Tough night at the ACC, Leafs lose 6-0

Cam Atkinson opens the scoring in Toronto with a first-period goal (Griag Abel)

A tough loss tonight for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they were blown out at home 6-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets of all teams…

Columbus, who are currently 2nd to last in the Metro division (now 9-12-3), would be the last team you’d think could rout Toronto so bad. With Marian Gaborik (the team’s only former 30-goal scorer) out with a knee injury for the next month or so, the Jackets don’t exactly have the strongest tools in the lineup every night.

Sloppy, lethargic, and passive were only some of the adjectives Sportsnet-590 used to describe Toronto’s play tonight in the ACC. The Leafs had a mere 18 shots in the loss, with only one coming from Kessel and none at all from Nazem Kadri. Coach Carlyle went on to say it looked like his team was playing on boots.

Meanwhile, Reimer had an awful night in net, stopping only 15 of 21 shots for a .714 save percentage. It’s his worst game since March 19, 2012 against Boston, where he allowed four goals on nine shots. Reimer will have to fight a lot harder than tonight if he wants to take the #1 starting job back from Bernier…The near future looks bleak for Toronto, as they are up against Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Hopefully Phaneuf isn’t suspended for his “illegal check to the head” on Anisimov.

The Stanley Cup Finals

Bryan Bickell and David Krejci lead the Blackhawks and Bruins in goal-scoring this postseason. Krejci has nine goals, while Bickell is tied with Patrick Sharp of the Blackhawks, with eight.

It's come down to this.

The President's Trophy winning Chicago Blackhawks (who I correctly predicted in the finals, YAY!), and the gritty Boston Bruins. Neither team had an easy trip to this final round; interestingly enough both teams got a wake-up call to save their postseason.

Boston nearly blew their 3-1 series lead against the Maple Leafs, and finally rebounded in game seven from a 4-1 deficit to win in overtime. Since then the Bruins have dominated, winning their next two series in a total of nine games. They outscored Pittsburgh 12-2 in the conference finals, and left both Crosby and Malkin pointless in the series.

Meanwhile, Chicago dominated their series against the Wild, winning in five. Detroit however, had Chicago on the ropes and down 3-1 in the series, with the team falling apart (evident by Jonathan Toews' trips to the penalty box in game four). It was then that Chicago finally came together as a team and started taking the playoffs seriously, winning the next three games to advance to the conference finals.

Now we're left with a special match up, the first Original Six final since Montreal and New York in 1979, 34 years ago. On paper, things look close, especially the goaltending. Rask's GAA is 1.75, while Crawford's is 1.74. Their save percentages are .943 and .935. Rask has allowed 30 goals; Crawford has let in 31. Now that's close.

But my prediction? The Boston Bruins have got this, it won't even be close. They've worked harder, they've been faster, and will play a better physical game than the Blackhawks. This contest will be over quickly, let's say, five games. If Chicago's even going to get off the ground, they MUST have production from their star players. Brandon Saad, one of four Blackhawks with at least 10 goals in the regular season, has absolutely fallen asleep during the playoffs, minus four with no goals in 17 games. Toews isn't much better, his one goal of the playoffs came in game five of the Detroit series. And without his hat-trick to win the conference final for the Blackhawks, Patrick Kane would likely be included in this ridicule. But to get these scoring opportunities, the Blackhawks must also solve Zdeno Chara, and the Bruins' excellent defensive play (Chara leads defencemen in the playoffs with an outstanding plus 12).

I'll go ahead and predict shutouts by Tuukka Rask, and pesky moves by Brad Marchand that will drive Chicago insane. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get an oddly integral part of my bracket correct: Chicago getting to the Stanley Cup Final and falling apart. Don Cherry's getting excited already...

Don't hate on Duncan Keith

Duncan Keith approaches Jeff Carter to apologize in game 3 between Chicago and Los Angeles, following the slash to the mouth.

