Update!

Look out tomorrow for my year-end report on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 31, 2010)

The NHL is relatively busy tonight, with seven games on the go. Montreal looks to solidify its spot in the playoffs, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Meanwhile out west, Calgary is running out of games to collect points. They currently sit ninth overall in the western conference, four points behind the Colorado Avalanche, with six games remaining. They will need to pull out a win against the Phoenix Coyotes, which just happens to be the hottest team in the NHL.

Florida Panthers (Vokoun) @ Buffalo Sabres (Miller)

Carolina Hurricanes (Ward) @ Montreal Canadiens (Halak)

Tampa Bay Lightning (Nittymaki) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Fleury)

Chicago Blackhawks (Huet) @ Minnesota Wild (Backstrom)

San Jose Sharks (Nabokov) @ Dallas Stars (Turco)

Anaheim Ducks (McElhinney) @ Colorado Avalanche (Anderson)

Phoenix Coyotes (LaBarbera) @ Calgary Flames (Kiprusoff)

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 28, 2010)

There is some good hockey to watch this Sunday, with six games on the bill. As the regular season winds down, some playoff bound teams rest top players and start backup goalies to rest their number ones for the big dance. However, others still fighting for a spot or looking to move up in the standings, will come out with their top rosters. Keep an eye on this in your fantasy leagues, so that you can bench and start the right players.

Calgary Flames (Kiprusoff) @ Washington Capitals (Theodore)

Toronto Maple Leafs (Giguere) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Fleury)

Edmonton Oilers (Deslauriers) @ St. Louis Blues (Mason)

New Jersey Devils (Danis) @ Philadelphia Flyers (Boucher)

Columbus Blue Jackets (Mason) @ Chicago Blackhawks (Niemi)

Colorado Avalanche (Anderson) @ San Jose Sharks (Greiss)

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 27, 2010)

As the season winds down, more teams are dropping out of the playoff race. Tonight will feature some teams still fighting to move up into a playoff position. There are twelve games tonight, with the Detroit Red Wings trying to hold onto the eighth seed in the west, playing against the Nashville Predators. Calgary sits ninth in the west, and will try to make some ground on Detroit against the Boston Bruins.

Calgary Flames (Kiprusoff) @ Boston Bruins (Thomas)

Philadelphia Flyers (Backlund) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Fleury)

Tampa Bay Lightning (Nittymaki) @ Buffalo Sabres (Lalime)

New York Rangers (Lundqvist) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (Gustavsson)

New Jersey Devils (Brodeur) @ Montreal Canadiens (Halak)

Florida Panthers (Vokoun) @ Ottawa Senators (Elliot)

Atlanta Thrashers (Hedberg) @ Carolina Hurricanes (Legace)

New York Islanders (Roloson) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (Garon)

Detroit Red Wings (Howard) @ Nashville Predators (Rinne)

Colorado Avalanche (Anderson) @ Phoenix Coyotes (Bryzgalov)

Vancouver Canucks (Luongo) @ San Jose Sharks (Nabokov)

Dallas Stars (Lehtonen) @ Los Angeles Kings (Quick)

Year End Report: Toronto Maple Leafs

Believe it or not, the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2009-2010 season started off with hope, ambition, and expectations from its loyal fans. However, things turned very ugly, very early, starting the season with eight straight losses. It was the worst nightmare coming true for all Leaf fans. Things would get better, but not by much.

After re-tooling his defense and making a blockbuster trade for RW Phil Kessel in the offseason, Maple Leafs General Manager, Brian Burke, was poised to see an overall improvement from his team. The Toronto Maple Leafs would show flashes of strong play, but their lack of depth and talent was exposed as the season wore on.

This would lead to an incredible re-tooling of the Toronto Maple Leafs by Brian Burke and his staff. Burke shipped out forwards Niklas Hagman, Alexi Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan, Jason Blake, Lee Stempniak, Jamal Mayers, defenseman Ian White, and goaltender Vesa Toskala. This would bring some low draft picks, D Dion Phaneuf, LW Fredrik Sjostrom, D Keith Aulie, C Luca Caputi, and G Jean-Sebastien Giguere, effectively making Toronto the youngest team in the league.

