Heart of a champion

Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, you have to respect the Detroit Red Wings.
Down 3-0 to San Jose in a best-of-seven, I figured the Red Wings were already on the embalming table.
How wrong I was.
Detroit has responded by winning the last three over the Sharks, the most recent being Tuesday's 3-1 victory, to set up a Game 7 Thursday at the Shark Tank.
The Red Wings were trailing 1-0 in the third period before Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula scored two goals 1:54 apart to take a 2-1 lead. An empty netter sealed the win for Detroit.
Jimmy Howard made 24 saves, with only one being spectacular. Take nothing away from Howard, but I think any goalie could play in front of that defense.
The Red Wings' comeback shows their character, and is the complete opposite of the Capitals, who basically gave up after Tampa Bay won the first three.
The "experts" have said in the past the Red Wings are too old, but they don't seem to show it.
A great exampe would be when Detroit played Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals. It defenitely wasn't too old the first time around, and even when the Penguins beat them in seven, it took everything Pittsburgh had.
I will go with the Red Wings in Game 7 with a 2-1 victory.

What has happened to the mighty Redwings?

What in the world is going on up in Mo-town? If you can tell me, please let me know down in the comment section, cause I honestly don't understand how a team that looked so good coming into this series is down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks.

I can explain the Flyers issues in a word (goaltending) and the Caps problems in a sentence ( A fundamental lack of leadership, chemistry, coaching, effort, and defense), but I cannot fathom how the Wings find themself in such a hole.

Like I said, if you have any ideas, let me know.

Thanks

2nd Round Lacks Sizzle

The 1st round of the NHL was chalk full of intrigue and drama. It was packed full of controversial hits, overtime thrillers, epic combacks, and many tightly contested series. The 2nd round? Not so much. The dissapointing Washington Capitals have already been swept out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Philly Flyers and Detroit Redwings both find themselves down three games to none, facing down near insurmountable deficits. The closest series has been Vancouver and Nashville, but I fear an overtime victory for the Canucks in game three on a ridiculous penalty call will be too much for the already overmatched Predators to overcome.
The least surprising outcome of this round has been watching the Flyers goaltending implode once again. Has there ever been a team in sports that fails so spectacularly at the same position over and over again in the playoffs.
The biggest shock has been the Tampa Bay Lightning looking like a well tested playoff juggernaut. The 41 year old journeyman Dwayne Roloson is playing some of the best hockey of his life in net. Sean Bergenheim has been unreal good on a line with Dominic Moore. Ryan Malone has battled his way to the front of the net, stepping in for an again injured Simon Gagne. And Eric Brewer has been a dominate two way defensemen, especially with veteran Pavel Kubina going down. If the Bolts can keep this level of play up, they are going to be very hard for any team to knock off.

Meanwhile the Capitals showed a lack of heart, desire, and commitment that has become an unexplainable habit for them in the NHL playoffs. I really thought this would be their year to shine. Now Caps fans have to really wonder if it wouldn't be best to have some major changes down in DC. Alex Ovechkin deseves to have a better squad put around him. He is a force and Brooks Laich is a proven warrior. Everyone else on that team should be fair game for discussion about possible changes.

Time for Ovechkin to Put Up or Shut Up

The Eastern Conference is the Capitals for the taking this offseason. They are the #1 seed, they have all the weapons, and there is an overwhelming sense that this is their time to shine. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going down to injuries leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins punchless and out, and the Philadelphia Flyers goaltending exploding spectacularly (again), leaving them hanging on to Stanley Cup dreams by a faint thread of hope, the door is wide open for the Caps to storm through.

And yet the Caps seem to be inexplicably faltering to their division rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, down two games to none in the 2nd round series. Even worse: those first two games were at home for Washington. They now face the daunting task of stealing some games back on unfriendly ice. If they are not up to the task, their season is over. Literally. With an unconventional playoff back to back tonight and tomorrow it is quite possible that within 48 hours they will be done.

The Capital’s Captain, Russian born snipe shooter Alex Ovechkin upped the ante with a bold prediction: "we're going there, and we're going to win two games."

Those are the kind of things a Captain of a favored team should say after a stunning OT loss that puts his team in such a hole. As Captain, Ovechkin must step up his game and make it happen to back up those words. The time for excuses is over. The stage is set for him. If AO is going to prove himself as one of the truly elite players in the history of the game, now is the time for him to do so. He has been good so far this playoffs. The Capitals need him to be Great.

Tonight especially, with the possibility of a three games to none deficit hanging over his squad like a hangman’s noose, Ovechkin must transcend the situation and play out of his mind. No doubt the team will be tight going into the game. They need a spark and a flash from their elitely talented Captain to shake off the doldrums.

Far too often this year we have seen a seemingly disinterested Alex Ovechkin out on the ice. The almost uncontrollable force of nature styled play that we have seen from him in prior seasons was there in flashes, but not with any level of consistency. He has still been very dangerous, but the Capitals really need him to kick things into another gear tonight. He needs to bring back the furious kinetic freight engine style of play that his team feeds off of. If Ovie brings that kind of energy, I am sure the Capitals can get back into this serious. If he doesn’t, I have my serious doubts that they will still be active Thursday morning.

Semifinal update

The conference semifinals are in full force after two nights of action Thursday and Friday.
Vancouver opened up the second round Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Nashville. Roberto Luongo stymied the Predators' offense, and the Canucks are off to a decent start. I would like to see them score more, although this series doesn't have track-meet potential.
In Friday's action, Tampa Bay stunned Washington, 3-2, and San Jose edge Detroit, 2-1, in overtime.
Both of these results surprised me. I don't think either will be a sweep, but I see the Capitals and the Red Wings winning both series rather easily.
The Lightning came to play. They turned the game on Washington. It has always been a question of whether the Capitals can win these types of games. I still believe they will win the series in six. This served as a wake-up call.
I have been singing the praises of Detroit since the playoffs started. I still pick the Red Wings to go to the Cup. How they respond from this loss will tell the story.
Jimmy Howard was great. I question whether he can do it come playoff time, and he was fabulous Friday. Detroit gave up some uncharacteristic chances. Howard also took a dumb penalty after getting a snow shower from Joe Pavalski.
Jimmy, why do that? Let your teammates stick up for you.
Philadelphia and Boston open today in Philly, while Vancouver and Nashville will play Game 2. I'm going with the Flyers and the Canucks.
Enjoy.

My second-round picks

The Penguins' season is over, but the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs live on. Here are my picks for the second round, or the conference semifinals if you want to get technical.

In the Eastern Conference, I pick Washington to upend Tampa Bay in six games. Dwayne Roloson played well in the first round against Pittsburgh, but the Capitals are a much better scoring team with a solid power play.

The Lightning can light the lamp, although it won't be enough against Washington. This could be the Capitals' year.

Philadelphia, yes I'm going with them, will top Boston in seven games. The Flyers were the top team in the league for a long time, and after surviving a scare against Buffalo, has a renewed focus.

The goalie situation is suspect in Philadelphia, although it will play tough defense in front of whoever the goalie is. This will be an exciting series.

For the Western Conference:

Vancouver takes care of Nashville in six games. The Canucks showed tremendous character against Chicago. Yes, the Blackhawks took them to a seventh game after trailing 3-0, but Chicago wasn't your average No. 8 seed.

The Predators have some tremendous players in Shea Weber, Mike Fisher and Pekka Rinne, but I believe the Canucks have too much fire power. Roberto Luongo will have a bounce back series. Nashville doesn't have the scoring punch.

Detroit has it all, and the Red Wings will fly past San Jose in six games.
The Sharks have some offensive firepower, although Los Angeles played them a little too tough for my liking.

