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Parity Makes this Year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs the Most Competitive in Decades.

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

In a pretty exciting hockey game on Monday night, the Boston Bruins held on to beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1. Not that this game had anything particularly notable about it, it was simply another indication that this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs are probably the closest we’ve witnessed in a long, long time.

Before the playoffs began, I was on the FAN 960 in Calgary asking Mike Richards, “What constitutes an upset this year?” I suppose you could say a Nashville win over Chicago in the opening round, but don’t forget one thing. At the end of the regular season, the No. 2 Blackhawks had 112 points while the No. 7 Predators had 100. To have two teams separated by only 12 points after 82 games is hardly an uncompetitive situation.

If No. 8 Montreal beats No. 1 Washington in the East, that would definitely be an upset, but if No. 8 Colorado beats No. 1 San Jose in the West, no one would be too surprised. San Jose always chokes early in the post-season.

It’s impossible to deny. The NHL has parity. It’s why the final weeks of the regular season are exciting, it’s why teams that are eight games over .500 miss the playoffs and it’s why this year’s playoffs, for the first time in history, were all tied at 1-1.

On Monday night, Washington made a statement. The Caps went into Montreal and drilled the Habs 5-1. Winkler’s Eric Fehr had a goal and an assist while Alexander Ovechkin was terrific as the Caps let people know that they’ll be around late in the post-season.

Out on the other coast, Roberto Luongo was dreadful in the Vancouver goal as Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead over the Canucks with a 5-3 win.

Nothing is certain this year: Not Ryan Miller’s brilliance, not Detroit’s experience, not Pittsburgh’s defence. Great coaching (see: Barry Trotz), great goaltending (see: Tuukka Rask) and great checking (see: the Philadelphia Flyers) will all play a role as sixth seeds will upset three seeds and seventh seeds will chase down two seeds.

If the first week is any indication, this year’s post-season could very well be the best in decades.

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Our Picks for the Opening Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

You have to love the way the 2010 National Hockey League season turned out. The New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers went to the shootout on the final day to determine the last playoff spot in the East, the Phoenix Coyotes proved that Wayne Gretzky couldn’t coach a dog in from a snowstorm with a pork chop and Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Alexander Ovechkin went down to the wire to determine a Rocket Richard Trophy winner (or two).

If the playoffs are half as good as the season that just ended (and you know they will be), they’ll be as good as hockey gets.

Let’s take a look at the first round:

Western Conference

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (8)

The Sharks never play well in the post-season, but this is a different Sharks team. Colorado was lucky to make the playoffs.

San Jose Sharks in four

Chicago Blackhawks (2) vs. Nashville  Predators (7)

The Hawks are the better team but Barry Trotz is the best coach in hockey. This will be closer than people think because the Hawks goaltending is horrible.

Chicago Blackhawks in seven

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. Los Angeles Kings (6)

If Roberto Luongo is better than he was last year (remember when he got bombed in Chicago in Game 6?), Vancouver will romp.

The Kings had a great year, but Vancouver is a Cp contender.

Vancouver Canucks in six

Phoenix Coyotes (4) vs. Detroit Red Wings (5)

The Wings are healthy again. Enough said.

Detroit Red Wings in five

Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals (1) versus Montreal Canadiens (8)

The Capitals are simply better. Jaroslav Halak could steal one or two in Montreal.

Washington Capitals in six

New Jersey Devils (2) verus Philadelphia Flyers (7)

Philadelphia owns the Devils. The Flyers were 5-1 in six games against New Jersey. The Devils are a better team with better goaltending, but Philly matches up well against these guys.

New Jersey Devils in seven

Buffalo Sabres (3) versus Boston Bruins (6)

Our first round upset. Neither team has enough scoring, but Ryan Miller won’t be as good in April as he was in February.

Boston Bruins in seven

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) versus Ottawa Senators (5)

Should be a good series, but the Penguins are Stanley Cup champions until the day they aren’t. Pittsburgh has too much offence and a good goaltender.

Pittsburgh Penguins in five

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The Playoffs Are Coming. It’s Manitoba’s Best Year Ever.

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

This was a big week around the National Hockey League.

Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks clinched a playoff berth, Travis Zajac continued to have the best year of his career as he leads the New Jersey Devils into the post-season and Barry Trotz, the head coach of the Nashville Predators, keeps the Preds winning even though they don’t have enough personnel or enough star personnel to be as good as they are.

