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NHL Photo of the Day

Feb 7

Posted by EB in NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images

You have to hand it to the Anaheim Ducks who, despite being bottom dwellers in the Western Conference, have strung together an impressive 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games.

The Ducks have been a unique story this year…. but then again a lot of teams have. Head Coach Randy Carlyle was fired, to be replaced by Bruce Boudreau who was fired by the Washington Capitals. One might of thought the move was a bad choice, but then again, we’re not running an NHL organization.

The Ducks are on a roll, going 9-2-1 in the month of January. That is 19 points of a possible 24. February is off to a slower start, 1-1-1, but with 12 more games this month and a possible 24 points to be won, the Anaheim Ducks are capable of closing their 10 point out of playoff contention.

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 23

Posted by EB in Media, News, NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

AP Photo/Lori Shepler

Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates a goal against the Colorado Avalanche. Ryan, who has been the topic of trade rumors, scored two goals on the night and has 10 points in 10 games played in the month of February.

The Anaheim Ducks are currently on the outside looking in for a playoff spot being in 13th place in the Western Conference. Winning five in a row under new Head Coach Bruce Boudreau, the team is starting to click and where it leads them no one will know. If you are a Ducks fan, the remainder of the season is going to be a fun one to watch. My hunch, they end in 9th spot and less than 4 points out, with the last couple games either making or breaking their playoff hopes.

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Fantasy Hockey Friday

Jan 20

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

Two weeks ago, we brought you an in depth breakdown of team stats around the NHL that could help give a better indication on how your goalie may fare on any given night against any given opponent. This week we turn the tables a bit to analyze more team stats, but this time focus on the impact of these stats for forwards and defenseman.

A good Fantasy Hockey league setup has roster positions and bench positions so that on some nights, when most everyone on your team is playing, you have to make the tough decisions regarding who to bench and who to play. So as a Manager, how do you decide which players to play and which to sit?

Sometimes it comes down to a “hunch” or intuition. Obviously your star players will likely get spots because they are more likely to put points on the board. Players on hot streaks may also get the nod over someone that is slumping. Or you may choose to go by which team any given player is playing against that night.

For instance, if you’re trying to decide between two players, and one is playing against the New York Rangers while the other is playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning, you may want to consider playing your guy against Tampa Bay. Why? Because Tampa Bay averages 3.47 goals against per game while the Rangers average 1.98 goals against per game, meaning there is a greater probability that your player will score against Tampa Bay.

Here is a breakdown of the top five teams in the league with the lowest goals against averages per game:

New York Rangers (1.98)

St. Louis Blues (1.98)

Boston Bruins (2.02)

Los Angeles Kings (2.13)

San Jose Sharks (2.28)

Similarly, here are the worst five teams in the NHL with the highest goals against averages per game:

Tampa Bay Lightning (3.47)

Columbus Blue Jackets (3.22)

Carolina Hurricanes (3.17)

Ottawa Senators (3.08)

Toronto Maple Leafs (3.07)

The Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders also have averages of 3.00 goals against per game or better as well.

You can also get a good idea of how your players will fare by looking at which goalie he will face that night. And these numbers don’t always correlate with the team average.

Boston has a low enough team goals against per game average, but backup netminder Tuukka Rask actually has a lower goals against average than starter Tim Thomas. This means that your player is more likely to score on Thomas than on Rask, but the likelihood that he will score against Boston at all is slim.

Consider the Colorado Avalanche as well. As a whole, the team averages 2.85 goals allowed per game. However, goaltenders Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere have basically split time, but Varlamov’s goals against average is much higher at 3.00 goals against per game than Giguere’s 2.12 goals against per game. So if Varlamov gets the start, play against him with confidence.

The Philadelphia Flyers have a similar issue with Ilya Bryzgalov (3.00) and Sergei Bobrovsky (2.42). Thankfully for Fantasy Managers, Bryzgalov gets the majority of the starts with 30 this season compared to Bobrovsky’s 14.

It doesn’t happen often when you have a full slate of games and have to make the tough choices as a manager on whom to bench and whom to play, but knowing the odds can help you make the right decision in the future. It’s not fool-proof by any means, but it’s a step in the right direction.

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Time to Retire

Jan 15

Posted by EB in Soap Box | No Comments

Today’s NHL is younger, faster and stronger. Yet, today’s NHL still has some old guys refuse to understand that. Sure, they were once something in their day, but that was in their day. Here’s a list of players that should think about hanging ‘em up and begin to enjoy the golf season a little more.

Teemu Selanne, quit playing games with the fans Sir. Commit to a year or don't, no in between.

