Fat lady prepares to begin her 2010 first round tour
Fresh off her regular season tour that finished off fourteen of the thirty NHL team’s season, the fat lady is once again preparing for her first-round playoff tour. Last we saw of her, she was singing a tune for the New York Rangers on the last Sunday of the season. The Tuesday night prior, she was doing so for Atlanta…a frequent stop on her regular season tour.
Now she looks to begin her post-season schedule in the northeast as both the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators face elimination, down 3 games to 1 in their series with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Tomorrow night, she’ll find her way to Buffalo and D.C. as the Sabres and Canadiens will be hearing the hefty soprano if they fail to defeat Buffalo and Washington in game five of their matchups.
Later tonight, the seventh-seeded Predators will look to push their advantage to 3-1 over the second-seeded Blackhawks as game-four of that battle will be played in Nashville. Colorado and San Jose will also play game five with that series knotted at two-apiece. Tomorrow night, Los Angeles and Vancouver will look to un-knot their series when game-five is played in British Columbia while Detroit travels back to Phoenix with that series tied at 2-each as well.
Thus, the chubby chick will know who to begin preparing her swan song for in those matchups.
So you can see, after about a week and a half of rest, the fat lady will be on the move quite a bit between now and the beginning of next week. It’s a good thing that she’s so quick for such a big gal.
Regarding tonight’s action…the Flyers have gotten themselves to the point of a possible 7 vs. 2 seed upset by way of good ‘ol fashioned tough, physical, hard-nosed hockey. Goalie Brain Boucher, (1.98 GAA & .925 SV%), has to date out done his counterpart Martin Brodeur, (2.98 GAA & .886 SV%)…and the Flyers have held the games close, finding a way to eke out a pair of one-goal wins and a 4-1 game four victory that was 2-1 entering the third period.
Ilya Kovalchuk has a pair of goals, six points and an EVEN rating with 6 PIM.
The Penguins stumbled in game-one of their battle with the Senators, losing 5-4 at home, but have taken the next three games by a combine score of 13-7. Sidney Crosby leads the way with 11 overall points in the post-season, (4 goals and 7 assists) and the Pittsburgh defense has held Ottawa to just 24.5 shots per game, the lowest average in the playoffs so far.
Marc-Andre Fleury has a 3.01 GAA and .878 SV%.
Meanwhile, Montreal really has to be kicking themselves…they were leading 4-1 in game-two after taking the first game from the top-seeded Capitals. But since that time, the Caps have stormed back to win that match 6-5 in overtime and have outscored the Habs 16-5 since the 18:23 mark of the second period of game-two. Niclas Backstrom leads the attack with 5 goals and 4 assists and is tied with teammate Tom Poti with a +8 rating, which leads all skaters so far. Alex Ovechkin has 4 goals and 4 assists and is a +7.
Since relieving Jose Theodore last weekend, Semyon Varlamov is 3-0 with a 2.44 GAA and .920 SV%.
Daniel Paille, Johnny Boychuk, Marco Sturm and the Boston Bruins skated away with a 3-2 overtime win Wednesday night...taking with them a 3 games to 1 lead in their series with Buffalo (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
And in one of the most entertaining series to watch for me, the Boston Bruins find themselves on the doorstep of a round-two appearance by edging the Sabres in some very close, very exciting games. The Bruins have come out victorious in two one-goal games and a 5-3 win in which an empty-netter provided the two-goal margin. Last night saw Boston take a 3-2 decision in double overtime…the winning goal scored by Miro Satan while Drew Stafford sat in the penalty box serving a too-many-men-on-the-ice minor for the Sabres.
All Tuukka Rask has done is go 3-1 with a 1.80 GAA and .939 SV%.
One last thing for you to ponder…something I help but think about the other night while watching Philly beat New Jersey. If you look back on the five-game losing streak during last month’s Thrashers March to from the Playoffs, you’ll see that four of the teams they lost to failed to make post-season play. Three of those teams… Tampa Bay, Carolina and Columbus…finished below Atlanta in the standings. But if the Thrashers simply beaten those teams and gone just 3-2 during that stretch, they would have finished with 89 points in the standings and seventh in the Eastern Conference.
If so, we would be playing the Devils and Philly would have to be dealing with Washington at this time.
I know, I know…”ifs” and “buts” and all that….
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139 comments Add your comment
Lou Lamoriello
April 23rd, 2010
8:19 am
Booyah!!
And Philly was supposed to give up Giroux to get Lehtonen? No way!
glovesave29
April 23rd, 2010
8:50 am
I wouldn’t bet on too many players using the KHL as a bargaining chip for much longer. The league is offering contracts they cannot afford while drawing 4,000 – 6,000 per night. This week it was annouonced that the Montreal Canadiens of the KHL (old RSL), the Moscow Dynamo are going belly up.
One of the things I liked best about the Pens / Sens game last night, is that the refs (for a change) didn’t swallow their whistles in OT. Seems every year, you can get away with murder after the 60 minute mark elapses…not last night. Made for a great game. OT PP’s – that is entertaining hockey!
Dwayne
April 23rd, 2010
8:57 am
I will still pull for the Flyers(born in Philly), no way in hell I pull for Cindy Crotchby, the crapitals, Boston or Buffalo.
Rightshot
April 23rd, 2010
9:04 am
Just checked the NJ fan blog. One guy called Kovy out big time and wanted Berfors and Oduya back! LOL Most are just calling for Lou’s head.
Lou in Atlanta? Would be interesting.
Smoothie
April 23rd, 2010
9:18 am
Rightshot – so right you are…tis priceless reading the veritable meltdown over on the Devils’ fan blog Fire & Ice(now Slush):
http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/comments/kovalchuk_open_to_re-signing_with_devils_lemaire_still_loves_coaching/P25/
Seems like the hockey gods are more into karma than the gods of other sports, if you will. Boucher over Brodeur and Kovalchoke with Ian Lapierre breaking his face again with a puck. Montreal getting pulled asunder with lousy defense because they overspent in the UFA market for a bunch of smurfs, talented albeit, but still tiny and often ineffective against the Caps. Although I’m not sure why karma is frowning on Ryan Miller and the Sabres…perhaps because the douch quotient of their fans at Philips is often too high compared to the league average??
Adam
April 23rd, 2010
9:19 am
Brendan – What has me so hung up with what happens with Kovy in the short term is the fact that he, like Hossa, was paid very good money here only to give up on the the coach, the fans & worst of all their teammates.
I don’t care that either of them wanted out of Atlanta. What I do care about is how they left and the last 2-3 months of their tenure here with forever affect how I view them. All it would have taken was a simple statement in the off season “I am not going to sign here, please find me a new home”. While I’m no Heatley fan, that is the right way to do it. Once the season starts and your still on the team man up and earn your money, you handle yourself with dignity but most of all you honor your teammates and the contract you signed.
I truly believe that if these players were moved in the summer or played to the best of their abilities while here the team would have made the playoffs in both of those seasons. While that’s all water under the bridge now I can still sit back and enjoy the Karma while we wait for the future to unfold.
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
9:26 am
Hockey fans are some of the funniest people I know… this is priceless!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f02Bs8HkHeg&feature=player_embedded
Smoothie
April 23rd, 2010
9:28 am
From the NJ blog:
“I don’t know what to say. Moves need to be made obviously. I think Parise should be our new captain. We need better defensive pairings. We were getting pinned in our zone with the two man forecheck all series. The only defenseman that could bring the puck out with consistently (without dumping it) was Greene (and Martin on occasion). I’d like to see a “puck-moving” and a “shut down” defenseman on each pairing. That means moving some of the guys we got. They don’t need to be expensive guys, but they need to fit these roles well.”
Do you mean a guy like Oduya? Woooops!
kracker
April 23rd, 2010
9:33 am
Not surprised that the Devils fans are POed, Rightshot. The Devils fought hard for their 2nd seed position. However, they weren’t playing very well at the trade deadline and Lou gave up a lot to get the guy he thought would add the firepower to get them deep into the playoffs. Now they got nothing to show for that big move.
Smoothie
April 23rd, 2010
9:38 am
This might be the best…and most laughable post of all:
“I really hope to see Kovalchuk wearing the “C” next year as a Devil. He was the ONLY player who tried hard in every game. I have said numerous time, that I dont think he’s a good fit on this team. I would like to keep him and find players that can play his game. An offensive game. An exciting game.”
Yes, because EXCITING hockey = winning hockey! I wonder if this is Don Waddell posting on the Devils blog. Ha ha ha LOLzers
Kovyoverrated
April 23rd, 2010
9:41 am
I CAN”T RESIST…………
SMELL THAT?—IT’S CALLED KHARMA!
Odd Man Rush
April 23rd, 2010
9:41 am
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but it appears that NJ’s 1st round pick will be between 18 -22. Should all of the underdogs win in the west (CO,Nash, LA, Det) the pick will be 18th. It will be interesting to watch Dudley’s moves heading into the draft with (potentially) two top 20 first round picks.
kracker
April 23rd, 2010
9:51 am
Funny, Smoothie. Whoops, indeed!
rob
April 23rd, 2010
9:55 am
So after the NJ debacle, I am a little better feeling about our trades there. I seem to remember that when Salmella showed back up in NJ, wasn’t there a comment made about how he “said I would come back to NJ?” When I heard that I wondered out loud if Oduya and Bergfors might have those same thoughts. If they did, I hope they see that they were traded during a drive to the playoffs for NJ and the guy they were traded for did absolutely nothing for NJ, and that they are seen as key pieces of the puzzle here in Atlanta with Dudley (hopefully) in charge now.
World Be Free
April 23rd, 2010
9:57 am
The Devils have won 3 Stanley Cups, so I have very little for for sympathy for the team or their fans. Time for good forture to shine on Atlanta.
I have been watching John Stevens on Versus and I have to say I am fairly impressed with him. Stevens, Torchetti or Ramsay are all pretty good candidates.
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
9:58 am
Odd Man Rush… yes, you are correct. It can be as early as 17th with a Washington upset included, but seems doubtful.
Whoever loses the Buff/Bos and Ott/Pitt matchup will pick ahead of us, in any scenario… thus the 17th as the earliest possible pick.
Everything else is based on upsets.
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
10:00 am
Gotta think New Jersey is done making deals with Atlanta after Havelid and Kovalchuk.
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
10:09 am
Best Case Scenario:
15) OTT/PIT/BOS/BUFF
16) OTT/PIT/BOS/BUFF
17) Atlanta
18) Vancouver
19) Phoenix
20) Chicago
21) San Jose
22) Washington
Worst Case Scenario:
15)Montreal
16)Boston
17)Ottawa
18)Colorado
19)Nashville
20)Los Angeles
21)Detroit
22)Atlanta
rob
April 23rd, 2010
10:11 am
Smoothie,
Awesome. Exciting hockey got them 1 win, which is an improvement over Kovy’s previous playoff attempt. At this rate he might get to win a series in, well……. KARMA is indeed nice to watch. Obviously the TEAM concept still hasn’t worked its way to Kovy. Watching the PP the other night and him calling and calling for the puck only to turn it over the 3 times he got it because he tried to make something out of nothing when there was an open pass available. Wonder how many other teams are looking at that and wondering….. HAHAHA I know a lot of people here loved him but it will be interesting to watch what happens to him now.
Red Light
April 23rd, 2010
10:11 am
Ben Wright tweets that the draft pick the Thrashers acquired will be between 22nd and 26th depending on how many division winners are in conference finals.
alex
April 23rd, 2010
10:21 am
calm down folks. keep you kovy sarcasm with in. he going to be ok even if he strike a deal for one rubble. this is not about money for him, it’s about not playing for asg idiots. i think kovy going to get last laugh after atlanta relocation. it taked 6 years for him to earn gold in world champ. sure 5 years from now he going to get stanley cup, not sure 5 years from now this blog even going to exist. instead of kovy talk you better save money for thrasher tickets to support organization on live support thanks to dw and asg. so far only BRENDAN get this right. don’t fool youself.
kracker
April 23rd, 2010
10:30 am
Red Light…22 to 26??? If Ben is correct, then NJ losing in the first round did what for the NJ (Atlanta) draft position? No effect?
Smoothie
April 23rd, 2010
10:32 am
Alex – it’s called IRONY. That’s why so many here are delighting in the fact Kovy is left to wonder what the hell went wrong. You and Brendan are missing the point. It’s even more funny when you add in the fact that he may have hurt his FA value in the process. He’ll probably still get $7.5 – $8.5 M / year from some chump GM (or LA because they can afford him I think after Frolov walks), but he isn’t the answer. He is almost impossible to play with unless you’re a player like Nik Antropov. But honestly, I thought Antro was better without him until the hip injury really wore on him and took away a lot of his mobility.
If we are not a better team next year without Kovy thanks to the trade and the draft picks, that is solely the fault of Rick Dudley, Larry Simmons and to an extent Don Waddell.
DWTOO
April 23rd, 2010
10:32 am
You’re right alex – too much Kovalchuk. Time to stop venting/ranting and move. Who cares. We’ve got a pretty good young core and with adding a few pieces we could be there next year.
