In Reality It's Crosby vs. Stamkos

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Written on 12/31/2010 by Jim Cerny

During the first half of the season the National Hockey League has offered up non-stop promotion for its reality series on HBO centered around Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby---one that will culminate in tomorrow's much hyped and aniticipated Winter Classic at Heinz Field.

In the second half of the season no other special programming is planned, though I suggest that focus shift from the Sid the Kid vs. Ovie to Sid vs. The New Kid in Town, Tampa's Steven Stamkos.

Crosby and Stamkos do not have the history that Sid and Ovechkin share, and Stamkos has yet to be raised by the league's marketing gurus to their lofty status just yet. But is there a better one-on-one battle being waged in the league right now than the one between Crosby and Stamkos for the Hart Trophy (not to mention Art Ross Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy)?

Like Sid and Ovie, these two are former first overall picks carrying great expectations on their shoulders---and succeeding in masterful fashion. Their games are a bit different---Stamkos more the sniper, Crosby more the overall package offensively---but since tying for the NHL's goal-scoring lead a year ago, the games of Stamkos and Crosby have been more intertwined really than those of Sid and Ovie.

Stamkos scored another pair of goals last night, including a you-can't-believe-this spin-o-rama penalty shot goal vs. Montreal's helpless Carey Price. He now has 9 points (5-4-9) in his last 4 games. And perhaps most impressive is the fact that despite Crosby reeling off an incredible 25-game point-scoring streak, Stamkos is still right there breathing down Sid's neck in both the points race and the goal-scoring race.

The kid chasing The Kid.

Check out the numbers of the two: Crosby, 23, leads the league with 32 goals and 65 points in 39 games. Stamkos, 3 years younger at 20, is second in both categories with 31 goals and 56 points in 38 games. Stamkos leads the NHL with 13 power play goals, and Crosby is second with 10. Stamkos is connecting on 22% of his shots, Sid right behind at 20.8%. Crosby is second in the league with a +20 plus/minus mark, Stamkos is a solid +12 for a much looser defensive team.

And most importantly, Crosby's team and Stamkos' team are both winning. Currently the Penguins sit atop the Atlantic Division---and the Eastern Conference---with 53 points. The Lightning lead the Southeast Division with 49 points while holding down the second seed in the East.

Should all of this success continue---and really, barring injury to either player, why wouldn't it?---there is going to be one heckuva' run for the Hart Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player.

Right now my pick would be....oh wait, can't give away any secrets here. My "Halfway Home Awards" are coming next week here on Rink Rap, as I choose the league's award winners through the first half of the season.

But let's just say this is a two-man race. And Alex Ovehckin isn't in this picture.

The kid versus The Kid.

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Tonight closes out a very action-packed calendar year 2010. Thank you for the support you have shown me this past year---and thanks for the debates, suggestions, and laughs along the way.

Enjoy ringing in the new year this evening, but please be smart and be safe so that we can share more great memories together in 2011!

Follow Me On Twitter: @jimcerny

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Souray on the Move...Not What You Think

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Written on 10/06/2010 by Jim Cerny

The Edmonton Oilers finally moved veteran defenseman Sheldon Souray today. But don't get too fired up over this piece of news because the real story isn't nearly as exciting as you might have hoped.

Souray, whom the Oilers have been trying to trade or lose through waivers all summer and through training camp, today had his rights assigned to the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League.

No, Hershey is not Edmonton's farm team. That would be Oklahoma City.

Hershey is the minor league club for the Washington Capitals. Souray is being loaned there the same way that the Caps have loaned a veteran they don't want around---center Michael Nylander---to Rochester, the top farm team for the Florida Panthers.

While Edmonton is still forced to pay Souray's big salary, the Oilers do not have to absorb his robust $5.4 million cap hit while he is in the minors. Clearly GM Kevin Lowe does not want to pay Souray all season, but right now it is best for the 34 year-old defenseman---with 2 injury-marred seasons in the past 3 years---to prove that he is healthy and not a shell of his former All Star self.

Last year a concussion shelved Souray early and a broken hand suffered in a fight with Jarome Iginla in January finished off the rest of his season. Those injuries, plus his salary and cap hit, his age, and his questionable attitude kept other teams from trading for Souray or picking him off the waiver wire a few days ago.

Is he finished as a  star NHL player? Or is he the answer to some team's power play woes? It's worth noting that Souray played in 81 games with trhe Oilers just two years ago and totaled 23 goals (12 on the power play) and 53 points.

The real Souray must make himself clear in Hershey. If he displays a poor attitude and plays sub-par hockey, the Oilers are stuck paying him for the next two years, a huge issue for a notoriously penny-pinching team. However if he shows to be still a quality player, injury-free coupled with a solid attitude, Souray will be back in the NHL, no questions about it.

