Here's To You, 2013 Chicago Blackhawks

From start to finish, the Blackhawks were the team to beat. With an impressive start to the season, to dealing with injuries in their key positions, to dealing with a rough playoffs-- the Blackhawks used their core to get back to the promised land and get a second Stanley Cup in four seasons.

Corey Crawford was the breakout star of the playoffs and the season for the Blackhawks. While some people draw parallels to the 2010 goalie star, Antti Niemi; Crawford did draw plenty of criticism for his inconsistent play, despite keeping the Hawks in many games. However, next year will be the litmus test for Crawford with a full season ahead, but the confidence he has to have now is going to be amazing.

Upfront, the best offensive players were the best for the Hawks, with Conn Smythe winner Patrick Kane leading the charge and Jonathan Toews being the leader by example. The biggest thing for the Hawks is Brandon Saad coming into the line-up and contributing like he did. For a franchise to have the model to bringing up young players and getting them to contribute quickly, Saad just falls into line of what Kane and Toews did for the Hawks.

Outside of the top two of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya became the surprise for the Hawks, playing solid defense and contributing when needed on the offensive side, especially during his slide during the Atlanta/Winnipeg years. Nick Leddy contributed for the Hawks in the regular season, but did have some shaky times during the playoffs; which I'm sure will come into play during contract talks this summer.

And speaking of contract, the Blackhawks may have to break-up some of their team as they did in 2010. With only $2M in cap space going into next season and two more players to sign-- not to mention UFAs and RFAs; the Hawks may need to do something creative in order to get some breathing room going into the season. Luckily, two amnesty buyouts are available and may have to be burned this summer rather than having to wait for next off-season.

You can bet they won't think about that now. The party is on in the Windy City, the Second City, That Toddlin' Town, City by the Lake, City with a Lot of Nicknames-- and it won't be rained on today.

Thanks For Coming Out, 2013 Boston Bruins

With a team who was hidden in the fourth spot in the East, the Boston Bruins overcame a first round scare and had the whole city on their back for the ride as they got to the Stanley Cup Finals, but the counterattack was a little too much for the Bruins, but a lot to build off of.

One big bright spot is David Krejci's production in the playoffs, only seven points off his regular season output in 25 less games. With his budding performance, you can bet that Krejci will be the focal point along with Patrice Bergeron for the Bruins offense, despite them being a primarily defensive team. On the flip side, the snake-bit nature of Tyler Seguin's post-season is something that could be a worry going forward if he can't shake it off.

The play of Tuukka Rask definitely made the Bruins fans forget about Tim Thomas's off-ice wrangling; though many though Rask was more than ready when Thomas was already there. Keeping the Bruins in many games and facing a ton of shots, Rask is showing that he could be considered a top-tier goalie, so long as his temper and focus are kept in check.

The young guns on the defense, Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton, are going to be maturing more and more as the summer and into next season comes. Krug had an early showing of what he could do in the playoffs to start and should be able to build off that, while Hamilton got a taste of the experience though he didn't play all that much. It is still Zdeno Chara's defense, though the Blackhawks seemed to have a game plan that worked against Chara's size and strength.

For the Bruins, it's a bright future and continues to have a nice little feeder system working for them that allows their younger players to get into the line-up quickly and the system that's in place allows them to succeed on the big stage and allows them to get noticed quickly. While this defeat hurts, the fact is that they'll be able to learn from it on the fly and adjust as needed.

Stanley Cup Prediction: (1W) Chicago Blackhawks vs (4E) Boston Bruins

It's come to this. We've all waited nine six long months for the Stanley Cup to be presented and the Finals are just a day away. Why not be like the other cool kids and actually make a pick that will be a 50-50 shot because I'm either right or wrong.

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Out of the East are the Boston Bruins, who were pushed to the brink in the first round; but since then have been world beaters. You can almost sense that the first round scare could have been a wake-up call this team needed to stave off the likes of the Rangers and Penguins.

But the Bruins are a scary bunch. They have all the tools to be a successful playoff team and are a team that will battle for every piece of land out there. Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic have lead the charge with their hard-nose play, while David Krejci and Nathan Horton have produced fantastically for the Bruins this post season.

When it comes to defense, you can't bet against Zdeno Chara, who provides pleny of intangibles, but with Torey Krug coming on like a house of fire this post-season has been a great surprise. With Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid holding down the fort in their own end, the Bruins seems impenetrable.

And even if they get past them, Tuukka Rask shut down one of the most prolific offenses in the NHL today last round and has had plenty of support to help him along the way. One big thing is that he has been strong mentally, not letting the junk in front of the net or a bad goal get to him and making him bust out into his rageful mood.

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Out of the West, the team that has been one of the top teams from start to finish-- the Chicago Blackhawks. Much like the Bruins, they've had to come back from a series-- granted they were down 3-1 and not up--and have showed their guile and depth, especially with their top players not filling the net as many would have hoped.

In that, I mean that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane haven't been setting the scoresheet on fire, sans Kane's last game in the Conference Finals with a hat-trick. That said, the scoring has been spread around, making the offense a decent threat regardless of the line out there.

Defensively, the Blackhawks have had it a little rough, with Brent Seabrook not having the best playoffs-- but Johnny Oduya coming up clutch for the Blackhawks in their own zone, as well as making that first pass to create offense. Michal Roszival has also played rather well on the third pairing. Duncan Keith, despite the one-game suspension, has been the offensive leader on the defense.

In net, Corey Crawford is looking like Antti Niemi did when he was in net for the Blackhawks' Cup run in 2010 (observation by Lyle Richardson). While he hasn't been extremely extraordinary-- he has gotten the job done and been able to get the wins needed to get the Hawks to this point. He's not the most flashiest and may give Hawks fans fits, he has gotten the job done in a big way.

