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NHL Photo of the Day

Feb 2

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

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

You know things are rolling well when backup netminder Scott Clemmensen comes in and posts a win against division foe the Washington Capitals. Main goalie Jose Theodore is currently day-to-day with knee soreness.

Clemmensen is now 7-2-5 with a .915 save percentage and the Florida Panthers climb to 1st overall in the Southeast Division with 57 points. One of the weakest divisions within the league, still, the Panthers have surprised everyone with their winning record and ability to win clutch games. The Panthers have not qualified for the playoffs since the 1999-2000 season and hope to do so this year. Remember the rubber rats?

On a different note, anyone else reminded of Fruit Stripe gum when looking at Clemmensen’s pads?

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Florida Panthers

Sep 11

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Scottie Upshall, Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Fleishmann, Kris Versteeg, Sean Bergenheim, Brian Campbell, Ed Jovanovski, Jose Theodore

Key Offseason Losses: Dennis Wideman, Marty Reasoner, Michael Frolik, Tomas Vokoun

Last Season Ranking: 15th in East

Stephen Weiss and David Booth are the only 2 from last year's top 6 forwards. Might need an ice breaker.

Stephen Weiss and David Booth are the only 2 from last year's top 6 forwards. Might need an ice breaker.

Offense: The Florida Panthers have made a complete overhaul of their team replacing four of their top six forwards. Sometimes too much change is a bad thing, but with the team missing the playoffs year after year, change is just what the doctor ordered.

Scottie Upshall has had a respectable 30 point per season career, but for many, believe he is capable of doing a lot more. The difficulty for Upshall is staying healthy which has seen him play all but one full season over his career. A fast, strong skater, it will be nice to see if he pairs up with Stephen Weiss and David Booth. If so, his fantasy stock could rise as a sleeper pick.

Florida’s additions were nothing of any great superstars, but of all talented players that can chip in. Going with the thought that the sum is greater than the parts, the team has added depth with Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Flesichmann and Kris Versteeg. Together, the three combined for 48 goals, 71 assists to total 119 points. This should greatly improve the Panthers top two lines if the new players can gel with one another.

Defense: Like the offense, the Panthers have tweaked their top two defensive pairings.

Puck moving defenseman Brian Campbell is capable of putting up 50 points if he can stay healthy. The forecast may not look so good as he has had shortened seasons for the past two years.

Veteran Ed Jovanoski has been added and will balance the team out with some grit and hard work. He is a player you at to play against but would love to have on your team. A downside he is getting older, but the positive, he plays younger than what he is.

The Panthers still have some talented players that will pair with either of the two previous mentioned. Dmitry Kulikov is coming into his third season as a professional and looks to better his last year’s stats of 6 goals and 20 assists. Similarly, Keaton Ellerby is also coming into his third season as a professional and had 2 goals and 10 assists last year. Both young players will help ease the burden of old age on the added veteran defenseman.

Goaltending: The Panthers have always had a good goalie, but never a team in front of him. Tomas Vokoun has headed to the Washington Capitals as the Panthers have picked up Jose Theodore to take the number one spot. Theodore had some great seasons in Washington, notching 62 wins in 104 games played over two seasons. Although he is the same age as Vokoun, Theodore looks to be more acrobatic and should add greater value to the team.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound. Oh how we miss you Florida, please return sometime soon to the playoffs with your rubber rats.

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More NHL Award Finalists Announced

May 7

Posted by Eddie in News | 2 Comments

Two weeks ago I wrote about the first few finalists that were announced for various NHL Awards. Since then, some more finalists have been announced. The NHL Awards Show will be June 23 in Las Vegas. Here’s a preview of the award finalists as well as my picks for who could take home the hardwood. Part three will feature the Vezina, GM of the Year, and other awards.

Hart Trophy: Most Valuable Player (voted by Professional Hockey Writers Association)

Ted Lindsay Award: Most Outstanding Player (voted by NHL Players Association)

Finalists:

  • Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
  • Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

I get to hit two birds with one stone on this award because both the NHLPA and the PHWA agree on who the finalists for Most Valuable Player should be. All three players have cases for why they should win the award. Ovechkin and Crosby tied for second in points with 109 points. Crosby also led the league in shootout goals with 8, as well as posting a 80 percent success rate in shootouts. Sedin has already won hardware this season as he won the Art Ross Trophy with a league-leading 112 points. Crosby has one Hart Trophy has he won in 2007. Ovechkin has won it each of the last two seasons and is looking for his third in a row. Each of the last three seasons the same player has won both awards. Don’t expect that to happen this season.

