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Nick, Colby and Pete assess the Philadelphia Flyers’ hiring of Alain Vigneault, the Los Angeles Kings’ hiring of Todd McLellan, where does this leave the Buffalo Sabres in their search for a head coach, as well as some of the good (CBJ and NYI sweep), bad and ugly from the ongoing First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Any day with hockey is a good one. Today must be a great one, because we have a total of 10 games on tap.
Like we’ve been doing since the Olympic Games began, we start our day in South Korea with the two games that are completing group play in the men’s tournament. Canada is taking on the host South Korea at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time, which is the same time Sweden and Finland will be squaring off.
Back on the continent the writers of this website call home, the greatest hockey league in the world has scheduled seven games to complete its weekend. The action starts at noon when Philadelphia visits the New York Rangers (NBC/TVAS), followed three hours later by Edmonton at Colorado. Starting at 5 p.m. with New Jersey at Carolina, games start dropping the puck at the top of each hour. Pittsburgh at Columbus starts at 6 p.m., followed by Toronto at Detroit (SN) at 7 p.m. and a pair of tilts (Dallas at San Jose and Florida at Winnipeg) closing out the day at 8 p.m. All times Eastern.
Finally, we return our attention to PyeongChang for the first of two women’s semifinals. Dropping the puck at 11:10 p.m. Eastern time, Team USA will have a rematch against Finland with a berth into the Gold Medal Game on the line.
I say it most days, but what a slate of games. Here’s the games that really stick out to me:
Let me say it again: how about today’s slate of games? There should be some exemplary action today all around the world.
While it would seem to make sense to feature the women’s semifinal, that game just doesn’t excite me all that much – probably a sign of an American’s potential over-confidence in his women’s team. However, the Sweden vs. Finland match could prove to be very important in either team’s quest for its respective third or first gold medal. Let’s hone in on that one.
To put this entire preview in one sentence, this game is going to be an intense war between Finland’s offense and Sweden’s defense. In their first two games, the Finns have averaged five goals per game (the best at the Olympics), while the Swedes are the last team remaining that haven’t yet yielded a goal against.
Before we start with Leijonat‘s – or the Lions’ – offense, I do need to admit one thing: all of these stats were collected before the Czech Republic and Switzerland squared off in Group A. Any statistics comparing Finland or Sweden could be slightly different based on the occurrences in that game.
What makes Finland’s offense so potent is the fact that it is so unpredictable. Through only two games played, a dozen different Finns have found the scorecard, including seven different goal scorers.
Of all of those skaters, none have been more impressive than F Eeli Tolvanen, the Predators’ first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. At only 18-years-old, he’s dominated from his spot on the Lions’ second line, posting 3-3-6 totals.
In addition to Tolvanen, four other skaters are averaging at least a point per game, including D Sami Lepisto (2-2-4 totals), F Petri Kontiola (0-4-4), F Joonas Kemppainen (1-1-2) and F Sakari Manninen (1-1-2), a group that includes three players with NHL experience.
However, don’t make the mistake of focusing so hard on Finland’s offense that you neglect its defense, as the Finns along the blue line have also played solidly. Allowing only an average of 23 shots against, Leijonat‘s defense ranks third-best in the Olympics. As such, G Mikko Koskinen has needed to do little work to post his .935 save percentage, good enough for a 1.5 GAA. Of note, of the three goals Koskinen has allowed, two were while his defense was shorthanded.
However, every defense and goaltender are looking up at Team Sweden, as the Tre Kronor have posted back-to-back shutouts to open their 2018 Olympic Tournament.
Similar to Finland’s defensive success, much of Sweden’s winning ways can be attributed to an excellent combination of stellar play by the defensemen as well as solid play in net. Behind a defense that has allowed a second-best 22.5 shots against per game, G Jhonas Enroth and G Viktor Fasth have both been able to post clean sheets. Of the two, Enroth has easily been more impressive, as his shutout required 28 saves as compared to Fasth’s 17 shots faced.
Unfortunately, the Three Crowns have not found quite the success on the offensive end, as their 2.5 goals per game is good enough for only (t)sixth-best in PyeongChang.
