This weekend was very exciting for hockey. Some of the best games of the year were played this weekend. The final spot in the eastern conference went right down to the shootout. It was real time hockey.
The first game that left me on the edge of my seat for the entire 60 minutes was the Toronto/Montreal game. Toronto needed to win in regulation to have a chance at making it to the post season. It was looking good at the beginning of the second when they were up 3-1 on Montreal.
Then, out of no where, my fellow Newfoundlander, Michael Ryder gets a natural hat trick to put his team up 4-3. I couldn't believe what just happened. Montreal then got one more from Chris Higgins to go up 5-3. I thought it was all over, but all of a sudden, Carl Colaiacovo, Brian McCabe, and Kyle Wellwood scored to put the Leafs up 6-5 through the third. Sheldon Souray left the game and that would be the end for Montreal.
I was happy that the Leafs won, but I didn't like watching Montreal walk off that ice, especially after great efforts by Ryder(3g, 1a) and Koivu(3a)
On Saturday night, the western conference was also getting closer to see who would represent them in the playoffs.
Calgary had Edmonton, and Colorado had Nashville. I wanted Colorado to make the playoffs, and I thought they could beat Nashville with the way they have played the past month, but I didn't think Edmonton would do much with Calgary.
For Colorado to get in, they had to win, and Calgary had to loose. Colorado was beating the Predators 2-1 for most of the game. Meanwhile I was watching the Edmonton/Calgary game, and when the Flames went up 2-0, i just put my television on mute and decided to read while I was waiting for the final score.
I was caught up in my book and never bothered to look at the TV for a while. When I finally decided to look, to my ashonishment, Edmonton was up 3-2. I was absolutely amazed.
After that game, I checked the scores and noticed that Colorado had succumbed to the Predators with a 4-2 loss.
It was a great effort by Sakic and company, and I will always be proud of how close they came.
When Sunday came, a lot of Leaf fans were pretty happy that the Islanders had to beat the Devils to knock the Leafs out of the playoffs. I would think that when the found out that backup goalie Scott Clemenson would be in the net, they weren't as sure.
The game was slow for the most part, and with 5 minutes left in the third the Islanders were up 2-0 and I was thinking that the leafs were finished.
The Devils managed to score a goal, and with only a few minutes left I thought it was over. Some how, some way, John Madden managed to get the puck in the net with .8 seconds left in the game. I could just picture Mats Sundin drenched in a sweat at this point.
No one could score in overtime, so it was off to the shootout. The last seed of the eastern conference was going to be decided by what team was lucky enough to come down one on one with a goalie and get the puck in the net. I was down on the floor at this point wondering what would happen.
I wanted the Leafs to get in, but when I saw the Islanders after Maddens goal I got that feeling that I got with Montreal, so I sort of wanted them to get in. Dubby stood his ground, and the Islanders are off to meet Buffalo in the first round.
Also on Sunday, previous the Devils/Islanders game, my Philadelphia Flyers had a game gainst the Buffalo Sabres. They had not beaten the Sabres all year, but I could tell when they started playing, this would be a very good game.
The Flyers were destroyed by the Sabres this year and in last years playoffs. This time how ever there was a difference....Martin Biron.
He made some key saves and the Flyers played a good hard working game to keep the Sabres from beating their team record for most points in a season. Good job Philadelphia, I am proud of you.
This weekend was very exciting, and I think the playoffs will be just as if not more intense.
Good luck to the Flames and Islanders, who managed to dodge the other teams chasing them, and the Avalanche, Leafs, and Canadians get my thumbs up for their great efforts.
I was looking around the internet for hockey articles and I came across one that I found very interesting.
At AOL's NHL Fan House there is a post that says Don Cherry has shown that hockey belongs in hockey. It has recently been voted that a player needs to get five instigator penalties to be suspended.
I was very happy to read this. Regardless of the injures that have occurred, fighting just belongs in the game. To North America, fighting is just as much a part of hockey as a car is to NASCAR.
Don Cherry, although sometimes has his head in the wrong place, was dead on with his opinion in my mind. A lot of players need fighting just to stay in the league. There would be a lot of players left unsigned if fighting was taken out of our game. It also adds excitement and hart to the game.
