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Hockey : NHL 2007/2008 season preview

Anaheim won first Cup

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks captured their first NHL title in team history with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 5. Anaheim's defenseman Scott Niedermayer earned his first Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the NHL playoffs.

  • Eastern Conference Champion: Ottawa
  • Western Conference Champion: Anaheim
  • Eastern Conference Division Winners: New Jersey, Buffalo, Atlanta
  • Western Conference Division Winners: Detroit, Vancouver, Anaheim

NHL 2007/08 key dates

The 2007/08 NHL regular season starts on September 29 as the defending champion the Anaheim Ducks plays against the Los Angeles Kings in London. The season ends on April 6 and three days later Stanley Cup Playoffs begin with June 9 as last possible day for Stanley Cup Final.

  • September 29 : NHL Premiere, London
  • January 27 : NHL All-Star Game, Atlanta
  • April 6 : Regular season ends
  • April 9 : NHL Playoffs begin
  • June 9 : Last possible day for Stanley Cup Final

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These are odds to win 2007/08 Stanley Cup published by online bookmakers before the start of the season:

Anaheim Ducks 6.3Atlanta Thrashers 29
Ottawa Senators 8.5Tampa Bay Lightning 29
Buffalo Sabres 9.5Toronto Maple Leafs 31
Detroit Red Wings 11Carolina Hurricanes 31
Vancouver Canucks 13Montreal Canadiens 31
New York Rangers 15New York Islanders 43
San Jose Sharks 15Florida Panthers 56
Pittsburgh Penguins 16Edmonton Oilers 61
New Jersey Devils 18Boston Bruins 67
Nashville Predators 18Washington Capitals 67
Calgary Flames 19St. Louis Blues 81
Colorado Avalanche 21Los Angeles Kings 81
Dallas Stars 23Chicago Blackhawks 81
Minnesota Wild 23Columbus Blue Jackets 101
Philadelphia Flyers 23Phoenix Coyotes 151

The Anaheim Ducks are probably the best team in the league if they have Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne on their roster playing as well as they did last year. Niedermayer will likely join the team in mid-season while Selanne is an unrestricted free agent. However, Selanne has stated that if he does decide to come back for another year it would only be to play for the Ducks. Anaheim has a chance at defending their Stanley Cup title, although no team has taken back-to-back championships since the Red Wings in 1997-98. The Ducks have an excellent mix of veteran stars and young talent and that combination should make them one of the top teams in the league once again.

Losing Daniel Briere and Chris Drury will effect the Buffalo Sabres this season. How they adjust will be a good test for many of their young stars. This club's greatest weapon has been and remains its depth in quality young talent, most of which are all well under 30. The Sabres still have scoring depth in their lineup and they will be difficult to beat.

The Ottawa Senators earned a playoff berth for the 10th straight year in 2006/07. The Senators will have basically the same team as they did last year so they should be considered legitimate Cup contenders. Last year's head coach Bryan Murray vacated his position to become the franchise's general manager. John Paddock will take over for Murray as the new head coach.

The Detroit Red Wings have made 16 straight playoff appearances, the longest current streak among teams in the four major North American sports. The Red Wings have gained 108 points or more in every campaign since 1999/2000. Last season's anticipated decline never occurred, and as their performance in the 2007 playoffs indicated they're still very much a Stanley Cup contender. Dominik Hasek is a top goalie, even at age 42, but he is a serious injury risk given his history of groin problems. Should Hasek stay healthy, Detroit could win the West Conference.

teamstitles2001/022002/032003/042005/062006/07
Montreal231/4-1/41/8-
Toronto111/21/81/4--
Detroit10title1/81/41/81/2
Edmonton5-1/8-finals-
Boston51/81/81/8--
Ottawa41/41/21/81/4finals
NY Islanders41/81/81/8-1/8
NY Rangers4---1/81/4
New Jersey31/8title1/81/41/4
Chicago31/8----
Colorado21/21/81/41/4-
Philadelphia21/81/41/21/8-
Pittsburgh2----1/8
Dallas1-1/41/81/81/8
Calgary1--finals1/81/8
Tampa Bay1-1/4title1/81/8
Carolina1finals--title-
Anaheim1-finals-1/2title
St. Louis-1/41/81/8--
Minnesota--1/2--1/8
San Jose-1/4-1/21/41/4
Vancouver-1/81/41/8-1/4
Los Angeles-1/8----
Washington--1/8---
Phoenix-1/8----
Buffalo----1/21/2
Florida------
Atlanta-----1/8
Columbus------
Nashville---1/81/81/8

The table shows the overall number of NHL titles since 1918 and team success in the last five seasons.

This page is introduction to 2007/08 NHL season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main NHL page.

#teampointswin-loss
Atlantic Division
1N. Jersey10749-33 (82)
2Pittsbur.10547-35 (82)
3NY Ran.9442-40 (82)
4NY Islan.9240-42 (82)
5Philadel.5622-60 (82)
Northeast Division
1Buffalo11353-29 (82)
2Ottawa10548-34 (82)
3Toronto9140-42 (82)
4Montreal9042-40 (82)
5Boston7635-47 (82)
Southeast Division
1Atlanta9743-39 (82)
2Tampa B.9344-38 (82)
3Carolina8840-42 (82)
4Florida8635-47 (82)
5Washing.7028-54 (82)
Central Division
1Detroit11350-32 (82)
2Nashville11051-31 (82)
3St. Louis8134-48 (82)
4Columb.7333-49 (82)
5Chicago7131-51 (82)
Northwest Division
1Vancou.10549-33 (82)
2Minnes.10448-34 (82)
3Calgary9643-39 (82)
4Colorado9544-38 (82)
5Edmont.7132-50 (82)
Pacific Division
1Anaheim11048-34 (82)
2San Jose10751-31 (82)
3Dallas10750-32 (82)
4Los Ang.6827-55 (82)
5Phoenix6731-51 (82)

The table displays the 2006/2007 NHL regular-season standings. Overtime losses are worth one point in the standings and are included in the loss column.