Though it hasn’t been as quite a dynamic attack as Finland’s, Sweden has employed a similarly unpredictable offensive strategy, as 11 different skaters have registered a point in the Swedes’ first two games. Of those, none have been more exciting than third-liners F Linus Omark (0-3-3 totals) and F Dennis Everberg (1-1-2), as they are both averaging at least a point per game.
Of course, 2.5 goals is more than the zero Sweden allows, so it would seem a safe assumption that Head Coach Rikard Gronborg hasn’t had too much to complain about so far. However, Finland is definitely a far superior team to Germany and Norway – the remaining two teams in Group C – so it would seem safe to say that Sweden will need its best performance yet to pull off the victory.
Finland and Sweden last squared off in the semifinals of the 2017 IIHF World Championship, with Tre Kronor claiming a 4-1 victory en route to their first title in that tournament since 2013. F William Nylander, who’s currently preoccupied with the task of beating the Red Wings today, was a major part of that victory, as he posted two points, including a goal and the secondary assist on D John Klingberg‘s game-winning goal. Of course, neither of those players are available today, so I wouldn’t expect a similar score in this matchup.
The biggest problem in this game seems to be the Swede’s attack. While scoring 2.5 goals per game is usually more than enough to earn – in this case – three points, Finland’s offense dominating play paired with the stellar play of Koskinen might be a bit more than the blue-and-gold can handle.
The Olympic Athletes from Russia’s men showed no mercy in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, as they beat the United States 4-0 at Gangneung Hockey Centre to clinch first place in Group B.
It took only 7:21 of action for the OAR to find its game-winner, as F Nikolai Prokhorkin (F Sergei Mozyakin and F Alexander Barabanov) was able to beat G Ryan Zapolski for the lone goal of the frame, his first in PyeongChang.
Quick goals was apparently all the rage in the OAR dressing room, because the Red Machine set the score at 2-0 only 2:14 courtesy of another tally from Prokhorkin (F Sergei Shirokov and Mozyakin). Much to Team USA’s chagrin, seeing the third-liner score two goals seemed to inspire F Ilya Kovalchuk (F Sergei Andronov) to find the scorecard, as he scored a slap shot from the blue line with only a second remaining in the second period to expand the OAR’s advantage.
Kovalchuk (D Vyacheslav Voinov and Andronov) completed the game’s scoring 28 seconds into the third period, setting the 4-0 final score.
G Vasili Koshechkin earned the shutout victory by saving all 29 shots he faced, leaving the loss to Zapolski, who saved 22-of-26 (.846 save percentage).
Officially listed as the road team, the OAR helped the visitors in the DtFR Game of the Day series to win their second-straight game and pull within 22 points of the 70-43-17 hosts.
Happy Friday! Settle in and catch up on some puck this weekend.
Like we’ve been doing all week, the day’s action begins at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time in South Korea with Group C play of the men’s Olympic tournament. The Finns are squaring off against Norway and group-leading Sweden is taking on the Germans.
Back on our side of the Pacific Ocean, four games have been scheduled for our viewing pleasure, all starting half an hour after the game before them. We start with Philadelphia at Columbus (TVAS) at 7 p.m., trailed by and the New York Islanders at Carolina half an hour later. Colorado at Winnipeg follows suit at 8 p.m., while tonight’s nightcap – St. Louis at Dallas (NHLN) – finds an early 8:30 p.m. start. All times Eastern.
Back at the Olympics, we have two games scheduled for 10:10 p.m. One involves the Canadian men taking on the Czech Republic, but the most important of that time slot is the OAR vs. Switzerland in the women’s quarterfinals. Similarly, two final games are slated for 2:40 a.m. Saturday morning, one involving Finland vs. Sweden in the other women’s quarterfinal and South Korea vs. Switzerland in men’s group play. All times Eastern.
What a tough selection. There’s at least two big NHL games today (I’d argue that all four are important, but I’ll let you be the judge), while I expect the Scandinavian women’s quarterfinal to be a closely contested match.
Since no teams are getting eliminated from contention today in the NHL, I think we have to hone in on the Olympic playoff game. Off to PyeongChang!
