The Playoff Picture: Who's the Favorite at this Point?

    The playoff spots in the NHL are still up for grabs thus far, with only 2 or 3 teams really showing that they are going to be in the playoffs. I will offer up my opinion as to who I think will make the playoffs, and with only 14ish (it varies per team) games left. Many spots are still up for grabs, but here is who I think will make the playoffs, and where they will finish.

EAST:
1-Pittsburgh Penguins: Currently holding the lead in the Eastern Conference, firing on all cylinders.
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8-New Jersey Devils: Without their leading scorer right now, the Devils may just hang in there to capture the 8th spot.
Prediction: Pens are too deep, too fast, and too good. Pens in 5.


2-Boston Bruins: The B's lost in a shootout tonight, but I still think they have what it takes to get the division lead and finish 2nd. It would help if they could get their hands on Jerome Iginla
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7-New York Rangers: Struggling with consistency right now, they will still make the playoffs and with their fire power they're never a team that should be counted out.
Prediction: Although the Rangers have some all-stars, they don't have the grit that they had last year. Bruins in 6.


3-Winnipeg Jets: I truthfully didn't pick my hometown Jets to make the playoffs this year, but they've won some big games in the last stretch (despite the god-awful pair against Washingtion) they rebounded by beating the Bolts, and hammering Carolina on the road. Only one team from the Southeast will make the playoffs this year, and the Jets have set themselves up well.
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6-Toronto Maple Leafs: This would be an unreal series. And the Leafs are rolling, they now have depth at forward with the emergence of Kadri, and have played well all year.
Prediction: Neither team is exactly popping with playoff experience. But I'd have to give the edge to the Jets, they have the advantage in net, and if they can shut down Kadri they can do it. Oh, and home ice advantage would help. It'll be close to call though. Jets in 7.


4-Montreal Canadiens: Although they took the division lead back from Boston tonight, I think the B's will come back strong down the stretch. Still an unreal bounce back year for the Canadiens.
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5-Ottawa Senators: Despite all the injuries this team still finds ways to win. Which is what ultimately gets them into the playoffs. If they can get Spezza, Cowen, and Anderson back they can do good things come playoff time.
Prediction: This one is tough to call. Both teams are finding ways to win this year, and both teams boast great goaltenders. Without Karlsson (and possibly Spezza) the Sens will be in tough. Canadiens in 6.



WEST:
1-Chicago Blackhawks: The Pens of the West, the only team I could see giving them a real run for their money is the Ducks.
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8-San Jose Sharks: Their deep at forward, but they don't want to play the Hawks in the first round. Wouldn't end well for them.
Prediction: The Sharks won't roll over and die, but they won't stand much of a chance. Blackhawks in 5.


2-Anaheim Ducks: They very well could come out of the West this year. Their secondary players have been great all year, and Perry and Getzlaf are looking like the players they were a few years ago.
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7-Detroit RedWings: They've won 4 in a row, and the consistency seems to be coming along. They seem to have the Ducks number this year, but their d-core is still inconsistent.
Prediction: Like I said before, the Wings have had the Ducks number as of late, but the Ducks are too good this year. Ducks in 7.


3-Vancouver Canucks: Fighting tooth and nail with the Wild for the division lead. They'll eventually overtake it. And sneak into the 3rd slot. Doesn't seem like Luongo is going anywhere so they'll have two great goaltenders come playoff time.
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6-St. Louis Blues: This one I could see going either way, especially if Kesler doesn't return to the Nucks lineup. The Blues have good d, gritty forwards, and a good goaltender in Halak.
Prediction: Tough one to call, the Blues are stingy, and could give them a run for their money. But I'd say the Nucks got this one. Canucks in 6.


4-Minnesota Wild: The Wild have been very good this year. Parise and Suter are looking like their well worth the money. I could see them making a long playoff run, especially if Backstrom can steal a game or two.
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5-LA Kings: Last year's Stanley Cup champs are seeming to find their form again. There's no telling what this team can do if they decide to play like they did last year.
Prediction: Another tough one to call, on the one hand, Minnesota looks like the stronger team, maybe not on paper but they've been consistent all year so far. LA is LA though, the 8 seed that ran the table last season. I can't make a judgment for sure, so I will take my best guess. Kings in 7.

STANLEY CUP FINAL PREDICTION:
    I have to go with Pittsburgh coming out of the East. They're the team to beat. With Sid and Malkin in their lineup this is a pretty unstoppable team.
    For the West, I gotta go with the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks. They have the defense, and the forwards, it's just a matter of their goaltending holding up, which it has thus far.

