Did the Tampa Bay Lightning Panic?

There are fourteen teams that unfortunately did not make into the playoffs. Although some came close, others felt their team needed to be improved a bit more. That is what the Tampa Bay Lightning did. A day after their season finale with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, the Tampa Bay Lightning fired coach Rick Tocchet and dismissed general manager Brian Lawton after missing the playoffs for a third straight season. According to the Associated Press, it is the club's third coaching change in the last two years. They have been under .500 since Rick Tocchet took over for Barry Melrose last season. So, did the Lightning panic? Did they jump too early to make a coaching change, especially a day after the regular season ended? No, they did not. They knew they had to make a change in order to improve their club. They don't know if Vincent Lecavalier is going to come back to the team next season. Luckily, they'll have Steven Stamkos with that team in case Lecavalier leaves, and a good coach is needed to help Stamkos become another version of Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin. As for the general manager, I'm guessing the rest of management didn't feel he did enough for the Lightning and they needed a change there to order to get a reasonable guy who can help this club improve and get back to the Stanley Cup championship, which they won in 2004. A good coach and a well-placed general manager will be the key in leading this Lightning club forward for next year. It's going to take a while to get a new coach and a new GM in place. The GM job should be hired within the next month or so, while the coaching position might take a bit of time to get. It will all make sense in the next couple of months what Tampa Bay Lightning management will decide to do with these two positions.

Who wins the eighth seed? NY Rangers or Philadelphia?

So in the past few days since I wrote about a blog determining who would get an eighth seed, I said that it was either between Boston and Atlanta and that the NY Rangers would be the odd ones out. John Tortorella might have heard me. The way the NY Rangers are playing now is at exactly the right time. Since Boston and Montreal claimed a playoff spot and Atlanta being eliminated, they have to fight the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow to see who ultimately wins the chance to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It just so happens they are playing each other tomorrow at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, which will put the icing on the playoff cake. So you're probably wondering who wins, who ultimately gets that eighth seed and gets the Washington Capitals in the first round? Guess what? I'm going to head for the NY Rangers. Why? Because they have fought back from almost the bottom of the Eastern Conference pit and put themselves in very good position to get that seed. Henrik Lundqvist is playing well and even some players are getting some of the important goals that they head. John Tortorella is turning this team in the right direction for the moment. Another positive thing for the New York Rangers is the fact that they have played the Washington Capitals in the playoffs before last year and took them the entire seven games. Of course they lost the series, but they know they can do it again and hopefully put the pressure on the Capitals and Coach Bruce Boudreau to fight this team. So unfortunately for Philadelphia, it'll be the end. Brian Boucher has not done well for this team, and their offense is lacking, especially the last game against the New York Rangers at MSG, in which they lost and tied the Rangers for that last seed. Hopefully, it will be correct and the NY Rangers will indeed get that seed and play the Capitals in the first seed. It will be a fight to the end of the third period for the Flyers and NY Rangers.

Will the Washington Capitals win the cup?

Alex Ovechkin looked red-hot over the years and has not quit that trend. He had good players around him to help him control him to a playoff destiny the last two years. But this year, he took this team to win the Presidents' Trophy, which is the Capitals' first in franchise history. He has helped his team a long way, but with a Presidents' Trophy, can Ovechkin carry this team towards the Stanley Cup? If you remember the San Jose Sharks last season, they won the President's Trophy and didn't even make it past the first round. A year before that, the Detroit Red Wings won it and did win the Stanley Cup. Can the Capitals be the Red Wings or will they be the Sharks? This is actually a question that can go either way. Their positive side of winning the Cup might be Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green, Mike Knuble, Alexander Semin, and many other players that have impact on this team. The negative that might prevent the team from getting to the Stanley Cup. They've had to switch goaltenders between Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth, and Jose Theodore. Theodore and Varlamov have playoff experience, but if they decide to go with Neuvirth, it could be a disappointing season. Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau will probably have to assess that area before entering for the playoffs. He needs to see who can carry this team all the way to the final. He had better make this decision wisely. For my advice on who to pick, I suggest to pick the Capitals until at least the Conference Finals, then you can make your pick on who you think will make it. I think the Capitals will win the Stanley Cup if the fowards and defenders can help the goaltenders out and score some goal. It should be a big fight to the Cup for the Capitals.

Who will take eighth in the East?

The regular season is closer to the end, and already some teams are trying to make a push to get into the playoffs. One of the interesting contests will be the teams trying to get that eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Those teams are the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, and New York Rangers. So far, Boston has a hold on the eighth seed, but Atlanta and NY Rangers are not too far behind. All of the teams won their games last night, Boston over New Jersey, Atlanta over Toronto, NY Rangers over NY Islanders. It seems like any of those teams could be a lock for sure, but who will ultimately win it all? Well, I'll give you my take. First, I don't think the NY Rangers will get that eighth seed because their offense and power play have not really been that good this season. Sure they've had a few wins then and again, but they've had a lot of bad losses, including one to the Canadiens in which they were shut out 5-0 a few months ago. So the competition will be between Atlanta and Boston. I would like to see Atlanta get that eighth seed, because of their recent chances to try and get into the playoffs. Boston has been pretty good this season but their goaltenders Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask have been problems for this team, resulting in many goals against both of them. To be in all honesty, I don't know who will the eighth seed. It will either be Boston or Atlanta. Both have equal positives and negatives, so it just seems like I can't make a good choice on either of them. It's a toss-up. We'll see as we get closer to the end of the regular season. Who wins the eighth seed? Only time will tell.

Who deserves the net for the Chicago Blackhawks?

Some teams have no trouble at all getting into the playoffs, while other teams might have some problems they are trying to get addressed. One of the teams that has problem is the Chicago Blackhawks. They've had trouble with their goalie problems, switching between Cristobal Huet, Marc Crawford, and Antti Niemi. Now, all have done well keeping the Chicago Blackhawks in first place in the Central Division, and in the Western Conference. But does Chicago need a solid starting goalie in order to do well? Some people would say yes and no on both accounts. However, there needs to be a solid starting goalie in net for Chicago by the time the playoffs roll around. Antti Niemi has faired well and so has Huet. But in my opinion, Niemi may have been on fire of late, but it's Huet's crease. The Blackhawks need Huet in order to succeed in the playoffs. Without him, this team is reduced. Any teams like Detroit or Calgary could easily bounce the Blackhawks out of the playoffs if they rotate goalies. Plus, with Brian Campbell out of the lineup, they need more help to get in and Huet fits that. Well, we'll see if Huet can carry this team into contention and possibly get them a Stanley Cup.