If only DtFR got airline miles for the Game of the Day series… I could have a really nice vacation this summer. Time to take the European tennis tour I’ve always dreamed of!
Between these two teams, Sweden easily looked the better of the two in the group stage. Damkronorna‘s (the Lady Crowns) offense ranked (t)second-best at the Olympics by averaging 3.67 goals per game, while their defense allowed an average of only one goal against in their three showings – the (t)third-best effort in PyeongChang.
Offensively, the Lady Crowns are led by the indomitable F Pernilla Winberg, who has posted wildly impressive 2-1-3 totals in her first three showings. However, she’s not the only one averaging a point per game, as D Elin Lundberg (1-2-3), F Fanny Rask (1-2-3) and F Erika Grahm (0-3-3) are all matching her in that effort. In total, 16 of Sweden’s 20 skaters have found their way onto the scorecard, an impressive total given only three games have been played.
The Lady Crowns have also been an imposing presence in their own zone. Though the Swedish defense did allow 32.33 shots against-per-game in the group stage (third-worst among the six teams to advance to the knockout round), they’ve had the distinct luxury of G Sara Grahn dominating her crease to keep opposing offenses at bay.
With the exception of leaving the ice for 62 seconds against Switzerland to make way for a sixth skater, Grahn has been involved in every second of Sweden’s three opening games – and with good reason. Posting one shutout and allowing only one even-strength goal, she’s posted an impressive .969 save percentage and 1.01 GAA.
Meanwhile, Finland enters this game as the third place team from Group A play having earned a 1-0-0-2 record (1-2-0 if you want to put it in NHL format).
Statistically, Naisleijonat looks to be the second-worst team of the six that qualified for the knockout round. Their 2.33 goals per game, 2.67 goals against per game and 33 shots allowed per game are all superior to only the OAR, the very team they beat on the last day of group play.
Offensively, the Finns are led by a trio of skaters averaging a point per game. Of those, F Michelle Karvinen and F Riikka Valila have been most impressive with their 2-1-3 totals, but F Petra Nieminen has also been solid with her 1-2-3 effort.
As for the defensive end, the Lady Lions’ leader in net is none other than G Noora Raty, who started all three of Finland’s group stage games. Though she’s allowed seven total goals in her three appearances, it’s been largely because her defense has been trying to bolster their applications for Swiss passports (it’s a long-winded Swiss cheese joke) by allowing so many shots. Given the pressure, Raty has actually performed fairly well, posting a solid .929 save percentage and 2.39 GAA.
Now that all those numbers are out of the way, we almost need to entirely throw them out the window.
Wait, what?
We need to remember something about the characters of the two very different groups from which these teams came. Sverige – that’s Swedish for “Sweden” – had the luxury of playing against the Japanese and Koreans in Group B, two teams that did not challenge Damkronorna whatsoever but allowed them to inflate their numbers. That was made very apparent when Sweden and Switzerland squared off, as the Swiss were able to pull off a tight 2-1 victory with only 8:32 remaining in regulation, due largely to the fact that Grahm’s tripping penalty cost Sweden the game-winning power play goal.
Meanwhile, as one of the top-four ranked teams in the world, Naisleijonat was thrust into the unenviable position of being in Group A with Teams USA and Canada. Against those powerhouses, the Lady Lions struggled mightily, scoring one goal apiece against either side. However, Suomi – you guessed it, it’s “Finland” in Finnish – showcased why it had earned its world rank by dominating the Olympic Athletes from Russia to a 5-1 victory, leading many, or at least me, to think that they are a far better side than the North Americans allowed them to seem.
Long story short, I think it’s safe to say that the Finns and Swedes are a better, more competitive matchup than they’ve seen for most of the tournament. While their statistics from the group stage might highlight either team’s particular strengths and weakness, I don’t think we should expect either team to have such a distinctly pronounced advantage over the other.
Finland’s very real chance at beating Sweden is made no more apparent than the last three results between them, as it’s the Lady Lions that swept the Lady Crowns at the 2017 Four Nations Cup. In the group stage of that tournament, the Finns beat the Swedes 3-1, followed by a 2-1 overtime victory in the third-place game. Going back even further, Finland posted a dominant 4-0 victory over Sweden in the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship quarterfinals.
