2011 NHL Playoff Projections - 25 Games Played

With 30 percent of the regular season in the books, the 2011 NHL playoff picture is taking shape. Postseason projections are posited below.

Projected 2011 NHL Playoff Picture At 25 Games
EAST				WEST
Team	W	Pts	Pace	Team	W	Pts	Pace
1. WAS	17	36	1.44	1. DET	17	37	1.48
2. PHI	15	34	1.36	2. DAL	16	33	1.32
3. MTL	15	32	1.28	3. VAN	14	31	1.24
4. PIT	15	32	1.28	4. LAK	15	30	1.20
5. TBL	14	31	1.24	5. PHO	12	30	1.20
6. BOS	14	31	1.24	6. CLB	14	29	1.16
7. NYR	14	29	1.16	7. COL	13	29	1.16
8. ATL	13	29	1.16	8. NAS	12	29	1.16
9. CAR	11	25	1.00	9. SJS	12	28	1.12
10. OTT	11	23	0.92	10. STL	12	28	1.12
11. FLA	11	22	0.88	11. CHI	12	26	1.04
12. TOR	9	22	0.88	12. ANA	11	25	1.00
13. BUF	9	21	0.84	13. MIN	11	25	1.00
14. NJD	8	18	0.72	14. CGY	10	22	0.88
15. NYI	5	15	0.60	15. EDM	9	22	0.88

Though team standings so early in the season may seem insignificant, they provide an amazingly accurate measure of one's chances of making the playoffs. Last season, only 1 of 3 teams managing a 1.00 pace through 25 games made the postseason and none collecting less qualified.

Applying that standard to this season's data, three teams are skating on rather thin ice (CAR, ANA, MIN) and eight are already out (OTT, FLA, CGY, TOR, EDM, BUF, NJD, NYI).

The 1.16 points per game pace set by the pair of 8th place clubs suggests a 95 point cutoff to qualify for the 2011 NHL postseason. Using that math, the chart below presents the points and pace needed for the remainder of the season for existing outliers to skate beyond 82 games.

Points Needed In Final 57 Games
EAST			WEST
Team	Pts	Pace	Team	Pts	Pace
9. CAR	70	1.23	9. SJS	67	1.17
10. OTT	72	1.26	10. STL	67	1.17
11. FLA	73	1.28	11. CHI	69	1.21
12. TOR	73	1.28	12. ANA	70	1.23
13. BUF	74	1.30	13. MIN	70	1.23
14. NJD	77	1.35	14. CGY	73	1.28
15. NYI	80	1.40	15. EDM	73	1.28

Anything shy of a Penguins-esque pace for the Panthers, Flames, Leafs, and Oilers and their playoff dreams will be dashed for yet another year.
The hard truth of the holidays is the Islanders' postseason prospects are dead. The silver lining is GM Garth Snow should be in a position to select the Isles 5th top ten draft pick in six years. The dream never dies.

2011 NHL Regular Season Mileage

Ever wondered how many miles a team will travel during the 2010-11 NHL regular season? This summer statistical wiz Dirk Hoag did the math. His figures are posited in a Puck Report preferred format below.

--'WEST--'--'--'-'-'--'--'EAST
Northwest---------Southeast
VAN: 51,213-------'ATL: 44,079
MIN: 50,805------'-TBL: 43,870
EDM: 50,304-----'''CAR: 40,874
CGY: 47,827-----'-'-FLA: 38,582
COL: 44,190------'-'WAS: 31,858
Avg: 48,868------''-'Avg: 39,853

Pacific--------------'-Northeast
SJS: 55,063---------BOS: 36,030
PHO: 50,080-------OTT: 35,333
ANA: 45,868----'---TOR: 33,470
DAL: 44,880-----'--MTL: 32,140
LAK: 39,348--------BUF: 30,124
Avg: 47,048---------Avg: 33,419

Central---------'---'-Atlantic
CLB: 42,444-------'-NYR: 32,802
NSH: 42,379--------PIT: 32,779
STL: 41,473-------'-'PHI: 29,716
DET: 39,793--------'NYI: 28,210
CHI: 39,580-------'-NJD: 27,152
Avg: 41,134---------'Avg: 30,132
_________--------_________
Avg: 45,683--------Avg: 34,468

This season the NHL travel average is 40,076 miles with the West managing 11,214 more than the East and the Northwest 18,736 more than the Atlantic. In terms of teams, the Flames pass on their 2010 most traveled team designation to the Sharks who this season will log 55,063 miles, over twice that of the Devils (27,152) and only 299 more than the Devils and Islanders combined.

