It's time!

It's finally arrived, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the 2007-08 NHL season! (excluding those two games in London on the weekend... come on we all know no one counted those) Four games are slated to open the season tonight, in what looks to be one of the most exciting and tight seasons in recent memory.

Here's a short preview of tonight's games:

Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings
The Ducks already have a regular season win under their belts, but does that mean they come into this game hot, or cold, three nights out of their cross-atlantic road trip? I'm sure there's no more jet lag, but one team you don't want to face after a trip like that is the Red Wings. Most experts are predicting the Wings to finish 1st overall AGAIN this season. The Ducks probably aren't and won't be that far behind though. Either way, this is an explosive way to start the season, pitting the top two teams in the west against each other, as well as playoff rivals.
Prediction: Red Wings 3-1, goals from Holmstrom (2), Lidstrom and Pronger.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Another set of former playoff rivals square off here, with an added twist. Both these teams missed the playoffs last year, and are out to prove that it won't happen again. The Hurricanes look very similar to the team that missed the playoffs last year, while the Habs look fresher, younger and fairly hungry. Cristobal Huet faces a ton of pressure with Carey Price breathing down his neck, Alex Kovalev has something to prove to everyone and a bunch of rookies and young players want to prove their worth to this team. Although the Hurricanes have had a good record in recent years against the Habs, I'm going to make the homer pick and say that the Habs might want it a little more tonight.
Prediction: Habs 5-4, goals from Grabovski, Kovalev, Plekanec, Ryder (2), Staal (3), Williams.

Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Most would hope that the nights of blowout wins are all but done in the NHL, but here's to hoping they're not, just for tonight. The Leafs have gotten a lot stronger this year, but the Senators are still one of the top teams in the east.
Prediction: Senators 7-3, goals from Alfredsson (3), Heatley (2), Redden, Vermette, Blake, Tucker, Kilger.

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalance
The Dallas Stars are at the bottom of most people's predictions, and haven't done much since last season to show people that they're a playoff team this year. The Avalance, on the other hand, have made changes so that they don't disappoint their fans again this season. Will they be enough to win this home opener vs. the stars? Personally I'm a Stars fan but things don't bode well for the former Stanley Cup champs this season.
Prediction: Avs 4-2, goals from Brunette (2), Sakic, Smyth, Lehtinen, Barnes.



Four games that should excite and delight fans all across the scene in the NHL tonight, we hope you enjoy them. Please note that these predictions were based on my opinion and were mostly pulled out of my behind. Watch me be dead wrong on all of them. It's all in good fun, anyway, no?

Enjoy the games everyone!

Staal, Dubinsky Round Out Ranger Roster

Finally, our many preseason questions have been answered as the Rangers set their 23 man roster by dropping Nigel Dawes and Al Montoya. The final roster, which appears at the bottom of the page, is what most expected and is expected to lead New York to its first Stanley Cup since 1994. The puck drops at 7:00 PM as the rangers host the Florida Panthers at MSG. Here are a few thoughts on some preseason games and the roster.

Hank On Track
After a shaky start to the preseason, giving up 5 goals to Philadelphia and 6 to Detroit, Lundqvist buckled down and allowed two goals apiece against the Islanders and Flyers. This dispells the worries that Henrik has lost his game and he has proven that poor results have been a result of rust that he has quickly shaken off. Now, the two-time Vezina finalist is ready to capture the trophy he has twice been a runner-up for and perhaps even a Stanley Cup.

Ready To Shanny
Brendan Shanahan has proven that he is still a force on the ice by scoring a pair in the Rangers' 5-2 defeat of the Islanders on Friday. He played well with Gomez and Dawes and after Drury seemed to click with Jagr better than Gomez does, Shanny may end up playing with Scott on Opening Night. As for Shanahan, he looks ready to go and even earned a spot on my fantasy team. Look for him to be the scoring threat he was at the beginning of last season.

Nigel A No-Go
The young forward was assigned to Hartford and was the last skater cut before Opening Night. Despite having a strong preseason in which he scored 1 goal and 3 assists in 5 games and clicked with linemates Gomez and Shanahan, Dawes was cut. He needs to get top-two-line minutes and play on an offensive line to be successful and that is something the Rangers cannot provide thanks to their deep offensive talent. Although he will not start the season, Dawes will likely be the first call up in case of injury and may play on the big team as a playoff time call-up.

