DraftBuddy.com

Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Football Draft Tools

NHL 1st Round Matchups

By 5 Comments

The NHL Playoffs are finally here! I’ve profiled all eight first round series’ with statistical information and some thoughts to ponder, which may have you altering your brackets. But don’t kid yourself – there are some very tight match-ups, and certain teams that appear to be locks for the second round may have you scratching your head a couple weeks from now. Good luck poolies!

Lots to ponder predicting the opening round of the playoffs, all of which could go right out the window after the puck drops.

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens

Season series: 5-1 Bruins
Bruins last 20 games: 11-7-2
Canadiens last 20 games: 8-8-4

Which Carey Price will show up?

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers

Season series: 3-1 Capitals
Capitals last 20 games: 11-6-3
Rangers last 20 games: 12-7-1

Can Alexander Ovechkin get the Caps past the first round this year?

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes

Season series: 3-1 Hurricanes
Devils last 20 games: 11-8-1
Hurricanes last 20 games: 14-4-2

Can the ‘Canes turn their late-season momentum into another Cup run?

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers

Season series: 4-2 Penguins
Penguins last 20 games: 15-2-3
Flyers last 20 games: 10-9-1

Will Mike Richards be able to shutdown Crosby and Malkin?

Western Conference

(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks

Season series: 4-2 Sharks
Sharks last 20 games: 11-7-2
Ducks last 20 games: 12-6-2

Will the Sharks finally be able to turn season success into a finals appearance?

(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets

Season series: 3-3 tie
Red Wings last 20 games: 10-8-2
Blue Jackets last 20 games: 10-6-4

How will rookie Steve Mason handle the pressures of facing the defending champs in round one?

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) St. Louis Blues

Season series: 2-2 tie
Canucks last 20 games: 13-5-2
Blues last 20 games: 13-5-2

Will Roberto Luongo put an end to David Backes‘ recent scoring surge?

(4) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (5) Calgary Flames

Season series: 4-0 Blackhawks
Blackhawks last 20 games: 10-7-3
Flames last 20 games: 9-11-0

How will the Blackhawks’ young guns match up against the Flames’ seasoned vets?

NHL Power Rankings

By Leave a Comment

Here are my power rankings of the top 10 teams after the first weekend of the 08-09 NHL regular season. The list takes into account current level of play and recent, past success.

1. Detroit Red Wings – The dominant Wings look to defend last year’s Cup win, aided by the free-agent signing of Marian Hossa. With even average goaltending from Chris Osgood, they should find themselves at the top.

2. San Jose Sharks – The Sharks are flying under the radar right now, with the Wings being hailed as everyone’s favourites to repeat this year. They’ve looked great so far under new coach Todd McLellan.

3. Montreal Canadiens – The Habs are very deep offensively, and look to build on last year’s success. Hockey’s most Stanley Cup-winning franchise sinks or swims this season with the play of sophomore netminder Carey Price.

4. Philadelphia Flyers – With a plethora of young forwards, they will have to make a run for it in the next couple years. GM Paul Holmgren will have his hands full trying to keep all of this talented youth in Philly.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins – They lose Hossa to free agency, and now injuries have taken their toll on the blueline. Sidney Crosby will have to be nothing short of spectacular, not to mention healthy, for Pittsburgh to contend again.

6. Washington Capitals – They’ve got a healthy mix of dangerous snipers and slick set-up men, plus a new goalie. If Jose Theodore is consistent, they’ll win the division for a 2nd straight year.

7. Dallas Stars – After a strong run in the playoffs last year, the Stars’ have added super-pest Sean Avery and Swedish league sensation Fabian Brunnstrom. They may struggle early on without star d-man Sergei Zubov.

8. New York Rangers – A seemingly endless list of changes in the offseason hasn’t hurt the Rangers. They’ve opened the season on a tear, going 4-0-0.

9. Minnesota Wild – The Wild bolstered their defense corps this summer by adding veteran Marek Zidlicky. Their roster is strong all around, and if they can stay healthy, they should remain in the rankings.

10. Vancouver Canucks – Led by captain Roberto Luongo, the Canucks have stormed out of the gates this season. Many people questioned where the goals would come from. 11 through two games so far isn’t too shabby.

Red Wings Bound to Repeat?

By Leave a Comment

Salutations hockey fans! The start of the 2008-2009 NHL season is just weeks away, and a busy off-season leaves many questions to be answered: Will the Red Wings repeat as Stanley Cup champions? Which team will fall off the radar as a contender and who will take their place? Is Steven Stamkos a lock for the Calder? Which team has the greatest chance of finishing at the bottom and winning the John Tavares sweepstakes? Will Sean Avery find new and exciting ways to annoy the hell out of goalies? Lets kick off with the Red Wings, and I will hit these other topics later in the week.

Will the Red Wings repeat as Stanley Cup Champs? Simply put, yes.

The Wings played better over the entire course of last season than any team in the league. In the playoffs, they looked incredibly dominant. Their 3rd and 4th forward lines, which include names like Thomas Holmstrom, Jiri Hudler, and Valtteri Filppula, are better or as good as most teams 2nd lines. And the rich only got richer in the off-season, signing top free agent, Marian Hossa. By leaps and bounds, Hossa was the best player in the playoffs last spring that was not wearing a Red Wings’ jersey.

Okay so in a 30 team league, no team is ever a sure thing to repeat, and the Wings do have a few minor factors going against them. They did lose future hall-of-famer Domenik Hasek to retirement, and Scotty Bowman left the organization for Chicago, but the key pieces are still there; the key pieces being Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Nicklas “Still-the-best-defencemen-in-the-game-at-38” Lidstrom.

Yep, if you have to pick a team today, its hard to bet against the Wings.