In hockey, many times goals are scored off of mistakes. Unfortunately, when the Hawks commit an error these days it winds up in the back of their net. On Tuesday night an experienced player, Jonathan Toews, and a rookie, Dylan Olsen had puck management issues which led to Nashville scores.

To add insult to injury the Predators scored twice on deflections with the winning goal coming off of Duncan Keith’s stick. It appeared an extra sharp Ray Emery would have come up with that save but it wasn’t to be. As has been the case, the Hawks haven’t gotten many breaks but their effort was solid on both sides of the puck for most of the game.

Even though the Hawks lost, Joel Quenneville seemed more at ease after the game than he recently has been. Maybe it was because the Hawks finally played effective hockey in all three zones. Although they weren’t rewarded a better effort was in place.

It is also possible Coach Q. was a little more at ease because he got a vote of confidence from General Manager Stan Bowman on Monday.

As was written here recently, Quenneville is a veteran head coach with a fine overall record and a recent Stanley Cup win. Almost always that type of resume buys a coach time to work out of a prolonged losing spell.

Not only did Bowman come to Quenneville’s defense but some Hawks players spoke on his behalf too. If things end in a bad way this season, Quenneville’s future as head coach will come under greater scrutiny this summer. For now this appears to be Quenneville’s club for the rest of the season.

Tuesday night, the Blackhawks controlled the game for the most part and had many scoring chances. The Hawks had 13 more shots on goal but couldn’t connect enough to gain at least one point. The star for Nashville was goal tender Pekka Rinne, who on many nights is the main reason they win.

The Hawks model doesn’t allow for a $7 million goal keeper. The Chicago front office spends big money on other positions and more or less follows the Detroit Red Wing example. The Wings have a fine goalie in Jimmy Howard, but they have been successful over a long time without breaking the bank on goal tenders.

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“I took a week and a bit off after playing in the ‘A’ (AHL),” Ellis said this past May at the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Awards Ceremony. “Just kind of relaxed, went up to the cottage and I just started my training regimen in the summer and I’m looking forward to a little time off as well as off-season training.”

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The 2009 first-round draft choice reached new personal summits in 2010-11 with the Windsor Spitfires when he was named the OHL Mickey Renaud Captain’s Award winner, top defenceman in the OHL, CHL and World Junior Championship, player of the year in both the OHL and CHL, and an OHL and World Junior Championship All Star.  He finished with 313 career points, third highest among all OHL defencemen in history.  He also captained Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, winning a second consecutive silver medal to go with the gold he won in 2009.

Ellis paused to consider his accomplishments and place in major junior history.

“I talked to my old coach Bob Boughner yesterday.  I think it’s just icing on the cake.   We had a great season this year and we went a lot further than a lot of people expected.   I think, just personally for myself, after four years in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires, these two awards are just something on the top and I’m very honoured to get them.”

He was humbled to have his name etched on the CHL Defenceman of the Year Award noting “the pretty big names on that list. I think to be in the company of not just those defencemen but the other players that have won it in previous years is very exciting.   I think going on to pro hockey next year, it’s kind of, like I said, just icing on the cake to sum it all up.”

Ellis gave credit to his first high school hockey coach, Paul Hanley, of the Waterdown District High School Warriors, for motivating him to always give his best effort.

“It’s to always care and to always have the drive to win.   Obviously high school hockey at the time was just kind of more fun for me than anything serious but he always promoted everyone coming with their ‘A’ game and wanting to win, no matter if it was high school, house league, OHL, NHL.  I think that was the biggest thing – always wanting to win, just having that drive at every aspect of any level is key.”

After Windsor’s drive for three straight Memorial Cups ended in the third round of the OHL playoffs in late April, Ellis signed an amateur try-out contract with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s AHL affiliate.  In his first seven professional playoff games, Ellis scored a goal and an assist.

“It was a great experience.  I had a lot of fun there and I did pretty well for myself.  It was a different experience.  I wasn’t used to joining a team at the end of a year.  It was definitely a big step there.   I think going there in the thick of the playoffs and getting used to playoff speed was a great start for me in pro hockey,” Ellis reflected, reviewing his cup of coffee in Milwaukee.  ”Everyone treated me very well. I played a lot more than I expected to.   I played some key spots which I think was pretty exciting,” he continued, perhaps referring to his goal on the power play in Game 6 of the West Division Final against Houston.