Currently sitting last in the Eastern Conference, and second last in the NHL, the only objective of the Maple Leafs now is to climb up the standings as high as possible, and continue to develop their young players.

THE OFFENSE
The majority of Toronto's offense has come from Kessel, Hagman, and Ponikarovsky, but with only Kessel sticking around, many young players have been given the opportunity to step up and show the Leafs what they have to offer.

The offensive ability of Phil Kessel has never been questioned. Even playing on a lowly Leafs team, Kessel has still managed to net 28 goals and 51 points in 61 games. At 22 years of age, he is undoubtedly Toronto's best forward and will be for a long time. As the Leafs get better around him, Kessel will prove himself to be one of the league's premier scoring threats.

Luca Caputi, coming to Toronto from the Penguins in the Ponikarovsky trade, has looked very comfortable and has shown flashes of brilliance, scoring 5 points in 10 games as a Leaf. He will be given the opportunity to earn a full-time roster spot next season.

Now considered Toronto's best two-way forward, Nikolai Kulemin has shown that he can tangle with the NHL's best players. His size and defensive abilities have been on display as of late, while also contributing 32 points in 69 games.

Along with these young forwards, Toronto's future does look promising. Nazem Kadri has had another impressive year with the London Knights, while Viktor Stalberg, Tyler Bozak, John Mitchell, Fredrik Sjostrom, Colton Orr, Christian Hanson, and Andre Deveaux all look to be good assets for Toronto.

THE DEFENSE
The past year has seen Burke almost completely rebuild Toronto's defense, starting with the free agent signings of Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin. Burke then promoted Carl Gunnarsson from the minors when Komisarek went down with an injury. Next was another blockbuster trade, sending the steady Ian White to Calgary for all-star Dion Phaneuf. This was a bold move on Burke's part, but Toronto's defense is ultimately a lot tougher and talented.

With these moves, Toronto will undoubtedly head into next season with one of the best defense groups in the league. Especially if Schenn continues to develop and Kaberle sticks around. Kaberle, Phaneuf, Beauchemin, Komisarek, Schenn, and Gunnarsson look like a very capable group that should continue to improve for years to come.

THE GOALIES
As the season started to wind down, it was clear that Toskala was lacking the confidence and motivation needed to be Toronto's number one goaltender. A change was the best thing for both Toskala and the Maple Leafs. In what some might call a genius trade by Burke, he shipped Toskala and Jason Blake to the Anaheim Ducks for goalie J.S. Giguere.

With rookie Jonas Gustavsson and veteran Giguere now sharing the load, the Leafs have looked much more improved in the goaltending position. Unless Burke is planning another big move, this will most likely be the goaltending tandem for the Maple Leafs next season. It would seem that Gustavsson is Toronto's goalie of the future, pending a contract renewal this summer by Burke.

THE SCOOP
Just like I said with the Edmonton Oilers, it has been a very tough season for the Toronto Maple Leafs and its fans. What started as a fools optimism, turned into a swift realization of what the Leafs really were, a team of hard workers that lacked superstar talent in all positions.

As Burke moulds this team into his own, you can bet he will do what he can to make the Leafs a winner. Even though Toronto will not have their first round draft picks for the next two years, there are a lot of good things for Leaf fans to look forward to.

They have a couple young stars to build around in Kessel and Phaneuf, some very capable veterans in Kaberle and Beauchemin, a veteran goalie who has a Stanley Cup ring, and most importantly a decent group of young players on the cusp of moving up to the next level. Future success for the Leafs will depend on whether or not Kadri, Kulemin, Caputi, Bozak, Mitchell, Schenn, Gunnarsson, Sjostrom, Stalberg, Hanson, and Deveaux can continue to work hard and develop their skills.

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 25, 2010)

There's a lot of NHL action tonight, with twenty-two teams taking to the ice. Calgary will try to stay in the playoff race in a tilt against the New York Islanders. The high-flying Phoenix Coyotes will continue to fight for first place in the Western Conference, visiting the Nashville Predators.

