Around the NHL: Crosby and Ovi

Welcome back to Around the NHL here at Wild Nation. We’ll be taking a look at some of the more interesting goings on around the NHL, and it’s been an interesting last few days to be sure.

Crosby Returns

Oh boy, did he ever.

The NHL’s hero came back on Monday night and he came back in style. Two goals, two assists and one dominant game.

Now, let’s be fair here. It would be easy to overstate the significance that Crosby’s return holds to the NHL, and many people likely already have, but it would also be a disservice to understate it.

Crosby’s presence in the NHL is important, and not just in a marketing sense.

In fact, I would argue that the NHL’s marketing grew during Crosby’s absence because it forced the NHL to focus on players other than their golden boy.

Crosby’s presence is important to the NHL because he has the “it” factor. He’s charismatic – people are drawn to him – and he may not be the most dynamic interview, but he’s certainly the most dynamic on the ice. He gives the NHL that dominant player that they so lacked during his absence.

Alex Ovechkin? A shadow of his former self in favor of being a more “well-rounded” player in favor of chasing a Cup. (I’ll speak to that later.)

Steven Stamkos? Undoubtedly good, even great, but not yet a consistently dominant player.

Phil Kessel? Really coming into his own this season, but not yet in Crosby’s league, or even close.

Evgeni Malkin? Maybe the closest the NHL has at this point, but again, no where near Crosby.

The point is that the NHL is better for having Crosby in the fold because of that dominance. In terms of wrestling, it allows him to play both the face and the heel. It allows him to be both loved and hated. His fans love to see him succeed and his detractors love to see him fail. Whatever happens, whether it’s one or the other, the games that he plays in are an undeniable draw.

That’s why the NHL needs that dominant player. He’s the NHL’s Michael Jordan or Tom Brady. He’s that dominant player that draws people in, and that’s exactly what the NHL needs.

Where has Alex Ovechkin gone?

Just two seasons ago, Alex Ovechkin was talked about as being the NHL’s best player, and why not?

He’d had three straight seasons of 100-plus points and three straight seasons of 50-plus goals. He was dominant both offensively and physically and he was simply as good as they come.

But then, last season, something happened.

Ovechkin went from being that offensive dynamo – one of the most exciting players in the league – to looking human. Whether it was forsaking his offensive explosiveness for a more well-rounded game, taking a more defensive approach to the game, a fracture in the locker room or something else entirely, the fact of the matter was that the game’s most entertaining player was no longer that.

The thought of many is that he started sacrificing personal statistics for the betterment of the team, but is that really true?

In 2007-08, when Ovechkin tallied 65 goals and 112 points, the Caps lost in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers, despite Ovi scoring nine points in seven games. Ovi couldn’t play net, though, and the Caps floundered.

In 2008-09, the Caps made a run to the Conference Semi-Finals where they lost in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions. Ovi had 21 points in 14 games but, again, he couldn’t play net.

In 2009-10, Ovechkin had 10 points in seven games, but he couldn’t control the hot streak that Jaroslav Halak got on.

So, the natural over reaction to all of that was that he needed to be more well-rounded; that he needed to play more of a team game.

So, last season, he does that and the Caps are unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs in the Conference Semi-Finals. Ovi had 10 points in nine games after having just 85 during the regular season (“just” 85).

The problem was, though, that Ovechkin wasn’t that game breaker that he was in the past. He didn’t look as dynamic as he did in the past.

The Caps need Ovechkin to be that game breaker. That’s what’s going to win them hockey games. Not letting him be himself is like taking a Triple Crown-winning thoroughbred and putting a 300 pound jockey on him.

Whether it’s Bruce Boudreau or some other coach, it’s time for the Caps to take the reins off and let Ovi be Ovi.

Wild Nation Re-Launch: Winter Classic Live Blog

Okay, so it’s not much of a re-launch because nothing much has changed, but we’re back in business with a live blog of the now-postponed Winter Classic. I’ll be joined by Denis Gorman and J.P. Hoornstra and maybe a couple other of the Hockey Primetime staff, so enjoy!

Gameday Thread – Game 11 – Sharks @ Wild

I just want to start by saying sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. I’ve been busy at Hockey Primetime and at home so, unfortunately, the content here has suffered. Starting today, I’m going to try to have one new post up per day, whether it’s a gameday thread, game analysis or just some random schlock that’s bouncing around my head. Anyway. Apology done. Here we go.

Two games into an important five game homestand and the Wild are 1-1-0 and, to no one’s surprise, the story of the ‘stand so far is the team’s staggering inconsistency.

Just a couple of days following their strong victory against the Washington Capitals, the Wild came out strong in the first period against the Blackhawks – then, like has become commonplace for the team, they just couldn’t keep that effort going through the final two periods.

That’s what the Wild need to do here tonight. Come out with a strong effort and maintain it. The inconsistent efforts might work against the bottom half of the NHL, but against elite teams like Washington, Chicago and San Jose they must put together a strong effort from start to finish in order to be successful.

The Skinny

San Jose Sharks	@	Minnesota Wild
5-3-1 (11 pts)	Record	4-4-2 (10 pts)
3.22	GF/G	2.60
2.78	GA/G	2.50
31.8%	PP%	30.2%
80.0%	PK%	84.9%
56.4%	FO%	51.9%

Looking at these stats, these two teams match up fairly well on paper. Their special teams are about equal, as are their defenses.

The biggest concern for the Wild, though, is going to be penalties.

