Just the way I see the NHL

[graves211]

We are starting to get deep into the season now and we are seeing some adjustments in the NHL. The key at this point of the season is GOALTENDING. Salo will keep you in the game every night, so will Eddie and Marty. That is where the wins come from!!

On the fall:
PITT- Mario is the MAN but this is a weak team. They got off to a nice start by punishing teams when they took penalties, but now they are in trouble. They have lost a bunch in a row and Morozov went down with an injury which hurts them even further. They are just a team "hanging on for their life". Dont count that they will be able to pull out. Without Mario they may be the worst team in the league. They will spot wins here and there but do not look for a huge playoff push from this team.

FLA- Keenan pushed a bunch of buttons early to keep FLA in some games but they also just dont have many players. They are just a team being glued togeather and seems ready to fall apart at any second. They have tied a bunch of games already which will probably start becoming losses as teh season wears on. If Keenan can get this team to fight for a playoff spot he has done well

Honorable mention---- the Blue Jackets
Improved already this year over last year but they may not get more than one win the rest of the month. They play detroit three times, STL twice, chicago, Pitt and Calgary the rest of December. They need to hang on to get 5 or 6 pts this month or they may be in deep trouble come January when they start the month with 8 of 12 on the road where they are 3-9-2 this year.

On the rise:
Chicago- I would not want to play chitown in the playoffs. They have a nice d and I LOVE Thibault. If they can find some decent scoring they will be in great shape. Fleury is back and if he stays in the lineup they may have just enought to get the job done. With Thibault at a GAA under 2 he gives them a way to win every night. Only problem is that they have a tough schedule against some of their western conference foes, they NEED to get some points in this streatch or they will be in trouble toward the end of the season. Blackhawks also have coaching which is invaluable in this streatch of games.

Toronto- Eddie is playing well and is still one of the best. They have a talented team but need Mats to get rolling. They have been hot recently but can they keep it up??

Still waiting....
MON-PUT HACKETT IN GOAL OR TRADE HIM. He has played the last three for MON so maybe they have made their decision but I doubt it will stick. Too much respect for what jose did last year to bench him forever and they sure wont trade him. Jose is still a good tender if he can just pull himself togeather this team can easily come on strong at toward the end of the year. Right now just sit back and wait. I do think they will get it togeather and they have a respectable number of points already to be in a nice position at the end of the year.

Rangers- I have to put them in here. Right now they are 1 pt out of the playoffs but have played 3 games more than both MON and TOR. The question is who would they knock out. Picking up Dunham early in the season will really be a boost instead of waiting a month until they were 10-12 pts out of that playoff spot. Dunham is a #1 on many teams and he will be on the rangers. I do think Blackburn will turn out to be a great starter but some games he has are soft and the rangers cant afford that. When some of the injuries clear up they could be back in the hunt just have to hope MON,TOR, CAR or TB hit a slump.

The WHOLE WESTERN
What the hell is going to happen in the west. I am pretty sure Dallas will begin to slip at the year goes on. VAN is not the best team around but has been playing outstanding hockey. San Jose is living on potential still (and it is there, they made a horrible coaching change at a horrible time). Detroit still seems sluggish(they are only 16-8). Aneheim (much improved), LA (has injuries), Chi is coming back and if you look right now COLORADO is out of the playoffs!! The west is going to be crazy as usual and a huge dogfight. IF SJ improves, Iginla can show up for at least a few games, and Burke ever comes back for Phoenix there will be no teams that are pushover wins (except columbus and nashville). and even they can play if they feel like it.

[Louie]

Very Nice Report Graves!

Your Input Is Much Appeciated!