Behind the Numbers: Does the Power-Play Really Make a Great Player? posted by Jeff Ponder

Over and over again, we have seen penalties hurt a team’s chance of winning games in the 2010-11 NHL Playoffs.  These penalties have been turning into power-play goals with one flick of the wrist or one wind-up from the point.  How important is it to be that guy that gets the all-important power-play goal to give his team a mental edge?

Looking purely at the numbers, the Canucks’ powerhouse offense is led by the Sedin twins.  Currently with 17 games played, Henrik leads the NHL with 19 points (2G, 17A).  His brother, Daniel, finds himself tied for sixth with five other players in the point race with 15 points (8G, 7A).  Taking a deeper look, the power-play helps boost those numbers to what they are.

Henrik has amassed 10 power-play points (1G, 9A), while Daniel adds 9 power-play points (5G, 4A).  Henrik’s power-play points add up for 53% of his total points, while Daniel has scored 60% of his points on the power-play.

How does this stack up to other leaders in the NHL? 

Teammate Ryan Kesler, currently ranked fourth in points, has scored 17 points this current playoff (6G, 11A) with 8 of those coming with the man-advantage.  This totals for 47% of his total points.

Shifting over to Tampa Bay, the Lightning have had two impact players putting up impressive numbers at the most important time of the year.  Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier seem to have found their stride and battle amongst the three Canucks for the top six spots in points-scored.

St. Louis has scored 17 points (8G, 9A), 9 points coming on the power-play (3G, 6A).  This adds up to be 53% of his total point production. 

Kesler the Key to Vancouver’s Success posted by Jeff Ponder

The fate of the one Canadian city left in the Stanley Cup playoffs will be rested on an American.

Ryan Kesler, born in Livonia, Michigan, was a dominating force that the Canucks needed to get past the pesky Nashville Predators.  The feisty center put up an amazing 41 goals in the regular season to lead the Canucks, but was held scoreless in the first round of the playoffs against Chicago.  He did not turn it on until game three of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Kesler, who had no goals and just five assists prior to game three, was finally awoken against Nashville.  Kesler tallied two power-play goals and one assist in the game, one of the goals coming as the game-winner in overtime.  It was his play along the boards that put Nashville’s top penalty-killer, Shea Weber, in the penalty box that resulted in Kesler’s game-winner.  Agree with the call on the ice or not, the 26-year old forward did his job to ensure a victory.

That game started an offensive onslaught by Kesler, since posting three goals, four assists, seven points and one more power-play goal.  Scoring a total of ten points in four games catapulted Kesler to the top of the NHL leader-board, tying Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk for the league-lead with 15 points in the playoffs. 

Timely goal-scoring and rough-play along the boards are not the only reasons that Kesler is a monumental factor in Vancouver’s success as of late. 

Kesler’s +6 is the best plus/minus for the Canucks.  His 23:23 ice-time is also the most average time-played amongst Canucks forwards.  In the three overtime games that the Canucks have had, Kesler seems to be out there every other shift.  Canucks Head Coach Alain Vigneault also used Kesler in every situation against Nashville.

Vancouver Wins Game 7, 2-1 in OT posted by Richard Kagan

The Chicago Blackhawks lost to their rival, the Vancouver Canucks,2-1, in a rugged, determined Game 7 that went to OT,

Alex Burroughs scored on a Hawks turnover with the 5th minute of OT to send the home crowd into a frenzy, and leaving the Hawks to ponder, how close they came to making history.  The Hawks put up a valiant fight, thanks to the outstanding goaltending of Chris Crawford.  He was stellar in net, turning back a penalty shot, and three close-in saves in the 3rd period, any which would have won the game for the Canucks.  But Vancouver played well in front of their home ice fans at Rogers Arena and slayed the dragon,  the Chicago Blackhawks.

Jonathan Toews scored a short-handed goal with under two minutes left to play stun the crowd and the game went into OT.

The issue would be could Roberto Luongo make the saves to keep his team in the game.  He did.  He stopped a great attempt by Patrick Sharp in OT, and shortly after, Vancouver capitlized on a critical turnover and Burroughs came through.

He was denied early the third period by Goalie Crawford on a penatly shot. But the withering pressure of the Canucks paid off, and they scored the winning goal. 

It was a great effort by Chicago.  If they won the game, it would have propelled them into the second round against San Jose and their former goalie Annti Niemi.  But the season ended, after a stirring comeback which saw the Hawks win 3 straight games and push the 7th game into OT.  I am sure the Canucks breathed a massive sigh of relief.  Chicago has to know it played like a champion after coming back from an 0-3 hole.  They made a great showing and it came up a goal short. 

Weak Northwest Division Could Benefit Blackhawks posted by Jeff Ponder

Vancouver is the heavy favorite heading into the 2011 NHL playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.  Their Northwest Division foes can vouch for that.

