That return was Cory Conacher and a 4th.  Conacher is a 23 year old, undrafted college player who had a lot of success in the AHL last season with Norfolk, scoring 80 points in 75 games and helping Norfolk win the Calder Cup (he had 15 points in 18 playoff games).  Conacher earned his spot on the Lightning roster this year and got off to a super fast start.  He now has 24 points in 35 games, but hasn’t been quite as productive of late scoring just 4 points in his last 12 games and seeing his ice time slip a bit.  That said he has the ability to be a scorer in this league and he will get an opportunity to prove it with the Sens this season and playoffs.

Where Bishop Fits With Lightning

Tampa has not been strong in net this season.  They have 106 goals against and give up the 10th most goals per game in the league, which isn’t actually that bad, but if you look at the other 10 you only see one playoff team in that midst, which is the Winnipeg Jets.  The Sens on the other hand have the best goals against average in the league at 2.08 goals against per game.  Lindback was supposed to answer the call in net this year for the Lightning, but he hasn’t done so and Garon is not a suitable back up with 5 wins in 16 games.  Bishop will likely get a chance to earn the starting goaltender spot, which he wasn’t going to be given a chance to do in Ottawa.  I think he has the ability to thrive in the NHL and expect to be hearing a lot more from him in the future.

Where Conacher Fits With Senators

Conacher will give the Sens some more offense, which is needed especially if Spezza doesn’t come back before the playoffs.  Mike Hoffman is currently playing on the top line with Alfredsson and Turris and I wouldn’t be surprised if Conacher is slotted in there to start his career with the Sens.  That said Hoffman has shown glimpses of brilliance, but that line has still not been able to put the puck in the net on a regular basis.  The Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Latendresse line is unlikely to be broken up, so if Conacher doesn’t fit with Turris and Alffy he might well be a third or fourth line guy with some upside.

I still like this trade for the Sens because it gives them more depth heading into the playoffs and a guy that has shown he can score goals.  He is still young at 23 and they had to deal Bishop at some point.  The goaltender market is usually a buyers market so this deal was a good creative deadline trade for the Murray and I expect it will also be for Yzerman.

He’s short, but he’s got game….

Why the change?  What is so different about this year’s squad?  Much of the personnel is the same, but the team is playing with a level of skill, structure, and intensity that has not been seen in Montreal for years.  I suggest there are at least 5 reasons for this remarkable transformation.

1. Off-Ice Changes

As Mary J Blige said, there is “no more drama” surrounding the team.  Much credit has to go to owner Geoff Molson, who saw the need for transformation at the core of the organization.  The first step was the hiring of the acute Marc Bergevin as General, who set out to build a new off-ice structure for the team.  Gone was the “gong show” of the Pierre Gauthier era.  Bergevin immediately began bringing in solid hockey men to surround him, promoted draft-guru Tim Timmons, and brought in Michel Therrien for a second stint with his beloved Canadiens.

Simply put, the Habs were a total mess off this ice last year, and it looks like Geoff Molson got the right man to establish the communication and the professional culture that was sorely missing under his predecessors.

2. Great Character Signings

Many Habs fan were pretty disappointed with the teams’s off-season acquisitions.  There wasn’t a big name player in the bunch, no “splash” on UFA day.  However, the likes of Brandon Prust, Colby Armstrong, and Francis Boullion have been strong contributors to the Habs success.  Prust has fit into any role they’re asked him to play.  He has certainly made the team tougher to play against, and has also shown some offensive upside.  Armstrong has also been a solid, dependable veteran on the Habs bottom lines.  Boullion, also, is a very underrated defenseman, but he is a solid checker, is responsible in his own end, and has even chipped in a bit offensively.

None of these signings looked like game-changers at the time, but they have been really effective and a big part of the Habs turn-around.  Unfortunately, Prust recently received an injury that will keep him out for up to two weeks.  They will miss him.

3. Resurgent Veterans

There is no mistaking the need for improvement in the play of the Canadiens most important veterans over the past several years.  Thomas Plekanec has especially has turned his play around, becoming the offensive force he has been in years past.  Even more surprising is the triumphant return of Andre Markov.  It seemed that Markov’s litany of injuries over the past 4 seasons had permanently derailed his career, but Habs fans are finally able to see Markov playing like the top player of old – one of the best puck moving defensemen in the league.  Honourable mention also goes to Lars Eller, who is starting to reach the potential the Habs saw in him when they traded playoff hero Jaroslav Halak for him.

4. Rampaging Rookies

Montreal has not been the kind of team that brings prospects along very quickly.  Apparently this year they took a different tack and both Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher made the team out of camp.  It was not quite such a surprise that Galchenyuk made the team, having been the third overall pick in the previous draft.  Gallagher, however, has been a player who has had to prove himself at every level.  He plays well above his listed height at 5’9, and has been a major source of skill, battle, and a real spark-plug for the team.

5. Scoring from the Back End

This may be a major surprise to those who follow the NHL, but as of today, March 13/2013, the Montreal Canadians sit comfortable atop the pack in both goals and points from their defensive core.  Much of this is due to Markov’s resurgence, but the credit doesn’t stop there.  After missing 5 games due to a contract dispute, P.K. Subban has returned as a point-per-game defenseman.  Likely, the biggest surprise this season has been the play of Raphael Diaz, who just keeps racking up points, especially on the power play.

Conclusion

The abbreviated NHL season just passed the half-way point.  There may be naysayers and doubters out there, but it appears to the hockey world that this year’s edition of the Montreal Canadiens is the real deal.  For all the reasons above and more, they are a greatly improved team, but it must also be mentioned that they have an elite goaltender In Carey Price, who, aside from a couple forgettable starts, has been spectacular.  They also have one of the best young power forwards in the league in Max Paccioretty, and have recently acquired the red hot Michael Ryder for a second tour of duty with the Habs, getting rid of the dead weight of Erik Cole’s contract as well as his lack of production.

Simply put, this is a team capable of winning a lot of games.  The one question remains, how will this group with several undersized forwards contend with the rigors of playoff hockey.  Unlike last year, Habs fans should get the chance to see for themselves.

By: Andrew Shaver

It seemed simple.  Schneider showed last season that he could play at an elite level, and while Luongo didn’t play himself out of a job last year, he appeared to have been overtaken by the young up and comer.  The prevailing logic was that the Canucks should hang onto the younger and cheaper Schneider and find a new home for Luongo and his massive 12-year contract.  Most analysts had Luongo all but on a plane to Toronto, yet the deal has yet to materialize.

The farther into this season we get without the Canucks making a goaltending move, the more interesting their predicament becomes.  Only a few weeks ago it seemed that Luongo was finished in Vancouver, but a couple weak performances from Schneider opened the door for him to play, and he seems to have kicked it wide open.  As of February 15^th , Luongo leads the NHL in goals against average, and is third in save percentage.  This isn’t to say that Schneider has been terrible.  His 2.36 GAA and .921 save percentage are outstanding.  However, the old veteran has a minuscule 1.45 GAA and superb .943 save percentage, not to mention that he has yet to lose a game in regulation.

So what are the ‘nucks to do with Lu?  It is no secret that they have been shopping him around the NHL and have so far been underwhelmed by the offers they have received.  Teams seem to think they shouldn’t have to give up quality picks and prospects because they are taking on a long term contract with a big cap hit.  The Canucks, however, don’t want to take back a bad contract to make a deal work.  I think Vancouver is quite comfortable keeping both their star goalies this season unless a team comes across with an offer they can’t refuse.  It is very comforting for a team to know they have two capable number one goaltenders on their roster who will give them a chance to win every game, as the importance of every point is magnified due to the lockout-shortened season.

In my opinion, the Canucks are best served by holding onto both tenders this year, as the goaltending market will be much broader in the coming off season.  At that time they will have to move one of the two in order to stay under the salary cap.  The Canucks would also do well to take a lesson from history and not repeat the mistake other GM’s have made with Luongo.  If you look at his transaction history, it is clear that he has already been involved in two of the worst, most lopsided trades of all time.

First, he was traded to Florida by the New York Islanders along with Oli Jokinen, for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.  This “freed” the Islanders to take Rick DiPietro with their first overall pick.  How has that one worked out for them?  Next, Luongo was sent from Florida to Vancouver, along with Lucas Kraijcek, for an aging and ineffective Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld.  On both occasions, a superstar goalie was moved for next to nothing in return.  The Canucks must not repeat this mistake.  They either have to get real assets in return for the All Star net-minder, or hang on to him.  He’s playing far too well to be moved just for the sake of making a trade.

- Andrew Shaver

Four Games Without Spezza:

3-2 win over the Capitals – Washington was probably one of the worst teams in the league at this point and the Senators were really outplayed in the first half of the game.  Some strong heart and Karlsson taking the team on his back allowed them to get back into this game and ultimately get the W.

5-1 win over the Canadiens – In this one the Sens still didn’t look amazing, but Craig Anderson stood on his head and the Senators were able to capitalize on their chances, to put up some big goal numbers and leave commentators asking “Spezza who?”.

1-0 loss to Hurricanes – Now you really noticed Spezza’s absence.  The team had trouble gaining the zone and really sustaining any pressure.  This was their second game in back to back nights after a long flight to Carolina, but the lack of offense definitely pointed towards Spezza not being there.

2-1 loss to Canadiens – This game was stained with horrible officiating that eventually cost the Senators at least a point when Silfverberg was called for goaltender interference on Benoit’s goal, when he was far out of the crease and Price maybe gave him the slightest bump.  Definitely a game changing call that will be in the running for the worst call of the year.  That said the Senators didn’t look overly dangerous all game.  Their one goal came on a Silfverberg breakaway off a beauty Turris feed on a powerplay and Benoit’s goal that was called off was really just a floater wrist shot from the point that Silfverberg did well to screen Price on (very legally I might add).

Jason Spezza generally plays 20 minutes a game and is a calming influence up front.  He is able to gain the zone by himself on many occasions and has the creativity that is needed up front to go along with north-south players such as Michalek, Silfverberg, Greening, etc.  Spezza and Karlsson have formed a very strong 1-2 punch for the Senators and now the majority of offensive (and defensive) responsibility falls to the Norris trophy winner.

Who Has To Step Up?

Kyle Turris – Turris was settling nicely into his second line role with the Senators and now has 8 points in 9 games this season.  He really was a perfect second line center, but to ask him to lead the forwards as the top center (and really top forward) on the team is a lot to ask of the 23 year old.  He has been playing around 20 minutes a game in these past 4 without Spezza, which is up from the around 17 minutes he was getting while Spezz was in the lineup. Turris does have the ability and the drive, but he is no Spezza and now the Sens will have to replace the second line center.

Zack Smith – This guys is a good 3rd line center and he should be a 3rd line center.  I don’t see the Sens trying to use him as a second liner here to fill in for Turris and they shouldn’t.

Peter Regin – Regin has 0 points in 9 games.  Although he would have had an assist on Benoit’s goal the other night.  He was given some more looks without Spezza and averages around 13 minutes that past 4 games, while he was around 9 with Spezza in the lineup.  That said he doesn’t look all that dangerous out there.

Stephane Da Costa – Uh oh.  The Sens felt the need to call up Da Costa for some offense.  He is a creative player, but last year he was a minus 9 in 22 games with the Senators and was a -12 in the AHL last year.  This season he is a +7 through 31 games in the AHL so here is hoping he improved his defensive game.  It looks like he will get a chance as the second line center tonight against Buffalo, but I hope Anderson is once again on his game because of this.

Mika Zibanejad – The rookie is really the other option and to me he is the best option as the second line center at this moment.  He has impressed me since coming up to the NHL this year and I was a Mika hater until these past few games.  Mika is only getting around 11 minutes of ice time and I expect him to continue to be used sparingly, but of these 3 possible 2nd line centers he to me is the lesser of 3 evils.  My vote would be to slot Mika in at the second line, play Zack Smith’s third line often, and put Regin and Da Costa together on the fourth line in limited minutes.

But overall, you can see just how weak the Senators are up the middle without Spezza.  Who will step up?  Turris will and has, but he was producing as the second line center and that is where the real drop off begins.

I’m going to the game once again tonight and I’m not expecting much from the Sens.  All this being said the Senators are still being given much better odds to win the Northeast Division than they were at the start of the season (+450 now, started at +700).  To me though, that is now a suckers bet and I’m just hoping they make the playoffs.  If you are interested in placing that bet I suggest checking out this online sports betting 101 page to learn more about betting on the NHL online.

Time will tell just how well the Senators can do without Spezza.  Two years ago they won 1 out of 15 games while he was hurt.  They now have Karlsson (at his best) and Anderson, so I expect them to do better than that.  But how much better?  I guess we will see.

Atlantic Division

• New York Rangers +120
• Pittsburgh Penguins +165
• Philadelphia Flyers +330
• New Jersey Devils +730
• New York Islanders +3300

I like the Penguins here.  They are healthy at the moment and if Crosby and Malkin can each play a full season the division is really there’s to lose.  The Rangers are more consistent, but they only won the division last year by 1 point over the Pens, who didn’t have Crosby for big parts.  I think this is a solid bet at +165.

Central Division

• Chicago Blackhawks +160
• St. Louis Blues +180
• Detroit Red Wings +330
• Nashville Predators +650
• Columbus Blue Jackets +6500

Here I like the Blues.  They won the division handily last season and I think they could build on this.  Both the Wings and Preds lost key pieces so I don’t see them winning the Central.  The Blackhawks very well could and I think they are the most talented team, but they aren’t as consistent as the Blues and I think this could prove the difference.

Northeast Division

• Boston Bruins -130
• Buffalo Sabres +400
• Ottawa Senators +650
• Toronto Maple Leafs +675
• Montreal Canadiens +700

The Bruins could be the best team in the league right now.  Combine that with the Northeast having the least threatening competition in the Eastern Conference and you have a good reason to take the Bruins to win the division.  Of course anything is possible, but it is their division to lose.

Northwest Division

• Vancouver Canucks -125
• Minnesota Wild +310
• Edmonton Oilers +450
• Calgary Flames +1600
• Colorado Avalanche +1700

The Northwest has been the worst division in the league (minus the Canucks) for the past two seasons.  There is hope this year for the Wild to step up after picking up Parise and Suter, and also for the Oilers young guns to hit their stride and compete.  Once again though I think both are over hyped.  The Canucks will win this division.

Pacific Division

• LA Kings -110
• San Jose Sharks +215
• Phoenix Coyotes +650
• Dallas Stars +900
• Anaheim Ducks +1000

I saw the Sharks at +280 at another sportsbook, but I am still going to lean to them at +215 here.  The Pacific has always been the Sharks division and I think they are being underestimated by a lot of NHL ‘experts’.  They still have one of the best top 6 forwards corps in the game.  If Niemi can play well they could definitely give the Kings a run for their money here.

Southeast Division

• Carolina Hurricanes +200
• Washington Capitals +275
• Tampa Bay Lightning +275
• Florida Panthers +675
• Winnipeg Jets +750

This is a similar situation to the Pacific in my opinion.  The Caps have owned this division and I will admit they aren’t the same team and the others have improved, but I still think its their division to lose.  Too much hype is surrounding the Hurricanes at the moment and I have to see them in action before I buy into it.

Visit 5Dimes.eu to bet on any of these for yourself.  And keep up to date with the standings throughout the season right here.

Check out the post at Bet Far to see another post I wrote about the Stanley Cup winner odds and who I like as well!

Team Canada once again had some monumental collapses in their own end allowing Russia to score 6 goals, including the overtime winner to lose the Bronze Medal and finish the IIHF World Junior Tournament without any hardware for the first time since 1998.  That’s not what was expected of the second coming of Canada’s dream team due to the NHL lockout.  The last “Dream Team” destroyed the opposition at the 05 World Juniors during the 04-05 NHL Lockout scoring 41 goals and only giving up 7 on their way to the Gold Medal.  This included a 6-1 drumming of the Russians in the Gold Medals game.  This same destruction wasn’t expected this time around, but at least a medal would have been.

What went wrong?

Canada got through the group stage winning every game in regulation (and they had the difficult group with Russia and the USA).  This earned them a bye to the Semi’s where everything fell apart.  Canada came out flat against the USA and their defensive zone coverage was horrible.  They ended up losing this game 5-1 after pulling Malcolm Subban.  Against the Russians they once again gave up too many great scoring chances, and this time Jordan Binnington was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 5 shots.  Canada battled back and forced overtime at 5-5, but once again got beat around the outside and gave up the Bronze Medal goal.

If you compare the 7 goals that the 2005 dream team gave up to the 11 that the 2013 “dream team” gave up in just the semi’s and bronze medal games you will see exactly where this Team Canada went wrong.

Goals Against Killed

Here is an interesting stat.  This Team Canada gave up the most goals per game (3.17) since 1992.  That’s no way to win a tournament.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

I was happy to see ‘The Nuge’ have another big game after many people expected more of him in the semi’s vs the USA.  Nugent-Hopkins controlled the powerplay and ended up recording a point on 4 of Canada’s 5 points in the Bronze Medal Game, winning the tournaments scoring title with 15 points in 6 games.

Gold-Less Streak

Canada has now gone 4 years without a gold medal after it became almost second nature for Canadians to expect a gold at this tournament since Canada won 5 years straight from 2005 to 2009.  This new ‘dream team’ was supposed to do what the 2005 Dream Team had done and end the gold-less drought for Canada (Team Canada had gone gold-less at 7 tournaments prior to that teams domination), but instead they ended the medal streak.  Manny Malhotra at TSN might have said it best: it’s time for Canada to lose the gold-or-bust mentality.  Other Nations are catching up to Canada and the 5 gold’s in a row was likely more lucky than a trend that should actually have been expected to continue.  The added pressure that Canadian players feel in this tournament can not help them compared to other teams who are usually only slightly less talented than the Canadian squad.  It’s been 4 years without a gold.  Let’s not expect one in 2014, but rather hope and cheer for one.  It is likely the better method.

Team USA Gold

To end this article we have to give credit where credit is due.  The Americans played their best hockey in the games that mattered in this tournament and John Gibson was stellar in net.  For any American supporters that thought their team would win gold, but didn’t place a bet I suggest checking out the USA related sportsbook bonus information page on BestSportsbookBonus.com so that you can place your wagers in the future with some big bonus dollars.  I’m a Canadian, but I took the Americans at +450 (4.5/1) in this tournament because I liked those odds.  Now I’m getting a payout and you should be too.

The Canadian World Junior team likely has about 25% of the roster that would have been playing the NHL if not for the lockout, while the Spengler Cup has upwards of 50% of the team thanks to the lockout.  This should help both teams in their respective tournaments and could result in a couple of holiday tourney Championships for Canadians.

NHLers on Rosters

Let’s take a look at which players on each team would likely have been in the NHL and not available to their respective National Team.

U20 World Juniors

• Ryan Nugent Hopkins – Was a star on the Oilers last year and definitely would have once again been trying to help the Oilers into the break.
• Dougie Hamilton – Had a very good chance of making the Bruins out of camp this year.
• Ryan Murphy – Had a chance to earn a spot on the Hurricanes this year.  Was there 12th overall pick in 2011.
• Griffin Reinhart – The Islanders 4th overall pick from this years draft would have had a good chance to make the team.
• Morgan Reilly – The 5th overall pick from this years draft could have made a Leafs team with a poor defensive corps.
• Jonathan Huberdeau – The 3rd overall pick from the 2011 draft almost certainly would have been given a chance on the Florida Panthers.
• Mark Scheifele – Would probably have made the Jets this year.
• Ryan Strome – Probably would have joined Reinhart on the Islanders if not for the lockout.
• Boone Jenner – Jenner will be seen as more of a defensive forward for the Canadians, but he had a legit shot at making the Blue Jackets this year.

As you can see a good chunk of the Canadian World Junior team at least had a good chance to be playing in the NHL right now if not for the lockout.

Spengler Cup

There are too many players on the Canadian Spengler Cup team so I’m just going to outline the players that would be in the NHL by position:

Goaltender: Devan Dubnyk and Jonathan Bernier

Defensemen: Cam Barker, Jason Demers, Carlo Colaiacovo

Forwards: Matt Duchene, Jason Spezza, John Tavares, Jason Williams, Patrice Bergeron, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Sam Gagner, Tyler Seguin and Ryan Smyth

More than half the Spengler Cup team is full of NHL star players that now have the opportunity to help their country over the holidays.  Check out full roster here.

Favourites

As you can imagine, both the Canadian Juniors and Canada Spengler Cup teams are the favorites heading into the tournament.  The U20 team goes in with +150 odds to take the gold, while the Spengler Cup lineup has +125 odds.  So they aren’t quite over 50% favourites in either case, but they are favoured over the other teams participating.

Check out Bet365.com to bet on either team.  It would be nice to see both Canadian teams win their respective tournaments and give the die hard NHL fans in this country something to smile about.

The owners put a deal on the table and expected a yes or no by the next day.  Yes, that was a yes or no.  Not a I like this, this and this, but we’d like you to move on this, this and this.  Bettman and company decided enough was enough.  They had put their best deal on the table, acknowledging many of the players main concerns, but there were still areas that they needed to be a certain way.  The players response was not what they had hoped for and that was the end of the discussions.

Don Fehr told the media that he had received a message stating that the owners were heading out and there was no need to meet tonight or tomorrow.  Back to square one.

Thoughts

My thoughts are that the players made a vital mistake by basically not believing the owners when they said this was their best deal and it was a PACKAGE deal.  That’s to say they were giving up this to get this.  Not giving up this and willing to negotiate on everything else.  Don Fehr obviously thought he could get a better deal and this turned out not to be the case.  Now everything is off the table.  Some media thought the NHL’s latest offer should have went to a vote and I would bet that it would have passed with flying colours.  That reasons is probably why the key members decided that the they could do better before having to vote on a package deal.

I wonder if some good sports betting strategy would apply to this CBA.  If you see an option with positive expected value you jump at it.  In this case the expected value just seems to continue to decrease with each passing day.  So compared to the deal that may be made in two weeks time or possibly a year, whatever the NHL had on the table was likely the positive expected value play for the players.

