Predictions...

Well, I haven't written anything since March on here, and it's 7:16 on the morning of the NHL's first games. In less than 5 hours, the puck will drop in Helsinki between two great teams - Derek Boogaard's former team (the Minnesota Wild) and Bobby Sanguenetti's current team (the Carolina Hurricanes, and yes, he made the NHL team).

Predictions - the best and worst part of October. Everyone is normally wrong, but they're fun to debate anyway. So, here we go...

Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. NY Rangers
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Philadelphia Flyers
9. Atlanta Thrashers
10. Boston Bruins
11. NY Islanders
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Florida Panthers
14. Ottawa Senators
15. Montreal Canadiens

Notes: The Rangers missed the playoffs by 1 point yet improved a lot over the offseason. They got a better backup goalie than they had (Martin Biron is in fact better than any combination of Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba and Steve Valiquette) and Alex Frolov is going to add much more offense than Aaron Voros.

Tampa Bay has a great forward line up including Lecavilier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Ryan Malone, and Steve Downie. With Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund on the blue line and competent goaltending in Dan Ellis and Mike Smith, they should take make the playoffs, edging out a much improved Chicago Blackha err, Atlanta Thrashers team.

In the Northeast, I can't see an aging Ottawa team with questionable goaltending making the playoffs again. Yes, Sergei Gonchar is good, but I think he'll fall apart without Crosby and Malkin on the same PP unit. And Toronto might be unstoppable. The best defense in the NHL (Beauchemin, Kaberle, Komisarek, Lebda, Phaneuf, Schenn), solid goaltending (Giguere, Gustavsson), and a much improved offense featuring Colby Armstrong, Kris Versteeg, and a healthy Phil Kessel. The Leafs... will... be... very... good.

And I don't think Florida will - or should - ever make the playoffs again. Send that stupid team to Canada already!

Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Colorado Avalance
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Nashville Predators
10. Edmonton Oilers
11. Calgary Flames
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Anaheim Ducks
14. Minnesota Wild
15. Dallas Stars

Notes: Vancouver should win the division because they have the best goaltending of the top contenders. I mean, I guess Chicago would (with Marty Turco) if I were writing predictions for 2003-04. With Raffi Torres, Manny Malhotra, and Dan Hamhuis, the Canucks improved under-the-radar, but all 3 are great additions.

I think the East is a lot stronger this year. The top 5 teams in the West are good, but all have their flaws. Is Detroit getting too old (and Mike Modano is not an injection of youth)? Does San Jose, LA, or Chicago have the goaltending?

Does LA have the offense? They'll need better years from Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth and a breakout year from Wayne Simmonds. Alex Ponikarovsky replaces Frolov, but can he?

Edmonton, while not a playoff team yet, is building something with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi. Tom Renney will be great there.

Anaheim must be content being middle-of-the-road. All they did was sign 3 marginally good defenseman (Paul Mara, who I love; Toni Lydman; and Andy Sutton, whose best years are far behind him). Dallas, the same (whose less bad, Kari Lehtonen or Andrew Raycroft?).

Playoffs
Washinton vs. Pittsburgh in the East
Canucks vs. Sharks in the West

Washington vs. Vancouver in the Finals
Washington winning

I know it's cheesy to pick your Conference Winners to play each other in the Finals, but that's why I picked them both #1 I guess. To be honest, I can completely see Vancouver stumbling in the playoffs, but they do have a very good team, and when Alex Burrows is back from injury in early-November, they'll be even better.

Enjoy the season, ladies & gentleman. Here's hoping the Islanders and Rangers both improve, both over last season and from the beginning of this one to the end.

Hart Trophy: Ilya Kovalchuk, NJ
Conn Smythe: Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, LA
Vezina Trophy: Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo, or Henrik Lundqvist (oh, hell, Martin Brodeur is probably going to be given it anyway)

Kings Ransom Review

Tonight, ESPN aired Kings Ransom, the first part of their "30 For 30" documentary series. As someone who loves documentaries and worships Wayne Gretzky, I was really excited about this, even though Puck Daddy didn't exactly gush over it. Thankfully, Kings Ransom wasn't what I was afraid it'd be and, in many ways, it exceeded my expectations.

Like I said, I tend to obsess over the Great One, so the story isn't exactly new to me. It isn't new to many people, either; just last year, the NHL Network did their own documentary about the trade. Kings Ransom covers similar ground, but in a different way. By including a great deal of footage from the events leading up to the trade, we get an almost voyeuristic view of Gretzky's life at that time. We've all seen clips of Gretzky breaking down at his press conference in Edmonton, but seeing his whole speech is a bit jarring. The same can be said for the footage of his limousine just after his marriage to Janet Jones. Through these clips, we see the human side of Wayne Gretzky, which is welcome, as these 21 years have taken away some of the emotion of the moment.

