HOME TEAM IN CAPS
All plays are 2 units unless stated otherwise.
Montreal -105 over TORONTO
OT included. The Maple Leafs created a new “advanced stats” department which will decrease the playing time of one useless goon named Colton Orr. Toronto added some much needed depth with its fourth line that figures to get a lot more ice time than the previous fourth lines they have employed over the years. That will help later in the season but it also takes away ice time from the Maple Leafs best players and we don’t see that as an advantage in the first month. Randy Carlyle is still the Head Coach in Toronto but he’s on borrowed time, as the organizational mantra has begun shifting to innovation and new ideas, Carlyle is decidedly old school and he’s on a collision course with the higher powers that be. The Leafs offense is still a decent one that should produce enough scoring to keep them competitive but it’s Toronto’s defense that is still the main problem. The Leafs have instilled a new defensive system but they don’t have the personnel to make it work. Not yet anyway. The Leafs ranked dead last in shots allowed last season and they didn’t improve their defense unless you consider Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak an upgrade over Carl Gunnarson, Tim Gleason and Paul Ranger. That’s five garbage players in one sentence.
Montreal scored 209 times last season, which ranked them second in the East. The offseason addition of forwards P.A. Parenteau and Manny Malhotra will bring more strength to the Canadiens’ offense. Malhotra will make a huge impact to the Canadien’s faceoff win percentage (he’s one of the best faceoff men in the game), which bodes well when killing penalties and getting possession of the puck at key times. Getting P.A. Parenteau for little-used Daniel Briere was a nice move by the Canadiens and so was acquiring sought-after Czech free agent Jiri Sekac, a 22-year-old winger who played in the KHL last season. Sekac had an outstanding preseason. The Habs also added defenseman Tom Gilbert from the Florida Panthers to a defense that was greatly improved last season. Remember, the Canadiens knocked off the powerful Bruins in last year’s playoffs. They didn’t make a lot of “dead” moves like the Maple Leafs did. They added three key players that should all fit in nicely and while this is just one game in which anything can happen, we’ll gladly back the superior team with stability, that is not getting used to a new system, against a Maple Leafs squad that is attempting to do a 180 again for the 10th time in the past 10 years. (2.1 units to win 2).
CALGARY +103 over Vancouver
OT included. Every “season preview” article or news story on the Flames has them projected as a bottom feeder once again this season. The Flames finished 24th in the league in scoring and they lost perennial goal scorer Mike Cammalleri to the New Jersey Devils. We say big deal. Calgary played 18 games without Mark Giordano. On a team that allowed more goals than they scored, Giordano was a +12 with 47 points in 64 games. Calgary also played in 49 one-goal games, the most of any team in the NHL, which is a tribute to their outstanding work ethic and determination. Jonas Hiller adds stability in net. We love this acquisition, as Hiller will play with a huge chip on his shoulder after Ducks coach, Bruce Boudreau gave up on him last season. Sean Monahan is a stud that doesn’t figure to suffer a sophomore slump because he really is that talented. Another potential stud in the making is Johnny Gaudreau, who scored 10 points in seven games this past spring for Team USA at the World Hockey Championship level. Devin Setoguchi lost 20 pounds in the off-season and reports are that he’s never looked better on or off the ice. Deryk Engelland was picked up from Pittsburgh and while that doesn’t seem like much of a move at all, Engelland also had a great preseason and the reports are that he’s moving the puck crisply and efficiently and that he, too, has never looked better. Throw in Mikael Backlund, Jiri Hudler, Joe Colbourne, Brandon Bollig, Mayson Raymond, Dennis Wideman and T.J. Brodie and we see the Flames as one of the most undervalued teams to start the year. The West is extremely tough and while they may not make the playoffs, don’t be surprised to see the Flames improve point wise more than any team in the league. They are going to be a tough out every night.
A ton of significant injuries along with a losing mindset and a coach they could not stand, last season was the perfect storm for a Canucks collapse and that’s precisely what happened. Now they have a rookie coach, a rookie GM, a rookie president, a meddling owner and a lot more questions than answers. Vancouver starts the year with changes to all four forward lines. They traded malcontent Ryan Kesler to the Ducks and their best D-man, Kevin Bieska will start the year on the rack. The Sedin Twins had their worst year in a decade and they aren’t getting any younger. A bounce back for the twins is certainly possible but a significant one isn’t likely. They Canucks once had the best goaltending duo in the league in Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider and now they’ll have to rely on Ryan Miller to have a huge year. That’s a stretch too, as Miller’s numbers have been in decline for 3 years running. Miller’s game was particularly troubling when he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues midway through last season, posting a save percentage of .903 in front of a great defense. No team other than Buffalo scored fewer goals than the Canucks last year. Along with Kesler, other departed names include Jason Garrison, Mike Santorelli and David Booth. Looking over the Canucks roster, you would be hard-pressed to see any improvements or any team with less talent than they have. Some say this team is playoff bound but we don’t see it that way at all. We see a roster that is a complete mess that is going to take at least two years to fix. We may be wrong but from our vantage point, Vancouver cannot be favored on the road.