Some notes from a week in the hockey trenches observing the brilliance of the Manitoba kids in the NHL…

1) This is as good a time as any to praise the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne. Last Sunday night, Selanne scored his 600th career goal to become only the 18th player in history to reach the 600-goal plateau.

Congratulations to a great guy, a guy who scored his first 147 with the Winnipeg Jets.

2) When he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg-born Alexander Steen appeared to be spinning his wheels, going nowhere fast. Now, as a member of the St. Louis, Steen is having a career year.

Through 60 games, Steen has 21 goals and 21 assists and is a plus-five on a minus team. He’s the Blues third leading scorer and is tied for the team lead in goals even though he’s played 10 and 11 fewer games than the two players ahead of him.

After struggling in Toronto and often being a healthy scratch, he has become a big time offensive player in St. Louis. At 26, he is developing into one of the two or three best players on the Blues.

3) If there was one player who could have played on Canada’s Olympic team and didn’t, it was Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos. Now, as the season winds down and Tampa misses the playoffs, Stamkos, who was a great friend of 92-CITI-FM and the old Cosmo Show, has a chance to show how good he really is.

Heading into the weekend, Stamkos was tied with Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL goal-scoring lead with 45. Could Steven Stamkos win the Rocket Richard Trophy? You bet he could.

4) The Calgary Flames, and the red-hot Nigel Dawes of Winnipeg, have an uphill battle to make the Stanley Cup playoffs, but we will know by this coming Sunday whether the Flames have what it takes to reach the post-season.

The Flames started a five-games-in-seven-days stretch with a 4-3 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. They beat the Anaheim Ducks in Calgary on Tuesday night, but lost a big game to the Islanders, 3-2, on Thursday night. They play at Boston on Saturday and at Washington on Sunday and if they don’t win both of them, they’ll be pretty much done.

5) Manitoba’s top young players have had rock solid seasons in 2009-2010.

Winnipeg-born Duncan Keith, a Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, has 13 goals and 52 assists for 65 points, 31st overall in the NHL and second among defensemen. He’s also a plus-18.

New Jersey rightwinger/centre Travis Zajac has 23 goals and 38 assists for 61 points, 34th in scoring in the NHL. He’s also a plus-16.

Winnipeg-born Patrick Sharp (plus-22) of the Blackhawks has 22 goals and 39 assists and is also 34th in NHL scoring.

Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews, the captain of the Blackhawks, has 22 goals and 37 assists for 59 points and is a plus-20. He’s 43rd in scoring.

Winkler’s Dustin Penner has 27 goals and 28 assists and is a plus-5 on a very minus Edmonton Oilers team.

Meanwhile, Alexander Steen of Winnipeg and Eric Fehr of Winkler each have 21 goals while Nigel Dawes of Winnipeg has 13.

This might be Manitoba’s best year ever in the NHL.

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Things to Consider With Three Weeks to Go.

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

ST. PAUL, Minn. — While the general managers and the league’s other tall foreheads try to come to terms with illegal checks to the head (sorry, boys, but the rulebook is full of rules that would get headshots out of the game), the rest of the NHL is just playing hockey.

So with about three weeks to play before the Stanley Cup playoffs are upon us, let’s take a look at the league from a Winnipeg perspective:

1) Although he says he has not completely made up his mind, it appears that after 18 seasons, former Winnipeg Jets captain Keith Tkachuk is nearing the end of his brilliant career.

Saying his future in St. Louis is now, Tkachuk wouldn’t admit whether or not he was retiring at the end of the season, but he did say, “I often think about this being the end.” No doubt, the Hall of Fame awaits.

2) Remember when the San Jose Sharks had a very comfortable 12-point lead in the Pacific Division? Well, not anymore. That’s because the Phoenix Coyotes have won seven straight and have moved to within three points (at the beginning of the weekend) of the heavily favored and quite talented division leaders.

The 44-22-5 Coyotes have all but assured themselves of a spot in the post-season for the first time since 2002. Now, however, they are closing in on home ice advantage in the West. This should be a great finish.

3) By now, it has to be official. There is no better coach in the NHL than Dauphin’s Barry Trotz (OK, maybe Dave Tippett in Phoenix, but nobody else). Trotz, the only coach the Nashville Predators have ever had, has the no-name, star-less Predators in seventh place five points ahead up on eight-place Detroit (at the start of the weekend).

