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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: San Jose Sharks

Sep 20

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Jim Vandermeer, Brent Burns & Martin Havlat (both traded from Minnesota), Michal Handzus, Colin White, Andrew Murray, Thomas Greiss, Ben Guite, Sean Sullivan and Matt Pelech.

Key Offseason Losses: Devin Setoguchi, Ben Eager, Ian White, Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins, Scott Nichol, Jamal Mayers, Charlie Coyle and Dany Heatley

Last Season Ranking: 2nd in the West

Offense: After two consecutive Western Conference Finals losses, the San Jose Sharks made some major roster changes this offseason. The question is whether these changes will be enough to finally get San Jose over the hump and make them Stanley Cup contenders?

One of the biggest trades of the summer involved the Sharks sending Dany Heatley to Minnesota in exchange for Martin Havlat in basically a tit-for-tat trade. While Havlat always carries injury concerns, he is capable of roughly the same point production as Heatley. The major reason the Sharks pulled the trigger on Havlat, however, is his ability to score in the playoffs, an area that Heatley seemed to struggle in his two years in San Jose.

Havlat will join Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau as the big offensive guns on the team this season, but San Jose sports great secondary scoring in Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe and Logan Couture, who is coming into his second season in the NHL and will look to prove that his 32-goal rookie outburst wasn’t a fluke. With players of this caliber rounding out your top two lines, San Jose remains one of the deepest offensive teams in the league and should have no trouble putting goals in the net.

Defense: The other big trade of the summer also involved San Jose and Minnesota. The Sharks sent forward Devon Setoguchi to the Wild just days after he signed a contract extension in exchange for defenseman Brent Burns. Burns is young, mobile and capable of providing offense while maintaining solid defensive pressure. He will help alleviate some of the burden from Dan Boyle and should pay immediate dividends for the Sharks on the blue line. A 50+ point season may not be out of the question for Burns, who posted 46 with the Wild last season.

While the Sharks lost three defenseman in Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins and Ian White, the team still has Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jason Demers and Douglas Murray to help round out their blue line. It’s likely that Jim Vandermeer, Colin White and perhaps Justin Braun will all fight for the remaining spot on the ice.

The Sharks finished 10th in the league in goals against per game last season with an average of 2.54. Expect more of the same from the Sharks this season.

Goaltending: After a rough start last season, Antti Niemi emerged as the number one in San Jose and ultimately became the playoff starter as well. He posted solid stats in the second half of the season and was rewarded with a contract extension and pay increase. The number one job is Niemi’s to lose this year.

Behind Niemi is 31-year-old Antero Niittymaki, who had a decent season last year with a 2.72 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. The Sharks would probably like to see a better save percentage this season, but Niittymaki is a capable backup who should start 20-30 games and win 12-18 of those.

HWB Playoff Prediction: The Sharks are playoff bound no doubt. But will their offseason moves make them Stanley Cup bound?

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Did the Red Wings get screwed out of a goal?

May 2

Posted by Chris in Media | 2 Comments

When Henrik Zetterberg finally slipped a shot past goaltender Antti Niemi yesterday afternoon to cut San Jose’s lead in half, the Wings finally burst with a bit of life and energy as they tried with vigor to tie the game late in the third period. Ultimately the Wings were unsuccessful and now look to reclaim a bit of momentum as the series shifts back to Detroit for Games 3 and 4 Wednesday night and Friday night respectively. The return trip home might be under different circumstances, however, had the refs noticed what was lying under Niemi’s pads just minutes before Zetterberg’s goal. In fact, Zetterberg’s goal could have actually been the game tying goal.

With roughly 13 minutes left in the third period, Johan Franzen tried to loop a wrap-around past Niemi for one of the Wings’ best scoring chances of the game. The truth is, Franzen may have actually scored. Niemi manages to stick his pad out to hug the short side post and make the save before being pushed into the net by Franzen…who was pushed into Niemi by a barrage of San Jose players. Take a look at the video below and pay very close attention to Niemi’s left pad on the far side around the 9:38 mark after the whistle goes and Niemi begins to clamor out from the net. Watch what he kicks back out from inside the goal.

