Friday, March 23, 2007
March 23 blog
Lets start with a little nostalgia
It was on this day in 1994 that Wayne Gretzky scored NHL goal number 802 to pass Gordie Howe. The Kings that night were playing the Vancouver Canucks an Gretzky got his goal on a power play. If you are wondering who assisted on the goal it was Marty McSorley and Luc Robitaille. The big joke though that always comes up was. Luc was in the crease when Wayne scored. Also for note. The goaltender that game for Vancouver was Kirk McLean.
Wild and Crazy the Eastern Conference.
There are six teams that have a chance to make the playoffs. Only three of these teams will make it. These six teams are separated by only six points. Lets start with the hottest team the New York Rangers.
With the play of Henrik Lundqvist the Rangers have come out of the dark to look like they are on there way to the playoffs. Henrik is playing like a man possessed and he is leading his team. Not to mention the offense is finally there. Rangers currently have 83 points and sitting in 7th. Tampa Bay in 6th place and their biggest problem is goaltending.
Johan Homqvist is the current number 1 goaltender and has not been stellar. Of course what has been stellar is the offense for the Lightning. Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards are offensive power houses. The offense will lead them to the playoffs.
Sitting in the final playoff spot as of right now in 8th place are the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the Carolina Hurricanes. Unlike last year with Ward and Gerber the Hurricanes goaltending as not been as strong. Also Eric Staal is not lighting the league up like he did last season. Those two factors have lead the Hurricanes into a tail spin towards the bottom of the playoff race.
Montreal is in 9th place and they have been winning with Jaroslav Halak in net. Halak who was called up from Hamilton when Cristobal Huet went down with an injury has saved Montreal. David Aebischer who they acquired last year for Jose Theodore was not getting the job done and Halak was. They still have a large hill to climb in Montreal. Currently they have 82 points.
With 81 points and sitting in 11th place are the New York Islanders. Rick Dipietro went down for a couple of games and so did the Isles. This is a make or break time for the Isles who have not looked as good as they had since Chris Simon's two handed slash at Ryan Hollweg. It also did not help them to lose back to back games against the Rangers. The ship is sinking quick and will they be able to get the water out.
Toronto is the final team in the equation and they are sitting in 11th with 80 points. Yet they are two points back of tying Carolina and Montreal with 82 points. Toronto is getting Tomas Kaberle back tonight after his run in with Cam Janssen. Adding Tomas back to the point will be huge. For Toronto the question is where will Andrew Raycroft lead them. His goaltending will be the key if Toronto makes it to the post season.
If I had to pick three teams I'd say right now: Tampa Bay, NY Rangers, NY Islanders.
Avs and Flames going toe to toe.
Colorado and Calgary are matching wins making the playoff race even more exciting. Colorado who I wrote off two weeks ago have had a miraculous come back. The goaltending from Peter Budaj has been amazing and Joe Sakic is leading the offense. Calgary is getting through with hard work. They pulled a tough overtime victory over Nashville to keep their lead. Colorado plays Edmonton again which is a likely two points.
Speaking of Edmonton. Still winless since trading Ryan Smyth. By far the worst team I've seen this year. Make note. I've watched the Kings all year and I still consider the Edmonton team of the last month to be the worst in the NHL.
College Hockey Tournament!
Screw those basketball playing fools! Here is the NCAA Hockey Tournament draws
http://www.uscho.com/ncaad1/
Now the Hockey tournament is only 16 teams compared to the 64 that play in the NCAA Mens and Womens basketball tournaments.
The top two seeds are the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Golden Gophers won the WCHA Tournament on a goal by Phoenix draft pick Blake Wheeler.
The Fighting Irish who are not known for their hockey players compared to their Football Quarterbacks won the CCHA against Michigan. Notre Dame is lead in goal by David Brown who is property of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brown has been outstanding this year and is in the running for the Hobey Baker Trophy(Hockey's version of the Heisman). Now there are some great players in this tournament and a lot of future NHL players. Jack Johnson, John Toews and others are all playing in this tournament. Watch for when teams lose for Seniors and even under classmen who will leave early. Cory Schneider, Brian Boyle and many others are in their final year and will leave school when their teams bow out. Jack Johnson is rumored to be leaving Michigan and joining LA when the Wolverines face their untimely end.