Here Come The Kids
The Rangers continue their youth initiative that began the season following the lockout. The new philosophy has produced gems such as Prucha, Callahan, Tytuin, Girardi and Lundqvist. The third wave of rookies could be the strongest class ever. Staal is coming off a season in which he was named the OHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman and likely comes from the best gene pool in today's hockey. Dubinsky showed the skill and effort that earned Prucha and Callahan full time jobs on the team. He may very well center these two youngsters in a "kid line" that contains rookies from 3 consecutive seasons. Staal will likely play with Mara who's experience will help boost him into the upper echelon of NHL defensemen

Early ROTY Candidates

The question of the new poll is: Who will win the Calder Trophy this season? It's tough to predict who will stick on the big club because rookies can play 9 games and be sent down to their junior team, but lets just see who's out there. Here are your options to choose from in this new poll.

Erik Johnson - STL
Jonathan Toews - CHI
Patrick Kane - CHI
Jonathan Bernier - LA
Nicklas Backstrom - WSH
Carey Price - MTL
Other - (I.E Jack Johnson, Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan, Sam Gagner, Nick Foligno)

This year has a pretty good crop of young studs so it's tough. I'm interested in seeing who the winner will be! As for the previous poll, What is your opinion on the new RBK Edge uniform system, here are the results:

I like them! - 18
They are awful! - 8
I don't really care... - 5

Thanks for voting!

UPDATE: Due to Ray Emery and JS Giguere not being able to start the season, they have dropped out of the top 10 rankings. Moving into the top 10 are Rick Dipietro and Kari Lehtonen.

Your 2007-2008 Montreal Canadiens roster....

As of 10AM, Monday, October 1st, 2007, the Montreal Canadiens opening night roster has been set. Guy Carbonneau has made his final cuts and the team is all but good to go for Wednesday night as they open the season on the road in Carolina.

Cut from the team and sent to Montreal's Hamilton affiliate this morning are defensemen Ryan O'Byrne, goaltender Jaroslav Halak, and forward Maxim Lapierre, three cuts that some might consider obvious, others might look at and be surprised.

Ryan O'Byrne had a great camp and it seems obvious that he'll be at the very least a #4 defenseman someday in the NHL, but in the end, when push comes to shove, he has a two-way contract and doesn't have to clear waivers in order to be sent down, and the other 8 defensemen on the roster do. Even though O'Byrne was great at camp, Josh Gorges was better and deserves that spot. Besides, it should be fully expected that O'Byrne will play for this team sometime this season. He'll be the first call-up if there's a trade or an injury (and Habs fans have been expecting a trade involving a defenseman all summer, and Patrice Brisebois is almost always injured. So expect to see O'Byrne in the line-up sooner rather than later. If he had stayed on the team, he'd have been an 8th defenseman sitting in the pressbox every night. In Hamilton, he's a top pairing defenseman and he can fine tune his game.

The second player cut from the team was Jaroslav Halak, and again, no surprise there when you really dig into the matter. I'm sure that Carbo had it clear in his head since camp started that Carey Price would be making this team, and he proved at camp and in the preseason that he's reason for the big leagues, penciled in as a #1B goaltender behind Cristobal Huet. Halak proved last season that he's a very good #2 goaltender that could step up if needed and replace the #1 goalie, but as a 22 year old, he still has a long way to go. The team is better off giving next year's clear-cut #1 goalie, Carey Price, some NHL experience this year so both he and Halak are ready to take the reigns in the 08-09 campaign when Huet is gone. Halak, again, will be on this team sooner rather than later.

The third and final cut this morning was probably the hardest Carbo had to make, and probably the most surprising. Maxim Lapierre was sent down to Hamilton, a center who quickly became one of the most popular players in Montreal after he was called up mid-season last year. Hard hitting and a bit of an agitator with a fair bit of upside, a lot of people thought that Lapierre had proven that he deserved to center this team's 4th line.

The marketing team for the Canadiens certainly did. You can't walk a city block in downtown Montreal without seeing Maxim Lapierre's face plastered on a billboard. You can't walk into a sports boutique without seeing a Lapierre t-shirt or jersey hung up for sale on the wall. I myself almost bought one last week. You can't watch RDS, Quebec's version of TSN or ESPN, without seeing a Maxim Lapierre commercial!

But the truth is, all this fame must've gotten to Max's head. He had a tough camp, and he must've lost the confidence of the coach, especially with centers Mikhael Grabovski and Kyle Chipchura knocking on the Habs doorstep. This is Carbo's way of telling Lapierre and the rest of the team that no one is really safe and everyone has to work hard in order to make this team and stay on this team. Garth Murray worked hard and he made the team. Grabovski worked hard and he made the team, same for Chipchura, Josh Gorges and everyone else.

Maxim Lapierre, again, WILL be on this team sooner rather than later. But the truth is, there were players at camp that deserved to be on the team more so than Lapierre right at this moment, and, financially, in terms of the cap system and in terms of the waiver system, Lapierre was the best choice for a final cut, unfortunately.