Tampa Bay Lightning (Nittymaki) @ Boston Bruins (Rask)

New York Rangers (Lundqvist) @ New Jersey Devils (Brodeur)

Calgary Flames (Kiprusoff) @ New York Islanders (Biron)

Minnesota Wild (Backstrom) @ Philadelphia Flyers (Boucher)

Washington Capitals (Varlamov) @ Carolina Hurricanes (Legace)

Toronto Maple Leafs (Gustavsson) @ Atlanta Thrashers (Pavelec)

Chicago Blackhawks (Huet) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (Mason)

Florida Panthers (Vokoun) @ Montreal Canadiens (Halak)

Los Angeles Kings (Quick) @ St. Louis Blues (Mason)

Phoenix Coyotes (Bryzgalov) @ Nashville Predators (Rinne)

Dallas Stars (Turco) @ San Jose Sharks (Nabokov)

Year End Report: Edmonton Oilers

It has hardly been the kind of year that some expected for the Edmonton Oilers. After revamping their coaching staff with some very established and respected men, more was expected of the young squad. In all fairness, head coach Pat Quinn and assistant, Tom Renney have the right to take time with this team to make it their own, but there is no doubt it has been a stressful season in Edmonton.

THE OFFENSE
Going along with the theme of high expectations, the Edmonton Oilers offense came into the season with just that. The hope was that the amazing skill of RW Ales Hemsky, the strong two-way play of C Shawn Horcoff, and the size of LW Dustin Penner would all combine to make a tough, high scoring first line. Then a group of talented youngsters, mixed with some formidable veterans, were to fill out the rest of the forward lines.

However, we all know that intentions do not always happen. Coming off signing a six year 33 million dollar contract extension, Horcoff has often looked unmotivated, lost, and invisible on the ice. Hemsky came out strong scoring 22 points in 22 games, but then went down to a season ending injury. Dustin Penner has greatly improved his game, but has also disappeared at times.

To go along with this, veterans Ethan Moreau, Mike Comrie, and Fernando Pisani have all performed below expectations and failed to inspire a young team. The younger players on the team have also failed to live up to expectations, but still show a lot of promise.

The Oilers can look forward to having young forwards C Sam Gagne, C Gilbert Brule, C Patrick O'Sullivan, C Andrew Cogliano, and LW Dustin Penner in their lineup for years to come. But they still need time to develop.

THE DEFENSE
Some thought that with quarterbacks, Sheldon Souray and Lubomir Vishnovsky on the blueline, the Oilers powerplay would be a force to be reckoned with. Vishnovsky did not disappoint scoring 32 points in 57 games with the Oilers before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks. However, injuries and inconsistency plagued Souray for most of the year, and has been limited to 13 points and a -19 rating.

There is promise on the Oilers blueline however, as Ryan Whitney, who came over in the Vishnovsky trade, is only 27 years old and has 31 points in 72 games. Tom Gilbert has also shown an offensive upside, but needs to work on his defensive game to improve.

Veteran leader, Steve Staios was shipped out to Calgary at this years trade deadline, making room for a number of young defensmen to get more ice time. While Denis Grebeshkov was also traded to the Nashville Predators to make cap room.

THE GOALIES
Many sports pundits were surprised by the signing of veteran, Nikolai Khabibulin to a long term contract at the age of 37, however, when healthy Khabibulin showed he still has some fight left in him. It remains to be seen how effective he can be in the remaining years of his contract, but he still provides stability and a veteran presence on a team that badly needs those qualities.

Since losing Khabibulin to injury, the goaltending duties have largely been put on Jeff Deslauriers, with Devon Dubnyk serving as his backup. Both are two young goaltending prospects fighting to prove their worth to the Oilers management team, but both have had up and down seasons.

In all fairness, Deslauriers has managed to collect 15 wins in 43 starts, no small task playing behind a hapless Oilers team who rarely plays a team defensive game. Dubnyk, on the other hand, has struggled as backup this season, sporting a .880 save percentage and two wins in 15 starts.

THE SCOOP
Despite an awful season, the Oilers can look forward to drafting in the top two this summer, and further developing young talent for next season. Key injuries to Hemsky, Souray, and Khabibulin were detrimental to Edmonton's playoff hopes, but it was also the lackluster performance of the team overall that was the biggest problem. In the absence of key players, veterans and youngsters failed to step up and take the load.

