Flyers at Islanders 7pm EST

The Islanders have lost 6 in a row, and many of them in crushing fashion. The Islanders have given up 29 goals in their last 6 games including a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Flyers last Saturday night. It got ugly at the end and we expect tonight to be chippy as well. The more chippy the game is, the more it lends to the Flyers who are a much tougher and physical team.

To make matters worse for the Islanders, they have beat the Flyers just once in their last 17 meetings. After watching the Islanders during this 6 game losing streak, you keep thinking they will come back with a hard and tough effort after a few butt kickings, but they haven't. They look deader than they have under Scott Gordon and we wonder if players have stopped playing for him, or if they don't like playing in front of Rick Dipietro.

Dwayne Roloson is the confirmed starter tonight and unless he stands on his head and makes saves like Jesus, the Islanders are in serious trouble.

Lock of the week: Philadelphia -150.

Video- Dustin Brown Hit On Antti Miettinen Tonight

Video- Dustin Brown Hit On Antti Miettinen Tonight

Tuesday Timeout

Quick hits from around the NHL as October is winding down. Please excuse one of us for not writing as much lately since he is enamored with the Giants being in the World Series. Anyway, here are some observations and things we have learned thus far in what has been an entertaining start to the season.

- The NY Rangers have been playing better, even without Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury in the lineup. NY has won three in a row and are getting production from Brandon Dubinsky, who has posted seven points in seven games this season.

- The team with the most wins so far are the Los Angeles Kings with six. The Kings have played three games without the injured Drew Doughty and have gone 2-1 in that span. Even though the Kings put him on IR he should be good to go for Saturday's home game against New Jersey.

- No team in the league takes more penalties than the Anaheim Ducks. With their struggling defense, it's not a good recipe to have, especially on the road where the Ducks are a league worst 1-5.

- Carolina will finally play a home game on Wednesday night after playing their first seven games on the road in three countries. The fact that they went 4-3 in that stretch is impressive. Really amazed by the way rookie Jeff Skinner has looked thus far.

- The Florida Panthers have given up a league low 12 goals. Go figure!

- Two teams that are a must watch anytime they are on NHL Center Ice are the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers. So much young talent, and both teams play an entertaining up-tempo game.

- The constantly over-looked Nashville Predators have yet to lose in regulation. When will people realize that Barry Trotz is a genius?

- Speaking of geniuses, everyone feel in love with Steve Yzerman's trade for Simon Gagne this summer. Gagne has yet to register a point through 8 games. That being said, Tampa is much better than last season. Guy Boucher looks like the real deal behind the bench.

- Would anyone want Colin Campbell's job right now? With all the attention surrounding hits to the head, he seems to be in a no-win situation. Clearly, this is the story of the season thus far, and obviously the referees have to make these calls even if they are borderline. Last night it was Dustin Brown who delivered a hit that was borderline. Was it worthy of a suspension? I'm not sure, but it really appears like we are splitting hairs as to what deserves a suspension and what doesn't. This is leading to constant second-guessing of any decision Campbell makes.

Carolina at Los Angeles

Los Angeles Kings (-200)

Carolina comes off a nice bounce back win in San Jose last night as they took care of the Sharks 5-2. The Hurricanes were severely outplayed in Vancouver just two nights prior. For a team to travel to Europe and not play a home opener until October 27, Hurricanes fans should be happy with the teams 3-2 start.

The Kings have started this season strong and impressed us with 2 wins over the Canucks, the team that beat them in last years playoffs. Jonathan Bernier will get the start tonight as the Kings might have the best 1-2 punch in the league between the pipes. The Kings are 2nd in the NHL during even strength goal differential and boast the 6th best penalty killing percentage.

Cam Ward played extremely well for the Canes last night and the Kings might see Justin Peters or a weary Ward which should give an advantage to LA.

Bottom line is the Kings who haven't played since Friday are well rested and have been home for a week while Carolina is in the midst of a brutal start of the season scheduling wise. The Kings will win this one.

Monday Minutes

Parity, Parity, and Parity.

That's what sums up the first two weeks of the 2010-11 NHL season thus far. For instance, the Toronto Maple Leafs are hosting the NY Islanders tonight and both teams are in first place. Go figure. The Dallas Stars, the predicted weak link in the Pacific division, are 4-0 heading into tonight's tilt at Tampa Bay. The offensively challenged Minnesota Wild are the NHL's top team on the power play. Martin Brodeur is ranked 39th among goalies with a 3.18 GAA, and his Devils are 1-4-1 through six games.

Those are examples of how close the difference is between teams that were predicted to finish near the bottom of the league and the elite teams in the NHL. We don't want to come across as if we think the Stanley Cup finals will be Toronto-Dallas, but it does prove that games in October are vital, and that if a more talented team takes a night off, they will be beaten no matter whom the opponent is. Some hockey experts feel that it may take 100 points just to MAKE the playoffs in the Western Conference. The East is not any easier, as the struggling Devils and Sabres, need to start collecting points soon, or they will have difficulty jumping the teams in front of them.

Which brings us to the two most disappointing teams so far in the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres. As mentioned, Martin Brodeur is struggling and it is costing the Devils dearly. He has allowed numerous bad goals and at his age may not be able to handle the heavy workload as in years past. The Devils are paying backup, Johan Hedberg $1.5 million, which is a lot for them since they're so strapped with the salary cap. Hedberg needs to play more to validate the contract and to give Marty a break, which is something that is easier said than done.

What's hurting Brodeur also is the fact that the Devils defense is not the same. Anton Volchenkov is injured, and young players such as Matt Taormina and Alexander Urbom are being forced to play way too many minutes. Everyone wants to blame Kovalchuk, and his contract is a factor with the Devils being unable to dress enough players, but it's not the sole reason for New Jersey's struggles. Rookie coach John MacLean, has a lot of work to do, but thankfully for them its only mid-October.

