Friday 27 April 2012

Oilsoup: NHL Playoffs 2012 Second Round Predictions

Well hockey fans it was a crazy first round to start off the 2012 NHL playoffs. I wish I could say that the first round was brimming with excitement but I must say the Pens / Flyers series was by far the best of the bunch. There was a number of upsets and I believe Wilson was able to predict a few of them. Wilson went 5-3 which isn't too shabby in comparison to many other predictions by the almighty hockey insiders.


Second Round predictions:


Washington Capitals over the NY Rangers in 6 games
- It's going to be a close series but Wilson believes that the Caps have what it takes to go far this year.The Caps have more playoff experience and have finally bought into Dale Hunter's defensive system. Only way the Rangers win this one is if Gaborik wakes up, which isn't going to happen.


Philadelphia Flyers over the NJ Devils in 5 games.
- Wilson loves the compete level of the Flyers and the Devils will be in tough with a more physical team. Like the first round, the Devils will be relying on Brodeur's stellar play.


St. Louis Blues over the L.A. Kings in 5 games.
- It's hard to ignore the Kings stingy defence and strong goaltending but Wilson just doesn't see the Blues losing this defensive battle. The Blues will continue to play the same style of hockey from last round where the King's will be playing an entirely different team. 


Nashville Predators over the Phoenix Coyotes in 7 games.
- This one is a crap shoot which has Wilson bouncing of walls. Neither team has much playoff history and the two teams are exact replicas of each other. The Yotes have home ice advantage but the Preds have Trotz. Wilson gives the series to the team with the better coach, no offense Tippet.


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Thursday 12 April 2012

Nail Yakupov And The Oilers

Once again the Edmonton Oilers will be selecting first overall in this years draft. It will only be the second time in NHL history that a team has selected first in three consecutive years, Oilers and the defunct Quebec Nordiques. The Oilers will be the first team since the introduction of the lottery; while the Oilers have been unlucky these past years with the injury bug, they have certainly been lucky with the lottery ball. 


Unlike the previous two drafts, this years draft truly has an undisputed no.1 ranked player. There continues to be some debate on whether Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the best player in their class, there will be no argument when it comes to Nail Yakupov at this years draft.


How good is Nail Yakupov, well can you say Pavel Bure! That's right, he could end up being the next "Russian Rocket." In 65 games this year he has put up 101 points in the OHL. He has lighting speed and a goal scorer instinct that will be prominent in the NHL. The only concern with Nail is his size, at 5'11 he won't be bulldozing over players but 190 pounds he won't be pushed around either.


The question many Oiler fans is where does Yakupov fit into our line-up? With Jordan Eberle and recently signed Ales Hemsky, there is no room for Nail in the top six forwards. Fans and hockey media are suggesting the Oilers may very well trade their first overall pick to acquire a much needed defenseman; even Steve Tambellini commented that with winning the lottery, more options have presented itself this summer.


Having the first overall pick does present the Oilers a number of options, but the best course of action is to keep the pick and draft Nail. Oilers need to continue the rebuild without pressing the fast forward button. Next year the team will be more experienced and with a little luck, the team will not be injury riddled. A more experienced healthier Oilers will contend for the playoffs next year regardless of what changes we make. With the addition of Yakupov, the Oilers should be a handful at even strength and the powerplay as well. 


Hopefully the Oilers are able to sign soon to be UFA Justin Shultz. With these two young additions to the team, the future will be set and we will be contending for the Cup sooner than you think. 


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Tuesday 10 April 2012

Oilsoup: NHL Playoffs 2012 First Round Predictions

Well TSN has Maggie the monkey, well I've decided to use Wilson the ball; and no he's not related to Wilson from Cast Away. Here are Wilson's prediction for the 2012 NHL playoffs starting with the first round.

Vancouver in 5 games over Los Angeles
-It pains me to say this but Vancouver is a far better team and the Kings simply don't have the depth to compete against the Canucks.

St. Louis in 7 games over San Jose
- This will be a close series but I do believe Halak will be the difference.

Pheonix in 6 games over Chicago
- I've been extremely impressed with Yotes this year and although Toews is a game time decision I just can't see him dominating in the first few games. With home ice advantage the Yotes will win their first ever series.

Detroit in 4 games over Nashville
- Yes Wilson has lost his mind but he's a huge Wings fan. Wings have played well all year with Howard in net and shouldn't have any problems keeping the Preds of the scoreboard. Games will be close but I believe Zetterberg wants to send a message and he will be the difference.

New York in 4 games over Ottawa
- the Sens Cinderella season will come to an end in the first round. Rangers are a better team in all positions and shouldn't have any problems dispensing the Sens.

Washington in 6 games over Boston
-This is the big upset. The Caps are a better team than what they've shown this year and have all the fire power to counter the Bruins. Tim Thomas has been inconsistent and I don't see that changing in the playoffs. Bruins had a short Summer last year and the grind will take it's toll.

New Jersey in 6 games over Florida
- It will come down to goaltending and Brodeur has a couple of levels on Theodore.

Pittsburgh in 5 games over Philadelphia
- The Penguins have too many offensive threats for Flyers D to handle. Unless Pronger comes back from the dead, Bryzgalov is going to get peppered or will it be Bobrovsky?