So much has been said about this trade that we almost forget that this was probably the biggest trade in sports history. Director Peter Berg tries to remind us of this fact by demonstrating how big hockey is in Edmonton and how special Gretzky's time with the Oilers truly was. Kings Ransom doesn't make much of an attempt to absolve Peter Pocklington of the blame for the trade, nor should it, especially since Glen Sather, Janet Jones, Bruce McNall and Jim Matheson all point their fingers at Pocklington. What's interesting is, Gretzky is the only person to defend Pocklington.

Puck Daddy's review criticized Gretzky for appearing unemotional about the trade in Kings Ransom, but the reason Gretzky is so composed is that he's discussed this trade a million times. He can't pretend to be as angry about it as, say, Sather was, simply because Sather has had less of a chance to vent in front of a camera. Gretzky has told his side of the story in his own autobiography and Ed Willes' Gretzky to Lemieux. By chance, I've read both over the past two weeks. The story doesn't change, but time (and constant discussion of the deal) has changed Gretzky's mindset. Gretzky's autobiography, written in 1990, reflects a bitter look at the trade. Today, Gretzky can calmly state that he understands why he was traded. That's great for avoiding trouble, but as Puck Daddy states, it takes away from the documentary.

That Kings Ransom barely touches on the successes of the Kings and Oilers is refreshing, as the impact of this trade had nothing to do with anything that happened on the ice. It would have been nice to hear about the 1989 Kings-Oilers playoff series, but I was glad that Kings Ransom was about the trade and not the 1993 Kings. Also, it was nice to show the real aftermath of what happened - while it was true that Pocklington sold Gretzky to raise cash, it is also stated that Bruce McNall bought Gretzky with dirty money.

Kings Ransom really excelled in the subtle areas. The montage of Gretzky highlights at the beginning of the documentary wasn't just any random highlights thrown together. Instead, they told the story of Gretzky's time in Edmonton. Among the goals shown were Gretzky's 50th goal in 39 games, Gretzky's goal to beat Mike Vernon in Game 2 of the 1988 Smythe Division final, Gretzky's 500th goal, and Gretzky's goal to open Game 5 of the 1984 Stanley Cup final. Berg showed his fandom and true understanding of Gretzky's career in this sequence. And I'd be remiss if I didn't tip my cap to ESPN for their handling of this documentary. We do more than our fair share of ESPN bashing in these parts, but they nailed this one. They kept the commercials to an absolute minimum and didn't run a score ticker at the bottom of the screen, even as the AL Central one-game playoff reached extra innings. Best of all, they didn't look down on hockey the way many of us accuse them of doing. Instead, they let Peter Berg tell his story. More than that, they chose Wayne Gretzky and the National Hockey League lead this much-hyped series of documentaries. That says something.

While Kings Ransom isn't a perfect documentary - in no small part because this is a story that we're all familiar with - it does succeed in presenting a familiar story in a different light. It's nice to see a hockey story on ESPN, in high definition, with a famous director using cutting-edge ideas and technology. The documentary does a great job of showing the conflicted nature of all parties involved with the trade; while all express regret on some level about the trade, all admit that the trade was for the best. Berg seems to agree, ending his documentary on the note that three NHL teams call California home. Though that's not all Gretzky's doing, Kings Ransom does an effective job of showing the trade's influence on the NHL and sports in general.

1988 NHL Entry Draft...

With Jeremy Roenick retiring today, let's look back at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft and just marvel at how amazing it has turned out.

As per usual, the New York teams did nothing exciting. The Rangers didn't have a 1st round pick (trying to track down what happened to it with no avail) but chose Troy Mallette and Murray Duval (no NHL games) with picks 22 and 26 in the 2nd round. Keep in mind, only 21 teams in the league at the time meant only 21 picks in the 1st round. The Islanders took Kevin Cheveldayoff 16th overall. He was one of only 2 players in the 1st round to not ever play a game in the NHL (Joey's cousin, Kory Kocur, went 17th to Detroit).

So, how great was the first round? Look at this top 10...