This team has had a steady march to the penalty box this season, their 57 minor penalties ranking them 28^th in the league in that category – not something that they relish, I’m certain.

To give you an idea of how they’re stacking up, they took 345 minor penalties all season last year; an average of about 4.2 per game. If they keep taking penalties at the rate they are, they’ll take about 467 minor penalties this season – a mark that, last year, would have put them atop the NHL by a good 65 penalties last season.

That’s a scary prospect for a struggling Wild team, even if their penalty kill is in the top-ten in the league.

Lineup(s)

Well, due to injuries it looks like the Wild will be rolling out the same line up as against Chicago with the exception of Cam Barker replacing Clayton Stoner.

I’d expect the Wild’s line up to look something like this, based on the lines they rolled out in practice yesterday:

Brunette-Koivu-Kobasew
Clutterbuck-Cullen-Havlat
Nystrom-Madden-Wellman
Gillies-Brodziak-Staubitz

Burns-Schultz
Zanon-Zidlicky
Barker-Falk

Backstrom
Theodore

For the Sharks, it sounds like they’re going to be rolling out their top line of Heatley-Thornton-Marleau on a consistent basis again, which is a dangerous, dangerous prospect for the Wild.

Also, though no confirmation has been given, I’d expect to see Antero Nittymaki back in net again, as he’s been tearing it up recently for the Sharks and, given how well he’s been playing, I wouldn’t think they’d change anything.

Key(s) to the Game

Stay out of the box, stay out of the box, stay out of the box.

It’s pretty simple for the Wild. If they can keep their penalty kill off the ice, they’ll be able to keep some of their best weapons on the ice. It’s pretty clear.

Being short handed essentially makes it so that Andrew Brunette and Martin Havlat just don’t see the ice and that’s something that the Wild just can’t have if they want to win games.

If the Wild can stay out of the box, they have a shot at sticking with a much higher powered Sharks squad. But if they start their march to the penalty box again, they’re going to have a hard time sticking with them.

The other big key to this game is going to be keeping Backstrom going.

The Wild’s goalie has been hot to start the season. After the first game in Finland, against the ‘Canes, Backstrom hasn’t given up more than three goals in a game and he’s looking like he’s back to his Vezina Finalist self.

A solid start to the game and Backs gets his confidence going. If he gets his confidence going, the Wild have as good of a shot as any against one of the best teams in the West.

The Bottom Line

Here’s the deal.

The Wild have proven that they can put it together against the best teams in the league – but they have got to put 60 minutes of hockey together. They simply cannot expect to have Niklas Backstrom keep them in games. He’s been great for them, but they have to keep protecting him with strong efforts.

I don’t doubt that the Wild will come out strong as can be in the first period. They have in just about every game they’ve played. They come out with a fire in their bellies and tear around the ice like there’s no one that can beat them.

It’s the first five minutes of the second period that they’ve got to worry about.

If they come out strong, if they come out with an intense effort, there’s a good shot of them putting together a good, complete game.

But if they come out slow and soft – well, let’s just say that it’ll be a long, long game to watch.

The puck drops tonight at 7 pm on Versus.

Wild Nation’s Ridiculously Early Season Previews: The Southeast Division

Last time, we took a look at the Northeast Division but, today, in our final division preview of the Eastern Conference, our view moves south to the division that is considered by many to be the weakest in the East.

Those perceptions, however, look as if they may be changing. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Atlanta Thrashers – Atlanta found themselves second in the Southeast last season, despite their tumultuous season that saw them deal superstar winger Ilya Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils for a king’s ransom.

Their biggest off season change, in my opinion, was the insertion of Rick Dudley into the general manager position, moving former GM Don Waddell to a more administrative position.

The move has already started to pay dividends, as Dudley has brought in the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel from Chicago as well as Chris Mason to share the net with Ondrej Pavelec.

Let’s be clear. The additions of Byfuglien and the like make the Thrashers a better team, but don’t necessarily make them a contender.

The Thrashers are still missing that gamebreaker that they had in Kovalchuk, though Little, Bergfors or Kane could easily turn into that. The mantra for this team for this off season has seemed to be “get harder to play against,” and for the first time in a long time it looks like there is a distinct plan in place to mold this team into a contender.

The bottom line is that the Thrashers are getting better and they’re heading in the right direction – they just might have a little farther to go.

Carolina Hurricanes – The question that everyone is going to be wondering about this Hurricanes team is whether they were the team that started the season so miserably or that ended their season so strong.

Injuries hampered the ‘Canes last season and Staal, Ward and Ruutu should be healthy and ready to go this season and their defense will be anchored by four familiar faces. If Cam Ward is healthy, this is a team that could really do some damage in the Southeast.

The ‘Canes have been relatively quiet in free agency, compared to their Atlanta counterparts, but have brought back Anton Babchuk who played last season in the KHL.

What Carolina is counting on is the growth of their younger players. The losses of veteran leaders Ray Whitney and Rob Brind’amour are both big for the team but their top-six could be considered relatively in tact as Chad LaRose or Brandon Sutter will step in to the spot vacated by Whitney.

Let us not forget that this is still relatively the same team that marched to the Conference finals two seasons ago. The ‘Canes have a good team and, if everything lines up right they could be heading back to the playoffs.

Right now, however, there are too many question marks to say that this is a playoff team, but all the parts are there for a successful season.

