Sharks Gameday: The Perfect Storm? Maybe Not

Yesterday, I joked with Earl Sleek that tonight's Sharks/Stars game seemed like the perfect storm for the Sharks to get their first loss at home. After all, Evgeni Nabokov is out, Sergei Zubov is in, the Stars have been trying to figure out something to inspire them to a win (signing Mark Parrish, obviously, is the key), and it's a big Saturday-night tilt between conference rivals.

Seems like just the type of situation that used to drive Sharks fans nuts. The team probably had a 30/70 percentage split of meeting the challenge of an occasion last season versus appearing listless and confused.

Now? Maybe the NHL's scheduling staff is on the team's side. First Detroit comes to the Golden State to face Anaheim, then less than 24 hours later, skates out on HP Pavilion ice. Now the Stars have to do the same thing.

Instead of using my "Oh crap!" negative thinking that still lingers from the Ron Wilson era, I'm going to look on the brighter side of things (don't worry Sleek, I'm not stealing positivity). Boucher's played well so far, the Sharks have overcome all of the moments of adversity (big and little), and Dallas is hopefully tired after the game in Anaheim. Zubov is one of those freak-of-nature players that never seems to get rattled or fatigued, but I'm hoping that he won't be in tip-top shape by playing back-to-back against two tough division rivals.

From the Sharks' perspective, I'm not sure if Alexei Semenov is in, but here's an unnerving stat -- in all of the games that Semenov has played, the Sharks have given up 4+ goals in all but one of them. Coincidence? A total trickling down of Semenov's total suckitude? I don't know, but if there were three things I could wave a magic wand and control tonight, it'd be:

1) A better power play
2) More shots in the slot from Jonathan Cheechoo
3) Strong team defense and no minimal bad turnovers, which means sitting Semenov

Ducks Gameday—A hasty look at the SoCal Two-For-One Special

Vancouver Canucks (5-5-0, t-7th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (6-5-0, 5th in west)
Trick or treat? Teemu takes Trick.

Sorry this gameday post was so late in coming, but I was under the assumption that the NHL was going to suspend all regular season games until its posterchild Sid Crosby recovered from his mystery injury. Whoops!

At any rate, because I was so bored at work today I thought I'd revisit an old study I did about the success of teams visiting SoCal to play both the Kings and the Ducks. In the table below, I've pooled together all the instances since the lockout when a visiting team played at the Honda Center and the Staples Center within two days of each other, then separated the results according to (a) which arena they visited first, and (b) how many days separated the games. Keep in mind, this table shows visiting opponent results, not the results for the home teams:

(click image to enlarge)
There's a lot of data thrown in this table (and sorry for the shoddy image quality), but here's a few quick takeaways:

1. Given a choice, a visiting team probably prefers to visit the Ducks before they visit the Kings. In the 23 times that has happened since the lockout, teams have won 10 times in the Honda Center, 13 times in the Staples Center, and 7 times a visiting team has won in both venues.

When teams visit the Kings first (as Vancouver did last night), they generally get ripped up by the Ducks in the second game. In the 35 times that has happened since the lockout, only 9 times has a visiting team won the second game in Honda Center and only 2 times has a visiting team been able to walk away with victories in each building (though the Canucks could become the third team to do it tonight).

Interesting to note that if you count the upcoming games against Vancouver and Calgary, that will make the last eleven straight opponents who went to Staples Center first.

2. A day off between games helps a team in either situation. Neither Vancouver nor Calgary will enjoy that luxury, but as you can see, visiting teams do enjoy better results in the second game if they have a day off to prepare for it. It's intuitive, sure, but I thought I'd point it out.

What's less intuitive? Teams with a day off between venues are typically enjoying better results in the first game, also. Possibly this has to do with "looking ahead" at the next day's opponent?

3. There's still plenty of factors that aren't included in this spreadsheet. Part of what makes this study a bit complex is that loosely speaking, the last three-plus seasons the Ducks have been very good and the Kings have been very bad, and it's interesting to see how teams strategize with that in mind. Should a team play its starter against Anaheim and its back-up against L.A., to try to pick up points in each venue? Or should the starter get the easier points in L.A. and let the back-up try to pull an upset in Anaheim?

Also lost a bit in this story is the set of teams that are making these two-stop trips; generally it's teams that have to travel very far (San Jose doesn't appear in this data once, as an example). Just another thing to keep in mind when over-analyzing these results.

At any rate, I've laid out the results in what I think is a logical way; feel free to comment or question any of it, or add observations of your own.

Prediction: Per the spreadsheet, Ducks win 3.5 - 2.2. Goals by Hedican, Morrison, Pahlsson, and half a goal by Perry.

Have a safe and pagan Halloween, everyone! Go Ducks.

California? Nope, Sorry, Never Heard of It

Versus released their schedule for the upcoming season and once again California gets screwed. The Kings don't have a game, Anaheim is on once, and San Jose plays 3 times. The entire state of California is on Versus as much as the New York Islanders. I guess this is good for me because it means I get Bob and Jimmy more often, but still.