1) Mike Modano
2) Trevor Linden
3) Curtis Leschyshyn
7) Martin Gelinas
8) Jeremy Roenick
9) Rod Brind'Amour
10) Teemu Selanne

So, who would you rather have? The greatest American-born player of all-time? A born-leader who played with heart and soul? A solid defenseman? A winger who played until he was 38 and made the finals with 4 different teams (Gelinas won 1 Cup and lost 3 times in the Finals, including 2 times in Game 7)? A 500-plus goal scorer who drew fans to every building he was in, including remote locations like Phoenix and Los Angeles? The best faceoff man in league history who also is great on the power play and is still playing 21 years later? Or a guy who scored 76 goals in his rookie year, scored 48 three seasons ago, and is going to suit up one more time at age 39?

Also that year...

2nd Round
Tie Domi, 27th, Toronto
Tim Taylor, 36th, Washington

4th Round
Mark Recchi, 67th, Pittsburgh
Tony Amonte, 68th, Rangers
Rob Blake, 70th, Los Angeles
(Can you imagine how different the history of the NHL - and the Rangers - would be had they drafted Blake or had Recchi fallen to them? Maybe no '91 & '92 Cups for the Penguins. And definitely no "Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!" as he came over with Brian Noonan in '94 in a trade for Amonte.)
Keith Carney, 76th, Buffalo
Joe Juneau, 81st, Boston

5th Round
Alex Mogilny, 89th, Buffalo

6th Round
Dmitri Khristich, 120th, Washington

7th Round
Val Kamensky, 129th, Quebec

8th Round
Sean Hill, 167th, Montreal

9th Round
Tony Twist, 177th, St. Louis

10th Round
Bret Hedican, 198th, St. Louis

12th Round
Claude Lapointe, 234th, Quebec

Not a bad group of Stanley Cup winners and Olympic Gold medalists in that draft class, eh? That's got to rank up there with the best drafts of all-time, along with 1990 (Nolan, Nedved, Primeau, Ricci, Jagr, Sydor, D. Hatcher, Brodeur, Tkachuk, Smolinski all in the 1st round) and possibly, when all is said and done, 2003 (1st rounders include M.A. Fleury, Eric Staal, Horton, Zherdev, Vanek, Michalek, Suter, Coburn, Phaneuf, Jeff Carter, A. Kostitsyn, D. Brown, Seabrook, Bernier, Parise, Getzlaf, Perry, Mike Richards, and Hugh Jessiman).

And a great career by Roenick, as well. He broke 100 points 3 straight years, and was dominant until the year before the lockout, when he dropped heavily down from his status as a point-per-game player. His year in L.A. was laughable, and his return to Phoenix was horrendous as well. But he was re-energized as a Shark the last 2 years, and in the playoffs last year against Anaheim, he was one of the 3 best Sharks out there.

Should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but his lack of a Cup might be the one hinderance. It shouldn't be a real issue though; he has the numbers and the international experience to merit being in there.

(Plus, he was incredible in NHL '93 for Sega Genesis. Him, Chris Chelios, and Ed Belfour made the Chicago Blackhawks nearly unstoppable in the game!)

Progress Of The Best Kind

Check out Zach's post below about not chanting for Tom Renney's dismissal, especially if you're an Islanders fan and think your team has it bad. Hey, at least you weren't pre-season Cup contenders who are now fighting for their playoff lives. Could be worse, right?

For the Islanders right now, we're seeing the best possible results. We're getting great efforts each night, but falling just short. Last night, playing against a suddenly red-hot Kings team, the Isles blew a third-period lead, but still got a point. And it didn't hurt them at all because Atlanta won. Same can be said for Saturday, when the Islanders lost a tough 1-0 game to Tampa Bay. At this point, you're better served playing well and losing. This way, fans get to see progress being made, but not at the expense of a draft pick.

Now, similar to what Zach said about the Rangers, we shouldn't be rooting for the Islanders to lose or anything. The team has been playing great hockey for the past two weeks, and if they end up winning some games, great. We all know the top spot in the draft lottery guarantees absolutely nothing. The next two months aren't about losing games or giving points away. They're about seeing this team come together and play the best hockey they can. In a month, they might trade some veterans away and be a shell of their current selves; maybe then we can watch the standings more intently. For now, though, enjoy what we're seeing out of this Islanders team, because it's special to watch young players figure out the NHL game right before your very eyes.

That brings us to tonight. On paper, the Devils should destroy the Islanders. But I don't think it'll happen. These two teams always play close games, and that's exactly what we should be seeing tonight. Maybe the Islanders pick up two points, maybe they don't, but they should do exactly what they've been doing lately - playing good hockey that's fun to watch. At this point in the season, that's all we can ask for.

I Love Late Night Games...

:: I said it the other day, I'll say it again. I love these West Coast Ranger games that start at 10 or 10:30 p.m. because I can do whatever I need/want to during the nighttime and still watch the games. Now I know what it feels like to be a baseball fan when the Yankees are playing 3 in Oakland or the Mets are blowing a series in San Diego.