Keeping in mind these recent results, I think I have to lean towards Finland taking this game. However, I’m not 100 percent confident in that pick, as Sweden, even though it lost, had a solid showing against Switzerland and is more than capable of holding its own against its Scandinavian neighbor.
Whichever team wins this game will lock itself into a matchup with the United States of America in the semifinals. Additionally, qualifying for the semifinals ensures a team the shot at a medal, whether it be the Olympic Finals or the Bronze Medal Game.
With a three-point performance by First Star of the Game C Nico Hischier, the New Jersey Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 at Prudential Center in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.
Two goals were struck in the first period, but fans that left their seats to get a jump on first intermission concessions wouldn’t have known it. With 2:40 remaining in the frame, F Jeff Skinner (C Victor Rask and RW Justin Williams) broke the scoreless tie with a wrist shot, but Jersey drew even only 2:21 later with a snap shot from Third Star D Damon Severson (Hischier).
It took far less time to find the first marker of the second period, and it was in this frame that the game-winning goal was struck. Second Star RW Stefan Noesen (C Travis Zajac and LW Miles Wood) broke the draw at the 6:48 mark, but just like in the first period, the game was tied once again soon after. Only 55 seconds after the horn stopped blaring for Noesen, D Brett Pesce (D Jaccob Slavin and Williams) scored his third goal of the season to pull the Canes back even.
The game-winning goal belonged to W Kyle Palmieri (Hischier and D John Moore), a wrister struck with 2:32 remaining in the second period. It was one of those second chance goals, as Hischier somehow lost control of an attempted wrap-around shot in G Scott Darling‘s crease. However, with Darling already committed to saving that attempt, it left Palmieri with the opportunity to beat Darling five-hole.
The Devils continued to apply pressure in the third period, scoring two goals in the ninth minute to set the 5-2 final score. Hischier (F Taylor Hall and G Keith Kinkaid) and Noesen (Severson) provided the insurance tallies.
Kinkaid earned the victory after saving 27-of-29 shots faced (.931 save percentage), leaving the loss to Darling, who stopped 17-of-22 (.773).
Home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series are reestablishing their dominance lately, as they’ve earned points in three-consecutive games. As such, they’ve improved their record to 70-41-17, giving them a 26-point advantage over the roadies.
By: Nick Lanciani
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks added Jared Boll in the offseason to help bolster Team USA’s heart and grit rating at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Oh wait. Anaheim also brought back Randy Carlyle as head coach.
So basically it’ll be Throwback Thursday everyday this season for the Ducks, since it’ll be ten years since their 2007 Stanley Cup championship with Carlyle and crew. Why not bring back the maroon and jade uniforms while we’re at it?
Arizona Coyotes
Youth is not just prevalent on the Arizona Coyotes roster this season, but in their front office as well, as 27-year-old, John Chayka, was hired as the youngest GM in NHL history.
Max Domi and Anthony Duclair do all they can to convince Shane Doan to become the next Jaromir Jagr and maybe then we can start talking about a potential Cup run for the Coyotes. A plethora of defensemen fight for six roster spots and are narrowed down throughout the season, Hunger Games style.
Boston Bruins
Big and Bad are Backes. Wait, that’s not it. The Boston Bruins added David Backes, Riley Nash and Dominic Moore to their group of forwards this offseason all while seeming to forget that they still need another top-4 defenseman (let alone an entire defense).
Like most years of Boston sports (okay, with the exception of the last fifteen years), the Bruins will probably narrowly miss the playoffs again, much to the dismay of their hardcore fan base that still goes to every game like it’s their job. Or am I confusing them with the guys on the roster? At least 63 + 37 = 100.
Buffalo Sabres
So the Buffalo Sabres look to do things this year. That’s a thing, I’m pretty sure. Major loss? Chad Johnson left the team via free agency and went to Calgary. Major gains?
