Mitch from 1st & 10 is taking his talent to the ice err well on the Central Ice Podcast! He is joined in by one of the Baseline Times Summer 2021 Interns, Emily, to discuss the NHL 2021 Playoffs and make some Conference Finals predictions!
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EAST DIVISION
NYI lead the series 3-2
(1) Pittsburgh Penguins
It’s shocking to see the black and yellow down late in this series. Not only are they widely considered to be a level above the Isles talent-wise, but this is a team that was second in the league in goals scored. Crosby and Malkin have been down in many series before, but we’ll have to see how they respond in 2021.
But, this team is not just about Crosby and Malkin. Left Winger Jake Guentzel probably would have recorded the most points in his career this year if it was a full season.
However, to win two straight games against this Islanders team, it’s going to be about Pittsburgh’s third and fourth lines. Other than Jeff Carter, the Penguins have only gotten 1 goal from their bottom two lines in this series. While nearly half of New York’s goals have been from their lower lines.
The Penguins also need to give the Islanders a taste of their own medicine. New York makes up for their lack of talent by getting in their opponents’ face, as they’re third in the NHL in hits per game. If Pittsburgh can match the Isles’ physicality, they’ll surely have a chance to turn this series around.
(4) New York Islanders
Well, here we are for the third straight year asking ourselves: how the hell did the New York Islanders get this deep in the playoffs? Especially this year after losing their captain Anders Lee and a top four defensemen in Johnny Boychuk for the season.
The answer is simple: Head Coach Barry Trotz and GM Lou Lamoriello. Although they lack elite talent, Lamoriello has put together a fantastic all around roster that has every role player a team could need. Trotz has incorporated new schemes like the trap that allow the Islanders to dominate in games where they’re the lesser team on the ice. The trap is why New York has given up the second least amount of goals this year. In addition, New York has had a newfound toughness to them since Trotz has been there that has clearly benefited them in the postseason.
Take game 5 for example. Pittsburgh had 22 more shots on goal than the Isles. When do we ever see the Penguins lose a game after putting that much pressure on goal? Pretty much never. The Islanders won by seizing every opportunity they could get and a sensational performance by goalie Ilya Sorokin.
The rest of this series should be close and low scoring, and the Islanders only need to eke out one more to advance. The team will have all the motivation in the world as they don’t want to make game 6 the last one at Nassau Coliseum.
Jeremy sits down with the one and only Sarah Ahlquist Schneider to talk about her playing career, her role in trailblazing the way for women’s hockey, and her friendships with her teammates throughout the years.
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Arian and Jeremy go around the league to see how the teams are doing. They dive into a few other situations that played themselves out behind the scenes in the NHL.
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In part II this week we go around the league and see how everyone’s doing as well as our 2021 NHL award predictions!
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It’s been 4 days since Pierre-Luc Dubois was shipped off to Winnipeg with a 2022 3rd round pick in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic. Since then Dubois has said very little to nothing about the growing tensions that resulted in a quick exit from Columbus.
In an interview with Ron MacLean, Dubois finally gave some insights as to why he wanted out.
“It was a process. I was thinking about it a long time, it wasn’t overnight, it wasn’t I just woke up one morning and it was a decision to make,” Dubois answered. “It was something I thought about, and as negotiations were going, you obviously don’t take anything personally, but as they go longer and longer, you kind of start to think about stuff and situations.”
“At some point, I thought…that if it was a longer deal I would’ve wanted [a trade] to happen.”
But that’s all that Dubois has said, mean while his former general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets had some differing views about the process and some of the things Dubois had to say.
“That’s just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that,”
“It took, all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table. First, we didn’t really talk about it, that’s how Pat Brisson conducts his business, I have the upmost respect for him as a professional and how he handled the negotiations.”
My point is simply this, Pierre-Luc Dubois better get out as far as he can in front of this situation because even before the trade, during the trade, and now afterward, Dubois has done a seriously piss poor job at justifying his lack of actions in his final few days as a Blue Jacket.
In my own personal opinion, I don’t care how much you don’t want to be in the place or organization you’re currently at. You are a professional hockey player who is getting paid a really well salary to do the thing you love. You suit your ass up and get out there and give 110% no matter how you feel about the environment of your current organization.
So buyer beware in Winnipeg. Hopefully, Dubois can learn to be more mature the next time he is unhappy in an organization. Pierre-Luc Dubois make it count as a Blue Jacket.
Jeremy and Arian split the pod up into two parts this week, in this first part the boys go over some news and notes from around the NHL from last week. Plus we give the ladies their well-deserved props and more.
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Baseline Times Expert Arian Johnston brings you the free NHL Daily Picks! Track his progress daily and let’s cash in!!! Your go-to NHL betting picks are here are Baseline Times! Free Pick Record (6-6-1) on our daily picks! Florida Panthers MoneyLine +117 (The lines moving fast) …Go join our Free Discord for more daily picks from all sports.
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The 2021 NHL season returns in a special of its kind. A brief 56-game schedule and a whole reset to divisions. With a new season comes new predictions! Here are my predictions for the 2021 NHL Season Awards.
Hart Trophy
Nathan Mackinnon
After coming off a 93 point season with 35 goals, I look for Mackinnon to up his production and finally take home the hart with ease as he hits his prime as a player.
Vezina Trophy
Carter Hart
In his 3rd year as the Philadelphia Flyers’ netminder, and coming off a career year with a 24-13 record and a .914 save percentage, there’s no doubt in my mind that Hart will have a repeat if not a better year in net for the Flyers.
Norris Trophy
John Carlson
Now in his 12th year in the NHL and coming off a career-high 75 points last season. It is my belief that Carlson will hit his peak and potential with the Capitals, especially with the added strength of Zedno Chara on the back end. All but sealing Carlson’s chances at the Norris.
Calder Trophy
Alexis Lafreniere
After a stellar year in the QMJHL, with a 112 point season, many believe that Alexis has what it takes to transfer that to the NHL level at very high production value on a very young Rangers team. I look for him to take the Calder pretty handily.
Art Ross Trophy
Leon Draisaitl
After a stellar 110 point season, Draisaitl went home with the Art Ross last year. Much like his teammate Connor Mcdavid did in 2017 and 2018, I look for a repeat for Draisaitl.
Jack Adams Award
Barry Trotz
After taking home the award in the 2018-2019 season, I look for the Islanders to make a serious push to the playoffs. That’s all thanks to Barry Trotz. He has turned around that franchise culture single-handedly. He will continue to do so until his time is up on Long Island.
Maurice Richards Trophy
Alexander Ovechkin
He continues to push ever so closer to that coveted all-time goal record of 894. Ov’s teammates will ensure that that happens and continue to feed the great 8 until he does so.
The debut is here! Jeremy Case joins Baseline Times to become the first-ever hockey contributor. Joined by Arian Johnston from Baseline Times this duo dives into their Division winners for the NHL season.