Highlights of the Stars' schedule

I might be a little late to the party, but that won't stop me from spilling beer on myself and being an asshole throwing out some sporadic thoughts regarding the Stars' schedule:

Opening Night (Friday, Oct 10): The 'Stache returns

Gotta hand it to www.playoffbeard.com

Forgive Brett Hull and Ken Hitchcock if they think back about 10 years on this night when the Blue Jackets visit the Stars.

Avery returns (Monday, Oct 20)

The Rangers probably rank pretty low on the list of teams that were jilted by Sean Avery, but it should still be fairly interesting to watch Avery, the unsavory's return to MSG.

(Expect numerous Men's Vogue jokes)

Home Games, by the month:

October - 5
November - 5
December -8
January -4
February - 10
March - 7
April - 2

Away Games, by the month:

October - 6
November -7
December - 5
January - 8
February - 3
March - 9
April - 3

So, by my super sophisticated calculations, the Stars have:

• One more road game in October
• Two more road games in November
• Three more home games in December
• Four more road games in January
• Seven more home games in February
• Two more road games in March
• One more road game in April

Don't be surprised if the Stars have a fairly middle-of-the-road start, explode around Valentine's Day and then once again struggle a bit toward the end of the year. With all the stat heads blowing their wads about fancy, Beautiful Mind-ish equations it would be funny if the Stars' season came down to the simple math you see in that list...

Significant road trips

Oct 31 - Nov 11 is a five game road trip in which the Stars visit the refurbished Chicago Blackhawks, the not-so refurbished/hard to believe they almost signed Mike Modano Boston Bruins, and then a BoC trip to SJ, Anaheim and then LA for a home-and-home with the Kings.

The Stars might immediately fuck up their New Year's resolutions in a tough four-game Western Conference road trip that goes from Edmonton (Jan. 3) to Colorado (Jan. 5) to Detroit (Jan. 8) and then finally to Phoenix (Jan. 10). Thankfully, there's a nice break between Colorado and Detroit (although the Stars always struggle in John Denverland and we all know Turco's had a struggle or two as a pro in the Joe).


Aside from those two trips, the Stars have a few 3-gamers here and there. With just a quick glance, I'd say the Stars were spared by the road trip gods.

Home stands

Both of their biggest home stands come in February, the month Stars fans should hope that the team is at its hungriest and healthiest.

The first is a four-game one. It starts with their second game of the season against the New York Rangers (Feb. 6), then a game against the hated Nashville Preda-thors (Feb. 8), then Gretzky, Jokinen & Co. (Feb. 11) and finishes off with the punch-less Canucks (Feb. 13). The Stars should be deeply disappointed if their record is worse than 3-1 in those four games.

The biggest stand comes after they have a two-game shite tour of the Central Division (vs. Chicago and C-Bus).

It's a six-game monster that will almost certainly be a huge factor in where (hopefully not 'if') the Stars are seeded in the playoffs. It goes Oilers (Feb. 19), Chicago (Feb. 21), Sharks (Feb. 23), St. Louis (Feb. 26), Ducks (Feb. 28) and Penguins (March 1).

That should definitely be an interesting run of games.

Bits and pieces

Why does the NHL think it is a good idea to go against the sports tradition of dark road jerseys?

• The Stars will play against all five Atlantic division teams. The Rangers and Penguins should both be among the hardest-to-get tickets. The Rangers come on a Friday and the Penguins on a Sunday.

• The Ducks are this year's season finale. Could the Pacific Division be on the line that night?
  

• The Canadiens are coming to town. There might be some lame storylines in Mike Ribeiro vs. his former team and maybe a Gainey thing if you're really desperate. But the Habs should be worth every penny based on their high flying offense and their kick ass uniforms.
  

• It will be a great logo year for the Stars in general, facing off against the Habs, Blackhawks, Bruins and the Red Wings. Nice.
  

Kings Schedule Review

-The Kings are at home for most of the first half of the season and are basically on the road the last 2 months. They have a 4-game home stand right at the beginning of the season, then 2 games against St. Louis and Nashville, and then a 7-game home stand. Is this done to make sure the Kings get home revenue before they're completely out of the playoff race in January? Probably!

-The Kings open the season with a home-and-home against the San Jose Sharks, meaning the home opener will bring Rob Blake back to Los Angeles. I've been practicing my boos and you should too. I recommend a little lemon tea with a hint of honey after booing practice to soothe the throat. And remember, boo from your diaphragm, not your throat. You could damage the chords if you're not careful.

-If you're reading this from Toronto, feel free to come to Los Angeles on December 1st to watch the Maple Leafs play the Kings. The average temperature should be around, oh, 65 degrees? Or you can just watch on TV and wonder why the people in the crowd aren't wearing jackets.

