This week’s NHL betting notes
By DOC'S SPORTS
We're settling into the slow, steady rhythms of the middle of the NHL season when nothing happens too quickly. This is when we start to learn which teams are here to stay and which ones are just killing time until golf season starts.
This week, let's take a look at how things are going in Tampa and in Pittsburgh.
The Barry Melrose Era
This is one of the strangest stories the NHL has seen in a long time. Tampa Bay hired Melrose as head coach after he spent 13 years as an analyst with ESPN and fired him after only 16 games behind the bench.
Since taking over the team less than a year ago, part owner Oren Koules’ tenure has been marked by odd decisions and general chaos. The roster was completely overhauled in the offseason - 18 players on the roster weren't there in 2007.
The team wasn't terrible before Melrose was fired - 5-7-4. From the outside, it didn’t look too bad. From the inside, it must have been a disaster if this move was warranted.
The new head coach is Rick Tocchet. Sports bettors will recognize him because he is one of us. Tocchet was suspended when he was an assistant with Phoenix for being intimately involved with an illegal bookie operation. Janet Gretzky, Wayne's wife, was famously one of his clients.
Tocchet knows his hockey, but his past calls into question his ability to lead this team effectively. The first game under his leadership wasn't promising - Tampa opened up a two-goal lead, but then stalled, ultimately losing to Carolina in a shootout.
Tampa Bay is far from turning things around and I'm not convinced that Scotty Bowman in his prime could fix this mess quickly.
Penguins Impressing
So far the team is exceeding expectations after making some changes in the offseason. On Tuesday the Penguins came back from a 5-2 third period deficit to beat Detroit, the team that crushed them in the Stanley Cup final last year. That win was one of six straight. That streak has given them the second best point total in the East.
Despite the record and the fact that they are clearly a public team, there is a very good chance that this team will continue to provide solid value. They have succeeded despite a relatively slow start and despite Sidney Crosby. He is still averaging more than a point a game, but he hasn't looked like the freak that we know he is. He should find his stride as he finds a line combination he is comfortable with. That may already be happening - he has six points in the last three games. When Crosby heats up, the team will follow suit.
The defense is also exceeding expectations. They are giving up too many shots, but their goals-against is in the top half of the league which is a pleasant surprise. The best part though is that the defense is only going to get better. The team traded Darryl Sydor, defensive dead-weight at this point in his career, to Dallas for Philippe Boucher. That's an upgrade. The Pens are also going to get two boosts as the season advances. Sergei Gonchar is out with a shoulder injury, and Ryan Whitney had a foot problem. Both should be back by December.