Here we go, here we go, here we go… Okay, so I usually relay the message that our annual Football Survivor Pool is the biggest pool we run every year. I guess not this year though—not likely—with the World Cup Pool having topped 800* entries.
* Seriously, it was 817 until one group requested I remove them completely from the database post-World Cup so they can keep complete anonimity, and I obliged their request.
Football Survivor will have to settle for second biggest this time around, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be the best! Although that World Cup Pool was a heck of a pool though… BUT! American football is back! The season is not far off now so time to put the footy out of our heads and figure out this funny shaped pigskin and every which way it bounces.
The NFL season starts Thursday September 9th, with the reigining Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints hosting the Brett Favre-led (that’s right, he’s back too) Minnesota Vikings. That will be a good one, although the Vikes will be without star WR Sidney Rice. You don’t know who Sidney Rice is? It doesn’t matter. That is the beauty of this pool—its simplicity.
All you have to do is pick one team to win the first week, straight up (no point spread). If your team wins, then you move on to the next week to pick again. If your team loses or ties, then you are out of the pool. The catch of course is that you cannot pick the same team twice all regular season. It takes a little bit of skill to plan ahead, and a little bit of luck to avoid the upsets and stay alive before everyone else drops off.
It took us until Wild-Card Weekend last year until our final two survivors finally got a pick wrong to end the pool. Lets see what it takes this year. The deadline to enter is kickoff on the first Sunday of Week 1 of the NFL season. That is, Sunday September 12th at 1:00pm Eastern.
Our Football Survivor Pool now boasts the same great pool features we just introduced in the World Cup Pool. You can play for free and create your own pool group, inviting your friends, as many as you like and you can all play for free (or for money, but just sort that out amongst yourselves). Or, join the MOP $20 Poolies group, paying your $20 entry fee online, winner take all and I’ll administer this group.
Come join the pool, and good luck! I’m thinking Miami Dolphins over Buffalo Bills for Week 1, although it is a Bills home game. Maybe the Tennessee Titans over Oakland Raiders…
No, we aren’t going anywhere, but we do have a new email newsletter policy which will result in fewer emails sent from MyOfficePool.ca (MOP). Let me explain…
The MOP mailing list was built from people who at some time in the past six years registered a free member account at either www.myofficepool.ca or www.draftbuddy.com. I created a website feature at MOP which allowed all members to specify what topics they were interested in, whether it be our football pools, March Madness Survivor pool, fantasy baseball or what have you.
Working together, the feature allowed me to segment the mailing list and send newsletters to users about topics they wanted to read or be reminded about.
This worked pretty well, but with the great turnout in the recent World Cup Pool, I jumped into a new higher cost service bracket for the mailing list program. Kind of like jumping into a new tax bracket, which everyone tries to avoid like the plague.
While it is a cost of doing business, just looking around most people can sort of tell I’m not making much money on this website/hobby (click an ad people, click an ad please). As a result of this unexpected extra cost, plus the new pool features to allow people to create their own pool groups, which should result in more communications between the group admin and their friends in the group, I got to thinking, “why not just can the email newsletters?” Who likes email anyway?
So, I’ve decided to do away with the large mailing list and in the future will only email the following people:
- Pool group admins, otherwise known as members who create their own groups to invite their friends to play in their own private pools
- Members who join the official MOP $20 Poolies group, otherwise known as our low stakes degenerate gamblers like myself
Of course, exisiting and new members still need a valid email address to receive pick confirmations from the pools, but most of you can expect fewer emails from MOP in the future as a result of this change. Less writing for me; less clutter in your inbox. Sounds like a win-win idea… just don’t go forgetting us now, ya hear?
Here is the email that went out today to everyone on the mailing list. Whether you are in or out of the pool currently, I’ve got some info for you.
The World Cup 2010 starts THIS FRIDAY! We have over 350 entries in our overall pool! If you’re not in yet, don’t miss out!
In the interest of streamlining and getting the proper message to everyone on our mailing list, I’ve divided this newsletter into the following sections:
- You’re Not In The Pool Yet. Help.
