I've been taking a different approach this year. I haven't been focusing on the preseason at all. It never seems to matter and throws me off on what to expect for the season. I'm going to wait until a couple days before the season starts and see what the firm rosters are instead of complaining about one guy getting cut or not or expecting another player to be huge after a good camp and just watch when it matters.
As such, I'm still patiently waiting to see my teams in action and I really honestly don't know how things are going so far and I kind of like that. Yet, I'm still a bit nervous on the season. I've mentioned this a few times but my favorite teams are the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anahiem Mighty forever Ducks. Which is kind of funny since I'm rooting for big rivals of Insanolord's team and Apdude's team. Hey guys! How's it going?
With Pittsburgh, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm sure they'll still be a contender and make the playoffs again but for the past few years, the Atlantic division has been like an arms race and every team in it is tough. Even the Islanders. The biggest problem for Pittsurgh is secondary scoring. After Malkin and Crosby, they've always been weak. I don't think they did anything to bolster that. At least Malkin will be back.
With the Crosby concussion, I think I'll always be nervous every time he takes a hit now. Such a shame. He was having such a great year. I'm curious to see what he'll be like when he finally plays again. How long will it take him to find that level of play again? Being away that long can defintely set a player back. That said, I still think Pittsburgh has the best defence in the Atlantic division and that's what is going to carry them through the season.
As for the Ducks, I'm glad to see Hiller is back and feeling fine. He might be the most important player on that team. And I'm glad Selanne decided to come back another year. Probably my most favorite player in the NHL currently playing. I'm pretty sure this will be it for him. And as such, I hope he doesn't suffer some bad injury that ends it short like has happened to other player such as Joe Sakic or Mike Modano for instance. I'd like to see him get into the playoffs one last time.
Like the Penguins, the Ducks really didn't add much to their roster. They are like a 50/50 team to me. Half the team is exceptional and the other half could be replaced by minor leaguers and you wouldn't notice the difference. Still, the exceptional half makes every game worth watching. In fact, I'm looking forward to watching the Duck games more than the Penguins games. With the talent the Penguins have, I'm amazed at how many dull games they often seem to play. With the Ducks, there seem to be very few dud games. It could be because they had a lot of come from behind victories last year as well. With no real changes to the team, it will probably be the same this year.
Shame though. With a couple other better defencemen and even two good secondary scorers, that could make this team a Cup contender.