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2007-08 Midseason Report
by Dave Palmieri
With our inaugural SPIHL season just about at the midway point, I decided to
take a quick look at each team and see what's working, and what isn't. My
observations are based on the raw stats for each team, my own team's experience
playing some of these teams and lastly, revisiting some of
Toronto Dragon's owner Tom Vinacci's comments, to see how accurate he was
while looking at all of our teams.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Philadelphia Federals (1st in division, 2nd in
conference)
21-15-0-1 (43 points)
Philly has gotten good scoring production from team leaders
Olli Jokinen (21 goals) and
Daymond Langkow (19 goals). But the true MVP thus far has been goalie
Miikka Kiprusoff. He has 2 shutouts and his 20 wins are tops in the
league. The Kipper should be a Vezina finalist. If Philly has a weakness, it
is the penalty kill. At 74%, they are 4th worst in the league. If they can
improve on that, they are a legitimate Stanley Cup challenger.
TEAM MVP:
Miikka Kiprusoff
Pittsburgh Pythons (2nd in division, 6th in conference)
17-14-0-7 (41 points)
Pittsburgh has battled all season with Philly for the Division lead.
Ryan Smyth got off to a quick start and hasn't slowed down yet. His 27 goals
lead the team. Young, rugged defenseman
Dion Phaneuf has chipped in 13 goals. Special teams have led the Pythons
all season. They currently have the 4th best power play unit (27%) and the 3rd
best penalty killing percentage (81%) in the league.
Cam Ward must have a better second half however. His .892 save
percentage will simply not cut it. Of course he spanked my Golden Bears with
Ward, but that's another story for another day. Tom felt
Pittsburgh would be playing for a high draft pick. It will be
interesting to see if Chris can prove him wrong.
TEAM MVP: Ryan Smyth
New Jersey Knights (3rd in division, 7th in conference)
15-11-0-8 (38 points)
While 1st overall pick Thomas Vanek continues to light the lamp for NJ, no one
else has really stepped up to help him. GM Ed "Taco Bell" Geles traded for "NJ
Devils traitor" Scott Gomez earlier this year to help bolster the offense. The
Knights' 83 goals scored are the 3rd worst in the league so far. They will have
to pick it up or the teams right behind them in the standings will overtake
them. The Dominator must also improve his numbers. His 9 wins are far behind
the league leaders. The Knights are killing penalties at an 80.4% percentage,
good for 5th in the league. The Knights simply must score more to have a chance
at the playoffs.
TEAM MVP: Thomas Vanek
New York Maulers (4th in division, 9th in conference)
17-20-0-1 (35 points)
As GM Vinacci predicted,
New York has several potent offensive threats, with Alex Ovechkin (28
goals), Mike Cammalleri (19) and Jason Arnott (17).
New York is just 3-8 within the Atlantic Division. Goalie Marty Turco
has been adequate in net, but not outstanding. His 2.86 GAA is respectable, as
are his 14 wins.
NY scores a lot of goals, 2nd most in the league. Unfortunately, NY has
also given up 127 goals, 2nd worst in the entire league. A lot of this can be
attributed to the penalty killing percentage of 72%, 3rd worst in the league.
If
New York can cut down on the goals allowed, they still have a shot of
realizing Vinacci's prediction of winning the division.
TEAM MVP: Alexander Ovechkin
NORTHEAST DIVISION
Buffalo Xpress (1st in division,
3rd in conference)
18-11-0-4 (40 points)
Just as Tom thought, Buffalo is leading the Northeast. They overtook his
Dragons earlier this year and have stayed atop the division so far. The Xpress
are an impressive 5-2 against division opponents. Buffalo has a balanced
scoring attack, led by Zack Parise (17 goals). Defenseman Thomas Kaberle is
having a Norris Trophy season, scoring 34 points in 33 games. Goalie Henrik
Lunqvist has been exceptional, posting a 2.91 GAA.
TEAM MVP: Zack Parise
Toronto Dragons (2nd in division, 8th in conference)
16-11-0-4 (36 points)
Vinacci's Dragons led the Northeast for the better part of the season. As
Commish Mike Sorochen noted,
Toronto has several lethal snipers on the power play. Mike Sillinger,
Alexander Radulov, veteran Mark Recchi and
Patrick Marleau all can score on the power play almost at will. The
Dragons are 6th in the league with the man advantage. As with other teams,
though, the penalty killing is a problem...2nd worst in the entire league at
71%. Despite this weakness,
Toronto has given up a stingy 83 goals so far, good for 2nd best behind
only
Florida. Rick DiPietro has solid numbers in net, but the penalty kill
must improve for
Toronto to make a serious run at the playoffs.