- You’re In The Pool. What Now?
- Soccer? No Thanks.
Please find the section that applies to you and read on.
You’re Not In The Pool Yet. Help.
The first thing you need to know is you are running out of time. Once again, the World Cup starts THIS FRIDAY!
Okay, this is pretty easy. All you need to do is login at the website and join the pool. This puts you in the overall pool. From there, you have TWO options:
A. Play for $20, joining the MOP $20 Poolies group Select this group on the picks form, and send your payment online prior to the start of the first game. Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
B. Join another group (or create your own) If you were invited to another group, then select that group on the picks form and input the password if necessary.
Voila, you are all set. Check the detailed rules for more info.
You’re In The Pool. What Now?
You’re already in? Awesome. Thanks for registering at the website and contributing to the already great turnout in the overall pool.
If you are set in the pool group you are taking part in, then you are probably good and ready for the soccer action to begin. Keep in mind you can edit your picks anytime up to the start of the first game.
Once the Group Stage of the World Cup is over, then you will have to return to the website to submit your picks for the Round of 16, then the Quarter-Finals, and Semi-Finals and Final.
If you aren’t in a pool group, then you can join my group, MOP $20 Poolies if you like. Go back to your picks form, select this group, and send your payment online prior to the start of the first game. Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
If you were invited to another group but are having trouble getting in – which is most often caused by registering with a different email address then the one that received the invite – then let me know and I’ll help you out.
Group Admins, if you are having any issues administering your group, then email me and we’ll get it figured out.
Thanks again, and enjoy the World Cup and the World Cup Pool!
Soccer? No thanks
Not a soccer fan? No problem, but understand you will be in the minority for the next month or so. If you can live with that, know that American Football pools are on the horizon and will be ready relatively soon. Also if you’re a fantasy football junkie, shoot me an email and I’ll direct you to the best draft prep and tracking tool around.
You received this email because you have “Sports Pools – Soccer” checked off as one of your mailing list preferences. To change that, login at the website, go to your MOP page, check only the items you want to receive emails about, and submit your changes. Hopefully we catch up with you in one of our future pools.
That is it. I might do a quick last call email later this week, but just to be sure you don’t miss out, get in the pool! See you there!
I just sent an email to all our pool group admins (i.e. people who created a pool group) for our World Cup 2010 Pool, but I thought I should post it here too for the benefit of anyone still planning to create a group.
This is a message just for everyone who created a pool group for the World Cup 2010 Pool at MyOfficePool.ca.
Off the top, thanks for coming to the website, and creating a group taking advantage of this new feature. I hope it is working well for you so far.
The World Cup is now less than two weeks away, and I still see a number of groups with not a lot of people in them. I’m going to go through some of the functionality of the pool groups to make things easier for you, but my overriding message here is, “what can I do to help?”
If there is a way I can help you get more people in your group, or a way to make it easier for your invitees to get around the website and in the group, then let me know and we’ll try to work it out.
Pool Group Features
Okay, the pool groups have gone through a couple rounds of changes, so if you haven’t read the recent blog posts, you might have missed some of the latest stuff.
1. Group Password
Initially, all invitees to your group needed to join by way of a personal invite from you through the website. Now, you can bypass that by setting a group password and just letting people know what the name of your group is and what the password is.
When they join the pool, at the bottom of the picks entry form, they can select the pool group from a drop-down list (note only groups that use a password are in the list), input the password and they are in.
A big benefit of this system is that people in your group can pass on the info to any of their friends so they can join too. It helps spread the word faster. Of course, you retain complete control to remove unwanted people from your group.
2. Mark Paid / Unpaid
If you are running a pool with a little cash on the line, then you’ll want to keep track of who is paid or unpaid. You can do that simply by going to your pool group admin panel and marking each individual in your group as one or the other, update group members, and that information is saved.
Note however the paid or unpaid status is not shown on the results page, so you’ll have to keep pestering the potential deadbeats in your pool until they pay up.