They brought in Kyle Okposo and everything else remained pretty much the same, so they should probably be on the outside looking in again, unless they become the new Ottawa Senators (forged by youth and a backup goalie that takes over from February through their early first round playoff exit in April).
All kidding aside, the Sabres remain hopeful. Meanwhile, Rasmus Ristolainen finally got paid (at a discount, none the less— Flo from Progressive would be happy).
Calgary Flames
What did the Calgary Flames do this offseason? They got some goaltending. Brian Elliott was acquired via a trade with St. Louis and Chad Johnson came over from Buffalo in free agency, so that’s two new goalies for a total of about half as many goalies that the Philadelphia Flyers have played in the last twenty years (though Calgary is starting to catch up).
Johnny Gaudreau is still unsigned, so that could be problematic, since he’s like, Calgary’s entire offense. At least, that’s what the fake Kanye West account told me— just kidding, he finally signed the other day. Given the state of the Western Conference, it’s safe to say they won’t be flaming their competition in the standings.
Carolina Hurricanes
Biggest additions: Lee Stempniak, Viktor Stalberg and Teuvo Teravainen (so basically just Teravainen, if you’re playing along with the rebuild at home). Matt Tennyson was also brought in on the blue line via free agency from San Jose, so there’s that.
Hurricanes fans, take solace in the fact that the Columbus Blue Jackets exist in your division, because at least Carolina won’t finish last with an improved New Jersey Devils team (minus their defense) looking to jump ahead of the Hurricanes in the standings.
Chicago Blackhawks
2013, 2015— shoot, this year’s Stanley Cup Final is in an odd numbered year, isn’t it? Well, forget all of the season predictions, congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks. They’ll probably just insert some prospect alongside Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook or someone and be fine.
I mean, that’s been the formula since 2010 anyway. Win the Cup, trade a bunch of people because of the salary cap over the next offseason or two, win the Cup again and do it all over again. The only problem is, the Blackhawks have got the toughest division, so they’ll probably still make the playoffs, at least.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche added two Bourques to their team (Gabriel Bourque and Rene Bourque) so they’re obviously hoping to double their efforts of their 2001 Stanley Cup championship with legendary defenseman Ray Bourque. What’s that? They’re not related? Nice try Joe Sakic.
While the Av’s were perfect in the preseason, sadly none of it counted and they’ll start 0-0-0 just like everybody else. New head coach, Jared Bednar, won’t be dismantling any stanchions this year, so that’s good news, glass between the benches at Pepsi Center.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Zach Werenski made the team, so now they’ll have a defense. Oh, sorry, didn’t you there Ryan Murray, Seth Jones and Jack Johnson. But all kidding aside, these guys just need to stay healthy— I’m looking at you Sergei Bobrovsky.
Their group of forwards kind of have it going on. But sadly, this isn’t the year for the Columbus Blue Jackets, unlike the rest of the teams in Ohio it seems. Also, how it is possible for Werenski, a player from Michigan University, to not get run out of Ohio? I’ll wait.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have the same goaltending tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, the same core group of forwards primarily in Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and an improved defense with the loss of Kris Russell.
Somehow every year, this band of veterans impresses the hockey world by combatting speed and skill with heart and grit (minus some of the grit). But just like last year, they probably still won’t figure it out in the playoffs between their two goaltenders and fail miserably (in the eyes of Stars fans).
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings added Steve Ott (grit), Thomas Vanek (heart) and Frans Nielsen (actually, kind of good), this offseason to their group of forwards that doesn’t include Pavel Datsyuk for the first time in like, forever.
Datsyuk was traded to Arizona at the draft after he announced his retirement from the NHL to go play in the KHL back home before ultimately wrapping up his professional hockey career. And with that, so ends the Red Wings playoff appearance streak this season. But at least Petr Mrazek will be their number one goalie, right?
Edmonton Oilers
Rogers Place looks pretty cool. Milan Lucic Bruinsinizes the team. Peter Chiarelli traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson. And that is all. Just kidding, Chiarelli also traded Nail Yakupov to the St. Louis Blues for practically nothing (so just like the Hall trade).
