By Stephanie Lee, San Jose Sharks Correspondent 

Pickles. Mammoths. Tacos. Mystery Houses. An American with a  Silver Medal. Those are just some of the things that a Sharks fan might find around HP Pavilion in San Jose.

Thursday night ended up like no other night at the Tank. The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings by the score of 5-2 for the fifth time in a row, getting scoring from the most unlikely of places.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic, aka Pickles, tallied a career-high four points (1G, 3A). That tied the record in the Sharks organization for most points by a defensemen. The last Sharks defenseman to score four points in a game was Rob Blake, who tallied four assists against the Washington Capitals on November 22, 2008.

What might have been more interesting was the Sharks fourth line producing more goals and points then the top two lines (1G, 4A). Brad Winchester and Andrew Murray picked up their first points as Sharks, and Torrey Mitchell added his second goal in just a week.

Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski also scored for the Sharks, and Antti Niemi made 40 saves on the night.

By Alexander Monaghan
President 

Following tonight’s disappointing 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton felt the need to blow off steam. Instead of giving his opponent credit for playing a better game, he downplayed the victors. According to Chris Botta of the New York Times, via Twitter, Thornton said “They were probably the softest team we played on this trip. We should have had these 2 points.”

Although the Sharks won their previous five games, they did so against three slumping teams — New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings — and did so with only an eight-goal differential. Two of their victories were won by only one goal, the other three games all had empty net goals.

These Sharks are certainly a strong team. They feature two scoring lines with speed to burn. Their additions of Martin Havlat, Brent Burns, Michal Handzus, Andrew Murray and Colin White have all helped on both ends of the ice. However, tough they are not.

Who knows what Thornton was thinking by berating a team the Sharks will not play again this season; perhaps frustration set in. How many hits has Jumbo Joe laid down on the team’s opponents this season? Three. Last season he registered 56 checks which matches Mats Zuccarello‘s total over 42 games. Fifteen members of the Rangers out-hit Thornton, maybe he simply thought he was still playing their 2005-2006 rendition.

Team toughness and grit is certainly not everything. Nevertheless, what was Thornton thinking? The Sharks rank fifth in total hits this season. Last season they ranked 17th in the League, 17 behind the Rangers’ top ranking. This attitude has prevented the Sharks from advancing past the Western Conference Finals two years in a row or shedding the dreaded ‘choker’ label. While undeniably talented, flat defensive efforts and untimely poor netminding from Antti Niemi will not get them far in the playoff picture. They have become the biggest enigma in the Western Conference, perhaps the entire league.

Thornton himself has been a model of inconsistency over the past few years. His point totals continue to decline without any identifiable pattern. He no longer is the centerpiece of the team’s offense with Logan Couture manning a powerful second line and outscoring him last season. His wingers, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau, help make up for wherever his game is lacking as the organization moves towards a team-oriented system.

The quote, or misquote, likely was misconstrued by local media as it comes after a somewhat shocking performance. Not all of us have to deal with cameras and tape recorders rolling while frustration sets in. The captain likely remembers that their five-game win streak came pretty tough and they expected to defeat a struggling club. His comments could actually be a roundabout way of holding the team accountable for the loss, opposed to saying they were outplayed. All part of the growing pains of a winning team — one that continues to learn that they simply will not win on paper.

By Stephanie Lee

Just one week into their 2011-2012 campaign, the San Jose Sharks have played four games. Last Friday, they opened their season with a 6-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Since then, San Jose has gone 0-3, losing twice to the Anaheim Ducks and once to the St. Louis Blues.

It’s no secret that the Sharks have never started the season off with a bang. In fact, in the past four seasons, the Sharks have gone 8-7 in their first four games (not including the two games in Stockholm, Sweden). According to the official Sharks website, defenseman Dan Boyle was quoted as saying, “The offense isn’t clicking for us just yet.” There’s really no telling WHEN it will click, but something has to happen for the Sharks to start scoring more and passing less. Even captain Joe Thornton said in interview with the Associated Press of the game against the Coyotes, “The lines worked out well. Everyone is still learning each other so we can still get better. But it was a good game.”

Surely it’s not all about scoring more and passing less. So if isn’t all about the goal scoring and passing, what else could it be about? Weak goaltending? Bad defense?

