Sharks-Capitals Preview

Looks like coach Peter DeBoer has his San Jose Sharks squad feeling confident about the season so far. They've won two games so far, against both the Kings and the Ducks, and now head out on a road trip to the East Coast. First up: The Washington Capitals.

So far the Sharks have outscored their opponents 7-1 (5-1 against the Kings, 2-0 against the Ducks) They hope to continue those fortunes against a Capitals squad that's 1-0 so far this season.

The one surprise for the Sharks that I've seen so far: goaltender Martin Jones. He stopped all 24 shots in Saturday's game to become the first goaltender in Sharks franchise history to record a shutout in his regular-season home debut. Marleau scored the two goals against the Ducks on Saturday and has 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) all-time against the Capitals.

The one thing the Sharks need to contain in this game: Alex Ovechkin. He has scored seven times in 13 career meetings with the Sharks and netted the go-ahead highlight goal in Saturday's 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. Other Capital the Sharks need to look out for is Justin Williams, or as some might known him as "Mr. Game 7" for all the playoff games he won for the Kings the past few years. He notched a pair of assists in his debut with the Capitals. T.J. Oshie, another newcomer from the Blues, had four shots in the season opener and has played well against San Jose, playing part in both of the Blues' drubbings against San Jose last year.

The clubs split a pair of road victories last year. The Sharks won 6-5 in Washington while the Capitals came away with a 5-4 overtime win in San Jose. Also, defenseman John Carlson will play in his 400th career game tonight.

San Jose has indeed gotten off to a magnificent start and has played really well against the Kings and the Ducks. So now let's see what they go up against in Washington. Alex Ovechkin is out of this game tonight for "personal reasons," so the Capitals might struggle tonight against this high-powered Sharks team. Although I think Oshie and Williams, as well as Ovechkin, have done well so far, I think this Sharks team might be too much for the Capitals with Ovechkin. I think the Sharks win tonight 4-2.

Should the Wild Do Anything About Sydor?

One coach is already in some hot water but it is not a head coach, it's an assistant coach.

Minnesota Wild assistant coach Darryl Sydor on Monday pleaded guilty to second-degree driving while he was impaired. The judge has given him 60 days in jail, to be served in separate installments over the course of four years.

Sydor released a statement on Monday, apologizing for his actions and that he is saddened and humbled by his actions.

Sydor had gotten himself into this situation when he was driving his son to a hockey game in Plymouth. He had gotten lost somewhere along the drive and another driver saw him driving erratically and called the police. When Sydor got to the police department, he got a breath test, and it gave out a reading of 0.30.

I'm not gonna say much on this issue because I have gotten criticizing comments before about how I take legal issues like this but I will say this. 0.30 is over the legal limit and he shouldn't be driving at that time. The worse part of this story is that he had a child in the car and child endangerment probably should've been added to the charges, but I'm guessing it wasn't as bad as it might've thought, but still. Having a child in the car while drunk driving? That's never a good sign.

Even if you're the assistant coach of a hockey team, you still are part of the team and represent the team's picture and this can't look good for the Minnesota Wild. But they are 2-0 so far this season, so we'll see where that goes. But I just don't like it when you are suspected of drunk driving and there's a child in the car with you. That's all I'll say on this issue.

Are the Sharks For Real Yet?

It may only be two games so far into their season, but the San Jose Sharks have proven one point in our minds: The most dangerous teams can fly under the radar.

The Sharks missed the playoffs last season and there was a lot of concern that the Sharks' fear factor has dropped significantly. They still had Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, and Brent Burns but they were no significant actions this past summer that made you think they would even contend to get into the playoffs. The oddsmakers in Vegas even had them as a 33-1 odd. Those are the same odds given to the Edmonton Oilers this season, and that team hasn't made the playoffs since 2006.

And now things have changed, thanks to the two wins they've had this season against the Kings and the Ducks, two California teams and divisional rivals. Two wins may just be that, but now there's talk about the analysis having to be rewritten to include the Sharks back into the division race.