Head coach, Pat Quinn might have summed up the 2009-2010 season for the Oilers when commenting on the Grebeshkov trade, "(Grebeshkov) was spotty, you can see that he has some skill, but he's been like our team; we haven't been strong defensively. He seemed nervous at times and certainly didn't play anything like I was advised he could play" (Edmonton Journal).

However, I do see many positives for this team, as they have some good veteran players in Hemsky, Souray, Whitney, Penner, Horcoff, and Khabibulin but they need to develop cohesively as a team and stay healthy to compete. Prospects need to continue to develop and use this lost season as a lesson of how much hard work that it takes to compete in the NHL.

Looking ahead, I have enough faith in this coaching staff to say that I believe next years team will be much more competitive and tough to play against. Healthy players and confidence will be important for this team next season.

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 24, 2010)

It's relatively busy in the NHL tonight, as six games are on the schedule. The beasts of the east clash tonight, as the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Washington Capitals. The Anaheim Ducks also try to stay in the playoff hunt against the Vancouver Canucks, who currently sit first in the Northwest division. The battle of New York, although arguably a lackluster battle this season, resumes tonight at the Rangers MSG Centre.

New York Islanders (Roloson) @ New York Rangers (Lundqvist)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Fleury) @ Washington Capitals (Theodore)

Montreal Canadiens (Price) @ Buffalo Sabres (Miller)

St. Louis Blues (Mason) @ Detroit Red Wings (Howard)

Los Angeles Kings (Quick) @ Colorado Avalanche (Anderson)

Anaheim Mighty Ducks (Hiller) @ Vancouver Canucks (Raycroft)

Back At it!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in posts. It has been almost two weeks, but I have some new topics and ideas for the blog. Starting today, I will be doing year end team reports and reviews. I'll go based on standings, start at the bottom and work my way up. Therefore, the Edmonton Oilers will be the first team to face the wrath of Doner haha. I will also get back to posting probable starting goalies every day.

Thanks for sticking around and supporting my blog. I hope you enjoy it, and dont forget to leave any comments, arguments, and ideas that you might have. I love to hear from you guys.

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 11, 2010)

Ten games fill out a busy schedule in the NHL tonight, with a couple important matchups worth noting. With only four points seperating the two teams in the standings, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins battle for two important points. Leighton will get the start for the Flyers, while Tuukka Rask might get his first start since the break due to a knee injury. The Montreal Canadiens will also be looking to gain another two points against the Edmonton Oilers. The Canadiens currently sit seventh overall in the east with 72 points, and will need to rack up the wins to make the playoffs.

The Detroit Red Wings are looking in from the outside right now, sitting ninth in the Western Conference. Tonight they will look for a win against the Minnesota Wild to put them in the eighth playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames will try to prevent the Red Wings from doing just that, as they host the Ottawa Senators. The race for a playoff spot is on, and with teams bunched together in the east and west it should make for some very exciting hockey over the next couple weeks.

Tampa Bay Lightning (Smith) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (Giguere)

St. Louis Blues (Conklin) @ New York Islanders (Roloson)

Boston Bruins (Rask) @ Philadelphia Flyers (Leighton)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Johnson) @ Carolina Hurricanes (Peters)

Atlanta Thrashers (Hedberg) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (Garon)

Edmonton Oilers (Dubnyk) @ Montreal Canadiens (Halak)

Minnesota Wild (Backstrom) @ Detroit Red Wings (Howard)

Florida Panthers (Vokoun) @ Colorado Avalanche (Anderson)

Ottawa Senators (Elliot) @ Calgary Flames (Kiprusoff)

Nashville Predators (Ellis) @ San Jose Sharks (Nabokov)

Today's Probable Starting Goalies (March 10, 2010)

There are only five games tonight. The New York Rangers will try to stay in the playoff hunt when they face the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers sit ninth overall in the Eastern Conference with 67 points, and three points out of a playoff spot. The surging Carolina Hurricanes face the league leading Washington Capitals, with the Canes still fighting for a playoff spot. It is the longshot for the team, but you have to love their inspired play lately. The Vancouver Canucks and the Phoenix Coyotes should make for an exciting matchup tonight, as the teams sit third and fourth in the Western Conference standings.

Wins are becoming more and more important for teams hoping to make the playoffs, as teams only have between 15 and 20 games remaining on the season. It will make for some exciting hockey as teams fight it out for the remaining playoff spots.