Connor McDavid was named captain and the team got worse. Kris Russell was added to the defense and Eric Gryba was not re-signed, then PTO’ed, then signed to a new deal with Edmonton, then probably placed on waivers. Sounds like things are business as usual for the Oilers.
Florida Panthers
James Reimer signed as the backup goaltender to Roberto Luongo for the Florida Panthers this offseason, so if you’re a fan of the 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs or 2011 Vancouver Canucks, maybe Florida is your team (until games actually matter in the playoffs).
Jason Demers and Keith Yandle were two major additions to the Panthers blue line, while they managed to finagle Jared McCann out of Vancouver in exchange for Erik Gudbranson. So basically, the Panthers are poised to dominate the Atlantic Division once again in the regular season. Can I get a Jaromir Jagr for the Hart Trophy to with it?
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings most recently added Devin Setoguchi to their batch of forwards, so that summarizes everything about their offseason. Props to Setoguchi for making a comeback in the NHL. Shouts to the Kings for having a cool arena by the way. I stopped by there in August.
Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick and Anze Kopitar all won awards last season, so that should have some indication of how they’ll do this season. They’ll probably make the Western Conference Final and have to play the Chicago Blackhawks again, won’t they?
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild added Eric Staal to their roster this offseason and most recently (and more important than Staal), Teemu Pulkkinen.
Chris Stewart returned to the Wild organization after a trip around the league (or so it seemed) and everything else pretty much remained the same.
So if you’re a Minnesota fan, first, good luck surviving the winter (as usual). Second, nobody knows how the Vikings are doing it, but they’re doing it. And third, the Wild aren’t going to be that great this season, so pick one of the first two options to bandwagon, if you would please.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens traded P.K. Subban. That is all.
But seriously, how could you, Montreal? Other than that, Alexander Radulov, Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber are all part of the team now, while Carey Price will miss the first game with the flu and Mike Condon got claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh. Looks like the team’s all yours, Al Montoya.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators acquired P.K. Subban this offseason. What were the Montreal Canadiens thinking?
The Preds are letting their forwards develop and made their defense significantly better by getting rid of Shea Weber for Subban. Now if only Pekka Rinne would return to vintage Pekka Rinne form, then this could the year for Nashville. Then again, they’re in the same division as Chicago in an odd numbered playoff year, so…
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils restructured their forwards with the additions of Taylor Hall, Beau Bennett, Vernon Fiddler and P.A. Parenteau, but they still lack a defense (mostly). Brandon Gormley, Ben Lovejoy and Kyle Quincey are notable (somewhat) additions to the blue line in the Garden State.
Andy Greene remains one of the strangest trivia questions when someone asks you “who is the current captain of the Devils?” And Cory Schneider is still a highly underrated goaltender that somehow manages to survive without a team in front of him. But at least New Jersey is gearing up for the underdog of the year status.
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders added a lot of veteran presence to their noticeably Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum-less organization (yes, I took a shot at Barclays Center, there). Jason Chimera, Andrew Ladd and Dennis Seidenberg are now members of the Islanders and well, at least Seidenberg’s contract is only for a year.
As long as Jaroslav Halak plays like he did at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (minus the final loss to Canada) and stays healthy, John Tavares and crew could lead this team further in the playoffs than in recent memory. Time may be winding down on their Cup contention clock, since Tavares is looking for an extension and well, everyone else on their roster is getting older.
New York Rangers
If winning the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes counts for anything than the New York Rangers are winners. But they probably won’t be winners of much this season. Granted, they could make a playoff run (or miss it altogether), the same tune rings true, Henrik Lundqvist cannot be a team on his own.
Josh Jooris and Mika Zibanejad are big name additions to the offense. Okay, so they’re just names added to the roster. Nick Holden is new to the Blueshirts blue line and well, they’re still an aging defense. Best of luck to the youth in the New York, like Vesey, Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes and others for getting to play more than one position this year on the same shift.
Ottawa Senators
Chris Kelly is back with the Ottawa Senators this season after playing 11 games last year with the Boston Bruins and recovering from a broken femur. Derick Brassard was acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan switched his number from 6 to 9 (get your mind out of the gutter, Internet).
