Interesting Stories From Each Playoff Series Pt. 2

New Puck Daddy: a look inside the pre-playoff series meetings teams have

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If you missed it, yesterday I wrote about the interesting stories I’ll be keeping an eye on from the five playoff series that started yesterday.  Today, I’ll be doing the same for the other three.  Without further ado….. MORE PLAYOFFS!

(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres

Two things immediately spring to mind: the phrase “upset watch” and the Philadelphia Flyers goaltending.  If you’re as sick of hearing about it as I am mentioning it, blame Philly’s GM, not me.  It’s quite possible that the two things I just mentioned go hand-in-hand.

Sabres were solid down the stretch, Flyers, nahsomuch.

Let me be clear: I don’t think the Sabres will beat the Flyers.  Philly’s forwards are as deep – okay, deeper – than any other team in the NHL (Boston is in the conversation), and their defense is just too good, even with Pronger out.  Yes, they will have a tough time getting pucks behind Ryan Miller, but you may have noticed Buffalo is a seven-seed — as in, he’s been scored on before.

I’ll be watching to see if Bobrovsky can keep enough pucks out of the Flyers net to help the team avoid getting that upset seed planted in their head.  If he let’s a few shaky ones in during the series’ first contest or Buffalo wins game one…. things will be a lot more interesting.

Underlying story: What the shit happened to the Flyers down the stretch?  You want to peak at the right time, and they seemed like they were dragging their asses through a rut down the homestretch.  I’m curious to see if it was the fact that they didn’t have a meaningful game for like, two months, or if something has seriously gone awry with that team.  More reason to keep this series on upset alert.

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(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings

You know what I’m curious about?  If there’s any plausible reason we can dig up to say LA could win more than one game.  The statement Dean Lombardi has made over the past couple years – trying to bring in a big name like Kovalchuk, Iginla, just anyone who could provide some offensive help – leads me to believe he has a pretty good idea of where they need help to win.

Their talent isn't too old to win.... yet.

Then Kopitar gets hurt, and they’re left with…. Dustin Penner.

This, for the Sharks, could be like going through one of those arrow things in Mario Cart that gives you a burst of speed heading into playoffs.  As Dave Lozo told us, you either win early in round one or you don’t win the Stanley Cup (“The last 32 teams to win their first-round series in seven games have failed to win the Stanley Cup.“).  They could polish off LA early, rest up, and make a push.

Will the Kings give their fans some breath of hope, somehow, some way?

Underlying story: For me, two little stories: one, the Sharks killed it in the second half of the NHL season, so my question is, could this team be way better than most people think?  They’re still pretty stacked.

And two, Antti Niemi.  He’s taken slow but steady steps towards being one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders.  Another solid playoff run would have him cemented there for years to come.  Without being flashy, might we be watching one of the NHL’s best emerge?

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(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens

I’m excited to see if the Canadiens have any push-back in them.  I know I’ve been very outspoken about this series, but it’s for a reason – I just can’t find a reason to believe the Habs could beat the Bruins, for one simple fucking reason: the Bruins have better players.  Phew – how’s that for in-depth analysis?

These teams? They no like each otha.

It’s not even close.  And the Bruins have the most intimidating team in the league to top it off, because their tough guys can play.  They don’t have to send a brainless thug out there to get justice, they inflict pain just with the natural way their players play, and that’s no fun in a seven game series. 

Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton combined for 206 PIMS (for context, Clark Gillies never got 100 PIMS in a season), and these two combined for 56 goals on top of that.  Cammalleri and Plecanec scored a combined 41(in 15 less games) and are more one-dimensional players.

The Habs have a couple more players with Cup experience, so basically, the story I’m most interested in (much like the San Jose/LA series) is if there’s any reason to believe the Habs have a shot.  Maybe it’s that experience (I think they have four guys with Cups versus the B’s two), but thus far, I can’t convince myself that they won’t be overwhelmed in four or five games.