March 21st Scores & Recaps

Washington-4 Winnipeg-0:
    The Jets didn't get much of an effort from anyone tonight, Ondrej Pavelec was the only reason the score wasn't 7-0. The Caps got a strong game from Captain Alex Ovechkin who tallied a goal and an assist. Marcus Johansson also had a big game for the caps picking up a goal and an assist. Holtby picked up the win for Washington, and Pavelec took the loss for Winnipeg. These two teams will meet again tomorrow night.
New Jersey-4 Carolina-1:
    The struggles continue for Carolina, as the Canes could only muster 18 shots on Marty Brodeur. Dan Ellis struggled in net for Carolina allowing 3 goals. The 4th came on an own goal by Eric Staal on a delayed penalty. Travis Zajac had 2 assists for the Devils.
Florida-3 NY Rangers-1:
   As much as I like seeing Tort's go crazy at his team's struggles. I don't see this team struggling for long with the talent they have. Brian Campbell, Scotty Upshall, and Tomas Kopecky scored for the Panthers, while Marian Gaborik countered for the Rangers. Jacob Markstrom picked up the win stopping 44 of 45 shots, while King Henrik stopped 21 of 23 in the loss.
Montreal-5 NY Islanders-2:
    The Canadiens continue to sit atop the Eastern conference, and there dominance was established again tonight. Tomas Plekanec had two assists for the Canadiens, who got goals from Michael Ryder, PK Subban (2), Brian Gionta, and Brendan Gallagher. Visnovsky and Tavares countered for the Islanders, and Matt Molson had two assists. Carey Price stopped 25 of 27 for the win, while Kevin Poulin allowed 5 goals on 29 shots.
Buffalo-5 Toronto-4 (SO):
    The Leafs blew a 3-1 lead and came back being down 4-3 scoring 6 minutes into the third. Nazim Kadri had a huge game with 2 goals and an assist, while Cody Hodgson and Tyler Ennis both had two assists for the Sabres. Tyler Bozak scored in the shootout for the Leafs, while  Drew Stafford and Steve Ott tallied for Buffalo. James Reimer stopped 32 of 36 in the loss while Ryan Miller picked up the win stopping 30 of 34.
Boston-2 Ottawa-1:
    The Sens held a short 1 goal lead against the mighty Bruins, but it wasn't meant to be. The B's got goals from Daniel Paille and Dennis Seidenberg, and Kaspers Daugavins scored for the Sens. Boston backup Anton Khudobin stopped 27 of 28 in the win while Robin Lehner stopped 27 of 29 in the loss.
Nashville-5 Calgary-3:
     Calgary's troubles continue. I'm wondering when Calgary will give up their "we're still a playoff team" attitude because it hasn't been apparent to me. Anyways they got thumped by the Preds tonight. Mike Fischer scored twice for the Preds, and the Flames got singles from Jerome Iginla, Blake Comeau, and Mark Giordano. Mikka Kiprusoff stopped only 18 of 23 shots in the loss, while Pekka Rinne stoped 19 of 22 in the win.
Vancouver-2 Phoenix-1:
    Chris Tanev and Jordan Schroeder (Go Moose Go) scored for the Nucks while all the assists came from former Moose players as well. Antoine Vermette scored for the Yotes. Corey Schneider picked up the win stopping 33 of 34, and Jason LaBarbera and Mike Smith combined to stop 26 of 28 shots with LaBarbera taking the loss.
Dallas-2 Los Angeles-0:
    Dallas did a nice job of staying in the playoff hunt blanking the Cup Champs 2-0. Jaromir Jagr, and Ray Whitney scored for Dallas with Jamie Benn, Alex Goligoski, and Louie Eriksson picked up the assists. Kari Lethonen stopped all 40 shots he saw for the shut out, while Johnny Quick stopped 19 of 21 in the loss.

3-STARS OF THE NIGHT:

1-Nazim Kadri: The young Leaf had 2 goals and an assist, but unfortunately for his team it was in a losing effort.
2-Kari Lethonen: Stopped 40 of 40 shots for the shut out.
3-Alex Ovechkin: Picked up a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over the Jets.