That shouldn’t happen. The Preds just don’t have the personnel. But Trotz has made them a playoff contender – they beat L.A. on the road this week and have won four straight — and that says more about his brilliance than anything else.

4) Calling it “a retaliatory hit to the head,” the National Hockey League suspended Anaheim Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski for eight games without pay for that terrible hit to the face and head of Brent Seabrook on Wednesday night.

Wisniewski definitely gave Seabrook a cheap shot, but an eight-game suspension after giving Alexander Ovechkin only two? The NHL justice department is completely nonsensical.

5) The Montreal Canadiens have looked very good at times this season. They’ve had two four-game winning streaks. But not until the Olympic break, have the Habs put together so many outstanding games in succession. In fact, with six straight wins heading into the weekend, Montreal has moved into the playoff driver’s seat in the East.

After Tuesday night’s game, a 3-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the Habs moved past Philly and into sixth place in the Eastern Conference (later in the week they fell back into seventh). The Bruins are eighth with 74 points, four points back, while ninth-place Atlanta and the Rangers are seven points back. With only 12 to play, the red-hot Habs are in control of their own playoff destiny.

6) Perhaps no one has noticed, but Winnipeg’s Travis Zajac is having a season to remember. Zajac, the 24-year-old rightwinger out of the University of North Dakota has moved into the Top 35 in NHL scoring with 21 goals and 38 assists.

Perhaps more importantly, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, is a terrific plus-14. By the time the next Olympics roll around, he’ll be one of the best players in the game, if he isn’t already.

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More Hockey Talk As The NHL GMs Meet in Florida

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

There were nine NHL games on Tuesday night in the NHL, five more on Wednesday and 10 more on Thursday night. After 14 days at the Olympics, the NHL has a lot of catching up to do. It will be difficult to keep up.

In the meantime, from new rules regarding hits to the head, possible new shootout rules and a lawsuit against the former owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, this is just about the busiest March of the decade.

Let’s look a little deeper inside the NHL…

1) On Sunday, the 92-CITI-Sports Machine was in St. Paul, Minn., to watch the suddenly strong Calgary Flames drill the Minnesota Wild 5-2. So what suddenly changed in Calgary?

Simple, as we told you on Sunday, Flames head coach Brent Sutter put Jarome Iginla on a line with Rene Bourque And Matt Stajan and on Sunday, the line combined for 10 points as Iginla had his 10th career hat-trick.

Not bad, for only the second game together and they were pretty darn good on Tuesday night in their third game together. Bourque and Iginla each scored once and added an assist and the Flames won (4-2)  a rare one in Detroit.

2) If there was one team that would frighten me if I were the San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks, it would be the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings have been banged up all season long. For months, they had at least three of their best players out of the lineup. They were half a hockey team for much of the season. But now they’re healthy, the playoffs are beckoning and if Jimmy Howard gets the job done, the Wings could be the sleeper of the playoffs.

But first, they have to play better than they did against Calgary on Tuesday night.

3) This weekend while I was in St. Paul, a number of hockey experts watched the newly formed Iginla-Stajan-Bourque line and wondered aloud which line was the best in the game today.

A couple suggested Alexander Ovechkin-Alexander Semin and anyone on the other side, but the consensus seemed to be that the best line in the NHL was New Jersey’s No. 1 line of Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner and Winnipeg’s own Travis Zajac.

If nothing else, it’s one of the few lines in the NHL that has been together for most of the season and it provide salmost all of New Jersey’s scoring.

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The Sports Media Never Disappoints. Another Week of Stunning B.S.

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

I promised myself I would not criticize the mainstream media this week. Like far too many of THEM, I was becoming a one-trick pony.

Then the bull cupcakes hit the industrial-sized fan and we were blasted by a another week of utter insanity.

So with apologies to those who think I’m getting a little obsessed with this crap, here’s another look at another week of the mainstream media’s crazy talk.

1) The Winnipeg Football Club sent out a news release on Monday announcing that ticket renewals were running at a 97 per cent pace for 2010. And very few of those renewals had come in since the firing of Mike Kelly late last week.

Nice job. Good for the football club. Is it true? Who knows? But if it is, it means that almost every word written by our local papers during the last football season was a fabrication.

We all read this stuff every day. Both papers made it sound as if Kelly’s presence would mean that every single Bomber fan would cancel his season tickets. According to the papers, the fans all hated Mike Kelly so much, they were never going to go back to another game. They were never going to buy another ticket, period.

