Around The Rink 02.05.08: Early Playoff Battles

Posted by Jeremy Yoder on 02.05.2008

Around The Rink this week, back to business as usual for NHL clubs after the All-Star break, a quick look at how the playoff race is starting to shape up and a Toronto Maple Leaf is handed a three game suspension. We’ll also review the Western Conference’s Pacific Division and talk about the past week in Pittsburgh Penguins hockey.

Main Topics...

This week it was back to the grind for teams around the NHL. Those who were selected to the All-Star game went to Atlanta for a weekend and had a good time. I'm sure those who were not selected spent their time off in a variety of ways. Some may have taken a small vacation on a beach somewhere, some may have visited their hometown and still others may have simply trained through the break. Whatever the players of the NHL did during the break, one thing is sure: it's time to get back to work.

As the league gets back to its normal routines, almost every team in the league that doesn't currently hold a playoff spot is within eight points of holding a playoff spot. That means that there is obviously a lot to play for right now.

In the Eastern Conference, the teams holding playoff spots are, in the following order, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Carolina, Montreal, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, New York Rangers and Boston. The Atlantic and Northeast divisions account for seven of the eight teams currently in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The only team representing the Southeast division is the Carolina Hurricanes. As the season goes on, it looks as though if a team from the Southeast division wants to make the playoffs, they are going to have to win the division. The Thrashers are currently second in that division and are three points out of a playoff spot. The Panthers and Capitals are tied for third in that division and are each six points out of a playoff spot.

I look for the Eastern Conference playoff picture to look a lot the same come playoff time. The Atlantic and Northeast divisions will be well represented while the only Southeast division team to make the playoffs will be the division leader. I also think that the top eight that you see now, will be the top eight that you see when the playoffs start. Maybe not necessarily in the order they're in now, but the same teams none the less.

In the Western Conference, the playoff chase has Detroit on top followed by Dallas, Minnesota, San Jose, Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado and Nashville. The race shaping up in the west is tighter than the race in the east. In the west, there are currently four teams that aren't in the playoffs, but are no more than four points out of that eighth spot.

The divisional representation in the west is more balanced than in the east, though not by a whole lot. The Central division has two teams in the top eight with the Northwest and the Pacific each having three teams currently in the top eight. The one Central division team though, Nashville, is currently holding the eighth spot by the skin of their teeth. While Nashville could potentially drop out of the race as we near the playoffs, there are two other Central division teams ready to hold the balance in Columbus and St. Louis.

Unlike the Eastern Conference, I think we'll see some shuffling in the Western Conference as playoff time nears. I don't think Nashville will be able to hang on and make the playoffs. Look for St. Louis to make a push and squeak in. I also think Colorado and/or Calgary will slip down the stretch and make room for Columbus and/or Phoenix. I don't think Vancouver will be able to keep it together and get into the top eight. The X factor in this prediction is Peter Forsberg. If Colorado can land Forsberg, that will definitely give the team a boost and probably be enough to keep them in the top eight in the Western Conference.

Nik Antropov of the Toronto Maple Leafs was given a three game suspension this week. The suspension came as a result of a game misconduct penalty against the Carolina Hurricanes. Antropov took a hooking penalty in overtime against the Hurricanes. The ensuing power play resulted in a game winning goal for the Hurricanes. An obviously upset Antropov exited the penalty box, slammed his stick into the boards three or four times and then actually threw the stick at an official. Throwing your stick at an official is considered abuse of an official which garners an automatic three game suspension.

I don't think that Antropov has a history of doing things like this. I haven't seen his name associated with this type of behavior before. I'm sure that losing a game like that is very frustrating, but one has to wonder if there's more to this action than just losing the game. Things in Toronto are not good right now and maybe this outburst was an indication of things going on internally in Toronto.

Pacific Heat

Sitting atop the Pacific Division are the Dallas Stars. They are 31-20-5 for 67 points. They are currently only two points ahead of the San Jose Sharks. That is bad news for the Stars since the Sharks have played four less games than the Stars. The Stars continue to be lead by the surprising Mike Ribeiro. He leads the team in assists, points, +/- and is tied for the lead in goals. He was rewarded a few weeks ago for his play with a nice contract extension. Another huge key to Dallas' success this year has been a healthy Brenden Morrow. He is tied for the team lead in goals and is second in points. Aside from the offensive contributions Morrow brings, he brings an immense sense of leadership to the team. Having him in the lineup is always an advantage. The Stars defense is average, but their offense is the key to winning games. They have the fifth highest goal total in the league. Marty Turco has resumed the primary role in net and is playing good hockey which always helps a team to win. While the Sharks seem to have the advantage right now, I think the Stars will continue to plug away and will finish first in this division.

The Sharks are 29-16-7 good for 65 points and second in the Pacific division. As I mentioned above, they have four games in hand over the first place Dallas Stars. While the Stars get it done with their offense, the Sharks get it done with their defense. They have allowed the third fewest goals in the league and have one of the seasons best goalies in Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks do have some talented offensive players though. Joe Thornton is having another good season that is seeing him in the top 10 in scoring in the league. With forwards like Steve Bernier, Jonathan Cheechoo, Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek, the team is an offensive threat at anytime. Cheechoo has been heating up lately and that could rub off on to the other forwards I mentioned. The Sharks will be, as they have been all season so far, near the top of this division at the end of the regular season. I don't think they'll have enough to get into first though and will have to settle for second.

