BBeR's Standings and Leaders predictions for the 2007-2008 season

Close, but no dice.

Gritty prediction: The Habs will get their revenge in the final game of the season, with both teams inching for the final playoff spot, against the Leafs in Montreal and earn the 8th seed.


Hey loyal readers and hockey fans!

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I can assure you the wait and the drought for hockey is now over, the season is about a week old and it's to no one's surprise that fans all around the nation are going crazy.
Well, I went crazy a few days before the Ducks and Kings dropped the puck in the UK, crazy making up predictions for the coming season.

Yes, I also know that the season's started and I'm a little late, but hey, who really cares except the people who insist over useless details?

Feel free to speak your mind or bash me to your heart's content.

1. New York Rangers
   
2. Ottawa Senators
   
3. Carolina Hurricanes
   
4. Buffalo Sabres
   
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
   
6. Philadelphia Flyers
   
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Montreal Canadiens
   
9. Toronto Maple Leafs
10. Florida Panthers
    
11. New Jersey Devils
    
12. Washington Capitals
    
13. Boston Bruins
    
14. Atlanta Thrashers
    
15. New York Islanders
    

1. Detroit Red Wings
   
2. San Jose Sharks
   
3. Colorado Avalanche
   
4. Dallas Stars
   
5. Calgary Flames
   
6. Anaheim Ducks
   
7. Vancouver Canucks
   
8. Los Angeles Kings
   
9. Minnesota Wild
   
10. Nashville Predators
    
11. Columbus Blue Jackets
12. St. Louis Blues
    
13. Edmonton Oilers
    
14. Phoenix Coyotes
    
15. Chicago Blackhawks
    

Eastern Team Leaders (PTS):
Bruins -- Savard
Canadiens -- Koivu
Capitals -- Ovechkin
Devils -- Parise
Flyers -- Briere
Hurricanes -- Staal
Islanders -- Comrie
Lightning -- St. Louis
Maple Leafs -- Blake
Panthers -- Jokinen
Penguins -- Crosby
Rangers -- Jagr
Sabres -- Roy
Senators -- Alfredsson
Thrashers -- Hossa

Western Team Leaders (PTS):
Avalanche -- Sakic
Blackhawks -- Ruutu
Blue Jackets -- Nash
Blues -- Kariya, P.
Canucks -- Sedin (pick one)
Coyotes -- Doan
Ducks -- McDonald
Flames -- Igingla
Kings -- Frolov
Oilers -- Hemsky
Predators -- Dumont
Red Wings -- Datsyuk
Sharks -- Thornton
Stars -- Morrow
Wild -- Gaborik

-BBeR


(P.S. -- look for a redesign soon!)

Sabres Season Preview

It's time for a new season and here is a brief preview of the roster the Sabres will take into the new season and my predictions for the 2007-2008 season.

Goaltenders:

Sabres:
Ryan Miller
Jocelyn Thibault

On the Farm:
Adam Dennis

No matter how you feel about the Sabres off-season losses. The hope for this campaign all begins and ends right here, with Ryan Miller. This team is undoubtedly Miller's now. He is the leader and seems poised for greatness and I fully expect him to fulfill that promise. I am looking for a Vezina-winning possible MVP season out of Ryan.

Thibault was shaky in the pre-season, but I am not overly concerned with that. I think he will prove to be a solid addition to the club and hold his own. Adam Dennis was hot and cold in Rochester. an unorthodox goalie he has some ability but i doubt he will amount to more than a solid backup at the NHL level. If the Sabres run into injuries they will have to pursue the trade route to fill the hole.

Defense:
Henrik Tallinder
Toni Lydman
Brian Campbell
Jaro Spacek
Dmitri Kalinin
Nathan Paetsch

On the farm:
Andrei Sekera
Mike Funk
Marc-Andre Gragnani
Mike Card

The Sabres bring back an extremely solid defensive corps. The loss of Teppo Numminen to heart surgery is a blow, but it does open a roster spot for Nathan Paetsch who was very good in extensive duty last year. Look to see lots of ice time for super shutdown tandem Lydman and Tallinder. Tallinder could be a darkhorse Norris Trophy candidate if he can avoid the big injury. Brian Campbell is in a contract year and is coming off an all-star campaign. I expect big things from him as well as a better showing on the power play. Dmitri Kalinin and Jaro Spacek struggled at times last year, but I feel that the loss of Numminen may actually help them as it will put them in more positions that suite their skills. I think Spacek will actually jump into Numminens role and be very sucessful. Kalinin will have a relatively short leash this year and may find his way off the roster if he struggles again. it appears Andrei Sekera will easily be the first call up and I would not be surprised if he was a regular by mid-season.

Funk, Gragnani, Card and Mike Weber lead an good group off youngsters that could make an impact in years to come. Funk has added significant muscle and looked far more comfortable in camp this year than last. Gragnani is an impressive talent and could earn a surprise call-up especially if the Sabres struggle offensively from the back end.

Forwards:

Max Afinigenov, Jason Pominville, Ales Kotalik, Andrew Peters
Derek Roy, Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad, Clarke Macarthur
Thomas Vanek, Jochen Hecht, Adam Mair, Dan Paille, Mike Ryan

On The Farm:

Marek Zagrapan, Mark Mancari, Dylan Hunter, Pat Kaleta

No doubt about it, the Sabres took some serious hits with the losses of Danny Briere, Chris Drury and Danius Zubrus in the off-season. Fortunately, the Sabres might have been the one team that could afford to absorb those types off losses. Tim Connolly appears healthy and poised to make a big impact and Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek justified their new contracts with monster contracts. The only truly new faces in the lineup this season appear to be gritty winger Dan Paille, mike Ryan and Clarke Macarthur. This team should have little trouble scoring. The key will be whether or not the youngsters can step into the roles filled by Drury and Briere.

Marek Zagrapan and Pat Kaleta seem to be the only real forwards likely to see significant time in Buffalo this year. The overall depth in terms of NHL ready players took a hit with the losses, but the Sabres prospect pool is far from shallow.

Management:

All members of the coaching and management staff return so that is of some comfort. I fully expect Lindy Ruff to be a candidate for coach of the year. Darcy Regier has alot of flexibility this season and has the team poised to be able to swing a big deal if a player to their liking comes available.

Predicition: I will be in the firm minority here, but I believe the Sabres have all the tools for another cup run. I predict first in the Notheast and second overall behind Pittsburgh in the Conference. I see the Sabres playing San Jose for the cup and bringing Buffalo home its first Stanley Cup.

2007-2008 NHL Predictions

I'm back for my first full season on the BBeR, hoping to give some solid insight around the league.

I'll start simple, by posting my predictions for the upcoming season.

I decided last year, that it's not worth going through the trouble of discussing why I predict what I do, because in actuality there is no real science to doing this. No one will completely agree with everything anyone says. I'll just put a quick comment next to each team.

EAST:
1- Ottawa Senators -- best team in a weaker division.
2- Florida Panthers -- last year's team looked like they're getting it together
3- New York Rangers -- spending money shouldn't hurt them this time around. Sather does it his way.
4- Pittsburgh Penguins -- not worse, but an ultra-competitive division may leave them stagnant in the standings.
5- Carolina Hurricanes -- got hit with injuries hard last season, and a healthy team should bounce back.
6- Philadelphia Flyers -- looked a lot better towards the end of the season, but they will take some time to gel.
7- Tampa Bay Lightning -- still a solid team, but lack of depth will still be a concern.
8 - Buffalo Sabres -- lost a lot in the offseason, but don't forget who they still have.
9 - Toronto Maple Leafs -- Still just miss, but as long as the pipeline develops, will rise to the top again.
10 - Atlanta Thrashers -- did nothing while almost everyone else got better.
11 - New Jersey Devils -- transitioning team forced to watch off-season happenings.
12- Washington Capitals -- improving team, but still a lot to prove.
13 - New York Islanders -- mediocre team that went for it all in one year when they shouldn't have.
14 - Boston Bruins -- a team that has to prove they can get it right. A poor season will lead to another front office house cleaning
15- Montreal Canadiens -- I just don't see much good this year.


West:

1- Detroit Red Wings -- once again, strong team in a weakened division
2- San Jose Sharks -- the talent has always been there
3- Calgary Flames -- most people are critical of Keenan, but he and this team will be good for each other
4- Anaheim Ducks -- might be a Cup hangover, but should be in full gear for the playoffs
5- Vancouver Canucks -- Luongo is back of course, the team will go where he can take them.
6- Columbus Blue Jackets -- my surprise in the west, Ken Hitchcock will have this team playing hard, and playing to win
7- Colorado Avalanche -- up only two spots from last year, but it's a testamant of the division they're in and they're an improved team.
8- Minnesota Wild -- 4 teams from the Northwest? The Wild are a team that is built for the playoffs, the problem will be getting there.
9- Los Angeles Kings -- kills me to have them just miss, but they will take solace in the fact that the team is not that far away.
10- St. Louis Blues -- still transitioning, but the future isn't far away
11 - Nashville Predators -- not sure how you improve when you lose great players
12 - Dallas Stars -- were good enough to make the dance last year, but didn't keep pace. Still won't score.
13 - Chicago Blackhawks -- still not ready to make noise. Not yet.
14 - Edmonton Oilers -- I just don't see a mix of players that can compete consistently at this level.
15 - Phoenix Coyotes -- a new regime in the desert, it will take some time.

The Hockey News : "Habs to finish 13th in East", Koivu : "We're making the playoffs"

Recent discussion about the Canadiens has been revolving around predictions.

The Hockey News (THN) has predicted that the Habs will finish 13th in the East.
Gaston Therrien, journalist for RDS, wrote in an online editorial on http://www.rds.ca/ that the he agrees with THN in saying that the Canadiens will be packing up their gear before the playoffs.

He predicts a 10th place finish.

Team captain Saku Koivu replied to THNs prediction in an interview given to La Presse published in today's Montreal paper.
He assured Richard Labbé of La Presse that the acquisitions of Hamrlik and Smolinksi are worthwhile, and will help the team make the playoffs.
On Harmlik, Koivu feels he is a very good defender able to fill some of the void left by Souray on the power play. He also feels that Smolinski who has played on a winning team in Ottawa is the type of player that the Habs needed.

Now that I've filled you in on the predictions I've gathered up, time for me to analyse them a little myself! Firstly THN according to me seems to rely too much on free agent signings to come up with their predicted standings. Therrien from RDS is much more realistic with a 10th place finish, but being a Habs faithful, I have to say I believe they will make the playoffs! Of course, it will be a tight finish, but they should pull it off. They are more solid defensively, young players like Higgins, Plekanec, Komisarek, Lapierre and Latendresse have gained experience, and several more are ready to step up if needed (Price comes to mind). The Habs will finish 7th or 8th, after a very tight race!

Semi-final playoff predictions

*Coming soon*

Look for Matt and I's playoff predictions sometime today or most likely tomorrow.
I'm busy helping wrap up some taxes, that's why there have been no posts here today or yesterday.

2006-2007 Quarter-Finals predictions...

After diggesting the appetizer (rankings), here's the main platter, and you'll be all set for the playoffs...

Eastern Conference

(1) BUF vs (8) NYI
Matthew M: BUF in 5
I'd like to thank the Isles for making this summer so much easier to stomach after eliminating the Leafs with their shootout win against New Jersey. However, I have to take the very deep and very talented Buffalo Sabres. They have that "Team of Destiny" likeness to them.
Also, without star netminder Rick DiPietro in nets, New York is toast.
BBeR: BUF in 5
As Matthew, I chose the Sabres in 5.
Their roster is simply better than the Islanders, they have more offensive talent than the Islanders do and their team has, perhaps, the best coach in the NHL.
The Sabres have been no. 1 in the East since Day 1, what does that tell you?
Yup, and with Afinogenov and Conolly returning, the team is setting their eyes on the big prize, and they'll start by going through the Islanders in 5.
I'll give the Islanders credit for knocking the Leafs out, but, I don't think they can manage to win more than once against this team, just look at their season series and their most recent game and your answer will be right in front of you.
Oh, and Matt, Dubielewicz is not DiPietro, but c'mon, the guy is 4-1-0 this year and he's been solid...he's not DiPietro though.

(2) NJ vs. (7) TB
Matthew M: NJ in 6
This should be an interesting battle of defense vs. offense. Though, have to go with Martin Brodeur over any of the three netminders Tampa may ice. If the Bolts do sneak by the Devils, it will be thanks to Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis.
BBeR: NJ in 6
I made these picks this morning! Matt made his 43 minutes ago, so far, we have the same opinion.
The Lightning's inconsistency this season concerns me, but, their season record against the Devils is a healthy 3-1. Just for that, they'll give the Devils a scare, but nothing more.
The two-headed monster of Johan Holmqvist and Marc Denis are also the difference maker in my decision. Holmqvist had some nice moments, and Denis just sucked all year long.
Lecavalier and St. Louis will be tough to play against, but, we all know what Jersey does to those offensive teams...Martin Brodeur's between the pipes, and you know these games will be tight. Maybe one goal games, or two, nothing more, the Bolts will have a tough time getting to Brodeur and New Jersey's attack is very enigmatic at this point.
Bottom line: They're known more for playing defence than offence.

(3) ATL vs. (6) NYR
Matthew M: NYR in 7
Jagr and Shanahan.
BBeR: ATL in 7
Kovalchuk and Hossa, don't forget Kozlov.

