So, I'm watching the Leafs/Pens tilt Saturday night, and I had to ask myself what exactly is different with this Leafs team? I remember watching the embarassing efforts of the Blue and White under Paul Maurice. It always seemed like they were more interested in being rough and finding ways to lose games rather than improving. But then again, this team seems to have Cubs syndrome... You know, why get better when you are the only game in the Canada's largest city. People and corporations will continue to suipport this team no matter how pathetic the product on the ice is........
Speaking of the Penguins, I am absolutely loving how Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy have started off this season. If the Pens can get anywhere in the neighborhood of 50-55 goals from these guys (not at all unreasonable considering they play on a line with Jordan Staal, who at a very young 21 is only going to see his offensive numbers trend upwards), look out eastern conference.........
For a game that ended 1-0 in a shootout, the Sharks/Coyotes tilt last night was extrememly entertaining. As the game wore on, I found myself hanging on every shot and scoring chance, knowing the first goal would probably be all that would be needed for the win. Everyone seems interested in writing off this Coyote team, but I don't think they'll be easily dismissed. Yes, the Western Conference is very deep with very good teams. However, the 'Yotes are definitely trending upwards. The under-the-radar addition of Robert Lang, who was Montreal's best player before suffering a season ending injury last year, will certainly help all of the young players progress. Captain Shane Doan will be especially motivated to impress the brass at Hockey Canada for a spot on the 2010 Olympic Team. Youngsters Peter Meuller, Martin Hanzal and the gritty Daniel Winnik should be ready to assume more of the heavy lifting. and don't forget that just 2 years ago Ilya Brzyzgalov was pushing JS Giguere out of a job in Anaheim. So, it's asking a lot of things to go just right, but this team is gonna be fun to watch this year.
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