When I was in Pittsburgh, the first game I went to was against Montreal. Colby Armstrong made a check on Saku Koivu where he actually jumped off the ice and hit Koivu' head. It was a very dirty hit. What Armstrong didn't know was that Sheldon Souray was coming down the ice hard, and before Armstrong could do anything, Souray pounced on him like a cheetah on it's prey. It is the moment that makes that game stand out to me, and even though Souray was thrown out for the remainder of the game, I'm glad that it wasn't for more because he probably wouldn't pick up for his captain again.
Hockey needs fighting. I think that if it was taken out of hockey that attendance would drop as would viewers on television. Fighting is a part of hockey heritage, and should always be in the game.
The Maple Leafs are a likely choice for the final spot in the eastern conference to a lot of fans. Even when they are back in the 10th and 11th seeds, they manage to work their way up to the 9th seed, but they just can't get to 8th.
It seems to me that the Leafs are having a tough time playing games this season that are must-win scenarios. They manage to work their way back up to the 9th seed, but can never manage to squeeze into the final spot. Last night against the Rangers was a prime example of this when they lost 7-2 in a game that could put them in a tie with the Rangers for the final two seeds.
The Leafs and Habs have basically the same schedule for their final 3 games. Montreal = Boston, Long Island, and Toronto - Toronto = Philadelphia, New York, and Montreal.
They each have a gimme game against teams they can beat, but I would not bet against Philadelphia or Boston to be spoilers. The games against the New York teams will be tougher.
My guess it that they both will go 1-1 in their next two games and it will come down to the final game against each other.
For the Leafs to have a chance, they need to get some guys to step it up like Sundin does around this time every year. You can expect him to be playing his best hockey.
I also assume Tomas Kaberle and Darcy Tucker will be at their best.
Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky will need to get their huge frames down low to keep the puck in the opposite end to setup scoring chances.
The one player who will need to shine the most is Andrew Raycroft. If he plays bad, they loose, if he plays good, they win. Its that simple.
If you are in an area where you can watch Saturday's game between the long time rivals I suggest you sit down and enjoy the ride, because the eastern conference battle for the final seed truly will not be over until its over.
It is not looking good for Joe Sakic and his Colorado Avalanche. They are at least 5 points behind the Calgary Flames regardless what happens in Calgary's game tonight.
The Avalanche however, refuse to go down without a fight. They play every game like its their last, and if they do not make the playoffs, they could potentially set the record for highest points and not make the playoffs.
Considering the players Colorado has lost over the years, they are doing fine. Patrick Roy, Peter Forsberg, Rob Blake, Adam Deadmarsh, Adam Foote, Chris Drury, Alex Tanguay, Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan, lets face it, the list goes on and on.
They are also making a push with a south par defensive lineup, two mediocre goaltenders, and a couple of kids. They do however have one distinct advantage over every team in the league, a captain with the heart of a Lion.
If there is anyone in the league that can squeeze a team into the playoffs, its Joe Sakic. He plays to the last second, and is showing no sign of slowing down with 91 points at the age of 37.
Paul Stastny has been putting up more points as of late, and has established him self as one of the elite rookies of the 2008-2007 season.
Realistically, for Colorado to make the playoffs, they need to win the rest of their games and hope Calgary loose the rest of theirs. They do have two games left against the Flames which could really help them make it in.
Key Players
The players that really need to perform are
Joe Sakic - the backbone of this franchise and they will only do as good as he does.
Paul Stastny - needs to keep on the score board for Colorado to win games.
Peter Budaj - their #1 guy since Theodore hasn't been too hot this season, really needs to shine for Colorado to have a chance.
If this were any other team making a push for the post season, I would say they wouldn't make it, but you can never count out Burnaby Joe and his Colorado Avalanche.
The Carolina Hurricanes looked like they were going to be one of the final seeds to make it into the playoffs a few weeks ago. Now, however they look like they might come up short.
The past two games, they have been out scored 11-2 and with the shots 32-27 Toronto and 25-24 Philadelphia. This shows a better effort is needed for Carolina to catch playoff berth once again.
Although they have not received top net minding this season, I don't think their goalies can be blamed entirely for their place in the standings.
A better effort is needed from such players as:
Eric Stall, who is only 29-37-66 .