3. Email Your Group or Invitees
On your pool group admin page, you’ll potentially see two separate lists of names or email addresses. They are split between people who are already in your pool group, and those who you sent an official invite to but haven’t joined the pool or your group yet.
To the right of this, I added a text box for each list of just the email addresses, separated by commas. You can select this entire text, copy it (CTRL-C on Windows) and then paste it (CTRL-V) into your email program, so you can email a message to one list or the other, or both.
This should be much better than keeping track of the names and email addresses separately, and making sure you included everyone on your email when you are relaying info about the rules, how to send you money, prize payouts or just rallying them to get in gear and get in the pool.
I think that gives a good overview of the key features of the pool groups. One thing to keep in mind about trying to get people into an office pool is that people are notorious procrastinators, especially for an entertainment distraction like this.
Depending when you sent out your latest invites to the pool, you might want to send out another reminder this week, but then almost certainly you’ll want to send one out Monday or Tuesday of next week with a “Last Call” or “Final Reminder” urgency to it.
The World Cup starts a week from this Friday, so that final reminder should be close enough to the deadline they can’t procrastinate much more, but with enough time they can get in without feeling rushed.
Again, if you have any questions or issues with your pool group, then let me know. If you want to disband your group for whatever reason, let me know and I will delete it for you, so you’re then free to join another group.
I hope you liked the last round of changes to the pool group features of our World Cup 2010 Pool, including the abilities to better manage the people in your group. I’ve received some positive feedback on those, and from my own group management I haven’t noticed any issues.
Well, I’m here to announce yet another round of new features. This wouldn’t have been possible if not for my Mom taking care of my kids this past weekend – thanks Mom – which gave me some time Saturday to plug away at a couple things that should make inviting and getting people in to your group even easier.
Group Password Option
The first new thing is a password system for the pool groups. If you already have a group, or create a new one, then go to your pool group admin page (click the “Create Group” or “Invite Friends” link from the results page), and you’ll see below the pool group name box another box to input a password, if you so choose. It works this way:
- If you input a password and save it, then instead of sending out invite emails through the website like before, you can send a larger email to your friends with a link to the pool, and your group name and password.
When they join the pool, all they need to do is select your group from the drop-down box at the bottom of the picks form, input the password, submit to join the pool and they’re golden. The other benefit of this is your friends can forward the info to their friends, so they too can join your group, as long as they know the password.
- If you do not input a password, then you as the group admin have complete control over who gets invited into the group. Just continue to use the invite system through the website. Making things easier now, people who receive what I’ll call “official” invites into the group will be prompted at the bottom of their picks entry form when they join the pool to select the group they want to join.
The two functions above can be combined, so even a group using the password option can still send out official invites, and those invitees can join the group without the password.
I think this all sounds a little more complex then it really is. All in all, it maximizes the ability to get people into your pool group, and if some people do happen to get in that you’d rather not be there, then you (group admins) have total control to boot those people from your group should that become necessary. You can do that using the features discussed last time.
Traditional MOP Pool Group
Given the MyOfficePool.ca history running a single pool in the traditional fashion of collecting twenty bones per entry and distributing the winnings to the top finisher or finishers, I can understand the confusion from some long-time members when that was no longer an option for the World Cup. Or, it was an option but it wasn’t as obvious, I guess, or automated.
From good buddy Cacciatorini, “so, can I still play for $20, or not?” The answer, is yes.
Again, as mentioned last time, I have my own pool group. It is $20 per entry, and we’ll pay out 1st/2nd/3rd like we do most of the past pools, 55%/27.5%/12.5%. 5% is held back to cover the cost of collecting the money. The group is called Unofficial MOP $20 Poolies.
I added some features to make this easier to join and pay for your entry. First, everyone is automatically invited to this pool group. Don’t have a group to join? Want to play for a little cash? Come on in and join mine. $20 per entry, must be paid up front, no exceptions. Payouts as above. Pretty fair setup, if I do say so myself.