The Buffalo Sabres haven't exactly gotten off to the start they hoped for either. The defending Northeast Division champs once again are having difficulty scoring goals. They have played six games and have mustered only 12 goals. Five of those 12 goals have been scored by Derek Roy. The HSBC Arena, which has been so kind to the Sabres in years past, has not been this year as the Sabres are 0-3-1 at home. Losing Jason Pominville to injury really hurts the Sabres because he can kill penalties, play on the power play, and score goals. Thomas Vanek needs to get going offensively and one would expect Ryan Miller to improve as the season goes on. Not ready to hit the panic button in Buffalo, but if they lose a few more games in a row Lindy Ruff is in serious trouble.

Monday Pick: Tampa Bay -130 over Dallas

Very impressed by the 4-0 start so far by Dallas, but tonight they face an angry Tampa Bay Lightning team who were blown out 6-0 by Florida on Saturday night. Still not sold on the Dallas Stars defense, as Tampa can score with anyone in the league. In what should be an entertaining hockey game, expect Tampa to rebound even without Vinny LeCavalier

Pominville gets hit from the behind and carried off on a stretcher 10-11-10

Dirty hit?

It's only one week into the season and the NHL is already dealing with a player being carried off in a stretcher from a dirty hit. Thankfully, Sabres forward Jason Pominville is doing OK after being hit from behind by the Hawks, Niklas Hjalmarrson on Sunday night. The suspension from the NHL is 2 games. Hjalmarrson is not known as a dirty player, and seems remorseful about the whole incident. However, Hockeysureshot thinks he probably should of received closer to a five game suspension. As Ryan Miller said, these kind of actions can not be taken lightly, and the league needs to have zero tolerance with dirty hits when players are left in vulnerable positions. Let us know what you think.

Eastern Conference Preview

As the NHL season will finally get underway, let's take a look at the Eastern Conference and how we think they will fare. As we start to break down teams, it becomes harder to see how many teams will finish. After the top 4 teams in the Conference, the bottom 11 are very closely matched and might all finish within 10 or 12 points of each other. Teams that stay healthy this season will have a huge advantage.

1. Washington Capitals: The Capitals are virtually the same team that blew a 3-1 lead to Montreal in the first round of the playoffs last April. They are also the same team that notched 121 points and 54 wins in the regular season. Semyon Varlamov will start the season on IR but that will do little to hurt the Capitals chances of finishing first in the Conference. The Southeast is still without another elite team and the Caps will beat up on their Division rivals and win the East easily. The big question is can they play tough enough and can Varlamov be the guy that leads them in the playoffs?

2. New Jersey Devils: During a weird off season and the drawn out process for the resigning of Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils have improved their lineup. In the end, we feel like the Kovalchuk deal with eventually hurt the Devils, but when future hall of famer Martin Brodeur is still in between the pipes playing well, it's tough for the organization not to go for it which they have done. The Devils should fight all season with the Pens for the division but we feel the Devils are the better team and should get it done in the tough Atlantic Division.

3. Boston Bruins: The Bruins are coming off a playoff embarrassment as we all watched the Flyers come back from a 3-0 deficit in last year's playoffs. The Bruins will be hard pressed to duplicate their 2nd best goals against defensive performance from a year ago but a healthy Lucic and the addition of Nathan Horton should provide an offensive boost in the absence of Marc Savard. The Bruins aren't that much better than last year but we feel the division is worse. The Bruins will win the Northeast with the fewest points out of any division in the NHL.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins: One thing the salary cap era has done is limit the ability to build around superstar players. The Penguins have 2 of the top 5 players in the game on their team and yet still struggle to find line mates to flourish with them. Be that as it may, any team that has Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is going to have success and this year will be no different. The Pens will be beat out by New Jersey in the division race but we like Pittsburgh to go farther come playoff time.

5. Buffalo Sabres: Every year people look at the Sabres and underestimate them. Buffalo still has one of the best coaches in the league and one of the most solid goalies in Lindy Ruff and Ryan Miller. The Sabres offense was by committee last season as 12 players had 10 goals or more and 4 had over 20. Expect the Sabres to have a similar type season but will be hard pressed to get to 100 points again.

6. Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers made a great run to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago but in reality are worse off now then they were then. Micheal Leighton is hurt to start the season and the Flyers once again will start a season without a true #1 goalie. The Flyers lost Gagne and Asham and will be hard pressed to be higher in the standings and do much in the playoffs.

7. Atlanta Thrashers: Looking at the remaining teams in the East, not one of them jumps off the page and tells us they are a playoff team. One team that quietly competed until the final week of the season and made some solid pickups this off season are the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers now have a solid group of players like Bergfors, Byfuglien, Eager, Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian just to name a few and finished last year on the rise with 83 points. The Thrashers will take another step forward this season and make the playoffs for the 2nd time in their history. Adding players who have been there before like Byfuglien and Eager will help the character of this team. Now, if only fans can show up and support them.

8. Ottawa Senators: Ottawa is coming off an up and down season which saw them get ousted in the first round of the playoffs. The loss of Volchenkov will hurt their toughness and all around defense but leadership of Daniel Alfredsson and a predicted turnaround season for Jason Spezza will find the Senators in the playoffs again.

9. Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price is already getting booed in preseason games and the Canadiens fans will get on this team early if they don't win. Remember, they barely qualified for the playoffs last season and made a magical run with a goaltender that is now on a different team. They are speedy and fast but in the end don't play defense well enough and don't score enough goals to lock up a playoff spot.