Ellis stated that the biggest lesson he learned in Milwaukee was “just the fact that you must get bigger and stronger for the jump to the AHL or the NHL.”  Just 5’10″ and 179 lbs., scouts have often been skeptical about his viability as an NHL-calibre defenceman.  He chuckled when the topic of his small size came up again.  ”No, I think I’m over that.  I still get those questions once in a while but I’m so far past anything like that.  I’m more confident and things like that aren’t even in my rear view anymore.”

In his third pre-season camp with Nashville, Ellis has hopes of joining Shea Weber and Ryan Suter on the Preds’ blue line but remains even-keeled and would not view a return trip to Milwaukee as a disappointment.  ”I think the AHL is a great way to earn your way to an NHL team. I think if that’s in the cards for me, then I’ll relish in that role and go there, try to do my best and hopefully work my way to pro hockey.”

Now that you’re done celebrating Hockey Day in America – which turned into three days this year – it’s time to catch up on things you may have missed.

To help out, below are ten stories you need to know coming out of the weekend…

* Andrei Loktionov was sent back to Manchester. It’s a numbers game. With Marco Sturm set to return the Kings needed a roster spot. They can’t send Davis Drewiske or Peter Harrold down without first going through waivers. Chances are they wouldn’t make it. Both are serviceable sixth defenseman in the NHL and have minimal salaries. At the very least, it wasn’t a chance worth taking. Odds are Loktionov will be back in LA before the season is out.  Kings coach Terry Murray explained things in detail here.

* Still not sure why people were so in awe of Carey Price’s mask during the Heritage Classic. The concept has been used by several goalies in the past, including Jonathan Quick’s tribute to Rogie Vachon this year. However, my favorite may have been Hannu Toivanen of the St. Louis Blues / Boston Bruins going with the Denis Lemieux (from Slap Shot) look.

* Looking for information on the stable of Kings prospects?  Check out the Kings Prospect Report – it includes updates on Brayden Schenn, Tyler Toffoli and the others who are tearing up junior hockey this season.

* More on Schenn – if you would like a game used jersey, the Saskatoon Blades are auctioning off one of his jerseys here for charity.

* For the Schenn hat trick, here’s a third item of the day…more specifically, an update on the latest Brayden Schenn trade rumor – Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke continues to be hot on the trial of Schenn, including ‘accidently’ mentioning his name in a press conference this week. However, the reality is the Leafs don’t have the assets to acquire the young center. It’s highly doubtful Schenn gets traded this week by the Kings. And it certainly wouldn’t be to Toronto IF it happened.

* In the February 7th And Now You’re Caught Up article it was noted that doctors couldn’t determine what was wrong with Ducks’ goalie Jonas Hiller, so despite reports that he was just tired it was something worth watching. Sure enough, the dizziness he complained of wasn’t a minor thing and he’s been on IR. If it’s a concussion, who knows how long he’ll be out (see: Crosby, Sidney). In other Pacific Division injury news, Phoenix placed defenseman Ed Jovanovski on IR a few days ago with an orbital bone fracture (he’s expected to miss at least two weeks).

* Even more injury news out of the ultra-tight Western Conference – Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter left Saturday’s game with a lower body injury (he’s listed as day-to-day with no updates from the team yet) and Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu is probably going to need surgery on his hand, which will require him to miss significant time.

* Prior to the Heritage Classic Calgary and Montreal put on an alumni game featuring the ’86 Canadiens and ’89 Flames. Which should have been enough to get Kings fans salivating at the thought of next year. If the rumors (as reported here) turn out to be true – and the Kings face the Rangers in the 2012 Winter Classic, just think of the possibility – the ’93 Kings vs the ’94 Rangers.  In other words, Gretzky, Robitaille and Hrudey taking on Messier, Graves and Richter.  Oh yeah, and Leetch vs. Blake.

* Although the NHL’s two Classics are behind us now, there is still more hockey left to be played in the natural elements. Later this afternoon the WHL will stage an outdoor game between the Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen. If this game was played last year, there would have been three Kings prospects participating (Colten Teubert for the Pats, Brandon Kozun and Martin Jones for the Hitmen). With all three having moved on to Manchester (AHL) though, that leaves Jordan Weal – who was drafted last summer – as the Kings lone representative. Unfortunately, the game is not being shown in the U.S.