Florida Panthers – It would be easy to write off the Panthers as being in a re-building phase of their franchise’s history, but the fact of the matter is that they’ve been re-building now since the trade of Roberto Luongo and they have been surprisingly competitive the last few seasons.

Their immediate strength is in net with goaltender Tomas Vokoun coming off the two best seasons of his career.

In front of him, they have a group of solid, but not flashy defensemen anchored by Bryan McCabe and Dennis Wideman. Youngsters Keaton Ellerby and Dmitry Kulikov give some hope for the future on the blueline and will get some valuable ice time this season.

Where this team will struggle is up front. David Booth and Stephen Weiss lead a corps of forwards that are unimpressive, to say the least. The team lost its second leading scorer last season and did little to nothing to replace him. The additions of Steve Bernier and Michael Grabner will help, but not enough to help a team that was 28^th in goals for last season.

If the Panthers are going to be successful, it’s going to be on the strength of their defense and their goaltending and, in an offensively powered Southeast Division; that could pose a problem.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Like the Thrashers, the Lightning’s best move could have been the hiring of Steve Yzerman as their General Manager.

Yzerman has already made some big moves for the team, trading for Simon Gagne, as well as signing Pavel Kubina, Dominic Moore and Dan Ellis.

The trade for Gagne is a huge addition to the squad as he gives the team a legitimate fourth scoring threat if he is healthy, and also allows them the ability to break up the big-three without losing anything. Once Steve Downie is re-signed (he is a Restricted Free Agent), the Bolts will have themselves one of the most potent top-six forwards in the league.

On top of that, the additions of Dominic Moore and Sean Bergenheim give this team two players that may not be top-six forwards, but that are capable of logging powerplay time and pitching in offensively as well.

But offense may not be this team’s downfall. With 260 goals against last season, they desperately needed an upgrade on defense and in net and Dan Ellis and Pavel Kubina represent that.

While Kurtis Foster had a remarkable season last year, it was obvious that he wasn’t exactly what the team needed. Kubina, however, gives them another top-pairing defenseman that is both comfortable in the city and is able to log even strength, powerplay and penalty kill time. The team has yet to re-sign Paul Ranger, but once that is accomplished, this could be a very solid defense.

But, by far the biggest upgrade is in net. The team will have Dan Ellis and Mike Smith sharing the net – something that they hope will benefit both goaltenders, who have struggled at times in starting roles.

With an improved defense, however, they hope that Ellis and Smith will be protected enough to find themselves as contenders again and, with this offense, they could most certainly be that.

Washington Capitals – Let’s be honest here – this is the easiest pick to call.

The Caps will be good. They’ll be first in the division and back in the playoffs.

How’s that for a bold prediction?

In all seriousness, though, the Capitals will be a very good team again this season. They will score goals and they will win games. But will they be Cup contenders?

As with many other teams, the answer to that question lies in goal.

Semyon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth are taking over the duties in goal and it’s going to be interesting to see if these two young netminders can handle the pressure of what will be expected of them. Both have shown flashes, but it is still uncertain as to whether or not they can go the distance for the team.

Meanwhile, the team is still built to win. They haven’t lost any important cogs on either offense or defense and, in fact, should see both Karl Alzner and John Carlson improve on defense to make for a very potent blue line unit. In fact, the Caps even have some cap room to make improvements throughout the season or even before the season starts.

And that is a scary thought for the other four Southeast teams wanting to take over their crown.

Predictions

So, how will this conference break down? Let’s take a look:

1) Washington Capitals
2) Tampa Bay Lightning
3) Carolina Hurricanes
4) Atlanta Thrashers
5) Florida Panthers

As for the playoffs, I see the Capitals and Lightning making the playoffs and the Hurricanes and/or Thrashers again being a bubble team. The Panthers, as is likely expected, will be on the outside looking in as they build towards a Stanley Cup contending team.

Up Next: The Central Division

Referees Becoming Focal Point of Playoffs

Okay, Canuck fans. 

Take a deep breath and settle in, because you’re going to have a bumpy ride until Game Four. 

Last night, in Los Angeles, the NHL blew a call—plain and simple. 

Allow me to set the scene. 

With the Canucks down by two in the third period, the team was pressuring the Kings and their line of Sedin, Sedin and Burrows was showing life for the first time all game long. 

Alex Burrows drove around the outside of the net and attempted to jam home the wrap around. The puck slid off of his stick and off of the skate of Daniel Sedin, between Jonathan Quick’s pads and into the net. 

A clear goal. 

What was not so clear, initially, was how the puck was directed into the net. 

Rule 78.5 (ii) of the NHL rule book clearly states the following: 

“Apparent goals shall be disallowed by the Referee and the appropriate announcement made by the Public Address Announcer for the following reasons: 

… 

(ii)  When the puck has been kicked using a distinct kicking motion.” 

Now I am admittedly biased against the Canucks. I’m a Wild fan. I just don’t like ‘em. 

But that, last night, was a goal. 

Even Mike Murphy’s comments on CBC seem to scream that Toronto made a mistake that they didn’t want to own up to: 

“It had to be propelled in some way. Not with a distinct kicking motion, but with a kicking motion, that made it move back the other way. It wasn’t a deflection. It wasn’t a redirect. It was a kick. That’s the decision we came up with.” 

What’s interesting about this statement is that Murphy single handedly re-writes the NHL rule book in one statement. 

It wasn’t a distinct kicking motion. Just a kicking motion, which surely had nothing to do with Sedin trying to stop before plowing through Quick, or trying to keep the defensemen behind him out of position to clear away a possible rebound attempt. 

