RBH predicts player performance

Yesterday, I picked up The Hockey News special fantasy hockey/pool edition. It breaks down the top 100 players and also predicts the point production of most players. Just for fun, I'll compare what they predict for Hurricanes players to what I predict.

This is simply meat and potatoes. No analysis for right now. The players are arranged by where I think they'll fit on the depth chart:

Ray Whitney. THN sees a 68 (27/41) point campaign. I've got him at 61 (25/36)

Eric Staal. THN has 79 (35/44) points for him, while I have 93 (42/51)

Justin Williams. THN predicted 63 (30/33), and I went for 73 (36/37)

Sergei Samsonov. THN said 51 (22/29), and I think it'll be 55 (25/30)

Rod Brind'Amour. THN predicted 74 (24/50) for the Cap, but I predict 68 (27/41)

Patrick Eaves. THN picked 30 (15/15), and I said 34 (16/18)

Tuomo Ruutu. THN went with 43 (15/28), but I went with 33 (11/22)

Matt Cullen. THN forsees 49 (15/34), and I'm going with 46 (21/25)

Scott Walker. THN said 45 (20/25), and I say 44 (17/27)

Chad LaRose. THN predicts 25 (10/15), and I'm going with 30 (15/15)

Brandon Sutter. THN predicts 20 (9/11) for the rookie, and I'll say 29 (12/17)

Ryan Bayda. THN doesn't have Bayda on the chart, and I'm predicting 13 (4/9) for him

Joe Corvo. THN sees 54 (14/40) in his future, and I see 65 (15/50)

Tim Gleason. THN predicts 21 (4/17), and I think he'll have 19 (6/13)

Joni Pitkanen. THN has him for 34 (9/25), and I've got him for 35 (8/27)

Nic Wallin isn't on THN's radar, but I'm predicting 13 (4/9) for him.

Frantisek Kaberle. THN thinks he'll put up 25 (3/22) points. I'm not sure he'll be on Carolina's roster, but I'll pick 12 (1/11) for him.

Anton Babchuk. THN picks him for 16 (3/13), and I pick him for just 9 (2/7)

Tim Conboy isn't on THN's radar either. I think he'll have 8 (3/5) points.

Dennis Seidenberg. THN predicts 20 (3/17) for the German, while I see only 11 (2/9) points for him.

There will be other players who come up from Albany, but these will be the mainstays.

Also, the goalies:

Cam Ward THN sees a 37-win campaign, while I've got him down for 38.

Michael Leighton THN thinks he'll win 10 games, but I think he'll win 7.

I'm predicting Carolina to have a 45-28-9 season. Sadly, 99 points won't win the division, but it'll be good enough for a #5 spot in the playoffs.

Any thoughts?

Maggie makes her pick, Pens doomed

Recently, TSN's Maggie the Monkey made her Stanley Cup Finals pick. She picked the Penguins to win, which may be their demise. In 2006, she wrongly picked Edmonton. In 2007, she wrongly picked Ottawa. This is meant to be fun, and certainly has no weight, but her track record in picking the Stanley Cup champion is a horrible 0-2.

Last year, her overall picks were 8-7. In 2006, she was 9-6. This season, she is 8-6 so far. By comparison, in the same time frame, I have been a perfect 2-0 in my finals picks, and a perfect 6-0 in my conference final picks. I was 9-6 overall in 2006, 9-6 overall last season, and 8-6 so far this season.

Just to re-iterate, I am rooting for the Penguins. However, I think that the experience and the overwhelming offensive firepower and the stronger defense will prevail for the Wings. They might not be as prepared for the Pens as they should be. The Pens will make it tough, but I think the Wings will prevail in 6. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Pittsburgh wins game one, but I would be (pleasantly) surprised if the Pens win the series.

In particular, I think the experience of two Stanley Cup wins by Chris Osgood will give them the crucial edge in nets.

The Mule, who has been out of the lineup for five games, and will miss game one of the Finals, is still leading the playoffs in goals scored with 12. Henrik Zetterberg is right behind him with 11. Pavel Datsyuk has 9. Maid Marian Hossa and Gino Malkin have nine apiece for the Pens. The Kid has just 4, but has been an assist machine with 17 of those to pace all players.

Each team has their weapons, but I think that Detroit just has too many of them. Still, I'll be rooting for the Pens.

Playoffs set

Once again, my team has failed to qualify for the post-season. That won't stop me, though, from following the playoffs and from making predictions.

Here are my picks:




Maggie the Monkey picked the Sharks over the Flames. Other than that, our picks are the same.

I've only been doing this for two years. In 2006, I was 3-5 in the first round en route to a 9-6 overall performance. Maggie also ended up with a 9-6 record.

In 2007, I was 6-2 in the first round en route to another 9-6 overall record. Maggie had an overall record of 8-7.