I believe goaltending is a liability for San Jose. Although Antti Niemi won a Stanley Cup with Chicago last season, I doubt that he can lead the Sharks over the Red Wings.

I don't know if revenge is on the Red Wings' minds, but San Jose took them out of the playoffs in five games last year.

Once again, Washington over Tampa Bay (six games), Philadelphia over Boston (seven game), Vancouver over Nashville (six games) and Detroit over San Jose (six games).

Also, check out Pucks_and_Pols' picks. Feel free to respond to both.

NHL 2nd Round Predictions

More detailed analysis to come, but since the Vancouver-Nashville Series starts tonight I wanted to get my official predictions in today.

Wales Conference

1)Washington Capitals vs. 5) Tampa Bay Lightning
Capitals in 7

2)Philadelphia Flyers vs. 3) Boston Bruins
Bruins in 6

Campbell Conference

1)Vancouver Canucks vs. 5)Nashville Predators
Canucks in 4

2)Detroit Redwings vs. 3)San Jose Sharks
Redwings in 6

Rangers back in series with Capitals

The New York Rangers returned to the comfort of Madison Square Garden and pulled out a 3-2 victory over Washington Sunday.
The Rangers struggled to score in the first two games, but were able to get a few pucks past Michal Neuvirth. Erik Christensen scored on a funky shot.
Washington is one of the favorites and I still believe they will win the series in five, although New York will play them tough in Game 4. I predict a close win for the Capitals Wednesday, and they will close it out on home ice.
In other games, Vancouver beat Chicago, 3-2, to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. It looks like a new champion will be crowned this season.
Also, Nashville knocked off Anaheim, 4-3, to lead 2-1 in the 4-5 matchup in the West. This series is shaping up to be a good one. I picked the Ducks to win this one easy, but it is shaping up to being a solid series.

Stanley Cup playoffs update

After four days of action in the Stanley Cup playoffs four teams have a 2-0 series lead and three series are tied at 1. One game is in progress.
In the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens have a 2-0 series lead, while the Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay and Philadelphia-Buffalo series is tied at 1-1.
In the West, the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings hold 2-0 leads. The Anaheim-Nashville series is tied at 1-1.
With 12:20 and counting in the third period, the Los Angeles King are on the verge of tying their series with the San Jose Sharks, as they hold a 4-0 lead.
The Canucks look to be the strongest team in the West in terms of their play so far. Roberto Luongo has been stellar in goal, and the defense is playing well against a high octane offense in Chicago.
The Canadiens have played very well in their first two games against Boston, and are on a mission to get back to the Cup finals.
The next week should be exciting. I see a seven-game series between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. The others should go six or less.

Monday Morning Notebook (04.05.V4-3)

*The US is getting ready to end combat missions flying over Libya in the next few days. Is this a "mission accomplished" moment like we had in Iraq, only to be followed by escalating violence, or is the current President really ready to walk away from this fight and wash his hands of whatever the results are of the ongoing civil war in that North African nation? Barrack Obama should be credited with preventing a near certain mass murder in Benghazi, and NATO forces, including the US I would assume, will continue to moniter and enforce the UN sanctioned 'No-Fly Zone.' The ultimate effect of this effort on the ground is far from certain in Libya however. Muammar Gaddafi and the Rebel Forces in Libya are basically fighting to a stand still and neither will seem to be able to 'finish the job' of disposing of the other.

*After watching the Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers game yesterday, I can't help but feel that the Flyers are really on their heels backing into the playoffs. Something doesn’t quite seem to be clicking right with that team right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a tough time getting out of the first round, especially against a team with a tough goalie like the Rangers or the Buffalo Sabres. I feel the Washington Capitals will win the #1 overall seed and be the team to beat in the East. They have been on fire since adding a few pieces at the trade deadline, and have the most complete healthy team in the Conference right now.