We were told that most of the Bomber board was so worried that if Kelly stuck around, the club might never sell another ticket again.

Well, apparently all the people screaming about never buying another ticket, never bought one in the first place. 97 per cent renewals?! That’s damn good.

If that’s true, only one thought comes to mind here: Liar liar pants on fire.

And we’re not referring to the Bombers. We’re referring to the newspapers. If the 97 per cent renewal thing is true, why would you believe a word written in a Winnipeg newspaper? The entire Kelly mess was the creation of a group of people so embarrassed by the fact the local football coach called “B.S.” on ‘em, that they waged war. The papers won, but apparanetly they did it with what we now see as outright lies.

2) There has not been a major trade in the NHL this year and there are fewer major trades every year, thanks in no small way to the NHL’s salary cap. However, if you read the Winnipeg Sun on Sunday, you’d think teams were making deals daily.

Sun Media’s Bruce Garrioch, who writes in Ottawa, now has every player in the NHL with the exception of Joe Thornton, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin on the trading block. This weekend, the Sun had Sheldon Souray, Vincent Lecavalier, Teemu Selanne and Eric Staal on the road to different teams, while almost every starting goalie in the NHL was apparently heading to the Philadelphia Flyers. Just for fun, the Ottawa Sun added Philly’s Jeff Carter and Edmonton’s Shawn Horcoff and Lubomir Visnovsky to the list of players about to be moved, “Any second. Maybe now. Tomorrow. Next week. We’re sure of it. Unnamed sources told us. Who nows?

Oh, poppycock.

Sun Media’s NHL trade rumours have gone way past just the rumour stage. It’s now reached the level of completely silly.

3) The Associated Press is convinced that Brett Favre and Brad Childress dislike each other and Favre is righteously angry at Childress because the coach even suggested that he might take Favre out of a game.

The game was Sunday night’s debacle against Carolina, a 26-7 loss  in which there wasn’t a member of the offensive line who could block the Panthers’ Julius Peppers — or anybody else for that matter. Favre was getting killed in there and Childress said on Monday that he suggested to his quarterback that it might be safer if he came out of the game.

Favre didn’t like the idea, the two talked about it and Favre stayed in. And then he nearly got his head ripped off by a Carolina defensive line that had a field day with a lethargic Vikings O-line.

Monday, I listened to the Childress news conference and the coach made an interesting point. He said: “We don’t do anything in a vacuum. On the sidelines we talk a bout a lot of things. In terms of my question to Bret, it was something that was talked through. I wish I could remember how it finished.”

It was no big deal, but the AP, along with a few other outlets, wanted to turn it into a big deal. Just like they turned “Unhappy Randy Moss hates Tom Brady,” into a story that wasn’t a story two weeks ago.

In guess you missed it, Moss was absolutely tremendous last week in a 17-10 Patriots win in Buffalo and the mainstream media was wrong. Again.

I guess when you’re not selling any papers and your business model has virtually collapsed, manufacturing stories works a lot better than the truth.

4) Because I’m always criticizing, I must admit that I go on daily searches looking for good stuff. Found a nice rant yesterday afternoon on ESPN radio, when host Kevin Cowherd went after a caller who suggested the National League was more exciting than the American League because the NL does not have the designated hitter.

Cowherd went nuts. And in a good way. He asked the caller why the NL is better without a DH and the guy responded, “the strategy,” and Cowherd echoed everything I’ve been thinking for years.

“When baseball was in trouble in the 1990s, what saved it?” Cowherd asked, “strategy or home runs? You don’t even have to answer that.

“Home runs saved baseball. McGwire and Sosa saved baseball. Strategy? Nobody goes to baseball games to watch strategy and don’t start handing me this ‘baseball traditionalists’ stuff either. Nobody cares about strategy. Strategy doesn’t make you hot. Home runs make you hot. The old double-switch. I love the old double-switch. Oh, that’s exciting. Your girlfriend gets so hot after the double-switch that she says, ‘Honey I’m so hot, I have to go back to the hotel right now.’ What a crock!

“Home runs saved baseball. Two-out bunts by pitchers didn’t save baseball.”

Then he got personal with the caller, who just happened to be from St. Louis.