Do I think that this latest development means the end of the season?  No I don’t.  I’m not quite as pessimistic as many are at this point.  This was a move that the NHL had to do to show that they were serious on the issues that they said were key to them.  The NHLPA called their bluff and lost.  Now it’s back to square one and the ball is in the NHLPA’s court to get negotiations rolling again.  I don’t expect decertification to happen and I still think a deal can be made.  I expect the NHLPA to allow the 10 year deal in order to get make whole to happen where it was agreed upon.  I also expect them to come down from 8 year contract length to at least 6 years, which may be satisfactory to owners.  I think the deals can be worked out.  There is still another week or two left of strong arming and negotation tactics before a final deal gets done in my opinions.

Both sides want a deal, and like I’ve said before I still expect a 59 game season beginning close to Christmas time.  Now let’s just hope that I’m right.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

Sure Zibanejad started out fairly well with the Senators last season earning a spot on the team through the first 9 games and even having coach Paul MacLean state that he would like to see Zibby stay for the entire season.  But really what did he do in this time.  1 assist and a -3 in the first 9 games of the season, which the Senators lost 5 of.  He then went back to Sweden and played for Djurgårdens in the Swedish Elite League.  There he put up 5 goals and 8 assists in 26 games, in what Bryan Murray described as a minor role, which he wasn’t happy about.  Of course Murray has to say that when his marquee prospect underachieves in a sub par league.  I mean David Rundblad, who played 24 games for the Senators last season had 50 points in 55 games in the SEL and he was a defenceman….who couldn’t really make the Sens.  In reality who knows if the Djurgårdens coach just didn’t play Zibby in all situations because he didn’t think he could handle it.  Which may not have been the right decision after the storied franchise was relegate last year.  It’s not the best when you aren’t a go to player on a team that gets relegated in a league far below the NHL.  I’m just saying…

Of course people remember that Zibanejad scored the gold medal winning goal for Sweden in the World Juniors and in reality that goal may have saved his season and his reputation among NHL GM’s.  But it’s just one goal.  At The World Juniors that year Zibanejad scored 4 and added 1 helper in 6 games, but Sweden did have 29 total goals in the tournament and seeing as Mika was supposed to be a go to player on the team 5 points isn’t all that impressive.  But you have to give him credit for the clutchness.

Now this year in the AHL many Sens fans, including myself had hoped he could find some offensive prowess on the North American ice, which his big body and skill set should be better accustomed to.  That said he now has just 4 assists in 11 games and is a -4, the 3rd worst on the team.

Other 2011 Top 8 Draftees

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Scored nearly a point a game last year in the NHL and has similar numbers this year in the AHL.
Gabriel Landeskog – Won the Calder trophy last year.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Still putting up points in the QMJHL, but nothing special.
Adam Larsson – Played a full successful season with New Jersey last year.
Ryan Strome – Still putting up big numbers in the OHL.
Mark Scheifele – Continues to put up big numbers in the OHL. Almost made Jets last season.
Sean Couturier – Full successful season with Flyers last year, one of the top teams in the league.

What I Don’t Like In His Game

I personally don’t like that Zibanejad seems to go to his knees constantly when he is touched at all.  He is supposed to be a big kid who uses his size.  Maybe it’s just a habit and over time he will fix it.  As a Senators fan I hope so because I don’t see Murray giving up on the kid yet.  Hopefully he improves in the AHL this season because I don’t see him making the big club even if the NHL returns this year.

Last year the NBA owners and players union reached a tentative agreement on November 26th with the actual deal being completed on December 8th.  The training camps, free agency, trades and everything else then began on the 9th of December.  The regular season began on Christmas day and the NBA was able to have a 66 game season in a condensed schedule.

One difference that is notable is that the NHL generally begins their regular season a couple weeks before the NBA and completes the season a couple weeks early.  Which would mean that the regular season should begin a couple weeks before Christmas in order to have a similar season to that of the NBA last year.

That said things are looking up with Steve Fehr and Bill Daly meeting at a secret location over the weekend and another meeting with the big guns Don Fehr and Gary Bettman scheduled for Tuesday.  The owners cancelled the Winter Classic a few days ago, but then upgrade their offer on their “make whole” proposition which got the talks rolling again.  This also looks like a PR move to keep the NHL looking like the ‘good guys’ to the media after cancelling such a big event.  Whoever looks like the good guy doesn’t matter to me, I’m just happy to hear about the two parties being back at the bargaining table and moving a little closer to a deal.

The NHL simply cannot afford to lose another season to a lockout and I really don’t foresee it happening.  I have heard that the players are looking at the NBA timeline and expect the owners to give their best offer around the same time the NBA owners did last season.  If you push that back two weeks then we should be hearing some good news in only a couple of weeks.  I sure how this is the case, as I know all other NHL fans in the world do.

In the meantime you can watch and bet on the AHL.  Every year placing bets gets easier and it’s a shame that I can’t use my new mobile betting apps on NHL games yet this season!  Check out the post on the Syracuse Crunch here for a great AHL bet in the meantime.

The big story in the AHL last season was the Norfolk Admirals winning the Calder Cup with ease after finishing the regular season on a 28 game winning streak (they actually won 43 of their last 46 regular season games) and carrying this momentum into the playoffs losing only 3 games on route to the Calder Cup, including another 10 game winning streak to close out the Championship.

The Admirals are now the big favorites to win the Calder Cup again according to SportsInteraction.com, who currently has Norfolk at +275 to repeat as Champions, ahead of even the Oklahoma Barons (+600) who have the Oilers young stars on the team.

But should Norfolk be the favorites?  Absolutely not!

Why you may ask when they had such a dominant finish to last season.

The answer is simple really, the Norfolk Admirals have an ENTIRELY different team this season.

You see the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to drop Norfolk as their farm team and moved all of their players to the Syracuse Crunch.  The Crunch were the Anaheim Ducks farm team and as such, the Ducks affiliated with Norfolk and moved all of their players to the Admirals.  So what you have is basically a full team swap between the Norfolk Admirals and the Syracuse Crunch.  The only thing that stayed the same about either team was their name.

For this reason I like the Syracuse Crunch to win the Calder Cup this year.  They should at least be favorites, or at least one of the favorites.  The Crunch currently are listed at +2500 on SportsInteraction.com, which is pretty long odds for a team that dominated the way they did during last season.

Norfolk did start the season off strong with a (5-1-0) record through 6 games and this has likely masked the fact that Norfolk is an entirely different team to fans that don’t follow the AHL.  Syracuse also has a very strong (4-1-2) start and if this year is anything like last they will turn it on late in the season.

Take advantage of this knowledge at SportsInteraction.com!  Sports Interaction is the best online bookie for Canadians and they offer a great mobile betting platform that allows you to place wagers even when you are away from your computer.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens have three of the best forwards in the league (Crosby, Malkin and Neal) and one of the best defensemen (Letang).  If these four players stay healthy all year the team will finish atop the Conference.

2. Boston Bruins

I still consider the Bruins one of the most dangerous teams in the league.  I have the Pens and Bruins as by far the two biggest threats in the Eastern Conference to win the Stanley Cup this year and they will get their points in the regular season as well.  Missing Tim Thomas will not be a problem.

3. Washington Capitals

The Caps had an off year last year and lost Alex Semin, but the fact remains that somebody has to win the Southeast Division.  The bottom end of that division will be much better this year, similar to last, but the top end will likely still finish with around the 5th most points in the East, but they will win the division by a bit over the Lightning and Canes.

4. New York Rangers

The Rangers are a hard working team that know how to win tight games.  They will need to have Rick Nash by in to the team first philosophy to possibly have a great deal of success.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they have the second most points in the East, but they are still in the same division as the Pens.

5. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are in a similar situation to the Rangers.  They finished 5th in the East last year with the 3rd most points in the Conference.  I expect a similar fate this year.  The Atlantic division is just too good.

6. Ottawa Senators

The Sens lost Kuba last year, but other than that their team has been pretty much kept together and this group will improve from last year.  They should become more consistent and not have the 5 game losing skids that hurt them last year.  Karlsson and Spezza are two of the biggest stars in the NHL and will get this team into the playoffs.  I do expect a drop off in points from 5th place Flyers to 6th place Senators however, but a first round matchup with the Caps would be the perfect situation for Ottawa.

7. New Jersey Devils

The Devils did lose Parise, but they still have Kovalchuk and many players who are in the last year of their contracts which can result in big performances (Elias, Zajac, Zubrus, Clarkson, Henrique, Zidlicky).  This is the last chance for this group and even without Parise they should at least squeak into the playoffs.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning added Lindback in net and Carle and Salo on the point.  These are big moves for a team that allowed by far the most goals against last season (281), which is 19 more goals against than the Blue Jackets who allowed the second most and finished by far last in the league.  The Lightning still have the goal scorers up front and if they can keep the puck out of their net a little more they should return to the playoffs.

9. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes made some big moves (Jordan Staal and Alex Semin) which should help this this season, but I see them missing the playoffs by 1 or 2 points.  They will be in it all year though.

10. Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo came on strong in the second half last season, but I don’t see them leapfrogging the Sens or Devils and the Lightning and Hurricanes should improve.  This leaves the Sabres as an odd man out.

11. Florida Panthers

The Panthers will be a decent team again, but I’m not sure Brian Campbell can do as much for the team as last season.  They really just don’t have the top quality players that other teams in the East have so even though they will compete I don’t see them getting over the hump to the playoffs again.

12. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets are another team that look to me like the Panthers.  Their high end talent just isn’t as high end as other teams they are competing against.  This will ultimately be their downfall.

13. New York Islanders

The Islanders will improve slightly from last season as they get a bit older and Tavares becomes an elite NHLer, but they don’t have all the pieces in place just yet.

14. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs are horrible.

15. Montreal Canadiens

The Habs are even worse.  It’s not a good time to be fans of two of the NHLs most storied franchises.  And the Leafs + Habs fans probably equate to at least 25% of the total fan base for Eastern Conference teams.

Now these predictions will mean nothing if the NHL and NHLPA don’t hatch out a deal.  In the mean time you should check out this Australian sports betting website to learn more about betting on Aussie sports as an Australian.  At least their don’t seem to be as many lockouts in Aussie Rules football as their does in the NHL.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

Then of course we have the AHL where every player on two-way contracts will be sent to play for the season.  These players will remain with the organization, but they will just be playing in the lower level league.  It will basically be several rising NHL stars playing with journeymen and other borderline players who still dream of making it to the show someday.

So let’s break it down:

Switzerland National A League

Notable NHLers: Rick Nash, Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Logan Couture, Tyler Seguin, Yannick Weber, Mark Streit, Luca Sbisa, etc.

As you can see there will be some big time star power in this league with some of the best Canadian players in the NHL today deciding to take their talents to Switzerland.

The problem with following this league is that it isn’t even considered one of the best in Europe.  In most lists I’ve looked at the Swiss league is ranked 6th in terms of talent level, after the likes of the KHL, Swedish Elite League, SM-Liiga (Finland), Czech Extraliga and Slovakian Extraliga.

I don’t really want to just see NHL players lighting it up in a league that isn’t really competitive.  I’m sure with their talent the league will improve, but I’m not going to be following the Swiss league this year.

KHL

Notable NHLers: Lubomir Visnovksy, Nicklas Backstrom, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Artem Anisimov, Nail Yakupov, Nikolai Kulemin, etc.

Here are some big names as well, with the majority being Russian.  The KHL set rules in place that only allow 2 Russian NHL players and 1 non-Russian NHLer to join each team during the lockout.  The players must also basically be stars in the NHL because they must fall into at least one of several categories that pretty much proves they are a top notch NHLer that will bring fans to the games.

The KHL already has many quality NHL caliber players and is considered the 2nd best league in the world next to the NHL.  That being said it will still be difficult to watch games airing in Russia because they won’t be provided in North America and the time difference is significant.  These reasons will keep me from following the KHL this season.

American Hockey League

Notable NHLers: Basically anyone on a two-way contract.  Includes all entry level contracts of NHL players who have played 160 or less games.  So NHLers in their first three years with the club will likely report to their AHL team unless they have played significant amounts over that time.  You will see Jordan Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique and other young NHL stars playing for their farm teams this season.  Jason Spezza played in Binghamton during the last lockout and won the scoring title.  You should expect one of the young stars who would have played in the NHL this season to have a similar fate.

The AHL is still in North America, many of the players are still high quality NHLers and best of all you can still cheer for your favorite NHL teams farm team and learn more about some of the lesser known players in the system.  For these reasons I will be following the AHL throughout the season, notably the Binghamton Senators to watch the likes of Mark Stone, Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silvferberg and more develop in to quality NHL players that the Senators can use down the line.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

Center

Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos are the obvious choices based on last seasons production, but then you also have to include Henrik Sedin, Jason Spezza, John Tavares and of course Sidney Crosby in the discussion.

Crosby is often considered the best player in the NHL when healthy, but those two words “when healthy” keep him out of my top 3 centers and far away from my #1 center.  I personally don’t even think Crosby has the production to keep up with his teammate Malkin if they were each healthy all season.

Then there is Tavares who in only his 3rd NHL season finished 4th in scoring for centers at 81 points.  Will he break out even further in his 4th season?  Possibly, but not enough to challenge for the top center ranking.

Spezza had a great season last year, but with the other weapons at his disposal on the Senators he shouldn’t compete for the top rank.

You should give serious consideration to Henrik Sedin who was the top center in scoring in both the two previous years.

Stamkos once again improved and should be right around 100 points once again, and I expect him to once again finish second in scoring for centers, just ahead of Henrik.

That leaves Evgeni Malkin who busted out last year to win his 2nd Art Ross trophy in four years.  He once again took his trainer to Russia to work with him, which shows he is motivated to build on last years success.

Top Center: Evegeni Malkin

Right Wing

Claude Giroux is a right wing according to NHL.com.  There isn’t really anyone else to truly consider over him at this position.  Giroux proved last year that he is one of the most talented players in the league and although he generally plays center if you can get him at RW in your fantasy league based on the NHL.com positions I would do so.

The other players to consider include Kessel, Hossa, Gaborik, Eberle, St. Louis and Perry.  Personally I would take Perry after Giroux and expect him to regain his Hart trophy winning form.

Top Right Wing: Claude Giroux

Left Wing

Here the main debate will be between Ilya Kovalchuk, James Neal, Daniel Sedin and Alex Ovechkin.

Kovalchuk was the top LW scorer last season, but the Devils have lost Parise, which means opposing teams will be gunning for him even harder this year.  I expect a good season, but slightly lower scoring totals.

Ovechkin used to be a lock for the top right wing scorer, but last year he had a horrible year with only 65 points.  I expect a bounce back year, but the Capitals lack the scoring that they used to have and without Semin it may be even harder for Ovechkin to find space on the ice.

For me the pick is between James Neal who will either be playing with Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby which will result in him getting a lot of points by default, or Daniel Sedin who is only one season removed from his Art Ross trophy season.

I think the safer play is Daniel Sedin because you know what you are getting and there is no way he will score fewer than 70 points in a season two years in a row.

Top Left Wing: Daniel Sedin

Defenseman

This is an easy pick and shouldn’t even be talked about.  Erik Karlsson was the top scoring d-man last year by 25 points.  He may not win by that margin again, but he is the obvious choice.

Top Defenseman: Erik Karlsson

Goaltender

This is between either Jonathan Quick or Henrik Lundqvist because it is likely the Predators will not be as solid this year as last.  I like Quick to outperform Hank this season because I think the defending Stanley Cup Champions are as good on paper as they were on the ice last year.  They have too much talent to have any kind of Stanley Cup hangover.

Top Goaltender: Jonathan Quick

You can play daily NHL fantasy this year at FanDuel.com.  Who knows, maybe we will run into each other one night.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

The Kings have gone up 3-0 in all 3 of their previous series’ in these Stanley Cup Playoffs and have swept 1 of those series, while winning the other two on the road in 5 games.  That being said the Devils have been a big comeback team in these playoffs and have a decent 6-4 road record themselves.  The Devils have been behind in every series they have participated in in these 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs and they find themselves with their backs against the wall again.

If you’ve watched the games you would have to agree that the Kings have not dominated the Devils like they did the Canucks, Blues and Coyotes in the Western Conference Playoffs.  Both games went to overtime and like most OT games they could have gone either way.  Now the Kings are back at home where they are only 4-2 in these playoffs.

Based on the first two games of the series I don’t expect the Kings to win both of their home games.  However, in order for the Devils to get a win they will need to get more than 1 goal past Jonathan Quick per game, which will not be an easy task.  Volchenkov’s goal in game 1 was a complete fluke off of a Kings defender, while the Carter goal was a nice tip after the puck was thrown on net.  These goals show that the Devils need to continue shooting and getting players to the front of the net to hope for the best.  Quick is the best goalie in the world right now and he will be very hard to beat with a pretty goal.

The Devils have been here before and they believe in themselves after two games.  They know what it’s going to take to defeat this amazing Kings team and they will at least get 1 win on the board in LA.  I personally think the Kings will win this series in 5 games, while breaking the Devils record for most road wins in the playoffs and setting an impossible to break bar of 11-0 on the road in the playoffs.  This Kings team has done something special in these playoffs and I think it will be even more special if they win on the road than if they take this series down with a sweep at home.

Look for the Kings to win this series, but the Devils to avoid the sweep.

Check out the BetOnIt.org betting blog to learn more about ways you can bet on this series and other sporting events in the future.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

The odds for this series has the Rangers as the series favourites at -130, while the Devils at +120 are not very big underdogs at all.  The Devils looked very good against the Flyers and even though they were pushed to the brink in the first round against the Panthers they were by far the better team.  The Rangers situation is a little different with both their first and second round series going the distance and almost every game being extremely tight.  I think it is safe to say that the Rangers could have just as easily lost to either the Sens or Capitals, but they have found themselves in the Conference Finals and the favourites to advance to the Stanley Cup.

It’s important to look at a variety of sportsbook review sites when deciding to open an account to bet on this series..

I personally expect the Devils to take this series based on how each team has performed thus far.  The Flyers showed how much offensive ability they have in the series with the Penguins, but they couldn’t get much going against the Devils at all, losing 4 straight games after winning game 1 in overtime.  If the Devils are able to crack the Rangers team defense, which is very similar to their own, they should be able to outscore New York.

New Jersey finished with only 3 fewer wins than the Rangers after the regular season so it isn’t fair to say that the Rangers had a significantly better regular season.  The one aspect where the Rangers are superior to the Devils is in goal.  Martin Brodeur has played fairly well, but he isn’t as consistent as he was in his prime, while Lundqvist very rarely has a bad game.  The Rangers will win this series if Brodeur can’t find his rhythm, but if he plays like he is capable of for the entire series then the Devils should have the edge.

One thing is for sure, the Kings and Coyotes know how long their flight will be if they make the Stanley Cup Finals.  The only question that remains is if they will be heading to MSG or the Prudential Center.  My money is on them flying to Newark.

I’ve gone into more detail about why the 3-point system is an obvious choice for the NHL so I won’t get into all of the reasons again.  Instead you can click here to read that post.

Basically the just of it is that the NHL is rewarding teams for going to overtime.  This creates teams playing for a tie in regulation and sitting back with 5 minutes left to go in order to guarantee a point, especially against out of Conference teams.  This ends up resulting in lower scoring games because just looking at simple math a team that plays in lower scoring games will end up with more regulation ties than a team who plays a higher scoring style (if a team averages 2 goals for and 2 against a game they will be in more ties than a team that averages 3 goals for and against).  Basically the current system goes against everything that the GM’s say they want in the game (more scoring and competitiveness) just because they want the standings to “appear” to be tighter so that fans get the impression their team is better than they are.  A GM or coach can say their team is a .500 club when they are 20-20-15, when in reality they are a horrible team at that record.  The NHL seriously needs to look at this and keep the competitiveness and fairness in the game so that the best teams make the playoffs.

Luckily this year the 3-point system wouldn’t have had too much of an affect on which teams made the playoffs, but the seedings would have been slightly different and a different team would have won the president’s trophy.  Let’s take a look.

Eastern Conference

Regular Standings vs 3-point System Standings

As you can see the only change in the Eastern Conference would have been the Tamp Bay Lightning dropping 2 places to 12th in the East, which would have bumped the Jets and Hurricanes each up one spot.  This is primarily because of the number of Lightning overtime/shootout wins in the regular season.  The Playoff match-ups would have remained the same in the East which is quite rare.

Western Conference

Regular Standings vs 3-point System Standings

In the Western Conference there was one change in the playoff positionings and it would have turned out to be quite a significant change because the St Louis Blues would have moved to first place in the Western Conference and in the league, which would have won the Blues the President’s Trophy and a different first round matchup. Who knows if the Blues would have been able to handle the Kings or if the Canucks would have had an easier time with the Sharks.

The only other change was Anaheim moving ahead of Minnesota by a significant margin due to the vast number of overtime/shootout wins by the Wild.

This year the changes in the standings weren’t drastic, but other years they have determined whether a team makes or misses the playoffs.  The NHL really needs to take a look at this 3-point system and give it serious consideration.

Written by: Niko de Jonge

Now that the Sens are there it’s time to assess their chances at putting it all together and winning the Stanley Cup.  What a story that would be.  Come from 30th on the power rankings entering the season to the Stanley Cup Champions.  I for one am not closing the door on this possibility.  Sportsbook 5Dimes.eu has the Senators at +4000 to win the Stanley Cup which is tied for 16th in the league along with the Coyotes (the Sabres and Capitals still have shorter odds than the Senators even though they haven’t yet clinched a playoff spot and the Stars are +4400 even while they are almost mathematically eliminated).  Bet365 is a little bit kinder having the Senators at +2800, which is better than the Sabres, Capitals and Panthers and equal to the Coyotes.  But if you want to bet on the Sens to win the Cup you should do so at 5Dimes.eu.

I agree that Ottawa is a huge long shot to win the Cup and if it all played out 40 times I would still likely be surprised if one of those times Alfredsson was receiving the Cup from Commissioner Bettman, but I do believe that have a better chance than many of the other teams in the hunt.