How does he return, if he returns?

If the Oilers are very lucky, they work out a trade with another team, say Columbus, who has been long-rumored to be interested in Souray. If they are not as lucky, the Oilers will place Souray on re-entry waivers and some team will snag him for half the salary and half the cap charge. That's not a perfect answer for the Oilers, but better than paying a player more than 4 million bucks to play for another team's minor league squad.

Souray was on the move today.

It won't be his last move this season.

Follow me on Twitter at: @jimcerny and @thenyrangers

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Can Two Be Better Than One?

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Written on 4/30/2010 by Jim Cerny

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has some mighty large shoes to fill because the first round was as exciting and entertaining as any opening round has been in recent memory.

Some quick thoughts on the first round before providing my second round predictions.

1) Sidney Crosby (photo) has pulled away from Alex Ovechkin as the game's most important player. While Ovechkin was unable to lift and inspire his teammates in the first round, clearly struggling with his own game as the Caps blew a 3-1 series lead and were kayoed by the 8th seeded Canadiens, Crosby had the opposite effect on the Penguins. Crosby, who has captained his team to two straight appearances in the Cup Finals as well as the 2009 Stanley Cup championship, posted 14 points in the opening round series win against Ottawa. Just as important, Crosby played with fire, grit, and passion, traits that clearly were lacking from Ovechkin's performance.

2) What has happened to Alexander Semin? A true NHL star, Semin was a non-factor---and one could argue, a detrimant---for the Caps, the biggest upset victims in Round One.

3) Let's hear it for unheralded goalies Antti Niemi (2 shutouts) of the Blackhawks, Tuukka Rask (2.18 goals against) of the Bruins, and Brian Boucher (.940 save percentage and 1.59 goals against) of the Flyers. Great job by Colorado's Craig Anderson in defeat, as well.

4) First Round Heroes: Crosby, Montreal's Jaroslav Halak, San Jose's Joe Pavelski, Detroit's Niklas Lidstrom, Montreal's Mike Cammalleri, Vancouver's Mikael Samuellson, Boucher, and Boston's Miroslav Satan.

5) I should have trusted my gut about the New Jersey-Philadelphia series. I picked the Devils in seven, and my gut kept telling me it would be another bad first-round defeat for New Jersey. Turns out my gut was right, and this was the worst of the Devils three straight ousters in the first round because it did not even look like they competed in the final two games. Now Lou Lamoriello is looking for yet another new head coach.

6) Turn out the lights, but what a great party it was for the Phoenix Coyotes, who capped a riveting revitalized regular season with a seven-game first round gem of a series against the Red Wings. Losing to Detroit in Game Seven hardly tarnishes their season. And the mid-ice salute to the home fans after that loss was one of the true highlights of the NHL season when you consider everything the Phoenix franchise has been through this past year.

Now on to the predictions, which I originally posted on Twitter yesterday. In the first round I was a perfect 4-for-4 in the Western Conference, but only 1-for-4 in the East.

In Round Two:

Sharks over the Red Wings in seven games
Canucks over the Blackhawks in seven games
Penguins over the Canadiens in six games
Bruins over the Flyers in six games

Enjoy it!

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This Price is Not Right

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Written on 4/21/2010 by Jim Cerny

Listen, I know that Jacques Martin knows a helluva lot more about hockey than I do. And I confess, I am not in Montreal covering the Canadiens-Capitals series in person, so I don't have my usual inside feel of what is going on around both teams.

But I think Martin is making a big mistake, and showing signs of true panic, in starting Carey Price in goal tonight instead of Jaroslav Halak in the critical Game 4 versus Washington.

I am more than aware that Halak was strafed for six goals, including the overtime winner, in Washington's frenetic 6-5 comeback in Game 2, and followed up by allowing three goals in a four-shot sequence in a 5-1 loss in Game 3 before being pulled in favor of Price. That Halak was pulled in the third game was the correct move for Martin to make in trying to stem the Caps' momentum.

Halak, though, is your No. 1 goalie. You pull him, fine. But you put him right back in there tonight. Without his stellar play, especially after cementing himself as the clear-cut No. 1 over Price the final two months of the season, the Habs probably are not even in the playoffs.

This is no knock on Price, the 22 year-old who has not won a game since right out of the Olympic break. He hung in there in relief on Monday, allowing two goals on 23 shots. But he should be wearing the baseball hat tonight, not shouldering the fortunes of his team.

The move reeks of desperation on the part of Martin. And even though players on both sides praised Price to the sky following the morning skates at the Bell Centre today, I'd be shocked if a majority of any kind privately supported Martin's decision in the home team's locker room.