Otherwise, the Senators remain virtually the same. On the outside looking in, but probably raising a few eyebrows for their late season surge. They’re still waiting on their youth, which is at least working better than it is for their counterparts in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs (who, although contrary to popular belief, might actually be better this year).
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers already appear to be in midseason form, what with Radko Gudas‘s six-game suspension and their apparent preference for Steve Mason as their number one goalie, as usual.
Boyd Gordon and Dale Weise are additions (though, can you really call them that?) and Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov made the team from training camp (and the last couple of years of drafting), so the Flyers appear to be a middle of the pack team again this year.
Additionally, they’ll face off with the Pittsburgh Penguins in this season’s Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Heinz Field on February 25, 2017 as part of the league’s 50th season celebration of the 1967 expansion. So yeah, that’s all I got for Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have virtually the same team from Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final and look to defend their championship title without Sidney Crosby for at least game one of an 82 game regular season schedule.
New goaltender, Mike Condon, could make things interesting when comes time to decide between Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray before the 2017 expansion draft, since he could likely become Murray’s backup.
San Jose Sharks
Just like the Penguins, the San Jose Sharks roster remains virtually untouched since their loss in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, which kind of makes you wonder, did anyone remember that there was an offseason?
Matt Tennyson jettisoned to Carolina (I was dying to juxtaposition those words), where he was now sent down to the Charlotte Checkers. Roman Polak went back to Toronto and honestly, that was probably for the better for San Jose. Aaron Dell is the new backup to Martin Jones and would someone just let Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau win a Cup this year? I mean, if Phil Kessel can, then surely those guys can too.
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues will be consciously uncoupling with Ken Hitchcock at the end of the season in his farewell to coaching tour. Mike Yeo has already been named as his replacement and has begun barking out orders at practice, similar to his meltdown in Minnesota (though I have not confirmed that).
They lost David Backes to free agency, because the salary cap exists and good luck to the front office in St. Louis to try figure that one out in the next few years. Meanwhile they added Nail Yakupov for virtually nothing, though in their defense, they already had their own Yakupov in Magnus Paajarvi on their roster, so maybe this time they can make it work.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning finally agreed to a three year bridge deal extension, so Lightning fans rejoice, your fountain of youth is still intact for now. Steven Stamkos stuck around for eight more years and GM Steve Yzerman can now take the next six months off until the playoffs when he has to start worrying about how far his team will go and what to do with Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Bolts look like geniuses here, for having developed their players well over the last few seasons and will more than likely dominant the Atlantic Division with their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. Sadly, Tampa probably won’t win the Cup because the Blackhawks exist and that whole 2013, 2015, 20??? pattern exists.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews.
(Colby told me to just write that. I think it works).
Vancouver Canucks
Loui Eriksson joined fellow Swedes, Daniel and Henrik Sedin in Vancouver this offseason. So in other news, Team Sweden, feel free to send the Canucks some of your jerseys, because after looking at the rest of the roster, I’m sure they don’t want to be associated with whatever Vancouver’s front office is doing.
Vancouver added Erik Gudbranson. At the cost of Jared McCann to the Florida Panthers. Actually, from the sound of it, it wasn’t a cost at all. The Canucks hate youths. Millennials ruin everything. Best of luck to you Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals acquired Lars Eller this offseason, so that’s good, but they also signed Brett Connolly via free agency (so that’s bad). But let’s be honest, the Capitals will probably make the former 6th overall pick better than he’s ever been. Or at least playing on a line with Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Nicklas Backstrom will probably help with that.
So basically, the outlook for Washington is this: they’re a good team, they’ll do well, Braden Holtby is elite and they’ll win a lot. Maybe a Cup run is in their future.
Winnipeg Jets
Patrik Laine was selected 2nd overall at this year’s draft by the Winnipeg Jets, Blake Wheeler was named captain and Winnipeg finally moved on from Ondrej Pavelec (by sending him to Manitoba).
