Classic Posts: Hockey Around The Horn Bloggers Ed. Part 2

Here is the fairly quick conclusion to the Hockey Around The Horn: Bloggers Edition. This was quite an episode and just think it is coming back soon. Enjoy.

And now the conclusion of Hockey Around The Horn…..in the first part we delved into many categories and here are their scores…..

John — 36
Derek — 26
Doug — 31
Matt — 29
Tony — 29

It was rare to see a tie and yes we had to eliminate two people…so Derek has been eliminated and as for the second, Matt was eliminated based on a tiebreaker with the rest of the questions…that is why we ask everyone to answer them all. So Derek and Matt, thanks for participating but now its time to say goodbye…..oops….wait…too late…….goodbye!! Heh!

Now onward to the Over/Under…….

Over / Under

The winner of the Eastern Conference many, if not all, think is Ottawa. Now the bigger question is will Ottawa get more or less than 110 points this season? And why?

Currently, the Senators are on pace for 114 points or so. That said, the team will get less than 110 points. The NHL isn’t filled with as many doormats; so while teams like Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Buffalo are outside of playoff contention, they can definitely give anyone a good game. Very few teams can keep up a pace of winning through January, February, and March unless they get incredibly hot. With a record of 6-4-0 in their last 10, while good, it’s proof that the Senators are not the 1998 Detroit Red Wings. What also hurts them is that the loss of Dany Heatley due to injury. He was their second leading scorer with 25 goals and 31 assists, and while the team isn’t necessarily hurting for scorers, he was a big part of their top line that has provided 70 goals so far this season combined. Losing someone who can produce like that for a significant amount of time will affect any team. So they’ll get close, they’ll likely win the East, but they will get just shy of 110. — John

The Senators will get less than 110 points because they will not get consistent goaltending down the stretch and will play too many games against teams that will be desperate for points. The loss of Dany Heatley will expose their lack of depth as well and will keep them from overwhelming teams with their offense. Heatley will of course be back, but he’ll be out enough to keep the Senators from getting 110 points. — Doug

I think 110 points is just about right, give or take a few. The Heatley injury is a big blow to the Sens. Not so much as to launch them on a massive losing streak, they’ve got too much firepower for that. But Heatley’s injury may result in them to take a little hit and allow the other Eastern Conference favorites (Devils, Pens, Habs, etc.) to inch closer to them on top of the East. — Tony

And now the scores……..

John — 6
Doug — 6
Tony — 4

Well now it is time to say goodbye to Tony…..another great Pens blogger has been eliminated…so anything left you have to say Tony???????

Sidney Crosby is still the MVP!!!

Well I don’t know about that….but at any rate…the buzzer tolls….and ZAP! Just like that….he is gone. Well now two men, John and Doug will enter the showdown and only one man will emerge victorious. And here they gooooo!!!!!!

The Showdown

1. You are very accomplished hockey bloggers….what was your best story and how did it make you feel afterwards?

My favorite post has been a two parter about the Devils and their shooting accuracy: Part 1 and Part 2. Long have I heard that the Devils seemingly miss their shots and have their shots blocked so many times, and I’ve felt the same during some Devils games I’ve seen. Rather than thinking about it, I actually spent the effort going through the NHL.com Event Summaries manually and tabulating the shots on net, missed shots, and blocked attempts and comparing the Devils’ results. Though this, I found evidence that the Devils take more chances on net on average than their opponents; while also discovering that that those thoughts were warranted. The Devils do indeed miss more shots on net than their opponents on average and they have more of their shots blocked as well. I felt really accomplished after tabulating the charts and coming to the conclusion that a new player or a trade alone won’t necessarily help the Devils’ offensive woes – more accurate shooting will. Why haven’t I highlighted it? Because the data is still changing and I want to see the results after a full season. — John

I’m not sure it was my best story, but the one that I am proudest of is when I scooped the entire hockey world by announcing on PuckPodcast.com that the Anaheim Ducks had placed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers. I put that on the website and then searched every site I could think of to see if they had the news yet and when I realized they didn’t I was elated. It ended up being another six hours before any other website reported it and that made me feel great. It’s very rare to scoop the entire hockey world like that but the feeling I had was so great that I can’t wait to do it again. — Doug

2. The first half is in the books…..and The NHL Arena Program did a bit of an unscientific survey to determine the MVP for the first half? We have five choices on the board….who is your #1 and why?