 The Vancouver Canucks, who won the President’s Trophy by a landslide-ten points over the East’s Washington Capitals, posted an impressive 54-19-9 record for a league-leading 117 points in the regular season.  Obviously, the Canucks head into the Quarterfinal Series as the top seed in the Western Conference where they will meet the eighth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks.  But how much did Vancouver playing in the Northwest Division help bloat their point total?

The Northwest Division, which features the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers, saw only one of its teams make the playoffs.  This is the only division in the NHL to do so.

The Canucks had a whopping 18-4-2 record against their Northwest Division foes.  With a record like that, it is easy to see how the Canucks can steamroll through parts of the regular season.  Still impressive?  Yes, very much so.  Anytime a team can dominate in their own division usually means that team will be a top-seed in the playoffs.  But what if Vancouver played in a better division?

Let’s say Vancouver goes .500 against the Northwest Division (12-12-0).  Their record drops down to 48-27-7 and they post 103 points.  While these are still very respectable numbers, that drops them to the third seed (keep in mind that they would still hold onto the division title), and puts them just six points ahead of their current playoff matchup, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Time for a New Disciplinary System posted by Jeff Ponder

The NHL may be the greatest hockey league in the world, but it may not have the best system for dealing with disciplinary action.  It seems that they could learn from leagues that play under them.  Way way under them. 

Jason Miller runs a roller hockey league in St. Louis, Missouri that is a glorified pick-up league.  He calls players every week to play, which goes in order of the amount of times played in past games.  He even hires a referee every Sunday night to facilitate the two 44 minute games and also has a scorekeeper to keep track of goals, assists and penalty minutes.  As if that wasn't enough, he even keeps track of everything on sundayrollerhockey.com, the league's website for everyone to view in the comfort of their own homes.  But the most notable feature of Miller's league may be the way that he handles the discipline that needs to be handed out time to time.

Even though the league is played amongst friends, tempers do flare on the rink.  Miller has set up a unique way to handle these situations.  If he feels that it is necessary to pursue action off the rink (suspension or expulsion from the league), he takes the matter to his board of players that was voted in by everyone that participates in Sunday Roller Hockey.

“Its mostly made just to curtail violence and stupid behavior,” Miller said, “and its worked pretty well because its at least made people think twice about what they want to do before they actually do it.”

Is this something that could be adopted in the NHL?  Vancouver Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell would vote in its favor.
Continue reading "Time for a New Disciplinary System"

USA! USA! USA! posted by Goon Squad

Has it been 30 years now since the US beat the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid?(It seems like only yesterday...)

The Americans went on to win the gold medal in hockey that year - something that hasn't happened since, but don't expect any miracles next month at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. No, the United States still isn't favored to win a gold medal in hockey. In that respect the Americans remain underdogs. But with a roster stacked with young talent, they certainly are a medal candidate - one that the powerhouses from Canada, Russia and Sweden can't afford to overlook. "A little bit different situation [than 1980] in my opinion," said United States team captain Jamie Langenbrunner, a forward with the NHL's New Jersey Devils. "As much as Canada deserves all the credit that they're getting for the players they have, the 23 players named to the [United States] team play in the same league as those guys and we feel quite comfortable playing against them on a nightly basis. We feel we belong on the same ice."

That's a far cry from goalie Jim Craig and the 1980 team! US coach Herb Brooks had to convince that group of college All-Stars that it could compete with the grown men the Soviet Union sent over. But since 1998 the NHL has allowed its professional players to compete at the Winter Olympics. So this group of Americans is baffled by the notion that they would be intimidated by any of the major hockey powers.

Told of stories in the Canadian press that listed him as the only American capable of making the loaded Team Canada roster, forward Zach Parise chuckled. "I think that's kind of a bold statement," said Parise, also a New Jersey Devils forward. "I don't think there's going to be too many people that would agree with that."

Uh Oh, Skettio's! posted by Goon Squad

Officiating has become so intolerable that one general manager filed a protest in a league that doesn't allow protests and several coaches have talked about reading the rulebook again to see if it had changed.

Bettman has put out many fires in his time as NHL commissioner.

On Tuesday, with the Burrows allegations, it was just a spark – and now smoke can be seen coming from Detroit.

NHL rules state that if a call on the ice is to be overturned there must be substantial video evidence to back up overturning a call. 

In this case there was none whatsover--just the word of Mike Leggo, the trailing official who claims he saw what no video camera could--the puck crossing the goal line.

What is the point of having video replay if it's not going to be used for it's intended purpose?

With two teams battling for a very important extra point, assuming the puck crossed the line and going against standard practice, which is substantial video evidence, is absurd. Yet, for the second time in a few days, we have an officiating controversy.

Maybe the call was correct, but the point is that we cannot assume a puck crossed the line.

It was an injustice to the Red Wings, who for the second time this season have been on the wrong end of, plainly stated, an incorrect call.

Coincidentally or not, both games were against Dallas:

Continue reading "Uh Oh, Skettio's!"

Team Sweden Making Some Questionable Moves posted by Jeff Ponder

Does anyone in North America remember Peter Forsberg?  You know, that guy that scored 885 points for the Nordiques, Avalanche, Flyers and Predators? 

