Another sharp week in the survivor pool that saw none of our remaining competitors eliminated. The Washington Capitals are the obvious safe pick this weekend matching up against the woeful Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, our three finalists have already used the Caps, and will really need to do their research this week. Here are my top three survivor picks for this Saturday:

New Jersey Devils at Atlanta Thrashers (Saturday at 7:00 PM) – The Devils are red hot – pun fully intended. Martin Brodeur is showing that age is not a factor, winning six of his last seven starts, while Swedish rookie Niclas Bergfors now finds himself ranked second among first year players in both goals and points (only wunderkind John Tavares has more). They’re 11-2-1 on the road this season, and should only better that record Saturday night against a Thrashers team averaging 3.7 goals against over their last 7 games. Look for Zach Parise to break an 8 game goalless drought.

Prediction: New Jersey wins 4-2

Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars (Saturday at 3:00 PM) – The injury-plagued Red Wings are finally stringing some wins together, and owe a large portion of their recent success to the play of goaltender Jimmy Howard, who’s allowed two or fewer goals in five of his last six starts. The Red Wings’ Todd Bertuzzi has 5 goals over their current four game win streak. Conversely, the Stars have lost five of six, struggling to keep the puck out of their net during that stretch (23 goals allowed).

Prediction: Detroit wins 3-1

Minnesota Wild at Ottawa Senators (Saturday at 7:00 PM) – Not that he’s been a significant factor for the Senators so far this season, but the loss of Jason Spezza for a couple months with an MCL tear is a definite blow. Mike Fisher will take over the first line centre role, and though he’s performed admirably so far this year, things are about to get more difficult for him matchup-wise. The Wilds’ stud netminder Niklas Backstrom shouldn’t have too much trouble fending off the Senators’ few remaining healthy scoring threats.

Prediction: Minnesota wins 2-0

This actually looks like one of the better matchup weeks this season to survive in Hockey Survivor II as far as I’m concerned. Sidney Crosby’s apparently decided he wants to add a Rocket Richard trophy to his collection, Alexander Ovechkin loves the big-stage Saturday night games, and somebody has got to remind those Coyotes that they are not cup contenders.

Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday at 7:30 PM) – The Panthers have won just once in their last 10, while the Penguins have won 6 times in that span. Sidney Crosby has also apparently decided that he is sick of all the attention Ovechkin is getting. He’s shooting the puck more, and is on pace to beat his career for goals in a season by a whopping 15. Add to that the fact that Marc-Andre Fleury’s game is starting to round into shape, and this should be an easy Pens win.

Prediction: Pittsburgh wins 5-1

Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday at 7 PM) – I’m not necessarily a fan of picking the Maple Leafs to lose right now, as they’ve been playing some inspired hockey of late, but I’d pick the Caps to beat just about anyone on a Saturday night right now. Ovie’s suspensions and minor injuries haven’t hampered his play in the least when he’s been in the lineup, and he seems to love the atmosphere of Saturday night games in Original Six buildings. Look for Ovechkin and Co. to fill the score sheet in this high-scoring affair.

Prediction: Washington wins 6-3

San Jose Sharks at Phoenix Coyotes (Saturday at 8:00 PM): – The Coyotes are red-hot, and have won 5 straight leading into Thursday night’s game against the Kings. The Sharks on the other hand, are mired in a 3 game losing streak. The Sharks are, however, way too good to lose like this, and the Coyotes can’t keep this up forever. Look for the Sharks to snap the ‘Yotes’ winning streak if the Kings don’t beat them to it tonight.

Prediction: San Jose wins 3-2

We had no losers in the pool last week, which has been something of a rarity so far this year! This week’s top matchups will be decided by the play of some hot (and not) goaltenders.

Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes (1:30 PM, Saturday) – Roberto Luongo is bolstering his case to win the starting goalie job with Team Canada, as he outdueled Martin Brodeur to a 5-2 victory Wednesday night, and followed it up with a 38-save shutout victory against the Flyers on Thursday. The Canucks should have no problem visiting the basement-dwelling Canes, whose defensive lapses should only continue now that they’ll be without top defenseman Joe Corvo for 8 to 12 weeks after he suffered a lacerated calf earlier this week.

Prediction: Canucks win 4-0

Atlanta Thrashers at Florida Panthers (7:00 PM, Saturday) – Panthers’ fans can blame this one on the homerun-swinging Keith Ballard. The injured Tomas Vokoun’s replacement, Scott Clemmensen, has had a gruesome go as Florida’s new starting goalie, allowing 7 goals on just 45 shots in his two starts since Ballard’s stick incident. Thrashers’ accurate sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is scoring on 23.1% of his shots right now and should feast on the struggling netminder.

