Halfway Hockey

Thankfully the all star game has passed and the joy of the playoffs now seems much closer. Each game has significance, and we experience the phenomenon of "must win" games. I for one have really enjoyed watching this season's conference standing fluctuations. Here's some of the really exciting bits:

A) Number 1: The battle between the Sharks and the Bruins, the best of the conferences. With the presence of a new head coach to polish an already good team, San Jose got a lot of the early recognition as the leagues best team. Boston surprised everyone by actually doing really well. As a poor to mediocre team in the past few years, a meteoric rise and a decent schedule has had them play more games than the Sharks and attain more points in the process. This all came to a head when the two met recently, with the Sharks prevailing in the end. Both teams have been slumping as of late, but we can expect that they'll pull out of it. Boston still has more points and more games under their belt, I'll be interested to see how this all shakes out in the end.

B) Detroit sneaking in: Detroit hasn't had a bad season either, in fact, they currently find themselves one point behind the Sharks in the west, though they have played three more games. Detroit is a dynasty these days. They've won a lot of cups in the past twelve years, and they have a way of pulling together great talent. Both Osgood and Conklin have been notable this season, but once they're both healthy, they'll need to figure out which one is going to be number one.

C) Even with Boston atop the east, most recent standings indicate that the final four places for the play offs are taken up by teams with 66 points, a four way tie for fifth place between the Rangers, Sabres, Canadiens and Panthers. I think we have our 8 teams from the east at this point. Pittsburg is realizing that Malkin and Crosby aren't enough to create a repeat, let alone a playoff birth, Carolina could play spoiler but I doubt they have enough to get in on their own, Ottowa is 13 points outside of the playoff hunt...they won't be able to get it together this season, and no one positioned below them will be able to either.

D) The rising of the Kings. Seriously, as much as it has been a surprise to watch Boston be a team leader, lets just chat about Los Angeles season. After being dismal for seasons, I mean really dismal, last in the conference and/or league for many years, something just clicked during the past month. They're making a run for it, and I think they're going to sneak in. The West is still relatively close.

Shall we talk about chances? To win the cup a team has to have a few things:
1) Solid goaltending: if you cant count on your netminder to make up for a few of your mishaps, well, look out for when the teams your playing are fighting to continue on in the playoffs.

2) Balanced approach: everyone says defence wins championships. I say that's bullshit. Defense is really important, because you can't expect your goalie to stop everything that comes his way, and it would be awesome if the goalie didn't have to stop a shot after every offensive push, but you cant win a game if you cant score goals. The more lines that you have that can score, the harder it is for an opposing team to figure out how to defend you. Its that simple. Each player has to have a sense of purpose and understand everyone elses purpose.

3) The go to guy: When you're in a tough spot, you need to know who is going to get you out of it. These guys are the "stars" because they can handle stressful situations. They change the momentum of games. It's teams with these players who will get into and deep into the playoffs.

Lets talk about chances:

The Bruins have done well this season, but they did loose to the Sharks. I don't care about the argument that they didn't need the win like the Sharks did, whatever. When you play the team your battling for the presidents trophy with, you show up to play. Sharks were better, hands down. I don't know if Boston really has their go-to guy either. Chara deserves a ton of credit, but he hasn't historically been a game changer. Washington is impressive and as Ovechkin matures they'll have everything they need, the question is can they pull it together this year or will it take a while. My guess is that it will take a while. Teams know how to shut Ovechkin down and building a team that will support him doesn't happen over night or even over a season. Philadelphia has been plagued by injuries and I doubt that they can muster enough team spirit to go far, New Jersey has to figure out how much it can trust Brodeur when he's healthy again, Montreal isn't as impressive as last season but is a real contender again, Koivu and Kovalev are some serious vets that help the team take a lot of heart. The Panthers are showing up again as are the Sabres but I would imagine they're both lacking their go-to guys, their game changers. And the Rangers will probably figure out how to hold on for a playoff birth and be eliminated after the first round.

In the West, Calgary will play spoiler but eventually be eliminated. Chicago should be immensely commended for their progress but we all know Teows and Kane are still a bit young to lead them to the promised land, even with the addition of Campbell to their defense (and offense). They're good, but they can't top Detroit or San Jose in a series. Sundin in Vancouver could make their playoffs pretty interesting. Dallas will hang on and be eliminated before the conference finals, who knows if Edmonton and Columbus can hang on through April. The Ducks can easily pull together a playoff run and the Kings will probably find their way in. At the end of the day, the conversation comes down to Detroit and San Jose. Both are fantastic teams, both have the necessary ingredients, Detroit has plenty of experience in winning the cup and San Jose has too much experience loosing to early. I'd say San Jose is a little more hungry for it but Detroit knows exactly what it takes. I think its between these two teams. I'd love to see the Teal and Red do a Western Conference final then meet whomever from the East, maybe Boston, maybe Washington. It really doesn't matter, in my opinion, at this point in the season its the Sharks or Wings cup to loose.

The wonderful thing is, there's plenty more games to go, no one has clinched a playoff birth yet, and the trade deadline hasn't past either. There's a lot left to go and a lot of developments left that we probably don't even see coming. Now is when the exciting hockey starts.