NHL Picks for March 1,2013

A heavy plate of games on this Wednesday with mixed results. I finished the day going 6-5, just squeezing a plus .500 record thanks in large part due to the Detroit Red Wings knocking off the San Jose Sharks. 169-127 is where I`m at now.

Edmonton at St.Louis
Columbus at Chicago
Minnesota at Anaheim

NHL Picks for February 28,2013

Not a bad Wednesday(at least not on the prediction front) surfacing myself to a 3-1 record. My grand total improves to 164-122

Ottawa @ Boston
Toronto @ New York I
Tampa Bay @ New York R
Pittsburgh @ Carolina
Buffalo @ Florida
New Jersey @ Winnipeg
Chicago @ St.Louis
Edmonton @ Dallas
Calgary @ Colorado
Minnesota @ Phoenix
Detroit @ San Jose

NHL Picks for February 27,2013

So, it appears I finally have time to provide an updated count on progress in this crapshoot people call "predictions". It was an unbelievable Saturday although I incorrectly stated I went 10-2 when in reality I hacked my way to a 9-3 mark but followed up Saturday with a Super Sunday going 7-1. Unforunately I wasn't able to capitalize on my momentum headng into the week, only amounting to a 2-3 mark yesterday. Today was a devastatingly bad outcome as I was only able to muster up three wins. Overall record is now at.......161-121


Washington @ Philadelphia
Montreal @ Toronto
Nashville @ Anaheim
Detroit @ Los Angeles

NHL Picks for February 26,2013

It's been a busy few days and I haven't had the time to tally my overall standing, but that will come....

Winnipeg @ New York R
Carolina @ Washington
Dallas @ Columbus
Boston @ New York I
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay
Pittsbugh @ Florida
Calgary @ Minnesota
Phoenix @ Vancouver
Colorado @ San Jose

NHL Picks for February 25,2013

Will update record later on....

Toronto @ Philadelphia
Edmonton  @ Chicago
Montreal @ Ottawa
Dallas @ Nashville
Anaheim @ Los Angeles

It was indeed Homanly possible

So on this Sunday evening, the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts has wrapped up with the young , fearless Team Ontario skipped by Rachel Homan upending the veteran laden Jennifer Jones Manitobian squad. I have no doubt in my mind that Homan and company will be great representatives as Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships in Riga, Latvia. It was an interesting week in the sense that we saw four teams clearly separate themselves from the pack and a question that we must ask is, very reminiscent to men’s curling are we seeing a core  group of teams stand out from the rest and become a consistent group that will be routinely advance out of their province?  The group I am referring to consists of the now former Team Canada rink Heather Nedohin, our  ’13 champ Homan, the aforementioned Jennifer Jones and the perceivably  nicer then nice Kelly Scott.  Will we be witness to a similar trait that has completely taken over men’s curling in which if your last name isn’t one of Koe,Martin, Howard or Stoughton you might as well park your chances of winning a National Championship at arrival? I think we’re on the verge of this and there are a few issues why this could be.

First and foremost, the dedication it takes to reach elite level status in the game of curling takes  a tremendous amount of practice and commitment to the sport. Only a very select group of teams, a few of which I described in the opening paragraph are touring on the world curling tour. There is a colossal difference when weekend after weekend playing the top teams in the world as opposed to the majority of provincial champions who spend their winters participating in their regional tours which obviously won’t provide the same level of competition that the world stage will provide.  Touring is key, but perhaps the most important attribute of having the ability to reach a Rachel Homan type of level is securing the proper funding that allows these teams to set aside the time to practice travel without having to worry about something that most people fret, (well at least I do) which is work. Society has to work for a living to pay the bills but when corporate sponsors step up and cover event and travel expenses, it eases and aids these teams to find the time to practice throughout the day. Like the old adage dictates, practice makes perfect!