-The Kings got the Capitals, Flyers, and Devils twice from the Eastern Conference. Does that seem weird to anyone else, that the Kings finished 2nd to last the season prior and now they get the Southeast division champ and two playoff teams from the Atlantic? It's not that big a deal, but you'd think they'd get the Islanders and the Lightning or something.

-The worst week of the year is going to Feb. 22nd-Feb.28th. The Kings have a road trip that week that sees them play the Wild on Tuesday, the Flyers on Wednesday, and then the Red Wings on Friday to finish things off. That sucks, especially because they have to fly to Minnesota, then fly to Pennsylvania, then fly all the way back to Michigan. Then they get one glorious day off and then play Chicago and Columbus on alternating days. If the Kings aren't out of the playoff picture by February, this trip should just about do it.

-Sneaky awesome game: Monday, February 16th. The Kings won't be very good so they'll probably have some sort of promotion. They're playing the Thrashers, which means you can see Ilya Kovalchuk and Toby Enstrom live. And, the Thrashers will suck so the Kings might actually win. These are all the ingredients of a successful home game. Just don't buy tickets for a while so I can get mine first.

Overall, this change in the schedule should help the Kings. Their division is probably going to be the best division in hockey once again, so the Kings are going to need to perform against the Eastern Conference if they're going to have any chance of finishing above last place. The biggest thing I noticed when I was looking at this schedule? Man, I wish hockey was back.

Sharks 2008-09 schedule: Going Back to Philly

The NHL released the full 2008-09 schedule yesterday, and as Cheechew noted the Sharks will open the regular season at home against the Anaheim Ducks. In addition to return visits from Ron Wilson and Vesa Toskala as the Maple Leafs return to San Jose December 2nd, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich's return visit to Tampa Bay October 25, and back-to-back games against Stanley Cup Finalists Pittsburgh and Detroit October 28th and 30th, the schedule also contains a rare home-at-home series with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Going back to Philly, I don't think so.

Preseason

September:
Sep. 24 at Anaheim, 7:00 p.m.
Sep. 26 Anaheim, 7:30 p.m.
Sep. 29 at Phoenix, 7:00 p.m.
Sep. 30 Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.

October:
Oct. 2 at Vancouver, 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 5 at Los Angeles, 5:00 p.m. (Salt Lake City)

Regular Season

October:
Oct. 9 Anaheim, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Oct. 12 at Los Angeles, 6 p.m.
Oct. 14 Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 17 at Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 22 at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Oct. 24 at Florida, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 25 at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 28 Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

November:
Nov. 2 at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Nov. 4 Minnesota, 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 St. Louis, 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 8 Dallas, 7 p.m.
Nov. 9 at Phoenix, 5 p.m.
Nov. 11 Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 13 Calgary, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 at Chicago, 4 p.m.
Nov. 17 at Nashville, 5 p.m.
Nov. 22 Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 26 Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 29 at Phoenix, 6 p.m.

December:
Dec. 2 Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4 Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Dec. 11 Anaheim, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 13 St. Louis, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Dec. 18 at Detroit, 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 N.Y. Rangers, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 23 Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Dec. 27 at St. Louis, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 29 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Minnesota, 3 p.m.

January:
Jan. 3 N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 6 at Calgary, 6 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Jan. 10 at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 15 Calgary, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 17 Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 24-25 (NHL Allstar Weekend in Montreal)
Jan. 27 at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Jan. 29 Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 31 Chicago, 7:30 p.m.

February:
Feb. 5 Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 7 at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Feb. 10 at Boston, 4 p.m.
Feb. 11 at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 13 at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 15 at New Jersey, 10 a.m.
Feb. 17 Edmonton, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 19 Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21 Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Feb. 23 at Dallas, 5 p.m.
Feb. 25 at Detroit, 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 26 at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 at Montreal, 4 p.m.

March:
Mar. 3 Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 5 Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 7 at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Mar. 10 at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Mar. 12 at St. Louis, 5:30 p.m.
Mar. 14 Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Mar. 15 at Anaheim, 5 p.m.
Mar. 17 at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
Mar. 19 Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 21 Dallas, 1 p.m.
Mar. 22 Colorado, 5 p.m.
Mar. 25 at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Mar. 26 at Nashville, 5 p.m.
Mar. 28 Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 30 at Calgary, 6 p.m.

April:
Apr. 2 at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Apr. 4 Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Apr. 5 at Anaheim, 5 p.m.
Apr. 7 Colorado, 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 9 Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 11 at Los Angeles, 1 p.m.

[Update] Mike Rathje for president.

New NHL Schedule, Projected Winners and Losers

For the last three post-lockout seasons, each team's regular season schedule has consisted of 32 divisional games, 40 in-conference games, and 10 out of conference games. Starting this year, the new format will feature 24 divisional games, 40 in-conference games, and 18 out of conference games (essentially eight divisional games have been moved out of conference).

So I decided to take an overly-simplistic look at which teams might enjoy the new schedule, and which teams might not. Basically, this table looks at the results from last season, and shows where teams got their standings points. The last two columns project how those results would have looked in the new schedule, and what the point difference projects to be.

