| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Guest9836 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 12:21:27
Here are two teams that are truely flying under the radar, and in Nashville's case year in and year out underrated. Both teams are sitting in 5th in their conferences (Dec 20). Have about the same amount of points and similar teams. That is they spread the offence have few big guns/stars and have decent young goaltending.
Which team will do better this year. (Trying to talk about teams other than the usual suspects) |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| ryan93 |
Posted - 01/23/2011 : 18:52:46
I think Carolina is going to make the playoffs, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Atlanta is the team that falls out. Even though they currently have a 7 point cushion over the Canes (though CAR have 3 games in hand) i'm a little worried about the Rangers right now as well. The injuries are really adding up, so they are going to need Henrik Lundqvist to keep playing out of this world. I haven't heard any updates on Dan Girardi or Brandon Prust today (other than the fact Evgeny Grachev & Michael Del Zotto have been recalled), so as of right now the folllowed Rangers are all on the shelf...Prospal, Dubinsky, Callahan, Frolov, Fedotenko, Christensen, Prust, Boogaard, and Girardi.
Nothing Nashville does surprises me any more. Year after year they ice a quality team that plays much better than the it would suggest on paper. They play a solid team game & just simply find ways to win. It amazes me as well that goaltending is always a strength of that club, yet annually seem to find a new #1...
Mike Dunham...Tomas Vokoun...Chris Mason...Dan Ellis...Pekka Rinne...and now this year Rinne has been getting pushed by Anders Lindback, but Rinne is responding right now with the best hockey of his career. He's 8-1 in his last 9 starts, and his GAA (2.09) and SP% (.930) trail only Tim Thomas. |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 01/23/2011 : 18:17:06
Less than a month later, ATL is clinging to a playoff spot in the East while Nashville is still in the 4th-5th in the West.
Still some season left but ATL is sliding..... |
| MyTeamRules |
Posted - 12/22/2010 : 14:44:11
Both teams are pretty Equal
Atlanta has Pavelec, who is playing great
Nashville has Lindback, who is on a hot streak
I think Pavelec is a slight bit better
On defense
Nashville has Weber who is no doubt an outstanding defensman on both ends of the ice, and Suter who is a good defenseman.
Atlanta has Byfuglien who is playing Great, starting to cool down though, Enstorm a great help holding the puck in the blue line, and Oduya since they recieved him last year the team has been winning like crazy.
Even though Atlanta has 3 mentionable defensman, Weber's presence is better then all 3 of theirs.
On Offense both teams have depth and no all-stars
Nashville's best is most likely Hornqvist, Atlanta has Evander Kane.
I think by looking at the rosters Atlanta has a lot more strength offensivly then Nashville.
Overall I would choose Atlanta as the better team.
”If you've only got one day to live, come see the Toronto Maple Leafs. It'll seem like forever. ” - Pat |
| nuxfan |
Posted - 12/21/2010 : 10:50:51
quote:
Goaltending is a 2 man job. How has Mason looked this year?? 7-5-2 with a 3.74 GAA and .897 save %. Kind of AHL like, no??
Agreed, Mason is not doing a good job. However, Mason is their backup goalie, not their starting goalie, and the only reason he has a lot of games was because Pavelec was injured for about a month. There is little you can do about injuries.
Some teams have reliable backups, some do not. I'd be surprised if Mason got 3 more starts this season, based on the way Pavelec is playing. Since Pavelec came back in late October, I think Mason has started once.
quote:
Atlanta is not beating many teams with defense. They are simply outscoring the opposition.
All winning teams outscore their opponents, its how they get winning records.
ATL is never going to be a super-strong defensive team, and NSH is certainly better in that regard. However, ATL is winning enough 1 goal games, some of them low scoring games, for me to believe that they are getting enough defense to pull them off. Further, they have recently beaten some very good teams (in some cases pretty badly):
- Nov 19, 5-0 vs WSH
- Nov 24, 5-1 vs DET
- Nov 26, 3-0 vs MTL
- Nov 28, 4-1 vs BOS
- Nov 30, 3-2 vs COL
- Dec 4, 3-1 vs WSH
- Dec 6, 3-2 vs NSH
Games like last night's 6-3 win, or the 5-4 slugfest against the NYI a couple of weeks ago, are fewer than you would think, especially recently.