Sitting in third are the Anaheim Ducks with a record of 27-22-7 and 61 points. The Ducks received a boost a number of weeks ago with the return of Scott Niedermayer. His presence was instantly felt as the Ducks turned it on and won a few games in a row. With the excitement of that return dying down, they will receive another boost when Teemu Selanne returns to the lineup in a few games. The Finnish Flash has decided to come out of retirement and return to the team he won a Stanley Cup with. Getting Selanne back in the lineup should really help this team when they need it. While they are third in the division, they have played four more games than the second place, but more importantly, four more games than the fourth place team. With all the talent on the defending Cup champs' roster already, getting Selanne back will be just what the doctor ordered for Anaheim. It won't be enough to take them to the top of the division, but it will be enough to keep them in third.

The Phoenix Coyotes are having a great season and are currently fourth in the Pacific division with a record of 27-22-3 for 57 points. The Coyotes really don't have many flashy or star players. They seem to get it done with consistent, balanced team play. They do have some stars on the team though. Shane Doan, Ed Jovanovski and Ilya Bryzgalov are three names that any hockey fan should be familiar with. Another name that fans should be getting familiar with is Peter Mueller. The 19-year old rookie just won rookie of the month honors for January and has been having a good rookie year with 33 points. A surprise on the team is Radim Vrbata who is having a career year for the Coyotes. Those players sticking out and playing the role of superstar players on other teams combined with the efforts of everyone else on the team has the Coyotes eyeing a playoff spot for the first time in six years. While they might make the playoffs, they'll have to do so from near last in this division. The Coyotes will continue to surprise, but will finish fourth in this division.

With a record of 21-30-3 and 45 points, the Los Angeles Kings are not just the worst team in this division, but in the entire NHL. I wish I could watch Kings games because I don't understand how this team is so bad. They have good players on their roster that include Alexander Frolov, Michal Handzus, Michael Cammalleri, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Rob Blake, Jack Johnson and Lubomir Visnovsky. Apparently they don't play any defense though. They have allowed the most goals against of any team in the NHL. They could probably use a franchise goaltender. Jason LaBarbera just doesn't seem to be getting the job done. The good news for the fans of this team is that they have a good corps of young players. This year definitely is not their year, but in the next few years, this could be a team to be reckoned with. For now, the basement of the Pacific division is where they'll stay.

Weekly Pens Update

As I sit writing this blog, the Penguins sit at second in the Atlantic division with 62 points. They are one point behind the Flyers, who also have a game in hand over the Pens. They are currently 3-2-1 without Sidney Crosby. This is exactly what the team was hoping for while Sid is out. They have been rallying together and playing solid team hockey.

Since my last blog, the Pens are 2-1 beating New Jersey 4-2, losing to Atlanta 4-1 and beating Carolina 4-1. The win against New Jersey was huge because of the Devils being in the same division. That is something the Pens haven't been very good at this year is winning divisional games. Hopefully they will continue to play well against divisional foes since the Atlantic is really getting tight.

There haven't been any more injuries to report on this week. Thank goodness. There's been too much of that going on lately. There is some discouraging news though. Marc-Andre Fleury was expected to be back in the lineup last week, per the original diagnosis, but it is now unknown when he will return. He has been practicing, but no timeline for his return has been set.

There hasn't been any other news with regards to Pens injuries this week. Tyler Kennedy has actually been placed on injured reserve with mono and there is no word on when he'll be back. That's quite a shame for a young guy who got his opportunity in the bigs and was making the most of it.

Evgeni Malkin continues to be the leader of this team without Sid. He has been getting more help lately though. Particularly from Ryan Malone who has been playing fantastic hockey on Geno's wing. Jordan Staal has been stepping it up of late as well. Guys like Erik Christensen are also starting to step up to try and chip in and fill the void left by Sid being out. Ty Conklin continues to amaze in goal while Fleury is out. Who would've thought that Conklin would be so good in net? It's unbelievable what he's been doing.

This is a big week for the Pens as they play the Devils tonight(Monday, the blog is due Monday for Tuesday publication), the Islanders on Thursday and the Flyers on Sunday. They also have an engagement with the Kings on Saturday. So they have a lot of hockey to play this week and most of the games are against divisional foes. While the Islanders are last in the division, the Pens can ill-afford to lose to anyone within the division. Hopefully I'll be back next week with some exciting news on a great week of Pens hockey!

Random Thoughts

The Super Bowl was this past weekend. While hockey is my favorite sport, football runs a close second. Being a Steelers fan, I obviously am not a fan of the Patriots. However, I'm also not a fan of Eli Manning for refusing to play for the San Diego Chargers when he was going to be drafted by them. That being said, I was happy to see the Giants win the Super Bowl. I was very happy to see that the Patriots would not enjoy an undefeated season and I was also very happy to see Bill Belichik so disappointed and angry after the game. While I respect the man's intelligence for the game, I don't respect him for anything else. I drew great pleasure in his displeasure last night.

More Next Tuesday...

I'll be back next week with another column. Please send any comments, questions, suggestions or a topic that would interest you to [e-mail].