When you google your way through the Internet each day for your hockey news, you don't just stop at every corner and read what each Joe Q Fan has to say about their team. You try and find a website that has the right mixture of credibility and passion. After a season in the world of blogging, the passion of these two writers cannot be questioned. And for anyone that questioned their street cred, as the kids call it, take the time to read below at our 2006-07 predictions for the Eastern Conference. Why no Western Conference? Because nobody likes them and professional sports revolves around the East Coast. And if that isn't enough reason, they rarely win. Below yo uwill see a couple of gambles (Matt with Boston, Geoff with Atlanta). If you think those predictions are laughable, then look no further than last year's final four. There's always a Cinderella in there somewhere that makes it close but never wins it. Let's hear your rebuttals and predictions in the comments section!
Matt's East:
1. Ottawa - depth galore
2. NY Rangers - Lunqvist will emerge as a top 5 goalie
3. Carolina - great depths and quality players
4. Boston - admirable lineup top to bottom; Zee takes them up a level
5. Buffalo - speed wins
6. Tampa Bay - highly skilled top end
7. New Jersey - Gionta makes the difference in making it again
8. Atlanta - Lehtonen is a star in net
9. Florida - depth coming together, not quite enough
10. Philadelphia - goaltending woes will haunt them
11. Montreal - they simply don't have the horses
12. Toronto - skill level is way too low here
13. NY Islanders - Wanged
14. Washington - too young
15. Pittsburgh - way too young
OTT vs ATL - Ottawa in 4
NYR vs NJ - New Jersey in 6
CAR vs TB - Carolina in 6
BOS vs BUF - Boston in 7
OTT vs NJ - Ottawa in 7
CAR vs BOS - Boston in 5
OTT vs BOS - Ottawa in 7
Geoff's East
1. Ottawa - equally offensive, quicker defensively, and a year older
2. Carolina - Staal and Cole are too good; this division is their's to lose
3. New Jersey - they win the Atlantic so long as Brodeur is in nets
4. Atlanta - they pick up an All-Star d-man at the break and take off
5. Buffalo - Ryan Miller is taught that he's a top 10, but not a top 5
6. NY Rangers - Jagr stays healthy and puts up another 100+ points
7. Tampa Bay - adding a consistent goalie lets them forget last year
8. Philadelphia - Gagne and Forsberg are enough, but they are dropping
9. Florida - Close. Jacques' team is looking eerily familiar to Sens fans
10. Montreal - lack of a #1 defenceman is too much pressure on Huet
11. Toronto - JFJ is out by Jan. Tellqvist retires to take over as GM
12. Washington - their plethora of picks are young but growing
13. Boston - wasted money. Perhaps Muckler WAS calling the shots here
14. Pittsburgh - Hear this - Pittsburgh goes nowhere with Fleaury in nets
15. NY Islanders - Matt said it best - these guys are just plain Wanged.
OTT vs PHI - Ottawa in 5
CAR vs TB - Tampa Bay in 7
NJ vs NYR - New York in 7
ATL vs BUF - Atlanta in 7
OTT vs TB - Ottawa in 6
ATL vs NYR - Atlanta in 7
OTT vs ATL - Ottawa in 6
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
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2 comments:
Good job boys but you have both lost it. Boston????? Atlanta??? Waht about toronto?
When Toronto signed Gill, Kubina, and Peca and traded for Raycroft, everyone jumped on the bandwagon and talked about how much they've improved since last year. But when you start to break down their lineup, you can't honestly put them in the top 8. Gill is a disaster and Kubina is no picnic defensively, either. I think it is sad when the guy that will help them most defensively is not their new goalie or their two new defencemen, but Mike Peca.
And if the rumours were true that JFJ could have traded Steen and Kaberle for Chris Pronger, then he needs to be fired immediately. Steen will never be more than a Brandon Bochenski-like journeyman and then it works out to passing up Pronger in favour of Kaberle. Ouch. But that's just my opinion.
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