* The tweet of the week may have come from Anaheim’s Bobby ‘breadsticks’ Ryan – “Game day flat tire outside the Olive Garden. #comeonreally!!” (yes, that was a real tweet from Bobby Ryan)

And now you’re caught up.

The Mayor
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They say it’s best to go out on a high note. John Elway did it. Very few others have.

In my case, some probably think I should stay away from predictions from this point forward.

Prior to the puck dropping on last season, I perfectly called the Kings finishing in sixth place (link is here for you Doubting Thomases). Most thought I was crazy for even thinking that at the time, as the mainstream hockey media had the Kings sneaking in around 8th…if they even made the playoffs at all.

Boy have times changed. The Kings are one of the trendy picks coming into this season. It’s hard to believe, yet some even have them winning the Stanley Cup this year. Now, I’m not going to go that far (just yet).

However, after carefully reading the tea leaves, consulting with Sylvia Browne and having my palm read on Venice Beach yesterday, I’m ready. Below are my predictions for the 2010-11 season.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings

What if… they experience a rash of injuries again, like last season?  Will that be enough to finally clip the playoff wings of the infamous Detroit hockey club?  I doubt it.  They showed last year that you can basically run this team over with a Mac truck and they’ll still find a way to post 100 points.  Jimmy Howard is rock solid.  The defense is always strong.  They should be healthier than they were in the first half last year and they added Mike Modano.  He’s motivated to prove he wasn’t done yet.  I’d put him on my third line any day of the week and twice on Sunday gameday.

2.  Vancouver Canucks

What if… their new defense isn’t as strong as last year’s version?  It’s possible.  It’s also possible that Sedin #1 doesn’t play the same with Sedin #2 back in the line-up.  It’s also possible that Luongo spends the year looking more like the goalie he did in that 8-3 shellacking in LA last year than the goalie he was at the Olympics.  Any of those is certainly possible, but not probable.  If the Red Wings slide at all, the Canucks will be there to take the top spot in the West.

3.  San Jose Sharks

What if… they hadn’t signed Niemi?  Would they have still won the Pacific Division this year?  I’m not so sure about that.  That move (call it luck) gave them just a tiny advantage here.  I’m also not sure about Joe Thornton as the captain of this team.  Nearly everybody in that locker room likes to talk about there being a group of leaders on this team, not just a single person.  I’m not sure I buy it.  Yes, they win – a lot of regular season games.  But, who is the leader of this team?  Who is going to put the team on his back when they’re up against the wall?  Who knows, mark it down as TBA.

4.  Los Angeles Kings

What if… Dean Lombardi adds a high-end piece to the puzzle sometime between opening night and the trading deadline?  Well, last year I said they could finish higher than sixth place if he added such a player.  He didn’t and they finished right where I thought.  That’s not a criticism, just an observation.  Entering this year, I have a similar feeling.  Right now, they should finish in fourth.  If Lombardi tweaks the roster in a significant way, this group will challenge the Sharks…and probably overtake them for the Pacific Division.  Seeing the Kings finish the year in second place overall is not out of the question.

5.  Chicago Blackhawks

What if… there wasn’t a salary cap?  Well, then this team would be a one or two seed.  There is, so they aren’t.  I get that the core is still there.  But, I’m a high character guy.  They’ve lost their grit – or, I think we’re supposed to call it sandpaper these days.  The defense enters the year banged up too.  I’m high on Marty Turco too.  That will help.  However, can he get it done at this point in his career?  Overall, they enter the season with too many questions to slot in higher than fifth.  By March though, I expect this to be a completely different team than the one playing in October.

6.  Nashville Predators

What if… this team actually had money to spend?  From the goal out, they look solid…until you get up front.  Between the pipes, Pekka Rinne could be the most under appreciated goalie in the league.  If you want a young defensive pairing to rival the Kings’ Doughty and Johnson, look no further than Ryan Suter and Shea Weber (also a Can-Am duo).  It’s the scoring that worries me.  Last year they only had two players post more than 20 goals (Patrick Horqvist and Martin Erat) – both are right wingers.  Where is their big center?  Jason Arnott left and Matthew Lombardi came over from Phoenix.  That’s not enough to move them higher than sixth place.  They’ll still win plenty of games though due to their goaltending and defense.  They’re the tweener team in the West.  Not good enough to be part of the top five, clearly better than all the teams below them.