*The Budget Showdown will be dragging on in Congress for another week of D.C. melodrama. Will this be the week that Senate Democrats, President Obama, and whatever caucus Speaker of the House John Boehner can muster will come to an agreement on the temporary budget for the remainder of the fiscal year through September, so that they can get onto bickering about a long term budget solution for the future years? A Government Shutdown, such as occurred in 1995, is looming if a temporary solution cannot be reached. Of course most of the 'essential' functions of the Federal Government would still be funded, but it would be a black eye in the face of a spawning economic recovery. Something that is important to note: this fight is not the Big One. The argument (and an ongoing simultaneous debate that will also focus on the Country’s Debt limit) that occurs this week will not do one single iota to fix our Nation’s long term fiscal crisis. The real strong leadership that the American people crave will be those who dare to crack open the “untouchable” issues of Social Security and Medicare. The current debate over non-defense discretionary funding will do nothing to alleviate the big picture issues surrounding those programs, and can only hurt us in the short term economic forecasts, because cuts in spending will mean cuts in jobs. It is that simple folks. The British are learning this to their peril as their economic recovery sputters out in the face of large cut backs in spending in the name of fiscal austerity. There is some simple math out there that shows that cutting government spending reduces the employment situation for workers on the ground. Eric DuVall of the Tonawanda News breaks this down very precisely and succinctly in his editorial piece yesterday:
“This might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. The Republican Party’s official position on job creation is this: If the government lays off workers on a mass scale, it will help employment.
How is this possible? Someone in the House GOP caucus has missed their calling as a fantasy novel writer, for starters.” Read the rest here

*It became official over the weekend, the New Jersey Devils will be missing the NHL’s postseason for the 1st time since 1996. Count me as one who will certainly not weep for the absence of the Devils in this year’s playoffs. They are the organization that is more responsible, in my eyes, than any other for bogging down the game with their neutral zone shutdown “swamp hockey” that became the trendy defensive style of play from the Mid 1990’s to the early 2000s. They may have won 3 Stanley Cups in 9 years with this accursed style of play, but have only won 2 playoff games beyond the 1st round since they hoisted the Holy Grail against the Anaheim (then Mighty) Ducks in 03. So this has been a team and a style of hockey in decline for the better part of a decade now. Hopefully 2011 will be remembered as the year swamp hockey was finally laid to rest.

*Former President Bill Clinton has suggested in public that the world should furnish arms and supplies to the Rebel Forces in Libya. Privately I guarantee he knows that something of that sort is already going on. This entire intervention in Libya has a very Clintonesque feel to it, and with his wife represented in the Administration as Secretary of State, it seems very likely to me that she is pulling some of the old levers that Bill left behind in the International Community. To think that the two are not cooperating and interconnecting their influence and powers to get Gadaffi out of Libya would be foolish indeed.

Will the Flyers collapse?

With four games to play, I have started to wonder if the Philadelphia Flyers will be able to hold on to win the Atlantic Division? They have played well against the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning all their games at the Consol Energy Center, including a 5-2 victory on Mar. 29, but have faltered a bit since that win. They have 102 points, one back of the Washington Capitals for first place in the Eastern Conference race, and are just two ahead of the Penguins, who won Saturday night in Florida. Pittsburgh has three games remaining. If they win out against the Devils, Islanders and Thrashers. The Penguins can win all these games, although New Jersey is always tough, how will New York respond after the two teams battled it out the last time in a game that more resembled an MMA card. They should beat Atlanta easily, but you never know. I believe it depends what's on the line. If Pittsburgh needs to win to secure the division title or keep the No. 4 spot, it can take the game. The Flyers are tied 1-1 with the Rangers at 8:40 of the second period as of 1:59 p.m. EST. They have remaining games with the Senators, Sabres and Islanders. They wrap up with the Isles on Saturday, which will let the Penguins know if they will have the opportunity to play for something Sunday in their finale. If not, I would rest some people and get ready for the playoffs. I preview a series with the Tampa Bay Lightning to start Wednesday, April 13. I guess the answer to the question: Will the Flyers collapse is no.