Second, the MOP$ accounts are back online to help automate the payments for this pool. When you enter the pool, then you’ll see the options at the bottom of the entry form to join a pool group. If you click the option for Unofficial MOP…, then the payment options should appear.
After you submit your picks, and if you choose to pay via PayPal, then you will be redirected to that site to make your payment. When that is complete, your MOP$ account will be updated, your entry marked as paid, and you’re all set.
If you pay by INTERAC, then I will update the entry as paid after the money is received. Cheque/check payments are also okay, but they must be postmarked prior to the start of the pool and I have to receive them within 5 business days from the start of the pool. Really your best bet is to use one of the online options if possible.
Okay, that is it for the admin stuff regarding the World Cup 2010 Pool. If anyone has any questions then let me know, but that should be the last of the changes to the pool.
Just a couple weeks to go and we’ll all be ready for a month of soccer action on the world stage. Oh baby, hard not to get psyched, but in case you aren’t quite there yet, maybe the following video will do it. Enjoy!
If you received the email newsletter last week, or read the prior blog post, you should know the latest big news out of MyOfficePool.ca.
The first is, our World Cup 2010 Pool is up and running! World Cup starts June 11th! Woo-hoo!
The second thing is, you can create your own pool group, essentially allowing you to run your own World Cup Pool by inviting people you know to your group. If your group wants to play for some money, then by all means, do so. If not, that’s fine too. It is your group after all. We’ll do the heavy lifting actually recording the picks and updating the pool for you, from start to finish of the World Cup, and we’ll do it all for free too.
This all sounds fine and good, but a couple small issues spun off from our good intentions, which is what I want to address here.
Unofficial MOP $20 Poolies Group
With regards to the pool itself, some guys and gals who were used to just heading over here, joining my pool, dropping $20 and hoping and praying (some more hoping and praying than others), were like, “huh?” “What is going on?”
In short, yes, you can still play for $20 if you like. I started my own pool group, right here at this website I found (ha). So, if you are used to playing in my pool, go ahead and join my pool group, send me $20 before the start of the World Cup, and we’re good. Here are the key points as to what is a little different than in the past:
- there is no official MyOfficePool.ca play for money pool
- join my pool group called, Unofficial MOP $20 Poolies (yes, I changed the name)
- to make things easier, you are automatically invited to join my pool group when you join the overall pool
- of course, you don’t have to accept this invite, if you are creating your own or joining another pool group
- the website will not automatically prompt you to submit payment, since the money is not running through MOP anymore, but me personally
- I’ll send an email to everyone who joins my group later on explaining how to send me the money, and what the prizes will be – likely 60%/30%/10% for 1st/2nd/3rd
If you have any questions, then by all means drop me an email at mike@myofficepool.ca.
New Pool Group Features
The next thing I realized after putting in the first batch of pool group features was that, these could be a lot better. And better they now are. Yesterday I uploaded a bunch of improvements for our pool group admins to make their jobs a whole lot easier managing everyone in their pool group. Here is a rundown of the new features:
- your pool group invite list is now broken up between who has joined your group and who hasn’t
- you can mark each person who joined your pool group as having paid, or not paid
- you can remove any person from your pool group if desired (they will still be in the overall pool)
- you can uninvite any person who hasn’t joined your pool group yet
- there is a text box of email addresses you can copy and then paste into your email to send a note just to people who joined your pool group
- there is a text box of email addresses you can copy and then paste into your email to send a note just to people you invited to your pool group but haven’t joined yet, to send them a reminder perhaps
The one thing we don’t have is an alternate way to invite people to a pool group, short of the pool group administrator (the person who created it), sending individual invites through their admin panel. There were thoughts of using a unique sign up link and/or password system, but after discussing it with a couple people who created new pool groups, there was no consensus on what would work the best.
What I’m going to do is leave it as is for the World Cup Pool. As above, only the admin can invite people to their pool group through the website. However, if you do have a large group of people who you want to invite to your pool group, then send me an email, and I’ll see what I can do on the backend to make things easier, such as inserting all the invites into the database and the admin then emailing their group of poolies all at once.
