Common Denominator: Ovechkin And Malkin!

"Drafted first and second overall in the 2004 NHL Draft. Won the Calder and Hart Trophy. Helped lead their teams to Stanley Cup Champions. From the former USSR."

A seemingly long 14 years ago, Alexander Ovechkin was drafted by the Washington Capitals. 1st overall. Second overall, right behind him, was another Russian, Evgeni Malkin. Drafted by Pittsburgh.

Both made an impact, although Ovie had to wait a while before finally sipping the champagne. Alex won the Calder Trophy as Rookie Of The Year in 2005/06 (The previous year had been wiped out due to a work stoppage). Malkin wasn't in the NHL yet. But he recorded 47 points in 46 games with the  Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian League. His NHL time came next year.

He won Rookie Of The Year. Soon, he had over 100 points back-to-back years (2007/08 and 2008/9). But he one-upped Ovie. Evgeni was on the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

That seemed to give Malkin the edge. He won another scoring championship in 2011/2012, and nearly a third this past season (2017/18). Ovechkin had to absorb playoff losses to Pittsburgh in 2009, 2016 and 2017. Malkin and the Pens didn't just stop there. They went on to win all in each of those seasons.

Alexander's time seemed never to come. His teams got better, no doubt. Could they get over the hump? Didn't seem to. They didn't even make it out of the first round in 2010 (They lost to Montreal, who then shocked Pittsburgh). Washington beat New York in the first round the next season, only to be swept by Tampa Bay. That seemed to be the furthest they ever got. They added a great goalie in Brandon Holtby that season, and he quickly became a postseason go-to puck stopper. Look at his numbers: 7-6, 1.95 GAA and .935 S% in the 2011/12 playoffs. Not enough. The Capitals did the smart thing and hung on to him. But it seemed no matter how good Ovie and Holtby did, Washington found a way to lose.

They blew a 3-1 lead against New York in 2014/15, although Brandon led the postseason in S% .944 and GAA, 1.71. How about Ovie? He posted 21 points in just 14 games in 2008/09, and usually put up good numbers in the playoffs, although he seemed unable to match his regular season production.

For instance, in 2014/15, it was Alexander with 53 goals in the regular season, but with only 5 in 14 playoff games. That's how many he'd score the next two postseasons. The Capitals would make it out of the first round in each of the next four playoff years, but ran into a buzz-saw: Malkin and the Pens!

It was six games in 2015/16, and then even closer the next year. Washington was down 3-1 in the series, and clawed back to a game seven at home. Surely, the time was right to pick up their first series win over Pittsburgh since 1994, but it wasn't to be. Marc-Andre Fleury did 'em in with a shutout, right there at the Verizon Centre. And after edging Ottawa in seven and Nashville in six, the Pens had their third Stanley Cup in nine seasons.

How many did Washington have? They'd been in the league since 1974/75. They had none. Just one finals appearance in 1997/98, but they didn't even beat Pittsburgh to get there? What would it take?

Well, for starters, good coaching. They had that in Barry Trotz (He'd been excellent with Nashville prior to coming to Washington). Goaltending, they certainly had that in Bradon Holtby, who'd won 48 games one season to set an NHL record. Did they need more from Ovechkin?

Certainly they needed him in the second round of the 2017/18 playoffs. The Washington Capitals came back from 2-0 down to win four straight vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh needed six games themselves to beat their state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. Both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were looking to take the Pens to a third Stanley Cup. What did Washington have to say about this?

They said, "No way!"

It took six close games, but Washington pulled it off, winning game six right there in Pittsburgh (OT was required). But for all that, the Caps were merely in the Conference Finals. A tough seven-game series with the Tampa Bay Lightning awaited them. Washington managed to steal game seven in Tampa. On to the finals.

A familiar foe was in net on the opposition. The opposition was an expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, in their first season of operation. The familiar foe was goalie Mark-Andre Fleury. Would this be a problem? Hmmm. An old teammate, Nate Schmidt, was also on the Knights. Still...And expansion team? No problem.

Ovie only had one assist in the first game, played on enemy ice. But it came on a goal that put the visitors up 4-3. Amazingly, the expansion team wasn't concerned. They put two pucks by Holtby to take the lead, then rammed another into the empty net to seal the deal.

