Western Conference Predictions

By : Mike Rifkin

The NHL season is upon us and here are my picks for the Western Conference.

Central

  1. Avalanche – Alexandar Georgiev replaces Darcy Kuemper in goal. But the reigning champs are loaded. Minus Nazem Kadri this is the same team. Cale Makar, Nathan Mackinnon, Mikko Rantanen and company will still score a ton of goals. 
  2. Blues – Love the core of of Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Colton Parayko,etc… Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou both signed extensions this offseason. If Jordan Binnington can go back to form from when the Blues won the Stanley Cup the Blues will be in good shape.
  3. Predators – I loved what the Preds did this offseason. Bringing back their all time leading goal scorer Filip Forsberg, to adding some size with Nino Niederreiter, and adding two time Stanley Cup Champion Ryan Mcdongah to their Blue Line. Jusse Saros is coming off a Vezina nomination. If Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen can do what they did last year the Preds could not only win the Central, could be a Cup contender.
  4. Stars – A lot of this hinges on Joe Pavelski doing what he did last season, as well as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Is there someone to replace John Klingberg on the Blue Line. If you watched their first round series against the Flames last season, Jake Oettinger has big time upside. 
  5. Wild – Kirill Kaprizov is sensational and a potential Hart nominee this season. Can they get the same production from Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek. Marc – Andre Fleury will be 38 in November, the last few years he has split time with Robin Lehner and Cam Talbot, how many games will he play this year and can he stay fresh?
  6. Jets – I love everything about the Jets roster. Kyle Connor is still criminally underrated, Mark Schieffle, Nikolaj Ehlers, Pierre – Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler and Connor Hellebuyck in goal always gives you a chance to win. But I have them this low because I don’t trust them and need to see it before I elevate them
  7. Blackhawks – Total rebuild time. Just waiting to see how long Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews will remain there.
  8. Coyotes – Clayton Keller should have a good season. Waiting on the trade of Jacob Chychrun to occur.

Pacific

  1. Kings – Love the Kevin Fiala addition. They have a lot of offensive firepower if Johnathon Quick and Cal Peterson play well the Kings could be the kings of the Pacific
  2. Oilers – Jack Campbell comes over from the Leafs to be the goalie of the Western Conference version of the Leafs. Evander Kane who was really good for them once he came over from the Sharks re-signed there. Oh yeah Connor McDavid is the best player in the world and Leon Draisaitl isn’t too shabby either. 
  3. Flames –  They turned Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk into Johnathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri. Jacob Markstrom in goal will always give the Flames a chance.
  4. Canucks – This team took off when Bruce Boudreau took over last season. Thatcher Demko is a stud in goal. If Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podkolzin play like they did in the second half Vancouver could be a playoff team.
  5. Golden Knights – This is a weird spot seeing is they have been a contender since they came into existence. I don’t think they will have the same amount of injuries they had last season. I still would like for them to trade for a goalie to pair with Logan Thompson after Robin Lehner’s season ending injury.  If Mark Stone is healthy he needs to produce.
  6. Ducks – They had a very interesting offseason. I liked adding Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano. But was Strome’s production based on playing with Artemi Panarin? John Klingberg could help the production from the defense. What can Trevor Zegras do for an encore.
  7. Kraken –  I love what they are building in Seattle. They added Oliver Bjorkstrand from Columbus. Matthew Beniers and Shane Wright will give Kraken fans a glimpse into the future. They need Phillip Grubaruer to bounce back.
  8. Sharks – Their contract situation really stink, but Mike Grier is willing to move some of those guys and build around Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier. Big question is what do they get in goal? What does David Quinn do in his second go around in the NHL.