All right, that is enough of the admin stuff. Have fun recruiting for your pool group, and enjoy the World Cup! We’re getting there, just three and a half weeks away!
One month! We’re exactly one month away from World Cup 2010 in South Africa!
People are starting to think about it as the media hype slowly builds, but what else are people thinking about? How about, where am I going to find an office pool to join for me and my friends for the World Cup?
Look no further than the World Cup 2010 Pool, right here at MyOfficePool.ca. The biggest pool in our history was back in 2006 for the last World Cup. That pool returns after a long slumber to let you follow and cheer along your squads from the opening Group Stage right through to the final.
New Feature: Pool Groups
There is a new feature at MyOfficePool.ca, starting with our World Cup Pool. You can create your own pool group, and then invite and compete against your friends and family. All you have to do is this:
1. Join the overall pool. This is free.
2. Create a pool group. This is also free.
3. Invite your friends to join. There is no limit, invite as many people as you like.
Pool Rules
The way this pool works you only have to make your picks for the Group Stage, picking who will finish in 1st and 2nd place in each group, to start the pool.
Then before the start of the each subsequent round – Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final – pick the winners for that round. Instead of picking the entire tourney before the start, this keeps the pool active and you are (almost) never out of the running.
Points are accumulated each round based on your picks (being right of course) and a scoring table, included in the detailed rules.
No Group? Join Mine
If you don’t want to create your own group, or don’t have a group to join and want to play for a little cash, then you can join my group, Bulge the Old Onion Bag (love that line). This group is a $20 entry fee, payable to me – Mike – prior to the start of the pool. No exceptions. Let me know if you want in and I’ll send you an invite.
Okay, so that is it. The World Cup kicks off the first game on Friday June 11th at 10:00 am Eastern. As with all of our pools, you can edit your picks anytime you like right up to the deadline, so by all means join today and then mull over your picks for the next 30 days. If you’re starting a group to invite friends, then you may want to get them thinking about it now.
Enjoy the pool. The next month cannot go fast enough!
~ Pick the team to win each series
~ Pick the games for each series
~ Pick 5 players to score points
~ $20 to enter ~ 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
~ Now open at our sister website
MyOfficePool.ca
Your DraftBuddy.com username works at MyOfficePool.ca
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
Could this finally be the Sharks’ year? Probably not, but at least a first-round upset isn’t in the cards for them again this year. This series lacks the upset potential that some of the other quarter-final matchups have, but the young Avs won’t go down without a fight.
It’ll be interesting to see how players like Matt Duchene and Chris Stewart fare in their first NHL playoff series. While Colorado would get an enormous boost from the return of Peter Mueller, he remains out indefinitely recovering from a concussion.
The Sharks on the other hand are healthy and primed for a deep playoff run. Dany Heatley has 35 points in 34 career playoff games and the Sharks will need him to continue that trend if they’re finally going to silence the critics. The Sharks and Avalanche split the season series 2-2.
Prediction: Sharks in 5
Players to Watch:
Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ—Following years of stalled playoff runs and a recent early elimination from the Olympics, Nabokov has gained the reputation as one of the game’s most notorious chokers. The pressures of playing on powerhouse teams like the Sharks and team Russia could be getting to the former Vezina Trophy finalist, and if he falters against Colorado in the first round, this could be the last we see of him playing for the Sharks. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Chris Stewart, RW, COL—Stewart was the Avs’ trigger man this season and they will need him to score in bunches if they are to advance to the second round. Stewart doesn’t have extensive playoff hockey experience at the pro or even semi-pro levels. He has just 11 postseason matches under his belt at the OHL level, one at the AHL level and until now, no NHL playoff experience.
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators
At the start of the season, the Blackhawks had an excess of skilled defensemen and not enough ice-time to go around. Now they face the opposite dilemma. Defensemen Brian Campbell and Kim Johnsson find themselves sidelined with injuries and are expected to miss the series. Luckily for the Hawks, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are capable of logging big minutes.