:: Telling commentary on Dmitri "With Some Help, He Could Be as Good as Marek Malik" Kalinin. I was driving home from work, listening to the beginning of the Kings game Wednesday night, and Dave Maloney was doing color commentary. Listen to his stunning endorsement of Kalinin: "This is the first time in a while I can remember Kalinin having two mistake-free opening shifts." That's $1.05M for every mistake-free shift, I guess.

:: Imagine what would happen if the Rangers played every game like they played the last 8 minutes of the San Jose game?

:: For all you - for lack of a better word - "haters" who "hated" on Blair Betts in the offseason (calling for him to not even make the team), witness the first period of the Sharks game and see what happens to the penalty kill when he is in the box. Incase you deleted your Rangers in 60 from your TiVo already, let me recap: Betts is in the box, giving the Sharks a 5-on-3 advantage. Two goals are scored.

That's it for me. It's already late and I have a game or two of NHL 09 to play still before I rake in 6 hours of sleep. Hey, busy shopping day tomorrow.

What is This, October?...

A full 60-minute effort; clean line changes; a low-scoring game; backchecking and forechecking.

The only thing thing that would lead me to believe that I wasn't watching a tape from early October is the fact that Chris Drury scored a goal.

The first period was a little boring, but the next two were exciting, and watching Henrik Lundqvist shut the door was fantastic. Nigel Dawes had a good game even before making the violent criminal Chris Pronger look stupid. No, the Rangers weren't perfect against Jonas Hiller and the Anaheim Ducks tonight, but it's a far cry from letting in 8 against New Jersey or leaving it all up to Henke against Carolina. 

My personal highlight of the night was seeing Nik Zherdev score on one of my favorite rules in hockey: if you are taken down from behind on a breakaway to an empty net, you automatically are awarded a goal, making it a goal where technically a shot is never taken.

Not much to say as it's 2:36 in the morning here in the Eastern Conference, and I have less than 5 minutes left on my laptop battery. I will say, however, that I love these late starting games. I go out and do stuff during the evening and then I get to still watch the game. Today I went shopping for Christmas presents and tomorrow I'll work then get home to watch the game or watch it at my Wednesday night bar. Very exciting stuff. This also would've made a good road trip: 3 games in 2 and a half California cities in 5 nights.

Anaheim was the easy game this week; the Rangers always play them well (who could forget Blair Betts' stunning end-to-end goal in Anaheim in 2006-07?). LA is tough just because they are an unpredictable team and the Rangers traditionally play poorly against poor teams. San Jose is the real test. Beat them - in San Jo, no less - and you are worthy.

Until then the real question is whether Mats Sundin will do what Markus Naslund did and forsake Vancouver for Broadway.

It's Friday...

1) Of the 4 Veteran S's, one has finally re-signed. Joe Sakic is back in Colorado, presumably for his last season. Now, if only Sundin, Selanne, and Shanahan would come to a decision. To be honest, I'm not losing sleep over it, but it would be nice to get a glimpse of how rosters are going to shape up for the 2008-09 season.

I don't think any of these guys will land on Broadway (not that there ever has been a Selanne-to-Rangers rumor), but it is a remote possibility, and some closure on the issue would be nice.

2) While I still think Florida is the most poorly run organization in the NHL, the LA Kings might be the winners of Worst Offseason Ever. While they did trade for Jarrett Stoll, they did not sign one unrestricted free agent this summer. They did lock up a few draft picks and restricted FAs, but they have just over $27M in payroll for the next season. I don't even know if that would have been enough to hit the Salary Cap floor in the season after the lockout, and it certainly isn't enough to hit the floor this year.

While they do have a big future (think of them as the Penguins from a few years back), they need to sign some veterans to overpriced contracts just because they need to add salary to meet the NHL's minimum requirements. I have been expecting a Glen Murray signing ever since he got released from Boston, and there are still a few other players out there who haven't signed on with an NHL club or jumped ship to Russia.

Okay, so their future isn't as bright as the Penguins, but they do have a plethora (nice word) of young talent on the club and in the pipeline, and they will have a lot of high draft picks this year too, as long as they sign veterans to one-year deals and then ship them off at the trade deadline.

3) Two thumbs down to whoever writes the ticker on the bottom of the screen on the NHL Network. Yesterday, I put the channel on at work (I'm a bartender) and it was a classic series between the Washington Capitals and the Rangers from 1991. Fantastic.