Furthermore, what really bothers me about this call is that it was a good goal on the ice, which means that there had to be conclusive evidence in order to overturn the call on the ice and I, for the life of me, can’t find a single thing conclusive about any angle of any of the replays that I saw. 

So Canucks fans, you are justified in crying foul. It was a bad call at the worst of times. It was a call that changed the complexion of the game. 

But it speaks to a larger problem in these playoffs. 

No, it’s not some grand conspiracy to ensure that the Kings win the Stanley Cup. 

{Author’s Note: Puck Daddy already addressed this issue quite well, with all of the rationale I would have used, so I won’t beat a dead horse here—but, in any event, go check his out because 1) he’s right on the money and 2) he’s right on the money.} 

What this speaks to is that the level of officiating in these playoffs has been much, much lower than what you would like to see when every mistake in every game is amplified tenfold (just ask Dan Boyle). 

The playoffs are still young, but the blown call last night was the third egregious blown call that I had witnessed in the last three days of playoff hockey and the second that completely shot any momentum gained in the foot. 

Take the game between Washington and Montreal on Saturday, for example. 

The Capitals are down 4-2 and pressuring Montreal hard.  I believe it was Tom Poti who pinched in deep before deciding to take a shortcut, following the puck into the crease. Poti collided with Jaroslav Halak with little to no effort exerted trying to avoid him. 

No call. 

The ensuing scramble for the loose puck that was in the crease saw a Montreal player make a hand pass with no Caps player near the puck… 

Resulting in a whistle? 

While the goalie interference call might have been debatable, there’s no doubt that the hand pass wasn’t. There was no Caps player even attempting to reach down and swipe at the puck with his hand and the puck was lying directly between two Habs players. 

Look. I get it. 

Referees are human. They miss calls. They make mistakes. 

But in the playoffs the stakes are higher and the players raise their games to the next level. 

Quite frankly, I think it’s time that the refs do the same. 

No one knows what the outcome of Vancouver’s game would have been had the goal been allowed. 

It could have just been 5-4, or it could have sparked a Vancouver rally. We simply don’t know. 

But what this shoddy refereeing is doing is placing the spotlight on the referees, not on the players where it should be, and that is a large problem.

Some Early Postseason Playoff Thoughts

Heading into the end of the first week of playoff hockey, there are some surprises and some not quite so surprising surprises. In both cases, my brain is running over with thoughts of mine that are just begging to be shared. So…Here you have it, in a neat and tidy bulleted format.  Enjoy! 