Prediction: Thrashers win 5-2

New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres (7:00 PM, Saturday) – By leaps and bounds, Ryan Miller has been the best goaltender in the NHL so far this season, leading the league with a 1.84 GAA and .937 save percentage. The Rangers on the other hand, have had trouble keeping pucks out of their net lately. They have been outscored 18 to 6 during their current three game skid, and their woes won’t end in Buffalo. The Sabres have won four straight, and seem to be rounding into shape offensively with 18 goals during the win streak.

Prediction: Sabres win 3-1

Yikes, massacre in the very first week of Hockey Survivor II! We only had 13 willing to throw caution to the wind and try to predict the highly unpredictable NHL, and just 5 lived to make a pick this week. We’re thinking a double knockout system might be in order for the next hockey survivor pool.

John did hit on two of his three picks last week, even though he himself unfortunately used the wrong one for his pick in the pool. The games look tough again this week but here are my top three best guesses.

Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 PM, Saturday) – The Kings have cooled off some after a hotter than expected start. They are 5-5-0 in their last 10, currently riding a 2 game losing streak. They’ve also been mediocre at home, with just a 5-4-1 record. The Blackhawks, on the other hand, look like legit Stanley Cup contenders, and are winners of 7 straight. Chicago also won the only two meetings between these two teams this year by a decisive 4-1 margin. Add Marian Hossa to the mix, and the Hawks look downright scary.

Prediction: Hawks win 5-2

Calgary Flames at Columbus Blue Jackets (7:00 PM, Saturday) – The Flames were downright embarrassed at home by the Blackhawks in a 7-1 drubbing, and have looked like a team on a mission since. They beat the Kings decisively, and then fell victim to a stellar performance by J.S. Giguere in a shootout loss to the Ducks. Mikka Kiprusoff has been very sharp in both games since the blowout, and playing on the road doesn’t bother the Flames one bit; they’ve lost just once in regulation as the visiting team.

The Blue Jackets, on the other hand, are losers of 3 straight, and have been getting very suspect goaltending. Look for the Flames to light the lamp early and often in this one.

Prediction: Flames win 4-2

Carolina Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres (7:00 PM, Saturday): If you’re a Canes fan, then today’s news that Eric Staal was taken off the IR was certainly a relief. If you’re a Canes fan, that’s also about as far as you should read. The rest of this blurb isn’t kind.

Before going on the IR, Staal had an abysmal 5 points in 13 games. He’s never been a fast starter, and coming off the IR certainly isn’t going to help his cause any. Mr. Staal also rejoins a team that has yet to win even a single game on the road.

The Sabres, on the other hand, have been dynamite at home, posting an impressive 7-3-2 record. My only worry with this game is that Ryan Miller might get the night off.

Prediction: Sabres win 3-1

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

Well that was short and sweet, wasn’t it? After a disastrous fourth week in the first ever regular season Hockey Survivor Pool, in which we lost 13 of 18 alive entries on a five different teams, the final five headed into the next week each wondering how long it would take to dispose of the other four.

Not long. Three picked the Los Angeles Kings to knock off the Nashville Predators, in an early game even, 4:00 Eastern, but the Kings dropped 3-1 to the Preds. We bid goodbye to darosa7, John and NickyJ.

Okay then, arseneau and Jmoore are the last two standing. arseneau is looking good picking the Detroit Red Wings to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sure it is Hockey Hall of Fame celebration weekend in Toronto, but of the five inductees, three were former Red Wings – Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull and of course longtime captain Steve Yzerman. Note all three played together on the 2002 Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings squad. Sure the Wings would be “up” for this game against the lowly Leafs? Ugh… Wings lose 5-1.

And that brings me to Jmoore. Jmoore didn’t make a pick this week. Per the rules, when an entry does not make a pick by the deadline, then a pick is assigned based on the alphabetical order of teams by city and then team name (so Islanders would come before Rangers). First up for a default pick, the Anaheim Ducks. Was Anaheim playing that weekend? Yes. Did Jmoore use them yet? No. Anaheim it is!

Anaheim was taking on the Phoenix Coyotes, which based on the season so far was not going to be a walk in the park. Anaheim started the season slow, but they had started to turn it around. Would they come through? Yep. They built a 4-0 lead, just about let it slip away in the third period, but held on for a 4-3 win and survivor pool win for Jmoore.

Interesting enough I still haven’t heard back from him. I wonder if he knows he won?

All in all, I think that went pretty well. It was a little shorter than I would have hoped, but it made constantly checking the NHL scores on Saturday nights via the iPhone a necessary if not agonizing experience. I’m willing to roll the dice again, are you?