The Sharks GM Doug Wilson has done several moves this past offseason to make the team look more menacing, bringing in Peter DeBoer as head coach and signed both Paul Martin and Joel Ward as free agents. His most significant move, however, was bringing in Martin Jones as the new goaltender to replace Antti Niemi. Plus, Niemi was growing stale in net and the Sharks needed a retool at that position and with the whole team in general. Hey, Martin Jones does have quality to be a Number 1 goaltender.

I think the question I would raise from this entire thing is: Are the Sharks for real yet? Can we take them seriously, after what's happened last night? My answer is: Not yet. Yes, it's only two games and it's against division rivals, but like I said with any other team, too early. Two games is not enough for me to make a real serious accusation that the Sharks are ready to turn the corner. They're always threatening to win the division, no doubt about that. But they did miss the playoffs last season because of problems in goaltending and I think Doug Wilson has addressed that with Martin Jones. I saw them play in the NHL opener against the Kings and they did actually look good at all sides of the ice. Offense, defense, and goaltending looked good. And they really stuck it to the Kings and then the Ducks. Right now, I'm not sure I'm ready to make that move to say they're ready to turn the corner. Right now, they look like a threat and they can contend but it's gonna take more than two games for me to really say they are a serious threat. And even if they are, what will happen in the playoffs? We've seen them look really good in the playoffs and never make it to the Stanley Cup and what will happen there. So right now: Not yet. They look for real and they look good, no doubt about that. But I think there's a waiting game on this one to see if they can really turn the corner and threaten either the Ducks or the Kings for the top spot in the division.

Is Dean Lombardi Being Truthful About Richards?

The Kings are not staying out of the news, especially when it comes to their former players.

For the first time since releasing Mike Richards, the Kings GM Dean Lombardi spoke for the first time in detail about the termination of Richards' contract. He called the situation "a tragedy" and he detailed about Richards's "destructive spiral" into release and free agency.

He told the Los Angeles Times "I think that I will never recover from it. It is difficult to trust anyone right now and you begin to question whether you can trust your own judgement. The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be suspecting your wife of cheating on you for five years and then finding it out in fact it was true.

Wow. What a powerful message that Dean Lombardi would be sending to both the Kings and to Mike Richards. It sounds like the relationship should've been over long ago even before this whole episode began.

Lombardi has also said he would like to help other players like Richards, ones that have had their once-promising careers diminished by problems both on and off-the-ice.

I like the Kings a lot and I especially like Dean Lombardi, after he's won two Stanley Cups for a team that desperately needed some championship magic. But now it seems like the magic is already starting to dissolve. I went to the Kings' first game of the season against the San Jose Sharks and they just looked out of it. They weren't in sync, they weren't playing well, and their goaltender Jonathan Quick looked like a shell. Now you could say it's because of the off-ice issues or you could say it's because of the coach, but either way, I think that this whole off-season and not making the playoffs has really taken its toll on the LA Kings.

As for Dean Lombardi, he could be truthful and he might not be truthful, but it seems like he's trying to send the right message. He thinks that the Richards saga could've been handled in the right way, and Richards chose to ignore that. On the other hands, Lombardi could've been lying and Richards didn't want to go along with something that the GM didn't like. I would really like to hear what Richards's take is on all of this and so far I haven't heard from him.

Because Lombardi's calls this situation a "tragedy" it makes me feel bad for both sides. Richards wanted a long promising career that ended up with these issues this past off-season and the Kings had to let go of players because of off-ice problems, like Jarret Stoll or Slava Voynov. The Kings, to me, don't seem like a team that can produce well when there's issues involving their players. Now that they've gotten rid of them, it is not hurting them even worse.

I do hope the Kings can recover this season and make the playoffs again. They're 0-2 and even though the season is early, I don't like the fact that they're in this hole. Hopefully, Jonathan Quick can turn this around and turn into an elite goaltender for the rest of this season. Maybe the defense can improve and help Quick out, but for right now, it doesn't look good. And Lombardi is gonna have to move on from this and try to find a way to fix a team that's already struggling through the first two games of the season.

Surprises from the Beginning of the NHL Season

Well, the NHL season started last Wednesday, and already this season we've seen a few surprises coming out of the first week of the season. Let's take a look at some of those surprises, shall we?