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So, prediction time: Boston is very scary. They have all the tools needed in order to actually take this series handily, but Chicago won't let their record start be tarnished with a pathetic showing at the end of the year.

With that all in mind, I feel the Blackhawks will take Lord Stanley's Cup in six games.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Bert Lindsay

Kicking it old school this week, we go to the start of organized hockey in North America and to a time where goalies had a rough times finding work, then keeping work, then searching out more work-- which could be across the country for some. That's what this week's AGM did, searching west before finding his niche. This week, the profile of Bert Lindsay.

Starting off with the McGill University Redmen, Lindsay played three seasons from the 1903-04 season until the 1905-06 season, posting a 5-7-0 record in his 12 appearances before moving onto the semi-pro ranks. In the 1906-07 season, Lindsay played for the Renfrew Rivers and the Latchford Pros.

During the 1907-08 season, Lindsay played four games for the Renfrew Creamery Kings and went undefeated, as well as playing for the Brockville Invincibles, winning the only game he played for them in. With the 1908-09 season, Lindsay started with the Edmonton Professionals, playing in three games as exhibition and winning them all, as well as being in net for Edmonton's challenge for the Stanley Cup; which they would lose to the Montreal Wanderers in their two game match-up. Also in 1908-09, Lindsay played again for the Creamery Kings, going 6-0-0; while also playing a game for the Strathcona Pros in an exhibition game, which was a loss.

With the newly formed NHA, Lindsay would play with the Renfrew Hockey Club in the 1909-10 season, finishing with an 8-4-1 season in 13 games. For the 1910-11 season, Lindsay played in 16 games with Renfrew and would put up an 8-8-0 record for the season.

Though he was picked up by the NHA's Toronto Tecumsehs, Lindsay moved out west to play for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Victoria Aristocrats in the 1911-12 season, going 7-9-0 in his first season there. For the 1912-13 season, Lindsay went 2-1-0 in three exhibition games, while the season for Victoria brought him a 10-5-0 record in 15 games, allowing him to be named to the PCHA All-Star team. During the 1913-14 season, Lindsay had another 10-win season (10-6-0) and help lead the Aristocrats to the Stanley Cup challenge against the Toronto Hockey Club, which they would lose all three games they played. It was a very down year for Lindsay in the 1914-15 season, posting a 4-13-0 record in 17 games, while also going 0-2 in the games he played with the PCHA All-Star team.

Moving back east, Lindsay signed on with the Montreal Wanderers of the NHA, posting a 10-13-0 record in the 23 appearances in the 1915-16 season. For the 1916-17 season, Lindsay had a 3-12 record for Montreal. Lindsay and the Wanderers moved to the newly formed NHL in the 1917-18 season, but they only played six games, in which Lindsay played four (1-3-0) before their arena burned down and they were unable to finish the season.

After an abrupt end to the previous season, Lindsay signed on with the Toronto Arenas for the 1918-19 season, playing in 16 games with a 5-11-0 record. After that season, Lindsay would retire from hockey. Lindsay was the father of Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay and passed away in November of 1960.

While he went back and forth in the leagues in order to find work, Lindsay was able to actually get into a couple of Stanley Cup challenges, despite not winning either. Yet, as he went along, it got a little rougher as more competition came though the PCHA and NHA. Not the best goalie, but a serviceable one who got the wins he could with the team in front of him.

On the Topic Of Slow Starts to a Shortened Season

While the shortened season does leave little room for error, the fact that some fans and some teams are hovering their hands over the panic buttons may be a little too premature. Sure, the fact some teams have gotten into slumps in the early five-days for play, you just have to look back into history to see that getting off to a slow start isn't a horrible thing....if you have the right parts, of course.

Looking at the last shortened season in 1995, you just have to look at the Stanley Cup champions of that year to see that as long as you get into the playoffs-- it's perfectly fine and you have a shot at winning the whole thing. In fact, the Devils were the 5th seed in the East, having to defeat the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd seeds in the East to win that conference in a total of 16 games before the Finals.

Yet, the bigger thing is that it wasn't until March 30th (Game 33) when they went over .500 for the season and leading to their 22-18-8 record; in a time where the OT loss didn't account for a point. More over than that, after tying their first game, the Devils went to lose three straight and were 3-5-2 in their first 10 and their longest unbeaten streak was seven games It wasn't a cause for overpanic, but I'm sure it was there after the quick losing streak.

Conversely, the Western Conference representitve that year was the Detroit Red Wings, who won the Presidents' Trophy for best record of the league (33-11-4) and played in 14 games before the Finals, to be swept by the Devils in four games. Comparing the stats for the Red Wings to the Devils, the Wings never dipped below .500 after January 24th in their third game of the year, went 7-3-0 in their first ten games with a long-unbeaten streak of 11 games.

Interestingly enough, both teams went 5-4-1 in their last ten games.

What does it all mean?? Well, it's an issue of conservation and patience. While the beginning may look grim to some fans, owners, GMs, etc.; the fact remains that in the last short-season, it didn't really matter the quick start you got off to or not; just making the playoffs was enough to give a team hope. Of course, with the game changing in conditioning and technology; teams may want to not wait as long as March 30th to finally crack the .500 mark.

Here's To You, Los Angeles Kings

Coaching changes, culture changes, and personnel changes-- the Los Angeles Kings had a roller-coaster season. At the end of it all, the Kings became the first 8th seed in the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup. Sure, they didn't play like a 8th seed and were a couple wins away from being the 3rd seed. Yet, the end of it all-- the Kings made a lot of history for their organization-- a Stanley Cup for the first time in 45 years.

One of the biggest changes was the Kings dumping Terry Murray from behind the bench for Darryl Sutter. Sutter was a guy who was able to give the team an identity and allow them to make the run like they did. The work ethic for Sutter is second-to-none and to have an entire team buy into as quick as they did shows that they knew it was the right time for them.

