Mid-term Review

I really should blog more about hockey. This wasn’t one of my New Year’s resolutions, but it should have been. The entire World Juniors went flying by and I didn’t say a word. In any case, what more can be said about another perfect performance by Canada’s junior phenoms.They were just fantastic.

Meanwhile, in the big leagues, we have reached mid-season in the NHL. That means it’s (unfortunately) time to see how my pre-season predictions look at this point in the year. Somehow, I have a feeling this isn’t going to be pretty.

EASTERN CONFERENCE (My predictions in brackets)

1. Buffalo (1)
2. Atlanta (9)
3. New Jersey (5)
4. Montreal (10)
5. NY Rangers (2)
6. Carolina (4)
7. Ottawa (3)
8. Toronto (11)
9. Boston (8)
10. Washington (15)
11. Pittsburgh (12)
12. NY Islanders (14)
13. Tampa Bay (7)
14. Florida (13)
15. Philadelphia (6)

OK, so while not many people predicted Montreal’s strong start, I really don’t know why I had Atlanta in 9th. In retrospect, that was pretty stupid. The other two major errors on my part seem are Ottawa and Philly. Although I think Ottawa will right the ship ( i twill have absolutely nothing to do with the acquisition of Mike Comerie), I’m fairly certain that Philly will remain at the bottom. This makes me happy to no end.

I had predicted that the Rangers would finish in second and I still think they’ll end up higher than where they are now. From what I’ve seen, they are playing better than their record indicates.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Anaheim (3)
2. Nashville (1)
3. Vancouver (11)
4. San Jose (4)
5. Detroit (5)
6. Dallas (7)
7. Calgary (2)
8. Minnesota (6)
9. Colorado (13)
10. Edmonton (8)
11. Chicago (15)
12. Phoenix (12)
13. Los Angeles (10)
14. Columbus (9)
15. St. Louis (14)

So the big shock in this end of the continent is, obviously, the Canucks. They’re playing really well and it seems like they’re for real. Although I don’t think they’ll fall down as low as 11th, they could drop down the list significantly as the parity in their division is unrivaled. A few losses and they could be fighting for a playoff spot. Their current position is quite misleading.

The same applies to the Flames. A slight surge by Calgary could easily hoist them up the standings lickity-split.

Apart from that, I think my predictions will be better in the West than in the East.

That’s all for now. As you were.