1. The Sharks
Well, this was a big surprise. The Sharks are 2-0, thanks to wins against the Kings (I was there) and the Ducks (The Ducks lost?) They've already scored 7 goals and given up only one, 5 against the Kings and 2 against the Sharks. That one goal was against the Kings. It seems that Coach Peter DeBoer has already made his impact, but I think he's still got a long way to go. One good thing is: He got wins against divisional opponents and that's what matters when you want to get to the playoffs again. But look out, an East Coast swing is coming up and we'll see what happens to this team against good teams like the Islanders and Rangers.

2. How About Them Coyotes?
The Coyotes are also 2-0, thanks to win against the Kings and the Penguins. They've also managed to create tons of offense like the Lightning did last year, and were supposed to have trouble scoring goals this season. But not yet. The offense is clicking with six goals and five different players finding the net. But I still wouldn't be sure about this team. They're 2-0, yes, but the season's too early to make a judgement on them. Let's wait it out and see what happens to this team over the next month or so.

3. The Rise of Oscar Lindberg?
In case you don't know who he is, he is a rookie with the New York Rangers and leading all rookies with four goals in three games. Before the season started, he wasn't even a lock to make the team. But now that he's in and he already has been a huge impact on this Rangers team, look for him to do more magical stuff this coming season.

4. Have the Penguins Fallen?
While the Coyotes have a high-flying offense right now, the Penguins just don't seem to have it. Phil Kessel has nine shots on goal and Sidney Crosby only has one. If the Penguins are gonna get to the playoffs again, they have to get more out of Sidney Crosby than they got the first two games. The Penguins offense is a sure lock to get better as the season progresses, but Crosby only having one shot attempt and being blocked is definitely why Penguins fans are on edge to start the season.

5. Rookies in Detroit
Even rookies with the Detroit Red Wings are picking up the slack for this team. Take Dylan Larkin. He is a 19-year-old kid playing like he's one of the top players for this team. Everyone knows his potential and what he can do, but he seems to be shattering those expectations. He's a plus-6 in two games so far. Looks like the Red Wings are on the right track with this kid.

6. The Terrible Blue Jackets
If you want a team that can't seem to find a break, take the Columbus Blue Jackets. So far this season, they have given up nine goals in two games. They were also expected to roar out of the gate, but somehow have dropped dead. Where is the goaltending and defense when it is needed?

7. The Goal-Scoring of Florida
The Florida Panthers don't get enough credit in my blog posts with what they do down there. So far, they've scored seven times in their season-opening win over the Flyers. If this team can keep up this pace for the season, they'll be a factor in the Atlantic and I would like their chances in the playoffs to get far if they get there.

8. Jets? Real or No?
2-0 Jets? Didn't see that coming, at least from me. They're already a competitor in the tough Central Division. It could figure to be a tough race to keep up with though. But the Jets are starting out strong and they need to keep it up if they expect to keep the other teams at bay.

9. The Coach's Challenge
I always love it when a coach in the NFL challenges a ruling. Now they've brought it to the NHL and it has already made an impact. The first two challenges changed the call on goals. But coaches should be given an extra timeout when they make a challenge. They don't like to give it up early in the game. Get with the NFL, NHL!

Well, those are my surprises I believe are making headlines so far this season with the NHL. Things can change and we might have more surprises, but either way, we've got a great week to start and already some teams are looking strong, others not so much, and the impact of new rules generating interest in the NHL. Let's look forward to one marvelous season, puck heads!

The Beginning of the 2015-16 NHL Season

Hey puck heads,

Guess what? It is the beginning of the 2015-16 season in the NHL. What a great amount of games we've had so far. Who would've thought the Sharks would be 2-0? Or the Kings being 0-2? Or the Canadiens playing so well so far.

Well, I guess the surprises this season are yet to come. But because it's now the 2015-16 season, I'm going to come full at you with stories, headlines, and opinions for this NHL season. Are the suspensions deserved? Any latest info on current players? What about the state of teams? I'm going to bring them all to you, here at Reid's NHL Insight.

So buckle up, get ready, and get set to head down a rollercoaster of the 2015-16 NHL season. It should be a fun one, puck heads!