Niemi clearly kicks the puck into the pile of players from beneath his pad. So should this play have been ruled a goal?

Common sense would say no because Niemi was pushed into the goal along with the puck by Franzen. In fact, provision IX of Rule 78.5 says that a goal shall be disallowed, “when a goalkeeper has been pushed into the net together with the puck after making a save.”

However, take a look at what the NHL Rule Book says about goaltender interference:

“If an attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player so as to cause him to come into contact with the goalkeeper, such contact will not be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.”

When you consider these two rules in correlation to one another along with the fact that Franzen was helpless in avoiding contact with Niemi because he was pushed into the San Jose keeper by San Jose players, this play should have amounted to a goal.

One could argue that the ref intended to blow the whistle. Watch the video again. Franzen is pushed into Niemi at the 9:36 mark on the video. Keep an eye on the ref who swings behind the back of the net to get a clear view of the puck. He doesn’t begin to bring the whistle up to his mouth until well after Niemi has been pushed into the net and the puck has crossed the goal line along with him.

Had this play been reviewed, Detroit might be in a different set of circumstances coming home for Games 3 and 4 of the Conference Semi-Finals. As it stands, however, the Wings will need to bring their A-game on Wednesday and find a way to get quality scoring chances from the slot and make life very difficult for Antti Niemi and the San Jose Sharks.

What do you think? Should this play have been reviewed? Should it have been a goal for the Red Wings?

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Chicago Blackhawks

Sep 29

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Antti Niemi, Andrew Ladd, John Madden, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, Dustin Byfuglien, Cristobal Huet

Key Offseason Additions: Ryan Potulny, Marty Turco

Last Season Ranking: 2nd, West. Stanley Cup Champions

Offense: Much is to be desired about the defending Stanley Cup Champions and their offensive power. Young leaders Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane had very good stats last season. Toews was one point shy of his career high posting 68 points in 76 games and a very impressive +22 rating. Kane however did go above and beyond his previous career high of 72 points, only to match his player number at 88 points. That total came from 30 goals and 58 assists, 29 of those points on the powerplay.

The team however has lost a lot of talent, mainly to the Atlanta Thrashers in a 7 man deal, but still looks to compete in this upcoming season and defend their reigning title. Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa need to have another excellent year to help carry the load. Sharp alos had a career high of 66 points last season, while Hossa nearly had a career low with only 51 points. Hossa was battling injuries from his head to his toes last season, but if healthy, could very well reach numbers in the 70 and up range.

Defense: What a great year for Duncan Keith last season. A career high of 69 points, loses almost all his teeth, and a Stanley Cup ring. Keith will be the backbone of the defense and will most likely be the leading time on ice player for the Blackhawks.

The rest of the defending core needs to step up this year. Young Niklas Hjalmarsson looks to improve upon his first career full season, 17 points in 77 games and a +9 rating. Injury plagued Brian Campbell looks to play a full season and returning to his once 50+ point season days. Lastly, Brent Seabrook will be given more time on ice after his 30 point, +20 season last year.

Sure Andrew Ladd may not be with team, as many other players, still you cannot count out the young and talented Chicago Blackhawks for a reapeat.

Sure Andrew Ladd may not be with team, as many other players, still you cannot count out the young and talented Chicago Blackhawks for a repeat.

Goaltending: If there ever was a question of GM Stan Bowman’s decisions, it lies in the goalie fiasco. Cristobal Huet is heading to the Swiss league and Antti Niemi is now on Conference rival the San Jose Sharks. Together, two combined for a 52-21-8 record. That is a whole lot of wins gone out the door.

The Blackhawks instead have decided to sign veteran, on his way out of the league, Marty Turco. Turco has spent all his days in the Dallas Stars organization, so it will be interesting to see how he fares with a new team. In Turco’s career he has a 262-154-37 record, as well as 26 ties in there from the old days, as well as a combined 2.31 goals against average and .911 save percentage.