So a few thoughts on tonight’s final…. Wow was the Homan team on their A game. Both on and off the ice if you catch my drift.  The Jennifer Jones rink has a penchant of stepping up when the games matter most, but this week it appears Rachel stole that moniker and ran with it. The strategical concept that I’m most impressed about, and I know this is something that Vic Rauter and the TSN gang harped on a few times is the way they use the ticks and aren’t afraid to throw the upweight. In the men’s game, this type of play is mandatory to succeed, but these young ladies are one of, if not the only women’s team to use such a ploy which may change the way the women’s game is played.  Rival teams such as Jones will have to pick up on this innovativeness to match wits with Homan because there is no question in my mind that a dynasty may have started. Watching the National junior finals the last few years, at least in Canada there are no other young lady teams who come remotely close to Ontario’s level which is precisely why I believe Homan has the opportunity to win multiple Scotties titles over the next ten to fifteen years.  Another thought I have on the final, and it’s not necessarily related to the game is the lineup formation of the Jennifer Jones foursome. At one point late in today’s final,  third Kaitlyn Lawes was shooting a elementary 95%! The body language is what I picked up on though as it appeared that she was becoming increasingly frustrated with her skip’s strategical decisions and the overall play of the other three members. I think being how she is a two time Canadian champ herself, she rightfully craves more input and quite possibly craves throwing last bricks on a team that had moderate success in the fall/early winter when Jennifer was away dealing with her pregnancy. She’s obviously a motivated individual which  tells me she’s motivated to make a legitimate run at the 2014 Olympic trials but if that fails look for the young curler, who may just make( see below) my 2013 Scotties “All Looker”team to form her own squad in time for the 2014-2015 season.  But back to the game now, and I’ll just say that aside from the fourth and fifth ends in which Ontario looked a little off their game, this game was never in question and Manitoba was constantly chasing late in ends. Lisa Weagles ability to pull of the Steve Gould-esque ticks, which I briefly touched on earlier was crucial and what doesn’t get the credit it of the game that she knows exactly the right point to bail out of ends and capitalize on the big weight presence. She has a poise about her that rivals veteran skips who have been the rodeo several more times then her.

Now to touch on the lighter side of this event for  a second, I will introduce what I hope will be a yearly entry(please support and bring more exposure to this blog people), that is the 2013 Scotties All Looker Team.  There were plenty of worthy candidates to choose from, but I’ve weeded it down to my top four. Like any other all –star selection,  I have selected one member from each position. Curious if you agree or not…..comments appreciated ya’ll know.

 

Skip-Rachel Homan Honourable Mention: Absolutely no one, Rachel wins this one by default.

Third-Kaitlyn Lawes Honourable Mention: Emma Miskew

Second-Brittany O’Rourke Honourable Mention: Megan Cormier,Danielle Parsons,Michelle Dykstra and maybe Colleen Jones(EDIT:  I forgot,This is not 1970) EDIT: Who am I kidding, even in 1970 I would’ve been chastised for saying that.

Lead-Jodie DeSolla Honourable Mention:Sarah Wazney

NHL Picks for February 24,2013

A stellar day at the office led me to a 10-2 day thus improving my overall record to 150-111

Boston at Florida
Winnipeg at New Jersey
Vancouver at Detroit
Carolina at New York I
Columbus at Chicago
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh
Phoenix at Calgary
Colorado at Anaheim

NHL Picks for February 23,2013

So much for my bold prediction on thursday as I raced to a very mediocre 4-6. Friday was a light day once again, this time I managed a 2-1 mark. My overall record is 140-109

New Jersey @ Washington
Winnipeg @ Philadelphia
Phoenix @ Edmonton
Colorado @ Los Angeles
New York I @ Buffalo
New York R @ Montreal
Toronto @ Ottawa
Tampa Bay @ Carolina
Nashville @ Detroit
Columbus @St.Louis
San Jose @ Dallas
Minnesota @ Calgary

NHL Picks for February 21 and 22,2013

I'll take some pride, even on this light scheduled wednesday that I correctly predicted the upset that saw the Semyon Varlamov led Colorado Avalanche dispose of the "We just want a damn goal" St.Louis Blues. 2-1 puts me at 134-102 for the year. I don't know why, and just watch me go 0-10 tomorrow but something tells me that I'm going to run the table on thursday. Is it over confidence? Quite possibly, but I've been known to have strong instincts before such as the Spokane Chiefs meeting the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2008 Western Hockey League final PRIOR to the season consumating.