Anyway, I had turned it on to see if the Joe Sakic news had broken yet (I knew there was a press conference scheduled so he could announce his decision). The ticker listed what they have listed all summer, free agents on every team, in alphabetical order. Once again, this bored me to tears, because I know who they are, and most of the un-signed free agents left are middling, Ryan Hollweg type players who should be signed to two-way deals. Case in point: the Chicago Blackhawks signing a guy named Tim Brent is not news, nor was the fact that he was a free agent at one point.

Not only did they have this "news" feed scrolling the bottom of the TV, but they also had not updated it in over a week. They told me that Aaron Downey of the Red Wings was a free agent. Well, a quick glimpse at TSN shows me he re-signed on August 20th. Yesterday was the 28th. On top of that, did anyone besides his immediate family and close friends really care if Aaron Downey was still a free agent?

That's like CNN scrolling false facts on the bottom of their feed that nobody cared about even when the facts were true.

4) I did it. I signed up for a package. Didn't even hesitate. The Rangers emailed me, and 10 minutes later I was on the phone. I hesitated so little, in fact, that I forgot to ask how much the package was. Luckily, a letter with prices came, only to confirm my theory: prices had gone up. And why wouldn't they? I mean, the Rangers won 5 playoff games last season, including 2 at home in the Garden. So, why wouldn't Jackass Jim Dolan raise ticket prices?

Prices didn't go up the year after the lockout, not because of the lockout, but because the Rangers hadn't made the playoffs in 2003-04. Every year since, however, prices have steeply risen, and a ticket that would have cost $44 then now costs $60. I believe it's even more money if you don't have a package (I think someone else would pay $64.50 for my $60 tickets).

What kills me though is preseason. You would think that since those games don't sell out, they would give some tickets to real fans who can't afford them, or at least put preseason tickets on sale for like $30 for the $60 seats. I don't really want to go to the preseason game, but I will, because they make you get it when you get a package. It's fun to watch the young kids - I saw Marc Staal's first NHL point in a preseason game last year - but it's very expensive, not to mention it's an extra $14 for the train, I might have a beer, maybe a soggy pretzel, and now a preseason game featuring Brodie Dupont has cost me $100.

Review: Ultimate Gretzky DVD Set

Gretzky Week continues with a look at the re-release of "Ultimate Gretzky". Initially issued as a documentary, this four-disc DVD set comes loaded with extras, not to mention five of The Great One's finest games.

Release Date: Initial release in 2003; re-released in 2006

Availability: Amazon, Best Buy, etc.

Price: Approximately $25


In the NHL's perpetual struggle to remain relevant, we've seen other sports pass hockey by in many areas. One of those areas is the availability of older games and old footage. NFL Films does a tremendous job with its footage library; not only is their older coverage well-presented, but it looks great. Major League Baseball has offered broadcasts of classic games on its website for years. The NBA is just about the only sport seen on ESPN Classic. And while the NHL Network has done a great job bridging this gap, perhaps even eliminating it, the network just isn't in the amount of homes necessary for people to take notice.

The other sports have all branched out into the DVD world, something the NHL hasn't exactly done well. While baseball gives us entire World Series on DVD and the NFL and NBA have given very detailed DVDs on most teams, the NHL has given us crap like "NHL's Greatest Goals" and other hour-long fluff pieces that don't really do anything for hardcore fans. We want something more. We want something that does more than remind us of the game's past; instead, we want to relive the past.

Ultimate Gretzky is a significant step forward in this regard. The re-issue contains five classic games from Gretzky's career, but that's only the start. There's an entire side of a disc devoted to extras. And the documentary portion, the crux of the DVD, is extremely well-done.

Let's start with the documentary; after all, this comprises the entirety of the original Ultimate Gretzky. Our "host" is Kiefer Sutherland, the NHL's hired gun when it comes to cross-promotion. The program itself is an interview done with Gretzky (and sometimes his dad) by John Davidson. I'm supposed to hate JD because I'm an Islander fan, but I've always loved his work, and he does a great job here. He lets Gretzky tell the story, and it's clear Gretzky did his homework, which makes for a very compelling tale.

We get a ton of great footage in this documentary portion. Clips of Gretzky playing for the Oilers of the WHA. His greatest and most famous goals. His first time hoisting the Stanley Cup. The reactions of Edmontonians as he was traded to Los Angeles. Gretzky himself says that the footage itself is what he looks to most as he remembers his playing career, and we're very fortunate that so much is available.

