Dein erstes Forum » ightly better chance. No matter who is in

SOCHI, Russia – It was late August at the Olympic orientation camp in Calgary, more than five months from the official start of the Sochi Olympics, and Canadian head coach Mike Babcock delivered a message for those players not invited to take part. Gussie Busch . “Do something about it,” Babcock said defiantly. “The great thing about life is you get to control what happens to you the majority of the time. Do something about it if youre not here.” Jamie Benn was not among the 25 forwards selected to participate in that late summer camp, but it was the 24-year-old from Victoria B.C. who managed to emerge in Canadas tournament-opening win over Norway. Though he played just under nine minutes in his first Olympic game – a team-low – Benn turned in the eventual game-winner and made himself a noticeable presence alongside John Tavares and Patrice Bergeron on an energetic Canadian fourth line. He beat out 12 of the aforementioned forwards for the opportunity in Sochi, including the impressive likes of Claude Giroux, James Neal, and Eric Staal. “It was just motivation,” Benn said of not being selected to the orientation camp, which saw 47 players gather in Alberta for a brief three-day meet-and-greet. “Obviously Canada can put some pretty good teams together and every guy that went to the orientation camp deserved to be there. It just gave me a little bit more motivation coming into this year.” The first-year captain of the Dallas Stars, Benn totaled 22 goals and 51 points in the first half, his tantalizing combination of size, speed, grit and skill too appealing for Steve Yzerman and the Hockey Canada brass to pass up. “I just went out there in the first half and focused on the Dallas Stars and what I had to do to win hockey games over there,” said Benn, a fifth round steal in the 2007 draft. “I didnt change anything. I didnt try to impress.” Upon arrival in Sochi, Babcock stressed that opportunity and ice-time would be earned amongst his 14 forwards. And though Benn didnt play a lot against Norway he did more than enough to get noticed, most notably in a dominant second frame of Canadas 3-1 win. It was Benn who drew a penalty in the offensive zone just moments before Shea Weber scored the first Canadian goal, a blast that eased some tension from a jittery first frame. And then it was Benn just a few minutes later – he was nearly rocked by Ole-Kristian Tollefsen moments earlier – making no mistake on a terrific cross-ice feed from the intuitive Bergeron. “Benn can skate and hes hard, shoots the puck,” said Babcock, who raved about Benn, Bergeron, Tavares and Martin St. Louis, the bottom group of Canadian forwards on this night. “It was a key for us to win our shift each and every time we went out there,” Benn said. “Its taking a hit or getting a hit to get in it and I think thats what happened in the second there.” One of eight Canadians making their debut on the Olympic stage on Thursday, Benn said whatever nerves may have been there in the furious buildup to a hard-fought match against the Norwegians disappeared quickly. And by nights end there was sweet redemption for a player who fought his way onto the team. “Its great to be a part of, represent your country,” he said. “It was exciting to get it going today.” Lane Thomas . Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin. Tommy Edman . Completely. Two days after releasing Peyton Manning, the longtime face of the franchise, the Colts announced they were cutting four fan favourites: running back Joseph Addai, linebacker Gary Brackett, safety Melvin Bullitt and tight end Dallas Clark. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-austin-gomber-jersey-large-1411q.html . Lowry and the Raptors officially announced a four-year US$48 million dollar deal Thursday. The deal was reported last week but couldnt be made official until Thursday, when the moratorium on signings was lifted. "They were real factors. I did my homework.Each round of the playoffs, I like to forecast the round simply by using shots on goal and goaltender save percentage to come up with a baseline for the series. It offers no assurances and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. Last year, this method forecasted the first round at a 7-1 clip; this year it was 5-3, with losses on Columbus, Colorado and San Jose. In the first two cases, their strong goaltending led to a calculated advantage, but it can be difficult for goaltending superiority to take effect over much larger samples, let alone seven games. As for the Sharks, they were in a virtual toss-up situation with the Kings, favoured by the smallest of margins. The expected goals for each team in the series are determined by taking each teams shots for and against over the course of the season, as well as through the first round of the playoffs, and splitting the difference. So, for example, Boston