Okay. Game two was a must. And Washington squeaked by, 3-2. Alex got his first ever Stanley Cup finals goal in the second. Holtby was pepped with 39 shots on goal, but this game was what he needed.

Indeed, back at Washington for games three and four, the home team played confident. Like they weren't going to let this great chance go for not. They won game three only 3-1, but really put it to the new team the next contest, winning it 6-2.

Washington didn't stop there.They'd brought Las Vegas down to earth with a thud! So in game five Ovie put his team up 2-1 with a goal in the second. The Golden Knight came back with two goals before the period ended. Hmmm. Washington came out and played a great third period. Two goals for, none against. The jinx was over!

Ovechkin had 15 goals in 24 postseason games, nabbing him the Conn Smythe award as the playoffs Most Valuable Player. That's one award that Evgeni Malkin had won nine years earlier. The Caps had the award they'd all been chasing. Few, if anyone, had longed for this more than Ovie. He was behind, you see, 3-0 in Cups won to his fellow Russian Malkin.


References


“Official Site of the National Hockey League” NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 03 July. 2018.  <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 03 July. 2018.

Sure Could Have Fooled Me

Brayden Hotby didn't have a single shutout in the regular season in 2017/18. I guess he was saving those for when his team, the Washington Capitals, needed them most.

It was, for all intents and purposes, an off-season by Brayden's standards. Making what happened in the postseason all the more remarkable.

For all of his accomplishments, Holtby was very normal in the regular season. For starters, he played just 54 games (Backup Philipp Grubauer got into 35), posted a GAA of a 2.99 and a S% of only .907. No shutouts of course.

Now let's pause to consider Grubauer's #'s from this past season: Not only did he get, THREE shutouts, but also had FAR better GAA and S%! Would Holtby lose his job?

Philipp went only 15-10-3 in 28 starts, but that doesn't tell the story how effective he was. His GAA was just 2.35, good enough for 6th in the league. How about his .923 S%? It was just outside the top 10. But, within .010 of Carter Hutton's league-leading .931.

But what about what happened in the playoffs?

Well, the Washington Captials DID go with Grubauer. For two games. He was up against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington to lose his first two starts at home, both in OT. But before he could even pick up a decision in game two, the Capitals went back to Holtby. And while he lost game two, he won his next four games as the Caps climbed off the canvas.

The second round series saw Washington face their nemesis Pittsburgh. Washington again had the home-ice advantage and this time, they had the Pens! After the smoke had cleared, the Capitals were heading to the conference finals with a six-game triumph over the two-time defending champions.

Well, Washington's luck seemed to have run out. Up against Tampa, Holtby slammed the door. 2 goals allowed in game 1. 2 goals allowed in game 2. And Washington was up 2-0 going home. Then, a groan as the Lighting proceeded to win the next three games.

Holtby made sure Washington didn't lose another game in the conference finals.

Picking a fine time to get his first shutout, it was Braden Holtby posting a 3-0 shutout in a do-or-die game six at home.



They still needed game seven on the road, of course. And Holtby picked up his second (straight) shutout of the postseason with a 4-0, series-clinching victory. Braden turned aside all 29 shots he faced.



So far in the Stanley Cup Finals, Holtby doesn't have a shutout. In fact, the Vegas Golden Knights got five past him in game one. Washington needed game two before returning home for the third and fourth contest. Again, no shutout. But a 3-2 win. Series tied. Back home, Holtby came close to a third shutout with a 3-1 win. I'm sure he's fine with that.


But who knows. The Stanley Cup is far from in the bag. Game five is in Las Vegas. But before that, there's the matter of game four, the crucial contest. I believe that Vegas will win game five, but if Washington can win game four at home it will put the Caps up 3-1.

The Capitals are still looking for that first Stanley Cup, having entered the NHL way back in 1974/75. The game two win in Vegas was the first game they'd ever won in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game three was the first game they've ever won at home in the Stanley Cup Finals. Twenty years ago, Washington was swept by Detroit in the finals. They've come a long way since with Alexander Ovechkin. If you can believe it, he's turning 33 in September.

No doubt, though, the key man is defending the crease for Washington. Will Holtby need a shutout in the finals? He very well could. The Capitals are, needless to say, in uncharted waters. Maybe they'll break down defensively. Maybe the offence will dry up. But, whose the guy that can "steal" you games, and not just in the playoffs? The goalie, of course. I'm sure Holtby won't mind getting a tough two more shutouts this postseason, knowing what that will me to him and the franchise!


