Hi All,

Back after almost Nine harrowing months, wherein my Dad died of complications from Alzheimer's and I've been on the biggest emotional rollercoaster of my life. I plan to start later this month with more commentaries, and I apologize to those who missed our great conversations and posts. I missed yours too! I'm really excited about the Rangers chances this year, and I look forward to speaking with you all again!

 

More than anything, take care of those you love, and Happy Holidays to ALL!

pucksny

 

Ok Folks, here's where it gets serious--here's my first round Stanley Cup Predictions and some things to watch for:

Ottawa vs. Tampa--This is a mismatch, but Tampa can win a couple of fames against a team that always seems to have a head of steam just before the Playoffs but fizzle quite a bit in the First Round and never get past the second one! Tampa was the last Stanley Cup champion after all, and they do have enough offense to keep it interesting. The lack of playoff experience (Emery) should keep it interesting, butr in the end Ottawa just has too many weapons and their goaltending is superior to both Tampa goaltenders

Ottawa in 6

Carolina vs. Montreal. Here we have the classic case of an awesome team (Carolina) vs. a team that couldn't hold a two goal lead in their final game against the Devils (Devils scored 3 goals in the last 8 minutes of regulation). This is likely to be a sweep by Carolina, because the Habs lack of goaltending dooms them despite some good sharpshooters that will put up a few goals. Yes, Carolina's goalie has no layoff experience, but his Olympic showing tells us that he's strong in the first games and rounds and his teammates are deep in experience and desire at every position.

Carolina in 4

Rangers vs. Devils--So much to tell. Both teams have come back from the dead. The Rangers, predicted last by the swimwear-loving Sports Illustrated editors, had their best showing since 1994m and the Devils won 11 straight under the leadership of the great Martin Brodeur, a classic future Hall of Famer.  Momentum here is all Devils, and their comeback win late in the season is disturbing to this Ranger fan on several levels. This series comes down to conditioning, as both teams have EXCELLENT goaltending and above average special teams (PP and PK). There's no shoot outs in the playoffs so figure that a couple of these games go one or two overtimes at least. Gomez and 'gionta are firing on all ctlinders, but no one else is offensively.

The Rangers other players (other than Jagr) will have to step up their shots on goal and forechecking for the Rangers to have a chance here. I am saying its a longshot, but:

Rangers in 6 

Philadelphia vs. Buffalo--I've always said that Philadelphia's weak link is goaltending, and that's still the case. Both Nittimaki and Esche and perpetual hot and cold players and in a long series, this favors the Sabres, whose goaltending and offense will be good enough to score some overtime wins when really needed. Forsberg is a sight to see, but he can't beat the Sabres alone. Look for high penalty minutes and special teams being crucial here.

Sabres in 7

Detroit vs. Edmonton--Who are we kidding herre-Detroit was President's Cup winner for a reason, and though I respect Edmonton and think they can have some impact, Detroit will glide through these pretenders in short order. Simply too many weapons, and the Cup is really Detroit's to lose based on strength at all positions.

Wings in 5

 

Other winners: Dallas in 6, Calgary in 6, Nashville in 7

 

HERE ARE THE PROJECTED WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF ALIGNMENTS FOR THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS:

ORDER OF FINISH:

1) DETROIT RED WINGS

2) DALLAS STARS

3) NASHVILLE PREDATORS

4) ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS

5)COLORADO AVALANCHE

6) SAN JOSE SHARKS

7)CALGARY FLAMES

8) LA KINGS


PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

RED WINGS VS. KINGS

STARS VS. FLAMES

PREDATORS VS. SHARKS

MIGHTY DUCKS VS. AVALANCHE

RESULTS AS FOLLOWS:

RED WINGS IN 4 GAMES-NO STOPPING THEM, MAYBE THROUGHOUT THE PLAYOFFS

STARS VS. FLAMES--FLAMES IN 7 GAMES--TOUGH SERIES--FLAMES HAVE SLIGHT GOALTENDING EDGE WHICH MARKS THE DIFFERENCE HERE.

PREDATORS VS. SHARKS--PREDATORS IN 6 GAMES--HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE TO PREDATORS IN A CLOSE ONE

MIGHTY DUCKS VS. AVALANCHE--DUCKS IN 7 GAMES--GOTTA LOVE THOSE HOT DUCKS--GREATER DESIRE BEATS PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE IN THIS ONE.

HERE ARE THE PROJECTED EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS AND FIRST ROUND PREDICTIONS:

 1) OTTAWA SENATORS (PRESIDENTS CUP)--116 POINTS

2) CAROLINA HURRICANES

3) BUFFALO SABRES

4) NEW YORK RANGERS

5) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

6) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

7) NJ DEVILS

8) MONTREAL CANADIENS

PROJECTED MATCHUPS-- OTTAWA VS. MONTREAL

CAROLINA VS. DEVILS

 SABRES VS. LIGHTNING

 RANGERS VS. FLYERS

PREDICTIONS:

 OTTAWA VS. MONTREAL

OTTAWA IN 5 GAMES-SUPERIOR GOALTENDING (LOWEST GOALS ALLOWED IN NHL) MAKES THIS A ROUT FOR THE SENATORS. BAD REFERREEING WON'T DO THEM IN THIS TIME. LOOK FOR A FAIRLY LOW SCORING SERIES.