However, the reason Jonathan Quick was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner is the same reason why the Kings were solid throughout the season. Quick has the chance to win the Vezina and really was able to stifle any competition, even when people thought they had "the book" on him and knew how to score on them. Quick outwitted shooters and really kept them uneasy through the season.

Yet, the biggest thing for the Kings was the fact they slowly became the Philadelphia Flyers of the West coast. With a line-up that had Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, John Stevens (assistant coach), and Ron Hextall (assistant GM); the City of Brotherly Love had its hockey icons well represented in this Cup victory. Also, Justin Williams spent a time with the Flyers several years ago and GM Dean Lombardi was a Flyers' scout before he got the GM gig in LA.

Most importantly though, the Kings output from top to bottom-- Dwight King was a hero for a time, Trevor Lewis had two goals in the clinching win, Dustin Penner was johnny-on-the-spot, and Jarret Stoll was crucial in the face-off circle. Along with Colin Fraser as the leader of the fourth line, the role players got their due-- as they would in a Sutter system.

Yet, you can't say enough about the bigger stars like Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Drew Doughty. Brown, a hot button of trade rumors early in the calendar year, book-ended the playoffs with big performances to start and end the playoffs. Kopitar showed that he is another West coast star who may not get the due he deserves. Doughty's hold-out gave him the legs in order to be one of the faster guys out there by the Finals....or so conspiracies would make you believe.

Everyone was give a role, everyone played their role, and the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 20 games-- 16-2, 10-1 on the road, and took home the Cup in six games.....like I said.

Thanks For Coming Out, New Jersey Devils

In what was almost a great ending for the old guard that is Martin Brodeur, the New Jersey Devils got behind in the Finals early and couldn't dig out of the hole. The Devils, though, as a sixth seed and fourth in their division showed they still had something left in them.

The biggest question now is whether or not they'll be able to retain their captain and franchise face, Zach Parise. The impending UFA will get a lot of offers and considering the Devils are hamstrung with the Ilya Kovalchuk contract for the next while, the room for Parise and goaltender Brodeur is slim at best.

Not only Parise and Brodeur, but guys like Ryan Carter, Steve Bernier, and Stephen Gionta-- all of whom have made a name for themselves in the playoffs-- plus Bryce Salvador still need to be signed, as well as a possible back-up goalie. While the Devils have $28M in cap space, you have to think Parise will look for at least $8.5M, leaving 20 to spread around.

While Brodeur says he'll be able to hang around for another year, I have my doubts. The only saving grace is that Brodeur was able to play less than 60 games, which probably bought him another year. However, if the Devils want to get back to this position, they'll need an experienced back-up like they had in Johan Hedberg; though the price tag could vary. Development could be key, especially if Parise is re-signed and then there's no room for a high-priced goalie.

It's going to be all about dollars and sense and while the Devils gained a lot of fans by eliminating some of the teams they eliminated, the fact remains if they can't get Parise and/or Brodeur under contract; it could be difficult to achieve this again.

Luckily, Peter DeBoer seems to be able to adapt to situations he's put into with this Devils team and will be able to adjust accordingly. The thing is how much of a vacant hole there will be or how little breathing room with the salary cap there will be??

Stanley Cup Finals: (6E) New Jersey Devils vs. (8W) Los Angeles Kings

We've started in October and will end in June. All those games, all those goals, all those ice girls. It's time to put your money where you mouth is and away you go. The New Jersey Devils will take on the Los Angeles Kings for a chance to lift Lord Stanley of Preston's Chalice.

Los Angeles Kings will win the Cup in six games.

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You want more??

Ummm...well....I don't know. It's hard to hate on the Cinderella story and the fact they have been so dominate in a tough division as the last seed....it's almost a fool's bet to bet against them.

Sure, I get that Martin Brodeur is going for another Cup to maybe end out his career, and while the Devils have been playing pretty decent selfish hockey....the Kings have really been too good over the top-three seeds in the West in succession. Sure, they haven't been pushed, but the fact the Kings have been pushing teams of that caliber around is not only good for their confidence, but really a warning to the Devils that they can't take them lightly, even as an 8th seed.

Luckily, with no horse in the race and no team I really hate-- I can enjoy this series and whoever wins it will deserve it and have a story to tell.

Myth of the Stanley Cup Hangover

Last year's Stanley Cup participants are struggling and many would have you believe that it's due to the dreaded "Stanley Cup Hangover." The Boston Bruins are 3-7-0, last in the Eastern Conference and only better than the Columbus Blue Jackets in the league. The Vancouver Canucks are 5-5-1, 11th in the Western Conference and started 4-5-1.

While those are definitely not the best for two champions of their conferences, but is there really such a thing as a "Stanley Cup Hangover??" Let's be honest, you have to just assume that there is because that's what the media is selling and spinning. Though, if you do the research-- there's not really that much of a big deal with it comes to a "Hangover" from the shortened off-season. And you know it bugs me because I actually did research-- WHICH I NEVER DO!!!

So, here are my findings from the first ten games from the past ten season, not including this season. Of course, the years noted are the season AFTER they met in the Cup Finals.

2010-11: Chicago 5-4-1; Philadelphia 5-4-1

2009-10: Pittsburgh 9-1-0 ; Detroit 4-4-2

2008-09: Detroit 7-1-2; Pittsburgh 5-4-1

2007-08: Anaheim 4-5-1; Ottawa 9-1-0

2006-07: Carolina 4-4-2; Edmonton 6-4-0

2005-06: Tampa Bay 5-3-2; Calgary 4-5-1

2003-04: New Jersey 5-3-2; Anaheim 3-5-2

2002-03: Detroit 6-3-1; Carolina 4-4-2

2001-02: Colorado 8-0-2; New Jersey 6-3-1

2000-01: New Jersey 6-2-2; Dallas 6-3-1

So, we have five pre-lockout, five post-lockout on those Finals. The Cup winner was AT OR OVER .500 nine times (five pre-lockout), while the Cup loser was AT OR OVER .500 eight times (three pre-lockout). Not TOO much of a hangover if you act me; just some bumps in the roads to start-- but nothing as drastic as people make it out to be.

