What The Hell Is Going On With Dan Ryder? Seriously.

Came across this Fanhouse post about the mysterious disappearance of Dan Ryder today. MG has already had at least one post about this and I have just let it go until now, but has anyone considered Ryder and Walz eloped together?

Though I will say, maybe this whole event has something to do with Micheal Ryder's less than stellar start to his season.

This is a strange hockey season, I wouldn't recommend any post SCF fishing trips.

Luck or Perseverance

The Flames played yet another game I was unable to watch last night, which perhaps makes me unqualified to comment on it, but I will anyway because I'm accountable to no one. And besides, I've admitted it so technically I'm not doing anything wrong.

I was...disheartened, to say the least, when I found out the Flames were down 0-3 last night. It made me wonder; Did we look good on Saturday because the team is coming together, or because the Flames played the Oilers who to no ones suprise are completely hapless. I thought I had my answer when the Minnesota Wild, the misers of the hockey world (both in GF and GA) had an early 3 goal lead.

And Kipper was booed to boot.

But Iginla and Co. (officially Tanguay and Langkow on this night) took over. That's the thing about this group, the part of this team that has kept the Flames-blog-o-sphere so interested and given us our (so far) false hope. This team, regardless of it's weak coaching and poor defensive group (at least the bottom half) have so much fire power that it has the potential to win any game.

The fact that Minnesota hadn't lost in regulation yet this year (or lost ever when leading by 3 goals according to MG). The Wild had the Flames in perfect position, this should have been a walkover.

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not sold. The Flames teased us all last year with this sort of play - greatness one day, embaressment the next. And hell, even though the Flames were the first team to beat the Wild after trailing by 3, my position on streaks is that they're all due to be broken eventually. A team has won 31 in a row, it just seems more likely they'll lose that 32nd game. And even though Kipper wasn't stellar, it helped that Niklas Backstrom was probably worse.

But I'll say this about the team - they're keeping me intrigued.

The Lies We Tell Ourselves

There has always been a debate among NHL observes about which division(s) in hockey are the strongest and which are the weakest. I myself have personally espoused the view that much of the eastern conference's recent success in Stanley Cup Finals (past year excluded) is that the eastern based teams tend to have an easier road to the final and are therefore more rested and are more likely to win. But the last couple of years I have heard many sportscasters (and fans alike) claim that 'the NW division may be the best division in hockey.' I would like to take a look at the current veracity of this claim.

Let's start with the best team in this division. Who is it?

That's the point, there's certainly no obvious answer. Right now we'll start with Minnesota simply because they're in first place right now.

How well has the Wild done over the past 5 years? Jacques Lemaire has unquestionably done a great job with the team he has - but historically speaking, that's the best that could be said about the Wild. One post season loss in the Western Conference Quarter Finals is as close as they've ever got. Last year they lost in 5 games to the Mighty Ducks in the Division Quarters, and the two years in between they didn't even make the playoffs.

The Wild have consistently been a good but not great team (as if memory serves me had a similar start to their season last year) and they have a lot of good but not great players. Gaborik traditionally spends long portions of the season hurt and the Wild spend a large portion of the season scoring 2 goals or less. Being consistently difficult to play against does not mean the Wild are a top tier team. Not enough has changed this season to convince me the Wild are a top tier team, yet they are still arguably the best in the division.

The Canucks are arguably next (or at least equal) to the Wild. Roberto Luongo consistently gives the Canucks a chance to win. The Sedin twins have already come what Brian Burke imagined when he drafted them and their defensive group is steady if not impressive. Fill that out with a very good coach (or at least a smart one) in Alain Vigneault and the Canucks are a pretty good team. Their offense is shallow but they have enough guys to play tough minutes it's not a deal breaker - until you play teams who don't have that problem - Carolina, Anaheim, Detroit, etc. Again, I don't think many people would argue with me and say Vancouver is a top team. In my opinion, Vancouver and Minnesota suffer from the same flaw - good but not great.

This brings us to Colorado - great offensive team; Sakic, Hejduk, Statsney, Smyth, Wolksi, Svatos, Brunette etc. Their defensive group is alright - Hannan, Leopold, Liles, - again, it's a good group although not overwhelmingly great. But their goaltending is questionable at best. Jose Theodore has been Mr. Implosion since the lockout, and Peter Budaj is simply inexperienced. They've got a 3.00GAA this season (including tonight's come from behinder versus the Flames) and besides tonight are either blowing away the weaker teams (5-1 over Columbus) or getting smoked out themselves (4-1 loss vs the Blues and 4-0 loss vs the Predators). The Avs may suprise a few people, but their team seems very young and inconsistent, again, not what I would call a top tier team.