• When is Marty Brodeur (or his coaches, for that matter) going to realize that it probably isn’t a smart idea to play 1,382 to the fifth power games during the regular season? I get that he’s good. I mean, the guy is arguably the best goalie ever to play the game and his ability to play 70+ games in a season has saved the Devils tons of money on a passable back up. The problem? By the time it comes down to it, in the playoffs, the guy is flat out gassed. Even though Sunday’s debacle against Philly was by no means Marty’s fault, might it not be wise to, say, give the guy a break every once in a while during the regular season? I’m sure it wouldn’t harm their playoff standing THAT much.
• And continuing with my mental diarrhea about the Flyers/Devils series, this is a perfect example of what happens when a team under intense pressure and expectations meet up with a team with zero pressure or expectations. Don’t get me wrong. I picked the Devils to win this series and I stand by that prediction (at least until the Flyers are on the cusp of closing out the series—I then reserve the right to break both ankles and possibly a rib or two diving off of the bandwagon) but right now the Devils are playing like they’ve got a two-ton weight on their shoulders while the Flyers have realized that they’re lucky just to be there.
• Speaking of pressure vs. no pressure, what the heck is up with the Caps?! I get that their defense hasn’t necessarily been stellar, but it’s been an absolute train wreck through two games and that’s being very, very generous—Mike Green in particular. Now I’ve always been a fan of Greener. Personally, I’ve never thought he was as bad as everyone claims defensively. There are definite holes in his defensive game, but I’ve never really seen him to be Skoula-esque in that department. But, so far, in these playoffs he has been exactly as bad as everyone claims he is defensively and there have been a handful of Montreal’s goals so far that were a direct result of this ineptitude.
• Sticking with the Caps/Habs series, does anyone else thing that Scott Gomez’s “What the hell were you thinking?” moment might have awakened a sleeping giant in the Caps? They looked like a completely different team after that fight. As in, they realized “Oh yeah, we’re good!” It certainly hasn’t hurt that Jaroslav Halak suddenly turned into the Michael Jackson of goaltending—meaning that he has a glove on his left hand for no apparent reason (I swear to God, this is the last time you’ll hear me use this line, though this time it is very, very appropriate).
• And, as far as the Rumble in the Capital between Gomez and Poti, I’ll say it once again. Gomer! What the hell were you thinking?? I understand what Gomez was trying to do—I truly do. But you’re the team’s number one center. If you’re going to drop the mitts in the playoffs, you darn well better take on someone that is going to have as large of an effect on the Caps when they’re missing for five minutes as you will have on your team. Instead, he chooses Tom Poti. Mr. Gomez, your check from the Capitals is in the mail.
• This next topic is going to be contentious, and I know it. I’m going to throw myself out there as a piñata for all of the Pittsburgh faithful, but it needs to be said. HOLY ANDY SUTTON! Look. I’ve always felt that Sutton is a great player to have on the roster……………….Of the other team, but that hit on Jordan Leopold was spec-freaking-tacular. I feel bad for Leopold, because I truly like him as a player and I hope that he’s going to recover fully from it, but my GOD. I think Sutton may have momentarily detached his brain stem from the rest of his body. Keeping that in mind, the thing I liked most about this hit? IT WAS CLEAN. Yes, Mike Rupp, I’m looking directly at you. I can understand where people can think that Sutton got his elbow up, but I stand by my assertion that it was a clean hit. His elbow, while it may have been high, never actually made contact with Leopold. This was entirely a case of Jordan just having his head down at the wrong time and getting hit by a lumbering defenseman with an entire zone’s worth of built up speed heading at him. And, if you want a firsthand account by an expert of exactly how that feels, check this out.
• I initially picked Ottawa to win this one in seven because they came into the playoffs hot and, when they’re hot they’re REEEEEEEEEEALLY hot. While I’m not yet backing away from that pick, I probably should have realized that they came into the playoffs hot…Meaning that they were due for the obligatory cold streak that ultimately follows.
• It sounds like Thomas Vanek is going to be out for game three of the Bruins/Sabres series for Buffalo. There’s only one piece of news that could be worse for Buffalo, and that would be if Ryan Miller was going to miss game three. Also, I’d like to make a request to any television station covering any part of this series. Please, for the love of God, STOP SHOWING THE SLASH!
• It really shouldn’t be any surprise that Boston is competitive in this series. They were one of the hotter teams in the NHL heading into the playoffs and we all know that defense and goaltending wins championships (we’re looking at you Washington). Don’t forget that this is a Boston team that was the class of the Northeast for the last two seasons (sans Kessel). The playoffs are a brand new season and anything can happen. But mostly, I just want to be able to scream LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH at the top of my lungs.
• On to the West now, if you hear any gagging, it’s coming from San Jose. In all seriousness, though, I can’t imagine how much pressure is on the Sharks in their locker room right now. Just like with the Devils and the Caps, it’s a case of pressure vs. no pressure, except for this time magnified by 10-million. Dan Boyle’s gaffe in their last game didn’t help any, as it pretty much epitomized San Jose’s luck in the playoffs over the last few seas—decade.
• Even though San Jose is doing their yearly choke, it shouldn’t take anything away from how brilliant Craig Anderson has been in this series. If the Avs are going to win it’s going to be on his back, and right now he looks like freaking Atlas balancing the world on his shoulders. To shut out the Sharks is no small feat, but to do it on 50-plus saves? One, you have to tip your hat to that performance and two, you have to wonder where the hell the Colorado defensemen were for those 50-plus shots.
• Did it surprise anyone to see the Blackhawks rebound and respond to an embarrassing loss last night? The only thing that really surprised me, after seeing the looks on the ‘Hawks faces after that loss, was that last night’s game wasn’t an absolute blood letting. Even little Patty Kane’s mullet looked pissed after that one. It was a great rebound performance for the ‘Hawks against an opponent that, truthfully, shouldn’t really give them a lot of trouble. Then again, the Predators “shouldn’t really be in the playoffs” either…So I’m guessing that this series is going to be a classic.
• How good are these two young Finnish netminders? Believe me folks. Antti Niemi and Pekka Rinne are the real deal for sure. They’re both young and just entering their prime years. What’s that mean for us? That this is going to be one fantastic series as far as goaltending is concerned. In fact, Rinne was one of the biggest reasons that last night’s loss WASN’T a blood letting by the ‘Hawks. The thing I want to know, though, is how I can get an NHL team to pay me $5.5 million to be a spectator. Anyone know?
• If there’s anyone that doesn’t think that the Phoenix/Detroit series isn’t one of the most intriguing of the playoffs, they haven’t been paying attention. It’s essentially the NHL’s franchise against the NHL’s model franchise and, guess what? So far, the NHL’s franchise is winning the battle. The reason why? They’ve come out and skated like they have a pack of rabid Coyotes on their tails. They’ve come out and skated hard, played physical and won battles and, if you’ve been watching the series so far, it’s no wonder why they’re ahead. They’ve flat out out-worked a team that prides itself on its work ethic.
• Detroit might be kicking themselves for winning that couple of extra games now. On the other hand, they showed in Game 2 what they’re capable of if they get rolling sooooooo…Yeah, they’re probably not kicking themselves. If they’re going to win, though, they need better play from their top players. So far, Zetterberg and Lidstrom are the only ones who have shown up to play and contribute on a regular basis.
• How about those Los Angeles Kings? I don’t know if anyone was giving them a snowball’s chance in somewhere really, really warm to do anything these playoffs, but they not only don’t look out of place…They look goooooooood! Jonathan Quick hasn’t looked out of place opposite Roberto Luongo in this one and the Kings are doing more than hanging with the Canucks. If the Kings keep up this inspired play, this could easily be the series of the first round.
• The best part of watching this series is watching the speed at which these two teams play. On one hand, you’ve got the youthful exuberance of the Kings who don’t realize that a) they’re supposed to be nervous because it’s the playoffs and b) they’re supposed to be a less talented team and on the other hand, you’ve got the savvy of the Canucks, led by the Sedin twins who continue to ply their trade by making six opposing players look silly all at the same time. 

That’s all for me today folks! If you’re checking this out on Bleacher Report, make sure to check in to Wild Nation tonight for a live blog of the Kings/Canuckleheads game tonight at 9 p.m. Central Time. If you’re checking this out on Wild Nation, make sure you’re back as we’ll have friends of the blog, Justin Bourne and Ms. Conduct with us!