However, it's a nice little excuse that teams may have in order to describe the teams woes. That said, you look at the rosters of these teams and there hasn't been that many changes to either roster from the Cup final to the start of this season. That could be a hinderence because of the fact other teams may have gotten better, thus making the Bruins and Canucks already starting off down because they held steady.

The point of this is that the hangover doesn't effect many teams as hard as it has these past two teams. Seven times, both teams started at or over .500 and only once did the Cup winner from the year previous (Anaheim) start out worse that their other Finalist. Just some food for thought on this last Sunday in October.

Kaity 'Beth's Outsourced Picks

The joys of parenthood is defined different for everyone. For me, it's someone to do my work for me. As Kaity did in her 2nd Annual Picks for the Cup.



To be fair, on FOHS last night (which you can hear when the Playoffs start, I'm sure): I did pick the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars for my Cup picks, not picking a winner.

And that's what's up.

What's Next 2011: Boston Bruins

It took almost 40 years, but the Bruins get to drink for Lord Stanley's chalise once again. A team that played with a lot of heart, a lot of grit, and had their fair share of controversial moments got the ultimate prize in hockey and will now get a chance to revel in the moment.

You could say the Bruins wouldn't be this far with Tim Thomas, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for Playoff MVP and bounced back from hip surgery last season and was able to regain his #1 spot over Tuukka Rask. Thomas went through a lot in his career and it was definitely a great story for him to win the Cup. Considering he and Rask will be together once again next season, the Bruins should be in good shape in next for their defense of the title.

The forwards, who really had a committee scoring system this year-- are mostly all back for next season; with Brad Marchand as a RFA and Michael Ryder being the only UFA with Mark Recchi retiring. The question will probably be if there will be any movement from the forwards to get Marchand under contract, especially with the possibility of Marc Savard coming back. However, if Savard or even Nathan Horton have some relapses, that could give the Bruins a bit of breathing room when it comes to their salary cap situation. There shouldn't be any adjustment needed in terms of welcoming new guys into their system; which could be good or bad.

The same circumstance is happening with the defense, as the same guys are back for the Bruins, with only Tomas Kaberle and Shane Hnidy not having a contract, and odds are they may not be brought back either. My thought is that as long as the Bruins have Zdeno Chara back there, the rest are just filler. That said, Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid played solidly on the blue line, while Andrew Ference added more veteran presence back there along with Chara.

Whether or not this solidifies Claude Julien being behind the bench for a while, he did show that he didn't let the rumors of his possible demise rattle him too much and was able to deal with some serious injuries and really bring home a winner to the Boston fateful-- the city who has won all four major sports titles in North America in a seven year span.

What's Next 2011: Vancouver Canucks

They looked like they were destined for their first Cup in franchise history, but a bad bounce here and there; as well as some bad performances on the road were the downfall of the Canucks. Especially with a load of defensemen and some grinders needing contracts, it could be busy for GM Mike Gillis this summer, especially after dealing with a loss.

First, let's look at goaltending. I don't care what anyone says, but Roberto Luongo is a world-class goalie. He's got a Gold Medal in the Olympic and in the World Championships. Sure, he was shaky and sure he has 11 years left on his contract.....but he's a goalie who can win in big situations. I don't know what the hell happened in the Finals, but he played great at home up until Game Seven and he may need to work on the mental side of his game to be the best. Luongo is there for a while, but the big question is if Cory Schneider will get more time in net next year or will be dealt in the off-season so he could get a chance with another organization; but after next season-- odds are he won't want to be in Vancouver, knowing he'd be second fiddle to Luongo.

The defense could be the big issue, as Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, and Sami Salo are the big names on the blue line that are free agents. While Salo's injuries will probably take his stock down, I wouldn't be surprised to see the other two back in the fold, especially with the offensive prowess they possess. The bad part is that Keith Ballard is still under contract for the next four seasons, which will probably be buried or tried to be moved considering how much faith the team lost in him this playoffs. The core was sturdy this season and Gillis will probably do what he can in order to keep them together.

Up-front, the core of the Sedins and Kesler are going to be back, but the questions will be if the Sedins they can show up in the playoffs, which they had trouble doing this playoffs. Kesler was a guy who gave his heart in the playoffs, even if he wasn't scoring he was bring energy. When it comes to who to re-sign; two RFAs in Maxim Lapierre and Jannik Hansen will probably be retained; but the future of the UFAs like Raffi Torres and Chris Higgins will probably be up in the air. Torres probably not, if only because there's plenty of agitators on the team as it is and they don't need another, while Higgins could get retained if only for the point that he'll be affordable and can adapt to situations regardless of what they are. The forward lines can be a mix-n-match and still be solid like clockwork because of the top-six being solidified.

It'll be a long off-season for the Presidents Trophy holders, but they won't have too many wholesale changes-- which bodes well for the team next season, as they aren't losing out on too much of the players and will probably have the motivation going into next year and actually want to finish it off rather than have all off-season to think what could have been.

And as a comment on the rioting-- I'll say this: the city doesn't deserve the idiocy of the meat-heads who don't follow the team as closely as others and didn't get their frustration out with the UFC last weekend. I feel bad for the true fans who get grouped into this and hope the idiots who did this get brought to justice and the city can recover.

Win Game Six, Win in Seven??

