At the end of November the reality of a long hard season ahead has well and truly hit home for everyone involved in the NHL. Be it the surprise packets who got off to a great start, the coaches already fired, @NHLShanahan handing out and justifying suspensions or those players dealing with some type of niggling injury. We are only a quarter of the way through this marathon of a season and all of these guys know that the fun part is over.
On the punting front we started off tremendously but a couple of weeks in Viet Nam has seen my drop away a bit to finish about even for the month. But that will turn and we look forward to a more profitable month for all.
Winners and Losers
Have to start with Boston, they were a loser last month but they have really turned it around. To a degree it was expected but you still have to go out and get the job done. The ongoing bad blood between these guys and Buffalo only seems to be helping their cause.
Claude Giroux had a break out year last year for the Flyers and to a degree they gambled on him as a result, trading away some offensive assets. Things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Flyers just yet but Giroux has more than held up his end of the bargain and is well and truly in the mix for the Hart.
Professional sports is never easy for a rookie coach but Mike Yeo is making it look that way in Minnesota at the moment. A consistent start to the year has them on top of the Northwest and importantly playing what looks to be a playoff brand of hockey.
The first loser of the month is a reversal from last month also, Washington. They started by winning seven in a row and have since gone 5-10-1 and fired big Bruce Boudreau. What a fall from grace.
Along this line I have to make the Ducks my second loser of the month. I knew they weren’t going terribly well but I never expected them to sack Randy Carlyle and hire Bruce Boudreau, this shocked me. Not so much that it was quick, but more so that I think Boudreau is a terrible coach. He coached what I rate as a very talented group of players in the capital but couldn’t get them past the second round. Did the Ducks management watch HBO’s “24/7”? If the Caps were struggling in a game his approach was to swear and ask for a lift. Repetitively. Game after game. A true tactician.
Finally the Sabres got it all wrong against the Bruins this month. After Milan Lucic cleaned up star goalie Ryan Miller (still out with concussion) in a 6-2 Boston win and went unpunished by the league, Buffalo decided to deal out some retribution of their own when next they met. Paul Gaustad fought Lucic only 83 seconds in which set the tone for one of the most entertaining games of the season, which Boston would eventually win 4-3. The trouble is Buffalo tried to play a physical and aggressive game against the Bruins and they just don’t have the cattle to do that. They are small, fast and talented and they tried to play physical against possible the biggest and most physical team in the league. They played right into Boston’s hands and got punished as a result.
Division Standings
In the Atlantic Pittsburgh still hold the lead and have now finally something close to a healthy team for the first time in 18 months. Slight concerns over Letang and Michalek with head injuries that could be one game or serious concussions, information is scarce at the moment. But with Crosby back and looking his old self this team looks every bit the Stanley Cup favourites. $5.50 at Sportingbet is no longer value but hopefully you jumped on at the start of the year. Don’t expect them to dominate the regular season though as they will look to the playoffs and experiment if required.
The Rangers are the real story here though, with seven wins in a row at home and 10 wins out of 12 all up. They are now just three points out of the division lead with four games in hand. Not bad for our $5 shot at the division winner. All of this too, without top defender Marc Staal who amazingly was concussed by his brother Eric.
The Flyers are still putting points up and are well and truly still in the mix for the division, however they are doing nothing to convince me that they will be there come the end of the season. One reason is key older players in Pronger and Jagr are getting injured all too often which is never a good sign. What I will say is I have just watched the preview for the upcoming HBO 24/7 series featuring the Rangers and Flyers which I am really looking forward to, so we will get a good look inside the Flyers and maybe that will change my perspective.
Over in the Northeast Boston are absolutely tearing it up, the hottest team in the league right now going 12-0-1 throughout November. They are motivated, they are healthy (besides Savard who is still out with concussion) and they are getting a good spread of scoring. So much so that the top line was in a slump through much of this recent run of good form until the big win in Toronto on Wednesday night. Make no mistake this team is a threat. However they are still not in first place in the division.
The Leafs are still going strong at the top of the division, I don’t think anyone considers them to be a genuine cup threat but they are not a flash in the pan either. If Lupul and Kessel can maintain their form then they should make the playoffs and maybe even win a round.
The Sabres didn’t have a bad November, going 7-6-1 but it’s certainly not going to move them up the standings fast. Enroth has been great in the cage but Miller will definitely take over should he get fit again and when he does they will need to go on a run of wins. It’s streaks that make your season and the next streak be it winning or losing could determine if Bullafo has a home seeding for the playoffs, away seeding, or dare I say it misses all together.
In the Southeast surprisingly it’s Florida on top and they really have gone about it quietly. I had Marco Sturm as a loser last month for being traded to Florida from Vancouver yet here Florida sit with one more point. Will they go the distance? Your guess is as good as mine, they have put themselves in the right spot though.
