NHL.com Not Working – Hacked to Display an Advertisement

Today as I was doing my usual check on NHL.com (which happens about every fifteen minutes) I noticed a very strange thing.  The website redirected me to a page with just a banner advertisement in the top left corner.  As I was trying to get back to nhl.com to check out the previews of tonights game the same redirect kept occuring.  I thought this was strange, so I asked a few friends online if it was doing the same for them and it was.  The only thing I can come up with is that NHL.com has been hacked and every click on that banner advertisement is making the hacker a few cents.  I’m sure this will be fixed quickly and taken care of, but it is surprising to think that NHL.com does not have a better online security system to prevent these sort of attacks.

Let me know in the comments if you are experiencing the same thing when attempting to visit the NHL website.  Most of the ads I have seen are NHL related with many pointing the NHL shop, or to purchase NHL tickets or even just to the NHL network subscription.  The ad displayed may be similar to the one below:

In the meantime a good alternative to NHL.com in terms of hockey information and statistics is the TSN website.

**EDIT – NHL.com is now working!

NHL First Round Playoff Predictions 2010-11

The Stanley Cup Playoffs start tonight so I cannot wait any longer to get my 2010-11 predictions up for the first round.  Last season I went 6 for 8, missing the Habs and Flyers in the first round, but hitting every other series (I was even further off because those two ended up meeting in the Conference Finals).  In 2008-09 I went 8 for 8 in the first round, so over the past two season I’m currently 14/16 in first round series, which is a fairly decent statistic.  Let’s get onto it.  Check out the first round NHL playoff predictions below:

Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers

The Caps were still able to finish the regular season in first place in the East after a very poor start to season where they lost 8 straight games in December, which everyone saw on the Road to the Winter Classic documentary.  Since then the Caps have turned it around and really put in place a new style and team identity.  The team scored more than 1.2 fewer goals per game this year and actually finished the season with fewer than average goals per game.  This means they improved their defense if they were still able to finish atop the East so expect a much more well rounded team in this years playoffs.  The loss of Ryan Callahan will really hurt the Rangers and I expect this to be an easy win for the Caps.

Prediction: Washington Capitals in 5

Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabres

The Flyers dropped off big time at the end of the season winning only 9 of their final 25 games.  The Sabres on the other hand won 9 of their last 12 and have the best record in the league since  Pegula purchased the team (16-4-4).  I expect each teams momentum to continue forward and having the better goaltender in net should give the Sabres an added edge in this series.  Expect Vanek to score several goals as well.

Prediction: Buffalo Sabres in 6

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens

The Bruins have the second best goal differential in the league and the best goaltender in Tim Thomas.  They are very deep up front and can count on Zdeno Chara to be a force from the back end.  Kaberle has also been a good addition to the team, while Chris Kelly is a very underrated player that was a great pick up for Chiarelli.  The Bruins outclass the Habs in every area of the game and their size should be a factor and something that the Habs cannot handle.

Prediction: Boston Bruins in 4

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning

The Pens will be without Crosby for at least game 1 and very possibly the entire series.  The Penguins have proven they can win without Crosby and Malkin this year, which came as a surprise to many people and is a huge testament to Bylsma as the coach.  The Lightning have two of the top forwards in the league in Stamkos and St. Louis, while Lecavalier and Gagne are no slouches either.  The goaltending battle will be tight with Fleury and Roloson each having a lot of experience and the ability to steal games.  This series may just come down to experience and I think the Penguins are deep enough to win this series even if Crosby is not able to return.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 7

Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks

Anyone who says the Canucks aren’t a little bit worried about playing the Blackhawks are lying to themselves.  The ‘Hawks ousted the ‘Nucks in the last two playoffs and although they backed in to the playoffs with the help of the Minnesota Wild the Blackhawks are one of the few teams capable of beating the Canucks this season.  Vancouver was by far the best team in the regular season, but this doesn’t always translate into the playoffs, especially when the other team is in the head of your goaltender.  I expect Schneider to play in this series by the end, but the Blackhawks experience and mental game will win this one.

Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks in 7

San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings

This should be the easiest series of all for any team.  The Kings lost their top player, Kopitar, late in the season and although Justin Williams is set to return to the lineup, the key piece that Kopitar is will be sorely missed.  The Sharks have been a dominant team since they dropped to 11th in the standings at the midway point of the season.  Expect them to roll over the Kings in this one.

Prediction: San Jose Sharks in 4

Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes

The Red Wings will start this series rematch without Henrik Zetterberg, but the Detroit team is deep enough that this should not be a huge problem.  The Red Wings are likely scratching either Jiri Hudler or Mike Modano for the first game of the series even with Hank out.  The Coyotes put up a great battle last season, but this years Detroit team should be more well rested and ready to go.  Datsyuk is healthy and Lidstrom & Rafalski are playing some of the best hockey of their long careers.