The Stanley Cup finals in the last five seasons

2002   Detroit Red Wings - Carolina Hurricanes   4:1
2003   New Jersey Devils - Anaheim Mighty Ducks   4:3
2004   Tampa Bay Lightning - Calgary Flames   4:3
2006   Carolina Hurricanes - Edmonton Oilers   4:3
2007   Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Ottawa Senators   4:1

collapse all | expand all

key players

Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Center Andy McDonald, Wings Chris Kunitz and Todd Bertuzzi, Defenders Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Atlanta Thrashers

Center Todd White, Wings Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa, Defenders Alexei Zhitnik and Niclas Havelid, Goaltender Kari Lehtonen

Boston Bruins

Center Marc Savard, Wings Peter Schaefer and Glen Murray, Defenders Zdeno Chara and Aaron Ward, Goaltender Manny Fernandez

Buffalo Sabres

Center Derek Roy, Wings Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov, Defenders Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman, Goaltender Ryan Miller

Calgary Flames

Center Daymond Langkow, Wings Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla, Defenders Robyn Regehr and Dion Phaneuf, Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff

Carolina Hurricanes

Center Eric Staal, Wings Ray Whitney and Erik Cole, Defenders Frantisek Kaberle and Bret Hedican, Goaltender Cam Ward

Chicago Blackhawks

Center Robert Lang, Wings Sergei Samsonov and Martin Havlat, Defenders Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin

Colorado Avalanche

Center Joe Sakic, Wings Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk, Defenders Scott Hannan and Jordan Leopold, Goaltender Peter Budaj

Columbus Blue Jacket

Center Sergei Fedorov, Wings Rick Nash and David Vyborny, Defenders Rostislav Klesla and Adam Foote, Goaltender Fredrik Norrena

Dallas Stars

Center Mike Modano, Wings Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen, Defenders Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher, Goaltender Marty Turco

Detroit Red Wings

Center Pavel Datsyuk, Wings Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom, Defenders Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, Goaltender Dominik Hasek

Edmonton Oilers

Center Jarret Stoll, Wings Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky, Defenders Joni Pitkanen and Steve Staios, Goaltender Dwayne Roloson

Florida Panthers

Center Olli Jokinen, Wings Ville Peltonen and Jozef Stumpel, Defenders Jay Bouwmeester and Bryan Allen, Goaltender Tomas Vokoun

Los Angeles Kings

Center Anze Kopitar, Wings Alexander Frolov and Michael Cammalleri, Defenders Lubomir Visnovsky and Brad Stuart, Goaltender Dan Cloutier

Minnesota Wild

Center Mikko Koivu, Wings Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik, Defenders Kim Johnsson and Brent Burns, Goaltender Niklas Backstrom

Montreal Canadiens

Center Saku Koivu, Wings Christopher Higgins and Alexei Kovalev, Defenders Andrei Markov and Roman Hamrlik, Goaltender Cristobal Huet

Nashville Predators

Center Jason Arnott, Wings Martin Erat and J.P. Dumont, Defenders Dan Hamhuis and Shea Weber, Goaltender Chris Mason

New Jersey Devils

Center Dainius Zubrus, Wings Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta, Defenders Paul Martin and Colin White, Goaltender Martin Brodeur

New York Islanders

Center Mike Comrie, Wings Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin, Defenders Radek Martinek and Marc-Andre Bergeron, Goaltender Rick DiPietro

New York Rangers

Center Scott Gomez, Wings Martin Straka and Jaromir Jagr, Defenders Michal Rozsival and Paul Mara, Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa Senators

Center Jason Spezza, Wings Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson, Defenders Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov, Goaltender Ray Emery

Philadelphia Flyers

Center Daniel Briere, Wings Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble, Defenders Kimmo Timonen and Jason Smith, Goaltender Martin Biron

Phoenix Coyotes

Center Peter Mueller, Wings Steve Reinprecht and Shane Doan, Defenders Ed Jovanovski and Keith Ballard, Goaltender David Aebischer

Pittsburgh Penguins

Center Sidney Crosby, Wings Gary Roberts and Petr Sykora, Defenders Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar, Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury

San Jose Sharks

Center Joe Thornton, Wings Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, Defenders Kyle McLaren and Craig Rivet, Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov

St. Louis Blues

Center Keith Tkachuk, Wings Martin Kariya and Lee Stempniak, Defenders Eric Brewer and Jay McKee, Goaltender Manny Legace

Tampa Bay Lightning

Center Vincent Lecavalier, Wings Vaclav Prospal and Martin St. Louis, Defenders Dan Boyle and Paul Ranger, Goaltender Johan Holmqvist

Toronto Maple Leafs

Center Mats Sundin, Wings Alexei Ponikarovsky and Jason Blake, Defenders Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, Goaltender Vesa Toskala

Vancouver Canucks

Center Henrik Sedin, Wings Daniel Sedin and Ryan Shannon, Defenders Mattias Ohlund and Kevin Bieksa, Goaltender Roberto Luongo

Washington Capitals

Center Michael Nylander, Wings Alexander Ovechkin and Chris Clark, Defenders Tom Poti and Brian Pothier, Goaltender Olaf Kolzig

 
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