NHL Season In Review (Part 1) - The West
If hockey isn't your thing, read no further. I run a couple hockey pools. The first one covers the regular season while the other covers the playoffs, which start Wednesday. With the former, people make their guesses in October how the season will end in April. It's not straightforward. Surprises happen. Here's Part 1 of my review of the season. Part 2 will be posted later.
Central Division
Nashville tried really, really hard to prove to the hockey world that they were the new kings of the Central Division. For most of the season, they held the #1 spot. But in the end, the Red Wings said, "No, not yet." The pool was split 6-5 on that call.
Nashville dropped out of the playoffs in the first round last year, primarily because their star goalie, Tomas Vokoun, had a "blood condition" which kept him in the hospital. This year he split his time in net with Chris Mason and the two have similar stats, giving Nashville options that most other teams lack. Although they acquired Forsberg, a Philadelphia refugee, at the trade deadline, his injury riddled body has prevented him from being much of a menace on the ice. Opposing teams would be wise to ignore him and focus on Legwand, Arnott, and Kariya (200 points between them).
Dominik Hasek, the whiny, groin pulling Czech, has returned to Detroit after stints in retirement and Ottawa. While his performance has been stellar this year, it is the next generation of Red Wings that have carried this team (Datsyuk and Zetterberg). Veterans like Chelios, Lang, Lidstrom, Holstrom, and Schneider haven't slouched either. While fans may have wondered at the start of the season how the team would fare with the retirement of Yzerman and the departure (some say 'defection') of Shanahan, it's #1 finish in the division and the conference should allay those fears. Now if only they can make it past the first round of the playoffs.
The St. Louis Blues are a much improved team over last year. New GM and ex-Ranger analyst, John "JD" Davidson dragged the team out of the cellar and into mediocrity. While that doesn't sound like much, it certainly is an improvement. 9 out of 11 of us picked them to stay in the basement. Damian and Tammy were correct in their predictions of better times.
Columbus and Chicago rounded out the division. Well, that's about all I can say about them.
This wasn't such a good division for the pool. We were split on who was king of the division and which of the C cities would fare better than St. Louis, though the correct answer was none. We managed only 16 points. The sole exception to poor performance was Tammy who was perfect and snagged 5 of those points.
Northwest Division
The Northwest Division was a wild ride for most of the season, with no clear leader. As late as the start of February, six points was all that separated the top from the bottom. Edmonton was the first to run out of gas and then Colorado. The Canucks poured it on with the Wild in hot pursuit. Stunned to realize that they might miss the playoffs for the first time in ages, the Avs poured it on at the end. Like the Islanders, they were forced to win every single game if they wanted to avoid the golf course. But unlike the Islanders, they couldn't get it done. They ran out of games. Calgary breathed a sigh of relief as the last game of the season was between them and Colorado.
The Vancouver Canucks defied expectations. The team suffered from Olympic Burnout (like the Rangers) last year and crashed so hard they didn't make the playoffs. This year they won the division. There have been several keys to the turnaround: the addition of Robert Luongo (Florida Panthers refugee) in goal, dumping troublesome players (like Todd Bertuzzi), and the maturity of the Sedin twins. Solid leadership from Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison, and Trevor Linden didn't hurt either, but you expect that from your veteran players.
The Minnesota Wild had the stingiest defense in the league. That's what got them so far. Manny Fernandez and Niklas Backstrom manned the pipes while Kim Johnsson and Martin Skoula screened shots. The offense was led by Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston, Marc Bouchard, and Marian Gaborik. Not exactly household names unless you live in Minnesota. The playoffs may change that.
8 out of 11 people picked Calgary to take the division, but they're just not as hot as they used to be. Now that the playoffs are here, perhaps Iginla can get the team fired up.
Runner up for "Surprise of the Season," is Edmonton's crash and burn performance. Last year they fought for the Cup, this year they've been done since February. An anemic offense and injuries appears to have done them in. After trading away Ryan Smyth, only Petr Sykora, an off season free agent signing, had more than 20 goals. They finished March with 1-8-1. Damian was the only one to get that one right. Our collective average even had them finishing second.
This division was tough for us to call. None of our collective averaging worked. Of the mere 8 points we scraped together, 3 of them went to Damian.