10. New York Islanders: The Islanders are a team that will surprise people this season. They made a 18 point improvement from two seasons ago to last season and their young players should all take a step forward in their development. 1st round pick Nino Neiderreiter has made the team and a brand new defense including Mark Eaton, James Wisniewski, Milan Jurcina, Mike Mottau and a healthy Radek Martinek is better then any they have had previously under Scott Gordon. What keeps the Isles out of a playoff spot is the loss of Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo. The Isles aren't deep enough to overcome those injuries and a notoriously brutal road team has 12 of their first 17 away from Nassau Coliseum.

11. Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes got off to a terrible start last season mainly due to injuries. They rebounded and found themselves with a respectable record but they did that with nothing on the line. The Hurricanes are average at best in every category and will short of a playoff spot.

12. Tampa Bay Lightning: Everyone is jumping on the Lightning bandwagon and we don't know why. The Lightning currently have one of the bottom 5 defense's in hockey and Dan Ellis has to prove he can carry a team on his back. We do like the addition of Simon Gagne but the Lightning don't have much scoring depth after their big 4. Tampa gives up too many goals to be competitive.

13. New York Rangers: If the Rangers stay healthy, they will finish higher but that will be a lot to expect from Marion Gaborik who has never played two full seasons in a row. Henrik Lundqvist is a terrific goalie but will struggle a bit more this season as the weight of carrying a team for years will finally get to him. The Rangers just don't have anyone that can score besides Gaborik and an injury to either him or Lundqvist would be devastating. If they do stay healthy, we still feel the Rangers will miss the playoffs and this will be Tortorella's last behind their bench.

14. Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs are a young team that blew it by trading their first round pick to Boston for Phil Kessel. The Leafs missed out on Tyler Sequin and stunted their growth by a season. The Leafs defense still gives up a ton of goals and their lack of scoring depth doesn't give much hope for a significant improvement this season.

15. Florida Panthers: The Panthers will most likely finish in last this season have taken almost all it's talent and traded it away again. Keith Ballard for Micheal Grabner was one trade and then Florida lost Grabner on waivers this week to the Islanders. It makes you wonder what exactly the Florida front office is thinking. Dale Tallon is now in charge who yes brought the Blackhawks to the brink of a Stanley Cup but also messed up basic paper work where his Restricted Free Agents became unrestricted. That cost him his job. Panther fans have had it tough and have watched player after player get traded away. Hopefully for them, Tallon does it the right way and the Panthers will have something to cheer about in a few years.

NHL OVER/UNDER Season Points

One of our favorite things to do each season is look at the season points odds and predict the over or under. This will be the first time we will do it online and if anyone is making a trip to vegas soon, betting the over on your favorite team or any team for fun can bring some more excitement to the hockey season. from sportsbook.com

Lets Look at the odds:

* all money lines are -115 except Phoenix which is noted below.

Anaheim 88.5 The Ducks had 89 points last season and failed to make the playoffs. No big changes have been made during the offseason. Jonas Hiller had a down year last year and looks to rebound. We don't like touching this one as the Ducks will finish about the same as last year.

Atlanta 83.5 The Thrashers seemed to get better as soon as Ilya Kovalchuk was traded to the Devils. The Thrashers came close to their 2nd playoff spot in team history but fell 5 points short with 83. This years Thrashers team has made several changes from last year including the addition of Dustin Byfuglien. The Thrashers are plenty capable of surpassing their output from last year and we believe the Thrashers to be in the 85-89 point range.

Boston 100.5 The Bruins finished the 09-10 season with 91 points mainly due to inability to score goals. The Bruins were last in the East in goals scored and the loss of Marc Savard won't help that cause though Nathan Horton should. The Northeast division is very competitive and although we feel the Bruins will win it, it might not be with 101 points. Take the Under.

Buffalo 91.5 The Sabres won the Northeast Division last season with 100 points. The Sabres haven't changed much and have one of the best goalies and coaches in the league. The Sabres should return to the playoffs and rack up about 94 points. We like the over.

Calgary 92.5 Love the under. Calgary has brought on re-treads in Jokinen and Tanguay and Kiprusoff is a year older. Calgary might be one of the weaker teams in the West. Take the under.

Carolina 86.5 The Hurricanes are very tough to judge. It was a tale of two seasons in one in 09-10, as the Canes suffered major injuries and got off to a horrid start. As they became healthy, they went on a very impressive second half run and finished with 80 points. We wouldn't touch this one, but if you had too, take the under.

Chicago 102.5 Our Stanley Cup Champions were ripped apart 2 weeks after the season was over. We almost feel bad for the fans but hey, they won. The Hawks still have Toews, Kane, Keith and Seabrook and their core is as solid as anyone in the NHL. They will still battle for first in the Conference and we like the over.

Colorado 89.5 Colorado surprised almost all of us last season and qualified for the playoffs with 95 points. While the Avs might have been a little ahead of schedule, they should be able to crack the 90 point plateau playing many games against weak teams like Minnesota, Calgary and Edmonton.

Columbus 79.5 Once again Columbus was unable to make an impact move this offseason. The Blue Jackets should get better goaltending from Mason and a 1 point improvement seems likely. We don't love it, but take the over.

Dallas 88.5 Dallas finds themselves at the bottom of a very tough division once again. Dallas finished last year with 88 points, and this season is destined to go very similarly. Take the under.

Detroit 106.5 Detroit found themselves looking outside the playoffs looking in during the Olympic break and took off late and still rang up 102 points. With the Blackhawks taking a step backward and the Wings heading into the season healthy, we like the over very much.

Edmonton 76.5 Can Edmonton have a 15 point improvement? We think it's possible after seeing the Islanders go from 61 points in 09 to 79 points last season. Taylor Hall and Jordon Eberle will help this young team but it's tough to put your faith in a last place team. Don't touch this one at all .

Florida 71.5 Toronto was last in the East in 09-10 with 74 points. Florida finished with 77 and we don't think they will make a 6 point dive. Vokuhn is a solid goalie and besides the loss of Horton, the team is the same. A healthy David Booth will help Florida be competative and be near the same point total as last season. Love the over here.