My Heart Trophy Pick: Ovechkin

My Ted Lindsay Award Pick: Sedin

Jack Adams Award: Coach of the Year

Finalists:

  • Joe Sacco, Colorado Avlanche
  • Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes
  • Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators

With awards like this, it usually doesn’t go to a coach who wins the Stanley Cup or even the Presidents Trophy. The last Stanley Cup winning coach who won the Jack Adams Award in the same season was JohnTortorella in 2004. It’ll usually go to someone who overachieves or leads his team to the playoffs when they weren’t expected to at the beginning of the season. These coaches are deserving of the award in their own way. Tippett took over the team from Wayne Gretzky a week before the season began and took a team that finished 25th in the league last season to fourth place in the Western Conference this season before losing to Detroit in game seven of the first round. Trotz is the only bench boss Nashville has ever had and has led the Preds to the playoffs in five of the last six seasons. Not bad for a team who has to compete with conference powers Detroit and Chicago more than most other teams. Sacco was a rookie coach who came out on fire in October. His 10-1-2 start was the second-best 13 game start for a coach in NHL history. He also led the Av’s to a second place finish in the Northwest Division.

My Pick: Tippett

Washington goalie Jose Theodore is a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

Washington goalie Jose Theodore is a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

Bill Masterton Trophy: Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication to Hockey

Finalists:

  • Kurtis Foster, Tampa Bay
  • Jed Ortmeyer, San Jose
  • Jose Theodore, Washington

This award is presented to someone who had to overcome some type of hardship, injury, or situation to perform at the level that is needed in the NHL. Each player has a unique story which made them a finalist. Foster overcame a severely broken leg suffered two seasons ago. After his surgery, he realized he was lucky to even walk again. He missed nearly a calendar-year of hockey before returning to practice in Febrary 2009. After rehab stints in the AHL he made his return in March 2009 when he was with Minnesota. Signed as a free-agent with Tampa over the summer, he recorded career-high’s of 34 assists and 42 points this season from the blue line. He also blocked 70 shots.

Ortmeyer’s situation is a little different. At some point each day, Ortmeyer must use a needle to inject a blood thinner directly into his stomach to combat a hereditary blood-clotting disorder that has threatened not only his hockey career, but also his life. The process is tricky and the timing must be precise. The blood thinner, Lovenox, needs to be in his system during the down time when he’s not on the ice and it needs to be out of his system when he plays or practices so that a hard check or a high stick does not cause fatal bleeding. He’s suffered blood-clotting twice in his career and almost walked away from the game. This season, he set career high’s in goals, assists and points. Theodore’s situation is more heart breaking. Losing his starting goal position is nothing compared to when he lost his son over the summer. His son, Chace, passed away two months after birth with respiratory complications related to his premature birth. He bounced back this season to have his best year since winning the Heart and Vezina Trophies in 2002 with a 30-7-7 record and a .911 save percentage.

My Pick: Theodore

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Washington Capitals

Sep 15

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | 1 Comment

Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will repeat as Division Champions this season

Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will repeat as Division Champions this season

Get ready it’s our time.

This tagline, along with a picture of the Stanley Cup, was featured on a shirt worn by none other than Alexander Ovechkin during the Washington Capitals Media Day. Despite losing two key veteran leaders, Sergei Fedorov and Donald Brashear, in the off-season, the Capitals are very confident in their abilities this upcoming season.

Young players such as Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Ovechkin are all ready to make the jump to that next level. They can all score, and are each capable of putting together 75+ point seasons. With the experience developed by these young guns over the past two seasons, its going to be hard for anyone to stop them come playoff time.

On top of that, add in the free agent signings of Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison to the roster. Last season for the Flyers, Knuble chipped in 27 goals along with 20 assists for a 47 point campaign. Brendan Morrison, splitting time between Anaheim and Dallas last season, totaled 31 points on 16 goals and 15 assists. Clearly offensive production should not be a problem for the Caps this season.

Defensively the Capitals are just as strong as last year. Mike Green will lead the way with a terrific plus/minus and strong skating and scoring abilities. Shaone Morrisonn, Tom Poti and Milan Jurcina are big, strong, gritty defenseman who will work well to shut down the opposition.

Between the pipes, Bruce Boudreau has given the starting role back to Jose Theodore heading into training camp. Theodore had a poor showing in last seasons playoffs in which Semyon Varlamov relieved him. Boudreau and the Capitals never looked back as Varlamov continued to play well, posting a .918 save percentage and 2.53 goals against average in 13 games. Varlamov is sure to see more time this season than he did in 2008-09, however.

The Capitals should cruise through the regular season to a first place finish in the Southeast Division. Their best games will be those against Boston, and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Come playoff time, however, the Capitals will make a huge push. Don’t be surprised if you see them playing into June next year.

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