CAROLINA VS. DEVILS

 DEVILS RIDE ON BRODEUR'S COATTAILS--CANES IN SEVEN HARD-FOUGHT GAMES. GERBER MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AND COMES UP BIG AGAINST LOW-SCORING DEVILS MACHINE AND BRODEUR WILL BE AT THE RECEIVING END OF AT LEAST TWO ONE-GOAL DEFEATS BECAUSE CAROLINA IS TOO DEEP POSITIONALLY TO NOT TAKE A HIGH NUMBER OF SHOTS ON THE DEVILS NETMINDER THROUGHOUT. ADDITION OF MARK RECCHI WILL BE KEY, AS THE REJUVENATED EX-PENGUIN SEES THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW HIS STUFF AND WILL SCORE AT LEAST ONE KEY GOAL.

SABRES VS. LIGHTNING

THIS IS ARGUABLY THE BEST SABRES SEASON EVER--I DON 'T THINK THAT THIS TEAM WOULD HAVE ANY TROUBLE BEATING THE OLD TEAMS UNDER HASEK, THE MASTER GOALIE THAT HE WAS, BECAUSE AT EVER POSITION THEY HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY OUTSTANDING AND BATTLE HARD FOR EVERYTHING EACH GAME. THE SABRES ARE REALLY THE SERIES UPSETTER BECAUSE THERE'S NO TELLING HOW FAR THEY CAN GO. LIGHTNING HAVE IMPROVED, BUT SARES GOALTENDING WILL BE JUST TOO MUCH FOR THEM. LOOK FOR A MODERATE SCORING SERIES SABRES IN 6 GAMES.

RANGERS VS. FLYERS COMES DOWN TO WHO TAKES THE LEAST PENALTIES AND WHO'S PP IS HOTTER, AND THE NY RANGERS SHOULD PREVAIL BY A SLIGHT EDGE IN BOTH. NO MISTAKING THIS-THIS WILL BE A BRUTAL PHYSICAL SERIES WITH SOME PLAYER INJURIES AND THE PENALTY BOX MIGHT BE ONE OF THE WARMEST PLACES IN THE ARENA. SUPERB RANGERS GOALTENDING WILL ALSO LIMIT THE DAMAGE OF GAGNE AND FORSBERG, BOTH FORMIDABLE PLAYOFF HARDENED FOES. NY RANGERS IN 7GAMES.

 

 

From nyrangers.com:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in exchange for San Jose’s third round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft (previously acquired by the Rangers from the Sharks for Ville Nieminen).

The seven-time All-Star and two-time Olympian currently ranks fifth among active defensemen in goals (161) and points (531) and is sixth in power play goals (63) since 1992-93. He has appeared in 17 games with Anaheim this season, registering three goals and three assists, along with eight penalty minutes. He skated in five games with Latvia at the 2006 Winter Olympics, collecting one goal and three assists. His three assists tied for the team lead, while he ranked second on the Latvian squad in scoring with four points.

Ozolinsh was a finalist for the Norris Trophy in 1996-97, when he set career-highs in assists (45) and points (68) and led the NHL in power play points (42) by a defenseman. He tied for fifth in scoring among all NHL defensemen in 1997-98 (51 points), finished seventh in scoring among all NHL defensemen in 1999-00 (52 points) and ranked fifth among all NHL blueliners in 2001-02 (52 points).

 

Some comments on tonight's games

 

Look for the resurgent LA Kings tro win a close one against Detroit without Samuelsson as the desperation keeps building around the league.

Also, Tampa Bay should win at Buffalo in needing to solidify their playoff position and because the Sabes are due to a letdown after some solid post-Olympics play.

 

In other matters:

The trade of Recchi to the Canes only solidifies them as the team to beat in the East and the Playoffs--period. Their weakness is that Martin Gerber has been playing over his head somewhat, and his lack of Playoff experience will tell in the later rounds.

Most of the last minute trades will not have dramatic impacts. Even the Devils acquisition of Klee willnot lessen their dependence on the legendary Brodeur to carry their butts as far as possible pursuing Lord Stanley's Cup. Don't look for these trap-hungry sorts to be bailed out by Gomez and Gionta either--you've got to watch youur holding and hooking penalties with the new rules being enforced as tightly (almost anally) as they are.

 

Looks like for the first time in a long time there could be tickertape on Broadway in June--Red, white and blue tickertape for the New York Rangers! They have the best goaltender duo in the league, and this team only has to score two goals or more to win just about every game they play because of it. So, despite Jagr being a lone superstar, this just means average contributions from the rest in order to win the majority of their remaining games. Those of you who point to their showing against Carolina should rememberthe Hurricanes' shotless third period and the fluke nature of the winning goal which is unlikely to be the rule with this improving bunch! The question will be condtiioning and determination, both of which are increasingly evident in the main game in and game out.