That being said, the final roster for opening night in Raleigh on Wednesday is set. The lines have yet to be officially announced but it's pretty clear what they're going to look like:

Higgins - Koivu - Ryder
This line-up worked last year, it gave Saku Koivu a career year in points and Michael Ryder 30 goals. With Higgins potentially getting an "A" this year, and both he and Ryder maturing as offensive forwards, and with a confident and healthy Koivu centering them, there's no reason not to think this line won't be this team's best and an offensive threat in the East.

Kostitsyn - Grabovski - Kovalev
If these two feisty quick and confident young Belarussian players don't light a fire under Kovalev's posterior, no one will. Another explosive line-up that can tear up the NHL, that is if Kovalev wants it to. The addition of Grabovski gives this team an added punch at center, the young center is willing to do anything to get around - or through - the opposing team's defensemen. Kostitsyn is slated to have a great year after a great 20 or so games late last year, and Kovalev... well, Kovalev is Kovalev.

Smolinski - Plekanec - Latendresse
Another great line, Thomas Plekanec and Guillaume Latendresse are two players who can play on a top-2 line on this team, but can also do well on a 2-way checking line, and Bryan Smolinski provided the stability that this team needs, especially since losing Radek Bonk in the off-season. A solid line that will provide excellent secondary scoring for the habs this year.

Begin - Chipchura - Kostopoulos
Kostopoulos and Begin, two hard hitting players, and Chipchura, a future potential Selke candidate and this team's future 3rd line center. With Murray able to jump into this line if someone gets injured of this team needs a jolt, this line should provide some entertaining hockey when they're on the ice.

Spare: Garth Murray
There are better players in the league and in the Canadiens system than Garth Murray, but he's willing to drop the gloves and he's willing to work hard to prove his worth to the coaching staff and to the fans, which makes him a Guy Carbonneau kind of player. He'll be in the line-up when there's an injury or when the situation calls for a spare fighter, but expect him to start what'll most likely be his last season in Montreal in the press box.


On defense:
Markov - Komisarek
Solid last season, no reason to believe they'll be any less solid this year, a true #1-#2 pairing. Markov needs to step it up offensively in Sheldon Souray's absence, however, as all defensemen on the team should.

Hamrlik - Streit
Streit played most of last season as a forward who could step into a defensive role if there was an injury. This year, he'll start the season as a top 4 defenseman on this team, and deservedly so. He'll be used to patch up the hole Souray left on the powerplay and will be solid paired up (potentially) with Roman Hamrlik.

Bouillon - Brisebois
Although I'm not the biggest fan of Bouillon, he had too many hits and too many blocked shots last season to leave off the starting line-up, and Brisebois had too good of a game on Saturday to put in the press box. Both these players will most likely end up in a hospital bed before the month is up, but until then they should probably be in the starting line-up on Wednesday night.

Spares: Dandenault, Gorges
Dandenault has been an enigma. He can be a top 6 defenseman in the league, he can even play forward if the team needs him to... but when they need him the most, he just sucks. Gorges is young and will get a chance to play, but for now, because of the numbers and experience game, I think he'll start the season in the press box.


In goal...

Cristobal Huet and Carey Price
What more can be said about these too? The goaltending situation was the center of attention in Montreal during the preseason and deservingly so. If Huet and Price live up to expectations, and there's no reason they shouldn't, this could be one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL this year.


There you have it folks, your 2007-2008 Canadiens roster. Is it a playoff roster? Probably not. Could they sneak into the playoffs? Certainly, depending how the season starts out. If Bob Gainey can make a move or two early in the season to improve the team, the experts might change their minds about leaving the Habs out of the playoff race. In reality, right now, it's more than likely this team won't make the playoffs, however, things really don't look that bad for Montreal, and at the very least, this line-up should provide a lot of entertaining hockey for the fans of the Canadiens and the NHL over the course of the next seven or eight months and beyond.

Sens Notes: Emery still ailing; Roster uncertain

Emery's wrist not healed yet

Goalie Ray Emery was expected to be ready for the home-and-home season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs starting on Wednesday, but, is now expected to miss at least the first three games of the Senators' season. Emery had surgery in the offseason on his left wrist which ailed him most of last season. It has not been announced yet, but I would expect that he will be sent to the Sens' AHL affiliate in Binghamton to get some rehab starts in. This decision was probably made after Emery gave up two goals on just nine shots against the Flyers Wednesday night.