ATL shows all the signs of a team that took a little while to get used to each other - they had a lot of new faces added in the offseason - and suffered through a longish injury to their starting goalie early on. Now that they're all used to each other, and their goalie is back, things have been picking up. |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 12/21/2010 : 10:30:13
quote:
Originally posted by nuxfan
quote:
My issue with Hotlanta is defensively. They are below average and their goaltending is streaky. Some nights they have the best keeper in the NHL while other nights their keeper should be on the bench in the AHL. They are tied for 7th in most goals against and generally speaking, a team with a below average defense gets exposed in the playoffs.
GF/GA are very different between the two clubs, they're pretty much at different ends of the spectrum.
I don't see a lot of difference in their goaltending either. Pavelec is not nearly as inconsistent or streaky as you might think he is (unless a streak can last the entire season) - in 21 games this year he has allowed more than 3 goals only once. In the rest of the season he has 5 games of 3 goals allowed, the rest are under 3. A 12-6-3 record, 1.82 GAA and a .943 SV%. Those are hardly "ride the pine" numbers in the NHL.
The team that plays in front of him certainly is not as defensively minded as NSH, but they do manage to win their fair share of low scoring one-goal games - including a 3-2 victory over NSH recently. A team that is defensive is great. A team that is offensive, but can play defensively when they need to, is even better.
Goaltending is a 2 man job. How has Mason looked this year?? 7-5-2 with a 3.74 GAA and .897 save %. Kind of AHL like, no??
Atlanta is not beating many teams with defense. They are simply outscoring the opposition. |
| nuxfan |
Posted - 12/21/2010 : 09:27:38
quote:
My issue with Hotlanta is defensively. They are below average and their goaltending is streaky. Some nights they have the best keeper in the NHL while other nights their keeper should be on the bench in the AHL. They are tied for 7th in most goals against and generally speaking, a team with a below average defense gets exposed in the playoffs.
GF/GA are very different between the two clubs, they're pretty much at different ends of the spectrum.
I don't see a lot of difference in their goaltending either. Pavelec is not nearly as inconsistent or streaky as you might think he is (unless a streak can last the entire season) - in 21 games this year he has allowed more than 3 goals only once. In the rest of the season he has 5 games of 3 goals allowed, the rest are under 3. A 12-6-3 record, 1.82 GAA and a .943 SV%. Those are hardly "ride the pine" numbers in the NHL.
The team that plays in front of him certainly is not as defensively minded as NSH, but they do manage to win their fair share of low scoring one-goal games - including a 3-2 victory over NSH recently. A team that is defensive is great. A team that is offensive, but can play defensively when they need to, is even better. |
| Guest9836 |
Posted - 12/21/2010 : 08:33:24
Lindback is the new Rinne, is the new Ellis, is the new Mason, is the New Vokoun... You get the picture. The goalie coach in Nashville should be getting a piece of the Jack Adams award... Next up Chet Pickard? This team is a goalie factory.
Atlanta is the sexier pick right now (gaining the number 2 spot in the east last night), but in this marathon you can't go wrong betting on sound defense and a team that isn't streaky. |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 12/21/2010 : 07:37:22
My issue with Hotlanta is defensively. They are below average and their goaltending is streaky. Some nights they have the best keeper in the NHL while other nights their keeper should be on the bench in the AHL. They are tied for 7th in most goals against and generally speaking, a team with a below average defense gets exposed in the playoffs.
Nashville, on the other hand, is tied for the 6th fewest goals against. Granted, they don't have nearly the offensive chops(Nash has the 7th fewest goals for and ATL has the 3rd most), but defensively and goaltending wise (who is this Anders Lindback guy??? 9-2-2, 2.28 GAA and .925 save %. Rookie of the year??) I take Nashville 6 ways to Sunday.
I would almost always take my chances with a defensive team in the playoffs over an offensive team. But that's just me. What do I know???? |
| nuxfan |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 22:25:25
doublechamp - as Beans said before, NSH does not fly under the radar (at least for other westerners), they've been doing exactly what they do for several years now. Everyone in the west knows what to expect from them, they're a tough team to play against, and find a way to compete every year.
That being said, I picked ATL, this does seem to be the year that they have finally put together a very good team. Instead of going the get-a-superstar-and-build-around-him route, they've gone a bit Nashvill-ian, and put together a real team of solid-if-unspectacular players. However, a couple of those players (Buffy, Ladd) are putting together career years, and another few (Kane, Stewart, Pavelec) are having breakout years. Enstrom is having another great year. Throw everyone else in the mix, and you have what appears to be a pretty solid team in good ol' Atlanta. |
| doublechamp7 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 19:37:55
Those are startling facts you got there, Beans. Nashville really flies under the radar because
A) they are not in a huge hockey market (the citizens of Tennesse arn't excactly hockey crazy)
B) They don't have any huge stars( who is second next to Weber)
They are a good team because they are a team, not a buch of big headed individuals.
