Awards for Everyone (redux)

NHL awards show tonight. Rather than doing it all over again, I direct you to my previous prediction post.

Overtime is a two-edged sword

I give up. I really need sleep. As much as I love overtime, I wish someone would score, so i can sleep in peace without wondering who won the Edmonton-San Jose game. But, at the end of one OT, I won't be getting that satisfaction. Although, at the rate they're going, the game may still be going when I wake up tomorrow.

Vesa Toskala is playing like a madman, and he is the MVP of the game so far. Right now, before going to sleep, I'm going to predict that San Jose wins this game. We'll see how prescient I am when I wake up.

Round 2

Oh, right... Playoff predictions. Ummm... Devils, Hurricanes, Avalanche, Sharks.

Awards for Everyone!

When I was a kid, playing youth league baseball, every kid got a trophy, regardless of wins or losses. That's kind of what the NHL Post Season Trophy Extravaganza feels like. But I love it anyway, because I'm fairly certain its the only way the Capitals have ever won anything. Here's my thoughts on the nominees, who were announced today:

Hart Trophy - MVP, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PWHA): Jaromir Jagr, NY Rangers; Joe Thornton, San Jose/Boston; Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary - San Jose's dramatic improvement after Thornton joined the team should, in theory at least, make this a no-brainer... In fact, I think it absolutely does. I was going to rant about how there's no way a player that gets traded in the middle of the season can be MVP, but he has just had too much of an impact, and there is simply no way to argue that any one other player was more valuable to his team. Joe Thornton.

Vezina Trophy - Best goaltender, as voted by the general managers of all 32 NHL teams: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary; Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers - Only one of these goalies is also up for MVP. This is a slam dunk. Miikka Kiprusoff.

Calder Trophy - Best rookie, as voted by the PHWA: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Alex Ovechkin, Washington; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary - Much has been made of the strong rookie crop created by the lockout-induced one year lapse. It's a shame only one guy can win this thing, because there were so many outstanding performances. Phaneuf was amazing, and compared to the last two winners (Andrew Raycroft and Barrett Jackman) it wouldn't even be close. But instead he's up against arguably the two best rookies the NHL has seen in a decade. There is no question this boils down to Crosby v. Ovechkin, and Ovechkin came out on top in virtually every offensive category (Crosby had more assists). In addition, Ovechkin brought a physical presence that Crosby lacked (although you wouldn't know it from all the unnecessary PIMs Crosby racks up). The only thing Crosby has working in his favor is that he is Canada's native son, and the NHL has been hyping him as the savior of the league since August. Will this be enough to sway votes his way? Maybe, but it really shouldn't be. Alex Ovechkin.

Norris Trophy - Best Defenseman, as voted by the PHWA: Niklas Lidstrom, Detroit; Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim; Sergei Zubov, Dallas - All these guys are from Western Conference teams. As a result, my East Coast Bias prevents me from having a real opinion on this one, other than to say that I hate the Red Wings and the Stars. Scott Niedermayer.

Selke Trophy - Best defensive forward, as voted by PHWA (*Editor's note: I will never accept that this is a real award until they create a Bobby Orr Award to award offensive defensemen, and retroactively award it to Sergei Gonchar for every year he was a Washington Capital): Rod Brind'amour, Carolina; Mike Fisher, Ottawa; Jere Lehtinen, Dallas - Once again, in this category, if you were looking for even a remotely informed opinion, you are out of luck. My critereon for this award? "Which one of these guys single handedly saved my fantasy hockey team?" Jere Lehtinen.

Jack Adams Award - Best coach, as voted by the NHL Broadcasters' Association: Peter Laviolette, Carolina; Tom Renney, NY Rangers; Lindy Ruff, Buffalo - Lindy Ruff is a whiny bitch and I hate him. All Tom Renney did was cater to Jaromir Jagr's every whim, and we can see now how well that worked out. (I know, I know; the awards are based on the regular season only. Either way, falling from third to sixth in one day? Pathetique.) All Laviolette did was take a team that had been a bottom feeder in the worst division in the league to a legitimate threat to win the Eastern Conference. Peter Laviolette.

Lady Bing Trophy - I'm not even going to bother with this. This award is stupid. It has no meaning whatsoever. Any player that wins it should be ashamed.

Lester B. Pearson Award - Most Outstanding Player, as voted by the NHLPA: Jaromir Jagr, NY Rangers; Alex Ovechkin, Washington; Joe Thornton, San Jose - Again, I think the Rangers' last two weeks of the regular season preclude Jagr from winning this. After that, I think it could be a toss-up between Ovechkin and Thornton. Because it's the players voting, Ovechkin could get alot of votes based simply on his wow factor, which has impressed many of his peers. However, Joe Thornton still has the "I single-handedly saved an entire team" factor. Ultimately, I think that Ovechkin gets punished, so to speak, for being a rookie. Joe Thornton.

P.S. - I love Google Image Search

Big Honkin' Playoff Edition

Ah, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No three words inspire greater joy. I'm especially excited to see this years playoffs, if only to see how all the new stuff will work out. Things to watch for:
1) Enforcement - Will the referees continue to call it as close as they did during the regular season? In past years, when the NHL has "cracked down" on obstruction, the increased enforcement has seemed to wane as the year went on, and was nearly gone by playoff time. This year, however, it seems as though officials are still calling most of the penalties they did at the beginning of the year. They've gotten somewhat lax, but part of that may be attributable to the players' getting a better feel for what is and is not a penalty in the new NHL.
2) OLN/NBC - How good will their playoff coverage be? So far, from the looks of things, it is going to be a huge improvement over the Worldwide Leader. Hockey on OLN pretty much every weeknight, with coverage on NBC on Saturdays. Which sucks if you don't get OLN. But I do, so I will, hopefully, be completely immersed for the next few weeks.
3) Young guys - How well will the untested goalies hold up under playoff pressure? This year we're seeing alot of unproven talent between the pipes for playoff teams. Whether its Henrik Lundqvist in NY who is a true rookie (though he played exceptionally well in Torino), or Manny Legace in Detroit who has been around a while, but with little playoff experience/success. History, I think, would seem to indicate that alot of these teams are in trouble, and I have to imagine the teams that will have the most success are the teams with proven goaltenders like Martin Brodeur.
4)Old guys - How much longer can they keep it up? A large number of older veterans hung up the skates this year, unable to keep up with the pace of the new NHL. Not so in Detroit, where Stevie Y and Chris Chelios are still two very important cogs in the Red Wings machine. But at this point, they've already played 82 games, plus preseason. How well will they be able to handle the rigors of a playoff schedule?
5) Shootout - Will the lack of a shootout only screw over Dallas? Obviously, in any game going to overtime, the dynamic completely changes now that there is no shootout involved. I don't know how much of a change this will be, as playoffs overtime has always been different from regular season overtime, but when you consider a team like the Stars, you have to wonder how much of an effect it might have.

What's that? You want predictions, too? Okay, fine. I'm going to have to go with the goaltending and pick a Calgary-New Jersey final. Not what the NHL wants to see, I know. (The idea of having the Rangers in the finals right out of the lockout has probably been giving Gary Bettman wet dreams for months now) And as much as I hate the Devils, I see them carrying their hot streak all the way to their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years.