References


“Official Site Of The National Hockey League.” NHL.com, National Hockey League. Web. 3 Jun. 2018, <www.nhl.com/>.

Sports Reference LLC.Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 03 Jun. 2018.

Youtube. Web. 03 Jun. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

Common Denominator: Pittsburgh And Las Vegas!

"At one point in their careers, played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, in 2018, on the Stanley Cup Finalist, Vegas Golden Knights."

The Golden Knights face off against the Capitals, with the extravaganza starting on May 28th. But the Knights have something up their sleeve: The have some former members of Washington's old nemesis, Pittsburgh.

For starters, let's look at Marc Andre Fleury and Ryan Reaves. Reaves was traded to Pittsburgh by St. Louis in the 2017 offseason. But 58 games into his tenure with the Penguins, it was adios to Ryan. He went west to the Golden Knights.

Fleury was exposed in the expansion draft of 2017. The goalie got Pittsburgh through the first two rounds in their Stanley Cup-winning season of 2016/17. Matt Murray took over in the Eastern Conference Finals against Ottawa. The Pens didn't use Fleury past game 3, there. But he's sure helped Vegas. Fleury also has a 2009 playoff-series win over Washington in his resume.

James Neal lost, as a member of the Nashville Predators, to Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. A tough six-game finals which nevertheless gave him his first taste of a championship series. The 2018 finals will be the second straight year he plays in one. James played for Pittsburgh from 2010/11 to 2013/14.

David Perron played just a half season (43 games) for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014/15. He scored 12 goals and added 10 assists, but was pretty much a non-factor in their five-game playoff loss to the New York Rangers that season.

Derek Engelland is the oldest member of the brand new expansion team in Vegas. He played for the Pens from 2009/10 to 2013/14 seasons. Though he never won a Stanley Cup, or played in the finals with them, he was a teammate of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for five seasons. At the age of 35, he's finally in the finals.

So the Vegas Golden Knights have connections to Sid and Evgeni. Now, does this tip the odds in their favour come this Monday? We shall see. The Capitals finally got by the Penguins in six games in the Metropolitan Division Finals. It was the Caps first playoffs series win over the Pens in 24 years. Now, the Caps are back in the finals for the first time in 20 years. Alexander Ovechkin and his teammates are in uncharted waters, as of course are the Vegas Golden Knights. There will be a familiar foe in the nets, from playoff battles past. Can Vegas get back what seems like a team of destiny? Again, we shall see.


References


Dividock, Kaitlyn. “The Penguins' Cup Defense Is over, but Their Exes Are Still Playing.” SBNation.com, Sports Blog Nation, Vox Media. Web. 26 May 2018, www.sbnation.com/nhl/2018/5/26/17375620/vegas-golden-knights-former-penguins.

“Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com, The National Hockey League, www.nhl.com/. Web. 26 May. 2018.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. 26 May. 2018.Web.

Common Denominator: St. Louis And Las Vegas

"Expansion teams, won 8 postseason games their first year in the National Hockey League."

The great expansion of 1967/68 saw the NHL double in size from six teams to twelve. One of the new teams was the St. Louis Blues, who were coached by some chap named Scotty Bowman. They had Glenn Hall in net, plucked away from Chicago in the expansion draft.

The team itself was full of many of these castoffs, but Hall certainly was a steal. Amazingly enough, the Blues would be the third team he took all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. How long did it take Glenn to do that? Only 13 seasons. In 1961, he beat Montreal single-handily in the semi-finals and then nailed the door shut on Detroit (His old team) a round later. Just the type of goalie a new team needs.

Now, the Blues W-L-T record wasn't very good, 27-31-16. Put in perspective five of the Original Six teams (Boston, Chicago, Montreal, New York  and Toronto did better than that. Two other new teams topped it for good measure. But neither the Philadelphia Flyers or Los Angeles Kings would make the Stanley Cup finals that year.

Philadelphia, with their 31-32-11 record for...first place in the Western Conference (Home of all the newbies) got St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs. It was now three rounds to win for the Stanley Cup. Previously, it had been only two.