In addition to counting clicks, Hoag's Super Schedule tallies team's back-to-back games showing an average of 15.8 such occurrences per club with the Sabres enduring the most (22) and the Canucks and Oilers the least (11). Buckle up, the journey begins tonight.

2010 NHL Preseason Schedule Heads Overseas

Tonight the puck drops on the NHL's 107 game preseason schedule. In addition to the handful of home games that season's ticketholders love paying for, 18 clubs will skate in 14 non-NHL cities in 9 countries matching up with 7 non-NHL teams en route. Here's a closer look at these out-of-town pairings and places.

Date: Teams --'-------- City
9/22: CHI v. TBL --'''''-- Winnipeg, MB
9/23: PHI v. TOR --''''-- London, ON
9/23: BOS v. FLA ---''''- Rochester, NY
9/28: BUF v. OTT --'''-'- Dundas, ON
9/29: CGY v. NYI --'''''''- Saskatoon, SK
10/2: MTL v. NYI --''''''- Quebec City, QC
10/2: COL v. LAK ---''''- Las Vegas, NV
10/2: SJS v. Adler ---''''- Mannheim, GER
10/2: BOS v. Belfast ---- Belfast, IRL
10/4: CAR v. St. Pete --- St. Petersburg, RUS
10/4: MIN v. Tampere -' Tampere, FIN
10/5: CLB v. Malmo --''- Malmo, SWE
10/5: BOS v. Liberec '--- Liberec, CZE
10/5: PHO v. Riga -''''''-- Riga, LAT

London, Saskatoon, and Las Vegas enjoy a repeat of last year's preseason matchups, with the Lightning and Islanders returning to Quebec City and Winnipeg, respectively. No coincident that the financially troubled twosome are back in leading markets for league expansion and relocation.

Interestingly, the team most likely to move is staying put in Phoenix for the preseason. Perhaps a trip north for the Coyotes might be a bit much for local fans to handle. Sadly, Hamilton was again omitted from the exhibition offering. One can't help but wonder if Bettman has forever banned NHL hockey from this town owing to Balsillie's aggressive bid.

The preseason schedule lasts for 14 days. The games start counting on October 7th when regular season play begins. Game on!

Henrik Sedin Interview - 2010 NHL Awards

Last month we met with Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks at the 2010 NHL Awards in Las Vegas to discuss winning the Art Ross and Hart trophies, off-season training, and playing poker with Luongo. These are his stories.

Q: How does it feel to beat out Crosby and Ovechkin for the scoring title and league MVP honors?
A: Yeah, it’s a real feeling. I mean they’re the two faces of the sport. It’s something that I did not think was going to happen when I’m 30 years old. I thought I could compete with them. I didn’t feel we were that much worse playing against them but they put up so many points and they’re unbelievable players.

Q: When you arrived yesterday did Ovechkin know who you were?
A: I think he recognized me on the red hair.

Q: Talk about the time it took for you to reach this level of your game.
A: We came here when we were nineteen and it wasn’t like everything went really well from day one. We came in with big expectations like Sid and Alex but it didn’t work out. We had some tough times and some struggles. We stayed strong. To work as hard as we did and then to see the results it makes it even a greater feeling.

Q: How do these awards compare to the Golden Puck?
A: It’s on a different level, for sure. It was a great honor to get that too. I mean it’s the biggest hockey award you can get in Sweden, so that was fun too.

Q: Talk about your final game of the season against Calgary where you collected four points. Did Coach Vigneault adjust the team system to allow you more opportunities to score?
A: No, not really. You can’t do that. It’s not going to work. I played a lot with Daniel and Alex (Burrows) during the last couple of games and I’m thankful for that. But at the same time, you’ve got to try and stay within the team system otherwise its going to work against you. It was a game I’m always going to remember for sure. The way the crowd treated us. It’s something I’m always going to bring with me for sure.

Q: Were you nervous when Crosby got five points in the first half of his final game challenging your scoring lead?
A: Yeah, I didn’t watch the game. Actually I watched Alex play. After that I got a lot of phone calls from back home. Then Danny called me halfway though the Pittsburgh game and told me that Sidney had five points. So that wasn’t good.

Q: What does it mean to win these awards as a career Canuck?
A: It means a lot. It’s not very often that you get drafted to a place that you like right away. We really enjoy playing there and we loved it from day one. Even though we went through some tough times early in our careers the fans have always supported us and the organization has been great and patient. They made sure the first couple of years were unbelievable. If you like the place and you think they have a good team and they have a good chance of winning, that’s where you want to be. So that’s why we re-signed.