That is all for today
SC
It was on this day in 1994 that Wayne Gretzky scored NHL goal number 802 to pass Gordie Howe. The Kings that night were playing the Vancouver Canucks an Gretzky got his goal on a power play. If you are wondering who assisted on the goal it was Marty McSorley and Luc Robitaille. The big joke though that always comes up was. Luc was in the crease when Wayne scored. Also for note. The goaltender that game for Vancouver was Kirk McLean.
Wild and Crazy the Eastern Conference.
There are six teams that have a chance to make the playoffs. Only three of these teams will make it. These six teams are separated by only six points. Lets start with the hottest team the New York Rangers.
With the play of Henrik Lundqvist the Rangers have come out of the dark to look like they are on there way to the playoffs. Henrik is playing like a man possessed and he is leading his team. Not to mention the offense is finally there. Rangers currently have 83 points and sitting in 7th. Tampa Bay in 6th place and their biggest problem is goaltending.
Johan Homqvist is the current number 1 goaltender and has not been stellar. Of course what has been stellar is the offense for the Lightning. Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards are offensive power houses. The offense will lead them to the playoffs.
Sitting in the final playoff spot as of right now in 8th place are the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the Carolina Hurricanes. Unlike last year with Ward and Gerber the Hurricanes goaltending as not been as strong. Also Eric Staal is not lighting the league up like he did last season. Those two factors have lead the Hurricanes into a tail spin towards the bottom of the playoff race.
Montreal is in 9th place and they have been winning with Jaroslav Halak in net. Halak who was called up from Hamilton when Cristobal Huet went down with an injury has saved Montreal. David Aebischer who they acquired last year for Jose Theodore was not getting the job done and Halak was. They still have a large hill to climb in Montreal. Currently they have 82 points.
With 81 points and sitting in 11th place are the New York Islanders. Rick Dipietro went down for a couple of games and so did the Isles. This is a make or break time for the Isles who have not looked as good as they had since Chris Simon's two handed slash at Ryan Hollweg. It also did not help them to lose back to back games against the Rangers. The ship is sinking quick and will they be able to get the water out.
Toronto is the final team in the equation and they are sitting in 11th with 80 points. Yet they are two points back of tying Carolina and Montreal with 82 points. Toronto is getting Tomas Kaberle back tonight after his run in with Cam Janssen. Adding Tomas back to the point will be huge. For Toronto the question is where will Andrew Raycroft lead them. His goaltending will be the key if Toronto makes it to the post season.
If I had to pick three teams I'd say right now: Tampa Bay, NY Rangers, NY Islanders.
Avs and Flames going toe to toe.
Colorado and Calgary are matching wins making the playoff race even more exciting. Colorado who I wrote off two weeks ago have had a miraculous come back. The goaltending from Peter Budaj has been amazing and Joe Sakic is leading the offense. Calgary is getting through with hard work. They pulled a tough overtime victory over Nashville to keep their lead. Colorado plays Edmonton again which is a likely two points.
Speaking of Edmonton. Still winless since trading Ryan Smyth. By far the worst team I've seen this year. Make note. I've watched the Kings all year and I still consider the Edmonton team of the last month to be the worst in the NHL.
College Hockey Tournament!
Screw those basketball playing fools! Here is the NCAA Hockey Tournament draws
http://www.uscho.com/ncaad1/
Now the Hockey tournament is only 16 teams compared to the 64 that play in the NCAA Mens and Womens basketball tournaments.
The top two seeds are the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Golden Gophers won the WCHA Tournament on a goal by Phoenix draft pick Blake Wheeler.
The Fighting Irish who are not known for their hockey players compared to their Football Quarterbacks won the CCHA against Michigan. Notre Dame is lead in goal by David Brown who is property of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brown has been outstanding this year and is in the running for the Hobey Baker Trophy(Hockey's version of the Heisman). Now there are some great players in this tournament and a lot of future NHL players. Jack Johnson, John Toews and others are all playing in this tournament. Watch for when teams lose for Seniors and even under classmen who will leave early. Cory Schneider, Brian Boyle and many others are in their final year and will leave school when their teams bow out. Jack Johnson is rumored to be leaving Michigan and joining LA when the Wolverines face their untimely end.
That is all for today
SC