Red Berenson had led the Blues in scoring with just 51 points. Their team captain, btw, was none other than future legendary coach Al Arbour. Amazingly enough, he'd been to the Stanley Cup finals with three teams himself. And St. Louis would be the fourth.

It took seven games, but St. Louis had an upset. They stole it 3-1 in game 7 on the road. Minnesota was next, but this time, guess who had home ice advantage? St. Louis did. They needed it, too, as Ron Schock's double-OT winner in game seven sent the Blues into the finals against the Montreal Canadians.

Now, here's where it's not fair. An established team vs. a new team. A current greats vs. a bunch of "has beens"? St. Louis wasn't exactly the latter, but they were swept!

But then again, every game was close. One goal decided every game, in fact. Games one and three went into OT. Glenn Hall? He walked away with the playoff MVP (Conn Smythe Award). The team had nothing to be ashamed of.



50 years later, the Las Vegas Golden Knights were the one and only newbies in the NHL, which was now at 31 teams, if you can believe it. You know what team was the worst? Why the Golden Knights. Only, they didn't exactly play like that in 2017/18, did they?

They didn't.

How long did it take them to win their 27th game? Only 38 contests were needed for Las Vegas to get that. At the time, the Golden Knights were 27-9-2. Wow!

Soon, the expansion team won their 34th game of the season, a new National Hockey League record for first-year organizations. Vegas didn't stop there. When the smoke had cleared after 82 regular season games, the new kids were 51-24-7. 1st place in the Pacific. Third overall in the Western Conference. Hmmm...Where have I heard that one before?

When the playoffs started, Vegas rode a strong team effort to sweep the Los Angeles Kings in round #1. But here we go again. All four games were decided by one goal.



The San Jose Sharks was once an expansion team not that long ago. 1991/92 to be exact. Hey, Gary Bettman wasn't even around back then and the NHL was 75 years old. Not 101.

Getting back to it, no sweep here. The Sharks, coming off a sweep of their own of the Anaheim Ducks, stayed with the Knights. After losing the first game by a lopsided score of 7-0, they bounced back with some overtime magic to steal game two. The new guys were undaunted. They won an OT game of their own in the third contest, but couldn't get anything past Martin Jones in the fourth one. The 4-0 win by San Jose at home leveled this, 2-2 in games.

Here's where Las Vegas was expected to fold. But they held on to their nerves. A 4-0 lead was nearly erased, and the home team needed a Jonathan Marchessault empty net goal to prevail 5-3. The series then shifted back to San Jose and Marc Andre Fleury was through giving up goals to the Sharks. His team scored three, but Marc needed only one. The 3-0 win moved 'em into the Conference Finals. Winnipeg was up next!



So, do the wheels finally come off the chariot here? Just like it did in the third round for St. Louis 50 years ago? Could very well have. Game one went to the home team, the Jets.


If the new guys want to make it a series, Las Vegas will have to steal game two on the road. Coach Gerald Gallant will have to be a mastermind ala-Scotty Bowman. Nonetheless, years after the first expansion experiment produced the lovable Blues, the Knights are trying to write their own history. For now, they'll have to settle with a shared spot in NHL history for postseason wins by a first year expansion team.


References

Diamond, Dan. Total Stanley Cup: An Official Publication Of The National Hockey League. Toronto: Published in Canada by Total Sports Canada, 2000. Print.

McFarlane, Brian. Brian McFarlane's History Of Hockey. Sports Publishing Inc., 1997. Print.

Irvin, Dick. The Habs: An Oral History Of The Montreal Canadiens, 1940-1980. McClelland & Stewart, 1992. Print.

Maguire, Liam. What's The Score? Random House Canada, 2001. Print

“Official Site Of The National Hockey League.” NHL.com. The National Hockey League. Web. 13 May. 2018. <www.nhl.com/>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 13 May. 2018.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 13 May. 2018. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.

Common Denominator: Turris, Subban and Hammond!

"Played in the (same) first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. Three years later, all on new teams, played in the first round again."

One for the travel industry. Kyle Turris, P.K. Subban, and the surprising Andrew Hammond.

