2010-2011 NHL Preview

The East:
It's gonna be between the Capitals and the Penguins. Both teams are way better then anyone else the east has to offer. Even though the Flyers made it to the finals last year that was only because they caught lightning in a bottle with Michael Leighton. If he plays most of a season he wont be as durable in the playoffs and he just hasn't proven he's a top goalie. There are a few other teams that could give the Caps and Pens a run for the east crown. The Devils have Ilya for a whole season now but does Brodeur have enough left in the tank? The Rangers could have a Vezina trophy winner in Lundqvist and if they can just figure out how to score on a consistent basis they could be a really good team. On the downside Glen Sather is still the GM and is bound to make a bad move. Then there is the Canadiens who have an American captain(Brian Gionta go figure) and a big question mark at goalie. Is Carey Price going to go back to All-Star form? Or is Alex Auld going to outplay him like Halak did last year. Their whole season hinges on that. The Bruins may have the best team other then Pitt and Washington but after losing like they did in last years playoffs I just don't see how you can comeback from that. I think the Pens will end up winning the east but it wont be easy.

The West:
Unlike the east, the west is full of cup contenders but no team stands out more than the Vancouver Canucks. I think they'll end up coming out of the west because they have everything a team needs to win a Stanley Cup. They have the scoring with Henrik Sedin(Hart Trophy winner) and his brother Daniel along with Ryan Kessler. They have one of the best two way defenses in the league and one of the best goalies in Robby Luongo. Even with a really good team they were very injured last year and that could kill this run. Plus with the depth in the west its going to be difficult but i think they'll get over the hump and finally beat the Blackhawks in the playoffs en route to their Stanley Cup appearance. The Red Wings will be give them a run for the best record in the west. Lidstrom making his final run and Datsyuk and Zetterberg at the top of their games they could go far but that may all depends on how good Jimmy Howard plays. San Jose is always a good team and always seem like they can make a cup run but they always hit a road block somewhere in the playoffs which i expect yet again. The Blackhawks are missing half their cup winning team. Can they really return with this one? I don't think so. I'm not a believer in Marty Turco who has been a shell of himself for the past two years. Then that leaves the L.A Kings. A team that could be 1 forward away from a cup. Look for them to make a move before the March deadline to add the immense young talent on this team. They have 2 great defensemen in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, An awesome 1st line of Kopitar, Brown and Ryan Smyth, and a great young goalie in Jonathan Quick. If the Kings couldve gotten Kovalchuk I'd probably have them going to the cup but theyre still one guy away. I'm anxious to see if they'll pull the trigger on something but I think the Kings will be the most exciting team to watch this year. It'd be a great thing for L.A to finally have a hockey team again.

Stanley Cup:
Canucks over Penguins. It only took 40 years but I think Vancouver will raise the cup behind stellar goal tending and the twins.

Award Winners:
Vezina- Henrik Lundqvist
Hart-Alex Ovechkin
Selke-Pavel Datsyuk
Norris-Shea Weber
Calder-Tyler Ennis
Jack Adams-Alain Vigneault

The Stanley Cup

A repeat of last years cup is exactly what i want to see, the two most talented teams battling it out for Lord Stanley's Cup. Detroit will win this series because they are all around the better team. From their 4th line to their defensemen to their goalie. During the playoffs the Penguins needed Crosby or Malkin to win virtually every game but the Red Wings get help from everywhere like Wednesday night when Darren Helm scored the series clincher in overtime and when Mikael Samuelsson scored the winner in Game 2. The Red Wings defense can shut those two down like they did last year and then all they have to do is score on Fleury which they have no problem doing. With great defense, amazing forwards, and a veteran goalie in Osgood who knows how to win with it all on the line Detroit is gonna win this series no doubt about it. This team is just too well rounded to lose to an offensively reliant team like the Penguins. They can win any way with anyone this year with all the weapons they have defensively and offensively I just don't see them losing. My prediction is Detroit in 6.