There you have it Oiler and hockey fans; Wilson seems to be on the ball and I'm looking forward to see how the first round pans out.

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Monday 9 April 2012

Oilers Questions?

With the season over and another six months until the puck drops for next year, Steve Tambellini has a lot of questions he needs to answer. The first question on his list is who will be steering the ship for next year? Steve likes to keep his cards close to his chest and has given no evidence whatsoever what will happen to Tom Renney. Steve has a few months to decide about who will be coaching the Oilers, it would be unorthodox to go to the draft table without a head coach! My question is what is the deadline for Renney? If he`s not signed by the end of the month than there`s simply too many questions and management will look elsewhere for a new coach.

The second question is of course Ryan Smyth, my understanding was Ryan was supposed to have been signed shortly after the trade deadline. That was a few months ago and it's pretty clear the two parties can't come to an agreement. Similar to the Hemsky negotiations, Tambellini is sticking to his guns and won't offer Ryan anything more than an one year deal. We all know that Smyth wants to remain an Oiler but how much of a home-town discount is he willing to surrender. Tambellini is playing a dangerous game with Ryan Smyth and Oilers fans; let's hope the two parties come to an agreement before the draft.

The final nagging question that has to be on Steve's mind is the forever injury problems that has plagued the Oilers these last few seasons. Something needs to be done, injuries is an unfortunate part of hockey but could injury prevention be the problem. Training staff can only do so much, could it be the players aren't taking the necessary precautions. Maybe the training staff need to babysit the players and make sure they're prepared for each game. Obviously there are more questions to ponder but Tambellini definitely needs to address these issues for next year.

For me, I only have one question for Steve Tambellini, what the F is going on with Linus Omark? Why was he called up if Renney had no intention on playing him. Why isn't there better communication between management and coaches. With the call-up, Omark can no longer play in the AHL playoffs and the end result has only diminished his trade value. In typical Tambellini fashion, every time I start believing in him, he goes ahead and dreams up a bone-headed scheme.

Steve Tambellini has a lot of questions and with typical Oiler fashion, Oilers fans find themselves asking too many questions as well. Oiler management do like to keep their fans guessing, I suppose it keeps the team in the limelight during the Summer.

Hopefully next year we will all have fewer questions!

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Saturday 7 April 2012

Hockey Night In Florida EH! Oilers Style!

Well here I am writing this blog from sunny Ft. Lauderdale where there is no snow and no sign of hockey. Work has kept me busy this week in Florida and it's been difficult finding time and news about hockey; if it wasn't for the internet I would be completely disconnected from the game I love. Ft. Lauderdale is the home of the Florida Panthers yet there is no news or talk about the Panthers and their turn-around season. You wouldn't know that the team made the playoffs and may possibly finish first in their division.

Despite having a good team, the Panthers are struggling at the gate and will probably be one of many American NHL teams to finish in the red. If the proposed realignment of the divisions goes through, it should help attendance with Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa in their division. I'm sure Gary Betman is thinking that hockey fans will schedule holidays in Florida around their teams visits to the state. Most Maple Leafs fans don't get a chance to watch games in Air Canada Centre so it conceivable that fans will travel to Miami or Tampa Bay to watch their team. Unfortunately it's a sad dilemma that the two Florida teams have to rely on fans from visiting teams for financial support.

Glad to see Betman using his creativity and thinking outside the box yet I don't see the realignment solving the financial woes of Florida. To put it bluntly, the only thing that is going to save these struggling markets in the U.S is a lucrative T.V. deal. If Canadian hockey fans are the answer to failing U.S markets, would it not make more sense to move a struggling American team to Canada? With no T.V. deal in sight, it would be in the league's best interest to have nine teams in Canada over the next few years.

Enough about Florida and a little talk about the Oilers!

The play of Dubnyk as of late has definitely convinced me that he is a bonafide starting NHL goaltender. Of course I'm not really all that surprised since I've been advocating Dubey these last few months. Oilers can go into the the Summer knowing their goaltending situation is perfectly fine.

 I'm not that concerned about the defence especially if the Oilers are able to sign soon to be unrestricted free agent Justin Schultz. Regardless of what Anaheim does, Schultz will choose his final destination. The Oilers do need a top pairing defenseman yet they can afford to wait one more season to see if anyone develops in the system. Oilers should try to add some depth on the back-end but their number one priority is finding some size in the top six up-front. I'm not completely sold on Hartikainen and it may be a smarter move to have him playing in the bottom six. I kind of like the idea of having a fourth line of Paajarvi - Lander - Hartikainen. I know it won't happen but it would be an interesting line of skill and speed. If my memory serves me right, both Zetterberg and Datsyuk played bottom six minutes for their first year in Detroit.

With the season over, the Oilers will be finishing 29th overall. It will be an interesting draft because after Yakupov, it's anyone's guess who goes second. There is talk that the Oilers may trade their first round pick or even possibly move down the draft. I honestly don't see it, the team is still rebuilding and moving out of the top three in the draft often back fires.

Well time to finish up, I believe the beach is waiting for me!

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