Q: What did you learn about yourself playing apart from Daniel during his injury?
A: Nothing really. I think it taught maybe the media and fans a little bit but we knew we could play by ourselves. We’ve rarely been injured so we’ve played a lot of games together. This was the first time he’s been out for a long period of time. I knew the fans and media were going to start talking. And they did. So it was nice to show them that we can play apart.

Q: Tell us about the sleep experiment that the Canucks conducted this season.
A: They’ve put a lot of effort in to making it better for us with the traveling. We wear the sleep watches during parts of the year to see how we sleep and how we play with the sleep we’re getting. So they make some minor changes to the schedule where you stay over after a road trip for one extra night to get some better sleep. I think it helped us for sure.

Q: Did you notice a difference in your energy levels or your play?
A: No, you don’t really notice it yourself. But when you do the testing you can see that your energy level is way above what it otherwise would be.

Q: What are you going to focus on this summer to maintain or improve your game?
A: I’m going to do the same thing I’ve done for the last four or five years. We work hard. We spend a lot of time trying to get better but there’s no magic, just lots of hard work. That’s how we get confidence and that’s what we’ve done. We come back in better shape every year.

Q: Is there anything you do in the off-season to mentally prepare for the next year?
A: No, I don’t think so. I think mentally we’ve always been pretty strong. I mean to play in a Canadian market like we are and with the expectations we’ve had from day one, it’s something we’ve learned to live with and you have to somehow like it. For us that’s not a big problem.

Q: How much time will you spend on the ice this summer?
A: Not too much. I think you get enough ice during the season. I try to stay off as much as possible because I think it gives you more hunger to be on the ice when the season starts. But it’s going to be a few hours for sure.

Q: Do you take a break between the end of the season and the start of your summer training?
A: We usually take two weeks after the season just to get away a little bit. I get a little anxious when I’m not working out or doing anything so we started working out at the end of May. I usually leave Vancouver at the end of June and go back to Sweden for six or seven weeks.

Q: What’s your best time on the Grouse Grind?
A: My record is 31:15 or something.
Q: Is that a Canuck record?
A: No, Danny has the Canuck record.
Q: How much did he beat you by?
A: 35 seconds I think.

Q: Will you train with Forsberg and Hedman again this summer in Övik?
A: Yeah, we used to be like ten or twelve guys being there but now most of them are playing for Modo and it’s only like four or five guys left. We go there every morning and work out together. It’s great just to be back and be around those guys. Even the older guys who play for Modo, they’re there too. It’s good, it’s fun.

Q: Do you think Forsberg and Naslund will be back with Modo next year?
A: I don’t think Naslund’s going to be back. Peter may be. I think his foot is feeling better so we’ll see. You never know with him.

Q: What do you think about Modo's coaching change hiring Challe Berglund from SEL rival Timrå?
A: Yeah, its going to be interesting. He’s done a great job in Timrå. They’ve got a lot of older players on Modo and I think they’ve got a great group of guys but it’s a matter of getting the most out of them. I think he can do it so it should be interesting.

Q: Who’s the toughest defenceman for you to play against?
A: Duncan Keith is tough for sure. It’s not like he’s overly physical or dirty or anything but he skates really well and its tough to get in on the forecheck on him. You try to beat him once and he’s right there again. That’s what makes him tough. So I’d say Duncan Keith.

Q: Talk about losing in the playoffs to the Chicago Blackhawks for the second year in a row.
A: I said it all the long, they’ve got a great team. It’s not a fluke that we lost. They got some great players, good defense, and their goalie played great too. We were close but we lost to the championship team. I think we lost to a better team this year. They became hot at the right time. It made losing a little bit easier to see them win the Cup for sure.

Q: You saw Vancouver go crazy when Canada won the Olympic Gold. What would it be like if the Canucks won the Stanley Cup?
A: It would a hundred times worse. We’ve been there ten years now and you don’t wish anything more than to be there and to have a chance to win. That’s what you work out for in the summertime and something you dream about. It’s really tough. It’s the toughest thing I believe to win in sports. It would be fantastic. Something you dream about for sure.

Q: I understand you’re a bit of a poker player. Are you going to play while you’re here in Vegas?
A: I don’t know. I’m not much of a casino guy. I like to play poker with my friends and stuff. I doubt it.

Q: I met Luongo at the NHL Awards last year and he thought that you and Daniel cheat at poker when you play with him on the plane. Any truth to that?
A: Oh yeah, all the time. We tell each other what kind of cards we have.

Q: Speaking of cheating, how do we know you’re not Daniel?
A: Nah, you got no clue.

Many thanks to Henrik for speaking with us. Best of luck next season.