EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Washington Capitals (110)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (108)
3. Boston Bruins (104)
4. New Jersey Devils (106)
5. Philadelphia Flyers (103)
6. Ottawa Senators (99)
7. Buffalo Sabres (97)
8. New York Rangers (92)
9. Montreal Canadiens (90)
10. Carolina Hurricanes (90)
11. Tampa Bay Lightning (88)
12. Atlanta Thrashers (86)
13. Toronto Maple Leafs (79)
14. New York Islanders (75)
15. Florida Panthers (61)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Los Angeles Kings (116)
2. Detroit Red Wings (112)
3. Vancouver Canucks (108)
4. Chicago Blackhawks (108)
5. San Jose Sharks (108)
6. St. Louis Blues (104)
7. Nashville Predators (101)
8. Anaheim Ducks (98)
9. Colorado Avalanche (95)
10. Dallas Stars (93)
11. Phoenix Coyotes (88)
12. Columbus Blue Jackets (86)
13. Edmonton Oilers (85)
14. Calgary Flames (73)
15. Minnesota Wild (69)
PLAYOFFS
EAST
Washington def. NY Rangers
Pittsburgh def Buffalo
Boston def Ottawa
New Jersey def Philadelphia
New Jersey def Washington
Pittsburgh def Boston
Pittsburgh def New Jersey
WEST
Los Angeles def Anaheim
Detroit def Nashville
St. Louis def Vancouver
Chicago def San Jose
Los Angeles def St. Louis
Detroit def Chicago
Los Angeles def Detroit
Stanley Cup Finals 2011
Pittsburgh def Los Angeles
Conn Smyth - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Art Ross - Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Maurice Richard - Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Jack Adams - Terry Murray, Los Angeles Kings
Calder - Magnus Paajarvi, Edmonton Oilers
Vezina - Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
Norris - Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Hart - Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Selke - Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Lady Byng - Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Coaches fired:
Ron Wilson, Toronto Maple Leafs
Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks
Brent Sutter, Calgary Flames
Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals
Alain Vigneault, Vancouver Canucks
John Anderson, New York Islanders
Todd Richards, Minnesota Wild
GMs Fired:
Glen Sather, New York Rangers
Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames
Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks
Brian Burke, Toronto Maple Leafs
So clearly I vastly overrated the Kings and Blackhawks. I didn't think the Blackhawks were going to be that impacted by the mass exodus of their role players (namely Byfuglien, Versteeg, Eager, and Ladd). This year, Chicago looked like a very mediocre team that was a far-cry from the team we saw that won the Stanley Cup in 2010. I had generally high hopes for the Los Angeles Kings given I was expecting them to take it to the next level from their great season in 2009-2010, however, the Kings didn't improve as I envisioned and are sitting out and fighting for that 8th and final playoff spot.
New Jersey Devils, who the fuck knew they would be this bad? Like seriously, 30th in the NHL! I thought that team was reserved for teams like us lol. Marty Brodeur has looked human, very un-Marty-like which is unfortunate for this once elite goaltender and future Hall of Famer. To give them a break, they are missing Zach Parise from a knee injury but that should be no excuse for Ilya Kovalchuk AKA the $100 million dollar man, to suck epically. He's on pace for less than 30 goals and 50 points, BRUTAL!! And speaking of underacheiving Russians, Alex Ovechkin is having the worst offensive output in his NHL career, with 19 goals and on pace for 34 goals this season. It seems the NHL have solved Ovechkin and his tendencies. St. Louis was also another very big disappointment for me because I really thought the acquisition of Halak was gonna put them over the top but I was wrong, they sit 14th but they still have a chance of making it. Nonetheless, every single team in the Western Conference except our beloved Edmonton Oilers will have a shot at making the playoffs.
Another huge disappointment this year is Buffalo. I predicted the Sabres to be in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race but due to sporadic underacheivers and a rash of injuries, the Sabres are looking to fall from the team that won the 2010 Northeast division to out of the playoffs. Ryan Miller has looked mortal most of the times, a far cry from last year's Vezina Trophy performance. I believe after this season, Buffalo will undergo major house cleaning starting from the top and with a new owner coming in, we can expect longtime GM Darcy Regier and longtime coach Lindy Ruff gone. Time for some new blood in Buffalo.
Teams that surprised the most were Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. I had all three teams miss the playoffs in my pre-season predictions and all three of them except Atlanta are a sure lock to make the playoffs in 2011. Atlanta might drop out given how well Carolina has played led by super rookie Jeff Skinner (drafted 6 spots after Taylor Hall and a favourite to win the Calder). Even the Florida Panthers have turned some heads. I honeslty expected the Panthers to suck bad like an expansion team and I was reluctant to give them over 60 points, heck i was reluctant to give them even 50 points! The fact is the Panthers have a shot at making the Eastern conference playoffs although I high doubt their chances and it looks like they will be missing the playoffs for the 11th stright year (they haven't made the playoffs since 2000).