While Pekka Rinne might be capable of stealing a game for the Preds, the Hawks from the Windy City should breeze through the quarter-finals. The Blackhawks won the season series 4-2.
Prediction: Blackhawks in 4
Players to Watch:
Marian Hossa, RW, CHI—Could this be Hossa’s third straight season as a Stanley Cup finalist? It’s certainly possible, and with three different teams no less. Cup losses aside, Hossa has an impressive playoff track record the last couple years—41 points in 43 games—and the Hawks will need their $63-million man to start earning that contract with his postseason play.
Shea Weber, D, NAS—The Preds will need Weber to log considerable minutes if they are to contain the ever-dangerous Patrick Kane. Weber had just one assist and a -1 rating in five games against the Hawks this season, so he’ll need to elevate his play if the Predators are to knock off the second seed.
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
The Kings head to the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season, and hope 24-year-old netminder Jonathan Quick will be able to shut the door on the Canucks’ high-flying offense. While the Kings’ team features a trio of young stars in Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Quick, they’ll likely be overpowered by the Canucks deep roster. Secondary scoring should be the difference in this one. The Canucks won the season series 3-1.
Prediction: Canucks in 5
Players to Watch:
Roberto Luongo, G, VAN—Since his gold medal performance at the Olympics, Luongo has been rather shaky. During the last three weeks of the regular season, Luongo went 3-3-2 and allowed three or more goals in seven of eight starts. He doesn’t need to be spectacular in the quarter-finals for the Canucks to win the series but his recent level of play won’t suffice.
Drew Doughty, D, LA—If it were up to me, Doughty would take home the Norris and Hart Trophies for his outstanding contributions this season. The 20-year-old has been blessed with tremendous skill and hockey sense, and will probably be asked to play around 30 minutes per game in his first series of NHL playoff action.
(4) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
Many are picking the veteran Red Wings to “upset” the Coyotes during this year’s quarter-finals but I think youth and skill will outweigh age and experience in this one. The Red Wings team features a host of former Stanley Cup winners skating in front of rookie netminder Jimmy Howard. While Howard was nothing short of phenomenal for the Wings during the regular season, he’s never been tested during the playoffs.
Ilya Bryzgalov has a brief but impressive playoff resume with a 9-5 record, a .937 save percentage and a 1.68 goals against average. The Yotes should win this battle of the backstoppers. The Coyotes and Red Wings split the season series 2-2.
Prediction: Coyotes in 7
Players to Watch:
Lee Stempniak, RW, PHO—Stempniak could further cement himself as the smartest acquisition at this year’s trade deadline if he can continue his scoring prowess against the Wings. Like many of the younger Coyotes, Stempniak has no playoff experience.
Johan Franzen, RW, DET—With 25 goals accumulated over the Wings’ past two playoff runs, “The Mule” definitely has a flair for the dramatic. However, he’s scored just three goals in 14 meetings with the Coyotes during his career.
~ Pick the team to win each series
~ Pick the games for each series
~ Pick 5 players to score points
~ $20 to enter ~ 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
~ Now open at our sister website
MyOfficePool.ca
Your DraftBuddy.com username works at MyOfficePool.ca
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
The Habs fan in me is hopeful that the Canadiens 2-1-1 record against Washington this year is a sign that an upset could be in the cards for this season’s President’s Trophy winners. The realist in me doesn’t see any way the Habs can make this a real series unless Jaroslav Halak puts up a brick wall and the Caps’ goaltending falters.
While there is a slight chance of that happening, it’s worth nothing that not only has Halak not looked particularly strong of late, but he has not faced the Caps at all this season! Carey Price was in net for all four contests between the two teams, so Halak might be in for a rude awakening.
Prediction: Caps in 5
Players to Watch:
Scott Gomez, C, MTL—Gomez is a veteran of three trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, and has two rings to show for it. He has 30 points and a +7 rating through his last 28 playoff games. Plekanec’s line will draw a significant amount of the Caps’ attention, and Gomez is going to need to take some of the pressure off him if the Habs are going to go anywhere.
