dude..the season has flown by... seems like it was just last week the nhl opened up the 2010-11 season... has it really been 3 months? already? its gonna be super bowl n spring training before you know it... time really flies when youre old..er... except when it doesnt...
k, ill save that rant for another post..
remember how i shot my mouth off in october 2010? nhl-2010-11-season-preview... its prolly time to re-assess my predictions in the bright light of reality*... well some of them anyway...
calder trophy? tyler seguin still has a fair shot at it, but can you say logan couture? this san jose sharks rookie forward is amazing.. too bad their goal-tending situation stinks.. both of them... stanley cup not withstanding.. anti niemi reeks this year... i here nabokov is still available... hehehe..
boston is better than everyone (than i) thought.. tim thomas is having a solid year so far and marc savard is finally healthy... i guess they really dont miss phil kessel that much eh brian? you still want your draft picks back though.. yes you do.. shut up! you do...
ron told me.. shut up...
toronto... sigh, maple leafs still suck... so do the Islanders ... charles hey, je crois entendre la ville de Québec appelant ....
and the new jersey devils... nj.. nj.. nj.. game over man.. game over.. even with jacques lemaire behind the bench - again, the one hundred million dollar man is a bust... we can rebuild (around) him... yeah.. but can you teach him to back-check? fail!
pittsburgh... jordan staal is skating/practicing again - (great big grinning smiley face) - thanks be to the hockey gods... best two-way fwd in the nhl.. will we see him in the winter classic?
mac-andre fleury has found his ass.. and his game.. sadly, crosbys point streak comes to an end at 25 games, in which he scored 26 goals and 24 assists for 50 points, averaging exactly two points per game.. well done sir sidney.. pittsburgh penguins are gonna win the east & just might win the stanley cup... i can taste it.. they really are that good... again.. or still...
los angeles kings... consistently inconsistent... drew doughty could still win the norris trophy, but he was better last year... kyle clifford is prolly the best fwd to be drafted by the kings in a long time.. no disrespect to brown & kopitar, but kyle clifford can fight, pass, score, back-check and skate.. circles around the redwings defensemen.. all in the same game... give him two solid playoff seasons, he will be the franchise.. at lest up front..
never count the detroit red wings out of anything.. remarkably good for an aging team with so-so goal-tending... chris osgood? meh... hey mike modano, try not to fall & break a hip in april.. wait, what?
the calgary flames... will we see jarome iginla in black n gold or purple, black, n silver come the trade deadline? i know the general manager (former) promised not to trade iggy, but the times, they are a changing... los angeles still needs a real power forward, even with the addition of marco sturm, and if what we saw in vancouver last february is any indication of the lexus-nexus between them, iginla could be the final piece and the perfect winger for sid... im just sayin..
dallas is actly good this season... better that most people thought... i guess for turco and modano time really was up...
chicago blackhawks... theyre doing remarkably well after the salary-cap fire sale they had in july.. but the have to stay healthy.. kaner comes back and boom! captain serious gets hurt... seriously... i hear its his shoulder.. get well soon buddy... i feel your pain...
atlanta thrashers... considering that they are the island of misfit blackhawks, they are doing quite well.. ilya who?
vancouver canucks.... they could still surprise you and win the west..
nashville predators.. pekka rinne.. sounds kinda like the name of some gooey stinky eastern european cheese... (wink wink) fumundah?
the eastern conference playoff picture is the same-o same-o as every year... tightly knit from 1-4, sort of, maybe 5, (seeding the division winners 1,2,3 is the first thing i would eliminate if i was commissioner for a week) and then it drops off like a blind ravine in an avalanche on k2... whats the deal with that?
the western conference is a horse of a different color... its so tight.. thats what he said! from first to tenth.. you win a game and youre in 4th, you lose the next night and youre in 11th... i expect it will be like that till april... if the kings and the ducks both manage to make the post-season it will be a first... and hopefully the beginning of an epic rivalry... till then.. what to do?
and the rest... meh..
columbus.. epic fail... florida panthers.. if the free yarmulkes didnt get gods attention, nothing will... maybe try sacrificing a goat? or everyone could just get circumcised.... or not.. god knows how much i love a good foreskin... but it worked for abraham... im just sayin... fail..
hey phil, is marian gaborik really made out of rice crispies™ and balsa wood? oh snap! crackle_pop.. sean avery is a bully... hes trying too hard... we all know you love fashion... shoe sale at kenneth cole bitch! alexander frolov is still the nhl under achiever of the decade... if the rangers are out of the playoff picture in march, alex will check out... his summer vacations always seemed to start early when he was an l.a. king... pssst... mr. sather.. trade him! fail..
and finally... pittsburgh vs philly.. best rivalry in the nhl... too bad the flyers are on the road in socal this morning and not at the winter classic.. even so.. washington - ch..ch..ch..choke.. fail... vs pittsburgh..
if the weather cooperates, the winter classic at heinz field should be great... too bad its on nbc.. and the alumni game rocked... mario lemieux, ron francis, peter bondra, paul coffey... nuff said..
this new years eve was awesomesauce... ducks vs flyers at honda center, third row, corner, on the glass... dinner at a fantastic brew-house and then coffee n fire-works at downtown disney... i went with three of my best friends from my hockey playing days... the two dudes i was first out to before i came out to the rest of our team, e.h. and j.a., and e.h.'s beautiful wife d.h... they are the best people... we are like family... i love them all...
and so to everyone.. happy new year!
~ cheers.. david
*disclaimer...
this is mostly tongue in cheek... no need to get all litigious if i called you names and teased you n your team a bit... k? good... mr. avery, sir.. im looking at you...