Following Duncan Keith's actions in game three of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night, Brandan Shanahan saw it fitting to suspend the defenceman for one game. Remembering back to 2007, when Chris Simon was suspended 25 games for a two-hand slash on Ryan Hollweg in retaliation, it's incredible to think that Keith's actions only merit a single-game suspension. But nonetheless, the decision has been made, and there's no reason to dwell on how suspension-worthy the slash was in 2013.

Jeff Carter won't get away from the incident free either though, and really shouldn't. Don Cherry couldn't have said it better in Wednesday's edition of Coach's Corner, reminding everyone that if you go looking for trouble, trouble will find you. A slash to the unprotected hand of your opponent is no way to act like a respectful hockey player, and now Carter will always know that (surely the 20 stitches will forever remind him). Perhaps Sean Avery would have performed less cheap shots if he had received a hard slash immediately following, who knows?

Hopefully though, the incident doesn't negatively affect the play of this year's President's Trophy winners. After the Blackhawks learned their lesson in the Detroit series last month, it would be a shame if Keith's suspension cost Chicago the Western Conference Final. A win by the Kings in game four would mean a tied series; essentially proving Chicago's wins in games one and two meaningless. Keith leads Blackhawks defencemen in the playoffs with 10 points; the closest behind him is Johnny Oduya with four...Sounds like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews need to step it up tonight; out of Chicago's 40 goals this postseason, Kane and Toews have three. Ouch...

Now, on a lighter note, let's look back on a less-violent moment in NHL retaliation. In a 2009 match between Boston and Montreal, Andrei Kostitsyn boarded a Bruins player, stopping the play. As Kostitsyn skated past the Boston net, Tim Thomas stood up for his teammate and delivered a hit that left the TD Garden roaring. As you will see, Kostitsyn went looking for trouble, and Tim Thomas found him. No one was seriously hurt, and no suspensions came about. Classic hockey...

NHL Playoffs - Conference Finals

Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook screams in celebration following his series-winning overtime goal against the Red Wings.

So here we are at the Conference Finals. I couldn’t be more satisfied with who’s left alive in the playoffs; the past four Stanley Cup champions: Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Whoever wins the Cup completely deserves it, and will be remembered as the true dominating team of the early 2010’s. Just imagine if the Kings go back-to-back, we’ll basically have a modern day New York Islanders! My bracket, although working out a little differently than what I predicted, has three of the four teams correctly slated (I admit, choosing the Capitals was a gamble).

(1) Chicago Blackhawks and (5) Los Angeles Kings

For the second postseason in a row, the Kings have been extremely competitive without having a high number of points to show for it in the regular season.  Having them up against the President’s Trophy winner seems only fitting, and is the ultimate test for LA to prove their dominance was not for a short period of time. The series is too close to call, especially after Chicago faced the Red Wings in the conference semifinals. The Blackhawks, down 3-1 in the series, woke up and started playing powerful, disciplined hockey like that of their amazing season. This is, by far, the most enticing matchup of the playoffs so far…Toews and Kane need to start scoring some goals to put Chicago over the top. As Don Cherry said, the Blackhawks also need to be prepared for the hitting of the Los Angeles Kings; something the Red Wings did not pose a threat with.

(1) Pittsburgh Penguins and (4) Boston Bruins

Like I said, the Penguins would go far with Tomas Vokoun; 6-1 with a GAA of 1.85 is absolutely fantastic for a backup goaltender. Another series that is too close to call; Pittsburgh and Boston lead the way in the playoffs for goals scored per game, but Pittsburgh soars ahead in that statistic with 4.3 (Boston has 3.2). Both teams are coming off series where they won in five, but had a bit of a layoff before the start of the conference final. There is no telling who will have momentum, yet.

Round One Recap - 2013 NHL Playoffs

So this is obviously a day late, and round two already started, but I didn’t watch either game last night anyway…So here’s a recap of round one of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs…

Bryan Bickell wins game one for the Blackhawks; a crushing blow to goaltender Josh Harding

Western Conference

(1) Chicago Blackhawks and (8) Minnesota Wild
Blackhawks win 4-1

My prediction – CORRECT!