Since Turco is not quite a young whipper snapper, backup net-minder Corey Crawford will get more playing time this season.  With only 8 game splayed in 3 seasons, it sure will be interesting to see how he does with more time. Crawford is a butterfly goalie excelling at stopping the first initial shot.

Season Outlook: It is tough to say what to expect from the reigning Stanley Cup Champions the Chicago Blackhawks. Indeed the team went all out last season in going for victory or nothing, but the team still does have a talented, young core of players. Many fans have written them off this year, however once they make the playoffs, anything can happen in a 7 game series.

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: San Jose Sharks

Sep 19

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Evgeni Nabokov, Manny Malhotra, Rob Blake

Key Offseason Additions: Jamal Mayers, Antero Niittymaki, Antti Niemi

Last Season Ranking: 1st in West

Offense:

Rumor has it that the NHL is considering a change to the All-Star game format. Instead of East versus West, they will make it the San Jose Sharks versus the world. Yeah, they’re pretty good.

The Sharks will again be anchored by the offensive production of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau who scored a combined total of 103 goals and 254 points last season. It’s not so much a question of whether or not these three will thrive; it’s how much they will thrive. And the sky seems to be the limit for the Sharks’ trio of stars.

As if those three weren’t deadly enough, the team also witnessed the coming out party of 26-year-old Joe Pavelski during the playoffs last season where he led the team with nine goals and 17 points in only 15 playoff games. The team will look for Pavelski to be a huge pivot on the offense this season and pick up right where he left off in the playoffs. Pavelski certainly gives the team more options but it definitely makes them a greater threat and harder to contain in the offensive zone. Add in the offensive capabilities of Ryane Clowe and you have one of the most threatening offenses in the NHL.

Defense:

Don’t believe for a second that the offense gets to have all the Tampa+Bay+Lightning+v+San+Jose+Sharks+KdfVbJtUBzSlfun. In fact, defenseman Dan Boyle was fourth on the team in points last season with 58, including 43 assists. But what really works for this team is the fact that everyone helps out on defense. The Sharks were not only 8th in the league in goals against per game last season, but four of the top six players in plus/minus on the team were forwards. Only two players who skated in 50 or more games produced minus stats. This team not only knows how to put the puck in the opposition’s net, but they know how to keep it out of their own, too.

Look for Marc-Edouard Vlasic to have a big year as he gets called up to the top defensive pairing alongside Dan Boyle to help replace the recently retired Rob Blake. Vlasic tied for the team-lead in plus-minus with a plus-21 and is capable of chipping in 30 or more points. Vlasic could have a career year this season.

Goaltending:

San Jose’s biggest changes in the offseason came in goal. The team decided not to extend an offer to unrestricted free agent Evgeni Nabokov and instead signed Antero Niittymaki to take over starting duties. In 49 games with Tampa Bay last season, Niittymaki had 21 wins and a 2.87 goals against average. While Niittymaki’s numbers aren’t terribly by any means, they should drastically improve with a much better defense in front of him.

Still, as insurance, the team also added Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi to compete for the starting job. Niemi finished the season last year for the Chicago Blackhawks with 26 wins and a 2.25 goals against average before backstopping the Hawks to the Stanley Cup.

It’s still unclear whether or not both goalies will share duties in net or if coach Todd McLellan will designate a number one starter. The most likely scenario will have the starts going to the hot goaltender who is playing well.

Season Outlook:

There’s no reason why San Jose shouldn’t be at the top of the Western Conference rankings again this season. They are a great regular season team and can score goals with flair and style. Been there, done that. When the pressure is on and the intensity turns up come playoff time, the Sharks sink. Sure, Thornton, Heatley and Marleau may have led the team in points during last year’s postseason, but they certainly need to be better than the collective minus-21 that they exhibited. Unless San Jose’s top players can step up and be the best players throughout both the regular season and the playoffs, the Sharks will continue to be a great regular season team and a sub-par playoff performer.

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Fantasy Hockey Draft Preparation 2010 – Goaltenders

Aug 30

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

With NHL training camps set to begin about four weeks from now, it’s time for fantasy hockey managers to start reengaging their brains and begin planning for their upcoming Fantasy Hockey Draft. Most drafts will take place in the latter-half of September, but it’s never too early to start looking for that gem of a late-round pick, the underrated talent who is set for a breakout season or the veteran presence who is due for a rebound year.

