With less than 24 hours until the Flyers take on the Bruins in the TD Garden for the season opener, I would like to give my predictions on the Metropolitan division and playoff predictions. Also in this article, I will tell you who I think will the win the biggest awards at the end of the season. Lets get started with the last place team, leading all the way up to the first place squad.
Carolina Hurricanes - I feel bad for this team. They have young talent with the Staal brothers and Jeff Skinner, but just don't have the defense or a goalie to compete in this tough division. The best thing Carolina could have done this off season was part ways with longtime goaltender Cam Ward, but that didn't occur and that's one big reason the hurricanes won't be making any noise near the top of the standings.
Prediction: 8th in Metro, No playoffs, Must figure out goalie situation
New Jersey Devils - Jaromir Jagr is entering yet another season in the NHL, and hes coming off leading the Devils with 67 points. That's not something to be proud of if you're a member of the Devils and only player had 60 or more points. Cory Schneider is now the #1 netminder with Marty Brodeur exploring free agency, but even if Schneider plays his best, this team will not score many goals.
Prediction: 7th in Metro, No playoffs, Jagr finishes season in the West and retires after 21 seasons
New York Rangers - Getting to the Stanley Cup was all about luck for the Rangers in 2014. If it wasn't for Steve Mason being out for game 1 and 2 of the round one showdown, the Flyers may have been that team facing the Kings in the championship series. Ryan Mcdonagh was named the 27th captain in Rangers history and they do have one of the top goalies in the league (Lundqvist), but like the Devils they don't score enough goals to make the playoffs. Relying on Hank year after year will finally get to them this season, and the the Blue shirts will not be hosting any playoff games in the Garden.
Prediction: 6th in Metro, No playoffs, Hank comes back down to Earth
Washington Capitals - Washington had a late push last season but fell short of making the playoffs, and they could be in a similar position this year. Ovechkin has another new coach (Barry Trotz) and will score 50 plus goals, but the guys around him won't produce nearly enough. They did add Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen who were linemates for the Penguins a season ago, and very well could be paired again. Braden Holtby struggled a little bit, recording only 23 wins and losing 15 times. Holtby is getting better, but that big season will not happen this year.
Prediction: 5th in Metro, Miss playoffs by 4 pts, Ovechkin records 112 points
New York Islanders - Adding Jaroslav Halak between the pipes this year and a healthy John Tavares will be the reason the Isles are back in the playoffs for 2015. Garth Snow did everything right in the off season adding forwards Nikolay Kulemin, and Mikhail Grabovsky, but then addressed what was needed most with the final game in the preseason by trading for Blackhawks defender Nick Leddy, and Bruins right-handed point man Johnny Boychuk. Before the Islanders head to the Barclays center for the 2015-2016 season, the Nassau Coliseum will have at least 2 more playoff games.
Prediction: 4th in Metro, Playoffs, Halak fights for Vezina and Tavares finishes in top 5 of MVP voting
Columbus Blue Jackets - Ryan Johansen is signed, Scott Hartnell has been acquired, and Sergei Bobrovsky is playing extremely well for the city of Columbus. Last year I said the Blue Jackets would miss the playoffs, but be a threat for the future. The future is now for Columbus as they reached the playoffs but lost to Pittsburgh in 6 games. This year I see them making it out of the first round, and possibly reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. This team is going to be good for awhile. Mark my words!
Prediction: 3rd in Metro, Playoffs, Johansen hits 90 points and is named captain
Philadelphia Flyers - Steve Mason in net, Mark Streit running the point, and Claude Giroux leading the offense, yea this team is going to be fun to watch. Giroux will be centering Brayden Schenn, and Jake Voracek and they could produce as one of the top lines in the Eastern Conference. Wayne Simmonds is coming off a career year and will look to to expand those numbers even more this season. Vinny Lecavalier will look to bounce back after having a rough season and not even reaching 50 points. He is locked in as the second line center and will be complimented by Simmonds and Umberger, and should get back into Vinny Lecavalier form. The 3rd and 4th line consist of the young guns, Matt Read, Sean Couturier, Michael Raffl, Zac Rinaldo, Blair Jones, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. On defense, the pairings will likely be Streit and Coburn, Macdonald and Del Zotto, and the final pairing of Luke Schenn and Nick Grossmann. This team looks solid on paper and should have no problem getting back into the playoffs.
Prediction: 2nd in Metro, Playoffs, Exciting year for the Flyguys
Pittsburgh Penguins - Crosby, Malkin, Letang. Need I say more? The Penguins lost Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik to free agency, but still have 6 defensemen who can easily make fans forget the names of those 2. Crosby is coming off an MVP year and Malkin is always producing. Even if Marc-Andre Fleury isn't at the top of his game, the guys in front of him score so much, they're going to have no worries making it to the playoffs.
Prediction: 1st in Metro, Playoffs, Acquire a big scorer at the deadline
Last season I only correctly picked 9 of the 18 teams to make the playoffs, but I'm looking to bounce back and be in double digits this time.