Rick DiPietro – New York Islanders goalie at the age of 30 has seen better days. Playing only 47 games dating back to the 2008-2009 NHL season, and now out for most of the rest of the season with surgery to repair a sports hernia, how much play does he really have left? DiPietro signed a 15-year, $67.5 million dollar contract before the 2006-2007 season. If the Islanders can opt-out of the agreement because he is unfit to do the job, maybe then they can continue with their youth movement and start winning some games.

Chris Pronger – Pronger has had a good run of being one of the dirtiest, biggest and toughest defenseman in the league to go up against. Nowadays though, he has turned into that old guy at drop-in who can’t really skate anymore so he slashes the heck out of you. That is of course until his concussion like symptoms after taking a stick to the eye from Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mikhail Grabovski. The snow-ball effect kicked in and eventually Pronger had knee surgery that is seeing him sidelined for the remainder of the season. His age has set in and everyone would respect him for retiring, knowing that Pronger is Hall of Fame bound, won Gold medals as well as the Stanley Cup and that he could kick the crap out of you and me with one hand tied behind his back.

Teemmu Selanne – When you think of Selanne you can’t help but be amazed that the 41 year old put up 80 points in 73 games last season. Absolutely amazing. But, with every great thing comes something bad. Selanne is bordering the Brett Favre of the NHL. (besides that of Peter Forsberg) Selanne continues to go year by year, not letting the Anaheim Ducks or any team know if he plans on playing. That’s great when he does play, but what happens when he just retires when the Ducks are leaving a roster spot open for him? Leaves them high and dry. Time to hang ‘em up or quite playing games in the off-season.

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Bobby Ryan Nets Ducks First Shorthanded Goal of Season

Jan 7

Posted by Eddie in Media | No Comments

Not much good has gone right for the Anaheim Ducks this season. Yours truly drafted Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf in the second and third rounds respectively of our fantasy hockey league. The Ducks have already fired their coach and have the second-worse record in the NHL. They got themselves a good coach now in Bruce Boudreau, who was fired by Washington a couple days prior to coming to Anaheim.

The one bright spot the Ducks have had this season was last night’s shorthanded goal by Ryan. At New York, he was able to use his stick handling ability to skate around the defense and use a beautiful sweeping move from his backhand side to his forehand to score for the Ducks. It was the teams first shorthanded goal of the season, leaving Calgary and Detroit as the only teams not to score while shorthanded.

 

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Selanne, Koivu only ‘untouchables’ for Anaheim Ducks

Jan 5

Posted by Chris in Rumors | No Comments

After seeing how well the Philadelphia Flyers have fared since trading their two biggest names in the offseason, it appears as if Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray could be contemplating blowing up the core of his roster as well.

Murray told Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times that the only untouchables in his roster at this point are Koivu and Selanne because each of them has no trade clauses in their contracts.

“I still believe we have some core players. Now, whether we have to change a few players, so be it. They’re deciding who’s staying and who’s not staying at this point.” Murray told Elliott.

This means that players such as Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan could all potentially be in play come trade deadline time.

However, it appears as if Getzlaf and Ryan have more to worry about. Both players are having down seasons as Getzlaf is on pace to put up some of the worst stats of his career. Similarly, Ryan’s 13 goals and 21 points could result in his lowest points totals ever. Both players would be highly coveted by other teams and could yield a significant return.

The Ducks currently sit 14th in the Western Conference, 19 points out of a playoff spot. With stiff competition in the West, the team is unlikely to regain a playoff spot and could opt to start selling assets in hopes of building a contender for next season.

Murray made it clear, however, that he is looking for core-type players in return and won’t deal for draft picks and prospects. The team isn’t going into rebuilding mode, but they are looking to improve.

Ryan was the subject of major trade rumors earlier in the season, but those trade rumord quieted just as quickly as they started. He could find himself the center of attention again when the trade deadlines begins to creep up. Washington could make an offer, possibly for Semin straight up. The Islanders may look to get in on Ryan as well as they have several solid young forwards to offer. And don’t be surprised of Colorado pops up as a contender for Ryan as well. The Avs are on the cusp of a playoff spot and could offer up Paul Stastny in return.

Getzlaf could also garner some significant attention as well. Getzlaf is a big bodied, gritty forward capable of producing 70+ points a season. Nashville could make a pass at Getzlaf, possibly including Weber in the deal in some capacity, and Toronto could get in the mix as well, perhaps offering Nazem Kadri as part of the deal.