Tuesday March 12th

Jets tame the tough Leafs with three 3rd period goals:
    The Winnipeg Jets took it to the Leafs last night, scoring 3 goals in the third period, to lift themselves to a 5-2 victory. The Jets had strong games from the entire lineup, with former Leafs Nik Antropov (1G 2A)
 and Kyle Wellwood (1G 1A) both having multiple point games. Dustin Byfuglien had 3 assists, Blake Wheeler had two goals, and Evander Kane added a single to lead the Jets to victory. Phil Kessel scored both of Toronto's goals. The Jets played a complete game, and did not shy away from a tough leafs team that has been able to intimidate most of their opponents this year with their rough & tumble style of play. The Jets didn't shy away. Chris Thorburn's scrap with Colton Orr throw a cheap shot towards the end. Orr had a smile on his face, but this only served to spark the Jets, who dominated the leafs the rest of the way. Needless to say, Orr's smile was gone pretty quickly. It was a strong performance from the Jets, who got a complete performance for the first time in a long time, from Ondrej Pavelec out. Grinders James Wright and Eric Tangradi also had strong games, with Wright getting some glorious chances, and Tangradi picking up an assist on Blake Wheeler's second of the night. Pavelec picked up the win with Manitoba's James Reimer taking the loss.
Other Scores:
Tampa Bay-3 Florida-2: Tampa Bay got goals from all their big guns, as they beat the lowly Panthers with Stamkos getting the winner in the third. St. Louis and Lecavalier also scored for Tampa, Versteeg and Kopecky countered for Florida.
Vancouver-2 Columbus-1: The struggling Canucks picked up a shootout win over the streaking Columbus Blue Jackets last night. Mason Raymond scored the winner in the shootout, and Roberto Luongo picked up the win, and despite another strong performance, Sergei Bobrovsky took the loss.
Pittsburgh-3 Boston-2: Widely considered a game to determine who was #1 in the East, Boston blew a 2 goal lead in the 3rd period as the Pens stormed back to win 3-2. Sutter scored twice for the Pens, and Kunitz added a single. Chara and Seguin countered for the Bruins. M-A Fleury got the win and Boston's backup Anton Kuhdobin took the loss.
St. Louis Doubled up on San Jose 4-2, Nashville blanked Dallas 4-0, Anaheim beat Minnesota 2-1, Edmonton shut out Colorado 4-0, and Phoenix took down the LA Kings 5-2 in an all Pacific division match-up.
TWITTER!! @burnsy004

Mid-Season Report! Power Ranking & Stars

So we're about half way through this shortened season in the NHL, and mostly everything has been as we expected it to be at the midway point. Here are my mid-season Power Rankings:

1-Chicago Blackhawks (21-2-3, 45pts, 1st in West): The Hawks have lost two in a row, but are still miles ahead of everyone else.

