While the NHL officially dropped the puck on the ’07-‘08 season over the weekend, the bulk of the action will get under way this weekend all over North America. With NHL coverage these days about as easy to locate as Britney Spears’ underwear, we decided to save you eight months and simulate the entire season to let you know what to expect when Lord Stanley takes his next skate around the ice. Using 2K Sports’ new NHL 2K8 as our crystal ball, we’ll take you through the entire National Hockey League season in three parts.

Part 2, picks up with the first half behind us and the fans and stars converging on “Hotlanta” for the 56th National Hockey League All-Star Game.

All-Star Game
As is usually the case, the All-Star Game rosters read like a who’s who of the best and brightest in the NHL. From savvy veterans to up and coming superstars from all around the globe, the speed and athleticism of the NHL would be on display for the world. The starting rosters were impressive on both sides:

Western Conference
Center – Joe Thornton* – San Jose Sharks
Left Wing – Jerome Iginla – Calgary Flames
Right Wing – Marian Gaborik – Minnesota Wild
Defense – Scott Niedermayar – Anaheim Ducks
Defense – Nicklas Lidstrom – Detroit Red Wings
Goaltender – Roberto Luongo – Vancouver Canucks

Eastern Conference
Center – Sidney Crosby* – Pittsburgh Penguins
Left Wing – Dany Heatley – Ottawa Senators
Right Wing – Marian Hossa – Atlanta Thrashers
Defense – Sergei Zubov – Boston Bruins (traded from Dallas)
Defense – Sergei Gonchar – Pittsburgh Penguins
Goaltender – Martin Brodeur – New Jersey Devils

* - Elected Captain

While the cast of characters looked familiar, the game itself was a new chapter in All-Star Game lore – a defensive battle. When the dust settled, the East had skated away with a 4-2 win. Perhaps the dust was coming of the players that did manage some offense in the game. Both Western Conference goals came from the stick of the ageless Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche. His former teammate, Teemu Selanne, who started the season without a team, but was signed in the first month of the season by the Rangers, took home the first star and the game MVP trophy with his game winner. Vincent Lecavalier added a goal and an assist for the East, while Daniel Alfredsson chipped in a goal.

February
When the second half of the NHL season fired up, Martin Havlat got right back to his hot year. He put the biscuit in the basket 12 more times in February to take his league leading total to 48 with a month still to play. He kept his red hot Chicago Blackhawks near the top of the Western Conference with his impressive play.

Perhaps the All-Star Game also sparked something in the host Atlanta Thrashers. Though they remained in near the bottom of the Eastern Conference cellar, their top line of Bobby Holik, Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk were fire on ice at the end of the month. In the last four games, this awesome threesome combined on an amazing 10 goals and 20 assists during a four game win streak.

February also brought the trade deadline to the National Hockey League. While a few minor deals got done, no major players moved on the 26th. The most notable change of address was when Ottawa sured up their offense with the addition of veteran forward Brendan Morrow from the Dallas Stars. The Stars picked up Goalie Martin Gerber in the swap.

March
The old adage about March is that it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. So who would be the lions in the final push for the playoffs? With April Fool’s Day tomorrow, most teams had just ten games to go in the regular season and, for many, it would be the difference between and early vacation and a playoff share. In the Eastern Conference, only ten points separated the 1st seed from the 10th seed. Each game would matter down the wire, not just for making the quest for the cup, but whether you’d be playing host or hitting the Holiday Inn.

The Western Conference was another story. The West appeared to be the power in the league, with three teams up top that were, pretty much, locked in already. The Calgary Flames, who started the season hot and maintained the heat, were sitting in the #1 spot just a few points ahead of the defending champion Ducks. The out-of-nowhere Chicago Blackhawks were holding firm to the #3 spot with a comfortable lead in the Central Division.

The bottom of the conference was a little tighter with Detroit, Colorado and Phoenix all battling for the last couple playoff spots with the Blues and the Preds lurking just outside the race.

Anything can happen!

End of Season
The season was over. The field was set. The fight for Lord Stanley’s Cup would be played out across North America. The final push in early April was a hard fight that left teams with momentum that they hoped would carry them into early success in the first round.

The final standings:

Eastern Conference
1 – Ottawa Senators – 46-29-7 (99 pts)
2 – New Jersey Devils - 45-28-9 (99 pts)
3 – Tampa Bay Lightning – 42-30-10 (94 pts)
4 – New York Islanders – 45-28-9 (99 pts)
5 – Boston Bruins – 44-30-8 (96 pts)
6 – Buffalo Sabres – 43-30-9 (95 pts)
7 – Toronto Maple Leafs – 44-32-6 (94 pts)
8 – Pittsburgh Penguins – 42-31-9 (93 pts)
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X – Washington Capitals (91 pts)

Western Conference
1 – Anaheim Ducks – 49-24-9 (107 pts)
2 – Calgary Flames – 50-29-3 (103 pts)
3 – Chicago Blackhawks – 48-27-7 (103 pts)
4 – Los Angeles Kings 45-48-9 (99 pts)
5 – Colorado Avalanche 45-30-7 (97 pts)
6 – Minnesota Wild 46-33-3 (95 pts)
7 – Detroit Red Wings 45-33-4 (94 pts)
8 – St. Louis Blues 43-34-5 (91 pts)
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X – Nashville Predators (86 pts)

While the regular season was over and the playoffs set to begin, the NHL Awards would not be handed out till after the Stanley Cup was presented. In the meantime, we’ll take a look at some of the league leaders which included an impressive six 50-goal scorers.

Goals
Martin Havlat (CHI) – 57
Patrick Marleau (SJ) – 57
Brad Richards (TB) – 55
Mike Modano (DAL) – 51
Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 50
Shane Doan (PHX) - 50

Points
Martin Havlat (CHI) – 107
Mike Comrie (NYI) – 104
Marc Savard (BOS) - 104

+/-
Cory Sarich (CAL) - +32

Wins
Miikka Kiprusoff (CAL) – 35 (8 SO)

Goals Against Average
Ilya Bryzgalov (ANA) – 1.77

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are ready to begin. Check back for Part 3 of this three part NHL Season Simulation. Part 3 will take us through the playoffs and culminate with one team sharing the greatest moment in team sports – the presentation of the Stanley Cup. Who will be this year’s Cinderella? Will a hot Goalie carry a team to the promise land? Who will drink from the Cup? Tune into Part 3 to find out.

While the NHL officially dropped the puck on the ’07-‘08 season over the weekend, the bulk of the action will get under way this weekend all over North America. With NHL coverage these days about as easy to locate as Britney Spears’ underwear, we decided to save you eight months and simulate the entire season to let you know what to expect when Lord Stanley takes his next skate around the ice. Using 2K Sports’ new NHL 2K8 as our crystal ball, for the next three days, we’ll take you through the entire National Hockey League season in three parts.

In part one; we’ll take you from the first drop of the puck in jolly old England to the All-Star Break.

Enjoy.

September

The NHL regular season opened with a California battle between the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings doing battle at the O2 Arena in London. Like the real NHL season, the teams split the opening weekend with a couple yawners that were never even really close. The Kings took the opener 4-1, while the champs rallied back the next night for a 6-1 win and a long flight back to the states.

October

The rest of the league got to join in the action in October. The first month of the season was an action packed month filled with some impressive performances by some of hockey’s freshest faces. Sidney Crosby, perhaps the savior of the NHL (how many times have we heard that before?), scorched the competition during the first 31 days of the campaign. “Sid the Kid” racked up 18 points during the month, including two hat tricks and four game winners, on his way to two Player of the Week honors and a league leading 13 goals. He closed the month on a torrid pace, netting seven goals and two assists in his last three games, pulling within two points of NHL scoring leader Robert Lang. Lang, who left the Red Wings this off-season, used his 20 points to help get his young Chicago Blackhawks team out of the gate strong for the first time in years.

While the Hawks were a pleasant early surprise, no one had a month like the Calgary Flames. The Flames soared out to a quick lead in the Western Conference with a 9-1-2 record for the month and an impressive 20 points. The Eastern Conference saw the Tampa Bay Lightning jump out of the gate quickly with a 7-2-2 October and a two point lead over the Ottawa Senators. The Sens used an impressive league best Goals Against Average of 1.58 from net minder Ray Emery to hit the ground running.

November

The Flames picked up where they left off in November as they continued their dominance over the Western Conference, wrapping up an impressive month (11-3-0) with a 20-4-2 record despite not having a single scorer in the Top Ten. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, probably spent Thanksgiving thanking the hockey gods that December was right around the corner. The Lightning fell all the way to 10th in the East with a disappointing 5-8-1 month. That opened the door for the New York Islanders to grab the pole position with a 16-6-6 mark on the season.

While the Islanders fans grew increasingly optimistic on their side of Gotham, the Rangers were dealt the first major injury of the ’07-’08 season as veteran forward, and team points leader, Martin Straka suffered a broken hand that would keep him on ice…well… actually…off ice for two to four months.