Thursday:

Buffalo @ Toronto
Florida @ Philadelphia
New Jersey @ Washington
Winnipeg @ Carolina
New York I @ Montreal
New York R @ Ottawa
Boston @ Tampa Bay
Columbus @ Detroit
Vancouver @ Dallas
Minnesota @ Edmonton

Friday the 22nd:

Florida @ Pittsburgh
Vancouver @ Nashville
San Jose @ Chicago

NHL Picks for February 20,2013

#Subpar as I limped to a 3-5 plateau on this dreery Tuesday in Regina. Soft night on Wednesday as only three games are scheduled. My grand total sits at 132-101.

Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
St.Louis @ Colorado
Los Angeles @ Calgary

NHL Picks for February 19,2013

Consistency is starting to find it's way to these predictions as I had another stellar 5-2 day whilst growing my overall record to 129-96.

Montreal @ New York R
Winnipeg @ Buffalo
Toronto @ Tampa Bay
New York I @ Ottawa
San Jose @ St.Louis
Detroit @ Nashville
Vancouver @ Chicago
Los Angeles @ Edmonton

NHL Picks for February 18,2013

Not a bad Sunday amounting to a 5-2 record. Overall record now sits at 124-94

Ottawa at New Jersey
Philadelphia at New York I
Nashville at Colorado
Carolina at Montreal
Toronto at Florida
Calgary at Phoenix
Columbus at Anaheim

NHL Observations Volume Two

The 2013 NHL campaign is a little more than a quarter through, and I`ve seen more than enough to entail a few observations pertaining to the first month of the season.

 

Blue Bliss

If I were to build a NHL franchise, I would certainly try to model it after the St.Louis Blues. General Manager Doug Armstrong and Head Coach, former Kamloops Blazer bench boss Ken Hitchcock have put together a nucleus that is the right mix between youthful exuberance and enough size that provides a headache to opposing organizations. What I love about the way Hitch has handled this Missouri juggernaut is that he`s not afraid to give big minutes to his unproven but maybe slightly more effective players such as Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz. In Tarasenko`s case, his play has catapulted him into top six minutes, and with Schwartz, even though the production has been sub par, he`s providing a element of electricity on the fourth line which is a dynamic a plug like Cam Jannsen just can`t bring. Hitchcock`s confidence in the youngsters is against every principle he`s had in previous tenures, which is probably why other than an aberration of the 1999-2000 season in Dallas, he`s had limited success. Scouring message boards over the years, I can say with complete certainty that fans in Columbus pleaded with management to give more opportunity to the younger players who needed development in which Hitchcock never seemed willing to return the favor. Is it possible that through all of these failed stops, hes finally learned his lesson and realized this is a young mans league and the NHL is played differently then it was in the mid-nineties?  Blues fans obviously feel he has.

Calgary Flaming out

For years (certainly for the last three or four years) I’ve had the opinion that it was time for the Flames to drop the veteran mantle and divulge in full on rebuild mode. Well, Darryl Sutter didn’t cooperate with that philosophy and as karma would have it got kicked out of an unwinnable situation in cow town. and landed in Stanley Cup Championship land. After one Sutter was punted, and inevitably the second Sutter was kicked to the curb not long later Jay Feaster was given the reigns for which he has stuck to the same principles that Darryl had. The Flames are not a playoff team. How many year does Feaster have to analyze this team to know that the likes of Mike Cammalleri and Jarome Iginla CANNOT lead this team to any kind of playoff success. Feaster is an educated man and did wonders with Tampa Bay when he was employed as the General Manager there, so he didn’t fall from the tree which has me wondering if pressures from team president Ken King is disabling him from making such important organizational moves, such as parting with the aging fan favourite Iginla.  Credit Jay for being innovative this summer with a signing such as Czech Republican Jiri Hudler, but so far the sixteen million dollar deal over the course of four years has seen the Flames not get a positive return on the investment thusfar. I realize Hudler has suffered through some minor ailments but there’s no excuse for one of your higher paid players only tallying ten points.  The bottom line is, players like Sven Baertschl and goaltender Leland Irving are the future of the team, so it’s about time the brass sees if they can individually step up and take control of the inconsistencies that has plagued this team for quite some time. Further to that point, it is extremely puzzling as to why the Flames re-assigned Irving back to Abbotsford of the American Hockey League.  I apologize, I forgot that Joey McDonald is the next Mikka Kiprusoff(tongue in cheek)

