#NHL Pacific Division Update 2011-12

Half of the Western Conference playoff field came from the Pacific Division last year.  At the end of each summary we will highlight just one blog for that respective team, but there are many quality sites out there if you care to search for them.  Please share your comments on the rest of the teams across the NHL as we fill the void of the offseason.

Anaheim Ducks

2010-2011 Record: 47-30-5 (2^nd  in the Division)

Offseason Thus Far: The moves have not been fast and furious in Anaheim, but the way they closed the season made it easier to stand pat.  Jonas Hiller was superb in goal to help the team back to the playoffs although he had some injury issues.  Hiller said he is ready for the season.  Kurtis Foster came over in exchange for Andy Sutton. Center Andrew Cogliano also comes over in a trade and Brian McGrattan was added for some depth.

                                          Kyle Palmieri on draft day (blog.nj.com)

Analysis: I’m not sure Ducks’ fans have stopped talking about Corey Perry’s 50 goal season.  However, Teemu Selanne decided to come back for another year just to energize the Anaheim faithful some more.  Kyle Palmieri hopes to stick with the team for the full season as the Ducks seem to have an open battle for the third and fourth lines.  Barring injury, this team should battle for the division lead.

Blog: Anaheim Calling

Dallas Stars

2010-2011 Record: 42-29-11 (5^th in the Division)

Offseason Thus Far: Dallas started showing a change in philosophy at the beginning of last year and continued it through the season.  So while they are still trying to finalize the transition to a new ownership, the team moves forward.  Michael Ryder, Sheldon Souray, Vernon Fiddler, and Radek Dvorak were all added on July 1.  Of course the big news is the loss of Brad Richards to the Rangers as the number one free agent got a big contract from the blue shirts.

Analysis: Dallas may have finished last in the Pacific, but they were only two points from making the playoffs.  Mike Ribeiro is expected to have a heightened role and seems to have embraced that idea.  Alex Goligoski filled in on the power play admirably with Trevor Daley and Stephane Robidas helping to create a lot of movement on the man advantage in the last three months of the season.  How will Kari Lehtonen fair in goal for Dallas with Andrew Raycroft backing him up?

Blog: Blackout Dallas

Los Angeles Kings

2010-2011 Record: 46-30-6 (4^th  in the Division)

Offseason Thus Far: News swirled around the Kings as an active location this offseason and they did not disappoint Los Angeles acquired Mike Richards from Philadelphia a week before the free agency period.  Next Colin Fraser was added then Simon Gagne signed a two year deal. Ethan Moreau was a recent signing and this is in addition to the acquisition of Dustin Penner at last year’s trade deadline.  The Kings shook up their roster letting go of Brayden Schenn, Ryan Smyth, and Wayne Simmonds. 

Analysis: The biggest news is that Drew Doughty is holding out waiting for a new contract from the squad and general manager Dean Lombardi.  Lombardi says his offer will not increase and even threatened to reduce the offer for each day Doughty is not in camp.  Matt Greene, Jack Johnson, and Rob Scuderi could have more burden if the holdout is prolonged.  Anze Kopitar enters his sixth season with some thinking he can still improve his consistency throughout the season.  Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier are a great tandem in net. There are a lot of uncertainties still with the Kings, so they could finish anywhere from first to third in the division. 

Blog: Crowned Royal

Phoenix Coyotes

2010-2011 Record: 43-26-13 (3^rd  in the Division)

Offseason Thus Far:  Is the biggest story that the Coyotes are still in Glendale?  This season is a turning point for the Arizona franchise as there are still questions about its ownership.  The team also lost long time goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and now will be looking at Mike Smith, Curtis McElhinney, or Jason Labarbera to emerge as the number one.  Lee Stempniak was shipped to Calgary for Daymond Langkow. No big name free agents made their way to the desert, but the Coyotes did resign Keith Yandle.  Phoenix also lost Eric Belanger and Ed Jovanovski.

Analysis: Phoenix took the biggest step backwards in the Pacific but still scratched and clawed its way into the playoffs.  They have a roster filled with role players that needs to be pieced together just right behind Langkow, Shane Doan, and Ray Whitney.  The questions in goal could prove to be too much while youngsters Andy Miele and Oliver Ekman-Larsson hope to make a positive impact.  Yandel, Derek Morris, and Adrian Aucoin will provide the veteran presence on the blue line.

Blog: Five For Howling

San Jose Sharks

2010-2011 Record: 48-30-5 (1^st  in the Division)

Offseason Thus Far: Dany Heatley did not live up to his billing in San Jose during postseason play and now finds a home in Minnesota to make room for Martin Havlat.  Brent Burns could be the biggest offseason acquisition for this perennial pacific powerhouse.  Colin White was signed to provide depth on the blue line.  Michal Handzus and Jim Vandermeer also call San Jose home for the 2010-11 season.  Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Jamal Mayers, and Ian White all departed in the offseason.