Columbus Sends Chimera to Washington

As the scuttlebutt has been all day, the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets finally made a trade.

Some anticipated that it might involve Karl Alzner and Nikita Filatov (to those of you who are sitting at your computer screens snickering…I had the same reaction) while others didn’t speculate and just reported what they knew.

In the end, it ended up being a little less dramatic, but still a good trade for both sides.

Washington Gets:
LW – Jason Chimera

Columbus Gets:
RW – Chris Clark
D – Milan Jurcina

Let’s be honest. Anytime a team trades it’s captain (Clark), it’s going to be scrutinized to the nth degree.

But let’s look at this for a second. The Caps just signed Alexander Semin to a one-year, $6 million extension. Clark is scheduled to make $2.5 million next season, with a $2.633 cap hit, while Chimera is scheduled to make $1.875 million both in reality and against the cap.

It’s not much, but every little bit counts.

Not only that, but this paves the way for Alex Ovechkin to take over the role that he has been groomed for as the team’s captain.

Meanwhile, for Columbus, it gives them two things.

One, a natural born leader in Chris Clark. There is no doubt that the Blue Jackets lack in the leadership department right now and Clark will provide just that.

Second, it gives them a much needed defenseman with both Marc Methot and Rostislav Klesla on the shelf.

It’s very rare in the cap-era of the NHL that you see a win-win trade for both sides, but this truly is one. The Caps are in first place and, though Clark was playing decent hockey for them, Chimera gives them the same qualities—just cheaper.

An Update of Sorts

Since there hasn’t been much (read: any) Wild news to report recently, I just felt that I should inform you all that I am writing for Hockey Primetime once again.  All of my Wild news will still be contained here on Wild Nation; however, I will be posting all of my NHL articles on there for the time being.  For those interested, here are the links:

HPT Western Conference Predictions: #3 Vancouver vs. #4 Chicago
HPT Western Conference Predictions: #2 Detroit vs. #8 Anaheim
HPT Eastern Conference Predictions: #1 Boston vs. #6 Carolina
HPT Eastern Conference Predictions: #2 Washington vs. #4 Pittsburgh
Masterton Candicates Announced
Canucks Stave Off Comeback; Win Game 1

Backstrom For Vezina; Aeros Advance

First off, I’d like to thank you all for bearing with me over the last few days.  My seven month old daughter had come down with something which necessitated my being gone for a few days.  But never to fear…It’s the off season, so not a whole heck of a lot occurred over those last few days!

Niklas Backstrom
It’s been a big couple weeks for the Finnish netminder.  First, his surgery was a huge success, leading Dr. Philippon to conclude that Backstrom will be ready to go in full in about 12 weeks.  I don’t know all of the details, but apparently the cartilage damage was much less than the doctor had originally thought and the issues with Backstrom’s hip have been corrected by the surgery.  Keep in mind that this is the same surgery that Marian Gaborik underwent during the season.

In addition to a successful surgery, Niklas Backstrom also became the third member of the Wild’s organization to be named a finalist for a voted-upon NHL end of the year award.  The other two?  Jacques Lemaire and Wes Walz for the Jack Adams and Selke trophies respectively.  This is not the first hardware that Backstrom has won as a member of the Wild.  In the ’06-’07 season, his rookie season, he walked away with the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award for the league’s best save percentage and teamed with Manny Fernandez, winning the William M. Jennings Trophy, for the team with the least goals against.

Backstrom will have a tough time winning this award, however, as he will be going up against Boston’s Tim Thomas and Columbus’s Steve Mason. 

My personal thoughts on this is that Backstrom will come in second in the voting.  Backstrom was certainly the Wild’s best player, and Josh Harding’s 3-9-1 record on the season certainly helps Backstrom’s cause, but let’s not forget that Harding posted extremely impressive stats during those 13 games as well.  The way I look at it is like this:

• Without Mason, the Jackets miss the playoffs AND are likely to have a lottery pick in the top six.
• Without Backstrom, the Wild are likely to have a lottery pick in the top ten.
• Without Thomas, the Bruins probably wouldn’t have won the conference, but still likely would have made the playoffs.

To me, what that equates to is that Mason will get the Calder-Vezina sweep this season (and, honestly, I think there’s a pretty good argument for him getting the Hart as well, but that’s neither here nor there.)  Backstrom had a phenomenal season and, let’s be honest…If the Wild make the playoffs, there’s no question that he’s up there for the frontrunner.  The bottom line is that, as important as he was this season to our team, Mason was just a touch more important in their run.

Aeros Advance to Round Two
Leave it to the farm team of a Minnesota team to take every opportunity to give their fans more hockey.  Houston won game seven against the Peoria Rivermen 5-2 on the strength of goals by Krys Kolanos, Marco Rosa and Maxim Noreau as well as empty netters by Corey Locke and Mitch Love.  Goaltender Anton Khudobin was credited with the win, saving 19 or 21 shots.

Houston advances now to play the first seeded Milwaukee Admirals in what should prove to be an intriguing match up; at least from a front office point of view.  Milwaukee is the farm team for Nashville, making it Craig Leipold’s current farm team vs. his former farm team.  In other words, two candidates for the Minnesota Wild GM position (Tom Lynn and Paul Fenton) fighting it out for GM supremacy, though I doubt this series would be the deciding factor in one or the other getting the job.

