The Last 4 Unbeaten Teams and Their Dirty Little Secrets

So we have 4 unbeaten teams in the NHL, all of them are rather surprising, and this got me thinking, why is that these teams have stayed unbeaten for so long. Needless to say, I sent the DGS-SuperSpies to find out, and what they learned was rather enlightening.

• Team: -Dallas Stars-
  Reasons for Winning: Players no longer feel any pressure to perform because Mike Modano is no longer around to tell the stars stories of picking up a giant trophy in June after winning a 16 team tournament. Because of this lack of pressure, the Stars have concentrated on having fun on the ice and have accidentally won a few games.
  Reasons to Lose: Because Andrew Raycroft will be forced to play a game at some point this season.
  
• Team: -Nashville Predators-
  Reasons for Winning: Opposing forwards tend to be scared of the giant goaltenders in net for the Predators. On the other end of the ice, no one tries to block shots off the stick of Shea Weber out of fear that they will become the next Sami Salo.
  Reasons to Lose: They are the Nashville Predators.
  
• Team: -Toronto Maple Leafs-
  Reasons for Winning: Because the Leafs no longer employ Vesa Toskala. Also, the Leafs finally caught onto the idea that maybe pissing off Brian Burke is a bad idea.
  Reasons to Lose: If Colton Orr can lose a fight, then the Leafs can lose a game.
  
• Team: -Tampa Bay Lightning-
  Reasons for Winning: Employ a team of winners known as the 2008 Philadelphia Flyers.
  Reasons to Lose: In a second lapse of judgement, Steve Yzerman will trade Dan Ellis's problems to the Montreal Canadiens for Carey Price's cigarettes. This will cause Ellis to take up smoking before games leading to him to run out of money as well as talent. (PS: Dan Ellis's Problems will cause Habs fans to riot.)

DGS 101: Not only is it post 101, but I'm actually gonna show you who I am

Hi everybody!

DGS on guitar, his other hobby

My name is Down Goes Spezza Matt. That's right, I have the same first name as my blogging brother. If you don't know who that is, then you must be new here, welcome. My blogging brother is Don't Trade Vinny.


Also, you may be curious as to what I look like, well, I posted a pic of me on twitter about a week ago (ironically seeing a picture of me was more popular than my previous 3 posts, the conclusion I've drawn is that I'm incredibly good looking.)

So here we go, the official DGS bio


Name: Matt Bernot
Height: 5'9" (Claims 5'11")
Weight: 145lbs (Claims 170lbs)
Age: 21
DOB: October 11, 1988
Position: Defense/LW
Shoots: Right


You can follow the real me on twitter @MattBernot if you're interested, I rarely tweet on it though.

Random facts about me in no particular order

• I'm taller than the forwards on the Habs top line
  
• I'm going for a dual degree on Political Science and Psychology
  
• My career coal is work for the FBI as a Criminal Profiler in the BAU
  
• I'm the unofficial psychologist of the blogosphere
  
• My favorite players who are currently in the NHL are Simon Gagne, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Modano and Mikko Koivu
  
• My favorite players when I was younger were John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Adam Deadmarsh and Ron Hextall

So there you go, please don't sue me.

NHL 2010-2011 Season Previews: Pacific Division Edition

And welcome to part 2 of our season previews. Today we're going out west and looking at the Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks

The Good: Brought in resident NHL Expert Andy Sutton to handle difficult questions regarding elbows to the head which should help the Ducks deal with issues regarding the new blind side hits rule.

The Bad: Made the mistake of trading Chris Pronger back in 2009, preventing his elbows from being acquainted with Sutton's skull every single day.

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will inject secret anti-aging cream into Teemu Selanne and convince him he's a rookie again, then hope for another 76 goals.

San Jose Sharks

The Good: Let go of playoff choker Evgeni Nabokov in favor of proven winner Antero Nittymaki.

The Bad: Just realized that Nittymaki is only ever guaranteed to beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Atlanta Thrashers.

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will tell Nittymaki that every game is against the Thrashers.

Phoenix Coyotes

The Good: Found Lee Stempniak after an 18 month NHL absence.

The Bad: Seem to have forgotten to resign him.

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will make the Colts and move to Winnipeg in the middle of the night some time.

Lo

s Angeles Kings

The Good: Finally developed a quality NHL starting goaltender.

The Bad: Forgot to call him from from the AHL, meaning Bernier is still riding a bus...

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will have to hope and pray that Kerry Fraser is replaced by someone who gives them nightly Gretzky-esque calls.

Dallas Stars

The Good: Will no longer be distracted by Mike Modano telling stories of playing a game that ended with him having his name engraved on a giant silver trophy.

The Bad: In keeping with Eastern Conference traditions, will lose every game against the Sharks where the goaltending matchup is Niitymaki vs Lehtonen

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Allow Adam Burish's simple mind to be amused by simple things, like sitting in the press box or going to the AHL.

An Open Letter: Arron Asham

In the words of FlyersBuzzTap's Tweet: "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to dust, Arron Asham, you're dead to us"

(Notice the correct use of citations via the link)

Anyway, the peeps of DGS have decided to write Asham an open letter telling him how we feel about this; so here goes...

Dear Mr. Asham,

I guess we shouldn't be surprised that you'd jump right to the enemy. Arguably it wasn't your fault. But it sure seems like you recently have had a habit of fucking over your previous employers. Hell you went from the Islanders, to the Devils to the Flyers to the Penguins...guess this means you plan on being Whore-vechkin's bodyguard in 2011-2012 doesn't it? Seriously, show some fucking loyalty. The fans of Philadelphia embraced you, and of 700K is all you wanted, I'm pretty sure even Paul Holmgren could have found the money to sign you.

I'd wish you luck in your future endeavors but in reality, the only thing I should be doing is wishing the fans of Penguins luck when you show up in 2011-12 wearing a Capitals uniform.

I mean, the only place I law less loyalty is how Dallas handled Mike Modano, and that's saying something.

On the other hand, you're a great reminder of NHL94, you occasionally sneak slapshots by unsuspecting goalies and have this one deke move that you used to out maneuver Mike Green and Jose Theodore in 2009. Honestly, that's not much of a accomplishment, going around a forward then beating Steve Penney with a wrist shot isn't much to be proud of. But hey, that's all your good at.

Thanks for the memories, you're gonna forget them all when Pronger's elbow meets your skull.

Down Goes Spezza and the Orange Nation