I’ve set up Hockey Survivor II at the website, and we’ll kick off this pool next weekend, Saturday November 21st. The first game that day starts at 4:00 Eastern. Same format, everyone starts with a clean slate. Get over to the website to sign up, and I’ll get on Iain and John to keep posting their top three survivor picks as well for some extra informed opinion on the matter.

Thanks for participating, and hope to see you in the sequel.

It was inevitable – a mass elimination. We had a rough weekend in the survivor pool that saw all but 5 people eliminated. A slew of injuries that came about Friday had Iain second-guessing his picks on game day. Be sure to check your team’s injury reports Saturday mornings to make sure all their stars will be in the lineup. Fortunately for me, I had already used the Pittsburgh Penguins and they weren’t available for me, otherwise I’d have taken a week 4 exit with many of you.

On the bright side, we have some safer matchups this week. The Washington Capitals against the Florida Panthers seems like an obvious safe pick (taking the Caps of course), but there are no guarantees that Alexander Ovechkin will play (the Capitals are 1-4 without Ovechkin over his 5 year career), and the Panthers are currently riding a 3 game winning streak. The Philadelphia Flyers might also seem like a safe bet matching up against the St. Louis Blues, but groin injuries will keep both Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne from suiting up, so steer clear of this one as well. Here are the picks I’m favouring:

Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings (Saturday at 4:00pm) – The Kings have been an offensively dominant team so far this year averaging 3.36 goals per game (5th in the NHL), while the Preds have struggled with just 2.06 goals per game (29th). Nashville have been a solid team defensively this year, but will be without All-Star blueliner Shea Weber who is nursing a sore foot. The Kings will launch 40 shots at the Preds, and though poor Pekka Rinne will perform admirably, the onslaught of offense will be just too much. Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov will both find the net in this rout.

Prediction: Los Angeles wins 5-1

Carolina Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets (Saturday at 7:00pm) – Congrats Leafs’ fans – the Hurricanes are the NHL’s new basement dwellers! Nothing’s going right for the Hurricanes right now. The losers of 10 straight just lost their most dangerous weapon, Eric Staal, for two to four weeks with what’s being called an upper-body injury. Rick Nash and the Blue Jackets on the other hand, have been on a tear. Nash has 6 goals in his last 7 games and should keep the blazing pace going against a struggling Cam Ward. The Blue Jackets will strengthen their division lead with two more points in a regulation victory over the Canes.

Prediction: Columbus wins 4-2

Detroit Red Wings at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday at 7:00pm) – With former Wings Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, and Luc Robitaille all in town for their Hall of Fame Induction this weekend, there’ll be no lack of inspiration for the current Red Wings to hand the Maple Leafs yet another defeat. Phil Kessel will find the net for the first time in the blue and white, but penalty trouble will be the Leafs downfall once again. The Leafs might beat the Hurricanes tonight, but their consecutive-games-with-a-point streak ends Saturday at the hands of Pavel Datsyuk and the storied Detroit Red Wings.

Prediction: Detroit wins 3-2

All but 3 of us survived for another week. Philadelphia was by far the most popular pick (probably because of John’s compelling arguments in last week’s instalment of the top survivor picks), and they didn’t disappoint, beating the Panthers by a decisive 5-1 margin. If memory serves, John predicted a 5-2 score, and all 3 of his picks won. This puts the pressure squarely on me for this week, and there are some tough matchups, so let’s see what we can do.

Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday at 7:30pm) – This is my favourite pick this week. The Wild have lost every single game they have played on the road in regulation, and are averaging just a shade over 2 goals scored per game. That won’t be nearly enough to beat the Pens in their own barn, as Pittsburgh has spread the offence out nicely so far this season, getting solid contributions from the likes of Tyler Kennedy and Alex Goligoski, as well as the usual suspects, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

Prediction: Pittsburgh wins 5-2

Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders (Saturday at 7:00pm) – Buffalo has yet to lose a road game all year, and their offense is starting to click. They’ve scored 16 goals in the last four games (as I write this the puck has just dropped in their game against the Devils), after starting the season with 10 in their first four. On a side note, Sabres’ rookie defenseman Tyler Myers has looked unbelievable so far this season, and it’s going to be excruciatingly difficult for the Sabres to justify sending him back to junior at this point.

Prediction: Buffalo wins 3-2.

Atlanta Thrashers at Ottawa Senators (Saturday at 2pm) – The Thrashers are going to be a completely different team in the absence of Ilya Kovalchuk. Guys like Evander Kane and Bryan Little will be expected to raise their level of play to make up for the lost offense, which isn’t fair to them at all at this point in their careers. The Senators have managed to get by so far without any goals from Jason Spezza, and Alex Kovalev has yet to hit his stride. A home game against the Thrashers without Kovalchuk could be just the slump-buster these guys need.

