NHL Mid Season 2007/08

[gordphish]

So we're approaching the midway point of the season. Who have been the biggest surprises for you, both positively and negatively, and with the season half-way over, have your preseason picks for the Cup Finalists changed at all?

In the east, I'm surprised the Devils have found their way back to the top of the standings after losing so much of their premier talent over the last few years. I picked this as the year they fell out of the playoff hunt. The Lightning have been a real disappointment to me. That team has too much talent to be mired in last place. The difference between having goaltending and not having it, I guess.

In the west, I'd have to go with Chicago as my pleasant surprise. They aren't in the playoffs right now, but they are nicely positioned to challenge for a spot down the stretch. I didn't think their youth would have such an immediate impact. For a disappointment, even though it tickles me every shade of pink to see it, I'll go with Anaheim, who currently sit in 8th. It didn't take long for Burke to mess the carpet in California. You could use his personel moves this season as a blueprint for how not to defend a championship.

As for changing my Finalist picks, I'll stick with Vancouver over Pittsburgh. Luongo is the clear favourite for the Hart through the first half of the season and the Canucks are 6th in the west in scoring. Pittsburgh has had a slow start, currently tied for 6th in the east. But they are only three points behind Jersey for top spot in the Atlantic, and they should find a way to improve their goaltending before all is said and done. The rumour mill has Cujo making a comeback with the Pens.

[J0e Th0rnton]

So we're approaching the midway point of the season. Who have been the biggest surprises for you, both positively and negatively, and with the season half-way over, have your preseason picks for the Cup Finalists changed at all?


In the east, I'm surprised the Devils have found their way back to the top of the standings after losing so much of their premier talent over the last few years. I picked this as the year they fell out of the playoff hunt. The Lightning have been a real disappointment to me. That team has too much talent to be mired in last place. The difference between having goaltending and not having it, I guess.

The devils im not surprised with. Brodeur + Lou Lamorello = wins
Tampa is not surprising. They lost their depth, have zero defense, and no goaltending.


In the west, I'd have to go with Chicago as my pleasant surprise. They aren't in the playoffs right now, but they are nicely positioned to challenge for a spot down the stretch. I didn't think their youth would have such an immediate impact. For a disappointment, even though it tickles me every shade of pink to see it, I'll go with Anaheim, who currently sit in 8th. It didn't take long for Burke to mess the carpet in California. You could use his personel moves this season as a blueprint for how not to defend a championship.

Chicago also benefited from a certain old frugal tyrant of an owner dying. Attendance has jumped and playing for an empty stadium is no longer making the players feel crappy.
hell. Wirtzsucks.com has been renamed Blackhawkzone.com lol.

Anaheim is more hurting because Niedermayer and Selanne have been gone for half a season. Losing 2 of the top 3 stars on a team always hurts. Just ask Buffalo.

As for changing my Finalist picks, I'll stick with Vancouver over Pittsburgh. Luongo is the clear favourite for the Hart through the first half of the season and the Canucks are 6th in the west in scoring. Pittsburgh has had a slow start, currently tied for 6th in the east. But they are only three points behind Jersey for top spot in the Atlantic, and they should find a way to improve their goaltending before all is said and done. The rumour mill has Cujo making a comeback with the Pens.
Personally, I don;t see Luongo as the only MVP candidate. Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Crosby, Thornton(yes, he currently has 3 times more points than anyone else on the second place sharks squad. If not for him and Nabokov, the team is in dead last), Nabokov(See above. Team with the weakest defense among all contenders + all forwards but 1 struggling is still in second in the west), Kovalchuk, Heatley, etc

I see zero standout Hart trophy players right now. Someone needs to have a standout second half.

[MadDevil]

What a surprise, Gordo saying Luongo is "clearly" the front-runner for the Hart.:conspire: :D

To be honest, I haven't watched enough of the entire league this season to make any real judgements, but just looking at the standings, the St. Louis Blues are my pick for biggest surprise this season. I thought they would have at least one more down season before things started to turn around, but they've turned around pretty quickly.

The Eastern Conference is...well the Eastern Conference. It's pretty much wide open for anybody at this point. The Atlantic is tight as ever, with all teams being within 3 points of one another. Hell, the #2 ranked Devils are only 7 points ahead of the #13 ranked Leafs in the conference.