This season Sharks started off using their third back up goalie in Thomas Greiss. Last season, Greiss spent the season playing with Byrnäs of the Swedish Elite League to get some playing time. While with the team, Greiss played 32 games, earning 2 shutouts with a 2.92 goals against average. Compare that to the 2.76 total goals against average with the Sharks. After the Sharks made the playoffs, he was recalled back to the team just in case he was needed, and ultimately resigned with the Sharks on July 7. With Greiss back in the line up, it allowed the tandem of Antero Niittymaki and Antti Niemi to get the appropriate surgeries they so badly needed. Niittymaki undergoing groin surgery while Niemi had a cyst removed, reportedly from one of his knees. So there’s little room to judge the Sharks based off having Greiss in net when he hadn’t played in the NHL in over a year. And without their one-two punch of Finn’s, the Sharks were skating blind really. Having to use your third string goalie in place of your top two can really take some getting used to. Not to mention the new additions to the team (eight of them to be exact.)

Now, if it’s not the fact that the Sharks have been using Greiss in favor of Niemi (who started the game against St. Louis on Monday), then it could boil down to defense. Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray are the two veterans of this Sharks squad. Which means they should be the ones to be leading the blueline. Yes, Jim Vandermeer is a veteran in his own right, but not on this team. However, it appears as though Brent Burns has stepped up to whatever challenge that coach Todd McLellan has thrown their way. Through the four games played, Burns has 2 goals and 1 assist. That’s the same amount of points as Murray and Boyle combined.

Really, there’s no telling just how this Sharks squad will do. San Jose heads out on an early season six game road trip. They face the New Jersey Devils on Friday before heading to Boston to face the Bruins on Saturday.

By Danny Di Nicolantonio

You want to play fantasy hockey, and think you have what it takes to win?  Well, you’ll be one step closer to winning your league after this week’s fantasy hockey preview series.  There is no better place to start than the guys between the pipes:  Goaltenders.

During most drafts you will be required to have two starting goaltender roster spots, then one or two backup slots on the bench.  Even though forwards are the first to be drafted in the beginning, there are statistics out there that indicate goaltenders are going toward the backend of that first round.

Depending on the size of the league you are in, the average being 8-12 teams per league, and where you are positioned to pick, this will help you develop a strategy for the draft.  Logically the reason why we see goaltenders picked toward the end of the first round is because, the draft is about to head back in the other direction giving this team two picks fairly close together, if not back to back.  As a result, it gives a team the opportunity to select a forward and a goaltender right off the bat.  There are players in the league that I refer to as “trend setters”, and these are the teams that may not have had an opportunity to select a star player at the beginning of the draft and may nab two goaltenders with their first two picks that create a wave of three or four goaltenders being selected.

There are many factors that go into ranking and drafting a goaltender that include, risk, reward, age, prone to injury.

Ranked Goaltenders 2011-2012 Fantasy Hockey:

Player Team GP SA GA GAA W L OT SV SV% Shutouts
Tim Thomas BOS 57 1811 112 2.00 35 11 9 1699 0.938 9
Roberto Luongo VAN 60 1753 126 2.11 38 15 7 1627 0.928 4
Pekka Rinne NSH 64 1905 134 2.12 33 22 9 1771 0.930 6
Tomas Vokoun WSH 57 1753 137 2.55 22 28 5 1616 0.922 6
Jonathan Quick LAK 61 1631 134 2.24 35 22 3 1497 0.918 6
Henrik Lundqvist NYR 68 1965 152 2.28 36 27 5 1813 0.923 11
Ryan Miller BUF 66 1964 165 2.59 34 22 8 1799 0.916 5
Corey Crawford CHI 57 1545 128 2.30 33 18 6 1417 0.917 4
Jimmy Howard DET 63 1830 168 2.79 37 17 5 1662 0.908 2
Marc-Andre Fleury PIT 65 1742 143 2.32 36 20 5 1599 0.918 3
Carey Price MTL 72 2147 165 2.35 38 28 6 1982 0.923 8
Ilya Bryzgalov PHI 68 2125 168 2.48 36 20 10 1957 0.921 7
Antti Niemi SJS 60 1741 140 2.38 35 18 6 1601 0.920 6
Miikka Kiprusoff CGY 71 1935 182 2.63 37 24 6 1753 0.906 6
Dwayne Roloson TBL 54 1596 138 2.59 24 25 5 1458 0.914 4
Cam Ward CAR 74 2375 184 2.56 37 26 10 2191 0.923 4
Steve Mason CBJ 54 1541 153 3.03 24 21 7 1388 0.901 3
Martin Brodeur NJD 56 1313 127 2.45 23 26 3 1186 0.903 6
Kari Lehtonen DAL 69 2043 175 2.55 34 24 11 1868 0.914 3
Jonas Hiller ANA 49 1493 114 2.56 26 16 3 1379 0.924 5
James Reimer TOR 37 1134 90 2.60 20 10 5 1044 0.921 3
Mike Smith PHX 22 576 58 2.90 13 6 1 518 0.899 1
Ondrej Pavelec WPG 58 1558 147 2.73 21 23 9 1558 0.914 4
Niklas Backstrom MIN 51 1566 132 2.66 22 23 5 1434 0.916 3
Jaroslav Halak STL 57 1518 136 2.48 27 21 7 1382 0.910 7
Craig Anderson OTT 51 1546 135 2.66 24 20 4 1411 0.918 2
Nikolai Khabibulin EDM 47 1389 153 3.40 10 32 4 1236 0.890 2