But the documentary is so much more than a series of clips. Gretzky has some gems in store for us. He's not as candid as he was in his autobiography, but he says a lot of really interesting things, most of which make a ton of sense. At one point, he's given a chance to trash the state of hockey today, but instead, he diplomatically points out that it's a different game and it's just not as offense-driven as it used to be. He also becomes among the first to state that the only way to increase scoring is to decrease the size of the goaltending equipment. This is one of those moments where you see exactly why Gretzky has been such a great ambassador for the game of hockey.

One of the best parts about this DVD is how balanced it is. It might seem like the DVD starts to crap out after Gretzky scores his 802nd goal, but that's not really the case. Instead, we get to see the things that meant a lot to Gretzky, but don't get a lot of coverage, like the 1999 All-Star Game. There's also extensive coverage of his retirement, the 2002 Olympics, and Gretzky's progression into ownership with Phoenix. How ironic it is that Gretzky becomes part-owner (and later, coach) of a team that wouldn't be anywhere near Phoenix without his influence.

Then, we get to the bonus disc, which is kind of a mish-mash of stuff that didn't make the final cut. We get to see a ton of really cool clips, including ceremonies related to his retirement, his jersey retirement ceremonies in Edmonton and Los Angeles, his wedding, so on and so forth. My personal favorite would have to be the "Pond Of Dreams" short that was shown before the 2000 All-Star Game. It gets me every time. This was so good that ABC actually ran it twice. Can you imagine a network actually going on the air and saying, "Our open was so awesome that we're going to show it to you again."? I don't think so. Anyway, it's on the DVD, along with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the short.

So with all that said, let's get to the games. We'll go in chronological order, just as the DVD does.

- 12.30.81 - Flyers at Oilers. This is the game where Gretzky scores five goals to hit 50 in 39 games. It's your typical 80's affair - tons of scoring and some pretty awful defense - but it's actually a close game that's fun to watch. Also, it's worth noting that the Flyers are wearing Cooperalls - and it's also worth noting that they actually look pretty cool. I'm still trying to figure out how they didn't catch on league-wide.

- 2.8.83 - NHL All-Star Game. Remember back when the Nassau Coliseum was worthy of hosting an All-Star Game? Me neither. I was a whopping sixteen months old when this one aired. It's most well-known for Gretzky's four-goal performance in the third period to win the game for the Campbell Conference. To be honest, it's not all that enjoyable to watch. If you insist on checking it out, just skip to the third period.

- 5.19.84 - Islanders at Oilers. The torch is passed. I'm supposed to hate watching this, but it's a very interesting game. You can tell the Islanders are done and the Oilers have surpassed them in every way. It's also clear how much respect the Oilers had for that Islander team. Islander fans might no love watching the Oilers blow their team out in this one, but it's worth watching for the emergence of Pat LaFontaine, called up after the 1984 Olympics and immediately given valuable minutes.

- 5.29.93 - Kings at Maple Leafs. Here's the famous Game 7 hat trick game. This is one seriously awesome game. Both teams were pretty much stacked at this point in time, but Gretzky carries his team on his back to get the win. One thing Gretzky says about this game in the documentary - the final minute represents the only time in his career he had to beg off from playing because he was too spent. It's also fun to hear the blatantly biased CBC announcers bash Gretzky after his third goal.

- 3.23.94 - Canucks at Kings. Gretzky scores #802 in front of the Kings faithful. It's a great moment, but the entire game was a trifle unnecessary. The ball is dropped even further when it's noted that the ESPN telecast of this game - complete with Gary Thorne's awesome call -isn't used. Instead, it's someone different; apparently, it's the Canucks' feed. How appropriate. Oh, and the Kings don't even win this game, which isn't a surprise, as they only won 27 games that year.

The games, obviously are nice to have, but they certainly could have found some better choices. For example, Game 2 of the 1987 Canada Cup would have been exceptional. Not only have many of us never seen the game, but it's not available elsewhere on DVD. I also would have taken the game when Gretzky breaks the all-time points record; not only does he do it in Edmonton, not only does he break the record with a game-tying goal in the final minute, but he scores the game-winner in overtime as well. Oh well. I guess you can't have it all.

The other thing that drives me crazy about this set? None of the discs have disc numbers on them. So if you're a slob and leave DVDs lying around without putting them away (not that I know anything about this), you end up putting the wrong disc in all the time. Hell, even if you do put the discs back into the case, it's hard to tell which is which. This is one of those stupid things that should have been spotted long before the set's release, but it never happened. Also, the dual-sided discs tend to get dirty and scratched, but it sure beats paying more for extra one-sided discs.