(click image to enlarge)
Teams that struggled in their own division will probably enjoy the new schedule; same with teams that dominated the opposite conference. Take a look at where your team stands, and feel free to comment on my lazy, overly-assumptive approach.

Sharks Sign Kinch and Westgarth

Who are they guys? It sounds like a comedy show on VH1. Sounds like more depth for the Worcester Sharks.

The schedule was announced today. Highlights:

-Eastern teams coming to SJ include: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto, NY Rangers, Tampa Bay. Greg Jamison must be doing cartwheels in the front office. He could not ask for a better group of eastern teams to visit.

-The longest road trip is only 5 games? We are so used to seeing 8, 9, or even a 10 game trip each year during February.

-Opening night versus the Ducks. I don't remember the last time we have ever opened versus a division opponent.

Rob Blake has finally made his way on to the roster on the Sharks website. The big question is what number he will be wearing. If we cannot get rid of the human pylon Kyle Mclaren, Blake will be forced to choose a new number. #44? Sorry, Vlasic has that one.

Is anyone else concerned about the lack of a Ryane Clowe contract? A few weeks ago both sides said they had a handshake agreement and the only thing left was Clowe to decide how many years he wanted. This better get done before Kevin Lowe comes in and offers him and 8 year deal for $80 million.

Went to Tahoe for the celebrity golf tourny last weekend and got some good pictures w/ Roenick (playing golf w/ a stogie in one hand and a Bloody Mary in the other..nice), Sakic, Lemieux. Big disappointment to not see Gretzky on the day I was there. Will post some pictures once they are uploaded.

Anaheim Ducks Announce 2008 Preseason Schedule

The Anaheim Ducks today announced the 2008 preseason schedule. The schedule features eight games, all keeping the Ducks close to the Pacific Ocean.

Below is the Ducks’ complete 2008 preseason schedule:

DATE	OPPONENT	VENUE	TIME (Pacific)
Wed., Sept. 24	SAN JOSE	Honda Center	7:05 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 26	@ San Jose	HP Pavilion	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 27	@ Phoenix	Jobing.com Arena	7 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 28	VANCOUVER	Honda Center	5:05 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 30	@ Los Angeles	STAPLES Center	7:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 1	LOS ANGELES	Honda Center	7:05 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 3	PHOENIX	Honda Center	7:05 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 5	@ Vancouver	GM Place	7 p.m.

Every single one of these games bores the living hell out of me! Why can't we play people we won't play 1,000 times this season?! Hell, toss in an interesting location like the Kings are doing in Vegas. The Ducks got London last year, and the Kings get Vegas and Kansas City! That's bullshit!

It's hard out here for a Pimp Hockey Fan

It's good that the Stars won today, but damn if I didn't realize that the game would be on at 1:30 ET. Silly little me, I thought the networks and NHL might develop consistency or predictability in their broadcast schedule. Silly little me.

Honestly, when I slept like a college student today (till frickin' 3 p.m.), I thought I would feel guilty for wasting my day. But instead I feel angry that I missed a spirited showing from the Stars.

Ultimately, it's my fault for missing the game today. But would it be too much to ask that the TV schedules be a little bit less erratic? Last weekend, the games went from NBC in the mid-afternoon to Versus in the normal 7:30 ET time slot. Then it up and changed again.

On the bright side, the Stars are back in the series (or at least earned some respect). It sure would have been a nice thing to see...

Ducks Gameday—Like taking candy from a Blackhawk

Anaheim Ducks (38-23-7, 3rd in west) at Chicago Blackhawks (32-28-6, t-11th in west)

The table below shows all of Anaheim's 14 western conference opponents (plus a 15th group, the eastern conference), and the Ducks' regular season record against each opponent since the NHL lockout. Essentially, this list represents which teams the Ducks have most easily taken points against, and you can see that Chicago sits way way atop this list.

(Click image to enlarge)
The Blackhawks, as I've heard time and time again, are a young improving team, so I guess someday soon I'm going to miss this era where the Ducks show up and automatically collect two points. Not too soon, I hope. Chicago has been Anaheim's best boost for offense, defense, and penalty killing.

Some other comments about this opponent table:

• Oh yeah, now I remember why I hate the Stars. The Ducks have only beaten the Stars seven times since the lockout. To put that in perspective, they have beaten five non-divisional opponents that many times over the same stretch. By my eye, the problem for the Ducks has been perpetual puck-chasing. Anaheim loves dumping in pucks and retrieving, but they don't get to do much retrieving against Dallas and crazy Turco. Oddly, I think I've been to two Stars games since the lockout and the Ducks won 'em both (including one in a shootout where Carlyle threw out Jonathan Hedstrom and Rob Niedermayer, if you can believe it).