“Even in St. Louis, the only person who cares about strategy is Tony LaRussa and yet his best friend is Mark McGwire. His best friend on the field right now is Albert Pujols, a guy who hits home runs.  David Eckstein is strategy. Yeah, everybody loves David Eckstein. The biggest heroes in St. Louis are Albert Pujols, Mark McGwire and Stan Musial — all power guys! Strategy nearly killed baseball. Home runs saved it. I’d rather watch a DH hit than a pitcher hit every single day. And there is nothing more boring than the old double-switch. Baseball is entertainment, not homework.”

Kevin Cowherd is a our media monster of the week.

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Nobody in Tampa, Nobody in Jacksonville and Jason Whitlock Gets it Right Again

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

TAMPA, Fla. — Sitting in the press box at the St. Pete Times Forum wondering where the hockey fans went…

I remember coming to Lightning games and seeing at least 15,000 people inside this beautiful building in downtown Tampa, cheering and screaming and urging on their hockey heroes.

But not anymore.

Tonight, the Lightning will probably announce a crowd of 13,000 or 14,000, but the reality is, this building is not half full. And the truly sad part is that Alexander Ovechkin and a very good Washington Capitals team is playing a Lightning club that struggles on defence but has every weapon on offence — Marty St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone. If you live in Tampa and you don’t like this Lightning team, you just don’t like hockey.

Of course, it could all just be part of a recession that few people want to admit is seriously affecting professional sports. I was in Jacksonville yesterday as the Jaguars took another step toward an AFC wild card berth with a 23-18 win over Houston, but fewer than 43,000 people were in the  stands. It was the smallest crowd in Jaguars history.

Fact is, if you want to buy tickets to any sporting event in America these days, there are “plenty of good seats available.” My wife just bought a $50 ticket to the Pro Bowl from Ticketmaster. Nobody thought there would be Pro Bowl tickets available if the NFL moved the game from Honolulu to South Florida, but nobody thought the recession would kick the crap out of ticket sales the way it has.

Tonight, here in Tampa, Ovechkin is wheeling all over the rink while Lecavalier had had three great scoring chances in the first period. It’s a good hockey game. But if there are 6,000 people in this building, I’ll eat the seats.

(NOTE: Just watched Ovechkin score his 19th goal of the season on a one-timer after taking a great pass from Alexander Semin. Ovie is worth the price of admission and I can assure you that here in Tampa, the price of admission ain’t much.)

NOTE: There is only one mainstream media reporter who truly understands the Tiger Woods scandal. Read Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star at: http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/1613268.html?storylink=omni_popular.

After reading his column, the rest of the issue is moot.

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On to the Second Round: We like Chicago in an upset, Pens in a thriller plus the Wings and Bruins.

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

For the longest time, we have believed that the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the most exciting.

What the hell, there are 16 teams. Of course, it will be exciting.

This year, however, we seem to be a little more enthused about Round 2. After all, in Round 1 this year, it went pretty much as we expected — and when I say “we,” I mean everyone who follows hockey closely.

With the exception of those who always believe (for reasons I still don’t understand) that Detroit will be upset in the first round, most hockey people picked at least six of the opening round series correctly.

For the record, here at rcsportsblog.com (you can follow us on twitter), we went 7-1 in the first round. The only outcome we did not select correctly was, of course, Anaheim’s upset of Jonathan Cheechoo’s San Jose Sharks.

Round 2 will provide us with two spectacular match-ups: Chicago and Vancouver and Pittsburgh and Washington. I can almost guarantee that those two series will double the excitement we saw in any series in Round 1.

So on with the show. Here’s our look at Round 2 of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs…

ROUND TWO

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Boston Bruins vs. No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes

The Bruins played wonderfully in taking out the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round in four straight games. Everything about this team, that now has home ice advantage throughout the playoffs as long as it keeps winning, screams “Eastern Division Champion!” Tim Thomas has been sensational in goal, the big defence led by Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman moves the puck quickly and does a solid job of clearing the zone and the forward lines were nearly flawless in Round 1. And while we took Carolina to knock off New Jersey in Round 1, the dream ends here. The Bruins dominated the Hurricanes during the regular season, winning all four meetings by a combined score of 18-6. There is no reason for that to stop. Bruins in five games.