Underlying story: The interesting names in this series.  Can Tim Thomas play like he did during the regular season in playoffs, or will it be Tuuka Time before it’s all said and done?  Will Tomas Kaberle have a shot at his first Cup?  How will he hold up under the pressure?  Can Carey Price stay in the good graces of Habs fans? 

There’s just a lot of fun NHL stars to track in this one.  Can’t wait to see what unfolds.

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Night one of the NHL playoffs was as fun as to be expected.  Four of my five series winner picks won (save for Tampa), so we’re off to a good start.  I’ll check in on my gambling status early next week.  Enjoy tonight!

FJM’ing Lambert’s Links: Okay, I’m Actually FJM’ing His Predictions

Ryan Lambert is my colleague over at Puck Daddy, and as you well know by now, I often “FJM” (MST3K, whatever) his Monday column “What We Learned,” only not in a dickish way (still a decent helping of sarcasm, of course).  This week, he dropped a special treat on us all – 20 completely random predictions. 

I thought to mix it up and keep it fresh, I’d FJM those today.  Cool?  Cool.

20 Bold Predictions For the Upcoming Season:

1. There will be three 100-point scorers on the Capitals this year as Alex Semin plays big-time for a new contract.

I hope so, cause he’s on my fantasy team.  I predict at least one snipe from Semin this year that makes me obsessively rave over how hard he snaps the puck.  Scary.

2. Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) leads the league in power play goals and actually stays on the right wing for a considerable portion of the season. He and Zach Parise(notes) will also make Travis Zajac(notes) a fantasy hockey superstar.

Zajac a fantasy hockey superstar?  I hope so, cause he’s on my fantasy team. 

With the way they shoot, Kovalchuk and Semin remind me of each other.  There’s a similar look to it.  Also, I continue to be blown away that that little Russian goal scorer (Kovy) is 230 pounds of man.  I’ll call Kovy for 50.

3. The Rangers will make the playoffs this year.

Lundqvist would have to have one hell of a season for that to happen.  I think they rely too heavily on inconsistent players - that’s never a good equation for an 82 games season.  For them to get in, two of the following teams have to miss playoffs: Tampa Bay (no chance they miss), Ottawa (bubble), Buffalo (bubble) or Montreal (okay, they’re probably one of the two).

4. Olli Jokinen(notes) might actually not make any Flames fans cry this year. Not that he’ll score 60 points or anything like that to earn his contract, but he won’t be actively terrible.

Yeah, I see a resurgence coming too.  It’s one of the reasons (you’ll see in Wednesday’s PD predictions) I called Calgary to finish second in the Northwest, barrreeeely ahead of Minnesota.

5. Carey Price’s(notes) house won’t need to be under 24-hour surveillance because he’ll actually play well and no one will hate him.

Well, he can certainly be confident that the job is his.  Alex Auld?  Not like any good tenders were available or anything this summer, Montreal.  (Sorry for the cuts at your team, Habs fans – the team just seems so… slightly below average)

6. Taylor Hall(notes) will actually beat out Tyler Seguin(notes) for the Calder. But the Oilers will be last in the West again this year.

I really struggled doing my predictions, because frankly, I don’t the Oil are going to be awful this year.  At least not embarrassing, anyway.  Problem is, everybody else improved in the off-season too, so who could I put them ahead of?  I very nearly called the Avs to finish behind them in the Northwest, but just couldn’t quite bring myself to do it.

7. Brad Richards(notes) will go and put up yet another 90-plus point season and everyone will still act like he’s overpaid.

He’s one of those guys who’s had a great career, but I haven’t seen play much.  Apparently Tampa Bay and Dallas don’t get a lot of games on TV or something.  I also struggled with Dallas/Anaheim in the predictions, by the way.  Dallas is deeper, but that top line on Anaheim is insane.  I went with Anaheim, barely ahead.

8. The Blues will sneak into the last postseason spot out West this year, not entirely because of Jaroslav Halak(notes), but rather because all those kids will take a big step forward.