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Bobby Ryan trade rumors continue to circulate

Dec 1

Posted by Chris in Rumors | No Comments

The rumor mill began buzzing earlier this week with word out of Anaheim that general manager Bob Murray is entertaining offers for Ducks forward Bobby Ryan. Those rumors seem to have exploded since then with every blog, news site and armchair GM contributing their opinion on what it would take for their team to acquire Ryan.

No real denials have come out of Anaheim to squash the Ryan movement rumors, leading to speculation that offers are at least being entertained. And about 29 teams around the league are currently assessing their rosters and cap situations to figure out how they could make a reasonable pitch for Ryan.

Ryan is a young, versatile player who can pretty much play any forward spot. He has three full seasons of NHL experience under his belt and has improved his point total in every season played. Ryan has scored at least 30 goals in each of those seasons and topped out at 71 points last year, arguably with room to improve. He has playoff experience, international play experience and would be a great addition to any lineup. Not to mention Ryan’s $5.1 million cap hit makes him a reasonably affordable asset.

So which teams might actually put together a reasonable pitch for Ryan? Rumors put Buffalo, Toronto, Philadelphia, and both New York teams in the mix. Nashville could also take a swing and some dreamers have Columbus making a straight up Carter-for-Ryan swap. Boston, Dallas and Edmonton have also been floated as possible destinations as well. Needless to say, almost anyone needing an impact forward is in the running.

The most intriguing destination in this list is Boston. Ryan would provide the team an offensive boost and he would fit their system well as he plays responsibly at both ends of the ice. The price would be hefty though. David Krejci, a restricted free agent, could be part of a possible trade package. A defenseman and perhaps a prospect or draft pick or two would also likely be included. Anaheim has holes in their roster and Krejci alone would not be enticing enough.

The two roll-your-eyes-at-the-obviousness teams on that list are the Rangers and Flyers. Seriously guys, you can’t have every player worth having in the NHL on your roster. However, both teams do have some depth forwards and some d-men that they could package together to entice Anaheim. Perhaps New York would be willing to part with Dubinsky and Del Zotto? Philadelphia may consider flipping Simmonds, shipping Van Riemsdyk or even including Matt Carle in some capacity.

The most likely destination would have to be Toronto. With Brian Burke calling the shots on Toronto, he would definitely pounce to get Ryan, the player he drafted second overall in 2005. Besides, Burke has adamantly stated over the past two years  that he wants another top-six scorer – something that he hasn’t been able to secure (unless you want to count Tim Connolly as that, but we don’t). Joffrey Lupul has been a significant surprise, but having Ryan on board would certainly solidify Toronto’s top two lines. And after several poor seasons, the Maple Leafs have the prospects to trade away as well. Nazem Kadri could be included, as could Nikolai Kulemin, Luke Schenn or Carl Gunnarsson. However, Toronto has zero cap space to work with this season, so the trade would have to be tit-for-tat salary wise in order for this to work for Toronto.

Whether a trade actually happens remains to be seen, but the Ducks need to make something happen if they plan on digging themselves out of the 6-13-4 record they currently have, and Ryan seems to be the disposable piece of the puzzle. I guess we should forget about a Selanne return to Winnipeg for Enstrom straight up, eh?

 

 

 

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NHL 2011-12 Season Preview: Anaheim Ducks

Sep 18

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Offseason Losses: Andreas Lilja, Andy Sutton, Ray Emery, Todd Marchant, Jarkko Ruutu

Offseason Additions: Andrew Cogliano, Jeff Deslauriers, Kurtis Foster, Matheiu Carle

Last Season Ranking: 4th in the West

Will Corey Perry hold onto the same hardware at the NHL Awards in 2012?

Offense: Anaheim’s top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry is still of the deadliest in the league. Perry was the lone 50-goal scorer en route to winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP.  Ducks fans received the best news of all Thursday afternoon when Teemu Selanne announced online he was returning to the team for one more year. Earlier in the day, there was questionable speculation about him because he did not attend a team-sponsored golf outing but a video surfaced on nhl.com and the Ducks website announcing that he will be with the team when they begin the season in his home country of Finland. The Ducks return their second leading scorer as the Finnish Flash scored 31 goals and had 49 helpers last season.

They also return Rocket Richard and Hart Trophy winner in Corey Perry. Perry led the league in goals last season with 50 en route to a 98 point season. Look for power forward Ryan Getzlaf to score over 80 points should he stay healthy. He missed a chunk of the season due to injury and when he was playing he was force on the ice as he scored 76 points in 67 games. It’s pretty good going into training camp knowing what the top three lines will be. The top line will be Getzlaf, Perry and Bobby Ryan. Selanne will anchor the second line with newbie Sakiu Koivi and Jason Blake. Newbie Andew Cogliano could be on the No. 2 line but look for him to start at the third line with Kyle Palmieri and Brandon McMillian. Cogliano could be best suited for the third line because while playing in Edmonton he was getting torn up in the faceoff circle against the opposing second line center.

