02/25 Hockey Notes

Penguins in...? No one knows. They have no where to play—in Pittsburgh or Kansas City.
(…but, they are selling tickets in Pittsburgh…)

Looking at the trends (see Last 10 in the ESPN standings) Philly could pass LA and get out of the basement. Of course, Chicago, Columbus, Phoenix and even Washington could let them slip by. It depends on who wants to play their worst game more than someone else.

Meanwhile, Philly is dumping players. Baumgartner went to the Stars. Zhitnik went to Tampa. Of course, they already got rid of Forsberg.
(…this will lead to a “rebuilding year”…ya think?...)

Wow! Flashbacks! Last time, Bowman and the Red Wings went against Crawford and the Avs. Goalies and all! This time...well Kukla's Korner gives the run down of the Senators and Sabres doing a replay on Thursday. Sports Illustrated had a more concise breakdown on what happened, along with Ruff’s $10,000 fine. Buffalo’s owners sent Bettman a letter questioning the injury policy on theses things. Given the scale of the injury, I probably would have too.
(…actually, I did—coaching kids…I hope he gets some of the changes…)

Ryan Kannedy, over at The Hockey News gives his breakdown on possible playoff match-ups. Given the trends (i.e. last 10), I think he’s being generous with some of his descriptions. If you’re interested, here were my thoughts at the start of the season. Not too close to reality, as it turns out. I think I’d like to see Nashville and Buffalo play for Lord Stanley’s Cup. I see the Ducks playing strong for it, too. But, the front runners often turn out to be no-shows at the gate. We’ll just have to see.

Speaking of moving up, Pierre LeBrun at Canadian Press has the run down on more trades. The ducks definitely improved their abilities. Well, so did Atlanta. I doubt it’s enough to make a huge difference, though, to get them through the first round.
(…hey…I didn’t think the Thrashers would make the playoffs at all...go figure…)