Eastern Conference Predictions

By : Mike Rifkin

With the NHL season upon us here is how I view the Eastern Conference 

  1. Hurricanes – Yes I think Carolina repeats as division champions. Rod Brind’Amour is one of the best coaches in the league. They added Brent Burns and Max Pacioretty, Pacioretty will eventually come back from an injury, but Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov are superstars and Frederik Andersen should have been a Vezina nominee after posting a 35-14-3 record with a 2.17 Goals Against Average, .922 save percentage and four shutouts. 
  2. Rangers – Igor Shesterkin did win the Vezina with 36-13-4 record, a 2.07 GAA, .935 save percentage and six shutouts. I don’t think Chris Kreider scores 52 goals again. I think Vincent Trocheck is an upgrade over Ryan Strome, but how quickly will chemistry with Panarin come? With Strome, Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp departing more will be asked of the young players. Can the kids take another step forward? If so the Rangers can challenge the Canes for the division. 
  3. Penguins –  They kept their core intact, bringing back Malkin, Letang and Rust. That being said this is an aging roster but as long as they stay healthy they are in a position to be a solid team. Jake Guentzel is becoming a premier goal scorer after posting 40 goals for the second time in his career. Tristan Jarry had the best season of his career going 34-18-6 with a 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage with four shutouts. 
  4. Islanders –  Last year there were a lot of circumstances around the Islanders. They started the season with a 13 game road trip so their new arena could be finished. They had Covid go through their team. I don’t love firing Barry Trotz, but if it means guys like Mat Barzal, who just got a new contract, Anthony Beauvillier, and Oliver Whalstrom are going to produce more offensively it might be worth it. Ilya Sorokin was 26-18-8 with 2.40 GAA, .925 save percentage and seven shutouts. 
  5. Capitals – Yes Darcy Kuemper is an upgrade over what the Caps have had in goal recently.  Alex Ovechkin is still going to do his thing on his quest to conquer Wayne Gretzky’s goals record. But they will be without Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson for a bit. Wilson is the bigger blow because of what he means to the team. They will need TJ Oshie and Anthony Mantha to have good years. 
  6. Devils – I really like their upside and loved what they did in the offseason. Ondrej Palat was a great player in Tampa and can fit anywhere up and down a lineup, John Marino gives them size on the blue line. If Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier can stay relatively healthy they will put up numbers.  Can Dawson Mercer replicate his rookie season? The biggest question is in goal. What will they get out of Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood? 
  7. Blue Jackets –  Yeah they won the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes, and kept Patrik Laine. They traded Oliver Bjorkstrand because of those signings. The biggest question is the same as the Devils, what will Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins give them in goal. 
  8. Flyers – There are a lot of questions here that will be answered early on. John Tortorella is in the fold as the team’s new coach. They didn’t sign Johnny Gaudreau. According to GM Chuck Fletcher, defenseman Ryan Ellis is going to miss the season, while Sean Couturier will miss some time. This is a make or break year for Carter Hart. If he doesn’t have a good season he will need a change of scenery. Kevin Hayes should have a bounce back season, there were terrible circumstances for him last year and I expect him to bounce back. 

Atlantic Division

  1. Lightning –  This is weird to say, but I feel losing the Cup Final may have put a chip on their shoulder again. Also weird was last year was the first time Steven Stamkos hit 100 points in a season. Andrei Vasilevskiy is still the best goalie in the NHL. Most of their core is still intact. I expect good years from Nick Paul and Brandon Hagel especially after the departure of Palat.
  2. Panthers – I love the addition of Matthew Tkachuk, even though they paid a big price. But I feel the loss of Mason Marchment and Mackenzie Weegar are huge for this team. The team will also be without Anthony Duclair, who had Achillies surgery and should be back by midseason. But ultimately this comes down to Sergei Bobrovsky, if he plays well the Panthers will be solid, if he doesn’t there will be questions.’
  3. Maple Leafs – Let’s be honest it doesn’t matter what the Leafs do in the regular season, it’s all about winning a playoff series for the first time since 2004. The biggest question mark is always the same for the Leafs goaltending. What will Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov give them and more importantly can they stay healthy? But if the Leafs lose in the first round how will that affect the roster going forward, including the future of Auston Matthews who scored 60 goals last year.
  4. Senators – Yes, I am high on the Senators and who wouldn’t be after the offseason they had. Alex Debrincat comes from the Blackhawks after another 40 goal season, Claude Giroux will provide big time leadership for the team and Cam Talbot is a massive upgrade in goal. Add this to the nucleus of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Thomas Chabot, etc… I love this roster.
  5. Bruins – Every year people ask when will the Bruins drop off? Yes, I think this is the year they may slip a bit. My major reason is injuries, a lot of key players will miss the start the season including Brad Marchand and Charlie Mcavoy. Captain Patrice Bergeron is back as is David Krejci who played in the Czech Republic last year. Jeremy Swayman had a solid rookie season in goal. The biggest question in Boston is can they get David Pastrnak signed long term?
  6. Red Wings – Another team who had a tremendous offseason. Bringing in Andrew Copp, David Perron and Ville Husso will help the team. Young players like Lucas Raymond and reigning Calder winner Moritz Seider taking a step forward. But most importantly having Jakub Vrana healthy for a whole season will be huge for the Wings.Vrana had 13 goals in 26 games after shoulder surgery. Can Husso and Alex Nedeljokvic have similar success to what Husso and Jordan Binnington had in St.Louis. 
  7. Sabres  – Don Granato has done a tremendous job since taking over as Head Coach. But this is all about the young players in Buffalo taking steps forward. Can Tage Thompson replicate his season from last season? Alex Tuch should have a massive impact if healthy all season. What will they get in goal? Eric Comrie has never been considered a starter, but will have a chance in Buffalo.
  8. Canadiens – Cole Caufield was an absolute show after Marty St.Louis took over as the head coach. They  will probably be without Carey Price this season, but Jake Allen has the ability to steal a game. Loved their offseason additions of Kirby Dach, Evgenii Dadonov ( who I think gets moved at deadline), and Mike Matheson but this is a team in the midst of a rebuild.