The correct answer to this question is Martin Brodeur. Homer pick? Only if you haven’t seen the Devils this season. They currently lead the Atlantic Division, a division separated by only 6 points between first and last. The Devils are dead last in the league in total goals scored and are 28th in power play efficiency, yet they boast a record of 26-17-3. Players like Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, and Jamie Langenbrunner are only scoring in streaks; the defense is inexperienced with Colin White as the team’s top defensive defenseman; and it leads one to wonder why they aren’t struggling? The answer is in their NHL leading 106 goals against and the man responsible for all of that is Martin Brodeur. Despite Roberto Luongo’s play, the Canucks are only third in their division right now; the Senators are strong from top to bottom meaning that it isn’t all Spezza; Jarome Iginla isn’t the only getting it done at Calgary giving them success; and the Penguins may still be good without Crosby. No other team’s success has hinged so much one player like Brodeur and so I think he’s the MVP of the first half of the season. — John

My first half MVP is Jarome Iginla. The Flames captain is a leader on and off the ice for Calgary and without him I don’t think there’s any chance that they are in contention for the Northwest Division title. With him they have one of the best lines in hockey and are in the thick of the race in the Northwest despite a very slow start for Mikka Kiprusoff. — Doug

3. Finally, The NHL Arena Program turns one on Tuesday….yes there will be much drinking and hockey and surprises. I am sure there are many favorite memories from your blogs? What are your top 2?

The first set of e-mails I got when I started the blog were really supportive and were evidence that I made the right decision in starting such a blog, I won’t forget those – though I can’t reveal exactly what they said or who they were from. The second is when I got invited onto the radio – the actual, honest to God radio – by Rob Kowal of New York Hockey Talk on WGBB to talk about the Devils. That never would have happened if it wasn’t for my blog and I’m still amazed that this all happened in a little less than a year. — John

The Ilya Bryzgalov scoop that I mentioned earlier was my favorite, but for my blog I would have to say that writing a blog about the Anaheim Ducks winning their first Stanley Cup Championship was a blast. Even if the Ducks are to win another Cup it won’t be their first one – it won’t be the first for guys like Teemu Selanne, Chris Pronger or J.S. Giguere. That was a special team with a special group of guys and getting the chance to cover them from the press box was a thrill. — Doug

Yes this was extremely hard…some of the best answers I have ever seen on Hockey Around The Horn and now…..THE SCORES!!!

John — 23
Doug — 23

Now as far as the questions….John won the first…Doug won the second…and the third was a tie….so yes we had a draw for the Showdown!! Everyone knows however that there can’t be a draw on Hockey Around The Horn. Hell! I would burn in eternal hot lava and oil for that one. So we went back…all the way back to the beginning to find a winner……and with a total score of 65 points….John from In Lou We Trust is our winner!!!!!

So Doug…any words you wanted to say before you get sent back to the salt mines??

Clearly the judging on this show is flawed, but hopefully the bugs will be worked out in time for my next appearance.

Well…. I don’t know about that….but this was ultra close indeed…it could have really gone either way. And now John…..here’s your Face Time!!

Face Time

Well I wanted to thank everyone for this momentous opportunity to let me go up against some of the best bloggers out there and to think I came out on top…..wow!

Alrighty….thanks to everyone who made this possible…and just wait till you see next month’s Hockey Around The Horn…but for now its time for Chris to say goodbye….good fight….good night!!!

About Chris Wassel