The Flames are a whole enigma unto themselves. Great offensive group (although weaker 3rd and 4th lines) and geat goaltending. A terribly inconsistent defensive group and terribly inconsistent efforts. Witness tonight's game vs. the Avalanche. The Flames blow a 4-0 lead and lose in the shootout. The follow up 3 straight opening losses with a win over Dallas and then blow out the Predators. Who knows what is going on with this team.

As for the Oilers...well they just aren't a good team anymore. They're gonna make other teams work for it most nights, but lets face it, there isn't any particular reason to rank them above the Chicagos, Columbus' etc anymore.

I would say the top of our division, the Canucks or Wild are comparable to say, Dallas, who has both Anaheim and San Jose in their division who are arguably better. I sure as hell wouldn't want to play in the Atlantic conference. You have Brent Sutter and Martin Brodeur in NJ, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal in Pittsburgh, Jagr, Gomez, Drury and Lundqvist in NY, Briere Gagne and co. in Philadelphia and finally, the Islanders...well ok they're no good but at worst they're comparable to Edmonton and at best comparable to the best in the NW.

Let's face facts, fans of NW division teams telling themselves it's ok they're team is doing poorly because they play in the toughest (or at least a tough) division no longer cuts it. The NW division is not what it used to be.

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

Tuesday March 20 - Flames vs Red Wings
Across Calgary, chants of 'BRING OUT YOUR DEAD' ring out. The Flames have looked simply dismal over the past two weeks. They are given absolutely no chance to win this hockey game by most fans across Calgary, despite the fact they are still statistically dominant at home. Despite this, the Flames not only win - they win in Flames style. A 2-1 victory. Still, no one is planning the ticker-tape parade just yet.

Thursday March 22 - Flames vs. Predators
Calgary's kryptonite enters town. A chance to halt the momentum gained beating the current President's trophy leaders two days prior. Calgary goes down early and the city breathes a collective 'crap' before the Flames tie it up before the 1st frame is over. The Preds go ahead again in the third and things look bleak, but the Flames refuse to give up. They are soon (suprisingly) outchancing the Preds, including a great one by Jeff Friesen. The guy who everyone loves to hate is turning around his game however, as the Flames finally tie it up off a fluke bounce from an Iginla shot. In OT Yelle draws it to Tanguay who feeds it to Rhett Warrener in the slot for the tip in that gives the Flames their first win over Nashville in years. No one is convinced yet though, up next is 'THE ROAD.'

Sunday March 25 - Flames vs. Blackhawks
Huselius opens the scoring early against the hapless Hawks, but the Hawks storm back taking the lead after the first and keeping it safe by the end of the second. Every fan watching the game knows the Flames have a chance, but it looks like the Flames evil twins have showed up. You know them, you don't love them. They're the ones that find ways to lose. But that Jeff Friesen and his linemates, Stephane Yelle and Robert Nilson, the ones who have really hogtied the Hawks in their own end all game, score a goal early in the third. Hamrlik blasts one in from the point and the Flames get a rare road victory, even if it is against a terrible team.

Tuesday March 27 - Flames vs. Wild
November 11th is the date on everyone's mind. Thats the last time the Flames beat a playoff team on the road. Have the wins against Detroit and Nashville given the team a newfound confidence, or will the twins show up? The early results don't look good. Gaborik and linemates are tapdancing all over the Flames defence and the top line of Iginla-Tanguay-Conroy looks like Swiss cheese the way they're covering their defensive assignments. Cue Miikka Kipprusoff's heroics. He stops every shooter in regulation and OT. The Flames enter the shootout, an early-mid season disaster, but something to which they've recently had success on. Their success continues, as Tanguay scores and Kipprusoff stops both Wild shooters. Fans are officially allowed to stop quoting November 11th.

Thursday March 29 - Flames vs. Wild
Can the Flames make it two in a row? Is this win streak even possible, let alone probable? Just 10 days ago, the Flames looked like dead men walking, now they carry the Reaper's Scythe. Masterton trophy nominee Langkow opens the score early, and then Jarome Iginla follows him up scoring only 20 seconds later. Then he continues to score often, garnering his first hattrick in years.