No. 2 Washington Capitals vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins

On the surface, this looks like a great series/ Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin of the Caps against Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby of the Penguins. Big names, big stars, should be exciting. However, the Capitals took three of four from the Penguins during the regular season and Washington’s only loss was the result of a shootout. Pittsburgh beat a tough Flyers team in six games, mainly because Philly’s goaltending was lousy. The Caps have not had lousy goaltending since the day head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to go with Simeon Varlamov. Still, the Caps were lucky to beat a dysfunctional Rangers team. Pittsburgh in seven games.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 2 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 8 Anaheim Ducks

The Red Wings should waltz through this second round match-up against a team that was very lucky to make the playoffs. Thanks to the fact the San Jose Sharks seldom if ever bring their A game (or raise their level of play) to the playoff dance, the defending Stanley Cup champs get a team with a hot goalie and not much else. This season, the well-balanced, well-disciplined Red Wings went 3-0-1 against Anaheim. As TSN says, “The Red Wings sacrifice individual glory for what is best for the team, which speaks to the professionalism of those inside the organization.” Detroit has the best team in the NHL and while I love the Ducks’ Teemu Selanne and Randy Carlyle, the Red Wings win in four games.

No. 3 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 4 Chicago Blackhawks

Potentially, this is the best and definitely, the most exciting series of the second round. The teams went 2-2 against each other this season and this series should go right to the wire every single night. Both teams have exciting young players and, frankly, a match-up of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp against the Sedin Twins  and Alex Burrows, is more intriguing to me than the Crosby-Ovechkin dance. Ultimately, this series will come down to goaltending. Is Nikolai Khabibulin as good as Roberto Luongo when it counts? Stay tuned. This will be a dandy. Right now, I like Chicago in seven games. 

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If the Rangers don’t come back, Tortorella needs to go

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Sunday afternoon, the New York Rangers didn’t even give it the old college try. After two periods, the Rangers trailed Washington 5-1 and were lucky it wasn’t 11-1.

Make no mistake, this was head coach John Tortorella’s fault. In fact, the Rangers’ collapse from a 3-1 series lead on Wednesday to a 3-3 tie heading to Washington on Tuesday is absolutely Tortorella’s fault.

Let’s go through the timeline:

1) On Wednesday night of last week, Tortorella was clearly upset with the craziness of Sean Avery, so even though the Rangers won 2-1, Tortorella benched Avery for Friday night’s game. The big-time coach was going to teach his nutbar a lesson.

2) So Avery doesn’t play on Friday and the Rangers get drilled 4-0. During the game, Tortorella gets into it with a fan and tosses a water bottle into the crowd. The league suspends Tortorella for one game. In other words, Tortorella does exactly what Avery does — acts like an idiot — only Tortorella gets his ass suspended.

3) Suspended, Tortorella makes a brain-dead move before Sunday’s game. After 190 consecutive appearances, Tortorella tells his tough guy, Colton Orr, to “sit this one out.” Without Orr in the lineup, the Caps can do whatever they want. And they do. Even Alexander Ovechkin starts pushing Rangers around. With no Orr, the Rangers have no heart or soul, fall behind 5-1 after 40 minutes and get whipped 5-3.

If the Rangers lose Tuesday night, Tortorella should not be invited back next season. He’s not only a hot-head, a guy just as crazy as Sean Avery, but he’s a  lousy hockey coach who knows nothing of team chemistry and courage.

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are Here: It’s prediction time.

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Minnesota Wild assistant general manager Tom Thompson has a theory about the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It comes true most years, but somehow, this looks like a year in which it might come to pass in spades (although I don’t believe it). 

 

“The first round of the playoffs is always the most compelling round because you generally have two types of teams,” explained Thompson. 

 

“You have the teams that were successful all year and feel that if they don’t get to the final or win the Cup, their season was a failure. Then you have the teams that snuck into the playoffs and have nothing to lose. The top teams are often tight while the lesser teams have already done what they set out to do and by the opening round of the playoffs are as loose as can be. 

 

“That’s why there are so many great series and so many big upsets in the first round.”

 

He’s right, of course. The first round of the playoffs is always the most exciting. So without further adieu, let’s look at the 16 teams and eight matchups for the 2009 series which have already begun.

 

THE EASTERN CONFERENCE

 

No. 1 Boston Bruins (53-19-10) vs. No. 8 Montreal Canadiens (41-30-11).

The Habs and Bruins go at it again, a repeat of last year’s first round, in which the Canadiens outlasted Boston four games to three. But this year, things are different. Boston was the best team in the East and the second best team in the NHL and they are on a roll. It’s a team that allowed the fewest number of goals in the league (196) and has a wide-open offence to go with a stingy defence. The Habs were very fortunate to make the playoffs (they finished with the same number of points as Florida) and in six meetings this season, Boston won five of them, two in shootouts. Bruins in five.