• As for the rest of the Pacific, you guys are all right. Of Anaheim's five favorite western opponents, three sit nearby in the Pacific Division, which is particularly sweet when playing in a division-heavy schedule. I don't get the sense that this one-sidedness will last terribly long for the Ducks, though. The Sharks are bound to get their shit together at some point, and the Kings can't possibly get worse (uh, right, Rudy?). The Coyotes have already turned a corner; they've won more games against Anaheim this year than they had the previous two years combined, which really speaks to the Chicago-like stranglehold the Ducks once held over Gretzky's bunch.



• Sure, why not have more interconference games? On principle, I am against having more east-west games. Since opposite-conference teams do not compete on the same standings, I find these games to be less compelling. Sure both teams want to win and get the two points, but there isn't any urgency to keep the opponent from getting a point also. In east-west games, getting to overtime is a win-win proposition, and I don't think that's a good incentive for the league to build on. Still, I guess I can understand fans wanting to see distant players (though I generally see players better on TV than in person), and I'm not the guy who has to do the extra traveling, so sure, NHL. Have it your way. From the looks of things, the Ducks are better off playing extra games against the east (especially Ottawa, apparently) than they are against anyone in the Northwest Division.

There's about another week of "loose end" opponents before the Ducks break into full Pacific mode, and frankly, I can't wait. The storylines have been brewing since Christmas. The Ducks are supercharged with Niedermayer and Selanne, and the Sharks are hitting stride with Campbell and re-emerging forces in Cheechoo and Marleau. The Stars got past both those teams without Zubov or Boucher, and now they've added millionaire Brad Richards to a formidable roster. The Coyotes are howling for that eighth seed and some '06-style Bryzgalov postseason magic, and the Kings are flat-out determined to fuck up somebody's seed. A Pacific Division Finale seems an awesome way to end this year—selfishly, from a BoC perspective, who says the schedule needs fixing?

Prediction: My commuting life sucks this week, and I probably won't get to watch tonight's or tomorrow's game until probably Friday. Don't worry about spoiling anything; I'll be informed enough to know the score. If anyone wants to let me know their game impressions, though, I'd be glad to read 'em. Oh as for the game prediction, let's call it a tight one. After all, Chicago is a young improving team. Ducks 4, Hawks 3. Goals by Beauchemin*, Getzlaf, Pahlsson, and May. As a bonus, Bryan Murray gets ejected from the game for trethpathing.

Go Duckth.

* My latest craze is to yell, "Take THAT, Bergeron!" any time a Duck blueliner scores a goal. Or even if there's a good shot on net. It turns out I'm yelling that phrase quite a bit, actually—I've also incorporated it into my video game lingo and used it while driving in SoCal traffic.

Ducks Gameday—Pacific Points

Dallas Stars (5-6-2, t-12th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (6-7-2, t-7th in west)

As this is Pacific Month, I thought I'd just show how all 5 Pacific teams have fared in division games since the emergence of the unbalanced schedule. I've shown results by opponent and by home & road.

1. Dallas Stars

Split	GP	Record	Pts	Pct.	GF	GA	PP%	PK%
vs. Phoenix	18	13–5–0	26	.722	57	45	18.0%	82.8%
vs. Anaheim	17	11–4–2	24	.706	42	39	17.9%	86.8%
vs. Los Angeles	18	11–6–1	23	.639	59	50	22.4%	82.7%
vs. San Jose	17	9–6–2	20	.588	41	46	19.4%	86.0%
Home	36	22–12–2	46	.639	100	94	17.7%	83.1%
Road	34	22–9–3	47	.691	99	86	21.6%	85.8%
Total	70	44–21–5	93	.664	199	180	19.5%	84.5%

2. Anaheim Ducks

Split	GP	Record	Pts	Pct.	GF	GA	PP%	PK%
vs.Phoenix	18	14–3–1	29	.806	61	36	26.0%	90.6%
vs. Los Angeles	18	10–4–4	24	.667	60	49	29.7%	80.9%
vs. San Jose	16	9–5–2	20	.625	52	44	18.5%	80.9%
vs. Dallas	17	6–8–3	15	.441	39	42	13.2%	82.1%
Home	34	21–8–5	47	.691	120	86	24.4%	82.4%
Road	35	18–12–5	41	.586	92	85	19.7%	84.7%
Total	69	39–20–10	88	.638	212	171	22.0%	83.6%

3. San Jose Sharks

Split	GP	Record	Pts	Pct.	GF	GA	PP%	PK%
vs. Los Angeles	18	13–5–0	26	.722	67	47	25.5%	82.7%
vs. Dallas	17	8–5–4	20	.588	46	41	14.0%	80.6%
vs. Phoenix	16	8–6–2	18	.563	49	49	19.3%	80.8%
vs. Anaheim	16	7–8–1	15	.469	44	52	19.1%	81.5%
Home	33	15–13–5	35	.530	101	93	18.9%	83.0%
Road	34	21–11–2	44	.647	105	96	20.4%	79.9%
Total	67	36–24–7	79	.590	206	189	19.6%	81.4%