Bryan Murray said it earlier in the season that he was not ruling out a deep playoff run and he gave a great reason for this.  The puck moving ability of Ottawa’s d-men.  Erik Karlsson is the best combination of puck moving and skating for a d-man in the league as his regular season point total no doubt confirms.  Gonchar is no slouch either and I expect him to bring his game to another level in the playoffs.  Kuba is another player who can make that breakout pass and newly acquired Matt Gilroy has shown that he has the skating ability, now he just has to show some better decision making when it comes to jumping into the rush or trying to take on 3 opposition players rather than dumping and allowing his forwards to chase.  If the Senators plan to go far their defensemen need to be on top of their game and I believe that their top 5 are extremely solid and if Gilroy can play within himself the Sens 6 D could be the top in the league.

As for goal scoring that will surely fall to Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Daniel Alfredsson, Kyle Turris and Nick Foligno.  These five players have to put the puck in the net for the Senators in order for the team to win games.  Jason Spezza will be a primary focus of opposition shutdown players, which means that Kyle Turris will have to step up and put up points for the Senators to win games.  In the first round Zdeno Chara will surely be matched up against Spezza and everyone knows that Chara is the best shutdown defenseman in the game.  I believe Spezza is shifty enough to matchup fairly well against Chara, but a lot of production responsibility will still fall to the Turris and Alfredsson line throughout the playoffs.

The Senators will be a tough out in this years playoffs if they can do the following things.

Senators Keys To Victory

• Karlsson, Spezza and Michalek continue production from regular season.
• Turris line steps up when Spezza line is shut down by superior defensemen.
• Gilroy plays within himself.
• Anderson gets hot.
• Less penalties than in regular season. (14.1 minutes per game – 2nd most in NHL)
• Power play has to start working again.

Many will argue that having two of the best d-men in the NHL and the few moves they made near the deadline (Gill, Kostitsyn and Gaustad) will have already put them as a Cup contender, but others will also argue that they don’t have the high end skill up front to score the necessary goals in the NHL playoffs.  At this time Martin Erat leads the team in points with 56, while Mike Fisher and Patrik Hornqvist each have 23 goals to lead the team.  The Preds do have 6 players with 40+ points though and they actually have the 4th more goals for in the Western Conference at this time so the whole Nashville can’t score argument goes out the window.  But aside from Erat the highest points per game is Fisher at .71.  Radulov was a .72 points per game player in his last season in Nashville and by his play in the KHL he has improved and should add some more spark to the lineup.

Radulov will slot in in the top 6 and I don’t expect him to hurt the Predators league leading powerplay.  He could be put on the second unit in that respect in order to allow the top unit to continue clicking at their steady pace, but overall the addition of Radulov should help offensively.

And it’s really a no lose situation for the Predators who have about 10 games in the regular season to see where Radulov fits in and make sure he doesn’t mess with any team chemistry and lines that are already clicking.  So far the additions of Kostitsyn and Gaustad have fit in nicely so I would expect Radulov, who should be a higher end player than either to fit in even better.

My personal opinion is that Radulov will help the Predators advance to at least the second round again this year and give them a really legitimate shot of winning the Stanley Cup.  Visit SportsInteraction.com to check out the Predators Stanley Cup odds now that Radulov is back.

When I talk about an online sportsbook I do not mean one of the other government run sports lotteries like Sports Action out West or Proline Stadium in the Maritimes, but a real online sportsbook with no government affiliation such as SportsInteraction.com, a great sportsbook for Canadian sports fans.  I was looking at the odds of a couple of these government run sports lotteries (Sports Action and Proline) and wanted to share with you my findings compared to Sports Interaction.

Examples

Tonight there are 6 games in the NHL so let’s make this easy and select all of the away teams in our 6 team parlay.  This means tonight we will be taking the Devils, Blackhawks, Rangers, Wild, Stars and Flames.  Here are the odds at each of the various Canadian sports lotteries in that order, with a $10 risk associated.

Sports Action: (1.90 x 1.90 x 1.60 x 3.00 x 1.85 x 2.15) x $10 = $689.20
Proline: (1.90 x 2.00 x 1.50 x 3.00 x 1.60 x 2.10) x $10 = $574.60

Sports Interaction: (2.10 x 2.15 x 1.69 x 3.30 x 1.87 x 2.50) x $10 = $1176.66

As you can see the people gambling on Sports Action out West are getting slightly better odds than the Proline bettors in Ontario, but neither comes close to the potential payout from Sports Interaction.  If you bet through a Canadian sports lottery you are leaving money on the table.

There are no Sports Action or Proline tips or strategies that will enable you to win with such poor odds.  Even if you are the best Proline prediction guy in the world you are wasting your talents betting through a program that does not offer the best odds.

Conclusion

All Canadian sports lotteries provide remarkably horrible odds for their players.  Proline is basically a tax for stupid sports fans that are ignorant about the extra money they would be making betting online.  This doesn`t even factor in the sign up bonuses and promotions that you receive online at a site like Sports Interaction.  If you are Canadian I highly recommend signing up at SportsInteraction.com for your NHL betting needs.

My other site, NHLBettingTips.com will hopefully be offering a NHL playoff bracket competition and also a free no strings attached $20 bet at Sports Interaction come the playoffs.  Stay tuned for more information on that.

Eastern Conference

1. New York Rangers – 112 points
2. Boston Bruins – 106 points
3. Florida Panthers – 94 points
4. Pittsburgh Penguins – 102 points
5. New Jersey Devils – 102 points
6. Philadelphia Flyers – 100 points
7. Washington Capitals – 94 points
8. Ottawa Senators – 93 points

You may notice that the main change in the standings I expect is for the Capitals to pass both Ontario teams.  I think missing Backstrom and Green has hurt this team severely and the word is that Green could be making his return as early as this season.  I was never a believer in Green before, but his teams play without him has proven to me that he is a valuable player for the Capitals.  The other change I expect is for the Penguins and Devils to slightly pass the Flyers.  The Rangers will continue to dominate, slowing down only a little bit, while the Bruins will continue on their pace for the season.  The only team that I see having a chance at possibly pushing one of these teams out of the playoffs is the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Any one of the Panthers, Capitals, Senators or Maple Leafs could be the odd team out and these teams will need to battle down the stretch to avoid being the one sitting in that horrible 9th position.

Western Conference

1. Vancouver Canucks – 115 points
2. St. Louis Blues – 112 points
3. San Jose Sharks – 107 points
4. Detroit Red Wings – 109 points
5. Chicago Blackhawks – 101 points
6. Nashville Predators – 100 points
7. Los Angeles Kings – 93 points
8. Phoenix Coyotes – 92 points

The Canucks have been playing incredibly and I expect this to continue down the stretch leading them to their second straight President’s Trophy.  It also helps that a lot of the games late in the season are against teams in their division, which are the weakest in the West.  The Blues should also continue to play like they have been and secure second in the West.  This will cause the Red Wings to drop to 4th.  I expect the Red Wings to give some of their top older players more rest down the stretch which will result in them missing out on some points they otherwise may have earned.  The Blackhawks should find their game again and jump back up to 5th, while the Kings and Coyotes will squeak into the playoffs.  Actually I don’t expect them to really squeak in because I have no confidence in the Flames, Stars, Avalanche or Wild whatsoever.  In fact I think the Ducks are the only team that could potentially take a playoff position away from the Kings or Coyotes, but that is a very long shot.

What do you think about these predictions?  It is extremely hard to catch up on points in the NHL with all of 3 point games that take place.  It will be interesting to see the races develop down the stretch.  I constantly check on teams supposed chances of making the playoffs at SportsClubStats.com.

For those of you who don’t know, PROLINE is a betting game run by the Ontario provincial government.  It actually classified a “sports lottery” and bettors are only able to make parlay bets of between 3 and 6 selections.  I assume this it to make it more lottery-esque, but also to give the appearance of the possibility of big wins.

Anyways, when I was writing my predictions for my NHL predictions site today I chose 4 teams that I thought would win tonight and found their odds at two of my favourite sportsbooks, 5Dimes.com and Sports Interaction.  I included these odds with my write-up so that my visitors would know the odds I am betting at.  Then, just for fun I went to the PROLINE website and checked the payout of a 4 team parlay using the same four selections to see the difference in price.  Here is what I found:

Payout at Online Sportsbooks with 4 team Parlay

Predators 2.20
Lightning 1.746
Oilers 2.55
Canucks 1.80

With a $20 wager the payout online would be (2.20 x 1.746 x 2.55 x 1.80 x 20) $352.62.  A very healthy payout for four games that I believe will have these outcomes.  Now look at the PROLINE payout….

Payout at PROLINE with 4 team Parlay

Predators 2.10
Lightning 1.40
Oilers 2.20
Canucks 1.60

With a $20 wager the payout at PROLINE would be (2.10 x 1.40 x 2.20 x 1.60 x 20) $206.98 with the same picks on PROLINE.  So with a $20 wager on this 4 team NHL parlay bet you would make $145 more betting online!

But wait there’s more! Not only is the payout almost double at an online sportsbook than with PROLINE, but if any of your teams win in a shootout then the PROLINE ticket is a loser, while your online sportsbook parlay bet is still a winner.  That’s right, if any game goes to a shootout then it is considered a “draw” in the eyes of PROLINE.

So Why Do NHL Fans Bet On Proline?

The only reason I can come up with is they are simply ignorant to just how awful the PROLINE odds are and how much more money they could be making online.  Either that or they want to be ignorant and not actually know how much money they waste betting on PROLINE every year.  I just want to be able to shake everyone who bets on PROLINE and tell them there’s a better way.  A better way then paying yet another “ignorance” tax to the Ontario Government.

You can sign up at SportsInteraction.com and actually earn a profit, or at the very least lose less money than you do at PROLINE.  Plus you get all the perks that  come with an online sports betting account.  The sign up bonus ($125 at SportsInteraction.com), the promotions, the wide selection of odds, the convenience of not having to go to your local convenience store to get your winnings, not having to worry about where you left your winning ticket and much, much more.

This post was made to try to educate Canadians about PROLINE and that there is a much better option.  Visit SportsInteraction.com to set up an account today and start actually having a chance to profit betting on the NHL.

Can They Keep It Up?

If the Senators can do the exact same in the second half of the season they would finish with 94 points, which would surely earn them a playoff spot.  Last season 94 points would have resulted in an 8th place finish, while the year before it would have resulted in a 5th place finish (which just so happened to be where the Sens finished that season with exactly 94 points).

So the question becomes can they do at least the same in the second half.  In my opinion, yes and possibly even better.  As mentioned earlier the Sens got off to a horrible start and that likely will not happen in this second half, which means they will not have to be “catching up” the entire time.

The Kyle Turris trade filled a whole that was created when Regin was injured and so far Turris has looked fairly good and I only expect him to get better as his confidence builds (his beauty tip goal last night should help this).  In net Anderson has been playing tremendously, but the team does need Auld to win a game here and there to give Anderson some time off now and then.

The third and fourth line players on the Senators have been over performing compared to preseason analysis, which is a big reason the Sens have been playing so well and I don’t see this slowing down anytime soon.  Eric Condra and Zack Smith are two great penalty killers with offensive upside, each of whom are big +’s on the team.  Another big surprise would have to be the play of Jared Cowen who could easily be in a competition with Karlsson as the team’s top d-man.  The two compliment each other so well and they should be a great tandem on the back end for the Senators moving forward.

Do The Sens Have A Chance at the Stanley Cup?

The oddsmakers still do not believe in the Senators this season.  Sportsbook 5Dimes.com has the Senators at +10,000 odds to win the Cup, which is only better than 6 other teams.  Even teams that are almost out of the playoff hunt such as the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have shorter odds.  If you do want to place a bet at 5Dimes, make sure you use a 5Dimes marketing code to get the best bonus possible.

In my opinion the Senators don’t have a great shot at the Stanley Cup this year, but nothing is out of the question.  Craig Anderson could stand on his head and the team has the offensive fire power and experience to make something happen if they do make the playoffs.  The big bad Bruins would be extremely hard to beat however.

It looks like Scott Wedgewood will be getting the nod in net for the Canadians, which I believe is a good decision, not only because he has been the better goaltender so far in the tournament, but also because Visentin was the one who allowed the 5 goals last year to the Russians and putting him back in the same situation could prove costly.  Wedgewood has been great, but so has Russian goaltender Vasilevski who stopped 38 of 39 shots against the Czech’s last night.

Sports Interaction currently has the spread in the game at 2.5 goals with Canada as the favourites, while Bodog has the spread at 2.  This may be because SportsInteraction.com is primarily a Canadian sportsbook, but this makes it a great place to wager on Russia.  If you do sign up at SportsInteraction.com be sure to leave the Sports Interaction refer a friend code empty in order to receive the 100% up to $125 bonus.

The moneyline at Sports Interaction is -500 for Team Canada and +300 for Russia.  I don’t think the two squads are as far apart in quality as these lines suggest, but I do expect Team Canada to pull this one out.  Therefore I like the +2.5 puckline bet at Sports Interaction on Russia with odds of -130.  Vasilevski should be able to keep the Canadians to a reasonable number of goals and the Russian snipers should provide a little bit of offense in order to keep the game close.

Expect Team Canada to wear down the Russian defense with the strong forechecking game that Canada has become known for in this tournament and employed for a great deal of success over recent years.  The winner of this game will surely go into the Finals on Thursday with the label of favourite, so this is a huge game for both teams.  The loss last year should be enough to keep Canada from getting complacent this time around if they are able to build a lead.

Visit SportsInteraction.com to bet on this Canada vs Russia semi-final!

PROS

Home and Away With All Teams – This is a definite pro for the league and the fans.  With the new alignment every team will play home and away against every other team in the NHL.  This will allow fans in every NHL city to have Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos come to their city to play hockey.

New Conference Rivalries Will Form – At the current time the divisions each contain 5 teams.  Teams play against their divisional foes 6 times per year.  With the current alignment this means that each team has 4 teams that they play often and can build rivalries against.  However, once the playoffs come the teams can play anyone from their Conference.  With the new alignment teams will play a greater number of teams a greater number of times.  By that I mean in the 7-team Conferences teams will play 6 different teams 6 times, which adds 2 more teams that can be regular season rivals.  Also, in the playoffs teams will often face each other year after year, which should build hate and result in more heated first and second round series between teams that despise each other.

Time Zones – Current Western Conference teams that are in the eastern end of the continent (Detroit, Minnesota, Dallas) have problems with time zones with regard to their away games.  Dallas even has to play divisional games in time zones that are 2 hours different.  This new format should allow teams to play more games closer to their home city, which will result in less time zone problems.  This also means that fans out West won’t have to place as many mobile sports bets because they are still at work when their team starts playing as often.

Relocation Much Easier – This isn’t a big plus, but if teams move it is much easier to adjust a four-conference system than the current 6 division system with 2 conferences.  For example, if Phoenix does end up moving to eastern Canada, that team could just be added to one of the 7-team conferences and there would be no hassle.

CONS

Travel – Teams will likely have more travel with the new alignment because they will be heading to every other NHL city each season.  That being said the new alignment might allow for schedule makers to schedule road trips for teams where they can hit cities on the way, which should help battle the travel expense problem.

Best Teams Don’t Make Playoffs – With the new alignment the LA Kings would have missed the playoffs last year even though they had more points than the Stars.  This will be a regular occurrence when certain divisions are superior to others.

Playoff Races Aren’t As Exciting – Last season the playoff races in both Conferences were very exciting, but if you look at how the races would have played out in the new 4-conference format it becomes much less interesting.  The playoff races are the second most exciting time of the NHL season, next to the playoffs and the races in the new alignment won’t be nearly as exciting.

Care About Less Teams – I’m a fan of the Ottawa Senators and at the moment I care about how every team in the Eastern Conference does because it affects the Sens chances of making the playoffs.  With the new alignment I will only care about the 6 other teams in their Conference, which will make things somewhat less interesting for fans.

Underrated – Ottawa Senators

The Senators were ranked 30th on almost every power ranking that you could find prior to the season.  They are now around 22 or so on most, but when looking at the odds you will still notice that the Senators are almost always the underdogs because they public and the bookmakers still don’t believe in the team.  Just today the Senators at home was a pick’em game against at Lightning team that is 4-8-2 on the road and on a 3 game losing streak.

Underrated – St. Louis Blues

The Blues have been great since changing coaches this season and they have the personnel to continue to perform.  The odds haven’t quite caught up to their recent success, so you can still find some great odds for the Blues.  I expect the Blues to make the playoffs and put up a good showing once there.

Overrated – Colorado Avalanche

The Avs are the worst team in the league according to me.  They are on a 3 game winning streak right now, but I have made a lot of money betting against the Avs this year.  I haven’t bet against them recently because the odds had caught up with them when they were playing so poorly, but now that they have won some games I expect some sharp bets against the Avs in the future.

Overrated – Winnipeg Jets

The Jets are another team that I generally don’t like to bet on.  I see the Jets as a bottom 3 team in the Eastern Conference, but with all of the press surrounding the team this season it seems like they are favourites or considered contenders in games when they really shouldn’t be.  In fact, last Tuesday the Jets were hosting the Senators and even though I was out of town the odds were so good that I went online to one of my favourite iphone betting sites and placed a bet on the Senators at +110 to defeat the Jets.

The teams that are underrated and overrated can change quickly throughout the season and as an NHL bettor you have to be ready to change with them.  The NHL is a very streaky league, especially for young teams and one thing that I take into account when placing my bets is a teams current streak and how they are playing heading into the game.  Overrated/underrated views is just one ingredient to use when placing NHL bets.

The first month has been very eventful with a lot of surprises in the NHL.

Ottawa Senators Surprise October

Everyone had the Sens pegged in as #30 in the preseason power rankings and in the first 6 games all of these so called “experts” were patting themselves on the backs saying “I told you so” and “I’m a genius”.  Being a Sens fan it made me a little sick to see everyone telling me that they were going to be one of the worst teams in NHL history, that they expected them to get the fewest points of any team since the lockout.  Ridiculous comments and I knew better, but I still wanted my Sens to step up and deliver.  Lucky for me it happened and the Senators pulled off a 6 game winning streak to finish the month with a (7-5-0) record for 4th in the Eastern Conference.  They even topped it off with a win over the rival Leafs.  The Senators have been preaching “compete” throughout the winning streak and they did just that.  Their methods of victory were almost more impressive than the actual results.  Of their 7 win this season 3 came in shootouts (2 as the result of epic 3rd period comebacks) and 2 came within the last 5 seconds of regulation to not allow their opponents a point.  In the Columbus game they were down by a goal with 40 seconds left before scoring 2 in regulation to keep the Blue Jackets without a win.  It’s been epic and everyone is stepping up including Gonchar and Kuba who were horrible last season.  It will be interesting to see how November shapes up.  They lost their first one against the Bruins, but here is hoping they bounce back.

Colorado Avalanche Surprise October

I was chirping experts for having the Sens as 30th on the power rankings so now is when I have to swallow my pride and admit that I had the Avs as 30th and they proved me wrong in October.  The Avalanche finished the month with a 7-4-0 record that included a 5 game win streak that had them sitting at 5-1-0 after 6 games.  A big thanks has to go to Semyon Varlamov who is 5-3-0 with a .924 save percentage and a shutout.  I thought it was one of the dumbest trades in history to trade for Varlamov and his nearly $3,000,000 contract for a first and second round pick when he has never even been a legit starter in the NHL.  Not to mention that I thought the pick would at least be a lottery after the way the Avs finished last year.  So far so good though for Varly and the Avs, but I have to say I still have my doubts and I expect them to plummet at some point soon.

Boston Bruins Surprise October

Who would have thought the defending Stanley Cup Champions would be in 2nd last place in the league after October with a 3-7-0 record.  I for one did not, but that’s where the defending champs found themselves.  That being said the Bruins were losing tight games, are in the top 5 in shots per game and the top half in shots against per game.  The Bruins beat the Sens to start out November the way they wanted, but they do have some catching up to do, which is hard in this league, even only after 1 month.

Those are my thoughts on a few surprises from the first month of the NHL season.  I am going to be continuing to put up my NHL predictions at NHLBettingTips.com so check out the site daily if you like to bet on hockey!

Here Is Why

The Senators top 7 defencemen are actually very solid and I wouldn’t trade them for the top 7 d-men on at least 20 other teams in the league.  You have Erik Karlsson, a young guy with about as much playmaking talent as a d-man could have.  He will make sure that the Sens score powerplay goals and you can expect his plus-minus to be much better this year, as his defensive game improves.  Add in Sergei Gonchar, who we all know can be a top guy on any team if he plays like he has throughout his career and the Sens powerplays should have two legitimate quarterbacks.  Then you have Chris Phillips who has been a top shutdown guy his entire year and who anchored his team to the cup finals only a few years ago.  Alright, I don’t like Filip Kuba, but that is the only slot in the top 7 I’m not fond of.  Matt Carkner is the perfect 6th d-man on a team, with a toughness and presence that can help against rough opposition, and then you have two rookies who are ready for the big time.  David Rundblad was the Swedish Elite League’s top d-man last season and you can tell by watching him play that he will be another great puck mover from the back-end and he is a 3rd legit powerplay quarterback.  Then Jared Cowen, who is showing shades of Tyler Myers, is another big guy who can shutdown down low and has already showed he has the ability to provide offense with his two goals in the first preseason game.  The Sens are fine at the back end and they will get the puck to their forwards.

The goaltending situation is also solved.  Craig Anderson slipped a little at the start of last season, but the Avs are a worse team than the Sens and he showed in his games with the Senators he still has what it takes.  Anderson is a legitimate number 1 goaltender who has the ability to steal games, a few of which will be needed for the Senators to make the playoffs this season.

The Problem

The problem lies in the forwards.  Spezza can’t do it all.  Alfredsson and Michalek need to play at their best and then other goals have to come from the likes of Foligno, Butler, Regin and hopefully Filatov.  A few of these lesser known Senators will break out this year with the absence of Fisher and Kelly, but this is necessary for the team to win games.  I hope that GM Brian Murray doesn’t just keep Greening and Condra at the big club because he signed them to one-way contracts even if guys like Da Costa, Filatov, etc are more deserving and are better pieces to the puzzle.  The Senators need goals from up front.  Spezza and Alffy can’t do it all.