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NHL Playoff Preview Western Conference

1st San Jose Sharks vs. 8th Anaheim Ducks
San Jose was drew one tough 8th seed in Anaheim and their amazing defensemen. With Beauchemin back from injury along with Pronger, Niedermeyer, and Whitney they easily have the best D corps in the league and they will need it against Thornton, Marleau&Co. This is going to be a tough hard fought series and it can go either way and may be won by San Jose being so good at home and I think they squeak by just barely.
San Jose in 7

2nd Detroit Red Wings vs. 7th Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus enters its first postseason against the Detroit and they couldnt ask for a worse opponent. This series depends on the rookie Steve Mason stopping the Detroit scoring attack led by Pavel Datsyuk and his sidekicks Marion Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg and anchored on defense by the best in the league in Nicklas Lidstrom. I just dont think the Jackets are good enough to beat this Detroit team that makes up its lack of goaltending with its ability to outscore anyone.
Detroit in 4

3rd Vancouver Canucks vs. 6th St. Louis Blues
The best 2 teams in the second half of the season square off in an extremely even series. Luongo and the Sedin twins will win this series over the inexperienced Blues but it wont be easy. Chris Mason has played some amazing goal as of late and has really kept this team in it. They just dont have enough to beat Luongo and the twins.
Vancouver in 6

4th Chicago Blackhawks vs. 5th Calgary Flames
This series will be one thing, high scoring. Toews and Kane, two of my favorite players to watch because they are so young but play like they've been in the league for so long and do it so well. They embark on their first playoff stint against a flat looking Calgary team that doesnt look as good as they did a couple months ago. These two teams combined have 11 20 goal scorers so there is no doubt they will score but can Kiprusoff stop the young guns of Chicago and can the Bulin wall stand up against the veteran experience of Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginla? I think that the Blackhawks will keep playing amazing hockey and get put out the Flames.
Chicago in 5

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NHL Playoff Preview-Eastern Conference

1st-Boston Bruins vs 8th-Montreal Canadiens
In this hated Original 6 rivalry we see one hell of a match up. This series could go either way even though it's an 8 vs 1. Montreals terrible 2nd half confuses me because they were such a good team for the start of the season but I have high hopes for the Habs in the playoffs. If they can right the ship here and start playing some hockey with the veteran leadership of Kovalev and get some solid goaltending from Carey Price they can surprise the Bruins and send them to the golf course early. They just need to find a way to get past Tim Thomas who's 4-0-1 against them and learn how to control Zdeno Chara who has 3 goals and 3 assists and Marc Savard 3 goals and 2 helpers against them this year. If they can pull that off they can upset the B's and help out my Rangers.
Canadiens in 7 (wishful thinking)

2nd-Washington Capitals vs. 7th New York Rangers
Offense meets defense in this battle between Ovechkin and his merry bunch of scorers vs King Henrik. This game is decided by if the Rangers want to score or not which tends to be a big problem for them this year. If Washington starts scoring 3-4 goals it's going to be very difficult for the Rangers to keep up and it could end up like last year against the Penguins. As long as they play stellar defense, dont take dumb penalties and Lundquist plays his ass off the Rangers could somehow get by this offensive powerhouse.
Rangers in 6

3rd-New Jersey Devils vs. 6th Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina coming off a great playoff push going 9-2 in their last 11 games are playing a great Devil team with a healthy Brodeur. Can the Hurricanes beat the Devils yet again in the playoffs which they've done the last two times they met? And can the Devils finally win at the RBC Center where they can't seem to win at all? I think so with Brodeur and Zach Parise they hold a slight edge over Eric Staal and Cam Ward. I see a bunch of 2-1 and 3-2 games and the Devils taking the series.
Devils in 5

4th Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5th Philadelphia Flyers
The battle of Pennsylvania is here and Pittsburgh is ready to kill the Flyers. Their offense is too potent to be contained by the Flyers. Malkin and Crosby are gonna skate circles around the Flyers defense and make quick work of them.
Penguins in 4

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