2-Anaheim Ducks (18-3-3, 39pts, 2nd in West): Getzlaf & Perry have been dynamite, and their supporting cast hasn't disappointed either. 3-Pittsburgh Penguins (18-8-0, 36pts, 2nd in East): Boast the leading scorer in Sidney Crosby, on a tear right now. 4-Montreal Canadiens (17-5-4, 38pts, 1st in East): Not quite at the Pens level yet, adding Ryder was a good deal for them. 5-Boston Bruins (16-3-3, 35pts, 4th in East): The big bad Bruins are living up to their name, getting great goaltending from Tukka Rask. 6-Toronto Maple Leafs (15-10-1, 31pts, 5th in East): Nazim Kadri is the real deal, and the Leafs are tough as nails this year. 7-Ottawa Senators (13-8-4, 30pts, 6th in East): Despite losing their two best players, and their starting goalie, the sens are hanging in there. 8-Los Angeles Kings (13-8-2, 28pts, 5th in West): The Kings have their Stanley Cup form back, look out if Doughty decides to heat up. 9-Detroit Red Wings (12-9-5. 29pts, 4th in West): Struggling to find total consistency, Wings slowly improving as the year goes on. 10-New Jersey Devils (12-9-5, 29pts, 7th in the East): They've slowed down a bit, but still have a team that can contend for the Stanley Cup, especially with a healthy starting goalie. 11-Carolina Hurricanes (14-9-1, 35pts, 3rd in East): The current Southeast division leaders are without their starting goalie, still playing well though. 12-New York Rangers (13-9-2, 28pts, 8th in East): Just hovering above the playoff line is not where Torts expected to be, they're improving though. 13-Vancouver Canucks (11-7-6, 28pts, 6th in West): Consistency has been a problem with the Canucks, like so many other teams in the West, they'll always be a threat though. 14-Minnesota Wild (13-9-2, 28pts, 3rd in West): This has to be the first time in years that the Nucks haven't led the Northwest division. (They're technically tied though). 15-San Jose Sharks (11-7-6, 28pts, 7th in West): They've slowed down a bit, but still have what it takes to make a long playoff run. 16-St. Louis Blues (13-10-2, 28pts, 8th in West): Like the Rangers, the Blues still trying to find their dominant form from last season. 17-Nashville Predators (10-9-6, 26 pts, 11th in West): Pekka Rinne is keeping this team in the hunt, and will continue to do so. 18-Phoenix Coyotes (12-10-3, 27pts, 9th in West): Just one point of the a playoff spot, the Yotes might just sneak in. 19-Dallas Stars (12-10-2, 26pts, 10th in West): Another team in the clustered Western Conference vying for a spot in the playoffs. 20-Philadelphia Flyers (12-14-1, 25pts, 11th in East): 11th place is a disappointment for a team that has as much talent as the Flyers. 21-Winnipeg Jets (12-11-2, 26pts, 9th in East): Despite inconsistency, the Jets remain in the playoff hunt thanks to the play of Andrew Ladd. 22-New York Islanders (11-12-3, 25pts, 10th in East): The pesky Islanders still in the playoff hunt. 23-Colorado Avalanche (10-10-4, 24pts, 12th in West): Slowly improving, getting healthier. 24-Columbus Blue Jackets (10-12-4, 24pts, 13th in West): Winners of 5 in a row (yeah that's not a lie) the Jackets are rolling, can they keep it going? 25-Washington Capitals (10-13-1, 21pts, 12th in East): They've shown some glimmers of brilliance, but are still struggling to find consistency. 26-Edmonton Oilers (9-11-5, 23pts, 14th in West): I still think the Oilers can sneak in but they'll need better play all around, could another first overall draft pick be in the cards? 27-Tampa Bay Lightning (10-14-1, 21pts, 13th in East): Tampa has fallen off in a big way, the once SE Division leaders now sit near the basement of the conference. 28-Calgary Flames (9-10-4, 22pts, 15th in West): Struggling mightily, their GM claims their a playoff team, but they have yet to show it. 29-Buffalo Sabres (9-14-3, 21pts, 14th in East): This is not a team that should be this low, but here they are, one up from the basement. 30-Florida Panthers (7-13-6, 20pts, 15th in East): The Panthers aren't getting much better, look for Versteeg, Fleischmann, Weiss and Kopecky to be heavily discussed names at the trade deadline.   3 STARS: BY POSITION Forwards: 1-Sidney Crosby (PIT): Showing us why he's the best player in the world, having an unbelievable season. 12 goals, 33 assists for a total of 45 points, averaging almost 2 points a game, he stands alone at the top. 2-Steven Stamkos (TBL): Widely considered the #1 contender to Crosby's belt, the Ontario native has 37 points in 25 games, and currently leads the league with 19 goals. 3-Chris Kunitz (PIT): Proving to be a valuable asset to the Pens, his chemistry with Crosby is "Sedin Brother" like. 17 goals, 19 assists, and 36 points in 26 games. Honorable Mention: Marty St. Louis, Ryan Getzlaf, Eric Staal, John Tavares. D-Men: 1-Kris Letang (PIT): 3 goals and 23 assists in 23 games played for the Pittsburgh Penguin, another weapon on an already stacked team. Is the current front runner (in my opinion) for the Norris Trophy. 2-Kimmo Timmonen (PHI): 3 goals and 16 assists has him tied for 2nd in d-man scoring, he'll need to keep this play up to keep the Flyers afloat. 3-Kevin Shattenkirk (STL): Still going at a strong pace, 2 goals and 17 assists in 25 games played so far for the young man. Honorable Mention: Nik Kronwall, PK Subban, Alex Peitrangelo, Ryan Suter, Andrei Markov. Goalies: 1-Cory Crawford (CHI): Leads all starters with a 1.91 GAA, and boasts a dandy .925 save %. Tied for 5th in the league with wins at 11. 2-Victor Fasth (ANA): May have stole the starting job from Hiller, the young Swede has been brilliant this year with a 1.92 GAA, and a .929 save %, 10 wins and only 1 regulation loss. 3-Tukka Rask (BOS): 2nd in the league with 12 wins, he has Bruins fans, not so much missing Tim "cry baby" Thomas. 1.97 GAA, .927 save %. Honorable Mention: Antti Niemi, Carey Price, Nicklas Backstrom, Henrik Lundquist UN SUNG HERO: Andrew Ladd (WPG): With 13 goals and 11 assists, Ladd has been the Jets most impressive, and most consistent player all year, he may even be the sole reason why they're still in the playoff picture. Runner Up: Jacob Voracek (PHI) BEST ROOKIE: Cory Conacher (TBL): Although he and his team have slowed down greatly, he still leads all rookies in scoring. Runner Up: Damien Brunner (DET) BIGGEST SURPRISE TEAM: Toronto Maple Leafs. They got bigger, and tougher. BIGGEST SURPRISE PLAYER: Nazim Kadri. Expected him to make an impact, but not this much, he's been everything the Leafs needed. BIGGEST LET DOWN TEAM: Honrable mention goes the the Philadelphia Flyers, but after their hot start, and subsequent horrid play, I have to go with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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