NHL Top 15
2/16/2009 | Posted by
Devin
We’re just a mere two weeks away from the trade deadline, so things will definitely get interesting as we progress through this season. Usually the trade deadline exposes teams that are willing to sacrifice a little bit now for some help at a cup, and teams that are conceding although they are still mathematically in it.
I’ve said it time and time again, but Florida is the team I’m watching. They are very much in this race and can make some real noise in the playoffs, but not without Jay-Bo. From what I’ve read, he has already turned down a 6.5 million per season deal to stay with Florida, so they may opt to trade him and get anything they can in return. If they don’t get enough, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Florida slip out and Carolina snatch up that last spot.
Pittsburgh also made the decision to fire their head coach this weekend, having him take the fall for the team’s poor performance. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this guy, but he is less than one season removed from taking the Pens to the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, since last season, they have lost a ton of key players and replaced them with the likes of slacker Miroslav Satan. Seriously? Miroslav Satan? I think the GM should’ve fired himself.
1. Boston Bruins (1) – The Bruins retain the top spot for the third straight week, but the Devils are nipping at them. The Bruins have lost four in a row and if they continue that stretch, the Devils will not only overtake them in these rankings, but also in the standings. Boston has three winnable games this week; Carolina, Florida, and Tampa Bay.
2. New Jersey Devils (4) – The Devils continue to win and play very solid hockey.
Martin Brodeur is practicing again so it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out. They have Florida, Tampa Bay, and the Islanders this week and I could see them winning all three in their pursuit of Boston.
3. Detroit Red Wings (2) – Detroit falls a little bit, but they are still in control of their own destiny. I’ve read several rumors about them acquiring another goaltender, namely Toskala from Toronto, so I have to wonder if Osgood is the odd man out. I wouldn’t blame them if he was, even though he did deliver another Stanley Cup for them last season. Coming up for the Wings; Nashville, Anaheim, and Minnesota.
4. San Jose Sharks (3) – The Sharks have had a very rough East Coast trip. They started out with a win against Boston, but then fell to the Penguins, Sabres and Devils. The Sabres loss must have been especially hard considering they came back from two separate three goal deficits only to see Buffalo tie it with four seconds remaining and win in a shoot-out. Edmonton, LA and Atlanta await the Sharks this week.
5. Washington Capitals (5) – The Capitals continue to improve and by all accounts, have one of the top three spots locked up in the East. I checked out a portion of the game against Florida last night and Ovechkin amazed me once again. With the game tied 2-2 late in the third, A.O. got the game winner and capped it off with an empty netter for the hat trick. Best in the game? Absolutely. The Capitals have Montreal, Colorado and hype-fest 2009 against Pittsburgh this week.
6. Chicago Blackhawks (6) – Chicago retains the sixth spot, although between them
and Calgary, it’s going to be a tight finish. The Hawks have three difficult games this week which will help differentiate them from pretender and contender. They face off against Florida, Dallas and Minnesota this week.
7. Calgary Flames (7) – Like I said above, the Flames are in a tight race with Chicago in these rankings and the Western Conference standings. They also have three difficult games against Vancouver, Minnesota and Edmonton which should give them some sort of separation.
8. Philadelphia Flyers (8) – The Flyers have caught fire lately and just in time to jump up the Eastern Conference standings. They have a pretty empty week in terms of games so if they don’t come out of it with at least three out of four points, they may be dropping. They have Buffalo and Pittsburgh this week.
9. Florida Panthers (15) – The Panthers lost a tough one to Washington last night and this week doesn’t get any easier. If the Panthers have any hopes of making a playoff run, they need to play strong hockey. They have three very difficult games against New Jersey, Chicago and Boston. I see them losing at least two of three, which would surely drop them from the top eight for now.
10. Buffalo Sabres (9) – The Sabres got a HUGE win Friday night and then followed it up with one of the worst performances of the season yesterday against Carolina. If they don’t rebound this week with some solid points, their grasp on the playoffs will weaken. They have Toronto, Philadelphia and the NY Rangers this week. If the Sabres lose all three, they will be on the outside looking in come next week, if they win all three, they should be looking at fifth place or better next week. Time will tell...
11. New York Rangers (10) – The Rangers have continued to struggle and now I’m
I’ve said it time and time again, but Florida is the team I’m watching. They are very much in this race and can make some real noise in the playoffs, but not without Jay-Bo. From what I’ve read, he has already turned down a 6.5 million per season deal to stay with Florida, so they may opt to trade him and get anything they can in return. If they don’t get enough, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Florida slip out and Carolina snatch up that last spot.
Pittsburgh also made the decision to fire their head coach this weekend, having him take the fall for the team’s poor performance. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this guy, but he is less than one season removed from taking the Pens to the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, since last season, they have lost a ton of key players and replaced them with the likes of slacker Miroslav Satan. Seriously? Miroslav Satan? I think the GM should’ve fired himself.
1. Boston Bruins (1) – The Bruins retain the top spot for the third straight week, but the Devils are nipping at them. The Bruins have lost four in a row and if they continue that stretch, the Devils will not only overtake them in these rankings, but also in the standings. Boston has three winnable games this week; Carolina, Florida, and Tampa Bay.
2. New Jersey Devils (4) – The Devils continue to win and play very solid hockey.
Martin Brodeur is practicing again so it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out. They have Florida, Tampa Bay, and the Islanders this week and I could see them winning all three in their pursuit of Boston.3. Detroit Red Wings (2) – Detroit falls a little bit, but they are still in control of their own destiny. I’ve read several rumors about them acquiring another goaltender, namely Toskala from Toronto, so I have to wonder if Osgood is the odd man out. I wouldn’t blame them if he was, even though he did deliver another Stanley Cup for them last season. Coming up for the Wings; Nashville, Anaheim, and Minnesota.