Houston has three of the top 20 scoring leaders thus far for the playoffs, with Corey Locke third in scoring (4-5-9), Matt Beaudoin sixth (2-6-8) and Krys Kolanos sixteenth (2-4-6).  Meanwhile, Khudobin is trucking along with a 4-3 record, a 2.45 GAA and a .906 Sv Pct, as well as one shutout.  The most interesting stat?  Corey Lock has 24 penalty minutes.  Anyone care to explain that one to me??

Wild Sign Carson McMillian
The Wild also have signed another of their 2007 draft picks to an entry level deal.  Carson McMillian of the Calgary Hitmen has been signed to a three-year, entry level deal.  McMillian was in his fourth season with the Hitmen this season and recorded career highs in goals (31), assists (41), points (72) and penalty minutes (93).  On top of that, he added seven game winners, five powerplay tallies and four shorties.  It will be interesting to see how McMillian fares in Houston next season, as he is certainly an intriguing player for this organization (one that has rarely seen success at drafting in the later rounds). 

Seventh Heaven
There are two game sevens on the docket tonight and, honestly, does it get ANY better than a Game Seven in the NHL Playoffs?  It’s win or go home for four teams and it’s going to be I-N-T-E-N-S-E!!!  Now I typically shy away from predictions (for those unable to pick up on sarcasm through text, I’ll note it here), but I feel inclined to share my views on these two games.

2) Washington v. 7) NY Rangers - I made the observation a few days ago that, if any team is equipped to come back from a 3-1 defecit, the Capitals were certainly one of them.  It took a few games for the Caps to realize that they can’t shoot at Lundqvist’s mattresses (and for Boudreau to realize that he can’t have Theodore in nets), but once the Caps got it figured out and started executing their gameplan, they started rolling.  Torts will be back on the bench for the Rangers after his Game 5 hissy fit and, if I were a Caps fan, I wouldn’t relish sitting behind him because he’ll likely be packing for this one.

The Rangers Win If: They score first.  If they can do that, they can tighten up around Lundqvist and clog up the neutral zone.  In their three wins, the Rangers have proven that they can give the Caps fits when they do this.  The Caps offensive stars need room to skate in order to be effective, and if the Rangers are protecting a lead, they can afford to tighten up and not give the Caps the space to skate

The Capitals Win If: They get to Lundqvist early and often.  Not necessarily score, but pepper him with shots.  He’s been pulled in two straight games and they can’t afford to let him gain any confidence.  Crash the net, get in his way, do anything and everything they can to disrupt his game.  If that means buzzing him and taking  a goalie interference penalty early on, that’s what they have to do.  Get in his head and this one’s over.

My Prediction: Washington 4 New York 2

(3) New Jersey Devils v. 6) Carolina Hurricanes – This series has been the epitome of even.  Neither team has won more than one game in a row and only two of the six games have been decided by more than one goal.  At the onset of the series, everyone expected this to come down to goaltending and, tonight, it will.  Both Ward and Brodeur will be at their best and this game will be very, very tightly played.

The Devils Win If: Their offense shows up early.  This team has an absolutely explosive offense.  The problem is that they have been extremely inconsistent this series.  One game, they’ll look like absolute world beaters; the next, they look like they couldn’t find the back of the net if it were the size of the broad side of a barn.  If they come out of the gates ready to skate hard and ready to play, they’ll gain the advantage over Carolina.  If they falter, though, Carolina will exploit this.

The ‘Canes Win If: Cam Ward plays like he did in Games 5 and 6.  Ward is the catalyst for this team.  If he’s playing well, this team gains confidence and can steamroll opponents.  This team does not have the defense to protect Ward if he’s playing poorly and that can lead to a collapse if he is.  A couple big saves early and Ward’s confidence will go through the roof.  If this happens, it gets exponentially harder for the Devils to take ahold of this game and get any sort of momentum.

My Prediction: Carolina 3 New Jersey 2 (OT)

Playoff Picture

Where’s Jim Mora when you need him?

Playoffs?!?  Playoffs!!?!

Okay, okay, so the reference has probably been beaten to death every single season for every sport since Mora’s famous outburst.  The fact remains, however, that the playoffs are bearing down upon us.  While the field has yet to be set, we do have a pretty good idea of who is going to be in the big show.  We’ll be rating the potential playoff match ups on our newly patented Mora-Meter.  One Mora would be the equivalent of watching the World Series of Gin Rummy played on ESPN (my guess as to what the next program to move into the Worldwide Leader instead of hockey) while five Mora’s would be a series that would lead to so much excitement that it would drive Jim Mora into a frenzy that would leave him frothing at the mouth.

So here you have it.  The playoff match ups, if the playoffs started today, complete with the new and improved Mora-Meter!

