hey everyone, i’ve decided i’m going to move my blog to blogger.com. here’s the new address: world of hockey.
sorry for any headaches this causes. i’ll be moving all my posts and the free agent list over the next little while.
hey everyone, i’ve decided i’m going to move my blog to blogger.com. here’s the new address: world of hockey.
sorry for any headaches this causes. i’ll be moving all my posts and the free agent list over the next little while.
i guess it’s time that i speak on the ottawa senators for a bit.
not really all that much good to talk about. after thefiring john paddock two weeks ago, ottawa has won two games and lost four, one being an overtime loss to san jose. they lost to the los angeles kings, the worst team in the league, but thankfully rebounded with a win over a fairly mediocre phoenix team.
despite only getting five points from their last eight games, it seems that the senators have finally found a starting goaltender. not sure if that’s the greatest way to find your number one keeper, but it looks like martin gerber is going to be the man. unless he falters big time in the remaining 12 games of the season, gerber looks like he’ll be the man to back-stop the senators in the playoffs.
as for the playoffs, despite some scares a couple weeks back, i think the talk of ottawa missing the second season is over. they are now 10 points ahead of buffalo, who are currently in ninth place. how far ottawa goes this post-season? well, that’s a much harder question to answer. i’m sure i’m not alone in thinking that ottawa won’t make it out of the first round.
they might be headed for another first round match up against the pittsburgh penguins. the pens got sidney crosby back from injury last week, and marian hossa should return as well before the regular season ends, and evgeni malkin is still battling for the overall scoring lead in the league. with ty conklin and marc-andre fleury, they have a competent duo in goal should one falter or get hit with an injury.
with 12 games left, hopefully the senators can show us something, anything leading into the playoffs. last year, they played into june before finally losing out to anaheim in the finals. can they make it out of april in 2008?
final in this weeks series on the chl. today, we head to quebec.
the quebec league playoff system is a little different than the whl and ohl. there are only two divisions in the quebec league, the telus division of ten teams and the eastern division of eight teams. all but one team in each division moves on to the playoffs. the ninth place team in the telus division then moves to the eastern division for the playoffs.
the qmjhl uses a 70-game schedule. most teams have four or five games remaining.
telus division
all nine playoff spots in the division have been clinched. all that is left to decide is the division winner. at the top of division is the baie-comeau drakkar, who lead the rouyn-noranda huskies by three points. baie-comeau have four games remaining, while the huskies have three to go. the gatineau olympiques still have an outside shot at the division win, but are six points behind baie-comeau with four games left. the quebec remparts, chicoutimi sagueneens, shawinigan cataractes, rimouski oceanic, val-d’or foreurs and victoriaville tigres are also headed to the playoffs.
eastern division
with just over a week to go in the season, there is a big battle at the top of the eastern division. the halifax mooseheads currently lead with 83 points, with six games remaining. just one point behind are the saint john sea dogs, who have five games remaining. and only two points behind saint john are the cape breton screaming eagles, who have four games remaining. the acadie-bathhurst titan, lewiston maineiacs and st. john’s fog devils have also clinched playoff spots. there is one spot up for grabs. the p.e.i. rocket lead the moncton wildcats by three points for the last spot. p.e.i. has one game in hand.
another round of “if the playoffs started today”, assuming p.e.i. grab the final playoff spot.
telus division
baie-comeau drakkar vs. val-d’or foreurs
rouyn-noranda huskies vs. rimouski oceanic
gatineau olympiques vs. shawinigan cataractes
quebec remparts vs. chicoutimi sagueneens
eastern division
halifax mooseheads vs. victoriaville tigres
saint john sea dogs vs. p.e.i. rocket
cape breton screaming eagles vs. st. john’s fog devils
acadie-bathurst titan vs. lewiston maineiacs
i’ll have another update when the regular season’s end in all three leagues.
today, a look at how the playoffs are shaping up in the ontario hockey league.
much like the whl, the ohl uses a top-8 in each conference format for the playoffs. again, the top team in each division is ranked 1-2 for each conference. the ohl runs a 68-game schedule, and most teams have five or six regular season games remaining. all but one playoff spot has been decided.
eastern conference
east division
the belleville bulls have opened up a 10-point lead on the oshawa generals at the top of the division. the generals have seven games remaining, one more than belleville, so there is still an outside chance oshawa could grab the top spot. the ottawa 67’s have also clinched a playoff spot. the peterborough petes are 11 points ahead of the kingston frontenacs for the final spot, so they should clinch sometime this week.
central division
the brampton battalion lead the way with 82 points over the niagara icedogs. niagara are seven points behind, with one game in hand. also moving on to the playoffs are the barrie colts and st. michael’s majors.
there is a decent chance that four of the eight playoff teams in the eastern conference will have sub-.500 records.
western conference
midwest division
the kitchener rangers are already guaranteed a memorial cup spot as hosts of the tournament, but they aren’t looking to back in to the finals. the rangers have already clinched the midwest division. they’ve only lost nine games all season. the london knights and guelph storm are also headed to the dance.
west division
the whole division is moving on to the playoffs. as stacked west division sees the sault ste. marie greyhounds at the top with a three point lead over the windsor spitfires. the plymouth whalers, saginaw spirit and sarnia sting round out the division. sarnia, last in the division, have a better record than half of the eastern conference teams.