4. San Jose Sharks (3) – The Sharks have had a very rough East Coast trip. They started out with a win against Boston, but then fell to the Penguins, Sabres and Devils. The Sabres loss must have been especially hard considering they came back from two separate three goal deficits only to see Buffalo tie it with four seconds remaining and win in a shoot-out. Edmonton, LA and Atlanta await the Sharks this week.
5. Washington Capitals (5) – The Capitals continue to improve and by all accounts, have one of the top three spots locked up in the East. I checked out a portion of the game against Florida last night and Ovechkin amazed me once again. With the game tied 2-2 late in the third, A.O. got the game winner and capped it off with an empty netter for the hat trick. Best in the game? Absolutely. The Capitals have Montreal, Colorado and hype-fest 2009 against Pittsburgh this week.
6. Chicago Blackhawks (6) – Chicago retains the sixth spot, although between them
and Calgary, it’s going to be a tight finish. The Hawks have three difficult games this week which will help differentiate them from pretender and contender. They face off against Florida, Dallas and Minnesota this week.7. Calgary Flames (7) – Like I said above, the Flames are in a tight race with Chicago in these rankings and the Western Conference standings. They also have three difficult games against Vancouver, Minnesota and Edmonton which should give them some sort of separation.
8. Philadelphia Flyers (8) – The Flyers have caught fire lately and just in time to jump up the Eastern Conference standings. They have a pretty empty week in terms of games so if they don’t come out of it with at least three out of four points, they may be dropping. They have Buffalo and Pittsburgh this week.
9. Florida Panthers (15) – The Panthers lost a tough one to Washington last night and this week doesn’t get any easier. If the Panthers have any hopes of making a playoff run, they need to play strong hockey. They have three very difficult games against New Jersey, Chicago and Boston. I see them losing at least two of three, which would surely drop them from the top eight for now.
10. Buffalo Sabres (9) – The Sabres got a HUGE win Friday night and then followed it up with one of the worst performances of the season yesterday against Carolina. If they don’t rebound this week with some solid points, their grasp on the playoffs will weaken. They have Toronto, Philadelphia and the NY Rangers this week. If the Sabres lose all three, they will be on the outside looking in come next week, if they win all three, they should be looking at fifth place or better next week. Time will tell...
11. New York Rangers (10) – The Rangers have continued to struggle and now I’m
hearing talks that their coach is on the hot seat. Much like the situation in Pittsburgh, I don’t know if the coach should really be the fall guy. The GM of the Rangers acted like he was playing fantasy hockey and is paying the price for it right now. I see them making at least one big trade and possibly bringing back Sean Avery, so we’ll see how that goes. This week they have the Blues, Islanders, Buffalo and Toronto.
12. Montreal Canadiens (11) – Lately it seems like the Rangers and Canadiens are competing for who can drop out of the playoff race faster. Much like New York, I don’t see Montreal standing still during these two weeks and I see them making some sort of trade to shake things up. They pretty much need all three games this week, although I see them going 2-1. Even then, that will be an improvement for these guys. They have Washington, Pittsburgh and Ottawa this week.
13. Dallas Stars (13) – Dallas has continued to win and they are building on the momentum. I haven’t read a whole lot about whether or not they will make a big deal during the deadline, but I could see them making at least one minor deal to help improve the club. This week they have Columbus, Edmonton, Chicago and San Jose.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets (NR) – The Jackets make their first appearance into my rankings at the number 14 spot. They don’t get a whole lot of attention but believe me, they are a good team. I don’t know how that will translate to the playoffs (assuming they make it), but I would think even an appearance would be a minor victor for this franchise. This week they have Dallas, St Louis, Toronto and Anaheim.
15. Carolina Hurricanes (12) – Carolina got a much needed win yesterday in Buffalo after being out-scored 10-1 in the previous two games. They are still sitting three points out of a playoff spot, but three winnable games this week and if Florida slips up against the tough competition, it could be Carolina on the inside and Florida on the outside. They face off against Boston, NY Islanders, Tampa Bay and Colorado this week.
12. Montreal Canadiens (11) – Lately it seems like the Rangers and Canadiens are competing for who can drop out of the playoff race faster. Much like New York, I don’t see Montreal standing still during these two weeks and I see them making some sort of trade to shake things up. They pretty much need all three games this week, although I see them going 2-1. Even then, that will be an improvement for these guys. They have Washington, Pittsburgh and Ottawa this week.
13. Dallas Stars (13) – Dallas has continued to win and they are building on the momentum. I haven’t read a whole lot about whether or not they will make a big deal during the deadline, but I could see them making at least one minor deal to help improve the club. This week they have Columbus, Edmonton, Chicago and San Jose.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets (NR) – The Jackets make their first appearance into my rankings at the number 14 spot. They don’t get a whole lot of attention but believe me, they are a good team. I don’t know how that will translate to the playoffs (assuming they make it), but I would think even an appearance would be a minor victor for this franchise. This week they have Dallas, St Louis, Toronto and Anaheim.
15. Carolina Hurricanes (12) – Carolina got a much needed win yesterday in Buffalo after being out-scored 10-1 in the previous two games. They are still sitting three points out of a playoff spot, but three winnable games this week and if Florida slips up against the tough competition, it could be Carolina on the inside and Florida on the outside. They face off against Boston, NY Islanders, Tampa Bay and Colorado this week.
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