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March 2007
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Posted by: Ben Wright at 2:08PM EST on March 19, 2007
One thing is certain about the NHL schedule maker: you either pay him sooner, or
you pay him later. In other words, with 82 games packed into a 187-day span,
your schedule is likely going to be front loaded or back loaded. With travel,
arena availability issues, and just the overall complexities of building a
schedule that accommodates 30 teams, rare is the season when a team feels its
games are spread equitably over the six-month regular season. This year, the
Thrashers schedule was front loaded, to the point where the team was usually
first or tied for first in games played. Through the win over Buffalo on Sunday,
Atlanta led the entire NHL with 74 games already completed and just eight left
in the regular season.
The bad news is that every team chasing the Thrashers had at least a game
in hand after the weekend. But the good news is that Atlanta had built an
impressive lead heading down the final stretch and also has the benefit of
playing its final eight regular-season games over the course of 20 days, a very
agreeable pace. Juxtapose that with the task facing the New York Islanders, who
stood a point out of the playoffs through Sunday. Sure, the Islanders had played
the fewest games - just 71 - of all likely playoff hopefuls in the Eastern
Conference, but that means the team’s final 11 games will be jammed into a
timeframe tighter than a game every other night. Considering the physical nature
of the sport and how the intensity and pressure are ramped up significantly this
time of year, having that many games in hand often looks good on paper only. The
Islanders may indeed take advantage of the extra games to be played, but they’ll
have to overcome the physical AND mental fatigue factors to do it.  These are pretty heady days for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who keep on piling up
the wins, on and off the ice. There was absolutely no doubt the only conclusion
to the ongoing soap opera involving the team’s potential exit from the Steel
City was an agreement between owners and political leaders to keep the team
right where it’s been for 40 history filled years. Now that the Penguins have
proven it is tough to beat them in the political arena, the test will be for the
rest of the Eastern Conference to figure out how to beat the team on the ice
through the stretch drive and playoffs. Atlanta gets its next chance Saturday
afternoon at Mellon Arena, and it says here to take the over on the shots on
goal totals. That game may end in a shootout, but with the offensive talent on
both of these teams, the shootout will likely begin at the first drop of the
puck.
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Posted by: Ben Wright at 4:19PM EST on March 12, 2007
Of all the points and counterpoints surrounding the ongoing saga that is the Pittsburgh Penguins precarious position (wow, that’s a lot of p-words) in the Steel City, there is one that should transcend all others. Simply put, 40-year-old major league sports franchises that boast the history, fan base, and success that the Penguins have had in their colorful four decades on the Igloo ice do NOT move. They just don’t. It’s the same reason the Edmonton Oilers didn’t move when things looked so bleak there several years ago. You simply cannot do that to a city and a fan base that has been such a vital and vibrant part of the league and the sport for so long. That’s why it is imperative that the NHL helps to broker a deal between the franchise and local and state government that makes sense for all parties. It’s the only thing in this entire scenario that would end up making sense. Pittsburgh without the Penguins is totally nonsensical, as is some of the rhetoric that has emanated from this stalemate. It’s time for everyone involved to stop drawing lines in the sand and start drawing up the paperwork of a fair and equitable deal.  ***** One of the things that looks absolutely sure in the Eastern Conference’s stretch drive is that no playoff bubble team is going to back into the Stanley Cup dance. It’s a credit to those teams either trying to hang onto the last few playoff berths or leapfrog their way into the playoff picture that most are playing pretty darn good hockey. Even the Boston Bruins, who were pretty much written off after a weekend loss in Philadelphia, came back with a vengeance in Detroit, against a Red Wings team that has been among the top two or three at home all season. Montreal bounced back from a 6-2 pasting at the hands of the Thrashers last week (their fourth straight loss) with a huge road win in St. Louis that left the rouge, blanc, et bleu just two points out of the eighth spot. If you listened closely enough, you would have heard the mournful notes of a dirge wafting from the Big Apple about a week or so ago, signaling the apparent end of the Rangers playoff hopes. But Tom Renney’s gang reeled off a 3-0-1 week and snuck right back into the playoff fold. Then you have a Florida team that’s making one of the strongest pushes of all. The Panthers are one of the hottest teams in the game right now, and if they maintain this pace, it could very well be an eight or nine team race for the final four or five playoff spots in the East. No one said it would be easy, right?
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