I think the Senators will surprise some people this year.  They have nothing to lose, with a young team that is eager to win and many players that know how to win from their Binghamton Calder Cup last season.  I for one am going to check out some sports gambling sites and hopefully find some great odds for the Senators throughout the season, due to the fact they are being underestimated by the masses.

But if Teemu says he’s ready to play, you better believe he’s ready to play.  Putting up 80 points in 73 games at 41 years old is unheard of.  In fact Gordie Howe and Johnny Bucyk, with Howe being the only to finish in the top 10 in scoring (Selanne was 8th even after missing 7 games).  In the playoffs he kept up to speed scoring 6 goals and adding an assist in 6 games.  Not to mention how many late game-tying goals he scored in the final stretch when Anaheim was gunning for a playoff spot.

If the Ducks can get anything close to the Selanne of last year they will be laughing.  Personally I don’t know why a player would retire after one of the best seasons of their career.  Obviously he still has gas left in the tank and the ability to help his team.  He might as well pad his stats and cement his place as one of the top NHL players in the history of the game.

I expect Selanne to start up right where he left off last season, scoring goals and amazing fans.  Not to mention those fans will be in his home town of Helsinki because the Ducks open their season off there (that might have helped push him in the right direction towards returning to the team).

If Selanne can stay healthy I predict similar numbers to last year.  Something along the lines of 29 goals and 45 assists I would expect, with at least half of those goals being on the powerplay.  I still don’t plan on placing a division winners bet on Anaheim to take the Pacific this season, but if  Selanne’s return will likely make many online sports bettors at least take a second glance at the Ducks Stanley Cup betting lines various online sportsbooks will be offering.

If nothing else fans around the NHL are thankful that they get to watch the skill and finesse of the Finish Flash for at least one more season.  I for one am much more likely to stop at the channel at a Ducks game now that he has confirmed his return.

Weber Deserves His $7.5 Million

With this 1 year, $7.5 million contract Weber has become the highest paid defenseman in the National Hockey League.  As for the people who think that the highest paid defenseman should be the best, that theory is flawed because there are many things to consider.  First of all, when the other d-men earned their contract (their season(s) leading into that contract and the salary cap at the time).  And second of all, the length and situation of the contract.

Shea Weber

Last season, Weber had 16 goals and 48 points with a +7 rating and was a finalist for the Norris trophy, coming 2nd in voting, just 9 points back of Nicklas Lidstrom.  This Norris candidacy shows that Weber does more on the ice than just put up points, he is an all around defenseman that usually matches up against the top players on opposing teams.  Since the 06-07 season, Weber is tied with Mike Green for the most defenseman goals.  Weber was also a key player in helping Nashville make it to the second round for the first time in team history, he scored 5 points and was a +3 in 12 games.

Weber earned $7.5 million for 1 season.  Salary Cap $64.3 million.

Dion Phaneuf

Phaneuf scored 60 points, including 17 goals and had a +12 rating the season before his contract, which began in the 08-09 season.  Phaneuf also had 7 points in 7 playoff games and was a -2, but the Flames lost in the first round.  Phaneuf was a very similar player to Weber, but he did score a few more points, and he was also a runner up for the Norris, just like Weber.  One year contracts are usually more lucrative for the player because there is no job security and the cap hit percentage of 11.66% of the cap, is very close to the 11.46% percentage of the cap that Phaneuf’s salary demanded that year.

Phaneuf earned a cap hit of $6.5 million for 6 seasons.  Salary Cap $56.7 million.

Zdeno Chara

Chara signed a contract prior to this season that holds a $6.917 million cap hit with a 7 year length.  That being said Chara earns $8.5 million this year and the final 2 years of his contract only earn him $9 million total, which shows that this is another one of the front heavy contracts that have become popular in the NHL.  Chara is currently 34, so this contract brings him to his 41st birthday.  There is a good chance that Chara doesn’t play the final two years of his contract, which is probably why the amount is lower.  With this theory (if Chara does not play the final 2 years of his contract), he is earning $7.3 million per season, which is very close to what Weber earned.  Add in the job security Chara receives by signing long term and I would say Weber would have much preferred the contract that Chara received.  Chara is also a very good comparison, because he was also a Norris trophy candidate and his contract begins the same year as Weber’s.

Weber’s cap hit is the highest in the league, but it’s hard to look at just the cap hit nowadays when so many teams are doing the front heavy contracts.  Weber is actually the fifth highest paid defenseman this season, behind Chara ($8.5 million that we mentioned before), Pronger ($7.6 million), Keith ($8 million) and Ehrhoff ($10 million this season with a $4 million cap hit – don’t know how teams get away with this).

Weber is worth every penny and when you include the variables such as the length (1 year means no job security), the salary cap (cap increased $4.9 million over just last season) and the other comparable players front heavy contracts you can see that Weber could have easily justified the $8.5 million that he was asking.

It will be interesting to see how the Nashville Predators do next year.  I’m not going to go and put down $100 on them winning the cup, but with Weber in place they could definitely win a lot of games and once again return to the playoffs.  A new betting tool that will be fun to try next season is live hockey betting.  When you’re watching a hockey game you can see the momentum swings, as well as key injuries or anything that could affect how the game may turn out.  Now with in play hockey betting you can use this information to make a profit!

Chicago Blackhawks @ +1500

The Blackhawks are the 8th favourites to win the Stanley Cup next season and I personally have them slotted much higher.  I don’t necessarily think they will finish atop their division or even have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but the Blackhawks have the pieces in place to be a contender every year.  If they score the goal in overtime of game 7 against Vancouver this season I can guarantee that their odds would be closer to 10/1 right now.  People are quick to forget how a team played and instead just remember that they lost in the first round.  The Blackhawks have the top two lines in the NHL, with possibly the exception of San Jose, and their top defensemen are elite and will be hungry to get back to the top.  The loss of Brian Campbell will hurt this team more than most people think, but Nick Leddy is ready to step up with more ice time and Hjalmarsson should play better than he did last season when he let his play slip slightly.  The additions of Brunette, Carcillo and Mayers should bolster the teams depth and tenacity up front, but it really comes down to the fact that Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp and Bolland are just too good.  Corey Crawford is no slouch in goal either.  If the Blackhawks can get the best out of their players and add a bit more depth on defense they should have a very good chance to win the Cup this season.

San Jose Sharks @ +1200

The Sharks are the 6th rated team according to the oddsmakers.  They have made the Conference Finals two years in a row, but haven’t put up much of a fight at that stage.  The Sharks were just too slow and lacked the depth on defense both years.  The addition of Brent Burns should help the defense and take some of the responsibility away from Dan Boyle, while the Havlat for Heatley trade will bring more speed and and greater drive to win when it matters most.  The Sharks still have some positions open for depth forwards and they could do with adding a solid shutdown defenseman with speed.  Niemi is solid in goal, having already won a Stanley Cup, so it’s really the depth up front and the defensive d-men that this team is lacking in order to become a Stanley Cup Champion.  I have confidence that Doug Wilson will address these needs.  I’ve liked what he’s done so far this summer.

For Those Interested…

Here are the odds for the other 8 from the top 10 at 5Dimes.com.  Once it gets past them there really is no hope for finding a Cup Champion.

• Vancouver Canucks +675
• Pittsburgh Penguins +850
• Washington Capitals +1000
• Boston Bruins +1100
• Philadelphia Flyers +1100
• Detroit Red Wings +1250
• LA Kings +1700
• Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning +2000 each

**On an unrelated note a friend of mine is starting a Financial Spread Betting website. Just wanted to give him a little shout out.

The Money

Dany Heatley has 3 years left on his deal that carries a cap hit of $7.5 Million, while Havlat has 4 years left on a deal that has a $5 M cap hit per season.  This more than compensates for the $0.5 M extra the Sharks took on with the Burns for Setoguchi swap and leaves the Sharks with $2M of space left to work with.  This cash can be used to add some depth to the bottom 6 forwards as well as add some stronger defensive d-men for crucial situations (the defense of the Sharks were outplayed against the Canucks this playoffs).

Winner: San Jose Sharks

The Needs

Doug Wilson came out and said that the Sharks needed to add speed to their top 6 forwards and Marty Havlat is one of the quicker players in the league and has breakaway type speed.  Needless to say that Dany Heatley’s game is not built around speed and it seemed like he lost a step the past couple seasons.  With Brunette likely to not resign in Minnesota the Wild needed a similar player to score goals around the net.  Heatley can do this and he also has a superior shot to Brunette if he can get to the open spots.  Koivu is known more of a hardnose working type player that has the skills to score, but by no means is he known as your typical playmaker like Heatley has had with Thornton and Spezza over the past several seasons.  Havlat and Koivu never really had a chance to mesh their styles of play because the Koivu/Brunette/Miettinen line was so strong and had been together for several years.  Heatley should definitely get the chance to play with Koivu and it will be interesting to see if the two mesh.

Winner: Remains to be seen

Better All Around Player

Martin Havlat is a very underrated player in the league for a variety of reasons.  Number one Havlat is known as a player who is always one hit away from injury.  That argument may not be fair as he has adjusted his game in recent years and has averaged 77 games each season over those past few seasons.  Havlat has also never played with as talented as players as himself.  In Minnesota Havlat was not on the top line due to their previous chemistry and instead usually lined up with Latendresse, Clutterbuck or Brodziak.  In Chicago it was much of the same with Havlat playing mostly with Dave Bolland, Andrew Ladd and other second tier players compared to himself (and Kane, Toews and Sharp), yet Havlat still led the team in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs.  Even back in Ottawa Havlat was generally the 3rd RW on the depth chart behind Alfredsson and Hossa.  Havlat has the ability to make players around him better and has shown throughout his career that he does not need superstar teammates to produce.

Heatley on the other hand has typically had top tier linemates and it seems like his best days are behind him.  Heatley set the bar pretty high in Ottawa with a high points per game output of about 1.25 points/game, but this has dwindled of late and last season he only managed 0.8 points per game and even less in the playoffs.

Havlat will be able to play with any of the solid top 6 forwards on the Sharks, while it remains to be seen if Heatley will produce without an elite playmaking center.

Winner: San Jose Sharks

Playoff Performance

Havlat lives for the playoffs and he stated that playing for a top quality team and being able to play in the playoffs was the reason he waived his no movement clause.  If you watched any of the Blackhawks Conference Finals run in Havlat’s last year with the team you will know he brings it when it matters most.  His 15 points in 16 games led the team (even though he missed a couple games in the Detroit series from the Kronwall hit – which he did try to comeback from the next game showing his heart).  In his last 26 playoff games Havlat has 28 points and many of these were very important points for the team including a few series winning goals that I remember (overtime against Calgary in round 1 with the Blackhawks, overtime against Philly in round 1 with the Senators – just off the top of my head).

Heatley had a horrible playoffs last season scoring 9 points in 18 games and just not looking dangerous whatsoever.  He did have a good playoffs when the Senators made the Cup Finals a few years back, but Heatley just doesn’t seem to be the same player with the same drive.

Winner: It’s hard to say when we will likely only see Havlat in the playoffs over the next few seasons, but I’m sure he won’t disappoint – San Jose Sharks

I for one see this as a great move for the San Jose Sharks and I am even going to go as far as place a wager at an online betting site for the San Jose Sharks to win the Stanley Cup next season with the help of Havlat and Burns!

1. Edmonton Oilers –> Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Nugent-Hopkins seems to be the consensus number 1 for this draft.  He is not considered the most NHL ready, but his skill and vision have him pegged as having the most potential to be a superstar in the league.  The offensive upside is there, but he will have to put on a bit more weight and muscle before he should be ready to really contribute and compete in the NHL.  The Oilers are one of the few teams in the league that may have room for him on the top 2 lines right away with Gagner or Horcoff possibly moving to the wing.  But only expect him to play if he is receiving at least 15 minutes a game.

2. Colorado Avalanche –> Gabriel Landeskog

The most NHL ready player in the draft will step right into the Avalanche lineup and help a very weak left wing corps where Cody McLeod is the top LW.  The forwards in Colorado are very poor and picking Landeskog is the easiest way for the Avs to move past the poor trade that sent Stewart and Shattenkirk to St. Louis for Eric Johnson and Jay McClement.  Landeskog is a fierce competitor who will likely become the captain of this team in the near future.

3. Florida Panthers –> Jonathan Huberdeau

It’s between Huberdeau and Larsson for the Panthers and I think not making the playoffs with Bouwmeester then losing him for nothing will leave a sour taste in their mouth, which should cause the Panthers to steer clear of another highly touted defenseman.  The Panthers need a player who can fill the stands and help them score goals and Huberdeau should be that player in a year or two.  He needs to put on some weight, like Nugent-Hopkins, but he has the offensive upside and the vision to get the Panthers fans out of their seats.

4. New Jersey Devils –> Adam Larsson

The Devils should be a force next year, but when you look at their defense the talent is lacking.  The Devils have a solid top two lines, however they were not able to score many goals last season (finishing last in the league by quite a margin).  The top d-man on the team only scored 23 points and in the speedy NHL today offense often starts from the back.  Larsson is poised with a strong break out pass that should help the Devils right away.

5. New York Islanders –> Dougie Hamilton

The Islanders are very poor defensively and Hamilton is the perfect shut down d-man that should bring toughness and grit to their lineup.  The Islanders have to build their team and a solid defender that can log a lot of minutes and be on the plus side of even strength hockey is exactly what they need.

6. Ottawa Senators –> Sean Couturier

The Senators are very dry up the middle after elite center Jason Spezza.  Mike Fisher must be replaced and if you look at their depth chart at the moment you will not be impressed with the names you see.  Couturier has dropped off from battling for the number one ranking earlier in the season, but he is a big body that is able to make plays and protect the puck.  He needs to work on his skating in order to make an impact in the NHL.

7. Winnipeg Jets –> Ryan Strome

The Jets are in need of some additional skill in the middle of the ice.  They have solid wingers, but these players need a playmaking center to get them the puck.  I’m not saying Strome will make the team out of camp, but he has a legitimate chance and should go to the Jets this draft.

8. Columbus Blue Jackets –> Ryan Murphy

Ryan Murphy is a smaller defenseman, but his offensive upside is huge and he possesses a wicked shot that should score him plenty of goals in the NHL, especially on the powerplay.  The Blue Jackets will jump to add an offensive d-man to their fairly unskilled backend.

9. Boston Bruins –> Mika Zibanejad

This player has been playing with men in the Swedish Elite League and he has not looked like a boy among men.  He should transform into a solid NHL power forward and this fits in perfectly with the Boston Bruins style of play.

10. Minnesota Wild –> Nathan Beulieu

Beulieu will be the best player left in the draft at the 10th position and you can expect the Wild to scoop him up here.  Nathan is a strong puck moving defensemen that will be an elite powerplay quarterback, but he will need a few years to make the jump.  The Wild have a fairly strong team so they will not need to push anybody into the lineup right away.

The draft should be interesting and there should be some odds up soon.  If I see betting odds up as to which player will go first overall I will post them on this article.

But for now it’s back to watching Wimbledon for me.  I placed a bet on Roger Federer to take the Championships this year and he looked very good in his opening match today.  I’m getting more into tennis betting and if this interests you I suggest you check out my other website, www.OnlineTennisBetting.com!

Since that first round series Luongo has looked fairly sharp, playing solid for the most part, while allowing a few soft goals here and there.  In the 8-1 shellacking by Boston, however, Luongo did not look sharp at all.  He should have saved at least half of the 8 goals and I am interested to see which Luongo we see tonight.

I half expect the Bruins to come out with another high scoring affair, which is why I’m looking at the -1.5 line for the Bruins tonight at +248.  This line is from 5Dimes and could be considered similar to spread betting bonuses because the juice is reduced, which makes this likely the best Bruins puck line you will find.

Luongo has shown the ability in the past to bounce back from bad games, but he has also shown many instances where he plays just as bad the second time around.  Which Luongo will we see tonight in Boston?  Who do you think will show up?

Sedin’s Shutdown

The Sedin’s only managed to score a combined 19 points in their first 13 games, while they put up 18 in their last 5.  This may seem like they are heating up, which should be a bad thing for the Bruins, but if you look closer you will see that the reason the Sedin’s were able to dominate the Sharks is because the Sharks do not possess any elite shutdown defensemen (Dan Boyle is an elite d-man, but he is known more for his offensive abilities).  When you look at the Chicago series the Sedin’s had to contend with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and David Bolland, who successfully shut them down.  In the Nashville series Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are two elite defensemen who did the job.  I expect Chara and Bergeron to be able to slow down the Sedin’s and if they can keep them to under around 0.8 points per game that is in the Bruins favour.

Kesler Injury

Reports indicate that Kesler may be nursing a groin injury that he suffered in game 5 against the Sharks.  He is expected to play, but will he be able to be the force that he has been throughout these playoffs.  Will he be able to stop the hot David Krejci and Nathan Horton top line for the Bruins.  Kesler is a huge part of this Canucks team and if the Sedin’s get shut down the team counts on him for a lot of offense.  We will see how his groin holds up and if he is able to go 100%.

Tim Thomas vs Roberto Luongo

I give the edge to Thomas.  Neither goaltender has been to this stage before, and neither has looked tremendous getting here this year.  Sure, both have had good games, but each have had bad games and let in some bad goals.  I don’t expect the goaltenders to really decide this series, but if I was going to choose one that has the ability to steal games if need be it would be Thomas.

These three reason are why the Bruins will have a good chance at defeating the Canucks in this years Stanley Cup finals.  I’ve already done my hockey betting on this series at 5Dimes, which offers reduced odds for the series (means I make an extra $0.10 on the dollar).  It should be interesting and I’m excited for this to get started tonight.

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!

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.

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.

New York Rangers 74 points with 14 games remaining
Buffalo Sabres 72 points with 17 games remaining
Carolina Hurricanes 71 points with 16 games remaining
Toronto Maple Leafs 67 points with 16 games remaining

Then you have the Atlanta Thrashers, but you can basically dismiss them because they have been playing so poorly of late that they really stand no chance.  But now you also have to add a fifth team.  That being the New Jersey Devils:

New Jersey Devils 64 points with 17 games remaining

24 games ago the Devils were 27 points out of the playoffs.  Now after going 20-2-2 the team finds themselves only 8 points back.  If they were to make the playoffs they would make history as the team that came from the furthest amount of points back from the playoffs to turn their season around and make the postseason.  This record would likely never be broken.

What Do They Have To Do?

Let’s take a look at the two teams they are chasing.  If you use each contending teams point percentage to this point in the season and assume that they will continue at this pace we can figure out how many points the Devils may need to pass these teams.

The New York Rangers earn an average of (74/68 = 1.088) points per game they play, which means they will finish the season with ~89 points.
The Sabres have more games in hand and will finish the season with ~91 points.

This means the Rangers will be more likely to be caught and if these two teams maintain their current winning percentages the Devils will need 89 points to make the playoffs (because the Devils would own the tie breaker having won more games in regulation or overtime).

Therefore, in their final 17 games if the Devils go something like (12-4-1) they will achieve this 89 point objective.  But to be more certain of making the playoffs (any of the four teams ahead of them could also get hot and push up the magic number to gain playoff entry) the Devils may need to go around (13-2-2) for 92 points.  This is a very difficult pace to maintain, but looking at their schedule the Devils play 5 very winnable games, which could put them right in the thick of things.  The Devils play the struggling Thrashers and Senators twice, and the not struggling, but still very beatable Islanders once.  If they can come out of these 5 games with 10 points (very possible considering their current streak along with each of these teams abilities) the Devils will likely only be around 4 points out of 8th position.  From then on they will hold more of their fate because they have a game against the Sabres remaining and a game against the Rangers in their 81st game of the season, which could very well determine their playoff fate.

I’m a believer….are you?

**In other betting news, namely horse racing you will be able to place Grand National bets very soon on the upcoming April 9th race (coincidentally the same day the Rangers vs Devils matchup takes place).  Kentucky Derby betting will also start to heat up soon for the May 7th race.

My money is on Daniel and here is why:

Why Daniel Will Win

• Daniel and Stamkos have both slowed down and each have only 6 points in their last 8 games.  That being said Daniel is a much more consistent producer and has never had a stretch of two games without a point this season.   He is on one of these two game stretches at the moment.
• Henrik won it last year and being the good twin that he is, will go out of his way to ensure his brother wins the Art Ross this year.  This includes passing up on scoring opportunities if Daniel has not touched the puck on the play.  I watched a Canucks game a few days ago and it was already evident that Henrik was doing more than he should have been to get his brother the puck.  This could be a detriment, but I think Henrik has the skill necessary to help his brother get points more often than not.
• Stamkos is almost a lock for the Maurice Richard.  He doesn’t need both…enough said.  It’s been three years since someone (Ovechkin) won both the Maurice and Art Ross.
• It would make for a great story.  Who doesn’t like a great story.  One twin wins it one year, then the other follows suit the next.  The Sedins do everything together, why not have matching Art Ross trophies as well.

**Take Daniel on your nightly FanDuel NHL fantasy teams down the stretch.  Henrik picked it up in the last few games last year and I expect the same from Daniel.

In all honesty Crosby should have won this award hands down.  He was having a tremendous season and he didn’t even have a sidekick like each of these stellar players have in Henrik and St Louis.  But alas a concussion has taken him out of a good portion of the season and we might not even see him back this year.  This gets me to my next point.

How Players Can Sustain a Full NHL Season

Staying healthy for a full NHL season is tough and if you want to win a scoring championship it is almost a must to play every single game during the year.  One way players stay healthy is by sticking to a hockey meal plan that is built according to the sport and meant to allow them to perform at the highest level every night.  Protein is a key ingredient in the diets of professional hockey players and one supplement that is key is Whey Protein for hockey players constantly replenishing muscles.  Every top NHL player puts their health at a premium.  It’s not easy playing NHL games 3 times a week.

Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia Flyers
2. Washington Capitals
3. Boston Bruins
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Tampa Bay Lightning
6. Montreal Canadiens
7. Buffalo Sabres
   
8. Carolina Hurricanes
9. New York Rangers
10. Atlanta Thrashers
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Toronto Maple Leafs
13. Florida Panthers
14. New York Islanders
15. Ottawa Senators

What you might notice in this conference is how I have the Washington Capitals passing the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Southeast Division.  The Caps are underachieving and I think the Lightning are overachieving at the moment.  The Capitals are a good team who should get a lot of wins down the stretch.

Another thing you may notice is the Buffalo Sabres finishing in 7th and making the playoffs.  This would have been absurd to think at the 1/3 mark, but they have been playing great and have a good enough team to pass the Rangers, Hurricanes and Thrashers down the stretch.  This left the Rangers and Thrashers out of the playoffs.

Finally, the Ottawa Senators will come last in the East and most likely last in the league.  The team will sell hard at the deadline and sputter down the stretch, but this will at least guarantee them a top 2 overall pick in the draft.

Western Conference

1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Detroit Red Wings
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Nashville Predators
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Minnesota Wild
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Dallas Stars
10. Phoenix Coyotes
11. Colorado Avalanche
12. Calgary Flames
13. Columbus Blue Jackets
14. St. Louis Blues
15. Edmonton Oilers

The West is way more jam packed at the moment which allowed me to really do a lot with my predictions.  The first division winners shouldn’t be much of a surprise, with the only move being San Jose catching Dallas for the Pacific division championship.

Now let’s move into the surpises.  The Blackhawks are currently in 11th and I have them finishing in 4th.  The team is simply too good not to make the playoffs and the spread between 4th and 11th at the moment is only 6 points.  I expect the Blackhawks to start playing some playoff style hockey and to move up the standings.  They were the Cup favourites at the beginning of the season!

After that I see the Preds continuing to play streaky hockey and the wins they string together will be enough to get them into 5th spot.  After that the Ducks will move up from 7th to 6th and the Wild and Kings will take the playoff spots away from the Stars, Flames and Coyotes to secure the last two spots.  I’m a Havlat fan so that may be biased, but I truly believe they have a good enough team, especially with Zidlicky coming back and Backstrom playing grade A hockey.  The Kings will not allow themselves to miss playoffs and will squeek into 8th in order to give the ‘Nucks a tough first round matchup.  The only other small surprise is the Avs getting up to 11th with the help of Forsberg.  The spread from 4th to 12th will still be only around 6 points come playoff time, so the West will go right down to the wire!

This race will make for some great hockey betting online.  If NHL betting interests you make sure to check out a variety of sports betting sites in order to find the one that is best for you.  Look for things such as bonuses, deposit options, customer service, but above all else use a bookie that is trusted.

For those of you who don’t know what the 3-point system is here is a quick overview.  Using the 3-point system teams would receive 3 points for a win in regulation, 2 points for an overtime/shootout win and 1 point for an overtime/shootout loss.  This would make the game much more entertaining and fair because you wouldn’t have teams shut it down in the third period just hoping to secure a point and take their chances in overtime.  At the current time teams get 2 points for a win, whether it’s in regulation, overtime or a shootout and 1 point for overtime/shootout losses.  So basically, some games award 2 points and some award 3.  If you can be in as many games that award 3 as possible you will have a better chance at making the playoffs.

The NHL is the only professional sports organization to use such a silly and downright stupid point allocation system.  They say they use it to keep the standings tight and to make the playoff race more exciting.  This is just code for “we want to give fans the illusion that every team is close in the standings”.  When in reality, the 3-point system would allow for much more movement in the standings and actually keep teams in playoff hunt further into the season.  Right now teams can only hope to get 2 points in a game.  With the 3-point system teams could go on a great run winning every game in regulation to make a playoff push.  You may even see teams pulling their goaltender’s in tied games in the last few games of the season in order to try for the 3 points, rather than settle for 1 or 2.

Another reason the NHL states for the 2 + 1 point system is for histories sake and to compare point totals with teams from the past.  Is it just me or did they throw the record books out the window the moment they added 3-point games at all.

All of those reasons to switch to the 3-point system are great, but it really comes down to one main reason that should trump them all.  That is the integrity of the league.  A league that awards 2 points in some games and 3 points in others is not a fair league and it really just makes the NHL seem silly.  I’m a big hockey fan and I can’t get my head around the current system.  Here is a look at what the standings would have looked like using the 3-point system last season.  You may be surprised at some of the changes.

Eastern Conference

Standings Using Current System vs 3-Point System

As you can see the Montreal Canadiens played a tremendous amount of overtime games throughout the season (25 in total), which helped them make the playoffs.  Using the 3-point system they would have finished tied for 9th position.  The Habs won 10 less regulation games than the Rangers last year, but managed to sneak into 8th place by 1 point.  The Rangers would have even passed the Bruins, who played 27 overtime/shootout games.  As you can see the playoff situation in the East would have been completely different with 3 of the 4 first round match-ups changing and the Rangers making the playoffs over the Habs.

Western Conference

Standings Using Current System vs 3-Point System

In the West there wouldn’t have been many changes.  The only notable change would have been Nashville and LA swapping spots, changing two of the first round matchups.  Calgary also would have jumped ahead of St Louis for 9th place and would have been in it right until the end.  That would have made for a much more interesting race in the West, with Calgary only missing the playoffs by 4 points in a league where it is possible to jump 3 points every game, rather than both the Blues and Flames missing by 5 points in a league that awards a maximum 2 points.

This was the second year I’ve done this for and both years the Montreal Canadiens would have missed the playoffs using the 3-point system.  They must have a organizational objective to just try to get to overtime and see what happens.  That should be the objective in the league today.  If a team ties every single game in regulation and has a 50/50 chance of winning in OT that perfectly average team would win the President’s Trophy every year with 123 points.  The NHL needs to smarten up and use a logical point allocation system.

This would also help with NHL betting because bettors would know that their team isn’t going to shut it down in the third to go for the single point.  Spread bets and more would all be much more interesting.

Getting a little off topic I just want to leave everyone with a great web page they should check out if they are into NBA betting at all.  This NBA betting tips article is one of the best sports betting tips articles I’ve ever read.  Read it and become instantly smarter.

Pascal Leclaire

This Season

Leclaire started the first 4 games for Ottawa this season, but was injured very early in the fourth game of the season vs the Hurricanes.  Here are the stats:

• 0 wins, 3 losses
• .903 save percentage and 3.24 goals against average
• 103 shots against over 185 minutes in goal = 0.56 shots against per minute

Last Season

Leclaire was hurt or the back-up for much of last season, but he did get 34 starts for the Sens:

• 12 wins, 16 losses
• .887 save percentage and 3.20 goals against average
• 822 shots against over 1745 minutes in goal = 0.47 shots against per minute

Brian Elliot

This Season

Elliot has started every game since Leclaire’s injury.  Here are the stats:

• 5 wins, 4 losses
• .900 save percentage, 3.22 goals against average
• 271 shots against over 503 minutes in goal = 0.54 shots against per minute

Last Season

Elliot was the Senators starter for the majority of last season:

• 29 wins, 22 losses
• .909 save percentage and 2.57 goals against average
• 1424 shots against over 3038 minutes in goal = 0.47 shots against per minute

Now a few numbers should jump at you right away.  First off all, the Senators are a winning team with Elliot in net, while they are a losing team with Leclaire.  This is true for both seasons.  That right there is enough reason for the Senators to stick with Elliot in my opinion.

I hate hearing how fans will see Leclaire make a few big saves against the Maple Leafs in a 5-1 loss and say that if it weren’t for Leclaire the score would have been 10-1.  That is ridiculous.  It’s not like he got 100 shots against.  Sure, if you want a goalie to make some spectacular saves in a losing cause Leclaire is your man.  But if you want a goaltender to make the saves that should be made and the key saves that need to be made to win a game then it’s fairly obvious that Elliot is the man for the job.  How many times does Elliot have to fight and earn the starting job, then play well and still have it taken away from him to give an unproven goaltender who had one good season in Columbus another shot.  The only reason I can see that Leclaire is getting more chances is his big contract and the trade that sent away a solid player, Antoine Vermette, for absolutely nothing except a big contract with a goaltender who knows how to lose.

Watch Leclaire next time he starts and focus on his rebound control.  He has none.  He attacks the puck, making some big saves, but he will almost always let out a big rebound into a dangerous scoring position.  Sure, Elliot isn’t the perfect goaltender, but if you watch him he doesn’t let out many rebounds and he finds the puck well in scrambles and he makes the key saves, while not allowing many soft goals.  What more can you ask from the guy.  The team seems to appreciate his simple do the right thing in the first place style and they play better in front of him which shows by the teams winning percentages.

I just hope Cory Clouston realizes that Leclaire is not the man for the job.  Last season the Sens started their huge win streak when Leclaire got hurt.  This year they turned their season around with a win when Leclaire got hurt and have been over .500 every since.

If Leclaire starts then my NHL betting strategy will be to wager against the Senators every time.  Otherwise I’m going to be going with the Sens to win most games for proline betting picks.  I like the Sens this season and as long as they can stay away from Pascal Leclaire the playoffs are right around the corner.

Northeast Division

The Northeast division is in my opinion the tightest, most well rounded division in the NHL.  There are no great teams and if you take out the Maple Leafs there are no horrible teams.  This year I expect the Maple Leafs to do much better, which should increase the toughness of the Northeast Division.  Last year Buffalo came out of nowhere to win the division and this year they are the second most likeliest win according to oddsmakers.  In my opinion only Boston, Buffalo and Ottawa have any shot at taking home this division title.  Here are the odds:

Boston Bruins EV
Buffalo Sabres +275
Ottawa Senators +400
Montreal Canadiens +500
Toronto Maple Leafs +1500

With these odds I’m taking the Ottawa Senators any day.  The Sens should once again improve on a solid outting last year and compete throughout the season for the Northeast division title.  It will come down to the last few games between the top three teams, but I think Ottawa should have the depth to win the Northeast this year.

Atlantic Division

The Atlantic is another tough division to call with the Devils, Penguins and Flyers all be strong contenders within the division.  The Penguins and Flyers each have the talent and potential to win the division, but neither team has really strung together an entire 82 game season with consistency.  The Devils on the other hand seem to always overachieve when it comes to the regular season.  With the addition of Kovalchuk the Devils should be able to repeat as Atlantic division champs.  Here are the odds:

Pittsburgh Penguins -125
New Jersey Devils +175
Philadelphia Flyers +350
New York Rangers +1500
New York Islanders +2500

Southeast Division

The worst division in the NHL, now somehow contains the best regular season team in hockey.  The Washington Capitals have a star studded line-up that won the Presidents trophy last year and should be able to repeat as both the regular season league champ and easily the Southeast division champion.  The Tampa Bay Lightning are the only team in the division with an outside chance of taking the crown from the Caps and that’s only because we are currently unsure of how all of their offseason moves with translate onto the ice.  No matter what the odds you have to go with the Capitals because they will win this division 95% of the time!

Washington Capitals -400
Tampa Bay Lightning +700
Carolina Hurricanes +1200
Atlanta Thrashers +1500
Florida Panthers +2000

Hockey Betting Option 1: Money Line

One of the best ways to bet on the outcome of any sporting contest is by playing the money line, which is really just like a standards odds bet. Instead of comparing the payout odds to 1, however (ex. 3-to-1, 8-to-1) they are compared to $100.

Money line example: New Jersey -140/+120 Phoenix. This money line means that a bet on New Jersey to win the game will cost $140 to win $100. A bet on Phoenix, on the other hand, requires only a $100 wager to win $120. Expressed in terms of odds, someone betting on New Jersey is laying (giving up) 1.4-to-1, while someone betting on Phoenix is getting 1.2-to-1.

Hockey Betting Option 2: Puck Line

The puck line is a variation on the money line that better takes into account the relative strength of the two teams. A puck line may look like this: New Jersey -1.5 -110/-110 +1.5 Phoenix. This means that whether you bet on New Jersey or Phoenix, you will have to wager $110 to win $100. However, if you take Phoenix, you get one and a half goals, meaning that even if Phoenix loses, you win, as long as they lose by only one goal. In contrast, you get better odds than before for taking New Jersey, but if the Devils win by only one goal, it still counts as a loss.

Deciding Which Hockey Betting Option to Take

If you’re confident in your team’s ability to win and feel like you can win playing slot machines but your team is the underdog, you are probably better off taking the better odds offered by the money line. If you think your team needs a little help, the puck line may be better for you. If you’re going with the favorite, you should take the money line unless you are confident that your team will blow out the opponent, in which case you might take the puck line with the preferred odds.

Now, onto why Kovalchuk signing in New Jersey is not good for the team or for him individually.  If you look at his numbers last season in Atlanta compared to in New Jersey, Kovalchuk’s production dropped significantly in New Jersey.  He only managed a point a game in New Jersey, while in Atlanta he was ripping it up at a much higher output.  The Devils are known as a defensive team who don’t score a tremendous amount of goals and this just isn’t what Kovalchuk was made for.

The team also sputtered after adding Kovalchuk to the lineup and went out quickly in the first round of the playoffs, only managing one win.  Kovalchuk did lead the team in scoring in the playoffs so you can’t put the blame directly on him, but I think the Devils should be Parise’s team and I’m just not convinced that Kovalchuk will ever find chemistry or find his place on a team such as the Devils.

In Los Angeles, Kovalchuk would have been on a younger, up and coming team who play much more his style of game.  He would have blossomed even further offensively in LA playing with the likes of Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and the other young stars on the team.  In New Jersey Kovalchuk will not be challenging for any individual awards anymore, whereas in Los Angeles he could have been a threat for the Art Ross or Maurice Richard trophies for years to come.

I don’t like the deal for either side and I don’t like how the NHL is allowing teams to blatantly take advantage of the salary cap loop holes by allowing ridiculously front loaded deals for ridiculous amounts of time.  If I look at this in terms of betting it likely means the oddsmakers will likely set the ice hockey odds in New Jerseys favour, which means I’m going to be wagering against them all season long!

Hossa deserved the cup as well.  I give him mad respect for only wanting to play for teams who had a legitimate chance at the Stanley Cup.  He’s played a tremendous amount of games over the past three years making the finals each of the last three years with different teams and also representing his country at the Olympics.  Good for you Hossa.

Kane proved me wrong this year.  He has definitely matured into a much more well rounded player.  One that I would love to have on my team.  I’m glad he scored the overtime goal because it’s nice when a star player can score that goal to win the Stanley Cup for his team.

This Stanley Cup also proves that paying the depth players what they have and handcuffing themselves for next season paid off.  If a team could win the cup one year only to miss the playoffs the next 4 years in a row they should take that deal any day.  And the great thing about the ‘Hawks is even if the lose some players they still have the cornerstones in place for them to be a great team for a long time, so they don’t even have to worry about becoming a losing team.  Dale Tallon deserves a lot of credit for building this team.  Maybe he actually did know what he was doing when he paid those players what he did!

Anyways, I’m going to wrap this up.  Congrats to the Blackhawks.  Next year it’s going to be a Sens vs Wild finals !

Detroit Vs. San Jose
Detroit owned the season series 3-1 this year, and has really picked it up at the end of the Phoenix series. With Datsyuk and Lidstrom each getting two goals in the deciding game 7, combine that with Zetterberg leading the series in goals with 6, which is second overall in the playoffs to former teammate Mikeal Samuelsson. This is problematic for the Sharks as their top line of Heatley, Marleau, and Thorton have no goals in the Colorado series. The Sharks best players need to be their best players if they want any chance against Detroit. In the end I think Detroit takes this, all their best players are clicking right now, and Howard is beginning to look more and more like a legitimate number one goalie.

Chicago Vs. Vancouver
This series was a great series last year, with Chicago coming out on top you know the Canucks wanted a chance at revenge. In anticipation for this series Joel Quenville moved Byfuglien from defense back onto forward to cause more havoc in front of Luongo just like last year. Both teams have improved this year, notably Vancouver with the year the Sedins had, and the emergence of Burrows. Overall I think Chicago takes this one, they have the advantage in physical play, and Luongo hasn’t been the best of recently while Niemi posted two shutouts last round.

Before I discuss the playoffs I will share what my predictions were

I had Detroit, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Chicago coming out of the West.

I had Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Washington, and Buffalo coming out of the East.

Things aren’t that far off so I’m content.

Detroit Phoenix Series

This series has been the best by far.  The Yotes are definitely out hitting the Wings, but the Wings are coming alive in the physical department with the addition of Justin Abdelkater.  Him and Darren Helm are hitting anything that moves, but they are both overshadowed by the play of Coyotes captain Shane Doan.  Doan has been a machine for the Coyotes, this is costing the team as Doan has taking two minor penalties (Charging on Kronwall, and interference on Lidstrom), both of which resulted in a Detroit goal.

Now this is all lost as Doan left game 3 with an unknown upper body injury when he slammed into the boards after tripping over Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard.  This might be the end of the series for Phoenix.  Without Doan they lose one of their best players, and their captain.  I can’t see Detroit losing two in a row at home, and specially if Doan is out for game 4.  Expect a win tomorrow at the Joe Louis Arena, and then a exciting finish for the last three games of the series.

San Jose

I know every spring the Sharks always lose out in the playoffs with an amazing team, so far this year it isn’t looking any different.  We have to give the Sharks credit though, they brutally outshot the Avs and lost in overtime to a fluke goal.  They need a big bounce back game in game 4, but I don’t know if I see this happening.  Dany Heatley didn’t play in game three because of an undisclosed upper body injury, if he isn’t back for game 4 it’ll be a tough game for the Sharks.  With Thorton and Marleau goaless, and with the overtime goal shadowing Boyle the Sharks need to dig deep for the win.  The Avs are a young, hungry, and confident team now except them to come out of the gate early in game four.

If the Sharks lose this series, and get eliminated from the playoffs early again the team needs to do some serious roster moves.

Get the 2010-11 NHL First Round Predictions here.

Eastern Conference Predictions

(1) Washington Capitals -650
(8) Montreal Canadiens +425

Winner: Washington Capitals in 5.

(2) New Jersey Devils -235
(7) Philadelphia Flyers +195

Winner: New Jersey Devils in 6.

(3) Buffalo Sabres -170
(6) Boston Bruins +150

Winner: Boston Bruins in 6.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins -280
(5) Ottawa Senators +240

Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins in 6.

Western Conference Predictions

(1) San Jose Sharks -450
(8) Colorado Avalanche +325

Winner: San Jose Sharks in 4.

(2) Chicago Blackhawks -450
(7) Nashville Predators +325

Winner: Chicago Blackhawks in 6.

(3) Vancouver Canucks -245
(6) Los Angeles Kings +205

Winner: Vancouver Canucks in 5.

(4) Phoenix Coyotes +165
(5) Detroit Red Wings -190

Winner: Detroit Red Wings in 7.

If you like hockey betting then I would suggest signing up at Bookmaker.com.  They will have NHL playoff first round odds for every series so you can place as many bets as you’d like!

Who will finish the season with the most goals?  Right now it’s between Crosby (45), Ovechkin (44) & Stamkos (42).

If Ovechkin didn’t keep getting suspended this year he’d probably already have close to 50 goals, but his hard hitting, (some may say reckless) style has kept him out of a few games this year.  Ovechkin has missed 10 games this year, but he is still only one goal behind Crosby.  If Ovy can play the final 11 games for the Capitals then I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to Ovechkin and say he is most likely to win the Maurice.

I think it would be hilarious if Crosby scored more goals than Ovechkin this year and won the Maurice, while Ovechkin got way more assists than Crosby and won the Art Ross.  That kind of roll reversal would be funny to me, but I don’t anticipate it happening.

Art Ross Trophy Winner

This is basically a two horse race at the moment: Ovechkin (96), H. Sedin (94).  Those two games missed by Ovechkin recently allowed Sedin to gain 3 points to be within 2 with each player having 11 games remaining.  As much as I would like to see Henrik take this trophy and put a dent in the “big 3″ of Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin, I can’t see it happening.  The Capitals are just too explosive.  They will score and Ovy will get points.  I’m not saying they will score because of Ovy, but they will score a lot and he will inevitably get points.  I don’t think Ovechkin is as good as most people think though and I believe the Capitals would actually be better off in the playoffs without him.  That being said Backstrom to me is one of the best in the game today and Ovechkin will benefit from playing with him.

Presidents Trophy Winner

This trophy is pretty much already awarded.  Just give it to the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin right now.  If he sweeps all of these awards it would be pretty remarkable.  Good thing he didn’t win the gold medal at the Olympics!

Stanley Cup Winner

I might as well make a Stanley Cup prediction in this post as well.  Right now I’m going to say the Chicago Blackhawks, but this could quickly change by the end of the year.  Some of you might be saying, “why not Washington?”.  Well to be honest I don’t think Ovechkin is a good playoff ingredient for that team.  Last year he would try to do everything himself and that’s just not the way to win playoff games.  If Ovechkin and the Capitals continue to play a team based offensive game like they have been all season and it doesn’t turn into the Ovechkin show then I think the Capitals have a legit chance of doing something great this season.

You can check out the odds for all of these predictions at many sports betting sites online.  If you do wager, be sure to go with my picks if you want to win money !

Eastern Conference

The Shoe-ins

Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres.
These teams would have to blow up and really drop to not end up in the post season.

The Last Four

Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers.

Ottawa has come on strong in the last few games and really seperated themselves from the pack in terms of qualifying for the playoffs.  Similarly the Flyers have remembered how to win and I would be very surprised if this preseason “cup contender” fails to make the playoffs in such a weak conference.  This same mentality is used for the Bruins who have been dropping of late, but I expect them to find their game and get some W’s in the win column soon.  My surprise pick here may be the Florida Panthers.  I basically used process of elimination to come to this pick and the play of Tomas Vokoun definitely helped.

I don’t feel the Canadiens are a good enough team to make the playoffs this year.  The return of Markov definitely helped them, but their lack of offense and lack of solid star power should keep them out of the playoffs.  Camalleri, Plekanec and Markov have to really step up and lead this team if they have any chance in my eyes.  The Rangers are similar in that they have no scoring.  It seems like Gaborik is in on 75% of the teams goals and they need some secondary scoring to start winning games again.  The Islanders have a chance, but for a team that was predicted to come last in the league I am really surprised they are in the hunt and will be extremely surprised if they make it.