All plays are 2 units unless stated otherwise.
Montreal -105 over TORONTO
OT included. The Maple Leafs created a new “advanced stats” department which will decrease the playing time of one useless goon named Colton Orr. Toronto added some much needed depth with its fourth line that figures to get a lot more ice time than the previous fourth lines they have employed over the years. That will help later in the season but it also takes away ice time from the Maple Leafs best players and we don’t see that as an advantage in the first month. Randy Carlyle is still the Head Coach in Toronto but he’s on borrowed time, as the organizational mantra has begun shifting to innovation and new ideas, Carlyle is decidedly old school and he’s on a collision course with the higher powers that be. The Leafs offense is still a decent one that should produce enough scoring to keep them competitive but it’s Toronto’s defense that is still the main problem. The Leafs have instilled a new defensive system but they don’t have the personnel to make it work. Not yet anyway. The Leafs ranked dead last in shots allowed last season and they didn’t improve their defense unless you consider Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak an upgrade over Carl Gunnarson, Tim Gleason and Paul Ranger. That’s five garbage players in one sentence.
Montreal scored 209 times last season, which ranked them second in the East. The offseason addition of forwards P.A. Parenteau and Manny Malhotra will bring more strength to the Canadiens’ offense. Malhotra will make a huge impact to the Canadien’s faceoff win percentage (he’s one of the best faceoff men in the game), which bodes well when killing penalties and getting possession of the puck at key times. Getting P.A. Parenteau for little-used Daniel Briere was a nice move by the Canadiens and so was acquiring sought-after Czech free agent Jiri Sekac, a 22-year-old winger who played in the KHL last season. Sekac had an outstanding preseason. The Habs also added defenseman Tom Gilbert from the Florida Panthers to a defense that was greatly improved last season. Remember, the Canadiens knocked off the powerful Bruins in last year’s playoffs. They didn’t make a lot of “dead” moves like the Maple Leafs did. They added three key players that should all fit in nicely and while this is just one game in which anything can happen, we’ll gladly back the superior team with stability, that is not getting used to a new system, against a Maple Leafs squad that is attempting to do a 180 again for the 10th time in the past 10 years. (2.1 units to win 2).
CALGARY +103 over Vancouver
OT included. Every “season preview” article or news story on the Flames has them projected as a bottom feeder once again this season. The Flames finished 24th in the league in scoring and they lost perennial goal scorer Mike Cammalleri to the New Jersey Devils. We say big deal. Calgary played 18 games without Mark Giordano. On a team that allowed more goals than they scored, Giordano was a +12 with 47 points in 64 games. Calgary also played in 49 one-goal games, the most of any team in the NHL, which is a tribute to their outstanding work ethic and determination. Jonas Hiller adds stability in net. We love this acquisition, as Hiller will play with a huge chip on his shoulder after Ducks coach, Bruce Boudreau gave up on him last season. Sean Monahan is a stud that doesn’t figure to suffer a sophomore slump because he really is that talented. Another potential stud in the making is Johnny Gaudreau, who scored 10 points in seven games this past spring for Team USA at the World Hockey Championship level. Devin Setoguchi lost 20 pounds in the off-season and reports are that he’s never looked better on or off the ice. Deryk Engelland was picked up from Pittsburgh and while that doesn’t seem like much of a move at all, Engelland also had a great preseason and the reports are that he’s moving the puck crisply and efficiently and that he, too, has never looked better. Throw in Mikael Backlund, Jiri Hudler, Joe Colbourne, Brandon Bollig, Mayson Raymond, Dennis Wideman and T.J. Brodie and we see the Flames as one of the most undervalued teams to start the year. The West is extremely tough and while they may not make the playoffs, don’t be surprised to see the Flames improve point wise more than any team in the league. They are going to be a tough out every night.
A ton of significant injuries along with a losing mindset and a coach they could not stand, last season was the perfect storm for a Canucks collapse and that’s precisely what happened. Now they have a rookie coach, a rookie GM, a rookie president, a meddling owner and a lot more questions than answers. Vancouver starts the year with changes to all four forward lines. They traded malcontent Ryan Kesler to the Ducks and their best D-man, Kevin Bieska will start the year on the rack. The Sedin Twins had their worst year in a decade and they aren’t getting any younger. A bounce back for the twins is certainly possible but a significant one isn’t likely. They Canucks once had the best goaltending duo in the league in Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider and now they’ll have to rely on Ryan Miller to have a huge year. That’s a stretch too, as Miller’s numbers have been in decline for 3 years running. Miller’s game was particularly troubling when he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues midway through last season, posting a save percentage of .903 in front of a great defense. No team other than Buffalo scored fewer goals than the Canucks last year. Along with Kesler, other departed names include Jason Garrison, Mike Santorelli and David Booth. Looking over the Canucks roster, you would be hard-pressed to see any improvements or any team with less talent than they have. Some say this team is playoff bound but we don’t see it that way at all. We see a roster that is a complete mess that is going to take at least two years to fix. We may be wrong but from our vantage point, Vancouver cannot be favored on the road.