Today’s Position: Goaltenders

Goalies can make or break a great fantasy season. Think of it this way – you have15 or so players on your roster to help you win in approximately 10 offensive categories and then you have two or three goalies to help you in approximately five goalie stat categories. Seems a little lopsided, don’t you think? That is why you need to secure a good goaltender if you intend to make a serious push at becoming league champion. Here are a couple names that could help you out.

If You Want Wins – Brodeur. Enough said. If he stays healthy he will start between 60 and 70 games and will win more than half of those. He will also give you a decent amount of shutouts as well.

Jimmy-HowardFor An All-Around Good Goalie – Take Ryan Miller. Not only did Miller post excellent numbers last season, but he solidified himself as an All-Star goaltender with an amazing outing at the Olympics as the starting goaltender for Team USA. Miller will give you solid numbers all around.

The Secret is Out On – Ilya Bryzgalov. Forty-two wins last season and a career-best 2.29 goals against average, this guy is the real deal and so is Phoenix.

Don’t Be Afraid to Take a Chance On – Jimmy Howard (pictured). As long as Howard can make the saves that he is supposed to make, he will get a lot of help from a newly rejuvenated Red Wings squad. Expect Howard to be solid in all goalie stat categories this season.

Look for a Rebound Season From – Marty Turco. Now in Chicago, Turco will have a better defensive core in front of him that will surely help him reclaim his game.

Look for a Breakout Season From – Antero Nittymaki. Nittymaki had a good season last year with a subpar Tampa Bay squad where he posted 21 wins and a 2.87 goals against average. Any shortcomings as a net minder this season may be erased by San Jose’s potent offense. Expect 30 or more wins this season.

Keep An Eye On – Everyone. It’s so difficult to predict which goalies will thrive and which goalies will fail on any given night or during any given season. Remember that some of the best goaltenders in recent years probably went undrafted in most fantasy hockey drafts. I certainly don’t know anyone who drafted Antti Niemi, Tuuku Rask or Jimmy Howard out of the gate last season and all three of those players managed to stay at the top of the league in goalie stats.

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Chicago Blackhawks Win the Stanley Cup

Jun 10

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

Chicago Blackhawks are the Big Chiefs in the NHL, finally winning the Stanley Cup since 1961.

Chicago Blackhawks are the Big Chiefs in the NHL, finally winning the Stanley Cup since 1961.

In what may be one of the most bizarre ending to a Stanley Cup finals, the Chicago Blackhawks have beaten the Philadelphia Flyers to become the Stanley Cup Champions.

The two teams faced off in an up and down game with the Philadelphia Flyers coming on strong in the third period and tying it with just under 4 minutes to go at three a piece. The momentum continued for the Flyers but Blackhawk’s goaltender Antti Niemi made acrobatic saves to push the game into overtime.

The two teams came out in overtime skating hard. With about 4 minutes into the period on a broken play, Blackhawk’s forward Patrick Kane deked around Flyer’s defender Kimmo Timonen to the outside and shot a low, poor angle shot to the five hole. The puck went in, but no one cheered, not because they were in Philly, but because no one knew what happened, no goal light, no referee’s hand pointing to the net, no nothing except for that of Patrick Kane who celebrated immediately, throwing his gloves off, jumping up and down all while skating to the other end of the ice to celebrate with his goaltender. The Blackhawk’s bench soon followed, all while the referees were going to Toronto to make sure it was indeed a goal, and that it was.

The Chicago Blackhawks have finally won another Cup, that of which has taken them since 49 years ago in 1961. Blackhawk’s captain and Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Towes hoisted it first, sharing the emotions of victory with all of his team. The rumors of the Marian Hossa curse will now subside, the doubts of such a young team having what it takes will extinguish, and all that will remain is a giant party in Chicago for a whole year until next season starts. And you know what? They very well could do it again next year.