The 2014/15 Ottawa Senators made an amazing march to the playoffs. Their season had begun with a game against, of all teams, Nashville. Despite a 9-5-4 start, the team really skidded from there. By February 7th, they were only 20-22-9. Would you believe it? Andrew Hammond, the team's new goalie, caught fire and finished the season with a record of 20-1-2. From there, it seemed they just couldn't lose. The Sens finished the season with a record of 43 wins, 26 losses and 13 OT or shootout defeats. 99 points! Not bad. Good enough for a 7th place finish in the Eastern Conference. Kyle Turris himself helped out the cause in Ottawa. He finished the year with 24 goals and 40 assists. But neither Kyle nor the Montreal Canadians' star defenceman P.K. Subban could overshadow the new Sens star!



But the Canadians were a little too much for them in the playoffs. Hammond started the first two games and lost. P.K. Subban and his team wasn't about to let a bunch of upstarts stop them. They prevailed in six games, winning game six, 1-0, right there in Ottawa.

Much happened in the three seasons since. Subban and Turris ended up in Nashville. In the same, three-team trade that sent Turris to the Preds, it was Hammond that ended up on the Colorado Avalanche.

Of the three, it was Hammond that seemed to be an afterthought. You see, he just wasn't going to be able to wrest the starter's job from Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson. The big difference between the two was Anderson is money in the playoffs (By the end of the 2017 season, Craig's stats in the playoffs: 23 wins, 22 losses, 2.35 GAA and .929 S%) and Hammond was staring at a 0 wins 2 losses record there.



Soon, Andrew seemed to be just a minor league goalie. He was there most of 2016/17 while Anderson starred. For almost all of the next season, same deal. Despite the trade, would he ever play again. Then, fate came calling late in the 2017/18 NHL season.

The Avs not only did well that year, they just didn't need Andrew, you see? They had Seymon Varlamov as their starter. They had Jonathan Bernier as their backup. Two pretty good goalies. You see how Andrew Hammond isn't in the equation in Colorado? This team was going to the playoffs, and those two other goalies were playing some of their best hockey, ever. Why change?

Sometimes, though, you are forced to. As the team surged to the postseason, Varlamov went down with a knee injury on March 31st. Not helping matters was their first round opponents, the Nashville Predators. Hammond, meanwhile got into a game, at last. A losing effort on the 28th of March. Still, he stopped 31 of 33 shots on goal. Would he play in the playoffs?

P.K. and Kyle helped Nashville to a first place overall finish. So, another upstart team against Subban's team. No problem. First game, 5-2. Second game, 5-4.

It was Bernier with the saves and Nathan MacKinnon with two goals. Up 4-0, the home team, Colorado, let up a bit. But they won, 5-3, didn't they?

Reality hit home times two in game four, alas. Before you knew it, the rude visiting Preds led 3-0 after 40. Andrew Hammond got into the game, playing the third period. He stopped all eight shots that came his way. He inspired his team, as they scored twice. Alas, the series was heading back to Nashville. And the Preds were up 3-1.

And Jonathan Bernier was down. He, too, was hurt. Hammond was in for game five! And amazingly enough, he kept Colorado in this series. All Andrew did was stop P.K. Subban four times and Kyle Turris three times.

Trailing 1-0 with less than four minutes to go in the game (And season, perhaps), the Avs rallied. Gabriel Landeskog tied it at 15:49. Sven Andrighetto (Scoring his first goal of the playoffs) won it with just 1:28 to go! Hammond had 44 saves in a nice, 2-1 win. His first playoff win could not have been sweeter. Or at a better time.



Tonight at 7:00 ET, it's game six in Colorado. This exciting series, with three men who have duked it out before in the same series three short years ago, resumes. Will P.K. and Turris win their first playoff series together? Or does the return of the Hamburglar inspire the underdog Avs to an improbable upset?


References

“Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 22 Apr. 2018.  <https://www.nhl.com>.

Schlager, Brandon. “NHL Playoffs 2018: Legend Of Andrew 'Hamburglar' Hammond Grows As Avalanche Force Game 6.” Sporting News. Sporting News. Web. 21 Apr. 2018. <www.sportingnews.com/ca/nhl/news/nhl-playoffs-2018-andrew-hammond-hamburglar-avalanche-predators-kick-goal-video-review/1u86v108pylta17l13e9x91t9v>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 22 Apr. 2018.

Youtube. Web. 22 Apr. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

2018 NHL Playoff Predictions, Western Conference QF!

Out in the west, the crystal ball...