A trade to remember

Huge deal for the Habs.  A goaltender swap that exchanged Cedrick Desjardins for Dustin Tokarski. Now, the average fan is probably wondering how a trade involving two goaltenders that have almost virtually no National Hockey League experience could be classified as a huge trade? Well, there are a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, behind Carey Price the Canadians don’t, or didn’t have any feasible backup options. If you really believed Peter Budaj was a feasible option than you never saw the Colorado Avalanche in action a few years ago. Secondly, and in my eyes most importantly, Dustin Tokarski is a winner through and through. Everywere he has went, he’s won. From Midget AAA in Saskatchewan by winning a national title with the Prince Albert Mintos, in which he defeated fellow World Junior legend and Regina product Jordan Eberle in the final. Then he went on to the WHL, after being cut by both the Swift Current Broncos and Calgary Hitmen, he walked on with the Spokane Chiefs and then became an eighteen year old starter and led the youthful Chiefs to a Memorial Cup title, which was marred(or was made memorable, whichever way you want to slice it) by the infamous cup dropping incident. After his memorial cup triumph, he represented Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, and surprise,surprise…..a Gold medal was had. And, if you needed any more evidence that all, what fellow players refer to as “Tik” does is win, look no further than the 2011-2012 AHL Calder Cup. With Tampa Bay’s farm team at the Norfolk, he and fellow Chief alumni Tyler Johnson were instrumental in leading the Admirals to glory. He doesn’t lose, he’s calm in pressure situations. His calmness in big games will serve him well in the hockey mecca that is Montreal. In the Western Hockey League, the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs are bitter rivals and in a twist of fate the Habs will now or in the future employ an American and Chief as friendly compatriots. Remember this trade, because in any playoff scenarios that the Habs find themselves in, they now have somebody that can admirably fill in if Price gets injured or struggles.

NHL Picks for February 17,2013

A Ducks shootout win over the goal stricken Nashville Predators was my only blemish on this day that saw me finish at 6-1, thus improving my mark to 119-92.

Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Los Angeles @ Chicago
Boston @ Winnipeg
Calgary @ Dallas
Detroit @ Minnesota
Washington @ New York R
St.Louis @ Vancouver

NHL Picks for February 16,2013

After a torrentially bad Thursday going 1-5, I recovered nicely by racing to a 6-2 mark evening up my two day record and moving my overall record to 113-91.

Tampa Bay @ Florida
Ottawa @ Toronto
Philadelphia @ Montreal
New Jersey @ New York I
Anaheim @ Nashville
Columbus @ Phoenix
Colorado @ Edmonton

NHL Picks for February 14 and 15,2014

A very quiet day on wednesday with only three games consumating led me a slight(slight would be a generous adjective) improvement by going 2-1. 106-84 is the overall record to date,

Thursday:

New York I at New York R
Toronto at Carolina
Washington at Tampa Bay
Montreal at Florida
Phoenix at Nashville
Colorado at Minnesota


Friday:

Boston at Buffalo
Philadelphia at New Jersey
Pittsburgh at Winnipeg
Anaheim at Detroit
San Jose at Chicago
St.Louis at Calgary
Dallas at Vancouver
Columbus at Los Angeles

NHL Picks for February 13,2013

After erreneously reporting that my record going into today was 98-80, I thought I'd better correct that by stating I was 97-80(I know, big difference right?) ahead of tuesday's action. Great day on tuesday as I was able to suffice myself to a 7-3 score. With the type of quality of day behind me my overall tally improves to 104-83(no erreneous publishing here)

Ottawa @ Pittsburgh
St.Louis @ Detroit
Dallas @ Calgary

NHL Picks for February 12,2013

Identical 4-2 records for both Sunday and Monday have pushed my win total near the big 100, currently sitting at 98-80

Carolina @ New Jersey
Montreal @ Tampa Bay
Washington @ Florida
New York R @ Boston
Buffalo @ Ottawa
Philadelphia @ Winnipeg
San Jose @ Nashville
Anaheim @ Chicago
Dallas @ Edmonton
Minnesota at Vancouver

NHL Picks for February 12,2013

Philadelphia @ Toronto
Carolina @ New York I
San Jose @ Columbus
Los Angeles @ St.Louis
Phoenix @ Colorado
Minnesota @ Calgary

NHL Picks for February 10,2013

Decent day on saturday, and I was able to revert my recent woeful ways with a 7-4 day. There was supposed to be a twelfth game on saturday but due to the east coast blizzard we were succumbed to a postponement in the Lightning-Bruins tilt.