We’ll take an in-depth look at defensemen tomorrow, left and right wingers on Thursday, and centers on Friday.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

Monday night, Vancouver Canucks’ goaltender Roberto Luongo gave up eight goals in a single NHL game for just the third time in his career.  With no doubt about the outcome of the contest for much of the third period, it was curious that Luongo was still in the Canucks’ crease instead of backup Cory Schneider.

“I thought at 4‑0, going at the beginning of the third with a power‑play, we might be able to do something,” Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault explained after the 8-1 pounding by the Boston Bruins in Game 3.  “That’s why I kept him in.  At 5‑1, I asked him what he wanted to do.  He said, ‘Don’t even think about taking me out’, so that’s what I did.”

Jim Rogash / Getty Images

Luongo confirmed as much.

“Alain asked me when there was about eight minutes left,” he said.  ”I said I wanted to stay in.  If I would have known they would have scored three more times, I might have thought about it (laughs).  Even though we were losing 5-1, it was a pretty intense game and I still wanted to be in there.”

The Bruins would go on to score three more goals in a span of just 1:50 late in the game, with the final tally coming with only 31 seconds remaining.

“They kept putting the pressure on,” Luongo said yesterday in an off-day interview.  “The game was pretty much out of reach for us.  I don’t know, I mean, they obviously were not satisfied with 5-1 and kept pressing.  We started maybe taking our attention away from our game plan, started worrying about physical aspects of the game, which we shouldn’t be doing at this point.”

the Game 3 loss was the first bit of adversity that the Canucks have had to face in these Finals.  Will the fact that those three late goals came on Boston’s final three shots of the game - further bludgeoning a Vancouver squad who had done pretty much everything right in the first two contests of the series – have a carry-over affect into tonight’s Game 4?

The former-team captain doesn’t seem to think so.  He believes both he and the Canucks will be just fine, as long as they just get back to basics.

“The score doesn’t really matter,” the 32-year-old goaltender said yesterday of the loss.  ”We’re in the playoffs.  It’s all about winning a game, right?  As a team, we got to look at it we lost a game.  We just got to get back to doing the things we do.  No matter what the score of the game is, we have to keep playing our game, not deviate from our game plan.”

Winger Daniel Sedin said the blowout loss wasn’t all Luongo’s fault, and he has every confidence that his netminder will be ready for Game 4 tonight.

“That’s not a problem (Luongo’s ability to bounce back),” Daniel said.  ”Can’t really say it was his fault.  As a team, we didn’t help him out.”

Prior to Monday’s rout, Luongo had yielded just six goals in his previous four games.  Over the course of those four contests, Luongo stopped 151 of 157 shots – a staggering .962 save percentage.

Included in this postseason have been two clutch, classic overtime wins in series-clinching games.

After jumping out to a 3-0 games lead in the first round against the Chicago Blackhawks, Luongo was pulled in both Games 4 and 5, and began Game 6 on the bench.  He not only started Game 7, but turned in a 31-save gem in a 2-1 overtime triumph to help Vancouver take the series.

The triumph exorcised the demons associated with the past playoff horrors experienced by the Canucks at the hands of the Blackhawks.

In the Western Conference Final clinching 3-2 victory in Game 5 over the San Jose Sharks, Luongo turned in a spectacular double-OT, 54-save gem.

He has outdueled three excellent netminders thus far.  He has outplayed rookie Corey Crawford, last year’s Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Antti Niemi, and Pekka Rinne.

Now he must do the same with slinky-for-a-spine, acrobatic Bruins’ goalie Tim Thomas.