Gerber gets his shot

Martin Gerber was was the starting Goalie going into last season but, he struggled out of the gate, losing his job to Emery. He started sparingly in the New Year but he finished off strong going 10-0-0-2 in his last 12 starts. He has followed that up with a stellar preseason. He'll get a chance to win his job back. When Emery comes back a platoon is very likely as the Sens lose very little with Gerber as their starter providing he does not lose his confidence again like last year.

Elliot over Glass

Brian Elliot has been called up to backup Gerber until Emery returns. He probably won't get to play any action unless Emery is out for an extended period of time. Brian Elliot has only had 8 games of experience in the AHL while Jeff Glass, former Canadian World Juniors starter started 43 games in his second pro season in Binghamton.

Elliot made 14 saves, giving up just 1 goal in 28 preseason minutes for the Sens so that could have been the deciding factor, or the Sens want to let Glass better develop, starting in the AHL.

Roster Uncertainty

By the looks of it, the CASH line will be split up to start the season and the top 3 lines will look like this:

Heatley-Spezza-Eaves
Vermette-Fisher-Alfredsson
Donovan-Kelly-Neil

The fourth line is completely up in the air with jack-of-all-trades Christoph Schubert, tough guy Brian McGratton, veterens Niko Dimitrakos and Denis Hamel and prospects Nick Foligno, Alexander Nikulin and Ilya Zubov. Schubert will definitely make the team playing back on D, up front and on the powerplay. McGratton should play against tougher teams like the Leafs but he'll sit when their isn't a tough guy on the other side. Nick Foligno, who can play up the middle and on the wing, is the most likely prospect to make the team. Keep in mind that when McAmmond comes back he'll be centering the fourth line. But, before we can guess on what the fourth line will look like we have to look at Schubert's chances are at starting on Defense this season.

Phillips-Volchenkov and Meszaros-Redden are a lock as is Corvo on the 3rd pairing. Christoph Schubert, Lawrence Nycolat and Luke Richardson are all in the running for the 6th and 7th defense spots. All could conceivably make the club.

My guess: Against tougher teams we'll see a Hamel-Foligno-McGratton 4th line with Schubert moving up against softer teams. This would mean that Schubert would fill out the defense and one or both of Nycolat and Richardson will get to play D when Schubert moves up.

The Ups and Downs of Being a Sens Fan

As you probably could have guessed I am an Ottawa Senators fan from Ottawa (Again you probably could have guessed as I have not met a Sens fan yet who has not lived in the Ottawa area for at least some of the last 10 years). Eggshmeg (who I met on a forum) has let me post my thoughts and opinions here. I plan on writing about the Sens and general hockey happenings. I will not be just writing plain reviews (you can find that about a thousand other places on the net) but I will give my opinion on strategies the coaching staff is using, trades made (or not) by newly appointed General Manager Bryan Murray, player performances or just general interest stories. You will find that I'm very nitpicky with what the front office and coaching staff does (Did they really need to trade for a 4th line winger in Oleg Saprykin at the deadline and we did not need to sign Gerber last offseason when we already had a more than capable goalie in Ray "Razor" Emery).

Anyways, on to what this entry is about, the roller coaster ride that is being an Ottawa Senators fan. Yes, by those uneducated hockey fans the Senators could be called one of the most consistent hockey clubs of the new millennium. But, if you follow hockey closely you will know that the Senators are renowned for being one of the most inconsistent teams when it comes to the playoffs. Ottawa has made the playoffs every season since they nearly upset the Buffalo Sabres in the 1997 playoffs.

In 1998 they won their first playoff series upsetting the top team in the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils in 6 games. In the second round they lost to the Washington Capitals in 5 games.

In the 1998/99 season the Senators finished with a winning record for the first time in franchise history. However they were disappointed, being swept by the Buffalo Sabres. The letdowns continued as they lost to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs in 6 games in the 2000 playoffs. The next year they would be swept away by the Leafs in 4 games. Now, on to what I can more than vaguely remember. On draft day following the sweep by the Maple Laughs (As so many Sens fans call them), in what is now considered the most lop-sided deal of the millennium thus far as the Senators sent Alexei Yashin to the New York Islanders in return for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the 2nd overall pick (which turned out to be Jason Spezza). Chara and his 6'9" frame became one of the best shutdown defensemen in the league. Muckalt proceeded to score zero, yes zero goals in his one and only season as a Senator. Meanwhile, Jason Spezza has become arguably the best setup man in the league.