the regular season ends on march 16, but here’s what the first round would look like right now, using peterborough as the final team in.
eastern conference
belleville bulls vs. peterborough petes
brampton battalion vs. ottawa 67’s
oshawa generals vs. st. michael’s majors
niagara icedogs vs. barrie colts
western conference
kitchener rangers vs. sarnia sting
sault ste. marie greyhounds vs. guelph storm
windsor spitfires vs. saginaw spirit
london knights vs. plymouth whalers
sidney crosby will make his return to the penguins lineup tonight.
the penguins captain has been out of the lineup since mid-january with a high ankle sprain. since he’s been out, his buddy has taken over the scoring duties for pittsburgh.
pretty good timing on his return, what with marian hossa’s injury in his first game for pittsburgh.
the washington capitals exploded for six first period goals in last night’s game against the boston bruins, and alexander ovechkin had half of them, giving him 52 goals for the season. he also added two assists as the caps destroyed boston by a count of 10-2.
ovechkin is the first player to reach the 50-goal mark this season, and his lead in the race for top goal scorer in the league is at ten goals above atlanta’s ilya kovalchuk. he also passed by evgeni malkin for the as the league’s leader in points, with 90 to malkin’s 88. 60 goals definitely seems in reach now for ovechkin. he would be the first player since mario lemieux and jaromr jagr both hit 60 in the 1995-96 season.
he may just have wrapped up the hart trophy and rocket richard trophy in one game.
this week i’ll be talking a look at the three leagues that make up the canadian hockey league as they get set for the playoffs. just over two months away is the memorial cup, which this year will be hosted in kitchener, ontario.
starting out west, with the western hockey league. the whl has changed their playoff format this season, going with what most other leagues use these days. the top eight teams in each conference make the playoffs, with the top team in each division getting one of the top two spots in the conference.
all 16 playoff spots in the league have been clinched already. most teams have about six or seven games left in the 72-game schedule.
eastern conference
east division
in the east division, the regina pats lead the way with 86 points. they have five games remaining. the division is still wide open, with the brandon wheat kings(four points behind), moose jaw warriors(five points) and swift current broncos(five points) all still with a chance to win the division. all four of those teams have playoff spots already booked.
central division
in the central, there is a little more breathing room at the top, but not much. the calgary hitmen lead the way with 93 points. the lethbridge hurricanes are six points behind, but have two games in hand. the kootenay ice and medicine hat tigers are probably too far out for the division, but are headed to the playoffs as well.
western conference
b.c. division
there is no race for the division here. the 2007 memorial cup champion vancouver giants have run away with the division, with an 18 point lead. the kelowna rockets, chilliwack bruins and kamloops blazers are all headed to the playoffs. chilliwack and kelowna both have records well under .500, with both having won only one of their last ten games.
u.s. division
another close race in a very competitive division. the tri-city americans lead the way with 98 points. only four points behind and with one game in hand are the spokane chiefs. the seattle thunderbirds and everett silvertips both have records that would be good enough to challenge for other division wins, but will both have to settle with just getting into the playoffs.
the regular season doesn’t end for another two weeks, but the first round playoff pairings based on current standings would be…
eastern conference
calgary hitmen vs. swift current broncos
regina pats vs. moose jaw warriors
lethbridge hurricanes vs. brandon wheat kings
kootenay ice vs. medicine hat tigers
western conference
tri-city americans vs. kamloops blazers
vancouver giants vs. chilliwack bruins
spokane chiefs vs. everett silvertips
seattle thunderbirds vs. kelowna rockets
random/useless stat of the day. a lot is made about momentum going into the playoffs. you always hear analysts talk about a team going into the playoffs on the hot streak. so how good are the stanley cup teams at the end of the regular season?
results of the last ten games of the regular season for the stanley cup champions over the past five seasons are below.
record format is wins-losses-ot losses-shootout losses for the past three season, and then W-L-ties-OL before that.
| year | team | record |
| 06-07 | anaheim | 5-3-0-2 |
| 05-06 | carolina | 5-3-2-0 |
| 03-04 | tampa bay | 5-4-1-0 |
| 02-03 | new jersey | 5-0-4-1 |
| 01-02 | detroit | 1-3-4-2 |
so, win five, and the cup is yours. :)
marian hossa’s debut for the pittsburgh penguins didn’t quite go as planned.
in the second period, hossa and the boston bruins glen murray collided knee-on-knee, with hossa getting the worst of it. the injury is a slight sprain of the mcl. the penguins are saying he should only be out for a week.
not good for pittsburgh. with sidney crosby out, and colby armstrong and erik christensen shipped out in the trade for hossa, they are very thin up front. evgeni malkin can only win you so many games.
if you enjoy laying down a bet or two, and have very little money (:D), then let me tell you about this site.
it’s called centsports. when you sign up, you get 10 cents free to bet. no catch to the free dime. then you can bet on a variety of sports. right now they have basketball, boxing, tennis, and of course, nhl hockey. check it out if are interested. 10 cents isn’t much to start with, but a couple people have cashed out on the site for over $100.
centsports – free sports betting
good luck.