Kovy (Being James Bond)
April 23rd, 2010
10:44 am
The name is Choke, Kovalchoke
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
10:45 am
Crap, Ben Wright might be right… I think it’s only if teams make it to Conference Finals. So, as a Division winner, the best the NJ pick could be is 22-26th… we needed the Penguins to win the Atlantic.
http://www.nhlscap.com/draft.htm
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
10:47 am
And before we gloss over it… I’d like to point out that Nabokov had a shut out last night… carry on.
kracker
April 23rd, 2010
10:50 am
Well, drafting 22-26 is better than picking at #30
kracker
April 23rd, 2010
10:53 am
(I hope this works, apology in advance if this list doesn’t format correctly)
Top FAs (minus 1) per TSN:
Patrick Marleau, LW, San Jose
Age: 30
Stats: 44-39-83, plus-21, 22 PIM in 82 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 90.32
Comment: Hitting free agency at a good time, with a career-high in goals and plus-minus; should be in demand.
Tomas Plekanec, C, Montreal
Age: 27
Stats: 25-45-70, plus-5, 50 PIM in 82 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 79.96
Comment: Talented and determined player who can play in all situations.
Alexander Frolov, LW, Los Angeles
Age: 28
Stats: 19-32-51, minus-1, 26 PIM in 81 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 71.94
Comment: Production has dipped in each of last three seasons, but size and skill will attract suitors.
Matthew Lombardi, C, Phoenix
Age: 28
Stats: 19-34-53, plus-8, 36 PIM in 78 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 75.44
Comment: Speedster could cash in with few scoring centres available.
Ray Whitney, LW, Carolina
Age: 38
Stats: 21-37-58, minus-6, 26 PIM in 80 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 74.08
Comment: Durable, productive and a threat on the power play.
Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW, Pittsburgh
Age: 30
Stats: 21-29-50, minus-1, 61 PIM in 77 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 74.50
Comment: Big winger can skate and has more than 20 goals in four of the last five seasons.
Maxim Afinogenov, RW, Atlanta
Age: 30
Stats: 24-37-61, minus-17, 46 PIM in 82 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 71.07
Comment: Showed he can still be a productive scorer when healthy.
Todd Bertuzzi, RW, Detroit
Age: 35
Stats: 18-26-44, minus-7, 80 PIM in 82 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 68.75
Comment: Has settled in 40-44 point range for last three seasons.
Olli Jokinen, C, N.Y. Rangers
Age: 31
Stats: 15-35-50, plus-3, 75 PIM in 82 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 73.70
Comment: No longer an elite producer; should be a better fit, at least economically, in second-line role.
Lee Stempniak, RW, Phoenix
Age: 27
Stats: 28-20-48, even, 26 PIM in 80 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 75.12
Comment: Might have been a free agent afterthough until he scored 14 goals in 18 games after trade to Coyotes.
Brendan Morrison, C, Washington
Age: 34
Stats: 12-30-42, plus-23, 40 PIM in 74 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 75.04
Comment: Not a big point producer any more, but a career-best plus-minus.
Bill Guerin, RW, Pittsburgh
Age: 39
Stats: 21-24-45, minus-9, 75 PIM in 78 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 63.12
Comment: Hard to believe he’d be just as productive with any other centre.
Tomas Holmstrom, RW, Detroit
Age: 37
Stats: 25-20-45, plus-5, 60 PIM in 68 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 74.64
Comment: Crease-crasher has always been a Red Wing and is coming off a strong season.
Saku Koivu, C, Anaheim
Age: 35
Stats: 19-33-52, plus-14, 36 PIM in 71 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 77.64
Comment: Still productive in a complementary role; should be demand for his services.
Pavol Demitra, C, Vancouver
Age: 35
Stats: 3-13-6, plus-3, 0 PIM in 28 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 69.98
Comment: Talented yet oft-injured player hasn’t had a minus-rating since 1995-96.
Alex Tanguay, LW, Tampa Bay
Age: 30
Stats: 10-27-37, minus-2, 32 PIM in 80 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 65.54
Comment: Could be forgotten coming off career-worst season, but might still make it work in the right situation.
GaVaHokie
April 23rd, 2010
10:59 am
Okay… I think I have it now.
We’re looking for a “darkhorse” Stanley Cup match-up… even a rematch of Detroit and Pittsburgh works in our favor.
Here’s a best case scenario:
Western Final: Detroit vs Nashville
Eastern Final: Pittsburgh vs Philly
30) Detroit
29) Pittsburgh
28) Nashville
27) Philly
26) Washington
25) San Jose
24) Chicago
23) Phoenix
22) Vancouver
21) New Jersey
World Be Free
April 23rd, 2010
11:04 am
kracker-nice work.
I am a BIG Lombardi fan, I think he is worth the bucks.
Stepniak, for 2 reasons-restaring his career in PHX and he’s a Buffalo boy.
Smoothie
April 23rd, 2010
11:05 am
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/buyer-beware-on-kovalchuk/article1544252/
Looks like Eric Duhatschek has been reading this blog for his material.