Pacific Division
Except for a slump in January, Anaheim has been top dog (or is that top duck?) in the division all season long. They earned their first division title thanks to a revitalized offense led by veterans Teemu Selanne (48 goals!) and Andy McDonald and young guys like Dustin Penner and Ryan Getzlaf, strong defense led by old pros Niedermayer and Pronger, and solid goaltending from Giguere and Bryzgalov. The Ducks have teeth.
Another team with teeth were the Sharks. Except for a slump in February, they held close to Anaheim all year. Their offense was led by Thornton, Marleau, Cheechoo, and Michalek. The net was defended equally well by Toskala and Nabokov, though the former had the better record. They face Nashville in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch from last year that's sure to be brutal.
The Dallas Stars fizzled last year in the first round of the playoffs, despite winning the division. Their inability to rack up alot of offense kept them from dominating the division, but their defense (second fewest goals allowed) got them into the playoffs. Injuries may keep them from going far.
The Kings got off to a good start but fizzled by Thanksgiving. They barely stayed out of the division basement. Instead, Phoenix, led by the impotent coaching of Gretzky, wound up there, again, with the worst record in the conference. For a while, things were looking non-dismal, but hockey in the desert just ain't happenin'. Maybe they should go back to Winnipeg.
Our most predicable division! The collective average came up perfect, as did Tim. Seven people wound up with 3 points. We racked up 30 points!
Standings so far....
\_/
DED
Central Division
Nashville tried really, really hard to prove to the hockey world that they were the new kings of the Central Division. For most of the season, they held the #1 spot. But in the end, the Red Wings said, "No, not yet." The pool was split 6-5 on that call.
Nashville dropped out of the playoffs in the first round last year, primarily because their star goalie, Tomas Vokoun, had a "blood condition" which kept him in the hospital. This year he split his time in net with Chris Mason and the two have similar stats, giving Nashville options that most other teams lack. Although they acquired Forsberg, a Philadelphia refugee, at the trade deadline, his injury riddled body has prevented him from being much of a menace on the ice. Opposing teams would be wise to ignore him and focus on Legwand, Arnott, and Kariya (200 points between them).
Dominik Hasek, the whiny, groin pulling Czech, has returned to Detroit after stints in retirement and Ottawa. While his performance has been stellar this year, it is the next generation of Red Wings that have carried this team (Datsyuk and Zetterberg). Veterans like Chelios, Lang, Lidstrom, Holstrom, and Schneider haven't slouched either. While fans may have wondered at the start of the season how the team would fare with the retirement of Yzerman and the departure (some say 'defection') of Shanahan, it's #1 finish in the division and the conference should allay those fears. Now if only they can make it past the first round of the playoffs.
The St. Louis Blues are a much improved team over last year. New GM and ex-Ranger analyst, John "JD" Davidson dragged the team out of the cellar and into mediocrity. While that doesn't sound like much, it certainly is an improvement. 9 out of 11 of us picked them to stay in the basement. Damian and Tammy were correct in their predictions of better times.
Columbus and Chicago rounded out the division. Well, that's about all I can say about them.
This wasn't such a good division for the pool. We were split on who was king of the division and which of the C cities would fare better than St. Louis, though the correct answer was none. We managed only 16 points. The sole exception to poor performance was Tammy who was perfect and snagged 5 of those points.
Northwest Division
The Northwest Division was a wild ride for most of the season, with no clear leader. As late as the start of February, six points was all that separated the top from the bottom. Edmonton was the first to run out of gas and then Colorado. The Canucks poured it on with the Wild in hot pursuit. Stunned to realize that they might miss the playoffs for the first time in ages, the Avs poured it on at the end. Like the Islanders, they were forced to win every single game if they wanted to avoid the golf course. But unlike the Islanders, they couldn't get it done. They ran out of games. Calgary breathed a sigh of relief as the last game of the season was between them and Colorado.
The Vancouver Canucks defied expectations. The team suffered from Olympic Burnout (like the Rangers) last year and crashed so hard they didn't make the playoffs. This year they won the division. There have been several keys to the turnaround: the addition of Robert Luongo (Florida Panthers refugee) in goal, dumping troublesome players (like Todd Bertuzzi), and the maturity of the Sedin twins. Solid leadership from Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison, and Trevor Linden didn't hurt either, but you expect that from your veteran players.
