Just sittin' here, pondering some numbers...
40. No playoff team last year had fewer than 40 wins. Last year, the Caps had 28. Are there 12 more wins in the tank? The Peerless will take the over.
50. That seems to be the over-under on Alexander Ovechkin’s projected goal total for the year. Some folks are hinting at 60, or even…well, let’s just stick with 50 for now. Based on his preseason effort (look, he had no goals in the preseason last year and finished with 46), The Peerless will take the over.
100. Take your pick – the standings points the Caps will earn or the combined goal total of Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. The Peerless will take the under on both.
2.40. That was Olaf Kolzig’s GAA the last time the Caps made the playoffs (wasn’t that during the Harding administration?). It is 0.60 goals fewer than his GAA last year. Among goalies playing at least half their team’s schedule last year, that number would have been ninth. The Peerless will take the over…but not by much.
30. Viktor Kozlov has never had more than 25 goals in a season. That was last year with the Islanders. He is in a nice spot between a pure scorer and a rookie who can do things with the puck. This is his big opportunity. The Peerless will take the over.
75. Nicklas Backstrom is coming to the NHL with the title of “best player not in the NHL.” Well, now he’s in the NHL. No Calder winner (at least those not Russian skaters) has scored as many as 75 points in 15 years, going back to Teemu Selanne in 1992-1993. The last two Calder winners (those Russian skaters – Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin) both eclipsed that total. Backstrom faces stiff competition for the Calder from the Defensemen Johnson (Erik and Jack) and some others. But, as for the 75 points, The Peerless will take the under.
25. In both of his seasons in Washington, Brent Johnson has appeared in at least 25 games (26 in 2005-2006, 30 last year). 25 games is not a bad thing, if it is done right (i.e., if Kolzig is rested, not injured). However, in those games, Johnson has to play better (and the club has to play better in front of him) than in the past two seasons. It says here that he will, but as for the 25 games, The Peerless thinks this is a push.
20. Chris Clark has set career highs for goals scored in each of the past two years (20 in 2005-2006, 30 last year). The conventional wisdom says that this was a product of playing on a line with Alexander Ovechkin. Well, that’s probably true, but Clark has shown an ability to find a way to find the back of the net. It isn’t always a SportsCenter highlight goal, but they all count, and that skill will serve him well if he mans the right side of the third line. The Peerless is going with the over.
150. Last year, the trio of Chris Clark, Matt Pettinger, and Boyd Gordon scored 115 points. Clark scored his on the top line. Pettinger scored his while missing 18 games to injury. Gordon scored his in what amounted to his first full season. Can this trio score 150 points as a unit? Probably not. The Peerless will take the under on this, but it’ll be closer than some folks might think.
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