I almost made that prediction verbatim in a video blog last year.  Apparently it was a year early.  So yes, I whole-heartedly agree, their ceiling is 5th/6th in the West I think.

9. Rick Nash(notes) will continue to be awesome, with at least 40 goals, and no one in Columbus will care because the team is still going to stink.

Hey, I thought these were “bold” predictions.

10. Ryan Miller(notes) plays a one-man show in Buffalo for 70-something games and the Sabres still miss the playoffs.

Ah, that’s how you’ve got the Rangers getting in.  Makes sense, actually.  I thought they (along with Colorado) had an inexplicably good 2009-10.

11. The Tampa Bay Lightning power play will be the best in the East.

There’s a lot of great units with Pittsburgh, Philly, New Jersey etc, and I don’t think Tampa has the d-men you need to own that “best” honor.  It helps to have Pronger/Carle/Timonen and Martin/Goligoski/Letang type guys.  That said, Tampa’s top unit is insane, so the prediction makes sense. I just have to believe Stamkos is going to have someone in his shooting lane all year.  I watch from home and I’m on to where his missle launch site is.

12. Evgeni Malkin(notes) will round back into form this season. Something like 35 goals and 95 points.

Yeah, for sure.  He might be the toughest guy in the league to handle when he’s “on.” 

13. The Red Wings win the Central this year as heavy losses for the Blackhawks do more damage than people expected.

There, see, THAT’S bold. 

They were ten points behind Chicago in the regular season and lost in five to San Jose last year.  They basically added Mike Modano (Update: Oops, they added Hudler too, I’m an idiot).  So we have a pretty good idea where they’re at.  On the other hand, the Hawks dumped half their roster.  My prediction will be that people will be surprised that Chicago’s “fill-in guys” (Skille, Bickell etc) are actually really good players, and the team will win the Central again.

14. Ilya Bryzgalov(notes) will win the Vezina.

Sure, Buffalo will be worse (harder year for Miller), and Phoenix pays attention to team defense, which is more valuable than just having good defensemen.  Howard’s not there yet.  So sure.  Byz for Vez.

15. In a shocking bout of consistency, the Flyers will only dress six different goalies this season.

I mean, what the fuck is wrong with Bobby Clarke?    PATCH THE ONE HOLE IN YOUR DAM, DUDE.

16. Dustin Byfuglien(notes) will be a total disaster at the Atlanta blue line and get moved back to forward well before January.

Yep, a travesty.  Having him on the blueline voids most of his entire worth.  It’s like buying subs and an amp for your car and putting on pop music.  Or playing Bryzgalov at left wing.  Or using a sub sandwich as a pen.

17. The Florida Panthers will be the worst team in the league this year.

Co-sign.  Wish there was somewhere I could bet on that.  Really, they have better odds to win the Cup than the Isles, Bodog?  Eat me.

18. Jussi Jokinen(notes) will fall back to earth with a resounding thud. That 60-point season was a crazy fluke.

I couldn’t pick him out of a line-up of mascots.  Not to say he looks like a mascot, I just literally have no idea who that guy is beyond his name.  I’ll go do some research.

19. Anze Kopitar(notes) becomes widely recognized around the League as a superstar, as people tune into more Kings games to get an eyeful of Drew Doughty.

More people will tune into the Kings games in general, because they should be pretty darn good.  How intimidating will those all-black jerseys be if the team starts tearing up the ice?  That’s a great look on a good team.

20. Antti Niemi(notes) will do no better for the Sharks than Evgeni Nabokov(notes) ever did.

No, there’s no reason to believe he’s an upgrade, but if he’s on par and saves them four mill, that should make them better by allowing them to afford to keep an ever-improving guy like Joe Pavelski.

More Tape Talk, Updated Thoughts on 8 vs. The Kid

Man – you see Eric Staal get a skate to the face?  Not long after getting a stick in the mouth?  Tough night.

