A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
With baseball wrapping up, no NBA season in sight, and the NFL only being on a couple times a week, looks like you’ll be turning to the ice for your sports fix.
I mean, you could just do something else, but you won’t. So kick back, relax and enjoy the conclusion of the MSF NHL Preview. (View Part 1 here: Eastern Conference Preview and Predictions.)
Now let’s make like Ice Cube and “Rep That West”
Since the recent move of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg there have been many news stories and blog posts about the NHL realigning its divisions and even switching teams from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference and vice versa. The newest report that came out Monday and that CSNchicago.com reported on Tuesday morning has the Central Division consisting of the Minnesota, Winnipeg, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas, and possibly Columbus.
Read over the teams again. See anything missing?
There’s no Detroit in that list.
It’s NHL playoff time again.
I’m taking a break from bringing you forgotten baseball players to preview the Sweet 16 of the National Hockey League. This year looks to provide some intriguing match-ups to go along with the standard blow-outs.
Let’s get to it, with previews and predictions of each 1st round series.
The trade deadline was, for the most part, uneventful. There were still some dealings, but the excitement of the trade deadline was lessened by the lack of sellers on the market this season.
Every team in the NHL Central, except for Detroit, had a deal set in stone before the Monday deadline.
There was not any huge player dealt, but Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, and Columbus all got skaters that they hope will benefit them this season and possibly for seasons to come.
Here are the NHL trade deadline winners and losers for the NHL Central.
Many fans want a veteran player on their hockey team, but what really gets them excited is raw, young talent.
There’s no doubt that to be a successful franchise you must never lose sight of young talent. It’s pretty much a staple in today’s sports world.
Hockey is no different.
Young talent can mean the difference between a one-time wonder team and a dynasty. However, it can also be a risky business.
Mess up and fans will not let you forget about your “future star” bust; but if you’re successful, it could mean years of praise.
On that note let us dive into a much closer look at the NHL’s Central Division’s top prospects.
The Central Division is always one to watch in the NHL.
With the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and the Columbus Blue Jackets, winning the division is never as easy as it might seem.
Each team has some great talent; but with talent also comes problems.
In this Central Division outlook, we’ll look at some of the more pressing offseason issues for each team.
Even though the Blackhawks played terrible in the first game in Nashville on Tuesday, Thursday was a different story. The game was amust win for the Hawks, coming in down 2-1 in the series.
A loss would have spelled disaster for the Stanley Cup hopefuls, but the Hawks shut out Nashville 3-0, getting help from goaltender Antti Niemi and his 33 saves.
Niemi is defiantly silencing the critics who said he wouldn’t make it in the playoffs due to his lack of experience, but the playoffs are showing us that experience might not mean everything.
The Blackhawks played their second playoff game to absolute brilliance.
Antti Niemi stopped all 23 shots made his way, giving the Hawks a 2-0 win while also tying the series at 1.
There would be no third period flop for the Hawks Sunday night, as there was Friday night. The Hawks went into the third the exact same way they did Friday: up by one.
But the end result was different this time around.
It’s not the most ideal match up for the Hawks, but it sure is better than the facing the Red Wings.
After losing a heartbreaker to Detroit in the regular season finale, the Hawks just fell one point short of winning the Western Conference title and cementing home ice advantage for the playoffs.
Instead, San Jose won the conference, and with that the Hawks are the second seed and will play the seventh seeded Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks fans couldn’t have received a better Christmas gift than a weekend sweep of division rival Nashville. Two back-to-back wins against the Predators halted Nashvilles’ attempt of claiming first place in the Central Division, and gave the Hawks a league-leading 55 points.
It was the same team, but the Hawks played two different type of games to win this past weekend.
This is the Cristobal Huet that fans had been hoping they would see. Huet had a spectacular night against the Predators. He had 27 saves and didn’t let one single puck go in the back of his net. Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd both had goals in the 2nd period.
It was a nice thing to see Huet play so well, but Huet always has good days. They just seem to be spread out. Huet’s problem is his lack of consistency. This game will sure make Huet look good, but it won’t completely destroy the criticism that he gets for under-performing. He still has a job to do, and that is to prove to the fans he can live up to the high expectations they have of him this year.
