weekend armchair (cont’d)
March 30th, 2008 by Iani think Tim Thomas must read my blog because i keep thinking that the B’s would be on the outside looking in and then they say by their own actions, “screw you Fergusson”. Thomas with a shuttie and the uphill battle for the Caps to take the 8 spot looks REALLY daunting. Washington is in Florida tonight and they’re 3 pts down on Philly now with Philly on the Island. too many losses from here on out could really be a death knell if it’s accompanied by a win from the wrong team.
David Krejci has 7 pts in his last 3 games. he’s getting much more assists than goals so it could be he ends up in the Marc Savard mould. the B’s still need more consistent snipers, they won’t want to rely on Marco Sturm forever and Glen Murray is pretty long in the tooth.
i didn’t see it but apparently Chris Neil absolutely crushed Jeremy Reich with a shoulder to the head and Reich is a day to day decision. i’ve made it pretty clear that i have a fantasy hockey man-crush on Chris Neil and i even consider him as a keeper option if your league counts PIMs.
the Kings scored the first and last goals of the game but unfortunately the Stars put up 7 in between. Loui Erickson (move along) with 2 goals, Mike Ribeiro 3 assists and Stephane Robidas went 1 and 2. im liking Robidas more and more as the season progresses for putting up big minutes and carrying the load while both Zubov and Boucher have been away.
Marty Turco only faced 14 shots on the day, stopping 12 of them. i’m pretty sure i could stop 10 of them if i know that i’m only facing 14 on the day. one never knows though and i can be way too blustery for my own good.
i love CBC’s “think hockey”. Paul Maurice was on there talking about how to hit a guy, cleanly, respectfully, but still putting the hurt on him. it was good to see when i see way too many sticks, hands and elbows coming up toward the head as a guy tries to land a hip or bodycheck.
Wade Dubielewicz made 51 freaking saves and had a lead in the 3rd period but couldn’t keep the Flyers from tying the score and eventually getting 2 pts in a shootout. it’s too bad really, why can’t someone on that D corps throw his body in front of a puck to keep his goalie from feeling more rubber welts? Doobie-doobie-doo was phenomenal for them to end the season last year and i was thinking that he was doing a yeoman’s job again. when Freddie Meyer leads your D in ice time you have more concerns than how to stop pucks from getting to the net.
Kyle Okposo got 17 mins of ice time and an assist. by the end of next season he’ll have 50 pts and be a top 6 forward, and that’ll be just the beginning of an Iginla-like career (yeah, i know everyone makes that comparison but it’s still apt).
the Caps are still alive after a shuttie tonight and their last 3 games are all at home. they get Carolina, Tampa and Florida to end the year and they need to worry about the Canes the most (obviously).
Jiri Tlusty has 30 goal upside … in 2 years. he might get 20 next year. he went 2 and 1 in a nothing game against Montreal last night. if my buddy Paul reads this … PBBBBBBBLT!
take a look at Jeff Halpern’s stat line since he became a Lightning. nobody traded at or near the deadline has outpointed him this season. he’s getting top minutes and has fit in wonderfully along with Jussi Jokinen. it’s funny that the Stars gave up defensively responsible forwards in order to land extra talent, i’m still betting that all guys involved will be better in their new places.
Chicago will win the Ladd/Ruutu trade by a landslide. Ruutu has been putting up pts at a higher rate than he did in Chicago but Ladd will be the better option in both the short and long terms.
Mike Smith was back in a uni after missing 2 games with a sprained knee. i still don’t expect him to start much nor do they need him too, Ramo’s doing just fine over this short term.
Brad Boyes tried to lead the charge for the Blues only to come up short against the Hawks. 40 goals and 20 assists, trust me the assist totals will go up next year but he’ll continue to be a goal scoring force.
the Hawks scored 2 shorties to go way out in front against the Blues. one shortie is rare enough but everyone on the Blues PP should be embarrassed to give up 2 in a game.
Nashville has the easiest schedule of all the teams fighting for a playoff spot at the bottom of the Western Conference. they have 4 games left (Det, STL, STL,CHI), Edmonton has 2 left (Cal and Van). give me the Preds but at the same time, i can’t stand the Oil.
the Flames fired 32 shots at Dwayne Roloson but came out on the wrong end of a home loss to Edmonton. Flames fans hate losing to the Oilers at any time but especially with playoff spots on the line.
i read in the paper today that Joe Sakic once said that there isn’t anybody in the league right now more magical with the puck than Ales Hemsky. that is a HUGE endorsement from where i sit. it’s funny that people haven’t really considered Hemsky as a keeper option prior to this year but he’s definitely snuck into those ranks with his exploits this season.
i hate to say it but there’s a good chance that the Canuckleheads could be on the outside looking in. they’re on a 4 game losing streak and they have to turn this around fast.
Pilot Mound MB gets my vote for Hockeyville. i actually know a guy from there.
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