Mike Green, D, WAS—Green was abysmal in the playoffs last year, but he posted seven points during the Caps first round exit the year before. It will be interesting to see which Green we get to watch this year.
(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
Most pundits have written off the Flyers, but I don’t expect them to go quietly. The Flyers actually took 5 of 6 meetings from the Devils this year. Most recently, Brian Boucher was in net for a 5-1 win on March 28th. Chris Pronger has led an 8th seeded team on a deep playoff run before, and even Brian Boucher has been to an Eastern Conference Final.
The Devils’ roster boasts an impressive 14 cup rings though, compared to just one for the Flyers. Special teams also tend to play a key role in the post-season, and while the Devils are the third-most disciplined team in the league, the Flyers are the second-most penalized. The Devils defense, discipline, and experience should get them past the Flyers in what promises to be a hard-fought series.
Prediction: Devils in 6
Players to Watch:
Claude Giroux, RW, PHI—Pronger, Richards, Gagne and Carter will all need to produce for the Flyers to have success, but Giroux may very well be the X-factor. He was arguably the Flyers’ best forward during last year’s playoffs, but he had underwhelmed most of this year.
Ilya Kovalchuk, LW, NJ—Kovalchuk’s goal-scoring has slowed since he joined the Devils, and he has disappointed in his brief playoff career so far. That being said, he should see plenty of power play ice time and as a result could post some big numbers in the first round.
(3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Boston Bruins
To me, this is a pretty simple one: the league’s second-worst offense (Boston) heads to the playoffs without their best offensive player (Marc Savard), and is forced to face the league’s best goalie (Ryan Miller) in the first round. I simply don’t think the Bruins have enough firepower to get by the Sabres.
That being said, the Sabres don’t exactly boast a high-powered offense, and Tuukka Rask has been pretty spectacular so far this season. Rask is an unproven commodity come playoff time, but he certainly has the potential to make things interesting.
Prediction: Sabres in 5
Players to Watch:
Tomas Vanek, LW, BUF—Vanek has been a huge disappointment this year, scoring just 27 goals. The uber-talented Austrian has five in his last two games though, so he could be poised to explode in the playoffs.
Tuuka Rask, G, BOS—Any hope Boston has rests squarely on the shoulders of Rask. The Finn has never played in an NHL playoff game though, so it will be interesting to see how he responds.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
This strikes me as the most interesting of the first round matchups in the East. The two teams split the season series with two wins apiece. Ottawa heads into the playoffs playing inspired hockey, going 7-2-1 in their last ten.
The Pens, on the other hand, have gone 5-4-1 in their last ten, and it’s worth pointing out that they needed a five point night from Sidney Crosby just to beat the Islanders 6-5 in a shootout for that last win.
Pittsburgh still has that same young core that has been to two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, so it’s tough not to like them to get by the Senators. The Pens get my vote, but this series also gets my vote for “most likely to end with an upset”.
Prediction: Penguins in 6
Players to Watch:
Alex Goligoski, D, PIT—Goligoski’s ice time has almost matched that of Sergei Gonchar’s of late, and he has 34 points in 32 career AHL playoff games. He could really make a name for himself this spring.
Brian Elliott, G, OTT—This is a bit of an obvious one. Elliott has provided the stability that many hoped Pascal Leclaire would provide between the pipes, but he still remains untested in the playoffs. J.S. Giguere made himself a household name during the Ducks’ 2003 playoff run, and who knows, Brian Elliott may just do the same.
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The regular season is winding down, and a good number of fantasy junkies are gearing up for playoff pools. These pools offer a shot at redemption for those of us who have been out of contention in our pools for awhile now, and a chance to hold ultimate bragging rights for regular season victors.
With this in mind, let’s have a look at a few of this season’s stars, and how they tend to perform in the postseason.
Captain Clutch
These guys have produced when it matters in the past, and there’s no reason to think it won’t happen again.
Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT—Last year’s Conn Smythe trophy winner has a total of 62 points in 49 playoff games. It’s been a tough year for Gino, but don’t let that make you pass him up for the playoffs. Sidney Crosby also gets an honourable mention here, since his re-invention from playmaker to sniper really began during last year’s playoff run.
Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH—Same old Ovie come playoff time…
Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH—Backstrom’s playoff performance last year closely mirrored his regular season production. He’s been even better this year, and become a pretty responsible defensive player too. I expect him to turn a lot of heads this postseason. That is, of course, if the Caps make it anywhere in the post-season, and that’s all up to Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov.
Patrik Elias, C/LW, NJ—Elias falls into the sleeper category for this year’s playoffs, as he’s had a pretty unremarkable season. His playoff resume is impressive though. He currently sits 5th among all active players in playoff points with 113. The Devils look poised to make a decent run come playoff time, and I would expect Elias to be a big reason why.
Playoff Busts
The following gents have a reputation of underperforming come playoff time. They may still give you some production, but don’t expect the same player you saw in the regular season.
Joe Thornton, C, SJ—Jumbo Joe’s playoff struggles are well-documented. For his career, the perennial regular season assist-king has just 53 points in 76 games, with a -12 rating. The Sharks are pegged as contenders year after year, and Thornton’s annual disappearing act is a major reason why they’ve never made good on their contender status. Dany Heatley’s arrival in town should change all that, right?
Dany Heatley, W, SJ—Heatley has 10 goals in 34 playoff games. Extrapolate that over a full 82 game season and you get 24 goals. When was the last time you remember Heatley scoring 24 goals in a regular season? Heatley also seems to disappear when the going gets tough. Shark fans had better hope that Heatley and Thornton can cure each other’s playoff woes, or it will be another disappointing season in San Jose.
Jeff Carter, C, PHI—Carter has 12 points in 29 career playoff games. The Flyers’ goaltending situation is a mess, and if the team has any aspirations of contending, they’ll need better from Carter.
Wildcards
These guys have had somewhat checkered playoff pasts, but that may change this year.
Ilya Kovalchuk, LW, NJ— Kovalchuk has only been to the playoffs once before, and his performance in the Thrashers’ four game exit was forgettable. He’s starting to hit his stride with the Devils though, and he’s surrounded by guys who know how to get it done in the playoffs. It’s tough to bet against him putting up big numbers now that he has an actual supporting cast.
The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik—Yes, we’ll examine them as one player; they wouldn’t have it any other way. Henrik has received a ton of fanfare this season, and it’s very much deserved. Quietly though, Daniel has actually scored at an almost identical pace to brother Henrik! Over a full season, Daniel’s current pace would get him 107 points.
Last season, the Sedins had their best playoff showing yet, each posting 10 points in 10 games, with identical +4 ratings. Seriously, do these guys do anything differently?
That playoff showing was right on par with their regular season performances last year, and both brothers seem to have added a bit of sandpaper to their game this year.
I like the Canucks for a long playoff run if Roberto Luongo can find his game, and I like the Sedins to keep up their pace through the playoffs.
Mike Green, D, WSH—Mike Green’s first trip to the postseason was actually reasonably productive, and he scored at a point a game pace. Last year though, Green looked completely out of place. Green didn’t seem to want the puck on his stick at all, and I suspected he was hiding an injury throughout the Caps’ playoff run. He has yet again been the most productive NHL defenseman during the regular season though, so it will be interesting to see how he performs come crunch time.
Paul Stastny, C, COL—Stastny only has 9 games of playoff experience, and while he was completely underwhelming, his role on the team then wasn’t as prominent as it is now. I can’t say I expect the Avs to make a deep run, and Stastny isn’t the grittiest of players, but it’s not fair at this point to put him in the playoff bust category.
New to the Dance
Gut check time. The following regular season standouts have never played in the NHL playoffs:
Anze Kopitar (LA)
Chris Stewart (COL)
Craig Anderson (COL)
Drew Doughty (LA)
Jonathan Quick (LA)
Patric Hornqvist (NAS)
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