7.  St. Louis Blues

What if… Montreal didn’t trade Jaroslav Halak to the Blues?  Then St. Louis may be on the outside looking in this year.  Like nearly every year, seeds 7-10 are almost interchangeable.  The addition of Halak (Bernier’s former teammate in juniors) should be enough to help a Blues team poised for a bounce back year.  They’ve lost Kariya and Tkachuk, both veterans who were on the downside of their scoring peaks.  Their young talent continues to develop at a steady pace.  However, to make some noise in the second half of the season, they’ll need a breakout star.  Any team being led in points by Andy McDonald probably doesn’t strike fear in the teams listed above.

8.  Phoenix Coyotes

What if… GM Don Maloney was able shop at Saks, instead of KMart?  As has been written everywhere, the loss of Zbynek Michalek will hurt this team.  Losing Lombardi will also probably hurt the Coyotes more than it will help the Blues.  Adding Eric Belanger will help here more than most realize.  He is among the best face-off guys in the league, probably top three.  Even though he probably won’t score 30 goals, the ones he does put in the net are usually timely.  Finally, any team with Ilya Bryzgalov in net has a fighting chance each team they take the ice.  Here’s a what if… What if they never picked him up off waivers from the Ducks?

9.  Calgary Flames

What if… somebody could actually explain them bringing back Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay?  If so, it might be a little easier to get a read on this team.  Their goaltending is probably the only difference maker placing them a notch ahead of the next few teams to follow. Their offense is still highly questionable though.  Which is probably the difference maker when it comes to them not making the playoffs.

10.  Colorado Avalanche

What if… this team hadn’t gotten off to such a hot start last year?  People wouldn’t even be talking about this group as a playoff team this year.  Yes, Matt Duchene is an incredible young talent.  And sure, one of their executives wanted to bend my ear in Vegas last weekend about guys like Phillippe Dupuis and Brandon Yip.  However, they don’t have a true stud on defense and I’m not sold on Craig Anderson in net.  That said, it is a contract year for Anderson.  So, perhaps, he’ll perform better than projected.

11.  Anaheim Ducks

What if… they actually had some defense?  They might challenge for a playoff spot.  Maybe.  They gave up 243 goals last year, only one better than Dallas in the Pacific and only good enough for 22nd in a 30 team league.  I see nothing they’ve done in the off-season to make them significantly better.  If Cam Fowler is the second coming of Drew Doughty, maybe.  If Temmu or Koivu start to show their age, maybe not.

12.  Dallas Stars

What if… Brenden Morrow played on a more visible team?  He’d be one of the top-10 superstars in this league.  A pure warrior, similar to Jeremy Roenick of a generation earlier.  Steve Ott is highly underrated as well.  Brad Richards is playing for a huge contract next summer.  Those are the positives.  On the flip side, the goaltending is probably middle of the pack – much like this team.  Behind the bench they’re lead by Marc Crawford.  And that’s never a good thing.

13.  Edmonton Oilers

What if… this was the 2013-14 and not 2010-11 season?  Then, the Oilers would be solidly in the playoffs.  This is a team on the rise.  They have so much young talent it’s almost hard to keep track of it all.  If they had a goaltender in their system that was capable of rising up with a Calder-like season, then it wouldn’t be such a stretch to see them challenge for a playoff spot this year (that’s right, I said it).  However, they don’t have that player, nor the defensive depth just yet.  This may be one of the most exciting teams to watch this season.  But, the playoffs are not within their grasp.

14.  Minnesota Wild

What if… GM Chuck Fletcher was allowed to bring Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin over with him when he joined the Wild, after three years in Pittsburgh?  The answer is obvious, they’d be a much better team.  Neither happened, just like the Wild won’t even be close to the playoffs.  Like every team on the outside looking in, you can point to positives.  Here, it’s the goaltending.  Similarly, you can’t point out obvious holes.  The Wild have so many, they could be called the Minnesota Cheese.

15.  Columbus Blue Jackets

What if… Rick Nash took over and played like the true superstar he should be?  Well, it would be nice to finally see.  He has the potential to be a top-5 offensive threat in the National Hockey League.  However, it still wouldn’t be enough.  This team is in real bad shape.  And probably will be for several years to come.  If you can actually name more than five players on their roster, you need to get out of the house more.