As for the Devils, I'm surprised that the turnaround came as quickly as it did as well, even though they still have plenty of improvement, especially in the goal scoring department. They've allowed the fewest goals in the East, but have also scored the least of any team in the league. In fact one could make a case for Brodeur being a Hart candidate as well considering what he has to work with in front of him. I'm sure somebody will take offense at this, but I don't really give a damn anymore.

I didn't really have any preseason Cup picks, so I'm not going to bother making any now. The whole league is just so close that I could easily see anybody currently in the playoff picture making a run at the right time.

What I'd like to see...Dallas vs New Jersey...even though it's probably nothing but a dream at this point...

[gordphish]

The devils im not surprised with. Brodeur + Lou Lamorello = wins
Tampa is not surprising. They lost their depth, have zero defense, and no goaltending.



Chicago also benefited from a certain old frugal tyrant of an owner dying. Attendance has jumped and playing for an empty stadium is no longer making the players feel crappy.
hell. Wirtzsucks.com has been renamed Blackhawkzone.com lol.

Anaheim is more hurting because Niedermayer and Selanne have been gone for half a season. Losing 2 of the top 3 stars on a team always hurts. Just ask Buffalo.


Personally, I don;t see Luongo as the only MVP candidate. Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Crosby, Thornton(yes, he currently has 3 times more points than anyone else on the second place sharks squad. If not for him and Nabokov, the team is in dead last), Nabokov(See above. Team with the weakest defense among all contenders + all forwards but 1 struggling is still in second in the west), Kovalchuk, Heatley, etc

I see zero standout Hart trophy players right now. Someone needs to have a standout second half.

Please let's not put words in my mouth. I never said Luongo was the only candidate, I just said he was the clear favourite.

You could make a case for Thornton, but the Sharks have a terrible home record for one, which has lead to what most would say is an underachieving season for that squad so far. If I were to pick an MVP from San Jose, I'd go with Nabokov. Without him, the Sharks would be in last in the west right now.

I can't see how you can put Crosby in that list. It's been a sub-standard start for the <ahem> Next One. The Pens have spent the majority of the season so far on the outside of the eastern playoff picture and should be thankful the standings have remained as tight as they are.

Kovalchuk and Lecavalier are having stellar offensive seasons, but both play on losing teams.

I have a hard time picking anyone off the Sens and Wings because they are the two deepest teams in the league, and the only one closest to having an 'MVP' season on either team is Heatley.

When I take into consideration the true definition of what it takes to win the Hart, which is most valuable to his team, I'd put Luongo, Iginla and Brodeur as the front runners. Iginla because he's managed to keep the Flames in the hunt despite a subpar season from Kipursoff and while adjusting to one of the most difficult coaches in the league. Brodeur because of the reasons MadDevil pointed out (although he has too many up and down performances now for me to give him the award over Luongo or even Iginla), but he only cracks the top 5 in shutouts. MVP to his team considerations or not, you have to have the numbers to earn the Hart. In fact, I'd give Nabokov equal consideration to Brodeur right now.

With Luongo, consider these points.

- the defense has not been healthy all year. Salo has missed almost half the season so far and has a terrible season. Bieksa will miss almost the entire year, and now Ohlund, who missed four games due to a suspension, is out with a concussion.

- although the Canucks are 6th in the west in scoring, they are 19th overall. It's no secret they don't score a lot, with their top point producers barely on a PPG pace.

And then you look at his numbers. Despite a slow start that had him 25th in the league in GAA and SV% after October, he now has a GAA of 2.02, a SV% of .928 and 5 shutouts. That puts him 4th in GAA, 4th in SV%, 5th in wins, and tied for third in shutouts.

Since November 1, his numbers are even better and are just plain gaudy at home. Overall he has a record of 14 - 4 - 3. His GAA is 1.57, his SV% is .941 and he has 5 shutouts. At home since November 1, he is 10 - 0 - 2 with a GAA of 0.92 and a SV% of .967.

And just to take that point a bit further, the Canucks have not lost when leading after two periods this season. And if you were to look at their third periods overall, they are horribly outshot by the opposition in the third.

And finally, he's given up more than 3 goals in a game on just 4 occasions this season, the last being a 5-4 stupid-out loss to the Oilers on November 20, and hasn't given up more than 4 goals in a game at all.

At this given moment, there simply isn't a more dominant player in the NHL than Roberto Luongo. Call it homerism all you want, the numbers don't lie.

[J0e Th0rnton]

Please let's not put words in my mouth. I never said Luongo was the only candidate, I just said he was the clear favourite.