Like I said to a friend of mine who’s a Blackhawks fan: Congrats Chicago! You’ve passed the President’s Trophy Stupid Test! You played strong and dominant like everyone expected. The Wild did their best but it wasn’t even close to enough; considering they were outscored by Chicago 17-7 in the series. Game one was evenly matched, but ultimately ended with an amazing lead pass by Johnny Oduya, setting up a goal by Bryan Bickell to win it for Chicago. The Blackhawks aren’t going to choke any time soon; get ready for a long playoff run.

The Red Wings celebrate Henrik Zetterberg's overtime goal in game six

(2) Anaheim Ducks and (7) Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings win 4-3

My prediction – INCORRECT!

Wow, just wow. I still can’t believe the Wings pulled this one off. Detroit never led the Ducks get away with the series, tying it three times, with overtime winners in games 2, 4, and 6. I also gave Detroit’s youth much less credit than I should have; my mind changed with Gustav Nyquist’s game two winner, and Brunner’s game four winner. It’s a shame for the Ducks, after posting the third-best record in the league this year.

(3) Vancouver Canucks and (6) San Jose Sharks
Sharks win 4-0

My prediction – CORRECT!

Called it! As I said a few weeks ago, it’s inevitable you’re going to choke Vancouver! Funny enough, it was a series between two teams that love to choke in the playoffs. As we can see, San Jose is no longer the No. 1 choking team in the Western Conference. You can’t blame Luongo and Schneider that much when the Sedin twins had no goals…

Barrett Jackman scored the winner in game two with less than a minute to go, and lit up the Scottrade Center with excitement

(4) St. Louis Blues and (5) Los Angeles Kings
Kings win 4-2

My prediction – CORRECT!
WHAT A SERIES! So many hits, so many last-minute goals, so much excitement. Every game was decided by one goal, and as Don Cherry said, it’s a shame one of these teams had to lose. You do have to give the Blues a lot of credit for their hard work and amazing plays: Alex Steen’s two-goal night in game one, Barret Jackman’s game-winner with 51 seconds to go in game two, and Pietrangelo’s game-tying goal in game five. The fans for both teams certainly got their money’s worth. The Kings prove they are still a championship caliber team, and they are valiantly defending their 2012 title. Los Angeles will thankfully advance to the second round, not following the trend of several other previous Stanley Cup champions.

Eastern Conference

(1) Pittsburgh Penguins and (8) New York Islanders
Penguins win 4-2

My prediction – CORRECT!
The Islanders, in their first playoffs since 2007, gave the Pens a run for their money. We finally got to see John Tavares and company get a shot in the playoffs! Pascal Dupuis came up big for Pittsburgh, scoring five goals in the series. Tomas Vokoun took center stage in goal for the Pens when Fleury started to falter, as usual…The Penguins are looking strong, but need to turn the heat on a little more if they want to beat more teams down the stretch…Nice to see some nationally-televised games from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum before they get rid of it…

Lars Eller lies bloodied on the ice in game one, following a hit by Eric Gryba

(2) Montreal Canadiens and (7) Ottawa Senators – Senators win 4-1

My prediction – INCORRECT!
Dangit! Now I wonder why I ever chose Montreal to win this one…Although the first two games were evenly-matched and quite exciting, Ottawa blew Montreal out in game three, and completely embarrassed them as well, with several third period scrums that only PK Subban had the guts to respond in (I got a good laugh out of him literally pinning down Kyle Turris). Montreal’s last cry was two quick goals in game four, only to see their lead controversially erased by Ottawa…The series may only be remembered by the violent hit on Lars Eller, who hopefully makes a full recovery after leaving game one on a stretcher…The first all-Canadian playoff matchup since 2004; so much action but sadly over so quick!