So, there were a few questions that stemmed from yesterday’s blog about handle tape jobs.  Here’s my take on the blade:

Sticks today (composite blades specifically) are built to be taped.  If you’ve ever tried to handle a frozen puck with a tapeless blade, you might as well be using the other end of the stick.  It’s hopeless.

Worst stick set-up in NHL history

So, I don’t get the logic when I see some guys go for the few-strips look.  I don’t even understand it when their blade is wood.  Remember the Eric Lindros tape job?  I always wanted to ask him “Is it easier to handle the puck and shoot from the tape?  Yes?”

The follow with: ” Then tape your whole fucking blade.”

Guys today do so much work with the toe of their stick, from forehand/backhand toe pulls, deke’s, dangles, whatever, that they need tape on the entire blade.  So, there’s a half-dozen guys on every team that continues taping past the toe, pressing tape against tape, and then scissor-cutting around the end of the blade.

I also half-rip the tape (into a thinner strip) to get more ridges, which I think made it easier to get more spin on the puck.  At the very least, it feels cooler rolling off your stick.  Plus, you get to anger the three-quarters of your hockey team that doesn’t half-rip the tape, who have to unravel the huge portion you just wasted to get to their preferred wide part again.

Oh, and tape it heel to toe, because you’re a hockey player, and thats just what we do.

As for the black vs. white argument, do whatever makes you happy.  Whoever thinks it matters is weird.  I used to go black to “hide the puck”.  Then I went white so I could see the puck on my blade quicker.  Then I stayed with white CAUSE IT LOOKS AWESOME.  

300+ words about tape.  “Bourne’s Blog: complicating the simple for over 13 months.”

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Those of you who wrote to disagree with my take on the Sens were right.  My b.

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Theodore, mentally surrendering: "I'll let you score if you promise not to make it embarrassing"

In the on-going Sid vs. Ovi debate, I have to confess that I think Ovechkin is better.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m rooting for Sid over number eight every friggin’ time – I want him to end up with the better legacy, partially because he’s my fellow countrymen, and seemingly more humble than Alex. 

Crosby’s having a ridiculous year, even changing my opinion of just how good Sid is.  He’s got all the intangibles to go with the raw skills and personal drive.  But I mean… I don’t think he shoots it as hard as Ovi.  I don’t think he skates as fast.  And I know he doesn’t hit as hard.

He’s does have that Gretzky-like quality to see the game in slow motion while moving mach three, which must be nice.  And Ovi definitely has the advantage of playing on a line with Backstrom and Semin, but even with all that…. I can’t shake the feeling that Ovechkin is the best player in the league.  He’s just a constant, one-man hurricane.  He reminds me of when we’d “tornado” each other’s rooms in college, the way destruction and chaos follows him everywhere he goes.  Just gear all over the ice, hats from hattricks, guys trying to get up from hits, red lights spinning, fans yelling…. chaos. 

Plus there’s always this part of his game to love:

Nobody’s convincing anyone of anything here.  There’s no way to change someone’s mind in this never-ending debate.  Just pick your horse and ride it.  We’re lucky to get to watch them both.

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Did you see Chris Phillips run Miller over?  Ho-ly, lackluster response from the Sabres.  You could hear the running dialogue in the players heads “oh, we’re supposed to act angry now…?  Riiiight…. grrrr…. someone’s gonna fight him right…? nobody…? god don’t let it to be me…”  Weak sauce, Flubbalo.  Weak sauce.

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My big homie down in Houston plays a little goal for the Aeros, and has a bit of a following. His name is Barry Brust, check out the fan club tee’s:

IMAGE HAS BEEN REMOVED.  CAUSE, UM, Y’KNOW, IT WAS A CHEST-SHOT CLOSE-UP.

Sick.

That’ll do for now.  We’re nearing the Superbowl.  I’m betting the Ottawa Roughriders by a try.

Teams, Trophies and Tenders

Let me plug you into my ever-so-nimble Tuesday brain.