There you have it.  Agree or disagree?

Just please bookmark for later.  There will be a review in six months.

What if… I’m right, again?

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

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Interview with Bobby Ryan

Interview with Cam Fowler
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They say that retail is in the details. And while it might not have the same ring to it, hockey is in the numbers.

Take number nine for example, it’s one of the most famous digits in hockey. Gordie Howe wore it. So did Rocket Richard and Bobby Hull.  More recently, Mike Modano built a Hall of Fame career in Dallas as #9.

According to Marcel Dionne, he almost wore it here in LA.  If original Kings’ owner Jack Kent Cooke had gotten his way, there’d be a different number hanging in the rafters at Staples Center right now.

Across town in the OC, the original Mighty Duck – Paul Kariya – wore it back when he called The Pond home.

These days, Bobby Ryan wears it in Anaheim…and if everything works out as planned, he’ll continue to wear it there for many years to come.  For now, he’s working on some other numbers, as in contract numbers. The team and his agent continue to discuss terms – number nine reportedly wants a three year deal, versus the team’s preference of five years – with nothing agreed upon just yet.

In a move that caught some people by surprise though, Ryan recently attended the launch party for Dustin Brown’s new DLO-23 line through Combat Sports.  Even for an event held in Anaheim, seeing a Ducks player out supporting the Kings’ captain was a bit curious at first.  In reality, he was there as a fellow member of the Team USA hockey program.  The two “hit it off” during the Olympics, thus he “didn’t hesitate” when Brown invited him to come down.

So, thanks to D-LO, we had the opportunity to catch up with Bobby Ryan and get his take on a few finer points of the Kings-Ducks rivalry…after, of course, first touching on his Team USA experience.

Let’s start with the Olympics…excluding Brown, who you’re now friends with…who was another guy on the team that you learned something about and came away impressed?

Ryan Suter. He plays in the Western Conference, so we see him with Nashville. He’s a tough guy to play against and he’s a sound guy positionally. But, you really don’t appreciate him until he’s on your team playing those big minutes and until he’s running a power play. He has an overwhelming sense of calm back there, even in the big situations. I was flabbergasted with him at certain points during the Olympics.

Now that you’ve had a few months to let it all sink in, when you look back at Vancouver - besides the big moments against Canada – what other memories do you take with you from the Olympics?

I think the biggest thing for me was the camaraderie, not just between the guys that played hockey though.  It was the whole USA organization in general, the way that we got to meet other athletes and bond with them through the village.  To get a chance to spend time with them and get to know them was incredible. You’d find yourself cheering for events you never thought you’d watch. It was nice to go in there and come out with the most medals too.

You’ve played in Vancouver before with the Ducks, so the city wasn’t new to you.  However, the Olympic experience made things different.  What surprised you the most while you were there?

The acceptance from the Canadian fans. You get a chance on your off days to spend time with your family and get around. You’re wearing the U.S. gear and your family is obviously wearing it from head to toe. I found that even after we beat Canada the first time around that fans didn’t come up to us to give us a hard time or say “We’ll get you next time,” they were supportive almost. They said what a great game it was and that they were rooting for us, just not if we played them again. It was surprising. But it’s something I’ll never forget because I dont know if we’d get that in a lot of other countries.

Anaheim sent eight players to the Olympics.  However, the team struggled once the NHL season resumed and ultimately didnt make the playoffs.  How would you recap what happened over the the full 82 game season?

I think the biggest thing that defined us last year was inconsistency. Obviously we faced injuries, as every team does. We lost Joffrey Lupul, which was a big thing for the year. And Teemu going down for 10 games here and there. We never really got to ice the line-up that we were hoping for, the one that so many people predicted to be strong.  Then, you add in guys going on hot and cold streaks at different points.  We never really meshed as a team in that sense.  So, I dont think it was a prototypical Anaheim season.  I think we should have been a playoff team and maybe even made a run at it. 

It’s been said that a real rivalry doesn’t exist yet between the Ducks and the Kings because the teams haven’t met in the playoffs.  As a player, when you come into Staples Center, do you feel a rivalry or is it really not that much different than when you guys play other teams in the West, like Detroit and San Jose – two teams the Ducks have met in the playoffs?