Even Luongo’s harshest critics have to acknowledge that he has proven himself, and he has quieted their sometimes misguided disparaging remarks.  He has shown himself capable of playing at the highest-possible level, and may just add a Stanley Cup victory to the Gold Medal he captured for Team Canada at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

A huge determining factor to that end will be how well he and his teammates play tonight in Game 4.  A win will allow his club to take a stranglehold 3-1 lead heading back to Vancouver.  A loss will put the Bruins back on even footing, and the murmurs of the Canucks allowing the series to slip away will begin to get louder.

Luongo isn’t about to sit back and feel sorry for himself after the Game 3 beat down.  He seems well-focused on the situation at hand.

“I waited my whole life to be here (Stanley Cup Finals),” Luongo said.  ”I’m not going to put my head down.  It’s time to get back to work.
Obviously last night (Monday) was disappointing for all of us.  We have a great opportunity.  We’re in the Cup final.  Even though there are going to be some tough times, you have to be in the moment and focus.”

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Photo Credit: Cheryl Lemanski

Every year the formula changes.

After last season, general managers around the League believed they could cut costs with their netminder since rookie Antti Niemi and journeyman Michael Leighton backstopped their respective teams into the Finals. The season before that, we thought every championship team needed two elite centers (still valid) and the year before that the League emphasized skill and puck possession.

The winning formula changes every season whether it be a high-tempo offense with a blue line full of puck movers (Carolina Hurricanes) or a gritty team from the back end out full of high-end skill (Anaheim Ducks).

Once again, the formula will change.

Take this year’s combatants — the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks.  Both teams have strong depth up front and on D. Each team also has an elite-level goaltender in Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas. However, the Canucks and Bruins play a completely different style as Head Coach Alain Vigneault features highly skilled offensive players who are defensively responsible and Claude Julien is more comfortable keeping the games tight and relying on his Vezina Trophy winner and a couple of All-Star defensemen and elite two-way forwards.

Of the two, only the Canucks really compare to the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks when you consider their sheer top-to-bottom depth. Considering after their salary cap purge the current Blackhawks team almost defeated the heavily favored Canucks, they could be the most dominant team to win a Cup in the post-lockout era.

But how do the two compare?

How they got there:

The Canucks almost blew a 3-0 series lead, allowing the Blackhawks to force a Game 7, and then force an overtime within the game. Less dramatically, they would defeat the Nashville Predators in six games (but could have clinched in five) and made short work of the San Jose Sharks in five. Now, against the Bruins they hold a 1-0 lead in the series with hopes of going back to Boston with a two-game lead.

By comparison, the Blackhawks took the Predators in six, Canucks in six, swept the Sharks and then took the Cup in six games against the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Predators and Canucks both proved to be worthy adversaries, they never pushed the team to the brink of elimination — something the ‘Nucks came face-to-face with in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. They seemed to be the most dominant team in the playoffs, which is something both this year’s tournament lacked as the Bruins faced Game 7 twice as well.

In terms of ease, the Blackhawks take this round.

Photo Credit: Matt Boulton from Vancouver, Canada

Head Coach:

Prior to last season, Joel Quenneville never won a Stanley Cup. After successful campaigns with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche, the grizzled Head Coach made his way to Chicago in order to push them over the top. His success in the postseason gave him appeal to a young, up-and-coming team as he captured the game’s greatest trophy after only two seasons with the Blackhawks organization. His lowest winning percentage for any full season he coached was over 53 percent, making him a highly regarded bench boss.

Vigneault now enters his fifth season in charge of the Canucks and has won the Northwest Division four out of those five years. Unlike Quenneville, four of his nine years he missed the playoffs and he came to Vancouver after four relatively poor seasons in Montreal (missed playoffs three of four seasons). He was nominated for the Jack Adams Trophy while with the Canadiens but was fired the season after since the team once again missed the tournament.

Considering both coaches never won the Cup prior to their current teams, neither typically has an advantage. However, Quenneville held more past success which gives him the slight nod here again.

Photo Credit: Iwona Erskine-Kellie from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Forwards:

Depth, depth and more depth. Not the kind traded for at the deadline like stopgaps Maxim Lapierre or Christopher Higgins.  This Blackhawks team had the high-end talent in Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews and the complementary players in Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Troy Brouwer, Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd. Couple them with gritty defensive forwards like John Madden, Tomas Kopecky, Adam Burish and Ben Eager and we can determine that this could be one of the strongest groups of forwards assembled in the post-lockout era. Even with an implosion which severed ties with Versteeg, Byfuglien, Ladd, Madden, Burish and Eager the Blackhawks still clawed their way back into the playoffs which emphasizes just how good this team was last year.