And Barry Trotz is a good coach
Henderson has scored for Canada |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 18:53:01
quote:
Originally posted by Guest4241
A team who's top 6 forwards are Sullivan, Cal O'Reilly, Erat, Hornqvist, Goc, and Colin Wilson should be closer in points to Toronto then Detroit.
I do not deny that they do this every year, that Trotz has magnificently coached this team over the years, and Poile always seems to find the right guys to fit the team, but to say this lineup is not punching above their weight class is ridiculous.
That being said, I agree that with their history in mind they really shouldn't be bet against. It just blows my mind every year to see this team succeed the way it does.
If this was a one time thing I would agree, but it's not. This is an every year thing. 100+ points in 3 of the last 5 seasons is no fluke. It's done every year without a top 20 scorer. Heck, take Arnott out of the mix the past few seasons and there isn't a guy in the top 30 in scoring!!
Smart team play, solid defense, sound goaltending, disciplined hockey, and simply outworking the other team. That is how they win. And they do it every year.
We should not be surprised by this point and it definitely is not outside of the norm for that team. |
| Guest4241 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 16:46:10
A team who's top 6 forwards are Sullivan, Cal O'Reilly, Erat, Hornqvist, Goc, and Colin Wilson should be closer in points to Toronto then Detroit.
I do not deny that they do this every year, that Trotz has magnificently coached this team over the years, and Poile always seems to find the right guys to fit the team, but to say this lineup is not punching above their weight class is ridiculous.
That being said, I agree that with their history in mind they really shouldn't be bet against. It just blows my mind every year to see this team succeed the way it does. |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 16:23:53
Nashville is NOT playing over their heads. They do it every year. They always throw together a line up full of players that produce but rarely any big name offensive players. Bottom line, Coaching. Best coach in the NHL today. Always gets the most out of a team that everyone writes off. I can't believe the guy has never won the Jack Adams.
Here are a few things to twist your cap back:
There are only 3 teams in the NHL who have made the playoffs every seasons since the lock out. They are Detroit, San Jose, and New Jersey. The next group of teams have made the playoffs 4 of the last 5 seasons. They are Anaheim, Ottawa, Calgary, NYR, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Nashville.
Here are the teams, in order of total points since the lock out.
Detroit -566 pts (.627 win %)
San Jose - 544 pts (.605 win %)
New Jersey - 516 pts (.585 win %)
Buffalo - 504 pts (.561 win %)
Nashville - 495 pts (.556 win %)
(This puts Nashville ahead of Cup winners like Anahiem, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and ahead of annual favorites like Vancouver and Philadelphia.)
Nashville's worst season in the past 5 was 40 wins and they missed the playoffs by 2 points.
There are only 11 teams in the NHL in the past 5 years to have 50 or more wins in a season. Nashville is one of them.
Too many people have bet against Nashville and been wrong just about every time. I won't make that mistake.
I vote Nashville.
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| Guest4241 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 15:48:17
Nashville has one guy with 20 pts (Sullivan, exactly 20 pts), Atlanta has six (Buff, Ladd, Entstrom, Peverly, Evander Kane and Anothony Stewart). The preds must just get it done with defence, it helps that every goalie that comes out of Nashville is Stellar. For Nashville it helps that there are 13 guys with at least 3 goals
Both these teams are playing over their heads (or at least over their payroll).
It's truely a coin toss. |
| Alex116 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 14:28:53
quote:
Originally posted by Guest5806
I have no idea how nashville wins games
Me neither, that's why i picked them! Atlanta i could see cooling off, Nashville somehow never seems to??? |
| Guest5806 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 14:14:40
I have no idea how nashville wins games |
| doublechamp7 |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 13:57:33
I said Atlanta, I was absolutely shocked when I saw they were leading the southeast for a little bit, I wish canadian TV networks would show games from these kinds of teams more often.
Henderson has scored for Canada |
| HawkinOilCountry |
Posted - 12/20/2010 : 12:37:54
Gotta go with Atlanta here, they are definitly a far better team than last year's.
Big props to Byfuglien and Ladd for stepping up their game after leaving Chicago. They're playing big parts in Atlanta's success.
I mean seriously... when was the last time Atlanta was winning their division?
The arena wall in chicago should be credited with a goal. |
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