Week 5: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens 

By Ross Mazin

We have a Sunday night football game with a big time feel. These two teams are very much in the hunt for a Super Bowl title this year. They are relatively young and very scrappy. Last season the Bengals swept the Ravens in the season series for the first time since 2015. 

The Bengals are coming off a big win against Miami last weekend. The offense showed up as well as the defense. Joe Burrow was 20 for 31 for 287 yards,  two touchdowns and no interceptions. Burrow dominated the Ravens last season throwing for 941 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception and a passer rating of 131.1 Ja’Marr Chase had 326 yards receiving and a touchdown in the two meetings. 

The Ravens are coming off a very ugly loss against Buffalo last weekend. They struggled in the second half. Lamar Jackson was 20 for 29 for 144 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also had 73 rushing yards. In the one game that Lamar played against the Bengals last year he was sacked five times. In seven career games against his division rival Lamar has nine touchdowns and three interceptions. 

I expect a relatively low scoring game. My prediction is Bengals 22- Ravens 10

Max Disaster

By: Mike Rifkin

The San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets 7-1 in game one of their Wild Card series. Mets ace Max Scherzer gave up four home runs in the loss. Scherzer went 4.2 innings giving up seven runs on seven hits and four strikeouts. For the second straight start Scherzer had a bad outing. The Mets were playing from behind from the start after Josh Bell hit a two run home run in the first inning. Trent Grisham hit a solo shot in the second inning. The game got out of hand in the fifth inning where Jurickson Profar hit a three run home run and Manny Machado hit a solo home run. 

Outside of Scherzer not pitching well, the Mets offense also bears responsibility. The Mets went 1-11 with RISP and the hit didn’t drive in a run. Yu Darvish had the Mets offense in a funk as he has all season. Darvish went 7 innings giving up a run on six hits and four strikeouts. The Mets lone run came on an Eduardo Escobar home run. The Mets did get Starling Marte back off a fractured thumb. Marte had two hits and two stolen bases in his return to the lineup. 

In Game two of the series will see Blake Snell pitch for the Padres take on Jacob DeGrom for the Mets. Snell has made two prior starts against the Mets this season. On June 6th, Snell gave up four runs in four innings pitched. On July 23rd, Snell threw five scoreless innings in a Padre win. Snell went 1-1 with an ERA of 4.00. He gave up 11 hits and five walks in nine innings. Snell is 3-3 with an 2.73 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. Jacob deGrom didn’t face the Padres in 2022. In his career against San Diego deGrom is 6-3 with a 1.28 ERA and has 82 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched. 

If the Mets want their season to continue they will need their ace to be better than he has been his past few starts. They will also need their offense to do damage against Snell who at times will lose the plate which could work in the Mets favor. Either way Saturday night is a must win game for the Mets. 

Mets Regular Season Recap

By : Mike Rifkin

A lot of people are still down based on what happened with the Mets last weekend in Atlanta, but that has to change. The Mets are still playing in the Wild Card Round against the San Diego Padres. The Mets were 4-6 vs the Padres this season. 

Despite what transpired in Atlanta it was a sensational season for the Mets. For the fourth time in franchise history the Mets won 100 games, two of the prior three they won the World Series. There were a lot of individual accolades accomplished this season : Jeff McNeil won the Franchise’s second ever batting title, First baseman Pete Alonso set a club record with 131 RBI, Francisco Lindor set a club record for RBI in a season by a shortstop with 107. Future Hall Of Famer Max Scherzer reached 200 career wins and Closer Edwin Diaz who was sensational all season reached 200 career saves. 

I understand that people are upset with what took place in Atlanta last weekend. In my lifetime this was one of the most exciting Mets teams and the season is not over. In the Playoffs anything can happen and I expect this team to fight like they did all season.

Battle Of The Birds

By : Mike Rifkin

The Philadelphia Eagles take their undefeated record on the road this week as they play the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles, the NFL’s last unbeaten team defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars and former Head Coach Doug Pederson 29-21. It was a wet, rainy, sloppy game. The Eagles trailed 14-0 early but scored 29 unanswered points. 

