Every year I enjoy throwing myself out there with some hockey related predictions, and this year is no different. Last night was my first live Yahoo! draft where I competed with eight others to build a team to carry us through a rotisserie scoring season. I drafted third overall and went a bit off the grid to secure my goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov. I’m confident in the Sharks this year, and in Nabokov starting between 75 and 80 of their games. I quickly solidified my defence with Nicklas Lidstrom, Dan Boyle, and Andrei Markov, which should give me the best blueline in the contest (with Craig Rivet added a little later). Marian Hossa and Alexei Kovalev make me solid at RW, and the rest of my team is a bit of a hope and a prayer with Derek Roy, Marc Savard, Chris Kunitz, Dustin Byfuglien, Shawn Horcoff, and Jonathan Cheechoo. Should be fun!
On to the issues that count – Rick’s predicted order of finish in the NHL this year.
Keep in mind the 3rd team has to be a division leader, and I’ve put in brackets where their point total would put them. Following that, the top 20 forwards, top 10 defence, and top 10 goalies. Post your thoughts and own lists in comments!
Today’s Random Links
Will Google use Chrome to index the password-protected web?
Apple threatening to shut down the iTunes Store?
10 creepiest old ads (Thanks, Rob!)
Now Playing
Brett Dennen – So Much More

Eastern Conference
1. Montreal Canadiens
2. New York Rangers
3. Washington Capitals (actually 5th)
4. New Jersey Devils
5. Boston Bruins
6. Pittsburgh Penguins
7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Ottawa Senators
9. Tampa Bay Lightning
10. Philadelphia Flyers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Florida Panthers
13. New York Islanders
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. Atlanta Thrashers
Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Edmonton Oilers (actually 5th)
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. Minnesota Wild
7. Colorado Avalanche
8. Dallas Stars
9. Calgary Flames
10. Phoenix Coyotes
11. Nashville Predators
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Vancouver Canucks
14. St Louis Blues
15. Los Angeles Kings
Forwards
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Alexander Ovechkin
3. Pavel Datsyuk
4. Marian Hossa
5. Joe Thornton
6. Henrik Zetterberg
7. Vincent Lecavalier
8. Patrick Kane
9. Marian Gaborik
10. Jarome Iginla
11. Ryan Getzlaf
12. Evgeni Malkin
13. Dany Heatley
14. Jonathan Toews
15. Jason Pominville
16. Martin St Louis
17. Jason Spezza
18. Derek Roy
19. Jonathan Cheechoo
20. Daniel Alfredsson
Defence
1. Nicklas Lidstrom
2. Dan Boyle
3. Andrei Markov
4. Lubomir Visnovsky
5. Dion Phaneuf
6. Mike Green
7. Scott Niedermayer
8. Andrei Meszaros
9. Zdeno Chara
10. Jay Bouwmeester
Goaltenders
1. Evgeni Nabokov
2. Martin Brodeur
3. J-S Giguere
4. Henrik Lundqvist
5. Carey Price
6. Chris Osgood
7. Cristobal Huet
8. Tim Thomas
9. Mathieu Garon
10. Jose Theodore