The old adage in some sports is that if you don't win Game Six, odds are you won't win Game Seven. In some cases that is true and many teams do try to close it out in Game Sixes. Yet, since the seven-game series format has come to the NHL in the 1939 Stanley Cup finals, that hasn't always been the case.

It should be noted that I hate research and often have issues with it-- so when you get the misinformation in this and want to correct it, the comments section is the place to do it. If anything else, I'll chalk it up to tiredness and not wanting to be thorough.

Since that, there has been 15 series' that have gone the full seven games and in seven of those series have the team that has won Game Six went onto win the Series: 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1950 Detroit Red Wings, 1964 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, 2001 Colorado Avalanche, 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Of the eight teams that didn't win a Game Seven after a Game Six win, only the 1994 Canucks scored more than a goal in their Game Seven loss. The rest of the teams got shutout or only put up one goal in the final game.

So, with about 47% winning a Game Seven after winning a Game Six, then only 20% of teams winning a Game Seven on the Road; the odds are slightly in favor of the Canucks and could prove that home-ice advantage is nothing to laugh at, especially with the home team winning the six previous games in this series and in 41 of the previous 82 playoff games this year, excluding the Finals games.

Good news for the Canucks though-- only the 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, and 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins have won Game Seven on the road.

Chronic Prognosticator: The Stanley Cup

Alright....well....I guess it's time for me to give a prediction, huh?? Well, interesting.

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (3) Boston Bruins

First and foremost, this is a match-up against two of the best goalies in the league and two of the best tandems in net in the league. That will probably what will make or break the Finals....or not. But, the interesting ideal that either Tim Thomas or Roberto Luongo could fall apart of the opponent figure them out is a great side story to look at.

If you want statistical breakdowns.....go elsewhere for actual fact. From what I've seen, the Bruins forwards have been better defensively and in the plus/minus column-- which, sure, is a misnomer in some instances; but very interesting that six out of the top-10 in plus/minus are Bruins and only one is a Canuck, which is Kevin Bieksa. Don't know how well that'll play into things, but still.

The special teams battle is where this should be won or lost. Boston's power-play is working at 8%, while the Canucks are at 28%; though the PKs are about the same (Canucks 80.6%, Bruins 79.4%), the power play could be the downfall of the Bruins. That said, if the Bruins play undisciplined, the Canucks will make them pay, especially after the Sedins were woken up last series. The Bruins are taking about 11 PIMs a game, which is more than enough time for the Sedins to connect.

It'll come down to depth, and with these teams matching up very nicely-- it'll be a battle through it all. David Krejci and Nathan Horton will have to continue to be lights out for the Bruins, with Brad Marchand trying to stir the pot and maybe spark that power play or irk Roberto Luongo. The Canucks have the Sedins and Ryan Kesler, but Alexandre Burrows has been solid for the Canucks in these playoffs and could be a difference maker in this series.

So....who do I choose?? I think it'll go seven games....and in full disclosure; I can't stand either team from a fan standpoint, but.....

I think the Vancouver Canucks will lift the Cup for Canada for the first time since 1993. They are on a mission, they have been more focused this season and post-season than ever before and they'll probably do well enough against the Bruins to force them to make mistakes and get Thomas off his game enough to capitalize on his gaffs.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Joe Miller

It's time to go into the way back machine for this AGM entry, who has quite the tale to tell. This goalie was a top amateur goalie, who plotted his way through the ranks, ended up with a sub-par team, but still managed to earn a Stanley Cup championship in probably the most unlikely way and I don't mean because of the team he was on. This week, we profile the career of Joe Miller.

Miller started out his career back in an exhibition based league, playing for the Pittsburgh AA's, where he would dominate, winning 37 out of the 40 games he played in at only 16 years old. Miller would stay in the exhibition league, playing the 1917-18 season with the Renfrew Creamery Kings-- but he would only play in seven games with a 4-3-0 record.

With the 1918-19 season, Miller would move to the Ottawa City Hockey League to play for the Ottawa New Edinburghs. Miller would play only four games in the first season, going 3-1-0 with two coming by way of shutout. The 1919-20 season would give Miller more time, with seven games played and a 4-2-0 record. In both the 1920-21 and 1921-22 season, Miller would see a downturn in his stats, even though he got more time in the net. The '20-21 season had Miller in the net for 11 games with a 4-6-1 record, while an 13 game season in '21-22 would yield a 4-7-2 record. The New Edinburghs would improved for the 1922-23 season, with a 10-6-2 record for Miller at the end of the season and a playoff appearance, which would end badly with a 1-3-1 record, where apparently ties were possible. Miller's last season with the New Edinburghs would be the 1923-24 season, where he would go 9-3-0 in his 12 games, but go 0-2 in the playoffs.

With the 1924-25 season, Miller would go back to Pittsburgh to play with the Fort Pitt Panthers of the USAHA. Miller would play 22 games, going 17-5-0; but the playoffs seemed to be a hinderance to him, going 1-3 in his four appearances. Miller would move to the Central Hockey League (the first incarnation) and play with the St. Paul Saints in the 1925-26 season. Miller would post six shutouts in his 38 games during the '25-26 campaign. The Saints moved to the AHA in the 1926-27 season, which had Miller play 30 games with a 13-12-5 record.

NHL teams were lined-up to get Miller, and he would finally sign. Miller would play with the New York Americans in the 1927-28 season for half of the season, going 8-16-4 in 28 games. The second half of the season, Miller went to the CPHL to play for the Niagara Falls Cataracts, where he would put up two shutouts in the 13 games he played there.

Yet, the 1928 playoffs were something that Miller never would have gotten to if it wasn't for a little luck. In the Stanley Cup finals, New York Rangers goalie Lorne Chabot got injured during Game Two. Rangers' GM Lester Patrick had a deal in place with the Americans to take Miller out on a loan, but the Montreal Maroons wouldn't allow Miller to play in Game Two, forcing Patrick to take the reigns, and win. Miller would take over in Game Three of the Finals, which would be the only game he lost. Miller only let in three goals in the last three games of the Finals, carrying the Rangers to winning the Stanley Cup.