Saturday March 31 - Flames vs. Canucks
If someone asked 'will the Flames beat the Canucks on March 31st' two weeks ago, I think most would have replied 'probably not.' The twins were far too likely to show up, the team looked mentally beaten, the coach looked unable to fortify the troops. But there are signs the times are changing. The past week has opened eyes across the league, and has shown Calgary, if on top of their game, are true contenders, just as their 'on-paper' lineup would indicate.

The addition of David Hale has given Calgary another option on the third pairing on nights when Rhettsky's arthritic body simply cannot go on anymore. Zyuzin's innefectiveness has been mostly hidden playing third pairing minutes and the far more competent Giordano should be able to suit up when Coach Playfair comes to his senses.

While Amonte continues to struggle, it is obvious that Friesen is starting to gel with linemates Nilson and Yelle, and that has given Calgary an additional effective 10 minutes a night, often against top level opponents. And while some have argued Iginla has struggled, his linemates have been consistently putting up respectable numbers.

Miikka Kipprusoff has been criticized for simply being 'not good enough' which in Calgary translates to 'you haven't been able to totally cover for your teammates' totally ineffective play.' The other night in Minnesota however, proves Kipper can still, at least occasionally, be 'good enough.'

The Canucks are having a record season, and while there is Kudos all around for Brodeur's closeness to breaking Parent's 47 win season, Luongo is just as close. The whole Canucks team looks really good, and make no mistake, they are true contenders for the Cup, if not the favorites at this point in the season.

So while the Flames have had a lot of tests this season, this is probably the last most important one of the season. Win this, turn a city of doubters into a city of believers. Win this, and you come back from the dead.

5/5 = Playoffs

While the odds of the Edmonton Oilers actually making the playoffs is dwindling faster than Sean Avery's chances of winning the Lady Byng, the faithful still believe there is a Lloyd Christmas dating Mary Swanson chance of making it. And while Scarlett at Only Oil has come up with a number I agree with, I would like clarify it even further.

The Oilers play the currently in 8th place, the Minnesota Wild, a total of FIVE times over the last 30 odd games of the season. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that if the Oilers can take all 5 games in regulation, they will squeak into the playoffs for a second straight year.

In fact, taken another way, the future of this year's Edmonton Oiler team is more in their hands than perhaps any other season before. Of the final 27 games of the season, including tonight's against the Thrashers, the Oilers play, 10 of them are against Northwest opponents, 13 against Western Conference teams currently ahead of them in the standings.

Of course, actually winning those games will depend on a couple key factors:

1. Will Jarret Stoll return from his headache break? Oil fans are holding their breath waiting for this mid season Oiler MVP to get back into the lineup after taking a stick to the helmet. If you're thinking about Tim Connolly it may be a bit premature, but not out of the question.

2. Will Smytty sign and carry this team into the playoffs? He's done about everything humanly possible to keep this team in the black and the Oilers have no hope without him.

3. Will the Oilers make a trade for a depth defenceman, or will Tjarnqvist return? The Oilers cannot afford any more callups on defence. They're shaky enough as it is with their current lineup.

4. Can Sean Horcoff continue his recent strong play? Since being reunited with Smyth and Hemsky the never say die centre has been able to return to doing the simple things right. His defensive zone coverage has totally turned around and he's been buzzing around the opposition net a lot more.

5. Lupul-Pouliot-Sykora - Will these three step up, or step out?

6. Buyers or sellers? I'm not of the opinion the Oilers are either. I think they have a good group in general and keeping the core together for next year is of the utmost importance. Its not worth it for them to give up a solid player like Raffi Torres for a rental guy that most likely won't be able to impact this team enough to create any short term success. On the other hand, I don't think its necessary to unload guys like Jason Smith for prospects as I believe he still fits in with the gameplan for next season.

7. The defence is still undermanned. That's not a question.

I think in general, these are the questions Oilers fans will see answered over the course of the next two-three weeks, and the answers will determine whether or not the Oilers can put together enough solid games to beat the teams they need to in order to reach the playoffs. That was a very convoluted sentence, but you get the idea.

At its very core, this season will come down to simple math: 5/5 = playoffs.