TEAM MVP: Alexander Radulov
Montreal Bulldogs (3rd in division, 11th in conference)
16-20-0-1 (33 points)
Let's talk about the good first. Daniel Briere leads the team with 22 goals,
which is among the league leaders. Defenseman Scott Nidermayer is among the
scoring leaders for blueliners with 30 points. The team is finally headed in
the right direction in terms of front office management as Strat GM legend Tony
"Ratboy/Coffee Creamer" Grabowski came up with $115 million and purchased the
franchise. He has a big challenge in front of him. The Bulldogs' penalty
killing is in the bottom third of the league. They will have to rely on
recently signed goalie
Jussi Markkanen to have a strong second half in net. Grabowski must also
try to motivate sniper
Ilya Kovalchuk, who is stuck on just 9 goals for the year. If
Montreal can make a few trades, tinker with the lineup and get a career
half season from Markkanen, anything can happen if they reach the playoffs.
TEAM MVP: Daniel Briere
Boston Beacons (4th in division, 12th in conference)
12-15-0-5 (29 points)
Andrew Brunette and
Paul Kariya lead
Boston with 11 goals each. Young phenom Evgeni Malkin has yet to find a
groove though, and only has 9 on the year.
Dwayne Roloson has also struggled, posting an .896 save percentge and
3.03 goals against average, both well below the top goalies in the league.
Boston's power play is last in the league as well. If this division stays the
same, then Tom will be correct in picking the Beacons to finish last.
Boston is not quite as deep as some of the othe teams in the Northeast.
If Malkin and Roloson improve on their first half numbers,
Boston may have a chance to move up in the standings.
TEAM MVP:
Paul Kariya
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
Florida Hotshots (1st in division, 1st in conference)
25-7-0-3 (53 points)
Where do you start with the Hotshots? First in the Southeast. First in the
Eastern Conference. First in the entire league. Ageless vets Brendan Shanahan
(31 goals, +24 rating) and
Joe Sakic (12 power play goals) lead the team in scoring. Recently
acquired
Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander are already putting up numbers.
Netminder Niklas Backstrom is among the goalie leaders in almost every category
and will challenge Kiprusoff for the Vezina Trophy. The only problem I see
is the players being worried that they may be traded the next day as GM
Irvine is not afraid to make a deal.
Florida has the #1 power play unit in the league. The Hotshots will have
no problem making the playoffs and are the odds-on favorite to represent the
East in the SPIHL finals.
TEAM MVP: after some serious thought, Niklas Backstrom
Washington Cyclones (2nd in
division, 4th in conference
21-17-0-3 (45 points)
Despite some GM's questioning his decision, GM Billy Gamba showed his
hockey smarts by drafting overlooked young, power forward/sniper Rick Nash 2nd
overall behind Sid The Kid. These two young studs lead the Cyclones in
scoring. Washington is a respectable 7-6 within their division, no easy feat
considering the Southeast could be the best division in all of SPIHL. Goalie
Tomas Vokoun is among the leaders in GAA and Save % and could be a dark
horse candidate for Vezina, if he can bring his win total up. If Gamba's role
players can step up, Washington can make a good showing for themselves in the
playoffs.
Carolina Sand Crabs (3rd in
division, 5th in conference)
18-12-0-5 (41 points)
This year has truly been a learning experience for the reigning
Organizer/Crusher of Dreams of the still-active
World Series of Sorochen/Sewaren Poker. Admittedly, GM Sorochen was a
little rusty in the world of professional hockey. Being a Devils fan doesn't
help matters. Nontheless, the Crabs have hung tough all year. Hart
Trophy candidate Vinny Lecavalier is having a splendid year, while Daniel Sedin
is quietly putting together a career year as well. Blueliner Dan Boyle is among
the leaders in points for defensemen and Manny Legace is having a respectful
year between the pipes. Sorochen has been known to gather his players in the
locker room before home games, and start his words of encouragement by saying,
"TONIGHT-AHHHH....IN THIS VERY RINK-AHHHHH...." Then, as the players walk out,
single file (like the Sand People), they all get the Flair knife-edge chop to
charge them up for the upcoming game. A strong power play makes up for a below
average penalty killing percentage. Again, a 6-5 record is commendable.
There's no reason Carolina can't do some damage in the playoffs.
TEAM MVP:
Vincent Lecavalier
Atlanta Asps (4th in division, 10th in conference)
16-16-0-2 (34 points)
Atlanta has been a very streaky team all year. Sniper
Marian Hossa leads the team with 20 goals, while winger Justin
Williams has 19. Team leader and gritty vet
Rod Brind'amour leads the league with 5 shorthanded goals. J.S. Giguere
must have a better second half. A 3.17 GAA is not going to cut it. Tom
picked the Asps to finish second. That probably won't happen.
Atlanta has been in discussions with other teams, possibly stirring up
some trade talk. Ailing veteran
Peter Forsberg, playing in perhaps his final SPIHL season, still has the
potential to carry a team to victory. It will take all his remaining ability,
as well as some overall team support, to vault
Atlanta into the postseason.
TEAM MVP: fan favorite
Rod Brind'amour
Stay tuned for Part 2 as I take a look at the wild West next.....
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