After the Cup Finals, the Americans got Miller back, but would trade him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Roy Worters. The 1928-29 season was rough for Miller, as he played a league high 44 games, but had one of the worst records with a 9-27-8 record with an astonishing 11 shutouts. It wouldn't get much better for the 1929-30 season for Miller or the Pirates, as he would go 5-30-3 in his 43 games. The Pirates moved from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to become the Quakers, but the change of scenery didn't help Miller, as he would go 2-9-1 in 12 games for the Quakers.

Miller would play one more season in the IHL with the Syracuse Stars in the 1931-32 season, but would go a subpar 5-12-3 in 20 games. After that, he would hang up the pads for good.

Miller passed away at the age of 62 in 1963.

Though he didn't have the most orthodox career, he was able to get the job done when called upon and was able to deal with being thrown into the Finals with no prep at all. Of course, the teams he did play on seemed to let him down a bit once he got to the NHL, but he was the king of the amateurs and had enough buzz about him to get a deal in the NHL and get his chance, albeit in the most unorthodox way possible.

Team Wazz 2010-11 Predicitions

While the season has already started, I figured an inventive way for me to pick who's coming out of each conference. Let my kid pick the teams.

That's right-- mostly because it's a crapshoot anyway-- why not get little Kaity Wazz pick out the two teams to face off in the Cup. Of course, another gimmick way is to get some "Match 'Em Up" memory blocks from the fantastic Mascotopia company to make it even more of a crapshoot.



So, there you go. It's just as good as any; albeit the picks could be a little bit off, that's for sure. Plus, it shows how lazy I am.

Even if I did do some, odds are it'd be the status quo with everyone else-- so why waste my time and yours in doing something that everyone else is doing. Goes with the old adage of if everyone else is doing it; why should you, or something like that. While it is great fun to go back and mock or celebrate the picks made, it just seems a bit meaningless for me to do.

But, since people like it-- I'll pick.....the San Jose Sharks and.....let's say....New Jersey Devils. As much as I would like to pick the Capitals; I always seem to do that and jinx them. They shan't fool me this time. Though, if I don't pick them, maybe they'll actually do something. We'll see.

The games are afoot.

What's Next: Chicago Blackhawks 2010

First off, I CALLED IT!!

Second, like I said on my Twitter-- it's a damn shame that former GM Dale Tallon (now with Florida) couldn't be there on the ice to celebrate with the team that he pretty much created from the bottom up. I'm sure it's a bittersweet moment for him to see the team he help build do the laps with the Cup.

That said, it was a folly by Tallon that made the Hawks have to really get to this moment with this team, especially with the money that was doled out to the likes of Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell, and Cristobal Huet. Notwithstanding, the Hawks were able to pull it off and win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961, snapping the longest drought to date for years between the Stanley Cup.

Now, the inevitable question of what's going to happen next with this team.

Up-front, the likes of captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, David Bolland, and Hossa will be there for the long-term, but Tomas Kopecky, Troy Brouwer, and Dustin Byfuglien having one year left and Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp with two years left; it makes you wonder how they're going to dance around it. Obviously, Byfuglien will be a big guy to get signed due to his versatility and intensity; but could you get rid of the other guys without having to deal with any big shake-up. Versteeg and Brouwer are great when a man-down, but could you have other guys come up at a lesser price. Sharp and Kopecky could just be cut down to a numbers game, even with their secondary scoring ability at times. Even all of that: Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Bryan Bickell, and Jack Skille all need contracts for next season, plus the likes of Kyle Beach and Akim Aliu knocking on the door to get into the big club. I do not even GM Stan Bowman trying to figure this mess out in time for next season.

Defense is no better for Bowman, who has Campbell with six more years at over $7M, Brent Seabrook needing a new contract after next year and probably looking for a raise, Duncan Keith, who has 13 years left at a $5.5M cap-hit; all the while having Brent Sopel with a year left and probably trade bait and needing to sign others like Niklas Hjarmalsson or Jordan Hendry or someone else to fill out the six defense; though Byfuglien could drop back to play some and kill two birds that way. While the Hawks may have a great core of players, the odds of them staying together are going to be rough to manage. Again-- not envious.

Even more over, Antii Niemi is without a contract after this year and his Cup win will only make his asking price higher. Offer sheets may be out there, but even so-- the Hawks may do anything to keep him, especially because the faith in Huet is lost and Corey Crawford may still not be the answer, even though he's been waiting in the wings for the longest time. It'll be hard to deal Huet's contract, especially with two years left and ability to collapse like a house-of-cards on a windy day. This could be the biggest situation to fall on the Hawks, as Niemi did keep the Hawks in it more often than not when the going got tough.

Joel Quenneville definitely earned his keep and showed that his pick-up was something that was definitely needed for a team this young and with this kind of skill set. And while Bowman did inherit a gong-show of a payroll, they got the job done they needed. Rocky Wirtz did what his father couldn't and made hockey relevant again in Chicago and the fans came out. If anything, Wirtz could be....check that...is the savior of this market and could be looked at by many on how to conduct business even when you have a lot of strikes against you from a previous ownership.

Regardless of what's going to happen next year, in two years, or whenever-- the Chicago hockey fans should revel in this victory. They need to take it all in and enjoy every minute, as it may be fleeting. They believed in the new direction and the kids did alright. Let the worries begin in July-- the fun needs to continue through June.

What's Next: Philadelpha Flyers 2010

All good things must come to an end and it finally did for the Philly Crew. After all the turmoil that this team had gone through-- the goalie carousel, the coaching change, winning on the last day in a shootout-- the Flyers were much better than a seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and it showed as they were within two games of winning a Stanley Cup. However, they have plenty of momentum to build on.

Daniel Briere's performance in the playoffs shows that he is able to produce and is worth his money that GM Paul Holmgren has put into him over the long-term. Captain Mike Richards showed his try guts and really stepped up when needed, despite a disappointing output in the Finals. True warriors are the duo of Jeff Carter (playing with essentially two broken feet) and Simon Gagne (out with various injuries), who will have contracts up at the end of next season and the organization will have to shuffle some money around if those guys will be there beyond next season. While Daniel Carcillo (RFA), Darroll Powe (RFA), and Aaron Asham (UFA) are the only forwards without contract next season in all of this, the Flyers look pretty solid up and down the roster regardless of their re-signings.

The two issues result in the back-end. First, the defense, where Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen account for a cap-hit of $12.5M for the next three years, while Matt Carle and Oskar Bartulis are the only other defensemen with contracts next season. Decisions will be made about Ryan Parent (doubtful) and Braydon Coburn (very likely) when it comes to their RFA status, but there's going to be little money to go their way; which will hurt them in terms of depth. Even so, Pronger and Timonen showed they can still long huge minutes without wearing down too much, though fatigue could have been the reasoning for many of Pronger's penalties; though you couldn't deny how much he did rattle the Hawks for the first four games of the Finals.

The other problem is what to do in net. With little money to go around and Brian Boucher the only goalie signed to a deal-- this is where the Flyers will have to get creative. There's no doubt that Michael Leighton was the reason this team was able to get as far as they did and played very well, though it finally caught up to him in the Finals. He should get a contract, but the reality of the situation is that if he asks too much, he will be priced out of the franchise. Odds are the Ray Emery experience is over, which has promise; but was mediocre at best. While Sebastian Caron and Johan Backlund are probably gone to UFA, Jeremy Duchesne and Michael-Lee Teslak could be re-signed to AHL deals. Verdict is still out on the future of Nicola Riopel.

Full marks to Peter Laviolette, who was a big part of the turnaround and motivating the team when they were down. Paul Holmgren should be congratulated, too; but he has his work cut out for himself in the off-season. He'll have to find a way to mix things up in order to get the right guys paid and the wrong guys out of the room. He seems to have the magic touch and probably will be able to get what he needs to get done before the start of the 2010-11 season.

All in all, the Flyers have a lot to build off of, but they have a small window to repeat a performance with the group they have. The money issue is going to catch up to them soon enough and then they will have to hope for the best with the new crop of Flyers coming through the doors of the Wachovia Center. It was a magical run that got the city back up for hockey again and while it was a disappointing ending, the memory will remain fresh for a while.

Top Lines Turmoil

Whether it's a testament to the depth of each team, how the defense of the opponents have stymied them, or if they are just slow out of the gate; the "top" lines of the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers have done little to nothing when it has come to the first two games of the Finals. Let's go to the tale of the tape:

PHI: Mike Richards (1a, -3), Jeff Carter (1a, -3), Simon Gagne (1g, -4) = 1g, 2a, -10
CHI: Jonathan Toews (-2), Patrick Kane (-3), Dustin Byfuglien (1a, -2) = 1a, -7

Obviously, the output in the two games haven't been what to be expected; but the question is could the trend continue on. Especially for the Blackhawks top guys now that they head to Philadelphia; it could be a lot harder for them to get going on enemy territory, even though the Hawks are great on the road. It seems that while the defense of the Flyers has been keeping them at bay and out of the normal scoring areas (read: Byfuglien vs Pronger); those three having only 10 shots in two games is something that won't get it done and you can sense they are rattled. They seem to be gripping the sticks too tight, which makes them a little more self-conscious and overthink the simplest of plays. With all that against them, the tide can change if they are able to get one break go their way.

The Philly crew looks like they could have jump-started their spree with the last goal in Game Two and looking more attacking on the Blackhawks defense. The top three mentioned had 10 shots in each of the first two games, but seemed a bit more effective when it came to Game Two. Going home should be good for them, in order to feed off the home crowd, but again-- they need one little break and they could change this series like that.

While it might only take a weird bounce to kick-start these top lines, will they get it. Aside from the first two periods of Game One and the craziness that came with that, the last four periods have shown the series that everyone expected. The defenses have been very good and it will probably come to depth being the determining factor in all of this, since the top dogs are getting shutdown. In that, the scoring edge has to go to Chicago, if only because they have a more dynamic group behind the top guys. That takes nothing away from Philadelphia, mostly because Danny Briere has been brilliant in the playoffs, but it seems that the team effort shows more from the Blackhawks side of the ice than it does on the Flyers side.

The struggles of the top lines will go on until they break out and play the game people expect them to play. Though, in the case of Chicago, you wonder if the overexposure to someone like Dustin Byfuglien may have gotten into their head and they got shaken due to one thing or another. Luckily, the game doesn't live and die with three players-- which is the reason why the Hawks are up 2-0 in the series while getting only one point for their top-three.

Pointless Playoff Prognostication: Stanley Cup Finals

(I don't know what's going on with Hayden Panettiere and the Cup...but I's likes it.)

Well, here it is. We have the last two teams looking to hoist that 30+ pound silver challis which makes every bump, bruise, and broken tooth feel better. With last round, did awesome in the West, took the collar in the East. Maybe it's a sign, maybe Blackhawks fans should keep me around. Either way, there's only one left to go, and here it is.

(2W) CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs. (7E) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

I'll be going about this in a different light-- doing a Nick Bakay gimmick in terms of the "Tale of the Tape" and determining the winner. Of course, if you listened live to this past week's FOHS; you know who I picked and how I picked it-- but for those who don't know that show actually exists....here it be.