Similarly, the Canucks have elite talent in The Sedin Twins and Ryan Kesler. Alex Burrows might even be able to force his way into that equation considering just how affective he has been in this year’s show. They also boast some tough defensive forwards like Jannik Hansen, Raffi Torres, Tanner Glass and Lapierre. Their calvary has been adequate in Higgins, the now-injured Mikael Samuelsson and regular season whipping boy Mason Raymond but the bottom end is one of uncertainty and inconsistency. Vigneault has rotated Victor Oreskovich, Jeff Tambellini, Alex Bolduc and Cody Hodgson in an attempt to find a perfect medium. Perhaps the return of Manny Malhotra could alleviate this issue.

Regardless, the Blackhawks take this by a mile as the top-end talent is there but the depth is simply not comparable.

Defensemen:

Photo Credit: CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith set the tempo as a perfect combination of ying and yang last season. Both mobile defenders, Seabrook’s intelligence allowed Keith to pick his spots in the offensive zone. Their stability allowed the second pairing of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brian Campbell to flourish and make up for the third pairing of Nick Boynton, Brent Sopel and Jordan Hendry. When all of these guys were on their game, they had Keith at over 28 minutes, Seabrook 24 and Hjalmarsson 21 with no other blue liner surpassing 20 minutes.

This may be where the Canucks first hold an advantage as they boast six quality defenders and three others capable of playing decent minutes. Their top pairing of Christian Ehrhoff and Alexander Edler fits very well with the Sedins while Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa have formed a formidable shutdown pairing. The bottom set features some combination of Sami Salo and either Keith Ballard or Aaron Rome with mean d-man Andrew Alberts waiting to get into games. If Vigneault opts for a more mobile substitute, rookie Chris Tanev seemed up for the challenge in his limited playing time.

While the Blackhawks arguably have a higher end, the Canucks feature a more well rounded attack with the option of choosing mobility or snarl. Nobody has a more established top six in the League at this moment which gives the Canucks their first edge in the comparison.

Starting Goalies:

Niemi won the backup job from now-current starter Corey Crawford and then overtook Cristobal Huet for the starting gig in late March. As a veritable unknown, the Finnish rookie managed to get the job done despite what was considered a sub-par performance in the Finals. His success was questioned after winning as his arbitration reward earned him a ticket out of Chicago and into San Jose, where he would once again flourish. Due to his rookie status, the Blackhawks were able to win with a very tight budget which spawned the “don’t pay for goalies theory.” With two Vezina Trophy finalists vying for a championship, that theory has been debunked.

Luongo happens to be one of those finalists as he attempts to prove he can be the best goalie in the world. After toiling on the awful New York Islanders and Florida Panthers, Luongo was expected to win quickly and often in Vancouver. So far he somewhat disappointed fans after losing consistently to the Blackhawks in the playoffs but his ability to step up in big games like Game 7 of this year’s first round and in the Olympics last year has given him the confidence to try and take Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Elite netminder vs. raw rookie? Luongo and the Canucks take this one.

Photo Credit: Matt Boulton from Vancouver, Canada

Special Teams:

The Blackhawks got the job done with a 22.5 percent success rate on the powerplay and a 83.3 percent penalty kill. Their PP ranked fifth in the League but only second in the Western Conference while the PK ranked fourth but first amongst their Conference peers. While not necessarily dominating, the special teams was not a problem on either end which allowed them to continue their winning ways.

On the other hand, the Canucks PP has been a strength as they rank third in the League with a 25.8 percent success rate. The powerplay has been able to adapt from the hard-working Predators to the shot-blocking Sharks with ease making it a force to be reckoned with. Their penalty kill, however, has been a bit worse, succeeding at a 82.3 rate. Considering they lack actual shutdown forwards, players like Kesler and Burrows are forced to take on even more minutes.

The Canucks hold a better PP but the Blackhawks could shut them down better. Push.

The Bottom Line:

As both Jeff Quirin and Dave Strehle predicted, the Canucks should wrap up this series. Of course, we likely counted the Bruins out of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning so anything can happen. As far as comparability to last year’s formula, the ‘Nucks are the closest thing to last year’s Blackhawks but the latter takes the small edge due to depth up front, more experience behind the bench and ease in getting to where they need to go.

Feel free to post in the comments your thoughts on the matter as this article is merely the tip of the iceberg, not a definitive conclusion.

In my heart of hearts, I want to be able to recap the game for you all, but I can’t. Mostly due to the fact that my tears haven’t quite subsided.