If you’re not amped up to go out on the ice at Staples Center, the fans right there behind the bench will get you.  It’s a rivalry that does kinda fall by the wayside at times, as maybe it should, when you look at San Jose and the runs they’ve made the last few years…maybe people are focused on them.  But, it’s for bragging rights when we face off with LA.  It’s a tough one for me too because I have so many good friends on the Kings, not just from the Olympics, but from Owen Sound - in Simmonds and Richardson and other guys I’ve gotten to know.  I definitly text those guys after games, whether we win or lose, and say “We’ll get you next time.” or “We had your number tonight.”

[note:  speaking of numbers, here's a few that always stick out...in 2004-05, Bobby Ryan's NHL draft year, he was outscored by the Kings' Brad Richardson (his then-teammate in Owen Sound)...Richie posted more goals and assists than Ryan...that was just five years ago!]

Regarding Staples being a tough place to play at times, when do you remember it being the most challenging for you personally?

It would be after the (Oscar) Moller hit, with about seven seconds left in that game (January 14th).  At the time I was heated up, so some of the comments didn’t register with me.  I just got off the ice.  But, I was aware of it the next time we came there.  We played them again at Staples Center the next month and Doughty got me back that night.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Drew Doughty and Bobby Ryan are two of the brightest young stars for their SoCal hockey teams.  Contract issues aside, they should be leading the charge for their respective franchises for the next decade.

The real question is, who will get the upper hand when it matters most, #8 or #9?

For the Kings-Ducks rivalry to reach a whole new level, an additional number probably needs to be added into the mix.  Seven. 

As in, seven game playoff series.

The Mayor
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The Mayor appears courtesy of MayorsManor – a great source for hockey news, views and interviews. Some of the RELATED ARTICLES you’ll find over there are…

10 Tidbits on Drew Doughty

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Also - a video recap of the Moller-Ryan-Doughty exchange was posted by the guys over at Life in Hockeywood. You can check it out by clicking here.

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Regardless, today Chicago is a Blackhawk town. 

Bulls faithful may disagree but judging from attendance figures, TV ratings and retail shelf space the Hawks are strides ahead in popularity. The only way it would quickly change is if LeBron or Kobe suddenly made the United Center their home. 

This spring is also different for the Blackhawks. 

This time around Hawk players aren’t overjoyed by making the playoffs as expectations have been ramped up since they were eliminated from the post season by the Red Wings last May.  There is a feeling in Chicago this could be the start of a special playoff run, but caution is in the air. 

The previous time the NHL participated in the Olympics all top four seeds in the Western Conference were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. That year the eighth seed, the Edmonton Oilers advanced only to lose in the Stanley Cup finals to the Carolina Hurricanes. 

It wouldn’t be impossible for the Blackhawks to be upset by the Nashville Predators, although it should be highly unlikely. As long as the Hawks pay attention to details it should only be a matter of when, not if they eliminate the Predators and advance. 

But if the Hawks are careless with the puck, take bad penalties, have poor line changes or get frustrated by the Predators tight checking they could lose the series. 

The Hawks are very good but there are no unbeatable teams. No one should be shocked by playoff upsets this season. 

As highlighted in a recent Chicago Tribune article by Chris Kuc, the Hawks are well aware of upset possibilities.

Hockey fans have already seen an abundance of road teams able to win the opening playoff game. 

On paper the Predators are not very impressive. 

They finished 24^th in power play effectiveness, 28^th in penalty killing and their goal differential is zero. Nashville’s strength is on defense as their top three defenders are among the best in the Conference. They have a great coach and a very good goalie. Beyond all else Nashville knows how to win. 

Rather than focus on Shea Weber, Ryan Suter or any other Nashville player the Blackhawks have to take care of their own business. 

If ever there was a time to start a goal keeper without post season experience this would be the year. About half of the playoff goal keepers have little if any post season experience. Both Antti Niemi and Pekka Rinne fall into that category. 

Niemi needs to be good and maybe even win a game on his own versus Nashville. But more than anything else he must not be the cause of a loss. The Blackhawks can’t use Niemi’s lack of playoff experience as a reason for losing to Nashville.  

Actually for this series there are no acceptable excuses for Chicago. 

Although the Predators are healthier than the Blackhawks it shouldn’t matter. Chicago is still the deeper, faster, more skillful team and as long as they play effective hockey they will advance. 