Los Angeles 101.5 The Los Angeles Kings finished their resurgence of a season last year with 101 points. We doubt the Coyotes will reach 107 points and doubt the Sharks can put up as many points last season. The Kings will compete for a division title and rack up 105 points or more. Take the over.

Minnesota 85.5 The Wild are pretty much stuck in the same spot they found themselves in last season. There is not a huge upside to this group yet and a season where they find themselves around 85 points make the most sense. We wouldn't touch this one.

Montreal 87.5 Montreal had a great playoff run on the back of now St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak. We believe that Montreal will get off to a rough start with Carey Price already hearing boos and fall short of their point total and a playoff spot this season. Take the under.

Nashville 89.5 Nashville is one of those teams that gets no respect from anyone. Barry Trotts is a fantastic coach and the Predators find themselves in the playoffs more often than not. The Preds have a terrific defense and goaltender in Pekka Renne. The Preds should make the playoffs again. Love the over on this one.

New Jersey 101.5 The Devils have had quite an un Devil like offseason with the Kovalchuk saga ongoing into September. However, the Devils have a solid team from top to bottom and if Brodeur can resemble his hall of fame self, New Jersey should fight for the Atlantic Division title and beyond. This is a close one, but we believe the Devils will have the over.

NY Islanders 78.5 Before the news of Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo going down with long term injuries, we loved the over on this one. The Isles will have to prove on the ice they are headed on the right path before the critics give them a shot. A revamped defense should help the Isles hold the many leads they blew last season and their goal total that was 20th in the NHL last season should improve as Tavares, Bailey, Comeau and eventually Okposo when he comes back are all a year older. The Isles had a 18 point jump from 09-10 (61pts-79pts last season) and an equal point output seems to be one of the better bets on the board. We love the over still.

NY Rangers 87.5 The Rangers finished with 87 points last season and missed out on an 89th point and playoff spot by a shootout. The Rangers rely on their goaltender as much as anyone in the league and haven't made any significant changes. The Rangers will be around come playoff time and 85-90 points is about their range. If Lundquist or Gaborik go down, the Rangers will go down with them. We wouldn't touch this one.

Ottawa 87.5 Daniel Alfredsson is a year older and the loss of Volchenkov will hurt this team. We are not high on Daniel Elliot and Ottawa will have it's poorest season in years. Take the under.

Philadelphia 97.5 The Flyers barely made the playoffs and then had a magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Leighton is out a month and Simon Gagne went to Tampa. The Flyers resemble the team that barely made the playoffs more than the team that went to the Cup Finals. Take the under.

Phoenix 92.5 The Coyotes are the most interesting case on this board. With 107 points last year, Vegas throws their point total at 92.5 for this season. Unless the Coyotes can prove us wrong, we agree. Phoenix will fall short of the playoffs and if you believe they will fall, take the under. The money line here is different from any team as well. It's -125 for the over and -105 for the under. Every other team is listed at -115 for the over or under.

Pittsburgh 104.5 Pittsburgh and the Devils will most likely fight for the Atlantic Division crown this season. They did the same last season with both teams having 103 points or less. We think the Devils will take it so take the under on this one.

San Jose 103.5 The Sharks once again had a disappointing playoff run, getting run over by the Hawks. The Sharks replaced long time goalie Evegeni Nabokov with Antti Niemi. Time will tell if that proves itself to work out but Niemi did outplay Nabokov in the playoffs. The Sharks will fight with the Kings for the Pacific Division and this seems like a good over to take. The Sharks had 113 points last season and a 10 point drop off is unlikely.

St. Louis 93.5 St. Louis is another young team on the rise, and missed the playoffs by one spot last season. We think the Blues will get in this year with the 8th seed. The Blues were .500 at home last year and we believe a two game improvement at home will get them from 90 points a year ago to 94 this year. Add Halak and this over looks better every time you look at it.

Tampa Bay 92.5 Tampa is a team we feel is getting the most hype from any non playoff team last year. We also don't believe the hype. The Lightning do have some great talent including Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman but are still a year or two away from being an impact team in the East. There is a huge drop off at the bottom of the roster which includes a suspect defense that gave up 3rd worst 260 goals last year in the Eastern Conference and Dan Ellis needs to prove that he can carry a team. Tampa will improve but 93 points is asking a lot. We love the under.

Toronto 84.5 The Leafs are another team rebuilding under Brian Burke. The Leafs roster will look the same but a full year with J.S. Gigure will help tremendously. The Leafs had an East low 74 points last season and are capable of an 85 point season but we don't love it. Stay away from this one. If you are a Leafs fan, take the over and try to have fun with it. The Leafs though are probably not a playoff team.

Vancouver 106.5 The Canucks are probably the most solid team top to bottom in the NHL. However they lack the explosiveness needed night in and night out to produce 107 points. We hate that the Canucks use this as an excuse but the travel situation does play into that. We think the Canucks will win the Northwest easily but 107 points might be tough. Don't touch this one.

Washington 108.5 The Capitals had 121 points last season and we see no reason why they won't come close to duplicating that total this year. All the same pieces are back and the Capitals are out to prove their first round loss was a fluke. Love the over.

Western Conference Predictions

15) Calgary Flames:

Probably a bit of a surprise to pick the Flames so low, but they finished the second half with a 16-20-5 record. They struggle mightily to score goals. They play a boring defensive system that does not work in the post-lockout NHL. They rely way too much on a 34-year old goalie, who has to be feeling the effects of playing over 70 games a season for the last few years. The focus this summer was to add offense and all they came up with was Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay. Not stellar additions. If head coach Brent Sutter decides to open the offense up, and let Jay Bouwmeester play a more offensive game, perhaps that would help Jarome Iginla, who is the Flames only offensive threat.

14) Edmonton Oilers:

The rebuilding has begun for the leagues worst team last year and new coach Tom Renney takes over a young team with lot's of potential on offense. The Oilers will be fun to watch with last years first overall pick, Taylor Hall, playing with fellow youngsters, Sam Gagner and Jordan Eberle. Losing Ales Hemsky to injury last season was devastating to the Oilers. Hemsky and Dustin Penner(32 goals) are the only proven goal scorers on the roster. The defense is very suspect, and not really sure what to expect out of Nikolai Khabibulin who is coming off back surgery.

13) Columbus Blue Jackets:

Many what-if's surround the Jackets this season. Rick Nash is a wonderful player, and he proved during the Olympics what he is capable off when he has talent around him. Steve Mason had a wonderful rookie season in net for Columbus two years ago, but posted mediocre numbers last year. Derick Brassard has loads of potential on offense, but the 23-year old has yet to put it together consistently. Nikita Filatov is a dynamic scorer, but a project. They have a young coach in Scott Arniel, who is very energetic and is much more well-liked than former coach Ken Hitchcock. Still, there are too many variables with Columbus. The defense has nobody capable of providing offense and running the point on the power play. If they improve in that area, and the young players produce, Columbus could be a surprise team.

12) Dallas Stars:

It will be very different watching Dallas and not seeing Mike Modano in a Stars jersey. The Stars will also have a new goalie in Kari Lehtonen who replaces Marty Turco. Lehtonen, was once a top prospect in the league, but struggled with injury issues for years. Dallas has a decent group of forwards led by Brad Richards, who scored a very quiet 91 points last year. James Neal, Loui Errikson, and Jamie Benn all have potential to score 30 goals. The defense was a big problem last year, and remained the same this summer.

11) Phoenix Coyotes:

No team accomplished more and exceeded the low expectations league wide than the Phoenix Coyotes last season. Dave Tippet is a fantastic coach who realizes that Phoenix will not fly under the radar again this year. Phoenix will be in playoff contention most of the year, but will fall short. We just don't trust players such as Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris, and Adrian Aucoin to have the same impact on defense as they did last year. Losing premier shot-blocker, Zbynek Michalek this summer will hurt them. Ilya Bryzgalov is solid in goal but will have trouble duplicating last seasons unbelievable numbers.

10) Minnesota Wild:

Minesota started very slow last season and never seriously contended for a playoff spot. They now play a more up tempo game which is opposite of what they played under Jacques Lemaire for most of their existence. Losing Pierre-Marc Bouchard after one game and getting minimal production from Martin Havlat seriously hurt the teams offense. With Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Guillaume Latendresse, and newly acquired center, Matt Cullen the Wild could have a decent offense in addition to Bouchard and Havlat. Niklas Backstrom is a better goalie than his stats indicated last year as the defense will need to improve.

9) Anaheim Ducks:

Anaheim boosts on of the best lines in hockey with Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Bobby Ryan. The problem is their defense was horrible last season, and they're one of the most penalized teams in the league. The departure of Chris Pronger, and now the retirement of Scott Niedermayer has left the defense with gaping holes. This summer they added, Toni Lydman, Andy Sutton, Paul Mara, to compliment Lubomir Visnovsky and Luca Sbisa. Not good enough in our opinion to make the playoffs in the West, no matter how good Jonas Hiller is in goal.

8) St. Louis Blues:

Simply put, the problem with St.Louis is lack of goal scoring. The leading scorer for the Blues last season was Andy McDonald, with 57 points. David Backes and Brad Boyes did not produce like they expected and T.J Oshie, David Perron, and Alexander Steen have immense potential, but do not score consistently. Jaroslav Halak was a good pickup in goal, but the problem with the Blues is offense, and once again they are riding all their hopes on young players.

7) Colorado Avalanche:

Another team similar to the Blues in possessing loads of young talent. The difference is that Colorado has Matt Duchene and Chris Stewart who are dynamic scorers and only going to get better. Craig Anderson had a career year in goal, but he is capable of proving that it was not a fluke. The defense is not great, but should be good enough to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

6) Nashville Predators:

Nashville gave the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks all they could handle in round one last season only to fall for the fifth time in as many tries in first round play as a franchise. The goaltending and defense is as solid as any in the Western Conference. But as usual, the Predators struggle to find offense. Lot's of pressure with be on Martin Erat and David Legwand to rebound after poor years offensively. Matthew Lombardi was signed s a free agent to add speed to the offense, and they took a shot on Sergei Kostitsyn being able to rebound from a poor season in Montreal. Pekke Renne is on the cusp of stardom in goal.

5) Los Angeles Kings:

Last season the Kings were thrilled to finally qualify for the playoffs for the first time in eight years, but this season expectations are higher. The Kings will have basically the same offense, led by Anze Kopitar, who registered 81 points last season and may be capable of reaching 90-95. Once again he will be relied upon to provide goals along with Ryan Smyth and Dustin Brown. Last season saw the emergence of Drew Doughty as one of the best defenseman in the league. He is joined by the improving Jack Johnson, Matt Greene, Rob Scuderi, and recently signed Willie Mitchell. For the first time in years, the Kings found a true No. 1 goalie in Jonathan Quick, and have highly touted prospect, Jonathan Bernier as a backup to take some of the workload off Quick. Sky is the limit for the Kings who could win the Pacific Division if the offense improves.

4) Detroit Red Wings:

The Red Wings were one of the better teams in the league near the end of the season and should be even more improved this year. Detroit has three star forwards in Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Johan Franzen. They have solid secondary scorers in Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, and Dan Cleary. Plus, they will have skilled LW Jiri Hudler, back from Russia to add more offense. The defense is getting older, but is still solid with Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski leading the way. Jimmy Howard proved he will be the Wings goalie for awhile after being a runner-up for the Calder trophy. Keep in mind that the Red Wings have eclipsed 100 points for 10 consecutive seasons.