(3) Washington Capitals and (6) New York Rangers

Rangers win 4-3

My prediction – INCORRECT!
Well, there goes my playoff bracket…I picked the Caps to win the Stanley Cup mostly on their incredible 15-2-2 finish to the season. Washington’s only condition was that Ovechkin had to continue playing like an all-star; Ovechkin was the key component. What happened? In round one against the Rangers, Ovie registered a mere two points, a goal and an assist, and had a plus/minus rating of -2. ‘The Great 8’ obviously put in a huge effort with 30 shots, but a 3.3 shot percentage doesn’t cut it. A team that could’ve continued their surprise dominance instead became a sleeper, just like every other year…

The iconic CBC shot immediately following Boston's series-winning goal, and comeback from a 4-1 deficit. James Reimer sits in disbelief...

(4) Boston Bruins and (5) Toronto Maple Leafs

Boston wins 4-3

My prediction – CORRECT!
The Leafs were finally back in the playoffs after nine years, and everyone, including myself, figured the series would be over after four games with Boston slaughtering Toronto. (Especially after Boston’s dominant play in game one) But the Leafs stunned everybody after game four’s overtime loss. Down 3-1 in the series, they easily could have given up, but Toronto persevered and brought Boston to their knees in game seven. As the series went along, the Leafs found out how to be a playoff-caliber team, and things came together like we haven’t seen out of the Leafs in recent memory…

And of course, it wouldn’t be Toronto without a classic blow-up in the third period of game seven, watching their 4-1 lead be erased and losing in overtime. Thanks Toronto, surprising me with solid hockey and then giving it all away at the last second; it’s like you were at a casino! I’m going to be mad for a long time about this…at least I can laugh about it though…

ROUND TWO PREDICTIONS

(1) Chicago and (7) Detroit

With how dominant Chicago was over the measly Wild, you would expect another Blackhawk prediction. But I think with how incredibly hard the Wings worked to oust Anaheim, I’m predicting a huge upset by Detroit over the Blackhawks (This assumes that the Wings are going to fight just as hard, or harder, than they did in round one). Detroit now has the experience they need to beat a President’s Trophy team. Get ready Chicago!

(5) Los Angeles and (6) San Jose

The Kings obviously just took game one 2-0 last night, but aside from that, I’m picking them anyway. It will definitely be interesting if San Jose figures out how to handle the Kings, but it’s likely just too much for them.

(1) Pittsburgh and (7) Ottawa

Pittsburgh beat the Sens 4-1 last night. Tomas Vokoun stopped all but one of 36 shots. I originally would’ve likely picked Ottawa hands down. But realistically, on the condition that the Pens decide to use Tomas Vokoun through the entire series, I pick Pittsburgh to run away with it (Am I the only one that thinks Marc-Andre Fleury is a mediocre goaltender at best?). Get excited as well! These two teams don’t like each other at all, and this is their fourth meeting in the playoffs in seven seasons.

(4) Boston and (6) New York

“Boston Strong.” Get used to that phrase if you haven’t already, because you’re going to have to keep listening to it. The Bruins are the stronger team by far, and now know they can’t sit on their series like in round one against the Leafs. Say goodbye to Rick Nash and the Rangers…oh wait, HAHA, that’s funny because Rick Nash doesn’t even have a goal yet!
...

I must also commend NBC for making the decision to air EVERY playoff game on their networks. For a hockey fan, this is truly a first, and being able to watch at least two games a night was a luxury I enjoyed to the fullest. Without that, this blog post would be a lot less in depth…

2013 NHL Playoff Predictions

So here we are. A miracle deal to save the 2013 NHL season, and my childhood dream comes true: the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs!!! Not only that, but so did Montreal and Ottawa; I couldn't be more excited to lounge at home every evening for the next two months, watching playoff hockey.

So without further ado, here is my 2013 playoff bracket.

I know right off the bat that you’re going to judge this one (I guess I've unexpectedly predicted all three California teams to make the second round, which would be a first). "Chicago not winning the cup? Blasphemy!" More or less, I’ve seen two kinds of NHL brackets throughout the past couple seasons. 

1) Brackets that simply predict the top seeded teams to meet in the Stanley Cup Final, with the #1 seed most likely winning it all.