Overall record: 89-76

Los Angeles @ Detroit
Edmonton @ Columbus
Boston @ Buffalo
Tampa Bay @ New York R
New Jersey @ Pittsburgh
Chicago @ Nashville

NHL Picks for February 9,2013

After a dismal thursday in which I went 3-9, I`ll take some solace in the fact that I was able to correctly predict the upset involving the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. Overall record now sits at 82-72.

Pittsburgh at New Jersey
Carolina at Philadelphia
Winnipeg at Ottawa
Edmonton at Detroit
Phoenix at San Jose
Tampa Bay at Boston
Toronto at Montreal
Buffalo at New York I
Florida at Washington
Anaheim at St.Louis
Nashville at Minnesota
Calgary at Vancouver

NHL Pick for February 8,2013

Will tally record later on but for tonight I have Dallas topping the Ducks.

Bargnani v Boozer

ESPN reports today that the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls of the NBA have embarked on, what they have described as “exploratory” discussions on a trade that would send Chicago’s Carlos Boozer to T.O in exchange for Andrea Bargnani. If I’m Mr.Colangelo, where do I sign up?

I look at this possible deal on behalf of the Raptors, and there are a few things here that would make this a match made in heaven. For starters, in my eyes Bryan Colangelo has over the years addressed the team’s finesse while blatantly ignoring the toughness issue that has plagued the Raps over the years, allowing opposition to walk right over the at times lifeless Raps. At the time of Sam Mitchell’s firing, Colangelo made it prudently clear that the team’s defensive structure would have to be strongly examined when it came to hiring the heir apparent. That philosophy was followed through when it came to this as they brought over Dwayne Casey from Dallas who at the time had just laid claim to the 2011 National Basketball Association championship. However, as I stated in a previous blog post, hiring a defensive expert is one thing, but if you don’t acquire the right pieces you might as well bring in your local high school club coach, in other words, it just won’t work.

Demar Derozan, a decent three who has shown significant improvement to a point that I believe he is a top 10 three guard in the league. Terrance Ross, although not to be mistaken as a defensive specialist has the penchant to knock down the three ball and deliver Vince Carter-esque dunks. Jonas”how do I spell your last name” Valanciunas was supposed to be the steal of the 2011 draft has been anything but. As a European coming over to North America, anyone who didn’t expect obvious growing pains would’ve of been classified as delusional but not even the most researched expert could’ve expected the kind of production Jonas(not even going to try the last name again) has delivered. The 7.1 point per game average although not great is not my most concering statistic. A man of his stature should be clawing more then 4.9 rebounds per game. A lack of physical aggression has been the typecast for most Euros coming over the Association but there also haven’t been many players with pedigree going into this season.  Valanciunas(OK, I did it) would be graded as a disappointment. Kyle Lowry, aka Mighty Mouse Jr, has been alright at times when he has managed to stay healthy.  The pressure has mounted on him even further now due to last week’s trade of Jose Calderon off to Detroit that brought in Connecticut grad Rudy Gay. Speaking of the aforementioned trade of Gay, once again they acquired a sure fire scorer who ISN’T known for his D. All of this offensive firepower is all fine and dandy but if you can’t limit the opposition to under one hundred points which they’ve been guilty of quite a lot this campaign, the offence will not lead to advancing the win column. This all leads to my opening paragraph as to why the acquisition of Carlos Boozer makes oodles of sense, something the Raptors brass has lacked since it’s 1995 inception.