Yes, Price gives the Caps a different look in goal. He's much bigger, takes up much more of the net, and is a better puckhandler than Halak. But Halak is the better goalie, having the better season, and is the Habs true No. 1.

As I stated yesterday, this is not Bruce Boudreau yanking Jose Theodore, Washington's No. 1 by default this season due to the injuries that sidelined young Semyon Varlamov. Washington's situation is a 1a replacing a 1 in goal. In Montreal that is not the case. Halak clearly beat Price out for the job, has had a terrific season, and should be allowed to prove his mental toughness in bouncing back with a strong start against the Caps tonight.

Martin should be more concerned with his club's Ole!-style defense which has repeatedly stepped aside to allow Washington's high-powered offense a plethora of prime scoring chances.

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Monday Musings on Road Warrior Devils and Superstar Injuries

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Written on 11/02/2009 by Jim Cerny


Off to a perfect 7-0-0 start on the road following Saturday's 2-1 shootout win in Tampa, the Devils are proving to be real Road Warriors, playing intelligent, gritty, resilient hockey.

Take Saturday for example. No Paul Martin. No Johnny Oduya. No Jay Pandolfo. (Still) no Patrick Elias.

No Problem.

Hold the Lightning to 9 shots on goal through 40 minutes of play, but allow them to tie it up on a fluky bounce in the third period.

No problem.

Pummel Antero Nittymaki with wave after wave of shots, but score only once through 65 minutes of play.

No problem.

Top forwards Zach Parise and Travis Zajac get stoned in the shootout, and head coach Jacques Lemaire plays assistant coach Tommy Albelin's hunch and gives David Clarkson his first-ever shootout attempt.

No problem.

Just put it in the books as a "W" because the Devils can seemingly do no wrong on the road. Clarkson scores, Devils remain perfect on the road, and now have the second best road start in the history of the NHL.

The good news: the Devils face the Senators up in Ottawa on Saturday night.

The bad news: the Devils have to play two games on home ice before then.

Oh yeah, forgot to tell you. Amidst the joy of this great road run, the Devils have played downright ugly at the Prudential Center, losing four of their first five home contests.

It's kind of like a reverse Jekyll and Hyde for the Devils. Their games are fairly similar at home and on the road, usually very close affairs decided by one team's mistake here or there. Of their 12 games, nine have been decided by two goals or fewer. They are 6-0-0 in such contests on the road, and 0-3-0 on home ice.

The difference has been that on the road the Devils have not made the killer mistake. At home, they have been the team to blink first.

As Martin Brodeur told The Star Ledger's Rich Chere, "We're not getting outplayed. It's maybe the little things we do on the road. We have to incorporate them into our home game, also."

If I am Lemaire or Lou Lamoriello, one month into the season I would think that what the Devils have accomplished on the road as far character and resiliency far outweighs a slow start at The Rock. Those two traits are vital components of a contender, and they will help turn things around on home ice sooner rather than later.

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The spate of injuries that has claimed some of the biggest names in the National Hockey League already this season found another superstar yesterday.

Alex Ovechkin suffered an "upper-body" injury in yesterday's 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets and is listed as day-to-day. Caps beat writer Tarik El Bashir is speculating that Ovechkin suffered a left shoulder injury follwing a collision with Raffi Torres.

Nonetheless, the bottom line is that many of the league's top stars have been KO'd from their respective lineups at a fairly alarming rate to start the season. Ilya Kovalchuk. Evgeni Malkin, Marian Gaborik. Marc Savard. Sergei Gonchar. Roberto Luongo. Jonathan Toews. Johan Franzen. Valtteri Filppula. The list goes on and on, with Ovechkin and Carolina's Eric Staal joining the injured list yesterday.

And this list doesn't even include Phil Kessel, Patrick Elias, or Marian Hossa, all of whom have not played yet this year following off-season sugeries.

So why so many injuries?

Caps owner Ted Leonsis shared a theory with the guys on Hockey This Morning over at XM Home Ice earlier today.

"The schedule is responsible for these injuries," stated Leonsis. "We just played four games in less than six days. We had two sets of three games in four nights one right after the other. It's too much. We have to take a really hard look at this. We are talking about very big men, and a very violent, fast game. Too many games in too few days is a problem."

Good points. But what is the alternative? Play fewer games? Expand the season to include more days off, and, as a result, play the Stanley Cup Finals closer to the month of July? Do not participate in the Olympics?

The answer is that there is no real clear answer. But what is obvious is that the league needs to take a close look at the injury issue. It's not good when any group of players is getting hurt on a regular basis, no matter the sport.