2) Brackets that have a surprise team, or a less-expected one, going all the way and ousting someone important (and trying to be overly skeptical, especially after several President’s Trophy flops since the last lockout).

So in my case, I guess I tried to do both in one bracket. In this case, Washington and Los Angeles are those teams who would be more of a surprise, but more so for the Caps.

For a while this season, Washington sat near the bottom of the Eastern Conference,  partly due to a dismal 2-8-1 start which Ovechkin only scored three goals in. But the rebound has been incredible; Ovie has won his third Maurice Richard trophy, and since March 21, the Capitals are 15-2-2, better than both the Penguins and Blackhawks in that time period. Quite a turnaround!

Although Chicago and Pittsburgh have both been incredible, you know that one of them, or both, is going to burn out eventually. There’s a lot that needs to continue to go well for a team to last an extra two months in the playoffs, and I’m simply not optimistic enough to think either one will survive.

I’d love to be optimistic for Toronto as well, but Boston is just one of those teams that Toronto has a real problem playing. The real question will be how Kessel fares against his old team; will he choke like many times before? If that’s the case then there’s no hope for the Leafs, not even Kadri. Hopefully, Colton Orr gets a chance to clothesline Brad Marchand or some other pest, and remove them from the Bruins lineup. Yay!

I actually put this bracket together immediately following Sunday’s game between Ottawa and Pittsburgh. Looking back two days later, I’m content with my choices and stand by them. If I could chance a series, I may predict Ottawa to win over Montreal in the opening round, and maybe even have Detroit beating the Ducks. Regarding the Capitals defeating the Blackhawks in the finals (a bold prediction), who knows? Maybe I’ve got it all wrong. But of course, it’s all for fun anyway.
PS
1) Sorry Vancouver, you've choked too many times. San Jose's got this.
2) Hey Islanders, you should bust my bracket and have a long playoff run, I'd actually love to watch that!

Classic Ovechkin is back

Alex Ovechkin has 48 points in 43 games this season. (Photo by  Greg Fiume)

After Tuesday night’s game in Washington D.C., Alex Ovechkin is definitely back.

Yes, this has been obvious for around a month now, as the 27-year-old left-winger has surged in scoring – 19 goals in his last 18 games – and is setting himself up for a third Rocket Richard Trophy. Ovechkin leads the league with 28 goals this season, one ahead of Steven Stamkos’ 27.

Lockout aside, “The Great 8” has returned to his point totals of previous years. Hypothetically, if this had been a full season, Ovie’s 48 points in 43 games would average to 91 points in 82 games, also assuming he made the lineup every night. It’s quite exciting to know that Ovechkin is slowly returning to his old self, after a 2011-12 campaign where he led the entire Caps team with a measly 65 points, much unlike his three-straight 100-point seasons between 2007 and 2010.

Now, I don’t see as many games involving Washington as I used to, so I don’t see everything Ovechkin does night in and night out. On a general basis, I believed Ovechkin had toned down his game and become much less physical, ever since he boarded Chicago Blackhawks’ Brian Campbell in March 2010 and was ejected. It seemed like a moment where Ovie realized how reckless his play had become, and he backed off a little.

My stance changed last night against the Maple Leafs.

As the video shows, Jay McClement of the Leafs throws a pretty nasty hit on Nicklas Backstrom, which Ovechkin will have none of. He attacks McClement without a second thought, and stands up for his teammate. Often times you won’t see an immediate response from players following a dirty hit, but Ovie, already headed in that direction, goes straight for McClement. I don’t blame him at all; in fact I commend him for not letting McClement get away with a cheap shot.

A Leafs fan I most certainly am, but I have no problem watching my favourite players get bowled over when they do something cruel, like boarding. Daniel Alfredsson got major brownie points last month when he stood up to Zac Rinaldo for a similar incident. Retaliation? Yes, but a good way to keep players in check. Ovechkin should have no shame for sitting in the box for 2 minutes, after “charging” McClement. It thankfully shows that Ovechkin has not turned into the submissive veteran I thought he might have.