Defencemen Bret Hedican( 0-10-10 in 50 games)
Dennis Seidenberg, who is a -14( a team worst, the closest being -7)
Cory Stillman(5-18-23 in 38 games)
I think that Eric Stall should be a lot more competitive in the point standings than he is. Last year he went 45-55-100 in 82 games, which is a nice drop from his production this year.
Bret Hedican is getting older but I think he still has better skating and passing ability than a lot of defencemen in the league. In last years playoffs he went 2-9-11 in 25 games, which is half the games and one less point than this year.
Dennis Seidenberg will probably never be a big point producer, but he can do better than a -14. In the 2002-2003 season, he was a +8 with Philadelphia. That would be a much more helpful +/- to Carolina than a -14.
He has only played 38 games, put I think that Cory Stillman should have been able to put up a least 40-45 points in those games. Last year he put up 21-55-76 in 72 games, which shows he can put up more points than games played.
The entire team needs to step it up if they want a chance to defend their Stanley Cup. The players I pointed out are those who I think are playing a good distance below their skill level, but the whole team needs to work harder to get past such teams as Toronto and Long Island in the standing.
Only time will tell, this years playoff race will go right down to the last game.
I was reading Eric Duhatschek's blog "The Hat On Hockey" and his latest post is very interesting.
He says that the western conference will go right down to the wire, the same as the east. Even though there are only two teams involved in the race, I agree with him.
In the east, we have New York, Long Island, Carolina, Toronto, Montreal, and now Tampa Bay fighting for the last two seeds while separated by five points.
In the west, we have Colorado and Calgary, also separated by 5 points while fighting for the last seed.
In all fairness to the east, which seems way more exciting to most hockey fans, I can't help but love seeing my old team make a run to squeeze into the post season once again. The one time power house is not all what it use to be but it has the heat back from the Forsberg, Deadmarsh, Dury days.
Calgary is a very exciting team to watch and I would like to see them in the post season, but then theres Joe, good ole Joe Sakic taking a group of kids and making another run for the post season. Thats what I call hockey.
The east race will be very exciting, but I cant wait to see if Sakic and company can find there way into another run for the cup.
Before the Toronto/Buffalo games, I ironically stated that Toronto would win one game, and Buffalo would also win a game.
Believe me or not, the reason I thought this was because the Leafs got their top d-man back and are already playing playoff hockey, and I gave buffalo a win because of who they are.
But I have to think, based on how Toronto's rival playoff hunters are playing, are they too late?
Toronto gave up a big 4-1 lead on the Sabres Friday night, one that they should have easily one because they were out playing Buffalo for most of the game. They just played better hockey for the first two periods, but threw it away in the third. The game total was 5-4 Buffalo. I think that was a severe blow to both the Leafs confidence and chances.
Toronto did however beat Buffalo ironically by a score of 4-1 the following night in Toronto, a must win game for the Leafs. They played much like they did in the first game, but with an added bonus that was Andrew Raycroft playing at his potential.
If the Leafs managed to win these games they would have 84 points now, and have a game in hand of both the Rangers and Islanders who played this evening.
I have to admit, I would like to see Toronto make it to the post season, because I think Mats Sundin is a good player, and respect him a lot, I don't know how people hate this guy. He is an all around good hockey player, and I would like to see him win a cup with the Leafs before he retires.
For Toronto to have a chance to make it to the post season, Their big line of Ponikarovsky,Sundin,and Antropov will need to keep playing like they are, and Raycroft will need to play "Calder Trophy Winner" hockey.
Last night, as you will read in the previous post, I watched the Flyers/Senators game live. I was six rows up from Marty Birons net, it was a game of a lifetime for me. My mouth was wide open the whole night, I couldn't stop watching. I didn't even notice the Senators because I was so caught up in the fact that I was actually watching the Philadelphia Flyers.
I got the tickets to see Peter Forsberg who has been my favorite player since I was very young. When I found out he got traded it was a real let down. I was still very happy that I would be able to see Simon Gagne and Scottie Upshall, two very amusing players in their own right.
I didn't think the game would be as good without these guys, but the Flyers just amazed me. Derian Hatcher had the best game I ever watched him play, Geoff Sanderson was perfect, and Mike Richards and Lasse Kukkonen played very good games too.