You could make a case for Thornton, but the Sharks have a terrible home record for one, which has lead to what most would say is an underachieving season for that squad so far. If I were to pick an MVP from San Jose, I'd go with Nabokov. Without him, the Sharks would be in last in the west right now.

Same goes for Thornton. The sharks win most of their games by 1-2 goals. He is CARRYING the offense single handedly. Almost Triple the points of anyone else on the team? Sick. He also has established himself as a stellar two way player this season. His backchecking and defensive play has been nothing short of stellar.

You can hit their terrible home record, but have to give props to them having the best Road record by a good margin of any NHL team.
The fact that the team is underachieving, and those 2 are carrying them on their backs and staying between 2nd and 4th in the conference cannot be ignored.

I can't see how you can put Crosby in that list. It's been a sub-standard start for the <ahem> Next One. The Pens have spent the majority of the season so far on the outside of the eastern playoff picture and should be thankful the standings have remained as tight as they are.

They are in a playoff spot, and him and Malkin and Gonchar are the only 2 getting it done on that team. The "next one" might not be Gretzky, but he is still among the league leaders and carrying a weak team.

Kovalchuk and Lecavalier are having stellar offensive seasons, but both play on losing teams.Agreed. But Atlanta is only 3 points out. You can try to say "They are lucky its tight in the east" but in all honestly, that just sows that nobody is able to assert dominance except for Ottawa.

I have a hard time picking anyone off the Sens and Wings because they are the two deepest teams in the league, and the only one closest to having an 'MVP' season on either team is Heatley.
I agree with many of these points. However, you cannot ignore people for MVP just because they have lots of help.

When I take into consideration the true definition of what it takes to win the Hart, which is most valuable to his team, I'd put Luongo, Iginla and Brodeur as the front runners. Iginla because he's managed to keep the Flames in the hunt despite a subpar season from Kipursoff and while adjusting to one of the most difficult coaches in the league. Brodeur because of the reasons MadDevil pointed out (although he has too many up and down performances now for me to give him the award over Luongo or even Iginla), but he only cracks the top 5 in shutouts. MVP to his team considerations or not, you have to have the numbers to earn the Hart. In fact, I'd give Nabokov equal consideration to Brodeur right now.
Iginla is keeping the flames in the hunt. But keep in mind what I said about Thornton. He is the only guy producing. It doesn't matter what the others are capable of. they are not getting it done. Him and Nabokov are carrying the team, Much like Iginla carries the flames(But he has more secondary scoring help than Thornton right now).

With Luongo, consider these points.

- the defense has not been healthy all year. Salo has missed almost half the season so far and has a terrible season. Bieksa will miss almost the entire year, and now Ohlund, who missed four games due to a suspension, is out with a concussion.

- although the Canucks are 6th in the west in scoring, they are 19th overall. It's no secret they don't score a lot, with their top point producers barely on a PPG pace.

And then you look at his numbers. Despite a slow start that had him 25th in the league in GAA and SV% after October, he now has a GAA of 2.02, a SV% of .928 and 5 shutouts. That puts him 4th in GAA, 4th in SV%, 5th in wins, and tied for third in shutouts.

Since November 1, his numbers are even better and are just plain gaudy at home. Overall he has a record of 14 - 4 - 3. His GAA is 1.57, his SV% is .941 and he has 5 shutouts. At home since November 1, he is 10 - 0 - 2 with a GAA of 0.92 and a SV% of .967.

And just to take that point a bit further, the Canucks have not lost when leading after two periods this season. And if you were to look at their third periods overall, they are horribly outshot by the opposition in the third.

And finally, he's given up more than 3 goals in a game on just 4 occasions this season, the last being a 5-4 stupid-out loss to the Oilers on November 20, and hasn't given up more than 4 goals in a game at all.

At this given moment, there simply isn't a more dominant player in the NHL than Roberto Luongo. Call it homerism all you want, the numbers don't lie.
Nice points, and I agree he is a candidate, but he is not a front runner over anyone else. Vancouver sadly, has much better scoring than the sharks this season. For the sharks, the difference is, it is all coming from 1 guy and whoever they mix and match on his line.

Ill agree, several Dmen on your team have had it rough, but with the squad of backchecking forwards you have, and the system you play, it doesn't hurt as much.

[AtLossForWords]

The biggest surprise in the West has to be St. Louis, looking at their roster coming into this season, I never would've thought they would have been in the hunt. David Perron has fit in there quite nicely in his rookie season. The Blues are easily the most improved team in the league.