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Don't make me watch Kobasew! nooooOOO

1) I went to the Coyotes game last night, versus the Wild.  I Clockwork Oranged my eyeballs open as best as possible, but really, a 2-0 Monday night game against a piss-poor Wild team was a battle to endure.  Buuut, the Coyotes continue to look really sound defensively (Bryzgalov is ridiculous), so I’ll give my hard-done-by Coyote readership this – your boys will be looking at a tight “every point matters” six through 10 seed battle heading into the playoff push. 

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2) It’s time to change the Hart Trophy from “Most Valuable Player” to “Best Year”.   Voting for “Most Valuable” misses the point, and clouds what most of us really want to judge.

Most people are just debating who had the best season anyway – but there’s always a few people following the technicalities of the award title, which leaves people arguing about different things… which sucks crappy suckballs.  It ends up being a circular argument “yes, but without the waterboy, the guys would die of thirst, thus his value is…”  shut up.  I wonder if the NHL admits that the guy who had the best season won’t always win the award?

Also, it punishes players on good teams.  Maybe Joe Thornton scores 120 points this year, but the Sharks would still be a good squad without him, because they’re so deep.  Same with Chicago – are all their players ineligible?  Without Tavares, the Isles are probably teasing the basement again.  Maybe Matt Moulson doesn’t get a few big goals early that develop huge confidence.  Maybe John Tavares has the most value to his team.  But nobody’s giving him the Hart, are they?

Let’s just call it the “Best Year” award, and judge the best few offensive players against the best defensive and goaltenders, and give it to that guy.  Congrats.  You had the best year. 

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With greatness, you too can achieve living in Michigan and Buffalo

3) There seems to be an inordinate amount of goaltender parity in the league these days.  You gotta believe, with only 60 NHL  jobs available, NHL scouts don’t have to try too hard to find quality goaltending.  Seems like every team has at least a “pretty good” goalie.  I mean, really, teams could just rummage through another teams trash to dig up a viable tender at this point.

This is why having one of the few real top-end elite guys, like Ryan Miller, makes such a huge difference.  What’s the Sabres record this year with Chris Osgood in net? (Sorry to pick on Chris, he’s a great guy, and had a great career.  But c’mon.  He’s in the home stretch now.) 

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4) There’s a captainly duty that’s both hilarious and stressful.  I talked to a guy playing pro somewhere yesterday, and he had to go to deal with it.

"Who's calling??" "COACH?"

Lets say the boys have a day off on Sunday, and played at home that Saturday night.  The guys are going out after the game.  You’re the captain, and thus, you’re expected to communicate well with coach.  You have three missed calls from coach on Sunday morning, you’re just waking up, and it’s 11 a.m.  You’re a bit foggy.  (Coach doesn’t call to “chat”, FYI.).  Someone is in trouble.

This is the captains job – you need to put out the fire (and make sure you’re not in it) before the truth gets back to coach, so it can be dealt with by the guys, and not made into a “lock the door” team-meeting crisis.  Clearly, something has happened.  Somebody did some dirt.  Did the bar kick a bunch of teammates out?  Is it something serious, like someone got a DUI?  Or is it something funny, like guys broke into the arena and “wrote their names” in the crease? 

The hidden captain’s job: Damage control (especially in college).

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5) Some like, 19 year old dude at NYPD Pizza here in Phoenix, brought my fiance (27) her slice, put it down, and proceeded to give her a real fatherly ”there ya go sweetheart”… then walks away.

“Sweetheart” is reserved for a) A Grandfather to his grand-daughter  b) Father to daughter  c) A couple in love  or D) Trying to get punched by people who find you condescending.  He deserved a D+.  What is this, the ’50′s?  Slap her on the ass and give her a wink at least, pops.  Jeesh.

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That’s all for Tuesday kiddo’s.  Closer to my birthday (and the huge donation you’ll be giving to the blog on it).  Closer to Christmas.  And most importantly, closer to my birthday.  …Did I mention that already?