The Minnesota Wild had the stingiest defense in the league. That's what got them so far. Manny Fernandez and Niklas Backstrom manned the pipes while Kim Johnsson and Martin Skoula screened shots. The offense was led by Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston, Marc Bouchard, and Marian Gaborik. Not exactly household names unless you live in Minnesota. The playoffs may change that.
8 out of 11 people picked Calgary to take the division, but they're just not as hot as they used to be. Now that the playoffs are here, perhaps Iginla can get the team fired up.
Runner up for "Surprise of the Season," is Edmonton's crash and burn performance. Last year they fought for the Cup, this year they've been done since February. An anemic offense and injuries appears to have done them in. After trading away Ryan Smyth, only Petr Sykora, an off season free agent signing, had more than 20 goals. They finished March with 1-8-1. Damian was the only one to get that one right. Our collective average even had them finishing second.
This division was tough for us to call. None of our collective averaging worked. Of the mere 8 points we scraped together, 3 of them went to Damian.
Pacific Division
Except for a slump in January, Anaheim has been top dog (or is that top duck?) in the division all season long. They earned their first division title thanks to a revitalized offense led by veterans Teemu Selanne (48 goals!) and Andy McDonald and young guys like Dustin Penner and Ryan Getzlaf, strong defense led by old pros Niedermayer and Pronger, and solid goaltending from Giguere and Bryzgalov. The Ducks have teeth.
Another team with teeth were the Sharks. Except for a slump in February, they held close to Anaheim all year. Their offense was led by Thornton, Marleau, Cheechoo, and Michalek. The net was defended equally well by Toskala and Nabokov, though the former had the better record. They face Nashville in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch from last year that's sure to be brutal.
The Dallas Stars fizzled last year in the first round of the playoffs, despite winning the division. Their inability to rack up alot of offense kept them from dominating the division, but their defense (second fewest goals allowed) got them into the playoffs. Injuries may keep them from going far.
The Kings got off to a good start but fizzled by Thanksgiving. They barely stayed out of the division basement. Instead, Phoenix, led by the impotent coaching of Gretzky, wound up there, again, with the worst record in the conference. For a while, things were looking non-dismal, but hockey in the desert just ain't happenin'. Maybe they should go back to Winnipeg.
Our most predicable division! The collective average came up perfect, as did Tim. Seven people wound up with 3 points. We racked up 30 points!
Standings so far....
| 1. | Tammy | 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Damian | ||
| 2. | Tim | 6 |
| 3. | Rich | 5 |
| Rick 1 | ||
| Dad | ||
| Claude | ||
| 4. | Me | 4 |
| Peter | ||
| 5. | Rick 2 | 3 |
| Annie |
\_/
DED
Labels: hockey
posted by DED at 2:55 PM
7 Comments:
My picks are in.
The second orund came up, with last years teams for some reason, so I did not proceed.
I picked my boys in 7, cause you know, I'm an idiot.
As you know I haven't followed the NHL this year. So I'm just surprised at some of those names. I had no idea Chelios, Selanne, Forsberg, Hasek, etal were still playing so effectively.
Chelios is how old now?
Ed wrote: The second round came up, with last years teams for some reason, so I did not proceed.
I fucked up. My bad. Didn't update the backend program.
I picked my boys in 7, cause you know, I'm an idiot.
The Western Conference has been full of upsets the last two seasons. Anaheim and Edmonton were both 7 or 8 seeds when they battled for the Cup the last couple of years.
Mike: Just emailed you about my fuck up that Ed caught. If you read this before you read your email, you're gonna have to redo your picks. Sorry. My bad.
As for the players' effectiveness... Forsberg has been ineffective for most of the year due to injuries (just look at Philly's shitball performance).
Selanne looked like he was headed into retirement but he's looking like his younger self this year. I hope that there's nothing Barry Bonds-ish about it.
Chelios is 45. He's got a bit of Gordie Howe in him. Ya gotta love it.
Just in case you need the link again, here it is.
If hockey isn't your thing, read no further.
Okay, we have a semi-pro team, the coach has a big mustache, that's all I know.
Same with Mike and the Mets, we have a semi-pro baseball team, I don't even know if their coach has a mustache or not though.
OU's baseball coach has a mustache.
That is all.
he coach has a big mustache
Sounds right out of the 70's. :)
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