Western Conference
#1 San Jose Sharks v. #8 Nashville Predators
Analysis: The Nashville Predators are like that kid in high school that you never wanted to hang out with, but always somehow ended up getting invited wherever you went.  Over the last few seasons the Preds have been the whipping boy of the NHL, more specifically from Canadian fans, about how southern expansion just flat out doesn’t work.  The bottom line is, however, that the Preds continue to put a good package on the ice and continue to make the playoffs no matter what.  In this series, they’d be running up against a Sharks team that will be hellbent to prove that they can perform in the playoffs.  I don’t envy anyone in the position that the Preds are in, but if anyone can pull off a first round upset, it’s them.  This could be an intriguing series; however, it could just as easily be a case of the Sharks doing their thing and the Predators hanging on for dear life.
Mora-Meter:   

#2 Detroit Red Wings v. #7 Anaheim Ducks
Analysis: The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, the Ducks bounced the Wings en route to a Stanley Cup Championship.  Can anyone think of anything more intriguing than the last two Stanley Cup Champions facing off and in the first round no less?  The biggest swing in this match up is that the Ducks still play like they’re the class bully, while the Red Wings bully teams by skating circles around them.  What makes this series even more interesting is the fact that the Wings and the Ducks quite simply don’t like each other.  Lest we forget Chris Pronger attempting to remove Tomas Holmstrom’s head from his body, amongst other things transpiring between the two teams that cultivated the bad blood in their last post season meeting.  The Red Wings always seem to be a step ahead of the NHL; however, this season, their goaltending could be their Achillies Heel and with a potent Ducks powerplay, it would make for some great playoff hockey.
Mora-Meter:    

#3 Vancouver Canucks v. #6 Columbus Blue Jackets
Analysis: Is it bad that there’s a large part of me that really wants Vancouver to slide down so that Calgary takes this spot?  I mean, let’s be honest.  I’m a Wild fan.  I have no vested interest in the playoffs to mention at the moment (maybe by the last game of the season…A guy can dream, right?) so I don’t really care who wins the division, other than the fact that I just want to watch an entertaining playoff series.  To me, there would be no more interesting series than a Flames/Jackets and Canucks/’Hawks series, because the teams just don’t like each other.  But I digress.  In this one, honestly, there’s not really any appreciable storylines to speak of, nor do either of the teams play extremely exciting hockey.  On one side, the Blue Jackets are almost 100% playoff un-tested (save for a few players), while the ‘Nucks have some star players with a propensity to do a disappearing act in the playoffs.  All of this adds up to a series that could prove to be pretty uneventful; though worth watching to watch how the Jackets respond to playoff hockey.
Mora-Meter:   

#4 Chicago Blackhawks v. #5 Calgary Flames
Analysis: As much as I would love to watch the ‘Hawks fight play the ‘Nucks, I think this series would be extremely entertaining to watch.  First, you have a rematch in net of the ’03-’04 Cup Finals (Kipper v. Bulin), then you’ve got two teams with some very dynamic players (Kane, Toews and Havlat v. Iginla, Cammalleri and Jokinen) and finally you’ve got two teams with some fantastic defensemen (Seabrook and Keith v. Phaneuf and Regher).  This could become the best series in the first round if it stays this way.  Plus, if Phaneuf keeps playing the way he has been, you could find yourself looking at a very formidable “sloppy” second defensive pairing of Phaneuf and Leopold.  Sorry.  Couldn’t resist.
Mora-Meter:     

Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Bruins v. #8 Montreal Canadiens
Analysis: How’s this for a role reversal?  The exact match up of last season’s first round, just with home ice turned around.  If both teams are on their game, this could be an exciting series to watch.  The problem is that both teams have battled inconsistency since the All Star Break.  The biggest thing to look forward to, however, is that these two teams always get up to play one another.  Look at last season’s first round.  A seven-game slugfest that was probably the most entertaining series in all the playoffs.  Plus, there’s also always the chance that you could hear Jack Edwards’ maniacal laugh again.  That in and of itself is reason enough to watch.  All of this equals one amazingly entertaining first round series.
Mora-Meter:     

#2 Washington Capitals v. #7 New York Rangers
Analysis: Honestly, this is another that I wish was a little different, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?  This one, well, this could be interesting.  On one end you’ve got the Caps’ unbelievable offens and on the other you’ve got the Rangers’ unbelievable goaltender.  Coach John Tortorella has helped the Rangers find their game again; however, can he put a stop to the attack of the Capitals?  On the other side of things, you’ve got the Rangers’ aneimic offense squaring off against the Caps’ inconsistent goalie.  This could either be a very high scoring series or a series where you get nothing at all.  Any series pitting a high powered offense against a solid goaltender, however, can prove to be a fun series to watch.
Mora-Meter:    

#3 New Jersey Devils v. #6 Carolina Hurricanes
Analysis: Ok.  So can someone please explain to me if the Devils are just coasting to the playoffs or if something is going on and when, exactly, Lou is going to place himself behind the bench yet again?  Alright.  I feel better now.  Now that I’ve said my piece, this could be a very one sided series if the Devils don’t right the ship and quick.  The ‘Canes have had success against Newark’s finest this season, and if the Devils back into the playoffs this could get ugly quick.  Looking at the potential match up, the ‘Canes match up quite nicely against the Devil and have the hot hand.  Both teams have a solid defense and an under rated offense.  There should be some very tightly contested games in this series and some good, physical play.
Mora-Meter:   

#4 Philadelphia Flyers v. #5 Pittsburgh Penguins
Analysis: The Broadstreet Bullies against the NHL’s wunderkid.  I don’t see how it could get much better than this; a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.  The Flyers were ran out of town by the Pens in the ECF last season, but this is also a Flyers team that has gained a lot more character since then, not in turnover of players but just in experience.  The big question mark for both teams is definitely in net and, in all honesty, that could lead to a very entertaining series.  These two teams are also division rivals and flat out don’t like each other.  That’s good enough in my book!
Mora-Meter:     

So there you have it.  My thoughts on the current playoff picture.

Also, coming next week will be the first intrim show of Wild Nation.  Join myself and Nick in New York next week as we talk about all things Wild!  We will have a time and date set for our first show sometime this weekend.

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