4. Los Angeles Kings

Split	GP	Record	Pts	Pct.	GF	GA	PP%	PK%
vs. Anaheim	18	8–7–3	19	.528	49	60	19.1%	70.3%
vs. Phoenix	16	7–7–2	16	.500	46	50	19.6%	76.7%
vs. Dallas	18	7–9–2	16	.444	50	59	17.3%	77.6%
vs. San Jose	18	5–12–1	11	.306	47	67	17.3%	74.5%
Home	35	16–15–4	36	.514	92	109	17.7%	74.3%
Road	35	11–20–4	26	.371	100	127	19.1%	75.4%
Total	70	27–35–8	62	.443	192	236	18.4%	74.9%

5. Phoenix Coyotes

Split	GP	Record	Pts	Pct.	GF	GA	PP%	PK%
vs. Los Angeles	16	9–6–1	19	.594	50	46	23.3%	80.4%
vs. San Jose	16	8–7–1	17	.531	49	49	19.2%	80.7%
vs. Dallas	18	5–9–4	14	.389	45	57	17.2%	82.0%
vs. Anaheim	18	4–13–1	9	.250	36	61	9.4%	74.0%
Home	34	14–15–5	33	.485	95	99	16.2%	78.7%
Road	34	12–20–2	26	.382	85	114	17.9%	79.9%
Total	68	26–35–7	59	.434	180	213	17.0%	79.3%

I'll probably provide an updated look at this before March, the next divisional play month.

Anyways, the top two teams in this Pacific battle go at it tonight, with Modano destined to set some sort of history tonight. Then later this week the Ducks can also allow JR's 500th goal, and heck, maybe they'll make SportsCenter. Prediction: Ducks 4, Stars 2. Goals by Perry, Marchant, Pahlsson, and McDonald.

Go Ducks.

Kings/Sharks Gameday: The Most Important Month of the Year

Los Angeles Kings (6-7, 3rd in Pacific) at San Jose Sharks (6-5-1, 1st in Pacific)

Kings Record in November: 0-0

7:30 PST, FSN Bay Area, NOT Fox Sports West

The Kings have been enjoying themselves so far, playing fun little games with teams from distant lands like Columbus, Vancouver, and Boston. Now the real season begins for the Pacific Division. Starting today, the Kings do not play a non-Pacific Division opponent until December 1^st. That’s 11 straight games. In fact, it’s pretty much like that for every Pacific team. This stretch is so important that I’d go as far to say that how the standings look at the end of November will probably reflect how they look at the end of the season.

Of course, since we’re going into such an important stretch, a King has to get injured. Kyle Calder will be out for about 2-4 weeks with a broken wrist and… wait, a month with a broken wrist? I’m sorry, I thought this was hockey, not golf. You don’t even shoot, Calder, you just let puck bounce off you. Quit being a baseball player and get your skates on.

Anyway, the Kings called up Matt Moulson (on his birthday, no less) to sit upstairs while Scott Thornton probably plays. Moulson spent four years at a little school called Cornell where he sang, along with Andy Bernard, in the a capella group Here Comes Treble. I doubt Moulson will ever become an important contributor to the Kings, but at least this’ll be something he can tell the grandkids about. Good for him.

Wait, wrong Molson...

The Kings go up against a Sharks team that’s really struggling to a… oh, wait, they’re 6-5-1. I thought with all the wailing wafting down from Northern California that they were 0-35-2. Patrick Marleau has struggled early in the season, tallying only 4 points in 12 games. Good thing he’s playing the Kings, his own personal slump-buster. Last season, Marleau had 13 points in 8 games against the Kings (including 7 goals), his best against any division opponent. I'm still not convinced Marleau knows how to talk (he might not even have a tongue), but he still scares me.

He communicates through dance, like a bee.

Being that these first two games are really important (division tests and all), of course they’re not going to be on television. I’m going up north this weekend to the land of microchips and marijuana so I thought I’d actually get to watch the game, but I guess people actually watch the Golden State Warriors so I’m probably shit outta luck. I could listen to the game on the radio, but who am I, Levi Strauss? I can’t sit there and just listen to a game, what the hell am I supposed to do with my eyes? Plus, TV has completely ruined my imagination to the point that it’s like… something.

I'm not using my brain like some sap!

Prediction: Kings win, 4-3, despite a 3-point effort by Marleau. Goals by Frolov (x2), Brown, and Lubo.

Hello Pacific Division

After playing their first 11 games versus non-division opponents, the Sharks will play their next 12 within the Pacific Division. The month of November could be very important to this team. Will another inconsistent month put coach Ron Wilson on the hot seat? Everyone knows there is a certain shelf-life for coaches. Have the Sharks started to tune out their coach? Their last 2 performances seemed to be lifeless with many of the players blaming themselves but could there be rumblings in the locker room?

