* Pre-Skate *
Before I get into news and the picks/results of Saturday night, I'll hit my section (Dumbest Pick and Hardest Pick) that I forgot to add with today's earliest entry. I need to come up with a different format and add notes when I make the picks to designate the games that fit the section.
That aside, my dumbest pick for Friday (the 18th) wasn't very evident and thus hard to choose from. I'm going to go with the Flyers at Hurricanes based only that I seem to support my team in every contest. Obviously, unless that NHL commerical where the Flyers go 82-0 actually happens, the Flyers are destined to lose some. With that, I'm choosing that pick as my Dumbest Pick of the Night. The Hurricanes were at home and honoring former Philadelphia Flyer and Carolina Hurricane Rod Brind'Amour. Plenty of reason to believe the Canes could pull one off.
As for my Hardest Pick of the Night, I'll go with the Sabres at Blues. Two teams that aren't necessarily bad, but aren't necessarily dominate. Despite the 3-0 drubbing of the Sabres by St. Louis, I had a hard time deciding which team would come out ahead.
A newly added but similar section is the Easiest Pick of the Night. This, for the Friday, will go to the Detroit at Florida bout. Florida has been picking up their game considering their team. They gave Philadelphia and San Jose some tough hockey. Despite this, Detroit is simply Detroit. Strong team versus the weaker opponent will always earn the EPotN award. This game receives this pick.
* Looking For Trades *
Now onto some trade news. If you're a defenseman, you're apparently a wanted commodity. Teams went shopping pretty hard to add some defense as the trade deadline approaches. The Bruins struck one of the huge big name trades of February when they traded for Tomas Kaberle yesterday. The Leafs received Joe Colborne, a 2011 first-round pick, and a conditional 2012 second-round pick. This makes Boston hard to ignore them when talking about potential Eastern Conference winners. For Toronto, most importantly, they land a high pick to replenish and remove the sting of the Phil Kessel trade that saw them losing two first-round picks from Boston.
Saturday's huge trade occured between the Blues and the Avalanche, two teams likely to miss the playoffs this year. Despite this, two young talented defenseman were swapped in the process. The Blues sent Erik Johnson, forward Jay McClement, and a first-round pick to Colorado for Kevin Shattenkirk, forward Chris Stewart, and a second-round pick. Shattenkirk and Johnson are both immensely talented. We'll have to see how this trade plays out later. In my opinion, it's a little surprising seeing as it's just a swapping of two young guys who offer an upside.
Here's a list of other trades that weren't nearly as exciting, but essential nonetheless:
* Senators trade Brian Elliot (goalie) to Colorado Avalanche for Craig Anderson (goalie). (2/18/2011)
* Thrashers trade Rich Peverley (forward) and Boris Valabik (defenseman) for Blake Wheeler (forward) and Mark Stuart (defenseman). (2/18/2011)
* Sharks trade a 2012 second-round pick to Carolina Hurricanes for Ian White. (2/18/2011)
* Lightning trade 2011 third-round pick and rights to prospect Brock Beukeboom to the Blues for Eric Brewer (defenseman). (2/18/2011)
* Ducks trade 2012 fifth-round pick to the Senators for Jarkko Ruutu (forward). (2/17/2011)
* Canadiens trade 2012 fifth-round pick to the Ducks for Paul Mara (defenseman). (2/17/2011)
* Bruins trade a 2011 second-round pick to the Senators for Chris Kelly (forward). (2/15/2011)
* Maple Leafs trade conditional seventh-round pick to the Ducks for Aaron Voros (defenseman). (2/15/2011)
Clearly we can see that two Canadian teams are packing it up for the year. Both Toronto and Ottawa are selling at the deadline and adding some picks and youth for their respective futures. The Bruins are buyers as they prepare for a serious run for the playoffs. You can definitely see more depth than talent moving. Depth becomes more essential at this part of the year. The oddest trade was the Ottawa/Colorado goalie exchange. Craig Anderson was superb last year only to flunk out this year. Seems like a lateral move (or maybe a salary related move??). Things will certainly get heated as we close in on the deadline. Whether anything actually happens or not is another thing.
* Heritage Classic *
Sunday gives us the Montreal Canadiens visiting the Calgary Flames in the Heritage Classic. Much like the Winter Classic, played annually on January 1st, this game will be played outdoors. What's unfortunate is the difference in marketing. The Winter Classic gets buffed up marketing. 2011's classic between the Penguins and Capitals even received it's own reality show on HBO to build up towards the date. The Heritage Classic, though not getting the attention it deserves, should be a great match between two Canadian teams. It would have nice to put two divisional or conference opponents against one another, but this should at least yield a competitive outcome. Hope both cities are able to enjoy an awesome game.
* Results for 2/19/2011 *
Thrashers at Oilers : Pick - Oilers : Result- 5-3 Oilers : Correct : 43-38
Devils at Hurricanes : Pick - Hurricanes : Result- 4-1 Devils : Wrong : 43-39
Kings at Islanders : Pick - Kings : Result- 3-0 Islanders : Wrong : 43-40
Senators at Maple Leafs : Pick - Senators : Result- 1-0 Senators : Correct (SO/W) : 44-40
Panthers at Lightning : Pick - Lightning : Result- 3-2 Panthers : Wrong (SO/L) : 44-41
Ducks at Blues : Pick - Ducks : Result- 9-3 Blues : Wrong : 44-42
Coyotes at Predators : Pick - Coyotes : Result- 3-2 Coyotes : Correct : 45-42
Stars at Canucks : Pick - Canucks : Result- 5-2 Canucks : Correct : 46-42
Avalanche at Sharks : Pick - Sharks : Result- 4-0 Sharks : Correct : 47-42
I really started believing I was going to have a terrible night. My picks were 2-4 at one point. Thankfully the back of the night picked up for me with three straight wins.
Dumbest Pick of the Night : Devils at Hurricanes. Discussed in an open forum, it was decided that the Canes would take this game. Very wrong. When I look back at the pick, I would look at how the Devils are the playing the best hockey they've played all season. That's not to say the Hurricanes were a bad pick, the Devils were just the more obvious and better pick. The Blues at Ducks would be a sexy choice, but I didn't see a 9-3 drubbing coming by the Blues after they made some trades.
Hardest Pick of the Night : Coyotes at Predators. Two teams that are playing with contentions for the playoffs. It easily could have went either way (as the score reflected), but I went with the team I feel is stronger.
Easiest Pick of the Night : Avalanche at Sharks. With the amount of trades the Avalanche have made, I figured either morale would be low or players having to adjust to new teammates on the ice. The Sharks are a strongly built team (talent wise) and I saw them easily dominating the Avalanche.
* Picks for 2/20/2011 *
Capitals at Sabres ==> Capitals
Flyers at Rangers ==> Flyers
Red Wings at Wild ==> Red Wings
Penguins at Blackhawks ==> Blackhawks
Canadiens at Flames ==> Flames
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