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 Saturday, January 11, 2003
The second half is going to be fun to watch
By John Davidson
Special to ABC Sports Online
The second half of the season is going to be fascinating. Last year, especially in the Western Conference, the entire second half was just like playoff hockey. But this season it's going to be that way in both the West and the East. There's just too many teams fighting for those last two or three playoff spots in each conference.
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What to look for:
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Who's going to win the scoring race? Mario Lemieux is starting to come back to the pack a little bit and now he has the groin injury. I wonder if Markus Naslund, Joe Thornton, Alexei Kovalev and those guys right behind him can catch up. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Breakout players: We have had some great new faces this season, including Ottawa's Marian Hossa, Minnesota's Marian Gaborik, Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis (20 goals is remarkable) and Dallas' Marty Turco. Plus, Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi. The Bertuzzi-Naslund-Brendan Morrison line might be the best in hockey. Pay attention. They are fun to watch.
MVP: A lot of people around the league say it has to be Lemieux or Thornton, but Martin Brodeur has been fantastic. What a season he has had.
--John Davidson
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It's a serious fight. It means so much in this sport because it's primarily gate-driven. Teams need those home playoff games to make a difference in their budgeting.
What that means is that a lot of regular-season games now are going to turn into playoff games. That's how important it is for some teams. Some enter games knowing that the seventh and eighth playoff spots are available. Teams in those positions right now are the ones you shoot for if you are not in the playoffs. And boy, you better get at it.
It's now a race. For the teams out of the current playoff picture, the playoffs start right now. It's going to be a very competitive second half.
And you might start seeing some trades happen because teams realize their playoffs are on the line now. So why not make the trade now to try to fill the holes you have, whether they be from injury or players not performing well.
Three teams to watch in the second half are the Kings (ninth in the West), the Sharks (12th in the West) and the Rangers (13th in the East). Los Angeles and New York were pounded in the first half with injuries. If they can get healthy, they can cause some noise.
Ooh baby, it's tough. It's going to be fascinating to watch all of this.
This week on ABC
ABC begins its fourth season of regional coverage this Saturday with three big matchups.
Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers
This is a great matchup, dating back to when Detroit beat Philadelphia in the 1997 Stanley Cup finals. It's also a barometer game for both teams, maybe more so for the Flyers, but it is important for both. They want to see how they match up.
The Red Wings wanted to be in first place by Jan. 1, and they were. Now they are in quite a race with Vancouver and Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conferenc. Saturday's game will allow them to measure themselves against a really strong defensive team in Philly.
Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock wants to see if he can find a way to stop Sergei Fedorov and find scoring chances against Nicklas Lidstrom. The positive spin in Philadelphia is that Mark Recchi, Justin Williams and Simon Gagne are starting to score a little bit for Philadelphia.
Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars
The Stars have been good all season long, offensively and defensively.
The Avalanche haven't been. In their 4-2 loss on Tuesday to Calgary, they were atrocious. The Flames scored all their goals on odd-man rushes. Even though they outshot Calgary 33-17, you can't win giving up 3-on-1 and 3-on-2 breakaways.
Joe Sakic is back in the lineup and the Avs are a much more lively team right now, but with them sitting in eighth place and wanting to climb up in the standings, this is an important game.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins
This is a gigantic game in the playoff race. Entering Thursday, Pittsburgh sits in ninth place in the East, three points ahead of the Rangers. Those are huge points. It's a very important game for both teams.
The Rangers are beat up, but they made a strong deal to get Boris Mironov, who fits well with Vladimir Malakhov. The two of them were paired together in the Olympics in Salt Lake City, and before that, they played together in Europe. They just fit. They are calm in their own zone, which means the Rangers won't give up as many easy goals.
The Rangers also have one of the hottest lines in the league with Eric Lindros on the right side, Bobby Holik in the middle with Matthew Barnaby on the left wing. They have been good. They are all on a streak, and gives New York at least one line that can do some scoring.
Meanwhile, there are two keys for the Penguins. Can Jean-Sebastien Aubin hold up with Johan Hedberg out with a fractured collarbone? And will Mario be ready by the weekend? They still have weapons - Alexei Kovalev always plays well against the Rangers -- but so much depends on Lemieux.
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