Western Conference

Shoe-Ins

Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks

There are only two shoe-ins in the West and these teams are dominant.  We’ll have to see how they fare in the playoffs.

Remaining Six

Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, LA Kings, Minnesota Wild.

The Canucks are a great team, it just took them a while to get going this year.  They will be a Stanley Cup contender.  The Avs and Coyotes have taken the league by surprise this year and I am hopeful that both teams can keep it together and put up enough wins to make the playoffs.  Anderson and Bryzgalov have been great and if they can each keep up their stellar play the playoffs should be in the picture.  The Wings are starting to turn their year around as they continue to get healthier.  If you told me at the beginning of the year the Red Wings wouldn’t make the playoffs I would have laughed at you, and I still think I would laugh.  They are just too good to not even make the postseason.  Finally, my last two slots go to the Kings and the Wild.  The Kings are a great young team and I believe that they can hold on to one of those playoff teams with a big W streak at some point before the 82 game mark.  The Wild are my favourite Western team so there may be some bias in this prediction, but I really like their team and I think they have the character to put up a strong end to the season and slip in.

You can check out the NHL futures odds at NHL Betting Tips to see if you can make some big cash off of your favourite teams.  The basketball season is also coming to a close so I’d suggest checking out the NBA odds for the playoffs or the NBA betting lines for each game to see who has the best chance to take down the NBA championships this season.

Take the Toronto Maple Leafs for example.  Leaf fans are the worst.  Most of them probably still think their team is going to win the Stanley Cup this year.  The will say things like, “we are just 7 points out of the playoffs.  That’s just four wins.”  But the truth is that’s four wins for the Leafs, four losses for the 8th place team, three losses for the ninth, tenth and eleventh place teams, and two losses for the 12th placed team.  That equals out to 19 games having to go as planned, and a lot of the time that’s just not possible because these teams that have to lose will likely be playing each other.  Not to mention that these losses have to be in regulation.  The extra point makes it even more difficult for teams to come from behind to make playoffs because even when teams ahead of them are losing they will still be receiving a single point many of these times.

Let’s look at this logically.  I think even fans making these outrageous NHL predictions in favour of their favourite team can agree that a playoff team needs 90 points at an absolute minimum.  The average of the two 8th placed teams last season was 92 so we will use that number to make our following calculations.  The Maple Leafs currently have 25 points in 29 games.  This means that they need to earn, at an absolute minimum, 67 points in their remaining 53 games.  That is an average of 1.265 points per game.  So far this season, only the top 6 teams in the league have a point % greater than 1.265.  To put it into perspective at an absolute minimum, the Leafs would have to win about 31 of their last 53 games, lose 17 in regulation and lose 5 in OT/SO.  Does anyone really think the Maple Leafs can be a top 6 NHL team for the last two-thirds of the season?  I certainly don’t.

Once a team falls behind in this new NHL where the teams are all very equal and many games award the loser a point it is very difficult to make up any ground.  The games at this time of year are extremely important, so if your team is starting to fall off the pace, I advise you to treat every game like it’s the playoffs and watch it intently.

Koivu has been improving ever since he entered the NHL leading up to his 67 point performance last season over 79 games.  This season he already has 16 points in 17 games, which means he is on pace for 77 points.  Not to mention he has been doing this on a struggling Minnesota Wild team that is 5th worst in the league in goals per game.  The Wild are starting to pick up their game and perform closer to their potential, which is battling for the final playoff spot in the West.  When the team gets going, you can expet Koivu to at least match his current production if not increase it.

Mikko plays in all situations for the Wild and averages around 19 minutes a game, which is a very good amount for a forward in the NHL.  He is on the first powerplay unit and will be played in all key situations when the team needs goals.  Koivu was recently named the captain of the team and so far he has handled this responsibility extremely well and his production and the teams improvement are both proof of this.

I consider Mikko one of the top 10 centers in the game and I’m sure he will be a force for Finland at the Olympics this winter.  Finland doesn’t have great odds when it comes to winter olympics betting, but they definitely have a shot with Koivu leading them.  You can bet on Finland or any other team at BetCRIS.  Just make sure you use a BetCRIS bonus code when signing up in order to receive the best initial deposit bonus available.

Yours truly,

F***ING PISSED OFF LEAF FAN

I feel that the current system of awarding 2 points some games and 3 points others is completely ridiculous because it encourages regulation ties and makes it difficult for teams to gain any ground in the standings during the playoff races.

I’m going to be adding a detailed article outline why I think the NHL should make the switch to the 3-point system in the near future.  In the mean time I have done some research and analyzed how the standings would have looked last year had the 3-point system been used:

Eastern Conference

Standings Using Current System vs Standings Using 3-Point System

As you can see using the 3-point system would have made some significant changes in the Eastern Conference.  Most notably, the Florida Panthers would have finished seventh with 127 points, passing the New York Rangers and pushing the Montreal Canadiens out of the playoffs.  The Habs played 22 overtime/shootout games in 08-09 and this played a major role in allowing them to sneak into the 8th playoff spot in the East.  Another change would be the Penguins falling from 4th to 6th position.  This would have meant that the Penguins play the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs, which could have caused the entire Stanley Cup run to play out differently.  Most people would agree at the Panthers deserved to be in the playoffs and likely would have put up more of a fight than the Canadiens.

Western Conference

Standings Using Current System vs Standings Using 3-Point System

Using the 3-point system, the Minnesota Wild would have squeaked into the 8th place spot and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks would have missed the playoffs but 1 point.  If that’s not a good race then I don’t know what is.  Sixth through ninth in the West has only a 2 point difference in the West.  This was a 4 point difference using the current system and it’s much more difficult to make up points the way points are currently allotted.  So there goes the argument that the playoff races would be less exciting with the 3-point system.  Both Nashville and Edmonton would have been in it right to the end as well with 116 points a piece.  The only other change the 3-point system would have made is Calgary and Vancouver switching places (but they would both have likely still lost to Havlat and the ‘Hawks anyways ).

As you can see the 3-point system isn’t going to drastically change the standings.  However, it is the fairer way to award points and the slight differences would have been huge for both Florida and Minnesota who really each deserved to be in the playoffs based on their records.  Minnesota played in 3 less overtime games than the Ducks and Florida played in 4 fewer OT games than the Habs.  The current NHL point system is supposedly rewarding competition, but in reality it is rewarding mediocrity.  The teams that play for a tie are rewarded, while the teams that play for the win are penalized.

That’s it for now.  I’ll have another post on this topic within the few days outlining why the NHL should switch to the 3-point system.

I feel that this condition really puts the bet in my favour.  Havlat has been a point a game guy with both the Senators and the Blackhawks and in Minnesota he will be looked to for even more offense as the go to guy.  Havlat was only playing around 15 minutes a game in Chicago because they were such a deep team that liked to run through their lines, but in Minnesota the depth isn’t there quite the same.  Havlat will be relied on to carry most of the offensive load and I for one feel he is up to the challenge.

By taking out the injury risk factor, that as we all know is a big risk when it comes to Havlat, it seems to me he has the skill and the role to put up huge numbers this season.  Coach Todd Richards has been preaching about offense and playing an attacking style.  So far the Wild haven’t been able to fully forget their defensive culture and embrace Richards plans, but this should happen in the near future and I think Havlat will be one of the main beneficiaries.

If you have Havlat in your hockey pool this season, congratulations because he is going to put up some big numbers.

The Contenders

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

I see no reason why the Penguins won’t follow up on last year’s Stanley Cup win with another very good regular season. Crosby and Malkin will be as good as ever, if not better. As well, though Fleury has taken a fair bit of criticism in the past, I think that the Cup win really cemented some of the confidence that he’s been building, and I’d expect an excellent campaign out of him. The Penguin’s defense, led by Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik, isn’t exceptionally good, but it’ll get the job done. Crosby and Malkin are too competitive to be complacent after their Cup win, and they’ll help the team avoid the typical ‘Cup hangover’.

2. Washington Capitals

The Capitals are full of young talent that’s only getting better, and they will seriously challenge the Penguins for the Eastern Conference Title this year. Expect another amazing year from Ovechkin, and if his supporting cast steps up and Varlamov proves to be a solid NHL netminder, this team has a good shot at the Cup. Certainly, big years are needed and expected from Mike Green and Alexander Semin, and that should give the Capitals one of the most explosive offenses in the league.

3. Boston Bruins

The best defensive team in the league last year, the Bruins should excel at the defensive end again this year. As well, though Tim Thomas may regress slightly from his Vezina form of last year, he still figures to be one of the NHL’s best goalies. The Bruins won’t score a ton of goals, but the forward corps, led by Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and David Krejci, will be good enough for the stingy Bruins to stay among the league’s elite teams.

4. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers, full of good young talent including Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, should be among the East’s best teams. However, they’ll be caught behind the Penguins in the Atlantic and will thus have to settle for 4^th in the East. Chris Pronger will shore up a solid defense and provide leadership, pushing the Flyers into the mix for the East Crown. However, the Flyers will be relying on Ray Emery in net, and that’s always a risky proposition. Until they solidify their goaltending situation, the Flyers will have difficulties matching up with the beasts of the East – Boston, Pittsburgh and Washington.

The Pretenders

5. New Jersey Devils

I was torn over what to do with the Devils. Every year they are expected to crumble in the face of off-season losses, yet they always manage to contend in the Eastern Conference, though playoff success has eluded them for the past few years. Without some major changes, the end is nearing for this Devils team, as successful as it has been for the past decade. Nonetheless, they’ll play excellent defensive hockey in front of Brodeur this year, and they’ll manage to make the playoffs, though they won’t be putting pressure on the East’s elite.

6. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes, after last year’s surprising run to the Eastern Finals, will be good again this year. Led by Eric Staal and backed by Cam Ward, expect the ‘Canes to put together a solid, if unspectacular, season. Unfortunately, they’re simply not quite as good as the Penguins, Bruins and Capitals, and they’re going to have a hard time duplicating last year’s playoff success.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke has his fingerprints all over this team, and the resulting ‘Bay Street Bullies’ are an odd team. Though they lack star power up front, they still managed to finish 10^th in the NHL in scoring last year, and Phil Kessel will only make this forward unit better. The worst defensive team in the league last year, they figure to be far better in 09/10 with the additions of Beauchemin and Komisarek, in particular. Goaltending will make or break this team – Vesa Toskala was awful last year, and if he’s in better form this year, backed up by Jonas Gustavsson, then the Leafs should have some success. I think the tandem will be respectable, and the Leafs should squeak into the playoffs. However, this is still a mediocre hockey team that has a long way to go before any Cup parades should be planned.

8. Montreal Canadiens

The Habs look rather different from the team swept out of the first round by the Bruins last year. Though they’ll miss Kovalev, Mike Cammalleri will be a more-than-adequate, if less flashy, replacement. Scott Gomez is a risky acquisition, and I would be very surprised if he lived up to his rather large contract. Offense wasn’t an issue last year though, and it won’t be this year. Komisarek will be missed, and aside from Andre Markov, the team’s defense will not be its strongest point. Carey Price should be solid, which will reinforce the team’s weak defense. The Habs are flawed, but they should make the playoffs, though a deep run is not in the cards.

9. Ottawa Senators

The Sens are a difficult team to figure out. Losing Dany Heatley will hurt, but Bryan Murray, considering the circumstances, did net a decent return in exchange for the disgruntled star. Jonathan Cheechoo was a throw-in in the deal; It is Milan Michalek who the Sens really wanted, and rightfully so. Young and skilled, Michalek should be a big asset to the team for years to come. The Sens’ offense should be far more balanced than it has in the past decade, making it for more difficult on opposing teams to shut them down. If Pascal Leclaire is the solid goalie the Sens have long been looking for, then expect the Senators to be back in the playoffs this year. Though I have them barely missing the playoffs, they could easily finish as high as 5^th in the conference.

10. Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres did little this offseason, and will in all likelihood miss the playoffs like they did last year. There’s a shortage of talent up front here, even if first line centre Tim Connolly is healthy. Thomas Vanek will have to be brilliant offensively to keep the team afloat. Ryan Miller should be solid in net, as always. Losing Jaroslav Spacek to the Canadiens, though, will hurt the weak Sabres’ D. The Sabres will be in playoff contention, but will probably end up watching the playoff dance.

11. New York Rangers

The Rangers will be solid this year, but without a healthy Marian Gaborik this team is short on skill, and will probably miss the playoffs. When healthy, Gaborik is one of the game’s premier scorers. However, staying healthy has been a huge issue for the star, and I would be very surprised to see him play more than 70 games. The Rangers were awful last year offensively, and that doesn’t figure to change this year, even if they play aggressive John Tortorella-style hockey. Henrik Lundqvist will be good, as always, but even he can only do so much.

12. Florida Panthers

After almost squeaking into the playoffs last year, the Panthers seem due to disappoint this year. Despite the best efforts of sophomore coach Peter DeBoer, I just don’t see enough talent on this roster for them to stay ahead of the teams above and earn a playoff spot. They won’t be awful like the teams below them, but the playoffs are a stretch, barring significant improvement from players such as Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss, both of whom were once though to be premier prospects but have failed to live up to expectations.

The Hopeless

13. Tampa Bay Lightning

Some are predicting a playoff berth is in order for the Lightning this year, but I don’t see it happening. Bringing in Ohlund from Vancouver was a good move, and Victor Hedman should be able to step in and be a capable player from the start, which will bolster their blueline. They’ve got plenty of talent up front in Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and the emerging Steven Stamkos. Nonetheless, I’m not sold on Mike Smith as a solid NHL number one goalie, and I lack faith in the abilities of Rich Tocchet. I’d be surprised if the Lightning put it all together like many predict they will. I expect that they’ll be a mess and end up near the East’s basement again.

14. New York Islanders

I have no idea what GM Garth Snow is doing with this team. Backing up Rick DiPietro with one of either Martin Biron or Dwayne Roloson might not have been a bad idea, but bringing both in is a rather strange move. Tavares will bolster a weak Isles’ offense, but he won’t be enough. Goals will be at a premium in Long Island this year. There’s little to be excited about defensively, too. On the whole, this simply isn’t a particularly talented roster, and the Isles have a long way to go before they can even think about the playoffs.

15. Atlanta Thrashers

The Thrashers have never won a playoff game. Don’t expect that to change this year. It’ll be a messy, messy year in Atlanta, and look for Ilya Kovalchuk’s imprending free agency to overshadow whatever the Thrashers are doing on the ice. That might not be a bad thing, though, as the Thrashers will be brutal this year. Former Leafs Pavel Kubina and Nik Antropov are solid additions, and underrated Bryan Little should have another good year. Kovalchuk should produce huge numbers, as he’s playing for a new contract, and he’ll be an explosive offensive force, as always. Nonetheless, there’s a lack of depth on the roster, and a big hole in net. Kari Lehtonen simply hasn’t proven himself to be a particularly good goaltender, and I’d be surprised if he suddenly put it together this year. He’s got a young defense in front of him, too, and that means that a lot of pucks are going to end up in Atlanta’s net. Expect another bad year for the Thrashers, on and off the ice.

West

The Contenders

1. Detroit Red Wings

The Wings will miss Hossa and Hudler, but this team is still far too talented to slip much. Zetterberg and Datsyuk are two of the league’s best offensive players, they still have Lidstrom and Rafalski on the blueline, and Osgood will be strong in the crease. The Wings’ core is one of the best in the league, and there’s no reason to think that they won’t be once again competing for the President’s Trophy.

2. San Jose Sharks

Heatley and Thornton will be phenomenal together. Heatley should be a 50 goal scorer again, and Thornton should get back to scoring 100+ points. Though perhaps not the best leader, Patrick Marleau will still provide lots of secondary scoring, and the Sharks will be an offensive powerhouse. The ageless Rob Blake and Dan Boyle lead a capable Sharks defensive corps, and Evgeni Nabokov should be solid in net. The Sharks are no strangers to regular season success, but the playoffs are a different story. Questions about tenacity and leadership will continue to plague the team, but they’ll post a solid regular season record, though it remains to be seen whether the team can win when it counts.

3. Vancouver Canucks

The Flames will challenge the Canucks for the Northwest Division lead, but I expect the ‘Nucks to pull it out. Captain Roberto Luongo should bounce back from the shelling he took in Vancouver’s season-ending loss to the Blackhawks in the 2^nd round last year. In front of him is a solid if unspectacular defense, only made better by the addition of Mathieu Schneider. Up front they lack the star power of other contenders, but the Sedin twins lead a solid contingent of forwards that will get the job done. The Canucks are one of the West’s best teams, but I think that they still need to add one elite player to put them over the top.

4. Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are young and extremely talented. Adding Hossa to an already excellent offense makes them one of the league’s best offensive teams, and they’ll score a ton of goals. The team’s defense is also among the league’s best, led by criminally underrated Duncan Keith, who has Brian Campbell, Brent Seabrook and Cam Barker with him on the blueline. The only question mark facing the ‘Hawks is in the crease. Is Cristobal Huet good enough to be Chicago’s unquestioned number one goalie? I don’t think so. Expect the Hawks to be extremely good, but the lack of a proven goaltender prevents the team from being a favourite to win the Cup.

5. Calgary Flames

Led by one of hockey’s best, Jarome Iginla, the Flames figure to be among the West’s best teams. The loss of Mike Cammalleri will hurt on offense, but the team does have enough scoring to get by. Olli Jokinen needs to step up and get back to being a point-per-game player for the Flames to really be a threat. Adding Jay Bouwmeester gives the Flames one of the league’s best defenses, and that can only help Kiprusoff. The Flames will be extremely stingy. All this adds up to an excellent season, and I think the Flames will also make noise in the playoffs this year.

The Pretenders

6. Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks took an excellent San Jose squad out of the playoff picture last year, and their tough style of play will once again lead to success this year. Getzlaf, Perry and Teemu Selanne lead a solid offense. The loss of Chris Pronger leaves a big hole on the Ducks blueline, but the addition of Ryan Whitney will certainly help fill that hole, and the team will still be good defensively.The goaltending situation is a little dicey in Anaheim – who will be the team’s #1, Jonas Hiller or Jean-Sebastian Giguere? Hiller was the better goalie last year, and was excellent in the playoffs. I’d expect the two to split the load until one or the other asserts himself as the clearcut number one, at which point the other will probably be traded, as there’s always a market for good goalies.

7. Minnesota Wild

This isn’t the most talented roster in the world, but the Wild play a damn good team game and will most likely sneak into the playoffs in a tight race. Havlat will give the team a boost on offense, though the team still won’t score a ton of goals. Nonetheless, their solid defense and goaltending will keep them in most games, which means that the offense doesn’t have to be spectacular. They won’t be competing for the West title, but a playoff appearance is likely.

8. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings, after a long, long stretch of terrible hockey, appear poised to finally begin contending again. The addition of solid veterans like playoff hero Rob Scuderi and ‘Captain Canada’ Ryan Smyth will strengthen a roster filled with young talent. Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown will lead an explosive Kings offense. Questions remain about the team’s overall defensive ability, and the team is relying on Jonathan Bernier to emerge as a bonafide NHL #1 goalie. I think it should all come together for the Kings, and they should find themselves playing playoff hockey for the first time in six seasons.

9. St. Louis Blues

After a surprising playoff appearance last year, the Blues will compete for a playoff spot again this year. I think they’ll miss out, but it’ll be tight. The offense should be good, led by Paul Kariya, Brad Boyes and Patrik Berglund. Defense and goaltending should also be decent, buoyed by the return of Erik Johnson. Chris Mason has to be as good as he was last year to keep the Blues in the race out west. Ultimately, I think they’ll just fall short of the playoffs, but it will be close.

10. Edmonton Oilers

Pat Quinn is back in the NHL, and he’s leading an Oilers team that hasn’t made the playoffs since their Finals appearance in 05/06. Fans are hungry in Edmonton, but I think the playoff drought will continue for another year. The offense is young and deep, but there’s a lack of first line talent. Defense is a bit of a weakness, though Khabibulin will be solid in net. Unfortunately for the Oilers, I just don’t see room for them in the playoffs.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets

Steve Mason’s amazing rookie season led the Blue Jackets to their first ever playoff berth last year, but I’m not sure that they’ll be in the playoff dance again this year. Rick Nash is in Columbus long term, and he’ll lead a capable offense again this year. The defense isn’t great, but as long as Mason is strong in net again, the Blue Jackets will be decent. Still, though, I don’t see the Blue Jackets growing playoff beards again this year.

12. Dallas Stars

The Stars have slowly slipped out of the West’s elite, and they missed the playoffs last year. I see that slide continuing this season, and I don’t think the Stars will be competing for a playoff spot. The team still has talent up front in Brendan Morrow, Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro. The defense is unproven and looks weak, though, which means that Marty Turco will have to be at his best as a lot of rubber comes his way.

13. Nashville Predators

Nashville will boast an excellent defense this year, led by Shea Weber, but the rest of the team looks shaky. The offense will be relying on aging veterans such as Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan, and scoring goals won’t be easy for this team. Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis will be between the pipes for Nashville, and though Rinne wasn’t bad last year for the Preds, I’m not sure that he’ll be good enough to keep the team in contention for a playoff spot this year.

The Hopeless

14. Colorado Avalanche

After a long stretch of success under captain Joe Sakic, things finally gave last year, and the Avs are now rebuilding. They have some good young players that provide hope for the future, but this season will be a rough one in Denver. Throughout the lineup there’s a shortage of skill, and the Avs simply won’t be able to compete most nights. Goaltending is also a major issue – Peter Budaj has been able to get the job done the past few years, but he’s no Patrick Roy. It’ll be a long year for the Avalanche and their fans, and there’s little hope for the near future.

15. Phoenix Coyotes

The Coyotes are a mess, on and off the ice. They’re without a coach after Wayne Gretzky’s departure, fans in Phoenix don’t seem to care about the team, as they figure that it’s only a matter of time before the Coyotes end up in Hamilton. Of course, though, the only man who has expressed interest in buying the team, Jim Balsillie, is considered a villain among NHL owners and the NHL is hellbent on ensuring that he doesn’t end up owning the team. On the ice the situation isn’t much better. After captain Shane Doan, the Coyotes are extremely thin up front, and also weak on defense. Ilja Bryzgalov provides some stability in goal, and should still post good numbers this year, though he won’t be rewarded with many wins. This is going to be an ugly year for the Coyotes, though there may not be many people in the Jobing.com Arena to watch the Coyotes lose.