With injuries to Rob Davison (finger) and Ryane Clowe (leg), the Sharks have decided to bring up highly touted former 1st round draft picks Devin Setoguchi and Lukas Kaspar. Setoguchi appeared to make the team out of training camp but a nagging ankle injury forced him to start the season in Worcester. Hopefully these 2 youngsters bring some energy and life to the lineup. Look for both of them to be in the lineup versus Dallas on Monday. This will be the Sharks 3rd game in 4 nights and the last game of a 4 game road trip so we shall see what kind of energy they bring to the game after 2 horrible performances. This game will end their month of October where they saw themselves playing only 3 home games compared to 10 road games (which is not necessarily a bad thing considering the Sharks strong road record and mediocre home record).

Ducks Gameday—12,000 mile migration finally finds its way home

Boston Bruins (1-1-0, t-8th in east) at Anaheim Ducks (1-3-1, t-6th in west)

After a road trip that can best be described as "predictably brutal", the Ducks finally raise their banners tonight in front of the home crowd--Scott and Teemu are supposed to be in attendance, so that should be an interesting ceremony, at least. I'm not going to overcriticize the team for the lackluster start, even though the last three cup-winners have all had excellent starts to their year: Tampa Bay took points in 14 of its first 16 games (11-2-3), Carolina earned points in 13 of 16 (12-3-1), and last year's Ducks got points in all 16 (12-0-4).

This year's Ducks have only taken points in 2 out of its first 5 games, but I'm staying optimistic. Here's some semi-random thoughts I've been mulling over:

1. Last year's Senators recovered from a brutal start to make the cup finals, so a rough start isn't insurmountable. Ottawa took points in only 7 of its first 16, but unlike the Ducks so far, the Senators' goal-differential was pretty promising. Just a side note on the Sens' top line: it took them less than 2 games this season to score as many goals and points as they got in all 5 games against the Ducks last spring. Just sayin'.

2. Fortunately, the rest of the Pacific Division has started slowly as well. The Ducks will have a games-in-hand issue as the season goes on, but I'm surprised nobody in the division has passed the Ducks in the standings yet. Last year, the Pacific produced three 107-point teams; so far this year nobody in the division sits above the .500 mark and every team is getting outscored.

3. The main thing I can say about the team's rough start was that it was entirely predictable. The team had a lengthy spring, with the cup hangover and semi-retirements that tend to follow. They had a severely shortened summer and an abbreviated camp to accomodate two September games overseas. Then they hurried back to open the North American season with 3 openers in 4 nights.


I made the graphic to the left just to show the whimsy of the scheduling discrepancy thus far--after tonight's games, the two teams with the shortest summers will have hurried to play more games than any other team, and the Ducks in particular will have played twice as many games as more than 2/3 the league.

Besides the schedule impacting results, there is also the matter of personnel: compared to last year's squad, the team is short a #1 goaltender, a top-scoring forward, a top-scoring defenseman, a top-scoring rookie, a top-shutdown center, and a top-UFA defenseman. And really, all that's been available to replace them has been Todd Bertuzzi, Shane Hnidy, and rookies.

I guess my main point here is that when I evaluate NHL teams, I don't often hold them to irrelevant results. Last season I often ignored a 2-7-2 stretch in January when Giguere, Pronger, Beauchemin, Marchant, and Bryzgalov all had simultaneous injuries. The season before I isolated results for the Sharks after they inserted Thornton and Toskala, and for the Ducks after they shed Fedorov, Sykora, Carney, and Ozolinsh.

So I'm not reading anything into this ridiculously-scheduled start. Instead, I still look forward to what sort of success (or lineup, really) that these Ducks project to have with at least the additions of Giguere, Schneider, and Pahlsson.

4. Just for historical comparison, after the Ducks' first visit to the cup finals, they started the next season with an 0-4-1 start, so at least things could be worse. The first five games of 2003-04 were a truly brutal start: 5 goals-for and 16 goals-against; at least this year's squad has scored 11. Coincidentally, the 5th game in that Oct. 03 slump was the last time the Bruins visited Anaheim.

Sidenote #1: I'll give Boston credit for also starting this season with some tough matchups--they are the visitor for the home openers in Dallas, Anaheim, and San Jose. However, those openers are spread out, and after this trip Boston won't leave the eastern time zone again.

Sidenote #2: I actually was in attendance for that Ducks-Bruins game back in 2003. I remember that game because I managed to pull my wallet out at a beer stand, walk away with a beer in each hand, and not discover my missing wallet until I got home. So if you found a wallet that night, you know the secret identity of Earl Sleek (you bastard).

5. Back to this season, I'm at least hopeful that the Ducks' pathetic start convinces Scott and Teemu that they're still useful for this team. If I'm Brian Burke, I'm really hoping each of them watches the Columbus video in particular. In case you missed it, that was the game where it took the Ducks 16 minutes to find out Pascal Leclaire was in the Blue Jacket net.

6. At least the on-ice problems thus far seem identifiable and fixable. First off, the PK desperately needs Pahlsson back--9 of the 16 goals they've surrendered have come on opposition power plays. Two players that have been particularly exposed: Ryan Getzlaf has played 12 shorthanded minutes with 4 goals against, and Francois Beauchemin in 29 minutes has been on the ice for 8 of the 9 PPGs-against.