had 32.1 shots on goal per game and Montreal has allowed 28.6 shots on goal per game; the average of those two numbers, 30.35 shots, is the number that is then multiplied by (1 - the opposing goaltenders save percentage) to determine an expected goals per game for the Bruins. Finally, the number is multiplied by seven to indicate an expected goal total for a seven-game series. Theres no guarantee that scoring more goals in a series will result in winning four games first, but the odds certainly favour the team that scores more. So, lets see how the numbers shake out for Round Two: Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Boston 32.1 29.3 Tuukka Rask 0.933 15.93 Montreal 30.9 28.6 Carey Price 0.925 14.12 Verdict: The Bruins are favoured, with a slightly better shot differential and slightly better goaltending, and its simple enough that way. But when the Habs and Bruins meet in the playoffs, strange things can happen. Higher-seeded Canadiens teams have been bounced by lower-seeded Bruins teams and vice versa. Between these two incarnations of the Canadiens and Bruins is a wonderful contrast in styles as the Bruins are more physically-imposing while the Canadiens are a smaller, skilled group. While some teams (including the Red Wings in Round One) avoid getting into confrontations with the Bruins, the Canadiens havent always taken that approach, and it not only makes for entertaining hockey, it adds some variability to the process. Furthermore, if the Canadiens can keep Tuukka Rask off his game (his .908 save percentage vs. Montreal is his lowest vs. teams that hes faced at least 10 times in his career), then that could help close the calculated gap between the teams. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Pittsburgh 30.4 29.1 Marc-Andre Fleury 0.915 16.66 N.Y. Rangers 33.1 29.1 Henrik Lundqvist 0.920 18.50 Verdict: The Penguins were forecasted to lose -- or, more accurately, score fewer goals -- against Columbus, but here they are in the second round, looking at a similar forecast, against a team with a better shot differential and better goaltending. The Penguins are healthier than theyve been for most of the season, which helps, and they have elite forwards that can shake results. The Rangers could control play and it wouldnt take a Henrik Lundqvist collapse to see the Penguins get through. Ramon Urias. All it might take is Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going off for a few games. Heck, they managed to get past Columbus with contributions from a lot more than Crosby and Malkin. Defencemen Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen led the Penguins with eight points, Brandon Sutter added five and Beau Bennett chipped in four. In my playoff picks, I had the Penguins going past the Rangers and its on the expectation that, at some point, the Penguins elite players will bury more of their chances, though that also requires some faith in Marc-Andre Fleury and that hasnt been a safe feeling for the Penguins in the playoffs for quite some time. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Anaheim 31.0 28.8 Frederik Andersen 0.918 17.26 Los Angeles 31.6 27.0 Jonathan Quick 0.915 17.33 Anaheim 31.0 28.8 Jonas Hiller 0.912 17.26 Los Angeles 31.6 27.0 Jonathan Quick 0.915 18.60 Verdict: I presume that the Ducks are going back to rookie Frederik Andersen, even after he was pulled twice against Dallas in the first round (but I included calculations for Hiller anyway). This is another really close series in which the Kings get slightly favoured because they have superior shot differential. The Ducks have exceeded more advanced possession metrics all year, in part because they have been insanely fortunate when it comes to shooting in close games. Oh, and here too. That isnt the kind of thing that seems possible to repeat over time but, it worked enough to take down Dallas in the first round, so it wouldnt come as a shock if they can do it against Los Angeles. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Chicago 32.9 27.8 Corey Crawford 0.919 18.15 Minnesota 27.2 27.4 Darcy Kuemper 0.914 15.59 Chicago 32.9 27.8 Corey Crawford 0.919 20.05 Minnesota 27.2 27.4 Ilya Bryzgalov 0.905 15.59 Verdict: Again, a presumption that the Wild will have Darcy Kuemper to start the series, despite leaving Game Seven against Colorado with an injury. If the Wild are really rolling with Ilya Bryzgalov, then the forecast will be unfavourable, just as it was in the first round, but if Kuemper is in, he offers a slightly better chance. No matter who is in net for the Wild, though, they will have their hands full, because they are facing a team that generates a whole lot more shots than their opponents. So long as Corey Crawford is decent, and there arent any major injuries, then the Blackhawks will warrant their status as prohibitive favourites. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy Sports on Facebook. ' ' '