Eastern Edge

It’s been far too long since the last update of Dobber’s three-tiered hockey pools. This update will cover from the beginning of January until the end of February. The last update at the end of December had Experts Audit (Ian Fergusson) in first place.

The two hottest teams in the league right now are the Pittsburgh Penguins (9-1-0) and Carolina Hurricanes (8-2-1). No one should be all that surprised with the Pens hot streak; they have two of the top players in the game on their payroll. I didn’t expect to see Carolina this hot down the stretch. 

I thought Dobber was out of his mind when he wrote in his guide before the season started, that he considered Yann Danis a better goalie than Joey MacDonald and would steal the latter’s job. Over his last five games, Danis only has three wins, but his ancillary numbers have been spicy hot, sporting a sweet 0.968 save percentage, a 1.00 goals-against-average and two shutouts.
 

With the recent news that Alexei Kovalev is not accompanying the team on their short two game road trip, we are going to see what the Canadiens are made of. Kovalev is an All-World talent, but can sometimes disappear for long stretches. This will be a wake up call for him.

NHL lines, much like modern day relationships, rarely last. With Valentine’s Day nearly upon us, I thought I would dedicate this week’s drivel to my sweethearts of the Eastern Conference:
 

Steve Downie - fantasy pariah or future fantasy savior? The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines pariah as one that is despised or rejected. Steve Downie has been both early in his NHL career. Despised by many hockey fans as a no talent goon; rejected by the Flyers and traded to hockey’s sunny Siberia, Tampa Bay.

With the trading deadline set to happen in little over one month, many teams may be looking to deal with their various free agents now. Who’s in line for a big payday this summer? Who will get traded? Who will get inked to a new deal? Why do they call them “free” agents, when there is nothing free about them?

I’ll rate each of the Eastern Conference team’s likelihood of becoming buyers, sellers or standing pat at the deadline.

The Panthers have been incredible since the turn of the calendar year. Last night’s loss against the Dallas Stars was their first regulation defeat in 2009, going 5-1-3 in January. Over that period, they have averaged exactly four goals a game, while allowing just over three against. David Booth has led the way with 16 points in his last 12 games. While Nathan Horton had 11 points in ten games and Stephen Weiss recorded 11 points in his last 13 games.

With this being right around the halfway mark for most NHL teams, I thought it would be appropriate to try and come up with a list of Eastern Conference All-Stars. Of course, my list will have a healthy twist. I’ll give you the actual All-Stars, my All-Stars, the All-Sucks and All-Steals: