Apologies again for missing the posting for Thursday as I had an allergic infection to take care of. Feeling well enough to post for today's results for the Week 5 standings..., but can we talk about the St. Louis Blues "scoring" Ken Hitchcock over the Blue Jackets for the new head coaching position. Apparently, this was what Halak (their goalie) needed to play better (instead of ... well better practices, stopping the puck & etc.). Apparently, it is wrong for players to inadvertently not dive into a 1-3-1 defensive structure because that is considered more of an intentional delay of the game rather than pretty much handing the puck to the other team at least half of the time. I really don't like the 1-3-1 method. Nothing against the team but it is a cheap way to win a game. May as well have the team stand side by side in front of the goal and see if someone can get through that more consistently. For those who have no idea what I am talking about when I say 1-3-1, (partially using a football reference) you basically have one player back to where the goalie is, 3 players playing the defensive line about the middle of the ice and one guy standing in front of the defensive line. My issue is not the defensive set up; it is that ALL the players stand still and expect the opposing team to pretty much run through the first guy, the defensive line and the last defensive guy all while holding the puck which is really difficult to hold past 1 person let alone 4-5. All of this happens before anyone gets a chance to get a shot on goal. If all the NHL teams adopted this method, it would be the most boring thing to watch. At least in football, there are more options about getting around the defensive line which makes it more exciting to watch. Hopefully there is some positive light that gets shown on this because players really should not be standing still for any length of time when they are playing. It is so much harder to catch up to someone when you are standing still rather than in motion. I could go on but it looks like I took up a lot of space so let's look at the Week 5 standings of
If the playoffs started today...* Stats courtesy of NHL.com approximately 6:30 pm EST 11/11/2011
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (21 pts; 9-3-3; +11 G/D) Leads the Atlantic Division - Up 1 position
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (21 pts; 10-5-1; -4 G/D) Leads the North East Division - Down 1 position
3. Florida Panthers (19 pts; 8-4-3; +5 G/D) Leads the South East Division - Up 2 positions
4. NY Rangers (19 pts; 8-3-3; +7 G/D)
Won last 5 games - Up 3 positions
5. Philadelphia Flyers (19 pts; 8-4-3; +11 G/D) - Down 1 position
6. Washington Capitals (18 pts; 9-4-0; +12 G/D) - Down 3 positions
7. Buffalo Sabres (18 pts; 9-5-0; +9 G/D) - *** Back on the list ***
8. Tampa Bay Lightning (18 pts; 8-5-2; -1 G/D) - *** Back on the list ***
Drop-outs: Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators
Potential Match-ups: Penguins v Lightning Leafs v Sabres Panthers v Capitals Rangers v Flyers
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Dallas Stars (22 pts; 11-3-0; +12 G/D) Leads the Pacific Division - Up 2 positions
2. Chicago Blackhawks (21 pts; 9-4-3; +4 G/D) Leads the Central Division - No Movement
3. Edmonton Oilers (20 pts; 9-4-2; +7 G/D) Leads the North West Division - Down 2 positions
4. San Jose Sharks (19 pts; 9-4-1; +8 G/D) - Up 2 positions
5. Minnesota Wild (19 pts; 8-4-3; +5 G/D) - Down 1 position
6. Nashville Predators (18 pts; 8-5-2; +2 G/D) - Up 1 position
7. Phoenix Coyotes (17 pts; 7-4-3; +1 G/D) - Up 1 position
8. Vancouver Canucks (17 pts; 8-7-1; +2 G/D) - *** Back on the list ***
Drop-outs: LA Kings
Potential Match-ups: Stars v Canucks Blackhawks v Coyotes Oilers v Predators Sharks v Wild.
Oh, by the way, the All Star ballots have been released. It looks a little more diversed for the amount of teams possibly represented but we wont really know until the players are selected to see if all teams are represented since (other than the young-stars) the Panthers were not represented but the other 29 were.
On to week 6...
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