Forsberg has attempted many comebacks to the NHL and other professional hockey leagues since playing in his last NHL game for the Colorado Avalanche in April 2008.  His nagging ankle injuries has limited his play, but he has continued working on his game, earning a spot with fellow Swedish countryman Markus Naslund on Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elite League.  Forsberg played in just three games last season, but has stormed back this campaign scoring eight goals and seven assists in nine games.  Is this worthy of a roster spot on the 2010 Swedish Olympic Team?

Team Sweden Head Coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson thinks so.  On Sunday, Gustafsson announced his 23-man roster for the Swedish Team, who will be defending their 2006 Gold Medal victory in Turin.  This roster includes 19 NHLers, three Swedish Elite League skaters and one KHL player.  Forsberg is one of the few men that are not playing on an NHL club but squeaked into the lineup.

One person did not seem too happy about the Swedish club's decision.  Mikael Samuelsson of the Vancouver Canucks was snubbed from the lineup and did not have very nice words for Gustafsson and his staff.

"Probably going to get in trouble for this, but they can go (expletive removed) themselves," Samuelsson stated after the Canucks' win over the Flames Sunday night.

The truth is that Samuelsson is enjoying a good season with the team he signed with over the summer.  Being tied for third on the team in goals with ten and adding 14 assists, the right wing has been a great addition for the Canucks.  Samuelsson could add size (6'2” 212 lbs.) and endurance (17:11 TOI/G) to a Swedish team that could be lacking grit.

Inter-League Game Could Spell Bad News for NHL posted by Jeff Ponder

Could an exhibition game really give bad publicity to a major North-American sports league?

The NHL has constantly been trying to show that their league is the best to the public all over the world.  For the past few seasons, the league has sent four of their teams overseas to play in places such as Germany, Sweden and England.  The teams usually open the NHL regular season a week early, playing two games in the country that they were designated.  This season the league has decided to send the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings to Sweden, and the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers to Finland.  Not only are these teams playing each other, but they will see time against some of the best teams of the chosen nation in pre-season play.

Why is this a possible threat to the league?  The NHL holds themselves as the greatest hockey league in the world with the most powerful teams and the best players.  There is almost no way of disputing that prestigious honor as long as the teams are playing against each other all the time and do not allow any outside teams to jeopardize that point.  Allowing other teams from other leagues could harm the reputation of the NHL. 

Here is the schedule for the games that will be played against other league teams:

Tuesday, September 29:  St. Louis Blues vs. Linkoping HC at Cloetta Center

Tuesday, September 29:  Chicago Blackhawks vs. ZSC Lions Zurich at Hallenstadion

Wednesday, September 30:  Florida Panthers vs. Jokerit Helsinki at Hartwall Arena
Continue reading "Inter-League Game Could Spell Bad News for NHL"

Vancouver Adding to D posted by Jeff Ponder

Vancouver signs Mathieu Schneider to a 1-Year, $1.55 million contract

The Canucks found the replacement for Mattias Ohlund that they were looking for.

After watching Ohlund sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1st, the Canucks felt a gaping hole in their defensive corps.  Even at the age of 40, Schneider can still play the game.  He only accumulated nine goals in 67 games last season splitting time between the Thrashers and Canadiens, Schneider is still a key for a successful power-play.  6 of his 9 goals last season came with the man advantage, while also amassing 12 power-play assists.  The 20-season veteran will be a nice addition to an already impressive Canuck power-play unit.

Considering Schneider's age and the length of the contract, this deal makes perfect sense for the Canucks.  They filled the hole that Ohlund left on the blue line for the upcoming season.  This is a good short-term fix that will help Roberto Luongo sleep easier at night.

Vancouver acquires Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich from San Jose for defenseman Daniel Rahimi and forward Patrick White

The Canucks were not done bolstering their blue line after signing Schneider on Friday. 

The team announced that they had acquired the two defensemen shortly after signing Schneider.  With Kevin Bieksa and Willie Mitchell being the two tough defensemen that plow the front of the net, the Canucks added Ehrhoff who is widely known as a puck-moving defender.  Adding 34 assists last season, he can thread the needle to his forwards when the game is on the line.
Continue reading "Vancouver Adding to D"

Obama honors Stanley Cup champion Bruins (AP)

President Barack Obama is honoring the NHL's Boston Bruins for their 2011 Stanley Cup championship and their charitable work off the ice. Obama hosted the six-time champions at a White House ceremony Monday afternoon. The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup title in 39 years last June after a bruising seven-game final series against the Vancouver Canucks. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Kings win SO, move to 8-1-5 under Sutter (AP)

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Blake's two goals help Ducks top Canucks (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports

Canucks top Blues on OT power play

Daniel Sedin scored a power-play goal 46 seconds into overtimeto give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 victory over the St. LouisBlues on Thursday night in a matchup for first place in the WesternConference. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NHL

Canucks end Blues' run at 4 with OT win (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports