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      2009 NHL Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

      October 3, 2009 /



      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Tampa Bay Lightning…

      Team Play: ISSUE – Upgrading… There has been a great bit of transformation with the freedom Brian Lawton has received to retool this team over the summer. That change is most likely to produce improved results on the ice this season.

      The notes from training camp indicate a No. 1 line of Tanguay–Lecavalier–Downie/Veilleux from left to right, and Malone–Stamkos–St.Louis in the No. 2 position. That’s right, there’s a RW problem in No. 1 line. The Steve Downie experiment initially didn’t work but has now come back around full circle to try out again. The inability to find the RW and stick with somebody has disrupted their performance and has produced from all parties a total of 2 G’s and 7 A’s (with no points for Veilleux) and a return of Carter Ashton to Lethbridge of the WHL. Could Martin St. Louis slip back over there again? The issue would then be one of busting up the Malone-Stamkos-St.Louis line that has clicked very well as their 7 G’s and 4 A’s in pre-season attest. Once the Lightning gets these combos down, the Southeast Division will see a team coming at them with a top two pairing that is cause for alarm.

      The top two pairings listed on defense according to Fox Sports’ depth charts are Ohlund-Hedman and Ranger-Krajicek. In those four blue liners, you are looking at an average of 25-30 points per man if last season projected to 82 games is any kind of indicator of their 2009/10 output. Of note is that from that top four, Coach Tocchet cannot say enough good things of No. 1 draft choice Victor Hedman. After those four, Mezaros and Walker are projected on line No. 3, but Kurtis Foster is leading defensive scoring in the pre-season with 1 G and 3 A’s making it a difficult decision not to keep him in the mix. (Coach Tocchet has indicated there is a ‘logjam’ at the defensive position and he is not kidding – besides the top seven mentioned above are Lashoff, Smaby and Wishart. Suffice it to say there will be no lack of defense back on the farm.) Lightning GM Lawton made his most strides in this area of the ice over the summer. Good blue line health this season is a must for solidifying this corps and stabilizing the team.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      Mikey’s MLB Power Rankings

      October 3, 2009 /

      We are barreling toward the playoffs, which begin next week. But some of the races are not determined officially yet…namely, the Rockies have clinched a playoff berth but still have a shot at the division title. The Twins are hanging tough, having fended off elimination one more day. Other than that, the races are decided. Here are the final power rankings for the regular season…..

      1. New York Yankees (102-58)—Absolutely no signs of slowing down, and that’s probably a good thing with the playoffs looming.

      2. Los Angeles Angels (95-65)—Will this be the year the Angels finally break their playoff curse against the Red Sox?

      3. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-67)—These guys have been playing mediocre ball since Manny came back, and now they are in danger of blowing the division lead.

      4. Boston Red Sox (93-67)—The Sox seem to be able to beat up on everyone except the Yankees. And that could prove to be a problem in the next two weeks.

      5. Philadelphia Phillies (92-68)—No matter who the closer is, this team has to like its chances with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels going 1-2 in a short series.

      6. St. Louis Cardinals (91-69)—Sometimes coasting to the division title makes a team complacent, and winning 4 of 10 games is complacent. Plus, the NL matchups are yet to be determined, so the Cards don’t know who their first opponent will be.

      7. Colorado Rockies (92-68)—You don’t get as hot as the Rockies, who are 74-40 since Jim Tracy took over as manager. I mean, are you kidding me? I’d be really worried if I were any other team these guys might face in the postseason.

      8. Detroit Tigers (85-75)—They’ve been in first place just about since day one, but the feisty Twins are making live miserable. Still, the Tigers have had to fight and that could give them momentum against the Yankees. Well, if they hang on to win the division.

      9. Minnesota Twins (84-76)—They earn a spot here because they are still in the race.

      10. San Francisco Giants (87-73)—Lots of promise this season, but couldn’t fend off a white hot Rockies team in the end.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

      2009 NHL Preview: St. Louis Blues

      October 3, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the St. Louis Blues…

      Team Play: ISSUE – A Full Roster… There is excitement in the Blues camp this coming season. It is not only present in the fact that the team will open 2009/10 with a healthy roster. It is also manifest in players’ excitement to simply get back on the ice. An example was the report from Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and stltoday.com’s “Morning Skate” indicating two full teams on the ice for an off-season scrimmage in St. Louis back on Tuesday, 8 September where participation was entirely voluntary.

      Rutherford has also indicated matchups are firming up for the forward lines. The No. 1 line looks to be McDonald-Backes-Perron from left to right, and Kariya-Tkackuk-Boyes on No. 2. These players on those lines have combined for five and nine points respectively in the pre-season after only five games. But fans are also likely to see Berglund and T.J. Oshie together (for six pre-season points) one pairing deeper which means there is good scoring potential on three of the four offensive lines. Derek Armstrong, tied with Kariya and Alexander Steen as the leading point-getters in the pre-season, is also making it hard to ship him off the regular season starting squad. Armstrong and Jay McClement look to be potential depth players that will make this team’s forward corps daunting.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: San Jose Sharks

      October 3, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the San Jose Sharks…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * In the summer of discontent, where the fans and the media claimed big changes were needed to propel this regular-season wunderkind to the Finals, the San Jose Sharks changed very little. Some minor tweaks here, some chum there. But if there is anything the pre-season signing of Dany Heatley proves, it is the notion this club views the upcoming season as a chance for a good veteran squad, with opportunities of promotion for their prospects, to perform. And if they don’t, they will make a move or three during the course of the season to complete the team and solve their conundrum.

      * And perhaps the biggest splashes of change in the Shark Tank will come during the season. Elite players will be viewed with a keen eye and we at OGA wouldn’t be surprised if more big trades were offered up during the course of the season depending on, well, the course of the season. Pre-pre-season moves have cleared up some salary cap space for future considerations. Sharks fans simply cannot endure another superior regular season followed by a sub-par playoff run.

      * To set the stage for the internal changes of operation, the team has stripped Patrick Marleu of his Captaincy and taken the ‘A’ away from Joe Thornton. The idea is to see who earns these leadership roles through the course of camp and the pre-season. For Wednesday night’s game (09.23.09), the Sharks skated captain-less but with three ‘A’s – Marleau, Thornton, and Dan Boyle. Boyle is considered to be the fan-favorite as a fresh start for the Sharks’ Captaincy – and a deserving player/person.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Pittsburgh Penguins…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * Although much of the team on and off the ice remains intact, some impact-player personnel have changed. It will present some challenges for the Penguins but will also make camp and the pre-season an opportunity to reinforce the teams’ goal of defending the Cup while also adding some new flavor and tweaks to chemistry and line pairings.

      * OUT – Major players skating elsewhere this season: Petr Sykora (RW), Hal Gill (D), Rob Scuderi (D), and backup goalie Mathieu Giron. The biggest loss for Pittsburgh is along the blue line but the organization feels it is deep on defense. Also departed are wingers Chris Minard, Jeff Taffe and much-anticipated but rarely-skated, Janne Pesonen. Miroslav Satan is still unsigned and probably won’t be playing for the Pens this season.

      * IN – Jay McKee (D) was signed in to help sure up defense. Other defenders signed were Nate Guenin and Chris Lee. The right wing was also addressed by signing Chris Conner and Wade Brookbank. Mike Rupp (LW) was also added to the mix. To replace the backup goalie, they signed former Capital, Brent Johnson. Free agent Ryan Bayda, previously with the Hurricanes, is in camp with Pittsburgh. And don’t forget the Penguins signed Bill Guerin at the trade deadline last season and will now contribute to veteran leadership and offensive production for a full campaign with his new club.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

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