After 113 days of the NHL experiencing a work stoppage, the season is finally upon us, and who will be the big winners and losers.
Hockey fans celebrate the lockout finally ending. Artwork by Tori Wallace
I was skeptical all 113 days of the NHL lockout, thinking, “I might not watch professional hockey until late 2013.” I was even so desperate that I began watching Denver Cutthroat games. They are the Semi-Pro hockey team in Denver, and boy they play bad hockey.
Now, Gary Bettman and the Players’ Association have reached a 10-year agreement that each side can opt-out of after eight seasons. All the Revenue splits and Salary caps were re-tooled, but at this point, who really cares? Hockey is back, and I see one of the better seasons in recent history upon us. The season is shortened to 48 games, and every team has vast hope that they can make a quick playoff run this year. I’ll go Conference by Conference to see the victors in Lord Stanley’s Cup final.
Western Conference: I’ll come right out and say it. I am a biased, die-hard Colorado Avalanche fan. If I could find any excuse, even the lamest of all the lame, to get them into the Stanley Cup final, I would make such an excuse. The best I can do is the Division winner and possibly the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Much past that, this team isn’t deep enough and is too young to make such a playoff run. The two teams that pose the biggest threat out of the West are the Los Angeles Kings and the Saint Louis Blues. The Los Angeles Kings are scary good. This isn’t a bold statement on my part considering they won the Stanley Cup last year, but they are keeping the team together that won the world title a year ago. Kings Goalie Jonathan Quick played as good as-or even better than-every goalie in the league last year, and he is only 26 years old. A good goalie will always make a team rise above the rest each year, and if the Kings can average three goals per game, they may be unstoppable. The Saint Louis Blues were the surprise team out West last year, and young-gun Forward Chris Stewart will lead the team again to the Western Conference finals. The Blues also have an excellent young goalie in Jx qaroslav Halak, who averaged two goals a game and had a total of six shutouts throughout the season.
This matchup would be one of the best all postseason if they were to meet in the Western Conference Finals. Yet, I do not see the Blues hanging with the Kings for a long series, as the Kings have too much firepower and too stout of a goalie. Kings in six games.
Eastern Conference: Last year, the New Jersey Devils came out of the East to make the Stanley Cup finals. Martin Brodeur played like the Brodeur of 10 years ago, and Zach Parise lead the team in offense. They faltered mightily against the Kings, and were denied the cup for the second time in the franchise’s history. Now Brodeur seems like an archaic commodity at 40 years old, and Parise signed on with the Minnesota Wild. The Devils should be no threat this year in hockey. The Eastern Conference should come down to the New York Rangers and whoever comes in second. The Rangers are going to run away and hide with the Conference this year. The lethal combination of Ryan Callahan and Brad Richards now get a goal scorer in Rick Nash, and Henrik Lundqvist is the second best goalie in hockey (only slightly behind Quick). Since the Rangers are going to have to play somebody in the Eastern Conference Finals, I will humor myself and say the Winnipeg Jets make it. Rangers in five games.
If this Stanley Cup final comes true, fans who love goal scoring should not watch. Lundqvist and Quick will shutdown any operation the Kings and Rangers throw at the respective goalies. There will be plenty of 2-1 games or 1-0 games. Yet, the Kings have experience in the Final and will valiantly attempt to defend their title. Even though the greater Los Angeles area won’t show up for the championship parade, I’m picking the Kings to go back-to-back and start the looks of a dynasty. Kings in seven games.