GOALTENDING

If you were to tell me that Antii Niemi and Michael Leighton would be the starting goalies in the Stanley Cup Finals, I would have challenged you to a fight. However, the folk hero-esque rise of these two guys has been a story within itself; but which one will be the actual hero and who will be a footnote in history and maybe lose their gig next season.

Niemi took over for Cristobal Huet and did struggle in the first round. However, once the jitters were eased, Niemi has looked amazing against the likes of the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. While he hasn't had a shutout since the first round, Niemi has kept the Hawks in it and with him winning five straight-- he looks very unbeatable. That said, Leighton has came in after an injury that kept him out weeks and he looks like he hasn't missed a beat; especially coming into a situation like he did against the Bruins. Leighton has regained the magic that helped the Flyers get into a playoff situation, plus has been getting plenty of support with the injured forwards coming back at the right time. Leighton's freshness should be a solid factor in terms of the rigors of the Finals, as does his solid 1.45 GAA and three shutouts.

ADVANTAGE: PUSH-- While Leighton is fresh and his numbers do look fantastic, you can question whether he's been really tested or not. The Bruins looked very weak and lacked a killer instinct when it came to getting into the zone; while the Habs just were out of gas. Niemi has looked good, but there are times where he has his lapses. If he suffers a lapse in one game, it could determine the series.

DEFENSE

The big thing for the Blackhawks is trying to deal with a grinding team. While Duncan Keith has improved in the Conference Final, there's still a lot of his game (and teeth) needs to be revitalized. The two Brents-- Seabrook and Sopel-- should be solid factors, with Seabrook contributing on both sides of the puck and needs one more goal to match his regular season total. Niklas Hjalmarsson has also been an undercover contributor for the Hawks and really fills out the defense. Oh, and Brian Campbell is there as well and playing decently, though he hasn't been stellar.

While the Flyers blue-line will be Chris Pronger's until he leaves; it seems that some of his old-style play has brushed off on the like of Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn, both whom are logging over 24 minutes a game, which is just behind Pronger and Kimmo Timonen. The defense for the Flyers are a bunch of workhorse, but the question of if they can match-up to the speed of the Hawks will be the true test for them. Timonen and Pronger aren't spring chickens and could be worn down by the speed and physicality the Hawks will bring.
ADVANTAGE: BLACKHAWKS-- The thing that makes me determine this is how the Hawks defense is solid from the top to the bottom. The Flyers depend a lot on their top-four guys, which could come back to bite them with the Hawks offense wearing down their top guys. The Hawks run their lines solidly through, all of them getting almost 20 minutes at a clip and should be able to shutdown the Flyers offense.

OFFENSE

Jonathan Toews has came to play in the playoffs like nothing else, while Dustin Byfuglien has rattled cages from here to Timbuktu. Which is amazing because it seems Byfuglien has really hid the play of Patrick Kane, who hasn't been too shabby, but also not as flashy as some would hope-- aside from the mullet. Guys like Marian Hossa, who is trying to break his Cup curse, hasn't been up to snuff; but luckily the depth guys like Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, and Kris Versteeg have added enough to be threats if the top guys get stymied.

The Flyers got a huge shot in the arm by the return of Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter up front. They struggled plenty without them, which is really the only slip-up they had in the playoffs-- the first three games against the Bruins. However, even with Gagne and Carter, you can't deny how well Mike Richards has played and how much Daniel Briere has started to earn the paycheck he's supposed to be playing for in the regular season. One guy that could be one to look at is Ville Leino, who has 12 points in 13 games with the Flyers and may be looked at in a bigger role in this series.

ADVANTAGE: BLACKHAWKS-- The Flyers have a lot of tools, but the Hawks combination of speed and roughness; that's going to be tough to keep up with. The defense is also offensive, as well-- which could create much havoc in front of Leighton. Niemi should be able to handle the Flyers offense, especially if the Hawks d-men can keep them from the scoring areas.

INTANGIBLES

You can go on and on about power plays, penalty kill, killer instinct, but the match-ups are what are going to be the factor. The small battles will be the thing that determines how the series goes off. However, it won't be Byfuglien/Pronger, Toews/Richards, or Niemi/Leighton-- it's more than that.

The Hawks sport the likes of Vince Vaughn, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, and Kevin James in the stands. That kind of B-list start power is a solid display of affection, especially Vaughn; who knows it's not so much him as it is Roenick....he's good. While Kevin James is really a make-shift Hawks guy-- the folks from the Second City Chicago Troupe, like Aykroyd and Belushi; there's a chance we could see a Bill Murray sighting, which would be amazingly fantastic.

Yet, in Philly-- they have some bigger star power, like Will Smith, Tony Danza, Mark Wahlberg, and of course Joey Lawrence. You have a great mix of blockbuster kind of guys (Smith and Wahlberg) and then the random-but-still-remembered stars from the late-80s, early-90s in Danza and Lawrence. You have to love the mix they possess there, but in the end will it be enough to actually get these guys out to the rink??

ADVANTAGE: BLACKHAWKS-- Sure, it's a bit corny to see the celebs in the stands, but you have to give it to them in Chicago for coming out and letting themselves be known-- like Vaughn who has gone all out to be seen in Chi-town. You won't see anyone I mentioned from Philly show up-- which is good or bad depending on how you see it; but the celebs will be the intangibles and the Hawks win out.

FINAL PREDICTION

Well, aside for the goaltending-- everything seems to lean Chicago's way. They have had a harder way than the Flyers to get to the Finals, but you have to wonder if that's a good thing or not. While the Flyers could be considered easy opponents in comparison, the Flyers are hungry and can overcome a lot of adversity. The Hawks will have to keep to their game plan and keep that killer instinct in order for them to bury the Flyers. And they may want to do it early, mostly due to the fact that if they don't-- it could spell a closer series than they want.

Chicago Blackhawks in Six Games.