What’s that? Jacob Trouba is still a RFA? He wants to be TRADED? Forget all of the good storylines going for the Jets, the Trouba dilemma overshadows everything especially after Rasmus Ristolainen re-signed with the Sabres and began the end of the stare down between Ristolainen, Hampus Lindholm and Trouba as to which RFA defenseman would make a move first. So Kevin Cheveldayoff, who are you going to trade Trouba to? Asking for a friend. No, but seriously, he doesn’t want to miss playing time.
*Honorable mention* Las Vegas _____ Knights
Honestly, somebody just name the team already. I want to start working on coming up with a uniform in NHL 17’s Franchise Mode for you, Bill Foley.
President’s Trophy Winner
If you’re Canadian, this doesn’t matter. If you’re American, good luck. Oh, you meant the President’s Trophy, as in “the team with the best record at the end of the regular season in the NHL”? Well, probably can’t go wrong with the Washington Capitals for that one, unlike their other Washington counterparts that have marred records.
1st Place in the Atlantic Division at season’s end– Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning, basically the entire state of Florida
One of the teams in Florida will win the Atlantic Division, that’s really all I know.
1st Place in the Metropolitan Division at season’s end– Pittsburgh Penguins
It’s no cakewalk, but Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury live up to that “two is better than one” mantra (sorry Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss).
1st Place in the Central Division at season’s end– Nashville Predators
It doesn’t really matter who clinches the Central Division this season because they’re still going to lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs.
1st Place in the Pacific Division at season’s end– Los Angeles Kings
Winning the division isn’t everything. Just ask the 2015-2016 Anaheim Ducks and the late 2000s/early 2010s San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately what this means for Los Angeles is that they’ll be out in seven games in the first round.
This year the World Cup of Hockey makes its long-awaited return and it has many excited. It’s an eight-team spectacle and show of nationalism on a different platform than the usual tournaments.
The eight teams are Russia, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, USA, Canada, Team Europe and Team North America. Team Europe is made up of all of the best players from Europe, who don’t have teams represented in the tournament. Team North America is made up of American- and Canadian-born players under the age of 23.
All of these teams played three exhibition games against the other teams. Most of the teams finished with a record of two and one, except for team Finland, team Russia and Team Europe, as all three teams went 1-2.
With all of this being said, I am here to share my final four teams and who I think the favorite is to win it all.
My first semi-finalist isn’t a big surprise as I have Canada.
Canada is the powerhouse in all of the national tournaments and will be in the semis, and I don’t think anyone will argue with me on this point. Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Toews all on one team. These are three of the best leaders in the league and they are all one team.
Not to mention the best goaltending issue ever, they have Braden Holtby, Corey Crawford and Carey Price. I think I wouldn’t mind any of these goalies being my number one goalie. However Canada is not my favorite to win it all. Sorry Canada!
My second finalist is kind of surprise as I’m backing the young guns with Team North America.
North America is going to surprise a lot of people when they make the semis of this tournament. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin and others have a point to prove as the youth movement is coming and they can compete with these vets. They are extremely fast and I think will blow the doors off some of these aging teams.
They have Aaron Ekblad, a kid who plays like 10-year veteran. They also have the hottest goalie in the NHL in Matt Murray. I don’t think he’ll have any issues in this tourney, but again, North America isn’t my favorite to win it all.
My third finalist, and my favorite to win it all, is team Sweden
Sweden is my favorite to win it all strictly because they are the best-rounded team in my opinion. They have Henrik Lundqvist in goal, and we know how good he is at the start of the year. They have the strongest defense core with Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson looking to lead the way.
Let’s not forget the Vancouver 1st line with the Sedin twins (Daniel and Henrik) and Loui Eriksson. I think this will be the best line of the tournament and you will see them in the end with the highest point totals. Sweden will win the tournament and they will get back on the top of the world.
My fourth finalist was the hardest to pick, however, I’ll take team USA.
I choose USA based off of heart and grit… No I am not Don Sweeney! I chose USA because they have a point to prove. They aren’t the biggest underdog, but many people don’t think USA will have a good showing in this tournament.
The best part of team USA is John Tortorella. He is a quote machine and makes a good tournament from a media perspective. A lot of team USA’s hope will rely on Patrick Kane, and after a 100-plus point season, I am interested in finding out if he can do it again.
Down the Frozen River 
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