 

Carlos Boozer is a mean son of a gun who can add to the identity that coach Casey is trying to establish. If you google”Dwayne Casey’s type of player”, Carlos Boozer would be the first name to appear on the search. Not known as a prolific player, Boozer is all meat and potatoes, very reminiscent to the National Hockey League’s Mike Richards, no talent and all smarts. When I look at a future potential starting five including Lowry, Gay, Derozan/Ross, Valanciunas and Boozer, for the first time in a long time I see a formidable lineup that could compete with the upper echelon. Comparatively speaking, as much as I would love to see Boozer in red, white and purple, I can’t stress enough that the greatest reasoning for being in favour of this trade is not so much Boozer, it’s ridding them of the softer then facial tissue Andrea Bargnani.  He can take his high-school level of defence and his love of pasta across the border and see if he can endear himself to the Chicago faithful. Highly unlikely however because the Bulls have a rich tradition of playing above quality defense with such guys as the tattoed filled Dennis Rodman and the all around Scottie Pippen and the surprisingly underrated defender, that being M.J himself. Reports are the players surrounding Bargnani in Toronto don’t care for his mellow competitive approach and during the time for which Andrea was sidelined better team cohesion was developed.

Simply put, when Colangelo first came to Toronto, his trademark was attempting the European experiement. Many have come and went, such as Jorge Garbajosa,Rasho Nesterovic and Hedo Turkoglu and it has become clear that the strategical vision that he had was flawed and would be wise to re-evaluate his team’s direction(although to be fair, he’s  realized some mistakes have been made and has slowly corrected some of those faux pas’). The last mistake that needs correction is unfortunately his biggest blunder, that being Bargnani. The quicker he does this the better as if he waits too long, it may be Bargnani who outlasts Colangelo with this organization.

NHL Picks for February 7,2013

Apologies for not getting my picks posted for this light wednesday, as I realize inconsistencies of not posting on time has started to become problematic. Hopefully, I will rid myself of these blog faux pas' and start to get things published on an atleast somewhat cordial time frame. Anyways, would've went 1 and 2 on this wednesday with my only win coming from the B's knocking off their northeastern(off topic, but watch out for the NCAA basketball's Northeastern Huskies as they are my major March Madness tournament sleeper if they are fortunate enough to qualify for the dance. It should be noted that I will be in attendance at the NCAA tournament, gracing my presence in Austin,Texas for the second and third rounds. My experience from the tournament will certainly be posted on here) divisional rivals the Montreal Canadiens. The one and two day with my four and six showing from Tuesday drops my overall record to 78-63.

Tampa Bay @ New Jersey
New York I @ New York R
Florida @ Philadelphia
Washington @ Pittsburgh
Montreal @ Buffalo
Calgary @ Columbus
Carolina @ Ottawa
Toronto @Winnipeg
Detroit @ St.Louis
Los Angeles @ Nashvlle
Vancouver @ Minnesota
Chicago @ Phoenix

NHL Picks for February 5,2013

Dismal day at the office on the 4th, compiling my record to 73-55. Let's win all ten today.....

New York R @ New Jersey
Calgary @ Detroit
Chicago @ San Jose
Pittsburgh @ New York I
Toronto @ Washington
Los Angeles @ Columbus
Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia
Buffalo @ Ottawa
Florida @ Winnipeg
Nashville @ St.Louis

NHL Picks for February 4,2013

Due to the hectiness/my laziness of this Super Bowl Sunday, I was unable to find the time to publish my picks for today. Believe it or not, I went three and one today with my only blemish on the scorecard being the New York Islanders falling to last year's Eastern Conference champions the New Jersey Devils. That,combined with a 7-4 mark on saturday pushes my record up to 72-51.

Carolina @ Toronto
Dallas @ Colorado
Minnesota @ Phoenix
Vancouver @ Edmonton
San Jose @ Anaheim

NHL Picks for February 2,2013

After a couple of stellar consecutive days of predicting, I got a harsh dose of reality on this unfabulous friday, skidding to a 3-4 mark downgrading my overall record to 62-46

New Jersey @ Pittsburgh
Buffalo @ Montreal
Edmonton @ Colorado
Boston @ Toronto
Carolina @ Philadelphia
New York R @ Tampa Bay
Detroit @ Columbus
Dallas @ Phoenix
Chicago @ Calgary
Los Angeles @ Anaheim
Nashville @ San Jose

NHL Picks for February 1.2013

7-2 day on thursday boosts me to 59-42

Philadelphia @ Washington
Ottawa @ Carolina
Winnipeg @ Tampa Bay
St.Louis @ Detroit
Phoenix @ Dallas
Chicago @ Vancouver
Minnesota @ Anaheim