him. If the Stars lose because of poor play in net, he could very well have played his last game in Dallas. I don't blame last year's loss to the Canucks in seven games on Turco at all. It was a great series and he played well, but against a team like Anaheim you can't give them soft goals.

Why They Don't Win: I don't know if there's a chemistry problem going on in Dallas or what, but since the Richards deal the team hasn't been winning many games. In their last ten games they're 3-5-2, which I'd be worried about if I was a Stars fan or player.

Richards did not play a game in April and only recorded six points in March. That lack of offensive putout was a major reason why the Bolts traded him. That and the salary cap issue with keeping Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.

Bottom Line: I never trust slumping teams come playoff time, but if there is a team that has the ability to turn it around it's the Stars who won the season series with the Ducks 5-3. As much as I like the Stars on paper, the Ducks are the team to beat right now as they still hold the Stanley Cup. Ducks win in 6.

Top 5 Western Conference Goalies

I'm lucky to even be writing this right now after seeing the Penguins win 2-0 over New Jersey last night to clinch a playoff spot and move four points ahead of the Devils in the Atlantic Division.

It was a huge win and you can read more about it Here if you like.

Anyway, as promised here is part two of yesterday's installment. The top five goalies in the Western Conference.

#5 Miikka Kiprusoff - Calgary Flames

Now I would rank him higher on this list, but it's kind of hard to do so with how many great goalies there are in the Western Conference.

Had the Flames officially been awarded the Stanley Cup in 2004, I had said I was going to buy a Kipper jersey out of respect for how he carried them to the finals. I also said the same thing about Roloson during Edmonton's Finals run in 2006, but then he got hurt and it didn't seem worth it anymore had they actually won.

Anyway, Kipper is an elite goalie who anyone would want for their fantasy teams. He did struggle early on this season, but is currently 38-23-10 with a 2.67 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He's 6-3 in the month of March and seems as if he's regaining his form just in time for the playoffs.

I had a suitemate in college who was all about landing any Finnish goalie he could for our fantasy league. Didn't really pay off for him until this year as he's now fighting for he bronze trophy.



Kipper should hit the 40 win plateau for the third straight season, but his numbers have ballooned up a little this season due to the slow start. During his Vezina Trophy winning season in 2005-06 he went 42-20-11 with a ridiculous 2.07 GAA and a .923 save percentage.

By no means do I think that his numbers from that season were a flash in the pan. Miikka has hall of fame potential and should continue to be a dominant goalie for many years to come.

#4 Marty Turco - Dallas Stars

I really like this guy and I don't think he gets enough credit. Mainly this stems from his lackluster playoff performances over the years. I'm still convinced had the Stars won in Game 7 against Vancouver last year that they could have made a run to the conference finals.

Turco and Roberto Luongo put on a goaltending clinic for seven games. It was one series I did not want to end.

On the year Turco is 30-20-4 with a 2.31 GAA and a .910 save percentage. He has struggled recently though going 1-7 in March. The lone win in March for him was a 3-0 shutout over Colorado on March 9. Not really sure who to blame for the Stars struggles of late. The last time they scored more than three goals in a game was Feb. 28 in a 7-4 win over Chicago.



What sets Turco apart is his ridiculous athletic ability. He's not an overly big guy at 5-11 185 pounds, but his will to win isn't matched by many. He's a scrappy goaltender that may not make every save look pretty, but he still makes the saves.

#3 Roberto Luongo - Vancouver Canucks

Aside from Marc-Andre Fleury and Henrik Lundqvist who I discussed yesterday, Luongo is third on my personal list of goalies. I felt so bad for this guy while he was in Florida facing record numbers of shots over the course of a season and he was still putting up very respectable numbers.

In his last season with the Panthers he went 35-30-9 with a 2.97 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Last season with the Canucks he didn't surprise many when he finished the year 47-22-6 with a 2.28 GAA and a .921 save percentage.

As of right now, Luongo is 34-24-9. This may look like a dip in numbers here, but his GAA and save percentage are actually better than they were last year at 2.22 and .922.



This guy is the complete package in net. He's a big body who can explode post to post or out to cut down an angle. When you think you have him beat, he takes it away at the last second. I'm fully convinced that the only reason he and the Canucks aren't being talked about as Cup contenders is due to the severe lack of offense.

They have a great system that keeps them in many games, but you can't ask you going to go out every night and only give up one or two goals. Yeah, that's what you'd love to see every night, but the truth of the matter is that it's not going to happen.

#2 Evgeni Nabokov - San Jose Sharks

Nabby deserves at least a nomination as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this season. He's got a record of 43-20-8 with a 2.13 GAA and a .910 save percentage. He's been absolutely on fire over the last month and a half going 12-0-2 in his last 14 starts. The last time he lost in regulation was way back on Feb. 18 against the Islanders in a 3-2 game.

This guy has literally carried one of my fantasy teams this season in which I saw Fleury go down and Emery become irrelevant. Nabby has been the rock for my team and has back stopped the Sharks to a five-point lead over the Ducks in the Pacific Division.

No one has been hotter than Nabby and he is one reason the Sharks could represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup finals this summer.



I know that is kinda short and only contains one highlight, but tell me your jaw didn't hit the desk you're sitting at when you saw that.

Gopher had been taunting me about having Nabby going against Phoenix last night since we're playing each other for the championship and I wasn't quick enough to get Nabby in the draft. Based on tonight's goaltending stats, I may just take the whole thing since Nabby gave up 4 and Ryan Miller gave up 5 whilemy boy Fleury pitched a shutout against New Jersey.

Eat your heart out Gopher.

#1 Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Anaheim Ducks

I know this is going to annoy all Red Wings fans out there who are going to say "how can you not throw Hasek and Osgood into this list?" Here's why. Yes, they have been impressive this season, but I'm looking at these guys based on raw talent alone and Osgood has been awful lately and Hasek is suffering from old age and will probably retire after this season anyway.

Anyway, Giggy has been unreal since the calendar changed to 2008 and has been a major reason that the Ducks have made a charge in the standings to solidify their playoff hopes.

Since the start of 2008 Giggy has gone 18-6-3 with three shutouts. One didn't really count due to the Ducks losing in a shootout.

I have been completely impressed with this guy since he carried the Mighty Ducks to within one game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2002-2003 when they lost to New Jersey in Game 7. That Finals run was one of the greatest displays of goaltending I have ever seen. He singlehandedly got the Mighty Ducks that far and deserved winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.



Flash forward to last season when the Ducks won the Cup and he was once again brilliant in the playoffs. This guy is a big game goalie. Not just because he wins the big games, but because he's a huge guy and has serious game.

On the year he's 33-17-6 with a 2.11 GAA and a .923 save percentage which is tied with Ty Conklin for the league lead. How that's possible with how poorly Conks has played over the last few games is beyond me, but whatever.

If there is a team that could defend the Stanley Cup, it's the Ducks this year. Look out for them and for Giggy in the playoffs because it should be something to see.

So there you have it, the top five goalies from both conferences. Stay tuned as I will be breaking down the playoff matchups once they are finally determined.

Western Conference First Round Nightmare Scenarios

There is no way I cannot do the Western Conference scenarios after the way the Eastern Conference Nightmares were received. We got a big boost in traffic from Deadspin.com and Greg Wyshynski, of FanHouse and The Fourth Period with his latest article It's Those 190-Foot Goals That Always Getcha

Check it out and scroll down to the end of the article for the link he graciously put to yesterday's Eastern Conference scenarios.

That's enough sentimental stuff. You're hear because you want to see what Gopher and I were able to come up with for the Western Conference. So here you go.

Detroit Red Wings

Let's get sentimental here for a moment shall we? Who didn't stay up late to watch these two teams go at it in the playoffs?

I don't care who you are, Colorado has to be scaring the top teams in the West right now with their deadline acquisitions. They practically re-assembled the cup team of 2000-01.

Here's the reason why Detroit would be a little upset about facing Colorado. These teams absolutely hate each other. Hate may not even be the right word. It's much deeper than hatred. I wouldn't be surprised if Lidstrom had to choke back some bile when talking about the Avs.

Anyone remember this classic bout? Expect more of this if these two see each other in the opening round.



I'm not saying Detroit would lose to Colorado, none of these nightmare scenarios are meant as predictions of winners unless otherwise stated. This pick is more selfish than anything as I would tape every game and watch them during those lonely summer nights without hockey.

San Jose Sharks

The first team that came to mind was the Vancouver Canucks.

Vancouver hasn't exactly lived up to the expectations I thought they would achieve at the beginning of the season, but that still doesn't mean that they don't have one of the best defensive teams in the league.

The problem with Vancouver is that they have no offense to speak of outside of the top line of Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and whoever they decide to put alongside those two.

However, even without the offense and a solid defensive scheme we cannot forget who is backstopping this team. Roberto Luongo.

I would not want to face Luongo in the regular season let alone the playoffs. He may very well be the best goaltender in the league. Here's a fun montage of some of the things Luongo is capable of done to a song from one of my favorite bands, Breaking Benjamin.



Note the final save shown against San Jose. Was it lucky? Of course, but it's things like that that could give the Sharks fits.

Minnesota Wild

How about a classic offense against defense series with the Calgary Flames. Now before you start jumping on me for saying the Flames are all about offense, they do have a much scarier offense than the Wild.

I look at the Wild and I see a team that reminds me a lot of the Devils. They play the same trap system, but the only difference is that Niklas Backstrom is not Martin Brodeur and there in lies the weakness.

On paper there is no question that Miikka Kiprusoff is the all around better goaltender even if he hasn't had the best of seasons.

Calgary isn't just going to have to bank on Kipper in net. They also have one of the most dynamic players in the league in Jarome Iginla. These two guys are capable of taking over a series in an instant. Let's not forget that they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in Game 7 against Tampa Bay.

Here's some highlights of that great series in 2004.



(Side note: For those of you who remember Game 6 of that series in Calgary you'll remember it went to overtime and there was some controversy. Martin Gelinas appeared to be the first player in NHL history to score the series deciding goal in every round when he appeared to get the puck behind the Bulin Wall. The "goal" went upstairs for review and came back down as inconclusive which was a total crock. Congrats Flames fans, I award the Stanley Cup to you. I still believe the NHL went into a lockout because the Bolts won the Cup and that it had nothing to do with money whatsoever. That's my opinion and this is my blog so deal with it.)

Anaheim Ducks

I've been saving my personal pick at this very moment that is subject to change in the upcoming playoff previews for both conferences. The team the Ducks do not want to see in the first round is the Dallas Stars.

Anaheim earned their second win of the season against Dallas tonight in a hard fought 2-1 game. This was the seventh meeting of the season between the two clubs and Dallas still holds the 5-2 advantage.

This could quite possibly be the best series of the entire first round if we are lucky enough to witness this.

Who wouldn't get excited about J.S. Gigeure going up against Marty Turco? You'd have to be legally dead to not get pumped up to see two of the top goalies in the league go at it for potentially seven games. Think back to last year and how much fun the Canucks/Stars series was that went the distance.

Here's some Marty Turco heroics.



There is no more physical team top to bottom than the Ducks. That's what got them the Cup last year, but the Stars have had the Ducks number this year and could easily represent the Western Conference in the Cup finals this year.

Of course this will come down to whether or not Turco can shake the playoff demons that have haunted him over the years. By no means am I blaming last year on him, he played great. He just came out on the short end of things.

So there you have it. The nightmares for the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. Time to sit back and wait to see how many of these nightmares become a reality as we go down the stretch to the playoffs.

This Week's Hot And Cold Teams

Normally I would have had a couple more posts up already, but things came up hence the delay. Life is like that I suppose.

Anyway, I was reading the latest power rankings on ESPN.com and got inspired to do something similar of my own. If you look at the comments section on the ESPN list, you’ll notice everyone yapping back and forth about why their favorite team isn’t #1.

Here’s the thing, the people doing the list aren’t rocket scientists. They’re normal people like you and me who actually get paid to write this fodder for the masses to chew on. I do get a kick out of reading the comments though. Inevitably there’s some poor sap who barely watches hockey who announces to the world that he/she is an idiot and the entire message board pounces on them like a pack of hyenas taking down an Impala in the African wilderness. (I just watched disc one of the BBC’s “Planet Earth.” If you haven’t seen it, go buy it and watch it on an HD television and prepare to be blown away like I was to see the boy-band era actually exist for longer than 30 seconds.)

Got a little off topic there, but here’s what I’m going to do every once in a while. Might be every week, but who knows. I’m going to pick the three hottest teams in the league and the three teams that should be acting like Tanya Harding asking the judges for a re-do. If you haven’t seen this crying fiasco by now, enjoy.



3 Teams On Fire

#3 Boston Bruins

The Bruins are currently the 6-seed in the Eastern Conference with 77 points. The team is 7-1-2 in their last ten games and is closing in on the Ottawa Senators in the division. They sit three points back of Ottawa and four back of division leader Montreal.

This team has been a pleasant surprise this season and gives the city of Boston another shot at a championship. The Bruins haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1971-72 and I don’t see the streak ending this season.