Prediction: Ottawa wins 4-2

Well done hockey fans – only two eliminations last week! Now, there are a handful of uneven matchups this week, but I’ve narrowed it down to three top choices. And please, let’s all save ourselves a little stress and avoid those flakey Boston Bruins until they show us they’re worth betting on.

Florida Panthers at Philadelphia Flyers (7:00 PM, Saturday October 24) – Here’s my favourite game this week. Even though the Panthers only victory in their last 6 games came against the Flyers, I’m quite confident that lightning won’t strike the same place twice. The Flyers are far more talented offensively than the Panthers, and have the edge on defense as well. The Panthers rank 29th in the league with an average of 3.81 goals against per game this season, and the Flyers’ snipers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards should take full advantage this time around. This one could be a blowout.

Prediction: Flyers win 5-2

Toronto Maple Leafs at Vancouver Canucks (7:00 PM, Saturday October 24) – The Leafs are going to win one sooner or later, but I’m still thinking later than sooner. Win number one could come against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Note that I said could. The Canucks on the other hand, are starting to put it together after a rough start. Roberto Luongo has allowed just 5 goals in his past 3 games, after allowing 20 through his first 6 games. The Canucks are deadly on the power play (5th ranked at 27.5%) while the Leafs are dead last killing penalties (30th ranked at 60.7%), so this came could very well be decided by who plays a more disciplined game. Expect Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler to pop a goal with the man advantage, as they extend the Leafs losing streak to eight games. All poor Joey MacDonald can do is wait for his inevitable return to the AHL.

Prediction: Canucks win 4-1

Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 PM, Saturday October 24) – The Blackhawks are reeling after two straight 1 goal losses and are looking to get back on track against the last team they beat – the Nashville Predators. On paper, the Hawks are a much stronger team than the Preds, and haven’t had problems generating scoring opportunities this year (2nd in the NHL with 307 shots on goal). Both teams seem to have a bit of a goaltending battle on their hands, the Blackhawks between Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi, and the Predators between Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis, so look for a strong outing by a goaltender to decide this game. One thing to keep an eye on if you’re picking the Hawks this week, is whether or not their captain, Jonathan Toews, will be suiting up for the game. He suffered a mild concussion after taking a monstrous body-check from the Canucks’ Willie Mitchell Wednesday night, and did not practice with the team on Thursday.

Prediction: Blackhawks win 3-1

We’re into week two of our NHL survivor pool, and already a few teams are off the board. 21 teams remain in the running, thanks mostly to the Boston Bruins and their late game heroics.

I was one of the many who needed that late game rally from the Bruins just to force overtime and avoid an embarrassing first week survivor pool exit. Despite providing me with some anxious moments last Saturday, the Bruins once again find themselves into this week’s top survivor picks (picks in bold).

Nashville Predators at Washington Capitals (7:00 PM, Saturday October 17th) – This is my favourite pick of the week. The Capitals have been simply explosive on offense so far this year, averaging 3.67 goals for per game, for a total of 22 goals for, good for third best in the league. The only problem is they have been awful defensively. Only the winless Toronto Maple Leafs have allowed more goals than the trigger-happy Caps. That being said, the Predators have scored a league worst 7 goals this year! Yes, that’s right, SEVEN. This makes the Predators a perfect opponent for a Capitals team struggling to find its defensive game.

Prediction: Capitals win 5-1

Boston Bruins at Phoenix Coyotes (9:00 PM, Saturday October 17th) – Boston has played below expectations to this point, but at the same time have shown flashes of just how good they can be. Last Saturday’s win over the Isles was a case in point. They dogged it most of the game, but then mounted a spirited comeback, scoring 3 goals in the final 8 minutes of regulation to eventually win the game in a shootout. This is one of the league’s deepest teams, and it’s only a matter of time before they start firing on all cylinders. The Yotes have been stellar on defence, but lacklustre on offence to this point in the season. Look for the Bruins deep attack to overcome the Coyotes stingy D.

Prediction: Bruins win 4-2

San Jose Sharks at New York Islanders, 7:00 PM, Saturday October 17th – The Islanders have yet to win a game, which kind of scares me. Just like the Maple Leafs, the Islanders will not go 0-82, and as the losses mount, so does the sense of urgency. For this reason, I hate to continuously bet against a winless team, but then again they are winless for a reason. The Islanders have been awful offensively scoring just 9 goals through 4 games this year (3 of which made it to overtime). 2.25 goals per game is not going to be enough against the Sharks. Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley are having exactly the sort of chemistry most poolies hoped they would this year, and there’s no reason that should stop against New York. John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo will get a firsthand look Saturday at exactly what Islanders fans hope they will become while they watch the Sharks dynamic duo light up the scoresheet.

Prediction: Sharks win 4-1