(4) OTT vs. (5) PIT:
Matthew M: OTT in 6
This looks to be the most offense filled series of all. I give the edge to Ottawa thanks to their better defense corps. It should be interesting to see how much Crosby comes alive in the playoffs, though.
BBeR: OTT in 7
It remains to be seen how Marc-Andre Fleury's play in the playoffs will roll out, and for that matter, the Pens' youngsters too.
Most of their roster has not appeared in a playoff game, we all know Crosby will be a show, but, so will Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson.
Ottawa takes it in 7, just because they have the slight edge of experience and this:
Spezza+Heatley+Alfredsson= 279 pts (113 G, 166 A) whereas Crosby+Malkin+Recchi= 273 pts.
That's a 6 point differential between the teams' best players...Ottawa offence is more "deep", shall we say than Pittsburgh's, which is centered mainly around Crosby.
Ray Emery has also seen playoff ice before.
It should be a very interesting series, but, I think the "choke" term will soon be gone from the words "Ottawa Senators".

Western Conference

(1) DET vs (8) CGY
Matthew M: DET in 6
Detroit has choked too many times in recent years to not do well this time around. Dominik Hasek is in good condition and makes this team that much more capable of beating anyone and everyone.
BBeR: DET in 5
Everyone thought the Wings minus Shanahan and Yzerman would just be plain ordinary.
They were wrong, not only have the Wings finished atop the West yet again, but Dominik Hasek showed he's still the Dominator.
Despite scoring 50 less goals than last season, the Wings managed to have the best record in the Western Conference and tied for the best in the NHL.
Kipprusoff's play will be key for the Flames, but, barring any living miracle, I doubt the Flames will be able to outscore the Wings, even with Iginla healthy.
Detroit should breeze by this time, but, don't forget about what everyone said when the Oilers played them last year...

(2) ANA vs (7) MIN
Matthew M: ANA in 4
Alright, nothing against the Wild here. Minnesota is a capable team, but the Ducks are here to destroy everyone in their way. Also, I felt obligated to predict a sweep somewhere; the Ducks are my logical choice.
BBeR: MIN in 7
You know how every year there's a Cinderella fairy-tale team?
Last year, it was the Oilers, this year, it's the Wild, led by new number one guy Niklas Backstrom.
Backstrom emerged as an elite stopper after the inconsistent Manny Fernandez went down with a serious injury some time ago.
He ranks first in the NHL in GAA (1.97) and SPCT% (.929) and may make a serious run to win the Vezina Trophy.
He will be key for the Wild, who have not scored many goals but lead the league in GAA.
The Ducks have just not been the force they were in the first half during the second stanza of the season.
Their lead slipped in the Pacific Division and they nearly lost it to their opponent: the Wild.
Oh, and every year, there's a 7 seed that beats the 2 seed.
This'll be it: the games will be tight, but, I think the Wild have what it takes.

(3) VAN vs (6) DAL
Matthew M: DAL in 7
Dallas will pull the biggest upset of all. It's tough to pick Luongo to lose the goaltending battle, but Turco has everything to prove this year. Marcus Naslund better play big or I'm not even sure that it will make it to 6 games.
BBeR: VAN in 6
Three words: Turco's playoff stats.
8-14, 2.53 GAA, .892 SPCT%
Turco has to prove he can play in the playoffs, his .868 save percentage last season is very frightening.
He may turn out to be another Roman Cechmanek if this keeps up.
The Sedin twins and Brendan Morrison, along with Sami Salo's shot and Kevin Bieksa's breakout, will give the win to a hungry Canucks team.
And, it doesn't hurt that they have a guy named Roberto Luongo in goal.


(4) NSH vs (5) SJS
Matthew M: SJS in 5
Forsberg who? Like Turco, it's Thornton 's turn to prove something in the post-season. Also, I'm a Craig Rivet homer and wish him all the success possible. Bill Guerin will out-stage Forsberg in my opinion.
BBeR: SJS in 6
The menacing trio of Marleau, Thornton and Cheechoo and with Bill Guerin to compliment that, there's no telling how far the Sharks will go this post-season.
The Preds will give them a run for their money, but, Forsberg has been a bust and the team, like the Ducks, have slipped a little in the second half.
I also hope Rivet goes all the way :)

Et pour finir...and to finish...

Matthew M: Completely off the top of my head predictions. However, I stand by them completely. If you're wondering who I really want to see win: San Jose & Pittsburgh!
BBeR: I want Minny to go all the way, but, I can see the Canucks losing to the Sabres in the Cup Final...