But when it's your top players---the faces of your league---going down one after another, answers must be forthcoming.

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Second Impressions Positive for Price and Theodore

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Written on 10/02/2009 by Jim Cerny




Among the many story lines and subplots to Opening Night in the National Hockey League on Thursday, one of the more intriguing ones to me was how a pair of embattled goaltenders---Carey Price (above photo) of Montreal and Jose Theodore of Washington---would fair in their first chance at making a second impression.

Let's just say both Price and Theodore passed their respective first tests of the season with flying colors.

Price, the 22 year-old who battled on and off ice woes in Montreal a year ago, was stellar in turning aside 43 of 46 shots in last night's 4-3 overtime victory against arch-rival Toronto. Most impressive to me was how Price controlled his rebounds so well. He didn't force himself into making tremendous acrobatic saves. Instead he positioned himself well and seemed to swallow up shot after shot as a result.

Of the three goals he did allow, two were scored by Matt Stajan on the power play---with one of those a perfect redirection in front---and the other by Alex Ponikorovsky resulted directly off a Hal Gill giveaway behind the Canadiens' net.

It was clearly a solid first outing for Price, whose only misstep was accidentally getting tangled with teammate Andrei Markov in the crease leading to Markov's departure from the game in the third period due to a bad cut caused by Price's skate blade. Sportsnet in Canada is reporting that Markov will miss 2-3 months of action after undergoing surgery to repair tendon damage in his leg this morning.

That is a big blow to the Canadiens, as well as to Price, himself, who loses his top defenseman for a bulk of this important season.

Just consider it another obstacle for Price to overcome. Last year Price fell from grace, with his goals against rising, his save percentage falling, and his off-ice social habits called into question by the Montreal media, and subsequently, by the Canadiens' fans.

For a kid just 21 years-old at the time, it must have been a dizzying turn of events for Price. He had gone from being a national hero---after his superlative 1.14 goals against helped lead Canada to the 2007 World Junior Championship gold medal---to the heir apparent as next great Canadiens goalie following his terrific run in the 2007 AHL playoffs for Hamilton and his impressive rookie campaign in Montreal in '07-'08 that featured 24 wins, a 2.56 goals against, and a sterling .920 save percentage.

And Price had accomplished all of this prior to his 21st birthday. Pretty heady stuff to say the least.

That he took a step back last season should not have been a tremendous cause for concern, especially playing for a team that collectively had fallen backwards, as well. But Price was attacked from all angles, and clearly that affected his play.

Of course, Price did bring much of this on himself---most notably being photographed out at all hours many nights a week at various Montreal nightspots.

The question heading into this season is how will Price, still a kid at age 22, though already in his third NHL season as the No. 1 backstop in Montreal, will accept the responsibility that goes with being a star for the Canadiens, and learn from the mistakes he made a year ago.

There is a long way to go in the 2009-10 season, but Price made a very strong case for himself last night.

Of course if Price ever needed counseling on how to handle the pressures of a roller-coaster tenure in Montreal, he could turn to the 33 year-old Theodore, who arrived on the Montreal scene in 1996 as a hot-shot star goalie with model good-looks just like Price. After finding his footing by the start of the new millenium, Theodore won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies in 2002. Within four years, his numbers and confidence decling by the season, Theodore was shipped to Colorado.

Theodore arived in Washington last season looking to reestablish himself as a No. 1 goalie after a fairly strong 2007-08 campaign salvaged his rough two-and-a-half-year tenure out west. He went out and won 30 games, but critics---and rightfully so---pointed to his talented team as the reason why his win total was so high, considering his middling 2.87 and .900 statistics.

With a chance to redeem himself in the playoffs, Theodore instead crashed. After playing poorly in Game One of the first round against the Rangers, Theodore was replaced as the starter by rookie Semyon Varlamov, who came thisclose to leading the Caps into the Eastern Conference Finals.

Hockey pundits opined in the off-season that Varlamov would be the starter this season for a Capitals team intent on making a run to the Cup Finals. Head coach Bruce Boudreau instead talked up Theodore as the club's No. 1, and followed through by starting him on opening night. Theodore responded with a sharp performance, stopping 19 of 20 shots in a 4-1 road win in Boston.The veteran butterfly netminder was especially good in the first several minutes of the match when the Bruins swarmed the Caps and created their best scoring chances.

Of course, nothing is easy in this game. And as such, Boudreau will start Varlamov in the team's home opener on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.

Though he likely will be battling Varlamov for playing time throughout the season, trying to hold off the youngster's push for the No. 1 spot, at least Theodore---like Price---was able to make a strong second impression on opening night.

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