Needless to say, the classic Alexander Ovechkin we once knew (and possibly despised) is back! Get ready for a strong playoff run by the Capitals…

Ovechkin celebrating his goal against the Leafs, April 16, 2013. (Photo by Alex Brandon)

Nazem Kadri is the Real Deal

Kadri celebrates his goal against the Buffalo Sabres, Januar y 21, 2013. (Photo by Nathan Denette)

The opening goal of the season on Saturday night in Montreal, and a goal to keep the Leafs in contention in Monday night's game against Buffalo. After two games this season, Nazem Kadri has scored 66.6% of the Maple Leafs' goals this season. Yes, that is a silly statistic, but Kadri has been given almost no chance to prove himself in the past three years. Now he's off to a hot start before everyone else.

An above point-per-game player while in the OHL, and nearly one while with the Marlies the past two years, Kadri only played in 51 NHL games before this season; a single game in 2009-10, 29 games in 2010-11, and 21 games in 2011-12. Although he has a little ways to go, Kadri shows superb promise in the near future.

Kadri's goal on Monday was the lone Toronto goal of the night. Kessel had 7 shots on Ryan Miller throughout the game, Phaneuf had 6, Lupul had 4, and Liles had 4. While none of them scored a single goal, Kadri got one past Miller with just one shot on net. Though it isn't the most fair comparison - Kadri essentially had an open net after Kostka's weak shot - Kadri has scored two goals this season nonetheless, while the "stars" of the Leafs have not. What has Toronto been missing all this time? Nazem Kadri of course. I've believed in him, Don Cherry's believed in him, and we're still here. Ron Wilson and Brian Burke are not.

Also, I'm impressed by the work by Ben Scrivens early this season. With a GAA of 1.53 and a save percentage of .929, things are looking good so far for the Leafs' "backup" goaltender. With Mark Fraser also in the lineup Monday night, and even getting in a fight, the young members of the Leafs roster are leading the way in this silly season.

Scrivens stopped 18 of 20 shots faced in Monday night's game against Buffalo. (Photo by Nathan Denette)

The 2013 NHL Season Begins

Kadri's powerplay goal early in the first period helped lift Toronto to their first win of the season. (Photo by  Richard Wolowicz)

Wow. Saturday night is back to its good ol’ self.

The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens 2-1 in what felt like a relatively boring game to watch. In perfect fashion to slap Ron Wilson and Brian Burke in the face, Nazem Kadri scored Toronto’s opening goal on the season, at 4:51 of the first period. There was a fairly good fight between Mike Brown and Brandon Prust shortly after the goal. (I thought for sure it’d be Colton Orr in the fight, since it was his first time on the ice in ages)

Overall I’m pretty impressed with Toronto tonight in their opening game. (THEY WON!!! :D yayyy) I’m also happy with the performance of Ben Scrivens, with a save percentage of .955, and a completely unexpected starting goaltender in the first place! I look forward to seeing him play this season, even if he occasionally takes a spill and sits down behind his net…I also was impressed with rookie defenceman Michael Kostka, I mean, it’s your first NHL game and you play with PHANEUF for God’s sake! I hope Carlyle keeps Kostka on the ice, he went beyond impressing me. Kostka was second in ice-time for Maple Leafs defencemen tonight, there’s a reason why he played so much.

Mike Brown and Brandon Prust, about the best photo of a hockey fight you'll see in your life... (Photo by  Francois Lacasse)

Overall, a great start for Toronto, hope to see the same hard work out of them on Monday night! (Hopefully, the next 47 games won’t be as slow as tonight’s was at times; the players have got to get back into it!)

On a completely unrelated note, Canadiens captain Brian Gionta got the goal that his son challenged him to score, so kudos to him! A high note for the Bell Centre during the game…

YAYYYYYYY

And who would’ve guessed it? THE LOCKOUT IS OVER!

Get pumped for lots of blog posts about the Toronto Maple Leafs! You don’t know how surprised I am that I get to spend spring semester watching hockey!

Well, we don't need to watch Joey Crabb fight for the Leafs anymore...he's in Washington now