There is a lot of potential on this team especially in young guy Phil Kessel who will be the leader of this team for years to come. It remains to be seen if he will suffer the same fate as another young guy who was supposed to be the franchise player of the century in Joe Thornton. We all know how that ended up.

#2 New York Rangers

The Rangers are currently the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference with 77 points. Tied with the Bruins above but the B’s have more wins and thus have the 6-seed. They sit five points back of New Jersey and six points back of the conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins and are 7-0-3 in their last ten games.

To quote a famous rapper and then distort the line for my own no-good: “Will the real New York Rangers please stand up?”

Just because I can, I’m going to rant on the Rangers a little.

Where was this display all year? Why have guys like Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr been making me question why I even follow hockey in the first place if I can’t dominate my fantasy leagues like I have for years. (Shut up Gopher, you got lucky and you know it and I’ll see you in the playoffs this year to take back what is mine.)

Does anyone really want to face this team right now in the playoffs? A month ago I would’ve been jumping up and down with anticipation of the first-round bye, but now the Rangers actually look like the legit contender we all thought they would be at the start of the season. The only question now is, can they keep it up or is this just another chapter in the up and down season they’ve had?

#1 Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks currently sit as the 4-seed in the Western Conference with 83 points. They trail the Pacific Division leading Dallas Stars by four points and the conference leading Red Wings by 11. The Ducks are also 9-1-0 in their last ten games.

It finally looks like the Ducks are once again Stanley Cup contenders and could make a solid defense of their title.

The team really started to turn things around when Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer opted out of retirement and decided to come back for one more year.

Selanne has 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 12 games since returning to the lineup and Niedermayer has brought more stability to the back line.

It’s not a far fetched idea that they could catch and pass the Stars and head into the playoffs as the two or three-seed.

3 Teams Who Should Forget This Week Happened

Normally I would include teams like the Thrashers, Kings, Lighting etc., but it would get old saying the same thing week after week so let’s look at the playoff chasing teams who are slipping.

#3 Detroit Red Wings

This may look weird being on this list, but the Wings have been struggling recently. To keep form with the rest of the team intros: the Wings are currently the 1-seed in the Western Conference with 94 points and lead the 2-seed Stars y seven points.

There’s not much to say about this team. They got out to such a huge lead from the start of the season that this slump isn’t even hurting them. If anything it shows they are human and can be beat. Chris Osgood has finally returned to Earth after being on one ridiculous streak and has now been told he’ll be starting only five of the team’s remaining 15 games so Dominik Hasek can get some WD-40 into his joints and be ready to go for the playoffs.

#2 Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are currently clinging to a one point lead over the Buffalo Sabres for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 74 points. They are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games.

After losing 10 straight games the Flyers have put together a better week and are back in the playoffs right now, but the injuries they suffered appeared to show that their younger players and farm system are not ready to carry the load just yet.

If they can get healthy they could return to mid-season form where they were leading the Atlantic Division. They’ve shown (much to my utter annoyance) that they can hang with playoff teams, especially Pittsburgh who they would face in the first-round right now.

They better start winning and winning fast because not only are the Sabres one point back, but the Capitals are two points back and the Islanders are only three points back.

#1 Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are currently the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference with 80 points. They trail the 4-seed New Jersey Devils by two points and Northeast Division leading Montreal by one point.

My my, I guess the saying “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” applies as if it was written about this team. Like the Red Wings, the Senators looked unstoppable at the start of the season, but since the All-Star break the team has been in a tailspin.

They have had some injuries to key players such as Dany Heatley and captain Daniel Alfredsson, but the team has looked like they don’t care about playing hard on some nights. It’s almost as if the rest of the team quits when “The Big 3” (Jason Spezza being the 3rd Musketeer in this equation) are in the lineup.

Let’s also look at the goaltending situation. Martin Gerber has shown moment of brilliance, but has also shown he can’t stop a beach ball at times. His poor wife must spend hours rubbing aloe on his neck to ease the pain of the sunburn.

Same goes for Ray Emery who I believe thinks he’s Muhammad Ali (who’s depicted on his helmet.) Most enforcers don’t even want to throw down with Brian McGratton and yet Ray-Ray has done it on a couple of occasions this year alone.

Unless something drastic happens in Ottawa in the next month, this team is going to be a pushover in the first-round. Emery showed last year that he can be a solid goalie that can carry a team deep in the playoffs, but he hasn’t even resembled his former self for more than a handful of games this season.