Eastern Conference
1st - Boston Bruins
2nd - Pittsburgh Penguins
3rd - Philadelphia Flyers
4th - Tampa Bay Lightning
5th - Columbus Blue Jackets
6th - Montreal Canadiens
7th - New York Islanders
8th - Ottawa Senators
Western Conference
1st - St. Louis Blues
2nd - Chicago Blackhawks
3rd - Colorado Avalanche
4th - Anaheim Ducks
5th - Dallas Stars
6th - Los Angeles Kings
7th - Minnesota Wild
8th - San Jose Sharks
East Matchups:
Bruins defeat Senators in 5 games
Islanders defeat Penguins in 7 games
Flyers defeat Canadiens in 6 games
Blue Jackets defeat Lightning in 7 games
Bruins defeat Islanders in 6 games
Flyers defeat Blue Jackets in 7 games
ECF: Bruins defeat Flyers in 7 games
West Matchups:
Blues defeat Sharks in 6 games
Blackhawks defeat Wild in 6 games
Avalanche defeat Kings in 7 games
Stars defeat Ducks in 6 games
Blues defeat Stars in 7 games
Avalanche defeat Blackhawks in 7 games
WCF: Avalanche defeat Blues in 7 games
STANLEY CUP FINAL:
Bruins defeat Avalanche in 6 games to win Stanley Cup
Awards:
MVP - Steven Stamkos
Vezina - Semyon Varlamov
Norris - Erik Karlsson
Coach - Ken Hitchcock
What's your predictions?
Thanks for viewing!
-Jimmy Forte
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Philadelphia Sports Fans Have A Reason to Smile
Philadelphia Sports Fans Have A Reason to Smile
Back in October the Phillies were watching the MLB playoffs from their couch. The Sixers were getting ready to start their season knowing they had little chance to make it back in the NBA playoffs, and the Eagles were off to a brutal 3-5 start and couldn't find a way to stop the opposing offense. The Flyers started their season off 3-8, which led to former coach Peter Laviolette getting fired after losing the first three of the new campaign. After missing the playoffs in the 2012-13 lockout shortened season, it seemed as if the Flyers were ready for a long disappointing year. Then magic happened!
November arrived and all of a sudden the Flyers were a reborn hockey team. Racking up nine wins in the month, and moving up in the standings, the Flyers had life again. Craig Berube had this team turned around and headed in the right direction. It was the start of good things for the Flyers and the city of Philadelphia.
The Flyers started playing their best hockey in the month of December, and what better way to have your team succeeding than captain Claude Giroux leading the way? Giroux had a rough start to the season, not registering a goal until the ninth of November, which led to frustration and a lot of broken sticks. The commitment and sacrifice he showed on the ice every night in this month truly pointed out that he was the right choice to be named Captain. The team went on to have eight wins in 14 games and had managed 18 points out of a possible 28.
A very cold month of January in the city didn't fare well for the team as they finished with six wins, seven losses, and two overtime losses, making this their first month since October where they weren't over .500 for that month. However, with these losses Giroux seemed to get better and better every night. Whether it was scoring a goal, feeding a player with a beautiful pass, drawing a penalty, or making a big hit, the team could count on G giving 110% every game.
"Snubbed" was the word used when Giroux wasn't picked by Steve Yzerman to play on team Canada in the 2014 Sochi Olympic games. A tough start to the year probably led to the Flyers captain not being selected, but still many media members believe he should have represented his country on the ice. Giroux was very upset with the diss and I believe this fired him up even more, which led to his seven point month in five games, where the team only lost one decision.
As March approached, there was still uncertainty that this team had what it takes to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again. The Flyers had the toughest month in the NHL looking them right in the eye, with home and home series games against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, and then against MVP favorite Sidney Crosby and the first place Penguins. The Flyers took one of two from Washington, and played their best games of the season in both Penguins match ups taking all four points. The schedule got even tougher with a four game home stand against the West, starting with the Cup champs Blackhawks. Securing a point and forcing overtime, the Flyers looked sure to be heading to a shootout. But with 4.2 seconds left in overtime Claude Giroux put the puck past Antti Raanta with a blazing wrister for the victory. Thursday brought in the Stars and the Flyers scrapped all night for a 4-2 win. On Saturday the Best of the West St. Louis Blues came into town, and the Flyers dominated all game long picking up a hard fought 4-1 victory.
With 12 games left in the season, the Flyers are in sole possession of 2nd place in the Metropolitan division and currently hold a one point lead over the Rangers with two games in hand. Philly looks bound for a playoff berth and could be destined for a big playoff run. In my early season prediction, I had Pittsburgh and St. Louis in the Final. I have changed my prediction and have put the home team back in the Cup for the first time since 2010 against the team that broke all of our hearts that year-the Chicago Blackhawks. It will be a rematch of the series that went six games and then all of a sudden "disappeared". In the final 12 games, look for the Flyers to keep winning and gaining momentum into the postseason, giving Philadelphia sports a reason to smile once again.
Monday night, I will be on the Sports Goombahs podcast talking all about Flyers hockey and where they stand. So if you have an opinion and want to be apart of the show, give us a call and tell me how you feel about this hockey team with only 12 games left before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thanks for reading!
-Jimmy "the Fish" Forte (Sports Goombahs Blogger)
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