Central Division

Nashville (1) vs. Colorado (WC #2)

This looks pretty routine here. Not helping matters is the Avs are missing their starting goalie Semyon Varlamov. Preds seemed poise to prevail in five.

Winnipeg (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

The Wild are going to be missing (At least for game one) several key players. And Ryan Sutter isn't coming back. Still got a good team there, but not enough to win this series. Jets in six.

Pacific Division

Vegas (1) vs. Los Angeles (WC #1)

Here has all the makings of an upset, and I'm going there. A bunch of upstarts who perhaps overachieved in 2017/18 vs. a team that still has several players left from winning it all in 2012 and 2014. Kings in seven.

Anaheim (1) vs. San Jose (WC #1)

Injuries on both teams might play a factor, but on paper, the Ducks are the slightly better of a fairly even matchup. Don't be surprised if I'm wrong here, though. Ducks in seven.

References


“Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 11 Apr. 2018 . <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web.http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 11 Apr. 2018.

2018 NHL Playoff Predictions, Eastern Conference QF!

So the dust has settled and 82 games are in the bag for everyone. 16 teams have a shot at the Cup!

Metropolitan Division

Washington (1) vs. Columbus (1st WC)

I'm going with the Caps in six games.


Pittsburgh (2) vs. Philadelphia (3)

Six again, and I'm going with the Pens

Atlantic Division

Tampa Bay (1) vs. New Jersey (2nd WC)

Lighting have made it to the semis or better the last two seasons they've been in the playoffs. This year will be no different. They'll advance in five games.


Boston (2) vs. Toronto (3)

Leafs have waited five years for revenge. The time has come. Toronto in six.


References


“Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 10 Apr. 2018 . <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 10 Apr. 2018.

Common Denominator: Las Vegas Golden Knights!

"NHL expansion team in 2017/18. Had over 100 points, and made the playoffs. Currently in first place, BTW."

To the surprise of, yes, everyone, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the next team on the NHL block in 2017, didn't exactly play like an expansion team. They made the playoffs, for one.

Granted, this had happened before. As far back as 50 years before, the NHL expanded six new teams to compliment the original six. Minnesota, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Oakland Seals came in.

However, looking at the way the NHL aligned the teams in 1967/68, you can understand why Philadelphia, Los Angeles,  St. Louis and Minnesota made it. All of the original teams (Montreal, New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Detroit)  were in one division, the East. All the new teams were in the other conference, the West. The way it was setup was the top four teams in each division would make it, meaning four of the six expansion teams were guaranteed a postseason berth. It didn't matter that none of the newbies even had a .500 record (Five of the six original teams finished at least two games above .500). Also, there was a guarantee that an expansion team would make the Stanley Cup Finals (That turned out to be St. Louis, btw) having to go through two other new teams.

The situation became  even more ridiculous the next season as all of the original six teams finished above .500, but the Red Wings and Blackhawks missed the postseason. Meanwhile, in the Western Division, only the Blues were over .500. None of the other five teams in that division finished better than seven games below .500. No other expansion team besides St. Louis had more than 69 points. Chicago had 77 and missed in the East Division. Obviously, times are much different now. There were 12 teams then (Soon to be 14 in 1970/71). There are 31 now. Almost as many teams (16) make it to significant action in April as are on the golf course (15). Seattle seems poised to join the next season, for a total of 32 teams.

Four WHA teams joined the NHL in 1979/80, but again the circumstances were different. The teams didn't just come along in the World Hockey Association the year before, and all of them had been there since 1972/73, the WHA's first season. Two of the WHA teams that entered the NHL made the 1980 playoffs: 1) The Edmonton Oilers with some chap named Gretzky 2) The Harford Whalers (They have since relocated to Carolina) with three men named Howe, Hull and Keon.

The NHL then really went after the "other" places in North America. San Jose joined in 1991/92. Tampa Bay and Ottawa the next. 1993 welcomed Anaheim and Florida. There were 24 teams in the NHL in 1992/93. 25+ years later the number looks like it's increased by 8. There are fewer and fewer places in North America without an NHL team. The Vegas Golden Knight's success could mean The NHL might expand to both Quebec and Saskatchewan in the coming years, meaning there could be 9 in Canada alone. The previous high was 8 in 1994/95 before Quebec moved to Colorado. With proper management like the Knights have shown, a hockey team can work anywhere.