 

No. 2 Washington Capitals (50-24-8) vs. No. 7 New York Rangers (43-30-9).

Second-place Washington with all that firepower – Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green are a good start — will face the seventh-place Rangers. The Caps have been very good this season and won the Southeast Division by 11 points over Carolina. They also won three of their four meetings with the Rangers. Capitals in five.

 

No. 3 New Jersey Devils (51-27-4) vs. No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes (45-30-7).

New Jersey, which won the Atlantic Division, will play sixth-place Carolina after beating the Hurricanes in the season finale last week. However, Carolina won its first three meetings with the Devils this season and played much better hockey down the stretch than New Jersey. Hurricanes in seven.

 

No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins (45-28-9) vs. No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers (44-27-11).

Pittsburgh won four of the six meetings between the two teams this season, one in overtime and another in a shootout. However, all Philadelp[hia had to do to earn home ice advantage throughout this series was to win the final game of the season at home against the Rangers and they couldn’t pull it off. Pittsburgh has too much offence and is just playing better hockey at this time. Penguins in six.

 

THE WESTERN CONFERENCE

 

No. 1 San Jose Sharks (53-18-11) vs. No. 8 Anaheim Ducks (42-33-7).

Although it’s No. 1 vs. No. 8, this is a matchup that features two of the most successful teams in the NHL since the lockout. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the Ducks have gone 180-107-41 with four playoff appearances while the Sharks have posted a 197-94-37 mark with three consecutive 100+ point seasons, four playoff appearances and two Pacific Division titles (2008 & 2009). However, the Sharks were the President’s Trophy winners as the best team in the NHL during the regular season while Randy Carlyle’s Ducks were fortunate to make the playoffs. The Sharks also won the season series, 4-2. Sharks in five.

No. 2 Detroit Red Wings (51-21-10) vs. No. 7 Columbus Blue Jackets (41-31-10).

A tale of two cities: The Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup champions while the Blue Jackets are in the playoffs for the first time in their eight seasons of existence. During the regular season, the teams split. Detroit won the first two meetings, Columbus won the next three (including an 8-2 win at Detroit on March 7) and Detroit geat the Jackets 4-0 in a statement game on March 17. I like Ken Hitchcock as a head coach, but Detroit has way too much of everything. Red Wings in five.

 

No. 3 Vancouver Canucks (45-27-10) vs. No. 6 St. Louis Blues (41-31-10).

The remarkable, red-hot Blues clinched the No. 6 seed in the final game of the year and put a cap on an amazing finish. From Feb. 15 to the end of the season, head coach Andy Murray’s Blues went 18-6-3. It was significant because on Feb. 15, the Blues were dead last in the West. This team finished the regular season by going 9-1-1 over its last 11 games and 5-1-1 on the road. Had the Blues lost their final game, they would have finished eighth — which would have meant a series with the top-seeded San Jose Sharks. Instead, they finished with the best second-half record in the League at 25-9-7. However, they have only four players who have ever won a playoff game. Vancouver, meanwhile, came back to claim the Northwest Division title by winning their last three games and going 6-3-1 down the stretch behind the tremendous goaltending of Roberto Luongo. This will be a match-up of two of the hottest teams in the game and two red-hot goalies – Luongo and Chris Mason.. Canucks in seven.

 

No. 4 Chicago Blackhawks (46-24-12) vs. No. 5 Calgary Flames (46-30-6). 

This series screams “Blackhawks!” Chicago swept the four-game season series with the Flames, winning 6-1 and 5-2 at the United Center and 3-2 in overtime and 5-2 at the Saddledome. Add it up. Chicago has more firepower and probably equal goaltending (Huet/Khabibulin vs. Kiprusoff). Chicago oputscored Calgary 19-7 during its four wins and really, the Hawks dominated the season. In fairness to Calgary, the two teams haven’t faced each other since the Hawks’ second win at Calgary on Feb. 5, but still, Hawks in six. 

 

* * *

 

THE 2008-09 NHL TROPHY WINNERS

 

Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin captured his first career Art Ross Trophy as the League’s leading scorer with 113 points while Washington Capitals leftwinger Alexander Ovechkin won his second consecutive Maurice Richard Trophy for being the League’s top goal scorer with 56. 

 

Meanwhile, Boston Bruins goaltenders Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez earned the William Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the club that allowed the fewest number of goals — 196.

 

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