The same could be said for most of the higher seeds in the Western Conference and as we all know upsets routinely happen. The teams which will advance are those that can play consistently well and have the most will to win. 

In the playoffs, many times winning clubs are not the most talented on paper but those who pay the best attention to details. 

Al’s Shots

Hawk forwards can’t get frustrated by the officiating, Nashville will be hanging on. 

It took awhile but Jerry Reinsdorf finally negotiated a deal he couldn’t pass up. 

I’m not sure who said uncle the loudest, maybe it was the NHL or it could have been the city of Glendale. Not knowing ever detail of the transaction it appears Reinsdorf can’t lose and might be able to make a huge profit. 

The city of Glendale will cover his losses for the first five years and then they could take the team over if Reinsdorf wanted out. Glendale could then proceed to sell the franchise to the highest bidder. 

It appears if Reinsdorf stayed longer he would control any future sale of the team. 

In six or seven years the Coyotes could be worth a lot more than the $100 million Reinsdorf paid. By that time a new arena could be ready north of the border and the list of potential buyers could be a long one. 

Not knowing all the specifics of the sale, it does seem like the biggest loser could someday still be Coyote fans. 

Maybe the franchise can become profitable and stay in Arizona for an indefinite period of time. If not Coyote fans will probably not have a team to cheer for six or seven years from now. For now they will have to be content. 

blackhawkswin@comcast.net

NASHVILLE DEFEATS OTTAWA

This time, the headline is accurate.  No really.  The six game losing streak is really over.

What a Jekyll and Hyde game tonight- especially so for Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.

First two periods, Nashville plays aggressive forechecking, forcing turnovers and putting pucks on net.  Tonight they made their own luck early on.

Then there was this thing called the third period.  They fell back into a trapping system and Ottawa capitalized by entering the zone with speed and capitalizing on defensive miscues.

The young’uns played a good game tonight.  Cody Franson had one miscue that Rinne stopped, but otherwise, they had a good game.  Franson with 1G and was +2 on the night.  Colin Wilson had 1A and was E.  Patric Hornqvist was +1 on the night.  O’Reilly was +3, Sulzer had 1A and was +2.

J.P. Dumont had a goal and four assists (+3).  In general, he played a controlled game and found the open players all night.

Shea Weber and Ryan Suter found the offense in a big way tonight.

Special mention must be made to Colin Wilson, Patric Hornqvist and Dave Scatchard.  They were a terror every time they hit the ice.  They had 7 shots on goal and 2A among them.

Nice to see the power play show some signs of life.  Erat needs to be taken off that power play unit for a time.

Resiliency.  That used to be a common trait for this team.  Hopefully that’s a good sign.  The scheme change allowed Ottawa to get back into the game, but the rebounded by continuing their offensive efforts by putting the puck on net.

What I Didn’t Like

Martin Erat somehow was second on the team in ice time.  He was constantly turning the puck over.  He was -3 on the night.  Erat had one of the worst games I’ve ever seen him play.

Steve Sullivan and J.P. Dumont both passed up multiple clear shots to the net only to turn the puck over making the extra pass.

Rare night where Suter and Weber might have been the worst defensemen at times in their own zone.

I detested Nashville changing their defensive system for the third period.  By dropping back into their trap (effectively a “prevent” defense), they essentially allowed Ottawa to gain momentum and force our defensive errors.  The coaches may say that they just didn’t execute the trap well in the third- and they would be correct.  However, I believe it was a much more grievous error to change how they had been playing.

Pekka Rinne’s third period left something to be desired.  He had an excellent first two periods.  While he didn’t get a lot of help in the third, he needed to step up and make one or two stops.

I didn’t like the lack of discipline in the third period.  Fortunately, Ottawa was even worse.

The Capitals have scored 26 goals in 7 games while the Nashville Predators have failed to hit the 10 goal mark through 6 games, with only 8. 

Considering that the Predators are barely averaging over 1 goal per game thus far, it’s safe to say that Nashville has some serious offensive issues to solve.

The worst part for Nashville is that they won’t be getting reinforcements tonight. J.P. Dumont has been skating, but is still suffering from post-concussion symptoms and is doubtful for tonight. Dan Hamhuis will also be absent from action tonight at the Verizon Center as he is listed as ‘day to day’ with an ‘upper body’ injury. Cody Franson will replace Hamhuis on the Preds blue line.