The Flyers are my favorite team, and they really played hockey last night, and I just wanted to right this to tell them that I really enjoyed the game, I really enjoyed the chance to see that jersey skate up the ice, and It couldn't have been a better game.
Hey fans, I really enjoyed the game last night, it was really great to see my favorite team play. Even though Simon Gagne and Scottie Upshall never played, my eyes were still wide open for the whole game.
The Flyers/Senators game was a very exciting game to watch. There were some great chances, and both goalies had good games. The final score was 3-2 Ottawa, and it went right down to the last second of the game.
The Senators played a good game. Mike Comrie had a very good game as did Tom Preissing. Martin Gerber had a good game, and made some key saves to stop the Flyers from sending it to overtime. Their top guys didn't play as well as I expected them to, I thought Danny Heatley would be the best player on the ice, of all their players, Mike Comrie gets my vote for top player on the Senators of the game, he racked up a goal and an assist.
The Flyers gave it their all last night, with possibly their two hottest players out of the lineup, they still put up a fight to the bitter end. Martin Biron played a very good game and kept the Flyers in it through all the times they were down a man. The player who I was most impressed with was Derian Hatcher, this guy is no where near as bad as everyone says. He even made some nice moves to keep the puck over the blue line on the power plays. I was very happy when he was rewarded with the second goal for the Flyers, I for one hope he is successful next year with the team. Other mentions are Mike Richards and Lasse Kukkonen. Richards played a hard working game as always and Kukkonen was possibly the best defencemen on either team the whole night. They had their chances to win the game, and it could have went either way.
My player of the night was Geoff Sanderson, he had swift moves the whole night and set up alot of chances for the Flyers to score. This was truly a good pick-up for the Flyers, and I hope they keep him around for a while.
This Saturday night I will be attending the Ottawa Senators/Philadelphia Flyers game. I am excited because the Flyers are my favorite team and I think the Senators have some of the best games of hockey. Since they are the teams I will be seeing, I will do an analysis of both teams. Ottawa Senators
The Senators had trouble getting going at the beginning of the year but when they found their game they kept going and never looked back. With a record of 40-23-7 and the third highest GF total(241) in the NHL, they are going for another chance at winning their first Stanley Cup since the early 1900's. Even though people believed Ottawa did the right thing by bringing in Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champs, I never did agree with it. Ottawa was never a team to show up in the playoffs, so they should have brought in a goalie that would play "Cup Contender" hockey.
Next year the Sens will have basically the same team they do this year with maby a defencemen or two lost in the free agency. If they want to improve their club, they will need to get Daniel Alfredsson to step up and assume his duties as captain both on and off the ice, this guy should be in the top five goal scorers, and will need to add a little more heart to his game before this team does some real damage in the playoffs. Philadelphia Flyers
This year has been one the Flyers would like to forget. They have set the worst loosing streak in franchise history, and have ended an 11 year playoff streak. They have a league worst 19-40-11 record, a staggering 7 home win record, as well as a low grade draft class. They have shown some life since the second half of the year, but have recently slowed down again do to injury's to the likes of Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble. This year has been a complete dud for the Flyers, they have seen their captain traded, new Coaches and GM's, and a record that is just embarrassing to a franchise that was once considered a "Power House"
Although the Flyers don't have a Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin comming through the draft, they do have respectable players such as Alexei Cherepanov and Patrick Kane to choose from. Paul Holmgren has also cleared 24 million dollars in cap space to bring in good puck moving defencemen, a Predator who was never given chance, as well as a goaltender that can be classified as a #1. With all the money Holmgren has saved, he can now use is to bring in such players as Daniel Briere or Scott Hannan to bolster their lineup. I don't think that the Flyers will be in last place next year, even if they don't make the playoffs, they won't be to far behind. Give this team two years, and they will be back on their feet.
My Prediction For The Game
I think that if the Simon Gagne is in the lineup and is playing will Jeff Carter and Scottie Upshall that the Flyers will put up one hell of a fight, and if Biron is playing well could potentially win the game. If Gagne is not in the lineup, the Flyers will have a very hard battle on their hands, especially with the Senators Speed.