3) San Jose Sharks:

San Jose made strides last season by advancing to the Western Conference Finals, but still are awaiting that elusive Stanley Cup appearance. If they are to advance, they will have to do so without Evgeni Nabokov in goal. Yes they acquired cup-winning goalie Antti Niemi from Chicago, but he will still have to prove that last season was not a fluke. Perhaps the biggest concern with the Sharks is that beyond their top two lines there are serious issues. The Thornton-Marleau-Heatley line may be the best in the game. Ryan Clowe and Joe Pavelski are good players, but the drop off is huge on the third and fourth lines. San Jose is also a bit thin on the blueline after the top four led by Dan Boyle. They still play very well at home and in the regular season and should be good enough to squeak by the Kings, barely.

2) Vancouver Canucks:

Vancouver is certainly carrying the flag for Canada, as this may be the best hope for a Canadian team to win the cup since 1993. Vancouver is loaded upfront with the Sedin's leading the way. Alex Burrows and Ryan Kelser are very good players and Mason Raymond is poised to take the next step to being a top forward. Manny Malhotra was a good signing as he will strengthen the third line. On defense, the Canucks were exposed last postseason, but are hoping that Dan Hamhuis improves their defense. Roberto Luongo is a great regular season goalie who has had trouble putting it together in the playoffs. Many things to like about the Canucks this year as they have enormous pressure on them to advance deep into the playoffs.

1) Chicago Blackhawks:

It doesn't matter that they lost so many players due to salary cap reasons. They are still the champions, and we still feel that most of the core is still intact. Clearly, the Hawks biggest strength was their depth last season as opponents could not match them line for line. They won't have that advantage this year, but they still have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane who are still going to get better. Kane is only 22-years old and scored 88 points. He could reach 100-points this season. Marian Hossa missed 22 games last year, and when healthy can score 40 goals. Patrick Sharp and Troy Brouwer both scored over 20 goals last season. We're expecting young players such as Jack Skille and Viktor Stalberg to step up and fill the void for some of the veterans that left. Last I checked, they still have a Norris trophy winner on the blueline in Duncan Keith. Brent Seabrook is as solid of a stay at home defensemen as anyone in the league. Niklas Hjalmarrson proved his value in the playoffs, and Brian Campbell is capable of having a better season than the 38 points he put up last year. After those four, it gets weaker on defense, which is the Hawks biggest concern. Marty Turco is the new goalie, and he will probably welcome a change of scenery from Dallas. We're banking on the Hawks getting production from the young players within the organization and defending their Western Conference crown.

NHL Training Camp Starting Dates

Believe it or not but NHL players will be hitting the ice in less than a week for training camp. Below we list the starting dates for each club.

Anaheim Sep. 13th
Atlanta Sep. 13th
Boston Sep. 12th
Buffalo Sep. 13th
Calgary Sep. 12th
Carolina Sep. 12th
Chicago Sep. 12th
Colorado Sep. 12th
Columbus Sep.12th
Detroit Sep. 12th
Edmonton Sep.12th
Florida Sep. 13th
Los Angeles Sep. 12th
Minnesota Sep.12th
Montreal Sep. 14th
Nashville Sep. 12th
New Jersey Sep. 13th
NY Islanders Sep. 12th
NY Rangers Sep. 12th
Ottawa Sep. 13th
Philadelphia Sep. 12th
Phoenix Sep. 12th
Pittsburgh Sep. 13th
St. Louis Sep. 15th
San Jose Sep. 12th
Tampa Bay Sep. 12th
Toronto Sep. 12th
Vancouver Sep. 12th
Washington Sep 12th

With most camps opening in the next few days plenty of free agents are still available. Below we list the top five unrestricted free agents available:

Bill Guerin: Guerin skated with the Flyers earlier this month but still remains unsigned. He reportedly wants to remain on the east coast, but at 40 years old, they're not too many options.

Marek Svatos: Once a 30-goal scorer back in 2005, he only notched 7 goals with the Avalanche last season. Spent his entire career in Colorado, so perhaps a change of scenery may do him well. Still only 28 years old.

Owen Nolan: He was one of the top goal scorers for Minnesota last season, even at age 38. Lives in San Jose in the offseason and would love to play on the west coast.

Darcy Tucker: Heart and soul type of player that could give a team a lift on the 4th line even at 35 years old. He scored 10 goals for Colorado last season and battled injuries.

Stephane Yelle: Maybe a reach here as his skills have diminished, but he did win the cup and is a good presence in the locker room.

A few key restricted free agents remain unsigned including Marc Stall, Peter Mueller, James Neal, and Bobby Ryan. Bobby Ryan is the biggest name of the four and from what we have read, contract talks have remained stagnant.

With the Kovalchuk contract finally being approved by the NHL, the New Jersey Devils will need to shed 3 million worth of salary before the season starts. Should be an interesting September.

Which NHL teams fans would win in a fight part 2: Breaking down the Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference: a preview of all 15 fan bases. the top 8 will be narrowed down in bracket form to see who has the toughest fan base in the east. the winner of the east will face the winner of the west to see which teams fan base would ultimately win a battle royale amongst the NHL fans.






Atlanta Thrashers: By taking a look at the Thrashers fan group called the "Nasty Nest", we can draw many conclusions. One, they like Carp and Potatoes. Any time people bring a politely sitting dog to a gathering, they are coming in peace. If a battle broke out between fans, it doesn't appear that the Thrashers contingent would come out on top.








Boston Bruins: Any fan base in the Northeast immediately scores points due to the cold winters they have to endure. Beyond that, the New England fan base spreads many miles through many states. They have power by numbers. They travel well as many Bruins fans can be found at opposing arena's. One fan stole Alex Kovalev's stick right out of his hand from the stands. The only negative we can find about the Bruins fan is this photo where Leafs fans are celebrating a goal in Boston only to see the Bruins fans do nothing. Overall, the Bruin fan is not someone to mess with as the brotherhood of fans will back each other up and ultimately make you pay a price. The Bruin fan should be a playoff team.