The biggest disappointment in the West has got to be the Los Angeles Kings. Sure they don't have goaltending but I think they have a good mix of everything else. They have speed, they have two very good scoring lines, but only one has found the net regularly. They have a solid checking line. They have a solid blueline corp. If you put an elite goaltender behind that team, you think they would sky rocket in the standings. Any ideas why they didn't try to pick Bryzgalov off waivers?

The best suprise in the East is a tough one, because it doesn't seem like anything suprising is happening there.

The biggest disappointment would have to be Tampa sinking in the schedule with three of the very best forwards in the league, you think they could pull subpar defense and pourous goaltending a little farther. I think they'll be a better team after they get Dan Boyle back. Tortorella should scream at someone.

Stanley Cup picks? I'll go with Vancouver in the West because Roberto Luongo is without a doubt the toughest player to overcome in the league. You can talk about how hard it is to get your game against Niklas Lidstrom, or how Joe Thornton can make anyone a goal scorer, or how skilled Crosby is, but Luongo is the single toughest player in the league to overcome. He will steal games for his team on a regular basis, and when he gets a lead he holds it better than anyone. His team has not lost a game when they go into the third period leading and I think you can count Luongo in for why they are able to hold all those leads. The Canucks have a very good supporting cast even when they are healthy. They have a top line that can produce, one of the best checking lines and checking centers in the league, and as has been shown even with injuries a very deep blueline core. I don't think you can say Vigneault doesn't contribute to the game, because this guy is one of the best in the league in getting the matchup he wants whether he is at home or on the road. He is in complete control of his team.

The East is another story because no one is really standing out and Ottawa is in the middle of a goaltender drama. New Jersey is always a safe pick because of Brodeur and I think any holes in his armor will be sealed up come playoff time. Pittsburgh is a good bet becuase they have the best or second best offensive player in the league to carry there team. I'll take Vancouver versus New Jersey in the Stanley Cup Final with an extreme blow up of the goaltending matchup in an effort to get people to watch the game outside of BC.

[MadDevil]

It's funny how similar Luongo and Brodeur's seasons have been the last two years. Last year their stats were very similar, with Brodeur having the edge in pretty much all of them. Now this year they both get off to horrible starts in October, and have since rebounded very well and Luongo has the edge in the stats.

Just to throw this out there in comparison to Gordo's post about Luongo since November 1. In that same time span, Brodeur is 17-7-2 with a 1.96 GAA, .930 Save % and 3 SO. Obviously they're not as good as Luongo's numbers but still pretty damn solid, considering the team in front of him. The defense for much of the season has been a carousel of players coming and going out. And the offense has been wildly inconsistent.

I'd love to see a Vancouver vs New Jersey final to see these two go head to head for 7 games. Actually it'd be like the 2001 Finals when you had the veteran Roy going up against a younger Brodeur, who eventually took the reins as the leagues top goaltender. This time you'd have Brodeur as the vet and Luongo as the guy taking over. Hopefully it would end the same way the last one did, with the veteran getting the Cup.:wicked:

[gordphish]

It's funny how similar Luongo and Brodeur's seasons have been the last two years. Last year their stats were very similar, with Brodeur having the edge in pretty much all of them. Now this year they both get off to horrible starts in October, and have since rebounded very well and Luongo has the edge in the stats.

Just to throw this out there in comparison to Gordo's post about Luongo since November 1. In that same time span, Brodeur is 17-7-2 with a 1.96 GAA, .930 Save % and 3 SO. Obviously they're not as good as Luongo's numbers but still pretty damn solid, considering the team in front of him. The defense for much of the season has been a carousel of players coming and going out. And the offense has been wildly inconsistent.

I'd love to see a Vancouver vs New Jersey final to see these two go head to head for 7 games. Actually it'd be like the 2001 Finals when you had the veteran Roy going up against a younger Brodeur, who eventually took the reins as the leagues top goaltender. This time you'd have Brodeur as the vet and Luongo as the guy taking over. Hopefully it would end the same way the last one did, with the veteran getting the Cup.:wicked:

I wouldn't count on it going 7. New Jersey has beaten the Canucks once in something like the last 10 seasons, and Vancouver is pretty much the only team Brodeur has a losing record against. Nevertheless, I'd take that matchup in the Finals any day of the week and twice on Sundays.