Ultimately, these are minor complaints. The important thing is that we not only have a definitive document of Wayne Gretzky's career, but we have the standard by which all other NHL DVDs should be judged. There's no reason why we can't see similar productions for Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, or anyone the NHL wishes to commemorate. Now that we've seen what a hockey DVD can be, let's see the NHL take the initiative and satisfy its fans.

Clear Out Your DVRs...

It's Gretzky Week on the NHL Network. Hooray!

Folks, this is as good as it gets. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Great One's trade to Los Angeles, the NHL Network has an entire slate of Gretzky-related items for our perusal. It's going to be a fun week.

You can find the schedule here, but here are the highlights...

- Wednesday @ 9 PM - 8.9.88: A Day That Changed The Game. A documentary on the trade. It should be interesting to see how they play this one, given the time that's passed and how much more we know now. I also doubt it can possibly be as candid as Gretzky's own take in his autobiography.

- Wednesday @ 10 PM - Red Wings at Kings, 10.6.88. Gretzky's first game as a King. Kind of a big deal in LA. Fun fact: He scores on his first shot.

- Thursday @ 10 PM - Kings at Oilers, 10.19.88. Gretzky's first game in his old arena. This is still during the time when people believed Gretzky requested the trade. Don't be surprised if the fans don't fawn over him.

- Friday @ 9:30 PM - NHL Cool Shots: Wayne Gretzky. This is an interview that was done to promote his "Ultimate Gretzky" DVD. He reveals some pretty neat stuff about his career and his decision to retire.

- Friday @ 10 PM - Kings at Oilers, 10.15.89. Gretzky breaks the all-time point record... in Edmonton, of all places. Imagine that?

- Saturday @ 7 PM - Kings at Maple Leafs, 5.29.93. Gretzky scores a hat trick in Game 7 of the Campbell Conference Finals to lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup Final. Gretzky calls this the best game he played in the NHL. Hard to argue.

- Saturday @ 10 PM - Canucks at Kings, 3.23.94. Gretzky scores #802. Pray to God that they have the ESPN feed so you get to hear Gary Thorne's amazing call. Also, notice how many ex-Oilers are on the ice when Gretzky scores the goal.

We here at The Rivalry will have our own Gretzky Week celebration, as we'll have reviews of his aforementioned autobiography and DVD set. Both are excellent, as we've come to expect from The Great One. Take a break from the Islanders' endless search for a coach, take a break from the Rangers' fruitless pursuit of Mats Sundin, and enjoy Wayne Gretzky at his finest. Who knows where this great game of ours would be without him and his trade to the Kings?

2008-09 Rangers Schedule...

Every year, when the schedule comes out, I write down all the home games, catergorized by month. I write down who they're playing, the date, and the day of the week. (Okay, I did this last year and I did this today for next season, as well.)

I then award each game 0, 1, 2, or 3 points. When I get my choice of packages, I count up the points, then whichever package has the most points, I get.

Oh, and by the way, I lied to everyone. I will be getting a package this year, if only so I don't lose my place in line in future seasons. See, when I first signed up for a ticket package right after the lockout, I got my choice of anything I wanted, any package (I picked the 7-game plan, now non-existant), any seat (mostly any seat, I picked blue line seats where the Rangers shot twice). The next year, the seats got worse, and last season, they improved, but barely. It's also nearly impossible to upgrade from my current 11-game plan to a half-season or full-season plan. So for those wanting tickets now, there is a wait.

Seven years of futility and a lost season means there's no waiting for tickets. Three straight playoff appearances and a team that isn't in it just for the money means you wait. Take the good with the bad, eh?

Anyway, I only originally gave 4 games 3 points. The home opener versus Chicago; Sean Avery returning with Dallas in October; and the last two home games of the season, against Philadelphia and Montreal.

I then figured out a few dates where Adam Graves' number 9 might be retired, and bumped any 1s to 2s, and 2s to 3s.

A few games got the dreaded "zero points." Those include Devil, Penguin, and Flyer games on Saturdays, when I wouldn't miss going to work and making $250 for a game I could catch any other time.

I remember one game in November of 2006, I had 2 tickets to a Devils game at MSG, and I sold them to a friend. The Rangers were losing 2-0, scored 3 goals in 90 seconds, and won. On my drive home from work, people on Steve Somers' show on WFAN were calling it the greatest regular season game in history. A text message from my friend concurred this non-exaggerated statement.

* * *

As far as road games go, I will be traveling to see the Blueshirts play this year. Probably a Saturday game in Boston, definitely one or two games in Philly (hopefully including the last game of the season). I'll probably go to atleast two games at the Coliseum and one game in Newark. Nice stadium. Frightening area.