Congratulations Chicago Blackhawks. And way to keep the Stanley Cup in the West.

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Playoff Ramblings

May 17

Posted by Matt in Soap Box | No Comments

Here are some thoughts on the playoffs over the past couple weeks:

My post praising Miroslav Satan’s performance during the playoffs must have been the ultimate jinx. He carried a six game point streak when I wrote about how excellent he had been. In the four games that followed, and an epic collapse by the Bruins, Satan posted zero points, was a minus one, and only had nine shots on goal. Good news for the Bruins though, they’re still going to land either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin in the draft this summer.

Daniel Briere has been huge for the Flyers in the playoffs

Daniel Briere has been huge for the Flyers in the playoffs

The Philadelphia Flyers are the first ever seven seed to end up with home ice advantage in a playoff series. How did they pull this off? Well, I think its fair to say that they aren’t necessarily as bad as their seed and 88 point season may indicate. Remember this team has several young, but experienced, scorers. Mike Richards has been great, and Danny Briere has played his best playoff hockey picking up 17 points so far, with seven multi-point games. On top of that, the Flyers are picking up a lot of secondary scoring, especially in Claude Giroux who has six goals and seven assists in 13 playoff games. Ville Leino, a late season acquisition, has even made his presence felt with nine points in as many games. You certainly can’t forget about the defensive prowess this team has, lead by perennial all star Chris Pronger. He’s more than capable of shutting down the oppositions top scorers.

So perhaps the Philadelphia Flyers are finally molding into the team that many thought they were going to be. Maybe the leadership issues and problems in the locker room are a thing of the past. They have all the confidence and momentum in the world right now, and will be a tough team to handle.

The Chicago Blackhawks are outstanding. Young captain, Jonathan Toews has been very impressive so far with 21 post-season points. Goaltending has not been the huge issue everyone thought it would be. Antti Niemi has been solid, and has out-dueled two very good goaltenders in Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo.

Things seem to be clicking on all cylinders for the Blackhawks, minus the presence of two players. Marian Hossa had a very good first round against Nashville, posting six points in the series. But since them, he’s been very quiet, much like last year, with only three points in the seven games played since finishing off the Predators. Along with Hossa, Kris Versteeg has been less productive than I expected so far. His six points and minus two rating seem low for a young player with the talent level he has. Remember, Versteeg posted terrific numbers as a rookie last season, but is perhaps seeing a decrease in ice time with the top line being so effective.

The San Jose Sharks are still very much competitive in the west. It seemed like everyone wrote them off after being crushed by the Red Wings in game four of that series. Did everyone just forget that they still had a 3-1 series lead? Even if they were still the Sharks who choke in the playoffs, they could have surely taken one game and prevented the Wings from going on. But instead, they bounced back like a true contender and eliminated Detroit in five.

Montreal is having one of the most impressive playoff campaigns in recent years that I can remember. First, they squandered the top seeded Washington Capitals in seven games. This is a team that featured several of the world’s top players: Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green. Then, they followed that performance with a seven game dismantling of the defending Stanley Cup champions. Surely a team that can take out two of the top NHL clubs is capable of making it to the finals, right?

Finally, here’s to hoping for an original six match-up in the finals.

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Datsyuk and Bertuzzi Make Niemi Look Foolish, Wings Lose Shootout

Jan 17

Posted by Matt in Media, News | 6 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings have now lost consecutive games in shootouts, yesterday to the Stars and today against the Chicago Blackhawks. While yesterday’s shootout was filled with controversy over Steve Ott’s phantom goal, today featured a couple highlight reel goals from Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi.

Datsyuk pulled a move out from the book of Linus Omark, and certainly did not disappoint. He lobbed up a real soft shot that completely fooled Antti Niemi. Later, Todd Bertuzzi pulls off some magic as he went for the spin-o-rama and buried it beautifully. While a couple of the Red Wings stars came up big on national tv for the shootout, they were not fortunate enough to win. The point will certainly help as Detroit hunts for a playoff spot, but they narrowly missed two more points this weekend and they could have desperately used each one.

Here’s a video of both goals from today in case you missed them:

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