While Sidney Crosby managed 12 points in the month, he did it more with the pass than the goal, connecting on seven assists. While 18 goals in just the first two months of the season is still impressive, Lightning Forward Brad Richards and Winger Alex Steen of the Toronto Maple Leafs both used strong months to take over the league lead in goals with 20 apiece.

Meanwhile, over in the Western Conference, the Blackhawks continued their surprising run. The boys from Chi-Town wrapped up the month still holding strong to the 8th position in the conference, due in large part to the high octane combo of veterans Robert Lang and Martin Havlat. Lang and “Mach 9” share the league lead with 37 points on the season while sharing ice time on the team’s top line.

Between the pipes, someone woke up Manny Fernandez in Boston. The Bruins keeper took over the top spot during a brickwall-like 12 game run in November en route to a 1.48 GAA.

December

The NHL skated through its own version of the Dog Days wrapping up both December and the year 2007 with only moderate pomp and circumstance. While the games started to run together, a few frisky GM’s started hitting the phones completing three trades during the holiday season. The most notable transaction featured the Washington Capitals swapping an experienced set-up man for a little youth on the wing. The Caps sent 35 year old Center Michael Nylander and his 34 points to the west coast for L.A. Kings’ Winger Ladislav Nagy. Nagy, seven years Nylander’s junior, will be looking to bury the puck in the nation’s capital after heading east with 15 goals (27 points) already on the season.

Besides the changing addresses, Christmas also brought a brand new leader board to the NHL. Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks took over the lead in goals with 29 while first-year Islander and NHL journeyman Mike Comrie held the top spot with 53 points. Ilya Bryzgalov, the #2 goalie in Anaheim, took advantage of shared time for the Ducks, recording enough games to qualify for the league lead with an outstanding Goals Against Average of 1.66. While Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s job still appears to be safe, the immense Bryzgalov may not stay in Gigy’s shadow for too long.

December’s most notable performer, however, was 2006-07 “Rocket” Richard trophy winner Vincent Lecavalier of the Lightning. Vinny netted 12 huge goals for Tampa during the month including one milestone goal. The 27 year-old, who was the youngest Captain in NHL history, notched his 250th career goal early in the month.

January

NHL Action in January culminates in the NHL All-Star Game, which, this season, is being held on January 27, 2008 at the Philips Arena in the hockey hotbed of Atlanta, Georgia. Besides the great opportunity to showcase the NHL’s best, it gives the league a chance to take a break from the rigors of the season and take a look at where we are.

At the break, the playoffs races breakdown like this:

Eastern Conference
1 – Tampa Bay Lightning (65 pts)
2 – Ottawa Senators (60 pts)
3 – New York Islanders (60 pts)
4 – Toronto Maple Leafs (59 pts)
5 – Boston Bruins (58 pts)
6 – New Jersey Devils (56 pts)
7 – Montreal Canadians (56 pts)
8 – Pittsburgh Penguins (56 pts)
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9 – Washington Capitals (55 pts)
10 – New York Rangers (54 pts)

Western Conference
1 – Calgary Flames (71 pts)
2 – Anaheim Ducks (68 pts)
3 – Chicago Blackhawks (64 pts)
4 – Detroit Red Wings (61 pts)
5 – Colorado Avalanche (61 pts)
6 – Los Angeles Kings (58 pts)
7 – St. Louis Blues (55 pts)
8 – Columbus Blue Jackets (54 pts)
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9 – Vancouver Canucks (52 pts)
10 – Minnesota Wild (50 pts)

League leaders at the break:

Goals
Brad Richards (TB) – 36
Martin Havlat (CHI) – 36
Patrick Marleau (SJ) – 35

Points
Martin Havlat (CHI) – 68
Mike Comrie (NYI) – 65
Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 64

Rookie Scoring
Jack Johnson (PHI*) – 17

* Johnson was traded from the LA Kings to Flyers in December

Wins
Miikka Kiprusoff (CAL) – 22
Marc Denis (TB) – 20
Rick DiPietro (NYI) – 20

Goals Against Average
Ilya Bryzgalov (ANA) – 1.85
Manny Fernandez (BOS) – 1.97
Curtis Joseph (PHX) – 2.07

The 2008 All-Star Game is upon us. Check back for Part 2 of this three part NHL Season Simulation. Part 2 will take us from the All-Star Game through the race for the playoffs. Who will be growing playoff beards this season? Who will be making early tee times? Tune into Part 2 to find out.