As for goaltending, it's actually been quite stellar for the most part. Ilya Bryzgalov has started three games and only allowed one even-strength goal. Breezy's problem is that he's been victimized for eight power play goals-against, plus the Ducks have only offered him three total goals-for in support. I didn't catch all of the Pittsburgh game, but Hiller's impressed as well.

Prediction: Sorry I'm long-winded today, but in support of the Ducks I've flown on two red-eye flights within the last week, and I'm feeling the lack of proper bed-sleep. Anyway, the Ducks' only win this season came on the only game I didn't make a gameday post, but I know what's been the missing element: Sammy Pahlsson. He's a possibility to return for tonight's game, and that's good enough for me. Ducks 3, Bruins 2. Pahlsson, Perry, and Pahlsson.

Go Ducks.

An Idea

A lot of people in the hockey world complain that the hockey season is too long.They complain that by the time a champion has been crowned, it’s June and most people haven’t seen snow or ice in a couple of months. Every year there’s an article about how the season should be cut down to 72 games, or 60, or 10; I say fuck that noise. I believe just the opposite; the season needs to be at least 10 games longer.

Why must the season be lengthened, you ask? Well, for one, we need hockey. If you follow hockey every other sport seems to be played in slow motion. I mean, sure, I like baseball, but have you ever tried to watch a game from beginning to end? It’s like watching a hockey game, but if every player was Chris Chelios. Some people might get burned out by all that hockey; I call those people pussies. Think about it: if the season went until the middle of July, we’d have the rest of July and August to do the draft and free-agency, and then bam, pre-season.

Thirdly, we’d see more teams. Imagine if they added 18 games to the schedule, bringing the season up to 100 games. Along with all the Western Conference games that we already see, those 18 games can be used to give the fans more games against Eastern Conference opponents. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather see Sidney Crosby and Ilya Kovalchuk once than Keith Ballard for the 8^th time.

You don't think he could play another 10 games?

Some people might argue that the players would be tired and beaten down if the season were that long, to which I reply: fuck ‘em. They get paid millions of dollars to play a kid’s game; they can handle a little pain. I don’t get 3 months a year off for my shit job, so why should they? If anything, it’d cut out the weaklings (read: Europeans) and we’d get real men playing again. Besides, tennis players, golfers, and NASCAR drivers go all season, so why shouldn’t hockey players?

So there you have it. A longer season equals more hockey, therefore my argument is infallible. For those of you who still disagree, think about this: if the season was longer, you wouldn’t get stupid articles like this one

Ducks Gameday—Phoenix, the hand that feeds you

Anaheim Ducks (43-18-12, 3rd in west) at Phoenix Coyotes (28-41-4, 15th in west)

One aspect of the division-heavy schedule that has been in place this season and last is the notion of non-competitive rivalries, where a team regularly and handily takes points from one of its division mates. Tonight we have one of the prime examples with the Ducks and the Dogs. Since the schedule has been implemented, the Ducks have gone 13-1-1 against Phoenix, and those 27 points are the second-highest amount any team has taken from a division foe over that stretch (Nashville has 28 points in games against the Blues).

Here is a list of the top-15 one-sided division rivalries over the past 2 seasons (measured in terms of points-earned-per-game):

Team	Opponent	Games Played	Standings Points	Points-Per-Game
Detroit	Chicago	14	27	1.93
Nashville	St. Louis	15	28	1.87
Anaheim	Phoenix	15	27	1.80
Buffalo	Boston	15	26	1.73
Nashville	Columbus	16	27	1.69
Florida	Washington	14	23	1.64
Carolina	Florida	14	23	1.64
Ottawa	Toronto	16	26	1.63
Detroit	Columbus	13	21	1.62
Detroit	St. Louis	15	24	1.60
Atlanta	Washington	15	24	1.60
Atlanta	Florida	15	23	1.53
Buffalo	Toronto	14	21	1.50
New Jersey	Philadelphia	14	21	1.50
Calgary	Edmonton	15	22	1.47

I don’t really know what to say about this list: on one hand, it seems unfair that dominant teams on this list get such a unique boost in their points total; on the other hand, every division is represented on this list so at least it’s somewhat spread out.

Now just for the record—I am a guy who for the most part is in favor of the new schedule. I like the fact that we don’t play the east very often; as opposition, eastern teams just aren’t as relevant to the Ducks’ fate, as they are accumulating points on their own separate standings board. And aside from Phoenix, all the other Pacific teams are great match-ups for Duck fans, and certainly involve less travel. (Plus I just don’t want to give up the free PHX points.)

Feel free to share your feelings on the schedule in the comments—what works for you and what doesn’t?

Prediction: 2 more points for the feathered ones. Ducks 4, Coyotes 2. In the seven games against Phoenix this year, the top line of Selanne-McDonald-Kunitz has combined for 12 goals and 19 assists, so naturally tonight’s goals will be scored by Pahlsson x2 and R. Niedermayer x2.