Hockey Survivor Picks, Week 8

It seems like just over a month ago we were starting our first ever NHL survivor pool here at MyOfficePool.ca… What’s that? It HAS been just over a month?! With the wild swings of NHL hockey this season, we learned very quickly that anyone can win (or lose, ugh) a survivor hockey pool on any given Saturday.

Well, with the quick end yet successful first pool in the books, we were all too ready to take another crack at survivor hockey, so we’ve quickly given the green light to a second pool. The deadline to enter is this Saturday at 7:00 pm, so come get in on the action!

This weekend we have a trio of David and Goliath-like matchups, all suggesting picking teams that are playing on the road. Yes, I am fully aware that David ended up slaying Goliath, but for the sake of choosing a survivor pick, we’ll stick with the favourites:

Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers (Saturday at 10:00 pm) – Recent reports have surfaced that Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith are all close to signing contract extensions with the ‘Hawks, which means that you should expect increased production from the trio from now until the signings occur, as they make a final push to boost their value. Are you skeptical that players are that financially-driven? They’re not stupid folks –Toews, Kane and Keith have combined for 14 points over their last 4 games. Chicago’s reeled off 4 straight victories and are 4-1-0 against the Oilers in their last 5 meetings, outscoring them 23-11 over that span. The Oilers on the other hand are in a big slump. Prior to last night’s 6-4 win over Colorado, they had lost 4 straight, and won just once since October 29th. First star Toews, second star Kane, third star… hmm, let’s go with Keith.

Prediction: Chicago wins 5-1

Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday at 7:00 pm) – The rising Tampa Bay Lightning have gone 6 straight games with a point, which makes them an excellent survivor pick facing the last placed Canes this weekend. The Bolts are receiving some top-notch goaltending (11 goals allowed over last 6 games) and don’t look now but Vincent Lecavalier could be rounding into $85 million form after a 2 goal, 3 point effort Monday in Phoenix. Taking the Lightning this week could be a strategic survivor move, as few people, if any, consider them to be a powerhouse, and using them now would leave you with dominant teams like the Capitals, Blackhawks, and Flyers in later weeks. Of course if you save too many strong teams for the long run and don’t survive long enough to use them, it’ll all have been for not. The agonizing Hurricanes will once again be without Eric Staal and Cam Ward, which should be reason enough to bet against them.

Prediction: Tampa Bay wins 4-0

Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday at 7:00 pm) – That’s right I’m picking on those awful Maple Leafs once again. The losers of 4 straight have scored just two goals in each game over that span, and a similar performance Saturday against the surging Capitals simply won’t cut it. After this coming Saturday’s tilt with the Caps, Brian Burke’s Leafs will officially be past the quarter mark of the season, and at best, will find themselves in 29th place. While Phil Kessel has been nothing short of remarkable for the struggling Leafs, the 2010 NHL draft is looking stronger by the day (i.e. Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Cam Fowler) and you just know that “The Deal” with the Bruins will be increasingly scrutinized as the season wears on, particularly if the Blue and White’s woes continue and they remain in the lottery. Washington’s Semyon Varlamov has been heating up and should get the call in net. The rookie has an outstanding career record of 12-1-1, which means that 93% of the time, he will get you through to the next round in our survivor pool. If only it worked like that. Oh yeah, and that guy named Ovechkin is healthy and in the Caps’ lineup again. From what I’ve heard, he’s a decent hockey player.

Prediction: Washington wins 4-2