Defense: Cam Fowler is expected to have a good sophomore year. Top scoring defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky will see a lot of time on the power play with his ability to score. Can’t forget about Toni Lydman’s +32 rating, good for second in the league. That is impressive considering there was several minus players around him. Visnovsky and Lydman will form the top pairing and will see most of the time on special teams. Fowler will be paired on the second line with Francois Beauchemin while Luca Sbisa and newcomer Kurtis Foster are going to become the fifth and sixth defensemen.

Goaltending: It’s Jonas Hiller’s job. He missed the second half of the season due to a wicked case of vertigo and did not play after February 13. They since ran a trio of goalies in Ray Emery, Dan Ellis, and Curtis Elhinney to finish out the season. Elhinney and Emery is out and the fight for backup will come down to Ellis and newcomer Jeff Deslauriers. This is the biggest X-Factor because as much as experienced Ellis and Deslauriers are, they took a big risk in letting Emery go considering how well he played down the stretch.

Playoff Prediction: Every year they have the knock on them that they are too top heavy. They tried to add some depth further down with the addition of Cogliano. Expect them to make the playoffs and even contend for the division title should Getzlaf and Hiller stay healthy. The return of Selanne will prove to be the difference between them barely making the playoffs like last season and contending for the division title.

 

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George Parros Goes Green

May 26

Posted by EB in Media | No Comments

The playoffs this year have been everything intense and suspenseful. Take a break for a moment and watch tough guy George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks talk up the natural gas Honda. Sure his hands have beat a few guys down, but that smile was made for commercials.

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Conference Quarterfinals Recap – Day 12

Apr 25

Posted by Matt in News | No Comments

Day 12 gives us one series victory, and a couple more close matchups. Let’s see who is going where.

Buffalo vs. Philadelphia – In an exciting game where the Sabres looked to clinch the series, the Flyers wanted to hold on strong and force a game seven. Early on, though, it was Buffalo with the advantage, scoring just 2:13 into the game. Rob Niedermayer buried a shot from the right circle giving his squad the early 1-0 lead. Just six minutes later, it was Thomas Vanek on the power-play to send the Sabres to an early two goal advantage. The goal was Vanek’s fourth of the playoffs. Later in the first it was Daniel Briere matching the Vanek effort with his fourth goal of the playoffs. Thomas Vanek would answer right back, with another power-play tally, and the Sabres carried a 3-1 lead into the intermission.

The second period looked to all Flyers as James van Riemsdyk scored early to bring his team within one. Danny Briere responded with another goal, on the power-play, to even things up at three halfway through the game. Nathan Gerbe would give the Sabres an advantage again, however, before the second would end. His wrister fooled Brian Boucher after deflecting off a defenseman’s stick.

The Flyers would not go down easy though, as Scott Hartnell tied things up once again midway through the third period. After some tight defense, things headed to sudden death overtime. Just under five minutes into the extra period, Ville Leino capped off a solid night with the game winner.

With the Flyers win, this series will head to a heated game seven matchup. Look for Ryan Miller to play out of his mind and really step up for the Sabres. I expect them to come out on top and advance to round two.

Anaheim vs. Nashville – Teemu Selanne continued his amazing playoff streak by giving the Ducks an early 1-0 lead midway through the first. After circling around behind the net, Selanne fired a backhand shot which found its way past Pekka Rinne. The Goal was Selanne’s sixth of the playoffs. Nick Spaling closed the period off strong for the Predators, however, as he fired a shot past Ray Emery with 28 seconds to play in the first.

The second period was much the opposite of the first as the Predators grabbed a 2-1 lead after Steve Sullivan dangled past Ray Emery and slid the puck into a wide open net. Later in the second, the Ducks would tie things up on the power-play. Jason Blake found the back of the net for his third of the series, and the Ducks headed to the intermission tied at two.

Early in the closing period, Nick Spaling did some damage again with his second goal of the game. Spaling’s rebound goal would give the Predators a 3-2 advantage, and one they would hang on to. With ten seconds remaining, it would be David Legwand to seal the deal with an empty net goal.

The Predators avoid game seven and pick up their first post-season series victory in franchise history. Exciting times in Nasvhille, but now they wait to find out who their second round opponent will be.

Chicago vs. Vancouver – This high intensity matchup was easily the game of the night. With that said, we’ll go straight to video highlights courtesy of the NHL. Game seven between the Canucks and Blackhawks will definitely be one you do not want to miss.

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