Dallas Stars (Turco) @ Buffalo Sabres (Miller)

New York Rangers (Lundqvist) @ New Jersey Devils (Brodeur)

Carolina Hurricanes (Legace) @ Washington Capitals (Theodore)

Los Angeles Kings (Quick) @ Chicago Blackhawks (Niemi)

Vancouver Canucks (Raycroft) @ Phoenix Coyotes (Bryzgalov)

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 8, 2010)

Only two games in the NHL tonight.

Dallas Stars (Turco) @ Washington Capitals (Varlamov)

Columbus Blue Jackets (Mason) @ Los Angeles Kings (Quick)

Tonight's Probable Starting Goalies (March 6, 2010)

There are ten games in the NHL tonight, and the competition gets tougher as teams compete for a playoff spot. Now that the trade deadline is over, we can solely focus on hockey instead of contracts and trade rumors. There were some trades on Wednesday, but nothing of significance, with depth players and low draft picks being moved by most teams.

Dallas Stars (Lehtonen) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Fleury)

Boston Bruins (Thomas) @ New York Islanders (Biron)

Toronto Maple Leafs (Gustavsson) @ Ottawa Senators (Elliot)

New York Rangers (Lundqvist) @ Washington Capitals (Theodore)

Carolina Hurricanes (Peters) @ Florida Panthers (Vokoun)

Atlanta Thrashers (Hedberg) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (Nittymaki)

Anaheim Ducks (Hiller) @ Phoenix Coyotes (Bryzgalov)

St. Louis Blues (Mason) @ Colorado Avalanche (Anderson)

Montreal Canadiens (Price) @ Los Angeles Kings (Quick)

Columbus Blue Jackets (Mason) @ San Jose Sharks (Nabokov)

Goodbye Olympics, Hello NHL Trade Deadline

I must say that I am somewhat sad that the Vancouver Olympics are over, with a record fourteen gold medals, and an amazing total of 26, it would have been nice to keep that party going for a while. I have to say congratulations to all athletes that represented their countries, and especially to the Canadian athletes who made us all proud at these Winter Games.

It was fitting that the last medals won at the Olympics were for ice hockey, and of course the gold for Canada. There could not have been a better ending for the Vancouver Games...for Canada at least.

With 80% of Canadians apparently watching this hockey game against the rival United States team, there could not have been a Canadian that was not beaming with pride. I for one, watched the game with my family, and that overtime goal led to about three minutes of screaming, hugging, and jumping. It's one of those, "where were you when...?" moments.

So good work boys, it was an amazing game by both sides, with the Americans fighting hard throughout the entire game. Hopefully NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners will understand how beneficial Olympic participation from their players really is for promoting the game around the world.

There is no doubt Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will get a little more attention around the world for his overtime heroics. Wouldn't it be nice to say that you have already won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal at the age of 22? Simply incredible.

With the Olympics drawing to a close, the NHL kicks right back into action, with the trade deadline at 3:00pm EST tomorrow. According to sources, there has been quite a bit of talk between GM's around the league, with playoff bound teams looking for depth.

There have already been a few moves in the last 24 hours, with some teams wanting to get a jump on the other teams. Last night the Edmonton Oilers sent defenseman, Denis Grebeshkov to the Nashville Predators for a 2010 second round draft pick. This might be the first of many moves for the Oilers, but both teams have found a good fit here. The second round pick is a good one for Edmonton going forward, and Grebeshkov is a talented young defenseman who might flourish under Predators coach, Barry Trotz.

The Ottawa Senators continue to shore up for a playoff push, as they have acquired veteran defenseman Andy Sutton from the New York Islanders for a second round draft choice. Adding blueline depth for the playoffs should alyways be the mission of any general manager, and Murray has done just that in this trade. It is not a blockbuster by any means, but it adds a solid stay-at-home defenseman to the roster, and also gives the team more toughness.

Darren Dreger of TSN also reports that the Philadelphia Flyers are making a push for Nashville Predators defenseman, Dan Hamuis, but it remains to be seen if a deal can be made before tomorrow's deadline. Hamuis would be a great addition to any playoff team, in Nashville he has quietly become a very steady defensive and offensive presence. Details to follow...