Individual Awards

Hart – Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

This is Ovechkin’s trophy to lose. Though Malkin and Crosby are serious competition for the award, the fact that they both play for a loaded Penguins squad will always hurt their chances for the Hart. Though the Capitals are a deeper team than they’ve been in the past, there is still little doubt that they are Ovechkin’s team. I expect 60 goals and 60 assists from him this season, and that will be enough for Ovechkin to hold on to the Hart for another year.

Vezina – Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

Though Brodeur is 37, I think he still has at least one more elite season left in him. Given that New Jersey lost several key players this offseason, Brodeur will be more important to the team than ever. Brodeur will keep the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern conference’s upper echelon, and he’ll take home a 5^th Vezina for his efforts.

Norris – Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

Though he’ll face stiff competition from Mike Green, Duncan Keith and Zdeno Chara, Lidstrom is still the most complete defenseman in the league. Green will be an offensive force with the Capitals, but isn’t solid enough in his own zone to win the Norris. Keith will continue to improve after a breakout season last year, but still isn’t quite as good as Lidstrom. Chara will continue to lead a very stingy Bruins team, but I don’t expect the Bruins to be as good as they were last year, and that will affect his standing with voters. Though Lidstrom, like Brodeur, is nearing the end of an illustrious career, he’s still the NHL’s best blueliner, and he’ll take home his 7^th Norris trophy this year as a result.

Selke – Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers

Richards is an amazingly complete player. He plays hard at both ends of the ice and makes life difficult for opposing forwards. Though not as flashy as Pavel Datsyuk, Richards’ solid defensive play should go over well with Selke voters.

Calder – John Tavares, New York Islanders

Though Tavares won’t be an instant superstar in the mold of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, I do expect a very solid rookie season from him. He’ll get lots of ice time on a bad Islanders team, and I’d expect him to pot 30 goals to go with 40 helpers, which should be more than enough to make him the NHL’s top rookie.

Jack Adams -  Pat Quinn, Edmonton Oilers

Though I don’t have the Oilers making the playoffs in a tough Western conference, I do think that Pat Quinn will improve this young team. Expect the Oilers to be a much better offensive team under Quinn. After finishing last season 18^th in goals scored, the Oilers should be in the top third of the league this year, though defensive play will still be a weakness.

Me and Einz had varying opinions and eventually a bet was made.  I took Tavares to get more points this year.

I feel that although Tavares may not be as NHL ready as Stamkos he will be getting more minutes and most importantly more powerplay minutes than the Lightning #1 pick of 2008.  Tavares will likely be playing close to 20 minutes a game from day 1 and will be The Guy on Long Island.  Compare this to Stamkos playing third fiddle to Lecavalier and St. Louis and you can see my point of view on why Tavares will come out on top of this race.

It all comes down to minutes.  If Tavares is getting an extra five mintues a game, he should be able to turn those minutes into a more productive season, even if the Islanders score far less than the Lightning.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how both players fair this season with the spotlight shining on them once again.

I personally was a Blackhawks fan last year, but I hated watching Patrick Kane on the ice and was very happy when they limited his ice time in the playoffs.  He is a liability on the ice.  What kind of player is a -1 playing on the top line of the 3rd best team in the West from the regular season.  Compare this to my boy Martin Havlat’s +30 numbers at the same position on the checking line and you will see that Patrick Kane is extremely overrated.  He shouldn’t have even been mentioned in the same sentence as Havlat.

Now that Havlat is gone I no longer consider myself a Blackhawks fan, but I can see the ‘Hawks are in a lot of trouble when it comes to keeping players after this season.  The team is currently almost $5M over the cap for this season and then when you factor in that Toews, Kane and Keith are all restricted free agents next year you have to wonder what Chicago will do.

I think Chicago should trade Kane this year, early in the season and try to get some players who will actually put in what it takes to win.  Sports betting sites have already placed odds on his return next year.  This means backchecking and going into the corners.  Neither of which Kane will do.  Out of the three restricted free agents Kane is the obvious choice not to sign next year because Toews is the captain and will likely be a lifetime ‘Hawk and Keith is currently one of the best defensemen in the league.  Why not trade Kane early and actually get something back for him when his stock is relative high.  I have no clue why it would be high because I think Kane is as good as he will ever get and that’s a guy who can score, but can’t win.  But if other GM’s think he has an upside let them take him off the Blackhawks hands and get something in return.

If Stan Bowman can deal Kane for a couple solid players or a goalie depending on how Huet pans out the Blackhawks may have a shot at the cup this year.  If not then I can’t see them doing any better than last year.  Especially with no Martin Havlat in the line-up.

Then the traditional overseas games will be held on the 2nd and 3rd of October. The Red Wings and Blues will face off for a couple games in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Panthers and the Blackhawks will be playing not far away in Helsinki, Finland.

Then the real fun starts on October 3rd with all 30 teams in action. Look for the Ottawa Senators and the Minnesota “Martin Havlat” Wild to start their seasons off with a bang.

The winter classic game has also been announced. The game will take place on New Years day at Fenway Park in Boston. The Flyers and Bruins will put on the touques, scarves and tar, as well as strap on the skates for some old time hockey in front of a 100,000 fans. I’m hoping to see Bruins forward, Milan Lucic, put Chris Pronger through the glass and over the boards onto the frozen tundra that is Fenway Park field.

It’s going to be a great year for hockey. It’s anyones guess to win the cup and thanks to the parity of the league, everyone has a chance almost every year. The Olympics will also be a great two week break for players to either represent their country with national pride on the line or rest up for the playoff stretch. Hockey Opinions will be covering all of the action with plenty of opinions and biases to be shown. Check back soon for some early Stanley Cup predictions from our panel of hockey experts fans.

Detroit has been amazing at home dominating the 3 games with a combined 11-2 score. I don’t expect game 7 to be any different. Look for Detroit to come out strong with Datsyuk and Zetterberg leading the offense. Datsyuk had an awesome game 5 and 6 and will light it up in game 7. Osgood will be ready and he is a clutch goalie. If he wins this game you have to consider giving him the Conn Smythe.

For Pittsburgh to have a chance Malkin and Crosby need to get going again. The pair have been held pointless in the last two games and if this happens again the Wings will win easily. Fleury had a good game, now look for a bad game. He is just not clutch. Two silver medals for Team Canada at the World Juniors will tell you that.

Look for Detroit to win game 7 by a final score of 4-1 and Osgood to win the Conn Smythe trophy which he deserves.

Penguins +135
Red Wings -155

The Red Wings are given a slight edge in this series by the bookies, but in my opinion their edge is actually much higher.  The Wings stormed through the Hawks, even without Datsyuk and Lidstrom for a few games in the series.  (Given Havlat and Khabibulin were also out and those 2 are huge parts of the Hawks team).  A few Red Wings including Datsyuk, Holmstrom and even arguably Hossa are still waiting to play their best hockey and when better to play it than the Stanley Cup Finals.  Look for Zetterberg to have another great series, as well as “The Mule” Franzen.

Pittsburgh is currently firing on all cylinders riding a 5 game winning streak into the finals and having both Crosby and Malkin finding their A games at the same time.  A good reason for this might be that they were playing defensively challenged teams Washington and Carolina, and an injured Cam Ward.  But you still have to give them credit, especially Malkin, for realy bringing it when it matters.  In my hockey opinion this level of offense isn’t going to continue for them against Detroit.  The Wings aren’t even that great a defensive team, but they will be able to shut down at least one line as long as Lidstrom is healthy.  If the Penguins are going to win they will need an amazing performance from Fleury and both Crosby and Malkin to be firing on all cylinders for the duration of the finals.  The Pens definitely have a better chance than last year, but they are just not good enough to dethrone the champs.

Bet on the Detroit Red Wings in this series.

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Well the Wings barely snuck out of this series, but what a series this was.  Starting right off the bat with controversey in game one with the Hudler hit, and then the triple overtime in game two.  Moving to Anaheim we saw the disallowed goal, and then the Wings come back and chase Hiller out of the net in game 5. Game six saw the Ducks rebound and prevent the Wings from finishing another series out on the road.  Game 7 was the best game seven of these playoff we saw hits, goals, saves, and of course octapi.  With the Wings taking this series they move on to the conferance finals to meet Chicago.

The Wings won this series because of many things.  Firstly Osgood still showed us why he is one of the best playoff goaltenders of all time besting Patrick Roy in goals against average (2.11 Vs. 2.30 in the playoffs), but also following that up with three Stanley Cup Rings.  Beyond the crease Rafalski returned for game 6 and 7 quickly returning to form and moving alongside his usual partner of Lindstrom, thus keeping the other two tandums in tact (Stuart and Kronwall, Lebda and Ericsson).  The Defense played well but Lindstrom couldnt find the offensive production he had in game one, and Rafalski needs to get back on the scoreboard.  Offensively the Wings were terrific all lines were contributing, on both ends of the ice.  Babcock did shuffle the lines successfully to win game 4 moving Franzen with Filpulla and Hossa, while reuniting Datsyuk, Holmstrom and Zetterberg.  This trio didnt stay together long as Holmstrom quickley made his way into the dog house.  Babcock will keep shuffling Holmstrom around till he starts producing.

The Ducks lost for one reason they couldnt find secondary scoring beyond the first line.  Carlyle did shuffle up Getzlaf, Ryan, and Perry but never kep them apart for long.  Selanne did contribute but that was it.  The Ducks were not rolling four lines as well as the Wings were and this tired them out after that long game 2.  The Ducks weren’t the disciplined team that they needed to be taking stupid penalties throughout the whole series, but luckily the Wings powerplay took a drop without Rafalski in the lineup.  While Hiller shone greatly in this series, he lost his confidence and edge in games 4 and 5 getting chased and letting in nine goals.

Moving on for this Ducks team is this the last game for Selanne, and Niedermayer two future hall of famers?  What happens to Giguere after the emergence of Hiller. What is Anaheim going to do to adress their secondary scoring problems?

Detroit and Chicago

This will be another great series.  Detroit beat Chicago in the season series 4-2 including a great Winter Classic showdown.  Both these teams will be energized and ready to play sunday, this two day break, along with the minimal travel time between Chicago and Detroit will keep this a fast paced, high goal scoring series.

Detroit will win because of experiance and depth plain and simple They’ve been here the last two years and seem better this year then they were last year. All four lines for Detroit are firing, and Detroit still has some players in teh reserve if needed in Maltby, Mcarthy, and Meech.  Homer and Datsyuk will have to come up big this series, they need to revitalize their first line specially against the Keith Seabrook tandum.  The Franzen line will be against Campbell Hjalmarsson which will be tough but Campbell has lost some of his edge in the playoffs, and they haven’t faced players the likes of Hossa and Franzen yet so that will be an interesting battle.

Chicago  Will need to keep firing, and they have a chance if their secondary scoring comes up big like it did in round two, this is what Anaheim lacked to win.  Khabibulin hasent played as spectacular as Hiller has, but wiht cup experiance he has it in him, so we will see how he performs.  Kane, Toews, and Havlat haven’t faced a great defensive squad like the Wings so that will be the Hawks biggest test

Prediction

I think Detroit takes this in 6, the young Chicago team hasn’t played at this level yet it will be interesting to see how they react

Eastern Conference Finals

Hurricanes +175
Penguins – 205

Personally I think this series could go either way.   I would probably give the Pens a small edge, but not as big an edge as these odds are implying they have.  There just seems to be something special about the Hurricanes this year and the big brothers usually win their fights.  Look for Cam Ward to stand on his head and this series to go at least 6 games.   Both of these teams won their second round match ups in 7 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this series go the distance as well.  If that is the case it’s anyones guess who would take it, so go with the underdogs and the good return on your bet because the Canes just don’t seem like they will lay down at this point.

Bet on Carolina

Western Conference Finals

Blackhawks +195
Red Wings -235

This is another series that I think could go either way.  The odds are extremely one sided and I can’t see any reason for this.  The Blackhawks have had a much tougher road the Conference Finals and will be the first team that will actually test Osgood in net.  The young Blackhawks team has shown a lot of character thus far in the playoffs and they are now my pick to win the cup.  Watch for Havlat to pick it up this series and Kane and Toews to continue their solid play from game 6 of the previous series.  The Wings do have more weapons than either the Flames or the Nucks did, so a lot of pressure will fall on Brian Campbell and Hjalmarsson to shut down the extremely strong second line of the Wings.  We know Keith and Seabrook will do their part on whichever line Quennville feels is most dangerous so it will come down to Campbell and Hjalmarsson having a solid series.  If these two step up and Khabibulin plays a little better than he has so far in the playoffs the Blackhawks will continue on their way to the finals.  I think the series could go either way and for this reason again you should be on the team with the best return on the investment, which in this case is the Blackhawks.

Bet on Chicago.

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These are my hockey betting opinions.  Use them wisely!

In my hockey opinion the NHL should change the rule to be the same as the icing rule, where if a player flips the puck over the boards the penalty is that they are not allowed to change.  It’s been widely said that the reason this penalty was introduced was because players would flip the puck over the boards when they were tired in order to try to get a change.  This sounds very similar to why players decide to ice the puck.  However the difference is if players flip the puck over the boards they get a two-minute penalty, whereas if they ice the puck they just aren’t allowed to change.  Players make both plays for the same reason and both plays result in the same outcome of a delay in the game, so in my opinion both plays should be penalized the same way.

The over the glass delay of game penalty was to prevent players from intentionally playing the puck over the glass.  Of course nobody intentionally plays the puck over the glass now, but it still happens because in some cases it is inevitable and it’s just a few inches between a solid clear off the glass out of danger and a two minute penalty.  By replacing the two minute penalty for clearing the puck over the glass with the current icing rule that players aren’t allowed to change the NHL will still be able to deter players from intentionally clearing the puck over the glass when they are tired and not risk drastically affecting games from slight misplays.

A perfect example would be when Rick Nash took a penalty for clearing the puck over the glass and Russia went on to score on the powerplay and win the gold over Canada in last years IIHF Hockey Championships.  This is not the way teams should be winning games.  Everyone wants the best team to have the best chance at winning and this penalty only adds variance to the game, which decreases the chances of the right team winning.  I know the NHL wants parity and more goals and awarding silly penalties is one way to get both, but in reality this “delay of game puck over glass” penalty is hurting a lot more than it’s helping.  The penalty was added to do a job.  Now that the NHL has found another way to deter players from delaying the game (not allowing changes) they should quickly do away with this minor penalty and avoid any more controversial finishes.

On The West side of things the Vancouver Chicago series is turning into a good ‘greasy’ battle (As Bieksa would put it), these two teams are fighting hard and it will go a long way.  Byfuglien has been working hard in front of Luongo and he might start to be in the goaltenders head, we will see how game 4 plays out.

The Wings series is turning out to be the series with, maybe the most buzz.  First off we have to discuss game one and the antics that took place there.  The Brown hit on Hudler is the most talked about item of that game.  In my opinion it was a dirty hit, but the refs called it right on the ice.  It was a head shot, that was late.  Even though there was no elbow it was a blow to the head, and specifically the type of hit we want out of the game.  Also Brown jumped off the ice to hit the much smaller, and more skilled Hudler.  The emergence of Ericsson has been amazing.  This rookie is playing more minutes a game than the best defensemen in the league (Lidstrom), this will most likely change when Rafalski gets back, but it is nice to see Ericsson play at this level, and even fight with Perry (and win).

Game two saw Rafalski sit out again, and the Wings need him their power play isnt as efficient and they are playing worse.  I always like the long overtime games, and this one wasn’t any different. Some people are arguing that these overtime game lack in substance, but they are amazing the watch, and also the way the games in the playoffs should be decided.  Even though the Wings lost this one, it was a good game to watch and Hiller deserved the win for the way he played.

Game 3 is where everything spins out of control.  First off the Ducks second goal was interference by Niedermayer.  You can’t jump on the goalie when he is trying to make a save.  This ticks me off, and surely every Wings fan out there.  Holmstrom gets within an inch of the goalie and gets called for interference, but Niedermayer can jump on the goalie to prevent Osgood from making a goal stopping save?  I fail to see the logic in that.  Now at the end of the game the puck clearly went in before the whistle, but it is intent to blow the whistle that matter, not the actual sound.  Brad Watson  the referee in question was in a horrible position, all the way in the corner when the play was at the net, but Bob Mckenzie said it best on tsn.  Stating that human error will happen by the officials as long as their are human officials and not everything is reviewable.  Now this one will get blow up because of the time, but their is nothing we can do about it now.  The Wings need to forget about this and move to game 4.  Datsyuk, and Hossa really need to start scoring, or Babcock has to mix up the lines but losing game 4 would be horrible for the Wings chances.  Now, game aside hopefully Wisnieski has a speedy recovery, taking off on a strecher is scary, and their is no u pdate on what happend to him, other then he is in stable condition

A quick note on the Pheonix situation.  Balsillie made a bid to buy the team with a clause that they would be moved to Southern Ontario.  This is great for hockey, while I do support all teams, these lower market teams (Nashville, Pheonix, Florida etc.. ) are losing money and it makes sense to move them to a place where they make money.  In the past we have seen some teams get revitalized such as Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Tampa after they won the cup.  Saying that it’s best to weigh all the option, but the bottom line is Pheonix has fallen under and their is a dedicated owner willing to buy them and move them to a great market.  Balsillie learnt from his previous outings and used the bankruptcy court this time.  He is putting all the power in the courts hands, and the question is does the bankruptcy court have the right to dictate a move by an nhl franchise?  This situation will unfold thrusday as all parties are meeting to start discussions.

This is the series everyone wants to see.  The classic showdown Crosby and Malkin against Ovechkin.  This series will most likely silence the critics, and ultimately pick who is the better player.  Also this series might play heavily into the Hart Trophy voting

Washington came back from a 3-1 deficit in round one to wrap up the series in 7 games.  Although this may seem as a feat it is not much.  The Rangers got lucky to push Washington that far.  In this series we need to see Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and Green all play better.  Other then Ovechkins wonderful goal these 4 weren’t the difference makers they need to be to win this series.  Varlemov has to keep up his stellar play in this round, because the Caps got no other options in goal.

Crosby and Malkin have been firing on all cylinders, and are leading their team going into this second round.  Jordan Stall and Gonchar need to up the ante here.  Staal got a new contract but he needs to play like hes earned that new contract.  Also Gonchar was not playing as good as he can, while Letang was playing better then expected.  It seems Washington has the edge in goal, but don’t count out Fleury he has been here before and Varlemov hasent faced a real offence yet.

Prediction is Pens in 6 I think Varlemov will cave under the Pens offence, and Fleury will pick up his game

Boston Vs. Carolina

Little to say here I think Boston is the clear favorite,  Carolina spoiled New Jerseys party last round.  This in my opinion was a little bit of a fluke but Staal and Whitney arent enough to take down the Boston’s depth Chart.

Boston in 5

Boston(1) vs. Carolina(6)

A maybe too well rested Boston squad faces off against Carolina, a team who should most probably be weary after knocking off the Devils in what I thought was a bit more than a slight upset. There are only two main hypotheses that come to mind in this case. Boston will take some time to get back into the rhythm of things while Carolina will struggle to keep up the pace as the series lengthens. On that fact alone, I’d have to give the series to Boston, but seeing as how it’s the eastern conference leading Bruins up against the Canes, I can’t see this going any farther than 5 games.

Prediction: Boston in 5

Washington(2) vs. Pittsburgh(4)

As much as I enjoyed the Washington comeback in the previous round, I doubt that run will continue into the second round. Pittsburgh simply won’t provide the Capitals with the same comeback opportunities that a weak Rangers team did in round one. The only way I could see the Capitals making it to the next round is with outstanding backing by Varlamov to counter a strong Penguins offense, which seems unlikely as they go further into the playoffs considering his lack of experience.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6

Detroit(2) vs. Anaheim(8)

I’m not saying that Anaheim’s victory in the first round was anything less than what it was, but I’m sure San Jose would have found a way to lose against any team they played. This seemed like a fairly straight-forward prediction in Detroit. Between the play-off experience and steady goaltending Detroit should be able to pull through without too many problems. That being said, I do expect a Detroit hick-up sometime this series. It just seems to happen almost every year. So with that and Hiller possibly stealing a game or two, I expect this series to make it to 6 games.

Prediction: Detroit in 6

Vancouver(3) vs. Chicago(4)

Hmmm…So here’s the tough decision. Do I go with a tough, emotional Canucks team who have a strong defensive presence centered around arguably, the best goaltender currently in the game, or do I go with a young, up and coming Hawks team with a lot of talent, who is quickly making a name for themselves this playoff season. For me this comes down directly between Chicago’s pipes. Will we see the “Bulin Wall”? I don’t think we will and that’s why I ultimately have to go with Vancouver. Either way, I think this is bound to be an exciting series which will most likely flip-flop in terms of wins.

Prediction: Vancouver in 7

The Blackhawks vs Canucks series that starts tonight is supposed to be a close one.  The odds are as follows:

Blackhawks +120
Canucks -140

Bet the Blackhawks here.  The Hawks have at least a 50% chance to win the series, so get your money in with the good odds and hope for the best.

Not surprisingly, the Ducks vs Red Wings series has the biggest spread.

Ducks +250
Red Wings -300

Don’t bet on this series. The odds are pretty dead on in my opinion and it would be negative expected value to bet on either team with those odds.

The Bruins vs Canes series is a much small spread on Bookmaker.com than I was expecting.

Hurricanes +185
Bruins -215

Bet the Bruins in this series. In my opinion this series is the most one sided and since it’s not the most one sided in terms of the betting you should take advantage and bet on the Bruins.  I would be very surprised if the Bruins don’t win and I think you are getting a very good return on this almost sure bet.

Of course the closest series price is the Crosby vs Ovechkin show.