To lose a elimination game in double overtime on a incredibly freaky – bouncing off the glass to the blue line, onto the stick of Kevin Bieksa and fluttered into the net – kind of goal takes time to get over. It’s not the fact that we lost the game, but how we lost it. Sharks fans knew in reality (and I hate living in reality) that we were destined to lose this game.

Okay, I don’t want to dwell on the fact that the San Jose Sharks lost for the second year in a row in the Western Conference Finals, rather I want to say Thank You to the team.

Thank You to Logan Couture and the rest of our rookies. You guys have been amazing this season. Thank You to Antti Niemi and Antero Niittymaki for playing in tandem trying to live up to what Evgeni Nabokov was to the Sharks. Without Niemi, the Sharks wouldn’t have done nearly as well as we had. Thank you to Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray, our best defensive pair this season — combined 10 goals, 54 assists, with a +7.  Thank you to Jason Demers for being the best individual defenseman with your stunning +19! Leading the San Jose Sharks in the +/-.  Thank you Patrick Marleau for leading the Sharks in goals (37) and points (73).

Lastly, Thank You to the fans who’ve read every article I’ve done this season and will continue to do so in the off season. The San Jose Sharks said it best.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

FEASTER GETS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN CALGARY

Yesterday, no-longer-acting GM Jay Feaster re-signed Curtis Glencross for what is believed to be a four-year contract worth $10.2 million. Later in the day there was a press conference which put him in the driver’s seat for the considerable future. While Feaster will be seen as a much less abrasive boss to the media, his track record outside his Stanley Cup victory is rather mediocre, including his drafting where not one of his first round picks became an impact player with his tendency to only find role players like Mike Lundin, Matt Smaby, Dana Tyrell and Blair Jones. When your best draft pick happens to be the now-forgotten Paul Ranger it should be less-than-inspiring to Flames fans who desperately want another impact player.

However, with a clean slate and an important player locked up, Calgary can move onto reworking their core and growing together with a new generation of players. Yes, they will have to deal with the aging Robyn Regehr, Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff but they also shown some promise with Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, the somewhat disappointing Rene Bourque and now Glencross at the helm that next movement. Combine them with youngsters Lance Bouma, Tim Erixon and Greg Nemisz and the Flames have a shot as soon as next season.

Clearly Feaster did not build the Lightning, but he didn’t burn the house down either. Staying the course on an improving team which should only improve with a top-15 draft selection this June will keep fans in their seats. As Kent Wilson of Flames Nation points out, “the fairest thing I can do is wait and see how the Flames summer unfolds before offering judgement on Feaster’s ascendency.” So now we play the waiting game, just like with…

WHO RETIRES IN DETROIT?

Photo Credit: Dan4th / Flickr

Nicklas Lidstrom is the big name on the block with regards to retirement but there are plenty of older guys who could bow out like Kris Draper, Mike Modano, Chris Osgood or even Ruslan Salei. Nevertheless, Lidstrom’s departure would surely create the biggest hole on the blue line as he continues to lead the Western Conference powerhouse on the back end. In fact, without him as their defensive stalwart, one would have to imagine the Red Wings trying to make a big splash either via trade or free agency (Andrei Markov, anyone?)

While it may be easy to brush aside Draper, Modano, Osgood, Salei, etc., their roles will still need to be filled next season. Draper has essentially alternated with Drew Miller so his role is set. Salei could get replaced by the younger Jakub Kindl and Modano essentially only subbed in for Valtteri Filppula, only drawing into the playoffs due to various injuries. That leaves Osgood, who was replaced with Joey MacDonald for the majority of the season but could still outplay the journeyman if he has any legs left.

Nevertheless, Lidstrom remains the guy to watch and Mike Babcock told Ansar Khan of Mlive.com he can can field another competitive team next season with his star defender directly in the mix:

“I think if our team was no good, Nick wouldn’t even consider coming back. But I think having the kind of year he did and the kind of playoff he did and the kind of playoff our team had, it’s given me confidence he’ll be back. We felt we were a very competitive team in the playoffs. We’re getting good growth out of our young guys. (Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg) are in the prime of their careers. Mule (Johan Franzen) is a guy we think can be way better next year with health.”