Jalen Hurts who is off to a tremendous start this year was 16-25 for 204 yards and an interception. He also had 38 yards rushing and a touchdown. This is supposed to be a make or break year for Hurts in Philly and through four games he is passing the test with flying colors. He has a 66.7 completion percentage, 1,120 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. He has added 205 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns. The receiving duo of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith has been great to start the season just like the Eagles envisioned when they acquired Brown. The Eagles offense is second in total yards averaging 435.5 yards per game and they average 28.8 points per game. The Eagles defense deserves praise also they are first in sacks, turnover differential (+8), and third is yards allowed. Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon deserves an opportunity at a head coaching gig next year. 

On the other side there is the Arizona Cardinals who sit with a record of 2-2 and are coming off a 26-16 win over the Panthers. Kyler Murray had 207 yards passing and three total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). Marquise Brown who the Cardinals got from the Ravens leads the team with 30 catches, 339 yards and two touchdowns. Former Eagle Zach Ertz is also off to a good start with 22 catches 181 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals average 349.5 yards per game and 22.0 points per game. This is a big game for the Cardinals for many reasons. One of them is the fact that in their first two home games they looked bad against the Chiefs and Rams. But the other is this until the Cardinals win a big game against a good team the jury is going to be out on both Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury both of whom got an extension that I feel was unwarranted. 

The offenses should be hot in the desert when these two teams play. For the Eagles they want to keep their unbeaten streak alive and the Cardinals need to win a big game, so the question is which bird will soar to victory?

Week 5: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets 

By Ross Mazin 

Oh boy was the Jets win over the Steelers a thrilling one. Trailing by 10; they found a way to win. They now face the Tua Tuavoglia-less Dolphins Sunday afternoon. They are only a 3 point underdog heading into this weekends matchup. They need to have a better opening half than last weeks at Pittsburgh. 

The Jets came away with a huge win on the road last weekend against the Steelers . They are looking to build off that with a win against the Dolphins after losing their quarterback in Tua. Zach Wilson was 18 for 36 for 252 yards and had one touchdown and two interceptions. Wilson also caught a touchdown on a pass from receiver Braxton Berrios. 

The Dolphins are coming off a tough loss against the Bengals. They are certainly looking to bounce back this weekend. Teddy Bridgewater came in to replace Tua Tagovailoa who suffered one of the scarier injuries I have seen.  Teddy Bridgewater was 14 for 23  for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Jets defense will have to try to contain the speed of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill.  

My prediction is Jets 22-Dolphins 7

METS GET WILD CARD

By Mark Halpern

      After being in first place for 175 games, the Mets got swept by the Atlanta Braves in a crucial series at Citi Field this past weekend. Like the Yankees, the Mets held control of first for the longest time. The team was on cruise control, but just like the Yankees, things started to happen. 

     The end of the summer slumps began, and not only the offense but the pitching was all over the place. Consistency is something a ball club has to have. I am not talking about Scherzer and DeGrom, as they pitched unbelievable. I am talking about the rest of the Mets Pitching staff, which consists of Bassitt, Carrasco, Walker, MeGill (who was injured most of the season), and Peterson’s play fell off. It began costing us wins, and little by little, we began to lose control. Atlanta did what they had to (and usually) do put on a surge, and just caught the Mets, and it came down to the final series in NY in which the Mets’ Pitching and Hitting was a no-show.

    Now the Mets’ offense has been hot pretty much the whole season. Even when injuries began to pile up, players who were brought up from the minors or were received in trade did their jobs and hit in crucial situations, and the Mets kept on putting runs on the board. However, if you put up ten runs in a game and your pitching staff can’t hold the other team, and they score eleven, it doesn’t matter how good the offense is (if Statistics is what you are looking for, please Read Mike Rifkin’s Article he breaks it down)

    During this season, a lot of the talk brewing was in the Mets minor league system on which one of the young stars would get the call first. Many fans, sportscasters, and writers predicted Francisco Alvarez. The weakest position offensively was the catcher. The Mets tried different combinations, but between McCann, Nido, and Mazeika, they barely hit their weight. Their Defense is fantastic but having a guaranteed out in a lineup (especially with the DH now) is a problem. However, the position that saw the most injuries was third base, and the question began whether it would be Baty or Vientos. Brett Baty got the call, hit a home run in his first at-bat, and played a great game. Unfortunately, the injury bug hit Baty as he tore some ligaments in his wrist and was shut down for the rest of the season. With the last week of baseball approaching, the Mets called up their other two superstars, Alvarez and Vientos, and they both made immediate impacts and carried their play from the minors to the big leagues, and the rest of the teams in the MLB are taking note. These young stars are going to be part of this organization for a long time to come.