Buffalo Sabres: Another Northern team where fans endure cold and tough winters and have nothing else positive to live for. The Buffalo Bills suck and no other professional sports teams reside in the area. Indoor Lacrosse doesn't count. The Sabre fan has always supported the team and the blue collar work ethic and dedication shown by the fans usually translates to a hard working team on the ice. Sabres fans are among the most loyal and toughest fans around. They will fight to the death and have trained in the cold to be able to handle tough battles.




Carolina Hurricanes: As with most warm weather climate teams, the location of the Hurricane's home rink will hurt their toughness. Anyone can be tough while driving a NASCAR, but can these guys and girls get dirty when the Sabres fans come looking for blood? The Hurricanes have won a Stanley Cup in their brief history which gives there group a reason to keep fighting when the odds are against them. However, anytime your tailgating crew looks to have the average age of 60 and this kid represents your toughest fan, you have problems.




Florida Panthers: The most southern team in the NHL has fans that rather go tanning on the beach then show up to a hockey game. We can't blame them however as management has failed them time and time again to commit to winning. As with most teams in the Miami area, the fans will come out when the team starts to win. If a fight breaks out in downtown Miami, not enough troops would show up to back up the Panthers name.









Montreal Canadiens: Perhaps the most populous fan base, the Montreal Canadien fan is no joke. They will show up in gigantic numbers and travel anywhere to represent their team. Their weaknesses are cockiness and a feeling of invincibility. While the Habs fan army might be the largest, they sometimes don't take their opponent seriously. A surprise fan base could slay this dragon if the Canadien fan isn't careful. While we have great respect for the fans of the Canadiens, they have shown to brush off the voice and spirit of other up and coming fan bases.






New Jersey Devils: Have you ever been to a game in New Jersey? If not, trust us that you will be the loudest person there. The Soprano's persona of New Jersey hasn't made it's way to the Prudential Center and was nearly always absent from the Meadowlands. For a team that has had as much success as anyone, the Devil fan seems complacent to brag about Brodeur and Parise and not worry about the Ranger fan going after their head. They are also a small fan base in numbers and we worry the Devil fan would die a quick death.



New York Islanders: For a team that has stunk since 1993, this fan base has as much heart and fight in them as anyone. They can take other fan bases by surprise with their unity, passion and blue collar work ethic and desire. The Islander fan is tired of being the laughing stock of the league and will use negative comments directed at them as fuel to bring you down. The Islander fan travels better than average keeping other fan bases off guard with their numbers. Their weaknesses include several fans who enjoy going to the Hamptons rather than fight with the rest of the fan base. All in all, the Islander fan should find themselves in the postseason unlike their on ice product and will give any opponent a good fight.



New York Rangers: Any team whose fan base shows up to games wearing suits and in their history had fan beaten with their own shoe by an opposing player doesn't give them much credit. However, the Ranger fan spreads over many miles, strong in numbers and is as loyal as any in the league. However when it comes to toughness, the shoe incident will never be forgotten.






Ottawa Senators: The Senator fan is a sleeper. Going into the home of the Senators wearing an opposing jersey is not an easy task. You will get ripped by kids, woman, children, adults, ushers. It's no joke in there. The only slight weakness is that the people of Ottawa are decent human beings and don't have the killer instinct needed to take out the leagues toughest. However, come playoff time, the Senator fan should hold down a spot.

Philadelphia Flyers:
The preseason favorite to come out of the East. The Flyer fan is not only big, mean, rugged and travels with many friends, it is also an asshole. If the Flyer fan could bring death to any other fan in it's way, it would. The Flyer fan has cornered members of this website in a Canadian bar threatening our health. Why? Because we were rooting for the Carolina Panthers to beat the Eagles in Toronto. Seems reasonable. The Flyer fan will do whatever it takes to make sure it is known as the toughest around. A tough match for any fan base to take on. The Flyer fan is the favorite for the #1 seed heading into the playoffs.





Pittsburgh Penguins: Another fan base with tough roots are the fans of the Penguins. This fan base from the steel city endured many years of poor on ice product and a very serious threat of re-location. However Penguin fans come out on top as they witnessed their team win a Stanley Cup. The Penguin fan is strong in numbers and will always defend their city and team. They will not attack unless provoked but are easily set off with comments regarding Sidney Crosby. The Penguin fan will protect their Captain like he is the God of all Gods. The Penguins should find themselves in a playoff spot and with their experience of dealing with adversity, could be a fan base to watch.





Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning fan street cred is dwindled with the fact that they are a southern team. The Lightning fan supports it's home team at home but doesn't travel well and is less passionate about their team then most spots in the Eastern Conference. They do show up in numbers however and is the NHL's equivalent to Switzerland. They worry about themselves and really find themselves in many fights.


Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs are arguably the strongest fan base in numbers in the NHL. The Canadiens might be in that argument. The Leaf fan will travel well and travel in big numbers to let their voice be heard. However, most Leaf fans you will encounter are friendly and the white collar type who goes to games wearing suits and has no interest in fighting. That doesn't make them bad, as they have one of the best fan bases in sports, but it just makes them bad in this competition. Go Leafs Go!






Washington Capitals: Before Alex Ovechkin, we weren't sure if the Capitals even had fans. Now all of a sudden since they are good, the fan base has resurfaced. The Capital fan is about as stable as Washington DC is itself and another streak of poor play will have fans not showing up once again. The Caps fan will show up at home games but might not be willing to go the extra mile for the team and fans alike. It might be another year or two before we can take the Capital fan seriously as part of this competition. More consistent support is needed.

