Best time of the year...for some

By Scott Antoszewski

The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the temperatures are rising, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun!

The last series of the first round starts tonight as the Nashville Predators head to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The story of the playoffs so far, granted it’s only been 3 days, has been the lack of home ice advantage. The home team has lost four out of the seven games played so far. Phoenix, Vancouver, and Buffalo are the only home teams to win. I loved seeing the whiteout in the desert. I find it interesting how people make such a big deal out of getting home ice for the playoffs, and every year it ends up meaning crap. The Capitals lost games one and two on home ice against the Rangers during last year’s first round. Carolina spanked Boston on home ice twice during last year’s second round. I don’t think it matters where the game is played; the better team is usually going to end up winning. I’ll have more playoff comments next week, after the series are a little bit further along.

In other news, the Tampa Bay Lightning have fired head coach Rick Tocchet and all his staff, as well as General Manager Brian Lawton. The new ownership in Tampa wants a fresh start for next year. They will be picking sixth in the draft, so they should be able to get another quality prospect, possibly an NHL ready player.

The New York Rangers have agreed to extend HC John Tortorella contract for one more season. The Rangers missed the playoffs by a single point this year. It’s going to be tough for them to make a lot of moves in the off season due to the overpaid and undervalued vets that are on the team. It will be interesting to see what they do for next year.

The Edmonton Oilers won the NHL draft lottery this week. They finished with the worst record in the league AND won the lottery so they will be picking first. The Boston Bruins got Toronto’s first round pick for Phil Kessel earlier in the year, and their number came up second. The Florida Panthers pick third, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

There are playoff games basically every night for the next week, so enjoy the games!

NHL round-up

By Scott Antoszewski

They are printing playoff tickets and selling division champion shirts and hats in D.C. The Capitals are the first team this year to sew up their division and a playoff berth. It will be interesting to see if they can keep up the level of intensity for the rest of the regular season.

The Sharks are still in first out west, but are staring right down the barrel of a first round match-up with a quickly strengthening Red Wings team. Will this be another short run for San Jose? If so, will it cost GM Doug Wilson his job?

The Canucks finally return home after a fourteen game road trip with an Olympic break in the middle. They lead the northwest division by six points over Colorado who is looking more and more like a team that could make some noise come playoff time. The Flames and Blues are going to need very strong finishes and someone above them to falter if they plan on playing deep into April this year.

The battle for the eight seed in the Eastern Conference will probably go down to the last few days. The players are the same as last week, as the Rangers, Bruins, and Lightning are making a push. The Bolts gained valuable points with a rare road win in Washington on Friday night, and are my pick to bump the Rangers for that spot.

NHL Playoff Preview

By Scott Antoszewski

The Olympics and the trade deadline have come and gone and it’s time to look forward to the next milestone in the 2010 NHL season: The playoffs! There are some potential surprises as we approach playoff time.

We’ll start in the Western Conference:

The Colorado Avalanche keep winning, and if the season ended today they would be the sixth seed out west. Colorado is only two points out of first in their division, so it’s not out of the question that they could have home ice advantage. The play of goalie Craig Anderson and rookie phenom Matt Duchene are a big reason for the ‘lanche’s success.

The Phoenix Coyotes put the rest of the West on notice at the trade deadline. The acquisitions they made will help bolster their lineup, and if the goalie play and scoring can keep it up, they will make their first playoff appearance since 2002.

The Los Angeles Kings should not be a surprise to the other teams out west. The Kings have a young, up and coming lineup. Players like Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick, and Canadian Olympian Drew Doughty will make L.A. a tough place to visit come April and May.

The race for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference is incredibly tight. Currently the last playoff spot is held my Montreal (68 points). The Rangers and Thrashers are tied for ninth in the East with 66 points, and the Lightning and Panthers are still in the mix with 65 and 62 points, respectively.

I would be surprised if Atlanta stays in the race considering that they are now without their leading scorer in Ilya Kovalchuk. The Rangers hopes rest squarely on how quickly they can get Marian Gaborik back from injury. Henrik Lundqvist can only steal you so many 2-1 games. The Lightning have new ownership and a strong young core in Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman. It will be interesting to see if the Lightning’s young guns and veteran leadership can get them back in the playoffs.

There are lots of games with playoff ramifications this week, Tampa plays at Montreal hoping to gain ground on eighth in the east. Vancouver visits Colorado to try and pad their lead and the Panthers take on the Avalanche. Watch former Panther goalie Craig Andersen show Florida that he should have been the number one in Miami.