  The Mets landed the Wild card spot and drew the San Diego Padres as their first opponent on their path to winning the World Series. The Padres won the regular season matchup 4-2, which isn’t encouraging, but the Mets will have the home-field advantage for this series which begins Friday at 8 pm est. The Mets can’t play meticulously against this hot-hitting team at all. The Padres, even without superstar Fernando Tatis Jr (Suspended for PED), have played all season amazingly with constant hitting from Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth, just to name a few. The Mets will have all pitchers available, and the Best bet is for Jacob DeGrom to pitch game one on Friday, Max Scherzer to pitch Saturday, and Bassitt or Carrasco to pitch Sunday if needed. If the Mets win, the road to the World Series doesn’t get easier as the Los Angels Dodgers, the best team in baseball, will be waiting for them. This wildcard series will be a great playoff matchup, and come check us out on YouTube on our SIN (Sports Insanity Podcast) channel and watch along with us; it will probably get insane.

Embracing History

By : Mike Rifkin

On Tuesday night, Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season establishing a new Yankee and American League record. The record overtakes the 61 hit by Roger Maris in 1961. But this is nothing against Judge he bet on himself this season and had arguably one of the greatest seasons in the history of Baseball and he will get paid by someone this winter.

My issue is with people who are calling 62 the Major League record. It’s not the record Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001. Now Bonds is one of the many faces of Baseball’s steroid era, but for a game that loves to talk about the history of it, how can people ignore the steroid era? In 1998 the greatest thing during the summer was the race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. 

Now none of those three Bonds, McGwire and Sosa are no longer on the Hall Of Fame ballot and the only way they can get in is by a Veterans Committee. But here is where Baseball really has a double standard the Commissioner at the time Bud Selig is in the Hall Of Fame. As is former Red Sox Designated Hitter David Ortiz who got in this year, his first on the ballot. Ortiz was mentioned in the Mitchell Report for illegal PED use. Again not attacking Ortiz I think he is a Hall of Famer as are Bonds, McGwire and Sosa. If you want to put an asterisk next to their names in Cooperstown that’s fine, but to act like these guys didn’ achieve anything when you reward others in the era of which they played is insane to me. 

To ignore the entire steroid era to me is stupid. Yes, I grew up during the steroid era and yes I am against cheating, but to totally ignore what these guys did is comical especially when you honor the guy who was at the helm during the era. Aaron Judge set an American League and Yankee record, but not the Major League record.  So whether you agree with me or disagree the steroid era happened and you cannot scrub that from history.

Swept Away

By: Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets entered Atlanta with a one game lead in the NL East and if they won one game they controlled their own destiny. But worst case scenario happened as the Braves swept the Mets and not only lead the division by two games, but their magic number to clinch is one meaning one more Braves win or Mets loss and Atlanta wins the division for a fifth consecutive season. 

The Mets lined up their top three starters Jacob DeGrom, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt to pitch in the series and the three combined to go 14.1 innings pitched giving up 17 hits, 11 earned runs, 3 walks, 17 strikeouts, and 6 home runs. That is a ERA of 6.91 for your top three starters. But to only blame the starters is wrong, the offense has to share in the blame as well. The Mets two stars at the plate Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso went 5-23 with two walks in the series with 0 extra base hits. Outside of Jeff McNeil and Daniel Vogelbach (Sunday night) the Mets offense was awful. The Braves hit seven home runs in the three game series including Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson hitting one in each game, the Mets hit three. THE METS OFFENSE SCORED SEVEN RUNS in the entire series, the Mets scored the same amount of runs as the Braves hit home runs. 

The Mets based on win percentages were supposed to have a easy September schedule. But they went 6-8 against the Marlins, Cubs, Nationals and Athletics. That is where they lost the division, but the cherry on top is in a series fans thought it was impossible to get swept in they got swept. Now a team that could’ve used the first round bye to the Division Series now has to play a Padre team that is starting to figure somethings out. Plus if they had the bye the Mets could’ve lined up their pitching anyway they wanted. 

There are a lot of words to describe the Mets series in Atlanta. Unacceptable, pathetic, etc.. But know with Atlanta basically clinching the division the Mets can use the next four days to give guys like Lindor, Alonso, Nimmo days off to get ready for what the end goal is and attempt to make a run in the playoffs. Once the season is over is when you can point fingers at whoever you want, but the Mets will still be playing in the playoffs despite a terrible weekend in Atlanta.