Which NHL teams fans would win in a fight?

Over the next week, Hockeysureshot will break down who has the toughest and weakest fans in the NHL. We will rank each teams fans from 1-15 in each Conference and then do a head to head playoff to see which NHL team has the toughest fans. What do you think? Any stories you want to share about visiting an away arena wearing your home teams sweater? Or do you think that your team has the toughest fans. Let us know.

Monday Minutes

Last week we wrote about the fact that we thought Maple Leafs defensemen Tomas Kaberle would not be traded and we also predicted a ridiculous trade rumor would come out of Toronto as well. Turns out that yesterday's midnight deadline to trade Tomas Kaberle without his no-trade clause kicking in passed by with no sufficent offers that met Brian Burke's demands. The ridiculous trade rumor of the week was that the Kings were going to trade 24-year old captain Dustin Brown to the Leafs for the 32-year old Kaberle. Thankfully, TSN's Bob McKenzie squashed this outlandish report which listed the Kings beat writer, and very trusty, Rich Hammond as being the source. Totally untrue.

The fact is that Kaberle is still a Leaf for now and he will determine where or if he is traded this season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. Perhaps all the recent comments through the media made by Brian Burke hurt his teams chances of getting a favorable return for his star defensemen. We understand the Maple Leafs receive more media coverage than any other team in the NHL, but is it wise to say too much to the press regarding his players? Everyone in the league knew Burke wanted to unload him so why would anyone offer up a substantial offer?

A week has gone by since an arbitrator ruled that the Kovalchuk contract circumvented the salary cap and he still remains unsigned. The Ottawa Sun reported that the Kings have contacted his agent yet again, but still all indications are that the Devils will get a deal done.

Speaking of the Devils, even with Kovalchuk they still could use an offensive defensmen. New Jersey is built to win now with Martin Brodeur being 38 years old, and Jason Arnott, Patrick Elias, Jamie Lagenbrunner, and Brian Rolston all over 34 years old. Wonder if Lou Lamoriello will make a serious offer for Kaberle once the Kovalchuk mess is cleared up?

The Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks seem to be set for next year on defense after signing Nick Boynton to a one-year contract contract. With Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook leading the way in addition to Hjalmarsson, Campbell, Hendry, and Boynton the Hawks look solid in front of new goalie Marty Turco. Despite all their off-season loses, the Hawks are still the favorite to win the Western Conference.

Finally, since it's been two months since the last hockey game, we are thrilled to point out that training camps start in less than one month. In the coming weeks we will take a look at what rookies will have an impact for the upcoming season.

Monday Minutes

It's August, which notoriously is the slowest month in hockey news. But on the 21st anniversary of the biggest trade in hockey history, there is still much to be discussed. The daily internet Kaberle rumors, the many remaining free agents, and oh yeah, there was news about that Kovalchuk guy this evening. Hockeysureshot discusses the latest NHL rumblings:

In our opinion Lee Stempniak, Willie Mitchell, and Antti Niemi are the best available free agents at their positions not named Kovalchuk. One internet report surfaced this morning that Stempniak is mulling over an offer from the NY Islanders, but is waiting to hear from another team. Sounds really anxious to be on Long Island doesn't he? If he decides on the Islanders, it gives them a very strong group of forwards led by John Tavares and Kyle Okposo.

Willie Mitchell is still trying to prove to the league that he is healthy, and all indications are is that he is ready to play. Whoever gets his services is making a smart move. Mitchell is the type of player that will play on one leg or block a shot with his face. He would look great in a Kings jersey since they lost Matt Greene for a few months.

Unfortunately for Niemi, the goalie market is really dry right now. The logical NHL destination seems to be the San Jose Sharks. Does San Jose really think Antero Nittymaki or Tomas Greiss will take them to the promised land? I hear lot's about AHL goalie Alex Stalock, but it's still not certain the 23-year old is ready for the NHL. It wouldn't be a surprise if he lands in Russia or in his native Finland next season.

So far this offseason I love what the St.Louis Blues have done. By acquiring Jaroslav Halak in goal, and in addition to all the young talent the Blues have, pencil them in for a playoff spot. Give kudos to Tampa Bay this summer for nabbing Simon Gagne for nearly nothing and dumping the huge contract of Andrej Meszaros on the Flyers. Believe it or not, Glen Sather and the Rangers did not have a terrible summer. Sather didn't overspend as he usually does on July 1st. He somehow found a suitor for Donald Brashear, and signed Alex Frolov for a reasonable deal. Next up is resigning Marc Staal.

I hate to say it but once again the Buffalo Sabres inactivity may cost them. The northeast division suddenly got much better and the Sabres as usual stood pat. Even with Ryan Miller, it will be difficult for the Sabres to crack the top eight in a much more competitive Eastern Conference.

It's very quiet on the Toronto Maple Leafs front, which makes me think the offers for Tomas Kaberle are not nearly what Brian Burke is looking for. My guess is he stays in TO this season. We will still be hearing about him on a daily basis and Leaf fans will be uttering trade proposals that do not make sense at all for the other team.

Are the Ducks trying to win the 2007 Stanley Cup again? After re-signing the 40-year old Teemu Selanne, the Ducks are rumored to be close to signing former Duck, Paul Kariya, who is 35.

Finally, with the news that arbitrator Richard Bloch upheld Ilya Kovalchuk's recent contract with the Devils, agreeing with the NHL that it circumvented the salary cap is a big victory for Gary Bettman. The league needed to step in and avoid teams from front loading the salary cap structure and having players signed when they are in their forties. Hopefully, Kovalchuk will get a contract signed soon so we will not have to hear more false rumors. It appears that the Devils and the Kovalchuk camp have begun negotiating once again. However, this saga has been bizarre from day one, and would it surprise anyone if a new team came to the forefront or if he signed a deal with the KHL? Stay tuned.