So the next year (2002) Jaques Martin does about the only worthwhile thing in his tenure as the Sens' Head Coach, letting Roger Neilson step behind the bench for his 999th and 1000th career games behind the bench. Also, being of use for the first and only time was Patrick Lalime. In the first round of the playoffs he held the Flyers to an OT goal in game one and three straight shutouts in the next 3 games. The Sens secured the series when Lalime gave up one goal in a Senators OT victory. Lalime looked good again in round two, the Battle of Ontario, shuting out the provincial rivals 5-0 in game one. However, Lalime disappointed the rest of the way as the Sens eventually lost in 7 games.

The 2002-03 season, the Sens best to that point, overshadowed by Rob Bryden and friends going bankrupt. The Sens manhandled the Islanders after losing 3-0 in game 1. (I still remember singing "Hey Hey Hey Goodbye" at game 5 and booing Alexi Yashin whenever he touched the puck. Also the fans about 5 rows in front were all over Garth Snow too) Anyways, on to the Flyers. We beat them in 6 games to face the Devils in the Conference Final for the first time since some time in the 20s (If they even had Conference Finals then). Well we got off to a good start in game one with Shaun Van Allen's (of all people) OT Goal. We proceeded to lose the next 3 though. In game 5, out saviour, Jason Spezza got into his first playoff action, leading the Sens to victory with a goal and an assist. In game 6 yet another unlikely hero, Chris Phillips, scored an OT goal to force a game 7. Anyways, game seven, tie game, 2 minutes left. Wade Redden gives up the goddamn puck and the Devils score, going to the Cup Final. On to 2003-04. Eugene Melnyk buys the club in the offseason. The Sens turn in a disappointing season finishing 3rd in the Northeast division and face the Leafs (yet again) in round one. Patrick Lalime struggled (especially in game 6 getting pulled after giving up 3 goals on 11 shots). Prior to the lockout season Martin was fired in favour of Bryan Murray and Lalime was sent packing in favour of Dominik Hasek.

First year back from the lockout the Senators were clear favorites after acquiring Dominik Hasek and Danny Heatley. The Sens only lose 6 games prior to the new year. But then, fragile Dominik Hasek has to go pull his groin in the Olympics, leaving the Sens hopes up to Ray Emery. Despite slumping late after Emery took over the Sens still posted their best season yet. The Tampa Bay Lightning were easily taken care of in 5 games. Emery was streaky in the 2nd round, losing in 5 games.

Now, 2006-07, the Sens put their faith on newly acquired Goalie Martin Gerber. Dan McAmmond, Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing were also acquired to fill holes vacated by Zdeno Chara and Brian Pothier and Brian Smolinski. Vaclav Varada was let go to play in Europe while Brian Smolinski and Martin Havlat were casualties of the salary cap. Mike Comrie was later acquired to help fill some holes up front. Gerber struggled out of the gate. Emery would take over and play the bulk of the games from December on. Despite not acquiring Gary Roberts at the deadline the Senators, led by Ray Emery and the famed CASH line, the Senators beat the Penguins, Devils and Sabres in 5 games a piece. However, the Sens struggled against the physical Anaheim Ducks, losing the Stanley Cup in just 5 games.

In the offseason, Bryan Murray was promoted to General Manager. Most believe because of Muckler not acquiring a big name at the deadline. Tom Preissing and Mike Comrie were both lost to Free Agency and Peter Schaefer was sent to Boston for Shean Donovan, while Matt Carkner, Niko Dimotrakos and Luke Richardson were the only Free Agent acquisitions. None of them are slated to make more than $575 000 this season. What this season will hold, who knows. But, the forwards past Daniel Alfredsson, Danny Heatley and Jason Spezza will have to step up and give the Sens some more secondary scoring.

Wow that was longer than I thought, now off to watch the Ducks/Kings game.

Bernier to be Kings' Starter? Wieman Gets Shot In Colorado.

There are numerous reports today in the hockey world that Jonathan Bernier has indeed won the starting goaltender role in Los Angeles. When Dan Cloutier got sent down earlier this week, it set off signals that this could actually be the situation. You may have read about it in one of my earlier blogs as well. I don't necessarily disagree with the call, but if the coaches and scouts truly believe he is ready for the big leagues, then they should go for it. The lackluster play of Jason Labarbera this pre-season has also contributed to this decision, if it's true, and many picked him as the consensus starter this year. This will all be revealed tomorrow when the Kings play their first game of the season in London, England at Noon against the Ducks.

In a recent In the Cheap Seats article, there is an outline of how the team's roster is shaping up now that training camp is coming to a close. As most of you know, Jose Theodore will likely not be ready when the season starts due to a knee injury, so that means young Tyler Wieman will get a shot at the backup spot, at least until Theo returns. It will be interesting to see if Joel Quennville gives him any playing time, but I hope he does, so we get to see what he can do.