Las Vegas seems loaded in goal, as four of the five goalies to strap on the pads have either excelled like Marc-Andre Fleury or arrived like Malcolm Subban. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins didn't think losing these "extra" goalies meant much. Maybe not...But they sure made a difference in their new home. For Fleury, it was a chance to continue his success, and he did. For Subban, with all of just two NHL games experience to his name, it was a chance to play. Not only did Malcolm play, but he proved himself to be a dependable backup to Marc.

And this isn't just in the goaltendings. These so-called castoffs are actually good players. Well, at least some of them are. Las Vegas' top point-getter is Jon Marchessault actually scored 30 goals last year for Florida. He's got 25 so far this year.

Jon's coach last year was Gerard Gallant. Gallant had coached the Panthers to 103 points in 2015/16 and was quite a player, four times topping the 30-goal mark himself for Detroit. He even had experience as a player with a (Second year) expansion team. He played for Tampa Bay in 1993/94, the same year that Florida came into the league. Right guy behind the bench. Jack Adams Award Winner in 2017/18? Why not?

In any event, Vegas is heading to the playoffs with over 40 wins and 100 points to their name. Can they match the '67 St. Louis Blues with a run all the ways to the finals? Can the Knights win the Cup? We'll have to wait and see.

Luongo and Fleury: Why I Think They Might Have A Problem Getting #1 Back!

By all accounts, Roberto Luongo and Marc Andre-Fleury have had great careers. Both seem to have a shot at the Hall Of Fame (Fleury has won 3 Stanley Cups, Luongo has been on 3 international championship teams), as both are closing in / past the 400 win mark. Luongo also has 74 shutouts, just two less than Tony Esposito. Not bad company.

So the 2017/18 season started out with each as THE man in the crease. Fleury seemed a lock for sure, as his Las Vegas Golden Knights were an expansion team and there was no one else around with the chance to take him off the #1 charts.

But then injuries struck him, and later, Luongo.

Fleury held the fort for 4 games, as him numbers were good: 3-1-0, 2.48, .925! Hey, job's his right? Not quite. A bad concussion that he has yet to return from in a loss to Detroit October 13th game, has allowed others to step in.

As I mentioned before, Vegas has used 5 goalies (So far) this season. But none were in Fleury's class. But then PK Subban's brother Malcolm, with all of 2 NHL experience with the Bruins, found his way into the crease, and wonders never ceased.

In 9 games (1 no-decision), Subban is 6-2-0, with a 2.27 GAA and .923 S%. Maybe it's all a fluke, but the guy has yet to come down to earth. Is Fleury's job in trouble. According to Hockey-Reference, it's possible a return in soon, but he'll have to battle it out with the kid for his spot. At this point, some of the fluke part of Las Vegas' surprising start is starting to wear off. The team is currently (Dec 8, 2017) 17-9-1, good enough for 2nd place in the competitive Pacific. Why not try to make the playoffs? With this kind of goaltending depth, the team is likely to alter Fleury and Subban since Malcolm has proven he belongs in there. Oscar Dansk, the other hot goalie, is down with an injury, too, but went 3-0-0 with a shutout for good measure. Gotta wonder if he is in the equation for this season.

Luongo was cruising and James Reimer was doing some winning and losing in the Florida Panthers' crease this year. Reimer won his 5th game last night, 6-4. Okay, not his best performance, but where is Roberto? Luongo (6-6-0) has been hurt and expected to be on the shelve for anywhere from two to five weeks.

James Reimer took it all in Toronto, and loved playing their. Okay, he's not the most talented goalie in the world, fine. But he always gives you 100%. He'll battle it out right down to the final buzzar. Certainly, he is still young, just 29 (Compared to Luongo, who is 38), but nonetheless, burst on to the scene way back in 2009/10. His experience in Toronto no doubt prepares him for the "Must win every game," expectations, but forget about that, he's coming into his own: 40-36-15, 2.60, .916) in the last two seasons plus 2017/18 (98 games). I think this is the type of situation where he'll really want to show you what he's made of. In his last half-season in Toronto, he wanted it. Same thing in his first. Why would this time be any different? With Luongo's age a factor, and a determined 1B goalie, Roberto might be fighting for that #1 position for the rest of the season when he returns. Don't be surprised if he's riding the pines half the time should Florida be in playoff contention. Reimer, don't forget, played in 43 games last year, more than half the season.