Analysis: Although the Sharks made it to the conference final, it was clear the front office had a plan and set it in motion quickly after the season ended.  Despite not playing a game the chemistry of the team seems improved while Havlat and Burns should be solid additions. Antti Niemi and Antero Nittymaki improved over the season and Logan Couture looks to improve on a great rookie campaign.  The Sharks should be at the top of the division once again. 

Blog: Blades of Teal

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Pens Lose: Real Coyote Ugly

I thought the Pens were to wear the baby blues, no? Nevertheless, I think this picture pretty much sums up the game.


As the title denotes this game was ugly. Perhaps one of the most daunting games I've watched the Penguins play in a while. There was simply nothing there all night. Penalty after penalty. Neither Crosby or Malkin could get anything going. Even the Sesame Street line couldn't put a goal in the net. There was zero offensive cohesion all night. Bylsma was stymied and just tried different line after different line to get something going. On the flip side the Coyote's played an extremely impressive defensive game despite a nominal effort offensively.

_____________________________1st Period________________________________

Matt Cooke started the game off with a lot of energy only to find himself in penalty box early. Little did he know he'd set a trend the rest of the game. Crosby came out first on the PK shift to do some damage despite the rarity of such an incident. Kill went well. Straight from the box Cooke got a chance at a breakaway, though the end result basically typified the night...nothing. That and Chris Bourque's first seconds on the ice he slips and falls. Shortly thereafter Malkin goes to scrum along the boards only to pick up a 4 minute slash on Yandle, which resulted in the first goal of the game. 1-0

Lord Knows we could have used this guy's magic. He was in the house.

Right after that Shane Doan gets robbed by Brent Johnson with a whip of the glove. Proves to me Johnson is solid.

The Penguins had a power play chance of their own only to squander it with nothing that even resembled a legitimate shot. They could barely keep the puck in the zone let alone set up their offense.

Did Guerin even play?

_____________________________2nd Period________________________________

The second period started and ended pretty much the same way as the first. The Pens looked up middle of the ice but Coyotes doing a good job at shutting them down. They played that neutral zone trap with 4 guys clogging the middle and 1 guy cheating. The Penguins got their second power play chance at the 6 minute mark only to show more of their lax passing and cohesionless game plan. Sid fanned on a decent chance only to pick up a slashing penalty out of frustration. In the 4 on 4 game the Pens still couldn't open up the ice at all. There were blocked shot after blocked shot, deflected pass after deflected pass. Speaking of line shifting, we got a chance to see Malkin on the ice with Rupp and Kennedy, and interesting combo that really didn't produce anything. Following this Orpik picked up a penalty that lead to another Coyote goal. This time Peter Prucha picked up the power play goal while lying on Mark Eaton's back. 2-0. That's the way the period ended.

After a commercial break the ol' two-niner interviewed Bylsma who noted the difficulties in puck management and (seemingly endless) turnovers.  My emphasis. 

_____________________________3rd Period________________________________

The Penguins ended the 2nd period playing pretty well and got a few chances. They even drew a penalty to start the 3rd. It was at that point you thought things were going to turn around. Energy was up, guys had a little pep in their skates. The third period was ours! That is of course unless you continue to do the same thing you did in the previous two periods. We were evenable to see the two headed monster come out for a little bit. I guess coming out of hibernation can be a bit difficult. Nothing there either. There was no rhythm to anything the Pens attempted. There were a few chances but nothing that got you off your couch to route for. Nearing the end of the period Kunitz topped it all off with picking up the Penguins 9th minor of the night. Coyotes do the same on a Prucha penalty. Penalties killed. Ending the period, Pens pull Johnson, Vrbata gets the empty netter. 3-0

Game. Coyote Ugly.

The Pens didn't need a game like this before they play the Flyers...or do they?

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Penguins Gameday 10/07/09

Tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Phoenix Coyotes at Mellon Arena. The Igloo will be loud tonight as it starts the first of five games with American Eagle's Student Rush program.

The Penguins have announced that goaltender Brent Johnson will start tonight vs. the Coyotes. Johnson will be making his first start for the Penguins. Johnson you remember played with the Washington Capitals in 21 games. His record was 12-6 with a .908 save percentage and a 2.81 goals against average.

The following are the probable lines for tonight's game.

______________________________________________

Forwards

Kunitz-Crosby-Guerin

Dupuis-Malkin-Fedotenko

Cooke-Kennedy-Staal

Rupp-Adams-Godard/Bourque

______________________________________________

Defense

Orpik-Gonchar

Eaton-Letang

McKee-Goligoski

______________________________________________

Something pretty cool I stumbled into online was the Pittsburgh Penguins HD radio network. I don't have a HD radio but I now noticed that you can listen to the station from off the Penguins website. Here is the schedule for the HD station.

9:00 am - 9:30 am --Player's Playlist --Listen to what the players listen to.

9:30 - 12:00 noon -- Penguins Live -- All Pens talk, all the time.

12:00 - 2:00 pm -- NHL Live -- Straight NHL talk for the whole league.

2:00 - 3:00 pm -- Mark Madden -- "The Super Genius" talks all Pens for an hour every day.

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