As for the Canadian teams, Vancouver is Canada's best chance of winning the Stanley Cup. It may be this year but as long as Luongo plays that choke dance in the second round, fans on the west coast might be given a dose of even bigger disappointment. And being an Oilers fan and knowing the Canuck fans sense of envy for the Oilers past history, I cannot help but hope for the Canucks failure to shut those arrogant and cocky fans up. But from a hockey fan perspective, the Canucks are a true Stanley Cup contender and they have a very good shot at winning it all this year. But I hope they lose though, I'll be the one cheering on the team that plays Vancouver! Montreal seems like a team that has a decent shot but given the amount of injuries the team is getting, its only a matter of time before the lever breaks. I don't see this team making the playoffs, I see them missing it right on the cusp, and Carey Price who is having a marvelous season won't be able to save the Habs fall from grace. And now to the rest of the four teams who are all dreadful. Calgary surprisingly are playing well as of late which is a bit of a surprise to say the least and they have a decent shot at making the playoffs but given the amount of strong teams ahead of them, I wouldn't bank money on them (PS, I hate the flames ;) ). Ottawa for some reason was a collossal disappointment. At worst, I thought Ottawa would finish 9-10th but not this bad. This season could be the year Ottawa bottoms out and rebuild from scratch. What a mess and I feel sorry for Senators fans for what they endured this year, but hey at least you have a first rounder! Edmonton, we all know their situation. As dreadful as their record speaks, its a rebuild year and they have a bright future ahead of them. I don't think there is a hockey fan alive that thinks otherwise and those who do are complete ignorant human beings. Lastly, the Leafs, my most hated team. How should I put this so my friends who are Leafs fans don't get upset at me lol? Good luck with Brian Burke, the man who traded Tyler Seguin, Jared Knight and potentially another lottery pick for Phil Kessel! LOL!
So here are my modified Preditions.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Philadelphia Flyers (112)
2. Washington Capitals (106)
3. Boston Bruins (104)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins (110)
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (106)
6. New York Rangers (94)
7. Carolina Hurricanes (92)
8. Atlanta Thrashers (91)
9. Montreal Canadiens (90)
10. Florida Panthers (87)
11. Buffalo Sabres (85)
12. Toronto Maple Leafs (76)
13. New Jersey Devils (72)
14. New York Islanders (65)
15. Ottawa Senators (63)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Vancouver Canucks (114)
2. Detroit Red Wings (112)
3. Dallas Stars (102)
4. Anaheim Ducks (100)
5. Nashville Predators (98)
6. Chicago Blackhawks (96)
7. San Jose Sharks (95)
8. Los Angeles Kings (95)
9. Colorado Avalanche (95)
10. Phoenix Coyotes (94)
11. St. Louis Blues (92)
12. Minnesota Wild (90)
13. Columbus Blue Jackets (88)
14. Calgary Flames (88)
15. Edmonton Oilers (68)
PLAYOFFS
EAST
Philadelphia def Atlanta in 4
Carolina def Washington in 6
Boston def NY Rangers in 7
Pittsburgh def Tampa Bay in 6
Philadelphia def Carolina in 6
Pittsburgh def Boston in 7
Philadelphia def Pittsburgh in 6
WEST
Vancouver def Los Angeles in 6
Detroit def San Jose in6
Chicago def Dallas in 5
Anaheim def Nashville in 7
Vancouver def Chicago in 7
Detroit def Anaheim in 5
Detroit def Vancouver in 7
Stanley Cup Finals 2011: Philadelphia def Detroit in 7
Conn Smyth - Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers
Art Ross - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Maurice Richard - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jack Adams - Marc Crawford, Dallas Stars
Calder - Sergei Bobrovsky, Philadelphia Flyers
Vezina - Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
Norris - Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Hart - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Selke - Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Lady Byng - Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Coaches fired:
Ron Wilson, Toronto Maple Leafs
Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks
Brent Sutter, Calgary Flames
Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals
John Anderson, New York Islanders (happened)
Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres
GMs Fired:
Glen Sather, New York Rangers
Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames (Resigned)
Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks
Darcy Regier, Buffalo Sabres
So there you have it. The playoff races are going to be interesting to watch nonetheless and it will be interesting to see what the team makeup is going to look like after the trade deadline on February 27, 2011. Its going to be fun to speculate what will happen in the next few months. GO OILERS!
And being an Oilers fan, I have accepted my teams fate this year, no playoffs for a fifth straight year..booo