Penguins +100
Capitals -120

Bet the Penguins in this series. I am very surprised that the Pens are labeled as the underdog by the sports books.  Most people I have talked to say the Pens are sure to win.  I’d give the Pens about 60% to win and this percentage makes taking the Penguins here a good bet.

*If you don’t have an account at Bookmaker.com, sign up using Bookmaker.com bonus code “BMBONUS“.

I am highly biased in favor of the Wings, but I will do my best to be neutral in this one.  Anaheim’s got a hot goalie going into this round.  Hiller has played well agaisnt a powerful Sharks offence, the questions is can he keep this up against the Wings.  While the Sharks were a deep team, the Wings are deeper.  As brought out on Tsn last night Hudler and Holmstrom are two of the highest scoring players for their amount of ice time (16 Mins).  In the first round the elite players from the wings Datsyuk (2Pts), Zetterberg (4Pts), and Hossa (4Pts) barely shown what they could accomplish, watch for an emergence in this round.  On the back end Stuart and Kronwall have been playing like first tandum defensemen, while Lindstrom and Rafalski need to step it up.  The wild card in all this is Osgood, can he keep up the play that he has shown against Columbus or not.

Anaheim has spoiled Detroits playoff party in the past to avoid this , the ducks the trio of Getzlaf, Ryan, and Perry have been on fire and are going to have to be contained by the Wings.  Home ice advantage is key as Babcock can put Selke winner and nominee Datsyuk against the top line or go with Selke Nominee Zetterberg’s line.  Either way the Ducks will have to rely heavily on the presence of Pronger (If he could play disciplined) and Niedermayer.  It is also unfair to underestimate the importance of Beauchemain, and Whitney in this series.  Whitney was aquired for Kunitz at the trade deadline and needs to step up his game to show he was worth it.

Prediction Wings in 6. The Wings look too good and are too dominant to lose this series, I took them all the way to the cup so we will see how this plays out.

Chicago Vs. Vancouver

Lets not forget the history these two teams have.  A end of the season brawl in march  between these two teams saw over 80 minutes of penalties given out in one minute.  Leading the way was a good tilt between Bieksa and Eager.

People say that their is no fighting in the playoffs, well this year they are wrong.  This year the playoffs have had everything and don’t expect that to stop tonight when the puck drops in this series.

Vancover’s Luongo has had a stellar series against the Blues, but this series looks to be tougher with all of Chicagos line’s firing it will be a close goaltending battle between him and the Bulin Wall.  The Wall has the experiance and a ring so don’t put him behind Luongo in this series.  The forwards from the Canucks got off the first round easy.  The Sedins haven’t stepped up to this level yet so they need to be even better this round, also where have Sundin and Demitra been.  Sundin was  brought in halfway through the season and hasn’t done much, Demitra started off the season hot but has slowed down.  These two need to pick it up to win this round.  Seabrook and Keith have been the best defensive paring in these playoffs, Bieksa, Ohlund, and Salo will have to work hard to shut down all of the Blackhawks lines

I give the edge to Chicago in this one they will take it in 6. This series will be the most physical of the second round, expect fireworks

Eastern Conferance preview tommorow

The best player in this series was no doubt Hiller, followed closely by Getzlaf.  The sharks have been favored for years to advance far into the stanley cup playoffs, nothing change this year.  After being out scored, out hit, and out goaltendended again in the playoffs Thorton and Marleau’s leadership abilities have come into question.  Their are even rumours swirling that Marleau and\or Thorton are on the out’s from San Jose.  Enough about San Jose, lets talk bout the winners.  The top line from the Ducks featuring Ryan, Getzlaf, and Perry played amazing, arguably one of the best in the first series.  Niedermayer led the way on defence, and Pronger had a great series.  We must not forget about hte efforts of Beauchemain, and Wisneski.  I Called San Jose in this series, but this is the last time I bank on San Jose

Detroit Vs. Columbus

Best player in the series was Osgood, showing why hes one of the best playoff goalies of our generation.  There isnt much to write about this series.  No one took Columbus as a threat and the Wings just mowed over the Blue Jackets.  I called this series correctly, but then again who didn’t.

Vancover Vs. St-Louis

Best player in this series was Luongo.  Once again no surprises here, even though the Blues were the hottest team going into the playoffs, Vancover was superior on paper, and that translated nicely onto the ice.  A physical series that didn’t last very long.  I called this series correctly.

Chicago Vs. Calgary

By far the best series in the west, with the best player being Seabrook.  Seabrook is now the highest scoring defensemen in the playoffs played a good shut-down role alongside Keith and really gave it to Igilna, who was mediocore, at best in this series.  This series has intense physical battles, Byfuglien, Burrish played their roles perfectly.  Byfuglien was a force all series even scoring goals, and being a good finess player (See his play in the last game where he circled Leopold).  Toews played great in his frist series, but Kane, Jokinen, and Cammaleri weren’t anything amazing but nevertheless fun to watch.  I took Chicago in this series.

Boston Vs. Montreal

Its hard to pick a best player in this Series I will give the award to Kessel, Savard, Chara, and Ryder.  It’s hard to say anything positive about this series Montreal centenial season was plagued with downs, and this series was another one of those downs.  Boston played a physical game and this took its toll on the Habs and threw them off their game. Like everyone else I took Boston in this series

Washington Vs. Rangers

Varlemov was probably the best player in this series, but facing a low scoring Rangers offence can make any goalie look good.  The star players from the Capitals didnt play particularily good, but luckily neither did the Ranger’s.  I tookl the Rangers to win this series for one reason.  I didnt think a team backstopped by Theodore could win a series, and I was technically right, but I know now to not overestimate the ranger.  Lundquist could steal a game or two b ut not 4.

New Jersey Vs. Carolina

You have to say Stall was the best player in this series.  What an end to game 7, kudos to the Canes for not quitting.  I expected alot more from the Devils after a terrific season without Brodeur, but I guess even Brodeur couldnt prevent Gleason from making that amazing play to keep the puck alive in the final minutes of game 7.  I took New Jersey in this series, but I would still do the same pick, and don’t regret it.

Pittsburg Vs. Philidelpia

The best players in this series was Crosby and Malkin.  Another tough chapter in the battle of Pensylvania once again the Pens come out as victors.  I would have liked to see more of Gonchar in this series, not just Gonchar, but also all of the Pittsburg defense squad wasent too engaged in the series.  The Flyers put up a good fight but their highest paid player in Briere wasn’t anywhere to be found.  Also, nice to see Giroux stand up and show how good of a player he actually is. I called Pittsburg to win this series.

Round Two Predictions to come

Pavel Datsyuk

Datsyuk may not quite be at the top with Malkin and Ovechkin when it comes to points, but for the second year in a row, he is up for the Selke trophy (best defensive forward). Being as good as he is defensively may not put quite as many fans in the stands but it is very valuable to any successfuly team. On top of being one of the top forwards defensively, he also has undeniably amazing skills, and he did get 97 points which is notable on its own. The only downside to Datsyuk for the Hart is that he has an amazing team, therefore it is arguable that they could be good even without this all-around all-star.

Evgeni Malkin

This young star has been shadowed since his arrival by the presence of Crosby, but this year he has emerged and shown that he can be just as good if not better than Sid the Kid. He lead the league in points this year, and led his team back from a shaky start into the fourth spot in the Eastern conference and also past the Flyers in round 1. The problem that i see with giving Malkin the Hart is much the same one as giving it to Datsyuk, I mean he is on the same team as Sid, and either of these guys could easily be called the best in the game, so how do you say that they were the most valuable to any single team?

Alexander Ovechkin

Last but not least, Alex the Great. This guy is my personal nominee. Once again he has lead the league in goals scored in a season, only this time he missed the points title by 3. My arguments for both of the other players were the same, and you could say the same about Ovi and the Caps. Ovechkin had the help of Semin, Green, and Backstrom to get his team to 2nd place. I think the difference is that every year, the Caps exceed expectations, and I believe that Ovechkin has a lot to do with that. Who expected Washington to finish 2nd in the East? I sure didn’t. You can’t say the same for the likes of Detroit or Pittsburgh, both these teams won their conferences last year, and had minimal losses last offseason (except for Hossa going from one to the other). But the Caps exceeded expectations this season, and i think that is the deciding factor, Ovi did the most with the least.

Wings in 7. Yes the ducks did just knock off this season’s arguable favourite for the cup, but let’s be real, how many years in a row has SJ been favoured? They have managed to disappoint every year which is why I am not surprised that they are already gone. The reason I am giving the Ducks enough respect to last until game 7 is because of their young tender Jonas Hiller. He managed to keep the Sharks, a team with 257 goals in 82 games during the reg season, down to 10 goals in 6 playoff games with a GAA of 1.64 and a sv% of .957. Although these numbers are impressive, we also witnessed the Red Wings put 18 goals in the net in only 4 games, and every goal went past probable rookie of the year and potential Vezina winner Steve Mason. This series may very well be over before game 7, but Anaheim has a very tough and young core that could potentially do some damage away from Jos Louis arena.

Vancouver vs. Chicago

Canucks in 6. This series is shaping up to be your classic gaoltender’s duel. On one side you have a goalie with a stanley cup in Khabibulin who seems to give his team a chance to win every night. On the other side you have arguably the league’s best goaltender in Luongo who also has the best GAA and sv% this postseason. Both these goalies could very well win this series for their respective teams, so i think the determining factor in the series will be the Canuck’s very tough defensive core matching up against the inexperienced and young offense of the ‘Hawks.

Boston vs. Carolina

Bruins in 5. This series is a strange one that is difficult for me to make any predictions on. I just cannot see how the Canes keep winning, I think that the stanley cup run they made back in 05/06 is the reason they keep surprising me. Their best player by far is Eric Staal, and Cam Ward has been solid in net as he has proven he can be in the past. After Staal and Ray Whitney there is a large drop-off in skilled offensive players. you could make cases for both Brind’Amour and Samsonov, but both seem to have reached their peak years ago. The Bruins have the perfect mix of veterans and skilled young’ns between Savard, Recchi, and Ryder, Krejci, Lucic, and Kessel. They also have a goalie that has proven through this season that he can be just as good if not better than Ward in Tim Thomas.

Washington vs. Pittsburgh

Pens in 7. The pens could easily end this series quickly, but i think it is more of a hope than an actual prediction for a game 7. This series has been a long time in the making, Sid the Kid vs. Alexander the Great. Who wouldn’t want this series to go to 7? Personally i am a big Ovechkin fan so I am rooting for the Caps, but i don’t see how they could beat the Pens. Pens win the tender battle hands down, and I won’t change my mind until Varlamov can prove himself. Fleury has been slightly unstable in the past, but for the most part has proven himself, including proving that he can bring the Pens to the cup finals. There is no reason why Fleury should fall apart when facing the Caps offense, he has faced offenses that are just as good if not better than the Caps in Philly this year and the Sens last year without giving in. If the Caps hope to surpass the Pens, they will need solid goaltending once again from Varlamov and they will need the core of their firepower, Ovi, Semin, Kozlov, Laich etc. to keep producing, and maybe even take it one step further.

Stanley Cup Winners: Detroit Red Wings. There are my predictions.

Anyways here’s my predictions for the first round:

Detroit(2) vs Anaheim(8)

Alright, now this is going to be my upset for this round. Everyone is counting Anaheim out, so I’m going to take the underdog. Anaheims top line looked incredible against the sharks. Ryan, Perry, and Getzlaf do so many things right at both ends of the ice. In the offensive zone, they are going to have to tire out that Detroit defence that has’t looked as promising this year. They need to cycle it and keep the puck down low, and crash the net hard when they get opportunities. Osgood is by far the worst goalie left in these playoffs (he won his cups infront of an always amazing detroit team). As for Detroit, they just need to keep doing what they do. Try to keep puck possession and get screens infront of Hiller. Hiller is the real deal, and they are going to have to get some quality chances to score, he’s not letting any softies by. And with that I think if Anaheim gets they’re big line rolling, and gets a couple bounces their way, there is no reason why they can’t win this series.

Ducks in 7

Vancouver(3) vs Chicago(4)

A hot St. Louis team came into Vancouver thinking they had a chance. Luongo and the Canucks shut that thought down pretty quick. The hottest team the second half of the year was dominated by a bigger, better squad. The Nucks are all you can ask for in a team, they have speed, skill,grit,size and they all play with emotion. Did I mention Luongo? Vancouver needs to get their physical game right where it was in the first series. They need to be hammering guys like Toews, Kane, Sharp, and yes, Havlat! Havlat is probably the biggest threat to the Nucks. Shut him down and they will be fine. That hard hitting defence of Vancouver needs to be all over these guys. If the  Hawks want this series, they are going to need more of the production they have been getting from their defence. Barker has been incredible on the PP. He needs to keep it up.  Campbell is going to have to produce. The Chicago forwards are going to be in tough against the big Vancouver defence, and if Chicago doesn’t get some points from their D, they aren’t going to have a shot at this series. Chicago will steal a couple with their PP, but Van is going to take the series.

Nucks in 6

Boston(1) vs Carolina(6)

Carolina just wrapped up a nice series with the Devils. Probably my favorite series. The Canes pulled through, like I thought they would. As for the 2nd round, I think their little run has come to an end. Really the only thing keeping the Canes alive is the Staal/ Whitney line, and lets not forget Cam Ward. But you need more than 3 players to make it far in the playoffs. The Bruins just have too much firepore along with a great defence, and again, lets not forget Tim Thomas (Vezina candidate). Chara and friends will need to shut down that first line of Carolina, and they will be fine. Expect Lucic to have a big physical impact like always. With that Bruin offence, I see this series ending quickly. Bruins will be almost perfect!

Bruins in 5

Washington(2) vs Pittsburgh(4)

This is the series everyone was waiting for. Well here it is. Just about the 2 best powerplays (on paper) in the league. Washington had a lot of trouble with NYR in the first round, and I’m really not sure why? Theodore definetly blew a game, but other than that, they just had trouble beating Lundqvist. Even though Ovechkin finished with 7 points, he was not spectacular by any means. 2 of his goals were meaningless, as the scores were already 4-1 and 3-0. He did not come in the clutch. Ovechkin needs more discipline. He needs to get pucks deep instead of trying to bolt through the whole team himself(Yes that one goal against NYR was amazing but cmon).  He will need to be much better if they want a chance at beating Pit. As for the rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov, he is going to get tested much more against the highly skilled Pittsburgh offence. He will need to be on his game. The Penguins will need to keep getting contributions from the big 2. Aside from that, the team needs to play a good defensive game. With highly skilled guys like Ovy, Semin and Backstrom.. the Pit D are going to have their hands full. The forwards are going to have to be coming back hard to prevent odd man rushes. This is going to be the most exciting series because of the rivalries Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Semin had during the regular season. Definitly expect big ovy to be taking some runs at Crosby. This is going to go back and forth all series. Ovechkin will need to bring that high level on energy he has, but try not to get too hyped up. Sometimes he makes bad decisions when he’s on his tear. Look for Crosby to be the same composed, and highly competitive individual. On another note, it’s going to be interesting to see who outperforms who in the Gonchar/Green offensive-d man rivalry. I’m going to say with his experience, Gonchar, and with that, I think the Penguins will take it in 6.

Pens in 6

Alright well this should be an entertaining second round, so grab your beers and make your bets.

Cheers, Einz

Canucks (3) vs Blackhawks (4)

Me and Einz just made a bet on this series last night.  I have the Hawks in 6 and he has the Canucks in 6.  Bet gets doubled if the game guess is correct.

I may be slightly biased in this choice because the Blackhawks are my favourite team in the playoffs and Martin Havlat is my favourite player, but I truly believe that the Hawks will pull it out.  They are a solid team throughout.  When you look at the fact that Pahlsson and Byfuglien led the forwards in time on ice in the close out game against Calgary you see just how deep the Blackhawks are.  The question mark is of course goaltending.  Can the Hawks find a way to score on Luongo.  I think the answer is yes.  If Khabibulin can play a solid series the Hawks will win.

Blackhawks in 6

Red Wings (2) vs Ducks (8)

I took the Ducks over the Sharks in the first round, but I can’t see a repeat performance in the books.  I have a lot more respect for the Red Wings team and I feel they will easily be able to dispatch the Ducks.  Hiller isn’t going to be able to shut down all the Red Wing weapons.  The Ducks do have the edge in goal, but I feel that is their only edge and it’s not a big enough one to make a real difference in the series.  The Wings will just keep coming at Hiller hard and with more purpose in their shots than the ones he was facing against San Jose.

Red Wings in 5

Bruins (1) vs Hurricanes (6)

Carolina put together a great last minute in their series against New Jersey, scoring the tieing and winning goals a few minutes apart.  They will need to play like that all game everygame to beat Boston.  The Bruins are just heads and shoulders above everyone else in the East this year.  The WhatIf Sports simulation had the Bruins with an over 75% chance to make the conference finals.  I have to agree.  Ward may steal a game or two for the Canes, but it won’t be enough.

Bruins in 6

Capitals (2) vs Penguins (4)

The Capitals put together a valiant effort last round becoming the first team since the 2004 Montreal Canadiens to come back and win a series after being down 3-1.  Ok, let’s get serious, it wasn’t that impressive because the New York Rangers were not a solid team.  The Capitals did not look good in game 7 and Ovechkin has not been playing well at all.  The over the blueline shots Ovechkin is taking and trying to score on a 1 on 4 instead of just dumping the puck in is hurting the Capitals and unlike the Rangers, the Penguins actually have the firepower to make Ovechkin and the Caps play.  No doubt this will be the most exciting serious with the Ovechkin/Semin vs Malkin/Crosby rivalry sure to heat up.

Penguins in 7

So there are my predictions.  Also known as my hockey opinions.  Place your bets for the series’ at Bookmaker.com.  Use Bookmaker.com bonus code ‘BMBONUS’ when signing up to get a 100% matching bonus.

The Sharks struck out bigtime again. How long is GM Doug Wilson going to let this happen? ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE. Who’s to go? Is it Thorton or Marleau.. or is one player just not the answer. The sharks have a solid foundation. There’s no need to restructure. I think it’s time Nabakov is given the boot. He’s been riding win after win playing infront of an amazing Sharks team. While him and Toskala were playing together the Sharks finished with 107 points. Any goalie playing infront of that team could get the credit that nabakov has. I think its time for the sharks to either trade for a true winner between the pipes, or draft a solid keeper. This way they will have a good shot at the cup in a couple of years. But now that theyre out of the playoffs, a minus on the scoreboard won’t look so bad.

As Pierre McGuire would say .. Staal, Whitney, and especially Cam Ward were MONSTERS in this series. Carolina looked like the old stanley cup champs in game 7. As me and my buddies were watching (just after exams so we were loaded) … we knew that the game wasn’t just over yet. In the last 5 minutes Carolina just kept pushing and pushing. Finally Jussi Jokinen (who is not just a shootout specialist anymore) came through in the clutch scoring a goal on a beautiful pass from Pitkanen to tie it up.  A minute later Staal put the icing on the series with a pretty weak goal.  But you can’t blame Brodeur.. He was phenomenal. I remember counting the shots from games 4-5-6.. it was 127!! Thats averaging over 42 shots per game.. which is just nuts. Brodeur was pooped. If you looked and Lundqvist in the NYR he was tired and didn’t even have close to that many shots. Carolina was just to strong and Paul Maurice had a good strategy in place.. GET PUCKS TO THE NET.  Well it worked.

Anyways its 340 in the morning and ive had a couple too many sodas…  So have a good night  ladies n gents

Einz

First of all Anaheim.  In my bracket with my buddies there were 7 entries and I was the only one who took Anaheim over SJ.  I like to look at recent games in the season to predict what is going on in the playoffs.  San Jose was 17 wins and 19 losses in their last 36 games.  That’s brutal when you consider they are a presidents trophy, first place in the NHL team.  Let’s compare this to the Ducks who were 10 wins and 3 losses in their last 13.  Who do you think has the momentum going into the playoffs.

Sure, Hiller played his ass off and the stats would show that San Jose outplayed Anaheim throughout the series.  San Jose’s shots were often from non threatening positions and even though Hiller did play amazing he was not the difference in the series.  Anaheim played solid defensively keeping most of the Sharks chances to the outside.  The Ducks even only needed 1 line, of Ryan, Perry and Getzlaf, to score enough goals to win the series.  The stars of the Ducks stepped up, which includes the line mentioned above, as well as Niedermayer and Pronger.  The stars of the Ducks outplayed the stars of the Sharks and that was the difference in the series.  Don’t expect the Ducks to have much chance next round against the high octane offense of the Detroit Red Wings, because the Red Wings, unlike the Sharks, actually have weapons at their disposal.

Same thing goes for my other underdog pick the Canes.  8 and 2 in their last 10 compared to New Jerseys 4 and 6.  I also felt that Ward would outplay Brodeur.  This last piece of the puzzle didn’t come together until Brodeur was unable to hold the 2-1 lead with about 2 minutes left in the third period of game 7.  For such a supposedly “clutch” goaltender Brodeur really dropped the ball against the Canes.  Two goals in the last few minutes of a seventh game to drop the series is pretty disappointing no matter who you are.  Maybe Brodeur needed to freak out at the end of game 6 and throw his stick a bit to ensure he came to play in game 7.  Brodeur is an overrated goalie who in my opinion does not deserve the respect he has accumulated over his many years in the league.

For those of you who are interested, or for those of you who want to profit off of my knowledge, my picks for next round are Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chicago.  I’m 8 for 8 so far and only 7 series left to go.  If you are interested in betting you should check out bookmaker.com and use Bookmaker.com bonus code ‘BMBONUS’ when signing up to receive your bonus.  I’m planning to go 15 for 15 and if I do, I expect to take Maggie the Monkeys job at TSN.

Also, for those of you who care, I am in a solid position in the bracket pool with my buddies after going 8 for 8.  The next closest is Davey who went  7 for 8, but since he has SJ winning the cup he’s hard pressed to take down the bracket.   Einz is the main competition at this point as he had 6 of 8 right from the first round.  Jizzm was a donkey and took PHI to the finals so he is out.  It should be an interesting rest of the playoffs.  Stay tuned.