In case you missed the highlights from last night, CLICK HERE for my quick recap(including video) of the Caps 4-3 OT win.



Fan Voting

As you may have noticed, I have been going on a little bit of a poll kick as we near the playoffs. Considering we have completed over three quarters of the season now, I thought it would be best to start whittling down the key performers of the season and to get your opinions on the matter.

So, over the next few weeks, heading into the playoffs, be sure to check back regularly as we will be conducting our own Hockeybuzz balloting for each of the major awards.

Today we will begin with our vote on the Norris Trophy, but before we do so, I will give you the results from our original poll in which I asked you who felt was the current Cup favorite and you responded in spades, casting over 4500 votes.

The Survey was broken into 3 parts, the Contenders, the Challengers and the Long-Shots.

Here are the results:

Contenders

Total Votes: 1897(and counting)

1. Penguins - 28%(530 votes)
2. Capitals/Blackhawks - 25%(474 votes)
3. Canucks - 9%(171 votes)
4. Sharks - 6%(114 votes)
5. Devils - 4%(76 votes)

Challengers

Total Votes: 1397(and counting)

1. Red Wings - 31%(433 votes)
2. Kings - 24%(335 votes)
3. Sabres - 22%(307 votes)
4. Coyotes/Senators - 7%(98 votes)
5. Avalanche - 6%(84 votes)

Long Shots

Total Votes: 1220

1. Flyers - 40%(488 votes)
2. Flames - 22%(268 votes)
3. Predators - 14%(170 votes)
4. Canadiens - 10%(122 votes)
5. Bruins - 7%(85 votes)
6. Stars - 3%(37 votes)

The Poll is STILL OPEN, so feel free to continue casting your votes through to the end of the month.

As of right now, it's plain to see that the consensus on a Cup favorite is the reigning Cup Champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who totalled the most votes out any single team(530), followed by the Caps and Hawks, with 474 votes. Of the Challengers, Detroit leads the way with 433 votes, demonstrating how many people believe that the Wings will be better in the playoffs than they have been in the regular season.

Finally, the home-town Flyer fans have come out to support their own as it is plain to see that if there is one team that anyone believes will have the strongest "outside shot" at winning the Cup, it's Philadelphia with 488 votes.

It's still reasonable to believe that someone other than these 5 fan favorites will land the Stanley Cup, but as things stand now, the Pens, Caps, Hawks and Wings all seem to have the most support while the Flyers apparently have "what it takes" to pull off the biggest long shot of them all.

Should be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out and how sentiment changes!


The Race for the Norris


Let's be honest, it's a new ball-game out there folks.

Nicklas Lidstrom has finally shown his age, enduring his least dominant season of the decade while Zdeno Chara's injury troubles, both personally and with the Bruins, have ultimately ruled him out of the conversation.

Of the top 3 candidates left from last year's Norris ballot, only Mike Green can stand tall as a repeat contender.

Green has enjoyed a strong campaign, perhaps not as flashy as last year as he sits 14 goals shy of his career high of 31, yet with Mike currently sitting at 66 points(tops for Dmen in the NHL), he is only 7 points shy of his career high of 73 with 14 games left to play.

Now, obviously offense doesn't win you the Norris Trophy, but to have the 2nd best +/- among all NHL defensemen at +31(second only to fellow Cap, Jeff Schultz, and his +37) while playing the 10th most minutes among all defensemen(25:17 - 24.7 shifts per game) certainly demonstrates how much Mike's two-way game is growing.

The other candidates, in my opinion, officially make this a Young Guns Norris Race.

Chicago's Duncan Keith has been a monster this season. Keith has averaged the second most ice-time among all Dmen, playing an average of 26:40 per game while also landing second in scoring among defensemen with 59 points and is 6th in +/- at +21.

Next on my top 3 list of candidates is Drew Doughty of the LA Kings. The 2nd year NHL sophomore has already laid claim to an Olympic Gold Medal, while playing a very large role might I add, but could very well be on his way to more hardware as he has surprised nearly everyone in the league with his progress. Again, in only his 2nd year in the NHL, Doughty now sits in 3rd place for points, with 51(13g,38a), 12th in +/- at +17, and is 12th in ice-time among Dmen(24:52 per game/26.9 shifts per game).

The most compelling stat is that Drew is tied for 2nd in GWG's with 4(tied with Green) and is 2nd in PP goals with 7(2nd to Green). He has certainly been the most improved player in the NHL, but has he yet to reach the level of Mike Green or Duncan Keith?

Whatever the case may be, these 3 Canadians appear poised to top the voting for the Norris.




Obviously, not everyone will be interested in selecting from this category of Young Guns for their choice as current favorite for the Norris Trophy, so here is a secondary poll of outside candidates who you might think have a shot at landing the Norris this season.






So, let's hear it...who has your vote for the Norris?






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