Scout
02-01-2008, 07:29 AM
Courtesy Alan Caldwell:
Thursday, January 31, 2008
King Karl & playoff picture
I doubt the league keeps tabs on this sort of thing, but last night was game #32 of what is, in my view, an unbelievable streak by Hitmen defencemen Karl Alzner: his 32nd straight game without receiving a penalty. His last penalty was October 28, 25 regular season games ago, and he didn't take any penalties in 7 games for Canada at the World Juniors either. The 11 minutes he racked up in September & October are his total for the entire season.
What's more, those 11 minutes are a fighting major (2nd game of the season, with Red Deer's J.D. Watt), one (coincidental) roughing minor, and two delay of game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass. This is a guy who plays 25-30 minutes a night against the opposition's top lines, and he has yet to take a penalty for hooking, holding, tripping, interference, or any of the other things that defencemen have to do to recover when they get beat by an opposing forward - because Alzner just does not get beat, period. He'll be in the NHL next year.
Moving on....I was looking at the standings after last night's games and I can't get over how unbelievably close the Eastern conference is. In the top three spots, Calgary, Regina, and Lethbridge have a little bit of separation from the pack, but the five teams in 4th place through 8th place are separated by just three points. In other words, every one of those teams still has a very realistic shot at home ice in the playoffs, if they were to finish 4th. On the other hand, they all also have an equally realistic shot at finishing 7th or 8th and drawing Regina or Calgary in the first round.
Anyway, for fun, if the season ended today, here's the first-round matchups:
East:
#8 Swift Current at #1 Calgary
#7 Brandon at #2 Regina
#6 Kootenay at #3 Lethbridge
#5 Medicine Hat at #4 Moose Jaw
West:
#8 Chilliwack at #1 Spokane
#7 Kamloops at #2 Vancouver
#6 Seattle at #3 Tri-City
#5 Everett at #4 Kelowna
And some magic numbers now.....two teams (Spokane and Tri-City) have already clinched playoff spots; here's what is required for the rest of the teams to clinch one too:
East:
Calgary: 3.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Regina: 7 wins or Edmonton losses
Lethbridge: 8 wins or Edmonton losses
Moose Jaw: 10.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Medicine Hat: 10.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Kootenay: 11 wins or Edmonton losses
Brandon: 11.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Swift Current: 12 wins or Edmonton losses
West:
Vancouver: 1 win or Prince George loss
Kelowna: 2.5 wins or Prince George losses
Everett: 7 wins or Prince George losses
Seattle: 8.5 wins or Prince George losses
Kamloops: 11.5 wins or Prince George losses
Chilliwack: 12.5 wins or Prince George losses
And what it will take for the eventual 6 non-playoff teams to be mathematically eliminated:
Portland: 5 losses or Chilliwack wins
Red Deer: 6 losses or Swift Current wins
Prince Albert: 8.5 losses or Swift Current wins
Saskatoon: 9.5 losses or Swift Current wins
Edmonton: 12 losses or Swift Current wins
Prince George: 12.5 losses or Chilliwack wins
And lastly for the day.....while you're pondering whether the Patriots have what it takes to win the Super Bowl on Sunday and complete an undefeated season, they're not the only team closing in on a perfect record. In the Manitoba AAA midget league, the Winnipeg Thrashers are currently 35-0 (see standings), with 5 games left to play in their regular season. "Dominant" doesn't quite sum up this team, as they are outscoring their opposition 234-37 through 35 games. That's an average margin of victory of almost 7-1.
They do have two games left against each of the 2nd and 3rd place teams in their division though, so there's some quality obstacles left for them yet. Next game is tonight against their 2nd place rivals, the cross-town Winnipeg Wild.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
King Karl & playoff picture
I doubt the league keeps tabs on this sort of thing, but last night was game #32 of what is, in my view, an unbelievable streak by Hitmen defencemen Karl Alzner: his 32nd straight game without receiving a penalty. His last penalty was October 28, 25 regular season games ago, and he didn't take any penalties in 7 games for Canada at the World Juniors either. The 11 minutes he racked up in September & October are his total for the entire season.
What's more, those 11 minutes are a fighting major (2nd game of the season, with Red Deer's J.D. Watt), one (coincidental) roughing minor, and two delay of game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass. This is a guy who plays 25-30 minutes a night against the opposition's top lines, and he has yet to take a penalty for hooking, holding, tripping, interference, or any of the other things that defencemen have to do to recover when they get beat by an opposing forward - because Alzner just does not get beat, period. He'll be in the NHL next year.
Moving on....I was looking at the standings after last night's games and I can't get over how unbelievably close the Eastern conference is. In the top three spots, Calgary, Regina, and Lethbridge have a little bit of separation from the pack, but the five teams in 4th place through 8th place are separated by just three points. In other words, every one of those teams still has a very realistic shot at home ice in the playoffs, if they were to finish 4th. On the other hand, they all also have an equally realistic shot at finishing 7th or 8th and drawing Regina or Calgary in the first round.
Anyway, for fun, if the season ended today, here's the first-round matchups:
East:
#8 Swift Current at #1 Calgary
#7 Brandon at #2 Regina
#6 Kootenay at #3 Lethbridge
#5 Medicine Hat at #4 Moose Jaw
West:
#8 Chilliwack at #1 Spokane
#7 Kamloops at #2 Vancouver
#6 Seattle at #3 Tri-City
#5 Everett at #4 Kelowna
And some magic numbers now.....two teams (Spokane and Tri-City) have already clinched playoff spots; here's what is required for the rest of the teams to clinch one too:
East:
Calgary: 3.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Regina: 7 wins or Edmonton losses
Lethbridge: 8 wins or Edmonton losses
Moose Jaw: 10.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Medicine Hat: 10.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Kootenay: 11 wins or Edmonton losses
Brandon: 11.5 wins or Edmonton losses
Swift Current: 12 wins or Edmonton losses
West:
Vancouver: 1 win or Prince George loss
Kelowna: 2.5 wins or Prince George losses
Everett: 7 wins or Prince George losses
Seattle: 8.5 wins or Prince George losses
Kamloops: 11.5 wins or Prince George losses
Chilliwack: 12.5 wins or Prince George losses
And what it will take for the eventual 6 non-playoff teams to be mathematically eliminated:
Portland: 5 losses or Chilliwack wins
Red Deer: 6 losses or Swift Current wins
Prince Albert: 8.5 losses or Swift Current wins
Saskatoon: 9.5 losses or Swift Current wins
Edmonton: 12 losses or Swift Current wins
Prince George: 12.5 losses or Chilliwack wins
And lastly for the day.....while you're pondering whether the Patriots have what it takes to win the Super Bowl on Sunday and complete an undefeated season, they're not the only team closing in on a perfect record. In the Manitoba AAA midget league, the Winnipeg Thrashers are currently 35-0 (see standings), with 5 games left to play in their regular season. "Dominant" doesn't quite sum up this team, as they are outscoring their opposition 234-37 through 35 games. That's an average margin of victory of almost 7-1.
They do have two games left against each of the 2nd and 3rd place teams in their division though, so there's some quality obstacles left for them yet. Next game is tonight against their 2nd place rivals, the cross-town Winnipeg Wild.