The time in now for the Red Wings and if they are to get back to the Stanley Cup, they will be getting there with Zetterberg, Datysuk and Franzen in their prime. Funny how Babcock particularly singled out Franzen, as he is a player that definitely can improve in postseason following this year’s disappointing run, much like…

THE REAL SEDINS

Photo Credit: Mafue / Flickr

If you take a glance at the leading scorers this playoffs, you will have to go down 15 slots before you see the last name Sedin. Their struggles have been discussed amongst the media ad nauseum as they each sit slightly below their normal above point-per-game pace. However, a quick glace into their quality of competition will dictate that nobody has faced a stronger opposition amongst the Canucks. In fact, they sit in the top 16 amongst all players this postseason with most forwards actually the shutdown type (ie. Draper, Tyrell, etc.). If we limit it to forwards, we eliminate six other players. In other words, these guys are dogged all over the ice as soon as they step on. We witnessed this with the fine shutdown work of grinder Dave Bolland, we noticed this in the Nashville series when David Legwand and Joel Ward gave them everything they had.

Considering most teams are not nearly as deep as the Canucks, Ryan Kesler has faced considerably worse competition. Regardless, we are discussing the best players in the League or arguably the top 5. It was only a matter of time until they found their stroke and against the defensively challenged San Jose Sharks they should be able to once again show that elite offensive flair. Game 1 was only the beginning of what should be an exciting series where the Sedins once again find their mojo. They combined for two points (actually only Henrik) but overall there should be no problem with finding the back of the net with Antti Niemi sporting a GAA over three and SV% barely north of .900.

In all fairness, this topic has been harped on by many so we are not the first to discuss it. In fact, Ryan Porth of RLD Hockey predicted this series being their turning point for the talented Swedes. Speaking of things I can’t take credit for…

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS WILL GO #1

Photo Credit: leafschik1967 / Flickr

The reasoning is of course less than scientific but essentially every pundit views Nugent-Hopkins as the consensus number one pick. Don’t take my word of advice on the subject, DC Sports Report’s NHL Mock Draft Database clearly puts him as the front-runner from ESPN to TSN to NHL.com. When drafting at such a lofty position going best player available is always the safe choice which states the Edmonton Oilers would rather gamble on Nugent-Hopkins than take a stab at Adam Larsson. Oilers defenseman Ryan Whitney even told The Edmonton Journal that would be they guy he takes.

If the Oilers have their guy then the Colorado Avalanche also have their man in Larssen. Our on-site reporter Bill Whitehead then explained recently that the Florida Panthers will quickly take Gabriel Landeskog as he holds leadership characteristics and would be a fine player to build their team around. Getting back to the Avs, Larssen seems like the logical guy even though they have a system completely built around offense. According to Adrian Dater of All Things Avs, there are contradictory views on the young Swede:

“He’s a kid who has been on the radar for three years now and people are all turning on him. But he never makes a bad pass and he’s a really smart player.”

Smart player sounds good but I keep seeing this underlying tone of safe player. With the current configuration based around speed and breakout offense it may be an indication that Joe Sacco could get the sack next year after another inevitably poor season. That, or the Avs could swing a deal for Nugent-Hopkins because we know all the Oilers really want is Sean Couturier aka a center with size!

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By Alexander Monaghan
President

The Vancouver Canucks took seven games to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks and six to conquer the dark-horse Nashville Predators but tonight they take on their toughest opponents of the postseason, the San Jose Sharks.  If this season is “their year” they will need to go make every stop on their quest to the Stanley Cup.

The Sharks represent the second seed in the Conference, better than the Detroit Red Wings both in the regular season and postseason for two years in a row. They are a much stronger opponent depth wise than either the Blackhawks or the Predators and essentially represent the closest team to the Canucks in the NHL.

And the Sharks will not play the underdog, at least not publicly.  Logan Couture, the Calder Trophy finalist whose breakout helped his team retain their elite status, told the Mercury News they do not feel like underdogs.

“Yeah, they had more points than us in the regular season and they won the Presidents Trophy so I guess you could say we’re the underdog.  But both teams are so evenly matched that it’s going to be a great series. You can’t really say there’s a huge difference between the teams.”

Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan came out of the Red Wings organization after some successful years as a coach in the WHL, IHL and AHL. His success working with a puck-possession style transitioned to the NHL and Sharks as he was able to get their team over the hump as a first-round bust.

Now, with the momentum of a big win and two consecutive seasons in the Western Conference Finals, this Sharks team has grown into a threat capable of taking down the current favorites. However, both teams have grown and learned from the best in the Red Wings.

The model is similar. High offense, high skill from the goal line to the faceoff circle. The Canucks even lured scoring winger Mikael Samuelsson away from the Wings. From the depth down the middle with each team having two elite centers, they managed to be younger and more powerful than their model.

However, tonight will gauge whether or not the Canucks have what it takes to make that leap this year, opposed to waiting yet another season. They very well could give way to the Sharks — who have simply been there and done that at this point in their development.

Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Devin Setoguchi
Ryane Clowe – Logan Couture – Dany Heatley
Kyle Wellwood – Joe Pavelski – Torrey Mitchell
Benn Ferreiro – Scott Nichol – Ben Eager

Douglas Murray – Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jason Demers
Ian White – Niclas Wallin

Antti Niemi

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alexandre Burrows
Mason Raymond – Ryan Kesler – Christopher Higgins
Raffi Torres – Maxim Lapierre – Jannik Hansen
Tanner Glass – Cody Hodgson – Victor Oreskovich

Dan Hamhuis – Kevin Bieksa
Alexander Edler – Sami Salo
Aaron Rome – Christian Ehrhoff

Roberto Luongo

During four regular season games, the Canucks took the sweep of the Sharks, winning all four games and defeating Niemi in every contest.

Heatley topped the Sharks in regular season points against the Canucks with one goal and four points in four games.

By contrast, Henrik Sedin topped the ‘Nucks against the Sharks with two goals and six points over those four games. Brother Daniel registered a goal and five points over those six while Burrows scored three and added an assist. The top line should very much be on the watch during the series.

Luongo only played two of the four matchups with Cory Schneider subbing in for the other two. Although Schneider found his way into Game 6 against the Blackhawks, the series would have to go very wrong for him to get another start.

Niemi held a 0-4 record against the ‘Nucks with a 3.64 GAA and .896 SV%. His numbers in the playoffs are only slightly better. Luongo went 2-0 with a .96 GAA and .975 SV% over his two starts.

If the Canucks top guns are as good as they were in the regular season, then they will certainly have better odds of winning this series. Nevertheless, as the Eastern Conference dictated, anything and everything can happen in the postseason.

For a team who swept in the first round and had eight days of rest, you wouldn’t have expected the Detroit Red Wings to be in a 0-2 series hole, now would you?

If you’ve seen either of the first two games, you probably saw the San Jose Sharks giving the Red Wings a run for their money. Many Red Wings fans may kill me for saying this, but it seems as though the Red Wings are playing virtually themselves. And with Todd McLellan behind the bench, it’s not that surprising; after all, he coached with Mike Babcock for several seasons. The Sharks controlled the puck, controlled themselves defensively, and been pretty remarkable on the penalty kill and the power play. It sounds a lot like what people tend to say about the Red Wings, eh?

Not to mention, six of the last seven playoff games between these two franchises have been one-goal victories for the Sharks. It’s not as if the Red Wings haven’t had chances (though they haven’t had as many as San Jose); Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Nicklas Lidstrom have all hit posts, and in Sunday’s game, Darren Helm couldn’t finish on a shorthanded breakaway.

So what’s going on with the Red Wings? Were the eight days of rest too much? Their penalty kill needs some work, but it needed work during the Phoenix Coyotes series. Their offense has been lackluster. Yes, Antti Niemi is a Cup-winning goaltender, but his numbers in the first series were terrible. And the Red Wings have a knack for making the opposing goalie look like a Hall of Famer. I’m sure it sounds like I’m trying to discredit Niemi and perhaps I am, but I’m also just trying to put a little ray of hope out there for Red Wings fans.

Likewise, no one seems to be giving Jimmy Howard any credit. But that can be said for pretty much every single Red Wings goaltender. Howard has kept the Red Wings in these two games. The only goal you can fault him on would be the second goal in Sunday’s game, but that was almost pure luck. It hit him in the shoulder, rolled up over him, and bounced in behind him. A good bounce and sheer luck.

Howard has been playing out of his mind while standing on his head. (Or is that too many goalie terms in one sentence?) I had a customer at work come up to me after Game One, and complain about how the Red Wings should have won that game for Howard, and this guy absolutely despises Howard. That’s just one example of the fact that Howard’s playing extremely well.

Being down in a series 2-0 is not the end of the world. After all, the Red Wings are coming back to Joe Louis Arena. Yes, they’ve played better on the road this season, but I’m sure being on familiar turf with their fans cheering them on despite so much being on the line, something’s going to give.

Think back in Red Wings’ history. In 2002, they went down in the series 2-0 against the Vancouver Canucks and came back to win in six games. In 2008, they gave up two two-goal leads in back-to-back games against the Nashville Predators to tie the series up at 2-2, but won it in six games. If there’s a team that can win four out of five games, it’s this Detroit team.

I’ll end on the note that I’ve been telling people at work when they ask me whether I’m worried for the outcome of this series: Yeah, but let me get back to you more thoroughly after Game Three. Because coming back from a 3-0 deficit is harder than 2-0.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com