Both games in Montreal are weeknights, which is kind of weak. Last year, me and some friends got there on Saturday, saw the Rangers' 5-3 win on Super Bowl Sunday, and came home on Monday.

I won't be going to their California swing, where they play the Ducks and Kings on back to back nights, but it's nice to dream.

Last year, I went to a Wednesday game in Newark, and a Thursday game in Philly. That was a lot of fun, but the schedule doesn't allow that this year.

However, the highlight of my schedule will be going to Nashville for the March 12 game.

Inside the Sommet Center, home of the Predators.

Formerly known as the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

I could probably get front row seats day of the game.

All Is Not Lost

Zach "manned the blog", as he said last night, and wrote a great post after Game 3. Check it out.

Here's the way I see the rest of this series. The Rangers can certainly win tomorrow night in a must-win game. They can win Game 5 in Pittsburgh. They can even win Game 6 at home in front of a boisterous crowd. But Game 7 at the Mellon Arena after winning three straight, against a lineup that stacked? That's a tough one.

But hey, it could be worse. Remember, the Rangers are only the fifth seed in the East. They're supposed to lose, right? Maybe they shouldn't be on the verge of a sweep, but the deck was stacked against the Rangers from the start. It's not as though they're the San Jose Sharks, a team that went twenty straight games without a regulation loss and went into the playoffs as a favorite to win the Cup. Those Sharks, by the way, are in the same predicament as the Rangers, playing a Dallas team that isn't nearly as good as the Penguins. So really, if you think about it, it's not all that bad.

Of course, tell that to a Ranger fan, and you'll hear a different story. And who could blame them? Their team is just one loss away from an early playoff exit. After adding Drury and Gomez, they stand a great chance of finishing exactly as they did last year. Not good.

It's a shame, too. Like Zach said, they were in each of the first three games. In fact, aside from the empty-net goal in Game 2, they were never more than a goal out of it prior to last night's third period. When I heard that stat, I thought about the 1993 Kings - a team that was on the verge of winning the Cup, but lost three games in overtime to the Canadiens. The Rangers haven't been quite as unfortunate - let's face it, they've done their share of gravedigging so far - but they've been right there.

As much as I hate Ryan Hollweg, I hope his penalty doesn't go down as the moment when the Rangers lost the series. Sure, the ensuing power play for Pittsburgh gave them the lead, killed the crowd, and basically ended the game. But the Rangers did lose the first two on the road, they have one power play goal all series, and they haven't exactly gotten stellar goaltending thus far. Unless, of course, you consider five goals on seventeen shots a quality outing.

So, what has to change in Game 4? Simply put, the Rangers need to focus solely on winning Game 4. They can't win four games in one night. The only thing they can do is try to get back to Pittsburgh. Then, once they get there, try to push the series back to New York. It's certainly not going to be easy... but if the Red Sox could do it four years ago, who's to say the Rangers or Sharks can't?

Basketball?...

This is how obsessed I am with hockey: I completely forgot that the NCAA basketball tournament final game was on today. The only sports even that concerns me today is the Draft Lottery at 8:00 on Versus. 

I would love St. Louis to get it, because I am a huge John Davidson fan and because, growing up, my family lived there and I went to a few Blues games so I consider them my second favorite team. Last year, they had 3 first round picks and got 3 solid people (one of whom played this year for them). They last had the first overall pick in 2006 when they chose Erik Johnson.

I think LA has enough talent already, they just need a few veterans who could help them in the clutch and a goalie who could steal some games for them (although the arrival of Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier might help that along). The last time the Kings had the #1 overall pick: 1967.

Tampa Bay has chosen first overall twice: 1993 (Roman Hamrlik) and 1998 (Vinny Lecavalier).

Atlanta has chosen first overall twice as well: 1999 (bust Patrik Stefan) and 2001 (Ilya Kovalchuk). They also chose 2nd overall in 2000 (Dany Heatley) and 2002 (Kari Lehtonen).

I hope these two teams don't win the "Stamkos Sweepstakes." They both had their chances, and they both are in poor markets where a true superstar gets wasted (Lecavalier and Kovalchuk are both exception players, and who hears about them except on XM Home Ice 204?).

As an Islander-hater, the one reason I would hope they win - although they have the smallest chance of those involved - is so hockey makes a comeback on the Island. For the record, their #! overall draft picks: 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 1973 (Denis "Wifebeater" Potvin), and 1972 (Billy Harris).

* * * 

Scroll down to see my playoff predictions (Rangers over Sharks in 7) and Bryan predictions (San Jose over Rangers in 6), as well as award notes.