Prediction: Detroit Red Wings in 6

Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators

The Ducks somehow jumped from almost out of the playoffs to having home ice advantage.  This is the hardest to call series in the first round.  The Ducks have a dominant top line and Selanne is playing great, but the Preds are extremely deep and play a hardnosed style of game that is very hard to find holes in.  The series will come down to whether Perry/Getzlaf/Ryan/Selanne can score enough goals to make up for the Ducks lack of depth in comparison to the Predators.  Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are two top dmen and they should be able to at least slow down the powerful Ducks top line and this should be enough to tilt favour towards the Preds in this one.

Prediction: Nashville Predators in 7

Leave your picks in the comments below and explain why you are choosing who you are.  I put a $10 parlay down on these predictions at Bookmaker.com and the potential payout is $1067!  Let’s hope I go 8 for 8 again.

Check out Bookmaker.com for all the odds.

Hart Trophy Prediction – Daniel Sedin or Corey Perry?

With approximately two games remaining in the regular season the Hart Memorial trophy seems to be coming down to a two-horse race.  Daniel Sedin and Corey Perry, not coincidentally the top two leading scorers in the league at the moment are being talked about non stop as to which player is more deserving of this honour of league MVP.  There are of course a few other names jumping around in the conversation, namely Martin St. Louis, Tim Thomas and Marc Andre Fleury, but most people have agreed that one of either D. Sedin or Corey Perry will take home the hardware.  The third nominee is of little concern.

If you asked me a week ago which player is more deserving I would have immediately said Daniel Sedin.  The top scorer in the league, leading his team to the Presidents Trophy as the best team during the regular season.  What more can you really ask for?  However, in the past week Corey Perry has put on a scoring clinic reaching 50 goals (solidifying the Maurice Richard trophy), pulling within 3 points of Daniel for the Art Ross and playing his best hockey when the Ducks needed points the most.  This is really going to be a tough call but at this exact moment I’m going to make a call.  Read on to find out which way I’m leaning.

Why Daniel Sedin Will Win The Hart Trophy

• He is leading the league in scoring.  100 points after 80 games.
• He led the Canucks to the best overall record in the league by a wide margin. (Vancouver clinched the Presidents trophy with about 2 weeks remaining in the season)
• He was able to maintain his stellar pace from last season after coming back from his ankle injury.
• His brother Henrik won last year and it would be awesome to see the twins win back to back years.
• He is a plus 28 this season.
• The best player on the best team should be the league MVP.

Why People Will Say Daniel Shouldn’t Win The Hart

• He played the entire season with his brother Henrik. (This is ridiculous. If you remove every player who has a good line mate from Hart Trophy contention who are you left with??)
• His team is too good and they would have succeeded without him. (Who is to say they know exactly how well Vancouver would have done without Daniel this season.  The fact is they won the league with him. End of story)

Why Corey Perry Will Win the Hart Trophy

• He leads the NHL with 50 goals at this moment.  He will win the Maurice Richard and likely be the only player to reach 50 this season.
• He turned around a struggling Ducks team without Ryan Getzlaf and put them in a position to most likely make the playoffs.
• He had a terrific second half of the season playing his best hockey when the points mattered the most.
• He has 19 more points than Selanne who is the second leading scorer on the Ducks and the two only play together on the powerplay.
• The player who’s team would have struggled the most without him should be the league MVP.

Why People Say Corey Perry Shouldn’t Win the Hart

• He plays on perhaps the best line in the league with Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan. (Once again ridiculous.  Who is to say that this line is not dominant because of Perry)
• He is only a +9 while his line mates Getzlaf and Ryan are both +14. (This is not a big enough difference to be a legitimate statistic when looking at these players)

This battle basically comes down to the last point for each player.  What type of player are voters looking for?  The best player on the best team, or the player who’s team hypothetically needs him the most.  The second part of that sentence is completely opinion based which is why I would prefer to see Daniel Sedin win the Hart Trophy this year.  That being said if I was to bet on a player winning it I would have to take Perry.  Too many people consider the Sedins a package deal and the only reason Henrik won last season was because Daniel was hurt which gave Henrik a chance to prove that he can still dominate on his own.  This season Daniel was never given that chance and that fact alone will be the reason he doesn’t win the Hart.  Perry’s linemate Getzlaf got hurt and Perry kept producing.  It seems like you need one of your top line mates to get hurt in order to prove yourself and win a Hart Trophy in this league.

I haven’t seen any betting lines for this, but I’m sure some will pop up eventually.  Check out a variety of betting websites if you are interested in placing a wager on which player will win the Hart Trophy this season.