That Brings us to the Capitals and the Lightning. Firstly what a month it was for Washington. Started on top of the world and ended outside of a playoff spot and with a new coach. I never rated Boudreau as a coach, but I did like his decision to change the teams’ game style last year to a more defensive style, a playoff style if you will. Maybe not the best idea to do it mid-year but a good move all the same. However I am not sure the very offensive minded players ever really appreciated this change. Semin, Ovechkin and Green have all dropped away and so has the praise of their talents. Just over a year ago Ovechkin was mentioned everywhere as the best player in the world, on par or better than Crosby and Ovie loved that. Despite Crosby missing 10 months through injury Ovechkin no longer enters that conversation. You have to believe that hurts. No surprise then that as soon as the team loses just a couple of games that rumours surface that the coach has lost his players and eventually the coach is fired. Poor all round. Will they rebound? Of course. Will they be a contender? Not quite so easy to answer. The one positive out of this for the Capitals has to be that their inevitable meltdown has happened well before the playoffs has even started #harsh
The issues with Tampa are nowhere near as dramatic yet for a team that made it to the conference finals last season they have to be disappointed with their start. If they can sought out the goaltending situation then they should make the playoffs comfortably enough, but to be honest I am just not sure how they will do that. I don’t like either Roloson or Garon so maybe a trade is in order? The likes of Enroth might like a full time gig once Miller is back now that he has shown what he can do. Or even Halak now that Elliot is playing so well in St Louis. Finally possibly Schneider should Luongo ever regain his spot.
In the Central Detroit, Chicago and St Louis are all battling it out for top spot. St Louis is yet another team to have already had a coaching change yet Ken Hitchcock’s arrival appears to have been the tonic required, with wins in seven of the last nine. Make no mistake the West is by far the deeper conference so it is going to be tough for the Blues to keep it up, but in a months’ time we will have a better idea if they can make the post season.
Jimmy Howard is the story for me in Detroit, having a career year in terms of stats and the Wings are riding him accordingly with backup Conklin seeing very few games. If Howard doesn’t get a trip to the All-Star game it would be a joke, Vezina favourite for me at this early stage. Detroit on the back of his stunning play are top of the division and with games in hand. All the usual suspects are contributing and doing it oh so well. You know they will be there in April and you know they will be tough.
Chicago didn’t have their best month going 7-6-1 but there are no concerns here. Much like the Penguins and the Red Wings they know they will be in the playoffs and they will do what they need to to get there.
In the Northwest predictably Colorado and Edmonton have started to slip. Edmonton are doing the better but neither team are out of it yet. Personally I still think Colorado are a sneaky chance, they have some super talented players like Matt Duchene, check this one out
The Wild are on top of the league at the moment and without really doing anything fancy. All credit to rookie coach Mike Yeo. Setoguchi and Heatley have been serviceable for their new team without lighting it up. But an even spread, defence first mentality is doing the job. As boring as that is for us the fans, the punters who like to bet the over, it gets the wins.
The Cannucks are also starting to role, five wins in a row and I still believe they will win this division and probably even the conference. David Booth is settling in from his trade and it really is hard to pick a weakness in this outfit, except of course their mental strength in the playoffs. The interesting story however is with the goalies. Luongo was out injured and Schneider stepped in, however Schneider has gone so well that now that Luongo is healthy he is having to play second fiddle. Are they just riding this wave of form? Or are they genuinely considering a full time switch to Schneider as first choice?
Finally we look at the Pacific and the good news from my point of view is we can actually discount a team from contention in Anaheim, especially given the new coach. Seriously I imagine his first motivational speech right about now is going something like “F@#king........play better or something, f@#k”.
The other four teams remain super close as they probably will for the majority of the season. The big news from this division is that Kari Lehtonen has injured his groin. Having played so well in net for the Stars will they be able to get through a period of about a month without him? For a team on the edge like this it could make all the difference.
Our bet to win the division San Jose, right now sit in fourth and outside a playoff spot. However they have games in hand and had they played those games it’s not inconceivable that they would be on top of the league. This just illustrates how close the Western Conference and more specifically the Pacific is. Without doubt though they are still my pick to progress from the West, however again this is reflected in the cup odds so no value there anymore. Just hold onto those tickets we got at the start of the season for them to make the final.
That’s it for this month. I will leave you by strongly suggesting you make every effort to watch the upcoming series by HBO, 24/7 Flyers-Rangers Road to the Winter Classic, it starts on the 14th. In the meantime if you didn’t watch the show last year which was done on the Penguins and Capitals, you should watch that. If you have any interest in sport I can assure you that you will appreciate it, a truly well-made show and I only hope this year’s effort lives up to it.
For plays and updates follow me for on twitter @mal68au
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