Rawhide
April 23rd, 2010
11:07 am
So…Philly was the last to qualify for the playoffs with a win on the last day of the season and is now the first to qualify for the seond round. Nice…
In the “pick you first-round winners” blog, 111 votes were cast for the Devils to win, (myself included), while only 21 cast a vote for Philly to win. So, well done by the few who accurately forcasted this 7-2 upset.
Now…on to our next blog which was written by the 2010 Rawhide Comment of the Year winner Joe “Bob” Friday.
Enjoy.
Smoothie
April 23rd, 2010
11:07 am
World – I too think Lombardi would be a sensible choice. Very versatile and his style of play would seem to lend itself to Dudley’s philosophy. He’s very good in the F/O circle, is he not? He could allow Pevs to slide over to the LW and perhaps free him up to be more dynamic offensively. Playing C with the likes of Kozlov, White and Max really took a toll on Pevs’ +/- and I think wore him down prematurely.
Tom Lysiak
April 23rd, 2010
11:39 am
alex, the Kovy talk won’t die down for some time. He was a big part of the organization for years, so what do you expect? He is glad he is gone from here. And, some of us are just as glad that he is gone. He is on another team now. That makes it our right as fans to root against him and his team, and to laugh when they lose. Lou went for the whole “Kovy was surrounded by a bad team and he really is a complete player” BS that floated around. He went “all-in” to keep him away from other teams and to go for the cup this year. He thought that gifted offensive weapon would simply be an addition to the team, with no other impacts. But something happened to the Devils team, their chemistry, and specifically their power play the last six weeks or so. Is it all to be laid on Kovy? No, but the similarity in results can certainly not be coincidence. Read the Devils blogs. They were sick of the power play being dedicated strictly to Kovy and his sharpshooting. Just like here, it becomes easy to defend.
We know Kovy will be ok and so will we. Especially with Oduya, Bergfors, Cormier and whatever the first rounder brings being here now. Not to mention the $10 million per year that can be spent elsewhere.
Oh, if you’re taking bets on whether this team and blog are still here in five years or whether Kovy wins the cup in five years, I’ll take this team and this blog. They could both happen, but you made it an either/or. In an either/or, I gotta be leery of Kovy’s effect on a team and bullish on Dudley. We’ll see though.
Tom Lysiak
April 23rd, 2010
11:44 am
Disclaimer…I know the salaries for all the assets gained in the Kovy trade really count against the $10 million “savings”. The point was that money can be used for multiple players/needs.
World Be Free
April 23rd, 2010
12:34 pm
Yeah Pevs fell back in the 2nd half of this past season.
Brendan
April 23rd, 2010
11:17 pm
Adam, I definitely think that’s a good post. And you’re right. When a player is under contract, he has an obligation to put forth his best effort for his employer. Fans ragged on Hossa. They ragged on Kovalchuk, when negotiation stalled. And they probably ragged on Savard, back in 2006. But my point was … who cares if Kovalchuk left $30, $35, $40 million on the table? The point was … he wanted to leave the Atlanta Thrashers Hockey Club, for a new, fresh start. I don’t blame the man. I harbor no ill will towards him.
Smoothie, are you seriously making the point that Kovy wanted to stayyyy in Atlanta?, since you say “Me and Alex are missing the point.” My point, again, is that Kovalchuk wanted to leave, and wasn’t going to stay if the organization could have offered him a Billion dollars. He doesn’t need the money. If Waddell made him the $101 million over 12-years contract offer on July 1, and said, “Kovy, you have until July 14th to sign it. Or you’ll be traded,” then Kovy would have been traded during the offseason. Speaking honestly, I don’t know how much better Waddell/Dudley could have done, from New Jersey, than what they got at the deadline. They plucked Cormier, a 1st round pick, Bergfors, and Oduya. About the only thing I think they could have done better … was NOT swapping out 2nd round picks, had the deal gone down back in July 2009.
Folks, I apologize for even still talking about this. It really is time to move on. All I’m saying here is … it doesn’t matter to me how much money Kovy left on the table. To me, that’s a total “non-issue.” The man doesn’t need another nickel in life. He can’t spend what he has now. So lest we work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the State of California Dept. of Revenue, where the Los Angeles Kings payroll could come into play, what we do/should we care???????? The money was just a “smokescreen” to leave.
Brendan
April 23rd, 2010
11:34 pm
Rawhide, the fat lady go all warmed up, but the show was cancelled. Buffalo won, to extend its series, and so did Montreal, surprsingly, in Washington.