Six Times Steckel

With the trade between the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals that sent Dave Steckel to the Pine Barrens for Jason Arnott, the Penguins will now see the man who injured Sidney Crosby six times a year. In case you have been living on Mars or in the Charlie Sheen Porn Family for the last 2 months, Steckel may well have ended Crosby's season when he hit lowered his shoulder and blindsided him in the head while the puck was the other end of the ice during the waning moments of the Winter Classic's second period. Crosby, slow to get up, would continue in this game and also play the following tilt against Tampa Bay but suffered another cheap head shot via Victor Hedman ( who received a boarding minor for his troubles) and has been missing from the lineup since.

According to a DC sportswriter being interviewed by Mark Madden last Monday, Capitals bench boss and resident NHL whiner Bruce Boudreau apparently gets hot under the collar anytime a reporter merely mentions the Steckel hit. Of course, there is not shortage of subjectsthat raises Boudreau's blood pressure; standing up is probably a daunting task for him. But my misguided point in this post is whether or not the Penguins will seek any further retribution against Steckel now that they will see him six times a year?

My guess is NO. The shorthanded Pens have already met the Caps twice since the Winter Classic and while the Penguins tough guys continued to challenge Steckel to a fight during the first matchup( Much to the ire of Boudreau of course), he did finally drop the gloves against the much smaller Tim Wallace. That would seem to settle the score if there is such thing as a finite hockey code, but as we learned last month on Long Island, enough is not enough for some people. The Bruins haven't gotten enough of Matt Cooke still challenge and target him every chance they get so what's to say the Pens don't call up Ogie Ogilthorpe and have him take a Flying Gillies at Steckel before pummelling the back of his head while he is unconscious on the ice? the answer to that would be simple : organizational class.

A few trades

Dustin Penner is the newest member of the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings, who are fifth in the Western Conference standings with 74 points, are my pick for biggest acquisition. Penner is a legitimate goal scorer with 32 this season and 105 in 343 NHL games.

This was the biggest deal on a rare slow last day for the NHL trade deadline. The Kings are 8 points behind the division-leading Sharks and are ready to make a push. Los Angeles gave up prospect Colton Teubert and draft picks in 2011 and 2012.

The Devils parted ways with Jason Arnott, who went to the Capitals for David Steckel. Steckel is the No. 1 enemy around Pittsburgh for being primarly responsible for Sidney Crosby's absence in the Penguins' lineup. He will fit right in with New Jersey.

I don't think the deal helps the Capitals too much. They need some good blue liners if they want to take that next step.

Pittsburgh didn't do anything, which is fine. I like the additions of Neal, Niskanen and Kovalev.

A few NHL Predictions

Here are a couple hockey predictions as we wind toward the trade deadline and stretch run:
1) The Pacific division is tight 5 way race. I say the Phoenix Coyotes come out on top and get the 3 spot out west.
2) The Washington Capitals will make a splash move at the deadline, or at least they should. They look like a team that needs to shake things up a bit, I think they should make a move to try and catch the Tampa Bay Lightning.
3) The New Jersey Devils will come close, but not quite manage to climb back into the Stanley Cup playoffs. They are back to playing masterful shutdown swamp hockey, but they have won a ton of 1 goal games recently. The law of averages will dictate that they will lose a couple close games as well over the final 1/4 of the season.
4) The 4-5 matchup in the east looks like either Pens-Caps or Pens-Lightning. Either series would go to an entertaining 6 or 7 games.
5) As good as the Vancouver Canucks look right now, they will not make the SC Finals out of West. The good people of Vancouver will have to settle for another golf and rock climbing filled June in the most wonderful city on the planet.
6) The Flyers are odds on favorite to win it all, the only things that could derail them is a rash of injuries or, as always, their goaltending.