References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 8 Dec. 2017. <https://www.nhl.com>

NHL.com. “Rotoworld - Fantasy Baseball, Basketball, Football, Baseball and Hockey. Draft Guide, News, Projections, Cheatsheets, Depth Charts And More.” Team News - Rotoworld.Com. Web. NBC Sports, 8 Dec. 2017, <;www.rotoworld.com/teams/nhl/vgk/vegas-golden-knights>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 8 Dec. 2017.

Common Denominator: Vegas Golden Knights Goalies (So Far)

That would be Oscar Dansk, Dylan Ferguson, Marc-Andre Fleury Maxime Lagace and Malcolm Subban. Hmmmm...Problems in net? Team is 15-7-1 in their inaugural NHL campaign in 2017/18. So much for the, "Expansion team, 2 points," theory that 30 other NHL teams had.

Vegas is in 1st place in the Pacific Division. 4 points behind St. Louis for first in the Western Conference with 2 games in hand. This is all really happening!

So what's been happening in goal?

Injuries.

Not that it matters. The team has found a way to win. Somehow, the five of net guardians have provided steady goaltending. Although, the 19-year-old Dylan Ferguson has played in just one game. Care to bet that he'll appear again? Why not?

The team started the season with veteran goalie Marc Andre-Fleury. So far in his NHL career, which began way back in 2003/04 with Pittsburgh, he's got 3 Stanley Cups, including a huge role in the Pens more recent win, last season. But after posting some impressive numbers in his first 3 starts (Winning then all), Fleury was injured in a loss to Detroit on October 13. So it was Malcolm Subban, with all of just two 31-minute NHL games over the last two seasons, in between the pipes 2 nights later.

But Subban, the younger brother of the Nashville Predators' star defenceman, won the game 3-1. It was his first NHL win. It would not be his last. He beat Buffalo 5-4 in the Knights' next game, then played, but was pulled against the St. Louis Blues on October 21st. Not to worry, Oscar Dansk came in to play, and ended up the winning goalie in OT.

Dansk has since posted some amazing numbers. He's 3-0 with a GAA of just 1.78. But at the end of the month, he was placed on  the IR with an injury to his lower body. He had recorded the team's very first shutout when Oscar beat the Avs' 7-0 on the 27th.

Maxim Lagace took over for Dansk in a game against the New York Islanders on the 30th, but took the loss, allowing 4 goals in relief. Lagace lost to New York Rangers and Boston, but found his groove, going 5-2-1 since. But his S% suggest the team is playing well in front of him. It's below .900 (.887 in his 9 games, having a no-decision last Friday. Subban, with just 3 saves, won the game).

Lagace was supposed to be out tonight with an injury that has not been disclosed. However, he's backing up Subban as I write this.

Ferguson lost his only game against the Oilers, seeing just 9:14 of playing time on November 14th. It's unknown when Fleury and Dansk will return. If Vegas is to continue to impress and make the playoffs in their first year (What a story that would be!), they'll need Fleury's experience. Dansk looked like the real deal, although Subban has carried the load well. If nothing else, three of the four inexperienced goaltenders are proving they can play in the National Hockey League. Several teams are looking for goaltenders, and perhaps if the injuries continue the Knights might try to acquire Andrew Hammond from Colorado.

23 games in, 61 to go for this franchise in 2017/18. So far, Las Vegas has been the "Feel Good" story of the year. Whether or not they can sustain this remains to be seen. Goaltending is as important to hockey as pitching is to baseball. Looking at Vegas, they've got 4 pretty good starters, kind of like a pitching staff. It's working.

So far.

References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 30 Nov. 2017. <https://www.nhl.com>

NHL.com. “Rotoworld - Fantasy Baseball, Basketball, Football, Baseball and Hockey. Draft Guide, News, Projections, Cheatsheets, Depth Charts And More.” Team News - Rotoworld.Com. Web NBC Sports, 30 Nov. 2017, <www.rotoworld.com/teams/nhl/vgk/vegas-golden-knights>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 30 Nov. 2017.