The Capitals, on the other hand, are relatively healthy. Washington has some minor injuries to players like Boyd Gordon and John Erskine, both of whom will not be playing tonight but should be ready for Thursday.

Jose Theodore, as most know by now, is ‘day to day’ with back spasms, but according to the coach, is healing nicely and should be good to go by mid-week. Of course back spasms are not the sort of injury that you want to force to heal, so the team will be allowing Jose all the time he needs to get back to 100%. In the meantime, the Caps have called up Braden Holtby from their ECHL affiliate to backup Semyon Varlamov. Varly is going to get whatever starts Jose will miss, likely not giving much ice-time to the Holtby, but I must say that I admire Washington’s plan of bringing up the Caps most recently drafted goaltender to get him more comfortable with the team’s system as well as to give him a taste of how things operate at the NHL level.

Washington, fresh off of laying a 4-1 beating on the reigning President’s Cup winners on Thursday, should have an interesting time with the Predators tonight. Nashville is not a team of big names and headliners, but rather a group of hard-working quality hockey players. They do not have the same flash and dash as the Sharks or the Blackhawks, but are successful due to their work ethic. It would be easy for the Caps to take their foot of the gas pedal tonight against a less intimidating opponent like the Preds, but if they do not follow the same game-plan which saw them handle the Sharks, Nashville could seriously surprise this high-flying Washington squad.

The major factor that will be holding the Preds back tonight has been their lack of offense. Missing Arnott and Dumont will seriously downgrade Nashville’s offense, but don’t expect that to make them any less of a trying opponent tonight.

Although I am unsure as to whether the Caps will be facing Dan Ellis or Pekka Rinne(check out Brandon Felder or Paul McCann’s blogs for updates to Nashville’s lineup), it should pose no problem to the Caps top 6, 3 of which are currently in the top 5 scorers in the league.

One thing to watch out for is Nashville’s stingy defense. Led by Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, the Capitals top line will be facing two of the very best young defenders in the game. Nashville’s saving grace against the Caps tonight may very well be that top pairing as both Weber and Suter will be extremely excited to shutdown Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin.

Despite having scored 26 goals through 7 games, the Capitals have also allowed 22 goals against. This has been Washington’s main issue as they have had trouble shutting down other teams once they gain the lead. With two rookies between the pipes(Varly starting, Holtby backing him up), the Caps should be more enthused to keep the Preds scorers to the outside and will likely play a stronger defensive game.

It is imperative for the Caps to start playing smarter with the lead so expect Boudreau to switch his game-plan up once the team has the lead. Considering offense isn’t something the Capitals worry about, expect the entire team to focus on their defensive systems tonight.

Lineups

Washington Capitals

 Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble

Laich-Backstrom-Semin

Fehr-Steckel-Clark

Laing-Aucoin-Bradley

*Boyd Gordon did not skate at practice and should not be considered ready to play tonight.

Green-Morrisonn

Poti-Jurcina

Pothier-Sloan

*Erskine participated in practice and may be ready, but will likely sit one more game, just in case.

*Varlamov

Holtby

*Starter

*Holtby won’t see much ice-time as Theo is healing nicely and should be back by mid-week, but I really like how the Caps have handled this situation in bringing up the rookie to give him some exposure at the NHL level. Holtby has a lot going for him and could likely end up as the Caps backup in a season or two as it’s likely that Washington will one day have to make a decision between Varly and Neuvo.

Nashville Predators

Sullivan-Arnott-Hornqvist

Jones-Legwand-Santorelli/Dumont(?)

Erat-Wilson-Ward

Smithson-Goc-Belak

*Dumont remains sidelined with headaches and Jordin Tootoo is out with a Hip Flexor.

*Update: It appears that Ben Guite has been returned to the Preds AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. I am unsure who will replace Guite, but according to <a href= http://www.ontheforecheck.com/>Dirk Hoag of ontheforecheck.com</a>, there is a chance that Cal O’Reilly may get the call.

Weber-Suter

Franson-Klein

Bouillon-Laakso

*Ellis

Rinne

*Starter

To check out more of my breakdown on tonight’s Capitals game versus the Predators, including game notes and more, Click Here.  

Steven Hindle

StevenHindle@hotmail.com